Every opponent is different. It literally feels mostly like a guess game to me when I’m under pressure. I know I take more damage from a combo than a throw so I block more than I try to throw tech.
Sometimes I feel like I can time a throw tech a little later so that I still block a tight block string, but it will tech a throw if the opponent attempts one.
But could anyone can tell me some common general patterns (if there are any) for spotting when a throw is coming, or is it basically about learning your opponent’s tendencies?
Opponents tendencies. Some common patterns are though:
[list=1]
[] blocked jump in attack -> throw
[] After a blockstring by walking up / dashing in
[*] After you whiff an attack by dashing in
[/list]
Try to spot those walk ups. AND spot and adapt to your opponent’s tendencies.
I am used to play mostly silver to super gold because I am around here and super gold is where I start to loose more. I had my throws patterns that I felt like I changed good enough because it worked fine.
Today in battle lounge I fought against a guy who doesn’t seem to play ranked anymore but was gold at the time it was above top 1000 only and his a tournament player. Got destroyed obviously but after like 2 sets he would tech 95% of my throws. I thought the dude had some kind of OS (since he doesn’t play ranked he is gold and usually gold players don’t do that to me). I got super mad at myself too before I saw his actual level.
Long story short, you need to read the patterns. And if you throw yourself don’t be as predictable as me.
There are several OS’s including the fuzzy jump OS that will tech or block depending on what the opponent does. The fuzzy jump OS even beats command throws too.
Pretty much this, in my experience these are the most common situations where throws are used. Of course, each play has their own patterns. For example I have a friend who will almost always throw if he has been knocked down twice in a row without reprisal. I guess it’s a mental trigger for him to get some control back into the game, so it’s about reading the opponent’s ticks and tendencies as well.
Depending on the game, it can be a straight-up guess. That’s just the bottom line. Above a certain level of gameplay, there’s no real need to put any more thought into it (you end up with the "I know that he knows that I know etc “mindgame”). That’s why you can see Daigo getting thrown to death in 3S, and him throwing other people to death in SFV.
Games that have strong throw/attack mixups are usually centered around the neutral game strategies that you should be using to avoid getting put into that position. So if you are playing a game like this, the question you should be asking is how to not get caught in that situation where you are forced to guess.
Here’s a well-known set between two good ST players:
It’s kinda pointless for the Guile player to ask how to guess between low and SPD. Instead, he has to change his neutral game strategy so that Gief can’t put him in that situation in the first place.
Having said that, there are games where neutral strategy isn’t that important and being able to guess better than the opponent up close is an essential part of gameplay.
Say we are playing 3s Chun vs Ken, it’s round 2, and Chun just got her first bar. As Ken, I have almost all my health. I’m waking up and Chun gets to attack.
In this situation, I don’t need to take the throw because the risk of getting hit is not that high. If she hits me and blows super I still have most of my life and she has no resources for round 3. A good Chun won’t spend bar here so I don’t need to care about the option. The game state tells me I should just jump out of the corner and not be be afraid to get hit.
Or the other way around - I have 35% life left in round 3 and Chun has at least a bar. The next confirmable hit will kill me but I can survive several throws. So I’m much more likely to just block and take throw until I can find the right moment to escape.
So yeah it’s guessing but also informed by the game state. It’s a guessing game where all options are not equally bad.