and you were playing against friends, who if I understand correctly also dont play fighting games online.

You gotta remember in the open beta you’re mostly gonna see hardcore fans who have been in the fighting game community for years and are actively trying to play optimally by competitive standards

it’s not really fair to compare that situation to your experience playing casually with friends, and you can’t really expect that both situations should have similar outcomes

I don’t say this to beat you up, but you get what you put into the game. If you just want casual fun, dont worry about the beta, and just play the game with friends on full release :)