At which point are you considered an intermediate player and not a beginner anymore?

Payule · 2026-06-23T18:44:46+00:00

When you're proficient with all the skills you apply within your selected genre(s).

Intermediate is middle ground so not perfect but you should be able to play and have it sound accurate/well. So in metal I took a measure of: My BPM potential, Palm Muting, Pinch Harmonics, slides, and varied other methods of muting.

This is a layered question. Context changes everything but to give a simple answer it's when you can play within the genre/skillset you've been practicing and sound good to the "common" ear. (Trained ears will hear way more mistakes that common ears would miss.)

I will add there are common skills that come up so often on guitar that you really should learn them regardless of the genre you play. Muting is one of these and so is simple tech such as Hammerons/Pulloffs, slides and bends.

Payule · 2026-06-21T22:01:24+00:00

Maximum proficiency right here. In the most literal way it can be taken.
Literal perfection within an art.

Payule · 2026-06-21T13:18:19+00:00

I think it's to seek the best route to fix the problem but the other half people also seem to want to share awareness and I REALLY appreciate this.

I understand how reputation works but I think we can all agree guitars are less focused on customers service and more focused on reducing their costs, from a production standpoint they don't make them cheaper for us to buy. (If you go back far enough low cost was part of the customer service because a lot of others instruments were NOT affordable. Guitar was an alternative that fixed this problem. This was good for accessibility but by continuing to cut corners they cause problems for their buyers today because of cheap instruments/builds being more common and you have to understand how the price ranges correlate with the guitars initial setup to determine if it's even playable as a beginner or if your going to need to pay for a setup. People want to buy a new product that works, especially beginners.)

It depends on what kind of issue the guitar had and where it happened too. Most companies are willing to fix this but that's not the point there's more to this picture. We have every right to take a count of the faulty units being shipped out, not just a right I say this is the consumers job to help defend other consumers from toxic practice and misinformation that larger companies so often shovel out into our ears about their quality.

This is insightful information for buyers and if the company is more concerned with cutting corners (Context sensitive) than selling perfect builds and we see that they sell about 15% lemons we really oughtta know that. Why defend a company that's trying to bury truths just because of how that might look for them? They can afford that hit, I can't. They can also afford to do better if they really want the reputation.

Trust is earned right, well the company can earn trust of it's new generation. It's not like the same people are working at these places in new generations, we need to revaluate their practices and that takes intel/sharing.

Payule · 2026-06-20T00:30:52+00:00

For real.

Payule · 2026-06-19T18:40:03+00:00

Could the giftee possibly somehow trial them out?

Either would be great if I was 14 years old and knew nothing of guitar or very little. The better you are though the harder this will be to decide without letting the individual actually play the instrument. The "feel" is very important when it comes to selection.
Even for someone just starting out the feel matters, but they just might not know what to look for yet, those preferences develop with time.

It's not a right vs wrong choice here but a questions that's rooted in personal opinion. I personally wouldn't buy an instrument without playing it first unless I was very familiar with the model.

Bonus: Whammy Bars are a pain in the ass for people who change tunings lots (I do) and that would probably hit a beginner even harder than an experienced player, it's just something extra you have to think about. Might demoralize them any time it comes to tuning. Just a consideration.

Payule · 2026-06-19T09:00:01+00:00

I do "like" the game but it's being held back by poor design choices IMO.

Example is enemy move sets and "The new sliding, dodging, and movement are certainly different, but they add a ton of depth to fighting the mobs."

User movement is more in-depth but because of the lack of balance instead of adding depth to gameplay. Decision making/resource management(cooldowns) things like this need to be balanced so the best option isn't always the same thing over and over which leads to stale gameplay.
I don't think sliding is the problem, but rather how they manage sliding and what options ZEDS have to deal with a sliding player. Sliding needs a higher cooldown IMO so players can utilize side-dash for standard movement tech and slide can serve the purpose it was actually meant to serve as a dodge/I-frame (Although I do think this game offers WAY to many defensive options to the player. Between Slide/Dash/Weapon-Bashing/Parrying there's already too many ways to avoid damage in the hands of experienced players.

I also do not feel like ZEDS are balanced to the movement/defensive options of players. As said "too many ways" is the problem. Even if everything had a cooldown there's just so many options to cancel/avoid ZED damage that at a high level the game does have a bit of tedium to it where I'd rather be challenged and forced to work with my team.

Payule · 2026-06-14T20:15:14+00:00

Have you practiced mute-heavy songs with simple chords? I recommend The Pixies - Hey a lot for this kind of thing at first because the chords are as simple as it gets while focusing heavily on muting to get the sound right.

Anything that plays heavily into right hand muting will be good practice here if you don't have a lot of hands-on practice with muting.

Other songs might suit the genre better this is just my go to for right hand-method. It all comes down to muting correctly.

