~B
------------------------------------------
/ Dead or Alive 2: Ein Character Guide \
--------------------------------------------
by Reno
(alfonso@ica.net)
Written for Monospace format
Do the '.'s line up with the numbers?
This document is Copyright (c) 2000 Andrew Alfonso, all rights reserved. This
document may not be altered in any way, and may only be redistributed in its
original electronic form. This document is not to be used for promotional
and/or profitable purposes. Any information used from this document must be
given proper acknowledgement.
All aspects of Dead or Alive 2 used in this document are Copyright (c) 1999, 2000
Tecmo Inc. All rights reserved.
************************************************************
-------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ---------------------
************************************************************
1 ... Version History
2 ... Introduction
3 ... Background Info
4 ... Conventions
5 ... Movelist (not complete?)
6 ... Ein Strategy
7 ... Dreamcast Changes
8 ... To Be Done
9 ... Acknowledgements
************************************************************
==================== VERSION HISTORY =======================
************************************************************
03/08/00 - VERSION 0.05: First official release
03/24/00 - VERSION 0.1 : Added lotsa combos (props to Gouken8)
as well as some applications of Crouch Dashing
This is my third FAQ, my second on Dead or Alive 2, heh. I've been playing
Dead or Alive 2 since it arrived here in Toronto some 4 weeks ago, and I'm
pretty sure I've gotten down the complete movelist, but if you know of something
that I missed in the movelist or any other part of this FAQ, let me know.
I've been planning to write this faq ever since I started playing Dead or Alive 2,
but I know this faq is far from complete at this time. Hopefully you'll get
something out of this, and if you have any questions about the game, go visit
Wind-X's Dead or Alive site at
http://doaonline.fighters.net
It's an awesome resource for anything Dead or Alive related, and if you don't
find what you're looking for here, then you're SOL
************************************************************
==================== BACKGROUND INFO =======================
************************************************************
Country: Unknown
Fighting Style: Karate
Age: 23
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 75kg
Measurements: B109 W83 H98 cm
Blood Type: A
Date of Birth: July 3rd
Occupation: Karate Instructor
Favorite Foods: Sushi, Sukiyaki
Hobby: Chopping Beer Bottles
Ein was found unconscious deep in the woods of Germany. The spirit
of combat was instilled in his heart at an early age, and he mastered
Karate in record time, using it to find his inner self. He believes
something important awaits him at the end of his Dead Or Alive 2 battles.
Something far greater than even chopping beer bottles.
Common Conventions
------------------
u/b - Up-Back U/B - hold Up-Back
u - Up U - hold Up
u/f - Up-Forward U/F - hold Up-Forward
f - Forward F - hold Forward
d/f - Down-Forward D/F - hold Down-Forward
d - Down D - hold Down
d/b - Down-Back D/B - hold Down-Back
b - Back B - hold Back
N - Neutral
P - Punch
K - Kick
S - Free
ALL - All buttons, obviously =B
, - Must be done right after the previous move
~ - Immediately after the previous move (faster than ",")
( ) - Guaranteed attack
{X_Y} - Choice between button presses, X and Y represent the choices
[#] - Indicates string. [1] is the first hit, [2] is the second hit, etc.
