Couple things I want to add here: Some characters are much better than people give them credit for. Feng is bottom 5 currently. Heat needs gutted for the game to be healthy in my opinion.

Now, onto the post:

So I've been playing fighting games from a young age. I never thought about being able to get good at them, let alone compete. Every new PNG isn't a trophy, but a mark for progress and that in of itself feels good. 

What I experienced on my grind to GoD1 was... concerning. Being put into 50/50 situations where the solution is movement yet getting hit anyway. Players not launch punishing or even jab checking launch punishable moves. Whiff punishes? Buddy, they just spam moves in neutral and hope they land.

This is where everyone's saying "real Tekken" begins, but I don't think that's true. So long as the game continues to be in the state it's in, this game is going to continue to reward brain-off, boner-on type gameplay. I don't see what happened that got us so far from the end of S1 to the start of S2. The game's balance was looking healthy and then that bombshell dropped... and they decided not to do ANY balancing until S3. That's slightly worrying. Nonetheless, the horrors persist and so don't I.

That being said, you want to hit GoD1? Here's my advice:

1. If you want an easier (note -er, not just easy) route up? Pick a top tier and pick a top tier that's accessible. King is a solid choice, but he tends to lose kinda hard to small hitboxes. Bryan's so easy to play it hurts. Law is probably the easiest GoD I've seen anyone hit.

2. Sinch up your gameplay. Know your punishes, the opponents' key moves, and how to optimize 95% of your combos. Damage and "big Tekken" is the way to go currently which is why I feel Feng underperforms. If they nerf combo damage and buff pokes, the meta will shift drastically.

3. Don't be afraid to do the cheesy shit. I play grapplers in literally every other game. I'm going to grab until they show me something different and then I'm going to punish them for that. Persistence wears the fuck outta resistance. Spam the toes too! If your character has great lows that are only punished by WS moves, spam. that. shitttt.

4. Whiff punish and, if they do the blue rank boogie (stand full screen doing fuck all) just run at them. Dudes don't know how to deal with that shit. Even better if they panic when you do it because then you can stop and whiff punish them. Know your buttons. (Feng B1+2, 31+2, etc etc.)

5. Have a better mental than your opponent. This one is key. If you can manage to stay calm where they're losing their shit, the odds stack heavily in your favor. You'll be able to press buttons in better situations, choose options that suit the situation, and be able to punish their wacky ass mistakes. 

6. The biggest secret of all: **Have fun.** The game's frustrating, I know, trust me, but it's a video game we play where 99% of the playerbase will never compete. Find some way to make the game fun for yourself if you find your love for it dying. 

Now play some good ass Tekken.

After an arduous ass battle (and a mark ass plugger) I finally hit GoD1