The tutorial will teach you the basics of the combat controls so play the tutorial. One of the first things you need to know is that you cannot stunlock most enemies in this game so you need to be cautious in combat, especially against bosses. DO NOT run in and just smack the enemy in the face - they will tank through your hits and hit you while you are attacking, dealing more damage to you than you did to them. The effective fighting style in this game is kind of like a "dance." You should hit the enemy once or twice, dodge their attack, punish with a counterattack, dodge again, and so on and so forth. The "rhythm" in combat is like this - hit the enemy, dodge, hit hit, dodge, telekinesis hit into melee follow up, hit, dodge, dodge, hit. When you get the feel for it you will be dancing back and forth with the enemy, so you can hit them, but they can't hit you. You cannot block in this game so you HAVE to get good with your dodge timing.

DO NOT SPAM PSYCHOKINESIS ATTACKS. It is tempting because its fun, but spamming PSY attacks depletes your Energy meter quickly, and the energy meter can only be recharged by hitting the enemy with melee attacks (although in the late game there are other ways). Spamming PSY attacks will quickly deplete your meter and then you wont have any for when you really need it. What I recommend doing is using a PSY attack when the enemy is far away and then follow up with a melee attack to close the distance.

A good strat is to hit the enemy with just one PSY attack at first, then when the enemy attacks, dodge and counter with melee. Use melee to charge your Energy and then when the enemy starts attacking, run away and hit them with PSY attacks at a safe distance, so you won't get hurt.

There are some enemies in this game that have Super-armor that can't be damaged by melee attacks, but can only be broken with PSY attacks. PSY attacks also deal more Crush damage and can stagger enemies.

Pro-tip: there are numerous flying enemies in this game. Flying enemies are super annoying because it's hard to hit them with melee attacks. I recommend using PSY attacks to knock them onto the ground and then hit them with a melee combo attack while they are downed. It may be dishonorable, but honestly kicking your enemy when they are down is the best time to kick them. The hard part is getting them downed in the first place.

Did you know that there are healing items that heal your entire party in SN? Your squad members have their own HP bar and can be KOd in combat, so you should use All Heal items constantly. I recommend stocking up on the Light Jelly (All) healing item and use it whenever your teammates get low. It will really help you in fights because your squadmates keep you alive longer by distracting enemies.

In this game you can choose to play as one of two protagonists. Yuito is a swordsman who fights with fast and strong melee slashes with almost no recovery time. Kasana fights by controlling a
bunch of ninja stars with her mind. Kasane's attacks have long reach and power, but are surprisingly slow because Kasane has to stand still when she is attacking. Personally, I think Yuito is a much better fighter and I enjoy playing as him more. This is for the simple reason that Kasane's attacks are slower and have a longer recovery, which makes it easy for enemies to hit you while you are attacking them. Many times I was in the middle of a combo attack with Kasane when I got hit by a boss and lost over half my health in one hit. Kasane requires you to use a really complicated set of techniques to win, whereas Yuito is just "slash dodge slash haha."

When playing as Yuito, be extremely aggressive and try to flank the enemy to stay at their side or back. Most enemies can only attack in front of them so take advantage of Yuito's speed to constantly run circles around enemies and hit them in their weak points. He is very simple and straightforward to play. I recommend getting his Charge Attack unique skill early. Charge Attack is hard to land in regular combat, but the way to use it is to wait until the enemy is stunned, and then take advantage of that time to charge the attack and hit them for massive damage.

When playing as Kasane, you have to play more defensively. Stay at a distance from the enemy and hit them once or twice, then run around the enemy's side to stay out of their attack range. Her attacks have long animations and cannot be animation cancelled, which means that if you are in range of an enemy attack when you attack, you are in danger. Kasane has a significant advantage over Yuito however in that she can perform air combos to "juggle" enemies in the air. Press jump and attack buttons at the same time to perform the rising attack, which will knock the enemy into the air and lift Kasane up with them. You can then perform several attacks in midair, and while the enemy is in the air, they are stunlocked and can't do anything! The way to play Kasane is to abuse the crap out of this tactic to keep the enemy in a long combination of attacks in the air while they are helplessly stunlocked.

