giving goh a break

i only use goh but have been stuck on hunter for ever. a friend suggested i use a more beginner friendly character for a while then return to goh. is this a good idea or should i soldier on with goh trying to improve

 

Personally, I don't see how switching a character up (especially if you really LIKE Goh) will help.

Now, "help" is a relative term.
What is it you seek? If you want to rise above 'Hunter', don't care how you do it, then sure, find a more user friendly character (Lei Fei, Pai, Lai, Sarah, and Jacky are excellent button mashing levelers).

However, if you truly wish to improve, I'd say stick with your character, spend some more time in the dojo, perhaps change up some strategy...Chances are, you are getting beat because you are too comfortable with certain movesets and are entirely too predictable.

That said, if you want to take a break from your main guy due to boredom (hey, it happens), then by all means, go and experiment with others...perhaps learn stuff about them by playing them...just note this route won't really help your 'Hunter' status, again, if that is what you are after.

But you'd be surprised what a few tweaks in your fighting approach while still using Goh can do for your win-loss record.

 

its about improving with goh, i used the hunter status just to show i'm in stasis in terms of ability. Maybe using another character will give me a perspective and let me see where in my general gameplay im lacking. the predictability thing is probably right. yeah i like goh just because i play tekken and streetfighter and gohs style is such a breath of fresh air every victory seems worthwhile

 

It's kind of difficult to give you an advice since we don't know how you play Goh ( agressive /abare : you lose because of CH and punishers, too defensive: you're taking too many throws/low strikes etc..).
As CodyHunter07 said if you really like Goh's style it could be difficult to switch to another character, but since you have to see all the command lists of the cast you may find a style which suits you better.
If you change and find it easier to win, remember to ask yourself why (what do you do that you couldn't with Goh): you may discover Goh has got all the tools needed to kick ass and come back to him ^^ !

 

Well, there you go.
Forgetting about the rank is the best option...as you improve, so will it.
I was stuck at Hunter, then Raider, and Barbarian for long stretches..didn't worry about it.
As I tweaked my strategy, the wins against 'Name' players came, and my rank moved up.
I currently sit at Sentinal, and have been there for awhile...that will go up when the time is right as well.

As for trying others, sure, it does help to learn them if you can play as them.
But for true improvement, delve even DEEPER into Goh's movesets, and how you can use moves you already are comfortable with in new ways.
Especially with Goh....all characters have deep movesets, but this guy, well, he goes the distance when it comes to layers of strategy.

That's what's great about this game: it is MAD DEEP!
And I've been playing VF for a long time, and I can still honestly say, I see the same ol characters being used in ways that sometimes, has never occurred to me.

Most fighting games, like say Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, you can get away with playing several different characters and play reasonably well.
In Virtua, your best bet is to stick with one...maybe two or three if you are REALLY apt....to get the absolute most out of them.

Rock on!

 

Honestly I'm a Hardcore Goh player, but im switching it up for the moment since I played NOTHING but Goh. You should really stick with him for the moment until you think your ready to move on.

 

As codyhunter mentioned the main way switching from goh is gonna make you improve is learning the tricks of whatever character you are switching to, thus being able to more effectively deal with them. However, i don't see that as being a very effective way to improve you game (unless 1 particular character is absolutely destroying harder than others, and u face them often *shrug*--still more effective to just find someone who uses them and go player with lots of advice).

Also, to improve with goh by switching characters, you'd have to pick someone like Jeffry with similar moves (i.e. shun or lei stance dance wins is not going to do anything for improving your goh). And if you are picking someone very similar to goh, you are going to run into the same problems, just with a moveset you are less familiar with. Won't really help.

 

10 tips to improving your Goh play (i would suggest learning them in this order or a similar order based on your personal needs):

1. Combos: Make sure you know how to do all his max damage combos. This will be very easy with goh. Since it doesn't matter on foot stance, and all you have to know is 2 combos-heavy/everyone else. Same with wall combos. And learn your side-turned combo as well. For combos go here: http://gohnotes.wordpress.com Look top right links. Thanks Leonard, you are awesome.

2. Throws: Always do your best throw. If you are doing a 6p+g it should be your strongest forward throw. If you are doing a 4p+g it should be your strongest 4p+g. The exception is when a different throw would result in exceptional positioning or ring out. Practice your hit throws. If you are going to use them, never give away that damage.

3. Stagger recover: Practice it. Become good at it. You will avoid a ton of damage and it can single-handedly win you games.

4. Okizeme: Go to the dojo and set your opponent on rising attack and develop a reliable rising attack crush game. This will limit your opponents options. Great damage. Once they stop attacking on rising throw them, or if they evade do 66k+g hit throw, etc. This is a HUGE step to getting stronger.

5. Throw Escapes/Fuzzy guard: Learn which moves of yours give a guaranteed throw and be ready to throw escape or evade throw escape. For now i'd always do a throw escape in these situations. When you are good enough to recognize delayed throws/mids and what not, you'll now how to adjust by then. Learn to fuzzy guard while you are at it.

6. Spacing/Whiff & whiff punish: Goh has great range on his kicks and strong combos off of them. Learn how/when to stay at range. When your opponent throws out an attack that hits air, punish them before they recover (they can't block). Similarly avoid whiffing attacks as much as possible.

7: Guaranteed Damage: Time to start learning what class of moves give guaranteed damage. I.e. -12 disadvantage for your opponents. When you block launchers or heavy crumple moves that leave your opponent @ -12, always punish them. Whether with a throw or pk. At least for now, always take your guaranteed damage. I'd use throw first but if your opponent is escaping fall back on pk instead.

