Heart Notes

==Heart Breakdown==
Strengths
-Homing gives her a movement option that no other character in the game has
--She has has near infinite movement possibilities in the air because of a combination of neutral homing, directional homing, divekicks, fireballs that stop her momentum in the air, homing cancel, and the ability to steer your homing.
--Back homing gives her a fast, safe, invincible option that's especially dangerous when combined with a good anit air assist
--Homing cancel gives Heart the ability to cancel moves in a game where rc/omc/cs doesn't exist
--Homing cancel lets Heart convert off of pretty much anything
--You can also cancel fireballs on whiff which is something that games with cancel mechanics don't normally let you do
--She can throw fireballs without the risk of getting hit by most full screen supers because of homing cancel
--Can attack at angles that a lot of characters can't deal with. Trying to play a grounded anti air game usually doesn't work against her
--Is basically a threat anywhere on screen. She can cross up grounded opponents with 5C + 9, or fake the crossup with 5C + 8 or just 5C + a button, or homing into land with 5C + 1/2/3 etc.
---Usually at frame advantage after a blocked air to air which lets you go for easy crossunders
--Homing lets you whiff punish pretty much anything since you can fly from one side of the screen to the other lightning fast
--Heart gets a safejump off of pretty much anything. j5C after a knockdown will catch any tech direction.
--When you combine the safejump with an assist it lets you easily set up cross combo pressure and active switch setups
--Sometimes you get unintentional safejumps at neutral with homing depending on your angle and how fast you're moving. You can also go fast enough to beat a lot of anti air normals before the head invincibility kicks in
--You get a fast high/low/throw mixup off of pretty much any homing attempt. For example after a knockdown you can j5C jA for a high, j5C 2/3 2A to land and do a low/throw, or j5C 8/9 jA to delay the timing of the jA etc.
--It's easy to get back in with homing after a pushblock. Most of her normals are jump cancelable so you can easily jump up and homing back in. She's relly good at making the opponent waste meter
--Homing gives you a ton of options and there are a lot more than I can list here
-Her base damage is pretty high. 5AAA>5BBB>236B does like 6k and 214BC does a ton of damage
-Her normals are pretty good despite being kind of short (see normals section in Neutral/General Stratagies)
-Charged 2B, 5B, and 236B all have clash frames.
-2B and 5B can (sort of) reflect fireballs while 236B can be used to completely go through them
-You can get tons of damage off of a counterhit 2[B] (usually from a burst bait)
-She has options at fullscreen with laser/fireballs
--The laser is very fast and 0 on block
--Actually has a decent zoning game if she can get some fireballs out since they're slow moving and she can have multiple ones out at once.
-Fairly good assists and active swtich options
--5P has way more blockstun than it looks like it does. Can lead into very powerful cross combo mixups
--6P completely controls the ground space and can beat out things like Jin's ex ice, Naoto's traps and Mitsuru's ice
--j214B active switch really helps your other character get in
--236B has clash frames even on active switch
-Has an invincible 1 hit full screen super
-Has an invincible air super
--if you hit with just the shock wave then you can combo off of it. Shockwave only is also + on block
-Can combo off of most DHCs because of how quick it is
-Can combo off of 236BC/j236BC in certain situations
-Can combo into and out of DP off of 5BB to lock out bursts mid combo
-Usually gets a full combo off of any counter hit
-j236A and j236C are insanely fast overheads
-Doesn't really need an assist and can play the game just fine on her own

Weaknesses
-No head invincible move so she needs to rely on back homing and assists to anti air
-Clash anti air isn't great
--2[B]'s clash startup is ok but it's pretty easy to make it whiff and eat a big whiff punish.
-Clash loses to lows in this game
--Anti air clash is especially bad against multi hitting air normals since there's no time to clash into a 4A before they land. I guess you could do 214BC on reaction or something though
-Characters with DPs that hit on both sides are kind of hard to deal with
--You can't cross them up to make them DP the wrong way like other characters but you can still stall in the air with fireballs or homing cancel homing to bait it out
-Counter DPs and command grab supers also give Heart trouble since a lot of her offense revolves around getting a knockdown into a safe jump homming setups
-She kind of struggles against characters with long reaching air buttons. The way to deal with Heart homing at you from full screen is to air to air her and big air normals are really good at keeping her out.
