Bandai Namco has released details on update 2.00.02 for Tekken 8, introducing a series of balance-focused changes that respond to community concerns following the rollout of Season 2. The development team acknowledged that the game had skewed too heavily toward offensive playstyles, leading to one-sided matches and inflated damage environments. This new patch represents the first step in a more methodical approach to game balance, where issues will be addressed in stages with increased transparency and community input.
One of the headline changes in version 2.00.02 is an increase to the maximum health value for all characters. This adjustment is intended to reduce the frequency of matches being decided by overly dominant offensive momentum and long aerial combos. Alongside this change, several high-reward moves across the roster have been adjusted to bring their risk-reward balance in line with the game’s design goals. The Heat System, which has played a central role in Tekken 8’s offensive gameplay, has also undergone revisions to offer more counterplay options to defenders.
Patch Notes for Tekken 8 Version 2.00.02
Health and Damage Adjustments:
- Increased the maximum health value to reduce the impact of high-damage momentum shifts and make matches more balanced in duration and outcome.
Adjustment of Overly Rewarding Attacks:
- Tweaked various high-reward moves across multiple characters to ensure better alignment with their risk.
- Reduced the dominance of attacks that consistently led to advantageous setups and repetitive, one-sided gameplay.
Heat System Rebalancing:
- Heat Dash now features revised damage scaling, reducing overall combo damage output while retaining offensive utility.
- Adjusted the frame advantage for Heat Engagers on hit, ensuring attackers still benefit but giving defenders more chances to respond.
- Reduced the additional chip damage dealt during the Heat state.
- Moves that already cause chip damage no longer gain extra chip damage while in Heat.
Notes on Future Adjustments:
- Mid-May update will further reduce damage from air combos and rebalance Heat Burst performance.
- Ongoing reviews are underway for attacks that create frequent advantages with minimal risk and for characters or systems that result in consistently one-sided matches.
- The development team intends to adopt a phased update strategy, guided by player feedback and long-term observation of match data.
Tekken 8 is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
