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Street Fighter 6 comes jam-packed with new systems to mess with, modes to dabble in, and control methods to cut your teeth on. In short, it’s an incredibly rich fighting game that is well on its way to becoming one of the best in the genre. With all of these new things being thrown around, however, it’s easy to overlook some of the newer mechanics.
Drive is the name of the game here, with Drive Impact, Drive Reversal, Drive Rush, Drive Parry, Overdrive, and even, “Honda’s Headbutt is Driving me insane”. It’s all here, and it’s all a good laugh – until it isn’t’. The trade-off is the looming threat of Burnout, and this guide is going to walk you through what Burnout is, and why you should probably try to avoid it.
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What Is Burnout In Street Fighter 6?
Burnout is a state you or your opponent can enter when their Drive Gauge is depleted to zero. Your Drive Gauge is that little green segmented bar under your Health. In general, if you aren’t managing your resources effectively, you will run out of Drive Gauge, and you will enter Burnout. This is not a great place to be for a number of reasons, all of which will be explained shortly.
There are a few ways you can end up in Burnout, with the most common being using your Drive abilities too much. Every time you use Drive Impact, Drive Rush, or Overdrive, you will lose a significant chunk of Drive Gauge. Spam these abilities without giving your Gauge time to recover, and you will Burnout. You can expect to Burnout after 3-4 Drive abilities used in quick succession.
However, that’s not the only way to lose Drive Gauge. You also lose chunks of your precious Drive Gauge by blocking powerful attacks. Every hit you absorb will cause your Gauge to whittle away, and eventually, it will break. This encourages players to be proactive in games and not rely solely on holding back.
What Are The Downsides Of Burnout?
Now we know how you enter Drive Gauge, we need to talk about the downsides – of which there are many. Firstly, your defences are weakened substantially. Now when you block you lose a small amount of Health. This is called Chip Damage and it will kill you if you aren’t careful.
On top of Chip Damage, you also lose all access to your Drive abilities. This means you can’t Overdrive your Specials, you can’t use Drive Parry, and you most certainly can’t Drive Impact. This drastically decreases your options in combat, with the last one leaving you wide open to being knocked around by your opponent’s Drive.
Speaking of which, if you absorb a Drive Impact whilst in Burnout and you hit a wall, you enter a prolonged Stun state. This is a terrifying situation to be in, and you will often find yourself losing the round if this happens.
Finally, you move slower and your attacks become less safe, and your opponent can more effectively counter you. Burnout is a horrible state to be in, and you want to avoid it at all costs.
How To Counter Burnout In Street Fighter 6
Thankfully, there are ways to get around Burnout, and if you are already in Burnout, there are ways to alleviate the pain temporarily. The best way to avoid Burnout is to be more careful when using Drive. You need to use it to maximise your offence and defence but always keep an eye on your Gauge so you never go overboard.
If you find yourself entering Burnout from Blocking, then you need to stop. Jumping, creating space, and using Drive Parry are all excellent ways to avoid damage and negate Burnout.
Entering Burnout is going to happen at some point, and if this happens, you need to be aware of your options. The big one is your actual damage remains the same whilst all your defensive options get weaker. One way of keeping the balance of power in your favour is to be aggressive when in Burnout. That way you don’t get pressured with Chip Damage.
Another excellent technique is to use your Super to counter their Drive Impact. Players will be looking to land a cheeky Drive Impact because you don’t have many answers. If you can react to a Drive Impact with a Super, however, you will very quickly turn the tides in your favour. Landing a Level 3 Super is usually your best bet, but any Super with invincibility will shred Drive Impact and heavily punish your opponent.
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.
