Yuna (Dissidia 012)/Starter Guide

Yuna

General	Starter Guide	Combos	Strategy	Frame Data
Matchups	Builds	Match Videos	Gallery	Resources

Overview

Yuna is a unique fighter who alternates between close-range and mid-range to poke, attack through higher priority projectiles and keep opponents out of her reach. Understanding her effective ranges and when to counterpoke will be important to succeeding with her.

At a glance:

Disjoints - Heavenly Strike, Sonic Wings, various projectiles and HP attacks with varying coverage allow Yuna to attack outside immediate close-range. HP attacks in neutral can keep out opponents, punish bad movement and call out approaches. Hellfire and Diamond Dust are especially notable for their speed as well. Good EX - Builds EX well and reliably from most of her moves. EX Mode adds extra attacks, changes bravery attack properties and enables a solo combo at a wall. Slightly below average key stats - Base attack, base defense, base power on moves, run speed and dash speed are mediocre, if not below average Relatively weak air dodges - Slow fall speed overall makes her air dodges floatier and Yuna has no effective bravery for clashing with dodge punish attempts without EX Mode. Adamant Chains equip set can make air dodges safer with increased travel distance. Weak anti-zoning - Yuna cannot easily force opponents into her effective range despite having disjoints and long-range projectiles.

Key moves

• Heavenly Strike - Most important midair poke, assist meter building, assist combo starter
• Sonic Wings - Primary melee poke, mid-range tool, whiff punisher, assist combo starter
• Meteor Strike - Grounded melee poke, assist combo starter
• Aerospark - Grounded gap closer, mid priority
• Hellfire - Grounded anti-air, anti-approach, 1-hit HP
• Diamond Dust - Fastest air HP, mixup tool, anti-approach, assist combo ender
• Thor's Hammer - Slower air HP that can cover air dodges and whiffs around Yuna
• Mega Flare - Okizeme / dodge punisher near ground, Yuna's only wall rush HP

Further reading: Bravery attacks and HP attacks.

Strategy

Yuna is capable of fighting up close and in mid-range, but she is not built for high speed offense. Instead, it is recommended to play a bit more defensively and attack just outside of her opponent's effective range with various attacks. The summoned beasts Yuna calls with each attack do not have a hurtbox, but they can be blocked and Yuna will stagger accordingly if they're melee priority.

Heavenly Strike has good reach above Yuna.

Yuna's air moves are better on average, so focus on them first. Use Heavenly Strike BRV to poke for assist combos, quick interruptions and building assist meter. This is particularly useful against opponents who are above Yuna, so check them with this move if they're in that position. It is ranged low though, so dashes and melee priority attacks can beat it. Sonic Wings BRV complements her aerial game as a melee priority mid-range disjoint and as a whiff punisher. It is much slower than Heavenly Strike, but its range can be deceptively long and hits people out of dash who are within reach. Use Sonic Wings to punish missed attacks and contest actions from a distance (including opponents who are below Yuna), but be aware that Yuna can't easily hit with other moves from further away.

Hellfire's coverage on the ground stands out.

Grounded combat is less stellar with relatively slow moves across the board, but it's important to know what to do there as well. Meteor Strike is the melee low poke to quickly fend off or punish opponents. Aerospark is a mid priority gap closer with good 90 EX generation, but it's easier to convert to assist if it staggers a blocking opponent. Use it occasionally to represent a threat from a distance. And lastly, if Yuna is threatened herself, the Hellfire HP is a great anti-air and anti-approach move in general for its speed, which is also difficult to assist punish. It's a 1-hit HP too, good for avoiding EX Revenge checkmates when EX depletion is commonly used in builds.

