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Players who loved the beat ‘em uptake of the MMORPG genreinDungeon and Fighter Onlinecan finally see their action anime dreams come to reality withDNF Duel. After all, this 2.5D action game takes the visually-stunning skill components ofDFOand converts them into intense combat situations. To those used to the fighting game genre,DNF Duelseems like a fun way to see the game’s Classes duke it out against each other. However, pros in the genre perhaps want to look into the game’s technical components.
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For instance, players who want to dominateDNF Duel’s PVP component might want to look beyond improving their offensive capabilities. Rather, players may want to check just how they can defend themselves from the game’s fiercest attacks. How can players ensure their safety in this 2.5D fighting game?
Remember The Guard Button
Unlike other fighting games,DNF Dueldoes have a dedicated Guard button. This means there’s a way for players to actively stop strikes from dishing out damage to them aside from the game’s usual “back-to-block” mechanic. However, there are certain intricacies surrounding this button that players need to remember:
Pain Is Power
Players on the defensive will likely experience punishing blows that just break through their protections, especially fromheavy-hittingDNF Duelcharacters like the Berserker. As a result, they may get huge chunks of their health depleted from them. However, players do need to remember two things that happen in these kinds of disadvantageous situations:
Consider The Dodge
Instead of relying heavily on Guards for defense, players may want to consider theDodgemechanic instead. Pressing Down+Guard allows players to strafe to the side of the opponent and go to the other side. This essentially acts as a nifty dodge mechanic to avoid attacks.
However, players need to remember that the Dodge makes players vulnerable to throws during and a bit after the movement, similar to howGuilty Gearpunishes defensewith grappling. Only the Enchantress skips this caveat. In turn, players need to decide whether risking a Guard Crush or a Throw would be more worth the while.
Counter Cancels Into Combos
Similar to other fighting games,DNF Duelmechanics do give players room forCounters. This essentially appears in the HUD once players attack just as their opponent attacks, hitting both of them and pushing them a bit backward. Technically speaking, this means the opponent suffers more hitstun compared to the player.
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However, this hitstun does give players an opening to perform attacks much faster. Due to the nature of Counters as mini-cancels similar to theRoman Cancel ofGuilty Gear, players can use a Counter to dash into a quick combo string, be it through Standard Attacks into Skills, and then Skills into an MP Special.
Skip Counters For Cancels
Players can also skip Counters right away and just opt for the classic block mechanic. While Guarding does indeed force players to risk having a Guard Crush situation, getting more damage from persistent attacks does work to their advantage.
Remember, getting damaged on block still gives players access to White Damage that regenerates Health over time. However, White Damage can be “converted” into both a cancel and extra MP - a unique feature ofDNF Duelsimilar to the likes ofRoman Cancels ofGuilty Gear. Players can immediately use Conversion to return to a neutral state, potentially bypass the opponent’s move, and then dish out a counter-attack complete with a deadly MP Special.
Find Openings To Punish
Aside from Counters, defensive players can also look into aDNF Duelmechanic calledPunish. Performing this correctly will have “Punish” appear in the HUD, and these happen when players block an attack and then hit the opponent during their attack recovery stage. This is a similarpunishing technique used in other games likeGuilty Gear.
Most attacks are Punishable after blocking, especially if players know just which frame they should perform their counter-hit. However, players may need to study how each opponent performs certain moves and analyze their recovery frames. That way, players know not only what move to use as a counter but to also ensure that the range of their counters is enough to even hit the opponent during recovery.
Reversals Give An Immediate Opening
On a very bad round, it’s very likely thatnewDNF Duelplayerswon’t be fast enough to perform a Counter on an opponent and cannot input a button fast enough to Punish said attack. This should leave them on the ground, about to rise up with an animation that may leave them vulnerable to other moves. In these worst-case scenarios, players ofDNF Duelneed to try performing aReversalas soon as they have room to recover.
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Similar to other fighting games, Reversals refer to a player doing an input on the first possible frame after a perceived recovery. This means doing something as soon as players recover from knockdowns, hitstuns, blockstuns, or even startup invincibles. When done correctly, a defensive character can interrupt an opponent’s attack by dodging it, giving them room for a counter-attack.
Stay Wary Of The Guard Break
Despite the sheer attractive nature of the Guard button as a defensive mechanic, overly relying on them can result in the player’s disadvantage. At its core, using Guard to absorb attacks won’t deplete health but rather aGuard Meter. This may take a while to wear down, which can give defensive players an opportunity to withstand some fierce combos - even extremelyfast combo strings similar toGuilty Gear Strive.
However, using the last of the Guard Meter to defend against attacks will put players in a vulnerable Guard Break state that lasts for 60 frames. Players need to stay wary of characters that have toolkits built around multi-hit combos, such as Vanguard, as they are usually built to deplete Guard Meters quickly for that Guard Crush.
Stop Offense With Guard Cancel
Instead of risking Guard Crushes, players on the defensive may consider interrupting the enemy’s offense with aGuard Cancel. At the cost of 100 MP, players can press Forward+B+Skill while blocking to push enemies away.
Aside from being a primary “shoving” tool, the Guard Cancel is quite literally a cancel as well. Doing this stops the player’s block and instead puts players in a neutral position while the opponent suffers a few seconds of Hitstun. This immediately allows players to dish out their normals while waiting for their MP to return - perfect for gatling normal punishments before finishing off with a Skill or an MP Special, similar toGuilty Gear Strive’s combo-reliant Giovanna.
Skip Waking Up With Awakening Skills
In a lot of fighting games, players on the defensive can make a surprising comeback with a super move just as their characters rise from a knockdown. This seems extremely awesome, as an overconfident foe standing over a seemingly-powerless player is met with a barrage of colorful attacks. These moves often happen courtesy of invincible frames at the beginning of super moves, resembling super moves ofthe likes of Nagoriyuki inGuilty Gear Strive.
Sadly,DNF Dueland its Awakening Skills don’t have invincibility frames. This means “waking up” with an Awakening Skill or using one while being attacked means not only getting damaged but also wasting the attack for the round. What players could do instead is to see if the Awakening Skill’s frames can “bypass” an attack. For instance, the Hitman’s Awakening Skill opens with a sword thrust that passes through a Crusader’s lightning ball.
DNF Duelis available on the PC, PS4, and PS5.
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