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DNF Duel (2022)

Duration: 29:47

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Here we are, one last video from the DNF Duel Open Beta. No friends around now though. Instead, I venture into the Wild West of just randomly jumping into lobbies and seeing if I can manage to get some wins in.

Match 1: Vanguard (Yaya) vs. Dragon Knight (me)

Vanguard seems like a good "scrub killer" character. Good range and damage means that if you haven't mastered your approach you'll just get shut out at every instance. I had heard people complaining about Vanguard during the beta, and now I know why. That said, I keep forgetting to block low. Yaya would opt for a low attack during a combo string that would open me up to big damage. Though to be fair, all of his spear swings look the same and some don't really SCREAM low attack to me. That said, definitely something to keep in mind!

Match 2: Dragon Knight (me) vs. Ranger (Magsec)

Dragon Knight seems to require some finesse to work well, but I wanted to give her another go...and I have to fight another character where I struggle to get in! But then again, that kind of describes most of the roster at this point. Would have liked the runback but Magsec wasn't in the mood I guess.

Match 3: Grappler (me) vs. Dragon Knight (Magsec)

Or...maybe they are? As for the match...I'm confused as to why Grappler's super didn't work? Does it not hit crouching opponents? At any rate, Magsec seemed to have a better handle on using Dragon Knight than me. (But then, they also didn't have to worry about fighting a character that can hit them from full screen.)

Match 4: Hitman (me) vs. Kunoichi (Magsec)

Now it's MY turn to fill the screen with attacks! Still getting the hang of Hitman but he seems pretty effective at keeping people out. Kunoichi has a fair amount of ranged moves, but most are a bit slow and require set-up, whereas Hitman just SPINS TO WIN. That said, Magsec never really used her normal kunai which are a lot faster and would have pinned me down a bit. I also used Conversion once intentionally to attack faster than normal! I'm learning!

Match 5: Crusader (me) vs. Berserker (Samurai Xampoo)

Putting in some more time with Crusader, I DEFINITELY see why many call him the best in the game as of now. He's got range, he hits HARD, he can make a wall behind you and combo from that...and then there's his buffs. One MP Special gives him a buff that not only gives his normal attacks super armor, but also adds an lightning effect to them so they hit harder and linger for longer. And at low health, whereas most characters get ONE buff for their Awakening, Crusader gets THREE. And I still wasn't even using a good chunk of his moves! Berserker can be a terror if he manages to get in, but Crusader has so many tools to prevent that from happening...

Match 6: Striker (PCHPSchoMpk) vs. Dragon Knight (me)

I dunno why I kept going back to Dragon Knight but here we are! D....Did I just get a perfect? Wow, DK must be broken if I could do that. It actually looked like I knew what I was doing! And it took Striker freezing the screen with her super to realize that DK's air projectile is...a giant fist!

Match 7: Hitman (Sossa) vs. Berserker (me)

Oof. This match up seems bad for Berserker. Hitman has the edge in range AND speed most of the time. Berserker's projectile is so slow it's easy to hit him out of it with Hitman, and generally...yeah this was like hitting a wall. Fought Sossa a LOT and cut most of it because it's more of the same. Glad I got a super confirm at least! And learned the hard way (around 24:24 or so) that my life leech move is not a good call when my health is already so low!

Match 8: Dragon Knight (snakebelmont) vs. Striker (me)

Yeah you saw that right. 8 consecutive wins. I elected to cut them because they were just the most one-sided, pathetic affairs. That and I accidentally messed up in editing so this is all you get! This is what a Dragon Knight with three days of experience looks like I guess and I was...not ready.

She has projectiles, actual air manueverability, an assist that can lock you down for a long time, good ranged specials AND up close she's pretty fast. I honestly feel she's one of the best right now, and I'm not just saying that because I lost to this player TWELVE TIMES in a row.

So that'll do it for my DNF Duel footage. Had a lot of fun with the game. Has a lot of potential. Netcode held up well, but matchmaking has issues and in general...this game's focus on ridiculous offense with no defensive options just seems a bit much. Guard cancels don't help when opponents are hitting you from full-screen or with multi-hit moves, and the dodge roll is kind of finicky and laggy. Often times I'd roll and they'd already be able to turn around and hit me before I could do anything. No air block in a game where so many moves have huge vertical range seems like a weird call too. But this game is still like half a year away so a lot could change. Looking forward to whatever else they have in store. (Please put Spectre in!)

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