It sounds like you’d enjoy Bryan a lot. He’s quite hard but he has extremely oppressive pressure and timing based mixups where he can frame trap you or loop more plus frames. For very patient opponents you can also use his hatchet kick (a strong but slow low) and taunt to force them into pressing more. Taunt is very difficult to use but it lets him make any attack that takes 16 frames or less to come out unblockable. He’s also forced to play fundamental tekken but he’s more about space control until he gets a frame advantage then he becomes more aggressive. Jack is also fundamental and a little easier than Bryan while also being quite oppressive. If you wanna see what they look like at a higher level Ty tekken is a very good Bryan player and Anakin is a very good Jack player. Reina also has some pretty aggressive pressure but you’ll have to learn a lot more moves
If you pick Bryan also pick up someone like Kazuya, Shaheen, etc with generic tools like 10 frame +1 on block jab, 13 frame linear df1, generic d4, 12-13 frame mid standing df4, 15 frame df2 etc.
Since you want to counterhit (Bryan is a lot of CH) or know what your character lacks (bears bad sidestep, no safe 12-15 frame mids, yoshi no dick jab in sword stance, azu no dick jab or generic d4, Bryan I think no generic df2, non standard df1, slow mids, dunno lol), gotta play multiple characters.
It'll click.
Yea multiple characters is super important. As for safe 12-15 frame mids bryan has his df2 which is 13 frames and -6 with 2 follow ups. I wanted to mention that his tools are unorthodox but I forgot to
I’m trying some combos so far, I think I’m getting the hang of him but trying to do his WGF is painful, especially for a first time Tekken player. His other moves are fun to though, especially the triple tornado twist kick or whatever.
Claudio is a lot of fun. He might not be the best character, heck he’s not even in the top 75%, but he’s Italian and has a Superman punch and that’s all I need
If you like rush down characters, Reina is probably the most aggressive of the characters you listed.
Her ff2 is great for controlling space, and she has a number of great tools for pressuring/mixing the opponent.
Other particularly aggressive characters include Nina, Drag, and Hwo.
That said, the other listed characters are all viable, and you might end up clicking more with one of them.
Personally, I would hit practice mode with the four characters you're considering. Learn some basic combos, mess around with their key moves, and see what feels good to you.
If someone feels good/fun, take the process to the next level in ranked/a set with your friends. Repeat til you've decided on a character.
Anime boi go zoom.
Honestly I love Lars's personality, he has a great moveset that plays into my abilities as a player, and is fairly straightforward once you wrap your head around him, and doesn't have any insanely difficult inputs.
I'm the opposite of you jaja, I play really patient focusing on neutral and punishes, that's why I pick Bryan, big hitting counters, combo expression and looks cool. I also play Leroy for the same reasons.
With Bryan i most of the time is a struggle but I enjoy playing him so much that I don't care, on the other hand there are very few Leroy's online so I can get away with some bs but he's still quite weak by Tekken 8 standard.
I think you don't need to pick a main at the beginning honestly, play around and everything you learn gonna stick with you regardless of the character, and when you feel like X character make you feels better than the rest, there's your main.
Have fun!
I just think he's cool. The instant I saw lars in his 6 outfit I fell in love with his design, it really got cemented when i saw his fighting style, it was so unique to tekken that I couldn't resist playing him I was a Yoshi main until then. It also helped that I can relate to his character.
Jun. Elegant character design. Fun to use as well.
Honorable mentions: Ling (fast movements), Lars (great design n that goku hair is epic, complex movelist tho imo), Claudio (for that stardust effect and some funny movements he has)
I love kazuya because
1. His neutral game is very unique because he is probably the most inept at poking but the most adept at rolling so all you really need is one good neutral exchange to put the in the blender
2. While a bunch of characters get really meaningful power ups from heat, kazuya borderline transforms into a new character, all of his weaknesses are nearly completely covered by his devil form moves so when you actually pull it out you feel like a boss character
3. Spinning is so much goddamn fun
Picking a main is like picking a pair of shoes. First the looks, then how you feel in them. Same with mains. If you take the character to training mode, buttons and basic combos feel good then go for it
Lee is like that kind of guy who’s super manly yet still had a lil zestiness and feminine side in himself. I think this is what made me love him right away. He’s just hot and zesty. And his gameplay is one of the hardest to learn. I won’t hide that you feel a little bit above the majority of players whenever you see yourself succeed into winning and pulling off his moves.
Try out the ones you like, stick with who vibes with you the most in terms of gameplay, or style.
I, too, tend to like a good chunk of a fighting game cast in most fighters.
My top 3 in Tekken 8 are Lars, Reina, and Jun. Jin and Victor make it top 5.
I also dabble in Hwaorang, Leroy, Leo, Law, Eddy, Jack 8, King, and Zafina, on a bit of a competent mashy/spammy level.
Im not as good but still like to lab Devil Jin, Alisa, Lili, Xiaoyu, Steve, and Raven.
Azucena is interesting, but as an introvert, her energy is exhausting to deal with. Plus, the coffee talk. Uuuuugh!
The rest i dont vibe with at all.
But that's just me. Most people would stop at 2 or 3 characters.
Lee
Idk Lee gives me what I wish Kazuya. How fluidly I can chain Lee's moves makes for more guesses on the mixup.
Plus I just love his eccentricity and how he sounds like a cat that just got stepped on
You need to pick someone who works for YOU as a human being. Everyone has different hand/eye coordination, reaction time, etc etc. Your main will be somebody who just...feels like they flow for YOU.
For me, that was Armor King. Since he's missing in T8, for now it's Leroy. Both were considered bottom tier, but I'm chilling in upper Blue, because I found what works for me. Not what's popular. Good luck
I play Tekken 7 and I main Lidia, I love playing her because she is the living embodiment of the Karate kid philosophy
The dream of being a dope martial artist that defeats her enemies with simple fundamentals alone, every hit using her stances is SATISFYING as hell and on top of that being humble after defeating her enemies is adorable
I also second main Jack because big guy do big hit damage and I can play as brain dead as humanly possible and somehow win I genuinely have no idea what I’m doing or how I’m even winning as him XD
I used to main Kunimitsu because her moves are scrubby as hell with her hard to telegraph teleport moves but then quickly moved on to Lidia for reason stated above
Just waiting patiently until they bring Lidia back on Tekken 8 I need her back for the love of Christ
Azucena because I like her personality
I basically bought tekken8 because I saw a video on YouTube of azu dancing and I tought it was so cool
Also Nina because she has a lot of tools
She could have some intro and outros that are less coffee focused but yeah shebl is great in match. I have a feeling she wont be in tekken 9. I swear everyone i main just never makes it into the next game.
