On legacy titles and stronger players
Why you should still play the old game, and what to do when you encounter stronger players
Since the pandemic has started, anyone who wants to compete in a tournament format must settle for online events. I’ve been participating in the Guilty Gear brackets for XXAC+R and Xrd Rev2 for Wednesday Night Fights every week, as well as our region’s monthly arcadian brackets, and my skill has been progressing at an exciting pace. This past week, a newer player matched up against a stronger player early in the Rev2 loser’s bracket. (I’m not going to name anybody or give tags.) After only a single game, the newer player refused to continue playing, claiming that the skill gap was too wide, the input delay was too difficult to deal with, and that there was no value in continuing the set. They insisted that they were only playing the game while waiting for Strive’s release in two months, but that there wasn’t any point in playing Rev2 any longer. They also never went back and asked the better player for constructive advice.
Just to get it out of the way, I am totally an advocate both for playing games that have better netcode and for playing games that you derive more satisfaction from. We already know collectively that games with high variable input delay invalidate your offline practice and precision inputs. It’s also simply more rewarding to invest your time into playing a game that is more fun or easier for you to grasp than playing something out of obligation. The former is why I stopped playing Pokkén despite it being one of my favorite games, and the latter is why I play +R instead of other games with rollback netcode. That said, the ideas that playing older games won’t help you prepare for newer titles, and that there’s nothing to learn from playing matches in bracket against stronger players, are both fundamentally flawed.
There is no downside in any way for players looking to prepare for a newer title by practicing in previous games in the same legacy series. Not only will you hone your genre fundamentals, but there will inevitably be game-specific systems you will gain knowledge of that will carry over into the next game. Let’s use Rev2 into GGST as our specific example here. Even if some major systems like gatlings and character toolkits have been changed or reduced in utility, the general gameplan of what each character is looking for, and other systems like Roman Cancelling, will basically be the same between both games. Getting used to the basics of Rev2 and digging into the higher level mechanics will go a long way towards improving your familiarity with GGST once you jump into the final product. You might also just end up sticking to the game you’re playing right now because you find something in it that you really like- most +R and Rev2 players will probably stick to the game for some time even after GGST launches. Conversely, not playing an older title because you think the experience won’t be relevant anyway will obviously mean that there’ll be more homework waiting for you in the new game.
Likewise, even though playing against better players might be discouraging, it’s still good form to see the set through. Normally, players who are just starting out in a game generally want to stick to a pool of similar skill, which is totally fine. Eventually, however, you will begin to match up against stronger opponents for a variety of reasons: you might need experience outside of the pool you typically play with, you may be getting better yourself according to in-game matchmaking ratings, or you may be making it further in bracket. This is also a good thing, and something to be proud of overall- it’s a sign of progress and that your skills are developing. Don’t lose hope when you encounter players who are stronger than you, especially in a bracket setting. Instead, take the opportunity to study your gameplay and ask questions. Go through your replays and look for moments where you either made the wrong choice (“Oh, I should have blocked low here”) or where your opponent made a better one. Study habits that your opponent was able to pick up on (“They’re always able to Slashback my 6H”) or maybe tools they tend to overuse (“They kept doing wakeup DP even though I baited it three times in a row.”) Above all, bracket settings are crucial because you can often just ask your opponent for advice directly, which is one of the most important tools at your disposal. Any opportunity you can get to ask better players for tips or ways to improve should be an opportunity taken.
On the other hand, players who care enough about competition to enter brackets, but don’t find value either in continuing to practice the predecessor title or seek growth from playing against stronger opponents are in for a rude awakening in the newer game. It’s not like those stronger players are going to just go away when GGST comes out, after all. Anyone who has been practicing the legacy titles in preparation for GGST will naturally have a leg up on newer competition, even if the odometer has been reset in terms of new systems to learn. This also obviously includes players of exceptional skill who were already beating you before. The question then becomes, what is a newer player supposed to do when they encounter adversity in competition?
If you’re playing fighting games with the intent of competing against other opponents and you give up immediately when encountering stronger players, your skill will begin to stagnate. The people who continue to play will eventually outpace you and you’ll be left behind. After a continued loop of meeting strong opponents, refusing to improve, and getting frustrated, you will eventually drop the game entirely. While this isn’t an article necessarily about adopting healthy growth habits for competition or hobbies, it’s important to understand the value in practice. Whatever enjoyment you derive from playing fighting games is yours to find, but your goal doesn’t always have to be winning, even if you’re competing in brackets.
Keep in mind also that all of this is qualitative under the conditions that you are playing fighting games with the intention of playing to get better and to compete against others, especially in online tournament formats. Players who are taking their performance less seriously can have fun playing against their friends or players who are weaker and not have to compete in tournaments. The specific issues here- not finding value in practicing a particular game, and not finding value in competing against stronger opponents- are non-issues for players who already play a variety of games casually or who aren’t interested in competing beyond an intermediate level. On the other hand, if your attitude towards your bracket runs or the game you’re practicing is bad, then you’re not going to improve in the long run and your overall satisfaction will continue to decline.
Of course, this doesn’t have to apply to GGST either- these situations will occur whenever a new entry comes out in the series you play, or whenever you get overwhelmed by strong opponents online or in bracket. While the concept of a new game on the horizon might make the current game less satisfying to play, it’s still useful to continue studying them as prep for the newer games. You might even find stuff in the older titles that make them worth playing even after the next entry in the series launches. Remember also that running into stronger opponents is an inevitability and it’s important to make the most out of those matches. Study replays or VODs and ask your opponents for advice after the set so you can take notes and learn how to improve. It can be discouraging at times, especially if you’re just starting out, but as you continue to adjust and your skills grow, it will be reflected in your play in a very satisfying way.
