It's already copied into a document on my phone!http://sonichurricane.com/?page_id=1702
one thing i would suggest is to read this.. even though this is a OLD footsie guide - once you have a better/deeper understanding of footsies, you can have a better understanding of conditions and reads. they pretty much all go hand in hand but i feel there's def some things in this write up that made me realize how and when i was being read and was able to adjust my thinking to turn the tables and become the one conditioning and making more/better reads in my favor
this is true. there are friends that i play enough, and even random players i've encountered where we've played so long that all of our games become super intense because we both know each others patterns.Just an aside that there's no shortcut to this.. Most of the players who make the best reads, play a LOT -- tons and tons of matches, lots of long sets, etc.
It seems cerebral, but a lot of it is playing so many matches that your opponents' tendencies start to become logical/obvious to you as a way of habit.
The other thing that helps is watching an awful lot of tournament play, and breaking things down; you'll pick up on the 'meta' of how people play certain characters and what kinds of tactics are successful. So the common factor in both cases is ingesting a lot of information, to the point that subconsciously your mind start's to automatically predict what's coming next.
Haha this is really confrontational. It might seem like a funny reply I gave, but there's actually a lot of truth in what I said. And I like it that you see the seriousness in it. So here goes nothing, I'll try to be as clear as possible:As for the first part, I'll see what I can do to cover this, but that is a very advanced concept, and likely doesn't manifest itself in the manner you think it might.
I'm more interested in your second point. Do you ever find yourself in matches where you have absolutely no idea how you lost? Do you find yourself coming up against tactics that seem cheap or overpowered? Do you find that sometimes you'll get hit with the same move over and over again?
I'd really appreciate honest answers to these questions. It's players like yourself who are new to fighting games that I want to help, so understanding where and how you struggle would really help me.
Hmm when my yolo approach goes wrong the matches go a way in that I either get punished and then I freak out and start shooting rockets, and do tons of failed jump ins and then I'm so anxious my 123 rocket cancel becomes 123 machine gun OR I literally say fuck this guy this isn't gonna work so I calm down remember my plus strings do a bunch of forward grabs then mix ups and hope for the best because once I start building momentum I fall back into my yolo swagg waysI'm guilty of that with Jax too!
This might seem like an odd question, but I can't think of a better way to phrase it; How do the matches play out when your yolo approach goes wrong? (Feel free to answer either purely in terms of the characters on screen, or what goes on in your head, or both).
Sorry if I seemed confrontational, but hope you understand that I wasn't attacking you. I really appreciate you giving me some honest answers. They'll prove really useful later.Haha this is really confrontational. It might seem like a funny reply I gave, but there's actually a lot of truth in what I said. And I like it that you see the seriousness in it. So here goes nothing, I'll try to be as clear as possible:
Do you ever find yourself in matches where you have absolutely no idea how you lost?
It's not that I don't know how I lost, it's more like I don't know what I could have done better. It probably has a lot to do with reading now I think of it. For example, I fought against a SubZero grandmaster (with the ice clones) and he just kept on putting up clones and used attacks from there on out. I played about 5 matches against this guy and I noticed that I started to learn what he was doing. I lost every match, but in the end the fight was more even.
Other times I fight people who might even be cheating. No clue what they are doing, but I can't seem to land any combo at all. Vortexes and projectiles are my main concern. I simply don't know what to do and end up pressing the wrong buttons.
Do you find yourself coming up against tactics that seem cheap or overpowered?
Yes and yes. Especially with the ice clone, scorpions vortex stuff and about every projectile thrower (Liu Kang, Mileena with their low projectiles). What I really hate is the feeling that I don't have the chance to do anything about it. I don't mind if people punish me with a big combo (30+ procent) though. On the other hand, when I fight a noob, I´m acting the same way and try to practice my Kano CT vortexes (B212 and B31). So this guy probably has the same feeling.
Do you find that sometimes you'll get hit with the same move over and over again?
I'm about to give the same answer as the previous question. But what I sometimes notice is that I'm unable to punish someone when he uses the same move over and over again. And other people are able to punish me when I'm using to much airballs for example. To punish people the right way requires a lot of relaxation and concentration. When I'm tired of work and start playing MKX, I end up losing matches because I'm not focused enough. I end up frustrated and go to bed sighing.
Looking forward to your guide! And I added you on PSN, so I can show you a trick or two about offense .
