UPDATE:

It seems there's enough people here interested in improving their Street Fighter skills. Feel free to post in this topic if you need help or are willing to help others!

For the sake of efficiency and collaboration, please post:

• Your FighterID
• Steam/PSN Id
• Your region (obviously helps to play with someone in the same region)
• Time(s) your available to play
• Whether you are a trainer or student!

Cheers :D

Here's my info for anyone willing to help a fellow bomber!

• Fighter Id: BigDenim
• PSN Id: cugabuh
• Region: US - East
• Times: Weeknights after 5 PM ET, Saturdays, and Sundays
• Measly student! Help me!

Sure, let's go, adding you now, Fighter Id is JackRyanForPope.

Hmm...you don't seem to exist! Is the CFN busted?

@theindomitablesnowman: Hmmm,ya maybe now isn't the best time. This game's servers are all over the place right now. I can't even create a battle lounge, let alone connect to one.

European? When the lobbies actually work, I wouldn't mind trying to help out a bit. I'm pretty firmly in the "those who can't, teach" camp. So I think it'll be fine. XD

Along the same lines - first time I'm trying to actually play and understand the game and not suck! Fighter Name: Stealthoneill

Also, I have thoughts of buying a fighting stick - any suggestions?

I'm rocking this Hori Fighting Commander 4 fightpad: Feels just like an old SNES/Genesis 6 button, well worth the 50 bucks I paid. Works for PS3 too!

@stealthoneill: You can do just fine without a stick, but if you want to learn one, here are a couple:

• Fightstick Alpha - Compact but solid and moddable, quality parts for a lower price point (http://www.amazon.com/Fighter-FightStick-PlayStation4-PlayStation3-playstation-4/dp/B018HXA6H8/)
• HRAP 4 - A good mid-tier stick, solid all around (http://www.amazon.com/HORI-Real-Arcade-Pro-PlayStation-4/dp/B00SULMRI4/)
• Fightstick TES+/TE2 - The high end stuff, if you want something a little more heavy-duty, with the added plus of the TE2 being super-duper easy to mod (http://www.amazon.com/Fighter-FightStick-PlayStation4-PlayStation3-playstation-4/dp/B018AW408C/ | http://www.amazon.com/Fighter-FightStick-PlayStation4-PlayStation3-playstation-4/dp/B018AW405K/)

Also if you want to be crazy you can try to play using a Hitbox (what I'm learning to use) http://www.hitboxarcade.com/

@starvinggamer: Thanks man! Yeah won't be investing now, doing OK with a controller and an arcade stick is going to be like learning to walk again! Always good to have some options ready though for when I do decide it's time to make the jump! So far with the servers though I've not managed many online games!

Can this be a general "help me not suck" topic where rookies can meet up and exchange fighter IDs?

I'm not good at fighting games but I do enjoy playing them, and even though I only played SFV for an hour or so yesterday it seemed to play really well.

Also I'm a Tekken player, so I'm not used to your fancy "three buttons to punch and three buttons to kick" like y'all got 3 arms and 3 legs.

Fighter ID: DankSoles
Region: Europe (although I'm personally OK with cross region play if that's a thing, I'm not good enough for latency to really bother me)

@xymox: I was thinking the same thing! I'll update the topic to make it more inviting for all the sucky street bombers out there!

• Blade4693
• Blade4693
• U.S
• Typically between 2/3 pm to 9/10 pm on weekdays, I can play on weekends too at anytime if I don't have plans.
• Student. This is my first SF game in a long time. I play/have played many other fighters so I have experience in fighting games, just not SF in particular.

How are you finding the hitbox? As someone who played a lot of fighting games on keyboard back in the day I've always wanted to try one, just not enough to pay for one. Especially not with them only being available to import, the shipping + tax makes the thing something like $400.

Been thinking of making a super sloppy one with a teensy2 and some sanwas I have laying around just to see how it feels, but I'm lazy.

@amafi: I like it a lot but also it's tough trying to learn from scratch with how demanding fighting games are in terms of execution. Can't imagine trying this with something other than SFV. I definitely feel like my ceiling is going to be higher using this than it ever was with stick or pad.

PSN: Slurpelve

FighterID: Slurpelve

Timezone: US EST

Times: Im not sure since Im in school and new job.

Im a student that knows a little about fighting games.

Sure thing

Steam

FighterID: grandCurator

Timezone: US CST

Times: Anything past 4pm CST

I know enough about fighting games. Whether or not I can apply it is another matter, but I think I can help out a little.

@starvinggamer: just curious what's the supposed benefit of the hitbox arcade? i'm guessing just faster response times as it's quicker to push a button than move a stick and your fingers are always present on the buttons? is it bad that i kinda want one out of morbid curiosity?

i feel like i'm going down one one long crazy dark hole with fighting games recently.

Count me in! I would love to find someone around my level and share some notes and grow together!