--You can kind of deal with this by homing downward to bait them into air to airing you and then approaching them on the ground or jumping up, throwing out fireballs and then approaching them with the fireballs covering you. You can also opt to go for a zoning game instead of approaching since the opponent will most likely be holding up back, giving you time to set up fireballs
-Large anti air assists are hard to navigate around.
-Air moves that have a lot of active frames are also hard to deal with like Ruby buzz saw and Labrys jC
-DP kind of sucks. You'll usually whiff if you try to anti air with it
-Kind of weak anti air game without a good 4P backing her up
--Back homing is her best anti air since you can make jump ins whiff but, unlike a normal anti air, you'll need to open them up somehow after making them whiff. back homing + 4P helps a lot with this so if you're down to just Heart or don't have a good anti air 4P it can be harder to deal with people jumping at you
=Understanding when and where and why to use homing takes some time.
--Unless you're already familiar with Arcana, getting a good grasp on homing takes a lot of trial and error.
--There's almost never one solution to any situation that Heart is in. While that can be a good thing, it might not be obvious what the best solution is at any given time and you could end up second guessing yourself or feel overwhelmed.
--Learning how to use homing well when you have no previous experience with it is like a Street Fighter player learning how to utilize double jumps and airdashes. Or like learning how to use hops, hyper hops, and super jumps in KoF. There's a lot to it
-Her 4P is just ok for an anti air assist
-6P has really long startup and is fairly narrow
-Nine's air teleports make it a tough matchup
-She can't do much without being in the air so if you can somehow keep her on the ground then she doesn't have many options
--Her ground normals aren't terrible but you're not going to be winning the ground game against characters like Mitsuru
-2C sucks as a poke. It dosn't go nearly as far as it looks like it does. Its only use is adding another low in blockstrings and even then it's not really safe against pushblock
-Fireballs have long startup and recovery compared to most fireballs and the air version leaves you in recovery until you land
--You can mitigate this with homing cancel if you need to though
-It can be hard to convert off of air to air jA and other non CH air to air hits especially without meter
-Can be kind of meter heavy if you use a lot of lasers and homing cancels
-You'll probably get a lot of misinputs when trying to do homing especially when first starting out
--j214C, 5C, and directional homing instead of neutral homing are all pretty common


Neutral/General Strategies
-Heart's general gameplan is to use her extreme mobility to bait the opponent into committing to something to try and stop her, and then punishing them for it by putting them into a situation where they have to guess between a whole bunch of safe mixup options
--She does this with homing (jC). There are many different ways to use homing but I'm going to focus on the three most common options
--First off, this applies when both characters are about 1/2 scree to fullscreen away from each other, Heart is in the air, and the opponent is on the ground.
--Your most common option approach option is to use j5C to zip across the screen. If you hold 6 right after you start moving then you'll go even faster.
---If you press jB, right after you start moving from j5C>6, you'll cover a huge downward sloping range
----This works better the higher you are and the farther you are, but ideally you'll want to use this right after doing a super jump since you'll get the height you need to make this effective while not making obvious that you're about to dash in their face like a double jump would
----Keep in mind that the later you press jB the closer you'll be to your opponent when you land. This sounds like a good thing but you'll cover less range since jB will start up later. You also have a better chance of beating out anti air assists the earlier you do jB since you'll be flying at them with a big active hitbox
---You'll want to use j5C>6 kind of like you'd use an airdash. It's good for beating out grounded fireballs, horizontal ground pokes, attacking after avoiding an assist, and is just a great tool for getting in. It's also a good way to get in after the opponent pushblocks
---Like airdashes, this technique loses to anti air normals and most DPs. It's a straightforward approach and it can be beaten in a straightforward way.
