Shoichi is not the game’s most trendy and popular character; however, he can give you a good playing experience with practical skill attacks. The only problem we see in this character is the casting of his skills. He can be a different character than the others due to the complexity of his skills.
This article discusses Shoichi’s skills, different build options, playing guide, duo and squad gameplay options, and his strengths & weaknesses. So, let’s look at his passive, QWER, and weapon skills first.
Table of Contents
Shoichi’s Skills
 | Good Faith (Q) 50 SP; 6 secs cooldown Shoichi lunges his blade in the targeted direction, dealing damage. Hitting an enemy reduces the cooldownand enables him to use Bad Faith. Bad Faith: increased range and Shoichi will leave a dagger on the ground. |
 | Bottom Line (W) 80 SP; 16 secs cooldown Shoichi dashes to a targeted enemy or dagger, dealing damage to all enemies in his path. If he picks up a dagger, the cooldown of Bottom Line is reset. |
 | Risky Business (E) 90 SP; 18 secs cooldown Shoichi takes a step back and throws a dagger forward, dealing damage to the first enemy hit and reducing their movement speed. Upon hitting an enemy, a dagger will fall behind the enemy. |
 | Ruthless (R) 1550 SP; 120 secs cooldown Shoichi swings his deadly briefcase, dealing damage to enemies around him, reducing their movement speed and tossing 4 daggers to the ground in a square. Daggers pierce enemies, dealing damage. |
 | Phony Deal (Passive) No cost Shoichi earns a stack of Phony Deal each time he hits an enemy with a skill, increasing his critical strike chance. Upon reaching a certain number of stacks, his normal attack damage is increased. If Shoichi picks a dagger up off the ground, he throws it at the nearest enemy, dealing damage. |
 | Weapon Skill: Cloak and Dagger (D) No cost; 45 secs cooldown Activating the cloak skill causes you to become transparent and increases your movement speed. The increased movement speed decreases again after some time. If you use a normal attack on the enemy when the dagger effect is activated, you move behind the enemy and deal critical damage, along with a fixed amount of the enemy's current HP as additional damage. |
Phony Deal – Passive
Shoichi earns stacks through his Q, W, E, and R skills. Once he hits an enemy with any of his skill attacks, he fains a stack. These earned stacks are handy in raising Shoichi’s critical strike chances by 3% to 9% for 6 seconds. Once he gains five stacks out of these skill attacks, the damage caused due to his next Normal attack will increase by 10% to 20%.
Moreover, Shoichi can also throw dagger towards his enemies if he picks those up from the ground. Surprisingly, Shoichi’s passive skill only has a cooldown time of 6 seconds.
Good Faith – Q
Shoichi can cast his Q skill in two varieties. For the first , he unleashes a Good Faith skill attack. Through the first attack, he swings his blade in an arc and causes damage to the enemies around him. If he manages to hit the target with the first Q skill attack, the cooldown time reduces by 2 seconds (The original cooldown time for this skill would be 6 seconds).
In the second turn, Shoichi can hit his opponents with the Bad Faith attack. Reduced cooldown means that you can use the second one after 4 seconds of the first Q attack. The range of attack for the first Q skill is 3 meters, and for the seconds one, it is 3.5 meters. SP cost is only for the first skill, and that is 50-70 SP level points.
Bottom Line – W
Shoichi runs towards his target or dagger and tears apart anything in between his path with his W skill attack. If he manages to pick his dagger afterward, the cooldown time for this skill is reset. This skill has a 5.5-meter attack range and a cooldown time of 12-16 seconds. Moreover, the SP cost is also moderate (80), and the skill damage is significant.
Risky Business – E
The Japanese assassin throws a dagger in a given direction and deals damage with this skill attack. Risky Business also slows the targets hit.
The dagger will fall behind the hit enemy, and you can then pick it up (with W) to use it again. The cooldown time for this skill is 10-18 seconds, and the SP cost is 90.
Ruthless – R
The ultimate skill of Shoichi is indeed a ruthless skill. He throws four daggers around his targets and causes considerable skill damage to them. Besides damage, enemies in the arc of this attack are slowed for 1 second. The cooldown for this skill is 80-120 seconds, and the SP cost is 150.
