Tekken 7: Nina Guide - Combos and Move List

Nina is one of the easiest characters to learn in Tekken 7. She specializes in high-speed close combat. Nina possesses the ability to lock down opponents. To play effectively for her, it is also important to know that if you want to maximize her against solid opponents you need to rely on less attacking, more safe decision making, better movement, and spacing, as well as a good deal of character matchup knowledge. Don't get sucked in by these moves but feel free to use them to get free points against weak opponents, especially online.

Who is Nina in Tekken?

Nina Williams, as well as her sister Anna, has been practicing martial arts since childhood. They were raised by their father, so both girls were very attached to him. The death of her father, a former contract killer, exacerbated the contradictions between them.

Nina decided to follow in her father's footsteps and also become a hitman. At the age of 20, she was hired to assassinate the head of the transnational corporation Mishima Zaibatsu and the main villain in the world of Tekken Heihachi Mishima.

She also received an assignment to kill Kazuya Mishima, but during its execution, Anna intervened and this could not be done. Then Anna and Nina became participants in the experiment and plunged into cryogenic sleep for 19 years.

Tekken 7 Nina combos

Crouching Punishers:

• i10: d+1 (5 damage, +6 on hit)
• i11: ws4 (15 damage, +7 on hit)
• i13: ws1 1+2 (35 damage, KND and wall splat), ws3~1+2 (possible chain grab followups)
• i15: ws2 (60ish damage combos, has problematically short range)
• i18: uf2,1 (75 damage combo)

Standing Punishers:

• i10: 1,2 jabs (17 damage, +5 on hit), 1,4 (24 damage, +1 on hit)
• i12: b2,2 (28 damage, +5 on hit)
• i14: df3,4 (34 damage, +7 on hit, free mid/low mixup if desired), f3 (30 damage + wall splat)
• i15: df2 (60+ damage combo) (Doesn’t launch crouchers on normal hit)
• i16: b1+4 (70+ damage combo)
• i18: uf2,1 (75 damage combo)

Armor Move:

• f1+2: 24 damage, i17, -14 on block, ok range, wall splats. Can also be done with ws1+2, same move.

Homing Moves:

• db2: 20 damage, normal hit KND, CH tailspin launch, -5 on block, doesn’t actually duck anything, slow (i20), decent range, wall splats
• df1+2: 15 damage, wall splat on hit, massive pushback on block, even at wall.

Wall Bounce:

• Ff1+2: 26 damage, -5 on block, when fully held does 32 damage and +8 on block

Long Range and Approach Moves 

• Fff1+2: This move is probably her best approach in season 3. It gets her to a reasonable distance on block (careful, there is still some pushback so only part of her movelist is actually available as a followup) with a semi-fast running move that is +4 on the block. This move crushes lows while she is not touching the ground and deals great damage. It particularly shines at the wall where pushback is reduced, and it even wall splats for high damage wall combos, making it particularly nasty in the situations where you have your opponents back up against the wall. Keep in mind that like all running moves it is difficult to execute at close ranges while being easier when further out. Mildly steppable.
• Uf1: This will cover a large distance and combo on normal hit, while hitting mid, and is completely safe. It also jumps over lows. Problem is the frames are bad enough that your turn is up if it’s blocked, so don’t consider it a free approach so much as a long range possibility. It isn’t very fast on start up either. Recovers crouched. B1+3 can catch a retaliation jab from this though. Strong against people whiffing randomly at range or moving forward at the wrong time, as well as a hard callout.
• DB2: This move is also one of her homing moves. Its very slow but the range is pretty good so you can still land the occasional CH randomly. You have very few good followups if blocked at -5 frames, but it’s a good way to simultaneously close distance while throwing out a hitbox. Despite its homing property, its relatively slow speed makes it tough to catch a small step with it, so it functions more so as a space control tool that can’t be stepped. Also wallsplats. If you notice your opponent jabs immediately after this move, you can try immediately using your parry (b1+3 or b2+4) to catch retaliations
• Qcf3: This is actually a really good move for approach from time to time. You are dead as hell if it’s blocked or stepped, which it can be very easily if overused, however it leaves you with frame advantage that varies between 0 to extremely + based on how far you are. At long range the advantage is more pronounced because you will have recovered from more of the animation before it hits the opponent, leaving your fast options like ws4 completely uninterruptible. It leaves your opponent crouched on hit as well, and on CH gives a combo. Its phenomenal for finishing an opponent with a sliver of health left, but remember this move is risky as balls. You can check the opponent's duck with fff1+2 at similar ranges, however.
• Whiff Punishers: Surprisingly, she has pretty decent whiff punishers. DB3+4, B1+4, uf21 are all pretty good at filling this roles. Careful about throwing these out too liberally, since they are all unsafe, although uf21 is only -13. B1+4 and db3+4 however are suicide on block against a knowledgeable opponent. UF21 is generally the way to go but B1+4 is a tad faster, which can occasionally help, and the range will surprise you.

