MKX is around the corner, and the hype is consuming everyone. We still have quite some time until April 14th, and the wait is just fueling our thirst for information. In the meantime, since MKX is a new fighter, I want to discuss the processes players go through while learning a new fighting game. Not just any players, high level players in our community since I believe that a top player's perspective is incredibly valuable. Learning a new game of any kind can be daunting, and this is especially true for fighting games. A lot of players have expressed being overwhelmed by the amount of practice, memorization, and dedication it takes to even get into a new fighter. I feel one thing that can help is getting some insight into the steps high level players take when they first start learning a new fighting game.
______________________________________________________________________________________
1. When approaching a new fighting game, what is the very first thing you do after you load the game? (Story mode, training mode, etc)
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
2. What aspects of the game do you try to learn first, and which ones do you feel are the most important early on? (General Fundamentals, execution, match-ups, etc)
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
3. What is your training process? (Ex. I find my characters best anti-airs, find their best pokes, etc)
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
4. How many characters do you seriously try and learn within the first month of the games release?
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
5. How do you go about determining which character(s) you want to main?
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
6. When first attempting to learn a new character, what process do you go through?
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
7. Daily, about how much time do you spend in the lab compared to actually playing against a human opponent? And how much time do you spend playing the game overall a day?
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
8. If there was one thing you think people need to work on in the NRS community in regards to the game, what would that one thing be?
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
9. Which aspect of MKX are you most interested in? (Variations, run, the story, etc)
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
10. Lastly, which character(s) are you looking to main in MKX?
@FOREVER KING:
@Slips:
@MITDJT:
@Pig Of The Hut:
@SonicFox5000:
______________________________________________________________________________________
I want to personally and publicly thank everyone who participated. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!
There's no right answer when it comes to how you approach a new fighting game. There's not really a right or wrong way to do things. The only thing you need is a willingness to learn and determination. You don't need to be one of these top players in order to be successful early or even down the line in a games life. Another reason I wanted to share the opinions/proccesses of these great players is to show they aren't automatically god like at the game. They have to train and go through the steps of learning a new game just like everyone else.
I hope some of you take the time to read the responses, and I hope this helped at least one of you in some way. I'm unbelievably hype for MKX and I know you guys are too! See you guys on the battlefield!
______________________________________________________________________________________
A compilation of the communities responses!
In honor of MK10 I have presented 10 questions to a handful of top players in the NRS community about their approach to learning a new fighter. This will be a significant wall of text, but I feel that getting only one player's opinion or process isn't enough and will not be as beneficial. A lot of these questions are about character choices and they're fairly similar to one another. Also, I want to encourage participation from everyone, so feel free to answer these questions yourself in this thread. Anyway, without further ado, here's what they had to say______________________________________________________________________________________
1. When approaching a new fighting game, what is the very first thing you do after you load the game? (Story mode, training mode, etc)
@FOREVER KING:
Tutorial (if there is one) Training for like an hour, then complete story mode, then more training mode. Usually story mode teaches you the basics.
@Slips:
First thing I do when I get a new fighting game to play is always training mode. The fun in fighting games is you get to use your favorite character to express how much you enjoy beating the crap out of someone. So I always immediately want to get established with my favorite character(s), get my mixups down, get my combos down, get general strategy down, ect. so when I take them out for their first driving test they aren't running too many stop signs and hitting too many curbs. I want my opponent to at least fear that I know what I'm doing.
@MITDJT:
When I first play any fighting game and turn it on, I go straight to versus mode and play versus Denzell (aka DJT). I do this because I like to get a feel of the characters in the game and for fun/ I want to see how the game feels to me. I also have to give my judgment on how good the character select music is lol. Also, I want to see all the characters in the game as well.
@Pig Of The Hut:
I look at the character select screen and find which character best fits with my personality and then proceed to training mode and explore their tool sets. I look at their expressions, voice, design, normals, specials and overall movement.
@SonicFox5000:
It depends on who is near me. If I am by myself, I usually go from tutorial straight to training mode then online lol. If somebody IS near, I usually just go straight into versus and go "ITS TIME"
2. What aspects of the game do you try to learn first, and which ones do you feel are the most important early on? (General Fundamentals, execution, match-ups, etc)
@FOREVER KING:
Mixups, then high damage combos
@Slips:
I would say movement. How the game is supposed to flow and the overall pace of the game. Is it slower paced allowing you to sit back, react , and use your patience more? Or faster paced allowing your movement to manipulate how you approach/keep out an opponent?
@MITDJT:
The aspects of the game I learn first are probably the mechanics added to a game (like with MKX I will work with the interactive environments and the run button and etc.) and combos as well. I think the most important ones early on are fundamentals because those take you a long way and give you a kind of advantage early in a game's life. I also think execution is important, but when a game just comes out it is ok to keep it pretty simple and not go too cray with combos and what not. I can not stress enough how important frame data is as well because no one wants to lose because they lack knowledge of the frames of another character's moves. After that, get on dem matchups and you are set.
@Pig Of The Hut:
I always focus on the general fundamentals of the game's engine then immediately straight to MUs with my character of choice
@SonicFox5000:
I try to learn characters first but I feel learning the game and general fundamentals is extremely important as well. Match ups are for later. I can't learn how to deal with everybody in one day xD
3. What is your training process? (Ex. I find my characters best anti-airs, find their best pokes, etc)
@FOREVER KING:
I'm honestly not a training mode kind of guy, I just play all my friends 100's of matches and learn from my experiences of losing and winning and what's good and what's not good
@Slips:
I always look for my main mix-up first and then work my way outward. What is my best 50/50? Ok got it. How do I get that close? (find best footsie tools). Ok got it. If I play a character who outfootsies me how do I deal with that? (find best whiff punishers) Ok got it. When I establish all this and they start jumping what do I do? (find best AA) Check. If I get zoned out how do I deal with that? (Find best anti-zoing tools) Check. And finally, if I have a zoning character I'll work on the best way to zone. It's also a big deal to learn how to punish special moves and punish them hard whether it be on block or making them whiff.
@MITDJT:
My training process is first test out the moves my characters have and get a feel of how they work. If I think something is trash, I probably just call it that lol. If something seems good, I work with it for a bit. I also check the frames of a move as well while doing this. After that, I work on combos and executing certain things that pertain to my character specifically. One of my favorite things is to go into training mode with DJT and see if something that I found is legit or not. If it is legit I am happy, but if it is a hoax then I just say "whatever" lol.
