Feanor

First and foremost it's 623D and not 623B. 623B has only one hit so no wonder he got it wrong after this mistake.

Fixed it for ya.

There is, and it's been described in one of the stick threads here on DL, and the question has been asked numerous times. Doing it though requires soldering skills, base knowledge of electronics and of course specific resources (MC Cthulhu PCB is the most commonly used one for such mods), so you might start looking around your neighbourhood for someone experienced in electronics if you haven't soldered anything yourself.

That's quite off topic, isn't it? Anyway, if you're saying a newcomer to the game has to work for his victories with Ragna just as hard as one who chooses to play as Jin I have to ask: have you played CS? Hazama is more like Ragna in this matter, but my sig doesn't suggest my characters are particularly hard to use (on low level), on the contrary actually.

You should be able to find a Hori Real Arcade Pro for something like $75 I think. Try amazon.com, bought my HRAP3 for $60 from there. Also, keep an eye on shoryuken.com, if there's another sale on MadCatz TEs they'll have a thread on their forums about it. Since you've already got a stick I think SE wouldn't be a good idea. SE has all parts made by MadCatz, so the quality varies from model to model and isn't very high altogether. HRAP has an original Sanwa JLF joystick, so you'll probably never need to switch it out. Its buttons are made by Hori but mine are rather fine and besides, buttons are cheap and easy to switch out in those models because of Quick Disconnects. MadCatz TE is usually really exoensive, I think it might be cheaper to mod a HRAP with Sanwa buttons to get the same effect. TEs are like HRAP SAs in that they're all Sanwa parts with the feel of real Japanese arcades. They're really wotth the money. You say you realize the cheap fightpad doesn't feel right. If you try anything below those three models you'll feel the same way about it too. $60 ain't that much for a controller that you absolutely need to play a whole genre of games properly. My Force Feedback wheel was more expensive and I got it just to play Colin 2007, TDU and GT5. It's really worth the investment, a good joystick in your stick is vital.

Let me keep on dreaming!! Dreams are so sweet.

Wow, 5k meterless in the corner? And probably by the time the combo ends Jin has more than enough meter to apply some crazy pressure or perhaps even end with a DD. Funny how it sounds like a CS1-style combo of the kind CS2 was supposed to put an end to.

I think at one point Stunedge said it didn't make a difference. Going by the CS2 videos it still works how you need it in the combos, and since its vertical hitbox made it a lot more useful as an AA move (and 5D's increased speed makes it a better long-range poke when range is what you really need) I'd say there's no need to worry about that. Edit: see for yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS9C47xoIeE especially at around 7:02 (near start of round) - 5C there still connects and 5D after it seems fast enough to actually make it a viable blockstring (though I'm not sure if that dash cancel was a good idea). Also, see 4:11 here.

If you enjoy playing as Rachel don't look any further, just keep doing what you enjoy and you'll keep getting better. Rachel is quite possibly the hardest character to play as in CS2 due to how hard you have to work to get any decent damage in, but she's supposed to be a solid mid-tier character in CS2 so it will probably pay off if you stick to her. And don't expect to win against mid-level or - hell - even low-level players if you just bought the game last week. Give it some time, keep doing what you enjoy, that's what gaming is about. If you find yourself liking another character along the way (I recommend you to beat Arcade mode with every char before you actually settle for your main) you can always sub him and if he fits you more you will find out he's become your main anyways. That's what's happening to me with Jin/Hazama right now. Watch some tournament videos if you haven't already done so - there you can more or less see what all the characters are about. Gatlings, pressure, mix ups and priority you say? You might want to try out Bang. As much as I love his character design I haven't been able to like his moveset myself though, so if you don't enjoy using him stick to Rachel.

Yeah it is. You might want to start learning it with some definite combos, meaning no freestyle, just training combos/challenge mode stuff. If you know how a combo should work then you know what the combo counter is when you start sekkajin. It helped me to watch the combo counter and then I would stop mashing C just before the number indicating the 8th sekka hit would appear. So if you're doing just dash 6B>sekka you need to stop just before you see a red 9 on the counter. After you do it enough times you kinda get a feel for the timing and know exactly when you need to stop mashing no matter what combo you're doing. Also it helps to get a feel for the 6th hit etc. - the ones that you can stop with less recovery. Just in case you screw up and start sekka when they're blocking. Edit: As a sidenote, I suppose it's even easier to memorize the timing with Unlimited Jin, since he flashes white before the 8th hit. If you happen to have UJin you might want to check it out.

