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A Dead Or Alive 2 FAQ: Leon
Version 1.0
April 19th 2000
Seneca Stone, UA-Stone/CT-Stone, ssm14@cornell.edu
This document is Copyright (c) 2000 Seneca Stone. All rights reserved.
All aspects of Dead or Alive 2 used in this document are Copyright (c) 1999-
2000 Tecmo Inc. All rights reserved.
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Table Of Contents
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1.) Who Is Leon?
2.) Terminology
3.) Movelist
4.) Combos
5.) Strategy for Leon
6.) Final Words
7.) Credits
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Who Is Leon?
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A Mercenary Soldier
Age: 42
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 282 lbs.
Measurements (?): B53" W47" H48"
Nationality: Italian
Fighting Style: Russian Commando Martial Arts
Favorite Food: Pizza
Hobby: Bonsai
"He is a lonely soldier who wanders all over the world. His lover Roland, a
woman thief of the Silk Road, died in his arms saying, "The man I love is the
strongest man in the world!" In order to fulfill the last words of his lover,
he aspires to be the strongest man on earth." (the DOA2 manual)
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Terminology
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P - Punch
K - Kick
S - Free
d/b - down-back
b - back
u/b - up-back
d - down
N - neutral
u - up
d/f - down-forward
f - forward
u/f - up-forward
, - Must be done right after the previous move
~ - Immediately after the previous move (faster than ",")
( ) - Guaranteed after initial attack
ALL - Press all buttons together (Free, Punch, Kick)
BK - With back facing opponent
WR - While rising from any prone position
WL - While descending from jump
H - High Attack - Can be blocked high, or ducked
M - Mid Attack - Can only be blocked standing
M/G - Mid/Ground - Also hits grounded opponents
L - Low Attack - Can only be blocked ducking
TA - Turn Around - Character shows back after move
Standing Throw - Used on a standing opponent
Catch - Standing throw with execution time
Low - Used on a crouching opponent
Back - Used on a standing opponent, facing their back
Multithrow - Used immediately after the previous throw when
the words "Combo Throw" appear on the screen
(2) - Second Multipart, following initial throw
Wall (f) - Wall throw, used with wall at your front
Wall (b) - Wall throw, used with wall at your back
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Movelist
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Basic Attacks
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Jab P H 12
Palm Stamp d/f+P M 20
Low Knuckle d+P L 5
High Kick K H 32
Middle Side Kick d/f+K M 26
Low Kick d+K L 12
Attacks With Back To Opponent
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Turn Back Knuckle (back) P H 12
Smash Hook (back) PP HM 12,18
Smash Upper (back) PPP HMM 12,18,22
Turn Bodyblow (back) d+P M 15
Turn Low Knuckle (back) D+P L 13
Turn Spin Kick (back) K H 30
Turn Sidekick (back) d+K M 28
Turn Low Spin Kick(back) D+K L 25
Jumping Attacks
--
Assault Down Palm u/f~P M 15
Assault Front Kick u/f~K M 30
Assault Smash Hook u/f,P M 20
Assault Leg Spike u/f,K L 25
Air Down Palm u~P M 15
Air Front Kick u~K M 30
Step Smash Hook u,P M 20
Step Leg Spike u,K L 25
Trap Smash Hook u/b,P M 20
Trap Leg Spike u/b,K L 25
Strikes
--
Palm Arrow u/b+P M 30
Tomahawk Elbow u/f+P M 32
To-raa-su Kick WS+K H 36
Rising Tomahawk u/f+K M 34
Javelin Kick u+K H 30
Body Savate S+K M 35
Knee Lift f+K M 25
Open Hand Smash D/F+P M 25
Heel Hammer b+K M 30
Head Bat P+K M 25
Arm Grenade f+P+K H 38
Flame Knuckle ff+P H 30
Shoulder Tackle b,f+P M 40
Leg Spike d/b+K L 25
