Tom Brady
Noob
With MKX only 2 weeks away I'm sure many of you are all pondering who will be the character that best fits you. This thread is hopefully something that can help you when it comes times to make that decision.
Choosing a character is more about comfort level than anything. What does this mean? It means you obviously want a character where you can use your strengths as a player but that does not always equal comfort. Sometimes, no matter how much a character works off of our strengths, we can still be uncomfortable if the character doesn't also help cover up our weakness.
To choose the right character for you, you need to be honest with yourself. You need to be honest with yourself about your strengths, but even more so about your weaknesses. I cannot speak for any one player on their strengths and weaknesses as only that person would truly know. The only person I can speak for is myself so I will use myself as the example.
I am a great fighting game player with a BIG weakness - footsies and/or neutral game overall. It is that weakness that takes me from being a great fighting game player to just being a good one. On my best day I'm about a solid B to B+ in footsies and overall neutral game which is right above average. When I'm not at my best i'm around a B- or even C+ which is about average. This really hurts because the elite of the elite are usually all A/A+/S in this category.
My strengths include being great post knockdown, great at traps overall, great at making reads, I'd consider myself a very smart player, I have a pretty high clutch factor, the ability to play patient/very lame, and great defense. However, my BIG weakness becomes counterproductive to my strengths.
Lets look at my strengths when put up against my weakness:
1. Great post knockdown- As strong as I may be in this area, I am constantly being out maneuvered by strong footsie players. It becomes hard for me to get chances to score those knockdowns to even get my post knockdown game going. If I can't knock you down then I'm stuck playing the neutral and footsie game which is where I am at my most vulnerable as a player. I become too anxious and constantly over commit in an attempt to knock my opponent down. My opponent literally beats me by always keeping me in their range while I always feel they are never in mine. As a result it becomes easy for my opponent to counter all my attempts to approach or run away as I whiff god knows how many attacks.
2. Great trapper - Much like how my weakness hurts my post knock down strength, it hurts here in a similar manor. I am constantly being out maneuvered so it becomes VERY hard for me to even get you in any sort of trap or set up situation. I just can never seem to get started. Not being able to put my opponent in this spot forces me to play where I am at my weakest and most vulnerable, neutral. I again over commit, and again get punished for it.
3. Making great reads - This is where my weakness really kills me. I now seem to make TERRIBLE reads. I am clueless as to how I am going to go about approaching my opponent. I'm very uncomfortable... It feels like the opponent always hits me as I approach but also seems to know when I'm going to back away. I become "mind fucked" for lack of a better term. I mean how the hell can these elite footsie players know when to smack me in the face when I approach while at the same time also know when to come in and attack as I back up? It is because I am so uncomfortable that I become predictable in my movements and I am also no longer trying to make reads. Instead I am desperately looking to trap my opponent or score a knockdown. What my opponent is thinking is no longer a thought of mine, I cannot see past my own moves. As a result I'm no longer thinking about what my opponent will do next, all while they are doing this to me.
4. Considering myself a smart player - This becomes irrelevant because my weakness has me making the dumbest decisions. I'm so uncomfortable that I do some of the dumbest things at the worst times.
5. High clutch factor - This also becomes irrelevant. I'm never really in the fight in the first place so it becomes impossible to pull it out in the end. Instead I end up making bad decisions that makes me more of a choker than a clutch player.
6. Great patience/very lame - As you would expect.. Not being able to get knockdowns or put my opponent in any trap situations eventually wears down my patience. I go from patient/lame to horribly desperate.
7. Great defense - While this is a powerful strength of mine, this eventually wears down. No matter how well you play defense, persistence wears down resistance. This is my last line of defense... I get uncomfortable and, after all else is lost, I begin to convince myself that I'll win by just relying on my defense. The problem is that defense, no matter how good, eventually cracks if the opponent gets enough chances. By choosing to rely solely on my defense the opponent eventually breaks through and then I die.
My weakness counters my strength... I'll be good but will never compete with greats without help. I need the right character to help me mask my weakness so that I can have a high enough comfort level to focus on my strengths. So what is the right character? Most would say "hmm... play a powerful zoner. This way you wont have to play footsies or deal with the neutral game as much". Sounds like good advice except for one problem.. I'm not a zoner either. I am equally uncomfortable sitting across the screen throwing projectiles as I am playing footsies. Though I have strong defense and patience, my strengths of trapping and post knockdown situations are offensive. These strengths usually work hand in hand with strong footsies/neutral, not average footsies/neutral. So now what do I do? Enter the Ice Clone..
With Sub-Zero I have a character that is anti-footsies and he is not a zoner. He is a trapper and all post knockdown. He does all of this because of the Ice Clone. The Ice Clone also negates my opponents ability to out footsies me or even play footsies at all. There is no more neutral as I now control 2 places at once. I no longer need to worry about the neutral game so I am finally comfortable. Now I get to focus only on my strengths.
In fighting games, Sub-Zero certainly isn't the only character for me, but in MK he has the tool set that works for me. Even though he is not the best, he is the best for me. In MK9 I tried better characters and lost. I'd constantly make excuses like "ehh I didn't put much time into the character". The truth is that it doesn't matter how much time I'd have put into the top characters. Though they gave more more tools than Sub-Zero did, what they did not give me was a bigger deal. With Sub-Zero I became one of the best players to play MK9. Without him I was just some roody-poo candy ass standing on the corner of Know Your Role blvd and Jabroni drive.
The moral here is be honest with yourself if you are really looking for the right fit. In our minds we would all like to envision ourselves as greats, but you need to realize that there is no shame in just being good or even just ok. With a character with tools that best fit you, you can be great. But you wont find the right tools needed unless you are honest with yourself.
