Your character isn't working for you

Sp1d3r

Sp1d3r

Demon Beaver
I have been using Nightmare for a long time now. There's still a lot of adjustments for me to make, and still a lot to learn. However, people have been suggesting that "the character isn't for you", "try different characters" etc. I feel my plateauing has nothing to do with the character, but more to do with learning fundamentals, but I'd like to know what you guys think.

Do you think all characters can be learned and used logically, or that someone's "fighting style" must match the character?

This thread is specifically aimed at people that compete in tournaments. I'm not interested in anyone else's opinions.
 
This is a relatively complicated subject.

Sometimes, personal style can help in finding the right match. Though, this can change. Originally I was an advocate of hard-turtle style, and balked at the idea of rushdown. But, I liked 66B+G so much that I put time into learning the character, and now some people would call me a very aggressive player.

Liking the character is a factor. You play to have fun (I'd assume), you wouldn't want your play to be loveless and devoid of emotion. I mean, you could do the whole "win at any cost" thing and sacrifice your enjoyment, but tournament payouts don't seem like a good way to pay the bills (as of now. hopefully that changes! one day!)

Some characters are going to be easier to play than others. I like to phrase it as- I don't see characters as necessarily "weak", I see them as having high skill requirements. I like Dampierre, I've wanted to play him since I saw SC:BD. But, I'll readily admit that I'm not good enough (at least at this point) to play as him.

As a player grows, it might be better to play as "easier" characters. That is to say, said player enjoys winning more than using their desired character. After a certain point in skill, though, that player should seek to play how they want, and gather more knowledge to refine their play.

Trying new things can't hurt. It's not like you'll forget how to play your old character. Early on in the game's lifespan, I lost faith in Patroklos, and switched to Mitsurugi. After a month or so of study I ended up switching back after learning more things about Patroklos. It's really a win-win- either you'll find a character that you like more, have more fun playing, or "feels natural" to you, or you'll find a different perspective, and see your old character in a new light.

It's a relatively brute-force approach, but I believe the way to solving problems is just to gather more knowledge. The more understanding you have, the better the decisions that you make.

"If you knew better, you'd do better."
 
I've faced the same dilema. I played Soph in SCIV and I wasn't feeling the Alexandras in SCV so I dabbled around with a bunch of characters, and I found that Siegfried fit my style better. After playing with Sieg for a while I'm starting to see some of his weaknesses, and I've been debating trying yet another character.

Worst case scenario: you know how to play against a particular character better and how to punish the character you were once playing as.

Best case scenario: you have a new main and become a better player with that character.

The main concern I would have is doubt. You'll lose a match and think "if I had picked X instead of Y, maybe I would have won".

Only seems healthy to try someone else out unless you're dominating everyone as it is; and in that case you probably wanna try someone else because you're dominating too hard.
 
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