First fighting game, oh boy.

[shuckle]

So I'm trying to learn this game and it's just so so difficult. My Quick Matches usually go: get trapped in corner, opponent resets me forever, I die without damaging them at all.
I've done all the tutorials and I've learned one character's BnB (Cerebella), and none of my friends really play Skullgirls so I'm not sure how to progress from here. If inputs on a keyboard weren't so hard I'd ideally like to main a team of Filia/Cerebella, but Filia is just waaay too fast for me, every time I try to put together one of her combos in training mode usually results in me floundering around trying to remember what her inputs are. So, I've stuck with trying to deal damage with solo Cerebella.

I can't figure out how to do cool things with Cerebella like run-stops or resets or crossovers or anything like that. Just the cLK > cMP > cHP etc combo that's really easy to do. Since I'm on a keyboard, I've created a macro to quickly and easily input Ultimate Showstopper instead of trying to do it on the keyboard and it works pretty well. Doesn't mean that I know how to use it, though.

Anyway, I'll stop talking and start showing. Here's a video of me getting bodied on Quick Match. I would appreciate any advice that anyone has to give me.

 

[skull person]

So I'm trying to learn this game and it's just so so difficult. My Quick Matches usually go: get trapped in corner, opponent resets me forever, I die without damaging them at all.

This sounds just like me when I first started : )
You'll get it eventually.

If inputs on a keyboard weren't so hard I'd ideally like to main a team of Filia/Cerebella, but Filia is just waaay too fast for me, every time I try to put together one of her combos in training mode usually results in me floundering around trying to remember what her inputs are.

You could always look into a character that's not as fast as Filia.
Filia and Cerebella aren't very similar characters at all.
If you enjoy the speed of Cerebella you could trying playing someone like Big Band.

I can't figure out how to do cool things with Cerebella like run-stops or resets or crossovers or anything like that. Just the cLK > cMP > cHP etc combo that's really easy to do.

Never worry about that stuff.
Super complicated runstop combos exist as Cerebella and all the Bellas I see do them end up dropping them and dying for it anyway.
Whatever is simple and works for you is what you should do.

The difference between very long optimal combos and basic ground to air to ground super combos, is not that much!
It's just important that you can convert the first few hits into a basic string.

So if you hit with a jump in, you want to be able to do the cLK cMP cHP
If you poke with cLK, you want to be able to confirm it into cMP cHP...

Since I'm on a keyboard, I've created a macro to quickly and easily input Ultimate Showstopper instead of trying to do it on the keyboard and it works pretty well.

Don't do this lol.
The complicated input is how part of what balances that move, this sorta thing you would get you kicked out and banned from participating in future tournaments and mocked, so it's a good idea to get out of that habbit early.
You can play Cerebella with out using 360, the main times you need to use 360 are from armour cancels or punishing certain things like supers, in both cases you get more time to input them so it's easier.

Your video is still processing but I'll look at it when it it finishes.
EDIT: Looks like it's sorta done, let me take a look at it.

 

[skull person]

Largest issues I can see right away:

0.01) Play on GGPO 0, always. (Personal tip) : )
More jittery play in exchange for a one constant input delay setting means that your confirms and gameplay are more consistent.
95% of the top SG players that play online do this.
If it's 150 ping + and you can't play on 0, it's not worth it, decline the match.
Always make sure to play on an Ethernet connection when playing Skullgirls, it doesn't work with wireless because the packets are sent in the incorrect order, causing massive issues.

1) Every time you get hit high, you don't transition into correctly blocking a low if they land, or more highs if they don't land.
You blocked the first high hit in neutral a lot, then got opened up by the low.
The more that happens the better you'll get at blocking low after and pushblocking those strings out, so just keep learning from that mistake and noticing it.

Every time you block anything in general, you get opened up if they switch from high to low or low to high.
Takes a lot of practice to get good at blocking but it's good to note.

What you should focus on is following their character down to the floor as you block their hits.
Continue blocking high and then switch to blocking low as they land.
Follow the character falling to the ground with your eyes as your queue to switch your block.

2) You get a lot of hits especially air to air's and don't confirm off them.
If you were to take all of those hits and turn those into actual combos, you'd be doing a lot better.
You hit the opponent a lot more than you give yourself credit for, and that's all that matters.
Fancy combos or combos in general don't mean anything if you don't get a chance to do them, so just really focus on knowing how to convert your air to airs and pokes into combos.

-

In the first match, every time you put that Eliza into a 50/50 situation from Titan Knuckle, she jumped because she read command grab.
When you see that kinda repetitive defensive behaviour, that's your queue to switch it up and go for cLK as she wakes up, it will catch her.

When playing a read heavy grappler like Cerebella, you have to focus on picking up on your opponents defensive habits when you get them in a bad spot so that you can punish them.

You honestly didn't do that bad in neutral, the difference is that you did half of her life bar in pokes, and she did half of your life bar in pokes that were converted into combos.
You don't need combos to win, but they help a lot.