@Pig Of The Hut:
My training process is grueling and most won't have the mental fortitude to follow suite. I keep a journal for each game that is an extensive amount of information per player, per character MU, per stage, per everything. I write down tendencies, %s of their next move after I do "XYZ" move, weaknesses of each player/character, Strengths of each player/character, a journal with progress per player/character MU, a "Goals" page where I am required to meet each at a certain date and completion of 90% of written goals are required for me to book another major. I use to do this w music, I must perfect a song note for note (or many songs) and show myself i can play it perfectly under pressure in order to buy my next Guitar of choice. Kind of a self-reward system ive always had that I use with exercise as well. I dissect the finite points of every MU and sometimes this takes time, prior to a major i read over and study these notes until I can recite them especially if i have particular players/MUs in my pool. Being married with a daughter, 33 years old with many jobs, responsibilities makes it harder to reach the self expectations I hold myself to but I enjoy the challenge/journey. However sometimes, as it did INJ, it may take me an extra month or two but in the end I will no doubt figure it out entirely and be a major problem for every player. My goal this time around is NOT to take as long, My journey in Injustice showed me how to go about this in a more efficient way
@SonicFox5000:
Uhhh idk, I just look at how and why things works, then put 2 and 2 together to make = 4. But "4" tends to be something really broken xD
4. How many characters do you seriously try and learn within the first month of the games release?
@FOREVER KING:
One character, MAYBE 2 at the most
@Slips:
I try to learn as many as i can but I usually get so worked up learning 1 or 2 it takes me awhile to get to others.
@MITDJT:
I typically try and learn at least three characters to see who I would like to play in tournament (but we all know I be trying to play the whole cast lmao). Me and Denzell typically only played versus each other in mk9 and injustice so we decided to learn lots of characters to help us with matchups. Online is coverage for character I don't play though.
@Pig Of The Hut:
I find a main and then my co main must meet my original mains requirements however excel in the areas where my Original main fails. A very quick example would be Mileena/Kenshi in MK9. Where as Kenshi's con was his hotbox, Mileena excelled in that area. Just a quick example.
@SonicFox5000:
Ummm one or two?
5. How do you go about determining which character(s) you want to main?
@FOREVER KING:
Whichever has the coolest back story or coolest combos. If it's literally a brand new game and I don't know any characters, then whichever character looks the coolest
@Slips:
I usually just pick the character I like the most aesthetically and personality-wise. Only high-mobility characters and very high execution characters can deter me from using them.
@MITDJT:
I always start with who I like first without a doubt when figuring out who to main. Now to be honest, I have never had a main really lol (closest thing was liu kang in mk9 but even still he wasn't my only character). After this, I go for who is good if my favorite character isn't up to par with my expectations as a tournament character I would like to use (though I never should have switched from deathstroke in injustice).
@Pig Of The Hut:
I look for the character that i can fully become and embody personality wise, look wise, etc. I am not a Forever King, or a MIT. Theres nothing wrong with being a player that uses half the roster, Id rather live and die w my main because winning with he/she feels even more satisfying.
@SonicFox5000:
Style of gameplay. If nobody matches my style, then I just pick the character that annoys everybody!
6. When first attempting to learn a new character, what process do you go through?
@FOREVER KING:
I go in practice and learn that characters mixups and combos, then just play countless matches with friends using that character
@Slips:
The first question I always ask with my character is 'how do I open someone up?' Whether you are using a rushdown character, mobility character, footsie character, zoner, ect. this is something I feel is essential to know in the event I have to take the fight to someone else. This isn't something as easy as mixing up a low with an overhead, I want to know which mixup will give me my best risk/reward. Safe, mediocre damage, non-fuzzyable mixups are always preferred to high risk/high reward mixups. Especially early on in a fight. To me, it's important to save your high risk/high reward mixups/shenanigans after you've gotten an idea of how your opponent plays. You eventually pick up patterns on how they like to move, how they like to block, and you can also use your safe mixup to condition them for the high risk stuff later. The more information you have about your opponent, the better odds of you hitting with high risk/high reward mixups/shenanigans (If you end up needing it). This is just my personal way of going about it. Some top players do better overwheling their opponent with speed and just using different mixups constantly to throw you off. (Sonic Fox, Perfect Legend, ect).Some are just very patient and have the upmost confidence you cannot open them up and you hang yourself (Chris G). So use whatever strategy fits you best. After that, I work my way outwards like I mentioned before.
@MITDJT:
When learning a new character, I typically go into the lab with them and test them out. While doing this, I also go onto twitch and youtube to find footage to help me level up with that character. I do all this simultaneously essentially then go from there. After each training session, I play with Denzell to see where I am at with the character I am learning. If I get bodied, I typically just figure out what I am doing wrong. If I do good, I may add that charcter to my list of tournament characters to use.
@Pig Of The Hut:
Already stated.
@SonicFox5000:
MEMORIZE EVERYTHING. Then we start the growth pattern 
7. Daily, about how much time do you spend in the lab compared to actually playing against a human opponent? And how much time do you spend playing the game overall a day?
@FOREVER KING:
Like I said earlier, I'm not really a training mode kind of guy. Playing my friends and/or randoms in ranked matches is my training mode. If it's a brand new game that I'm trying to play in tournaments and be the best, maybe 5 hours or more a day. If it's a random fighting game I'm playing for fun, one or two hours every time I play
@Slips:
I lab it it either just as much if not more than actually playing versus matches. Knowledge is power in fighting games. If it were up to me, I'd play 8 hours a day, but society doesn't allow you to do that without repercussions unfortunately. So I just play whenever I can.
@MITDJT:
Typically I will lab for like 30 minutes to an hour and play versus a human opponent as many hours as I can. On average, I would say I play like 2-3 hours a day with school going on, and like 5 to it depends over the summer.
@Pig Of The Hut:
Leading up to EVO last year I was playing 6-7 hours a day minimum for about two months in. This was around the time UFGT/MLG/CEO were approaching. I travel a ton for work so when im traveling I take my journal with me with a huge list of things ive compiled to work on. Examples: Find absolute best solution for "xyz" situation etc etc. When im on the road in a hotel room thats when im labbing most or if I need an immediate answer at home. I stay in the lab until an answer is found.
@SonicFox5000:
Training? It'd probably be 2 hours when I am at first new to the game, then when I am skilled, about 10 mins, unless I wanna learn something new. Overall, idk whenever I goto sleep or get bored. So that could be me playing a game straight from 1-15 hours lol.
8. If there was one thing you think people need to work on in the NRS community in regards to the game, what would that one thing be?
@FOREVER KING:
Idk everyone is different. I guess the NRS community as whole, needs to.... Idk I can't really think of anything. Everyone is different lol
@Slips:
I would say exploring all options. Players get wrapped up on 1 or 2 different things because they either discovered it themselves and are in love with it or they read up on how people are playing a character and they X-copy the style not even trying to find new ways to use them. You have a bunch of moves, strings and special moves. Not all are useful, but most of them can be if you think creatively. And the more variety you throw at your opponent the harder it is to block correctly and effectively punish.
@MITDJT:
I would say they should work on their footsies/spacing because those two things are essential if you plan to be able to beat any and everyone.
@Pig Of The Hut:
Discipline and working harder than they complain.
@SonicFox5000:
Execution and fundamentals. They aren't bad, but they aren't the best either from my experience in different communities.
