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Why wouldnt that be the case? That is the case with everything ever. If you just started, you suck.

Now that im over my bitch fit, I can think about this and it actually isnt the case. Well, not losing 90% of the time. If you started playing sports then you’ll play against people of the same age and experience so its a theoretical 50/50 chance of winning or losing. On GGPO applying the idea that its 50/50 just wouldnt work. Either people are gonna stomp on you or it’ll be even maybe. The reinforcement isnt quite the same. But obviously not everyone plays on GGPO.

And I guess thats what I wanted to here. Until the next beating I think ill just shut it from now on.

hello, i am new to 3rd strike i want to start to playing a bit. i am wondering whats an easy character to start out with and become accustomed to the mechanics of the game. i tried dudley (i like the type of character he is, really in your face from what i have seen), yet i find it hard to play with a keyboard.

hi, new to this site, and still quite a beginner at SF: 3rd Strike.

I’m still new to SF: 3rd Strike, because the last console I got was a PS1, so no DC or PS2. So, I’m a bit of a late player obviously to the SF: 3rd Strike gaming world, as there’s SF4 out now I hear. I don’t play games too much anymore, so I’m not caught up in gaming, which is what makes SF3: 3rd Strike new for me.

I don’t have much means of practice, other then the arcade at the J.C. school I go to. Also, the competition isn’t that big there (as there’s not too many people whom play), though there’s some people whom are a challenge for me. There’s no really good players there though.

Anyways, I really love SF3: 3rd Strike’s combat mechanics, with the parrying system and such. It’s quite a technical/precision game requiring you to be very observant and having great reaction time.

Though, this of course makes it difficult to learn/play as well.

I haven’t really been able to practice parrying or other stuff like people whom have the training mode of DC/PS2.

I can only really parry a 1 hit fireball, laughs. I haven’t had much practice parrying anything else, so when I try to, I don’t have the timing to do so successfully.

At first I really sucked, but then I read some, and found Ken to be a good noobie (and pro) character. I was originally using Elena cause I had read about her confusing fight style that is hard to defend against. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the skill to use her.

Well, as I said, I’m using Ken and only Ken now. In doing so, I can somewhat do his comboes, and have learned to play him well enough that I can beat some/half of the people I have to play against. I still can’t kara throw or do kara SRKs, grr. I also have trouble with the ground game (my fingers/hands are a bit clumsy so I have a hard time with some of the controls), jumping way too much, which usually burns me, as I can’t (air) parry very well. Though, I have developed a nack for when to jump due to this.

Also, I actually like using the SA I, because I still have trouble with the timing/speed of being able to go from a connected normal move into a SA (such as the popular: normal attack hit confirms -> SA III), and I can use it pretty well for the competition I’m against anyways.

I’ve developed a pretty good fighting style that usually lets me win (though I’m still working on beating the harder players, whom can parry much better and whom are good at the ground-throwing game style).

I do have a ground game now (but it’s not at a pro’s level with the throws, kara throws, normal attack hit confirms -> SA, zoning-baiting for throw range, dashes, etc) which i use still with a lot of jumping as well. I’ve actually found the slow moving MK and HK sub-super moves pretty good once you know how/when/where to use them.

the moves I use for my ground game:

  1. ->, HK = stepping axe kick

  2. ->, hold HK = fake stepping axe kick

  3. ->, MK = stepping forward kick

  4. <-, MK = standing axe kick

  5. MK, (you have a few frames of time for the 2nd) MK = MK then axe kick

  6. hold MK = MK attack then axe kick
    5+6. (these two have a change in timing from each other even though they are the same move, which can throw off your opponent)

