I am pretty new and have been playing Adon as my main (probably 100 hours under my belt). At this point, I am trying to figure out what I should put more emphasis on in my training. By now, I am comfortable with execution on any basic special moves, somewhat familiar with normal attacks (such as what are my anti-air options, what are good pokes during footsies), beginning to be able to execute RJ FADC Ultra (however, weaker execution on one side of screen, and not 100% on strong side).
I guess what I am wondering is… should I focus simply on playing games to put what I know into real-time practice, should I begin focusing more on combos (besides simple ones like HPxx RJ for whiff punish, and cross up MK > cr.mk > RJ, which I am fairly comfortable with) or should I try to get my FADC ultras closer to 100% on both sides?
Are there any progression guides out there that gives an opinion on what things should take priority when practising for new players?
Hey Guys … nice to see some life in the forum … I will try to answer your questions.
In general for a beginner are the three magic areas:
Anti Air
Combos
Punish
My advice is --> Try to play as much as possible against opponents on your level or a bit above your level !!! For sure it is good to have someone around that is far far above your skill level but you will often simple not understand why you get humiliated and the learning effect isn’t that great.
BUT … spending some time in P-mode is also a major part of becoming better AND more consistent, you will never become better if your specials don’t come out if you play left --> right or vis versa !!! That is a fact … same is for combos and for AA. So get used to atleast 15-25 min AA/combo/punish/set up training per day or 2-4 times a week (if you have that much time).
Step by Step:
Anti Air:
Start with an AA Button (if you have problems with DPs as AA tools … because of motion or simple reaction). I would suggest standing MK in the first place and close HP if someone is directly above you. DP will nearly always be the superior option BUT if you have problems with DPs on reaction use a normal … it is sooooooo much better to only get 80 damage and a air reset instead of free pressure on yourself or “worst case” a jump in combo.
Advice: Record the dummy with some random jump ins or throw > jump in … to get the AA button/DP into your muscle memory. AA is 50% reaction + 50% prediction … if you got your AA down for “stupid/unsafe” jump ins … go forward and practice DPs and “tight/hard to block” jump ins.
Another thing is the DP short cut for Adons DP (downforward > down > downforward) … learn it … use it … get used to it … for AA and for combos … it will make your life easier AND you will auto-correct much more. It is in the engine --> use it … there is no reason not to use it … all Pros use it. There are other advantages but I don’t want to overstress it now.
Why is AA so important ? First you get damage on your opponent … second (more important) you train your opponent that he can not carelessly jump AND pressure you (push you in the defense)! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT !!! REMEMBER ALWAYS … If your opponent jumps at you means = “Hi dude please punish me … I offer you a free DP or DP > FADC > Ultra 2” … THX
Combos:
And here comes the P-mode again … GET DOWN YOUR BnBs / Max Punish / FADC into ULTRA 2 (mainly as AA). I got a friend that is starting Adon and SF4 and I gave him exactly this advices.
Start with the standard Adon BnB --> cr.lk/cr.lp > cr.lp > light RJ … there are tons of other combos that are possible but this is your first and most important combo to start with … if you are not used to other max punish combos you also use this combo as punish … Simple because your muscle memory will trigger if you get a chance to punish or confirm a hit !!! YOU NEED AND WANT THE DAMAGE !!! Try to get the “throw punish” out of your muscle memory … (e.g. when you block a Ryu DP) … Sure the close HP > hard RJ is the better punish (and in USF4 are even more/better punishes) but consistent punish/damage is better in the first place.
This totally depends on your skill/muscle memory level … you should just ask yourself:
“Do I get 95% of the possible punishes ?” if not “Why?” “Execution? Do I drop it?” or “Reaction?” “I do want to punish the whiff DP with Ultra 2 but I always throw!?” Why ? … It is muscel memory and ingame/match up experience … you need actually punish a whiffed DP with Ultra 2 a couple of times to get it into your hands … it is not a theory thing … it is a memory thing !!!
Next step --> If you have the combo down (left side / right side) in game and under pressure … than go for other combos and practice them … but never forget to train your fingers the BnBs on a regular basis. The logical next step is to get the (normal >) DP > FADC > Ultra 2 down … for max punish or simple as max punish AA … same thing … P-mode on > dummy on jump ins > AA with DP > FADC > Ultra 2 … this has two major benefits … you practice your fingers and your AA reaction.
Other fancy combos like close mk > cr.lp > cr.mp > light RJ > medium RJ (corner) you can practice but don’t waste your time on it if you have still problems with BnBs and Max Punish !!!
