It’s something that comes with practice and it’s something I can only describe as feeling it when it’s time to hit the random button.
In simplest terms, start off which something like doing the cr.MK loop a few times and then race through your head whether you think they’ll change their defenses.
Using El Fuerte as an example, I would get that first knockdown and I may repeat the same move from before. By then, they’re going to suspect a mix-up, but that’s where the midfuck comes in. I knocked them down with Tostada Press and they’re noticing that I’m doing it over and over, aka conditioning them. There are a few things I can do assuming the opponent sits still and doesn’t do a reversal: Tostada Press (mid and can cross up), Tortilla Propeller (command grab), throw, meaty cr.HK (low), or Fajita Buster (grabs standing) among other option This is where the game becomes rock, paper, scissors. I can do Tostada if they think I’m going to do something that will be stopped by holding down-back as a means to mixup. When you include things like backdashes and reversals, it gets more complicated, but doable. I’m just keeping it at a high-low mixup level.
It’s a lot of reading involved at various depths (I think that they think that I think that they think, thinkception), but don’t let that intimidate you. The more you do mixups, the more random you’ll appear which is what you want no matter what. When that happens, you mixup by feeling. That’s what I’ve told players I know personally.
EDIT: Perhaps I’ll write more on this for whenever I get around to making the Dao of Xiao thread.
EDIT 2: Messed with cr.MK some more to see if I could find anything interesting. I did find something interesting with using Shooting Star. Do cr.MK at anywhere but max range and cancel into HK Shooting Star will leave you safe to at least Ryu’s LP DP. If they don’t do anything, you move to behind them. A bit of a distance, but the disorientation may be just enough to get back in. I wish I could test more, but I got plans tonight.
I get it, but I’m always so nervous that they’ll hit me out of the Shooting Star, and by the time I realize to change it up, I’m too far from them lol, I’ll have to practice.
Yeah, do you practice in Ranked or Endless? I like to practice in Ranked, but my BP goes down a lot, IDK how…mixups seem to be really tricky in ranked, and I’m only C Ranked (you can tell I don’t do Ranked much lol) xP
Ranked because I only put a little time aside in multiple sittings. Maybe I should try to have one major practice session in Endless since I’m having four characters under my belt.
SFxT’s netcode seems really shitty in general to me, and not being able to pick your matches for Ranked like in SF4 (where you could see how strong your signal strength was to each player) is really annoying.
Sure you can do it in Endless but I always try harder if something is on the line, even if it’s just some trivial point number that I actually don’t care about.
In SF4, when you played Ranked (not endless) you could pick your opponent. In SFxT, Ranked mode just pairs you with a random person, with no guarantees on whether or not that person will have good ping with you. I haven’t seen any way to get around this and choose your opponent like in SF4.
Yes you can see the connection strength once you join, but that’s not the point - the point is you should be able to see connection strength even before you join, because lag is an important factor especially considering that the gameplay is still choppy at times even when you have strong connection with someone.
If you have solid knowledge of fighting games in general, you’ll be fine playing Xiaoyu. If you haven’t played a fighting game in a long time or are new to fighting games, Xiaoyu is probably not the best bet.
Honestly, I’d focus on the Street Fighter side in general, they have simpler inputs compared to the Tekken side and they don’t seem as difficult to learn considering they are made for a 2D plane, while the Tekken side is somewhat adjusting still. However, out of the SF cast, I’d say Ryu, Ken, Chun, Sagat, Poison, or Akuma would be optimal first choices.
Does anyone have any tips on how to verse Lili? Lili’s AA is easily one of the best in the game as her invincibility is like Xiao’s Phoenix Talon, but it is close to above Lili’s head instead of at an angle like Xiao’s is. I know Lili doesn’t have a good wakeup game, so she can be pressured, but the thing is, she can pressure back and from one confirmed poke she can chain combos like crazy, easily depleting Xiao’s life. Xiao’s pokes are a bit too slow against Lili as well. Any tips?
My most obvious first response is not to jump against Lili.
Secondly, I think you just have to footsie her well and counter-poke with st.MP. Cancel it into Fortune Cookie, or AOP > Wave Crest, or RD > Turn of Fortune.
Backdash, as always, is useful - on Xiaoyu’s wakeup I don’t think Lili has a good answer for this.
Also, against a lot of setups I’m seeing that picking up a pattern and doing raw Launcher during blockstrings if you think your opponent is going to do a low attack is REALLY useful. Good skill to have altogether – it’s risky but it pays off bigtime if you have a tag partner who can follow up the launcher with good damage. A slightly safer option is to try to overhead if you think they’re going to do a slow-startup low. If you get hit you’re airborne so you get air-reset and your opponent doesn’t get big damage, if it gets blocked you’re safe at +3, and if it hits, obviously you profit.
On an unrelated note, it’s really fun to bait out Alpha Counters with EX Turn of Fortune - you absorb the hit and get to keep comboing, and they wasted a meter. The only Alpha Counter I’ve seen so far that works against her armor is Rolento’s since it hits so fast.
