Mr. Wah had linked me to two handy old 3.1 threads on DOAC the other day and wouldn't you know it? DOAC is now gone for good. The bad part is, a lot of the items that were documented there are now gone forever and no one really had a chance to back anything up. Fortunately, I have a habit of leaving tabs open forever and so I'm going to post the contents of those threads because they are of considerable value and should not be disregarded.
DOA 3.1 for DOA4 Players
by Viper Excess
Originally posted at http://www.doacentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26407 on Monday Aug 24, 2009 at 4:59 pm
DOA 3.1 for DOA4 Players
by Viper Excess
Originally posted at http://www.doacentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26407 on Monday Aug 24, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Viper Excess said:When DOA4 players play 3.1, besides the costume changes and the much better levels, we all notice that there are MANY changes to the system. And I feel that any new player to 3.1 should need a topic like this to read about.
Anyone else can contribute, but I'll list what I've noticed with the game so far, from playing it this weekend.
-3.1 is the Japanese version of DOA3. 3.0 is the US version, and they are not the same.
-Movement is much more fluid in 3.1 and sidestep is good.
-Once you get hit into the wall, you cannot counter or slow escape. This means that you get a free launcher into a juggle from a wall hit. If you can hit someone into a wall, DO IT.
-There are NO wakeup kicks when you get hit into a wall. You can tech straight up, or tech to the side. But do not try to mash a wakeup kick from a wall hit, because you won't get any. This also means that if you get hit into a wall, you can only be defensive once you get up. Don't try something stupid like grabbing or attacking after you get hit into the wall, because you will most likely get hit right back into the wall.
-Falls will kill if you are low on life. So don't expect to get back up if you are low on life and get hit through that glass window, off of the mountain, etc.
-Defensive holds don't hurt as much as they do in DOA4. Do not expect to do much damage with them alone, unless you either use an advanced counter, a counter that launches, or a counter that makes the opponent hit the wall. It's best not to hold unless you are at least 75% sure of the attack, you are in a sticky situation (like a string advantage mixup), or you actually react to an attack.
-Mid punch and mid kick counters are not separate. They are both.
-Parries are all two-directional. The
-There isn't much need to play the stun game. Launchers launch good heights most of the time.
-There is no high wakeup kick. If the opponent has a low-mid crush, BEWARE.
-Wakeup kicks don't track as much as they do in DOA4. If the opponent has a good sidestep/evasive move, BEWARE.
-If you are getting beat out after you block a move, then that move you blocked gives frame advantage to the attacker on block.
-If the opponent has a ground grab, they might have a good chance of landing it. Sometimes you HAVE to tech away to not get ground grabbed, but sometimes you have no choice but to eat the ground grab. The grounded player has different directions to recover from the ground (
-Speaking of ground grabs, they tend to beat out wakeup kick attempts if the ground grab if done early enough upclose. So if you keep doing wakeup kicks and you keep getting ground grabbed, stop doing wakeup kicks against them.
-3.1 does not have the forced tech/untechable ground game. Against grounded opponents, you instead can do 3p/3k to punch or stomp the downed opponent.
-If you run into an attack that is hard to deal with (for whatever reason) and you notice that it gets repeated, find a way to deal with it. If that means sidestep it, parry it, counter it, keep blocking, or any specific defensive maneuver, then do it.
-There might be a small group of guys at top tier, but most everyone has nice viability in this game. Tactics are more involved than character differences or opportunities at guessing to kill, IMO.
-Water/ice is terrifying, moreso than DOA4.
-Catch grabs have no initial sound. If they miss, you notice a long whiff animation, but they're not as slow as DOA4 catch grabs (visually).
-Stronger grabs are 6/7/8 frames. So being unsafe in this game hurts more than in DOA4.
-If you cannot counter or block when seeing string followups, then they are most likely 2i1's or 3i1's, true combos in certain conditions.
-Limbo stuns that leave the opponent backturned are GREAT. If you can get them, GO FOR THEM.
-Tag grabs that throw the opponent into the wall are BRUTAL because they lead into more hits.
-Some moves that don't lead into guaranteed damage in DOA4 might (and most likely will) lead into guaranteed damage in 3.1. Four examples are Ayane's
-*[All percents in this paragraph refer to base damage percentages.]*Most DOA4 players understand that offensive holds (wrongly nicknamed catch grabs) are throws that have the HOLD property. They beat out attacks and blocking players, but their role in the triangle system is completely regarded as being HOLDS. *OHs lose to throws for 150%, beat blocking for 100%, beat DHs for 125% and beat attacks for 150%.* In DOA3, offensive holds do not exist. They are known as catch grabs instead. They also beat out attacks and blocking players, BUT their role in the triangle system is regarded as being more akin to THROWS. *Catch throws lose to throws for 125%, beat blocking and attacks for 100%, and beat defensive holds for 150%.* These two terms may only seem slightly different, and in fact do share the same purposes (lose to throws while beating the rest), but the percentages of bonuses and penalties do differ. If you forget the role of each in the triangle system, just look at the last word of each term: offensive hold and catch throw. That should help you remember their properties.
I probably missed a lot, but I wanted to make an intro guide for people who are coming from DOA4 and are new to 3.1, covering just general gameplay stuff (no character specifics yet). If there is anything I need to add, I will edit the first post.