Making The Leap From Mediocre To Adequate: A Detailed and In-Depth Analysis of Why I'm Not Quite Bad

[ProtagonistHero]

Not entirely sure if I qualify as a "beginner", but I've still very, very far from "expert", so I'm running with this anyway. (DISCLAIMER: Massive wall of text incoming. I'll have to split this thing up into sections, so you can feel free to just laugh at how bad my friends are at this game, or mock me for being awful, or make fun of me for thinking that I know things).

This is actually the first fighting game I've ever played seriously. That's actually not entirely true, because I've played My Little Pony: Fighting Is Magic quite extensively, though the general lack of anybody to play it with essentially reduces that game to a bare-bones training mode. I also played Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat 3 when I was about 8 years old, but I had no idea what I was doing back then. I'm still learning the ropes, though pretty much all of the people I play with in person don't even know what "rope" is, so I can pretty much stomp any of them without even trying (I played BlazBlue Continuum Shift with a friend the other day, won the set 15-0 without losing a round and with three perfects. You should know which one here in a second).

 

[ProtagonistHero]

The Joys Of Multiplayer

Just so you can get an idea of what I have to put up with when playing in person, I have played with four different people at least more than once each:

Ace: Actually not a bad player. Plays everybody but Parasoul, whom he hates with an intense passion, and Double, who bores him excessively. Still needs to learn to do more than just grabs, Heavy attacks, and special moves, but still doesn't have an awful neutral game somehow. Can actually block and punish some things. Refuses to learn combos more complex than Normal Attack > Special Move > Super, because "combos are for weenies". Paradoxically dislikes charge characters but mains Big Band. And he does love them Brass Knuckles.

Moose: Has absolutely no idea what's going on. Picks Painwheel, hops around and wildly throws out j. , and sometimes Ratchet Poppy on accident. Sometimes picks Valentine and presses most of the buttons whenever he gets up close. Actually more of a Mortal Kombat / Soul Calibur player, but he should still be better than this.

Red: Also has absolutely no idea what's going on. Picks Filia, throws out c. and Hairball constantly. Dies a lot because he only ever blocks by accident when he gives up and tries to murder his controller by furiously pressing every single direction and button ever (including Start and Home). Can't do Special Moves on purpose to save his life. Likes the game for the characters, but claims that he doesn't like the gameplay because he "doesn't do console gaming". I think he means he can only play turn-based games, since every other game I've tried to get him to play has gotten the same response, even flash games.

Fate: A fighting game enthusiast who still only knows as much about fighting games as I did when I was 8. Actually plays a bunch of different fighting games with me (Skullgirls, My Little Pony: Fighting Is Magic, Pokémon: Type Wild, Arcana Heart 3, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Blazblue Continuum Shift, and Street Fighter IV, to name a few). Every single one of them goes the same way: moderately good neutral game, virtually no combo skils, and literally no defense at all. AT ALL. Even Moose and Red block sometimes by accident, but I swear this guy avoids holding "Back" like the concept of walking backwards killed his parents.

Since nobody I play with in person can help me anymore, and Quick Match both gets old after a while, and has a tendency to throw me in with both people touching the game for the first time and people with literally several thousand more hours of experience than myself, I have no choice but to use the internet for help. Also, hopefully making a record of my progress will let me see that I'm actually getting better, instead of getting all depressed about not going anywhere and giving up on the game for a few weeks for the eleventh time.

 

[ProtagonistHero]

My Team

Currently, I'm playing the retail version of the game, for some reason. Since my preferred team of Peacock/Furlia isn't a thing (that's Fukua for all of you who aren't Ace. Better get used to me calling her that, because that's how I learned her name and because I'm stubborn and an idiot), I have to go back to my old team. Since I'm a fickle bastard, I keep going back and forth between Peacock/Cerebella, Peacock/Ms. Fortuene, and Peacock/Filia. Because even though I'm indecisive, I'm also threatened by change, and Peacock is just way too much fun to not have as my lead character. Still, my assist choice is fairly consistent.

Peacock: Bang! (L) / Cerebella: Lock 'N' Load (H)
Peacock: Bang! (M) / Ms. Fortune: Fiber Uppercut (H)
Peacock: George's Day Out / Filia: Updo (H)

I actually have some degree of experience with everybody, but these are the characters least likely to get my face stomped in.

