To kick off the Killer Instinct World Cup with a bang, Iron Galaxy Studios held a lengthy session detailing the ways in which they will be updating Killer Instinct in its third season.

But perhaps more important than the what is the why. According to the developers, their main goal in season three is to “encourage player creativity” by giving the entire cast new tools to work with. That being said, all of these are subject to change, so don’t lose all hope if you see something that completely blows up your playstyle with a particular character.

Without further ado, here’s the entire list of tentative changes for Killer Instinct Season 3.

Killer Instinct Season 3 Balance Changes System Changes Some characters now have attacks that inflict a new “Stagger” reaction on the opponent. Opponents are vulnerable to throws during Stagger, just like after a Wall Splat, and cannot escape early in any way. You can still tech throws here so long as you are not locked out, just like a Wall Splat.

Some characters now have attacks that can cause a new “Flip Out” reaction against airborne opponents. Instead of putting them into a juggle state, they flip and land on their feet, allowing you a surprise mixup opportunity.

If you do not hit your opponent with anything breakable during your combo at any point, your Ender will not cash out and will be breakable.

Opener->Ender now remove lockouts, so that Opener->Ender is always breakable.

Ground Combo Breakers cause Flipout and are between -1 and +2 (Previously they caused soft knockdown and were between +30 and +60). This also makes it impossible in all cases to combo off of a Ground Combo Breaker.

Air Combo Breakers now cause Blowout. This makes it impossible in all cases to combo off of an Air Combo Breaker.

You can no longer cancel into Instinct from a Combo Breaker.

Hits that blow out a combo are now Breakable and Counter Breakable.

Sweeps are now breakable and counter breakable. Forced quick-rise will occur if your opponent uses a counter breaker, leaving them punishable as expected.

Corrected an issue preventing you from ever being Timing-Locked-Out while in the air.

Most juggle moves add much less KV than before, opening up new juggle paths to much of the cast.

The KV penalty has been removed from Ground Bounce for increased juggle opportunities.

Unified Shadow Counter startup time across the entire cast. They start up in 8 frames now, making everyone’s better except Aganos’, which got 1 frame worse.

Increased the window during which a Shadow Counter can catch an incoming attack by 7 frames, and also added 10 additional frames of recovery on whiff.

Grounded Heavy Normal attacks now ignore Armor.

Increased the cancel windows from Linkers into Auto Doubles across all characters to match Jago and S2 standard, so that if you are too early for a manual, you get an auto double instead of nothing.

Normalized the frame advantage and buffer check on all characters after auto doubles. Light Doubles leave you +2, Medium Doubles leave you +3, and Heavy Doubles leave you +5. A 5 frame buffer window is on all characters, rather than just some, so that your next move is easier to time.

Normalized pre-jump frames to 4 across the cast.

LK+MP is now available as an alternate input for Shadow Counter activation, Counter Breaker activation, and Medium Combo Breakers.

LK+HP is now available as an alternate input for Instinct Activation and Heavy Combo Breakers.

Throw breaking no longer causes 3 fully vulnerable frames on your opponent, and instead causes 3 projectile invulnerable frames.

Ender Damage tuning pass performed. You can expect better consistency in the relative damage output from different ender types. Generally, damage from worst to best goes: Meter Ender < Splat Ender < Launcher Ender < Exchange or Hardknockdown Ender < Damage Ender

Unlisted Character Changes – Many, many bugs have been fixed that are unlisted, but these do not effect game balance. They only get rid of odd, unwanted behavior. If a bug fix effected balance, for the most part, it is on this list. Character Changes Jago Fixed a bug that allowed you to perform Shadow Tigers Fury the frame before landing after a blocked or hit Tigers Fury.

Reduced Laser Sword Ender damage by ~10%

Reduced Endokuken Ender damage by ~15%

Double Roundhouse (F+HK) starts up 1 frame slower so that you can’t use this heavy move as a medium manual.

Healing amount per hit during Instinct reduced by 25%.

Adjusted the crouching HK attack box so it better matches his foot. This makes it slightly easier to juggle with as well.

Throw canceled into a Shadow Move starts with less KV for increased juggle opportunities.

Normal attacks push the opponent back less in a juggle for increased juggle opportunities.

Medium and Heavy Laser Sword juggles launch higher and closer for increased juggle opportunities.

Light Laser Sword and Jumping LP now cause Flip Out.

Shadow Endokuken is larger and has a larger hitbox.

