Nameless Sama
Well-Known Member
What is your opinion about the zoning then ?
Rate Your Main DOA Character(s)
- Thread starter Dark_Ky
- Start date
SilverForte
Well-Known Member
I can't give Ryu a rating, there isn't a way to measure how awesome he is.
Nameless Sama
Well-Known Member
That is a true fact Silver but afterall we should look realistic and make some rating about the gameplay from Ryu. So we can help each other. I prefer the Character Forums but this is good thread too where you can look the strength and weaknesses about a character. If I am honest I wouldnt dare to make a rating about Ryu in NG
no problem, thx for the input
Leon - The Strongest- well, you know where this is going.
Offense (3/5 - Strongest Offense in the World). He only has a good offense if he can get a hit in and it leads to stun, grounded, or launch (see Speed). Followup throws to launches or grounding opponents is just one of the things he excels at. He by no means has a great offense outside of stun and launches due to his height predictability and a huge lack of variety in heights in strings. He has some pretty good delays in some of his strings which can be mistaken for charged attacks, unfortunately he can be thrown while charging (bet you didn't know that). He only has a few crushes but the ones he has are pretty amazing in utility. Regardless, do not Let Leon touch you. See damage for more.
Defense (2/5 - Strongest Holds in the World). Only thing making this a 1/5 (Weakest of the Strongest Holds in the World) is the damage and added damage from the environment he can get on Holds, even in stun, and his Offensive Holds. He might have the most powerful holds in the game but his defense options are pretty non-existent. If he had holds with utility similar to Rachel's than this could be escalated by quite a bit. (@Argentus I don't know why you factored GBs and Delays into this, they don't really have anything to do with his defense).
Damage (5/5 - Strongest in the World). This raises to 10/5 (Strongest Man in the World) when in areas that allow Leon to abuse the environment and breakables to extend combos and throws. His charges are pretty ridiculous with some obscene guard breaks (and even an Unblockable) and if he gets ANY of his throws on you you are in for a world of hurt. He has amazing damage for how short his combos last and has several setups that allow him to optimize damage from single strikes.
Zoning (2/4 - Strongest Zoning in the World). He has range issues but they aren't that bad. All of his longer range attacks guard break or have quite a bit of knock back or ridiculous stun but Leon has to control range at every opportunity he gets, choosing to keep enemies close or far away is up to him. His charged attacks have shortened ranges the longer they charge but hey, GBs and insane knockback. Oh, and 46P. Notice I said STRONGEST and not Best.
Speed (1/3 - Strongest Frames in the World). With speed that can match Bass (questionable in many cases)...well, he's slow. I mean, he is a grappler with a 5 frame throw. I guess this makes him the most powerful non-grappler grappler.
Safeness (2/3 - Strongest Guard Breaks in the World). On block he is pretty safe for a grappler with his non GB attacks if you avoid using kicks, with his GBs he can get many positive numbers (against a wall is a pretty scary situation) but his faster GBs leave him at -1.
Total 15/25.
He is almost purely an offensive rushdown character. Play him otherwise or not punish when opportunities arise and things will go south quick.
Ein #BuffEin
Offense (3/5). Ein excels at maximizing damage off of bounds and whiffed attacks. He doesn't have the most amazing string height variances or the largest string mixups or even a big list of attacks to use but Ein really loves to play a patience game. Great launchers on NH and a good stun game are left to be questioned when facing a faster character or a Hold happy player.
Defense (2/5) for similar reasons to Leon but without the damage. You could consider his spacing game as part of his defense but when someone is up in your facing and all you can do is blockor hope an Offensive Hold will do something (both of which are fairly weak, even on HCH).
Damage (4/5) Despite his shortcomings Ein is pretty strong. 33H+P nets 66 damage on NH (and a good Ein will bait for a HCH for 99 or even go for the Wall version which is absolutely awesome to watch) and his damage from bounds is probably the best in the game (toppling even Mila getting grounded and going into Mount/Sprawl from one of her bounds).
