mixedmethods

I'm in the same place, in some respects. I second everything AchedSphnx said, as it's solid advice. As far as execution/favourite character struggles ... I'm in the same boat, honestly. I had resigned myself to maining Narukami in P4A but found out I was better with (and vastly prefer playing) Aigis. One thing my trainer reminds me of whenever I doubt my choice of main is that I am improving, but that improvement isn't as easy to see due to the relative difficulty of my character -- while he not only has four years of FG experience (I've got ... a month or so of serious play), he also has an easier time practising hit-confirms and combos whereas I have very different normals, trickier confirms, etc. But I love my character, win and lose, and am willing to stick with her for 3000 matches and hours in training, which isn't true for the two characters I had initially picked as potential mains. It means more work and less immediate gratification but I've made my choice. It sounds like you have as well, so it's worth keeping in mind that maining a character with a high learning curve requires more time and patience. If you're willing to stick with it and love playing Litchi, then don't switch -- just take a deep breath. Finding a sparring partner might help. I train with someone in P4A (despite the lack of legit online training) and it helps. Awareness is ... just something you're going to have to develop by losing. (My friend once told me he was going to keep DPing me until I learned to stop walking into it. You'd think I'd have picked up on the animation the first 40 times, but nope.) Either find a Relius player or programme the CPU in training to keep throwing that overhead until you can reliably recognise it. More generally -- and I don't know if it applies to you, but for what it's worth -- one thing he pointed out to me is that I lose my composure under pressure; I'm usually very good at keeping track of everything on screen, but once I'm being pressured, I stop watching my opponent and try unsafe shit in a desperate attempt to get out, whereas if I would just focus on blocking, I'd actually land safe reversals. As soon as I reminded myself not to panic, I noticed a huge pick-up in my play. It's not perfect (I still get opened up and eat it) but it's a step in the right direction. I'd recommend at least doing the basic challenges for your worst MU opponents, as well as feeling them out in training, so that you understand their moves, gatlings, and gain more familiarity with animations. It does help -- frame data isn't necessarily as intuitive as feeling out the recovery your opponent's moves have, and whether it's something where punishing is safe or you're better off blocking. Execution and fundamentals are equally important but develop at different paces. Execution is being able to perform on command, no drops or botches, and that's ... muscle memory. It's something you drill in training and by going into Versus at increasingly high levels of difficulty. Fundamentals can be worked on in single player (blocking, anti-airs, air-to-air) but it also comes from online play. The AI is repetitive -- humans aren't. But you can use the AI for certain training exercises: go in and block everything you can (you'll lose, but you're trying to stall to time out); put difficulty on Hell and see if you can actually land the combo you learned (you'll lose, but you're looking to find your safe/unsafe entry points); do a set of Versus matches in which you AA every jump-in but don't once jump yourself, and after you've gotten anti-air drills down, repeat but this time try to meet the AI air-to-air to find your viable ATA strategies, entry points, etc. This won't covert to automatic wins in online play, but it'll help you build basic skills, give you some idea of when to meet an air attack with your own versus anti-airing it, etc. Once I learned to stop my trainer from getting free jump-ins, the games radically changed. (Next step: consistently moving from the AA into my own combo.) I think of it like this: "fundamentals" are a bunch of independent skills I need to slowly raise until they converge and I have a (very thin) base. You'll be developing "fundamentals" your entire FG experience, but the more work you put into the "unfun" bits, the stronger you'll be. I can't IB reliably, but I'm at least blocking; I'm not going air-to-air when I should (or I am when I shouldn't), but I'm able to AA most jump-ins; I can improvise pressure of my own; and I've recently (recently as in "over the past 48 hours") been much better about not panicking. (I still slip up but the overall trend is good.) I don't know how tight your execution is but it's something you just have to work at -- I will spend hours drilling basic commands in training and in Versus because I botch them in actual play, so I need to be stronger there. Input speed will rise the more you play and practise. And, again, watch videos. I think LordKnight has amazing defence (he handles being pressured like it's no big deal), so even though we play different characters, I study his responses under pressure to see how to improve my own. When I'm looking at videos of other players who use my main, I look for ... well ... tons of shit: What are they doing that I'm not? Should I be doing that? Where are they getting punished? Where are they punishing their opponent? Do they play the character in a way that "clicks" with me or did they lose for mistakes even I can spot? What are they doing at neutral versus various opponents? &c.

