How to Play Arcana Heart 3 series
- Part 1 – Choosing a Character & Arcana
- Part 2 – Basic Movement
- Part 3 – Advanced Movement
- Part 4 – Basic Attacks
- Part 5 – Advanced Attacking – Combos
- Part 6: Spacing and Spacing Mind Games
Arcana Heart 3 Tactics Guide series
The Safe Pick – The Blossoms Arcana is infamous for being extremely easy to use and provides a lot of great benefits for starting players. The Arcana’s passive ability is that it nullifies the additional damage you would take from a Counter Hit, so from the get-go you are able to play a style that does not get punished as badly as other Arcana. The Arcana also sports the fastest Force Gauge recovery, so you can use it for Arcana Burst more often than you could compared to if you had a normal Arcana. With all of these bonuses, it is easy for players to pick the Blossoms Arcana as their first choice, as it will help them cover up some of their mistakes.
Mei-Feng
Mei-Feng is a close range fighter with different style Normal Attacks and is a little unconventional for an Arcana Heart 3 character. As with most close range fighters, she benefits greatly from an Arcana that can provide her with a projectile, or simply make her more deadly up close. Her own Arcana, Fire is very useful for Mei-Feng, as it allows her to deal massive damage with Extend Force combos, but also allows her to control space with the Fire Arcana’s projectiles. Time is another good choice, as it will not only give her nice offensive options, but also greatly complements her defense due to her special Backstep, which is fast and can be canceled into Special Attacks.
Lilica
Lilica is a close range fighter with superior mobility and excels at high speed combat. Many of her Arcana choices revolve around making her more well-rounded, or just go straight for making her even more powerful up close. The Wind Arcana is a great choice for her as it not only increases the damage she can get from combos, but also provides her with additional mobility options and a decent projectile. The Time Arcana is another good option, for the same reason it is good for Mei-Feng, it complements her special Backstep and also gives her nice offensive options as well.
Liselotte
Liselotte is a character who can control space and create Mix-Ups by simultaneously attacking alongside her doll. Most Arcana choices for Liselotte are for making her even better at controlling space with her doll or for increasing her Mix-Up options with her doll. For controlling space, the Light Arcana provides very powerful tools for complementing the doll’s abilities, so it is a good choice in that regard. On the other hand, for increasing her offensive power, the Evil Arcana gives Liselotte very potent Extend Force combos and can aid her Mix-Up game by giving her access to teleports for better positioning and tricks.
Yoriko
Yoriko is a strange mid range character whose attacks increase dramatically in strength if she has a moment to activate her talisman. The best Arcana for her increase her overall combat strength while giving her ample coverage to set up her talisman. For this reason, one of her best Arcana choices is the Time Arcana, as it will allow her plenty of time to set up the talisman in the middle of her combos. Another great choice is the Sin Arcana, as the strange projectiles will allow her to control space better on the screen, but also can serve as covering fire to activate her talisman.
Kira
Kira is a grappler type character who can deal massive damage from her Command Throws and aerial resets, but lacks some of the offensive tools that many other characters have. Because Kira is such an unconventional character in Arcana Heart 3, many Arcana choices greatly change how she is played, and it mostly comes down to a stylistic distinction for which Arcana to choose. The Metal Arcana is a good Arcana for Kira because it boosts the damage for many of her combos and complements her Command Throw Mix-Ups. The Evil Arcana is an interesting pick for Kira, as the teleportation abilities of Evil can help Kira approach and also increases her overall offensive abilities.
Fiona
Fiona is a mid range character with powerful, but relatively slow sword attacks. Her play style is incredibly specialized and her Arcana choices help cover up some of her weaknesses that result from this. The abilities of the Lightning Arcana will give Fiona a way to challenge close range fighters to help even up the playing field up close. The Wind Arcana is also a fair choice for Fiona, as the extra mobility will help the relatively slow Fiona maintain proper spacing against any character.
Angelia
Angelia is an unconventional close range fighter with close range projectiles and very different tools from most other fighters of the same category. Choosing an Arcana for Angelia is often choosing a way for Angelia to help control space or for her to make an approach. For this reason, the Light Arcana is one of the best choices for Angelia, as it allows her to control space on the screen and also make an approach once her opponent is forced to block some of the Light Arcana’s attacks. Another good option is the Fire Arcana; it also controls space quite well and increases the damage output of her combos by a great deal.
Petra
Petra is a very powerful character with excellent long range attacks and has some strong tools for fighting up close as well. Because she has so many effective tools, the abilities of her Arcana are usually supplementary and she can be effective with just about any Arcana. Both Love and Flower are extremely effective for her, as their strong, well-balanced nature complements her own versatility. Another good choice for Petra is Tyr, which provides Petra with numerous Extend Force activations which in turn helps her control space and deal more damage.
That’s it for this session! Next time, we’ll talk about the last remaining characters.
