DOA5LR Having a character crisis - who should I pick?

[Noontide]

So I mostly play 2D fighters. DOA5 is one of the few 3D games I enjoy enough. Anyway, I enjoy playing characters who have a more defensive style and longer range on their normals. If you've played these other games then I play:
Street Fighter: Necro/Chun
Guilty Gear: Testament/Faust
Blazblue: Hakumen/Mu
Nitro+: Saya

Right now it seems like Leifang fits the bill, but I find her very difficult to use, I don't fully understand holds or defense yet so I'm getting blown up. Christie is another fun character, with a much more aggressive playstyle but lots of good range pokes. And of course, both are very cute (important). Haven't really looked too deeply into the rest of the cast.
Any advice would be appreciated

 

[UpSideDownGRUNT]

Defensive characters:
Leifang
Marie Rose

Long Range:
Ein
Hitomi
Hayate
Ayane

 

[YBNDM]

Pick Christie, learn the holds, then go for Leifang

 

[Giannola]

Leifang is, in my opinion a great character if you're looking for defense. She has not only some of the most damaging holds in the game, but also universal parries which guarantee follow ups, as well as universal sabakis.
Leifang is very rewarding to play. however I'm biased, as she's my most played character and I pretty much exclusively played her for a while.

Hitomi might be a compromise, if you'd like to try her, she has a punch parry and advanced holds as well as good offensive range. Kind of a comprise between those offensive and defensive abilities.

In the end you can't go wrong with any character, just find one or more you're comfortable with, and like, and you will get the hang of them eventually...But the world could always use more leifang players

 

[Lulu]

A few days ago I was thinking about how nice it would be to have a thread that goes over the Basic Characters Attributes purely for the scenario you currently find yourself in now and for people like me who have been in Character Crisis for 2 Years.

Hmmmmm..... if anyone wants to implement this then go for it.

As for your situation.... Leifang is pretty good if not the best in the criteria you specified..... however I'd also like to Make an Argument For Mila. Mila doesn't have anywhere half the tools Leifang Has but if you're a Turtler like me then The Block Button is your friend..... use this to punish unsafe moves with a Throw that guarantees a basic kick. 2ndly.... Mila's got crazy long legs... see her Freestepping speed is alil slow so you'l be using her long legs to Push Players Back and Keep them out. This is just one style of playing her... shes actually quite flexible because of how fast she is. And shes very pretty.... atleast to me she is. I'm a sucker for Short hair.

Then theres Hayate.... Hayate isn't Defensive in the same way as Mila.... although you can Turtle with him he's better off using his Wind Dash to escape any Trouble in open spaces and his Command Side Step when he's back is up against the wall. He's not as good a poker as Mila nor does he have Killer Strings but he's Crushes are awesome (unsafe... but still awesome). The constant moving with him is not a bad defensive style by anymeans. Its the best thing next to parrying with Leifang. And I gotta admit... Hayate is a good looking man... He doesn't have that Soft Dreamy Feel of Ein but still cute in his own way.

Hope that helps....

 

[Noontide]

Thanks for the comments all. This seems like a very welcoming community. I too was wondering why there wasn't a thread for basic character overviews since forums like Tekken Zaibatsu, Dustloop, 8-Way-Run and other boards and wikis have something similar.

I would like to roll with Leifang, but she seems like a long term project. I think I might be better off with someone like Hitomi to get a feel for how the blocking and counter holds work in this game and then once I'm comfortable I'll possibly transition into Leifang, or sub one of the two. I hear that once you know how to play this lady properly she's like a steel wall.

 

[KING JAIMY]

Well, it's hard to give my recommendation but since you are interested in defensive fighters with long range I'd say Bayman is a good choice. He is slow and has very few combos, but he hits like a truck.

 

[Lulu]

I too was wondering why there wasn't a thread for basic character overviews since forums like Tekken Zaibatsu, Dustloop, 8-Way-Run and other boards and wikis have something similar.

My favourite is Virtua Fighter... An associate of Sega went through all the trouble of making an entire Video Series for the game basics and Beginner Tips for every character.... except Dural obviously. This was pretty cool... especially went you consider the fact that the game already had a decent tutorial to begin with... unlike a certain Fighting Game that shall remain nameless *Cough Cough street fighter*....