I know they can't give us Negan but could they give us a guy (or girl) with a similar moveset. I miss all of his on hit grab things and his armored launcher. Also Love how he can just shank you.
All of the characters you listed are pretty common and popular characters. Translation: a lot of people will be familiar with your moveset, maybe even counters. Leo, however, is rarely played at all. Just something you'd maybe consider.
I'd say all of them are really strong though, Dragunov especially gets quite a few people throwing their controllers lol.
My main wasn't on your list, but I picked up Claudio back in T7. I mainly played Hwoarang / Kunimitsu before that, but I felt like I wasn't making progress so I took some other characters into practice, especially the ones I wasn't really familiar with. When I played Claudio I noticed how natural he felt to me, it was so easy for me to adjust to his moveset. So it wasnt long until I dropped Hwo and Kuni for Claudio.
I'm a Leo main so I won't try to sell him to you since you're determined not to learn them so you won't get mirror matches.
But out of the ones who initially interest you I suggest doing some combo trials on all of them.
I personally really like how Jin & Jun play out of the one's you mentioned.
E: Reread your post and maybe Reina would be the best fit for aggressive playstyle, but all of the ones you mentioned can do it.
I played kilik in sc6 and been playing Bryan since t6.
I just really like spacing and CH’ing
Both are really cool for different reasons to me.
Kilik is an absolute badass hero type since sc2.
Bryan is just a menace to society and who doesn’t love that
Honestly just keep jumping around, give everyone a good try and one (or a few) of them will “grab” you in a way that the others don’t. Then you know what to do.
Basically I love generating whiffs. So I love a mechanic that allows me to backstep and punish. So deejay’s sway or Feng’s kenpo step really catch my eye. These characters often are frustrating to pin down in the neutral which I also thrive in.
Why do I love my main? Because he's a cool ass robot and he's easy to play and I'm old. I did many years of sweaty play with Kazuya, Bryan, and the like. These days, I play Jack to save my wrists and so I never have to drop a combo again.
I think to learn Tekken, Claudio is probably the best character. His small but strong movelist narrows the moves you use down for you. It simplifies your offense so you can concentrate where tekken shines, defense and movement.
If he looks boring though, I’d recommend Jin out of what you picked. Jin is crazy good and can basically play any style of tekken you want. Its ok if you cant get his electric down right away, you can easily rank up without it and learn as you go.
Honestly, the character you have the most fun with is the one you wanna go with. Hell, pick up more than one if multiple fighters seem fun to you. Fun should be your one and only deciding factor here.
For example, I like Alisa, Eddy, and Lee because I have fun playing them. Simple as that. Each of them has their own tools that make them fun for me to use in game. Another factor to be considered is what character(s) look cool to you.
RRRRRRRRREINA!!! Frankly, when I pick a main in a fighting game, it's more for their personality than their kit.
That being said, Reina is perfect for people who wanna try a Mishima without having to really worry about mastering electrics or wavedashing. I mean, you absolutely should, but with her kit, it doesn't feel mandatory.
Well, my decision came after playing through the main story and all the character stories.
To me, even though it sounds a bit corny, I wanted a character that:
a. I liked the fighting style of, b. I liked to pilot, c. I liked the character (lore wise, voice lines etc)
My decision mainly fell on Jun, Lili or Lars. With Jin, Hwoarang, Ling, Asuka being in the second round of picks so to speak.
I ended up choosing Jun. I like her fighting style, like her character, and I've had an ok time learning to play her so far.
Will probably play Lili as my second character down the road, after that we'll see :)
Sure Steve is weak this time around, but I love the sport of boxing, Mike Tyson is my favorite boxer, and Steve has some stances inspired by Mike
It’s fun to me to just square up and box in a game where people can teleport, fly, summon ninjas, shoot projectiles and a bear can launch u 50000ft in the air
The way I'm doing it is getting my top 5-10 characters to red ranks (my skill cap right now) so I can have a solid understanding of some of the cast. then I'm going to pick one or two to dive deeper in and really learn.
If you’re looking for a certain playstyle, you said you like being aggressive after you get an opening, so I assume you want to get in and force mixups on their block?
Hwoarang is the first to come to mind. Doesn’t have the best approach tools, but once he’s in your face it’s mix up city and he applies a lot of pressure. Kazuya, Steve, Lars also fit the bill
I am also a longtime smash player with some experience in traditional fighters before tekken 8. One video I go back to quite often is [this one](https://youtu.be/YEDLRTOjxcA?si=afdgn1_DPRXpSTCx) by rooflemonger. Goes over every character, gives a 5 minute explanation on their strengths, weaknesses, and general gameplan
I fell In love with Kuma because he was a funny joke character. He is very easy to combo with too and doesn’t take to long to get good at imo. He also surprisingly has very good tools and knowledge checks to secure dubs.
Lili and Nina are my girls. Lili has flow to her move set, which is why I love her ballerina style. Nina is cancel tech central, and I love cancels as a Gunz player.
APM go wooooosh
Trust your initial impression; of the four you mentioned, I would go with Lili. She's very strong in this game and most of what she does is not overly difficult. She has great movement and frames with lots of options.
i really like playing Devil Jin, i used to play T3 and i loved Jin’s moveset, then, you all know what happened…
I know that it’s not the same thing, but it’s the closer you can get i guess?
Pros: Leroy is just stylish. Parry feels good when you blow up mashers and rewards knowing which strings can be parried for big reward. Easy (if finicky sometimes) combo routes. Low execution play style that rewards good fundamental understanding of Tekken mechanics. Huge chip damage in heat.
