Takedowns must be more responsive in UFC 5

[Good Grappler]

Takedown responsiveness - which I define as the ability to quickly shoot a takedown as soon as you press the input, regardless of the situation - has gradually gotten worse with each UFC game. UFC 4 is actually the first MMA game to completely separate takedown attempts from the striking, making them completely impossible to chain together. You actually need to take a step back from whatever is going on before shooting.

This is a huge problem. It’s crucial for TDs to be responsive, and seamlessly accessible mid-combo, because this opens up tactical possibilities for wrestling that are far more immersive, practical, and true-to-sport. It also helps bring the striking and grappling together.

Two of the primary ways to get a takedown are:
A) set it up with the hands, by punching straight into a takedown, or feinting a punch to create a distraction then immediately dropping levels.
B) timing it, and quickly ducking under your opponent’s attack with a takedown (think GSP).

Neither of those are viable on UFC 4 due to the horrendous lack of speed and responsiveness.

The reason for this is mostly due to changing the takedown inputs from the analog stick to the buttons. So now that takedowns share the same input as a strike, you need to HOLD the button down for a second in order for the game to register that you’re shooting a takedown, not throwing a body jab.

As a result, no matter how telegraphed or predictable a haymaker is, you cannot duck under it with a takedown because it simply takes too long to register the input. It’s wild to think that no one playing UFC 4 will EVER say “damn that was a quick, well-timed takedown, I better be more careful over-committing with my strikes”.

There is simply no respect for level changes on MMA games anymore. When I’m fighting someone, we’re either wrestling, or striking. It’s never a chess battle of mixing both together, forcing strikers to be careful overcommitting against me. It’s stupid that I can see so many absolute atrocities as far as my opponent leaving openings, that I cannot punish...

Its actually baffling how badly this aspect of the game has regressed with each new iteration. It was among the few things NOT flawed on earlier iterations. On Undisputed 3, double legs were as immediate and fluid as a strike - it literally felt like part of the combo. UFC 2 was decent as well, especially with the way you could chain takedowns off of punches and/or head movement. UFC 3 was decently responsive with clinch and takedown attempts off combos as well. UFC 4 just completely dropped the ball.

And it’s a shame, because the team added some clever elements to the shoot-takedown system (turns, bails into the clinch, etc). But the whole “press and hold the body jab button to order a takedown which should arrive in 2-4 business days” system just detracts from what these mechanics COULD have contributed to the game.


Anyways, TL;DR:
Takedowns suck. Not responsive. Makes it impossible to blend strikes with TDs. Also makes it nearly impossible to punish opponents for over-committing. This is mostly due to the shared input of takedowns and body jabs, requiring the takedown input to be held for a period of time before initiating the attempt.

[AggelosP]

Completely agree with everything you said. In UFC 3 striking and dodging strikes built your GA making takedowns easier to get. You also had to know which one to use (single or double) to increase your chances. I guess it was yet another decision to make the game friendlier to new players.