Chris Harris
Well-Known Member
Sarah in DoA5
Sarah has a ton of great options and completely plays in a rewarding manner in almost every situation. The only thing she doesn’t do that well is counter hold damage but not many characters do so it’s not even a negative towards the character. This is a quick write up to help people understand how to use her in DoA5 if you were looking to pick her up and not sure how to get decent damage. Even I was a little on the fence because it didn’t seem like she could get damage but after a ton of lab time I have found some stuff with this character.
Her best attacks are:
- This is her best way to start some pressure. It’s a 10i jab and is +1 on block which means you get to apply further pressure. - Her fastest mid. It’s negative on block (-5) but it has follow ups one being a transition into FLA (-3) but she has options even at -3 so you have to respect that. - A mid kick that while it isn’t the fastest thing it is a great way into FLA. It leaves you at advantage (+4) which pretty much gives you the ability to continue your pressure in any way possible. - Another mid kick option that goes into FLA. However this option is also leaves you at advantage (+4) and to make it even better on block or hit if the first hit touches they are locked in. This means if they get hit by the first hit they have to accept the stun period or if they block it they are at disadvantage and have to deal with you. - Her step killer. This move is amazing because not only does it track it has a follow up that leaves you in FLA with advantage. The transition into FLA is a high kick but it also has a mid follow up that is “slighty” safe (-6). - A great sit down stun so this move is only really used if I have landed a stun. After it hits you get a free launcher no matter how fast they try to struggle it. You can also extend the stun and gamble for a bit more damage but in general you will always be launching once this hits. - The infamous crouching punch. It still shines just as much in this game but probably better because on CH it causes critical and unless they struggle it you can actually get a stun on them. It is 0 on hit so even though you don’t get advantage Sarah is still faster than the average character so her mids will usually win.FLA
- Probably the greatest tool she has in this stance. Until they either block/hold/step this might as well do it every chance you get. On NH it’s pretty much a free combo because once that low kick hits the rest is a guaranteed combo for decent damage considering you didn’t stun the opponent. If the opponent is already in critical state the combo is still guaranteed after the low kick hits but you can actually stop it and they are forced to hold a launcher/CB/stun. plus K: - Another way to FLA. This attack will sabaki high attacks (i.e. jabs) and some mids and can jump some lows. The timing for it is kinda strange but with practice and knowledge can get a firm grasp on it. - This string is amazing. You can obviously step the first two attacks however the last kick tracks and is +9 on block. You don’t actually get anything guaranteed from them blocking but it’s 100% still your turn after it’s blocked.She has a ton of other good attacks but for me these are my staple attacks I will go to in a match to stay consistent.
Before I go into detail on how to hurt people I should take the time to explain the sidestep system. Now while you can sidestep a ton of linear attacks because the sidestep recovers so slowly and because “some” of the sidestep attacks are slow a string will usually win out. Now the way to get around that is to double sidestep and in some cases even triple sidestep. So you can actually use strings to deter someone from sidestepping. In the end it comes from knowledge of the character(s) on how to step against them.
Okay so how do we learn to hurt people with Sarah. Most thought she had very low damage potential and that even though she could mix you up easily with advantage the damage wasn’t there (myself included). After some times she doesn’t get like easy mode 60% but the damage she gets is around 35%-45% with relative ease. This combined with how much advantage she has and how fast her character is if she hit any harder she would be unstoppable. Example of this would be if she had Jann Lee damage. He gets insane damage but in reality he has to hit you about 4-5 times before he gets that chance. Sarah always gets 35-45% with about 2-3 hits and without CB.
Your best counter poke(s) are
, , and . This gives you a super fast jab, a super fast mid, and a great step killer that all lead to mounting your offense safely and with control. The problem many Sarah players will have when it comes to getting damage will be strange because all of Sarah’s stuns don’t seem that great in a match. on counter hit grants a deep enough stun to extend the stun with or go for a launch with for some decent damage. Now here is the awesome thing about on CH. If people start instant holding when you hit them with it you get a sit down stun for free into a launcher for 93 points of damage. This holds true for them even guessing mid kick in the scenario of holding soon as they get hit. They would actually have to wait and see if you are going for it to hold that kick or guess right on it. This in turn opens up a ton of other options and mix ups if you want to explore. works the same way for the most part. You can’t get anything if they struggle the initial CH of that stun. However if they hold soon as they get hit from being stunned you get a free sit down stun into launcher which nets around 90+ points of damage again.These 2 scenario’s are probably the most common that will happen while playing but this is just beginner stuff to help out new players.
The next thing is how we use the advantage that Sarah gets. In general you have a few attacks at your disposal out of FLA depending on the advantage you get. If you are at +4 you technically win no matter what button you press even if they do a high. You get a 12i mid kick (
) that gives a good stun and allows you to continue pressure. You can go into the to apply low pressure and personally I would do this until they showed me they could stop it. The fear of being hit by something that you can’t get out of in DoA is almost unheard of so a person trying to avoid the situation in general will reach to stay out of it which will open up your damage even more. Basically when you are advantage you are in the driver seat of how you want to proceed to work your game plan whatever it may be.The single most important thing you should remember if you are using Sarah is that after your quick pokes people CAN’T hold instantly or they should always lose 90+ points of damage for it. No matter what the scenario is if someone is trying to hold instantly against her she always gets that sit down stun for free (unless you transitioned into FLA then it’s a bit more dependent).
If you need some further help with the character I’m always glad to help new players with characters I use.
Facebook.com/NinjaCW
