Tecmo Koei and Team NINJA have released details on Dead or Alive 5’s day 1 patch. The update addresses a few online multiplayer issues and contains some balance tweaks as well. Hopefully this patch alleviates at least some of the issues I had with the pre-launch netcode.
Overall
- Slight adjustments to some of the character motions and moves.
Offline Mode
- Removed the ability to change the stage models displayed in the background in order to improve load times.
- Survival Mode: even if you are unable to clear the course, your points (Results Screen) will be displayed and the World Ranking will be updated.
Online Mode
- During the pre-battle entrance animation, each character’s Grade and Title will be displayed.
- The matchmaking system has been improved so it is easier to find and join a match.
- In Lobby Match, the Random filter will display within the client’s settings rather than the host’s.
- The cursor location will be remembered in the Character and Stage Select screens.
- Added the ability to adjust the Hit Settings (Normal/Counter/High-Counter) in the Online Dojo.
- Minor fixes to areas that had the possibility of causing instability within the game.
Before you start reading the character tweaks below, it’s probably a good idea to familiarize yourself with Dead or Alive 5’s input notation system first. It’s worth noting that this isn’t actually how it appears in-game, so don’t be intimidated. This is simply one method of writing input notations that’s actually quite easy to understand once you get the hang of it.
Basically, imagine your d-pad or joystick as a number pad on a keyboard.
7 8 9
4 5 6
1 2 3
Dead or Alive 5 uses the following notations to represent the four different commands in the game:
P = Punch
K = Kick
H = Hold
T = Throw
Each direction you point in represents a number. The number 5 is the neutral position. Let’s say the input you’re supposed to press is 6P. This means that you have to move towards the number 6 while pressing the punch button. Seeing the number 6 means that you move forward no matter which side of the screen you’re on. This is an important distinction to make so that you can understand these notations even if your character is facing towards the right or left side of the screen.
Here’s the way you should be reading these inputs:
1 = down-back
2 = down
3 = down-forward
4 = back
5 = neutral
6 = forward
7 = up-back
8 = up
9 = up-forward
Once you understand this notation system it will make reading anything relating to Dead or Alive 5 much easier.
Character Changes
Akira
Mid K while sidestepping
Hitting a character with this while their back is turned downs them.
66P
Hitting a character with this as a normal back hit causes a small stagger
46P,43P,64T
Increased input time
Ayane
Expert mid P hold
Changed damage: 25 -> 5
2P,1P, back-turned 2P,back-turned 1P,back-turned PP2P
Changed to stagger on back-turned hi counter and back-turned low hi counter
66K, back-turned PP6K
Changed damage reaction to small when landing as a normal hit
Eliot
236P
Change frame advantage on guard to +2 (guard break)
4P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
Helena
4P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
Kasumi
PP6P6KK,6P6K,9K
Changed behavior to a jump hold when held
4P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
Christie
Tag throw when partnered with Hitomi
Changed damage: 10+20+70 -> 10+20+40
Tag throw when partnered with Helena
Changed damage: 50+50 -> 35+35
Back-turned P
Changed damage reaction to small when landing as a normal hit, same as landing as a counter hit
Back-turned 2P
Hitting a character with this as a normal back hit causes a small stagger
1K6K while in Jakeiho
Changed damage reaction to crumple stun when landing as a low counter or hi counter hit
H+KK
Changed stagger reaction to small when landing as a normal hit, same as landing as a hi counter hit
Gen Fu
1P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed damage reaction to launch when landing as a low normal hit
Kokoro
236T
Increased recovery on unsuccessful grab by 4 frames.
Back-turned PP
Changed damage reaction when landing as a low counter or hi counter hit from the back-turned reaction to front-facing reaction
Changed damage reaction when landing as a back-turned low counter or hi counter hit from the front facing reaction to back turned reaction
3P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
PK
Changed to damage reaction on back-turned low hi counter from the front-facing reaction to the back-turned reaction
Sarah
9K
Changed behavior to a parry when held
4PK
Changed initial frames: 19 -> 18
9H+KKK
Changed initial frames: 24 -> 20
Change wall-hit distance to 1.5m
4P+K
Changed damage reaction to crumple stagger when landing as a hi counter hit
1P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
Jann Lee
H+K
Changed damage reaction on low hi counter hits to a large sit-down stun, just like with hi counter hits.