I hear that once you know how to play this lady properly she's like a steel wall.

LoL... Steel wishes it was that Strong.... nope.... Leifang is more like Reinforced Titanium Wall. Especially with those Back Turned parries...

 

[DestructionBomb]

To be fair (not trying to be on a bias approach here) DOA is one of the only few games where you can pick a character of your liking and can stick to it due to the mechanics of a hold system that can swap the match favor to another quick. In short, you can pick a defensive character in another game but you could miraculously learn an offensive character here because both sides can get screwed if one of those players make the right responses since both type of characters have access to hold system. A defensive character usually has to make more reads than normal, but comes with a bigger payoff for making defensive decisions whereas offensive characters get better rewards for making offensive options yet the entire roster (Minus Alpha) has access to a hold system, so an offensive character can potentially win a match just by making correct holding reads even though the defensive types have stronger rewards and actions to it.

While I would normally say "Pick a character you really like to sit down and learn." and let it go with the flow. If the character doesn't fit, no worries, the roster is big enough as it is so you could pick another. (Not just defensive characters, but offensive characters too.) But I truly believe you could learn either one here.

 

[NightAntilli]

I'm going to have to disagree with people here, saying that Leifang is perfect for your play style. Indeed she is hard to use because you need to know the game very well in order to let her function properly. She is the best defensive character in the game. That is a given. But, she's probably the worst character to start playing the game with.

However, you mentioned that you prefer defense AND long range attacks. Leifang does not have great range. She excels at short to mid range. So if the long range is necessary for you, you're going to need to pick someone else.
In fact, I think a better suited character for you might be Hitomi. Her defense is not as great as Leifang's (no one's is), but, she does get a punch parry that can boost her defense a bit, and she definitely has great range tools.
Bayman is another option. He's good at hitting and spacing and also has parries. He's a bit more of a grappler though and is a bit slower, although he can still hit quite hard. Doesn't have the range of Hitomi, but, does have better defense.

Depends on where you want the balance...

 

[Lulu]

@NightAntilli
Hitomi has Range ?
Granted when it comes to single Strike with Power full knock back attacks then yes, I can get behind that.

But I've always Bitched about Hitomi's other tools.... expecially when shes working the stun game. I like Free Canceling Single Strikes and doing that with Hitomi can have a really annoying side effect of the Opponent Staggering out range of a move that I tecknically have enough advantage to use.

Her strings are good though.... but that doesn't really having anything to do with Hitomi's range.

 

[Kyoto's Finest]

Try Kokoro.

 

[NightAntilli]

@NightAntilli
Hitomi has Range ?
Granted when it comes to single Strike with Power full knock back attacks then yes, I can get behind that.

But I've always Bitched about Hitomi's other tools.... expecially when shes working the stun game. I like Free Canceling Single Strikes and doing that with Hitomi can have a really annoying side effect of the Opponent Staggering out range of a move that I tecknically have enough advantage to use.

Her strings are good though.... but that doesn't really having anything to do with Hitomi's range.

I understand your point. However, that's more a stun issue rather than a range issue.

A lot of people try to play Hitomi only for putting pressure, but she's quite a good spacer. Her mid to long range moves are fast, and that's what makes her range game good, or at least superior to Leifang's.

It's not that Leifang doesn't have ranged moves. She has them, but she can't really rely on them. They're either extremely slow or extremely unsafe aside from being linear. She has;
9P (i17) (unsafe, has follow-up)
F+K (i23) (safe)
6F+K (i28) (safe)
2F+K (i20) (unsafe, no follow-up)
33P (i22) (unsafe, has follow-up)
3P (while ducking) (i19) (unsafe, no follow-up)

Hitomi has a lot more options;
2P+K (i18) (tracks, unsafe, has follow-up)
46P (i12!!) (unsafe)
236P (i15) (unsafe)
66K (i16) (unsafe, has follow-ups)
236K (i18) (safe)
6F+K (i18) (tracks & safe)
2F+K (i19) (tracks, unsafe, no follow-up)
9HP (unsafe)
3F+K (i20) (safe)
66F+K (i37) (guard break with advantage)

She can also go into many of these moves from other strings... So yeah.

