Street Fighter 6 is too scrubby? EventHubs goes in-depth after top players call out game's issues
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Street Fighter 6 is too scrubby? EventHubs goes in-depth after top players call out game's issues

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Posted by John 'Velociraptor' Guerrero • July 14, 2023 at 7:59 p.m. PDT • Comments: 129

The online world of Street Fighter 6 has been set ablaze following a few comments by the best Street Fighter 5 competitor on the planet and potentially the best Street Fighter 6 competitor as well, Bandits|MenaRD.

The only two time Capcom Cup champion to date stated Thursday evening that "Street Fighter 6 is the scrubbiest SF I've played," which has led to much social media discussion from players both old and new to the scene.

Such a general statement could lead us in many directions, but it seems Mena and others are taking the most issue specifically with the neutral Drive Rush mechanic, which for the price of just one bar of Drive Meter allows characters to dash forward and apply enhanced pressure or combos.

What's more, many have been complaining about the screen freeze that happens when one player activates a Drive Rush as it has a propensity to "eat" the inputs of the opposing player when it overlaps with one of their button presses.

There's also the matter of the majority of characters having throw loops when they've cornered their foes, meaning they can consistently threaten with powerful 50/50 situations that have major impacts on the outcomes of rounds.

Mena further clarified that he felt this all led to a relatively simple and easy to execute formula at the highest levels of play, which would imply that even "scrubby" players who haven't put in as much time as others could too easily obtain wins over their more practiced peers.

Despite the criticisms of Street Fighter 6, Mena clearly states that the game is fun and that this kind of progression has very much been par for the course with most all Street Fighters passed.

Catalyst, DreamKing, and I decided to put this idea under the microscope and dig into it via a Talk and Block discussion. While we're more than hesitant to deem SF6 the scrubbiest Street Fighter to date, we surely do see why so many, including top players like Mena, are taking issue.

Given that Drive Rush (DR) seems to at or very close to the center of all this, we consider what kinds of alterations to it might land the game in a better place. Should developers approach fixing DR from the side of utility or the side of overall cost? Perhaps it's okay that it grants buffed block pressure and combo routes, but should cost 1.5 or 2 bars of gauge for doing so?

Another means of balance could be explored via damage scaling, perhaps making the hits following a successful Drive Rush dole out reduced damage, or maybe Capcom should consider actually changing the maneuver's movement speed and/or frame advantage buffs.

We're somewhat hesitant to entertain these latter ideas as this would alter the emerging meta of Street Fighter 6 immensely and we're only about six weeks into exploring the game at this point.

The three of us also offer our two cents on the game's prominent corner throw loops, the aforementioned pesky eaten inputs, and answer how often we each feel like the better player tends to win in SF6.

There's plenty more in the full discussion, which you can watch via the embedded video here:

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro, is SF6 the SCRUBBIEST?
03:50 - Digging into the specific problems with Drive Rush
08:25 - How should Drive Rush be fixed?
13:30 - SF6 too easy at high level?
18:06 - How often does the more skilled player win in SF6?
25:30 - Is it too soon to patch, or should we let SF6 breathe?

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