Punish:
There is the #1 concept in USF4 --> If you get the health bar from your opponent down you win … XD … that is the way the cookie crumbles. In Beginner vs Beginner matches will be a loooooooot of drops and execution failures or simple bad reads (aka random DPs) the one that will win is the one that gets more damage aka Anti Air & Punishes … so … get used to high damage punishes.
As a rule of thumb … train your BnB Punish (see above) if you get a chance to punish something that is minus 3-8 on block go for your BnB … if you got something like a whiffed DP go close HP > hard RJ. Nothing less nothing more … Ultra 2 punish is nice … but first get used to the regular max. punish.
Advice: If you have problems with close HP > hard RJ … never mind … force yourself to do it … even if you drop it sometimes … it is better than going back to a throw punish !!!
So … if you practice this and (even more important) implement this in real matches your win ratio and general skill level will increase dramatically … and if you do so … be proud of your new skills … your solid AA game or your max punishes … always remember … everybody has started with the same problems … there are only a handful of naturals around!
What comes next !?
So … all this above will take time and you should not focus on too much other stuff … it will delay your Adon and your general game/skill.
But what next ? Well … basically it is the same just the 2.0 version:
Improve your defense --> Learn tech throw timings / block tricky jump ins / learn delayed DPs / BACKDASH !!!
improve your combos/punishes --> get more damage out of your combos … especially in the corner or after jump ins / learn FADC ultra 2 combos
Improve your AA --> “NO !!! YOU CAN NOT JUMP AT ME!!!”
Improve your offense --> Learn some basic set ups that are hard to block and learn to hit confirm after the set up / use tick throws and counter hit set ups
I had not put “blocking” here … it is so important that you should always improve/practice your defense. But one thing I really want to encourage you regarding defense options --> LEARN AND USE YOUR BACKDASH … it is your best friend in this game !!!
That is all so far … for sure you can go even further and learn:
Frame traps into counterhit combos
character specific combos & set ups (especially the fuzzy guard stuff)
other stuff
And if you feel comfortable with your arcade stick or pad and with Adon and all above … and your muscle memory takes control over your body and you don’t panic anymore … THAN … you can forget all about this and begin to play SF and real footsie.
learn all the different ranges
learn whiff punish
learn all the match ups in detail
learn mind games
learn to play against your opponent not against the char you are facing
WELCOME TO STREET FIGHTER … you will not regret it …
wow!!! GREAT POST! SO HELPFUL to me as a newbie who just started really wanting to know how to truly PLAY SF! I’m printing this out and keeping with me at all times! I’m about 500PP and play about an hour and a half 4-5 days/week
@Daaadom3 thank you very much this is a excellent breakdown of step by step pregression and i believe this will drastically improve my gameplay with practice very much appreciated
Hi … sure … basically it is so that Adon got a “consistency” problem with his combos … in theory he got high damage + stun combos BUT … they depend sometimes on the opponent crouching or not / hitboxes / distance spacing. All this combo above are regular “easy” to execute combos and are the corner stone of Adons combos but to know against which char you can perform better/harder combos/punishes can be wonderful.
As a rule of thumb --> you can replace the cr.lp with cr.lk in all these combos above if you have your execution down to 1 frame links … sometime it makes sense sometimes not … My advice --> learn cr.lk > cr.lk > RJ … BUT don’t do it when you want to add a cr.mp or coming from a close HP … especially now that the cr.lp got +6 on hit.
cr.lk -> cr.lp xx RJ --> Replace cr.lp with cr.lk
cr.lk -> cr.lp -> cr.mp xx RJ --> Only worth in the corner OR when you can connect a EX RJ
cl.mk > cr.lp > cr.mp xx RJ --> Standard combo when your are close to the corner (very easy to do) … they are chars you can connect a EX RJ after the LK RJ mid-screen !!! (Gen, Yun, Cammy, Rose, … )
cl.hp -> cr.lp -> cr.mp xx RJ --> Corner Punish … basically the same situation as with both combos above.
#1 Example:
In general his BnB is cr.lk > cr.lk > LK RJ … it is a 2 frame link combo and does solid damage BUT it does whiff against the Shotos if you are not deep/close enough when they are crouching … so you normaly use in this case the EX RJ … which does even more damage and stun but is normally not worth the meter.
#2
cr.lk > cr.lk > MK RJ does work on Gen and Cody regardless if they are standing or crouching AND the MK RJ will set up a safe jump and will do a bit more damage & stun against this two guys (they are more this works)
#3
cl.mk > cr.lp > cr.mp > LK RJ is the go to combo if you are close to the corner … so you can score another MK RJ … and you can even replace the cr.lp with cr.lk … but than you get a 1 frame link … your decision if this is worth the 10 more damage !? On some chars (e.g. Chun) you can connect a full EX RJ after the cr.mp … so you can score combos like this cl.MK > cr.lk/lp > cr.mp > EX RJ
Excited ?
