My MK11 training schedule notes

[Metin]

I need king of the hill partners..

 

[Juggs]

As a beginner, who is willing to gonna learn today:



How do I compare those? Is it just about comparing a hyper-mobile Kung Lao and a not so mobile Baraka, or is it more about small bits and pieces? I remember Tom Brady showcasing it during MK9, where he showed how fast Sektors dash was compared to Reptiles dash, but also how slow Sektors walk speed was compared to Reptiles walk speed.

When I start out in Mortal Kombat 11 (haven't played the beta) I won't know how to determine if a character is fast or not. I think I'll be able to determine if they're mobile though - although that too might depend on their special moves and how viable those are. So what should my point of reference be for a characters movement / mobility? Should I come to TYM and ask who has the fastest walk speed in the game and then try to compare their walk speed to all of the other characters in the game?



Playing them against people / the AI for one hour or spending one hour in the practice mode with them?

Thanks!

You look at walk speeds, dash speeds, dash distance, advancing strings, mobility base specials, mobility variation specials, etc. Specials that are considered “mobile” or high in mobility would be: Specials that cover distance, (dive kick, dash punch, a run, teleport). Specials that change your positioning, (teleports). And things of that nature.

The AI is okay to practice on, but don’t make it a habit. They do things humans either never do or can’t do. Like instantly reacting to everything. You can’t condition the AI either. You also can exploit the AI which I actually figured out how to do in the beta.

So you want most of your practice to be in training mode and against actual people. Also, you want to spend A LOT of time in training mode.

 

[Obly]

Thanks @Juggs, very generous of you to share this with everyone. It's great to get insight into a respected enthusiast's mindset and approach.

I think we share a penchant for notetaking. I've built up an extensive table of gameplay info and learning tasks (similar to things you mentioned) that I reuse and customize for each character I'm trying to learn, and use the tables to keep all my notes organized. I also create a spreadsheet for all frame data for the character (now that GunFrame is no longer kept up ). I keep it all in OneNote and Numbers on my iPad, which is always nearby while playing, so I can take notes as I go and keep track of what I'm practicing.

Anyway, just wanted to share a couple reactions to your list, FWIW. No disagreements with your strategy intended! I'm mostly just curious how you developed it for yourself.

1. Agreed with picking only 2-3 characters for your mains early in the game. I'm mad impressed by how much time you're willing to invest in each character before you make a decision!

Not sure that strategy would work for me. By now I already have a good sense of which characters I'm interested in based on aesthetics and breakdowns. I want to jump right into intense practice and research with those characters. I can't see doing the same for characters I know I won't play as; the same interest won't be there and I know I'd resent (even dread) the time spent on it. Not good for my motivation.

I'll have to go back and learn about the other characters for MU purposes, of course, but I'll only do that once I know my mains inside and out. Without that, I wouldn't be able to put the "oppo research" into the right context anyway, so again, early play time wouldn't do me much good.

2. Also impressed by how quickly you're willing to fight online matches with characters you're only considering. Totally get that's the only way to get real match knowledge.

But I guess I'd be concerned (besides for my pride, as I get bodied repeatedly) that if I don't actually know my character well, I'm mostly just futzing around in the match; I'm not trying out real strategies or getting a sense of how opponents react to real strategies, or how I should react to theirs. I like to know my mains inside and out first, so that online matches feel like incremental learning instead of futzing. Maybe I'm underrating that early experience though.

3. Have you put thought into how to structure your practice sessions? I'm trying to gather ideas about that, and it's remarkably hard to find concrete suggestions out there (besides the standard old "practice your combos in each direction").

I feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time practicing execution--to the point where I'm not sure I'm making progress in other areas--and still never feel like I'm good enough at it. Any drills or exercises you do?

I sure would be curious to learn what a pro player's training sessions actually look like, but I've never been able to find info like that. And no one around here ever seems to talk about it either; it's always just "Here's a list of combos. There, that's your character."

Thanks again, and thanks for any additional insight you care to share!

 

[Juggs]

Thanks @Juggs, very generous of you to share this with everyone. It's great to get insight into a respected enthusiast's mindset and approach.

I think we share a penchant for notetaking. I've built up an extensive table of gameplay info and learning tasks (similar to things you mentioned) that I reuse and customize for each character I'm trying to learn, and use the tables to keep all my notes organized. I also create a spreadsheet for all frame data for the character (now that GunFrame is no longer kept up ). I keep it all in OneNote and Numbers on my iPad, which is always nearby while playing, so I can take notes as I go and keep track of what I'm practicing.

Anyway, just wanted to share a couple reactions to your list, FWIW. No disagreements with your strategy intended! I'm mostly just curious how you developed it for yourself.

1. Agreed with picking only 2-3 characters for your mains early in the game. I'm mad impressed by how much time you're willing to invest in each character before you make a decision!

