Learning the Game

[Blade]

It's not just a visual cue...it's muscle memory...and getting your fingers used to pad or stick inputs takes time and patience.

Take Haku-men for example...his normals are deceptively simple, yet once you delve into Special Cancels, the possibilities seem endless. Learn what's most efficient, do it over and over and over again till your brain can do it without even looking at the characters (for example, I can do certain combos and look at my Heat Gauges at the same time).

Learning new characters like Hazama or Tsubaki when you've played CT can be especially daunting...but the simple fact you played any sort of fighting game before can give you a leg up over most beginners.

Also keep in mind that combos don't win fights, setups and tactics do. Learn what pokes are most effective, learn which are unsafe in certain situations, and what gives you the best advantage.

Having good training mode settings also helps. Like setting the Dummy to block "after 1st hit" so that you know what combos work and what do not.

[iamkitkatbar]

Challenge mode isn't really that hard it just takes very strict timing and watching the Sample Modo do it and picking up on exactly what they do to make it work

like Tsubaki #6 I never would have gotten it until I noticed the AI did a vertical jump after the first C then delayed the 214D into the corner [which explained why bang kept flying back asswards for 3 hours of me trying to get it]

[SLiC]

Break combos into pieces, like here. It really helps coupled with smart training mode.

[brainof7]

Thanks for the extra posts guys, I didn't realize that there was a block after first hit option in training mode! (my TV in my room is pretty small so I can't actually read all the menus unless I am trying to)

I learned a bunch of the basic basic ragna combos (thank you Ragna101 thread!) and was able to go in to challenge mode and breeze through ragna's challenges 3-5. Now I just need to find more people to play, because playing the 2 or so people I know every couple days just seems to get me good at playing them instead of playing the game

[TD]

lol @ title.

Game DOES have a training mode. There are tons of basic text guides here and video guides right on YT.

l commend your effort of trying to learn though; one less mashing scrub in the world.

As for Ragna 101, some basic tachimawari strats:

DO

abuse 5b

stay alert for dp's

Go for oki 60% not max dmg

DONT

abuse hell's fang

dp on wakeup every time

get zoned

Not much to say. Get in, stay in, mixup, win.

[uglyloli]

I'm no pro, but thought I'd offer a small bit of advice. When you're learning the game and playing online, DO NOT OVER-FOCUS ON WINNING. I did this with CT and it held me back so hard. Placing too much importance on winning, in my experience, leads to panicking when you inevitably start to get owned, which leads to mashing without thinking about what you're doing, which leads to sucking and bad habits. Try to think of online mode as a learning experience, and save your replays, even when you lose, so you can figure out what you were doing and what you could do better.

[CakeWasBannedd]

learning the game

uh-huh...

playing online

uhhhhhhhhhhh

[SolarMisae]

DO NOT OVER-FOCUS ON WINNING.

Pretty much this. It's as distracting as having someone throw a pie in your face while you're trying to play.

Anyways, everyone is telling you to play Ragna just because he's easy, but I think in the end you should learn which the character you wanna learn FIRST. All the characters are really diverse, and I find learning a new character almost like starting from scratch again. He's definitely good for learning basic BnBs and game mechanics, but again I suggest you play with who you wanna play. Don't invest a too much time in a character just because they're easy with intent of switching later, cause the combo layouts for the characters can vary greatly and you might find yourself confused again after spending a lot of time with Rags.

Example, I mained Lambda, I play her because she's fun. As opposed to Ragna, who I can't use for crap even though he's considered easy, it's because he plays very different from what I'm used to with Lambda. If I wanted to switch to maining him I'd have to start all over at this point.

I guess what I'm saying is don't spend too much time with a character just for ease, if you wanna play with someone else, go for it. It's okay to use the easier ones to understand basic mechanics, but otherwise no matter who you pick it's gonna take practice, because no character is truly easy. Easy to use, yes, but execution is only the first step. Once you actually start fight good people you'll find having good execution doesn't matter if you don't know how to use it right. You have to go into training mode and practice. Look up combo videos for your character on youtube, watch matches of your character being used by good players. Take note of how they play, and how it changes depending on who they're fighting. Theres a LOT to learn, you're not gonna get it all in just a short time.

