Learn How to Play Fighting Games
Learning how to play fighting games (FGs) properly can be a bit daunting for a newcomer to the genre. There is a learning curve to overcome as you try to traverse from Beginner, to Advanced Beginner, from Competent, to Proficient, and finally to the stage of Expertise (S.E. Dreyfus, 2004). The in-game tutorials get you on your way but can only take you so far. With the benefit of hindsight and consultations, I present you with an optimal path to learning how to play fighting games. Bearing in mind that everyone learns differently, feel free to choose whatever sequence comes to you naturally, just ensure you touch all bases.
Ps: for any vague or unexplained FG jargon check out this awesome glossary of terms click here
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
In FGs, you want to beat up your opponent as quickly and efficiently as possible before they adapt and do the same to you. To achieve this consistently, you need to have an understanding of the main components of fighting games which include fundamentals, the game mechanics, combos, basic strategy and decision making.
When Fighting games are unpacked it boils down to a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors where Rock=Strike, Paper=Block, Scissors=Throw; strikes are beaten by ‘blocking’, blocking is beaten by ‘throws' while throws are beaten by ‘strikes’. As such every clash is a Mexican standoff of sorts with regards strategy where you try to con your opponent into committing to an action then taking advantage with the natural counter to it. To be successful in any fighting game there are some basic things you must know and do.
FUNDAMENTALS
Fundamentals in fighting games comprise things like; Poking, Movement, Spacing, Punishing, Blocking, Anti-airing, Positional Awareness, Wakeup etc. These are the fundamental building blocks of fighting games. Having good fundamentals as a player entails having the understanding of and ability to deal with common situations that occur in every fight.
Fighting games fundamentals are the concepts you need to understand and required actions and or reactions that should be performed in common situations and scenarios that occur in all fighting games.
Or
Fundamentals are the underlying guiding principles and rudimentary actions you take that are essential to effectively manage offensive, defensive or neutral situations that occur repeatedly throughout a match across all Fighting Games.
If they jump, Anti-Air! If they whiff, Punish! If they Block, Throw! Don’t stand still shimmy and space! Offense, Defense, and Neutral all have fundamental aspects to them; Offense deals with how to open up the opponent with your attacks, defense deals with how to evade/defend against attacks and get/wakeup when you are knocked down. While neutral deals with how you control space between you and your opponent, position yourself, gain advantage, and movement (Footsies).
Positional Awareness and movement is key because at any given time your position on the screen determines what attack options are viable for you and your opponent. You can be close to your opponent, at medium range, far away, full screen or airborne at any of the aforementioned ranges. You should always move (movement) to a position on the screen where you have the most advantage over your opponent and or move constantly to throw off your opponents ‘aim’. For instance, an Archer should not position his/herself close to an enemy but rather should attack from a safe faraway vantage point.
By moving away to a safe distance you create space between you and your opponent(Spacing). This gives you protection from quick counter-attacks (Punishes) if your attacks fail and allows you to launch further attacks with impunity. Conversely a brawler would want to close the distance or maintain proximity to the opponent indefinitely in order to continue pressure. A position you want to avoid is your back to corner/end of the stage as you have limited movement options.
Poking involves using your fastest, best ranged and safest strikes/attacks to defend and control space between you and your opponent. Pokes are usually safe even when blocked at point-blank range and difficult to punish on whiff(miss their target).
Blocking is a core and unavoidable part of defensive fundamentals, knowing when to block, how to block and when not to block. To learn how to block properly you must understand the different properties of attacks (High, Low, Mid, Overhead or Unblockable) that exist in FGs. High attacks can be blocked in standing or crouching position and can also be evaded by just crouching. Low attacks must be blocked crouching. Mid attacks can be blocked while standing or crouching but cannot be evaded by only crouching. Unblockable attacks cannot be blocked as such must be evaded. You should always block after you whiff or your own attacks are blocked by the opponent.
Note: naming conventions of properties vary from one game to another
Taking turns. No matter how chaotic it may seem there is an order to things, everyone has their turn. When you don’t “respect” turns, you risk being hit/punished. There is usually a small window to claim your turn before it’s 'free for all’. In neutral both parties are at liberty to take their ‘turn’ at the same/any time but in offence the successful aggressor is rewarded with another turn while the defender should wait for the attack(of aggressor) to conclude before attempting to take his/her turn.
Punishing alludes to capitalizing opportunities to inflict guaranteed damage on your opponent when they take an action that can be punished. For instance, a boxer throwing right hook at an opponent and missing while within the opponents attack range puts he/she is in an unsafe/punishable situation for a moment.
Wakeups have to do with getting up/off the ground after being knocked down by an opponent. Most FGs have different offensive and defensive wakeup options you can use if you are under pressure from an opponent. For instance, if you are knocked down and your opponent tries to rush in, you can perform a quick roll backwards to create space between both of you.
On the flipside, when you are the aggressor and your opponent is attempting to get/wakeup, you may pressure them (Okizemi) with offense so they don’t get up unchallenged.
Anti-airing is basically punishing an airborne opponent. In FGs you want to jump as little as possible because when you jump in most FGs, you cannot defend/block (you are a sitting duck). Jump only when, the opponent least expects it, to punish or to evade something.
