One of the most impactful additions to Street Fighter 6 is the aptly named, Drive Impact system. This new form of attack allows for all kinds of new interactions. If your opponent is spamming attacks, Drive Impact. If you have them in the corner, Drive Impact. Have they just burnt out? You better believe Drive Impact is waiting in the rear.
However, like with all powerful systems, Drive Impact can be difficult to deal with – especially for newer players who don’t have a complete grasp on Street Fighter 6’s other mechanics. This is natural of course, and this guide is going to walk you through how you can better handle this powerful attack, and better yet, counter it.
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Street Fighter 6 – What Is Drive Impact?
Drive Impact is a universal mechanic that grants the user multi-hit armour and deals a devastating hit if the attack lands. Drive Impact is rather slow, however, if it manages to connect, many bad things will happen.
Firstly, if you are attacking whilst a Drive Impact hits you, you are Countered and opened up for a free combo with no chance of escape. This can be devastating even at lower levels of play. Secondly, If you are in a corner and you block, you will be slammed into the wall and once again, be open to a nasty combo.
Finally, Drive Impact striking someone in Burnout who then hits a wall is put into a long Stun state. This can easily end a round since the strongest combos can be pulled off from this state, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
Drive Impact is a very powerful attack that can be thrown out at any time for very little cost. That doesn’t mean there isn’t risk, however.
How To Counter Drive Impact In Street Fighter 6
Drive Impact is a very powerful attack that can be thrown out at any time for very little cost. That doesn’t mean there isn’t risk, however. In fact, Drive Impact is one of the riskiest moves in the game as there are so many ways it can go wrong – especially if players are throwing it out without really thinking.
Of course, you still need to be careful as there are many situations where countering Drive Impact won’t work because you’ve put yourself in a bad situation (recover frames being the big one!). Here are some tips and tricks to help you overcome Drive Impact.
Block
The easiest counter is to just hold back and Block. You will take no damage, however, you will be staggered backwards. This is fine in most cases, however, it does push you towards the wall which is not the best place to be. Not only that but if you are too close to the wall when Blocking, you will bounce off the wall, making you vulnerable to a free combo.
Despite the downsides, Blocking is a solid way to avoid being bullied by Drive Impact provided you are using it wisely.
Drive Parry
Drive Parry is like Block, only better. Not only do you not move after Parrying, but since Drive Impact has a long recovery, you can actually take the initiative and start your own offensive. If you manage to land a Perfect Parry, you are in an even better situation and can go into even better combos, Supers, or Command Throws.
Parry is a bit riskier since you could mess up the timing, so we recommend you hold back. This will put you in a Block state if you fumble, keeping you safe.
Rapid Hits
Drive Impact has a lot of Armour, however, it doesn’t have infinite Armour. How Armour works is that for every point of Armour a Move has, you can take one hit without the attack being interrupted. This is the core of Drive Impact – you want to use it against players using slow, unsafe attacks since Armour will tank it. However, Drive Impact can’t handle several quick attacks.
This makes it very weak to spam Light Punch and Kick, as well as many Special Moves. E. Honda’s Hundred Hand Slap, Chun Li’s Lightning Kicks, Cammy’s Spiral Arrow, etc. If you can throw out a lot of very quick attacks, you can stop Drive Impact and punish the opponent for attempting it.
There are risks here. Firstly, Drive Impact is slow, but not THAT slow. If you don’t immediately react with a flurry of quick attacks, you are going to be punished severely. Secondly, many special attacks are too slow to be used as an adequate counter. You will most likely counter Drive Impact with them by accident, which isn’t a solid foundation to build your defence from.
Throw
Another way you can bypass armour, however, is with a Throw. Drive Impact is a short-range attack with a hefty wind-up. This is more than enough time to shimmy/dash in and land a cheeky Throw. This will also deal bonus damage as it will count as a Punish Counter. If your character has a Command Grab, this is even better as Command Grabs tend to deal more damage. Zangief and Manon in particular love slamming Drive Impact spammers.
You can even use Drive Rush to close the distance quickly and cancel that into your grab of choice. Honda players take note, Oicho Throw is very easily cancelable from Drive Rush and is one of your best counters to Drive Impact – even better with OD Oicho Throw.
Jump
This one might seem a bit silly, but you really can just jump over Drive Impact. A neutral Jump at the right time is fine, but jumping over your opponent is usually a better bet. This lets you start attacking the moment Drive Impact ends, and since it has a long recovery, your opponent can’t do much to stop you.
Armour Breakers And Armour
There aren’t many in the game, but attacks that break Armour also counter Drive Impact. Marisa is a great example of this as she has access to one of these attacks. Instead of trying to rapidly slap your way to safety, you can instead punch straight through Drive Impact and leave them reeling.
If you have armour – again, look at Marisa (although others exist such as Zangief) – then you can take the Drive Impact hit and counter from there. Drive Impact does one hit, and if you have any armour at all, no don’t really care about it. Tank the hit, knock them on their butt. Easy.
Drive Impact
One of the most satisfying ways to counter Drive Impact is with your own Drive Impact. If you time it correctly the game will slow down, you will absorb their Drive Impact, and then slam them with your own. This opens them up to a brutal counterattack and can turn the tide of a battle instantly.
This is one of the primary reasons you don’t just spam Drive Impact as raw Drive Impact is super susceptible to being punished. However, you still need to have decently quick reflexes to pull it off. If you are a button masher you might miss your chance and get slammed.
Super
Sometimes you can’t Drive Impact. Maybe you are mid-combo, or maybe you have run out of Drive Gauge. In either case, you have one last line of defence – Super. As good as Drive Impact is, it crumbles to a Super – especially if you are throwing out a mighty Level 3. Since they are locked into a lengthy animation and most Supers have some sort of invincibility, Drive Impact straight-up loses in the situation.
Of course, you need the metre to use Super and the reflexes and input skill to pull one out of nowhere (or Modern Controls…), but it’s one of the best ways to counter Drive Impact. It’s also reliable since if you are near a corner or in Burnout (near a corner), your opponent is looking to Drive Impact. If you look out for it and spot it, you can counter it and make them suffer.
That’s all we have on Street Fighter 6 for now. Be sure to check out our other lists and guides for more Street Fighter content.
