Street Fighter V: Biggest Winners and Losers of Patch 5.022

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On May 18th, Capcom dropped Street Fighter V Patch 5.022 changing many things about Street Fighter V. With dozens of buffs and a few nerfs, let’s go through my top 5 major changes that this patch brought.

The silent soldier got a wide variety of buffs, from his normals to his target combo, it seems like he is a much stronger character across the board.

Standing light kick is now +3 on hit and combos into itself.

Crouching medium kick is +4 on hit as opposed to 0 on hit. It also has a larger cancel window to make V-trigger cancel combos more accessible.

Jumping Sobat (forward + medium kick) Now has 10 more damage, 2 frame faster startup, a longer hitbox and a smaller hurtbox. It can now be canceled into V-trigger on hit or block to make his pressure even more suffocating

Rapid kick ([standing light kick  > standing medium kick] target combo) Now knocks the opponent down on hit, and can be cancelled intoV-skill, but it is now -6 on block.

Heavy Tragedy Assault (Heavy shoryuken) Now does more damage, more stun, and leaves you at a greater frame advantage on hit.

Overall: Nash has been significantly buffed in every regard. With the strength of his jumping sobat in the neutral and his new confirms into both V-skills, he certainly is much better than he was before.

Cammy seems to almost be the poster girl of Street Fighter V in some ways. She has been significantly strong every season, and just this year alone she has won 2 of the 3 Capcom Cup Qualifiers that have happened. She has been nerfed a small amount in this patch, but its nothing too bad.

EX Spiral Arrow: No longer has projectile invincibility from frame 1, now instead having it at Frame 4. It also had its throw invincibility moved from frame 3 to frame 6.

All versions of EX Cannon Strike and V-trigger 1 Cannon Strike now have 4 more frames of whiff recovery, allowing opponents to whiff punish Cammy more easily.

Overall: Minor nerfs in the grand scheme of things, the projectile invincibility nerf on Ex. Spiral arrow only really affects her when she is close to opponents who would throw projectiles up close, like Guile or Sagat. The EX Cannon Strike nerf aids those who can V-shift as a reaction, making it a more rewarding option against Cammy.

Ken was a truly fierce character in the first season of Street Fighter V, but nerfs have seen him fall from grace. The buffs in Street Fighter V Patch 5.022 seem to have seriously improved him.

Standing Heavy Kick now has reduced knockback distance and increased knockback time on crush counter, giving Ken easier crush counter combos and a few new options as well.

Both Crouching Medium Punch and Crouching Medium Kick have had their hitback reduced, allowing for confirms into Heavy Shoryuken more consistently.

Heavy Shoryuken had its forward hitbox increased, making it a more effective tool against long ranged jumping attacks and as a combo/punish tool.

Crouching Heavy Punch has been significantly buffed, making it +2 on hit and if meaty, can be as much as +6. It can also be cancelled into V-skill 1, 2 frames faster than before, leading to new combos and much better punishes and footies with the button.

Light Tatsumaki Senpukyaku has increased damage on the second hit when the first does not connect, making it stronger in combos from longer ranged normals.

Overall: Ken has been significantly buffed and has many new combos routes available to him that previously would have been impossible. With range buffs to so many moves, he is looking to be an incredibly strong character, with some pros thinking he might be one of the stronger shotos now.

The head of the Illuminati has been seen as weak by a majority of the SFV player base since his introduction to the game. Capcom might not have given him a lot of big changes, but the ones that he did receive seem to be incredibly beneficial.

Anti-type Damage/Retribution now builds extra Critical Gauge on hit. Makes combos involving an EX special move or a V-trigger enhanced special move significantly better since it does not drain him entirely of one of his most precious resources.

EX Moonsault Knee Drop: Now has mid-air invincibility from frames 5-12, and inputs will no longer be reversed if Gill’s position is changed during the attack.

Overall: Though he lacks the ability to Crush Counter his opponents, the added benefit of building extra meter when Anti-type damage is proc’d makes Gill a significantly scarier opponent. Since his long combos with V-Trigger activated consistently proc 1 to 2 cases of Anti-type damage, it allows him to use his meter more aggressively and still have some left in the tank after the combo is finished. The added benefit of a mid-air invincible move also will dissuade opponents from jumping at him.

The master of Saikyo style karate seems to have tapped into the Satsui no Hado with the arrival of the Street Fighter V Patch 5.022, but is that a good thing?

Gadoken: Random chance to turn enhanced. The enhanced version hits twice, and is +1 on block instead of being -2. On hit, will leave the opponent in a juggleable state. The gadoken will be bright red instead of its normal blue when enhanced. This is both a buff and a nerf, since the added damage, block stun, and combo potential are nice, but the “Danfinite” is no longer true since it relied on the Gadoken.

Heavy Danretsuken: Now combos into V-skill 1, leading into more combos with V-trigger cancels.

Haoh Gadoken: Is now +3 on block and has reduced pushback. This leaves Dan at a much better advantage if activated on block, allowing him to continue pressure.

Overall: It seems that Dan is being kept at an interesting spot in terms of balance. He can still rep his “infinite” in the corner for a while if he doesn’t get an enhanced Gadoken. But it can all slip away if the first fireball he throws is enhanced. It gives players a choice, the risky, potentially less damaging combo with the infinite, or the safer combo that might do less damage, but will always do more than a single rep of the infinite. 

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