Helena DOA5U

Kano: "Hello baby, did you miss me?"

Been a long time Helena enthusiasts. Welcome back to the Helena Kill Blog, The Greatest Show on Earth. Back for ONE TIME ONLY to talk about DOA5U Helena and her changes. Let me start out by saying thank you to Team Ninja for sending me an early copy of the game. Is Helena still capable of getting the job done? Well lets go over some of her changes:

Pseudo Force Tech:
Also famously known as "The White Girl Blender." For those that don't know, Pseudo Force Techs were a way for Helena to completely eliminate Wake Up Kicks in DOA5. You achieve this by ending all your juggles with the Handslaps. After Handslaps, you finish off with BKO 6P, which will either tech the opponent up if they stay on the ground, or the move will whiff if the opponent techs themselves. Either way, the wake up kick is completely out of the picture. Pseudo Force Tech... GONE! BKO 6P doesn't tech opponents off the ground anymore. Near a wall, Handslaps will slam opponent into the wall now. Her wall game was deadly in the previous version of the game because Handslaps didn't wall splat and you can really keep the pressure going. All that is gone now. The Blender is situational now because you can still catch people in the original scenario if they tech up before BKO 6P, but if they stay on the ground, BKO 6P won't FT... Moving on.

66P:
This move, and any string that ends with this move, is -9 now... This WAS her stable get in attack...

6P+KP:
6P+K has a punch follow up now. The last punch also Bounds opponents. (This is a new mechanic for DOA5U that ground bounces) You can combo off of it into 66KP(P).

236PKP:
Still a good juggle ender, but when used on a grounded opponent, it has this new ground roll animation that was added into DOA5U. You can combo into 66KP(P).

P+KP:
You can no longer delay this string... At least it still has amazing crush properties from what I can see.

BT 7P:
This move was made into a Critical Burst. She now has a Critical Burst in all her stances now. They are all mid punches.

214P+K:
New move. Kinda looks 236P+K, except it is a single hit that leads into BKO Stance. Sit Down Stun in middle of stun threshold, -10 on block...

66F+K:
New move. This move actually seems like it has potential. Goes into BKO Stance, uncounterable stun, and hold resistant. -16 on block...

F+K:
OMG,YOU CAN GO INTO BKO STANCE FROM THIS ATTACK BY HOLDING DOWN THE 2 DIRECTION! This is one of the things I suggested to Team Ninja a while back. Glad to see it in the game. It's also -1 on block when you go into BKO Stance from it. (Not bad) However, F+K by itself is only +2 now...

236P+K:
Another thing I suggested to Team Ninja was that this move should be at least +1 on block, annnnd the move is +1 on block now. I can really work this into my game now. (considering this is her only stance transition that is advantage on block)

New Stance Transitions:
Which brings me to my next subject. Helena gained a couple of Back-turned Stance transitions from some old moves. (6P4, 8PP4, 3PP4) The problem with this is that, on block, they range from -6 to -8.

CONCLUSION:
This is what I mainly found so far with her in DOA5U. The way Helena and the game plays, she might still be viable, but they really dumped all over her in this version. Most of the mixups are still there. (Except for The White Girl Blender) I think she still suffers from the same problems as before with her stance transitions still being high negative on block. She still is kinda slow compared to the other characters. Her wall game suffered a lot. All and all, she got nerfed.

One last thing, she has a taunt buff. HAHAHA

Pseudo Force Wake Ups

Pseudo
adjective [soo-doh]
1. not actually but having the appearance of; pretended; false or spurious; sham.


When Helena's old DOA4 force wake ups were taken out the game, Helena players had to start getting real creative in DOA5 when it came to coming up with tactics to get rid of your opponents wake up kick and forcing them to get up off the ground right away. Now this is something that I personally found towards the beginning stages of DOA5 and something I play around with, but I also see a couple other Helena players have discovered this as well when I see them using it online. So I'm going to explain this new piece of Helena technology that I personally feel that every Helena player should start adding to their arsenal.

