Street Fighter 5 guide: V-System

The V-System is unique to Street Fighter 5. It gives every character specific and unique tricks, reminiscent somewhat of the character-specific systems from Guilty Gear. (As it turns out, this game's battle planner (one of the people most involved with the nuts-and-bolts of game mechanics and balance) is the champion GG player Woshige).

Every character has a V-Skill, used by pressing medium punch and kick at the same time, a V-Trigger, used by pressing hard punch and kick at once when the V-Meter is full, and a V-Reversal, used by pressing forward and all three punches (or kicks, depending on character) during a block.

V-Skill

This is a special move whose function varies by character. Ryu and Bison can parry attacks, Nash can destroy fireballs, and Mika can pull out her mic and cut a promo. Successful use of a V-Skill will fill the V-Meter, so try to find opportunities to work these moves into your game.

Sometimes their function isn't completely obvious. Some are are admittedly weaker than others, and none are exactly killer moves, but they definitely have their uses. Birdie players, for example, will quickly learn how much fear they can inflict with a single dropped banana peel.

V-Meter

The size of this meter varies by character, but it's made up of blocks. Each of the blocks represents one use of a V-Reversal. You fill up this gauge by either successfully using a V-Skill, landing a crush counter, or taking damage.

V-Reversal

With the heavy emphasis on offense in this game and the great risk of a shoryuken, it can be hard to shake the opponent off. For this, you have a new get out of jail free card: the V-Reversal.

While guarding, press forward and either all three punches or all three kicks (this varies by character). If successful, you pay one block of the V-Meter, and the character will perform a pushback attack pulled from King of Fighters. In addition, a V-Reversal lowers the stun meter slightly, saving you from being knocked into a potentially fatal state when that meter fills up. With this move. you're trading off V-Meter (and perhaps our chance at a V-Trigger) to get out of a bad situation.

Not only is this a great defensive move, but you can also use it to push back an opponent who's trying to make a comeback. The V-Reversal inflicts grey chip damage, which we'll explain more thoroughly in the next section. If you land a V-Reversal and follow up on it with a successful hit, the grey damage becomes actual damage, and your reversal pays off nicely.

There is, however, a catch. As usual, if your opponent suspects a V-Reversal there's a way to beat it: The V-Reversal is vulnerable to a throw. So when things are worst for you, skilled attackers are going to expect the V-Reversal and try to get you to dig your own grave with it. Be especially careful when using a V-Reversal on air attacks, as it's very easy to see and throw it in that situation.

You might be hesitant to use this move at first, as it takes away the last resort that the V-Trigger represents. However, don't be afraid to throw it in once in awhile. Often a shift in momentum is more important than unlocking a fancy move.

V-Trigger

When the meter is full, you can use your other trump card, the V-Trigger. For many characters (Laura, Ryu and Chun-Li, for example) V-Trigger is a transformation to a stronger mode. For Necalli that transformation is extremely powerful and permanent. For Nash, it's his main means of escape. Karin and Bison unlock powerful new moves. Ken's V-Trigger allows him to use a shoryuken without taking a risk on it, and so on: you can see every V-Trigger summed up in the game’s demonstration mode.

Depending on your character, you're going to want to use this to turn the tide of the match in a desperate situation, deal a little extra damage to get the finishing blow or simply to put some pressure on your opponent. For most characters, V-Trigger is only available for a short time after you activate it, so make the most of it. However, you will lose your V-Reversals if you use it, so make sure you have a good reason to switch to all-out offense.

V-Trigger cancel

Like special move cancels, you can also go into V-Trigger from many normal moves, including crush counter. Just tap hard punch and hard kick at the same time during a hit, and you're in. Players mostly opt to activate V-Trigger this way. It's safer and more efficient than simply activating V-Trigger in the middle of the match. You don't want to activate your V-Trigger, get hit and watch your meter tick away to nothing, right?

If you play around with this a little, particularly in conjunction with crush counter, you'll see that big combos are possible this way.

Navigation

1. Intro
2. What am I trying to do in this game?
3. Controls
4. Basic movement
5. Basic attacks
6. The poke game
7. Knockdowns
8. Special moves
9. Control and execution
10. Combos
11. Counter and crush counter
12. Critical meter and critical arts
13. V-System
14. Stun gauge
15. Dealing damage and combos
16. Character select
17. Advanced techniques
18. Good buttons
19. What’s different in Street Fighter 5 Season 2?
20. This is just the beginning