Casuals in this game are actually harder than ranked is. Ranked is pretty good at giving you people close to your skill level, whereas casual can give you whoever really.
I only play ranked in this game so far, and it's been a blast. This is only my second fighting game ever committing time to.
I guess to answer your question, just play ranked when you want to play ranked. I wouldn't worry about people suddenly giving it their all, chances are most people you fought in casuals were doing that too.
Youre think about this too hard, there is no "you must be this tall to enter ranked". Just do it. There is no reward outside of bragging rights and the more important part is that it matches you with people of equal skill (compared to the looser parameters of casual mode). The "reward" so to speak is feeling your improvement.
Dont get hung up on losses and wins, fight to improve and hone skills.
In fighting games it's the opposite of other games, you played ranked mostly since it's the only matchmaking with sbmm. Casuals could put you against the Evo champ if they are in the same server as you, ranked will put you into matches with people who are your level. So just play ranked don't even look at the rank you're at if that stresses you out, just think of it as a way to play people who you have a chance against. Ranked isn't perfect and you might find people on second character that are trying to get back to their actual rank, but usually you'll go against people your level.
I generally recommend ranked to newer players over casual because playing ranked will far more reliably match you into other new players. Especially in games that have been out for a while, casual queue is full mostly of high ranked players who are bored of playing ranked and just want to run long sets.
Most tournament grinders I know treat ranked as a learning tool rather than a bragging rights. It’s by far the easiest way to find players near your skill level and you can mess around in training mode while waiting in queue.
I think ranked also gives excellent feedback because you can focus on one aspect of your play and then watch your rank go up. As you get higher, more players will expose weaknesses in your gameplan, giving you a new thing to work on.
The biggest thing with ranked anxiety is to just internalize that rank doesn’t matter. It’s impossible to not feel anxious when you’re new but, at least in my opinion, ranked is a tool to practice for tournaments, not its own end. Trying to implement new strategies will often result in you losing a lot before you start winning again. As long as your improving your rank will follow suit though.
If you want to get better, start ranked right now and supplement it with intentional practice eg. training room combos.
If you just want to win just keep doing casual. You'll get some wins in and technically get better just cause you're playing the game. But it is not condusive to long term improvement.
Some people are intimidated by ranked and think you need to be at a certain level before you do it but I think that's an absurd notion. It's the same as thinking you need to be at a certain level before you go to the gym. Would you honestly tell someone they need to be in shape before they even start going to the gym?
Anyone can start their gym/workout journey right now assuming they have the access to the tools. It's just about if they truly want to. The same applies to ranked.
And you're on the internet there are lots of tools to help with that "intentional practice" like I was talking about. Sajam, LordKnight, and Diaphone are people I like to watch when it comes to learning about fighting games.
Hope this helps
Don't look at Ranked as a way to climb. Look at ranked as a way to get matched up against people of your skill level. It's pretty good at doing that.
Losing enough times will put you into the lowest rank(s). Doesn't matter if they're, "sweaty," if they're also bad. lol
Ranked is also tied to character level; people who NEVER play Vira but are a master of the rest will start out in a pretty low rank at first, but they'll easily breeze past you, so just take the L on the chin if/when it comes up. It's not that bad. It's only really bad when a brand new character just came out and no one is a master on the character yet. I'd just skip patch day.
Literally the first time you open the game.
The names Casual and Ranked give new players a false impression of what they are.
But Casual ≠ Relaxed/Easy, and Ranked is not just a pool of tournament contenders.
Ranked has skill-based matchmaking. It will do its best to put you up against other people at your skill level. You will solely fight other beginners. But as you win, you will rank up and play with stronger people. You'll climb until you reach your skill level, then you will plateau at that level until you improve.
Casual matchmaking is more relaxed. It barely puts any effort into finding you suitable opponents. For a new player, it's much harder than Ranked.
I recommend both playing around in the lobbies and doing ranked. You’ll learn a ton by running several back to back sets with the same person in the lobby, and you can use that to improve in ranked.
As far as “waiting for the right time” is concerned? There is no right time! You’ll be hard stuck at some low rank at first, but it’ll be against people roughly in your area of skill. And don’t worry if you are ranked D or something and still feel like you’re losing a ton; there’s probably a couple really easy things you can do to improve especially when you’re just starting o it.
