Free Step Dodge

Final Round 2020 would have been one of the largest tournaments of the year for Dead or Alive 6, but unfortunately Tamaki will not be able to make her offline debut at FR because of the 2 week rule and the event has been canceled due to the disturbing & life-changing Coronavirus outbreak. Sadly, April Anhihilation is also being canceled due to the virus that has killed thousands of people since the beginning of the year. While it may sting that this virus has caused so much damage it is a good thing that the tournament organizers are looking out for the health of the players.

Remember to wash your hands and stay safe, community!

Team NINJA released their Version 1.21 update on the 10th of March and it is scheduled to release in two different parts. Version 1.21 will roll out with Tamaki's debut to Dead or Alive 6, the Design Contest Winner Outfit DLC & bug fixes. Version 1.21a is expected to release sometime after the original patch to address the hair rental service debacle that has now gone on for almost two weeks. Team NINJA has since apologized for the perpetual loop of hair color micro-transactions and hopes Tamaki will be the remedy players are looking for while they scout a fair fix...

UPDATE 3/6/2020: Team NINJA tweeted an official apology to the fighters and stated that they were working on a better alternative to distribute hair colors. So players are encouraged to not purchase anymore colors until the issue has been rectified. The big hope is that players are able to use their perpetual pile of in-game currency to purchase & swap hair colors.

UPDATE 3/1/2020: While we wait for an official response from Koei Tecmo the mainstream press has started dismantling the "bizarre" business practices of the company. YouTuber, YongYea and Kotaku have...

Free Step Dodge commits itself first to the players of Dead or Alive, and since the controversial launch of version 1.20 we have made it a top priority to let Koei Tecmo know that these 'hair rental' & DLC business practices are unacceptable and that enough is enough. The mainstream press is hearing the community and responding to KT with questions and concerns of their own! Keep in mind that Free Step Dodge will still cover the offline players that make DOA what it is today and our latest post supports the efforts made by the community at Reversal in Philadelphia.

It's sort of hysterical that the mainstream media is covering this as most of them are not fighting game fans, certainly not players of the often times underrated Dead or...

This year Dead or Alive 6 is a featured game at Reversal in Philadelphia and Top 4 is being streamed for this minor, but intimate offline event. Jager returned after last week's Winter Brawl to put on another proven Rig showcase that ultimately won him the grand final against FSD's own, Matt Ponton. This short & sweet tournament featured high quality matches that are definitely worth your time to observe. Now that Reversal has concluded the complete Top 4 VOD is available at NerdStGamers Twitch channel!


Jager has a very solid Phase 4 with excellent fundamentals and a great pocket character if he wants to withdrawal from using Rig. Matt Ponton hits like a truck with both Mai & Bass, but he struggles to read everything against this tantalizing Kasumi clone. Ponton was able to defeat Jager in...

It's time for the Dead or Alive community to bear arms against Koei-Tecmo for the absurd implementation of leasing hair colors through exchange of REAL money through the currency of 'Premium Tickets' exclusively on the PlayStation 4 console. As it stands thousands of people have expressed their disdain for the hair renting feature and with very little care or concern from Koei Tecmo games. Today we have received an extremely deceitful ticket response to a customer from Koei Tecmo games and it appears that KT gives not one damn about the feedback they have received.

If you decide to continue reading this story. You will be disturbed. You will see Koei Tecmo for who they really are. Hell you might even cry.

For this particular situation DO NOT blame Team NINJA or Master. With the proof we have now this is definitely the doing of the big wigs at Koei Tecmo games, and their response was to undermine the customer's intelligence and play stupid with the situation assuming...

The new Venus Vacation character for Dead or Alive 6 has been revealed to be Tamaki today during a developer stream for DOAX:VV. This is interesting news for the community whether you are a fan of the volleyball game or not considering players could be introduced to a completely new fighting style or a returning move set mapped to this new character. A commentary for the reveal stream is available at Free Step Dodge's YouTube, but with no gameplay to be shown there was very little to talk about outside of Tamaki being invited to Dead or Alive 6.

1.20 has launched with much controversy surrounding the infinite micro-transaction loop of changing the color of your character's hair-style, so a solid reveal of this character may not fix every salty heart, but it could be a...

