DNF Duel is the new game developed by Arc System Works, the people who made Guilty Gear Strive, and Eighting, the ones behind Marvel vs. Capcom 3. This game seems to have been made to please Dungeon Fighter Online players. The available characters are adventurers’ classes, and their attacks are faithfully reproduced in the game.
In order to make the game welcoming to those who aren’t addicted to old-school fighting games, the developers decided not to make motion inputs mandatory for special attacks. In this game, we use directional inputs. Press forward and the Skill button for an attack, back and Skill button for a different one.
The game also has a button for MP Skills. You can use those more powerful abilities by spending your own MP, or mana points, which is the resource under your life bar. This is an innovative trait that makes DNF Duel one of the best fighting games on Steam. Although MP management seems simple, you should know how MP works in DNF duel to increase your chances of winning.
How Does MP Work in DNF Duel?
Each character starts the game with 100 mana points. You can see the number right next to the blue bar representing your available mana. That is your resource used to activate MP Skills. Those are special attacks that tend to be much better than the ones you get from pressing the Skill button. For instance, most characters have an invincible reversal.
In other words, nearly all adventurers have a move that allows them to get out of a tough situation. A powerful move that can get you out of trouble certainly costs you some mana points to activate; therefore, it is an MP Skill.
Unlike most modern fighting games, in which you have a resource bar for enhanced special moves or super moves, DNF Duel adventurers have a mana bar.
Mana regenerates on its own, but you only start regaining mana points a while after using an MP Skill. If you keep using MP Skills, your character won’t get any Mana back. If you are low on mana, you must rely on normal attacks and the skill button to buy some time until your resources are replenished.
Although your mana points start at 100, your maximum points increase as you take damage or use the conversion button. Your maximum mana points before losing the round are 200.
With more points, you can use more special attacks and reversals. This means you have a much better chance of escaping block strings due to the many mana points. Not only that, you have a much better chance of making a comeback happen with all that extra mana. However, you must be careful. Your adversaries also get a mana increase when you deal damage to them.
Keep Your Eye on the Adversary’s MP Bar
Resource managing is usually a very important part of a fighting game. That, along with the mind games, are two of the most fun aspects of the genre. However, you have to pay attention to more than your own resources.
The adversary’s Health Bar and Mana Bar might help you predict how that player is going to act. For instance, having low health and some mana mean they might use a reversal on you. On the other hand, having low health and no mana means that the adversary cannot brute force their way out of your pressure, which is a great moment for you to make your move.
What is Exhaustion in DNF Duel?
Exhaustion is a state that happens when your character has no mana points left. When exhausted, characters will have no way to access their MP Skills or Guard Cancels and therefore be much more vulnerable to pressure. Not only that, they won’t be able to optimize their offensive either.
Besides not having any mana, exhausted characters take much longer to start regaining their mana points back. That can be dangerous if you are close to having your guard broken. It can also prevent you from finishing the round when you have an opportunity.
All that being said, be careful not to misjudge the adversary’s mana bar. Even 1 mana point is enough to use any MP Skill. It will certainly put you in exhaustion, but it will also allow you to use an invulnerable reversal move.
If you miscalculate the timing it takes for an exhausted adversary to regain mana, you might get hit by a sudden reversal as soon as they have 1 mana point to do so.
How to Recover Mana Faster in DNF Duel
When you use an MP Skill, part of your mana is consumed. A while after your last used MP Skill, you will start regaining mana points.
However, By using motion inputs, the time you have to wait to regain mana points is significantly reduced. This is what the game calls technical inputs.
When you use an MP Skill, part of your mana is consumed. A while after your last used MP Skill, you will start regaining mana points.
However, By using motion inputs, the time you have to wait to regain mana points is significantly reduced. This is what the game calls technical inputs.
Please note that you don’t have to use those technical inputs. You might not perceive the difference as a big deal if you are not competing or trying to compete at high levels.
Even if you are competing, there are many benefits to using simple directional inputs instead of technical ones. For instance, instant invincible reversals tend to be great anti-air moves. Most fighting games require a motion input because of how powerful they are.
This is not the case in DNF Duel, though. You can just anti-air with down plus MS, which is much easier than performing the required motion for a technical reversal on reaction.
For instance, Striker’s Down MP attack is an invincible spinning Uppercut that can be canceled into her air tornado kicks. This attack and the fact it is cancelable is another thing that makes her one of the best DNF Duel characters for beginners.