Position Conventions
--------------------
BK - With back facing opponent
WL - While descending from jump
FT - Feet Towards
HT - Head Towards
FU - Face up
FD - Face Down
Location Conventions
--------------------
H - High Attack - Can be blocked high, or ducked
M - Mid Attack - Can only be blocked standing
L - Low Attack - Can only be blocked ducking
TA - Turn Around - Character shows back after move
[XY] - Attack can hit either in the X or Y location. Damage is usually
the same in either location
Throw / Special Conventions
---------------------------
Standing Throw - Used on a standing opponent
Low - Used on a crouching opponent
Back - Used on a standing opponent, facing their back
Wall (f) - Wall throw, when facing wall
Wall (b) - Wall throw, with back to the wall
Prone Attack - May only be executed when opponent is prone
Primary Partner: Ayane
Secondary Partner: Jann Lee (not confirmed)
Basic Arts
----------
Motion Location Damage
---------------------------------------------
P H 10
d/f+P M 20
d+P L 5
K H 30
d/f+K M 20
d+K L 10
Back Arts
----------
Motion Location Damage
---------------------------------------------
(BK) P H 35
(BK) d+P M 38
(BK) D+P L 13
(BK) K H 30
(BK) d+K M 27
(BK) D+K L 15
(BK) u+K M 30
Jumping Arts
------------
Motion Location Damage
---------------------------------------------
u/f~P M 51
u/f~K M 30
u/f,P [HM] [20,20]
u/f,K L 25
u~P M 15
u~K M 30
u,P [HM] [20,20]
u,K L 25
u/b,P M 45
u/b,K L 25
Rising Arts
------------
Motion Location Damage
---------------------------------------------
(FUFT)K M 20
(FUFT)D+K L 20
(FDFT)K M 20
(FDFT)D+K L 20
(FUHT)K M 20
(FUHT)D+K L 20
(FDHT)K M 20
(FDHT)D+K L 20
Strikes
-------
Motion Location Damage
---------------------------------------------
f+P M 24
b,f+P H 42
f+P+K [HM] [20,20]
Note: This attack hits twice in the same move
qcf+P M 45
u+P M 20
u/b+P H 38
b+S+K H 28
WS+K H 35
b+K M 28
f+S+K M 37
u/b+K M 36
d/f,d/f+K M 30
u+K M 27
b,f+K M 38
qcf+K M 42
Holds
-----
Motion Description Damage
---------------------------------------------
Arcade Mode:
f,u/b+S DH vs. H 60
f,b+S DH vs. M Punch 30+30
b,f+S DH vs. M Kick 60
f,d/b+S DH vs. L 30+30
Dreamcast Mode:
u/b+S DH vs. H 60
b+S DH vs. M ??
d/b+S DH vs. L 30+30
Pounces
-------
Motion Description Damage
---------------------------------------------
u+P+K Down Attack 18
d+P Down Attack 10
Tag Throws
----------
Motion Description Damage
-----------------------------------------------
ff+ALL From Ayane ?
ff+ALL To Ayane ?
ff+ALL (w/all) Anyone but Ayane ?
b+ALL (w/all) Anyone starts ?
****************************************************************
================= EIN THOUGHTS ========================
****************************************************************
Ein is a rather straight forward character. He doesn't have many
much variety in his arsenal when compared to characters such as
Kasumi.
One of his primary weaknesses is that he has absolutely no multi-throws
to speak of. This hurts his game somehwat because throws do pretty
weak damage compared to Strikes or Defensive Holds. Because of this,
the only reason to include throws into your strategy is to make sure
counter-happy opponents don't try to DH you all day long. As with
all characters in the game, throws are most deadly when you're guard
cancelling them from your regular strings (see below for stuff on
Guard Cancelling).
What makes up for this is Ein's ease of use for players new to the DoA
world. His style of fighting is very traditional compared to characters
such as Helena and Ayane, which will allow you to study the system better
when you first start off.
The problem with this is that he can become somewhat limited, as he doesn't
possess any special stances to go into like Helena's Art of the Phoenix.
Not that you'll need it, but it's nice to have to add in a little diversity.
Crouch Dashing
--------------
I forgot what game this technique made it's debut in, but I'm almost certain
that it's from either VF2 or VF3. What Crouch Dashing enables you to do is move
forward while in a crouching position. This is great for avoiding
attacks that hit high, as it puts you in a tatical advantage over your opponent.
You can also duck all standing throws by Crouch Dashing, although Catch Throws
will probably nail you if you try this.
To Crouch Dash, double tap in the d/f direction. It's basically like a normal dash,
except you're going diagonal. The possibilities of this technique are endless, as
you can duck under an incoming attack, and either throw, strike or defensive hold as
soon as you recover.
There are a ton of opportunities in the game where you can take advantage of the
motions of crouching dashing, most notably using moves that require a
QCF motion or a HCF motion.
If you do a double QCF motion, you'll notice that you'll crouch dash.. but what
you may have not known is that you can go right into a move from the crouch dash.
I've done this dozens of times in the arcades, and it works without fail.
