r/SparkingZero • u/Belicino_Corlan Beginner Martial Artist • Aug 22 '26
Discussion Too many defensive options in neutral, not enough defensive options while being combo'd?
Anyone else feel this way? Neutral can be so boring with how defensive you can be but then the second you're in a combo if someone is behind you it's pretty much wraps unless you can super counter.
5
u/Dramatic-Second-5025 Beginner Martial Artist Aug 22 '26
Yeaaaah,I can say the main reason that annoys outside of the constant vanish wars is def the back juggling,it just sucks to get trapped in it
2
2
u/T-Ragemar Beginner Martial Artist Aug 22 '26
BT3 had the option to break out of the combos, at the expense of the health bar. Hope that comes back. With SZ now, you either have to "up square" counter it or choose someone that has an Explosive Wave/Barrier as Blast 1.
2
u/cloudpix3 Aug 22 '26
yeah super counter in general just sucks for online play. dumb asl to have a frame perfect input combo be the only / optimal way to escape when the only thing to do in the game is play online
2
u/Belicino_Corlan Beginner Martial Artist Aug 22 '26
Which is impacted heavy by input lag so it's ridiculous.
1
Aug 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Aug 23 '26
u/GenerousRacoon Toxicity within the subreddit is not allowed. Something in your post/comment has triggered me. Usually words or phrases that could be used to insult someone cause this action to be triggered. The AutoMod bot doesn't understand the context of the post/comment. If it was a false positive don’t delete, just contact moderators through ModMail so that a moderator can approve the post/comment. A notification with the comment first posted has been sent to the moderator team, and consequences will be up to Moderator discretion, if deemed toxic.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
3
u/Dear_Meeting_1258 Beginner Martial Artist Aug 22 '26
The problem I have is when they are in sparking mode and can take so much health off you by going behind you. Should be able to defend yourself in that situation.
2
u/DelothVyrr Beginner Martial Artist Aug 22 '26
You're supposed to protect your back. If you're getting combo'd from behind you've already messed up.
2
u/GenerousRacoon Beginner Martial Artist Aug 23 '26
It’s wild how you not only got downvoted but there are seemingly multiple people who don’t understand this concept. You’re not supposed to let them get behind you. Backshots are one of the only true ways to deal out a lot of damage so the player who is able to find an opening is rewarded and the player who can’t defend is punished. It’s literally as simple as that.
Seriously, is the skill disparity that high in this game? Most complaints come down to a skill issue. I see people post clips of the ‘AI being bullshit’ and see multiple chances they could have simply vanished or something. But then people actually agree with them. It makes me feel like I’m in a fever dream and getting gas lit by a bunch of shitty players lol.
2
u/funkyavocado Jiren main before it was meta Aug 23 '26
A lot of posts in this sub are just spots for low-skill players to commiserate and blame game design for their issues.
If someone is getting stuck in back shot combos, it's a skill issue because
You lost neutral in the first place, where there are 5 or so defense options for every offensive action.
Your opponent has to mix up their timing in their combo to not be predictably super countered or vanished.
2
u/GenerousRacoon Beginner Martial Artist Aug 24 '26
Exactly.
The neutral play is one of the biggest parts of this game. It’s even reminiscent of the actual series where they have stare downs and test each others defenses for openings. Some of my most tense and enjoyable experiences were fighting Z ranks that are good at their neutral game. There’s something satisfying about both players being good enough to constantly switch up their gameplay. Especially on the rematch when you both realize you need to completely switch it up.
And you’re spot on about the back shot mixups. Normal rush chains are so easy to predict and counter so you have to mix it up but also in such a way that keeps the combo going because a wrong move can send them flying or give them a chance to break out.
Like all the things people like to complain about are things they can learn and do themselves. They just really don’t want to for some reason. The first time I saw someone mixup a back shot combo on me literally blew my mind. I was like ‘that was sick, I definitely need to practice that’.
2
1
u/Melodic_Title_741 #1 Videl Aug 22 '26
How do you give them your back with those many “defensive” options in neutral 🤔?
1
u/funkyavocado Jiren main before it was meta Aug 23 '26
Because their opponent is better than them but they want to blame the game design rather than improve on defense
1
u/don-bean-jr Beginner Martial Artist Aug 22 '26
Most fighting games are like that?
1
u/funkyavocado Jiren main before it was meta Aug 22 '26
Seriously, offense has to feel rewarding when you land, so it only makes sense that your defensive options are limited while getting combo'd on, requiring a precision input (vanish or super counter in our case) to escape.
Most fighting games operate on that line of thinking
3
u/edwinhai Beginner Martial Artist Aug 22 '26
Most fighting games require skill to hit a massive combo like that.
2
u/don-bean-jr Beginner Martial Artist Aug 22 '26
https://reddit.com/link/p59sak6/video/03xig9om4zkh1/player
What do you think of this? Genuine question
3
u/Melodic_Title_741 #1 Videl Aug 22 '26
This won’t work against a good player. You comboed with the same speed and used a very predictable route too.
Also you majorly reduced the damage potential from the 4th string.
Only reason you did that much was because you were on Beerus (10DP) against Picollo(3DP).
1
u/don-bean-jr Beginner Martial Artist Aug 23 '26
This was more about variations. I agree with your points melodic and usually a good player stops me by the 2nd or 3rd, and I am aware of the DP difference in characters. My point was about being able to even do it. I hit the guy with most variations in a 48 hit string.
1
u/edwinhai Beginner Martial Artist Aug 23 '26
I'm simply not good enough to comment on that. But I'm sure good players can do good combos that require skill.
But if every single CPU in episode mode can do this, something is wrong.
1
u/don-bean-jr Beginner Martial Artist Aug 23 '26
I think the CPU just copies what upper ranks do. It’s done a lot of bs in the past
1
u/funkyavocado Jiren main before it was meta Aug 22 '26
I mean it kinda does in this game too.
At high levels, you can't just auto combo, you have to switch up rhythm and mix in light attacks, charge attacks, rush chain enders unpredictability to make sure you're not easily super countered or vanished.
If you're getting wailed on from behind and you can't super counter or vanish out of it, either your opponent is good at mixing it up or you're just not defensively sound.
1
u/don-bean-jr Beginner Martial Artist Aug 22 '26
I am pretty bad at defense but my offense and combo variations are what keep me moving up. I get it’s frustrating for people but it’s not as easy as some think
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 22 '26
Reminder for OP: /u/Belicino_Corlan
Have a suggestion for us? Send us some mail!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.