-

Second match

Titan knuckle is a crazy opener :P
You got a full combo here and dropped it because you tried to do the optimal pummel horse.
If you see that kind of thing happening a lot, maybe you should consider shelving that and going for a different route?
You do drop a lot of these in the full set.

I did the same basic Parasoul combo until I had ~600 hours, because the damage gain of ~500 damage is not worth the consistency of always landing my BnB so that I can divert 100% of my attention to practicing neutral game and everything else.

At 3:13 when Beowulf did that arm super, you red bounced and then blue bounced.
When you see the blue bounce, you can roll left or right to avoid getting hit, if you don't do that Beowulf gets to continue his combo for no reason.
So make sure to tap a button + left or right to tech when you can.

You kinda got mix up'd to death a lot in this match, and that's okay, that happens.
Just focus on how you got hit the first time.
How were you opened up in neutral or baited into making a mistake that let Beowulf start his offence.
That's the most important thing to focus on when learning the game.

-

Third match, again you blocked the first air hit, got opened up by the second one.
Important defensive habit you need to fix with some practice.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bad patterns:

- Picking 2 GGPO delay vs 80 ping actually collapses my lungs help.

- Focus hard on picking up from air normals.
Lots of unconfirmed jMP's, jHK's and jHP's (You can confirm from jHP if it hits in the corner, and its hitbox is ridiculous so be ready to do so if you have them cornered and you throw it out.)

- Don't poke with cMP every time. cLK has massive reach and hits low which builds the basic 50/50 mix up between low and grab.
You also don't confirm with cMP because you only have one button to go from from there.
If you start from cLK, you can autopilot the cMP without caring and then by that point at least go "Okay they blocked both of them, now I need to make this string safe"
If you start from cMP, you keep autopiloting into the cHP which is unsafe.
cMP is also just slower and not as useful as cLK most of the time.

- Be a little more careful with Titan Knuckle.
It's sort of like throwing a fireball as a Shoto.
If you do it without knowing when the opponent is going to jump, they might jump and punish you free.
You want to try and use Titan Knuckle to interrupt people from doing something at a distance, or when you know they want to stick to the ground for dashing purposes.
In the event you use Titan Knuckle wrong, and the opponent jumps, you can cancel it into H LNL, and wait for them to hit you.
If they hit you, you can see the armour clank and cancel it into Showstopper or Diamond Dynamo (Easier).

- You always go for Merry Go Rilla after Titan Knuckle.
That is the first layer of mix up, and if it doesn't work you have to change it up.
You'd be surprised how many people you'd catch if you went for cLK the first time.
Everyone knows about the MGR throw on wake up, which is why everyone jumps until you give them a reason not to.

- You use jHP a little too much over your other moves.
jHP is a fantastic move and controls good space, but you get nothing from it unless they are in the corner.
You also sometimes use it when the opponent is in your space, and it's slow start up gets you counter hit.
Try using jMP more, or getting higher and dropping down with jHK.
You do use both of those buttons, but try and use them more than jHP.

- You forget that you can heal by Snapping the opponent out.
Especially in that last round when you had half your health left and you kept hitting them.
Remember that after snapping the mid combo, they bounce back to you so you can keep beating them up if they are the last character.
It's always worth it for you to heal since you have so much health.

- You do the jLP Mash restand into jHP.
Sometimes you drop yours because the timing is always a bit wild.
This is fine, but there's alternative version that most Bella players elect to use called the jLP x3 jHP restand.
Mr.Peck has a video of it <here>
See if you like it.

You're not as bad as you think you are!
Your #1 biggest issue is that when you block a hit you don't continue blocking, and that there's a lot of unconfirmed air hits that are costing you a lot of damage, including jHP's that slam them away which could have been a jMP.
Don't worry about getting tossed into the mix up vortex.
That happens a lot, just focus on how you got there and how to avoid it next time.
You'll have plenty of opportunities to practice blocking mix up... heeehhh heh hehe....

Hope this helps.

 

[BlueFeena]

So I'm trying to learn this game and it's just so so difficult. My Quick Matches usually go: get trapped in corner, opponent resets me forever, I die without damaging them at all.
I've done all the tutorials and I've learned one character's BnB (Cerebella), and none of my friends really play Skullgirls so I'm not sure how to progress from here. If inputs on a keyboard weren't so hard I'd ideally like to main a team of Filia/Cerebella, but Filia is just waaay too fast for me, every time I try to put together one of her combos in training mode usually results in me floundering around trying to remember what her inputs are. So, I've stuck with trying to deal damage with solo Cerebella.

If this is your first fighting game, then you may want to just stick with Cerebella until you are more comfortable playing the game. One character can be difficult enough at first and trying to play a tag team as a beginner may simply overwhelm you.

