Tekken 7 is my first Tekken and really my first fighting game. Before trying this game I wasn't even able to consistently pull off hadoukens.
I've struggled to 1st Dan online with Alisa. I know that's nothing but I have still hit a wall and hard. I simply cannot deal with constant offense. Lees and Eddy's just blow me out, but if any opoonent with any character is pressing buttons I cannot stop them. I can't get away, her sidestep (which I think is supposed to be good) gets caught or is too slow, and my fastest jab feels sluggish compared to anything opponents throw out. I do block, but then something that doesn't look low or unblockable will hit me anyway. I try to block lows, but either still get hit anyway or get caught with a mid right after. Despite best efforts, I'm also apparently incapable of breaking 90% of throws. It seems like the only defense is a good offense.
But offense is a problem for me too. Any given opponent will block the majority of my different pokes. High, mid, low, dash, crouching, hopkick, down 3, doesn't matter. If they don't block the poke they just hit me in the middle of it and are off and away with seemingly endless combos. Nothing feels safe for me on block. Nothing feels unsafe on block for them. If I do manage to start a combo, my damage output feels comparitively low. Opponents need 3 or 4 combos max to do me in. I feel like I need to rely on them to make close to 10 or more mistakes to laboriously chip them down. I won't mention how often opponents kill me with a Rage Art in the middle of my own attack. I often win the first two rounds pretty smoothly, and then get run back all three rounds by opponents who seem to have no strategy aside from attack.
All of this is based on my obviously biased perception, but the frustration is real. The game is physically very, very fun to play. I want to get better but don't have the slightest idea of where to begin. I feel fundamentally outmatched by the majority of my opponents, even those I beat, and I can't even comprehend specifically how or why.
I used to dislike fighting games. Now I hate them. Even though I really like them.