In this post I’ll detail over some points that helped me earn this rank that might help players struggling to rank up.
TEKKEN 8: Fujin Rank Tips
Yesterday I earnt Fujin rank with Reina and it was one of my rank goals as a newcomer to the Tekken franchise.
Starting off – it was crucial for me to learn my full kit for my character and understand what was safe and what was not, understanding your frame data and risk / reward is important so you can develop healthy habits regarding strings, the last thing you want is to have the opposite happen.
The people you’re around – Make a conscious effort to surround yourself with better players than you. Join discords, player lobbies and get stuck into the conversation. By being around higher rank players and getting beat up is a great way to understand the habits and behaviours of those players. The community has been extremely helpful towards me so don’t be afraid of reaching out.
No brainer – Learn your full combos and mix ups and create muscle memory so that you can squeeze the most juice out of your opportunities. The more reps you do the better. Try to avoid using suggested combos in practice mode and look online for optimised character combos and mix ups.
Frame traps – Players in lower ranks will be quick to act and won’t respect your frames, by learning frame traps (Moves and strings that leave you in plus frames, your opponent in minus) will guarantee easy damage and will leave your opponent frustrated and unable to act against you. Research and educate yourself about the frame traps your character can do on YouTube or in practice mode.
Knowledge is power in Tekken – Do your research and try to flood your brain with information but what is more valuable than this is applying it to your games, you can practice and you can learn as much as you want but if you cannot integrate that knowledge it’s useless. Experience is the only way you’ll integrate so be ready to lose gracefully.
Break those throws – do not sleep on this as I’ve noticed too many players that just do not break throws, it’s free damage and the games I’ve played where people don’t break- it really gets into their heads and they start to make mistakes out of acting irrationally or through frustration. Go into practice and make it a priority to train your reaction time to throws and breaking different kinds. If you’re struggling with a certain matchup, focus on that character.
Punishment training – From my experience I can confidently say capitalizing on this got me out of red ranks which can be havoc for some. By simply using the suggested punishment training in practice mode with some of your worst match ups will change things monumentally.
As you climb the ranks – You will need to fully focus and capitalise on every opportunity that is presented to you regardless of how much opponent moves or frame data you know (The more you know will help). The window of opportunity will continually close as players will make less and less mistakes, by reducing the amount of error you have will pay dividends in the long run.
Stop gambling – You could go for that risky 90+ damage combo and get humbled or you can take a less risky path where you settle for a less detrimental trade. Try not to strive for max damage, only when you know you can pull it off with high percentage of success.
Try your best to use your moves – By incorporating a large number of unique moves into your gameplay you are mentally overwhelming your opponent. Don’t underestimate the psychological aspect of the game as it’s a great way to entice your opponent to make a whiff of which you can capitalize on.
Conditioning – Please try your best to condition your opponents into blocking your low pokes, they’ll take the mids and highs a lot easier and will eat them up. Try not to get caught in the trap of using lows to deal significant damage unless your character warrants that, you will be punished for it.
Advanced movement – You do not need to be a movement god to rank up, if anything it just makes you look like a cringe tryhard and it’s embarrassing when those players get seated. Move with intent and purpose, don’t just spam buttons because it looks cool. P.S this will probably upset someone but as a Reina player it doesn’t matter how fast your wavedash is only unless you can actually use it as a mix up. Make sure to punish all of those players that needlessly wavedash in your face.
Try your best to always rematch – Even if you know that you have no chance in the matchup or skill disparity, you will not learn if you don’t rough out the un-comfortability. Get beat up and do it with an open mind to learning how your opponent works, try your best to react and do something about it.
Don’t take things so seriously – Rank looks nice but see the ladder as a learning experience, the more you lose gracefully you are actively collecting and using that experience to be better next time, it’s natural to down rank when you’re trying to integrate new tech but you have to learn somehow. Respect your opponent, enjoy the journey and have fun with it!