Xtreme Volleyball 101 - Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Guide - IGN (2024)

Volleyball is the bread-and-butter of the DOAX games. In order to purchase those expensive swimsuits, you’ll need some Volleyball skills to make the big bucks.

The mechanics are as simple as can be: Score more points than the other team to win! The game ends when the winning team scores 7 points (or a maximum 10 points during tougher matches with even scores).

With each win, your character’s Satisfaction rating increases along with your Friendship with your island buddy. With each progressive win, your partner will start getting better at Volleyball techniques like Blocking and spiking and you’ll be rewarded with “Nice” points (more on that below).

ADVANCED “NICE” POINTS

As your character’s relationship with her partner becomes more durable, you’ll notice that you’ll start scoring extra cash for doing certain advanced moves on the volleyball court.

• THE NICE SERVE (10,000 Z) – When you perform a well-timed Overhand or Jump Serve at the beginning of each round, you’ll gain points.
• THE NICE SPIKE (10,000 Z) – Simply do a well-timed spike on your opponents at the right moment to get the Perfect Spike.
• THE NICE BLOCK (10,000 Z) – This move will require precise timing but when executed properly, your character will do in instant block move.
• THE KNOCK-DOWN (5,000 Z) – While not as easy to perform, you can gain points by doing a power spike and knocking down your opponent.

SERVING THE BALL

There are THREE types of serves:

• Underhand Serve
• Overhead Serve
• Jump Serve

The Jump Serve is reserved more for advanced players that know the timing of when to hit the ball while in mid-air. If done correctly, your character will toss the ball upwards and then jump and spike it in mid-air. The timing for the mid-air spike is crucial because if you miss the spike, the opposing team scores a free point on the miss. “Nice” Points are rewarded for good timing on the Overhand and Jump Serves.

VOLLEY THE BALL

To volley a ball over to your partner for a spike, press

near the net. If done correctly, your character will volley the ball upwards and your partner will run in for the spike attack.

ALWAYS use the volley move so that your partner goes in for the attack. If the spike is blocked, your character can immediately jump in and volley the ball to avoid losing a point.

SPIKING THE BALL

Spiking the ball is an easy move but setting it up for the kill isn't as easy as it looks. To spike the ball, position your character in front of the net after your partner does a volley and then hit the ball in mid-air by pressing

.

If successful, the Spike leads to a free point, though be ready to defend your side if the opponent volleys back. Depending on your opponent, spiking the ball too hard can lead to a blocked hit so only use it when you know the opponent won’t Block it (you’ll see them jumping up for the Block). If the opponent is going for the Block, trick them by using a Feint move (more on that below).

DIRECTING THE SPIKED HIT

Although the game rules won't indicate it, your character can direct the ball as they go for the spike. When your character is in mid-air for the spike, move the Left Analog Stick UP, RIGHT, or DOWN to make them spike the ball in that direction on the opponent's side. This is a useful technique to use when the ladies on the opposing team are not standing in the direction that the ball is spiked towards.

THE SOFT TAP (FEINT)

This sneaky tactic is useful when facing off against opponents that tend to have a strong defense (AKA way too many hard spikes and Blocks). If the other team blocks too much, then your next best move is to do a fake spike or a “feint”. As your partner does a volley for a spike, press

as your character jumps to make her do a soft tap over the net.

When done correctly, the opponent will attempt to block your spike but will end up falling for the feint move. And if your opponents aren’t paying attention during the soft tap, it awards your team a free point.

Just be aware that your opponents can also do the same thing against your team, so be ready to volley quickly just in case!

BLOCKING YOUR OPPONENT

The number one strategy to defeating your opponents (especially ones on "HARD" difficulty) is learning how and when to block the ball. As your opponent sets up the volley for a spike, move your character up towards the front of the net and press

to make the block. Make sure your character or teammate is standing and jumping in front of the spiker or the Block won’t work!

The timing for the block is crucial and can end up winning or losing the game. If done correctly, your character/teammate will block the spike and make the other team scramble to try and volley again. In most cases, a successful block leads to a free point for your team. But depending on your opponents, sometimes the spikes they do can be too strong and and end up knocking your defender to the ground.

When using the Block move, you can time your Block by pressing and holding

so that your character jumps at the same time as your opponent. If

is pressed too quickly for a Block, your character will jump in the air and miss. Time your Blocks carefully!

The amount of cash you receive for winning Volleyball games will differ on the degree of difficulty of the opposing team. The list below gives a break down of the cash rewards on Easy/Normal difficulty.

For teams on “Hard/Hard” difficulty, the cash per winning score is added by an extra 50,000. For example, winning with a score of 7-to-5 on Normal equals 190,000 Zack Dollars while the rewards for a 7-to-5 score on Hard is 240,000 Zack dollars. This also applies to teams with “Hard/Normal” and “Normal/Hard” difficulties on certain occasions.

If your team loses a game, you’ll only be rewarded 30,000 Z (not including any Nice points).

• Keep the Ball moving! If the opposing team blocks your attacks, keep moving! Quickly reposition your team and go for another spike attack (or a soft tap).

• Defense is the key! Always set yourself or your partner for a spike attack. When the opposing team is going for hard spikes, make sure to always volley their attacks so that your team can plan an attack before the other team can get into a defensive position. Plus your partner’s Closeness will increase if you let them do the scoring.

• Always block! As you take on progressively tougher teams of ladies, you won't be able to win against them unless you ramp up your defense. When facing against teams on Hard difficulty, well-timed blocks will take them down fairly quickly.

• Make sure you have a very good relationship with your partner! As your Closeness with your Island buddy becomes more solid, they will end up becoming more useful on the court. They will block continuously and even go for deadly spike attacks.

• Be sure to take advantage of Nice Points so that your character can make even more money with each Win.

• Avoid the mid-court Spike! During a match, your partner will volley the ball up in the air and your character will immediately go for the spike from mid-court. This move is very risky because your character may be too far away from the net and the mid-court spike may end up hitting the net and awarding your opponent a free point. To avoid the embarrassment, press

  DOAX3-CIRCLE.png

  if this happens to make your character do a light tap on the ball in mid-air rather than spiking it. This is especially better for your team since your opponent will do the same thing but go for the spike.

• Immediately re-position your partner after each hit! When the ball is in play, move your partner to the back of the court (with the Right Analog Stick) and move your character to the front (with the Left Analog Stick). This will allow your team to cover the entire court in case the other team spikes the ball. If both ladies on your team are standing in front of the net, the other team can instantly go for a spike and score a free point since nobody is there to volley the ball from the back court.

• Do not underestimate your opponents. Even if your team winds up with a 6-0 score, the tides can easily turn and your opponents will go into overdrive, causing the score to become a 6-6 Deuce in less than 30 seconds.