Category: Videos

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For Honor receives Training Mode and some rebalancing in a free content patch

A viking, a samurai, and a knight storm into a bar…

Remember For Honor, the Ubisoft game from 2017 that’s something of a MOBA crossed with a fighting game? It has been mostly forgotten by the fighting game community, but if your love for the game is like steel, it might be time to dust off that axe or sword. The company launched a new patch on all platforms for the game, bringing a fairly essential feature to any serious player: Training Mode.

The trailer below showcases the addition, which is actually quite robust. It includes:

  • Training Media: actual videos that are visual guides for the various modes in the game, introductions to heroes, refreshers on the Faction War system, and tutorial panels
  • Apprentice Trials: a revamped Tutorial that walks through the mechanics of battle, rating you for performing various challenges
  • Warrior Trials: more advanced trials that include techniques like parrying, guard break moves, feints, and so on
  • Training Arena: a mode typical to most fighting games; it’s a sandbox arena where you can set up conditions for virtually any fighting conditions; you can customize AI behavior, enable various modifiers, see damage values, and so on

The For Honor patch notes also delineate other changes coming to the game, like a few new maps and gear rebalancing that reduces the strength of offensive gear, making defensive playstyles more viable.

Is this enough to rekindle your enthusiasm, or have you laid down your blade permanently in For Honor? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Ubisoft North America

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Beefy Smash Doods takes a closer look at new Rivals of Aether character Elliana

As some of you may know, Rivals of Aether recently added 2 new characters earlier this month. One of these characters is Elliana, a snake who also happens to pilot a mech, while functioning as a sort of grounded zoner.

Now, in a new video, the Beefy Smash Doods are putting the spotlight on Elliana. This character spotlight goes over just how this mech-piloting snake plays, showing of her unique properties — such as gaining flight instead of a double jump — as well as her passive heat mechanic that limits how much she can fly, or pull off certain moves.

Check out the video below:

Source: Beefy Smash Doods

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FrameWhisperer discusses the concepts of Korean Backdash cancels in Tekken 7

Of all the advanced movement techniques in Tekken 7 to learn, Korean Backdash canceling is the most important. While Wavedash can lead to mix-ups and better forward movement, having a stronger defensive base means that much more. Normal backdash can leave you vulnerable during its recovery, which is exactly what Korean Backdash cancels circumvent.

All of this and more is discussed in this tutorial and concept video. FrameWhisperer also goes into great length on getting the inputs precise, showing it on multiple input devices so that you can see exactly what your hands should be doing.

[Our own Crow_Spaceboy also wrote this extensive guide to learning the Korean Backdash last year. – Editor]

Source: FrameWhisperer Tekken

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Now THIS is Bushinryu! See how much swagger Season 3.5 brings to Zeku in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition

See some of the stylish combos that Street Fighter V‘s latest patch has made possible.

Zeku came out fairly well in the latest balance patch for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition; while he was always a very technical character with interesting combo abilities, more freedom as to when he can cancel into Shukumyo — and transform between his old and young personas — has added a big injection of style and swagger to his combo game. Check out the entertaining compilation video from LiangHuBBB below, and see for yourself how this patch has taught an old ninja some new tricks!

The video includes some classic gameplay with Zeku’s Bushinryu Street Fighter Alpha-era disciple, and some amusing bonus footage from Fighter’s Spirit 2018.

Source: LiangHuBBB

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See what The King of Fighters XIV newcomer Najd can pull off with these combo videos

As the only actual newcomer added in The King of Fighters XIV‘s version 3.0 update, Najd seems to have attracted a fair bit of attention. Unlike the other characters added in the update, she has no prior incarnation for players to base their exploration of the character on, no prior tricks and techniques that can be replicated.

With her being a “blank slate” so to speak, more than a few creators and players have taken up the challenge of figuring out what exactly Najd can do. First up, we have this basic combo video from the Kakuge channel. The video helpfully provides inputs, which should be great for players looking to learn the character.

Meanwhile, combo video creator meso has come up with their own video, showcasing a wider spread of combos, both basic and advanced.

Meanwhile, Turkish creators Merlin’in Kazani Turkey Fighting Clan have also put up their own combo video for her.

Finally, fresh of their previous Blue Mary video, the Combonauts have also thrown their hat in the ring with their own  Najd combo exhibition.

Sources: kakuge; meso; Merlin’in Kazani Turkey Fighting Clan; Combonauts

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Novriltataki explores how public perception can bury games before they have a chance to build a following

Is it just easier just to spread more hate than give a new game a fair shake?

Social media has proven a double-edged sword for the FGC: for all of its networking benefits, it is as prone to mob mentality as any other Facebook or Twitter bubble. In the video below, Novriltataki discusses how the darker side of social media — specifically, the snowballing of (potentially unfounded) negative opinions against a game — can shut down a title and prevent it from getting a fair shot at building its own community. It seems much easier for the general online public to jump on the hater bandwagon, rather than listen to fair praise (see: shills) or reasonably consider a game’s strengths against perceived failings.