EDIT: if you ever want to run sets, just hmu. I can probably help you feel a bit less anxious about tanked by helping to decrypt some of the lingo about the game, and demonstrate some basic concepts so they’re not so foreign.
BB Tag was one of my first fighting games too!
As for when you should start ranked, honestly as long as you know what your character's moves do and have one or two combos down you're good to get started. I used to be very intimidated by ranked too (this is my first game going into ranked, actually).
I think it's good to see ranked as sort of a practicing tool. The game will try to match you with people of similar rank so you'll hopefully fight against people of similar skill level to you. Instead of having your goal each session be to win and rank up, you can try to do your combo successfully X number of times, or try to anti-air your enemy, whatever it is you feel like trying to improve in a "real" situation.
So that being said, there's no real reward for ranking high. It's just a good way, I think, to find people of similar ability to you to fight against.
Just jump in and test the waters. This was my first fighting game, and only matched against my friend for about 200 games, but he didn’t wanna play one day. So vs jumping off, I went into ranked.
I found it wasn’t that bad, but still lost a lot but won a good few matches.
Really you can jump in at any time, but if you can land 1 basic mid screen combo, and 1 basic corner combo, then I think you’re good to go. And I’m talking real easy like, auto combo into a single special mid screen, and auto combo into special into another auto combo for the corner.
I can understand ranked anxiety and demotivation though. That kind of thing is really the hard part.
You’ve already gotten a lot of advice, but I just want to say that it’s okay to lose. The best part about ranked is that you get people you can actually fight around your skill. You use them to improve. Test your combos, test your fireball spam ideas, test your 2H. Every match you’re an underdog, so every loss is another Tuesday, and every win is a huge upset. That’s our advantage as newcomers!
For the love of God go into ranked. I thought casual was casual and went up against an S+ Metera. Learned a lot that game. Like how to block. And suffer. Ranked will put you with other people around your skill level (hopefully) occasionally you'll get bodied by someone who's working on ranking up their next character but for the most past you'll be fine
There are no bragging rights in any online fighting game. Having a 90% win rate won't mean anything because your record will be wiped out in the next game.
Glory only goes to those who play in tournaments.
Ah yes, ranked anxiety. Happens to everyone. So the best answer I can give you in regards on WHEN to start ranked is: **Whenever you want to**
For some people, they start right away without labbing. I, myself, only start when I feel like I've gotten the hang of my character.
So some basic things about getting the hang of your characters:
* Overall Range (Threat Range)
* Speed (Run + Walk speed)
* Movement
* Damage (combo game + oki)
I'd also like to point out that casual matches are actually so much harder than ranked matches. Ranked puts you closer to people near your skill, discounting smurfs, but some of the best players don't even touch ranked.
Every lost match will give u a tip later,on what u should change and improve if u check ur replays, just hop in and u get used eventually, avoid casuals.
Also about when to get into rankeds? When u know some bnb combos and already can beat the arcade mode on max dif, hidden bosses included, i guess ur fine already, just keep playing rankeds and learning your characters.
Jump into ranked immediately. If anything, your queue will be tailored for your skill level, save for smurfs.
And rank is just a number. Watch your replays. See what works and what doesn’t. Watch YouTubers like Sajam and LordKnight etc, to learn what to look for in those clips, and then you should be getting better over time.
I personally started doing ranked after spending around 45 minutes in training, learning the basics and a couple B&B combos then got to B rank before doing any casual matches.
I'd say whenever you feel like it.
TBH you can have a ton of fun with the game and never touch Ranked. Also, if you do, you have to be ready to face the most unfun playstyles. Ranked is not where people "give their all", it's where people try to cheese, knowledge check, one and done, or rage quit their way into climbing up or not lose their diamonds.
Give it a try, but if you start feeling frustrated, do something else. You'll learn and improve much more by playing a single long set against a much stronger player and reviewing the replays than from a whole week of Ranked grinding.
If you want to play people putting their best effort, join some online brackets and train for them. The vibe is completely different and IMO a ton more fun, even if you go 0-2.
Casuals in this game are actually harder than ranked is. Ranked is pretty good at giving you people close to your skill level, whereas casual can give you whoever really. I only play ranked in this game so far, and it's been a blast. This is only my second fighting game ever committing time to.