Peacock/Cerebella works sorta well. Lock 'N' Load makes my Peacock a nigh-unstoppable force of destruction, until she gets hit and I get stomped like a bug. Peacock/Ms. Fortune is better, because I have some idea of what I'm doing with Ms. Fortune, instead of just doing nothing but command grabs and getting mauled to death the moment Cerebella takes the stage. Not having a meatshield/cross-up assist is a downside, and Fiber Uppercut seems to get counter-thwacked too often for me to feel comfortable using it as a reversal. But at least I'm not dead the moment Peacock gets taken out. And Peacock/Filia is . . . bizarre. I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time with Filia, so I somehow manage to catch some people off guard with just about everything. And wildly throwing out Updo works depressingly well against most of the people I've played. I don't use this team very much, so it could just be bad (good?) luck.

 

[Squire Grooktook]

Red and Ace sound funny

I could play with you if you want. I know a bit about Fillia, Fortune, Peacock, and some casual Parasoul.

Fiber Uppercut does have a few more frames of start up vulnerability than other dp's, but it's safe on wiff sometimes.

 

[Cynical]

Fiber Uppercut does have a few more frames of start up vulnerability than other dp's, but it's safe on wiff sometimes.

Also, with the recent changes, it has no invuln in head-off, and even "fast" characters can't convert off of it when it's called as an assist.

 

[Squire Grooktook]

Yeah, Fiber bad for combo'ing off as an assist. I tried seeing if I could do something like Shadow of Impending doom on hit confirm into Argus Agony, but I don't recall being able to make it work. Maybe I'm just bad at combo though.

 

[ProtagonistHero]

The main reason I use Fiber Uppercut as an assist is to keep myself from getting hit when I don't have something covering an air approach, and I'm terrified of getting killed.

Also, it buys me some time to run away or get a Shadow Of Impending Doom out. Or toss out some other stuff. It's not a free combo, but it's useful in some specific applications.

I should probably throw out the rest of the giant-ass wall of text I had prepared, and now have to re-type from scratch.

 

[ProtagonistHero]

Stuff I Need To Fix

-Peacock is an excellent zoner. This does not mean that I must always throw out projectiles until my opponent is close enough to breathe down my shirt collar. Because now it's too late and now I'm dead. Some people are stupid enough to block on the other side of the screen for 2 straight minutes, and Fate is stupid enough to just try to wade straight through the mess without blocking once. Most people know what they're doing, or at least can pretend like they do.

-I have practiced too many combos and setups with Peacock to just run away all day, but I also haven't practiced my approach enough to do anything else. The training dummy doesn't help me, because it doesn't move around and respond to the random stuff I throw at it. I have pulled off my favorite corner combo twice in actual matches before, both times due to sheer stupid luck off a random teleport that happened to punish a super while my back was to the corner. Hey, speaking of teleports . . .

-Stop teleporting so goddamn much. I can get out of trouble pretty often when I'm at neutral, because I really seem to love my teleports. I also get punched in the teeth all the time because I seem to really love my teleports. I need to learn to watch for Air Dashes, Cerebella's glide, Checkmate Incision, Savage Bypass, Silent Scope, Bandwagon Rushdown, or other miscellaneous things that I can teleport around without getting kicked in the throat.

-Learn other character's resets instead of just Peacock's. Maybe then I can see that shit coming before it hits me for the third time. I am getting good at watching for particular resets when I see them a few times, but then somebody comes out with something completely out of nowhere that's probably common knowledge to people who play that character, and I didn't know it because I only pay attention to Peacock and Furlia.

-Practice blocking more. I can block pretty much anything that the computer A.I., or my idiot freinds throw at me. And the only friend I know who isn't thoroughly awful is painfully grab-happy. I can block really simple, obvious mixups, but once Filia or Parasoul gets in my face, I might as well just throw my controller at my opponent. I'll probably be better off that way anyway. I've been shockingly good at blocking Painwheel stuff so far, though. Again, this could just be due to bad/good? luck.

-Remember that assists are a thing. I start out every match with some kind of jumping attack covered by an assist call, and then shelf my partner until I die or tag out with 5% of my health left. Or I suddenly, abruptly remember that assists are a thing and send them out at the least convenient time scientifically possible. I'm stilling doing better than I was with Solo Peacock, so I must be doing something right.

-Actually get around to learning somebody who isn't Peacock. Seriously. I don't even have a decent Bread & Butter combo with anybody else I use. I just end up improvising everything and dropping everything after 8-10 hits. If I had some more direction, I could probably make use of assists without sacrificing the abilities of the only character I can actually play. At least Furlia looks to be promising.

-USE ARGUS AGONY MORE. I cannot stress how depressing it is to die with 4.5 super meters stocked up and the opponent has 2/3 of their health left. I need to get back in the thought process of both "I got a hit! ARGUS AGONY!" and "He twitched! ARGUS AGONY HIS FACE OFF!"

