Before really getting into fighting games, I used to play MMORPGS (SWG and WoW) and I’ve always been one of the best PvPers on my servers, and I have to say the formula to get exceptionally good at MMORPGS is MUCH easier then the formula to be good at Fighting games.
For MMO’s strategy was used to determine who was better, you almost had to have your strategies scriipted ahead of time to succeed. If you were a druid and knew you were going to fight a warrior then you would know, how to open your first attack on the warrior, what move he could retaliate with and what move to do against his retaliation (its more complicated then this, this is just a simplified explination). Now if both players has perfect strategy then gear would usually determine who would win (if the game was balanced at the time).
Now with Fighters I’m learning that its strategy mixed with mind games, I feel like mind games add an entire new level of play that not every genre has (MMO’s had 0 mind games).
I haven’t really dug into RTS or Shooters (our other competitive genres) so I can’t speak for them, but has anyone else been big into RTS or Shooters? And if so how do they compare to fighters in terms of becoming a highly skilled player?
You can’t compare different genres by saying one is “harder” than another.
Every genre needs a different sets of skills in order to compete.
Even in the pure technical aspect, there’s a difference between timing your DP(see daigo vs iyo moment), multitasking your zergs, and aiming. (While all of them require you to guess what the opponent is going to do, and the technical factor comes from taking advantage of it)
The point I was trying to make is that the different sets of skills required for one game could be easier/harder then the set of skills needed for another. (And pls don’t say it depends on the person, b/c some things are just naturally harder to learn then others. For example, learning how to pick your nose is easier then solving a rubix cube)
Actually, high level WoW arena is more about class composition (character choice) and knowing the matchups since everyone has the same gear at that point - kind of like Street Fighter. Like in any fighting game, some classes/compositions (characters) counter other classes/compositions (characters). Then there are the 30+ skills that the average class has to keep track of at all times. Street Fighter has 6, but those 6 ‘skills’ change depending on what you’re doing (jumping, crouching, standing, inputting a special move command, etc.).
The best players are able to hop back and forth between different genres and effortlessly transfer the skills they’ve developed in one type of game to another. I have arena partners who are also very good at fighting games, FPSs and RTSs. In the end, it’s just knowing when to hit the right buttons.
Ultima Online, way back when was actually very little dependent on gear… Especially Mage v Mage. And the fact that if you died, you lost ALL of your gear, made the risk of using harder to come by weapons not really worth it.
i don’t think people give enough credit to VS puzzle games. Have any of guys seen high level magic drop 3 or tetris attack? if you get 2 high level players, the first one to fuck up loses and these guys are like 8 steps ahead EVERY time.
SC might be the hardest competitive game out right now IMO.
I really think that competitive genres like FPS/TPS, RTS, fighting, racing, sports, MMORPG, puzzle, and rhythm, they actually have their own ways of mastering. FPS games also require good reflexes and RTS games require good strategic thinking, sorta like chess.