Before Dead or Alive 6 there was Dead or Alive 5, Ultimate & Last Round and within a year people were showcasing the game offline with thunderous applause from the community and complementary winks from other communities that never considered trying DOA thanks to new creative combat intertwined with strategical elements to stages and their respective Danger Zones that the FGC had never seen before.

Some of the best characters to demonstrate the innovative features of DOA5 were Gen Fu & Ryu Hayabusa that could both send their opponents into intoxicating blenders through careful planning and prior lab training. Regardless if you thought these characters were fair or not, fighters Sweet Revenge & Master successfully discovered the perfect opportunities to maximize their damage and because of this delivered some of the finest matches this community has ever seen.

In a recent Emery Reigns video, he discussed what could make DOA6 better and that maybe the community needs...

Jager was able to secure his second Winter Brawl tournament win in a row at the 3D Edition of this staple Dead or Alive major. He took most of his opponents on a wild ride through the "Rig Cyclone" that is nearly impossible to escape at his level of play. This list of opponents included major players such as Lord Xavier, a fighter that has been on a rabid war path, fresh off his win at NEC 20 with Hitomi. Feel free to pursue our report here at FSD and check out the bracket at Smash.GG to complete your experience with this event. VOD Replay coming soon!


Brackets C1 & C2 play out while Dead or Alive spectators at Kombat Network wait for the Mortal Kombat 11 tournament to conclude. Jager...

With a plethora of balance adjustments, ground game changes & character tweaks, Version 1.19 is easily Team NINJA's biggest update for Dead or Alive 6 yet as made evident by the tantalizing patch notes. The trend of releasing 'Revival' outfit packs continues with the 'Chinese Dresses' from Dead or Alive 5. The DOA community has taken firm passes on most recent updates to the game, but version 1.19 has fighters back in the lab looking for all of the new character possibilities before the exciting release of the new Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation character.

Version 1.19 doesn't just make big game changes, but also fixes a slew of mistakes and bugs including: displayed values to moves, missing moves &...

While Team NINJA is making big moves to bring their casual fan-base to Dead or Alive 6, it's important to remember that there is a list of possible characters that could return in the future. The most requested of past characters now that Momiji & Rachel have been released is Leon, and there are many logical reasons to deduct that he would be the best choice of the bunch even if it would be nice to see them all return. By simply applying the process of elimination to the remaining outcasts of DOA we can all see this become fact by the end of this post - and agree that Leon still has a place in this fighter.

Dead or Alive expects competitive players to be familiar with how the environment works, and how utilizing it well presents you with rewarding and satisfying damage. Can you name a character other than maybe Hayabusa that does this better than Leon? Taking Leon out of this game further cripples the lineup of heavy characters considering both Bayman & Bass are...

Before Dead or Alive 6 was released, Team NINJA seemed pretty confident when they stated that a Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation character would not make an appearance in the 3D fighter, but with the rising success of Venus Vacation it comes as no surprise that our favorite developer would recant their statements in favor of expanding their DOA6 player base to a new audience this March. This surprise character is a part of the Season 4 Pass, and can be purchased in several different skews if the SPs are not your forte. With this story we explore why Team NINJA recanted their official statements that could result in being one of their biggest & best business decisions in years for the fighting series.

Contrary to popular belief, Team NINJA has definitely toned the sexual nature down as they have promised for the 3D fighter. Rachel's Fiend skin was controversially censored, there is an option to censor select oufits, and even their offering of bikinis are...

This video is meant to showcase what Momiji is capable of in DOA6 (Ver. 1.18). Combos marked with a yellow star cannot be avoided with fastest hold. Combos marked with a red star cannot be avoided even with fastest low hold.

日本語バージョンこちらへ：

Team NINJA has finally permitted video game industry journalists to show more of their gameplay footage from upcoming mega prequel Nioh 2 showcasing a new location & stunning new boss fights while revealing more details themselves in the process through interviews. This epic adventure is being hailed as one of the best games they have produced since Ninja Gaiden: Black a separate Team NINJA series that also might see the light of day again soon. With gorgeous Nioh 2 coming March 13th, future adjustments to DOA6 & the success of Venus Vacation - 2020 could be the greatest year Team NINJA has ever had.

There are plenty of great interviews to read for Nioh 2 this week, and many of them feature Team NINJA's lead man, Yosuke Hayashi. He stated in the most recent Eurogamer...

