Raven is not only back in Tekken 8, but his story is quite unique. Introduced in Tekken 5, Raven became a fan favorite among fans of the franchise for his quick-striking ability and a style that holds up in the latest chapter. Known as a Ninjutsu expert, Raven combines knees and kicks with mid-ranged elbows and open-palm strikes to keep his opponent guessing at all times. While his fighting style is impressive on its own merit, Raven's character design is cooler than ice, and he was one of the best new characters in Tekken 5.

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As marvelous as Raven's style can be to watch, it's tough to master for those looking to make him their lead. His in-depth moveset and multiple different stances will take time to adapt and learn, but once enough time has gone by and players have trained with Raven, they will quickly understand just how powerful he is. Raven is known as one of the more difficult fighters to take on, but once the moves have been memorized and his combos can be pulled off, Raven is one of the strongest fighters in Tekken 8.

Raven: The Shadow Agent

What Has He Been Up To Since His Omission In Tekken 7?

Fans may have noticed the omission of Raven from the Tekken 7 roster. After appearing in Tekken 5 and Tekken 6, as well as their respective standalone updates, Raven wasn't a part of the playable cast in Tekken 7, though he still managed to make an appearance. Though he is replaced by Master Raven in Tekken 7, Raven appears in a cutscene involving Devil Jin, where the Ninjutsu master reclaims the unconscious fighter before taking off in a helicopter.

Upon his return in Tekken 8, Raven is re-introduced as a secret intelligence agent, working with the UN as a part of an independent unit tasked with keeping worldwide conflicts to a minimum. Raven's utilization of ninjutsu and mastery of espionage makes him the perfect agent to gather intel on any given situation, and deal with risk management by any means necessary. Raven has trained for six months thanks to a leave granted by the UN, and the time spent pays off as Raven is now capable of using shadow clones. Under the guidance of Master Raven, Raven returns to his task force with greater abilities and powers than he had before.

Raven's sights are now set on entering The King of Iron Fist Tournament, where he hopes to place the leaderless Mishima Zaibatsu under UN control. Due to his rigorous training from his master, which was once used to help train Victor, Raven has the confidence to claim the throne and become the world's greatest fighter. What stands in his way will be his biggest challenge to date.

How Raven's Ninjutsu Style Can Be Managed

Strike Fast, Strike Often, And Strike Intelligently

Before selecting Raven as the character to play with, it's important to know just how difficult this character will be at the beginning. Simply mashing buttons together in hopes of landing a combo won't work, and will have Raven attempting to deliver uncoordinated elbow smashes and kicks. Instead, it's time to learn the art of keeping one's distance while preparing for the next string of commands. Raven is an excellent mid-range and close-range fighter, but to land a proper combination, it's wise to stay out of dodge and know how to block when the opponent comes charging in.

Raven's magnetic flow of kicks and hand strikes will have players landing several small combinations as one giant string, sending the opponent flying in the air and juggling them around for a couple of seconds. This will, of course, take time, as Raven's multiple-hit combinations are complicated to master. It's worth investing time in training to learn each combination and stance before engaging in story mode, as failure to understand Raven's flow of attacks will leave players frustrated. Unlike characters like Eddy Gordo, players will need to input chains of difficult commands in order to take down opponents.

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Luckily, once Raven is mastered, he is one of the most lethal characters in Tekken 8. One of the biggest complaints newcomers have is how difficult it is to learn his fighting style, but experts in the ninjutsu field can make a strong case for Raven as an S-tier character. His multiple stances can lead to many different attack and defending combinations, not to mention, his backflip set-up can effectively evade strong attacks while helping set up for his next combination. Knowing when to pull these strategies off is a matter of practice and patience, which not all players have the time for.

Raven's Rage Art

Wild Hunt X-ecutor

Rage Art moves can be performed once per fight when a character's HP dips below the 25% mark. As a last resort move, players who have been placed on the ropes can hit the Rage Art command to land a powerful attack of their own, which can turn the tables, especially in a close battle. Raven's Rage Art, Wild Hunt X-ecutor, takes his training with Master Raven to the next level and helps him overwhelm the opponent with a barrage of attacks, assaulting them from all angles. If Raven catches the opponent at half health or lower, it may be the end of their attempt to take down the ninjutsu expert.

Raven begins his Rage Art with a backhand strike that sends his opponent sprawling, which sets up the needed distance to begin the attack. Raven then uses magic to his advantage, planting his arm on the ground and making the screen go dark for a brief period, before summoning multiple shadow clones. These clones then begin to land multiple attacks on their helpless opponent. Finally, Raven leaps into the confrontation and delivers a devastating kick to the chest of his opponent, which creates a cross-shaped burst effect that explodes and drops the unfortunate foe.

