Just another newbie who needs help

[Okidoki_Sir]

Hey everyone,

first of all: If this is not the best place for the following stuff, please redirect me to a better one.

I grabbed BB:SE for my Vita 6 months ago, started playing, got intimidated and put the game aside to continue Monster Hunter. As I got bored on a train ride last week I started playing it again and it caught my interest once more. But this time I want to do it right. I got a couple of questions, I hope you can help me

1. How to choose your main? I really like Blazblue and I like all the characters from what I have seen now, but on the same side I hate them all :D Whenever I start challenge mode with Arakune I think "Man, why are you trying this? Mu would be way more fun". This happens with all characters in both roles, so give me some inspiration how to take this really important decision.

2. How limited are my opportunities as a vita player? Am I able to all the stuff without an arcade stick?

3. How to train your fingers? This might sound ridiculous, but do you do some kind of exercise or something like that to stay in shape? I feel very slow and unprecise. Apart from that: Is there a special way to put your thumbs on the controller in order to operate faster?

4. How important is frame data for beginners? Where can I find it?

5. Is there a better place for information than here? Obviously I can't lurk around everywhere, so maybe someone knows that from his experience.

6. Thanks in advance!

edit: I played ~300hrs of Soul Calibur 2. No other relevant figher experience

[mAc Chaos]

1. Well, if mechanically they don't appeal to you, try playing story mode and see which ones you like personality wise.

2. Not sure about that, but it's definitely less precise as using an arcade stick or a controller. But then again I think the Vita uses controls that were adapted for it.

3. You train your fingers by just playing and trying to do the combos a lot. It's always difficult, but just like playing an instrument you get the hang of it after long enough.

4. Frame data isn't that important at first; what you need to know is what all of the moves your character does are, and become aware of using them. Once you do that, you can start going deeper into the frame data which can tell you things like, how quickly a move happens compared to other moves, or how much recovery there is on a move so you know if it's safe to do anything if you block an enemy attack.

5. Nope, Dustloop 4 lyfe. Also the frame data is on Dustloop.

[Silmerion]

1. Just play around until you find someone you think is cool! Seriously, no rush here.

2. You'll probably be fine. You might have a slightly harder time with some of the more advanced stuff, but in general I don't think you'll be too crimped.

3. Rote repetition. That's really all there is to it - eventually, it'll be muscle memory.

4. Not all that important. If you want to learn it it won't hurt you, but it's not as though it's a priority.

5. No, this is pretty much the place.

6. You're welcome!

[Ctrlaltwtf]

1. Best way in my opinion is to just try Challenge mode until you find one that has combos you enjoy performing.

2. I can do everything on my Vita I could do on the 360. I highly recommend you try using the D-Pad instead of the analog stick. The analog stick is great for non-fighter games but it's so small on the Vita it's hard to use it precisely. The D-Pad on the Vita, however, is REALLY nice for fighters. It's nice and loose without feeling imprecise, and every time you hit a direction it has satisfying "click" to it just like an arcade stick. I've played a few matches online, and the lag was pretty much identical to consoles, which is rather impressive.

3. Play a guitar.

4. Not important, at the end of the day making the right judgements is what matters. (That means that no matter how knowledgeable you are about frame data, it won't save you from Inferno Divider)

5. Can't think of one. YouTube is a good enough source for combo videos though.

[Okidoki_Sir]

Thanks everyone

1. I already played challenge mode with most of them. Some have combos that seem impossible and some have combos that are "just" hard :D Someone told me that these aren't the combos which are used in "real" battles anyway. So how to find the good ones? Searched the forum, there are like 3742394 threads. Is there some good collection?

2. Yeah, I already prefer the pad over the analog stick. But some moves are really hard to do, like: "right down right" (displayed as a "z" on the pad in the command list). "Left down left" works just fine. Propably just training, which is needed here.

3. You got a point there.

4. Okay, so I will do this later. What should I focus on instead?

5. That's great

[Osuna]

Place your thumb on the center of the pad and tilt it around directions with minimal sliding, I place my joint over the center because I find it easier to to quickly rotate my thumb closer to the base. Visualize what you have to do with your thumb and get it wrong a lot. At the start it is kinda like learning to do the Vulcan solute for the first time. You might have trouble coordinating your hand to do something unfamiliar, but it learns how if you keep trying so you don't need any special training per se.

I'm a pad player myself and that's how I experienced fighting games when I got started, and I have Terrible hands. I have literally dropped the controller mid match because I'm only really trained my thumbs to do what I want, but I can compete seriously.