Every juggle Helena has, on any weight class, can end with almost any string variation that ends in her Handslaps. The following three strings are the Handslap strings I'm talking about to use at the end of her juggles:

33p4p
BT 4ppp
BKO 6p4pp

This will leave you in BKO Stance. Once the Handslaps slam the opponent to the ground, you can force tech them with BKO 6P. Here's the twist though... BKO 6P does NOT force wake ups. The opponent can actually tech up before the BKO 6P hits them grounded. The thing is though, whether they get hit with BKO 6P or they tech themselves up, Helena is still pretty much in the same advantageous situation as if she force tech'd the opponent herself. Replacing her typical Bread and Butter combos with either one of those three strings only do a tiny bit less damage, but puts you in better Oki position. Problem in DOA games is that when you knock someone down, there is always that fear of wake up kicks. So most of the time, you can't pressure a grounded opponent. Using Handslap strings at the end of the juggles takes away the wake up kick and you can continue to pressure the opponent with your attacks. (as it should be in a fighting game)


33p4p:
This is gonna be your most common juggle ending string considering this is out of Helena's normal stance. Whenever you launch the opponent with a launcher that doesn't leave you in a stance, use 33p4p to end the juggle and then go into BKO 6P. You can also use this string in BKO Throw combos. (BKO Throw -> 4ppk -> 33p4p -> BKO 6P)

BT 4ppp:
You use this string from BT launchers or front-facing launchers that leave you BT.

BKO 6p4pp:
This is where things get real scummy. You use this string on the opponent when their back is against the wall. The difference with this particular string on the wall and the other two Handslap strings is that the other two will kinda push the opponent back when you force tech them or they tech up themselves. With BKO 6p4pp against a wall, it leave them RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU AGAINST THE WALL. Pretty much resetting the whole situation. So when you slam the opponent against the wall, (cause it grants you a free combo) combo right into BKO 6p4pp. Once they are up again, that is where the real mind games begin. You can do 2f+k, or something that slams them into the wall to do it all over again, or 6f+p to get a wall throw where they can't wake up kick, or you can do BKO Throw -> P -> BKO 6p4pp -> BKO 6P, etc. The possibilities are incredible. All these options put them back in the same F***** up situation against the wall.


CONCLUSION:
End your juggles with Handslap strings. It only does a little less damage than the combos you are using now and lets you keep up the pressure. After handslap juggle enders, use BKO 6P to either force their wake up or they tech themselves and the BKO 6P whiffs, but still puts you in a similar situation as if you hit them with BKO 6P. If the BKO 6P whiffs, I believe you are at a little less advantage, but still enough to pressure and mix up the opponent. Keep in mind that when they do tech up though, the opponent is not gonna be right in front of you. (they will be pushed back a little bit) So be sure to dash in a little or use ranged attacks. Take this to Training Mode, play around with it, find some post-tech setups that you are comfortable with, etc. You'll also start to notice that the juggles with 33p4p and BT 4ppp can kinda carry the opponent to the wall... Get the opponent to the wall...

SLAPS ALL DAY!

DOA5 Helena Patch Wish List

Dear Team Ninja, (PLEASE READ)

There was once a time where I felt that Helena was the perfect fighting game character. She embodied all of the tools to make her a serious and respectable character in DOA4. In DOA5, all that changed... The fighting system has changed in DOA5 to where we now have unholdable stuns, pretty good frame advantage on block, etc. As the game changed, Helena did not. DOA5 Helena plays a lot like DOA4 Helena. The best way I can describe her now is if DOA4 ever came out with a patch and they nerfed her by making her unsafe and taking away her force techs, this would be that character. The problem is that this isn't DOA4 and this is a new system. She plays EXACTLY like a DOA4 character. She has to be the only character in DOA5 that got worse since DOA4 while every other character got either a little better or a lot better.

I wanted my next blog post to be a breakdown of Helena's best moves, but I felt that this could not wait. People feel that Helena is "still good" because they aren't fighting her correctly. A lot of players aren't punishing her unsafe moves at all. She doesn't have safe ways going into her stances. She is one of the most unsafe characters in the game now for no reason. She lacks good unholdable stuns. One of her sitdown stuns, (6pp) is the second punch in the middle of a string. I also find her sitdown stuns to be easily Slow Escaped before any good followups can connect. This is a character that people feel is strong early on, but she will only get very weak later on down the road once people learn to properly fight her.

Now I'm not a big fan of nerfing the other characters. (Especially this early on in the game's life) Just straight up making the "good" characters worse can hurt the game in the long run. Instead, make the weaker characters better. Give them buffs to also make them good. In this post I decided to list a couple of changes that Helena should get in a future balance patch of DOA5:
-----------------------------------

PPK
This move should be +1 on block.

6P
Helena lacks any real good DOA5 unholdable stuns. What I suggest is give her back her Limbo Stun on Counter Hit for 6P, like how it was in DOA2. Keep people honest. This would be a really great addition for Helena and make her one step closer to feeling like a DOA5 character.

BT 4ppp
When this move is used in a juggle state, it should hard knockdown. (like Tina's 6f+k) That way, you can force tech the opponent with BKO 6p or BKO Sweep.

F+K
I feel you should be able to go into either BKO Stance or Back Turn Stance from this move. Do F+K and hold the DOWN button to go into BKO, and to go into BT, hold the BACK button after inputting F+K. Going into either stance after F+K should leave you at least +3 on block. Helena needs more safe and advantageous ways to go into her stances. This would be fair too because the move isn't really that fast and it's a high.