Changed damage reaction on back-turned low hi counter hits from front-facing reaction to back-turned reaction
Tina
46P,46T
Increased direction input time
Bass
PPK
Changed damage reaction on normal hit to stagger
4P,4PP
Changed stagger on low normal hit to small
7P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
7PT,3P+KT
Changed damage: 20+43-> 20+35
Back-turned 6T
Changed damage: 35 -> 50
Pai
Back-turned 9K
Changed to make it guardable.
Basic Tag Throw
Changed so opponent cannot tech roll after being thrown.
2P,3P, back-turned 2P
Changed damage reaction on back-turned hi counter and low hi counter hits to stagger
H+KP during Meishouho
Changed damage reaction on back-turned hi counter hit to stagger, same as on back-turned normal hit
PP4P, P4P during Bokutai
Changed attribute from mid to high
PPP7K
Changed damage reaction on counter and high counter hits to stagger, same as normal hit
6KP7K
Changed damage reaction on low counter and hi counter hits to stagger, same as on low normal hit
1P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
9K
Changed damage reaction on back-turned normal hit to small stagger, same as back-turned hi counter hits.
Bayman
1P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
Hayate
3K
Changed to damage reaction on back-turned low hi counter from the front-facing reaction to the back-turned reaction
P during Tenshin Sen
Changed damage reaction on normal hit to small stagger, same as landing as low hit
Hitomi
PP6PP,66PP, sidestep P
Changed damage reaction on low counter to crumple stun
46P,46K
Increased input time
Brad
Gyoin-Dantai
The properties of “K during Gyomi-Inshusei” and “K during Tenshin-Hiinshu” were different, so we standardized on the first (K during Gyomi-Inshusei).
4P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
P during Dokuritsu-Ho
Hitting a character with this as a normal back hit causes a small stagger
6P in Kasenko
Changed general reaction when landing as a back hit to small stagger
46P,64P
Increased input time
La Mariposa
236K
Changed behavior from a jump hold to a normal hold when held
4P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
64T
Increased input time
Mila
4P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
PP6K
Changed to damage reaction on back-turned low hi counter from the front-facing reaction to the back-turned reaction
Rig
Back-turned P+K during Bending Stance
Was the same move as H+K, so made it a different move
4P, back-turned 4P, P in Turn Leg Cut, sidestep P
Changed to damage reaction on back-turned low hi counter from the front-facing reaction to the back-turned reaction
1P+K (when not triggering a Power Blow)
Changed reaction to knock-back on low hi counter and back-turned low hi counter hits
4P, back-turned 4P, P in Turn Leg Cut, sidestep P
Changed to damage reaction on back-turned normal and hi counter hits from the front-facing reaction to the back-turned reaction
PPK,6P
Changed damage reaction on counter hit to stagger, same as hi counter hit
66K
Changed reaction to knock-back on back-turned low hi counter hits
Leifang
Back-turned 4P
Changed damage reaction to stagger when landing as a low normal hit, same as normal hit
64P,46P
Increased input time
Shakugan
Sounds good! I already have this game pre-ordered. Can’t wait!
LTG Davey
So looking forward to this game :) Though the fact it needs a day one patch makes me sad :(
Paulo Vinicius Radtke
Day 1 patch? Developer’s and publishers are getting worse these days. Finding bugs and glitches just after a game went “gold” to mass production means that developer’s are not doing their best and that publisher’s are not ensuring that everything is correct. I think it’s fair to fix problems and patch games later because they realized down the road something wrong. But many games nowadays have day 1 patches for some serious and obvious issues that it makes me wonder how they got the “gold status” in the first place.
Bodachi
Does it really matter when the patches only take a couple of seconds to update?
Paulo Vinicius Radtke
Time is not exactly the issue there. Was that Airbus or Boeing you wouldn’t say the same thing if an airplane crashed on a pre-launch flight and they came up with fix that takes a couple of seconds to install. Was that any other industry, stock prices would go down and people would lose their jobs. The problem here is the total lack of quality control that some developers show by going gold just to make it in time to as specific release date to target the holiday season, instead of assuring that the game works fine. Judging by the day 1 patch and the poor netcode being reported, I see no reason to say that DOA5 wasn’t rushed to the market, which for me is a lack of respect as a consumer. If that’s OK for some people I won’t argue, for me it’s definitely not. I’ll wait long down the road to grab a copy of DOA5, when all bugs are sorted out, which is sad, I was really looking out for this game after some time.