@@Void_Roseyou should just delete this comment, it’s kind of attention seeking and you need to realise you’ll get better, ask yourself what beats you and determine what your better at and use those tools more and once you’re comfortable with your solid fundamentals then add one more move or tactic
I remember Maximilian Dood has said in one of his videos, "Just because you're losing, does that mean you're not learning anything of value from that? No." This advice has stuck with me in having a better mindset. As a freelance illustrator, this quote reminded me of one of the things my lecturers stressed upon during my time in college and it was, "even the masters will tell you they're not perfect. That they're STILL constantly learning". Having the mindset of "okay what did I learn/how do I get better" is infinitely more helpful (and healthy) than constantly thinking "why can't I WIN more".
I learned to stop caring about winning or win rates, I also learned to stop asking "why can't I win more" but rather to ask "Why did I lose that?" And pick out moments in a match where I ate shit and go lab why I ate shit.
I think as a society, we’re more materialistic and hungry for success than ever. Especially the next generation (zoomers). I see this so much among my colleagues and peers who are either doing a masters degree or fresh into the workforce. There’s this prevalent attitude of “fuck learning, I just want to win/get promoted/get money/ buy a house/ get a girlfriend; and anything less than this is unacceptable”. People are harsher on themselves than ever, they want Ws and if they set lofty goals and expectations and when they don’t meet them, they feel like they failed at life. It’s crazy how this attitude extends all the way to fighting games as well. Very saddening.
@@mikeshinwa3398 Definitely! It's fascinating that fighting games tend to reveal that tendency and mindset very starkly due to it being a very personal journey and experience. You don't really have anything to "blame" other than yourself. It's either being too harsh on yourself or deflecting the problem by blaming others ("that character is broken", "this player just does cheap moves", etc), or a combination of both. As Phi said in the video, many things shape us into the way we behave or react to things. I'm rambling but it is fascinating in many cases and in some, very sad.
"Rank doesn't matter. I'm a first dan and I'm beating Emperor players" > Played professionally since tekken tag 1 > Reached Tekken God Omega in Tekken 7 > Has a team acronym before his name because he's a sponsored player Rank matters for newbies who want to know where they're at. Especially those who cannot travel and therefore cannot match their skills with competitors. As long as you're not cheating it, whatever your rank is will be a source of pride until you become a veteran where then you will realize that your skills have transcended the concept of ranks. Your name then becomes your rank! Knee's rank isn't "Tekken God of Destruction". Knee's Rank is "Knee!"
Right? And saying Fujin isn't a high rank or that you're any good at that rank is so ignorant. Like, we have the numbers, we have the statistics. Only 10% of players reach that rank or higher. Meaning 90% of players aren't on that rank, thus you being in top 10% of all players. This is by default being 'good at Tekken'. You have to see it in a whole practical perspective, not like how a robot would perfectly play a game. That would be like measuring human chess players with chess engines.
They’re not disregarding that (even says he had the same feeling when playing league). But rather, rank should not be the most important thing. Insane as of thinking “I can fight people at this rank”, you should be thinking about why you’re losing against certain people. Yes, some may be a higher rank. But there are just as many at your rank or even lower who may beat you. The rank isn’t the important part, but the willingness to learn from all your loses, however it happened (gotta hit the lab)
The crazy thing is that people treat quick matches as if they’re ranked. I use “quick match” to spar, meaning I’m just practicing new things, and then I have people PLUGGING!! They plug, one and done, or refuse to rematch. The mentality of some people in this game is crazy to me.
Losing in this game feels worse than almost any other game, so people will do anything for a win especially if they think they’re justified by playing “honest” or saying everything is cheap 😂
I'm sure no one would ever defend plugging, but I don't understand why people get so heated if the other person doesn't rematch, especially in quick match. It's a sparring place for you, but for others it can be a way to relax and have more fun than sweating in ranked. Maybe you play a character they hate playing against. Maybe they recently had a tilting match in ranked against a character, went into quick play to cool off and then ran into you playing the exact same character. I'm not saying it isn't annoying when you're in the groove and ready to go another round and the other person just quits, but there's many reasons why I can understand them doing so.
You, Maximillian Dood and PhiDx got me into fighting games. Seeing the evolution in all your contents has been a journey I've been proud to be a part of
This is my 1st Tekken game that I’ve personally owned and played on my own, and the first time that I’ve seen where there’s a lot of discussion in ranks and how “your rank means you’ve actually played the game” and other stuff. Ive grown to just simply enjoy the game itself and ignoring the whole “you’ve only started real tekken at X rank”. The climb to yellow, where you can actually lose points and be demoted, was both a hurdle, but also extremely fun, because I was sitting there playing the game, and just absorbing all the info that I got with each match. A lot of those matches were filled with “Wait how did I do that in heat?” “How in the hell did he do that?” “Ohhhhhh I get it”, and it was great! The process of learning the game, even with all the losses and beatings I was taking in quick match, made it so I could have a fun time in ranked, even when losing points. And now, I type this comment up, sitting only at Eliminator, approaching the halfway point nearing Garyu, and while I’ve had a couple bad days in ranked, it’s still been a good time. For someone like me, garyu is my own personal god of destruction. Obviously it’s a long ways away from it, and it definitely doesn’t mean I’ve become some kind of pro, but it’s a testament of how far I’ve come in the journey for a game that’s barely 3 months old at this point. It’s my own goal and that’s within reach, despite plenty of people reaching it only taking a couple days, or even hours. The last thing is, you have to make sure to actually *enjoy* the process of learning your character, the little bits and pieces of the game and take pride in where you stand. Whether it be as a Strategist, a Garyu, or hell even a god of destruction, take pride in learning the game and enjoying it and never obsess over it, and that can take you a long way. (Jesus I didn’t realize I wrote this much…)
I completely agree, this is my first online Tekken experience and while I will say the gameplay hasn't been the best I just recently hit Ganryu and to me that is my goal. I told myself if I can at least get to red I'll be satisfied. I've had many people tell me how bad of a rank that is but I just brush them off; it was my personal goal, I accomplished it, don't let someone's negativity take away from your success and accomplishments.
You'll get there, I remember when Eliminator was my target, then Genryu, then Tenryu. It took me a month and a half to reach Mighty Ruler from Tenryu, but I found out a lot about the way I play, the mess ups, the missed advantages. Even when you fail, you succeed, think like that and take away the knowledge from each game and keep going. My goal for the game was to hit Garyu, because me and my friends where struggling at Vanquisher. Now I want to get to God of Destruction, it's a Marathon that never ends.
@@slick_rickgaming1102yea dont listen to that, any rank is good if it’s your goal. for me, my goal was to make it to tekken emperor or tekken God. i never played tekken competitively in my life so im taking it a bit serious, and im at battle ruler very close to fujin (blue). so your own goal is your own goal specifically 💯
Things start getting funky and they will for you in those orange/red ranks because you are going to alternate between fighting good players using their secondaries and braindead string spammers/knowledge check cheesers.
I have played many Tekken games, but 8 is the first one I'm actually sitting down and learning the terminology, combos, frame advantages, and matchups. Thank you for the information, i am proud to say I'm Shinryu rank.
Hell yeah, im on the same boat, played tekken 5 and 6 as a kid so i had to pick up tekken 7 these past years, but i just played off muscle memory, subconsciously understanding things as i went on like how to react or punish to specific things. I took a long time learning things, played law as my main and lydia as a secondary. Now in tekken 8 im fresh to it and taking it more seriously learning and practicing as much as i can. Now im tenryu and im happy with my progress as i never made it passed destroyer in tekken 7
Been playing Tekken since forever, and this game is super helpful for beginners on learning how to play. Just watch your matches win or lose, and it tells you how to punish moves that keep blowing you up. Practice and Replay system is the best in any fighting game. I've been learning so much just from replays.
Absolutely in the same position. I only really started with strive so closer to the end of tekken 7’s lifespan. I used to play it as a child on the PSP and it’s always been a strong part of filipino culture haha~
Started the game a couple weeks after launch with almost no fighting game experience. I hit emperor a while back and the thing I consider to be my main strength and that carried me is mind games. It's the only thing that carried over from other games and it's also the thing I enjoy the most in competitive games. Once I learned to pilot my character in a way where it essentially became an extension of myself, that's when the mind games kicked in and my rank skyrocketed several tiers.
I play Ranked for the mental chess matches. I notice when ppl use less variety in their characters. I notice the moments ppl panic. I notice when they gain confidence. All the moment to moment mind games makes it fun for me.
That's good advice for beginners even though they're watching their own character, sometimes just doing a jab and seeing how someone reacts is something you gotta learn to read.
