Free Step Dodge

The 7th Annual GVN Winter Brawl, one of the long-time Dead or Alive tournament event supporters, will be starting in less than two weeks on February 23. Coming right off the heels of SoCal Regionals and Big E Gaming's North East Championships 13 it's time to see if XCalibur BladeZ can defend his North East crown from EMP Black Mamba.


The event has forgone the Tag 2v2 Pair Play event in favor of doing a Team Battle tournament that the GVN and Big E Gaming events are known for. Teams of two players will play in a team battle Singles setting on Saturday before the Dead or Alive 5 Singles event starts.

In addition, on Sunday there will be the return of the Dead or Alive 5 Tag 1v1 tournament to coincide with the changes made in the 1.03A patch.


However, that's not all of the news for this event: Team NINJA has graciously donated...

Just a quick reminder to everyone on the East Coast or with the means to get there, Winter Brawl VII is going down in just a couple of weeks in Philadelphia, PA! Head over to the event thread here and do not forget to get your pre-registration in to save some cash. Pre-registration is available at this link and is only available until February 16th. After that you're registering at the door and it's a bit more expensive, so why not save the money and get it out of the way?

Following relatively closely on the heels of Winter Brawl, we have Final Round 16 in Atlanta, GA. Taking place March 29-31, pre-registration is open until March 15, after which your only option is emergency registration really early on opening day. Don't you want to get a little extra sleep before you matches? Then get your PayPal account ready and get...

It’s that time again! The DOA Tournament scene is alive rather than dead. Our numbers are growing and they will only continue to grow as long as the community shows up to events whether they are big, small, local, or major. Peep the recap below for tournament results. Click the name of the tournament to be redirected to its respective thread. If you missed the last tournament recap, click this part of the sentence

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Texas Bar Fights Round X

Plano, Texas

December 8th, 2012

DOA was included in the lineup of fighting games at The Franchise Grill & Sports Bar. Fitting that this tournament was held at a sports bar because this IS e-sports after all

Final Results

1st - MASTER

2nd - Sweet Revenge

3rd - DRS MCZNashfan

4th - Dareaper214...

Team NINJA has revealed the release dates for the long awaited version 1.03 patch for Dead Or Alive 5. Players on the PlayStation 3 will be able to get the patch next tuesdays on January 22, 2013. Meanwhile, those on the XBox 360 will have to wait another week, with their patch dropping the following tuesday, January 29, 2013.

In addition to this, Team NINJA has released the complete patch notes for v 1.03.

System Changes

Changes apply to both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions except where specified.

• Added new stage: Zack Island. After installing Ver.1.03, players can download the free Zack Island stage, which will appear in the Stage Select menu.
• Added the ability to upload screenshots to Facebook from Album mode.
• Added the ability to upload video replays to Facebook...

So the EVO 2013 lineup was announced just moments ago on Wakeup SRK, and it's the largest EVO roster in years. Dead or Alive 5, unfortunately, is not on the main roster. This is due in no small part to a lack of consistent offline support in comparison to other games. We've been on the upswing, especially after the solid showing at NEC, however we have a lot of building to do yet. This is something that we're still working hard on changing, but this is currently our reality.

Now, the title says we still have a shot, and we do, but that catch is really going to put us in a put up or shut up position like never before! The Player's Choice slot, EVO 2013's eighth title, goes to the community and game that donates the most money to a chosen...

Once again, it's that time of year where everyone is going out of their way to make resolutions for the year ahead. For the DOA community, especially those who are just stepping up and getting into the game competitively for the first time, here's one resolution that you should make in 2013 - attend tournaments.

BlackShinobi from the Shoryuken.com forums has made a rather in-depth post on "why you should attend tournaments." He specifically goes over two major points that are bound to be on every newer players mind when it comes to these events.

How to know if you are good enough to attend a tournament
If you are a fan of fighting games, then congratulations, you have just passed the skill test to attend a tournament. Don’t worry, if you hate fighting games you have still passed the skill test to attend a tournament. Let’s be realistic here: your chances of...

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While a solid roll out date still hasn't been nailed down for the next upcoming Dead or Alive 5 patch, director Yohei Shimbori was kind enough to share a few tweets on some additional features that we'll see, noting that the next patch will be a major update.

One of the cool additions Shimbori mentioned is that we'll be seeing the popular demand to save replays of lobby matches, along with the ability to now kick unwanted players from your lobby as well.

Here are the additional patch details from Shimbori:

[D-YS] I was able to check some stuff about the next patch this week, so I'll tweet a little bit about it.

[D-YS] First off, you will now be able to save replays of lobby matches.

[D-YS] A lot of people were asking for that feature, so we worked hard to put it in.

[D-YS] Also, the host of a lobby...

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This is the main interface that leads to all the 12 tutorials.
It is a work in progress so please check back on the main menu from time to time

This thread will be updated whenever a new video is released.

