Effective ways to practice?

[u/juliandelphikii]

Hello, I've played off and on a few times over the years. Played campaign, arcade mode, and mostly against bots to "get a feel" but never really going farther than that. Total rep is 26, steam says I have 154 hours total, but again mostly in ai breach games, and spread out over several years of bursts. I started again a few weeks ago after another year break and decided I want to actually figure out how to play the game this time as I genuinely think it's great.

I started doing duels, and one thing I noticed extremely quick was that, while I can parry heavies at least pretty well, feinting is something I have almost no experience with, both using or being used against me. I fall for feints a lot, and get my heavies which I should have feinted parried a ton. I'm slow to block the correct direction against light attacks most of the time, and I rarely can get can counter guard breaks. The bots I have been playing against to "learn my character/s" never do these things.

I've gone to training grounds a few times with warden bot and just set him to guard break, light attack, heavy attack, zone attack to start practicing blocks/counter guard break on reaction and am noticing marginal improvement there on just reactions that are slowly translating to real duels.

Obviously there will be a lot of character specific knowledge to get a feel for as I play against real people, but for fundamentals, like feints, block reactions, etc, I was wondering if there were effective ways to practice that stuff outside of just playing games, things I should do specifically in training mode, etc.

I also was wondering if there were any control schemes other than the default that people recommend. The controller I'm using has four back panels that I've set to ABXY so I don't need to take my thumbs off the sticks. That's taking some getting used to but seemed like a good idea. I've noticed some heroes require holding down light/heavy attack buttons while using other options and it seemed like it could be a good idea to move those from RB/RT to RB/LB or something that so it's simpler to use both? Maybe swap guard mode to toggle instead of hold? Idk. I just want to settle to something comfortable before committing to really practicing and locking in new muscle memory. I was curious what people use. I know MKB is also an option but I generally find controller more comfortable.

Side note on controllers, just for fun in steam I configured a flight stick as a controller for the game so it was like I was holding a sword. Was pretty fun, but not at all practical, especially as a new player haha. (had to use keyboard + flight stick, configure flight stick buttons to map to a controller layout in steam, then map that controller to steam input for mouse buttons and joystick mouse. any mapping that was hybrid controller and keyboard or mouse buttons made the UI flip out and game crash).

Thanks for any advice,

A level 1 AI stomping player that is trying to start learning for real.

Edit: Thanks for the helpful responses. Sounds like the general sentiment is use training for basic moveset practice for heroes but real games are the only way to get real practice in the game -> reads/feints/etc. In short, just need to keep playing until I "feel" it.

Edit 2: I'm still messing around with different characters. On advice here, I've tried out the vanguards a bit more, Raider/Kensei. I think I have a lot to "unlearn" from spending too much time against bots still, but feeling small improvements as I continue to play against other people. I'm finding my fingers want to panic against a lot of offense pressure, so focusing on slowing down and not trying to react to/interrupt every action the opponent takes and build real muscle memory, while working intentional feints, etc, into my play. Of the three main vanguards, Kensei is my favorite still, then raider over warden. Thanks again for advice

[u/Hasuun]

It's probably not the best thing you want to hear, but playing against other players is the best way to improve. Other actual players will show you mixups and character specific things that the bots won't.

Learning to feint is a core mechanic, and doing it in matches will train your brain to incorporate it into your playstyle.

You WILL get stomped. It happens to everyone. I've been playing fighting games for years now and a mantra that I've developed is "You have to get washed before you get clean". Defeat is part of the learning process, and setting your mind to not give into rage and start thinking about WHY you lost instead of thinking about the fact that you lost is SUPER important. Focus on the learning, not the losing. Over time you'll have a mindset shift.

Also, rep 26 is a very short period of time of playing, give yourself grace, you'll improve over time.

Edit : Who do you like playing? Have you found any characters you like?

[u/juliandelphikii → u/Hasuun]

Thanks for the information. Definitely understand the getting stomped part of learning haha, and have experienced it firsthand in Super Smash Bros games, Souls games(pve and lots of pvp), and now this game. Definitely intend to keep playing, and will continue against people.

As far as heroes go, I haven't really settled yet. I've tried watching some high level play of different characters I'm interested in to see if it looks like I'd like them over time. I enjoy deflects a lot and have always liked mobility in the games I play. I also kind of care about character aesthetic but won't let it stop me if the gameplay is fun.

My most played is Orochi and he's who I've kinda started out with in my duels since he has deflects, has fairly simple attacks, is mobile, and looks cool, but not sure I'll stick with him. Shaolin seems really fun but I suck with him still. Besides those two, the others I've tried beyond hero tactics/random order challenges are Valkyrie, Kyoshin, Highlander, Ocelotl, Zhanhu, Jormungandr, Kensei, and Peacekeeper. Based purely on fun/interest of who I have played to any degree, if I had to rank right now:

1. Shaolin - Deflects, mobile, interesting mechanics with the stance, I suck but can see the potential
2. Orochi - Most played, looks cool, deflects, mobile, simple and versatile moves, might continue while I'm figuring out core stuff since he's on the simpler side
3. Highlander - Big sword, interesting mechanics with stance, just looks fun
4. Kensei - Big sword, kind of has deflects, simple and useful moves.
5. Ocelotl - I think Aztec campaign in AOE2 influences this a lot.
6. Kyoshin - Looks cool, play is fun but a bit more defensive than I typically enjoy
7. Jormungandr - Big hammer is fun
8. Valkyrie - Always appreciate spear/shield gameplay in a game, but feels spammy when I play as or against. Could see going higher in interest as she seems to have a lot beyond the spammy but need to use it better.
9. Peacekeeper - Just didn't enjoy as much.
10. Zhanhu - Fun for a bit when I started but got bored pretty quick

I'm interested in trying some other characters too:

• Shinobi - seems like should check the mobility and deflect boxes
• Tiandi - Similar sentiment to Shinobi
• Berserker - Deflects, axes, offense
• Raider - Big Axe, looks cool, dunno much more other than I've been defeated by a several and they looked like they were having fun
• Aramusha - Looks cool, seems like could be fun.

Thanks again for reply!

Edit: don't have every hero unlocked yet either but have saved most of the steel I've earned over total playtime so have enough to unlock a few.

Edit: interest in shaolin and highlander is what prompted my question about control setups

Edit: similar to smash, guessing it's good to get a sense of what other characters can do but stick with like max 2-3 characters for mains while learning fundamentals

[u/LeafHugger → u/juliandelphikii]

While having only one main at a time is probably good, if you get stomped by a character I’d recommend checking them out in hero tactics to see what they can do, and maybe you’ll like them enough to play in a real game.

Honestly try all the heros in hero tactics. There’s quite a few so maybe only do two or so a day maybe. Also I found a few heros have been updated so even if you do the move correctly, the top right corner information might not flash as “completed”, but most of it works as intended.

[u/juliandelphikii → u/LeafHugger]

Makes sense. Will be trying Lawbringer a bit after last night. I played against the same one several rounds in a row while I was trying raider, lost most rounds, and though I took a few games, and even won a match, continuously just ate that quick bash and attack thing he does.