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#05 · Heavy body

Leona

The Radiant Dawn

Armored shield tank who banks meter on defenseResource: SunlightDifficulty

A heavy sword-and-shield tank who gets stronger by being attacked. Blocking, armoring through hits, and landing her shield bashes all fill Sunlight, which opens her Solar Flare field and powers her Skybound. Pick her if you like winning turns with armor and a stun bash, then cashing the bar into huge field routes.

Strengths

  • +Armor on most of her specials (`214M/H`, `236H`, `623M/H`, `22H`)
  • +`5U` bash stuns: very plus on hit, and it banks Sunlight even on block
  • +Eclipse and the Solar guard cut incoming damage while they're up
  • +Three special-to-special chains past the one-special-per-leg rule
  • +The field route into Skybound is one of the biggest in the game

Weaknesses

  • −Heavy and slow. One slow air dash, and Zenith Blade is her only fast approach
  • −Armor loses to lows and throws, so sweeps and grabs beat her rises
  • −No invulnerable reversal; `623` is an armored rise, not a DP
  • −Sunlight only builds from defense and her own shield pieces, so the field isn't always available
  • −Most specials are minus on block

Unique mechanic

Sunlight

A personal 0-100 bar that fills when she blocks, absorbs a hit with armor, or lands her shield bashes and chains; at 50 it opens the Solar Flare field, and Skybound dumps the whole bar as bonus damage.

Overview

Leona is a heavy shield tank whose defense is her offense. Her Sunlight bar fills when she guards, when her armor eats a hit, and when her shield pieces connect. Plain strings bank none. The bar pays three ways: it's the key to her Solar Flare field (22), it's bonus damage on Skybound, and the field unlocks extra cancels for her longest routes.

Her tools:

  • Shield of Daybreak (5U, 623): a bash that stuns and a rising bash with armor.
  • Zenith Blade (6U, 236): the sword-dash leash that drags her in.
  • Eclipse (2U, 214): a shield that cuts incoming damage while it's up.

She's big, slow, and has no reversal, so she wins by blocking, stealing a turn with armor or 5U, and making every touch count.

Gameplan

Neutral

  • She's slow on the ground and in the air. 236M / 236H are her approach: they lunge her across the screen, and 236H has armor through the dash.
  • 6U is the short leash. It covers the gap after a blocked 5H or 5U and special-cancels into anything.
  • Block. Every guard banks Sunlight, and an instant block banks almost twice as much. Against pressure-heavy characters the bar fills itself.
  • An armored 214M or 623M through a predictable poke wins the exchange and banks Sunlight for the absorb.

Offense

  • Her turn-stealer is 5U. It's very plus on hit (enough to link 2H for a launch) and only slightly minus on block, and it banks Sunlight either way. 5L 5M 5U is the core pressure string.
  • From 5U or 2U, cancel into 6U, 214M/214H, or any special. Neither cancels back into 5U.
  • 214M/214H hold the shield through your own pressure, then bridge into 236L/236M/236H on hit or block. That's her main offensive chain: hold the shield, then leash off it.
  • A landed 236M or 236H leaves her Solar guard up for a second, so the pressure right after it takes reduced damage.
  • Once Sunlight hits 50, plant 22M on a knockdown or a safe gap. While it burns, her 623M/623H can extend into another special (see Unique Mechanic).

Defense

  • No invulnerable reversal. Her wakeup options are an armored move (214M, 623M) or holding Eclipse and blocking.
  • Armor loses to lows and throws. A sweep or grab beats any of her rises, so don't armor through a meaty 3H or a throw read.
  • 2U or any 214M/H/EX starts Eclipse: for 2 s she takes 55% damage from strikes. Throws ignore it.
  • After an instant block, 5U into 236H is how she takes the turn back.
  • Burst is the corner exit. With her slow movement, a corner she can't armor out of usually costs her the Burst.