Since I'm on a keyboard, I've created a macro to quickly and easily input Ultimate Showstopper instead of trying to do it on the keyboard and it works pretty well.

Don't do this. You're just cheating yourself. I encourage you to sit in the training and practice both repetitive motions and the same move over and over again until you can do it instinctively. Using a macro is going to haunt you later down the road.

A quick break down of the fights:

First Fight:

* I actually know who this is; you were going up against a capable opponent. Don't let it bother you if you get steam rolled by a superior player; this is going to happen so just try to learn what you can from it. Skarmond's suggestion about looking for defensive patterns is very good advice and since you are a Cerebella player I would recommend starting there. I highly recommend enabling replays with the -enablereplays command so you can review your fights. You also won't have to do your recording during the actual fight.
* Convert off of your pokes, you let Mey-Mey get away from you when you could have converted into a combo. This will take some practice and I'll admit I struggle with this considerably.
* You weren't reversing Mey-Mey at all, and I figure he picked up on this. Cerebella has fairly nasty reversal potential when she's on the ground, so if your opponent allows you to ground tech or simply does ground resets, don't be afraid to pull the trigger on a reversal. Just don't become predictable so your opponent can't bait reversals and kill you for it.

Second fight:

I can't offer too much advice since I am very unfamiliar with BeoWulf.

* Watch out for BeoWulf's reversal potential, it's very easy to just crash into reversal after reversal when dealing with a BeoWulf.

Third fight:

* You actually did fairly well with your combos and a basic read by grabbing BeoWulf out of the air. I know it hurts when you can't empty a full life bar, but you didn't do that bad in this fight. You got mixed up to hell and back and like Skarmond said, that happens.

Fourth fight:

* Use your anti-air grab more. That Double was way too comfortable with jumping and Cerebella can shut down behavior like that really fast.
* Always be careful when Double gets away from you as she has the very nasty luger-into-car hit confirm.
* I can't tell if you dropped your combo or did a reset at the end of this fight; while it's good that it worked, be careful of dropping your combos and practice your execution.

Last fight:

* Very nice job shutting down the laser spam with the reflector; keep doing stuff like that.

Spend some time in the training room practicing your execution and your spacing; spacing is important so you don't whiff (miss) with your basic attacks and let free damage get away from you. You may also find it beneficial to spend some time in beginner lobbies as this will give you a better chance of playing with people in your skill bracket. Just keep practicing and improving and good luck.

 

[shuckle]

Hey guys, thanks a ton for the advice, I didn't think that I'd get a response so quickly, let alone TWO great responses!

I've started trying to Snap more often when I need health and it's a bit tough but I think I got it down, though I screw up the input sometimes, damn simultaneous button presses on this laptop keyboard. Still, I've had a few moments when I pulled off a win thanks to the health I got from Snapping (or at least lost by a little bit less).

I wanted to try Filia because she's my second favorite girl and her playstyle is just so cool, but I understand that it's way too hard for me to execute those inputs. However I've been considering Eliza and so far I've actually been able to pull off some of her basic chains pretty well! I have NO IDEA how to work assists into stuff (probably gonna change one of my keyboard shortcuts to assist, honestly, I hate simultaneous button presses so much) due to playing solo for quite a bit but I'll continue to at least try to learn an Eliza combo or two.

I've been continuing to get curbstomped in Quick Match and I still have problems continuing a blockstring, but I've been getting just a little bit better at tracking the opponent and catching their reset (one I have down for sure is the Double one where she uses that aerial Peacock attack and tries to shimmy behind you). I still get moments like this a lot:

buut overall I think I'm learning.

Not sure what to post in this thread, honestly. Maybe I'll work on getting the basics of Eliza down or maybe I'll decide Sekhmet or something is too hard and pick someone else. I don't know what the "slow" characters are aside from Cerebella and Big Band.

 

[shuckle]

What am I suppose to put in this thread...?

Here's a pretty big flub that happened in Quick Match yesterday.

Spoiler

This guy wiped the floor with me every other match so this was funny.

 

[skull person]

What am I suppose to put in this thread...?

Here's a pretty big flub that happened in Quick Match yesterday.

Spoiler

This guy wiped the floor with me every other match so this was funny.

The lesson to learn here is that if you have enough meter to end the match, end it :P

Reflector, Dash > sHP xx Level 3.

 

[Skodial]

I would like to introduce myself on this thread. I purchase Skullgirls about 2 months ago, and went through every emotion you are going though (...OK I still am). This is a brutal genre to get into, almost as unforgiving as racing sims. I see you play on PC. I would like to add you, and maybe go through some matches. I'm still a beginner, so I hope the offer isn't intimidating.

I'm an awful teacher, but I would like to forward all the help everyone here has given me. You're in good company here.

