Fighting Styles

STREET FIGHTING | KICKBOXING | WRESTLING | SUBMISSION | MARTIAL ARTS

Def Jam FIGHT for NY has five different fighting styles, and while each may not be wildly different from the others, they do have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages, as well as their own strategies for fighting. Because of these differences, some fighting styles are definitively better than others, though it's up to you to decide for yourself.

Here are some simple strategies for each of the five fighting styles, along with points on their strengths and weaknesses. We've also ranked the five different styles based on overall effectiveness and strength in the fighting arena. Starting off with the style we think is the best, we present...

#1 - STREET FIGHTING

Except for martial artists, street fighters have the only KO power that does not require a close-in grapple. This allows a bit more flexibility in working to get that KO, though the haymaker punch isn't only useful for finishing off weakened opponents.

The haymaker punch (excecuted by holding the power modifier and hitting punch) has exceptionally long range, though it's pretty slow to come out. When you connect with the punch, you'll send opponents into stun and they'll stumble backwards. If they get caught in the crowd or slump against a wall, you'll be able to follow up with another powerful haymaker or a grapple of your choice.

The best uses for the punch are when your opponent is just getting up from a fall. Since opponents very often get up and attack at the same time, you can back up out range of their wake-up attack and fire a haymaker punch, timed perfectly to land the moment they're standing. Similarly, the haymaker can be used to punish any missed attack, as long as you time it right. If you suspect an opponent is stepping in for a grab, step back and initiate the haymaker. As their arms whiff the grapple, you'll reward their effort with a fist to the face.

• SPECIAL KO
  Street fighters get KOs very simply: they use a super powerful punch. To execute the attack, hold the power modifier and press punch. If you nail an opponent who's in the red with one of these haymaker punches, they'll instantly KO.

#2 - KICKBOXING

What makes kickboxers so dangerous is their unique ability beat an opponent into the danger zone and get a KO with just one attack! Every other style of fighting requires that you hit your opponent with an attack that knocks them into the red danger zone, and then, before his health refills, hit him with another attack to achieve the knockout.

The move that gives kickboxers this distinct advantage is their KO attack, a power grapple that requires a series of knees to the face, followed by a powerful kick at the end. That powerful kick at the end is the only hit in the power grapple combo with the capability of causing a KO, as the preceding knee strikes only wear down the opponent's health. If you grapple an opponent who's health bar is green, you can use those first knee strikes to whittle their health into the red danger zone. As long as they're in that danger zone before your character executes the final kick, the powerful foot-to-face strike at the end of the grapple attack will KO them without ever ending the initial grapple.

The concept is a bit difficult to grasp, though once you see it in action it will make more sense. Essentially, this gives a kickboxer the ability to KO an opponent with one less necessary attack (though the advantage is bigger than that may sound). Furthermore, this power grapple with knee strikes can be used in other dangerous ways, wreaking even more havoc.

Certain style combinations (such as kickboxing + submission, kickboxing + street fighting, etc.) give kickboxers even more advantages. When you execute their power grapple (power modifier and grapple, then kick), you can execute a series of knee strikes which, at any time, can be interrupted with another grapple that the opponent cannot counter. With skills in submissions, a kickboxer can start the power grapple with knees, and then hit punch to stop the knee strikes and instead take the opponent to the ground for a submission hold. Kickboxers will skills in street fighting can start with knee strikes and interrupt the power grapple (again, by pressing punch) with a devastating punch attack (which also has KO power). You can also interrupt a power grapple with a toss, shoving opponents into environmental hazards after giving them a few knees to the dome, or even with a blaze attack if you activated your blaze before starting the power grapple.

Unfortunately, kickboxers aren't quite as versatile as street fighters (though they are arguably more dangerous). Because their KO capacity lies within a grapple, you're forced to get in close and have to hope that your opponent doesn't reverse your grapple attempt.

• SPECIAL KO
  Kickboxers get KOs through their own brand of power grapples. Hold the power modifier and press the grapple button to initiate the attack. Then, attack with varying knee strikes by pressing the kick button and any direction on the left thumbstick. It takes about six or seven knee strikes to initiate the final attack which is strong enough to KO your opponent—to get to that last attack, your opponent must already be relatively low on health (1/3rd of a life bar or less).
  
  If you try the move before the opponent is low on health, you'll only get in a few knee strikes before your opponent shrugs you off. What's good about the move, however, is that the opponent doesn't have to be in the danger zone when you start it. As long as one of the first six knee strikes puts your opponent into the red, the final devastating attack will count as a KO.

#3 - WRESTLING

Wrestlers have just about the most straight-forward approach to getting KOs, but that doesn't make it less effective. The special KO is achieved through power grapples, though these power grapples are useful beyond just scoring KOs.

