My Hero One’s Justice 2 can seem a bit daunting when you pick the game up as there’s no real tutorial save for a few missions in the story mode where you learn what all the buttons do. No, you’re generally on your own learning the ins and outs of every character, the way they work, their strengths, their combos, and their weaknesses.
And despite the fact that the game is very similar to the original, there’s still a lot the game doesn’t tell you. In that spirit, this guide is meant to collect all these necessary strategies in one place. Think of it as one of Midoriya’s notebooks!
By the end of this My Hero One’s Justice 2 beginner’s guide, you’ll have all the strategies necessary for taking your game online and competing.
Getting Started
My Hero One’s Justice 2 operates like many 3D arena fighters, in the spirit of Pokken Tournament, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, and, to be honest, many other Bandai Namco titles. The underpinning of the entire fighting system is an attack triangle mechanic that you must master in order to keep from being absolutely stomped at close range.
Every character has normal attacks, counter attacks that turn your character yellow, and unblockable attacks that turn your character red. Your target combo will always be comprised of normal attacks, while quirk attacks can sometimes be either counters or unblockables depending on the character.
The Attack Triangle
Normal attacks interrupt unblockable attacks Unblockable attacks and throws interrupt counters Counters are effective against normal attacks
Of course, you can guard against counters and normal attacks, but guarding too much leaves you open to mind games and mixups. It’s usually best, when someone commits to an attack with a long startup animation like a counter or an unblockable, to punish them for it by launching a combo of your own, especially since combos in My Hero One’s Justice 2 can routinely eat up 1/3 of a player’s health bar. It’s just not optimal to sit in guard when you could be on the attack.
That said, unless you’re using a character who has very few projectile options or has very safe approach options (like Kirishima’s super armor, or to a lesser extent, Mirio’s attacks that take advantage of his quirk) you won’t want to be the person that closes the distance unless you’re doing it while your opponent is in hit-stun.
Optimal Strategies for Zoners
The current online competitive meta for My Hero One’s Justice 2 revolves around mid-range zoning and projectile spam, since it’s the easiest way to win against newbies.
If you’re using a projectile-based character, know that in almost every case, a projectile hit can be followed up with a dash that brings you in range for a target combo, meaning that it’s feasible to start a huge combo even when you’re at range, especially if you’re playing as a character like Kyoka Jiro or Denki Kaminari who can stunlock folks with their projectiles.
Once you’ve closed the gap that way, launch into the combo of your choice, making sure to hold that dash button whenever you knock your opponent out of range to extend the combo. When the combo is over, don’t rush in again, just rinse and repeat. Keep poking away with projectiles until you feel comfortable starting another combo, ideally one that can lead to a wall stun.
If you’re battling a melee character, just remember your sidekicks! If you have good timing, you can break out of almost any combo with a little help from your friends.
Optimal Strategies for Melee Fighters
Whether you prefer characters like All Might or Muscular, or simply want to get up in your opponent’s face, there are plenty of ways of dealing with projectile spam in My Hero One’s Justice 2.
Most projectiles in the game, with the notable exception of Shishikura’s meatball missiles, don’t actively heat-seek the opponent, so as long as you’re closing distance while spiraling towards them, you’ll be relatively okay. Jump and dash often, and take advantage of your opponent’s cooldown periods to charge in. Don’t be afraid to guard against bigger projectiles either, and be willing to expend some meter to dash out of your guard.
Once you’ve closed the distance, you’ll really want to play it smart. Most of the time, your online opponent will try to open the brawl with a counter or a throw, so be ready and watch for the color. React accordingly, and if you can, use that punish to start a combo of your own.
Again, it’s important to rush your opponent down with the dash move as much as you can during a combo, especially because as a melee-focused fighter, you want to stay on your opponent and not give them an inch even after the combo finishes. Try to force them into a corner and not give them anywhere to go and you’ll be fine.
Final Tips
Regardless of your playing style, if your character has a chargeable quirk move, you will need to make it a priority to charge it all the time. Not only does it give you more offensive options, but it also gives you a huge opportunity to play mind games if you pocket the charge for a while and let your opponent forget the ace up your sleeve.
As with any other fighting game, the best thing you can do to get good at My Hero One’s Justice 2 is just spending a bunch of time in practice mode, seeing which moves cancel into which other moves, maximizing the damage potential of each of the combos you’ll have up your sleeve.
In addition, given the fact that the Plus Ultra move input is so simple, you’ll really want to be ending every combo you can with a powerful finishing move. Practice the timing in single-player mode, and you’ll be ready for anything that online play can throw at you.
