Yo-Kai Watch 2 brings a bigger and better story to the Yo-Kai Watch franchise and the battle system has also been updated.
While the battle system is relatively the same as the first game, there are some new things you can do to increase the amount of strategy you can implement in each fight. And while things like Tribes and Attitudes aren’t really explained that well, the interface of battles helps you more than it did in the Yo-Kai Watch.
We compiled this Yo-Kai Watch 2 battle guide to go in-depth into how battles work, what each Tribe excels at and how Yo-kai Attitudes affect battles.
BASICS
Once you go into battle you’ll see four tabs on the bottom 3DS screen. These tabs are SOULTIMATE, TARGET, ITEMS and PURIFY.
SOULTIMATE is your Yo-kai’s special attack and the only order you can give to your Yo-kai in battle. Once a battle starts, all of your Yo-kai will have their spirit gauge full and you can perform your SOULTIMATE.
When it’s activated, you’ll have one of four mini-games proc in your lower screen. Either spin the stylus until the gauge is full, or tap on the floating coins or trace the symbols using your stylus. A new mini-game involves using your stylus to move the hands of a clock to the highlighted number until the gauge is full.
The spirit gauge will fill up on its own as the battle goes on, but to fill it up more quickly you can either use an item to fill it or attack an enemy Yo-kai that is inspirited.
TARGET does just that, target which Yo-kai you want to focus your attacks on. This makes it easier to knock down one enemy at a time. Or in the case of boss battles, you’ll use this to focus your attacks on a specific weak point.
You can also use this to target a wandering wisp. You’ll see this wisp as it goes across the screen. Once you target it, the wisp will go away and give you items and more experience.
In Yo-Kai Watch 2 , the Target action actually shows players two new things: what elements that specific Yo-kai is weak to and what kind of food they like (to make befriending them easier).
We’ll get to Element types in a bit, but you can use the Target function to figure it out more easily.
ITEMS are pretty self-explanatory. You can use items to recover health and spirit during battle, but once you use it you’ll have to wait a few seconds before you can use another item. You can also use items before a battle begins, like using food on an enemy to make them friendly towards you or using an item to run away.
PURIFY is used when one of your Yo-kai is inspirited by an enemy. You’ll see this as a giant X displayed on your Yo-kai’s slot in the bottom screen. When this happens, rotate the wheel until the inspirited Yo-kai is in your back three and then press PURIFY.
Like the SOULTIMATE, a mini-game will appear that will help your Yo-kai overcome the inspiriting. This also gives extra experience.
MODEL ZERO is the newest function added in Yo-Kai Watch 2 . It won’t appear until you get into the story but once you have it, your Yo-kai Watch will be upgraded to the Model Zero. Tap the Zero Button in the middle of the wheel, which changes Soultimate to M Skill and Target changes to Poke.
M Skill will make your Yo-kai’s Soultimate more powerful. Once you activate it, the selected Yo-kai will actually absorb the Soul Meters of adjacent Yo-kai.
Players can use Poke on loafing and inspirited foes. This will have varying effects and if you Poke a weak point at the right time, it can give you an edge in battle.
STATS/ABILITIES
With the basics out the way, let’s get into the individual Yo-kai. The first aspect you’ll want to check out are the Yo-kai’s stats.
There are four stats that determine your Yo-kai’s power and that is STRENGTH, SPIRIT, DEFENSE and SPEED.
STRENGTH determines how strong your Yo-kai’s normal attack is. This is usually a physical punch, kick, slap etc..
SPIRIT is how strong your Yo-kai’s technique is. This is usually the elemental attack that your Yo-kai will employ.
DEFENSE is how well they can take hits.
SPEED is how well your Yo-kai can avoid hits and being inspirited.
A Yo-kai’s ability is an innate passive that players don’t need to
TRIBES
Yo-kai don’t have “types” like Pokémon, but they do have tribes that determine how their fighting style and stats are laid out.
There are eight tribes that you can find in the world of Yo-Kai Watch 2 .
Brave Tribes have the largest STRENGTH stats in the game as they excel at attacking.
Mysterious Tribes use powerful techniques, so they excel in the SPIRIT stat.
Tough Tribes excel in the DEFENSE stat and can take plenty of hits.
Charming Tribes excel in the SPEED stat and are very hard to hit.
Heartful Tribes are the healers of the Yo-kai world and use their powers to heal themselves and their team.
Shady Tribes use status effects and attacks that absorb HP.
Eerie use their Inspirit abilities to inspirit enemies. This is what they will focus on doing more than attacking.
Slippery Tribes like Charming Tribes are difficult to hit and inspirit. Good luck getting off attacks.
Now, you can utilize special team bonuses if you have more than Yo-kai of a tribe in battle at a time. If your front three Yo-kai consist of two or three of one tribe, they’ll get a boost in a specific stat. Obviously, if you have all three of your front Yo-kai from one time the team bonus will be stronger than if there were only two.
Here are the team bonuses from each Tribe:
Charming = Speed boost
Tough = Defense boost
Eerie = Inspirit boost
Shady = Inspirit boost
Brave = Attack boost
Heartfelt = Recovery boost
Mysterious = Spirit boost
Slippery = Inspirit Defense boost
ELEMENTS
Along with Tribes, each Yo-kai represents a specific element that makes them strong and weak against other Yo-kai elements. There are eight elements in all, and you can identify which element a Yo-kai represents by the element in the Technique tag of the Yo-kai’s information page.
The eight elements and what they are strong against are shown below. The Target function in battle allows you to see what elements your opponent is weak against, so use it wisely.
Fire > Ice
Wind > Earth
Water > Fire
Lightning > Water
Earth > Lightning
ATTITUDES
The personality or attitude of a Yo-kai determines its specific fighting style. More than its Tribe or stats, the attitude of a Yo-kai can help you build a team of different-minded Yo-kai.
Each attitude is broken down into two parts. The first is the likelihood of loafing, which prevents your Yo-kai from attacking. This is ranked from least likely to loaf to most likely.
1. Serious
2. Stiff
3. Carefree
4. Loafer
The second part of each attitude determines how they fight in battle and if a certain stat is increased. Here's a handy table to inform you what personality does what. More in-depth explanation of attitudes follow the table.
Stiff: Less likely to Loaf around
Careful: Excels at guarding so it will take the brunt of the damage for your team to not get hit.
Rough: Focus on attacking
Collected: Will guard a lot
Carefree: More likely to loaf around
Grouchy: Focus on attacking
Serious: Less likely to Loaf around
Logical: More likely to use techniques
Twisted: Use inspirit more
Gentle: like to heal
Tender: like to heal
Helpful: Use inspiriting to support team
Devoted: Use inspiriting to support team
Cruel: Use inspirit more
Brainy: More likely to use techniques
Attitudes of Yo-kai can be changed by certain books that you will find on your journey and are included in the above table, so go ahead and experiment to see which Yo-kai goes best with which attitude.