Zoning (4/4) The. Best. Zoner. Hands down. He has some of the most powerful punishment strikes and launchers that Christie would give up being able to crush mids if she could have what he has. If Ein isn't trying to get a bound he is more than likely zoning you and waiting for that golden opportunity to give you a TORIYAH! to your face when you least expect it.
Speed (1/3) He has to be one of, if not the, slowest strikers in the game.
Safeness (1.5/3) Probably the only time I will use a decimal. He has his moments, his better attacks are ungoldly punishable but his safe attacks are pretty good at the same time.
15.5/25
He is just a bad character (score aside). He doesn't have tools that help him stand out in any way and could really use a buff hug.
Mila - The most underrated character in the game.
Offense (5/5). Just like Leon, do NOT let this girl touch you. A 2 hit CB (no Holding required), crazy strikes, her Tackle, her Mount and Sprawl, her speed. This girl plays the stun game like no other and has probably the best stun to launch game in the roster. Her juggles are great across the non-Super-Heavyweight board and if you aren't using them right you can miss out on dishing out a whole lot of hurt. Even if you don't juggle with her just stun-launch, P+K, 2H+P, and go to work (70+ damage on such a simple thing). She just has amazing utility off of the simplest things she has.
Defense (4/5). Not the most damage on her holds but her mid punch, mid kick, and low kick lead to ground throws (guaranteed) and her low punch can lead to juggles (which ones you use are up to you). She has a lot of useful crushes to aid her in her journey to fight Bass. Her defense just translates into a toned down version of her offense.
Damage (5/5). If you have seen anything about what Something Unique has said about Mila, you only get a portion of the idea of what she can do. Finish juggles with P+K and ground throws, abuse her 6H+P followups (amazing damage off such a simple input), Power Launcher combos are top of the line, she just gets more damage than you might realize for as simple as some of her combos are to pull off.
Zoning (2/4). Not the greatest but definitely not the worst. It's the range on her throws you really need to worry about.
Speed (3/3). Damn is she quick. She's no ninja but damn.
Safeness (2/3). Finish strings only if you are confident they will connect. She is a lot safer than you might realize.
21/25
Mila is the quiet girl in the corner that nobody understands, you really have to become her best friend if you want to find out what she can do. Maining her from launch in 5 Vanilla (and now submaining her in 5U) I can tell you the people who stopped using her post 1.03 have no idea what they were missing. She may have lost some of her "stupid/braindead" tools but I saw no difference in how I played her as a striker and continue to do so. She got some serious upgrades in 5U, sure she got some serious downgrades too, and she is just insane if you spend any time learning her.
Offense (3/5 - Strongest Offense in the World). He only has a good offense if he can get a hit in and it leads to stun, grounded, or launch (see Speed). Followup throws to launches or grounding opponents is just one of the things he excels at. He by no means has a great offense outside of stun and launches due to his height predictability and a huge lack of variety in heights in strings. He has some pretty good delays in some of his strings which can be mistaken for charged attacks, unfortunately he can be thrown while charging (bet you didn't know that). He only has a few crushes but the ones he has are pretty amazing in utility. Regardless, do not Let Leon touch you. See damage for more.
Defense (2/5 - Strongest Holds in the World). Only thing making this a 1/5 (Weakest of the Strongest Holds in the World) is the damage and added damage from the environment he can get on Holds, even in stun, and his Offensive Holds. He might have the most powerful holds in the game but his defense options are pretty non-existent. If he had holds with utility similar to Rachel's than this could be escalated by quite a bit. (@Argentus I don't know why you factored GBs and Delays into this, they don't really have anything to do with his defense).
Damage (5/5 - Strongest in the World). This raises to 10/5 (Strongest Man in the World) when in areas that allow Leon to abuse the environment and breakables to extend combos and throws. His charges are pretty ridiculous with some obscene guard breaks (and even an Unblockable) and if he gets ANY of his throws on you you are in for a world of hurt. He has amazing damage for how short his combos last and has several setups that allow him to optimize damage from single strikes.
