Frame data
The word "frame" is used to represent the smallest unit of time in the game. In SF6 and most fighting games, one frame is 1/60 of a second, since the game runs at 60 frames per second. Every action a character takes, like walking, jumping, attacking, or blocking, can be measured in terms of frames. Frames are often abbreviated with the letter "f", as in 60f = 60 frames.
As an example, if Chun-Li has a backdash with a duration of 25 frames, this is equal to 25/60 or 5/12 of a second in real time. If you have a 5 frame window to input a combo link, this is a timing window of 5/60 or 1/12 of a second to properly time the combo.
When one character makes contact with another, both will be "stuck" for some period of time. Usually, one character will be able to act again before the opponent has fully recovered; this situation is referred to as "Frame Advantage" (or more specifically Hit Advantage, Block Advantage, Knockdown Advantage, etc). Frame Advantage is represented with a plus or minus sign; +3 means the character can act 3 frames before the opponent, while -6 means the opponent can act 6 frames before you; 0 indicates a neutral advantage where both characters can act simultaneously.
Move Stages
Keeping in mind that all actions are measured in frames, moves can be further divided into phases called Startup, Active, and Recovery. Knowing the definition of each will make it much easier to interpret Frame Data.
- Startup: The beginning portion of an attack before it can hit the opponent; think "winding up for a punch"
- Active: The portion of an attack that can hit or grab the opponent
- Recovery: The ending portion of an attack that can no longer connect with the opponent, and the attacker is unable to perform any other action such as blocking.
It's important to note that in modern Street Fighter games, Startup is measured to also include the first Active frame (known as FAF or First Active Frame startup). This is done to make it easier to understand which moves can be used in combos and in punishes (e.g. a move with +5 Advantage combos into a move with 5 frame startup; a move with 7 frame startup can punish a move with -7 Disadvantage). This means that if you want to know the total frame count of an attack, you should add Startup + Active + Recovery frames and then subtract 1 to account for that overlap.
Many older games use "True Startup", in which Startup and Active frames are completely separate; an attack that hits on frame 3 is considered to have 2 frames of Startup. Keep this in mind if comparing frame data between different games.
Hitstun/Blockstun/Hitstop
When you land an attack, the opponent gets "stuck" for a fixed amount of time from the impact.
- Hitstun - the opponent is stuck in a reeling animation from the hit. Any followup attack that connects while the opponent is stuck in hitstun results in a combo.
- Blockstun - the opponent is stuck in a blocking pose. Causing the opponent to block a series of attacks is a blockstring; if the opponent never exits blockstun, it is a true blockstring.
- Hitstop - also known as "Hit Freeze"; time essentially stops for both characters, making a move feel more impactful. Heavier attacks have longer hitstop, and some Punish Counters with special effects can have extra long hitstop. In addition to making the hits look more natural, hitstop helps to give players time to input a special move cancel and hitconfirm followup attacks.
Priority Systems
Hit Priority
Street Fighter 6 does not use a normal priority system for attacks like the one found in SFV. This means that any two attacks that collide on the same frame will cause a "trade", unless one of the attacks has invincibility frames. Both hits will be considered a Counterhit, and the usual effects (hitstun, knockdown) will apply depending on the attack. Unlike most previous SF titles, strikes actually have priority over throws when they collide on the same frame. This makes tick throw pressure slightly worse in situations where a character has very slight frame advantage.
Projectile Priority
In most Street Fighter games, projectiles have a specific number of hits, with EX moves or Supers usually having more hits than meterless ones. When they would collide, the projectiles would clash hits, and the fireball with more hits would continue onward after subtracting the number of clashed hits.
In Street Fighter 6, clashing projectiles are now subject to a priority system. The general rule is Super Art > OD Projectile > Meterless Projectile. Projectiles of the same priority will clash in the same way as previous games. When a higher priority projectile clashes with a lower priority projectile, it will still be slowed down by the clash, but will not lose any hits in the process.
As an example, Guile can create a meterless 2-hit projectile with Sonic Blade into Sonic Cross. If he uses this against Ryu's 2-hit OD Hadoken, the fireballs will clash twice before the Hadoken continues, retaining both of its hits. If Guile throws out five Sonic Break projectiles during his Lv.2 Super, Ryu's OD Hadoken would clash with each one individually with the same end result.
