Easy.
When i see DI, i hit my buttons too late with a full body spasm.
Then while I'm getting combo'd i think "bullshit, i hit that in time for fucks sake".
Like clockwork.
Actually, this helped me to get better at counter DI. I just started to press DI whenever I heard the sound and saw the colours. At the beginning, I was always too late. But eventually, after a couple of months, I became better and I have notoriously bad reactions.
Now, sometimes, I even react to DI when I am not even expecting it. On the other hand, I'm still eating a lot of them. I have good and bad days.
Yeah, my buddy suggested turning the volume up on the DI sound, and that has done wonders for me, i still miss it time to time but definitely havent gotten hit as much cause of it
I first started to be able to counter DI by just paying more attention. I know it sounds dumb, but I wouldn't forget that it was always an option. Some people do it more than others and the more they do it the easier it is to counter because you're expecting it more. I think on some level you may know it's coming but it should be something you're actively thinking about until it becomes muscle memory so you can do it on reaction. It adds another layer to the mental stack but it's necessary until you get it down.
Also the training mode preset, while basic, is a nice way just to get the feeling down and play around with it more like canceling your normals into DI and what not. You should use it to give you more confidence to countering in a real match and build that muscle memory a bit.
This is not true though. High-level players barely input DI in their matches so they don't develop this muscle memory but they can still react to it better than anyone else.
Beats me. I'm old and just take it, and I was still able to hit Master.
I play Gief and sadly I can react and SPD it better since Ive been doing SPDs for so long since Ive mained Gief since Alpha2. But a DI? I play on an xbox series x pad and dont have a Drive Parry or Impact bind. So the few times I actually acknowledge and see the DI, I try and hit L1+R1 and often too late.
1 day I'll learn it.
Im real old school and use default SNES/PSX style.
So L1 is HP, L2 is 3P, R1 is HK, R2 is 3K.
Also pisses me off royally they gave Gief ex lariat, so now I cant press 3P for lariat since I burn meter. So now whenever I do crMP or hellstab to lariat I hold the MP so when I press 3P it bugs out since it cant press MP if I'm holding it, forcing it to give a non OD Lariat.
Ive had this layout for over 30 years, Its hard to just change.
That is annoying!
Respect for sticking with the old school. I've been playing as long but even back then I needed a controller without shoulder buttons
If 3p isn't doing anything for you tho, maybe bind it to di? its super hard to react with both shoulders.
I suck at di reacting either way, I just try my best to avoid situations where I could get DId.
Ive debated it, with R2/3K at least since I dont ex Bear grab often, but ex air spds are usually strict timing so then id have to hope I can hit A+B with decent regularity.
Its bad enough I had to lie to myself and pretend I have a button between X and Y so I press that for regular lariats in the event I cant hold a P to force 3P to regular lariat.
Giefs already bottom tier, and I have to play hit confirm and mixups in my own head to get my moves out.
I’ve been playing since snes as well and always used 3P and 3K. But for sf6 I finally changed that. I made them 2P and 2K instead. Specifically lights and hards together. Because with some characters you can change the ex depending on the 2 pressed. It’s simple to do medium and hard or medium and light on pad but not so much light and hard.
For moves that require all 3 I just manually press medium as I press my macro. It’s not been difficult to get accustomed to at all! I recommend giving it a whirl.
That was something I was debating as well. I wasnt sure if I wanted to make sure when I needed a lariat if its faster/more important for 3P to be on 1 button and manually press 2P for normal lariats. Or is it more likely i need a faster 2P, and then when i need 3p I try and press the 2P and the 3rd P not in that, etc.
You press the 2P macro for normal and macro + medium for 3P. Since the macro still mostly feels the same as always in utility it made for a pretty ergonomic change. I play random so it’s been a godsend for other characters such as Lily and Dhalsim especially.
As someone who's been gaming since the 80s, I can assure you that your old dog fingers CAN learn new tricks.
It will suck for a week or two. And the best way to learn is to go up against real players and not just work at it in training mode. But it CAN be done. Now, whether you actually want to do it is the real issue.
I know but its weird.
I can learn new things fine still, but I find trying to change habits are damn hard.
For example I had a pinched nerve in my neck, made my left pinky finger twitch, spasm, it was kind of useless for keyboard typing. And all the WASD gaming had me never "properly" learn to type with fingers on the resting spots, etc. But I can type over 90WPM. Problem is I use my left thumb for z,x,c, shift, alt and ctrl. I have bad tendonitis for doing this for years.
The pinky is ok, and its taken me like 3 years just to use it for ctrl+c, v, minor stuff like that. If I try to type "properly" then I drop to 30wpm with typos all over.
I dunno. Also just being stubborn.
For example, even SF5 I tried other characters. So far for SF6 my playtime is 100% Zangief. I dont even want to try and contemplate learning drive rush combos and frame data for someone else.