 

[shuckle]

I still can't deal with throw resets and I still get pissed whenever I get hit by one.

edit:
Just can't ever tell when they're coming. There's only a handful that I know when to look for a reset - Double's Peacock attack, whatever it's called, sometimes instead of going for the crossunder they try to airthrow; Big Band's sMK > airthrow (thanks Skarmand), Painwheel has a weird setup I don't know how to describe but I know when to look for it and that's all that matters; that's pretty much it. I'll be on my merry way trying to block and pushblock assist as the point rushes in and I can never tell where they're going to be, expecially when they're someone like Robo Fortune who can just jump over you extremely easily and fuck you up without abandon.

 

[shuckle]

I haven't posted in here for a while, so now for an update nobody cares about.

I learned some Eliza combos! Her BnB that I found on YouTube and air + ground throw conversions. Not good at the whole reset thing yet, though.
Eliza is very fun but I have no idea how to pair her with Cerebella (using someone else is NOT an option here). I've tried Butcher's Blade assist for blockstrings but I don't know I'm just not good with it. I have decided to drop her for now.

I also learned a Fukua combo and have a shaky grasp on her reset loop. Fukua is fun, too, but I feel like she isn't as mobile as Cerebella, even though she technically has more mobility. Maybe it's because I've just been spamming fireballs. I've been using H Drill + Cerecopter as assists and it's REALLY nice. I've been trying Fukua on point + Cerebella as an anchor and I've been losing surprisingly fewer games than I thought I would.

Since I only played Solo(bella) for most of my playtime I'm really bad at using assists. I know how to stick them in blockstrings, but at neutral I am really bad at knowing when to call them and using them as combo extenders. Must work on that. I also miss the input for assist call a lot but I can't live without my macros, one as throw and one as PP for dashing, pushblocking, and ez supers. I should really stop playing on keyboard but I can't even imagine using a joystick or anything like that. And the cool hitboxes are expensive.

As for Cerebella, I learned how to pull off runstops thanks to Liam telling my dumb ass that I was doing it wrong the entire time. I was using LP + LK when LK + MK is faster. Now I can do sHP > Runstop > sLP and cMK > runstop > airthrow reset stuff.

I've also learned how to use runstop to reset medium/heavy characters: cHP > runstop > sHP (they'll block it) > Merry-Go-Rilla (the blockstun immediately ends). I think DeKillSage made a video with that and it hits soo many people, it's hilarious.

I learned to do this crossup but so far I haven't actually pulled it off in anything other than training mode. I've been going for airthrow instead, but a lot of people know to look out for that so I'm gonna practice getting this down.

I still get fucked by reset loops and throws and stuff but I'm slowly learning how to stop taking them like a bitch and fight back.

 

[shuckle]

I'm trying to learn the burst bait setup in this video:

(From 5:34)

For the life of me I cannot do cMK > Runstop > jLP. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, jLP is always blocked. The video says it's easy to perform so I shouldn't be having this much difficulty.
I am assuming the setup is:

cLK > cMP > cHP
jLP continuous > jHP restand
cLK > cMP > sHP > Runstop
cLP > cMK > Runstop
Jump backward > jLP > jMP

The worst part is that I can do cMK > jLP > jMP alone successfully about 50% of the time, but once I try to stick it into the setup suddenly I can't do it.


edit: I DID IT AS SOON AS I POSTED IT WH
Now to try to master the timing...

 

[Skodial]

Have you tried turning the game speed down in the training room? I know many people hate using it when learning new stuff, but it has helped me alot in learning more advanced Val combos. Where it helped me the most was when I was trying to place a LP in a combo and wouldn't hit it fast enough. It also made figuring out the timing of a combo easier because I wasn't mashing the stick with my face to keep up.

 

[Lex]

It might make it easier to practice if you remove the third chain (cr.LK, cr.MP, HP, RS) as you don't need to do that for the setup.

It sounds like you're doing the RS, j.LP to slowly. For you runstops, try pressing forward+LK+HK (I find it easier if you hold the two kicks a slightly after) at once. This should give you the fastest runstops possible, making the j.LP easier.

 

[shuckle]

Just went to the Lobbies and lost thirty-three metches in a row versus somebody without a single victory. It's discouraging, but I'll keep trying to get better.

STILL don't know how to reliably react to mixup resets. If I get hit by a low, it's because I'm a scrub and was jumping. If I get hit by an overhead, it's because I was a scrub and blocking low. If I get thrown, it's because I was a scrub and not jumping. On paper it seems like chickenbacking is the best option because it avoids both throws and overheads but that's bad apparently. It just feels like once you get hit it's an endless 50/50 that your only way to get out of is guessing correctly.

 

[Kai]

Just went to the Lobbies and lost thirty-three metches in a row versus somebody without a single victory. It's discouraging, but I'll keep trying to get better.

The fact that you stuck with it through that many games without a win is admirable. Shows you've got some intestinal fortitude.

 

[mcpeanuts]

STILL don't know how to reliably react to mixup resets.

