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[zeroFiveNine]

This is worse than Call of Duty pros.

 

[Hostile_18]

This is worse than Call of Duty pros.

Omg that video was class, better than WWE

 

[anthraticus]

I'm some respects learning a fighting game ruins offline play as you quickly become too good against your friends.... I'm banished from ever using Jade (MK 11) and Aquaman (Injustice 2) in offline play, my friends are lucky to get a hit in lol.

Yea, that kinda kills the fun. I'd rather enjoy them with ppl I know and be worse (who cares?)....rather than be good and play vs randoms online.

 

[Generic]

I’ve been playing fighting games for a healthy portion of my life and admittedly they still can be very difficult especially with the rise of tournament players. They require a plethora of patience, quick reflexes and dedication which most casual gamers lack.

Some gamers nowadays go on YouTube and other sources and study frame data and emulate what the professionals are doing which make things more challenging for the average gamer. Is it any coincidence that literally every Tekken King player has the same powerbomb combo? Online resources has made learning fighting games a little more accessible and understandable yet also harder as well I feel.

Playing people in real life on your level can help and it allows room for experimentation and learning strengths/weaknesses. I don’t have anyone in real life to play fighting games with sadly, so it’s all online for me if I want to experiment. Stick with a character, try to master a basic combo and study the fundamentals. Eventually, try to build on this and try to not get intimidated.

"study frame data"

This is really weird. Modern fighting games are borderline autistic.

 

[NiiloPielinen]

Step -10 on Block:

Don't even bother starting up Tekken.

It isn't even the sheer number of moves

Number of moves is a bit misleading in Tekken.
You can think of lot of them as being first part of a string or an extension to another move. Like Kazuya's 1,2,4: (left punch, right punch, right kick) but you can stop it at any time so technically that is 3 moves:
1
1,2
1,2,4
Maybe not the best example but it should illustrate the point.

 

[Hostile_18]

Number of moves is a bit misleading in Tekken.
You can think of lot of them as being first part of a string or an extension to another move. Like Kazuya's 1,2,4: (left punch, right punch, right kick) but you can stop it at any time so technically that is 3 moves:
1
1,2
1,2,4
Maybe not the best example but it should illustrate the point.

So is it better to just remember and use only a few combos in Tekken at least initially?

 

[NiiloPielinen]

So is it better to just remember and use only a few combos in Tekken at least initially?

If by combos you mean moves (which may or may not comprise of more than one individual attack) then yes, you can pick a few key moves that cover different situations well and start with them, rest of the moves can be situational

And to me, it helps that each limb has been assigned their own button. So if you remember what some move looked like, you can determine it's input at least partially.

 

[dust bunny]

Flaw in your logic: losing most your matches is not fun. People don't do things that are not fun in their free time.

Depends on who you are as a person and how you lose imo. Playing someone who absolutely destroys you is a super fast way of improving if you know the game on a basic enough level to work out what is happening. And improving enough to slowly start taking games off a skilled player feels way better than just winning, even if it's just one out of five games or whatever. Also, in my experience, the people who actually care about getting better has no problems helping you out with tips because it forces them to improve further as you catch up.

 

[Doom85]

I'm some respects learning a fighting game ruins offline play as you quickly become too good against your friends.... I'm banished from ever using Jade (MK 11) and Aquaman (Injustice 2) in offline play, my friends are lucky to get a hit in lol.

Yeah, I remember Matt from the gaming group Best Friends Play mentioning that on their podcast. He was at a party with some relatives and they put in Street Fighter V. Matt, who is probably fairly good at best, started doing some combos, special moves, etc. and it blew everyone else's mind as apparently they had never seen ANY of this and were saying, "how are you doing that?!" Two matches later, they took SF V and put Mortal Kombat X in for the rest of the party since it became obvious no one else in the room stood a chance against Matt in SF despite him being merely good/pretty good at best.

For me personally, while most of my friends are chill about it, one of my friends gets really salty when we played Smash Bros. Wii U since me and another friend are easily the best at it of those in our friend group. "Oh sure, stick to the characters you're good at!" Yeah, except I was constantly switching between about 15 characters, I'm sorry I'm playing the characters I enjoying playing, what an asshole that makes me apparently. Also, back in my college years, my friends begged me to never play Nightmare in Soul Calibur 2 as they could barely get a hit on me when I was playing him.

