Tekken 7
Tekken 7
Tekken 7
U/F = Hold Up and Forward d/f = Tap Down and Forward D/F = Hold Down and Forward
U/B = Hold Up and Back d/b = Tap Down and Back D/B = Hold Down and Back
hcf = Half Circle Forward hcb = Half Circle Back N = Neutral (Idle Resting Position)
Movement
Movement is a very important thing for fighting games, TEKKEN is no exception. The underlying difference between all
of them is why movement is considered important. In this case, punishment is the core concept of this series and
having good movement will force your opponent to miss their attacks for this.
● Linear Movement
Hold forward or back to walk in the respective directions and double tap them to do a dash or backdash. Either double
tap and hold or triple tap forward to make your character run, press back during this state to force the character to stop
running and return to standing position. When it comes to determine distance ingame, the number of backdashes is
used in terms of “range x.”
Tap either up or down once to sidestep in the direction done; double tap then hold those directions to sidewalk instead.
This allows you to avoid some moves, but not every move you see; which will be explained further in a later section.
Hold D, D/B, or D/F to place your character into Crouching state. Hold U, U/B, or U/F to make your character jump. Both
of these states are few of the simplest tools that describe the crush system, which allows characters to avoid certain
attacks.
Attacks
In TEKKEN, there are varying heights/levels of attack, each with unique ways to defend against it. Most attacks you can
tell just by looking what level (High, Mid, or Low) they hit at, but some you’ll have to find out by checking the movelists.
Let’s look at some of the basic types of attacks. First, we’ll list out the buttons and which does what. Keep these in
mind as it will be used A LOT in this guide, and within your experience in TEKKEN.
4/RK - Right Kick 1+2/WP/AP - Left and Right Punch 3+4/WK/AK - Left and Right Kick
● High Attacks
These include jabs and most characters standing kicks. High attacks can be blocked with Standing Guard, or ducked by
Crouching. Keep in mind that jabs are ALWAYS safe and are typically the fastest moves available to the cast.
● Middle Attacks
Mid attacks can be blocked with Standing Guard, but will hit a Crouching or Crouch Guarding opponent.
● Low Attacks
Low attacks will hit an opponent in Standing Guard, but can be blocked by Crouching Guard or avoided by Jumping.
● Throws
Throws will connect on Standing Guard opponents, but they can be Ducked, or Broken after the grab. Throw Breaking
will be discussed later in the guide. some characters have Crouch Throws that will grab opponent in Crouch, but will
whiff against standing opponents. Generic Throws for every character are performed by pressing 1+3 or 2+4. Long
range throws, done by pressing f+1+3 or f+2+4, gives generic throws a homing property and moves your character
forward with a downside of them being slightly longer for the throws to take effect. Many other characters have other
Throws that are executed with different commands, refer to your character’s move list for these. Speaking of Homing….
All three terms are used to define the attack’s ability to hit against opponents that are sidestepping and sidewalking
from absolute to varying degrees to none. Homing moves in-game are labeled in movelists with a blue icon and give a
white trail during its animation.
Special Mids and Special Lows are attacks that can be blocked with either Standing Guard and Crouching Guard.
Examples include: generic ducking jab (D+1 or FC+1) for special lows and Akuma’s and Geese’s Standing 2 as special
mids. While TEKKEN does not differentiate the two in-game (which both are indicated by a green hit effect that is
labeled with the word “MIDDLE” in practice mode), it’s important to note the difference between them when you play as
a character that has a parry in their arsenal.
● Unblockables
Unblockables are attacks that, as the name suggests, cannot be blocked. Most moves that generate a big flashy spark
during their execution are unblockable. As a tradeoff, most of these unblockables are slow to execute and very linear,
meaning they can be avoided by sidestepping or sidewalking.
A Counter Hit occurs when a character is hit during the startup frames or active frames of an attack animation (i.e. You
try to attack, but before the attack actually comes out, you get hit by the opponents attack). When you CH with a move,
it is usually given different properties than if you would hit with it on normal hit. Sometimes a CH attack will cause a
knockdown, stun, or juggle, when it would normally not on regular hit.
● Rage System
The Rage System was introduced in TEKKEN 6. Rage activates when a player is low on health, giving the fighter's health
bar a red glow, the fighter a red aura and increasing the damage output of their moves. It works similarly to the
Revenge Gauge in STREET FIGHTER IV as both mechanics give losing fighters the opportunity to turn the tide of battle
in their favor. The Rage System resembles the Netsu Power system in TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT, in which an off
screen character's health bar would glow red and their damage output would be increased if their Tag Partner had
taken a certain amount of damage.
In TEKKEN 6, Characters gain a red aura around themselves and their life bar and an increased damage output. In
TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2, Similar to the Netsu Power system, an off screen fighter will gain Rage if their tag
partner has sustained a certain amount of damage. Having a partner in Rage Status also allows them to perform a Tag
Crash, a move that lets them "Crash" into their opponent to interrupt a combo. The Rage System functions the same
way it did in TEKKEN 6 when playing the game's 1-on-1 Fight Mode.
TEKKEN 7 expanded on the Rage System further. Characters are now able to use a powerful attack called a Rage Art
while in Rage. Using a Rage Art removes a fighter's Rage Status, so the damage increase will no longer be in effect
once the move has been executed. TEKKEN 7: FATED RETRIBUTION added two new features to the Rage System. The
less health a fighter has, the higher the damage increase they will deal with their Rage Art. Rage Drives, powerful
modified versions of regular moves similar to EX Specials in STREET FIGHTER, were also added. Rage Drive's generally
open up combo opportunities or extend existing combos. Just like Rage Arts, using a Rage Drive will remove a
character's rage status. Rage activates when a fighter is at roughly 25% of their full health in TEKKEN 7.