This! It's a feeling hardly any other genre of games can convey and among fighting games, Tekken excels in this due to its depth and limitless skill ceiling
A big thing I’ve come to learn playing Tekken over the years too is you are going to have bad days. Days where you just get obliterated by seemingly everyone you face and that is something that’s normal in any game. What’s important is to not dwell on it and think it’s a skill regression and let it hurt your enjoyment of the game.
@@VanceWeebin it’s totally understandable especially for newer players to fall into that mind set. Especially if the day before maybe you were lighting it up but really it boils down to a mental game where you start to over think things, or you simplify your play style because you think that’ll help but in return people can read you easier. In those moments the best thing you can do is just take a break and walk away. Come back a little later, come back the next day, give yourself time to cool off and unwind because continuing to play on tilt is only going to make it worse. Just like in other games, in sports, at work, at school, you just have off days and that’s okay but it’s important to try and recognize that before you let it start to eat away at you and take the fun out of it.
So true. I play Pickleball nearly everyday. The courts are just a few minutes walk from my place, and I like to get out of the house. In just over a year, I’ve gotten pretty damn good and most days I play at a top level. But some days, I get there, and I cannot explain how I’m playing sooooo poorly. Like, it’s not even close. I’m just ass. It doesn’t mean I stop. I’ll find my game again. It’s no big deal. Weird how with fighting games, we convince ourselves “Wait, now I’m just bad.” Keep going!
Facts all about streaks and runs of momentum really. Good to learn when your momentum is up and down when to take breaks when to come back. How you're feeling that day plays a huge part
I've been playing Tekken since Tekken 3 and I just got to Tekken King with Jin a few days ago, but holy hell it was an absolute nightmare to get promoted. I had to get demoted and re-promoted about 9 times before I finally got to Tekken King, and while I was super pissed at my losses and constant demotions, I realized that those losses taught me a lot more about the game and helped me gain matchup knowledge on OP characters (especially considering that almost all of my matches in that entire session were against Dragunov, Feng, Xiaoyu, Azucena, Jun, and King); the replay feature is also a God send since it helped me learn how to break certain grabs and which moves are unsafe, even if they look like they put pressure on your character. I personally believe that all of the demotions and losses you face will humble you and really force you to be better at the game.
I think I needed this video. I done broke a few remotes being hard stuck cause I want to increase in rank. Ima just play and learn the game to the best of my ability and the rank will come secondary or as a product of my improvement.
I agree quick match is not as hard as ranked, I think it helps with fighting opponents that are potentially way stronger than you. I played nothing but quick match for a week at Garyu rank, and pretty much just got destroyed by several purple and blue ranks. And when I went back to rank, I was destroying everyone because I have literally dealt with hell already
This is how I got to raijin I made Fujin and they made me play hella tekken kings. I beat a god of destruction using his second character after getting my ass kicked for a week. Hopped back in ranked and got to raijin on a 6 game win streak. Quick match is the ultimate sparring session for knowledge
Something I’ve been telling myself to cope w/ ranked anxiety is “The rank is only there to balance the game.” We hear it all the time but focus on improvement and rank will come with time, because as you get better the game will try to place you versus other stronger players. At the end of the day it is a matter of perspective. It is much healthier to look at it like “The ranked system exists to provide a more balanced and fun experience,” rather than “I can’t hit ___ rank therefore I am bad.”
I’m currently moving up several characters one color at a time and am finishing up yellow to move into gold and lord, this range of ranked is honestly the most fun i’ve had with the series because it’s so UNHINGED. it’s that weird space where everyone kinda is starting to understand but haven’t mastered it but also therefore willing to test out random shit and just pop off for no reason. high level tekken is fun to watch because it is so skilled base but goddamn low ranks are the wild west. the streets are on fire and we’re all on an express train to hell. absolute degenerates.
Love this video! I feel like you guys did a good job encouraging a more healthy mindset people should adopt when playing not only Tekken but in a lot of other games as well! Imma show this to a friend of mine
I think the difference between low and high ranks is the ability to adapt. Lower ranks get used to doing a certain script or flow chart when they get shut down they don't usually know what to do after that. So they keep doing the same thing over and over without ever adapting so they get stuck.
10:22 I agree. I'm Tekken Emperor with Yoshi in ranked, but I don't really know how to KBD. I also just got into frame data here in Tekken 8. Back then, I'm just basing everything on experience on what can be punishable.
I'll be honest I'm "stuck" at Tenryu because I don't grind the game enough. All I do is play people 2+ ranks higher than me or someone who's on their eighth character in Eliminator at 170K Tekken power. It's hard to have better than 50/50 win rate when you're literally matched with people who are supposed to beat you every single match.
FR I keep fighting people who have way more experience than me it’s so annoying especially when you lose to someone who’s a higher rank and lose double rp for no reason
@@Goldeda Yeah, like why am I losing like 600 to someone higher rank. Then I get 150 for winning. Do they not grasp how ELO ranking is supposed to work? Tetris Effect Connected has a better ranking system than this game.
The “improving but demoting” is SO FREAKING TRUE. I literally said every time I learned something new I feel like I got WORSE. Lmfao. Sure enough though, practice practice practice and I got used to it and I finally ranked up and I know it was because of my skill and practicing as opposed to just mashing and praying.
Maaaaaaan I wish people were having these conversations back when I started playing years ago. I've lived through these experiences, but never really talked to anyone about them, and so it's really great to hear these topics being discussed!
The best skill you can learn in this game is not the frame data, optimal spacing, nor character mash ups. It's holding a straight face and mind when you're getting whooped.
Super interesting takes all around. I think your rank (like basically everything in life) can be a help or a hindrance. I'm in Battle Ruler rn, but given this is my first Tekken, i have to sometimes catch myself chasing rank too often. I'll lose a match and be frustrated because i got knowledge checked over and over, maybe even by something really simple that wouldnt be a knowledge check to others. I often have to stop myself from getting frustrated that i lost the points and just go back into the training room and replays, look at what beat me, look at what my character can do to counter it, and go again. On the other hand, that dopamine hit when you feel like you're stuck in your rank, and then you finally get a breakthrough, either because you figured something out that's constantly beating you, or you were super locked in during one play session, is unlike anything else. I guess that's part of the reason why people get so caught up in chasing rank, rather than chasing improvement.
I feel like the better you get at anything the worse you think you are because you start to realize all the things your missing. Alot of times it feels like the true game starts when you hit the top 1%
Bto this came out at the perfect time - my ego was sweilling being in high blues, and then i get a train ran on me by people who are all using my character. I really had to take a step back and analyze everything and this really put it in perspective. I genuinely deeply appreciate this
Love this collab, and I’m glad content creators like you and PhiDx are making strides with bridging the gap between casual and competitive players. Keep cooking up this content 👏🏾💪🏾
You have to focus on playing well, not winning. You can't overcome the opponent by only thinking about the win and obsessing over it. Focus in the moment and react to what's in front of you. I had to learn that getting your ass kicked feels bad but it's okay and necessary.
Very great conversation Gents! Very good points, for me I don't care about rank but focus on improving my current weak points and what could be done better. After each rank up I hit quick match for a few weeks just to get a feel for the competition, work on new things ,etc. till I think I am good enough to rank up. But, I have been playing tekken a looooooong time so I can recognize these flaws, whereas a new tekken player may not realize what they are doing wrong. I recommend all newer players learn as much as they can about the game, just to be able to recognize these flaws and work to improve them
Generally it is a good mindset to not care about ranks and just try to improve but I disagree on 'ranks don't matter' or 'tekken ranks are a bad/not a display of your skill'. Why is it that a lot of people can't get out of red ranks or other color blocks? That is because that's right where they belong with the current skillset. You see and feel the shift in playstyle and knowledge when you enter new ranks (for example red to purple). In my own Tekken journey, being stuck between ranks helped me realise my current limit and that if I wanted to break that, I had to learn new things. Also I think there is nothing wrong with giving yourself a pat on the back when you reached a specific rank/goal you aimed for ;)
Very good video guys! I watch both of you so this was a treat! As a Fujin ( Would have been Raijin but 4 pluggers in a row on promo) I'm really working on my different wake up tools, my punishes, and ultimately my defense! Great dialog between you guys and I would love to see more of this!
What you all were saying was relatable. I am enjoying the progress of getting better than focusing on my title. It's one big roller coaster. Still just trying to have fun when I can.
The best way to view rank is a way of measuring what you’re learning vs what you need to learn. I always try to reflect on what I could have improved on to win rather than the rank I’m at. Did I miss a punish? Did I utilise my movement? Did I whiff too much? If I’m making mistakes why, and with what frequency? Your rank is reflection of your consistency and your ability to improve, don’t take it for an exact measure of skill but rather a signpost of where you can improve. Above all have fun, chasing ranks can be demoralising especially when you get stuck at a certain level - but remembering why you started playing in the first place will keep you focused on improving.
