I’m not american, so I don’t understand that reference 
Thank you!
But why is a compliment, may I ask? 
It’s a compliment.
He’s the exact opposite of Donald trump
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@TheNinjaOstrich, I can’t watch your video right now, I will try to give you my analysis later.
I just watched the first set, but I can already see a pattern: You crouch block by default, so Thunder hit you with his overhead into combo a lot. Even with a reset! I can understand that Thunder can be a pain in the ■■■ since anckle slicer goes decently far, his overhead has good reach, and on top of that, there is the threat of a command grab, but if you always take the same option, obviously Gutter will notice and take advantage of it, like he seemed to do in your first fight.
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While I greatly appreciate the advice from all of you, a lot of it was anticipated and really is stuff I already know. For example, that impatience and always wanting to act you are all talking about? I’m not always like that - much of the time, I am very careful in neutral, block a lot, don’t fall for DPs, have and use chunks to absorb attacks and create openings, and rarely jump. This may seem like another excuse to you guys, but I’m serious when I say that all of that boils down to being nervous, frustrated, knowing that my opponent is better than me, as well as the additional concerns of knowing that you’re being recorded for review (a kind of pseudo-testing anxiety, if you will… No presure! 
). This kind of thing happens all of the time against very skilled opponents - I’d say 2 out of every 5 opponents.
When I’m not under such pressure, most of the advice you’re giving me here for this set, well, you wouldn’t be. The irony here is that I have no real way to prove it. Virtually every time I face someone from the forums, whether it’s @Dayv0, @STORM179, @SonicDolphin117, @SlenderCashew50, @DarkLrdChuckles, and others I get this sense of dread and performance anxiety that makes it impossible to really think. When I’m fighting someone while calm, collected, and confident, I do perfectly fine! Of everything mentioned, this “feeling” is easily my biggest hurdle to improving my game. It’s the equivalent to stage fright. Being able to remain calm under constant pressure - that’s my ultimate goal, and not just in game. I know most people experience this, but I’m fairly certain mu case is worse than others. It’s also a part of why I boast so much - it’s a way for me to feel better about myself and lift myself up - a poor attempt at confidence - faking it until you make it. Sadly, as history has shown, I often take it too far, and actually start to feel worse as I’m constantly reminded by others how arrogant I’ve actually become in the process.
With that said, there were a few great nuggets of advice…
Shorter combos - in my experience short to long combos with Aganos ranges from 30 - 87% total damage, not a mere 3-5% difference, so I’m not sure where that comes from, but I do understand the breakability that comes with that higher damage, so it is something I will definitely consider. In regards to using s.PA, I know it creates a break opportunity due to how long that move lasts, but that’s why I try to mix things up by doing a different strength of ruin than you might expect, or juggling you, etc. This, unfortunately, is why I messed up during the fight. Knowing that Dayv0 is skilled, I figured he would try to break rather than go through the wall, so I counter-broke - I was wrong. The same applied when I dropped the combo - I was attempting a mixup that I don’t normally do, and it simply failed as a result (this falls under the whole “trying to be fancy” clause someone mentioned).
Using instinct after a blocked ruin - actually, before Monday? No, I didn’t. I’ve tried it in the past with both a blocked ruin and ND, and a lot, but it never worked, so I kind of gave up doing it. Then, on Monday, I saw a clip where someone actually did it off of a blocked ND and I was all like, “WHAT!?” and went into the lab to confirm it. Apparently, the ONLY reason it never worked for me is that I was too slow in doing it, so it never registered. The irony here is that I’ve actually had matches against some of you where I vocally wished that I could do this, and nobody said that I could. That said, now that I know I can do it, every time I do it sans instinct, I’m wishing I had it. Generally speaking, prior to this revelation, I would instinct cancel off of a combo-break, right before my opponent hit the ground.
Using peacemaker in neutral, outside of instinct - I actually do this more than you might think, but I always think of it as 2 moves, not 1. It’s not enough to just get the bat - you gotta use it too. Sure, I can grab and block an attack, but by then, they’re often in my face, which defeats the purpose of having it. This is why I didn’t use it in neutral against Dayv0 - I was constantly afraid that if I tried, he would bolt strike me while in mage (I hate that it hits 3x, can remove just as many chunks, and has startup that’s similar to his meteor attack), or his warrior overhead/f+HP with a pip-cancel. With the new changes to throwing it up close, which I admit I’m still not yet used to, this line of thought will likely change over time.
