Introducing: the everday normal newb

[cpr]

Well hello there

Since it seems to be common to cross the noob's passage, i'll go for it.
I am reading in this forum for a few days and thought i might as well create an account...
I have little to no idea about the game and fighting games in general. I own MK9 for about 2 weeks now, only played like 10 hours of MK armageddon before. But mk9 really got me hooked.

I'd now have some beginner questions, i hope i might ask them right in this thread, otherwise forgive me. And while we're at it, english is no native language to me, so forgive me for my english as well lol.

I read some stuff about frame advantages etc. I thought i got the idea behind it, but some thought got me confused and i ain't sure anymore^^. if a string has frame advantage on block, wouldn't that mean in theory, that you can just spam that string over and over again and the enemy eventually will die off of chip damage (unless he stops blocking and takes the full damage)? someone explain the flaw in my logic please XD

I have not yet picked a main, couln't find my favourite yet.
I just tried ermac, i actually enjoyed his rather easy to do combos. But what bothers me is his mixup game. I think he does not have a single string with an overhead or with a low in it? is that possible? I set the dummy to block and he blocks every single string i believe, standing and ducking...
What are ermacs options against a blocking oponent? only figured out the throw, back 2 (unblockable if held) and up 4 against ducking blockers.

I tried Jax aswell, was defeating some people with dash punches, but other than that, i got the impression that he is rather hard to play.

so which "easy" characters would you recommend to start with, to get the basics of the game.

Currently i am just spaming a variety of special moves to defeat opponents, and if i start to "play like the pros on stream" (guessing, poking, rushing down...) i just lose to opponents i used to defeat with special move spam . With cage i can win with forceballs and shadow kicks, but i lose if i try to poke my way in and rush the opponent down.

Btw, i play on xbox, but got no xbox live (it's my roommates xbox), so i only play my roommate and against cpu =). i dont think there's a mk9 scene where i live, i'd really like to fight other ppl.

and last, i cannot really get used to that xbox controller, it feels really awkward and small, and i would prefer to play with the "direction buttons" instead of the joystick, but due to it's location on the controller, thats impossible , is even anyone playing on xbox or is everyone playing on sony anyway?^^

greetings

 

[Gruntypants]

I play on the xbox controller perfectly fine.

 

[Squeaker101]

First of all welcome!

To answer your questions:

1. You can armor through anything that's plus on block, and under the right circumstances, poke out as well.
2. I recommend Liu Kang and Johnny Cage to most beginners, preferably Liu Kang, since he has a lot of tools and isn't hard to pick up.
3. It'll just take practice with the xbox controller, though you can buy a stick, hitbox, or a ps2 converter, which I don't know anything about so you'll have to wait for someone who does know to reply.

 

[DragonPick]

Welcome to the site! I don't mind it being short or long, so do whatever. And tomatoes are actually my favorite vegetable, so...

As for your questions:
Yes, you can do the same string or normal over and over again and chip the opponent out unless your opponent has a really good armored move, a really good poke that beats it, or just enough meter to take the damage and breaker out of it. There's almost always a way out of something as, let's say "expensive" as it may be.

Ermac's F4 hits twice, and the second hit is a low. It also leaves him at major advantage, so he can continue with more mix ups or his frame trap. I think it's a frame trap at least, I don't play Ermac and am not sure of the string, but he has something that keeps you in blockstun. His damage is so high and easy, though, so I guess that's supposed to make up for his bad mix up. F4, U4, and throw are what's supposed to be his mix up game.
Also, you can dash cancel B2. You probably know, but I'm just making sure that's known.

I don't know how "hard" Jax is to play. I see some Jax matches and that shit looks hella hard to do. His juggles aren't hard and he's really good, though. He is really great however, many consider him a top character.

Could someone post that awesome Jax mirror that had CDjr in it? It's like my favorite Jax fight, but I can't find it...


Easy characters include: Sub-zero, Scorpion, Kung Lao, and Liu Kang. I think they're the easiest to play and they all kinda take the top row. I think that was done on purpose, but eh. They all have the tools to teach you how to play and are really easy and simple to learn (difficult to truly master, however).

