Fight Night Round 4 Basics
Here's a quick breakdown of the types of punches in Fight Night Round 4. The directional inputs for the different punches assume your fighter is an orthodox, right-handed fighter. Southpaw fighters can reverse direction.
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| Your fastest punch also has the most reach but deals the least amount of damage. Jabs are good for keeping the opponent back and forcing him to guard high and open up his body to devastating body shots. They're also good as counters when you slip a punch from far away and need the fastest response possible to capitalize. And you can earn a lot of judges' favor by throwing (and landing) lots of jabs, even though they don't do a lot of damage. |
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| Similar to a jab, but from the dominant hand, a straight punch is quick but also relatively powerful. Straights make good counter punches as you can slip them in quickly without leaving yourself too open. |
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| A looping power shot directed at the opponent's face. Hooks are on the slow side but their power can't be ignored. Throw hooks in combinations so that you don't leave yourself open to an easy counter, but also throw them in moderation. Hooks can be modified into haymakers for extra damage, but also extra slowness. |
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| Probably the most powerful attack in boxing, but also the riskiest. Uppercuts are slow and leave you very open if blocked or dodged. They're also relatively easy to see coming and so work best as counters after quickly slipping under an opponent's failed punch. The range on uppercuts is generally pretty short too, but the curled arm required for the punch makes it a great blow to throw in-close to the opponent. Like hooks, uppercuts can be modified into haymakers for extra damage at the cost of speed. |
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| While you can direct any punch to the body, there is a dedicated body shot you can execute with a quick sideways flick of the punch stick. These punches don't do lots of damage, but they do drain the opponent's stamina and can, over the course of a fight, pay dividends in later rounds. Opponents tend to favor blocking their heads (and rightly so), which leaves 'em open to myriad body shots. Aggressively attack the body and you can force the opponent to open up the head. Body shots can also be modified into haymakers which can severely deplete the opponent's stamina. And because the shot goes to the body instead of the head, there's a better chance that the opponent won't block it. |
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| Fight aggressively, be unpredictable |
| Throw lots of punches. Obviously, you've got to care for your stamina bar and pace yourself depending on your weight class (lighter fighters tend to have longer fights) but generally in Fight Night, throwing lots of punches makes for effective offense. Make sure to mix up your punches to make defense on your opponent's part more difficult. Get predictable and you'll be easily dodged or block, leaving you open to a counter punch. |
| Use the jab |
| A simple jab doesn't do much damage, but it's still effective. Jabs are quick and generally have more range than any other of your punches. Best of all, jabs hardly reduce your stamina so you can pepper the opponent with a long stream of jabs without throwing out your arm. Use jabs from outside to poke the opponent and interrupt any slower punches he attempts. You can also use a jab to keep distance, backing away from the opponent while sticking out jabs to keep the opponent from closing the gap. |
| Go to the body |
| While head punches will deal the most damage, you mustn't neglect body shots. Body shots are effective for a couple of reasons. 1) Body shots deplete the opponent's stamina which in turn will reduce the amount of damage the opponent deals with his punches. 2) It's easier to land body shots because the opponent can't duck them. |
| Play to your fighter's range |
| Got a shorter fighter with a lot of power? Make the fight a close-range fight, move in and use power punches to overwhelm the opponent. If your fighter is tall and has lots of reach, try to keep the opponent away, shove him outside and pepper him with jabs. The winner of a particular fight is usually the fighter that imposes his own will and gameplan. If you find yourself fighting the other guy's fight, you need to rethink your offensive strategy. |