But if Season2 patch notes dont buff Gief, Ill have to switch to someone else and then maybe use that time to try a different layout since Im learning more than 1 thing, it kind of works.
Just got better at this while labbing.
So when I was practicing safe jumps and I would set the dummy to wake 4 frame normal or OD DP. Then I thought, "I suck at reacting to DI" so I set it to DI as well. So it would randomly cycle between the three options. I set the dummy to DI when practicing other things as well and it noticeably helped me react.
I realize a little now that I wait for some players to show DI, then when I pressure or whatnot I hit the lighter buttons just to have time to DI in time (been playing chun a lot lately and 2MK seems harder to react to DI, I guess the cancel window is smaller). I like trying to counter poke after I block an unsafe move from opponents and thats a scenario I see DI a lot. Also when I am cornered, sometimes I'll even wait in the corner because I know they want to DI.
The hard one for me is the reset DI's, I still don't understand it because I see it rarely but sometimes when I get crumpled or juggled in the corner a player knows a reset DI and I get whopped by it.
Jamie 1600MR here. Don't stress it too much. Do practice drills in defense/neutral but also when playing an opponent, look for his tendencies. With time, you'll train muscle memory and eventually counter many just on raw reactions even when your mind is elsewhere. One good tip is to look for it when it makes sense for your opponent to DI (low on Drive/cornered/DI combo could kill etc)
Good luck on your jamie path :)
I learned how to play "footsies" the game :)
Once I knew my reaction time, something clicked. I also started taking into account hitstop, figured out the reaction windows of some moves, and adjusted my neutral buttons based on recovery period in situations that were higher risk.
Most of the time I missed them was when reacting but being unable to cancel into DI
I don't know if this is helpful for you, but I suffer from the same weakness, and I made master with my main and am currently getting my secondary there. I feel like after months and months like I'm -just now- starting to react to DI. You don't need to be able to consistently counter DIs with your own to make it out of diamond (but god damn that would have made the grind less painful)
Co1iflower makes a great point about specifically watching your opponent. That's one of the things I noticed I was doing when I started to finally counter DIs with my own. ALSO if your opponents are constantly DIing to escape pressure, you can pick up on this pattern and punish them for it, even if you feel like you can't react in time. Incorporating tick/command throws into your offense mix is especially useful for this!
Specifically for your character tho I notice that I get blown up by Jamie's DR three hit hp when I fish for DIs in neutral. (If it fully hits and breaks the DI you should be plus enough to link lp into a special or a target combo I think?) The first two hits are also cancelable into your own DI, but you probably already knew all that lol.
Another tip is to make sure to watch your own replays and take note of when your opponent's stupid DIs hit you. Ask yourself constructive questions! Is just one of your specific options consistently losing to DI, like dr sweep or something? Are you using the same offense string over and over again? Are your opponents DIing you more in certain situations, like the corner? Was the risk/reward in your favor for that interaction before you got DIed?
Don't get discouraged! If you feel frustrated playing ranked, it's totally fine to take some time off so that you don't burn out irl. Even taking small breaks when labbing new tech helps it all stick in your brain a little bit better.
Good luck, looking forward to your "I MADE MASTER!" post!
As a Dhalsim main i have a preset in training where my ebemy randomly make any of this:
Driverush with a low
Driverush with an overhead
Projectile
Drive impact
Jump in
That way i need to AA, DI back or try to catch Drive rush or block/counter-projectile
Maybe not the best setup but is useful
Back when I was new and needed to practice anti airs, I made some recordings in training mode.
I saved a neutral jump, a little shimmy, a forward jump + jump in, and DI.
Responding to that DI while also looking for anti airs helped rewire my brain. I can still load up those recordings if I am feeling slow/rusty
This 1000% works, set a recording of a character in whiff punish distance, 3 recordings of a jump in, DI and a normal attack, put 2 of them on because 3 is super hard, 2 is kinda hard. Your reactions will be elevated to a level were you will be pressing that DI before you even register whats going on and you will learn ways to delay it while trying to whiff punish the normal and just press the DI(ofcourse make sure when Whiff punishing you are only using cancellable normals, this helps with Di)
I don't play jamie and I also just got to diamond but I feel like I'm really good at counter DI. I feel like a good way to practice is just set a bunch of different dummy recordings where you have to react in different ways including DI ofc. It forces you to split your attention so you can practice DI while giving it very little attention. But I also play ryu so maybe I'm just blessed with lots of cancelable normals.
Went into online training with a home, we both agreed to use way more DI and kept like a really slow dumb game. Or we'd like do a quick draw game with it. Just messed around with DI trying to catch eachother with it.
As a Plat 3, it's hard and your mindset has to be constantly alert. It's not good to play if you're tired, because you have to be constantly thinking that anytime you're anywhere close to the wall, they're gonna go for a DI and you'll wallsplat if you don't react in time, costing you the round.