-Find another human player to play with. The A.I. was awesome for getting me started, but now I've hit a point where fighting the computer players is like beating up a sixth grader. And that's still better than trying to fight Fate as much as I do (eight matches in a row and you only blocked four hits total? What the hell is wrong with you? I straight up jabbed you half to death with pokes one round.) Moose and Red have no idea what the hell is going on, and Ace teaches me some very bad lessons about how to play this game (Grab? Grab!)

 

[ProtagonistHero]

Stuff I've Got Down Already

-I have plenty of Peacock combos and resets already. I actually found one reset the other day in particular that I haven't seen before, and I really like this one. Hasn't failed me yet, assuming that I can actually land the damn attack chain to set it up. And when I actually land a combo, I can dish out a healthy 7k-ish damage with an Argus Agony at the end. I actually have no idea how much damage I'm doing, but 7k seems appropriate (about half a health bar in 1v1) and I can slap a burst bait or grab reset at the end.

-I can already use many of Peacock's normal attacks well at neutral. I mean, I can't ever get a combo off any of them unlesss I punish something outrageously stupid, but least I can stuff a c. in Filia's face if I'm expecting an Instant Air Dash, and a. works surprisingly well against Parasoul players who get in the habit of constantly spamming her a. (I tend to use a. for aerial instead of j. for jumping. Some people will hate this). I love it when I can get a fake cross-up with Avery after a. , or when careless people dash face-first into him after a super jump. a. and a. are both useful if my opponent is hiding out on the ground, and a. is also useful in the rare circumstance that I find myself above my opponent (I probably spend way too much time in the air as Peacock). So I'm not totally clueless!

-I'm getting pretty good at watching for the bad use of supers (this could also be chalked up to people who know less about what they're doing than I do). I still have not yet fallen for a Squigly player slapping out a Squigly Battle Opera the instant the match starts. I get hit by random Savage Bypass > Air Checkmate Incision way less often than I used to. I've also played against somebody who instantly started mashing their super the moment that they got hit by something (I didn't properly confirm off a single a. , and the guy tried to punish it with Bandwagon Rushdown. Then again literally every time he got hit and had super meter). So I don't killed the moment somebody throws out a super anymore, which is great.

-My zoning game is probably good enough. I don't need practice patterns, because patterns are dumb and suck all the fun out of just throwing everything I've got at wherever the opponent happens to be, or where I think they're going to be next. Freestyle, man. It's the way to go. Also, I've zoned people form full health to damn near death without getting hit; and I've also just tossed out two projectiles, missed both of them, then died without getting another hit. I think I need to look more into learning when to zone, instead of constantly practicing the how.

 

[Squire Grooktook]

If you put Fillia on your team, you may also consider using Hairball as an assist. It pushes them away, can be used to cross up, does decent chip, and can be used to cover some rushdown and approaches. Generally whether I pick Updo Vs Hairball as an assist depends on who else I have on my team. Or how aggressive/risky I'm feeling.

For learning other characters, I recommend putting them first on your team. You won't ever get good at them if you only play them for 20 seconds at the end of every match. It's best practice to kind of "force" them on yourself.

Also if you choose to rushdown with Peacock, make sure you use bombs and shadows for cover. Close range teleport cross overs + dp assist is also a very painful mix up.

I like you for some reason, hit me up if you want to play sometime. I generally play in expert lobbies though, so don't expect a newcomer even though I am far far away from being tournament level or respectable.

 

[ProtagonistHero]

Hairball would be a good assist, but I'm kinda stupid with my matchups sometimes, and have so far only tried this assist out against other Peacock players. It . . . uh . . . doesn't work well with the screen saturated with projectiles. I assume it'd be much more helpful against, say, Cerebella, who doesn't coat the screen with screaming pain or spend 80% of her time in the air. If I could actually use Filia effectively as a point character, maybe I could get somewhere with this.

I pretty much only play online with Peacock as my lead, or as a solo. Offline though, I'll play just about anyone (since I don't have to worry about getting brutally murdered each time I make some dumb mistake). I actually considered using Double as my second for a while, since I can get a lot of damage out of her, but then I realized that I have absolutely no neutral game with her. Then I realized that I don't have any neutral game in general, for the most part. Playing nobody but the training dummy does that to you, I guess. Another problem I have with Double: I don't know any really good mix-ups. Flesh Step + Assist is pretty much all I've got, though I guess that should be enough.