New ability: Endokuken Charge ! Can now hold the button to delay an Endokuken’s release. Jago can dash cancel in either direction while charging up. When fully charged, you release a Big Endokuken. Big Endokukens can destroy some smaller projectiles, and also deals increased hitstun, blockstun, and damage. You can charge up in Instinct, and you will release two Big Endokukens at full charge.

! Can now hold the button to delay an Endokuken’s release. Sabrewulf Feral Cancel has a 30 frame longer cooldown, and a new indicator when it is ready for use again.

Leaping Slash startup slowed down. This move now hits on frame 20 instead of frame 14.

Fixed a bug preventing Feral Cancel from carrying over breaker windows for a few frames from the previous move correctly.

Running Uppercut has 12 additional frames of recovery, but is still -2 on block and allows Wulf to break out early for all of the same juggles with the same timing. Attack box size reduced.

Eclipse damage reduced by ~15%

Shadow Eclipse Damage Reduced by ~35% (because you can juggle after it)

All Ender damage reduced by ~15%

Sabrewulf no longer gets any damage bonus during instinct. He still deals chip damage with normals, however.

The frame on which Wulf can cancel his dash into a special has moved from frame 14 to frame 16.

Eclipse and Shadow Eclipse no longer auto correct to turn around and face the opponent after a forward dash.

Crouching HP starts up 1 frame slower so that you cannot use this Heavy attack as a Medium manual.

Sabrewulf’s Medium Leaping Slash Linker now hits two times. The Heavy Leaping Slash and Heavy Hamstring Linkers now hit three times.

Eclipse and Shadow Eclipse inflict less blockstun, making them a bit easier to punish.

Standing HK causes Stagger.

The final hit of Ragged Edge and Shadow Ragged Edge now causes a ground bounce against airborne opponents for increased juggle opportunities.

Crouching LK causes Flip Out.

MK and HK versions of Run move faster.

Hamstring’s slide travels farther.

New command move: Diving Slash ! During Jump Up or Jump Forward, F+MK. Cannot be done from a jump back. Has very few active frames, but tends to leave Sabrewulf roughly even with his opponent. Has the landing recovery of a normal jump attack, making it useful for repositioning.

! During Jump Up or Jump Forward, F+MK. Glacius Fixed a bug that allowed Shadow Cold Shoulder Linker to be canceled after the 4 th hit, but before the 5 th

hit, but before the 5 Reduced Shatter Ender damage by ~20%

Reduced Hail Ender, Shoulder Ender, and Puddle Punch Ender damage by ~10%

Reduced Shadow Puddle Punch damage by ~10%

Reduced Shadow Shatter damage by ~20%

The “tell” on Shatter (beam of light) appears 4 frames earlier.

Shatter has 10 additional frames of recovery time, making it more in line with the command throw that it is.

Shatter and Shadow Shatter are now actual projectiles, so they will whiff projectile invulnerable characters and cannot be countered by Hisako.

Fixed a bug that prevented Shadow Hail from being used after ranged Shatter Linkers or ranged Auto Doubles.

Shatter is active for 2 frames longer, making it easier to tripguard with. Its total active time is now 4 frames.

Glacius can now dash! It is not good, but hey, you asked for it!

Liquidize can now cross under opponents in the corner.

Hail damage and meter gain reduced by ~50%.

Hail can survive off-camera for longer, which prevents hail left off screen from being destroyed, and opens up new setups and approaches when leaving hail behind Glacius.

New ability: Multi-Hail ! Tap or Hold a different punch button while summoning hail to summon another hail. This adds another 25 frames to the move, making it quite risky if you aren’t careful. You can hold and release your multi-hail in any order. Greatly enhances zoning and setup potential.

! Tap or Hold a different punch button while summoning hail to summon another hail. New ability: Instinct Power Up ! New abilities available during Instinct! During instinct, when wearing Ice Armor, Glacius’ Shadow Counter window lasts until the end of the animation. This old bug is making a return as a feature! The defensive buff you always wanted! During instinct, Liquidize moves much farther and faster. During instinct, press HP+HK to perform the Homing Puddle Punch. During instinct, press F+HP+HK to perform the Cross Up Puddle Punch.

! New abilities available during Instinct! Thunder Ender functions and damage retuned to be in line with the rest of the game. Ankle Slicer Ender no longer causes a hard knockdown and deals much less damage, but still gives a full size battery bonus. Triplax Ender deals less damage, but more than Ankle Slicer, and still causes a Wall Splat. Sammamish Ender deals less damage, but more than Ankle Slicer and Triplax, and now causes a Hard Knock Down if you don’t juggle after. Call of Earth Ender no longer causes a hard knockdown and deals a bit less damage, but is still the damage ender.