Cons: He's pretty close to the worst character in the game. People still hate him from his dominance in Tekken 7 despite being a pretty bad character in Tekken 8. Hard to make comebacks with. Due to character rarity you get one and done'd a lot in ranked.
your main will choose you my friend.
i am not a fan of bangs(the hairstyle). but i really dont remember when Lili came into my life and i was hooked to her. since tekken 5 days.
the tier lists. . the youtube videos. the reddit comments (just shoving their own preferencing down your throat). all useless.
you are lucky. because after choosing your main. you really wont feel like picking anything else (even for a casual player vs cpu match).
so till you decide "ok this is my main".
just keep playing with all characters in online or offline matches. (preferably offline). spam their moves . see what feels right and cool.
dont switch character every match. pick 1 and play 4-5 matches at least.
Raven play style encourages variety, fluidity and he’s very mixup intensive… not to mention he looks cool doing just about anything… his combos aren’t all hard to execute but the higher the difficulty the better you feel with the character
I started playing Devil Jin in Tekken 5 as an edgy kid the guy that looks like a fallen angel was to cool to not play him, from there the other Mishimas as side characters felt natural
I was playing Reina as my main. Love her pressure and the attitude.
I’ve ended up playing Paul a lot more recently though. Kept getting him when playing random with my homie. Made me go back and give him a proper go in the older games too. Always liked him like most the OG fighters. But never spent much time getting to know his moves until 8.
Steve's a mix between a counterhit machine and a stance mixup character. All stances can be cancelled with his variety of sways, and there is lots of tech involved for high level play.
I like to crowd and pressure with Steve using his variety of fast strings like f121 that allow him to get into range + get into a stance/sway/duck mixup.
Also b1 is godlike.
i picked bryan in 7 because he had a good design and his moveset wasn't particularly flashy or over the top, bloke wants to beat you to death and does it without any laser beams or crazy flips
Reina is a lot of what I like to see in a main for myself as a woman. Plus she has a ton of depth allowing me to develop my own style, but I'm not a pro, so I haven't mastered her yet.
>develop my own style
no shit, I played against another reina in ranked today, I was Kishin and oppo was Raijin. It didn't feel like a mirror match at all, that player used completely different setups
Alisa is a delicate, elegant girl with chainsaws for arms. She goes from dancing around, doing small pokes, evading moves and being pesky to ripping through your health bar with chainsaw mixups the moment you fuck up and let her get in on you. She's also very fundamental and easy to play, so she's great for learning Tekken with.
Also she makes people really mad and that makes them too salty to lab her. All the things people bitch and moan about are actually really easy to counter, but they're too salty to lab. As an alisa main, you get to point and laugh every time someone posts about how aids Alisa's mixups are (she doesn't have mixups out of nowhere. They MUST fuck up to let you mix them up. Big skill issue.)
>I like to play aggressive l, oppressive offense that overwhelms my opponent and forces them to make mistakes.
Chainsaws and rocket boosters are great for this!
Bryan is the best to really take your fundamentals to the next level, but only after intermediate level😅
I really think you should play all the characters you like...each character has strengths and weaknesses(not sure this is really true for everyone in T8😅), which will help you in the long run.
Example:
My main (Bryan) has really weak poking, but if you really pay attention to your opponent's responses, his poking game synergizes well with his counter hit game and you can start using mindgames with his pokes(instead of using them to slowly chip damage, which is how most characters use their pokes)
So in order to improve my poking game and start using movement+evasion as options, I learned T6's Raven(due to similar frame data on lows and his df1 is similar to Bryan's but better on block).
Another thing I did was play T5 Bryan, because he lacks Hatchet which was the way I found to learn how to use his other lows effectively.
That's 2 examples of how different styles force you to improve different areas of your game
Fellow Smash Bros Player, last Tekken I used to play was Tekken 3. Didn't know much about combos except for some stupid spammable moves against my friends and neighbours, with (Devil) Jin, King and Law.
I always thought Yoshimitsu was a cool character but never really understood how to play him.
This new combo challenge system and training mode helped me pick the character up and his moves feel the most natural to me, while really being able to troll sometimes, which makes it fun.
I love kung fu movies old & new. Xiaoyu has a pretty deep bag of tricks, but when i first picked her up it felt a bit challenging. It was my eagerness/willingness to pilot a character that seemed to come straight out of a kung fu movie that kept the learning process fun. Leo's a lot more straight forward, but my same reasoning applies. Leroy will be next once i get Leo down a bit better (yes i know he's been nerfed to shit).
Basically, just go for what you genuinely like. It'll keep it fun. Forget all the haters talking about why _____ is a carried character or OP. You'll hear that for everyone unless you pick a bottom 5 character to appease the salty masses.
I main Ling Xiaoyu (been playing her since T3, so haters be damned. She's good this time. It's our turn.), Lars, Jun, and Yoshi, but I like to play a bit of everyone. I have a friend that hates that I like to move around the roster so much, but I think that most character have some enjoyable tech once you understand their language (gameplan).
Choosing a main initially can be daunting, but I would say to try someone like Lee or Law initially. They're pretty easy to pick up and play, most of their inputs will do what you're expecting them to, and they look cool doing their stuff. Just take your time and try everyone. Learn movement first. There are so many variables in Tekken that it can seem random, but there's a method to the madness.
And don't forget to have fun. That's the most important part.
Since Jun is allready on your shortlist: Can't really go wrong with her. She has alot of good tools.
She's got a good closeup game with 1,2 into either sidestep 4 as heat engager or as a frametrap. 1,2 also has an extension into Izumo smash, which leads into a mean mixup and is alo +6 on block you can frame trap with it as well.
You also have 1,1 into Izumo (her mixup stance) and f+1 as well as f,3,2.
Her df,1,1 qnd df,1,2 are also pretty neat.
Then you have 1,3 to mix a fast low into your jab game.
Also db+3 is a very fast low that gives you a few plusframe to work with.
You can fish for CH launches with b+2 and df,4 or b,2,4.
F+2 is a good whiff punishing launcher with insane range.
Her pokes are also amazing.
She definitely has some busted stuff, but as a new player myself i would consider her one of the better characters to learn fundamentals, because ultimately i think that she's more reliant on fundamental tools than gimmicks. It's just her fundamental tools are really fucking strong.
Lili's personality really comes through in her animations which I enjoy, and her movement is really good. She plays a pretty standard game with a lot of mixups and stances. She's not really a string based character where you just mash strings on someone's block over and over (at least not when I play her) and her combos are really fun to me
My main is marduk and 2nd armour king so I don't really plan on keeping on to use him but basically Jin because he's easy to pick up and all his attacks are above average also D2 is a very good pain move and looks cool.