Zoning (2/4 - Strongest Zoning in the World). He has range issues but they aren't that bad. All of his longer range attacks guard break or have quite a bit of knock back or ridiculous stun but Leon has to control range at every opportunity he gets, choosing to keep enemies close or far away is up to him. His charged attacks have shortened ranges the longer they charge but hey, GBs and insane knockback. Oh, and 46P. Notice I said STRONGEST and not Best.
Speed (1/3 - Strongest Frames in the World). With speed that can match Bass (questionable in many cases)...well, he's slow. I mean, he is a grappler with a 5 frame throw. I guess this makes him the most powerful non-grappler grappler.
Safeness (2/3 - Strongest Guard Breaks in the World). On block he is pretty safe for a grappler with his non GB attacks if you avoid using kicks, with his GBs he can get many positive numbers (against a wall is a pretty scary situation) but his faster GBs leave him at -1.
Total 15/25.
He is almost purely an offensive rushdown character. Play him otherwise or not punish when opportunities arise and things will go south quick.
Ein #BuffEin
Offense (3/5). Ein excels at maximizing damage off of bounds and whiffed attacks. He doesn't have the most amazing string height variances or the largest string mixups or even a big list of attacks to use but Ein really loves to play a patience game. Great launchers on NH and a good stun game are left to be questioned when facing a faster character or a Hold happy player.
Defense (2/5) for similar reasons to Leon but without the damage. You could consider his spacing game as part of his defense but when someone is up in your facing and all you can do is blockor hope an Offensive Hold will do something (both of which are fairly weak, even on HCH).
Damage (4/5) Despite his shortcomings Ein is pretty strong. 33H+P nets 66 damage on NH (and a good Ein will bait for a HCH for 99 or even go for the Wall version which is absolutely awesome to watch) and his damage from bounds is probably the best in the game (toppling even Mila getting grounded and going into Mount/Sprawl from one of her bounds).
Zoning (4/4) The. Best. Zoner. Hands down. He has some of the most powerful punishment strikes and launchers that Christie would give up being able to crush mids if she could have what he has. If Ein isn't trying to get a bound he is more than likely zoning you and waiting for that golden opportunity to give you a TORIYAH! to your face when you least expect it.
Speed (1/3) He has to be one of, if not the, slowest strikers in the game.
Safeness (1.5/3) Probably the only time I will use a decimal. He has his moments, his better attacks are ungoldly punishable but his safe attacks are pretty good at the same time.
15.5/25
He is just a bad character (score aside). He doesn't have tools that help him stand out in any way and could really use a buff hug.
Mila - The most underrated character in the game.
Offense (5/5). Just like Leon, do NOT let this girl touch you. A 2 hit CB (no Holding required), crazy strikes, her Tackle, her Mount and Sprawl, her speed. This girl plays the stun game like no other and has probably the best stun to launch game in the roster. Her juggles are great across the non-Super-Heavyweight board and if you aren't using them right you can miss out on dishing out a whole lot of hurt. Even if you don't juggle with her just stun-launch, P+K, 2H+P, and go to work (70+ damage on such a simple thing). She just has amazing utility off of the simplest things she has.
Defense (4/5). Not the most damage on her holds but her mid punch, mid kick, and low kick lead to ground throws (guaranteed) and her low punch can lead to juggles (which ones you use are up to you). She has a lot of useful crushes to aid her in her journey to fight Bass. Her defense just translates into a toned down version of her offense.
Damage (5/5). If you have seen anything about what Something Unique has said about Mila, you only get a portion of the idea of what she can do. Finish juggles with P+K and ground throws, abuse her 6H+P followups (amazing damage off such a simple input), Power Launcher combos are top of the line, she just gets more damage than you might realize for as simple as some of her combos are to pull off.
Zoning (2/4). Not the greatest but definitely not the worst. It's the range on her throws you really need to worry about.
Speed (3/3). Damn is she quick. She's no ninja but damn.
Safeness (2/3). Finish strings only if you are confident they will connect. She is a lot safer than you might realize.
