Street Fighter 6 Guide – How to Win Extreme Battles

While Street Fighter 6 has the usual options – 1v1, Team Battle, Casual and Ranked Online Play – it also adds a new mode: Extreme Battle. It evokes the chaotic feel of Super Smash Bros. with various Rules and Gimmicks. The Rules essentially dictate the win condition, while the Gimmicks, as the name indicates, will add all kinds of wacky modifiers to a fight. Let’s take a look at all of them and how to win.

All Extreme Battle Rules and How to Win

There are six Rules to Extreme Battle – Down and Out, Back and Forth, Rules and Regulations, Heaven and Hell, Smash and Grab and Normal Battle.

Down and Out

The first character to score five Knockdowns wins. A Knockdown occurs when someone is knocked off their feet. Given the majority of moves that can Knockdowns, your best bet is to go with anti-airs, wake-ups (Juri’s Overdrive Tensenrin is particularly devastating) and throws.

Drive Impacts aren’t always the best play, but they can create an opening to break through an opponent’s combo and then knock them down with a cheap throw. Of course, you’ll want to mix some low Heavy Kicks since they can often sweep opponents off their feet. Use this after an aerial Special Move to surprise your opponent and knock them down.

Back and Forth

This match sees a seesaw in the middle of the screen where the fighters’ health bars typically meet. Dealing damage will see it pushed to your opponent’s side while taking damage causes it to move towards yours. If it’s pushed all the way, then you lose. Furthermore, as the match timer counts down, the sides will narrow, making it much more precarious and adding some risk to attacks.

Try hanging back early and pelting your opponent with projectiles, using Drive Reversal when they get too close to creating some distance. Drive Impact is also good to stop forward momentum – beware of throws when you’re on the defensive. When the sides begin to narrow, it’s anyone’s ball game. Avoid getting cornered and use Drive Reversals to keep your opponent off balance as the timer whittles down.

Rules and Regulations

Rules and Regulations will give each player four different instructions, and they must complete these before their opponent. However, you can also see what your opponent has to do. The key is to keep them off balance and find a way to work on your objectives without becoming too obvious.

If your opponent has to land two Drive Impacts, try baiting them and either blocking or throwing them to keep them off balance. Just beware of overlapping objectives like Take No Damage (thankfully for only a short period) and Drive Impacts. The latter may be activated while an opponent is attacking, causing you to take damage but also fulfilling a different instruction. Again, it’s a matter of staying one step ahead of your opponent and keeping them guessing about where your next instruction will come from.

Heaven and Hell

No, this isn’t some twist on Guilty Gear. Instead, Heaven and Hell gives an advantage and disadvantage to each fighter when a fight begins. They must then attempt to win the match. Some advantages include lower Drive Gauge consumption and a larger window for executing Perfect Parry, which are fairly significant. However, disadvantages could disable your Special Moves or jumps. They can also have you permanently in a state of Burnout, which prevents the use of Drive Moves and makes you easier to stun.

It’s all a matter of what your advantage and disadvantage are. If you have unlimited Super Gauge but are in constant Burnout, try to catch your opponent off guard with different Super Arts. Lace them into combos and use them when they least expect it. If your jumps are disabled, use Drive Rush to close the distance, ideally by pressing Forward and Forward + Drive Parry, as a shortcut to catch your opponent off guard.

Not only does this make it harder for them to counter when recovering from projectiles, but gets you close to starting a combo, canceling a Normal Attack with another Drive Rush, and then continuing with an Overdrive. Although not advised, it can be hilarious to constantly spam Shinku Hadoken when you have an infinite Super Arts gauge.

Smash and Grab

Every time you damage an enemy in this match type, you accrue points. However, bonus objectives can appear on screen, like executing Special Moves or Parries, which give increased points. The first fighter to reach 30,000 Points wins the match.

Much like Rules and Regulations, you want to keep your opponent off balance and guessing when you’ll try to complete an objective. However, you must be careful since the objectives keep changing. Remember: Chasing bonus objectives is the route towards big points, but consistently attacking your opponent is also important. Try to alternate between the two as necessary.

Also, keep an eye out for any drones flying overhead. Destroying them will grant a Score Boost, which can help put you in the lead over an opponent.