An advanced technique you will need for the late game is the Dodge Counter. Dodge Counters are performed when you press the dodge button just before the enemy attack is going to hit you, and perform a Perfect Dodge which makes you invulnerable to damage for a second. The screen will go slow-motion if you pull it off right, which is how you know it worked. While the screen is in slo-mo press the regular attack button and you will do a Dodge Counter that does massive damage and will stun the enemy briefly. This can even stun bosses, so if you can consistently pull of Dodge Counters, you can turn around a fight in an instant and render your enemy helpless! It's important to note that the Clairvoyance SAS ability (Tsugumi's power) makes it a lot easier to pull off a Perfect Dodge and counter. I think that Kasane's Dodge Counter is better because it has longer range. I also think her dodges are slightly faster.

The SAS system allows you to temporarily borrow the superpowers of one of your teammates to boost your own combat ability. You should not spam these abilities, but wait until you need them, then activate them, and turn them off when you don't need them anymore so you can recharge. I'm going to run through them and give a brief explanation. Something you need to know is that there is a skill in the skill tree that allows you to use more than one superpower at the same time. You need to get this skill as soon as possible because it opens up so many more techniques/tactics you can use in battle. The trick to winning this game is to use SAS powers to counter whatever your enemy is doing. Using the right power with the right timing is the key to victory, just as much as your melee combat skill.

PYROKINESIS - A simple ability that just adds a fire effect to ALL your attacks, including PSY attacks, for a straight damage increase. It also has a chance to set the enemy on fire, which damages them over time. It's just a straight buff so it doesn't need much explanation.

ELECTROKINESIS - It works exactly the same way as Pyrokinesis except with electricity instead of fire and instead of Burn it applies Stun. It's overpowered so you should abuse it as much as possible. It has a special technique for Kasane you can unlock by increasing your Bond level with Shiden, called Electric Circle. Electric Circle is hilariously overpowered and does double the damage of your regular attacks in the same amount of time. It's honestly so broken it should be nerfed.

DUPLICATION - Gives you a "shadow clone" that does half the damage you do, essentially increasing your melee damage by 50%. It also causes duplicates of every object you throw at enemies with PSY. It's easily among the best powers. It also can be used with Electrokinesis/Pyrokinesis at the same time for an INSANE damage increase on all your attacks. It is especially good for reducing your enemies' crush gauge, so you can instakill them by hitting them with cars and them executing them with your finisher attack.

SCLEROKINESIS - Makes your skin harder than steel, causing you to be completely invulnerable to damage for a limited time. Getting hit by attacks reduces the time left in the gauge. This is the best power in the game. I recommend using it as a block button - when the enemy attacks you, turn on Sclero, and when the attack bounces off your hard body, turn it off so it can recharge. This is what I did to beat the final boss. I strongly recommend using this at the same time as Electro or Pyro so you can hit the enemy with a long combo attack for massive damage without being interrupted.

CLAIRVOYANCE - Slows down time slightly, reveals invisible enemies, and greatly extends the window to perform a Perfect Dodge Counter. It is arguably the strongest power in the game when used correctly, but is underrated because it requires skill to use. The reason this power is so good is because you can abuse it to counter the enemy over and over again, making it impossible for the enemy to hit you. It really shines in boss fights, especially against the final boss, who is terrifyingly strong and can kill you in 3 hits.

INVISIBILITY - Is most useful in boss fights and against the annoying jack in the box enemies. Using this power is easy - just go invisible, run behind the enemy, hold the charge attack button and release to backstab the enemy. Personally I used Invisibility as a defensive power. When I HP gets low, I turn invisible, run away and heal while the enemies can't see me, then go back to the fight when I'm healed. This has saved me many times.

HYPERVELOCITY - Gives you super-speed, which in gameplay translates to time slowing down for everyone else while you (and Arashi) move normally. It is most useful for dodging enemy attacks or closing the distance with annoying enemies that dodge a lot. It has a very short duration, you can only use it for a few seconds. For this reason I wait until the enemy is attacking, toggle it on, dodge the attack and get behind them, then toggle it off to recharge.

TELEPORTATION - Whenever you dodge you instantly change location, which makes evading enemy attacks much easier. It also causes you to instantly teleport to your target when you attack, making it easier to land attacks. It's very good. Teleport is most useful in boss fights where you really need to evade attacks, since strong bosses can kill you in seconds.