Also, I couldn't stop being really, really stupid with Bandwagon Rushdown, because I'd always have excess meter from forgetting to use Argus Agony, and then I'd get desperate to burn through some of it, and it just always ended horribly. Maybe I should start using Double again.

 

[Squire Grooktook]

In theory you could use Hairball as a meatshield. Ie opposite Peacock does bang, it hits the hairball, and than you're free to do something else or punish. Than again I don't know much about Peacock mirrors, I generally tend to avoid them.

 

[ProtagonistHero]

EDIT: Replaced an old wall of outdated combos with a much more effective, fancy video!

I'd like to apologize in advance for the lack of sound effects, since the only recording software I've found my computer can handle isn't capable of recording audio (unless I go out and buy a microphone and stick it next to the speaker, which . . . yeah, not gonna happen).

 

[ProtagonistHero]

EDIT: Replaced another giant wall of outdated combos and resets with a much more applicable video!

 

[ProtagonistHero]

Progress Report 1

Got a lot of really good practice lately, playing in lobbies really helps because there's way lower iteration time, and I can filter out the first-timers and tournament champs. I also apparently learn very quickly from other people's bad habits, and playing multiple matches consecutively helps with that. Example: I played a set with a Valentine player, and ate just so many raw Checkmate Incisions thrown out seemingly randomly. Then I noticed that he was throwing them out pretty much every time he got knocked down and had super mater, so I was able to pre-emptively teleport in for a free punish. And I only delivered myself into his lap once, so that's not bad.

Actually made a few friends on Steam, which is awesome, but I made several of them while playing on a friend's account, which is less awesome. Not much else to say about that.

Spent a little too much time in the Beta playing with Big Band as my back-up, instead of Cerebella. Brass Knuckles H is better than Lock 'N' Load in just about every way (range, damage, start-up, effectiveness as a shield), but I can't combo off of it yet, so the net gain isn't as much. My neutral game with Big Band kinda sucks, but I can get a really nasty mix-up game going on if I manage to grab somebody who isn't Squigly. Also, I don't know any Big Band combos more complex than A-B-C-Special-Super.

My Cerebella is improving though. Actually landed the first half of a combo on somebody under combat conditions, which is promising. The fact that I only landed a few physical attacks I could actually combo off of and about twice as many command grabs suggests that I really need to look into following up command grabs more than a theoretical situation where somebody forgets to block a crouching attack. Unless I want to add an assist that hits High for some easy mix-ups, but Peacock doesn't have one of those. I'd have to add a third teammate, and I'm not impressed much by Parasoul or Squigly (I could run Peacock/Cerebella/Big Band though . . .).

Started using assists a lot more effectively, or at least more frequently and at times where they will be harder to punish. Playing as Peacock probably helps that last part. Also started watching for other people to call assists, especially single hit/high recovery ones like Updo and Napalm Pillar, then stuffing Lock 'N' Load/Brass Knuckles down their throat. Much safer than throwing out Argus Agony like I used to, especially against other Peacocks, who will absolutely teleport behind me and throw out their own super.

Stopped teleporting around quite as much. The fact that I'm using assists more helps me cover myself, instead of dropping myself right into prime face-punching territory and giving up a free counterhit whatever they want. I found that I can teleport around Squigly's dive kick, but only the Heavy version. Trying that with Light or Medium Fallen Woman is just asking to get punished. Also starting to be much more careful against Double players with meter, or Valentine with meter in case her player is feeling risky/desperate. Or maybe has a quick trigger finger (it's hard to tell with some of them if they're throwing out Checkmate Incision at full screen as a desperate last ditch attempt to close in on me, or if they're just really good at watching for chances to full-screen punish reckless stuff).

*BONUS SECTION!*

Though not Skullgirls related, it is related to me practicing fighting games, and learning some stuff that I can apply in the future.

Played another nice, long, 20 game set against Fate with each of us using the same characters each time, this time in Street Fighter IV. The last set we played ended with him getting flattened by my Iron Tager 20 matches in a row, but this one was a bit more interesting, especially because Street Fighter IV is his primary fighting game, and one of my worst. That said, we're pretty much on even footing here. The end result was strikingly close:

MAKOTO (11 wins) VS. EVIL RYU (9 wins)

I have no idea why I love Makoto so much, since I pretty much tend towards Zoner, or sometimes Tank, in fighting games (Twilight Sparkle/Rarity, Gardevoir, Lambda-11/Iron Tager, Phoenix Wright/Tron Bonne/Hsien-Ko, to name a few). Whatever it is about Makoto that draws me to her, I love it.

