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Anyone looking to get into this uniquely engaging franchise might be overwhelmed with the amount of fighters. There are those who are brand new to the series, while others have stuck around for years, and as one would imagine, some of them are much stronger and better than others.
10 Best: Ayane
Ayane has been around pretty much since the conception of the franchise. Along with DoA sweetheart Kasumi, she’s one of the main faces of the franchise, a powerful ninja and a peerless fighter. Although not the friendliest of characters, Ayane is a force not to be messed with.
She isn’t the most beginner-friendly character in the bunch. However, anyone familiar with Kasumi’s play style will have already taken the first step into mastering her. She has some of the best speed in the game, and while she can’t use a teleportation ability like the other ninjas of DoA, she has a powerful backwards fighting stance which makes her deadly even when not facing her enemies.
9 Worst: Tina
Tina is one of the few American characters in the game, as often obvious from her outfits that sport the American flag. Daughter of a famous wrestler, she’s much like her father Bass when it comes to her strong, extroverted personality.
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Unfortunately, Tina has some of the slowest movement in the game. Speed being a crucial aspect of fighting games in general, she can often find herself at a disadvantage, even if she’s able to dish out a ton of damage with her superior strength.
8 Best: Christie
Professional assassin and femme fatale, Christie is the most mature and cold-hearted of all the characters in DoA. She’s most known for her suggestive costumes and extremely selfish personality,as she enjoys making those around her suffer.
Christie is an excellent hybrid character when looking for a combination of damage and speed. Her she quan fighting style allows her to poke at the enemy from a distance and stun them fairly easily, which can make setting up combos on her extremely efficient.
7 Worst: Marie Rose
One of the shortest and youngest characters in the series, Marie Rose is the servant of Helena Douglas. She has no clear fighting background, but has made her mark as the overly cheerful and somewhat childish young fighter with a signature gothic Lolita style.
Marie Rose is one of the more predictable characters in the bunch. Her basic attacks are easy enough to dodge, and she mostly shines when she’s able to pull off long combos or a hold on the enemy. Otherwise, her lackluster damage makes her a bit frustrating to play.
6 Best: Bankotsubo
While we haven’t seen Bankotsubo since the fourth installment in the series due to his defeat, he’s well worth the mention due to his incredibly unique and powerful fighting style. He’s essentially a demon of sorts, and at 1500 years of age is the oldest character in the series.
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Although Bankotsubo saw his powers significantly reduced in DoA 4, in the second installment of the game he was an absolute powerhouse. His hovering abilities were often unpredictable and able to dish out a ton of damage, which would make him an annoying opponent to deal with.
5 Worst: Jacky
Fighting games are well-known for their mash-ups and guest appearances, and DoA is no different in that regard. Jacky Bryant from Virtua Fighter is one of such heroes, and first makes his entrance in DoA 5 Ultimate.
That being said, Jacky’s a lackluster character. Unlike most characters, he doesn’t have a good knockback attack at his disposal. In general, his speed isn’t the greatest either, and he’s actually vulnerable against one of the worst characters in the series, Tina, which consequently makes him even weaker.
4 Best: Raidou
One of the most iconic and evil characters of the series, Raidou is a ninja of the Mugen Tenshin clan. He was resurrected for DoA 6 by Donovan, and turned into a powerful cyborg ninja fighter.
Raidou being the main boss and a primary antagonist of the series, his power is to be expected. He’s able to copy some of the best moves from other fighters, as well as turn himself momentarily invisible in the latest DoA game. He’s hard to master due to being somewhat slow, but he’s absolutely deadly in the right hands.
3 Worst: Akira
Along with Jacky Bryant, Akira is another guest star from Virtua Fighter. His ties to DoA exist mainly through Kokoro, whom he fights in order to see which of them performs better in the art of baji quan.
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According to many fans, Akira is one of the most mechanically demanding characters in the series. Due to being so different from the rest of the cast, he can feel incredibly awkward when used even by seasoned DoA players. His basic single strike attacks are notoriously weak compared to other heroes.
2 Best: Hayabusa
Hayabusa is both loved and hated by the community due to his incredible power. Originally from Ninja Gaiden, he’s been a staple in the DoA series for a long time. and is without a doubt the most accomplished fighter among all characters.
Hayabusa is considered to this day the most over-powered character in the series. He’s especially notorious for his Lighting Drop combo move, which many see as the most devastating one in DoA. Despite his nerfs, Hayabusa is an extremely strong character, and although he can be difficult to learn due to his speed, he objectively continues to be top tier.
1 Worst: Bass
Also known as Mr. Strong, Bass is the primary wrestler character of the series. He’s a highly self-confident retired pro wrestler and the father of Tina, whom he stills protects dearly from danger.
Bass’ main weakness is his specialization. Strength is where he excels, and he’s excellent at grappling, but this often makes him vulnerable and easy to counter when against faster opponents with better stuns and recovery.
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