As for Kokoro, she one of the characters with worst defense in the game...

 

[Lulu]

As for Kokoro, she one of the characters with worst defense in the game...

Huh ?

I don't understand.... Kokoro's defense is well.... just as good as anybody elses. Its actually quite difficult to identify any chatacter as the worst defender since defending yourself in DoA is much easier (so long as you're not going up against Akira) than it is in other Fighting Games.

But Kokoro doesn't have the worst defense out of all if them.... Shes her throws are great for punishing and shes got Two Sabaki's that tip the odd in her favour. Her Jab String has a sweet Heichu throw in it so if shes cornered she can wiggle her way out just by blocking to gain advantage then using the Jab String to Throw setup to Escape.... which is more than I can Say for Nyotengu.

I consider her to have the worst defensive simple because shes got none of the special tools other characters have, Slow Strikes... and average speed throws. I mean if she atleast had the same speed throws as The Grappling Four then her defenses would be better.

 

[NightAntilli]

Well... Yeah. The basic defense of everyone is ok. But Kokoro is on the bad end of additional defensive tools.

The most obvious one is that she lacks evasion. Compare her to Ayane, Christie, Sarah, Bayman, Leifang, Mila, Helena... And a bunch of others. They all have some sort of evasive movement or attack that allows some evasion of the opponent, making it easier for you to let the opponent whiff. Kokoro has maybe 1P+K, which isn't really that evasive at all.
Kokoro also lacks parries, and has inferior crushes compared to most of the cast.
And lastly, her linearity is a huge weakness. She only has a minimal amount of tracking attacks. A single proper sidestep immediately puts her on the defensive, and she has no real reliable way to turn things back around, especially against faster characters. Her 2F+K is a great crush, until you fight someone that knows how to bait it and/or avoid it. Without that move, Kokoro is in deep trouble when she's on the defensive. She has her sabakis... They help, but require very good prediction on your opponent's attacks.

 

[Lulu]

Well... Yeah. The basic defense of everyone is ok. But Kokoro is on the bad end of additional defensive tools.

The most obvious one is that she lacks evasion. Compare her to Ayane, Christie, Sarah, Bayman, Leifang, Mila, Helena... And a bunch of others. They all have some sort of evasive movement or attack that allows some evasion of the opponent, making it easier for you to let the opponent whiff. Kokoro has maybe 1P+K, which isn't really that evasive at all.
Kokoro also lacks parries, and has inferior crushes compared to most of the cast.
And lastly, her linearity is a huge weakness. She only has a minimal amount of tracking attacks. A single proper sidestep immediately puts her on the defensive, and she has no real reliable way to turn things back around, especially against faster characters. Her 2F+K is a great crush, until you fight someone that knows how to bait it and/or avoid it. Without that move, Kokoro is in deep trouble when she's on the defensive. She has her sabakis... They help, but require very good prediction on your opponent's attacks.

Yeah Tina suffers from that too. Infact quite a few characters do. Evasive moves aren't all that wide spread among the cast.... Ein, Bass, Eliot and even Hitomi aren't the most Mobile or Evasive Characters... defensively speaking.

I'd also like to nominate Kokoro's .... this move crushes more mids than it has any right to for a move that isn't even Categorised as a Crouching move. As for her lack of Tracking well thats more of an Offensive Disadvantage.

Kokoro can also Backed Up by her Safety. Defending with Kokoro is suprisingly easy.... granted you have to do this by Guarding instead of moving around (and that is Hard) but everyone who isn't a Ninja has to do it like this..... except for The Characters you mentioned and the Dragons (Jan and Jacky).

If theres one thing I think she really needs its a better Low Crush.... works.... just not Advantegously.

 

[Nuke-Nin]

Sarah. Always go Sarah

 

[Lulu]

Sarah. Always go Sarah

There You Are !!! I missed you.

 

[Nuke-Nin]

There You Are !!! I missed you.

awwww Thank you so much!

 

[Noontide]

I think that NightAntilli has made a lot of very convincing points so I've decided to run with Hitomi. Her being the tutorial character also helps, since I'm familiar with many of her moves already. A Hitomi that plays a little more patiently than going hog wild might be interesting.

Thanks for contributions all.