The Ultimate Guide to Dominate with Kimberly in Street Fighter 6

Kimberly is a new addition to the Street Fighter 6 roster, bringing with her a Bushinryu fighting style and a kick-dominant moveset. As an aspiring ninja, she is a normal mid-range Speed-Type character. However, some players have found her challenging to master. This guide is meant to assist those players by providing tips on Kimberly's ideal strategies, moves, combos, and counters.

Strategies for Kimberly

Kimberly's strategy in Street Fighter 6 centers on exploiting her opponents' errors through precise poking and punishing techniques. Despite her mid-range classification, her effective reach is somewhat constrained, making her moves vulnerable to interruption and grappling-based combos.

Keep the Opponent in the Corner

To maximize her potential in combat, Kimberly utilizes a variety of ground-to-air combos that are particularly effective when executed after a wall slam. By strategically positioning her opponents in the corners, she can more easily launch them into the air and quickly follow up with a series of swift and devastating aerial attacks.

Mix Up Feints

With Kimberly's Sprint, players have the ability to execute seven different feint moves. Additionally, mastering the Step Up technique of the Hisen Kick allows for an effective fake and setup. These maneuvers are crucial in making Kimberly's combos less predictable and throwing off the enemy's anticipation.

Encourage Aerial Combat

Kimberly's Seoinage-inspired aerial moves make it effortless for her to bring down any airborne foe. This strategy encourages players to engage in mid-air battles, thereby increasing their chances of breaking the enemy's armor and unleashing a barrage of follow-up attacks.

Chase the Enemy After a Knockback

Kimberly's heavy attacks have additional pushback that may disrupt ongoing combos. To compensate for that, players must include Sprint and Drive Rush in their chained attacks.

Kimberly’s Move List

Common Moves excluded, Kimberly has 32 unique commands: Two throws, five Super Arts, nine Unique Attacks, and sixteen Special Moves.

Best Combos for Kimberly

To maximize the damage output and hit count of Kimberly's combos, players should execute them in the order of poke, launch, and slam. This requires identifying opportunities to strike, launching the opponent into the air, and then slamming them back down to the ground.

For the optimal poke attack, players should use a combination of Medium Kick and Light Punch. When it comes to launching the enemy, the Shuriken Bomb is the best option. And for the slam, players can choose from Nue Twister, Bushin Scramble, or Soaring Bushin Scramble.

Beginner Combo: CR LK + CR LP + QCB K

A great way to control the battlefield and keep your opponent on their toes is by utilizing a crouching light kick and light punch followed by the devastating Aerial Bushin Senpukyaku. This powerful combo not only deals significant damage but also has a high pushback effect that can force your opponent into the corner, giving you the upper hand in the fight. To make this move even more effective, consider combining it with Kimberly's teleport ability, the Hidden Variable, to quickly close the gap and keep your opponent guessing.

Intermediate Combo: CR MP + ST HP + QCF HP + F Jump + J MP + QCB K

To execute Kimberly's intermediate combination, begin with a crouching medium punch followed by a standing heavy punch to break through the opponent's defense. Next, use Vagabond Edge to launch them into the air before finishing with an Aerial Bushin Senpukyaku after jumping forward.

Advanced Combo: HK + MP + HP into DR + MP + HP + QCF K + LK + QCF LK into Super Art Lv. 3

Begin with Drive Impact to initiate a powerful Vitality-draining Kimberly combo. Follow it up with a sequence of heavy, medium, and heavy punches, combined with a neutral Sprint. Check your opponent with a light kick and perform a Torso Cleaver move to further deplete their Vitality. And finally, unleash the ultimate blow with the Level 3 Super Art.

Tips for Winning with Kimberly

To dominate a match with Kimberly, players will need to prioritize getting her damage buff early. They must also gain ground and keep the enemy within striking distance.

Get the Damage Buff Early

Strategic activation of Kimberly's Level 3 Super Art in the opening round can significantly increase a player's chances of victory. By doing so, her damage and speed receive an 11% boost, providing a crucial advantage, particularly when facing opponents of the Power Archetype. Neglecting this step could result in difficulty taking down opponents and potentially losing the match.

Sprint into Medium Kick to Break Stances

Kimberly's Shadow Slide is a powerful Special Move that not only allows her to dodge incoming fireballs, but also delivers a devastating tackle to her opponent. By mastering this technique, Kimberly can effectively maneuver around projectiles, close the distance between her and her enemy, and set up powerful combo chains.

Use Teleportation as a Feint

By using Kimberly’s Hidden Variable, players can close the gap between themselves and their opponent, which can create an opportunity for a surprise attack. However, it can also be used as a decoy to trick the enemy into making errors that can be exploited.

Close Gap with Forward Heavy Kick or Slide

Kimberly's moveset may have a drawback as she doesn't have powerful neutral moves. However, you can still make the best use of her heavy forward kick and then move towards the opponent using her slide to overcome this limitation.

Mix Drive Rush with Normal Attacks for Frame Advantage

Kimberly's Drive Rush move proves to be advantageous when executed correctly. By following it up with a crouching medium kick, she gains a frame advantage of +9 upon landing a hit. Even if her opponent blocks the attack, she still has a valuable advantage of +5. To further capitalize on this move, players can also utilize her back-heavy kick to achieve the same effect.

How to Counter Kimberly

Kimberly's close-range grappling combos make her a fast mid-range fighter, but this also makes her vulnerable to Power-Type grapplers such as Marisa, Zangief, and E. Honda. Players can also effectively counter Kimberly using long-range characters like JP and Dhalsim, who have superior ring generalship and can keep her at a distance. Street Fighter 6 can be played on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X & S.