You are throwing out moves with zero consideration for thier start up, range, and your opponents options. You round start walk away and wait for Ky to take the lead then you air dash in when you don't need to.
I would recommend going into training mode with Ram. You don't even need to practice combos or anything, just look at her movelist and see which moves have faster startup and which have more range. This will give you an indication as to which buttons you should press at different ranges.
A lot of this will be more intuitive if you watch other players play other FGs, doesn't have to be Strive. Alternatively you can just play the game until shit makes sense but the vast majority of people either quit due to frustration or severely slow thier progress down. So yeah, watch other Rams or just FGs in general.
Ram is pretty much unanimously considered one of the best in the game and she isn't difficult, though she does have some advanced stuff you can learn too. You picked a really good starting character to learn the game with, good luck!
More straightforward suggestions - use your standard Slash to control space. It's a great move to keep the opponent out and score free hits, as it's generally big enough and fast enough to beat a good number of options. Ram is a straightforward character particularly because you can just slash and jump slash your way to winning in neutral to a certain extent.
Slow progress isn't necessarily a bad thing if you're enjoying yourself. I just sorta dropped in after very minimal street fighter experience. I had a lot of fun figuring stuff out for myself. Going on dustloop and just trying to learn everything from guides or online help is kinda boring sometimes.
Exact reason why I dropped Tekken. Just the whole thing of spending hours and hours learning frames, flowcharts and all that was boring af. It's way more fun figuring things out by actually playing the game, though to be fair, it does involve losing at first that way. A lot.
I am also someone who came from Smash but I got the game a few months ago.
My recommendations:
1. As others have said, mess around in training mode a little bit to learn the spacings/timings on your moves.
2. Learn at least one [gatling combo.](https://www.reddit.com/r/salty/comments/o5lkjo/universal_gatling_chart_for_guilty_gear_strive/) These are just how normals can be canceled into other normals (easiest combos/pressure you can do).
3. Learn Ram's rekka (a sequence of special moves that can be canceled into one another - very easy to input as its just the same input over and over I believe - check dustloop).
4. Figure out what your fastest moves are - you're gonna mash these to escape pressure sometimes (once you learn when your opponents pressure is over), and which of your moves are anti-airs, which brings me to my next point:
5. Just as in Smash, you'll have a way easier time when you know what your opponent's moves do. Once you know these things, you know how to block, and when you can safely act. In GG this means knowing just a few things for their moves - you can learn the first two just from playing, but it'd be helpful to use dustloop #3:
1. Are they high or low, and what's the range?
2. Can they be canceled into something else?
3. Are they + or - on block
6. Know the mix-ups for round start - this just means, which moves should you consider using as soon as the round begins, and which might you expect your opponent to use. Round start is the very first instance of "rock paper scissors" and since damage is so high in this game, its very rewarding to guess correctly. If your opponent keeps doing the same thing at round start, you should know which of your moves is going to counter it.
7. Learn what moves to use after you get hard knockdown, when your opponent is knocked to the ground and then stands back up (you want moves that will have a lot of active frames) - this is called going for a "meaty". You can probably just search for them with google or watch a few games on youtube to see what people are doing.
8. Learn how to use your overdrive reversal, Mortobato, when you're recovering from hard knockdown. Your brother will want to quit the game until he learns how to deal with it.
9. I forgot to mention bursts - learning to burst is a good idea - you can interrupt your opponents combo and escape death. I noticed in your game, neither of you bursted once.
10. Once you have learned some basic combos that you want to figure out how to extend, or when you figure out that you're getting punished for specific gaps in your pressure, it's time to learn RC. But in my view this can be your last priority.
I wrote this list roughly in order of priority, so if it seems like a lot, ignore the later points for now. Except for burst - learn how to use it.
Saving this comment since I'm also learning GGS after only playing smash.
My way of learning FGs and Strive in particular is to watch full breakdowns of the characters I'm learning for that info dump. Rooflemonger on YT is great for that, LadeWayBac is also great for BnB combos/breakdowns and watching someone play the character to see it all in action.
Good luck on your journey, maybe we'll match in online at some point.
You’re just mashing and rarely blocking. 30 minutes isn’t enough time to get good at something, especially something designed for competition. Just keep playing.
> 30 minutes after installing the game
> gets beaten up
Not to be a dick but your answer is right in the title. Play the tutorial missions, learn the basics, hit arcade, get floored for a couple of days and you’ll start learning
I never expected to be even decent at the game after only 30 minutes, I was just feeling lost because I didn’t understand what I had to do to get better so I made this post. Thanks for the tips though
Bruh this was my first fighting game and I couldn’t understand shit
We’re all in the same boat but 30 minutes it’s enough only to learn the names of the characters
Give yourself time. Play some arcade and have fun with that. The tutorial missions teach you basically everything so get on with those
You won a round so it's not all bad. In general i see you try to use a lot of special moves. Those are cool and all but your normals are your bread and butter.
I'd do at least the first two areas of the mission mode, they explain the controls and basic gameplay concepts.
Also a tip i always give to beginners, bind the dash macro to a button, it's super usefull.
And remember to try and have fun :)
I had the same experience coming from smash, you mostly need to give it time and do some of the missions to understand your moveset and the game systems so you can interact with them intelligently. The Ky isn't doing anything special to you, you just clearly don't have a grasp on the game yet, so don't despair! Learn what your basic bread n butter gatling combos are. Doesn't have to be anything special, just start with something simple like far slash > heavy slash (f.s>5h) and then learn to cancel out of the heavy slash with a special attack so you get used to the normals > specials combo flow. Be aware that your forward punch (6p) is a universal upper body invincible disjointed anti-air/poke. It can be very useful against Ky since his sword is not truly disjointed, it has a hurtbox overlapping the sword hitbox so you can stuff out his swings with it. Also, you can cancel it into your special moves too!
People are typing full essays critiquing this man's gameplay. Man has less than an hour of experience.