Luke's Flash Knuckle has the ability to clash with projectiles, and is considered to be at the lowest (meterless) priority. Against a meterless projectile, Luke can cancel the clash into his Lv.3 Super, but this cancel is impossible when clashing with a higher priority projectile.
Move Input Priority
When multiple inputs are entered on the same frame, the game will use this priority list to determine what move comes out. Moves that are higher on this list take precedence over moves below:
TO-DO
Standing/Crouching Hurtboxes
In some previous Street Fighter games, it took a few frames for a character's hurtbox to shift when transitioning from standing to crouching. It was possible to land meaty attacks on crouch blocking opponents that normally whiff on crouchers (e.g. Sagat's High Tiger Shot) due to the forced standing frames on wakeup, and the only way to circumvent this was to wake up with an immediate crouching attack to force a crouching state. Making an opponent stand block a jump-in attack could also make them vulnerable to an instant "fuzzy overhead" attack if they attempt to crouch block immediately, leading to crucial 50/50 guesses at the end of a round.
In Street Fighter 6, there is still technically a transition period between standing and crouching, with the hurtbox fully shifting on the 5th frame. However, entering proximity guard from an attack's startup allows the defender to skip these transition frames. As a result, it is no longer possible to meaty a crouch blocking opponent with attacks that whiff on crouchers, like Ryu 5HK or Cammy 4HK.
Note: SF6 Training Mode does not accurately reflect this scenario if you attempt instant overheads or meaty high attacks on a crouching dummy. This is because when the dummy is set to Crouch + Block All, it is not actually holding Down + Back; instead, it is holding straight Down, then automatically blocking on the final possible frame. Thus, it never enters proximity guard to shift its hurtbox.
Instant Overheads still exist, but they require the opponent to be stuck in blockstun long enough for the jump attack to connect. This is especially notable for Juri, as many people have labbed setups involving instant j.MP > j.214KK that do not actually work in practice. The only way to set up a fuzzy overhead into j.MP is to connect a deep heavy jump-in against a burned out opponent.
When attempting to Parry from a crouching state, the hurtbox remains in a crouching position for the first 2 frames. This means that you cannot automatically Perfect Parry an attack that whiffs on crouchers by simply tapping parry during the move's active frames; instead, you will stand on frame 3 and perform a normal Parry if the attack still has any remaining active frames. This also means that attempting to Perfect Parry certain air attacks (e.g. E. Honda's Sumo Smash) requires a different timing when input from a standing or crouching position.
Recoverable HP
Being hit by a Drive Reversal or absorbing an attack with Armor causes the character to take recoverable damage (or "gray damage/gray life"). Upon taking recoverable damage, a cooldown timer of 120 frames begins, after which point the HP will be restored at a rate of 2HP per frame. For example, a 500 damage Drive Reversal would take 370f total to recover upon impact (120f cooldown + 250f recovery, or 6.17 seconds). Taking real damage will cause any accumulated recoverable HP to be lost. If the gray damage would cause the character's HP to reach 0, a KO will occur; this means that armor cannot be used defensively at low health.
Damage Scaling
As more hits are used in a combo, the damage of each successive attack is reduced. This system, known as "damage scaling", allows longer combos to exist without being overwhelmingly powerful. Most extended combo sequences require the use of Drive or Super meter, so the tradeoff of lower marginal damage adds complexity to the decision of whether or not to spend those resources. Note that Drive Gauge and Super Gauge do not scale the meter gain in combos.
