Honoka Combo and Strategy Thread

[TRI Mike]

I wanted to make a new thread for us Honoka players to post her new combos, strategy and usefulness of the new moves and mechanics in DOA6. After 24 hours with the final game, I can say Honoka feels much better here than in DOA5. As @CookingMama listed in the other thread, she has a bunch of new moves that give her more options when she's in stances like Dragon Stance, Dokuritsu and Ducking. Her Bohuko still sucks ass and is better off used in juggles only but hey, nothing is perfect.

-One of the most important changes to me is the fact that now launches enough to juggle. This didn't happen in DOA5 so it's a nice buff to get another easy, fast launcher. The height is not great so you'll only be able to juggle with or []. In Counter hit, you can land a on lightweights but the damage is not better than the other two.

-Another new tool I love is her Dragon Gunner throw. Unlike Lee, she can only use it from Dragon Stance but it gives her a super nice +25 to work with. The opponent is left a short distance from her so the only guaranteed moves I've found from the throw are: and which are super nice if the opponent has a wall behind them, that works well for explosive floors and (after a super short dash) , which would leave her in Dragon Stance again. I'm currently working on trying to catch the opponent on a loop between her Bear Hug (which is still absurdly good, like in DOA5) and Dragon Gunner and launch when I can.

-Her best launchers seem to be , (this one crushes highs and it feels like it has more range than in DOA5) and . I've found that she now has even more options for devastating juggles because of her new air throw.

-In open space, I'm juggling with ~DS. If the opponent has an explosive wall near their backs then her best juggles are her usual DOA5 ones ~DS[] and BKODKHBT. If her opponent is a lightweight and you launch with max height, you can easily land ~DS[] Though using the air throw actually deals more damage.

- Her bound juggle seems to be ~BKO~DKH.

- DKH causes a fatal stun which guarantees any mid launcher as long as the opponent doesn't have meter.

- She now has, to my knowledge, the only LOW launcher in the entire franchise: HNK . The launch height kinda sucks so your best option from it is the air throw but it cannot be held. If the opponent holds low, they will just avoid it like with Lee's Dragon Kick.

- Her frame data seems basically unchanged from DOA5, which is great as she already had tons of safe moves and even a couple + on guard ones to mantain pressure.

 

[KING JAIMY]

Would like to add 236P+K also causes a Fatal Stun.

 

[Nikotsumi]

So far, this is what I'd like to add :
-236P+K is now -22 on block, instead of +11 guard break.
-New 4K stun is weird, Ducking P+K will always whiff since they're like in crouching animation, I've had K whiff too sometimes.
-1P is only +4 (no stun) on CH, it really hurts.
-Bound juggle (8K, BKO K, DHK) only works on lightweights (unless you launch with 8K).
-Her most damaging juggles involve her air throw indeed, but if you want to wallspalt/strigger danger zones, go for the normal enders (5LR juggles basically).
-You can also connect 8P from her Dragon Gunner.
-Her now having a low P in Hissatsu stance makes her low T be kind of relevant now.
-3P+K causes a "limbo" stun on backturned opponents instead of H+K like in LR. But even then she has no means to put her opponent in a BT state.
-I've had 4K randomly causing a Fatal Stun while playing ranked (similar to how it used to sit down stun crouching opponents in 5LR), don't know how though, can't get it again in traning mode.
-42K is +3 on block, +6 at max range, don't remember it giving so much advantage.
-6T is +10, pretty sure it was +9 in 5LR
-66P+K is "broken", it never causes a knockback in stun so you can loop 66P+K > Heichu P until 30hits.
Didn't notice other changes in frame data.

Small edit : I couldn't reproduce the 4K Fatal Stun in training mode cause it wasn't actually 4K, my bad. It's PK, it's a Fatal Stun on crouching opponents (CH/CH+). About PK, it also stuns on NH now.