Yuna's other HP attacks can also be used defensively or to call out the opponent's next action. Diamond Dust (Shiva) is Yuna's fastest air HP at 21 frames, with Kuja assist combo and good EX Force generation on hit. This is a good move to end assist combos with, mix up with Heavenly Strike and call out opponents attacking into Yuna. She remains stationary when using Diamond Dust though, so opponents can still punish her with a well placed dodge. Thor's Hammer HP (Ixion) has good tracking around Yuna, which can be used to catch dodging opponents who may be trying to avoid Diamond Dust pre-emptively. And finally,

Mobility is not Yuna's strong suit, but Multi Air Slide (basic ability) can move her to a better position and create opportunities to punish missed attacks with Sonic Wings BRV. quickmoves and wall jump (basic ability) can also help with positioning. Keep an eye out for these as they can be safer to use; Yuna can only cancel attacks into a dodge, which can get more dangerous for her over time.

The most important thing however, is air dodging carefully. Yuna doesn't fall quickly after an air dodge and her fastest attack (Heavenly Strike) out of it loses to dashing and melee attacks, so do your best to dodge in a direction that makes it harder for the opponent to hit Yuna. Yuna can dodge away or above the opponent, but these are not universal solutions and limit her punishes. Dodging at a different time also helps, and equipping the Adamant Chains set moves Yuna a longer distance with each air dodge. That does mean Yuna will have less room for other things in a build, but builds don't achieve much if the character can't avoid getting hit in the first place.

Building Assist Gauge

Heavenly Strike, Ground Dash / Reverse Ground Dash and Free Air Dash are good ways to build assist gauge. Defending with HP attacks also fills the gauge, but whiffing them should not be the primary method for filling the gauge.

Heavenly Strike > dodge > Heavenly Strike / Sonic Wings / Impulse BRV works as an average rotation of moves.

Impulse is slow and low priority, but when used sparingly from a distance, it can avoid assist meter gain decay without risking a stagger.

Dodge Punishment

Free Air Dash into Heavenly Strike or Diamond Dust can stuff opponent's defensive options if Yuna is close enough to hit after their dodge.

Against air dodges that move around Yuna on the ground, use Hellfire.

Against air dodges that move around Yuna in the air, use Thor's Hammer

Against air dodge (neutral), use Sonic Wings, Diamond Dust or Thor's Hammer.

Against ground dodge (backstep & side), Mega Flare works well.

Against ground dodge (backstep), Energy Ray also works, but it must be used pre-emptively.

Combos

Similiar to Tidus, Yuna's solo combos are generally impractical and she can only land an HP without assist during EX mode.

Instead, Kuja assist will be recommended for combos and general utility. The idea here is pretty simple: Call Kuja with L + Circle ( + ) after getting a wall rush or connecting Heavenly Strike or Sonic Wings halfway through. All Kuja assist combos end with Diamond Dust HP, Sonic Wings or Heavenly Strike. Diamond Dust and Sonic Wings generate good EX on hit, while Heavenly Strike keeps opponents closer to the ground.

Combo	Base Damage	EX Force	Notes	Video
Meteor Strike (1st hit) > Kuja > Assist Chase > Diamond Dust	70 (10, 50, 10)	120 (30 + 90)	-	video
Meteor Strike > Wall Rush > Kuja > Assist Chase > Diamond Dust	90 + BRV Wall Rush (30 + WR, 50, 10)	120 (30, 90)	Basic wall rush combo, for moments when Yuna needs to strike quickly.	video
Heavenly Strike (2 hits) > Kuja > Assist Chase > Diamond Dust	70 (4, 6, 50, 10	120 (30, 90)	Staple air combo without wall rush.	video
Heavenly Strike > WR > Kuja > Assist Chase > Diamond Dust	79 + BRV WR (22 + WR, 47, 10)	120 (30, 90)	Staple air combo with wall rush. If you want to add damage during assist, try first hits of Heavenly Strike or Sonic Wings.	video
Sonic Wings (1st part) > Kuja > Assist Chase > Diamond Dust	~80 (~20, 50, 10)	120 (30, 90)	Staple air combo without wall rush. Good for mid-range punishes. Do not finish Sonic Wings or Kuja won't reach. Damage may vary depending on when Sonic Wings connects.	video
Diamond Dust > Kuja > Assist Chase > Diamond Dust	70 (10, 50, 10)	180 (90 + 90)	With a good read, Diamond Dust also works as a combo starter. With good base BRV recovery in her build, Yuna can deal more damage with another Diamond Dust.	video

