Tekken 8 Patch 1.01.04 Balance Changes Have FGC Discussing OP Fighters

Tekken 8 has announced its first-ever balance patch and now gamers are pointing out characters that need some fine tuning.

Tekken 8 Patch 1.01.04 is coming soon, bringing bug fixes and balance changes. Here is what we know about Patch 1.01.04 so far. 

Update: Patch 1.01.04 Full Patch Notes

Common Changes

• Special Style
  • (During Special Style) Fixed the issue where the startup of certain moves would be delayed by 1 frame when buffering an attack input while still in recovery
• Balcony Break
  • Due to an issue where using a specific move caused the Balcony Break to occur and the characters went outside the battle area, adjustments were made to the pushback collision detection.

Alisa (Bugfix)

• Hertz Blade – Diablo (During Destructive Form f 1+2)
  • In Practice mode, corrected the issue where frame advantage was not shown accurately. Originally, it was displaying + 8 frames on block, but the correct value is + 5 frames on block.

Devil Jin (Nerf)

• Spinning Demon Hellfire Beam (f, n, d, D/F 4 > 1+2 on hit)
  • Changed the damage distribution from 10/20 to 7/14
  • Reduced the forward movement of the first hit to shorten its reach.
  • Corrected an issue where the distance between the character and the opponent increased only when also inputting the second hit.
• Tiger Thrush (1 During Morning Crow)
  • Reduced the duration of the attack by 1 frame to make it less likely to hit against sidestepping opponents.
  • Changed the damage from 25 to 20.
  • Modified the chip damage on block from 10 to 6.

Dragunov (Nerf)

• Avalanche Hammer Rush (d 1, 2, 1+2)
  • The recovery frames for the first two hits have been increased by 2 frames (Guard: -6 Frames >>> -8 Frames, Hit: +8 Frames >>> +6 Frames). The third hit of the combo is unaffected.
• Slicing Sobat (u/f 4 or u 4 or u/b 4)
  • The character now turns toward the opponent upon hitting. This change makes follow up attacks more stable when hitting in an off-axis state.
  • The opponent now transitions to a downed state 6 frames earlier.
• Ignition Switch (d, d/f, f 4)
  • The distance between the player and the opponent on block has been increased.
  • The chip damage during block has been changed from 8 to 5.

Jack-8 (Bugfix, but mostly a nerf)

• Double Biceps (b 1, 2)
  • Fixed an issue where the opponent couldn’t perform a backwards ukemi after an aerial hit.

Jun (Bugfix, but mostly a nerf)

• Yukimiguruma (WR 3, 3+4)
  • Increased the recovery time by 5 frames.
  • Increased the opponent’s recovery time when blocked by 5 frames.
  • Frame advantage on block remains unchanged.
• Divine Exile – Heaven (u/f 1)
  • Changed the reaction upon hit to prevent unintended follow up attacks.

Leo (Nerf)

• Ying Mian Tui (b 3, 1) | Jue Zhao Ying Mian Tui (b 3, 1 during Lightning Glare)
  • Increased the recovery time by 3 frames only when the move is blocked, resulting in a change from a frame advantage of -7 frames on block to -10 frames on block.
• Ding Zhou Meng Po Kao (b 1, 1+2)
  • Reduced the recovery time inflicted on the opponent by 3 frames only when the move is blocked, resulting in a change from a frame advantage of -9 frames on block to -12.

Leroy (Nerf)

• Earth Sunder Chain (b 3+4)
  • Reduced the knockback distance when the attack is blocked, making it easier for the opponent’s counterattacks to connect.

Lili (Buff)

• Divine Step (u 3+4)
  • The collision detection against the opponent has been extended downwards to make it more difficult to slip under a floating opponent.

Nina (Nerf)

• (f 4)
  • Adjusted the timing for the opponent to be able to block by 2 frames when hit from the front and side.

