[SSF4] Is Ibuki a Poor Choice for a First Character?

[Arckan]

I appreciate all the input, I’ve stuck with Ibuki so far and have put a lot of hours into her since I made this post and am enjoying her thoroughly. I do want to get better in the long term and improve at the game, but my most immediate concern is staying up-to-par/ahead of my friends that started with me.

I’ve come to realize that Arcade Mode is relatively useless and have spent most of my time losing on the ladder and playing with my two friends. Most of my games consist of trying not to get grabbed by the Dhalsim when I get in range and trying to kill the Makato (they switched from Cammie) before she kills me. My actual gameplay is mostly just normals, target combos when I can actually execute them properly, and using Tsumuji when I probably shouldn’t be.

I have a couple of questions, but they aren’t particularly relevant to the original thread, so disregard if need be:

[details=Spoiler]1.) I win against the Makato 90%~ of the time and the Dhalsim 70% of the time, are the learning curves on these characters sloped differently?
2.) While I can usually tech (not sure if this is proper usage of ‘tech’) throws made against me, Dhalsim’s tends to go through the vast majority of the time, is it a matter of range, speed, or is it all in my head? What should I be doing to counter this?
3.) I have not progressed to a level where I can properly execute my SJC Ultra 2, so it ends up getting blocked 75% of the time (I mostly just use it as a desperation tactic when I really need to make a large comeback). Should I just pretend I don’t have an Ultra until I’m able to SJC into it? I can occasionally get it off just due to the low skill level of myself and the two people I play with, but they are competent enough to punish my recovery when it fails.
4.) I understand most people have their “main” and then they have “secondary” characters. Are the secondary characters usually similar to their main or completely different so they can fill a different role/perform better against the main’s poor match-ups?
5.) Arcade sticks. I have a cheaper one currently in shipping (I’m sure it is a “you get what you pay for” scenario, but I digress), but am curious as to some of its uses. My main concern with the 360 controller is I’ll sometimes move the joystick slightly too far and ruining the combo I was going for. Most notably, I have a tendency to accidentally move the joystick up when doing either quarter- or half-circles, which results in my simply jumping into people and getting smacked around. How much more precision does a stick typically give? Will I be any less prone to these accidental motions?[/details]

Again, thanks for the assistance and sorry for the long-winded posts.

[Kikuichimonji]

I win against the Makato 90%~ of the time and the Dhalsim 70% of the time, are the learning curves on these characters sloped differently?

Makoto has a better matchup against Ibuki than Dhalsim. Dhalsim is all about specific counters for specific things, and solid base gameplan. Things like learning curve slopes are very subjective.

2.) While I can usually tech (not sure if this is proper usage of ‘tech’) throws made against me, Dhalsim’s tends to go through the vast majority of the time, is it a matter of range, speed, or is it all in my head? What should I be doing to counter this?

When does he throw you? If it’s on wakeup, time your meaty earlier. If it’s after a slide, just tech faster. He’s usually down frames significantly after a slide, so a well-timed jab should beat his throw as well.

3.) I have not progressed to a level where I can properly execute my SJC Ultra 2, so it ends up getting blocked 75% of the time (I mostly just use it as a desperation tactic when I really need to make a large comeback). Should I just pretend I don’t have an Ultra until I’m able to SJC into it?

Well you can ultra through fireballs and combo from super to ultra situationally. Also focus crumple -> U2.

Honestly just practice it. Some people do a full 360 for the first motion and then the qcf + kkk. If you get another special, you didn’t do the ultra motion fully. If you get a jumping normal, you were too slow in your button input. If you get an empty super jump, you were too fast in your button input. If the ultra is blocked, you super jumped too late.

I can occasionally get it off just due to the low skill level of myself and the two people I play with, but they are competent enough to punish my recovery when it fails.

Who cares if you mess it up while you’re learning? Stop worrying about winning, start worrying about getting better.

4.) I understand most people have their “main” and then they have “secondary” characters. Are the secondary characters usually similar to their main or completely different so they can fill a different role/perform better against the main’s poor match-ups?

Depends on the player and whether they feel confident in their counterpicks in a tournament. Mostly different so they can practice their weak points and switch up their gameplan in a tournament. Don’t play a character you hate.

[quote=“Arckan, post:21, topic:159185”]

5.) Arcade sticks. I have a cheaper one currently in shipping (I’m sure it is a “you get what you pay for” scenario, but I digress), but am curious as to some of its uses. My main concern with the 360 controller is I’ll sometimes move the joystick slightly too far and ruining the combo I was going for. Most notably, I have a tendency to accidentally move the joystick up when doing either quarter- or half-circles, which results in my simply jumping into people and getting smacked around. How much more precision does a stick typically give? Will I be any less prone to these accidental motions?[/spoiler]I hate to be the bearer of bad news… but you’re not gonna be happy with a cheaper stick. I’m assuming you bought a SE or something. You should buy a Sanwa joystick and buttons to install in your stick.

A stick is not inherently more precise, but you are offered greater control because the field of motion on your wrist is more conducive to precise and fast qcf’s than your thumb.

[IsleySilverKing]

If I remember correctly Dhalsim has a larger than average throw range (i.e. he can throw you from further distance than most) which may partially explain why he’s getting more throws on you. You may even be crouch teching too early so that your cr.lk comes out first and he’s just throwing while your move is still out and also out of range to hit him. I would try delaying your throw techs versus Sim; you don’t have to tech at the precise moment he throws, the window of time to late tech is pretty lenient.

The idea behind having a secondary character is to cover for your main character’s bad matchups, but of course there are people who play characters that are similar to their main (e.g. Geif main with T.Hawk secondary) so it’s not a rule, but ideally that’s the purpose of a secondary.

[SkilledShinobi]

Play who you find is fun , if you choose someone like the people said above ^^^ and you don’t like them you wont enjoy the game . If ibuki is who you like then putting in all the effort will be easier than someone you dislike. However she has quite a high learning curve , so if you ever feel like you’re getting nowhere stick with it and it will eventually pay off! Hope this helped!

If he doesn’t win and can’t remember set ups , he won’t enjoy the game either and he’ll be back in here with another thread about how he can’t win or start an offence.

I don’t really subscribe to the “play who you like theory” if it’s someone who has no experience with fighting games. It’s easier and quicker to improve with a character that covers a broader range of techniques than one that will involve (for a newbie) throwing kuni’s on every wake up and mashing some buttons when you land or throwing out full screen neck breakers.

Yes but if they REALLY enjoy the characters they will watch tutorials and what not to do’s , and it will be easier to learn when they’re enjoying it , instead of dragging out training sessions with characters they find boring. However playing multiple characters at a low level is very helpful.