Wiping that smug off his handsome mug
[Update: Since this article went live, some readers have voiced the displeasure with me referring to Luke as a “Twink”. I apologize unreservedly. Luke is, in actuality, a “Twunk”.]
Capcom has released a new balance update to its flagship fighting title Street Fighter V. The update, now live on both PlayStation and PC, adds a selection of buffs and nerfs to many members of the title’s huge roster, but pays specific attention to franchise newcomer and all-round punching machine, Luke.
Luke, designed as a sort of “sneak peek” at Street Fighter 6, is an incredibly low-risk/high-reward character — packed out a veritable roadmap of melee options, while also having excellent confirms, a devastating long-range attack, and the ability to not only increase his damage power, but to keep it increased, provided that the hard-punching twink is still raining blows down on yer noggin.
In response to community complaints that Luke is already dominating both online and tournament play — with some of the best Street Fighter players in the world even admitting that Luke is exceptionally powerful — Capcom’s latest patch hopes to calm down yer boy’s hot-headed MMA rampage.
The update reduces the distance of Luke’s space-controlling M. Sand Blaster, increases the stopblock frames of his St. LP and — most importantly — increases the recovery of his Cr. MK and resizes the hurtbox on his St. MK. These are two buttons that Luke can generally toss out without fear, and can lead to V-Trigger activation or any manner of health-draining combos on connection.
Luke will remain a very strong character among the Street Fighter roster, even with these tweaks, but the changes will increase his vulnerability somewhat, increasing the risk on his neutral game and slightly decreasing his space control when distanced. Given that Luke is offered as a supposed “example” of SF 6’s playstyle, one would assume that Capcom’s current interest in high damage characters is set to carry forward into the legendary fight franchise’s next iteration.
You can check out the full patch notes over on the official Capcom website. You can also read our article about Capcom’s revised Community Guideline rules for hosting Street Fighter V tournaments right here.
