We're almost a week into Street Fighter 6 and many new folks are looking for every advantage they can get online. But fighting games, unlike many other genres, expect you to practice. A lot. To support this ethos of Batman-like preparation, SF6 has one of the most comprehensive training modes in gaming.
Street Fighter 6 has a really great series of primers on every character. So if you're looking to get an understanding of each fighter, start there. But if you want to get a bit more in-depth and have total control then hit the lab. So if you want to start racking up wins in the Battle Hub, here are some tips on getting the most of the training mode in Street Fighter 6.
Before you even begin training you need to know what you're even training for. Just cracking open training mode and poking around can get you a feel for a character. With that said, having a plan helps you level up much faster. Are you dropping combos? Then start there. Are you struggling to tech throws? You can focus on that as well. All the options in the world are useless if you don't know what you need to be working on so after seeing all the choices you have in the menus, start planning on your lab session.
There's a ton to unpack when it comes to Training Mode in SF6, so it can be daunting to start. But where I'd begin is making sure some critical things are on screen. Turning on the Frame Meter and Cancel Timing displays are two big ones.
The Frame Meter gives you a deeper understanding of how moves work in SF6. The Frame meter could be an entire treatise on its own, but for understanding sake, we'll just say the most important number is the Advantage number. In the example below, Ryu hit Chun-Li with a light Hadoken. So he has 21 frames of advantage and Chun-Li has -21 frames. So Ryu can move or act before Chun-Li for 21 frames if he hits a light Hadouken. This will help you understand what moves are "safe" and which ones are "unsafe". If your advantage number is negative, your opponent can act before you can.
The Cancel Timing Display is also a good one to have on all the time. This lets you know what moves can cancel into others with a simple color change on your character. This is critical to understanding combos and what moves link into others. With this option on, if you land an attack and flash red, you can link that move into a special move. If you flash blue, you can cancel into a super move. If you do not change color at all, the move is not cancelable into a special or super.
Here Ryu can cancel this Shoryuken into a Super Move. The window is only open for the duration of the color change. So if you want to get better at landing those big super move combos. These are two things to have toggled on during training at all times.
Within the Training Mode there is also the "Simple Training" setting. These options are essentially presets that you can use to master some of the critical concepts of battle. Things like Anti-Air and Whiff Punishing are integral to climbing up the ladders in any fighting game. Some of these things you may even do instinctually. But through these presets, you can practice them in earnest.
One of the big ones here is the Drive Impact Defense Practice preset. In the lower levels, Drive Impact wreaks havoc on newbies. Learning how to deal with it can be the difference between floundering in Bronze and pushing towards Platinum. For anyone new to SF6, putting some time into this module, in particular, will only help you in the long run.
Going back to some of the advice we gave to beginners, is that losses often teach more than wins. And typically, at the low levels, your opponents will use techniques you didn't know you could do. When you see this happen, it can be a good idea to hit the lab after that frustrating set. There's an option to train against your opponent's character right from the post-battle screen. If you find yourself having a torrid time of it, you should do this often.
Within the training mode, you can set the dummy to do those exact moves over and over again until you have a sound strategy for it. Now you'll have to input those moves yourself, so you may need to take some time doing it. Or you can set the AI to a certain CPU level and learn to play against those moves in a low-pressure situation. But remember, the CPU doesn't behave like a human, so take that time with a grain of salt.
But this practice is especially useful in mirror matches. Every so often, you'll come across a play that uses the same fighter as you, and they'll beat you. You can hop into training and work on some of the combos you saw your opponent use against you and add them to your own arsenal.
At the end of the day, if you want to get better you gotta put some time in. Fighting games are a VERY difficult genre to get into, and even harder to master. But even more than that remember that training mode is never a replacement for real game experience.
As we all know "everyone has a plan, till they get punched in the face". So don't become a lab rat that's still panicking when you see Drive Impact or not whiff punishing raw supers. With time, Training Mode itself will become just a tool and the majority of your learning will come from online battles. So get in the lab and get back to the fight!