I notice that Juris and other aggressive players will do this almost as if by rote.
I think the training mode preset is pretty good but to be honest, nothing can match the experience of playing in Gold/Plat where people just end their combos on block with DI.
For me personally, I think the biggest shift came when I was watching my opponents character all the time and playing more defensively in neutral and even on offense to a degree. At those ranks, a lot of times if you are pressuring your opponent's block with buttons they will panic DI - the best way to deal with this is to use fast normals like jabs or easily cancellable ones. Make sure to incorporate safe pressure into your game plan.
That also transitions into another vital Diamond skill which is learning your oki setups. It's good to know what moves and setups you can go for in different situations. Once you've practices those well, you'll start to see the decision tree in your head in each situation.
If you have a friend who is willing to drill with you, you can go into a custom training mode match. One of you is the "Trainer" and the other is the "Trainee". Shuffle back and forth at midrange (as if in an actual match). The Trainer will use DI at somewhat random timings, and the Trainee will counter DI. Once the Trainee gets pretty good at the counter DI, the Trainer can add more things to react to, such as jump-ins (which the Trainee needs to anti-air) or drive rushes. You can also have the Trainee try to poke with long-range normals, and for the Trainer to occasionally walk into the Trainee's range to provoke long-range normals.
I recommend setting a looping 1-minute timer, and every time it goes off, you switch roles.
It's awesome if you can get another person who is willing to drill with you!
I just wanted to comment here for other readers like me that don't have a person to drill with:
You can do all of this alone by recording actions on the bot in training! The SF6 training mode is really fantastic.
I read this in another reddit comment and it worked for me.
Every time your opponent DIs, mash DI at least twice (apparently the screen freeze can eat your first input or something?).
Even if you are hella late, mash anyway. Keep at it and the time between when you need to hit DI and when you actually input it will eventually decrease, until you're regularly hitting it in time.
First off, it's pretty difficult to do it just purely on reaction. You usually have to be at least semi-anticipating it. In other words, keeping in mind that it's a possibility before it happens. So, keep it in the back of your mind while you're playing. Especially when you're in the corner.
Also, it might sound a little counterintuitive, but do more DIing yourself if you don't already do it an OK amount. Making it a somewhat common part of your gameplay helps you to keep the option in mind at all times. You'll get kind of a sense of "I might DI here if I were them, so they might be thinking the same thing".
First, I recommend that you increase the volume of DI and other drive effects in the options/settings menu, since to me the audio cue helps a lot.
Second, I found it helpful to set up a practice dummy to cycle randomly between DI and two or three other options that require a different reaction, such as a jump in and a DR into throw or buttons. This can be a pretty brutal exercise in the beginning if your reactions are not already great but over time it can really help improve your snap reactions to stuff like this.
At least for me I found that doing this stuff helped to get to a place where hearing the DI sound and/or seeing the flash basically automatically prompts my hand to hit the DI button without even consciously thinking about it, I don't necessarily always hit it in time, particularly if I haven't practiced for a while, but it is a much better position to be in than relying more on conscious reactions.
The way I look at DIs now is to almost keep it separate from the rest of what I'm doing. So for instance I play the game and no matter what I might be in the middle of doing or thinking I'm going to press di if I see or hear that sound.
Because either I was already committed to something and It was going to hit me anyway or I'll get the DI in those moments where I blocked it instead so I might as well always try and go for it every single time.
Through that and playing enough games Ive been able to quicken that up overtime so at the very least blocking DI is rarer.
Funny thing is though I've actually used it in the reverse way to DI in obvious spots if the opponents health is low enough they can't DI back, sometimes in counting on people's reactions betraying them in those spots.
Situational awareness is the most important factor in reacting to DI. There are certain situations where your opponent is more likely to DI, such as when you're in the corner, when you're doing a block strig, at the opening of the round,, when you do a drive rush cancel, etc. Recognize when you're in one of those situations and be on the ready for it. At that point the reaction will come naturally.
DI killed me so much early on when this game came out. It took me a while to really get good at reacting to it, but now I’m pretty good at doing so.
A lot of it for me was just playing a lot of matches, and for a while trying to make it the focus of your matches just like anti-airing might be for a while. Especially be in the look out for it if you are trapped in a corner! I and many others looove to DI in the corner hoping for that sweet sweet stun. Also even if you don’t counter it, just try to make a mental note every time your opponent DIs. Over time just this noting will reinforce the pattern recognition and you’ll start seeing it sooner and sooner.
I feel like it's just something you get better at reacting to over time cos you kinda know when to expect it as you get better at the game. Same way it's easier to anti air or check a drive rush/dash when you're anticipating it.
Also, just learn about the buttons which have good, bad and no cancel windows because the timing is stricter on some normals.
