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Whether you want to control inanimate objects as an Enchantress, cast hand seals to cast Ninjutsu as Kunoichi, or become the master of winds as Swift Master, DNF Duel has a bit of something for everyone looking to hop into its blazingly fast and chaotic combat.
However, if you don't want to take the time to learn how to play a Puppeteer or Technical Rushdown Character and just want to press buttons and have fun, then maybe the well-equipped All-Rounder fighter, Troubleshooter, is who you're looking for to solve your problems. While Troubleshooter is a bit more complex to pick up than the game's other All-Rounder, Hitman, he's an absolute blast to get the hang of and experiment with in DNF Duel.
Troubleshooter Overview
As briefly covered in the opening of this guide, Troubleshooter is an excellent All-Rounder that can handle most of what's thrown at him. However, despite being able to apply pressure from just about anywhere on the stage, he can often struggle against opponents who specialize in a specific role, as they will be much stronger than he is since his playstyle doesn't focus on one aspect. Still, Troubleshooter's beastly neutral presence and Skills enable him to overcome obstacles with explosive force.
Troubleshooter's overall path to victory relies heavily on his ability to mix his opponent up and punish them for guessing wrong, whiffing an attack, or being overly aggressive and predictable. There are plenty of abilities at Troubleshooter's fingertips that make him unpredictable or a ranged threat, making it hard for his opposition to get in close. And, even if they do manage to close the gap, Troubleshooter is still remarkably capable of opening up and punishing you if you make one wrong mistake.
If you are still relatively new to DNF Duel or fighting games in general, we recommend giving the table below a read-over as it has many of the crucial inputs, commands, notations, and terminology found in the game. Troubleshooter has several actions with complex follow-ups, making it essential for you to know most of these commands before moving onward!
DNF Duel Notations
Troubleshooter Special Moves
While not nearly as explosive or devastating as his MP Special Moves, Troubleshooter's Special Moves (Skills) are still a decent bridge that gets you to his more flammable attacks. Like 99 percent of the cast, Troubleshooter can chain Skills into other Skills or Mana Skills depending on the situation and can only work in ascending order. This means that Skills cannot go into his lesser, standard A or B actions and can only go into itself or more powerful moves such as his Mana Skills or Awakening Skill.
Sword Bomb
Sword Bomb is Troubleshooters 5S and has him rig his greatsword with explosives before performing a lunging stab that ignites the bombs, causing them to explode. If Sword Bomb hits, the explosion will launch opponents, allowing Troubleshooter to follow up with other actions. However, the most common follow-up is Oppression. Additionally, if your opponent is caught in a blockstring, canceling Sword Bomb into G-Bomb enables combo potential and makes Troubleshooter safe.
Black Crescent
Black Crescent has Troubleshooter swing his greatsword in a half circle out in front of himself, which starts from the grounds and ends high above his head. Black Crescent is often canceled into G-Bomb to begin combos and is an excellent neutral tool to stuff jumping opponents. Especially at round start. This is also Troubleshooter's 2S and best Mana-less anti-air option.
G-Bomb
G-Bomb is arguably Troubleshooter's best Skill, which has him toss a grenade out in front of him, exploding whenever it touches the ground or his target. This acts as his 6S and j.S, with the j.S version having him lob a grenade from the air with a slight arc. Both versions hit OTG, making G-Bomb an excellent combo extender and one of your best options for dealing with opponents placed in a hard knockdown state.
Furthermore, G-Bomb can be used to detonate Oppression's rigged net prematurely. The G-Bomb can also be prematurely detonated with Troubleshooter's standard 2A and 5B actions and using another G-Bomb, Get On Fire or Oppression. The downside to this Skill is that the grenade will disappear from the field if Troubleshooter takes damage.
Swashbuckler's Refreshment
Swashbuckler's Refreshment is Troubleshooter's 4S and has him take a swig of booze from his flask. This Skill has Troubleshooter give himself roughly 100 White Damage, a 30 percent damage buff, and 10 Mana. The ability to grant himself White Damage allows him to use the DNF Duel's Conversion mechanic, which can extend combos.
Troubleshooter MP Special Moves
Troubleshooter's MP Special Moves (Mana Skills) are incredibly powerful and will be his go-to for punishing enemies who whiff attacks, guess the wrong mixup, or play overly aggressive. While every character has strong Mana Skills, Troubleshooter is in a whole other league, especially whenever he's in his Awakened State. Many of his Mana Skills hit OTG or launch his opponent, allowing him to follow up with brutal and explosive combos that can end the round just as quick as it started.
Before we get into his Mana Skills, it's crucial to cover what they are for those fresh to the game. Mana Skills are resource-driven actions in DNF Duel that require Mana to use. Every character must manage their Mana Gauge to avoid becoming 'Exhausted.' This happens whenever you use more Mana than you have readily available, making the Mana Recovery temporarily stop, disabling the use of Mana Skills for a short period. Not being able to perform Mana Skills is a massive detriment and can cost you the round, so learning how, when, and where to implement them is key to your success.
Igniting Slash
Igniting Slash is Troubleshooter's 5MS action that has him perform a devastating slash with his greatsword for 20 MP. Pressing 5MS during the first slashes animation will have him perform an additional slash that travels in the opposite direction for another 20 MP, which can then be followed up with a final slash with the same input for another 20 MP for excessive damage and combo potential.
