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[KrossKounter]

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[Providence 777]

It's a timing thing, the only thing that's random are your own pressing of the button at the momment but that will improve.

Ok well if you've played Tekken and DOA, then that's why you're having a tough time, because those games are more rhythm based.

And games like MK want you to complete the combo input as early as possible, but Street Fighter does NOT work this way.

There are specific gaps in impacts of hits that serve as windows to input your next command, for special moves you can buffer (queue) all your directional motions, but the actual execution when you hit the attack button must happen during the "hit stop" effect, the short pause that happens on impact which emphasizes the hit.

Those "hit stops" are cues for you to know when you should be finished inputting your next command in the combo. Keep doing that until the combo is done.

Check out this thread that has some good adivce:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/310950/discussions/0/1694922980050338803/

[Providence 777]

Also keep in mind that although combos in SFV are easier than they've ever been in any SF game, they're still harder than most fighting games because you have only a 3 frame to window input your next command.

That's 3/60ths of a second. That's going to feel really tight if you're coming from most other fighting games.

[Providence 777]

Originally posted by Ryoda:

So I can't mash the command out after my first hit cuz I may link the next hit too soon? Is that it? In tekken you have lots more frames to work with in a normal combo. There's super hard combos as well that require incredibly well timed inputs within a very short frame window, but most of the bread and butter stuff is easy to do. And usually you can just mash it out as most combos don't require a specific timing but as you said more like a rythm. There's only very few combos that can be input too early and mess up because of it. Like some that require the use of a delayed hit or whatever because it will whiff otherwise. But other than those very few combos, you can just ,mash it. I guess it makes sense why I can't get the hang of sfv due to extensive tekken play. I'll keep trying.

Yep I think you're understanding it now.

Yeah it's usually right when the hit connects there's a slight pause, during that time you put in your next it, Street Fighter repects light taps on the buttons that are well timmed, you can only mash when you land a CC (Crush Counter), then you can mash out your next hit.

[Providence 777]

Also, not every normal is going to combo into stuff, you have to learn your character to see what links into what.

[Providence 777]

Originally posted by Ryoda:

yeah that one is like tekken. Combos are specific so that's not an issue. I don't expect every hot to end in a combo. I try a lot of these combo challenges to learn proper combos.

What character do you use btw? Some characters have harder combos than others (Karin)

[Providence 777]

Originally posted by Ryoda:

I use sakura right now. And sometimes mika.

Ok so you're going to have a hard time for long then, you'll get the hang of it.

[n00bdragon]

In the below text I'm going to talk a lot about when you "input a command". The game defines the moment you input a command as the frame on which you press the final button needed to activate the move. For a normal move this is the frame you press the button. For a special (like Hadoken) its the frame you press the button after having completed the prerequisite motion shortly before. For multi-button moves like Chun-Li's Lightning Legs or Akuma's Raging Demon it's the frame you make the final button press after having pressed the prerequisite buttons shortly before.

There are three kinds of combos in SF, and your troubles with them are going to depend on what kind you are trying to do:

Links
From a technical and mechanical sense these are the simplest to understand so I start with these. Each attack takes a specific amount of time (measured in frames) to recover, and causes the opponent to be stunned for a specific amount of time on hit or block. If your move recovers sufficiently quickly that you can start up another attack before the opponent recovers from the first one then this makes a combo and that combo is called a "Link". Example: Ryu's "Solar Plexus Strike" (f.HP) is +8 on hit, meaning that (on hit) the user recovers 8 frames before the target, leaving them free to perform any move with a startup time of 8f or less and ensure a guaranteed hit (for example, cr.HK with a 8f startup)

The key thing to remember about performing Links is that the game does not have a substantial input buffer (though it is much larger than previous Street Fighter games, it is still very small for a fighting game). In SFV the input buffer is 3 frames, meaning that in the example above where I used Solar Plexus Strike, if I wish for my cr.HK to start animating on the first frame after I complete f.HP I will need to input the cr.HK command within 3 frames of the f.HP ending, otherwise the input will be lost.

The "best" method of making links is to simply learn the timing. Learn exactly how long your attacks last so that you can input your next command as quickly as possible after they finish. Keep in mind that many moves have additional non-functional animations even after the player is free to begin inputting other commands, so your character may actually be free to act before they visually return to a fully neutral state.

The "quick and dirty" method for making links you are unsure of the timing on is to simply mash the input quickly. Anything too early will simply be dropped and there is a high chance that if you are pressing the button rapidly one of your button presses will fall into that 3f buffer and the move will come out as early as possible. As you improve in your understanding of the timings try to move towards the above "best" method, as the the mashing method is imprecise and can cause issues in more technical combos.

Cancels
Originally a glitch in SF2, cancels are the main way to convert from basic normal attacks to special attacks. The exact details of when and into what a move can cancel vary from move to move. In the most common general case a normal move cancels into a special move by inputting the command for the special move during the active frames of the normal move. The active frames for most normal moves are 2-3 frames, meaning even figuring the small amount of time the game freezes on hit it's not usually possible to notice that a normal has hit before inputting the special. You will have to learn this by rhythm and learn specialized combos called hitconfirms to make the most out of them.

Unlike a Link, a Cancel is not initiated as soon as another move finishes. A Cancel stops the animation of the first move and immediately begins the animation of the second move. Because there is no recovery for the first attack Cancels are much more lenient about forming combos than links. Most medium and heavy attacks cancel into any special for a combo, but as always this will vary from character to character.

Like with Links, the best way to learn Cancels is to simply learn the timing. Try to press the button for the next move at the moment your first attack connects. Like with Links you can do this either by learning to be precise or by some level of mashing the input as you repeatedly perform any prerequisite motions.

Target Combos
Almost all characters have Target Combos, which are predefined strings of normal attacks which are specially coded to perform combs with each other instead of their normal behavior when used.

Example: Ryu's "Jodan Sanrengeki" (st.MP, st.HP, st.HK). Typically, st.MP is +7 on hit and st.HP has a startup of 8f, meaning that under normal circumstances the two moves do not combo, but the game has coded these to be a target combo so all three attacks will combo into each other if input in that order.

The big difference between Target Combos and other types of Combos is that they have a HUGE input buffer. If, at any time during the startup, active frames, or recovery of Ryu's st.MP you press st.HP the target combo will continue. Then if, at any point during the st.HP, you press st.HK the third hit will come out. It doesn't matter what other buttons you press before or after. Once you press a button that will continue that target combo you are basically locked in, so be mindful of your target combos to use them when you want them and not accidentally fall into them at other times.

Another property of Target Combos unrelated to their execution is that they have different properties from normal attacks. They often have similar damage (though not always!) to their non-TC versions, but the on-hit and on-block advantage will almost always be much different.