21/25
Mila is the quiet girl in the corner that nobody understands, you really have to become her best friend if you want to find out what she can do. Maining her from launch in 5 Vanilla (and now submaining her in 5U) I can tell you the people who stopped using her post 1.03 have no idea what they were missing. She may have lost some of her "stupid/braindead" tools but I saw no difference in how I played her as a striker and continue to do so. She got some serious upgrades in 5U, sure she got some serious downgrades too, and she is just insane if you spend any time learning her.
Bass' fastest high is 12 and his fastest mid is 14.
Leon's fastest high is 11 and his fastest mid is 13.
No one is Bass slow. Not even close. Even Leon. It should also be noted that Bass' basic jab is hilariously 13 frames.
As far as the throw frames go, a 4 frame throw isn't really what defines a grappler in DOA5. For example, Bayman also has a 5 frame neutral throw.
Tenryuga
Well-Known Member
Offense (2.5/5) - What hurts him in this area is his lack of mixups and abillity to open people up. Literally his only ways to do it are through 2P pressure and tick throws. His in string lows are are rarely going to hit players that are of average skill and beyond in an offline environment and the strings that contain them have me using a unsafe mid punch for mixup. He also has close to no tracking though I'm not even going to lie 4P strings are godly.
Defense (3.5/5) - This score is largely due to his ability to play keepout. In close range Ein's defense is limited to holds, SS, 2P and 2H+K. 2P is linear even though it's quick so players can SS on thier offense if Ein decides he wants to use a quick crush. 2H+K can crush and beat SS but it's slow as hell so opponents can catch it in thier negative frames. His keepout though is godlike.
Damage (4/5) - He nets high guaranteed damage off whiff punishment into walls / dangerzones or his 33T into walls / dangerzones. Stun into KK does 113 points maximum 102 minimum. He would be the best user of bounds IMO if Hayabusa didn't exist.
Zoning (4/4) - TORIYAH!! That should suffice to explain this rating. If it isn't I suggest you go on PSN and add Tenryuga to your friends list so you know what that means whenever Ein says it.
Speed (2/3) - Ein's speed is average but when he lands a 2P unless you have a 11 frame mid you have to respect that shit and he becomes a nuisance because a wrong read on your part is putting him into a really good situation.
Safety (2/3) - Most of his zoning tools and mixups are mad unsafe but important moves in CQC and punishment tools like 46P are safe so that is good.
18 / 25. Give him some tracking, give him a 1P, give him his 14i 6P+K and 13i 4K and give him a good delayable mid he can use in a P string ( preferably his 3P. ) and he will be complete IMO.
Uhhh ... looks like I should do this, havn't seen any good Ein on PSN since I'm there too.
Argentus
Well-Known Member
Leon - The Strongest- well, you know where this is going.
Offense (3/5 - Strongest Offense in the World). He only has a good offense if he can get a hit in and it leads to stun, grounded, or launch (see Speed). Followup throws to launches or grounding opponents is just one of the things he excels at. He by no means has a great offense outside of stun and launches due to his height predictability and a huge lack of variety in heights in strings. He has some pretty good delays in some of his strings which can be mistaken for charged attacks, unfortunately he can be thrown while charging (bet you didn't know that). He only has a few crushes but the ones he has are pretty amazing in utility. Regardless, do not Let Leon touch you. See damage for more.
Defense (2/5 - Strongest Holds in the World). Only thing making this a 1/5 (Weakest of the Strongest Holds in the World) is the damage and added damage from the environment he can get on Holds, even in stun, and his Offensive Holds. He might have the most powerful holds in the game but his defense options are pretty non-existent. If he had holds with utility similar to Rachel's than this could be escalated by quite a bit. (@Argentus I don't know why you factored GBs and Delays into this, they don't really have anything to do with his defense).
Damage (5/5 - Strongest in the World). This raises to 10/5 (Strongest Man in the World) when in areas that allow Leon to abuse the environment and breakables to extend combos and throws. His charges are pretty ridiculous with some obscene guard breaks (and even an Unblockable) and if he gets ANY of his throws on you you are in for a world of hurt. He has amazing damage for how short his combos last and has several setups that allow him to optimize damage from single strikes.
