I want to improve!

I want to get as good as the guys that body me. Maybe a training diary will help.


Things to work on:

Remembering push-block exists
Being less stingy with meter
Inputs on new joystick
Playing vs characters other than Squigs and MF
Executing Cere BnB with eyes closed + no sound


Things to do:

Spend a few hours in training doing cerecopter into DD
Perfect BnB
Pick up a second character Para/PW ideally (Peacock isn't cutting it)
Find some more Skullgirls homies

Spent around an hour and a half just now working on QC and Z motions without too much luck. I can execute Z motions pretty quickly but doing quick QC motions has proven impossible so far. I can hear the stick click three times during the motion, but it'll only detect the down and left/right inputs when all is said and done. Dunno if it's just me not being used to the stick, but at this point my brawlstick's stock part feels worlds better than the sanwa JLF + octagonal restrictor plate.

Some things to practice:

QC and Z motions - Can do pretty consistent Cerecopter -> DD at the end of a combo because I have plenty of time to input the DD during the Cerecopter. Reaction supers haven't really been coming out, though.
Lighter taps - Have mostly been dropping my BnB on my a. LP mash -> a. HP. Holding down HP too long makes me drop the combo and fly away.
Tumbling run - Gotta make sure to play around with this after getting more consistent on the BnB. Only know how to kancho with this.

I've been playing a lot but haven't been practicing too much. Need to find a better ratio of matches to training.

My Cere BnB is pretty solid in training mode right now, but I haven't gotten a chance to try it out too much online. I tend to only mess up after the last restand.

I switched out my octagonal restrictor plate for a square one and all of my problems with inputs were instantly fixed. Need to work on my reaction z motions and full circle, though.

I've been trying Peacock on point but haven't really gotten too good at her. I can do a really simple ground combo and spam projectiles for keep away, but that's about it. I'll watch some Mr. Peck videos and practice her more in training mode (really want to learn that grab into 3 argus combo).

I was really excited today when I realized I could do 13k+ damage off of a Cere level 3 (with 5 meter).

Gotta practice charging my tumbling run and playing versus Peacock/Double or Peacock/Big Band.

Thanks for the advice guys, I've been working on getting more real matches in with Skullheart buddies, real life friends, and some beginner lobbies. I feel like I'm at least getting a little bit better, but I need to make sure to play every day.

I've been watching Salty! and other high level streams and I've noticed really big differences in how the game is played. Whenever I'm playing, I just try to hop on in there and try to land my BnB. Sometimes I'll throw some pokes in there, but usually it's just me and the enemy trading the same combos over and over again. Meanwhile, MikeZ is doing shit that I barely understand when he's doing Bella/BB. Tumbling run cancels, predicting jumps with Excellabella, etc. I'm wondering how I'm supposed to transition to this level of play. I know I'll eventually learn how to do a few new tricks just by playing, but everything Mike does seems to be calculated. Should I be trying to mimic his tech?

Also was wondering if it would be important to learn new combos to fit the match (things that work only on light, heavy, corner combos, etc). Currently just using NightPhyre's Cerebella and Peacock combos.

Things I have to work on:

Getting more matches in (low level lobbies, quick matches)

Dealing with Fortune - I end up just chasing her around for the entire match while she just waits for the head to get a hit in. I usually have to deal with her exclusively on Peacock if I don't have momentum.

Approaches in general - Peacock just wrecks me if I don't get a good start. Dunno which jump I should be using in which situation yet. I end up just dash jumping and eating projectiles. Which brings me to...

Air blocking - People in Salty! were talking about how no one can air block. Then I realized I really needed to work on my air blocks (and defense in general).

Teching grabs - I've gotten a little bit better, but sometimes I end up eating really obvious grabs.

Using LnL - It was so good against people who didn't know how to play against it that now I just end up spamming it. Gotta stop using it so much.

Assists - I kind of forget I have an assist most of the time and I don't really have any truly game changing assists on either of my characters. Been using Flying George and LnL(H) or Cerecopter.


There's definitely more to put here but I'll work on these for now.

Need to stop playing against the same people over and over again. Gotta scatter a few quick matches or random lobbies throughout the day.

Need to start learning a second character tomorrow. Probably going to play around with Filia, Big Band, and Parasoul before deciding who I want to learn. I currently really like Brass Knuckle (H) because it's really big but I have no idea how to convert off of that.

