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Is Very Hard mode a reliable way to prctice?

In MK9, my way of telling that im ready to play online was if i can beat expert without losig a round.

Well expert in Mk9 is very easy imo. In this game though, i feel that expert in mk9 is equivalent to "hard" in Injustice.

I say that because hard is pretty simple.. But very hard....!!!! Yeah, no words.

What do you guys think? Has anyone gone through very hard without dying?
 

Komatose

The Prettiest
It could help you out with a few things. You can practice your AAs, rushdown and most importantly, defense. So I don't see why it wouldn't be one out of many ways of training to play other people. As for me, I only completed the ladder once and that was on easy because I just wanted to see what you would get or what would happen. Not to sound cocky, but I didn't need to test on the computer or AI or anything, I just practiced my combos and everything else came naturally.
 

CCVengeance

The one guy hoping for Kai
Lol it better be good since this is my only real-time match practice at home.My online is poor and I dont think I'll be able to go to an offline tournament for at least another 6 months.
 

TheSpore

Nurgle Chaos God of Death and Disease
In MK9 I always practiced with the AI in expert and right now I am gradually making my way past playing in medium. Practicing on the AI is good practice it will teach base mechanics and help you gain a better understanding of your main(s). Though you must bear in mind the AI plays each character the way they were intended to be played, real players don't always do that. A good example is Mk9's Kabal, people love the Nomad Dash cancel and using it to cause pressure as well zoning mix ups with the razor and the gas blast. The AI could give two shits about the Nomad Dash Cancel...

Again though its good to do, also spend a lot of time in thetraining mode it has so much more to offer than MK9 ever had. Hell I would even go as far as to say its better than SSFIV's.
 

9_Lives

Noob
Most people online are retarded atm. And are then baffled upon getting hit by 35-40% combos. If you find someone from tym, you'll have a good training partner, I bet. The very hard ladder is harder than any AI I've ever faced in MK9. The expert Rain has nothing on any of the characters I ran across while playing through my set of 10. I've yet to finish the whole thing without losing. My play improved a lot as soon as I went through.

In short, you'll get more mu exp from an AI than you would from joining a random koth or a player match, unless it's someone you know to be good. The AI Deathstroke does not zone very hard though, so you may not get the best experience from fighting him, but the point still remains.
 

Dizzy

False Information Police Officer
Premium Supporter
NetherRealm Studios
As for actual play, very hard doesn't help much. The AI successfully blocks every 50/50, techs every throw, avoids every zoning attempt, etc. I think it may react in 1f to whatever you do since as Aquaman if I try to b12 (9f) as superman is approaching me, he will trade with f2 (8f) every time.

Playing very hard just resorts to you exploiting something that the CPU will fall for every time. Such as getting frame advantage then doing another string. Like as batman you can make them block bats, wait a fraction of a second, then do a string and the CPU will fall for it due to how its programmed.

In other words, no. I also messed around with MK9 Expert CPU and they had the same issues but wasn't nearly as cheap. I like playing CPU to practice my combos as opposed to doing it in training sometimes.

A good example is Deathstroke vs Very Hard CPU Killer Frost. Any low gun is jumped, any high gun is ducked and if you try rifle she interrupts it with Iceberg. I can assure you that does not resemble how a real person fights Deathstroke, lol
 

TheSpore

Nurgle Chaos God of Death and Disease
@giantqtips(love that name)- if you are on PSN I would be more than happy to train with you I still have a long way to go myself as well, the same goes with any of you I have two names online The_Spore666 and Son-of-Slaanesh.

Just add me if you like
 
If you can beat the game on very hard you can best the average scrub online...just saying.

I have been practicing on very hard, just mostly defense and some combo situations. It's actually pretty decent AI compared to most games.
 
As for actual play, very hard doesn't help much. The AI successfully blocks every 50/50, techs every throw, avoids every zoning attempt, etc. I think it may react in 1f to whatever you do since as Aquaman if I try to b12 (9f) as superman is approaching me, he will trade with f2 (8f) every time.

Playing very hard just resorts to you exploiting something that the CPU will fall for every time. Such as getting frame advantage then doing another string. Like as batman you can make them block bats, wait a fraction of a second, then do a string and the CPU will fall for it due to how its programmed.

In other words, no. I also messed around with MK9 Expert CPU and they had the same issues but wasn't nearly as cheap. I like playing CPU to practice my combos as opposed to doing it in training sometimes.
lol, with Cage, end a combo in nutpunch and straight up charge the B2, they'll block the whole time and eat the combo.
So dumb haha
 

Buffalo

Bison of Beat Downs
I'd say to some degree it is, but you don't want to get used to it. Like someone said, use it to practice things like anti-airs and defense. However, like every other fighting game, if you play it too much you're gonna start developing bad habits because you're too used to the patterns and reactions of the AI. There's only so much an AI can do and a human can do infinitely more.
 

TheSpore

Nurgle Chaos God of Death and Disease
I'd say to some degree it is, but you don't want to get used to it. Like someone said, use it to practice things like anti-airs and defense. However, like every other fighting game, if you play it too much you're gonna start developing bad habits because you're too used to the patterns and reactions of the AI. There's only so much an AI can do and a human can do infinitely more.
That is so true, look at it form a programmer's POV, the AI is built on a large series of loops, and often the AI will use patterns that most players will never even consider doing EVER, hell the other night I was just fighting the AI on very hard on training just for a lil fun and I got up to go burn a smoke, when came back the AI had me in the corner doing the same string over and over again.
 

Espio

Kokomo
Lead Moderator
It helped me a lot in MK9 I'd do an arcade ladder on expert before I played online, I'm sure it's great practice for Injustice as well :).
 

xenogorgeous

.... they mostly come at night. Mostly.
not worth .... only for fun purpose :confused:

the AI in Very Hard is "controller-read", what means that reads your input control and react properly, the same way MK2 very hard was in old times

You can see that seeing how Doomsday , in the IGAU demo, link and chain some combos, in a way that is almost impossible to do; I think a human player , even being a top pro competitive , cannot replicate the same gameplay pattern the AI in Very Hard mode in IGAU, does all the time

The frame advantage issue is almost non-existent, since the AI in Very Hard, doesn't need to waste that "split second" deciding what to do next, since it reacts according what you did first (attacking or defending) .... if you attacks, the AI try to defend the better way possible ..... if you block low for example, it tries to do or end combos stuff with an overhead option, so, I don't think it's a parameter to emulate real matches ..... only works maybe, to train some little degree os speed of reaction, perhaps .... :(
 

Rampage254

Ayy Lmao
It could help you out with a few things. You can practice your AAs, rushdown and most importantly, defense. So I don't see why it wouldn't be one out of many ways of training to play other people. As for me, I only completed the ladder once and that was on easy because I just wanted to see what you would get or what would happen. Not to sound cocky, but I didn't need to test on the computer or AI or anything, I just practiced my combos and everything else came naturally.
Hush. You're sounding cocky.
 

TheSpore

Nurgle Chaos God of Death and Disease
To me the AI is a good opponent when your trying to just get the feel of using a new character you normally never use.