(Laugh's Theory) What kind of character fits which player archetype (Heart, Mind, Body)?

[hot fox]

Here is context for people who have never heard of the Heart, Mind, Body player archetypes:

https://youtu.be/Qn6FHt2RCV0

So this is a bit of an esoteric question, but as SF6 is right around the corner and I'm looking for a character I've been thinking about this a lot.

Different players are attracted to different types of characters. For example, I'm a Heart based player with Body being my weakest stat. Because of this I enjoy playing characters that excel at playing RPS and rewarding reads. My favorite SFV character is Sakura, for example, because she isn't the best at playing neutral, but once she gets in, she gets in. She gets monstrous pressure off a single knock down and Vtrigger 2 allows you to convert most hits.

However, a similar character, Cammy, would break me because of both of her low HP (which makes making reads riskier) and her reliance on tight execution, such as with her optimal divekicks, and hitconfirms (Body skills).

While all players are some mix of Heart, Body, and Mind, I do think people leaning into one player archetype or the other are more likely to pick a character with certain tools.

Have y'all noticed this kind of pattern in y'all's own FGC journeys? What kind of player are you and what tools do y'all value in a character? 😊

[placid lava]

"sakura is not good at neutral" imma have to stop you there, also this isn't exactly a coaching topic

you can probably make a general thread in sf chat for that

[hot fox]

Aight gotcha.

I'll uh... ask again sometime in the far future.

Do I just wait for the lock or should I ping someone or something?

[hot fox]

Oh right for future reference

What counts as a coaching topic?

[native hearth]

So first thing is yeah sakura is far from shitty in neutral and arguably she has among the best footsies in the game because of her movement speed and buttons

Second thing characters tools and archetypes dont necessarily have the greatest influence on the body/mind/heart theory

Like take for example karin right

On one end of the spectrum you have justin wong who heavily leans into mind/heart playing karin. Dude will win majors by landing 20 st.mks and 0 single hit confirms.

On the other end of the spectrum you have a karin player like robtv who leans way more on the other end of the spectrum and will kill you on one cr.mk confirm

Both are playing the same character but have massively different approaches to the game because of their strengths as a player

@hot fox

Also this is fine as a coaching topic in forums, dont listen to a non blue or pink name

A large part of understanding how to get better is understanding how some people operate

Like ive seen silver players with diamond player execution, but dont have the mind/heart to back it up

Likewise theres also players who have a good understanding of the game but simply do not have the execution yet to do all the things they can imagine

Becoming a better player as a whole comes down to bridging these gaps and improving at body/mind/heart all at once.

Anyways as for myself i lean more towards mind/body because i play a lot of technical characters with decent proficiency and have a very by the books play style.

Some peeps say im more of a pure mind player lmao

[hot fox]

So, first things first, thank you. I'm glad the queston is allowed on the forum. I'm trying to connect and apply abstract concepts I have running around in my head that I don't really know how to really use yet. ^^

And I'm glad I did ask I mean, I got corrected immediately on Sakura twice, for example. It would've taken me forever, if I even would, to realize it myself.

I'll have to take note of that and re-reflect on why I actually keep coming back to the character.

[hot fox]

So, on Laugh's Theory, I think you brought up very valid points and examples. People can play a character very differently. Even characters like R Mika can be played as patiently as Fuudo plays her.

Hmmm I think I reached to the conclusion that both the Heart/Mind/Body divide and character choice has an affect on someone's playstyle, but based on what you said, maybe they really don't have anything to do with each other.

Thinking about it, as a self proclaimed Heart player, there are many ways to leverage a Heart playstyle. Shotos have their reversals (and Daigo has his Umeshoryus). Grapplers have their command grabs. Zoners have to constantly make reads. Any archetype can leverage a strong Heart.

And again, as you say, usually every player grows in every direction, even if they grow more in some ways. Every fighting game player needs to be able to do their basic BnBs. Every player needs to know how to do basic RPS. Every player needs to know what is plus and minus on block.

[hot fox]

What do you think causes you to develop in a certain direction? How did you end up a mind player?

And also, if I may ask, did you actively seek technical characters to leverage your Body skill or did you grow into your characters?

[native hearth]

Nah i just started off on ibuki lmao. But even among ibuki players a lot of peeps say they have to play differently against me

I think i lean more towards technical characters anyway because of my experience playing super smash bros melee and playing fox/falco in that game

So im not adverse to sitting in training mode practicing hard shit for hours

[hot fox]

Oh god I thought that was just a meme

Actually, with how hard certain stuff with technical characters is, it makes a lot of sense now why some people can do that stuff so consistently. Hard work really does pay off in FGs.

Hmm.... I'm not 100% sure but I think you're right. I still think certain types of players play certain characters but I'm starting to thik it can be a lot less about in-game playstyle.

Based on what you wrote, maybe what's more important for technical players is to have the patience and enjoyment for labbing and grinding, for example. I know for sure that certain players play whoever they are attracted to on the roster and disregard playstyle almost entirely.

Oh god. I may just like Sakura because she's a waifu?

Hahaha 😆

[tardy sky]

Im a comic book artist so i dont have a lot of free time. I watch people and study games more than I get to play. So I feel this has made me a Majority Heart/Mind player. Which explains why I like players similar to Justin who have that slow temp approach with good pokes.
Modern controls has helped me bridge the Body gap by a ton. My favorite characters are Chun, Cammy, Manon and Gief (so far).

[native hearth]

yeah this is why i think modern controls are a huge benefit and it had to happen at some point

I think theres an untapped pool of players who probably do have the mind to play fighting games

but don't have the time/ability to break past the barrier to entry of learning the execution

[hot fox]

Glad to hear Modern helping folks. Fingers crossed that it is a viable way to play, especially for people who struggle with execution for one reason or another.

Hmmm I wondee if we'll still have Body players with how games are developing. Project L, which is speculated to be the next big thing, is also going the easy inputs route.

In any case, it must feel pretty bad to have the work you put into mastering execution be hampered in this way, even if I think it's a welcome change overall. 🤔

[naive valve]

there's another vid by core-a about choosing a main that you should check out

[hot fox]

I'm a huge fan of them. I love watching their stuff. I'd appreciate some in.syght into which one to pur particular focus on. ^^

[naive valve]

well you're lookin at the relation between character pick and playstyle atm, so figured learning how people pick their characters would help with that is all

[hot fox]

Yes sir/ma'am/pooba. Is it the aptly named 'Analysis: How to Pick a Character?'

[naive valve]

sounds right

[hot fox]

Thanks. Watching it rn. 🙂

[hot fox]

I remember this video now. It's what kicked off my obsession with finding a character with the right 'playstyle' for me. 🤔

After hearing it out way more closely

Luffy choosing to main characters because of their bigger cupsize is just wild to me. That's another level of choosing waifu characters.