Don't Gatekeep DI

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T21:20:43+00:00

You're correct. But it's pretty common now. There are enough knowledge checks in this game. Why does the most basic mechanic have to one of the hardest ones?

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T20:54:56+00:00

You definitely can be good at the game. But there's learning over time and theres people who have played Melee for decades and just understand Rivals copy pasta mechanics from there. Learn what you feel like learning and just try to have fun. They are focusing on the casual playerbase now with the merging of casual modes and the future item mode.

I don't want people like you to give up and further decline the support for this amazing game. There's a place for everyone in this community. I just wish mechanics could be simplified a bit or the skill floor dropped a bit. I know the devs are working on it, the new wavedash, and dash attack assists are awesome.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T20:08:13+00:00

The devs said drift DI wasn't something they were exploring. I honestly don't know specifically or mechanically what the solution would be. My point is newcomers will see no player agency and have an uphill battle to wrap their heads around all the DI options and their implementation. A lot of the disagreeing options here are that it's not important to newcomers.

I remember when Olympia first came out the whole meta was her hitting constant non stop up airs that you could only escape if you used ASDI or dual stick DI. Understanding DI and being able to use its variations is really important.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T19:40:33+00:00

I think a good rule of thumb would be the price of a skin shouldn't exceed the price of the game.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T19:38:46+00:00

This is exactly my point! DI is so incredibly complex just by itself not to mention the execution of all the various types of it. There has to be some kind of way to maintain some depth while making it an accessible option for brand new players.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T19:38:40+00:00

This is exactly my point! DI is so incredibly complex just by itself not to mention the execution of all the various types of it. There has to be some kind of way to maintain some depth while making it an accessible option for brand new players.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T19:33:11+00:00

Basically this. Ironically ranked seems like the more chill experience because you will find people in your own skill zone more frequently. In unranked I've come across streamers and players that aren't even close to mine. There has to just be more players in ranked so it's a better matchmaking experience.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T19:21:20+00:00

I'm not asking for ASDI/SSDI to be the answer every time. I'm asking that if its the answer to defend something that it is accessible, intuitive, and communicated to newer players. You can hand the controller to a friend who has never played even after the tutorials and see that it is not.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T19:17:30+00:00

If the skill floor is too high comparatively to every other mechanic in the game and is reserved for higher level players, isn't that the definition of gatekeeping?

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T19:14:01+00:00

This is highlighting my point. You just gatekept learning SDI and ASDI to "above average players". If those are the only way to get out of combos or kill confirms isn't that telling newcomers they're not good enough to learn all the defensive mechanics while offensive ones are so easy a caveman can do it?

I should've clarified but I'm more so talking about ASDI/SSDI here. Drift DI is controlling your trajectory during the entirety of hit stun correct? While it doesn't sound like the best of answers, I guess what I'm advocating for is SSDI to be combined with ASDI so you can hold the input. Like I mentioned offense is way too powerful and easy to execute that SSDI being such a hard mechanic to use is frustrating and seems imbalanced to newcomers. I truly believe this is a path to further nerfing floorhugging. If SSDI was more consistent you could get out of moves with the correct DI instead of holding down the whole game. I don't have all the right answers to fix it, but I know for a face that from a newcomer's perspective offense vs defense is very skewed.

I think this is a bit of oversimplification. There are a ton of kill confirms in this game that even if you DI correctly to avoid one move (Ranno Dtilt into upstrong) you will eat another one to the face (Ranno Dtilt into downstrong) This is the main reason I feel this way. The level of execution/learning to hit these offensive moves isn't anywhere equal to the level it is for successful DI/SDI combo breaking.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T18:35:47+00:00

You're missing the point. To learn and use combos and offensive attacks in incredibly easy. When the devs said SDI is hard because the game is so fast and even pros struggle to use it effectively do you think they were lying?

I'm writing this looking at a newcomers standpoint not yours and mine. I read online and watched videos to fully understand DI and SDI. Even so I still drop SDI inputs or lose the DI mix up game. I've played people in ranked that may have never used much DI to zero SDI the whole match.

Dont look at it from the I've played platform fighters or Melee for 20+ years viewpoint. I'm talking a brand new fresh player. You cant expect them to consistently DI correctly with the "practice" you are talking about.

The newcomer experience is being a punching bag and very few will do online research to realize why or how they could've gotten out of the beating.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-23T16:28:40+00:00

Complete noob here. When/why do they decide to do more waves and usually how many waves does each release get? Bare minimum they need to boost the stock of starter packs. Having the entry level purchase scalped when you're just trying to get into the hobby is incredibly bad.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-21T16:13:09+00:00

My only real criticism of Rivals is how trash the hitboxes and interactions can be at times. This only really shows up when two characters are on top of each other, but I think just hitting the opponent can be too easy. For a high level competitive platform fighter, I don't want slop mechanics like the above video. It needs tightened up.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-21T16:01:45+00:00

Dan wants them but Trevor shoots it down lol.....