THE DEAD OR ALIVE 5 TUTORIAL - 12 - TAG MODE (Feat. Emperor Cow)

YouTube

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THE DEAD OR ALIVE 5 TUTORIAL - 12 - TAG MODE (Feat. Emperor Cow)

Part 12 of the 12 part tutorial series for DOA5.
Featuring commentary by myself "Emperor Cow".

This video is meant to explain the ins and outs of Tag Mode and highlight the main differences that set it apart from Solo mode. It also explains some features that are unique to tag mode such as Tag Canceling.

The following topics are covered:
- Overview 0:35
- Tag Inputs 2:08
- Tag Canceling 4:52
- Tag Air-Juggles 5:50 ...

The tournament scene for Dead or Alive has resurfaced since the September 25th release of DOA5. There have been quite a few tournaments that have happened all over the world since the launch of the game. Whether it takes place online, in the UK, Asia, or North America, they are happening almost weekly in some part of the world. Below is a quick results recap of some of the tournaments that have already took place. Click the name of the tournament to be taken to their respective tournament thread.

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DOA World Series 1

Online

October 6th, 2012

FSD community member Daman077c was the first to organize an online DOA5 tournament for the community that took place a week after the game was released. 44 competitors, divided into 4 groups of 11, fought each other in round robin format...

I linked the full video of DOA5 top 4 below. I already contacted sp00ky to send me the video, when I receive it I will cut and edit it to post it in the FSD media library. Results and battle log bottom of post, SPOILERS!!

NEC13 DOA5 Top 4 Video

http://www.twitch.tv/teamsp00ky/b/344843674

NEC13 DOA5 Pool Play
http://www.twitch.tv/freestepdodge (Pool A - D, Top 8)
http://www.twitch.tv/8wayrun (Pool A)

NEC13 DOA5 Top 4 Results

1. XCaliber Bladez (Helena, Alpha-152)
2. Shade Swifteye (Kasumi)
3. RM|SawnikFawx (Christie, Alpha-152)
4. EMP|Black Mamba (Helena)

NEC13 DOA5 Top 4 Battle Log

Losers Semi-Finals:
RM|SawnikFawx...

A few short moments ago, director Yohei Shimbori tweeted a flurry of tweets with info on the next upcoming patch for Dead or Alive 5, shedding light on what we can expect.

He offers up some exciting details on what we can look forward to, but did not confirm an exact date as to when the next patch will be rolling out. Nonetheless, some pretty nifty stuff awaits.

Here are the patch details that Shimbori noted:

-[D-YS] I've finally had a chance to check out a few of the tweaks, so here are a few bits of info about the next patch.

-[D-YS] First, it looks like we can clear up the huge lag that happened on some stages for online fights.

-[D-YS] Now you should be able to fight without worrying about what stage you're on.

-[D-YS] Next, you'll be able to view opponent information before the start of a ranked match.

-[D-YS] You'll see their name, connection speed, grade, etc. all before you actually accept the...

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Join us this upcoming Saturday, December 1st, 2012 to either participate or spectate for this event. The Bay Area city of San Jose, California will be hosting its first ever Dead or Alive 5 tournament. Double elimination format as always.

Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 are also included in the tournament lineup for the event.

There will be a 32 player max cap for each tournament. First come, first serve. Participants will also be receiving a few goodies courtesy of the sponsors while supplies last.

For more details check out the tournament post at http://www.freestepdodge.com/threads/dec-1-2012-best-of-the-battle-san-jose-ca.1802/

The Dead or Alive 5 upcoming Japanese Tournament just held some qualifiers in the country of Korea. Watching the grand finals you can get a very different look of a match from what you may be accustomed to for online matches or even early rounds of offline tournaments. If you watch carefully you can actually feel the tension between both players as spacing and each attack really feels like it matters. Definitely a fun grand finals to watch, and look(!) no Jann Lee or Ayane!


I wish I could see more international play. Perhaps that may come true now that Dead or Alive 5 has been picked up by the IGN Pro League. Best of luck to "TestTeam" in the Japanese Tournament.

It's no secret that the Dead or Alive 5 frame data display is inaccurate to actually comprehending the disadvantage of an attack and what attacks exactly can punish an attack.

Forwardownforward has put up a video tutorial showing many of the inaccuracies with the frame counter. The tutorial says an easy way to calculate this is to add 2 frames to the start up counter in the Move Details window. For example, in order to punish a -11 attack, you would need to do an attack that is no slower than 9 frames according to the Move Details display. That means that only Kasumi, Christie, and Eliot can punish a -11 attack with a guaranteed attack.

The video does not go over throw punishment, which differs in that you have to add 1 frame to the throw startup: A 4 frame throw actually will punish anything -5 frames or more.

Forwardownforward does not go into why these two frames are necessary, and I can understand that but here's the reason: (1) The game delays any string starting attack by...

GameStop's Black Friday deals have been released to the public listing various games to pick up on the "cheap". Depending on the product or the title you can see the deal last for one or more days of the weekend. Below is the full list but apparently Dead or Alive 5 will be on sale for $29.99. So if you haven't scored your copy, or are looking for additional copies for tournaments, Black Friday is your chance.

