Completely new to Fighting Games...

[MadeForCuriosity]

Hello. From what I have observed I do know that Dustloop is somewhat hostile to new players but I will try my best to ask my questions.

 

1. I have never, ever played a fighting game seriously before. I have been contemplating to buy Blazblue CP for "moderately serious" and fun playing. I have been watching Street Fighter 4 for five years through events and streams and feel the game's execution/accessibility barrier is too daunting. Is this game accessible to play by that comparison? 

2. Is Blazblue a game that is not playable on a pad (not possible to play efficiently)? 

3. Do tier rankings necessarily dictate viability in CP as much as they do in Street Fighter 4? For example, in SF4, Dhalsim would have a very difficult time against Seth in top play, and that is a fact that is usually in the favor of the character design over player skill. Characters I am interested in playing in are Platinum and Hazama.

 

 

All feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

[4r5]

Hello. From what I have observed I do know that Dustloop is somewhat hostile to new players but I will try my best to ask my questions.

 

1. I have never, ever played a fighting game seriously before. I have been contemplating to buy Blazblue CP for "moderately serious" and fun playing. I have been watching Street Fighter 4 for five years through events and streams and feel the game's execution/accessibility barrier is too daunting. Is this game accessible to play by that comparison? 

In BB, a two hit combo involves tapping two buttons, that's one less than SF4!

[TeeJay]

I am mediocre at best so take that with more or less benefit as necessary:

 

For 1) I think gatlings (canceling moves into moves) make things a bit easier to start out instead of links. BBCP also comes with a pretty decent tutorial guide and then a challenge mode for basic specials for character through basic and intermediate combos. Timing isn't gonna kill you with easier characters. They even can show you buttons. Worst case, there is a stylish mode too, but it's playable. Blazblue was first contemplative 2-d fighting game years ago and I have no (basic) SF4 execution even now so it's definitely manageable. A bit different, but manageable. Your hardest situation is going to be finding people your own skill level to play with to help you grow. I will say there is a wide range of skill levels. You'll also find a vast array of character styles so something will click with you. 

 

2) It's pad doable. A few characters maybe be more difficult. Play your preference. I started on pad and moved to stick now, but I can still casual on pad. 

 

3) I lost to pretty low tier Amane today several times. Unless super high level, I wouldn't matter about it. 

 

I hope this helps a bit. I picked up the game blind when BBCT came out and now I'm playing Persona 4, Guilty Gear, etc. There's also tons of resources on dustloop and people willing to help. 

[Sashi]

1. In general, I'd say execution is easier in BB, but some of the more difficult stuff in BB is easily just as hard as stuff from USF4.

2. Pad's fine.

3. There are some annoying matchups, but it's all easily winnable. Hazama is easily high tier and a Platinum won a major recently.

[mixedmethods]

1. I'm newish to FGs and haven't had any problems here. You just have to be willing to learn and go in knowing that you're going to lose -- repeatedly and brutally -- in order to improve.

2. Plenty of people play on pad. You're going to need to make efficient use of macros, as there are a lot of dual and triple presses in BB.

3. There's plenty of character variation in BB, but when you're starting, tiers are irrelevant. You could play a God-tier character and still lose every match until you learn to block, stop mashing, etc. Play someone who fits your style and that you're willing to spend 5000 matches with, because you're going to be spending what seems like eons learning your character. The only characters I'd hesitate to recommend are Makoto (nerfed to useless -- and she was fucking awesome), Litchi (very high learning curve), and Tager (unless you like grapplers). Hazama is a solid choice and I was working on him before redirecting all my energy to P4A -- as long as he "clicks" with you, you should be fine; you'll just be learning your match-ups as you go, the same as any novice. Jin is a good entry character as well as being particularly strong right now, so you might want to try him.

I just go through everyone's tutorial and start their challenges to see who "works" for me. You'll feel it when it happens, honestly. Litchi, Hazama, Jin -- all of them instantly made sense to me, I was able to immediately internalise their optimal ranges, etc. On the other side of the spectrum, there's Noel and Rachel, two characters I couldn't control with a gun to my head.

The character I assumed I'd main and the one I turned out to be the most solid with were not the same, so I'd reserve worrying about character choice until you've begun the game. Unless you play Makoto, you really don't need to worry about tiers. You're just going to have to learn your match-ups through experience. (Man, I miss BB....)

[Sashi]

It's not like even Makoto has any big problems. She just doesn't have the bullshit the rest of the cast has.

[MadeForCuriosity]

So from what I got, Makoto is basically the Dan of BB and should just be avoided.

 

Is Tager the only "grappler" archetype character in this game?

[Sashi]

Yeah, Tager is the only real grappler.

 

Dan is fairly good now, though.

[Airk]

So from what I got, Makoto is basically the Dan of BB and should just be avoided.

 

Is Tager the only "grappler" archetype character in this game?

 

Yeah; Avoid Makoto.  Probably avoid Tsubaki too, because at the end of the day, it'll just be frustrating.  Otherwise it's a fairly open field.

 

Tager is the only true grappler in the game, though other characters have command grabs here and there. (Bullet even has a command grab super.)

[StylisH]

Execution is never a problem. It depends on how dedicated to training mode you are, so no worries there.

I use pad (hoorah) and I can play everyone (except Bang; I hate command normal air combos) so that also shouldn't be a problem.

Tiers aren't that big a deal in BB as opposed to SF. Some characters just have to work harder to win.

As far as characters go, play with who suits you best, be it Makoto or Litchi or whomever. It's a personal choice, not a community poll.