Is Leifang worth to pick as a main?

[LeiFang009]

Hi guys!! I'm a new player in the DOA series. I've just started playing the game yesterday. Only purchased few characters I'm interested in. It's been really fun so far. Beautiful graphics and fighting styles. The fighting system is pretty nice and the tutorial is top top notch. I spent some time learning the fundamentals. I have picked Leifang as my main because she has an awesome fighting style and also because of her gorgeous special parry/hold. She is pretty unique. I've spent 6 hours on her (in training) so far and I found myself doing decently in online for a rookie. Beat a C- player once and several E players. I lost as much of course but I found Leifang really fun despite the losses. Today I checked the tier list online and found out that she is rated B tier. My question is, do I have to care about tier lists? Is Leifang a good pick to main? What I noticed playing with her is that she isn't really a character that you can just spam with and get a win. She requires a more calculated approach I feel. Defend and punish is probably her ideal style. I started to calculate my attacks more and more. I can't spam and be effective with her. Feel free to correct me on this. I'm just a rookie Leifang player.

I personally really hate winning by mashing buttons randomly even as a new player so I decided to learn some of Leifang's moves and repeat them over and over and learn when to use them. Frame data stuff is too complicated for me to care about atm tho. And of course I'm learning to use her special parry and the fundamentals. My goal online is really to apply what I practice and hopefully eventually be at least decent at the game.

My other question, what moves she has should I master with Leifang?

These are the ones I learned to use consistently so far:

PPK2K (I don't spam this but it's my go-to juggle combo atm and I do use it after block/parry)
PPKH+K (I use this but I'm not having much success with it yet.)
1KK (I use this but not much. It looks really bad frame-wise).
9KKK (I use this almost all the time when my opponent is critically stunned. Seems pretty fast move to me)
2P+K (Fatal Stun) - It's hard to use successfully tho. Pretty slow. Not sure in what situation to use it.
4P+K - This is perfect vs low-ranked players (like me) and I found myself having success with it already. Pretty encouraging sign.
1P+K - It feels slow. Only use it from a distance to surpise someone. That's it.
SSSS + 4S + 6S (obviously everyone uses these moves for every character)

I do sidestep often as well. When it comes to holding, I can do normal mid holds successfully only atm. My throw game is lacking as well. Do I need to learn offensive holds to be decent at the game btw? They look a bit too hard for me. I hope learning normal holding is enough.

If there is any Leifang players here, I would appreciate any advice.
Sorry for the long post btw.

 

[Kuga]

Every character is worth picking as main. Dont look on tier lists and stuff like that. Triangle system allows every character to win so its just a matter of personal preferences who youre gonna pick. You can win with everyone. Its just that some characters require more effort than others.

Dunno much about Leifang, but she can be a monster when you give her enough love. To the point that people will be scared to attack you lol.

 

[Leifang12]

I have played Leifang since DOA2 back in 2000 I love playing as her, but she is one of the more difficult DOA characters to master, because she focuses heavily on holds, parries and sabakis.

But Leifang can be extremely dangerous to play against, because she has so many parries that counter multiple things, such as her
4P+K (counters all mid and high punches)
3H and 9H (3H counters all mids and 9H counters all highs)

Her punch parries are also great, but needs perfect timing to execute .

Leifang has very many safe moves, where if she is blocked she wont be negative in many of her moves and that's what you need to get under control. Her 3P+K goes under most high attacks and many mid attacks and is very useful instead of doing a move such as 66P and hold. Most people expect you to hold after you've been blocked and most people then throw. And if you do 3P+K you will hit them and they will launch and you can get a decent combo out of it . The only problem is that you are back turned. She is risky, but hella fun.

She also has two Offensive holds which is 66T and 236T which the latter is a bit slower in connecting with your opponent. These throws are crucial to your play style because they track sidestepping bastards and are great if you have your opponent against the wall.

I have some Youtube videos with me playing Leifang If you want to see some of my matches. I'm not the best player in the world, but I can hold my own. Have about 80% win streak ranked online with Leifang and currently S- . So I am very pleased.