● Crush System
● Running Attacks
Running Attacks are, well, exactly what it says. These can be done when you and your opponent are fully spaced out to
the maximum distance that the game allows between you and your opponent, running after 2 steps will give you a
Tackle, while 3 or more will give you what you command your character to do: Slide (initiated by pressing 4), Chop
(initiated by pressing 1+2), Running Shoulder (automatically done against opponents not lying down), and Running
Stomp (automatically done against opponents lying down) are the generic attacks. Others are character specific, so
you’ll have to refer to their move list if they have one available. When engaging in running, it is possible for you to stop
yourself by holding Back, tapping Down, or Side Step (tapping Up or Down twice quickly).
● Punishment
A Punish occurs when you attack your opponent while they are in recovery state; typically by avoiding an attack or
blocking an attack. For instance, say your opponent is Jin Kazama. They do something like f+1+2, which is his Double
Chamber Punch, you can duck it and make it Launch Punishable by using a While Rising/While Standing move that
launches on hit. When a move is Punishable this means you have a certain set of moves to use that can Punish this
particular move. In this case, every character can duck and launch this move. Now the timing of your duck depends on
your reaction time, which will be discussed later. There are many moves you can Punish Punishes with, it all depends
on the character and whether you choose to learn them or not. Don’t you blame anybody else.
You know, very often, people that are trying to learn TEKKEN ask this: If I’m learning a new Fighting Game, one of the
very important things I should learn is how to block, when to block, and how to take control of the match. This section
will cover everything you need to take notes against that one Katarina player that would not for the life of them stop
mashing 4 and open you up like a buttery biscuit on a Sunday morning. And never forget: Your best Offense is good
Defense. F irstly, there are 3 types of Guarding you can do, but all 3 have their own little quirks to ‘em. Here’s each of
them and how they work.
● Standing Guard
Standing Guards block High and Mid Attacks, but you are vulnerable to Low Attacks, Throws, Special Mids and
Unblockables. Standing Guard can be done by holding Back.
● Crouching Guard
Crouching Guard blocks Low Attacks and Special Mids, and ducks High Attacks and Standing Throws. But this also
leaves you vulnerable towards Mids and Crouch Throws, in which we’ll discuss later in the guide. Now remember. You
DO NOT need to duck so often as it can condition yourself to play like a turtle, well, unless you enjoy being a turtle, then
you should come out your shell. But that’s also a thing we’ll discuss. Crouching Guard can be done by holding both
Down and Back at the same time.
● Neutral Guard
Neutral Guard is essentially the same thing as Standing Guard. If you are not hitting a direction or a button, you will be
considered to be in Neutral Guard. However, the difference is if you are Neutral Guarding, many attack strings will break
through your guard after the first hit, so most of the time you want to use Back to guard. Some people find that using
Neutral Guard makes it easier to Punish after an attack, since your opponent doesn’t have to move Back to a different
direction to execute their attack.
Defensive Attacks
Now as you know, TEKKEN is about as thorough yet shallow as it can get. A lot of things can be taught through visual
explanations, while others can be taught textually. I can’t actually find the actual word for that so we’ll just roll with
that. Anyways, with Defense comes Defensive Attacks. This mainly applies to Parries, Auto Reversals from Stances,
Throw Breaks, the whole 9. In this subsection of Part II, we’ll discuss different ways to get the head on your opponent.
Hell you could probably learn a thing or two along the way with this.
● Reversals
One of the generic yet important things that have been a part of TEKKEN since its debut, are Reversals. Reversals are,
when timed correctly, a command that will damage the opponent when you press a certain input as soon as your
opponent is about to strike. Keep note that not all characters have this, and some have Reversals depending whether
they are in a Stance, On The Ground, or In Air. This can differentiate from a Parry, which again not all characters have.
Most Reversals can be done with b+1+3 or b+2+4, but again it varies per character.
● Parries
Parries are similar to Reversals, but can have no effect to either you nor your opponent. So again, not all characters will
have this, and if they do have them they will vary from Stance, Rage Status, or Neutral. It is with deepest regards to
remember that parrying does not need to always be a habit. Sure it can condition your opponent to play better and stop making so
many risks, but it also conditions yourself to think its necessary for every and any situation given. Use these parries wisely, and you’ll
be on your way to greatness.
● Low Parry
On the other hand, all characters are able to do a Low Parry when pressing d/f around the same time the incoming low
or special low attack is about to hit. This will make the character that is doing the parry, trip the opponent and put them
into Bound state, leading into a small damaging combo. Due to the small damage, there are lows that give you better
reward for blocking instead of low parrying.
● Throw Breaking
This is very important for you King players out there loving those Chain Grabs but can’t break the very thing you love doing. We gotta
ost of the throws in TEKKEN are breakable, meaning, once the opponent grabs you, you have a short window of
fix this. M
opportunity where you can break out of the grab. Generic grabs (1+3 or 2+4) are broken by pressing either 1 or 2 immediately after
your opponent grabs you. You only have a few frames to do this, so you must be quick. The way to tell what button to break with is
by looking at your opponent’s character’s hands. You will notice that during a throw, the character will either have his left arm
extended (1 break), right arm extended (2 break), or both arms extended (1+2 break). This is true for all generic Throws pre-TEKKEN
7 (which can be broken by pressing either 1 or 2 in TEKKEN 7), as well as most command Throws. Side Throws are broken
depending on what side the opponent is on. If they throw from your left side, 1 break, from the right, 2 break. Back Throws cannot be
broken. There are some throws like King b+1+2, Asuka d/b+1+2, or Kuma’s Stance Throw that cannot be broken, but in general you
are able to break most throws. Crouch Throws and Ground Throws have no distinct animation to tell what the break is, so it’s a
50/50 guess.