8. Movement: Learn to step like a champ. If you've ever played opponents with a nasty step game, then you know how much more slippery you become. Furthermore, this will naturally make #6 exponentially more powerful.

9. Hit-checking: At this point you are ready to go to dojo and put the computer opponent on counter hit/block (or normal hit/block but i like counter better). A good drill would be do 2p if it is block then you block. If it lands then you do 6k. If the 6k is blocked u block or TE or ETEG. If it hits then you follow up with gohs big 6k counter hit combo for 100+ damage. I'd learn to hit-check 2p first, and then work on hit-checking other moves as you feel you need to. Then put the opponent on nomral/counter hit. Start pumping that 6k knee into your opponent and only do the big combo on ch. In practice: for example if 3k is blocked you would no longer do the p follow up that leaves you at even bigger disadvantage.

10. Recorded Training: I believe on FS you can do a combo with the computer, record it, and then have them do it back to you on a loop? If this is true, use this for combos that give you trouble.

Honorable mention: Frame Data. Such a massive undertaking of which you will likely never become fluent. Seemed to overarching to actually include in the tips. However, even partaking in some frame study can greatly improve your game.

I know it's a long read. Hope this helps. Even implementing a handful of these poorly will get you well past hunter i'd imagine.

P.S. I'm not a great player, and in vanilla my Goh was rather weak. Yet, this is a simple skeleton of how most good players i played in vanilla developed their game (not just goh's, but this was written with a goh slant). I remember well Tfam, wasted wish, deathsushi, vfnumbers and others i grew up with in vanilla slowly evolved and pushed each other in these key areas.

 

True this social! I'd have to say that the key for me to improving over time is to start with a basic framework of thumb-rules. As you go forward you can add to them, but the 10 tips you've posted here are great for a starting point to Goh.

(BTW, are you still playing on XBL? I haven't seen you in aeons)

I'll add to this by saying that when I'm feeling stuck and frustrated with Brad, I take a breather (usually a break for a few days) and then come back and commit myself to using a move that I have not been using of his. Every character has techniques or moves that, for whatever reason, we tend to neglect in our game. Simply focusing and committing yourself to one particular move requires some discipline (because you'll get frustrated losing and want to revert to what you know) but will add to your overall gameplay because you'll have a new item in your toolbox and that will in turn cause you to adapt how you're using the rest of your tools.

If you don't know where to start, go with ECDC (2,33,G, or 8,33,G). Just practice using this at the start of each round and throughout the match. Set specific points in your game where you notice you get punished a lot. Then, set up those situations and *force* yourself to ECDC. Small changes like this are what develop your discipline, your options, and your variability. There's nothing more frustrating than fighting a player that keeps shifting and never lets you catch a hold of their rhythm.

 

I wish I could like this post 100x times over...
Very well said.

 

Goh is actually a good character to use as beginner because he's heavy Yomi and defense based. The only other character that is more beginner friendly (in terms of turning your flabby belly into washboard abs) is Jeffry who has NOTHING in terms of special tools. He's straight up punish character with tons of unsafe moves, but if you know your opponent and know the concept of punish, he's devastating. Goh has some tricks, though, but is still mostly defensive character and with good reading can do much damage very easily.

If you are having trouble using Goh, using another character won't help. Goh and Jeffry are good characters to use in building up your basics. If you can't win with Goh, and win with another character, you're gimmicky and this won't be good enough in the long haul.

Goh's a fun character and I wish there were more Goh players (as many as Jacky and Akira players) so I have that bias, but if you must move on, know that your wins you couldn't achieve with Goh and do achieve with another character are a gimmick/string crutch. If you rely on gimmicks such as delays and such, you're failing to learn real punish tactics, yomi and poking. Goh has all the tools he needs to win. Granted, he has some troubles in some specific matchups, but he's a character that, like Jeffry, when that opportunity shows itself, you will completely use your opponent's face to wipe your ass and leave their corpse in a gutter.

Gross, but true.

 

My advice is a more simple process. I would do the following. Go into dojo and practice combos with him over and over. Even if you think you got them down already. Next you go into special sparring and set the difficulty to hard, or very hard. This seems silly but what it does is it helps condition you to play a safer game. The computer will punish you for mistakes and be more consistant about it then players. It also allows.you to practice your combos in a match and under pressure. The next thing is knowing when to punish and with what. There are some universal frame data marks to know. Big launchers being -15 or more, elbows on block -4 , 2p being -6. Know the main values will help you guess with what you can punish with etc.

 

2p is -5. Also you should mention the fact that MOST elbow are -4 but not all of them.

 

Goh has fucking crouch throws for fuzzy and ch 6k as an abare deterrent, -5 is enough.

 

I'm kinda surprised this thread is still going on considering the OP hasn't logged on to the site for weeks.

 

Threads aren't just for benefit of OP.

 

Often times yeah, but this thread is about the OP thinking about switching away from Goh for a while. So it feels a bit weird still going on about it with the dude having been away for quite a while.

Now note here: I wasn't saying you shouldn't keep talking. I just said I was surprised it's still going on.

 

alot of advice but unfortunately i have a new job and have moved to a new city so am miles away from my brothers ps3 but i will be buying a console soon though having time to play a lot is unlikely. but still when i get the chance i will use goh as i cant waste time using other characters

 

Other characters ARE a waste of time. YAKUZA FAM!