@JBeezYBabY
A couple things.. you don't want to play this game defensively, anime fighters, and team fighters in general just don't work that way. If you're online trying to purposefully play defensive then that is def gonna be a source of frustration. There is defense here but it's more in your movement and in your use of offense than in a typical hold back to block and then punish sense. There isn't a whole lot that's going to be super punishable in the first place, not that a decent player will throw out, unless it's tied to something extremely powerful in the first place. If you want to play defensive, work on using your movement to stay evasive and maintain certain ranges. You can react to super dash effectively from a little range, and whack 'em with a 2h into pain, etc.
Additionally and I *don't* mean this to sound shitty or anything, but if you're facing opponents that are just down-backing vs you and that's giving you real trouble, then you need to lab your offense some more and work on your mix and how your assists play into.it, because in this entire game, outside of actually being in a combo and being hit, there's no place more dangerous or terrifying than sitting on the ground and downbacking vs someone. This game - like most anime fighters - is mix heavy.. extremely. You just have to find your mix options based on your team and learn your pressure into those options. There's also the throw to open people up, plus universal OHs and if you aren't Hit, solid, fast lows, tons and tons of specials are actually OHs as well and many characters like Beerus, Hit, Yamcha, Adult Gohan, Goku Blaxk, and on and on, have built in crossup specials that are hard to react to, and remember that assists don't need to do anything in some cases except clutter the screen, throwing out a flashy assist can make a reactable move harder to react to, due to the shit flying all around the screen, it takes longer for the brain to decipher all that visual mess.
Dumb shit works well.. like, as Kid, I've gotten way more mileage than I should out of jump M (the stretchy leg kick), into another j.m into my little ball splat special where he slams himself into the ground and bounces. I set up pressure and then use that kick to pull myself to safety - which they can beat, but it's difficult with Kids pressure, but once they've seen it once or twice, and decide to punish, I throw out the ball special (may be better follow ups this was just something I started messing with in a match last night kinda on the fly) and it catches them trying to pursue me... It's just a dumb example of how anime games are sort of based around creative mix and pressure.
Just some thoughts I had. There's no way you're hitting a wall this early man, you just gotta get the mindset of an anime fighter is all.
And one last piece of advice if I may.. you say often you play but feel, and I've played against you before. I think you have natural talent, but in fighting games, playing by feel only goes so far. Frame data and the technical side of things means that in a lot of situations it won't matter how you feel or what you want to do, or what your instincts tell, because the other guy knows a definite answer to the situation. If you throw out a move that's negative enough it doesn't matter what comes after if the other guy knows an option that beats any follow ups. I'm the opposite, I forget to play by feel and try to play by research and numbers - so believe me I'm not claiming anything special at all - but I feel like if you took you instincts and your feel for a fight and how it all.plays out and such, and added in the technical knowledge side of things, you'd level up hugely. People ask sometimes what makes a truly great FG player, and aside from being Asian, I think a large part of it is playing with extreme confidence that you know how to feel out the match and your opponent and have the technical understanding to make the best choices available.
Just some thoughts. I'm nothing special as a player or anything but I have some experience in anime and the mindset behind it, and you sound like.you might be getting a little.frustrated so.. hopefully something I said helps, or feel free to tell me to shut the hell.up and mind my business. Lol
