DOA6 New Gameplay Mechanics Revealed

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Try to keep an open mind as the footage is an early build of Dead or Alive 6, and we are slowly piecing the mechanics together the best we can with the information we have available to us. DOA6 will be available for us to play at EVO this year so observation is clearly welcomed by Team NINJA.

At 3:30 PM Pacific Time a stream from IGN is expected to help us make some sense of today's Famitsu interview with Shimbori that revealed several new mechanics to the DOA formula. Most developers copy and paste the predecessor, but the sixth installment of our game will have plenty of new mechanics, coupled with the elements we loved most from DOA5LR. Let's take a quick peep at what's new:

Critical Bursts, Power Blows and Power Launchers are gone!

When it came to the hand to hand combat, with no environmental damage in the picture, the critical bursts felt like a really special part of DOA. Hopefully this new system will blow our minds. How do you feel about this change?

New Mechanic: Side Attack

The side-step will not be taken out, but replaced with something else. You must release :8::2: and follow up with the new Special button (H+P+K) which is detailed to some degree in the Famitsu Interview. The S button will be conducive to several new mechanics in the game. You can attack while avoiding a straight hit, but it always forces you to commit, so there is risk for the person side-stepping. A successful hit at close range will result in major damage. The stage will also be dependent on how damage is dealt. Seems like timing will mean everything.

New Mechanic: Break Gauge

If you watched the trailer, you may have noticed an additional bar under the HP. That's the break gauge and it fills up as you deal damage according to the Japanese translation of the interview. It also accumulates or freezes depending on your success with hold game duing the fight. When the bar fills up you will have access to "Break Hold" and "Break Blow." How they handle the holds will probably be one of the more complex topics of this new Break Gauge mechanic.

New System: Fatal Rush/ Auto Combo ( S, S, S, S )

Pressing that Special button continuously is an activity all characters can trigger.... the first hit will initiate a Fatal Stun, which puts the opponent in an unprotected state, and the normal hold can not be performed. If your gauge bar is filled you can use "Break Blow" on the last hit. Another interesting tidbit of information is that this auto combo will not cost from the break gauge, thankfully these moves are expected to be highly unsafe on block and are not invincible.

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New System: Break Blow ( :6:+ S )

As mentioned this works by filling up the break gauge and spending it all. This is the special cinematic punch that breaks the face of your opponent and is also confirmed by Shimbori to tear clothes. This can beat high and medium attacks, and can even break throws! A technique Shimbori calls the "invincible attack." This move can also be incorporated with an air juggle and the environment. Though it's a strong move, Break Holds can beat it, and lows can too.

New System: Break Hold ( :4: + S )

It sounds like this mechanic will let you hold anything from any stage! This could be absolutely wonderful for dealing with people that love spamming the same moves over and over. This will make even the fastest characters think twice. You move behind the opponent, and do damage to them as you do it, hopefully they are all unique animations for all characters.

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Famitsu was able to let us in on a lot of new information this early on, so to me this game will have little chance of delay and will be changing our lives in 2019. Sometime after the IGN stream I will edit this story with new details of the mechanics and also include a new write-up pertaining to the returning characters and how they will play differently from their DOA5 counterparts.

Please look no further than FSD for high quality content, tournament write-ups, news updates and an active forum that has been the most trusted source for DOA competitive play. Let's get hype!

 
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My main argument is that Offensive Holds are exclusive to certain characters. Offensive holds are a part of the system of DoA much like side-steps & everything else being introduced; every character should have access to one
I highly disagree with this, there’s no difference between a regular hold and a offensive hold except the fact that the offensive hold is a throw with hold properties. Some characters really do not need an offensive hold. I think offensive holds should not be something everybody should have since it makes everyone the same and that’s boring.
 
My main argument is that Offensive Holds are exclusive to certain characters. Offensive holds are a part of the system of DoA much like side-steps & everything else being introduced; every character should have access to one

While making the characters more Homogeneous will certainly help the game's balance... I don't think it would make people want to play it as much... or form a lasting attachment to their character of choice. I definitely wouldn't want Jacky to have an Offensive Hold.... Or even more damaging regular throws... for me...I throw with Jacky because the animations is oh so Satisfying to Watch. ;)

I can actually think of 5 characters that won't benefit from or might even become worse if they are given offensive holds.
:ayane::kokoro::phase4::sarah::rig:.

Stagger escaping would have to be much faster when a Side-Step is introduced so the opposing player has a chance to escape if they're dexterous enough to balance against any guaranteed damage that would be achieved through Side-steps. Here's another catch though: there is no marginal difference in frames between fastest stagger escaping & inputting a counter in its fastest state in DoA5 so therefore when you stun me with a side-step; I basically have to counter, unless the opponent is kind enough to not do anything while I'm stunned or in a counter state. In DoA6 SS has a blow-back mechanic which will (Guaranteed) cause a wall-splat or a breakable object situation. If a player is fast enough to stagger escape they're rewarded back in neutral-If a player is too slow to stagger escape the opponent can be rewarded in continuing their combo.

I'l be honest with you.... I think Stagger Escaping is to DoA5 what Fatal Rush is to DoA6.... completely unnecessary possibly even harmful to the game's appeal.
 
Not necessarily because look at DoA4; every character had an Offensive Hold that was adequately unique.

Yes, look at DoA4. The game that everyone mostly had the same properties available in the moveset. The game that all the characters played the same meta, and a game that devolved into just who had the fastest attacks for neutral, best untechable force techs, and most moves available for an unholdable. The entire cast "played the same", and Team NINJA saw this and adjusted it back to the way it was in DOA2 and DOA3 where movesets were more unique across the cast. It was a conscious effort by Team NINJA to avoid that "samey-ness" amongst the roster.
 