Things to do:

Work on using and playing against assists.

Don't block Grave Digger low

Seriously practice my Z motions

Pay attention to what moves beat what

Keep experimenting with Tumbling Run in matches and practice converting mid screen throws into a combo with Pummel Horse

Beat bubdubs : ^)

Got to play against a couple of people I recognized from Skullheart today, Flotilla and Agent J.

Really need to work on my approaches in the next few weeks. Still have a whole lot of trouble actually reaching Peacock when they have something like Brass Knuckles (H), Napalm Pillar, or Double Butt working for them. Also had some trouble today approaching people who idle at max range. Need patience.

Don't LnL when they have a Brass Knuckle (H) assist available (or just don't use it as an approach ever)

Don't hold forward jump like a doofus.

Gotta work hard on my movement, execution, and reaction. I end up using way too much of the stick when I'm inputting quarter circles (which has caused a few command grabs to turn into Ultimate Showstoppers).

I keep playing a lot but not getting a whole lot better. Need to make sure I really think about my mistakes and fix them accordingly.

A side thing I need to do: figure out what in the world Painwheel does.

Mostly just been forcing myself to try new things in matches. My inputs are getting a lot quicker, I can deflect projectiles with Diamond Deflector (which is really fun), and sometimes I even hit Excellabella.

Things I have to learn to deal with:

Cross ups - It's a little bit embarrassing when I get reset indefinitely by a Val. Usually I'm just not blocking low in time or don't pushblock the first/second hit and end up getting wrecked.

Grab resets - I'm getting familiar with PW, Parasoul, and Val air grabs now. Pretty much just need to recognize the situation and tech.

Getting pushblocked - Still don't know 100% what to do here. Sometimes I can throw out a titan knuckle or a battle butt.

I finally started practicing some resets and some Big Bando. Currently working with pretty simple stuff I picked up from the resets thread, writing them down here to remember.

c. lk c. mk xx kancho

c. lk c. mk xx run stop xx s. lk

2 s. lp s. mp s. hk (1st hit) xx run stop xx c.lk

Gonna make sure to practice at least these in quick match while also looking for new things in training mode.

hlvn said:

Are there more people in Seattle that I don't know about?! :D

I wish I could say yes. All of my Seattle buddies have already completely lost interest in the game. A friend from NY I play with a bunch is planning on moving to Seattle within the year, though!

Mike is phenomenal, but I tend to view him and his style as that crazy hermit-sage that comes down from the mountain to beat up people before leaving the mortal world again. I wouldn't really try to emulate it unless I've spent another 10 years playing fighting games.

I've been dreaming of getting on Mike's level since I first started BlazBlu. I hope I get the chance to play versus him in an event someday.

Starting out, if you have some BnBs that do 6-7k (one meter) for each of your characters that still work in the corner (or have _very_ small adjustments for the corner) stick with them and don't worry about upping the damage. Optimization is something you can do as a weekend project from time to time, but practicing your neutral/spacing, defense, and pressure should be the number one priority always.

Yeah, I've decided that my combos are alright for now. I can also kill a character if I hit both of the resets I know. Been trying to get as many quick matches in as possible this week so I can learn to play versus new characters (PW still a problem for me).

I find that the most effective thing is to just stay patient and recognize that chip will happen and that you'll get over there eventually. You'll have to watch the patterns; the best time to dash block is when she's calling H.ItemDrop or Air George, the best time to jump/superjump forwards is when she's throwing LK.Bomb or MK.Bomb. Once you get to that point, good peacocks will have teleport/assist setups that create space again, but bad peacocks will panic or otherwise fold and it just takes time to learn how to cope/exploit with both types.

I'll try my best to keep all this in mind. I've played versus a bunch of Peacock since that posting, and I'm happy to say that I can usually get in and kill them with one or two good touches. The 7 or 8 matches I played versus Skarmand today were another story. I don't think I got through his Peacock even once. That guy is good!

Don't beat yourself up on this until you've seen the difference in the offline tech window vs. online play. Throws aren't reactable, and even when you guess/read correctly, the tech window is pretty harsh online with any GGPO delay.

I'm still falling for a lot of throw resets, but I'm trying hard to not let them go through more than once per match. It's still hard for me to deal with Val, Double, and Skarmand Peacock crossovers/unders, though.


Thanks a bunch for all the advice, man. Knowing what to look out for really helps a lot. I hope we can start organizing some weekly locals sometime in the near future.

