Been addicted to Fallout for the last couple months and picked SF back up today.
I got whooped. My execution was ok for the most part, but the stuff I was thinking was just absurd; and I knew it.
Just wanted to get my head back on straight by getting input on what type of stuff is going on in the heads of my fellow demons during a match. General and specific matchup thoughts welcomed.
Thanks in advance~
I think the worst think is just "how can I get in and mix them up"
Akuma has one of the best sweeps in the game, can out fireball many characters, a great St.RH and Cr.MK, hes not just about demon flips and execution, think of footsies too, sure if you get a whiff punish and you land a sweep, get in there and mix them up, but don’t just think that you always have to jump or demon flip in and try stupid things.
See above ^ not that it’s a bad thing to ask by any means… quite the opposite.
What kind of tactics/characters have been beating you? There is an entire thread for match-up thoughts/knowledge, so I don’t think commenting on that in here would be appropriate.
As for what my thoughts are… well, I picked up Akuma back in vanilla, before people realized how amazing he was in that game. I felt like he was one of the best characters in the game, and although I was probably correct mostly due to luck as I didn’t understand the game all that well, I ended up being right, and I went into every match feeling like I had a stronger set of tools than my opponent. I focused on how I could change my play style radically depending on the situation/character/player, ranging from crazy offense to the really annoying jump back air fireball approach that was quite popular in early 2009 (lol)… and that I could overcome any deficit in a match with one Ultra or a couple of his insane combos. These days, and especially post 2012 unless something changes, the “my character is way better than yours” mantra doesn’t have quite the same effectiveness it once did, but I still believe in Akuma and find that reminding myself of that as well as how versatile his abilities are and to take advantage of said abilities/versatility helps me a lot.
Some points to consider offensively, some of which can be applied to any character you’re playing/any match-up and could go into the defensive category (the truth is, offense and defense are two parts of the same whole, maaaaaaan), some are Akuma specific:
Am I…
-picking appropriate times to attack?
-making good use of my knockdowns, keeping pressure on and getting damage?
-making good use of the times when I pin my opponent in the corner?
-attacking too much or too little?
-mixing up my attacks enough - fireballs, air/ground, low attacks, THROWING, various demon flip mix-ups
-appropriately punishing his mistakes?
-using moves at the appropriate ranges?
-failing to recognize that certain offensive approaches aren’t working?
And defensively
Am I…
-blocking? hahaha blocking low?
-being thrown repeatedly?
-pressing too many buttons/trying to throw tech and paying for it?
-being smart when I’m knocked down? are you teleporting away when you can? are you continuing to teleport even when your opponent has shown he can and will punish it?
-falling for the same tactics repeatedly?
-doing my best to stay in the range where my opponent’s offense is less effective?
-focus attacking or demoning his attacks if they are predictable enough?
-making smart attempts to break his offensive momentum (i.e., escaping the corner when you can, mashing SRK occasionally especially if you have two bars)
-losing more life from occasional, big mistakes or from smaller stuff (projectiles, pokes, throws) adding up over time?
All I can think of for now. Hope that helps.
this, most likely.
No tactic or character in specific has been beating me in particular.I’m losing a lot, but it’s more like, I’m not in the same mind set and I’m getting beaten by myself by doing dumb things. Like panic wakeup ultras… and mashing the armageddon out before they do anything as I’m teleport baiting after a palm whiff…mashing dp through blockstrings…not teching obvious grabs…not inputting the first two lps into my sweep to counter focuses and dive kicks… getting crossed up. The list goes on and on.
It’s like I know it, but I keep doing the crazy stuff anyway because the wrong stuff is going on in my head during a match. I look at replays and it’s like I’m not even trying to win, but just get that xup tatsu off, just get that srk, that whatever.
I’m going into my next match with you and Siitch’s stuff. Even if I have to repeat it to get it ingrained.
Thanks guise~
Lol, how’s that working out for you mistara? Too pro for me, lol
Hmm… uh, I don’t mean this to sound harsh, but I think what I quoted there pretty much tells me what the problem is - you may not be losing to any tactic or character in particular, but that’s because you’re losing to every tactic and character. You aren’t analyzing your play enough, which you admit yourself. My list of questions wasn’t about pinpointing one or two things that you need to work on, it’s about pinpointing EVERYTHING you need to work on. No matter how well I’m doing, I try to ask myself those questions as often as I can. I want to stress that I’m not calling you a crappy player when I say you’re losing to every tactic. Everybody loses to every tactic sometimes. My point is that you need to analyze every aspect of your game.