BKO K
This move, on CH and in middle of stun, should give her that unholdable stun where you lean backwards and fall to the ground. It's the same stun that Gen Fu's 4p+k on CH and in stun gives. Again, she needs more of these type of stuns to truly fit the DOA5 mold.

Handslaps
236p+k leaves her at neutral on block right now. I think she should be at +1 on block. She has strings that end with the handslaps that leave her at -4 on block. (BT 4ppp, 4p2p, 33p4p) They should be either neutral or -1 on block.

8K
Not even gonna say 8k should be real safe or advantage on block, but I don't think it should be -8 on block. I think -5 is pretty respectable. That way it can still be punished by only Grappler Characters.

66P
Why was this move made unsafe? Not even that it's unsafe, but it's REALLY unsafe. This move and any string that ends with this open palm should be -2 or -3 on block. This was her "Get in" move. I think it should also sitdown stun as well. It wouldn't be cheap because I'm pretty sure you won't get anything guaranteed on hit by the time you recover.

CONCLUSION:
Helena needs more safe ways to go into her stances and just overall more safe moves in general. She needs these unholdable DOA5 stuns that everyone else has. The BKO duck nerf makes sense to me. She needs to be an overall better character because, like I said earlier, she is gonna get much worse as the game matures. This Helena that we were delivered right now, is just a bad version of DOA4 Helena. She needs buffs.

My Top Ten Helena Moves to Victory

Victory
noun [vik-tuh-ree]

1.  a success or triumph over an enemy in battle or war.

 

  

You have to have the ammunition to use the weapon. You can have the perfect weapon, but what use is it to you with no clips? Don't be the one stuck on the battlefield awaiting your death like a scrub.

 

1.) BKO f+p - My favorite move with Helena. Known as The BKO Throw. 12 frame throw from BKO stance. The BnB combo after the throw is 4ppk,9k. If you want to go for a more Oki setup, you can use the two Untechable setups I mentioned in my last post. One thing about the BKO throw you should know is that you don't have to wait until you are fully in the stance to use it. You can press 2p+k to go into BKO, but instead of waiting until it gets in the stance, press f+p while Helena is going down to do the throw. It's like canceling out some activation frames so the throw can come out faster. Be warned though, if you are playing against a reckless opponent who is just hitting buttons, be careful using the throw because you will get popped and very unhappy. Lets face it, you can't use mind games on a mindless one. I will say this though, the 4p2p Uncounterable setup after the 1k(2),4k Untechable from BKO Throw is a great scrub buster and stuns on hit.

2.) pkk - Good interrupting string and good poke. The full string can actually go up to pkkk, but most of the time you are only going to want to use two kick follow ups after the punch. Blocked pkk is -10. pkkk is -11 on block. Both can be punished, but a lot of the times, people are skeptical to do anything after blocking pkk just for the fear of that last kick coming out. The second kick stuns on hit.

3.) 9k - Possibly her main launcher. Two mid kicks come out to launch you for the juggle. Though the second kick can actually be countered, it's very rare seeing that because it comes out too fast. It's also a Normal Hit (NH) launcher. That means that the opponent doesn't need to be in a stun or Counter Hit (CH) to launch them. Tactic I like to use with this move is to stun my opponent and go for a quick launch with 9k. People like to get their opponent into a deep stun first so when they decide to launch them, they get max height and max damage. But most people who have played me know I like to go for the quick and easy damage. Stable BnB from this launcher is pp2kp.

4.) 2f+k - Very good low attack that puts you in BKO stance. On hit, the move stuns. On block, it is low throw punishable. After you hit your opponent with this move, you can press UP on the pad and stand up. I like to loop this move by standing back up. So for example: 2f+k connects, opponent is stunned, you stand up, 2f+k again, and so on. It turns into quite the stun mix-up where you can also stay in BKO stance after using this move and BKO 6k to launch them for the juggle. It's not that fast of a move and it is blockable on reaction, but you will soon realize that you can hit people with 2f+k pretty often. Kind of a sneaky low attack.

5.) p+k - Every Helena player should be using this move. A mid punch that crushes High and most Mid attacks. This is one of the best moves in the game. Excellent panic attack. Launches on CH. Unsafe on block, but has a Punch followup at the end to catch opponents off guard at times. The move goes under mids, USE AND ABUSE IT!

6.) 33p - Good High Crush attack. Stuns on hit. After you hit them and stun them, you can sometimes get away with walking all the way around them to expose their back and get in some damage.