Fighter ID: lanefighter

Steam ID: manwithmustache

Region: US East (Canada)

Time: Weekdays between 9pm EST and midnight and weekends

I'm currently using an xbox controller but the claw-like shape that I'm holding it in is pretty uncomfortable and I recently found out that the madcatz alpha is compatible on PC so going to save up for that next month.

Currently "maining" ryu to try to reduce the number of variables in the learning process and to focus on better decision making instead of autopiloting on jump in roundhouse --> sweep.

There are some pretty crazy input shortcuts due to SOCD (simultaneous opposing cardinal directions, basically means you can hold left and right and get neutral, or all three inline directions to get down). Check out the video under on the input for double qcf, it's crazy compact.

@ripelivejam: Weird I typed this reply to you like 2 hours ago but never hit post?

Theoretically at optimized usage you should have a higher degree of speed and accuracy with directional inputs on a Hitbox. For example, with practice you can perform standing 720s with a few frames of input leniency. Personally, I found myself way more consistent with double quarter-circle motions on Hitbox almost immediately.

I really need some help...I feel like the game is straight up not being fair to me. Like, when you whiff an EX move, you should get punished, right? Well I try, and they just block. Then every time I try to jab I get crush countered. Maybe I should just take a break when I'm not being a big salty baby.

@theindomitablesnowman: Not necessarily. Many EX moves are safe. Some are straight up the only safe version of an otherwise unsafe special move. Here's a frame-data doc you can use for reference next time this happens to you. https://t.co/xaw1XpIri1

Does anyone know roughly how matches are ranked by? I kept getting matched up with people with much more LP than me (1k+ LP vs my 375?) or much higher rank. (rank 30k matched up with rank 3k?) And I'm not sure what the "Rookie" thing means (just a tag? or is there like a ladder going on?) but I kept getting matched with "Bronze" and even some "Super Bronze". Granted SFV servers have been pretty spotty but I would hope to at least be matched up with players of similar skill level.

@lanechanger: Rank is based on LP, I think that 500 is Bronze, 1k is Super Bronze, 1.5k is Ultra Bronze, and 2k is Silver. Dunno about matchmaking. I mean, the game only just started so there's not a ton of data yet for whatever ELO thing they have running under the hood.

hey y'all. i'm a scrub a dub dub but would love to just have casual no pressure matches for practice..

psn and fighter id: sac-99

I usually play in the night time PST.

PSN/Fighter ID: Anupsis

Time zone: US East (Canada)

Time: Random times between early morning to early evening.

I am definitely a student, I know most of the basics but I'm at most just decent.

@starvinggamer: Thanks. We still need to get some games in 1v1 though!

@sac: I'll add ya when I'm home from work tonight!

@starvinggamer: I still have trouble with 720s on my hitbox. But man do I feel like execution accuracy is so much easier to achieve.

Oh right, also.

Your FighterID - Slax21

Steam/PSN Id - Slax21

Your region - PST

Time(s) - Variable during the week. Usually after 7pm. Saturdays.

I'm a scrub but want to play and learn with people.

@theindomitablesnowman: I'm always up for some games if I'm around if lobbies are working. Are they working?

PSN: Nornock (include "from giant bomb" or something with the friend request if you don't mind)
Fighter ID: JackCollen
I'm on the East Coast (U.S.), but I'm usually online very late at night on week days.
Not great at fighting games, but I'll play with whoever if they're friendly enough.
Would prefer mic folk.

• JesterPC
• JesterPC238
• Michigan, U.S. (EST)
• I work 9-5, I have a pretty active social life, but I can make time! I'm trying to get a few matches in per night.
• Most definitely a student. This is the first time I have ever tried to get into a fighting game beyond button mashing with friends in local play. I've done a lot of reading on strategy and mechanics, but I'm still a super newb. I played 5 games online with Ryu last night and lost everyone of them (did take a round off of a couple of opponents though!)

Fighter ID: Gyratyne

Steam Name: Gyratyne

Region: US - East Coast

Times: Sporadically at night. Probably more late night than I should.

After my losing streak tonight, I feel like I could give a master class in how not to play as Birdie. Ugh.

I tried to enter Battle Lounge to get more practice with a consistent partner, but didn't have any luck getting into one. Anyone else having trouble with that?

So I have an extremely stupid question to ask. I find that I lose quite a few matches because I just get stuck getting hit over and over again with normals. Should I just block once this starts? I think my mistake is that I'm panicking and trying to attack in between their attacks. Any thoughts?

P.S. I'm sorry if this isn't supposed to be the "ask stupid newb questions" thread, I just didn't think it was enough for a new thread :p.

@gyratyne: Battle Lounges were broken for a good chunk of last night, so you weren't the only one (or at least they were broken for my brother and I).

Fighter ID: Ford_Dent

Steam Name: forddent (I think)

Region: US - Central Time

Times: Pretty much constantly from about 7:30-8:00 central through 11-12 on weeknights.

I've had some early successes but I'm still very much learning as I go (meaning I can get special moves to come out about 95% of the time, unless I really need them to apparently, and I can do some rudimentary combos but that's about it).

