New Stick - Need Tips

[GoggleCandy]

I've been playing SF4 on and off since it came out. After a successful weekend for my store, I spoiled myself and bought an Arcade Stick ($80 model) for the 360. After playing through arcade mode once or twice, I can feel why a stick is preferred, but there's still a learn curve as I was making some dumb input mistakes after playing on the crappy D-Pad for so long. Any tips for someone just switching over to a stick?

[Densuo]

practice... alot. also, head to tech talk for parts info.

[FuriousJodo]

Took me quite a while to get used to doing DP motions on the stick. Had a hell of a time getting an Ultra out. Just practice a lot.

[GoggleCandy]

Been a week or so of playing. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting utterly frustrated and tired of losing to super scrubs now while I learn the stick. *groan*

I don't want to see Fuerte get hurt just cause I want to use a stick, ya know? :-p

[Densuo]

Keep at it. and Dont be discouraged. focus on the motions. you CAN NOT afford to be sloppy with Fuerte. I think this is more critical for him then any other character in the game

[Toptimus Prime]

I've been playing with a stick for about a month and the buttons have pretty much become second nature for me. The thing is tho is that I have some trouble w/ some of the motions on the 1P side, especially when it comes to ultra and RSF. Anybody have any specific advice on that? 2P side seems much easier for me cuz I mere have to push but on the 1P side I have to pull so it's a lil more difficult for me.

[ReyArt]

I've been playing with a stick for about a month and the buttons have pretty much become second nature for me. The thing is tho is that I have some trouble w/ some of the motions on the 1P side, especially when it comes to ultra and RSF. Anybody have any specific advice on that? 2P side seems much easier for me cuz I mere have to push but on the 1P side I have to pull so it's a lil more difficult for me.


Funny, I'm pretty much in the same boat and have trouble from P1 side too!

Coincidentally, today I leveled up a tad on the P1 side and can now do Ultras a bit more consistently and all it took was some very focused repetitions of the move until it came out more naturally and consistently (it's still nowhere near 100% yet).

I would have to say that it just takes lots of repetition and practice which gains you experience until something clicks and then you level up!

[3nigmat1c]

I dig the issues with the QCF and HCF motions with the stick, I know everyone says dont' ride the gate, but it may also help to listen for the clicks when the switches get pressed. There's one on every side (4) so if you do QCF and you hear two clicks then you've done the motion. It might help someone.

[FuriousJodo]

Yeah, I actually use the clicks to help me too on my SE.

[El_Twelve]

Not sure if this helps, but there are a few ways of holding the joystick.

Some guys like to grab the stick with their palm over the ball, not touching the base at all with their hand, which is a bit of a rough way. This means you use practically your entire arm to move it, and it wastes a lot of energy.

I like resting the bottom of my hand on the base, holding the ball from the side a bit like a cup, gripping with thumb, index and middle fingers. Some people use all their fingers. You use your wrist a lot more this way and you have more control.

There are also people who use an inverted grip. Turn your hand on its back, slide the stick between your index and middle finger and grip the ball with thumb, index and middle finger. Supposedly this gives the most fine control.

Buttons... The more fingers you can effectively use to hit buttons, the better. I started out only using my index and middle fingers, but now I use 4 fingers. I don't use my little finger because I'm too clumsy with it.

[Evidentz]

Training. Training. Training.

It took me a good week or so to be 100% comfortable with my Mayflash stick. I just recently got the Tournament Edition SFIV Fight Stick and fighting on arcade sticks is now a breeze. I can't even play with the controller anymore.

I spent hours in Training Mode completing trials for El Fuerte and that really helped me out with getting used to the stick and getting comfortable with my executions. When I felt I was ready I played online for a bit. After countless losses I started picking up my game.

One mistake I was making with the stick was my hand placement. I would try to keep my fingers on all the top 3 buttons no matter what. I felt as if I was obliged to hit a certain button with a certain finger, which really didn't help. Let your hand go free. Just find a way that is comfortable for you to fight. All of this is found while practicing and it may take a while to get used to. As corny as it sounds: Training Mode and the Trials are your best friends.