Tekken 7 Beginner's Guide

Basic Moves in Tekken 7

You can’t go anywhere in fighting games without attacks. Let’s learn how to deal damage!
And let's start with controlling!
There are four attack buttons in the game for each limb of the character:

Left arm :
Right arm :
Left leg :
Right leg :

Basic attacks are divided into three groups - it is quite important to know where attacks of your fighter land.
There are three types of attacks in Tekken 7:

Low attacks : inflict damage to standing and crouching opponents. They cannot be blocked in a standing position - the block against low attacks works if you crouch.
Mid attacks : inflict damage on standing and crouching opponents. It cannot be blocked when you're crouching - the block against mid attacks works in a standing position.
High attacks : inflict damage on standing opponents but can't hit crouching opponents. It can be blocked while standing.

While practicing with your character, pay attention to the distance between fighters - how far this or that attack can reach. It is better not to hit the air because your fighter becomes vulnerable for a while.

Movement in Tekken 7

Attack in Tekken 7

In order to learn how to attack in Tekken 7, first of all, you need to control your character properly. This will be the first step towards improving your attacks. You will be essentially required to learn and memorize the most effective tools at your disposal – pokes, strings, combos. But it’s also of paramount importance to know not only how to execute your moves but when.
One of the better ways to learn this is to memorize the frame data of your moves. You could either get the in-game DLC that costs a couple of dollars or, alternatively, use any of the online resources.

Another important aspect is matchup knowledge. More often than not, this comes with experience because you can’t really sit down and memorize the frame advantages of all the roster.
After you’ve familiarized yourself with your character, you need to decide which fighting style is right for you. You can play aggressively, immediately seizing the initiative in battle. Pressuring your opponent into mistiming his blocks or whiffing counters is a very valid and viable strategy for many fighters.

Or you can also opt to fight defensively. Then your task is to poke with ranged attacks and quick opportunistic strings. For example, playing as Akuma, you can launch fireballs. In this case, maintain a distance between your opponent and yourself with the help of backdashing or dodging.
Make sure to note that sometimes, depending on the opponent, you will need to adjust and choose your fighting style accordingly.

Combos in Tekken 7

To perform much more powerful attacks, you should use combos or a series of attacks - press specific buttons at specific moments. Learning combos, which includes chaining the types of attacks, is important in the initial stages of the game. They allow you to take the enemy by surprise: a quick switch from low to medium attacks and vice versa will let you go through the enemy's defense and cause severe damage.
You can see the list of combos (moves) in the game. The list is quite impressive - you don't have to learn them all. Between 10 and 15 combos, the most effective for you, will be enough.

Beginners can use the Assist Button that activates automatic combos - press the attack buttons while holding L1 (PlayStation) or LB (Xbox). This may be a good feature for casual players.

The Rage System in Tekken 7

Tekken also has a built-in attack boost available to every character – Rage Art / Rage Drive. They can be activated when the character's health is close to zero. These attacks have special power and can be activated with one button or a combination. This is a very helpful boost and can serve as a Hail Mary to try to turn the tide of the battle.

Rage Art is a super powerful hit, able to cancel the opponent's combo; it comes with a cinematic animation;

Rage Drive is more effective but also more complicated. It would be better to practice it with your character.

Defense in Tekken 7

Tekken 7 is essentially a two-way street. Your offense, in many ways, determines how well you defend and vice-versa. If you whiff all the time, go for unsafe launchers or lose many 50/50s, no amount of guessing on blocks will save you from punishment. And if you eat every mixup and can’t break throws, you won’t even get a chance to attack.

The most important attribute, if you don’t have godlike natural reflexes, is to know your matchups. Of course, this is a steep requirement for a beginner, but don’t worry, as it all comes with practice and experience. The more you play against or as certain characters, the more their most dangerous moves become ingrained in your mind. To build the necessary baseline skills, you could also hit up the training mode and practice against the Computer.

When playing against a rela player, don’t risk using unsafe moves or risky hit confirms if you’re not sure how skilled your opponent is. Go for the safer options available to you. Once you’re better at the game in general, you can start anticipating the attacks based on your intuition or educated guesses.

Blocking in Tekken 7

Blocking in Tekken 7 is the cornerstone of defensive play. It completely negates the damage you would have received otherwise, and in many cases, allows you to start your own offensive movements.
There are two types of blocks in Tekken 7 – standing and crouching. Standing guard is effective against mid and high attacks, while crouching will defend you from the low ones. There is also a neutral guard that’s virtually identical to standing but is performed automatically without the player’s input. It’s inadvisable to rely on neutral guard to block.

Standing Guard : press .
Crouching Guard : press .
Neutral Guard : automatic , no inputs required.

The importance of block can’t be overstated. Every attacking move in Tekken 7 has animations - windup and cooldown time measured in frames. The latter differs between landing a hit on the opponent and the move being blocked. Many powerful abilities are unsafe on block – they have a cooldown time longer than a windup time of the opponent’s own move. This is another aspect of Tekken 7 that you can get better at with experience. Frame data and matchup knowledge can be invaluable tools to achieve victories.
A successful block is something that can help you save the game in Tekken 7 when your health is near zero. You block the last hit or stop your opponent's combo, which was supposed to be the final one, and then gather your strength and start your combo series and win! Now back to the beginning - blocking.

Throw breaking in Tekken 7

Throws in Tekken 7 are designed to keep defending players honest. They can’t be blocked, so a defending player has to be constantly aware of them. There is, however, a remedy for them. Previously in the Tekken games, you had to match the input of the grab the opponent was performing. In the seventh installment, you only need to press or to escape their clutches.

However, this is only applicable to the standard throws, not specialized ones that some characters have on , for example. Those still need to be matched to be escaped from. There are some character-specific recommendations on what button to use against whom, but this also becomes internal knowledge with more experience.

General defense tips in Tekken 7

Seize the initiative immediately. This way, you minimize the need to be good at defense. Pressure your opponent, mix them up, don’t let them breathe. But make sure you know what you’re doing; otherwise, the punishment will be swift.

Make sure to utilize the backdash and sidestep. Don’t just stand there and block. Minus frames on block are good, but they are even better on whiffs. Don’t trust neutral guard; you will be mixed up and turned into mincemeat. Be proactive even when blocking.

Learn the patterns of your opponent. Condition them to expect one thing from you, and then serve them something entirely different.