Bender
Product Manager. xBone tag: I3end3r.
Hey man,
I was in your position a year or two ago and now compete with some of the best players.
Most important - play with players who are far better than you. Take notes on what they do to beat you. Ask them questions how to get better. I was fortunate to start playing regularly with a guy who was a top 100 fighter. Don't get frustrated if they beat you 100 games in a row. You WILL get better and it's the best way to figure out your characters flaws and strengths. You will progress at a rapid pace.
Basics:
(1) Learn how to block. There are a number of matchups you can win simply by blocking well and executing a punish.
(2) Learn how to control space. Your character will have certain moves that are dominant at different ranges. Learn your best moves and strings from these distances and try to play the match on those terms. You should automatically know your options at full screen, mid screen, sweet distance, and poking distance. Play to your characters strengths. Don't move statically or only forward. Backing up now and again can make your opponent whiff their move and you can take advantage.
(3) Learn how to combo from anywhere. If your opponent is jumping in and you make the read, are you just going to uppercut? Ideally you should have a move prepared to anti air them and go into a full combo. I've gotten really good at converting off of my down 1, down 4, and standing 1 with Jax.
(4) Learn how to punish - if you have know your spacing from #2, you should be ready to execute punishes from different distances.
(5) Mix things up. Too many players play on autopilot. If I know what your going to do next, you will pay the price.
(6) Learn how to poke. Poke once. If it hits, it's your turn to go into pressure. If it doesn't hit, you need to block, armor your next attack. If you get poked, respect your opponent and block or armor your next attack.
Advanced:
(1) Hit confirm. If your low combo starter does not hit,make sure you end the sting in something safe. If it hits, make sure you take advantage of the hit and maximize your damage/ setups.
(2) Keep track of your meter and stamina. Keep track of your opponents. Both of you are limited without 1 or the other.
(3) Condition your opponent. This makes them think you are going to do one thing and then you do something else and catch them off guard. For example, I usually do not finish Jax's F21 string. I condition my opponent to expect a poke after the forward 21. Everyonce in a while, I will throw out his overhead combo starter after the F21 and go into a full combo. It works 90% of the time, since they bloke low to check the poke.
(4) Bait you opponent. Make them think you are doing something predictable and punish their response. Against teleport characters I will pull out the bazzokah and expect them to make the read and teleport onto my character. So I dash cancel and block the teleport and punish them for the block.
(5) Leanr how to dominate the corner. This is where most matches are won or lost, so figure out how to get your opponent there and how to keep them there.
(6) Be patient when you need to be. This is MU specific. Lots of characters are dangerous with meter, even if you're at hit advantage.
(7) Predict your opponents tendancies and respond accordingly. Are they waking up with armor at every opportunity? Predict that and punish that shit.
(8) learn as much frame data as possible
Hope this helps. Online player match against better players and the practice room will be your best friends
I was in your position a year or two ago and now compete with some of the best players.
Most important - play with players who are far better than you. Take notes on what they do to beat you. Ask them questions how to get better. I was fortunate to start playing regularly with a guy who was a top 100 fighter. Don't get frustrated if they beat you 100 games in a row. You WILL get better and it's the best way to figure out your characters flaws and strengths. You will progress at a rapid pace.
Basics:
(1) Learn how to block. There are a number of matchups you can win simply by blocking well and executing a punish.
(2) Learn how to control space. Your character will have certain moves that are dominant at different ranges. Learn your best moves and strings from these distances and try to play the match on those terms. You should automatically know your options at full screen, mid screen, sweet distance, and poking distance. Play to your characters strengths. Don't move statically or only forward. Backing up now and again can make your opponent whiff their move and you can take advantage.
(3) Learn how to combo from anywhere. If your opponent is jumping in and you make the read, are you just going to uppercut? Ideally you should have a move prepared to anti air them and go into a full combo. I've gotten really good at converting off of my down 1, down 4, and standing 1 with Jax.
(4) Learn how to punish - if you have know your spacing from #2, you should be ready to execute punishes from different distances.
(5) Mix things up. Too many players play on autopilot. If I know what your going to do next, you will pay the price.
(6) Learn how to poke. Poke once. If it hits, it's your turn to go into pressure. If it doesn't hit, you need to block, armor your next attack. If you get poked, respect your opponent and block or armor your next attack.
Advanced:
(1) Hit confirm. If your low combo starter does not hit,make sure you end the sting in something safe. If it hits, make sure you take advantage of the hit and maximize your damage/ setups.
(2) Keep track of your meter and stamina. Keep track of your opponents. Both of you are limited without 1 or the other.
(3) Condition your opponent. This makes them think you are going to do one thing and then you do something else and catch them off guard. For example, I usually do not finish Jax's F21 string. I condition my opponent to expect a poke after the forward 21. Everyonce in a while, I will throw out his overhead combo starter after the F21 and go into a full combo. It works 90% of the time, since they bloke low to check the poke.
(4) Bait you opponent. Make them think you are doing something predictable and punish their response. Against teleport characters I will pull out the bazzokah and expect them to make the read and teleport onto my character. So I dash cancel and block the teleport and punish them for the block.
(5) Leanr how to dominate the corner. This is where most matches are won or lost, so figure out how to get your opponent there and how to keep them there.
(6) Be patient when you need to be. This is MU specific. Lots of characters are dangerous with meter, even if you're at hit advantage.
(7) Predict your opponents tendancies and respond accordingly. Are they waking up with armor at every opportunity? Predict that and punish that shit.
(8) learn as much frame data as possible
Hope this helps. Online player match against better players and the practice room will be your best friends
