Hey everybody. I was meeting some really good players online and I had the honor of fighting Rico Suave. I got beaten badly, so any and all tips would be helpful. My husband said I should have ended my combos faster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAtiFvYphJQ
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Truth is, unless you have a significant inheritance and/or retire from your real life job to spend 5-8 hrs a day playing fighting games, you will not beat Rico Suave or any of those other guys. I have an XBO at home and at work, and so Iām mid-tier, playing about 3 hrs /day between online and dojo. With around 2k hrs total played, I can see that taking fgās too seriously can really intrude on your life, unless youāre getting paid to play or are financially set.
Long story short, I wouldnāt expect to see improvements in my game when Iām matched up with a Rico Suave. Better off talking about matchups against folks where there is something you can analyze. Weāre all improving all the time, but set realistic expectations.
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I just want to be a better casual player. Iām not so sure about being tournament level anymore
There is a lot that rico knows about this game that you and i donāt. There is a lot, i know about this game, but canāt execute. Rico can. He didnāt do anything special in this match against you. Barely any manuals or resets. One notable thing i saw was his reaction to forced block situations. That DP came out of nowhere, every time. Iād probably lose a finger or break my pad trying to fire moves off as fast as he can.
Yiffy shonryu beat him at texas beatdown a couple weeks ago lol. Also, i donāt think the public sees ricoās main til the day of the next tournament. Iām a bit of a twitch fanboi lately and Iāve noticed things. Iād be willing to bet he uses mira if sheās allowed at evo.
About 1,000 hrs of playtime ago I wanted to be a tourney level player. But, I just donāt have enough time, and might not have enough inherent skill anyway (donāt get me wrong, Iām pretty damn good at the game). Now,I just play for a bit of daily challenge and meeting other KI fans.
I was trying to block the DPās but I guess my reactions werenāt quick enough. I often talk to Rico and he often says he just likes to play the game. He does his best in tournaments (just as anyone should) but heās still a casual player as well.
To be frank, you play a pretty random style.
In game 1, it was clear that Rico was trying to mix it up with you, and he was getting clipped by a lot of what you were doing. You took a pretty sizable lead in the beginning, but then he backed off and let you hang yourself.
This is most evident in game 2 and all the rest that followed. As Kim Wu why are you doing her dragon kick from full screen? Why are you using her shadow dragon kick on wake up when he is half screen away? Why do you use her overhead special kick (not sure what it is called) against fireballs at full screen?
I think I know the answer to the last oneā¦you were looking for her āfirecrackerā move and you did the kick by accident. If Iām right, then that is a clear sign that you just need to practice more and get more comfortable with your characters.
Anyway, it is pretty much the same with the Riptor matches. Why are you walking around in predatory stance? You canāt block in that stance, meaning you are COMPLETELY vulnerable to Fulgoreās cyber-dash. But yeah, he spaced you out waiting to whiff punish you at the first chance he got, and when in close he used a bunch of block strings and frame traps because he figured youād press buttons.
All in all, IMO you just need to slow down a bit, and think more. You need to practice and figure out a sound gameplan and work on figuring out what moves counter what in that matchup.
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Iāve played Rico a few times and heās Over Powered and needs to be nerfed. 
He seriously has some mad skills. The only time I EVER beat him was during the Kan Ra launch window. He was just learning the character and I had that advantage, and even then he was still amazing.
I did however soundly defeat Rico during an Iron Banner match in Destiny. The revenge was sweet as honey. 
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Whatever the aim - more fun in casual games or eking your way toward a more tourney-worthy performance - thereās plenty of folks on the forum who would love to play sets with you and help you to improve!
Stop by the GGs thread or the KI Academy thread any time and solicit some games. Feel free to add me as well, and hit me up if you see me online! My wife mains Riptor so I know a bit about her, that should come in handy.
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If you want to practice, Iād be happy to help if I can. Just add me and if we play a set and you donāt mind, Iāll give what advice I can.
This is good feedback, but I have to point out that it is good to let the opponent know you arenāt afraid to use a YOLO dragon kick every now and then with Kim Wu. It keeps them honest. Much better to do it when you have a dragon and can cancel out of a certain punish, but it really messes with their mind if they have to account for it. If you never do it, then they just come in however they like.
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Depending on your play style, 6 - 10% YOLO can do you a world of good against a thoughtful/skilled opponent.
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I generally donāt like YOLO. I view fighters more as poker, and the riskier the move the more it is likely to blow up on your. Will you flop a 27o full house? Sure willā¦ will it mostly hurt you in the long run (and usually in the short run)? Yup. That said, you have to make sure they are respecting what you do have. So throw it out a few times to show that you can (and will), and then rein it the ā ā ā ā in.
On that note, one thing I definitely noticed is that you like to wake-up into a button. I definitely wouldnāt do that. He figured that out super fast, and you kept doing it which led into some big damage. At that point, he already respected your wake-up, thereās no need to try and force the issue. It is especially prolific in KI at all levels, and I donāt know whyā¦ maybe it is optimal, and Iām behind on this particular issue. But as a rule, I try not to touch buttons on wake-up until Iām comfortable blocking on a character-by-character basis. Remember, on wake-up, youāre at the disadvantage. Play accordingly.
A positive note though, check out your first match. You were hanging with him in the neutralā¦ and that is your Kim Wu vs a neutral monster like Fulgore. His breaks were better, and he downloaded you fairly quicklyā¦ but going toe to toe in the neutral vs a ābest in classā player like Rico is not nothing.
This is key. You need to show that itās a possibility. But because its SO punishable you canāt do it a lot.
Itās funny, there are some things that people just accept this without thinking. No one would ever say NEVER wake up DP!! Even though itās a very punishable move. They have so much experience seeing this that they have an intuitive understanding that it has to happen sometimes (and theyāve likely seen it work lots of times - as well as be punished lots of times), but not so often it becomes predictable. But for some of the less traditional moves itās like punishable = donāt do.
Thatās what I told myself when I was learning the game. Everything honestly clicked when Cinder came out, and I still considered myself a casual player until EVO. Donāt ever doubt yourself.
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Hereās my tipā¦use Riptor 
I (think) I played Rico the other day in exhibition matchesā¦and to my amazement I won twice in a row before he left! Iād like to know if this was actual Rico, ā¦and (contrary to what this might seem) Iām not boasting too much as we both made lots of stupid mistakes, to the point where Iām not sure if this is Rico at all!
Fight 1:
https://youtu.be/TDBHbtYLGVk
Fight 2:
https://youtu.be/EkjY1t8LPMY
Agreed.
For me, I typically start learning a character with āpunishable - donāt doā just because it shows you what your core move-set is going to be while also instilling or reinforcing good habits. That said, youāll often times have a hard time opening people up (though less so in KI than in other games where OH are almost universally 0 on hit and minus on block), so youāll need to reintroduce them eventually. Often times the threat of an OH is enough to land a few good low hits and vice versa.
I just think watching his matches, he was willing to throw out too much unsafe stuff.
No man. His GT is āGet Rico Sauveā. He has a smurf account that Iām on to but youād have to be a twitch stalker, like me, to put the dots together on that one.
Also, lol at you for thinking that is what the best player in the game had to offer. Lol
If you read my post youāll see I was questioning it because he wasnāt that great.
Thatās what my husband says all the time. I realized I just want to be a good player overall. I mostly understand Riptor & Kim Wu over any of the other characters that exist on the roster. I LOVE my Dino girl <3
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