Not sure that strategy would work for me. By now I already have a good sense of which characters I'm interested in based on aesthetics and breakdowns. I want to jump right into intense practice and research with those characters. I can't see doing the same for characters I know I won't play as; the same interest won't be there and I know I'd resent (even dread) the time spent on it. Not good for my motivation.

I'll have to go back and learn about the other characters for MU purposes, of course, but I'll only do that once I know my mains inside and out. Without that, I wouldn't be able to put the "oppo research" into the right context anyway, so again, early play time wouldn't do me much good.

2. Also impressed by how quickly you're willing to fight online matches with characters you're only considering. Totally get that's the only way to get real match knowledge.

But I guess I'd be concerned (besides for my pride, as I get bodied repeatedly) that if I don't actually know my character well, I'm mostly just futzing around in the match; I'm not trying out real strategies or getting a sense of how opponents react to real strategies, or how I should react to theirs. I like to know my mains inside and out first, so that online matches feel like incremental learning instead of futzing. Maybe I'm underrating that early experience though.

3. Have you put thought into how to structure your practice sessions? I'm trying to gather ideas about that, and it's remarkably hard to find concrete suggestions out there (besides the standard old "practice your combos in each direction").

I feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time practicing execution--to the point where I'm not sure I'm making progress in other areas--and still never feel like I'm good enough at it. Any drills or exercises you do?

I sure would be curious to learn what a pro player's training sessions actually look like, but I've never been able to find info like that. And no one around here ever seems to talk about it either; it's always just "Here's a list of combos. There, that's your character."

Thanks again, and thanks for any additional insight you care to share!

Maybe this will help. It’s an article I did a few years ago. I asked several top players/veterans similar questions. Actually working on a similar article right now that will be released before MK11, but it’s more focused on tournaments.

Learning A New Fighter; Interviews With Veterans

MKX is around the corner, and the hype is consuming everyone. We still have quite some time until April 14th, and the wait is just fueling our thirst for information. In the meantime, since MKX is a new fighter, I want to discuss the processes players go through while learning a new fighting...

testyourmight.com

 

[Obly]

Maybe this will help. It’s an article I did a few years ago. I asked several top players/veterans similar questions. Actually working on a similar article right now that will be released before MK11, but it’s more focused on tournaments.

Great article, super interesting. Thanks for this (writing it originally and bringing it back to the surface)!

Stuff like this is why TYM needs a wiki. It's such a shame when great content gets buried in the depths and hard for new folks to find.

Looking forward to reading the next installment!

 

[Juggs]

Great article, super interesting. Thanks for this (writing it originally and bringing it back to the surface)!

Stuff like this is why TYM needs a wiki. It's such a shame when great content gets buried in the depths and hard for new folks to find.

Looking forward to reading the next installment!

Yeah it was crazy. That was before SonicFox really blew up too. And Ed Boon actually retweeted the article out and it actually crashed TYM for a bit! Lmao, good times. First time I’ve ever gotten recognition from the Legendary Boon himself, felt great!

 

[lionheart21]

1. Do all tutorials
2. Lab with Johnny and Erron to see how they feel now
3. Do Story Mode
4. More labbing with other characters (most likely Kano to start)
5. Check the forums for strategies, character types, strengths/weaknesses, etc.
6. Even more labbing
7. Check out Towers of Time
8. Go online at some point

 

[Juggs]

Thinking about adding to this and showing y’all. But I don’t know if I’ll show my MU breakdowns and notes, it will be so much it might be TOO much if you know what I mean.

But one thing I will say. Have MU notes and all that, but, also have PLAYER notes. Their tendencies, what they do in certain situations (start of match, life lead, while they have you cornered, while they are cornered, when they have fatal blow available, etc). I will have extensive player notes that will definitely not be revealed to the public, lol.

Gotta be a complete student. Not just of the game, but of the players as well!

 

[BlackShade]

Thinking about adding to this and showing y’all. But I don’t know if I’ll show my MU breakdowns and notes, it will be so much it might be TOO much if you know what I mean.

But one thing I will say. Have MU notes and all that, but, also have PLAYER notes. Their tendencies, what they do in certain situations (start of match, life lead, while they have you cornered, while they are cornered, when they have fatal blow available, etc). I will have extensive player notes that will definitely not be revealed to the public, lol.

Gotta be a complete student. Not just of the game, but of the players as well!

Anything you are willing to share will be appreciated. But keeping some things close to your chest is understandable. Especially if you are thinking about competing.

 

[Juggs]

Anything you are willing to share will be appreciated. But keeping some things close to your chest is understandable. Especialy if you are thinking about competing.

Yeah otherwise I wouldn’t keep player notes if I wasn’t competing. But the main reason is because I don’t want those players to know I have notes on them because it could backfire on me, lol.