Dealing with rushing?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Raph is bad. Stick with Rugi. The CPU doesn't know how to play lol.
Others are saying the same thing...

I deluded my style down to only using the fastest and safest moves, now I find myself losing a lot. It seems like I'm getting worse.

Then again, most of the people I battle are much better than me. I fight them to get better at a faster rate. Although my percentage is taking a beating, I try not to worry about it.
 
Last edited:
I agree with Fenris. CPU play is pretty much only good for practicing reactions. Even if you decide not to play Mitsurugi in the long run, its still a good idea to learn how to play with him anyway, as he is played often and can be annoyingly played by pretty much anyone with hands. He is a solid character that is simple to play, and that can get you some winning experience when starting out.

When playing SCV, you have to keep in mind that this game is sometimes dumb and people can get away with stupid stuff. Although it may seem smart to play safe, sometimes you just gotta go out there and mash 3b and pray for a counter-hit. If you don't take enough risks, it can be hard to get that victory.
 
I agree with Fenris. CPU play is pretty much only good for practicing reactions. Even if you decide not to play Mitsurugi in the long run, its still a good idea to learn how to play with him anyway, as he is played often and can be annoyingly played by pretty much anyone with hands. He is a solid character that is simple to play, and that can get you some winning experience when starting out.

When playing SCV, you have to keep in mind that this game is sometimes dumb and people can get away with stupid stuff. Although it may seem smart to play safe, sometimes you just gotta go out there and mash 3b and pray for a counter-hit. If you don't take enough risks, it can be hard to get that victory.
Yes. I understand. I was doing better when I was doing "my thing" lol. The only people I could not beat however are the players who see through that. I realize now that I have been training too hard lately (~9 hours per day) and I've over done it. I'm taking a break for a day or two to let my mind have time to catch up.
 
Hey guys it's been a while. I want to make an update about the issues I've been having, so please don't think I am complaining, I am just looking at this from an educational perspective. I have taken a lot of time to reflect and really find out where I am lacking the most. I have a lot of people supporting me and I appreciate every single one of them.

I'm sorry this is so long, you get a special spot in my "cool people" list for reading it. The first and last sentence of every paragraph is enough to go on though. The rest is just details.

Fenris, I watched your videos and they are very impressive. You have much better knowledge of other characters' moves than I do.

Getting rushed is no longer a problem for me. I typically use 2A and 1B then poke them out of range whether they block or not. Maxi is still giving me a bit of trouble, but I've progressed a lot against him.

My main problem now is I lack the understanding of most of the moves, mainly from other characters. I still have trouble with some of Mitsurugi's moves used against me. Sadly sometimes 1A and I keep getting caught in 4B. One of my common mistakes is I think they're coming in for a horizontal slash across the chest and they end up sweeping my feet instead. I am really not sure which route to take. I've heard many different things such as:

- Go into training mode and familiarize yourself with everyone's 10 main moves then practice them.
- Learn the patterns of each individual. (Which is difficult for me because I cannot keep my emotions out of the fight and it definitely clouds my judgment)
- Watch the good players and see what they do when I'm not playing. (Which is also difficult because the fights move really fast)

I am amazingly surprised sometimes at how I am getting defeated by such cheap and unsafe gimmicks at times, even if they are using a Mitsurugi character or not. I find it extremely difficult and frustrating when people use three moves, two of which are low and one of which is a middle and they are getting the best of me with them.

Another problem I have is I freeze. It's kind of scary describing it to people, but this is a very real and serious and problem for me. I literally become paralyzed for a moment as if I'm under some kind of spell. I stop breathing, and all I can do is watch and stand while holding G while they're pounding away at me. Unfortunately this happens almost every fight against a good player, typically when my guard is about to break, I am at the edge of a ring, or I am in a corner. I have to force myself to break out of it and continue the match, but sometimes it's too late. I have rarely made an impressive comeback after I freeze.

I tend to look for players who are miles ahead of my progress. The better the player, the faster I progress, right? Maybe. It also gives me the delusion that I am a terrible player if I play with them for too long. It's difficult for me to find someone who is similarly skilled to me, as I usually annihilate beginners and lose horribly to someone who has a decent idea of what they're doing. Should I be looking for people who are in my skill range?

