Question I feel like i've hit a roadblock in my struggle to level up

[Invincible Salads]

i know playing a lot of ranked probably doesnt help. but my biggest problem is being able to read the opponent when im on the defensive. It always feels like they know what im going to do, yet i have no clue what they will try. When i try to make a read, 95% of the time its wrong. Even if i know the MU its still really hard unless its something extremely obvious.

I don't know, is making reads something you can get better at? or is it one of those things where you either can do it, or cant? Its almost never what i expect it to be.

 

[MindOfKareem]

i know playing a lot of ranked probably doesnt help. but my biggest problem is being able to read the opponent when im on the defensive. It always feels like they know what im going to do, yet i have no clue what they will try. When i try to make a read, 95% of the time its wrong. Even if i know the MU its still really hard unless its something extremely obvious.

I don't know, is making reads something you can get better at? or is it one of those things where you either can do it, or cant? Its almost never what i expect it to be.

I feel as if i am ALSO in this state right now so i think i know how you feel. As far as Making Reads Goes, it's just really about Learning all of your opponents options so that you can counter that. Alot of characters have setups in which you can force your opponent into situations that limit that opponents options in which then you can make an educated guess. {i.e. Hard Knockdowns, Standing Resets, Corner Game ect.) Its not ALWAYS easy obviously, but it helps alot really.

I dont know how much this will help but if you have any further questions OR wanna play some sets, here is my information

Twitter - MindOfKareem
PSN - MindOfKareem
XBL - RichHomieLao

 

[JTB123]

I felt like I had a similar issue not too long ago and what helped for me was breaking down the situation and looking at every possible outcome then basing your read on that. One thing I found that helped was to always commit to a read no matter what, a lot of the time I would second guess myself at the last second and do something else only to find out my first thought was actually correct and if I had just committed to that I would have been fine.

Match up and character knowledge plays a huge part in this, if you're fighting a character you're not familiar with then making reads is tough as you don't really know what is in your opponents head at a given point. Once you have the basics down then it's very likely your reads will improve.

Try to think more about what you would do in a situation also and see if that helps. Sometimes when it comes down to the wire the only thing between a win and a loss is that final read and if you don't know where to start think of what you would do in that situation and take it from there.

I do think some people have a gift for reading people and it comes easier to them, for example it can take me 4 or 5 games to notice something about my opponent that other people would notice in a round or two. Try to make at least one observation per round at first and then gradually try to increase it.

One last thing is to really analyse your own reads when they are wrong, I think a pitfall many fall into is just to chalk it up to "oh I guessed wrong, whatever" when infact it was more your opponent reading your next move correctly.

It's the hardest thing to improve on if you're not someone who automatically picks up on stuff so just keep at it. Watching people who are great at this can also help.

 

[JerzeyReign]

I'm in the same boat and I'm starting to fall down that tunnel of just dropping the game. I'd really just like someone to show me the intricacies of the game. Getting beat up teaches me nothing in this game. I get told "don't do this" but never get the "why or what should I do instead" answers.

Pretty eager to learn and quick learner but the "begging for tips" routine is wearing me thin. I hope you guys find someone that helps you push through.

 

[Invincible Salads]

some of it might have to do with MU' knowledge like you said, but i've been thinking , sleep deprivation could also be a cause too, that and i do have a pretty bad habbit of 2nd guessing myself a lot.

now that i think about it, it might also be because im someone who likes to try and be 2 steps ahead of the other guy. And when it comes to fighting games your better off being only 1 step ahead of them. Assuming that the Yomi has gone deeper than it really has can get you wrecked just the same.

 

[countrypistol]

Reads are difficult in MKX, especially when defending, due to the high number of 50/50 options, strength of jump ins and the ability to run. Whilst recognising an opponents patterns and adapting is still possible, players with strong offence and mix up games can easily turn your blocking into a guessing game with a number of true 50/50's and throws (and even then, teching a throw becomes a 50/50).

Playing ranked doesn't help as it is only one match. Consider tournament players. Lots of great players lose their first match in a best of three, but in doing so they gather information they can use to exploit their opponent, and end up winning the set. Ranked play denies players this opportunity. It also promotes reckless play, where you use all of your mix ups to win the match, hoping to catch your opponent off guard, instead of training them to expect something then doing something different, effectively slow rolling them.