The green ones. I thought about making a thread like this myself when I first heard the news a few days ago. Their launch titles are kinda crappy (except for Metal Slug) since they're all first parts of a series, but once they get to SamSho5Sp, Last Blade 2 and KOF - fuck yeah! - 98 I'm gonna need a PSN card cause I can't imagine missing out on those! I'm hoping they don't fail at netcode, that would be a shame. :/

Jin a rushdown? I'd characterize him more as a "tricky" character since he doesn't really have decent pressure or fast combo starters and has to catch the opponent off-guard to do anything ("tricky" because of the nature of 2D, j.5D and EX moves; high-level players don't really play him as such but for low-level play he's rather gimmicky). When you're in the corner against a Jin he might seem like a rushdown char since that's where Jins can do real damage so the Jin player might seem desperate to get a starter in, but that's exploitable. Also I may be wrong but I think there's only one character in the game for whom you can buffer moves into combos and that's Ragna. I suppose Makoto's hitstop on some moves makes it easy to hitconfirm/follow them but I'm not sure exactly how beneficial it is for the player. The difference in difficulty between Ragna and the other characters is rather huge. Hazama is also an extremely interesting character, who might be called "rushdown" though it's not entirely appropriate for him. His basic BnBs are very easy to learn and his drive allows many possibilities during a match. Since his execution isn't Ragna-level easy I think it's easier to pick up subs if you main Ragna, I know some Ragna players who only play their main cause they find other characters difficult.

The "if you like" stuff never got grouped, it's extremely subjective, and TBH if there are certain things you like in your fighting game characters you'll notice them yourself when playing through their respective Arcade/Story modes. Here's one though: * If you like other people to decide how you should try to have fun with your game, expecting to be a pr0 in a week, and then quitting cause "they said I'd like it/it would be easy for me/this game is stupid", go to dustloop.com and look for the "Picking a main" thread.

You can't go wrong with that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0cFs5mHQC4&feature=related If practice sounds bad for you than just play, play and play even more. You'll be losing a lot, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Especially when you're a beginner sometimes you will do the wrong things even when you know what the right thing to do is. Just try to learn something from every match you lose. You might also try looking around the matchup thread for other beginners from your area. When you're asking about character-specific stuff it's no longer about fighting game fundamentals I think. At least in a game like BB where every character specializes in something. Edit: BTW if you live in Europe and play on PSN add me, I'll gladly introduce you to some of the basics since I need some vs Tager matchup knowledge anyway (and I suck at teching throws).

Remember you're probably going to pick up subs somewhere along the way and you need the same button layout for all characters, so just stick to what seems natural to you. From what I've seen a vast majority of players (pros and amateurs alike) prefers Type B layout and I must say I'm one of them. Having A under my thumb (strongest finger) seems like a bit of a waste for me, and in Type B I find myself pressing C with two fingers (ring and pinky) when I'm unsure I'll get input right. That's for playing with stock Hori buttons though, as soon as my Sanwas get here I'll be alright pressing it with just one. But really, all the reasons in the world are just worthless theoryfighting, both layouts are pretty comfy (yep, tried using A for a while) so find the one that comes naturally and stick to it.

Fast, rushdown, piss-easy to pick up and play: Ragna. Don't know about high level though.

Unless your hands are big I suggest you stick to thumb to ring finger DABC layout, I think it's more natural than switching hands mid-combo. As for HRAP EX it's a great stick, I've got its PS3 counterpart. The joystick is a Sanwa JLF just like in the Japanese arcades, so it should last you for years to come, but be prepared to switch your buttons out for Sanwas or Seimitsus. If you like them ultra-sensitive like the Japanese do (or so I heard) buy yourself some Sanwa OBSF/OBSN-30s (and two OBSF/OBSN-24s for start and select). I ordered replacement buttons for myself a few days ago from Laugh at etokki.com - nothing beats his prices, especially since I'm European (so no lizardlick.com for me). Myself I'm still using the stock buttons but I can already feel the C on my stick not reacting as quickly as the other buttons (ah those sekkajins, Hazama's j.Cs and Hakumen's 4C/3C/6C/j.C spam). Be prepared to have to switch your buttons anywhere from 3 to 6 months in. As a last resort you could always swap the most used with one of the buttons you don't use at all, but them buttons ain't that expensive so I wouldn't fool around like that.

Yeah first things first - you should find out what Windows is doing with the joystick input. I'm not sure what it's like on W7 but on WXP it was under Control Panel-> (Advanced View) -> Game Controllers. If you find something like this in your CP it should list something in the "Installed game controllers" window when your stick is connected. If there's nothing there then I guess you'd have to ask around SRK or maybe even MadCatz for custom drivers/troubleshooting. If there's a position in the aforementioned field then right-click it -> calibrate and test out all the inputs. If there's something that doesn't work tell us what it is and maybe we'll find a solution, if everything works you'll need to see what applications ignore the stick and if they're from the "Games For Windows" brand. If they are, Xpadder or Xinputemu will probably help, like Kinezumi says. If you can't find it I can post some screens tomorrow and check out at my friend's PC how exactly W7 CP looks.