Giant Upper qcb+P M 32
Turn Low Javelin d+S+K L 22
Strike Sequences
--
Smash Hook u+P M 18
Smash Upper u+P,P MM 22
Blast Back Knuckle b+P H 24
Blast toraasu b+P,K HH 24,36
Blast Drive Knee b+P,f+K MM 24,25
Swing Double Hammer b+P+K M 25
Reverse Double Hammer b+P+K,P MM 25,30
Body Blow f+P M 18
Stomach Crush f+P,P (MM) 18,18
Solid Crush f+P,P,P (MM)M 18,18,25
Crush Leg Spike f+P,P,d+K (MM)L 18,18,20
Stomach Break f+P,K MM 18,30
Jab P H 12
Jab – Bodyblow P,f+P (HM) 12,18
Rush Savate P,f+P,K (HM)M 12,18,35
Rush Leg Spike P,f+P,d+K (HM)L 12,18,20
Jab - High Kick P,K (HH) 12,30
Jab – Straight P,P (HH) 12,12
Storm Hook P,P,P (HH)M 12,12,28
Storm Blast Knuckle P,P,b+P (HH)H 12,12,24
Storm Savate P,P,K (HH)M 12,12,35
Storm Upper P,P,d/b+P (HH)M 12,12,32
High Kick K H 32
Trap Heel Hammer K,K HM 32,30
Trap Double Hammer K,P HM 32,25
Trap Reverse Hammer K,P,P HMM 32,25,30
Side Scimitar ff+K L 20
Scimitar Lock Heel ff+K,K LM 20,30
Throws
--
Victor Knee Cross Lock S+P Standing Throw 45
Neck Hanging Tree b+S+P Standing Throw 43
Neck Hanging Blow b+S+P Wall (b) Throw 53
Arm Lock f+S+P
or (jump) S+P Standing Throw 48
Firestorm Knee f+S+P Wall (f) Throw 55
Windmill Backbreaker hcf+S+P Standing Throw 67
Desert Bridge hcf+S+P Wall (f) Throw 75
Jumping Arm Cross Lock S+P Back Throw 55
Hell Hazard Lock f+S+P
or (jump) S+P Back Throw 30+30
Ground Submission d+S+P Ground Catch 30
Multi-Throws
--
Pivoting Leg Sweep b,f+S+P Standing Throw 45
to Achilles Lock f,b+S+P Multithrow (2) >25
to Reverse Prawn Hold d+S+P Multithrow (3) >>35
Crab Scissors d/f,d/f+S+P Catch Throw 42
to STF dd+S+P Multithrow (2) >10+25
Standing Arm Lock qcb+S+P Standing Throw 30
to Neck-Arm Gammadion f,b+S+P Multithrow (2) >30
to DDT d+S+P Multithrow (3) >>45
Sleeper Hold b,f+S+P Back Throw 50
to Swing Sleeper f,b+S+P Multithrow (2) 40
or Swing Bless Wall f,b+S+P Wall (b) Multi 30+20
Side Lock d+S+P Low Throw 40
to Rev.Achilles Lock d+S+P Multithrow (2) >20
to Crazy Crash dd+S+P Multithrow (3) >>8+8+8
Snake Facelock d/b+S+P Low Throw
or d/b+S+P Low Back Throw 25+30
to Reverse Arm Lock d+S+P Multithrow (2) >20
Holds
--
Neck Hunting Cross Lock f,u+S vs. H Punch 62
Rev. Achilles Tdn Lock f,u+S vs. H Kick 30+32
Deathtrap f,b+S vs. M Punch 62
Snake Bites(wall-b f,b+S vs. M Punch 72
Jumping Knee Cross Lock b,f+S vs. M Kick 62
Rolling Cross Lock f,d+S vs. L Punch 62
Cobra Death Lock f,d+S vs. L Kick 62
Pounces
--
Knee Drop u+P+K Down Attack 22
Stomping d+K Down Attack 12
Taunts
--
Go to Hell b,f,b+ALL
Tag Throws
--
Double Flapjack (f/Zack) ff+ALL
Double Headbutt (t/Zack) ff+ALL
Arm Lock - Leg Drop (t/Bass) ff+ALL
Tag Neck Cross Lock (f/anyone but Zack) ff+ALL
or (f/anyone) b+ALL
Tag Wall Crush (f/anyone) Wall (b) Variant
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Combos
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Juggling off of the Flame Knuckle (ff+p)
The Flame Knuckle is a quick (high) punch to the chin, that critical hits the
opponent, forcing them to keel over in pain. From that critical hit stun,
you can use a few different moves to float the opponent, and then you can end
the combo with a string of attacks, and hopefully the Ground Submission throw
once they fall down. Remember that the enemy can still defensive hold out of
their critical hit stun- so the combos are not guaranteed after the Flame
Knuckle, only after the launch. Both of your good launchers after Flame
Knuckle hit medium, which makes it much easier for them to DH out of the
critical hit if you overuse the Flame Knuckle. A combo will look something
like this:
Flame Knuckle, Smash Hook/Upper (to launch), juggle with Blast Back Knuckle,
Drive Knee, Knee Lift, and go for the Ground Submission when they land at
your feet.
