DOA5LR Naotora Match-Up List

[The Spine]

Alright, so there's no real consensus (in my eyes) of all of her match-ups.While match-ups are not really necessary, we need to have an idea on what we're dealing with. All match-ups will be listed 5-5 as a default. Finalized match-ups will be in red.

Akira: 5-5
Alpha-152: 6-4
Ayane: 5-5
Bass: 5-5
Bayman: 5-5
Brad Wong: 5-5
Christie: 5-5
Ein: 5-5
Eliot: 5-5
Gen Fu: 5-5
Hayabusa: 5-5
Hayate: 5-5
Helena: 5-5
Hitomi: 5-5
Honoka: 5-5
Jacky: 5-5
Jann Lee: 5-5
Kasumi: 4-6
Kokoro: 5-5
La Mariposa: 5-5
Leifang: 5-5
Leon: 5-5
Marie Rose: 5-5
Mila: 5-5
Momiji: 5-5
Nyotengu: 5-5
Pai: 5-5
Phase 4: 5-5
Rachel: 5-5
Raidou: 5-5
Rig: 5-5
Sarah: 5-5
Tina: 5-5
Zack: 5-5

Let's figure something out.

 

[KasumiLover]

Me and a few other fellow Naotora players have gathered some Intel on a couple already, would you mind if I copied some of them here for you? I understand if you don't want to

 

[The Spine]

Me and a few other fellow Naotora players have gathered some Intel on a couple already, would you mind if I copied some of them here for you? I understand if you don't want to

Go ahead, but just the numbers please. The explanations are already there. It's possible I may disagree with a few though.

 

[KasumiLover]

I used the 3-3 rule, so maybe you can ratio them the 5-5 format you have:
kasumi: 1-3
Ein: 2-2
Rig: 2-2
Alpha: 3-1
Nyo: 2-2

The first number is for Naotora and the second is for the opponent

 

[The Spine]

I used the 3-3 rule, so maybe you can ratio them the 5-5 format you have:
kasumi: 1-3
Ein: 2-2
Rig: 2-2
Alpha: 3-1
Nyo: 2-2

The first number is for Naotora and the second is for the opponent

I can agree with all of them except Rig. There is no way that match-up is even.
In the "Out of 10" format it'd be:
Kasumi: 4-6
Ein: 5-5
Alpha: 6-4
Nyo: 5-5

Of course not by percentages, because there is no match-up in DoA in which a character has 70%+ advantage.

 

[KasumiLover]

What makes you disagree on the Rig one?

 

[The Spine]

What makes you disagree on the Rig one?

Naotora really only have one answer when Rig is in her face (which will be most of the time) which is 2H+K. Other than that, Rig has all the pressure that Naotora can't really deal with that close without of course holding and reacting. Which is up to the player. As well, Rig does have a 50/50 vortex with the air throw. Of course it's not unwinnable, but Rig has more tools to deal with Naotora than Naotroa has for dealing with Rig. You could consider Naotora a worse version of Rig. This is all, of course, in my opinion.

 

[DestructionBomb]

Rig has buttons and interruptions. Lots of Rig's strings in itself can be interrupted with lows from most of the bending stance options, issue with Naotora is that her overall lows to interrupt any of those moves is i14 and slower. i13 or less can interrupt all of Rig's bending stance high and mid. An i13 low and quicker can return Rig to neutral stance along with any attacks followed up by Rig will grant the player CH advantage for scoring the low on CH.

Basically Rig can condition a Naotora player to sit there and block more often than she should. Rig's bending stance KK for example is +1 and can follow it up with slower deep mids that normally wouldn't catch an individual who has an i12/i13 low. Rig's really good options come from those mids which Naotora has to block again. Attacking with a low is suicide (well...almost, as it depends on the options the Rig player throws out, but some of those strings are still brutal by Rig) since you'll be put on a CH deep unstaggerable stun which forces you to guess once more.

