After a couple of betas and several months of anticipation, DNF Duel is finally fully released, allowing us to check out the new characterꦕs and changes that have been added since then. A lot is going on at any given moment in this game, making each encounter exhilarating and unique.
There's nothing quite like the thrilling moment-to-moment action of DNF Duel. Due to the game's intense focus on making every character feel overpowered, everything feels significant. One wrong move, whiffing an attack, reading the situation poorly, etc., will most likely lead to you getting obliterated by a ten to twenty-hit combo, which is why every encounter and character needs to be met with respect.
Updated July 2, 2022, by Seth Parmer: With the full game officially released, we decided to revisit this list to include the full roster of DNF Duel. Lots changed since the last beta, and many characters were added, causing several characters to move up or down in the rankings. Did your favorite crack the top ten?
16 Grappler
Grappler would be an all-star fighter and likely classified as "overpowered" by those met with his wrath if this were any other fighting game. Unfortunately, this is DNF Duel, where every character in the game feels broken to some degree, making it challenging for the Grappler to do what he does best and🅘 to its full potential.
Closing the gap on your opponent is a tough ask in DNF Duel, and the Grappler thrives when getting up close and personal with his opponent. While dodging through projectiles or attacks is an option, having to do that just for a chance of banging out a quick combo can be exhausting, especially since your opposition won't allow you to bully your way in without putting up a fight.
15 Striker
When Striker lands one hit on you, you may as well put your pad or stick down and get a sip of water, maybe go for a walk, because the next minute will be one continuous combo string that seemingly never ends. Now, you may be wondering why she's so low on this list if this is the case, and the answer is -much like in Grappler's case- she has to constantly be in her opponent's face to get anything going.
Striker is an enjoyable character to play and can be imposing against people who have yet to form a solid strategy around her playstyle. However, she falls short in many ways, making her pressure seem disjointed against anyone with even a little range. Most fighters have ranged options, even outside of zoners, so things will quickly become an uphill battle when you lack anything to answer back with, like in Striker and Grappler's case.
14 🔥 Lost Warrior 🌼
Lost Warrior is the only unlockable c🧔haracter in the game, and the effort it takes to obtain him is well worth it as he is also an incredibly competent and strong fighter. He packs a punch with his abilities, dealing excessive amounts of damage with each Special Attack, and can even freeze his opponent in place for a prolonged period of time if he successfully applies enough stacks of his debuff on his opponent. So, what's keeping him out of the top five?
Well, as with most gimmick characters, he is tricky to get the hang of and can be pretty predictable after a while, especially when the vast majority of his attacks have him teleport across the screen. While this sounds cool and advantageous, DNF Duel's "Guard Button" allows you to negate his mix-up potential entirely and punish accordingly. Despite this, Lost Warrior is still one of the strongest characters in the game and the most fun to play due to how much stuff he has at his disposal and his raw damage output. We just wish his gimmicks didn't fizzle out so fast.
13 Kunoichi
One of the coolest and best-designed characters in DNF Duel is undoubtedly Kunoichi, a ninja that casts hand seal ninjutsu like a character from Naruto, allowing her to summon in a large flaming toad, fire tornados, fireღballs, and much more. Kunoichi is also a blast to play and can be pretty daunting to deal with, but compared to others, she has severe weaknesses that can make many matchups feel like the odds are stacked against you.
Like Striker and Grappler, Kunoichi's primary attack requires you to get close to your opponent. However, unlike them, her awesome ninjutsu allows her to apply pressure from a safe distance before running up on the opposition, making her one of the best "close-range" fighters in the game. Unfortunately, this isn't enough to move her anywhere near the top because that's an entirely different level of insanity.
12 Hitman
Time to dip our toes into the shallow end of the "how is this even a character" section, kicking things off with Hitman. A mini-uzi and katana-wielding mercenary that can apply unreal amounts of pressure on his opponent. Oddly enough, despite having an SMG, Hitman is primarily a close-range fighter but has so many options to approach each situation that he doesn't suffer from it like some of the others already mentioned.
