I need help on SFxT I'm a beginner

[awkward_combo]

When selecting a team, it is important for them to have synergy and be in the right formation. When starting out it is best to use the characters you are comfortable with, but why not start getting comfortable with characters that have synergy? Basics to remember in team formation before I move to specific characters:
The Point character is the character that fights first. This must be a character you are comfortable with. Point characters are able to dictate where the battle will be fought, if passive they can start their keep away right away and if offensive can rush in from the opening seconds. They must also be able to handle any manner of opponent to the best of their ability.
The Anchor character is second. They might not be as versatile as the point but since it is the point’s job to tag them in an advantageous position they need not worry. Most anchors are high damage characters that are unable to get past a solid defense or defend against a rushdown on their own. Lastly, Anchors can also be “meter eaters,” those that can convert meter into huge damage, since the point can give them the meter they need right away.

Oh thanks!!! Man, there’s so much stuff to this game!!! I’ll do my best. I just will keep working on my consistency

[petran79]

Thank you so much for this info. I’m trying my best to get better. I hate that everything when i get in an online match, i seem to lose. But i have so much to learn. Is there any characters that is easy to learn, like Ryu and Ken?

playing against better players and losing does not mean you are not good yourself. do not feel overwhelmed because of that. if you put everything you can in the game, this is what matters.even if you are called a beginner or treated derogatorily. even this should be taken for fun.

first and foremost enjoy the game.screw online matches. no really, screw them, at least in the beginning.

[awkward_combo]

playing against better players and losing does not mean you are not good yourself. do not feel overwhelmed because of that. if you put everything you can in the game, this is what matters.even if you are called a beginner or treated derogatorily. even this should be taken for fun.

first and foremost enjoy the game.screw online matches. no really, screw them, at least in the beginning.

I’ll try. I’m going to be working hard to be better at online. For now, i guess I’ll be working on the arcade mode.

[awkward_combo]

You’ll want to mix up Ryu and Ken as soon as possible, really, since they are somewhat samey in their overall scheme and therefore makes you predictable. I would suggest learning some stuff with them then, as you move onto other characters, keeping one in place as a familiar anchor while you learn another.

As for other characters, it largely depends on what you are going for. No one beats Ryu or Ken because they have specials that are specifically made to teach you various aspects: Hadokens for farther back, Shoryukens for anti-air and wake up reversals, and Spinny Kicks for tag combos. After playing with them you’ll realize “I like to play offense with Ken’s kicks,” or “sitting back with Hadokens and letting the opponent come to me is nice,” or even “these characters are too boring! I wanna style!” Now I’ll list a few characters who I feel not only are relatively easy to learn the basics, but also serve to teach various playing styles and aspects about SFxT. If I use any terms you are unfamiliar with, you can look them up or ask and I’ll tell you.

Guile: A very strong defensive character with only two special moves and a host of unique attacks. Guile plays rather turtley, allowing him to throw Sonic Booms at an opponent and flashkicking them if they jump. Because he has such few special moves, his regular attacks are quite strong and have great range. This is true for most any charge character. Do not be afraid to try charge characters because they are different! Possess a reversal.
Strategies learned with Guile: Defense/Zoning, charge specials, reading opponent, “footsies.”

Hwaorang: His bag of tricks showcases what many Tekken characters bring to the table and is a good way to learn them for yourself. He has many standing attacks that hit mid, which must be blocked high, allowing for “mix up,” forcing your opponents to change their style of blocking often to prevent damage. He possesses a divekick and a Special Step that bypasses fireballs to make it easy to approach, and his Hunting Hawk is like Ryu’s Spinkick in that it is easy to tag from. All the while he possesses a Shoryuken reversal, which many Tekken characters lack.
Strategies learned: Pressure, mixing up, stance changes, blockstrings.

Hugo: Hugo deals massive damage and does so rather easily with high power normals and easy combos. His moves have strong range given his size and many tools that help him through his weight around. For instance, some of his moves have armor, which means being hit once will not stop the move, and his body splash is great for “crossing up.” Hugo has a hard time approaching characters, however: he is the quintiessential Anchor.
Strategies learned: Crossing up, Armor moves, command grabs, having to get creative in your approach.