Hah, yeah, gliding. I'm not great at it but back last year when I got P4A, I planned to main Yosuke because he has some ridiculous options off gliding and he's just fun to play. Aigis: I do know about the execution barrier. And, well, it's kind of a funny story: I'd resigned myself to maining Narukami a month or so ago after I decided I'd use P4A as my gateway to learning FGs seriously, but I never really clicked with the guy the way I clicked with Jin from BB (I had CSE on my Vita, which was how I got hooked on FGs, decided to commit to the long haul toward "not sucking," etc.). I train with ccrocker58 and during one of our first sessions, he was feeling out Narukami, so I picked Aigis because I didn't want a mirror match. And I did better with Aigis than Narukami, God knows why. And it is what it is. I didn't pick her because of "omg Orgia mix-ups/damage/FLIGHT" but because ... I will spend hours in training mode with her and never hate my character. When you're a novice, you have to play the character you're willing to stick with for 3000 matches, win or lose, and for me that happened to be the most beginner-unfriendly character in the game. I've questioned the decision lately (and played Yosuke a lot as a result) but I've come to the conclusion that I would rather take less obvious signs of improvement by playing Aigis even with my handicaps in experience and execution than doing a Narukami or Yosuke bread-and-butter combo in play because I don't feel the same satisfaction or joy from the latter. Ultimately, no matter my main, I need to work on building basic skills -- keeping opponents off me, getting in on them safely, blocking, learning my MUs, tightening execution and input speed, neutral game, not panicking under pressure, and on and on -- and I'm not looking to win anytime soon, just put up a decent fight. (And, you know, reduce the amount of stupid shit I do.) At this point, I've forgotten everything I knew about Narukami except his frame data, and I needed the kick in the ass from a friend about not chickening out and not playing my main. (Because I feel like my fuck ups are more transparent when I'm using Aigis, though God knows I'm capable of epic fails with any cast member.) So, yeah, it was always going to be a long slog toward "no longer totally free," and maining Aigis means I've made that trip somewhat harder, but I'd rather take my "learn to block" lumps playing Aigis than anyone else, and there's no getting around that. I'm taking combos in fragments, honestly. I could spend hours getting the double Megido combo down but it's not going to do me any good if I don't stop doing unsafe shit that gets me blown up. I have some pressure game, which is new and a noticeable "hey, I suck less now!" moment, but I care less about winning than I do losing respectably. It's going to be a long time before I win, and, honestly, that's not my goal right now -- I just need to try, lose, learn, try again, lose again, learn more. Yeah, I chose the path of most resistance, but I'm too far down it now to turn back and I knew what I was getting into, so I have no complaints.

GGs to all! I apologise for the random rotation mishaps (was not expecting that crowd -- I'll be prepared Monday...) and my general brain-dead state. Disabling illness, you suck.

Intermediates are welcome. To be honest, I'm the only true novice (about a month of FG experience), so I feel bad that I can't offer much in the way of competition sometimes. (I mean, it's gotta be pretty dull to fight someone that free.) But watching stronger players is always a treat and I learned so much just observing your matches. (Goddamn, I love Yosuke.) illness690 is very strong, ccrocker58 is newish to P4A but not FGs, HDT is ridiculous... good players are welcome if they'd like to contribute. The only thing I don't want is for lower tier people to be constantly put in "get hit and die" situations, because while you have to lose to learn (particularly when learning MUs -- I haven't fought many Yosukes), if you're losing at first hit, you may not even understand what's happening or what you did wrong and that doesn't lead to much "learning."