 

[DeliciousDoc]

Depends on who you are as a person and how you lose imo. Playing someone who absolutely destroys you is a super fast way of improving if you know the game on a basic enough level to work out what is happening. And improving enough to slowly start taking games off a skilled player feels way better than just winning, even if it's just one out of five games or whatever. Also, in my experience, the people who actually care about getting better has no problems helping you out with tips because it forces them to improve further as you catch up.

If you get destroyed very quickly how do you learn anything? In single player, if I get destroyed and try again, I am immediately fighting the same opponent and "playstyle". If i get spammed to death by one character, I try again and get move spammed by a different character, or someone who has a good grasp of the mechanics, giving me a different environment, what am I learning? Spam block to last longer?

 

[Hostile_18]

Yeah, I remember Matt from the gaming group Best Friends Play mentioning that on their podcast. He was at a party with some relatives and they put in Street Fighter V. Matt, who is probably fairly good at best, started doing some combos, special moves, etc. and it blew everyone else's mind as apparently they had never seen ANY of this and were saying, "how are you doing that?!" Two matches later, they took SF V and put Mortal Kombat X in for the rest of the party since it became obvious no one else in the room stood a chance against Matt in SF despite him being merely good/pretty good at best.

For me personally, while most of my friends are chill about it, one of my friends gets really salty when we played Smash Bros. Wii U since me and another friend are easily the best at it of those in our friend group. "Oh sure, stick to the characters you're good at!" Yeah, except I was constantly switching between about 15 characters, I'm sorry I'm playing the characters I enjoying playing, what an asshole that makes me apparently. Also, back in my college years, my friends begged me to never play Nightmare in Soul Calibur 2 as they could barely get a hit on me when I was playing him.

I'm currently trying to get my friends into buying a fighting game so we can learn together. Theres a big difference between button mashing and learning the basics. It could be argued both equally fun though.

 

[zenspider]

I have a weird issue where I cannot stand to play 2D fighters with a stick, it feels wrong for some reason, despite being old enough that that’s how I played in arcades, but now since consoles I prefer a d-pad.

On the other hand I prefer a fight Stick for 3D fighters like Tekken or Soulcalibur it feels right to me, I feel like a stick gives you great control in the 3D space.

Am I doing it wrong or is it okay to have separate preference like this?

I have different controller preferences for different characters! So no.

I'm just learning Street Fighter 5 at the moment. Are the combos harder in that to learn? On the challenges I can get up to about 6 of 10 then it seems too hard. It's not been able to punch out the moves but how quick you have to link everything together.

I can do pretty much everything in NRS games easily.

Anyway my general advice would be:

- Block is your best friend.
- Learn one good combo for your character.
- Learn at least one zoning special move.
- Mix up your attacks with at least one high, one low (so if a person blocks one way, attack the other).
- Use throws occasionally to keep your opponent guessing.
- Know when to use your super and when to leave it (when the round is a lost cause).
- Stick to casual matches for a long time before entering ranked matches.

Watch pros struggle with those challenges on YouTube and you'll feel a lot better haha. Plus, every challenge mode combo starts with a jump-in, which is not the "combo starter" you should be looking for primarily.

Landing a jump-in is "party time" and you should have one 'tree' that you branch based on your resources available and what you want to spend. Often the spacing/situation after knockdown you want determines your "finisher" if you can't outright kill.

We can count execution as a resource as well - if you can't do it 99.9% of the time reliably, do you want to spend the risk in match?

Damage, in general, is much more accessible in SFV then other iterations (and other games) I would look at YouTube combo videos and practive the bread and butters.

Comboing into (or safely activating) V-Trigger and capitalizing are probably the most worthwhile combos to practice and optimize. It's a big part of - if not the gameplan for most fighters.

 

[zenspider]

"study frame data"

This is really weird. Modern fighting games are borderline autistic.

Every fighting game has frame data. It just boils down to when is it and isn't it your turn to hit buttons.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

The most challenging thing about being a member of the fgc is coming out to your family.

11,000,000 out of 10. Gad. DAM

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Good advice, bit I think 1 and 3 kind of contradict each other. I think you should give a shit about rank after you can take on Step Three.

