- "Lunge forward with a powerful attack. Can be used to absorb an opponent's attack while launching your own offensive."
- —Street Fighter 6
The Drive Impact (ドライブインパクト Doraibu Inpakuto?) is a mechanic introduced in Street Fighter 6. It is one of the five Drive abilities, along with Drive Parry, Drive Rush, Drive Reversal, and Overdrive. It is very similar to the Focus Attack mechanic from the Street Fighter IV series.
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Description
Executed by pressing Heavy Punch and Heavy Kick simultaneously, the character performs an attack that starts up slowly and has 2-hits of armor.
List of Drive Impacts
| Character | Drive Impact | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| A.K.I. | Zao Chi | 800 |
| Akuma | Oni Goroshi | 800 |
| Blanka | Wild Scratch | 800 |
| Cammy | Spin Raider | 800 |
| Chun-Li | Hosen Kick | 800 |
| Dee Jay | Wild Beat | 800 |
| Dhalsim | Yoga Rise | 800 |
| E. Honda | Sumo Crunch | 800 |
| Ed | Turn Punch | 800 |
| Guile | Blitz Combination | 800 |
| Jamie | Vainglory Strike |
|
| JP | Espada | 800 |
| Juri | Sekkan Kick | 800 |
| Ken | Flame Strike | 800 |
| Kimberly | Steadfast Strike | 800 |
| Lily | Earth's Rage | 800 |
| Luke | Muzzle Flash | 800 |
| Manon | Glissade | 800 |
| M. Bison | Hell Twist | 800 |
| Marisa | Secutor | 800 |
| Rashid | Eagle Edge | 800 |
| Ryu | Shingeki | 800 |
| Terry | Backspin Kick | 800 |
| Zangief | Double Russian Chop | 800 |
Tactics
Usage
On regular hit, a Drive Impact results in a knockdown, which sends the opponent flying far away from the attacker. It can also be canceled into from any special-cancelable normal or unique attack, making it decently effective in blockstrings or to check the opponent with. On block, the defender is put into a stagger state that causes them to stumble backward, unable to Drive Reversal. In either case, if the defender hits the corner after getting hit by a Drive Impact, a Wall Splat occurs, causing them to stick to the wall for a free juggle state. Airborne/juggled Drive Impact hits cause higher Wall Splats that can lead to stronger juggle combos. If a Drive Impact is comboed into or part of a true blockstring, the Wall Splat does not occur, and will land similar to a midscreen hit.
However, if a Drive Impact hits as a Punish Counter, then the attack results in a crumple state, as mentioned above, opening the opponent up for a powerful combo on hit. If the move hits as a Punish Counter while the opponent is airborne, then the opponent is instead put into a free juggle state. Crumple states leave the opponent grounded before becoming airborne, meaning that while most grounded combo starters will lead to full combos, a Jumping Heavy Attack will take too long to hit.
While an opponent is in Burnout, any Drive Impacts in the corner that normally lead to Wall Splats cause them to become stunned instead, leaving them vulnerable to an even stronger punish combo, often starting with a jumping Heavy Attack. The opponent will then recover their entire Drive Gauge after the stun, either after the punish or if the stun animation plays out in its entirety, in which they fall to the floor.
Knowing the gap between the move's blockstun and the Drive Impact's startup is crucial for certain setups, as a 6-frame gap lets the defender throw the attacker out of the Drive Impact while a 9-frame gap lets them jump out of the move entirely. Certain characters also have meterless counter options, like Marisa's meterless Scutum starting up on frame 3.
Counter-Strategy
One of the easiest ways to beat a Drive Impact is, naturally, striking back with your own. If you have a read on the opponent's habits, the counter window for the DI is generous enough that you can input the move as late as the very end of the opponent's Drive Impact. The move also has a reasonable startup of 26 frames; while not always easy to react to in itself, it can still be countered if you watch for the splash of paint and listen to the unique audio cues (startup sound and character quotes when executing them) closely. Any DI that successfully counters another will always result in a Punish Counter.
The move can also be very easily beaten with a Regular Throw, should you fail to notice the incoming DI in time. The same also applies to a Command Grab (i.e., Spinning Piledriver or Manège Doré), especially if the DI was executed during said move's startup frames.
The move is also very susceptible to Armor Breaks, such as Super Arts, the Drive Reversal, or Marisa's fully-charged Gladius. Having only two hits of armor, it can also be easily broken by a quick chain of attacks (i.e., cr.LK, cr.LP into Lightning Kicks). Characters who benefit from quick, spammable standing or crouching jabs (such as Cammy or Ryu) will have an easier time breaking the armor as a result.
A Drive Parry is also a viable option, which, in turn, allows you to strike back with a Drive Reversal after the fact. If you can land a Perfect Parry against a Drive Impact, then the reward would be no greater than that of a jab on a perfect parry, since the move is only -3 on block despite the knockback. In this scenario, it's better to just use the Drive Reversal if you want to reset the neutral at the cost of two Drive stocks.
Do note that absorbing an attack with Drive Impact causes you to take Provisional Damage, which can absolutely lead to a Knockout if your health is low enough. Make sure you only use it if you know you have the life lead on the opponent.
Hitting a Drive Impact's armor frames causes it to pause on contact, with projectiles in particular causing an extra six frames of hitfreeze per hit without affecting the opponent's recovery. While using Drive Impact to punish fireballs may seem tempting, certain setups can pause the Drive Impact and allow the defender to escape, or in some cases even counter Drive Impact.
Gallery
