As promised by Tekken 8 developer and publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment, the changelog for Tekken 8 Patch 1.05 is now available for everyone to see. This upcoming balance patch will land today, June 10th, at 4pm EDT, and is intended to enable more defensive-minded play in a game that has thus far been about 50/50 setups and all-out aggression.
via Bandai Namco
Specifically, adjustments to system mechanics like Heat Burst, Heat Dash, stage interactions (floor breaks, wall blasts, etc), and more are lined up for Patch 1.05. Moreover, there are character-specific balance changes on the docket as well, aimed particularly towards some of the top characters in the game.
Heat Burst and Heat Dash Toned Down
First off, we have both Heat Burst and Heat Dash receiving significant nerfs in several areas.
Heat Burst
Heat Burst will no longer deal lethal damage to characters that are close to getting KOed, which was previously an attribute of the mechanic that allowed players to close out rounds without much risk.
In addition, Heat Burst’s tracking has been reduced across the board, allowing players to counter it with lateral movement and some predictive play. However, the patch notes do state that this is not a nerf to its tracking to both sides — but rather each Heat Burst’s weak side will be character-dependent. For example, it’s possible for Kazuya’s Heat Burst to be weaker to SSL than SSR, so it will take players some time to figure out where to step against each character’s Heat Burst.
Heat Burst’s pushback on block will also be reduced by this patch, thus leaving both the attacker and the defender closer to each other afterwards. And finally, the patch will remove the “reversal break” attribute from all Heat Bursts, which means it can no longer beat Power Crushes and parry/reversal style moves like Asuka’s b+1+3.
Heat Dash
The most notable nerf to Heat Dash removes the wall stagger effect when your character blocks the move with their back against the wall. Previously, this would give the attacking player huge frame advantage; a whopping +18 on block. In contrast, blocking Heat Dash out in the open without any walls involved only nets frame advantage amounting to +5.
This change should make it so that the frame advantage is the same no matter where on the stage the Heat Dash is blocked. At +5 and with the wall behind you, though, it will still be very difficult to sidestep away from what your opponent will try to mix you up with, but at least they can no longer throw out really slow moves after a Heat Dash and still be at an advantage.
Stage Interactions Now Have Harsher Damage Scaling
As mentioned in the intro to this article, stage interactions have also been looked at in Tekken 8 Patch 1.05. Damage scaling in particular is now harsher across the board, with the first use of a stage interaction in any given combo scaling down to 70 percent immediately. Previously, it would only scale down to 90 percent, allowing for some very damaging combos.
This also applies to interactions triggered by throws — something which the community at large has been complaining about since launch. Grapplers like King can still take advantage of stage interactions, but with a smaller reward this time thanks to the worse damage scaling.
Throw Tracking Reduced
And speaking of grapplers, characters that rely on throws such as King and Dragunov are not going to like Tekken 8 Patch 1.05. Throw tracking will be nerfed almost universally — something which we talked about in our opinion article on Tekken 8’s balance and design from a while back.
via Bandai Namco
In said article, we mentioned that throws should generally have little to no lateral tracking, as it’s already difficult enough to react to throws and break them accordingly. Patch 1.05 will thus nerf the tracking on command throws, while buffing normal throws to become homing attacks to compensate. This should still result in a net nerf to throws, since normal throws can be broken with either a 1 or 2 break no matter what.
More Character Adjustments
Bandai Namco promised character buffs and nerfs upon announcing Patch 1.05, and they have indeed delivered on this front. Unpopular characters like Paul and Raven have received some serious tuning in a positive direction, while top tier picks like Feng and Victor have seen their kits toned down quite a lot.
Victor in particular has been a rather problematic character since launch, owing to the fast startup of Failnaught (b+1+2), his safe, Power Crushing Heat Engager. Being 15 frames fast allowed Victor to muscle through pressure with ease, and it was even used as a catch-all move in neutral situations that would turn into a huge advantage for him.
As for Feng, it seems that he can no longer get a full combo from a Heat Dash after his BT 2. Instead, he will have to settle for a follow-up attack on his grounded opponent, which reduces the damage reward significantly. Some of his other moves will also see their tracking reduced.
The full patch notes can be found on Bandai Namco’s official Tekken 8 website.
