Why Training Mode?

Current Fighting Games Fighting Game Discussion
1

Just a simple question, what do people practice when in training mode?

Throughout all my years of fighting games, I just improved by playing others, I always thought that playing others, especially if stronger is the best way to improve since your getting that real world experience.

Lately I keep hearing people talking about how big of a factor training mode can be, and they make it sound as if they spend most of their playing time in training mode and that it is more beneficial to them then doing something like running sets or trying to find good competition online.

Here is an example at 42:28 sec mark https://youtu.be/_8FhlusZ-t0?t=2548

If you already have any idea of what each character can do, what are these people practicing in training mode?

Execution? but what if I can already execute all of my stuff.

Reactions with random block? ok what if im satisfied with my hit confirm ability

Reversal options, punish options etc, what if I already know that

To me, after such things, the value of training mode greatly diminishes.

But some people make it sound like there is always something that they are doing in Training mode that directly improve their game, and it sounds to me like, as if they are always there, and the value of training mode never diminishes, for example I hear a lot about how Infiltration always spends a great deal of time there.

To me it’s almost just like a boxer spending time with a punching bag or doing boxing drills, I imagine the better boxer is the one whos had many actual boxing matches than the one whos had equal amounts of boxing training without fighting as much.

What do these so called “lab rats” do in training mode? It just seems to me like time would be better spent just playing people.

2

Confirms, combos, movement, advanced tech, studying ranges and hit boxes…the list goes on

3

No matter what the intent may be, no matter how mere it is, there is always something to do and learn in the training room; you haven’t adapted to all of the game’s secrets.

4

Sounds like you don’t know how to use training mode. Also you said what if you’re satisfied with your hit confirms? Dude, if you’re not hitting them 100% of the time, you shouldn’t be ‘‘satisfied’’ with them.

5

I think I don’t know how to use training mode, thats why I am asking.

I have used it to replicate certain situations I was unfamiliar with to figure out what to do, practice hitconfirming earlier when I got the game, some combos, some punishes on block, some options on wakeup, a little bit of parry/v trigger tricks. But after I understood those things, the value of training mode greatly diminish for me because I either don’t see what else to practice, or don’t see how further practice will help. It seems to me the only thing worth doing is just playing relatively strong players, you know, iron sharpens iron kind of thing, and this always worked for me in all fighters I ever played.

But I get the feeling some players, it’s as if they ALWAYS have something they can do in training mode, and the value of training mode never diminishes, even Kbrad sounded like he valued Training mode more than playing people. So I am trying to figure out, what else are these dudes doing in training mode? how is that time spent in training mode ( after you’ve figure out the basics aka the stuff that has been mentioned so far in this thread ) will benefit you more than playing relatively good players?

The only thing I can see that makes sense is trying to come up with “advanced tech” like Stonedrum said…but how do you even come up with “tech” or “ideas” if not inspired by an Aha you got in game? Like for example, the only “tech” I developed was after having playing many Dalsims that teleported on wakeup, which led me to develop “tech” in training mode to option select it. Ok so now that I have figured out how to punish sim for teleporting, what is the point of going to training mode again now? See thats the thing im trying to figure out, and this goes for anything people do in training mode, I don’t see the point of staying there, but I know these guys are not idiots so I am trying to see what they are doing there sitting in training mode.

I don’t know man maybe I am just the type of player that can only learn through actually playing people, maybe that is the only way I can get those Aha moments. I aint getting no Ahas sitting in training mode.

And yes I am satisfied with my hitconfirms, I think anybody who played shotos long enough in 3rd strike will have an easy time hitconfirming as Ryu in SFV.

6

I mean training mode is a boon up until pure mastery of your character. Literally highest level a player can take the character. Only then does training mode become somewhat moot and only somewhat. There are always things to discover or search for. Incredibly subtle optimizations to any situation or matchup, new setups…

If you hadn’t noticed fighting games are complex as hell. This is the thing though, it’s not like you sit in practice mode all day then take to battle. No. You play the game, get inspired or discover something. Or get yo ass whoopt that draws you back into training mode. Maybe you saw a new setup that you’ve never thought of. Maybe you’re losing a specific matchup too much. Maybe you want to try and pull your learned techniques and execution together without the heat of battle. You’d be surprised what you learn from going to the lab and just fucking around. I mean scientists in real life don’t even always mean to discover what they do. They just do. And even if what you discover is not as tangible as a specific tech, then you can bet your booty that you inevitably gain a deeper unexplainable insight into the game that begins to open you up into new possibilities. Fighting games are kinda like that. You watch a pro player and you’re like hmmm. I can do all that shit. Why are they so guuuud. But pro players probably had to break and put back together their play countless times to get to their level of understanding. It might not make immediate sense but it begins to click like a Jedi mind trick.

Only hit dat lab when you feel the need. If you don’t, then stick to matches for now. Inevitably if you seek high level play you’ll understand when and why to use training mode.

Scrub ._.

7

Because practice never hurts.

Even athletes continue to do certain drills just to make sure that their skills remain sharp.

The same applies to pro players. For examples, I’ve seen FChamp look for a free station at the middle of a tournaments just so he can go into training mode and practice his movement with Magneto. I’ve seen Ryan spend up to half an hour just plink dashing back and forth across the screen.

And even beyond that, the fact of the matter is that there is always something in your game that you can improve on and training mode is the perfect place to work on this.

8

Because at the top level even the tiniest difference can matter. That slightly better spacing is why the other guy won. Not having to think about how to block your set up and instead focusing on your patterns is why they other guy won. Using that one frame punish they practiced is why they won

You can only think about so much at any given moment and you can only think so fast. Champions don’t have faster reactions, they’ve just drilled to the point where they don’t have to think about what they’re doing. Remember when you were first learning how to block cross ups and how tough it was? The more you blocked them the easier it became. Training mode let’s you train in any situation of your choosing so you can build muscle memory and try out different things in a controlled environment

9

Well, there’s something to be said for learning new tech. Just look at Daigo showing off Ryu’s reverse DP anti-Dhalsim tech, or Graham Wolfe showing how instant-air Lightning Legs and Dhalsim’s Yoga Gale will universally lose out to some buttons across the entire cast, Necalli’s stomp can be beaten by projectile invincibility, or that you can’t be thrown on the first three frames of wake-up, meaning you can both block meaties and jump throws if your timing is right. That’s the kind of stuff that is hard to figure out in a regular match, because it will only come up every so often and you might mistime your move or mess up an input. That’s when grinding it out in Training Mode helps out a lot. The real value is in being able to set up a specific situation and just repeat it again and again and again until you’ve figured it out, something that’s obviously more valuable for top players who can’t just go to Youtube or Twitter and look up tech invented by better players.

10

Muscle memory on combos and setups can never be good enough. Even the best players miss combos from time to time.

It’s also a lot easier to react to a situation if you’ve practiced said situation.