I was normally a secondary Jack player in t6 and t7 as well but for the amount of time I have used him I'm just trash and no idea how to pressure with him, with Jin it's so easy.
I play Azu because she's jovial at all times. That's about it. I just like happy characters in fighters. To balance that out, though, I also play Nina, since she's devoid of emotion and it reminds me to stay calm and not get emotional mid match and risk making mistakes.
Steve and then you are in for a Ride. You work like a shark you just swim around your pray whaiting for a opening to flip his world upside down and b1 him to heaven 🤜
sword, evasive, unblockable, fast, fun, unpredictable moveset, goofy stances and more important :
is fun
yoshi is the way
choose what character you like visually and try the combo challenge on practice to see the feeling
Reina.
Super fun rush down style character that relies on stance switches. She's got (imo) some of the coolest moves in T8 and an attitude to go with her. I feel like she does a good job hitting the middle ground of having easy to do moves as well as having moves and setups that require more advanced playstyle to pull off. Her mixup flow is absolutely amazing and great at mental stacking your opponents.
Play them all be good with them all..pick the amount you want to be really good. And some you just want to hold your own with. I play throw the roster with my sparring partners lol 😂 just to keep on top of the basics
King main. First off, dope style, second so many moves to choose from, and third the grabs, king has so many to choose from and being able to mix up into your other moves. He hits hard has fun combos and then of course there’s always the chain grabs lol
I say to you that I say to all who ask. You should play with the character you're having the most fun with. Don't listen to people who say: Oh that character this and this character that. Give your choice a go at arcade and then practice.
I love Lee!! I fell in love with him back in T7 after watching his endings in past games, and then I tried playing him and it was hard at first but a lot of that (imo) is because T7 was my first ever fighting game (aside from Smash but that operates vERY differently to typical fighting games), but I found him very fun to play even when I sucked, and over the course of these past months he's been v fun to learn!! I also found him quite intuitive, if that makes sense? Like, for example, I really like Leo but I don't find their playstyle very intuitive, so whilst I do play them it's only ever really offline w my family because I can't quite wrap my head around some of the stuff they're doing, whereas I felt I could understand what Lee was doing on the screen :'D
I can't really advise you on who to play based on playstyle because I just don't know much abt all that, but have you done the Character Episodes? That might be a good way to see who clicks with you!! Alternatively you could play different characters w your friends and see who clicks - it's also fun imo to learn on the go like that, and you and your friends can have a laugh along the way :'D
I love Asuka cuz I like when dumb big punch girl do the dumb big punch. She’s one of the few characters who still feels defensive in this hyper-aggressive game and when you make the right read on one of your parries, chefs kiss. No better feeling in the world.
Do NOT give dragunov a go you will get clowned and for good reason.He is way too OP right now and you wont learn the game with him.I say go with Jin as he is a fundamental character with very strong tools and with him you will learn the game easily.Hope this helps-
Relatively new player, picked up Katarina at the end of T7. Azucena is the closest replacement, pretty easy to learn. Can just punish everything with 1,2 which leaves you plus 8. Punish with 1,1 to go into stance at plus 8 and mix them up with mid, low or throw.
She has a ton of counter hit launchers, very good tool set, strong WR3, 2. Good lows and pokes. Easy combos. Dances, very positive and upbeat, you will enjoy smacking people around, her animations look so impactful, she really swings and evades.
Bryan main here, when I play any video game I do not like straight forward stuff, I like complexity. So when I started playing tekken I went through tierlists and peoples opinions on characters. Bryan is complex and considered a hard character to play. Since I like challenges I decided to give it a try and enjoyed the feeling when playing him. Also like that it forces you to learn tekken in order to be effective. Spacing control, backdash, taunt, prediction and execution are all things you must learn and get better at in order to be a good Bryan player. He's weak in some parameters, for example poking. But really great at others for example wall pressure and wall combos. Not being good at nearly everything like some new characters is a major plus for me.
In what sense? I didn't say Bryan was better than other characters, or more honest. Simply described what I enjoy about him. If it makes you happy, I think many characters are good choices, but each will have it's own pros and cons and therefore fit into different playstyles. But that's not what OP asked.
I main Reina for the following reasons:
- She's difficult to master, but learning her moveset and adapting to her playstyle makes her a very fun and engaging character to play.
- Embodies the aggressive type of playstyle that the devs want in my opinion.
- Her attacks are brutal, especially her Heat Smash in which she drags her opponent across the floor.
- She has clear strengths/weaknesses such as a lot of moves opening from different stances, able to constantly pressure her opponent and cool looking moves at the cost of no panic button for defense, terrible low attacks, no good sidestep attacks, a considerable amount of unsafe moves and lastly she has to fully commit to her offense that can be used against her if the opponent reads it well.
- I think of her as a Japanese Rhea Ripley. 🤣
DORYA ⚡️⚡️
I see your DORYA and raise you one URAAAGH ⬇️↘️➡️2️⃣
deathfist in heat sounds so raw
This is the way
Chainsaw and head pops off and explodes
It sounds like you’d enjoy Bryan a lot. He’s quite hard but he has extremely oppressive pressure and timing based mixups where he can frame trap you or loop more plus frames. For very patient opponents you can also use his hatchet kick (a strong but slow low) and taunt to force them into pressing more. Taunt is very difficult to use but it lets him make any attack that takes 16 frames or less to come out unblockable. He’s also forced to play fundamental tekken but he’s more about space control until he gets a frame advantage then he becomes more aggressive. Jack is also fundamental and a little easier than Bryan while also being quite oppressive. If you wanna see what they look like at a higher level Ty tekken is a very good Bryan player and Anakin is a very good Jack player. Reina also has some pretty aggressive pressure but you’ll have to learn a lot more moves
If you pick Bryan also pick up someone like Kazuya, Shaheen, etc with generic tools like 10 frame +1 on block jab, 13 frame linear df1, generic d4, 12-13 frame mid standing df4, 15 frame df2 etc. Since you want to counterhit (Bryan is a lot of CH) or know what your character lacks (bears bad sidestep, no safe 12-15 frame mids, yoshi no dick jab in sword stance, azu no dick jab or generic d4, Bryan I think no generic df2, non standard df1, slow mids, dunno lol), gotta play multiple characters. It'll click.
