Shadow Dio

## Introduction

**Shadow Dio** (邪悪の化身ディオ, *Ja'aku no Keshin Dio*lit. Evil's Incarnation Dio) is an alternative version of DIO from before the final showdown in Cairo. He is one of the six hidden characters in the game.

Shadow Dio is a version of DIO that has yet to recover his full strength and learn the power of his Stand, *The World*, which at this point appears only as a silhouette. His face is always covered in darkness and his voice is distorted to create a feeling of mystery.

Shadow Dio, unlike the regular version of DIO, is a Passive Stand character which relies heavily on his fast movement. He is a rushdown focused character with massive damage output and simple combos, however, his main weakness is the lack of defensive options. Shadow Dio is considered to be one of the biggest glass cannons in the game.

### **Pros & Cons**

+ Very high damage output on most attacks
+ Quick dashes that can be instantly canceled
+ Simple yet high damaging combos
+ Fast meter build
+ Very effective mixups

- Passive Stand character
- Weak against pushblocking
- Limited due to small movelist
- Slowest roll in the game
- Bad Super Moves

## Movelist

### **Normals**

**All of Shadow Dio's jumping attacks can be used as instant overheads.**

## Combos

You can start most of these combos from j.A/j.B/j.C/j.S. Note that 5A and 2A can be interchangeable.

### **Shadow Dio's Loop**

... 1A 5C 5S 66 ... - The combo you must learn.

66 dash into 1A the most important thing you need to learn with Shadow Dio's combos. This is a dash cancel. In order to perform it tap down+back (1) after performing any dash. A very useful thing, not only for Shadow Dio.
This is Shadow Dio's infinite in its simplest pure form. However, due to nature of combos that use the same move over and over, a mechanic in JJBA causes the combo to randomly drop at certain times with repeated moves. It's best to finish it after the 3rd loop, however, more loops are possible in some situations, and you can extend it after a Stand Crash.

Some alternative loop versions that work only in a corner, useful for Stand Crash combo setups:
... 5A 2A 5C 5S 66 ... - Instead of using down+back dash cancel, this requires a properly timed dash to land 5A. Shadow Dio's forward and back dashes are very specific in that depending on how long you hold down the direction, his dash will expand. Release the dash button at a proper moment and tap back. Be careful not to perform d.5A/d.2A by accident as it will end the combo leaving you wide open due to the S attack still recovering.
... 1A 2A 5C 5S 66 ... - Adds a bonus 2A to the mix. Possibly easier than the combo above.
... hh.A/B/C 5A 2A 5C 5S ... - Uses a hyper hop instead of the dash. Very difficult timing but also most optimal, not recommended for beginners.

#### **Loop Combo Starters**

2A 5C 5S 66 ... - The basic one starting with a single jab. Works anywhere!
d.5C 5S 66 ... - d.5C comes out really slow, best to avoid it unless it's used during a stand crash reset.
d.2C (1 hit) 5S 66 ... - Your second best alternative from a very powerful low hit.
41236A/B/C d.5C/d.2C (1 hit) 5S 66 ... - In case someone fails to punish your knife throw on the ground.
214AA d.5C/d.2C (1 hit) 5S 66 ... - Random 214AA most likely won't work, but you can combo after it nevertheless in some situations. You're supposed to use it after a hard knockdown.
5A (crouch cancel) 5C 5S 66 ... - Crouch cancel variant, not recommended for beginners.

#### **Loop Combo Finishers**

... 1A 5C 5S 3C - Ends with Shadow Dio doing his slide attack. Won't work too well against characters with Stand ON, so try to crash their stands first before using this.
... 1A 5C 5S d.2C - In case you need a launcher, however, depending on combo's length might still just ground the opponent instantly or launch them.
... 1A 5C 5S 1A 2A d.2A - Finishing the string with a few jabs sets you up for a possible tick grab.

Alternatively, you can just stop continuing to do the string after landing 5S and fall back or do other stuff in hopes of a reset.

### **Other Basic Combos**

   5A 5A 5A - You can chain up to 3 jabs.
2A 2A 2A - Low slap slap slap.

2A 2A 5B - If you'll ever need it, it can combo. But you probably won't.
5A 5A (crouch cancel) 5B - Similar to the one above but even more useless.

j.A/B/C j.5S - Only combos on airborne enemies! Any jumping attack canceled into Stand attack.

d.2C 5S 3C/d.2C - In case you gotta knockdown/launch someone quickly for whatever reason. Useful when you're not sure if d.2C will land.
41236A/B/C 236AA - The only way to combo your super besides Stand Crash. This combo happening in a real game is very unlikely as it requires knives to hit the opponent at a specific range to work and the timing is rough, but it's a thing.
41236A/B/C 643214A - In case you want to ground your opponent after hitting them with knives at long distance. If they are hit in midair and block, you may attempt to charge your laser to the unblockable version.
214AA 236AA - This also requires a specific setup to work properly. Also, the bits from Charisma may go in random directions, so it's probably better to use other means of damaging opponent after 214AA resets.

5B/d.5B 41236S 5A 5C/3C - Somewhat useful combo after 5B. Requires you to use 5A right after using 41236S and before its first hit connects. You can add some bonus hits like 5C in between The World's hits or just time your 3C to get a hard knockdown, it's not necessary though.
d.5C 41246S d.2A 5C/3C - A completely useless combo considering you can just combo into 5S from d.5C. Requires some crazy timing and isn't really anything good, but it exists I guess.

