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Street Fighter 6's Drive Impact was the ultimate divider in its beta weekend

Street Fighter 6's closed beta weekend had players arguing over whether the combo-breaking Drive Impact mechanic is too little, too much, or just right.

TJ Denzer

October 11, 2022 10:15 AM

Image via HiFight

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Betas for a game in development can often be a place where big revelations about the game come out and a game as big as Street Fighter 6 is no exception. Many players got to try the game for the first time this recent weekend and, for better or worse, they discovered the Drive Impact mechanic. It’s a tool for breaking your opponent’s offense and lighting them up with a strong reversal combo and it had many players throughout the FGC arguing on whether it needs to be reeled in or if it’s just fine as is.

The Street Fighter 6 Closed Beta Test went down over the weekend of October 7 to October 9. Even we here at Shacknews had our share of fun with it. Nonetheless, some players found it far more frustrating than others thanks to the Drive Impact mechanic. By pressing Hard Punch and Hard Kick at the same time, players go into a move that gives super armor invincibility for a few hits and crush counters opponents if they take the hit. Even further, it breaks their defense if they get knocked back against the wall of the stage by it.

This is peak Drive Impact in SF6 pic.twitter.com/ixBLlZX3Gg

— Alex Jebailey (@Jebailey) October 10, 2022

This move had players in a tizzy all weekend. On one hand, getting hit by Drive Impact for a counter or wall break can lead to massive damage in a jiffy. It’s also pretty abusable, costing very little to throw out at every opportunity and is safe on block, meaning opponents can’t retaliate right away. That said, there are definite counters to it. It’s slow to come out, can be thrown, and a Drive Impact used shortly after an opponent’s Drive Impact will counter them. You can also jump to dodge the attack and land a counter of your own.

Still, many players had feelings about the move with some believing it’s far too abusable and others believing the benefits it provides are much too strong. Strangely, top tier players like SonicFox are not a fan. However, others believe Drive Impact has too many weaknesses to truly be considered overpowered.

Just drive impact the drive impact. Problem solved 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

Nah all honesty I def look for drive impact and when people will want to do it so I’m ready for it.

It’s def the experiences of playing lame to look for stuff like that

— Justin Wong (@JWonggg) October 8, 2022

The conversations on Drive Impact were rampant throughout the weekend and it’s sure to be something Capcom is keeping an eye on. You don’t want to ruin a major mechanic in the game, but you don’t want the game to be dominated by that mechanic either. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Drive Impact sees an adjustment before the next time we get to play Street Fighter 6.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.