"I am a bad player"

[Ultimastrike]

I've come to believe I am through it, and even when I win, I still think I'm bad at the game. It's like there's no way to improve, let alone do better with your character. I've never been able to mixup, and I've never been able to adapt to anything. I've lost...50 matches in a row now to better players(even the ones that are bad on FG) and I've never been able to break the streak. I'm just one of the worst players in NA.

 

[Tinkerer]

Okay. Play more, play against people who can tell you what you do wrong (ask people here or on Anther's). Also, don't collapse out of self-pity, but just keep going. Losing a ton is always what happens at the start of a fighting game.

 

[Ultimastrike]

Okay. Play more, play against people who can tell you what you do wrong (ask people here or on Anther's). Also, don't collapse out of self-pity, but just keep going. Losing a ton is always what happens at the start of a fighting game.

...I haven't just started. I've played for a good amount of time(since release on 3DS). I've never been able to go to tournaments. EVER. Even then, I can't participate in online tournaments as well because the dates don't match work.

 

[RayNoire]

That's great! That means you have nothing to lose.

 

[Ultimastrike]

That's great! That means you have nothing to lose.

What can you do if you have nothing to lose? All you can lose is your dignity.

 

[Big-Cat]

"Git gud"

You pretty much gotta get your ass handed to you before you start to make connections.

 

[Bennext]

I'm having the same problem, I was good at brawl but I'm struggling with smash 3DS. I'm not sure what I should be doing to get better. This does seem to be the right place to find out.

 

[15 [イチゴ]]

As Isai once said: "Don't get hit."

Save your matches and try to understand exactly why you get hit. If you can't then have someone else look at it with you.

If you notice a pattern like falling into your opponent's shield with a poorly spaced aerial then work on that until you don't make the same mistake anymore.


Fighting games boil down to picking the right option at the right time:

Did your oppnent shield your attack when you were too close?

Grab next time.

Did your opponent run up and grab you while you were shielding?

Jab next time.

Did your opponent jab you when you ran in with an attempted dash attack or grab?

Roll behind them, jump and aerial or dash cancel with shield to take the jab and punish when an opportunity comes.


There is always a way you can approach a situation differently. There is always a way you could have avoided getting hit.

Mix it up!

 

[Matus]

I've been playing smash since the n64 (when i was 4) and i can safely say i was at the same skill level for all these years until i came here and understood the community, combos, skills, tactics, playstyles, player types (casual, C-competitive, competitive, pro). One thing i can say is that for glory is NOT a measure of how good you are. Most decent or good players go into for glory for fun, or to style on the players there. You wont get much better in for glory since there is no ranking system to group you into.

In my case, i played over 4000 matches in brawl with mario, around a quarter of that in melee, and i'd say 300 on the n64, and i've only been getting better with him now because i've played with decent people or people much better than me. I still struggle against certain MU just because i find the character annoying (mewtwo...) but i can tell you how i got better.

first, look at how professionals play. try to analyze what they do that you don't, and try to incorporate it into your game. Since learning more mechanics in smash 4, i have stopped instant double jumping, wasting my second jump, recovering in the same way repeatedly, and have learned how to read my opponent for their tendencies (ie marths who spam counter, falcons who use dash attack on shield) combo effectively (since mario was buffed massively) approach better (still a weakness imo) dodge moves, and just be more unpredictable. It's little things that you will pick up of hundreds of games, so dont take your W/L ratio into account. It doesn't really matter, it'll go up. I went from ~30% in march to 55.60% as of yesterday.

 

[A_Kae]

Post a few replays of yourself, FG or not. That'll give a better idea of where you are and what you need. Much more than just saying that you're bad.

Beyond that, I see you use Robin. Robin's a fairly difficult character to use. Try using someone else for a change; it's good to switch things around sometimes, and if you really are bad, you shouldn't be using a character that's as hard and bad as Robin. Pit's a good idea, I've heard.

Try asking around for someone to play you, and help you learn after the matches. I'd be happy to help, but I've been a really busy lately, so it might not work out so well with me. I'm sure that there's someone who can, though.

Watch pro matches, and I mean REAL pros, not just any person who happens to go to a tourney. Nairo is a very good Robin player, you could learn a lot from him. Also uses Pit, so if you try out my other suggestion, he's still a good player to watch.

And don't bother with most 'advanced techniques' right now. Fundamentals, e.g. spacing, movement, things like that is what's important. ATs won't save if you're bad, and you should never make up the core of your gameplan because it just doesn't work. Focusing on ATs is the number one reason, in my experience, that people hit 'plateaus' and never get better. Learning ATs isn't what going to win games, playing smart will.

Don't lose hope. There's no shame in being bad, we're all bad at some point. I was like you once, everyone was. You can get better too.

That's all I have to say. Well, that was true for about a minute.

Edit: And FG win rate doesn't mean much. Lag makes stuff that should work, not work, and stuff that shouldn't work, work.

 

[Ryuki of Spiral Rhapsody]

Okay man, I can tell this post was made immediately after a deep trip into the salt mines of For Glory because, to be frank, we've all been there. I've made my share of self-hating Facebook posts after a series of Ness taunts and failed Dancing Blades.

