SSF4-Changing your main

Makaveli 27

Im still pretty new to fighting games, i usually play ryu/ken for the simple reason that they were the only characters that i could pull off their specials in earlier sf games.

In ssf4 i pretty much rely on them, im comfortable with them so im not motivated to change it up.

Anyone have any tips on how to get out of this habit? Or even recommend a character that has maybe similar moves to get me started?

Tips for Ryu/Ken so i can get better with them would also be appreciated!:D

Misty Chaos

If your comfortable with Ryu / Ken, you should stick to them, especially your winning matches with them. I mained Ken myself in vanilla SF4 but switched to Juri in SSF4.

On that, if your going to consider any other characters that are relatively easy to learn, I recommend Juri or Sagat.

Sagat06

Its all about the time you are willing to spend with a new character. Getting moves out is not a thing to be worrying about, from picking the game up new after a half an hour in training there is not one special you should not be able to do.

Picking a character is a huge personal preference and no one can really tell you wou would be best for you. So ask youself a few simple questions, are you strong on combos, are you more inclined to attack or defend, do you need projectiles to help with spacing, do you like charge characters, do you like grapplers. Questions like that will eliminate half the cast for you immediately.

And when playing with new characters it is really important not to get frustrated if you keep loosing, its part of the learning curve. And if you persevere you will see that turning around before long.

I dont play Ken or Ryu much so cant offer much here but as is with any character, get their bnb combos down to the point where you dont have to think about applying them.

Sisko

listen to this guy ^

One of the best blankas I've ever played by far.

FutureGuy

Makaveli 27 wrote: »

Im still pretty new to fighting games, i usually play ryu/ken for the simple reason that they were the only characters that i could pull off their specials in earlier sf games.

In ssf4 i pretty much rely on them, im comfortable with them so im not motivated to change it up.

Anyone have any tips on how to get out of this habit? Or even recommend a character that has maybe similar moves to get me started?

Tips for Ryu/Ken so i can get better with them would also be appreciated!:D

Hi Majaveli,
Welcome to the community. I'm a Ryu player, albeit not a great one, but I'd be happy to provide tips.

1) Stick with Ryu. You are used to playing him and he is one of the top tier characters. You areally cannot go wrong with him.

2) Get yourself into the Challenge mode. If you haven't SF4, I'd recommend renting it for a week and doing the challenges there too. By doing all RYU challenges, your execution with dramatically improve.

3) Get online and start implementing what you have learned.

4) "You're going to eat sh1t and learn to like the taste of it". Basically, as a newer player who is learning what works and what doesn't, invariably you are going to lose. A lot. Don't get frustrated, take the 16-0 defeats by random players online and the players here. They are part of learning.

5) One you have finished the session, get over to the replay section and rewatch your matches. Have a pen and paper ready and jot down anything you notice that is causing you to lose games. Maybe you are eating antiairs constantly. Maybe you are being thrown too much. Whatever it is, get back into training/sparring/online and learn to cut it out of your game.

6) Become a student of the game. Read EventHubs, shoryuken.com and boards.ie. Read up about the different match-ups and try to change you play style to fit the character.

7) Never be afraid to ask questions no matter how stupid or basic they may sound.

Doctor DooM

I main Guile but I started with Ryu for the very reasons you mentioned.

I then went through a period of putting in a few hours with every character.

I felt an affinity for 4 or 5 characters- Vega, Chun Li, Sakura, Guile and Gouken- so then I put more time in with these few.

Eventually it became obvious to me that Guile just suited me more and more. Now I can't see me maining anyone else in a game built on the SF4 engine.

animaX

You have to keep in mind though that everyone knows the ryu matchup for their respective characters. You couldn't possibly surprise anyone.

If you're not up to a good enough standard then picking ryu could actually be a hindrance to your development and your ability to win. I found that when i initially played sagat.

Ken B

animaX wrote: »

You have to keep in mind though that everyone knows the ryu matchup for their respective characters. You couldn't possibly surprise anyone.

If you're not up to a good enough standard then picking ryu could actually be a hindrance to your development and your ability to win. I found that when i initially played sagat.

