I am in search of a main in USFIV, but before going to Ultra, I played quite some time in SSF IV AE and when I started out trying to master my first character, I found out that I can’t really learn any of cool combos(Obviously, because my fingers just wasn’t made for it) and because SF doesn’t really have any tutorial, so trying to master any move in training mode is just straight insane effort. What saved me is trial mode(Even though at first, I was afraid of it, because it was called trial, like challenge for pros, I thought), since it does learn you what you essentially need to know about the character and allows you to move slowly, tracking your amount of skill.
That said, can we actually consider trial mode as a tutorial of SF IV? And can I reach a decent level, just by practicing trials over and over again?Which leads me to the main question, is it better than training mode, or it’s just me still being green at the game?
Trials are good for two things: learning which normals link into which, and learning what kinds of combo options are available. They don’t really teach the practical combos(which are the important ones), and they don’t teach how to apply different moves outside of combos.
So, no. Running through trials is a good idea, but spending a lot of time on trial mode isn’t something I would recommend over going into training.
The trials would be much better if the game actually recognised them more as a training tool. They are good for teaching combo’s and principles around how combos work, but they are poor at communicating the actual execution. As the series progressed capcom lost interest in them and not every character has a trial.
Trials are only good teaching tools if you are extremely new to the game or fighters in general. They indirectly teach you about the difference between being able to chain a move vs linking it.
Training mode will always be 1000 times better simply because you can use it for almost anything. It can be used to practice combos, create setups, training to react to things, learning and perfecting block punishes etc.
I could only complete Ken’s and Ryu’s trials by practicing the tricky ones in practice mode.
It’s so dumb how you can’t see your inputs in trials, so sometimes you end up doing the same dumb shit 100 times in a row and thus building wrong muscle memory.
It’s a good idea to split your time between ranked or endless online matches, and the training room.
Focus on winning online matches with very basic tools that you can actually pull off (normals, anti air, fireballs, focus breakers and pokes are everything you need to beat 2k+ pp players)
Then go to the training room and practice the shit you can’t do, like a bread and butter combo.
When you’re able to open people up and read them, and also understand which situations are most likely to land you a hit it’s gonna be much easier for you to apply a combo to a real match.
People always think they’re garbage cuz they can’t pull dem Sako-combos off.
Fuck that, that shit doesn’t win you games. Watch how Daigo got eliminated from this years EVO by John Choi.
If you judge that match by combo execution, you’d think those two are D ranked online scrubs.
Fundamentals go a long way and you’re better off learning how to beat an opponents with your normals and positioning than learning complicated combos you’re not able to land in a real match because you lack experience and the ability to think a step ahead.
Also trials are not really meant for you to land them in real matches, they’re more of a challenge mode where they ask you “You think you can land this combo?”.
I mean they’re fun and all but in the end they’re a waste of time when you’re new and you’re gonna be able to do them easily sometime when you’ve learned how to play the game and got some bnb’s down and got more knowledge about the game mechanics.