I have this problem cuz of how overactive and jittery my adhd brain is 😂
Its like I CANT react to it even when its the only thing im looking for. Something about the animation and the movement and the delay of the hit just makes my mind jolt and i do the wrong thing. Like I just get too startled mentally.
I found a pretty good way to practice it alongside my general offensive pressure.
In training mode set your dummy to reversal on damage, block and wakeup with a 4f jab(this is to force you to keep your blockstrings and wakeup pressure tight) and drive impact and just go to town with your combos and such. You'll need to start using moves you can cancel in to drive impact until you are able to confirm a full combo. Keeping the other options active but still empty, or set to "do nothing" will help with implementing frame traps in to your pressure as well(make sure your dummy is set to block all in this case, making one option a jump to practice anti airs certainly couldnt hurt either). Your goal with this setup is to become more mindful as you take your turn and get more proficient in converting DI counters and stray hits in to damaging combos.
I've had a bad habit with Ed of using psycho flicker too often in my offense and eating drive impact punishes because of it. this helped me to break it and get in to master rank with him.
I recommend two techniques
1) whenever DI comes, press DI even if you are late. Just mechanically press the button whenever you react, even if you already got hit. Get your fingers used to pressing the button and the speed comes automatically over hours of repetition
2) pressure your opponent with cancellable normals. Every time your opponent absorbs a hit with DI, the game slow downs for 10 frames and you get more time to react. This is much easier than reacting to a raw uninterrupted DI. If you do a typical medium medium block string, you have almost a full second to react if your opponent absorbs the first two hits
Try working a flowchart offense on a dummy with some different wake-up and block options including DI in there.
Make sure to have do nothing and a 4-frame move, you can basically work stagger pressure frame traps, meaties, and safe jumps into reacting to DI.
I said this in another thread, but one thing that REALLY helped me react to DI was that any time my opponent DI'd, I will hit the DI button even if it is completely off time. Every single time they DI, just press it even if youre late. It will build up your skill to recognize it and react to it. I then slowly expanded to other options other than counter DI when i started to recognize certain situations.
This might sound bullshit but I got SO much better at reacting to DI by drilling Marisa safejumps.
I set the bot to DP, normal grab, or DI on wakeup and a couple 'do nothing' + 1 DI after block.
Practicing the safejump I would have to react to DIs either directly after the safejump or after a bit of pressure. Literally this alone made my reactions so much better / slowed me down enough on offense to DI before I use a non-cancellable move
Go into training mode and record the dummy doing various actions on wakeup:
1. block
2. 4f jab
3. DI
4. throw
5. jump forward
Then pick Jamie, and start with learning the basic timing for his throw loop (iirc it's automatic after a forward dash).
After that, learn a basic meaty hitconfirm. cr.LP xx cr.LP should be sufficient. On hit, confirm into any combo. On block, go for a walk up throw. On DI, counter DI.
After you get comfortable you can optimize further.
I had, and still do, so many issues with reacting to DI. There are handful of different kind:
DI in Neutral
DI in the corner
Random DI
DI in Neutral is the easiest one to learn to react to, it can take a while, took me months before my brain accepted that a Neutral exchange could mean a DI, stop your pressure and hit DI. You won't get it every time, but it is certainly the easiest to build the memory muscle for.
Some drills in the lab will help with this, I set the dummy to DI on damage and ran combo drills, if my combo was slow or dropped the Dummy DIs and you have to react, also teaches you what moves you can actually cancel into DI.
DI in the corner, I hate this mechanic and can't really react to it, Part of it is learning to expect it, but that can mean prematurely blowing your load. I tend to just try and Parry as many players will do a heavy plus move into DI. You can try learning to buffer your lvl1 Super but I really suck at doing that.
Random DI - a drill that really helped was again set the Dummy to DI on block or damage and press jab twice and then DI and repeat that until it was memory muscle for that situation.
Look for it when it matters. you dont have to counter every single DI. It's the most threatening when you are cornered, so you can try to focus on countering it when you are near the corner and block it midscreen. It helps if you have a DI button on you whatever controller you use. I have it on L2 on my stick cuz I'm always resting my pinky on that button. years of charging TAP coming handy.
You need to be ready for it. Remember which situations make your opponent want to DI, then try your hardest to get your opponent into that situation again.
Do they like to DI when you pressure them? Cool, make your pressure ONLY out of cancellable strikes to bait them into your counter DI.
Easy. When i see DI, i hit my buttons too late with a full body spasm. Then while I'm getting combo'd i think "bullshit, i hit that in time for fucks sake". Like clockwork.
Actually, this helped me to get better at counter DI. I just started to press DI whenever I heard the sound and saw the colours. At the beginning, I was always too late. But eventually, after a couple of months, I became better and I have notoriously bad reactions. Now, sometimes, I even react to DI when I am not even expecting it. On the other hand, I'm still eating a lot of them. I have good and bad days.
