Hit confirming is the ability to react to cues to know if a move hit, counter hit, or got blocked. In case of CH it's called counter hit confirming.
This is important, as moves cause different situations on hit and block. Generally if a move gets blocked - you lost your turn, and shouldn't press more buttons, unless you really want to. Launchers often have more difficult versions for a combo due to the difficulty of hit confirming it, as an example after a successful magic 4 there might be a very tight follow-up, which isn't that hard in practice, but in the actual situation one has to react very quickly to perform the combo, thus an easier follow-up is often preferred.
But mainly hit confirming refers to strings guaranteed to hit if one of the first hits connected. Often without confirming the strings are very punishable
There are several ways of confirming:
- Twitch confirming - when the confirmable move is barely delayable if at all, the only cue you might get enough in advance or at all is if opponent's body moved at all near the time of hit, chances are - they were trying to do a move, and thus it was a counter hit. Obviously this method is inconsistent, but it might be the only thing to look for.
Examples:
- Lei Razor Rush f,n,1,2,1,2
- Sidestep into immediate d/f+1 string
- Hit spark cue - when a move gets blocked, you see white sparks, when a move hit, and the move dealt less than 20 damage, you see red sparks, on counter hit moves deal additional damage, possibly exceeding 20 damage, causing the big spark, that you can customize in-game. This visual cue is very consistent, but requires very delayable hits, especially when it goes for counter hit confirming vs hit confirming. Some strings may only be counter hit confirmable in Rage.
Examples:
- Mishima 1,1,2 (hit confirm)
- Mishima Twin Pistons (hit confirm)
- Lei Wolf Rush f,n,4,1,2,3 (both hit and counter hit confirm)
- Animation change - similar to spark cue, some moves cause different opponent animation depending on if they got hit, or got counter hit. Can be more inconsistent depending on the animation, and also requires very delayable hits.
Examples:
- Zafina d+1,1
- Sound cue - by far the best confirmer, as human beings do react faster to sound compared to visuals, confirming normal hit is very easy because blocking sound is so different. On counter hit some moves cause a loud unmistakable sound effect, also helping counter hit confirming strings
Examples:
- Lei b+4,1
- Zafina d+4,3
- Any launcher
Whiff confirming
If a move whiffs, it's good to know exactly what's happening instead of just hoping opponent whiffed.