System Neutral Game

[HoodsXx]

Yo peeps NanhouDrops here. So I thought I'd start a thread to not only get ideas from the community but to also just bring up the topic to any newcomers that may come in and wonder about it. So my question is to you guys. How do you feel you have to play the neutral game in 5U and how would you go about improving your neutral game if you felt you weren't that successful in that area?





Discuss!

 

[Tenryuga]

I think that's character specific but in general in the neutral game I like to position myself to maximize damage off of breakable objects and danger zones as well as walls. So I tend to cater to characters that have moves with alot of knockback as well as moves that can wallsplat easily.

It helps to know what your options are and what your opponents options are as well as their ideal ranges. You always want to stay within your characters ideal range in a fight because if you don't do that you are handicapping yourself IMO. For example Kasumi has no business being full screen. This doesn't mean she should suicide rush people every chance she gets. Instead what you do is hover at a range where it is easy for you to move into close range or use tools like 66P / 66K the most effectively.

Once things become a slugfest its simply a matter of reacting to what your opponent is doing with their strings or mixups. Make smart decisions and you profit. You don't you get stunned. What you definitely dont want to do is sit there, take everything and pretend you dont have options to deal with the opponent. Crush what is crushable. Punish their attempts at free canceling / delaying the most consistent way you can. Stay composed and be patient; wait for them to make a mistake and throw punish them for it. Every option has its drawbacks and the ratio to which you have to do what I mentioned varies from player to player.

 

[Brute]

Really depends on your character AND your opponent. With Ryu, your speed and mix-ups aren't going to hold the fort against most opponents, so typically I'm trying to out-space them or yomi them. Using crushes as gap closers (ideally into launches or bounds) is an effective strategy. At match-start I can blanket all but lows and throws, so it's really a matter of mind-games there. Sometimes I will just run up and block, though, since retaliating an unsafe whiffed/blocked string is the best way to put my opponent into stun, which is really where I want to be. I should also note that I always take advantage of the neutral game to re-position myself in regards to the environment. I hate others using it against me and love using it against my opponent, so that's an important factor to me. Unless in Dojo stage because FUCK that stage.

 

[Musourenka]

As Kokoro, I usually play mid-range and poke/space with things like 1K, 66P, 3K, 4P series, etc. I try to aim for either counter-hit fishing for stun/launch , or getting them to block and freeze enough to sneak in throws.

 

[Russian-chiropractic19]

if were talking in general get to a good position, if you start out the match with your back towards a danger zone like Scramble or Hotzone then priority one should be gettng away or switching sides. from their id say its about getting to the best range for your character.

 

[Soaring Zero]

I try to avoid having my back to a wall or a cliff. If I start a match in a bad position, I'll do my best to move. Kasumi's flips and teleports are great for when I really need to get away from something in the stage before it screws my day up.