You can't usually react to resets unless it's a really bad reset, or if you're Liam. You usually have to guess. It's easier if you have an idea of where the reset is coming and what your opponent's options are, which you'll get used to from playing. If it's a low/throw reset, you know your opponent would prefer to hit you with the low since throws scale your combo and do less damage overall. If it's a left/right reset, you know your opponent would prefer to go whichever side keeps you in the corner. Etc. There's also some people who just always go overhead no matter how you're blocking, so watch for that kind of thing.

Mashing stuff is a viable option sometimes too. You're solo Cerebella so you need to put the fear of god into them. Dynamo or 360 if they try to reset you on the ground, j.LP or elbow if they try to reset you in the air. This won't always work obv but these options will beat a frustratingly high percentage of resets (I hate Bella)

 

[Sparties]

Just went to the Lobbies and lost thirty-three metches in a row versus somebody without a single victory. It's discouraging, but I'll keep trying to get better.

STILL don't know how to reliably react to mixup resets. If I get hit by a low, it's because I'm a scrub and was jumping. If I get hit by an overhead, it's because I was a scrub and blocking low. If I get thrown, it's because I was a scrub and not jumping. On paper it seems like chickenbacking is the best option because it avoids both throws and overheads but that's bad apparently. It just feels like once you get hit it's an endless 50/50 that your only way to get out of is guessing correctly.

i'm assuming you're talking about me.
if you'd like an actual critique from me so that i can point out what's going on, feel free to add me.

 

[skull person]

Just went to the Lobbies and lost thirty-three metches in a row versus somebody without a single victory. It's discouraging.

If someone is much better than you, there is no reason for you to win.

If you challenge an Olympic athlete to a race 30 times they should win 30 times.

Every time you run against them you get better at running but boy is it a slow process.

Don't be discouraged, just be ready to put in more time.

STILL don't know how to reliably react to mixup resets. If I get hit by a low, it's because I'm a scrub and was jumping. If I get hit by an overhead, it's because I was a scrub and blocking low. If I get thrown, it's because I was a scrub and not jumping.

You're not a scrub if you get thrown or hit high.

If you're in a match up where they have unreactable overheads (Beowulf) or command grabs (Bella) then you don't have any choice but to make a defensive read.

If you're playing against Parasoul, her fastest overhead is 20F, and her low is 9F(?). If you default to Upback you're giving away your chance to react to mixup because you will not be able to react to a 9F low if she goes for it.

The idea behind downbacking is that you cover the fastest option that is usually the most + and safe on block (cLK) while still leaving yourself open to react to an overhead and throw tech.

If you upback every time then you throw away your opportunity to react.

Now that is a CHOICE you can make as a player if you are not confident in your reaction time. If you are playing online then sometimes it is necessary to guess on normally reactable mixup.

I would much prefer to be late to blocking an overhead online to practice for offline where those 2-3F would have made the difference

Online performance isn't as important to me.

It just feels like once you get hit it's an endless 50/50 that your only way to get out of is guessing correctly.

If you play Solo Bella then you've set your team up for that to be true. (Against some characters)

If you had Double next you could just do Dynamo > Catheads and set up a gameplan around saving two bars to get out of bad situations.

A lot of things aren't 50/50 it's just more "tough to react."

Also eventually you get good enough that resets become predictable and you can read them. If you get hit, your opponent simply had GOOD MIXUP and it was your fault.

Even if it's a 50/50 and both options have almost identical reward. You have to look at your own defensive habits and their offensive habits.
It's usually your opponent that opens you up more than you failing to protect yourself if that makes sense?

They are the same thing but your opponent has the options and they have to pick the correct ones that will work, you just have to adjust to their options, second.

If their options work, they were correct more than you were wrong so you have to adjust your defence accordingly to get on their thought process.

/ramble

 

[shuckle]

i'm assuming you're talking about me.
if you'd like an actual critique from me so that i can point out what's going on, feel free to add me.

Probably you, I doubt anyone else would be in that situation. I'm id/shucke if you'd like to add me.

You can't usually react to resets unless it's a really bad reset, or if you're Liam. You usually have to guess. It's easier if you have an idea of where the reset is coming and what your opponent's options are, which you'll get used to from playing. If it's a low/throw reset, you know your opponent would prefer to hit you with the low since throws scale your combo and do less damage overall. If it's a left/right reset, you know your opponent would prefer to go whichever side keeps you in the corner. Etc. There's also some people who just always go overhead no matter how you're blocking, so watch for that kind of thing.

Mashing stuff is a viable option sometimes too. You're solo Cerebella so you need to put the fear of god into them. Dynamo or 360 if they try to reset you on the ground, j.LP or elbow if they try to reset you in the air. This won't always work obv but these options will beat a frustratingly high percentage of resets (I hate Bella)

I'm scared to mash as solo because if they bait it and block I look dumb. Though if I notice they're just constantly pressing buttons I'll throw out a cheeky DIAMOND DYNAMO and that usually works.
I'm not sure how you could 360 quick enough to react to a ground reset, though being on a keyboard is probably why.

If someone is much better than you, there is no reason for you to win.

If you challenge an Olympic athlete to a race 30 times they should win 30 times.

Every time you run against them you get better at running but boy is it a slow process.

Don't be discouraged, just be ready to put in more time.

You're not a scrub if you get thrown or hit high.

If you're in a match up where they have unreactable overheads (Beowulf) or command grabs (Bella) then you don't have any choice but to make a defensive read.

If you're playing against Parasoul, her fastest overhead is 20F, and her low is 9F(?). If you default to Upback you're giving away your chance to react to mixup because you will not be able to react to a 9F low if she goes for it.

The idea behind downbacking is that you cover the fastest option that is usually the most + and safe on block (cLK) while still leaving yourself open to react to an overhead and throw tech.

If you upback every time then you throw away your opportunity to react.

Now that is a CHOICE you can make as a player if you are not confident in your reaction time. If you are playing online then sometimes it is necessary to guess on normally reactable mixup.

I would much prefer to be late to blocking an overhead online to practice for offline where those 2-3F would have made the difference

Online performance isn't as important to me.

If you play Solo Bella then you've set your team up for that to be true. (Against some characters)

If you had Double next you could just do Dynamo > Catheads and set up a gameplan around saving two bars to get out of bad situations.

A lot of things aren't 50/50 it's just more "tough to react."

Also eventually you get good enough that resets become predictable and you can read them. If you get hit, your opponent simply had GOOD MIXUP and it was your fault.

Even if it's a 50/50 and both options have almost identical reward. You have to look at your own defensive habits and their offensive habits.
It's usually your opponent that opens you up more than you failing to protect yourself if that makes sense?

They are the same thing but your opponent has the options and they have to pick the correct ones that will work, you just have to adjust to their options, second.

If their options work, they were correct more than you were wrong so you have to adjust your defence accordingly to get on their thought process.

/ramble

Oh yeah, I wasn't expecting to beat them by any means, but it's still not encouraging.
Are you actually able to react to overheads better offline? I wish I could play in those conditions. I doubt it'd make that much of a difference in my case.
Maybe going solo is not the best course of action, but damnit if I don't fuck up the inputs for assist calls and I can't play without the macros I already have.

 

[shuckle]

On an unrelated note.
How the heck do people find me on Steam after playing me on Skullgirls? Seriously if they have a method to get around Steam's shoddy search function I'd love to hear it.
The "Recently played with" section never shows anything for Skullgirls, and that feature never works for most multiplayer games half the time anyway. My Steam name is pretty generic, there's tons of shuckles on Steam so I dunno how they managed to find me and add me.
Not that I mind, only curious.

 

[skull person]

View > Players > Recently Played

or from the shift tab screen

Friends Box > View Players > Recently Played.

Works for me :V

 

[skull person]

I'm scared to mash as solo because if they bait it and block I look dumb.

You look dumb but you have the HEALTH to SURVIVE.
That's why it's important to do it.
If you never use a reversal ever your opponents mix up will get scarier and scarier and more disrespectful.
I go full ape on people who don't show me they will reversal.

You have to do it sometimes.
Even if it's blocked, that's ok - now your opponent knows that you at least know the option is there.
That means at some point if he doesn't want to get hit by it again, he will probably have to bait it, which lets you move. (And escape the corner which you have trouble with)

Using reversals often is the kind of junk that lets you get away with wake up back throw when you're in the corner; This corners them for being cautious.
You can only use this option after spooking your opponent, even if you were punished for it.

 

[shuckle]

View > Players > Recently Played

or from the shift tab screen

Friends Box > View Players > Recently Played.

Works for me :V

I DID NOT KNOW THIS WAS A FEATURE
Thank you so much. I was just going to Friends > Recently Played With, and that never worked.

 

[Sparties]

Probably you, I doubt anyone else would be in that situation. I'm id/shucke if you'd like to add me.

yeah, i was running under Biker or BikerChan!
i'll add you, and we can play a few matches later so i can maybe shed some light on a few things!

 

[shuckle]

Thanks Biker, that was fun. I won two games out of thirteen, somehow. Technically two out of forty-six if we're counting the ones from the lobby earlier. 2easy 8)

Predicament:
WANT: to throw Big Band on team for cheeky Beat Extend shenanigans
DON'T WANT: to subconsciously rely on it and plateau

You look dumb but you have the HEALTH to SURVIVE.
That's why it's important to do it.
If you never use a reversal ever your opponents mix up will get scarier and scarier and more disrespectful.
I go full ape on people who don't show me they will reversal.

You have to do it sometimes.
Even if it's blocked, that's ok - now your opponent knows that you at least know the option is there.
That means at some point if he doesn't want to get hit by it again, he will probably have to bait it, which lets you move. (And escape the corner which you have trouble with)

Using reversals often is the kind of junk that lets you get away with wake up back throw when you're in the corner; This corners them for being cautious.
You can only use this option after spooking your opponent, even if you were punished for it.

