Author: Sam "Trilby" Foxall

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OpTic Gaming dips its toe in the FGC with OpTic Arena, running from June 8th-10th

One of the premier esports teams in the world of first-person shooters, OpTic Gaming have yet to properly set foot in the crucible of fighting games. That’s about to change this June, as the organization is running an event called OpTic Arena as part of A-Kon in Fort Worth, Texas. Running from June 8th-10th, this event will host tournaments for Dragon Ball FighterZ, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, with each game getting a $5000 pot bonus.

Along with the main three events, OpTic Arena will have several exhibition matches, a 24-hour gaming lounge for those who want to play through the night, as well as a bunch of other fun stuff that is yet to be announced. If you are interested in attending, registration is now available over on smash.gg, with a ticket also getting you access to A-Kon in the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Besides this event, OpTiC looks to be scouting out their first FGC player. A recent Tweet from NuckleDu showed the Capcom Cup 2016 champion hanging out at the OpTic Gaming offices — interesting considering Du’s recent split from Team Liquid.

Sources: smash.gg; NuckleDuDang

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Become the king of the jungle with Izaw’s “Art of Donkey Kong” guide for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

He’s covered the self-styled King of Dreamland, the Koopa King and Hyrule’s King of Evil — now it’s time for Izaw to cover Smash 4’s King of the Jungle. As part of his “Art of” guide series, Izaw has turned his attention to Mario’s long-time rival and banana fanatic, Donkey Kong. Famous for his “Ding Dong” kill confirm, one of the best back-airs in the game and an abysmal disadvantage state, DK has carved out a niche in the Smash 4 meta as the game’s resident grappler.

While he seems basic at first — grab enemy, throw enemy, rinse and repeat — DK has plenty of tricks to pile on the pain. From his tipper jab to grab, pratfall setups with his nair and footstool combos using either grounded or aerial cargo throw, this simian can guarantee some gnarly damage whenever he gets his mitts on you. The main issue with DK is that he sucks at getting back down to the ground or back on stage safely. He has the worst ledge options in the game and his large hitbox means it is nigh-on impossible to land without taking heavy damage.

Even with his glaring flaws, DK can be a super fun character to play and one that has the potential to do well in tournament, as seen through players like Konga, Tweek and Larry Lurr.

Source: IzawSmash

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Prepare for Turtlemania with the February patch notes for Injustice 2

Following yesterday’s Turtle-tastic livestream which showed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in action, NetherRealm have released the official patch notes for Injustice 2‘s February patch. Besides the obvious big addition, this patch will change up a decent portion of the cast, with Gorilla Grodd, Poison Ivy, and Sub-Zero getting some buffs while Catwoman has been smashed with the nerf bat.

Stampede canceling with Grodd is now much easier, with players being able to cancel out of the run using the Flip Stance button. Poison Ivy’s Bed of Thorns has seen a substantial buff, with it doing increased base damage and hurting those who ever try to jump out of it, while Sub-Zero’s Ice Blast comes out a little faster. The Lin Kuei Grandmaster has also seen a slight improvement to his Ice Blade too.

As for Catwoman, she’s finally been declawed by NetherRealm. Her combos now have increased damage scaling, many of her wallbounce combos now result in hard knockdowns and her Tail Spin has seen a slight range reduction. Expect Catwoman mains licking their wounds once the patch comes out on February 13th.

Source: Injustice

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Watch Ryu shoryuken a Barroth in this Monster Hunter: World footage

Announced alongside the Monster Hunter costumes for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, both Sakura and Ryu are taking a trip to the New World to battle some beasts in Monster Hunter: World. Similar to previous crossover costumes, this Street Fighter collaboration allows players to dress up as either Sakura or Ryu via special armor sets.

In a recent episode of Capcom TV, we got a brief glimpse of what it’s like to play Ryu in Monster Hunter: World, complete with his special Hadoken and Shoryuken gestures. To cosplay as Ryu, you must equip the full armor set, meaning you’ll have to forgo your cool High Rank Nergigante armor in order to look like the world warrior. The base stats for the Ryu costume are terrible — with only 65 defence — but his fire, dragon and electric resistances are not too shabby.

Despite being gestures, both the Hadoken and Shoryuken do (very slight) damage. When used against a Low Rank Barroth in the CapcomTV segment, the Hadoken did 11 damage while the Shoryuken did a shameful three damage. Capcom must have used Season 2 Ryu as a basis for this armor. I can’t wait to see someone soloing a Rathalos only using these attacks.

You’ll be able to unlock the Ryu armor via a special event quest later this month, with the Sakura armor coming some time in March.

Source: CapcomChannel via Gematsu

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Punish errant airdodges with the Beefy Smash Doods’ guide to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U frame traps

One thing that makes the Super Smash Bros. series different to traditional fighters is the airdodge. Even if you get hit by a move, you have the opportunity to throw out an airdodge and avoid your opponent’s next attack. It’s not always beneficial to airdodge, as players can exploit its recovery frames for an even harder punish — similar to frame trapping your opponent in a traditional fighter.

In their latest Smash 4 guide, the Beefy Smash Doods run through the finer points of frame-trapping, even showing how a frame trap can actually be better than using a true combo follow-up. By delaying a part of a true combo, you can even condition someone into airdodging, putting them right where you want them for a KO. So be careful with your airdodges! It may be just what your opponent is waiting for.

