Tekken 8is a hard game. The series is famous for having some of the most complex fighting games ever, and this one is no exception. The sheer number of moves every character has in the massive roster makes the game very difficult to learn and understand.
With that being said, Harada and the rest of the Bandai Namco Team decided to make Tekken 8 a much more accessible entry in the series, while retaining the complexity and depth that fans are more than familiar with now. How can you use those tools to escape the dregs of the lower ranks?
6Learn How To Block
Hone Your Defense
We can’t emphasize this enough, defense is a crucial part ofany fighting game, but even more so when it comes to Tekken. When you’re starting out as a beginner, you will not know what the characters you’re facing do. This will be the case of quite a long time. There are more than 30 on the roster and they often have over 100 moves each.
Instead of pressing all your buttons while you don’t even know what your enemy is doing, be patient and learn to block. Wait for your turn to strike, and do your damage while you can, then go back to blocking. If you get good at blocking, especially against lower-ranked players, you’ll win your games without ever learning a combo.
5Use Punishment Training
Learn How To Strike Back
Punishment training is an excellent addition to the Tekken 8 training mode, and one that you should definitely use. You won’t be able to identify in a live match which punishment goes where, but learning your tools is crucial for the next evolution of your game.
Get the rhythm down, train your reaction times and understand where your ten and 15-frame punishments work, and try to implement at least the 10f one in real matches. After you’ve mastered blocking, this step will give your defensive playstyle a deadly side.
4Start Learning Frame-Data
The Numbers, Mason
For most of us, frame-data will be boring. It is literally just looking at numbers on a screen, but Tekken 8 does an excellent job at showing you at a glance what they mean. Even if you find it boring, learning this side of the game, even if slowly, will level you up massively.
Tekken, at its core, functions almost like a turn-based JRPG. Whoever hits first in a match starts their turn, which will end when it is interrupted by the enemy or when the player uses an attack that leaves them with negative graves on block. Learning frame-data will show you where your turns begin and end, diminishing a lot of the frustrations that the game can have when you don’t know when you may press your buttons safely.
3Watch Your Own Replays
It Is Actually Fun, Now!
Instead of having to learn frame-data in the lab as players of previous Tekken players had to do, Tekken 8 gives you all the frame-data in your own replays, with the option to take control of your character and practice your punishments instantly.
Maybe you just lost a match to a character that felt extremely overwhelming, smothering you with strings that seemedimpossible to deal with. Head to the replay and you’ll see that there are always ways to deal with your enemy’s offensive, you just have to learn the gaps and practice your punishments.
2Learn How To Use And Break Throws
We Know You Hate King
Throws, or grabs, are extremely strong in Tekken 8. If you get hit by one as a counter-hit, the window to escape the throw is minuscule, making it nearly impossible to break. With the addition of more armored moves like the heat burst, grabs also became stronger because they work through armor.
Learn your character’s strongest throws, ideally ones that need specific breaks like 1+2, and practice your own throw breaks against multiple characters. This can be done in the lab with a bit of patience, and once you start doing it, you’ll see that you’ll quickly get better at identifying which break you need to use against specific throws.
1Don’t Become Obsessed With Combos
One Step At A Time
If you had to make a list of your personal priorities in order to become a better Tekken player as a beginner, learning combos should be bottom of that list, regardless of which character you’re playing. Learning combos is extremely fun, and landing them in real matches is even better.
With that being said, though, you’ll only be able to use them reliably if you’ve already done all the previous steps that we’ve shown on this list. You’ll know you can launch your opponent if you’ve learned that the move they just used leaves them minus 15 on block. Learn a simple combo or two to start with, and leave the highlight-reel ones for later.