While all three Igniting Slashes are powerful, the first one will place your opponent in a hard knockdown state, which is often followed up with Disastrous Quake. The other two slashes are primarily used to extend pressure or blockstrings. They are rarely used to extend combos, as chaining the first Igniting Slash into Disastrous Quake will always lead to a devastating combo.
Perfect Batting
Perfect Batting is Troubleshooter's invincible reversal that requires 70 MP to use. Troubleshooter rigs his greatsword in explosives and sporadically swings it around himself with violent slashes that cover a wide area of effect. Perfect Batting is an excellent anti-air and combo extender as it launches your target on contact.
When Handle Explosives is active (Troubleshooter's Awakening Effect), Perfect Batting will launch your target higher into the air, allowing for better combos and follow-ups, such as Disastrous Quake or Get On Fire.
Some of Troubleshooter's Mana Skills allow him to instantly begin Mana Regeneration by using Motion Inputs over the 'Standard' one. One of these Mana Skills is Perfect Batting, which uses the following inputs: 2MS or 623MS (⭢⭣⭨MS).
Get On Fire
Troubleshooter finally puts his sawed-off double-barrelled shotgun to use for 60 MP with Get On Fire, as he fires off two devasting shots at his opponent that barely miss the opposite end of the stage. For an additional 20 MP, Troubleshooter extends this action with a third, more explosive shot that causes his opponent to go into a hard knockdown state, allowing him to follow up with an OTG attack such as Oppression, Disastrous Quake, or G-Bomb.
If Troubleshooter's Awakening Effect, Handle Explosives, is active, the third shot will cause a wall bounce, allowing him to cancel into Disastrous Quake or G-Bomb to extend into a combo without having to hit them off the ground.
Some of Troubleshooter's Mana Skills allow him to instantly begin Mana Regeneration by using Motion Inputs over the 'Standard' one. One of these Mana Skills is Get On Fire, which uses the following inputs: 6MS or 236MS (⭣⭨⭢MS).
NOTE: You can extend this Mana Skill by pressing 6MS after the first two shots.
Oppression
Oppression has Troubleshooter fire off a round from his double-barrel shotgun at the ground before leaping backward and swiftly tossing out a net rigged with explosives. The explosives will explode on their own after a short period, or you can prematurely detonate them with Troubleshooter's standard 2A, either version of G-Bomb, or another Oppression. Oppression requires 50 MP and is often used as a mixup tactic on downed opponents, as they will have to guess whether you're going to throw, perform a standard hit, or toss out a net filled with explosives. Fun stuff!
Furthermore, the initial gunshot that opens Oppression will place your target in a hard knockdown state, having the explosives hit them OTG for a free combo. Additionally, when under the effects of Handle Explosives, the explosion will launch your opponent higher, allowing for more combo routes. You can also use Swashbuckler's Refreshment in tandem with Oppression, as you can use Conversion just as Troubleshooter begins to toss the net out, having him recover in mid-air allowing you to cancel into Disastrous Quake for a juggle.
Some of Troubleshooter's Mana Skills allow him to instantly begin Mana Regeneration by using Motion Inputs over the 'Standard' one. One of these Mana Skills is Oppression, which uses the following inputs: 4MS or 214MS (⭣⭩⭠MS).
Disastrous Quake
Disastrous Quake is Troubleshooter's j.MS action that requires 30 MP to use and has him perform a plunging slam with his greatsword that causes an explosion on impact. If Disastrous Quake connects with your target, it will launch them, making it an excellent tool for extending combos. Furthermore, Disastrous Quake hits OTG, making it one of his best and most-used Mana Skills on opponents placed in a hard knockdown state. Disastrous Quake is also an overhead attack, making it an excellent mixup tool as it can only be blocked when standing.
Troubleshooter Awakening Skill And Effect
Before we close the book on our Troubleshooter guide, it's time to go over his Awakening Skill and Effect, which may be the best in the game. If you're new to the game, Awakening Skills are the equivalence of Supers or Ultimates in other games. The Awakening Effects are passive buffs that can enhance specific skills or traits to give you a slight advantage at the end of the round. Or, in Troubleshooter's case, make you one of the strongest characters in the game. To gain access to Awakening Skills and Effects, your health must be reduced to at least 30 percent.
Incredible is Troubleshooter's Awakening Skill that has him swiftly toss out a mine and detonate it, which transitions into a flashy, firey, and explosive cinematic. However, be warned that the AoE of this Awakening Skill is incredibly small, limiting its use to mid-combo strings. The good news is that it hits OTG, making it an excellent combo ender.
Handle Explosives is Troubleshooter's Awakening Effect and arguably the best one in DNF Duel. Some characters gain faster Mana Regeneration, some deal more chip damage on blocking opponents, and then there's Troubleshooter, who has most of his Mana Skills buffed beyond belief. You can find everything it does below.
- Get On Fire's additional shot will now cause a wall bounce, placing your target in a hard knockdown state, allowing Troubleshooter to follow up with OTG attacks.
- Opponents hit by Oppression will now be launched even higher than before, enabling Troubleshooter to follow up with more attacks, opening the door for more combos.
- The third hit from Igniting Slash will also launch your target higher than before, enabling more combo potential.
- You guessed it, Perfect Batting also launches your opponent higher, which activates more combo routes and opportunities.
As you can see, Troubleshooter's Awakening Effect is bonkers and turns him into a powerhouse in the late round.