Nina: Like Hugo, Nina can deal very high damage with relatively easy combos. Unlike Hugo, she possesses better speed and great “pokes” and “footsies,” allowing her to get into the damage well enough on her own. She also possesses a wealth of “Tekken Strings,” if you press certain buttons in a particular order her moves will change. This is important because they are a kind of canned combo you can rely on and they all have different uses, either mixing the opponent up, making you safe from punishment, and all the while being very unpredictable. She’s a well balanced character no beginner should fail to try, and the first one I got serious with.

2 more on the way.

Omg, I didn’t know that!!! You’re so smart I always like how Hwaorang is tricky and is Nina good for a beginner?

[NegativeEdge]

This game is less execution based and more resource management and strategy based, which is why I personally like it better than SF4 AE.

[awkward_combo]

This game is less execution based and more resource management and strategy based, which is why I personally like it better than SF4 AE.

Really?! I didn’t know that, because when I go on an online match people is always doing complex combos and whatnot. But thanks, I’ll keep that in mind, I need to change a lot in how I’m playing.

[Darkphyre]

This game is less execution based and more resource management and strategy based, which is why I personally like it better than SF4 AE.

While this is true, basic execution is still very important… If you can’t pull out your moves and combos on command you’re already fighting a losing battle.

[awkward_combo]

While this is true, basic execution is still very important… If you can’t pull out your moves and combos on command you’re already fighting a losing battle.

Damn!!! then I’m losing a lot of battles then. I just panic way too much.

[SamuelVimes]

Well yes, the combos in this game are longer than they are in SF4, but interestingly enough they are a little easier to do once you get them down. Links are easier to perform, in short, and things like tag-in combos are generally easy for most characters.
Nina I’d say is all right for beginners. She has difficult things you will not be able to do, but every character has those, and I think her positives for beginners far outweigh those. Hwaorang is tricky but so is much of the Tekken cast, I just think he (and Kazuya) are the best for illustrating how that trickiness occurs. Any character I list I believe to be fine for a beginner to pick up who is interested.

Some more characters:

Cammy: Cammy is a rushdown character. She moves fast, her attacks move faster, and she’s meant to get in on the enemy and continually pressure them the entire time. Cannot give much details because I never really played her. She also has a dive kick and an anti-air reversal which are both very important. A very solid Point character.
Strategies: rushdown, jab pressure, blockstrings, dealing with lower HP, footsies.

Law: Law’s just fun man, and he’s who I am going to try using hardcore next. He has fast attacks and is good at getting in on opponents, but he also has some mixup potential not only in the usual medium/low attacks, but he is able to perform different attacks from certain stance setups to keep your offense varied. He’s also relatively easy to combo big damage with, since he groundbounces a lot and can follow up from and into many of his specials rather than relying on links. His list of unique attacks is also huge.
Strategies: branching moves out of stance, groundbounces, knowing which unique attacks are strong and which are useless Bruce Lee voice screaming.

Paul: Paul sports some strong damage, easy, almost braindead combos, is especially strong when the enemy is in the corner, and the element of surprise because virtually no one uses him. There are many things that make Paul a great character for beginners, but he also has several significant flaws that may be intimidating for those unsure of their play. He lacks a great reversal and has terrible movement speed and dashes. Still, his moves and damage make him a great partner for zoning characters (he can push enemies far back, giving people like Guile the space they need) and as an anchor can cause severe problems for the opposition.
Strategies: mixup, working around flaws while playing to strength, the corner game.

[Intuitive2011]

Just wanted to add, you’re going to lose A LOT. It happens to everybody, but the more you analyze your losses, and see where you went wrong, that’s the point that you will improve. Motions will seem tricky, especially Shoryukens and Hadokens, but if you practice, with consistency, you will become much better. Just don’t expect instant rewards, Street Fighter in general rewards those who work hard. Also, don’t use those ASSIST GEMS! They teach nothing.

