Training mode

Training mode (or practice mode, colloquially called the lab) is an offline mode in Tekken that gives players tools to experiment with the game's battle system in a controlled environment. This is used by players for self-improvement, in the form of, for example, improving combo execution through repetition, developing and testing unique tech setups, or investigating defensive options after a common situation in a match-up. It is vital tool to be familiar with in order to keep improving at Tekken.

Tekken 8

In Tekken 8, Training mode is an offline mode called Practice. It allows the selection of a side, character (for the player and their opponent) and stage before beginning a non-time limited round in the default start position based on the player's selections.

By default, the Left side is highlighted. For P1, Jin is highlighted by default, and for P2, that character is Kazuya. On stage selection, the random stage select is highlighted by default.

Practice Settings

Determines various properties of the game state specific to the player or opponent characters, as well as their behaviors.

Training Mode

Alters the available Practice Settings options that control the behavior of the opponent. These are grouped under three categories --

Offense (default): allows setting predetermined responses to situations to test out offensive sequences
Defense: allows setting up custom opponent sequences, typically to practice defending against them, or exploring defensive options
CPU: sets the opponent to be controlled by the AI in order to simulate gameplay

Offense

Opponent Actions

Sets the default behavior of the opponent.

Available values are --

Standing (default): the opponent will stand without blocking or neutral guarding
Standing Block: the opponent will stand block without neutral guarding
Stand and Approach: the opponent will stand without blocking or neutral guarding, and will dash forward to approach the player while the distance between them is ≥ 2.00.
Crouching: the opponent will simulate holding the down input
Crouching Block: the opponent will simulate holding the down-back input
Crouch and Follow: the opponent will crouch while the distance between the player and opponent is < 2.00, and will dash forward if not
Block All: the opponent will automatically block all highs, mids and lows as appropriate. It will not be able to block unblockables or guard breaks.
Random Block: similar to Block All, but with a random chance of not blocking an attack. Useful for training hit confirms/CH confirms.
Jump: the opponent simulates holding the up input, and repeatedly neutral jumps
Mimic: the opponent replicates the inputs made by the player
Controller: allows connecting a second controller to take control of the opponent

Actions After a Hit or Block

As evident from the title, this setting alters the behavior of the opponent after an attack hits, or gets blocked.

Available values are --

Standing
Standing Block
Stand and Approach
Crouching
Crouching Block
Crouch and Follow
Block All
Random Block
Jump
Mimic
Sidestep (Left): the opponent buffers an immediate SSL out of block/hit stun
Sidestep (Right): the opponent buffers an immediate SSR out of block/hit stun
Side Walk (Left): the opponent does a frame perfect SWL out of block/hit stun
Side Walk (Right): the opponent does a frame perfect SWR out of block/hit stun
Back Dash: the opponent does a frame perfect b,B out of block/hit stun
Punish: the opponent performs a standing or crouching punishment technique (as appropriate) randomly chosen from the list of Punishment Settings
Not Set (default): the opponent will continue doing the option chosen in Opponent Actions

Punishment Settings

Allows the player to set the punishment options from standing or crouching that the opponent will randomly choose from when Punish is chosen as the Action After a Hit or Block. The player can set up to 8 different standing and crouching punishment options, and set their action frequency (a higher frequency will lead to that option being chosen more often). The punishment option can be chosen from a curated list of moves, or recorded by the player.

The available values for each punishment option are --

Select from Punishment List
Record
Not Set (default)

Ground Technique

Sets the tech roll option for the opponent.

Available options are --

Side Ukemi (Left): the opponent tech rolls left i.e. they tap 1_2 or 3_4 to roll into the foreground or background depending on the direction they're facing, such that the resultant direction is to their left
Side Ukemi (Right): same as above, but the opponent tech rolls such that the resultant direction is to their right
Quick Recovery: the opponent simulates holding forward during the tech roll window to do a kip up
Back Quick Roll: the opponent simulates holding back during the tech roll window to do a back roll
Shuffle: the opponent randomly selects a Ground Technique to use
Not Set (default): the opponent does not tech during the tech roll window and lapses to a grounded state

Wake Up

Sets the grounded wake-up option for the opponent.

