Street Fighter 6 received a new balance patch this week, and it makes some important changes to all the games' characters and the overall fighting mechanics. With a few weeks until the game's first anniversary, the new patch for Street Fighter 6 makes the game more balanced while also introducing a long-awaited character, Akuma.

The patch notes for Street Fighter 6's Season 2 update promise some long-awaited changes to the characters and how they fight. Although only time will tell how effective the patch is at balancing the game, the patch notes reveal what players can look forward to.

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Street Fighter 6 Makes Changes to Characters and Mechanics

Stronger Attacks Get Some Nerfs

Specific attacks will see their fair share of nerfs with the balance patch. Although the patch notes state that characters will also get buffs, it's clear that there is a heavier focus on nerfs. The Season 2 update focuses on weakening attacks that have been particularly difficult for players to go up against. Although some may be worried that nerfing powerful attacks could change what makes a character special in Street Fighter 6, the patch notes emphasize that attacks won't be weakened to the point that a fighter loses their identity.

  • Weaken moves that are too oppressive to players
  • Reworking weak attacks that have high returns
  • Retooling Perfect Parries so they no longer change a match's outcome so quickly

Changes to Combo Inputs

A major goal of the balance patch seems to be refining the overall mechanics and controls. This is being attempted through reworking the game's combo inputs, to make the controls feel more fine-tuned overall. Season 2's update isn't the first balance patch Street Fighter 6 has seen this year, and hopefully this change to combo inputs will make the game feel tighter and more responsive.

Modern Controls Updates

One of the biggest benefits of the game is that Street Fighter 6 features a modern control system that makes the game more accessible for newcomers. It may not be as versatile as the game's classic control system, but it's a great way to introduce other players to fighting games, when they can sometimes be quite compelx with their mechanics.

  • Changes to how Assisted Combos work when a player doesn't have enough Drive or Super Art
  • Some characters have had the first attack of an Assisted Combo changed

Akuma

The addition of Akuma to Street Fighter 6's roster is definitely one of the most obvious changes featured in the Season 2 update. Since the character launched earlier this week, players have already found two secret Super Moves, bringing some great surprises to the game. Akuma made his first appearance in the franchise in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo as a secret character, so it only makes sense for the character to feature some secret attacks as well.

Changes to Every Character

All 21 characters in the game's roster are being re-balanced, which will hopefully make the overall experience of fighting more enjoyable for players. Each character is getting their own changes, like Dee Jay's damage output being lowered and Cammy's forward throw putting her further away from opponents. The characters in the Street Fighter franchise have helped make the series what it is, and Season 2's balance patch will hopefully bring some great improvements to these characters and their mechanics.