Fundamentals are of paramount importance when learning how to play fighting games because the knowledge/skill carry over from game to game. Infact, having good fundamentals is what sets experts apart from the rest.
GAME MECHANICS
Gameplay mechanics are the features/general tools of FGs and or the rules that govern the way the “tools” work. How tools like special moves, throws, movement, wakeup work; and unique mechanics like “Rage” in Tekken, “Trait” in Injustice: Gods Among Us or “V-skill" in Street Fighter 5. These game mechanics are what differentiate Fighting Games on a technical level. You will have to learn unique mechanics when switching from one game to another.
- In Mortal Kombat 11 you can block or take any action at any point while dashing; In Street Fighter 5 you cannot block or take any action while dashing (the full dash must end before you can take any action/block); In Tekken 7, you can block/take any action during a dash.
- The projectile mechanic (General Rules) in Street Fighter is such that when both players throw fireballs (of equal strength) at each other, they cancel out themselves and disappear. Whereas in Mortal Kombat 11 when both players throw fireballs at each other they pass through each other and continue till they hit the target.
- Mortal Kombat 11 has “Flawless blocking”, Street Fighter 5 has “V-Shift” and Tekken 7 has “Power Crush”; These unique defensive mechanics used in similar ways when under pressure from your opponent to turn the tide or escape.
COMBOS
Once you have learned the core basics of FGs it is imperative that you make the most out of each instance you break through your opponent’s defense. Instead of just poking which would yield only 5–10% damage, you increase your damage output to 25–30% each time you land a successful combo attack. So rather than struggling to break the opponent's defense 8-10 times to win a round, 3-4 times will suffice.
You need to learn simple and reliable combos (Bread n’ Butters/BnBs) for common situations you will find yourself in like, punishing unsafe attacks, anti-airing opponents, attacking in the corner of the stage, etc.
You equally need one that starts fast and one that has the best range. In addition to these, some games may have unique combo systems/opportunities like counter hits, wall combos, transitions, air combos, etc. You should be able to successfully land these combos 9 out of 10 tries with ease.
TACTICS, STRATEGIES, AND SETUPS
Now that you have learned optimal combos, how do you actually successfully land them on your opponents? You do so with the strategies, sneaky tactics and set-ups such as shimmies/footsies, mixups, cross-ups, tick throws, staggers, frame traps, conditioning, meaties, etc. You should incorporate some of these tactics and strategies into your game plan. These tactics can be implemented individually or synergistically in combination to yield devastating results.
DECISION-MAKING
Decision-making is an imperceptible glass ceiling that often separates the newbies from the veterans. It can be frustrating when you get to the point where you feel you are better than your opponent but you somehow keep losing. You are probably making bad decisions that come back to haunt you.
In fighting games, risk-reward payoff, resources available, habits of the opponent, and psychological factors are important considerations in making decisions (what to attack with, when to attack, defend or do nothing).
If u perform an unsafe action/move and your opponent doesn’t punish it the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd time, you may decide to continue doing it because the opponent doesn’t have the habit or know they can punish it. Habit...
In a situation where you have 25% life-bar left and your opponent has 20% left with 5 seconds left on the clock, you may decide to avoid taking the risk of trying to finish off the opponent lest you lose your life lead and lose the round, so you run down the clock instead. Risk-reward...
Assuming you have only 2 bars of meter, and without meter, you do 20% damage, with 1 bar you do 35%, and with 2 bars you do 40%. You could decide to expend 1 bar on two separate occasions in a round to get 70% damage total (35% + 35%) which is better than using 2 bars on one occasion. Resource management...
But if you have 1% life-bar and your opponent has 40% life-bar remaining, you would rather want to rush in and attack with the 2 bars of meter to get 40% damage to win the round! Psychology + resources...
THE META
The meta of every game is borne from its mechanics. You need to learn/discover the most effective tactics available (m.e.t.a) for each of the component mechanics of the game then integrate all those tactics into your overall game plan. Meta varies between different games, and different versions of the same game, so much so that tactics that are viable in one game (version, or patch) may be redundant in the next.
In Mortal Kombat 11 you can dash with impunity (because you can block, jump or attack at any point minimizing risk)
whereas in Street Fighter 5, you have to walk more since dashing is quite risky; you mostly dash after knocking down or hitting the opponent (because you can’t block, attack or jump while dashing).
Also, in Mortal Kombat 11 jumping is low risk because most anti-airs are inconsistent at best so jumping is more prevalent.
but in Street Fighter 5 where anti-airs are strong across the board, jumping at your opponent is equivalent to death by a thousand needles.
“FAIL. ADAPT. EVOLVE.”
Mindset is key! When learning how to play FGs you have to be at peace with losing, analyze your losses, learn from your mistakes, adapt, and evolve. Play people that are better than you are, learn from them, and even copy their tactics. You can learn quite a bit by watching your past matches or those of pro players. In the absence of human opponents, you can also sharpen your skills against CPU/AI opponents. You will get progressively better at fighting games by understanding all the basic concepts and implementing relevant tactics into your gameplay.
When playing competitively, never feel bad for picking the strongest(er) character. It’s not your fault if your opponent decides to bring a knife to a gunfight, play to win, and when you can’t win, play to learn. If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the Kitchen because your salty tears are on the menu. Welcome to the stomping yard where all Noobs die or live long enough to become Villains 👹
