Street Fighter V Season 2 Begins With Akuma, Holiday DLC, And A Patch

Street Fighter V’s second season is upon us. In addition to Akuma’s debut and a patch with balance changes and other updates, an array of costumes both festive and cool are being added to the game. Capcom’s offered a full accounting of everything happening in the game over this week.

Akuma and the Street Fighter V patch will launch shortly. In addition to the new character, this means Story, Premium Battle, and Nostalgia costumes for him. It also means Background Music Select in the Training Mode, Versus Mode, Casual matches, and Ranked matches, updated Fighter Profile radar charts, an improved Rage Quit system that will match rage quitters with other rage quitters, change their Fighter Profile icon, and deduct League Points, and Direct Input controller support for the PC version of the game. Character rebalancing has taken place, with the following alterations made.

Overall

• Many adjustments have been made to invincible moves that don’t use meter. Since there was a big difference between characters who had invincible moves and those who didn’t, such as a Shoryuken, many changes have been made to moves that were invincible with no cost.
• Parameters and hit situations for all normal throws have been adjusted. Changes have been made to characters who can loop throws at the edge of the screen. Even after the adjustments, there will be some characters who can loop throws, as those parameters have been adjusted less compared to other characters.
• Due to changes to the game, some general attacks have been adjusted for each character. Along with changes 1 and 2, and the other changes to the game, characters who were able to attack more often and had a long reach became significantly stronger. Due to this, regardless of the strength of the character, general attacks for all characters have been adjusted.    

Ryu

• Ryu’s Shoryuken properties have been revised, while his general attacks have been changed to match the changes to the entire game. In addition to those changes, Ryu can now V-Trigger cancel the second hit of the Jodan Sanrengeki as well as special cancel his standing HP during V-Trigger, ultimately widening the moveset that can be used during footsies.

Ken

• Ken’s airborne Tatsumaki Senpukyaku parameters have been adjusted as the attack was quite strong. Although that may have weakened him in the air slightly, we made it so the Lion Breaker can be cancelled into his V-Skill, allowing Ken the ability to land high damage on the ground depending on the situation.

Chun-Li

• Chun-Li’s special moves such as Hyakuretsukyaku (both grounded and airborne) and Kikoken have been revised, and adjustments to advantageous parameters have been made. The duration of her V-Trigger has been shortened, but V-gauge is easier to fill up as she now has additional attacks from V-Skill and increased combo potential. Additionally, her new special move cancels have given her a wider range of attack variety.

M. Bison

• Adjustments have been made to Psycho Reflect, where the player now gets to choose when they want to shoot the projectile received from absorbing an attack or projectile. Additionally, EX Psycho Blast range has been increased, allowing it to reach the edge of the screen, providing more options for attack. Hit invincibility has been added to EX Head Press during V-Trigger, giving him some defensive buffs as well.

Nash

• Moves that were used frequently during footsies have been adjusted. Advantages on Side Knee Attack and Sonic Boom have been adjusted and a new target combo that includes Bullet Clear has been added to give him the ability to go on the offensive while in close range.

Karin

• Parameters for most of Karin’s general attack have been revised. As Karin’s primary weakness was her lack of anti-airs, an airborne target combo has been added to strengthen her anti-air abilities.

Cammy

• With the revision to Cammy’s Cannon Spike, her defense has weakened a little. However, offsetting this is the addition of new combo possibilities and positive changes to her advantage after certain attacks have landed.

Birdie

• Birdie’s attacks have been adjusted to match the general changes to the game. The advantage after certain attacks have increased, including the ability to follow Standing HK to Standing MP and Crouching HP to H Hanging Chain.

Necalli

• Parameters for all of Necalli’s main moves have been revised. Opening Dagger can only be charged while V-Trigger is active, giving him a wider range of offensive options.

Vega

• Parameters for some of Vega’s normal attacks have been revised. As Vega’s damage output was generally questionable, Aurora Spin Edge and Crimson Terror have been strengthened, increasing the return when they land.

Rashid

• Rashid’s attack options have been increased by making it easier to do combos that include V-trigger and CA. Additionally, his jumping MP has been adjusted so that it can combo into Airborne Eagle Spike, increasing his anti-air abilities.

R. Mika

• R. Mika’s properties for Passion Press and Passion Rope Throw have been revised so that she can no longer mix up the opponent anywhere, anytime. She also now has an airborne target combo, increasing her anti-air abilities.

Zangief

• The advantage and distance between Zangief and the opponent when his moves land or are blocked has been adjusted, giving him more opportunities to choose between hits and throws. All special moves including Double Lariat have been adjusted.

Dhalsim

• Dhalsim’s special and normal moves used frequently during footsies have been strengthened, resulting in an increase in his ability to control range.

F.A.N.G

• F.A.N.G’s attacks frequently used at mid-range have been adjusted to be slightly slower, however the advantage on hit has been increased. As damage output with F.A.N.G was questionable, special moves can now be performed without charge during V-Trigger to allow for higher damage potential.

Laura

• Laura’s attacks have been adjusted to increase her overall combo potential. Additionally, her advantage after combos has been adjusted so that it’s easier for her to continue offense.

Alex

• To match the changes in the game, Alex’s mid-range attacks have become a little slower. However, Alex’s close range damage output has increased as new combo opportunities such as, Crouching LP > L Flash Chop and Lariat > Standing MP have been added. Additionally, the anti-air ability of crouching HP has been improved, making it easier to do damage when he properly reads the opponent.

Guile

• Adjustments have been made to Guile’s unique attacks, such as decreasing the hurtbox around his feet during the Rolling Sobat and increasing the advantage on his Knee Bazooka and Reverse Spin Kick. By increasing the strength of these attacks, there should be an increase in the amount of unique moves used during footsies.

Ibuki

• Ibuki’s dash has been sped up as well as her jump to help her close the distance against the opponent quicker. Her standing MK has also been strengthened greatly to provide more attack/defense options once she gets in.

Balrog

• Balrog now has more ways to break through the opponent’s guard. Changes, such as minimizing the recovery on Buffalo Pressure, increases his mix up potential and making crouching MK a low hit gives him greater high/low options. Special moves such as Screw Smash have been changed from charge moves to command moves to help with offense, while adjustments have been made to each stage of Turn Punch, to increase how much space Balrog can move in an instant.

Juri

• Attack properties of Juri’s normal attacks have been adjusted while combo potential has been increased through modifications to her standing MP to standing MK. Additionally, her ability to cancel all versions of Fuharenkyaku with her V-Skill allow her greater movement options.

Urien

• Some of Urien’s normal attacks have been revised, resulting in an increase in a greater advantage after those attacks hit or are blocked. Another offensive improvement is that jumping LK can now cross-up, resulting in more offensive variety. On the defensive side, crouching HP startup has been quickened in an effort to increase his anti-air abilities.

 

Multiple bits of Street Fighter V DLC is also available. In addition to a holiday-themed New York stage, there are six Premium Holiday costumes for Juri, Karin, Ken, Laura, R. Mika, and Zangief and B-Boy and B-Girl costumes for Ryu and Chun-Li. The holiday New York stage is $1.99/€1.99/£1.29/40,000 Fight Money, while the Premium Holiday costumes are $3.99/€3.99/£3.29. You can get all of the Street Fighter V 2016 holiday content bundled together for $19.99/€19.99 /£15.99. The B-Boy and B-Girl costumes are $3.99/€3.99/£3.29 each. While the Ryu and Chun-Li outfits will be available forever, the holiday DLC will only be available to purchase until January 17, 2017.

Street Fighter V is available for the PlayStation 4 and PC.