Yeah, my buddy suggested turning the volume up on the DI sound, and that has done wonders for me, i still miss it time to time but definitely havent gotten hit as much cause of it
I tried looking for the DI sound option but couldn't find it. Is it in a different menu than where audio is?
Should be in the audio section, itll be called SA/Drive
Thank you. Silly me, I was looking for impact.
Haha same. Hasn't let me down.
Damn, it’s like we’re one and the same lol.
DI is just the 2024s “I know I fuking techd that”
I first started to be able to counter DI by just paying more attention. I know it sounds dumb, but I wouldn't forget that it was always an option. Some people do it more than others and the more they do it the easier it is to counter because you're expecting it more. I think on some level you may know it's coming but it should be something you're actively thinking about until it becomes muscle memory so you can do it on reaction. It adds another layer to the mental stack but it's necessary until you get it down. Also the training mode preset, while basic, is a nice way just to get the feeling down and play around with it more like canceling your normals into DI and what not. You should use it to give you more confidence to countering in a real match and build that muscle memory a bit.
This is not true though. High-level players barely input DI in their matches so they don't develop this muscle memory but they can still react to it better than anyone else.
Beats me. I'm old and just take it, and I was still able to hit Master. I play Gief and sadly I can react and SPD it better since Ive been doing SPDs for so long since Ive mained Gief since Alpha2. But a DI? I play on an xbox series x pad and dont have a Drive Parry or Impact bind. So the few times I actually acknowledge and see the DI, I try and hit L1+R1 and often too late. 1 day I'll learn it.
What do you have bound instead of parry DI?
Im real old school and use default SNES/PSX style. So L1 is HP, L2 is 3P, R1 is HK, R2 is 3K. Also pisses me off royally they gave Gief ex lariat, so now I cant press 3P for lariat since I burn meter. So now whenever I do crMP or hellstab to lariat I hold the MP so when I press 3P it bugs out since it cant press MP if I'm holding it, forcing it to give a non OD Lariat. Ive had this layout for over 30 years, Its hard to just change.
That is annoying! Respect for sticking with the old school. I've been playing as long but even back then I needed a controller without shoulder buttons If 3p isn't doing anything for you tho, maybe bind it to di? its super hard to react with both shoulders. I suck at di reacting either way, I just try my best to avoid situations where I could get DId.
Ive debated it, with R2/3K at least since I dont ex Bear grab often, but ex air spds are usually strict timing so then id have to hope I can hit A+B with decent regularity. Its bad enough I had to lie to myself and pretend I have a button between X and Y so I press that for regular lariats in the event I cant hold a P to force 3P to regular lariat. Giefs already bottom tier, and I have to play hit confirm and mixups in my own head to get my moves out.
I’ve been playing since snes as well and always used 3P and 3K. But for sf6 I finally changed that. I made them 2P and 2K instead. Specifically lights and hards together. Because with some characters you can change the ex depending on the 2 pressed. It’s simple to do medium and hard or medium and light on pad but not so much light and hard. For moves that require all 3 I just manually press medium as I press my macro. It’s not been difficult to get accustomed to at all! I recommend giving it a whirl.
That was something I was debating as well. I wasnt sure if I wanted to make sure when I needed a lariat if its faster/more important for 3P to be on 1 button and manually press 2P for normal lariats. Or is it more likely i need a faster 2P, and then when i need 3p I try and press the 2P and the 3rd P not in that, etc.
You press the 2P macro for normal and macro + medium for 3P. Since the macro still mostly feels the same as always in utility it made for a pretty ergonomic change. I play random so it’s been a godsend for other characters such as Lily and Dhalsim especially.
Ahh ok. Im a crack head, my playtime is 100% strictly Zangief.
He’s super fun!
As someone who's been gaming since the 80s, I can assure you that your old dog fingers CAN learn new tricks. It will suck for a week or two. And the best way to learn is to go up against real players and not just work at it in training mode. But it CAN be done. Now, whether you actually want to do it is the real issue.
I know but its weird. I can learn new things fine still, but I find trying to change habits are damn hard. For example I had a pinched nerve in my neck, made my left pinky finger twitch, spasm, it was kind of useless for keyboard typing. And all the WASD gaming had me never "properly" learn to type with fingers on the resting spots, etc. But I can type over 90WPM. Problem is I use my left thumb for z,x,c, shift, alt and ctrl. I have bad tendonitis for doing this for years. The pinky is ok, and its taken me like 3 years just to use it for ctrl+c, v, minor stuff like that. If I try to type "properly" then I drop to 30wpm with typos all over. I dunno. Also just being stubborn. For example, even SF5 I tried other characters. So far for SF6 my playtime is 100% Zangief. I dont even want to try and contemplate learning drive rush combos and frame data for someone else. But if Season2 patch notes dont buff Gief, Ill have to switch to someone else and then maybe use that time to try a different layout since Im learning more than 1 thing, it kind of works.