In Scarlet Nexus you have many squadmates who can fight alongside you in battle. This may hurt to admit, but not all people are equal in ability, and some squadmates are much stronger than others in battle. Here I will be ranking the squadmates in their usefulness WHEN FIGHTING. This is not an assessment of their powers, but of their utility as squadmates in combat. You are free to disagree with this.

1. Gemma Garrison

He is easily the strongest fighter of all of them in my opinion, except maybe Yuito. He has literally no weaknesses. His attacks are strong, his defense is unparalleled, he almost never gets downed in combat, he has high HP, he is a walking tank that can punch a hole through your chest, Gemma is the Gigachad of Scarlet Nexus. He also uses his power on himself automatically at low health making himself invincible for a few seconds, so he's perfect for distracting the enemy. You should try to always have him in your active squad if you can because this absolute beast will punch his way through everything that opposes you.

2. Yuito Sumeragi

This isn't really a story spoiler, but you can get Yuito in your squad as an NPC in the late game if you play as Kasane. He is crazy good. He has higher DPS than Gemma and is faster, but has much lower durability. Yuito has no weaknesses really. He's strong, he's fast, he's tough, he has a strong superpower, and he can buff your own PSY abilities.

3. Shiden Ritter

I am reluctant to compliment Shiden because he is such a jerk, but he is honestly one of the best squadmates. He has no major weaknesses and rarely gets downed. His melee damage is meh, but he can shoot lightning bolts out of his body that do massive damage AND stun enemies. He's very very strong. In Kasane's early game he will probably be your best squadmate.

4. Kyoka Eden

Kyoka gets 4th place because of her support abilities rather than raw power. She does not have exceptional DPS, durability, or speed, but more than compensates for this with her accurate ranged attacks. Kyoka is a very different type of fighter because she runs circles around enemies, shooting them with arrows while avoiding getting hit herself. Because she keeps a safe distance, she is actually has the best survivability of any of the squad other than Gemma, because she is so good at dodging that enemies almost never land a hit on her. This makes her really good in boss fights. Kyoka is perfect for distracting enemies with her annoying ranges attacks while you focus on killing. Also, if you have a high bond level with Kyoka and you die in combat, she can actually bring you back to life once without having to start over from the previous save. She's a better mom than my mom tbh.

5. Hanabi Ichijo

Hanabi has great attack and speed but mediocre defense. She needs to be healed constantly because her small body can't take a hit well. If you heal your squadmates a lot like I do, then she can be very good because of her DPS, but she's so darn fragile that I can't justify using her over someone more tanky like Shiden. I only used her when I had no better options.

6. Luka Travers

Luka is good but not great. I find it annoying how the game tells us that he's a Septentrion who is super duper good at fighting, but in gameplay he's kinda meh, so there's a major inconsistency between lore and gameplay. His advantage is that he is technically the fastest squadmember in the game because he can "instantly" dodge and attack with teleportation. His damage is nice but nothing special. He also dies pretty fast. Almost every time I used Luka in a fight in the late game he got downed. I always kept him on the bench until there was nobody better to use.

7. Kasane Randall

When you're playing as Kasane, she's much stronger than she is as a squadmate. This is because, to put it bluntly, the AI for NPCs in this game is mediocre and she doesn't know how to use her powers effectively. Kasane has low durability and also doesn't dodge as well as Kyoka. She tends to get stuck in an attack animation, gets hit while attacking, then gets KOd without accomplishing much. You can just skip her.

8. Kagero Donne

He's pretty useless in a battle because he just hides like a coward while doing very little. Kagero's "fighting style" is basically this: he turns invisible, runs behind the enemy to backstab them for a tiny bit of damage, then runs away. He barely does anything and also does not serve as a good distraction, because he's invisible.

9. Arashi Spring

She's really bad because she's a glass cannon without the cannon part. Whenever I used Arashi in a boss fight, she would run right at the enemy, get smacked in the face twice and die, then I would have to risk my own life going to revive her. She's just useless because she's a glass cannon who doesn't do any good damage before getting KOd. Third string material.

10. Tsugumi Nazar

Her power is the only useful thing she has. Tsugumi has no combat prowess and no ability to deal damage. You would think that the only gun user in the game would have good ranged damage, but no, her revolver is about as lethal as a Nerf gun. She does nothing and then gets killed. Keep her out of combat unless literally everyone else is already downed.

That's all for my beginner's guide. I'm trying to keep this short so I don't bore you. I hope this guide will be helpful to you!