As for match ups, I can't really say for Akira at the moment. I do want to dig up Naotora vs Honoka more. This one in general may pay off to Naotora much higher since she has a lot of situations that allows her to back dash and whiff punish Honoka.

 

[KasumiLover]

Overall Rig is a problem for Naotora up close, but as long as she keeps a distance she'll be fine imo. 2H+K and 2P have plenty of reach and so does her PP2K2K and 6H+KK which can go "under the radar" to catch him for a CH. She also has longer reach in general which is in her favor since a lot of his attacks are a bit lacking in range from what I've seen.

 

[DestructionBomb]

If anything, I can think of 3 candidates that Naotora may have a bit more priority than them. Honoka, Leon, and Brad.

Honoka suffers greatly from range problems. Naotora has a ton of situations that leaves her BT and situations that give her good distance to avoid such things. 4KK at a certain distance can develop situations where Honoka can whiff an attack that can allow Naotora to strike/throw punish immediately. Though this is more paper scenarios, that's still the initial problem that Honoka has in general which Naotora can take advantage from.

Leon's neutral is pretty average and requires too much situations for CH and anticipation from the opponent to fall for stuff. What makes Leon dangerous is his throws and incredible interaction with the environment, though that's really Leon's problem as some of it requires a stun or getting yourself thrown overall. Avoiding throws+launchers and Leon isn't really going for much unless he's really downloaded you, which is relying on probability at best and skill level.

Brad requires an understanding of the game (as most characters do to even get a game properly going) to fully perform and utilize his kit more and obtaining advantage from setups via CH along with tricks in play. Naotora has tons of launchers that's consider jumping which puts certain phases as low crushing, I mean you could accidentally mash and it will send Brad flying for him trying to go for a low sweep. Naotora has tons of mid attacks that can hit Brad within stance transition along with minor range problems from Brad (his range is pretty decent actually but Naotora simply has a lot more going for her here..9P, 9P2K, 6KK string variations that knocks Brad etc.)

 

[Nikotsumi]

I can give my opinion on the Honoka-Naotora match up since I main both.
I think that despite Honoka's range problems, the match-up is definitely not in Naotora's favor. Imo it's even or slightly in Honoka's favor.
Naotora can sure take advantage of that and deal with Honoka at mid (or long) range. But Honoka definitely destroys her at close quarter combat.
She has speed advantage and good crushes that beat Naotora's fastest pokes, leaving her no choice but to block.

 

[Brute]

If anything, I can think of 3 candidates that Naotora may have a bit more priority than them. Honoka, Leon, and Brad.

Honoka suffers greatly from range problems. Naotora has a ton of situations that leaves her BT and situations that give her good distance to avoid such things. 4KK at a certain distance can develop situations where Honoka can whiff an attack that can allow Naotora to strike/throw punish immediately. Though this is more paper scenarios, that's still the initial problem that Honoka has in general which Naotora can take advantage from.

Leon's neutral is pretty average and requires too much situations for CH and anticipation from the opponent to fall for stuff. What makes Leon dangerous is his throws and incredible interaction with the environment, though that's really Leon's problem as some of it requires a stun or getting yourself thrown overall. Avoiding throws+launchers and Leon isn't really going for much unless he's really downloaded you, which is relying on probability at best and skill level.

Brad requires an understanding of the game (as most characters do to even get a game properly going) to fully perform and utilize his kit more and obtaining advantage from setups via CH along with tricks in play. Naotora has tons of launchers that's consider jumping which puts certain phases as low crushing, I mean you could accidentally mash and it will send Brad flying for him trying to go for a low sweep. Naotora has tons of mid attacks that can hit Brad within stance transition along with minor range problems from Brad (his range is pretty decent actually but Naotora simply has a lot more going for her here..9P, 9P2K, 6KK string variations that knocks Brad etc.)

Add Ryu to the mix for basically the same reasons as Leon. Naotora has better range control, speed, strings and lows than Hayabusa, and his usual "lol but" excuse of izuna holds does him little good against her given her reliance on kicks. I'm not going to say for certain how I think the dist. would play out since I haven't really played any professional Naotoras in a smooth environment, but I would be surprised if there were something that turned that MU out of Naotora's favor.