Steam name: Sanj-T
Fighter ID: TeaMachine

UK player. Let's play!

I'm up for sparring in a battle lounge and whatnot(though I don't have a mic as of now, so I can't get on chat.)

CFN: RekkaPressure

PSN: RekkaPressure

Region - US - EST

Time: 9-ish to 11:30 or 12

I've really gotten into SFV thanks to the fact they simplified the more complex special moves and made stringing combos easier. I like the idea of getting together with folks to teach/learn. My PC is being a bit of a pain in the ass and my mic doesn't seem to be working though I'll hopefully figure out what's going wrong since it's not an issue with my mic.

• Fighter ID - JudgementXD
• Steam - JudgementXD
• Region - Europe, GMT +1
• During the week I'm normally on my PC from 18:00/19:00 (I guess that would be 10:00 PT and 13:00 ET for US folks). During the weekend I'm on pretty much anytime throughout the day unless I'm out.
• I guess I could be either a trainer or student - depends mostly on the skill level of the other person. If the person is new to fighting games then I'd be a teacher but if they're good at the game then I'd be a student.

So, a couple of things might be happening depending on how good your opponent is. If they seem pretty new to the game, they are probably just facerolling their controller. In this case, wait for a heavy normal with a lot of recovery, and punish that ish.

If the player is pretty good, they might be frame trapping you. That means they are hitting you with a normal that leaves them at an advantage for the next attack, so it beats whatever you try to throw out in between. Blocking will solve this too, but they probably aren't going to mash something that will get them punished. Invincible moves like Shoryukens, and V-Reversals can help with frame traps and the V-Reversal can stop blockstrings too. They will also alternate the normals with throws to break your guard and beat your reversal. Learning to deal with this up close will prevent you from getting smacked around all the time.

TL;DR

Yeah, you should block. Watch out for throws!

Once I realized how to actually pull off V-Reversals I stopped being particularly frightened of blockstrings. But man do you ever need to be sure you can see a throw coming and tech that nonsense (I tend to obsessively repeat moves in training mode until I can identify them) because otherwise you're just gonna get tossed a lot.

I think one of the most important skills to learn in any fighting game is probably patience. A lack of patience never fails to get my ass into trouble. All the games I've won have been games where I've been patient and not just charged in swinging.

FighterID - OK_Goku

Steam

Region - UK (though willing to try and play with folks from wherever). Generally on in the evenings, and then a lot on most weekends.

A student but I know a fair bit about fighting games and could teach you some basics if you're new.

@starvinggamer: Let me try to invite you to some games today. I'm sick of getting beaten down in ranked anyway.

PSN: megabyte10164

ID: OldScratch

Central

Teacher

• Fighter Id: Sehet_Xaui
• PSN Id: inkunka
• Region: US - Central
• Times: Weeknights after 7 PM CT, Saturdays, and Sundays
• Student: I have played fighting games back to SFII on SNES but never spent a huge amount of time focusing on them. I know general moves when I pick up a controller but don't really have the strategy to string them together in meaningful ways :P

• Fighter ID/Steam: Edmondo
• Region: UK
• Student: I've messed around a little with fighting games over the years but never gotten super heavy into them, would be cool to play with/learn from other duders.

@theindomitablesnowman: I'm cooking dinner for fam now what time EST should I try to be on?

If anyone want to add me I'm Drakoji on PSN and Fighter ID. I'm EST (Montreal) and I play mostly from 7pm to late at night.

I'd say I'm medium-ish (i'm kinda stuck in 500-low 700's)

@starvinggamer: Well, I'm on all day today, just shoot me an invite when you get a chance!

I am absolutely terrible at this game. I have never played fighting games really ever. Is there a way for me to play people who won't just demolish me? It just isn't any fun!

Haven't used a ton of it but it seems the Battle Lounge stuff is working now. Lobbies like that are a great place to try and find other players to practice with. You can get a sense of the player's skill level by their league(and LP but not sure if it shows that in Battle Lounge). Also once you are feeling more comfortable don't be afraid to try and challenge more experienced players. It helps out both people as you get a chance to improve on your fundamentals and see what higher level players do, and they get a chance to practice some stuff like combos or set ups that would normally be difficult to do against other experienced players.

I have found the AI in this game is also pretty decent at doing things actual players would do. Not so much the unpredictablility of newer players but it will use a lot of the same moves that normal players do in certain situations.

Also feel free to use the Fighter ID thread and add other duder's to your favourites and play against us.

Great, thanks for the reply! This is more or less my first fighting game. I say that only because I have played most of the others, but never to a point where I knew what I was doing at all. Only would play occasionally with friends.

Here's my info for anyone willing to help a fellow bomber!

• Fighter Id: Sniper26
• Steam: xxsniper26xx (God I was young...)
• Region: US - West
• Times: Weeknights after 5 PM ET, Saturdays, and Sundays
• I am not good at this game. First fighting game ever. Been watching a lot of videos. Getting somewhat better. Finally one a few casual matches...