DNF Duel is a fast-paced, adrenaline-inducing, 2D Anime Fighter that will constantly have you on the edge of your seat as you try and launch into flashy combos or counter your enemy's. There's lots to love here, and most of that's thanks to the game's unwavering focus on being a purely fun fighter.
The Awakening system, for example, is primarily known for giving your character their Special Move, but you will also gain a new Passive Skill that is often overlooked. While some characters clearly have better Awakening Effects than others, all are beneficial and can offer you the slight edge you need to turn the tables and win the round.
Awakening Effect Overview
Awakening Effects are Passive Skills that activate whenever a character enters their Awakened state, which automatically happens whenever their health gets dropped down to at least thirty percent remaining. Every character's Awakening Effect centers around their strengths, allowing them to use it in tandem with their overall gameplay strategy, essentially making it a comeback mechanic as it makes them stronger and more efficient at what they do best.
However, not every character will have an Awakening Effect that will suddenly turn the tide in their favor, as some hardly make a difference outside specific scenarios. Still, some are incredibly strong and should be watched out for at all costs, as the opponent can completely dominate you when you think you have them down for the count.
Berserker Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Thirst
When under his Awakening Effect, Thirst, Berserker will convert twenty percent of all damage dealt into health, acting as a lifesteal mechanic. For many reasons, this is one of the strongest and most useful Awakening Effects in the game, as Berserker can land a decent combo and gain back a large chunk of his health, forcing his opponent to act fast or pay the consequences.
Crusader Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Merciful Strength
Merciful Strength is Crusader's Awakening Effect, which turns him from an unstoppable tank into an even more unstoppable tank. Crusader will take ten percent less damage from attacks, receive ten percent less chip damage, and will also recover his White Health three hundred percent faster. It's hard enough for most characters to get in and whittle this man down to thirty percent health, let alone finish him off when your attacks suddenly do ten percent less damage. This Awakening Skill, like Berserkers, is an excellent one to have.
Dragon Knight Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Dragon Force
Dragon Knight's Awakening Effect, Dragon Force, may seem weak on paper, but it's actually surprisingly potent and effective in action. Dragon Force will have her Mana Recovery Rate double both passively and when landing hits, allowing her to gain MP back at a much greater pace than her opponent. This is particularly useful in Dragon Knight's case as she has her adorable dragon, Astra, at her side, which consumes tons of Mana when used for Mana Skills. Having her MP regenerate at double its rate means she can use Astra much more frequently than before, giving her a slight advantage in combat.
Enchantress Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Favoritism
Time for our first "meh" Awakening Effect, which unfortunately targets the puppet character, Enchantress. Favoritism is her Awakening Effect, which has her Mana Skill "Showtime!" consume two-thirds less Mana. While this isn't a horrible Awakening Effect, it just isn't practical as it only works if you use her Showtime! ability. Granted, you will use this Mana Skill frequently, but not nearly enough to warrant this being considered a stand-out Awakening Effect.
Ghostblade Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Phantasmal Binity
Cranking things back up to eleven is Ghostblade and his Awakening Effect, Phantasmal Binity, which is a blanket damage boost that increases his damage output by a staggering ten percent. Ghostblade does plenty of damage without his Awakening Effect, making him even more of a formidable force to deal with whenever he has it activated. There's not much to say other than this is an excellent Passive Ability to suddenly get when you're almost dead, allowing Ghostblade to turn the tides quickly in his favor.
Grappler Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Iron Physique
Grappler is another character who gets the short end of the stick in terms of his Awakening Effect as Iron Physique grants him an insane eighty percent reduction in White Health Damage received. While receiving less chip damage is undoubtedly a good thing, this being assigned to Grappler is rather strange and doesn't fit his playstyle all that much. This might be an excellent Awakening Effect on any other character, but the Grappler deserves better.
Hitman Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Battle Command
Moving on from one of the worst Awakening Effects in the game, we have Battle Command, which is Hitman's Awakening Effect and arguably one of the best ones in the game. Battle Command allows Hitman to cancel any Mana Skill into Shattering Strike, which has him summon several ghosts around him that perform several devastating slashes, allowing him to follow up with a wide range of options. Not only does this increase your damage dealt, but it also grants Hitman a whole new move that he can effortlessly confirm off his others, making for lots of potential and crazy combinations.
