How To Play Reina in Tekken 8

Reina finally debuts in Tekken 8, and she has already taken the spotlight as a fan favorite for casuals and pros alike. Implied to be a descendant of the infamous Mishima bloodline, Reina has seized her position as a hyperaggressive rushdown character that leaves little room for error for her opponents. While her moveset will seem familiar to previous Heihachi or Kazuya players, she has a few elements to her toolkit that still make her stand out from her contemporaries. Here’s a guide on how Reina can be played effectively.

Tekken 8’s Button and Motion Input Language

Since fighting games require reading inputs and are released for every type of console, there is a universal input for all types of buttons. Instead of saying Square, Circle or Triangle for Playstation, or A, B, X, and Y for Xbox, we will use the following names for every button and motion.

These terms will be used for all characters in Tekken going forward, as many of them will share the same motion and button inputs.

Mechanical Difficulty

While most characters have a gimmick highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, Reina is far more versatile with her abilities but requires studying her complex mechanics with her stance switching, bread-and-butter combos, and executing the right game plan in different situations. She is by no means easy to pick up and play, but she has a high skill ceiling that easily rewards players who can time her stances and keep the pressure on.

Reina’s Archetype

She belongs to the same type of fighting style as Kazuya, Heihachi, and Jin. She is a highly technical character with stances allowing her to make deadly mixups. Her first stance, Unsoku, which gives her a powerful kick move that can be inputted for a great engagement attack. Her second stance, Heaven’s Wrath, is a more defensive stance that can lead to powerful counterattacks. Her last stance, Sentai, is a mobility-focused stance that functions as a gap-closer, which can be weaved in after a combo to keep the aggression on when that combo knocks the opponent far back.

Heat Gauge Mechanics

With the introduction of the Heat Gauge mechanic in Tekken 8, many characters have been elevated thanks to the new benefits that either augment their playstyle or fill in the gaps of their weaknesses. For Reina, when she activates her Heat Gauge, she gains the following benefits: Her hits will deal chip damage when blocked, and her Heaven’s Wrath stance automatically counters mid to high attacks, which punishes the opponent with a knockdown. Reina’s Heat mode makes her a highly versatile fighter with great offensive options and a defensive option when executed right.

Reina’s Bread and Butter Moves

Reina, as a Mishima has Electrics in her moveset, meaning that certain moves come out extremely quickly, meaning that it’s hard to punish Reina for missing that move and can also be a great combo starter. One of her best moves, Electric Wind God Fist (f/n, ddf+2), is the fastest way to launch an opponent and set up a long combo on them. You can follow up with Un Oshi-kuzushi (d/b4, 1+2), Trailokya Splits Kick  (f, f3), and other long-ranged hits that will juggle your opponent in the air. If you’re playing footsies, she also has Hell Sweep (d/4, 4), a low sweeping attack that knocks opponents off their feet when landed and immediately follows up with a second sweep.

Gameplan

When starting in neutral, picking the right stances is key to getting a nice punish in. Try to make a play using one of her Electric attacks before using stances, as these attacks have quick start-up frames when going against an opponent overcommitting with a slower attack. Using Heaven’s Wrath on an attack you’ve read is rewarding as the stance-specific attacks can easily knock back an enemy. When going in for a combo, utilizing the Sentai stance’s forward dash gives you enough room to continue your combo. Getting a wall carry with Reina is also important in getting a win since she can give herself certain advantages. One combo (df1+1, 1+2, b4f) gives Reina good okizeme (pressure after standing up). Another wall carry combo is the following after entering Heaven’s Wrath stance (4,2,2, d/df/f, 1+2) deals heavy damage.

Overall. playing with Reina’s spacing options gives her a lot of power. A good Reina player will control the space between her and the opponent and force them to play at her pace. Always be oppressive with your mixups so that you keep your opponent guessing where to block next. Use your Heat mode when you’re put on the back foot, as this helps even the odds, thanks to the added auto counter function for Heaven’s Wrath stance in Heat mode. Learn all of Reina’s tools and when to use them to win matches more consistently.