Hiya!

Well, I’ve done something recently I never, ever thought I would be able to. For a good while, I’ve given up on getting to Master Rank with any of the characters in Street Fighter 6. It just seemed like an impossible task for me. I would get repeatedly trounced by players early on. This was especially arduous in the Diamond ranks as levelling up there before was so difficult. So, for a long time, I just gave up. Then, magically, after Capcom changed the rules and gave extra level up points for keeping a winning streak, I managed to get to Master rank practically by accident as I didn’t even realize my Blanka had a win streak.

It turns out Blanka was the just the start as I eventually got some more characters to the highly valued Master rank. It started out very simple as I got the characters I enjoy playing as, such as Guile, E. Honda and Juri, to Master Rank soon after. I was pretty satisfied as, after all, I started out not believing I could get any character to that lofty pillar; now I have several.

However, things soon snowballed and, before I knew it, I was getting every character to Master rank. Even with the characters I have no ambitions to get good with, like Dhalsim and Chun-Li, I got them to Master rank as well. No guides. No tricks on how to beat a specific character. I did it with some good old-fashioned gusto, win streaks, a whole lot of luck and, if I’m being very honest, a little bit of help from the others who are also grinding things out to Master rank.

I’m not here to gloat or brag, however. Well, maybe a little but I’m already done with that. What I do want to write about right now are the little things I’ve noticed during the journey to getting every character to Master rank. I just feel compelled to do so because there were some good times and some, frankly, annoying times. I do have to mention that this is my experience while playing through the Asia servers. Things might be a little different for other regions.

The first thing I would like to talk about are the number of “one and done” players I’ve gone through in the Diamond ranks. I honestly don’t remember this being very prevalent during my various Platinum ranked matches. Sometimes, I would understand why someone would “one and done” me, especially when my Philippines Internet connection would go bad in the 2nd round. That’s totally justified. There are also the times when I would get a “one and done” after I win a match. It doesn’t matter if it’s a close match where either of us could have won it or a very lopsided one where I would dominate. Once they get to the option of picking if they want to Rematch or Quit, they immediately rush to picking the Quit option. I guess they’re scared of losing 2 matches straight? So, yeah. I get why they leave.

What I don’t understand are the number of weird “one and done” matches I experienced during the 3-Star and 4-Star Diamond ranked matches when there were no Internet problems! There were more than just a few times when an opponent who wins the match would immediately dip out after getting to the Rematch or Quit option. The weird thing it’s these are usually the ones who have a winning streak! I don’t get why they would leave if they’re constantly winning? The only reason why I believe they would do that is they have a set gameplan and win as they play with a very unorthodox style. So, opting to rematch is risky as their opponent can adapt. The really dumb thing is these are also usually the players who won’t even pick the Quit option! They’ll just wait for the timer to expire after I pressed the Rematch option. How rude!

However, the really weird players are the ones who will leave when the games are tied! I have a win and they have a win but they choose not to see who wins the set. They just leave without resolving who’s actually better. This one I really don’t understand! The only possible reason is they just want to leave with a net profit of ranking points. They don’t want risking losing any ranking points so they escape once they have a tiny increase. This one I find particularly annoying as I’m left wanting to see who’s better. By this point, I don’t really care about the points. I just want to find out if I’m better than them or not.

I’ve also noticed during my various climbs to Master rank how many more “metaphorical” teabagger there are in the middle of Diamond rank. I say “metaphorical” teabaggers because they don’t even have the confidence to teabag during the actual match! Normally, the teabag is a form of disrespect while the game is happening. They’ll be pushing down repeatedly while you’re stuck in a dizzy state or the timer is running out and they’re running away. I might not like it but I can respect the moxie of doing it. At least you’re showing you know you have the skill to teabag and get away with it.

“Metaphorical” teabaggers do not push the down direction repeatedly during the match itself. They’ll do that after the match is over when we get to the Rematch or Quit menu screen. This is just irksome as they’re only doing it because they’re bad winners. What’s even weirder is these are also the same one who will not opt for a rematch! Yeah, so they win once and they’ll “metaphorical” teabag after the match is over and then wait for the timer to run out, pushing down all the while this is happening. So, not only don’t they have faith in themselves that they can win during the match, they don’t have enough faith in themselves to actually win in a rematch. I mostly encountered these “metaphorical” teabaggers during the 2-star and 3-star Diamond ranks. I wouldn’t mind too much if these were just a handful but I ran into a surprising number of them in these ranks.

Thankfully, not everything was all bad while I was getting every character to Master rank. Getting a character to Master rank can be a nerve-wracking ordeal. You might have a win streak which will break you into the Master rank… but you still have to win one more match to do so. If you lose, your win streak is broken and you’ll have to climb up the old fashioned way of inching your way upwards. Even inching upwards is a terrible feeling as, just when you earn enough points and you see those glorious words announcing you’ll have to win this one singular match to get to Master, your nerves start acting up and the pressure builds. If you lose, you’ll have to try again.

I bet a lot of veteran players have experienced this and know this specific feeling. Perhaps this is why I’ve ran into several players who will intentionally lose just so their opponent, myself, will get to Master rank. This wasn’t a one-off thing. No, this happened fairly often. I would get into a match, get all nervous from the pressure and my opponent will just stand there and let me win.

There is a small price to be paid, however, if your opponent is a Diamond ranked player. The price is you have to lose your next 2 games, giving them the set. It’s not that it really matters, though. You’re not eking through the Diamond ranks any more so those League points isn’t your currency anymore. So, you might as well give the opponent who was willing to take the loss even if they had a win streak going the next couple of games so they can rank up to Master faster. Now, I just may be lucky or this is just an Asia server thing but it’s nice to see how even players in a competitive game can help each other out.

So, what now? I’ve done something I’m incredibly proud of and, in a weird way, I feel I’ve accomplished everything I needed to do in Street Fighter 6. Sure, Capcom is going to add new characters to Street Fighter 6 but, as of right now, I don’t have the urge to get them to Master rank. The operative phrase is “as of right now”, though. Maybe when they do drop I’ll try to get them to Master rank as well. Hopefully, my experience will not have the stupid teabaggers and “one and done” opponents but the gracious players who will let me win will stay.

Here’s hoping!

Byee!

What are some of the odd experiences you observed while playing a competitive game? Let me know in the comments section below!