This has become a real issue for me. I’ve noticed it, and even my friends have chimed in and mentioned it too. Honestly, I didn’t think it was a big deal and I have tried to put it down to, “It just happens sometimes,” but when I look back and take them all in, there is definitely a pattern and I would love to know how to break it.
So, the general pattern is (when playing a long set), I will start off well and we’ll be neck and neck. I might even win some games, if not, they will be very close and could have gone either way. Then… I begin to drop off - dramatically. I just get increasingly worse. I try to put the previous loss(es) out of my mind and tell myself I’m starting afresh, I try to play more solid, more conservatively, but nothing I do seems to (and evidently does not) work. Any suggestions guys?
Could be a confidence thing maybe? I think you need to ingrain this mindset that you’re capable of outsmarting your opponent and winning. Dunno if that helps at all.
It’s like mental endurance.
What do you do when you’re physically exhausted? You take a break.
What do you do when you’re mentally exhausted? Take a break.
Yeah I guess I could/should take a break - but I just wanna get back in there y’know! I’ll try it at least once and see how it goes. How long should you take a break? Would something short like 5-10 minutes do it or should it be significantly longer?
taking a break helps, but I’m just like you and like to keep going (which doesn’t help).
if you are playing a set in a 2 man lobby, try to get 1 or 2 more people in the lobby with you. You win a few matches then lose 1 and then take a break watching your friends play. Helps ease the mind for me atleast.
I think one thing is that as players play a long set they’ll eventually get harder and harder reads on the other guy. This usually causes a landslide for awhile as if you’ve been playing for awhile it can be hard to adapt quickly. I’d advise taking a break to reset everyone to 0 or if you really wanna keep going, keep an eye out when you’re getting hit and make a note of it. If it seems to be coming up a lot, they have a strong read there and you’ll need to something else in those situations to shake them off their confidence.
Taking a break definitely helps, go have some food and water from that long session you probably just had - your body will thank you for it.
If that doesn’t help, then review your replays > you might be making mistakes that you normally don’t due to fatigue or ‘over confidence’ from your streaks; you may have even started developing patterns that your opponent sees but you don’t.
You know I’ve been having this exact same thing. I’ve started playing 3S again, against people who have played a hell of a lot more of that game more than me, and while I can hold my own the first several games, I just start getting blown up after that. I play Chun, so even while less experienced than them her godlike buttons helps me early on (I’m still pretty noobish so I tend to haphazardly throw them out). Early in the evening I’ll be playing smart, I can land low forward SAII every now and then, I can fairly properly punish, etc. Then it feels like my opponent suddenly has me on download and knows practically everything I’m going to do, and start really playing mindlessly, I start using only stand fierce as a poke or back fierce for an anti-air (gets parried every time), and I so completely mess up my execution that I just can’t even try to low forward super, let alone properly hit confirm it. I kind of enter panic mode after a while, when I start to do nothing but poke and try to throw it’s GG.
I’ve heard it said before that you play people better than you to learn how to not lose, and you play people worse than you to learn how to win. Thing is, in 3S whether offline or on fightcade, practically everyone you play are generally pretty experienced players. Or at least more experienced than my playing on and off for a while. What do you focus on, and how do you improve your mindset, to try and reach the level of several people significantly better than you at 3S (and fighting games in general?).
Only thing i can say is to play with confidence in every decision that you make, to the point where it may seem cocky. Ofcourse there will be mistakes and wrong decisions, thn simple try another answer and play with the same confidence. It’ll make you play more relaxed. Ofcourse experience and a lot of other stuff counts though which will back up this confidence, but let it be a gradual process. Dont understand something, go in training and figure it out, and while playing it’ll come naturally. When you are stressed you cant keep focus and wont be able to play to the best of your abilities.
Not saying this is the best or right answer but ive noticed all the best players play in such a way, no hesitation, just absolute confidence, its noticeable even in the small things in how theyll walk or pick spots on the stage(obviousely they know they ranges or mindset of their opponent that allows them to press buttons at right times or know they are hesitant/scared which dulls reactions and allowing them to walk more forward. Than normally).
This way you are able to keep focus during the match, however do keep an eye on the oppon3nt very clearly, use the knowledge gained from watching them, what are their habits, their timings, their strengths and their weaknesses and play accordingly.
Lastly, have a clear general gameplan, a plan against new players, to test them at every moment and gather that knowledge and use it.Also have a clear gameplan against them for the matchup itself. Where to stand, what to look out for, what and how to punish. If you actively keep yourself busy with these things instead of fretting about when you are starting to lose you are working on a productive way to turn the game around… and you’ll keep focus.
A thing about fighting games is playing against a more experienced player who is beating your ass should be considered a learning experience. If you are getting put on tilt you aren’t going to adapt which means your beating isn’t worth anything. If you play several matches and can’t get a win you are very likely missing a key part of the match. If you get put on tilt in a situation that isn’t MANY losses than you need to learn to chill out. If you lose really bad buy the guy the drink and see what he saw in your gameplay.
The sets that drastically made me a better player was playing against Buktooth going something like 2-40 then figuring out what I was doing wrong then ended up like 20 - 50. Losing a lot shouldn’t be considered a bad thing, no use getting made at it. Hell now when I get a good ass beating I just yell ‘Good shit’ of course I’m a tad salty but getting mad isn’t going to make you play better. It is all about just approaching it with the right mindset. If you feel you are losing to something that is a gimmick you might need to take a break and question the web for what to do. Get yourself away for a bit and have a new way to approach the situation next time you are in it.
Any suggestions guys?