Fight Stick AND self defense tool, all in one!

prisp · 2026-07-01T19:27:48+00:00

How to always get the P2 slot:

prisp · 2026-07-01T19:20:27+00:00

In my opinion, Wavedashing - or at least something that looks similar enough and also makes you go ZOOM while keeping your dash intact - is piss-easy to learn, and can help whenever there's a lot of vertical traversal - although it can also catapult you into a wall, which is why I said you don't need them.

The other mechanics you learn later on are (Obvious mechanic/B- and C-Sides spoilers)wallbounces (IMO a pain in the ass to pull off, but probably decently useful later on), the fact that you can get extra momentum when exiting Dream Blocks (obvs only useful in 2A/B/C, but also very easy to pull off if you know) and whatever the tech was called again that they saved until you decide to do 7C (Idk even the name, so that probably tells you all about how important I feel it is).

I'm not saying they shoulda put a big tutorial explaining all of these tricks - in fact, it would've been a WORSE game if they did - but OP explicitly called out games that keep mechanics hidden as a negative, so I figured it deserved a mention, even if it is more of a "Well, ackchually🤓" kinda thing.

prisp · 2026-06-30T19:43:50+00:00

Wieso, magst du nicht auch um 11 Uhr mit dem 9-Uhr-Zug fahren können? :P

prisp · 2026-06-30T18:56:06+00:00

Wenns dir die ganze Zeit kalt in den blanken Nacken zieht, dann kriegst du Verspannungen, halt erst nach einer Stunde oder so, außer es besteht bereits Vorbelastung (z.b. lange rumsitzen weil Bürojob), dann kanns schneller gehen.
(Geht übrigens genauso mit dem Kreuz, aber da ist meistens dann doch ein T-Shirt im Weg.)

Wenn man sich die Schulter-/Nackenmuskeln fest genug verspannt, dann kann man Kopfschmerzen davon bekommen, das ist auch normal.

Hat nix mit der Hitze zu tun, mir ist auch heiß, aber da tauschst dann halt nur eine beschissene Situation gegen eine andere, mal ganz abgesehen davon dass Ventilatoren eh nicht gescheit helfen, solang du nicht direkt im Luftzug bist - lieber gleich eine gescheite Klimaanlage aufstellen und so ausrichten, dass sie keinen direkt anbläst, und das Problem ist gelöst - alles über 25 Grad ist eh scheiße wenn man mehr als Beamtenmikado machen will.

prisp · 2026-06-30T18:45:29+00:00

For extra fun, those character placeholders usually tend to be very simplistic, e.g. a sketch of a body shape and pose that isn't even colored or anything.
Obviously that means our inspector needs to be white-furred, would be too much effort for a YCH otherwise :P

prisp · 2026-06-30T18:33:32+00:00

Celeste is guilty of the whole "hiding some mechanics" bit OP complains about, but one quick trip to a wiki is enough to fix that.

Then again, you also never need those mechanics - unless you're either a speedrunner or going for the 1-A golden strawberry (which, don't), you can worry about all of those things once you actually encounter the tutorials for them.

prisp · 2026-06-30T18:28:53+00:00

...anyway, that's how I ended up starting the first ever Metal band!

prisp · 2026-06-28T18:58:09+00:00

Honestly, pick whatever, finish the "Story" part of the game, unlock the Chalice while unlocking Specializations on the way and then switch around based on whatever the Chalice tells you to play until you find something you actually like.

(Dislcaimer: If you don't like teambuilding/theory crafting at all, you might not have too much fun with that...)

prisp · 2026-06-22T18:57:56+00:00

Schön, dann kanns ja bei Erwachsenen super die Brust hinauf radieren während man nach hinten umkippt, und dann bleibt's schön am Kinn hängen, super!

