[Top 5] SFV Best Charge Characters That Are Great

Updated:

08 May 2022

Do you want to know what are the best charge characters in SFV? Find out here!

The most iconic match-up in all of Street Fighter must be Ryu vs Guile. The standard shoto vs the charge character. Hadoken vs Sonic Boom. All of the details that occur behind the scenes in this match are a delight to any Street Fighter fan, as the timing that a charge character needs to hold the charge is crucial for any charge character player.

You can charge by simply walking back and blocking low, but the game allows you to keep charging when airborne, knocked down, and even before the round begins. Mastering the time of charges requires skill and awareness, but for those who can pull it off masterfully, these are the best options in Street Fighter V.

5. E. Honda

GustC (E.Honda) is amazing! Street Fighter V Champion Edition SFV CE

Honda is a particularly slow and straightforward character that many may call a BS character. Nonetheless, he’s still used in high-level play and you should never count him out.

Edmond Honda uses a very peculiar turtling style, defending to the best of his abilities until he sees an opening to attack with the Sumo Headbutt or the infamous Butt Slam. Getting too close to him is also quite dangerous, as he may grab you with his Orochi Throw.

In SFV, he has greatly improved mechanics, being able to use his Hundred Hands Slap in various combos, aided by his V-Skill. His V-Trigger II also allows him to easily control the positioning of the opponent by throwing him into the corner, where Honda can initiate his pressure game with the Hundred Hands Slap.

What Makes E. Honda Great:

Bulky resilience
Clear and consistent gameplan
Has a very helpful V-System

4. Urien

Tokido (Urien) masterclass Street Fighter V Champion Edition SFV CE

Urien has suffered terrible nerfs when it comes to his defense after the last balance update patch, but his offense is still incredibly sharp and he’s still a massive threat in neutral or when he initiates his offense.

He has normals with fantastic range and great pokes that help him keep his opponents in check, and he’s also one of the best characters at anti-airing in SFV. His crouching fierce in particular is a fantastic anti-air move that can lead to high-damage juggling combos.

Urien has a fantastic mix-up and set-up, especially thanks to his Aegis Reflector. He has 3 brutal charge moves that can gain armor with his V-Skill 1 and each serves a different purpose. His Violence Knee Drop works as a sort of dive kick that can intercept an unsuspecting opponent and his Chariot Tackle is a scary forward-moving attack that mostly serves to end combos and to cover distance quickly, but it’s in his Dangerous Headbutt that the charge timing is crucial, as it is usually a combo extender and a scary anti-air with juggling potential.

What Makes Urien Great:

One of the best V-Trigger in the game
Anti-air normals can combo for optimal damage
V-Skills and Aegis Reflector open the way to countless set-ups

3. Balrog

Brian_F (Balrog) best NA boxer Street Fighter V Champion Edition SFV CE

Balrog is an absolute terror for any character he fights again. Being mostly a counter-attack character, Balrog relies on good reads on the opponent and attacks launched at perfect openings. As Balrog can deal a lot of damage, dealing with him can be pretty overwhelming.

His Dash Straight is mildly safe on block and a surprisingly great poke, that causes big damage and is fast enough to catch an opponent off guard. He can deal with fireballs and the like with the help of his V-Skill 1 and his Turnaround Punch, and he has multiple ways to anti-air. This, together with a fast 3-frame normal that can start a Target Combo, grant him an amazing defense.

What also makes Balrog great is the number of options he has to combine his moves together, which means that even though he’s a very grounded character, he can be extremely hard to read. When Balrog approaches, he can safely strike from a standing position, sneakily attack low, launch the opponent into the air or even go to a throw. That’s why it’s so tough to play against him, as he can create tension in any situation, regardless if he’s attacking or defending.

What Makes Balrog Great:

Dash Straight is a great and safe way to approach the opponent offensively
High-damage output
His counter-attack design allows him to create great combo conversions out of a multitude of scenarios

2. M. Bison

ProblemX (Bison) is complete ! Street Fighter V Champion Edition SFV CE

M. Bison’s gameplay is all about pressure as he can keep pushing his opponents to their limits with the constant use of his relatively safe special moves like the Double Knee Press and control the air with his Head Press and Devil Reverse.

In SFV, his signature Psycho Crusher can only be used either during his Critical Art or during his V-Trigger II, but it is significantly boosted to compensate for the lower usage rate. V-Trigger I, on the other hand, offers him the ability to use his special moves without needing time to charge during combos, he can absorb and reflect projectiles with his V-Skill I and he can teleport himself to the back of his opponent with his V-Skill II, Devil’s Wrap, which can then be followed up on juggle.

With terrific charge moves that leave Bison safe on block and that can be highly destructive when incorporated into combos, M. Bison is the perfect choice for those who, like himself, like to play the oppressor’s game, choking their opponent out of options and not leaving any breathing room.

What Makes M. Bison Great:

Relentless pressure
Safe special moves
Overwhelming space control

1. Guile

Daigo Umehara (Guile) master Street Fighter V Champion Edition SFV CE

Guile is a classic Street Fighter World Warrior and the one most people think of when they hear the expression “charge character”. He supports only 2 special moves, them being the Sonic Boom projectile and the anti-air Flash Kick, both of which require a charge motion.

Sonic Boom is arguably the best projectile in Street Fighter, in terms of reward and recovery time. In SFV, Guile’s V-System is mostly focused on improving the usage of his 2 special moves and when V-Trigger I is activated, Guile can shoot off several Sonic Booms with only one charge needed, boosting his zoning and his combo potential.

Guile’s normals are all amazing, with great range and high damage and stun, making them extremely satisfying to hit the opponent with. This is particularly true in regard to his upside-down kick, back fierce crush counter, and his iconic backfist.

Being a charge character means that Guile is highly defensive, so his gameplay revolves around using his amazing normals during footsies and trying to keep as many Sonic Booms as possible on the screen, to zone the opponent out. This fact makes it so that it is extremely important to try to charge in every little opportunity when playing Guile, to be able to play him to his fullest potential. The Sonic Soldier is also the only character in the game whose Critical Art requires a charge, making it crucial to track your charge time when the meter is full.

What Makes Guile Great:

One of the best zoners in the game
Brilliant normals in neutral
One of the best anti-air characters in the game.

For some people, charge characters will always represent a portion of the roster that they would never dare pick up, preferring to move more freely and have wider options in different scenarios. However it’s undeniable that charging correctly does pay off, as some of the best characters in SFV, and to be honest, in the whole history of the franchise, have been chargers.

In Street Fighter V, there are no Delta motion inputs and the charge times are relatively fast, and even part of the roster that used to be a charge character is now playable with no charge required. This allows for new and interesting approaches to the charge gameplay, and lets new players find ways to use charge inputs in situations that we never dreamed possible in the past.

Hopefully, this list helps you get to know what makes these characters so hard to deal with and gets you pumped up to try some of these fighters the next time you play. You’ll find that the reward for good charging cannot be overstated, and it is definitely true that playing a charge character will make you better at blocking in general, as you’ll be forced to walk back many more times.

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