From one MVC2 "noob" to another

Classic Fighting Games Marvel VS Capcom 2
1

lmfao!!! U SUX…I OCVed you with Amigo and no assist…go back to sf4 noob!!!

That was the first message I got in my first game of MVC2 online…and I was pissed.

Ive always hated that term…noob…which gets thrown around in the MVC2 community quite often.
Im convinced that the second person in history to put a quarter in an MVC2 cab, got called a noob by the first person to do so two seconds later on the same cab.

The fact of the matter is I am a “noob” to playing the game, Ive only seriously been playing for a month, so I would like to share some of my “training tips” for new players such as myself b/c I know how hard this game can be to learn on your own no matter how many strates you read or combo videos you watch.

Im going to divide these into sections and be as basic as I can b/c this is the exact way I learned to play and win.
Before I get started I should say this first: I am by no means whatsoever OCVing and landing 300 hit combos with ease, but I improved my game by an insane amount…and got revenge on the asshole that left me that message…thats basically what this is, a revenge story.

SECTION I

BOOT CAMP(generic principles for all characters)
I practiced all of this in training mode in no particular order.
I worked on all of this constanly untill it was second nature and I could do it in my sleep.

The first thing I did was to start blocking…seriously…learn to block, learn to block, learn to block…seriously

The second thing I did was to learn the actual punch and kick buttons as well as assist buttons (told ya I was a noob)

After playing around with the buttons I just practiced on lauching and hitting the basic majic series.

I had to work on my mobility so I would just dash back and forward and get the hang of superjumping when I wanted to, instead of just normal jumping. Now here comes an important part…you MUST learn how to wavedash consistenly. It is not the same as a forward dash. Wave dashing is alot faster and speed is an important factor in MVC2. To execute the wavedash you must push down and both punch buttons…I think its actually a crouch cancel.

I also began to work on my variable counters, saferolling, tech-hits, snapbacks, and pushblocking all at once. What I did was set the CPU to attack mode, I put the diff on a high number so the cpu would actually do combos. Sometimes I would just let the CPU attack me and do nothing but pushblock and snapbacks, or other times I would do nothing but variable counters, I would mix in different variations of these to get my execution down…and while doing this I found out that all characters do not have the same blockstun while pushblocking. Also snapback ranges and speed differ amongst the characters.

Once I got the basics down I started to slowly merge all of the above data into one cohensive unit and my game skills started to shine simply b/c I had a good base that I can apply to any character and I was starting to understand the game engine.

Now Im speaking from personal exp. when I tell you that playing against the computer INCREASED my skills. I cant speak for any one else but I couldnt advance beyond the fourth stage of “expert” mode, unless I picked Cable/Sentinal, but it did nothing for my game skills to use use them solely for the purpose of “whoring” my way throught the game. Once I got the basic downs I would pick mid-teir characters and I started on easy so I could apply my skills in a practical way. I didnt allow myself to move up in diff level untill I could beat the CPU on easy without losing a single character. I just kept doing “dry runs” of all diff lvls untill I got to that point…over and over again. Now I can beast through “expert” mode with team shoto with ease. That may not sound like much to experienced players but it was a huge accomplishment for me from just a week prior.

I got back online after that cause I needed “realworld exp” and if I wasnt winning I was holding my own. I also could see people making the same mistakes I used to make and having little to no execution. Of course I still took some hard losses, and thats exactly what I wanted, to lose.Thats not a typo either, that was actually part of my process. I wanted to play people who could beat me with ease. I learned much more in defeat than I EVER could raping the computer all day…it actually brought a smile to my face to get beasted on…I didnt get angry even in the slightest bit. Unlike before I could see my mistakes. I purposly played people with superior skills simply to observe them…I replayed the matches in my head and dissected EVERYTHING in the match that happened in my losses with the precison of a doctor preforming open heart surgery.

I had graduated boot camp and formulated a training method to take my game to the next level in the shortest amount of time…and it worked… and it was beautiful…

…to be cont

2

After getting the basics down it became painfully obvious to me that I had to learn specific characters more in depth and, more importanly, character matchups. Learning character matchups could only be accomplished by actually playing against the specific character, and only playing someone who was good at using said character. I couldnt focuse on learning the match ups right away for two reasons. Number one: I dont have a “sparring partner” to train with and I can only get so far playing against a particular character in training mode…but I had plan for that…more on that later. The second reason is I couldnt possibly know matchups if I didnt know my own character at all. Yea I know Cable can AHVBx3 me in an instant…but what can I dont to prevent it?

SECTION II

KNOWLEGDE IS POWER(basic principles for a single character)

I dont care how many combo videos you watched unless your experienced, or on the level of Magnetro, you will not be preforming then any time soon in a real match. In fact if your a noob (damn I hate that term) you have no idea how it even comes together… based on the fact that you tryed it and failed at it. Its cool…so did I.
To understand a character you have to develope an intimate relationship with said character.
I used Storm first because you can learn all aspects of the game with her, such as rushdowns, tri-jumps, good DHCS, runaway, etc.