And to further reiterate:

Work on your weaknesses. For example, if you can’t anti air with Ryu/Ken. Set the training dummy to record, and have it jump in with a Hard Kick (HK), and from there, just practice using the Shoryuken to knock your enemy out of the air. When you can do that comfortably, make your training harder, by anti airing Rufus’ dive kick (jump, down forward Medium Kick).
I hope that you’ll stick around, it will be interesting to see how good you can become.

[media=youtube]jtuA5we0RZU[/media]

[SamuelVimes]

Oh, and obligatory footsies handbook:
http://sonichurricane.com/?page_id=1702

Tells you how to move.

[Darkphyre]

I like the way Vimes is throwing this info up there, so I might as well do the same for the two characters I play.

Juri: Juri is probably one of the most infuriating characters to play against in SFxT as she can easily deny the opponent the ability to jump at her while zoning or rushing down. Most of her offense revolves around her unique fireball as she can “store” a fireball for later use and release it during combos or to keep the opponent at a distance. She’s capable of rush-down style gameplay, but due to a somewhat limited mixup toolset it’s best done in bursts.
Team Position: Point or Anchor
Pros: strong Anti-air, Ridiculous corner and tag-combo damage, high mobility through special moves
Cons: Limited offensive tools, mediocre damage outside of the corner
Skills learned: Anti-Airing, Bait & Punish, Zoning, Rushdown, Footsies

Asuka: Arguably one of the worst of the cast in terms of normal moves, Asuka makes up for her lack of footsies with a truckload of damage (not quite hugo, but still very good) and a potentially terrifying wakeup game. Her best options against a knocked down opponent all move her forward, so landing a meaty attack against a rolling target is a non-issue. Getting close to your opponent will be the hardest thing you have to do with this character, but if you manage to start a combo they can kiss 1/3-1/2 of their health bar goodbye without you spending a single bar of meter.
Team Position: Anchor
Pros: Mid-High damage, good mixup/pressure, Decent Anti-airs
Cons: Possibly the worst set of footsies in the game
Skills learned: Getting in (or not…lol), CADC (Charge Action Dash Cancel), Rushdown, Mix-up, Anti-air

Of these two characters I can only recommend Juri for a beginning player, playing Asuka properly requires a good amount of matchup and general game knowledge.

[RedVega]

lol Samuel pretty much bodied all of us as far as best advice goes. I would tell you to try to visit Jibbo’s stream and ask him to help you develop. He did it with a previous player and I think you would gain a lot because the viewers and jibbo will give you feedback. Much props and don’t give up! =]

[roknin]

Just wanted to add, you’re going to lose A LOT.

Just wanted to reiterate this. The hardest part isn’t so much execution or learning combos, as a lot of that is just practice. What can be very difficult - and often stops people before they start - is losing. You have to go in knowing that you’re going to lose a lot, especially online. Don’t take these loses to heart! As Intuitive said, watch your replays and try to see what you can do to improve.

I would also recommend doing a small endless room, preferably with players you know or looking for players at around your skill level (you can set up a room with a title such as “looking for beginners” and such), and putting the things you learn into practice there. By having a small, 3 (or 4) person Endless Lobby, you can get a rematch against whomever you lose to, or watch their play to see how they handle a matchup you may not be familiar with. They’ll be doing the same, so you’ll be helping each other out. Don’t even think of “man, I’ve lost 20 straight” or anything - that will do nothing but frustrate you.

Even better, aim for small goals both in training and in matches. One of the things I started doing when I was learning the arcade stick for SSF4 (not new to FGs by a long shot, but was a pad player until last year so it felt like I was essentially starting over), was “execution drills”. That is, I’d put on a video or a song or something, and just practice a particular basic Rose combo until I could do it a certain amount of times without dropping it. That helped me a lot as far as execution (though to be fair, my execution is still my weakest point, lol). After I was done with that one, I’d move on to the next thing on my list. In matches, set goals such as “I’m going to hit him out of the air whenever he jumps in” or “I’m going to focus on blocking these attacks”… that kind of thing.

Definitely drop by the SFxT boards and character boards as well for info (I know that’s been said like a million times but it’s bears repeating!).