----Although sometimes you can get a safejump off of jB since you'll be moving so fast and close to the ground that their DP will whiff if they do it just a little late. Don't rely on this though
--The way to bait anti airs like this is to do j5C into either 1,2,or 3. This will let you land earlier than normal and make their anti airs whiff
---If it's a DP you can just block and punish it. If it's an anti air normal then you can try whiff punishing it with 5A, 5B or 236A depending on how far away they are.
----Even if they block the whiff punish, you'll still get a chance to start some pressure usually
---The startup looks exactly the same as the last technique so it keeps the opponent guessing about how you're going to approach
---A more advanced version is to do j5C>6>1>jA/jB. This more or less accomplishes the same thing but it also makes it look like you're doing something and committing to something when you're really not doing anything at all which can be a very powerful tool
----This also looks even more like j5C>6>jB since you'll be dashing forward initially and throwing out a normal.
----It also lets you land faster since you'll be canceling the downward momentum from the 1 direction into a normal which cancels homing but keep the momentum from homing
--The last option is j5C>9. Use this to fly around and behind them for a crossup
---This will make a lot of anti airs whiff, and make DPs come out on the wrong side. This depends on the anti air and DP though
---Make sure to delay your attack longer than normal so you have time to curve around towards them for the crossup
---You can call an assist just before doing this to go for an assist crossup and set up a sandwich situation
---Mixup between a crossup and non crossup by holding 9 and then switching to 6 or 3, depending on how high/far you are, to stay on the same side
--Your general gameplan against grounded opponents is to mixup between these three options and keep your opponent guessing on how you'll approach
---The problem is, these approach options only really work on a grounded opponent. j5C>6>jB will usually land and whiff, j5C>1 still works just fine but you don't get much from it if they're in the air, and j5C>9 won't cross up if they're in the air

--What you have to do instead is air to air and then mix them up while they land
---j5C>9 will approach them horizontally in an upward curve
---j5C>6 will approach in either a sloped downward line if you're above them and press jA/B early or will curve upward and under them if you're below them and don't attack until later in the homing
---No matter which one you decide to use you can go for a crossunder/Non crossunder/throw/another homing into high/low /whatever after you land.
---Don't forget that jAA has a TON on blockstun. So much that you can do a rising jAA into another, non jump canceled, jA for a frametrap in the air. You'll pretty much always have enough frame advantage to go for a mixup after an air to air. Also jB has a good amount of blockstun too.
---Good air to air and anti air assists make this strategy a bit harder but there are tips on how to deal with that in the weaknesses section

--j7,4,and 1C are all invincible and all have different applications depending on the situation
---j7C is great at roundstart, especially against characters with a fast 5A that you can't challenge and will put you in preblock if you try to upback.
----This combined with a good 4P will avoid the 5A if you timing back homing as soon as possible, (usually) avoid any assist call they may do at round start, and have a hitbox in front and above you with the assist.
-----The assist may also hit their 5A giving you a free combo depending on your 4P and their character
----You don't usually want to use j4/1C in this situation since you'll have to block their 5P and be at a disadvantage right at round start
---j7C is also good for anti air. If you do it against their airdash or jump in then it'll whiff and you'll spring back from the back homing and be able to go for a jA/B of your own.
---This can be baited with a DP when they land but usually, people aren't ready for their jump in to just whiff and don't know what to do in this situation. That being said, if they do start DPing on landing you can cancel your back homing into down back homing to avoid their DP, or do j1C instead to land and block their DP
---Don't forget that you can do jA to fall straight down after j7C if you do it right before you start moving forward
----You fall a little faster if you hold down right before the jA
---j1C is great for baiting out air to airs, especially when combined with a good 4P
----If you do this at a height where you won't land immediately after j1C and your 4P hits then you'll probably go flying up towards the opponent. To prevent this you can whiff a j236A to land can continue the combo on the ground
---j1C can also be used as anti air like j7C but it's not as reliable since if you time it wrong, you'll still need to block the jump in, while you'll avoid the jump in completely with j7C
----If not done at absolute minimum height, you can hold 8 or 9 to stay in the air and do a very low jA. You can also mix this up by landing and doing 2A or go for a throw
-----Basically it's not as safe as j7C but you get better mixup options afterward if you successfully dodge.
