Capcom News

Street Fighter V Season 2 Balance Update

Mar 15, 2017 // ComboFiend

Hey everyone – I hope you’ve all been enjoying Season 2 and Kolin!

As you may all know, the Street Fighter V Season 2 update has been out now for a few months. During that time, we at Capcom have been analyzing match data to see how characters were faring and if any additional changes were needed.

Although we are mostly pleased with the results of that data, we do feel that some further adjustments need to be made to ensure the cast feels that much more balanced.

As you’ll see, our goal is not to weaken the stronger cast members, but to strengthen those who we felt weren’t faring as well as would like to see.

We feel that with these adjustments, we should see a lot more variety as players will be able to specialize in the characters they feel are fun, while also feeling empowered. That said, expect matches to be a bit more challenging as the balance between the cast will become that much tighter.

Also, I’m happy to announce these balance updates will be coming at the end of April.

As always, for the latest updates on Street Fighter V, follow us on Facebook and Twitter . Continue on to see what the balance changes are and the rationale behind them!

I’ll get into the individual changes shortly but first I wanted to cover some of the larger changes and system changes present in this patch.

System Changes

V-Reversal

V-Reversal input delay on crouching block has been shortened by 1F.

Developer Comments: When the V-Reversal command was input from a crouch block, it took one frame longer to activate than when standing. This change makes it so that once a V-Reversal is input, whether a character is standing or crouching, it activates at the same time.

Throw Escape

It is no longer possible to escape throws while inputting up during the throw escape.

Developer Comments: Correctly guessing an opponent’s next move is one of the hallmarks of Street Fighter. Option selects, which allow multiple options to be covered with overlapping commands, directly conflict with this idea, as the guesswork is removed, leading to a positive result quite frequently. This low risk, high reward scenario can be frustrating to fight as it seems that the opponent is always guessing right.

One such option select in Street Fighter V is the “jump back, throw select” in which the back jump command is input simultaneously with the throw input. This allows a player to cover two options on wake-up. If the opponent attempts a throw, they’ll tech it. If not, the player will jump away and reset the spacing between characters, all with very minimal risk.

With the new change introduced here, players will now have to make the proper read against their opponent to get the desired result, resulting in much more interesting matches.

Hold frames for charge moves

The number of frames necessary to complete a charge has been increased from 6F to 10F.

Developer Comments: The initial change, where we reduced the total number of frames needed to perform a charge move, was made to keep unintentional attacks from coming out. Unfortunately this has made those same charge moves all that much harder to pull off.

To fix this, we’ve increased the number of frames needed to perform a charge move, but have still kept that number of frames lower than Season 1. We think that this will ensure that the charge moves will come out much more reliably, while feeling that much easier to perform.

Invincible “Shoryuken” Attacks

Shoryuken type attacks have seen a change across the board. The changes are as follows below.
- L Shoryuken attacks – maintain throw invincibility
- M Shoryuken attacks – added airborne invincibility
- H Shoryuken attacks – added attack and projectile invincibility
This change affects Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Cammy, and Juri. Please refer to each character’s individual adjustment list for specifics.

Developer Comments: Invincibility on Shoryuken attacks has been a polarizing topic. For players who learned how to use these attacks in Season 1 as an anti-air or counter attack, this change has severely affected their success with their favorite character. Conversely, those who have had to fight against these attacks, completely praise the changes as they felt meterless reversals were far too strong.

After analyzing player data, we felt that the change to invincible Shoryuken attacks resulted in a risk/reward ratio that has become risk intensive, yet yields little reward. Additionally, as Shoryuken attacks now occasionally trade with jump-in attacks, players who use characters with Shoryuken attacks are no longer confident in using this attack as an anti-air as intended.

We feel that with the changes made to Shoryuken attacks, the attack now yields the right risk versus reward. Players who utilize these attacks will still have to exercise proper timing and a bit more decision making to be effective, but now they will be rewarded accordingly. For the opponent fighting against these Shoryuken attacks, they will have to exercise a little more caution, but shouldn’t feel as frustrated as they did in Season 1.