I agree, I recently convinced an Ex-pat friend of mine to get SSFIV so I can stay in touch with him while kicking his ass. When he asked my advice onmwhich character to use, I immediately advised him to use a new character as he would, at least, be starting on an even(ish) footing with all the SFIV vets. He's using Cody and is having far more success than if he was a (scrubbyish) Ryu/Ken etc.

Sairus

I'd recommend going through 10 or 15 of every character's trials. They'll give you a decent taste of what the character is like and you might stumble onto something you'd be interested in trying out.
Either that or look at the tier lists and pick someone near the bottom for awesomeness =D

Makaveli 27

Thanks for all the tips lads!

Think im just gonna try all the characters that dont use charge moves for the craic and see what happens. Tried Juri like that guy said and it went pretty well! even won a couple games with her.

Always have ryu as a fall back anyway

D4RK ONION

Don't rule out charge characters! They all have a different feel to them. I started with Ryu, and never liked the charge characters, but Honda felt natural enough. Anyway, don't rule a character out just 'cause it's not what you're used to.

Sairus

D4RK ONION wrote: »

Don't rule out charge characters! They all have a different feel to them. I started with Ryu, and never liked the charge characters, but Honda felt natural enough. Anyway, don't rule a character out just 'cause it's not what you're used to.

This.
I ruled out all charge characters for the entirety of SF4's lifespan. A few weeks before Super arrived I suddenly realised Vega was bitchin.

Orim

Sairus wrote: »

This.
I ruled out all charge characters for the entirety of SF4's lifespan. A few weeks before Super arrived I suddenly realised Vega was bitchin.

You think SF4 Vega is bitchin, you need to play some ST. Then you'll know what bitchin is.

K.O.Kiki

Sairus wrote: »

I'd recommend going through 10 or 15 of every character's trials. They'll give you a decent taste of what the character is like and you might stumble onto something you'd be interested in trying out.
Either that or look at the tier lists and pick someone near the bottom for awesomeness =D

I tried Ibuki's trials, and they kicked my arse because I can't get back into the 3D mindset of "do string x, then y, then finisher".
And I really wanted to learn that kunoichi

D4RK ONION

I finished Ibuki's in one sitting! Was dead proud, but I don't think my brain could ever work fast enough to use her in battle.

chopperbyrne

I've been playing a lot of Seth lately and enjoying it, but still no hatemail. It's official, owning a PS3 makes you happier than owning a 360!

ayjayirl

Doctor DooM wrote: »

I main Guile but I started with Ryu for the very reasons you mentioned.

I then went through a period of putting in a few hours with every character.

I felt an affinity for 4 or 5 characters- Vega, Chun Li, Sakura, Guile and Gouken- so then I put more time in with these few.

Eventually it became obvious to me that Guile just suited me more and more. Now I can't see me maining anyone else in a game built on the SF4 engine.

Thats because you and guile are both c**ts

Makaveli 27

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I've been playing a lot of Seth lately and enjoying it, but still no hatemail. It's official, owning a PS3 makes you happier than owning a 360!

I played a bit of seth, i found his ultra did very low damage (is it just me?) pretty average overall. The sluggishness just wrecked my head though.

Oh and 360>>>PS3 all day.

Yreval

Makaveli 27 wrote: »

I played a bit of seth, i found his ultra did very low damage (is it just me?) pretty average overall. The sluggishness just wrecked my head though.

Oh and 360>>>PS3 all day.

It's not just you, they do do very low damage - as they should, because in all other aspects they are mind-blowingly good (U1 pretty much completely shuts down certain matchups when available; U2 combos off c.HP (2 hits) xx jab DP midscreen and off a Hyakuretsukyaku in the corner).

Koone_20

i've always been a Ryu/Ken player from as long as i can remember, but when Third Strike came out i found myself using Remy! which was crazy seeing as i dont like charge characters but he just felt comfortable to use, and also Dudley. Then when SFIV came out i went back to my old faithfulls before picking up Abel and now that Super is out i started off with Cody then went on to Dudley and now i'm maining Rufus and i'm sticking with him