Button mashing Ragnas are a fearsome opponent for inexperienced players who try to actually think when they're playing (think Maxi from Soul Calibur... actually, think just Soul Calibur) but all mashers have at least one single weakness, an achilles' heel you can exploit to put an end to their convoluted Beginner Mode strings. This secret technique, devised by ancient warrior monks in arcades of yore, knowledge of which has been circling around the world and passed down from masters to their adepts... you may have heard its name, at the sound of which all mashers tremble with fear and excrement all over their underpants in fury if you use it on them - "blocking". Now I shall share this skill with you, so that never again should you fall prey to fierce button mashers. Press and hold down-back on your gamepad, and patiently watch your opponent's attempts to break your powerful secret shaolin guard. If you see him using an overhead move or jumping, quickly switch to holding back, without a shred of a second of hesitation, and then again crouch when he's done. Be patient, my padawan, and keep watching. If the Force is strong in you you will soon notice which of your opponent's moves leave him defenseless for long enough for you to punish his ignorance. If you use this technique, prediction matters not since your opponent has to recover from an attack before he is able to mash out another one. When you show off the skills given to you by this secret knowledge and hurt him greatly in the name of the Secret Shaolin Arcades , be sure to shout in his ear the ancient warcry of warrior monks - "U MAD?!" - thus you will ultimately demonstrate your superiority to him and you can rest assured that most likely he will never challenge you again. In other words, if you make your defense impregnable, your style will be impetuous.

Ice sword spam against a Hakumen? O_o Are you guys serious? The only projectile that's easier to catch is Makoto's ball/whatever it's called. If you can't hit an ice sword (especially the C one) with your sword, then how are you playing against Hazamas? All jokes aside, most projectiles in this game are easily voided with 4C. Launch the practice mode, program the Jin dummy to spam ice swords and 4C away until you can do it 10 times out of 10. Then train with other moves like 5C and j.2A. Personally I like 4C voiding projectiles and then hiding behind them to see if the enemy charges in (fucking netplay -_- seriously lvl 40+ Makotos destroying the voids with their bodies make me lose faith in humanity) and if he doesn't - well, time works in Haku's favour most of the time. Fun fact about this matchup (one of the netplay stories): If a Jin screws sekkajin and continues to fling his sword in the air after you're out of its range (assuming you're blocking it of course, low block is preferrable for this I think), DD counter can easily countertroll his lameness. Just don't fall for it and don't try to do anything else till he's in the recovery cause most moves will make you eat a sekkajin blow and it looks really, really stupid. Also never use it twice in the same match, or even against the same player, only if you're against a masher who always continues to mash C hoping that you'll do something stupid and eat a counter hit.

There was this one guy who built himself a Haku-themed arcade keyboard in the "Post up your arcade stick" thread. Really I think I'd rather learn playing on a stick than build something like this, but his effort and execution were commendable.

Does it really help? I've beaten the Score Attack (as well as the Arcade Mode on Hell) and let me tell you I suck at this game badly. :P The AI knows your inputs and reacts to those instead of your actions, so it's easily fooled by mashing, easily counter-hit with a random super done from the other side of the screen and very hard to beat in a conventional manner. Also the AI is as guilty of making me abuse Sekkajin as a few of my PSN friends who always fall for it (kids, never try to hit a Jin out of sekka or you'll eat a CH; wait for him to end it instead and own him during the recovery), so I think it'll actually make you pick up bad habits instead of dropping them.

http://jonvandalen.com/newblog/2009/03/08/download-template-for-hrap-joysticks/ <- it's for the HRAP, but you should be able to see the general idea that applies to any stick http://shoryuken.com/f177/where-print-fightstick-art-best-quality-what-about-acrylic-175421/ <-- some more info If you decide to buy a MadCatz stick be sure to search the SRK forums thoroughly, those guys are in love with MadCatz so they've got a lot of materials about their sticks (also a bit of a bias when it comes to reviews IMO, but that's flame material so I'll leave it at that). If you settle for a HRAP EX then the above tutorial about the PS3 HRAP3 will work for the Xbox version too. Myself I'll be getting a plexi cover made here somewhere (I'm not gonna order one from the US, the shipping will kill my wallet) and put a high quality print between plexi and the original panel. This way I can swap it out with no extra hassle if I ever get bored of it. You can also lamilabel the print and stick it on the panel like in that tutorial I linked you to, but if you want a fancy mod get plexi.

But if you want to later mod it to play on PS3s the MadCatz TE and SE are the best picks. Same tier products from Hori are the Real Arcade Pro sticks, but since their price is more or less the same I'd also advise the MadCatz TE or SE. I myself recently got a Hori RAP3 for PS3 that I'll later mod with Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons to get it on par with TE ($60 stick, ~$25 buttons) and I couldn't be happier with a bigass bulky controller, but I don't need any fancy dual console mods.