The official main CEO game lineup for 2020 has been revealed and features 15 games, but Dead or Alive 6 is absent from one of the biggest annual events on the East Coast and will not be returning for a second go. Alex Jebailey, CEO of CEO, stated last year that if the numbers were good and the community showed up that it would come back for 2020. CEO's attendance reached 87 entrants in 2019, and XcaliburBladeZ was declared the winner in a brilliant set against the now reigning DOA6 champion, Hoodless.

With the Dead or Alive 6 World Championship out of the way, Team NINJA's main focus is going to...

Some fighters train day and night exclusively for their opportunity at a big prize or payout in the FGC, but professional fighter, Hoodless will keep his momentum going regardless if it's the Dead or Alive 6 World Championship 'Main Event' in Japan hosted by Team NINJA or a side tournament located in a small suburb of Chicago. Despite a primitive recording of Top 4 coupled with low attendance, 'Frosty Fausting XII' is a prime example of hard work in the community, and this hard work will show itself to the tournament organizers and fighters from different communities.

Just several weeks after winning 'Frosty Fausting XII' Hoodless is able to collect another victory at 'Juicy Monday' as Dead or Alive 6...

Team NINJA is starting this year off with a promise to the community to make Dead or Alive 6 the fighting game you want, but unfortunately they have held off with Version 1.18 to begin this conversion to that. To accompany the few balance changes & bug fixes made in 1.18 is the Season 4 Pass that launched on the 21st of January. Before release, Team NINJA previewed some of the new Cyber costumes on Twitter to launch the new pass, and there is no questioning that these are among the coolest looking DLC outfits in the game. The string of revival costume DLC will also continue separately sold from the season pass owners on the 21st starting with maid outfits.

While the season passes can get...

Longtime Dead or Alive veteran & commentator, Shade Swifteye, was victorious at Kumite in Tennessee; which was the first Dead or Alive 6 offline tournament of 2020. Peruse the complete bracket at KIT's Smash.GG and also explore our exclusive report for this event together with the VOD replay of Top 8. Despite the staggering aftermath from the hustle and bustle nature of yearly holidays, roughly 50 players made it out from the community to Tennessee, hoping their skills were enough to obtain the elusive KIT Hayabusa 1st place trophy.


A lot of newcomers showed up to compete at KIT this year, and while it may show in their combo tech, new players typically respond with different kinds of damaging opportunities. Even if good combo implementation is preferred in...

Team NINJA has released Version 1.17 patch notes and the update includes the highly awaited return of Rachel to Dead or Alive 6 and will also bring in the regular bug fixes, game changing balance adjustments, Season Pass 3 DLC and another free costume as a nice stocking-stuffer from Team NINJA. Rachel's debut to DOA6 was showcased by Famitsu and her base price will cost you just 5.99 USD with premium options for those that want more costumes. Take a look at Team NINJA's official website for her biography, and start a discussion in her newly opened forum here at Free Step Dodge!
All of Rachel's unique...

Cyber is a multi-converged player that regularly attends offline tournaments for Dead or Alive 6, creates content, organizes tournaments and hosts a popular stream on Twitch. He's here at Free Step Dodge for the promotion of his next Cyber Monday, but also reveals himself to the players of the FGC that have clearly made a positive impact on his life. Get to know Cyber better in this exclusive interview, and you can choose to support the community & DOA6 by getting involved with Cyber Monday whether it be spectating or making a donation to the prize pot.

Cyber Monday could be the first live tournament to showcase Rachel's return to DOA6 and starts on the 29th of December and concludes a day before New Year's Eve. This online...

Dead or Alive 6 has been nominated for 'best fighting game of the year' via the Video Games Awards show streaming now. Players had all of the time in the world to vote for their favorite fighter at the official website for the event, and even if DOA6 has one of the smaller communities and will likely not win against Smash Brothers or Mortal Kombat, it is nice to see our game considered for a GOTY award. Did you vote for Dead or Alive 6, and do you think it's GOTY material?

Despite having a mixed reaction, Dead or Alive 6 won a plethora of awards at last year's E3 and has been downloaded over 2 million times through their FTP system since the release date earlier this year. Team NINJA encourages newcomers to play and support the game and they are offering free characters, frame data and access to all of the stages & modes (but story) through Core Fighers. The community & Team...