After taking Tekken 7 seriously and playing previous Tekkens, I do try to humble myself knowing that I have a lot to get better at. Listening to you all makes it more enjoyable about the journey of just finding new players, playing each and saying GGs to each other is fun and rewarding. Happy to hear this convos between y'all two. I hope y'all Collab more in the future.
The one thing I love about tekken/fighting games compared to other competitive games is that no matter the rank you can still enter most tournaments and still show off your skills
I feel like a mighty ruler in Tekken 7 is a Fujin in Tekken 8 but I may be wrong. It's kinda strange though cause offence is so overwhelming in this game you can fight against Fjuin who plays like green ranks.
I genuinely believed the same as you at first, then I found out toxic players like LTG and 6arakin both reached Fujin themselves when they're both dogshit players with poor experience with Tekken. LTG (a SF player) was stuck in orange ranks in Tekken 7 and 6arakin (an MK player) was using special style in Tekken 8 to begin with. I know they play cheap/S+ characters but that's besides the point.
As a perpetual fighting game beginner, and my first Tekken, this is the most beginner friendly fighting game I’ve ever experienced, despite its complexity. I say that cuz all you guys are “real” players, and I know that experienced players and beginners are often playing completely different games. The amount of recourses Tekken 8 to get acquainted with it is amazing. That being said, the heat system feels tailor made for beginners, but in the wrong way. The right way is the offline arcade mode, Ghosts, training modes, interactive replays, combo tutorials, the almost too meticulous move list, the simple way to remap/bind buttons, and somehow the way ALL of these separate things seem to flow together. With heat tho, as soon as I took half a health bar while mashing a few buttons I was like, “Oh that’s sus, Ive never been THAT good”. I may be in-experienced, but I know what training wheels feel like. The momentum swings relative to skills are CRAAAZY, so for legacy Tekken players I’d imagine it’s frustrating. Also, as cool as heat shenanigans are, because of how easy it is, it’s the first thing that loses its luster. I picked yoshimitsu, and I’ve been having a blast just doing all his crazy shit against the cpu. It makes me way happier to get slammed out of the air cuz my dumbass was helicoptering with Yoshimitsu too long, than to do a VERY basic heat combo and see positive results. The other characters I played I because of the story, and as soon as I figured out there heat stuff, that’s all I did. I think heat actively discourages exploration because of how obviously effective it is. Idk what or how, but this needs to be tweaked. Having said all this, I’ve never wanted to get better at a fighter more, and has opened my eyes wider to the genre. I’m grateful for Tekken 8 despite the LEGITIMATE problems, especially from a monetization and modding philosophy standpoint.
When i reached the blue ranks in T8 it really felt like more classic tekken experience, suddenly im playing with youtube guys like Frame Whisperer etc😂 In a way its more relaxing in these ranks cause there not much random ‘throwing it out there’ chaos but i see theres also a slight difference between characters that people play and how they approach them. For example, Tekken King Asuka is not much of a problem to fight, but a Kishin Bryan? 9/10 a fundamental genius that gives you much harder time, i really enjoy the differences.
I haven't watched the video yet but I am a Red rank hard stuck Garyu (Hwoarang main). This is also my first Tekken I played seriously (less than 10 hours in 7) only bought it cause on sale right before 8. Can't wait to see what is said about my rank.
Man I really did need to hear this video today. I’ve been so hard on myself about rank and acting like I haven’t truly been grinding but I have been getting better day by day and sometimes you need to take a step back and remember to have fun learn and keep striving to be great. Thank you dawg 🖤
I was playing Persona 3 Reload when I started this video, and I felt like I was hallucinating when I turned it off and the music was still in my ears 🤣 This was a great talk, and I needed it because I feel like I've been stuck in Ranked for a bit.
“You might be improving, but demoting. You don’t see the fruits of certain skills until they sink into your subconscious” -PhiDX This is huge and very true. But if you focus on improving then that’s ok. Eventually when it becomes muscle memory your rank will go up. But the improvement should be primary.
Tekken 8 is my first tekken and I've just been treating ranked more like casual just having fun, enjoying people's custom outfits, seeing people's combos and slowly ranking up. I've made it to garyu pretty steadily just playing for fun
When you stop caring is when you start improving. I've played drums for 26 years and for the first 20 I frustrated myself because I had dreams of becoming the greatest drummer ever and every time I didn't nail something it was the end of the world (exaggerating slightly for effect, but you know what I mean). When I finally got fed up with that and started viewing drumming as a hobby where all I wanted to do was to have fun playing the drums, I started improving much quicker because even just practicing a "boring" exercise on my own was suddenly enjoyable. Do not care about the rank, try to have so much fun every time you boot up the game that you can't wait for the next opportunity to play again.
I tripled demoted from Shinryu on Wednesday evening, and it took me a MONTH to get to said rank, and the follow day promoted back. So thought it was pretty cool bc it shows I did in fact get better when the day before was telling myself I was horrible and a terrible player that learned nothing. /:
Folks, since they spent an entire video pussy footing around it here's an answer. If you can get to Bushin+ and stick around those ranks, where the game punishes losses heavily, you're pretty decent at Tekken.
Oh, I didn't expect this. I think it's only the English dub explaining Vegeta's transformation like this. In the German dub and probably most others, he transformed when his anger of not being able to get as far as Goku exploded. Makes much more sense to me.
The funniest thing I’ve seen with my Tekken 8 play is that when I was winning my Tekken Power was stagnated or dropping but when I was losing it was going up so I looked back at the game and my losing games I was actually playing better and smarter than my winning games which blew my mind
Just two days ago I dropped from Kishin to Fujin as well, as I was so close to get to Bushin and wanted to force it, resulting in playing terribly. One day later I came back all relaxed, not giving a damn about my rank and climbed back to Kishin quickly. Its all about the mindset. Fuck ranks, they mean shit
@@Alex-Omegasame for me honestly whenever i play with the mindset of wanting to climb ranks instead of just having fun i do alot worse than usual. Which us why i just learned to play for fun and rank will come eventually, im not aiming to be a pro player after all lol
I was Raijin and got demoted all the way back to battle ruler, I took that loss and I understood I’m not good yet so I worked on higher combo damage, more sidestep and more punishing and using the stage to my advantage, I flew trough Raijin to kishin by that time my skills increased a lot now I’m Tekken King!
I beat a lot of purple ranks lol but I literally got stuck in Tenryu. I think it’s been about 2 weeks since I got here. Demoted instantly, promoted very next match and I’ve been stuck in tenryu ever since. Can’t demote, can’t promote 😂
This video really speaks to me, I put so much value on that silly emblem and not the play that got me there, and justified me changed approach to ranked as my game lagged behind, that spending the time to build the necessary skills to compete as the best player I can be. It's been nice getting into your channel and videos over these last few weeks. Especially as a fellow long time Howarang main. So thank you, for the videos and the effort with Tekken 🤘🏻
As a new King player, I avoided using the chain throws at the low ranks because I thought they were scrubby, but you guys have shown me the light. It’s on my opponents to learn how to break them, not on me to teach them :)
i hit fujin a couple of days ago and to me that was so satisfying. its the first tekken that i really got competitive in, and even though it's not as high as other people's, i still was excited when i hit that rank. 100hrs, 1-3 hrs per day, (give or take), i never gave up and kept learning all the match ups that i lost and looked up guides on how to improve.
If you REALLY want to know how good you are, enter online weekly tournaments for a month. That will give you a much better gauge of your skill level compared to rank (depending on how big those tournaments are) Like if you're East Coast America and you enter TNS every week, you'll probably get a good estimate of how good you are
Bro I appreciate y’all man. I dropped Victor because I got a lot of shit from people because he’s a cheesy character. I’m going to be myself and play with whoever I want too 😤
Playing whoever you want without remorse is the BEST mindset to have. Cause you gotta remember, character selection is a part of the game too! Not your fault your opponent chose to not learn the matchup!
I like to think of rank the same way we look at a litmus test in chemistry. A litmus test will tell you if a substance is Acidic, Basic, or Neutral; it cannot accurately tell you *how* acidic or basic that substance is. In the same sense, rank tells us that a player has found methods that have worked well enough and consistently enough to win them the games that brought them to there, and that they consistently beat players that were at the time unable to or incapable of overcoming those methods. They work until they don't, and when that happens, the progress of your climb is halted until you evolve into an even better player. Based on this idea, rank seems to work better as a metric for understanding the limitations of your skills; if you've suddenly gone for winning consistently to losing consistently, then odds are there's something you need learn in order to progress. Solving that puzzle is the best thing about playing fighting games. Bring back Gigas.