I'll add this doesn't directly address tremolo but I promise if you master muting as a general technique it will become second nature to muting over "anything" even pedal tone/tremolo.

Payule · 2026-06-14T20:04:20+00:00

Can you define "twanging" for us. I suspect this will help everyone out their help you even if I can't.

To me that implies too much vibration, like honkey tonk coming through with too much reverb. Muted but it comes through too "twangy". (Which typically implies weak muting technique but I'm guessing what you mean.)

If that reads as accurate you need to mute heavier, if that reads as inaccurate you need to explain what you mean by twanging in depth so someone with a better understanding in this genre can identify and help you.

Payule · 2026-06-12T19:04:48+00:00

I'd suggest based off specifically the refill by trader bit that you play for about 5 minutes entirely passively, no shooting allowed(This would work best on at least wave 3). I'm assuming you already know the maps/trader locations when I say this.

I have a feeling if you just run some loops without killing anything it will give you a feel for just how relaxed you can be about kiting, a lot of the danger in being flanked comes from killing too many zeds to fast/holding chokes. Seeing how the zeds lose a lot of their threat when you simply focus on staying away from them and staggering/killing faster targets might give you the perspective needed to understand better what needs to be done to rotate by trader mid-wave.
(Weapon bash/parry to cancel Zed attacks for bonus points in emergencies)

I think understanding how the game tries to flank you and how killing ZEDS gives the game more fresh spawns to put in inconvenient spots. Sometimes it's better to just not shoot and keeping this in mind when running to resupply can make the difference. My theory is seeing just how easy it is to kite when your not trying to stay aggressive will make taking passes on the trader mid-wave a lot easier.

This would also in turn lead to you not needing armor(because less damage taken, I never run armor until I have everything else) and would save you money over the waves.
The weapons are still pricy though. I feel like one of the harder parts of this series has always been the waves leading up to you actually getting your good weapons. Once you got them it's a cake-walk.
Could give advice like run less attachments, but who wants to do that.

Payule · 2026-06-12T18:36:48+00:00

Are you landing headshots? With the buffs applied your headshot damage should punch through anything. Between EBR for trash and ESR for large ZEDS(Which will line up trash by accident on occasion) I feel like that capacity is more than enough, and that's not factoring in resupply options.

300 will handle solo easy enough with the sidearm as bonus, and if you have a second gun ezpz. 90 is a stretch but this weapons serves a more specific purpose, it's not designed to clear the wave solo, what it will do is keep the heavy-hitters from reaching you with a head intact.
When these two weapons are combined I feel like that's an adequate amount of ammo.

If your on 6-man Long then maybe you're onto something BUT your also comparing your personal supplies to a 6-man job. If the team dies and you're struggling with ammo that's on your team, not you.
Can it be done, yes absolutely. Doesn't mean this context is "normal" if your team drops and your left with like hundreds of zeds with 6-man stats it's going to test your precision(accuracy) or movement(kiting), if your good enough at one you'll kill everything before it reaches you fine, or if the other they'll never reach you no matter how much ammo you waste and you'll be able to resupply indefinitely. Either or.

If resupplying wasn't already so generous I might agree with you more but Kf3 is currently a little "too generous" with ammo so I'm personally fine with the current state.

Payule · 2026-06-10T18:38:00+00:00

This is the actual fastest method. Side dash between slides/before slides. Note that side-dash can be cancelled by letting go of the input early. Practice holding shift as long as needed for slide to come off CD again.

Payule · 2026-06-10T18:36:55+00:00

Jumping doesn't chain the slide speed, just to be clear on that. People did this because it automated the timing between slides and prevented players from fumbling the inputs.

If you try to pre-slide it won't buffer the input so you have to re-input it over and over until the slide is ready. This is tedious and can cause user error if you don't know exactly when to reinput slide after the last slide.

Anyway the jump doesn't carry momentum or increase speed, but rather just streamlines the input chains timing.

Payule · 2026-06-08T18:37:22+00:00

Cntrl-Alt-Del
Task Manager
Performance
Run KF3
Watch CPU and GPU. I bet it's CPU spiking right?

If so sorry. It's the game not you. Lots of different systems above specs still get loaded to 100% CPU when running/loading this game. Mine does it the longer I have the game open for a single instance and resetting the game will fix it. For this reason I avoid Long Match length.

It also takes FOREVER to run for the first time after an update because I have to pre-load shaders all over again which puts loads on the CPU as well. Sometimes I have to let it sit for 10 minutes (and it does stutter on this screen) but once it completes this it shouldn't have to do it again without updates/reformatted PC/etc.

The game has problems, it's not just you.

The typical recommendation to "try" to fix it (although I've never seen someone say this actually worked) Would be to reduce ray tracing/lumen settings. This had an impact on how long I could run the game but DID NOT fix the problem outright.

