Knee breaks down everything wrong with Tekken 8 Season 2 in brutal feedback

The renowned Tekken player DRX Knee has expressed significant worries about the upcoming Season 2 of Tekken 8. He’s outlined nine primary concerns, ranging from overpowered combos and homing mids to a design that caters more towards casual players. His observations have garnered widespread agreement on Twitter and Reddit.

As a devoted fan, I’m sharing my thoughts on DRX’s Bae “Knee” Jae-min’s insights into the Season 2 update of Tekken 8. He’s highlighted nine crucial aspects that need refinement for a more enjoyable gaming experience.

In the annals of Tekken 8’s contemporary lore, Knee stands shoulder to shoulder with ArslanAsh as a formidable contender. Notably, Knee has been the top-earning player in Tekken 7 and the second highest earner in Tekken 6. Given his impressive track record, it’s reasonable to suggest that his insights on Season 2 carry significant weight.

Knee’s Tekken 8 Season 2 Feedback Summary

Although Knee is not the only player expressing worries about Season 2, his summary of the problems succinctly captures the primary concerns that a larger part of the gaming community shares regarding this season.

Knee broke down his analysis of Season 2 into 9 categories on Twitter:

1. Combos
2. Mind Games
3. Heat Moves
4. Removed Legacy
5. Stances
6. Range and Plus Frames
7. 50/50s
8. Chip Damage
9. Beginner advantage

1. Long combos hurt game balance

Previously, the sequence was straightforward yet uninteresting; however, it was simple enough for beginners to grasp. But currently, I find myself needing to teach them the tailspin, but it’s challenging. The tailspin is so powerful that it executes twice, making the sequence lengthy. Could we modify it so that the tailspin is performed only once instead?

Knee on Combos in Season 2

As a gamer, I’m always excited to dive into the world of Tekken, especially when it comes to mastering new techniques. One of those techniques is what they call “tailspin” attacks in the game. These are special moves that extend combos after a tornado property attack, like Feng’s uf 3, Nina’s db 2, or Dragunov’s df 3+4. In the upcoming Tekken 8 Season 2, it looks like even more of these tailspin strings have been uncovered and new moves added to the roster. For instance, Kazuya is now equipped with the ss 4,1 tailspin move!

Essentially, these modifications expand the variety of ways players can inflict over a hundred points of damage, which exceeds half their total health. For instance, the Jun string posted by @R17uyu dishes out 110 damage if you manage to hit the wall.

2. Sidestepping is too risky now

Initially, Kazuya’s main moves were vulnerable to left side steps (SS), so advanced players would compensate by maintaining control of the axis and capturing left SS attacks. However, now, with the addition of mid-safe homing, left SS is no longer a concern. This simplification might make it seem easier, but it diminishes the excitement. Fighting games lose their charm when they become too simple. Players grow tired of them quickly if there’s too much mid-safe homing. It would be great if players were given the option to sidestep instead.

In the context of Season 2, a point frequently criticized by creators like PhiDX, MainManSWE, and K-Wiss is similar to what Knee is expressing. Prior to the release of Season 2, the development team hinted that they would enhance sidestepping, making it possible for players to perform this move even during recovery frames.

Additionally, a new move allows characters to dodge to the right while crouching, which wasn’t an option in earlier versions of Tekken. However, despite this added mobility, developers have introduced numerous homing attacks that will still connect if you dodge. To make matters worse, many of these homing moves are mid-safe, meaning they’re difficult to avoid without taking damage. This has been a source of annoyance for players, as the intention was to improve defense in Season 2.

3. Heat Moves: Now Too Imbalanced to Be Competitive?

Currently, the heat distribution is imbalanced. Somebody needs to adjust the thermostat as it seems too hot for some areas. Overheating can lead to drastic changes quickly, but there are less risky alternatives with significant rewards. However, these high-risk, high-reward moves are associated with heat recovery. I hope this is maintained consistently. An unfair advantage could be gained through excessive thermostat adjustments.

In Season 2, several characters gained the ability to execute Heat Smash or Heat Burst from distinct poses, a feature that wasn’t available before. This change has made these moves simpler to perform yet harder to anticipate. Moreover, characters who previously had limited tactical choices during Heat were provided with new Heat-specific moves to enhance the attractiveness and dynamism of their Heat state.

4. Legacy knowledge is being ignored

The previous strategies, known as legacy knowledge, have been eliminated. This change means that low parries and holding a move to parry are no longer options. Furthermore, there are other aspects that have also been altered. As a result, we find ourselves lacking certain tactics to handle specific situations. Was it necessary to remove these strategies?

As an ardent Tekken enthusiast, one aspect that’s frequently discussed among us veterans is the issue of legacy knowledge. With the escalating number of homing moves, the art of understanding character weaknesses from playing Tekken 8 and its predecessors seems to hold less weight in the current gameplay. For instance, historically, Kazuya has been vulnerable to a sidestep to the left. Mastering that match-up involved learning this specific weakness. However, Season 2 has introduced new strategies for Kazuya to counteract this vulnerability. Adjustments like these have sparked concerns about simplifying the intricacy of Tekken, making it less challenging and rewarding for dedicated players.