Hitman has incredible potential in most matchups but can struggle against true zoners or enemies that can close the gap quickly and relentlessly. Still, he is an excellent choice if you like rushdown fighters that thrive in close-range encounters. While it can be hard to get in on your target from time to time, once you're in, you have so many avenues to take that can set you up for devastating combos that it's hard not to place him over the others listed thus far.
11 🔴 💞 Dragon Knight
Speaking of characters with potential, Dragon Knight has tons of it but feels a bit too safe in select ways that prevent her from entering the conversation 💟of being amongst the best of the best. While her adorable dragon companion, Astra, allows her to apply pressure or extend combos in creative and exciting ways, she can struggle against opponents who dominate at a distance or can close the gap with swift and devastating actions.
Still, all things considered, Dragon Knight is far from being a "terrible" character. She just requires a level of focus that can be tough to pin down, as summoning Astra is a crucial part of her playstyle, and it can be challenging to find ways to weave it into your attack strings without messing it up in various ways. In fact, if the other characters left weren't so off the rails, she would likely be in the top five as she was in the beta, but nonetheless...
10 🗹 Enchantres꧒s
Enchantress was one of the last characters revealed for DNF Duel, which showcased her puppeteering abilities and the variety of ways she could decimate you from 🅺a distance. Simply put, Enchantress can be annoying to deal with but is one of the more involved characters to try learning, which is her greatest downfall. She may not "wow" you like the other characters in the game, but she will hold her own in battle, which is more than enough.
As already mentioned, Enchantress' most significant hurdle is on the player's end, as she might be the most complex character to try learning in the game. Finding ways to implement her oversized death bear, Madd, into her attack strings while also knowing what to do on her end can be pretty strenuous and even harder to pull off in an actual match. However, in capable hands, Enchantress can be horrifying and might even be one of the best in the game. But, as of right now, she joins the camp of "has tremendous potential."
9 Ranger
Starting the top ten off with a bang is Ranger, one of the few pure zoners in DNF Duel, who uses his dual revolvers to his advantage to keep unrelenting pressure on his opponent from a safe distance. Zoners in DNF Duel are a 🌳special breed of chaos. Their normal or heavy attacks will almost always launch projectiles at the enemy, cover tremendous distance, and chain together and into other projectiles allowing you to juggle your opponent with ease while simply staying put on the opposite end of the stage.
And, yet, while dealing with Ranger can be frustrating, he's not even the game's best zoner by any stretch of the imagination. What he has at his disposal is excellent but very "by the numbers" in terms of what you'd expect a zoner to be in a game like DNF Duel. But, as you will see a bit later, he's just the start of the madness.
8 Vanguard
Staying on topic with characters who have excellent ranged attacks, let's turn our attention to Vanguard, who uses his lance to become one of the game's best neutral players. While not a zoner by any means, Vanguard has the potential to catch opponents sleeping with incredibly long pokes and jabs that will lead to ridiculous combos if he connects.
Furthermore, Vanguard also possesses armored attacks that can make it tricky for the opposing player to move in with an attack, as he will just eat the attack, take no damage, and light them up instead. While not the best overall character in DNF Duel, he's a pretty dang solid one and is easy to pick up.
7 𝕴 Inquisitor
Next up is our female priest, Inquisitor, who wants to condemn you for any wrongdoing you may have done. Her ability to stop you dead in your tracks by summoning an enormous flaming wheel with the largest hitbox you may have ever seen makes her such a strong character with just one ability. This action locks you into a guard state for several seconds or hits you for massive damage if you were unfortunately caught w🃏ithin the spokes of hell.
Aside from her death wheel, Inquisitor has access to many other actions that allow her to maintain pressure and execute combos efficiently and quickly. She's effective at accomplishing her goal: to keep her opponent locked down, constantly guessing, and punish them the moment they whiff or make a mistake. She may not be the most exciting character to play or watch in DNF Duel, but she's sure one of the best and more efficient.
