how do you get better?

I agree that the most important thing is just staying relaxed. I tend to get nervous when I have my opponent's health down very low and they start getting aggressive. I think it's important not to freak out in those situations and that's something I'm trying to learn.
 
Aesop30 said:
I agree that the most important thing is just staying relaxed. I tend to get nervous when I have my opponent's health down very low and they start getting aggressive. I think it's important not to freak out in those situations and that's something I'm trying to learn.
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yep, some opponents, when see that they have very low health, something as only 10%-5%, they forget all strategy, and more or less enter in the "rage state" and start to rushdown as crazy maniacs, trying to catch you on the corner , or just uppercut you to death, and , on these times, if you are in panic, yeah, there is chance to you losing, so, you should control yourself and give the final hit wisely , and end all pressure coming from him.
 
yautjared said:
Some people cannot evolve, they got stuck in certain skill level .... even if they double the time they play daily, watch lots of MK streams gameplay, buy all MK guides, or talk with Tom Brady 2 hours a day (LOL!), they simple cannot pass the maximum skill level they naturally have and/or have reached, more or less as they reached a personal peak apex where they cannot, or don't know, what more to do regarding this game .....
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idts tbh.. it's a game after all. practice makes perfect, if I were the OP I guess I'd keep training with online matches versus good players cause getting your ass kicked by the best can help you learn from your mistakes. if he knows in theory how this combo is good or that move is good for the X occasion, all it takes is apply really.. I'd suggest keep training and I'm sure if you challenge the best and REALLY like this game, you WILL become one of the best
 
I find my biggest problem is I buckle under the pressure of performing during a match. I can pull off a few reasonable combos now on practice mode without really having to think about them, but when I get an opening during a proper fight my brain turns to jelly and I either take too long getting a hit in or screw up my combo. In the end I just have to revert to simple 3 hit combos, as I react a lot faster when I'm not having to think about my response.
 
DrNate86 said:
I find my biggest problem is I buckle under the pressure of performing during a match. I can pull off a few reasonable combos now on practice mode without really having to think about them, but when I get an opening during a proper fight my brain turns to jelly and I either take too long getting a hit in or screw up my combo. In the end I just have to revert to simple 3 hit combos, as I react a lot faster when I'm not having to think about my response.
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if you practice a lot online, that'll change. vs cpu it's different, each human will think differently while fighting you online. if you train enough with human matches, that'll pass for sure. think of it this way, you go and learn how to drive, at first you're lost and you're anxious and if your engine shuts off and people press the horn behind you, you get anxious and mess shifting and turning the engine back on and blah.. and then, after X time of driving, you don't even need to actually THINK that 'yeah now I'll shift up' 'yeah now I need to press the brake' and all that, it all happens automatically. same here, if you practice a lot with actual people and master your favorite characters, you'll be able to ignore the anxiety and just apply your knowledge
 
DrNate86 said:
I find my biggest problem is I buckle under the pressure of performing during a match. I can pull off a few reasonable combos now on practice mode without really having to think about them, but when I get an opening during a proper fight my brain turns to jelly and I either take too long getting a hit in or screw up my combo. In the end I just have to revert to simple 3 hit combos, as I react a lot faster when I'm not having to think about my response.
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i understand this sentiment actually. i can learn all sorts of combos, but when i take it online i almost never land them. and its not just execution/lag, i have a hard time just landing the first punch of the combo string. it usually goes...block...say i dont get hit low or i manage to block the low attack, ill try to attack imediatly after his combo string is done...here comes the punch, i see the animation coming...ohhh whats that? ya, they managed to land another combo string on me, surprise surprise.

maybe its lag or something im missing but this happens a lot to me. ill block a string, and...as you would expect i should be able to start my own...but they manage to start another string before my first punch lands. now...i could have abysmally slow reactiontimes but i think my reaction speed is pretty good. essentially this leaves me in a constant state of block getting my hp chipped at until i can get in a get off me move (noobs shadowupknee for example).

on a sidenote i really REALLY wish they would have made noobs shadowupknee invincible on wakeup as opposed to his shadow slide.
 
I know it's cliche, and I know you will hear when you ask for everything, but practice mode. you can set the computer on expert, and an expert MK computer is the cheapest most unfair opponent you'll face, so you can learn how to punish and how you will be punished

it's the most useful tool in this game in progressing as far as skill, learn not only your characters but the basic combos of other characters, every character has openings after a blocked string but if you can't recognize those openings you can't punish

breakers are your friend. period. enhanced moves and wake ups can help you so much as well




I've also noticed a lot of people refuse to block low, when I play Kung Lao I punish everyone on a knockdown with a low hat and 99% of the time it hits for free damage.
and when the catch on you eliminate the wake up attack, and get a free overhead


I didn't really read the thread per se, but these are just some tips that I use to get some wins
 
What makes a great player is they know how to win regardless of disadvantages (i.e lag, zoners, etc.)

I have an app on my iPod that tell you how to do juggle combos, finishing moves, and more. What t
I do is head to the lab(Training Mode) and learn the juggles I made up and the ones on the app as well.

Many players cannot play because of lag. The only solution until the patch is release is to adjust to it. Plus, learn your opponent as well. If you got the talent, you can destroy spammers and zoners with ease. For example, anybody that choose Smoke, Scorpion, or Ermac will probably spam the teleport move. In this case, Blocking is your friend. That leaves them open for a uppercut or a juggle combo. Don't block too much, though, because some high skill players will work their way around blocking and punish you.