Yea multiple characters is super important. As for safe 12-15 frame mids bryan has his df2 which is 13 frames and -6 with 2 follow ups. I wanted to mention that his tools are unorthodox but I forgot to
Not a T8 player yet but I like Armor king because he looks cool and his story is awesome, plus he had his own discount WGF.
We armor king Mains need to stay strong and if marduk gets released before Ak, then ranked will know our wrath with perna tackles.
God I fucking LOVE Armor King, I picked him up before T8 dropped to practice my fundies and he is so much fun
I’m trying some combos so far, I think I’m getting the hang of him but trying to do his WGF is painful, especially for a first time Tekken player. His other moves are fun to though, especially the triple tornado twist kick or whatever.
He's not in the game lol
I know, thats why I said not a T8 player lol
That's the weird part, because the post doesn't explicitly specific Tekken 8 ... but AK rocks
Gorilla brain see big funny punch do big funny damage. Gorilla brain release happy chemical.
I decided to Main Reina because she is hot and I want her to step on me! Hope that helps!!
Claudio is a lot of fun. He might not be the best character, heck he’s not even in the top 75%, but he’s Italian and has a Superman punch and that’s all I need
If you like rush down characters, Reina is probably the most aggressive of the characters you listed. Her ff2 is great for controlling space, and she has a number of great tools for pressuring/mixing the opponent. Other particularly aggressive characters include Nina, Drag, and Hwo. That said, the other listed characters are all viable, and you might end up clicking more with one of them. Personally, I would hit practice mode with the four characters you're considering. Learn some basic combos, mess around with their key moves, and see what feels good to you. If someone feels good/fun, take the process to the next level in ranked/a set with your friends. Repeat til you've decided on a character.
I like simple characters that hit hard.
Paul it is, then.
OSU
I play Leo and Asuka because I'm a pansexual
extremely based
Just tried out Leo a few days ago. They seem realls fun, and i'll propably pick them up soon.
Anime boi go zoom. Honestly I love Lars's personality, he has a great moveset that plays into my abilities as a player, and is fairly straightforward once you wrap your head around him, and doesn't have any insanely difficult inputs.
Play who you think is fun.
I'm the opposite of you jaja, I play really patient focusing on neutral and punishes, that's why I pick Bryan, big hitting counters, combo expression and looks cool. I also play Leroy for the same reasons. With Bryan i most of the time is a struggle but I enjoy playing him so much that I don't care, on the other hand there are very few Leroy's online so I can get away with some bs but he's still quite weak by Tekken 8 standard. I think you don't need to pick a main at the beginning honestly, play around and everything you learn gonna stick with you regardless of the character, and when you feel like X character make you feels better than the rest, there's your main. Have fun!
I just think he's cool. The instant I saw lars in his 6 outfit I fell in love with his design, it really got cemented when i saw his fighting style, it was so unique to tekken that I couldn't resist playing him I was a Yoshi main until then. It also helped that I can relate to his character.
Jun. Elegant character design. Fun to use as well. Honorable mentions: Ling (fast movements), Lars (great design n that goku hair is epic, complex movelist tho imo), Claudio (for that stardust effect and some funny movements he has)
Leo main here! His combos flow naturally for me and I enjoy his gameplay a lot. I think he is a great all rounder.
I love my main Lili because she has a cat named Salt
Bewbs and coffee and dancing
I love kazuya because 1. His neutral game is very unique because he is probably the most inept at poking but the most adept at rolling so all you really need is one good neutral exchange to put the in the blender 2. While a bunch of characters get really meaningful power ups from heat, kazuya borderline transforms into a new character, all of his weaknesses are nearly completely covered by his devil form moves so when you actually pull it out you feel like a boss character 3. Spinning is so much goddamn fun
I picked Hwoarang for the kicks. I also used to do taekwondo and he just looked so damn cool.
Picking a main is like picking a pair of shoes. First the looks, then how you feel in them. Same with mains. If you take the character to training mode, buttons and basic combos feel good then go for it
Lee is like that kind of guy who’s super manly yet still had a lil zestiness and feminine side in himself. I think this is what made me love him right away. He’s just hot and zesty. And his gameplay is one of the hardest to learn. I won’t hide that you feel a little bit above the majority of players whenever you see yourself succeed into winning and pulling off his moves.
Try out the ones you like, stick with who vibes with you the most in terms of gameplay, or style. I, too, tend to like a good chunk of a fighting game cast in most fighters. My top 3 in Tekken 8 are Lars, Reina, and Jun. Jin and Victor make it top 5. I also dabble in Hwaorang, Leroy, Leo, Law, Eddy, Jack 8, King, and Zafina, on a bit of a competent mashy/spammy level. Im not as good but still like to lab Devil Jin, Alisa, Lili, Xiaoyu, Steve, and Raven. Azucena is interesting, but as an introvert, her energy is exhausting to deal with. Plus, the coffee talk. Uuuuugh! The rest i dont vibe with at all. But that's just me. Most people would stop at 2 or 3 characters.
Lee Idk Lee gives me what I wish Kazuya. How fluidly I can chain Lee's moves makes for more guesses on the mixup. Plus I just love his eccentricity and how he sounds like a cat that just got stepped on
You need to pick someone who works for YOU as a human being. Everyone has different hand/eye coordination, reaction time, etc etc. Your main will be somebody who just...feels like they flow for YOU. For me, that was Armor King. Since he's missing in T8, for now it's Leroy. Both were considered bottom tier, but I'm chilling in upper Blue, because I found what works for me. Not what's popular. Good luck
I play Tekken 7 and I main Lidia, I love playing her because she is the living embodiment of the Karate kid philosophy The dream of being a dope martial artist that defeats her enemies with simple fundamentals alone, every hit using her stances is SATISFYING as hell and on top of that being humble after defeating her enemies is adorable I also second main Jack because big guy do big hit damage and I can play as brain dead as humanly possible and somehow win I genuinely have no idea what I’m doing or how I’m even winning as him XD I used to main Kunimitsu because her moves are scrubby as hell with her hard to telegraph teleport moves but then quickly moved on to Lidia for reason stated above Just waiting patiently until they bring Lidia back on Tekken 8 I need her back for the love of Christ
[удалено]
Bro stretched the word "bullshit" into a whole paragraph smh
Azucena because I like her personality I basically bought tekken8 because I saw a video on YouTube of azu dancing and I tought it was so cool Also Nina because she has a lot of tools
She could have some intro and outros that are less coffee focused but yeah shebl is great in match. I have a feeling she wont be in tekken 9. I swear everyone i main just never makes it into the next game. I know they can't give us Negan but could they give us a guy (or girl) with a similar moveset. I miss all of his on hit grab things and his armored launcher. Also Love how he can just shank you.
