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WithSoulcalibur 6becoming a retelling of theSoulcaliburseries, both newcomers and veterans of thefranchise will have a blast trying outSoulcalibur 6mechanics. Particularly interesting are its Weapon Styles, which revolve around a character and their particular weapon of choice. Characters emphasize their specialization with their weapons to gain the upper hand. Almost everyone has a unique way to approach combat.
Given these combat mechanics, how exactly should newcomers to the franchise approach their first foray intoSoulcalibur 6? Just how different are the game’s elements and concepts compared to its contemporaries in the genre? Here’s what new players should know before taking on the game.
Assess Character Types
While weapons already define a core aspect of characters inSoulCalibur 6, a lot of strategy has to do with character selection, especially since they also haveCharacter Types.Eachcharacter’s type determines the kind of playstyleexpected of them, giving players some idea as to how exactly they work in the context of facing opponents.
All-Rounders
All-Roundersspecialize in being flexible enough to adjust into any situation without necessarily specializing in any particular one. They’re the easiest for beginners due to their ease of use and accessibility. Examples include Mitsurugi, Sophitia andGeralt ofThe Witcherseries. More complex characters of this type include Xianghua, Zasalamel, and Raphael.
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Rushdowns
These characters specialize in fast-paced combat and overwhelming enemies with sheer speed.Rushdowncharacters like pressuring opponents and controlling the battlefield from extremely close range. Examples include Groh, Talim, Taki, and even Maxi.
Zoners
Zonercharacters specialize in controlling the battlefield from afar, effectively denying areas to enemies through the use of their pokes and long-ranged assaults. Ivy is a popular character in this category due to her whip-blade, while Seong Mi-Na and Kilik are also popular members.
Grapplers
These characters love getting up close and personal, as well as beating down characters to a pulp with their immense strength and even stronger throws and specials. Astaroth is immediately established as a Grappler, whereas Siegfried and Nightmare are more specialized tanks.
Mind The Eight-Way Run
SoulCalibur 6not only allows movement across different directions but also free control over speed. Popularly known as theEight-Way Run, this simply meansSoulCalibur 6gives players the freedom to use all four directional buttons and their respective diagonal directions.
One of the best benefits of the Eight-Way Run is how itallows players to access better offense and defense. As attackers, players can use the Eight-Way Run to rush towards opponents faster. Likewise, defenders can simply strafe out of harm’s way.
While it’s possible to guard against attacks when opponents are rushing, it’s possible to stop them in their tracks while performing a sprint. Players who do this not only delay an opponent’s advance, but also perform what’s known as aRun Counter, stunning the rushing foe.
Stay Clear Of Ring Outs
WithSoulCalibur 6’s uniqueRing Outmechanic, players whoget thrown off the stage automatically loses the round. This plays into a huge part of the strategy in the game, where sometimes the key to defeating a strong opponent isn’t necessarily to deplete their HP but to lure them out of the ring. Here are things to consider:
Understand Core Attack Methods
Whereas most fighting games have dedicated high and low attacks,SoulCalibur 6has extra buttons due to its nature as a weapon-based fighting title. Here are the most relevant mechanics that beginners should always remember.
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Attacks Have Directions
One elementcommon betweenSC6and other fighting gamesis attack directions. Attacks have different relationships with each other based on their particular direction: High, Mid, or Low.
The Magic Of Guards & Throws
Given howSoulCalibur 6provides a lot of directional attack options, the game offers a universal Guard function that serves as a niftydefense against opponents.
The Guard
Denoted with (G), this simply pertains to guarding against an opponent’s potential attack. There are a lot of elements involved in Guarding that players need to understand:
Guard Advantage
Being able to Guard doesn’t justprotect players against attacks, but also give them a bit of advantage afterwards. The opponent will have a bit of a “pause” afterwards, when players can strike.
During this window,avoid power moves.While it’s tempting to use heavier attacks to maximize this advantage, they’re simply too slow to maximize the brief pause when opponents are started after guards. Instead,memorize fast moves:It’s more efficient to use extremely fast moves to overtake a disoriented opponent.
The Throw
Players need to prepare their defense against the game’s variety of damaging moves, especially since Throws can stop players from Guarding entirely. Here are some things to consider:
Reversal Edge Brings Back The Pain
Reversal Edgeis an animated sequence that can interrupt an opponent. Players on the receiving end of an attack can press (B) to initiate Reversal Edge, which means pulling their blade back and absorbing attacks. A rock-paper-scissors scenario will ensue, where a wrong move can put either player at a severe disadvantage if their chosen move is beatable by the opposing side’s.
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This move breaks enemy momentum by forcing a slow-motion windup animation, forcing both players into a stalemate. In this case, they will need to choose between pressing an attack button, a direction with an attack button, moving away, or guarding.
Mind The Soul Gauge
Like other fighting games,SoulCalibur 6offers players the ability tounleash super moves, courtesy of theSoul Charge. This is a bar near the timer that fills up whenever players take hits or unleash Lethal Hits towards foes. This meter can charge up to two stocks, with two unique functions available for players to pull off with each.
Critical Edge (A + B + K)
A Critical Edge is performed by pressing all three attack buttons at once.This releases the character’s most devastating move, which comes with a unique animation.
Each Critical Edge has different mechanics. However, unlike games wherespecial animations are almost always invincible, the Critical Edges inSoulCalibur 6aren’t end-all, be-all. In fact, with the right timing, some characters could be cut out of the process of their Critical Edge.
Soul Charge (Back, A + B + K)
Serving as more of an emergency move, theSoul Chargewill have characters release a burst of energy that pushes the opponent away. This will turn the yellow Soul Gauge blue, making characters enter the Soul Charge Mode. Each character enters Soul Charge differently, be it through glowing orchanging outfits outright via transformation.
In the Soul Charge Mode, each character gets improved statistics for their moveset. This is especially apparent with their normals that still deal a bit of damage even when blocked. When positioned correctly, a Soul Charge can push opponents too far for any of their attacks to hit. This allows both players to return to neutral states in order to recuperate or strike a counterattack.
Soulcalibur 6was released on July 05, 2025, for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
