Street Fighter 6 Season 2 Balance Changes Teased; Ryu Allegedly Receives Huge Buff

Capcom is currently working on a huge balance patch for Street Fighter 6 season 2 ahead of the release of Akuma, and some of the changes have been revealed.

The changes come courtesy of a playtest in Japan. This has allowed some Japanese players to test the game ahead of the May 22 release of Akuma as a DLC character along with a major balance patch.

Keep in mind that nothing has been officially confirmed and most of these are observations taken from Reddit or Twitter.

Street Fighter 6 Season 2 Balance Changes

General Changes:

• Universal Changes:
  • After performing a back throw, there is no longer throw advantage for any character.
  • Pushback after a back throw into the corner has been increased, reducing Perfect Parry effectiveness.
  • Drive Reversal is now -6 on block and can be utilized as a wakeup option for characters without invincible wakeup reversals.

Character-Specific Changes:

▼Guile:

• Sobat Kick: Range reduction may have been applied.
• Loop Combo: Reduced meter gain from loop combos, though it is unclear if this affects all or specific Supers.

▼JP:

• SA2 (Amnesia): Increased recovery, preventing combo extensions from light attacks into SA2 and medium attacks.
• OD Stribog: Can now be comboed into from medium attacks and target combos.

▼Ken:

• MP HP Target Combo: Now always forms a true blockstring, preventing delays in cancel timing.

▼Manon:

• 4HP Combo: Can now combo into OD Renversé followed by Grand Fouetté (236PP~K), but it’s unclear which specific move has been buffed.

▼Lily:

• 2HP: Hurtbox has been increased, potentially making it more vulnerable on whiff.

▼Blanka:

• DR Overhead: Now +1 on block (instead of +2), making it less advantageous.
• 2LP: Always combos into M Rolling Attack.

▼Cammy:

• 4MP > HK > H Hooligan Combination + HK: The combo no longer connects, though it still side-switches.
• OD Spin Knuckle: Projectile invincibility starts later, reducing its effectiveness against projectiles.
• SA2: Command has changed from Kick (K) to Punch (P).

▼Honda:

• Buttslam: Greater distance on block, reducing follow-up pressure (2LP doesn’t reach).
• 5MP: Increased range due to forward movement.
• Headbutt: Will not pass under jumping opponents anymore, making it more susceptible to punishment.

▼Luke:

• J.HP: Significantly increased hurtbox.
• 4HK: Decreased plus frames, preventing combo loops into itself after a punish counter Drive Rush.

▼Ryu:

• Denjin Charge: Can now choose between normal and Denjin charged versions for Hadoken and Hashogeki (Heavy version consumes the charge).

Character Observations:

• Akuma:
  • The new special move is minus on block for all versions:
    • Light Version: Punished by medium attacks.
    • Medium Version: Punished by light attacks.
    • Heavy Version: Safe, but still negative on block.
  • Observations include advantages of specific attacks and cancellable properties:
    • 5MP~MP: Target combo cancellable.
    • 6MK: Not cancellable.
    • 6HP > HP: Hit-confirmable target combo.
    • Other detailed changes require further observation for clarity.
• Dee Jay: Adjusted back throw distance to reduce its effect in the corner.
• Chun-Li:
  • Observed to have adjusted meter gain for SA2 follow-ups.
  • Exact nature of the adjustments needs further clarification.
• Rashid:
  • Does not build SA gauge while SA2 is active.

Capcom hasn’t shared the official set of patch notes so take this with a grain of salt, as these changes need to be confirmed first.

Street Fighter 6 is out now for PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series S|X.