As for that "poking, rushing" stuff, you just kind of have to learnt he character and who can do what better. Like I think Scorpion can't really poke very well, so he probably should be going for riskier more damaging stuff. You kind of just have to practice, that. I don't know how to explain it. maybe someone else can, i do hope so.

Finally, I think most people usually play on Xbox (PS3 player here) I hear it supposedly doesn't frame drop as much? I don't know, lol. I know a couple people play (and do very well, I might add) with an Xbox controller so that may be a practice thing as well, but most would recomend you to get an arcade stick or hitbox or some outside peripheral to play instead. I wouldn't blame them... I played on an xbox controller once. ONCE.
http://testyourmight.com/forums/tech-talk.6/
Check out that forum for stick info.


So there you go, big post to match a big post.
tl;dr? Frame traps aren't invicible, use Ermac's F4, Jax is fucking choice, Scorpion, Liu, Sub, and Kung are good starters, practice practice practice, and get an arcade stick.

Lastly, but definitely not least, welcome to the forums cpr (I JUST GOT YOUR NAME!!!) I hope you love it, I hope I was able to help some, and all that jazz. Good luck with the game, mate.

 

[Squeaker101]

Welcome to the site! I don't mind it being short or long, so do whatever. And tomatoes are actually my favorite vegetable, so...

As for your questions:
Yes, you can do the same string or normal over and over again and chip the opponent out unless your opponent has a really good armored move, a really good poke that beats it, or just enough meter to take the damage and breaker out of it. There's almost always a way out of something as, let's say "expensive" as it may be.

Ermac's F4 hits twice, and the second hit is a low. It also leaves him at major advantage, so he can continue with more mix ups or his frame trap. I think it's a frame trap at least, I don't play Ermac and am not sure of the string, but he has something that keeps you in blockstun. His damage is so high and easy, though, so I guess that's supposed to make up for his bad mix up. F4, U4, and throw are what's supposed to be his mix up game.
Also, you can dash cancel B2. You probably know, but I'm just making sure that's known.

I don't know how "hard" Jax is to play. I see some Jax matches and that shit looks hella hard to do. His juggles aren't hard and he's really good, though. He is really great however, many consider him a top character.

Could someone post that awesome Jax mirror that had CDjr in it? It's like my favorite Jax fight, but I can't find it...


Easy characters include: Sub-zero, Scorpion, Kung Lao, and Liu Kang. I think they're the easiest to play and they all kinda take the top row. I think that was done on purpose, but eh. They all have the tools to teach you how to play and are really easy and simple to learn (difficult to truly master, however).

As for that "poking, rushing" stuff, you just kind of have to learnt he character and who can do what better. Like I think Scorpion can't really poke very well, so he probably should be going for riskier more damaging stuff. You kind of just have to practice, that. I don't know how to explain it. maybe someone else can, i do hope so.

Finally, I think most people usually play on Xbox (PS3 player here) I hear it supposedly doesn't frame drop as much? I don't know, lol. I know a couple people play (and do very well, I might add) with an Xbox controller so that may be a practice thing as well, but most would recomend you to get an arcade stick or hitbox or some outside peripheral to play instead. I wouldn't blame them... I played on an xbox controller once. ONCE.
http://testyourmight.com/forums/tech-talk.6/
Check out that forum for stick info.


So there you go, big post to match a big post.
tl;dr? Frame traps aren't invicible, use Ermac's F4, Jax is fucking choice, Scorpion, Liu, Sub, and Kung are good starters, practice practice practice, and get an arcade stick.

Lastly, but definitely not least, welcome to the forums cpr (I JUST GOT YOUR NAME!!!) I hope you love it, I hope I was able to help some, and all that jazz. Good luck with the game, mate.

Way to make look bad. ;_;

 

[DragonPick]

Way to make look bad.

Well, I thought the same when i saw your post. I'm like, "He just said everything I said in 1/8 of the post..." :/

 

[Squeaker101]

Well, I thought the same when i saw your post. I'm like, "He just said everything I said in 1/8 of the post..." :/

Lol, each to their own I guess.

