King of Fighters XV Leona Guide: How To Play Leona
Looking to get to grips with King of Fighters XV Leona? Then this guide is for you. King of Fighters XV features 38 characters from across the series, including fan-favourite Leona Heidern. Ikari Warrior brings her military-style and sharp strikes into this brand new game. For more on this stoic warrior, here is how to play King of Fighters XV Leona.
- To learn about cover fighter Kyo Kusanagi, check out our King of Fighters XV Kyo guide: How To Play Kyo.
King Of Fighters XV Leona: Who Is She?
Click to enlargeLeona Heidern is the adoptive daughter of Commander Heidern, and possesses Orochi blood. This Orochi blood gives her a massive, destructive power that she struggles to control and has led to her becoming quite reclusive, to keep others safe from her Orochi power.
Leona has found her family in the Ikari Warriors. Her teammates Ralf and Clark have helped her to gain control of her power, and now she is more confident and self-assured, if still very introverted. She is a character who has had to overcome massive adversity to take control of her life and she is all the stronger for it.
- Want to know more about the iconic Terry Bogard? Check out our King of Fighters Terry guide.
King of Fighters XV Leona: Playstyle
Click to enlargeLeona is a rushdown character, which means she moves fast and gets in close to her opponents. She is also adept aerially, with command moves and special attacks that hit from the air. Stylistically, she takes after her adoptive father, employing several knife-chop attacks.
Like we said, as a rushdown character, she wants to be close to the enemy, and making use of her speed and jumps is integral to that. Another handy tool to get in close is to use Leona's Earring Bomb. This is a projectile attack, where Leona throws her earring at the opponent. It comes in two variations, either it will explode on contact or it will attach to the enemy and explode after a period of time. You can use this projectile to throw your opponent off guard, or throw them into the air, either way, you get a window of opportunity to strike.
Leona is also a charge character, meaning some of her most powerful special moves have to be charged by holding back before they can be used. It can be difficult to charge moves while also constantly moving forward like a rushdown character would, so Leona needs to balance the two. Luckily, she has several airborne attacks that give her the opportunity to charge mid-jump, so getting to grips with those is essential.
Some useful moves to keep in mind are her forward light kick command move, which puts her in the air for further aerial attacks, and her Excalibur special move which hits from mid-air acts as a perfect follow up to the former.
Finally, in the air, Leona also has a super move called the V-Slasher, a huge diving attack that can be hit from long range.
To sum up, Leona wants to get close. She does so by using her Earring Bomb on the ground, or her myriad aerial manoeuvres. All the while, she wants to be charging up her slashing attacks for when she closes the distance. Learn to close the distance while charging those moves and you will find success with Leona Heidern.
That is what you need to know to start cracking some skulls as King of Fighters XV Leona. For more on the game, why not check out our best King of Fighters XV characters.