The main types of damage scaling in SF6 are:
- Starter Scaling: When starting a combo with this move, the followup is scaled by x%
- In frame data, written as "applies a x% damage scaling penalty to the next hit when used as a combo starter"
- Combo Scaling: When a move is comboed into, the followup is scaled by x%
- In frame data, may be written as "applies a x% damage scaling penalty to the next hit when comboed into" or "counts as 2 hits of scaling when comboed into"
- Immediate Scaling: When comboed into, the damage of this move is immediately scaled by x%
- e.g. after a crumple, Throws immediately have their damage reduced by an additional 20% when comboed into
The general progression of damage scaling depends on how the combo is started:
| Attack # | General Scaling | Light Normal Starter (Standing/Crouching) |
Cancelable 2MK Starter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Attack | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 2nd Attack | 100% | 90% | 80% |
| 3rd Attack | 80% | 80% | 70% |
| 4th Attack | 70% | 70% | 60% |
| 5th Attack | 60% | 60% | 50% |
| 6th Attack | 50% | 50% | 40% |
| 7th Attack | 40% | 40% | 30% |
| 8th Attack | 30% | 30% | 20% |
| 9th Attack | 20% | 20% | 10% |
| 10th + Attack | 10% | 10% | 10% |
Note: Light Normal scaling only applies when starting a combo with LP or LK; it also does not apply to jumping Light normals or Light command normals. Likewise, 2MK scaling only applies when starting the combo (not when linked mid-combo), and does not apply to a non-cancelable 2MK like Kimberly's.
For scaling purposes, an "attack" corresponds to each move that is input by the player, not the number of hits performed by the character. This means that a move like Chun-Li's Lightning Kicks only counts as one attack, while Jamie's 236P~6P~6P (Freeflow Strikes) sequence counts as 3 separate attacks. Target Combos like Kimberly's 5LP~MP~HP~HK sequence also count each hit separately for the purpose of damage scaling.
There are many exceptions to these general guidelines; those that are currently known are documented below.
System-Wide Scaling
Super Arts
Will always do a set minimum amount of damage, even if the combo would normally be scaled to a lower percent.
- The minimum is 30% (Lv.1 Super), 40% (Lv.2 Super), and 50% (Lv.3 Super/Critical Art)
Level 3 Super Arts:
- Additional 10% damage scaling penalty when canceled from a special move
- This means that a raw Special > Lv.3 Super will be scaled as 100% -> 90%
- Outside of this scenario, it acts as if there is 1 additional hit of scaling (100% -> 100% -> 70%)
- There are some exceptions to this noted in the character-specific sections
Perfect Parry
Any punish after Perfect Parry multiplies the damage scaling by 50% (so a standard combo would look like 50 -> 50 -> 40 -> 35 -> 30...). There is no way to mitigate this by delaying the punish - if the followup is not scaled, then the opponent's move has recovered and it wasn't a true punish.
Drive Rush
When used raw to start a combo:
- No additional scaling penalty; (any other applicable scaling penalties, such as 2MK starters, still apply)
When used mid-combo (regardless of whether it was canceled into; also applies after Drive Impact Stun):
- All remaining hits in the combo have an additional 15% scaling penalty (plus any other scaling that applies)
- This scaling is rounded down to the nearest whole number (59.5 -> 59)
- Using Drive Rush multiple times per combo does not stack an additional penalty
- Example combo using Drive Rush cancel and standard scaling progression:
- 100% -> 85% -> 68% -> 59% -> 51% -> 42% -> 34% -> 25% -> 17% -> 8%...
NOTE: Drive Rush and Perfect Parry scaling can stack with each other multiplicatively; so if you would normally be at 80% scaling on the 3rd hit, you would instead do 34% damage (80 * .5 PP * .85 DR). Both of these can also bring the minimum combo scaling below 10%, and as low as 4% when combined.
Drive Impact
If blocked near the corner into a Wall Splat juggle ("CRUSH" icon will appear):
- All followup have an additional 20% scaling penalty (plus any other scaling that applies)
- Because the DI was blocked, it does not count as the first hit of a combo
- 80% -> 80% -> 64% -> 56% -> 48% ...
If any of the following occur:
DI hits for a crumple (Punish Counter, or hitting after armor absorb);
DI hits near the corner for a Wall Splat juggle;
DI connects on hit/block near corner vs. opponent in Burnout ("STUN" icon will appear, opponent becomes dizzy):
- Drive Impact counts as 2 hits for scaling (followup: 80% -> 70% -> 60% ...)
Drive Reversal
While rare, it is technically possible to combo to or from Drive Reversal. It counts the same as any normal hit for scaling purposes, and the gray recoverable damage will be converted to real damage if an attack combos afterward.
- Example: Kimberly Drive Reversal > (Spraycan explosion), juggle Bushin Senpukyaku (100% -> 100% -> 80%)
Throws
Comboing into a throw (like after a Stun, Drive Impact crumple, or a rare grounded Wall Splat) will apply an immediate 20% damage scaling to the throw. This often applies to command throws as well, but this is not universal. This is also separate from the damage scaling that applies to throws that can start a combo (such as Kimberly with Spray Can, JP with Amnesia/SA2, or Blanka with Blanka-chan Bomb).