 

[Johnny2d]

To answer your question about frame advantage. If the number of frames of advantage are so great that you can keep going with another move, then yes, press on, however, usually in order to have that much advantage you need a move to hit, so mixup is key, or you need to spend meter which isn't unlimited. So no, spamming something with advantage isn't going to lead to infinites, you need to be clever about how you create an advantage, and understand how much advantage you have vs how many frames your next move is.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[cpr]

thanks for the answers, ofc it helped
but: a frametrap is a string with advantage on block? is that right?
If a string has let's say 3 advantage on block and gets blocked, does it mean that my next move beats the opponents move if it has up to 3 more execution frames than the opponents move?
example with made up numbers: i do my string with 3 advantage on block, he blocks. i hit backpunch (let's say 10 frames execution) he hits frontpunch (let's say 6 frames execution), does it mean his move beats mine? and if his 1 had 8 frames i would win? or am i messing it all up? x)

concerning the controller issue, i found an adapter here in the forum, xtokki or something... looks like what i wanted, but i always have to ship that sh*t in and that gets expensive, especially from the us... not really worth it for a 25 $ product lol, i think i'll deal with the xbox controller, and if i continue to play mk i'll get a stick someday.

btw. don't worry, neither of your posts looked bad lol

peace

 

[WayoftheFist]

Well hello there

Since it seems to be common to cross the noob's passage, i'll go for it.
I am reading in this forum for a few days and thought i might as well create an account...
I have little to no idea about the game and fighting games in general. I own MK9 for about 2 weeks now, only played like 10 hours of MK armageddon before. But mk9 really got me hooked.

I'd now have some beginner questions, i hope i might ask them right in this thread, otherwise forgive me. And while we're at it, english is no native language to me, so forgive me for my english as well lol.

I read some stuff about frame advantages etc. I thought i got the idea behind it, but some thought got me confused and i ain't sure anymore^^. if a string has frame advantage on block, wouldn't that mean in theory, that you can just spam that string over and over again and the enemy eventually will die off of chip damage (unless he stops blocking and takes the full damage)? someone explain the flaw in my logic please XD

I have not yet picked a main, couln't find my favourite yet.
I just tried ermac, i actually enjoyed his rather easy to do combos. But what bothers me is his mixup game. I think he does not have a single string with an overhead or with a low in it? is that possible? I set the dummy to block and he blocks every single string i believe, standing and ducking...
What are ermacs options against a blocking oponent? only figured out the throw, back 2 (unblockable if held) and up 4 against ducking blockers.

I tried Jax aswell, was defeating some people with dash punches, but other than that, i got the impression that he is rather hard to play.

so which "easy" characters would you recommend to start with, to get the basics of the game.

Currently i am just spaming a variety of special moves to defeat opponents, and if i start to "play like the pros on stream" (guessing, poking, rushing down...) i just lose to opponents i used to defeat with special move spam . With cage i can win with forceballs and shadow kicks, but i lose if i try to poke my way in and rush the opponent down.

Btw, i play on xbox, but got no xbox live (it's my roommates xbox), so i only play my roommate and against cpu =). i dont think there's a mk9 scene where i live, i'd really like to fight other ppl.

and last, i cannot really get used to that xbox controller, it feels really awkward and small, and i would prefer to play with the "direction buttons" instead of the joystick, but due to it's location on the controller, thats impossible , is even anyone playing on xbox or is everyone playing on sony anyway?^^

greetings

First of all, welcome to TYM.
Ermac's only options for a low are F4, D3, and D4

Frame advantage doesn't mean an infinite, and in fact only one of those exists in this game (Kabal 2NDC done to the frame on a stand blocking opponent, but you don't need to worry about that right now). Say a string leaves you at +2, your next attack is 9 frames (Meaning that exectuted to the frame it will strike your opponent on the 7th frame after they recover) and your opponent has an enhanced move with armor on startup (Meaning frame 1) they have a 6 frame (1/10th of a second) window to armor out of what you're doing assuming you executed your move to the frame. They could also get out with a 6 frame attack such as Lao's spin or many characters d1s. If you're going to delve into frame data you need to know not only the frames of your attack, it's advantage or disadvantage (on block and on hit), but also that of your opponents options as well and what they can do to break your pressure.

