Questions about how to get better?

I’m new so I don’t know much but,

I’m thinking below are the steps of becoming a really good player.

First need to learn how to do long combos.

Second combo breakers, since if you can combo break 100%, you’re cutting dmg into more than half ?

3rd Unbreakable combos ? I think these are which make you repeat a move where you just toss enemy
to right and left ? (watched youtube hisako doing 3000 combos)

4th mind tricks ? Jumping over to confuse the block and so on.

I’m just trying stuff to extend combos. I use autos. So I just mash buttons and it will continue doing combos
until I use an ender.

I tried without autos and it was hard. My combos would suddenly just stop.
I see no reason autos are bad besides it sometimes just uses up my shadow bar
automatically. I tried to check if there are any options for me to stop autos from using shadow bar
but I couldn’t find it.
Maybe if I uncheck openers and enders it will stop using shadow bars ? Because I do always use
openers and enders probably manually. It’s just that double autos ? and stuff I have problem with.
Combos just stop working even though I was keep mashing buttons.
Maybe I need to do a linker or something after a while.
Without autos, I would have to keep thinking I’ll need to do an linker, then autos, then…and on.
With autos, I just do openers then mash any buttons then ender. So it’s simple.

For combo breakers, it seems it’s impossible to know. I think you’ll need to watch the combos
for 100 hours to get it right. At least to me. So I just guess and get the wrong one.
Also I have to press combo breaker buttons at the opener ? or linker ? or else will get
locked out ? I don’t know it’s too confusing.
Sometimes openers are also enders. No idea what linkers are when I’m using autos.
Double autos must be something like I just press 1 button like middle kick or strong kick,
and I’d hit 2 times ?
Must be some reason that it’s called a double autos because if it’s named, just because it hit twice
with 1 button wouldn’t really be necessary.

Unbreakable combos, no idea how to.

Mind tricks ? All I know is jumping over and attacking when enemy is down or teleporting to confuse.

There are several combo breakers too.
Combo breaker, Counter breaker ? ,

Shadow counter
(Always middle punch + middle kick 3 times in a row,
have to match the enemies hitting you. While you get hit for 5 times by Jago’s shadow wind kick,
hit middle punch + middle kick when you hear the sound that you are getting hit.
Like a music video game.
It’s slow but some others like tiger fury are fast so have repeatedly press rapidly without having to
match the hit speed.)
This is what I heard on youtube, but it barely works. It breaks the combo and let me do combos.
Instead of just stopping the combo like combo breakers.

Practice
there are no unbreakable combos
combo breaking - not guess breaking
manuals
counter breakers
cross ups
meaty’s
paitience
staying calm

www.ki.infil.net

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Shadow counter is when you block 2 hits and on teh 2nd hit you press MP/MK and it stops their attack and counters with your shadow attack

Shadow breaker is when you are getting hit with a combo and the opponent uses a shadow linker… you have 5 hits of that move you can break if you match 3 of the 5 with matching MP/MK

Infills guide has a pop out player that helps you practice this. Check it out

2 Likes

Alright, you brought up a really interesting topic. KI is my first FG, and I learned the whole concept of what a fighting game is thanks to it, as for strangers it is completely different.

First of all, one needs to complete the dojo. Understand the mechanics of the game, get the idea of what players are supposed to do. For example, there is this this called Instinct. It’s a comeback mechanic, as it allows me to stop the game and think about the situation I’m in. Moreover it enchances my character. Neat. And I can in theory use it twice a game, once a lifebar. So a thing to remember; when I get the Instinct, try to activate it during first lifebar. And so on…

Moving forward, time to pick a character. Read a bit about every char on Infils website. I decided with whom I want to get better, be it one character or many. Alright, time to hit the lab. Turn attack data and hitboxes on. Try everything my character has. Understand what my buttons do. Lets take Jago for example. Double roundhouse is + on block. Great, so after that it is my turn. Think about various situations. My opponent jumps. What are my options? DP or cr.HP. There are other options, but those are my go to. The idea is to limit my repertuar, so that I can concentrate on basics. This game is about enchancing my strategy, or about reacting to my opponents decisions. Why reducing my possibilities is influencing my game? Because I can concentrate on some specific aspects of it, decide if this particular solution is alright, adapt.

