Fans of the beat ‘em upapproach of the MMORPGDungeon and Fighter Onlinewill haveDNF Duelto meet their anime PVP fantasy - seeing the game’s trademark Classes duke it out in awesome combat. After all,DNF Dueltransforms theDungeon and Fighterexperience into a 2.5D action game, complete with distinct playstyles and combos. And for players used to fighting games, one question comes to mind: how do they dish out the meanest combos possible?
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Newcomers toDNF Duelmight see the title as similar to other popular fighting games at the time. However, the game’s rather distinct approach to combat might make it slightly more overwhelming than players realize. For newcomers to the game, just how should they approach their offense game?
Consider Varieties Of Skills
Instead of having a simple heavy attack like in other fighting games,DNF Duelinstead has a dedicatedSkillbutton. Moreover, unlike Normals that ordinarily just have neutral, crouching, and jumping variants, Skill Attacks have more directional variety. However, it helps to know that missing a Skill Attack canleaveDNF Duelplayers heavily disadvantaged, so use them wisely. While each character has different sets of Skill Attacks, the directions they use follow a general format:
Get Fast And Loose With MP Specials
Unlike other fighting games,DNF Dueldoes incorporate its original RPG mechanic in the form of an MP System, which is an active resource players consume while usingMP Specials. There are various MP Specials in a character’s arsenal, often accessed when pressing the MP Attack button with a particular direction or directional pattern. They also cost a particular amount of MP, wherein players become Exhausted at 0 MP, meaning they can’t input any more MP Specials. However, players need to take note of these two things:
Stop Blocks With Throws
It’s annoying trying to get into the offense withan aggressiveDNF Duelcharacter like the Berserkerif pitted against an enemy that persistently keeps on Guarding or blocking their way. However, playing too much on defense becomes punishable throughout the rest of the game, courtesy of standardThrows.
Pressing Standard A+B beside an opponent on the ground will initiate a grab, and a direction will have players throw the opponent in that direction which results in a mild stun. However, players need to take note that Throws won’t work out of range or in mid-air. Doing so puts players in a vulnerable whiff and could be countered. Likewise, players can cancel out a Throw with a Tech Grab, essentially pressing grab the same time an opponent presses theirs. This throws both characters away from each other.
Halt Counters With Lows
Players on the aggressive will find it annoying to find the opponent’sDNF Duelcharacters just spamming counter every chance they get, especially when players want to dish out a mean combo. However, while counters are built specifically to stop the opponent’s advance doesn’t mean they’re impossible to punish.
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In fact, while most players have the means to counter mid and high attacks, their counters will lose to a low attack by virtue of the attack hierarchy. This is asimilar mechanic inGuilty GearPVPthat players should use to their advantage. Players should take note of which other attacks string with their low attacks for this purpose, as this, can lead them straight to an opening.
Punish Defense With Guard Breaking
While defensive players ofDNF Duelcan indeed use the game’s Guard mechanic to protect themselves from damage, their Guard Gauge stops them from doing this indefinitely. Hitting a blocking opponent greatly lessens damage but also lowers their Guard Gauge.
Blocking an attack at this stage performs aGuard Break, similar to theGuilty Gearmechanic also called the Guard Crush. When activated, this stuns the character for 60 frames where they can’t even dodge or guard against attacks. Players facing a persistently-blocking foe would want to consider pursuing aggression for a rewarding Guard Break. Fast and distant hitters like the Vanguard may be built specifically to abuse the Guard Guage of a defending opponent, leaving them wide open for an easy Break.
More Combos Give More Openings
Players ofDNF Duelwho got used to other fast and loose fighting games will love the idea of stringing endless combos to annoy opponents. However, the mechanics ofDNF Duelactually punish players who get too many combos in. At its core, the game implements something calledHitstun Decaysimilar toMarvel vs Cpacom 3.
It helps to remember that players only get to extend combos because one attack “stuns” opponents long enough for them to land another hit, hence the term Hitstun. InDNF Duel, the more players attack, the less time opponents stay in Hitstun. Eventually, a natural combo would whiff simply because of Hitstun Decay, forcing opponents to get knocked down instead. Players need to be wary of this limitation, as opponents can get into a Reversal or other defensive mechanics as soon as this happens.
More Moves Deal Less Damage
Similar to Hitstun Decay, players ofDNF Duelwho hope to shine on the offensive do need to take note of something calledCombo Rate. At its core, thishidden game mechanicessentially scales the damage combos deal based on the number of attacks in a particular string. Not only that, this damage scaling will always decrease damage, but never increase it.
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Simply put, players need to be economic with their attacks, as longer strings will have succeeding moves deal less damage. Aggressive players need to check whether it’s worth inputting a shot combo for the sake of damage or extending a low-damage but multi-hit combo to remove opportunities for opponents to exploit openings.
Careful With The Awakening
Similar to other fighting games,DNF Dueldoes offer players a “super mode.” However, instead of manually activating them, this mode - calledAwakening- only activates at 30% health. In this mode, the character receives a Passive exclusive to their Class, which often provides them with a tactical advantage on the battlefield provided they play to their Awakening’s playstyle. For instance, the Crusader gets Merciful Strength, which gives him damage mitigation and faster White Damage recovery. This incentivizes a more defensive combat approach.
However, more importantly, all characters have an extremely powerful and cinematicAwakening Skill. When timed properly, this can easily devastate foes in a single combo sequence, similar to powered-up versions ofGuilty Gear Strive’s Nagoriyuki’s attacksvia his special mode. Thing is, players should make sure they can connect their Awakening Skill as missing or whiffing the attack means they can’t use it for the rest of the round, making this a more dangerous mechanic.
Guarantee Strikes, Combos With Cancels
While it’s true thatDNF Duelcombat involves a standard array of attacks only connecting with each other, the game does offer a way for players to get more creative with their attacks. At its core, the game does offer multiple canceling mechanics that allows players to stop an attack mid-sequence to commit to another move. This essentially removes framing constraints between attacks in favor of faster combos, which is alsoa sought-after combo technique inGuilty Gear. Here are things players could do:
Conversion Changes The Game
In other fighting games, players who get hit a lot of times don’t immediately lose all their health upon recovery. Rather, the game sometimes gives players back some health, as though to compensate for the fact that they are still standing up. InDNF Duel, this mechanic comes in the form of White Damage, as in the leftover damage that players took but heals over time. What’s interesting about White Damage is how it becomes a completely new mechanic in the game. Essentially acting as a sub-gauge, players can press B+Skill to activateConversionand do the following:
DNF Duelwas released in 2022 and is available on the PC, PS4, and PS5.
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