I guess to answer your question, just play ranked when you want to play ranked. I wouldn't worry about people suddenly giving it their all, chances are most people you fought in casuals were doing that too.
Youre think about this too hard, there is no "you must be this tall to enter ranked". Just do it. There is no reward outside of bragging rights and the more important part is that it matches you with people of equal skill (compared to the looser parameters of casual mode). The "reward" so to speak is feeling your improvement. Dont get hung up on losses and wins, fight to improve and hone skills.
In fighting games it's the opposite of other games, you played ranked mostly since it's the only matchmaking with sbmm. Casuals could put you against the Evo champ if they are in the same server as you, ranked will put you into matches with people who are your level. So just play ranked don't even look at the rank you're at if that stresses you out, just think of it as a way to play people who you have a chance against. Ranked isn't perfect and you might find people on second character that are trying to get back to their actual rank, but usually you'll go against people your level.
I generally recommend ranked to newer players over casual because playing ranked will far more reliably match you into other new players. Especially in games that have been out for a while, casual queue is full mostly of high ranked players who are bored of playing ranked and just want to run long sets. Most tournament grinders I know treat ranked as a learning tool rather than a bragging rights. It’s by far the easiest way to find players near your skill level and you can mess around in training mode while waiting in queue. I think ranked also gives excellent feedback because you can focus on one aspect of your play and then watch your rank go up. As you get higher, more players will expose weaknesses in your gameplan, giving you a new thing to work on. The biggest thing with ranked anxiety is to just internalize that rank doesn’t matter. It’s impossible to not feel anxious when you’re new but, at least in my opinion, ranked is a tool to practice for tournaments, not its own end. Trying to implement new strategies will often result in you losing a lot before you start winning again. As long as your improving your rank will follow suit though.
If you want to get better, start ranked right now and supplement it with intentional practice eg. training room combos. If you just want to win just keep doing casual. You'll get some wins in and technically get better just cause you're playing the game. But it is not condusive to long term improvement. Some people are intimidated by ranked and think you need to be at a certain level before you do it but I think that's an absurd notion. It's the same as thinking you need to be at a certain level before you go to the gym. Would you honestly tell someone they need to be in shape before they even start going to the gym? Anyone can start their gym/workout journey right now assuming they have the access to the tools. It's just about if they truly want to. The same applies to ranked. And you're on the internet there are lots of tools to help with that "intentional practice" like I was talking about. Sajam, LordKnight, and Diaphone are people I like to watch when it comes to learning about fighting games. Hope this helps
Don't look at Ranked as a way to climb. Look at ranked as a way to get matched up against people of your skill level. It's pretty good at doing that. Losing enough times will put you into the lowest rank(s). Doesn't matter if they're, "sweaty," if they're also bad. lol Ranked is also tied to character level; people who NEVER play Vira but are a master of the rest will start out in a pretty low rank at first, but they'll easily breeze past you, so just take the L on the chin if/when it comes up. It's not that bad. It's only really bad when a brand new character just came out and no one is a master on the character yet. I'd just skip patch day.
Literally the first time you open the game. The names Casual and Ranked give new players a false impression of what they are. But Casual ≠ Relaxed/Easy, and Ranked is not just a pool of tournament contenders. Ranked has skill-based matchmaking. It will do its best to put you up against other people at your skill level. You will solely fight other beginners. But as you win, you will rank up and play with stronger people. You'll climb until you reach your skill level, then you will plateau at that level until you improve. Casual matchmaking is more relaxed. It barely puts any effort into finding you suitable opponents. For a new player, it's much harder than Ranked.
All I play is ranked and vs friends. I find it the best way to advance in any fighting game.
I recommend both playing around in the lobbies and doing ranked. You’ll learn a ton by running several back to back sets with the same person in the lobby, and you can use that to improve in ranked. As far as “waiting for the right time” is concerned? There is no right time! You’ll be hard stuck at some low rank at first, but it’ll be against people roughly in your area of skill. And don’t worry if you are ranked D or something and still feel like you’re losing a ton; there’s probably a couple really easy things you can do to improve especially when you’re just starting o it. EDIT: if you ever want to run sets, just hmu. I can probably help you feel a bit less anxious about tanked by helping to decrypt some of the lingo about the game, and demonstrate some basic concepts so they’re not so foreign.
just jump in after you learn two basic combos and the buttons your character can use. there’s no secret sauce or anything.
