I just bought the Steam edition for my PC and I was wondering what can I do to transition better and eventually do well in KOF with enough hours. Through the training mode, I have figured out my team which is Kim, King, and Terry so there’s no problem with finding my characters. I want to know what I should and should not be doing in this game, and what I should learn first. Any tips to give to a former SSF4 player?
KOF is a very fast paced game, so it is important to understand how the neutral game works. The following characters that are more beginner friendly for teaching KOFXIII fundamentals are Terry, Takuma, Ralf, Shen, Andy, Claw Iori, and Billy. The following video will provide insight on the KOF fundamentals. Below the video you will see the FAQS I’ve organized especially for new players coming from different games. Dream Cancel in general is a very good place to start for learning KOF. While the game system is most centered around rush down (every character in the game is capable of conducting a rush down game of a sort) it is still imperative understand the multiple play style’s and freedom you have within the system, along with the options that are available for the characters you’re playing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3KVgI1LvU&feature=player_embedded
http://dreamcancel.com/wiki/index.php?title=The_King_of_Fighters_XIII_FAQS
Be sure to follow this channel. JuiceboxKing is actively teaching new players about KOFXIII - http://www.twitch.tv/juiceboxabel
Will my characters do fine? I really like how my team plays so meh…
Sure they will. Just be sure to continue practicing overtime while gradually learning about the neutral game and how to manaage meter carefully as you fight.
I heard this game is pretty small in terms of population, especially the steam edition. Will I be able to pick up a match as soon as I jump into online play?
I don’t play online much due to offline scene, but it should be relatively easy for you to find a match. Should you have difficulty finding a match you can take a look at the online match making on the SRK KOFXIII forums and the Dream Cancel forums.
From my experience matches are very easy to find. However there is no matchmaking or anything, so you will probably end up playing against tough opponents. If you are a beginner, then you should stick to ranked imo. Only play player matches with friends, since the best players usually play player matches.
I have 63% win in ranked, but only 40% in player matches. I get players there who pick 3 different characters every game and then beat me 10 games in a row. And I have around 400hrs of KOF played.
I am also a sf4 player trying to expand my skills in fighting games. KOF is one game ive been interested in learning for quite sometime. What is a good beginning team for this game?
I already pretty much decided that im going to play kyo. Ive also heard of terry,benimaru and mai before, so those are characters i was slightly interested in. Since I liked kyo and benimaru i was thinking maybe just copying 2013 evo winning team of kyo,benimaru, and chin but would this be a good team for a beginner?
You can technically play whoever you wish as a beginner. But, for beginner-friendly characters check my first post towards the OP.
The thing is, none of these characters have any obvious gimmicks to exploit - “forcing” the player into a situation where they can learn the KOF fundamentals easily. Things like Andy/Terry/Shen for example are a good start for beginner players.
I have many guides on KOFXIII Mai including the Dream Cancel wiki set up, so if you need help, please let me know by PM or on the Mai thread (Mai is not beginner friendly due to the fact that she is a little too unorthodox for beginners to start off with).
Please keep in mind about learning the KOF fundamentals. There are many aspects in relation to the SFIV series that will NOT translate into KOF, other than the basics of a generic fighting game. Watch the KOF tutorial above carefully so that you can understand how KOF works as a fighting game. Overtime, you will be a winner.
Also, KOF is a far more system-oriented game than SSF4 - in SSF4, how a matchup plays out is 90% or something about the two characters’ toolsets interacting. In KOF, there are far more universal gameplay options - the four jumps, running, rolls, guard cancels for getting out of sticky situations, the universal hop/low/throw mixup game (which exists because you need to stand to tech throws and do most DPs) and said mobility allowing for various anti-fireball countermeasures (which usually aren’t AE-style “no fireballs allowed because 400 point fullscreen punish on reaction” type of things).
So a matchup is more 60% knowing how to KOF, and 40% knowing how to play the character matchup. A good way of thinking about it is that in KOF everyone is a shoto, just more extreme. But you can always count on a DP, on some form of fireball and so on type of thing. In KOF it just isn’t DPs and fireballs but mobility options.
@vegeta
Out of your team I’d say Chin isn’t really an ideal newbie character - with Kyo and Beni you want to be a smidge wary of not being too trigger happy with invincible DPs and with not spamming fireballs as a way to get something going. Apart from that they’re good. It’s more important to have fun playing and fun practicing than every character in your team being perfect newbie types, but having at least one is recommended.
Well…Before I get started in entering the fray online, is there any set BnB for characters? I’ve tried finding combos for my team (Kim,King, and Terry) but the combos vary a lot compared to SSF4.
http://dreamcancel.com/wiki/index.php/The_King_of_Fighters_XIII#Characters
Has some quick lists for usable combos for each character. Obviously there’s more but that should get you started.