As with much of her movelist, there is plenty of scrub killing fluff:

• UF434: Massive guaranteed damage on CH (51), SS possibility with absurd frames from the low hit (uf434d or u), and huge range. If the opponent can't react to it its a free ticket to ss1 pressure and approach potential. Gets low parried on the 2nd hit past a certain rank, and has really shitty tracking making it miss a lot of the time when there is a lot of movement going on.
• Df32: Mid high NC with good damage and + on block with possible transitions. Controls the match in tandem with jabs if the opponent can't deal with it.
• D23: Second hit CH's into a full combo and has a massive range. Easy to catch eager people who thought you whiffed the first hit on accident. Gets you killed at higher ranks.

Medium Range Moves:

Hitboxes in Tekken 7 are quite fickle. The distinction may seem subtle but be aware of what is strictly a point blank tool and what can be used more loosely, particularly when playing Nina. The following moves have good enough range and allow her to attack without being glued to the opponent.

• Qcf1: This thing yields great CH combos, leaves at +1 on block and is invisibly fast while having great range. You can delay the 1 input to make her forward shift give more range. Careful though, this move is still a high and is slower if you wait on the 1 input. It’s not bad damage on normal hit too. It does not move Nina forward post-hit like Anna’s, but it’s still a welcome addition to her toolkit. Keep in mind pushback when blocked, it can be difficult to cover the distance created by this without moving first.
• D2: One of her few fast lows that has any range. It leaves at 0 on hit in a full crouched position with a very early high crush window. It is unseeable for the opponent, and pretty safe on block anyway, which means the biggest risk is getting low parried when predictable. You can stay down afterwards and dickjab to beat any move which doesn’t jump, or you can do FC df4 for a wipe the floor into ff3 follow up, while also crushing jabs. Ws4 or ws4,3 is a good option out of this if your opponent is retaliating with i13 mids like df1. Uf1+2 is ideal from here, since it can be performed from crouch, as well as any of your ws or crouched options. Careful of hopkicks from here, people at low ranks will spam them after eating lows (which isn’t smart but they do it anyway). If you block one give them a b22, or try to preemptively float them out of it with ws1. If they freeze on hit, you can crouch cancel by tapping up and do another d2 instantly to mess with them or opt for alternative pressure. D2 should probably be your most common low, but keep in mind it can be stepped.
• F214: This move has decent range, and if any part hits on counter you can start a combo guaranteed for 70+ damage. For the 3rd hit to combo, it can’t be delayed for too long. The problem is the last hit is a high, and since the string is 3 hits your opponent has time to predict the high ender and crouch on reaction. However, you have a mid option with 2 to cover this, but the mid option can be punished by 12 frame ws moves like ws4, for ~15 damage. The risk reward of throwing this out is not so bad, if your opponent stays up to avoid the mid, the high is very safe, at -3 only. You can delay the hits, but if you delay the third hit you are likely to drop an otherwise guaranteed combo if your prior hits landed on counter. This is, however, useful if you realize the opponent is guarding, since you can catch a hesitant retaliation with the delay trickery.

One of the most underrated things is just using the first hit as one of her better ranged pokes. This is a important part of Nina Tekken 7 guide. It’s a whopping +8 on hit and only -3 on block, one of the few things aside from df1 that brings Nina forward a bit and is relatively safe and fast. Keep in mind its high though, but the step possibilities on block as well as the threat of the rest of the string really helps establish priority.

• FF1+2: Nina’s wallbounce. This move can be held to be + on block, gaining a bit of damage, but will wall bounce either way, for an improvised combo that will change depending on distance between the wall. Check combo thread for possibilities and range adaptations.
• F1+2: In most matchups this move can be extremely irritating (careful for Law, Bryan, Lars, Paul, Ling, Josie and 2d characters, they can launch this on block). It has massive range, and can beat whatever the opponent tends to throw out. You can also use it to catch them as they approach you. Great when you have health to play with and they don't, or if you want to gamble a bit.

• DF32: Her gimmick at medium range is this move. It will get ducked and punished at high rank for more than its worth, but if it goes unpunished by low rank players it can control a lot, being a natural combo, +1 on block and mid high with good damage and phenomenal range. Don’t overestimate the move, its more for combos than anything but it covers a lot of her space control weakness if the opponent can’t deal with it.

