hey guys , Ive been playing the series for awhile now, however my skills seem to to be....lacking. does anyone have any pointers into getting into this game?
i have the 360 version and i play as Mitsurugi ( i have been told he is a Noob character i know) can anyone help me get a foothold with this title, maybe playing some matches with me? my gamer tag is "The Gannondork"

First of all, make sure you map A+Y and B+X to the bumper buttons, as you'll never be able to hit either on a standard controller in the heat of battle.  Aside from that, I have left trigger as switch and right trigger as A+B+X+Y, for quick critical finisher access. 

Many players will attack you every chance they get, but the better ones will play mind games with you.  Learn to guard impact well, and follow up with attacks.  Someone who attacks every chance they have is easily guard impacted.  Also, switch things up with both high and low attacks to keep people guessing.  Finally, hop into training mode and just play around for a while.  Mess around with different combinations of buttons and stick movements, and learn what does what.  Then, watch the moves performed in the moves list menu, and figure out which ones seem like they'd be useful and in what circumstances.  The more of your character's move list you can memorize, the better off you'll be.  Once you have that down, start learning combos and you'll be set.

I used to be somewhat decent as SC II, but I'm just getting into the game again, so don't take these as the words of an expert or anything.  I'm pretty far from that.

"First of all, make sure you map A+Y and B+X to the bumper buttons, as you'll never be able to hit either on a standard controller in the heat of battle.  Aside from that, I have left trigger as switch and right trigger as A+B+X+Y, for quick critical finisher access. 

Many players will attack you every chance they get, but the better ones will play mind games with you.  Learn to guard impact well, and follow up with attacks.  Someone who attacks every chance they have is easily guard impacted.  Also, switch things up with both high and low attacks to keep people guessing.  Finally, hop into training mode and just play around for a while.  Mess around with different combinations of buttons and stick movements, and learn what does what.  Then, watch the moves performed in the moves list menu, and figure out which ones seem like they'd be useful and in what circumstances.  The more of your character's move list you can memorize, the better off you'll be.  Once you have that down, start learning combos and you'll be set.

I used to be somewhat decent as SC II, but I'm just getting into the game again, so don't take these as the words of an expert or anything.  I'm pretty far from that.

"

yeah i was one of the players that just went all out and then i studied some of the higher rank opponents and now i chill and only combo when i see the time is right

Yeah blocking is your friend it's just knowing when to and not to that's the hard part.

Find offline competition.

Online competition is a joke.

"Find offline competition.

Online competition is a joke.
"

I bought the game today, and DAMN do you need to learn to block well to succeed on higher levels. Anyone can mash their way through story mode on normal, but on hard (and online sometimes) people will make you look completely foolish if you don't know what you're doing with the G  button. To train myself on guarding, I record combos in training mode, then try to block them correctly.

"First of all, make sure you map A+Y and B+X to the bumper buttons, as you'll never be able to hit either on a standard controller in the heat of battle.  Aside from that, I have left trigger as switch and right trigger as A+B+X+Y, for quick critical finisher access. 

Many players will attack you every chance they get, but the better ones will play mind games with you.  Learn to guard impact well, and follow up with attacks.  Someone who attacks every chance they have is easily guard impacted.  Also, switch things up with both high and low attacks to keep people guessing.  Finally, hop into training mode and just play around for a while.  Mess around with different combinations of buttons and stick movements, and learn what does what.  Then, watch the moves performed in the moves list menu, and figure out which ones seem like they'd be useful and in what circumstances.  The more of your character's move list you can memorize, the better off you'll be.  Once you have that down, start learning combos and you'll be set.

I used to be somewhat decent as SC II, but I'm just getting into the game again, so don't take these as the words of an expert or anything.  I'm pretty far from that.

"