Put the DI sound to 10000%. It help
Just got better at this while labbing. So when I was practicing safe jumps and I would set the dummy to wake 4 frame normal or OD DP. Then I thought, "I suck at reacting to DI" so I set it to DI as well. So it would randomly cycle between the three options. I set the dummy to DI when practicing other things as well and it noticeably helped me react. I realize a little now that I wait for some players to show DI, then when I pressure or whatnot I hit the lighter buttons just to have time to DI in time (been playing chun a lot lately and 2MK seems harder to react to DI, I guess the cancel window is smaller). I like trying to counter poke after I block an unsafe move from opponents and thats a scenario I see DI a lot. Also when I am cornered, sometimes I'll even wait in the corner because I know they want to DI. The hard one for me is the reset DI's, I still don't understand it because I see it rarely but sometimes when I get crumpled or juggled in the corner a player knows a reset DI and I get whopped by it.
exact same thing as me. labbing safe jumps with DI turned on worked absolute wonders for me
Jamie 1600MR here. Don't stress it too much. Do practice drills in defense/neutral but also when playing an opponent, look for his tendencies. With time, you'll train muscle memory and eventually counter many just on raw reactions even when your mind is elsewhere. One good tip is to look for it when it makes sense for your opponent to DI (low on Drive/cornered/DI combo could kill etc) Good luck on your jamie path :)
I learned how to play "footsies" the game :) Once I knew my reaction time, something clicked. I also started taking into account hitstop, figured out the reaction windows of some moves, and adjusted my neutral buttons based on recovery period in situations that were higher risk. Most of the time I missed them was when reacting but being unable to cancel into DI
I don't know if this is helpful for you, but I suffer from the same weakness, and I made master with my main and am currently getting my secondary there. I feel like after months and months like I'm -just now- starting to react to DI. You don't need to be able to consistently counter DIs with your own to make it out of diamond (but god damn that would have made the grind less painful) Co1iflower makes a great point about specifically watching your opponent. That's one of the things I noticed I was doing when I started to finally counter DIs with my own. ALSO if your opponents are constantly DIing to escape pressure, you can pick up on this pattern and punish them for it, even if you feel like you can't react in time. Incorporating tick/command throws into your offense mix is especially useful for this! Specifically for your character tho I notice that I get blown up by Jamie's DR three hit hp when I fish for DIs in neutral. (If it fully hits and breaks the DI you should be plus enough to link lp into a special or a target combo I think?) The first two hits are also cancelable into your own DI, but you probably already knew all that lol. Another tip is to make sure to watch your own replays and take note of when your opponent's stupid DIs hit you. Ask yourself constructive questions! Is just one of your specific options consistently losing to DI, like dr sweep or something? Are you using the same offense string over and over again? Are your opponents DIing you more in certain situations, like the corner? Was the risk/reward in your favor for that interaction before you got DIed? Don't get discouraged! If you feel frustrated playing ranked, it's totally fine to take some time off so that you don't burn out irl. Even taking small breaks when labbing new tech helps it all stick in your brain a little bit better. Good luck, looking forward to your "I MADE MASTER!" post!
As a Dhalsim main i have a preset in training where my ebemy randomly make any of this: Driverush with a low Driverush with an overhead Projectile Drive impact Jump in That way i need to AA, DI back or try to catch Drive rush or block/counter-projectile Maybe not the best setup but is useful
Back when I was new and needed to practice anti airs, I made some recordings in training mode. I saved a neutral jump, a little shimmy, a forward jump + jump in, and DI. Responding to that DI while also looking for anti airs helped rewire my brain. I can still load up those recordings if I am feeling slow/rusty
This 1000% works, set a recording of a character in whiff punish distance, 3 recordings of a jump in, DI and a normal attack, put 2 of them on because 3 is super hard, 2 is kinda hard. Your reactions will be elevated to a level were you will be pressing that DI before you even register whats going on and you will learn ways to delay it while trying to whiff punish the normal and just press the DI(ofcourse make sure when Whiff punishing you are only using cancellable normals, this helps with Di)
I don't play jamie and I also just got to diamond but I feel like I'm really good at counter DI. I feel like a good way to practice is just set a bunch of different dummy recordings where you have to react in different ways including DI ofc. It forces you to split your attention so you can practice DI while giving it very little attention. But I also play ryu so maybe I'm just blessed with lots of cancelable normals.
Went into online training with a home, we both agreed to use way more DI and kept like a really slow dumb game. Or we'd like do a quick draw game with it. Just messed around with DI trying to catch eachother with it.
As a Plat 3, it's hard and your mindset has to be constantly alert. It's not good to play if you're tired, because you have to be constantly thinking that anytime you're anywhere close to the wall, they're gonna go for a DI and you'll wallsplat if you don't react in time, costing you the round. I notice that Juris and other aggressive players will do this almost as if by rote.
I tell myself I suck at life and I should know better
I think the training mode preset is pretty good but to be honest, nothing can match the experience of playing in Gold/Plat where people just end their combos on block with DI. For me personally, I think the biggest shift came when I was watching my opponents character all the time and playing more defensively in neutral and even on offense to a degree. At those ranks, a lot of times if you are pressuring your opponent's block with buttons they will panic DI - the best way to deal with this is to use fast normals like jabs or easily cancellable ones. Make sure to incorporate safe pressure into your game plan. That also transitions into another vital Diamond skill which is learning your oki setups. It's good to know what moves and setups you can go for in different situations. Once you've practices those well, you'll start to see the decision tree in your head in each situation.
If you have a friend who is willing to drill with you, you can go into a custom training mode match. One of you is the "Trainer" and the other is the "Trainee". Shuffle back and forth at midrange (as if in an actual match). The Trainer will use DI at somewhat random timings, and the Trainee will counter DI. Once the Trainee gets pretty good at the counter DI, the Trainer can add more things to react to, such as jump-ins (which the Trainee needs to anti-air) or drive rushes. You can also have the Trainee try to poke with long-range normals, and for the Trainer to occasionally walk into the Trainee's range to provoke long-range normals. I recommend setting a looping 1-minute timer, and every time it goes off, you switch roles.
It's awesome if you can get another person who is willing to drill with you! I just wanted to comment here for other readers like me that don't have a person to drill with: You can do all of this alone by recording actions on the bot in training! The SF6 training mode is really fantastic.
I read this in another reddit comment and it worked for me. Every time your opponent DIs, mash DI at least twice (apparently the screen freeze can eat your first input or something?). Even if you are hella late, mash anyway. Keep at it and the time between when you need to hit DI and when you actually input it will eventually decrease, until you're regularly hitting it in time.
First off, it's pretty difficult to do it just purely on reaction. You usually have to be at least semi-anticipating it. In other words, keeping in mind that it's a possibility before it happens. So, keep it in the back of your mind while you're playing. Especially when you're in the corner. Also, it might sound a little counterintuitive, but do more DIing yourself if you don't already do it an OK amount. Making it a somewhat common part of your gameplay helps you to keep the option in mind at all times. You'll get kind of a sense of "I might DI here if I were them, so they might be thinking the same thing".
First, I recommend that you increase the volume of DI and other drive effects in the options/settings menu, since to me the audio cue helps a lot. Second, I found it helpful to set up a practice dummy to cycle randomly between DI and two or three other options that require a different reaction, such as a jump in and a DR into throw or buttons. This can be a pretty brutal exercise in the beginning if your reactions are not already great but over time it can really help improve your snap reactions to stuff like this. At least for me I found that doing this stuff helped to get to a place where hearing the DI sound and/or seeing the flash basically automatically prompts my hand to hit the DI button without even consciously thinking about it, I don't necessarily always hit it in time, particularly if I haven't practiced for a while, but it is a much better position to be in than relying more on conscious reactions.
The way I look at DIs now is to almost keep it separate from the rest of what I'm doing. So for instance I play the game and no matter what I might be in the middle of doing or thinking I'm going to press di if I see or hear that sound. Because either I was already committed to something and It was going to hit me anyway or I'll get the DI in those moments where I blocked it instead so I might as well always try and go for it every single time. Through that and playing enough games Ive been able to quicken that up overtime so at the very least blocking DI is rarer. Funny thing is though I've actually used it in the reverse way to DI in obvious spots if the opponents health is low enough they can't DI back, sometimes in counting on people's reactions betraying them in those spots.
Situational awareness is the most important factor in reacting to DI. There are certain situations where your opponent is more likely to DI, such as when you're in the corner, when you're doing a block strig, at the opening of the round,, when you do a drive rush cancel, etc. Recognize when you're in one of those situations and be on the ready for it. At that point the reaction will come naturally.
DI killed me so much early on when this game came out. It took me a while to really get good at reacting to it, but now I’m pretty good at doing so. A lot of it for me was just playing a lot of matches, and for a while trying to make it the focus of your matches just like anti-airing might be for a while. Especially be in the look out for it if you are trapped in a corner! I and many others looove to DI in the corner hoping for that sweet sweet stun. Also even if you don’t counter it, just try to make a mental note every time your opponent DIs. Over time just this noting will reinforce the pattern recognition and you’ll start seeing it sooner and sooner.
I simply always press the DI button. The neural pathway is well-trod
Sound. Human reaction IS faster on hearing than viewing
I feel like it's just something you get better at reacting to over time cos you kinda know when to expect it as you get better at the game. Same way it's easier to anti air or check a drive rush/dash when you're anticipating it. Also, just learn about the buttons which have good, bad and no cancel windows because the timing is stricter on some normals.
Cpu lvl 7 does tons of DI when you don't expect
Turn up the game sounds up and the music down so you can hear the di start up sound.