Cloak and Dagger – D (Dagger)
This weapon skill enables characters to be invisible. Shoichi can become transparent and increase his movement speed by 25-40% through this weapon skill. However, the Japanese broker can also dash towards his opponents to cause damage with the Cloak and Dagger skill attack. The cooldown time for this skill is 30-45 seconds, and the casting time is 0.2 seconds.
Skill Leveling Order
Passive> R> W> E> Q
We have kept the passive skill above all other attacks because of the stacks of Phony Deal. These stacks result in more attack damage and more chances of critical damage. The ultimate skill is another viable option when it is available to use. All the skills of Shoichi are equally balanced, in our opinion. You can also change the order, as each skill attack has moderate skill damage with lesser cooldown time. This skill order is ideal for both the builds we are mentioning below.
Shoichi’s Builds
Dagger Build with Mount Slicer
Shoichi build with Mount Slicer; Saved Plan ID 332610
Our first build suggestion is an ideal choice for Shoichi’s needs. He is very much in need of SP. So, the Mount Slicer build has items that will add a significant chunk of Max SP level. The dagger weapon for this build has added attack power of +35, Cooldown Reduction of +10%, Extra Skill Damage (ESD) of +30, and a little bit of added movement speed.
Besides the primary weapon, all other items in this build provide you options of Max HP, SP regen, and improved movement speed. Overall, it is a valuable build to try, considering the weak spots of Shoichi.
Items needed for this build are:
- Weapon: Mount Slicer
- Chest: Rocker’s Jacket
- Head: Imperial Crown
- Arm: Draupnir
- Leg: Straitjacket Sneakers
- Accessory: Uchiwa
Desired route for this build:
Chapel> Forest> School> Alley> Avenue
This build has a five zoner route that will enable you to gather all the possible items. Chapel and Forest are the starting zones for this route, and they are closer to each other. You may face a bit harder challenge while traveling towards the third zone, i.e., Forest to School. School, Alley, and Avenue are relatively denser zones, and you will have to watch your steps there.
Mount Slicer can be fully crafted after going through the school zone. Quick steps through the first three zones will surely help you in gaining momentum in this build. Keep in mind that build items, in the majority, will be completed at the final three zones, so try to be quick to travel through the first two zones without getting in too many fights.
Dagger Build with Vibroblade
Shoichi build with Vibroblade; Saved Plan ID 332612
You can also use the Vibroblade build. This build variant is a more attack power-oriented build and will add attack power options to Shoichi. This build is good for increasing the max HP of Shoichi as well. Most of the items you would use in this build give a balancing option to the critical strike reduction, attack speed, and Shoichi’s defensive needs. Details regarding the build items are presented below.
Items needed for this build are:
- Weapon: Vibroblade
- Chest: Optical Camouflage Suit
- Head: Motorcycle Helmet
- Arm: Sheath of Shah Jahan
- Leg: Bucephalus
- Accessory: Magazine
Desired route for this build:
Beach> Factory> Chapel> Alley> Avenue
This build also has a five zoner build route. We consider this build option a bit tougher due to the path it follows. Almost all the five zones in the given way are scattered and away from one another. However, items used are still worthy of the hassle.
The first zone (Beach) is a relatively quieter zone to start your journey. However, once you leave the Beach zone, things get a bit harder. The best thing is that this route has a two-zoner weapon option. To have Vibroblade only after the second zone is always handy.
Moreover, you would also be able to complete the majority of your items in the first three zones. The last two zones have only two things. Overall, this build is ideal for those who love to make quick movements with Shoichi and want to dominate in the early gameplay.
How to Play Shoichi
Shoichi is an average-strength character with a typical playing style. We would recommend you to be conscious and defensive while playing with this character. You need to master his skills, as he can be a complex character to handle if you are new and have not played him before. Following skill guides will help you understand this player. Go through these guidelines and apply what we suggest; you will learn to play well with the Japanese broker after some practice.
Passive Skill Guide
The ideal strategy would be to raise the five stacks and then use those to deal extra damage with Shoichi’s Normal attacks. Shoichi’s passive skill will make you wait for 6 seconds to use it again, so whenever you this skill, try to earn a stack of Phony Deal. Shoichi also releases the dagger on the ground with passive skill, so never miss this opportunity to strike your opponents with a dagger.
