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Get your Dissidia NT win streak going with these 7 tips
Dissidia NT is a new kind of fighter which requires a new kind of strategy. Once you’ve got the basics down, these tips will get you off on the right foot.
It'll only take newcomers a few seconds to realise that Dissidia NT is wholly different to most fighting games. There's a lot to learn and, as comprehensive as its tutorial is, there's still vital information you need to know if you're going to kickstart your very own win streak.
Learning the attacks and quirks of each character is a large part of any fighter's learning curve, and the best way to get to grips with that is by playing the game. Below, however, are some lessons that every player needs to learn. Get a quick leg up over the competition here and go in with a game plan.
Tidus vs Firion usually goes very differently
© Square Enix
1. Lock on, lock on, lock on
Yes, this has been covered in the game’s tutorial, but its importance cannot be stressed enough, so much so that it warrants reiterating here.
The first universal mechanic that you need to master, aside from basic movement, is the lock on. Switching to the target you want with a single (or double) button press has to become instinctive. If you panic and end up cycling through your enemy team to get the correct target, you're at a major disadvantage.
There are different options you can choose from, but by default, pushing both triggers will always target the nearest enemy. That's your one and only panic option. Holding a single trigger will target the summon core, whereas a single press of the left or right trigger will cycle to the enemy, respectively, to the left or right of your current target. Recognising when you've been locked on to is also incredibly important, the blue lines coming from your head indicate how many fighters are targeting you and their direction. If one of the lines turns red it means there's an attack coming your way, although it doesn't necessarily mean that it's an attack that will hit.
2. Grab the higher ground
The greatest enemy in many games is the camera and Dissidia NT is no different. Fortunately, you're all dealing with the same problem. When targeting someone on the same level as yourself the camera is still pointing at a downward angle, which means trying to look at someone above you is a nightmare. Use this to your advantage and come in for surprise attacks from above. The fact that many characters have near-instantaneous drop attacks which increase in damage depending on the initial height helps facilitate this air-to-ground tactic. Dropping to the ground is also a sound way to dodge attacks with poor vertical tracking.
You see those allies? Use them
© Square Enix
3. There's no I in team
This isn’t a one-on-one fighting game, so don't play it like one. This is a team game.
This may sound like an obvious statement, but it's quickly forgotten. As fun and intense as a Cloud vs Squall duel is, you're not going to win the match if you ignore Squall’s team-mates who will happily take every opportunity to hit you and your team-mates in the back. Hard.
The same holds true for your allies. They'll be expecting you to watch their backs. You need to be ready to jump in and save them from any heavy hits just like they'll be doing for you (hopefully). A character is never more vulnerable than when they’re attacking, and it’s important to bear that in mind and wait for moments to capitalise on and punish your opponents.
You have a radar for a reason. The moment you know an attack is going to land, or you've been hit, check it. You need to know where the five other players are at all times. If you see someone on the radar dashing towards you from behind, quickly switch targets and ambush them with a HP attack when they get in range.
4. Who am I?
The game's characters are split into four classes: Marksman, Vanguard, Assassin and Specialist. This is a rock-paper-scissors system with the specialist acting as a wild card. This means you can tell before the match starts both who your main target is and who’ll be gunning for your head. If you are playing as a nimble Assassin: Noctis, Zidane, Tidus etc, the best target for you is the long range Marksman. Whereas a Vanguard, who will be easy prey to a Marksman, excels at keeping the Assassins at bay.
Don't force the rest of your team to fight someone who they match up badly against just because you've got tunnel vision. If you see your marksman is getting hounded, back them up. Picking the best match-up and knowing when to switch off for a good hit on another enemy is the difference between winning and losing.
While saying all that, don't adhere to the triangle too rigidly. You need to keep changing targets, and get the hits wherever and whenever you can.
Never give a Marksman space
© Square Enix
5. Combo breaker
Also on-screen at all times is your team-mates' (and enemies') bravery. Anyone with a high amount of bravery, say over 3k, will be looking for a HP hit and everyone knows it. You need to adapt to the change in a battle’s pace. The enemy will have recognised the threat and will be moving to help their ally. You don't have a lot of options at this point, but here are some things you can do.
Run interference. If you're confident your 3k bravery team-mate can land a HP hit quickly on his own, do everything you can to keep others off of his back. A great tip for this is to try and get a hit on the incoming backup with your own HP attack. Even if your bravery is low, HP attacks have great knock back and take the victim out of the game for five whole seconds. The lower your bravery the less likely the enemy will expect it.
Gank dive or feint is usually a tactic reserved for when someone needs to die ASAP. But as we covered in the lock on section, you know when more people are targeting you, so suddenly having two red lines appear from off-screen is guaranteed to get a reaction from even the most cool-headed player. Panic dodging an attack that may never have even hit can put someone out of position and an easy target for the real damage.
Set-up. Bravery attacks are much easier to land than a HP attack. Setting up solo for a HP attack usually requires a wall rush (hitting an enemy into a wall, stunning them) but unfortunately you don't always have a wall to hand. Fortunately, you do have team-mates. An enemy caught in a bravery combo is the perfect target for a HP interrupt. If you're trying to set up an ally, don't finish your bravery combo as they all tend to finish with a knock back.
Bait. An incredibly risky tactic, but getting stuck in an enemy combo or hit isn't always a bad thing. You don't have to be the one dealing the damage to set up someone for a HP attack. A smart player will recognise when a situation is not safe to commit to an attack, but sometimes it's hard to keep track of everyone.
While father-and-son, Jecht plays nothing like Tidus
© Square Enix
6. An ability for every situation
While each character has their own unique EX ability, you do get to choose two other special abilities. Some are undeniably more useful than others (don't use poisonaga, trust me) so finding abilities that complement your play style, and actually using them, is a game changer.
You've got team HP or bravery regeneration, vacuums, bravery share, mighty strikes, debuffs and more. These are things you want on every team line-up, but you only get two each. I'll get you started with one pick that will win you more than one game. If you pick a marksman, you need to have teleport. You're an easy, slow target and guaranteed to get rushed once separated from your team. Teleport is your get-out-of-jail card.
Two Marksman and an assassin. Good luck with that
© Square Enix
7. Hold the line
When you start matches, the first move can set the rest of the game's pacing. Don’t charge into the enemy team. Poke and prod, test them with ranged attacks, try and move around and flank them from the side but make sure you don't overextend or get cut off. Keep close to your team-mates, protect your ranged fighter and look for a gap to rush through and apply some pressure to their Marksman. A Marksman left alone can interrupt all of your attacks and get a killing blow the moment you're vulnerable. Assassins who generally specialise in this area need to keep the heat on them.
Here are a few small pointers that can also help make a difference. First: always join your team-mates when summoning. All three members of your team summoning at the same time cuts out the long charge time and makes it instantaneous.
Try new characters. They all play differently to one another and each have their own little something that makes them unique, be it a frame-perfect cancel mechanic or levelling up attacks in battle.
Location, location, location. The last place you want to be is with your back to the wall. You're begging to get wall rushed and killed. If you're not smacking some poor soul into the boundaries, your favourite position should be the centre of the map.
Don't get too far from your team. If you get in a bad spot, there's no way they'll be able to come to your aid if you've charged straight at the enemy. Help them help you.
When you hit someone with a HP attack, they’ll be stunned, knocked back and granted invulnerability for five seconds. Switch off and target someone else; for the next five seconds it's a 3-on-2, so make it count. And most importantly, have fun.
