The Fighting Game Noob Thread: From Scrub to Master

This is what I do. First off I like to play girl characters. So that narrows it down a lot. Then I pick the girl who looks the coolest to me. She becomes my main.

Some people have an arch type or trait they look for. Long range, speed, projectile/grappler, inputs style. So that helps narrow it down. Maybe they like grapplers so they try each grappler, which is doable since there's probably only a few per game. A lot just do something similar to me and play who they think is cool. Totally valid.
I only pick girl characters if they are a ninja (or spell caster). I mostly pick ninjas in general though...
 
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Woops


At work now, but my PSN name is Skillzilla81. I'll be free plenty of the next 5 days, so send me a friend invite. :)



I laughed at this way harder than I should have.

SoulCalibur

Okay will do
 

Astarte

Member
I don't even know how to pick a character in the first place. Besides aesthetics at least. Do people have some obvious way they choose a main? I look at SFV and I don't really know who I want to main. I think I liked using Chun Li in SFIV, but that was ages ago. Cammy has always looked fun to me too.

Even if I go and try all of them out, it's not like I use them properly to actually get a good feel. Plus, sometime it dilutes the characters. They all end up seeming the same (apart from obvious differences).

I did thoroughly enjoy using Tina in DOA5 though, so maybe I should first try Rainbow Mika. I never used to like grapplers, but Tina changed me.

I don't have a particular archetype for characters, I just like to main who I think is the most enjoyable to play.
Kanji in P4AU, Dragunov in Tekken, Jam in Guilty Gear, Ryu in SF, BB Hood in Darkstalkers (not that I'll get anywhere with her without insane practice), any team with Akira in Project Justice.
 

Tornix

Member
Don't 'should' Pookmunki. Just get out there, socialize and get some offline matches in. 😃 Most locals are very welcoming to newcomers, too.
 

Coda

Member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA2OiXNUPpM

Vesper Arcade did this awesome and extremely comprehensive breakdown of the third beta for SF V. While there's a lot of advanced data, terms and knowledge that they drop it's still a good video for beginners and veterans to play in the background while you're doing something else just to learn terms and concepts that will be relevant to SF V. They even have character breakdowns for every character except F.A.N.G.
 
Very thankful for this thread all these years I lied to myself thinking I was good cause I could beat family and friends.......nope lol. I saw a post in here that was so true. Can't be stuck in my head, have to be in opponents' head.

Playing 3s after never actually playing the game before this year or so is just brutal. Its like if you weren't playing during it's hay time you are in the dust, no catching up.
 
We should set up an event for friday. Then one event a week so we can see growth

Sounds good.

I want us to have a single twitch, but we have multiple games. I was thinking a tournament a month for any games people want and it's broadcasted on our twitch at specific times.
 

Nakazato

Member
Sounds good.

I want us to have a single twitch, but we have multiple games. I was thinking a tournament a month for any games people want and it's broadcasted on our twitch at specific times.
That's a good idea

Kadey if your here any chance you can hook this up for us ?

If not I'll see about make a scrub gaf twitch.

This will give us a good dry run till SF5 drops then we can't get started for real.
 
That's a good idea

Kadey if your here any chance you can hook this up for us ?

If not I'll see about make a scrub gaf twitch.

From the OP:

Mentors

Due to the nature of this thread, I am introducing a new concept to NEOGAF FGC: mentors. A mentee either asks personally, or a mentor personally chooses their mentee. From then on the two of you have a mentor/mentee relationship. The mentor, assumed to be a vet at that game, will then take the mentee under their wing to get them to competence. It doesn't matter the game. If you're great at Smash, and want to mentor a fledgling Smash player and help them get good, join the fight. If BlazBlue is your game, go for it. You can only have up to two mentees at once.

Every month we will hold an FGC gaf Mentor's Tournament. Each game will get its own unique time schedule. Rival mentors and mentees go at it to see who the best is and to gauge progress. Nothing increases the urge to get better than a good rival.

Confirmed Mentees and their Mentors:

No one has volunteered to mentor someone yet.
 

Fitts

Member
Awesome thread! My (casual) advice to someone looking to break into fighting games: don't burn yourself out trying to be perfect. While there's nothing like the competitive rush of a good fighter, just learn your fundamentals and the rest will come with time. Just make sure you realize why you lost and you'll get better. Never treat a game like a job -- play to have fun!


Haha I'm dying from laughter and my girlfriend doesn't know WTF is going on.
 

McNum

Member
Hi, I'm McNum, and I'm not good at fighting games.

I've been thinking of giving this whole "getting decent at fighting games" one last go with Street Fighter V when it comes out, even if none of my favorites from IV are moving up. I wish Makoto, Sakura or Rose were in. Which kind of shows my preference. I like not-Ryu shotos, Rose in particular felt "right" to me. I missed the betas, but my PC stick wouldn't have worked for that anyway, so... eh. Hoping it will on the full version.

