As a continuation of my last post, we'll move on the the next level of play:
Dealing with players who can read and adapt.
You are going to have so much fun toying with your opponent when you can get the hang of this...
Bait and Switch.
Adapter-players are constantly watching you like a hawk, waiting for your next move so they can prepare a counter-maneuver. What do these players want? They want you to do something, they want you to have a predictable pattern of defense and attack that they can drive a wedge between and screw you over with. They want to be sure of themselves when they see you do move A, predict your move C, and knock you upside the head before you can get around to move B. (I know, I like to do this a lot.)
To drive an Adapter-player nuts, you have to prove their scheming and predictions wrong.
You have to be able to say to them: "You thought I was going to do move C instead of move D, didn't you?"
To which the Adapter-player should sheepishly respond: "yeah... but you were supposed to do move C."
Adapter-players are always ready to move (that's not to say they are always moving). They may have an "idle-cycle", some examples are: short-hops, dash-dancing, pacing or some other repetitive movement to throw you off while they wait for your next move. From the Adapter's "idle-cycle", the player can generally advance, retreat, feint and essentially launch into a variety of maneuvers that the circumstances require.
Do not try to attack them directly when they are in this state, they will be able to quickly put-up their defenses and be ready to receive your aggression when they switch into defense-mode. And don't stand-idle too long either, as the adapter-player will generally creep forward until they have you at the edge, at which-point they can jab you into an uncomfortable spot when they switch into aggro-mode.
Before you can do anything against an Adapter-player, you need 'test the waters' and see where the 'trip-wires' to their methods are: you need to spring the trap, but not become victim to it. To do this: approach them, but try to stay a safe distance away for now. The trick is to look like you mean business each time you throw a dummy-maneuver their way, so you can see what they plan on doing to you when they punish you. You may take it in the face a little when your experiments with your opponent go sour, but if you learn something about their technique, then it is all worth it; trust me.
Adapter-players want to be thinking two steps ahead of you, the best way to undermine that, is to take the playbook they [adapter-player] think they have of you, and completely throw it out the window. Condition your opponent into using predictable counter-responses (look-up Pavlov's dogs, this is exactly what you will be doing to your opponent), then completely switch-up on them. Instead of doing what you 'normally' do, go about your game with a completely different angle.
This is an extraordinarily subtle, nuanced process, and it requires you to have complete comfort and complete confidence in your ability to maneuver and manipulate Fox. You have to be able to play the character as if you were several different, individual players, and you're simply handing-off the controller to another set of hands. The smarter your opponent is, the faster you'll have to cycle through your various playstyles. You have to keep your opponent constantly trying to re-learn your style, trying to figure you out. Just when they think they have you, switch it up on them again. the smarter your opponent thinks they are, the more easily manipulated they'll be by this Pavlov's dog conditioned-response method.
(Do not simply throw-out randomness. If your technique has no set structure for your opponent to read, they will stop trying to read you, and deal-with you in a simpler manner. You need your opponent to be trying to figure you out, and to do that, they need something to read.)
The real trick to this technique, which I cannot teach you, is to know when to switch. It's up to you to figure-out when the adapter-player has caught-on to a given playstyle, and up to you to switch-up when the time is right.
You can go through the entire match doing this cat-and-mouse of predicting and unpredictability, but the holy-grail of this technique, the ultimate climax, is when you finally break your opponent.
When your opponent grows agitated, weary and downright sick of your shenanigans, they may abandon their practiced techniques, and revert back to a simpler play, often poorly. Don't be caught off-guard when they finally snap, they will so many times degrade into a hyper-aggression and can potentially blow you back for the win if you're not ready for it.
When you break your opponent's willpower and can exploit their newfound weaknesses, you will almost certainly win.
Thing to know:
Oftentimes, the most annoying thing you can do to an adapter-player, is nothing at all.
That's right, just stand there.
during a heated match -when you and your opponent are locked in the fierce exchange of blows, grabs, shields and dodges- if it is safe to do so: just stop, and do nothing. Your opponent's fingers will still be following their muscle-memory and may launch into another maneuver, leaving them open and ripe for punishment.
Have fun.