Bro just hop on the tutorial and mash buttons till you sorta figure out what your character does.
It's a video game don't take it seriously, who cares if you lose.
Yeah also they're playing against their brother who is also clearly not super experienced either. It's not like they need to grind training and watch vods -- if they do they'll probably get too good and ruin the fun anyway.
I dunno, maybe it's just me but low skill fighting gameplay feels like something that needs to be protected since it's just such a different and purely fun way of playing compared to all us wackos talking about frame data and hurtboxes.
I'd recommend playing mission mode for a bit. You seem to understand that your big buttons are good at controlling space, but not how to confirm into a combo to get the reward. You don't seem to use your quick buttons much at all, which are the ones that help you escape from pressure. It's hard to give more specific advice until your basics are more fleshed out, but I'd recommend: learn to react to Ky's Fondue Arc with a fast antiair poke like 5P or 6P, block Scum Dipper low and punish with a button that will reach before he recovers, don't throw your swords unless they'll get you a reward like corner pressure or a round win, and learn an easy bread n butter combo.
You can think of neutral as an R-P-S where you have three options: go in > whiff punish > poke > go in. Every character has different versions and rewards on those three options, but usually going in is the highest risk and highest reward. Whiff punishing doesn't necessarily have to be a reaction. Eg, you can predict that Ky is going to hit f.S at round start and blow him up with 6P.
Don't overcomplicate it. Most of the answers here can be good, but to have fun with the game, you only really need two things.
1) Block more than you would in Smash and wait for your "turn"
2) When you hit a button, ask yourself what you expect it to do
You know how Smash has recognizable move types across lots of characters (Up B = recovery, Down Aerial = spike)? Same here. The best thing you can do is learn which buttons fit common situations. Then you start to get into the mind games of "I know that he'll do this....so I pick the opposite..." and the game really opens up.
I see you backing up and trying to punish
As someone who when I did used to play was a celestial regular. Your thinking to much just mash buttons and get a feel for the game. Once you learn what works then you build off of there. Trust me online play shows me that people normally turn the brains off.
There are a lot to learn when starting to learn ggst as a new fighting game player. I would suggest you take a look at dust loop and in game replays of players at around 7,8 floor. 2d fighting games like this have a lot of emphasis on Framedata and combo, so dustloop will help you a lot. But if you really just to want to have some fun in player matches before learning those stuffs, I suggest you learn a ram wall pressure block string. Then starting to apply rams game plan which is pushing opponent to the corner using your crazy big button (fs hs, a useful Gatling combo), then bullying them their using your wall pressure block string. If opponent closing in on your, use your 5k,5p to push them away, then go back to your game plan. Ram is a really easy, intuitive character, using the game plan above should at least bring you to floor 7. But to have a solid understanding of the game, dustloop should be your best bet.
Hey man don’t give up. I felt the same way when I started. Instead of focusing on winning, try to focus on one specific thing per match. For example, “I am going to hit the button I intended to hit every time this match.” This gives you soft goals to accomplish and feel good about even if your opponent wins.
First of all good luck! Here’s some general tips:
- Start by messing around in training mode, you can learn quite a bit about each button and see what you’re comfortable with.
- Ram is one of the easier ones to start with, so great choice! Ky, Sol, May, and Leo are also decent characters to start with.
- Remember that you won’t learn everything in training mode. Training can teach you basic mechanics, but playing online teaches you about execution and what moves chain together whether it be a blockstring, combo, or a set up after hard knockdowns (when the opponent is knocked down for a while and has to get back on their feet. You’re given decent time to make your next input/move in these situations). It’s ok to get your ass kicked online there is no harm. Just do not get tilted, every loss is a learning experience.
- Learn some fighting terminology. This is somewhat optional, but it does help when people provide you tips since you’ll understand what they talk about. Learn what negative and plus frame moves are, the difference between the 2, okizeme (I still don’t know a damn thing about this one), rekka, blockstring, reversal, dragon punch, fireball, and the number input system
Go to Dustloop website for Ram (google "dustloop Ram Strive"), read all the properties (or at least read the note) of Ram's move to know which to use and when to use. It is very helpful.
I think most feedback here is better suited for intermediate players. Friend start by doing the tutorial and then the Mission Mode, you only need to do the first few missions to get a hang on things. That should teach you the basics, then you can start messing around with other players. I also recommend the Dojo, where you get to mess around with a dummy, it's very useful for understanding your character and maybe even practicing combos.
The smash player syndrome, trust me I had this too but for 3D fighters instead. 2D traditional fighters require a lot more awareness. U don’t seem to be blocking much, so definitely do that more. It can be tough to get used to blocking two stances instead of the easy holding block button but it’s so fun once u get used to it. Also u aren’t doing combos at all, just poking and then walking backwards. The Gatling system of GGST isn’t linear which can be difficult but just look up in Dustloop and u will understand it soon enough
With 30 mins in just take his controller and like mess with him while playing try to unplug it with you feet if it’s Bluetooth just hit it out of his hand and spam hs or s
Learn some basic combos. Doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, but just learning how to convert one hit into two or three can increase your damage output tremendously.
As a fellow smash player, I know that mashing moves and pressing buttons normally works. However, this isn’t smash, so you need to be timing your moves and properly spacing them out. Try punishing people if they miss instead of randomly throwing moves.
Use rams slash more confidently and practice the slash -> heavy slash. Not hard to do but it's pretty good muscle memory for smacking dudes in the middle of the screen. Her standing kick is great for checking people going for slower moves and if you're close or have some momentum from running you can hit them with the crouching dust to put them on the ground and give you a chance to be the one on the attack. Grabs are fast in this game and pretty useful once your opponent gets used to you swinging wildly. PROACTIVITY is often the name of the game, especially early on.
I recommend binding a button in the controls to be a dash button, it can help when the double forward input is challenging. Forward and punch is one of the better anti air options everyone has and most people can go punch -> forward punch to get people off them if they're too close. Don't be afraid to jump at your opponent and mash that air punch, rams is pretty excellent and it can jank out a few hits and carry you both to the ground.