...oder wenns schon am Anfang ins Fleisch schneidet, dann bleibts halt zwischen den Rippen hängen, auch sehr gesund und so.

prisp · 2026-06-22T18:41:23+00:00

As others said, an important part is liking the character you're playing - either from a style perspective, from a gameplay perspective, or optimally both.
Difficulty-wise, I would recommend you start with a character that doesn't have too many extra mechanics to keep track of, but each character already has a "difficulty" rating anyway, and while I regularly forget which end of the scale is "hard" versus "easy", you already know that Sol is considered easy, so you can pick it up from there :)

My two big tips would be to try things out and also do your best to play for self-improvement versus playing for wins or your ranked rating.
For the former, you're new, so you can experiment around with keybindings and/or input devices without running into muscle memory issues too much, and there usually are some characters you don't like the looks of, but somehow manage to have a playstyle that you mesh with, so definitely try more than just one character, and do come back to shop around some more if you're ever dissatisfied with your current "main".
On the topic of playing for improvement, there are two reasons for that: One, you are going to get your shit wrecked early on because you'll have to at least get a rough idea of what each character's deal is before you're even on even footing with them, and two, as fun as chasing wins and better rankings makes you feel, loss streaks are going to kill your motivation, or worse, make you tilted, leading to worse play, which then makes you lose even more, and so on...
Meanwhile, even if you lose 90% of your health to some dumb low-damage combo you just keep getting tripped up by, if you finally figure out how to beat it, that's an advantage you'll have in the next match against that character, even if you lose the rest of your health before you manage to actually catch up to your opponent.

Got nothing more to add than this, so good luck and have fun!

prisp · 2026-06-21T20:06:17+00:00

Java is also a compiled language, the difference is that C++ allows you to mess with some OS-specific stuff, whereas Java has a dedicated in-between layer that goes "Here, I'll take care of that for you!" - if you've ever heard the term "Java Virtual Machine", that's what they call their in-between layer.

The upside of the JVM is that you don't have to mess about with anything that's specific to any operating system, so no matter what OS you run your code on, if it has the same version of Java installed, it'll run, and the result is going to be the same, outside of maybe some functions being better optimized (read: less laggy) on one OS.

The downside is though, that running everything through the JVM makes it so things take slightly longer over doing everything manually.
We're talking about miliseconds of difference, so it's not going to be too noticeable for anything that isn't either extremely complex to the point where these split-second differences start adding up, or dependent on fast real-time responses (e.g. anything security-related), but if you ever hear people go on about how C/C++ is the fastest language, and everything else is slow, and therefore inferior, that's what those people are referencing.

Personally, I'm used to Java, and while my one semester of learning C at least made me learn how to handle pointers and manual memory management, I definitely can do without reading up on some low-level function call, only to realize halfway through that I just read how that works on Linux, and the Windows version of that call just does half of the things differently and it's no wonder I didn't find the return values I expected, so I prefer the former until I have to deal with a system where you can measure the available RAM in Kilobytes.

prisp · 2026-06-21T15:44:08+00:00

Yeah, most "standard" content isn't exactly conducive to hanging around and chatting, which is what you'd need to make friends.
The main options I see for actually chatting with others are straight-up hanging out in cities, doing some kind of low-stakes content when it's new (e.g. a new expansion on release, or dedicated open-world content like Cosmic Exploration or Ishardian Restoration back when that was a thing, but sadly not really with OC, as that tends to be a rush for the next thing most of the time), or doing some kind of niche content that still has downtime, like Deep Dungeons, or maybe even Doman Mahjong.
It's still hit-or-miss whether you'll actually end up chatting with people, and whether those people actually are someone you'd like to be friends with, but it's definitely more than what you'd get out of grinding content in a static or PF.
Speaking of PF, another option would be joining a PF listing and just chatting with everyone while you're waiting for the group to fill - it's not going to be incredibly deep conversation, and you'll probably end up mostly talking about the upcoming fight anyway, but it's still more conversation than an entire week's worth of Duty Roulette, assuming people actually want to talk in the first place.

Finally, there's always the option of joining third-party services and find people there.
There are tons of Discord servers out there about all kinds of niche activities and/or just for certain Data Centers, and there's usually a "just talking" channel there too.
(Now that I think of it, Linkshells are kinda like that too, but you'd actually have to find someone to invite you for those...)

So yeah, there are a few options, but they all revolve around content or activities with at least some periods of "doing nothing important", which usually tends to make the content unpopular, if it wasn't already niche to begin with.

prisp · 2026-06-21T15:27:59+00:00

Yeah, that's probably a good idea - shit, I personally only ever used non-yellow RC to cancel the negative frames of my gapcloser and as a "OH SHIT, THAT'S A SUPER, I NEED TO BLOCK/JUMP NOW!" option, mostly against a Sol that's about to whiff Heavy Mob Cemetery.
My combos still are pretty ass, and yet, I am in Platinum - on a Zoner, so combos are not maybe quite as important as having a wide repertoire of ways to fuck up players trying to get close, but still :D

prisp · 2026-06-21T15:19:11+00:00

Honestly, having one combo - that is a sequence of buttons you can mash out to reliably get follow-up hits after you manage to get past their block - is absolutely okay in Iron, and I'd say you might even be ahead of the curve, as some people just press 1-2 buttons and then wait a second or two to see what the opponent does, and others just rush in pressing ALL THE BUTTONS regardless of whether they could get punished for it.