I'm looking at Karin and Rainbow Mika for SFV, but I'll likely try them all, since there's a limited roster. Who knows, maybe F.E.N.G. will be my guy, although that seems unlikely. Still have to try him, of course.

To me, improvement would be seen in having an over 20% win rate online in any fighting game. I did get someone to ragequit on me in Smash, so that's one milestone achieved. (Don't be predictable with Samus' Charge Shot against Palutena is all I can say about that match.)

I have USFIV and KoFXIII on PC, but I really suck at KoF. Not my game at all. Smash on Wii U, too, but that's my for fun game. I don't want to be too good at Smash.
 
That's the first time you guys have read that? Wow, I should edit the OP if people aren't reading important stuff like that.
You should talk to Enzo about OP woes. People rarely read the OP for a big thread. It should be small with very little, but very crucial, information. People will compliment a large OP with a lot of pictures and links, but they will rarely read it.
 
controller players, how do you guys do the 2x qcf supers on 2nd player side? are you using mainly the nail part of your thumb or the side?
 
Commentators talk about frame data, patchlogs mention frame data changes and some games even offer frame data(DoA5, VF5FS, MKX, Injustice). Leaving it out is very inefficient.
There is no downside to learning it and helps one to demystify fighting games, since frame data practically represents the time.

On top of that, the knowledge how to utilize frame data opens up further gameplay strategies such as frame traps, which in turn leads to new offensive strategy tick throw.

Yeah but that's more learning material than practical material until you understand it.

@RockTurtle I use the middle of my thumb.
 

bob_arctor

Tough_Smooth
Great thread. I just realized Under Night was in the Playstation Store. Rented it last night after months of wanting to try it. So good.
 
You should talk to Enzo about OP woes. People rarely read the OP for a big thread. It should be small with very little, but very crucial, information. People will compliment a large OP with a lot of pictures and links, but they will rarely read it.

I'm going to make a Google Doc with all of the links and games in it. That will size the thread down a sizable amount. I'll cut out the pad and stick section and link straight to MarkMan's thread.

That should be enough to save room and maybe people will actually read it now. :(

The mentors aspect is a huge part of this thread, as well as the monthly tourneys.
 

McNum

Member
Yeah you basically want the really important thing at the top of the OP. For game OTs, it's the basics and system requirements and such. Similarly, the game images, while nice looking, draw a lot of attention to something that, well... is better left for later in the post. Or next post. If the rivalry and tournament stuff is what is important, it needs to be in the top quarter of the post at minimum. Sure, have the list for it lower down, exactly who's with who doesn't matter that much except to those people, but that there's going to be a mentor thing and you can call for rivals needs to be more apparent.

Also, I hope there's a Gaf Scrub SFV release tournament. Like just a few days to pick a character and then boom. Thrown to the wolves. Although not the dire wolves in Ranked, just the normal ones.

Speaking of that, maybe someone can give advice to me on a problem I just know will reappear for SFV: Being scared of the Ranked Match button. Street Fighter is so much more fun when playing against people, but it's also really intimidating. How do I overcome that?

I tried getting into Smash, but I just froze up on the For Glory button so many times.
 

Coda

Member
Speaking of that, maybe someone can give advice to me on a problem I just know will reappear for SFV: Being scared of the Ranked Match button. Street Fighter is so much more fun when playing against people, but it's also really intimidating. How do I overcome that?

I feel like not being afraid of Ranked Match can actually make you a better player. Don't worry if you lose a lot or don't have many player points. If you play a Casual Match you know to some degree it's casual and nothing is on the line. I primarily only play Ranked Match games because of this reason, I want my matches to count for something. I only play Casual Matches if I want to set up games with friends.
 
Great to see how some people pick and choose characters. It's cool to know. I guess I shouldn't worry too much about who I want to pick later, though only having 5 females (to start with) in SFV is annoying. I guess I look forward to at least testing Rainbow Mika, and see if I re-like Chunners.

It is going to be weird though going from VF, then DOA, then briefly MK, to playing a fighter without a dedicated block button.
 

McNum

Member
I feel like not being afraid of Ranked Match can actually make you a better player. Don't worry if you lose a lot or don't have many player points. If you play a Casual Match you know to some degree it's casual and nothing is on the line. I primarily only play Ranked Match games because of this reason, I want my matches to count for something. I only play Casual Matches if I want to set up games with friends.
I kind of hope the daily challenge thing in SFV can help this. I might walk away from ten matches with one win, but if I hit that challenge, I still won today's meta-game. Then I can go for 2/10 the next day.

