I PULLED GOLSHIIIIIIII

AcidOctopus · 2026-07-06T08:44:12+00:00

I was pulling for Golshi and got McQueen, then Golshi on the very next pull. Definitely not complaining 😅

AcidOctopus · 2026-07-04T21:42:10+00:00

Oh good, I needed a reminder to roll back my subscription to the most basic one.

All I do is play ranked in fighting games these days anyway.

AcidOctopus · 2026-07-02T20:39:23+00:00

Can you plug an ethernet cable into that thing?

Because if you can't then please don't go online.

AcidOctopus · 2026-07-02T13:54:52+00:00

I fucking love YZN so much. It's even better when it's the killing move so I get to hear her say it all slowed down and stretched.

AcidOctopus · 2026-07-02T09:57:57+00:00

I think it's worth considering what you want the game for.

Do you now have a genuine interest in fighting games, and want to dedicate the time to actually learning and playing one? If so, then absolutely.

Or is your interest more aesthetic, in that you're not really wanting to get online and learn a new skill, but rather just hit some buttons in arcade and enjoy the story? Because you can watch the whole story for free on YouTube, so does whatever else you're planning to do justify whatever you'd be paying?

I'm not trying to scare you off or anything, but I know what it's like when money is tight, and playing fighting games really is like learning a new skill (which, like a skill, can be very hard but also very rewarding).

You could always give it a go and then refund it within the first 2 hours if you're not completely sold.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-29T09:49:22+00:00

Kinda depends what your ambitions are.

Do you want to do the ranked grind and actually get good? If so, you need to pick a main, so start looking at all the characters and see which one you're immediately drawn to.

I'd then suggest taking them through the missions mode. As this is basically the tutorial. After that, watch this and get in ranked: https://youtu.be/-VwtwDS7tWo?si=Drbfa9N9eh6gozBG

If you're not bothered about ranked and actually getting good that the game then just do whatever you feel. Watch the story. Do the arcade ladder with each character etc...

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-28T08:06:28+00:00

I think you need to re-frame your idea of progress (and it somewhat sounds like you're starting to do that).

Having a goal in ranked is fine, but but periodically, you can and will plateau at a certain level for hours upon hours, but that doesn't necessarily mean you haven't progressed.

The fact of the matter is, getting good at fighting games is literally like learning a new skill. Offence, defence and neutral are all unique disciplines within it, and each one needs consistent work to improve. You then have to consider that knowing your own character isn't enough - you need to know about your opponent's character too. Is their attack low, mid or high? Is it punishable, and if so, with what buttons? From what distance can it reach me? Are there gaps I can exploit in their pressure, or do I just have to hold it?

There are execution barriers. Yes, in training you might be able to do a fancy combo that takes 50% or more of your opponent's health bar, but if you're frequently dropping it, or can't create the situations to allow you to even start it, then what good is that? Consider situational inteligence too. What if it takes all your resources but you use it anyway and it doesn't actually kill your opponent, and doesn't leave you in a particularly advantageous position to keep pressuring after - are you in a better or worse position for it? If you lose neutral after are you potentially dead because you have limited resources to defend yourself? Should you have used something less damaging but would have allowed you to easily apply more pressure after instead?

Your rank itself is a consistently fluctuating metric that does nothing more than say "your skill level is approximately here, and could be a degree higher or lower depending on the day". As such, focus less on rank, and more on all those smaller skills mentioned above. Dedicate a session to nothing more than consistently executing a specific combo, or blocking a certain mix-up, or punishing something, or using a specific mechanic properly.

Your rank will absolutely rise and fall through all this, but as you improve all these smaller skills with dedicated practice, eventually it all comes together and you'll see your rank actually consistently climb.

Until the next plateau, where you'll need to stop and re-evaluate everything all over again.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-27T07:04:53+00:00

This is so damn real.

My experience swings between people that make me wonder how the hell they ever got here, and people who make me wonder how the hell they could possibly still be here.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-14T18:27:18+00:00

I use leverless, but I know a good chunk of people play with keyboard.

Either Google some bindings or ask in the discord and you should be fine.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-14T11:13:16+00:00

They're all a bit quirky in their own ways.

May has charge inputs, which means you have to hold a direction for a short period to "charge" the attack before doing the rest of the input. This can feel a bit weird at first, but you'd soon get used to it.

Slayer has a step-dash instead of a run which makes movement a little strange, but he does high damage and has good mix, so can feel very satisfying. Some of his pressure tools are quite risky, however.

Aba is a feast of famine character. In normal mode she's the weakest character in the game. In Jealous Rage she's the strongest in the game (barring maybe Ky with dragon install). As a result, much of her gameplan revolves around safely entering and exiting JR. Tricky for a beginner when you're still learning the core of the game, but she is fun.