Every fighting game has a gauntlet of terrible players at the bottom - terrible players who can destroy you.

Low ranks at once teach you bad habits, and expose your bad fundamentals. We can call it the 'Ghandi principle'. For those unfamilar, here's the match:



And here's valuable insight from UltraDavid's analysis of the match:



It's really the "scrub" mentality that needs to be overcome - that you should have won because of what you know, as opposed to knowing how you could have won, and learning from why you didn't. When that's done, your realize your rank isn't about you, but about who your competition is.

Holy shit that Ryu player's, like, DSP's son!

 

[Caffeine]

And that's exactly the problem with playing online...

but playing offline the ai cheats, and you only beat it by cheesing it, and fundementally learn nothing from beating that ai.

 

[flacopol]

-don´t touch buttons , tekken block if you don´t touch anything =)
-know how to move , cancel dash , and to move in 360
-know little combos , don´t try to do the max , if you dropped ...
-know the strings from the enemy and try to wait openings

Also I really suck in Fighting games , I saw a lot .... but I have two foot in my hands for this kind of games

 

[Nymphae]

If you get destroyed very quickly how do you learn anything? In single player, if I get destroyed and try again, I am immediately fighting the same opponent and "playstyle". If i get spammed to death by one character, I try again and get move spammed by a different character, or someone who has a good grasp of the mechanics, giving me a different environment, what am I learning? Spam block to last longer?

You have to analyze what you are doing wrong, and then work on improving that aspect. Getting better takes time and conscious practice.

This sounds incredibly obvious and basic, but newer players don't like to do it I don't think - because it isn't the gameplay.
Watch your recent matches again (or analyze a match right after it happened)
Look at what you got hit by, look for every mistake you make. Ask what you could have done to avoid the damage you took, and try that next time you play. Hit by a lot of DPs? Try not to jump for a whole round, find other ways in with your toolset. Understand when you have taken a risk by using a move that left you open to be hit (when you could have used a safe move or waited for your opponent to attempt a first strike - which can be punished)

 

[DrJohnGalt]

Before Step 1 - which fighting game is best for a complete newb?

I've never been good at fighting games, mostly because I couldn't remember the combos. Now it's that plus I'm older and my reaction time is slowing down noticeably .

I always wanted to get into fighters (2d or 3d) but would like something casual with a relatively easy learning curve and a decent single-player game. Is there such a thing?

 

[SonGoku]

step 1: GIT GUD

 

[Nymphae]

I always wanted to get into fighters (2d or 3d) but would like something casual with a relatively easy learning curve and a decent single-player game. Is there such a thing?

I say Street Fighter or Samurai Showdown maybe. 3D fighters throw more environmental factors at you with ring outs/wall damage/having to be cognizant of 3D space instead of a simple 2D plane. Anime games like GG XRD or Blazblue get pretty complex with systems and execution, so I say Street Fighter because compared to anime fighters, it's basic as hell, and the execution requirements are much more manageable.

But obviously, just play whatever one interests you the most!

 

[Pejo]

That LTG segment always makes me laugh every single time I see it.

 

[JLB]

As a terrible fighthing gamer, I just have one advise: Give up. No matter how much effort and practice you put into it, you will still suck.

 

[Enjay]

As a terrible fighthing gamer, I just have one advise: Give up. No matter how much effort and practice you put into it, you will still suck.

This. To even have a chance you have to preorder the game you wanna be good at and get it day 0 for early access. Then you have to buy, use, and master every dlc character that will come out also on day 0 to learn how to defend against them at least.

 

[Nymphae]

This. To even have a chance you have to preorder the game you wanna be good at and get it day 0 for early access. Then you have to buy, use, and master every dlc character that will come out also on day 0 to learn how to defend against them at least.

This is not even close to accurate. No one is a comprehensive encyclopedia of characters and frame data, not even the best Pros. I just read a story the other day on Eventhubs about Daigo talking about how he needs to get FANG into the lab and study more, because he keeps losing to FANGS' shenanigans. 4 years later and one of the greats is still losing to a low tier character.

Obviously a total newb to fighting games is going to have a long road ahead of them if they want to say, compete in Pro tournaments. But if you don't want to do that, and just want to have fun with friends or online matches, you can learn any fighting game in a decent amount of time, enough to be able to compete with the numerous other people at your level.