I used to just play tekken without knowing frame data or anything important. Then I bought T8 and started giving a fuck about all of that and all of a sudden I go from green rank in terms of skill to Battle Ruler (current rank on my main). What a game
I'm Fujin, I've lost against Tenryu players and won from Tekken Emperors. If you care too much about your rank, all you're gonna get out of it is a bad time.
12:22 i was having this being stuck at red rank feeling like i wasnt getting better that i must have just hit my skill cap. Till one day i just started wining day after day and jumped from ganryu to flame ruler.
I have been looking to see how I can go as Reina, with this Tekken being the first I have attempted at being more competitive. It has been quite a challenge, and so far I got to Destroyer. Even though it's not as high as most but I am proud of how I am progressing. I can't do Electrics and Hell sweep consistently, but I put in different ideas and moves which have helped me, especially given Raiden Forward is what everyone expects with Reina. I still do Raiden Forward but I have been working in other WRA transitions, some counterhits and seeing if I can find ways to capitalise on openings I can make. It is a big challenge but I learn slow, but when i learn, and I see I am able to do better and it feels good when I can see I am doing better at the game.
Aye I’m happy with the rank I am MR never played a tekken game before but I go hard taking notes and what not on anakin. Hoping to get better enjoy tekken yall✊🏽
Awesome vid! As someone who's played League for 14 years and bought Tekken 8 on March 3rd as my first fighting game, it was really interesting hearing PhiDX's hardstuck Plat struggles. I agree that visible rank doesn't mean shit. I've been Diamond for 10 years. I've lost lane HARD to Silver scrubs and shit on GM players. Focus on your own gameplay, identify your mistakes, and learn to fall in love with the grind.
Great conversation. Subscribed. Also I've only got A+ overwhelming in about a month on Tekken8. I couldn't get A rank on anything other than rage art and Aggressive in Tekken7. For about a year.
What they're saying is so true ... I'm a Tekken King myself and my offense and mix-ups are so overwhelming but my defense is BUNS according to how I'm rated ... probably because I parry so much as Devil Jin taking damage instead of block punishing... But when it comes to ranking again ... I have the highest rank of all my friends and we've all been playing Tekken since T2 ... but they can still win some sets against me sometimes because of the mental mind games and gimmicks lol
Thank you both for this video. I've been thinking the same thing in regards to a mindset shift. I think it could be very helpful. What actually help me think about this recently was Goku from the latest DLC and Kakarot. The conversation that Goku and Pan have about Goku's wins and losses. It inspired me to try to shift my mindset so that I can enjoy what I play a lot more & it's been working. I hope a lot of people can adopt a more healthier mindset so that they can enjoy the games they play more & I think this video could help people do that. Thank you. Enjoy the video and have a nice day everyone.
I feel like what separates some people is fundamentals too, My Paul is Flame Ruler and in Tekken 6 I normally main Asuka but in T8 i dont know how to do her combos at all, but i got her to Garyu rank just with regular pokes and throws
So they were talking about how it's the other player's job to beat stuff... As a lowly Leo, we're talking 9-10k rank points, if I can get wins by just defending and doing short strings, would you say that's "scrubby", or is that a good way for someone so new like me to get solid wins? Cuz I swear it feels like everyone down here is just throwing move after move and I can do some of the nice things but it's feeling impossible to get to do any of it. Part of me doesn't care if just playing simple is cheap but effective but...I do want to know from the people that know the game better, if it is technically a "good thing' to do.
Tekken 8 is legit the game where rank doesnt matter. I’ve seen dozens of ego players that sit in low ranks just to beat up noobs and i’ve seen absolute dumbasses get to blues/tekken king by flowcharting and/or using SSS tier characters and just 50/50ing their way. I guess he only thing that actually means something is last rank, GoD. You’re either god or you arent, rest is whatever.
As frustrating as it is to lose in ranked I've found myself proud of the growth I've made between Tekken 7 and Tekken 8 simply because of how much more I understand and know how to play Leo now. Before I dropped Leo for Kunimitsu but I still enjoyed the character even though I didn't know my best offense and defense. Now I'm just struggling to put into practice punishes and not falling into the flow chart I've made for myself so I'm not readable online
I've started following him. His content is educational, and helped me understand the game. It was hard to get into Tekken before, but now everything is clicking. 😊
I just called it quits at fujin. I seemed to plateau here & don’t necessarily want to get too technical/labbing with the game anymore because i like the mix of fighting thats in the purple to blue rank range. I have seen the higher fights & that just to strict for me
I think "real" Tekken occurs when the both players are flowstate RPS'ing. They both have an understanding of what of the opponent can do and the constant poke/mindgame/reads occur. Very often you see someone losing to the same option over and over, which is also part of Tekken! Just a lower level. Some people block my blows quite early and vs them i have to mix (and then they just low block everything and get owned) and others just die to my lows all the time.
Thank you, Lotus and PhiDX. This has truly been enlightening to me. I'm going to lock in and learn what I'm lacking as a player and train outside the stress of rank to improve myself. No major goal, just genuine learning. Thank you both again, and have a good night
I'm at Kishin for my rank as a Jin main. I haven't been grinding out rank these last few weeks, but I can say that with this discussion they made I feel a bit more proud of myself who's played Tekken for 16 years. I use to be that guy who raged & never wanted to understand the how & why am I not getting any better. It takes alot to tell yourself what you should work on especially when Tekken in general is not an easy game. It takes dedication & time to get better.
Rank means nothing, unless you can beat that same opponent 50 times in a row. Most ppl play 1 game and leave because they know their tactics will only work once on that player and that they can’t play someone who has adapted to their play style. It’s my first time playing tekken and im fujin now. But this is the hardest game ive ever played, once you feel like you’re good you just get crushed by someone who completely knows what their doing or someone who is just pressing buttons randomly. But hey ho im here for it
Wanna know how to be a better player? Don't repeat the same thing expecting a different result. It's all about dedication, the willingness to learn, and most importantly, having fun. If you display any of these traits, you're already a good player in my books, doesn't matter if you're red, yellow, purple, or whatever rank you are, we'll all get there 😊
Just tell me I'm bad, instead of finding different ways to say it.
If you say that then I must be a complete dumpster fire 😭😭
@@RequiemClover Don't say that, you're better than you think.
@@Void_Rose You can’t get better if you don’t acknowledge reality
@@javonnixon8470I get that. My reason to lose in red ranks is my lack of character knowledge and sometimes the randomness of some players.
@@Void_Roseyou should just delete this comment, it’s kind of attention seeking and you need to realise you’ll get better, ask yourself what beats you and determine what your better at and use those tools more and once you’re comfortable with your solid fundamentals then add one more move or tactic
I remember Maximilian Dood has said in one of his videos,
"Just because you're losing, does that mean you're not learning anything of value from that? No."
This advice has stuck with me in having a better mindset. As a freelance illustrator, this quote reminded me of one of the things my lecturers stressed upon during my time in college and it was, "even the masters will tell you they're not perfect. That they're STILL constantly learning". Having the mindset of "okay what did I learn/how do I get better" is infinitely more helpful (and healthy) than constantly thinking "why can't I WIN more".
I learned to stop caring about winning or win rates, I also learned to stop asking "why can't I win more" but rather to ask "Why did I lose that?" And pick out moments in a match where I ate shit and go lab why I ate shit.
On the other side, just because youre winning doesnt mean youre actually learning
@@aaronsalim1904True . Learning while losing is far more helpful for the growth of your skill then winning with cheesy tactics .
I think as a society, we’re more materialistic and hungry for success than ever. Especially the next generation (zoomers).
I see this so much among my colleagues and peers who are either doing a masters degree or fresh into the workforce. There’s this prevalent attitude of “fuck learning, I just want to win/get promoted/get money/ buy a house/ get a girlfriend; and anything less than this is unacceptable”.
People are harsher on themselves than ever, they want Ws and if they set lofty goals and expectations and when they don’t meet them, they feel like they failed at life.
It’s crazy how this attitude extends all the way to fighting games as well. Very saddening.
@@mikeshinwa3398 Definitely! It's fascinating that fighting games tend to reveal that tendency and mindset very starkly due to it being a very personal journey and experience. You don't really have anything to "blame" other than yourself. It's either being too harsh on yourself or deflecting the problem by blaming others ("that character is broken", "this player just does cheap moves", etc), or a combination of both. As Phi said in the video, many things shape us into the way we behave or react to things. I'm rambling but it is fascinating in many cases and in some, very sad.
