PvP Mechanics

Not to be confused with the gunner class Mechanic in PvP.

PvP in DFO Global has many inner mechanics that mimic both fighting games and beat-em-ups which may be confusing to a new player. Acknowledgement and mastery of these mechanics will be very useful for pvping.

The Axis Planes

The playing field of DFO always has 3 axes, the X axis, Y axis and Z axis. The uniqueness of DFO pvp comes from playing along these axes so it is important to know the range of skills and on which axes they function.

• The X axis is the distance east and west of your character.
• The Y axis is the distance north and south of your character.
• The Z axis is the distance up or down of your character.
  • The Z axis is easily understood by simply jumping up and down. The height is the Z axis and not to be confused with the Y axis, which is the distance walking up and down.

Combos

You begin a combo by hitting your opponent repeatedly, making them unable to move or react until your combo is complete or dropped. Some classes may use abilities such as  Phase Shift,  Flip Side Counter or  Revenger while being hit with a combo in order to escape or counter attack.

Standing

A standing combo consists of hitting the player while they are standing and not in the air or on the ground. Being hit while standing causes moderate hit stun to prevent them from simply walking away.

• The damage limit for standing combos is denoted by the red marker on the HP bar.
• Once their HP goes past the red marker, they will fall.

In the air

An aerial or juggle combo consists of launching the player upwards and comboing while keeping them in the air for as much damage as you can before they fall to the ground.

• The damage limit for juggling is denoted by the blue marker on the HP bar.
• Once their HP is past the blue marker, they begin to fall faster and recover quicker.
• The aerial combo damage limit is slightly shorter than the standing combo.

On the ground

A ground or OTG combo consists of hitting a player who is laying on the ground. While on the ground, players need a moment to recover and wake up so hitting them consistently prevents them from standing.

• The damage limit for ground combos is denoted by the yellow marker on the HP bar.
• Once their HP is past the yellow marker, they are able to wake up much quicker and have short ghost frames (invincibility frames) to enable them to either counter attack or escape more effectively.
• The ground combo damage limit is slightly shorter than the aerial combo.

Against the wall

A combo done against the wall has the benefit of your opponent staying on the same x axis while you combo, allowing additional combo opportunities that would not be possible without the wall.

Combo Protection

The combo protection system prevents players from being juggled indefinitely till death. There are certain forms of combo protection that seem unintuitive to a new player. While the combo protection system prevents a player from taking too much damage from a single combo, some players may cleverly and legally exploit the combo protection system in order to do even further damage. See Advanced Mechanics.

Neutral

When a player has taken no damage for a certain period of time and have no markers on their hp bar, they are considered in neutral position, which means they have no additional evasion, gravity or hit recovery. Both players are assumed to have a hit rate of 100%, except for certain conditions which override the evasion rate while neutral, such as a Monk's  Quick Parry or a Berserker's  Bloody Cross.

Damage Cap

Upon reaching the damage cap denoted by the colored markers along the top HP bar, combo protection will begin to kick in. Players begin receiving bonus evasion, hit recovery and receive some additional ghost frames when recovering from the ground.

• In order to deal maximum damage to a player who is approaching damage cap, use skills that are quick and hit widely along the Z axis.
• Grabs are also recommended as they safely deal damage to a player and for the most part ignore combo protection while the animation is going.

Gravity and Launch Height

Players that are launched have a distance how high exactly they'll be launched based on their armor type. Keep this in mind when juggling or grabbing players past damage cap, as some combo sequences may work on lighter armored players and not on heavier ones.

• Cloth armor gets launched the highest, followed by leather, then light armor, heavy armor and finally plate.

Gravity is the speed at which players being juggled in the air fall. They all fall at the same speed before damage cap, but after damage cap they fall quicker and quicker making it riskier to continue comboing them.

• Past a certain level of damage cap, launches will no longer work at all and the player will just fall flat to the ground instantly.

Bonus Evasion and Hit Recovery

Consistently hitting and comboing a player who has not been able to escape very far or hit back temporarily increases their evasion and hit recovery, causing you to be more likely to "miss" on of your attacks or have vastly reduced hitstun on your attacks.

• The time of this bonus evasion and hit recovery is reset upon being hit yourself or after a certain time period without getting hit (roughly 3 seconds).
• A good indicator to see if you or your opponent no longer have bonus evasion or hit recovery is to check their HP bars for markers. No markers means no bonuses.

Super Armor

All classes have some form of super armor to prevent getting hitstunned or launched, but there are a few nuances to how super armor acts in pvp that need to be taken into consideration. As with everything else, timing is essential.

• Rapid hitting attacks slow down a player in super armor, effectively increasing the amount of time they are in super armor.
• Players using super armored skills tend to also extend their hitboxes and are more susceptible to grabs.

Recovering from Combos

Returning back to neutral position.

Wakeup Recovery

Upon getting up from the ground normally, players are given a very short moment of invincibility in order to move away or use the opportunity to counter attack.

Quick Rebound

Using quick rebound causes your character to crouch and stay invincible but immobile for a maximum of 2 seconds followed by short super armor frames.

• Because of the immobility by this skill, careless usage may cause you to be caught in another combo against an experienced player.
• Holding the skill increases the time you stay invincible, but other than the short super armor you are completely vulnerable to getting hit unlike regular wakeup recovery. Choosing between using quick rebound or just a regular wakeup recovery is a strategic choice.

Recovery skills

Some classes have skills that allow them to escape from combos under certain conditions. Refer to the list below for which class can help combo recovery with which skill.

• All Male Slayers -  Flip Side Counter
• Asura -  Deadly Enticer
• All Female Slayers -  Spinning Blade
• All Gunners -  Secret Land Runner
• Male and Female Ranger -  Revenger
• All Female Mages -  Phase Shift
• All Thieves -  Transformation: Molting
• Kunoichi -  Ninpou: Decoy

Advanced Mechanics

Scraping

A player who is on the ground could be lifted back up into a juggle or forced into standing position through certain skills. Skills that bounce and grab could scrape a grounded opponent.

• NOTE: Players that are lifted through grabs which have a shockwave effect once they have fallen (skills like  Knee Kick,  Fling or  Trap Strike) have a special property where if they are not bounced to remove the shockwave effect, will be able to stand instantly if you air juggle them too far beyond the blue hp marker.
• This may happen with grabs which do not have a shockwave effect but leave enemies airborne (skills like  Smasher or  BBQ)