I've looked over DrakeAlden's page of "The importance in losing" and the information is great, but I am having a hard time applying it. I get angry at times, even to the point where I purse my lips to keep myself from swearing. I keep my microphone off when fighting to avoid exposing this irrational behavior to the other players. I have been trying to get into the proper mindset of expecting to lose every round, which is usually what happens anyway, but I still get angry. If you have had this problem, any advice would be lovely. I don't get this way unless I'm playing Soul Calibur. I laugh and have fun when I am playing with friends, even if they get a perfect 3-0 against me.

My final issue I'm having is I have trouble just "keeping it simple." To be honest, I don't much care for the flashy or pretty moves anyway, because they don't work most of the time. I just want to be fast and efficient. My mind seems to over-complicate things so my only solution it seems is to master the basic bread-and-butter moves down such as AA, 2A, BB, and variations of 6B. Also again I need to learn how to properly defend against moves. I felt like playing online just to defend against players without fighting at all. I really don't care about my win/loss ratio anyway. It's already garbage.

In the meantime, I have this future press book here and I'm casually reading through from page 1 to the end. I'm sure it will give me some impressive insight that I have not thought of myself.

Again, I appreciate any help that you offer. I should have addressed these issues one at a time, but I compiled them and it got backed up. I'm sorry.
 
Hey guys it's been a while. I want to make an update about the issues I've been having, so please don't think I am complaining, I am just looking at this from an educational perspective. I have taken a lot of time to reflect and really find out where I am lacking the most. I have a lot of people supporting me and I appreciate every single one of them.

I'm sorry this is so long, you get a special spot in my "cool people" list for reading it. The first and last sentence of every paragraph is enough to go on though. The rest is just details.

Fenris, I watched your videos and they are very impressive. You have much better knowledge of other characters' moves than I do.

Getting rushed is no longer a problem for me. I typically use 2A and 1B then poke them out of range whether they block or not. Maxi is still giving me a bit of trouble, but I've progressed a lot against him.
Cool to see that you are improving
My main problem now is I lack the understanding of most of the moves, mainly from other characters. I still have trouble with some of Mitsurugi's moves used against me. Sadly sometimes 1A and I keep getting caught in 4B. One of my common mistakes is I think they're coming in for a horizontal slash across the chest and they end up sweeping my feet instead. I am really not sure which route to take. I've heard many different things such as:

- Go into training mode and familiarize yourself with everyone's 10 main moves then practice them.
- Learn the patterns of each individual. (Which is difficult for me because I cannot keep my emotions out of the fight and it definitely clouds my judgment)
- Watch the good players and see what they do when I'm not playing. (Which is also difficult because the fights move really fast)
All of these are good ways to get better (the 2nd one being the most important), but the best ways in my opinion to familiarize yourself with a character is either
A) Play as the character for a while. Learning the character and fighting people with it is a great way to see where you struggle and where you succeed more.
B) Playing someone who mains the character on a regular basis. When you see the gimmicks enough times and find solutions to them, you can then get into the actual mix ups where you aren't just losing to character ignorance.
Another problem I have is I freeze. It's kind of scary describing it to people, but this is a very real and serious and problem for me. I literally become paralyzed for a moment as if I'm under some kind of spell. I stop breathing, and all I can do is watch and stand while holding G while they're pounding away at me. Unfortunately this happens almost every fight against a good player, typically when my guard is about to break, I am at the edge of a ring, or I am in a corner. I have to force myself to break out of it and continue the match, but sometimes it's too late. I have rarely made an impressive comeback after I freeze.
This will happen less when you get better and encounter it several times. The situation is just a "wtf is happening" factor mixed with fight or flight mode. Usually when people get this nervous they freeze up and block or they will try to mash out of their problems.
I tend to look for players who are miles ahead of my progress. The better the player, the faster I progress, right? Maybe. It also gives me the delusion that I am a terrible player if I play with them for too long. It's difficult for me to find someone who is similarly skilled to me, as I usually annihilate beginners and lose horribly to someone who has a decent idea of what they're doing. Should I be looking for people who are in my skill range?
I think it is best to fight more people on your level and above. If nobody is kicking your ass, nobody will be pushing you to get better. Every now and then you should play players below your level so that you remember how to beat their weird and inexperienced strategies.
I've looked over DrakeAlden's page of "The importance in losing" and the information is great, but I am having a hard time applying it. I get angry at times, even to the point where I purse my lips to keep myself from swearing. I keep my microphone off when fighting to avoid exposing this irrational behavior to the other players. I have been trying to get into the proper mindset of expecting to lose every round, which is usually what happens anyway, but I still get angry. If you have had this problem, any advice would be lovely. I don't get this way unless I'm playing Soul Calibur. I laugh and have fun when I am playing with friends, even if they get a perfect 3-0 against me.
The fact that you get mad means that you don't want to lose anymore, which is an important quality if you want to get better. You just have a competitive mindset, that is all. The reason why it only happens in Soul Calibur is because there is only you and one other person. It is not like CoD or Halo where you can blame some of your loss on your team. Your loss in Soul Calibur is purely your fault since the playing field is even and one on one , so it bruises the ego.
My final issue I'm having is I have trouble just "keeping it simple." To be honest, I don't much care for the flashy or pretty moves anyway, because they don't work most of the time. I just want to be fast and efficient. My mind seems to over-complicate things so my only solution it seems is to master the basic bread-and-butter moves down such as AA, 2A, BB, and variations of 6B. Also again I need to learn how to properly defend against moves. I felt like playing online just to defend against players without fighting at all. I really don't care about my win/loss ratio anyway. It's already garbage.
Being good at keeping it simple is probably the best quality you can have as a player since it targets basics. Although if you don't use your other annoying moves (2K BE, 3B, 33B, etc.), you are only holding back your options.

