asking good questions in fighting games

October 22, 2024

originally posted on cohost on February 12, 2024.

i was recently rereading how to ask questions the smart way and i think a lot of fighting game players would benefit from this guide, as well as stack exchange's how do i ask a good question?

here's some thoughts on how it applies to fg questions specifically:

search before you ask

this is the #1 thing i want people to do, especially in older games that have fairly established tech and resources. if you're new to a game1 and having an issue, chances are someone else has had the same problem and asked about it already. doing some basic searching on discord and in the existing documents will save everyone a lot of time.

even if you can't find the answer, it's also very helpful for everyone else to know that you've at least tried to answer your question yourself.

asking precise questions

describing your problem well is the first step to finding a solution to your problem. something i see happen a lot in fg discords is that someone will ask a vague question, and then 3-4 people will all give wildly divergent answers based on different interpretations of that question. this often results in confusion and, especially if a newer player is asking, information overload.

when it comes to fighting games, i think asking a good question is all about providing context. when it comes to troubleshooting a place you're dropping a combo, that context includes not just what character you're doing the combo on and what combo you're trying to do, but also things that are less obvious like whether or not you've delayed any cancels or buttons earlier in the sequence. when it comes to defending against strings or mixups, necessary context can include more than just your character and spacing and extend to the situation that led up to that string or mixup.

luckily, this is fighting games so one of the best and easiest ways to provide context is to simply record a video of the situation you have questions about so everyone can see exactly what's going on.

some other good tips to think about are:

reformulating bad questions

here's some examples of questions that i think are kinda bad, and how to improve them:

BAD: how do i anti-air may? i think this is a bad question because it lacks necessary context, e.g. what's the spacing, what buttons is she trying to hit you with, is she jumping or is she airdashing.

GOOD: i'm having trouble anti-airing may IAD j.H-ing at me from slightly further than than her f.s range. what are i-no's best options to stop her from doing that? this lays out a specific situation the asker is having a problem with, and can be made even better if the person asking posts some clips demonstrating that situation.

BAD: how do i block millia? i don't like this question because it both presupposes that blocking is the right answer, and doesn't give any context as to what situation the asker is trying to defend against.

OKAY: how do i defend against millia's mixups when i'm waking up? while still somewhat vague, this at least provides a jumping off point for discussing defensive options.

GOOD: as i-no, how do i defend against millia's mixups after she gets a 2D knockdown midscreen? much better since it provides a character and a specific situation.

BAD: is the X vs Y matchup good? okay this one is a personal pet peeve and can definitely be fun to discuss amongst friends, but i don't think it provides very useful information unless you're specifically thinking of learning a second character for matchup reasons.

GOOD: what are some things to watch out for in the X vs Y matchup? while still more open ended than i really like, this has a much better chance of getting you concrete, usable information that you can apply when playing the game.

to wrap it all up

again, i strongly urge everyone to read through the guide. at the end of the day though, i want people to think about how they can respect other people's time. when you ask a question, you're asking for someone to take the time to read it, understand what you're asking, and then figure out an answer and type it out. when you formulate your question well, you make it easier to understand and less time-consuming to answer. it does require some more upfront legwork on your end, but hey, you're the one who's asking for help.

a final, bitchy aside: i swear to god that if one more person asks me how to defend against i-no without watching the playlist2 i already sent them, i am going to become the joker.

  1. when i say new to a game, i do mean relative to that game's lifespan. i've played xrd for 3 years and i still consider myself relatively new.

  2. noslo's i-no defense videos are short and very good