You have to actively work to improve your strategies, habits, knowledge, etc. The good news is that you recognize some of the things you’re doing wrong. The ability to self-criticize and self-analyze has got to be one of the most important - and most overlooked - skills necessary to become a great player. But you’ve gotta actively work to make better decisions… set goals and repeat them like mantras while you play.
You can’t just say “man, I’m playing like shit and taking risks that I know I shouldn’t take.” If you’re doing too many random U2s, you have to drill that shit into your head until you stop doing it. That’s really all there is to it. If there aren’t several things I’m trying to add or subtract from my gameplay at any given time, then I am not doing my best to improve. For months, I’ve been meaning to get in the habit of buffering demon into cr. hk, cr. mk, and far st. hk. I went into training room and it seemed to me that you can only cancel them in the last few frames, and I questioned how worth it it really was… nevertheless, I forced myself to think about it. Yesterday, I was playing a Makoto, and it seemed like I had the third round in the bag. She was down to pixels, and while I didn’t have a ton of health, I was feeling good. However, I fucked up on a sweep and it whiffed, and with really nice reactions the dude did U2… for a split second, I couldn’t believe I was about to lose, but then right before the ultra flash ended, I remembered canceling the sweep… I mashed out that fucking U1 and it came out when her foot was about a centimeter from my grill. It hit and I won. Gotta force yourself to get out of your comfort zone.
I hear ya 9… Or is it “open bracket”-NINE-“Close bracket”? Anyways… Yeah, so usually, after a short or long hiatus away from this game, I’m usually caught by the stupidest shit as I sit there wondering “What the EFF is this idiot doing???..” Often times, thinking instead of doing what I know gets me in trouble. I lost so many matches, so many points, because I was not paying attention to my play, it’s ridiculous.
Right now though, I’m more easy going: I know Capcom is set to fuck us up the ass with their damned v.2012 patch. I don’t care so much anymore and I’m trying to enjoy myself until the patch hits. Crazy shenanigans like resets, df super setups, multiple x-up tatsu, sweep attempts (I got this 8K BP Guile to fall for it 3 times in a row!!!).
Just fuck it! That’s my motto now! 
Don’t worry about being harsh, because that may very well be the case.Players that can’t take crit shouldn’t ask for help. I personally believe you feel as bad as you play, so I don’t mind losing if I know I was simply outplayed, but if I’ve gotta lose I want to lose to people better than me and learn from my mistakes to get better. I guess it really is just a matter of drilling it all back in.
Played a couple of matches against a friend that plays Yun and it wasn’t as bad since I did ask myself a couple of the questions in our set and ended up taking a few matches with good footsies and appropriate pressure. I already know Yun isn’t exactly free for Akuma either and I’m going to have a harder time against him than a character like (Boxer), but I do feel like I’m slowly easing into my old skill level. At the very least opponents are beginning to respect that there is no free focus when I’m sweeping with a stored ultra again again.
It’s either Venom. The idiot I’m usually referring to is me though, lol. Crazy stuff only really catches players doing crazy stuff themselves. Don’t really play on ranked myself, as I found out early on that the points aren’t really equivalent to skill level. Don’t remind me about that retarded 2012 patch… my timings off with some character specific setups from f.throw but I don’t even know if I should relearn them after hearing about that… and our trade off is a smidgen of damage on ultra 2 and ex-air fbs outta demon flip? If they’re gonna hit us that hard then give us back our sweep stun or our low recovery on our demon flip grab. They even changed his vs theme into that Ryu remix crap. It’s like they made a glass canon but decided it’d be better if he was a plastic starter gun instead…makes me freaking sick…
I’m hoping he gets thrown in SFxTekken though since trailers have got me intrigued. He’s pretty monstrous in MvC3 though thankfully.
All the advice is really appreciated though guys. I know you didn’t even have to open the thread, let alone give me your thoughts.
Thanks again.
This