"Rank doesn't matter. I'm a first dan and I'm beating Emperor players"
> Played professionally since tekken tag 1
> Reached Tekken God Omega in Tekken 7
> Has a team acronym before his name because he's a sponsored player
Rank matters for newbies who want to know where they're at. Especially those who cannot travel and therefore cannot match their skills with competitors. As long as you're not cheating it, whatever your rank is will be a source of pride until you become a veteran where then you will realize that your skills have transcended the concept of ranks. Your name then becomes your rank! Knee's rank isn't "Tekken God of Destruction". Knee's Rank is "Knee!"
Right? And saying Fujin isn't a high rank or that you're any good at that rank is so ignorant. Like, we have the numbers, we have the statistics. Only 10% of players reach that rank or higher. Meaning 90% of players aren't on that rank, thus you being in top 10% of all players. This is by default being 'good at Tekken'. You have to see it in a whole practical perspective, not like how a robot would perfectly play a game. That would be like measuring human chess players with chess engines.
I want my name to be my rank
That’s extremely well said
Corny you know nothing
They’re not disregarding that (even says he had the same feeling when playing league).
But rather, rank should not be the most important thing. Insane as of thinking “I can fight people at this rank”, you should be thinking about why you’re losing against certain people. Yes, some may be a higher rank. But there are just as many at your rank or even lower who may beat you. The rank isn’t the important part, but the willingness to learn from all your loses, however it happened (gotta hit the lab)
The crazy thing is that people treat quick matches as if they’re ranked. I use “quick match” to spar, meaning I’m just practicing new things, and then I have people PLUGGING!! They plug, one and done, or refuse to rematch. The mentality of some people in this game is crazy to me.
Losing in this game feels worse than almost any other game, so people will do anything for a win especially if they think they’re justified by playing “honest” or saying everything is cheap 😂
Yeah, I use quick match to spar or have relaxing “low risk” games and people plugging or not running the set kinda ruins it.
I'm sure no one would ever defend plugging, but I don't understand why people get so heated if the other person doesn't rematch, especially in quick match. It's a sparring place for you, but for others it can be a way to relax and have more fun than sweating in ranked. Maybe you play a character they hate playing against. Maybe they recently had a tilting match in ranked against a character, went into quick play to cool off and then ran into you playing the exact same character. I'm not saying it isn't annoying when you're in the groove and ready to go another round and the other person just quits, but there's many reasons why I can understand them doing so.
Yeah I use it for the same reason. They should rename quick matches into "online practice" or some shit. Maybe that'll change something lmao.
Today I fought a Lars player and won first round. He then won 3 rounds after that and ki charged and canceled the rematch like wtf
You, Maximillian Dood and PhiDx got me into fighting games. Seeing the evolution in all your contents has been a journey I've been proud to be a part of
This is my 1st Tekken game that I’ve personally owned and played on my own, and the first time that I’ve seen where there’s a lot of discussion in ranks and how “your rank means you’ve actually played the game” and other stuff.
Ive grown to just simply enjoy the game itself and ignoring the whole “you’ve only started real tekken at X rank”. The climb to yellow, where you can actually lose points and be demoted, was both a hurdle, but also extremely fun, because I was sitting there playing the game, and just absorbing all the info that I got with each match. A lot of those matches were filled with “Wait how did I do that in heat?” “How in the hell did he do that?” “Ohhhhhh I get it”, and it was great!
The process of learning the game, even with all the losses and beatings I was taking in quick match, made it so I could have a fun time in ranked, even when losing points.
And now, I type this comment up, sitting only at Eliminator, approaching the halfway point nearing Garyu, and while I’ve had a couple bad days in ranked, it’s still been a good time.
For someone like me, garyu is my own personal god of destruction. Obviously it’s a long ways away from it, and it definitely doesn’t mean I’ve become some kind of pro, but it’s a testament of how far I’ve come in the journey for a game that’s barely 3 months old at this point. It’s my own goal and that’s within reach, despite plenty of people reaching it only taking a couple days, or even hours.
The last thing is, you have to make sure to actually *enjoy* the process of learning your character, the little bits and pieces of the game and take pride in where you stand. Whether it be as a Strategist, a Garyu, or hell even a god of destruction, take pride in learning the game and enjoying it and never obsess over it, and that can take you a long way.
(Jesus I didn’t realize I wrote this much…)
I completely agree, this is my first online Tekken experience and while I will say the gameplay hasn't been the best I just recently hit Ganryu and to me that is my goal. I told myself if I can at least get to red I'll be satisfied.
I've had many people tell me how bad of a rank that is but I just brush them off; it was my personal goal, I accomplished it, don't let someone's negativity take away from your success and accomplishments.
You'll get there, I remember when Eliminator was my target, then Genryu, then Tenryu. It took me a month and a half to reach Mighty Ruler from Tenryu, but I found out a lot about the way I play, the mess ups, the missed advantages. Even when you fail, you succeed, think like that and take away the knowledge from each game and keep going. My goal for the game was to hit Garyu, because me and my friends where struggling at Vanquisher. Now I want to get to God of Destruction, it's a Marathon that never ends.
@@slick_rickgaming1102yea dont listen to that, any rank is good if it’s your goal. for me, my goal was to make it to tekken emperor or tekken God. i never played tekken competitively in my life so im taking it a bit serious, and im at battle ruler very close to fujin (blue). so your own goal is your own goal specifically 💯
i made it to tekken god with negan in 7 now fujin with leroy in 8 so i saw all ranks and evry rank is fun
Things start getting funky and they will for you in those orange/red ranks because you are going to alternate between fighting good players using their secondaries and braindead string spammers/knowledge check cheesers.
"The master has failed more than the beginner has tried"
I have played many Tekken games, but 8 is the first one I'm actually sitting down and learning the terminology, combos, frame advantages, and matchups. Thank you for the information, i am proud to say I'm Shinryu rank.
Hell yeah, im on the same boat, played tekken 5 and 6 as a kid so i had to pick up tekken 7 these past years, but i just played off muscle memory, subconsciously understanding things as i went on like how to react or punish to specific things. I took a long time learning things, played law as my main and lydia as a secondary. Now in tekken 8 im fresh to it and taking it more seriously learning and practicing as much as i can. Now im tenryu and im happy with my progress as i never made it passed destroyer in tekken 7
Been playing Tekken since forever, and this game is super helpful for beginners on learning how to play. Just watch your matches win or lose, and it tells you how to punish moves that keep blowing you up. Practice and Replay system is the best in any fighting game. I've been learning so much just from replays.
I just made raijin today I feel so proud of myself
Absolutely in the same position. I only really started with strive so closer to the end of tekken 7’s lifespan. I used to play it as a child on the PSP and it’s always been a strong part of filipino culture haha~
Same
Started the game a couple weeks after launch with almost no fighting game experience. I hit emperor a while back and the thing I consider to be my main strength and that carried me is mind games. It's the only thing that carried over from other games and it's also the thing I enjoy the most in competitive games. Once I learned to pilot my character in a way where it essentially became an extension of myself, that's when the mind games kicked in and my rank skyrocketed several tiers.
I play Ranked for the mental chess matches. I notice when ppl use less variety in their characters. I notice the moments ppl panic. I notice when they gain confidence. All the moment to moment mind games makes it fun for me.
Facts me too💯
That's good advice for beginners even though they're watching their own character, sometimes just doing a jab and seeing how someone reacts is something you gotta learn to read.
Same I'm orange rank and I've had matches where we are both waiting for the other to whiff or make a mistake and it's always the most fun match
This! It's a feeling hardly any other genre of games can convey and among fighting games, Tekken excels in this due to its depth and limitless skill ceiling
Rank is dope af. I often experiment after a successful block what moves hits faster. My main goal is always hit purple but jounrey is fun
A big thing I’ve come to learn playing Tekken over the years too is you are going to have bad days. Days where you just get obliterated by seemingly everyone you face and that is something that’s normal in any game. What’s important is to not dwell on it and think it’s a skill regression and let it hurt your enjoyment of the game.
Thinking it’s skill regression is what gets to me sometimes
@@VanceWeebin it’s totally understandable especially for newer players to fall into that mind set. Especially if the day before maybe you were lighting it up but really it boils down to a mental game where you start to over think things, or you simplify your play style because you think that’ll help but in return people can read you easier. In those moments the best thing you can do is just take a break and walk away. Come back a little later, come back the next day, give yourself time to cool off and unwind because continuing to play on tilt is only going to make it worse. Just like in other games, in sports, at work, at school, you just have off days and that’s okay but it’s important to try and recognize that before you let it start to eat away at you and take the fun out of it.