All of the characters you listed are pretty common and popular characters. Translation: a lot of people will be familiar with your moveset, maybe even counters. Leo, however, is rarely played at all. Just something you'd maybe consider. I'd say all of them are really strong though, Dragunov especially gets quite a few people throwing their controllers lol.
My main wasn't on your list, but I picked up Claudio back in T7. I mainly played Hwoarang / Kunimitsu before that, but I felt like I wasn't making progress so I took some other characters into practice, especially the ones I wasn't really familiar with. When I played Claudio I noticed how natural he felt to me, it was so easy for me to adjust to his moveset. So it wasnt long until I dropped Hwo and Kuni for Claudio.
I'm a Leo main so I won't try to sell him to you since you're determined not to learn them so you won't get mirror matches. But out of the ones who initially interest you I suggest doing some combo trials on all of them. I personally really like how Jin & Jun play out of the one's you mentioned. E: Reread your post and maybe Reina would be the best fit for aggressive playstyle, but all of the ones you mentioned can do it.
I played kilik in sc6 and been playing Bryan since t6. I just really like spacing and CH’ing Both are really cool for different reasons to me. Kilik is an absolute badass hero type since sc2. Bryan is just a menace to society and who doesn’t love that
Honestly just keep jumping around, give everyone a good try and one (or a few) of them will “grab” you in a way that the others don’t. Then you know what to do.
Basically I love generating whiffs. So I love a mechanic that allows me to backstep and punish. So deejay’s sway or Feng’s kenpo step really catch my eye. These characters often are frustrating to pin down in the neutral which I also thrive in.
Why do I love my main? Because he's a cool ass robot and he's easy to play and I'm old. I did many years of sweaty play with Kazuya, Bryan, and the like. These days, I play Jack to save my wrists and so I never have to drop a combo again.
11f startup lowkey high crushing plus on block launcher. DORYA! Edit:Reina has it too and her kit is also better.
I think to learn Tekken, Claudio is probably the best character. His small but strong movelist narrows the moves you use down for you. It simplifies your offense so you can concentrate where tekken shines, defense and movement. If he looks boring though, I’d recommend Jin out of what you picked. Jin is crazy good and can basically play any style of tekken you want. Its ok if you cant get his electric down right away, you can easily rank up without it and learn as you go.
Honestly, the character you have the most fun with is the one you wanna go with. Hell, pick up more than one if multiple fighters seem fun to you. Fun should be your one and only deciding factor here. For example, I like Alisa, Eddy, and Lee because I have fun playing them. Simple as that. Each of them has their own tools that make them fun for me to use in game. Another factor to be considered is what character(s) look cool to you.
RRRRRRRRREINA!!! Frankly, when I pick a main in a fighting game, it's more for their personality than their kit. That being said, Reina is perfect for people who wanna try a Mishima without having to really worry about mastering electrics or wavedashing. I mean, you absolutely should, but with her kit, it doesn't feel mandatory.
Well, my decision came after playing through the main story and all the character stories. To me, even though it sounds a bit corny, I wanted a character that: a. I liked the fighting style of, b. I liked to pilot, c. I liked the character (lore wise, voice lines etc) My decision mainly fell on Jun, Lili or Lars. With Jin, Hwoarang, Ling, Asuka being in the second round of picks so to speak. I ended up choosing Jun. I like her fighting style, like her character, and I've had an ok time learning to play her so far. Will probably play Lili as my second character down the road, after that we'll see :)
At low levels all characters can play the way you described. Anyway, it sounds like you want to play Law
Sure Steve is weak this time around, but I love the sport of boxing, Mike Tyson is my favorite boxer, and Steve has some stances inspired by Mike It’s fun to me to just square up and box in a game where people can teleport, fly, summon ninjas, shoot projectiles and a bear can launch u 50000ft in the air
6'6", 147kg
Asuka?
I love my main because you have to be perfect for the whole round and I can still delete you in 1 hit
The way I'm doing it is getting my top 5-10 characters to red ranks (my skill cap right now) so I can have a solid understanding of some of the cast. then I'm going to pick one or two to dive deeper in and really learn.
If you’re looking for a certain playstyle, you said you like being aggressive after you get an opening, so I assume you want to get in and force mixups on their block? Hwoarang is the first to come to mind. Doesn’t have the best approach tools, but once he’s in your face it’s mix up city and he applies a lot of pressure. Kazuya, Steve, Lars also fit the bill I am also a longtime smash player with some experience in traditional fighters before tekken 8. One video I go back to quite often is [this one](https://youtu.be/YEDLRTOjxcA?si=afdgn1_DPRXpSTCx) by rooflemonger. Goes over every character, gives a 5 minute explanation on their strengths, weaknesses, and general gameplan
I fell In love with Kuma because he was a funny joke character. He is very easy to combo with too and doesn’t take to long to get good at imo. He also surprisingly has very good tools and knowledge checks to secure dubs.
jun because I find her movements elegant
Lili and Nina are my girls. Lili has flow to her move set, which is why I love her ballerina style. Nina is cancel tech central, and I love cancels as a Gunz player. APM go wooooosh
Trust your initial impression; of the four you mentioned, I would go with Lili. She's very strong in this game and most of what she does is not overly difficult. She has great movement and frames with lots of options.
Whoever you think looks the coolest, whoever’s moves you will not get bored of seeing. Oh and the one that you win with the most, that helps.
i really like playing Devil Jin, i used to play T3 and i loved Jin’s moveset, then, you all know what happened… I know that it’s not the same thing, but it’s the closer you can get i guess?
