lmao fucking loling because its so true hahah, i fall victim to this!
haha me too. sometimes throw in ex tatsu to “mix it up”
Re: attacking in different ways, I find this to be one of the most interesting, difficult, and rewarding challenges in fighting games, because it’s so simple and I feel like I have a large catalog of options at my disposal in the games I play seriously, but it’s so frustratingly easy to go on autopilot and to realize that you keep doing the same shit and it hasn’t been working very well.
Re: “free/cheap damage,” dude, I have totally had some vague concept or intuition of some of what you’re talking about… but I’ve never verbalized it (even to myself internally) or thought of it in exactly the way you describe here. Really interesting. There are several sub-concepts IMO contained in what you’re talking about - one being the validity/execution of “saving” tactics, moves, set-ups, etc. in general. Obviously, most characters have some go-to moves or attack strategies that it would be unwise not to use freely when appropriate. But then some characters do have somewhat… gimmicky/goofy (?) moves or set-ups that you can afford to use sparingly and are in fact going to be at their most effective when they take your opponent off guard. There is a difference, of course, between “cheap”/easy and gimmicky or goofy, and both types really work well at the end of a round. I’m trying to think of some examples of goofy moves, but demon flip throw (or even two demon flip throws in a row) is one of the best, I think… maybe something like Q’s low dash punch, or a full screen ex shoulder by Urien provided that the player hasn’t already ruined the surprise factor of those moves by spamming it. Moves or strategies that aren’t necessarily that great, but they take you off guard and maybe you try to parry or counterattack just as you get KOed by it and then you’re like, “Seriously? I fought that hard and lost to an awkwardly timed slow-ass dash punch?” Some other lame tactics I use that aren’t as character specific are things like, when your opponent is knocked down, empty neutral jump and throw as soon as you land right when your opponent is waking up, or walk backwards as they wake up and then sweep from max range especially if you have a fast, far-reaching sweep.
Gonna go to sleep now, but good stuff, and I’m going to keep thinking about it.