Street Fighter 6/A.K.I./Introduction

Introduction

A poison-wielding apprentice of F.A.N.G, the former Shadaloo officer. Enchanted by the power of toxins, nothing brings her more joy than testing them on a new target—other than attention from her “master,” that is.

Slithering onto the battlefield with zoning capabilities and powerful okizeme options, A.K.I. is an unconventional and unorthodox character who revolves heavily around her poison mechanic. Some of A.K.I.'s specials poison opponents on hit, which slowly tick away at their life bar. Using this, A.K.I. baits her opponents into making risky play before elegantly maneuvering around them and going for the kill.

A.K.I's most important special is Nightshade Pulse, a slow advancing projectile that causes poison on hit. A.K.I. can send this projectile out to control the screen as she advances behind it or use it as a meaty to maintain advantage. Nightshade is very strong and defines a lot of matchups for A.K.I., as opponents who fail to deal with it will find her slowly closing in on them. However, Nightshade is just one tool in A.K.I.'s tremendously large kit. Serpent Lash acts as a strong midrange poke, while Orchid Spring allows A.K.I. to set up an unblockable poison pool. A.K.I. is also known for having some rather unique approach options. Snake Step and Sinister Slide cause A.K.I. to drop to the floor and go low-profile, allowing her to slide under all sorts of nonsense. Enemy fireballs, high-reaching pokes, and even Drive Impacts - A.K.I. can duck under it all and lash out with any number of follow-ups. Even better, A.K.I. has a command grab out of Snake Step, giving her unique ways to mess with the opponent.

As a defining part of her kit, if A.K.I. hits her opponent with a poison-inducing move while they are already poisoned, they will explode into a "Toxic Blossom" that gives her extended combo opportunities. Thus, A.K.I. can quickly adapt her gameplan from far-reaching pokes into a very scary mixup and okizeme character if she gets the chance. The looping poison setups she can dish out take off a good amount of life, and the consistent safe jumps she can get off of Toxic Blossom combos allow her to continue offense after a combo very safely. Combined with a strong overhead, a few ways to be plus on block, the sheer volume of potential attacks and specials at her disposal, on top of the threat of poison, and A.K.I. can be an absolute menace if she is closed in on the opponent.

In general, A.K.I. has a high number of complex routes for her combos that are dependent on if the opponent is poisoned or not, but the tradeoff is that her huge kit and unique normals allow her pickups off of openings that other characters may struggle to confirm. As well, her defensive options tend to be lackluster, often lacking important invulnerability frames to push through meaties and deep jump-ins. Another important thing is that A.K.I.'s animations are very long, making it difficult for her to play around Drive Impact. She will be constantly looking for it, far more than most other characters, which can result in a lot of mental fatigue. If you can grapple with this fact, and all of the above sounds appealing to you, shed your inhibitions and become one with the queen of toxicity herself.

Pick if you like:	Avoid if you dislike:
Characters that reward lots of situational awareness with proper setup. Consistent, strong, and low-risk okizeme. Whittling your opponents down over time. Shutting down fireballs approaching behind your own.	Weak defensive options, either vulnerable to throws or meaty lights. Deliberately playing around Drive Impact. Situational combos

Classic & Modern Versions Comparison

List of differences with Modern A.K.I.
Missing Normals	Standing Light Kick (5LK) Crouching Medium Punch (2MP) Jumping Light Punch (j.LP) Jumping Medium Punch (j.MP) Jumping Heavy Kick (j.HK)
Missing Command Normals	Chi Wen (6HP)
Shortcut-Only Specials	Cruel Fate (2S) Heavy/OD Only Snake Step (5S) Medium/OD Only
Assist Combos	A[L~L~L]: 2LK ~ 2LP ~ L Serpent Lash On Block: stops after 2LP A[M~M~M~M]: 5MP ~ OD Nightshade Pulse ~ Nightshade Chaser ~ SA2 Burnout: 5MP ~ L Nightshade Pulse ~ Nightshade Chaser On Block: stops at OD/L Nightshade Pulse (no Chaser follow-up) A[H~H~H~H~H]: 5HK ~ OD Serpent Lash ~ 5LK ~ H Toxic Wreath ~ SA3 Burnout: 5HK ~ L Serpent Lash ~ SA3 On Block: stops at OD/L Serpent Lash
Miscellaneous Changes	A.K.I.'s combo routes with Poison are severely diminished without access to 5LK, since she cannot combo other Lights into MP Serpent Lash.

Poison & Toxic Blossom

A.K.I. has several moves that inflict a poison status on the opponent, which is indicated by a purple glow. A poisoned character will take 1 damage per frame (60 damage per second) until the effect wears off. Poison naturally runs out after 7 seconds (for a total of 420 damage), but can also be stopped by inflicting damage on A.K.I. before then.

The poison pool placed on the ground with Orchid Spring (214MP) or Tainted Talons (214214P) is unblockable. The poison will be constantly reapplied as long as the opponent is nearby, which can allow the total duration to extend well beyond 7 seconds.

Characters cannot die to poison damage, so A.K.I. will always have to land the final blow herself.

Toxic Blossom:

Some special moves and Target Combos have a different effect when hitting a poisoned opponent. In addition to dealing extra damage, triggering "Toxic Blossom" gives better knockdown advantage, juggle height, or even crumple states that allow powerful follow-up combos. Toxic Blossom detonates the poison within the opponent's body, ending the poison effect immediately.

Much of A.K.I.'s complexity stems from managing the opponent's poison status to achieve optimal combo routes based on whether Toxic Blossom can be triggered. It's important to note that poison will not run out while a character is in hitstun, so you can safely proceed with a Toxic Blossom combo route without additional time management.