First things first, every fight starts with your character. How he fights is dependent on how he is designed to fight. You can design your character to fight, or not fight, however you are inclined. If you want an archer, go be a Bowfinger =P But, this is where it all starts. And it is split into separate categories.

Tai-Specialist: Focused on physical Close-Quarters-Combat, they rely on speed, strength, and power to overcome problems. Their chakra and stats are specialized to enhance their bodies, mostly. The best advice anyone can give these fighters is either to make their characters “tanks”, with jutsu that enhance their already high physical capabilities, or make their characters stealth-based, to avoid long, drawn-out combat and get in close to their enemies, where they will have a marked advantage due to their specialization. Due to their specialization, as one might guess, their abilities to perform Genjutsu and Ninjutsu are relatively non-existent compared to their rank.

Advantages:
Strong physical statistics
Incredibly capable in CQC

Disadvantages:
Very little skill in Chakra-related abilities
Little resistance to Genjutsu (typically)

Nin-Specialist: Focused on Ninjutsu, they are the “masters” of Ninjutsu, with highly developed chakra-pathways that are designed to make their chakra more effective, typically represented in high stats that are chakra-related. For example, a nin-specialist would have high chakra pools, chakra control, and handseal speed. Similar to how Tai-specialists lose most of their ability to use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, Ninjutsu Specialists lose much of their ability to perform the other arts for a heightened ability to be better at the one they've chosen. They wield a high destructive power, capable of even changing the landscape, potentially. The best advice these can be given is simple: use your advantage. You have a massive advantage over Taijutsu specialists and Genjutsu specialists in terms of destructive power and versatility. If you use your advantages and jutsu effectively it will be hard for anyone else to challenge you. Being observant and having anti-stealth techniques are also critical.

Advantages:
High Destructive Power
High Chakra Capabilities

Disadvantages:
Typically “Glass Jawed”
Very low physical capabilities

Gen-Specialists: Similar to Nin-Specialists, these people have forsaken most of their physical abilities in favor of developing their skills with chakra and Genjutsu. However, unlike the destructive power that a Nin-specialist, these partake is attacking and destroying the minds of those who they encounter, in various ways. Best at debilitating, interrogating, and capturing enemies, these are crucial to group works. In any form of physical combat they're outmatched easily. The best advice one can give them is to invest in stealth and escape techniques in addition to their skills, just in case.

Advantages:
Very unique and effective attacks
Resistant to Genjutsu attacks from others

Disadvantages:
Very low physical stats
Little Destructive Power

Combinations: Combinations of the above three, this form of fighter is far more common than a specialist. The advantages and disadvantages are mixed and matched depending on how one builds a character. A Tai/Gen Fighter, for example, may specialize in capturing someone, using Genjutsu to attack their mind while they subdue them physically. They might also just use Genjutsu to distract the others and make them drop their guard, only to use their fists to break some glass jaws. Any Combination of the above 3 can be construed, and are a lot of fun, potentially.

These Advantages and Disadvantages are all typical, usual results. However, if you're clever enough, you can manipulate these however you'd like.

-in progres

- in progres

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Whenever you can, set the environment up yourself. Similar to that, whenever you can set the environment, make sure it fits your needs perfectly, and describe it, as painful as it may be, in exacting detail. The first and most important thing here is this: WHATEVER YOU LEAVE OPEN IN AN ENVIRONMENT, OTHER PEOPLE CAN DECIDE FOR YOU.

If you're in a forest, and just say you're in a forest, then that leaves the other guy to say where your forest is, how close it is to his home, how well he knows it, what time of day it is, etc. for example,


Quote:
Walking through the forest, Apocalips sighed, enjoying the time alone from his family.

Simply enough, let's do an exercise. How many things can you find, based on that short description, that can be manipulated to make it more advantageous to someone trying to kill Apocalips "the Kousu Sennin"?

Take a minute and write down what you can. I'm serious. Do it.
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Time: What time is it? Night or Day?
Location: Middle of the forest? In Konoha?
Particulars of the setting: Is he in a clearing in the forest? Is he right next to a tree? Is it a tropical rain-forest?
Territory: Related to Location, is he next to a city? Next to ANBU headquarters?
Attention: What's he paying attention to? If he's relaxing it's easy to say he's not paying attention to his surroundings, which means he could easily be walking into a trap.
Equipment: He's not doing anything in particular, and he's relaxing. Escaping, actually. The case can easily be made that he isn't fully equipped, or even fully charged for a battle.

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Quote:
Walking through Hyouga forest, just outside his clan's residence at noon, he took a breath of relaxation, having gone for a stroll. His cautious nature, however, made sure he was fully equipped and prepared for everything, with a keen eye on his surroundings, despite his happiness. He came across a round field about 30 feet from one side to the other, with short grass not even reaching his ankles. The forest was thin as he looked around in all directions.

