David Kong is here to answer your noob questions!

[massi4h]

Thanks alot both of you for the advice and so fast as well. I really respect this game and in the future I plan to take it as serious as I take marvel (my main game atm).

I tried out EX Iori and definitely this is a character for me. Even has a rekka (though the frames say that it's pretty unsafe, can I not poke with it like I would do with Fei Long?)

And I tried a bit of Kensou and I like his fireball, dp and he has combos that look pretty simple. A low standing B sounds like a great option, but his floaty jump makes it look like it will be hard to open people up. But I'll give him more of a go I guess.

Right now it's looking like either Kensou/Athena/EX Iori or Athena/EX Iori/Mr Karate but I'm unsure about the order I should put the characters in.

Also would you guys have any top players that you could recommend me to watch and see how they play these characters?

Once again thanks for the help

[9inchsamurai]

I'm having trouble practicing hit-confirms. In other fighting games I would go to training mode and set the dummy to Random Guard, and practice hit-confirms that way. But in this game it seems the dummy won't block high unless they're standing, and won't block low unless they're crouching (when set to Random Guard anyway). So this means I can't practice doing high-low mix-up strings with short hops and jumps and stuff like that (at least in Training Mode). How do other people practice this?

[davidkong07]

Honestly, I believe that simply practicing your combo starting from multiple variations will help you hit confirm. For example, with King I practice cr. B x2, st. B, slide, tornado kick as well as the same combo, but only starting with cr. B x1 or just starting with st. B.

In all honesty, the absolute best way to practice hit confirms is playing against other players. But, if you lack a local scene, being a training mode monster will also help you improve your confirms eventually.

[Duggish]

@9inch: I know what you mean, for that particular kind of practice after you know your combos and want to practice high low confirm stuff, i just use the computer.  playing vs the computer to train specific things like that is probably the only use out of any fighting game cpu so far heh. 

[Aervid]

Hey David (and other thread responders) I've been grinding the game out for the past month and have definitely improved, however, all grapplers seem to have my number...hard (especially Raiden). The main grapplers have really good air normals, such as Clark's/Raiden's/Maxima's/Daimon's j.CD, and they also have pretty good ground normals, and as grapplers, are scary as fuck on the ground.

My team is usually composed from some of the following: K', Kyo, Shen, Maxima, or Billy. As such the only one's I can kinda zone with are K', Kyo, and billy to an extent, but most of my team is rushdown focused. To me it seems that in the close range, I can easily get command grabbed (on the ground or air). In the mid range, their hop CD is a big threat, which I usually try to beat with pre-emptive neutral hops/jumps, and my team does not excel at long ranges.

Thus, my question is, are they really that intimidating to fight and what are some tactics I can employ to stand a chance? Thanks guys

[davidkong07]

First off, analyze why you are losing life to grapplers. Are you actually getting command grabbed? Or are you being hit by normals because you're trying to avoid command grabs?

Remember that command grabs, in theory, are not any different than any other option in the game, such as an uppercut or a low. You can punish a grab every single time, so realistically, your opponent should be just as afraid of grabbing as you are of getting grabbed.

With that said, some people get hit by tons of uppercuts because they get punished for not blocking. A command grab will PUNISH YOU FOR BLOCKING TOO MUCH. Practice alternate guarding and neutral hopping to counter command grabs. And as for any matchup, the key rule is to stay patient and do not be afraid. Even if a grappler is up close, this does not mean you're necessarily at a disadvantage. Never get afraid, and look for your key opportunity to blow up whatever option they are going for.

Also, block clark's jump CD, because that move is really really good.

[Aervid]

First off, analyze why you are losing life to grapplers. Are you actually getting command grabbed? Or are you being hit by normals because you're trying to avoid command grabs?

I watched a couple of my replays and it really is a combination of both. Once I got command grabbed a couple of times I would try to keep my distance or backdash on my wake up--this is when they would normally start to pressure with jumping CD or other really good normals

Remember that command grabs, in theory, are not any different than any other option in the game, such as an uppercut or a low. You can punish a grab every single time, so realistically, your opponent should be just as afraid of grabbing as you are of getting grabbed. 

Never really thought about it like that. I'll try to keep that in mind!

A command grab will PUNISH YOU FOR BLOCKING TOO MUCH.

I also noticed that I do tend to block too much. As a result, I noticed in my replays that I often get tick thrown, even by non-grapplers. I think if I can keep in mind the situations where I get thrown, I'll be able to neutral hop preemptively.

Also, I respect their command grabs too much, even on their wake up. Even if I do get a knockdown, I tend to back off and not push my advantage due to the fear of a reversal, but this is something that I need to work on in general (really safe-jumping in this game is something I don't have a good grasp on but I'm getting there).