#4
close MK/MP > cr.mp > RJ Again char specific if you can connect a full RJ or a EX RJ … than again on some chars you can do close MK > cr.mp > LK RJ > EX RJ (mid-screen) … this is the best punish against Yun for example if you hit a neutral jump HK --> and you can hit confirm this --> nj.HK > see if it hits > close mk > cr.mp > LK RJ > EX RJ … (it is a 1 framer) but this baby nets you ~ 400 damage / 600 Stun … !!!
#5
jump in MK > cr.lp > close MK > RJ (MK or HK) … FADC if you like … this baby is also char specific … or lets say side specific … on some chars this baby does always work and on some only if you hit with the jump in in front! As you see this is the superior combo compared to cr.lk > cr.lp > LK RJ … why ? … Because it nets more damage & Stun and you can even use any type of RJ … for safe jump / damage / FADC Ultra 2 … if you have Ultra 2 stocked (fully loaded) you will hit for 500 damage !!! if you do jump in MK > cr.lp > close MK > MK RJ > FADC > Ultra 2 !!! You can hit confirm it and it is a 2 frame link combo … isn’t this nice … yes … BUT it does not work consistently against all of the cast and it also depends if you hit your opp. crouching or standing …
I am sure you got the point … knowing against whom you can do advanced combos & punishes give Adon much more damage potential and also more safe jump opportunities and mix ups (e.g. fuzzy guard set ups).
I am currently working on a char specific combo & tech guide for the full cast … but I got too much to do and was not able to bring this on paper (google doc) … basically you can define the best combos/punishes/set ups for every char or char groups (e.g. shotos) but it is a lot of work … to check what works crouching and standing and after a jump in … and so on … and so on … that is the reason why you normally don’t see more fancy combos from Adon players …
Some great stuff here already, and I strongly agree with Daaadom3’s breakdown. I would also suggest practicing the Instant Air Jaguar Kick (IAJK) as it a signature move for Adon, and a strong way to apply pressure with relative safety. It also opens up lot of combo potential. The timing is quite fast and will require practice to master but when done fast enough the move is very powerful.
IAJK is most commonly performed as: Up-Forward (forward jump) > QCB, K.
Interesting… any reason up-forward instead of just up?
Also, the note in method 1 (8213+k) in the video doesn’t make a lot of sense: “The key to this method is to hit the kick button straight after you jump”. But his inputs show him pressing the kick button after he has performed the QCB motion, NOT after the Up input.
Good old IAJK questions … guys there are tons of threads about it here in the forum … XD
Too answer your question:
the Up-Forward input give you just a bit forward momentum, especially when you want to evade bigger or higher fireballs
The input is 8214+K … and what he means is that you need to hit kick directly after Adon leaves the ground … but honestly … you cant visually confirm this … the IAJK is just timing and muscle memory … you need to learn/feel the timing and find your own method that works for you … there is no good/bad or right/wrong method
Both methods works fine:
2149(8)+K or 9(8)214
As far as I know the height restriction is something between 12-16 frames … so you have to delay the kick input according to this restriction.
The only disadvantage is that you basically buffer the 214 motion and that your opp. can see this and can prepare for a IAJK … on the other side you can trick him and maybe bait something. Other advantage is that it is easier to buffer the IAJK into a cr.mp or another button.
Both methods are good and have there up/downsides.
I assume you are still referring to IAJKs? Sounds like you are doing the QCB U/UF method. I used to do that back when I started but changed to the 9(8)214 method. I can’t do the first one I mentioned now. It’s very strict on the inputs and more so on the timing/speed of the execution. Not too fast and not too slow. If you want to stick with that method, you are just going to have to sit in training room and play around with the speed you do it. Try doing it slowly and gradually build up the speed with each attempt. That way, you should hopefully get an idea of how fast you need to do it.
It could be totally psychological, but I find doing the forward-jumps make my execution better than when I was using neutral jump. In either case, lots of practice mode.
Try this … 2149 … let the stick go neutral and than push the button … honestly the buffering method is much more reliable than the other … and to buffering in general … just practice cr.mp and buffer the 214 in the cr.mp recovery than to 9 … let stick go neutral … kick … it is very easy if you got the timing once.
thanks… I had a very frustrating training/playing session last night. I worked on this but I just can’t get it close to the ground like I’ve seen it be the most effective.
Yeah i agree with daaadom, the first time i was practicing the qcb up version the IAJK didnt come out. I even recorded myself doing it until i released the stick by mistake and the move came out and ive been doing it like that ever since. Its really interesting that both methods are used for different situations so its good to learn both methods.