[Top 10] Tekken 7 Most Difficult Characters To Master

Updated:

04 Oct 2022

Tekken has many characters that might seem hard to use at first but that is the point of the game.

Rising up through the ranks should feel like you are also getting better at the character you play. The game might be seen as difficult in general but there are also some characters that take that requirement for mastery to another level. Here are 10 Tekken 7 characters that need tons of time and practice to reach their peak.

10.Gigas

This hulking behemoth with a heart comes in first on our list because of his slow speed. Now, in casual play, you can use Gigas to have a bit of fun with your friends. Playing this guy competitively however, is a whole other ordeal. He is clunky and has very short legs. He has great range with his arms but that doesn’t change the fact that you need to be extremely aware of what you and your opponent is doing to efficiently use any of his moves. Every button press with Gigas must be timed and thought out precisely for each moment or you will be punished severely and that takes quite a bit of time with the character to learn.

See Gigas in action:

9.Kazuya

Right after the jolly red giant is Kazuya Mishima, the “devil”. All Mishima characters require quite a bit of practice and learning to play well and Kazuya is the easiest to master among them. Despite this, you need to learn his moves and perfect your execution for him to function. He is great at making comebacks and sweeping opponents up in mere moments but that is only if the player knows all about his techniques. Overall, a great character that becomes even greater with training.

See Kazuya in action:

8.Devil Jin

DJ has been a staple of the series since his first appearance and it’s no wonder why. Possibly the most viable out of the Mishima characters, he possesses some of the best combo potential and versatility in the game. His execution is quite a bit harder than his father Kazuya though. He is well-rounded and very evasive on top of being a fundamental Mishima character and he has seen a lot of play in tournaments but playing him as a beginner is quite the hassle. You need to spend hundreds upon hundreds of hours practicing his moveset both by yourself and against opponents. Hard to learn but with one of the largest pay-offs in Tekken 7.

See Devil Jin in action:

7.Panda/Kuma

The two bears are included at the same time here because their move set and playstyle is quite similar. Both these characters suffer from the same clunkiness as Gigas and on top of that, their move list is even harder to use effectively. With enough time in them however, these gigantic bears can be surprisingly evasive at the right hands. Their hitboxes are also different from most of the cast, making some of the usual combos useless against them. Furthermore, they have some of the highest damage combos in the game. All of this comes with a lot of practice though. These two are quite hard to play competitively and it’s always a spectacle when one shows up in a tournament.

See Panda in action:

6.Steve

The infamous boxer Steve has been with the Tekken series for a long time and it is obvious why, as he is one of the most fun characters to play. He has a huge drawback in that, unlike most conventional Tekken characters, he almost doesn’t have any kick moves. His kicks are mostly replaced with evasive maneuvers that lead to other parts of his move list but learning what move leads into what move and how evasion works in Tekken takes a lot of time. Couple that with his stances, most of which are required to use Steve efficiently, and you’ve got yourself an expert-level character to master.

See Steve in action:

5.Armor King

Kicking off our last 5 is Armor King, (obviously) the armored counterpart of King. This luchador is what one might call a “grab character” in hindsight but he is actually much more than that. AK is one of the hardest characters to play simply because of his extremely complicated move list. His button inputs require great execution and even then it is also very hard to get a lot of pay-off from them. Difficult-to-execute moves that also require a lot of experience with the character to be used effectively makes it near impossible for a person without practice to play Armor King. Despite this, he is an extremely stylish character and smashing an opponent's face in never looked better with him, if you can that is.

See Armor King in action:

4.Akuma

It wouldn’t be a difficult Tekken 7 characters list without the infamous guest from Street Fighter, Akuma. Akuma is known to have the highest combo damage in the game, being able to completely destroy an opponent even when they have full health, but that is only one side of the coin. The other side is when a beginner picks up Akuma and is unable to deal virtually any damage to their rival even if that beginner knows a bit about Tekken. This is because Akuma is a 2d character to the bone and mastering him requires more than just Tekken knowledge. Performing those 100 to 0 combos with Akuma takes a lot of practice even when your opponent is just a training dummy. Performing them against a live person takes a few more times that practice. When you are able to, however, Akuma is truly a demon to play.

See Akuma in action:

3.Heihachi

The last true Mishima character to be on the list is none other than the first, Heihachi. Heihachi is probably the least viable Mishima in the game due to how hard he is to play. Mishimas are generally very hard to master and Heihaci is the hardest of them all. His move list isn’t as reliable as Kazuya’s and he isn’t as versatile as Devil Jin. He is great at pressuring the opponent into making mistakes and being a powerhouse but that is the only thing he does. What he does however, he does best. When at the hands of a pro, Heihachi can feel like an impenetrable wall that never stops advancing. To play him at such heights require thousands of hours in-game using Heihachi.

See Heihachi in action:

2.Jin

Jin is one of the most versatile characters in the game and even that is an understatement. With his Kazama-Mishima hybrid moveset, he can adapt to any situation and make the most out of it. To play Jin with this versatility is no easy task however. Adapting to any situation with Jin means adapting to any situation as a player and that comes only with experience. Thousands of hours must be spent analyzing and practicing Jin’s moveset to be able to understand which decision is best for which situation. Without this versatility, Jin ceases to function as a character. All of his greatness comes from how familiar the player is with him and that is rather large roadblock for any beginners trying to pick him up. Once mastered, Jin feels amazing to play regardless of matchup.

See Jin in action:

1.Yoshimitsu

And of course, the first on our list is Yoshimitsu, the cyborg ninja samurai that is now a tentacle monster(?). Yoshi’s moveset is one of the most convoluted not only in Tekken but in fighting game history. Ranging from self-heals to sepukkus that deal absurd damage both to himself and his opponent, it is always something new with this guy. Furthermore, he has a bunch of stances that can be chained into from other moves. To even push the point further in, those stances and moves are absolutely necessary to master if you want to deal any sort of damage in your combos. Yoshimitsu takes probably more time than any other character in Tekken to learn and even then he needs extreme precision and focus to play effectively. This is not to say though, that even when he is mastered he isn’t great. Onthe contrary actually, as when a Yoshimitsu player pops off it’s always some of the most fun moments to watch in Tekken.

See Yoshimitsu in action: