How To Play Rashid in Street Fighter 6
If you’re heavily anticipating the release of Street Fighter 6’s first DLC fighter, Rashid, then the latest character guide is up your alley. In a Twitter post this week, the SF developers dropped a seven-minute-long guide breaking down Rashid’s kit. And considering his release is right before the biggest tournament in the land, on July 24th, the new info is surely enlightening.
Returning Techniques
The first move explored is the foundation for all of Rashid’s combos, which is the Spinning Mixer. A returning special move from SFV, this was his go-to combo ender and the EX/OD version was a way to get out of a jam. Not much seems to be changed from this move but the light punch version moves him forward quite a bit, which is vital in a game where zoners like Guile and JP can command the screen.
Another main portion of Rashid’s arsenal, Eagle Spike, returns as well with some interesting properties. While most of its use case remains the same, Rashid’s ability to control positioning on the screen with it is increased. The heavy version of Eagle Spike seems to have a huge corner carry potential and could push an opponent there from nearly mid-screen. This is a massive advantage on a move that requires no Drive meter, as being cornered in SF6 is arguably one of the most dangerous in all of fighting games.
Also coming back is the Whirlwind Shot. This unique projectile floats upwards at an angle and stuffs jump in attempts. Its atypical trajectory can take some getting used to for new players in the early levels your adversaries won’t be used to it either. Now it’s also chargeable which gives the Shot more hits and leaves an air current which can also hit opponents.
Rashid’s V-Trigger 1, Ysaar, returns from SFV and is significantly improved. In the previous game, it served mostly as a utility super which buffed all of Rashid’s moves that passed through it. In SF6, he can still do that but now if you slap it with an Arabian Cyclone he can kick the entire tornado towards his foe with blinding speed. Expect this move to devastate everyone for the first couple of weeks.
He Won’t Stay Still
Rashid was already a pretty strong character with those foundational moves, but with a few new specials, he’s bordering on the insane. Arabian Cyclone is the first of his new moves which functions both as a combo extender and guessing game in one. He can throw this move out and then follow it up with a number of unique attacks.
He can roll under projectiles or launch himself forward (which gives him an overhead too!). The pressure that can come from this move is crazy and while we don’t have the frame data on these yet, if he’s plus on any of these follow-up attacks, that can push Rashid to the top of the tier lists with the quickness.
Perhaps the most flashy of Rashid’s already eye-watering moveset is the Arabian Skyhigh. This mid-air jump allows him to change the trajectory and speed of his jumps and allows for some insane aerial combos.
Each level of attack changes the speed of the double jump, so you can mix up your approach to keep people off balance. This move alone makes Rashid the best fighter in the air in the game, but coupled with strikes like the Spinning Mixer and the Super Rashid Kick. He’s absolutely absurd off of the ground.
Is Rashid Top Tier in SF6?
Rashid is gearing up to look like a contender already and as SF veteran, Justin Wong, says might be a “1 million dollar character”. He’s got all the tools to hop over or under projectiles and can simply skip the neutral game altogether. Because of this, Rashid might not have big damage on his attacks or could have low health. But if he’s even moderate in either, Rashid is looking like a very, very strong character coming out of the gate.