 

[KING JAIMY]

Combo against lightweights:

Fatal stun DKO P - 33K - 6H+K.DS K - 6H+K.DS 4PPP

Not sure if this is max damage but it looks cool at least

 

[Telvanni]

Replacing the second 6H+K,DS with a throw does more but it is good for style points/the wall.

 

[Cla]

6T is +10

It's actually +8. The training mode frame data counter erroneously reports it as +10. (makes me wonder what other frame data is wrong in training mode) You can confirm this by setting the dummy to guard on reaction and then trying to hit the dummy with P (9 frames) after 6T. You will see that P gets blocked, meaning 6T is less than +9. And you can see that 6T is more than +7 because if you attempt to do another 6T immediately, it will whiff due to the opponent still being in hit stun. (6T is 7 frames) So with these two facts we know that 6T is more than 7+ but less than 9+.

 

[CookingMama]

Also 2KK is a NH natural combo now for +8!!! Actually really cool!!!

It's actually +8. The training mode frame data counter erroneously reports it as +10. (makes me wonder what other frame data is wrong in training mode) You can confirm this by setting the dummy to guard on reaction and then trying to hit the dummy with P (9 frames) after 6T. You will see that P gets blocked, meaning 6T is less than +9. And you can see that 6T is more than +7 because if you attempt to do another 6T immediately, it will whiff due to the opponent still being in hit stun. (6T is 7 frames) So with these two facts we know that 6T is more than 7+ but less than 9+.

9 frame jabs gets because of how DOA handles frames. You have to add 2 additional frames on every move. So the start up of a 9 frame punch is 9 frames so + the one frame for the game to register the input and then + one frame for the actual active frame. So 9 frame jabs actually hit on frame 11.

 

[TRI Mike]

Honoka's game plan:

I wanted to make this post to share my thoughts on what I think Honoka's game plan in an actual match should be. She seems like a really bizarre character because of her many stances and how she goes into them. She requires a lot of practice and dedication to win consistently because of this. In a way, she reminds me of Virtua Fighter's Lei Fei.

At first, she seems like she's super fast because of her i9 jab and i11 6P, but several of her important moves are not fast so it's important to keep pressure and apply the slower moves once the opponent is stunned or after whiff punishing. I think her range is a bit lacking but it's honestly not that bad because she has a lot of range moves like 236P, 46P, 4K, 6H+K or 3H+K to play footsies, whiff punish and maintain distance. Also, now that DOA5's stun threshold is gone, she can genuinely play launching as soon as the opponent is stunned for good height and excellent juggles. Several of which are already posted.

If she's fighting against a character like Kasumi or Christie, it's super important to use her fast moves to avoid falling into their pressure. But if her opponent is someone like Bass or Bayman, she can take the initiative and go into the offensive with her other tools without worrying too much about getting interrupted, especially up close.

Despite being fast, she actually has several moves that leave her positive on block, which is super important for her. These include:
+1 on block
+2 on block
up to +3 on block depending on the distance. 0 at close range.
+3 on block
These are all slow moves but they definitely can be applied and used as frame traps to try and land a counter hit on the opponent for an easy launcher. Also, as Cooking Mama already said, she also has positive on normal hit moves like 2KK which is a +8 natural combo. Super nice!

Probably her most important tool is her 6T Bear Hug. This is an excellent reset throw that leaves her a +10, has INSANE range and is also quite damaging by itself. No matter what, Honoka has to apply this move. It doesn't guarantee anything but the frame advantage is great. I personally like to follow it up with any of her tracking moves like 4P, H+K, 1P, 2KK or 7K for a fast launcher. We gotta remember that she also has her S Fatal Rush attack, which is a i18 tracking high that puts the opponent in Fatal Stun. Sometimes I just do the bear hug again. It's also important to note that she now has another reset throw in Dragon Stance which leaves her a +25 but a short distance away from the opponent. I already covered up what moves are guaranteed from it but another player already posted that 8P is guaranteed and leaves her in Heichu.