Q Skill Guide
The Q skill attack is very handy with lower cooldown time and moderate SP cost. The best way would be to utilize the combination of Q skill attacks fully. Try to hit enemies with the Good Faith attack. It will reduce the cooldown time, and you can instantly cast the Bad faith attack within 8 seconds.
Luckily, the SP cost for this skill is only for the first move. However, it would help if you were careful regarding the enemy’s position, as casting the Bad Faith over a vacant spot will have no advantage. Moreover, after the second Q attack, Shoichi leaves the dagger on the ground, so you should pick up the weapon again and throw it towards enemies to make things worse for your opponents.
W Skill Guide
Rushing towards your opponent or the dagger weapon is a handy skill of Shoichi. The Bottom Line attack can be convenient if you are fighting against a squad. You only need to press the W button, and he will tear apart opponents in his path in no time. Try to pick the dagger afterward and throw it towards your enemies to deal more damage. By doing so, you will cause extra damage and reset the cooldown for this skill to use again.
E Skill Guide
Throwing dagger at enemies is an ideal move with lesser cooldown time and moderate SP cost. Make sure it hits the target, and he/she is slowed for a few seconds. You can then launch other skill attacks over slowed targets to deal more damage.
R skill Guide
If available, this skill attack is by far the best among all his skills. You can target multiple opponents with this skill attack. Just throw daggers around enemies, and they will have fair damage with reduced movement speed. You can also launch other skill attacks such as Cloak and Dagger, Bottom Line, or Risky Business over the slowed enemy.
Weapon Skill Guide (Dagger)
Cloak and Dagger weapon skill is an ideal choice in the middle of a fight. You can use it for two reasons. Firstly, you should feel no shame in fleeing away from a dominating enemy by going transparent for a few seconds. This move will also increase your movement speed, so use it to run away from your opponents if you are unarmed.
And secondly, you should use this skill attack to charge towards your opponents. Rush towards a target and rip through his/her body with this cunning weapon skill attack.
Teams and Match-ups for Shoichi
We feel Shoichi has multiple player options for the duo and squad gameplay. He is a diversified character who can fit in the duo or squad team of many players. However, you should still keep a few things in mind to make the best player as Shoichi’s duo or squad partner. Following are a few workable suggestions.
Duo gameplay
Xiukai, Cathy, and Aya are viable options for duo gameplays with Shoichi. This character can play well with Xiukai and Cathy due to their weapon similarity. The same weapon choices will keep these players closer to each other in different build options. Aya has contrasted weapon choices with Shoichi. However, her long-ranged skill attacks and her speed will surely be an added advantage.
Shoichi, along with any of the above three characters, can do wonders in the game. However, you still need to be careful and conscious of a few characters. They are Chiara, Magnus, and Rozzi. Try to avoid these players until the final zones in your builds. Other than these, you can afford to be aggressive against players like Zahir, Luke, Li Dailin, etc.
Squad gameplay
For squad gameplays, you can choose Cathy, Aya, Hart, and Xiukai. Try to make a squad out of these players. Quick and speedy characters with long-ranged skill attacks are always welcome. Hart and Aya will play the role of these fast characters with aggressive gameplay, whereas Xiukai, Cathy, and Shoichi can afford to have a slower start.
Again, be careful of Magnus, Chiara, Rozzi, and Jackie, as they may ruin all your planning in a single go. Going aggressive against a few and playing defensively with some is always a winning plan, and you should also follow this advice to win squad games.
Shoichi’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
- Shoichi has a massive health pool: Enemies will find it tough to kill Shoichi due to his health stats.
- Most of his skill attacks have lesser cooldown: Except for his ultimate skill, the cooldown time for Shoichi’s QWE skills ranges from 6 to 18 seconds.
- Shoichi’s Q skill attack works as a combo: You can cast two skill attacks with the same SP cost to deal damage. The Japanese broker can wave his blade with the Good Faith and the Bad Faith skill attack.
Weaknesses
- He is not easy to play for newbies: You may feel frustrated with Shoichi if you are new to this game. However, if you play more with him and understand his combos, he is a treat to watch.
- Shoichi has only a single weapon option: You would just have to select a weapon from the Dagger weapons list. It also means that he has a limited choice in terms of build variety.
- Most of his skills need directional clarity (Targeted skills) and some casting time: You may run out of time to cast the majority of Shoichi’s skills. He needs to be given a specific direction for his skill attacks, and speedy characters may ruin you for this drawback.