Jason said:

Its important to have more than one reset option that starts from a particular move, for example here you have two resets that have to be blocked differently that start from cr.MK xx Run, that's exactly what you want. You may want to use cr.LK instead of s.LK though, harder to block that way and easier to get a combo from it.

I think my logic with s.lk was that I'd be able to reset them while they're still falling. c.lk makes a lot more sense after using it a few times, though.

With your second reset, you only have one option listed, s.HK (1st Hit) xx Run-stop, cr.LK is pretty cool but you need something else to mix up with it, otherwise your opponent will know to block low every time after they've seen the reset a few times. Try mixing it up with s.HK (1st hit) xx Merry Go Rilla to keep your opponent guessing.

This reset is a lot of fun! Took me a few tries to get the timing down, but it seems really dirty. I guess I can also mix it up with an Excellabella if they start holding up.

Here's a couple more simple resets

- cr.HP, j.LP xx (reset) Grab Bag OR cr.HP, j.LP (2) > j.LK, (Reset) cr.LK

- s.LP > s.MP (reset) Throw OR s.LP > s.MP (reset) cr.LK

Thanks for these. A lot of the resets in the Cerebella threads have Doubles and Filias flying around throughout them. It's nice having some simply ones I can execute without assists. I'll make sure to implement these in my game ASAP. Thanks again for all the advice!

Jason said:

Keep in mind, most of the time when somebody is holding up+back, going low with cr.LK will hit them (you can't block low when you're holding up after all). So if you can use cr.LK instead of excellabella, I would do so. Its lower risk and leads to more damage.

I'll try to keep this in mind. And thanks again for all the reset suggestions, I feel like my Bella is already becoming a lot more dangerous to get touched by. Still need to work on my neutral game a whole bunch, though.


Things to work on:

PBGC - Still barely understand this. Usually I end up push blocking and then throwing an empty diamonds like a joker. This is probably worth practicing in training mode.
PW - Need to either learn PW or play versus her more. I'm getting squashed 9/10 matches versus PW in quick match. I can sometimes tech their grab reset or block a fly mixup but it usually doesn't stop the pressure, even when I'm pushblocking every hit. I only ever win when I get a life lead. This should be near the top of my priority list.
Recording matches - Obviously I'm doing a lot of things wrong that I can't identify easily while mid match. Gotta figure out how to do this on my toaster computer.
Studying matches - I have no idea how to approach. I keep getting punished when jumping in, and a lot of players just stand on the other side of the screen and laugh as I fly over. Should probably watched some Bella vods and study how good players approach.
Level head - I get really excited and I end up dropping combos and fudging inputs. Gotta calm myself and just play the video game.
Diamond Deflector - Every time I try to hit one of these on a slow George I just get teleported on and then I feel really silly. I think it's time to stop doing that.

Cynical said:

Bella's armored specials IMO are better PBGCs than Dynamo, since Dynamo's forward movement is too slow. LnL and, if you're good with charge motions (i.e., better than I am), Battle Butt are much better PBGC choices.

If you're going to do Dyanmo, just do it as a raw reversal.

Thanks for the tip! I'll make sure to try using Battle Butt for PBGCs in my matches tonight. Already seems like it'll be a lot more useful than trying to mash out a super.

I'm legit just playing too many games and it's not really helping me learn anything. I play like 20 games in top form where I complete my combos, throw out different resets, and provide at least some challenge. Then the next thing I know I'm like 70 games in and I'm running Peacock, Painwheel, and Filia with The Hole Idea (M), Flight, and Dash as assists.

I really need to just learn when to take a break/stop for the night. Either that or I need to just get on earlier so I don't end up falling asleep/losing motivation to try too hard. Tomorrow I'll make sure to at least get the Parasoul combo I've been trying to learn down before transitioning into games. I'll also make sure to run fraps tomorrow.

Alright I cannot record with Fraps. Drops my fps to like 8 and I don't want anyone I'm playing to have to deal with that kind of shit. If anyone knows of anything that'll record even on my 0/10 computer please let me know.

Resets Budubs used on me today:

c.lk c.mk xx delayed jump j.hk
c.lk xx Merry-go-Rilla/Diamond Drop
j.mk xx Merry-go-Rilla
LnL xx Diamond Drop/Merry-go-Rilla
And some other stuff I just couldn't catch.