A friend of mine does the same thing, and I respect his play a lot. You're in good company.One thing I like to do that someone laughs at me for (if he sees this he knows who he is ) is to watch KOTH matches with really good players. I like to watch different styles of play and see what it is they do to always win. It helps knowing what you're going up against and to prepare a strategy ahead of time.
If I see someone using Shinnok, I know its in my best interest to not jump during the match or be forced to eat a combo (same if you encounter Kitana; never jump!). I'll choose a character that can teleport and get out of a tough spot when needed.
I read somewhere that just because you lose, it doesn't mean the other player is better than you; they're doing something that you may have never thought of and use it to their advantage (footsies for example).
I myself am reading a guide on footsies (it was posted earlier here) and how its such a basic fundamental. Since I always thought footsies was something else, it's making me realize how powerful it can be and how it can improve your game. It's also why I sometimes lose to 'better' players
So would you say that your temperament is a big factor in whether you can make a come back or not?Hmm when my yolo approach goes wrong the matches go a way in that I either get punished and then I freak out and start shooting rockets, and do tons of failed jump ins and then I'm so anxious my 123 rocket cancel becomes 123 machine gun OR I literally say fuck this guy this isn't gonna work so I calm down remember my plus strings do a bunch of forward grabs then mix ups and hope for the best because once I start building momentum I fall back into my yolo swagg ways
So every characters can stagger strings or poke, and some have moves that are plus on block or combos that leave the target standing with frame advantage and the more plus the less options your opponent has until the only option is to block or get hit. These situations on both sides are key points to make observations and clutch decisions. Being able to react and simultaneously note your opponents reactions in some situations can be more difficult than others obviously, but Erron Black has a pretty easy example.Do you mind going into detail about this?
Yes my temperment is usually the difference between for example a Sonya standing 1 punishing a dive kick or eating one, running up to Sonya within poke range stop and bait the xray or running in and yolo 1-1 ing her for dear life on match pointSo would you say that your temperament is a big factor in whether you can make a come back or not?
This is great info, thanks a ton for elaborating.So every characters can stagger strings or poke, and some have moves that are plus on block or combos that leave the target standing with frame advantage and the more plus the less options your opponent has until the only option is to block or get hit. These situations on both sides are key points to make observations and clutch decisions. Being able to react and simultaneously note your opponents reactions in some situations can be more difficult than others obviously, but Erron Black has a pretty easy example.
Black can create frame traps and frame advantage a couple ways: EX Sand Grenade on block, his 11 string, by staggering certain strings on hit and with gun cancels in the marksman variation. EX Sand Grenade is probably the tool most core to this sort of tactic and it's -7 on block, depending on how quickly you act, this leaves most of the cast with the option to block, poke, armor or get hit. Drawing from your character knowledge you can develop an idea of risk vs reward on your options vs their poke or armor options, and from repeated engagements you can start to make guesses from their most common or risky choices. If they have no meter and a garbage poke it's easy to just continue your block pressure; if they love popping armor do a run cancel to bait them and then just block that shit; finally if they have a great poke and love using it (aka Lackey Torr) you can cross up.
Tick throws are really just using throws off of frame advantage; Erron obviously is a special case because he has probably the most exploitable special cancel tick throw and 211EX Sand Trap is probably the most dangerous of them. On block if they don't jump or nuetral duck at the right time they eat Sand Trap, but if you continue the string and they duck, they can take over 30%... jumping is slightly safer and they can also armor, but w.e.
The majority of my first uses is going to be based on the match-up, but if they have shown good answers to my 21122 pressure in the past or are pretty good at blocking f13 I might go for a grab or cross up.This is great info, thanks a ton for elaborating.
Assuming you and your opponent haven’t played numerous times before, I am curious about the EX Sand Grenade (more generally, the prospect of having significantly more than 2 plus frames.) What is your thought process the first time you do an EX Sand Grenade and they block? Are you using the prior character knowledge to make a read then adjust after the outcome of the sequence after the blocked grenade, or are you looking for patterns before you even attempt it?
Using the Ferra/Torr example, you mentioned if that F/T has a great poke AND they love using it, then crossups become a valuable counter. Are you waiting to see if that F/T is going to poke in other situations before deciding to crossup in the EX grenade situation? Or do you try the EX Sand Grenade/crossup to see what they do, then collect info from that. I hope I am making sense, I am sure there is not a concrete answer for this, but I was wondering if you had a starting point based on your experience.