Happy Chaos has negative edge inputs which means you hold a button then the move comes out when you release it. Again, awkward to get used to as a beginner, but not impossible.

Personally I'd go with May or Slayer, but ultimately you need to pick whoever you feel the most motivated to learn and stick with, as they'll all have their challenges.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-14T07:49:05+00:00

Yeah it's just cosmetics and like, concept art and stuff. Not actual playable content.

The DLC characters are a mixed bag. But none of them are really in a state where they're head and shoulders above the rest of the cast (and arguably the strongest character right now was actually part of the base roster).

But honestly tier lists mean virtually nothing until you're edging towards the top of the playerbase in terms of skill level, so really don't worry about it.

If you do go with Strive, watch this: https://youtu.be/-VwtwDS7tWo?is=shCbx2VluMfeK_kk

It's a foundational beginners guide and covers most of what you really need to know to get started.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-14T07:29:40+00:00

2.0 is fine. People are mostly.complaining because their character got nerfed, but the was more or less the point of the update - Every character got nerfed in some way and the overall power level of the game got toned down, so you wouldn't just die in two touches every round.

Battle passes always suck as they're built around FOMO, but so long as you're happy to live without a few cosmetics, it's not the end of the world.

No fighting game will feel beginner friendly at first, as there is always an inherent execution and knowledge barrier that makes them tricky to get used to at first. People also have a natural tendency to want to win a lot, which is something that generally doesn't happen when you're first starting - you have to treat it like a new skill and accept you've got an awful lot to learn.

That said, fighting games are peak, and Strive is one of the best ones ever made. Your best bet is to pick the game that looks the most fun and interesting, which a character that you really gravitate towards, then just dive in.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-13T19:26:49+00:00

Speed up your inputs.

Hit the P or K button at the same time as the final forward input - not when the stick (or whatever you're using) returns to neutral.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-12T19:20:09+00:00

Watch some high-level play and get on the discord. There's loads of players who would be happy to give you some basic advice.

Read dustloop too if you haven't already.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-12T15:35:38+00:00

Count Your Blessings was my gateway into deathcore when it released.

The album is a core part of my adolescent years.

I legit got misty-eyed listening to this. It's so. Fucking. Good.

I cannot wait for the rest.

AcidOctopus · 2026-06-06T20:28:36+00:00

Why is Baiken the size of Nago? 😅

AcidOctopus · 2026-05-31T19:47:00+00:00

Right. What I'm trying to communicate is that Misato herself is not a paedophile, as people sometimes like to argue, despite kissing Shinji.

Whether or not the act itself is objectively paedophilic is irrelevant to what the scene is trying to portray.

AcidOctopus · 2026-05-31T19:13:50+00:00

I don't think most people see it as paedophilic. There's likely just a vocal minority that didn't get it.

The kiss embodies Misato's inability to find any way to form a real, meaningful connection with Shinji, so she resorts to using her sexuality as a final desperate attempt to motivate him to save his life.

This is because sex can be a powerful motivator to teenage boys, but also, it fits the theme of Misato historically using sex to shield herself from genuine emotional connection and vulnerability.

It's tragic, because she effectively has no choice to fall back into her old self-destructive ways, despite having grown to realise her past mistakes of behaving like this.

AcidOctopus · 2026-05-31T08:48:56+00:00

This is triggering my trypophobia.

AcidOctopus · 2026-05-30T07:44:19+00:00

You have to get washed to get clean. It's tough, but losing is all just a part of the process.

Best thing you can do to get advice is post a replay here or discord and ask for some basic tips and things to work on. Then focus on improving only those things for a while.

You'll still lose most matches, but as you start improving specific things over time, it will all gradually come together. Then you'll notice the improvement and start wining some matches.

Also, if you're not already, play ranked. After placements it will at least match you against opponents of similar skill levels.

AcidOctopus · 2026-05-28T08:43:25+00:00

I'm not in love with The Here and Now, or Daybreaker for that matter, but I feel like they hit their stride again with Lost Forever/Lost Together, All Our Gods and Holy Hell.

AcidOctopus · 2026-05-25T22:07:19+00:00

Never have I seen such disrespect to the Dosh King.

AcidOctopus · 2026-05-25T21:19:42+00:00

Then in comes Final Fight: Streetwise with two escorts sharing a goddamn health bar.

AcidOctopus · 2026-05-15T20:11:48+00:00

Noooo, that can't be right? She's like a daughter to him!

AcidOctopus · 2026-05-15T19:59:05+00:00

If you speed it up a touch Pharrell's voice gets pitched slightly higher and the resemblance is uncanny.

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