As said already, Robin is a fairly difficult character to use. That being said, picking Robin isn't necessarily you robbing yourself of victories.
I recommend looking at
1) Robin tutorials, combo videos, matches (with players proven to be good), etc. on YouTube and whatnot
2) Smashboards' character forums, specifically Robins'. From what I've seen, people don't get away with being jerks here, so don't be afraid to ask questions you may think are "dumb" (there's really no such thing as a dumb question, at least to me anyway). A lot of us came here when Smash 4 came around, one popular reason being is to "git gud", so many of us are in similar boats to you.
2a) Also, if there are certain characters that are driving you insane, go to those characters' forums and you might find answers as to how to get around some of the popular tactics. I'm sure people will agree with my on this; one of the best ways to beat people is to know the other side of the match, the opponent, the character you are fighting.

Another point I really, really, really want to stress to you (if you're even looking at this post) is that For Glory is one of the worst online competitive services I have ever seen in a fighting game. It is such a disservice to you, and even moreso if you use it as a scale to measure how good you are. Are you really "one of the worst players in NA"? Even though....

1) there's inherent input lag
2) there's visible lag and choppiness
3) there's a matchmaking system that can be described in one word, that being "NOTHING"
3a) no, really, i doubt there's even a system of pairing players together other than "WHAT'S THE NEXT OPEN ROOM???", because frankly there is no reason to pair me up with players who play Little Mac and Jolt Haymaker off the stage, or someone who INSISTS on trying to Kirbycide me TEN SECONDS INTO THE MATCH. For Glory stats? Global Smash Power? I doubt those do literally anything. (Someone please tell me I'm wrong)
4) the stage selection is limited to Final Destination and Omega stages with walls. Remember other legal stages like Battlefield? What about those? No?
5) Many of the players are willing to go beyond mere taunting and say nasty things, because apparently winning wasn't enough

Just maybe you're not very good at this game. That's always a possibility. At least you came here though, with this attitude that shows that you expected better than what you see. In other words, you're not satisfied with where you're at and you're hungry to get better. That puts you above a lot of For Glory players who refuse to adapt and resort to things such as picking the same character you pick and senselessly spamming 2 or 3 special moves. Talk to people here and ask if anyone is down to practice with you, especially players who would say are on the same level as you. Of course, input lag will always happen, but an environment designed to make you improve is better than an environment such as For Glory that is just-- man i'm gonna stop i already showed how salty i am about it lmao

 

[Izayoi]

Sobbing here won't help, although it does alleviate some of the frustration that has been (and probably still is) building up inside you.

I understand perfectly how you feel, I've been in your condition a lot of times. It's perfectly normal. In any kind of competition, even. There's always that step we start with. Surely, there are people that are more naturally inclined to do better in fighting games than others, but that doesn't mean you've reached your peak, I'm sure.

It's like those anime or manga with a protagonist that is more or less the weakest. But through hardships, they become even stronger. Not the best example, but I'm sure you get my point. Just remember that losing is part of the journey in the struggle to become better, in anything in life.

There are some posts here that do give you good tips, like visiting character specific forums, watching tutorials, and perhaps videos of pro players in tournaments. In any case, I hope your road only gets better as you find your way out the fog you're currently in.

 

[Kabutops]

Constantly losing to people can be really discouraging. You may want to practice against CPU's until you "git gud". Once you have really refined your playstyle and can body level 9's without too much difficulty, go back to For Glory. That's what I would do in addition to what others here are saying.

 

[MajorMajora]

I know how this feels. But here's the best advice I can give you:
-Stop telling yourself you can't. Tell yourself you can. Even if you don't believe it, if you say it a small part of you will, and confidence is key to getting better.
-Keep playing, specifically to other humans, ask them what you do wrong, and internalize them. You will not correct your mistakes right away, it may take months, but eventually something will click and you will read a roll and it will be the best feeling.

 

[Ultimastrike]

I've never been able to see my mistakes, even when I watch them later. What can I do?

 

[Gina the Maid]

I've been playing since 64, and I used to think I was so good at brawl, but then when I played smash 4 there was still so much that I didnt even know about, it just takes time and practice.

 

[JayTheUnseen]

I think all you can do is keep playing. Our minds are more intelligent than we often give them credit for-as you play, your mind will make connections on its own, and note things you never consciously did, and guide you to playing better.

 

[Nah]

I've never been able to see my mistakes, even when I watch them later. What can I do?

Get other people to point out your mistakes to you. I'm kinda the same way really, looking at my replays myself has never really helped me. I usually don't understand what exactly is was that I was doing wrong/could do better. I think that it's usually easier to pick out someone's else's flaws/mistakes than your own. So come on down to the Robin boards and nag ask us for some matches and maybe that'll help.

 

[MajorMajora]

I've never been able to see my mistakes, even when I watch them later. What can I do?

Play with someone who can. Though I guess I can give you some tips to learn to do it yourself.
1. Whenever you get hit, try to figure out exactly what happened beforehand that led to you getting hit. Did it happen right after you rolled? Maybe you roll too often and people can predict you.
2. Try to notice any habits you have. They may be bad habits (like always rolling backwards when in a bad situation), because they lead to you being predictable.

 

[Cougar Hunter]

I was never good then i pick up ness

 

[Wintropy]

Fight a good player and talk to them. They will tell you exactly what you need to work on and how you can work on it.

This is what keeps me going, honestly. You can only get so far discerning your own mistakes, and often an impartial viewpoint can help address your fundamental weaknesses.

 

[MintyBreeze]

Play for fun. Sometimes chewing yourself out over losing isn't going to let you know why exactly you ended up losing. If you get stressed, how are you going to remember anything, or learn from mistakes you make?
After all, this is a video game whether it's competitive or not. If you aren't having fun learning, then taking a break is justified. Just take it a few steps at a time, and don't pull your hair out. You'll end up like me.