Street Fighter V’s ‘definitive’ final patch includes crazy balance changes, new graphics filters

The final patch for Street Fighter V is almost upon us. Revealed on Friday, it features a number of changes to the game, including the game's presumably final balance patch. Additionally, it will also feature a number of interesting graphics settings, including a cel shader, and a pixel shader to harken back to retro days of old.

The new patch will release at the end of March on the 29th, which should give Street Fighter fans plenty to brood over as the last SFV season for Capcom Pro Tour approaches. This is especially true as we're on the eve of Street Fighter 6, which is set to begin its marketing offensive this summer as more details are revealed about the game.

Here's a full breakdown of everything that's going to be in the final Street Fighter V patch:

This new patch features huge changes to the entire cast of Street Fighter V. Based on the trailer, it seems that combos are being significantly expanded upon. This will make what's already a very offensive game even more offense-oriented - but foregoes the "easy to execute" combos in favor of combos that are going to require some significant execution to pull off.

An example we noticed in the trailer was that there are significantly more juggle options to keep combos going. While things like this were mostly kept to Omega mode in SFIV's final update, it seems that Capcom is pulling out all the stops for Street Fighter V's last hurrah.

Additionally, it seems that many specials have been modified to have EX versions that previously did not have them. This leads to (you guessed it) more combo potential, more damage, and even more situations where if you weren't blocking, you're going to get punished. However - this is something that the FGC really likes watching. After all, seeing combo potential and allowing for player expression is something that early SFV did not do - and was heavily critiqued for.

Capcom's been working hard to get away from that, especially after the departure of previous game producer Yoshinori Ono. This should lead to some incredible tournament moments in the game's final year, something that's going to be incredibly important leading into the next generation of Street Fighter

The new art styles, including the Cel Shading and Pixel filters, look very polished despite only being a filter. While you can pick out small inconsistencies in the way they affect the game's models, its possible that Capcom is trying out a new style for a future fighting game.

It's pretty clear that probably isn't Street Fighter 6 given what we've already seen of that game's graphics engine. However, these new art styles aren't usable online. Speculation as to the reason is already running rampant, with some pointing out that the original PlayStation 4 version might not be able to handle it. However, it's a neat diversion if you're playing offline matches with your friends or trying to go through the game's many story scenarios.

The pixel filter definitely looks a bit jankier, and it somewhat reminds us of the filter used for games like Diablo 3 in the Diablo 1 throwback events. However, it's fun for a diversion and acts as a throwback to games like Street Fighter II if played on an old CRT television.

Rounding out the free patch is different colors for the tracksuit skins, which were sorely needed, and remixes of tracks in the game. The trailer gives us a look at Akira's, Dan's, and Rose theme remixes. It's unclear if there are remixes for every character in the game or not.

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