Available options are --

Stand Up (default): the opponent simulates holding up to quick stand
Wake Up (Backward): the opponent simulates holding back to do a backward wakeup
Front Roll: the opponent simulates holding forward to do a front roll
Side Roll (Left): the opponent simulates inputting OTG.1 or OTG.d+1 as appropriate to make them ground roll to their left
Side Roll (Right) same as above, but the opponent ground rolls to their right
Wake-Up Mid Kick: the opponent uses OTG.4
Wake-Up Low Kick: the opponent uses OTG.3
Recovery Kick: the opponent uses OTG.d+3_d+4
Spring Attack: the opponent uses OTG.3+4
Shuffle: the opponent randomly selects a Wake Up option to use
Not Set: the opponent does not use a wake up option and remains grounded

Defense

Allows players to record up to eight, 30 second long input sequences that the opponent will randomly choose from to execute repeatedly. Playback can be controlled with the <<Play>> (Select + B) and <<Stop>> (Select + B) inputs. The action frequency of each action can be altered to make them more likely to be selected or less.

The available values for each CPU Opponent Action 1-8 are --

Select From Move List: select the input to be performed directly from the opponent character's movelist
Record: manually record an input sequence up to 30s long. This puts you back into practice mode in control of the opponent's character, with the additional options of <<Start Recording>> (Select + B) and <<Block>> (Select + X) to toggle the behavior of the player character between Standing and Guard All, with all other options set to their defaults. Once a recording is started, you can input the sequence you want recorded until the 30s timer runs out or press <<Start>> to bring up a confirmation menu that allows you to confirm the recording, re-record the input, or exit without recording anything.
Not Set (default)

Action Intervals

Sets the duration between successive input sequences.

The available values are --

Short (default)
Normal: the next sequence is performed with a delay of ~2s compared to Short
Slow: the next sequence is performed with a delay of ~4s compared to Short
Shuffle: the next sequence is performed with a randomly chosen delay of Short, Normal or Slow

CPU

Sets the opponent to be controlled by the CPU.

CPU Difficulty

The available values are --

Easy
Medium (default)
Hard
Very Hard
Ultra Hard

Player Counter

Toggles the counterhit status of the player.

Available values are --

Counter Hit: the first hit has a forced counter hit property, but subsequent hits that combo do not
Multiple Counter Hits: every hit has a counter hit property
Shuffle: randomly select between Counter Hit and Not Set
Not Set (default): no forced counter hit property

Opponent Counter

Same as Player Counter, but for the opponent.

Player Rage

Toggles whether the player is in rage.

Available values are --

Rage: activates rage at minimum possible rage art scaling
Not Set (default): rage is not active

Opponent Rage

Similar to Player Rage, but for the opponent.

Player's Heat

Set the status of the Heat gauge for the player.

Available values are --

Activate Heat: A full Heat gauge is activated (similar to landing a Heat Engager), and is reset to full and reactivated when it depletes.
No Heat: Heat gauge is unavailable
No Heat Limit (default): Heat gauge is available and can be activated as usual, and is reset to full (but not activated) when it depletes.
Not Set: Heat gauge is available and can be activated as usual, but is remains unavailable when it depletes.

Opponent's Heat

Similar to Player's Heat, but for the opponent.

Player Throw Escapes

Control the throw break behavior of the player.

Available values are --

Throw Escape: auto-throw break all breakable throws
Not Set (default): no auto-throw breaks

Opponent Throw Escapes

Similar to Player Throw Escapes, but for the opponent.

Neutral Block

Available values are --

Block (default)
Don't Block

Input Delay Frames

Adjust the number of frames of input delay.

Available values are --

Not Set (default)
1 Frame
2 Frames
3 Frames
4 Frames
5 Frames
6 Frames

Reset

Reset all Practice Settings to their default values.