Edited October 31, 2010 by SolarMisae

[Delrian]

My experience:

Got CT for Christmas last year (had a button mash fest at a friend's house prior, had loads of fun). Played for about 3-6 months just for fun: no real combos, using the special shortcuts, etc (started pretty much from scratch in FGs). After I started beating the computer consistently (no XBL, no interested friends) using these techniques, I slowly taught myself how to do these inputs for specials, and integrate them into my gameplay. Played all of the characters a lot, so I know what 99% of the moves look like in BB, though not necessarily what's in combos and stuff. Found DL, dropped Nu cuz she was high tier, and played Litchi with her excellent pokes ('cuz my litchi combos were gatlings or three dragons).

At the beginning of CS arcade period, Rachel seemed low tier, so I started practicing combos on training mode. Never got far, found that I'm not one of the few people who can play low tier at a high level when I bought CS. CS challenge mode is probably my first big step in self improvement; for some reason the movelist on the screen kept me at it longer than jumping in training mode.

But even after I picked a main and played a TON of matches (and even trying to teach other people the game at college), I'm still one of the freeist players in the Michigan thread (since any local scene is too focused on school to be playing a lot w/ me). Considering where I started, I came a long way; it takes time, though admittedly my CT time was for fun/prepping for CS.

I don't know your fighting game background, or at how fast a pace you are capable of learning, but if you want to get really good at this, it's gonna take up a lot of your free time. It's pretty rare to be playing other types of games and find someone who knows Blazblue. There's a reason why.

If you still want to spend the time, follow some of the generic advice in here: practice combos, read up on forums, watch videos. I don't recommend starting with Ragna unless you want to main him (and the longer you wait to pick your main, the longer it will take to learn the game).

...my story and advice, 2AM quality.

[Manta]

I'm somewhat surprised that no-one has mentioned the most important lesson in execution. Everyone does this, but we've all done it so much that it can be hard to remember we're doing it. That lesson is:

"When performing a move in a combo or blockstring you must already be performing the stick motion for the next move in the sequence so that you need only press the button for the next move after the first connects".

Quite verbose for something so simple. Allow me to give you an example, let's take that 5B 5C 214A 214D combo people keep mentioning. Now let me add in where the moves actually strike your opponent:

5B (B strikes) 5C 214 (C strikes) A (214A Strikes) 214 D (214D Strikes)

Notice how you do the first 214 inbetween where the 5C attack is pressed and where it strikes. Given the slow timing for the 214D however, you do that after you see the punch connect, makes for easy hit confirmation.

[kenja0]

If you feel like you've hit a cap with a character or you're getting bored fighting against your friends who do the same thing, you can do one of two things: master that character you're using (which takes almost tireless practice and is not always the best option when learning the game), or learn to use another character.

Learning different character can help you better understand the overarching mechanics for the game and teaches you the various playstyles other characters have.

Whereas, a character like Ragna requires a player to the next step of a combo during the current step, a character like Carl requires a player to control and position two characters and inputting their commands in sync with one another (since one is about two steps slower than the other).

Everyone has their own unique playstyle: Arakune utilizes button releases within his attacks to attack externally with bugs; Noel requires moderation and utilizing her numerous and sometimes complex options in chain revolver (she doesn't just do A>B>C>D).

Learning another character not only helps you learn and eventually master the game's mechanics, but also helps you understand matchups when you are fighting against these characters.

And somewhere down the line, if you find a character playstyle you like (except charge...), you can learn to master that character. I'm pretty sure you don't want to master Ragna simply because everyone told you to play him. He's just really generic and a good character to hold on to when starting a game. If you do want to master him, then go for it.