-----Keep in mind that you probably won't be avoiding assists with this because of how fast you land
---j4C is kind of a middle ground option between the other two
----It moves you farther back than j7C so if you use it as an anti air it'll take you longer to snap back and get into a range where your jB/A will hit
----It's best used against air to air attempts when you don't have an assist since they'll be moving forward which makes your backwards movement less of an issue, and you'll be able to hit them air to air before they land. Unlike j7C which gives them time to land before you and j1C which may leave you in a bad position even if you do land first

-Some other notes on homing
--Doing a low j5C into 9 and immediately doing jB will give you a shallow curved kind of hop that's good for covering a large amount of space at a different angle than j5C>6
--Back homing will avoid incomings and you can use the j1C mixups mentioned above after you avoid it
---This isn't really reliable anymore because of delayed incoming though
---On their incoming, doing j5C at super/double jump height and straight up wiggling the stick around randomly will make it really difficult to tell how you'll approach
----It might seem dumb but it works. It'll also avoid most characters' incoming



-Normals
--4A is very fast and can work as a quick antiair
--2A is ok for a 2A. It's pretty quick and goes a little farther than average for a 2A  but it's nothing special
--5A also very fast for how far it goes. A good close/mid range poke. All followups are jump cancelable
--5AA pulls the opponent toward you. Can be used to cross up in the corner
--5B goes deceptively far. Good for whiff punishes where 5A won't reach.
---The charged version has clash frames and will wall bounce at full charge.
---The clash frame startup is slower than 2B and 236B so it's better to use those if you're going for clash. However, this leaves you in a better position than a charged 2B so it's pretty good at dealing with people up backing in the corner.
---Good for cross combos with assist + 5[B] > 236B > CC.
---You can bait bursts with the charged version but unlike 2B and 236B you can't do it on reaction. It has to be a hard read
---It can, usually unintentionally, bait bursts that go straight down since it moves Heart forward
---This is where people usually pushblock in a blockstring because of the mixup you get off of 5BB
---This is also a common burst spot because 5BB takes a while to hit and Heart can't act during the startup. You can bait this by going from 5B to 2B and holding 2B if they burst. The combo off 2B is kind of awkward and doesn't less damage than normal though
--5BB gives you a mixup between 5BB j236A/B/C for an overhead or 5BBB for a low.
---If the opponent bursts after you hit them with this then you can back homing to avoid the burst and punish it on reaction.
--2B Is your go to normal if you're trying to clash.
---Despite looking like an antiair, it has no head invincibility.
---Tied for fastest clash startup with 236B
---Non charged counter hit is a pretty good starter since you can combo pretty much anything off of it
---Full charged version leaves you in an airborne state. You can cancel it into air specials/homing
---Amazing for burst baits. You can react to bursts with 2[B] as long as you're not comitted to something else
---Counter hit 2[B] gives you a TON of damage. You can use 2[B]>(whiff 4A)>5[B] etc to get a beefy combo with Heart
----If you have a high damage partner you can tag into them after 2[B] to get even more damage
--jA hits above, below, and behind her. Has a decent amount of active frames and makes for a good air to air or jump in
---It's kind of hard to confirm off of this air to air. jAA is the easiest way but it may not always combo from jA depending on your speed and trajectory
---It has fast startup so you can do this super low to the ground when combined with homing. High low mixup off of a safejump seems to be more ambiguous with this over jB too
--jB is your main air poke. You can easily confirm into a combo on counter hit either with j236C if they're high up or 5A/4A if they're lower to the ground.
---If you don't want to spend meter you can just go for jBB for the knockdown
--jBB is really + on block. If you're homing in with jB you usually want to go into jBB. It can also combo into j236BC
-Specials/Supers
--236A is mostly used as a blockstring ender. You can homing cancel forward into 2A for a low frametrap or neutral homing cancel into jA for an overhead. If you want to go even further you can neutral homing cancel and then land into 2A for a low
---Since homing cancel afterwards is a frametrap, it's DPable. To beat this you can homing cancel into 2[B] or 236B to clash with the DP.