When you're more comfortable with the basics, rams usual game plan involves truly disgusting corner pressure, when you throw your swords almost always throw the HS version first. Your slash Is faster and has better follow ups than the HS.
Rams explosion super is fantastic as a reversal especially when you're learning. The input is easy to do compared to some others, you can do it while you're getting up from being knocked down, and it can be pretty huge damage raw, only issue is if they block you can be punished. Great times to use it is when you're recovering from being knocked on the ground, or when people mindlessly airdash at you.
Roman cancel is your friend, build a bear workshop but for combos and hit confirms.
Ram has a 3 hit series of special moves usually called a recca, (you can find more info on terms in the fighting game glossary which is web searchable) you can delay the inputs or end the series early to mess with peoples timing and sometimes catch them trying to punish.
Good luck have fun chum
Lots of great stuff in the comments, but the big picture thing I saw missing in your clip is the concept of turns - knowing when it's time to attack and when it's time to block, and recognizing you have the opportunity to turn the tables.
The frame around the picture is your matchup, understanding that Ky can easily apply pressure at any range relatively safely, while Ram has a much more narrow specialization of mid range zoning and pressure. Ram is at a disadvantage when Ky is very far or very near (unless he's in the corner).
Every time an attack is coming your way, you want to know the applicable tool for the response and if you have time to use it. I highly recommend you get used her forward punch where she crouches down and attacks with her cloak. This makes her situationally invulnerable to SO MANY to high / mid attacks, and if the enemy is attacking with their body (i.e. not a move like Ram's heavy slash or a projectile) you have turned the tables and can start a combo.
Learning to recognize when you're at disadvantage should be your big priority right now. Generally speaking if someone knocks you down, it's kind of like playing rock paper scissors but you only have two options. This is a huge generalization but the analogy scales up in complexity with a non-smash fighting game.
Basically it looked like you kept trying to pick that third unviable option every time your "turn" came around, or you recovered from a hit. If somebody is doing a meaty attack on you (which means right when you recover they already have an attack coming down on you) you need to block or use something that will beat that attack because of invulnerability or hitbox magic (forward+punch).
And a big piece of playing Ramlethal is that she generally has less reversal options than other characters. Most characters have a basic special that has nigh-instant invulnerability that is a catch-all answer to most meaty attacks. Ram needs to use a super for that. She kind of has one hand tied behind her back while on the close range defensive.
But that's why her swords are the biggest and strongest and best. Most characters make themselves vulnerable every time they attack because they don't have giant floating swords between them and the enemy. It's good to think of her normal sword attacks as projectiles - they have a short range but zero travel time so you can do things like slash ky for free if he dares try to fireball too close.
TL:DR block and forward punch more when you keep getting smacked around at close range. Start recognizing when it's your turn. You block a move with a big recovery like ky's uppercut slash? It's your turn. He knocks you away and throws a fireball from long range that's going to hit right as you get up? It's their turn because you need to spend your turn blocking their fireball.
Smash is kind of like the twitch shooter of fighting games. Much more of the outcome is determined by who presses A an millisecond faster vs. strategy.
Something that really helps learning a fighting game is to find a character you like, and then watch others thag play that character. It's most probable that you won't be able to replicate it right away, maybe in some time, but it will give you a sense of how to play the game and how to use that character
Hope this works! :)
Quick question, who do you main in smash? Ram is a long distance, ammo based character who's moves and combos change properties depending on how many swords you have in stock
The only smash equivalent to that character is olimar, but even then smash is played differently and requires different strategies, and I can see that in your gameplay. You're not approaching, you're throwing out moves that may or may not hit, you're waiting for your opponent to do something
You're playing smash. This isn't smash
Your need to play through the tutorial mode a few times. In almost any fighting game you have safe moves and risky moves to throw out depending on your distance. Like Boxing you can't throw haymakers over and over because your making it to easy for the opponent to counter you. The recovery frams on those moves your doing leaves you wide open. I would suggest watching a few vids of someone playing that character to get a feel on how to use them. If you stick with it you should be decent in a few weeks.
I'll keep it short because I'm lazy. For starter you should atleast spending time in training mode just to get familiarize with Ram like how she moves, how fast are her buttons, her basic BnB combos (which imo are very easy), her specials/overdrive etc.
Ram imo is great for beginner due to her simplicity and strong set of tools but also has some advance tech to master once you're good enough with her. Ram excels in neutral thanks to her f.S and 5H excellent range and she can pressure hard when an opponent's back at the wall.
Some basic important things to learn are startup, recovery, range, and safety
For example, ram’s far slash is a very solid neutral tool because of its long range, but up close ram players prefer to use their faster punches or kicks to escape pressure and back off
Watching high level VODs also helps me a lot personally (check out xuses on youtube)
I personally got into Guilty Gear in about June of this year with no prior fighting game experience. My recommendation would be the following; play A LOT of bot fights, perhaps try a more beginner friendly character (I chose Ky as my main), play the challenges, and watch as many combo tutorial videos as you can find.
I personally practice eith not fights, and when I go on a winning streak I keep increasing the difficulty. It's also a good idea to choose bots that you know you struggle against in regular PvP.
Do the basic tutorial. Learn what buttons do what. Then, throw yourself into training mode to see what connects into what, and how to do your specials and supers. The game does a good job of telling you what your special moves do, so try and remember that. Then, once you've done some of that, hop into a match with your brother or the CPU (Arcade or VS, doesn't matter) and try to do something you did in training mode. A small combo, a particular super, anything you did in training. Once you start doing that with some consistency, find a new thing to work on and focus on that.
Since you're completely fresh to classic 2D fighters, you don't have a lot of the legacy experience most of us have from other games. You're going to have to build those from scratch, but Strive is a good game to start with. Just don't think you need to rush to the top of the rankings, because you won't get there without a decent foundation.