 

[DestructionBomb]

I can give my opinion on the Honoka-Naotora match up since I main both.
I think that despite Honoka's range problems, the match-up is definitely not in Naotora's favor. Imo it's even or slightly in Honoka's favor.
Naotora can sure take advantage of that and deal with Honoka at mid (or long) range. But Honoka definitely destroys her at close quarter combat.
She has speed advantage and good crushes that beat Naotora's fastest pokes, leaving her no choice but to block.

That varies because DOA has a hold mechanic in play which is difficult to truly figure out what really goes on up close in a match (unless you are Leifang to with illogical feedback and derpy gameplay), what I'm merely pointing out is how tool-assisted they can be in terms of scenarios. Naotora is least likely to screw up in so many situational cases. One whiff moved is health loss no matter how one looks at it (If they choose to proceed for it but can also affect the opposite). If both players were mindlessly attacking strings up-close I'm sure it puts good odds for Honoka to likely win in those situations but not a favorable one minus speed priority..though that still isn't great due to potential moves on block leading to disadvantageous scenarios unless it's positive frames which is putting your cards out in play and hope it goes accordingly well for you with the opponent screwing up for you being at advantage.

Course, anything can happen. Thing with fighting games is that matches don't have to go according to paper exactly (similar to Bass vs Sarah where the match up is high in Sarah's favor yet it isn't the end of the world for Bass because a few holds and throwing specific moves from Bass can kill momentum instantly.). Comparing Naotora and Honoka, Naotora does actually have ways to avoid really bad situations that Honoka suffers from. It's just that between the two you'd really have to screw up with Naotora to have Honoka start things.

Honoka vs Naotora in 6-4 in Honoka's favor seems very unlikely. 5-5 is a stretch and isn't bad at all. Though I do feel Naotora does have more potential play, especially with the game having walls. Not saying you are incorrect as I'm willing to be corrected on the matter so I'll wait a bit, though I do feel she has more edge in the match here, especially with DOA having a lot of free movement with things hitting the fan quick.

 

[Nikotsumi]

That varies because DOA has a hold mechanic in play which is difficult to truly figure out what really goes on up close in a match (unless you are Leifang to with illogical feedback and derpy gameplay), what I'm merely pointing out is how tool-assisted they can be in terms of scenarios. Naotora is least likely to screw up in so many situational cases. One whiff moved is health loss no matter how one looks at it (If they choose to proceed for it but can also affect the opposite). If both players were mindlessly attacking strings up-close I'm sure it puts good odds for Honoka to likely win in those situations but not a favorable one minus speed priority..though that still isn't great due to potential moves on block leading to disadvantageous scenarios unless it's positive frames which is putting your cards out in play and hope it goes accordingly well for you with the opponent screwing up for you being at advantage.

Course, anything can happen. Thing with fighting games is that matches don't have to go according to paper exactly (similar to Bass vs Sarah where the match up is high in Sarah's favor yet it isn't the end of the world for Bass because a few holds and throwing specific moves from Bass can kill momentum instantly.). Comparing Naotora and Honoka, Naotora does actually have ways to avoid really bad situations that Honoka suffers from. It's just that between the two you'd really have to screw up with Naotora to have Honoka start things.

What I meant is that if Naotora is "forced" to block, this is good for Honoka and will not put her necessarily in a disadvantageous scenario, cause this means that she'll have more chances to use her 6T throw that puts her in advantage, not to mention that Nao has slow crushes and no evasive tools.
Basically, my point is that in the close range situation it's very difficult for Nao to start things off, as she doesn't have ways to deal with certain situations in which Honoka can put her, or pressure in general (I may be wrong?). She would have to wait for Honoka to mess things up in this scenario (and that is not guaranteed to happen), but yeah all this varies, because like you said, DOA has a hold mechanic.

