Gaming
Games
How to beat the top 3 characters in Tekken 7
Sick of losing to Xiayou online? Are all your characters getting hell swept away by Devil Jin? Fear not, here’s a handy guide to dealing with the S-Tier characters in Tekken 7.
It’s been almost two months since Tekken 7 released on home consoles and as the dust settles a few key characters are emerging at the top of the pile, the undisputed kings and queens of the Iron Fist. So, how do you deal with these S-Tier characters with a taste for cheese? What are the secrets to beating the top tier in Tekken 7? Well, first you might want to check out these beginner tips and then follow these simple steps to better your odds against the best there is.
Leo Kliesen
Leo is a complicated character to get your head around. At the wall Leo can deal chunks of damage, much like a large portion of the cast, but what makes Leo stand out is the strength of her pokes and ability to put opponents in situations where they really need to guess what is happening.
The first step in understanding how to beat Leo is to understand her stance-based moves, the first of which is called Jin Ji Du Li and abbreviated to KNK in the Tekken community. The obvious first step is identifying how Leo starts this offensive and what it looks like; many of the transitions that Leo players use to get into the stance leave Leo at advantage (allowing Leo to attack before you) and it's not wise to try and interrupt these attacks for fear of a counter hit launcher. So, be on the lookout for Leo raising her right leg to scout out the start of these attacks and back dashing and blocking when this offence starts.
In previous games there was a unique series of movements that would allow you to evade anything that Leo would throw out after transitioning to the stance, but now it's a true gamble. Like all gambles, however, there are still odds that you can play. Out of KNK, there's only one low attack and most options out of the stance are punishable when blocked – the only exceptions being Leo’s high hitting left and right punches, although they leave Leo at a slight disadvantage when blocked, it's often unwise to attack after blocking these attacks.
To add more depth to Leo’s offensive, Leo can seamlessly transition from her KNK stance, via a high hitting punch, into another stance called Fo Bu, abbreviated to BOK in the Tekken community – Leo can also manually transition into this stance without the use of KNK. BOK is Leo’s evasive ducking technique that allows her to crush some highs and continue to keep her opponents guessing. Much like the KNK stance there isn’t one definitive way to deal with it, but it helps to know that there are absolutely no lows from the stance and if you're unable to react to the high tracking kick, your best bet is to block and the back dash to create space against Leo.
Outside of Leo’s stances, distance will always be your best way to beating her. Ensuring that you sidewalk the correct way, which is to your character’s left due to Leo’s attacks having weak tracking to her right side, and understanding that even when you're hit by Leo’s quarter circle forward left punch – that’s the low hitting punch that looks kind of like a ‘dab’ – you’re still able to push the offensive as she is at a disadvantage on hit. Then you have moves like Qian Sao Lei Wang Quan, AKA Sweep Bang/Hell Sweep, that require you to look out for them at certain ranges; up close and at the walls of the various stages that possess them, and punish accordingly.
Devil Jin
It’s an unwritten rule that anyone loosely tied to the Mishima clan will assuredly be great in whatever Tekken iteration they appear in. This time it’s Devil Jin that’s stepping up to the ring. With a plethora of unique moves, an Electric Wind God Fist (EWGF), and a pair of snazzy wings, he’s able to keep the vast majority of the cast at bay.
The most obvious danger from any character with a Wind God Fist (WGF) isn't just the punch itself, but the other attacks associated with it. When a WGF is performed perfectly, it becomes the electrified version of the move – giving the name Electric Wind God Fist. The EWGF is a high hitting launcher that’s not only unpunishable on block, but it’s actually advantageous to Devil Jin when you block it as he'll be able to attack before you. Naturally, like any high hitting attack, your instinct is to duck but this is where the whole series of moves attached to the EWGF come into play. There are lows, mids, more mids, and the crouch dash leading to the move itself doesn’t need an attack input after it. This results in an amazing number of scenarios that players might struggle to deal with. Fortunately there's a trick that will get you by and it's side walking to your character’s left. Unlike side stepping, you need to need hold the input to walk and doing so will make most of Devil Jin’s attacks whiff. It’s tricky and takes practise, but mastery of side walking Devil Jin’s EWGFs will be a key factor in any match up with him.