Before you do anything you should learn your characters moveset. Pratice your execution on the ones you would actually use in a real match and learn their assist as well. Learn what their DHC is when using a particular assist. Know what the assist actually do and when to use them.

I got started learning the basic BnB, all of them, or at least as many as I could. I was once again deep in the training mode running suicide drills over and over. In other words getting my execution up to par. Id use them against the dummy just standing, crouching, normal jumping. Then I worked my way up to having the dummy on auto guard. I would have the dummy roll and practice following up on that.Id put him in attack mode and learn opening to use them…etc, etc. The bottom line is I trained all the time on just landing BnB combos in different situations.

Im not going to specify everything that I did when learning to play individual characters, Ill just give you a general idea by listing them. I work on all of these in training mode and arcade mode till I have a good grasp of them.
Special moves
Safe pokes
resets/mixups
snapback combos
throw/grab uses
hyper combos
pressuring tatics
chip damage
These are all the things I work on in training and arcade mode. I was so obbessed that I went through the diff lvls untill I could OCV every stage on expert, which is something for me…and then I washed rinsed and repeated it numerous times.

I saved assist for last because of their overall importance. Its easy to lookup what assist go well with whatever teams and whatnot, and if your like me you already knew teams without ever having played the game, so Im not covering that part of the game.
Now if your a relative newcomer to the game like me then you were probaly doing it, or your doing it now, and just throwing your assist out left and right with complete disregard for them. In the meantime while your assist are getting punished yoor opponent still has damn near full life on all three characters. You absolutely have to learn how to protect your assist as well as punish as bait your opponents assist. I learned this the hard way just by randomly calling out Capcom AA and watching a glithched Juggy headcrush him into oblivion. Knowing how to punish assist and protect yours is very character specific and can be found in their sections on this board.

After a solid week of applying my training methods to specific characters I jumped back online and it paid off. In as humble as I can be I was quite simply OWNING guys who were beating me before…true story. I am not bragging and saying that the EVO prize money should be handed over to me, but the fact of the matter was that in three weeks I was doing pretty damn good. I just understood the game so much better because I was keeping a cool head and I took the time to learn what to do and what not to do. I was feeling pretty damn good about myself…and then something happened.

I joined a random room on ranked, and as far as teams go, all the “big boys” were there. Whatever top team you can think of there was literally a person in the room that used them like those videos you watch on youtube. This was what I was waited for…the god teir and people that knew what they were doing. I have no exp using top teams, because mid/low teir is too much fun, but nevertheless I took my double/wolvie/storm (yea,yea…I know) into “deep waters.” For 30 minutes straight i got my ass served on a silver platter with an apple between my cheeks. However I stayed in the room and dissected and learned I started winning. Now I dont mean running the clock off or playing runaway, I was starting to kick some major ass in the room and its no B.S. I was still losing for the most part, and I never did beat that clockwork player, but I was definitley “in the mix.”

I had gained valuable insight and knew what needed to be done next…

to be conted in third and final act…

3

:rofl: I can’t wait.

4

noob doesnt get used much at all =/

good read tho

5

^^^ It does now that its on X-Box.

Post-mortem SACK TAPS will be big at Evo this year also. I’ve already integrated mid-combo humiliations into my online gameplay.

Good article btw. FOr the most part a great breakdown of important points for new players to pick up. Consider posting this on the Newbie forum when its completed.

6

Cool…

There was another guy telling noobs how to play MvC2 in another thread. And he really put it in…Noob terms. Unfortunately, there are so many out there who are noobs, but dont actually care to learn the game. They play for fun, and in that sense, they are not technically noobs. Noobs are gamers who are just starting out, and later down the road will get better, the next step would be a scrub (in some cases). I dont play online, but I know there are a lot of players who just play the game, that arent actually into the game. Its like your uncle or something, who is just playing MvC2 because he was drunk, and wanted to play a videogame. Thats what happens, thats why when people give advice to those people, they’ll realize that nothing really changed. They still mash buttons wildly, they still do random DHC’s & THC’s, they still run around on the stage getting hit constantly with the most telegraphed attacks (which is really funny btw). So, those arent noobs, a noob will focus and figure out how they can become a better MvC2 player. They will make a mental note of everything that stands out in a match, train everyday, whilst getting humiliated by better players at the arcades. Even so, the little voice in their heads tell them “Shit I got beat bad, but I noticed I hit him with that…” or “Im gonna go home and practice that combo with an assist…” The next time they go to the arcades and the opponents can tell they have been practicing, they will gain respect, and that will only lead to more practice, which will lead to a better player.

Thus, eliminating the term “Noob”…