DNF Duel: Combat Guide For Striker

DNF Duel is a pretty simple fighting game on the surface. As tends to be the case with the genre, though, there’s tremendous hidden depth for players to explore as they get more comfortable with the mechanics, match-ups and so on. There are currently 16 characters in the game, all of which offer unique strengths. One of those characters is the fearsome martial artist, Striker.

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Striker is considered one of the best fighters in the game thanks to her tools, which allow her to close the distance and unleash hugely damaging combos. These tools make her a major threat, either in the hands of a skilled player or one just picking up the character. Here’s everything you need to know about Striker, including how her moves work and some combo routes you can learn for her.

Striker Summary

Striker is a combo-heavy rushdown character. With fast ground movement and attacks that can help close the distance, especially against projectiles, Striker can always be in her opponent’s face. She’ll make her time on the inside last thanks to her moves being fast and having large hitboxes, even for physical attacks. Along with that, she has the ability to cancel all of her basic moves and Skills into each other regardless of the strength, a feat which is called reverse beat. She can also cancel all of her MP moves into others as well, which is a special trait called Muscle Shift. This gives her combo routes and shield pressure that is hard for the cast to compete against.

As is always the case with rushdown characters, though, her key attacks are rather limited in range. If the opponent can keep her at bay (perhaps with a tricky ranged specialist like Street Fighter 6’s Dhalsim), then, she’ll have a tough time.

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Striker’s Normal Moves

Striker’s Standard Attack A is a quick straight punch. It’s a two-part move if you press the button again, with the second punch having more range than the first but dealing a bit less damage. The crouching version is a quick kick to the feet that can combo into itself three times at the closest distance. The aerial version is another quick punch, but angled downwards and dealing the same amount of damage as the standing version. These are all solid basic combo starters at close range.

Her Standard Attack B is a swiping punch that moves her forward a bit and deals decent damage, which can be jump-canceled. The crouching version is a slide that moves her forward even more, deals the same amount of damage as the standing version, and trips the opponent into the air. Due to her getting low to the ground, it can avoid some high attacks. The aerial version has her strike at a downward angle with her foot, dealing a bit more damage than the standing and crouching version in this anime-inspired fighter.

Striker’s Skills

• Striker’s neutral Skill, Tiger Chain Strike, is an advancing shoulder bash that starts with her pulling her body back slightly. Pressing the button again makes her use a two-hit move, starting with an elbow strike and ending in a punch. All the hits reliably combo into each other for great damage, and the first hit of the move is good for whiff-punishing some attacks. All three hits can also be jump-canceled.
• Her Down+Skill is called Muse’s Uppercut. It’s her launcher move that has her advance forward a bit before delivering an uppercut. It deals solid damage and can be canceled into a jump or other normals, so it’s good for both anti-airing and starting or extending combos.
• Her Forward+Skill is Crushing Fist. She moves far forward and delivers a straight punch with good range. It deals the most damage out of all her Skills as well. It’s one of her many moves that are great for advancing forward and whiff-punishing opponents.

• Her Back+Skill is Low Kick. As the name implies, she kicks at the opponent’s legs. It’s a low hit move, so it can’t be guarded while standing. It also hits opponents that are knocked down. This makes the move great for mix-ups, as well as extending combos to add on a bit more damage. That being said, other moves serve the same purpose rather better, so you might not be using this one that much.
• Her Skill in the air is Air Walk. It’s a dive kick that sends Striker at an angle. Despite this being an aerial attack, opponents that are guarding while crouching can still block it. That being said, it can also not only hit opponents that are down on the ground, but send opponents in the air down to the ground as well. With her reverse beat, you can also use quick aerial Standard Attack A out of Air Walk. It’s suited for continuing combos, quickly changing positions, and applying pressure on the opponent’s shield.

Striker’s MP Skills

MP Skills are performed with directional inputs along with motion inputs at the cost of MP. The numpad notations for the MP Skills will be given under the assumption that Striker is on the left side, facing her opponent on the right.

• The neutral MP Skill is Shadowless Kick, for 30 MP. Striker will move forward as she delivers three kicks, with the first one being a low hit and the second launching the opponent into the air. The first kick can also hit downed opponents, making the move good for extending combos after the opponent’s been hit with a knockdown. She can also jump-cancel the last hit of the move, making it good for starting combos as well.

