"Die Hard" Achievement Guide - Clearing Classic Survival Tips & Information

Die Hard Achievement Guide

Due to the character limit I've had to cut this down tremendously so here are the essentials complied from community tips/information (Xerox1919, TheMajinLegacy, etc... so a special thanks goes out them) as well as from personal experiences playing the Arcade version, the 360 & PSVita, and now the PC...

For players that haven't played this already on a console or arcade, beware this is extremely hard. For returning players, you know how frustrating this can be.

Be warned, this will take some time to complete once you've started.

Introduction and Supplemental Information

Introduction and Supplemental Information

1. CPU is exceptionally well at reading all of your moves.
   
2. CPU cannot be killed through chip damage -- you yourself can.
   
3. Most of your opponents have infinite tension meter, so they can and will spam Overdrives at their leisure.
   
4. A good amount of CPUs from levels 800 to 1000 will heal the entire fight and will heal even more if they inflict damage on you. This can pretty much require you to land an Instant Kill on them as a sure fire way to beat them as well as other unfair advantages.

There are many many strategies floating around on the Internet for years on how to beat this. You will have to find your sweet spot between characters, timing, and knowledge in combos. This took well over 4 weeks (on the console version) for me to get my bearings down with certain characters but found that Justice was well suited for me and practiced her combos, timing, jump cancels, etc...

Because of how the CPU will read your moves, the community recommends that you use and abuse the pause button. There is no guarantee that you will win by abusing the pause button but through timing it will even the playing field between you and the CPU. The community also recommends using Justice because of her stun damage output, her mobility, her overdrives, and her general ease of use. Some people like to use Potemkin of which you can spam his Head Slide move. However, that method will require skill, practice, and timing with him as well as some luck to accomplish. Potemkin has some serious attack power and if used properly, you may be able to blow right through Survival without having to know any ridiculous combos. It all depends on your play style as well as, what and who you feel comfortable with. You will need to practice, and practice, and practice, and practice.

Every 20 levels from level 1 to 500 a Shadow Daredevil will interrupt the fight. After defeating Shadow Justice at Level 500, you will not have any Daredevil fights for the next 120 levels. Instead you will face off against nothing but random Shadow characters. Once you've reach Level 620 you will face your first Golden CPU; Golden Anji. From this Level forth you will face a Golden CPU every 20 Levels until you reach Level 900. Once you've reach Level 900, you will encounter a Golden Daredevil every 10 Levels instead. This will be the hardest portion of Classic Survival as the Gold version of the characters have ridiculous buffs and enhancements that make the Shadow characters look like pushovers. [e.g. Golden Johnny's Mist Finer can kill you in one hit -- as an example].

Timing and practice are essential. Here are some community tips for beating Classic Survival Mode:

1. When facing Gold Characters, always keep an eye on their Tension to anticipate any Overdrives they may unleash on you.
   
2. Be sure to use the Default or Accent Core version of Justice (simply select her normally). This allows you to use Bursts which can save you if an opponent tries to combo you to death. Beware, if you select her GG or GGXX versions you will not be able to use Burst however the trade-off is she is able to inflict more damage or charge her Tension by holding Dust and Heavy Slash. You will have to determine which suits you the best.
   
3. Practice against the Shadow and Gold characters in 1P vs CPU Mode on Maniac if you ever have trouble defeating certain opponents.
   
4. Use the START button and Pause frequently. The CPU reads all of your moves. So, even the playing field between you and the CPU.
   
5. Try to save this achievement for last. You will gain more helpful experience with the game and its roster as you go.

Be warned, this will take some time to complete once you've started.

Levels 20 - 240 [Shadow CPUs]...

Levels 20 - 240 [Shadow CPUs...]

 
[Level 20] Shadow Anji: He is one of the easier characters to defeat. Just be careful of some of his moves such as his Double Fan attack move which has some frames where he can’t be hit. Be sure to block his stomp move and punish it.
 
[Level 40] Shadow Venom: Venom is a great pressure character so stay away from corners if he's near. Very offensive oriented character. If he jumps, be ready to block because he’s quite the air technician and can activate his Overdrive from the Air. His Dark Angel ball super does quite a bit of chip damage and pushes you away when blocked. He also has another version that goes straight up so don't try jumping over it if you're close to him unless you know it's going straight.
 