[cookiehours]

I got the mechanics down in this game and I'm still practicing even until this day. Don't ever give up and persevere. I remembered getting this game for the first time and being awful with Noel. She was my main at first. Then I moved on to Hakumen. Then I finally had Nu as a main because at first I thought she was hard as hell to use. But I kept practicing and I learned stuff on my own with her.

Perseverance is your greatest weapon in this game. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do this or that. Practice, practice, PRACTICE. No one becomes good overnight. I sure as hell didn't.

I also agree with being too focused on winning. That's what also messed me up in CT. I could have been more focused and patient with Nu in all the matches I lost if I had just stop focusing on winning and then getting pissed when I lost. CS has taught me that I should take every loss as a way to keep improving. When you lose, take the time to learn what you did wrong and try again. When you win, take that time to continue improving your style.

Edited November 1, 2010 by cookiehours

[Rhiya]

This going to sound kind of silly, but, when the time comes to up your ante on blocking -- you might want to get a friend, and switch to a character you have no idea how to play. This helped me /immensely/ in MB; after going for tons of matches as Akiha without getting a goddamn clue how to block high right, I switched to Tohno. I had no idea how to play him, so I basically had to learn to block or get absolutely raped.

I learned in ~10 matches as Tohno what I didn't learn in at least ~100 as Akiha, because I was too focused on doing other stuff when I played as her.

[Justice7541]

Why are you quitting Bang just because a bunch of random scrubs like Skye and Smooshman tell you to? Protip: They don't know shit about Blazblue, don't listen to them.

What you SHOULD be doing is picking the character you want to play and actually learning him. What problem are you having with Bang's 5B 2B 2C 2B 623B Daifunka combo exactly? Where is the combo breaking?

[C0R]

Is there anywhere that breaks down the more complicated combos into their shorter versions for practice?

Every complex combo is a compilation of much smaller combos with small filler in between. I think the source of the issue is that you don't fully understand the character's core mechanics due to lack of experience. It's important that you understand WHY a combo works instead of that it simply does. Combo A works only because of the large hitstun on move X for example, which allows me time for a follow up. Understand how the character links. If [X] means I can [Y] and [Y] means I can [Z], then X>Y>Z is a combo, in pretty much every case. An example of this is is Tsubaki's 22D, which causes wallbounce on hit. Wallbounce means 6CC. 6CC allows for a jumping C, jumping C allows for 236A>214C.

Instead of looking at a combo as either "simple" or "complicated", I think it's important to identify what links you cannot execute and understand why. It may be that you misjudged a cancel that can come much sooner, or that a different directional jump is required.

Saying "this is hard" doesn't help you. Understanding "I can't perform this" is easy to fix.

[FlyingVe]

^^^The above isn't necessarily true. Regardless, combos are what they are. Break it down, and go one step at a time till you get it.

[C0R]

Of course, can't disagree with you there. Seems it's always, learn the combos, which in turn leads understanding of how they work. I think I was clearifying the comment below the most part.

Most characters, and my most I mean all I can think of off the top of my head, have recurring combo mechanics.

I don't think there's a core concept or mechanic that you need to focus on, which seems to be what you're asking about. Really it just comes down to experience and practice.

Edited November 1, 2010 by C0R

[The Noble Clap]

If you keep dropping combos,do the link between the stuff you have down and the drop repeatedly 'till it makes sense.

Also, try to make all your combos Red, Communist combos. With no purple throws. And make sure you actually LIKE playing your character.

If you play Bang because he is awesome and fun and loud and you like being more free and safe than health care in Hawaii, that's cool.

[Phoeniks]

I didn't read everyone's response so forgive me if I repeat anything. I just enjoy helping beginners.

If you want to hear any specific character stuff from me I main Ragna, Bang, Tager, Hazama, and Jin. Personally, I think they are all beginner friendly characters (besides Hazama).

