5 Things to know when Learning to use a Fightstick.

Well, I decided to write this because a lot of people want to up their game by transitioning from pad to fight stick. That’s great and all, but you should know it wont be easy.

Now people seem to have an issue with the stick because they feel it should be an automatic transition. When in reality it isn’t. I had tons of trouble getting use to the fight stick.

I know that people will argue American vs Japanese sticks. It doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter is, if you have been using the pad then it will take anything between 1-3 months to use a fight stick effectively. Take my word it will be difficult.

It took me the fool blown 3 months before I stopped doing absolutely dumb things on the stick. I wanted to do fireballs and I would do jumping flimsy punches (jumping jab). 1 out of 20 fireballs would come out.

So for this reason I came up with 5 key things to remember when learning to use a fight stick.

1. Practice: I know it sounds obvious, but many people think it’s a natural transition and it not. YOU WILL stumble over the joystick buttons. It will be confusing and you’re gonna get mixed up.  It takes about a week or two to put those buttons into muscle memory.

2. Take it slow.Most new fight stick users get fidgety. They tend to rush threw movements and falter on their execution. Slow down the movements even it they are to slow to use in combat. The trick is to get execution into muscle memory. Then using them in combat will be a cinch. Speed will come with pratice. Do not make a habbit of bad execution early on. It will be difficult to break the habbit later on.

3. Be prepared to suck. Your getting use to a new form of playing. Did you really think your gonna be a superstar right off the bat? What did you expect? Of course your gonna play below standard. It’s normal. Those skills will come to par eventually. Don’t get discouraged.

4. Use Practice Mode.I can’t stress this enough. Practice mode will help with execution. Nuff said

5. Don’t Give up. To many people take loses and give up too quickly. DON’T GIVE UP. Stick to it (no pun intended). Soon you will reap the benefits.

So, just how long does it take. Well it’s hard to tell. At least a month for sure. Of course I have a sure fire way to tell if you have made the switch from pad to stick. If you don’t realize the arcade stick is there, then you switched. When I was learning I always focused on the arcade stick and not on the match. Mainly due to the fact that it was foreign. I had to force my movements and thinks of the buttons I was gonna press. Then one day I realized I was fighting and I had forgotten about the stick. That was the point in which I realized I no longer needed a game pad, I was a fight stick player.

Keep these rules in mind and your will be breaking teeth in no time. Keep at it, have fun, and take your game up to the next level. Till next time guys….keep gaming.

Tagged as: arcade stick, how to, tutorial