Yoshimitsu
Yoshimitsu's infamous signature move. Soul Stealer (aka Flash) is a blazing fast i6 startup mid attack that allows him to punish normally safe moves and act as an effective and frustrating panic button.
Unorthodox stance-based defensive
Yoshimitsu is an extremely unorthodox stance-based defensive character. He is easily the most idiosyncratic character in the roster, with weird stances like Flea or Manji Dragonfly, a lot of spinning around, and the ability to rob his opponents blind with various rule-breaking tools. His movelist is a double edged sword - confusing and unintuitive for the straight-laced, and an infinite color palette for the clinically insane. Yoshimitsu's tools allow him to dictate the pace of the match at will. His Soul Stealer (1+4) is the fastest mid attack in the game and allows him to interrupt normally uninterruptible strings, punish normally safe moves, and is in general a very effective and frustrating panic button. A passive opponent is open to being hit by his Samurai Cutter, an unblockable low launcher, or mixed up with a myriad of stance options. Unrelenting pressure can be further stuffed with his Spinning Evade (b3/b4) or Flashing Steel (cd2), a fast tracking mid CH launcher with a low profile. Plenty of Yoshimitsu's tools allow him to toy with his opponent to set up weird but lethal situations, forcing them to constantly respond to whatever he's doing. Yoshimitsu is difficult to play in a straightforward manner due to his below-average generic tools, underwhelming lows, and comparatively worse pressure, necessitating leaning into his unconventional tools to get the most out of him, which can be difficult to get the hang of effectively, requiring in-depth match-up knowledge, experience, and situational awareness.
Yoshimitsu's infamous signature move. Soul Stealer (aka Flash) is a blazing fast i6 startup mid attack that allows him to punish normally safe moves and act as an effective and frustrating panic button.
Yoshimitsu's defensive options, while being very strong, are also very unsafe. Stances, mixups, and pressure tools, are quite risky, and are often prone to being ducked, launched, or floated.
Stances
- DGF (Manji Dragonfly) – 1SS.u+1+2
- FLE (Flea) – 1SS.d+1+2
- IND (Indian Stance) – d+3+4
- KIN (Kincho) – 1+2
- MED (Meditation) – 3+4
Heat Smash
Mid, i18~19, +4
- Can perform powered up NSS moves in 1SS.
Strengths
- Soul Stealer (Flash)
Yoshimitsu's infamous signature move. Soul Stealer (aka Flash) is a blazing fast i6 startup mid attack that allows him to punish normally safe moves and act as an effective and frustrating panic button.
- Defensive Options
Access to a wide array of very effective defensive options in order to make your opponent terrified of ever pressing a button.
- Usable Unblockables
Unusual amount of usable unblockables, most notably Sword Windmill, Seppuku, Poison Breath, and the infamous Samurai Cutter, an unblockable low launcher.
- Strong Okizeme
Yoshimitsu has access to some of the strongest Okizeme setups in the game thanks to very good OTG moves and the ability to catch your opponents getting up with unblockable attacks.
- Irritating Keepout
Meditation cancel, safe long-range power mids, and his notoriously annoying Poison Breath, all make it difficult for opponents to close the distance.
- Infinite Options
With 7 stances and over 200 moves of varying weirdness, Yoshimitsu's toolkit is so vast and unconventional that it becomes a huge boon if mastered. Even the most dedicated of opponents can be confused by hundreds of potential setups and situations.
Can commit seppuku.
Weaknesses
- Stop Hitting Yourself
Yoshimitsu's defensive options, while being very strong, are also very unsafe. Stances, mixups, and pressure tools, are quite risky, and are often prone to being ducked, launched, or floated.
- Subpar Pressure
Most pokes either end his turn, or don't give enough advantage on hit. Most of his pressure isn't real and involves conditioning the opponent not to press via defensive options or string extensions, requiring successive correct guesses to enforce pressure.
- Requires Knowledge
Being a defensive character in a very offensive game, on top of having a 30-year old movelist, weird moves, ambiguous offense, and dozens of setups and matchup-specific interactions, he can be overwhelming to pick up and learn.
- Bad Movement
His below average backdash and medicore sidestep force him to lean more on his strong but unsafe defensive tools.
- Weak Lows
His best lows are either locked behind stance or serviceable at best, and he lacks the ability to generate any kind of real pressure from a low.
Can commit seppuku.
Moves to learn first
Signature and situational picks come from the guide; the fastest launcher and best unpunishable poke are derived from this character's own frame data.
- Signature→→R1✕
f,f,F+3
Manji Kick
- Signature↗✕
uf+3
Rising Knee
- LauncherNSS□○
i8 · 20 dmg · -20 on block
Soul Stealer
- Launcher↘△
i15 · 13 dmg · -7 on block
Basic Uppercut
- Launcher↗✕
i15 · 15 dmg · -13 on block
Rising Knee
- Wall splat→·↓↘△
i14 · 20 dmg · -13 on block
Flashing Steel
- Wall splat↓□△
i25 · 12 dmg · -4 on block
Door Knocker to Back Knuckle
- Counter-hit launcherNSS△□○
high, situational
- Counter-hit launcher→·↓↘△
i14 · 20 dmg · -13 on block
Flashing Steel
- Heat engager✕□
i22 · 12 dmg · +7 on block
Enma's Flame
- Heat engager→□△
i20 · 23 dmg · -12 on block
Kuzuryu
- Heat engager←△△
i22 · 12 dmg · -9 on block
Oma Kugiuchi
- Fastest launcher↓□○L1□
i1 · 60 dmg
- Safe on blockHeat△✕
i18 · 51 dmg · +4 on block
Divine Sword Kagekiyo
Missing generics: {{Plainlist| * 1SS.d+1 * d+2 * d+3 * uf,n,4
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