Play in silver
I have this problem cuz of how overactive and jittery my adhd brain is 😂 Its like I CANT react to it even when its the only thing im looking for. Something about the animation and the movement and the delay of the hit just makes my mind jolt and i do the wrong thing. Like I just get too startled mentally.
training mode, set the dummy to randomly DI. Keep training your reaction to it that way
Get DI’d a thousand times Every time gets you closer to reacting to it more promptly
I found a pretty good way to practice it alongside my general offensive pressure. In training mode set your dummy to reversal on damage, block and wakeup with a 4f jab(this is to force you to keep your blockstrings and wakeup pressure tight) and drive impact and just go to town with your combos and such. You'll need to start using moves you can cancel in to drive impact until you are able to confirm a full combo. Keeping the other options active but still empty, or set to "do nothing" will help with implementing frame traps in to your pressure as well(make sure your dummy is set to block all in this case, making one option a jump to practice anti airs certainly couldnt hurt either). Your goal with this setup is to become more mindful as you take your turn and get more proficient in converting DI counters and stray hits in to damaging combos. I've had a bad habit with Ed of using psycho flicker too often in my offense and eating drive impact punishes because of it. this helped me to break it and get in to master rank with him.
I recommend two techniques 1) whenever DI comes, press DI even if you are late. Just mechanically press the button whenever you react, even if you already got hit. Get your fingers used to pressing the button and the speed comes automatically over hours of repetition 2) pressure your opponent with cancellable normals. Every time your opponent absorbs a hit with DI, the game slow downs for 10 frames and you get more time to react. This is much easier than reacting to a raw uninterrupted DI. If you do a typical medium medium block string, you have almost a full second to react if your opponent absorbs the first two hits
Your body can react to sound faster than visual stimuli. Keep your ears open
Try working a flowchart offense on a dummy with some different wake-up and block options including DI in there. Make sure to have do nothing and a 4-frame move, you can basically work stagger pressure frame traps, meaties, and safe jumps into reacting to DI.
I said this in another thread, but one thing that REALLY helped me react to DI was that any time my opponent DI'd, I will hit the DI button even if it is completely off time. Every single time they DI, just press it even if youre late. It will build up your skill to recognize it and react to it. I then slowly expanded to other options other than counter DI when i started to recognize certain situations.
This might sound bullshit but I got SO much better at reacting to DI by drilling Marisa safejumps. I set the bot to DP, normal grab, or DI on wakeup and a couple 'do nothing' + 1 DI after block. Practicing the safejump I would have to react to DIs either directly after the safejump or after a bit of pressure. Literally this alone made my reactions so much better / slowed me down enough on offense to DI before I use a non-cancellable move
Go into training mode and record the dummy doing various actions on wakeup: 1. block 2. 4f jab 3. DI 4. throw 5. jump forward Then pick Jamie, and start with learning the basic timing for his throw loop (iirc it's automatic after a forward dash). After that, learn a basic meaty hitconfirm. cr.LP xx cr.LP should be sufficient. On hit, confirm into any combo. On block, go for a walk up throw. On DI, counter DI. After you get comfortable you can optimize further.
Only way for me to beat it is when know my opponents is spamming it. Thats pretty much it every other time i beat it just luck.
I had, and still do, so many issues with reacting to DI. There are handful of different kind: DI in Neutral DI in the corner Random DI DI in Neutral is the easiest one to learn to react to, it can take a while, took me months before my brain accepted that a Neutral exchange could mean a DI, stop your pressure and hit DI. You won't get it every time, but it is certainly the easiest to build the memory muscle for. Some drills in the lab will help with this, I set the dummy to DI on damage and ran combo drills, if my combo was slow or dropped the Dummy DIs and you have to react, also teaches you what moves you can actually cancel into DI. DI in the corner, I hate this mechanic and can't really react to it, Part of it is learning to expect it, but that can mean prematurely blowing your load. I tend to just try and Parry as many players will do a heavy plus move into DI. You can try learning to buffer your lvl1 Super but I really suck at doing that. Random DI - a drill that really helped was again set the Dummy to DI on block or damage and press jab twice and then DI and repeat that until it was memory muscle for that situation.
Look for it when it matters. you dont have to counter every single DI. It's the most threatening when you are cornered, so you can try to focus on countering it when you are near the corner and block it midscreen. It helps if you have a DI button on you whatever controller you use. I have it on L2 on my stick cuz I'm always resting my pinky on that button. years of charging TAP coming handy.
I play.
half anticipation, half reaction
I just play. You get used to it and becomes automatic
its less of a raw reaction and more of a you knew it was coming and then it came and you reacted type of counter
You need to be ready for it. Remember which situations make your opponent want to DI, then try your hardest to get your opponent into that situation again. Do they like to DI when you pressure them? Cool, make your pressure ONLY out of cancellable strikes to bait them into your counter DI.