9. Which aspect of MKX are you most interested in? (Variations, run, the story, etc)
@FOREVER KING:
EVERYTHING. Everything about MKX looks sexy and amazing so far. I guess I'm most pleased with the graphics overall, how realistic it looks and gruesome the fatalities are
@Slips:
I'm most interested in how often a variation changes will occur in tournament. Will only character loyalists use the different variations? Will tier whores use different variations as well or just use the best version of each character? Should be interesting.
@MITDJT:
I would say variations interest me the most because as a multiple character player variations will help me stick to one tournament character most likely and that is something I would like to do (though many would call BS on me staying with one character lol, but I shall prove them wrong).
@Pig Of The Hut:
Finishing what I started at EVO 2012, 2014 is my honest answer. Beginning the competitive journey again also
@SonicFox5000:
Variations. The ideaa of having to learn 90+ matchups is outright CRAZY. But its gonna be so hype to see all these different players making a statement for themselves in that variation. The game will always be changing and evolving with new tech, so I can't wait!
10. Lastly, which character(s) are you looking to main in MKX?
@FOREVER KING:
I'm going to use the whole cast like I always do, but the first character I'm going to try is Kung Lao. He is my favorite MK character along side Scorpion, and everything about him looks awesome so far in MKX
@Slips:
I'll be maining Scorp. And will try to use Kano and Ermac on the side. I mean Scorp can't suck in EVERY game right?
@MITDJT:
Scorpion is number one on my list as a character I would like to main. Side candidates include ermac, reptile, takeda, and at least one female (right now cassie cage or Jacqui briggs). Hopefully this time the character cast is not my main or the random select button lol.
@Pig Of The Hut:
Kenshi, there is no question. There is absolutely no question. There isnt a character on this planet I want more in this game, Mileena is a strong second and I hope to bring back the original team that I was highly successful with in MK9. But more about Kenshi, since hearing about his "maybe return" through rumors and leaked pics through the mobile I've already decided Im not shaving this beard anytime soon (.................Until either it's proven he isnt in this game or After EVO 
)
)@SonicFox5000:
Cassie, Mileena, Sonya, although everybody looks amazing so far. Its so hard haha, but I need a little more gameplay. But thats who I feel like I have a solid guess on.
I want to personally and publicly thank everyone who participated. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!
There's no right answer when it comes to how you approach a new fighting game. There's not really a right or wrong way to do things. The only thing you need is a willingness to learn and determination. You don't need to be one of these top players in order to be successful early or even down the line in a games life. Another reason I wanted to share the opinions/proccesses of these great players is to show they aren't automatically god like at the game. They have to train and go through the steps of learning a new game just like everyone else.
I hope some of you take the time to read the responses, and I hope this helped at least one of you in some way. I'm unbelievably hype for MKX and I know you guys are too! See you guys on the battlefield!
______________________________________________________________________________________
A compilation of the communities responses!
@Juggs
1. If there's a tutorial, I do that first. It can help no matter how good you think you are. I then go to training mode and mess around for a bit. Nothing too serious, just test out a few things before I go into story mode. After about 15 minutes of training mode, I get ready for the hype known as Story mode!
2. The first thing I learn is combos. Combos can teach you a lot about how the game works. It's not only the combos themselves that I try and learn, it's how to initiate them and the proper spacing I need. Combos aren't the most important early on though, I feel fundamentals are the most important thing early on and even later on.
3. I spend my training process analyzing a lot of different things. I look at match videos and determine why I lost, and work to fix it. If there's certain gimmicks or moves I don't know how to beat or I have trouble against, I try and find ways around them. I work vigorously on my execution, doing the same combos over and over until they're muscle memory. In a real match, you have a lot you need to think about, so not having to think about landing a combo and worry about my execution is a huge advantage. I work on getting out of hard situations, like being in the corner with no meter, or coming back from a huge life deficit.
4. I try to get familiar with every character, which will be extra hard with MKX since there's essentially 3 version of each character. As far as seriously learning, I stick to around 3 for awhile, then slowly go from there.
5. I have pre-release mains that I think I will like or like the way they look. So I try them out first. But I eventually try and use everyone because you never know what character will fit your style and personality.
6. I first learn all of their normals and specials. It seems really basic and obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many players forget about the most basic things. I then move on to my characters fundamentals. What's my characters best anti-air, best wake-up, best poke, my BnB, footsie options, best positioning, walk speed, dash speed/distance, etc. After i got all of that down, I move on to basic combos. I experiment and try to find as many combos as I can. Once I find some combos out, I do them over and over until I'm confident that I can land them consistently. Once all this is done, I then take them to the AI. The AI is useful to test your new character against a moving target, and an opponent that just isn't standing there. After I'm confident, I then take my character online or against a human opponent. After a session, I go back to training mode and test what I lost to, and repeat.
7. It's about 80% to 20%. 80% in the lab, 20% against human opponents. Daily I spend as much time as possible, but usually around 5 hours.
8. Fundamentals, the basics. Things like blocking and defense in general. You need to work from the ground up, a solid foundation can be built upon.
9. I'm really interested in variations. I also want to test the run and see its limitations. As well as the stamina meter, it was in UMK3 so I want to see how different it is.
10. Right now, Scorpion is my main man. But I want to use everyone, the front runners are: Shinnok, Takeda, Jason Voorhees, Erron Black, Kenshi, Goro, Ferra/torr, Ermac, Sonya, Kung Jin, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero, and Johnny Cage.
______________________________________________________________________________________
@Youphemism
1. VERY first thing is usually the tutorials if there are any so I can get a good understanding of the basic mechanics of the game - combo mechanics, blocking, the basics. If there's something like combo challenges I'll do a few of them too to get a feel for the characters and decide who I want to play. Then I'll do story because I like lore and stuff but I'll do it a chapter or character at a time, however the story of that game does it. I'll see what character I'll be using, quit and go into the lab with them, make a few basic combos then do their chapter. That way I can learn a little about the character at the same time as progressing through the story so I can get it done quicker and get stuck in to improving how I play the character(s) and playing/learning matchups/online.
2. The first thing I learn are basic game mechanics. How to block, how to do combos and link moves. Then I start practicing basic bnbs. I'll go into the lab with a character I like and I look through all the characters moves, look at the ranges/hitboxes, the frame data. I'll decide what I think is useful then look at what launches, what connects after these launchers and I'll make up some combos that will do the job at the most basic level and allow the character to take advantage of their design (ie ending Cage combos with nutpunch to go into frametraps, ending Batman combos in trait cancel etc) while doing decent damage at the same time.
I think matchups are the last thing you should look at. To know how to handle matchups you need to know all your moves and the frame data and so on. The most important early on might be fundamentals but if you already play fighting games at an even averagely high level then you should already have fundamentals at the very least so I only think that's important if you've never played a fighting game (or at a high level) before.
The most important thing early on that would apply to everyone would probably be knowledge of your character. If you know your character inside out, their frame data, their hitboxes, their move properties, the best way to play them using those moves, then I reckon you should be able to do relatively well even if you don't know their matchup well yet. Execution is important too, can't be dropping combos now can we?