Shadow Call of Earth damage decreased by ~15% (Deals 20% damage instead of 23%)

Jumping HP damage reduced by ~15%

Thunder is no longer allowed to cancel the landing recovery of a whiffed Sammamish into another special or shadow move.

Shadow Sammamish damage reduced by ~20%

Light Sammamish no longer allows Sammamish Followups

Light Sammamish now has full body invulnerability on startup instead of just upper body.

Call of Sky has 10 frame shorter recovery, adds “Murder of Crows” buff to Thunder 1 frame earlier, and can destroy incoming projectiles from frames 14 to 20.

Thunder can now cancel a hit or blocked Skyfall into Murder of Crows enhanced dash.

Fixed a bug preventing the duration of the Call of Sky buff from refreshing if you used Call of Sky again while the buff was still on.

Juggle properties of some moves adjusted for increased juggle opportunities.

Standing Light Kick causes Flip Out, and the hitbox has been improved to assist with juggling.

New Sammamish followups: Dropkick and Surprise Knee ! After Sammamish – HK – Skyfall – The same two foot stomp you know and love, but it now causes a ground bounce for a juggle opportunity. MK – Dropkick – Causes a Hard Knockdown. LK – Surprise Knee – Causes Flipout. These can carry your trajectory in interesting ways. Experiment! Dropkick and Surprise Knee have 15 frame landing recovery. They are punishable on block so use them wisely.

! After Sammamish – Sadira Jumping HK damage reduced by ~15%

Can no longer use Webs during Enders.

Shadow Recluse damage reduced ~20% (because you can juggle after it)

Instinct Web damage reduced by ~85%

Widow’s Bite projectile damage reduced by ~25%

The kick part of Heavy Widow’s Bite is now breakable.

Enders have been retuned in function and damage to add more variety to Sadira, but overall damage has been reduced. New ender – QCB+P(Any) – Web Cling Ender (Damage Type, most damage) QCF+HP – Demon Loop Ender (Launcher Type, least damage) QCB+HK – Recluse Ender (Exchange / Hard Knockdown Type, middle damage – You can no longer juggle off this ender)

Corrected an issue preventing Sadira from building meter for herself or her opponent when using the F+HK Command Normal.

Reduced pushback of juggle normals to increase juggle potential.

Can now jump cancel Special Moves during Instinct on block. Previously this was only allowed on hit.

New Command Move: Salticidae – In Air, D+HK On hit or block, this head stomp bounces Sadira into a double jump that she can control the left/right momentum of. You can attack again after bouncing. You can bounce as many times as your opponent will let you. If you miss, you suffer long landing recovery.

– In Air, D+HK Orchid You can no longer call Instinct Cats during Enders.

You can now only cancel Shadow Uppercat into Air Throw if your opponent is in an air reaction state, preventing you from skipping the landing recovery of a whiffed or blocked Shadow Uppercat by whiffing an Air Throw attempt.

Ender damage adjustments. Ich Ni San Ender damage greatly reduced (by ~35%), now does less than her Splat ender. Knee Buster Ender damage reduced by ~5% Shadow Uppercat Ender damage reduced by ~10% (because you can juggle after it)

Flick Flack Ender now causes a hard knockdown if you don’t juggle off of it.

Shadow Knee Slide is now -2 on block (was -6).

Air throw deals less KV for enhanced juggle opportunities.

When hitting an airborne opponent, Crouching HP re-launches and can be jump cancelled for increased juggle opportunities.

New air target combos for increased juggle opportunities. LK > J.HP MP > J.HK

for increased juggle opportunities. The final hit of Flick Flack and Shadow Flick Flack will now ground bounce an airborne opponent for increased juggle opportunities.

The final hit of Medium Ichi Ni San 3rd with now ground bounce an airborne opponent for increased juggle opportunities.

Some normal attack hitboxes improved to help when juggling opponents.

Standing Far HK knocks opponents vertically instead of away in a juggle.

Air Throw starts up 2 frames earlier and is active 2 frames longer. Attack box size increased making it easier to do in combos and more powerful in neutral.

Fully charged Shadow Ichi Ni San is now unblockable. Damage reduced ~20%

New Ability: Buster Slide ! Orchid can now cancel the active frames of Knee Slide into a Knee Buster if the move has not hit yet.

! Orchid can now cancel the active frames of Knee Slide into a Knee Buster if the move has not hit yet. New Ability: Ichi Nise! Orchid can now Dash Cancel forward while charging up Heavy Ichi Ni San 3rd. Spinal Reduced Boneshaker Ender damage by ~10%

Jumping HP damage reduced by ~15%

Skull-less Searing Skull now causes a knockdown.