Going to keep Parasoul as a side project for a little while longer. I think I really do just need to play a lot more games to actually get my neutral game down.

Edit: Also, why am I not pushblocking LnLs. I gave like 50 free Diamond Drops today.

Vadsamoht said:

FRAPS Is known for using a lot of resources and creating massive output files (which is good in some situations, but often just causes problems). I haven't looked into many alternatives, but I personally use Bandicam without too many issues.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll download it tonight and try to record some matches tomorrow.

I doubled my fps from around 20 to almost 40 today by using Game Booster. Everything feels weird now but it should be better in the long run.

I think I've kind of his a plateau in terms of improvement. I'm really just learning how to play versus certain players instead of learning how to play the game. I think it might be a good idea at this point to really buckle down and study some replays, as well as to watch more streams/videos to try to find out the difference between my play and that of a really good player. It's a little demoralizing not seeing any improvement in myself recently, but I'm sure I can start getting more powerful again if I redouble my efforts!

-Gotta stop trying to walk up to people and knock them over with Battle Butt. It just isn't gonna happen.
-Whenever I drop a combo I get a super thrown at me. I can probably think of a fake out to punish people who are prone to mashing.
-Still don't know how to block the standard PW combo. I'm usually prepared to tech a grab, but it's the fly mixups that really get me. I can probably get rid of some of her pressure if I learn to pushblock first hits better.
-Not sure if Parasoul is my character. I've been playing her at least a little bit but nothing is clicking. I'll give it a few more days and then study another character.

I also spent like 2-3 hours today coaching new players in a private lobby. Of course I'm not that good yet, but it doesn't take Mike Z to teach a man the basics!

Edit: Also, Bandicam worked great! Gonna upload some footie sometime soon.

I think I pretty much understand Cerebella as well as I'm going to at my skill level, so it's time to work harder on new characters. I've been running a few different characters as anchors in QM (Peacock, Double, Fukua), but so far they've pretty much just been there to bring back Cerebella's red health. I've been prioritizing playing characters I enjoy playing over playing characters that have synergy to Bella. So with that in mind, I'm gonna learn Painwheel and become a gloomy Seattle PW player.

Bella stuff:

-Let's just use Battle Butt as a PBGC from now on.
-I can use deflector on Fukua's BFFs. This isn't even remotely useful because I get hit with the second portion, anyways.
-Diamonds are forever. However, diamonds are less forever when you're fighting a good player. Sometimes I should just finish my string with a Dynamo and be done with it.
-Blockstring shouldn't always mean Diamond Drop. But I should always be ready to input it.
-Sometimes I try to dash into a ground George to deflect it. I should probably jump over it or wait for it to get to me.
-When Skarmand knocks me over, I should probably get ready to block a napalm pillar. It'll probably just be The Hole Idea (H) until I stop being a complete pushover.

I'm picking up really bad habits from sandbagging matches with newer friends. I need to stay the hell out of lobbies for a while so I don't end up rotting my brain further than I have already.

I played like 30 PW matches tonight and I still haven't figured out much. I usually just try to get in with j.hk or c.lk into a full combo (still not 100% on how to do PW resets). Mostly having trouble with Peacock so far, ducking through all those bombs and bullets just to land a silly 7k combo seems like a waste. Gotta go back into training mode tomorrow to learn some corner combos and resets so I can start actually playing the character.

Wheel vs Cock

Can only fly cancel my j.hp so many times before I end up on the ground and worthless. Less armoring through, more evading (and also armoring through item drop (m) never works anyways)
Can't do regular BnB from j.mp fly cancel j.mk or grab
Consider using hatred install raw for the armor?
After reaching Peacock, don't attack right away. Call out assist or bait out teleport.
How the hell do I fly cancel during a Peacock teleport?
Don't always go for the greedy reset
Pick up a Big Band?

Thanks for the advice. I'm actually getting in a lot more often now (though I'm still not winning too many matches).

The guy I play with normally has pretty obvious teleports, but will cover them with hornet bomber (m) or LnL (h), meaning when I predict the teleport I always get hit out of my punish. How should I deal with something like this? I can sometimes hit the assist while the teleport is going through, but after that I rarely recover in time to punish Peacock. I also tried calling my assist so it'd hit her as she pops out behind, but it's almost always broken before the animation starts by either a george or a bomber. I'm considering picking up a Big Band just to punch the teleport.