Tips for Improving in TEKKEN 8!

TEKKEN 8 is finally out and has found a place with new and old players alike, but the learning curve is incredibly steep, especially for new players. To lessen this burden, here are some important tips to give you a step up over the competition.

Watch Your Replays!

Every game you play will have its replay saved, and studying these can help you figure out where you went wrong. To help this process, there are tips in-game to tell you specifically what you can do differently. These range from telling you attacks which you can duck under to recommended punishes for different attacks. Not only does this help you learn your character, but you’ll also learn which moves are unsafe to use against the opponent's characters. Along with this, you can take over playing during the replay and try out new strategies in these matches to see what your best options are in different scenarios.

Don’t Focus Exclusively on Fancy Combos

Flashy combos are great; they’re satisfying to land, and it feels incredible to obliterate someone's health bar in just a few moves. Despite this, learning basic combos early on will take you so much further than trying to land that one cool combo. The mindset behind trying to land combos can lead to incredibly risky gameplay, as 99% of the combo starters are incredibly dangerous if blocked, and can lead to you being the one losing half of your health instead of the opponent. Alternatively, focus on learning one or two basic combos and learn your best fundamental options, such as your safest pokes and lows, along with learning your best moves to punish high-risk attacks from your opponents.

Don't Play to Win

This might sound insanely counter-intuitive, but trust me on this one. The mindset of trying your hardest to win every match can be dangerous, and I fall into this trap too much. Putting all of your energy into winning every match can lead to frustration and potentially the temptation to throw your controller through a wall. Instead, play to learn, which allows each match to have worth, win or lose. This is doubly important against characters you’ve barely played against; you won’t have the knowledge to beat them efficiently, so how can you expect to win if you haven’t even learned how? Getting into the right mindset can make learning so much easier and much more fun.

Use Super Ghost Battle

Super Ghost Battle is a new mode introduced in TEKKEN 8 and allows you to fight your own and other people’s “Ghosts”, which are AI recreations of players and their playstyles. If you’re finding yourself struggling, spend some time fighting your Ghost, and you’ll find the flaws in your game plan much quicker and easier than trying to figure out where you’re going wrong naturally. You can also fight Ghosts of other players, which allows you to practice against characters you may be struggling with in a zero-stakes environment.

Don’t Neglect Practice Mode

Spending time in Practice Mode is never wasted and is worth your time. Whether it’s spent practising combos, getting a better understanding of your character's moves, or matchups you might be struggling with, Practice mode is a place you should be spending time, as you’ll be able to get a much more intimate understanding of your own abilities. There are so many tools and so much data shared that you’ll be able to study almost every detail of your character. Learning the frame data of your moves, even to a basic degree, will help limit your mistakes and help you learn when and where to use different parts of your kit to get the most value.

TEKKEN 8 is incredibly difficult, and even sticking to these tips won’t instantly make you a god overnight, but if you’re struggling, it’s worth giving some of these a try. If anyone has any other tips, feel free to leave them below, and good luck on your climb up the ranked ladder!