King’s a pretty good choice. She’s got some good moves, fairly easy combos, and will help develop your spacing.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions… problem is there are so many female characters I like in this game that choosing just three to start is gonna be hard.
That said, I’m having issues doing forward and backward hops now, I just keep getting straight ones (even though I’m sure I press up-backwards/up-forward). Is it because I’m using a gamepad? BTW I’m playing the steam version.
gamepad has nothing to do with anything, it is just a peripheral. I get that sometimes using a stick, you are simply not hitting the button like you think you are. When in training mode always have your input display on so you can see what the game says you are doing.
Gamepad doesn’t make anything impossible, really. Some things are easier, some harder than they are on a stick. In the end you just need to put in the work, there’s no other cure. If you know someone with a stick, it’s useful to try though.
The one thing sticks are undeniably better at is not breaking. Pads are made with pretty cheap parts, while sticks are made with things used in arcades - ie. they’re built to handle a beating.
Also, for seeing if you have a combo down, put the dummy on 1 hit guard. Then, try a combo. If the move doesn’t come out, your input is either incorrect or too early. If the dummy blocks, you did it correct, but too slow. Pressing buttons too early is a very common newbie mistake - people practicing fireballs in Street Fighter often have inputs like D, DF+PUNCH, F. The way to make it click is intentionally waiting just a little while. I have exactly that issue with many characters’ rekkas. I think I’m in a hurry and start mashing and get nothing done.
As far as practice, I wouldn’t really concentrate on the fancy stuff in the beginning. Getting the cr.lk cr.lk st.lk confirm into stuff (usually command normal like King’s df.hk canceled into a special) down is the important part, because it enables you to do pressure and deal with situations. Having a combo starting from close HP is also good for a more damaging option in punish situations.
This is a good read for the longer, fancy stuff:
If you’re having trouble with hops, try doing them like a reverse super-jump, so :uf: :db: or :ub: :df:. Doing the second input will force your thumb to leave the up position quickly. Eventually you will get used to the quick timing and not need to do this anymore. This should also fix the problem you’re having with inaccurate diagonals. You could try switching to a PS2 or PS3 pad if you think your pad is registering diagonals poorly.
As far as switching to stick entirely though, you don’t need to. Every obstacle with your input device of choice can be overcome with practice. Personally, my biggest challenge in switching from stick was that I couldn’t hear the buttons anymore, so I had to train myself to nod or click my tongue when learning the timing of combos.
Well I forgot to add that I am using the input display and the weird thing is that I press :uf: or :ub: yet the game registers as if I were also pressing :u: and therefore I end up jumping straight.
Another thing, I was reading this other thread and suddenly stumbled upon this:
Maybe that’s the reason I have so much trouble timing the jump-in combos? (Since I played AE a couple of years ago)
In SF4 you can hit the opponent with a fierce at the top of your jump and you have time to combo when you land.
In KOF13 if you hit the opponent with a fierce at the top of your jump you’ll be punished before you can land. Way less hitstun compared to SF4.
It turns out that my problem with execution is that I wasn’t doing the motions fast enough. Now I can do shining crystal bit with no problems and just need to practice the rekkas.
Another important question I have is related to competitive game: Street Fighter has way too many complex things like plinking, 1 frame links, Option Selects, Kara Cancels, crouch teching and etc. (and most of them are almost impossible to do with a pad) Does KOF have all these things too? Do players need to master all this stuff in order to become competitive?
Glad to hear you figured out what the problem was.
KOF has a few links and option selects. You must be standing in order to tech grabs, you can’t kara moves, and option selects are not all-encompassing like SF4. The main option select is going for a throw and if it misses you get close C or D, though there are more they just aren’t as useful or they’re character-specific. Nothing crazy like literally shutting down every option of a character (that I’m aware of). I’d say one of the most complex things in KOF is certain drive cancels, like dragon punch motion->reverse dragon punch motion like in Kyo’s corner HD.
One thing I love about KOF is that DP’s are usually not that scary. You can jump in KOF most of the time. It’s not like SF4 where if Ryu has Ultra and 2 EX Bars you literally just lost your entire air game.
Maybe not DPs in and of themselves, but there are several characters who can tack extra damage on after an anti-air DP with meter and drive. Poor jumps will get you killed, if not directly, than through the loss of positional advantage and momentum.
Well, you’re basically never going to get a completely clean diagonal on pad, but as long as you do the :uf: before the :u: it’ll register as :uf:. So try to concentrate on hitting just barely above :f: instead of what you’re probably doing now, which is hitting the D-Pad too high and coming out with :u: :uf:.
Well it seems I’m screwed with the hops because no matter how much I hit just barely above :f: or 
I keep getting straight jumps… so I guess that means i need a new controller. Would it be crazy if I consider playing with the stick of my Logitech? (using it as I would use an arcade stick and resting the controller on my computer desk)
Also I have this problem with King, I do a vertical hop in front of Vice or Takuma and do a deep jump in D then hit C however no matter how much I try I almost always whiff the attack, but when I try the same with say Athena or Yuri it always connects, why does this happen? What am I doing wrong?
King’s close C does occasionally whiff off a jump in due to its poor horizontal hitbox. Try standing D there, it should help.
Have you tried the reverse-superjump method? Try hitting up, then quickly hitting down in order to hop.
Ok I will try, thank you!
Yeah I’ve tried, I can get straight hops but can’t do forward or backward hops consistently. I’ve been trying to play with the stick now, is it a good idea or should I keep playing with the pad?
For your jump-in problem: as others have said you have to hit the jump-in attack late (but obviously not too late so it still becomes active in time). What I haven’t seen mentioned is that you usually have to hit the ground normal afterwards very fast after that jump-in attack. My guess is you are failing on the jump-ins due to either hitting the opponent too high or inputting the ground normal too slow, probably because you are waiting until you actually see the character on the ground. Try to hit the ground normal faster.
Thanks for the tip, unfortunately I don’t think I can keep on playing because my pad is so screwed I can’t do diagonal hops consistently and this game can’t be played without them (also the button seems to be worn out so I can’t tap it). Unless I find a way to fix that the game is pretty much done for me.
Edit: I apparently could fix the hopping problem by placing a thin cardboard on the d-pad, however now I have issues doing some motions like Yuri’s Houyoku -> Yuri Raijin Kyaku because I do the hcb~f longcut for dp yet I can’t help but press :d: and :df: so I end up getting the Raiouken follow up and it’s almost impossible to do this in the conventional way since I always do :f: :d: :df: K :f: K which again triggers the Raiouken since it seems that the motion for it gets buffered during the dp. How can I input the motions on the d-pad correctly so as not to press the damned :f:?
I gotta’ disagree. Ever get hit by a wakeup K’ or Kula SRK? Then they drive cancel into EX, 20 seconds later and minus 400 health you’re in the corner and have to guess block.
That’s one thing I don’t especially like about 13 is that one good hit can lead to big damage and guess blocking in the corner.
He was talking specifically about anti-air uppercuts, not ones that connect on grounded opponents. And if they’re doing it on the ground it’s a huge risk. On hit they can burn resources and deal 40% but on block they get hit for 40% for similar resources (depending on the character) and then they’re in the corner backturned.