This set is intriguing not because of how close it was, but because of how it progressed towards the end. I started out getting destroyed pretty much every match. I still squeezed a few wins out early on, but just barely. Then, once we were about halfway through, something clicked somewhere in my head. I started being able to call out whether he was about to jump forward or throw out a Hurricane Kick to get up in my face. I could also start to get an idea after knocking him down whether he would get up mashing Grab, Shoryuken, or Heavy Kick. I caught on pretty quickly that he was mashing his reversal Ultra pretty much any time his health got low and he got knocked down, but I started to get WAY better than just that at calling out his approach.

However this happened, I need to hone it more, and get it to kick in in less than eleven matches. I don't think that this is anything special, since I'm sure a ton of people can do this better than I can, but compared to my other, still developing skills, this is probably my greatest strength right now when it comes to fighting games. I've also seen this on a smaller scale when playing consecutive matches in Skullgirls. Unfortunately, this somehow doesn't seem to apply to grab-teching, since both Ace and Mandragora can both pretty much just grab me half to death. In fact, I seem to be getting worse at teching grabs the more I play this game, not better. Which really, really sucks.

Apparently I can still learn stuff from playing with Fate. I just can't learn anything by playing Skullgirls with him.

 

[ProtagonistHero]

I knew it! This is why I put "learn other characters' shenanigans" in my list of stuff to fix.

Was messing around with Parasoul in training mode, looking for fun DHC combinations, when I started playing around with her Authority attack some more, the midair stomp that pushes her higher into the air and can be chained into other stuff. Because of the way I think about moves, I had only ever considered the possibilities of that attack in terms of potential air grab resets. "Four possible points in this air combo where I can stop and do an air grab, and then start the combo over again? Sign me up!" And now that's the only thing I can actually do with Parasoul that's not getting destroyed for constantly trying to setup Napalm Tears.

Anyway, while looking for literally anything else I could get off of it, I realized that it can easily be used to set up a cross-up with Spiral Flare. I used to constantly eat seemingly random Spiral Flares off air combos all the time, and the best guess I had was to just listen for that "Spiral Flare!" voice cue, or make a mental list of players who I had seen use it. Now it just seems painfully obvious. Watch for that midair stomp, and if I see it, be ready to pushblock a cross-up or tech a grab.

It's so simple that I feel stupid for not catching this sooner. I really need to go looking for some more stuff like this, especially because this isn't that new for me. I used to eat Mortuary Drops all the time when fighting Valentine, and now that's not nearly as much of an issue now that I know when the move gets sneaked into attack chains, mostly from learning how to use it myself. Now I really only get hit by that move when it comes out of nowhere; the old "so stupid that nobody saw it coming" trick.

Actually, that's probably why I get grabbed by Ace so often. I haven't played anybody else who will sprint right into your face with a grab attempt. Not even Cerebella players try that.

 

[ProtagonistHero]

Interim Progress Report

Haven't gotten any more practice against other human players, since I've been too busy playing Big Band's story mode, and practicing more with Peacock/Big Band. Honestly, I really shouldn't be spending as much time as I have been, though thinking about this has got me taking a new approach:

Since I'm starting to get pretty good with both Peacock/Cerebella and Peacock/Big Band, I may have accidentally stumbled onto a way to force myself to learn how to play a Triple Team. If I can learn how to play Cerebella/Big Band, I can start applying that stuff to a team involving all three characters. It won't be easy; the lowered health and damage of a Double Team made me scared to try it at first, but I eventually picked up that slack with some assist and DHC shenanigans. My ultimate goal is to be able to use Peacock/Cerebella/Beowulf as a team, so I really should get used to playing a Triple Team now.

Unfortunately, if I intend to play a Triple Team, I'll have to think even more carefully about team order and assists, since I'll have to be careful about DHCs, and more importantly, making sure that each assist compliments both of the other characters. I already know that my Peacock assist will be Shadow Of Impending Doom (L) (Charged), since I found the most beautiful, gimmicky combo ever using this assist with Big Band on point:

s. s. [] + Assist Call s. [/] +

Essentially, after calling Peacock to jump in and start charging a Shadow Of Impending Doom, Big Band can time a Take The A Train (H) into Super Sonic Jazz so that the opponent is sent flying back to Peacock's location just as the item drops, but at the very top of the stage. Due to the way that groundbounces work in this game, the opponent is spiked straight down into the ground, then launched all the way back up to the height that they were hit at, in this case, several times the height of the screen. This gives Big Band enough time to do pretty much anything, including taunt into either of his Level 1 supers. And I can even land this combo off of a grab by using Beat Extend and linking off of it.

