DOA5U "TORIYAH!!!" - An DOA5U guide to Ein

Tenryuga

Well-Known Member
Before I start I've a coupe of shoutout's I want to make:

First off shoutout to my Ein crew, @MajesticBlue for helping me with this guide and being an encyclopedia for me back when I was learning the character and the forms of movement @Zeo, for introducing me to this character and the Ein discussions and @TakedaZX also for the discussions and all the DOA4 Ein vids of Offbeat; Introducing me to his tools before 5U even dropped.

Shoutout to @JayceeChris for repping Ein offline in France and putting in work while doing it.

Shoutout to @LightSonic for being a player with the balls to use Ein in a tournament and repping him offline thus far.

Shoutout to all of you that I play on PSN from here especially @Ael with her zoning and movement. You guys keep me sharp.

Shoutout to @Allan Paris for making the Ein video guide and showing me the worth of Ein's 9P. I would have probably never used it at all if not for that tip.

and lastly Shoutout to @iHajinShinobi for being extremely helpful to me. Always answering my questions about DOA and discussing spacing strategies with me. I probably would never have become that efficient at the playstying style I utilize if not for him and so he has my thanks for that.

OK so here we go. It's long as hell so I recommend looking at it in parts and applying the information bit by bit. Green text is my input; Blue is MajesticBlue's take on things. If you do not understand what frame data is or the numeric notation for inputs I would suggest you learn them because this guide assumes you know what those are. Even if you don't still take a look at some of the breakdowns and come back to the guide later when you learn those. They are essential for complete understanding of the guide.

TERMINOLOGY

This is here mostly for beginners or players that don’t know what the following words in the guide refer to. Especially those that have never played a fighting game before:

GDLK - Godlike. Yes I need to make sure you know what this means. :cool:

Neutral – The position both characters are in when neither has a distinct offensive advantage. During this phase of the game pressure, spacing, whiff punishment and footsies occur in order for a player to establish offensive momentum.

Offensive momentum - The moment a player lands any type of hit the neutral game ends and the player that has won it has earned an offensive edge whether they have gotten a knockback/knockdown or stun. How a player chooses to follow up on those is up to them but generally you gain momentum when either of those things happen.

Pressure - A sequence of attacks designed to get through your opponents defense. Pressuring isn't just mindlessly putting attacks out on somebody; You should have one of the following goals when doing it: Either mixing up or resetting pressure.

Mix-ups - This is when you force your opponent to decide what to defend against when you have 2 or more possible options to open up their guard. The most basic example of a mixup in DOA is a mid hitting strike or throw whether you have frame advantage or are in the middle of a string.

Pressure Resets - This is exactly what is implied. You perform an action that allows you to continue pressure whether the opponent is hit or not. An example of this in DOA is free cancelling strings to cut them short and start another string or using the standard 2P. Most 2P's are either neutral on hit or frame advantage which is another form of pressure reset since you are allowed to continue pressure and even go for a mix up when you are at advantage.

Spacing/Zoning – The act of attempting to control an area on the screen by using ones pokes and other moves in order to out-prioritize and limit an opponent’s options to establish offensive momentum. Many players make the mistake of assuming spacing/zoning is limited to fighting at long range when it is not. Zoning is not just keeping your distance; It is about controlling a specific range and maintaining that control which in turn limits what your opponent can do to you. This range should be one where you can promptly respond to your opponents attempts to approach you or anything the opponent does in general. It can create many opportunities such as an opening to get in for characters who lack moves that reliably give them that ability. (Such as Ein.)

Footsies – The term for when players are using their mobility and pokes within a range that is ideal for themselves and just outside of their opponent's ideal range in order to create opportunities to start an offense. It is an skill crucial to baiting whiffs and even if you do not manage to land a whiff punisher if an opponent whiffs moves too close to you that is enough to gain momentum because whiffed attacks leave a player at disadvantage.

Turtling – This is the term for displaying no aggressive intentions at all and waiting for the opponent to blow themselves up by making mistakes. Since Ein is VERY good at punishing mistakes playing like this it is a tactic you should learn to utilize if you actually want to win with him.

Hit Confirming - The act of recognizing you have struck your opponent and proceeding accordingly. An example of poor hit confirming would be stunning someone with Ein's 3P then sidestepping because you did not wait to see if it was blocked; You automatically assumed it was blocked and thus followed up incorrectly. Good hit-confirming would be something like doing Ein's 3K or 6K, recognizing you got the counter hit stun, then finishing the string as opposed to just tossing it out 24/7 and hoping the first hit connects.

Whiffing - When a move completely fails to make contact with somebody. This can be done intentionally to invite your opponent to attack in which you can then use a keepout move or possibly whiff punisher if they attempted to whiff punish you and failed to do so.

Whiff Punishment - The act of striking an opponent during the recovery frames of a move they use that fails to hit you. Whiff punishment CANNOT BE HELD. If you get held during an whiff punishment attempt you were either too slow to react or the move that was whiffed actually recovers quickly.

Oki/ Okizeme - This is basically the tactics you would apply when you score a knockdown. An example is trying to get a grounded 2P hit, or using an attack or throw on the opponent as they get up from the ground whether it is normally or via tech roll.

Recovery - The amount of time a player must wait before they can perform an action such as blocking, sidestepping or holding after performing an attack.

