Official Ayane DOA4 thread

[HajinShinobi]

Alright, over the amount of time that Dead or Alive 4 has been out, many things have been discovered through this game. But we'll stay on topic, about Ayane's intergrated movement and more new created movement (Ayane dash and Hajin Roll).

While Ayane excels at spacing, evading, and moving around freely using her intergrated movement to create space more than the rest of the character cast in Dead or Alive 4 (in terms of movement itself, not attacks or throws) she also excels in counter blowing and high crushing as well.

Whether you call it spacing or turtling, its an important and very useful tactic to be used in general. And since Ayane excels at moving through intergrated movement, it would be smart to use this to her advantage. Turtling comes in different forms believe it or not. There's the aggressive turtler, and the passive turtler.

But before I go into further detail, I'd like to ask. As an Ayane player, do you know how to apply Ayane's intergrated movement correctly so that you bait correctly without being counter blown or knockdown/knockback, play a range game, or stay out of your opponents hit range majority of the time?

I'd like to get some feedback on other players take on how they use Ayane's movement first. I'd be more than willing to help if anyone is still trying to get a better grip on how to use Ayane's intergrated movement.

 

[HajinShinobi]

Legend

789
456
123

1 = Diagonal Down Left
2 = Down
3 = Diagonal Down Right
4 = Left
5 = Neutral
6 = Right
7 = Diagonal Up Left
8 = Up
9 = Diagonal Up Right

P = Punch
K = Kick
F = Free (Free Cancel/Block)
P+K = Punch plus Kick
F+P = Free plus Punch (Throw Command)
F+K = Free plus Kick

Example: 2K = Down and Kick


List of Ayane's Intergrated movement:

Spins

1. 11
2. 11 (Hold)
3. 113
4. BT 3
5. BT 3 (Hold)
6. BT 31
7. 31 (Hold)

NOTE: All of these ducks under high attacks, and cannot be high counter blown.

8. 236f+kf - Spin cancel variation of 236f+k and 1f+k .

Attacks from Spins

1. 113kkk - Consists of two low kicks followed by a midkick. The midkick is unsafe on block.

2. 11 3kk2k - Consists of three low kicks. The third low kick is safe on block.
NOTE: While both variations of the above string are fearful, they can be countered on reaction fairly easily. But nonetheless, opponents still have to respect the string because it comes out pretty fast, and that it has great range. It's an attack opponents must hold to get out of if they are hit with the first kick from this string. This is one of Ayane's best moves.
With that said, be sure to keep use of the string to a minimum. Over abusing this string results in easy counters. Which results in easy damage for the opponent to inflict on you. Be wary when using this string though, moves that crush lows (such as Hitomi or Hayate's 3f+k ) will go right over it if it's anticipated.

3. 11k - Good whiff punisher. Also able to punish whiffed wakeup kicks. Safe on block. Can only be punished by a 5i throw (which are breakable).

4. 11p/113p - Good high crush, and range safe.

Movement while facing backturned (BT)
1. BT 6
2. BT 4
3. BT 66
4. 11 - backwards crouch dash that keeps you BT.
5. BT 1 - backward crouch.
6. BT 44 - puts you front turned.
7. BT 8p - puts you front turned, also allows Ayane to use pp or block much faster than using BT 44 .
8. BT 66 - Performs a roll, ducks under highs.
9. BT 66 > 6 - Perform double roll/maxed, ducks under highs.
10. BT 9 - flips forward to front turned.
11. BT 66 > 8p - Hajin Roll.
12. BT 66~6>8p - Hajin Roll double/maxed.

Fubu
7p - Flips backwards, putting decent space between Ayane and the opponent. Albeit a little slow, best to use 11. But still a good way to space yourself from opponents. Leaves you backturned.
Avoid using Fubu on opponents who are wall crumpled. Only use Fubu against grounded opponents. The reason being is that opponents who are wall crumpled can get right back into Ayane's face, and take advantage of her while she's still recovering from the flip. Attacks such as Hitomi or Hayate's 3f+k or Hayabusa's 66k can easily knock Ayane out of Fubu, so be careful.

Hajin
8p - moves you forward, puts you backturned.
BT 8p - moves you back, puts you front turned.