With Ein, try doing a QCF, QCF+P, and you'll do a crouch dashing into his QCF+P punch.
Essentially you'll be bobbing up and down while moving forward and out of nowhere
you'll get your knockdown punch... there's hardly any time for your opponent to react
to it, and it's a free hit if you're playing someone with horrible reaction time. :)
If you're having troubles with this, try doing a d/f, QCF+P motion. It's a little bit
easier, but you also lose the option of being able to do your move with the first motion
rather than with the crouch dash into the move.
I haven't tried this technique with HCB motions, but I'm certain that it can
somehow be accomplished, although Ein doesn't even have any HCB moves anyways :)
Guard Cancelling
----------------
One of the more nifty things in Dead or Alive 2 is called Guard Cancelling, which
was pioneered by the Virtua Fighter series and taken a step further with Soul Calibur.
Guard cancelling allows you to put together strings of attacks that normally would be
impossibly to string together. For example, a PPP, K string may give you three punches
and a combo spin kick. However, if you want three jabs and then a regular high kick,
you would have to input PPP~S,K. This mixes up your offensive game a lot, as you can stop
your string anytime you want to and do something totally different than what your
opponent is expecting. This is especially good if your opponent knows your character
and is risking to do a defensive hold. You don't have to limit yourself to just
normal attacks after the guard cancel either. You can tack on a throw at the
end for even more damage. An example of this would be something like:
PP~S, f, f+K, K, K
This is a simple example of how guard cancelling works. With Ein you would start off
with two standard punches, and cancel the string with a press of the Free button so you
can cancel out of the string. You can then go into another string with the f, f+K.
Stuff like this can really throw off the CPU and other players, since most above-average
players will punish you if you tried to finish off the string with another Punch.
Guard Buffering
---------------
Another useful tactic brought over from the VF series is Guard Buffering. It's used
in Soul Calibur as well, but Virtua Fighter pioneered it :) What Guard Buffering allows
you to do is input your joystick taps while holding the Free button to guard. For example,
say you want to execute Ein's f, f+K, K, K string. To Guard Buffer this, hold Free and
tap f, then release Free and tap f+K... voila! you have your f, f+K without the risk of
accidently dashing forward because you didn't time the second f right ^^; This technique
works for all moves in the game, as you can guard buffer Defensive Holds, throws and
anything else you want. The key thing to remember is that you need to release the Free
button before the last joystick input, or else it won't work.
Advantages of Guard Buffering? Like I said before, it'll prevent you from accidently
dashing or whatnot if you're not too good with the timing yet, as well as it keeps your
opponent guessing to what you'll do.
Neato Combos
------------
First off, I'll say that Ein is not as deep as his partner Ayane, not by a long shot.
Many of Ein's combos are really simple and don't have much variety in them. They are
effective however, and should be used at all times. His best combo starters in my opinion
are his f+p, ff+PP, d/b+P, u/f+K, u/f~P and u/b+K. He has other juggle launchers
(like u/f+P) but I don't really like using them because they're limited. Here's some
nice combos you can try at home! ;P
So far, the only changes that are confirmed for the Dreamcast is the
inclusion of a Dreamcast mode. In this mode, Defensive Holds are MUCH
easier to accomplish (these changes can be seen in the Movelist above).
Tecmo also included an Arcade mode for those old school guys who
don't want to deviate from the arcade inputs.
************************************************************
===================== TO BE DONE =========================
************************************************************
- More General Strategy
- Inclusion of some neat combos
- Completion of Movelist
- Psychological tatics
- Clean up any grammar/spelling mistakes
Wind-X - The crazy Texan that let me read his overview so that I could
learn how to play this F'n game, he's made a terrific site for all
DoA fans to come and talk about their favorite game
Janiera - This girl has been sharing DoA2 related stuff with me
ever since the game has been released over here. Oh, and she's also
a porn star named Angelique.
Gouken8 - Making some mad combos and letting me use them in my faq, because
god knows that I absolutely suck in the art of combo making. =P
Funland Arcade - Providing me with some good (and often times, not so good) competition
The Next Level (http://www.the-nextlevel.com) - shameless plug
for the game site that I contribute to =)