Yeah, I don't know that you're doing anything wrong. Thing is, I basically am your friend, except I'm a month into the process, not six, so when I go 0-40 against my trainer, I'm not expecting much else. I'm looking for the following things: - Under pressure, do I freak out and do something mad unsafe? Am I actually watching my opponent and choosing a good time to aim for a reversal or am I just mashing and praying that I get lucky? - Following from the above, am I doing that because I'm thinking "oh god don't let me lose AGAIN" instead of focusing on improving? Because winning is not the goal right now. - At neutral, can I actually keep my friend off for any period of time or am I hanging up a "come kill me" sign? - When I'm applying pressure, am I letting myself get blown up or am I actually locking him down? - Are my jump-ins ridiculously unsafe? Am I failing to block on approach? - When my opponent has a huge life lead (and in the case of the game and characters we play, a huge offensive advantage due to a character-specific meter), do I walk into my death or try to stall? (Regardless of the inevitable outcome, I should still be trying to play smart instead of just being an idiot.) - Can I take a round/put him at low health/do anything other than get hit and deliver myself to be killed? - Am I using all the tools at my disposal? Yes, whiffing a throw is bad times and generally gets me killed, but I'm not going to get comfortable using them unless I start going for them and learn which set-ups work, timing, etc. - Did I take advantage of opportunities to punish his shit or did I forfeit momentum? Did I force him to change plans from set to set by making it clear that I can and will put up a fight and/or win the neutral game? - If I did win neutral, did I choke? Whenever I'm at advantage, am I capitalizing on it or am I epically throwing away the opportunity because "wtf, I'm not in the corner, how did this happen"? So even if I lose, I win. We are miced, so I get immediate feedback. ("One thing I've noticed is that when you're being pressured, you start trying to get out immediately and you're not even watching your opponent." That was a lightbulb moment.) And I play other people, but for working on core skills, yeah, having a trainer is invaluable. ("I'm going to keep dragon punching you until you learn not to walk into it" -- it sounds mean, but I laughed so hard because he's absolutely right: I walk into that fucking thing so often you'd think I need to put in a call to a suicide crisis hotline, and it's not his job to go easy on me. Sometimes we'll do sets that are clearly training -- experimenting with ways my character can react to and punish the DP, e.g. -- but mostly it's just fights. I get a little better each time, and that's all I'm looking for.) The only concrete thing I can offer is to tell your friend to stick to his main, if he's actually decided on one. I thought I was going to be maining one character but found out I was much better with a different character, which was a valid shift, but my trainer called me out on playing someone I want to sub instead of using my main, because... I was being chicken. Even though I can't see it, my main is more solid than my sub. (I just feel like my mistakes are more transparent with my main, but that's my problem.) But I was losing all that valuable MU experience and practise by screwing around with my sub, and I was doing shit with my sub (going for throws, air throws, other game-related shit) that I wasn't trying with my main, because I had some kind of block on being creative. So I'd force your friend to play whoever the hell it is he plans to main in every MU, no matter how painful, because learning MUs is how you learn to take advantage of all of your character's tools. (When my trainer had a different main, I could just anti-air him on approach and force him to find a way to get in, since he couldn't do shit to me at range. Now that that's not an option, I've had to learn whole new ways to play... there have been spectacular failures and resounding successes.) That being said, if he won't go online and try fighting other people -- if he isn't willing to lose -- he isn't going to learn. I mean, yeah, I've had some wins online doing stupid shit, but against strangers (not my trainer or the other DLers I train with), I've mostly had narrow losses or losses where I took a round, which is invaluable experience. Sometimes it's ... frustrating ... because I should have the round sewn up and then I choke, but I guess ... this is where it comes down to attitude? I got into FGs knowing it would be a long haul. I have no experience to pull from, so it's only been a month or so of taking things seriously (and less than a month with my main). I have a bunch of skills I need to bring up -- your standard fundamentals: blocking, dealing with pressure, applying pressure, going for mixup, execution work, bringing up input speed, etc. -- before I'll be anything but "totally free," although there's some improvement. (I will block about half the shit that gets thrown my way; I can apply some decent pressure of my own; I will reliably AA jump-ins; I don't just sit in block from half/full screen away and wait for death... it's a start.) I can do some very basic, baby combos and combo fragments, but I know learning a 4k combo isn't going to do me shit unless I can actually keep people off me as well as get in on opponents, not panic/chase a win, etc. So, fuck, I don't care if I lose so long as I put up a fight, and my frustration is with myself for knowing better but not playing better -- and the only way to bridge that gap is by -- you know it -- losing more. And while I didn't intend for it to happen, I wound up maining a character that most people find very tricky (I ... don't think she's that bad) and who relies on very precise execution -- I don't have the latter yet, so improvement isn't as easy to see with my main. (It's not that I'm not improving so much as that with a different character, I could probably nail down some of their basic combos and see more obvious results -- "I pulled off the full combo and won the round" is easy to see; "I improvised some cool mix-up while my character was at her weakest and managed to lock down my opponent for a full ten seconds" is actually ... pretty fulfilling, but it's easier to remember the part where I ended up taking that round but losing the match.) Am I getting better? Yes. Am I going to be winning anytime soon? Oh, hell no. But I watch tons of matches and see what I can steal. I take comfort in my own benchmarks ("I didn't die straight out the gate/I got my own pressure going/I stalled to time out"), I play more, train more, and I remember that as bad as I may be now, I'm not who I was a month or two ago. So who knows where I'll be in another month? I just have to keep learning -- and if learning means losing, then that's just what it is, but I didn't get into FGs to "win," and that's something I try to keep out of my head during matches (and away from my self-esteem). I've joked that my goal is to be "respectably free" in the next few months: I won't be a huge challenge, but I will block and punish unsafe shit, I will make you regret letting me get in, and you won't be able to just do an auto-pilot mix-up to collect your win. If that sounds like a low goal, it's because I'm a realist. Obviously, top-level players will dominate me for many months and years to come, and I don't expect anything else, but against same-level players and lower-level intermediates, I would like to be able to hold my own, win or lose -- if I lose, that's fine, but I want to be able to put up a fight. ... and it sounds like none of the above applies to your friend. And that may be the problem, honestly. If you just learn a combo but don't know how to get in on someone, your combo isn't going to do you any good. If you're too scared to go online and make a fool of yourself, you won't learn. So... I think you have to make the call, actually: either tell him you won't train him until he goes online for more experience (fuck, I was constantly telling my trainer to fight people other than me, because I didn't want him to get used to exploiting my bad habits) or tell him that for now, you've taught him all you can and he needs to use single player options. Go to Versus, Hell, and practise trying to get in and land a combo (you'll lose, but you're learning your safe/unsafe entry points against various opponents). Tell him to do Versus or training and block for as long as possible, upping the difficulty. If he's mashing, tell him to do block practise without putting fingers on buttons. (I do it.) Versus is good for AA and even air-to-air -- for AA, tell him to stop all jump-ins without ever jumping himself; air-to-air -- stop jump-ins by meeting them head-on with an air combo. (It'll help with timing, distinguishing between when to AA versus go air-to-air, etc.) But if you're teaching him well -- and it sounds like you are -- the rest of it is up to him. Six months is a long, long time. And I won't lie -- I get complimented on my attitude but my attitude came from reading about FGs and committing to slogging along the path to improvement. If I wasn't willing to listen to my trainer and take my lumps, he'd have dropped me a month ago and I be just as shitty a player now as I was then. tl;dr You can lead a horse to water.... You've got to decide whether you want to keep pushing that horse's head into the water or whether to let him park his ass by the lake until he realises he's thirsty.