 

[Axel_Redd]

a frame trap simply put is, any combination of strings or specials that put you in a situation where if you do anything but attempt to block the follow up, you'll end up eating a full combo. Johnny Cage has some of the most dangerous and tight frame traps in the game.


as for starting characters, Cage is definitely good for new players, not too sure about liu Kang tho.

a lot of new players tend to gravitate towards characters that have specials which can easily be used over and over again. So characters like Noob Saibot and Smoke are often picked by new players. However thers a lot more to both of those characters than just spamming teleports or shadows lol.

 

[Alien Substance]

thanks for the answers, ofc it helped
but: a frametrap is a string with advantage on block? is that right?
If a string has let's say 3 advantage on block and gets blocked, does it mean that my next move beats the opponents move if it has up to 3 more execution frames than the opponents move?
example with made up numbers: i do my string with 3 advantage on block, he blocks. i hit backpunch (let's say 10 frames execution) he hits frontpunch (let's say 6 frames execution), does it mean his move beats mine? and if his 1 had 8 frames i would win? or am i messing it all up? x)

concerning the controller issue, i found an adapter here in the forum, xtokki or something... looks like what i wanted, but i always have to ship that sh*t in and that gets expensive, especially from the us... not really worth it for a 25 $ product lol, i think i'll deal with the xbox controller, and if i continue to play mk i'll get a stick someday.

You got the idea right, just not the name. It's called "frame advantage". A frametrap is when the opponent cannot do anything after said frame-trapping move has been blocked. Like Johnny Cage's F+3,3xxEX Forceball; if the opponent blocks the entire set while standing, they cannot do anything to stop Johnny from doing a 2,1,F+2, or another F+3,3,B+3 afterwards. EX Forceball is a move that has a ridiculous amount of frame advantage when blocked up-close. Though I think I'm mixing up "frametrap" with "jailing" right here.

This frame advantage thing: Let's say F+4 was +5 on block, and the opponent tries to poke out of it with a 10-frame move, and you try to attack again with your own 10-frame move, yours will beat his because of you being at +5 on block, and the opponent being at a 5-frame disadvantage.

Welcome to this land of darkness, occasional drama, less-than-frequent inebriation, and friendliness, called TestYourMight.com!

 

[Axel_Redd]

lol, funny thing is i know what jailing and frame traping is, altho still can't remember all the details of jailing....i need a pocket gamers dictionary...lol

 

[Sage Leviathan]

Tomatoes are my favorite vegetable.

 

[cpr]

Tomatoes are my favorite vegetable.​

that's what I thought... one love

 

[STB Sgt Reed]

1. Look at the character that is getting the block advantage and then look at your strings execution frames. If yours is faster than w/e they can follow up with you should be able to poke out. You can armor out of a lot of stuff.

2. I have no idea about ermac, other than he sucks P) so hit up the ermac forums and guys like Metzos and Big D

3. Easy character would be Liu Kang probably. Sub Zero is not so easy if you're up against a zoner and don't do well under than kind of pressure.

4. How could anyone play on the xbox's analog stick? lol no thanks. 360 d-pad all day. So no, it's not impossible to use.

5. Welcome to the site, man.

 

[cpr]

thanks for all the help and answers and welcomes

4. How could anyone play on the xbox's analog stick? lol no thanks. 360 d-pad all day. So no, it's not impossible to use.

what is a dpad? i assume the directional pad...
if you guys play with a original controller, do you use the analog stick or the dpad on either xbox or ps?
i would really prefer to use the ps dpad, but since i am on xbox and its dpad is very unfortunately located (imo) and feels like "uncontrollable" to me (on PS you have only straight directions, up down left right, where on xbox i feel like it's impossible to hit left, i'll always hit down left or up left...) i use the analog stick.
well, might be me but i prefere the sony controller over the xbox...

peace !