Hope this advice helps. If you are on XBL and have a headset, I can talk you through some things.
 
Unfortunately I do not have my 360 anymore.

I do however have a flash drive to post videos on youtube. I don't have any experience using it though. It was formatted for the xbox and I need to figure out if I can switch it to the ps3. Although I haven't attempted to use it, once I figure it out I can learn how to post videos on here. At least then you'll have a visual representation of my style. From there, I will need to learn how to post videos on here. I figure all you need to do is copy and paste the link.

I'll tinker around with it today or tomorrow.
 
Play SCV And Maybe I Will Let You
Got eeeeeem.

@Aanlaien
Losing is a very important part of the game. If you don't lose, then you have no incentive to notice and correct the mistakes you are making.
For your problem you seem to have vs Mitsu and 4B, unless you're fighting a decent Mitsu who uses the move well, lots of players tend to throw out 4B too much and at very predictable times. I bet if you head to replay mode and check a few of the matches where you get hit by it, you'll probably see something dumb like 1B then 4B. After playing vs Mitsu enough, I doubt you'll continue to have too much trouble against that move vs random Mitsu players.
And now for the "Almighty Statue Block". Don't fear it. This is your power. People who can't deal with it hate it. People who can deal with it hate it. If you can learn to JG well and can predict when your opponent is going to do a low, there is no need for all of this "attacking" nonsense. No need. Only through standing still and observing can you obtain the correct defense Kappa.
No, but seriously, SCV is very rewarding for playing aggressively, but sometimes you will find yourself in situations where your opponent has greater knowledge of when they are at advantage and will pressure you into defending and try to get you to mash out attacks to end their barrage of attacks so that they can continue to hit you. If you just don't know when it is safe to attack, don't. Some players may argue that this is dumb and it will get you nowhere. I'd say they are right and wrong. If you're the type of player that is willing to sit there and let your opponent wreck your guard, they are right. But, no matter how much you count the numbers or learn the match ups, players are people. They will get mad and frustrated and sometimes, that is all you need to throw your opponent off and give them the impression that they don't know what you're doing. I'm not saying you should make it a habit to sit there and block and depend on that to win your matches, because that won't be enough, but sometimes waiting is an option. I choose to think of it as taking a risk rather than giving in to your opponent's knowledge.
I don't really have anything else to add that PW hasn't already covered except that Mitsurugi is the greatest character screw this ban Viola shit, ban Rugi. No wait don't I didn't think that through he is the only character I play
 
So let's recap...

1) Master the basic bread-and-butter moves down such as AA, 2A, BB, and variations of 6B.
2) Incorporate more moves: 2K BE (build meter first or you'll get punished), 3B, 3B BE, 33B, 6A, 22_88A and 33K.
3) Remember to maximise your damage like CH B6, 1A & 3B (or 33B) 236B BE, 1B or 6B2
4) Watch this:
5) Go to training mode and learn how to avoid and punish low level strats like BE & CE abuse used by casuals.
6) Watch your replays and note down the moves that are creating issues for you.
7) Go back to training mode.

I'm surprised there's no decent US mitsu player on PSN who can help this poor fellow out.
 
Last edited:
I have a new game plan.