Shadow-countering Eyedol’s mace slam - this is something I knew about, but didn’t think about during the set, because I was thinking about something else instead. All I could think of was, “no, he’s getting advantage!” This is a hindsight 20/20 case. I knew the problem and the solution, but simply didn’t think of it at the time (performance anxiety, remember!?). I bring this up as good advice though, because it is something I’m slowly working on and getting better at already - being able to identify good areas to use a shadow counter to turn heads (hehe… 
).
Forget that you’re being recorded - I actually thought of this before reading about it in the reply, but it doesn’t make it any less relevant. The funny thing was, at CEO, I was able to do better because I shrugged off the nervousnous of being at the tournament, because knowing that I wasn’t likely to win I decided that I would simply enjoy the experience no matter what, and that helped tremendously (although I did still try to remain as competitive as possible). Even though I came up with the motto long before CEO, I still to this day live and die by my “I play for fun, not winning, but winning helps” mantra. It helps remind me that in the end, it’s all just a game, and games are made for having fun, and in the end, that’s all that really matters - but Ialso remind myself that winning is still relevant to achieving that (since I don’t know anyone who actually likes to lose over and over again).
Winning a match by timeout - yes, I have actually. *it’s rare, but I’d guesstimate that I have between 5 and 10 in my history of playing the golem. I take pride in dispatching many of my opponents quickly, as evidenced by my 1-second win that I still keep a capture of under my profile.
Pressuring in the corner with jabs, tick throws, etc. - again, this is something I do constantly, but I’m still adjusting to players throwing me in the attempt. Because throw beats s.LK, I’m the one consistently getting punished here unless I’m ready for the throw, and ever since I’ve been away on vacation, this seems to have gotten harder - my constant string of pressure has slowed down, creating openings, and I have to readjust to certain character’s throw ranges, which often have longer reach than I remember. I suspect this issue will pass over the next couple of weeks.
Oh, that wakeup DP - I specifically wanted to address this, because I knew he was doing it, and I knew how to stop it, AND I kept telling myself not to fall for it midfight; but again, due to the pressure, I would just kind of forget about it until it happened again - rinse and repeat. This is something I’ve encountered when I feel that pressure of being overwhelmed - I kind of go on auto-pilot and let instinct take over, but sadly, this is an instance of where that doesn’t work in my favor simply because I don’t fight Eyedol that often, and I still struggle with the idea that he has a dP at all. Like with the corner-pressure issue, I suspect this will pass with time, the more I fight Eyedol and learn the matchup.
Hit-confirming - I know about this, but haven’t really focused on even practicing it. I just remind myself about it from time to time. However, that doesn’t seem to be enough, because I believe my reaction speed suffers in this area. Being able to perform another move quickly after a block based upon whether or not it hits is not a strong point of mine. It’s why you so often see me do the ND after a neutral normal - it’s not that I’m making the mistake on a wrong read, but that I’m doing it before I even know what the read is, because I often believe that if I don’t I’ll drop the combo, leaving me vulnerable. Sadly, the irony is that I end up being even more vulnerable.
I will expand later, but I wanted to tackle this right now:
Let’s take Infil’s guide as reference, Best Counter-Breaker Combos section
http://ki.infil.net/aganos.html
0 Meter: HK double > light Natural Disaster > HK double > light Natural Disaster > Pulverize ender (36%)
1 Meter: HK double > light Natural Disaster > MK double > Shadow Pulverize > Pulverize ender (56%)
2 Meter: LK double > Shadow Pulverize > Shadow Pulverize > Pulverize ender (63%)
A 87% ender is just impossible without walls or lots of H linkers and autodoubles that nobody will let rock freely. All these enders uses pulverize as finisher, for its damage. On your second shadow payload assault mid combo, the one where you failed the CB, could have been ended with pulverize instead of shadow payload, and you would take the round. No shadow meter spent, not fancy setup, no breaking the wall(so is still there for the next round!), and most important: no more breaking points.
My point about loosing a 5% damage in a combo is that SOMETIMES, you will be chunkless, you will open me, and then you have to take a desition: WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM THIS COMBO?