TYPES OF MOVEMENT

KBD / Korean Back Dash - This is done by inputting 214 at a consistent rhythm. It moves the character backward more quickly that simply holding back.

Wavedashing - 236 at a consistent motion. This accels the character at a faster pace than walking or dashing forward. Ein's wavedash is really good because it tech crouches highs.

Double Dash - 6 236 6 236.... consistently. What this does is a crouch dash cancelled into a forward dash. It cuts distance much faster than Wavedash.

Backdash Cancel - Double tap back and hold the button down on your second input. You character will backdash into a free step.

OVERVIEW

Ein is all about controlling space and using the environment. He has the tools he needs to make people extremely hesitant to approach when he is at mid to long range as well as make people think thrice about putting moves on the screen due to his excellent whiff punishers. Almost all of his whiff punishers and juggles provide knockbacks that can either pick up additional damage from walls and danger zones or put his opponent near themwhere he can begin to work his wall game. He lacks mix-ups and he isn’t the greatest at close combat but because his damage output is high enough and he has the potential to take rounds just through efficient and productive play in the neutral game. This character truly does not need to delve into the stun game at all to get damage.

That said this is not a character with a lot of gimmicks or tools. He has nothing he can fall back on if the player has been sloppy. He definitely isn’t a character that holds your hand and because of that I recommend him to players starting out in DOA because through playing him you will develop the fundamental skills necessary to be adept in this game. Use of the environment, making reads, positioning yourself to take advantage of dangerzones, whiff punishment and movement during spacing. All of these things are extremely vital to be successful with Ein and DOA in general.



Ein has a very interesting design as a character. Personally I feel this is a weaker incarnation then the Ein from our past. He is still a fundamental heavy character who relies on good reads and sets himself up to do so. In the past I would say it was in his best interest to play a strong footsie game with strong punishment all around. While he may have lost some of his key spacing tools (A prime example being 6P+K and 4K.) good movement and punishment are still vital to this character.

So what exactly is Ein's path to victory then? What do his tools say about his character and what playstyles does it reward? In previous games Ein had some amazing tools for keep out and whiff punishment; we no longer have some of them, so I feel this play style is not as strong as it used to be. If you look at his speed we have a spread of 10/13/13. Not exactly all that fast. Then when you consider his string game things begin to look a little bleak. While he has some safety he has a lot of high-low mixups or options that don't give him all that much. So he isn't a rush down monster by any means. As Ein players we need to know how adapt our playstyle and tools to deal with our matchups while we take advantage of any weakness we see along the way. IMO he is played pseudo-aggressively with aggressive space control depending on the MU.

Ein is best played at mid range I feel. Keep him right out of the range of the majority of your opponents attacks. The range you keep him at should be determined by the match up though most of the time it is gonna fall within mid range. You can't be afraid to go in and change the momentum at a moment's notice either. Be hard to read and be sure to master all advanced forms of movement.



Now that you have an idea of what Ein is all about let's look at his pro's and con's:
PROS

-High damage output. (Has potential to hit over 80 points on stun > launch.)

-Top tier space control; Arguably one of the best in the game at it.

-Top tier whiff punishers especially 46P. He is unarguably the best in the game at this.

-Can cover himself during spacing if he whiffs outside of the opponent’s range against a majority of the cast.

-Top tier usage of bounds; WRK > 6KK hitting all weights for 43 damage + the damage done prior to the bound as well as potential wall / danger zone damage.

-Good keep out tools in 4K and 6P+K.

-Deep stuns. 3P is no joke…

-Does not need to play the stun game much to win rounds.

-Wall pressure is intense; One mistake from the opponent could lead to them kissing the wall / danger zones and taking 25% to over 33% of the health bar.

-Most important strings and pokes are safe / semi safe.

-2P has to be respected by i10 / i12 speed or slower characters especially when the right reads are made

-Unarguably has some of the best single hit pokes in the game.

-His shades.

CONS

-Poor mix-ups. What he can do to get through an opponent's guard is limited in both his strings and when he has frame advantage.

-Poor P strings outside of CH PKK. He can get crushed easily for using them and they contain no reliable mids or stun initiators.

-Poor ability to track especially within strings.

-Some of his best tools for keep-out which are 6P+K, 9P, 4K and 4H+K, are all unsafe on guard and when you whiff them too close to the opponent. If you use them you better hit or be out of the opponents range.

-He is a little bitch in close quarters at times.

-He has no fast tracking high crush to stop people from bulldozing him in close range.

-2P, the gift of the gods to him in close combat, has reduced worth against the speed queens and people with 11i mids.

-Frame advantage moves aside from 2P, 2H+K and 3H+K lack enough advantage to make them significant considering the speed and conditions required to land them.

-If Zack did not exist he would have the worst wardrobe in the roster.




THE NEUTRAL GAME

In the neutral game our goal is to whiff punish and carry them to that wall or line them up with a danger zone. At range we can put them into our Mid-Mid mixup with moves like 3KK and P+KP. Even if they block the first hit they have to respect your options. 3KK and P+KP are also spectacular counter hit tools you can take advantage of to force hesitation. Not to mention we have some great tracking moves at range that also have use in close range. Many a time we have to be ready to adopt a new gameplan and get them to focus on something else for a while. This is where good movement and prediction come into play. Even if it isn't his best option he does have 66KKK as a whiff punisher and it carries to the wall decently.

