Meet Kimberly, one of the seven new characters added to Street Fighter 6's roster. She is an aspiring ninja with a Bushinryu fighting style, known for her extensive kick-dominant moveset. While she is a normal mid-range Speed-Type, some SF6 fans find her challenging to main. This guide, therefore, aims to help these players by covering Kimberly’s ideal strategies, moves, combos, and counters.

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Strategies for Kimberly

In Street Fighter 6, Kimberly's playstyle revolves around poking and punishing her opponents' mistakes, as her effective range is limited despite her mid-range classification. One reason for this is that her moves can be interrupted, leaving her susceptible to grappling-based combinations.

Keep the Opponent in the Corner

Kimberly has multiple ground-to-air combos that benefit from wall slams. Keeping the enemy in the corners, therefore, increases her chances of tossing them in the air and following up with speedy aerials.

Mix Up Feints

Players can execute seven feint moves using Kimberly's Sprint and can also perfect the Hisen Kick's Step Up technique for a fake & setup. The primary objective of these actions is to make Kimberly's combos less predictable and to disrupt the enemy's anticipation.

Encourage Aerial Combat

With her Seoinage-like aerials, Kimberly can easily slam flying enemies to the ground. So, by promoting airborne combat, players get more opportunities for breaking armor and performing follow-up attacks.

Chase the Enemy After a Knockback

Kimberly's heavy attacks have additional pushback that may disrupt ongoing combos. To compensate for that, players must include Sprint and Drive Rush in their chained attacks.

Kimberly’s Move List

Common Moves excluded, Kimberly has 32 unique commands: Two throws, five Super Arts, nine Unique Attacks, and sixteen Special Moves.

Best Combos for Kimberly

The ideal order for Kimberly’s combos is poke, launch, slam. To get the most hits and highest DMG, players will need to check for openings, send the enemy flying, and smash them to the ground.

• Best poke: Medium Kick, Light Punch
• Best launch: Shuriken Bomb
• Best slam: Nue Twister, Bushin Scramble, Soaring Bushin Scramble

Beginner Combo: CR LK + CR LP + QCB K

An effective combo with high pushback is a crouching light kick and light punch into an Aerial Bushin Senpukyaku. This sequence is best for pushing the enemy into the corner while closing the gap with Kimberly’s teleport ability, the Hidden Variable.

Intermediate Combo: CR MP + ST HP + QCF HP + F Jump + J MP + QCB K

To perform Kimberly’s intermediate combination, start with a crouching medium punch followed by a standing heavy punch to break through the opponent's guard. Then, execute Vagabond Edge to launch them into the air and conclude with an Aerial Bushin Senpukyaku after jumping forward.

Advanced Combo: HK + MP + HP into DR + MP + HP + QCF K + LK + QCF LK into Super Art Lv. 3

For a powerful Vitality-draining Kimberly combo, begin with Drive Impact. Follow it up with a heavy punch, Drive Rush, medium punch, heavy punch, and neutral Sprint. Next, check with a light kick and a Torso Cleaver move. And finally, deliver the finishing blow with the Level 3 Super Art.

Tips for Winning with Kimberly

To dominate a match with Kimberly, players will need to prioritize getting her damage buff early. They must also gain ground and keep the enemy within striking distance.

Get the Damage Buff Early

To improve her chances of winning, it is crucial for players to activate Kimberly's Level 3 Super Art early in the first round. This is because her damage and speed receive an 11% boost after using it for the first time. Without this buff, she may struggle to take down opponents, especially those of the Power Archetype.

Sprint into Medium Kick to Break Stances

Shadow Slide is a Special Move that allows Kimberly to avoid fireballs while knocking down the enemy with a tackle. Exploit this technique to evade projectiles, gain ground, and check for combo opportunities.

Use Teleportation as a Feint

Kimberly’s Hidden Variable closes the distance with the opponent, creating a surprise attack window. However, players can utilize this move as a feint to lure the enemy into making punishable mistakes.

Close Gap with Forward Heavy Kick or Slide

One of the downsides of Kimberly’s moveset is that she lacks effective neutrals. To deal with that, utilize her heavy forward kick and then close the distance using her slide.

Mix Drive Rush with Normal Attacks for Frame Advantage

When Kimberly performs a Drive Rush into a crouching medium kick and lands a hit, she gains a frame advantage of +9. In addition, even if the opponent blocks the attack, she still has an advantage of +5. Players can also rely on her back-heavy kick preceding the Drive Rush for the same effect.

How to Counter Kimberly

As a speedy mid-range fighter, Kimberly is prone to close-range grappling combos. Therefore, Power-Type grapplers like Marisa, Zangief, and E. Honda are her deadliest counters. Players can also counter Kimberly with tricky long-range characters like JP and Dhalsim, as they can easily control the ring generalship and keep her at bay.

Street Fighter 6 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X & S.

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