Post Approach/Close Range

This is the range where player can utilize most of Nina combos Tekken 7. Nina is almost unparalleled in speed up close because of her fast pokes and crush moves that put you back in the driver’s seat instantly. The faster you can think at point-blank, the stronger she will be. Keep your movement and poking crisp, and a lot of her stuff allows follow ups even when blocked, especially when you incorporate her phenomenal side steps after pokes.

 Don’t get hung up on constantly attacking simply because you achieved close range, you have to think or you will get CH out of your pressure for more damage than your pokes are worth. Another thing to understand about close range pokes in general is how the pacing shifts. Fast pokes like df1 or jab not only have faster startup, but because the block stun and ensuing interaction happens quicker, your opponent has less time for decision making than the half second pause granted by something like dragunov’s running 2 on block. This means you are trapping  your opponent mentally even more so than you suppress them with good frames.

 It’s a different kind of rushdown and requires quicker decision making on both sides. Panic responses like hopkicks and crouch jabs are more of a problem in these situations than when you are at + infinity, but it also makes you more difficult to read offensively (as well as making you far harder to step, because stepping queues are much faster). Low risk checks, side step maneuvers, low parries (especially against crouch jabs) and baiting panic responses for punishes are going to be an important part of your repertoire when pushing your turn with Nina. 

 Here are some shorter range moves worth using when you close the gap:

• 1: This is the fastest move for almost every character and Nina is no exception. The extensions are pretty ass. 1212 is never a combo on normal or counter hit and is technically unsafe, as is the mid extension with 1+2, so your opponent can just block and they will either regain the advantage or punish you. You are better off stopping after 1 or 12 and doing more interesting maneuvers such as side stepping or using d2 to crush high retaliations. The exception is 124 which is actually ok, despite being a high it can cover a bit for hasty opponents who try to CH you afterwards. If you do it every time you will get launched but its ok to mix in if you just want a simple, mild extension to your jabs. There is a mid with chain grab extensions, which can also help cover for the high property of the kick, but its unsafe (-13), requires a timed 1+2 for hit followup, and has kind of ass range so I wouldn’t count on that as much as just being sparse with the high kick extension.

Its worth noting her jabs can move her forward further than most characters while covering longer range. This means that despite her small limb size she can extend what is normally a range 0 poke into the medium-shortish range instead. This is part of the strength of her poking game; pokes like jab and df1 are typically balanced by having very little range due to their phenomenal frame properties, but in Nina's case she trades having longer range moves for having jabs or df1 that blurs the line between range 0 and short range. Many characters have similar frames from these same moves, but this makes her better at quick checks than most because she can use these a bit more reliably that most. Seriously, the second hit of 12 goes far for a jab.

• DF1: This is a vital mid check for Nina. Because most of her mids are either risky on block or not very damaging, you have to throw this out a lot get people to stop ducking. She is only -1 on block off the first hit, and -3 with df12 on block (which is also a natural combo for good damage). Spamming df1 into various options like step, crouch or d2 to avoid high retaliations will make her feel like a very quick character and is key to her rushdown, while basically forcing people to stand in the face of it. Jabs can close the frame gap afterwards as well, just be wary of using df1 into df1 against characters with good magic 4's like Lee, Kazumi or Julia. Otherwise go ham when it calls for it.

• D41: This move is more complex than meets the eye. It comes out in 12 frames and ducks highs almost instantly, making it basically immune to jabs. It’s an insanely good move to regain priority. If the first hit counters it’s a natural combo leaving you at +6, otherwise if the 2nd is blocked it’s 0 frames in a point blank situation, which favors Nina. The big weakness is that this move does not jail on normal hit which makes it dangerous to abuse vs high level opponents, but it's speed and high crush make this vital regardless of the level of your opponent. This move can be done from crouch as well, which is great when you are in forced crouch situations, since you will beat highs with the crush property and will beat most mids on speed, even at a slight frame disadvantage. On top of all this, if the 2nd hit lands on counter without the first, you get a guaranteed hit with 12 jabs. 2nd hit can be delayed and you can also ss1 transition (poor frame transition but visually confusing for noobs). Careful for hopkicks, low rankers tend to panic when they eat too many of these. You’ll want to start thinking of it as a primarily defensive move at higher level.

• 1+4: Apart from the use for wall setups this mid can hurt outside of combos. Useful against people ducking in anticipation of lows and highs, does good damage, pretty - on block but very + on hit and forces the opponent into crouch if it isn’t blocked. It’s a great call out to remind people not to duck all day, which can otherwise give her trouble. It also helps beat evasive moves like Ling’s AOP and catches step very well.