Her Hissatsu no Kamae (I might have written that wrong) stance is significantly scarier now than in DOA5. In that game, her tools were a mid kick launcher, mid punch Critical Burst and Raidou's absurdly strong throw, which could also be a low throw. Now, the mid punch option is still there but it causes a bound which can be followed up with 6S for a Break Blow, or she could just cancel the Break Blow and launch for a guaranteed combo if the opponent has no meter. This stance also offers her new LOW LAUNCHER. This means that people will now actually low hold when she's in it and she can apply Raidou's throw as a low.

Another nice thing she has is her new offensive holds. 8T is the same as Bass' but it's super slow so we gotta be careful while using it. Her 3T low offensive hold is quite good though and make opponents who like to be crouched like Brad or Helena easier to handle.

I'm currently working on getting used to apply her new Burning Soul stance. She can access it from 4PP4, 3P+K4 or by canceling a Fatal Rush after the second hit.

 

[Superpac]

So ik Honoka has quite a few + on block moves like 214 p+k, 46p(at certain ranges), 8h+k but I'm having a real hard time applying these in an actual match and just her slower tools in general. Also ik to abuse bear hug but I don't really know what to do afterwords with my plus frame.

 

[CookingMama]

They are best either after a hug or after the walled 6T. The problem is now you have to condition them to not SS or they whiff. With that being said 4H+K is actually safe if after a hug you SS and they SS Attack you. Honoka seems to be around -3 to 0, it depends on the character.

 

[Pn33milan]

I'm trying her 2KK, but it's not a natural. The cpu blocks the second hit immediately

 

[CookingMama]

I'm trying her 2KK, but it's not a natural. The cpu blocks the second hit immediately

Yeah I spoke to soon. Its unholdable but blockable lol. So its trash

 

[vicente]

Thank you everyone for some info in here, TRI Mike that gameplan post is pure gold, she has so many tools that I find myself a bit clueless about what to do exactly with her, this is great info.

I wanted to ask for a few BNB optimized combos that you could think of, I would be really grateful.

 

[TRI Mike]

If you're starting to play as her, I think her air throw is the most consistent way of dealing good damage to opponents in the air. It doesn't require much height so you can safely land it after pretty much every launcher. Other than that, I don't recommend you stick to one or two specific combos before launching because you'll only end up being held. Try to mix up the moves you use as much as you can and remember to implement her stances as much as possible to try and confuse the opponent.

 

[Pn33milan]

Her main launchers are 33K, 8K, 9K (crushes lows), HNK 2P and so on.

Her main finishers are the air throw, P+KPP and 2P+K46P. The last one requires less height, so you can basically do it on anyone.

A combo example:
33K, 6H+K, DS K, air throw

Or, if you are close to a wall:
33K, 6H+K, DS K, P+KPP

You can also do 6K instead of 6H+K DS K, if you don't want to risk and hit the wall.

After 8K, I usually do BKO K, DKH K, 236P (close hit). Or i finish with a super, if i have meter.

Not many people here combo after KK, which is a natural launcher on CH high-mid.
You can follow it with a super, or, if you have the timing, you can do 6H+K DS K, 2P+K46P.
If you don't have the timing, or you are against a heavyweight, just do the dragon kick (236K)

I know these are not all BnB combos, but i just wanted to share those i end up doing most of the time

 

[vicente]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

 

[Darth Lotonic X]

I have a legit question for you guys. Do any of guys actually hit people with the airwalk fatal stun? I think it's QCFP+K. Just about every honoka player I've run into in ranked has tried to hit me with at least once and it's never worked. I asked one of them before and didn't get a straight answer.

 

[TRI Mike]

I just forgot the move exists

 

[Darth Lotonic X]

Ok, that's what I thought. The move is so slow that I'd have to set the controller down to get hit by it.

 

[Pn33milan]

It works in low ranks, but it's so slow that no one over the B rank would fall for that.

And it's sad, considering Honoka still struggles on long range