3. At the beginning of a game? Honestly I look through all of a characters moves and make combos first, I'll find launchers and other moves that do good damage with little scaling and put them together. I'll get some basic combos going so I have them in my arsenal then look at the hitboxes and ranges and frame data and properties so I can better understand the character. Basic gameplan and combos first then looking more into how moves work with each other. I think it's good to have a basis for the character first rather than just going into the best you can find straight away because you could be wrong and your time is wasted and you have to change up everything. Even today in MK9 and Injustice my regime stays relatively the same, but since I already know the characters ranges/hitboxes/frame data/etc I just practice bnbs then deviate into finding tech once doing the bnbs or slightly editing the bnbs a bit at a time sparks an idea in my head.
4. Usually one or two. But I'll always end up messing about with everyone to an extent.
5. There's a few things that determine that, in no particular order:
- Wind manipulating characters - If Fujin makes it into MKX he's getting insta-mained and I will be loyal to him no matter what.
- Moveset aesthetic - If they have a lot of 'spinny' moves then I'll usually end up using them (which is why I play Batgirl (cartwheel) and Wonder Woman (DB3, B3, F3). Either that or if I just like their moveset in general I'll play them.
- Sorcerers/telekinetics - If they use magic or telekinesis I'll probably like them, but then it usually comes down to moveset aesthetic as well as playstyle. Take Ermac for example, I liked him because he's a telekinetic but I dropped him because I didn't like the way he played nor his moves enough. But I like Kenshi and still play him now, his moveset aesthetic is cool and I'm fine with playing the way he's played optimally. Plus he has some swag combos that just stop me from ever wanting to leave the character lol. If Fujin isn't in I'll play Shinnok too.
- Character archetype - If a character matches my preferred playstyle/archetype then I'll usually look to play them.
- Personality - This is a rare one but I like Jacquis personality and that's why I plan on playing her
6. I look at all their moves, the ranges of them, what launches. Then if I've seen the character used before I'll practice the bnbs I've seen, otherwise I'll use the launchers/openers and other moves to try and come up with some bnbs that I can use. Then I'll practice those combos for maybe a few hours until it's impossible for me to drop them because they're so ingrained into my brain. Once I play the character more I'll find harder, more damaging combos and figure out their most optimal playstyle or how I want to play them.
7. Lol I spend WAY too much time in the lab but with my shitty internet and living an ocean away from some of the best players you can't blame me for not wanting to play online. If I'm not at university I can spend up to 10 hours in the lab a day, but if I am at uni that day then maybe about 4 hours. I mentioned earlier what I do in the lab, and my output is usually either creating new swag combos or finding tech if it's later in the game's life. I can get stuck on one piece of tech for days or weeks on end until I've finally gotten it down or I've acceptably tested it enough where I can say it definitely won't work. As for playing human opponents I tend not to because the online is terrible and I can rarely meet with my offline training partner as it is but if I need to practice some things then I'll go online for a little while. When my traning partner and I do meet we end up playing casuals for about 7ish hours.
Time spent playing the game overall a day? Days I'm not at university about 11 hours, days I am at university about 6 hours.
8. Matchup knowledge. People just don't take advantage of or know every tool available to them and it costs them sometimes. Instead they whine for nerfs that aren't necessary because they don't understand the character. They need to learn every single option and listen to the people who play the characters, the people that have explored those options and know every hole and weakness, if they tell them how to beat their character. That way we could identify each characters weaknesses and it might even help optimise playstyles in certain matchups which would make for some exciting sets.
I think that all the character mains should come together and create collaborative matchup guides. This would outline their characters best options, what they excel at and the best way to deal with those options, as well as their weaknesses and how to take advantage of them. I mean what's better than hearing it from the people that know those characters the best right?
Although I completely agree with @Zoidberg747 and @STB Sgt Reed 's answers too, absolutely true.
9. Uhhhh story right now I guess. I like the variation idea too and can't wait to see how it will play out. As excited as I am to play the game the actual mechanics aren't the thing I'm most excited about. I'm still skeptical about running being FFBLK but we'll see how it affects the game once we play it.
10. If Fujin is in he will be my only main throughout the entirety of the game's life. Otherwise Shinnok, Jacqui, specifically Commando Kano since it looks like it'll fit well with the archetype I like to play and probably Kenshi look to be the character I want to play so far.
______________________________________________________________________________________
@Angel Oleander
1: My biggest motivation in getting into a fighter is familiarizing myself as many reasons as possible why I should care about it to begin with. You give me a solid story and/or a character whose lore and looks I can get my hooks into, and I'm in there. It's not just about the fight or the fighters, it's about the why's and how's as well. Favorite example: Labrys from Persona 4 Arena. She was adorable, brutal, and came with one of the most heartbreaking and redeeming stories I've ever played through. God, I miss that girl.
2: Execution level and character familiarity can only be made the absolute most use of once you know your fundamentals and environments by heart. The one gun I stick to as best I can is to always stay in a learning mindset, draw your strengths, and build it into your foundations. Whether it's something as simple as an anti-air jab or as insipid as hitting 2~NDC's from pillar to post, everything counts.
3: I play online religiously in spite of all of its flaws for one reason: be it a half-par AI system like MK9's or an borderline-evil-accurate AI like Injustice, I've yet to meet a computer that can fight me with the same spirit or hype-inducing fury as another human can. But my absolute favorite way to learn, develop, and strengthen my personal metagame is studying tape, watching streams and tournament replays, and picking apart everything I see to put it back together and bend it to the will of my advantage.
4: In my experience thus far, there's two reasons that trump all others when it comes to learning a character: you're either a loyalist/attached to the character themselves for one reason or another regardless of their tier-placing (Ex: 16 Bit and Kitana, Jeremiah and Sheeva), or they're a proven top-tier character that gives you a vastly improved chance at success (Ex: anyone who caught in the wave of Hurricane Kabal in 2012). If you're more concerned with victory than loyalty, play the best character you see fit. If there's someone in the cast you personally want to wield and make your own personal endeavor, grind them into the dust. But if your characters have flaws, and/or have it in you to mix loyalty and superiority, try to do both.
5: Unless you fall into that loyalist category and you know exactly who you're aiming to use, it can be a long, painstaking road to finding your eventual #1 super guy or girl. I ran through Noob, Ermac, Scorpion, Reptile, Raiden, and like 5 other characters before I finally found my way to Cyrax and Sub-Zero. I didn't even start playing Cage seriously until the end of 2012. Same went for Injustice: Doomsday and Bane were my planned left and right hand, Deathstroke had me at hello the first time I ever played Chapter 7, and Grundy was so much fucking fun to me that it should've been illegal. If it's your first rodeo or your first time trying to seek out a serious main, there's almost always that one defining "ah-hah!" moment where you know you've found a method you can make work. But once it comes, the learning process and mastering your own playstyle all become easier. It's important to push yourself, but you've also got to be mindful of what you know works best for you.