Of course it's easier for Naotora to put Honoka in a bad situation by back dashing and deal with her quite "easily" at mid range, or strike/throw punishing her right away if she whiffed a move (which would likely happen considering Honoka's reach).

Honoka vs Naotora in 6-4 in Honoka's favor seems very unlikely. 5-5 is a stretch and isn't bad at all. Though I do feel Naotora does have more potential play, especially with the game having walls. Not saying you are incorrect as I'm willing to be corrected on the matter so I'll wait a bit, though I do feel she has more edge in the match here, especially with DOA having a lot of free movement with things hitting the fan quick.

6-4 in Honaka's favor definitely no, with "slightly" I meant something like 5.2 or 5.3 - 4 xD
Naotora can be sure good with the wall game (if that's what you meant), Honoka too though, if not better.

 

[KasumiLover]

The MU is kinda similar to Kasumi vs Naotora, Kasumi will destroy her at close range and has parries and evasive tools, but Kasumi will have a challenge moving in on her since Naotora can just space and mid or long range her and Kasumi doesn't have too many long range tools that Naotora will have to respect.

 

[The Spine]

Disagree on Kasumi v Nao being similar to Honoka v Nao. I feel Kasumi has a much better time at the range Naotora wants to be in. Actually, in my opinion, Kasumi sort of belongs in that range where as Honoka definitely feels like she need to be more in your face to succeed.

 

[KasumiLover]

What I mean is that they're supposed to both be in your face, but Kasumi can also play at a slight range too since she has some moves that cover quite a bit of distance, but even still Kasumi is better off being in her face since Naotora only has her 4K to even attempt to keep up with Kasumi. XD

 

[The Spine]

Kasumi can't stay in your face like that, she's way too unsafe. Sure, she's aggressive, but if you are going to stay in my face the only thing I really have to worry about is the 236T reset. Other than that, it's not really hard to deal with Kasumi if she's CQC and using her strings. I'm saying that Kasumi needs to stay at the same range that Naotora has to (~2.00m). As far as Honoka, given how she has so many good stance changes from other characters, she can afford to stay in your face as she has legitimate mix-up options other than a tick throw. As far as Naotora keeping up with Kasumi, you can block one of her strings and throw 6P for free really.

 

[DestructionBomb]

If you had to get two players with the same mentality of one diminishing other, Naotora by default will simply take it. It's the matter of approach and how things go according to plan.

When you are Honoka, things do not go according to plan unless the opponent screws himself up for Honoka to go according to plan in the first place. Naotora simply has ways to hang back and has the system in play for her up close to hold such situations like every character. It's the matter of consistency here. Honoka is definitely not higher priority here against Naotora in such regard when DOA is consisted of free movement. Basically in short, Naotora is least likely to screw itself over than Honoka because the system in default puts them in favor for another. Same situation with Ein except Ein's over kit list is more direct to past DOA games where it clashes a bit in DOA5. Basically the new and improve system made Ein somewhat obsolete but not impossible to win seeing as the moves he uses still works and functions in a regular DOA game.

Honoka does not fall into this category but the character has limitations that majority of the roster can take advantage of, even slower characters like Bayman can score high on Honoka because there is this setplay that can favor Bayman. Naotora has access to moderate free movement and a hold system that can wound Honoka up close, as well as whiff punishing tools that instantly launches. Overall, there is a much bigger factor of reward as Naotora against Honoka.

 

[Nikotsumi]

You're making it sound like the hold system in an obstacle only for Honoka and that in this case, only Naotora has access to it, or at least that's what I'm understanding, which imo is not considering Naotora is a lot more easier to hold (unless she's gonna whiff punish for the whole round). Also the free movement, it's not like only Naotora has access to it, Honoka movement speed is even above avarage, which really helps her staying in the opponent's face.
If I'm wrong this means that a character that has better reach/whiff punishment, which can fight at mid-long range better than her (every character of the roster?) is automatically a point above Honoka?

When you are Honoka, things do not go according to plan unless the opponent screws himself up for Honoka to go according to plan in the first place.

Why?