Beginner - Homing 101

So why the hell does Arcana Heart have a button that doesn't do anything in terms of attacks? Well, I can tell you it's because homing is like the best airdash in the goddamn world, and everyone can do it!

For comparison, let's imagine you're playing Zangief and you're against a Guile player. You want to be right in his face so you can land your piledriver, but of course Guile is just going to keep you out with his Sonic Booms and his flash kicks. This is where most players would say 'I hate this matchup' and generally have a really lousy time.

Now, imagine that Zangief could fly through the air, lock onto his opponent, and fly through the air like a beautiful Russian bird.

Congratulations! You've just imagined Homing.

Homing is performed by pressing the D button, after which your character will take to the air and fly towards the opponent. Even if they jump or dash, your homing will track them.

However, during homing, you can't immediately throw out an attack. Worse still, if your opponent uses a move that's air unblockable, you're going to walk right into it. So just mashing homing as a free get-in card is a bad idea.

This is where directional input comes into play. If you press a direction as well as D, you'll start flying in that direction and THEN fly towards the opponent. This means you take longer (or shorter) and screws up your opponent's punish time. For bonus mindscrews, holding block in the air slows you down even more, giving another layer of potential mixup.

Finally, there's Fast Homing. We've gone over how to slow your homing down - this is how to speed it up.
Start a homing attack as normal, then hit D and whatever attack button you plan to use. You will FLY THROUGH THE SKY LIKE A MAJESTIC EAGLE, except that instead of soaring majestically you punch someone in the face. Either way, it's all good.

Homing is hard to describe in a guide, because there's so much potential and creativity available that it's something best experienced by trying it out yourself. The potential for mixups, zoning and pressure is immense, so work hard!