### **Time Stop Setups**

Shadow Dio's time stop is unique in two ways when compared to the other characters with this ability. First of all, it only requires minimum 2 meters of super to activate. Secondly, it does not have a super flash during activation, which in some situations makes it harder to react to.

In order to properly setup a time stop, you can either use Shadow Dio's command grab which should give you enough time to perform it or cause a Stand Crash with his 3C slide attack or 2nd hit of d.2C.

Stuff to do during the Time Stop:
64214C - Fullscreen laser, useful when time stopping with a low amount of meter, try charging it for even more damage.
623AA - Use it only when time stopping with low meter and when the opponent cannot be hit by the laser due to their lower hitboxes.
d.5C/5C 5S 5C 5C 5S 5C 5C ... - Bash opponent with your strongest normals. Roughly 50% damage with Max meter. Useful when you don't have too much meter and you don't know what else to do. The damage may scale poorly in some cases.
41236C 632C 41236C 632C 41236C 632C (jump behind the opponent) 214AA - 3 full sets of knives into Charisma from the other side. One of the most damaging combinations. Requires Max meter. Around 70% damage if done properly, however, the damage may scale poorly in some cases.
41236C 632C 41236C 632C 41236C 632C 41236C 63214C 63214C - The highest damaging setup we could figure out. The damage may scale poorly in some cases.
214AA (whiff) - Charisma can be used to set up a nearly instant unblockable, letting you follow up as long as you didn't hit the opponent during the time stop or they didn't jump/evade just as it ended. It also works great if an opponent jumped in the air before time stop happened and are about to land directly in it.

Note: You can land a 5S attack just as the time stop ends. Position yourself properly to land it for bonus damage.

## General Strategy

### **Summary**

Shadow Dio's moves work well for a rushdown heavy playstyle, and that's what you should be focusing on mostly. Your plan is simple and it is to open up your opponent and deal massive damage with simple combos. He can easily switch between Low and High attacks during his attempts at rushing down his opponents and his Stand attacks can be used as a short-range projectile to punish many moves or to set up a safer approach or to just poke and chip at opponent's health or stand gauge. Still, it's a tool to not be abused, as a spammy Shadow Dio is very easy to punish, especially when you mistime your attack. Lack of any wake-up tools also adds bonus risk as a simple knockdown may prove fatal.

Remember that you also have a few projectile attacks to help you during the game: although slow, knives can be used for chip damage, long-range punish and combo starters, while the laser is just great for long-range projectile wars. The unblockable version of the laser can become one of your best late anti-airs if timed right and generally free damage. The long startup time of your projectile attacks and laser's recovery time can mess you up though, therefore, you should be only using them when the opponent least expects them, or from fullscreen against chars that don't have any long-range attacks to counter with.

Shadow Dio has a variety of very good airborne attacks which are capable of beating most characters in the air, plus he can combo with 5S attack afterward if they were hit midair. Using j.5S to hit opponents while jumping behind them is possibly his best strategy as this maneuver is incredibly hard to punish and confuses the opponent about the direction they should be blocking it. One of many strengths of Shadow Dio is his ability to quickly perform Stand Crash combos and his strong oki game. Two or three well-placed combos can end the round. Do not abuse his Super attacks as they can be easily punished, while others are very situational or useless. Save your meter for the Time Stop and use 236AA super only in case of danger. Charisma can be used as a powerful reset tool if done right or at the very least deal bonus high damage.

You can attempt to play defensively as Shadow Dio is good at poking thanks to his fast dash attacks and 5S/j.5S, however, he's susceptible to quick dashes as he cannot punish them while his Stand is out. Always remember to mix your strategy to be unpredictable to your opponent.

### **Okizeme/Resets**

*Shadow Dio has a lot of moves which cause hard knockdown (his regular and command grab, 3C, 2S), this allows him to attempt a variety of things during opponent's wake-up period*

1. A well placed 41236S next to the opponent is a meaty and sets up for a pure high low 50/50 against most characters (their crouching hurtbox has to be tall enough). Follow up with either an immediate:

* -9a
* -2a

*Then let the stand continue the combo and use 3c after it ends to set up for some more oki*

**2.** It's pretty dirty, but Sdio also has a low/throw game against the opponent. His 663c is very easy to time as a meaty. So if timed right you can either:

* grab at the end of the opponent's wakeup animation

* Use a meaty 663c 5s into loop if you anticipate a throw tech

**3.** A well timed j.S (while jumping over enemy) often confuses the opponent about the side from which they should be blocking. Very effective and you can do 2a5c5s etc if it lands. Might not work on opponents that have quicker wakeups

**4.** 3C can be canceled into other moves, which makes it useful to confuse enemies about which attack they should block, plus it can cut a long distance quick, though it's not required.

* ~3C xx 623A/B/C - Forces opponent to hold low to block the sliding attack. Cancel the slide in the last moment to set up an unblockable grab, hard to react to.

* ~3C xx 214AA. Use 3C to get as close to the opponent to possible and set up an unblockable 2 bar super. Combo afterward if possible.

* You can also set up his high low 50/50 against some characters like this instead : ~3C xx 41236S 2A or 9a

**5**. Empty Jump is also a good option. An empty jump over the opponent into regular grab works well. Same with double empty jump double crossover into grab.

**6.** Tic throws are fantastic with sdio. Here are some simple tic throw options

* 2a grab

* 662a grab

* jump, delayed 8a grab

## Trivia

* Shadow DIO is the only secret character that appears in Story Mode and Challenge Mode, and his CPU form can use his Charisma super with just 1 stock of super meter left.