---This move also works as a pretty decent poke since it's fairly fast and gets you a free combo on counter hit
--236B is your main combo ender as it easily leads into the j5C safejump
---You can kind of use it as anti air using its clash frames. If the windup clashes you can go into 4A, if they do an empty jump and block it you can homing cancel or call an assist to get your pressure started, if it goes under then while they're jumping forward then you're out of there, and if the punch part of the move actually hits then you can combo off it with a homing cancel or assist.
---You get a free combo on counter hit, and you can link a 4A if it hits high enough in the air on normal hit
---You can clash through projectiles with this. You won't get a fireball on clash like with 2[B]  or 5[B] but you can do this on reaction to some supers (jin's 236BC) to get a beefy counterhit combo
----You can also throw this out against characters with full screen projectiles as kind of a hail mary. It's pretty risky since the clash frames are only on the windup and it's not great on whiff but you can get a good combo off it if it hits.
--236C is fast and wallbounces but you can't combo off it unless you're in the corner or it's a CH.
---It's ok on roundstart but it's better to save the meter and use 236A instead since you also get a combo off that on CH
--j/214A is a slow fireball that homes in. It's not bad to throw out if you're fullscreen - 3/4ths of the screen away
--j/214B same as 214A but you throw out 3 fireballs. Has much slower startup and recovery
---If your opponent is in a position where they have to block a fireball fullscreen, throw this out. Continuously throwing this out can be really hard for some characters to deal with
---Mixup between this and 214A to throw off their timing
---If you switch to a zoning game then make sure to throw these out just above the ground so you can back homing cancel into the ground on reaction to full screen supers
---Great for active switch while full screen to help your partner get in
---214A/B and C all stop your air momentum which can be good for baiting out anti airs
--j/214C is a fast fullscreen laser. Good for sniping assists at fullscreen and complementing 214A/B zoning.
---It's 0 on block and Heart's 4A is really fast so it can kind of set up a frame trap against characters that don't have anything fast enough to beat 4A
--j236A - Extremely fast overhead but you can't combo off of it unless you hit with a fairy high air to air combo. Even then you can only combo off it with an assist. Good for clutching out a round when they're at low health though
--j236B much slower divekick but it's fairly easy to combo off with a homing cancel or an assist. Good for double overheads after a jump in or an overhead after 5BB. Can be punished if they pushblock 5BB though
---Also leads into a safejump as a combo ender
---Combo into this after an air to air jAA and then follow it up with a homing cancel into a full combo
---Its slow startup makes it decent for some active switch setups
--j236C has the speed of j236A and the hitstun of j236B making it expensive but useful.
---Really good after a safejump for a really fast double overhead. You can combo off this setup without a homing cancel or assist too
---This also option selects 236C which will catch backdash on wakeup but might lose to DP/Super
---You can also combo off it if you're slightly lower in the air than your opponent making it decent for air to air confirms
--236BC full screen punch. It's not as fast as other fullscreen supers and the invincibility doesn't last all the way through but it's decent for what it is.
---You can combo off the non resonance version in the corner if the opponent is at a certain height. This makes it really good for early DHCs
---Speaking of DHCs, this move recovers very fast making a lot of otherwise unsafe DHCs safe. It's also very good for assist + super stuff
---Minor but if an assist hits after the resonance/cc version and they tech out early, you're fully invincible until she finishes her pose
---You usually want to go for this and not 214BC for burst baits since 214BC will usually not get the full animation in that situation and 236BC will do a lot since it's a single hitting super on counter hit
--214BC is your go to super for combo enders. It does a lot of damage and you get a safejump afterwards
---Just make sure you don't try to do it while they're too high up or else you'll get the bad version
---Kind of good out of an anti air clash since the startup is pretty fast
--j236BC is good for getting some damage off of jBB.
---It's invincible so you can bait anti airs but Heart already has a lot of tools for that
---If just the shock wave part hits then it's + on block and you can combo off of it
--222BC starts up in 4 frames. Not very practical but good to know