Normal Battle

Perhaps the most straightforward of all the Extreme Battles, the Normal Battle requires depleting your opponent’s health to win. No modifiers, crazy rules or objectives. Fight to win before the timer is up. Why include this in Extreme Battle at all? That’s where the Gimmicks come in.

All Extreme Battle Gimmicks and How to Win

Gimmicks add a bit more spice to Extreme Battle modes. They encourage improvisation and quick thinking, or you’ll get trampled by one angry bull. There are six types of Gimmicks – Bull Run, Bombs Away, Shock Zone, Mecha Friend, Lucky Drone and No Gimmicks. Let’s check each of them and how to effectively use them to beat an opponent.

Bull Run

The Gimmick here is simple: There’s a bull, and it’s angry. It will run across the screen, irrespective of your rules. If it lands a hit, a good chunk of your health is gone, and in some match types like Down and Out and Back and Forth, this can be a major turning point. So how do you survive the bull’s rage and maybe your opponent’s?

First, you can block or Drive Parry the bull’s charge, but it will break your stance, exposing you to an opponent’s assault. Jumping is a good idea, but it’s best to know when the bull will enter the scene. You want to pressure your opponent but not let up too early if you hear it approaching. Alternatively, don’t let your opponent dictate the pace since they can easily leave you open to a trampling. Drive Reversals to keep them off balance and throws to stop any momentum they may build are key.

Bombs Away

Bombs drop on the stage, but contrary to the name, they don’t explode immediately. Instead, they act as beach balls – you can hit them into an opponent to cause damage. Over time, they glow red (dealing damage accelerates the process) and will explode in a significant range. You can block the damage, but ensuring you’re far away is also a sound strategy.

Another one is to keep the bomb in play, accelerate the timer, and then focus on your opponent. Knock them down (Heavy crouching kicks do wonders) and give little time for recovery, and then as they get up, the bomb explodes, dealing more damage. Poor sportsmanship? Sure, but they would have done it first. There can sometimes be two bombs in play at a time, so aim to keep your guard up and your foe off-balance.

Shock Zone

Two electric nodes descend from the ceiling and conduct electricity between them. This electricity, unsurprisingly, hurts you if you’re in that area. The idea, then, is to stay outside of it when they appear and pelt your opponent from afar with projectiles. Alternatively, time it so that you can execute a Drive Rush when the electricity stops to close the distance with an opponent.

The nodes can’t reach you in the corners of the stage, but this can be risky since you’re essentially at the mercy of your opponent. If you can somehow corner your opponent instead, preferably with them facing the wall, a Drive Impact can splat them and open up some combos. You’ll want to be careful – the nodes will shock the person furthest from the wall if both are in the same corner. It’s a careful game of area control.

Mecha Friend

This Gimmick sees Met from the Mega Man franchise dropping into a stage. If you hit with a Light attack, the Met will start walking towards your opponent and apply a shock attack, which can launch them. Medium or Heavy attacks will send Met into the air, but it can still strike your opponent if they’re in the way and shock them. Use this as an anti-air of sorts and follow up with your own.

The main thing to remember is that Met will move towards an opponent once it’s activated, so unlike Bombs Away, you can’t hit it again to send it back at your opponent. Block or jump over it when possible since it won’t double back. Whoever controls Met will emerge victorious, but don’t get too caught up with it since this can make you predictable. If someone else is around Met too much, try pelting them with projectiles and evade Met when it’s sent in your direction.

A Met can also despawn after some time, so keep that in mind. Bait an opponent to activate it and catch them while they’re vulnerable.

Lucky Drone

Drones will hover over the stage – hit it and receive a boost. They can be hit with jumping attacks, so it becomes a contest to nail one before your opponent. Of course, it also serves as great practice for your anti-airs. If an opponent starts jumping to hit a drone, you can use an anti-air to deny them. You can also use an anti-air to attack the drone, though be careful that your opponent doesn’t catch you when you’re open.

If you can’t do so, Drive Reversals and Perfect Parries are a decent way to create some space until the next drone rolls in. Just be careful not to get caught with throws when using a Parry.

No Gimmicks

As the name indicates, no special modifiers or objects with this Gimmick. Pairing it with Normal Battle results in a barebones fight, not unlike a regular 1v1. However, you can also use it to play a Rules and Regulations or Heaven and Hell match without the wackiness that other Gimmicks add.

Street Fighter 6 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Check out our official review, and more tips and tricks here.

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