I play mostly street fighter games and do fairly decent, but in this it’s like i have no chance if the person knows 2 combos. It seems like a lot of characters have completely safe block strings and anytime i try to react i just eat another combo. What kinds of things are important in this game to learn? I use Ermac and can zone and perform his combos, but i dont get why people just do an onslaught of attacks and i can barely punish them(im sure online lag has something to do with it, but its not even that bad). Is it just that Ermac doesn’t have many GTFO moves or quick start up attacks? Or do i just need to practice more and am not punishing with him correctly?
It depends who you’re fighting against. Usually an uppercut is a great way to get them off your back. I don’t use Ermac, so I have know clue how slow he is, but I don’t think there are too many characters in this game that can lock you permanently in block stun since the patches.
But yeah, a well place trip, or uppercut usually always does the trick for me. Also, try to get the pacing of the opponent before striking, sometimes it pays to be more defensive.
I fight with Johnny Cage though (whose Rush down), so there’s not much I can tell you other than that.
i have that problem too, never know when punish!
You need to learn the fine art of interrupt pokes. Footsies in this game don’t link into combos like SF or KOF, so their purpose is to act as quick interrupts to throw your opponent’s inputs and timing off. When someone is pressuring you with strings, identify the end of the string, then try to punish it with one or two low 3s (the fastest) or a low 1 (second fastest). After you’ve interrupted their pressure, try for a jump-in or some other offensive tactic. Some strings can be punished with uppercuts as well like JMcQ said, but uppercut speed and priority varies between characters. Low 4s are semi-useful too, depending on the character, because they have longer reach (but come out slower than low 3).
Thanks, I guess I will try out using low 3s to “punish” and let me get offensive.
I suck as well at this game, but it seems like a good poke like JennyCage says is good enough or a cross over jump, but the opponent might guess u would do that and hit u first in the air. What I’m getting at this game so far is that smarter players will not finish combo strings to keep u guessing bc u might not block if the opponent has taught u the combo string. He might mix in a throw or invincible special attack. Or he might jump. They might go for a low. Also, block dash alot. It helps against zoners. Try to predict what they will do when u get closer to them. I also have trouble with punishing people or blocking combo strings but it just comes with experience which I hate because it discourages new comers. Also, if possible, go for resets. That means not getting a knockdown because they have the option of waking up late or using an invincible wake up attack (which is something I can’t do, idk if its the timing or lag). Some players will try complete combo strings instead of canceling into a special attack. These combo strings will leave u in a staggar state. Thats when ur lipping back and u can’t do anything but block. An example of this is scorpions 1,1,1? I think thats right. It leaves them in for jump attack or a combo string or throw. Do throws sometimes because I believe they can’t be option selected like in SF4. Understand all ur characters combo strings, especially ones that are safe and hit low. I use johnny cage mostly and he has like a 1,3 that doesn’t hit low but it doesn’t whiff either. Idk. I really suck at this game because the randomness like teleport attacks, weird hit boxes (especially ducking), deliberate combo strings, and accidental special attacks.