-
**There is a large gap between new players and non-new players in ranked games at the bottom level. As a D player, rarely do I see a D opponent (about 20% of my games). **
a. While I may win a round or two, just the knowledge of footsies/combos will destroy any player who is learning fundamentals.
b. It’s not off putting, but my matches mostly consist of either a charge player using charge abilities when I don’t know how to properly defend, or someone who is button mashing against myself as I don’t know when to punish. -
The endless lobbies are for the most part a waste of time if it includes 3+ players.
a. Solely on the fact that it’s a crap-shoot if I will match up against a decent opponent. While I believe that playing against people who are better is a good way of learning the game, the lack of a chat system to ask questions destroys any chance of learning from mistakes.
b. Playing someone who is at > B is not helpful in any way. This is what I encounter most during my endless battle games, and while I may win a round every 20 or so, it’s not productive in getting better when I am constantly getting combo’d MvC style to death.
c. Waiting for three games before my turn to play is just a hindrance to production. I wan’t to play to get better – not watch two people play characters I don’t play. -
Practicing combos in training and applying them to the game does not work if you’re dealing with wanting to learn one or two things.
a. I have practiced a single combo for 4-5 hours at a time in training mode until I have it down pat. As soon as I enter a game, I struggle trying to apply them in a real world situation. I often focus too much on landing the combo correctly and not enough on focusing on what the opponent is doing.
b. Learning fundamentals in training mode and learning fundamentals in a game are two completely different things.
i. I’ve read guides, watched videos, learned spacing, footsies, mastered normal moves like the back of my hand, but it is often meaningless in an online match. I am either getting combo’d in a corner as I don’t know the enemy combos and when to properly block or focusing too much on when I can unblock and counter. I’ve experienced that learning technique while playing solo in the training room doesn’t work in real games. You need someone showing you actual situations where these combos and moves should be used. -
As a new player, getting into the genre is a lot harder than I expected, solely due to reason number one. Not having a partner to practice with really hinders a new player’s experience. It’s not the depth of the game that what makes it so challenging to me – it’s the lack of resources that have real-use implications. Reading a guide on moves won’t help me get better if I can’t apply them to a moving enemy.
An argument could be made that I just need to play more and learn what all the characters could do – think of it like dota. This has a major flaw as not only do you need to know all the characters and their moves, but how to apply your vast array of moves on each character. It seems that without someone to guide you on this journey, you will be improving at a snails’ pace
Do any other newcomers to the game experience anything like this? I’m not going to stop playing the game because of said issues, but it’s pretty clear that it exists. I posted something on my local matchmaking forum but no one has replied in the last few days – I’m going to assume I’ll find some real life people sometime down the road but it doesn’t seem that it’ll happen any time soon. The region forum seems pretty dead.