Tekken 8: King Guide - Combos, Move List, Rage Arts, & More

This article is part of a directory: Tekken 8 Guide Hub - Tips, Tricks, Unlockables & More

Table of contents

While the initial launch of Tekken 8 had a bit of a hiccup due to some small bugs that would cause a lot of online matches to crash the game, the game is still selling very well so far. Tekken 8, while similar to Tekken 7 in a lot of ways, is still a very different game when it comes to individual characters.

New Tekken Stories- New Villain Ogre Tekken X Street Fighter

Tekken 8: Where The Series Can Go After The Mishima Saga

It's interesting to speculate where the Tekken franchise could go after the conclusion of the long-running Mishima Saga.

King, for example, feels stronger than ever in Tekken 8 since grabs are stronger than ever, and he's one of Tekken's most iconic grappler characters. That said, the way that grabs work in the Tekken series, how you'll want to use grabs as King, and the options he has outside of grabs can be a bit confusing, so let's go over this pro wrestling, orphanage-owning, and absolute enigmatic entertainer known as King.

Who King Is As A Character

A Scary Exterior With A Soft Interior

Tekken 8 - In Game King Unlockable Art 2

King is another one of those Tekken characters that people just assume is a 'gimmick' character with no real depth to them, and this is just not true. Not only is King one of the more mechanically complex characters in the game due to all of his grabs, grab chains, and the mind games related to grab breaks, but he also has the rest of his Move List to consider as well. And, as a character, King actually has a decent amount going on in regard to his background.

To be more specific, the name 'King' is more of a title than it is the name of an individual, as there have been 2 different Kings throughout the Tekken franchise, and that doesn't even include Armor King either. The first King is the man who originally started the orphanage the present-day King manages, and the present-day King was also actually one of the orphans in the original King's care. However, after the events of Tekken 3 left the original King dead at the hands of Ogre, the new King took up his mantle (and was actually trained by Armor King) to make sure the orphanage stayed afloat.

There's more to his story than that, obviously, such as the murder of Armor King at the hands of Craig Marduk, the new Armor King appearing (who turns out to be the younger brother of the original Armor King), and the present-day King's friendship/rivalry with these two fighters. Essentially, King's whole backstory and plot in the Tekken franchise feels like it was ripped straight out of a WWE/AEW storyline.

How Inputs Are Written In The Tekken Community

It'll Matter Especially For King Given All His Throw Commands (& Breaks)

Tekken 8 Story Mode - King Fighting In War

Before we get into anything really, we'll need to go over how exactly the Tekken community writes their inputs for commands and combos. This may seem a bit out of place for anyone who is new to Tekken but familiar with other fighting games, but Tekken doesn't really follow the same 'Formatting' per se.

Essentially, instead of writing down the specific inputs such as A, B, X, or Y or even High Kick, Low Kick, High Punch, Low Punch, Tekken uses a numerical system. Left Punch is 1, Right Punch is 2, Left Kick is 3, and Right Kick is 4. Additionally, instead of writing Down for a direction, they'd write 'd', and for a combination of directions such as Down + Forward they'd write 'd/f'. It's actually very convenient once you get used to it, but that initial period of learning it can feel a bit awkward. In any case, while we're not going to go over every single input and how the Tekken community writes it, here are all the ones you'll need to know for our King guide:

Symbol Used	Meaning
u	Up
d	Down
b	Back
f	Forward
1	Left Punch
2	Right Punch
3	Left Kick
4	Right Kick
H	Heat
HB	Heat Burst
RA	Rage Art
u/f	Up+Forward (AKA Diagonal Up & To the Right)
d/f	Down+Forward (AKA Diagonal Down & To the Right)
u/b	Up+Back (AKA Diagonal Up & To the Left)
d/b	Down+Back (AKA Diagonal Down & To the Left)
HCF	Half-Circle Forward
QCB	Quarter-Circle Back

Again, this is only about maybe half of the symbols and abbreviations that Tekken fans use, but these are the only ones that are needed to understand everything in this guide. Some Tekken players can get by without learning this and just using the in-game Move List to figure things out, but eventually, they'll hit a point in ranked where they'll need to do a bit of research online to figure out how to improve their gameplay.

How King Is Different In Tekken 8 (& How He Works As A Fighter)

A True Pro-Wrestling Entertainer & Expert Fighter

Now to actually get into how King works as a character, he's a grappler at his core with a lot of useful poking options and regular attacks to throw the opponent off between grabs. Technically, someone could play King without using grabs and do pretty decent against their friends, but the moment they take that King online, they'll be beaten senseless until they start learning all of his grab options. As a bigger fighter, King has some of the worst innate movement in the game, as those muscles sort of weigh him down. His backdash is pretty bad compared to a lot of other characters, but luckily he has Jaguar Step and Jaguar Sprint, a way for King to move backward (and forward) quickly that also has a lot of options for how to attack as well outside of just being useful for movement. Not only that, King also has a technique called Muscle Armor that literally gives him a way to power through enemy attacks (while still taking some damage) to get his own attack string in first.

Then, of course, there are the grabs. In Tekken 8's move list for King, the guy has 48 different Throws (and extensions of other Throws) in the 'Throws' section. So he has a few Grab/Throw options, to say the least. The reason why King is even stronger in Tekken 8 is because of how Grabbing someone out of their attempt at a counter hit works. During a standard Throw, the opponent has about 20 frames to press to correct input to 'break' said Throw. However, if King grabs them out of their counter hit, this window is reduced to a measly 8 frames which can be very hard to press in time to escape from. Additionally, Throws now track opponents who are sidestepping basically in full, meaning one of the best ways to actually avoid Throws in previous Tekken games is now out the window. So with all that, it's safe to say that King is going to be a fan-favorite character in Tekken 8.

