Having trouble against Street Fighter 6’s “God-like” CPU?

As a gamer, you love a challenge, and in Capcom’s Street Fighter 6, there are a ton of them. But there is one that gets your attention, and you’ve felt to try your wits against the Level 8 CPU. You’ve gone for it, you’re getting annihilated all the time, and in some cases, you can’t even give it a scratch, right?

You’ve tried the Level 8 CPU and you’re struggling against it. Don’t worry; you’re not alone – even pro players are having a tough time beating it. That should tell you everything you need to know about how difficult it is. There are accusations of the CPU being “broken”, “cracked” and “imbalanced”. However, beating it isn’t impossible. 

Whether you’re using classic or modern controls, the Level 8 CPU will always be an immense challenge. Here are my tips to beat the seemingly unstoppable CPU more often.  

Work your way up to Level 8

Especially if you’re inexperienced or not very skilled at Street Fighter games. This goes for virtually every fighting game, but it would be very silly to jump the gun and take on the hardest difficulty immediately. This is a sure-fire way to cause unnecessary stress and, in some cases, give up completely. Start from a level that you’re able to defeat comfortably, and then gradually work your way up.

For example, if you start from Level 4 and then defeat it easily and more often, go and Battle against Level 5. Once you’ve managed to beat that difficulty more comfortably, move up to level 6 – well, you get the picture. This method will prepare you for the next challenge. Plus, you’ll also improve your skills along with the way.

Blocking

This is a pretty obvious step, but it’s very common for players to not focus on this basic fundamental for any fighting game – let alone, Street Fighter 6. You’re too focused on your offence, that you worry very little about your defence. And if this is your approach against Street Fighter 6’s Level 8 CPU – it’s no wonder you’re struggling to match it; you’ve made yourself a sitting duck. The Level 8 CPU is offensively relentless – therefore, it’s imperative that you make sure you practice blocking more often. You should know how to block by now, with the tutorial that you went through when you first started playing Street Fighter 6. But if not, go to Fighting Ground, practice, then tutorial. 

Balance your play style

The crazy thing is, the Level 8 CPU is very predictable, but one of the main issues is that it’s incredibly reactive – it’s almost as if it’s psychic; in gaming, we call that ‘input reading’. Therefore, going Gung-Ho will be a lamb to the slaughter. But ironically, at the same time, playing too defensively makes you equally as vulnerable. So, it’s vital that you balance your offensive and defensive game. 

Learn Some Combos

Yes, you’re going to have to learn some Combos to actually stand a chance. The reason why is that performing combos takes larger portions of health. Also, most of the Level 8 CPU’s combats are based on combos, so you will have to fight fire with fire. Street Fighter 6 has ‘Combo Trials’ – which is located in the Practice tab in Fighting Ground. 

The mode will give you steps on how to execute a character’s beginner, intermediate and advanced combos and you will have to practice them yourself to make sure you’ve done them successfully. Choose at least a few combos you’re comfortable with. The silver lining is that you don’t have to execute high 40+ hit combos or advanced combos to get the job done, and even intermediate can still be more than enough. Albeit you shouldn’t feel discouraged in trying a few advanced if you’re able to and it might increase your chances of victory slightly. 

Spend as much time as you need, so that you make sure you master the combos you choose and do them correctly and consistently. Mistakes do happen during battles, and you can somewhat get away with it if you make a few hiccups but messing up more often will definitely give the opponent the advantage. Furthermore, the Level 8 CPU almost never makes errors during combo inputs. This is what you’re up against. 

Some people don’t know when a combo is being correctly executed. To elaborate – you’ll know you’re doing true combos when the combo counter that appears slightly below your character’s HUD keeps going up after every hit. You must remember this at all times.

Limit Jumping Attacks

Almost every time you jump toward the CPU, it will execute a counter, causing you to take damage. Now, imagine what happens if you do it more often against the Street Fighter 6’s hardest difficulty. And because of that, it’s best to keep the jumping attacks to a minimum. The funny thing is, the CPU will be the one that’ll try to jump at you at times, and whenever it does, be prepared to hit it with your own counter.

Go and watch the pro Street Fighter players, and you’ll notice that they rarely jump when attacking – because they know it very likely leaves them open to counters. And they only jump when they feel it’s absolutely necessary – take the hint.

Parrying

Just like blocking, parrying is also key to defending against the CPU’s attacks. Pressing the LT trigger to deflect or block attacks will nullify almost every attack the CPU has to offer, but don’t hold it for too long, because it consumes the drive gauge.

Keep in mind that parrying is also ineffective against grapples. And the Level 8 CPU has an unhealthy habit of grapple attacks, and of course, sometimes this kind of attack will take a big portion of your health. This is where you have to be prepared to press the A and B buttons at the same time to throw escape the grapple whenever it’s close to you. 

Throwing

Just like how you can throw escape grapples, press the same A and B buttons to perform them. But the CPU will throw escape most of them and will follow it with an attack, so don’t fixate on throwing moves to help you win. 

Learn when and how to use the Drive Gauge

A brand-new feature that made its way to Street Fighter 6. This new mechanic takes your battles to the next level and certainly helps you tackle the Level 8 CPU, especially when you use the drive gauge at the right times. For an in-depth overview of the drive system, refer to my Street Fighter 6 review and it’ll tell you all you need to know, as well as give you some ideas on when to use each drive mechanic.

Learn when to use your Super Arts

Each fighter in Street Fighter 6 has their own Level 1, 2 and 3 super arts and it’s up to you when to use them. However; you must make sure they count, because remember, the Level 8 CPU will most likely block them, and it will always know when to use their own supers, always. Depending on the circumstances of my battles, I use Levels 1 and 2 in any round, and as for Level 3 ( critical art), if I plan on using it, I usually wait until the second or final round of the battle, and in most cases, I use the critical with combos to pretty much place the final nail in the coffin.

Bonus Tip

Don’t give up. It might take a little time for these tips to embed into some of you, so don’t throw in the towel because things aren’t going so well right now. I won’t lie to you. You are still likely to get cooked in some rounds, but this time, with these tips, not only can you return the favour and destroy the Level 8 CPU, but also you can beat it more often. 

I found these tips in Street Fighter 6 that helped me defeat what seemed like an unbeatable difficulty more than before. Also, beating the Level 8 CPU gave me more confidence to battle much better players and it should do the same for you.