6: Notebooks. Lots and lots of notebooks. I cannot undersell how important it is to fill your brain with as much useful shit as possible. Study your strings, your highs and lows and mediums, write all that shit down and study until it's woven into your DNA. Find a forum guide and all the crooked, broken goodies and combos and juggles and bullshit your character is capable of. All of it. I don't care if you're Hawkgirl and your F13 has like 120 different possible followups, you never know when which are going to be the difference between victory and a bodying.
7: Not as much time as I used to, but that's only because it's been almost 4 years since this all started. Back in the day, I would try everything from Ladders to lab work to Ranked Tag matches just to keep my reflexes up. It all depended on what I was plugging in to accomplish at that particular time. Then again, I play Cyrax, and everyone knows you don't need to practice to be a good Cyrax -.- .
8: Infinitely expanding the scene so as to create a solid, permanent nexus of epic, respectable players...and not have to rely on slaying our way out of a river of deplorable, douchetastic online jackasses just to improve or train.
9: That's a tie between putting years of passion, grinding and learning to good use by becoming a top-tier championship-worthy player...and the story. Hoooooly hand grenades, I can't wait to crack this tale open. The Deadly Alliance/Deception/Konquest storyline is probably my favorite thing in all video game space and time - just as Armageddon completely botching the ending is my most despised - and I've been waiting almost a decade to see the wrongs of the tale set right. Hype is beyond an understandment.
10: STUNT DOUBLE JOHNNY CAGE. I don't know who thought it was a great idea to give the previously best rushdown character on record a Noob Saibot zoning mechanic, but I would give them a fucking cookie if I had one to give.
______________________________________________________________________________________
@Doombawkz
1. First thing I do, every single time, is go to the lab. Not necessarily to find tech, but to get my bearings. Tutorial mode is usually something I do if available. If I can't play even remotely well with the new engine, nothing else works.
-----
2. First thing I try to learn is special attributes to moves. Faster standing animations, odd hitstuns, anything that can be made into tech. Most important early on is learning your character's specific tools.
-----
3. Read every command and move. Drop every single combo at different areas, and add in random normal drops to see how the moves interact and what happens. Usually its just tech rolls, but most of the tech I make comes from this kind of stuff.
-----
4. I usually stick to one, this time I'm going to try for 2. I'll also occasionally fish for new tech on other characters.
-----
5. Buff potential, and thats actually seriously how I do it. If a character never changes, it gets boring and stagnant. I pick characters with the most potential to change over the course of the game's life, to keep things fresh.
-----
6. See: Training process. I basically do that and form strategies around what I find.
----
7. Uh... When a game first comes out, I'll spend a few hours a day in the lab. I think I hit 500 lab hours after about 2 or 3 months of the game's release. I don't often play against human opponents, but I'll try to make more of a habit of it. I play as much as I feel like, and when I'm done, I'll go do other junk.
-----
8. Learning to be more open to new possibilities. People tend to stick to the common knowledge a bit too much, and take it a bit too far imo. Be open to change, never say anything is certain until its all over.
-----
9. The story, being honest. Variations seem okay, but I actually genuinely want to know what happens. I'm a lore nerd.
-----
10. Ferra/Torr, but I made a promise to main Shinnok if he was announced and he was so its time to roll the bones.
______________________________________________________________________________________
@JLU51306
1. Tutorial, Training mode. Always.
2. The games newest mechanics, along with basic strings and specials.
3. Finding my best BnBs, and pressure situations. Mixups are important for me too (former Catwoman main.)
4. 3-4 usually, so I have an even concept of the different types of characters (rushdown, setup, zoner, defense, bruiser, grappler.)
5. Pressure potential is my #1.
6. Studying strings, frames, whats safe to do in particular situations. General meta-game I suppose.
7. On average I'll probably spend about 2-3 hours in the lab, as well as maybe another hour of 1v1, story, ect.
8. Some of the knee-jerk reactions to characters being OP, or worthless. Let the game evolve, and then far down the road, we should decide what needs to be buffed vs nerfed. Though, NRS is partially to blame for creating this kind of 'Patch monthly for 6 months' expectation.
9. I think combo potential with running is going to be just as viable as it is flashy. The story also looks to set the bar higher than MK9, and that can only be a bonus. Variations seem a little less consistent in their balancing, but overall appear to be a nice addition to the franchise.
10. Kotal Kahn, Erron Black (on his appearance only, so that's saying something), Shinnok (again, appearances), Sub-Zero (to start)
______________________________________________________________________________________
@STB Sgt Reed
1. Tutorial just so I know kind of how the game will play. Then straight to story mode! Being a rpg fan, I loooooove a good story and nothing is as good as MK. lol
2. What I try to learn first the basic moves of my character. If they have inputs that I don't like (u3, bf, dbf, etc), I will work on that until I can do it, if I can't... I'll choose another character that I was thinking of using and try out their basic moves.
3. Well, MK9 was my first fighting game, sooo... I didn't really have a training process. Going in to MKX, after seeing what things were important to good players in MK9, I am going to look for the best pokes and see which are the fastest and can be spaced the best. That seems like one of the most important aspects to me.
4. Just 1. Maybe 2 if I really like a couple of characters. I will play with a ton though b/c I have a @MITDJT type thing going on where I like to play everyone. lmao
5. Backstory, Looks, and gameplay. If I don't like the way a character looks... I can't main them. lol
6. In MK9, I would bring up videos by tom brady or other top players and see how they use them in certain situations and like Slips said, would just copy their style. By the end of MK9, my Sub Zero was a combination of about four or five different sub zero players that I had stolen tactics from. lmao
7. 3 hours or so... work takes up too much time.
8. Not complaining as much as we should be trying to learn how to overcome what we're complaining about.
9. Honestly, the story mode... I wanna see what happens, dammit! And the variations scare me. The potential of having to deal with like 90 matchups in one game. I don't even...
10. Cassie Cage (Hollywood, Spec Ops), Sub Zero (Unbreakble, Grandmaster), Raiden (Displacer), Johnny Cage (Stunt Double)
______________________________________________________________________________________
@Zoidberg747
1. Tutorial is always first. Usually story but this time around there are tournaments in my area a few days fater the game comes out, so I will be scrambling to find a main and be somewhat decent with them(i.e. hitting the lab).
2.You always have to know the fundamentals of the game. Basic stuff like movement and how the combo system works, etc. More specifically, I look for how footsies work and how I can exploit that.
3. I usually post a lot of general threads on TYM, either in the game section or character section. It kind of motivates me to find things like the fundamental aspects of the game, properties of interactables, the properties of certain moves, how to punish certain moves etc.
4. One. I sometime struggle to find it, but once I find a main I stick with them for a minimum of three months. If for some reason I decide that character isn't working for me, I move on.