I got far enough in the book to find training mode, and only after reading just a few short paragraphs of this mode, I've realized that I haven't even been training properly until today.

Since I still find myself struggling against opponents, I am going to take a nice long break from them and get acquainted with training mode. Right now I am learning how to properly defend against the moves I hate the most. I'm practicing with the frame delay on because I mostly play online, and I'm trying several different options for the best results. In the theme of keeping things simple, of course.

There is still a long way to go, and a lot of practice to be done, but at least I'm on the right track. I'll repost in a while if I have any questions or concerns.
 
There might be a such thing as 'best character in the game', but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's the best character for YOU. Mitsu is solid, no doubt, but no matter how much I wanted to, I just couldn't get good with him. Maybe you should consider Xiba, he has really long range a 14 frame horizontal mid that wall splats and RO, not to mention he's like the easiest character in the game to use, while still being VERY good. Just ask Party Wolf.

You should probably look at yourself and figure out what aspects of Soul Calibur you ARE good at. Are you good at playing keep-away? Do you have a knack for block punishment? How good is your execution skills? Do you prefer the simple straightforward characters or the more complex ones? Do you have good yomi? (mind-reading future telling skills)

There is a character tailored to YOUR strengths, there might even be multiple. For example Alpha-Pat might be one of the top 5 in the game, but since my execution isn't fantastic I will never win with him.

I'm of the mindset that if you pick a character that appeals to your tastes, rather than "who's top tier?", you will more likely succeed. That being said, Fenris was right when he said Raph was bad, but that doesn't mean he can't win. A highly skilled specialist can still be quite dangerous, even at the highest level. He does have some really annoying shit :)
 
Mitsurugi was my first class for two reasons. The first reason is I was told he was a good character for beginners, I would still agree with that. The second reason is I really like Samurai.

I have tried many different styles of the game now. With Mitsurugi I like the fact that he's simple and powerful, but because he is simple I get angry a myself for losing.

I have tried Xiba, he was the second character I've tried after Mitsurugi. He is a generally fun character, I don't know why. I guess I just like his playful spirit.

The character I have the most fun with out of all is Yoshimitsu. His style really allows my creative side to take over and his almost endless amount of mix ups makes it easy to develop a style my own. Not to mention you can make people laugh while you fight, at least in casual games. In a serious match, I am not very good with him yet.

I fiddled around with Nightmare and won rather easily against a person I've been struggling to beat with Mitsurugi. I beat him 3-0 with a perfect at the end my first time ever playing Nightmare online. That happened about 15 minutes ago.

On the other hand, just about 2 hours of training and I could pull off alpha Patroklos' 4 star combos 10/10 times. Online, I can replicate his combos but it's much more difficult for me to initiate them, reasons being obvious. I believe if I kept practicing with him I could get really good. What I really like about playing Alpha Patroklos is the fact that when I lose, I don't get angry because I know how ridiculously hard he is to play. When I win, I really feel like I've achieved something. With another week or two of training with him, I would have his moves down and be ready to go toe-to-toe against the average player.
 
Well if you can pull off his twister consistently, I'd say go for it. Even though the moves themselves are hard to pull off, he's actually a pretty simple and straightforward character, with some of the best moves in the game, notably 33B. Oh and his Critical edge is only 8 frames! A counter hit 2A combos into his CE! This is literally the fastest non-stance move in the game (Nightmare's NSS K I believe is only 6 frames).

If you enjoy the character, play them, regardless of tier status. Hence why I am a Raphael main :)
 
Well if you can pull off his twister consistently, I'd say go for it. Even though the moves themselves are hard to pull off, he's actually a pretty simple and straightforward character, with some of the best moves in the game, notably 33B. Oh and his Critical edge is only 8 frames! A counter hit 2A combos into his CE! This is literally the fastest non-stance move in the game (Nightmare's NSS K I believe is only 6 frames).

If you enjoy the character, play them, regardless of tier status. Hence why I am a Raphael main :)
i like your advice. I think I will practice them both and decide later. Whether I am one of the best or not, playing one the hardest characters in the game really makes me feel good about myself. So I will keep him in my training regimen. Thank you.
 
Use mids. Rugi also has really good step killers so take advantage of those. He's also a rush down character with great range. Learn his frames. It'll do you a great deal of help.
 
Opened. Just cause you didnt like your answers doesnt mean other player cant learn from your mistakes.

Mage let me do my job k thx bi.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back