This section will be revisited in the Ground Game/Okizeme section of the guide. Spring Kicks and the Flying Chop are 2
of the many options for On The Ground and Running Attacks that are available. However, certain characters like Steve,
Paul, Yoshimitsu, King, Eddy, Feng, and Lei all have unique Wakeup Attacks. These are useful for closing the distance
between your opponent and/or conditioning them to not press anything during this particular situation. Note that you
can only do these On The Ground Attacks when you’re lying on your Back, Face Up. Commands for these are as follows:
Spring Kicks - B+3+4 while lying down | Flying Chop - F+1+2 or B+1+2 while lying down.
The bread-and-butter of doing major damage consistently, like any other fighting game, are combos. 3D fighting games
typically makes use of air juggling as the core component of combos. TEKKEN, since the game’s 6th installment, made
twists in their combo system that made itself unique in comparison to other 3D fighters.
● Launcher
Launcher, when used in forms of writing or speaking, is a general term used to describe a move that is able to start a
combo. There are different types of Launchers, common ones are typically uppercuts or hopkicks. A general rule of
thumb is that these moves are, ironically, launch punishable when they are blocked; so avoid spamming and use it if
necessary.
● Screw/Tailspin
Screw, known as Aerial Tailspin (きりもみ kirimomi) is a move property introduced in TEKKEN 7. It replaces the Bound
System used in TEKKEN 6 and TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2. A Screw Move causes an airborne opponent to spin in
the air and land on their backs with their legs pointing up. Using a screw attack allows the player to extend a juggle
combo, similar to the purpose of the Bound System. Unlike Bound, Screw Attacks will not work next to walls and can't
be used to cause floor breaks. The Bound System still exists in TEKKEN 7 but far fewer moves cause Bound States.
However, as Low Parries still put the opponent into Bound, the player can use Screw Attacks after Low Parrying an
opponent to extend Low Parry combos further than in previous games. Just like how Bound is unable to be used again
if used as a floor break, Screw is lost if the said move is used as a Wall or Balcony Break.
A Normal or Natural Combo is a property that if the current move of a string lands a hit, then its next move in the
sequence ,if the string is continued, will guarantee a hit also. Counter Hit Natural Combo (NCc) adds the additional
requirement that the move that lands a hit must be done as a counter hit or else the opponent that is at the receiving
end is able to take control afterwards.
● Juggles
The utmost important part of TEKKEN are Juggles. Juggles are a string of moves that keep your opponent in the air,
starting with a Launcher, and can go on for a certain amount of time before your opponent hits the ground, which
indicates that the Juggle has finished. Note that there are Walls and Floors that have a unique factor to them, so keep
in mind that Juggles can go on even after they encounter a Wall, which usually occurs a Wallsplat; Or even a Floor,
causing a Floor Break.
Walls were introduced in TEKKEN 4, which have given the series a new perspective on how Combos can be executed.
Usually, when a Combo extends to a Wall, it would end up in either 3 scenarios: Wall Splat, which occurs when a move
that pushes back on hit is being done, or a specific Throw is being executed. Wall Collision, a scenario in which a
character can collide against said Wall and hurt themselves from it, very specific scenario in which Yoshimitsu can hurt
himself from running into a Wall. And Wall Recovery, which was an evasive measure taken when a Normal Hit is being
done to you on a Wall and Okizeme is possible only for that specific scenario. What would happen is when hit on the
Wall you can press any button to roll off on the side of the Wall and return to Neutral facing your opponent.
Unfortunately, Wall Recovery was also introduced in TEKKEN 4 and has not returned since then.
As part of the big change in TEKKEN 6, environment factors from stages are reintroduced after TEKKEN 5 and TEKKEN
5: Dark Resurrection sticked to the wall or no wall stage in the form of Wall Break and Floor Break; and introduced in
TEKKEN Tag Tournament 2, Balcony Break. By breaking the Wall or Balcony with a Wallsplat move after a wall splat or
breaking a Floor with a Floor Break move against an airborne opponent, this will break said environment factor and
allows the juggle to continue. In TEKKEN 7, Floor Breaks are dumbed down by limiting the feature to one stage and
have it available anywhere and compensates it by having said stage utilize multiple floors instead.
Input b,b,u/b while your character has their back facing the wall will allow them to run the wall and initiate a short
ranged attack. The attack will vary from a punch to a flying kick to a flip. Akuma, Eliza, and Noctis are not capable of
using this move, so options may be limited.
● Wall Bounce
New to Season 2 of TEKKEN 7 is the addition of Wall Bounce. By hitting your opponent with a Wall Bounce move while
they are standing or crouching and not having their back turned towards you, the camera will zoom in for a brief
moment before they fly back. If they hit the wall while flying back, the opponent will bounce off that wall, leading into a
resplat or a different combo. This can potentially makes wall more of a threat since Wall Bounce reach the wall further
than a wallsplat.
Ground Game/Okizeme/Ukemi
Getting hit by a juggle combo will obviously force you to get down on the ground, which leads into the next thing to
think about, “What to do to get up off the ground?”
● Rising Up
By pressing u or d/b, your character will stand up and automatically transition into crouching position. Use this if it is
necessary to quickly block standing or crouching.
● Rolling
Input b to rise up and move back to gain distance or roll up and close the distance with f. Pressing 1+2 when rolling
forwards will net a cross chop.