Zoning (2/4 - Strongest Zoning in the World). He has range issues but they aren't that bad. All of his longer range attacks guard break or have quite a bit of knock back or ridiculous stun but Leon has to control range at every opportunity he gets, choosing to keep enemies close or far away is up to him. His charged attacks have shortened ranges the longer they charge but hey, GBs and insane knockback. Oh, and 46P. Notice I said STRONGEST and not Best.
Speed (1/3 - Strongest Frames in the World). With speed that can match Bass (questionable in many cases)...well, he's slow. I mean, he is a grappler with a 5 frame throw. I guess this makes him the most powerful non-grappler grappler.
Safeness (2/3 - Strongest Guard Breaks in the World). On block he is pretty safe for a grappler with his non GB attacks if you avoid using kicks, with his GBs he can get many positive numbers (against a wall is a pretty scary situation) but his faster GBs leave him at -1.
Total 15/25.
He is almost purely an offensive rushdown character. Play him otherwise or not punish when opportunities arise and things will go south quick.
Ein #BuffEin
Offense (3/5). Ein excels at maximizing damage off of bounds and whiffed attacks. He doesn't have the most amazing string height variances or the largest string mixups or even a big list of attacks to use but Ein really loves to play a patience game. Great launchers on NH and a good stun game are left to be questioned when facing a faster character or a Hold happy player.
Defense (2/5) for similar reasons to Leon but without the damage. You could consider his spacing game as part of his defense but when someone is up in your facing and all you can do is blockor hope an Offensive Hold will do something (both of which are fairly weak, even on HCH).
Damage (4/5) Despite his shortcomings Ein is pretty strong. 33H+P nets 66 damage on NH (and a good Ein will bait for a HCH for 99 or even go for the Wall version which is absolutely awesome to watch) and his damage from bounds is probably the best in the game (toppling even Mila getting grounded and going into Mount/Sprawl from one of her bounds).
Zoning (4/4) The. Best. Zoner. Hands down. He has some of the most powerful punishment strikes and launchers that Christie would give up being able to crush mids if she could have what he has. If Ein isn't trying to get a bound he is more than likely zoning you and waiting for that golden opportunity to give you a TORIYAH! to your face when you least expect it.
Speed (1/3) He has to be one of, if not the, slowest strikers in the game.
Safeness (1.5/3) Probably the only time I will use a decimal. He has his moments, his better attacks are ungoldly punishable but his safe attacks are pretty good at the same time.
15.5/25
He is just a bad character (score aside). He doesn't have tools that help him stand out in any way and could really use a buff hug.
Mila - The most underrated character in the game.
Offense (5/5). Just like Leon, do NOT let this girl touch you. A 2 hit CB (no Holding required), crazy strikes, her Tackle, her Mount and Sprawl, her speed. This girl plays the stun game like no other and has probably the best stun to launch game in the roster. Her juggles are great across the non-Super-Heavyweight board and if you aren't using them right you can miss out on dishing out a whole lot of hurt. Even if you don't juggle with her just stun-launch, P+K, 2H+P, and go to work (70+ damage on such a simple thing). She just has amazing utility off of the simplest things she has.
Defense (4/5). Not the most damage on her holds but her mid punch, mid kick, and low kick lead to ground throws (guaranteed) and her low punch can lead to juggles (which ones you use are up to you). She has a lot of useful crushes to aid her in her journey to fight Bass. Her defense just translates into a toned down version of her offense.
Damage (5/5). If you have seen anything about what Something Unique has said about Mila, you only get a portion of the idea of what she can do. Finish juggles with P+K and ground throws, abuse her 6H+P followups (amazing damage off such a simple input), Power Launcher combos are top of the line, she just gets more damage than you might realize for as simple as some of her combos are to pull off.
Zoning (2/4). Not the greatest but definitely not the worst. It's the range on her throws you really need to worry about.
Speed (3/3). Damn is she quick. She's no ninja but damn.
Safeness (2/3). Finish strings only if you are confident they will connect. She is a lot safer than you might realize.