Inquisitor Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Coldhearted Inquisitor
Depending on how you play DNF Duel will determine if Coldhearted Inquisitor is a good Awakening Effect for Inquisitor or not, as it allows her to instantly begin recovering her MP after performing one of her Mana Skills. This will be pretty substantial if you play without using the motion inputs for Mana Skills. However, if you are already taking advantage of the faster Mana Regeneration by using motion inputs, this won't benefit you much at all.
Kunoichi Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Nin Boost
Nin Boost is an excellent Awakening Effect, allowing Kunoichi to summon her Nin-Bound Mana Skills ten frames faster and for five MP less, allowing her to apply even more pressure on her opponents than ever before. A genuinely terrifying thing if you're on the receiving end. For those unaware, you can hold the input down for every one of Kunoichi's Mana Skills to supercharge them into a "Nin-Bound" version. While these versions are always more potent than their uncharged counterpart, they take much longer to cast. This Awakening Effect overcomes that hurdle.
Launcher Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Overheat
While not the most exciting Awakening Effect in the game, Launcher's "Overheat" allows her to inflict double the White Health Damage (chip damage) to blocking opponents. Overheat isn't an exceptional Passive Effect but isn't the worst. It's serviceable and goes hand in hand with her zoner archetype, allowing her to chip away at her opponent's health from a safe distance as they try to block their way into range.
Lost Warrior Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Logic of the Dimensions
Lost Warrior has tremendous potential if you can find ways to mix his gimmicks up, and using his Awakening Effect "Logic of the Dimensions" to your advantage is an excellent place to start. Logic of the Dimensions has Lost Warrior briefly stop time anytime he gets a stack of Engraved Time, which he gets by successfully landing a Mana Skill on his opponent. Furthermore, his Time Stop mechanic, which completely freezes after stacking five stacks of Engraved Time, is extended. This allows him to land an extra uncontested hit or two, making this Awakening Effect a pretty good one.
Ranger Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Sudden Death
Sudden Death is another exceptionally good Awakening Effect that makes most others seem weak in comparison, making Ranger one of the biggest threats in the game whenever he enters his Awakened state. Any hit Ranger lands on his opponent will inflict them with the Revenge debuff for seconds. This decreases all incoming damage to Ranger by twenty-five percent and buffs his overall damage output by thirty-three percent. Furthermore, if that wasn't enough, enemies with the Revenge debuff will also have their MP regenerate thirty-three percent slower, making Sudden Death easily one of the best Awakening Effects in the game.
Striker Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Power Fist
Striker's Awakening Effect is almost identical to Ghostblades, except her's is slightly more powerful. Power Fist grants a ten percent blanket increase to her damage, but it also increases her minimum damage on all attacks by double. This makes it so all her attacks deal two times the damage, which isn't even including the ten percent bonus. Power Fist is an incredibly potent Awakening Effect and should be respected if you're facing her.
Swift Master Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Wind Master
If you thought Swift Master was already annoying and overly powerful without his Awakening Effect, wait until you learn that his Movement Speed increases by fifty percent with Swift Master. This includes his walking, dashing, and backdashing. The distance of his backdash is also increased, making it difficult for you to punish or counter his advances. This Awakening Effect essentially allows Swift Master to outpace his opponent for the duration of the round, giving him a much more significant advantage than he already had.
Troubleshooter Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Handle Explosives
There are only a tiny number of Awakening Effects in the game that are a contender for the best, and Troubleshooter's "Handle Explosives" is undoubtedly one of them. Handle Explosives enhances many of Troubleshooter's Mana Skills, allowing him to extend combos off practically anything or deal significantly more damage. Here's everything Handle Explosives impacts:
- Get On Fire: This Mana Skill now wallbounces your target and places them in a hard knockdown state, allowing you to follow up with an OTG attack to extend combos.
- Oppression: The explosion from the grenade net will launch opponents significantly higher into the air, allowing for excellent combo potential.
- Ignite Slash (Third Hit): The third hit of Ignite Slash will launch your opponent significantly higher than before, allowing for greater combo potential.
- Perfect Batting: Also launches your opponent higher but allows you to apply more pressure on wake-up than before.
Vanguard Awakening Effect
Awakening Effect: Demonic Lance Mastery
Finally, closing out the cast is Vanguard and his Awakening Effect, "Demonic Lance Mastery." This allows him to apply fifty percent more Guard Damage to blocking enemies, allowing him to potentially Guard Crush them for a free combo/attack string. While Guard Crushing is rare in most cases, Vanguard can apply tons of pressure even without this Awakening Effect, making Demonic Lance Mastery an excellent pairing for him.