● Side Rolling
Press 1 to roll towards the background before getting up and d1 to roll towards the foreground. Note that if you hold D
while pressing 1, you will stay in a grounded position, limiting the options your opponent has to do damage on you, but
leaves you vulnerable to stomps, ground throws, downed attacks, and very few Special Mids that can hit grounded.
● Get-Up Attacks
There are different ways to attack while getting up from the ground. D+3 while grounded will give your character a safe
distanced low kick that you can now also roll out of. To do a rolling low kick, press either b+3 or f+3 while downed, and
for a mid kick, press either b+4 or f+4 while downed. Same can be applied for neutral while lying down from different
sides. Low kick can be used as a launcher on counter hit or if the downed player is close and facing down with their
feet facing towards their opponent. You can also perform a spring kick and flying chop. Certain characters have a
unique animation to both of these, and some can execute a free launcher if you press 1 immediately after doing a
spring kick.
Frame Data
Just like any competitive fighting sport, a fight requires patience and time, mainly to find an opening against your
opponent in order to drive in an attack of your own.
A frame refers to a screen, just like what you are reading this guide on. In terms of time, frame refers to how many
times the screen redraws itself to show a new picture. While frames are static, the time it takes to redraw vary; which
is partly the reason you see features like “show frames per second (fps)” as a game setting.
A basic, singular attack is divided into three parts: startup, active, and recovery. Startup frames signify how many
frames the attack needs before it does damage. Active frames signify the frames the attack is able to register a hit
towards the opponent. Recovery frames signify how many frames the move needs before the player is able to regain
control. A counter hit occurs if the attacker is hit during their startup or active frames; a punish occurs when the
attacker is hit during their recovery frames.
Blocking and hitting also have recovery frames, which leads into the importance of punishment since the amount of
frames it takes to recover from a block and the amount of frames to recover from an attack differ. A move that is
labeled “+x on block or hit” means the player that initiated the attack is able to recover earlier than their opponent in x
number of frames. “-x on block or hit” follow a similar guideline by having the player on the receiving recover earlier
than the attacker in x number of frames.
● Safe vs Punishable
While moves have multiple factors on what makes moves safe or punishable(like a move’s pushback on block), this
section is solely going to be focused on the frame data aspect. A move is considered safe if the opponent does not
have a proper move to counterattack against to your move after a block or hit; otherwise the move is generally
punishable. For example, Jin’s f+4 is -8 on block at its worst, but a good amount of the roster does not have a move
that has a startup of 8 frames, theoretically calling it safe in terms of frames. Noctis’ d/b+1+2 is -16 on block, meaning
most characters are theoretically able to punish this move and also making it unsafe for Noctis to do anything
afterwards if successfully blocked.
● Backdashing (BD)
You’ve heard about it everywhere. One prominent thing you must learn in order to grasp the true core of TEKKEN, is
backdashing. A common movement used for spacing, a backdash is usually used to get out of an opponent's jab range
and to cause their attacks to whiff. If you backdash (b~b), there are frames at the end where you cannot block. Try
looking at the backdash and you’ll see after the movement where the character takes a split second to put his foot
down and return to normal stance. The backdash can be cancelled into any direction, or into a block with ~N~B (b~b,
let the stick go back to neutral or resting position, then hold B or cancel it into any attack. The most common method
of backdash cancelling is d/b. This puts you right into crouch block, and from there you roll the stick from d/b to b for
standing block. Note that there are still frames where you are vulnerable, but nowhere near as long as an uncancelled
backdash. You can cancel a backdash into another backdash with b~b~d/b~b and repeat with b~b~d/b~b~d/b~b and
so on. The other common way to cancel a backdash is with a sidestep. The command for this is b~b~u_d. This is a
universal tool for all characters, but some characters like Eddy require a bit more work to make a decent amount of
space. The important thing to remember is the faster you do it, the bigger chance your opponent has to whiff, so learn
it steadily, and take your time.
All of these three movement options are character-specific and give an alternative method to approach your opponent,
the number of characters that can cancel into these tools is even smaller. By inputting f,N,d,d/f for crouch dash and
qcf(d,d/f,f) for roll dash, you character will do a special animation that will make them move forward while lowering
their upper body for a moment. Wavedashing is the act of cancelling between a normal dash and crouch dash back and
forth with a continuous string of inputs consisting of f, n, qcf(skip the neutral input if playing as King); not only it
reduces recovery to cover more distance, some characters are able to have mix up options through this.
● Backflip
While not having a proper use like crouch dashing or roll dashing, inputting ub~b for a specific amount of characters
will make them do a backflip covering some space. Even fewer character that have a backflip also have special follow
ups, like Lee automatically going into Hitman stance and Master Raven having an unblockable move by pressing 3+4
during this state.
● Button Buffering
Button inputs are expected to be only have their inputs received from a positive edge(activating on press). While it
does start reading inputs on a press, it also reads which buttons are currently pressed at the moment the positive edge
intitates. One of the moves that benefit from this trick is Heihachi’s Rage Drive(b2,1+2 or 1,b2,1+2); you can do either:
press 2, release 2, then press 1+2; or press and hold 2, then press 1 while you are still holding the 2 input; both
methods work for strings like this. The typical 2D cancels do not allow button buffering and must require the former
input process to do so.