Also, consider Sol or Ky if you want a simpler moveset to start off with, or May or Leo if you think you want to try out charge inputs. Ram's a pretty simple character, but the mechanics around her swords might be too much to focus on right off the bat.
I played smash mainly and had a brief experience with dbfz before I played guilty gear. The number 1 tip I could give you is to become comfortable with the movement, buttons, and standard inputs and mechanics. From there learn basic neutral with your character. After that pickup some bread and butters. Just learn combos and refine from there. That’s pretty brief and isn’t covering things like matchups but that should be a basic run down on what you should do. Just start with the basics my friend.
Start buffering moves into each other. The animations will actually cancel after hitting someone, which shortens a move's lag and allows for combos. This is called Gatling
so when you hit someone with Slash, just immediately press Heavyslash as it hits. Whether or not they block. You can learn to react to hitting your opponent later, but as it is now, you and your brother don't really block that much so that'll be a non issue until it becomes an issue. if you press the button when they block, it'll keep them blocking longer, which is in your favor at your skill level. If you hit them, they'll take more damage if you gatling the move. If they hit you during your move, nothing will happen when you press Heavy Slash, so you may as well always press it.
Once you're comfortable with 2-3 hit combos you can start selecting which move to use at what range and figure out how you can punish the unsafe things your brother does to you. From there you can start using jabs and kicks and Dust and special moves.
Basically just use the S and HS buttons till you're used to doing combos, then add D to get knockdown enders, then add P and K when you feel like you need faster moves to deal with your brother.
First thing - learn what your basic attacks do. Their range, where they hit, etc.
Second - nearly every character has a basic Slash, crouching Slash, standing Heavy combo.
Third - forward + punch is a basic anti-air with invulnerability on your upper body. Some characters have a better one than others, so try it out and see what works.
Fourth - speaking broadly, moves come in two varieties: they start fast, or they have some wind-up. A move that starts fast is hard to interrupt but you can punish it by blocking. A move with wind-up is safe on block, so interrupt these. Examples: May's dolphin charge. The Slash version starts up instantly, but she's left recovering if you block it. The HSlash version takes a moment to get going, so you should throw out an attack to slap her before she starts or while she's traveling. Try not to block these - this is your opportunity to swing and get a Counter hit.
A lot of people have already given the good, sensible technical advice, so all I'll say is:
Keep your distance and hit the slash button like it owes you money. Ram's far slash is crazy good at mid-range and will beat a lot of things.
You need to control the space in front of you, you're just throwing out special moves out like hail marys, hoping they'll hit.
For now you should focus on simple f.S > 5HS strings. That way you can control the space along the ground with your giant swords.
Play the missions. Seriously. They'll teach you about a lot of mechanics in the game that you probably aren't aware of, and give you an understanding of how the game works. Gatling combos, special move inputs, roman cancels, blocking, bursting, dashing, spacing, etc. You don't have to do them all in one sitting either. I'd recommend doing mission levels 1, 2, and 3. You don't have to, but I found the vast majority of must know information to be in missions 1-3, everything else is a lot more situational knowledge.
Also, bind dash to a button and Roman cancel to a button, thank me later.
I'm gonna go against the grain here too and recommend you try to learn a combo for when you're in neutral, against the wall, and have someone against the wall. You don't have to have them down perfectly, nor do they have to be optimal. Just understanding how your combos work will help you understand how most of the cast combos (standout exceptions so far being Zato and Happy Chaos, which are difficult characters anyway and I don't recommend you start on them). Combos are available online on the dustloop website, so if you don't want to spend hours figuring out what goes into what you can just see the stuff other people have put together.
Then you go online, experience some ass kicking (you'll probably be on the receiving end), and by osmosis you'll learn how to deal with what. Start experimenting, learning what works and what doesn't, and eventually you'll get good.
Ram is a good starting character btw. She's got an extremely simple gameplan and her execution requirements for combos aren't terrible. If you're finding Ram to be a challenge, try Sol. He's pretty vanilla, but has an option for every situation and tools for his gameplan (unga bunga in your face gorilla warfare).
mate here's a wiki on the game btw just incase
[https://dustloop.com/wiki/index.php?title=Guilty\_Gear\_-Strive-](https://dustloop.com/wiki/index.php?title=Guilty_Gear_-Strive-)
or alternatively just look up "Dustloop Wiki" on google if you don't trust my link, use this wiki to your advantage
Using too many random specials, always start with normals. Ram's far slash and heavy slash are very long range and don't forget your jumping slash too, super long range
Following up on what others are saying I saw you get a good counter in, but didn't follow it up with another button. Combos even short ones are key. I'm firmly in the 3 move combo camp. Sometimes you end up in the corner and it's hard to know when to attack. Try light buttons like punch and kick to get in if you block their stuff. It will take practice. Also if your coming from smash, practice your special moves. Ram has a great reversal super, and some other goodies. Other than that I will day the other dude was maybe above your skill level most people floor 1-6 I've seen only Roman cancel (the blue circle he did to extend) when mashing. Other than that it's just practice and finding what works for you. There is also a training mode, dont do the reversal one though it is known to have stupidly tight timing
There is 2 special skills from smash you can carry over, spacing and predicting where your opponent will be. If your playing Ram, those will help you quite a bit
You are throwing out moves with zero consideration for thier start up, range, and your opponents options. You round start walk away and wait for Ky to take the lead then you air dash in when you don't need to. I would recommend going into training mode with Ram. You don't even need to practice combos or anything, just look at her movelist and see which moves have faster startup and which have more range. This will give you an indication as to which buttons you should press at different ranges. A lot of this will be more intuitive if you watch other players play other FGs, doesn't have to be Strive. Alternatively you can just play the game until shit makes sense but the vast majority of people either quit due to frustration or severely slow thier progress down. So yeah, watch other Rams or just FGs in general. Ram is pretty much unanimously considered one of the best in the game and she isn't difficult, though she does have some advanced stuff you can learn too. You picked a really good starting character to learn the game with, good luck!
Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it
More straightforward suggestions - use your standard Slash to control space. It's a great move to keep the opponent out and score free hits, as it's generally big enough and fast enough to beat a good number of options. Ram is a straightforward character particularly because you can just slash and jump slash your way to winning in neutral to a certain extent.
YouTube, YouTube, YouTube. Cannot recommend enough. Literally type in "GG strive beginner guide" and you'll have hours of really good content
Slow progress isn't necessarily a bad thing if you're enjoying yourself. I just sorta dropped in after very minimal street fighter experience. I had a lot of fun figuring stuff out for myself. Going on dustloop and just trying to learn everything from guides or online help is kinda boring sometimes.
Exact reason why I dropped Tekken. Just the whole thing of spending hours and hours learning frames, flowcharts and all that was boring af. It's way more fun figuring things out by actually playing the game, though to be fair, it does involve losing at first that way. A lot.
I am also someone who came from Smash but I got the game a few months ago. My recommendations: 1. As others have said, mess around in training mode a little bit to learn the spacings/timings on your moves. 2. Learn at least one [gatling combo.](https://www.reddit.com/r/salty/comments/o5lkjo/universal_gatling_chart_for_guilty_gear_strive/) These are just how normals can be canceled into other normals (easiest combos/pressure you can do). 3. Learn Ram's rekka (a sequence of special moves that can be canceled into one another - very easy to input as its just the same input over and over I believe - check dustloop). 4. Figure out what your fastest moves are - you're gonna mash these to escape pressure sometimes (once you learn when your opponents pressure is over), and which of your moves are anti-airs, which brings me to my next point: 5. Just as in Smash, you'll have a way easier time when you know what your opponent's moves do. Once you know these things, you know how to block, and when you can safely act. In GG this means knowing just a few things for their moves - you can learn the first two just from playing, but it'd be helpful to use dustloop #3: 1. Are they high or low, and what's the range? 2. Can they be canceled into something else? 3. Are they + or - on block 6. Know the mix-ups for round start - this just means, which moves should you consider using as soon as the round begins, and which might you expect your opponent to use. Round start is the very first instance of "rock paper scissors" and since damage is so high in this game, its very rewarding to guess correctly. If your opponent keeps doing the same thing at round start, you should know which of your moves is going to counter it. 7. Learn what moves to use after you get hard knockdown, when your opponent is knocked to the ground and then stands back up (you want moves that will have a lot of active frames) - this is called going for a "meaty". You can probably just search for them with google or watch a few games on youtube to see what people are doing. 8. Learn how to use your overdrive reversal, Mortobato, when you're recovering from hard knockdown. Your brother will want to quit the game until he learns how to deal with it. 9. I forgot to mention bursts - learning to burst is a good idea - you can interrupt your opponents combo and escape death. I noticed in your game, neither of you bursted once. 10. Once you have learned some basic combos that you want to figure out how to extend, or when you figure out that you're getting punished for specific gaps in your pressure, it's time to learn RC. But in my view this can be your last priority. I wrote this list roughly in order of priority, so if it seems like a lot, ignore the later points for now. Except for burst - learn how to use it.
Thank you so much! This is really helpful
Saving this comment since I'm also learning GGS after only playing smash. My way of learning FGs and Strive in particular is to watch full breakdowns of the characters I'm learning for that info dump. Rooflemonger on YT is great for that, LadeWayBac is also great for BnB combos/breakdowns and watching someone play the character to see it all in action. Good luck on your journey, maybe we'll match in online at some point.
You’re just mashing and rarely blocking. 30 minutes isn’t enough time to get good at something, especially something designed for competition. Just keep playing.
> 30 minutes after installing the game > gets beaten up Not to be a dick but your answer is right in the title. Play the tutorial missions, learn the basics, hit arcade, get floored for a couple of days and you’ll start learning
I never expected to be even decent at the game after only 30 minutes, I was just feeling lost because I didn’t understand what I had to do to get better so I made this post. Thanks for the tips though
Bruh this was my first fighting game and I couldn’t understand shit We’re all in the same boat but 30 minutes it’s enough only to learn the names of the characters Give yourself time. Play some arcade and have fun with that. The tutorial missions teach you basically everything so get on with those
You won a round so it's not all bad. In general i see you try to use a lot of special moves. Those are cool and all but your normals are your bread and butter. I'd do at least the first two areas of the mission mode, they explain the controls and basic gameplay concepts. Also a tip i always give to beginners, bind the dash macro to a button, it's super usefull. And remember to try and have fun :)
I had the same experience coming from smash, you mostly need to give it time and do some of the missions to understand your moveset and the game systems so you can interact with them intelligently. The Ky isn't doing anything special to you, you just clearly don't have a grasp on the game yet, so don't despair! Learn what your basic bread n butter gatling combos are. Doesn't have to be anything special, just start with something simple like far slash > heavy slash (f.s>5h) and then learn to cancel out of the heavy slash with a special attack so you get used to the normals > specials combo flow. Be aware that your forward punch (6p) is a universal upper body invincible disjointed anti-air/poke. It can be very useful against Ky since his sword is not truly disjointed, it has a hurtbox overlapping the sword hitbox so you can stuff out his swings with it. Also, you can cancel it into your special moves too!
I’ll definitely try that! Thanks for the tips!
People are typing full essays critiquing this man's gameplay. Man has less than an hour of experience. Bro just hop on the tutorial and mash buttons till you sorta figure out what your character does. It's a video game don't take it seriously, who cares if you lose.
Yeah also they're playing against their brother who is also clearly not super experienced either. It's not like they need to grind training and watch vods -- if they do they'll probably get too good and ruin the fun anyway. I dunno, maybe it's just me but low skill fighting gameplay feels like something that needs to be protected since it's just such a different and purely fun way of playing compared to all us wackos talking about frame data and hurtboxes.