Woops I didn't see this post.
That's a good point, letting the opponent know I can into reversals. I didn't think about that.
Couldn't the opponent bait the reversal and just block + call assist? The assist would keep me in hitstun and I'd still be Girl Getting Railed Hard Against the Corner
Also the opponent could start going for crossup resets so I'd have to input the reversal BACKWARD and woah man that's a little too high-level for me I was in a Quick Match today and threw off a Dynamo from
across the stage because I was trying to crouch > jump > dash alright I can't even 360 consistently after 300 hours I'm stupid as hell.

 

[skull person]

Woops I didn't see this post.
That's a good point, letting the opponent know I can into reversals. I didn't think about that.
Couldn't the opponent bait the reversal and just block + call assist? The assist would keep me in hitstun and I'd still be Girl Getting Railed Hard Against the Corner
Also the opponent could start going for crossup resets so I'd have to input the reversal BACKWARD and woah man that's a little too high-level for me I was in a Quick Match today and threw off a Dynamo from
across the stage because I was trying to crouch > jump > dash alright I can't even 360 consistently after 300 hours I'm stupid as hell.

Usually on a cross up reset your reversal input will auto correct.

If your opponent calls an assist to hit you instead of themselves (to minimize risk) then that is a pattern you have to pick up on.
Now instead of doing reversal as soon as you are free to move, you do reversal after the assist finishes.

The risk reward for the point hitting after the assist finishes attacking massively increases in your favour, because hitting a reversal means you hit two characters.
Perhaps this risk will make the opponent think about blocking or backing up to cover their assist instead of applying more pressure after it's finished, letting you move..

I broke this situation down in a post in this thread.

Post:

Other layers of pressure would be sending in assists to put the opponent in blockstun, as a sacrificial 'test the water' type move to see what they will do on their wake up.
If they do anything but block or reversal the assist should frame trap them and you'll get a combo.
If they use a reversal to try and beat the assist, the point character is free to block/avoid the reversal and punish.
If they block, they can't act and the point gets to keep their pressure.
Hide Spoiler

[Rolling with this example...]

... And if 100% of the time you send your assist in first and take no risks as the point character, the opponent will start to always be patient and block on their wake up.

If you always pressure High/Low/Throw after the assist is finished attacking, your opponent will start to reversal after the assist is done attacking rather than just as they wake up, scoring them a happy birthday.

If you start to bait their reversals after the assist is finished attacking, the opponent will begin to have more freedom after leaving blockstun from the assist, and may even just dash into your face and apply pressure with jabs or throw you since they are reading your fear.

Thus, after passing all these layers, perhaps throwing them on their wake up before the assist hits would be a good move to keep pressure, as they're now waiting for the assist to finish attacking them before they make their move.

Basically, everything is dynamic.
You are always playing based on the opponent.

There's no 100% ok solution.

 

[Mike_Z]

If you never use a reversal ever your opponent's mix up will get scarier and scarier and more disrespectful.

If you never use a reversal ever your opponent's mix up will get scarier and scarier and more disrespectful.

If you never use a reversal ever your opponent's mix up will get scarier and scarier and more disrespectful.

If you never use a reversal ever your opponent's mix up will get scarier and scarier and more disrespectful.

If you never use a reversal ever your opponent's mix up will get scarier and scarier and more disrespectful.

Quoted for truth. (Edited because the lack of an apostrophe bothered me!)

If you have a DP or a reversal and you never use it, you effectively do not have it. So I can play as if you do not have it, and do all of the things that having to worry about a DP prevents me from doing. It is IMPORTANT to remind your opponent you will use any stupid or obvious option available, because if you don't then that option counts as "not available for you".
Knowing when you can sacrifice some damage to prove you will use your whole moveset, or will use some option that's obvious, is a key part of learning to get in your opponent's head.

 

[shuckle]

I can't get myself to try new characters. What'll happen is I start to learn one combo, struggle from being unfamiliar with a character's commands and normals, and just give up before completing the combo. 300 hours of Cerebella really didn't help. Like with Bella I find it intuitive what I'm doing on the fly, I know when I'm too far to link a jLP chain and to try for an airthrow instead, I can pull off dumb, non-standard chains if I think they're cool and flashy if I want to finish an opponent off with style, etc. With everyone else I struggle to pull off basic BnB combos, even on characters I've put some time in like Fukua and Eliza. My Fukua playstyle is: spam fireballs and hope I get lucky with jHK every once in a while, get fucked and proceed to play with Bella. I NEED to put MORE time into learning new characters... like, a LOT more time.

 

[shuckle]

A class act. Maybe I taunted him one day and he's held a grudge ever since, who knows. It was a 2-3 so it wasn't a landslide victory or anything.

