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Tips For Entering Your First Online Fighting Game Tournament
Online events are only getting more popular with vastly improved netcode across the Fighting Game Community, so let’s go over some tips that will help you maximize your time
Rollback netcode has changed the face of the genre over the last few years. It’s almost hard to find games that don’t have great netcode in today’s FGC. Looking back, it feels like it happened overnight, considering how long it took netcode to even be on people’s radar as a huge problem.
Now that people can reliably run tournaments online, there’s more to view on streaming platforms than players banging their head on the ranked wall. Most games have at least a bracket a week, even the more niche titles. If you feel like no one is playing your game, you’re probably not in the right Discord. For bigger games, there might be more than a tournament per day. Games that are almost ten or even twenty years old have received rollback updates and are thriving.
Before you sign up:
The first thing you need to do is choose the game you want to enter a bracket for. This step is probably already determined by your interest in a certain game, but it’s important to note that some games will have more options than others.
Some franchises are just always going to be huge in the FGC, like Street Fighter and Tekken, especially with their new releases. But all hope is not lost if you play something else, since even the smallest of games have communities if you can find them. If you REALLY can’t find anything after a search, you might have just found a niche to fill.
Being online doesn’t change the fact that tournaments can be daunting to enter, but the FGC always tries to welcome everyone. There are many tournaments that might be locked to beginners and intermediate players to provide a comforting, playground-like environment.
It’s important to note that not every online event is a simple double elimination bracket. Events can have different formats like round robin or a ladder format so you can play as much as possible before the best of the best enter the top 8.
Choosing the best format available is crucial. Ladder formats do away with the pressure of immediately exiting the bracket, and more practice in a first-to-two format can help you work on certain matchups with the right amount of pressure, while not being overwhelming.
Also, most events will require you to be connected to the internet through an ethernet cable, so wire up.
Registered and ready
Once you’ve chosen the event you want to enter, you gotta prep. No one knows you more than yourself. You should identify what causes you to tilt and lose focus, then try to minimize them as much as possible. Environment is key, make sure your setup is conducive to success.
We highly recommend getting a big water bottle that you can access easily and take a sip from between games to chill out and take a breather. Gotta take care of yourself before you can take care of the scrubs in bracket.
Scheduling is important too, it can be tough to work all day and enter a bracket late at night. A nap might be in order, or something that can raise your energy like going for a nice walk before the event.
What you do mid-set really depends on what your goals are. Choose a few things to note down, and literally look at those notes between games. Try to focus on those key concepts during the match, and avoid autopiloting.
If you want to work on overall gameplay under pressure, those notes should concisely reflect a few core things you want to remember during your matches. Anti-airing consistently, respecting opponent’s pressure, and enforcing your plus frames, among others are all examples of what you might want to write down and stick to.
The C in FGC stands for community
Just like offline brackets, the opportunity to socialize is always there. Asking questions to your opponents after sets can be a great conversation starter, since most people are ready and willing to impart knowledge. You have to remember that there’s a person behind the character, so obviously this takes the same tact you’d have to employ in person. Being respectful will get you anywhere you want to go.
On the topic of respect, remember that the tournament organizers are taking time out of their day to give competitors a space to have a great time. Respect their time and effort, and help them deliver a smooth product by adhering to their rules. And maybe don’t enter two brackets at the same time.
