Bringing on the hurt to an opponent that was acting reckless and unsafe towards your character. Punishment can entail launching an attack that counterattacks an opponent’s attack such as throwing an unsafe move on block or punishing an attack that misses and whiffs in front of you with an attack of your own. Once you learn frame data, and learn how negative a move is on block, you can then hone your throw punishes through recognition of unsafe strikes and strings. Most punishment is guaranteed such as the aforementioned throw punishment, though punishing something with an i5 neutral throw is considered unguaranteed since these throws can be broken and teched even if they’re used to punish something that is like, -30.
Strike punishment on block is a little trickier because DOA5’s frame system requires you to add on 2 frames to the negative number, such as -12 being punishable by an i10 jab. I.e. 10 + 2 = 12. Simple math right? Though if I had a choice between punishing with a 10 damage, i10 jab or a 60 damage, i10 throw, I think I’d just stick to the throw in this case. Not to mention an i10 throw can be used to punish -11 whereas an i10 jab would not. An exception would be if you could punish a blocked attack with something such as Kasumi’s 4H+K or Ayane’s 4K which grant a sit-down-stun (SDS) on normal hit (NH), allowing you to set up a big damage situation to your opponent.
As for punishing whiffs, or attacks that are thrown out but don’t connect with your character at all, proper spacing and position is required. With generic movement utilized by presses of 66 or 44 (forward-forward or back-back), you can attempt to set up whiffs by getting your opponent to over-extend their reach, thus allowing you to punish with something like Momiji’s 66PP for a big, counter-hit (CH) launch combo. This is called whiff punishment and it complements DOA5’s strong spacing game.
Spacing means you quickly move back and forward from your opponent, allowing you to get the distance you need to strike your opponent when they least expect it. This is also another form of mind game that leaves your opponent constantly guessing your next plan of attack. Remember to keep your distance close enough to which you can reach, but far enough from your opponent in case they decide to attack early. Do not shy away from backing away from your opponent. Many believe this is “not playing the game properly”, however this is a misconception. To utilize your opponent’s weakness is to understand their psyche. But do not abuse it, most experienced players wait for you to act predictable to use it to their advantage. Managing spacing and the distance from the opponent is crucial to success in DOA5.
As mentioned earlier, DOA5 has a very strong spacing game, complemented by a strong footsies game. Footsies is the act of controlling the space around you with the knowledge of the range of your pokes in comparison to your opponent’s pokes and ring position. An example is using Ayane’s 3H+K horizontal mid-kick to control space by using its long reach to keep opponents back, thus controlling the space it covers. It also helps that the move is safe on block at -3 and can set up her Back-Turned (BT) mix ups for instance. To dive more into footsies, check out HajinShinobi’s
article since it is a very complex topic on its own!