Now my next example is Noob Saibot. I admit that I have a hard time playing against Noob because of his zoning and most players I've come across spams the hell out of his Shadow moves. The best counter to those are to jump over his Shadow Charge. Don't jump when you're too close to him because chances are you might get hit by his Shadow Upknee or his Teleport Slam. Hit him low when youre close and he's using the Upknee and Duck or Block his Teleport Slam. Once you figure Noob out, you should have no problem taking him down.

In conclusion, Training Mode is the best option for those who wanna become better in the game. Practice against AI opponents to understand them better. Grab a few buddies and train with them. If you need tips, I can help. Just give me shout.
 
im getting a wee bit better today it seems. mainly in terms of zoning myself out so i dont panic if im losing or eating a big combo, that and i have some of the longer combos for csz and noob commited to muscle memory at least partially now.

i need to get better at poking low and blocking the low attacks.

and kung lao..maybe its the lag but on csz i couldnt get priority on my dive kick over his at all.
 
Here is my two cents if you want them.

If your problems are
1.) choking when the pressure is high
2.) Executing combos flawlessly on the fly while being pressured.

Then obviously the answer to this, you need to care A LOT less about losing. Just smile (Even if it's a forced one) and think ok... where exactly did I mess that up. If you keep failing at a certain time during your combo. next time you get it off during pressure varience the timing and REALLY pay attention to what stage (or frame[I know you can't see frames but you can get a general idea of when you can do the next move])

here is a nifty trick to help you understand when you are able to execute a move. If you hold block during attack lag. the block will immediately show you when the move ends because your animation will be going to block ASAP when it ends.

You really just have to keep practicing under pressure (and really think about timing). Keep playing and playing until it's burned into your muscle memory. don't feel discouraged when you see everyone else having no problem. It's a fact that some people can get this stuff down faster than others. I've always been slow at making my execution flawless myself. But I got the brain and understanding of the games to back me up.

Spend your online time NOT playing to win...

I know this sounds stupid, but play your matches to LEARN/IMPROVE.

playing to learn. try out different strategies and just pretend your opponent is an AI dummy in training mode that uses random strategies against you.

playing to win does not always equal playing to learn.

sometimes doing things to help you learn will put you in a unknown and uncomfortable environment but you will be learning if it's good/bad by experimenting.

people who only play to win will just stick to what has done good for them in the past, and refuse to try and find something new.
 
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aedanwolfe said:
i understand this sentiment actually. i can learn all sorts of combos, but when i take it online i almost never land them. and its not just execution/lag, i have a hard time just landing the first punch of the combo string. it usually goes...block...say i dont get hit low or i manage to block the low attack, ill try to attack imediatly after his combo string is done...here comes the punch, i see the animation coming...ohhh whats that? ya, they managed to land another combo string on me, surprise surprise.

maybe its lag or something im missing but this happens a lot to me. ill block a string, and...as you would expect i should be able to start my own...but they manage to start another string before my first punch lands. now...i could have abysmally slow reactiontimes but i think my reaction speed is pretty good. essentially this leaves me in a constant state of block getting my hp chipped at until i can get in a get off me move (noobs shadowupknee for example).

on a sidenote i really REALLY wish they would have made noobs shadowupknee invincible on wakeup as opposed to his shadow slide.
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This could be because the string your opp is using has frame advantage, and maybe you are trying to punish with an attack that is too slow? This is all character specific and since there's no frame data its kinda tough to know exactly which attacks have frame advantage and which attacks are fast enough to punish. Also lag definitely hurts in these situations.
Best advice to anyone who wants to get better: play offline with real people. Look for events and gatherings where serious players gather. You'll learn a lot by getting your butt kicked and discussing it with your opp. Like others have said you need to have the "Play to Learn" mindset.
 
aedanwolfe said:
some sound advice critical-limit but i dont understand what you mean by the nifty little trick with blocking.
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Oh sorry if I didn't explain it well enough

Go into the game,
Do a move or a combo string
while the move is happening Hold the block button. sometimes moves end faster or slower than they appear. Holding block will show you tHE SOONEST possible frame you can execute another move. (special move cancels and dash cancels are exceptions)

ok for instance my nightwolf friend was having problems timing his 2nd string out of his upward axe swinging pop up move. he held block during pop up move to see when nightwolf was ready to really start his next attack or dash forward because the move ended later than he thought so he was putting in his next inputs too quickly and they weren't registering.

could be the same the other way around. You might think ur move ends longer than it really does but you can actually cut off like 10 frames of lag at the end of it by immediately starting another move. and to find out if you can holding block is generally a good way to know when your move truly ends.
 
Critical-Limit said:
Oh sorry if I didn't explain it well enough

Go into the game,
Do a move or a combo string
while the move is happening Hold the block button. sometimes moves end faster or slower than they appear. Holding block will show you tHE SOONEST possible frame you can execute another move. (special move cancels and dash cancels are exceptions)

ok for instance my nightwolf friend was having problems timing his 2nd string out of his upward axe swinging pop up move. he held block during pop up move to see when nightwolf was ready to really start his next attack or dash forward because the move ended later than he thought so he was putting in his next inputs too quickly and they weren't registering.

could be the same the other way around. You might think ur move ends longer than it really does but you can actually cut off like 10 frames of lag at the end of it by immediately starting another move. and to find out if you can holding block is generally a good way to know when your move truly ends.
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That's really neat! I've never tried that ;P
 
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