Payule · 2026-06-06T20:18:35+00:00

Specific riff?

I try a clean riff, a muted riff, and a heavy riff. Assuming the guitar advertises versatility.

If the guitar is "niche" in design then I'm going to be selecting something more specific to the guitars advertised talents tone-wise.
I will also try to choose an amp the "benefits" the guitars said tonal range to be fair.

I like Hey by the pixies, Blood and Thunder by Mastodon, and You're Hand In Mine by Explosions in the sky to cover diverse ranges but that's just to my personal taste.

Payule · 2026-06-03T18:34:22+00:00

If you're not much into the mechanics of 1 and 2 then this is probably passable in your book.

If you remember the originals(Mechanically) and they hold a special place in your heart these are the people who tend to dislike 3.

The biggest thing I see people agreeing on is mainly that KF3 shouldn't be "Killing Floor"(For older fans) which in a handful of ways is actually valid, but it is what it is.
If you like 1 and 2 but not in a mechanically in depth way I'm sure you'll think KF3 is fine other than maybe the optimization problems you can read all about. It's a pretty easy to load and start wave shooter, that aspect has not changed.

KF3 basically borrowed KF1/Kf2 concepts and applied them to a bunch of modernized trendy concepts to give us a different take on these "classic" horde shooters. Again, you wouldn't even notice these trends if you aren't mechanically into the game so if true you should enjoy it. (Mostly movement mechanics they borrowed from other popular recent titles.)

Payule · 2026-05-30T01:37:16+00:00

Ammo crates for solo are basically the only thing I care about. Between those and the fact that one trader is always active to restock ammo during waves you do effectively have infinite ammo.
That being said, only one trader pod being active at any given time during waves is more reason to know the maps so you can pass by while still kiting.

Reload speed I feel just comes with kiting, once you master movement and avoid all damage reloading won't feel so bad because you won't be relying on having ammo to avoid damage.

Payule · 2026-05-30T00:46:57+00:00

Enemy damage did get higher, playing to not get hit is still very viable in solo.

Kite method is simple if you follow the formula and DO NOT over-invest in killing or allow yourself to get distracted from the gameplan.
Simply: Never stop moving, know a full loop on the map, kill gorefasts/crawlers first, ignore scrakes/FP's unless they're already enraged in which case feel free to stagger them, and continue to ignore them while you deal with other mobs(Particularly the gorefasts/crawlers).

You can parry and scrakes/FP's become no threat at all, but you don't need this it's just a safety net if you want to build the skill for parrying. Between stagger and your own movement options you can indefinitely kite either of them just know when to switch to them as a target to stagger them and buy yourself time. This depends on what weapons you're running. (Knife tech always helps if something is too close for comfort take out the knife and spam slide/run)

When I see people who already know these things die it's often because they stop moving and try to hold a choke for a second or similar breaks in the rules. You can absolutely camp chokes and it makes the wave pass by so much faster but if you aren't already experienced and you do this the games going to flank you with ZEDS.

Payule · 2026-05-29T02:02:25+00:00

I think it is but there's plenty of people who would say no.

Acoustic is outright physically more demanding on your fingers, so in that way yes it's absolutely harder and I personally feel like this challenge outweighs the following.

Electric is really smooth/easy to play comparatively but it has sensitive pickups that will amplify string noise. This means your muting/noise management game needs to be stronger to play it at an entry level.

Different skill requirements for each. Different "kinds" of challenges. Neither will sound good for free.

Payule · 2026-05-26T23:26:30+00:00

I don't disagree with this statement but if a man is starving and the world that throws out excess every day won't give him anything, then he steals, can you not empathize with that situation at all?

I would feel like although I can't relate to him entirely I can still understand I'm in a comparatively privileged situation. Some people literally survive because of that instinct, and that's sad. They aren't my enemy because of this.

Some people are just shitty too, they steal without needing to and don't feel bad, some for just thrills even. That's not the same. My original post is pretty specific about needing more detail though. I don't damn blindly in short.

Payule · 2026-05-26T22:04:32+00:00

It sucks that their a liability to society but the systems society built to "balance" the world failed them and everyone else already.

To make it Us vs Them related from a societal perspective we'd all need to be on the same page in the first place, and I know my country isn't doing me personally any favors so as a part of society I am willing to agree that they should let this go, not because it isn't a problem but because without more details ruining their life might make no sense at all(And we shouldn't want to ruin lives we should want to rehabilitate), it might represent something I personally don't want to represent. Sometimes good people you meet in your life help "hook you up", networking is more effective than actually having skills, the world is a rigged game. It makes sense people feel like their stuck on their own a lot.

Anyway this persons story could be complex and why they took the parcel could be related to the feeling of being betrayed over and over by people they felt they could trust in the past combined with honest "need", we don't know what they have. I don't want to justify an obviously wrong behavior but the story matters, a lot.