Lets go to punching and kicking. What is my best possible opener for instance where my opponent DPs and I block? What is my fastest punish? Combos; what my linkers do, how they differ, which one is hard to break, which one can be used as bait? Practice some basic combos, what is my best after counter breaker sequence? Do I remember it, have muscle memory for it? What about meterless situation, 2 bars? Are my combos predictable, do I do the same doubles after an opener, do I mix it up enough? What are my enders supposed to do, where should I use them, which one should I prioritise?

Now, I know what I need about the game, about the characters I pick. I go on ladder. I lose horribly. Why? Time to find out. Replays -> time to learn from my mistakes. For which setups have I fallen? Which moves I do are meaningless, my opponent punish me for them all the time? Am I mindlessly throwing special moves left and right? Do I use my buttons enough? Am I throwing my opponent when I should? Do I get shadow countered often? Do I bait shadow counters? Am I shadow countering moves which always hit twice or thrice, for example Double Roundhouse? Am I rushing my opponent without any hesitation? Do I have setups after throw, after sweep?

I watched some replays, I realised plenty of my mistakes. What now? Lets go on youtube. Find some sets. Watch what better players than I do? Think, why do they do it? What is their thought process?

Back to lab. Think of what wrong happened? How to make it right? Maybe incorporate some habits a better player has? Improve my setups.

Back to playing. It’s a bit better. But I’m still getting dunked on, my combos are broken, I’m struggling (not as much). Time to elevate my gameplan. Try out manuals. Think of character specific tech. I have problems with specific characters. Study them. Learn what is unsafe. How can I punish them? Which moves are most annoying for them? How can I make my play more stable, more safe?

Continue that over and over. Noone gets good without some pain. Everyone goes through the same ■■■■. Just remember that if you keep your mind and your will, and never fall back, you will gain sth noone can take away from you; heart of the champion. The ability to rise, after constantly getting beaten by better players. It might take 10 games. It might take 500. But if you continue, you will deliver and they will end up with big L.

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Welcome to KI =)

Not really, you better work on their good execution. You don’t need big combos. Just learn a basic, learn to master all the combo enders (which you will apply depending on the match). More important! learn a good damaging combo, specially for lockouts (even one that will last 3 seconds or 4 seconds if it is a Counterbreaker lockout).

Some players guessbreak and are so good at it that they can frustrate anyone. Sometimes not breaking or waiting too much will make you killed. But so will guessbreaking all the time and not getting it right. Just try to go for the obvious: autodoubles are easier to see that some linkers. Shadows are now easy to break too, you can wait for them and train to break them at different timing.
Overall, breaking will come with practice. If not, just for for the sure thing: heavies (just watch out for counterbreakers).

The only unbreakables I can think of are the ones including fireballs or grabs. They aren’t supposed to do much damage though. Maybe you are talkign about one chances: combos that will have only one move/special to get broken and then ender. It’s more a way to play the game.

you mean mind games or gimmicks?. Mind game is to trick your opponent, it can be only just tossing out heavies autodoubles on porpouse with a simple combo, convincing them you will always got for it and then you go for a counterbreaker. Actually, the combo braking game it’skind of a mind game all the time.
Gimmicks on the other hand, are setups that can be surprising for the opponent to deal with. If they know what you are trying to do or know the character then is harder.

I would suggest better work on the base things of the game regarding your character (neutral: moving around, spacing, doing hardknock downs, pressuring on wake ups, throws/tech throws and anti airing). The last may not be easiest part, irony. But it’s really important in fighting games. Maybe you don’t really need that stuff for KI, but it will make you a better player in the end. Oh, also remember to block and use a shadow counter from time to time =) (just not when they jump at you…but it’s good if you feel they are going to mash buttons).

