Confused and afraid... Also new!

[EntropicByDesign]

tl:dr - I'm new. Hi. Also help. kthx.

What's shakin folks? Name is Entropic (or, ya know, John). 33, live in the US (Kentucky) and play on PC. Steam name is EntropicByDesign (add meh) Pretty new to fighting games in general, a few months ago I bought MKX when it first dropped, then since it was largely a pile of steaming idiocy on release, I moved over to SFIV. Ive played about every other competitive fighting game there is on PC at this point, just trying to feel out what I like and what I dont. I had bought KOFVIII as part of a Humble Bundle probably a year before and I opened it, I dunno, once. I made the STUPID assumption that since it was an older game that I had never really personally heard of, that it was likely dead. So, I opened it that one time and button mashed my way through some Story Mode, or Arcade Mode, or something, I don't remember. I DO remember my jaw hitting the floor when I saw the game in action though.. I personally think it is the best looking fighter I have ever seen or played. Other than thinking it was BEAUTIFUL , I played a couple hours and then never again. At the time, I had NO IDEA what a competitive fighting game really was.

Well, fast forward to now.. I play primarily SFIV at an average-ish level but have found myself getting bored with it. I like playing with people I know, sitting in Skype or a voice chat and such and everyone I was playing SF with flaked and lost interest, or didn't take it as seriously as I did. When I started completely mauling everyone and they found out I practiced an hour or so a day they were utterly flabbergasted, like the idea of *practicing* a game was so profoundly insane they could not comprehend such a thing. I tried playing vs online randoms, but thats just not as fun.

So. Enter KOF. Once I became familiar with SF I looked up some videos and very basic information on KOF and what I saw, although impressive, also scared the shit out of me. KOF has a reputation for being a difficult game to play with a pretty crazy learning curve and pretty difficult execution requirements.. That scared me off for a long time. I have bad hands and execution is ALWAYS something I struggle with. That being said, I have popped in and out of KOF, just sitting for 10-15m at a time in training mode, grabbing a random character or two and tinkering, not really looking up combos, just running through moves and getting a feel for the game itself. It grew on me steadily and Ive been looking up past EVO and tournament vids and trying to catch streams on occasion. That basic information gathering has led me here. I'd like to put some time in to KOF if possible with the hopes that whenever VIX drops, I'll have some background in the series and already have my feet under me.

Now, normally I struggle, I mean STRUGGLE, to settle on a character in any game I play. Not because I like so many, but because I like so few. KOF is different. At least from a practice mode/arcade mode standpoint. I have ZERO match experience vs a human. I enjoy SO many of the characters its crazy. The way the game moves and looks and feels is just incredible.

My issue is, I dont even know where to start. After this post, I'm going to find the appropriate section on the forum and make a post to get some information and advice from the vets, and if Im lucky, maybe find some other KOF PC players who would be interested in kinda tutoring me a little bit. Ive gone through the vids and such here on the site but it would be pretty great to find an experienced player who was interested in taking on a student

[desmond_kof]

Welcome to the forums. Your name looks familiar, I think maybe I've seen you around before.

The easy way to get started is to just...get started. Pick characters you think look cool then go from there. Not sure how long you've been watching KOF streams since 2011 but all the top players usually go from character to character each year with their teams, so it might take you a good amount of experience before you find characters you are comfortable with.

Also, every month we do a matchmaking online session called Steam Battles. We do a different KOF game every few weeks but our KOF13 sessions have had very crazy turnouts (over 20+players). We have players of different skill levels and areas in the USA (and abroad) join us, so if you want to expand your friends list and find a good sparring partner, I highly advise you to join us the next KOF13 steam battle.

[EntropicByDesign]

I absolutely will, that sounds great.

If my name is familiar, you may have seen me on TYM, or in a handful of streams. If you've played a batshit Decapre in SFIV with Entropic in the name somewhere, may have been me.

Im slowly narrowing the list down, trying to find a place to start. I really want Maxima to have a spot on my team, and Im liking Kyo. I got a recommendation to check out Terry, so planning to goof off with him a little in a bit.

