YOMI Hustle Basics for Beginners (VERY OUT OF DATE)

A guide covering the basics like Free Cancels, Whiff Cancels, Burst and Directional Influence (DI)

Introduction

This is a very simple guide that is aimed at explaining some of the various mechanics that form the core game play loop of YOMI hustle. This guide is not meant to be exhaustive or explain anything in depth but just provide a starting point for you to experiment with.

Any recommendations for improvement are welcome.

If reading isn't your jam then I've added a link to a good video guide made by another person, https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2933715714

Free Cancels

Underneath your health bar you will see an indicator of how many Free Cancels you have, this is represented by two crosses



These can be used in conjunction with most some but not all moves by toggling the Free button when selecting a move



Using a Free Cancel allows you the opportunity to cancel your selected move into any other move whenever your opponent in next actionable. This allows you to select an move that might take a long time to cover an opponents option and being able to change your mind if they do something else.



In the GIF above you can see that if the Wizard had not Free Cancelled their initial attack the Cowboy would have been able to easily punish it with a High Block, by swapping to a Low Kick they were able to force the Cowboy try and guess what option they would pick.

Importantly though you will only be able to react if your opponent becomes actionable, if they commit to an attack that will hit you before they are actionable you won't have the opportunity to cancel your move.

Finally, Free Cancels regenerate when you get hit or hit your opponent.

There is a lot more depth involved in properly using Free Cancels but they are outside the scope of this guide, play around and experiment and you'll quickly start to see that it opens up the whole game.

Whiff Cancels

Whiff Cancels act much like Free Cancels for the previous section, except that they do not have to be toggled on and instead use your BURST meter. You also do not get access to all your options like you would with a Free Cancel.

When you are in the middle of executing your chosen move and the opponent becomes actionable you will have the option to Whiff Cancel. This can be a good option, especially if you don't have any Free Cancels or simply forgot to select one. However the downside of Whiff Cancels lies in that it uses a large portion of your BURST meter to do (about 75%), BURST will be explained more in the next section.


Importantly as mentioned before, you do not get ALL your options when doing a Whiff Cancel. You will not be able to dodge, move, block or use all your offensive options.

I've included an image below comparing all Wizards normal options VS their options after Whiff Cancelling.

Burst

Once your BURST meter is full (indicated by it saying BURST!!) you will have access to the burst move when you are in hit stun.



By using the burst move when your opponent has hit you, you can break out of a combo early and reset back to neutral where neither you or your opponent have much of an advantage. Doing this will completely empty your BURST meter. This helps reduce the damage you take and forces your opponent to play around the burst move.



However a burst can be parried if an opponent predicts it, this will leave you in the combo without access to burst until your meter fills up. This means your opponent can do very safe combo's leading to massive damage. So while burst is extremely good you should remember it is not 100% safe.



It is also important to remember that Whiff Cancelling from the previous section uses your BURST meter as a resource.

Directional Influence

Directional Influence or 'DI' is found in many fighting games and is an important defensive mechanic that brings depth and strategy into every interaction.

Above your available actions you can find the DI wheel, this is a way to adjust the angle and speed you are knocked back with when you are hit.

• The number at the top represents a multiplier of how much your DI input affects your knock back (this goes up with how large your opponents combo is, giving your choices more affect the more you are hit).
  
• By dragging the blue dot you can choose the angle and strength of the DI you want
  
• The numbers on the right and bottom represent the exact coordinates of the DI you are inputting (this can be useful for high level play or when you have knowledge of a very precise DI to escape a move

Important to note that DI takes affect EVERY time you are hit, meaning your DI can affect your trajectory on multi hit moves like flamewave/chainsaw every single time they hit, significantly changing your trajectory.

By using DI correctly you can escape combos early by preventing them reaching you with a follow up and force your opponent to try and predict your DI to setup any big combos. This also means that bad DI can land you in a situation where your opponent can easily continue a combo.

In this example you can see that by maintaining a neutral DI Wizard is allowing Robot to repeatedly grab them with their 'TRY-CATCH' move and get free damage.



However if Wizard adjusts their DI to down and away from Robot this will affect their trajectory getting safely out of range preventing an easy follow up from Robot (note in this instance Robot can still follow up with vacuum but this is much better for the Wizard than being grabbed again)



It is important to always consider your DI before you are hit, as it only takes affect if it has been set before you are hit. While it can be easier to make DI choices while you are in the middle of a combo, maintaining good DI before your opponent gets a hit is one of your first lines of defence and when done well can keep you out of a combo before it can even begin.

Super Meter and Super Actions

Super meter can be found above your moves and is represented by a bar that shows your current level of Super (0-9) and a pink bar that fills up from a number of things (hitting an opponent, moving towards your opponent, getting hit by an opponent, doing certain attacks or 'hustle')



Super can be used to perform Super actions (usually very powerful options), most of these are character specific but some are available to all characters such as instant cancel and burst cancel (note that burst cancel does not use the super bar but uses your whole burst meter)

The cost of each super varies between moves, the current list is as follows (this might change depending on Ivy Sly)

ALL CHARACTERS

• Instant Cancel - 1

NINJA

• Quick Slash - 1
  
• Caltrops - 3

COWBOY

• Instant Teleport - 1
  
• 1000 Cuts - 3

WIZARD

• Spark Bomb - 1
  
• Orb - 3

ROBOT

• Low Orbit Ion Cannon - 1 (requires LOIC bar to be full)
  
• Magnetize - 2
  
• Kill Process - 3 (note that this uses all your levels and does more damage the more you have, it requires a minimum of 3 though)

Air Options (WIP)

Sadness (WIP)

Hustle (WIP)

[(Communication Banned)]

@M.O LILSLIMCAT, use the '/em' prefix in chat. So for example '/em You'

[M.O LILSLIMCAT]

Question: How do you make your character speak, like in the thumbnail where the your stickman can be seen speaking in the replays?

[(Communication Banned)]

@LoveTrousers, thanks I have no idea how that got in there

[LoveTrousers]

Free Cancels recover both when you get hit or when you hit your opponent.