I wrote this note on 3S on Facebook a while back, and was thinking to share it on the forum here. I figure if I share this here, people might be able to talk more about tips, info, etc that they’ve learned and can pass on to better the 3S community as a whole. This note was leaning towards tips to going past an average player to something better. Hope this note is helpful. Lates~
About getting Better
Well basics aside(how to do moves, combos, execution, spacing, zoning, mindgames, etc) the best advice I can give for players trying to get better is this:
I feel its important for all people to understand that every attack in third strike is a risk. When you commit to an attack, you’re committing to everything that attack can cause: (a high damage combo? a small weak poke? your opponent doing a fast/high priority move and beating your move? your opponent parrying your move and punishing it?)
NOTE: (Actually…I daresay that every ACTION in third strike is a risk but I’ll keep the advice to just attacks for now for simplicity, but it can be applied to other things like walking, jumping, parries, throws, etc.)… See More
But even though every attack is a risk, so is not attacking. When you don’t attack at all you open yourself to whatever the opponent wants to do. This will leave you uncertain of what to do or how to react.
So, since its risky to attack, but death to not attack. You have to find a middle ground. The middle ground (I believe) is giving every attack a purpose.
Meaning, when you do x, y, z move. You’re not doing it just to do it. You’re not just pressing buttons to have something happen or see your character do some cool animations. Your choices should have purposes behind them.
For example:
You’re Ken and your opponent is Ken. You both have meter but he’s in the corner. You’re pressuring him. You move back carefully and start to dance in and out of the range for c. mk. for you and your opponent. He c. mk’s and whiffs, you c. mk back and super him.
The reason this would work is because everything you did to get that c. mk had a purpose. You realize that he wants to(and often does) c. mk for super. So you carefully move out of the range of the move. You also knows that since he’s in the corner he’ll…want to get out of the corner. You know this and tease your opponent and make him wonder exactly where you are position wise. Through frustration and pressure, you force him to make a decision to commit to the c. mk, despite the risk. He misses and you punish appropriately.
With giving moves purpose though, you can’t generalize…you have to examine your opponent. Everyone plays different. Even though there are “rules” for “matchups”… they’re not everything. That level of understanding is very weak actually, because when it boils down to it…you’re still fighting another human being.
Not every Ken will play the same, despite the character being the same. Some Kens will know that you are baiting out that c. mk and do something completely different without hesitation, like dash, or jump in or just carefully walk up. But those actions from your opponent would have risks too, because you might be able to react to it, or see it coming, or be inside of your opponents head while he’s trying to be in yours.
This high level thinking of: “I-know-what-he-knows-and-he-knows-what-I-know-so-I-will-know-something-above-what-he-thinks-I-know” is what makes high level third strike. Very few people play like that here in the US I think. I’ve only done it a few times myself, but I think that’s what the true essence of third strike is: thinking.
Finally, the last piece of advice I’d give to anyone who wants to get better is to learn from EVERY-SINGLE-MATCH. From a high level pro to a little nub, learn from everyone. It’s not enough for the top side of your screen to say 1 WIN or 14 WINS or even to lose your whole wallet full of cash to someone. The whole entire time you win or lose you should be learning.
Ask yourself: Why did this move work? Why did this move not work? Why did my opponent hit me? Why did my opponent get hit? Why did I win offensively and why? Where am I getting hit on my defense and why?
If you get hit from a wake up srk from a “scrub” don’t leave it there with you saying “OH THIS SCRUB DOESNT kNOW WHAT HE’S DOING”: that just limits YOU. Figure out what made him think that he could SRK you. Then next time if the situation arises, adapt and punish. At that point you’re in control and you’ve adapted.
Or…if you face something your opponent is doing that seems “unbeatable”…look at it objectively and try to think outside of the box and find a solution. Once you find that solution, don’t stop there either; find another solution.
In summation, the advice I’m giving is:
a) Give every attack a purpose.
b) THINK.
c) Learn from every match.
d) Be willing to think outside of the box and try different things.
Sorry for the essay, but I hope this advice will be able to help anyone who reads it. Take care everybody and keep on playing~!
There are many exceptions to the otherwise solid “rules” of the game. Some command grabs beat supers…even NORMAL grabs. Some supers can get stuffed too, of course (Chun). Range is often the culprit.