5 tips on becoming a better street fighter player

Overview

There is no real secret that will make you a better player over night, we all know that to become good at anything it requires time and commitment. I’ve been playing Street Fighter on and off for around 3-4 years and have clocked around 2000 hours. It’s not something to brag about since it’s not that much, but I have picked up some stuff along the way and here in this article I’m going to share some tips that I have figured out that has improved my game play and hopefully you can gain something from it as well.

1. Don’t panic

Panicking in the middle of a match is not helpful. When your playing street fighter there is more that meets the eye then two players on the screen performing moves to deplete their opponent’s life bars to zero. Behind the scenes there is very real detail that is so small that sometimes you will be required to watch replays over and over again to figure out what exactly is happening. Well in the middle of a match while all of this stuff is going on, you need to be attentive, present and you have got to shut down all those nagging emotions down. It’s no easy task. We have all been there and done that. How many times have you been overwhelmed by the swaying emotions during a match? Let me clarify, how many times have you been swayed by your emotion of RAGE during an online RANKED match that was so LAGGY it felt like you were breathing under water? I’m sure most of us have been there and to tell you the truth.. it’s perfectly normal, sometimes in online game play we can’t do anything else but to accept it. In any case, my point is, during the middle of a match with all of this BS that is going on how likely will you be attentive to detail enough to figure out what your opponent is up to? It’s not easy I can tell you that. That’s why try not to let your emotions get the better of you when your in a game. The game is always full of random loopholes here and there, you’ll inevitably be put under pressure so accept that it will happen and deal with it in such a way that you don’t get taken over by your feelings.

2. If in doubt focus attack back dash

Like I mentioned in the previous tip, the game is full of randomness so expect plenty of it. One tip that I have that can minimize and help you deal with this issue is if you are in doubt just focus attack back dash. Something that I have noticed from the opponents that I’ve played is that a lot of them don’t use back dash in the middle of matches. This comes as a surprise to me because back dash helps in that it provides you with more space, it helps you escape sticky situations where your opponent has you on the ropes and it shifts the momentum back to you so that you have the ascendancy. It’s so helpful to have this and gives you so much more breathing room knowing that you can rely on it. The goal of the game is not always to attack your opponent to deplete him of his health, rather it’s to put yourself in favorable situations so that you can take advantage of your opponent when you have the chance. Back dashing does just that because it lets you escape those sticky situations and lets you reassert your position.

3. Have a variety of combos to mix up your attacks

Keeping your opponent off guard so that he doesn’t know what you will do next is something that all good players should consider in their mind. If your attacks and movements become too predictable, you’ll provide him with the confidence to read your attacks. That’s why you should keep things fresh and not do the same moves over and over again. In practical sense, if you performing a combo mix it up so that you’re finishing move is not the same. Instead of a regular special attack, finish with an EX special attack. Instead of finishing it with a heavy input try a medium or light. The less predictable you are the more you have your opponent scratching his head thinking what’s this guy up to I can’t seem to read him. Of course make sure that your attacks provide you with an advantage when you do them, you wouldn’t want to put yourself in a situation that leads to your opponent getting the advantage. So mix it up but make sure the combos are effective enough so that when he wakes up, you can reasserted yourself to continue applying more pressure.

4. Get comfortable being put under pressure

You’ll always come across matches where you’ll be put in uncomfortable situations. There is nothing you can do about it, it will happen in your games so get use to being put under pressure situations. A good way to practice this is to go into training mode and have the CPU perform punishing combos on you whilst you try to readjust yourself to accommodate for a positional advantage. You could try to poke your way out of pressure when your opponent gets too close, you could focus attack back dash like I previously me[/previewimg]ntioned, or you could just get an idea of your tendencies when you are put under pressure. One of my tendencies that I’ve realized I do when I play is that I will punish my opponents with the same move and over time this makes me more and more predictable so that he will be prepared for me when he applies pressure. So if nothing else, just knowing your tendencies in pressure situations is important to you dealing with pressure and this is synonymous with why training mode is great because you easily figure this out in a controlled environment in very little time.

5. Play with tempo

This goes back to keeping your opponent guessing. Don’t always perform the same move again and again and again. Keep things upbeat and changing. If you find your attacking your opponent and everything is hitting him perhaps its time to take a step back and attack from a little bit further distance. You ever wondered why in a match when your opponent has a life lead that he will just back track to the end of the screen and perform fireballs? It’s because he is changing the tempo of the game, his putting himself in a different situation where you need to adapt. Keeping things different and fresh makes you less predictable and more in control of the match.