Who are the most aggressive characters in Street Fighter V?
Street Fighter V is a game where different characters have their own specific system and playstyle, and therefore there will be actions that benefit certain characters more than others.
Out of all the different playstyles out there, one that can be very hard to handle is that of aggressive pressure and non-stop offense, if you lack good defensive options.
So for this list, we’ll take into consideration the characters that most benefit from getting in on their opponent’s face and start overwhelming them with combos, blockstrings, and frame traps, and that have all the necessary tools to make this their main game plan.
5. Rashid
SFV: Rashid Tips - Beginner Combos
Rashid of the turbulent wind is a new character that debuted alongside Laura, Necalli, and F.A.N.G. upon SFV’s release. He’s a middle eastern challenger with an upbeat personality and a keen affection for technology and acts as the main character for the general sub-plot of the game.
What makes Rashid great is his excellent, unparalleled mobility. He has an actual run, not just a forward dash, and he can jump off the wall and change his trajectory mid-air with dive kicks. He’s above all a rushdown character, so the game plan here is to get in your opponent’s face and overwhelm them with fluid combos from multiple angles.
His crouching strong is an excellent anti-air button that can be followed up by his 15-frame dash for pressure. Plus, Rashid can also exert immense pressure on the corner, and with this move it’s easy to catch an opponent trying to get out of there. He also has a great Crush Counters, especially his standing fierce, which has an amazing range and can be followed up with Rashid’s dynamic combos
What Makes Rashid Great:
- Amazing mobility
- Fast character with many ways to approach the opponent
- Fantastic in the corner with savage pressure
4. Urien
5 Minute Guides : Urien | SFV Season 5 (Missing recent update)
Urien is a tyrant and his gameplay reflects his personality. His normals have great range and can exert great pressure, and his Quarrel Punch and Quarrel Kick are particularly good at checking the opponent and even stopping jump attempts at the right range.
He is very execution demanding, his game plan and toolkit are fairly complex, and he supports one of the best V-Triggers in the game: the Aegis Reflector. He can summon up to 2 of these bad boys and can cancel into the first one from most of his normal moves. Aegis Reflector is a threat both offensively and defensively, as it can be used for creative and high damaging combos and can reflect fireballs back to the opponent. It also allows all sorts of step-ups.
This V-Trigger is an amazingly versatile offensive tool for Urien and it is probably the character’s biggest appeal. Aegis Reflector can do anything from creating a wall bounce effect, to trapping the opponent on an extended hitstun, juggling an airborne opponent and even changing the opponent’s trajectory mid-air or after a knockdown. Because you can manipulate the positions of the mirrors and use them in all sorts of crazy combos from all sorts of different angles, Urien can rob any player at any time, no matter how low his life bar is.
What Makes Urien Great:
- One of the best V-Triggers in the game
- Long limbs with great range and a fireball with multiple area coverage
- Benefits from a bully-like playstyle based on pressuring the opponent continusouly at the right range
3. Akuma
SFV Akuma Guide: How to Play Akuma in 2 Minutes
Akuma is the quintessential glass cannon. He has an above-average damage output, combined with below-average health and stun. With Akuma, you destroy or get destroyed.
He’s equipped with many different tools, not only in offensive terms but also when talking about mobility. Akuma is dangerous from all angles and all distances and his standing medium kick is a scary weapon to face in neutral, as it has tremendous range and speed, and it can be canceled into most of his special moves.
His Demon Flip allows for exclusive mix-ups and his V-System pushes his gameplay limits even further, with the inclusion of parries, the ability to cancel special moves into special moves, combo extenders, and even greater damage output. As if all this wasn’t enough, his classic unblockable super Shun Goku Satsu (or Raging Demon) is ever-present with his V-Trigger 1, remaining as one of the most damaging moves in the game, if you can land it. Messatsu!
What Makes Akuma Great:
- High damage output
- Fantastic mix-up game
- Incredibly vast arsenal
2. Kage
SFV | Kage | Guide
Kage is a primarily offensive character, whose game plan is to get close to the opponent and start overwhelming them with absurd, non-stop pressure and blockstrings intercalated with punishes and counter-hits that will lead to long technical combos with high damage output.
He has had a tough run in SFV, mostly due to his normals being too stubby and his subsequent inability to play a solid neutral game. However, since the definitive patch update, Kage has grown ridiculously popular, as he gained several buffs.
Kage’s Hadoken has been buffed exponentially as all versions gained a bigger hitbox, the air version will explode on the opponent and during V-Trigger II, the heavy Hadoken will actually be a distance-traveling fireball, improving Kage’s zoning and poking game. Kage also gained more combos and overall, his moves opened the way for newer and funner combo routes. His signature Ryusokyaku is now also much harder to whiff punish, and his Shoryuken can now be canceled into Critical Art. So if you run into a Kage, you better be ready to handle his aggression, as his approach is frighteningly more dangerous than before.
What Makes Kage Great:
- Great pressure
- Complex and decimating combos
- Aggressive playstyle heavily rewarding
1. M. Bison
SFV | M. Bison | Constant Pressure
M. Bison’s gameplay is all about pressure as he can keep pushing his opponents to their limits with the constant use of his relatively safe special moves like the Double Knee Press and control the air with his Head Press and Devil Reverse.
In SFV, his signature Psycho Crusher can only be used either during his Critical Art or during his V-Trigger II, but it is significantly boosted to compensate for the lower usage rate and can be canceled from other moves to work as a combo ender. V-Trigger I, on the other hand, offers him the ability to use his special moves without needing time to charge during combos, he can absorb and reflect projectiles with his V-Skill I and he can teleport himself to the back of his opponent with his V-Skill II, Devil’s Wrap, which can then be followed up on juggle.
What ultimately defines M. Bison’s play is his terrifying approach, from the air or by teleport, by slowly walking forward or by using his invisible dash, and then start exerting his pressure on the opponent, and try to catch them with frame traps, standing roundhouse crush counter or even with his V-Trigger II command grab.
With terrific charge moves that leave Bison safe on block and that can be highly destructive when incorporated into combos, M. Bison is the perfect choice for those who, like himself, like to play the oppressor’s game, choking their opponent out of options and not leaving any breathing room.
What Makes M. Bison Great:
- Relentless pressure and tremendous frame trapping
- Safe special moves
- Overwhelming space control
Having a great offense is key to win in Street Fighter, and this is true even for the most deffense-based players playing turtle characters. In Street Fighter, it can be very frustrating to try to get past your opponent’s deffense, especially against zoners and players with good anti-airs.
Hopefully this list helped you get a better notion of who are the best characters in Street Fighter when it comes to offense and agression, and truth be told, even the more defensive E. Honda players or zoning specialists using Menat could benefit from trying one of these characters once for a change. It would surely boost your overall pressure in Street Fighter V.
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