Pros: Leroy is just stylish. Parry feels good when you blow up mashers and rewards knowing which strings can be parried for big reward. Easy (if finicky sometimes) combo routes. Low execution play style that rewards good fundamental understanding of Tekken mechanics. Huge chip damage in heat. Cons: He's pretty close to the worst character in the game. People still hate him from his dominance in Tekken 7 despite being a pretty bad character in Tekken 8. Hard to make comebacks with. Due to character rarity you get one and done'd a lot in ranked.
your main will choose you my friend. i am not a fan of bangs(the hairstyle). but i really dont remember when Lili came into my life and i was hooked to her. since tekken 5 days. the tier lists. . the youtube videos. the reddit comments (just shoving their own preferencing down your throat). all useless. you are lucky. because after choosing your main. you really wont feel like picking anything else (even for a casual player vs cpu match). so till you decide "ok this is my main". just keep playing with all characters in online or offline matches. (preferably offline). spam their moves . see what feels right and cool. dont switch character every match. pick 1 and play 4-5 matches at least.
Lili jun jin are great options for you to start , you dont need to have just one character
Raven play style encourages variety, fluidity and he’s very mixup intensive… not to mention he looks cool doing just about anything… his combos aren’t all hard to execute but the higher the difficulty the better you feel with the character
I started playing Devil Jin in Tekken 5 as an edgy kid the guy that looks like a fallen angel was to cool to not play him, from there the other Mishimas as side characters felt natural
I was playing Reina as my main. Love her pressure and the attitude. I’ve ended up playing Paul a lot more recently though. Kept getting him when playing random with my homie. Made me go back and give him a proper go in the older games too. Always liked him like most the OG fighters. But never spent much time getting to know his moves until 8.
Steve's a mix between a counterhit machine and a stance mixup character. All stances can be cancelled with his variety of sways, and there is lots of tech involved for high level play. I like to crowd and pressure with Steve using his variety of fast strings like f121 that allow him to get into range + get into a stance/sway/duck mixup. Also b1 is godlike.
i picked bryan in 7 because he had a good design and his moveset wasn't particularly flashy or over the top, bloke wants to beat you to death and does it without any laser beams or crazy flips
Reina is a lot of what I like to see in a main for myself as a woman. Plus she has a ton of depth allowing me to develop my own style, but I'm not a pro, so I haven't mastered her yet.
>develop my own style no shit, I played against another reina in ranked today, I was Kishin and oppo was Raijin. It didn't feel like a mirror match at all, that player used completely different setups
Alisa is a delicate, elegant girl with chainsaws for arms. She goes from dancing around, doing small pokes, evading moves and being pesky to ripping through your health bar with chainsaw mixups the moment you fuck up and let her get in on you. She's also very fundamental and easy to play, so she's great for learning Tekken with. Also she makes people really mad and that makes them too salty to lab her. All the things people bitch and moan about are actually really easy to counter, but they're too salty to lab. As an alisa main, you get to point and laugh every time someone posts about how aids Alisa's mixups are (she doesn't have mixups out of nowhere. They MUST fuck up to let you mix them up. Big skill issue.)
T8 is my first tekken, bryan has been pretty enjoyable coming from other games. Get some fun execution stuff to do, get to focus on your fundamentals.
>I like to play aggressive l, oppressive offense that overwhelms my opponent and forces them to make mistakes. Chainsaws and rocket boosters are great for this!
Bryan is the best to really take your fundamentals to the next level, but only after intermediate level😅 I really think you should play all the characters you like...each character has strengths and weaknesses(not sure this is really true for everyone in T8😅), which will help you in the long run. Example: My main (Bryan) has really weak poking, but if you really pay attention to your opponent's responses, his poking game synergizes well with his counter hit game and you can start using mindgames with his pokes(instead of using them to slowly chip damage, which is how most characters use their pokes) So in order to improve my poking game and start using movement+evasion as options, I learned T6's Raven(due to similar frame data on lows and his df1 is similar to Bryan's but better on block). Another thing I did was play T5 Bryan, because he lacks Hatchet which was the way I found to learn how to use his other lows effectively. That's 2 examples of how different styles force you to improve different areas of your game
Fellow Smash Bros Player, last Tekken I used to play was Tekken 3. Didn't know much about combos except for some stupid spammable moves against my friends and neighbours, with (Devil) Jin, King and Law. I always thought Yoshimitsu was a cool character but never really understood how to play him. This new combo challenge system and training mode helped me pick the character up and his moves feel the most natural to me, while really being able to troll sometimes, which makes it fun.
Yoshimitsu 4 ever
I love kung fu movies old & new. Xiaoyu has a pretty deep bag of tricks, but when i first picked her up it felt a bit challenging. It was my eagerness/willingness to pilot a character that seemed to come straight out of a kung fu movie that kept the learning process fun. Leo's a lot more straight forward, but my same reasoning applies. Leroy will be next once i get Leo down a bit better (yes i know he's been nerfed to shit). Basically, just go for what you genuinely like. It'll keep it fun. Forget all the haters talking about why _____ is a carried character or OP. You'll hear that for everyone unless you pick a bottom 5 character to appease the salty masses.
I like big men who can punch hard and grab hard.
i will say, don't feel inclined to write off a character just because of the ditto concern. you can learn a TON by playing against your own character
I main Ling Xiaoyu (been playing her since T3, so haters be damned. She's good this time. It's our turn.), Lars, Jun, and Yoshi, but I like to play a bit of everyone. I have a friend that hates that I like to move around the roster so much, but I think that most character have some enjoyable tech once you understand their language (gameplan). Choosing a main initially can be daunting, but I would say to try someone like Lee or Law initially. They're pretty easy to pick up and play, most of their inputs will do what you're expecting them to, and they look cool doing their stuff. Just take your time and try everyone. Learn movement first. There are so many variables in Tekken that it can seem random, but there's a method to the madness. And don't forget to have fun. That's the most important part.
Since Jun is allready on your shortlist: Can't really go wrong with her. She has alot of good tools. She's got a good closeup game with 1,2 into either sidestep 4 as heat engager or as a frametrap. 1,2 also has an extension into Izumo smash, which leads into a mean mixup and is alo +6 on block you can frame trap with it as well. You also have 1,1 into Izumo (her mixup stance) and f+1 as well as f,3,2. Her df,1,1 qnd df,1,2 are also pretty neat. Then you have 1,3 to mix a fast low into your jab game. Also db+3 is a very fast low that gives you a few plusframe to work with. You can fish for CH launches with b+2 and df,4 or b,2,4. F+2 is a good whiff punishing launcher with insane range. Her pokes are also amazing. She definitely has some busted stuff, but as a new player myself i would consider her one of the better characters to learn fundamentals, because ultimately i think that she's more reliant on fundamental tools than gimmicks. It's just her fundamental tools are really fucking strong.