[Level 60] Shadow Faust: His moves are predictable once you've learned how to defend and attack them all. Watch for cues. If you see him throw something into the sky, be prepared to block as comets will rain down on you and they really hurt, at times he may even blow himself up. Beware of his Reversal Supers and you’ll be fine. He appears to be most vulnerable in the air, just beware of the bombs he throws while up there. If you see him put on a cloak be prepared to block his sneak attacks from above.
 
[Level 80] Shadow Baiken: Baiken has pretty low health and moves fairly slow making it easier to pressure her. She’s not a pushover though when you face her Gold Form later thanks to some of her counter attacks.
 
[Level 100] Shadow Bridget: Be careful of his move where he skates on his yoyo’s toward you, "Kickstart My Heart". If you hit him you too will take damage. Pressure him until he's finished. He likes to take flight quite often as well with double jumps and air dashes giving you more chances to punish.
 
[Level 120] Shadow Potemkin: Potemkin has great defense and really good damage output. He may be slow but at times he'll do whatever it takes to get in on you. 
 
[Level 140] Shadow Ky: Be careful with this fight because he spams supers and projectiles from sword as well as from the air! He also likes to apply lots for pressure so if you can, dodge his projectiles by jump dashing over them, never block them. He has infinite tension so don't give him an inch because he will certainly try to not give you one.
 
[Level 160] Shadow Testament: He makes use of his web traps, reversals, and curses he sends at you. There is a learning curve to Testament and you will need to learn when the safest time is to attack him. Beware of his taunts as they are counters set up to trick you into attacking. Try to avoid the web traps he places and if he teleports below you, hold away from him and hit B/Circle to get a free throw in-air combo from there. His Nightmare Circular Overdrive gets spammed sometimes and he may even delay it sometimes to watch where the red portal was and jump to the other side of the screen.
 
[Level 180] Shadow Millia: She has the 2nd worst defense in the game. She loves to run around and will even go for some low special moves so crouch block often in this fight and beware of overheads. She will usually run right into your combo with the right timing and other than Reversal Supers, has no real answer if you put a lot of pressure on her.
 
[Level 200] Shadow Zappa: Annoying character. He will summon ghosts and other unwanted things at you so a close up game isn’t a bad idea. He likes to jump and air dash so be sure to punish that. His moves don’t hurt too bad so you get plenty of chances of laying waste of him.
 
[Level 220] Shadow Chipp: He has the lowest health of most of the cast and can be defeated in 1 or 2 really good combos. If he runs toward you be sure to attack him. Other than that he will teleport around so pause, see where he is and attack him.
 
[Level 240] Shadow Eddie: He spams Overdrives moves. Be sure to crouch block against him because he will summon drills from below you and attack from below as well. Careful when getting in close because he’ll Super you without notice. If he takes to the air in his demon form you may be able to attack him.

...Levels 260 - 500 [Shadow CPUs continued]

[Level 260] Shadow Axl: Makes use of his Kusarigama and has reach to boot. Beware of his Overdrive up close though because he will use it.
 
[Level 280] Shadow Slayer: He likes to teleport and go for a dashing punch move as well. If he’s in the Air watch out because he will likely Overdrive you from up there with Chokkagata Dandy. Once he lands, stay guarded because he’ll go for Eien no Tsubasa afterwards. He has a dash punch overdrive he likes to use and it hurts so guard when he's at distance. If you knock him down try to rush him.
 
[Level 300] Shadow Jam: Watch out for her rare projectile move and be mindful of her jumping because she takes to the air quite often. 
 
[Level 320] Shadow May: Start any fight against her by holding away from her and down to crouch block. She sometimes likes to hit you with a low slide at the start and it's annoying. Be careful of her Whale Overdrive. She likes to spam that in succession so don’t fall for it. If she starts rolling around in the air, defend and wait for the chance to attack her. Sometimes you may have to take this fight a bit patiently because she can be quite aggressive.
 
[Level 340] Shadow Johnny: Johnny'll basically jump around quite a bit or dash toward you. He likes to toss coins at you so block these or else his attacks will become more powerful.
 
[Level 360] Shadow Dizzy: Tough fight if you don't know her moves. At a distance, she will ALWAYS summon her Hunger Strike so try jumping then air dashing to the other side of the screen with these as they shoot ice sickles and lasers from their mouths. She moves around A LOT and is quite fast so punish her when she takes the air if you can. Her health isn't the best in the world so a close up game isn't a bad idea but be mindful of her Supers because she will spam them. If she activates her Invincibility Super (flashes red), then defend. Throw her if she gets in close and it will leave her vulnerable again. Every opportunity you have to attack her She will also rush you at times enabling you to have her walk into a combo or Michael Sword.
 