Individual Character Adjustments

Alex

Hurtbox
- Fixed an issue where Alex’s collision boxes would shrink in the reverse direction of other characters if Alex turned around while crouching. This led to characters being able to cross him up with certain moves after he landed from mid-air recovery, when they were not supposed to.
Vitality
- Increased from 1000 to 1025
Standing MP
- Move recovery changed from 14F to 12F
- Note: No changes to advantage/disadvantage
Standing MK
- Startup reduced from 9F to 8F
- Note: The entire move has been reduced by 1F
Crouching MK
- Startup reduced from 10F to 9F
- Note: The entire move has been reduced by 1F
V-Skill – Overhaul
- The entire move has been reduced from 55F to 52F
EX Air Knee Smash
- Timing of the hurtbox activation has been restored to the Season 1 version
L Slash Elbow
- Disadvantage on block has been reduced from -4F to -2F

Developer Comments: In Season 2, the start up on some of Alex’s longer range attacks were modified as we believed moves with relatively fast startup and reach would be strong. Unfortunately, these changes lessened his overall effectiveness against some of the cast as his attacks were now taking that much longer to connect.

With the increase in speed to the start-up of his key ranged attacks, Alex should be able to fight against the entire cast that much better. Additionally, as Alex has to take considerable risks closing in on the opponent to really land damage, his vitality has been slightly increased.

Akuma

Vitality
- Increased from 875 to 900
M Goshoryuken
- Added a hurtbox for frames 3-6F
- Added invincibility for airborne attacks for frames 1 to 6F
- Increased the knockback distance for the first hit
- Slightly expanded the forward hitbox during rising animation
H Goshoryuken
- Added attack and projectile invincibility for frames 3-6F

Developer Comments: Akuma has very high potential. That potential however, comes with low health. What we noticed is that due to his low health, Akuma players were playing much more conservatively than anticipated and not really exploring his options as much as they could be.

We hope that with the change to his vitality, Akuma players will be able to approach matches more confidently and fully explore new strategies with him without the fear of losing the round quickly.

Balrog

Hurtbox
- Fixed an issue where Balrog’s collision boxes would shrink in the reverse direction of other characters if Balrog turned around while crouching. This lead to characters being able to cross him up with certain moves after he landed from mid-air recovery, when they were not supposed to.
Vitality
- Reduced from 1025 to 1000

Developer Comments: Initially, Balrog’s vitality was increased as we viewed him to be a very straight forward character who has to take risks to get in and do damage. After reviewing his other adjustments granted in Season 2, which have increased his options and in effect made him that much stronger , we feel that his increased vitality is unnecessary.

Even with bringing his vitality back to the 1000, we feel that Balrog will still be a force to be reckoned with in the hands of the right players.

Birdie

Crouching MP
- Expanded the hitbox upwards for active frames 4-5F
Crouching MK
- Startup reduced from 11F to 10F
EX Bull Head (Normal/V-Trigger)
- Disadvatange on block increased from -2F to -5F
EX Bull Horn
- Armor startup and duration changed from 3F-20F, to 1F-20F

Developer Comments: The initial design concept for Birdie is that he is supposed to be quite powerful in neutral, which he deviated away from in Season 2. The changes made to Birdie in Season 2 left him in a slightly less optimal place in both his neutral and defense game, but much stronger place in the offensive game.

Although the adjustments made were beneficial in their own right, his core design is still that of a strong neutral character. To bring him more in line with that vision, we’ve reverted some changes, allowing Birdie to establish and compete at neutral a bit better.

Cammy

L Cannon Spike
- Added a hurtbox for frames 3-6F
- Added throw invincibility for frames 1F to 6F
- Limited the follow-up attacks after a hit at the base
M Cannon Spike
- Added a hurtbox for frames 3-6F
- Added invincibility for airborne attacks for frames 1 to 6F
- Limited the follow-up attacks after a hit at the base
H Cannon Spike
- Added attack and projectile invincibility for frames 3-6F
EX Cannon Spike
- Expanded the downwards hitbox
Neck Spiral
- Added an air throw (press LP+LK during a jump)

Developer Comments: Overall, we think Cammy is faring quite well against the cast in Season 2. That said, we did notice that Cammy’s EX Canon Spike sometimes missed in combos, thereby causing frustration for Cammy players. With this adjustment, players will now be able to use it more confidently in combos.