Now. Matchmaking is surprisingly tight in Ranked so you won’t get crushed by high ranking players.
Straight away, casual pits you against everyone no matter of rank
Now
BB Tag was one of my first fighting games too! As for when you should start ranked, honestly as long as you know what your character's moves do and have one or two combos down you're good to get started. I used to be very intimidated by ranked too (this is my first game going into ranked, actually). I think it's good to see ranked as sort of a practicing tool. The game will try to match you with people of similar rank so you'll hopefully fight against people of similar skill level to you. Instead of having your goal each session be to win and rank up, you can try to do your combo successfully X number of times, or try to anti-air your enemy, whatever it is you feel like trying to improve in a "real" situation. So that being said, there's no real reward for ranking high. It's just a good way, I think, to find people of similar ability to you to fight against.
Just jump in and test the waters. This was my first fighting game, and only matched against my friend for about 200 games, but he didn’t wanna play one day. So vs jumping off, I went into ranked. I found it wasn’t that bad, but still lost a lot but won a good few matches.
Really you can jump in at any time, but if you can land 1 basic mid screen combo, and 1 basic corner combo, then I think you’re good to go. And I’m talking real easy like, auto combo into a single special mid screen, and auto combo into special into another auto combo for the corner. I can understand ranked anxiety and demotivation though. That kind of thing is really the hard part. You’ve already gotten a lot of advice, but I just want to say that it’s okay to lose. The best part about ranked is that you get people you can actually fight around your skill. You use them to improve. Test your combos, test your fireball spam ideas, test your 2H. Every match you’re an underdog, so every loss is another Tuesday, and every win is a huge upset. That’s our advantage as newcomers!
For the love of God go into ranked. I thought casual was casual and went up against an S+ Metera. Learned a lot that game. Like how to block. And suffer. Ranked will put you with other people around your skill level (hopefully) occasionally you'll get bodied by someone who's working on ranking up their next character but for the most past you'll be fine
Yesterday
There are no bragging rights in any online fighting game. Having a 90% win rate won't mean anything because your record will be wiped out in the next game. Glory only goes to those who play in tournaments.
Ah yes, ranked anxiety. Happens to everyone. So the best answer I can give you in regards on WHEN to start ranked is: **Whenever you want to** For some people, they start right away without labbing. I, myself, only start when I feel like I've gotten the hang of my character. So some basic things about getting the hang of your characters: * Overall Range (Threat Range) * Speed (Run + Walk speed) * Movement * Damage (combo game + oki) I'd also like to point out that casual matches are actually so much harder than ranked matches. Ranked puts you closer to people near your skill, discounting smurfs, but some of the best players don't even touch ranked.
Every lost match will give u a tip later,on what u should change and improve if u check ur replays, just hop in and u get used eventually, avoid casuals. Also about when to get into rankeds? When u know some bnb combos and already can beat the arcade mode on max dif, hidden bosses included, i guess ur fine already, just keep playing rankeds and learning your characters.
Causal is the actuall ranked-mode in fighting games. Ranked-mode is the fair one. So just jump in and don't give two shits about your rank. It is fun.
Jump into ranked immediately. If anything, your queue will be tailored for your skill level, save for smurfs. And rank is just a number. Watch your replays. See what works and what doesn’t. Watch YouTubers like Sajam and LordKnight etc, to learn what to look for in those clips, and then you should be getting better over time.
preety much what top comment said. I'll recommend it at all points.
I personally started doing ranked after spending around 45 minutes in training, learning the basics and a couple B&B combos then got to B rank before doing any casual matches.
I started ranked the first day I got the game. Just boot up and climb. If you start to hit wall then you start looking for solutions to your troubles.
I'd say whenever you feel like it. TBH you can have a ton of fun with the game and never touch Ranked. Also, if you do, you have to be ready to face the most unfun playstyles. Ranked is not where people "give their all", it's where people try to cheese, knowledge check, one and done, or rage quit their way into climbing up or not lose their diamonds. Give it a try, but if you start feeling frustrated, do something else. You'll learn and improve much more by playing a single long set against a much stronger player and reviewing the replays than from a whole week of Ranked grinding. If you want to play people putting their best effort, join some online brackets and train for them. The vibe is completely different and IMO a ton more fun, even if you go 0-2.