5. Too many stance mix-ups and heat burst

The changes being made in the game are overly complex and absurd, appearing unnatural to me. It seems unlikely that the development team believes this is what players would prefer. Instead, these drastic alterations seem artificial, and they limit the game’s style since I don’t typically play with such modifications.

In the upcoming Tekken 8, stances are nothing novel, but for Season 2 characters, more choices have been provided through stances. Furthermore, these characters can now transition into a low profile following Heat activation, and they can perform Heat Smash or Heat moves from this stance, as previously mentioned.

It appears that using these change-of-stance techniques so frequently feels almost unnatural, yet doing so consistently. However, this approach can lead to limited versatility in styles and a steeper learning curve for novice players as they need to master these frequent shifts.

6. Too many plus frame and long range moves

Characters armed with weapons can attack from quite a distance, which may need balancing. Also, the defensive stance becomes overly long when blocking. The scores (+7, +9) indicate this issue frequently occurs, as well as others that promote self-centered play. This leads to a great deal of tension or stress among players.

In Tekken 8, Yoshimitsu was the sole weapon-wielding character upon release. But, among the recent DLC additions, Clive and Anna are also equipped with weapons, offering exceptionally long-range attacks against opponents. These kinds of moves are rarely matched in other characters, especially outside of Heat mode. Knee expressed his thoughts that characters armed with weapons might need their range to be balanced.

Additionally, he raised issues about characters in Season 2 possessing an excessive number of advantageous frames, which persist even when their opponent blocks an attack. These ‘plus’ frames offer limited opportunities for retaliation and instead promote continuous attacks from the aggressor. This can result in lopsided fights.

7. Forced 50/50s break defensive play

In many cases following a 50/50 situation after a heat engager with a +7 or +9 frame, there’s significant damage inflicted on the opponent and recovery of health bar. I believe this is a substantial reward. However, I question the need for an additional +17. To me, it seems like an overly generous reward. The difference between a 50/50 in a forced situation, often just 1-2 frames apart, can be too challenging to block effectively.

The payoff after a 50/50 in certain situations is usually good, but giving +17 feels like too much. It’s tough to block these quickly changing scenarios.

As a devoted fan, I can’t help but agree with Knee’s assessment of Season 2’s intensity from the defender’s perspective. The 50/50 scenarios are relentless, and it seems like every new move, such as Steve’s Fire Fox Fury, significantly favors the attacker. In these situations, I find myself constantly on the defensive, either blocking low or high with minimal room for error. It’s particularly challenging because, as Knee pointed out earlier, sidestepping has become riskier due to the rise in tracking moves.

8. Chip damage feels excessive: “Worse than 2D games”

Despite numerous complaints from players that they dislike it and find it unlikely to change, if T8 doesn’t alter the chip damage mechanic, we can still manage, given the circumstances. Fingers crossed that they might consider lowering the chip damage slightly. To be frank, the current chip damage is more detrimental than what’s found in 2D games.

Knee’s remark is intriguing, considering that Season 2 had already lowered the damage from chips. Yet, it might not be enough adjustment given the influx of new moves featuring plus-on-block frames now.

9. Game too balanced towards casuals

It’s surprising to me how a novice or newcomer can defeat an experienced player, I can’t quite grasp the logic behind this outcome. To be honest, it doesn’t seem fair since veterans have spent significant time and effort mastering the game. However, playing the game can be engaging as you grow your knowledge and hone your skills. It seems odd to me that a beginner or rookie would have a high chance of beating a veteran, isn’t this counterintuitive?

In wrapping up, Knee emphasized that the current gameplay tends to cater more towards casual players rather than veteran gamers. This observation is consistent with a broader pattern observed in fighting game titles over the past ten years or so.

In comparison to previous versions, Tekken 8 Season 2 seems to have simplified some aspects, notably addressing character vulnerabilities head-on. This change, along with the rise in 50/50 scenarios, introduces a higher element of uncertainty, thereby augmenting the influence of chance.

Community Reactions to Knee’s Feedback

As an enthusiast, I noticed my recent social media post sparked quite a buzz on Twitter initially, and it continued to generate interest even on Reddit later on. By carefully analyzing the feedback from all corners of these platforms, I managed to gauge the general mood of the online community.

In his assessment of Tekken 8 Season 2, Knee emphasized three main aspects that particularly struck a chord with the gaming community as follows:

or

Knee’s comments on Tekken 8 Season 2 highlighted the following three points that really resonated within the community:

or

Three significant observations about Tekken 8 Season 2 made by Knee were particularly well-received in the gaming community:

Each of these versions aims to rephrase the original sentence in a natural and easy-to-read manner, maintaining the core idea while providing variety.

• Forced 50/50s hurt skill gap
• Season 2 design too casual-player focused
• Season 2 mid safe homing moves oversimplify mind games

What’s Next for Tekken 8?

Bandai Namco has announced they will release a “fix” or update around mid-April, though the specifics are unclear at this time. However, Knee’s remarks resonated strongly with players following the release of Season 2, effectively expressing their sentiments.

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2025-04-13 00:42