You’ll improve way faster against other people. Playing the computer will only really teach you about the game’s mechanics, ie. what’s possible and what’s not. That’s really valuable knowledge but when you’re playing other people you’ll get this, PLUS the experience trying to read opponents and trying to avoid being read in turn. Learning how mindgames work is absolutely critical to being a good ST player.
Always glad to see new players coming in and trying to learn stuff. Read the SRK wiki, and keep the questions coming as you think of them! Have fun, man!
I started ST (HD remix) a month ago, with Fei as main. Now that’s a learning curve
(although I think he is not that hard thanks to the new motions and the solid specials he has, I’ve been testing Gief and that’s a whole different game)
Like any Fighter, never get predictable, try working one strat, if it works, it’s okay but always try to improve your game by doing more than just 1 tactic that might have worked once, but will sure not work all the time.
Another thing to think about while learning: don’t assume that everything out there is all there is to know. Lots of times, people want to find ‘the best way’ to play a character, or want to be a Xerox of someone like Daigo. (I mention him because of your mention of Ryu.) You should be paying attention to what your character is capable of as much as what you are capable of. Things to consider:
Are you flawless on your execution?
No? Maybe look at characters with simpler movements / don’t require lots of stick motions.
Yes? Cool, perhaps you are looking towards the heavily combo-oriented characters.
Do you like to play a certain way? Rushdown vs. Turtle?
What distances are you good at playing at? How is your zoning?
In no way am I saying that you shouldn’t seek to up your game in these areas; to the contrary you should. What I am saying is know thyself, and don’t try to shoehorn yourself into a box just because you went ‘ooh, aah’ at a vid online. Play to win, but play smart: know yourself, and your characters.
Play the computer as little as possible. It will get you into bad habits, namely always trying to reversal on wakeup and jumping attacks being overly good against it. Also, the computer never uses many techniques that are common in human play, like baiting or tick throwing.
If there is one reason to play the computer is that you can set it to the highest difficulty and it will be so good at reversals that if you will be essentially playing an technically “perfect” player in that regard. You will get very good at making sure your moves link correctly, because if you don’t you will nearly 100% get reversed.
Also, try not to play theory fighter. Don’t assume that your opponent knows the answer to every situation. Somebody mentioned that blanka can slide under Guiles sonic booms. That is true, but Guile can also standing lk after a boom and he will get a two hit combo off of it if Blanka tries to slide cause the kick will hit him and then the boom will connect. However, most Guile players, even extremely good ones, simply do not know this fact, and you can slide away with abandon.
Another similar situation is in the match of Honda v. Sagat. Sagat can 100% clean tiger uppercut on wake-up a sumo headbutt. But in all my matches online I have only encountered one player who has the skill to do this to any degree of reliability. Until I do, I will continue to abuse it.
I think the above situations are actually the fastest way to get wins in this game. Simply figure out a situation you opponent can’t deal with and then exploit it. Don’t worry about whether or not they can potentially reversal or throw you, worry about if they have the skills to do it.
I’m pretty new to SF, and one thing that has helped me improve is learning the move sets and tactics of my opponents character. Often in a room, instead of goofing around waiting to play, I watch the other players fight. I try and notice their repetitive combos, and how they react to certain situations. That way when it’s my turn to fight, I already have the one up on them.
Wow, this thread was exactly what I was looking for.
If any of you have the time or patience to beat the crap out of a noob for my own educational value…please feel free to add my gamertag.
I played SFII until my fingers bled back in Jr. high/HS…but that was all console…I just got HDTR and a Hori RAP Ex and now I’m learining the game all over again…ugh…I feel like I’m useless at this game (its only been a decade since I played an SF title…lol).
Keep the tips coming!
My primary is Ryu…once I have enough skill with him I’ll probably switch to Chun Li as a second.
Playing single player has it’s advantages. In fact, I would suggest playing single player for awhile and then practice your combos and perfection your super in Training mode. Once you feel comfortable, jump into some online play. Since it seems (speaking to the OP) you’re going to be in this for the long haul maybe, don’t worry about it taking some time to get decent at the game. It just simply takes time.
Before jumping into Quarters or Ranked, maybe play some of that corny tournament mode. Keep playing that b/c it gives you a good mix of entry level and mediocre players to practice “live” with. Quarters would be fine if you can Friend a few other players on your same skill level.
When you feel you’re getting to a decent / somewhat respectable level of game-play, I’d recommend jumping into some of the more challenging Quarter rooms or going hard in Ranked (some of the best players play Rank and Rank only believe it or not, which I’ll never understand personally).
Don’t make the mistake of only using one main character and only very ocassionally using other characters. You want to learn all or most of them even somewhat early as you’re learning so you can understand your opponents more. You want to know what the character is thinking, and the best way to do that is to play that character yourself to gain a better understanding.
Haha…I’ve come so far since that post you responded to.
:karate:
I am now using Guile, Ken, Akuma, and Chun Li in ranked play and winning probably 2/3 or 3/4 of my matches.
In player matches I am using: Abel, Viper, Bison, Sagat, Gouken, and Guile and I’m kicking the shit out of people.
Don’t get me wrong…I’m still a novice player and I would get RAPED against many SRK members…but yeah, you can say I feel I have the hang of the game mechanics now.