  7. HK

  8. MK

  9. HP

  10. MP

  11. N/->/<-, LP+LK = Neutral/forward/backward throw

  12. D, DT, T + P = fireball

  13. D, DT, T + PP = EX fireball

  14. D, DA, A + K = hurricane kick (I need to remember to work on trying to time these into a throw, hehe)

  15. D, DA, A + KK = EX hurricane kick

  16. T, D, DT + P = Dragon Punch

  17. T, D, DT + PP = EX Dragon Punch
    18 ->, -> = Dash forward

  18. <-, <- = Dash backward

  19. HP+HK = taunt

  20. MP+MK = UO = Universal Overhead

  21. c. MK

  22. c. HP

  23. c. HK

  24. c. LK

  25. LP/LK/c. LP/air LP/air LK/ air MP/etc

  26. ->, hold HK (fake), MK (or hold MK) = I think you can MK out of the Fake (HK) Axe Kick but not sure.

  • an air game (air HP/HK/MK, air Hurricane Kick, and air EX Hurricane Kick)

  • combos:

(I’m listing the full max hit combos which usually aren’t possible, which are usually shortened by me or not all the hits or even moves themselves connect. this way I don’t have to list the shorter combos, because they are shown in these longer combos)

  1. air HK/HP/MK, MP, HP, HP-DP (2 hits), SA I, SA I (might be possible in corner, but I can’t time it. Elena can get at least a 2nd SA I off again after her 1st SA I in the corner. Though due to the “diminishing returns” it’s probably not worth wasting a 2nd SA I if it is possible)
  2. air HK/HP/MK, c. HP/MK/MP, HP-DP (2 hits), SA I, SA I (might be possible in corner, but I can’t time it. Elena can get at least a 2nd SA I off again after her 1st SA I in the corner. Though due to the “diminishing returns” it’s probably not worth wasting a 2nd SA I if it is possible)
  3. air HK/HP/MK, c. HP/MK/MP, HP-DP (2 hits), FB/EX-FB, FB/EX-FB
  4. air HK/HP/MK, c. HP/MK/MP, HP-DP (2 hits), Hur. Kick/EX Hur. Kick

by mixing this stuff up, most of the competition have a very hard time if I can stay as the aggressive one. (I have trouble against faster characters and whom have a “Dragon Punch” like move, as I jump a lot, lol. I hate Akuma/Gouki, Ryu, Ken, Elena, Sean, Dudley, and Urien when played by one of the better players)


any comments or suggestions or disagreements (of what I do with Ken) for using ken?

(remember though, that I still can’t do any of the advance stuff, like parrying or kara throw or kara SRK/DP or nor am I a pro at he throw game with distancing-baiting and such. I’m no Daigo, lol)

well, one thing about going to the next level in a fighting game is that it’s not just about adding new ideas in; it’s often about cutting out the bad stuff (mostly due to the nature of fighting game design). usually a good approach for a beginner is to find a few good moves and focus on building your skills with those instead of trying to use everything.

switch to sa3. what you’re doing with sa1 ARE hit confirms, just not advanced ones. if you can use sa1, you can use 3 (just not as anti-air, i guess). cut out about 70% of the moves youre using on the ground. in the air, cut out most and just use j.hk (good for air-to-air too), j.mk for crossup, or air ex hurricane for air-to-air

decrease your ground game tools to:

far range:
-c.mk
-c.hk (if you’re any closer than hitting with your ankle, use c.mk instead)
-s.hk

mid range:
-c.mk (that’s why it’s a good move, i mentioned it twice… try cancelling into ex hadouken for a possible knockdown)
-s.mk (resist the urge to srk afterward please. don’t bother holding it for the axe kick)
-far mp
-c.mp

close range:
-c.lk (at least try some hitconfirms, or do one c.lk then walk up throw)
-close mp (into throw or hitconfirm - see how it complements c.lk? similar application but hits high)
-throw

guy is knocked down:
-get closer but do nothing, take a step back, block, and look at the other guy’s character. you’re not wasting an opportunity. it feels like it, but you’re not
-any of the options listed above depending on your range, or toss in a back+mk or uoh for a good measure. try crossing the guy up with j.mk if you have time into one of the close range options listed above

for combos hit up a ken thread. they’re not hard to do. if you can do the ones you listed, you can do most of the good ones.

thanks for the help. I haven’t been able to play/practice any of this stuff yet though, as my school symester just ended, and I hadn’t signed up for a summer class. And, I’m not driving out to school just to play it probably against only the comp as I’d probably be the only player there.

