The Road to Get Good in Street Fighter 6 [Beginner Edition]

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The Road to Get Good in Street Fighter 6 [Beginner Edition]


Street Fighter 6 just launched! And if you’re new to Capcoms iconic fighting game series or a returning veteran, don’t miss out on our guidelines on becoming the best.


Street Fighter 6 is finally here. After several beta’s, demos, and previews the game finally came out and is everything fans of the franchise had hoped.

The game remarks an incredible return to form with an excellent combination of old and new to make it the best Street Fighter in a long time. But the game is also accessible to anyone who never touched a fighting game.

So if you want to headline EVO someday or chase after the Master Rank in the game’s leaderboard all the tools are at your disposal. It is just hard to know where to start.

That’s why we have compiled a general guideline on how to turn from Street Fighter to World Warrior.

Pre-Game Mental Gymnastics

If you want to take getting better at Street Fighter 6 seriously, you need to remind yourself of one thing:

“Losing is Fun.”

Sounds like something a Street Fighter character would say but it also applies to getting good at Fighting Games.

No amount of studying frame data, watching replays, and practicing combos will save you from getting your ass beat. And like everything in life, it’s a learning experience.

Focus on improving and not winning. That doesn’t mean you should throw every match, but understanding what you did wrong or why you kept falling for the same cheap move over and over again is the first step to becoming a master.

Just Learn Ryu

If you’re new to Fighting Games and or Street Fighter, Ryu is the easiest character to pick up and learn the game with.

Don’t worry you don’t have to stick with him. Ryu is Street Fighter, the entire franchise and most 2D fighting games are built on his archetype, the Shoto.

Fireballs (Hadoken), Uppercuts (Shoryuken), and Tornado Kicks (Tatsumaki) paired with a solid selection of normal attacks are easy to wrap your head around.

Playing Ryu has the benefit that you can focus on getting into the basics instead of struggling with a character’s complex mechanics.

Modern Controls are Great For Learning Street Fighter 6

Among Street Fighter veterans, there has been much talk about Modern Controls and their potential. And while not having to do motion inputs for special moves is a plus they come with the downside of limiting your arsenal.

But if you’re new, those things should not matter to you. All the options you’ll ever need will still be available to you.

Sticking with Modern Controls lets you focus on fighting the opponent, not your controls and you get to hone in on the strategic aspects of fighting games.

Focus on Fundamentals First

Having strong fundamentals and so-called ‘footsies’ in Street Fighter is very important. This means you have a solid understanding of how the basic back and forth in combat.

Poking with long-ranged but safe attacks, how to counter throws, when to jump, or when to go on the counter-offensive.

It takes a lot of time to nail these core concepts, but there is an easy way to start learning them. Start reacting to your opponent instead of just attacking them to get some hits in.

World Tour Mode is a great way to practice (For Beginners)

Asking anyone to play a 20+ hour-long RPG to learn how to play fighting games is not the greatest sales pitch out there, but it works.

Street Fighter 6 features a brand new single-player adventure mode that lets you create your own character and explore the world of Street Fighter.

It is also an expansive tutorial that will slowly introduce all the mechanics of Street Fighter 6 as your character progresses through the story.

Most of the mode exists to teach you basic techniques, inputs, and strategies. Some enemies will always block and have to be thrown or a minigame will help you iron out the timing for charge motions.

So at least dipping your feet into the mode is highly recommended before you waste away in the insane asylum that is the training mode.

SF6 Cammy Screenshot 1 png jpgcopy

Study Character and Gameplay Guides

Street Fighter 6 deserves extra praise for the insane amount of documentation the game features out of the gate. Every character and mechanic comes with a detailed explanation and trials to help you nail their execution.

These cover everything from the new Drive System to how characters’ combo paths flow into each other.

The Combotrials can also be found here, we recommend working through at least the beginner combos of your favorites and nailing the execution. Mastering those early will save you a lot of frustration later.

Don’t Focus too hard on Combos

We often see players get hung up and frustrated once they throw themselves into training mode and try for hours to perfect one 10-hit combo with an extremely tight execution window.

Don’t do that.

It is good form in fighting games and especially Street Fighter to practice something the FGC calls Tournament Combos. Those describe simple combos you can consistently perform when the opportunity presents itself.

Try to learn a few of them for different situations. For example one for Anti-Air situations, a simple hit-confirm combo, and how to set up your super after a counter-hit.

SF6 Tutorial png jpgcopy

Master the Drive System

The Drive System is brand-new to Street Fighter 6 and is a combination of mechanics from earlier entries as well as other fighting games. Mastering it is the key to victory.

In each round, players start out with a full Drive Gauge which allows them to execute a number is special abilities. Such as a flawless block that can slowly deplete, a parry, a reversal, a rush, enhanced special moves, and the Drive Impact.

Many new players will probably ignore the Drive System for one reason or another and will eventually struggle to implement it in their gameplay.

SF6 Battle Hub Match Screen png jpgcopy

Find People to Play and Practice with

The journey to the top is long and arduous but you don’t have to do the climb alone. There is incredible value in having a consistent group of people to play against.

It will always be difficult to find someone on your skill level, but it is more important to eliminate the pressure of competition. Having someone that can tell you what you’re doing wrong and how to improve is incredibly valuable.

And it also helps to play against others in longer sets instead of the standard 2 rounds and then you’re done that you’ll find in ranked or public lobbies.

Only that way you can continuously fall for the same shenanigans until you find a way to counter them. It is also a great way to monitor your progress outside of nonsense rankings.

So if you have friends you are already into it, play with them as much as possible.  And if you’re looking for more people to practice with, we recommend joining a smaller community or an in-game club.

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