Character-Specific Scaling
| Move | Damage Scaling Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| A.K.I. | 2MK | 20% scaling when beginning a combo
|
| 6HK | 20% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| j.2HP | 20% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| 214PP~6P | 2 hits of scaling when comboed into (applies to next attack) | |
| 214HP | 15% immediate scaling when comboed into | |
| 236PP | 20% scaling [Toxic Blossom: 10%] when beginning a combo 2 hits of scaling when comboed into (applies to next attack) | |
| 214K | 20% scaling when beginning a combo (meterless versions) | |
| 2PP~LPLK | 20% immediate scaling when comboed into (Stun, DI Crumple, etc.) | |
| Blanka | ? | ? |
| Cammy | 6HK | 20% scaling when beginning a combo |
| 4HK | 20% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| 5HP~HK | Additional 5% scaling when canceled to air special or super
| |
| 214MP/HP/PP | Counts as 2 hits of scaling | |
| j.214K/KK | 20% scaling when beginning a combo
| |
| 236P/PP (all Hooligan followups) |
20% scaling when beginning a combo
| |
| Chun-Li | Lv.2 Super | Counts as 3 hits of scaling
|
| Dee Jay | 5HK | Counts as two hits of scaling when starting a combo |
| 236HK | 25% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| 236KK | Counts as two hits of scaling | |
| Lv.1 Super | Counts as 4 hits of scaling when starting a combo
| |
| Lv.2 Super | Initial hit counts as 3 hits of scaling
| |
| Dhalsim | 2LK | Uses general scaling instead of light scaling (100% 100% 80%...) |
| jMP/MK/HP/HK | 20% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| 2MK | 20% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| 236KK | 2 hits of scaling when comboed into (applies to next attack) | |
| 4HP | 20% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| j2K | 20% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| j63214PP | 20% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| 63214KK | 20% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| E. Honda | ? | ? |
| Guile | 2MK | 10% scaling when beginning a combo (similar to Light Normal scaling)
|
| 2MP~2MP (Double Shot) | The second 2MP has a 10% scaling penalty and counts for 2 hits of scaling
| |
| Jamie | Drink Level (DL0 - DL4) | 90/95/100/105/110% scaling for DL0/1/2/3/4 respectively
|
| j.214KK (DL1+) | 20% scaling when beginning a combo
| |
| 63214K (DL3+) | The next hit has 100% scaling, but further hits are scaled at 60% -> 50% ...
| |
| JP | ? | ? |
| Juri | 236LK | The 1-Stock fireball version counts as 2 hits for scaling (0-stock and OD versions unaffected)
|
| 236MK / 236LK+HK | 1-Stock and OD versions count as 2 hits for scaling | |
| Ken | 5MP~HP | HP counts as 2 hits for scaling (10% penalty on following hit) |
| 5MK | 20% scaling when beginning a combo
| |
| 623P > Lv.3 Super | 30% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| 623KK or Run~623K | Applies 2 hits of scaling in juggles | |
| Kimberly | Lv.3 Super / CA | Damage scaling boosted to 111% upon activation (persists through multiple rounds)
|
| 3MK | 15% scaling when beginning a combo | |
| 22P (explosion) | Spraycan detonation counts as 2 hits for damage scaling | |
| j.236PP | 20% scaling when beginning a combo (OTG bounce) | |
| 236KK Arc Step ~ P | Counts as 2 hits of scaling (OTG bounce) | |
| Forward Throw | 20% scaling when beginning a combo into Spraycan explosion | |
| Lily | ? | ? |
| Luke | 5LP~MP~HP | 2nd hit (MP) has additional 10% scaling penalty
|
| 236KK~P/K | Both enders scale any followup juggles to 50% | |
| 214[P] | Charged versions count for 2 hits of scaling (both Perfect and non-Perfect) | |
| Manon | ? | ? |
| Marisa | ? | ? |
| Rashid | j.2HP | 15% scaling when beginning a combo |
| Ryu | 623P > Lv.3 Super | 40% scaling when beginning a combo |
| 236KK | Counts as 2 hits of scaling when canceled into (10% penalty on next hit) | |
| Zangief | ? | ? |