The addition of Cammy’s airthrow was made as we felt her move set was not quite complete. With the changes to her Canon Spike an addition of an airthrow, she should now feel a bit more robust.

Chun-Li

Hyakuretsukyaku (Normal/V-Trigger)
- Changed the number of necessary inputs when rapidly pressing K from 4 to 5

Developer Comments: The initial change to Hyakuretsukyaku was made so that both legacy players and new players could input the command for this attack as they saw fit. Unfortunately, for some players who press buttons repeatedly either in block stun, hit stun or during combos, this sometimes led to accidental inputs. To alleviate this issue, the number of K inputs has been increased.

Dhalsim

Thrust Kick ( Updated June 2nd 2017 )
- Added a new normal move (down-backwards + MK)

Developer Comments: In Season 2, Dhalsim is in a much stronger place overall. For all his improvements however, he was still lacking a low attack that did not leave him severely disadvantaged. With the addition of this attack, we feel Dhalsim now has the complete set of tools to do well in the right hands.

F.A.N.G

Standing LP
- Reduced the advantage on hit from +6F to +5F
- Reduced the advantage on block from +3F to +2F
- Increased the hitbox on the second active frame
- Increased the hit hold from the second and third active frames by 1F
Standing MK
- Reduced the startup from 6F to 5F
Standing HP
- Reduced the startup from 8F to 7F
- Reduced the hitbox
- Slightly increased the hurtbox
Standing HK
- Reduced the startup from 14F to 12F
- Note: The entire movement is reduced by 2F
- Advantage on hit reduced from +7F to +6F
Crouching MP
- Reduced the startup from 7F to 6F
Nirenko
- Reduced the pushback on hit for the first hit

Developer Comments: Although the changes made to the start-up of F.A.N.G’s attacks were done to keep him in line with the rest of the cast, these changes made it quite difficult for F.A.N.G to land combos or punishes of substantial damage and also keep faster opponents at bay.

With the reduction to the startup of a few key attacks contained in this list, in addition to the other improvements given to F.A.N.G in Season 2, it should result in F.A.N.G feeling that much stronger and competitive overall.

Guile

Forward Throw
- Recovery after a successful throw increased by 3F
Reverse Spin Kick
- Advantage on hit reduced from +6F to +4F
M Somersault Kick
- Added a hurtbox to the attack/projectile invincibility for frames 3 to 8F
- Added invincibility for airborne attacks for frames 1 to 8F
V-Trigger – Solid Puncher
- Number of V-Gauge blocks increased from 2 to 3
Sonic Breaker (Updated June 1st 2017)
- V-Timer gauge consumption restored to Season 1 V-Timer for the first and second shots of Sonic Break. No changes for the V-Timer gauge consumption for the third shot onward.
EX Sonic Break
- V-Timer gauge consumption restored to Season 1

Developer Comments: Guile’s initial concept has him as the opposite of Nash, in that he has all the tools to be strong defensively. That said, the adjustments made to Guile in Season 2 have also left him extremely strong offensively as well, deviating a bit from his concept.

We feel that with these new adjustments, Guile will move closer to his initial concept, while still leaving players feeling quite strong.

Ibuki

Kunai Hoju
- Placed lower in the command priority than Kazekiri

Developer Comments: In the heat of battle, we noticed that Ibuki players sometimes performed Kunai Hoju when they meant to perform Kazekiri. This happened either when performed against a cross up or if the command wasn’t precisely input.

Unfortunately, this resulted in not only missed damage, but it also left Ibuki open to counter attack as well. With this change, Ibuki players should now get Kazekiri much more consistently.

Juri

Standing LP
- Decreased the size of the upwards hitbox
- Increased the horizontal knockback distance on mid-air hit
L Tensenrin
- Added throw invincibility for frames 1F to 8F
M Tensenrin
- Added a hurtbox for frames 3 to 6F ( Updated June 2nd 2017 )
- Added invincibility for airborne attacks for frames 1 to 7F
H Tensenrin
- Changed the 1F to 8F throw invincibility frames to attack/projectile invincibility from 3F to 7F

Developer Comments: The change to Juri’s light punch was made to bring her more in line with the general philosophy of reducing the over effectiveness of light attack anti-airs introduced in Season 2.

