What not to do...

Coming from USF4, I know I’ve developed habits that can be bad in 3S. Any tips from people here about what NOT to do?

I think you can’t really say specific things not to do. Most answers you get will be kinda miopic or self serving like “welcome to a man’s game” kinds of stuff. So instead, I’ll list things you should do!

Familiarize yourself with your character’s standard hit confirms and punishes.

Watch Japanese footage of your character to see how they are played.

Be observant and thoughtful. They’re both SF games and there will be some overlap between them for what works, but there will also be a lot of differences. Pay attention to how you lose and either ask or use training mode or watch footage if you’re unsure how to deal with something.

Play a lot - the easiest way to familiarize yourself with the game is just to play.

I guess one thing you can safely say is don’t stop blocking during blockstrings - in 3s you will get hit if you stop blocking during a true blockstring.

Easy one.
Don’t pressure with ‘safe’ normals/specials against a passive looking opponent.
Really quick way to be parried which instantly turns your pressure into their pressure.

Don’t expect backdash to save you from a whole lot. Back dash is really more just for spacing (its an explicit distance/timing), it doesn’t afford you any specific invulnerability.

Don’t try to do any vortex shit. Knockdown game in 3S is totally different.

Thanks for the info guys. Yeah, I’ve looked up vids to study. Noticed you can’t fall into a rhythm in 3S or you’ll get parried.

I also found I might like Alex more than Ryu. I really like the feel of 3S a lot more than 4.

USF4 was beginning to get stale and I hate a lot of its game mechanics. Still trying to get rid of bad habits from 4 though. :*

Guess I came up with a short list of what not to do while in the john. Kappa

-Don’t mash out. This isn’t SF4.
-Combos aren’t aren’t like 4. Keep it short and simple.
-Don’t always antiair the same way. Sometimes just blocking is good.
-Don’t use USF4 input shortcuts. Clean up your inputs.

I’ll think of more as I fight more people.

In the vein of not hitting buttons, I’m going to one-up this lesson with something you need to know about all fighting games but is EXTREMELY important in 3S:

No wasted motions.

Everything you do needs a purpose. Whether it’s just to build meter or if it’s to control a certain space that you think the opponent is going to occupy, every single step in this game is crucial. Third Strike rewards the thinking man. Do not waste a single step.

I think this game rewards the thinking man with good execution. I need work in that area. Input leniency in 4 really stuck with me.

But I understand what you’re saying, Duralath. I mained Hawk in 4. Spacing is important to a grappler.

I have a suggestion In the vein of what Duralath said except I want to word it differently.

No wasted motions is like assuming you have full control of what you and they do in any match. So to counter that, I’d like to word it the way we used to word it way back in the day.

No unnecessary inputs.

don’t press buttons that don’t serve a real purpose, don’t tap directions you don’t need, don’t parry when you don’t need to, etc.

I would like to add, don’t double tap if you don’t need to. These games punish you via the turn order so sometimes pressing buttons or doing things unnecessarily messes with other timings.

More or less, I understand it as “no wasted motion” particularly because of the mentality I have, but yes, Dander, that’s precisely how to go about it.

It doesn’t necessarily imply you have full control of a match; only that you are in control of yourself and what you are doing. Control of your opponent hinges on how the match has gone and what you have done to limit their offense while simultaneously expanding yours.

The reasoning is all the same, though.