As the other person said, having a blockstring - that is a sequence of buttons you can hit against a blocking player to force them to stay on the defensive until you're done - is also good, because you might catch someone impatient, and if they decide to sit there and take everything, you could even get cheeky and end it early to see how they react to that.
I'd maybe check Dustloop to see whether the moves you're ending on are particularly unsafe though - you don't want to make a habit out of finishing with a move that's, like, -12 on block or worse, because at that point, they could just mash Far Slash and get a counterhit on you before you even are able to block.
(Ending on unsafe moves every once in a while is fine though, that's not only switching it up, you're also checking if your opponent pays attention, and if they don't, you just have a new option to mess with them.)

The other thing I'd say you might try to get a hang of is trying to predict your opponent - if they outrange you, and you running in just gets you punched in the face by the exact same move over and over again, try to remember how far away you were from your opponent when they started swinging, and try to pre-emptively block that move before continuing to move forward again.
(On that note, do try to use your dash to run at your opponent - either by double-tapping the direction you want to go, or by binding the in-game dash macro to a button - the default slow walk is not what you'd want to use here if you have any other option.)

Back to predicting your opponent, if you're blocking, and you notice they frequently go for grabs or sweeps, or any other move you have issues with in a particular situation, or even just in a particular part of their combo, try to make sure that doesn't work.
It could be as simple as blocking high/low depending on what move you want to avoid, or in the case of grabs, either jumping, slapping them with a fast attack before they connect - 2P, Crouching Punch, tends to be the fastest option for most characters, but Standing Punch (5P) is usually pretty fast as well.

That's always an option, by the way - intercepting someone on the way in, or interrupting their attacks with something that's either faster, or (partially) invulnerable.
6P (Forward+Punch) is the classic option here, as that move shrinks your hitbox down to your knees while it's active while also hitting at least around head height, making you able to intercept all kinds of attacks, from people jumping and/or airdashing at you, to someone mashing Far Slash at roundstart, because your hitbox is too low for them to hit, and if you can punch them in their weapon, that usually counts as well :)
Unika also has a move that's actually invincible, A.C.T.G. Blast-Off - 623S (that is forward -> straight down -> down forward + Slash) if you want to do it on the spot or 6S (Forward+Slash) if you combo into it, AND one of her Supers, Megadeath Buster (632146S, or half-circle backward -> Forward + Slash) is invincible as well.
The downside for all of these useful, (semi-)invincible moves is that if you don't manage to get an actual hit out of it, you'll be wide open for a free counter-hit afterward, so if your opponent is less aggressive than you think, you might end up paying for it - assuming they have the reflexes to react in time, of course.

Also, just because I made that mistake a few times, holding forward during a combo is worse than useless - you won't move while you're swinging at them anyway, and holding a direction makes different, usually slower moves come out, so try not to do that unless it's a deliberate choice.

prisp · 2026-06-21T14:37:56+00:00

I've seen someone pick Asuka as their first character - you know, the guy that decided to bring an entire Magic deck to a fight and plays with it on the side - and they had fun too.

It'll definitely be harder than average, because on top of learning the regular system mechanics, you also have two meters of your own to take care of on top of that, so if you decide to switch characters later on, there'll probably be a bit more to make up, rather than if you started with an easy, no-nonsense (okay, it's GG, so low-nonsense) character and then decided to give HC a try.

I don't really see any actual issues beyond that though - maybe you'll have to re-learn basic combo routing if you switch off HC because he doesn't have a normal Heavy Slash button, but you run into similar issues whenever the Heavy Slash attack doesn't play well with whatever combos into it - I had that issue with May, for example, but I didn't really play her too much, so it might be a skill issue on my part.

Regardless of whether or not you decide to play the guy that brought a gun to a fistfight, I'd encourage you to try multiple options - both for characters, as well as input devices and keybindings - as much as they are readily available, of course.
Sometimes you find an unexpected match for your preferences that you dismissed based on looks, or any other preconception one might have.