System data
General Data
| name | hp | throwRange |
|---|---|---|
| Cammy | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Ed | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Guile | 10000 | 0.8 |
| JP | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Lily | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Luke | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Manon | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Zangief | 11000 | 1.02 |
| Dee Jay | 10000 | 0.8 |
| E. Honda | 10500 | 0.9 |
| Rashid | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Ken | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Juri | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Jamie | 10000 | 0.8 |
| A.K.I. | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Akuma | 9000 | 0.8 |
| Kimberly | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Ryu | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Blanka | 10000 | 0.9 |
| Dhalsim | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Chun-Li | 10000 | 0.8 |
| M.Bison | 10000 | 0.8 |
| Marisa | 10500 | 0.9 |
Movement
| name | fwdWalkSpd | bwdWalkSpd | fwdDashSpd | bwdDashSpd | fwdDashDist | bwdDashDist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cammy | 0.0505 | 0.033 | 18 | 23 | 1.32 | 1.002 |
| Ed | 0.0475 | 0.032 | 19 | 23 | 1.348 | 0.803 |
| Guile | 0.043 | 0.032 | 21 | 23 | 1.567 | 0.74 |
| JP | 0.037 | 0.025 | 22 | 23 | 1.454 | 1.003 |
| Lily | 0.042 | 0.027 | 21 | 24 | 1.154 | 0.939 |
| Luke | 0.047 | 0.032 | 19 | 23 | 1.467 | 0.751 |
| Manon | 0.0452 | 0.031 | 21 | 25 | 1.499 | 1.254 |
| Zangief | 0.0364 | 0.025 | 22 | 25 | 1.007 | 0.712 |
| Dee Jay | 0.043 | 0.032 | 19 | 23 | 1.50 | 0.90 |
| E. Honda | 0.045 | 0.025 | 19 | 23 | 1.058 | 0.601 |
| Rashid | 0.045 | 0.032 | 18 | 25 | 1.20 (1.86) | 1.10 (1.91) |
| Ken | 0.047 | 0.032 | 19 | 23 | 1.322 | 0.923 |
| Juri | 0.047 | 0.032 | 22 | 23 | 1.903 | 1.114 |
| Jamie | 0.048 | 0.035 | 19 | 23 | 1.50 | 0.85 |
| A.K.I. | 0.0452 | 0.032 | 19 | 23 | 1.300 | 1.079 |
| Akuma | 0.052 | 0.036 | 19 | 23 | 1.352 | 0.923 |
| Kimberly | 0.0505 (0.0561) | 0.033 (0.0366) | 18 | 23 | 1.409 | 0.893 |
| Ryu | 0.047 | 0.032 | 19 | 23 | 1.252 | 0.923 |
| Blanka | 0.047 | 0.032 | 19 | 23 | 1.578 | 1.169 |
| Dhalsim | 0.028 | 0.025 | 25 | 23 | 1.467 | 1.00 |
| Chun-Li | 0.050 | 0.035 | 19 | 25 | 1.508 | 1.211 |
| M.Bison | 0.048 | 0.0312 | 19 | 23 | 1.54 | 0.754 |
| Marisa | 0.039 | 0.027 | 22 | 25 | 1.40 | 0.90 |
Jump Data
| name | jumpSpd | fwdJumpDist | bwdJumpDist | jumpApex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cammy | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Ed | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Guile | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| JP | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Lily | 5+39+3 | 1.95 | 1.56 | 2.139 |
| Luke | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Manon | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Zangief | 5+38+3 | 1.725 | 1.406 | 2.115 |
| Dee Jay | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| E. Honda | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Rashid | 4+38+3 | 1.90 (5.07) | 1.52 (3.63) | 2.115 |
| Ken | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Juri | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Jamie | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| A.K.I. | 4+40+3 | 2.00 | 1.60 | 2.176 |
| Akuma | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Kimberly | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Ryu | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Blanka | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Dhalsim | 4+68+3 | 2.04 | 1.768 | 2.178 |
| Chun-Li | 4+42+3 | 2.10 | 1.68 | 2.247 |
| M.Bison | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
| Marisa | 4+38+3 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 2.115 |
