New player struggling with ps3 d-pad

[-LD50-]

Hi guys. First post on TYM but I've been lurking for a couple weeks. I am completely new to fighters as a whole and am need of help.

I've been playing using a ps3 gamepad and have been learning Killer Frost.

I can never get her DBF2 off in combos. A lot of the time I do DBF2, my thumb rolls across the d-pad and I accidentally input DF (diagonal) while rolling my thumb from DB -> F and it drops the combo. Other times I am in such a hurry because of how the combo works (theres like no time to do such an extensive input) that I just do BF2 and it doesnt work either. Whenever I stop practicing the BnB and just try to input DBF2, I can do it like 8 times in a row. The second I try to do a combo again, I can NEVER get it. I dont understand how someone can do the input properly with such little time and such pressure of dropping the combo. I know its not impossible (obviously) but when I spend hours in training mode it feels as if it isnt possible.

one question is how do you guys place your thumb on your d-pad? II always thought d-pad would work fine but I find the d-pad to be really clunky. My thumb awkwardly occupies the entire d-pad and I my hands/fingers are actually pretty small for an adult guy...

it makes inputs really hard. Do you hold your thumb vertically over the d-pad, or at a 30-45 degree angle across the d-pad? Does your thumb cover the entire d-pad, because I find that intuitively mine doesn't really touch the up button. Sometimes I try to use the edge of my thumb rather than the whole thing and it kinda makes inputs easier but it feels awkward and unnatural and i never end up doing it during combos online because it takes too much deliberate focus to do it that way.

I am sure a lot of people are rolling their eyes, finding this question to be really ridiculous and under the category of overthinking... But I really am hitting a wall with this game, in which I'm learning a lot more and am playing smarter, but still cant do my BnB's in practice let alone EVER in online. Its really frustrating when mental improvement is completely stunted by the difficulty of inputs and the more mechanical skills of the game.

So yeah, any advice on how to best use the d-pad would be appreciated. Theres probably a high chance I'm just new and that it will all come with time, but yeah. I know practice makes perfect and that I should spend a lot of time in training mode but really its frustrating when im choking on the same part of my combo every time. IDK why they couldnt just change the input from dbf2 to something more reasonable, theres a lot of unused inputs on KF anyway.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

One: Practice. Practice like fuck, because it's a pain.
I hate the fact that her Iceberg and Deep Freeze are on the same input roll.
It's CSZ's 332 & Mid Bomb all over again.

Two: The fact that your username is LD50 makes me happier than you can imagine.

DEATH BLOOMS <3

 

[Foreskin Fissure]

I struggled with this too and Shazam's grab, but you have time during the 22 string to put in each input individually, at least thats how i do it. So pres 22 and immediately press D B F individually then of course 2. You obviosuly have to do it fairly quickly but it works for me 100% of the time after practice. Hope it helps.

 

[-LD50-]

One: Practice. Practice like fuck, because it's a pain.
I hate the fact that her Iceberg and Deep Freeze are on the same input roll.
It's CSZ's 332 & Mid Bomb all over again.

Two: The fact that your username is LD50 makes me happier than you can imagine.

DEATH BLOOMS <3

hehehehe I actually had to google what you meant by death blooms. I just came up with the username when I was blazed in psych class once, haha. I read over what an LD50 was and thought "that'd be a rad username"

but yeah I accidentally iceberg a lot but a lot of the time I look over on the left and I just entered some discombobulated input. I look at it and say, "how the fuck did i choke that hard and just hid random directionals, or a random 2 input half way through the directionals?" then I do DBF2 without doing the combo and it comes out fine, lmao. Then i go back to the combo, thinking, "ok i can do this" then i choke out random inputs again. Its like my mind chokes up during BnB combos because im too freaked out of dropping them.

Also, another question, if you play KF or anyone reading this plays KF, When you do U3 - 2,2, DBF2, how many times do you hit 2 to do the 2,2 part? Do you hit it exactly twice? I find it really hard to get the timing right when I am only hitting it exactly two times. Ive found if I hit 2 4+ times, then its impossible to input dbf2 though. So i deliberately hit it 3 times... bad habit or not? Should i get used to hitting the exact needed number of inputs at proper times or is a bit of spamming for leeway in timings acceptable? How do the pros do it?

I struggled with this too and Shazam's grab, but you have time during the 22 string to put in each input individually, at least thats how i do it. So pres 22 and immediately press D B F individually then of course 2. You obviosuly have to do it fairly quickly but it works for me 100% of the time after practice. Hope it helps.

this is a mindblowing concept to me hahaha but i think it might make it easier, thanks! I'm at work but im stoked to try approaching it this way at home. I never thought about hitting each directional individually, I always thought it was a MUST that you did it in one, fluid, sliding motion across the d-pad.

Thanks for the awesome replies guys!

 

[Knoterror]

One: Practice. Practice like fuck, because it's a pain.
I hate the fact that her Iceberg and Deep Freeze are on the same input roll.
It's CSZ's 332 & Mid Bomb all over again.

Two: The fact that your username is LD50 makes me happier than you can imagine.

DEATH BLOOMS <3

LD50 is great. Pity every album afterward just got worse and worse.

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

LD50 is great. Pity every album afterward just got worse and worse.

A-fucking-men.
"End Of All Things" wasn't that bad. But that's as far as I'll go.
I still hold out hope that we'll get THAT Mudvayne back someday .