[Level 380] Shadow Robo-Ky: Will usually start the fight off rushing you. If he jumps up he will likely shoot some missiles at you so careful.
 
[Level 400] Shadow I-No: First, be aware of when she’s in the air because she loves to use Ultimate Fortissimo and usually goes for it around 4-5 times every time I face her.  Majority of the fight she will glide toward you on her guitar but don't be fooled as she will regularly go into her Overdrive from here. Guard low too at times because she may randomly attack you with her guitar. Thankfully she doesn’t do her Megalomania ray as a Shadow version so no need to worry about dodging it.

[Level 420] Shadow Order Sol: Both Sol characters fight pretty similarly. They are extremely offensive and run around throwing Overdrives, Combos, and specials like nobody’s business. When facing Order Sol, always start the fight off by blocking and waiting to see what he does. He will usually run up to you allowing you to mash Punch and have him run into one of your combos. Don’t let him pressure you too close because he will simply throw you and combo from that. Always think Defense first offense last with these fights because unlike I-No he is pretty easy to find openings to punish such as his Volcanic Viper or his Air Dash. Always remember that both Order Sol and Sol lack an Air game so it wouldn't be a bad idea to jump up there and air combo him. Just watch for his Air Dash overhead combos. If he goes into Dragon-Install mode abuse the pause button and defend as he usually becomes quite offensive.

[Level 440] Shadow Sol: Similar to Order Sol these are fights that you’ll have to be patient about. Sol doesn't deal well with zoning or while being in the air (lacks aerial offense). Beware of his Reversal Supers if you pressure him too much. And if you have to, pause and wait for him to run into one of your attacks. Beware of his Volcanic Viper, it has excellent priority and will likely beat any of your attacks if he's up close. Same goes for his Gold version which can slash near 90% health off of you in one hit.

[Level 460] Shadow A.B.A: Not much of a threat. She’s slow and very defensive. Careful when she takes to the Air because her Super is done from up there.

[Level 480] Shadow Kliff: He’s like Potemkin but with better reach. He has an Overdrive where he transforms into his younger self and shoots a beam at you so careful and play a safe keep away game until he’s down. His health bar is very small so you won’t need too many openings.

[Level 500] Shadow Justice: Justice has a pretty big hit box so she’s easy to combo. Still, be patient when looking for openings because she will throw Supers at you when you least expect it. If she ever goes for the gamma ray either jump and air dash onto the other side behind her, or quickly hit her to interrupt it. Two good times to attack her is when she tries to shoot a fireball at you or just stay crouched blocking and wait for her to run up towards you. That’s your chance to mash punch and combo her from there. Her health isn’t that great either so you only need to attack her a few times. By then you have an Overdrive and can finish her with that. She may be fairly easy, but don't be aggressive in this fight as she can instantly use her Michael Blade on you whenever she wants.

...Levels between 500 to 620...

...Levels between 500 to 620...

After defeating Shadow Justice at Level 500, you will not have any Daredevil fights for the next 120 levels. Instead, you will face off against nothing but random Shadow characters.

Level 620 - 720 [Gold CPUs]...

Level 620 - 720 [Gold CPUs...]

[Level 620] Gold Anji: Your first fight against a Gold character and not much different from his Shadow version. He will, however, guard quite a few of your attacks and he jumps around a lot which is annoying. Don't take him too lightly, but punish him if he tries anything funny. If you doubt yourself against him then only attack when you see clear openings or have him run into your combo.

[Level 640] Gold Venom: Dangerous fight here so you'll want to be defensive. The Hit Balls he shoots at you take a BUNCH of health so get a distance from him, release your fireball and get in on him and try to sneak in a Michael Sword. Beware of his Dark Angel overdrive because he can launch Big Death balls at you and also shoot more balls at you. Best time to punish him is when he is setting up balls in the air. He has a bit more health this time it seems so hopefully you'll dizzy him with enough combos to set up for an Instant Kill.

[Level 660] Gold Faust: If you know all of his attacks then he is quite predictable. Beware of his swimming treasure box Overdrive where you have to guess where the doll is. If he hits this it steals like 80% health from you. So be careful when the fight starts. As mentioned under his Shadow version, beware of his attacks, items he throws and of course those comets.