Jin was the first character I clicked with and that was what got me into FGs. But both Jin and Ragna are skill gate characters (Ragna moreso). Depends on your style, honestly. Jin has a lot of situational tools and I find him to be very ... flexible, in the sense that you can use some of his tools defensively ("Ice Wave" will stuff projectiles and force people to respect you at 50 meter, or you can use it for massive damage on offence with the right set-up, &c.). He's also very strong in CP compared to the CSE Ice Car spam. On the other hand, the freeze resets are either going to work for you or drive you absolutely nuts, so you'd have to feel him out in training and Versus to see if he's right for you. Ragna is more straightforward, as there's no freeze count to worry about. But both of them are popular so expect most players to be able to body you, as everyone has fought Jin and Ragna. Same story with Noel, but if you want a rushdown character, she's not a bad fit -- she's easy enough to pick up, but not easy to play well. (Though, really, that goes for all three ... low-level Jin is a joke, thanks to so many of his moves being massively unsafe if you're just throwing them out, but high-level Jin is a different story.) Honestly, I'd just go through the tutorial and start everyone's challenges to see who seems the most viable for you. There's no shortage of options, but the BB cast is diverse enough that you have the luxury of picking the character that actually "clicks." StylisH posted a great list, but from those options: I can't play Noel for shit, Tager is a "lol nope," and I'm not touching Bullet, so there's a lot of personal preference involved.

