Table of Contents
1.0...Introduction2.0...Understanding the Universal Language to Tekken Combo Inputs
3.0...Real Men do Juggles, Not 10-Hit Combos!
4.0...What is a Juggle?
4.1...Juggle Composition
4.2...Damage Scaling
5.0...Sample Combos
5.1...Lili De Rochefort Sample Combos
5.2...Leo Kliesen Sample Combos
5.3...Jin Kazama Sample Combos
5.4...Asuka Sample Combos - Coming Soon
6.0...Outro
[1.0] Introduction
I've been playing Tekken since its early days and I've decided to share with you some knowledge on one of the best things about this game--combos! What good is a fighting game without them right? It is essentially one of the most important aspects of every fighting game and Tekken is one of the best in its genre. However, being good at combos does not mean you are good in the actual game. This mechanic is simply for optimizing your damage and making you look cool. If you're new to Tekken, then you are in luck as this guide is meant to help you improve. If you're an old fan then you probably know most of this stuff, but if you're reading this, hope you'd stick around to sift through the content as you still might find something new to you. I am by no means an expert but I am very passionate about the game since I get to have fun playing it with the people closest to me. We play in groups offline once in a while. I can barely play online due to network problems (current only available ISP in our area seems to affect my connection in Tekken more than my other games), my reflexes and familiarity with characters haven't improved so I am better off contributing to the Tekken community this way. In short, I suck. But hey, hopefully you'll find something interesting here. If so, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel or you can probably share this to those who might find it helpful.
[2.0] The Universal Language of Tekken Command Inputs
Basically, the directional buttons correspond to u, f, b, d which is up, forward, back, down respectively. If you see "N" or "n", it means neutral, meaning directional button is released or not pressed at that time.
If you see these in upper case on annotations it just means you have to hold that button, say for example "f,F+2"--this means you have to press forward twice, holding forward on second input while also pressing right punch at that given time.
If you see d/f or df, it means you have to press down and forward at the same time.
If you see 1+2 it means you press left punch and right punch at the same time.
If you see 1,2,3,4 you press left punch, right punch, left kick, and right kick in that order.
If you see 4,1+2 it means you have to press right kick first followed by left punch and right punch at the same time.
If you see f,N,d/f,F+2 it means you have to press forward, release forward, press down and forward at the same time, press and hold forward and right punch at the same time.
It's pretty simple but it will take time to get used to the more advance stuff later on such as "CD" which is crouch dash, "qcf" which is quarter circle forward, and other inputs. I won't be taking much time explaining this, just read and understand the info from Tekken Zaibatsu. I guarantee it will be worth it. Some use "/" on the directional inputs and others prefer not to. The same case as using "+" on the first button combined with the directional input. Simply, u/f is the same as uf, d/f+2 is the same as df2. You get the point.
[3.0] Real Men do Juggles, Not 10-Hit Combos!
You read that title right. I just had to bring this out as I see most newbies tend to focus on these. 10-hit combos are for p*****. If you are memorizing every 10-hit combo for every character then stop right now, I am saving you some precious time. They won't make you good, in fact you'll look even weaker when facing experienced players. I know they look cool and bad-ass but they aren't really natural combos (so let's stop calling them combos argh). They are basically a series of strings that your character can execute in one go but your opponent can actually block or duck most of them mid-way if they know what they are doing. You know the different move/attack types right? There are High, Mid and Low attacks. High-hitting moves can be avoided by crouching/ducking. That said your string can be easily interrupted with a crouch jab or a fast low-hitting move. Mid-hitting moves are probably safest of the three which can only be directly countered by reversals or special moves that some characters have. And then we have low-hitting moves which can be blocked by crouching or ducking. These 10-hit strings became even more useless when the "low parry" feature was introduced as all of these strings have a low move incorporated in them. Your opponent can wait for that low move, parry it, and punish you with their own combo. So... if you're up against someone doing 10-hit strings repeatedly, congratulations! You are already one level ahead as you now know how to counter them.You can thank me later, bro. On to the next section...
[4.0] What is a Juggle?
A juggle is way for you to maximize your damage output. We call them juggles because as the name implies, it looks as if you are juggling when you try to deal as many hits as you can to keep the opponent airborne. Each hit will knock them further away so usually an average of 7 hits would be a pretty decent combo. Although some characters can do more a lot more than that. The opponent can't block while they are in the air and thus these are way better that 10-hit strings which are done on the ground. Juggles are started off with a "launcher", an attack that if successful, will initially bring your opponent in the air, then followed by "juggle fillers", usually 2-3 hit strings or a combination of light-hitting moves, and then finally completed with a "juggle ender" which is usually a heavy-hitting move that would push the opponent far away from you. Every character has a variety of launchers. Most characters have an uppercut with d/f+2 or a hopkick with u/f+4.[4.1] Juggle Composition
A standard juggle would look like:
LAUNCHER - JUGGLE FILLERS - JUGGLE ENDER
Launcher - launches your opponent in the air (duh)
Juggle fillers - some light to medium hitting moves
Juggle enders - hard-hitting moves that can push or knock your opponent further away
In between the launcher and juggle ender, you have the option of inflicting what is called "tailspin" or "screw" state setting up for more damage. This is usually done before the juggle ender but can also be done earlier, sometimes right after the launcher. The moves that inflict this state have "S!" on the combo annotations beside them.
