Introduction
| "Darkstalkers, now you will feel the wrath of my avenging blade!" |
Donovan was a Dhampir, a half-vampire, half-human half-breed. During his childhood, something evil caused the vampire in him to awaken and as a result, he killed everyone in his village, including his mother, and drank their blood.
He cursed his blood and went out looking for peace. He devoted his goal to Buddhism, justice, and perfection with the help of monks and ninjas in Asia. During one of his travels, he met a girl named Anita with supernatural powers. Her heartless, empty eyes told him that she was the same as he. Wanting to save Anita's soul, he set off with her to hunt all the Darkstalkers in the world who attacked the innocent.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
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Color Options
| LP | MP | HP | Hold Start |
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| LK | MK | HK | Hold LP+MK |
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| Donovan | |
|---|---|
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| Stats | |
| Defense | Middle |
| Standing Height | 102px |
| Crouching Height | 61px |
| Ground Movement | |
| Forward Walk Speed | |
| Backward Walk Speed | |
| Dash Type | |
| Jumping | |
| Forward Jump Speed | |
| Back Jump Speed | |
Moves List
Normal Moves
Note worthy Normals
Standing LP - whiffs on crouching opponents
Standing far MP - whiffs on crouching opponents
Standing close MP/MK - good combo starters
Standing far MK - large hitbox covering his whole, good range, excellent anti-air that cannot be ariblocked
Crouching HP - completely useless outside of chain combos
Crouching MK - good low poke
Crouching HK - long range sweep that is relatively safe on block from max range
Jumping HP - good air-to-air attack, but the legs are vulernable
Jumping LK - deep angle that's good for tick throws
Jumping MK - good air-to-air and can cross up
Jumping HK - good for pinning people down when cornered and good combo starter
Throw (close, b or f + MP or HP) - Demitri's throw has the odd trait of not being able to consistently throw in either direction. It doesn't matter which button or direction you use.
Special Moves
Hop Kick: Press F + HK
Donovan simply hops forward with a kick, giving it decent range and the added perk of going over low attacks. This attack is mainly use to finish combos or at the end of poke strings. In regards to poke strings you can use it even if out of range to get back in close.
Killshread Surf: During jump, press D + LK or MK
Donovan as it puts 'surfs on his sword" akin to a dive-kick like attack. The two strengths have different hit boxes so get used to these. MK version descends at a steeper angle, doing slightly more damage and having an additional frame of start-up. LK won't be the safest to use due to the long recovery where Donovan is still surfing even after it hits until he hits the ground but it does travel about full-screen.
Killshread Dive: During jump, press D + HK
This is essentially the same as Killshred Surf but does even more damage and comes at even steeper angle with less recovery. It does have more start-up but is it safer to use since it recovers so quickly and hits so deep, making the recovery almost instant upon connection. Hence, use this one the most.
Killshread Plant: Press LP+LK or MP+MK or HP+HK [ES]
Donovan plants his sword into the ground. During this time he has some upper body invincibility. However, upon planting it he has no access to his other specials involving his sword until he retrieves it with the follow-up... Summon. Further note is his normals involving his sword will have lesser range and inflict slightly less damage. Yet, Donovan suffers an odd glitch where-by his dashing normals still retain their original hit-boxes and damage. You can tell this by the blood splatter upon connection. Don't forget you have this advantage when rushing the opponent. The LP version has slightly less start-up with the invincibility lasting from frame 8 to frame 27. The MP's & HP's invincibility last from frame 12 to frame 32.
ES Killshread Plant is the same as the MP/HP strength but it is the only way to use ES Summon.
Summon: After Killshread Plant, press LP+LK or MP+MK or HP+HK [ES]
Summon brings the sword back to Donovan like a boomerang. It will hit from the front and then return but cannot hit on the way back. As the sword is coming back to Donovan, you can rush the opponent with a barrage of attacks. With that said, Summon can be used like a shield to dash behind. The strength you use determines the distance the sword is flung, with LP+LK traveling about a 1/3rd, MP+MK going half-screen and HP+HK going roughly full-screen. The Summon can be used with-in chain combos for good damage but does take some setting up.
ES Summon is the natural and only option to ES Killshread Plant. Frame data is the same, the main difference is that it goes full-screen and will hit on the way back. Therefore the sword is flung hitting the opponent in the front and then comes back hitting them from behind. This is where your bar will be going to as it can lead to some nasty mix-ups and additional damage.