FYI: room tomorrow no later than 9PM EST, same deal Monday. Let me know who to expect if you feel like posting (it saves me some sanity). Sorry about missing you last night, nilcam; it's been a bit crazy yesterday and today.

AnneIFrank: I'm floored. That's amazingly kind of you and I will definitely take you up on that offer. I'll try to shoot off a PM in the next few days. For those asking about meeting up: tomorrow, I will start a room no later than 9PM EST (for those of us who are no longer entranced by things going BOOM). Monday, same deal, so if you made it last Monday, please come again! Tonight is ... not likely. You don't have to RSVP, but it is nice to know who to expect and who definitely can't make it, so do post if you're so inclined.

Sure! I'm not going to be bringing my signature Yosuke out much any longer (and by signature I mean OH GODDAMNIT FULL SCREEN AWAY GARUDYNE I WANTED SUKUKAJA), as I really need to focus on my main (Aigis), and while I've met a few good Yosukes in ranked, I need to work on that MU (and Yosuke's awesomeness... I am probably going to legit sub the guy come Ultimax). So you're welcome to join the party. If you feel like helping me with my Yosuke game, that would be most awesome. As a general FYI, I'll probably be on in about an hour and a half, so, yes, there will be a meet-up later tonight. I had to finish baking PokePuffs for a birthday party... icing everywhere... never again.... Sweet merciful Jesus, pass the salt.

Given the crossover in membership, I'm wondering who's going to be on team GFAQs and who's on team DL. Wild cards everywhere, yo. Even though I spend too much time on GameFAQs, I'm rooting for the DL team in P4A. Because I like you guys more. So you'd better bring it home.

If you want to join in, you're welcome; I've been running sessions that feature novices (new to FGs, working on bringing up various skills bit by bit until they converge -- that would be... me), experienced players new to P4A (several people), intermediate-level (illness690 says intermediate but he's pretty high-level "intermediate") players coming back to P4A... it's a nice assortment and everyone is rocking a different main. No one has a Shadow Labrys, though, and we only have one Mitsuru (lots of people looking for experience with that MU), so you're more than welcome. I keep my mic on, and so do some others, as that makes it easier to coordinate and allows everyone to share tech, feedback, match analysis, etc. If that sounds good to you, let me know so I can add you to the list. I usually put "DL" somewhere in the room name and keep slots private. If you want in, I'll just invite you if I'm running a room and I see you log on. No need to apologise if you can't make it or would rather train. (If I'm "unavailable," I'm in training, not hosting.) If people want rematches or rotation needs to be shaken up, I try to stay on top of requests. (That includes music and stages. Feel free to ask for anything but "Spirited Girl.") No one wants to wait eight matches for their turn, so it's usually 2/3 rounds, loser out, three-match limit for winners, the goal being that we get variety in MUs. We have: Labrys (one very solid main, one equally solid sub); a boss Mitsuru; an excellent Akihiko ("get hit and die" Akihiko); an Aigis who doesn't retreat if overheated (me); a ungodly good non-netplay Narukami (no sweep > 5DD bullshit all match); and then some subs -- I have a half-assed Yosuke, we have some Chie subs and a Narukami sub that's great at the Izanagi Sandwich ... I know some others expressed interest in sparring but I haven't seen them yet (one plays Yukiko).

Belated good game to AchedSphinx -- I didn't realise we'd crossed paths in ranked until I checked the names on my replays.

Going forward, if I'm running a room and see log-ons, I'll pass out invites to those who said they wanted a meet-up (or, you know, everyone in this thread). No need to apologise if you can't make it or would rather hit training mode. If I'm marked unavailable, I'm not running a room (probably in training). Sound good? Monday/Friday doable as a regular thing? I just like the sound of "Salt Free Fridays." And, yes, feel free to bring a mic! There's lots of info being shared during MUs, feedback being given, etc., along with the usual "if I can make an obscene joke, I will" noise. (Because I want to be Omex when I grow up.)

I need to withdraw. Totally not ready for this level of "beginner," but I will be watching.