So true. I play Pickleball nearly everyday. The courts are just a few minutes walk from my place, and I like to get out of the house. In just over a year, I’ve gotten pretty damn good and most days I play at a top level. But some days, I get there, and I cannot explain how I’m playing sooooo poorly. Like, it’s not even close. I’m just ass. It doesn’t mean I stop. I’ll find my game again. It’s no big deal. Weird how with fighting games, we convince ourselves “Wait, now I’m just bad.” Keep going!
Facts all about streaks and runs of momentum really. Good to learn when your momentum is up and down when to take breaks when to come back. How you're feeling that day plays a huge part
tekken starts when you turn the game on. getting better along the way is tekken and having fun
I've been playing Tekken since Tekken 3 and I just got to Tekken King with Jin a few days ago, but holy hell it was an absolute nightmare to get promoted. I had to get demoted and re-promoted about 9 times before I finally got to Tekken King, and while I was super pissed at my losses and constant demotions, I realized that those losses taught me a lot more about the game and helped me gain matchup knowledge on OP characters (especially considering that almost all of my matches in that entire session were against Dragunov, Feng, Xiaoyu, Azucena, Jun, and King); the replay feature is also a God send since it helped me learn how to break certain grabs and which moves are unsafe, even if they look like they put pressure on your character. I personally believe that all of the demotions and losses you face will humble you and really force you to be better at the game.
You yourself are playing a top 5 character as well.
@Studzzi I've been playing Jin since Tekken 3 for 20 years, and this was back when there were 7-10 characters better than Jin.
I think I needed this video. I done broke a few remotes being hard stuck cause I want to increase in rank. Ima just play and learn the game to the best of my ability and the rank will come secondary or as a product of my improvement.
I agree quick match is not as hard as ranked, I think it helps with fighting opponents that are potentially way stronger than you. I played nothing but quick match for a week at Garyu rank, and pretty much just got destroyed by several purple and blue ranks. And when I went back to rank, I was destroying everyone because I have literally dealt with hell already
That's dope because that was my experience too
This is how I got to raijin I made Fujin and they made me play hella tekken kings. I beat a god of destruction using his second character after getting my ass kicked for a week. Hopped back in ranked and got to raijin on a 6 game win streak. Quick match is the ultimate sparring session for knowledge
Something I’ve been telling myself to cope w/ ranked anxiety is “The rank is only there to balance the game.”
We hear it all the time but focus on improvement and rank will come with time, because as you get better the game will try to place you versus other stronger players.
At the end of the day it is a matter of perspective. It is much healthier to look at it like “The ranked system exists to provide a more balanced and fun experience,” rather than “I can’t hit ___ rank therefore I am bad.”
I’m currently moving up several characters one color at a time and am finishing up yellow to move into gold and lord, this range of ranked is honestly the most fun i’ve had with the series because it’s so UNHINGED. it’s that weird space where everyone kinda is starting to understand but haven’t mastered it but also therefore willing to test out random shit and just pop off for no reason. high level tekken is fun to watch because it is so skilled base but goddamn low ranks are the wild west. the streets are on fire and we’re all on an express train to hell. absolute degenerates.
After yellow ranks comes orange ranks.
Love this video! I feel like you guys did a good job encouraging a more healthy mindset people should adopt when playing not only Tekken but in a lot of other games as well! Imma show this to a friend of mine
I think the difference between low and high ranks is the ability to adapt. Lower ranks get used to doing a certain script or flow chart when they get shut down they don't usually know what to do after that. So they keep doing the same thing over and over without ever adapting so they get stuck.
High level does flow chart to its jus optimal
This is true and only a small part of the picture. But you're learning
10:22 I agree. I'm Tekken Emperor with Yoshi in ranked, but I don't really know how to KBD. I also just got into frame data here in Tekken 8. Back then, I'm just basing everything on experience on what can be punishable.
I'll be honest I'm "stuck" at Tenryu because I don't grind the game enough. All I do is play people 2+ ranks higher than me or someone who's on their eighth character in Eliminator at 170K Tekken power. It's hard to have better than 50/50 win rate when you're literally matched with people who are supposed to beat you every single match.
Yeah I’m stuck at mighty ruler with Lee. Keep running into people on their 4th-5th characters in my rank with over 200k prowess.
@@RentonReturns I have too many games to just play Tekken right now.
FR I keep fighting people who have way more experience than me it’s so annoying especially when you lose to someone who’s a higher rank and lose double rp for no reason
@@Goldeda Yeah, like why am I losing like 600 to someone higher rank. Then I get 150 for winning. Do they not grasp how ELO ranking is supposed to work? Tetris Effect Connected has a better ranking system than this game.
Same, I just don't spend enough time with the game to go further, got to Mighty Ruler with Jin but usually play maybe 6-7 games a day at max
As a brawler (a marauder on a good day) I appreciate this. I suspect I’m secretly world class. Top 8 at EVO is within arms reach. ⚡️😤⚡️
The “improving but demoting” is SO FREAKING TRUE. I literally said every time I learned something new I feel like I got WORSE. Lmfao.
Sure enough though, practice practice practice and I got used to it and I finally ranked up and I know it was because of my skill and practicing as opposed to just mashing and praying.
Maaaaaaan I wish people were having these conversations back when I started playing years ago. I've lived through these experiences, but never really talked to anyone about them, and so it's really great to hear these topics being discussed!
The best skill you can learn in this game is not the frame data, optimal spacing, nor character mash ups.
It's holding a straight face and mind when you're getting whooped.
Super interesting takes all around. I think your rank (like basically everything in life) can be a help or a hindrance. I'm in Battle Ruler rn, but given this is my first Tekken, i have to sometimes catch myself chasing rank too often.
I'll lose a match and be frustrated because i got knowledge checked over and over, maybe even by something really simple that wouldnt be a knowledge check to others. I often have to stop myself from getting frustrated that i lost the points and just go back into the training room and replays, look at what beat me, look at what my character can do to counter it, and go again.
On the other hand, that dopamine hit when you feel like you're stuck in your rank, and then you finally get a breakthrough, either because you figured something out that's constantly beating you, or you were super locked in during one play session, is unlike anything else. I guess that's part of the reason why people get so caught up in chasing rank, rather than chasing improvement.
The tekken collab we all NEEDED!!! God bless you two!
I feel like the better you get at anything the worse you think you are because you start to realize all the things your missing. Alot of times it feels like the true game starts when you hit the top 1%
I’m finally playing real Tekken at Tekken king rank because I’m facing tough competition
Thats such a good analogy. When Vegeta stopped caring he evolved. Good way to get the point across regarding ranks.
I’m the video you said you were giving vague answers but the answer is just way more nuanced than I think people wanna hear. Dope video man
Bto this came out at the perfect time - my ego was sweilling being in high blues, and then i get a train ran on me by people who are all using my character. I really had to take a step back and analyze everything and this really put it in perspective. I genuinely deeply appreciate this
Pause bro
What chracter you play
Love this collab, and I’m glad content creators like you and PhiDx are making strides with bridging the gap between casual and competitive players. Keep cooking up this content 👏🏾💪🏾
You have to focus on playing well, not winning. You can't overcome the opponent by only thinking about the win and obsessing over it. Focus in the moment and react to what's in front of you. I had to learn that getting your ass kicked feels bad but it's okay and necessary.
I enjoy this back and forth between my two fave content creators. I hope in the future, we can get you both on the screen instead of one at a time.
Very great conversation Gents! Very good points, for me I don't care about rank but focus on improving my current weak points and what could be done better. After each rank up I hit quick match for a few weeks just to get a feel for the competition, work on new things ,etc. till I think I am good enough to rank up. But, I have been playing tekken a looooooong time so I can recognize these flaws, whereas a new tekken player may not realize what they are doing wrong. I recommend all newer players learn as much as they can about the game, just to be able to recognize these flaws and work to improve them
Generally it is a good mindset to not care about ranks and just try to improve but I disagree on 'ranks don't matter' or 'tekken ranks are a bad/not a display of your skill'.
Why is it that a lot of people can't get out of red ranks or other color blocks?
That is because that's right where they belong with the current skillset.
You see and feel the shift in playstyle and knowledge when you enter new ranks (for example red to purple).
In my own Tekken journey, being stuck between ranks helped me realise my current limit and that if I wanted to break that, I had to learn new things.
Also I think there is nothing wrong with giving yourself a pat on the back when you reached a specific rank/goal you aimed for ;)
I already saw the recording of this video on Phi's stream . So I'm just here for the algorithm .
Very good video guys! I watch both of you so this was a treat! As a Fujin ( Would have been Raijin but 4 pluggers in a row on promo) I'm really working on my different wake up tools, my punishes, and ultimately my defense! Great dialog between you guys and I would love to see more of this!
