Jim
Emperor of the Moon
Top players dominate the discussion here, rightfully so, but no need for it to be exclusively about them.
What I want here is an honest assessment from non-top players on why they are at the skill level they are at, what is that level, what would it take to change it, where are your weakest and strongest points?Part of the reason I'm writing this is to force myself to examine myself as a player and hopefully that will help me out, maybe it will help you too.
Skill level with main/alts:
Freddy Krueger: 6
Kenshi: 5
Sub-Zero: 6
The number one reason I'm not a top player is I'm bad with patterns. Meaning I will do the same thing over and over but also fall for the same thing over and over. When I played online I actually coached myself out loud by saying "he's going to go for the overhead, don't fall for it." but still I often fell for it. Whiff a throw? Time to try it 3 more times in a row, that'll work for sure! Sometimes I too get stuck on going for a setup, not because it is the right one, but because I want to do it for some reason. Freddy for example, I'm in the M2Dave camp that he is strongest as a zoner. Yet what do I do way too often? Dash forward and go for a b2. Great they read the dash backed up, I wiffed the b2 and they are going to kill me.
Freezing on punishes. No idea why I do this. It is worse in tournament but I do it in casuals too. I can't tell you the number of matches I lost because my chance for a 40% combo turned into a short block string followed by them punishing me.
Last second panic. What you have a life lead, a round win and the clock is running down? You'd better recklessly go in for an attack instead of play it out. This is especially bad for me because I started off maining Sub-Zero, how the hell does that mind set work with that character?
My worst skill by far is footsies. I think the biggest reason is for so long I've played characters that don't want to do it. Sub-Zero, Freddy, Kenshi are the definition of 'Stay the fuck away from me, we'll fight from over here thank you very much' Works great when it is working but they all eventually get in. Then I let their pressure get to me and it is usually over. This week I plan on starting to play Cage for the purpose of forcing myself to play footsies.
Thing is I have one of the greatest offline scenes in the community. For those that don't know I play at GGA, I go every chance I can get, which is usually about once to twice a week. No doubt I've leveled up since playing with them on a regular basis but I'm nowhere near what I should be considering the level of talent I play with.
Please don't get me wrong, this isn't meant to be an emo or props fishing thread. I really want other players to examine their own issues and help one another out.
What I want here is an honest assessment from non-top players on why they are at the skill level they are at, what is that level, what would it take to change it, where are your weakest and strongest points?Part of the reason I'm writing this is to force myself to examine myself as a player and hopefully that will help me out, maybe it will help you too.
Skill level with main/alts:
Freddy Krueger: 6
Kenshi: 5
Sub-Zero: 6
The number one reason I'm not a top player is I'm bad with patterns. Meaning I will do the same thing over and over but also fall for the same thing over and over. When I played online I actually coached myself out loud by saying "he's going to go for the overhead, don't fall for it." but still I often fell for it. Whiff a throw? Time to try it 3 more times in a row, that'll work for sure! Sometimes I too get stuck on going for a setup, not because it is the right one, but because I want to do it for some reason. Freddy for example, I'm in the M2Dave camp that he is strongest as a zoner. Yet what do I do way too often? Dash forward and go for a b2. Great they read the dash backed up, I wiffed the b2 and they are going to kill me.
Freezing on punishes. No idea why I do this. It is worse in tournament but I do it in casuals too. I can't tell you the number of matches I lost because my chance for a 40% combo turned into a short block string followed by them punishing me.
Last second panic. What you have a life lead, a round win and the clock is running down? You'd better recklessly go in for an attack instead of play it out. This is especially bad for me because I started off maining Sub-Zero, how the hell does that mind set work with that character?
My worst skill by far is footsies. I think the biggest reason is for so long I've played characters that don't want to do it. Sub-Zero, Freddy, Kenshi are the definition of 'Stay the fuck away from me, we'll fight from over here thank you very much' Works great when it is working but they all eventually get in. Then I let their pressure get to me and it is usually over. This week I plan on starting to play Cage for the purpose of forcing myself to play footsies.
Thing is I have one of the greatest offline scenes in the community. For those that don't know I play at GGA, I go every chance I can get, which is usually about once to twice a week. No doubt I've leveled up since playing with them on a regular basis but I'm nowhere near what I should be considering the level of talent I play with.
Please don't get me wrong, this isn't meant to be an emo or props fishing thread. I really want other players to examine their own issues and help one another out.