Restart Settings

These settings control the restart position of the characters when <<Restart>> is input (Option + A).

Restart Position

Controls the restart position of the characters relative to the stage.

Available values are --

Default 1 (default): the default position at round start, usually in the center of the chosen stage with no gimmicks activated
Current Player Position: the restart position is the current position of the player, with the opponent reset to the default distance away at the same axis.
Wall: the restart position is against a wall on the default level of the stage, with the opponent having their back to the wall, and the player facing them. The wall can change depending on whether the side selected was P1 or P2.
Not Set: with this option, the <<Restart>> input is disabled.

Depending on the selected stage, other values may become available depending on the "levels" in the stage (e.g., Default 1, Default 2 etc.), and the stage hazards included (e.g. Floor Break, Balcony Break, Hard Wall Break etc.). The player is reset to a position "facing" the stage hazard i.e. in a position to trigger them, while the opponent is placed "against" it. The stage hazards themselves are also reset. Resetting to a Floor Break is usually equivalent to resetting to the default position of that stage level.

Player Direction

Determines the direction the player faces upon reset.

Available values are --

Front (default): the player faces the opponent
Left: the player is rotated 90 degrees clockwise from the default axis
Right: the player is rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise from the default axis
Back: the player is rotated 180 degrees from the default axis

Opponent Direction

Similar to Player Direction, but for the opponent.

Player Status

Determines the grounded status of the player.

Available values are --

Standing (default): the player is standing
Down (Face Up): the player is grounded in FU
Down (Face Down): the player is grounded in FD

Opponent Status

Similar to Player Status, but for the opponent.

Switch Positions

This setting switches the player's position with the opponent after applying the Restart Position setting. This is useful for getting the player against the stage hazard with the opponent in a position to trigger it.

Available values are --

Switch Position
Don't Switch Position (default)

Status Record

Status Record is a feature that allows the player to "remember" a game state with the <<Remember>> input (R3 by default), and <<Reproduce>> it (L3 by default). This is useful to quickly examine options from a situation, since one could setup the situation, remember it, and reproduce it to examine different options, avoiding having to recreate the situation for each option. Another use case is when practicing combos, since it becomes easier to isolate individual parts of a combo to practice. One can execute the section of a combo prior to the one that needs practice, and remember the status, then recall it to repeatedly practice the next section alone.

A recall is generally faster than a restart, but the two are not equivalent. Specifically, a recall does not reset the playback of the opponent's recorded actions, meaning a recalled status that expects the opponent to follow a recorded set of inputs will not behave as expected, since the "tape" of the opponent's inputs is not locked to coincide with the moment of recall (unlike a restart).

Available values are --

Use (default)
Don't Use: disables the <<Remember>> input

Reset

Reset the Restart Settings to their default values.

Display Settings

These settings control the UI elements displayed on screen.

Command History

Displays a vertical column of the player inputs on the player's chosen side, alongside the frame counts for which the input was active for, with the topmost input being the newest, and the bottom-most input being the oldest.

Available values --

Display
Hide (default)

HUD

Controls the display of the topmost screen elements, including the timer, character icons, life and Heat gauges and offline player rank.

Available values --

Display (default)
Hide

Player Attack Info

Displays a constantly active UI panel on the player's chosen side, containing the following elements --

Total Damage: the total damage inflicted on the opponent since the beginning of the practice session.
Max Combo Damage: the maximum damage inflicted from a true combo on the opponent.
Hit Properties: displays an icon for whether the previous move results in a spike, wall break, power crush, homing, attack throw or heat engager effect, and describes the hit level.
Damage: the total damage inflicted by the previous move, along with the applicable scaling factor in percent. For e.g., if it displays 11 (70%), it means the previous move did 11 points of damage after a scaling factor of 70% was applied to the move's base damage (and rounded down).
Recoverable Damage: the recoverable damage inflicted by the previous move and the scaling factor in percent. For e.g., if it displays 7 (70%), it means that 7 points, or 70% (rounded down) of the damage that the previous move ended up doing, was recoverable.
Hit Effects: whether the previous move was a Clean Hit, Counterhit, punish or wall hit.