Unique Mechanic

Sunlight (the bar)

  • 0 to 100, resets each round. It only fills from:
SourceSunlight
Blocking a hit+8
Instant blocking a hit+14
Armor absorbing a hit+12
5U connects (hit or block)+10
623M connects (hit or block)+12
623H / 623EX connects (hit or block)+25
2U or 214L hits+8
First hit of a chain (214M/H into 236, or 214L into 623)+20
  • Whiffs and ordinary normals bank nothing. 5L 5M 5U 214L 623M banks exactly 50, so the field is open on the knockdown.

Eclipse and the Solar guard (damage reduction)

  • Eclipse: 2U, 214M, 214H, and 214EX put it up for 2 s as they start. 214L doesn't.
  • Solar guard:
  • While either is up, strikes deal 55% damage to her. Throws skip it entirely. It's a damage cut, not armor: she still takes the hitstun.
  • Her HUD lamp and the gold bubble on her body show when she's guarded.

Armor

Solar Flare (the field, 22)

  • Refused below 50 Sunlight, and only one sun can burn at a time.
  • 22L, 22M, and 22H spend 50 Sunlight. 22EX costs 50 Style instead and keeps the bar.
  • She plants a sigil in front of her. After a short delay it erupts as the hit. The heavier the version, the later and farther out the eruption.
  • The sun burns for 3 s after the plant.

Her chains (past the one-special rule)

  • Eclipse bridge: 214M or 214H into 236L/M/H, on hit or block.
  • Low rise: 214L into 623L/M/H, on hit.
  • Sun extension: 623M or 623H into 236L/M/H or 214M/H, on hit, only while a Solar Flare field is burning.
  • Each chain still uses up the special cancel, so they don't loop. The first two bank +20 Sunlight on the chained hit.

Combo Notes

  • Bash into the leash (bread and butter): 5L 5M 5U 6U 623H. Meterless, banks Sunlight twice, and leaves her well ahead.
  • Stun launch: 5L 5M 5U 2H jc j.L j.M j.H. 5U's stun lets 2H link, and j.U can end the air chain instead of j.H.
  • Eclipse bridge: 5L 5M 5H 214M 236H, cashed into 623EX with 50 Style. Off the stun, use 5L 5M 5U 214H 236H 623EX.
  • Low starter: 2L 2M 214L 623M (the low rise), or 2L 2M 2U 214M 236H (the bridge, ends with the Solar guard up).
  • The Sunlight opener: 5L 5M 5U 214L 623M banks exactly 50, so you can plant 22 on the knockdown.
  • Air slam legs:
    • 5L 5M 5H 2H jc j.L j.M j.H j.U knocks down.
    • The OTG 5L opens a second leg: 5L 5M 5U 6U 623H (3352, meterless), or 5L 5M 5H 214M 236H.
  • Zenith pin (50 Style): 5L 5M 5H 236EX, then a full fresh 5L 5M 5H 2H jc j.L j.M j.H j.U.
  • Field routes (50 Sunlight):
    • Open with 22M, walk the eruption into 5L 5M 5H 623H, then extend while the sun burns: 236H, 214H, or 214M 236EX.
    • With 100 Style: 22M 5L 5M 5H 623H 214H Skybound is her biggest route at 4561.
  • Supers:
    • Skybound cashes off 214M, 236M, or 623H.
    • Awakening at the end of the air slam legs route (... j.U 5L 5M 5U 6U 623H) is her biggest route without a field.
    • The more Sunlight you have, the more Skybound pays.
  • Style Cancel: 5L 5M 5H 236M SC 5L 5M 5H 236H 623EX buys a second Zenith.
  • Style Dash: SDC8 or SDC6 after a launching special (623H, 236H) keeps the leg going when you've already spent the special cancel.
  • Autocombo: mashing L walks 5L 5M 5H 236M, then Skybound at 100 Style or 236EX at 50. The field is never in the auto: it needs Sunlight you only build on defense.

Key Moves

Generated from the kit data.

Fastest button5L 5f
Lows2L 6f2M 9f2U 9f3H 13f214L 6f
Safest specials on block236L 9f · -4236M 12f · -6214M 10f · -7