Ayane Dash
The more advanced technique known as the Ayane Dash (created by Xdest) is used to allow Ayane to move between backturned stance to front turned stance simultaneously, allowing her to play with her range game more, cause confusion, baiting for whiffs, approaching the opponent through your choice of backturned or front turned stances (which opens up more options for Ayane in terms of attacks such high crushes or range moves with proper placement).
1) 3p
2) 3f+k
3) BT 6p
4) BT 7k
5) BT 4k
6) BT 2k
7) 2p
8) BT 2p
9) BT 6f +p
10) BT f +kf
11) 11f, 7f
12) 11f, 4f
13) 11f, 1f
14) 11f, 6f
15) 8pf, 7f
16) 8pf, 4f
17) 8pf, 1f
18) 8pf, 6f

--are all possibilities with the correct range. Also, she can still quickly turn around to block if needed by pressing f or 8f. It is also very possible to counter (as listed above) after the Ayane Dash if you anticipate your opponent will try to hit you while your moving in, or just decide to knock you out of backturned stance.
The command for the Ayane Dash is hold 8pf repeat (so repeating it would be 8pf8pf etc. . .)

All of Ayane's intergrated movement can be used in a matter of different ways. They can be used for spacing, approaching the opponent, baiting for whiffs, inching your way to the opponent, etc etc. . .
But knowing Ayane's intergrated movement isnt nearly enough in knowing how to apply it well. It takes some practice to learn how to use her movement so that you use her range tools more efficiently, force whiffs, whiff punish at range (i.e 3f +k/236k ), not randomly getting counter blown or throw punished from playing so unsafe.

Like any other character in DOA, it takes practice and time to learn your character's strong points. This is one of Ayane's strong points. Her intergrated movement is something unique (in a good way) that she has over the rest of the DOA cast.

Also, when you learn to use her range tools and can keep your patience using her (i.e. not getting careless or rushing in), it'll become much easier to deal with the more offensive characters of the bunch. It's not the offensive characters that give Ayane problems, it's the defensive characters (if they are being played well) that do.

 

[HajinShinobi]

Most Effective moves to use with Ayane's 8p (Hajin)

Here is a list of moves that you can perform Hajin (8p) out of. Also, the list will contain moves that are good for Ayane to perform Hajin (8p) out of, other moves I leave out are moves (attacks) that either whiff or can be full blown punished.

1. p - 10i jab. Ayane's fastest attack. Her simple p gives her quality mixups, which includes p free cancel mixups, her pp, and her pp strings. Using Hajin (8p) after p literally puts Ayane and the opponent back at R1F (Round 1 Fight). From there, she can use 3p or 3f+k (Range safe), if you choose to follow up with an attack that is. Just to clarify, pp and 2p are her only true safe moves.

2. 6p - 13i mid punch. One of Ayane's fastest mids. Has two followups as well, one being a launcher and the other being a knockdown. Using Hajin (8p) after 6p puts nice space between Ayane and the opponent like p does, and you can also use 3f+k as a followup afterwards (which is range safe, win win situation). You can use pp6p for the same situation as well.

Although I wouldnt recommend free canceling after using 6p though. Her back is turned and she is completely open to highs/mids/lows. But it's not an insane risk, seeing as how both 6pp and 6pk have long delays. With 6pk being the better option since it's safe on block (except against characters with a 6i punish throw).

3. 3f+k - A mid-ranged mid kick that knockdowns for a techrollable or untechrollable mixup. Using Hajin (8p) after this move puts some nice space between Ayane and the opponent to keep playing her keep away game or just back away in general. Either way, you still have the advantage because you're the one creating distance. Did I mention it's range safe?
Xdest's NOTE: Be aware when using 3f+k >8p though.
A well placed 236p (or anything with sufficient range and speed), will be able to hit her out of it. Of course, low ranged moves will whiff and slow moves will be blocked.

4. p+kp >11 - In front turned stance this move is 13i (at start of), in backturned stance it becomes 11 frames. Both variations are high crushes. This string is a good poke, plus its highly delayable, making it safe when free canceled.
Plus it has plenty of followups to fallback on. After the spin cancel (going away from the opponent), using Hajin(8p) after this string puts a considerable amount of space between Ayane and the opponent. Which of course, also makes 3f+k a good option since you'd be mid range at this point.
Those are the four moves that are amongst the best to use Hajin (8p) afterwards.