Fatal rush is a high attack with slow start-up frames(maybe around 20f?),basically considered to be some high attacks like christie's p+k and genfu's 4p+k in DOA5 which could follow some guarantee damage.
It's just another option for offensive player,and it's not unholdable,why people think it's bad?
From now on,I think most changes are fine except 6S and hi counter hit's damage rate
6S is too OP
HCH damage rate is unfair to throw and hold
 
Every character has unique Strikes, unique Counters, unique Grabs. Offensive holds would go under unique grabs.

Even in DOA4, everyone had an attack, throw, and hold, but not everyone had an Attack that also Holds (Sabaki) even though everyone had a Throw that also Holds (OH). In DOA5, not everyone had a sabaki, and not everyone had an offensive hold.

To me that's fair.
 
Are Offensive Holds really to be considered unfair to the point where it's previous use among all characters is to be removed?

I don't think that's what ge meant...

Now I never played DoA4 beyond the demo but what I think he means is... because every character had an offensive hold... you could min max the roster to find the absolute best character and just use them...

Street Fighter actually has this problem right now with its Shoto Characters... theres about 5 of them but there was no reason to use anyone but Guile & Akuma... there more or less have all the same tools but but Guile and Akuma, without a doubt, have the best versions of those tools...

It's but one move that actually accentuates the unique move-set a character has been given because it can be animated originally among all characters; Every character can have a unique Offensive Hold with unique frame data & unique properties that can be balanced in regards to the entire roster.

You do have a point there... but think of How hard you would have to buff Slower Character's Offensive Holds in order to compensate for their lack of speed or reach. Its not impossible. But could have unforseen consequences.

The key to balancing offensive holds for everyone that isn't heavy or a grappler is to give a 1-3 frame window in which it can be throw escaped just like a neutral grab & just like the offensive holds from Bayman & Leifang (though their offensive holds are unique because they contain chains for greater damage.)

Actually only Neutral Throws have a Guaranted Throw Escaped Window... Bayman & Leifang's Offensive Holds can only be escaped if you can input the throw escape before the opponent can input the next chain in the throw.

The grapplers can have offensive holds that cannot be throw escaped & they usually have two or more. (this is unique).

I'd actually be willing to Try this out... VF has Throws like This.

In all honesty if I was to be given but one problem to fix in DoA it's a player being negative after landing a hit in neutral.

This problem has already been addressed. Every character has something they can land on hit that is atleast +0. You're just not using them.

It makes spacing/footsies much more difficult than need be.

How ?

A player shouldn't incur a penalty for landing a hit.

And they don't... if you land a hit you get Damage... seems fair all things considered.
 
Huh? What's that sweetie? I'm too busy playing SC2 a game with an actual sidestep and sidestep attack with from my baby girl Talim. It feels great.

okay jokes aside let me ask a serious question. Why are you okay without an a sidestep?
Because DOA1 through Dimensions didn't have it, it became a thing in DOA5 when the VFs came which made sense because VF was helping advise TN with gameplay and such. I'm just saying that even without a sidestep its not like DOA will suffer, especially if they have a side attack as a way to compensate
 
Because DOA1 through Dimensions didn't have it, it became a thing in DOA5 when the VFs came which made sense because VF was helping advise TN with gameplay and such. I'm just saying that even without a sidestep its not like DOA will suffer, especially if they have a side attack as a way to compensate
That was a different time period though. DOA ! and thsoe early 3D fighters didn't have sidesteps. DOA 5 got sidestep, not VF was there, they got sidestep because they were trying something new and added lots of data and information for the moves. VF didn't create sidestep. It was jsut in the game. They didn't get sidestep until like VF3.

As fighters have grown and change they have added things. Soul charges were not a thing until SC2 for example. Now SC5 and Sc6 have meter systems now. DOA has to do that step thing and brushing over something as basic as a sidestep is kind of not good. I mean if 3.1 had a sidestep that game would be b even better. If DOA 4 had a sidestep, it wouldn't be as broken. Not having a sidestep compounds problems like a questionable neutral game and everything being so damn unsafe.

Sidenote: DOA 5 showed me just how linear a lot of character's movesets were. I cried a little when I saw all the strings that track for Zack.
 
Because DOA1 through Dimensions didn't have it, it became a thing in DOA5 when the VFs came which made sense because VF was helping advise TN with gameplay and such. I'm just saying that even without a sidestep its not like DOA will suffer, especially if they have a side attack as a way to compensate

It actually did though. Where do you think the name of this forum came from?
 
It actually did though. Where do you think the name of this forum came from?
It's not called a side step tho which is what I'm getting at. The FreeStepDodge is what DOA had long before side steps so like why not just stick to that and refine it, like?
 
I don't like that at all. Just leave it standard.
Why? People who don't want to learn how to Hold properly are going to have to build meter for it and not have access to them whenever they need them. Sounds like a disadvantage to me. If that's what this means it also means that the auto combo can be regular held out of, which makes it completely pointless, and Break Blow can be held just like Power Blow.
 
Why? People who don't want to learn how to Hold properly are going to have to build meter for it and not have access to them whenever they need them. Sounds like a disadvantage to me. If that's what this means it also means that the auto combo can be regular held out of, which makes it completely pointless, and Break Blow can be held just like Power Blow.

More than likely the options are going to be 3 way hold or 4 way hold. I'm just not a fan of that. The hold system needs to be standardized and honestly the way it was in 5 was fine. 4 way hold with advanced holds that gave more damage potential.

Also, the option is just going to cause all kinds of problems within the community and confusion for newer players.
 
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