It shouldn't be about 'fighting stigmas.' All games have stigmas; no matter how successful it is, some people will always see Street Fighter as a game where you throw hadokens from the other side of the screen to win. Course anyone who says that will have no credibility to speak of, but this is the mindstate of people who resort to stigmas to say 'this is why X is a bad game.' They're flawed arguments with no tangible merit to speak of. The hyper-sexualization in DoA is only a big deal if you let it be one. I'm all for being more mindful, but since when did artistic choices make a game mechanically bad?
Another thing I'd like to mention; it's easy to shit on a community when the game isn't as successful as it's competitors. Some people will find any little thing to kick someone when they're down. This community really isn't substantially better or worse than any other, it's just an easier target because "dead game lol."
I agree with OP; what it should be about is supporting and promoting the game, which there are several different ways of doing. Seems like a unwinnable battle given the current state of affairs, but it's really the best thing that can be done.
Never a bad time to talk about gameplay. All games are supposed to work this way; the best players are always supposed to beat lower level competitors. That's the nature of competition. I do think some strings could be removed but that's a touchy thing and I'd rather not elaborate until I have better info on just how many strings starters characters have on average. Combos will always be easy to perform at the highest of levels. Combos, while necessary, are already a problematic thing in respect to any entry barrier and making optimal combos tougher will increase the level of entry.
Personally, I think 3D fighters today (not just DoA) lack a 'hook' to get people into them. 2D fighters have all sorts of variety in respect to moves and mechanics to get people involved.
I think Tekken Revolution was on to something with the invincible moves. They certainly could've been done better and some people will never see anything positive about their inclusion, but the one thing it did that I really liked was highlighting a character's signature moves (Paul's deathfist, Kaz/Jin's Wind God Fist/Wind Hook Fist, Asuka's double lift kick, etc). Law spammers online I think is indicative of the point I'm trying to make; while annoying and does no justice to him (speaking as a occasional Law player), it gave him "go to" moves for people starting out with him, no different from the phenomena known as flow chart Kens. Most importantly, it still played like a 3D fighter generally speaking. What I'm saying is, DoA having something like it would put emphasis on their signature moves and give an entry point of understanding to the common onlooker (it'd 'look cool' in trailers). It'd also give gameplay-related reasons to people to gravitate to the characters; would certainly help give the girls more versatile appeal.
I'd like for DoA to remove 4 and 5's stun system and go back to how it was in 2 and 3. Use 5's counter system. Make other adjustments that can highlight the signature moves of DoA's cast (doesn't have to be 'invincibles' btw). That would be my hypothetical DoA6. Some people would like the change, others wouldn't. That's a good thing, change is what keeps things interesting.