Ein is very well equipped as a counter hit character. While many characters can play this play style I feel Ein is very much suited for it.3P is an prime example of a counter hit tool. You can use this to check their disadvantage all day. Though you gotta watch it as it is a highish mid meaning it is possible to get crushed by things that shouldn't be crushing you. Best thing about it is it is only negative 4 on block giving you another chance to make a read. Not to mention the threshold launch properties.

It feels like Ein's mission in life is to get them to the wall. Period. He wants to play with every shiny dangerzone he can find and keep things real simple. With use of good spacing we can use our awesome whiff punish tools such as 236P and 46P.

His pace is quite quirky in a sense. So far I have had the best luck keeping things fast and furious in the stun game. Check them with a deep stun and put them into an instant mix up with our launchers. Yes, it is risky but we have to commit to our read and go for our easy damage, all the while building up the momentum and getting them ever closer to the nearest danger zone or wall. This is only one side to the character though.



CLOSE RANGE

In close range your objective as Ein is to get a knockback in any way possible so you can get breathing room because he sucks ass in close combat. You are not going to accomplish much being in close range with Ein unless you have your opponent near danger zones and walls or get them stunned. With crappy mix-ups and no in string tracking outside of sweeps that are slow or come late in string you aren’t going to be applying much offensive pressure at all. Here you want to make good use of his 2P to apply pressure and 4P to check sidestep. Use the universal sidestep, holds, and 2P to crush when on the defense. 2H+K can be used when you have a good read on the incoming highs. Your strings and pokes while limited at least give you a reward when they hit whether it be a stun, knockback / breathing room or slight frame advantage. 33T is your go to throw on blocking opponents and when you stun somebody because once it connects Ein has knocked down his opponent and is now at mid-range where he should be. The damage off the grab is also nothing to take lightly.

When you get a stun off of 3P/ 6P do yourself a favor and launch or throw with 33T ASAP. 3P is a deep stun that cannot be slow escaped and leaves Ein at +30 with fastest SE. The stun is so deep that you can sit there and react to what your opponent is doing and take the appropriate action. 6P is almost as good as 3P at +26 fastest SE. If you get a 3K stun you can hit-confirm 3KK or mix-up with 3P / P or P strings. Ein’s damage output is high enough as is so you don’t need to risk getting held to get additional damage. Get your juggle damage or 70-105 points off the neck chop and resume zoning them out or apply wakeup pressure when near a wall. Forcing mix-ups in stun is an ineffective way to play Ein; Play Hitomi if you want to do that.

On the opponents knockdown you have two options. Space yourself out to punish whiffed wake up kicks and people who think it’s funny to get up off the ground and attack or attempt to apply ground pressure with 2P / 1K. When they start tech rolling or just rising from the ground that’s when you introduce 2H+K and H+K to clip sidestep and pick up advantage on hit. 236K / 46K should also be used for advantage on block and damage on hit. My favorite thing to do is intimidate them with crouch dashes and mix them up with 3P / 33T when they start to realize they shouldn't wake up kick or hit buttons on wake up or tech roll.

If you sandwich them on a wall you want to score CH PKK, 6KK, 3KK, 236P, 46P, or grab them with 33T for 26%+ on NH; Even greater damage on electric / explosive surfaces or if it triggers a danger zone. If they are stunned by 3P / 6P at the wall I would highly recommend against playing the stun game because you have a 4 way mix-up of 46P, 236P, 3KK, and 33T, all of which lead to over 100 points of damage on CH. You really shouldn’t give them more chances to hold just for a few extra points of damage.



When Ein is having a hard time with tracking I feel it is time to take a step back. While we have some good options with H+K and 2H+K not to mention 214K I feel he just doesn’t have enough step coverage. I dislike 4P because it is a high and a lot of characters can SS into something that crushes. I find that 3KK can help with some of his stepping issues. The move just tends to hit home a lot for me so I encourage players to experiment with it. 214K is a high as well, it more then makes up for that in other ways though. It crushes lows, is a NC and goes into a mid kick. All while being pretty safe and still kinda suprising. Gotta love that airstate.


With all of this in mind here are Ein’s close range tools:

P strings – Run of the mill pressure options. If you plan to do any free canceling 3P, 2P, 6K, 4P, and grabs / offensive holds are the go to options. Don't neglect standalone P as a counter hit tool because it is +3 on counter hit. Here are his strings:

PP6P – This goes into an unsafe mid punch crumple stun for the P followup, a semi-safe mid kick that causes knockback for the K follow-up and an unsafe low sweep in 2K that gives +10 on hit. I would end this string at the 6P more often than not because it has pushback large enough for Ein to backdash and make incoming pokes whiff if the opponent is respecting his enders longer than they need to. It is also safe at -4. Finish the string when you believe they are conditioned to hit buttons so counter hits start rolling in.

66P – Same tactics of the above can be applied to this. A decent poke to approach someone with and causes a light stun. Sometimes you can extend the stun with jab if they were expecting the follow-up crumple stun.

PP2K – You will rarely ever use the follow-ups to this string because there is no mixup after it other than a high kick guard break and a low that causes a trip stun. With no mid option all the opponent needs to do is duck. This string is safe at -4 though and it will cause a good stun on people trying to mash out of your strings. If you do decide to finish this use the low as that will grant frame advantage on normal hit.