If you want to develop your reads, play sets against players in the lobbies.

 

[EMPEROR PRYCE]

Hey man. I had this same struggle, except with a different game (marvel). One day I had realized the mistake I was making.

Fighting games aren't about what you can do, its about what your opponent can do. Let's break down a few situations to begin with.

Let's say you're fighting Quan Chi at midrange, right inside his overheads area of effect. I know that he is unlikely to zone, and if he jumps back its a perfect opportunity to rush down for me. I also know his only threat is overhead, so I am weary of this defensively. If he wants to open me up, he has to run at me, which is what I'm reading.

Let's break down his options:

Overhead is his main option

Run in grab or run in low

Jump back/jump back skull. Which will give me advantage.

Knowing his options, I now have a basic read on what he is capable of. And in doing so I've got a strong defense. Hope that helps

 

[BigMacMcLovin]

Hey man. I had this same struggle, except with a different game (marvel). One day I had realized the mistake I was making.

Fighting games aren't about what you can do, its about what your opponent can do. Let's break down a few situations to begin with.

Let's say you're fighting Quan Chi at midrange, right inside his overheads area of effect. I know that he is unlikely to zone, and if he jumps back its a perfect opportunity to rush down for me. I also know his only threat is overhead, so I am weary of this defensively. If he wants to open me up, he has to run at me, which is what I'm reading.

Let's break down his options:

Overhead is his main option

Run in grab or run in low

Jump back/jump back skull. Which will give me advantage.

Knowing his options, I now have a basic read on what he is capable of. And in doing so I've got a strong defense. Hope that helps

I think this sums it up perfectly. You have to remember though that playing online isn't the best place to train and grow. Given the latency issues it makes reads a bit harder since what you see is always a few frames behind what is actually happening. I guess that means don't be too hard on yourself.

 

[bumpyface]

I like to think that I'm half decent at this game. I have a long history with fighters. I think the best advice I could give is KNOW YOUR OPPONENT. Utilize the practice mode, not just to practice strings and combos, but select the characters you have difficulty with so that you can learn what can be countered and how to counter it. Memorize an attack that you can execute at the start of a match. For example, if I'm using D'vorah, a lot of times I can get a down 3, or 4 off which will swing momentum in my direction. Also, check out what the professionals are doing and apply some of it your game.

 

[MindOfKareem]

Hey man. I had this same struggle, except with a different game (marvel). One day I had realized the mistake I was making.

Fighting games aren't about what you can do, its about what your opponent can do. Let's break down a few situations to begin with.

Let's say you're fighting Quan Chi at midrange, right inside his overheads area of effect. I know that he is unlikely to zone, and if he jumps back its a perfect opportunity to rush down for me. I also know his only threat is overhead, so I am weary of this defensively. If he wants to open me up, he has to run at me, which is what I'm reading.

Let's break down his options:

Overhead is his main option

Run in grab or run in low

Jump back/jump back skull. Which will give me advantage.

Knowing his options, I now have a basic read on what he is capable of. And in doing so I've got a strong defense. Hope that helps

UHHHMM... Quan has a low starter... all he has to do is walk for, rather than jumping back.... and if he jumps back he can just shoot an instant-air skull...

 

[bumpyface]

UHHHMM... Quan has a low starter... all he has to do is walk for, rather than jumping back.... and if he jumps back he can just shoot an instant-air skull...

Yeah, Quan's B3, 2, 4, or 4, 2 is like one of his main combos and is starts with a low, guaranteed to do 30 + damage if not broken or dropped. Quan is a PROBLEM offensively. He can zone or rush down. I think the best option against him is get inside as he is weaker in terms of defense and wakeups.

 

[GLoRToR]

i know playing a lot of ranked probably doesnt help. but my biggest problem is being able to read the opponent when im on the defensive. It always feels like they know what im going to do, yet i have no clue what they will try. When i try to make a read, 95% of the time its wrong. Even if i know the MU its still really hard unless its something extremely obvious.

I don't know, is making reads something you can get better at? or is it one of those things where you either can do it, or cant? Its almost never what i expect it to be.

I believe it might be one of three things.

1. You're too busy figuring out what YOU'll be doing to recognise what the opponent will be doing.
2. You're not confident enough.
or
3. You're acting out of habit.

