A complete newbie's question about getting good at SSFIV

#1

G’day folks. Since I’m sure everyone’s got stuff to do I’ll keep it short.

What does it take to become decent – in my opinion, that’d be being able to defeat about 75% of the players online – at street fighter?

Does it really require extensive knowledge of frame data, knowing nearly every worthwhile combo of a character and/or doing nothing but street fighter during a large part of your average week?

Y’see. I suck. I don’t seem to get the game (for instance by getting my behind handed to me by people below a 100 BP and PP, even though I’ve gotten over a 1000PP for a while) and I wonder whether I’m just doing something wrong, or whether I’m ignorant of something, or whether there’s something I haven’t thought of.

And lastly, sorry to bug everyone about this, but I have nowhere else to ask.

#2

online?

step1: block random DP
step2: punish

repeat until win

also, Newbie Saikyo Dojo check this place out… find your main and go to their subforum and read/ask questions there… practice lots… realize that everything you’re reading/practicing is worthless because online all you find are people who die to the above 2 step process.

#3

Ohoho Gwass hoppa…Knowledge only comes with experience.

Honestly, there is no quick way to be good. Even learning the combos will take you only so far. Frame data is not really that important to being good and just is only a mathmatical way to figure what works and doesn’t, people don’t see those numbers in their head when they fight. There are so many factors that go into being good to really pinpoint it. You can spend so much time on what you are doing, but what really matters in any fighter is knowing what the opponent can and wants to do.

Yes. You gotta play if you want to be good.

#4

try to find someone with whom you can play with in person, or over a REALLY good connection. Make sure you feel like they are either Greater than or equal to your current skill level (this will take some trial and error). Play against this person/people as often as is practical. By playing against a real human that you KNOW you will have a challenge against on a regular basis, you will slowly, but consistantly, get better.

If a rivalry is involved, then that jus helps all the more.

his is how I got good at Smash Bros and am getting good at Marvel Vs. Capcom 2.

#5

Frame data? No.

Learning every combo? No.

Playing SF 24 hours a day? No.

What you need is just simply the basics of the game. For starters you’ll need to know the special moves of your character. Tack on a few go to normals and you’re all set to take on flowcharts. For example: as Ryu, Sagat, or any shoto, basic zoning is all you need to beat flowcharts. cr.MK, hado, and dp. You don’t need to know frame data, you don’t need to learn advanced combos (cr.MK xx hado and cr.MK xx dp is all you need), and you don’t need to play SF 24 hours a day to learn how to do basic zoning. Done.

If you play another type of character, like say rushdown Rufus/Cammy/etc., then you’ll need to learn how to bait and then punish. Stopping obvious jumpins is just as important, but most of your damage is going to come from purposely dropping your combo to bait that shoryuken, and then getting free hits.

#6

Thanks for the answers so far, guys. I had completely missed the Saikyo dojo section, for one. I’ll await more replies and refrain from asking further questions unless I really can’t find an answer hidden amongst the many layers of the forums.

#7

To compete in tournaments, yes, but not to become what your definition of decent is.

See the first reply to beat 90% of players online. Just sit there and let them rush you, block their unsafe moves (hint: it’s almost every single move they use), and punish accordingly. Free win.

But yes, to become actually good at the game, it does require you to play a lot and really learn the game. But no, you do not have to play for a large part of your average week, there are plenty of top players with real lives, jobs and families who play probably only a few hours a week and still place very well in tournaments.

#8

Frame data is not that necessary for anything. But, it is not as daunting as it may seem either.

It’s actually quite simple and can be quite useful.

#9

Punish your opponents for their mistakes. And even punish them before they make their mistakes. All you need is Yomi. :cool:

#10

If only online were a whole bunch of random SRK’s… No, really. I’ve run into players that just smoke me for various reasons, but not random SRK’s. I think the shortest way of putting it is that I can’t see when I need to tech a throw (because I’m afraid if I try I’ll eat an SRK) and since I don’t, I eat it. I can’t seem to win that one for some reason. And I can’t seem to get out of cross-ups well.

Okay, once you know how to do this, I’m sure it’s easy as pie to deal with, but I’ve spent at least the better part of last week to figure it out, and nada. Heck, as self-pitying as this sounds, I even contemplated quitting SSFIV altogether after starting this topic yesterday. Still am. Aaaaand I’m going to shut up now because I’m whining. -_-

#11

Don’t give in!
quick tips:

  1. try different characters (I SUCK with basic chars ryu,ken,akuma. So i learned charge characters (vega,chun-li)
  2. basic block pattern for ppl jumping in is high, low. then u can respond w/say a cr.lp/lk to cr.rh
  3. crossups and throws are hard to stop, but most players will follow similar patterns with them, dont worry so much about teching throws as keeping players from getting that close to you.
  4. keep ur a$$ out of the corner, corner trap= death
  5. defense is the most important aspect, certain chars follow patterns (ie. ryu: hurricane kick -> dp, hit out of air -> dp, wake up dp. Guile:turtle in corner throwing sb’s till fk range etc)
    6.be patient it takes time (heck i’ve been playing since vanilla and still only win about 60% of the time)
#12

If you next to your opponent, go for the throw. Your only in real danger of getting hit for it when you try and throw as they get up. If you eat a SRK when you try to throw someone while standing, its because you weren’t close enough.

for cross-ups, if someone jumps towards you from a close range, try and walk underneath them. You’ll either make them miss, or you’ll block the cross-up. Be ready to throw if they miss.