The fact is... I am not great, I am good. I need help to be great and I'm ok with that.
Choosing a character is more about comfort level than anything. What does this mean? It means you obviously want a character where you can use your strengths as a player but that does not always equal comfort. Sometimes, no matter how much a character works off of our strengths, we can still be uncomfortable if the character doesn't also help cover up our weakness.
To choose the right character for you, you need to be honest with yourself. You need to be honest with yourself about your strengths, but even more so about your weaknesses. I cannot speak for any one player on their strengths and weaknesses as only that person would truly know. The only person I can speak for is myself so I will use myself as the example.
I am a great fighting game player with a BIG weakness - footsies and/or neutral game overall. It is that weakness that takes me from being a great fighting game player to just being a good one. On my best day I'm about a solid B to B+ in footsies and overall neutral game which is right above average. When I'm not at my best i'm around a B- or even C+ which is about average. This really hurts because the elite of the elite are usually all A/A+/S in this category.
My strengths include being great post knockdown, great at traps overall, great at making reads, I'd consider myself a very smart player, I have a pretty high clutch factor, the ability to play patient/very lame, and great defense. However, my BIG weakness becomes counterproductive to my strengths.
Lets look at my strengths when put up against my weakness:
1. Great post knockdown- As strong as I may be in this area, I am constantly being out maneuvered by strong footsie players. It becomes hard for me to get chances to score those knockdowns to even get my post knockdown game going. If I can't knock you down then I'm stuck playing the neutral and footsie game which is where I am at my most vulnerable as a player. I become too anxious and constantly over commit in an attempt to knock my opponent down. My opponent literally beats me by always keeping me in their range while I always feel they are never in mine. As a result it becomes easy for my opponent to counter all my attempts to approach or run away as I whiff god knows how many attacks.
2. Great trapper - Much like how my weakness hurts my post knock down strength, it hurts here in a similar manor. I am constantly being out maneuvered so it becomes VERY hard for me to even get you in any sort of trap or set up situation. I just can never seem to get started. Not being able to put my opponent in this spot forces me to play where I am at my weakest and most vulnerable, neutral. I again over commit, and again get punished for it.
3. Making great reads - This is where my weakness really kills me. I now seem to make TERRIBLE reads. I am clueless as to how I am going to go about approaching my opponent. I'm very uncomfortable... It feels like the opponent always hits me as I approach but also seems to know when I'm going to back away. I become "mind fucked" for lack of a better term. I mean how the hell can these elite footsie players know when to smack me in the face when I approach while at the same time also know when to come in and attack as I back up? It is because I am so uncomfortable that I become predictable in my movements and I am also no longer trying to make reads. Instead I am desperately looking to trap my opponent or score a knockdown. What my opponent is thinking is no longer a thought of mine, I cannot see past my own moves. As a result I'm no longer thinking about what my opponent will do next, all while they are doing this to me.
4. Considering myself a smart player - This becomes irrelevant because my weakness has me making the dumbest decisions. I'm so uncomfortable that I do some of the dumbest things at the worst times.
5. High clutch factor - This also becomes irrelevant. I'm never really in the fight in the first place so it becomes impossible to pull it out in the end. Instead I end up making bad decisions that makes me more of a choker than a clutch player.
6. Great patience/very lame - As you would expect.. Not being able to get knockdowns or put my opponent in any trap situations eventually wears down my patience. I go from patient/lame to horribly desperate.
7. Great defense - While this is a powerful strength of mine, this eventually wears down. No matter how well you play defense, persistence wears down resistance. This is my last line of defense... I get uncomfortable and, after all else is lost, I begin to convince myself that I'll win by just relying on my defense. The problem is that defense, no matter how good, eventually cracks if the opponent gets enough chances. By choosing to rely solely on my defense the opponent eventually breaks through and then I die.
My weakness counters my strength... I'll be good but will never compete with greats without help. I need the right character to help me mask my weakness so that I can have a high enough comfort level to focus on my strengths. So what is the right character? Most would say "hmm... play a powerful zoner. This way you wont have to play footsies or deal with the neutral game as much". Sounds like good advice except for one problem.. I'm not a zoner either. I am equally uncomfortable sitting across the screen throwing projectiles as I am playing footsies. Though I have strong defense and patience, my strengths of trapping and post knockdown situations are offensive. These strengths usually work hand in hand with strong footsies/neutral, not average footsies/neutral. So now what do I do? Enter the Ice Clone..
With Sub-Zero I have a character that is anti-footsies and he is not a zoner. He is a trapper and all post knockdown. He does all of this because of the Ice Clone. The Ice Clone also negates my opponents ability to out footsies me or even play footsies at all. There is no more neutral as I now control 2 places at once. I no longer need to worry about the neutral game so I am finally comfortable. Now I get to focus only on my strengths.
In fighting games, Sub-Zero certainly isn't the only character for me, but in MK he has the tool set that works for me. Even though he is not the best, he is the best for me. In MK9 I tried better characters and lost. I'd constantly make excuses like "ehh I didn't put much time into the character". The truth is that it doesn't matter how much time I'd have put into the top characters. Though they gave more more tools than Sub-Zero did, what they did not give me was a bigger deal. With Sub-Zero I became one of the best players to play MK9. Without him I was just some roody-poo candy ass standing on the corner of Know Your Role blvd and Jabroni drive.
The moral here is be honest with yourself if you are really looking for the right fit. In our minds we would all like to envision ourselves as greats, but you need to realize that there is no shame in just being good or even just ok. With a character with tools that best fit you, you can be great. But you wont find the right tools needed unless you are honest with yourself.
The fact is... I am not great, I am good. I need help to be great and I'm ok with that.
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