Street Fighter 6’s Drive Gauge system is a brand new mechanic that was introduced by CAPCOM in their latest fighting game. This new mechanic has defined the way Street Fighter 6 functions and learning the same is critical to winning fights in this game.
The Drive Gauge can be found at the top of your screen, right below your health bar in Street Fighter 6. There are quite a few actions that can be performed only when the Drive Gauge is active.
If you use it too carelessly, the meter will run out and put you in a Burnout state. As a player you do not want to get into the Burnout state as you will be at a severe disadvantage and your move-sets will be reduced to half.
Hence, learning how to use the Drive Gauge optimally is one of the fundamentals you must master in the game before jumping into ranked games in CAPCOM’s latest heavy hitter.
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How does the Drive Gauge work in Street Fighter 6?
The Drive Gauge in Street Fighter 6 consists of 6 bars: Drive Parry, Drive Impact, Drive Reversal, Drive Rush, Overdrive Specials, and Burnout. These actions consume your Drive Gauge by a certain amount and you can always mix and match these actions to gain an advantage in fights – but that will lead to even more consumption of your Drive Gauge.
A detailed description of each of these actions have been provided later on. However, it is essential that you first get an overview of the Drive Gauge in general.
However, if you stop performing actions that require the Drive Gauge, then it will refill automatically. Unfortunately, there are other a few other things that can drain your Drive Gauge very quickly. This includes getting hit by Critical Art, Punish Counters, and Drive Impact, or blocking attacks from the enemy.
At the same time, if you successfully Drive Parry an enemy’s attack, then you gain Drive Gauge. Hence, keeping an eye on the Drive meter and understanding your limits is essential. With that understanding in mind, it is time to move into the various actions surrounding the Drive Gauge.
Drive Parry
CAPCOMA Drive Parry can help you get out of sticky situations in Street Fighter 6
A Drive Parry happens when you use your Drive Gauge to block an enemy’s attack. This ability is quite powerful as you can block pretty much everything starting from a basic punch or a kick to Overdrive moves.
The only downside to this is that you need your timing to be precise. If you fail to execute a Drive Parry then you will get hit by the enemy’s attack which will lead to disaster.
Once you activate a Drive Parry, your character will turn blue in color. Now, there are two ways you can perform this action.
There is a Regular Parry and then there is a Perfect Parry. A Regular Parry is when you just activate Drive Parry beforehand and wait for the enemy’s attack to hit you.
However, a Perfect Parry is when you block the attack just before it hits you. Once you land a Perfect Parry, the time slows down and allows you to land a counter-attack or a combo that would be impossible in normal situations.
Drive Impact
CAPCOMA perfectly timed Drive Impact can help you to open up enemies for combos
A Drive Impact in Street Fighter 6 is an action that you use to launch a forward-moving attack while also absorbing any attempt from the enemy. While you launch a Drive Impact, you will see the Graphitti paints being released which are characteristic of this game.
If you use Drive Impact properly, then you can leave the enemy stunned for a few seconds. This will allow you to start combos or even land your Critical Art without the fear of getting blocked or countered.
The only problem with this move is that, if the enemy can properly time a counter Drive Impact then you will end up getting stunned. However, it is impossible to react to such moves and whether a Drive Impact will be successful or not will depend on how well you can predict the enemy’s actions.
Drive Reversal
CAPCOMA Drive Reversal is extremely niche and is not worth using in Street Fighter 6
This is a move in Street Fighter 6 that allows you to launch a counter-attack on the enemy while they are trying to attack you.
It is ideally meant for escaping corner pressure, but it has diminishing rewards when compared to the resources that it consumes. A Drive Reversal can be performed by pressing Forward and then the Heavy Punch and Heavy Kick buttons together while in a block stun. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Unfortunately, it consumes 2 bars from the Drive Gauge and barely does any damage to the enemy. If you want to escape a corner situation, then going for a basic Neutral Jump or your Drive Impact will be much more effective.
Drive Rush
CAPCOMDrive Rush (Cancel) can help you to extend combos in Street Fighter 6
The Drive Rush is probably the most vital mechanic to learn in Street Fighter 6. In Drive Rush, you basically rush into the enemy at a very high speed which makes it difficult to react. However, there are two different ways you can use your Drive Rush.
Normal Drive Rush
A basic Drive Rush involves you using Drive Parry and then pressing forward twice. This will let you rush into the enemy in order to close the distance. This can be valuable when you want quickly get on top of the enemy during an Okizeme.
This move requires only half a bar from your Drive Gauge.
Drive Rush (Cancel)
A Drive Rush (Cancel) happens when you are already attacking an enemy and you perform this mechanic to land a follow-up with almost no delay. In order to execute this move, you need to press Forward and then Forward and Lights at the same time.
This allows you to perform Drive Rush with just 1 frame which is a game changer. If you have been watching pro players like Daigo perform amazing combos on Ryu in Street Fighter 6, you may have noticed that at certain times his character turns green.
This is the moment where he uses a Drive Rush (Cancel), which basically allows him to continue his combo on Ryu without any downsides. In short, if you want to perform combos, you need to learn Drive Rush (Cancel) as perfectly as possible.
A Drive Rush (Cancel) consumes 3 bars from your Drive Gauge instead of half.
Overdrive Specials
CAPCOMOverdrive Specials are high-damage versions of your basic moves in Street Fighter 6.
Overdrive Specials in Street Fighter 6 are basically your EX moves from the previous games. These are stronger and more powerful versions of normal moves like Hadoken, Shoryuken, and the Upper Cut.
There is not much to these, except that you can include them in between your combos for additional damage. However, these moves consume two bars from your Drive Gauge upon use. This means that your Drive Gauge will run out very fast if you try to spam them.
Burnout
CAPCOMBurnout state in Street Fighter 6 will put you in a disadvantageous position in the game.
Burnout is the state in Street Fighter 6, where you have completely exhausted your Drive Gauge. This is basically the state where you have no counter-play as things like Drive Impact, Drive Parry, Overdrive Specials and Drive Rush cannot be used anymore.
Hence, the enemy can simply spam Drive Impact on you, stun you, and push you into the corner. The only way you can escape from this situation is if you manage to somehow stall the enemy with your Critical Art or by blocking attacks and thereby wait for the Drive Gauge to refill once again.
Hence, that concludes our guide for Drive Gauge in Street Fighter 6. If you found it informative, then please check out some of the other Street Fighter 6 guides at Dexerto.
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