So, I’m actually quite anxious for summer to come an end, lol, so that then I can try out this stuff against humans.


I completely understand what you’re saying, though I just have a small quibble/question:

wouldn’t reducing the amount of different moves I do make it easier (at least at higher levels of play/competition) for my opponents to defend/anticipate against? or does the ease for me using less moves outweigh the less diversity of moves, which could make it easier for my opponent to defend/anticpate against?

Ken has a lot of special normals in his arsenal, but quite a few of them aren’t very useful because of their slow startups, or are unsafe on block. Ken’s essential pokes and chains are part of what makes him top tier, and the other part is that a lot of those pokes can be linked or canceled into SA3.

Don’t think of it as “dumbing down your playstyle”, but rather “making your playstyle more efficient by trimming the fat”. While your opponent may be able to defend and anticipate your moves, the only way they can counter you is if you get too predictable and fall into a pattern or habit. But if you’re a beginner, you should for now focus more on trying to get your moves down pat, and you’ll start to develop tactics on how to mix up your game from there.

So me and My brother are starting to get into 3s. He just bought the game for xbox and well how diffrent is it from ssf4 ? Me and my Brother are both excellent players in that game ( he uses Sagat/Akuma/Dudley I use Balrog/Rufus/Claw ) and I was wondering which character would fit us the best? Ive played the game before and I do enjoy playing as Yun and Yang, and I a bit of Remy. But what character would suit my brother?

how does playing with MAME compared to PS2? any significant lag? I just recently started playing with MAME… but if PS2 is better I might just get that…

also… if I decide to get the PS2 versiion (anniversary) on a 60g PS3… would HRAP3 be compatible with that?

Mame or, better choice, any final burn alpha version, will be closer to arcade feeling than any console version.

Need a native USB stick though (no adapters), a fast computer (even though the game runs smooth even on so-so configs, input reading doesn’t feel as good), a GOOD motherboard with GOOD usb hardware, proper usb drivers that cut usb lag and a lagless monitor (laptop monitors are a NO GO, but if the laptop’s hardware and config is good itself, connecting to an external lagless monitor is ok).
So - in theory offline nFBA emulation is the way to go, but in practice you’re also likely to run into a bottleneck in your setup (anything different from what I said) making it worse than ps2 version :frowning:

Yeah, you’re right, specially with native usb stick, an adapter will be at best barely acceptable…
God (FRIEND ^^) bless multiple consoles pads, and the xbox/usb/ps2 i have ^^

What are some Option-Selects I need to know. I know what Option-Selects are.

Not sure if this has been answered before but is there any way for me to practice on GGPO or Supercade on a dummy with infinite life?

Not on GGPO (never used supercade). Download the MAME cheat file and do it that way.

so essentially block and parry?

I think the last thing someone trying to learn how to play a game wants to do…is read. Someone make video tutorials like that dude made those sf4 vids. You all should have fancy cameras.

Don’t press buttons unless you know they’ll hit or you’re prepared for them being parried or blocked. In general do not press buttons. SF4 by contrast let’s you just mash shit when blocking with no repercussions. 3S does not.

Need help dealing with Shoto tatsus

This move seem really really safe and some players ( i experience this MOST with Akuma) do it over and over and over. Can’t throw jab nothing the recovery. I suppose parrying the last hit is important problem is its nearly impossible to know which is the last hit since it can vary so much based on button.

Also, as Urien i understand i cant really duck tatsus, but as yang, why is it that i duck, it whiffs but then hits on the cross up side???

Any tips?

I’m guessing you’re dealing with the Akuma bullshit on GGPO. Just block the hurricane kicks and wait for him to do something stupid like an srk, block, punish. Or wait for a hole to escape.