The first one will pass once you are more comfortable with your game, which is when the third might become an issue.
The second one is something you have to figure out for yourself.

 

[EMPEROR PRYCE]

UHHHMM... Quan has a low starter... all he has to do is walk for, rather than jumping back.... and if he jumps back he can just shoot an instant-air skull...

It was a simple answer. Obviously it goes more in depth than that, but as a beginner the OP can take small things and work at them one at a time. If I was going to go full in-depth on the match up, I would've posted it in the match up thread.

Also. Quan overhead and low don't have the same range whatsoever, from certain ranges he doesn't have all his options.

 

[Spencer]

Yea 50/50s combo starters and 50/50 throws

And all you can do is guess... Yuck

 

[MindOfKareem]

im aware aswell... i never said his B2 And B3 had the same reach... i just said if you were close he now has that option

 

[roosTakk]

Im in the same boat. I was good at MK9(imho) and Okay at Injustice. I am mediocre at best at MKX. My solution is to drink. Heavily. And curse NRS

 

[GAV]

i know playing a lot of ranked probably doesnt help. but my biggest problem is being able to read the opponent when im on the defensive. It always feels like they know what im going to do, yet i have no clue what they will try. When i try to make a read, 95% of the time its wrong. Even if i know the MU its still really hard unless its something extremely obvious.

I don't know, is making reads something you can get better at? or is it one of those things where you either can do it, or cant? Its almost never what i expect it to be.

Watch the best players you can and try to figure out what they're trying to do. How they branch off will be obvious.

What do they do when there is no clear way to go?

 

[EntropicByDesign]

If its been mentioned previously, my apologies, I didn't read the entire thread. I'm pretty there is a pun on there somewhere..

Negativity bias can be an issue in situations like this. You remember the reads you missed, not the ones you hit.

Learning to read your opponent is absolutely a skill that builds with time. Reads are just educated guesses and as you learn more and more about the game and specific circumstances, the education behind the guesses becomes better. You also learn how situations play out and what people are likely to do, etc.

Again though. It is 110% a skill you build. To practice it, I'd do like I do to practice anything in these games, and that's to try to play to accomplish specific goals and not to win. My play ALWAYS improves the most when I spend a couple weeks learning and working on a specific aspect of my game, vs everything at once and trying to win along side it.

 

[flawless]

Online definitely isnt cutting it for me. Its a big uphill battle using mileena aswell. I dont know the whole cast yet, just the more popular ones.

Theres about 1 in 10 times i play decent with reads and shut down some offense. Then the rest of the time i do dumb shit out of habit and get bodied.

 

[FrankenCow]

Trying to make good reads in FT1 scenarios like ranked matches relies on more heavily on match up knowledge than anything else I'd say. Usually making good reads means keeping track of the habits, patterns, and set ups of the opponent; making an educated guess of what they will do, and baiting/countering appropriately. That usually takes multiple matches.

What's helped me is watching my previous matches and identifying points where I failed to stop my opponents offense. You gotta ask yourself a few questions. Could you have escaped via armored reversal, delayed wake up, wake up back dash etc.?
What happened immediately before this exchange? Did you fall for this more than once? Taking a spectators perspective will allow you to see solutions you weren't aware of mid-fight. If you regularly find these problems and test your options against them in practice mode, you will be more mindful of the options the opponent has and be able to make the appropriate read during the fight, when it really counts.

Now I'm not at all godlike with my reads or match up knowledge, but I think that dissecting these situations that require a read is the best way to confidently make that read. A read is simply an educated guess unless you're psychic. Having the match up knowledge increases your chances of making the correct read as there are standard/common set ups and strategies characters utilize. Only extended sets and knowledge of specific players habits can further increase your chances. It also helps if you have options you can do on a read that cover multiple options they got.

 

[Solignac]

Try a different character. A character, no matter where they are in the tier list, will speak to players that have developed certain habits, play-styles, or played other characters or games in the past. Pro-players do it all the time. If you're not jiving with your current character, there's nothing wrong with starting fresh. I'd encourage you to try to consciously drop your old habits that you feel are getting in the way, get a new character, and take a fresh perspective on the game before you give up entirely.