(Friday Only) - XBOX 360 250GB Holiday System Bundle with 3 Free Games (Skyrim, Forza 4 and Call of Duty Blacks Ops 2) - $249.99
(Friday Only) - PlayStation 3 250GB System with 5 Free Games (Infamous, Infamous 2, Infamous Festival of Blood, Uncharted Drake's Fortune, and Uncharted 2 Among Thieves) - $199.97
(Friday Only) - PS Vita White Assassin's Creed III Liberation System Bundle - $199.99
(Friday Only) - XBOX 360 3 Month Gold Membership - $12.49
(Friday Only) - Turtle...

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I'm sure all of you have heard by now, but some may not.

Yohei Shimbori recently tweeted that the team is looking to the fanbase to see what they would like to have patched in Dead or Alive 5. The following is the official translation tweets from Ninja Gaijin.

[D-YS] As I mentioned last week, I'd like to explain the direction for balancing things moving forward. Please keep in mind that we're still considering what exactly to update, but this should give you an idea how we're thinking.

Direction 1: As a rule, we are not going to do anything that makes all of your practice up to now pointless.We will only tweak things we feel are absolutely necessary.

Direction 2: We will balance aspects we feel are not fair. Moves that are way too strong or which have strange motion, etc. Bug fixes are included in this consideration.

Direction 3: We will not change the concept and...

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Ladies and gentlemen, tonight marks the start of Season Five over at WNF! If you are in the Los Angeles area, make a point to head over to Super Arcade in Walnut, CA to get in on the action. Presented by Level Up, WNF is one of the biggest regular gatherings of the FGC in the country and Dead or Alive 5 is in as a side tournament. It is absolutely imperative that we get as many DoA-playing bodies in that place as possible to not only improve our game through competitive play but also to generate interest with the rest of the Fighting Game Community. We're all a part of the same family and it's time for us to stop sitting at the kid's table!

The festivities kick off at 8PM PDT, so you have about an hour to get your asses in gear and show up. Hit the event thread below for address and directions. Those of you that aren't in the area and want to watch, the stream is embedded in that very same thread...

Another week has passed, meaning we're closer to the end of the year. This holiday season is looking mighty big for those in the offline Dead or Alive 5 competitive community. Overall, there looks to be around two majors going down that every Dead or Alive competitor should try to make it out to. As many players find though, these events aren't so much for the tournaments as they are for the casual matches before and after the tournament so there's always fun to be had by all player types.


Joining up with Absolute Battle, Emmanuel "MASTER" Rodriguez has brought the eighth DID back with a vengeance. There will be at least a singles Dead or Alive 5 tournament with $500 worth of cash and prizes guaranteed to the top three placers. This is certainly an...

I was browsing through our event calendar and noticed an event happening in Virtuapai's backyard. Seeing no replies I was wondering if anyone missed the event announcement.

Dead or Alive 5 will be featured as one of the four games in a tournament for the night at Battlefield Arcadia this Thursday, October 11th. I know we have New York players ready to represent their skills and knowledge of the game. Don't let the North East coast down guys.

There will also be an induction of the Dead or Alive 5 top placer to Razer's Beta Test Program to check out their upcoming arcade stick. I've heard plenty of buzz about their work and anyone who prefers using arcade sticks when playing Dead or Alive 5 will certainly have fun being in the program.

So grab a friend and try to show up and support your self, game, and community.

The full event thread and information can be found here...

Dead or Alive 5 has been out for over a week now, giving many players some time to pick up on some strategies in the forums and with each other. This hasn't prevented tournaments from being held, and we're already seeing some known players taking control of the game in the early goings.

Seasons Beatings Ascension (SBA)
Cleveland, OH

This event not only featured many of the top mid-west players including Carl "Perfect Legend" White, Chris "NinjaCW" Harris, and Eric "Ryujin" Lee. Unsurprisingly, each of these players took the top three in the tournament. In addition to these power players, Team NINJA also was on hands for the event. Many of the players were able to share their passion with not only others of the Fighting Game Community, but with Team NINJA as well. Yohei Shimbori (Dead or Alive Game Director), Peter Garza (Overseas Producer), and Tom Lee (Creative Director of Team NINJA) were all there to provide a Q&A session with the fans and watch the tournament go...

Gamasutra recently put up an article interviewing Yohei Shimbori about understanding a series' fans when developing a game. This is probably a big reason as to why "swimsuits" and "pin-up models" made a return to the series after early interviews stated they wanted a more mature look for the franchise.

Yohei Shimbori via Gamasutra said:

One of the things that I learned was the power of having a series behind you, and what it means to be part of a series. There are existing fans out there, and you have to think about the people who have supported the series for so long, and you want to make sure that the game that you make appeals to them first, and satisfies those fans first.

...

"As a director, I really try to take fan feedback into account. I really try to keep an open mind," Shimbori says. That, married with some serious reflection on how the...

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