● Directional Buffering
This feature on the surface looks similar to how 2D games does move cancels (which still applies to Akuma, Eliza, and
Geese in TEKKEN 7); but the game not having a proper tutorial does not tell you how this section properly works. When
in comes to compound directional inputs, there are two categories these moves fall under: movement-based and
non-movement based. Movement-based moves and attacks (like dash attacks) can only have the first directional input
of the movement to be bufferable while non-movement based moves and attacks can have the whole directional input
bufferable. Examples for one of each of these categories are Paul’s Phoenix Smasher (nicknamed Deathfist) and
Heihachi’s Iron Hand, both having an input of qcf+2; Paul has a roll dash which means that doing your normal
Hadouken input is not the proper way to input Paul’s Phoenix Smasher and should be read as pressing the 2 button
while Paul is doing a roll dash; Heihachi’s Iron Hand is not movement based and can have the whole qcf input be done
during a recovery of the move, which all he needs to do is press 2 once said recovery is over.
● Ki Charge / Supercharge
All characters are able to utilize this mechanic by pressing all 4 attacks buttons simultaneously, which the character
does a charge animation and will have a yellow bloom effect on their hand. If successful, the character’s attacks will
cause chip damage on block and will force a counter hit; yet are at risk due to losing the ability to block and give the
opponent to counter hit also. This effect is removed if either player gets hit or the player that ki-charged does nothing
for 10 seconds. Some characters have different moves that induces ki-charging and some characters have additional
moves after the manual ki-charge input.
● Chicken
A chicken is typically called “a reversal of a reversal”. For example, Paul’s b+1+3 or 2+4 can reverse punches or kicks.
If Paul catches you with his reversal, you can counter it according to which limb he reversed. If Paul reversed a 1 or 3
attack, you would press f+1+3 as soon as Paul attempts his reversal. If he reversed a 2 or 4 attack, you would press
f+2+4 as soon as he starts his reversal. For combination button attack such as 1+2, 3+4, 1+4, etc. moves, it depends
on the attack and limb used to determine what the proper chicken is.
● Stun Escapes
Certain stuns can be escaped by tapping f, b, or d on the control stick immediately after the stun, all inputs varying on
the stun. Note that not all stuns can be escaped. Typically the animation for an escapable stun is where the opponent
remains standing clutching his stomach. Be sure to hold B right away after tapping f, or you will not be able to block
after escaping the stun, negating your stun escape!
Teching, or tech rolling, also called ukemi, is used to quickly roll out to a standing position after being knocked down.
Though it can be dangerous in certain situations, this is quite useful, as it bypasses the grounded position. There are 3
types of techs:
- Tech Roll (Side): This is done by hitting a button the instant you land to sideways. 1 or 2 rolls to the
background, 3 or 4 rolls to the foreground (towards the screen). Using 1 or 2 vs. 3 or 4 is only a matter of
preference, but you can use it to roll away from a wall. The downside of using a tech roll is that if you tech
close enough to the opponent, you are forced to react to the opponents next attack. There are certain setups
called tech traps that can be used to catch opponents who tech roll. Such an example is Anna’s d+1+2
unblockable. After certain juggles or floats (d+4,1 being the most notorious), Anna can do her d+1+2
unblockable and if you tech roll you will get hit by the unblockable. Kuma has similar traps with his
unblockable.
- Back tech: This is done by holding B as you hit the ground. This causes you to roll backwards and end in a
standing position. This is useful to avoid follow-up ground hits, or avoid the mix-up an opponent might try if
you were to tech to the side. The downside to this is that if you back tech too close, the opponent can dash in
and either float combo you out of your back tech, or dash in and hit you with a mid move, as there are frames
towards the end of the back tech that leave you ducking. Also, if you get knocked far away, a backroll tech
may put you in range for the opponent to use an unblockable running shoulder tackle.
- Kip tech: Done by holding F as you hit the ground. This causes you to do a kip up as you hit the ground,
kicking the opponent as you get back to your feet. Not used very often, but can be used to interrupt an
opponent's oki.
Note that there are some situations such as bounces and most throws that do not allow you any sort of tech.
There are also certain moves like Bryan’s ff+2, Feng’s d/f+1 on crouchers, etc. that leave you in a techable
state.
Next we’re gonna go over some grounded positions. These are useful for when you’re labbing specific situations
regarding oki, ground throws, and the sort.
● Grounded Positions
FUHA/FUFT/KND – Face up head away or face up feet towards. The basic grounded position lying on your back.
FUHT/FUFA/PLD – Face up, head towards or face up feet away. Also called Play Dead as this is the position Lei’s move
of the same name puts you in.
FDHA/FDFT – Face down, head away/feet towards. Pretty self explanatory.
FDHT/FDFA/SLD – I’m pretty sure you get the gist of it now.
Off-Axis – When you are lying down and you are not straight head towards or head away. Basically if you are on the
ground with your side turned to your opponent. Some moves that don’t normally hit grounded opponents can hit
opponents on the ground if they are off-axis. Examples include Heihachi’s f,F+2 or Devil Jin b+4 (I think it only hits
off-axis right?)
Alright, now let’s look at some of these grounded positions and look at your options for getting back to standing.
FUHA:
You have the most options from this position, which is good, because it’s the ground position you’re left in most often.
Note that to do these moves, you have to be in a fully grounded position and not tech.
–U
(Quickstand): The fastest and safest way to get up from here is simply to tap up, then hold back or d/b to
block. This allows you to stand in place and immediately block. In some situations however, quick standing like this will
get you floated, mostly after combos that end in a slamdown. For example, quickstanding after certain Nina combos,
her d+4,1 will float you and she can continue with another combo.
–B
(Roll back): You roll backwards. Has the same problems of being floated during this, especially since it’s
slower than quickstanding. However it can be useful to move you out of the way of some grounded hits. Be careful not
to use this if you are very close to your opponent as you will usually be hit out of it.
– F ( Roll Forward): This isn’t very useful in most situations. However, certain moves that leave you grounded
and far away from the opponent (King’s f,f,F+2+4 for example) may give you some use for this.