In fact side walking and side stepping left against Devil Jin is usually the best approach in almost all situations bar this next example. It’s important to be aware of Devil Jin’s ‘Laser Canon’. Although its namesake would lead you to believe this is one of the many moves Devil Jin makes use of the literal lasers he can shoot from his eyes, but it's not. The ‘Laser Canon’ and variations are a series of mid-hitting punches that can give players a lot of bother. This string is nasty if players don’t know that it is always possible to block after the second hit, even when the first two connect and that side stepping right will make all the options after the second punch miss entirely. Good thing you now do.
You might even encounter some Devil Jin players that try and make use of all the moves in his arsenal and take to the sky. When a Devil Jin player activates his flight there are only so many options available and all of them can be evaded easily, aside from his new homing punch. All you need to do is keep your eye on the sky and side step when you see the start-up animations of his attacks that aren’t the homing punch, and close the gap for a massive punish on anyone silly enough to try and fly out of danger.
Ultimately, fighting a Devil Jin player is a game of patience. Thanks to his extensive list of attacks and options you might find that many players have different quirks and even the most veteran of players have preferred mixups. There's so much to take in that it can be overwhelming, something which many players will try and take advantage of by wave dashing in your face – when that happens be sure to challenge that dash with a quick mid and stop those pesky Devil Jin players having free reign.
Ling Xiayou
Despite her appearance, Ling Xiayou is a Tekken veteran. First appearing in Tekken 3, she proved incredibly strong and was hastily nerfed in Tekken 4, but has received buffs ever since. Thanks to these incremental improvements Ling is now indisputably one of the best characters in Tekken 7, as well as one of the trickiest.
Just like Leo, Xiayou is a stance-based character with a whole load of tricky tools for you to deal with. The stance that's bound to cause most frustration is the Art of Phoenix, also known as AOP. It’s pretty obvious to see Xiayou in the AOP stance, but dealing with it's a whole other story. When in AOP Xiayou is able to crouch under all highs, which is pretty obvious when you realise just how dangerously close to the ground Xiayou is, but if the Xiayou player were to tap down in the AOP stance they could also evade most mid-hitting moves. This means that players may struggle to even hit with moves like Tekken 7’s generic launching right punches (down-forward 2). There’s no easy solution and the only advice is to go to training mode and find out what moves your character has that will hit Xiayou in this stance. Another option might be to opt for a quick hitting and far ranged low, but just like the mid-hitting attack you'll need to test what move your specific character has that will catch her. It'll take a lot of work to grow accustomed to dealing with Xiayou’s utilising the AOP stance effectively and it'll take time to train yourself to reacting to the prominent lows from the stance, but thankfully they're slightly slower and more visually identifiable than others. Just ensure that you fully test how to prevent Xiayou from getting into situations in which she can make this stance effective.
Another key stance for Xiayou is her backturned stance. When Ling is facing away from you she has a whole arsenal of attacks. The key to beating her when using this stance is to remain standing and watch out for grabs, although there is a caveat to this rule and that’s to watch out for her rage drive as this move will hit you low and cost you a massive chunk of health if it hits.
Beyond Xiayou’s stances there are plenty of key moves to look out for, attacks like sidestep left kick or right kick are both big lows and the latter will launch you if it hits. So, it’s best to look out for Xiayou stepping in any direction and make a mental note that they might fish for big lows. There are also a few key jab strings and mixups that could confuse you, but as Tekken 7 is a 3D game movement and spacing will give you vital space to counter poke and sidestepping to your character’s left will usually cause Xiayou to miss some of her attacks.
Like all fighting games, practise makes perfect. It’s not enough to simply read a guide like this; you need to hit up training mode and test what your character can do and transform into an encyclopaedia of frame data and punishes. In time you’ll understand exactly how to pick apart every character and just how to turn the tides of battle in your favour. So make sure you check out sites like Tekken Zaibatsu, RB Norway and even finding a local scene to sit down and fight players in your area because that’s truly the way you learn; side by side with other knowledgeable players.