 

[HajinShinobi]

The Purposes of Spacing/Turtling
Here are the different types of a turtler. Keep in mind that spacing can be used with any character, but it'll become more difficult with characters who simply arent meant to be played using spacing, but its still possible to space with those said characters if needed. Others, such as Ayane, Ryu Hayabusa, Hayate, Jannlee, Ein, Lisa and a few others can use spacing very well to their advantage.
Also, keep in mind that Dead or Alive is more of a defensive fighting game. While its always good to play offensively, in Dead or Alive, defense is an important aspect to winning. You need to adapt, anticipate, and react to opponents as soon as possible.
When you adapt, you anticipate. When you anticipate, you react accordingly. If you cannot adapt, then you cannot anticipate. If you cannot anticipate, then you cannot react accordingly. You need to maintain and balance these three elements in order to play more consistently.
NOTE: This list is from Xdest's Book of Destruction, the types of turtles are in great detail, showing the differences between them all. Just to clarify, I play both styles; The Aggressive Turtler, and The Passive Turtler. All depends my opponent and my opponent's character.

Spacing Technique
Spacing Technique will dictate what style of spacing you use overall. Where do you stay on the
playing field?

Turtling
Turtling the main defensive spacing style. A turtle by definition is one that will take it slow, and stay
in their shell until it is time to attack. Turtling is the art of forcing the opponent to do exactly what
you want them to do, with defense. If you can do this correctly, you reap the benefits. You execute
incorrectly, and you're the one getting punished. First, you need to figure out exactly how you want
to play your position on the playing field. There are several different ways to play the turtling card,
here's a few of the styles that you can abide by. To turtle, is to work off of the opponent's mistakes.

The Aggressive Turtle
The aggressive turtle is the one that will always go back and forth to force the opponent. They are
still moving in quite the defensive matter, but if they opponent does something wrong, this turtle
with bite back 24/7. This turtle is defense in a completely other manner, but they always know the
right time. An aggressive turtle will sometimes by mistaken for a rushdown player, but don't be
fooled. Aggressive turtles are doing it with defensive intent, to make sure you do something wrong,
so they can bite you right back in the ass.

The Passive Turtle
The passive turtle does not care about going back and forth, they just want to defend. This means
backing up or waiting as much as possible. Anything to exhaust the opponent's options. A passive
player will always try to figure out how to get away from you, then exhaust your options and go in
for the kill. Along the way they're intercepting any hot headed player's moves, and whiff punishing
all moves that hit the air, and of course, throw punishing unsafe moves on block. Don't get me
wrong, the passive turtle will move forward, but they're constantly thinking about how to get away
and exhaust the opponent, and maybe run the timer along the way. This kind of person doesn't seem
to be that dangerous at first, but they overwhelm with defense.

The Turtle's Shell
This turtle will space and wait. They don't care, they're confident in their abilities, so they'll wait for
the opponent to do something wrong without moving an inch. Just blocking and reacting. This card
cannot be played by anyone. It's pretty much playing all your cards on your defensive skill. There is
no more offense, just pure turtling, working off your opponent to get damage. This kind of turtle
will sometimes be dangerous depending on the player's skill with the art of defense. If their reaction
is quite good, and their defense is quite good, you might actually have your work cut out for you.

Character Importance
Not all characters turtle well. Some characters were made to space. Some were made to pressure.
Characters were all made with specific purposes in mind, even if you stray away from the purpose.
With the character you chose, you need to make this decision for yourself. Does your character have
good whiff punishers? Good defensive intercepts? Good special movement spacing technique? If
they don't - they may be there for another purpose.

Here is a link to Xdest's Ayane Strategy Guide:

http://www.doacentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10340

Xdest's Guide actually explains how Ayane is to be played. Her best moves, pokes,, launchers, combos/juggles, moves at R1F, strats, and etc are in great detail here.

 

[HajinShinobi]

Overview of Ayane:

Ayane excels fighting at a range, having plently of attacks and tools to use at range. Upclose she can hold her own pretty decently, but she also has the tools neccessary that allows her to get back into a range game.

When she's upclose, she has a decent number of pokes such as:

1) p
2) pp (and strings)
3) 6pk
4) 6k
5) 2p
6) p+k

PP and 2p would definitely be two of Ayane safest pokes, and these two moves go hand and hand together. Many opponents wouldnt dare try to throw pp because of the followups possible (this is to be said about any character in general anyway). Plus 2p is completely safe on hit AND on block.