I've got some practice already with Peacock/Cerebella shenanigans, so I really just need some Big Band/Cerebella shenanigans. Thankfully, I've seen a player by the name "Ninja" hanging out in the Big Band forum who at the very least has a great deal of familiarity with the latter team. I should check out some of his stuff again for some inspiration, and start adapting/improvising some tech.

I'll probably come back sometime in the next few days to start adding some basic Big Band combos and tech to build my miniature library of tools (pretty big emphasis on that "miniature" part). I may get around to adding other characters, but if past training sessions are any indication, I probably won't get much more than a line or two for each.

*BONUS SECTION!*

Did you know that Cerebella can reflect Parasoul's Motor Brigade Blockbuster, and the counter-projectile will destroy all of the remaining bikes and stagger Parasoul as a counter-hit? And she even has enough time to do this after blocking Napalm Pillar? I mean, at least on the ground; I haven't tried air-blocking Napalm Pillar and trying to time a reflector properly. Still, this is the first thing I've seen that can punish Napalm Pillar > Motor Brigade pretty much 100% of the time for moderately low execution required. There are other counters, I'm sure, but none that I know (Updo > Gregor Samson probably works, but I haven't checked).

I keep hearing that using Motor Brigade makes Napalm Pillar safe, so it looks like my Cerebella just got a counter for reckless Parasoul players. Sometimes. If I block Napalm Pillar on the ground and remember to reflect the super.

 

[ProtagonistHero]

Hot damn, that was one hell of an internet coma. My computer really picked an excellent time to explode, shortly after starting my training diary, and during the summer, when I don't have access to my school's library. I've been playing a constant game of frantic catch-up with pretty much everything I pay attention to on the internet, which is still really hard since my computer is now mortally wounded, instead of extremely dead.

Oh well. Nobody pays any attention to me and my giant walls of text, so I don't know why I even bothered getting upset.

Anyway, I finally got the XBOX 360 version of Skullgirls, and that version isn't even Slightly Different Edition anymore! Old news, I know, but I had to put up with choosing between Encore and Slightly Different Edition for a disturbingly long time, until my brother sold his XBOX and cut me off from Slightly Different Edition. Quel horreur!

I haven't stopped practicing, just consistently tracking my progress. Also, I had to stop playing against non-training dummy opponents, since Microsoft doesn't allow for free online multiplayer. My offense is becoming even stronger, and I'm starting to explore the wonderful depth in characters besides Peacock and characters who can provide her rush punch assist. I just have absolutely zero neutral game again.

TWO MONTHS OF TRAINING IN TWO PARAGRAPHS

Cerebella + Valentine team is fucking beautiful. I saw somebody praise this combination, and they were very, very right. I also heard several people complain about the awful synergy between Peacock and Valentine, so I had to set out to prove them wrong (and while I may not have succeeded, they can definitely help each other out a lot more than some people are willing to give credit). This led to me learning to play Valentine, to an extent, anyway. Overall, I didn't actually pick up anything all that practical, but I did pick up just, so much gimmicky nonsense. It's awesome.

Also, why did nobody tell me that there's an entire thread filled with impractical, stylish combos? I need to know these things, because that's my entire playstyle. Whatever. Saw a combo in that thread that made me do something I never thought I would: seriously consider picking up Parasoul. I have no idea what I dislike about her, but it was serious enough to get me to reject her for a long time, and I'm only now growing out of it. I found some stuff I like, but I haven't fallen for her hard enough to devote any serious time to her. And the moment that I buy some recording software/find out how to record video for free, I'm hitting that stylish, impractical combo thread. I'm hitting it hard.

Very busy with doing community service for the next few weeks (if I go to an animal shelter and walk next to dogs and watch them try to eat plastic, my college lets me take a year of classes for free!), and then I need to start looking for a summer job. As soon as I get some money saved up, I can get more than just a band-aid solution for my computer troubles, and then I can start becoming mediocre again!

 

[dragonos451]

A future "impracticle combo thread" poster arises! You better do nice stuff, or I may have to unleash my training stupidity fury :p

About how to record for free, go for OBS, it's perfect

 

[ProtagonistHero]

Actually got a few matches against other people online in the past few days. A few interesting things happened because of this . . .

1. A Peacock player many times better than myself successfully convinced me to switch my Big Band assist from Take The A-Train (H) to Beat Extend (L). I already have an anti-air grab assist in the form of Excellebella, which is good enough reason to move away from A-Train in the first place, but I also saw that Beat Extend solves a problem that's been giving me trouble for a long time: the ability to seamlessly transition from zoning to combos. When I have Brass Knuckles or A-Train assists, I always try to panic and run away whenever I lose my distance, instead of preparing for shenanigans. Now when I lose my distance, I can actually use my close range stuff, instead of turning into a coward and running off again.

