Count Dooku: Non-Force

Dooku is undoubtedly one of the stronger non force characters out there. He has multiple traits that allow for diversion and power. His saber is one of the strongest in the game and his health is just above normal.

In duels Dooku is quite impressive. People are taken surprise of more often than not when fighting against him. He can attack quickly and painfully, or he can look like he's going slow and end up mopping the floor with his opponent.

Dooku has three different traits that can aid him in duels. Those are his normal combo, dash attack, and aerial attack.

Dooku's normal combo, in my opinion, is the strongest in the game. That is, the full combo, front to back, seems to do more damage than any other. The reason I say this is based on killing a chewie. Dooku seems to be able to kill him in only one full combo, and nobody else seems to be able to. Anyway back to dueling: Since his combo does massive amounts of damage when completed, a good tactic is to try to use this to kill your opponent in one swoop.

To do this, sometimes the best thing to do is click a couple of times without completing the combo, this may make your opponent think they have an opening. They'll start to creep closer. When they are a couple of steps away you can actually complete the combo and end up killing them. Dooku's combo you have to aim in a certain direction because it will pull you along. It also seems to suck in your enemy more if they are to your right. Sometimes an enemy may flee if they start getting hit by the left right cross Dooku begins with, but if they are on your right side it may pull them back in and you can finish them.

Using Dooku's dash attack in duels is also very effective. You have to be extremely careful and precise when to use it though. Even just clicking his dash once leaves him quite open if you miss, so you should be as sure as possible.

The best way to use his dash in a duel, is in a surprising manner. Make it look like you are getting closer and closer, keep popping block on and off. Make them think you are going to do something other then dash. Then at the last second do a short dash when their block is down. In other words, don't dash from halfway across the arena or you'll either get backslashed, or will miss.
Dooku can continuously dash if you hold the sprint down and keep clicking, this goes in a mostly straight line so it's almost not worth it unless you see them in between swings or backslashes.
His dash also has knockdown built in if aimed right. You have to hit them with the beginning of the dash in order to knock them down. If you start clicking too late, you may just damage them (or not) and go right through them.
If you miss a dash, jump quickly out of the way or roll. Rolling is least recommended because they will be behind you and just may get you as you're rolling. You can also backhand once your character stops the forward movement, and sometimes this works if they're coming at you quickly from behind after you miss.

The aerial attack is probably Dooku's most versatile tool to use of the three. It is powerful, can be quick, and is 95% a knockdown move.

In a duel you will want to use an aerial when you have a really good chance of succeeding. Don't just do it to land in front of them: because on servers, lag makes you swing twice instead of just once like single player does. This leaves you open and stuck in one spot.

A really good trick in duels with the aerial is to try and make your opponent lose you in the air. This means if they are staying on the ground try to jump around a couple times above them. If you see them lower their block or turn a way that leaves them open, attack. If you have read my force dooku or vader guide, you will know that once you click in the air, the character wants to lurch forward a bit. You can control this but not fully, so practice your air slams on bots until you get the proper distance and timing, it takes practice.
Also with the aerial, his saber swings from the right side of his body, and you will have more luck if the enemy is slightly to your right. There are moments where it may not knock them down, like when they are in mid combo, but may do more damage and may keep you safer if you keep them slightly to the right.

In full map non force, Dooku will use all three of his above tools along with evasion and strategy techniques.

The first thing I will recommend in full map, is to USE YOUR MINI MAP. There are countless times where people get snuck up on because they weren't being aware. Granted this is something you will want to do as Dooku (sneak up on them) but you don't want it happening to you. Whenever you get to a place and look alone, do a quick circle with your character and look for red dots. You can't see dots behind you, so you need to make sure you use that V for a full circle a couple of times. Being aware is the key to full map.

In Mos Eisley, or wherever you fight for that matter, you will find yourself sucked toward certain spots of the map. I would say that most non force fighting in Mos Eisley takes place in the southwest corner. This is fine, except that you really aren't getting good at utilizing your surroundings. When going full map, try your best to move around and use the whole map. That way in a 1v1, 2v2, or 5v5 match you will not be surprised and out of practiced if you get stuck in another area and are able to defend yourself.