2K – You can use this to poke at a short distance. Otherwise treat it the same as the above string.

PPP – LOL this string is garbage. Unsafe on block and is a slow charge that can be reacted to for +8. Not worth it though the charge has use on people who respect Ein in close range more than they need to.

PK – This is a really good string; It's freaking godly I swear. It is a 2 in 1 on counter hit and it stuns giving Ein +5. The best part is the follow-up, PKK, is a bound so when the opponent gets stunned by PK on counter hit they have to choose between holding and risking losing 33% from a grab or taking 28%+ damage from the bound into WRK > 6KK or WRK > 66KKK on lightweights.

PPK – Same as above only with an additional jab. This string is frankly garbage because it is redundant. KK is a quick bound in stun and CH PKK might as well be a 3 in 1. We do not need this string; IDK why this is not replaced by something he could actually use like some tracking or mids.

K – Same as above only without jabs. This is a decent poke from time to time outside of jab range.

2P – This is a staple pressure tool. It gives +1 on hit meaning his 13 frame 3P and 6K come out at 12 frames. 2P will also come out at 12 frames and his jab becomes 9 frames making it tie with the speed queens of DOA. This is really good for setting us up to get stuns and counter hits.

8P – This is a sitdown stun on normal hit and a bound on counter hit. Time it right to punish whiffs and get that damage. The sit-down stun guarantees 33K and 8P.

6KK – A Knee that stuns into a sit-down stun follow-up on NH and a knockback on CH. 6K gives +19 on CH (no SE) so it is good to set up grabs and enter the stun game with 3P or jabs.

4P – This is a 13 frame tracking high. It’s good to start putting out once people realize Ein is linear. It is also nice to retaliate with when people realize you keep trying to poke them with linear moves during their offense or when their offense has ended. If they get stunned by 4PP or 4P2K the opponent is in a good mix-up because if they do not hold mid P after these moves they are taking 25%+ damage from 4PPP and 4P2KP on CH. Pay attention to your opponent’s tendencies when they get stunned by 4PP and 4P2K. If you notice they aren’t holding introduce the launchers at the end of the strings. Then things get good because you start scoring Hi-Counter 33T when they start holding. This poke even has applications for spacing and keepout because it stuns on NH and the string follow-ups cover a decent amount of space.

3P – This is one of the best mid pokes in the game. It is safe and has a deep ass stun. +40 no slow escape and +30 with slow escape. You can follow up with whatever you want. It is also a threshold launcher meaning when you use it twice in a row it launches or when you break the threshold. If it is guarded you are at -4 and have a couple of options. I will start with the practical legit options:

Fuzzy guard – This is to deal with scumbags who think it’s funny to throw somebody when they do safe moves. It will duck the throw and block mid retaliation. If they chose to do a slow grab chances are you can jab them for hi counter stun or throw punish them.

Sidestep / Sidestep strike – If they did something linear 7 times out of 10 sidestep P or side step K will get a stun whether it be normal hit or counter hit. Blame DOA’s sidestep mechanics for it not being 10 out of 10. If you just sidestep without attacking the only thing you are getting hit by is tracking moves and depending on the recovery of the move you stepped Ein picks up frame advantage.

Defensive hold – Make a read and get some damage. Ein’s holds are all solid dealing 58 damage at the least and 87 damage on hi counter. That’s 29% damage which is well worth it. Practice getting these on counter / Hi-counter status after a blocked 3P for the best results.

The following is the worst possible thing you can do:

Strike – First of all let me state that if you have been playing online and scored counterblows off of strikes after the opponent blocks 3P then congratulations. You abused lag. Either that or the opponent didn’t do their homework and realize they should be attacking Ein after they block a 3P. Now let me ask: what are you trying to accomplish by doing this? -4 on block means Ein’s initial pokes are coming out at 14/17/17. This is slower than Bass in neutral. You will not beat ANY character in the game to the punch at those speeds. If you try this in an offline environment you will be punished harshly for it.

Now you could get lucky by choosing to do 2P or 2H+K after 3P to crush highs and to that I have to ask what was the point? If you read a high was coming why not use the high hold and get 58 – 87 points of damage? 2P is only giving you meager single digit damage and 2H+K is giving you a trip stun (on CH) and 11% damage at most if the mid-throw mix-up doesn’t go your way. Don’t even mention anything to me about using 2H+K to avoid throws because that is a knockdown. I don’t see why you would take such an risk for a knockdown.

If you are going to do anything here it should be 9P. 9P will launch them for hi counter damage and possibly duck highs though it still isn't enough to justify striking after a blocked 3P without reason IMO. Don't be stupid.

TLDR version this is a terrible habit and if you do this you need to stop it right now. If people like to use slow moves after they block your 3P then hold or block them don’t try to strike. Don’t try to crush either because the risk is not worth the reward.

6P – The same things that apply to 3P apply here but the difference is that this move is a high and it is slower but deals more damage. It is also -5 on block meaning grapplers can punish it for whatever reason. Avoid usage of this move on grapplers if your opponent shows they do their HW by punishing you for it. This move is also surprisingly good for whiff punishment and keepout in closer ranges when people come at you with slow moves.



