Ryyudo

Unless you're banking your future on being among the best players, fighting games seldom ever require being a grind.

I promise you: You'll learn a lot more by entering training mode first every time you turn on the game and learning one new thing, no matter how simple, and work to apply it in the matches that follow.

It's okay to break it down over the course of days, lose as you apply in that session, or even quit 15 minutes into the session and try again later.

Keep learning one new thing every time you return though.

It's something I need to keep in mind too, but I've seen the results stacking up quickly when I properly practice what I preach, compared to just mashing for more matches.

That honestly went pretty swimmingly.

I've spent most of my One New Things understanding system mechanics, but I'm finally leaning into combos the past two days. It makes winning situations far more valuable, on top of my built-up confidence to win a number of situations now.

Admittedly, it feels bad that nearly everyone I've fought has HUGE punish combos, but also I'm much better at understanding the give-take from it and can prevent discouragement (high damage once a round, but not enough experience with neutered neutral to fight during burnout).

This was very tough for me, NGL!

Since the last post, my One New Things have revolved heavily under two umbrellas:

Understanding annoying tools from other characters.

Taking a button or special move that stuffed me in a prior match or set that I responded negatively to and setting it up in Training Mode to play repeatedly or after a situation (block/knockdown/taking a hit).

The SF6 training mode is insane, so much so that I feel like new players would be overwhelmed by it. While an overall positive, I fear some players may not embrace it as a result. It IS important though!

Understanding how to maintain a consistent offense.

This is a huge one I realized I was lacking. I was mostly trying to play the footsies game (good) until I'm able to confirm (good) then end up in a knockdown situation where I'm at a disadvantaged position because of the drink mechanic (bad, horrible, naughty).

The bigger changes have revolved around maintaining advantages earlier in the match with strong setups, getting a better understanding of frame data overall in the game as I played around with opponents' annonying tools, and what my most reliable buttons are. It's getting the point that I'm just needing 1-2 knockdowns to loop offensive pressure until a victory... Though this is like 5-8 loops... Next up will be maximizing those damages.

Keep learning One New Thing a day and keep consistent at your own pace. You'll see the growth. Don't be afraid to ask questions, even if the question is "how do I ask a question?" I'm, at least, happy to work with folks!

I've spent a lot of time with XRD lately, along with a fighting game break period due to self-aggregating frustrations with having to job search again.

Didn't mean I stopped learning things for SF6 while playing XRD (and vice versa). The break paid off too.

Still, mostly thanks to @Aware-Wolf for chatting with me through my frustrations.