 

[zenspider]

I've seen a ton of videos about fundamentals, but this is probably the best beginner friendly one:



And a more theory based overview:

 

[TacosNSalsa]

As a terrible fighthing gamer, I just have one advise: Give up. No matter how much effort and practice you put into it, you will still suck.

Sheeeitt...with that mentality you already ahead of 90% of online players.

 

[JLB]

Sheeeitt...with that mentality you already ahead of 90% of online players.

haha, I mean thousands hrs after KI dojo and 2 broken controllers... It was just unhealthy for me XD

 

[Enjay]

This. To even have a chance you have to preorder the game you wanna be good at and get it day 0 for early access. Then you have to buy, use, and master every dlc character that will come out also on day 0 to learn how to defend against them at least.

This is not even close to accurate.

I just read a story the other day on Eventhubs about Daigo talking about how he needs to get FANG into the lab and study more, because he keeps losing to FANGS' shenanigans. 4 years later and one of the greats is still losing to a low tier character.

exactly what I was saying

Fighting games are developed by and solely for the tournament scene now. That's where their revenue comes from, and that's why their deluxe season 1 editions (formerly known as complete editions) release at $100 (so that the casuals who buy it can recoup them for the loss of giving the pros a free code to downlod the game)

 

[Caffeine]

It's not the lag.

 

[Nymphae]

Fighting games are developed by and solely for the tournament scene now. That's where their revenue comes from, and that's why their deluxe season 1 editions (formerly known as complete editions) release at $100 (so that the casuals who buy it can recoup them for the loss of giving the pros a free code to downlod the game)

Yes, we all know DLC sucks. Though I still think I'd prefer an updated base game to buying yearly or bi-annual releases for balance/new characters. They do absolutely need a way to let you at least train against the full roster even if you haven't bought them all. But honestly, I use like 3 characters in SFV. Do I really need to own all of them? You can try characters out during free trial periods, and in general, some videos should give you an idea of which characters you want to purchase. I actually kind of like that I don't have to buy a whole new version of a game for balance updates and 3 additional characters I may or may not want to even use.

And a more theory based overview:

That one is so good, Core-A is the greatest. That's my stick in the thumbnail too! #Koreansticks4life

 

[Hostile_18]

If you play a sport your unlikely to be anywhere close to being a pro... doesn't mean you can enjoy getting better. 99% of the player base is in the same position.

It's not always about been the best, like no one ever was.

If you work, dable in other games/interests or have a partner might as well drop that dream right now lol.

 

[Nymphae]

If you work, dable in other games/interests or have a partner might as well drop that dream right now lol.

YMMV, there are good players who place well in tournaments that started their FGC careers with SF4, and who work for a living. Brian_F comes to mind. Sako won a tournament not that long ago and he's 40, with a family, not sure if he has a day job or not.

 

[dust bunny]

If you get destroyed very quickly how do you learn anything? In single player, if I get destroyed and try again, I am immediately fighting the same opponent and "playstyle". If i get spammed to death by one character, I try again and get move spammed by a different character, or someone who has a good grasp of the mechanics, giving me a different environment, what am I learning? Spam block to last longer?

I was only providing a different take on your "losing most your matches is not fun" blanket statement. Like I said, it depends on who you are. I have no problems with losing and typically have the most fun when fighting people much better than me.

To each their own.

 

[Nymphae]

I was only providing a different take on your "losing most your matches is not fun" blanket statement. Like I said, it depends on who you are. I have no problems with losing and typically have the most fun when fighting people much better than me.

To each their own.

Being focused on the wins or losses is a major error in itself. Yes, of course we all want to win. But when I started playing SFV, I was old Fighting Game Nymphae. I used Ken, mashed DPs and wondered why everything I did got shut down. I would get angry for losing, and not want to play.

I'm not sure what it was specifically that turned my thinking around, but the problem was indeed my thinking. Once I was able to not care about the win, I was more interested in what I can be doing to learn how to secure a win in more situations. Getting a good read after conditioning became a win. Nailing more of my DP's became a win, even if I lost the match - I was improving a weak aspect of my game, slowly. Losing a match in a way that I found very frustrating (being mauled on my wakeups), was a win as it forced me to analyze an area I was incredibly weak, etc.