Knockdown duration after Front and Back throws reduced by 16 frames, making vortex setups less straightforward.

Lv4 Searing Skull Ender doesn’t launch as high, preventing any juggle from it.

Skull projectiles in flight are removed from play if Spinal takes a hit.

Skull projectiles deal less chip damage on block.

Curses reworked ! Curses no longer steal Shadow/Instinct meter. Instead, they prevent the opponent from gaining Shadow/Instinct meter. Hitting Spinal removes only the oldest curse, so you need to hit him multiple times to removed stacked curses. Curses last 30 seconds instead of 5 to 8 seconds.

! Curses no longer steal Shadow/Instinct meter. Instead, they prevent the opponent from gaining Shadow/Instinct meter. Shadow Searing Skull doesn’t knockdown, so you can use it mid combo and manual afterward. This allows you to capitalize more on the Instinct Curse’s new function.

Jumping MK (Divekick) inflicts 3 additional frames of blockstun, making it safe if you can get it to hit just before Spinal touches the ground.

New Instinct Mode: Agent of Chaos ! Spinal’s Instinct mode has been reworked so that starving Spinal of his resources is a more viable strategy against him. However, this Instinct mode grants Spinal new ways to go absolutely wild. Activation grants 3 skulls. Skulls do not automatically regenerate at all, ever. If you build skulls by any means other than Power Devour, you gain double skulls during instinct. Skulls fired during instinct don’t disappear on block or walls or floor and bounce left/right or up/down. They are destroyed if: They actually hit the opponent They bounce off the opponent 3 times Spinal gets hit Firing a fifth Skull destroys the oldest one. Spinal can Power Devour his own Skulls to re-absorb them into his supply.

! Spinal’s Instinct mode has been so that starving Spinal of his resources is a more viable strategy against him. However, this Instinct mode grants Spinal new ways to go absolutely wild. Fulgore Fixed a bug that allowed you to perform Shadow Cyber Uppercut the frame before landing after a blocked or hit Cyber Uppercut.

Added 2 frames of additional Hitstop and blockstop to F+HP command normal to make it a bit easier to Shadow Counter and Break.

Standing HK special cancel window reduced.

Attack box on Blade Charge and Shadow Blade Charge reaches lower, making harder for opponents to low-profile this move.

Standing HK now causes a Wall Splat.

Air Shadow Laser now causes a Hard Knockdown so that it is never punishable on hit.

Levels 1, 2, and 3 of the Eye Beam ender launch higher.

Overhead causes a ground bounce against airborne opponents.

New Target Combo! Crouching HK -> Crouching HP. Launches opponents for a juggle.

Crouching HK -> Crouching HP. Launches opponents for a juggle. Move reconfigured: Eye-Beam Lens Fixed ! Eye Beams have been overhauled; Light Eye Beam still launches a single beam at the floor, but has 1 additional frame of recovery and pushes opponents back less. Medium Eye Beam now launches two beams at the floor. It is +2 on block and +5 on hit. It has less pushback compared to the old Med Beam, but more than the Light version. Both Lt and Med versions have increased juggle potential. Heavy Eye Beam now launches a full screen horizontal beam on frame 24, and recovers in 51 total frames (used to be 13 and 26). Heavy Eye Beam causes Stagger on hit. It is -7 on block. It deals increased damage and chip damage.

! Eye Beams have been overhauled; TJ Combo The Linker version of Tremor has been removed. You can still use the Special version in juggles normally, but after an Opener or Auto Double, it will now trigger the Ender version just like any other Ender-Only special does in golden path combos.

Re-tuned Ender damage to be more in line with the rest of the cast. Flying Knee Ender (Exchange) damage increased by ~10% and does the most damage of the non-Barrage Enders. Vortex Ender (Launcher) damage reduced by ~10% and does the 2 nd most damage of the non-Barrage Enders. Powerline Ender (Splat) damage reduced by ~15% and does the 3 rd most damage of the non-Barrage Enders. Tremor Ender (Meter) damage reduced by ~20% and does the least amount of damage of the non-Barrage Enders.

TJ’s Tumble is now only upper body invulnerable, but still fully projectile invulnerable. He is vulnerable to lows and mids all the way through the roll. It is still also throw vulnerable.

Hitbox size reduced on Medium and Heavy Tremors.

The first few frames of TJ Tremor will no longer crush low attacks.

Shoot Toss starts up 4 frames slower.

