I’m a good player, I know this. However, I find myself at a point where I am constantly trying to progress with no luck. When I fight high tier opponents, I can’t seem to get in, or I have loads of trouble breaking their combos. I am left asking myself if I’m just not capable of progressing in skill, or if there are some tips that some pros can share with me for getting over this hump
Learn from each match. Ask yourself after the end of each match what wasn’t working and what you could have done better. Early on when I first started playing I realized like this that I never grabbed, or that I didn’t block, or that I never shadow countered. Asking yourself how you could have done better is the first step.
1 Like
The best thing you can do is to watch your matches, (these can be accessed in the Fight Archives menu) and critique yourself. On the other hand, or in supplement, you could post your matches and get other people to critique your play. Both have worked for me.
1 Like
Another thing you can also do is watch high level play of your character and try to identify what that player is doing different than you and why they’re doing it. Make sure you understand the “why” part instead of just trying to mimic what you see otherwise you won’t actually grow in skill.
2 Likes
Don’t let this go to your head. Being humble is probably the better way to go. There are still many things you may not realize that you don’t know. I know, I for 1, am still learning from this game almost every single day, especially with constant updates, new characters, etc.
If you haven’t already been there, I recommend going to ki.infil.net to read up on the game - it mentions a lot (some of the aforementioned things you may not have yet learned, for example). Even if you have been there before, it never hurts to have a refresher to remind you about things you may have forgotten.
The suggestions others have already given you (ask yourself how you can do better when you lose, analyzing your lost matches in the archive, watching pro clips, etc.) are all good - use that.
Practice mode is your friend. It’s a great place to go if you’re not sure about something or simply want to experiment. 
2 Likes
So, something I experienced in Season 1 was my own plateau. I hated it and thought I should have been better than I was, in terms of rank.
What helped me get over this was taking a break. Clear my head, and not play fighters for a bit (week or so). This helped out immensely as I finally got over that hurdle of a level 8 rank and have more fun.
Don’t burn yourself out
3 Likes
There’s a pretty broad pool of players in the same position as you, and I consider myself one of them. We are good at the basic mechanics of the game, have a reasonable understanding of the characters we play and most of the common match ups. Chances are you can do some neat stuff with your character that has taken you a while to get down. If you’re like me the majority of your matches are lopsided - either you win big or you lose big. You can probably watch a tournament match and guess what’s about to happen because you understand the flow of the game.
So, the question you have to ask yourself is, “how much do I want to get better.”
You will continue to get better slowly just by playing the game. The more the better. But real improvement will require work. From little things like asking people who beat you in ranked to play FT 10s for matchup experience and watching footage of pros, to bigger things like identifying the weakness in your game and then spending time practicing them in the lab. If you are serious then you also need to look at the tv/monitor you are using. I’ve been playing on different setups and there’s no question that typical tv display lag is a real disadvantage compared to a low latency monitor. Not huge and game breaking, but the difference between a lockout and a break in a close match.
I say all this because you might decide, like I have, that this sounds too much like work. But then you need to accept that you will not progress much further in the game and decide if you can still enjoy playing t at your current skill level.
1 Like
All great advice above.
Another tidbit - when you think you’ve reached the point that you don’t think you have anything else to take into the lab… slap yourself in the face, take a shot of bourbon and get your arse back into practice mode. It’s almost always worthwhile to experiment in practice mode, especially in a game that evolves the way this one does with ongoing dev support.
Find someone better than you who is willing to teach and/or provide advice, and then play them in a FT10 and ask them to point out every single thing they are using to beat you as they beat you. After each match, take 30 seconds and let them tell you why you’re losing. Then, across each subsequent match try and take that feedback and incorporate it into your game so that they can’t beat you just by using the things they’ve talked about.
Do that with as many people as you can, and try to take each component of that feedback and work it into your game. Can be kind of tough finding people of sufficient skill who are amendable to teaching/coaching in this manner, but I think these forums are great place to start.
I’ll volunteer to take the first round of this. Let’s run a set (FT10 is fine, can go longer if we’re both up for it), and after each game I will give what feedback I can. And if it turns out that I’ve vastly overestimated my ability and you beat me, then do the same and explain why and how you beat me. In either direction it will help you think more analytically about the game, about where and how and why certain things work and why they do not.
Let me know if you’re game @SquishyDon335 
2 Likes
I’ll vouch for @STORM179 - our interactions have facilitated noticable level-up on my part, for certain. Dude knows his stuff.
I play frequently with a group of friends. We’re always game to be taught new tricks. Add me, and hopefully I can learn!
Squishydon335
Welcome to my world XD
Cool beans. Are you available sometime this evening? I should be available for most of the night, but earlier is a bit better for me. Sometime between 6:30-8pm EST work for you?
I feel you man. It’s always good to feel on edge when playing a fighting game. The best winners don’t always win. Did rico sauve get bodied by paul B not to long ago? If so, then fell confident. Don’t put yourself in a plateou where you think you have grasped enough skill to be at a level. ALWAYS test yourself.
I don’t care who you are - if you’re not occasionally losing matches, I have but one question for you:
http://d236bkdxj385sg.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/why-you-always-lying-feat.jpg
1 Like
XD mmmmmmhhhoooooo my god
1 Like
The one and only rule of the KI safari…
Only the Strong Survive
I wont be available for a couple days, unfortunately, but those hours should work just fine for me. Most of my free time comes during the early weekdays. I should be available on Monday, though. Not sure how well week days are for you.
Most weekdays work fine for me. Just shoot me a message on XBox Live or here on the forums to set something up.
I’ll be available often over the next couple days. Seems me a friends req?