Well, some of the Arcana do seem to have some really powerful attributes(Bhanri, Gier), but I've seen pretty much all of them being used in high level play excluding Orichalkos. Certain ones just mesh better with certain characters. The Time Arcana goes well with Lilica but sucks with Heart. Right now, Lightning, Dark, and Time do seem to have a larger following than most of the others though.
Anyways, in the second game , the Arcana actually boost things like defense, homing regen, and attack. My guess is the ones boosting defense will be sought after, but it's impossible to know for sure until we know the properties of their attacks and changes to the overall fighting system. This could either really make high level play possible with any Arcana, or just completely overpower a select few.
Arcana - Attack - Defense (HP) - Homing Regen Rate
Holy +528 atk -1848 def 100% regen
Magnet +/- 0 atk +792 def 90% regen
Ice +264 atk -792 def 95% regen
Mirror -792 atk -792 def 105% regen
Punishment +1056 atk -1320 def 100% regen
Sin +/- 0 atk +528 def 80% regen
Love +/- 0 atk +/- 0 def 100% regen
Lightning +/- 0 atk -1320 def 95% regen
Time -528 atk -1320 def 35% regen
Plant +/- 0 atk -1848 def 100% regen
Earth -528 atk +1056 def 50% regen
Fire +792 atk -792 def 90% regen
Wind -528 atk -1584 def 110% regen
Dark(Gier) -264 atk -1056 def 80% regen
Poison +/- 0 atk -528 def 85% regen
Water -528 atk +/- 0 def 65% regen
Metal +528 atk +528 def 100% regen
Light(Halo) -528 atk -1584 def 105% regen
Nice.. is it coming to consoles soon, or has it just hit the arcade scene?
lol the sword chick, my friend used her on me XD
I hope they gave heart some better options to close distance with.. it felt like once a long range fighter got a certain distance that it was really rough to turn the tide
<3 Aino
I think it'll be a while before Arcana Heart 2 hits the consoles. Even in Japan, it's still arcade only.
As for your Heart vs Fiona predicament, you just have to get over facing Fiona for the first several times. I think everyone runs into problems with her initially, but you'll see she doesn't have that much going for her. Even though this game is pretty balanced, Fiona and Yoriko are widely considered the bottom tier characters in the FULL version. Obviously, Fiona has nice raw damage output, but she seems a little too high risk/medium at best reward and doesn't pressure as well as other characters.
With Heart, you've got to master her instant air dash combos to get her full potential. She has insane combo ability and already deals good damage. I thought Heart was going to play like Ryu or Ken from Street Fighter due to some of her moves, but she is really quite different. Try mastering her instant air dashes and her various clash moves. That girl has some rediculous priority as well.
Here's a video help illustrate. Fiona takes the first round after a really close fight, but the rest of the fight is all Heart.
Yeah, Mildred was nigh-impossible when I first played, but she has a major weakness. She like...never blocks low. Do the standard 2a 2b 2c to air juggle and you can pretty much absolutely stomp her.
http://www.guardcrush.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
You can check there for some combos and general strategy with each character.
Has anyone gone to any tournaments for this game yet? I've been to a couple so far and this game is just too much fun in competitive play.