Biggest Changes In Street Fighter 6 Season 3

Summary

Perfect parries now require walking backward, making it trickier to pull off and more defensive.

Breaking throws rewards defenders with Drive Gauge, Super Meter, addressing throw loop issues.

Ryu receives massive buffs with faster Hadoken, more hits, and increased damage.

The long-awaited Season 3 of Street Fighter 6 is finally here, and it’s bringing with it some pretty drastic changes, alongside a brand-new fighter. Unlike a lot of fighting game developers, Capcom tends to only modify and tweak Street Fighter 6 in small ways with a new update to ensure it doesn’t end up feeling too unfamiliar for longtime players. However, with that being said, in the two years of the game now being out in the wild, this is by far the biggest update it has received so far.

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As a result, it’s crucial to know what has been changed in this huge patch, since some of the core mechanics and features will feel a lot different this time around, so being in the know can definitely help to get an advantage over an opponent. It’s time to take a closer look at all the biggest changes and new additions in season 3 of Street Fighter 6.
5

Perfect Parry Changes

Pulling Off That Perfectly Timed Parry Is Going To Be A Little More Tricky

Being able to parry an incoming attack is essential to avoid getting rushed down by the opponent, and, while it is still just as important in the core gameplay loop, pulling it off is now going to be much harder. In the past, players would simply need to tap their parry button at the right time to pull off a perfect parry, which refers to the moment when time slows down and players are given a free opportunity to attack after dodging the opponent. With Season 3, though, players will need to be walking backwards for the perfect parry to activate. In other words, a character needs to be blocking while the parry button is pressed down for it to work. The reason for this change is to avoid players simply walking down their opponent and tapping parry every so often to dodge attacks, as this small tweak makes it more of a defensive option, which needs to be used with more caution and care.
4

Throw Techs

Breaking A Throw Now Rewards The Defender With Some Drive Gauge

By far, the biggest issue in Street Fighter 6, which has been plaguing the game since its launch, is throw loops. Though Capcom hasn’t technically removed throw loops altogether, which would honestly be hard to do, given the fast-paced nature of the moment-to-moment gameplay, they have at least made some small changes to throw techs, which will now punish those who are getting a little too hands-on during a fight.

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Anytime a character breaks out of a throw, they will earn not only a small meter of Drive Gauge, but also some of their Super Meter too, providing them with a nice reward for fending off their opponent at the right time. Whether this helps to rectify the issue of throw loops remains to be seen, but it’s definitely still a very nice addition which rewards those who opt for a more defensive playstyle.
3

New Fighter: Elena

The Fun And Energetic Elena Makes Her Grand Return

Originally making her debut in Street Fighter 3: New Generation, Elena has long been a fan favorite character who has appeared in numerous titles over the last few years. It was therefore not much of surprise when she was announced as a member of season 2, but it’s fair to say that she feels better than ever to play, especially with the RE engine allowing her to feel like a naturally fluid capoeira fighter who can take down anyone with a deadly barrage of kicks. Elena’s definitely not the easiest DLC fighter to use, considering how much she can struggle to close the gap and her lack of an effective projectile, but in contrast, she’s an absolute nightmare to deal with up close. Capcom was even brave enough to bring back Elena’s healing ability, though thankfully, it’s been dialed down a lot so that it’s nowhere near as strong as it was in Street Fighter 4. Overall, a welcome addition to the cast, who longtime Street Fighter heads will definitely want to try out for themselves.
2

Longer Recover For Bigger Moves

It’s Going To Be Much Easier For Players To Punish Hard-Hitting Attacks

In a game like Street Fighter 6, where players need to be on their A game throughout an entire match to score a win, it’s not always easy to punish the opponent any time they miss an attack, considering the time window to do so was always so small. In Season 3, most hardest-hitting moves in the game are now going to have a longer recovery time, meaning the opponent will get a few more seconds to take advantage after successfully blocking.

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In a way, this feels like Capcom appealing to the casual audience by giving them more of an opportunity to fight back, without making the punishes too strong in the process. This is a widespread change that affects most characters in the game, which is why it’s such an important one to know about.
1

Huge Ryu Changes

The Face Of The Franchise Has Received A Massive Buff

While all characters in the game have been tweaked in one way or another, these changes are ultimately extremely small and probably won’t be all that noticeable in the game, though the glaring exception to this is Ryu. Despite already being one of the most popular characters in the game, Capcom has decided to give Ryu a massive buff to the point where he almost feels like an entirely new fighter. Ryu will now be able to recover from his Denjin Hadoken two frames faster, making it much less risky to throw out during a poking match. However, the boosted fireball now deals a staggering 1000 damage and also travels at double the speed. When Rio is charged up with energy, the fireball will move so quickly across the screen that it’s essentially impossible for the opponent to interact if they haven’t already jumped or blocked. It doesn’t stop there, though, as Shinku Hadoken also now has more hits, to the point where it can even break through defensive Super attacks, such as Rashid’s tornado. To put it simply, Ryu has been gifted a significant boost to his overall abilities and strength, so there’s no doubt he will remain one of the top characters for a long time to come.

Street Fighter 6

9/10

Released

June 2, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Engine

RE Engine