The second thing I would recommend is waiting for people to come to you if possible. Some of the best ambush/trap places are on roofs. If you are on a roof and somebody jumps up to get you, you can avoid their aerial attack by moving out of the way and finishing them off while they are recovering from it. Now I wouldn't recommend a combo unless you actually start it before they land and are out of the way. Then try to get them with the final blow as their attack misses you. This will most likely kill any of the heroes in one hit. If it doesn't, it will stun them and you can finish them.
Waiting for them and you doing an aerial attack is a good idea too, you just have to watch them jumping again and slashing you mid-air, because Dooku's is only a ground attack and you have no way to damage them. If you get quick at Dooku's aerial attack, you can move out of the way at the last second then jump attack them as soon as they land. If they roll away and you miss, it's usually okay since they'll most likely roll off the edge.

You can also dash them after they land, but you have to be a bit more careful with it though. If you dash at them head on while they are landing, they may damage you. I would recommend moving slightly at the last second and getting them from the side, or at any angle that isn't directly at their saber. If you get them while they are swinging, you could possibly knock them down, then finish them. Overall the best finish is with an aerial attack because it stuns and you don't have to worry about them slipping out like you do with the combo.

A lot of Dooku's attacks in full map have to do with his sprint jumps to other roofs or onto the ground from above. This takes a bit of practice but it is very beneficial. Sprint jumping launches you forward a lot more than normal jumping does, so when you click your aerial attack you will have more of a forward lurch. If you feel like you are going to overshoot your target you can hold down whatever your backward movement key is, and it should slow you a bit. I would say he only has a small percentage of left right movement while after you've clicked in mid air, so try to line it up as best you can originally with your jumps.

Since that lurch forward is built into his sprint jumps, you can use it to your advantage. If you get higher than one jump before clicking and you hold your forward key, you can actually do a sweeping movement which covers more area than just a normal downward aerial attack. So if you are on a roof and you want to sweep a person who is on a roof connected to yours, double jump and wait until you start falling. If you aren't too far away you can click and hold forward as you are falling and you will do a sweeping motion forward. It seems to be able to suck them in to your ground hit. When you practice this move, the key to the trick is to make sure you're on your way down. If you do it at the pennacle of your jump it doesn't work as well and plus you may overshoot them.

One of the best tactics I use as Dooku is changing my levels. On the ground level he isn't very powerful against the dashes that the heroes have, so it's very good to always be changing your levels. Many heroes feel they have you trapped if they get you on the ground, and they are right especially since their dashes are usually knockdowns. So if a hero is on a roof and you are below them, run back and forth along the wall they are above, get them to try and come down. The second they think you aren't coming up or that they may have an attack they may come down. When this happens, quickly jump onto their roof or another one and you could have a slight advantage.
I personally like to play mind games with those I am fighting, and wear them down a little until they screw up. So sometimes I will stay on the ground and not get off the ground at all until they come down, and then hop up on a roof when they do. I then wait for them to jump up and I go back down on the ground unless I have an easy kill. After doing this a few times they may get impatient and just want to kill you and jump up at you when you are on a roof, or dash right past you when you are below them. The key to the ground level is being close enough for them not to be able to land an easy attack.

One final move I do on full map that I see has been getting popular, is backhanding when someone is aerial attacking you, especially sprint jump attacking you. Now with the Villains it is a little more difficult to place the backhand. In my experience, and it may be just lag, it seems like on Dooku you can click a little later than normal. A normal backslash goes out the side in a straight line, but Dooku's (and Vader, Emperor) is different. Experimenting with the timing of this will get you killed a lot, but once you have it down it is pretty safe to use. You have to have your back to them for this to work properly, it will stun them or send them flying forward if they sprint jumped.
Don't forget, this can be used against you too if someone has good timing.

Overall as Dooku, he is a power character but has a couple weaknesses: The beginning of his combo, and slower movement speed. If you utilize these tricks you may have more fun playing him and not shy away from him.