Informal Ramble: What I've Learned From Melty So Far

This is more of an informal ramble than an information post, so expect it to be more jumbled and disorganized.

Goodness, it's been a while since I've written something here! First, let me address the elephant in the room- I'm not playing Them's Fightin' Herds right now. I've pushed myself really far in that game, and I am long overdue for an extended break. I'm also enjoying Melty Blood: Type Lumina -which is filled to the brim with strong fighting game players. Nothing is permanent, and my feelings are always changing- but right now, I feel that there is more space for me to grow as a player in Type Lumina.

So far, my results have been a mixed bag. I won the first monthly for it in Boston (it was me against Spookyblast in grands just like a BBCF local). I have a few Top 8s in big online tournaments, but mostly an assortment of 9th and 17th places. I'm surprised by this- while I have a solid set of fundamentals, I wasn't sure how much of it would transfer to Melty. It turns out I'm doing just fine! I'm a little stronger at this genre than I thought.

From these tournaments, I've identified two key weaknesses in myself as a player.

1. I'm nervous about taking risks to establish threats.

Possibly a result of my generally safe playstyle and my character choice in previous games. BlazBlue & TFH are both games that give me the option to play reactively; with Valkenhayn and Tian having the perfect toolkits for that playstyle. Even though these are both rushdown characters, I could play reactively and focus on whiff punishing my opponent.

Type Lumina exercises that skill, but I can't exclusively lean on it. You need to be more proactive & willing to establish your threats. A lot of times, I'm thinking about the counterplay my opponent can do beyond what has been shown- big mistake. By being hesitant to make choices that force a response from my opponent, I am giving them the ability to set the tempo. Again, this wasn't a problem in BBCF because I could just respond to everything if I was playing well. I don't have this leeway in Type Lumina. It's hard for me!

This also extends to my offense. I barely touched throws for my first three weeks because I was too afraid of being mashed out on. Throws are so good in this game! It's comical that I felt so scared of representing them with my current knowledge. I remember bumping into this same problem with Mortal Kombat 11, but I could resort to playing neutral again (thanks Cetrion and Raiden).

This extends to my second weakness.

2. I don't trust my assessments of my opponent.

I made my BlazBlue career by making people reversal where I wanted. How I used and sorted player information was one of my strengths that let me clutch out sets against players who were more well rounded than  me. Valkenhayn being a mixup creature with an unreactable overhead also really helps!

This skill deteriorated for me in Them's Fightin Herds, mostly because mid level players were similar in playstyle, and I fought the other top players often enough to get a sense of how they played. This meant that safe play was the correct choice up until the very top level. One of the problems with a smaller playerbase is that I don't get to hone the ability of playing new people for the first time, and there are generally less variations in gameplans I have to run against mid level players. The latter, I feel, is very important for building tournament consistency. Being able to break down unknown opponents and adjust your gameplan quickly is a super valuable skill.

When I started playing Type Lumina, I defaulted to very safe play- as I often do and is generally the best baseline. Obviously, different things work at different levels- and my gameplan was formulated on a player type that I didn't frequently encounter. I would get a decent grasp of my opponent's playstyle but lack the confidence to respond to it in fear of being wrong, simply because answering it required me to commit out of my comfort zone.

With a bit of work, I still default to safe play, but I'm more comfortable making adjustments and getting hit a few times for the benefit of establishing a threat. Conditioning works both ways, and even when something doesn't work out- I still gain information on my opponent. I need to believe in the information that I gain and trust my assessment of my opponents. I've been competing on and off for seven years now, and I still struggle with this!

You might have noticed, both of these weaknesses are heavily tied to confidence, which is something I lack as a competitor. I'm very improvement oriented- I am always thinking about how to grow as a player and push my limits. But sometimes, I need to chill out and just focus on playing the game. What's really funny, is that I've learned this lesson once before.

One of the best pieces of advice I recieved was at Frosty Faustings 2019. I didn't play very well due to overthinking. Bace, my mentor told me "you know how to play the game, so stop thinking- just flow." The next tournament, Texas Showdown, I carried this advice with me and played out of mind; just barely missing the mark against Elyon and Uri. Both of those players are considerably stronger than me. I went home with a respectable 5th place finish!

Somewhere along the line, I think I lost track of this advice? Again, I strive for clean play. I am compelled to think about how I can play better during my matches, but I've been doing running this thought process for a long time. Maybe, the best thing I can do for myself as a player at this level is flow with the game- and stop being so anxious about making the wrong choice!

If your immediate thought is "Well duh, of course you should chill out about fighting games and just play them- that's obvious!" You're totally right! My passion gets ahead of me sometimes. It's just how I'm wired, and I suspect this will be a lesson that I will re-learn throughout my life. I shouldn't put so much pressure on myself to make the right choices, and instead focus on making the most out of my wrong choices.

Oh yeah, and if it isn't obvious- I fucking love Type Lumina. This game is actually so much fun. Even the stuff that aggravates most people- I just see it as a challenge to overcome and a way to improve myself.* I'm so excited at all of the new ways I can grow as a player!

*Except blood heat shield bro, what the fuck is that? Pressing anything feels like pulling out a wobbly jenga block. Actual hatchling mechanic.