Not only will you learn more match-ups by learning another character, you'll familiarize yourself with some of the nuances of the game that can only be seen through certain characters.

It never hurts to break down to fundamentals. Don't try to do max damage combos all the time. Do what is simple and will net you guaranteed damage so you soak in the big picture instead of "I gotta land a hit and do my big combo". Work on controlling your space in the neutral game by improving your footsies. Learn when to use the run and when to stay on the defensive. Back in the day, you'd have to watch shitty tapes of good players or go to events to learn what is optimal to do, now you can see the best players in the world by watching streams or past events on youtube.

Make sure you actually know the basics of the game. Do you know exactly what to press to combo break? How about that there's 2 kinds of techs on a throw, one for forward throw and one for back throw. Try the tutorial to refresh basics.

Most importantly, have fun. If the game is frustrating you and you never have fun, take a break. If you see the same thing occurring, move on. What's the point in getting better in a game if you rage every-time you play it?

 

[Invincible Salads]

um...i wouldnt exactly say im a noob at this game anymore, and i already use plenty of characters and am learning their matchups. The problem is the same for me across the board, Changing to yet another character won't change a thing.

 

[Solignac]

um...i wouldnt exactly say im a noob at this game anymore, and i already use plenty of characters and am learning their matchups. The problem is the same for me across the board, Changing to yet another character won't change a thing.

Man, it sounds like you're starting to overthink the game. You care too much about winning. Just pay attention to your mistakes and take in what your opponent is going to do rather than what you should do.

I come from a SF background and that game there's a lot more defense sometimes. Try different levels of aggression. You have to be willing to armor through when on the offense and bait things. I always played too defensively and in this game you just get opened up pretty quick.

and I wasn't calling you a noob, I just mean you're thinking too far ahead. Ketchup said you need to walk before you can run. Go back to basics again.

 

[roosTakk]

I think my problem is that im trying to play MKX like im playing MK9....that combined with bad habits..Dont know how to get out of my rut either.

 

[AeWhole]

I think my problem is that im trying to play MKX like im playing MK9....that combined with bad habits..Dont know how to get out of my rut either.

I come from a MOBA background that rut is what they call tilt (New to FGC I'm sure everyone knows tilt though). It's something that happens when you're too involved or too tired to compete.

Baiting spells and favorable auto attack trades in a solo lane could be loosely compared to fighting games I think. The reaction speed in MOBA's isn't about timing at all it's just, "Do it fast!", I think that's the main difference. Sometimes people just throw their best spell/move and open themselves up to take massive poke on a wiff. Sometimes they hit their big spell/move and you still need to go HAM to make the trade not favorable for them. Making them think twice after a couple heavy trades. Individual tilt affects MOBA gameplay in a very negative way. It makes you scared. It makes you second guess. It makes you defensive and too safe. It clouds judgement on literally everything you do. It also gets you out of the zone and you aren't reacting to the game you're reacting to what you are thinking.

I think you need to spend an entire day just bodying easy AI with pure pressure game. No flashy combos. Just some neat and safe MUs. Don't work on this thing or that thing that does lots of damage. Just do what you know precisely and don't think about it too much. Win some really easy games and think about your day (Not the game) and get a good night sleep. Get a good breakfast go for a walk and reflect on the matches you played ,or have yet to play. Then after reflection get completely out of your head. No more thinking about this or that. Just casual, calm reactions. I am sure you'll play 100% better. Every time you go on tilt I always thought this is where I am going to get really good at this game if I can overcome this. It's a struggle with yourself. Think dark Link. You don't know how close you are to "leveling up" like you fighting gamers call it.

Tilt is a very strange thing in my opinion. I think it has to do with stress, a lot, and learning new things very quickly at a pace your brain isn't used to. But, these are my opinions on tilt. If you really like MKX and FG's in general. Don't just give up because you're on tilt. I left MOBA's because I don't have 40 minutes to play a full match and 2 hours to play a best of three scrim and 12 fucking hours a day to practice anymore. I am really liking fighting games. It's a go at your own pace, super competitive, and salty style of gaming I haven't experienced before. Also FGC is legit the greatest/nicest community I have ever seen. "Competitive" MOBA players are the fucking most toxic-shitlord scrubs you'll ever know online. I have nothing nice to say about them other than they are all scrubs except some of the older pro's and now casters.