Combat | Controls Naruto Shippuden: UNS 3 Guide
Last update: 11 May 2016
Knowing the controls is one thing, but to win a fight you need to respond accordingly to whatever is happening on the screen. Note that, although every character has basically the same mechanics, they all vary in speed or range of their attacks, as well as in Awaking modes.
Before you start a fight, you should consider your tactics. There are following bars:
Health bar - This usually stands for 50% of a character's health. When it drops to zero, another bar pops out in its place - that one stands for the remaining half of your health and when it drops to zero too, the fight ends.
Chakra bar - This bar indicates how much chakra you have at the moment. Chakra is useful for activating strong attacks like ninjutsu or chakra dash. Try to keep the bar on high level. Chakra can be charged, but the process leaves you exposed for attacks, so do this carefully.
Guard bar - Indicates how many dodges you have left. Customarily, you can use four dodges in row. Be careful though not to waste them, as they have long cooldown.
Supports bar - Some specific bonuses are granted while this is loading (see "Support" chapter for more information).
Some characters can improve their attacks by switching modes (e.g. Jugo's rocket hands) with right analogue stick. This is risky though, because while in this state you cannot use your support, and also the Chakra bar is continually decreasing. This can be turned on and off at any time, so you should use it right before entering hand-to-hand combat.
Another important thing is to look closely what kind of support your opponent has. If it is Balance, you need to be careful with using Ultimate Jutsu, because this type of support can take a hit for the opponent and you will only waste your chakra. Do you still want to do this? If you do, the opponent will also lose something - one of his supports. If he has only one supporting character, this means that he can use the support one more time (each support can sacrifice himself twice).
If the opponent has Defense type of supports, they can protect him while he is charging chakra. To blast through that defense, you will need to perform an entire combo.
Try to force your opponent to use up as many dodges as possible before you use up yours. This way, after dodging the fourth strike he will start to receive damage, while you will still have some spare guards for dire situations. Let him waste those!
Do not forget to use counter-attacks. Use this when the opponent is blocking - this way you will not only deal him damage, but also knock him down in most cases. While the opponent is laying on the ground, you cannot hurt him. However, you can use the time to charge your chakra bar.
While in combat, do not forget to use items from your set - especially when playing against other players.