There are many situations in doa4 in which an attack will cause a special hit animation. These hit animations are broken up into a couple of categories, that have their own specific properties:
Legend:
Stuns:
When Hit, a player's character will be stunned. These stuns will result in a distinct animation and said character will be immobile for a brief time period.
Hit Stuns:
When a character is hit he/she will snap back to reflect being hit. This is a stun because no attack can be executed during this time.
Example: Any character's attack
Struggle: No
Hold: No
Pin down double over stun
The opponent bends way over and is considered a crouching non defender. A low throw is possible when an opponent is not buffering an attack.
Example: Tina's P
Struggle: No
Hold: No
Guard Stun:
When a character block, he/she will do a guarding animation to reflect the activation of the Guard. This is a stun because no attack can be executed during this time.
Example: Any character's or :K on block
Struggle: No
Hold: No
Staggers, Stumbles and Crumples:
Staggers, Stumbles and Crumples are a result of being hit by a critical blow/ or an attack on counter blow. A staggered character looks as if he/she is about to slip and fall down. While in a stagger state, you can use a defensive hold or Slow escape to reduce the stagger period. Stumbles are the same as Staggers, except for the fact that the player falls to the floor for a brief period than rise again. Crumples are the 3rd and last form of being in a critical state. Unlike Staggers and stumbles, Crumples result in the player falling to the ground, and staying there until he/she recovers.
Unlike Other fighting games, each stagger have different durations. The more frames you are in a critical state, the greater the disadvantage you are in. This is akin to the concept of having frame advantage on hit in other fighters. Note, these are not the exact amount of frames you or your opponent is in, while in a critical state. To get an accurate number, you will need to subtract the recovery frames of the critical blow, from the Critical state.
30 Frame Critical state:
Side Stagger:
The opponent takes a step into the foreground/background
Example: Jann Lee's P
Struggle: Medium
Hold: Yes
Forced stance stagger:
The opponent takes a step backwards while his/her stance shifts
Example: Jann Lee's :K
Struggle: Light
Hold: Yes
Light Lift Stagger:
The opponent lifts upwards while staggering backwards
Example: Kasumi's +:K
Struggle: Medium
Hold: Yes
Double Over Stagger:
The Opponent bends over onto his/her knees
Example: Zack's K
Struggle: Medium
Hold: Yes
Double over Shove stagger(light):
A more powerfull double over stagger, pushing the opponent back in addition to doubling over. Double over stagger is almost indistnguishable, except for the shoving of the opponent.
Example: Lei Fang's 6 on Counter blow
Struggle: Light
Hold: Yes
30 Frame Critical States while Back turned:
Back Foot stagger:
The opponent loses his/her footing and stumbles forward
Example: Kokoro's K
Struggle: Medium
Hold: No
Legend:
- Hold- Refers to the ability to hold out of a Critical situation
- Struggle - Refers to how much you need to Struggle while Slow Escaping.
- Heavy - You have to struggle a lot and fast
- Medium - You have to do an average amount of struggling
- Light - You have to struggle a little.
Stuns:
When Hit, a player's character will be stunned. These stuns will result in a distinct animation and said character will be immobile for a brief time period.
Hit Stuns:
When a character is hit he/she will snap back to reflect being hit. This is a stun because no attack can be executed during this time.
Example: Any character's attack
Struggle: No
Hold: No
Pin down double over stun
The opponent bends way over and is considered a crouching non defender. A low throw is possible when an opponent is not buffering an attack.
Example: Tina's P
Struggle: No
Hold: No
Guard Stun:
When a character block, he/she will do a guarding animation to reflect the activation of the Guard. This is a stun because no attack can be executed during this time.
Example: Any character's or :K on block
Struggle: No
Hold: No
Staggers, Stumbles and Crumples:
Staggers, Stumbles and Crumples are a result of being hit by a critical blow/ or an attack on counter blow. A staggered character looks as if he/she is about to slip and fall down. While in a stagger state, you can use a defensive hold or Slow escape to reduce the stagger period. Stumbles are the same as Staggers, except for the fact that the player falls to the floor for a brief period than rise again. Crumples are the 3rd and last form of being in a critical state. Unlike Staggers and stumbles, Crumples result in the player falling to the ground, and staying there until he/she recovers.
Unlike Other fighting games, each stagger have different durations. The more frames you are in a critical state, the greater the disadvantage you are in. This is akin to the concept of having frame advantage on hit in other fighters. Note, these are not the exact amount of frames you or your opponent is in, while in a critical state. To get an accurate number, you will need to subtract the recovery frames of the critical blow, from the Critical state.
30 Frame Critical state:
Side Stagger:
The opponent takes a step into the foreground/background
Example: Jann Lee's P
Struggle: Medium
Hold: Yes
Forced stance stagger:
The opponent takes a step backwards while his/her stance shifts
Example: Jann Lee's :K
Struggle: Light
Hold: Yes
Light Lift Stagger:
The opponent lifts upwards while staggering backwards
Example: Kasumi's +:K
Struggle: Medium
Hold: Yes
Double Over Stagger:
The Opponent bends over onto his/her knees
Example: Zack's K
Struggle: Medium
Hold: Yes
Double over Shove stagger(light):
A more powerfull double over stagger, pushing the opponent back in addition to doubling over. Double over stagger is almost indistnguishable, except for the shoving of the opponent.
Example: Lei Fang's 6 on Counter blow
Struggle: Light
Hold: Yes
30 Frame Critical States while Back turned:
Back Foot stagger:
The opponent loses his/her footing and stumbles forward
Example: Kokoro's K
Struggle: Medium
Hold: No