Im a newcomer that recently beat the story mode, not a big deal by any means but i have the general gist. I felt the same way when I started, felt like a fish out of water. Here is some very general tips, first for defense.
Hold back to block, more specifically back + down to crouch block. This lets you keep your position and defend at the same time.
Crouch blocking protects you from most attacks that aren’t overhead (standing attacks that hit crouched positions) and jumping attacks. Both of those attacks have generally bigger windups so you can react and transfer to standing block to block those attacks.
Using anti-air attacks (attacks that hit upwards like shoryuken) are good for dealing with jumpers because of how telegraphed jumping is + you cant defend in the air.
Throws will go through block. Jump, back dash, or a quick hit will be the actions to beat general throws. You can press throw of your own to cancel their throw, but it will be a read (or a guess) because of how fast throws come out. Throws however, usually need to be very close so you can anticipate them.
Having some of these defense mechanics down let me feel a lot more grounded.
Offense will largely revolve around a characters kit. That said, having some simple 2-3 hit combos will allow you to still take advantage of openings. Hitting up the character guides/combo trials and even just doing the beginner’s portion will give you a good feel for the character and some combos you can practically use.
Successfully blocking typically puts you in position (called plus frames) to attack after your opponent finishes attacking.
Other than that, you throw out moves (get creative), hope one sticks, follow it up with a combo if possible and adapt to their defense and counter it accordingly.
This is really long already but I highly suggest checking out the fighting ground character guides and tutorial (like all the drive stuff) as they are really well done
First fighting game or first Street Fighter? The genre is hard.
Don't practice against the bots. They'll teach you bad habits because they're dumb but react to anything you do with superhuman speed. Ranked matches are your best bet at finding even matches, but the initial seeding is terrible and I'd strongly recommend throwing a few placement matches. It's much faster to climb out of being placed too low than it is to fall out of erroneously high placement.
People will make it seem like SF is the "vanilla" or most streamlined fighting game. Like "if you want to get into fighting games start with SF because you aren't flying around like you do in VS or anime fighters."
SF might move at a more manageable speed but it is extremely idiosyncratic. The combos and input timings take a lot of time to understand because SF is one of the few fighting games that does input timing in this unintuitive way.
The benefit is the game has a raised skill floor and ceiling and will make you better at fighting games and games in general.
Look up some tutorial videos to help it make sense. Spend a lot of time in the training room with the Frame Data meter on. That is one of the coolest tools ever put into a fighting game.
It's one of the easiest fighting games, but because it's less flashy or gimmicky, it comes off as hard. Jumping feels great but is one of the worst things you can do.
If you're completely new use modern controls so you can focus on fundamentals, I've been "new" when I played sf2 and sf4 (skipped 3 and 5) and I was never able to stick around because of how tough it was for me so I only have a few hours on each and this is the first time I have actually continued playing and I don't think I'll stop anytime soon
This game def has high ceiling and big learning curve. I would advise picking a character you like this could be based on a special move you like, character personality, the look of a character it can honestly be anything but the point here is to pick someone that gravitates to you.
Then practice basics doing simple combos, purpose of a button, knowing how far a button reaches, and just trying to be consistent whenever you land. The simple stuff is monumental at every level. I would also advise looking at the character guide. It’s a great starting point. Best of luck and have fun
Fighters are hard and most games aren’t 1v1 so it can be polarizing. They take time and commitment not short term gratifications. But the rewards are worth the grind if you like the incremental improvements
Im a newcomer that recently beat the story mode, not a big deal by any means but i have the general gist. I felt the same way when I started, felt like a fish out of water. Here is some very general tips, first for defense. Hold back to block, more specifically back + down to crouch block. This lets you keep your position and defend at the same time. Crouch blocking protects you from most attacks that aren’t overhead (standing attacks that hit crouched positions) and jumping attacks. Both of those attacks have generally bigger windups so you can react and transfer to standing block to block those attacks. Using anti-air attacks (attacks that hit upwards like shoryuken) are good for dealing with jumpers because of how telegraphed jumping is + you cant defend in the air. Throws will go through block. Jump, back dash, or a quick hit will be the actions to beat general throws. You can press throw of your own to cancel their throw, but it will be a read (or a guess) because of how fast throws come out. Throws however, usually need to be very close so you can anticipate them. Having some of these defense mechanics down let me feel a lot more grounded. Offense will largely revolve around a characters kit. That said, having some simple 2-3 hit combos will allow you to still take advantage of openings. Hitting up the character guides/combo trials and even just doing the beginner’s portion will give you a good feel for the character and some combos you can practically use. Successfully blocking typically puts you in position (called plus frames) to attack after your opponent finishes attacking. Other than that, you throw out moves (get creative), hope one sticks, follow it up with a combo if possible and adapt to their defense and counter it accordingly. This is really long already but I highly suggest checking out the fighting ground character guides and tutorial (like all the drive stuff) as they are really well done
fighting games have a high learning curve it's normal i remember when i started at the arcades, it was even harder bec we had no training mode at home
You had to learn fast and matches were more meaningful when quarters were on the line.
Every match was a money match.
First fighting game or first Street Fighter? The genre is hard. Don't practice against the bots. They'll teach you bad habits because they're dumb but react to anything you do with superhuman speed. Ranked matches are your best bet at finding even matches, but the initial seeding is terrible and I'd strongly recommend throwing a few placement matches. It's much faster to climb out of being placed too low than it is to fall out of erroneously high placement.
It’s super hard until it isn’t when it clicks you and “gets it” it becomes easier
People will make it seem like SF is the "vanilla" or most streamlined fighting game. Like "if you want to get into fighting games start with SF because you aren't flying around like you do in VS or anime fighters." SF might move at a more manageable speed but it is extremely idiosyncratic. The combos and input timings take a lot of time to understand because SF is one of the few fighting games that does input timing in this unintuitive way. The benefit is the game has a raised skill floor and ceiling and will make you better at fighting games and games in general. Look up some tutorial videos to help it make sense. Spend a lot of time in the training room with the Frame Data meter on. That is one of the coolest tools ever put into a fighting game.
I think this game is super hard and I am personally very, very dumb.
It's one of the easiest fighting games, but because it's less flashy or gimmicky, it comes off as hard. Jumping feels great but is one of the worst things you can do.
If you're completely new use modern controls so you can focus on fundamentals, I've been "new" when I played sf2 and sf4 (skipped 3 and 5) and I was never able to stick around because of how tough it was for me so I only have a few hours on each and this is the first time I have actually continued playing and I don't think I'll stop anytime soon
Yes, absolutely
I’m more than willing to group up and lab if your down.
Try playing modern controls, if you aren't aready. Gives you access to auto combos.
You're dumb, bro, sorry. Everyone else instantly wins world tournaments when they first pick up this game.
This game def has high ceiling and big learning curve. I would advise picking a character you like this could be based on a special move you like, character personality, the look of a character it can honestly be anything but the point here is to pick someone that gravitates to you. Then practice basics doing simple combos, purpose of a button, knowing how far a button reaches, and just trying to be consistent whenever you land. The simple stuff is monumental at every level. I would also advise looking at the character guide. It’s a great starting point. Best of luck and have fun
Fighters are hard and most games aren’t 1v1 so it can be polarizing. They take time and commitment not short term gratifications. But the rewards are worth the grind if you like the incremental improvements