Raven (Buff)

• Assassin’s Sting > Phantom Javelin (db 2, 1, 1) | Body Blow > Phantom Mace (d/f 1, 4 | Blinding Knife > Phantom Javelin (BT 2, 2, 1) | Swift Blade > Phantom Mace (During Soulzone 1, 4)
  • The recovering frames after crouching guard against the doppelganger attack have been adjusted to match the standing block, fixing inconsistencies.

Reina (Nerf)

• Wind God Step (f, n, d, df)
  • Fixed issue where transitioning from a running state to Wind God Step was sometimes not possible.
• War God Kick (f, n, d, DF 1) | Electric War God Kick (f, n, d, df 1 (df and 1 pressed simultaneously)
  • Reduced the knockback distance when the attack is blocked.
  • Removed the crouching status during the first half of the attack animation.
  • Increased the damage hurtbox.
  • Made it possible to defend against it with a reversal move
• Inverse Deva Laser (During Sentai 1+2)
  • Changed the reaction when hitting a downed opponent to keep Reina from repeatedly hitting bears.

Steve (Bugfix)

• Gatling Gun (During Ducking 1+2, 1+2, 1+2, 1+2)
  • The distance to the opponent upon the first hit has been reduced, making it easier to land consecutive hits on larger characters.

Yoshimitsu (Bugfix)

• Ubume (During Manji Dragonfly 2, 4, b)
  • Corrected an issue where, upon transitioning to Muto no Kiwami, the airborne state persisted longer than intended. This led to opponents’ punish attacks hitting while still airborne.

When Is Patch 1.01.04 Coming to Tekken 8?

"Warriors, get ready," Tekken 8 told players earlier on February 6. That's because Patch 1.01.04 is dropping on February 7. 

The update will be for all platforms. Severs will be offline from 17:30 PST to 23:00 PST. 

Warriors, get ready!

Patch 1.01.04 will drop today, Feb. 7 on all platforms 👊

The servers will be offline from 10:30 JST / 02:30 CET / 17:30 PST until 16:00 JST / 08:00 CET / 23:00 PST.
Online content will not be available during maintenance.

Thanks for your patience 🤜🤛

— TEKKEN (@TEKKEN) February 6, 2024

Tekken 8 developers had a few warnings for gamers ahead of the patch. First, battle replays will be impacted so the FGC has been told to record their "favorite replays" before the update drops. 

Ghost data from Super Ghost Battles and Ghost Matches are also going to be affected in the patch. Previous versions will remain available but character behavior and moves will be updated with the patch.

Tekken 8 Patch 1.01.04 Predictions

Tekken 8 Patch 1.01.04 is the first balance patch for the new fighting game. Unfortunately, the patch notes will not be out until February 7 but some players have ideas of what may be in store. 

Gamers are wondering what the balancing will entail. It's still too early to get major buffs and nerfs but some top players have discussed issues with certain fighters over the last week. 

One controversial character is Jun. Pro player Knee called her "broken" on Twitter, claiming her combos are too strong, she has too much control in neutral and seems to have no weaknesses. A lot of her attacks are seen as too safe. Developers may try to do something to make Jun "less perfect" going forward. 

Fact : Jun is broken 😇

She has no weakness point.
Launcher is safe (like f+2),
good poking, strong homing and guarantee follow up, too strong combo dmg (almost 90) & wall combo.
13f heat smash & recovery

If you don't believe this, try it

— DRX｜KNEE (@holyknee) February 4, 2024

Other gamers are calling Azucena "toxic" and top players are using her to troll online. her blocks and punishes especially have the fighting game community scared. Others have noted that her running moves are insanely fast and deal a lot of chip damage. Developers may cut down on her caffeine in the patch. 

Dragunov also has players a bit concerned. Many are saying he's OP because his playstyle is quite oppressive and he puts a lot of pressure on his opponent. Gamers are saying that the amount of damage he does should be minimized due to this, making him a bit more balanced. 

For now, it's unclear if Patch 1.01.04 will result in these characters getting any changes.