Knowledge Required To Be Good At VF????

I've been in the VF community a decade or so and I get asked this all the time.

How much do I have to learn and what do I have to learn to be good at VF?

I always ( I mean always) answer that question with this question:

Good enough for what?

• Good Enough To Play VF at Pro Level
• Good Enough To Beat Japanese and other high level Players
• Good Enough To Get Highest Ranks Online (.e.g. Skylord, Magmalord, Stormlord, etc)
• Good Enough To Make it into top 8 of whatever tournament you enter
• Good Enough To Hold Your Own Against Most Players Online
• Good Enough To Beat (brother, or sister) , friends, and family
• Good Enough To Consistently Beat Dural and game AI on Hard

After all that's the real question. It depends on how you define good. How much VF knowledge you will need depends on what your goals are and how you define "good at the game"

AFAIC there are 5 skill levels

1. Beginner
2. Casual
3. Intermediate
4. Advanced
5. Pro Level (I wanted to Dominate the ESL, EVO, and every other Tournament I enter)

If you simply want to beat family and friends and your family and friends don't know any more about VF than you do, then the answer is you really don't have to know anything. Everybody get a stick(or pad), pick a character and just mash buttons. Somebody is bound to win, and even if you don't you'll have fun in the process. Yes you can button mash in VF and get the characters to make game winning attacks! I have been at more than a few VF gatherings where this is exactly what was going on and people had fun. Congratulations: Have Fun at the Beginner's Level


If your goal is to simply consistently, and purposely beat the AI and DURAL or play competitively agains AI and Dural in the game. Then you will have to pick at least one character , learn enough of that characters moves to be able to complete the Tutorial and at least 80% of the Command Training found in the Dojo menu. You don't need any more than that. If Dominating Dural and the AI is your definition of good, then all you need is to seriously complete the tutorial, and the Command Training, You can test your knowledge by completing License Challenge mode on normal.
Congratulations: You are playing at the Casual Level


If your goal is to hold your own online against most players ( lets say that means 50/50 win/loss ratio) . Then you need to pick one of the characters that you've chosen, learn as much of their command list as you can. In addition to learning your character, you also have to learn a few things about the other characters in the game, and you have to practice against those characters in the dojo. Learning Damage Level of your Attacks and the other character's attacks, and how to defend against their throws is a good start. Practice Matchups between your character and all the other characters in the game. Learn how to defend as much as you can against AI. Stay in the Dojo until you are no longer surprised by another character's moves. And then get online take matches. Record your matches and try to learn what you did right and what you did wrong. An learn from the other player. Learn how to guard against and then counter the moves/techniques that the other player dominated you with. Congratulations: You are playing at the
Intermediate Level


If what you mean by good is to get to the highest ranks on line, then you will need a solid knowledge of the command list of at least for one character(your main), and a thorough knowledge of the dmg levels of all of the commands, and have mastered every technique that is part of VF's basic tutorial under the Dojo menu. On top of this will need to be very familiar with the matchup between you and any other character in the game, throw escapes to break their throws, attacks to interrupt their strings, and counters for their most damaging attacks. In fact mastering Matchups and understanding (and being able to execute) the right defense or offense appropriate for that matchup is one of the most important things you can do to make it to the highest ranks on line. Once you are reasonably comfortable with the vanilla matchups, then get online a play lots and lots of matches and learn, learn, learn from your defeats and victories. You'll be at Skylord in no time. At the end of the day its all about combining what your learned in the Dojo about the Matchups with the experience you gain from playing human players that will help propel you to the highest ranks on line. If you're at the top of the ranks (without boosting) on the leader boards, Congratulations Your are planing at the Advanced Level

If what you mean by good is to at minimum make it to the top 8 in any tournament you enter. To be able beat or at least very successfully challenge any top player in the world and you aspire to earn money by playing in and winning (ESL,EVO, World Tour ,etc) tournaments Congratulations: You aspire to Pro Level: Then you will need to:

• Master The Command List of At Least one Character (absolutely know what your character can/cannot do)
• Master The fundamentals of the game as found in (VF's Dojo Tutorial) and Discussed on VFDC
• You Will need a thorough Understanding of the Matchups between Your (mains) and every other character
• You will need a thorough knowledge of the Combos for your mains and the primary combos of all of the matchups
• Master Basic Fighting Style Strategies (Turtle, Poking, Rush Down, Zoning,etc)
• Master VF Frames (any additional knowledge at this point could be decisive, and frame knowledge falls into the 'additional knowledge' category)

You will need to play hundreds of matches against top players in high pressure, tournament situations
You will need to spend many hours (200+) in the dojo working out combos, escapes, setups, mixups, traps etc. between your main(s) and all possible matchups


So it all depends on what you mean by get good at VF and what your goals are. These are the basic 5 levels of players (at least in my experience) and obviously there are hybrids and an exception here or there. I point these out to those that ask me , in order to make it clear there is no such thing as one right definition for "get good at VF". There are different levels of good, for different levels of fun and enjoyment. On a side note: Some on VFDC might suggest that VF Frames is a key essential to getting good at VF. But to those folks, I simply ask what do you mean by getting good? Matchup knowledge is closely related to "getting good at VF" Personally I Divide Matchup Knowledge into several Levels:

Match Up Level Knowledge (from most basic to most advanced)

• Command List (knowing what moves the other character can throw at you, low, high, mid,distance, side)
• Damage Levels (which moves of the other character can do what damage to your character)
• Throw Escape (What Commands Do I need to Escape the Other Character's Throws)
• Reversals ( Which of my Moves can the other Character Reverse and How)
• Stages (Under what Circumstances can a matchup be influenced by the stage the match happens on)
• Strings ( The other characters strings and how to interrupt them)
• Combos and Launchers (The other character's primary launchers and primary combos and how to counter them)
• Frame Knowledge (Offensive and Defensive Advantage and Disadvantage situations, case by case)

Matchup knowledge is one of the key factors that determine skill level. The more advanced you want to be the more matchup knowledge you will need. AFAIC Frame Knowledge is among the most advanced and ancillary matchup knowledge a player can have about a matchup. Frame Knowledge serves advanced level players and pro players. The same goes for mastering matchup combos, launchers. Beginners, Casual, and Intermediate Players simply don't have a need for this level of matchup knowledge. Simply because their definition of good does not require it.

I know this could be a controversial thread topic, but I promised someone that I would bring it up to the VFDC community and find out, if anyone sees things very differently

 

I agree with most of what you said. I don't actually see anything specific I disagree with, though I could have missed it in my reading. Seem accurate to me.

 

I'm so tired of being the only Yellow here now. F U 2 @Shang @Chief_Flash.

Look here David Carradine @masterpo & Adam Yuki's Mascot @Tricky, hope you two are getting paid by Sega.

Firstly, If an idiot talks & you take it seriously that mans you're an idiot also OK. Especially the ones who love to stroke their own egos about how good or knowledgeable they are. It's simple OK.

STFU & Just Play The Damn Game!

 

Yep, to learn and play VF, you need some knowledge,............and you also need something that people forget, something called common sense.