Available values --

Display (default)
Hide

Opponent Attack Info

The same UI panel as above, but from the opponent's POV.

Available values --

Display
Hide (default)

Player Frame Info

Displays the frame advantage of the player character in various ways. In the default setting, it displays a constantly active UI panel below the Player Attack Info containing the following details --

Attack Startup Frames: the startup of the previous attack. For e.g., if it displays '16 (16-19)', the previous attack's startup is i16~19. This value lapses to '--- (0-0)' after a fixed amount of time.
Frame Advantage: the player's frame advantage as a result of the previous move. For e.g., if it displays '+49 (-9)', the player is at a frame advantage of +49, with the opponent able to tech roll 9 frames before the player recovers. The opponent cannot tech roll, the value in brackets is '---'. This value lapses to '--- (---)' after a fixed amount of time.
Status: the player's current status - Standing, Crouching, Airborne or Downed.
Distance from Opponent: the player's current distance from the opponent, up to two decimal places.

With Simple Display, the UI panel is absent and the game instead denotes the frame advantage with a colored filter applied to the player character. When in the startup of an attack, it is colored white. When at a positive frame advantage, it is colored blue, and when negative, it is colored red.

With Show Frame Advantage, the UI panel is absent in favor of a small, constant UI element in the middle of the screen displaying the Frame Advantage.

Available values --

Show Details (default)
Simple Display
Show Frame Advantage
Hide

Opponent Frame Info

The same as the Player Frame Info, but from the opponent's POV.

Available values --

Show Details
Simple Display
Show Frame Advantage
Hide (default)

Hit Properties

Displays the hit level of the attack on screen as a color-coded splash element with the word High (red), Mid (yellow), Low (blue), S.Mid. (blue) or S.Low (blue).

Available values --

Display (default)
Hide

Reset

Resets all Display Settings to their default values.

Punishment Training

The punishment training menu is designed to allow the player to practice punishing the most common punishable moves of the opposing character, with their own chosen character. The AI cycles through a curated list of the opposing character's punishable moves, with the player expected to correctly block (or crouch block) the move and punish it. Upon a successful punish, a Great! message pops up and the AI moves on to the next move in the list.

The list of punishable moves that the opposing character will cycle through is displayed beforehand, and also offered is the ability to toggle whether a move will be included in the rotation or not. Also offered are two difficulty settings - Normal and Hard. Under Normal difficulty, the hit level and intended punisher are clearly telegraphed before the opponent performs the move, which is also telegraphed with a sound cue. Under Hard difficulty, only the hit level is briefly displayed before the opponent performs the move, with the player having to respond with an appropriate punishment technique.

Combo Challenges

Presents a list of combos of increasing damage and difficulty that the player is tasked with executing successfully. The player is awarded with a unique customization title upon successfully completing all the combo challenges for a character.

Move List

Brings up the character's movelist. This is grouped under two tabs - Main Techniques, that presents a curated selection of moves and sample combos, and describes their strategic use, and All Techniques, that presents the full movelist of the character and their properties.

Sample Combos

Brings up a list of sample combos for the player character. Each combo has its input, total damage, and estimated difficulty rating (from 1-5 stars) alongside, as well as notes associated with executing the combo (for e.g., dashing after a T! to execute the ender).

The combo categories include -

Combos that use Heat Burst
Combos from the character's common launchers from standing and croucing
Combos that use Heat Dash

Restore All Default Settings

Restores the Practice Settings, Restart Settings and Display Settings to their default values.

Help

Character Selection

Returns the player to the character selection menu with the previously selected characters for P1 and P2 respectively highlighted.

Stage Selection

Returns the player to the stage selection menu with the random stage select highlighted.

Quick Select

Brings up a stripped-down menu that allows the player to quickly configure the player side, character and stage selection in one go, and restart practice mode with the new settings.