– (1 or d+1) Side Roll: This is a roll to the side. It can move you out of the way of linear ground attacks. Hit 1
to roll into the background, d+1 to roll into the foreground. After you hit 1 or d+1, you can backroll (which gets you
some space) forward roll, getup kick (3 or 4), stay on the ground (hold D), or quickstand (press nothing after 1 or d+1
and you will automatically get up).
– Kip-up Attack: Done be pressing b+3+4 or b+4~3 (this version executes a frame faster). The generic version
of this the character does a roll back onto their shoulders then kicks up and forward returning to their feet. Knocks
down on hit. This leaves you vulnerable if blocked. Other versions (King, Eddy) leave you in back turned position. Other
characters (Paul, Steve, and Yoshi) Do a kip-up in place then dive forward, which is safe but takes a very long time to
perform and is easily sidestepped.
– Diving Attack: This can be done by rolling either backwards or forwards then pressing f+1+2. It is a mid dive
attack that is somewhat slow and also punishable unless it is blocked below the knees. Knocks down on hit. You can
use this to trick some opponent by rolling back then diving forward as they give chase.
–A
nkle Kick: done by pressing d+3 or 4. This is a quick low ankle kick from a lying position followed by an
automatic quickstand. If blocked it is punishable usually by launch and can be low parried as well. On hit it allows you
to safely stand. Very useful for interrupting an opponent's attack, but if you whiff/miss you’ll pay dearly. Very short
ranged, which really only makes it useful for interrupting a close enemy’s attack.
–G
etup Kick: Done by pressing 3 for a low kick that allows float combos on CH, or a mid kick that knocks
down. Both are unsafe on block. A slower attack option, this gives a mid/low mixup and can interrupt opponent’s
ground game.
Misc: Some opponents have special moves that they can perform from this position like Feng’s 3+4, Kuma’s 1+2, Law
has some sort of item move, while Lei has several wake-up options. There are probably more but you will have to refer
to your character’s move list for them all.
FDHT
Pretty similar to the above position, only quick standing and get-up kicks take slightly longer, and you don’t have use of
the kip-up or ankle kicks. Some characters (Lei, Kuma, Dragunov) have moves they can do from this position.
FUHT
Another common knockdown position. This is slightly more vulnerable than FUHA, and requires some special attention.
–U
(Quickstand): As with FUHA, this option is still available, but in this position it is rather risky. the reason
being is that from both this and FDHA, you will stand up with your back turned and unable to block immediately. This is
inadvisable if the opponent is anywhere near you in this position. Standing up in this position will often cause you to get
hit in the back and become back turned. Some characters have specific strategies to knock you down in FUHT and then
hit you in the back with a string/launches as you try to quickstand.
–B
(Back Roll): This also rises in BT position and is subject to the same problems quickstand is here.
However, since you’re rolling away, some shorter ranged moves that would hit you BT while quickstanding will miss if
you backroll. However, you are vulnerable for a longer time than with quickstand.
– F (Forward Roll): You should almost never do this. Only do if the opponent is far away and you want to
quickly close space so as not to set up their unblockable tackle.
–S
ide Roll: Basically the same as the FUHA version.
–G
etup Kicks (3 or 4): These are actually a little faster from this position than FUHA. Other than that they are
the same.
FDHA
-Pretty much the same as the above.
***Quick note for all positions*** Tapping 2 while doing any grounded movement options (B or F rolls or quickstand)
will cause you to do them a few frames faster. While it’s not generally very useful, to can get you out of some situations
that normal B, F, or quickstand can’t get you out of.
On the Wall
Some tips for getting up when near a wall. Never, ever, ever back roll when near a wall! Backrolling near a wall
essentially is just rolling in place, leaving you vulnerable the whole time to B! and wall combos. Usually your best bet on
the wall is to tech and then defend the opponent’s next move accordingly. There are only a few cases where teching is
not advised (such as against Bryan, since he can hit you with 1+3+4 taunt then get a free wallsplat into combo). If you
are unable to tech, such as after a slamdown on the wall, you have a few choices:
- Quickstand: Same as away from the wall. The only thing you need to be careful of is that when next
to a wall, quick hits like generic d+4 and moves that normally hit grounded can pick you up and put
you back on the wall. Certain characters like Lee have setups that slam you down, then re-combo you
if you try to stand. Be careful of these. Otherwise this is usually a good choice.
- Side Roll: This is generally one of the safest options on the wall. Puts you out of the way of some
grounded attacks and edges you away from the wall. But, it also leaves you on the ground and unable
to defend.
- Stay Grounded: Some opponents will throw out a move that only hits a character that quickstands or
side rolls. Sometimes just lying there will get you out of a bad situation.
- Toe Kick/Ankle Kick: Sometimes a quick ankle kick is enough to interrupt the opponents oki and
allow you to get back to your feet. Just be aware that if you whiff or it’s blocked, you’ll be eating a
wall combo for big damage.
As we had discussed earlier in the guide, walls and floors can and will determine how a match pans out. In TEKKEN 7,
there’s not many stages that have wall breaks and floor breaks, but there is one stage that has both: You guessed it,
Geese Howard’s estate. But what we will do in this revisited section is talk to you about some strategies to set upon
your opponent during wall break floor break and the sorts likeso.
With either type of wall, hitting the wall while in the air will result in a minor wall stun (w!), able to be comboed off of. If
you hit a character with their back pressed against the wall with a moves that knocks backwards, such as Paul’s
deathfist, Feng’s b+1+2, etc. you get a major wall stun (W!) where the opponent “sticks” to the wall for a short period of
time, allowing you to get in bigger hits than a minor wall stun. Some throws cause W! as well. A few characters (King,
Paul, Lili, Law, Lee, and maybe a few others) have special throws that they can perform on a W! or w! Opponent.