To perform a wrestler's power grapple, hold the power and press the grapple button. From the grapple position, press either punch or kick and and direction on the left thumbstick. Power grapples cause massive amounts of damage and even have the potential to cause dizzies on your opponents, making it super easy to chain together grapple attacks that your opponent cannot counter.

A good tactic is to wear down your opponent with short punches and power grapples and, when they're dizzy, pick them up and toss them into a wall or into the crowd. After they've smashed into the wall, they'll be stunned again, letting you run up for a third grapple attack.

Like kickboxers, though, a wrestler's signature KO move isn't as versatile as a street fighter's, which can make you predictable. Either mix in some street fighting with your characters, or be sure to frequently use the environment to your advantage. The biggest problem a wrestler can face is becoming predictable.

• SPECIAL KO
  Wrestlers can get KOs by using power grapple moves. Hold the power modifier and press the grapple button to initiate the power grapple. From there, press either punch or kick to execute a power grapple that will KO opponents in the red.

#4 - SUBMISSION

Submission artists have the unique ability to force opponents to quit the fight well before their health bar is in the danger zone. Their unique way of ending the fight has some major advantages, though it also has disadvantages.

The way submission holds work is that they damage the health bar of the individual body part you target (there are three areas to target: head, arm, and leg). These body part health bars operate completely separately from the opponent's main health bar, and can wear out well before the main health bar reaches zero. When just one of these body part health bars is empty, the opponent is forced to submit, giving you the win.

Both advantages and disadvantages lie within the fact that the health bars of the body parts are separate from the main health bar. The main advantage is that, unlike the main health bar, these body part health bars do not regenerate. Because of this, submission artists benefit from forcing a fight to last a very long time—your health main health will regenerate, but your opponent's weakened limbs will not regain their vitality.

The disadvantage is that no matter how low your opponent's main health bar is, you won't be able to use your character's special KO ability unless one of their body part health bars is low. Using regular punches, kicks, grapples, and environmental attacks does not damage your opponent's body part health bars—if you want to win the match by forcing your opponent to submit, you'll have to successfully execute a number of submission holds on the same body part.

This makes fights with a submission artist a two-dimensional event. If you play your game right, you could force your opponent into a situation where they face a loss due to a regular KO or to a submission hold.

• SPECIAL KO
  Submission artists have a very unique method of winning fights. Instead of waiting for an opponent to get into the red to deal a knockout blow, submission artists can win fights by forcing their opponents to give up by completely damaging either their arms, legs, or head. Regular punches and grabs won't help you in forcing a submission, though—you have to rely on specific grappling techniques to achieve their unique win strategy.
  
  Hold the power modifier while pressing the grapple button and hit either punch or kick and any direction on the left thumbstick to execute one of many submission holds. The hold will deplete a certain amount of health from the specific limb that you attack, and each limb has its own health bar. For an opponent to submit, you must deplete an entire limb health bar.
  
  Each limb health bar is completely independent from the other, and they'll deplete at varying speeds. Certain opponents have arms that are weaker than their legs, or heads that are weaker than both. Find which of your opponent's limbs is the weakest, and focus on that for the quickest win.
  
  One thing that makes submission holds so powerful is that, unlike the normal health bar, the health bar of each limb doesn't rebuild itself, letting you take your time with forcing the submission.

#5 - MARTIAL ARTS

Martial artists have—by far—the most useless KO technique in the game, which is why they rank a distant last in the hierarchy of fighting styles. This lack of a useful special KO technique sends negative ripples throughout a martial artist's fighting strategy, severely damaging their overall effectiveness.

Because their flying reflex KO attack is so worthless, martial artists do not have a reliable source of heavy damage at any point in the fight. Whereas the other fighting styles can use their special KO techniques to cause tons of damage before the opponent is even in the danger zone, martial artists have only the environment—they don't have a powerful punch or kick attack, and they don't have any heavily damaging grappling attacks. This makes martial artists incredibly impotent throughout the entire fight, a fact that's made worse when going for KOs.

• SPECIAL KO
  Scoring KOs with a martial artist's unique move is one of the hardest techniques in the game, which is why martial arts is the worst fighting style in the game. To execute their unique move, press the run button and rush towards a wall or environmental object. When you're near the object, press either punch or kick and your character will fly off the wall, coming at your opponent with a powerful attack. If this attack lands on an opponent who is in the danger zone, they will instantly KO.
  
  Unfortunately, it is insanely difficult to pull of this move in an actual match, since the attack doesn't have very good range. Also, running depletes your momentum meter (the meter under your health), which means that you only have two or three shots at executing the move before you have to regain your stamina.

On to Arenas...