You can no longer cancel Shadow Powerline into Spin Behind on block, but it still works on hit.

Shoot Toss KV reduced by 50% for increased Juggle and Combo opportunities.

Medium and Heavy Vortex hit 2 and 3 times respectively. All Vortex and Cyclone moves deal less KV for increased juggle opportunities. The amount of hits also helps the opponent know which strength to use for breaking Vortex and Cyclone. Medium and Heavy versions scoot forward a bit more than before on startup.

Shadow Vortex is now fully invulnerable until it becomes active.

Frame advantage on normals improved where possible to make him less negative if he doesn’t cancel, while still allowing a Shoot Toss to grab the opponent if they don’t jump.

Standing LK and Jumping LK cause Flipout.

New Air Target Combo : Jumping LP into LK, which causes Flipout.

: Jumping LP into LK, which causes Flipout. Standing HP and Close Standing HP cause Stagger and leaves you plus enough to manual a Light or close Medium.

New Target Combos: TJ Combinations ! These work on Whiff to help with footsies, juggles, and mixups. Far Standing MP > HP, causes Stagger Far Standing MP > MK Close Standing MP > HP, causes Stagger Close Standing MP > MK Crouching MP > HP, causes Stagger Crouching MP > MK

! Maya Jumping HP and HK damage reduced by ~15%

Mantis is no longer available from a back jump. Neutral and forward jumps only.

Dagger Toss Light and Medium recovery is 6 frames longer.

Raised hitboxes of daggers slightly to make it easier for more characters to low profile to avoid them.

Dagger toss no longer deals chip damage on block.

Dagger Toss followups from Leap Kick are only available on hit or whiff. You cannot do these on block anymore.

Leap Kick Ender does not launch as high, forcing you to juggle a normal before you juggle with a Dagger Toss.

Maya’s Shadow Counter now uses Shadow Linker Leap Kick instead of Shadow Tumble Kick.

The second hit from Daggers (Dagger Spirit) cannot cause a combo to blowout.

All Linker damage increased to normal damage-and-scaling levels so that Maya gains Ender levels normally.

The 2 hits of opener Tumble Kick advance the damage scaling by 1 hit instead of 2, helping Maya build Ender levels normally.

Tumble Kick Ender damage increased ~20%

Widened cancel window on 2 nd hit of Crouching MP target combo and Crouching HP to make these feel better.

hit of Crouching MP target combo and Crouching HP to make these feel better. Tumble Kick and Shadow Tumble Kick cause a Ground Bounce on the final hit against airborne opponents for increased juggle opportunities.

Normal and Dagger juggle properties have been adjusted to extend juggle opportunities.

Normal and Axe Kick Recapture hitbox sizes improved to enhance juggle opportunities.

Adjusted launch velocity on Shadow Leap Kick to make the Dagger Toss followup work as intended.

Mantis can cash out combos if a breakable window occurred. It deals more damage than before in a combo.

Double Dagger Strike launches opponents for a juggle.

Dagger/Pip Damage Ender is removed from the game and reworked into:

into: New ender: Dagger Assault Activation Ender ! – QCF+HP This Ender does extremely low damage and leaves the opponent standing. After the attack portion of the ender, the daggers leave Maya’s hands and hover above the opponent’s head, attacking them automatically every few seconds. The number of times they attack is based on the number of pips you had when you activated. (0 pips = 1 attack, 4 pips = 5 attacks) These attacks can be blocked and don’t build up new pips. When Dagger Assault ends, the daggers violently separate. If Maya gets hit, Dagger Assault ends right away. Dagger Assault does not carry over between rounds.

! – QCF+HP Kan-Ra Jumping HP damage reduced by ~15%

Spike Ender (Launcher) damage reduced by ~5%

Swarm Ender (Special) damage reduced by ~10%

Shadow Clutch damage reduced by ~25%

It is no longer possible to attack on the way down after using Air Swarm.

Shadow Swarm now starts with a breath attack, just like the startup of normal Swarm. The projectile only spawns if you miss the breath part of the attack. Getting the projectile out takes much more time.

Swarm and Shadow Swarm projectile damage reduced by ~55%

Swarm hitbox size reduced by ~35%.

Swarms hit 5 times instead of 6, slightly reducing the amount of time you have to setup/juggle.

Swarm Breath blockstun re-tuned. Light Version is -3 on block (was +7) Medium Version is -2 on block (was +3) Heavy Version is -1 on block (was -3)

Back+MP is now +1 on block instead of +6.

Added more blockstop to Close Swarm Startup and Back+MP to make using a Shadow Counter against them a bit easier.