Begin to learn how life and meter management works. SFxT might as well be called “Resource Management: the Game.”

So true it made me lol.

[GordonsBeard]

Don’t even think of “man, I’ve lost 20 straight” or anything - that will do nothing but frustrate you.

A lot of fighting game OGs are lucky, back when they were getting their hours in you didn’t have things like W:L ratios tied to your permanent user account, there weren’t stats kept at the arcades and the home console versions usually didn’t have netplay at all. I say this because if you’re starting a fighting game NOW, they make it real easy to keep track of your record.

And when you’re new, you’re going to have a really shitty record. I think I remember my first months of SF4 (dirty 09er here), was something like 18 wins out of 100 losses. Devastating if you think about the actual numbers. Just keep playing and realizing that if you lose then it’s a chance to do something different. It’s scary when you find yourself doing nothing but winning - nobody is giving you a proper challenge, your skills are going stale.

[awkward_combo]

Well yes, the combos in this game are longer than they are in SF4, but interestingly enough they are a little easier to do once you get them down. Links are easier to perform, in short, and things like tag-in combos are generally easy for most characters.
Nina I’d say is all right for beginners. She has difficult things you will not be able to do, but every character has those, and I think her positives for beginners far outweigh those. Hwaorang is tricky but so is much of the Tekken cast, I just think he (and Kazuya) are the best for illustrating how that trickiness occurs. Any character I list I believe to be fine for a beginner to pick up who is interested.

Some more characters:

Cammy: Cammy is a rushdown character. She moves fast, her attacks move faster, and she’s meant to get in on the enemy and continually pressure them the entire time. Cannot give much details because I never really played her. She also has a dive kick and an anti-air reversal which are both very important. A very solid Point character.
Strategies: rushdown, jab pressure, blockstrings, dealing with lower HP, footsies.

Law: Law’s just fun man, and he’s who I am going to try using hardcore next. He has fast attacks and is good at getting in on opponents, but he also has some mixup potential not only in the usual medium/low attacks, but he is able to perform different attacks from certain stance setups to keep your offense varied. He’s also relatively easy to combo big damage with, since he groundbounces a lot and can follow up from and into many of his specials rather than relying on links. His list of unique attacks is also huge.
Strategies: branching moves out of stance, groundbounces, knowing which unique attacks are strong and which are useless Bruce Lee voice screaming.

Paul: Paul sports some strong damage, easy, almost braindead combos, is especially strong when the enemy is in the corner, and the element of surprise because virtually no one uses him. There are many things that make Paul a great character for beginners, but he also has several significant flaws that may be intimidating for those unsure of their play. He lacks a great reversal and has terrible movement speed and dashes. Still, his moves and damage make him a great partner for zoning characters (he can push enemies far back, giving people like Guile the space they need) and as an anchor can cause severe problems for the opposition.
Strategies: mixup, working around flaws while playing to strength, the corner game.

OMG!! Thanks!!! I want to give Law a shot and see what’s going on.

Just wanted to add, you’re going to lose A LOT. It happens to everybody, but the more you analyze your losses, and see where you went wrong, that’s the point that you will improve. Motions will seem tricky, especially Shoryukens and Hadokens, but if you practice, with consistency, you will become much better. Just don’t expect instant rewards, Street Fighter in general rewards those who work hard. Also, don’t use those ASSIST GEMS! They teach nothing.

And to further reiterate:

Work on your weaknesses. For example, if you can’t anti air with Ryu/Ken. Set the training dummy to record, and have it jump in with a Hard Kick (HK), and from there, just practice using the Shoryuken to knock your enemy out of the air. When you can do that comfortably, make your training harder, by anti airing Rufus’ dive kick (jump, down forward Medium Kick).
I hope that you’ll stick around, it will be interesting to see how good you can become.

[media=youtube]jtuA5we0RZU[/media]

Thanks!!! I’ll do my best and I’m loving this nice community and that video!!! OMG!!! That was so epic, I heard so much about Daigo!!! He’s like the god of Street Fighter. I wish i was good as him!!!