Controller Setup

Brings up the binds menu to allow the player to alter their binds.

Tekken 5:DR

In Tekken 5:DR, training mode is an offline mode called Practice (must scroll down the menu to find). It allows the selection of a character (for the player and their opponent) and stage before beginning a non-time limited round in the default start position based on the player's selections. Sides cannot be selected beforehand like future titles.

For both P1 and P2's characters, Lili is highlighted by default. On stage selection, the random stage select is highlighted by default.

Practice Settings

Determines various properties of the game state specific to the player or opponent characters, as well as their behaviors.

This is divided into three separate training categories, each with their own options (although some are shared).

Mode Select

Alters the available practice settings options that control the behavior of the opponent. These are grouped under three categories --

Freestyle (default): allows setting predetermined responses to situations to test out offensive sequences
Defensive Training: allows setting up custom opponent sequences, typically to practice defending against them, or exploring defensive options
- Can be accessed by scrolling left from the default Freestyle menu, or right from VS CPU Training.
VS CPU Training: sets the opponent to be controlled by the AI in order to simulate gameplay
- Can be accessed by scrolling right from the default Freestyle menu, or left from Defensive Training.

Freestyle

Return to Game Play

Unpauses the game and returns to gameplay. This option or Select must be pressed in order to apply changes made from the pause menu. Pressing Cancel (Circle, B etc.) will not save options made in the menu when returning to gameplay.

Command List

Brings up the character's movelist. This lists each of the character's moves in descending order by button/button combination, with no ability to sort them. This sorting can slightly differ depending by character, with stances/different buttons being listed at different intervals (throws will all always be at the bottom of the page, but that's about it). will be at the very bottom of the page.

Some moves or more obscure techniques (like Jin's Soul Rage, generic moves etc.) are not listed, but are listed in their respective character movelist pages, or on the generic movelist page for T5DR.

The player can also select Hold to keep the selected move onscreen while training (with the ability to play a demonstration from there), as well as select Play Demo to play a pre-recorded clip of the move being performed.

Training Dummy

Sets the default behavior of the opponent.

Available values are --

Stand (default): the opponent will stand without blocking or neutral guarding.
Stand Guard: the opponent will stand block without neutral guarding.
Crouch: the opponent will simulate holding the down input, entering full crouch.
Crouch Guard: the opponent will simulate holding the down-back input, entering full crouch.
Guard All: the opponent will automatically block all highs, mids and lows as appropriate. It will not be able to block unblockables or guard breaks, along with not breaking throws.
Auto Guard: the opponent will stand while neutral guarding.
Quick Roll Down (Left): the opponent tech rolls left i.e. they tap 1 or 2 to roll into the foreground or background depending on the direction they're facing, such that the resultant direction is to their left.
Quick Roll Up (Right): the opponent tech rolls right i.e. they tap 3 or 4 to roll into the foreground or background depending on the direction they're facing, such that the resultant direction is to their right.
Spring Forward: the opponent simulates holding forward during the tech roll window to do a kip up.
Quick Roll Back: the opponent simulates holding back during the tech roll window to do a back roll.
Controller: allows connecting a second controller to take control of the opponent. Important for practicing or setting up certain scenarios, due to the limited options of training mode compared to future titles.

Counter Attack

Toggles the counter-hit status of the opponent.

Available values are --

On: the first hit has a forced counter hit property, but subsequent hits that combo do not.
Off (default): no forced counter hit property.

There is no way to alter the counter-hit status of the player.

Command Capture

Command Capture is a feature that allows the player to "remember" a series of inputs with Select+Circle. After recording begins, Select can be pressed again to end the recording. After the inputs are recorded, Select+X plays back the player's inputs. There is only one recording slot, so recording again will delete the previous one.

This is useful to quickly examine options from a situation, since one could setup the situation, remember it, and reproduce it to examine different options, avoiding having to recreate the situation for each option. Another use case is when practicing combos, since it becomes easier to isolate individual parts of a combo to practice. One can execute the section of a combo prior to the one that needs practice, repeat the inputs, and then continue from there.