Good games to everyone who joined the evening DL Funfest and the DL Funfest Lesbian Porn Late Night Special. Y'all are beasts, but now I've got plenty of matches to analyse. Special thanks to HDT for giving me the opportunity to yell NARUKAMI WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING at an actual Narukami, illness690 for the awesome j.B kills, and ccrocker58 and illness690 for the beautiful throw "techs."

I lost 40 matches to ccrocker58 one night. (I did get a few rounds and put him into Awakening sometimes. That's my victory right now.) But I'm a month or so into FGs, I don't care if I lose so long as I can put up a fight, and, honestly, you just have to take your losses if you want to improve.

Yeah, I use 5AAAA for meter and, if applicable, burst gain, as it forces opponents to get the hell off and lets me get back in the air for shenanigans. A friend of mine plays a seriously beastly Labrys and Yosuke's 5AAAA is great against her, as he can't do anything much from that distance -- by the time he's recovered from the kunais, I'm usually back in and he's losing axe gauge.

You can't throw someone if they're in blockstun or hitstun, +6 frames after stun... unless they're in spinning stun from an AoA or specific move that induces spin (Kanji has one, don't think Chie does). Also, and at the risk of stating the obvious, ground throws don't work if your opponent jumps. You just have to feel it out. Don't cancel 5A immediately into a throw; do an empty low or fake a whiff into a grab, at least if you can do it without telegraphing the throw. If you have someone in the corner, they will be more likely to expect the throw and may be able to tech it (rare but it happens if you get predictable). There's also an OS for run-up grabs, so be careful if your opponent shows they know it. Otherwise, throws are pretty hard (okay, almost impossible for non-pro players) to react to in this game. ETA: Forgot to note that you can throw someone during a roll/Evasive Action but not Guard Cancel... but Guard Cancel has a huge recovery period unless OMC'd, so it's pretty unsafe. And Yosuke's FA does block throws, but if you activate the counter from behind Yosuke, you can throw him after his trip animation.

Having faced your Mitsuru, illness690, I think you've already internalised all this. The Aigis-Mitsuru matchup is a tricky one for both sides, although I'm scrubby as hell, but I noticed your neutral game changing each round to get past my attempts to keep you out. You're the first good Mitsuru I've faced and you were fucking on point. As noted, be careful about using Bufula for oki if Aigis is in the corner, since it can be punished by better Aigis players. Check the Yume-Lord Knight Evo Grand Finals, match two, round one, if you want to see it action -- if Aigis is in Awakening, Heavenly Spear crushes Bufula and gives the momentum back to Aigis.

Um... if someone drops out, I'll -- deep breath, deep breath -- give it a shot, if I'm allowed to straddle the fence. Otherwise, well, I am EST, and my PSN is my username. So ... okay. ohgodIambeyondscrubby. Preemptive congrats and good game to whomever gets matched with me! You're guaranteed to move on! (Every tournament needs one of those, right?) NOPE NOPE NOPE. I am out. Completely. I will be watching, though.

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....)

GGs to everyone I met in ranked tonight. Thanks for the experience and for the craziness of an Aigis-Chie fight! (Yay, I moved from F- to F! ... it's the little things.)

Works for me! Monday or Friday decent for anyone? I'm not sure about Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday but I could probably make it. (I need all the help I can get... ho, boy.)

You may want to look at this for a better understanding of how 5DD works: http://www.dustloop.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6075-p4a-okizeme-stuff/ That being said, you will not be able to do sweep > 5DD in Ultimax (although I don't know when it'll hit Europe). So whether or not to ingrain that in muscle memory is up to you, because you're going to be removing it later. (Narukami has the same issue.) I'm usually playing against Chie, not as her, so I can't offer much more than that, unfortunately.

I'm new to FGs and totally free, but if anyone feels like bodying me so I can learn, that'd be awesome. I'm usually around evenings during the week, most of the day and night on weekends. No pressure if we're online at the same time; I don't expect anyone to drop other shit for a match. PSN is mixedmethods. Just tell me you're from Dustloop P4A if you add me. I'll try to add the rest of you guys tonight or tomorrow (with a warning about who I am, obviously). If we can find a common time I could try hosting a training room regularly once or twice a week...?