Hi guys…
I’m not good at this game and I’m trying to level up but I have little to no time to train, I haven’t any partner for sparring and struggle with the huge amount of information and matchup knowledge that I need.
So…
My question is: how can I improve my skill? Any suggestion? What do you do to surpass your limits?
First things first, figure out how you, as a player, work.
Laugh’s theory suggest that a majority of fighting gamers find comfort in one of three areas. Brains, heart and body.
In short, Brains is knowing frame values and character-based data, Heart is mind games and reads, and Body is execution and reaction.
Build on your strength not only through strenuous matchups but in self-discovery and in time you will clearly see the weaknesses in you that stand out most. It is at this point where you will adapt all other strengths into your playstyle in order to excel.
The truth is, there is no easily quick way to get good. Becoming a great player takes time as you will gain experience from matches and knowledge against characters because of those matchups.
Hope that helps.
If you are short on time, then its up to you to choose what to focus on.
Ask yourself what you do and dont like about certain matchups, and try to improve them.
I think a simple first step would be to practice LEARNING WHO YOU ARE FIGHTING.
If you knock the opponent down, try hitting them as soon as they get up. Then take note of what they do.
If they get hit, that means they are pressing buttons or trying to jump out on wakeup. That is not good for them, and you need to abuse them for doing it. Keep using a “knock down ender” to keep them down, then hit them as soon as they get up.
if they use an invincible move, then you will get hit by it, but that is OK. Next time, knock them down, then get close to them while STANDING to make them think you are going to attack. Then, just before they get up, start blocking. When they perform their invincible move, you will block it, and be able to punish them.
If they block, chances are they are a good player. Using a throw will beat their block, but if they really are a good player, they will most likely predict that you are going to do this, and they will change their strategy accordingly. At this point, you are in trouble, and it would take some serious mind-games to figure out exactly what to do the next time.
If they backdash… you should probably run away. From what you have told me, anyone who does this will beat you. Only pretty good players will backdash frequently.
So, after trying out this, the next step would be some “Optimization”. Make sure that every time you get a combo, you are getting the MOST BENEFIT from it as possible. Try using these different enders in the appropriate situations.
If you are near a wall, get comfortable using the “Wall splat ender”, but then let them recover from the wallsplat. AS SOON AS THEY recover, but BEFORE THEY GET A CHANCE TO MOVE AGAIN, hit them with a new mixup that they wont expect. That is a great way to turn 1 combo into 2 combos against most players.
If you are In the center of the screen, try to use “Hard knock down” enders. They will buy you time to start a new mixup. While your opponent is on the ground, you can set yourself up for a new mixup by throwing things out (Orchids grenade, kan-ra swarms, any fireball ect..), or by jumping over your opponent to perform a crossup, or my personal favorite… an “Empty jump Low” (An empty jump low is when you pretend to perform a jump-in, but you dont actually press a button. You wait for yourself to hit the ground, then quickly perform a low kick to catch them by surprise.)
If you end the 1st life bar of an opponent while performing a combo, you need to look at the resources of your opponent and yourself. If you are short on Shadow meter, Use a “Battery ender”. If your opponent is in instinct, you need to make the combo as long as possible by performing a “Launcher ender”, and then keeping them in the air for as long as you can. This will drain their instinct meter before the next round starts. If they are not in instinct, and their instinct meter is not full, and you dont need any meter, STOP the combo ASAP. Dont use any ender, just stop pressing buttons. That way you stop hitting them, and stop them from gaining any more instinct before the next round.
If the opponent is close to death, or you are not confident in your abilities to get the “2nd combo” after one of the enders above, use a “Damage ender” to make sure you get the kill without giving them a chance to come back.
I’m in a somewhat similar situation. I’m trying to get better, while having no local scene or partner.
I’ve found what helps me personally is to get a notebook and start to write stuff down. Sometimes it means writing up a practice plan to work on different areas of execution, or writing down notes about the character I play, or writing up notes on characters I seem to struggle against. Sometimes it’s making up a list of things from the game I don’t understand, and then filling in notes. Maybe go on Youtube and find some higher level play and take notes on what the players are doing, what works and what doesn’t. If possible, try and record matches you play, and then go back and take notes on your own match to figure out what you did well or did not do well.
Basically, writing things down/taking notes helps me to focus and stay organized, so that I feel like when I play the game I have a purpose and that I’m working towards something, instead of just mindlessly playing.
To start with, you should try your best to find other new players to start with. Perhaps @Marlow0822 would be happy to run some games with you?
Basically, any time you run across a player with whom you felt like you had a good match, send them a GG’s message and ask if they’d like to play more sometime. Do this to build a network of players who are around your skill level, and you guys can all practice against one another to level up together.
I’d be more than happy to run some games, with anyone.
Well let’s see…I’ll give you my rundown in fighters.
Boot up the game
head to options configure what you need
Head to the dojo (aka tutorial mode) get a feel for how things work practice that a bit)
Go into practice pick someone that looks appealing to you start exploring them or if they don’t click find another character
Practice for a bit then head to single player stuff, understand the character more (if the one you picked is working for you)
go back to practice and train some more
then when you feel ready jump online
Take some time in the offline modes, whether it be Practice, Dojo, Survival, or Vs AI. It’s a good way to work on tech and practice general character strategy (and most importantly, build muscle memory for inputs so you can make sure you succeed in tight situations). It also helps to learn break patterns for different characters.
For practicing against AI that’s still predictable but has more human-like abilities and characteristics, check out Shadow Labs. You can challenge your friends, go against randoms in Shadow Survival, or add Pro players to your friends list and challenge their shadow.
A really good strategy in general though for improvement is to add some of is from the Forums. We’ve got a collection of people with varying skill levels who all have a pretty deep understanding on how the game works. Feel free to spar with us, comrade!
Really though, the only advice I can give is practice, practice, practice. The more you play Killer Instinct, the better you will become. As long as you are willing to learn and correct mistakes, you will see your skill level and win-rate soar!
My suggestion would be to play survival. The AI isn’t the best by any means, but its slow and steady increase tends to help you figure out the basics without getting too overwhelmed too quickly. In my experience, if you can get a character to around 25-27 wins in a row from beginner (5-7 for veteran) then you’ll probably do well when you start playing online.
OP I’m like you. Played S1 daily, stopped mid S2 picked up again mid S3. That said my play is ■■■■ lol.
What’s helping me is survival via shadow labs, labbing, and watching videos of other high leveI players. I agree with playing around people of similar skill if you can find them. I can’t anyone really so the above works for me. 
best of luck to you.
Edit censorship
Really you can’t say “p o o p” I thought that was a “nicer” word than " s h i t" 
I took my time to read every single reply and I really thank all of you for the suggestions.
According to what you say, I will start to build a training schedule to help improving my gameplay.
It’s sad that I need more time to improve in KI (I play only a couple of hours a week) but I have to deal with this.
My schedule will be:
Probably, with this in mind, I will use my poor time to organize my training and gain the best from it.
Of course, I will never forget to have fun!
Shadow lab, the dojo and practice modes are the best bet. Shadow labs allows you to play against another player’s ghost which is much more fun and useful than the AI in story mode. I’d avoid ranked for a week or two til you get the basics from the afore mentioned. Overwhelming losses to an online opponent can be discouraging, especially in the lower tiers. Whoop on some shadows and then come to online swinging.