5. Footsies. I look for characters that can control space, force whiffs, etc. Obviously a lot goes into that but characters with fast backdashes and/or fast walkspeeds are usually who I look at first, then if they can control space they are probably a good fit for me. I also look for characters within my execution level, because I don't have a lot of playing time and want to find a character whose BnB I can land consistently fairly quickly.
6. First thing I do is learn combos. My execution has never been the best so I want to make sure that I can make punishes count. I don't have a lot of time to play so I do not want to spend countless hours mastering my BnBs, i'd rather work on general strategies and fundamentals. Then I focus on my character's footsies and how I can get my opponents where I want them. After that I branch out to pokes, pressure, and the like.
7. At the beginning of the game most of the time I spend is in training mode. Now if I am at home at all that is usually what I will be in, since online has become less fun for me recently. As far as playing time goes, with my schedule it is always up in the air whether I can play at all. Ideally I would like to play 3-4 hours a day, but usually it is 1-2 if I am lucky.
8. Open mindedness. People on this site tend to be subject to group polarization and hive mind, that is going with majority opinion and only trusting top players for information. People are also too quick to write characters/tech off as broken, useless, OP or trash tier. You have to exhaust all options before making those claims, something which practically no one does anymore.
9. Variations. Especially how the tournament rules will be handled. If done right the balance could be very good.
10. If Baraka isn't in I have no idea. Probably will look for the things I tend to look for and go from there. It could be anyone at this point, even characters I sort of hate (looking at you Sonya).
1. If there's a tutorial, I do that first. It can help no matter how good you think you are. I then go to training mode and mess around for a bit. Nothing too serious, just test out a few things before I go into story mode. After about 15 minutes of training mode, I get ready for the hype known as Story mode!
2. The first thing I learn is combos. Combos can teach you a lot about how the game works. It's not only the combos themselves that I try and learn, it's how to initiate them and the proper spacing I need. Combos aren't the most important early on though, I feel fundamentals are the most important thing early on and even later on.
3. I spend my training process analyzing a lot of different things. I look at match videos and determine why I lost, and work to fix it. If there's certain gimmicks or moves I don't know how to beat or I have trouble against, I try and find ways around them. I work vigorously on my execution, doing the same combos over and over until they're muscle memory. In a real match, you have a lot you need to think about, so not having to think about landing a combo and worry about my execution is a huge advantage. I work on getting out of hard situations, like being in the corner with no meter, or coming back from a huge life deficit.
4. I try to get familiar with every character, which will be extra hard with MKX since there's essentially 3 version of each character. As far as seriously learning, I stick to around 3 for awhile, then slowly go from there.
5. I have pre-release mains that I think I will like or like the way they look. So I try them out first. But I eventually try and use everyone because you never know what character will fit your style and personality.
6. I first learn all of their normals and specials. It seems really basic and obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many players forget about the most basic things. I then move on to my characters fundamentals. What's my characters best anti-air, best wake-up, best poke, my BnB, footsie options, best positioning, walk speed, dash speed/distance, etc. After i got all of that down, I move on to basic combos. I experiment and try to find as many combos as I can. Once I find some combos out, I do them over and over until I'm confident that I can land them consistently. Once all this is done, I then take them to the AI. The AI is useful to test your new character against a moving target, and an opponent that just isn't standing there. After I'm confident, I then take my character online or against a human opponent. After a session, I go back to training mode and test what I lost to, and repeat.
7. It's about 80% to 20%. 80% in the lab, 20% against human opponents. Daily I spend as much time as possible, but usually around 5 hours.
8. Fundamentals, the basics. Things like blocking and defense in general. You need to work from the ground up, a solid foundation can be built upon.
9. I'm really interested in variations. I also want to test the run and see its limitations. As well as the stamina meter, it was in UMK3 so I want to see how different it is.
10. Right now, Scorpion is my main man. But I want to use everyone, the front runners are: Shinnok, Takeda, Jason Voorhees, Erron Black, Kenshi, Goro, Ferra/torr, Ermac, Sonya, Kung Jin, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero, and Johnny Cage.
______________________________________________________________________________________
@Youphemism
1. VERY first thing is usually the tutorials if there are any so I can get a good understanding of the basic mechanics of the game - combo mechanics, blocking, the basics. If there's something like combo challenges I'll do a few of them too to get a feel for the characters and decide who I want to play. Then I'll do story because I like lore and stuff but I'll do it a chapter or character at a time, however the story of that game does it. I'll see what character I'll be using, quit and go into the lab with them, make a few basic combos then do their chapter. That way I can learn a little about the character at the same time as progressing through the story so I can get it done quicker and get stuck in to improving how I play the character(s) and playing/learning matchups/online.
2. The first thing I learn are basic game mechanics. How to block, how to do combos and link moves. Then I start practicing basic bnbs. I'll go into the lab with a character I like and I look through all the characters moves, look at the ranges/hitboxes, the frame data. I'll decide what I think is useful then look at what launches, what connects after these launchers and I'll make up some combos that will do the job at the most basic level and allow the character to take advantage of their design (ie ending Cage combos with nutpunch to go into frametraps, ending Batman combos in trait cancel etc) while doing decent damage at the same time.
I think matchups are the last thing you should look at. To know how to handle matchups you need to know all your moves and the frame data and so on. The most important early on might be fundamentals but if you already play fighting games at an even averagely high level then you should already have fundamentals at the very least so I only think that's important if you've never played a fighting game (or at a high level) before.
The most important thing early on that would apply to everyone would probably be knowledge of your character. If you know your character inside out, their frame data, their hitboxes, their move properties, the best way to play them using those moves, then I reckon you should be able to do relatively well even if you don't know their matchup well yet. Execution is important too, can't be dropping combos now can we?
3. At the beginning of a game? Honestly I look through all of a characters moves and make combos first, I'll find launchers and other moves that do good damage with little scaling and put them together. I'll get some basic combos going so I have them in my arsenal then look at the hitboxes and ranges and frame data and properties so I can better understand the character. Basic gameplan and combos first then looking more into how moves work with each other. I think it's good to have a basis for the character first rather than just going into the best you can find straight away because you could be wrong and your time is wasted and you have to change up everything. Even today in MK9 and Injustice my regime stays relatively the same, but since I already know the characters ranges/hitboxes/frame data/etc I just practice bnbs then deviate into finding tech once doing the bnbs or slightly editing the bnbs a bit at a time sparks an idea in my head.
4. Usually one or two. But I'll always end up messing about with everyone to an extent.
5. There's a few things that determine that, in no particular order:
- Wind manipulating characters - If Fujin makes it into MKX he's getting insta-mained and I will be loyal to him no matter what.
- Moveset aesthetic - If they have a lot of 'spinny' moves then I'll usually end up using them (which is why I play Batgirl (cartwheel) and Wonder Woman (DB3, B3, F3). Either that or if I just like their moveset in general I'll play them.