21/25
Mila is the quiet girl in the corner that nobody understands, you really have to become her best friend if you want to find out what she can do. Maining her from launch in 5 Vanilla (and now submaining her in 5U) I can tell you the people who stopped using her post 1.03 have no idea what they were missing. She may have lost some of her "stupid/braindead" tools but I saw no difference in how I played her as a striker and continue to do so. She got some serious upgrades in 5U, sure she got some serious downgrades too, and she is just insane if you spend any time learning her.
Leon - I factor in his delays and guard breaks and whatnot into his defense, because I USE them for his defense, and they work out great. The delayed attacks create a huge wall that opponents have a hard time getting through because they hesitate. If they miss the opening, the delayed attack comes crashing down, overpowering whatever their offense was and slaughtering them with setups. I can't tell you how many times I've gutpunched people to a desert falcon or leg sweep to heel drop on people trying to put pressure on Leon. That or people just decide not to risk getting caught in it, and hang back till the delayed attack is over, giving me some breathing space. Its mindgames, mostly.
Mila - I've noticed that due to her sheer versatility, ranking/judging her depends entirely on how you actually play her. Like you and something unique play her as a striker, while I play her more as a leon-ish brawler, and she works wonders with both, but in two entirely different ways.
Been using her since DOA5 launch and subbing her in 5u to main Leon now as well lol.
phoenix1985gr
Active Member
Defense means when you re hit or at disadvantage what tools you have to turn things around... Deleying strings are part of offense not defense
Argentus
Well-Known Member
Meh, "Best defense is a good offense" I guess.
Nameless Sama
Well-Known Member
Zoning (4/4) - TORIYAH!! That should suffice to explain this rating. If it isn't I suggest you go on PSN and add Tenryuga to your friends list so you know what that means whenever Ein says it.
Lets the spam fest begin. TORIAHHHH!
Zeo
Well-Known Member
Guess I'll do this too. Let's see how my opinion differs from Ten's. And while we're there, I'll do Akira too.
Offense (2/5)
He has few if any actual ways to open people up. His only options of pressure are unsafe 2H+K sweeps, tick throws, 2P pressure,(which grants him +1), unrespectable guard breaks and terrible free cancel offense. He has very few sources of tracking and his fastest tracking move is high and lacks range to the extent that it will whiff in front of even sidestepping opponents themselves. Additionally he gets no form of guaranteed damage outside of the environment. He gets a 2 instead of 1 because of the pressure he is granted from his above average wall pressure and oki game. Regardless you will be spending 80% of all your matches playing defensively.
Defense (3/5)
His hold damage is average but he's got some good opportunites for environment, floor and wall damage. He can play a keepout and space controlling game but against a smart opponent with good approaching skill, his whiff punshing and zoning tools are all largely unsafe which immediately gives the offense to the opponent in the event of a blocked strike. In CQC it's usually one or two strikes and his turn is over. He is also forced to make hard reads on side stepping opponents and lacks fast crushing tools against highs (In 5U). For a character that has to spend the majority of the time on the defense, his isn't that great.
Damage (3/5)
His stun launch damage is slightly above average but leaves much to be desired unless he plays an ineffective stun game to push the threshold. His PKK and KK bounds are excellent sources of damage but are his only options reaching 100+. He has great whiff punishment into wall damage but loses in wall combo damage itself to a great deal of other characters and shines, moreover in what he can do after he's gotten the wall combo, rather than the wall combo damage itself. He gets the additional .5 because he makes great use of the environment and 33T into a wall (particularly on HCT) is terrifying.
Zoning (4/4)
236P and TORIYAH speak for themselves. However he falls slightly short of the best zoners in safety, evasion and control. He can hang with the best of them but he's not completely on their level.
Speed (2/3)
Average-ish. 10/13/13. He deals fine with people on his speed tier but has to play much smarter and more defensively against faster characters. His 2P's +1 on NH helps him out tremendously by turning him into a fast character that beats all but 11 frame mids.
Safety (1.5/3)
The core pokes such as 46P and 3P are safe. The majority of his arsenal and what you will be frequently using in CQC however, is unsafe and you'll find yourself finishing strings and getting punished or simply not finishing your strings and giving up the offense frequently. Aside from the standard 3P > Block fare.