Novril offers examples of games that have suffered due to negative perceptions that were carried over before the titles even hit store shelves: distaste for fan-service preventing players from looking into Dead or Alive 5‘s mechanics; the expectation of incredible difficulty making Virtua Fighter 5 unappealing to potential newcomers; and the now-infamous case of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

Thanks to Jaime for the tip.

Source: novriltataki

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Yang gameplay, Cross Character Pack 3, and open beta details revealed in latest BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle stream

“Pretty sneaky, sis, but you just activated my trap card!”

Arc System Works recently broadcast its promised Arc Nama stream for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle that showcased the next batch of DLC characters, gameplay for RWBY heavy-hitter Yang Xiao Long, and open beta details.

After a brief introduction, Arc System Works unveiled the characters that will be included in Cross Character Pack 3. Naoto Shirogane’s precision is as deadly as ever, Vatista’s energy attacks are looking devastating, and Hakumen is back doing what he does best.

Later on in the stream, viewers get a first look at Yang’s combat capabilities. Yang is a swift brawler with both close and ranged attacks thanks to her Dual Ranged Shot Gauntlets. Yang reloads her weapons after every combo, which is a very nice detail. The gameplay segment is brief, but expect more footage to come in the future now that she’s been officially showcased.

Those looking to specifically watch the segment that details the DLC characters can start at 12:56, and those wanting to go straight to the Yang gameplay can head over to the 27:23 mark. The stream in its entirety can be found below!

The last major tidbit of information details the open beta for the title. Those who purchased the digital copy of the game on the PlayStation Store will have early access to the beta, beginning on May 9 at 12:00 a.m. PT. The beta will become completely open on May 12 at 12:00 a.m. PT on the PlayStation Store. Nintendo Switch owners will have access to the beta as well, starting on May 11 12:00 a.m. PT. The beta ends for all players on May 14 8:00 a.m. PT. At this time, the beta appears to be Japan-only, but that may change with further clarification to come.

The beta will consist of all 20 playable characters, an offline VS Mode, Tactics Mode for practicing, and an online Casual Lobby. The beta will still be active after the testing period ends, but more as an extended demo. Pre-orders from PSN will grant players access to continued play with all 20 characters while everyone else will have their roster reduced to Ragna the Bloodedge, Hyde, Yu Narukami, and Ruby Rose.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle Beta Dates

Arc System Works later released a trailer specifically for the DLC characters which can be found below. The video itself is a snippet from the stream, but it is nice to have it as a standalone video so viewers can hit that replay button over and over without needing to scroll back to where the announcement started.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle will launch on May 31 in Japan and June 5 in North America on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Sources: Arc System Works (Twitch) (YouTube); PlayStation LifeStyle

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Learn how to defend against the post-hit mix-up of Josie’s D/F+3 in Tekken 7

Just because a low is reactable does not invalidate its usefulness in Tekken 7. This is certainly true in the case of Josie’s D/F+3: it might clock in at a slower 26 frames, but it has a number of strong properties to balance out its slower startup.

Even if you know how to react to its startup, D/F+3 has decent step coverage and evasive properties — not to mention that once it actually hits you, Josie has an entire arsenal of crouch dash and string mixups she can work afterwards.

That doesn’t mean you’re defenseless against this mix-up, however: as Chad Barley demonstrates in his latest tutorial video, you can make informed defensive decisions to simplify the post-hit mix-up and avoid losing unnecessary amounts of life.

Source: Chad Barley

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Pokkén Tournament DX pro BadIntent shares how to focus your training for self-improvement

“Each step you climb is one more step up the ladder!”

While BadIntent might be known best for his tournament placements in Pokkén Tournament DX, his latest advice is applicable to every player of every game in the FGC. If you find yourself losing games — even if you feel like you know a lot about the game — it might be because you’re focusing on the wrong skill set for the level you’re playing at.

BadIntent’s latest video tackles what he calls the “Building Blocks of Improvement” — a tool to help us visualize where we are in our fighting game journey, and where we broadly need to focus in order to improve our results.

Source: BadIntent

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“ELEAGUE The Challenger: Street Fighter V” reality TV show airs its first trailer, reveals guest star Lupe Fiasco

Street Fighter V personalities collide, and a famous guest is approaching…

ELEAGUE The Challenger: Street Fighter V is approaching quickly. The show debuts this Friday night on TBS, starring seven distinct personalities from the fighting game community who will live together, fight together, and talk smack together. The up-and-coming players compete for high stakes: an opportunity to join the upcoming ELEAGUE tournament and a chance to win $250,000.

The participants include: Commander Jesse, LowTierGod, Sherry Jenix, gllty, BigBossDayasha, RobTV, and JB. Tasty Steve and Sajam act as hosts for the show. Check out the latest trailer below to get a taste — and catch the debut on TBS and Twitch at 11:00 PM ET/PT this Friday, April 20th.

But that’s not everything! Grammy-winning musician Lupe Fiasco, who has made several appearances in the fighting game community (which included a victory in the 2017 ELEAGUE Celebrity Showdown), will crash the show on its third episode. That one will air on May 4th. Check out the preview below to see how words and punches will clash…

Source: ELEAGUE (YouTube)