But Leifang is a lot of work and is harder to master compared to characters such as Christie or Marie

 

[Jyu_Viole_Grace]

As Kusa said, if you enjoy playing with a character then it's worth maining it. If you are comfortable with her playstyle you will enjoy mastering that character.

In my case I always liked her taijiquan, is so graceful to watch that I love watching people playing her but she requires so much time and investiment that isn't a viable option as sub character.

I have some Youtube videos with me playing Leifang If you want to see some of my matches. I'm not the best player in the world, but I can hold my own. Have about 80% win streak ranked online with Leifang and currently S- . So I am very pleased.

I would like to watch them, I always enjoy Leifang videos.

 

[Leifang12]

As Kusa said, if you enjoy playing with a character then it's worth maining it. If you are comfortable with her playstyle you will enjoy mastering that character.

In my case I always liked her taijiquan, is so graceful to watch that I love watching people playing her but she requires so much time and investiment that isn't a viable option as sub character.



I would like to watch them, I always enjoy Leifang videos.

I hope this is ok to post here and you are 100% correct ! Leifang is a full time commitment character.

 

[5H1N081]

Although it was made for DOA5, this thread is still absolutely worth checking out: https://www.freestepdodge.com/threads/leifang-character-breakdown.1842/
Hopefully someone with the knowledge of Emperor Cow will make a list for DOA6.
TeruRock, Emperor Cow and Berzerk (some of the top Leifang players) also have some videos/streams out there, so you might want to check them out.

Personally I find Leifang's Unshu, Sabakis, High Crushes and Offensive Holds super useful. My reasons for picking Leifang are the same as yours, her holds/parries are just super fun. In general the critical hold system is the most fun thing about DOA IMO and the thing that sets it apart from other fighters.

Hopefully some useful stuff:
(Unshu; parries high+mid punches only!)
(parries highs)
(parries mids)
(parries lows; crushes highs)
(crushes highs), also has followups with (=>Unshu) or
(Offensive Hold that can send the opponent into the next danger zone while...)
(does more damage when there's no wall/danger zone around)
(Offensive Hold that does alot of damage against walls)
(quite fast for a kick, good against side stepping, has also a follow up )
(not too slow, good if you expect side stepping)
can be alternated with (=>Unshu) as well as (when people don't protect their toes^^)
(the notorious shoulder, high crush, close hit properties)
(Back Turned) (kinda risky high crush, but people often don't see it coming; can be charged)
(=>Unshu; can be alternated with...)
(the can be delayed quite long and can catch people off guard)

 

[NightAntilli]

All characters are worth as a main. I do think that Leifang is not the best character to start with if you're a newer player. Not that it's bad, but just not optimal. Her playstyle requires extensive knowledge of the opponent to be really successful, since her best moves are about countering the opponent.

PPKH+K (I use this but I'm not having much success with it yet.)

This is best used within a juggle, when the floor is a danger zone (explosive/charged with electricity and the like).

2P+K (Fatal Stun) - It's hard to use successfully tho. Pretty slow. Not sure in what situation to use it.

Best time to use this is when the opponent is expecting a mid kick launcher, which should be regularly, considering one of her best launchers is 66K. 7K also launches respectably.

1P+K - It feels slow. Only use it from a distance to surpise someone. That's it.

This move is extremely useful, because it can dodge a lot of things. Learn to time it. I recommend to start training to use it against wake up kicks. You'll soon see how useful it is.

 

[xDevious]

Tier lists never matter. If you like a character, you should play them. I’ve been a Phase 4 main since her release in 5U, and she’s never been high on the tier lists, but I still love her and will play her no matter how low she is on the tier list compared to other characters. No matter where a character is on the tier list, you can make them work with enough time and practice. I have yet to see a tier list for DOA6 that I agree with as well, so they’re pretty much always up for debate. So long story short, if you like Leifang the most out of every other character, then yes, she is indeed worth picking up as a main.