Anyway, here's my take. To play Blazblue successfully, especially at your level, you have to learn what moves your character can safely and effectively use to initiate combos. For Ragna, great examples would be his 5B, 5C, and j.5C. Bang uses 5B, j. 5C, and j. 5B, not to mention his nails. If you can consistently connect and apply pressure with these moves, you are sure to be at least a decent player, assuming you don't drop combos. In your case, start with the easier to do combos and work up to the harder ones. If you can score 2k - 3.5k damage off of a hit then you are doing well. If you can cut your combos short and instead combo into your Supers when you have the heat you are doing even better. Practice combos in Training with your favorite character, figure out the ones you are comfortable using, and then figure out ways to apply them in a match. Check out the character match-ups section here to figure out how to effectively play against the characters your frends use and enjoy consistant victories. Good luck.

[Endo]

everyone is telling you to play Ragna just because he's easy, but I think in the end you should learn which the character you wanna learn FIRST.

That

Your going to have a better experience with the game if you learn it the way you want, you don't have to play rags because he may be one of the easier characters to pick up. Stick to the character you like, break down the combo's, find what you're doing wrong and most importantly keep playing.

And do what everyone else has said.

[Dragonslayer9]

Go to network> training mode and set the connection limit to 3. That way you can practice combos AND learn matchups. Its what I do and it helped me improve my game. =)

edit:also, put the top PSR settings to "Stronger than me"

Edited November 24, 2010 by Dragonslayer9

[No Limitz]

Alot of people talking about combos but nothing about basic FG fundamentals...hmm..

[KayEff]

Alot of people talking about combos but nothing about basic FG fundamentals...hmm..

DL doesn't know fundamentals.

[DemiiPoet]

I'm generally new to/suck at BB but as I've been observing some of my local better-than-me players (as well as fighting them and getting my tail handed to me), it seems as though a basic mechanic of the game is to land the most/longest combos before your opponent.

Like for me, my two biggest problem match ups are vs Litchi, Noel, and Rags. When I play them, I screw up a pressure game and they punish me. They combo, and combo, and combo and before I know it, I'm left with a sliver of health.

I think this is a fundamental difference between BB and other fighting games. Where it seems SF is about poking and mind games, BB is about landing long strings of combos before your opponent land long strings of combos.

Am I wrong?

[Andarel]

I'm generally new to/suck at BB but as I've been observing some of my local better-than-me players (as well as fighting them and getting my tail handed to me), it seems as though a basic mechanic of the game is to land the most/longest combos before your opponent.

Like for me, my two biggest problem match ups are vs Litchi, Noel, and Rags. When I play them, I screw up a pressure game and they punish me. They combo, and combo, and combo and before I know it, I'm left with a sliver of health.

I think this is a fundamental difference between BB and other fighting games. Where it seems SF is about poking and mind games, BB is about landing long strings of combos before your opponent land long strings of combos.

Am I wrong?

The fundamental problem with that is simple - is poking more important in a game where abare is much stronger? Sure, BB has long combos. But it's the footsies, poking, and good blocking that will get you there rather than just knowing fancy tricks. In the end, it's fundamentals that matter: knowing when to attack and when not to attack, making good use of backdash/IAD, anti-airs, and knowing how to outspace the opponent. Once you've gotten to the point where you can deal with what people throw at you either by countering, blocking (IBing) and punishing, or evading, then you get to land combo after combo to win...assuming they can't deal with the gaps in between combos. As in all fighting games, a solid defense and knowing how to control your character and work the game's engine is more important than anything else: if you're getting hit by combo after combo, you can't fix that by learning how to combo better, you fix it by getting hit less. I could say "Street fighter is about landing attacks before the opponent lands attacks" and it would be similar in definition, since moves do comparatively much more damage in that game. Learning to combo is what gets you good damage, but it's one the least important part of playing most characters (except the ones that really need combo damage to function, e.g. Taokaka/Arakune/Noel) compared to knowing how to use the character's individual moves at neutral/while pressuring/while being pressured.