Oh, and obligatory footsies handbook:
http://sonichurricane.com/?page_id=1702

Tells you how to move.

Sweet!!! Thanks!!! I never knew using your foot was so important, i just thought it was mostly out predicting the opponent.

I like the way Vimes is throwing this info up there, so I might as well do the same for the two characters I play.

Juri: Juri is probably one of the most infuriating characters to play against in SFxT as she can easily deny the opponent the ability to jump at her while zoning or rushing down. Most of her offense revolves around her unique fireball as she can “store” a fireball for later use and release it during combos or to keep the opponent at a distance. She’s capable of rush-down style gameplay, but due to a somewhat limited mixup toolset it’s best done in bursts.
Team Position: Point or Anchor
Pros: strong Anti-air, Ridiculous corner and tag-combo damage, high mobility through special moves
Cons: Limited offensive tools, mediocre damage outside of the corner
Skills learned: Anti-Airing, Bait & Punish, Zoning, Rushdown, Footsies

Asuka: Arguably one of the worst of the cast in terms of normal moves, Asuka makes up for her lack of footsies with a truckload of damage (not quite hugo, but still very good) and a potentially terrifying wakeup game. Her best options against a knocked down opponent all move her forward, so landing a meaty attack against a rolling target is a non-issue. Getting close to your opponent will be the hardest thing you have to do with this character, but if you manage to start a combo they can kiss 1/3-1/2 of their health bar goodbye without you spending a single bar of meter.
Team Position: Anchor
Pros: Mid-High damage, good mixup/pressure, Decent Anti-airs
Cons: Possibly the worst set of footsies in the game
Skills learned: Getting in (or not…lol), CADC (Charge Action Dash Cancel), Rushdown, Mix-up, Anti-air

Of these two characters I can only recommend Juri for a beginning player, playing Asuka properly requires a good amount of matchup and general game knowledge.

Thanks for the tip!!! I thought Asuka was super good with no flaws because when i get on an online match with her, people usually just hold me down in a corner and there’s nothing i could have done. I always want to give Juri a chance, her moves looks so cool.

lol Samuel pretty much bodied all of us as far as best advice goes. I would tell you to try to visit Jibbo’s stream and ask him to help you develop. He did it with a previous player and I think you would gain a lot because the viewers and jibbo will give you feedback. Much props and don’t give up! =]

Sorry, stupid question here but whose Jibbo?

Just wanted to reiterate this. The hardest part isn’t so much execution or learning combos, as a lot of that is just practice. What can be very difficult - and often stops people before they start - is losing. You have to go in knowing that you’re going to lose a lot, especially online. Don’t take these loses to heart! As Intuitive said, watch your replays and try to see what you can do to improve.

I would also recommend doing a small endless room, preferably with players you know or looking for players at around your skill level (you can set up a room with a title such as “looking for beginners” and such), and putting the things you learn into practice there. By having a small, 3 (or 4) person Endless Lobby, you can get a rematch against whomever you lose to, or watch their play to see how they handle a matchup you may not be familiar with. They’ll be doing the same, so you’ll be helping each other out. Don’t even think of “man, I’ve lost 20 straight” or anything - that will do nothing but frustrate you.

Even better, aim for small goals both in training and in matches. One of the things I started doing when I was learning the arcade stick for SSF4 (not new to FGs by a long shot, but was a pad player until last year so it felt like I was essentially starting over), was “execution drills”. That is, I’d put on a video or a song or something, and just practice a particular basic Rose combo until I could do it a certain amount of times without dropping it. That helped me a lot as far as execution (though to be fair, my execution is still my weakest point, lol). After I was done with that one, I’d move on to the next thing on my list. In matches, set goals such as “I’m going to hit him out of the air whenever he jumps in” or “I’m going to focus on blocking these attacks”… that kind of thing.

Definitely drop by the SFxT boards and character boards as well for info (I know that’s been said like a million times but it’s bears repeating!).

So true it made me lol.