[Level 680] Gold Baiken: Another fight you'll need to be wary of. Watch out for her Tension meter. If she gets some tension you'll want to avoid her Overdrives. She has many Guard Cancels so you'll want to look out for these if you attack her. If she runs at you with her arm against her face don’t attack her as she will counter you. Jump over her and attempt to attack her. She has quite a few counter attacks so attacking her while in the air is not a bad route. Pokes work as well and her health isn't that great still.

[Level 700] Gold Bridget: The same offensive tactics work but his yoyos REALLY hurt. A few hits here and there and you're dead without notice. Be aware of his skating attack and avoid it. He also jumps and air dashes some Air combo him when he does so. He has a lot of health for some reason as a Gold version so an Instant Kill here once he's stunned may be required.

[Level 720] Gold Potemkin: Try to use the method as mentioned for his Shadow version on him for a guaranteed win. Get a full screen distance from him, projectile, wait for him to block it then dash on the other side of the screen. You have too much mobility over him for this not to work. Just simply win via chip damage upon Time Out. Attempt to K-O or Instant Kill him at your own risk.

...Levels 740 - 880 [Gold CPUs continued]

[Level 740] Gold Ky: Beware of his Sword projectile because it inflicts serious damage. When he's in the air he will likely Super you with his Projectiles so watch for that. He doesn't have infinite meter anymore so use your usual combos on him and Pause. If he gets 50 or more Tension play defensively to avoid his Overdrives.

[Level 760] Gold Testament: Recommend that you practice against him in Arcade or vs CPU Mode under Manic difficulty to get him down. He has numerous moves that can ruin your run, mainly his skull projectile that will curse you and shave health constantly! Always look out for his web traps he places. He can also curse you by either throwing out a skull projectile or by grabbing you from underground. Extreme pause abuse is a good idea here. Hard to find a lot of openings on him but he will give you them if you're patient. This is a fight you'll want to take slowly. Refer to his Shadow version for other info on his other moves.

[Level 780] Gold Milia: She is the fastest character you will face in the game and she will even move faster than your eye while spamming the Pause button! Be patient in this fight. Her health is still fairly low but you do not want to end up in her combos. Pause and hope she runs into your attacks. This fight can become a guessing game because she has an extreme advantage in speed over you. Use a knock down to pressure her, you want to limit her space if you can to avoid trying to keep up with her.

[Level 800] Gold Zappa: Critical fight and possibly one of the more difficult ones. Strongly recommend you crouch block in this fight because he has a Heavy Sweep punch attack he likes to do and it does damage. As you may notice he is in permanent Raou Mode so it can be quite difficult to see where Zappa is below that giant muscular avatar. You do NOT want this guy hitting you because 3-4 normal attacks and you're dead. He hits hard so back off and wait for him to run up to you. He will randomly run straight up to you quite often in this fight and quickly. Mash punch and hopefully he walks into some combos. Watch his Tension too because his Super does near 100% damage. If you're not attacking him be guarding at all times. His health isn't too high anyway so you only need several good hits on him. Please practice this fight in Arcade or vs CPU Mode under Manic difficulty before attempting Classic Survival. This is strongly recommended.

[Level 820] Gold Chipp: Still has his usual low health bar but you still need to be careful because he may surprise you. He moves very fast and teleports around a lot so take him out as soon as you can.

[Level 840] Gold Eddie: Gold Eddie has a LOT of health and you may end up beating him through Time-Out or better yet, an Instant Kill. Recommend crouch blocking most of the time because he will Summon drills from below you. He doesn’t have infinite tension so keep an eye on his Tension because he WILL Super when he has the meter for it. Outside of that his A.I is the same as his Shadow version so what you usually do to take him down.

[Level 860] Gold Axl: Not much different from Shadow Axl. Do what you usually do to defeat him. Just beware of his jabs and long reach with his Kusarigama. Play a bit more defensively this time to be safe though.

[Level 880] Gold Slayer: Slayer is constantly healing and if he hits you he heals even more. You may have to defeat him with an Instant Kill so use some of your heaviest combos and try to land as many stun attacks. Once you have the stun, Instant Kill him. Look out for is his stomp attack. You can avoid this by crouch blocking. Watch his Tension because he will ♥♥♥♥ back and hit you with a Punch. Watch out for his Dive super. Slayer also likes to Teleport so try to mash Punch and hope he teleports into it. Do not waste time as these fights are timed and 99 seconds goes by pretty fast.

Final Stretch -- Levels 900 - 1000!

Final Stretch -- Levels 900 - 1000!

From here on out you will now encounter a Gold Daredevil every 10 levels instead of every 20 levels.