Because there is no way to record inputs for the opponent dummy, this option is best when combined with "Controller" under the basic Training Dummy options. The player can then use a second controller under P2 to test recorded actions similar to modern titles.

Available values are --

On: adds the ability to record options.
Off (default): does not add this ability. If toggled to Off and back On after recording an option (prior to pausing), the recording will still be saved.

Attack Data

This alters the way that the lifebar display is shown at the top of the screen.

Available values are --

Type 1 (default): displays the character lifebars and timer as normal.
Type 2: displays the characters' life values numerically (this also gets rid of the timer). Damage values recorded track the total amount of damage received for both the player and opponent across the entirety of the training session. Going back to character select resets these values.

Hit Analysis

Displays when each character is actionable following an attack. Both characters will be brightened, and when an attack is performed or received, they will turn blue. During this blue period, no actions are able to be performed. Useful for seeing how much recovery a move has, or for eyeballing who has advantage after a situation (although frame data is more reliable).

Available values are --

On: indicates the action period for each character following an attack.
Off (default): does not display this information following an attack.

Character Select

Returns the player to the character selection menu. Previously selected characters are not highlighted.

When selecting from the training menu, No is highlighted by default, must scroll left or right to choose Yes.

Return to Title Screen

Returns the player to the main menu.

When selecting from the training menu, No is highlighted by default, must scroll left or right to choose Yes.

Defensive Training

Return to Game Play

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Command List (Defensive Training)

Although not named differently, this option allows the player to select which moves the opponent dummy will perform. Options can only be selected from each character's movelists (any moves not on the movelist must be performed with a recording).

There is no limit to how many moves can be selected. If multiple moves are selected, the opponent dummy will randomly select a move to perform. The odds for each move cannot be altered.

Useful for simulating defensive scenarios, like punishing or avoiding moves.

Interval

Sets the duration between successive input sequences from the opponent dummy.

The available values are --

Normal (default): no change in speed.
Fast: a slight increase in speed by about 1s.
Slow: a slight decrease in speed by about 1s.

Counter Attack

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Attack Data

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Hit Analysis

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Character Select

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Return to Title Screen

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

VS CPU Training

Return to Game Play

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Command List

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Difficulty Level

Sets the strength of the opponent CPU. The available values are --

Easy
Medium (default)
Hard
Very Hard
Ultra Hard

Attack Data

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Hit Analysis

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Character Select

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Return to Title Screen

Similar to the default Freestyle menu option.

Tips

Because of the limitations of the mode, there are several workarounds/tips for testing certain move attributes and scenarios. These are not exhaustive and are suggestions.

Restart Position / Resetting

Unlike modern titles, there is no selectable reset option to return characters to their default states/stage positioning.

In order to get around this, there is an method using the Command List that can be useful.

Pause the game and navigate to the Command List.
Using any move, select Hold.
Whenever you want to reset, press Select+Triangle to play a demo of the selected move.
Press Cancel to immediately exit the demonstration. After exiting, both characters will be placed back into default positioning.

This can be simiarly achieved by playing a demonstration from the Command List outright. However, this method is inferior, as it doesn't return to gameplay, and requires the player to exit both the Command List and Practice Settings menus.

Counter-Hit on the Player

There is no option to place counter-hit status onto the player, only options for the opponent. The easiest way to make up for this is using a combination of the Command Capture and Controller options.

Using Command Capture, the players uses ki charge (1+2+3+4) to record themselves getting counter-hit status. Then, using the Controller option under basic Training Dummy settings, the player can use a second controller to test out any scenarios.

Testing Unlisted Moves

As mentioned previously, some moves in the game are not listed on their respective command lists for the characters. Consequently, they cannot be selected in Defensive Training. To make up for this, the Command Capture and Controller options can be used in combination again.

Using Command Capture, the player records their desired move for testing. Then, using the Controller option under basic Training Dummy settings, the player can use a second controller to test out any scenarios involving that move.