Yes you read that title right. In the wake of Mortal Kombat 1’s apparent death and Tekken 8’s vanishing off the radar entirely, it looks like all eyes are on Capcom’s Street Fighter 6 at this point, and they sure are making waves. Indeed, they’ve buffed throw loops yet again, a game mechanic that the majority of the playerbase loathe, by nerfing jump canceled specials which would beat out throw loops (such as Zangief’s jump canceled Spinning Piledriver) meaning that there is one less option available to avoid the 50/50 coinflip in the corner. If you want to read the full list of changes you can find them here.

While the minor buffs to throw loops are going to take the lion’s share of attention from the community, and rightly so as they’re indicative of a game state Capcom is insistent on pushing but nobody wants to participate in, there are also a bevy of balance changes to individual characters. Some characters got minor changes while others got a page’s worth of nerfs or buffs.

Notably, Capcom Cup 11 is going to be held in March next year, only 3 months away and Cammy, Ken, and Ed receiving nerfs (being the first, second, and third most represented characters in the Cup respectively) Ed especially being given a whole page of changes, meaning that those qualified with these characters might have to learn new mains in the three months between now and then. Ryu, who received a page worth of buffs instead, is also represented at Capcom Cup and his players are probably giddy at the thought of his new insanely good neutral tools and 70% Punish Counter combos.

Overall, this “minor balance patch” really brought a good amount of changes. But more importantly, it really showcased the mindset of Capcom as they move forward with Street Fighter 6 with their continued support of throw loops. There is clearly no intention to remove them, and mechanics and high skill techniques developed to counter them are quickly snuffed out, so if you’re on the fence about whether to keep playing the game depending on these loops this is a good indication that they’re here to stay.