The startup of Clutch has a more noticeable anticipation pose.

Sacrifice deals 200% more actual damage to Kan-Ra (15 damage, up from 5). Potential damage inflicted is unchanged.

It is no longer possible to Instinct Cancel the recovery of Sacrifice.

Far crouching HP launches airborne opponents up higher.

DF+LK and DF+MK Scorpion Strike attacks now properly count as projectiles, making them unbreakable.

Crouching LP and Jumping LP cause Flipout.

Juggle versions of Clutch (that used to cause 1 juggle hit but were pretty useless) now cause Flipout and recover much faster.

Standing HK and Back+HP cause stagger and are extremely plus on hit, allowing for new opening, setup, and combo opportunities.

Tornado projectile always launches opponents toward Kan-Ra, and now does a little damage. It launches higher for a juggle opportunity.

New Ability: Monsoon ! Hold the button when using Whirl over a Sand Trap to keep spinning and release a larger, more damaging Tornado projectile, which is unblockable at maximum charge.

! Hold the button when using Whirl over a Sand Trap to keep spinning and release a larger, more damaging Tornado projectile, which is unblockable at maximum charge. Move re-tuned: Shadow Spike ! Shadow Spike now releases a single, multi hit spike under your opponent instead of a series of Spikes. It then leaves an enhanced Shadow Sand Trap that attacks automatically with Scorpion Strikes every few seconds if an enemy is nearby. This automatic functionality stops if Kan-Ra gets hit, creates another puddle, or uses Sacrifice.

! Shadow Spike now releases a single, multi hit spike under your opponent instead of a series of Spikes. It then leaves an enhanced that attacks automatically with Scorpion Strikes every few seconds if an enemy is nearby. Riptor Jumping HK damage reduced by ~15%

Jumping HP damage reduced by ~40%

Shoulder Charge Ender (Splat) damage reduced by ~10%

Tail Flip Ender (Hard Knockdown) damage reduced by ~5%

Corrected a bug causing a few of her Enders to build her small amounts of meter.

Tail Flip and Air Tail Flip, both Light and Medium versions, slowed by 4 frames. Heavy versions slowed by 6 frames. Trajectories slightly adjusted for the new timings.

Tail Flip damage no longer changes based on strength used, and all damage has been reduced to match the damage of the Light version.

Tail Flip recovery has a taller Vulnerable box to make punishing it more intuitive.

Added KV to Clever Girl to compensate for the fact that Ground Bounce KV penalty has been removed from the game.

Close HP now counts as a projectile hitbox as expected.

Predator LP now tags as an Opener so that combos after the Wall Splat function as expected.

The ground version of Shadow Tail Flip will now get all five of its hits more reliably.

Can no longer cancel out of Clever Girl on frame 15 into Specials or Normals. Can now cancel out of Clever Girl early at frame 12 into Normals or Runs.

Reduced KV on Run Back HK and improved its launch trajectory to expand juggle opportunities.

Run Back HP Flame Wall deals ~80% more damage.

The running portion of Shadow Shoulder Charge now has 1 hit of armor.

Jumping HK doesn’t bounce people away from you anymore, keeping them close enough for a followup attack.

Crouching HK on juggle doesn’t push opponent away as far.

Crouching HK is -5 on block instead of -15.

Fixed a bug preventing you from using Primal Linkers after manual normals.

Primal Linkers deal ~40% more damage to encourage using them in all levels of play.

Predator Mode dashes are now projectile invulnerable on her top half as intended. It should be much easier to Predator dash under projectiles now.

Run HK causes stagger instead of a knockdown.

Predator Dash HP (Flame Arc) causes stagger.

Standing LK causes Flipout, and has a slightly taller hitbox to assist with juggling.

New Move: Flame Mortar! – Press and hold 3P to launch Flame Balls in a high arc at the opponent’s location, up to 3 in a series. Omen Fixed a bug that prevented Omen from doing Auto Doubles, Linkers, or Manuals after the rapid press portion of Furious Flurry Med or Hvy hit the opponent.

Shadow Furious Flurry Linker is now +1 on hit (was previously +11), and the manual timing is 5 frames later.

Opener Slide has less frame advantage on Hit and has had its manual timing windows re-tuned.

All Ender damage reduced by ~15%

Air Backdash slowed down by ~15%

Throw damage reduced by ~40%

Fixed a bug preventing Slide linkers from changing sides with larger characters in the corner.