[Level 900] Gold Jam: If you know how to beat her Shadow version then this shouldn’t be too bad of a fight. She apparently can cancel her Flying Kick into another Flying kick and her damage output is pretty nasty. She may surprise you so wait for obvious moments to attack her. Pause abuse wouldn’t be a bad idea here.

[Level 910] Gold May: Similarly from when you faced her Shadow version start out crouch blocking. This fight can be difficult or easy depending if she summons her Dolphins through her Loop. Guard these and don’t let her pressure you too much.

[Level 920] Gold Johnny: This guy can kill you in 1 hit with his Mist Finer move. So you'll want to be as careful and deliberate with this fight as ever. If you ever see him pull out his stick (set up for Mist Finer) get ready to crouch guard because it will 1 hit KO you. Other than that he's pretty trivial. He will auto dash for Mist Cancel on each side of the screen instantly so if you're pausing you can easily attack him when he does this. Be quick because each dash instantly puts him on the opposite side of the screen.

[Level 930] Gold Dizzy: Hardest fight you’ve had in a while. She is constantly recovering just like Slayer so you don’t want to waste time in this fight. Like her Shadow version she will use Hunger Strike and it follows you everywhere so block it until it disappears. Close up she has an unblockable Overdrive so a range game or anti-air game would be the safest way to take her down.

[Level 940] Gold Robo-Ky: He’s probably easier than Shadow Robo Ky because he has no infinite meter so use this to your advantage and give him no openings. He doesn’t need infinite tension to give you problems. Just remember his projectiles he likes to shoot and hope he dashes toward you to open himself up for attack.

[Level 950] Gold I-No: She is now in her Boss Form from Arcade Mode so she may go for Megalomania and you will have to dodge it. She does heal the whole fight so do whatever it takes to get her stunned and Instant Kill her for the win. Be mindful of the 99 second time limit. Because she is healing she has the advantage of beating you in Time Over. So long as you keep your health above hers, you'll be okay. Otherwise, you'll definitely want to get an Instant Kill on her once you get a hit-stun. As mentioned in her Shadow version (above) most of her moves are pretty safe but her air drill move as well as her low uppercut can be easily attacked with Heavy Slash.

[Level 960] Gold Sol: One of the tougher fights in the 900s because like Shadow Sol, he spams combos, gun flames, specials, and is all over the place. So Defense is once again key here. Attack him just as you would his Shadow Version. So long as you pause and become a defensive wall you shouldn't have too many problems. You have a Burst (AC version) as well so even if he happens to hit you don't let him continue.

[Level 970] Gold A.B.A: One of the easier fights in the 900s. Just remember to be as deliberate as any other fight because anything is possible.

[Level 980] Gold Kliff: Do whatever it takes to not let him get near you! One hit is all it takes for him to nearly KO you because he can combo or even Overdrive out of it. He runs super slow but he backs up faster than usual. His health, albeit still low, has increased from his Shadow version. He will also use his Axe Blade to get near you so constant pausing will help you read this before it's too late. Be VERY wary of his Overdrives because they have range. Take this fight VERY slowly and you’ll have a good chance of winning.

[Level 990] Gold Justice: Really no different than Shadow Justice. She is much faster than her Shadow version and will kill you in fewer moves so only attack when she opens herself up like mentioned before. She's easy to combo and only uses so many moves just make sure you know how to attack her moves already from facing her Shadow version. Don't forget to attack her if she ever goes for Nitro Bomb or Gamma Ray. And if she takes to the air, simply defend because she will likely go for an overhead attack.

[Level 1000] Gold Order Sol: This was by no means an easy fight but with practice he will become quite easy. He basically fights like Shadow Order Sol however he doesn't start with infinite tension. However, he is still tougher to beat because he moves incredibly fast and can literally annihilate you with his Instant Kill if you make one wrong move. So priority # 1 in this fight is to avoid his Instant Kill, because he will hardly ever fudge it. He tends to go for it once he powers into Dragon Install mode, full tension, and 3 Heat levels. This is why you don't want to be too aggressive against him offensively because his Instant Kill can beat-out any of your moves.

[slyfuldragon]

[Survival] is Classic Survival Mode without stat buffs or equips.

[長谷川別死]

How do I get into classic mode? I never found the entrance

[Kira99]

Thanks for all the tips, I’ve been using Robo Ky since he’s my best character to use, and I’ve been stuck on Shadow Dizzy for a while but now I think I know what to do, thanks

[Ednilane]

:0