15.5/25
Give him a decent high crush, a touch of tracking and a few guaranteed situations and he'll be on par with just about everyone else in the cast. His old 6P+K/4K and a touch more damage would be great too. As it stands, he's an incomplete character.
Offense (4.5/5)
He is a Titan. With guard breaks unlike any other that bypass any need for a back and forth blocking game, he can completely negate your defense and if played perfectly will open you up every opportunity he gets. He gets +1 off of his Jab on block which gives him an i11 mid AND low which gives him ANOTHER +1 on NH and he has one of the most ridiculous crushes in the game which even stuns on NH (nevermind the LOW that stuns on NH). In CQC he is only defending against the fastest of characters. The only reason he doesn't get a perfect 5 is because he is exceedingly linear and only has a couple of tracking moves which, due to their speed and/or hit property, aren't all that reliable against sidestepping opponents. It is the biggest and most exploitable gap in his otherwise perfect opposite aside from actual strings which, in all honesty, he doesn't really need with guard breaks present.
Defense (3.5/5)
He's got crushes on all hit levels, one of the best sets of sidestep attacks in the game (fast SS attack, SS crush and SS into BIG damage), and an i12 low for extremely quick evasive manuvers. Top that with a parry for both highs and low punches and you have a completely solid defense that can overcome just about any character in the game. His otherwise high score is brought down by his relatively low counter damage. He's solid in just about every other field, but counters are pretty significant in this game.
Damage (5/5)
One of the best if not the best damage dealer in the game. High NH damage, Stun > Launch damage above 100+ on average, guard breaks that lead from 51 to 80 points of damage without environment. Guaranteed damage out the wazoo. The most powerful i10 throw in the game at 115 damage on HCT, a sidestep attack that can wall splat into a 100+ damage combo on counter hit and quite literally the best wall damage in the entire game with combos that lead to almost quite literally half life. He is a grown man. If he touches you, and you do not hold correctly, you are going to die.
Zoning (1.5/4)
His weakest field outside of tracking. He like all of the other VF characters are inferior to the DOA cast in movement and while he has a pretty nice KBD, Akira is a character that generally always wants to be in his opponent's face. He has 1 or 2 nice whiff punishing tools, but his best one is hard to execute on reaction to a whiff and while he can control the small space around him, he can't really make the opponent do anything.
Speed (2.5/3)
He is in the 2nd fastest tier in the game. i10/i12/i12. Both his high and low grant +1 putting him in the fastest speed tier most of the time and as well as granting him an i11 low punch, something no one else in the game has. He falls short only to the fastest characters in the game. He's not afraid of Christie or Kasumi.
Safety (3/3)
He only has 2 or 3 strings technically, but because of that just about 95% of everything he does is safe. All the important pokes are either light negative or in some cases even frame advantage. If you're getting punished as Akira, you're playing him wrong.
20/25
Somehow I think he should get an even higher score. But regardless, he's top 8, easily.
Offense (2/5)
He has few if any actual ways to open people up. His only options of pressure are unsafe 2H+K sweeps, tick throws, 2P pressure,(which grants him +1), unrespectable guard breaks and terrible free cancel offense. He has very few sources of tracking and his fastest tracking move is high and lacks range to the extent that it will whiff in front of even sidestepping opponents themselves. Additionally he gets no form of guaranteed damage outside of the environment. He gets a 2 instead of 1 because of the pressure he is granted from his above average wall pressure and oki game. Regardless you will be spending 80% of all your matches playing defensively.
Defense (3/5)
His hold damage is average but he's got some good opportunites for environment, floor and wall damage. He can play a keepout and space controlling game but against a smart opponent with good approaching skill, his whiff punshing and zoning tools are all largely unsafe which immediately gives the offense to the opponent in the event of a blocked strike. In CQC it's usually one or two strikes and his turn is over. He is also forced to make hard reads on side stepping opponents and lacks fast crushing tools against highs (In 5U). For a character that has to spend the majority of the time on the defense, his isn't that great.
