How to Use Burst in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Having been developed by Arc System Works, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax features many of the mechanics we have seen in the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue series, tweaked in such a way that they almost feel like they have always been part of the Persona series even before the release of this excellent fighting game.

Among the mechanics returning from Guilty Gear are the Burst mechanics. Here’s everything you need to know about them.

How to Use Burst in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Learning how to use the Burst mechanics in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is extremely important, as they grant you some very nice advantages and they can also help you get out of some very bad situations.

In the game’s combat interface, you will notice the Burst gauge right below the characters’ health bars. Once this gauge is full, it is possible to Burst by pressing the Y,X and A buttons simultaneously on Nintendo Switch or the X, Y and B buttons on Steam Deck. Depending on when you Burst, however, you will get different effects. After it is depleted, the Burst gauge will take some time to recover fully, around 90 seconds.

• If you Burst while your character isn’t doing anything, you will get a Max Burst, which also known as a Gold Burst. If you hit the opponent with it, you will start refilling your SP automatically and your Burst gauge will be 25% full, instead of completely depleted. Use this Burst only if you are confident you will hit the opponent, as the two other uses are considerably more useful.
• If you Burst while attacking the opponent, you will get a One More! Burst. Once hit by this Burst, the opponent will be launched in the air, allowing you to easily extend your combo and deal more damage. Additionally, this Burst changes the combo scaling, essentially making all your subsequent hits more damaging.
• If you Burst while the opponent is attacking you, you will get a Defensive Burst that will break the opponent’s combo, giving you an extremely strong defensive option that can potentially save you from defeat. Defensive Bursts cannot be used when thrown or if you have been hit by an Instant Kill attack. Additionally, certain attacks can disable Burst entirely, so beware.