Did everyone struggle this much with DBF in the beginning?

I used to play this game when I was 8 or 9 years old and I remember practicing DBF on walls using default keybinds for what I think was hours daily and, while I was able to get two slashes off here and there, I could never land it consistently. I eventually gave up and moved on.

Fast forward 20 years and I want to play the remaster on Steam when it releases, so I am practicing on Freestyle to warm up. This time I am trying out different keybinds for a better balance which seems to help a bit, but I spent a couple hours trying to DBF (without the dash) and I just cannot seem to get it consistently. I know this is a basic move so I am wondering if any of you veterans remember if you struggled with the basics in the beginning, and if so, how long did it take you to master DBF? Am I missing something? It feels impossible sometimes.

I have a mechanical keyboard and a cheap mouse if that makes any difference.

Also while I am here, are there any other ladies here? When I played 20 years ago I never met another female playing the game. Not that it matters but I am curious if things have changed at all in that regard lol.

Welcome back!

Don't worry, DBF is actually pretty easy. You just need to get the timing right. Once you feel how it works, you will do it every time. Just keep trying, I'm sure you will get it soon!

I also have a cheap mouse and I use default keybinds. Here are some keybinds that you could try: https://fgunz.net/keybinds

I don't recall how difficult it was back in the day, but I agree that DBF is fairly easy if you keep in mind that you have plenty of time to perform the key presses. You don't have to be super precise with your timings, unlike with TBF. That is truly difficult imo

It took me a few hours with the left click for slash/right click for block keybinds, and this is with the dash.

Common pointers for dbf:
- You should try letting go of block as soon as you tap it.
- Do the first butterfly on the up of the jump, then the second butterfly on the fall of the jump, as if you're trying to do it as late as possible before you hit the floor. Try to get the first BF out as early as you can, like even before you let go of the spacebar in your jump, you're already pressing the left click for the slash of the first BF.
- Dashing mid-air actually slows your descent a little bit. It's really more noticeable if you're learning TBF, where a DBF > dash > BF is easier to do that just standing and doing a TBF without dashes. I say this just so that you won't think you have to learn DBF stationary first before a DBF with a dash, because IMO you can learn them simultaneously.

You can also probably find anyone in training rooms that would teach you how to DBF.

Hope you get the hang of it :D