I've checked out a vita though and they are pretty nice, at least there wasn't anything I could not do on it when I tried it. Depending on hand size you might have to worry about hitting the stick, but it seemed to transfer over from a good controller pretty well, so I don't think it is any more of a disadvantage. Frame data isn't important exactly, but if you're the type who likes to study to improve your results it can be a very useful source of information. If the game isn't available to test or check something it nice to be able to bring up the frame data and figure it out, but you're on a vita so that might not be a big deal like it is for me.

I hope you find someone you genuinely enjoy playing. I bought the first BB just to play Tager.

[Ctrlaltwtf]

4. Not getting hit by Inferno Divider.

[Okidoki_Sir]

4. You mean like that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccUqhJAlhjA ? :D

And @Osuna:

Thanks But if place my thumb in the middle of the pad my keypresses are pretty unprecise. But again this is just training, right?

edit: Question on the video: Why is the right one gaining heat while the other one is not? Or ist this fake?

[WillWork4Instal]

A person who plays the Portables! I like you!
It's alright that you play with Vita. I started out playing on the PSP. The arrow controls make it easier to input IMO, so if you like it that way, that's okay.
The main difference between the real competetion is that they play consoles. Be warned, because on console, you move more freely than you do on the portable games. That's what spoils you. You may have some adjusting to do when playing on consoles. Also, I prefer the four arrow buttons as opposed to a joystick. It seems to give one less control that rolling your thumb around.
1. Picking your main should be of ease to you. I tried all the characters, and found Tsubaki was comfortable at a beginner's pace, and got gradually better when getting more competetive. Jin should be a the first stepping stone; he has projectiles and a vary assort of special (and using 25 heat to upgrade them like in most games). He has a decent reach with his normals too, so try him and see what you like. If you like using the projectiles, choose a zoning character like Nu or Rachel. If you like using the sword a lot, you can go with Ragna or stick with Jin. If you like punishing characters (like using Jin's counter special), try Hakumen. If you want to be faster, try Tao. If you like closer action, go for Makoto or Tsubaki. But it's up to you.
2. Being a portable player limits you, and isn't really regarded highly. But I mainly play portable, so that's fine. I find it easier that you can stare down at the screen and at the controls at the same time. Hopefully PS Vita can play the PS3 in CP, because it will make it portable friendly. (that, and I want some salt when a player uses portable and wins)
3. A lot of practice (That darn P word pops up). PSP and Vita are fairly simple to grasp (especially PSP). But Xbox controllers and joystick are harder to use. Try getting comfortable with the portable controls, and then move foward.
4. and 5. are already answered.
Good luck!
And no, I totally haven't been waiting for a portable user to ask for help

[Okidoki_Sir]

A person who plays the Portables! I like you!
It's alright that you play with Vita. I started out playing on the PSP. The arrow controls make it easier to input IMO, so if you like it that way, that's okay.
The main difference between the real competetion is that they play consoles. Be warned, because on console, you move more freely than you do on the portable games. That's what spoils you. You may have some adjusting to do when playing on consoles. Also, I prefer the four arrow buttons as opposed to a joystick. It seems to give one less control that rolling your thumb around.
1. Picking your main should be of ease to you. I tried all the characters, and found Tsubaki was comfortable at a beginner's pace, and got gradually better when getting more competetive. Jin should be a the first stepping stone; he has projectiles and a vary assort of special (and using 25 heat to upgrade them like in most games). He has a decent reach with his normals too, so try him and see what you like. If you like using the projectiles, choose a zoning character like Nu or Rachel. If you like using the sword a lot, you can go with Ragna or stick with Jin. If you like punishing characters (like using Jin's counter special), try Hakumen. If you want to be faster, try Tao. If you like closer action, go for Makoto or Tsubaki. But it's up to you.
2. Being a portable player limits you, and isn't really regarded highly. But I mainly play portable, so that's fine. I find it easier that you can stare down at the screen and at the controls at the same time. Hopefully PS Vita can play the PS3 in CP, because it will make it portable friendly. (that, and I want some salt when a player uses portable and wins)
3. A lot of practice (That darn P word pops up). PSP and Vita are fairly simple to grasp (especially PSP). But Xbox controllers and joystick are harder to use. Try getting comfortable with the portable controls, and then move foward.
4. and 5. are already answered.
Good luck!
And no, I totally haven't been waiting for a portable user to ask for help

Awesome, thanks man But I did not really get your point with the staring at the screen and at your fingers. How is that an advantage? Apart from that, if I really fall in love with this game and stay tuned for some serious amount of time I will use my spare money to get a PS3/360. But at that time I already want to have a main I can win some matches with.
I tried Jin but he is too much of a sissy for me. I would love a character which has medium speed, medium power, medium length combos, interesting look, is not overplayed like Noel, does not rely on gimmicks or projectiles (having them is always nice but overusing them sucks) and is just awesome and not too hard to learn. Sadly there is no such character in BB :D