Tekken 8 Making Changes to Controversial Season 2 Plans After Community Feedback

Bandai Namco announced that the controversial throw break and chip damage changes for Tekken 8 Season 2 will not be permanent after the development team gauged community feedback. Another new change to throw breaks was announced for Season 2 of Tekken 8, and Bandai Namco outlined the adjustments that will be made soon.

The Tekken Talk Live livestream on March 23 outlined Tekken 8 DLC character Anna Williams and the gameplay adjustments that will be made with the Season 2 update on March 31. During the stream, Tekken 8 director Katsuhiro Harada revealed one of the most controversial gameplay changes in Tekken 8’s history thus far. Harada revealed that throw breaks will deal chip damage to the player who successfully negates the throw in Tekken 8 Season 2, and fans of the game were frustrated about the ramifications of that change on competitive play. The divisive change means players will be punished for being defensive, since damage is still incurred when breaking out of throws.

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Bandai Namco released its balance overview with a list of changes for Tekken 8 Season 2 patch 2.0, revealing that Tekken 8’s controversial throw breaks change will be scrapped in a future update. In a subsequent update, throw breaks will no longer deal chip damage to the player, and the thrower will receive one point of recoverable health for initiating the throw. According to the developers, they received feedback from players and reconsidered the inclusion of chip damage, concluding that the change imposed an excessive disadvantage on the defending player breaking out of the throw. The developers reiterate that throw breaking is a high-skill mechanic that reflects the player’s skill in Tekken 8.

Tekken 8 Will Remove Controversial Chip Damage for Breaking Throws in a Future Update During Season 2

Moreover, the input window for throw breaking will be loosened, allowing players to more easily break throws in Tekken 8 Season 2. This helpful change will be applied directly when the Season 2 update launches on March 31, but the chip damage will be removed at a later date in an upcoming update. The Tekken 8 developers note that the update and its adjustments are scheduled to be completed before the opening of Tekken World Tour 2025 on May 9.

The chip damage update is part of the Tekken 8 Season 2 roadmap, which includes a special Pac-Man 45th anniversary stage, free Atelier Yumia collaboration DLC, and returning DLC characters. Tekken 8 Season 2 is expected to last through the entirety of 2025, and the season’s final DLC character and stage are planned to release in winter 2025. During Season 2, Tekken 8 is one of the main titles for EVO 2025, and the game’s meta will likely change in the coming months as more character balance updates are introduced and more DLC characters are released.

Released

January 26, 2024

ESRB

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