Wall Strategies
Walls give plenty of opportunity for additional juggle damage. Some characters have stronger wall games than others in
terms of wall pressure and combos.
Wall Spacing: Typically, you want your opponent's back to the wall and not yours. When a character has a wall behind
them, it effectively limits their backdash thereby eliminating some of their movement. It also means that knockdown
moves now give a wall stun, making the opponents moveset much more dangerous. It is advised that if you have your
back to the wall, try to get away from the wall with SS or sidewalk. Just be careful not to eat a tracking move from your
opponent. Keep an eye on your surroundings so you know where the walls are at. Be careful near corners so you don’t
SS away from a wall, only to find yourself with your back to another wall. Use the ability to control your tech roll
direction (1 or 2 for up, 3 or 4 for down) to distance yourself from walls. Also, some characters have throws that when
connected/escaped switch sides with your opponent, making them useful for turning the tables on your opponent.
Wall Combos: Find out how much your character benefits from B! in wall combos. Some, if not most characters get a
lot of extra damage if they can get a S! (Screw) in their combo. Others, like King, whose best wall “combo” is arguably
his wall throw, receive little benefit from a Wall B! If your character receives a significant damage boost from wall B!,
you may want to consider trying to combo without B! near a wall, so when you w! the opponent, you can B! and follow
up with a damaging combo. It is often advisable to go for a combo that ends in a high knockback hit, especially one
that can land an opponent high up on a wall, giving you more time to dash up and follow with a wall combo.
When comboing, always know about how far away the wall is, as it may be necessary to adjust your juggle accordingly
so you can take full advantage of a w!. If you are very close to a wall, you may want to just do a few jabs or a short
string to get them to the wall so that when they w! you can dash in and B! and follow-up with a full wall B! Combo.
Wall Bounce (Revisited): Since Wall Bounce (WBN!) is a new addition to TEKKEN 7 since the introduction of Season 2,
all of the returning characters that would usually have a move in their arsenal that would guarantee knockdown, the
moves have been altered to give a wall bounce, in which you would do a devastating move to your opponent towards
the wall and resulting to the opponent's back to bounce off the wall and towards you giving indication that you can
extend your combos further. While it provides some use around far to mid range distances from the wall, most of the
roster’s wall bounce moves have major flaws that prevents it from being used often; ranging from long startup to
punishable on block among others.
The difference between while standing moves and while running moves is pretty obvious. While standing is the act of
recovering from a crouching position to your idle stance. Another universal offense tool that is very useful for forcing
the opponent to duck, sidestep, and to refrain from advancing their offense. While running however is the act of running
into your opponent with a move. Some characters can benefit from while running moves, like Dragunov before season
2. His while running 2 is a hammer fist that launches on hit and is + on block, meaning its safe and he can perform
moves after recovery of the move is finished. The general idea for both while standing and while running moves, is to
use them when there’s an open window to condition your opponent to advance your offense.
● Running Tackle
Every character is able to utilize this technique when running at a distance smaller than 3 steps; some of them can also
do this in a stationary position too (characters with this ability usually have the command listed in the official
movelists). The move can be broken into three parts, or up to five parts depending on the characters both players
chose and the situation they’re in.
The first part is the grapple, where the player tackling will start the tackle animation; breaking this with a 2 or
1+2 input will have the player on the receiving end toss aside the tackling player and have them face in a different
direction.
If you missed the timing to escape the grapple, the next part is the takedown, which the player on the
receiving end take some damage when hitting the ground; pressing 1+2 at the exact moment you hit the ground will
prevent damage taken from hitting the ground and automatically advance to the next part, but with the roles switched.
The mounting position allows the player(except for Dragunov) at the top to press either 1 or 2 four times in a
row. While facing up and the opponent tackling is not Dragunov, pressing the opposite limb used in the first and fourth
punch will force the players off this stance and return to standing position.
Some characters have the option to do an arm lock by pressing 1+2 or leg lock by pressing 3+4 in place of
any of the possible punches when the player on the receiving end is facing up. Pressing 1+2 then mashing 2 will
reverse the arm lock, which itself can be broken out of by pressing any attack button and forcing both players back into
standing position. Pressing 1+2 then mashing 1 will force out of the leg lock and put both players back into standing
position.
If the player doing the tackle is a Dragunov, he only has three choices he can do with a 1, 2, or 1+2. Press the
same button the Dragunov player chooses to break off of the tackle, forcing the Dragunov player back to standing
position and leaving yourself in FUFT position.
● Trading System
Trading system is one of the most basic things you see happen very often in fighting games. This is when 2 attacks are
met at impact at the same time as the recovery, and both players take the same amount of damage. There are some
instances where you see trades happen and nothing happens, some instances where it’ll forcefully pick who will take
the hit first. It all varies on the attack, range, and speed. Think of it as a draw in rock paper scissors. Both players win,
but at the same time both players lose, but it depends on how the game is settled in draw. Here’s a good example; In
the Street Fighter 3 series, there’s a mechanic in the game named as Judgement, where if a match ends up in either
draw, double KO or timeout with both characters’ having the same amount of health, there will be a group of judges that
will appear on screen and determine who wins the round and/or match based on the performances of both players. All
in all, trades are pretty common, so if you can capitalize on them, then you’re already making progress.
If both players manage to grab each other at the same, both players will automatically have their throw broken, no
matter the choice. If one player does an attack and the other player does a throw, the attack will be registered as a
counter hit if the frame of the player doing the throw got hit at the same frame as the grab frame; if not meeting that
requirement, the attack will be registered as a normal hit.