STUN GAME

Eins stun > launch is a pretty important thing to learn and abuse. The mind game off of a counter hit 3P is a very strong one, needing a twitch reaction in order to take an action. A ch 3p will put you into an instant mixup of 3P_WRK_33K. Threshold 3P is unseeable. If they hold it, it means they guessed. You can use this in your favor any way you want. It sets you up for high counter tick throws. He has other unseeable launchers as well such as 4H+K and 9K. Don't forget about his 6P stun, it is a pretty deep stun. When you have them in a stun I feel like some moves become more valuble. 2 moves I like to throw out when they are stunned is (Remember you can start this from a jab string are KK and 1KK/ 1KP.

Is he gonna go mid or mid? Ein is lucky enough to have an amazing mid game during stun. Whether you want to bait them or launch them he has a mid for it. Being predictable isn't the worst thing in the world if you can read well. Condition them to expect the mids. Once you do they now know they are in your guessing game. We narrow down our options and commit to our read. Essentially we always go mid till they start to do something. Once we know what it is they like to do we make em pay the price.



Ideally you want to keep things short and sweet here with Ein for those good vibrations. Launch immediately after you get any deep stun and only go to level 2 if you absolutely need to for that burst /launch/ throw mix-up. Be sure to learn your heavyweight juggles. Anyway here we go with our options:

P strings – P and PP are deep stuns. PP2K is enough of a stun to give you any wall splat you want at walls and PPP will splat them on the wall. PP6PK will wall splat and so will PP6PP. Midscreen PP6PP is meant to blitz Ein through the threshold. Mix-up after PP6P on people that hold mid punch often. These tactics also apply to Ein's 66P series.

3P – Good speed at 13 frames and is a deep stun and threshold launcher. Juggle with 3P > 6KK or PP6PK after the launch. Be sure to make opponents fear this as both an unseeable threshold launcher and unescapable stun.

8P – This move is excellent. The bound provides consistent damage from WRK > 6KK and 66 close hit 236P. My only gripe with it is that 8P itself doesn't do as much damage as it should for a launcher class move. (It does the same damage as his 3P which is a poke.)

6P – You can extend stun with this once in a while if it wasn’t the initial stun. You get 15+ extra points of damage added on to your juggle. The stun is deep too at +26 fastest stagger so you can follow with any launcher.

6P+K – His critical burst. It causes a crumple stun on any hit status meaning the opponent has to hold if you intend to launch them. It will obviously cause a critical burst when it breaks the threshold.

KK – LOL this move is GDLK! If it hits it is doing 102 damage at minimum and 113 on Alpha / lightweights on CH 3P > KK. WRK > 66KKK for Alpha / lightweights, WRK > 6KK on all other weights. If they start holding start throwing and mixing up. Until then do this all day long.

3KK – This has the potential to mind screw people so hard. You hit with the mid K they have no choice but to deal with the mix-up. They don’t hold immediately they are going into the air. Mix up after 3K with delays and quick strikes like 3P and jabs in case they decide to stagger escape when you don’t choose to 3KK. Don't forget 33T either.

33K – This is the only mid kick launcher you should be using with Ein other than 3KK. It is fast at 15 frames and provides the most damaging juggles out of all his mid kick launchers. If you crouch dash to alert the opponent that this move is coming you can use it in a midgame with WRK because both moves have the potential of coming out from a crouch dash.

7K/9K – These move have applications when the opponent is stagger escaping Ein’s jabs but other than that stick to 33K.

1K – This is where all of Ein’s mix-ups are. 1KP is a launch. 1KK is a launch. 1K6PP puts him at critical level 3. You can also mixup at 1K6P. 1K6PK will wall-splat. It’s a decent tool to blitz him through the threshold.

4H+K – This is the only high launcher you should use other than WRK when you need damage. This one is quick and leads to solid damage.

6H+K – The only reason this move exists is to give Einan high launcher that doesn’t splat. It’s damage and launch height are pathetic. Avoid it if you can.

WRK (Crouch; While Rising Kick) – This launcher is slow as hell but it is his most damaging launch due to the raw damage and the juggles the launch height allows for. Use it after his deep stuns.

33T – 105 damage on Hi-counter. You should nail this quite a few times because Ein isn’t an character that allows the opponent to stagger escape.



MID – LONG RANGE
This is where you need to be. Ein is an absolute demon at these ranges. There are two ways to play Ein here. One is to turtle and let the opponent come to you so you can score hits off his whiff punishers and keep-away moves such as 4K and 6P+K. The other is to use movement via Korean back dash, forward dash cancels and wave-dashing to bait whiffs from your opponent that you can punish. I believe it is best to learn how to play both ways even though it isn’t entirely necessary because specific styles will benefit him more in some matchups. For example Ein isn’t going to accomplish much trying to turtle against Ayane(he doesn't accomplish much against Ayane period); He has to get her to make mistakes. On the flipside trying to bait things from Hayate with movement could result in Ein giving Hayate a free hit off of any gap closer Hayate chooses. Find a good balance between the two. Develop solid footsies / spacing tactics and you are good to go with Ein at mid – long range.

