SSF4 Combo Timing

#1

Got my new MvC3 TE FightStick delivered yesterday and started playing around with it this morning. To say I’m a noob both with a stick and with SSF4 would be pretty accurate. I used to play a TON of fighting games in arcades growing up and was pretty good back in the SF2 and MK1/2 days, but didn’t put in a ton of time in the console era until I recently decided to get back into it. Been playing a bunch of MK with DualShock controller and now that I have my FightStick, I’m getting into SSF4.

I picked Ken this morning and did some Training mode and started his Challenge mode to get both a feel for the stick and for the move sets. Figured Ken was a good start since he has a good selection of moves.

Anyway, I’m having trouble figuring out timing for some combos. In MK, you’re pretty much hammering out the combos very quickly, but SSF4 seems more about linking than chaining, so (from what I gather) it’s a lot more timing-based for when to input the next command. For example, his Challenge #9 with MK -> HP, I just can’t figure out the timing.

Does anyone know of a good way to figure out the proper timing for the moves? Should I just check out YouTube to see when the inputs should go? Not looking to get Daigo level good at the game, but I want to get better and have fun fighting with friends and online.

From what I’ve seen already, SRK is an amazing community!

  • Matt
#2

A good start would be to read the stickies. There is information on link timing there. Please read it before asking questions.

Also, it’s standing mk to standing mp. That might be your problem.

#3

Starcade RIP - I read all the stickies and I understand that I’m either too early or too late with my linking on it (not coming out vs not combo-ing, plinking/double-tapping, etc), but I’m just wondering if there are any good tutorials with videos to help just with timing? Something that might show what these links look like so when I see the animations on screen, it can help me understand what’s wrong by knowing what it should look like vs. what it looks like when I’m doing it wrong. I don’t want to spend a bunch of time and find out I’ve been practicing wrong and developing improper muscle memory for things that’ll just hurt me in the long run.

#4

You should be able to find full demos of the trails by searching youtube. But really, as far as links go:

If you hit the second attack and it doesn’t come out, you hit it too early. If you hit the second attack and it was blocked, you hit it too late. That should be enough info to allow you to learn from trial and error. Learning from trial and error isn’t practicing wrong. It’s what we all do when we’re learning.

That said, I think you’re probably better off checking the Ken section of the board for bnbs rather than focusing on the trials.

#5

Thanks! Yeah, I’m trying to zero in on that sweet spot between the move not coming out and being blocked.

I’m bouncing between training, Trials and Arcade mode to just get used to the FightStick and all the motions. I had Fight Request on for a bit and got killed in 4 online matches, which I expected, but it’s all a good learning experience. Hoping that within ~2 weeks I’ll have a main character picked and be comfortable with basic chain/link timings to be able to start winning a few matches. As long as it’s fun, that’s all that matters!

#6

I used a metronome to help with my timing for a bit, don’t know how useful that is to others, but it helped me

#7

Is most chain and link timing consistent from character to character, or is completely dependent on each character’s animations and move sets?

#8

That’s actually a really good idea.

OP: Try this video, they have a little inset of the executions being used by the player in RT.

#9

Thanks for the link! That helps a ton for getting an idea on timing with the button presses.