My main concern about the game its the netcode. How is your online experience going?
I e only played with my brother. But I would say ānot great.ā He lives about 90 miles away from me and their is a noticeable slowdown in the gameplay between online and offline. Other people can jump in with their experiences.
Definitely hearing some of these stories. Again, crucial that they fix it like KoF14 as SamSho a game relying on reflexes and precise timing, not for the execution of combos, but for spacing, just guard and doing damage with slower normals like medium and hard punch.
@Dayv0 I own both X1 and PS4 versions 
No issues with lag on ps4 but that doesnāt mean ppl are not having issues. I have yet to take X1 version online.
As for game speed, yeah itās not everyoneās cup of tea. However, the game relies on dashing and running, disarming opponents, as well as kicks and light punch to dictate pace. High level Japanese matches look very different than for example what I saw from J Wong. I think itās quite a steep learning curve to remember all mechanics and also lose SF, MK habits like poking with long reaching normals (usually the highly negative in this game).
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Finally, my own mug. Thatās probably why my wife doesnāt let me buy tableware and stuff. I buy stupid stuffā¦ kids stuff 
Key holders with a stand so you can put them on your desk etc.
Eating with Genjuro lol
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Yeah, I played a few games online in ranked and saw mostly okay performance. The game is paced very slowly but relies on incredibly precise timing. The challenge for me is that itās going to be a long, slow, journey before my attempts to play skillfully produce better results than playing randomly. And then you see some internet latency and it really makes you worry about missing that just guard.
I played a guy playing Jubei and he was able to poke into his five hit uppercut move to punish almost anything I did with Hanzo. I havenāt been able to figure out any consistent punishes like that. Someone was playing the new five sword armed guy and his heavy slash does five hits. Just sitting there and blocking them all takes longer than the average MK11 round.
Thereās no question itās a cool game. I just donāt know that Iām going to invest the kind of time and energy into getting better at it.
Interestingly, not only are many of the conventions of the game very different than other fighters, the control inputs are also different. Maybe itās the speed but for example the dp moves are super sensitive to you staying in that final corner position for a while. If you donāt hang out there you get a roll I put it nothing. Iām also missing a lot of my full circle moves and getting half circles etc. Iām sure this is just a practice issue as well.
@BoJima404 have you played any casual multiplayer? The interface is really strange.
If/When I get this game, the characters Iām looking for are, no particular order:
Earthquake
Kyoshiro
Jubei
Darli Dagger
Tam Tam
Ukyo
Same here. I have been playing a few characters but I mostly lean towards playing EQ and Kyoshiro.
The new Chinese character is a bit too hard for me even though I like the trap/zoning style.
They are. Unfortunately I played too much street fighter over the years that I have forgotten this gameās input and input behavior compared to mainstream titles.
This is normally just-guarded and the reason why you can see most moves coming from a mile away, it is meant to be evaded or parried. On Twitter I tagged the community manager, who is collecting feedback, in the hope that they make online performance a priority. You cannot play this game if there is any type of lag IMHO.
But yes, most definitely would take time to learn despite limited moveset for each character. The ārules of engagementā are different as blocking is not necessarily your best defensive option.
Can you just guard after the first hit?
The windup for the moves is pretty clear but honestly I get the vast majority of my just guards accidentally. I just donāt see this as a skill I will develop over time.
The characters Iām most interested in are Hanzo and Nakaruru. I donāt know why. But I feel like both of them have very stubby movesets.
Yes, you can on multiple hits. But I need to check if you miss the first one if you can still recover in time to continue just guard on the second hit.
The reason why we say the game is not slow paced is that most rounds donāt last long. At least they are not supposed to last very long.
Most attacks give you, as a defender, enough time to side step, just guard or disarm (and block of course).
Disarm allows you to finish things off quite easily.
If a match drags on then itās usually because of matchup unfamiliarity, etc. which causes suboptimal choices like blocking etc.
Anyway, better watch some tournament footage once there is more. Definitely not easy to learn and adjust. Time consumingā¦
Iām trying to find Hanzo videos. So far the videos are slow too, lol.
Yeah for what itās worth the game is clearly excellent. Itās actually very similar in style to Fantasy Strike in the sense that itās knowledge, reaction and spacing that make the difference. Itās a bit more complicated in terms of subsystems and certainly controls.
The only question is whether or not Iām going to enjoy the process of improvement. There really are only two games that I can say I have honestly really wanted to up my ranking and skills. KI and now MK11. Most fighting games I appreciate casually hit donāt really want to take the time to develop my skills. So no one should come away with the idea that the fact that I wouldnāt want to become a SamSho master is somehow a statement about the game. Itās obviously got a ton of depth and fills a niche that is really missing from modern fighting games.
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At a local event at the moment. 4 women and 12 guys showed up for an offline tournament at a place @STORM179 knows well (Lucy Shot bar)ā¦ so far nobody is playing the same character except for two Ukyos which is a good early sign
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Lol. I do indeed. Think I wind up there every time I go to Japan 
Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
Playing Kyoshiro
Won the first match.
So I am guaranteed top 8 just want to have that on the record
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Iām dying to know how the rest of the event turned out.
Thereās still pretty limited footage of high level play. I found a high level Hanzo vs. New Pirate lady. It just looks like heās doing the same things Iām doing but they work better. That means (to me) I donāt even understand the game well enough to know what Iām watching for yet. But at least I know thereās not some super basic Hanzo game plan that I just didnāt realize.
I lost my second match to a Tam Tam
So yeah, top 8 hahaha
Let me dig up some Hanzo stuff after work.
Only thing I can tell you about Hanzo is that in past games his kicks were a very important part of his gameplan. No other character relied so heavily on kicks as Hanzo.
The second piece of his gameplan is setting up the Izuna drop, which is your main finisher. Itās the main goal actually. All tactics, strategies, etc. have the purpose of setting up as many Izuna drop opportunities as possible.
The teleportation shenanigans are still there.
But it could be that recovery is āworseā in comparison as he doesnāt look as mobile/ quick at a first glance.
I need to lab myself a bit more but give it a week before we start seeing good matches/ players.
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I played a dozen or so online matches. The first set was slowdown city but after that it ran pretty well. Still the occasional button press that simply doesnāt happen. Itās a completely different game offline - which is a shame.
Anyway, Iām wrecking noobs for the most part so it isnāt a terrific learning experience. But Iām developing a better understanding of what when and how to punish things. Iām getting away with a lot of unsafe stuff too, which is probably bad for my development. But winning is fun.
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I have not checked the vid myself but I figured you might be interested @BigBadAndy
Personally, I agree with FallofSeraphs76 that the game teaches mechanics but is not mind blowing in terms of combos or easily getting into in general. They probably should have added something like character trials or strategies. Every new player is looking to use the slowest buttons at first
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Hanzo match play
Look at the bait after Izuna drop at 4:48. So you intentionally hit a blocking opponent to elicit a counter strike and then you disarm. I believe the disarm was the main goal here from the start. I say that because there are other attacks that are less negative or risky in that situation, so clearly a bait imo.
Also I think the Hanzo player is afraid of Yoshi tora, really slows down the paceā¦
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