The following moves have been given Attack Box improvements: Crouching Heavy Punch Crouching Medium Punch Jumping Heavy Kick Standing Heavy Kick Standing Medium Kick Standing Light Kick Standing Close Light Kick Standing Heavy Punch

Rashakuken’s random fireballs deal 4 additional frames of hitstun. Blockstun is unchanged.

Jumping HK damage increased by ~65%

Shadow Rashakuken and Shadow Orda Shield are no longer destroyed if Omen takes a hit.

Doubled the duration of Shadow Meter Lockout.

Enders can now build meter even if a Shadow Rashakuken or Shadow Orda Shield is active.

Jumping LP, Standing LK, and Standing Close LK all cause Flipout.

Demonic Despair is now invulnerable from startup until the grab.

Omen can cancel air dashes into attacks much earlier.

New ability: Turbulence! Omen can cancel air dashes into the opposite air dash direction by pressing Back or Forward a single time. Aganos Normal attacks give more meter to the opponent on hit and block.

During Instinct, a new Peacemaker respawns in 90 frames, up from 30 frames.

Peacemaker attack damage reduced by ~20%

Shadow Natural Disaster Linker damage reduced by ~30%

Shadow Pulverize Linker damage increased by ~20%

Damage on Natural Disaster and Pulverize Enders increased ~25%

Adjusted launch velocity on the held part of Shadow Natural Disaster and fixed an issue where the Counter Hit version didn’t match to make juggle timing more consistent.

Shadow Ruin startup now has 7 frames of strike invulnerability.

Close Standing MP has a slightly wider cancel window for feel.

Standing Far HP causes Stagger and is -5 on block (used to be -10).

Hitstop on LK, MP, and HP Auto Doubles have been reduced slightly to match the reaction speeds needed to break the matching-strength Doubles better.

It is no longer possible to shove Aganos’ body across the stage between rounds.

Chunk Up recovers 6 frames faster.

Wall Summon moves get the wall out 6 frames faster and recover 5 frames faster.

Aganos can rip a Peacemaker out of the wall behind him in 34 frames now (down from 53).

While holding a Peacemaker, the following non-peacemaker normals are now possible as command normals: B+LP – Anti Air Flick, destroys your peacemaker F+HP – Both close and far variants of Standing HP, lets you keep your peacemaker. DF+HP – Crouching HP, lets you keep your peacemaker.

Aganos will keep his Peacemaker while being hit, but it will still crumble if he is knocked down, put into a juggle state, or blown out.

Thrown Peacemaker causes Stagger on hit.

New ability: Recycling ! If Aganos tries to Chunk Up while holding a Peacemaker, he will shove the Peacemaker into his chest instead of pulling a fresh chunk from the floor, giving him a drastically shorter Chunk Up animation (Only 39 frames, compared to 69 frames on the original version).

! If Aganos tries to Chunk Up while holding a Peacemaker, he will shove the Peacemaker into his chest instead of pulling a fresh chunk from the floor, giving him a drastically shorter Chunk Up animation (Only 39 frames, compared to 69 frames on the original version). New ability: More Recycling! Placing a wall with a Peacemaker in your hand turns the Peacemaker into a wall, instead of consuming a chunk. Hisako Added travel distance to Influence Linkers against Aganos only to ensure they never fail to hit him.

Adjusted the size of the Vulnerable Boxes during fidgets to match the size of the Vulnerable Boxes during idle.

Low Vengeance Counter is no longer able to catch Mid attacks.

Added recovery to the landing of Air ORZ making it a bit worse on whiff. If you hit too high it’s possible to be punishable, but it is also possible to still be +3 or so.

Slowed startup of Med and Hvy Air ORZ (by 4 and 8 frames) and altered the way they move in the air a bit to compensate.

Improved the hitbox of Hvy Air ORZ so it hits higher up and crosses up easier, making it worth the extra startup.

Wrath meter no longer recharges while jumping.

Wrath regeneration speed is increased by 50%.

Close HP, Far HK, and Close HK all cause Stagger on counterhit and deal much more hitstun.

Standing LP and Jumping LP cause Flipout.

You can now jump cancel the third Heavy ORZ if you hit an airborne opponent, and using second Heavy ORZ to juggle into the 3 rd hit is easier.

hit is easier. Descent is no longer effected by Kan-Ra’s Curse.

Descent crushes highs 1 frame sooner and gets underground 10 frames sooner.

Hisako used to be able to cancel out of Descent on frame 48 into attacks only. Now she can cancel into movement as well, and on frame 42 instead.

New Shadow Move: Air Shadow On Ryo Zan ! Hisako can perform a Shadow version of Air ORZ! This version hits rapidly and always recaptures air opponents, and staggers grounded opponents.

