Best SF6 Beginner Characters

If you have picked up Street Fighter 6 since its release in June 2023, you’ll notice that this is a game that was made with newbies in mind. Capcom had done this earlier with Street Fighter Alpha, but really committed to it with Street Fighter 6 by adding universal mechanics for characters and two new control schemes, Modern and Dynamic, which new players could use to easily navigate the game.

In fact, Modern controls have been so successful that they have been used at the highest levels by pro players. A great example was Haitani using Modern controls for Chun li and making it to Top 6 of Evo. Modern has made it so that you could say that a character is different from their Classic controlled version. 

That said, there are some characters that are easier to use than others and in this article we’ll take a look at five of the best SF6 beginner chracters

Lily

Lily is one of the new characters in the game and if you listen to many members of the FGC, they will tell you she is also one of the weakest. Lily is also one of the easiest characters to pick up. She's small with decent movement, and some damage potential. But, she doesn’t have a projectile, needs her wind stock ability to get most of her game going, and doesn’t have the bumper health usually given to characters that aren’t too strong. But, she is one of the easiest characters to pick up and play. 

She has easy moves, and her OD Condor Spire goes through projectiles. She also has a command grab which gives her extra options when she traps an opponent in the corner. If you were to pick up Lily on Modern controls, she is even easier to use thanks to the one-button specials which unlock her command grab and makes it easier to use. Lily is a great character to use to learn the game and can also help players figure out how to navigate some of the more annoying aspects of fighting games like neutral and good movement. 

E.Honda

The controversial sumo wrestler is the next character on the list. Honda might be a charge character, but he is not difficult to use at all and has a lot of tools that can help those new to the game. Sure, he is slow with some clunky buttons, but he makes up for that with easy confirms, decent assist combos, and some relatively safe moves. 

For instance, his sumo headbutt does some decent damage and is also -4 on block which is punishable, but isn’t very easy to capitalize on as the end of the move usually has a little pushback which makes it hard for the opponent to get to Honda in time to punish. He also has a command grab which is always a useful tool for any character to have. 

Again, Honda is not on top of the meta, but he’s a great character to get started with. 

Ryu

The old protagonist of Street Fighter is one of the most recognizable characters in all of video games. He has gotten a little visual adjustment, but he is still Ryu through and through. Due to his status as Street Fighter’s poster boy, he is, by necessity, easy to use. 

Ryu has always been easy to play and he is a favorite for a lot of players. In practise, Ryu has all the things that you would want in a character and doesn’t stress you out in executing his moves. 

Ryu has a fireball, nice target combos and doesn’t rely on gimmicks. He has a ‘Denjin Charge’ which amplifies some of his moves, but that’s about it, and you could use him without resorting to the Denjin state. He also have his donkey kick (High Blade Kick) which wall bounces and helps with his combo potential. This all adds up towards a great character to use for all comers. 

Luke

On from the old poster boy, to the new poster boy. Luke was introduced at the tail end of Street Fighter V to usher in the new era of the game and he, along with Jamie and Kimberly, form the new protagonists’ group for Street Fighter 6. Luke was a top tier character in Street Fighter V. He isn’t as strong in Street Fighter 6, but retains a lot of what makes him really good. 

Luke might not excel at anything, but he is pretty good at everything. He has a great fireball that is fast (although people will tell you this isn’t a great thing) and he has some really good damage output. He has a dp which is a decent anti-air and he has good target combos that deal damage. 

Perhaps the most attractive thing about Luke is his  level one super. Luke’s level  one super is hands down the best in the game. It is a useful combo ender, wake up option, and a super that the opponent can’t really do anything about except to block. 

Luke is a great option for anyone who is new to Street Fighter and is looking for a character to use.

Marisa

The final entry on this list is the strong woman herself, Marisa. The pankratiast is also new in the Street Fighter franchise and is one of the more popular additions to the game. Marisa is a unit and she hits like a truck. You would be forgiven for thinking she might be difficult and technical, but Marisa is one of the most straightforward characters ever made. Her game plan is simple: get her opponent to the corner and literally kill them there. Her moves are easy to execute and most of them have armored properties making them great and mostly safe.

A lot of her moves also advance her forward which is pivotal to her gameplan and awesome for neutral. She has a stance mechanic which brings out a lot of her mix-up potential but, like with Ryu, you could use Marisa without this and still be successful. 

Marisa is one of the few characters that deal with burnout really well as her moves don’t lose their armored property in burnout state which means she can still deal a lot of damage. 

And that was my list of Street Fighter 6 beginner characters. The advise to anyone who wants to pick up the game will be to use who you like, this list wasn’t made to shoehorn you into a character you might be uncomfortable with, but rather, giving a variety of options for people to start with and maybe graduate from. But, who knows? You might just like your starter character and stick with them