2. People just can't deal with me sprinting forward with a Shadow Of Impending Doom (M) charging, and dropping it right before I get to point blank range. Maybe I'm just playing against awful people, but nobody has blocked this yet. I'll send out a couple bombs, start charging the shadow, call a few more bombs, and start running forward. And damn near every time, people will block both of the bombs, and get counterhit out of a normal attack by the item drop. Sometime's they'll super jump over the bombs and get counterhit out of a jumping attack while I'm still approaching, well before I would have had the time to cross-up with it, and sometimes way out of range of their normal attack. I could understand not blocking a cross-up, but I'm usually dropping it near the edge of the Medium Shadow's range, so it's not even ambiguous. This is just weird, and needs some more research.

3. I should play as Painwheel some more. I played Peacock + Painwheel for a match just for the hell of it in a 2 vs. 2 match. My Peacock got torn to shreds pretty quickly by an annoyingly persistent Valentine, who seemed to be able to read me before I could even get my attacks out. And then, Painwheel came in. I was pretty much able to do about fifteen consecutive resets to kill Valentine from nearly full health without getting hit, purely by making everything up as I went along. My opponent went from correctly predicting everything I did to being utterly confused and unable to predict anything. You can't predict my next attack if I can't even predict my next attack! (And then I got utterly wrecked by my opponent's other character. Still had a great time, though)

4. Parasoul no longer scares me. Well, most Parasouls anyway. I've practiced against Parasoul players enough now that I've gotten a feel for how she tends to approach, and subsequently, how to utterly shut her out. If I get touched, I'm still pretty much dead, especially now that I play a trio. But I'm getting good at keeping her just out of her reach. It's not just Peacock that's not scared of Parasoul either. People seem to love using Parasouls a. HP to jump in against Big Band, and I appreciate that since I'm starting to get good at parrying jump-ins and projectiles. My Big Band is pretty parry-happy, so anything slow to start is a blessing. And most of the Parasouls I've played so far tend to panic and start spamming the shit out of Napalm Shot the moment Cerebella steps onto the field, so once I get better at timing Diamond Deflectors, mediocre Parasoul players will be doomed no matter who I decide to lead with.

5. If the initial beam from Argus Agony is blocked at close range, you can DHC and Ultimate Showstopper people out of whatever they try to punish with. I panicked, and actually managed to do something evil instead of killing myself. I shouldn't do this on purpose, but at least I won't get murdered if I screw up anymore.

6. I haven't seen anybody else using the team Peacock + Cerebella + Big Band yet. (Although, those are Mike Z's character icons on Skullheart. I haven't seen him play in forever, so I wonder what team he uses nowadays). I've seen a couple of Peacock + Cerebella and ton of Peacock + Big Band. I've even seen a Cerebella + Big Band, but nobody else seems to want to throw all three together.

I'm starting to get back into my little groove again, and I think it's about time I update my list of combos and techniques. Hopefully with videos too!

 

[Ace Chosen]

Ace: Actually not a bad player. Plays everybody but Parasoul, whom he hates with an intense passion, and Double, who bores him excessively. Still needs to learn to do more than just grabs, Heavy attacks, and special moves, but still doesn't have an awful neutral game somehow. Can actually block and punish some things. Refuses to learn combos more complex than Normal Attack > Special Move > Super, because "combos are for weenies". Paradoxically dislikes charge characters but mains Big Band. And he does love them Brass Knuckles.

Pre-First (that's how important it is): I am pretty bad at the game.

First: Parasoul's boring. Just so boring.

Second: I never said that Double was boring, I just don't like her play-style (because I can't use it).

Third: Heavy attacks, Throws, and Specials are the only things worth doing since the'yre the only things that look flashy (and Throws be awesome, always, forever, and eternally).

Fourth: Combos ARE for weenies (gonna' rustle a whole flock of jimmies with that opinion, which is good, everyone needs some rustlin' every now and then).

Fifth: Whoa, whoa, whoa. When did I ever say that I disliked charge-input characters? If I did say it, it was in a drunken stupor (which would be pretty astounding, seeing as I don't drink).

Actually, that's probably why I get grabbed by Ace so often. I haven't played anybody else who will sprint right into your face with a grab attempt. Not even Cerebella players try that.

Aw, yeah! Cerebella players don't try that because they be weenies. My Peacock does what other 'Bella players don't. They need to grow a pair! A pair of pears! And then eat them, because fruit gives you courage (which explains my cowardice)!