Source: Beefy Smash Doods

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Cowabunga dude! NetherRealm Studios are hosting a TMNT-themed Injustice 2 livestream on February 7th

It’s almost pizza time, my fellow shell-heads. To finally show off the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Injustice 2, NetherRealm Studios are hosting a special Watchtower livestream tomorrow, dedicated to the heroes in a half-shell. Expect tubular ’90s slang, tons of turtle puns, as well as a thorough run-through of the Turtles’ abilities.

For those waiting on the Turtles’ official reveal trailer, NetherRealm plan to release tomorrow morning. Seeing as they fight as a team, it will be intriguing to see how each Turtle factors into their whole moveset.

Is swapping between the Turtles tied to their Trait? Do you have to switch them in using a specific special, like Zeku changing between new and old forms? All will be revealed tomorrow at 3:00 PM CST (1:00 PM PT), so get those pizzas ordered and prepare to kick some shell.

Source: InjusticeGame

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Them’s Fightin’ Herds launches February 22nd on PC

Saddle up and get your horseshoes on, as the quadruped fighter Them’s Fightin’ Herds is finally launching February 22nd on PC. Developed by Mane6, this indie fighter has had a tumultuous development, starting life as a My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic before a cease and desist letter from Hasbro forced the team to shutter the project.

Mane6 would go on to rename the game Them’s Fightin’ Herds and restart development from scratch, after they had to can the majority of their original designs and art assets. Moved by the work they’d put into the original fangame, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic creator Lauren Faust stepped in to design Them’s Fightin’ Herds’ original characters, as well as providing assistance on its story and setting. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, a lengthy testing phase and appearances at the likes of Evo and Frosty Faustings, the four-legged brawler is now hot to trot on PC — with Mac and Linux ports coming later in the year.

Them’s Fightin’ Herds RPG-style Story Mode will release in free installments following its launch, with Mane6 promising more additional content to come in the future. For those who own Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, BlazBlue Central Fiction or Skullgirls on Steam, you will get special lobby avatars which have TFH’s characters dressing up as fighters from those games. BlazBlue owners will get Jin and Ragna cosplay costumes, Guilty Gear owners can dress up their favorite quadruped as either Ky or Sol, while Skullgirls owners get access to Peacock and Cerebella-themed costumes.

If you can’t wait to throw down as a cow or a llama, you can wishlist Them’s Fightin’ Herds on Steam right now.

Source: ManeSix DevTeam

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Relive the excitement of Capcom Cup 2017 with this highlight reel courtesy of Capcom Fighters

Before 2018’s Capcom Pro Tour starts up later this month, Capcom Fighters has released a special highlight reel, recapping the events of Capcom Cup 2017. Following the tournament from the Last Chance Qualifier, right up to MenaRD’s tremendous upset against Tokido, this video should get you all hyped up for another year of competition.

As for this year’s CPT, Capcom are going through their last-minute checks for finalizing this year’s tournament circuit. Both Final Round and NorCal Regionals have been announced as the first two Premier events of 2018, with Capcom looking to reveal the entire tournament schedule on February 19th.

The other main question looming over Capcom Pro Tour 2018 is if Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite will join Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition as part of the tour. Capcom have recently announced that they are investing heavily in esports going forward, but the lackluster sales and low player numbers for MvC:I make its presence on the tour somewhat unlikely. Its integration into the Capcom Pro Tour was mentioned in that leaked esports presentation, but the lukewarm reaction and mishandling of the Battle for the Stones does not bode well.

All will no doubt become clear on February 19th, so mark your calendars for then.

Source: Capcom Fighters

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Android 18’s fight intro can cause a major desync glitch online in Dragon Ball FighterZ

Ever since Dragon Ball FighterZ was released to the world, it’s had a couple of teething problems when it comes to its online play. From Ring Matches not working correctly, lobbies being too full, and matchmaking taking an age, Arc System Works and Bandai Namco have a fair few issues to tackle before DBFZ is running smoothly.

One bug that needs to be tackled is a glitch that occurs when fighting Android 18 online. If you let her fight intro play, there is a chance you will desync from your opponent — as seen in the tweet below.

Unlike other fighting games where players see the same fight intro when playing online, Dragon Ball FighterZ can have people seeing different intros. If this happens, players can become desynced if the intro dialogue you see is drastically longer than your opponent’s. As seen in the clip above, the desync is so drastic that players end up playing two separate matches, with their opponent unable to attack. Seeing as your opponent has not disconnected from the match, both players are credited with a win, despite each one getting opposing results on the victory screen.

I’ve personally encountered this glitch against an Android 18 player — just assuming that they had ragequit half way through and was just letting the match play out. It was only upon talking to the opponent that they had experienced the exact same thing on their console, also thinking I had also given up halfway through the game.

In order to avoid this glitch at present, the best course of action seems to either skip through the match intros, or not have Android 18 as your starting fighter.

Source: Soraalam1

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A hitbox viewer for Dragon Ball FighterZ is now available on PC

If you’re deep in the weeds of Dragon Ball FighterZ, you’ll no doubt be going through the laborious process of learning each character’s frame data. Since DBFZ has no in-game frame data chart, players are doing the next best thing and creating their own. There is also no way of checking move hitboxes either, forcing players to guess at the ranges of certain normals and specials.

Luckily, creator of the Guilty Gear Xrd hitbox viewer Altimor has put together a similar tool for the PC version of Dragon Ball FighterZ, allowing players to study the hit and hurtboxes of each character. This beta viewer is completely functional, containing hitbox data for all moves, including projectiles and unique attacks like Nappa’s Saibamen. There is still work to be done on the tool, so expect updates within the next few weeks.

For details on how to download and run Altimor’s hitbox viewer, head on over to the Dragon Ball FighterZ subreddit.

Source: r/dragonballfighterz