Ifrit Sword: F, D, DF + P (Guard Reversal) [ES]
Donovan's sort-of bread and butter special move. It is good for ending combos as it does decent damage and results in a knock down. It is passable as anti-air but not recommended entirely plus it can be air blocked. The range is good and it is relatively fast making it great for punishment. It also serves as his Guard Reversal, not the best in the game but gets the job done.
ES Ifrit Sword is almost the same save for its small damage boost, taller hit-box and block disadvantage buff. It does multiple hits and will whiff the last hit when used in combos unless the opponent is cornered.
Blizzard Sword: HCF + P [ES]
Donovan's projectile attack. Due to the attack's trajectory it will whiff at point-blank range. best used from mid-screen for zoning and to control space. Upon connection it will leave the opponent is frozen state for a second or two. This gives you ample time to dash up and get close. LP travels about half-screen, MP travels slightly more and HP travels about 3/4th screen. It is far too slow to be comboed into.
ES Blizzard Sword fires a 3 hit projectile for slightly more damage and travels full-screen. Not a must-use move necessarily.
Lightning Sword: B, D, DB + P, tap P [ES]
Donovan blast electricity in front of him for a multi-hit attack. The more you tap P the more hits and damage. You can use it to control space about sweep-range in front of you due to the multi-hitting nature which will either push the opponent far back or if it connects can lead to more damage. It has a ton of frame advantage on hit allowing you to link an attack afterwards. However, this move has alot of start-up disabling it from being comboed into. At the same tame it should not be thrown out willy-nilly as it has tons of block disadvantage as well.
ES Lightning Sword is nothing to write home about. If mashed out it can do slightly more damage than the HP version with the faster start-up of the LP strength. At the same time the block disadvantage is even worse and leads to the same old combos. The slight damage boost does not make this worthy of your bar to use.
Sword Grapple: Close, HCB + P
Command throw which does solid damage, throws the opponent forward a good range and can be used with LP. This helps in the case of not accidentally landing his normal throw.
Super Moves
Change Immortal: Press MP, LP, B, LK, MK
Donovan morphs into this flying demonic creature - flies back and the flies forward to knock down the opponent. This is a rather oddball super. It does have some invincibility on start-up and some during the recovery period after it connects. However, since he flies back first it easy to just block this attack. With that said in order to fully use this move there must not be too much of a gap between you and your opponent - in order to give them less time to re-act. And you must able to anticipate their next attack so you may fly through. You can also steer this super by pressing and holding up or down. At the end of the day this super does less than a quarter of damage, making it kind of worthless.
Press of Death: HCF + K
Donovan summons a giant to stomp you. The strength used determines the spot you will be stomped. LK is about a 1/3 away from Donovan, MK is about half and HK is 3/4th away from Donovan. This super has tons of start-up but complete invincibility from start to finish. Therefore, utilize this super in anticipation as away to punish projectiles from a far. Surprisingly, this super is also an over-head.
The Basics
Your main objective as Donovan is to plant your sword (at midscreen commonly) and summon it to break the blocking of your opponent (stab in the back literally).
He is a well around character with a varied arsenal from anti airs and projectiles to air command moves and keepaways, your main 2-in-1 will be the Fire Sword.
His Super Moves have slow start up but are too damageful and one of them can be a nice Pursuit.
Combos
Standing LK, link Standing LK, link Standing LK, Ifrit Sword - 4 hits, 33% damage
Dashing MK, Ifrit Sword - 2 hits, 28% damage
Crouching MK, Ifrit Sword - 2 hits, 25% damage
Crouching LP, LK, MP, MK, Hop Kick - 5 hits, 30% damage
Crouching LP, LK, MK, HK - 4 hits, 24% damage
Lighting Sword, link Ifrit Sword - 12 hits, 30% damage
Dashing MK, ES Ifrit Sword - 6 hits, 32% damage (against a cornered opponent you'll get one more hit and 6% more damage.)
Crouching MK, ES Ifrit Sword - 6 hits, 32% damage (against a cornered opponent you'll get one more hit and 6% more damage.)
ES Blizzard Sword (2 hits), link Press of Death - 4 hits, 35% damage
Advanced Strategy
Killshread Plant Strategies
You can link another chain combo with a Killshread, as an example you can do this:
Standing Close LK x N, Foward HK, Killshread Back, Standing Close LK, Fire Sword
Don't be obvious about plant the sword, if you are in corner, sweep your opponent and then release it for the chain combo.
Plant your sword depends of the buttons you press, use MK+MP location, because its recommended to be in the midscreen a lot.