Due to her 2p being her only means of pressure, the LJT (low jab trap) works very well in most situations when she's up close, depending on the opponent's character speed mind you. The LJT can allow Ayane to crush opponents, out jab them, keep them blocking, prevent them from moving, move away from them, allow tick throw setups, and etc. . .

Ayane feels right at home when she's at range, this is where she shines. She has plenty of tools to continue playing a range game, and keeping opponents away from her. She has really good tools such as:

1) 3p
2) 3k
3) 3 f+k
4) BT 2k
5) 11
6)BT 66
7) 11 3 kkk
8) 11k
9) 8p
10)BT 66f+p

And etc. . .

In a matter of speaking, if Ayane is played correctly majority of the time, she cannot be touched most of the time (aka forcing whiffs, blocking, punishing, throw punishing unsafe moves). But if played incorrectly, and you lose patience with her, prepare to be thrown all over the place.


The Pros:

+ Great movement.
+ Evasive.
+ Has excellent tools to use at range.
+ Has a normal hit launcher (9k).
+ Excellent at high crushing.
+ Excellent whiff punishment.
+ 2p is a good tool, and has a very effective low jab trap than most characters.
+ Has a better ground game than most characters of DOA4.
+ Has great damage output, all juggles and string launchers doing 50/60+.
+ Above average poking speed, 10i High/13i Mids/12i Low.
+ All of her counter holds deal enviroment damage.
+ Mid kick hold does devastating damage.
+ Able to juggle all characters using pp6pk .
+ Has a solid stun>launch mixup.
+ Very good at RIF (Round 1 Fight).


The Cons

- Very unsafe.
- Lacks the ability to force opponents into anything upclose.
- Has to play the throw/strike game when she's upclose.
- Has to work off opponents alot to get her damage.
- 6pk puts both Ayane and the opponent into a guessing game on block.
- Has trouble against characters who are able to nullify her range game.


The Matchups:

Ayane - Fair
Bass - Good
Bayman - Good
BradWong - Good
Christie - Good
Ein- Fair
Eliot- Good
Genfu - Bad
Ryu Hayabusa - Fair
Hayate - Fair
Helena - Fair
Hitomi - Fair
Jann Lee - Fair
Kasumi - Fair
Kokoro - Fair
Lei Fang - Fair
Leon - Good
Lisa (La Mariposa) - Good
Spartan (Nicole) - Decent
Tengu - Good
Tina - Good
Zack - Fair

 

[HajinShinobi]

Ayane's Jab 101, Different Uses for it.

Ayane's Jab 10(2)14

10i Neutral poke
Initial 0 frames on hit
-1i on block

Obviously her fastest attack is a high.

NOTE: This is nothing new, just giving an explanation about it because it's apparent that alot of players still only try relying on her punch grab, and gets HCB for it lol.

NOTE: However, if you didnt know much about how to munipulate this, then this should be of good use to you.

Ayane's jab can be used abit differently from every other character's jab, because it leaves her backturned. While her PP keeps her front turned. But keep in mind, every character's jab or hell jab are indeed good tools and pokes at neutral, not just Ayane's.

Because of this, it isnt as neccessary to rely on her strings when you attack at neutral. She has some nice solid options to use after her jab. She can throw you, she can attempt to high crush you, she can continue using neutral pokes, she can choose to get away from you. All of things are available to Ayane from her jab.

Here are her best options after free canceling her jab:

1) p > BT f+p - Her infamous punch grab, it is still quite useful. Everyone knows about her backturned throw after jabbing, but that doesnt mean everyone can react to it all the same. This works well against opponents who block alot. And it is fairly easy enough to train opponents who dont look for this to start reacting to it, so you can start HCB'ing them with some other options too.

2) p > BT 6p - 13i BT high crush, launches on counter and high counter. Although it's unsafe on block, it is still a good option. If opponents try interrupting you after they've seen you free canceling your jab, this will HCB them for 90 pts damage if you follow up with 66KKK . Also, BT 6P will hit them if they duck, thinking you'll throw them from BT.