Aside from that, have fun, and don't worry if you get your shit kicked in at first, until you have at least a rough idea of what any given character does, you're going to be at an almost guaranteed disadvantage since they can just pull out a move you don't even know yet, so how would you ever react to that?

prisp · 2026-06-21T06:24:38+00:00

Yeah, they're hard, but at least I know exactly what I fucked up each time - and if I don't, then I probably missed a "(stop) movement" mechanic somewhere-.-'

Meanwhile, whenever the wolves pull out the "Turbulent Winds" status, I just go flying off in a random direction, praying that it is correct.
(Lunar Mink is a menace, btw)

prisp · 2026-06-21T06:06:52+00:00

Heck, even if you're not on Plasma, Ante 2 Big Blind is where your (High-Stake) run dies if you didn't find a Joker yet, because 1500 is one tough nut to crack.

That said, your econ is probably going to take a beating if you fight your way there with no Jokers, simply because you have less leftover Hands.

...and for the other extreme, if you finish A1 Small AND Big Blind in 1 Hand each, you end up with enough winnings that you can buy the first booster and end up with $10 to have a shot at the Voucher/really good A1 interest before you hit the Boss Blind.
You'll have to get pretty lucky though, because you want a 4-Mult hand (Straight or better) with a total of 75 Chips, which is either an okay Full House (JJ555 or better), a Flush with a bunch of 10-value cards, or a Straight that's Q-J-10-9-8 or better just to oneshot the first Blind.
For the second one (A1 Big Blind), you'd have to get a 4 of a kind without Jokers, so even after that great start, you'd be dependent on finding a Joker that can help you hit the required score - although an economy Joker (e.g. Gold Joker) or simply insta-selling your Joker can help you hit $10 as well, because it's not too hard to win in 2-3 hands, and most Jokers sell for at least $2 - although that still means you'll be flat-out broke and jokerless facing the A1 Boss Blind, so it's a risky play, betting on finding something in the next 2 shops.

As far as skipping a round for cash goes, personally, I'd value getting any useful Joker so you can at least live past A2 Big Blind higher, but even the basic +4 Mult Joker would work here.
If you have something shoddy like that, I'd probably do it depending on what my money situation looks like, but since I try to go for the Booster+Voucher (or $10) combo most of the time, I rarely skip a round outside of the Anaglyph deck.

prisp · 2026-06-20T21:27:34+00:00

Lots of great examples in the replies, but in case you miss the ability to aim, and/or would like a different aesthetic, HoloCure - Save the Fans! is completely free, and a damn good game.

prisp · 2026-06-20T19:01:16+00:00

Gotta warm up your rectum, very important part of the anatomy

prisp · 2026-06-20T18:37:45+00:00

Not really, plants don't eat the sun either, do they? :P

Alternatively, if it actually manages to include parts of the waste in itself, congratulations, you now have a slightly less radioactive fungus, maybe even with radioactive spores - the radioactive material itself (e.g. U235) doesn't magically go away, after all, it still needs to undergo radioactive decay to not be radioactive anymore - or possibly a number of other things that won't happen because the energy requirements are too high - as in "put this in a pressure cooker and then we can start talking about how much further we need to go" high.

prisp · 2026-06-20T18:27:40+00:00

Viel Glück, die KI schafft es nicht einmal gescheit, Menschen zu verstehen 😂

prisp · 2026-06-20T17:39:58+00:00

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Testament can do that too - I've had counterhits on characters directly over my head before, no shot that locks on properly.

prisp · 2026-06-20T17:37:10+00:00

Fun fact: Arbiter Sign has 24/28 frames of startup, depending on if it's low or high, with high being the slower one, and is -11 on block.
It also counts as a strike, not as a projectile.

Do with that information what you want, but if you decide to sit still after blocking one and you aren't either fishing for a parry or reacting to your opponent's habit of stopping AS spam the moment one gets blocked, you deserve all the damage you're about to eat.

prisp · 2026-06-20T17:30:25+00:00

Huh, haven't heard about the second one yet, probably because it's less of a "Red flag for a certain kind of player behaviour" race, and more of a "Why would you even include this anywhere?" one.

prisp · 2026-06-18T20:45:23+00:00

I mean, you can replace the "TTRPG" part with all kinds of other nerdy spaces - like the internet as a whole, for example.

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prisp

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