*WARNING: THIS IS A WALL OF TEXT.(For a super brief overview of my experience, check my intro thread:
http://dreamcancel.com/forum/index.php?topic=3040.0, but for the purposes of this post, treat me as a complete noob with no experience except knowing KOF and SF notations including up to, but not limited to, KOFXIII and AE2012.)
Alright so I grabbed KOFXIII on Steam a week ago because I've been itching to play it. I could have gotten it for the X360 but alas, no Gold sub. Anyways, I spent a few hours just perusing through various articles and threads about the game including character selection. Many people say that the entire cast is balanced, and because everything revolved around your execution and not some gimmick, the game is one of the most honest games out there (if not THE honest game out there).
After that, I've pretty much picked my team on the sole basis of who I remember from playing older KOF games and Fatal Fury, plus a few picks based on looks and movesets. I've actually come up with 5 picks, top 3 being Mai/EX Kyo/Leona, and the other two being Shen and Kula. Mai and EX Kyo (plus BODY-GA) because they're the ones I picked back in KOF98, Leona because I wanted to learn a charge character, Shen because I wanted a barebones character that still had amazing damage, and Kula because I well, she looked cool (and come on, Evangelion color swaps all day).
After that giant intro, finally here are my questions:
1) I am aware that while everyone is balanced, there is still the issue of skillcap, utility, and matchups with picking characters. I'd like a bit more information on the characters I have picked, and what I should be careful about using them as a new player. This will help me either revise my team, or adjust my style a little bit.
2) Knowing that KOF is an offense-based game, and my playstyle usually going for aggressive rushdown (but can play zoning characters that aren't complete turtles like Dhalsim), I'd like a top 10 picks list with disregard to their skillcap (except Ash, because I hate the character, and I heard he's got very little return from how hard he is to use).
3) Right now, I'm not spending too much time playing against people. Usually I'll get invited by a friend, but that's it. Majority of my time is spent doing drills in training mode. This includes BNB w/ mixups, low hitconfirm drills (crouch + random guard), and specific to Leona, HD Moon Slasher -> [DC] -> Grand Saber -> EX V-Slasher -> NeoMax. Any other ways to improve within training mode?
4) Watching EVO footage of KOFXIII is super hype, especially this year's. I'd like to know a few more mid and high-level player streams. I've really only got JuiceboxAbel on the guides/tips side, and the CafeID twitch channel for the higher-level side (though it's almost hit or miss with the KOF content).
That's about it, really. I hope I'm not asking too much here. Might come off as too serious, but I call it being earnest ;D