3) p > BT 2p - 13i low jab from her BT stance. There is actually somewhat of a difference from BT 2P and 2P. One being that it is 1 frame slower than 2P. Second being that it's -10i on block, therefore it is low throw punishable. BUT, everyone treats this the same as her 2P, so it never gets low throw punished because no one looks for it.

Still making this move a good poke at neutral from BT. You can basically do the following with this poke;

p > BT 2p > p > BT 2p Repeat

p > BT 2p > p > BT f+p

p > BT 2p > 2p x's 2 or more.

p > BT 2p > 6p or 6pk or 6pp

p > BT 2p > 6k

p > BT 2p > p > BT 6p

p > BT 2p > p > BT p+kp 11

p > BT 2p > p > BT 2k

p > BT 2p counter hit > 11

p > BT 2p > Hold

Etc etc. . .

There are many more options for mixing this up. But these are just some of them.

4) p > BT 2k - This is such a good move from a short distance. But it is quite a good option after free canceling her jab as well. Unsafe on block, but if the sweep hits, it'll trip the opponent up. Plus, both 6P and 6K can be used as followups after BT 2K hits too.

Unless they SE, but the opponent will block after SE'ing. If this happens, throw them. If they attempt to HCB your throw attempt, use your offensive hold or begin using neutral pokes (aka P, PP and 2P) to keep the upper hand and keep them on the defensive.

BUT, if the opponent uses a hold after being hit with BT 2K, all of your options become available. You can throw them with either 214F+P , 4F+P or 66F+P if they hold mid. And if they hold low, you use 6P or 6K as your mid followups to put them into a deeper stun in an attempt to launch them.

5) p > p+kp 11 - 11i, beats out all 11i or slower mids at neutral. If this hits, you spin away and can use her BT throw to follow up with. If it's blocked, you spin away then do BT 8P to put Ayane back in front stance and at neutral. Best part about it is that you wont be next to the opponent because you just created some distance between Ayane and her opponent.

p > p+kp 11 > 8p

At this point, you have three good options; either you can do 3P, 3F+K, or 11 > 8P.

3P is Ayane's BnB move, and a good poke at range. It has a launch/sweep/free cancel mixup.

3F+K is a good move at range as well, mid kick. And it is range safe. Has a techrollable and untechrollable mixup.
11 > 8P is a great way to move back with Ayane in general.

6) p > BT 8p - This is such a good tactic. Doing this will literally put both fighters back at neutral R1F (Round 1 Fight). Best of all, Ayane cannot be hit with anything at this point, at all. However, unless you choose to followup with an attack, and the opponent has good range moves (i.e. Ein's 4K, Hayabusa's 8K, 236P, 66K or 2P+K), then she will get counter hit.

You have all the same options as you do with p > p+kp 11

Plus choosing to block or hold if opponents attempt to use a range move. But blocking or holding are hardly ever the options because not many opponents expect Ayane to space after her jab. Things that they'll usually try hitting her with are high/mid pokes at neutral. Which will get counter hit by 3P or 3F+K. 3P stuns them on counter and high counter, and 3F+K knocks them down.

And again, 11 > 8P is just a good way to move back with Ayane in general.

All of these things are such good options for Ayane to use after free canceling her jab. You can throw, high crush, poke, and run away.

These things can force opponents to respect your high at neutral. Whether her jab hits or its blocked, all of these options become available. Learn to use them, mix them up.

Her strings are still a viable option when going high, but almost every string in this game is unsafe if their finished. And practically every character has at least one or two strings that are considered safe, with the rest being unsafe. Thus, we have to free cancel and try mixing up as much as we can.

Some do it better than others. And some characters are truly beastly with mixing up.

I hope this helps some Ayane players out there. If you have questions, feel free to post up here, send me a private message, or contact me over xboxlive.

I actually dont play DOA4.1 anymore, but if anyone is up for some casual matches I'll gladly play a session, hit me up.

Gamertag: iGunz Pr0DiGY

 

[Matt Ponton]

Try to keep the character specific information, matchups, and playstyles to one thread for now. Any additions that need to be made to the character, make a new post and edit the first post with updates/links to the post.

 

[HajinShinobi]

Alright I gotcha!

 

[Hurricane Rev]

A really good guide man.

 

[Red dragon]

Not bad man. I see your already getting down to business.

 

[HajinShinobi]

Thanks, but actually these are kinda old lol. I made these awhile back on DOAC.