• Her Down+MP Skill (or DP/623+MP Skill) is Rising Fist, for 50 MP. She twists into the air as she delivers a multi-hitting uppercut. This move is suited for anti-airing opponents and also boasts invulnerability at the start, making it a reversal option. Striker’s Muscle Shift allows her to get a lot of mileage out of this move if it connects, whether she cancels into an MP Skill at the very end or the very beginning, making it an efficient combo tool as well. She also doesn’t need to act out of it if the move connects, since she can act first at the end. However, if the move completely misses, Striker will be left vulnerable. So it’s best to only use this move when you are certain it’ll connect.
• Her Forward+MP Skill (or QCF/236+MP Skill) is Mountain Pusher, for 50 MP. Similar to Tiger Chain Strike, she advances forward with a shoulder bash. This move, however, is much greater in distance. It also sends her opponent flying back very far if the move connects. This move helps you force approaches due to the projectile invulnerability. You can also cancel out of the move with a dash if it lands, allowing you to potentially use the move multiple times to carry your opponent to the corner of the stage with ease. If you manage to counter an opponent with this move, it will cause a wall-bounce, making it even easier to follow up with a combo.
• Her Back+MP Skill (or QCB/214+MP Skill) is her One-Inch Punch, for 50 MP. She fills her fist with power before striking a short distance in front of her. Its short range is made up for by dealing high damage and crumpling the opponent, forcing a knockdown if it connects. While it’s only stronger than all her MP Skills by a slight margin, it deals heavy guard damage, making it effective for pressuring and breaking guards. This efficiency is doubled by the fact that the move is safe on shield can be canceled with a dash, whether it lands or is guarded against. It also wall-bounces aerial opponents, making the move suited for finishing combos that would otherwise end in Striker’s other moves.
• Her aerial MP Skill is Tornado Kick, for 30 MP. It’s almost identical to Shadowless Kick, in that it also has her perform do three kicks while moving forward. The differences are that the kicks do less damage, the last hit forces knockdowns on aerial opponents, and it doesn’t launch grounded opponents.

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Awakening Effect & Awakening Skill

Striker’s Awakening Effect is Power Fist. It increases the minimum amount of damage she deals with one attack, upping her combo damage slightly. She also has an easier time reducing her opponent’s guard gauge as she lands or blocks attacks. Since she already had great guard breaking potential, her Awakening Effect increases it even more. With all the MP at her disposal, an Awakened Striker can surely break her opponent’s guard with the right string of MP Skills.

Her Awakening Skill, Empress’s Climactic Fist, doesn’t have great vertical range. That being said, the hitbox does surround her body. It’s great for hitting opponents that are in the air because of this, whether it’s at the end of a combo or as an anti-air.

Basic Striker Combos

Striker has a great combo tutorial showing the extent of her abilities, including some combos that make use of her reverse beat and Muscle Shift. Thanks to these traits, she can get really creative with some of her combos in ways that no other character can. Here are some simple yet fun combos to try out with her. One is a bit complicated, but can deal massive damage, even ending off with the Awakening Skill. It works from anywhere on the stage, but you may need to delay some of your hits depending on where you are.

• 5A→5A→5B→5S→5S→6S→6MS→4MS [9 Hits]
• 2B→5B→(forward jump cancel)→jA→jB→jS→5MS→6MS→(delayed)4MS [10 Hits]
• 6S→2A→6S→(straight jump cancel)→jA→jA→jB→jMS→5MS→6MS→4MS [13 Hits]
• (Corner)6S→(forward jump cancel)→jA→jB→jS→4S→(delayed)5MS→6MS→4MS [10 Hits]
• jS→jMS→jS→5MS→2MS [11 Hits]
• 6S→5S→5S→6MS→(dash cancel)→6S→6MS→(dash cancel)→6S→6MS→(dash cancel)→6MS→4MS→AS [13 Hits]

Striker is a very fun and easy to use character. With her fast ground movement, combos, and lengthy block strings, any beginner will have a fun time playing her. It’s recommended to spend a lot of time in the Training Room with her. You’ll likely find many innovative ways to deal lots of damage with her. She has the potential to become another icon of the fighting game genre.

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