Street Fighter 6 is only over a month old, so the game’s meta is constantly evolving as players figure out each character and results from competitive play pour in. Luke used to be a powerhouse in the early days of ranked and tournament play. Blanka was considered low-tier until two-time Capcom Cup winner MenaRD used him to win CEO 2023. However, one character appears more frequently than others at the top of Street Fighter 6 tier lists, and it’s none other than the fiery shotokan practitioner, Ken Masters.
Capcom recently released the character usage data for Street Fighter 6 for June 2023, with Ken taking a top-three spot across all ranked brackets from Rookie to Master. He’s also consistently seen in the S- to A-tier spot on lists created by pros and high-ranked content creators like Nephew, the FGC Birds, and Haitani. While this character dominated usage statistics in Street Fighter 4 and Street Fighter 5, he was largely absent at the highest levels of competitive play. Now, he’s the weapon of choice for the game’s best players, like Tokido, Angry Bird, and fighting game legend Daigo Umehara in the latest sequel.
What Makes Ken Strong in Street Fighter 6
Ken started with the same moves as Ryu in the original Street Fighter game, but he slowly carved his own path, with developers giving him more aggressive moves in later iterations of the game. This is especially apparent in Street Fighter 5 when he was given a V-skill that lets him cancel moves into a forward dash. This run also cancels into follow-up attacks. Ken's move list in Street Fighter 6 retains this skill, and he also gets new and improved abilities.
Ken’s aggressive kit thrives in the current meta for one major reason: Street Fighter 6’s Drive system. Every character has a six-bar Drive gauge that they can consume in several ways. The mechanics most beneficial to Ken are Drive Rush and Overdrive. The former lets him cancel moves early to dash, giving him opportunities to close distances quickly and perform otherwise impossible combos. Competitive players often use this to chain Ken’s heavy punch into his chin buster second target combo, which can be ended with either a special or super move.
Street Fighter 6's Overdrive, on the other hand, works exactly like EX moves from previous games. It gives Ken enhanced damage when a player presses two punch or kick buttons during a special move input. This mechanic is excellent when used with Ken’s Jinrai kicks, which make a return from Street Fighter 2. He can start with a chin buster into a medium Jinrai kick to launch an opponent into the air, juggle them with a follow-up snap light kick, and end with an overdrive Jinrai and snap follow-up. Players can also end this combo with any super for maximum damage.
Street Fighter 6 Makes Blocking Weaker, Which is a Boon for Ken Mains
Every hit a character blocks drains their Drive Meter, and when they run out of it, they go into burnout. In this state, they face a whole host of disadvantages. They can’t use any drive moves, their health now gets chipped when they block attacks, and they get stunned when they get bounced into a corner by an enemy’s drive impact.
Fighting game rushdown characters like Ken constantly put pressure on enemies, so they have no choice but to block or fight back. When they do block, Ken whittles away their Drive meter, putting them closer to a disadvantageous burnout state. If the opponent fights back, a single mistake can lead to Ken answering swiftly with a combo using his multiple hit confirm and punish routes. Those that decide to play keep-away will have to deal with Ken's run ability and Drive Rush. Players who face off against Ken feel like they can barely breathe from the smoke left by his fiery offense, making him perfect for the aggressive meta that Street Fighter 6 is in now.
Street Fighter 6 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