FOOTSIES

Korean back dash, wave dashing and forward dash cancels as well as simply running to bait responses from your opponent work effectively. Usually when someone sees their opponent approaching them they will either strike with a keep-out move or sit there and guard. If you expect retaliation simply move into the tip of your opponents attack range and back away with KBD or standard back-dashing so you have enough space and time to react to their whiff. 66T sees some good use here to catch people trying to come at you with strings when you are approaching or when they are trying to come to you. P+K is also a good choice here as it is a safe mid with a good stun on normal and counter hit and the mid punch follow-up is a knockback putting you into a good position mid screen and granting you additional damage or a combo from walls or danger zones. 3K is a great poke as well, just make sure you don't whiff it too close to the opponent because the recovery on whiff is quite terrible. 46P is great due to its safety and knockback. If you whiff it chances are your opponent is still outside of the range they need to be to punish you so you can toss it out again and score a counter hit.

Whiffing moves with small recovery in general is a way to bait your opponents into making their own whiffs. I recommend his initial pokes, 4P (don't complete the strings unless you get a stun), 2K, and 1K. 46P at longer ranges. P+K and 3K work because your opponent might run in thinking you stopped at the first attack only to get counter blown by the second hit of the moves though P+K works better than 3K in that regard. If they whiff something during your spacing but you failed to react with a whiff punish I recommend 46K or 2H+K to pick up some advantage to start an offense. 214K is good to clip sidestep since it is safe and has better range than H+K though it is a high.

At times you may have to be the one to approach your opponent because they are too afraid to come at you. You may also have to approach if they have the life lead. This is where you introduce 66K, run up sweep, run up H+K, run up grab or 66T, and run up strike. 2H+K will grant you +10 and clips sidestep. H+K clips sidestep. Regular grabs break defense and the offensive hold will catch them if they decide to strike at you with highs or mids.Running up and doing linear strikes isn’t bad but it’s the least effective IMO because Ein has no good pressure from his strings. I would use 1K and P / 66P strings for the most part and P+K / 3K a little further away. Either way once your opponent is reminded that they can’t afford to sit there they will start making the mistakes you are looking for when they try to come at you.

TURTLING/KEEP OUT

Using KBD to create space and hanging outside of your opponents attack range to force them to come to you is another approach. 46P, 4P, 6P, 236P, 9P, 4K and 6P+K see use here to halt YOLO rushes. Same goes for 4H+K. 214K and H+K do a decent job here because some people YOLO rush by running in and sidestepping expecting the linear 46P or 236P. This is especially the case when they whiff moves with short recovery to bait out one of your whiff punishers. You should get comfortable turtling because whether you like it or not that is a part of Ein and you will never accomplish anything with this character against skilled and knowledgeable opponents if you do not have the patience to do it. Turtling is a very powerful strategy for Ein because when a player doesn’t have the life lead and the clock is ticking that applies a unique form of pressure no strikes in the game have. I assure you when Ein has the life lead and starts turtling opponents become different people. YOLO rushers start playing like they have sense and overly cautious players start to get anxious and do stupid things they wouldn’t normally do because they are getting desperate to get that life lead. Always remember that in a fighting game the winner is the player with the most health left. This applies whether you KO somebody or run the clock out. (I’ve done the latter quite a few times. It’s pretty hilarious when it happens.)

Let's take a look at our ranged tools:

TORIYAH!!! (AKA 46P) - This is Ein's best whiff punisher on standing opponents. This is not even an opinion it is a FACT. 12 frames, massive range and SAFE from grapplers on block. There isn't much more we can ask for out of this move. Learn to love and abuse it for whiff punishment, keep-out and aggressive space control.

236P - Ein's second fastest whiff punisher at 14 frames. It's role is to catch those who fear the might of TORIYAH and start to do tech-crouching attacks during spacing. This move is unsafe so it is not something I would recommend for keep out unless you clearly see them charging in like a fool.

6P+K - The first of Ein's dynamic duo from the past games. This tool got hit hard in DOA5U. It does considerably less damage and is now 20 frames instead of 14. This limits its usage to very specific situations like whiffed wake up kicks and other terrible whiffs.


I feel like 6P+K is just too slow and requires too much prediction. Not saying that the move can't be used, just that it is harder to use now and I think I would rather go for something else most of the time.


4K - The second of Ein's dynamic duo. This tool recieved both buffs and nerfs. The buff is that it is now a normal hit launcher and the nerfs are that it is now 16 frames instead of 13 and is punishable consistently. Use this to strike at somebody coming in from range with strings and to punish close range whiffs. It is a strong keep out tool as well just keep in mind that if it's blocked you are getting thrown.

9P - This move is really good during spacing. It tech crouches, meaning it ducks under high attacks and it stuns on normal hit. It will launch on counterhit. The mixup from this is nice if you get the NH stun; You have access to your BT options or you can back dash away and take advantage of a whiffed hold with 3P / 3K. On whiff you are ok because you have 9PK and your BT followup's that need to be respected. Put it on the screen when you see any type of movement from time to time.

4H+K – This is to put people that are YOLO rushing you with strings when they aren’t near you in the air. 20%+ damage from a counter hit juggle and a stun on NH. It's kind of like 9P just with less utility.

6H+K – This move isn’t that bad during spacing because on NH you are at neutral and get some space. If you do 6H+KK on NH you get a small launch that allows 6KK. On CH 6H+K by itself will launch for a 6KK juggle. I still wouldn’t use it too much because you have better options but its here.