This attack, like many other Rage Art abilities, attacks the opponent from the mid-area. As long as the opponent isn't crouching, Wild Hunt X-ecutor should have no issue landing successfully on each attempt. Like most of Raven's attacks and combinations, knowing when to pull off his Rage Art will take proper training to land the attack and win the battle.

Raven's Different Stances During Combat

Shadow Sprint & Labyrinth/Back Turned

To take full advantage of Raven's combinations, one must first learn his two stances. Knowing when and which situations to utilize both will determine the player's outcome between success and failure, but thankfully, some practice will perfect one's ability to strategize and win every battle.

Shadow Sprint Stance

The Shadow Sprint stance is the first step to closing the gap and advancing quickly on the opponent before unleashing a barrage of fast strikes.

Here is the list of Shadow Sprint combinations, including how to initially set up Raven in the proper stance.

• Shadow Sprint — d, d/f, f
• Fatal Elbow — d, d/f, f+1
• Fatal Elbow to Phantom Halberd — d, d/f, f+1, f on hit or block 2
• Buzzsaw — d, d/f, f+2
• Laevateinn — d, d/f, f+[2~1]
• Poison Needle to Nightmare — d, d/f, f+3
• Black Hole — d, d/f, f+4
• Hellhound — d, d/f, f+1+2

Labyrinth Stance

Turning one's back to the opponent is seldom recommended, but Raven is a different breed of fighter. His Labyrinth stance allows players to take advantage of many unique attacks that will leave the opponent stunned in their tracks or flat on their back. This stance is also the setup for Raven's Rage Art attack, with the Backfist blow being the start of the combination that uses his shadow clones.

The list of Labyrinth stance chains is quite lengthy, so taking the time to learn each one and practice the chains will give players the best chance of winning while using Raven's complex style.

• Blind Whip — 1
• Blind Lance — 1, 4
• Backfist & Straight — 2, 1
• Blinding Knife — Back to the opponent 2, 2
• Blinding Knife to Phantom Javelin — Back to the opponent 2, 2 on hit or block 1
• Crescent Mirage — Back to the opponent 3, 4, 3
• Fafnir — Back to the opponent 3, 4, 4
• Chronos Lathe — Back to the opponent 4
• Crusader — Back to the opponent 1+2
• Spiral Cannon — Back to the opponent 3+4
• Soul Steal — Back to the opponent f+1
• Cold Massacre — Back to the opponent f+2, 3
• Cold Worm to Phantom Halberd — Back to the opponent f+2, 4, on hit or block 2
• Demon Knee — Back to the opponent f+3
• Trick Bang — Back to the opponent f+4, 1
• Reverse Chakram — Back to the opponent f+3+4
• Shinobi Cyclone — Back to the opponent d+3
• Abyss Cannon — Back to the opponent b+2, 3
• Abyss Spear — Back to the opponent b+2, 4
• Cannon Tail — Back to the opponent b+3
• Labyrinth — Back to the opponent b+3+4
• Gremlin Smasher — Back to the opponent f, f+3
• Vermillion — Back to the opponent f, f+3+4
• Blind Roll — Back to the opponent f, f, f

General Tips And Tricks For Using Raven

A Fast Striker With Relentless Attack And Potential

Practice, practice, and practice more. Selecting Raven with little to no training will leave players in a mess of broken chains and insignificant attacks that can easily be countered. Raven is one of the more unique and harder-to-learn characters in the game, so utilizing the training mode is the best place to start. For the players that have been around since Tekken 5, this should come as no surprise. The ninjutsu user was one of the more popular characters to use during his introduction, as his perfect match of speed and power made for a fighter that could sweep up the opposition in little time.

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Learning the stances will also be a sure way to pile up victories, as they both pack a list of different chains that can juggle opponents for days. Raven has a myriad of different techniques that can be used to both dodge an attack and quickly set up his counterattack, so neglecting these stances will set players up for failure. Learn both Labyrinth and Shadow Sprint and when to use them correctly, and there won't be much room for any openings. The key is to keep Raven moving and use the time and distance created to set up different chains and combinations. The idea is to keep the opponent guessing, and never using the same combo twice in a row.

Tekken 8

Franchise

Tekken

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

January 26, 2024

Developer(s)

Bandai Namco Entertainment , Arika

Genre(s)

Fighting