A string is a canned sequence of attacks. It is not necessarily a combo, but it can be.
In the in-game movelist, a single string is usually considered one âmoveâ. Another way to think of it is that the first attack in a string is the âmoveâ and every extra attack is an extension of that move. In either case, each step in a string must be considered, because the attacking player has the option to finish it, but doesn't necessarily need to.
Strings are a large part of the movelists in Tekken. Most of them have some weakness which can be exploited when known, and without knowledge of these weaknesses they can be unreasonably strong, so knowing your opponent's strings and how to deal with them is a significant part of matchup knowledge. Nonetheless, many strings even once known are real threats, either because of a favorable risk to reward, mental frame advantage, or simply the difficulty of punishing them accurately.
Properties
In addition to the usual attack properties, in a string—
- A delayable attack gives the attacking player the option of doing the attack later than usual by delaying its input.
- A jailing attack forces the defending player to guard if the previous attack was blocked.
- A natural combo (or neutral hit combo) is an attack that can't be blocked after a previous attack in the string hits.
- In some cases, the attack is only guaranteed when the previous attack gets a counter hit.
The longer a string can be delayed and still be a natural combo, the easier it is to hit confirm.
Typical weaknesses
When an attack in a string is blocked, the next attack can often be beaten by one of:
- Sidestepping, if the attack is linear
- Blocking, if the attack is punishable
- Ducking, if the attack is high
- Low parrying, if the attack is low
- Interrupting it, if the attack is slow
- Some characters might also interrupt it with a parry, powercrush, or evasive move
As a general rule, every extra mid and extra option in a string makes it more likely to have a fatal weakness. When a string jails, this is generally treated from a balance perspective as though the two attacks are a single one, since a defender can safely attack into it without being counter hit.
Examples
- An opponent doing a DF1 is commonly -3 on block. But they often have a string follow-up that can counterhit any attack you do, due to coming out faster than a non-string attack would. This is often a high or unsafe mid that also hits people trying to sidestep after the DF1 is blocked. If you visually confirm they haven't done the string extension before doing anything, you'll be acting at a delay.
- Most 1 jabs have a 2 string extension that adds damage, range and sometimes tracking, but is -1 on block. This string jails, so if the 1 jab is blocked, so is the 2. Because the 1 jab is i10 and the 2 is often i10 to i12 after this, this string will rarely be interrupted even on whiff. Hence, it can be used to control space, too.