Street Fighter 6 victory screen showing poster Giaddon earning master rank for E. Honda
Street Fighter 6 stats screen showing 202 wins out of 284 battles for E. Honda for ranked phase 11
Street Fighter 6 is the first fighting game I've taken seriously, and it's been quite a fun learning process. At first I wasn't really that competitive, and figured I was just in it to mess around in casual fights. But eventually I caught the improvement bug (I really got into it around when Viper was released), and I got a few characters to diamond: Elena, Sagat, Terry, and Honda. I was having the most fun with Honda, so I decided to just focus on him and see if I could make the run to master. And I did!
Most common matchups were Ken, Akuma, and Alex. Didn't see a single other Honda, Lily or Dhalsim.
I play with classic controls, using an 8bitDo M30.
I realize master is just the beginning of the "real game", but it feels like a good time to take stock and feel proud at how far I've come.
Skills in order of importance:
- Being OK with just blocking sometimes.
- Counter DI. I was surprised that even in high diamond folks really do just hit the DI button.
- Anti air. For Honda that's usually his heavy punch, but whatever your character you need to be able to lock down air approaches.
- Learn your opponent. Do they like to jump? Do they like to throw? Do they like to use fireballs, lows, overheads? So much is muscle memory that if you see your opponent's pattern you can disrupt it.
- Vary your approach. The inverse to the above point. If last time you attacked low, try a jump. If you did a headbutt, do a butthead. I mean buttslam. This is where the mindgames come in.
- Watch high level play! I spent a lot of time watching master+ level replays (there's a ton on YouTube) to learn new techniques and get insight into different characters.
Have fun out there, fighters!