H+K- 18 frame tracking mid kick with a high and low follow-up. The best things about this move are the tracking, range and safety. It’s only -5 on block. Some opponents give this move more respect than it should get due to the follow-ups so at times you may get away with applying additional pressure after the move. I wouldn’t do that too often though but that’s just me. In close range use this after you gain frame advantage from light stuns or blocking the opponents attacks if you absolutely need a mid hitting step killer.

2H+K – Great tool for keep-out and wake up pressure. Clips sidestep and is a good stun on normal and counter hit. It also tech crouches so you can use it when you absolutely need a tracking high crush in close range. Just be careful because it is slow as fuck. Learn to love it.

3KK – This string is silly lol. On block if opponents don’t respect 3K they get put into the air by the follow-up K and take a 20%+ damage juggle. It’s unsafe but IMO the reward is worth it. If they respect 3K you can start using 3K delay K, or 3K into grabs or other strikes to pressure. 3K is also good to poke with at outside of jab distance. Poke with this after you pick up frame advantage from time to time as well.


3K is an amazing move. Fastish mid kick with long range into a launcher that is highly delayable. You can counter hit confirm it take full advantage of the follow up or choose to go for the delay if you find it blocked or see a SS. If you are good enough you can even use it to kill step since with delay it tends to re track fairly well.

46K – I would use this move more if it had more advantage on it. It is still a great move however it requires us to be a bit too close to the opponent for a small payoff IMO. Ein at +1 is somewhat respectable to some characters but very much disrespectable to others. It also puts Ein in close range where as stated before he honestly is not that great in at all.
236K - I have the same gripe with this move that I do with 46K; just it has longer range and slower startup. Use it as an oki tool or forget it exists. No harm done either way.

214K - This move is excellent because it tech jumps lows and is a 2 in 1 which means that if the first hit strikes the opponent second hit cannot be held. Be careful with it though because someone with good reactions can hold the second kick if it is blocked or sidestep the second kick. Use it only to tech jump lows or for whiff punishment.

4P+K - This move is decent during spacing and wall pressure as it is a +6 guard break. Just make sure you hit with it because the recovery time is among the worst of his moves.

66KKK - This move is honestly not that good for anything except whiff punishment and juggles. If you try to use it to get in often chances are you will be outprioritzed by something like a simple jab. It's solid on players that whiff alot of lows but yeah it's not that useful overall.

PRACTICING MOVEMENT

This section will be updated with MajesticBlue's recommendations for getting down Korean backdash and the like.

Alright done! The guide will get updated as I figure out more things or if something slipped my mind. Just a couple of links for reference before I end this:

(AP's Ein beginner tutorial.)

http://www.freestepdodge.com/threads/breaking-down-the-game-a-training-suggestion-for-aspiring-players.166/ (All beginners should read this especially those who have never played a fighting game.)

http://www.freestepdodge.com/threads/fundamentals-of-spacing.131/ (Contains common situations that occur in spacing and tips.)

http://sonichurricane.com/?page_id=1702 (Contains a shitload of tactics for use in footsies and spacing that can be applied in DOA.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PTgQeSG1oA&feature=channel_video_title (Not for DOA but the information presented is related to spacing and can be applied to DOA.)

http://www.freestepdodge.com/threads/homework-time-footsies-and-spacing-101.4522/ (A thread with a ton of information and resources for spacing.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Tenryuga1592 (My YT channel. You can see some of the spacing tactics that are talked about in action.)

"Good Vibrations" -
:ein:
 
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MajesticBlue

Active Member
Amazing. Tenryuga out of ten lol. Expect either a write up or video tutorial on advanced movement soon guys! Gotta figure out how to use my webcam or something. If anybody has any knowledge on setting something up let me know.
 

Allan Paris

Well-Known Member
Expect either a write up or video tutorial on advanced movement soon guys!

There's already a video on the movement for DOA. It was done in DOA4 and I had it on FSD but I guess it was lost while things were being moved around. I will upload it again, the movement in the game has not changed from then to now as far as advanced movement techniques go.
 

SilverForte

Well-Known Member
Needs more 4p, great move.

Great guide by the way.
3rzinn.jpg
 

UpSideDownGRUNT

Well-Known Member
I didn't know this guide existed until told me about it, I am pleased to know that my Ein play actually sticks with his guide for the most part but I have definitely picked up stuff still.

I think my majour problem with Ein is not really knowing all his safe/unsafe moves and frames that partnered with my sometimes overzealousnous of trying to attack after a block I honestly don't know why I do that myself.
 

MajesticBlue

Active Member
Hopefully we get that Vid soon. Maybe I should just do my own from scratch. Last I checked I am fairly knowledgeable on the subject. Then again why reinvent the wheel I guess. Plus if this is the one I remember it is missing things..
 

Allan Paris

Well-Known Member
I finally got to sit down to read this and there are some things in there that I do not agree with (ex. stun game info and the 3P info) but overall it is a good chunk of information.
 

Tenryuga

Well-Known Member
I finally got to sit down to read this and there are some things in there that I do not agree with (ex. stun game info and the 3P info) but overall it is a good chunk of information.

I'd like to hear what you've got to say. Always good to see other viewpoints.
 

Allan Paris

Well-Known Member
I'd like to hear what you've got to say. Always good to see other viewpoints.