Damage (3/5)
His stun launch damage is slightly above average but leaves much to be desired unless he plays an ineffective stun game to push the threshold. His PKK and KK bounds are excellent sources of damage but are his only options reaching 100+. He has great whiff punishment into wall damage but loses in wall combo damage itself to a great deal of other characters and shines, moreover in what he can do after he's gotten the wall combo, rather than the wall combo damage itself. He gets the additional .5 because he makes great use of the environment and 33T into a wall (particularly on HCT) is terrifying.
Zoning (4/4)
236P and TORIYAH speak for themselves. However he falls slightly short of the best zoners in safety, evasion and control. He can hang with the best of them but he's not completely on their level.
Speed (2/3)
Average-ish. 10/13/13. He deals fine with people on his speed tier but has to play much smarter and more defensively against faster characters. His 2P's +1 on NH helps him out tremendously by turning him into a fast character that beats all but 11 frame mids.
Safety (1.5/3)
The core pokes such as 46P and 3P are safe. The majority of his arsenal and what you will be frequently using in CQC however, is unsafe and you'll find yourself finishing strings and getting punished or simply not finishing your strings and giving up the offense frequently. Aside from the standard 3P > Block fare.
15.5/25
Give him a decent high crush, a touch of tracking and a few guaranteed situations and he'll be on par with just about everyone else in the cast. His old 6P+K/4K and a touch more damage would be great too. As it stands, he's an incomplete character.
Offense (4.5/5)
He is a Titan. With guard breaks unlike any other that bypass any need for a back and forth blocking game, he can completely negate your defense and if played perfectly will open you up every opportunity he gets. He gets +1 off of his Jab on block which gives him an i11 mid AND low which gives him ANOTHER +1 on NH and he has one of the most ridiculous crushes in the game which even stuns on NH (nevermind the LOW that stuns on NH). In CQC he is only defending against the fastest of characters. The only reason he doesn't get a perfect 5 is because he is exceedingly linear and only has a couple of tracking moves which, due to their speed and/or hit property, aren't all that reliable against sidestepping opponents. It is the biggest and most exploitable gap in his otherwise perfect opposite aside from actual strings which, in all honesty, he doesn't really need with guard breaks present.
Defense (3.5/5)
He's got crushes on all hit levels, one of the best sets of sidestep attacks in the game (fast SS attack, SS crush and SS into BIG damage), and an i12 low for extremely quick evasive manuvers. Top that with a parry for both highs and low punches and you have a completely solid defense that can overcome just about any character in the game. His otherwise high score is brought down by his relatively low counter damage. He's solid in just about every other field, but counters are pretty significant in this game.
Damage (5/5)
One of the best if not the best damage dealer in the game. High NH damage, Stun > Launch damage above 100+ on average, guard breaks that lead from 51 to 80 points of damage without environment. Guaranteed damage out the wazoo. The most powerful i10 throw in the game at 115 damage on HCT, a sidestep attack that can wall splat into a 100+ damage combo on counter hit and quite literally the best wall damage in the entire game with combos that lead to almost quite literally half life. He is a grown man. If he touches you, and you do not hold correctly, you are going to die.
Zoning (1.5/4)
His weakest field outside of tracking. He like all of the other VF characters are inferior to the DOA cast in movement and while he has a pretty nice KBD, Akira is a character that generally always wants to be in his opponent's face. He has 1 or 2 nice whiff punishing tools, but his best one is hard to execute on reaction to a whiff and while he can control the small space around him, he can't really make the opponent do anything.
Speed (2.5/3)
He is in the 2nd fastest tier in the game. i10/i12/i12. Both his high and low grant +1 putting him in the fastest speed tier most of the time and as well as granting him an i11 low punch, something no one else in the game has. He falls short only to the fastest characters in the game. He's not afraid of Christie or Kasumi.
Safety (3/3)
He only has 2 or 3 strings technically, but because of that just about 95% of everything he does is safe. All the important pokes are either light negative or in some cases even frame advantage. If you're getting punished as Akira, you're playing him wrong.
20/25
Somehow I think he should get an even higher score. But regardless, he's top 8, easily.