Also, block clark's jump CD, because that move is really really good.

Would this be the case with Raiden's and Maxima's as well? Their CDs seem just as dominating and using meter as a punish doesn't seem very cost-effective in most cases haha.

Overall,when up against grapplers, I play too conservatively and don't push my advantage. And once I start getting hit, I turtle up which leads to me being command grabbed haha. As you said, I should start neutral hopping more since I would sometimes backdash but I would be unable to punish their command grab attempt.

Hopefully next time I come up against a grappler I'll be able to implement some of this things and fair a little better. Thanks for the reply David!

[davidkong07]

Yes, Raiden and Maxima's Jump CD's are also really good. These jump CD attacks hit crouchers and grant them lots of block stun. This allows them to get in and continue pressure after you have blocked them. Realizing this, many players attempt to hop out/away, but in these cases you eat the damage and they still get to get in. Don't lose patience, be willing to block the jump in and defend against the mixup, or uppercut it if you have the right move.

[necronomiCRON]

I think grapplers tend to be predictable with their grabs. It's the unpredictable grapplers that I would be scared of. I don't know about XIII but in 98 most grapplers have certain situations which are ideal for grabbing. Just try to assess the situation and act accordingly. You can beat any standing command grab with a hop. Use this to your advantage.

[DJMirror949]

I'd say Kula, Athena, Kyo is a stronger order. I don't have any tips for getting through survival.

Sorry David but I think Athena, Kula, Kyo is a stronger order imo because Athena does better than Kula without meters

[goldenxcross]

I'm not really new to fighting games, but I am new to getting a competitive edge in one.  Recently picked up Kof XIII after Evo, and I really do love the game.  I am just getting so stuck on practicing: I feel like after practicing for only a short session, I start losing focus, and get extremely frustrated.  I know the inputs are a lot stricter in this game compared to SFIVAE for instance, but I feel as if I have beat myself over the head with the same basic combos, and I cannot get them down, nor can I sit down to practice for more than like 30 minutes at a time.  Any advice on staying focused, or to make practicing more bearable and less like I'm just smashing my head into a wall?

[davidkong07]

I'm not really new to fighting games, but I am new to getting a competitive edge in one.  Recently picked up Kof XIII after Evo, and I really do love the game.  I am just getting so stuck on practicing: I feel like after practicing for only a short session, I start losing focus, and get extremely frustrated.  I know the inputs are a lot stricter in this game compared to SFIVAE for instance, but I feel as if I have beat myself over the head with the same basic combos, and I cannot get them down, nor can I sit down to practice for more than like 30 minutes at a time.  Any advice on staying focused, or to make practicing more bearable and less like I'm just smashing my head into a wall?

First off, don't get discouraged! I can tell you from first hand experience that I know exactly what you are talking about. Everyone has trouble with combos when first starting out. My advice is to break down your combos to the smallest pieces possible. For example, the combo might be, jump C, close C, fwd A, special move. If you're having trouble with it, practice each piece of it separately. Start off with just jump C into close C over and over again. Then close C into fwd A, etc etc.

If this is too boring for you to do in training mode, then try practicing this in arcade mode. This way, at least you can unlock some colors as you practice lol. Also, I have to say that in this game, training mode is essential. You will NEED to spend lots of hours in training mode to be able to land the harder combos in the game. If practicing the same combo over and over starts to bore you, then stop for a few minutes and just go crazy! Set your meter to infinite and see what kind of wacky setups you can find. Don't hesitate to experiment.

[KnightKinetik]

If practicing the same combo over and over starts to bore you, then stop for a few minutes and just go crazy! Set your meter to infinite and see what kind of wacky setups you can find. Don't hesitate to experiment.

I agree with this. Sometimes some of the things you do while trying to do crazy/wacky stuff can be carried over to your proper/practical combos or setups. It can also allow you to understand your character more, just through trial and error discovery.

[goldenxcross]

Thanks!  I will try this out next time I sit down to play.

[droX]

Hi David and every body,
I finally decided to start learning HD combos... I thought they were only for elite players but i am motivated now...
I don t really understand how it works:I train cr lk cr lk HD on training mode with Benimaru, sometimes It begins HD only with moving forward , sometimes with lk sometimes with a hp ^^... I tried with having B and C on one button, it is the same thing...
Can we activate the mode after a special move in a combo or is it only with normals and command moves?

I m actually playing ash mr karate and benimaru in this order... What would be the first (understand the easiest) HD mode I could learn?

Thanks for your answers guys!!