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea!!! I will be honest, when i get in a match i do want to win…so badly but i always try to learn, but sometimes the match ends so fast because people knows those bad ass combos, I don’t learn much. BTW!!! I’m so curious, that arcade stick, does it give an edge over a pad user?

A lot of fighting game OGs are lucky, back when they were getting their hours in you didn’t have things like W:L ratios tied to your permanent user account, there weren’t stats kept at the arcades and the home console versions usually didn’t have netplay at all. I say this because if you’re starting a fighting game NOW, they make it real easy to keep track of your record.

And when you’re new, you’re going to have a really shitty record. I think I remember my first months of SF4 (dirty 09er here), was something like 18 wins out of 100 losses. Devastating if you think about the actual numbers. Just keep playing and realizing that if you lose then it’s a chance to do something different. It’s scary when you find yourself doing nothing but winning - nobody is giving you a proper challenge, your skills are going stale.

Thanks, I’m kinda gald I’m not the only one here that has the worst luck when starting a fighting game hahahaha

[roknin]

Hmm… The way I look at it, each has an advantage and disadvantage. If you’re comfortable on pad I’d stick with it, as it’s probably the lower barrier of entry. You can always pick up stick later once you have the basics down, if you feel it’s necessary.

I had a few reasons to move to arcade stick, most notably that I started playing Juri a lot in Super and felt like I needed the change, and I’m a little rough on my controllers when I play fighters, so I’d run through 3 fightpads in like a year, lol. There was also the fact that I found a cheap stick to try and test the waters with (Hori EX2 which I was able to get for about 45$ at the time).

That said, for some games (Tekken, MvC3), I still prefer pad for various reasons. So I’m partial to both.

I say all that to pretty much reiterate that you should play what you’re comfortable with. :-p

[Darkphyre]

OMG!!
Sorry, stupid question here but whose Jibbo?

Jibbo is the leader of the “SFxT Defense Force” and all-around cool dude. Details can be found here.

most notably that I started playing Juri a lot in Super and felt like I needed the change

Dear god, YES to this… if you get serious with Juri at any point then I can’t recommend a stick enough… storing 2-3 fireballs while being able to still defend yourself on a pad is a nightmare.

[awkward_combo]

Hmm… The way I look at it, each has an advantage and disadvantage. If you’re comfortable on pad I’d stick with it, as it’s probably the lower barrier of entry. You can always pick up stick later once you have the basics down, if you feel it’s necessary.

I had a few reasons to move to arcade stick, most notably that I started playing Juri a lot in Super and felt like I needed the change, and I’m a little rough on my controllers when I play fighters, so I’d run through 3 fightpads in like a year, lol. There was also the fact that I found a cheap stick to try and test the waters with (Hori EX2 which I was able to get for about 45$ at the time).

That said, for some games (Tekken, MvC3), I still prefer pad for various reasons. So I’m partial to both.

I say all that to pretty much reiterate that you should play what you’re comfortable with. :-p

OH!!! I’m going to try to get down the basics then first. I do want to move to a stick when i get to somewhat average. I do have some trouble pulling moves when I’m on a different area. Like, I can’t pull off a dragon punch on the left side or vice versa. Any tips? I would also like to know where i can get a fair amount for a stick, do you know where? Any advice would be good thanks!!! :))))

Jibbo is the leader of the “SFxT Defense Force” and all-around cool dude. Details can be found here.

Dear god, YES to this… if you get serious with Juri at any point then I can’t recommend a stick enough… storing 2-3 fireballs while being able to still defend yourself on a pad is a nightmare.

Thanks, I will check him when i get the chance!!! :))

[SamuelVimes]

Well the thing is, no matter how good your execution gets on a pad, you get set to zero when you switch to a stick (as Roknin said). If you are thinking of getting a stick then practicing on a pad is not going to help you. All it will do is give your brain more of a feel for the game and you can see how much you like it. Then you can decide if investing the money on a stick is a worthwhile thing. I’ll let other people point out good sticks, I’m a pad player out of a reluctance to spill the dough.

As for practicing inputs regardless of your controller, it is really just practice. Practice just as much from the 2p side as you can from the 1p side.