The Basics of the Basics 2

So from the first blog we touched on just the basics of picking up the game and learning about the game in general. Basically you jumped in the command training and combo training and moved from there. I'll assume if you are even reading this you understand the game a little bit better now and even learned some stuff on your own! Originally was going to blog about the stun system but I feel to really get a clear base we have to know what our defensive options are first then move on to offense.

Everyone wants to do cool combos they see in the videos and IF they get that very specific set up they saw or practiced then it's party time. However to get there you have to be able to defend yourself to even open up an opportunity to do so. So in this blog we're going to go over some of the defensive options and how they help you get better.

(1) Blocking! Now it seems pretty self explanatory and the fact that I'm mentioning the most simplest tactic ever but the average player seems to not want to do this. When attacks are blocked unless that move is designed to give advantage the player is at disadvantage. Of course they have strings to " mix it up" but in general blocking isn't that bad an idea. Part of getting your offense started begins with blocking their offense and starting up your own. We're not going to get deep into the frame data about blocking but in general. . .  .when in doubt, just block it! 

(2) Sidestepping. In Dead or Alive 5 they FINALLY added a sidestepping system to the game. It took a while for players to adjust but now you will see people throwing it out there here and there. Now imagine someone is doing a string that is really bothering you because they either hit you with a mid or do a throw. You end up sitting there and guessing between this mix up when you really don't have to. Many strings can be sidestepped at certain points (not to mention countering) which will get you a free hit/stun to start your own offense. If a string is bothering you take it in training mode and see what your options are versus it so next time someone tries it you will know what to do!

(3) Punishment. This is something that has pretty much went out the window in this new era and for the most part I can understand why. Why take the smaller damage, a resetting knock down, and slowing down my momentum when I could go for a mix up and maybe double that damage? Let's take our FREE damage people because not much comes for free in these games so unless you need to make up a lot of ground it's best to just take that easy life. A lot of this comes from a persons doubt in his own ability at the neutral game so they opt to go for something more risky which isn't the worst idea but it's making it harder to win (unless the mix ups are paying off).

(4) Damage Control. This is probably one of the harder concepts to get at lower levels and sometimes even the mid level. Someone may have a really huge lead but then take a big risk throwing away the lead. Why even bother taking that BIG a risk considering they need it to win a game. You don't always need to take the risky option offensively OR defensively. A good example of going into damage control is; you are about to close out a round and only need one hit, you have almost 50% health, but you get stunned first in the neutral exchange. Instead of just slow escaping you go for a hold and they land a big throw on you for extra damage either killing you or bring it really close. You didn't really need to take that risk but so many players will and end up sad.

(5) Struggling aka Slow Escaping. The last thing I'm going to talk about is slow escaping. This is for when you get stunned you pretty much rotate the D-Pad or stick. For a while not many people used this outside of certain situations but it has gained a lot of ground recently because of some of the new offensive options. Basically using this can get you out of certain stuns or just escape a stun mix up because they hesitated. With the addition of sit down stuns (will be talked about in the next blog) if you don't slow escape you get free launchers because of the properties of slow escaping. Knowing what you can and can't slow escape is really strong because you can save yourself a lot of stress if you slow escaped the stun instead of attempting a counter.

Defense is the core of any fighting game. Knowing a bunch of combos is great but if you can't hit anyone or stop their offense no one will ever see them. There is a lot more to defense than these 5 points used but this can get a player started.

Thanks for reading! Comments, suggestions , and questions always welcome!

The Basics of Basics 1

I'm always seeing people ask for help in learning the game so this first blog entry will be about learning the BASICS and nothing character specific. This isn't going to be a bible but very simple concepts to give you a base to learn from. If you have the fire to get better at the game this will help you learn from the beginning and work your way up.

In DoA the basics revolve around the triangle system; Holds (Counters), Strikes, and Throws. The way it works is; Holds beats strikes, Strikes beats Throws (except for Offensive Holds but will explain in a later blog), and Throws beat Holds. Then there is Blocking, which means you can't be hit by any strikes (there are unblockables but will also be explained in a later blog) but you are susceptible to being thrown.  This is the basic of all basics when it comes to DoA so if you are new to the game keep this in the back of your mind.

So if you are very new to DoA the character I would like you to mess around with and learn the game would be Hitomi. She is VERY simple and straight forward so it's easy to understand concepts when using her. So with that being said;

1. Learning your attacks! : Now when I say learning your attacks I don't mean something advanced like knowing the frame data as that comes later down the line. I mean knowing the strings (if they have any) so you can test them out on your foes. To do this I suggest jumping into training mode and going through the command training first (multiple times if you want to). This is just so you can at least SEE what the moves look like and get a feel for the buttons, movement, etc. 

After seeing your moves now you should jump right into the combo challenge. Now it sounds scary and it may (or may not) be semi difficult but this is why we're using Hitomi because for the most part everything is really easy in terms of execution. Going through this shows you what type of combos the character can perform and also some of the strikes that go well with the stun system.

2. Now without sounding like a jerk the best way to learn is to start playing. Now if you generally like the game and you have that drive to get better you will keep playing regardless. Keep in mind there is a high chance you are going to lose a lot but the main goal in this learning stage is to get used to the game. You aren't in a tournament for $10,000 and nothing is on the line so this is the PERFECT time to lose. You basically want to play and if something is confusing jump into training mode. You will become frustrated because at times it seems like some strategies people use will be unbeatable. It's okay to get frustrated but while you are learning you should keep a few things in mind. (1)Understanding what works, (2)understanding what your weaknesses are, and (3)learning the strings.

(1) Understanding what works translates as does it work in general (aka a solid tactic) or is it a parlor trick. However if something is working why not keep doing it? It's working but it's up to you to understand "why" it's working. This is why it is important to challenge people right above your level, on your level, or right below it. This keeps the game balanced and helps you to level up consistently. Beating up on someone who you are clearly just much stronger than won't help you and it won't help him either! The same goes for the reverse so make sure to challenge yourself!

(2) Now understanding what your weaknesses are is a tricky thing to figure out which is why it helps to have a sparring partner aka the guy who knows your bad habits. The guy who isn't as good as you but he knows you SO well he might as well be the best player in the country when playing YOU.This a great person to spar with because he knows when he does option A there is a 95% chance you will respond a certain way. Everyone has a weakness you just want to make sure the ones you do have can be fixed or at least minimized/controlled.

(3) In 3D games strings and low attacks are brutal to get used to. Even the slowest low attacks will hit you simply because you have never seen it before. The best way to get used to dealing with it is to keep playing but if someone is abusing them focus on BLOCKING them. However these attacks are easily the most abused at lower levels because those players don't know about frame traps, spacing, etc. They just know there is a low chance that you can block these lows because you have never seen these attacks so they will do them. Generally there are lows you can "see" and lows you can't which means you will anticipate or guess to stop them. We will get into the specifics of that once we jump into frame data.

Then there are the tons of strings you have to get used to. You don't have to know how to do them just the options from them so when people are using them you know the pathing of certain attacks so that you will be able to block and/or counter attack. Many strings have holes in them and with the addition of side stepping they can be dealt with easier.

So I don't have a giant blog post I will end this part here. Part 2 will be learning about Side Stepping, Stuns, and Punishment and will be out very soon. We will slowly get into frame data, spacing, etc but not until we know exactly what is in the game.

Thanks for reading and checking it out and as usual let me know if you have any suggestions/questions/comments.