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Granted, you won't always be able to choose the scenario, such as when you're joining a thread or the Chuunin exams. But that doesn't mean you can't change the setting, using items, jutsu, and good, old-fashioned skill. For example, try making custom smoke bombs that don't disperse. Then you can instantly amp-up the stealth of any scenario. There are various jutsu that create structures, some of which I've mentioned already. Try using them to add a sense of a 3D setting that lends itself toward your fighting style. Do what you can to make any setting, neutral, positive, or even negative, help you out as much as you can.

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You're in an old, dilapidated building. The walls are water-damaged and dripping. You're hiding from someone far higher-ranked than you. The walls are thin and weak, the building is condemned. You're a Raiton-affinity Tai-Nin user. Well, how can you use this scenario to the best ability to gtfo? You are chuunin ranked and managed to hide effectively. He is Jounin ranked.

Answer #1: Thunder Clap Jutsu → Raiton: Hagane no Tsubasa[Lightning Release: Wings of Steel] to make the ceiling fall (run it through the damaged wall) → Raivu Waiya- [Live Wire] to shoc/stun him when he investigates

Answer #2:
Raiton: Raizou Ikazuchi wo Utte [Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Strike] to destroy the building, cause chaos, and escape

Very quickly, 2 unique, different, and very effective ways out of that situation.

Simple enough lesson, right?

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Well, what type of fighter is your opponent? There are many possibilities:
Stealthy
Long-Distance/Ranged
Hand-to-hand
Defensive
Aggressive
“War of Attrition”
Genjutsu-User
Burst Fighter (fight for short, intense bursts)
Hybrid (mix of 2 or more types of fighter)

There may be different types of fighters, but 99% of people are these types of fighters, with most of them being Hybrids.

Usually, whatever type of fighter you encounter, if you want to win you should prevent them from doing what they usually do, and this is mostly logic based. If you know someone is gunning for you who uses stealth, set up the environment (like I covered before) to neutralize their typical fighting style. If they use stealth and try to snipe you out from a distance, do your best to make the setting of the encounter as anti-stealth and anti-range as you can, such as an urban scenario with buildings in the way, forcing them to either wait in one spot and “camp you out” (which is good, because it gives you time to respond, react, and find them) or go out in search for you, potentially losing both their stealth and their range advantages, handing you a good part of the fight.

For another example, a Stealthy Defensive Genjutsu User would hide in the shadows and break you down with Genjutsu attacks. Now, you can't do much against the Genjutsu part of that fight unless you yourself are good with Genjutsu in some form. Btw, that unique function of Genjutsu is why it is a powerful form of fighting. However, they are both defensive (meaning they don't partake in fighting with aggression, and hence aren't going to be skilled fighters) and stealthy, which lends itself toward the thought that once you do find them the game is up.

Cat-and-mouse. Have fun.


Now, how do you go around figuring out their fighting type, how they fight? One way is to look at their profile at their statistics and make judgments based on that. Equally as effective is going back through threads from that character and analyzing how they fight. Though it takes longer, it is getting information straight from the horse's mouth.

Oh, and please, remember not to metagame.

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Obvious enough to those who think, learn and know the statistics of your opponent, such as strengths and weaknesses. If they're slow, maximize on that opportunity. If they're incredibly strong, don't get hit (of course). If they are afraid of insects, work that into the setting (such as fighting in a forest). If they're have 4 ranks in stealth, do something to minimalize that strength. Knowing the statistics of your opponent in relation to your own will help you learn how to fight them and how they will respond. Short, simple section, no?

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Optional for many people, and hence not utterly important, it's a good thing to realize that you should know the equipment of your opponent, what they have at their disposal. Do they have hundreds of knives? Explosives? Do they not have any weapons at all? This will also serve as a good indicator to how they will try to fight. If their weapons are all close-ranged, they will probably be used in close-ranged fights, and typically that means that they are close-ranged fighters. Similarly, a longbow and crossbow will probably denote the ability to fight at ranged.

Something very important to know about weapons is that they are often used as a balancing measure, something to lessen the weaknesses built into a character, and this is especially true with custom weapons. I, for instance, have a very powerful Bow and specialized arrows that I use to encourage people to fight me hand-to-hand rather than be shot at by it, which is actually where one of my characters really excels. So, be wary of items. Knowing what your opponent can use is always useful, but it isn't necessarily indicative.

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Know their jutsu lists. Know how their jutsu can be used, how they can be combined, if they're complimentary. Know how they would interact with your jutsu, which would be superior. Know what each jutsu could do in the given scenario, and what combinations those jutsu could create, not only amongst themselves but among their statistics and their weaponry. There is so real trick to this other than reading their jutsu list and thinking in-depth about it and how it blends with their character and choices, and how it affects them. Again, there is no real trick to this section, it's cut-and-dry this way. Simple, right?

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What, you wanted all the answers? Use what I've already given you, and fight using that.