• UF1+2: Your command throw, where you literally throw your opponent a good distance. Great for breaking down turtles that simply hold back. If they don’t tech as they fall, much like with giant swing, they take additional damage on top of the 30, for a total of 40 damage. If they hit the wall it is untechable for 45 damage, and has gargantuan throw range. One of the best command throws around. Comes out super fast too, so any situation like db3 or CH d41 into uf1+2 is uninterruptible without the use of crush moves or side steps. One thing to note is that if the wall is at an angle behind the opponent they will often slide past the wall with this grab rather than smacking it directly, despite the throw’s great range.

• UF1: Long range, moderate damage combo starter, safe on block and jumps lows. However, it is pretty slow to come out, and if you are interrupted your opponent can get an ariel float combo against you. If its blocked you are at -5 frames, so you don’t have much followup opportunity aside from parry gambits (catches jabs) or sidestep. Leaves you crouched on recovery, see the combo list above for specific followups from this launcher.

• D, DF4: Another ducking low, this will knock down and can effectively reset the situation. Possible to do from full crouch (just hit df4 when you are already crouched, no d input required), where it comes out even faster. Free ff3 follow up on hit for 38 damage. Very unsafe. Can think of it like a budget snake edge, but is much harder to react to since it’s a tiny bit faster, making it viable to use even at high level. It’s still risky on block and doesn’t yield half health on hit, though. On counter hit this gives a full combo. Some of her higher reward damage from a low, and an ideal move for comebacks (although it also gets extremely predictable in that situation). The trick to get this move to come out is to still hold the df as you hit the 4.

• B34: A hit confirmable 2 hit string, highly delayable without dropping the natural combo. On hit it gives you a free ff1+2 or ff3 after the knockdown, and the 2nd hit on its own gives a combo on counterhit. If the wall prevents them from getting knocked away too far to the side, you can even get a d41 pickup at certain angles for a combo (although this is highly finicky). Both hits are safe, although the 2nd is a high so you’ll want to take advantage of the high degree of hit-confirmability to avoid doing the followup if the first hit is blocked. Of course at low levels this is unlikely to be punished either way. A chunky damage addition to her mid game, great for catching people ducking on offense.

• DF4: Fastest mid at i12. Not great frames on block though at -4. Good to know, though not many Nina’s use this frequently.
• D343: The initial low hit ducks highs pretty quickly. The first 2 hits jail on counter hit, and if the 2nd hit is not ducked it’s extremely difficult to step the 3rd (but if they can, they will often launch you for finishing the string). The last hit is never guaranteed but leaves at +2 on block, which gives you additional options like jabs or sidestep if your opponent retaliates, or something like df1 to check certain ws options. The third hit is very vulnerable to parries, however.
• B1: Super risky, but sidesteps far to the left side to evade certain pressure options. Easy launch punish if it doesn’t work, and requires close range. Yields combo on normal hit, but better to use it defensively.

Nina combos Tekken 7

With that out of the way, let's talk about her range and space control. This is important to Nina because she has a very bipolar range on her moves, and her ability to control space is far weaker than her ability to lock down at point-blank. She sucks at approaching, which makes stuff like a quick dash into block very important to approach the opponent. The sharper you are with her the less of a weakness it becomes, but dash blocking can naturally be riskier and less rewarding online with laggy connections. Regardless, you need to implement this tactic to get to close range with priority, which is essentially her entire gameplan.

If you react well after blocking with this method, you get priority for free through block punishes (which give you + frames on hit) and baited whiff punishment, and sometimes you will give a free approach regardless if your opponent freezes. Since her pokes (such as df1) come out fast, chaining them after short bits of movement can cover similar ground to throwing out longer-range moves.

There is a lag between the opponent's ability to visually react to your movement and your decision making (which is already occurring before they respond), which causes 2 different things to happen. At low ranks, people will throw stuff out preemptively, which should encourage you to stay back and whiff punish, while at intermediate ranks people will instinctively block instead of contesting an incoming poke they can’t interrupt. Both are tickets to get in the proper range for poking. Just don't abuse the distance you cross before attacking and try to mask movement with side-stepping and fakeouts to avoid being predictable. For a more comprehensive Nina guide you can click here.

We hope, you enjoyed Dashfight’s Tekken 7 Nina guide. Also, we recommend for you, your friends and comrades a special guide How to Play Tekken 7, if you are a freshman.

You can read about Yoshimitsu, King, Lars, Kuma/Panda, Asuka, Paul, Law, Hwoarang, Ling Xiaoyu, Lili, and Lei from Tekken 7.

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