1-Damage
2-Chunks
3-Other(wallcrash, switch sides, other). Let’s forget this for a while
1-Going for damage in this situation is sub-optimal unless you are closing the fight or the round(and not always in the latter). To get real damage, you will have to go for H auto doubles to raise your PD. This will make your combo easier to break, and although you can counter break it, it’s a risk. If you get broken, you will go back to the neutral WITHOUT CHUNKS, so you could be in a complicated situation
2-If you already have chunks(2, for example), you want to go for damage, but if you are chunkless, you should chunk up ASAP. An opener->light manual->ender will give you at least one chunk, and in some situations, 2. That’s enough. You end the combo, get the chunks, and you are in advantage against your opponent. If you need chunks, use a one chancer into chunks, to avoid being broken and lose momentum, since chunkless, it’s very hard to recover it. Why would you do a combo with 3-4 breaking points if you only want some chunks? Get the damage once you open again your opponent, but don’t waste a chance of recovering your most valuable tool. If you do a only L combo with 4 breaking points, and one combo with one breaking points, the difference may be one chunk(or maybe not!) and 4-6% damage. Is it worth to risk chunks and advantage for only a 4-6% damage? Not at all.
Don’t risk yourself more than you need. Go for short combos if you need chunks, and once you have them, you could take more risks to inflict more damage.
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In regards to s.payload, I’d like to say that I normally do it after a HK AD most of the time. Landing it after a HP AD was an uninentional and lucky fluke (I pressed the wrong button).
As for damage output, I still have not quite adjusted to certain enders doing more damage than they used to - I rarely do pulverize ender unless I want to keep walls up for the next round (especially since the knockdown isn’t enough time, even at lvl. 4, to chunk up against certain characters who can simply punish it with a shadow move on wakeup), or ND ender unless I want to put you in front of a wall. Unless it’s for 1 of those 2 reasons, I will usually either go for more chunks (more resources!) or a wall-crash (most of the time without the s.PA). Despite this, however, I still make the mistake you mentioned (not killing you outright), destroy walls when unnecessary, and create unnecessary break opportunities with s.PA.
Also, it’s worth noting that outside of doing a heavy AD into light linker post lockout, I don’t generally prescribe to Infil’s uber-combos that are listed on his site, because I want that mixup potential to be there to get the lockout in the 1st place. The very idea of using a “max-damage combo” to me, goes against the very nature of what KI represents. If I wanted bread-and-butter combos, I wouldn’t be playing KI.
Someone said I do a lot of mediums, but I don’t necessarily believe that to be true unless I’m suffering from the aforementioned state of nervousness. I put a lot of effort into switching between light, medium, and heavy attacks and the occasional manual (usually after shadow moves and openers) mid-fight. I try to be as random as I can in this regard, and oftentimes don’t think about it. Granted, that may actually work against me due to habits and muscle-memory, but that that allows me to pay more attention to my opponent and his breaking habits so I can adjust accordingly from there.
Speaking of breaking habits, I know I break a lot - it’s 1 of my biggest weaknesses, but I don’t like the idea of “giving up without a fight” even if the consequences of being wrong are dire. Sure, I can wait to break, but there’s never any guarantee that my opponent won’t stop his combo early and I’ve never liked the idea of taking that chance. This is actually something that occurs even when I’m not nervous (but certainly moreso when I am), and is 1 of the key foundations of my playstyle that, unfortunately, even I think needs to be looked at and probably changed. For example, if I can make the read, I’ll go for a break on the 1st AD to minimize the potential damage and stop the combo. If they start counter-breaking, or using linkers after openers, that’s something I generally notice, and adapt to. Guess-breaking usually only happens if I’m nervous, or if I think my opponent might do a light AD or manual based on prior-viewed attempts/habits. I rarely break linkers, and think that doing so is an area I would like to strengthen, since it can potentially help me wait just a moment longer for a different break opportunity.
In Eyedol’s case, I know how to read his warrior ADs, but I still forget from time to time (not quite set into stone as much as I would like) - this was the case against you, Dayv0. I had to remind myself which was medium and which was heavy, and I was too flustered to get it right because of everything else that was happening (off the top of my head, it’s: straight swing = medium; angled swing = heavy; feel free to correct me if I’m wrong here). I’m stil learning his mage ADs - I often forget that they’re different from his warrior ADs.
I don’t recall who suggested it, but someone recommended I play Raam…
I already do. A lot, in fact…
I’d say after Aganos, he’s been my most played alternate character for the past 2 months. He’s an underdog, a challenge, to play, a grappler, and does massive damage, all of which are things I like in a FG character.
I did. And I recommend you to use him against zoners.
After a 20 long set chasing Shago,you will learn how to handle zoning, getting in easier. The most important lesson is train yourself into staying long times just blocking and advancing, without putting you in a risk
I’ve done that, though. Four times, as a matter of fact. Whole sets against @SlenderCashew50’s Omen, Gargos, Kan-Ra, and Shago. If it’s taught me anything, it’s that it’s an exercise in frustration…
The big difference here is that Raam can dash, but Aganos? Not so much…
In regards to neutral, the big thing I feel I need to work on is the aforementioned walk-and-block. With Raam, it’s expected, but with Aganos, I don’t necessarily need to do it. If they zone me when I play the latter, I can flick them away or block for meter, and simply wait for an opening or change of tactics.