King's Rage Art

Anger of the Beast

Rage Arts return in Tekken 8, which can be a great thing or an awful thing depending on who you're asking. However, regardless of where you fall on this debate, everyone can agree that King's Rage Art, called the Anger of the Beast, is amazing. Not to compare these two fighting games too much, but it really feels like a Rage Art that Street Fighter's own Zangief would use, and the way King just absolutely whips his opponent like a wet noodle to launch them into the air for the finisher is so hilarious.

As far as the attack itself goes, like most other Rage Arts in Tekken 8, it's a Mid-Hit, but it has a deceptive amount of reach to it. King fully winds up and swings with his full wingspan for the first hit of this Rage Art, which means it's usually safer to just block it than it is to try and stay out of the range of his Rage Art, and it also means it's pretty easy to throw his Rage Art into the end of a combo or hit-confirm into it.

King's Core Mechanics & Throws

He's Almost Too Good

Tekken 8 - King Intro Card in Story Mode

It was stated a good amount above, but it really can't be overstated how much better King feels in terms of his 'tier list ranking' in Tekken 8, and he was already very strong. The mere fact that Throws are permanent (meaning the health can't be regained) already does a lot for him, but pile on top of this the fact that even King's most basic Throws, his 1+3 and 2+4, can reach much further if you tap/hold a direction while inputting them, is absurd.

Grapplers in fighting games usually have to really work to get their grabs since these typically deal so much damage, and as a result, their best throws are usually very situational or short-range, but King doesn't have that problem. Now, there are a lot of options when playing King and this can be overwhelming for any new players, so let's go over some of his most iconic moves that you'll probably be using quite a lot:

Stance Name	Stance Button Combination	Visual Telegraph	Primary 'Function'
Giant Swing	fHCF+1 (or Forward into Half-Circle Forward + Left Punch)	King reaches forward with both hands (which would be a 1+2 break on any other character) and grabs the opponent by the legs to swing them around	One of the best moves in all of Tekken, including Tekken 8. The damage this move does is so absurd, the options it has are many, and even its animation is a mix-up since it's a 1-break that looks like a 1+2 break.
Muscle Buster	QCB1+2 (or Quarter-Circle Back + Left & Right Punch)	King reaches forward with both hands (which actually is a 1+2 break this time) and grabs the opponent to throw them over his shoulder.	The perfect Throw to mix in when your opponent has started to be able to read when you go for Giant Swing. King is all about mixing Throws and mind games, and the fact that the startup for this Throw looks exactly the same as Giant Swing is hilariously useful.
Tijuana Twister	fHCF+2 (or Forward into Half-Circle Forward + Right Punch)	King reaches forward with his right hand in front to grab the opponent and carry them on his back almost like a Fireman's Carry.	Another great neutral mix-up to use in-between Muscle Buster and Giant Swing. The telegraph that this is a 2-break is readable, but players have to really be paying attention, and they've likely already started guessing anyway as a result of the Muscle Busters and Giant Swings.
King's 'Infinite' Throws	Too many inputs to count for all the multiple options	N/A	Basically, this is just to mention that King has what the community loves to call 'infinite throws' with options like his Mexican Magma Drive, Arm Breaker Combo, Standing Heel Hold Combo, and more. These are essentially multiple different 'Throws' with multiple chances for the opponent to break, but they're all strung together into one animation (and separate instances of damage) if the opponent fails to break out. These are highly technical to learn since they require a lot of specific inputs, but pulling them off is some of the most dopamine you'll ever get at once in a fighting game.

Unlike a lot of other characters whose main complexity comes with their 'bread and butter' combos and their Stances, King relies a lot more on his neutral game and reacting to the opponent for the most optimal Throw situations. If you feel you're good at reading the 'flow' of a fight during a fighting game or if you read your opponents well in games, King may be worth trying out.

It's Not Just Going For Grabs/Throws

And lastly, let's go over some general tips for King outside of some of his best individual moves. What should you be keeping in mind as King when you're in the middle of a Ranked Match? How should be responding to an opponent's attacks? Here are some quick tips:

Tip #	Explanation
1	You're going to be jabbing a lot as King. You want to keep the opponent pretty 'open' or 'easily readable' if you're constantly poking them high, they'll hit wait for the first lapse in the jabs and then respond, and you'll respond to that knowing that's what they were going to do.
2	d/f1 and d/f3 are also great for mixing up a blocking opponent and setting up easy throws off the hit confirm once they mess up.
3	If you get a jab or a d/f3 in, you can almost always go into one of your basic throws as a result without the opponent really having any option to counterattack other than breaking the grab.
4	A lot of King's moves are what the community calls a 'plus' on their frame advantage. This means that if the opponent blocks an attack, whatever the game (in Practice Mode) tells you a move has for advantage (say +3) then if you use that move right after, you'll have a 3-frame advantage over the opponent if they used an equally fast attack at the same time. Since it's pretty easy to have a frame advantage as King, you can really lead your opponents by the nose if you're experienced.
5	And finally, King is one of the premiere 'mental advantage' fighters in the whole Tekken franchise. His kit, animations, and abilities all make it so that the opponent is constantly second-guessing themselves or at worst getting frustrated at how 'unfair' King is. You're doing your job right if the opponent seems flustered or frustrated, but learning how to do that job is going to take some work.

Now, with proper research, inputs, and defensive play, you can absolutely be shut down when playing as King. But, the fact that this character is one that almost 'requires' practice against and research in order to do well against him is already enough of an advantage. To sum things up, at the very least try out King if you're new to Tekken, and even if you're not learn what King does so you'll be able to at least attempt to win against him in online matches.