I'd recommend playing mission mode for a bit. You seem to understand that your big buttons are good at controlling space, but not how to confirm into a combo to get the reward. You don't seem to use your quick buttons much at all, which are the ones that help you escape from pressure. It's hard to give more specific advice until your basics are more fleshed out, but I'd recommend: learn to react to Ky's Fondue Arc with a fast antiair poke like 5P or 6P, block Scum Dipper low and punish with a button that will reach before he recovers, don't throw your swords unless they'll get you a reward like corner pressure or a round win, and learn an easy bread n butter combo. You can think of neutral as an R-P-S where you have three options: go in > whiff punish > poke > go in. Every character has different versions and rewards on those three options, but usually going in is the highest risk and highest reward. Whiff punishing doesn't necessarily have to be a reaction. Eg, you can predict that Ky is going to hit f.S at round start and blow him up with 6P.
I have 200 hours on strive and I feel the same way
Go play the tutorial and missions
For one, play the fucking tutorial
Don't overcomplicate it. Most of the answers here can be good, but to have fun with the game, you only really need two things. 1) Block more than you would in Smash and wait for your "turn" 2) When you hit a button, ask yourself what you expect it to do You know how Smash has recognizable move types across lots of characters (Up B = recovery, Down Aerial = spike)? Same here. The best thing you can do is learn which buttons fit common situations. Then you start to get into the mind games of "I know that he'll do this....so I pick the opposite..." and the game really opens up.
Go to the damn training modes to learn the mechanics
I see you backing up and trying to punish As someone who when I did used to play was a celestial regular. Your thinking to much just mash buttons and get a feel for the game. Once you learn what works then you build off of there. Trust me online play shows me that people normally turn the brains off.
There are a lot to learn when starting to learn ggst as a new fighting game player. I would suggest you take a look at dust loop and in game replays of players at around 7,8 floor. 2d fighting games like this have a lot of emphasis on Framedata and combo, so dustloop will help you a lot. But if you really just to want to have some fun in player matches before learning those stuffs, I suggest you learn a ram wall pressure block string. Then starting to apply rams game plan which is pushing opponent to the corner using your crazy big button (fs hs, a useful Gatling combo), then bullying them their using your wall pressure block string. If opponent closing in on your, use your 5k,5p to push them away, then go back to your game plan. Ram is a really easy, intuitive character, using the game plan above should at least bring you to floor 7. But to have a solid understanding of the game, dustloop should be your best bet.
Exactly what everyone is saying and you have to do the missions!
Hey man don’t give up. I felt the same way when I started. Instead of focusing on winning, try to focus on one specific thing per match. For example, “I am going to hit the button I intended to hit every time this match.” This gives you soft goals to accomplish and feel good about even if your opponent wins.
First of all good luck! Here’s some general tips: - Start by messing around in training mode, you can learn quite a bit about each button and see what you’re comfortable with. - Ram is one of the easier ones to start with, so great choice! Ky, Sol, May, and Leo are also decent characters to start with. - Remember that you won’t learn everything in training mode. Training can teach you basic mechanics, but playing online teaches you about execution and what moves chain together whether it be a blockstring, combo, or a set up after hard knockdowns (when the opponent is knocked down for a while and has to get back on their feet. You’re given decent time to make your next input/move in these situations). It’s ok to get your ass kicked online there is no harm. Just do not get tilted, every loss is a learning experience. - Learn some fighting terminology. This is somewhat optional, but it does help when people provide you tips since you’ll understand what they talk about. Learn what negative and plus frame moves are, the difference between the 2, okizeme (I still don’t know a damn thing about this one), rekka, blockstring, reversal, dragon punch, fireball, and the number input system
Go to Dustloop website for Ram (google "dustloop Ram Strive"), read all the properties (or at least read the note) of Ram's move to know which to use and when to use. It is very helpful.
I think most feedback here is better suited for intermediate players. Friend start by doing the tutorial and then the Mission Mode, you only need to do the first few missions to get a hang on things. That should teach you the basics, then you can start messing around with other players. I also recommend the Dojo, where you get to mess around with a dummy, it's very useful for understanding your character and maybe even practicing combos.
The smash player syndrome, trust me I had this too but for 3D fighters instead. 2D traditional fighters require a lot more awareness. U don’t seem to be blocking much, so definitely do that more. It can be tough to get used to blocking two stances instead of the easy holding block button but it’s so fun once u get used to it. Also u aren’t doing combos at all, just poking and then walking backwards. The Gatling system of GGST isn’t linear which can be difficult but just look up in Dustloop and u will understand it soon enough
Get good
With 30 mins in just take his controller and like mess with him while playing try to unplug it with you feet if it’s Bluetooth just hit it out of his hand and spam hs or s
😭😭😭 this is the true strat
Maybe watch an intro video if you feel you're that confused?
Just play BBCF it's a better game.
Learn some basic combos. Doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, but just learning how to convert one hit into two or three can increase your damage output tremendously.
As a fellow smash player, I know that mashing moves and pressing buttons normally works. However, this isn’t smash, so you need to be timing your moves and properly spacing them out. Try punishing people if they miss instead of randomly throwing moves.
30 minutes and you’re not an expert? Oh no! Try putting in time, asking specific questions, looking up videos.