● Draw Game
Speaking of Street Fighter 3’s Judgement system as a method of dealing with draws, Tekken has its own ways of how
a match is considered a draw of its own. When both players are one point away from winning the game, they must have
the same amount of health before either: the time of the final round is over or before a Double KO occurs; the player
that has more health in both cases will be given the win otherwise.
I guess that just about wraps it up for the advanced and intermediate section. I hope by the end of the guide you would
be well acquainted with how Tekken works. We have covered everything except one thing: gameplay tips and general
advice. So through this final section we will give you some things to explain to you about how you should play if you
plan to get better at the game and/or want to change your mindset. We generously thank you for checking out the guide
and sharing it with your friends, your local, anywhere, anybody and anything, we seriously thank you. I should add, after
some time we will attach this to an official video guide planned at a very later time.
Since you have now gained knowledge on what Tekken has to offer, its time to start the road to greatness. Of course its
not gonna be an easy route, but it will definitely be worth the chaos along the way. Learn your character at your own
pace, this isn’t a race. Take your time and enjoy yourself in the process. Don’t try to take everything in at once or you’ll
be bloated with information you don’t necessarily need for your own conscience’s sake. Please, please, please, learn
how to walk before you run. Trying to learn EWGF (Electric Wind God Fist) before knowing how to wavedash is no
bueno.
Stop slouching! Your rank doesn’t matter man stop boasting. No one will care about your accolades if that’s all you
have to talk about. Ranks are just pretty pictures put beside your name and you can easily lose that thing just as easy
as you can lose that attitude when you get blown up. Tiers don’t matter in a 3D fighter because there’s a 1000 punches
that can do 1 point of damage as opposed to 1 punch that can do 1000 points of damage. Keep yourself humble and
know there’s ALWAYS someone better than you regardless of what environment you’re in. Keep your dick in your pants
sir, or you’ll end up shrinking faster than a melting ice cube. Karma has its weird ways of getting back to you.
There’s a huge difference between both of these. It's important to know because of the feeling and impact. When
you’re playing against someone miles away from you, you don’t know how they’ll act towards you, you don’t know their
intent. You have no idea whether they’re gonna be an asshole or show good sportsmanship. Know your enemy, and
keep your friends close. Offline however, when you’re sitting beside someone and they’re being obnoxious and blowing
you up, know what you’re getting hit by and know the best way to counteract that. Beat them into a bloody pulp. Not
literally, but, like, you know.
● The Gameplan
When you’re facing an opponent, you need to prepare a gameplan ahead of time. This is your mental blueprint, the key
to the chocolate factory. The general gameplan is to find out what your opponent’s weaknesses are, and capitalize on
them constantly. Mix your moves up, keep it simple. Learn your environment. If you’re in a situation where you’re
backed up on a wall, get away from it however possible. Learn when to take your turn, and punish where possible.
Differentiate your timings, keep them from trying to hound you. Stuff like that.
Did you know that Knee practices 8 hours a day daily? Studying characters, in and out, learning what’s safe and what’s
not, what they can eat for breakfast, all that. I’m not telling you to bandwagon Knee for this, but find your own labbing
regime if you have the time. Study your characters, study your weaknesses, everything in between. This is important for
gaining a lot of muscle memory. As stated in an earlier point, go at your own pace, and don’t be afraid to learn a few
things from people. They might help you become even better.
● Stay Calm
It’s common to vent and try to understand what happened in your match. But don’t lose your cool and become violent
towards others because of your mistakes. Keep yourself contained and think to yourself what you can do better next
time. If you have problems pertaining to anxiety, anger, mood swings or any mental, physical, or emotional episodes,
find someone that can consult you and take breaks from the game if needed.
TEKKEN is hard guys and gals. It’s no easy feat but what makes the game fun is the thrill of the chase. Learning the
game and everything it has to offer is what should keep you motivated enough to become better and overcome the trial
and errors of your journey. Make sure that if you have any offline events happening in your area or anywhere in your
region, look them up and find groups on social media that do meetups so you can get the best experience out of your
game. The road to greatness only starts with one simple statement: I want to get better at TEKKEN.
I hope you have enjoyed the comprehensive guide, and hope to share it amongst
people that also want to learn Tekken as well. If you have any questions,
comments, concerns or suggestions, feel free to contact me on Discord, Twitter,
or by email. Discord: Ledaxel#8906 | Twitter: @LedaxelOfficial | Email for
important stuff: [email protected]
If you need frame data on all current characters in Season 2, you can find ‘em
here: http://rbnorway.org/t7-frame-data/ (Note: not all characters’ data have
been updated)
If you want to learn more about Tekken and all it has to offer, feel free to join
the newly created Discord by me and chill with everyone!
https://discord.gg/BMkcjU5 Just let us know that you’re here from the T7 Guide.
Alternatively, join the Core-A-Gaming Discord for info on Fighting Games events,
tech, and much more: https://discord.gg/coreagaming
Cited Sources: SDTEKKEN, TEKKEN ZAIBATSU, TEKKEN WIKI, RBNORWAY, and the Tekken community.
Created By: Ledaxel & Gundyne from the Core-A Gaming Community
Special Thanks: A
rdo, EvlBowlofCereal, Inserity, TK Kull, Omgitsnewton, Maxwell, Hibineko, Hasting, LukeLive,
Core-A Gaming community, and many more including You!
© 2016 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © SNK CORPORATION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ©CAPCOM
U.S.A., INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. TEKKEN™7 & ©1994-2017 BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.