- Sorcerers/telekinetics - If they use magic or telekinesis I'll probably like them, but then it usually comes down to moveset aesthetic as well as playstyle. Take Ermac for example, I liked him because he's a telekinetic but I dropped him because I didn't like the way he played nor his moves enough. But I like Kenshi and still play him now, his moveset aesthetic is cool and I'm fine with playing the way he's played optimally. Plus he has some swag combos that just stop me from ever wanting to leave the character lol. If Fujin isn't in I'll play Shinnok too.
- Character archetype - If a character matches my preferred playstyle/archetype then I'll usually look to play them.
- Personality - This is a rare one but I like Jacquis personality and that's why I plan on playing her
6. I look at all their moves, the ranges of them, what launches. Then if I've seen the character used before I'll practice the bnbs I've seen, otherwise I'll use the launchers/openers and other moves to try and come up with some bnbs that I can use. Then I'll practice those combos for maybe a few hours until it's impossible for me to drop them because they're so ingrained into my brain. Once I play the character more I'll find harder, more damaging combos and figure out their most optimal playstyle or how I want to play them.
7. Lol I spend WAY too much time in the lab but with my shitty internet and living an ocean away from some of the best players you can't blame me for not wanting to play online. If I'm not at university I can spend up to 10 hours in the lab a day, but if I am at uni that day then maybe about 4 hours. I mentioned earlier what I do in the lab, and my output is usually either creating new swag combos or finding tech if it's later in the game's life. I can get stuck on one piece of tech for days or weeks on end until I've finally gotten it down or I've acceptably tested it enough where I can say it definitely won't work. As for playing human opponents I tend not to because the online is terrible and I can rarely meet with my offline training partner as it is but if I need to practice some things then I'll go online for a little while. When my traning partner and I do meet we end up playing casuals for about 7ish hours.
Time spent playing the game overall a day? Days I'm not at university about 11 hours, days I am at university about 6 hours.
8. Matchup knowledge. People just don't take advantage of or know every tool available to them and it costs them sometimes. Instead they whine for nerfs that aren't necessary because they don't understand the character. They need to learn every single option and listen to the people who play the characters, the people that have explored those options and know every hole and weakness, if they tell them how to beat their character. That way we could identify each characters weaknesses and it might even help optimise playstyles in certain matchups which would make for some exciting sets.
I think that all the character mains should come together and create collaborative matchup guides. This would outline their characters best options, what they excel at and the best way to deal with those options, as well as their weaknesses and how to take advantage of them. I mean what's better than hearing it from the people that know those characters the best right?
Although I completely agree with @Zoidberg747 and @STB Sgt Reed 's answers too, absolutely true.
9. Uhhhh story right now I guess. I like the variation idea too and can't wait to see how it will play out. As excited as I am to play the game the actual mechanics aren't the thing I'm most excited about. I'm still skeptical about running being FFBLK but we'll see how it affects the game once we play it.
10. If Fujin is in he will be my only main throughout the entirety of the game's life. Otherwise Shinnok, Jacqui, specifically Commando Kano since it looks like it'll fit well with the archetype I like to play and probably Kenshi look to be the character I want to play so far.
______________________________________________________________________________________
@Angel Oleander
1: My biggest motivation in getting into a fighter is familiarizing myself as many reasons as possible why I should care about it to begin with. You give me a solid story and/or a character whose lore and looks I can get my hooks into, and I'm in there. It's not just about the fight or the fighters, it's about the why's and how's as well. Favorite example: Labrys from Persona 4 Arena. She was adorable, brutal, and came with one of the most heartbreaking and redeeming stories I've ever played through. God, I miss that girl.
2: Execution level and character familiarity can only be made the absolute most use of once you know your fundamentals and environments by heart. The one gun I stick to as best I can is to always stay in a learning mindset, draw your strengths, and build it into your foundations. Whether it's something as simple as an anti-air jab or as insipid as hitting 2~NDC's from pillar to post, everything counts.
3: I play online religiously in spite of all of its flaws for one reason: be it a half-par AI system like MK9's or an borderline-evil-accurate AI like Injustice, I've yet to meet a computer that can fight me with the same spirit or hype-inducing fury as another human can. But my absolute favorite way to learn, develop, and strengthen my personal metagame is studying tape, watching streams and tournament replays, and picking apart everything I see to put it back together and bend it to the will of my advantage.
4: In my experience thus far, there's two reasons that trump all others when it comes to learning a character: you're either a loyalist/attached to the character themselves for one reason or another regardless of their tier-placing (Ex: 16 Bit and Kitana, Jeremiah and Sheeva), or they're a proven top-tier character that gives you a vastly improved chance at success (Ex: anyone who caught in the wave of Hurricane Kabal in 2012). If you're more concerned with victory than loyalty, play the best character you see fit. If there's someone in the cast you personally want to wield and make your own personal endeavor, grind them into the dust. But if your characters have flaws, and/or have it in you to mix loyalty and superiority, try to do both.
5: Unless you fall into that loyalist category and you know exactly who you're aiming to use, it can be a long, painstaking road to finding your eventual #1 super guy or girl. I ran through Noob, Ermac, Scorpion, Reptile, Raiden, and like 5 other characters before I finally found my way to Cyrax and Sub-Zero. I didn't even start playing Cage seriously until the end of 2012. Same went for Injustice: Doomsday and Bane were my planned left and right hand, Deathstroke had me at hello the first time I ever played Chapter 7, and Grundy was so much fucking fun to me that it should've been illegal. If it's your first rodeo or your first time trying to seek out a serious main, there's almost always that one defining "ah-hah!" moment where you know you've found a method you can make work. But once it comes, the learning process and mastering your own playstyle all become easier. It's important to push yourself, but you've also got to be mindful of what you know works best for you.
6: Notebooks. Lots and lots of notebooks. I cannot undersell how important it is to fill your brain with as much useful shit as possible. Study your strings, your highs and lows and mediums, write all that shit down and study until it's woven into your DNA. Find a forum guide and all the crooked, broken goodies and combos and juggles and bullshit your character is capable of. All of it. I don't care if you're Hawkgirl and your F13 has like 120 different possible followups, you never know when which are going to be the difference between victory and a bodying.
7: Not as much time as I used to, but that's only because it's been almost 4 years since this all started. Back in the day, I would try everything from Ladders to lab work to Ranked Tag matches just to keep my reflexes up. It all depended on what I was plugging in to accomplish at that particular time. Then again, I play Cyrax, and everyone knows you don't need to practice to be a good Cyrax -.- .
8: Infinitely expanding the scene so as to create a solid, permanent nexus of epic, respectable players...and not have to rely on slaying our way out of a river of deplorable, douchetastic online jackasses just to improve or train.
9: That's a tie between putting years of passion, grinding and learning to good use by becoming a top-tier championship-worthy player...and the story. Hoooooly hand grenades, I can't wait to crack this tale open. The Deadly Alliance/Deception/Konquest storyline is probably my favorite thing in all video game space and time - just as Armageddon completely botching the ending is my most despised - and I've been waiting almost a decade to see the wrongs of the tale set right. Hype is beyond an understandment.