 

[ProtagonistHero]

Progress Report 2

Damn, this report is long overdue. I suppose that trying to go to college, look for a part-time job, and design my own fighting game all at once doesn't exactly leave me with a ton of free time, especially now with the new Super Smash Bros. game on the horizon. But, I've made some progress since my last report several months ago, so let's check and see if I've learned anything.

1. I've grown up a lot since I started my training diary. I don't come here often (I tend to forget this thread exists, and I'm the only person who has ever paid attention to it, so . . .). I'm technically competent with pretty much the whole cast by now, but I still have a lot of major issues to work through. I don't eat really obvious resets anymore, but I still haven't shaken off my incredible weak spot for grabs. I have some rudimentary match-up knowledge, and have started to grasp some of the first elements to the neutral game and applying pressure.

2. Still working on getting Pushblock Guard Cancel down. I've actually successfully PBGC'd into Knife Gun four or five times during an actual match (not counting the three matches in a row where I PBGC'd a Squigly Battle Opera super at match start, all by the same guy). Seeing the little green flash has actually motivated me to use the mechanic, since it feels really satisfying to land one now. I knew it existed before the flash was implemented, but I just brushed it off as "expert stuff" and never bothered to touch it. Hopefully this will help my pitiful defense game (even though i'm catastrophically weak to grabs, which can't be pushblocked and beat Knife Gun).

3. Found my comfort zone with Peacock. I tend to weave in and out of mid-range, adapting between zoning and rushdown depending on how the character matchup, my opponent's behavior, and sheer lucky opportunities play out. I've actually started to get some nice, almost vortex-y stuff going down with Excellebella, but I don't always use that assist. I usually play with two close-range anti-air assists, so my opponent has a danger zone right in front of me that they have to contend with before they can land a decent hit-confirm and eat me for breakfast.

4. I used to be pretty good at Peacock mirror matches, but I've started to suffer quite a bit. Something about my new approach just gets shut down completely by any half-decent Peacock fraud. I'm not as good at punishing stupid teleport attempts, since I seem to be in position to do so very rarely now, and I just get chewed up like everybody else by wild projectile patterns. And my Cerebella isn't any good at reflecting yet, and I tend to lose to stuff with her armored moves. And I'm terrified to commit to armor or Giant Step (H) with Big Band, since I'm used to playing the matchup from the other side and punishing those two strategies as hard as possible.

5. Got a few backup teams in the works. Hopefully I'll get the chance to try them out against some low level intermediates or high level beginners. Presenting, Team #2:

Valentine #21: Savage Bypass (H)
Cerebella #02: Lock 'N' Load (H)
Peacock #12: Shadow Of Impending Doom (H) (Charged)

Full disclosure, I actually stole the first half of this team from somebody way more successful than me, then slapped Peacock onto the end because I'm helpless otherwise. But, Peacock + Cerebella is fun as hell, Valentine + Cerebella is also one hell of a time, and Valentine + Peacock is tragically underrated. Presenting, team #3:

Peacock #18: Red Hot Buckshot (c. HP)
Squigly #16: Ashes To Ashes (F + HP)
Double #14: Hornet Bomber (M)

A long time ago, when I was first starting this training diary, I thought that this team was going to be my ultimate weapon, but I never sat down to master Squigly or Double, and ended up sinking all of my time into Cerebella. So, now that I've got some nice tech going for Squigly and Double, and some neat assist shenanigans, I'd like to break this team out for nostalgia's sake some day. For the sake of completion, my Team #1 is:

Peacock #07: Shadow Of Impending Doom (M) (Charged)
Cerebella #18: Excellebella / Lock 'N' Load (H)
Big Band #16: Beat Extend (L)

Hopefully going to get some decent recording software so I can record some actual matches sometime. Maybe if I find some free time at the library, I could record some footage on a decent computer for once!

 

[ProtagonistHero]

Started jumping into Quick Match with Solo Cerebella for once. All my experience with her comes from training mode and jumping in after Peacock to either land a command grab or two for the win or get chewed apart just as quickly. Taking some serious time to learn her fundamentals and neutral game, besides just combos and resets.

After all, I got as far as I have with Peacock for two reasons: countless hours of training mode and hundreds of matches using Solo Peacock. If it worked for me once, I might as well give it a shot again.

Also hope to start making entries here a lot more often, and at a decent length, instead of giant progress reports every few months. That'll give me a lot better picture of how I'm improving, instead of "man, I can't believe I thought I used to be good."