 

[Skodial]

A class act. Maybe I taunted him one day and he's held a grudge ever since. It was a 2-3 so it wasn't a landslide victory or anything.

Don't feel too bad. I've been getting teabagged in the Quick Match lobby all week after every other match I lose. This is the first time since I've started playing the game where I have seen such unsportsmanlike conduct.

 

[skull person]

A class act. Maybe I taunted him one day and he's held a grudge ever since, who knows. It was a 2-3 so it wasn't a landslide victory or anything.

Ahbhhhh hah hah hah.
Ooooh ho ho ho ho.

No my friend.
Dementia is a well known rabble rouser.

He has 50 dumb invites ready to go that he invites anyone to.
If you win, it's "Nice fluke win" or something similar, if you lose it's an invite to a "Skullgirls noob clan" or something like you got.

Basically, just block him and then he can't send you group invites.

 

[shuckle]

Don't feel too bad. I've been getting teabagged in the Quick Match lobby all week after every other match I lose. This is the first time since I've started playing the game where I have seen such unsportsmanlike conduct.

I don't feel bad at all, more amused that someone would go out of their way to shittalk someone who's not even like marginally good.

Ahbhhhh hah hah hah.
Ooooh ho ho ho ho.

No my friend.
Dementia is a well known rabble rouser.

He has 50 dumb invites ready to go that he invites anyone to.
If you win, it's "Nice fluke win" or something similar, if you lose it's an invite to a "Skullgirls noob clan" or something like you got.

Basically, just block him and then he can't send you group invites.

Oh, that explains it. Still, like Beverly said this is the first time I've seen unsportsmanlike conduct in SG so I won't pay it any mind.

 

[mcpeanuts]

A class act. Maybe I taunted him one day and he's held a grudge ever since, who knows. It was a 2-3 so it wasn't a landslide victory or anything.

I'm in like five groups that this dude invited me to

 

[Sparties]

i snap his band midstage if he calls the assist for no reason, and it's like he gets confused and just sucks :^)

 

[shuckle]

I have no idea how to approach Peacock.

I've seen the "How to Approach Peacock" video. It only applies if they're running a script to input the same specials over and over again, graciously allowing you to play this game of DDR with their projectiles. They're not standing still, they're throwing Averys(Averies?) and holding Item Drops and dashing and backdashing so you can't approach. It's so much worse with an assist cockblocking you as well.

I get that she's Bella's biggest "counter" but I don't know how to approach as any other character either. Item Drop is just ridiculous for making sure your opponent doesn't get close to you and it's not like the cooldown is long enough to matter with fifty projectiles keeping you in blockstun and Peacock at the other side of the universe anyway. It isn't fun to play against her at all and every time I run into one on QM I just think "ah yes my favorite game of hold back half of the match and take a minimum of a third of your health in chip damage this is going to be a fun and engaging experience"

I don't feel like I'm learning how to play Skullgirls when I lose to a Peacock, I just feel like I'm learning how to play versus Paacock when I lose to a Peacock. I know that there's other zoners, but neither Parasoul, Fukua, nor Robo have as much stuff to take into consideration and they at least have to watch themselves when the opponent gets close since their projectiles aren't as safe to spam out.

I'm just mad because bad. I'd rather get mixup'd to death against a Filia than play against a slightly competent Peacock player.

 

[Skodial]

Do you use Diamond Deflector? I know it's difficult to use in the middle of a Peacock pissing on your parade, but it's your only tool against her. I picked up Bella about a month ago, and have felt the same rage (kinda have felt that rage in general recently, but that's a different topic).

But yea....it's only one tool, but the hitstun from it is insane, giving you a chance to get in

 

[skull person]

Who is bopping you my friend

 

[shuckle]

Do you use Diamond Deflector? I know it's difficult to use in the middle of a Peacock pissing on your parade, but it's your only tool against her. I picked up Bella about a month ago, and have felt the same rage (kinda have felt that rage in general recently, but that's a different topic).

But yea....it's only one tool, but the hitstun from it is insane, giving you a chance to get in

I can try but there usually isn't much opportunity. Nor can I really capitalize on it much since I'm usually too far away to do anything aside from Titan Knuckle and then get fucked a few seconds later.

Who is bopping you my friend

Literally everyone, I'm hopeless.

 

[skull person]

Ask a better Cerebella to play the Peacock giving you trouble and then look at what they do.

I could try and fight the Peacock myself with my incredible Bella.

 

[shuckle]

Ask a better Cerebella to play the Peacock giving you trouble and then look at what they do.

I could try and fight the Peacock myself with my incredible Bella.

I don't really know any Cerebella players.
I wouldn't want you to waste your time with that. That (extremely nice and thoughtful, how are you even real Liam) offer feels like those cartoons when the bully picks on the weak twerp and then turns around to see the very angry big brother coming to their defense.
I also wouldn't want you to play solobella or anything since that isn't very good