-ff+P,u+P,P,b+P,f+K,f+K,d+S+P
Something like that will do 86 damage, and 116 /w the Ground Submission.
The Smash Hook/Upper does good damage, and is the best launcher off of the
Flame Knuckle.
If you juggle with a punch combo like f+P,P,P or end with a kick (not a knee)
you will send the opponent flying. Those combos usually end up with more
hits, and can send the opponent into an explosive wall or off a cliff easily.
You can't do the Ground Submission afterwards, and I find that combos ending
with Ground Submission usually do the most damage.
You can also launch with a Palm Stamp (d/f+P) after the Flame Knuckle, though
the Palm Stamp allows for fewer juggling opportunities than the Flame Knuckle
and they both hit medium, so what's the point?
Other combos with Flame Knuckle:
ff+P,d/f+P,d/f+P,P,K
ff+P,d/f+P,d/f+P,d/f+P, Ground Submission (d+S+P)
ff+P,u+P,P,f+K,f+K, Ground Submission
ff+P,u+P,P,f+P,P,P
ff+P,u+P,P,b+P,f+K,F+P,P,P
Juggling off of the Giant Upper:
A big weakness of the Flame Knuckle is the fact it hits high, so it can be
crouched under. There are a few juggle combos which go off of the Giant
Upper, a medium hitting attack. It's important to mix juggle combos starting
high and medium to reduce the potential of your attack getting held. The
Giant Upper is rather slow, though. Launch with a Palm Stamp (d/f+P) after
the Giant Upper.
A combo with Giant Upper:
QCB+P,d/f+P,f+P,P,d+K
Juggling off of the Blast Back Knuckle/Drive Knee (b+P,f+K)
The Blast Back Knuckle is a high hitting backfist which is slow to come out,
because Leon spins around, showing his back to the opponent as he punches.
It doesn't sound like it has many advantages, eh? The one benefit is that
the delay between Leon moving and Leon punching can throw off DH-happy
opponents. The Blast Back Knuckle is followed by a knee which stuns- and a
Palm Stamp (d/f+P) combos and launches. Then, just do a quick two Body Blows
(f+P,P) and then end by doing the third punch of the Body Blows to send the
person flying, or stop, let them hit the ground, and do a Ground Submission.
The timing necessary to get the third punch off with (f+P,P,P) is kind of
wacky... delay a bit between when you launch and when you begin the punches.
Combos with Blast Back Knuckle/Drive Knee:
b+P,f+K,d/f+P,f+P,P,P
b+P,f+K,d/f+P,f+P,P, Ground Submission
Other Combos:
There are lots of other combos with Leon, ones that will do more damage than
the ones here, last longer, or whatever. But, hopefully this gave you a
start. It's good fun to try to make up your own combos, and it's a good idea
to try a lot of different combos, so you look good.
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Strategies
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Crouch Dashing and Crab Scissoring:
This really isn't a strategy, but it's not a combo either. It's just a way
to take advantage of this great move, and how to better abuse it. The Crab
Scissors is a catch throw, which is a throw with execution time, where the
character makes a movement different from other throws. Jann Lee has one
(f+S+A), and Kasumi's great looking one where she hops on the other person's
face is another. What makes Leon's Crab Scissors so great is that in order
to execute the throw, he drops to the ground on his ass, lays on the ground,
and the opponent with his legs quickly. This gives the move fantastic range,
and allows Leon to duck attacks while going into the throw. The Crab
Scissors is also a multithrow: it does a solid 40 damage, and allows you to
move into the STF (d,d+S+A) for another 32 damage if they don't escape it.