Hm. Just an observation, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this version of you Geek. From our very first set, you’ve always tended on the impatient side. Not saying you’re a liar or anything, mind you, just an observation that perhaps you might not be as all-around solid as you might think. I’ve seen many of your winning games as well, and generally, the playstyle is the same. Those are just matches where your active style works.
They’re talking about the marginal damage difference between a combo that ends within the lockout window, and one that extends beyond it to get those one or two extra hits. There’s obviously a big difference between a one-chance->chunk and a long combo into wall crash, but that isn’t the comparison they’re making. If you get a lockout, confirm the lockout, and then try and squeeze as much damage as you can within the window. Extending a double or two outside of it (which subjects you to being broken) isn’t going to stack on much additional damage, and usually isn’t worth it.
It does not, at least not if you’re using it properly. One of the mechanical things you can work on (and that should improve as you get back into the swing of things) is improving your meaty timing. Meaty st.LK will blow up attempted throw/throw tech every time.
On the “performance anxiety” problem, I’m not really sure what to tell you. I think most of that kind of thing is just a question of mentality, but that kind of has to be tailored to the particular person. Repetition is usually a good salve for it though, and is actually why I started competing in all these KIPL’s this season. Just put yourself in the situations that make you nervous as often as you can. Play those people and in those situations that make you nervous, and eventually it becomes more routine. It’s also worth remembering that it really is just a game, whether your playing me, Ostrich, or Nicky in grand finals. This is just a hobby for all of us, so just try and have fun with it. 
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No. It is frustrating if you aren’t patient. Once you learn patience, it won’t be an excercise in frustration
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No, it doesn’t. The throw always wins out when done at the same time. That said, now would be a good time to re-explain the concept of meaties, as I still don’t fully understand what exactly that means just yet.
In regards to damage, the 80% comes from 2 shadow moves and either a counter-breaker lockout and/or wall-crash. A huge risk, sure, but 1 heck of a payout.
As for the version of me you’ve never seen, of course you haven’t! You were better than me ever since we met! I’ve never felt comfortable when fighting you!
Have you fought Slender!?
Lesson 32 was a real nightmare for me too. I completed it when I had the arcade stick, couldn’t get it without it. But it wasn’t that easy though. If I was using the Wulf, it would have been a lot easier, because I know his timing better.
If you play by instinct it’s ok. Just feel free to post if you really believe there’s something you are missing.
I won’t post any of my last matches because I was salty and sleepy (specially the last one) I know what I did wrong by rewatching them. If I find a match up or a match I believe is pretty relevant I would share it, because of what I said, I may be missing something that others can see better than me if I don’t have the reads or enough matchup knowledge.
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I did.
Again, PATIENCE
http://xboxclips.com/Dayv0/962c950a-6bd9-460d-84aa-daad88dc9c34
Tell me, would you expect me to turn the tide here?
…but I wasn’t asking you. 
I realize you’re making a point here, but there’s always reason people say that patience is a virtue. In other words, I get it - and I’m already working on it.
A few times yes. Been a while though
But it doesn’t matter.
Even more, @Sasuke99I is better player than me, so I have no doubt he could be patient and score a comeback like that.
Not trying to downplay Slender, he is a beast. But everyone can be beated if they are outplayed
BTW, still waiting for your feedback @Sasuke99I 
Oh My…I’m lately finding that MU pretty boring , I want to train a real zoner against Raam, but watching that…I have my doubts.
Yesterday a very known player used Raam and turtled the whole match. I rushed him and I lost because of the damage (and because at that point the match was horrendously boring so I didn’t care). Next time I’ll use Fulgore and just teleport and fireballs him to death. You know why? because Raam wants to get in and not ZONE YOU away. I was using Wulf, I was supposed to zone him out? My Gosh, what a whimp. Won’t doubt a counterpick next time.
Unlike many of you who play with me sparingly (once every few weeks or once a month, it seems), Slender has actually been very gracious and invites me nearly every day. Right now, he’s my main practice dummy. Sadly, he has a small selection of characters, so my training is limited with him. This is why I always urge you guys to play with me more so much, and to actively seek me out - I am available. Also, don’t think that I don’t seek you out - I do! I’m often ignored (likely due to my prior attitude here on the forums), turned down, or find you to be too busy playing something else or with someone else (and it doesn’t help matters that a lot of you are on the bottom of my very large friends list).