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Question Balancing thinking and doing?

DDutchguy

Stand 4'ing airplanes out of the sky
Most of us have heard the phrase "Think before you act" and it goes without saying that this applies to fighting games as well. But to what degree? Far too often I catch myself thinking too much about what I should be doing or what my opponent is going to do. This means that I focus too much on what's inside my head instead of what's happening on screen, which seems to greatly influence my reaction speed. To out some concrete questions up:

- How do high level players balance whatever happens in their brain and what's happening on screen? (Tagging @A F0xy Grampa because he seems to have mastered this pretty well if you look at his play.)

- Is it a good thing to sometimes let your mind take a bit of a back seat and just focus entirely on what's happening on the screen?

- Is adapting to the situation more of a thinking or a doing thing? I often struggle when it comes to adapting to my opponent (after all, a Liu Kang player with a solid neutral has to be approached very differently compared to your average ranked Scorpion player).
 

Solomon Gorondy

Should Goro be top 5?
Cool topic. It's worth noting that some characters are just easier to use than others, requiring much less thought. They are brain-dead in comparison. They have easy flow-charts to follow while other characters have no flow.

Remember, adaption is reaction. Some characters cannot adapt due to a lack of possible reactions; pick a different character. Some believe all characters have the ability to successfully adapt; these people are wrong.
 

TyCarter35

Bonafide Jax scrub
I think part of it comes to understanding the overall casts tools and labbing it out before hand and having answers for each situation and possibilities. usually I take a moment to think about what I notice the opponent was doing at the end of a round and being able to adjust how u approach things on the fly. If u think ur character may not have the necessary tools to deal with certain characters, that's where secondaries come in and part of it comes to understanding potential flow charts and at the end of the day, most of this comes from playing against quality players and getting good matchup experience and practice along with hours of labbing
 

DC4-3

Low tier button masher.
As a player who has reaction times slower than molasses, I have to use my head when fighting. While fighting my opponent Im looking for their habits ( jump in, jump over, teleport, etc.) I find it makes anti-airing/punishing much easier for me when I know what you're gonna do.
 

A F0xy Grampa

Problem X Promotions
Cool topic. It's worth noting that some characters are just easier to use than others, requiring much less thought. They are brain-dead in comparison. They have easy flow-charts to follow while other characters have no flow.

Remember, adaption is reaction. Some characters cannot adapt due to a lack of possible reactions; pick a different character. Some believe all characters have the ability to successfully adapt; these people are wrong.
100% not true what so ever.
You talk as if certain characters have absolutely no options what so ever.

I think what you could say is that some characters gain more from a certain adaptation than another. But even then thats dependent on the situation.

Ill use Lao and Mileena as an example, Mileena has a much better time than lao dealing with low minus frames and characters spamming low profile moves, but that doesnt mean that there isnt some form of answer for both. The reward for mileena is set up differently to Lao, but Lao still benefits from doing what he has to do.

Ultimately application of theory comes down to experience though.
 

Saltea Moonspell

"Mind Over Matter" I dont mind, and X dont matter
I believe that's a long process. And I personally think it's the hardest part of playing the game successfully, overcome stronger players. It's something that will not be developed in Lab. Though in this game the meta allows much more in certain areas for sloppy decisions though it won't go on forever and won't get You far.
 

The_Tile

Your hole is mine!
Far too often I catch myself thinking too much about what I should be doing or what my opponent is going to do. This means that I focus too much on what's inside my head instead of what's happening on screen, which seems to greatly influence my reaction speed.
I wanna touch on this point in particular as I have the exact same experience. When I'm learning a new character or have found out a new option I always have to think about what I'm doing before I do it in game. This, like you said, feels like it greatly slows down my reaction time and sometimes results in me second guessing myself and getting blown up.

I find I have to train myself to just react a certain way to different scenarios rather than thinking about it mid-game. I find thinking during games doesn't help me at all, except if im getting absolutely bodied and need a complete change of playstyle, because if youre acting on instinct instead of thought the whole thought process is removed and your reactions return to normal.

So what I do is, me and a buddy go into practice mode and just play with infinite health bars. This way you don't have to think about your play as a whole, cause mistakes don't mean as much, and can just concentrate on one specific thing which gives you trouble. I usually use this prolonged play time to get myself into good habits, like do x move when opponent does y move, or break out of any bad ones. At the same time though you need to be careful not to develop any bad habits due to practice mode either.

Playing in practice mode though has levelled up my play greatly, just in general. You'd be surprised how fast you can discover or expand upon the meta of some characters, finding options which you previously didn't know existed, just because you are never scared to make the right read as health bars are out of the equation.
 

Solomon Gorondy

Should Goro be top 5?
You're trying to say that its impossible to improve your game essentially, which i'd deny.
I did not, nor did I try to say that. Do you really think that anybody believes that improving themselves or game is impossible? I believe that with certain characters in certain situations improving your game is a fruitless effort. While adaption may be possible, successful adaptation (as in winning the match by countering your opponents strategy) is not. Maybe I typed my original post incorrectly or maybe you read it wrong, regardless good luck at your next major. I hope that the low tier heroes can adapt to your Mileena.
 

Meep8345

Noob
When I play usually I'm always thinking about their options in the current situation they are in like I blocked their poke or something. Really you have to think very quickly and react quickly as well and you can't go too deep with your thinking or else your reactions will suffer then all of the sudden the other player just did some maniac stuff like poking you twice or three times. So really just go with the flow and let your reactions do most of the work and adapt during matches like if a ravenous keeps doing d1 high pounce armor instead of using a fast string after her poke or d1
 
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MK2D

Have you had your MK today?
Fighting games are a bit of a smorgasbord for me. It's natural to go for what looks and tastes good, but ultimately the first step is finding the best nutrition in the process. This is probably the most daunting aspect, as there are threads and YouTube videos dedicated to finding main's.

I've put hundreds of hours into this game and I still bounce around. Sure, my kombat history shows I've used Sub Zero, Quan Chi and Mileena the most, which suggest I like playing them and they've generally worked well for me. But I've also put some time into Kano, Sonya, Tremor, and now most recently am enjoying Triborg and Raiden.

Frame data, buffs, nerfs, etc. all seem to play a part in whom people pick as the game progresses (or in some cases regresses depending on who you like). This for me can make it challenging to get the most out of any one character, especially with limited playing time.

Having said that, I certainly agree with much of what's been posted as far as, once you square away the above parameters, it boils down to repetition, muscle memory, and gaining experience. Thinking turns into knowing, and knowing turns into ability.

Practice practice practice,
 
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