But fighting games ARE intimidating. That's just how it is. There's you. there the opponent. And that's it. My skills, or lack thereof, are laid bare in front of a complete stranger. That's scary. I mess up once, I might just lose the entire match. Other games have a bit more leeway.
 
I kind of hope the daily challenge thing in SFV can help this. I might walk away from ten matches with one win, but if I hit that challenge, I still won today's meta-game. Then I can go for 2/10 the next day.

But fighting games ARE intimidating. That's just how it is. There's you. there the opponent. And that's it. My skills, or lack thereof, are laid bare in front of a complete stranger. That's scary. I mess up once, I might just lose the entire match. Other games have a bit more leeway.

I feel like not being afraid of Ranked Match can actually make you a better player. Don't worry if you lose a lot or don't have many player points. If you play a Casual Match you know to some degree it's casual and nothing is on the line. I primarily only play Ranked Match games because of this reason, I want my matches to count for something. I only play Casual Matches if I want to set up games with friends.

i always hit ranked whenever i picked a new character or game to try to hit the ground running in learning how to control that character. I don't care much for rank (well, not as vehemently as others)

but i often wonder if the nature of ranked (fighting a new person with random styles) forced me to learn what works online and not the hard-down nitty gritty. to learn how to study a person and take notice of their quirks. So often when i do ft10s i can win the first first matches based on my randomness but they catch on and i get blown up.
 
Mentor needed

Game: Ultra Street Fighter IV
Character: Chun Li (main)
Sub characters: Ryu, Cammy, Guile, would like to learn Decapre
Platforns: steam and ps4
Territory: Central USA
Strengths: ???
Weaknesses: combos, corner offense, corner defense, dealing with things like frame traps.
Skill level: Intermediate (?)

Fighter sample: http://youtu.be/gzJJOGiDlfw
 

qcf x2

Member
If anybody wants to train for SFV (using Last Blade 2 and 3rd Strike, which I feel fit the feel of SFV a lot better than SF4 does) or KoFXIV (using KoF2002) on Fightcade, let me know. I'm east coast for now.
 
I've never played a charge character before other than Balrog for fun, who is not execution-heavy for all. So trying to play Venom in Xrd is pretty difficult. Charge time is a little shorter in Guilty Gear than in Street Fighter, but it's still mind-wrenching to charge while doing everything else.
 
One question I want to ask everyone who enjoys playing lots of different fighting games:
I'm a Tekken-only player. I wanted to get into BB at some point before Chronophantasma came out, but Online was dead and I didn't know anyone who would play the game with me. Since then I haven't tried getting into any other fighting game.
How important do you consider playing different fighting games in order to improve in the one you're "maining"? If my sole purpose was to improve at playing Tekken, would I "have" to play different fighting games as well?

Very important. Unless your love for Tekken is so high that you don't have to motivate yourself, its really easy to get complacent in your main game or run into plateaus sooner because after awhile, there's not much beyond your flaws to really push you to learn.

Like I say in my videos every time I learn a new game and jump back to Tekken my skills get even better. I went from being a decent scrub in SCIV to being a competent player in TTT2 because in between those games I had T6, MK9, SCV, and VF5 and each of those games taught me concepts that I could apply to my game in Tekken. Playing SF recent has had me reach back into my Soul Calibur skill set with playing within a set range. I think its almost necessary to play other games if you want to even think about improving tbh.
 
We better settle in for the long haul. Don't think anyone outside of the OT wants to learn.

I want to learn but I don't have the means to play Tekken. I have a PS3, but it's not even hooked up anymore. Bamco have really done that game a disservice by not porting to the next ten systems and Tekken 7 is taking FOREVER to fucking come out. It's like Bamco don't want anyone in the west to play Tekken.
 
Mentor needed

Game: Ultra Street Fighter IV
Character: Chun Li (main)
Sub characters: Ryu, Cammy, Guile, would like to learn Decapre
Platforns: steam and ps4
Territory: Central USA
Strengths: ???
Weaknesses: combos, corner offense, corner defense, dealing with things like frame traps.
Skill level: Intermediate (?)

Fighter sample: http://youtu.be/gzJJOGiDlfw

I would love to play you, but EU-USA connections are no good. Anyway, you need to work on punishes and mixups. There were so many times when you could punish the clap and other stuff with at least sweep. On which you can do basically anything.

Also more mixups, none of the pokes were low for example, that will make the opponent think about one more defensive option in spite of his offense. Last obvious thing is less normal spamming. A skilled opponent will punish you doing st.mp over and over big time. You need to hold back on those and use them with thought.

One more thing that helps anybody - take a bit of time reading the opponent and look for patterns. You destroy so many lesser players just exploiting their attack and movement patterns.
 
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