Fights And Frag Checks

Finally Moving Forward: Hi-ho Silver, Away!

Another rank up, finally Silver!

After getting frustrated at ranked play around the super-ultra bronze region of play, it was recommended to me to instead spend a bunch of time playing casual to do several things:

  • Get used to cheese and goofy mashers
  • Practice antiair with st.lk and b.hk
  • Practice following up on antiairs
  • Practice catching people waking up with meaty setups

… basically practice more. That first bullet point is kind of important, though, since I’ve been under the impression that trying to play smart alone would protect me from all manners of goofy gameplay. Someone who wants to bypass the neutral game isn’t going to respect one’s attempts to show off their slick footsies game, they’re gonna jump and mong and do shit that would normally mean death in normal gameplay.

This guy? He does not give a shit that you want to practice your neutral. Meaties? The only meat there is his palm slapping PPP. Combos? This guy is gambling on the inexperience of his opponent so he can cackle as he lands a s.hp crush counter after trying 4 other times in a row previously. I was told previously that learning how to deal with this archetype is a skill in its own right, and it’s simply mandatory. This guy comes in many forms: Kens who do nothing but ex DP anytime they think they’re in disadvantage, people who learn the bare minimum of F.A.N.G. so they can abuse character rarity to win games, Uriens mashing dash after a VS2 metallic sphere (totally not me), the list goes on.

I found that, despite my protests that most people are just looking to skip neutral early on, I found enough people who would jump me and give me opportunities to work on my antiairs. I’d get opportunities to work on my oki, meaty setups, crush counter follow-ups, even footsies. These usually came around after I complained, further solidifying my theory that the instant I try to complain about something, I finally get exactly what I wanted all along the moment after.

And just like that, I ranked up to Silver. That entire set agains the Kolin was really good, though. Made plenty of mistakes even when I was winning. Now I get to work on stuff like corner and stun combos after not having to worry about that before.

I totally guarantee this place in Silver isn’t permanent, I’ll slip right back to Ultra Bronze or lower with just one wrong game, but for now? This is nice.