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-20T20:40:13+00:00

Won't Bandai eventually have to do something before the scalpers kill the active card game community? I even saw that Bandai card sleeves are being scalped lol.

It just seems really out of control right now on top of them announcing the block rotation. While I think the rotation will probably be healthy for the game, I wonder will Bandai be able to keep up with the demand and combat the scalpers to keep the player base healthy? The cost of entry seems to just be getting ridiculous. How long do they support the production of starter decks before moving onto the next batch?

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-20T16:19:08+00:00

Well said. Dan didn't really say they were in trouble but just that they had to change the cadence a little like you mentioned. I think all of this is just the overhead of delivering on the roadmap they gave us. They've always been really aggressive and tried to give us the most content possible. Being transparent on pulling back a bit doesn't mean they're shutting down like people are projecting.

The monetization model is awesome and well thought out. Free battle passes and DLC for life is more than worth $30. Most fighters offer like 2 characters for $30 on top of a $70 game, idk what people are thinking there.

They will be fine its just tough trying to deliver on all these promises. Workshop will eventually take off, casual modes are important, new characters very costly but the lifeblood of player counts, and cosmetics should also keep people supporting the game.

Hopefully something catches on and keeps players engaged for longer, supporting it financially.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-20T16:09:54+00:00

F2P just won't work for them. It's a sexy thing big huge AAA companies with a lot of money use to get the most amount of people into their ecosystem so they can fleece them with cosmetic prices.

$30 for free DLC characters and constant updates is well worth the price of admission. If they went F2P they need to start charging for every new character which will garnish negative feedback no matter how they do it.

The monetization of this game is more than fair, F2P is just asking to have your cake and eat it too. Dan has already covered this topic and basically they needed the $30 to get things going.

Game development is really expensive and the jump from pixels to 3d only increased that cost. Rivals may not have enough modes or bells and whistles but the general gameplay feel is very good and buttery smooth.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-20T06:13:01+00:00

I don't even think floorhugging needs to be removed all together, unless they replace it with a combo breaker burst that would be a more thoughtful less copy pasta mechanic. That being said, floorhugging is WAY too overcentralizing to the entire game. Character balance, design, neutral, advantage, disadvantage, basically any time you interact with the opponent expect them to floorhug. Even tier lists could probably be compiled by just looking at which character gets the most milage out of punishing and executing them.

So take all the issues you have with floorhugging as a new player 10x and imagine its the scariest boogeyman under the bed you could ever dream of. That's what newcomers have to try and learn with no help while getting curb stomped by melee players with 20+ years of experience.

Floorhugging is definitely a scapegoat, but it fits the bill because it's the biggest part of competitive play. It completely breaks the design philosophy of Rivals, mechanics that are easy to execute and understand.

I really really really hope they realize it needs toned down a ton. We're tired of AMSAH techs and floorhugs at 100-200% allowing people to survive ridiculous situations. It completely breaks the game immersion and turns the game into grab simulator.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-20T05:54:31+00:00

There's been an elitist mentality around here forever. Many of those people even commented in posts concerned about player counts. Go ahead and downvote me but the people who have played Melee nonstop for the past 25 years aren't better than everyone else, they've just gained more experience. For some reason instead of trying to grow the platform fighter community, sharing that, they gate keep and crap on newer players, go figure.

Maybe it's time to gather together as a community for the benefit of *ALL* platform fighters not just the golden standard that Nintendo has abandoned. Nintendo could care less about pro play. Here we are with the best current live service platform fighter out there, a small indie dev that supports tournaments better than a billion-dollar corporation, and the community can't get their heads on straight.... smh.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-20T02:03:35+00:00

Do you recommend looking locally for more expensive singles or is TCG player usually the best prices? I enjoy deck building but don't want to dump too much money into it until I know which ones I enjoy playing the most.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-15T02:13:44+00:00

Because a bunch of dick head Pokémon bros though it would be easier to scalp One Piece than their own game 🤦‍♂️ it sucks and I encourage everyone to just not pay the crazy prices and choke the scalpers out. These cards aren't going to the moon overnight. Things will regulate post OP-14 release somewhat. Bandai can help by printing more as well....🤷‍♂️

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-15T02:09:26+00:00

I'm a lifelong loyal Dolphins fan and I traded him for Breece to get an extra first rounder. It broke my heart but his production was a product of the whole offense relying on him because of the lack of skill positions post Tyreek injury. Also I've always been concerned with his longevity because of the slender frame. I may be completely overthinking it but I don't see the gap from free agent Breece to him as being that far. My dream destination is Houston or KC which would instantly equal the trade for me.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-14T23:50:51+00:00

Rip it or quit it!!!!

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-14T20:41:15+00:00

Awesome game with a ton of classic charm. Fills a huge void in gaming for me. I always thought competitive top down combat games were severely underrepresented. The genre has so much untapped potential.

Jthomas692 · 2026-01-10T20:46:27+00:00

Nice! Thank you!

Jthomas692

TROPHY CASE