 

[Yoshi]

My procedure to deal with fighting games is not playing them unless my wife asks me to, in which case I mash the buttons like a madman. Works fine.

 

[Durask]

I utterly suck at fighting games. I think I just don't have the hand/eye coordination.

I have trouble pulling off a simple combo in Street Fighter - I can do it on a standing opponent in practice mode, but when I try playing against the computer I mess it up most of the time. Basically I cannot press buttons fast enough and time the presses - I am too slow. Practiced against the computer for hours and hours in various games and finally gave up.

I don't even bother playing against human opponents.

Kind of similar to me trying to learn golf - just can't do it.

 

[DForce]

1. You're going to lose.
2. Every battle is a learing experience.
3. Don't be too predictable. Players will adjust to your style of play, so learn when to switch things up.
Some tips

 

[Hostile_18]

My procedure to deal with fighting games is not playing them unless my wife asks me to, in which case I mash the buttons like a madman. Works fine.

Wish me and the other half played fighting games. We occasionally play the original Crash Bandicoot, on the sofa, that is when I'm not working away "on business" with my Brother. Had alot more time to play since I've started working locally scuba diving however, so maybe I'll suggest it over dinner.

I'll probably be terrible but as I always say: Greatness from small beginnings.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

New people don't even try out fighters. Most people that play them did so as kids. Want advice? NEVER buy a fighting game at launch. It will be barebones and your favorite character will get nerfed anyway.

 

[LordOfChaos]

>99% of this subreddit

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

>99% of this subreddit

Why are you using greentext outside 4channel.mongolian.board

 

[LordOfChaos]

Why are you using greentext outside 4channel.mongolian.board

50% because joke, 50% because lazier than quote tags

 

[Mr Hyde]

Step four: Go Home and be a family man.

 

[V4skunk]

Easiest way to git gud is be calm and don't button smash.
Learning to defend with block etc is also very handy even if you suck.
Always play online.

 

[Vitacat]

Put the latest Virtua Fighter on the PC and I'll play it 24/7.

Rpcs3 plays it basically perfectly. VF5 Final Showdown looks astounding at 4k60.

But, of course it’s offline only. So, a proper port or sequel on PC would still be welcome by many.

 

[Belmonte]

Solid advice in the OP. Fighting games are all about the mindset. You don't play them only to win, but to learn and improve. If you don't find the learning aspect enjoyable it will be very hard to be a fighting game fan since learning and improve is the meat of the genre.

It is very common for beginners to watch combo videos to learn how to properly play fighting games. This is a mistake. Watch this one zenspider already posted. It is the best video about fighting game fundamentals I ever saw. If I could record it on a VHS, time travel and give it to young Belmonte, he would be the local arcade hero.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

"study frame data"

This is really weird. Modern fighting games are borderline autistic.

Yeah, it’s pretty crazy. There are people who actually study frame data religiously and use that to translate into which moves are punishable and safe with characters. Honestly, I never studied it even though I had gamers ask me if I did. I’m like, I just play and experiment with moves.

 

[dispensergoinup]

I used to play a ton of SNES and Arcade fighters at a now defunct mall. But then when it transitioned to online and it stopped being with friends and the locals, my play time dropped like a rock and I never went back.

For me it was definitely more about just enjoying destroying each other and less about online rankings, which for some reason just turned me off. I mean I wasn't bad but it just felt like working my way up vs randos was infinitely less fun and satisfying.

The last online fighter I played was probably SF4.

 

[Ascend]

Yeah, it’s pretty crazy. There are people who actually study frame data religiously and use that to translate into which moves are punishable and safe with characters. Honestly, I never studied it even though I had gamers ask me if I did. I’m like, I just play and experiment with moves.

Frame data is a must for high level play. You don't need to memorize every frame of every character. But it's a good idea to generally know what types of moves are safe and which are unsafe at least for your own character and the most played ones. Frame data helps a bunch with that.

Of the fighting games I played, I must say I'm quite good. Not trying to brag, but I can hold my own against the pros, at least online, in 3D fighters. I started without frame data, and had the will to get better. But once I understood frame data, that's when the true depth of the games came forward and my skill skyrocketed. It's exactly what let me appreciate VF5:FS as the best 3D fighting game of all time, which it objectively is. It's not as flashy, which is why it doesn't have as much popularity.