They aren’t, they are just easy to break. Unless you have a hard to break character…
Manuals are harder to perform and their breaking window is shorter, still, any guessbreaker will frustrate anyone doing manuals.
The easiest way to perform a manual is from a jump in (instead of an auto follow up you go for a single hit) or after a shadow that gives you huge advantage. Or, try it with Shadow Jago, he might be the easiest character to perform manuals apart from Hisako in instinct or with her wrath bar ful enough.

No way to break openers/enders. Only everything in the middle: autodoubles, manuals, shadows.

I did this drawing some time ago (basing on what Sajam’s said once about KI combos being like a “sandwich”). The idea was to explain new players what they could break and how a combo can change visually and get harder to break depending on what you are usign:

I don’t have and English version, and since I’m far from home right now I don’t have the program to change it. Sorry =S

  • You can see that the lower bread means an opener (it’s red, so you can’t break it, this stand for: jumping normals, special moves and shadow moves (includes shadow couters too).

  • in the middle (shown with green) is everything you can break: autodoubles/ manuals/ Special moves/ Shadow moves. Not possible to break projectiles, but there are little exceptions.
    The green also marks the time when you can perfom a counterbreaker. Since you can break those things it’s possible to interrupt with a counterbreaker as well.

  • upper bread: Enders! This can not be broken. In each character movelist you will find what their enders do. This also include their shadow enders that can lead to different situations. A shadow is just an enhanced special moves and also enhance their features.

  • Opener/Ender, not possible! you can break them every time with both heavies.

Hope this helps a bit more.

Have a nice day =)

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Thanks a lot !

I’ve been playing shadow lords and the omens and other characters have
multiple projectiles that move really slow.

I think these projectiles are the most hard to deal with.

It’s not simple like Jago’s.

I tried attacking the enemy before the slow projectile can hit me. And I continued with my combos
then still the projectiles would attack me. It would not disappear.

So I have to just block until the projectiles are gone by chipping me.
By that time omen would come attacking as well, dmging me even though I’m blocking.

All I can do is mostly when omen slide attacks, block low and grab.
That always work. lol

Technically, to perform a shadow counter, you want to hit both MP and MK at the same time right BEFORE (as opposed to on) the 2nd hit or right before the last hit of faster multi-hit attacks (usually right before the 5th). This takes a bar of shadow meter to work.

This might technically be called “breaking a shadow linker”. The process @FallofSeraphs76 has laid out is very much correct, but just like using a shadow counter, you want your inputs to happen just slightly before your opponents shadow strikes land. (Man! Did it take me a while to get the timing to break shadow linkers! I remember those days! :sweat_smile:slight_smile:

Unlike performing shadow counters, you don’t need shadow meter to break your opponents shadow linker. And, you can also break shadow linkers by inputing any combination of the same strengths (LP+LK, MP+MK, or HP+HK) as long as the timing is right of course.

And like everyone else has pointed out, definitely read infil’s guide at http://ki.infil.net/. It’s truly amazing!

Last thing, I’d do, is make sure I’ve watched the developer breakdown of the character(s) I’m using. In youtube, type in terms like “developer”, “breakdown”, “reveal” “walkthrough”, etc. This is better for season 2 and season 3 characters as the most recent developers Iron Galaxy blessed the community with awesome streams introducing how to play the characters
they developed in s2 and s3 as they were released.

If it’s a season 1 character, check out “character tutorials” or “guides”. Maximillian dood and Sajam do good ones, as does TrueUnderDawgGaming.

Since we’re in Season 3, it’s a good idea also to check the season 3 changes with this video. This covers system changes and character specific changes. It’s a good watch as some s1 characters mechanics were re-worked - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHsQ0iVK1No

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