! Hisako can perform a Shadow version of Air ORZ! This version hits rapidly and always recaptures air opponents, and staggers grounded opponents. New Ability: Descent Cancel! Hisako can now cancel into Descent in any situation she could Wrath cancel for a Vengeance counter. This costs half Wrath just like the Vengeance cancel does. Cinder Fixed a bug that caused Cinder to teleport a great distance when canceling a Fired Up Inferno into a Shadow Fission.

Third Degree Chain Combos now count as 1 move toward the breakability rules no matter which move hits first or which moves whiff, so the “Domi Unbreakable” now becomes breakable on the third loop of this as expected.

The second and third Trailblazer followups (Afterburner) now always match the strength of the first Trailblazer in the sequence for breaker purposes.

Raised KV on Pyrobombs to 14 (from 12)

Added 3 frames of recovery to Fireflash. Fired Up Fireflash is now -6 if you block the pillar, and every character in the game can Shadow Counter the pillar for a full punish, or punish with any attack faster than 6 frames.

The third hit of Light Third Degree combo is +1 on block instead of +2. Canceling into Shadow Fission here is no longer a true blockstring.

Fireflash Ender (Damage) no longer causes a hard knockdown.

Pyrobomb Ender (Meter) damage reduced by ~10%

Trailblazer Ender (Splat) damage increased by ~5%

Air Heavy Trailblazer becomes active 2 frames earlier, and cannot land to create the ground crash until 3 frames later. This avoids a situation where the crash could hit without the Trailblazer, leading to an unbreakable hit.

Ground Medium Trailblazer inflicts 2 additional frames of blockstun.

Lowered KV added by Cinder’s throw to 20 (from 50)

Cinder can now throw Air Pyrobombs even after doing Air Trailblazer, leading to new juggles and setups.

Move re-imagined: Angled Inferno ! Different Inferno strengths now attack at different angles. Light is up-forward, Medium is horizontal, and Heavy is down-forward. You can hold the button to keep any version burning for a while longer. Their frame data was re-tuned for their new function. The Heavy version hits low!

! Different Inferno strengths now attack at different angles. Light is up-forward, Medium is horizontal, and Heavy is down-forward. New ability: Throw Cancel Burnout! While Fired Up, you can cancel your throw into a Level 1 Burnout with QCB+P or QCB+K. This spends your Fired Up state. ARIA Fixed a bug that could cause her projectiles to inherit the properties of her attacks, such as knockdowns or cash outs.

Slowed the attack speed of Explosive Arc Linkers so that the different strengths are more readable.

Widened the breakable window on Explosive Arc Linkers by 5 frames.

When Drones are called as an assist and get hit, they now take 2.5x damage, up from 2x.

Shotgun Knees are now more negative on block. Light Version is -3 (was -1) Medium Version is -5 (was -4) Heavy Version is -10 (was -8)

Shadow Dissonance launches and causes a hard knockdown. It is possible to juggle after this move now.

Crescendo causes stagger (grounded Med and Hvy versions still launch).

Standing LK and Jumping LP cause Flipout.

Heavy Kick and Bombs deal less KV for increased juggle opportunities.

Heavy Kick Bombs don’t push opponents as far away on hit for increased juggle opportunities.

Juggle values on normal attacks adjusted for increased juggle opportunities.

Improvements to the attack boxes on Standing HK, Close Standing HK, and Crouching HK.

New Target Strings: Operatic Destruction ! Standing LK into Standing HK (does not combo) Standing MP into Standing HK (does not combo) Standing HP into Standing HK Standing Close MP into Standing HK Standing Close HP into Standing HK

! New ability: Charge Up Bombs ! Can now hold far standing HK to charge up the attack and release additional grenades. You can dash cancel in either direction while charging up. If you perform a target string into Standing HK, you can still charge up and dash cancel as desired, opening up new frame traps and offensive techniques.

! Can now hold far standing HK to charge up the attack and release additional grenades. Shadow Jago Fixed a bug causing Shadow Shendokuken to hit one extra time when used in a ground combo.

Added additional recovery time to end of Slide Enders, preventing some unintended juggles and other bugs.

The earliest moment Shago can cancel out of his Dashes into moves has been moved back 5 frames.

Shendokuken projectiles deal 20% less damage on hit.

Shadow Slide is no longer throw invulnerable

Shadow Divekick is now throw invulnerable on startup.

Shadow Divekick changed to a single hit that always recaptures, followed by four grounded hits.

Source: Ultra-Combo