This is what makes combos so fun as there are a lot of possibilities and variations that your character can do. Additionally, a stage with walls, floors and balconies will open up to more damage and variations as you can further hit your opponent after they get pinned to the wall or bounce off the ground after a fall from floor or balcony breaks.
It's all up to you. It depends on personal preference or for a certain situation. More often than not, using the screw state is the way to go unless you want to set your opponent for clean wall combo. Be reminded however that you can't induce the screw state after a wall splat unlike in Tekken 6 and Tag 2 where "bound" moves/state are used.
A common juggle with "screw":
LAUNCHER - JUGGLE FILLERS - SCREW-INDUCING MOVE - JUGGLE ENDER
Take for example this Lili combo on this video:
u/f+3 d/f+2 4,1 d+2,2,3 S! f,f+3~f 1,2 (10-hits, 62 damage)
u/f+3 is your launcher
d/f+2 and 4,1 are your juggle fillers
d+2,2,3 is your screw-inducing move
f,f+3~f 1,2 is your juggle ender which knocks the opponent a good distance away from you.
Some prefer to end with a move that knocks the opponent on the ground, directly in front of them for what they call "okizeme" or "oki" for more advance techniques or setup. But yeah, generally people use heavy-hitting move(s) to end the combo to get as much distance as possible for other setups or wall carry.
[4.2] Damage Scaling
Question: Why isn't the total juggle damage adding up correctly with the moves I used?
Answer: This is because of damage scaling. The launcher does 100% damage (not considering counter hit or rage). Then the first hit in mid-air (first hit after launch, or second hit overall) does 70% of its original damage. The third hit overall does only 50% of its original damage, the fourth hit does 40%, and finally 30% on all succeeding hits.
Launcher (100% damage), second hit (70% damage), third hit (50% damage), fourth hit (40% damage) and then all succeeding hits (30% damage). The system computes it in a way that the damage is always rounded down to the lowest value such that 2.8 or 2.3 will become 2. Knowing that, it is better to start with a high damaging move after the launcher that doesn't completely knock the opponent away. If you use normal jabs on the first few hits then you are drastically reducing your damage potential.
Taking the example above again:
u/f+3 d/f+2 4,1 d+2,2,3 S! f,f+3~f 1,2 (10-hits, 62 damage)
Damage Breakdown (stand-alone):
u/f+3 = 13 damage
d/f+2 = 16 damage
4,1 = 16, 7 damage
d+2,2,3 = 16, 10, 24 damage
f,f+3~f 1,2 = 15, 16, 20 damage
Damage Breakdown (combo):
u/f+3 = 13 damage
d/f+2 = 11 damage (16 x .70 = 11.2)
4,1 = 8, 2 damage (16 x .50 = 8 and 7 x .40 = 2.8)
d+2,2,3 = 4, 3, 7 damage (16 x .30 = 4.8, 10 x .30 = 3.3 and 24 x .30 = 7.2)
f,f+3~f 1,2 = 4, 4, 6 damage (15 x .30 = 4.5, 16 x .30 = 4.8 and 20 x .30 = 6)
Total Damage: 62
Play around with these to get the best combo for you. I have included a few sample videos below. Most of these are the ones I commonly use and are fairly easy.
[5.0] Sample Combos
CLICK ME! :D5.1 Lili De Rochefort Sample Combos
5.2 Leo Kliesen Sample Combos
5.3 Jin Kazama Sample Combos
[6.0] Outro
Again, being good with combos will not mean that you can with every game but rather help you optimize your offense. Personally, I think defense is the key to winning most games as this will allow you to punish your opponent upon blocking or dodging their moves regardless of what move you retaliate with. Combos or juggles will only help you deal the maximum damage possible on that situation but all that damage won't be possible if you can't even launch your opponent or if you aren't getting any opportunity to setup your own moves. There is no such thing as too much practice. The best way to improve is still through actual experience. In time you are going to be able to predict and understand your opponent's movements or utilize your own. Familiarize yourself with the mechanics of the game, character strings, wake-up options, poking, rage, etc. I haven't been able to write or focus on all of these yet but if you need a little info on some mechanics I've written a short review here.You've read this much, I hope I was able to be of help in your Tekken journey. Now go and kick some ass!
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