I'm good but my defense is trash and Always been but I win at least 65% of my matches when I'm facing other players other than my friends
Realizing that it’s ok to lose and asking why I lost is what got me out of hard stuck blue
What you all were saying was relatable. I am enjoying the progress of getting better than focusing on my title. It's one big roller coaster. Still just trying to have fun when I can.
The best way to view rank is a way of measuring what you’re learning vs what you need to learn. I always try to reflect on what I could have improved on to win rather than the rank I’m at. Did I miss a punish? Did I utilise my movement? Did I whiff too much? If I’m making mistakes why, and with what frequency? Your rank is reflection of your consistency and your ability to improve, don’t take it for an exact measure of skill but rather a signpost of where you can improve. Above all have fun, chasing ranks can be demoralising especially when you get stuck at a certain level - but remembering why you started playing in the first place will keep you focused on improving.
Man bro the conversations they were having were so profound to Tekken. Talking like fighting game geniuses
After taking Tekken 7 seriously and playing previous Tekkens, I do try to humble myself knowing that I have a lot to get better at. Listening to you all makes it more enjoyable about the journey of just finding new players, playing each and saying GGs to each other is fun and rewarding. Happy to hear this convos between y'all two. I hope y'all Collab more in the future.
The one thing I love about tekken/fighting games compared to other competitive games is that no matter the rank you can still enter most tournaments and still show off your skills
I feel like a mighty ruler in Tekken 7 is a Fujin in Tekken 8 but I may be wrong. It's kinda strange though cause offence is so overwhelming in this game you can fight against Fjuin who plays like green ranks.
I genuinely believed the same as you at first, then I found out toxic players like LTG and 6arakin both reached Fujin themselves when they're both dogshit players with poor experience with Tekken.
LTG (a SF player) was stuck in orange ranks in Tekken 7 and 6arakin (an MK player) was using special style in Tekken 8 to begin with. I know they play cheap/S+ characters but that's besides the point.
As a perpetual fighting game beginner, and my first Tekken, this is the most beginner friendly fighting game I’ve ever experienced, despite its complexity. I say that cuz all you guys are “real” players, and I know that experienced players and beginners are often playing completely different games. The amount of recourses Tekken 8 to get acquainted with it is amazing.
That being said, the heat system feels tailor made for beginners, but in the wrong way. The right way is the offline arcade mode, Ghosts, training modes, interactive replays, combo tutorials, the almost too meticulous move list, the simple way to remap/bind buttons, and somehow the way ALL of these separate things seem to flow together. With heat tho, as soon as I took half a health bar while mashing a few buttons I was like, “Oh that’s sus, Ive never been THAT good”. I may be in-experienced, but I know what training wheels feel like. The momentum swings relative to skills are CRAAAZY, so for legacy Tekken players I’d imagine it’s frustrating.
Also, as cool as heat shenanigans are, because of how easy it is, it’s the first thing that loses its luster. I picked yoshimitsu, and I’ve been having a blast just doing all his crazy shit against the cpu. It makes me way happier to get slammed out of the air cuz my dumbass was helicoptering with Yoshimitsu too long, than to do a VERY basic heat combo and see positive results. The other characters I played I because of the story, and as soon as I figured out there heat stuff, that’s all I did. I think heat actively discourages exploration because of how obviously effective it is. Idk what or how, but this needs to be tweaked.
Having said all this, I’ve never wanted to get better at a fighter more, and has opened my eyes wider to the genre. I’m grateful for Tekken 8 despite the LEGITIMATE problems, especially from a monetization and modding philosophy standpoint.
When i reached the blue ranks in T8 it really felt like more classic tekken experience, suddenly im playing with youtube guys like Frame Whisperer etc😂 In a way its more relaxing in these ranks cause there not much random ‘throwing it out there’ chaos but i see theres also a slight difference between characters that people play and how they approach them. For example, Tekken King Asuka is not much of a problem to fight, but a Kishin Bryan? 9/10 a fundamental genius that gives you much harder time, i really enjoy the differences.
I haven't watched the video yet but I am a Red rank hard stuck Garyu (Hwoarang main). This is also my first Tekken I played seriously (less than 10 hours in 7) only bought it cause on sale right before 8. Can't wait to see what is said about my rank.
Man I really did need to hear this video today. I’ve been so hard on myself about rank and acting like I haven’t truly been grinding but I have been getting better day by day and sometimes you need to take a step back and remember to have fun learn and keep striving to be great. Thank you dawg 🖤
I was playing Persona 3 Reload when I started this video, and I felt like I was hallucinating when I turned it off and the music was still in my ears 🤣 This was a great talk, and I needed it because I feel like I've been stuck in Ranked for a bit.
“You might be improving, but demoting. You don’t see the fruits of certain skills until they sink into your subconscious” -PhiDX
This is huge and very true. But if you focus on improving then that’s ok. Eventually when it becomes muscle memory your rank will go up. But the improvement should be primary.
It is great to watch videos like this, while doing reaction training, so I really only rely on my peripheric vision to identify moves 😄
I just got this video on my feed, seeing you for the first time and gotta say, your voice makes me go HOT DAMN
Tekken 8 is my first tekken and I've just been treating ranked more like casual just having fun, enjoying people's custom outfits, seeing people's combos and slowly ranking up. I've made it to garyu pretty steadily just playing for fun
When you stop caring is when you start improving. I've played drums for 26 years and for the first 20 I frustrated myself because I had dreams of becoming the greatest drummer ever and every time I didn't nail something it was the end of the world (exaggerating slightly for effect, but you know what I mean). When I finally got fed up with that and started viewing drumming as a hobby where all I wanted to do was to have fun playing the drums, I started improving much quicker because even just practicing a "boring" exercise on my own was suddenly enjoyable.
Do not care about the rank, try to have so much fun every time you boot up the game that you can't wait for the next opportunity to play again.
I tripled demoted from Shinryu on Wednesday evening, and it took me a MONTH to get to said rank, and the follow day promoted back.
So thought it was pretty cool bc it shows I did in fact get better when the day before was telling myself I was horrible and a terrible player that learned nothing. /:
Folks, since they spent an entire video pussy footing around it here's an answer.
If you can get to Bushin+ and stick around those ranks, where the game punishes losses heavily, you're pretty decent at Tekken.
Oh, I didn't expect this. I think it's only the English dub explaining Vegeta's transformation like this. In the German dub and probably most others, he transformed when his anger of not being able to get as far as Goku exploded. Makes much more sense to me.
This was a really good conversation. I'm garyu and kinda stopped because it took me forever to get there lol.
The funniest thing I’ve seen with my Tekken 8 play is that when I was winning my Tekken Power was stagnated or dropping but when I was losing it was going up so I looked back at the game and my losing games I was actually playing better and smarter than my winning games which blew my mind
I just got demoted from Bushin to Raijin, taking it as a learning lesson
Just two days ago I dropped from Kishin to Fujin as well, as I was so close to get to Bushin and wanted to force it, resulting in playing terribly.
One day later I came back all relaxed, not giving a damn about my rank and climbed back to Kishin quickly. Its all about the mindset. Fuck ranks, they mean shit
@@Alex-Omegasame for me honestly whenever i play with the mindset of wanting to climb ranks instead of just having fun i do alot worse than usual. Which us why i just learned to play for fun and rank will come eventually, im not aiming to be a pro player after all lol
I was Raijin and got demoted all the way back to battle ruler, I took that loss and I understood I’m not good yet so I worked on higher combo damage, more sidestep and more punishing and using the stage to my advantage, I flew trough Raijin to kishin by that time my skills increased a lot now I’m Tekken King!
@@Alex-Omega if you can't keep your current rank, you don't deserve it yet. Simple
I beat a lot of purple ranks lol but I literally got stuck in Tenryu. I think it’s been about 2 weeks since I got here. Demoted instantly, promoted very next match and I’ve been stuck in tenryu ever since. Can’t demote, can’t promote 😂
This video really speaks to me, I put so much value on that silly emblem and not the play that got me there, and justified me changed approach to ranked as my game lagged behind, that spending the time to build the necessary skills to compete as the best player I can be. It's been nice getting into your channel and videos over these last few weeks. Especially as a fellow long time Howarang main. So thank you, for the videos and the effort with Tekken 🤘🏻
As a new King player, I avoided using the chain throws at the low ranks because I thought they were scrubby, but you guys have shown me the light. It’s on my opponents to learn how to break them, not on me to teach them :)
climbing in ranked CAN be a signifier of improving, but you can also improve and learn in many ways that dont involve a ranked queue
You're really knocking shit out of the park man. Keep up the phenomenal work
i hit fujin a couple of days ago and to me that was so satisfying. its the first tekken that i really got competitive in, and even though it's not as high as other people's, i still was excited when i hit that rank. 100hrs, 1-3 hrs per day, (give or take), i never gave up and kept learning all the match ups that i lost and looked up guides on how to improve.
