How many combos is enough?
This may be a silly question and I realize that combos have so many possibilities so with that in mind, should one attempt to memorize as many combos as possible or just pick a couple of the most effective ones and stick those to memory?
I notice pros come up with new combos after a while but a lot of times most people seems to stick with the same set of combinations and it seems effective but I don't know that empirically so that's why I ask.
Is there a number that any of you commit to? Say, master 5 of the most effective combos for each of your fav characters, for example.
Would like to know the communities thoughts. Thanks.
Responses (3 total)
I don't think that there is any "set" number that you should commit to. The sheer number of unique situations in Super Street Fighter 4 is so large (taking into account just two characters at a time) that knowing all of them would be helpful as those situations arise.
As you mention, it's impractical, if not impossible, to know all of the combinations that a character can do.
Because of this, you really shouldn't be focusing on specific combos, but rather, what moves can be comboed into each other. It's easier to remember you can link into a cr.HP from a cr.LP with Ryu and then build the combo naturally given the situation. Some combos will of course be more useful in any given situation than others. These are known as the bread and butter (more commonly referred to as "BNB") combos.
One of the signatures of the BNB combo is the first move. It typically is a LP or LK, which has very fast startup time or great reach (or both). This will allow you to punish most mistakes when your opponent makes them, assuming your reaction time and the window of opportunity align.
A good example is Sagat's BNB combo:
cr.LK -> cr.LK -> cr.LK -> Tiger Uppercut
It's a simple combo, but it has the following positive properties:
- Decent startup time - Can be used to punish small windows of opportunity
- Can be linked into another cr.LK
- cr.LK can be comboed into the Tiger Uppercut; which can then be FADCed into F+HK and then Ultra (if available, or an EX Tiger Shot, if you have the meter and the situation calls for it)
The last point is the most important. Sagat's (or any other character's, for that matter) BNB combo has the potential to do so much damage that even the slightest mistake by your opponent can produce a huge advantage for you.
Another good example is the previously-mentioned cr.LP of Ryu, it's insanely fast with a three-frame startup, has the ability to link into a cr.HP, which can then be canceled into a SRK, which then leads into a Super, or a FADC and an Ultra (or even more given how much meter you have).
That being said, the BNB is not always the best option. If you have a larger window of opportunity, then you might want to start with a more damaging opener than with the BNB; if you are Ryu playing Sagat, and close to a whiffed HP Tiger Uppercut, you will want to lead with a cr.HP instead of a cr.LP (assuming you are going for damage over stun) to maximize damage (damage scaling will rob you of damage if the more powerful moves are at the end of the combo).
It all comes down to the situation that you find yourself in. As you become more comfortable with your character and their moveset (as well as your opponent's) you will gain a feel for what moves are most appropriate for any given situation. Once you know that, then knowing what to follow them up with is even more important than knowing to do a predetermined set of moves. Even though the combo will typically distill into a single move or two (the Super or Ultra, or something that causes knockdown if neither are available), how you reach your finisher can be quite varied. Instead of memorizing all of the paths to that finisher, just memorize the possible next steps for any given move. Eventually patterns will emerge which will imprint themselves upon you and will become more instinct than intent over time.
I always go with the idea of learning the easiest, most damaging combo you can and then going from there. Having a good BnB is helpful too.
I see combos as a complete sentence, and the moves are a list of words.
It's up to you to know which "words" go together to make a complete "sentence".
let's say you're messing around with Ryu in training and you see that his s.lk can't be combo'd into c.lp but can be combo'd into a c.lk (idk if that's the case, this is just an example), and from there the c.lk can go into almost anything.
So you're playing and you hit a s.lk, you know a c.lk goes with it, and in the heat of the moment you can do anyt other move that connects with it to make a combo.
Atleast that's how I see it.
BnB are good to memorize but they can only take you so far.