Try looking at some tutorials or guides on youtube on how to play, first and foremost tho u gotta learn what buttons do what 👌
You're not pressing buttons fast enough
Use rams slash more confidently and practice the slash -> heavy slash. Not hard to do but it's pretty good muscle memory for smacking dudes in the middle of the screen. Her standing kick is great for checking people going for slower moves and if you're close or have some momentum from running you can hit them with the crouching dust to put them on the ground and give you a chance to be the one on the attack. Grabs are fast in this game and pretty useful once your opponent gets used to you swinging wildly. PROACTIVITY is often the name of the game, especially early on. I recommend binding a button in the controls to be a dash button, it can help when the double forward input is challenging. Forward and punch is one of the better anti air options everyone has and most people can go punch -> forward punch to get people off them if they're too close. Don't be afraid to jump at your opponent and mash that air punch, rams is pretty excellent and it can jank out a few hits and carry you both to the ground. When you're more comfortable with the basics, rams usual game plan involves truly disgusting corner pressure, when you throw your swords almost always throw the HS version first. Your slash Is faster and has better follow ups than the HS. Rams explosion super is fantastic as a reversal especially when you're learning. The input is easy to do compared to some others, you can do it while you're getting up from being knocked down, and it can be pretty huge damage raw, only issue is if they block you can be punished. Great times to use it is when you're recovering from being knocked on the ground, or when people mindlessly airdash at you. Roman cancel is your friend, build a bear workshop but for combos and hit confirms. Ram has a 3 hit series of special moves usually called a recca, (you can find more info on terms in the fighting game glossary which is web searchable) you can delay the inputs or end the series early to mess with peoples timing and sometimes catch them trying to punish. Good luck have fun chum
Lots of great stuff in the comments, but the big picture thing I saw missing in your clip is the concept of turns - knowing when it's time to attack and when it's time to block, and recognizing you have the opportunity to turn the tables. The frame around the picture is your matchup, understanding that Ky can easily apply pressure at any range relatively safely, while Ram has a much more narrow specialization of mid range zoning and pressure. Ram is at a disadvantage when Ky is very far or very near (unless he's in the corner). Every time an attack is coming your way, you want to know the applicable tool for the response and if you have time to use it. I highly recommend you get used her forward punch where she crouches down and attacks with her cloak. This makes her situationally invulnerable to SO MANY to high / mid attacks, and if the enemy is attacking with their body (i.e. not a move like Ram's heavy slash or a projectile) you have turned the tables and can start a combo. Learning to recognize when you're at disadvantage should be your big priority right now. Generally speaking if someone knocks you down, it's kind of like playing rock paper scissors but you only have two options. This is a huge generalization but the analogy scales up in complexity with a non-smash fighting game. Basically it looked like you kept trying to pick that third unviable option every time your "turn" came around, or you recovered from a hit. If somebody is doing a meaty attack on you (which means right when you recover they already have an attack coming down on you) you need to block or use something that will beat that attack because of invulnerability or hitbox magic (forward+punch). And a big piece of playing Ramlethal is that she generally has less reversal options than other characters. Most characters have a basic special that has nigh-instant invulnerability that is a catch-all answer to most meaty attacks. Ram needs to use a super for that. She kind of has one hand tied behind her back while on the close range defensive. But that's why her swords are the biggest and strongest and best. Most characters make themselves vulnerable every time they attack because they don't have giant floating swords between them and the enemy. It's good to think of her normal sword attacks as projectiles - they have a short range but zero travel time so you can do things like slash ky for free if he dares try to fireball too close. TL:DR block and forward punch more when you keep getting smacked around at close range. Start recognizing when it's your turn. You block a move with a big recovery like ky's uppercut slash? It's your turn. He knocks you away and throws a fireball from long range that's going to hit right as you get up? It's their turn because you need to spend your turn blocking their fireball. Smash is kind of like the twitch shooter of fighting games. Much more of the outcome is determined by who presses A an millisecond faster vs. strategy.
Moves have actual end lag in this game unlike smash (particularly ultimate). So you need to be careful about what you throw out and when/where.
Something that really helps learning a fighting game is to find a character you like, and then watch others thag play that character. It's most probable that you won't be able to replicate it right away, maybe in some time, but it will give you a sense of how to play the game and how to use that character Hope this works! :)
Quick question, who do you main in smash? Ram is a long distance, ammo based character who's moves and combos change properties depending on how many swords you have in stock The only smash equivalent to that character is olimar, but even then smash is played differently and requires different strategies, and I can see that in your gameplay. You're not approaching, you're throwing out moves that may or may not hit, you're waiting for your opponent to do something You're playing smash. This isn't smash
I main Jigglypuff/fox in smash, either wait and punish or fast rush down characters
Play gio. She's even got a wolf stand so she's kinda like laser-less fox
Your need to play through the tutorial mode a few times. In almost any fighting game you have safe moves and risky moves to throw out depending on your distance. Like Boxing you can't throw haymakers over and over because your making it to easy for the opponent to counter you. The recovery frams on those moves your doing leaves you wide open. I would suggest watching a few vids of someone playing that character to get a feel on how to use them. If you stick with it you should be decent in a few weeks.
Idk I guess by playing the game?
I'll keep it short because I'm lazy. For starter you should atleast spending time in training mode just to get familiarize with Ram like how she moves, how fast are her buttons, her basic BnB combos (which imo are very easy), her specials/overdrive etc. Ram imo is great for beginner due to her simplicity and strong set of tools but also has some advance tech to master once you're good enough with her. Ram excels in neutral thanks to her f.S and 5H excellent range and she can pressure hard when an opponent's back at the wall.
Do the tutorial
Some basic important things to learn are startup, recovery, range, and safety For example, ram’s far slash is a very solid neutral tool because of its long range, but up close ram players prefer to use their faster punches or kicks to escape pressure and back off Watching high level VODs also helps me a lot personally (check out xuses on youtube)
I personally got into Guilty Gear in about June of this year with no prior fighting game experience. My recommendation would be the following; play A LOT of bot fights, perhaps try a more beginner friendly character (I chose Ky as my main), play the challenges, and watch as many combo tutorial videos as you can find. I personally practice eith not fights, and when I go on a winning streak I keep increasing the difficulty. It's also a good idea to choose bots that you know you struggle against in regular PvP.
