Pokkén Basics Chapter 3 Part 1 Field Phase Overview

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At this point you know the controls, mechanics, and terminology and concepts of Pokkén. But when you get into a real match and the first round starts… What do you do? I'm going to teach you how to create your own strategies from the ground up, starting with field phase. But first, in order to do that, I'm going to provide a super quick overview of how field phase works and go over a few field specific options.

Table of Contents. Use ctrl+F to navigate to the desired section.

3.1 Ranged Attacks
3.2 Projectile priority
3.3 Homing Attacks
3.4 Field Shortcomings

3.1 Ranged Attacks

Let's start with the Y attacks, which the game calls Ranged Attacks. nYs are linear attacks and they usually only combo on hit from far away, but characters like Chandelure can combo from any distance. They are used for poking at an opponent who is getting too close. sY moves you to the side that you choose. Some characters move farther than others, and the best side Ys are extremely good for lateral movement which I'm going to explain the importance of in the second part of this chapter. fYs are your go to poke when you want to hit the opponent. They go far, and they're generally either safe on block or they push back so much that it's hard or impossible for the opponent to punish. Your opponent can counter or CADC through it usually, but from max distance it's a great option. If you don't know what to do in field, fY is a good choice. Just don't whiff it, because the recovery animations are pretty long. bYs vary a lot and are character specific. Some of them are okay anti airs, but really it's trial and error.

3.2 Projectile Priority

All projectiles, not just normal ranged attacks, but also Pokemon moves have different priorities. This means some projectiles will completely bypass others, some will go through each other, and some will trade and cancel each other out. Shadowcat created a list of projectile priorities, but I don’t know where that spreadsheet is now that Pokkén Arena is offline… You don't have to memorize the entire spreadsheet, but it is important to know how your best projectiles interact with other characters since it will help you decide whether you can zone effectively, or if you have to go on the offensive. More on that in part 2 of this chapter.

3.3 Homing Attacks

X is your Homing Attack. Just like it sounds, it homes in and tracks your opponent. Once you press it, in order to cancel it you need to press block or jump. You can also home to the left or to the right. This increases the startup, but it lets you avoid certain attacks or setups that you wouldn't be able to with normal homing. Homing attacks have 2 or 3 different parts. Meaning the initial hit with X and then either one or two moves after it with XX or XXX. Whether your character has two or three hits of homing, you can charge the last one all the way and that breaks shields and counter pierces. However, the last hit has significant startup so unless you have some sort of a setup it is quite risky to charge the last hit because it can be interrupted. Ideally, you'll want to hit confirm after the first hit of 2 part homings and after the second hit of 3 part homings. The inherent flaw with homing attacks is they have a distinct startup animation that looks different from walking. Meaning, opponents will start charging counter on reaction to it. Because of this, I feel homing is best used for whiff punishing or poking through the end of counter attacks that have been charging for a while already.

One of the best uses for homing attacks is breaking throws. Homing attacks are throw crushes, meaning they beat throws every time instead of getting staggered. And remember how I said you can cancel your homing into block? Well you can break a throw with homing, then press block (or jump) and the opponent will still be in their throw recovery animation. You can then follow up with whatever attack you want. Homing canceling is safer than breaking throws with other attacks or the regular homing because you don't have to commit to a move and you will not get hit if the opponent went for a counter attack. Homing canceling is very low risk and the only real way to beat it is to walk up to the opponent and throw them really late after you anticipate their homing cancel will already be over. This of course is its own risk because you can get thrown waiting for the opponent to make a move. Long story short, if possible when you expect an opponent to throw you, homing cancel it. And if you want to throw someone in field, delay your throw attempt. Personally, I believe shield breaks are a safer and more consistent method of winning field phase than going for a throw.

3.4 Field Phase Shortcomings

There is an overall lack of speed and precision of attacks in field phase. In field phase, the fastest normal attacks are usually way slower than the fastest moves in duel. For instance, Blaziken's fastest normal is 19 frames in field, but 11 frames in duel. When it comes to precision, duel phase gives you pretty complete control over the exact spot you want your limbs to go. In field phase, there are a lot of blind spots. Specifically, most characters don't have a fast move that they can use to hit opponents right on top of their head, meaning many anti airs are quite suspect in field. What this means is field phase emphasizes overall spacing and movement rather than close quarters combat, because you have more control over what you want to do from far away and less speed and precision up close. Also, this lets you abuse certain aerial attacks without fear of being anti aired, so you can take advantage of that.

Now you should have a good understanding of field phase. We went over ranged attacks, projectile priority, homing attacks and homing canceling, as well as some of the limitations of field phase. Chapter 3 part 2 will be field phase strategy building.