Ken

Thunder Kick
- Changed the recovery on block from -2F to -4F
M Shoryuken
- Added a hurtbox for frames 3-6F
- Added invincibility for airborne attacks for frames 1 to 6F
- Increased the knockback distance for the first hit
H Shoryuken
- Added attack and projectile invincibility for frames 3-6F

Developer Comments: Ken’s Season 2 Thunder Kick change added a layer to Ken’s offensive options that we feel is quite interesting. That said, the reward for it is extremely high, while the risk is rather low. The change made to this attack will give the attack a more balanced mix of risk versus reward.

Laura

L Bolt Charge (Normal/V-Trigger)
- Reduced the active frames from 4F to 3F
Crouching LK
- Reduced the advantage on block from +1 to 0

Developer Comments: Laura is a character who has seen quite a bit of a climb since the introduction of the Season 2 update. We are quite happy with her current performance and don’t think much needs to be changed.

That said, we did notice that she can feel a bit overwhelming once her offense gets started. We think that by ever so slightly reducing the effectiveness of a few of her attacks, which are used in her continuous pressure strings, players will now have more chances to move around, rather than feel overwhelmed. This also has the benefit of encouraging Laura players to develop even newer strategies against what counters may develop.

Nash

Forward Dash
- Total movement frames changed from 19F to 18F
Standing HP
- Increased the forward hitbox for the first active frame
- Expanded the hitbox downward for frames 2F to 3F, and reduced the upwards hitbox
Crouching MK
- Quickened the timing for V-Trigger cancel by 1F
- Note: After the change, Nash will go from +4F to +5F advantage from cancelling into V-Trigger (Sonic Move – Hide)
M Sonic Scythe
- Increased the pushback distance on block
EX Sonic Scythe
- Added throw invincibility for frames 1F to 6F
- Expanded the upwards hitbox for the first and second active frames

Developer Comments: The initial concept behind Nash’s Season 2 adjustments were to encourage players to explore his large array of attacks to begin offense, rather than the same few that were always used, stifling strategy. Additionally the adjustments to his defensive options were made so that there would be a clear distinction between Nash, who is more offensive, and Guile, who is more defensive.

Unfortunately, the adjustments to some of his attacks resulted in his offense becoming a bit weaker, leaving Nash in a place where he didn’t feel strong on offense, defense nor in neutral. With the adjustments made here, we believe that Nash will end up with a slightly stronger neutral game and stronger offensive game, leaving him in an overall better position amongst the cast.

Necalli

The Disc’s Guidance (V-Trigger)
- Disadvantage on block increased from -4F to -6F

Developer Comments: Overall, we believe Necalli is in a good place in Season 2. We did notice however that the pushback on Necalli’s L Disc’s Guidance was quite far while in V-Trigger, which in effect, made it extremely hard to punish by most of the cast.

As this attack leads to great positioning and continued offense for Necalli, with minimal risk, the disadvantage on block was increased to more evenly balance the risk versus reward.

Rashid

Hurtbox
- Fixed an issue where Rashid’s collision boxes would shrink in the reverse direction of other characters if Rashid turned around while crouching. This lead to characters being able to cross him up with certain moves after he landed from mid-air recovery, when they were not supposed to.
Standing LK
- Reduced the upwards hitbox
- Increased the horizontal knockback distance on mid-air hit
EX Eagle Spike (V-Skill)
- If Rashid KO’s the opponent with EX Airborne Eagle Spike during his V-Skill, he will get the EX flashing screen finish

Developer Comments: The change to Rashid’s light kick was made to bring him more in line with the general philosophy of reducing the over effectiveness of light attack anti-airs introduced in Season 2.

Ryu

Standing LK
- Expanded the forward hitbox
Standing MP (Normal/V-Trigger)
- Expanded the forward hitbox
M Shoryuken
- Added a hurtbox for frames 3-6F
- Added invincibility for airborne attacks for frames 1 to 6F
H Shoryuken
- Added attack and projectile invincibility for frames 3 – 6F
Crouching HP
- Changed the move animation

Developer Comments: The concept behind Ryu’s initial Season 2 adjustments were that we wanted to encourage players to engage in closer combat by giving Ryu stronger in close tools, while in return, his midrange was weakened a little. Although his tools in close were strengthened, due to the shrinkage of a few hitboxes and increased attack startup, he now had a bit more trouble than anticipated fighting from the midrange. This, in turn, made it harder to get in close, making it more difficult for Ryu players to experience his Season 2 adjustments.

We hope with the additional adjustments made, Ryu will be more well-rounded than he was in Season 1, while also feeling that much stronger.

Urien

Vitality
- Reduced from 1025 to 1000
Crouching MK
- Advantage on block changed from +2F to -2F
Jumping LK
- Expanded the hitbox downwards
EX Dangerous Headbutt
- Increased the recovery on whiff from 15F to 25F
EX Chariot Tackle
- Increased the disadvantage on block from 0F to -2F
- Reduced the pushback distance on block

Developer Comments: Urien has seen a significant climb in the ranks since the Season 2 update went into effect. That said, we noticed a few key attacks that have very minimal risk, yet high reward associated with them being used more than his other attacks, reducing his overall strategy.

We think with these new adjustments, players will be motivated to use his other attacks and figure out newer strategies to defeat the competition. However, the increased risk on a few of these attacks will require players to properly weigh the risk versus reward of using said attack, especially with Urien’s vitality returning to the former value that is was in Season 1.

Vega (Claw)

Standing HP (claw)
- Advantage on hit increased from +6F to +7F
- Pushback on hit slightly decreased
- Pushback on block slightly decreased
Crouching HP (claw)
- Advantage on hit changed from -2F to +5F
- Advantage on block changed from -5F to +3F
V-Trigger: Bloody Kiss – Azul
- Changed so that Vega will be fully invincible from the first frame after hit
Flying Barcelona Attack (claw)
- Damage increased from 90 to 120.
- Advantage on block increased from 0F to 3F
- Relaxed the restrictions on mid-air juggles after hit
- Note: Increased follow-up options
Flying Barcelona Attack (no claw)
- Damage increased from 60-80
EX Crimson Terror
- Increased the movement distance
- Note: Is now between Season 1 and original Season 2 changes

Developer Comments: Vega is an interesting character in that he has two distinctive styles. What we noticed, however, was that due to the damage output that’s possible with the non-claw version, players had less incentive to use his claw form.

With the adjustments made to Vega’s claw form, Vega players can now alternate between the two styles and develop different strategies for both, while not having to worry about a substantial damage differential between the two.

Additionally, the changes to his V-Trigger and EX Crimson Terror will ensure that Vega players will consistently get their damage without fear of the opponent dropping out of their combos.

Zangief

Head Butt
- Reduced the amount of CA meter gain upon use to cancel a projectile attack
- Note: From 50 to 30
Double Lariat
- Reduced the downwards hitbox on his arms while spinning (1st revolution)
- Changed so that the hitbox on his arms while spinning (2nd and 3rd revolutions) will not hit crouching opponents
- Expanded the hurtbox to the same position as his hitbox
Harasho Choke Slam
- New neutral/forward normal throw (LP+LK) that is triggered against crouching opponents

Flying Head Butt
- New move: press up + HK during a neutral jump

Tundra Storm
- New move: F, D, DF + P – perform a counter (only works against horizontally-angled kick attacks)

Developer Comments: Zangief is one of the characters who has seen a big jump in the rankings since the beginning of Season 2. Although we are quite happy with his progression, we have noticed that his lariat is a large source of frustration for his opponents in that it’s extremely hard to punish.

We feel that with the adjustment made to Zangief’s lariat, he will still maintain his strength, yet players will have to utilize a bit more strategy to be effective with him.

Lastly, we felt that Zangief’s moveset could use more options. To that effect, we have added a few more moves to his arsenal, which should make him a bit more entertaining for those who play him .

Also, when Kolin was released, there were a number of bug fixes that went into her patch that I’d like to officially confirm. The full list is below: