Yun Jou/Gameplay

## Strategy

When you first get him, Yun Jou starts as the weakest of the three Earthen Heart disciples, but grows to be as strong as the rest. He has the highest Special Attack and Special Defence of the three, but has low stats in all other areas. Most of his unique abilities have their damage based on his Special Attack stat (IQ in the original version) and his high Special Defence makes him very resistant to most magic attacks. Once he levels up, Yun obtains extremely strong unique attacks, and he obtains Heavenly Peaks Descent at Lv. 16, which deals high damage based on his Special Attack. His damage output with this ability easily surpasses that of the other disciples' usage due to his higher Special Attack, while Shifu's training allows him to compensate for Lei Kugo's higher Speed in order to spam it more often. In addition, most of Yun's unique abilities complement Heavenly Peaks Descent, rather than directly competing with it as a damage tool, which further sets him apart from the others.

Of the three disciples, investing into Yun gives the most immediate payoff. Fully trained by the Shifu, Yun's stat deficiencies in Physical Attack, Physical Defence, and Speed are turned around to high points in all of them alongside his Special Attack and Special Defence. Yun's stat growth will then help him max out both Attack stats and Speed extremely early, while his Physical and Special Defence are not far behind, allowing him to use his abilities at max potential earlier than the other two disciples. His low HP will always be a problem due to how fragile it makes him, but many of Yun's stronger attacks can be used at intermediate range or longer to keep him from harm. His high stats in everything except HP also comes in handy when distributing stat-boosting equipment and accessories; as Yun maxes non-HP stats early, he can easily make do with second-hand equipment while keeping his damage output at high levels until better equipment can be distributed.

If Yun was chosen as the Earthen Heart successor, his contribution in the final chapter is as the best mid-range (and a good long-range) attacker in the game. Icebrand's Bite, Firebrand's Kiss, and eventually Heavenly Peaks Descent will be his go-to attacks for instant execution as these abilities have no charge time (or can eliminate their charge time entirely with high enough Speed in the original version). Whirlwind's Dismay allows him to seriously harm high-evasive enemies with lots of damage type resistances, and even kill them in one go if enough hits connect. Maelstrom's Assault is a high-damage ranged option that penetrates through enemy lines, making it a good choice for long range sniping and potentially damaging more than one enemy. Finally, Tempest's Torment deals the highest, most consistent damage in the game to one enemy and can potentially paralyze them as well if they are left standing, but possesses the longest charge time in the game as well, necessitating planting a character between Yun and the enemy to give him the time needed (as well as keeping the enemy in place while he's charging up) to execute the attack. His low HP will always be a problem in terms of fragility, and his arsenal lacks a field-covering area-of-effect attack, but Yun will always be useful in most situations as his higher arsenal of good abilities makes him extremely valuable for fighting the stronger enemies populating the Dominion of Hate.

## Base Stats

These stats are Yun Jou's stats without equipment bonuses counted, or the Shifu's training.

* **HP:** 106 (+6-17 per level)
* **Physical Attack:** 12 (+3-6 per level)
* **Physical Defense:** 10 (+2-4 per level)
* **Special Attack:** 25 (+3-6 per level)
* **Special Defense:** 24 (+2-4 per level)
* **Speed:** 15 (+3-6 per level)
* **Accuracy:** 10 (+1 per level)
* **Evasion:** 12 (+1 per level)
* **Status Immunities:** None
* **Damage Resistance:** Fire
* **HP:** 100 (+6-17 per level)
* **Power:** 12  (+4-8 per level)
* **Speed:** 15 (+4-6 per level)
* **Vitality:** 10 (+3-7 per level)
* **IQ:** 21 (+4-7 per level)
* **Immunities:** None
* **Evades:** Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and Mind