I picked up MvC3 a few days ago and its pretty much my first fighting game. That said my execution is horrible. I don’t like the D-pad on the PS3 controller at all, for some reason I thought it would be more comfortable than it is.
My question is, would anyone recommend a new player to fighters learn on a stick? I’m figuring something with a square gate will help me to me much more precise with my execution, but then again before I started playing I was sure I’d be fine with the D-Pad.
Learning FGs on a stick from scratch is MUCH better than adapting after learning on a D-Pad. If you start on a stick, the motions are foreign to you anyways, so there is no frustration of “I can do this much better on a pad” and therefore you’re much more willing to stick with stick.
The traditional answer is “get a stick,” but nowadays there are a ton of high-level players that play on pad, so it’s really whatever you feel comfortable with. Since the D-Pad is uncomfortable to you, maybe give sticks a shot. Do you have any buddies that own a joystick? Maybe play on theirs for a little bit and see how you like it before you make an investment. You could also try a fightpad, which isn’t as expensive as a stick and will probably be better than the stock pad for fighting games.
My situation pretty much mirrors this one. I was always intimidated by fighting games’ steep learning curve so I never got into them. But I finally decided to get into the genre with MvC. I hope to pick up an arcade stick soon, although with the game just being released, there seems to be a rush for every one to pick one up. I remember when I had no interest in purchasing a stick, they would be on sale but now that it is time for me to purchase one, no sale.
One thing I would avoid if you do stick with the d-pad for a bit is to avoid sliding across the d-pad when you do a dp motion or any rotation more than a qcf/qcb. Many blisters will be avoided.
go out & buy yourself a joystick. Your skills will transfer over when you go to an arcade.
Thanks for the replies. Nowhere around me sells them, and I dont know anyone that has one so I’d probably have to order it online, without being able to try it out first, so I’m a little hesitant.
There were a LOT of people when SF4 came out that went and got the premium sticks and paid premium dollars only to find out a few months (if even that) later that they hated playing on stick or that they just didn’t want to play fighters seriously or for very long. I say pick up a Hori EX2 if you don’t know, it’s not the greatest stick but if you don’t know anyone who has one that you can practice on it might be a good idea to see if a $40 one will work before shelling out over $100.
I personally recommend a SE over the Hori EX2. The EX2 is much more annoying to mod than a SE; IE, the SE has more upgrade potential.
Also, check out the stick sticky.
I read the sticky and I think I want to try the Mad Catz SE, however (and forgive me if I’ve missed a link) I can’t find a place to buy one. Any chance of getting one from anywhere that isn’t eBay? Preferably with intentional shipping.
I will always recommend a stick and I will always recommend something with Sanwa parts. Save up for a TE.
I was looking for a cheap stick when I first started but, decided to bite the bullet anyway and I have never regretted it for a moment.