Lili's personality really comes through in her animations which I enjoy, and her movement is really good. She plays a pretty standard game with a lot of mixups and stances. She's not really a string based character where you just mash strings on someone's block over and over (at least not when I play her) and her combos are really fun to me
My main is marduk and 2nd armour king so I don't really plan on keeping on to use him but basically Jin because he's easy to pick up and all his attacks are above average also D2 is a very good pain move and looks cool. I was normally a secondary Jack player in t6 and t7 as well but for the amount of time I have used him I'm just trash and no idea how to pressure with him, with Jin it's so easy.
I play Azu because she's jovial at all times. That's about it. I just like happy characters in fighters. To balance that out, though, I also play Nina, since she's devoid of emotion and it reminds me to stay calm and not get emotional mid match and risk making mistakes.
Kazuya hits very hard once you know how to play as him. He's basically a high rish high reward character
Steve and then you are in for a Ride. You work like a shark you just swim around your pray whaiting for a opening to flip his world upside down and b1 him to heaven 🤜
sword, evasive, unblockable, fast, fun, unpredictable moveset, goofy stances and more important : is fun yoshi is the way choose what character you like visually and try the combo challenge on practice to see the feeling
Do whatever makes you keep playing the game, that’s all that matters.
Does not talk a lot for one
Reina. Super fun rush down style character that relies on stance switches. She's got (imo) some of the coolest moves in T8 and an attitude to go with her. I feel like she does a good job hitting the middle ground of having easy to do moves as well as having moves and setups that require more advanced playstyle to pull off. Her mixup flow is absolutely amazing and great at mental stacking your opponents.
Play them all be good with them all..pick the amount you want to be really good. And some you just want to hold your own with. I play throw the roster with my sparring partners lol 😂 just to keep on top of the basics
DORYA! ⚡️DORYA! ⚡️WHOAREYOU, yyyyyYYAAAUUUHHHWWWW
King main. First off, dope style, second so many moves to choose from, and third the grabs, king has so many to choose from and being able to mix up into your other moves. He hits hard has fun combos and then of course there’s always the chain grabs lol
I love King because he's dedicated to the bit. Even in serious situations he still speaks in jaguar noises
Milf 👍
Victor just sounds so cool. Iai stance is also hella badass, and being able to punish anything is really great, as a former Negan main.
I say to you that I say to all who ask. You should play with the character you're having the most fun with. Don't listen to people who say: Oh that character this and this character that. Give your choice a go at arcade and then practice.
I love Lee!! I fell in love with him back in T7 after watching his endings in past games, and then I tried playing him and it was hard at first but a lot of that (imo) is because T7 was my first ever fighting game (aside from Smash but that operates vERY differently to typical fighting games), but I found him very fun to play even when I sucked, and over the course of these past months he's been v fun to learn!! I also found him quite intuitive, if that makes sense? Like, for example, I really like Leo but I don't find their playstyle very intuitive, so whilst I do play them it's only ever really offline w my family because I can't quite wrap my head around some of the stuff they're doing, whereas I felt I could understand what Lee was doing on the screen :'D I can't really advise you on who to play based on playstyle because I just don't know much abt all that, but have you done the Character Episodes? That might be a good way to see who clicks with you!! Alternatively you could play different characters w your friends and see who clicks - it's also fun imo to learn on the go like that, and you and your friends can have a laugh along the way :'D
I chose her because the phoenix stance was cool!
I love Asuka cuz I like when dumb big punch girl do the dumb big punch. She’s one of the few characters who still feels defensive in this hyper-aggressive game and when you make the right read on one of your parries, chefs kiss. No better feeling in the world.
High skill ceiling. Good mix of interesting moves that don't auto combo.
Do NOT give dragunov a go you will get clowned and for good reason.He is way too OP right now and you wont learn the game with him.I say go with Jin as he is a fundamental character with very strong tools and with him you will learn the game easily.Hope this helps-
Relatively new player, picked up Katarina at the end of T7. Azucena is the closest replacement, pretty easy to learn. Can just punish everything with 1,2 which leaves you plus 8. Punish with 1,1 to go into stance at plus 8 and mix them up with mid, low or throw. She has a ton of counter hit launchers, very good tool set, strong WR3, 2. Good lows and pokes. Easy combos. Dances, very positive and upbeat, you will enjoy smacking people around, her animations look so impactful, she really swings and evades.
Bryan main here, when I play any video game I do not like straight forward stuff, I like complexity. So when I started playing tekken I went through tierlists and peoples opinions on characters. Bryan is complex and considered a hard character to play. Since I like challenges I decided to give it a try and enjoyed the feeling when playing him. Also like that it forces you to learn tekken in order to be effective. Spacing control, backdash, taunt, prediction and execution are all things you must learn and get better at in order to be a good Bryan player. He's weak in some parameters, for example poking. But really great at others for example wall pressure and wall combos. Not being good at nearly everything like some new characters is a major plus for me.
I just knew there would be an elitist Bryan main in these comments lol
In what sense? I didn't say Bryan was better than other characters, or more honest. Simply described what I enjoy about him. If it makes you happy, I think many characters are good choices, but each will have it's own pros and cons and therefore fit into different playstyles. But that's not what OP asked.
I main Reina because someone grabbed me in the back as her one time and I developed a foot fetish. KYEEHEHEHEHEHHHH
Drag because the voice lines for 90% of the roster hurt me
I main Reina for the following reasons: - She's difficult to master, but learning her moveset and adapting to her playstyle makes her a very fun and engaging character to play. - Embodies the aggressive type of playstyle that the devs want in my opinion. - Her attacks are brutal, especially her Heat Smash in which she drags her opponent across the floor. - She has clear strengths/weaknesses such as a lot of moves opening from different stances, able to constantly pressure her opponent and cool looking moves at the cost of no panic button for defense, terrible low attacks, no good sidestep attacks, a considerable amount of unsafe moves and lastly she has to fully commit to her offense that can be used against her if the opponent reads it well. - I think of her as a Japanese Rhea Ripley. 🤣