Build

Stats
HP	10171
CP	450
BRV	1314
ATK	177
DEF	183
LUK	61
Max Booster	x1.8

Special Effect: None

Equipment
Assist	Kuja
Weapon	Spira's Hope
Hand	Hero's Shield
Head	Royal Crown
Body	Maximillian
Accessory 1	Dismay Shock
Accessory 2	Battle Hammer
Accessory 3	Pre-EX Mode
Accessory 4	Pre-EX Revenge
Accessory 5	Blue Gem
Accessory 6	White Gem
Accessory 7	Tenacious Attacker
Accessory 8	Glutton
Accessory 9	Great Gospel
Accessory 10	Miracle Shoes
Summon	Rubicante

Bravery attacks
Ground	Aerial
Meteor Strike	Heavenly Strike
↑+ Aerospark	↑+ Sonic Wings
	↓+ Impulse
HP attacks
Ground	Aerial
Hellfire	Thor's Hammer
	↑+ Diamond Dust
	↓+ Mega Flare

indicates a "Gear" extra ability or the use of CP / Equipment glitch. The total CP cost will assume the glitch is done.

Actions
Ground Evasion
Midair Evasion
Ground Block
Midair Block
Aerial Recovery
Recovery Attack
Controlled Recovery
Wall Jump
Air Dash
Free Air Dash
Omni Ground Dash
Multi Air Slide
Free Air Dash Boost
Assist Gauge Up Dash
Jump Times Boost+
Ground Evasion Boost
Midair Evasion Boost
Evasion Boost
Descent Speed Boost

Support
Always Target Indicator
EX Core Lock On
Assist Lock On

Extra
Precision Jump
Assist Critical Boost
Disable Counterattack
EXP to HP
Best Dresser

CP
425 / 450

This is a general use hybrid build with meter depletion, constant EX intake, higher base bravery and increased recovery for said bravery. Yuna's HP damage comes from the base bravery and assist critical hits.

25 CP is available for Auto Assist Lock On (support ability), another extra ability, more movement abilities or even Energy Ray.

What to focus on

Yuna isn't a defensive powerhouse, nor is she especially strong at running offense. It is recommended to get comfortable with the range of her attacks and then pay attention to when the opponent likes to get close to her. Learn to use assist off of Heavenly Strike bravery first, as this is the move that will be used the most. Each hit provides plenty of time to visually confirm an assist combo.

Dodging carelessly and using any of her attacks recklessly can end badly, but not getting trigger happy at the first sign of danger is a skill that will help not just with Yuna, but playing Dissidia 012 competitively in general. Do not always dodge immediately after attacking, unless Yuna is always being punished during an attack's recovery. And if you choose to dodge, do not always dodge in the same direction.

Matchups

Sonic Wings reaches far, creates good 90 EX on hit. Goes through projectiles as well.

Yuna can fight against close range characters such as Bartz and Cloud, but many of them can also approach her effectively and shut down her fastest moves. Yuna can hit through Garland's, The Emperor and Ultimecia high priority projectiles with Sonic Wings, but these matchups also challenge Yuna to approach (Ultimecia, Emperor) and maintain blind spots (Garland).

Another thing to look out for is Exdeath and his Maelstrom HP; Yuna has no way to deflect the tornado once it spawns on her, so it is important to stop him from casting it for free. While Yuna has a fast HP attack to work with up close, she can struggle to get close enough to use it reliably.

Since Yuna's movement and damage output is on the weaker side, she can struggle ever so slightly to consistently establish momentum against many high tier characters. That's not to say she is unviable, but she usually requires good defensive fundamentals to succeed at higher levels of play.

Yuna

General	Starter Guide	Combos	Strategy	Frame Data
Matchups	Builds	Match Videos	Gallery	Resources