Definitely hope to see you two doing this again!
If you REALLY want to know how good you are, enter online weekly tournaments for a month. That will give you a much better gauge of your skill level compared to rank (depending on how big those tournaments are)
Like if you're East Coast America and you enter TNS every week, you'll probably get a good estimate of how good you are
Bro I appreciate y’all man. I dropped Victor because I got a lot of shit from people because he’s a cheesy character. I’m going to be myself and play with whoever I want too 😤
You will get that no matter which character you play. So stick to him if you like him.
Playing whoever you want without remorse is the BEST mindset to have. Cause you gotta remember, character selection is a part of the game too! Not your fault your opponent chose to not learn the matchup!
Someone was talking smack to me for playing Victor in the Tekken Lounge .... Bruh, Victor isn't even my highest ranked 😭🤣🤣🤣
I like to think of rank the same way we look at a litmus test in chemistry. A litmus test will tell you if a substance is Acidic, Basic, or Neutral; it cannot accurately tell you *how* acidic or basic that substance is. In the same sense, rank tells us that a player has found methods that have worked well enough and consistently enough to win them the games that brought them to there, and that they consistently beat players that were at the time unable to or incapable of overcoming those methods. They work until they don't, and when that happens, the progress of your climb is halted until you evolve into an even better player.
Based on this idea, rank seems to work better as a metric for understanding the limitations of your skills; if you've suddenly gone for winning consistently to losing consistently, then odds are there's something you need learn in order to progress. Solving that puzzle is the best thing about playing fighting games.
Bring back Gigas.
@15:27 Funny because I always find quick matches much more challenging than ranked. My win percentage in ranked is like 84% in QM it’s 71%
Same I play ranked if I want to relax. But quick matches or lounges if I want a challenge. Too many players there who are good but don't play ranked.
I used to just play tekken without knowing frame data or anything important. Then I bought T8 and started giving a fuck about all of that and all of a sudden I go from green rank in terms of skill to Battle Ruler (current rank on my main). What a game
I'm Fujin, I've lost against Tenryu players and won from Tekken Emperors. If you care too much about your rank, all you're gonna get out of it is a bad time.
12:22 i was having this being stuck at red rank feeling like i wasnt getting better that i must have just hit my skill cap. Till one day i just started wining day after day and jumped from ganryu to flame ruler.
So happy to see dude working with all these FGC content creators frrr
I have been looking to see how I can go as Reina, with this Tekken being the first I have attempted at being more competitive. It has been quite a challenge, and so far I got to Destroyer. Even though it's not as high as most but I am proud of how I am progressing. I can't do Electrics and Hell sweep consistently, but I put in different ideas and moves which have helped me, especially given Raiden Forward is what everyone expects with Reina. I still do Raiden Forward but I have been working in other WRA transitions, some counterhits and seeing if I can find ways to capitalise on openings I can make.
It is a big challenge but I learn slow, but when i learn, and I see I am able to do better and it feels good when I can see I am doing better at the game.
Aye I’m happy with the rank I am MR never played a tekken game before but I go hard taking notes and what not on anakin. Hoping to get better enjoy tekken yall✊🏽
Awesome vid!
As someone who's played League for 14 years and bought Tekken 8 on March 3rd as my first fighting game, it was really interesting hearing PhiDX's hardstuck Plat struggles.
I agree that visible rank doesn't mean shit. I've been Diamond for 10 years. I've lost lane HARD to Silver scrubs and shit on GM players. Focus on your own gameplay, identify your mistakes, and learn to fall in love with the grind.
Great conversation. Subscribed.
Also I've only got A+ overwhelming in about a month on Tekken8. I couldn't get A rank on anything other than rage art and Aggressive in Tekken7. For about a year.
What they're saying is so true ... I'm a Tekken King myself and my offense and mix-ups are so overwhelming but my defense is BUNS according to how I'm rated ... probably because I parry so much as Devil Jin taking damage instead of block punishing...
But when it comes to ranking again ... I have the highest rank of all my friends and we've all been playing Tekken since T2 ... but they can still win some sets against me sometimes because of the mental mind games and gimmicks lol
I think this was the best you ever articulated what you meant when you constantly say you're trash.
Thank you both for this video. I've been thinking the same thing in regards to a mindset shift. I think it could be very helpful.
What actually help me think about this recently was Goku from the latest DLC and Kakarot. The conversation that Goku and Pan have about Goku's wins and losses. It inspired me to try to shift my mindset so that I can enjoy what I play a lot more & it's been working.
I hope a lot of people can adopt a more healthier mindset so that they can enjoy the games they play more & I think this video could help people do that. Thank you.
Enjoy the video and have a nice day everyone.
So, the whole point of the video: Don’t focus on the rank, focus on improving and being a better player…thank you ❤
Hey how am i supposed to focus on you guys talking with this incredible background music, the music taste is incredible especially with the P3 OST
I feel like what separates some people is fundamentals too, My Paul is Flame Ruler and in Tekken 6 I normally main Asuka but in T8 i dont know how to do her combos at all, but i got her to Garyu rank just with regular pokes and throws
So they were talking about how it's the other player's job to beat stuff...
As a lowly Leo, we're talking 9-10k rank points, if I can get wins by just defending and doing short strings, would you say that's "scrubby", or is that a good way for someone so new like me to get solid wins?
Cuz I swear it feels like everyone down here is just throwing move after move and I can do some of the nice things but it's feeling impossible to get to do any of it.
Part of me doesn't care if just playing simple is cheap but effective but...I do want to know from the people that know the game better, if it is technically a "good thing' to do.
Tekken 8 is legit the game where rank doesnt matter. I’ve seen dozens of ego players that sit in low ranks just to beat up noobs and i’ve seen absolute dumbasses get to blues/tekken king by flowcharting and/or using SSS tier characters and just 50/50ing their way.
I guess he only thing that actually means something is last rank, GoD. You’re either god or you arent, rest is whatever.
As frustrating as it is to lose in ranked I've found myself proud of the growth I've made between Tekken 7 and Tekken 8 simply because of how much more I understand and know how to play Leo now. Before I dropped Leo for Kunimitsu but I still enjoyed the character even though I didn't know my best offense and defense. Now I'm just struggling to put into practice punishes and not falling into the flow chart I've made for myself so I'm not readable online
I genuinely love the way you express your thoughts.
I've started following him. His content is educational, and helped me understand the game. It was hard to get into Tekken before, but now everything is clicking. 😊
I just called it quits at fujin. I seemed to plateau here & don’t necessarily want to get too technical/labbing with the game anymore because i like the mix of fighting thats in the purple to blue rank range. I have seen the higher fights & that just to strict for me
I think "real" Tekken occurs when the both players are flowstate RPS'ing. They both have an understanding of what of the opponent can do and the constant poke/mindgame/reads occur.
Very often you see someone losing to the same option over and over, which is also part of Tekken! Just a lower level. Some people block my blows quite early and vs them i have to mix (and then they just low block everything and get owned) and others just die to my lows all the time.
Thank you, Lotus and PhiDX. This has truly been enlightening to me. I'm going to lock in and learn what I'm lacking as a player and train outside the stress of rank to improve myself. No major goal, just genuine learning. Thank you both again, and have a good night
I'm at Kishin for my rank as a Jin main. I haven't been grinding out rank these last few weeks, but I can say that with this discussion they made I feel a bit more proud of myself who's played Tekken for 16 years. I use to be that guy who raged & never wanted to understand the how & why am I not getting any better. It takes alot to tell yourself what you should work on especially when Tekken in general is not an easy game. It takes dedication & time to get better.
Rank means nothing, unless you can beat that same opponent 50 times in a row. Most ppl play 1 game and leave because they know their tactics will only work once on that player and that they can’t play someone who has adapted to their play style.
It’s my first time playing tekken and im fujin now. But this is the hardest game ive ever played, once you feel like you’re good you just get crushed by someone who completely knows what their doing or someone who is just pressing buttons randomly. But hey ho im here for it
I'm hard-stuck at red ranks for the moment, can't seem to get past Tenryu, but i'm working on it!
Wanna know how to be a better player?
Don't repeat the same thing expecting a different result. It's all about dedication, the willingness to learn, and most importantly, having fun. If you display any of these traits, you're already a good player in my books, doesn't matter if you're red, yellow, purple, or whatever rank you are, we'll all get there 😊
At 20:00 are we watching Phidx come up with the tekken steps series lol