So I want to get better...

[Rubes]

but I have no clue where to start
there's so many normals
every time I play online I can't tell what's punishable and what's not which usually ends up in the opponent getting a counter hit

 

[Batcommander]

Best thing for beginners is to learn all your moves; go through exercise mode and memorize everything. It's easier once you realize most of the moves are just variations on certain strings, like PPP, PP6P, PPK, etc.

Watch match vids and/or consider buying the strat guide (although the next big game patch may render this obsolete).

Read the character forums and find out what your character's best moves, setups, and crushes. If there aren't any listed, ask!

Punishment in this game is whatever, honestly. You punish in DOA with throws, but they don't do that much damage unless you catch someone trying to hold. -8 is the magic number that everybody can throw punish at (-7 for grapplers). You can forget about properly throw punishing online, since everything is safe due to lag.

 

[Justice]

Another thing that is good to do is visiting sites like freestepdodge and hitting up the character-specific forums. In the beginning, visit your main's forum for strategies, kombos and tips, but after a time, you will want to visit the other characters' forums to see the strategies that you will need to fight against.

Also, trying to get in touch with your local offline scene (if you have one) will provide a wealth of knowledge, experience (and friends ).

 

[splslick]

I definitely agree with Justice about getting in touch with your local offline scene. It is my driving factor to want to get good at this game as well