10: STUNT DOUBLE JOHNNY CAGE. I don't know who thought it was a great idea to give the previously best rushdown character on record a Noob Saibot zoning mechanic, but I would give them a fucking cookie if I had one to give.
______________________________________________________________________________________
@Doombawkz
1. First thing I do, every single time, is go to the lab. Not necessarily to find tech, but to get my bearings. Tutorial mode is usually something I do if available. If I can't play even remotely well with the new engine, nothing else works.
-----
2. First thing I try to learn is special attributes to moves. Faster standing animations, odd hitstuns, anything that can be made into tech. Most important early on is learning your character's specific tools.
-----
3. Read every command and move. Drop every single combo at different areas, and add in random normal drops to see how the moves interact and what happens. Usually its just tech rolls, but most of the tech I make comes from this kind of stuff.
-----
4. I usually stick to one, this time I'm going to try for 2. I'll also occasionally fish for new tech on other characters.
-----
5. Buff potential, and thats actually seriously how I do it. If a character never changes, it gets boring and stagnant. I pick characters with the most potential to change over the course of the game's life, to keep things fresh.
-----
6. See: Training process. I basically do that and form strategies around what I find.
----
7. Uh... When a game first comes out, I'll spend a few hours a day in the lab. I think I hit 500 lab hours after about 2 or 3 months of the game's release. I don't often play against human opponents, but I'll try to make more of a habit of it. I play as much as I feel like, and when I'm done, I'll go do other junk.
-----
8. Learning to be more open to new possibilities. People tend to stick to the common knowledge a bit too much, and take it a bit too far imo. Be open to change, never say anything is certain until its all over.
-----
9. The story, being honest. Variations seem okay, but I actually genuinely want to know what happens. I'm a lore nerd.
-----
10. Ferra/Torr, but I made a promise to main Shinnok if he was announced and he was so its time to roll the bones.
______________________________________________________________________________________
@JLU51306
1. Tutorial, Training mode. Always.
2. The games newest mechanics, along with basic strings and specials.
3. Finding my best BnBs, and pressure situations. Mixups are important for me too (former Catwoman main.)
4. 3-4 usually, so I have an even concept of the different types of characters (rushdown, setup, zoner, defense, bruiser, grappler.)
5. Pressure potential is my #1.
6. Studying strings, frames, whats safe to do in particular situations. General meta-game I suppose.
7. On average I'll probably spend about 2-3 hours in the lab, as well as maybe another hour of 1v1, story, ect.
8. Some of the knee-jerk reactions to characters being OP, or worthless. Let the game evolve, and then far down the road, we should decide what needs to be buffed vs nerfed. Though, NRS is partially to blame for creating this kind of 'Patch monthly for 6 months' expectation.
9. I think combo potential with running is going to be just as viable as it is flashy. The story also looks to set the bar higher than MK9, and that can only be a bonus. Variations seem a little less consistent in their balancing, but overall appear to be a nice addition to the franchise.
10. Kotal Kahn, Erron Black (on his appearance only, so that's saying something), Shinnok (again, appearances), Sub-Zero (to start)
______________________________________________________________________________________
@STB Sgt Reed
1. Tutorial just so I know kind of how the game will play. Then straight to story mode! Being a rpg fan, I loooooove a good story and nothing is as good as MK. lol
2. What I try to learn first the basic moves of my character. If they have inputs that I don't like (u3, bf, dbf, etc), I will work on that until I can do it, if I can't... I'll choose another character that I was thinking of using and try out their basic moves.
3. Well, MK9 was my first fighting game, sooo... I didn't really have a training process. Going in to MKX, after seeing what things were important to good players in MK9, I am going to look for the best pokes and see which are the fastest and can be spaced the best. That seems like one of the most important aspects to me.
4. Just 1. Maybe 2 if I really like a couple of characters. I will play with a ton though b/c I have a @MITDJT type thing going on where I like to play everyone. lmao
5. Backstory, Looks, and gameplay. If I don't like the way a character looks... I can't main them. lol
6. In MK9, I would bring up videos by tom brady or other top players and see how they use them in certain situations and like Slips said, would just copy their style. By the end of MK9, my Sub Zero was a combination of about four or five different sub zero players that I had stolen tactics from. lmao
7. 3 hours or so... work takes up too much time.
8. Not complaining as much as we should be trying to learn how to overcome what we're complaining about.
9. Honestly, the story mode... I wanna see what happens, dammit! And the variations scare me. The potential of having to deal with like 90 matchups in one game. I don't even...
10. Cassie Cage (Hollywood, Spec Ops), Sub Zero (Unbreakble, Grandmaster), Raiden (Displacer), Johnny Cage (Stunt Double)
______________________________________________________________________________________
@Zoidberg747
1. Tutorial is always first. Usually story but this time around there are tournaments in my area a few days fater the game comes out, so I will be scrambling to find a main and be somewhat decent with them(i.e. hitting the lab).
2.You always have to know the fundamentals of the game. Basic stuff like movement and how the combo system works, etc. More specifically, I look for how footsies work and how I can exploit that.
3. I usually post a lot of general threads on TYM, either in the game section or character section. It kind of motivates me to find things like the fundamental aspects of the game, properties of interactables, the properties of certain moves, how to punish certain moves etc.
4. One. I sometime struggle to find it, but once I find a main I stick with them for a minimum of three months. If for some reason I decide that character isn't working for me, I move on.
5. Footsies. I look for characters that can control space, force whiffs, etc. Obviously a lot goes into that but characters with fast backdashes and/or fast walkspeeds are usually who I look at first, then if they can control space they are probably a good fit for me. I also look for characters within my execution level, because I don't have a lot of playing time and want to find a character whose BnB I can land consistently fairly quickly.
6. First thing I do is learn combos. My execution has never been the best so I want to make sure that I can make punishes count. I don't have a lot of time to play so I do not want to spend countless hours mastering my BnBs, i'd rather work on general strategies and fundamentals. Then I focus on my character's footsies and how I can get my opponents where I want them. After that I branch out to pokes, pressure, and the like.
7. At the beginning of the game most of the time I spend is in training mode. Now if I am at home at all that is usually what I will be in, since online has become less fun for me recently. As far as playing time goes, with my schedule it is always up in the air whether I can play at all. Ideally I would like to play 3-4 hours a day, but usually it is 1-2 if I am lucky.
8. Open mindedness. People on this site tend to be subject to group polarization and hive mind, that is going with majority opinion and only trusting top players for information. People are also too quick to write characters/tech off as broken, useless, OP or trash tier. You have to exhaust all options before making those claims, something which practically no one does anymore.
9. Variations. Especially how the tournament rules will be handled. If done right the balance could be very good.
10. If Baraka isn't in I have no idea. Probably will look for the things I tend to look for and go from there. It could be anyone at this point, even characters I sort of hate (looking at you Sonya).
Last edited:
.