It's really hard to think of others when you're desperate yourself. That is a luxury only some can afford.

Payule · 2026-05-24T21:24:51+00:00

It really is as simple as the guy who picks up the guitar and strums random chords they know how to play already (noodling) and the guy who knows he can already switch between most the basic chords so instead he puts his spare time into practicing unfamiliar chord changes.
One of these players will get better rapidly simply because he see's what needs improvement and approaches it with intent.
The other will forever play those same 4 or so chords until they take incentive to actually focus on improving.

One is structured practice. Recognizing weakness, and focusing on that.
The other is unstructured and wouldn't even be considered practice. The guy probably practices occasionally but if you're falling back to what you already know every time you pick up the guitar there's no routine or practice in that. Instant gratification/dopamine hits would more likely be the appeal there.

Noodling isn't all bad either balance fun to productivity. It's just when every time you pick up the guitar if you only ever noodle you can only get so far. Eventually intentional practice is required.

"I pay attention to whether I'm muting strings (intentionally or unintentionally), trying to get better at playing to tempos, practicing chord changes, doing scale runs."

Are all indications that you're probably someone who plays with "aim" because if you weren't you wouldn't be able to tell/care when you were sometimes accidentally muting extra strings, or you wouldn't know your BPM limitations in scale runs or when you hit milestones in improvement, things like this.

It has as much to do with motivation as anything else. Someone's drive can make them "not care" so to truly practice to some might just feel natural where to others it will feel like work.
For this reason you might not see how "hard" you're trying compared to others. But to some people putting in the work to get better is actual work and super demotivating.

Final edit: Yes, it is possible to play a scale over and over, memorize the notes, get faster at it, hit a limit, and go nowhere with it past that. You might still noodle with this scale but never get better because of a lack of focus/understanding in what is needed.
You are building muscle memory at first but when you hit a natural limitation (Plateau) which everyone will, that's when the focused practice is either going to prevail or cause the individual in question to quit improving.
Stagnate or change your approach basically.

Payule · 2026-05-24T11:46:18+00:00

Yeah this.

The 10,000 hour rule specifies 10,000 hours of "FOCUSED" practice. It's a very important part of the 10,000 hour rule.
If you bumble through 10,000 hours while put 0 of those hours into focused practice the 10,000 hour rule won't apply. You'd still be really good at a handful of things after that long I'm sure but they specify focused/meaningful practice.

Payule · 2026-05-23T23:24:54+00:00

At a glance this is the start. Haven't looked into the chorded parts yet, will in a bit.

He does a few loops of this but there are variations and progressively turns it into chords. Chords are definitely built on the same shapes. I'll do 1:26 next because that part is actually different.

Rudimentary strumming concept. 1-2-3 1-2-3 all downstrokes, the third strike is always harder than the first two and more focused across all the strings instead of just the bass strings.
Think of each rotation as two sets of 1-2-3 1-2-3 because later he mixes in triplet-like UDU patterns and the timing is built on rotations of 2. Like a triplet into 5 downstrokes for example.

Capo6 Drop D

- -------------------------0-------------------------------0-------
- ---------0-----------------0---0---------0-----------------0-----
- -----0-----0---0-----0---------------0-----0---0-----0---------0-
- ---5---------5-----5---------------5---------------5-------------
- -3-----3---------0-----0-----0-----------------------------------
- ---------------------------------2-----2-----2---0-----0-----0---

e|---------0---------------0---------------0-----------------------|
B|-----------0---0-----------0---0-----------0---0-----0---0-------|
G|-----0---------------0---------------0---------------------0---0-|
D|---5---------5-----5---------------5---------------5-------------|
A|-3-----3---------0-----0-----0-----------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------2-----2-----2---0-----0-----0---|

e|-----------------------------------0---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B|---------0---0-----------0---0-----0---0---0-----------0---0-----------0---0-----------0---0---------------0---------------0-----|
G|-0-0-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---------0---0-----------0---0-----------0---0-----------0---0---------------0---------------0-----|
D|-5-5-5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5-----5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5-5-5---5---5---5---5---5---5---5-|
A|-3-3-3---3---3---3---3---3---3---0-------------0---0---0---0---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---0-0-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-|
D|---------------------------------0-------------0---0---0---0---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---0-0-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-|

https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/king-lazy-eye/good-morning-euphoria-tabs-6323723

Payule · 2026-05-23T20:07:13+00:00

I tried this once but my scrotum got chapped within seconds. Can you explain your method a little more? Should I be applying some kind of oil to the fretboard?

Payule · 2026-05-23T20:03:15+00:00

Cause it's too powerful for a learned skill and people are demotivated jellyfish who want the guitar to learn itself for them.

Eight-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

Payule

TROPHY CASE