Rufus
Ideal Team Position: Point
Many of Rufus’ strengths from the Street Fighter IV series remain intact in Street Fighter x Tekken with names like Brenttiscool, JB, Ricki Ortiz, and Homeless Dragon enjoying great success with him in tournament play. His divekick, though not as overpowering as it once was, is still his preferred way of starting offense, possessing enough hitstun and blockstun to allow Rufus to apply pressure to the opponent. What makes Rufus’ toolkit particularly intimidating in his ability to tag in an opponent safely from a variety of situations. Ending combos with a tag cancelled Snake Strike can lead to big damage and a full juggle for an incoming partner. A blockstring ended with Galactic Tornado can allow his partner to enter the field of battle safely. His best reversal, the EX Messiah Kick, can be easily tagged into on block or on hit so that his partner can ensure his safe retreat off the field of battle. This can be particularly strong if the opponent had to fight to put Rufus on the defensive, only to watch that momentum disappear with the time continuing to run out. Rufus also possesses the ability to close gaps of distance quickly thanks to a long jump and his df+mk, along with a respectable forward dash, walkspeed, and his divekick. Since his primary strength is his ability to set up his partner (and Rufus’ toolset allow him to have synergy with almost every character in the game), it is recommended that you place Rufus in the point position when putting him on your team.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
|
+Divekick is still a very useful tool to maintain offense despite the nerf +Plenty of fast links for combos and confirms +EX Messiah Kick is an excellent reversal to safe tag partner to begin a tag-in combo off of reversal +Strong whiff punishment +Can punish blocked boost combos that some characters have difficulty or cannot punish +Excellent tag synergy with large number of the cast thanks to several options to safe-tag such as Galactic Tornado, EX Messiah Kick, and LP Snake Strike on rare occasions (+4 on block, +7 on hit) |
-weak against crossups -Floaty jump can make him easy to anti-air -Overly reliant on meter for best options for damage -Divekick is vulnerable to air-to-airs if used too overzealously, especially thanks to the combo system -Divekick can be blocked low |
Moves
Normal Attacks
rpdfire
1st hit 
+ + + + 
+ + 
+ 
+ + + + + 
/ 
+ / + / + / + / + crossup
/ +
Unique Attacks
+ vs airborne 
+ + + vs airborne crossup
+ on 2nd hit Throws
or 
+ + 
+ + Special Moves
+ 
vs airborne 
+ 
vs airborne + and version can be steered with
or 
on final hit 
on Super Combo
+ 
Move Analysis
Normal Moves
N/A
Unique Attacks
N/A
Normal Throws
N/A
Special Moves
N/A
Super Combos
N/A
The Basics
N/A
Advanced Strategy
N/A
Combos
Bread and Butters
- cl.HP xx qcf+LK>LK (244)
(0bar, easy)
- cl.HP xx qcf+PP, st.HK, st.HK, cl.HP xx qcf+MK (409)
(1bar, midscreen, hard)
- cl.HP xx qcf+HP>f, cl.LK/st.LK>f+HK, f+HP xx qcf+HK>MK (394)
(0bar, corner, easy)
- cl.HP xx qcf+PP, f+HP, f+HP, f+HP xx qcf+MK>MK (428)
(1bar, corner, medium)
Hit Confirm Combos
- cl.LK>f+HK, st.LK>f+HK, df+MK, cl.HP xx CADC (243)
(0bar, close, hard)
Post-launch Combos
- cl.HP xx dp+HP
(0bar, easy)
- cl.LK>f+HK, f+HP xx qcf+HK>MK/LK
(0bar, corner, easy)
Advanced Combos
- cl.HP xx qcf+PP, st.HK, st.HK, cl.HP xx qcf+MK (409)
(1bar, hard)
- cl.HP xx qcf+PP, f+HP, f+HP, f+HP xx qcf+MK>MK (428)
(1bar, medium)
Combos Into Supers
- N/A