It's really one of his best moves in my opinion, and worth using often. If
they expect the Crab Scissors, they'll be able to low strike you out of the
throw, so you have to mix the move up with his Turn Low Javelin (d+S+K) foot
sweep (which also has awesome range and good speed). The Crab Scissors will
not hit crouching opponents- maybe do a dash-in and Snake Facelock low
multithrow to punish them, if they crouch in expectation of the Crab
Scissors.
Now, another nice thing about the Crab Scissors is how it works in
conjunction with Crouch Dashing. To crouch dash, tap d/f, D/F (hold it
down). The character will make a quick forward movement low to the ground,
ducking under high attacks. This is useful in itself- but by tapping S+A at
the end of the Crouch Dash you can make Leon go right into the Crab Scissors.
This extends the effective range of the Crab Scissors a surprising amount,
comes out pretty quickly, and ducks a lot of attacks. You can stop out of
the crouch dash at any time to go into the crab scissors too. Using these
two moves together makes the Crab Scissors even more effective.
Using Leon's Throws:
Leon's got a great assortment of brutal looking multithrows and throws,
although realistically, only a few are necessary in a match. Multithrows are
better, in general, because their damage makes up for the general weaknesses
of throwing in DoA2.
Out of Leon's two standing multithrows, stick to his Pivoting Leg Sweep
(b,f+S+A). Although the Standing Arm Lock (qcb+S+A) does the same damage as
the Pivoting Leg Sweep if you get all 3 parts off, the Pivoting Leg Sweep's
most damaging part is the 1st, whereas the Standing Arm Lock does the most on
the 3rd part. Because multithrows are relatively easy to break out of, you
want to do your damage right away- so rely on the Pivoting Leg Sweep.
If the opponent can break out of every multithrow after the first part, then
you'll want to do your heavier damaging regular throws. There's no reason to
do any other regular throw than the Windmill Backbreaker (hcf+S+A)- it does
the most damage of any of his throws, and if you're near a wall it becomes
the vicious looking and highly damaging Desert Bridge (same motion).
Defensive Holds:
It's very, very important to not get into an easy to follow pattern. Too
many Crab Scissors and they'll sweep, crouch jab, and/or break out of the
multi-hit. Too many sweeps and they'll low holds. If you rely solely on the
Flame Knuckle for offensive strikes, they'll expect it and high hold. Holds
do so much damage in this game that just one can completely turn the game in
a person's favor. If you send out a predictable strike, you're just asking
for 70-80 points of damage. Especially avoid doing P,P,P or f+P,P,P- the
third P is cake to hold, even if the first two Ps connect. Throws can't be
held, but they're slow, easy to pre-empt with strikes for the most part, easy
to break out of, and don't do that much damage unless you get the second and
third parts of the multihit off.
Just as you are trying to avoid falling into predictable patterns, you ought
to try to make notice of your opponents patterns in order to help you get
defensive holds off.
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Final Words
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Leon is a well balanced character, who makes up for his slowness with heavily
damaging multithrows, solid combos, and two awesome special throws- the
Ground Submission and the Crab Scissors. Try to use a good combination of:
1.) crouch dashing Crab Scissors and sweep 2.) multithrows 3.) Flame Knuckle
and Giant Upper juggle combos 4.) well-placed holds. Avoid being
predictable, most of all. Please e-mail me at ssm14@cornell.edu if you have
any comments on the FAQ. This is my first FAQ, and it's probably rather
premature, since I haven't had the game for very long, and didn't have a
chance to play it in the arcades. I figure people like to read FAQs, though,
and there's a need out there for shoddy half-baked DoA2 strategy.
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Credits
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Thank you:
Jon Tanaka for the translations of Leon's moves from Japanese. It's so much
evocative (and cooler) to write "Crab Scissors" than "that df,df+S+A leg
throw thing".
Tecmo, Sega.
www.fighters.net and doaonline.fighters.net.
www.gamefaqs.com
my Mom, Jessica, America, the civil rights movement.