[BodyOrgan]

I DO remember my jaw hitting the floor when I saw the game in action though.. I personally think it is the best looking fighter I have ever seen or played. Other than thinking it was BEAUTIFUL"

This pretty much sums up why XIV needs to look good, and not that crap we're looking at right now.

"I played a couple hours and then never again."

I conveniently left this part out of the above quote

I'll add you on Steam, and send some recommended players your way which should help you pick it up.

[EntropicByDesign]

Thanks a ton man.

I am getting pretty hyped up for XIV.. I cant wait to see what they have so far.. on.. is it the 5th? I think I read that somewhere. Yeah, I saw the original trailer for the game and cringed. It looked like a REALLY GOOD mobile game.. Which is terrible, lol.

If they want to move to a 3d setup, why not do something like GG XRD, that, to me, is the second best looking fighter I have ever seen next to XIII. Im a sucker for pixels though.

I dunno, I'm a newcomer, hoping to get my foot in the door and kind of 'find myself' in the FGC. I play everything, but very little sticks. I started with MKX, then SFIV, 3rd Strike, I have BlazBlue and GG (Not xrd sadly) on PC, KOFXIII, Rising Thunder, lol... But nothing but SFIV has really really grabbed me except MKX a little (for all its criticism the game can be a ton of fun) and KOF.

One issue that Ive run in to is I kinda feel like Im stuck in limbo.. With the exception of MKX, all the games that really interest me are towards the end of their lifespans with a new title looming a few months down the road, so its hard to just say "OK I AM DEDICATED I WILL BLEED TO WIN" when the game will be 'replaced' with its newer version soon-ish. Now, obviously XIV or SFV dropping doesn't mean people just stop playing the previous title(s) but it will take a chunk of the community away, at the least for a few months, and if the game(s) are as good as we hope, the primary player base, and newcomers as well, will migrate to that game, effectively ghost-towning their older sibling.

Of course, learning XIII will only help me in the long run and thats what I intend to do, but I just mean its hard to kick off my shoes and say 'Im home', when I know I have to game-swap before too much longer.. and in a game like XIII, in 6 months, I'll barely be past the surface in terms of skill and what there is to learn.

Please dont take this for bitching. Im just ranting on my fighting game ADHD these days, lol.

[BodyOrgan]

I understand your sentiments. I'm only just now approaching the level that I can compete with tournament players, and they drop XIV on us.

It's my fault; I've had the game since it's console release and only started to get serious about a year ago. Until the Steam edition dropped it was nigh impossible for me to level up because the local scene had long since moved on, but thanks to Steam I've leveled up quite a bit.

Sounds like you only play on PC so playing XIII may not be as bad as you think because XIV looks to be a PS4 exclusive for a while. I myself don't have any plans to move onto the newer console generation, so I'll probably be stuck with XIII until XIV drops on PC.

[EntropicByDesign]

I'm not sure what to do about a console.. GG Revalator is coming, along with XIV and I'd hate to be behind the 8 ball on them. I dunno, I don't want to stretch myself too thin on games but I have always wanted to try GG out.

I have had plans to make SFV my main game but in all.honesty, as it sits right now, I don't care too much for it. Its early yst and I have high hopes, but SFV has lost its guaranteed spot.

[The Good Loser]

I'm not sure what to do about a console.. GG Revalator is coming, along with XIV and I'd hate to be behind the 8 ball on them. I dunno, I don't want to stretch myself too thin on games but I have always wanted to try GG out.

I have had plans to make SFV my main game but in all.honesty, as it sits right now, I don't care too much for it. Its early yst and I have high hopes, but SFV has lost its guaranteed spot.

Give Guilty Gear Accent Core R+ a go, its on steam and sort of the same price as kof XIII and has the biggest Roster. KofXIV may be a PS exclusive but i doubt it won't come to Steam. (Killer instinct should be coming to PC as well tho)

[EntropicByDesign]

I have GG R+ on Steam, just havent found anyone to play it with, so hadnt ever gotten in to it. I'll probably play Milia or Axel (Axle? Cant remember spelling..)

[The Good Loser]

Added you on steam. I got R+ too and i know a few others that have it as well. Naturally Kof too X)