7.) 66p - It's actually quite sad that this is the only Safe Move on my list. I guess you can say that Helena doesn't rely on being safe too much, but relies on adapting to the opponent and taking risks so you can get some good mix-ups. But 66p is a safe mid attack and can also be used as a While Running attack. After blocked, you are left safe and is a good way to bait out p+k CH. On hit, it puts the opponent in a sit down stun.

8.) BKO 6p - A good fast mid poke. Stuns on CH and a good way to prolong stuns.

9.) 214 f+p - Her command throw that leaves the opponent back-turned and leaves Helena in BKO stance. Pretty good mix-ups come from this throw. BKO 4k, BKO 6pp, or BKO Throw are three of many good followups that can be used to punish your opponent.

10.) BKO 4k - One of the best sweeps in the game. (Coming second to Busa's safe sweep) Pretty fast and can remain in BKO stance by holding the down button after the command. Can be abusable at times seeing as it trip stuns the opponent into a mix-up of another sweep or something else. Can be low throw punished on block.

Honorable Mention: 66kpp - I love this attack string. The string is a Low to Low to Mid. The kick part of the string is a low attack. Good way of getting in on the opponent because it covers a lot of distance. You can hold the Down button after the 66k and put yourself in BKO stance. If you do the second part of the string, a lot of the time it gets countered, so be careful. The last punch in the string is actually chargeable. This string is also Helena's most damaging juggle ender, Helena just has to get a high enough launcher to do this juggle ender. 

Enter Helena - The Perfect Weapon

Weapon
noun [wep-uhn]
1.  any instrument or device for use in attack or defense in combat.


Tecmo has created what I think is the perfect fighting game character, and that character is Helena from DOA4. The proper pronunciation is actually "Elena," but I think most of us North American players are used to saying it with the "H." She is a French Opera Singer that uses the fighting style Pi Qua Quan.

In my opinion, I would have to say she is the best character in the game. Though it can be debated that Hyabusa and Gen Fu are better, Helena has too many powerful tools to be denied her top spot. Helena is one of the more difficult characters to play with due to her bigger move list and harder to maximize her full potential. One thing about Helena players is that you will never see two Helena players that play the same. Helena has a very versatile play style seeing as she has very strong offensive and defensive tools. She has 3 different fighting stances: Her default Forward Facing stance, Back Turned Stace (BT), and the always popular Bokuho Stance (BKO). I've seen quite a few games to where characters have multiple stances, but those stances would consist of useless technology. All of Helena's stances are VERY useful. 

The trick to maximizing her full potential is to use attacks and setups that leave her in either BKO or BT. This will open up even more moves from those stances to your disposal for more combos, setups, and devastating throw mix-ups. Helena's BKO Stance is by far one of the most powerful tools in the game. PERIOD. Two very dirty tactics come from BKO Stance. First, the BKO throw (BKO f+p). Not only do you have the option of a good juggle from this throw, you also have the option of doing Untechable setups that leads you to even more options. The best ways to perform these Untechables after the BKO throw is 1kk or 1k(2),4k
1kk leaves you standing after you tech the opponent up. From this move, you have an opportunity to do a really good Uncounterable attack by using 4p2p. From the 1kk Untechable after BKO throw, 4p2p cannot be countered or beaten out. I think you can counter the second punch in the string, but you rarely see it because you have to be strict with the timing. This is a great way to bait out a deep stun if they hit a button. Your opponents only option is to stand there and block. Even if they block 4p2p you are left at neutral on block.

The second Untechable setup I recommend is 1k(2),4k. This setup will leave you in BKO stance. From that point you can go into a variety of moves from BKO to keep them guessing. You can also just loop them and BKO throw again. Rinse, repeat. 

Now for that second dirty tactic from BKO stance.... BKO Duck! You perform this duck while in BKO stance by pressing Down repeatedly. What this does is duck under ALL high attacks and ALL mid attacks! I can't stress this enough how much you should be abusing the BKO duck. Such a good way to open up your opponent and scare them. You are only vulnerable to low attacks and low throws. USE THIS AT ALL COSTS! 


My top 10 Helena Moves:
1.) BKO Throw
2.) pkk
3.) 9k
4.) 2f+k
5.) p+k
6.) 33p
7.) 66p
8.) BKO 6p
9.) 214 f+p 
10.) BKO 4k


I will elaborate why I use these moves in my next blog.

So with that being said, your game plan with Helena is to scare your opponent with BKO throw, BKO duck, mix-ups, stuns, etc. BKO throw should be your main tool because that causes a great mix-up. Her mix-ups are low risk/high reward, so don't second guess yourself when using Helena. You just have to go with the flow. Keep reading future posts because I will def go deeper in the mind of a Helena player.