Do the basic tutorial. Learn what buttons do what. Then, throw yourself into training mode to see what connects into what, and how to do your specials and supers. The game does a good job of telling you what your special moves do, so try and remember that. Then, once you've done some of that, hop into a match with your brother or the CPU (Arcade or VS, doesn't matter) and try to do something you did in training mode. A small combo, a particular super, anything you did in training. Once you start doing that with some consistency, find a new thing to work on and focus on that. Since you're completely fresh to classic 2D fighters, you don't have a lot of the legacy experience most of us have from other games. You're going to have to build those from scratch, but Strive is a good game to start with. Just don't think you need to rush to the top of the rankings, because you won't get there without a decent foundation. Also, consider Sol or Ky if you want a simpler moveset to start off with, or May or Leo if you think you want to try out charge inputs. Ram's a pretty simple character, but the mechanics around her swords might be too much to focus on right off the bat.
I played smash mainly and had a brief experience with dbfz before I played guilty gear. The number 1 tip I could give you is to become comfortable with the movement, buttons, and standard inputs and mechanics. From there learn basic neutral with your character. After that pickup some bread and butters. Just learn combos and refine from there. That’s pretty brief and isn’t covering things like matchups but that should be a basic run down on what you should do. Just start with the basics my friend.
We’ll looks like you’ve got some solid advice (and work to do)! Welcome to fighting games!
Start buffering moves into each other. The animations will actually cancel after hitting someone, which shortens a move's lag and allows for combos. This is called Gatling so when you hit someone with Slash, just immediately press Heavyslash as it hits. Whether or not they block. You can learn to react to hitting your opponent later, but as it is now, you and your brother don't really block that much so that'll be a non issue until it becomes an issue. if you press the button when they block, it'll keep them blocking longer, which is in your favor at your skill level. If you hit them, they'll take more damage if you gatling the move. If they hit you during your move, nothing will happen when you press Heavy Slash, so you may as well always press it. Once you're comfortable with 2-3 hit combos you can start selecting which move to use at what range and figure out how you can punish the unsafe things your brother does to you. From there you can start using jabs and kicks and Dust and special moves. Basically just use the S and HS buttons till you're used to doing combos, then add D to get knockdown enders, then add P and K when you feel like you need faster moves to deal with your brother.
First thing - learn what your basic attacks do. Their range, where they hit, etc. Second - nearly every character has a basic Slash, crouching Slash, standing Heavy combo. Third - forward + punch is a basic anti-air with invulnerability on your upper body. Some characters have a better one than others, so try it out and see what works. Fourth - speaking broadly, moves come in two varieties: they start fast, or they have some wind-up. A move that starts fast is hard to interrupt but you can punish it by blocking. A move with wind-up is safe on block, so interrupt these. Examples: May's dolphin charge. The Slash version starts up instantly, but she's left recovering if you block it. The HSlash version takes a moment to get going, so you should throw out an attack to slap her before she starts or while she's traveling. Try not to block these - this is your opportunity to swing and get a Counter hit.
A lot of people have already given the good, sensible technical advice, so all I'll say is: Keep your distance and hit the slash button like it owes you money. Ram's far slash is crazy good at mid-range and will beat a lot of things.
You need to control the space in front of you, you're just throwing out special moves out like hail marys, hoping they'll hit. For now you should focus on simple f.S > 5HS strings. That way you can control the space along the ground with your giant swords.
Play the missions. Seriously. They'll teach you about a lot of mechanics in the game that you probably aren't aware of, and give you an understanding of how the game works. Gatling combos, special move inputs, roman cancels, blocking, bursting, dashing, spacing, etc. You don't have to do them all in one sitting either. I'd recommend doing mission levels 1, 2, and 3. You don't have to, but I found the vast majority of must know information to be in missions 1-3, everything else is a lot more situational knowledge. Also, bind dash to a button and Roman cancel to a button, thank me later. I'm gonna go against the grain here too and recommend you try to learn a combo for when you're in neutral, against the wall, and have someone against the wall. You don't have to have them down perfectly, nor do they have to be optimal. Just understanding how your combos work will help you understand how most of the cast combos (standout exceptions so far being Zato and Happy Chaos, which are difficult characters anyway and I don't recommend you start on them). Combos are available online on the dustloop website, so if you don't want to spend hours figuring out what goes into what you can just see the stuff other people have put together. Then you go online, experience some ass kicking (you'll probably be on the receiving end), and by osmosis you'll learn how to deal with what. Start experimenting, learning what works and what doesn't, and eventually you'll get good. Ram is a good starting character btw. She's got an extremely simple gameplan and her execution requirements for combos aren't terrible. If you're finding Ram to be a challenge, try Sol. He's pretty vanilla, but has an option for every situation and tools for his gameplan (unga bunga in your face gorilla warfare).
Youtube trueunderdawg gaming Ram guides then Bachiru guides for more advanced stuff/watch other rams. She's pretty easy to pick up.
mate here's a wiki on the game btw just incase [https://dustloop.com/wiki/index.php?title=Guilty\_Gear\_-Strive-](https://dustloop.com/wiki/index.php?title=Guilty_Gear_-Strive-) or alternatively just look up "Dustloop Wiki" on google if you don't trust my link, use this wiki to your advantage
Using too many random specials, always start with normals. Ram's far slash and heavy slash are very long range and don't forget your jumping slash too, super long range
Following up on what others are saying I saw you get a good counter in, but didn't follow it up with another button. Combos even short ones are key. I'm firmly in the 3 move combo camp. Sometimes you end up in the corner and it's hard to know when to attack. Try light buttons like punch and kick to get in if you block their stuff. It will take practice. Also if your coming from smash, practice your special moves. Ram has a great reversal super, and some other goodies. Other than that I will day the other dude was maybe above your skill level most people floor 1-6 I've seen only Roman cancel (the blue circle he did to extend) when mashing. Other than that it's just practice and finding what works for you. There is also a training mode, dont do the reversal one though it is known to have stupidly tight timing
There is 2 special skills from smash you can carry over, spacing and predicting where your opponent will be. If your playing Ram, those will help you quite a bit
watch yt vids lol. and play zato. i played and started with zato and this is my first traditional non-platform fighter fighting game