Saying that his 3P is the best in the game, it's not. It's one of the best but since you are playing a string based game for offensive pressure, any character that has a follow up to their 3P is better (depending who the character is) or just as good as his. Off the top of my head Jann Lee and Bass are two characters that can be thrown faithfully once their's are blocked, by either a punish or neutral throw. With Ein once his 3P is blocked that is it, his turn is over. The deep stun from his 3P on CH is no different from the majority other character's 3P on CH, pretty much any character that causes a lift stun on CH will get a deep stun from 3P.

If Mila or Zack puts you in a lift stun from their 3P it is just as vital for players to guess/read correctly from that lift stun just like Ein's. Usually those are guesses when players get out of them even with better players, because the stun is so deep damn near anything a character wants will combo into the stun. Better players normally will do a process of elimination and have a good idea on their opponent's mix up but they are still guessing.

I know the frame data is there for other characters to be throw punished when their 3P is blocked. If you are feeling ballsy you can go ahead and throw, while you can't throw Ein whatsoever. Still, reaching for Gen Fu, Christie, Kasumi, Mila, Zack, or Hayate, just to name some characters, is reckless game play and will not last or prove to be viable when playing. Hitting a button in between the free cancels is a lot smarter if a player feels the dire need to react to a blocked 3P. Taking a CH gut-stun or sit-down stun is a lot better than taking a Hi CH one.

The excerpt on his stun game, I got a little chuckle from the first sentence alone. Ein does not have a stun game, 3P, 3K, and 6P are his only stuns that will allow him to do what he wants after a stun (3K giving less options). Everything else is a light stun and links into nothing. This is presuming your opponent hits the fastest SE speed, that speed is hit often with better players. When I go against Ein players this is an area in which they fail in greatly because I SE and their follow up attacks usually hit me on NH and once that happens it's button-time on my end because most attacks are unsafe as shit on NH. If they are able to link into a stun then they over do it and lose what they got.

Telling players that he has a stun game to abuse will keep players in the same spot they are in now with him. Playing a character in way that he is not designed for. That beginner tutorial I did, in all honesty for Ein, can take a player to an intermediate and then to an advanced level. There are a couple things I could change up with it but overall the tutorial is his exact blueprint. I am not discrediting your work at all, Ten, you went into grave detail and this guide explains why certain things should or should not be used thoroughly. I just do not agree with some of the things.
 

Tenryuga

Well-Known Member
Saying that his 3P is the best in the game, it's not. It's one of the best but since you are playing a string based game for offensive pressure, any character that has a follow up to their 3P is better (depending who the character is) or just as good as his. Off the top of my head Jann Lee and Bass are two characters that can be thrown faithfully once their's are blocked, by either a punish or neutral throw. With Ein once his 3P is blocked that is it, his turn is over. The deep stun from his 3P on CH is no different from the majority other character's 3P on CH, pretty much any character that causes a lift stun on CH will get a deep stun from 3P.

If Mila or Zack puts you in a lift stun from their 3P it is just as vital for players to guess/read correctly from that lift stun just like Ein's. Usually those are guesses when players get out of them even with better players, because the stun is so deep damn near anything a character wants will combo into the stun. Better players normally will do a process of elimination and have a good idea on their opponent's mix up but they are still guessing.

I know the frame data is there for other characters to be throw punished when their 3P is blocked. If you are feeling ballsy you can go ahead and throw, while you can't throw Ein whatsoever. Still, reaching for Gen Fu, Christie, Kasumi, Mila, Zack, or Hayate, just to name some characters, is reckless game play and will not last or prove to be viable when playing. Hitting a button in between the free cancels is a lot smarter if a player feels the dire need to react to a blocked 3P. Taking a CH gut-stun or sit-down stun is a lot better than taking a Hi CH one.

The excerpt on his stun game, I got a little chuckle from the first sentence alone. Ein does not have a stun game, 3P, 3K, and 6P are his only stuns that will allow him to do what he wants after a stun (3K giving less options). Everything else is a light stun and links into nothing. This is presuming your opponent hits the fastest SE speed, that speed is hit often with better players. When I go against Ein players this is an area in which they fail in greatly because I SE and their follow up attacks usually hit me on NH and once that happens it's button-time on my end because most attacks are unsafe as shit on NH. If they are able to link into a stun then they over do it and lose what they got.

Telling players that he has a stun game to abuse will keep players in the same spot they are in now with him. Playing a character in way that he is not designed for. That beginner tutorial I did, in all honesty for Ein, can take a player to an intermediate and then to an advanced level. There are a couple things I could change up with it but overall the tutorial is his exact blueprint. I am not discrediting your work at all, Ten, you went into grave detail and this guide explains why certain things should or should not be used thoroughly. I just do not agree with some of the things.

I think the way some things were worded caused you to misunderstand. When it was said it was important to abuse the stun game its mainly 3P into 33T, a launcher or wall splat of choice (I should have clarified this). I don't believe this character was built to actually play the stun game at all because as you state alot of his stuns for it suck and he does not get much for it other than a critical burst chance which If you are playing the neutral effectively with him you will hardly ever need in a fight. And yeah I see what you are saying about 3P. I wasn't really thinking about those things when I made that statement about it. Thanks for the input.
 
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