"New" player looking for advice!

Lamme

Lamme

[08] Mercenary
Hello everyone!

I've browsed this forum a couple times before but I've always been intimidated by the sheer mass of weird things like 11_44_77K 234's, impacts, guard bursts and whatever :D ! I've tried to search for proper beginner discussions and threads with detailed information on the mechanics of the game etc but I think I've failed on that matter. :|

So I wanna ask you guys, do you have such a topic somewhere at all? A link would be amazing!

Other then that I was wondering what is the best way to become better in this game? It feels like there would be a SUPERHUGE gap between a casual player (me) and the better players. :|
Do I have to learn to use these weird signs for moves, know anything about frames* etc you guys got here or can I get better just by playing the game itself? I just wanna smash ass but still know what I'm going to do the next second, not just randomly faceroll on the controller.

I used to play Soul Calibur 4, now the newest one. I played 4 for about 100 hours or so, most of it came from local matches with my friends and some of it came from online ranked matches.
I've only spent 30~ hours on the fifth one so far, mostly online.
Most of my time in SCIV went with Kilik (which is not the same guy in V anymore ._.?) and Cervantes. I've now been playing Phyrra but I don't feel like she fits as my main either, I've tried to play with others too but I just can't make up my mind.
One thing I've noticed is that I'm usually using the same button combinations on all of the characters! I guess it's only because I've learned to use those buttons comfortably and they're easy to remember for me.

*which I totally don't understand how they can be of any importance since the game runs on 60fps as far as I know and there's no way I could "read" single frames leading to whichever attack. One should think that it's enough with knowing that there is slow, normal and fast attacks or am I totally wrong about this?

PS. Is the player base really that small that you have to wait several minutes to find a match online? The waiting time was only a minute or so when the game launched but it feels like it would get worse by the day!

Sorry for the lengthy post

Lamme
 
Hey man, new to SC5 here, this may help you out with the terminology, if that's what you're asking for (Don't know if I read you post right) http://8wayrun.com/threads/basic-notations-and-terminology.58/ -- Also, if you're looking for general discussion, hit up the character-centric soul arena forums listed in the forum-hub thing. And I guess just lurk around the New player arena (that's what I've been up to at least lol) Anyways if you play on XBL, feel free to add me for some matches. Gamertag:DestroFraud
 
I figure what better way to make my first post than as a lil reference pic I cooked up...unless I got it wrong hahaha!

8wayrunnings.jpg
 
Thanks guys, much appreciated! (Sorry for the late answer and I hope my innocent bump wont irritate anyone)

I'm still playing the game semi-actively, although it does suck that none of my friends do it. The fighting game scene in Finland is near non-existent too, which doesn't make things any easier. Playing laggy online battles doesn't make you a good player.

I've settled on Pyrrha for now, but I'm still trying out other characters as well and hoping to find one soon.
A character with longer range would probably be a good choice.

In order to improve, I've also been searching for better controllers for the game (currently playing with a Razer Onza controller )and I've read a lot about the different arcade sticks and fightpads. There's basically no stores in Finland selling these things, meaning that I didn't have a chance to try out them beforehand. I decided to blind order 2 Madcatz SFxT FightPads from Amazon earlier this week.

I'm still interested in the arcade stick too, and I might have to buy the Madcatz Soul Edition one which looks very good in my eyes. It's just that I've never ever even touched an arcade stick before (there's no arcades in Finland lol), which makes me very concerned. Still, everyone are saying that they're the best choice if you decide to play more than the average player. I'm also playing some 2d fighters (SF) and I've heard that sticks are the best choices there as well.

Over and out!
 
well first thing i would generally do is find the type of fighting you like

rushdown, defence, grapple, etc.

then find the begginer character to use for each one.

an easy rushdown to use is mitsurugi, easy defencive is nightmare, and the easy grapple character is astaroth.

i personal use astaroth and dampierre ( he is the dlc character) astaroth may be a begginer character but he has always been my homie (gimme yo souls gurl) i also like how astaroth is thought of being big and stupid but in his qoutes he actually turns out to be one of the more intelligent characters

but anyways

hit me up on xbox if you are interested im a tad new to scV too.

hell maybe i can show you some things with asty

gamertag = GameShark97
 
Getting a stick won't inherently improve your game. You'll need to learn the basics first.

Good first steps are to find easy to use characters to build up an understanding of the game's mechanics.

Take Pat, for example. He's got easy-access launchers, some aGI (Auto-Guard Impacts), A decent BE (Brave Edge) game and and easily comboable CE (Critical Edge). Using him for a while will help you settle into basic inputs and teach you a bit about timing, without being too unsafe. Then, once you're more confident, you might find more characters you like the flow of. Pyrrha is good, but without mastering the Angel Step manoeuvres, she's average.

Remember that you have 3D movement. I've seen a lot of people who're used to 2D fighters not taking advantage of side steps and Quick Step. This has never worked in their favour.

Play people of your skill level, until you get some basic ideas down. Then try and challenge people proficient with the characters you like - It's the best way to learn new combos, and how to take advantage of all situations.

Mostly though, don't let the amount of terms, options and mechanics overwhelm you. Sure, it's intimidating seeing all the terms and abbreviations, but take it a step at a time and you'll be ok.

Most characters share similar inputs for similar commands, a lot of Unblockables share inputs, and, unless I'm mistaken, every character has a launcher attack accessed by "3B".

Finally, once you've found a character you like, go into training mode and look at the command list. At the bottom of the "main moves" tab, there're 5 combos. Try to nail each one of those once. It's good practice and shows you how certain attacks can be used in conjunction with others, to present new possibilities.

If you want some friendly matches focused on learning and combo practice, I'll be happy to add you on XBL. Just throw a PM at me and I'll see you on there~
 
Thanks again for the informative answers!

Firstly about the stick: I was thinking about getting one cause I think I need one for 2d fighters, but I could also use it for SC and other 3d games. I was playing SF yesterday (for the 2nd time ever) and my thumb got destroyed when I was using the analog stick and/or the d-pad on a regular Xbox controller >.<

I think I'm pretty familiar with most of SC's mechanics already, except the more advanced stuff like just guard, guard impact and guard brake. I've sometimes tried to pull these things off and sometimes I've managed, but only in training mode. There's no way I can do it online, and that also applies to longer combos which are near impossible for me (I think :<) cos of the delay.

I don't think I have problems with the 3d movement as I'm actually more of a 3d player anyway. I've barely played any 2d fighters. I think I'm actually moving more (as Pyrrha at least) than most other players.

My most used abilities as Pyrrha has to be stuff like:

236b
BB
AA
4k
22/88K
11B
22/88ABK
and the BE attack 236a ( I guess that's it? )

I haven't played SC5 that much online yet, but I'm usually hanging around 45-59% win ratio since SC4. It has recently started to get a bit lower though, probably cos I haven't been that active for the past month while others have continued to improve.
 
Yeah, getting JG and GI out online can be fairly hit and miss for most. Though it sounds like you're doing just fine. If you've not been to Pyrrha's Soul Arena yet, I'd suggest you skip on over to look for some better combo ideas and find out more about her moves. Good luck.
 
I think the SCV official guide would be of great help if you really want to get into the game. It's the best FG guide I've seen in a long time. It covers ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING about the game, the only drawback being that some characters have changed a lot since release because of balance patches.
 
The official guide looks very well made, the only downside indeed is the fact that it's starting to get a bit outdated. I don't know if you can get it for any cheaper than 20€ either...
 
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