Street Fighter 6: What Is Frame Data & Types

Learn about the Frame data and Frame meter to use it against your opponents and dominate them.

What Is Frame Data?

Street Fighter 6 Frame Data
Frame Data [Image by eXputer]
So, the frame meter in Street Fighter 6 represents each frame individually. If you slow things down, you can also notice the animations of your fighter changing along with each frame in the frame meter. 

In order to understand the frame data and frame meter, you need to clear your basic concept about a ‘frame’ in fighting games. A frame is basically the smallest fraction of time that combines up to make an animation. Street Fighter 6 runs at 60 frames per second by default if you meet the system requirements. It means that in each second, 60 frames combine up to portray animations such as walking, attacking jumping, or blocking.

Key Takeaways
  • The Frame data tells us about the number of frames each movement takes to execute completely.
  • The frame number divides the movement primarily into three sections.
  • The Startup frame section tells us about the number of frames a character takes to initiate an attacking pattern. It is green in color on the frame meter. 
  • The Active frame is the period when the character lands a hit on the opponent. It is represented by the red color on the frame meter. 
  • The Recovery frame period tells us about the number of frames a character takes to come to a neutral position after leading an attack.  
 

All Frame Meter Types

SF6 Frame meter
Frame Meter [Image by eXputer]
Frame data is the information on the number of frames for any movement type. It divides each movement into different sections/types to have in-depth knowledge. When two characters are engaged in a combat, they execute different moves and each move takes a different number of frames to execute completely. Any move in the frame data comprises three frame stages. 

  1. Startup Frame 
  2. Active Frame 
  3. Recovery Frame

1. Startup Frame

It is the initial movement to start the attacking animation. Startup frames usually depend on the type of attack you’re performing as heavy attacks consume more startup frames and also leave you vulnerable during the state. The green box in the frame meter represents the startup frames.

2. Active Frame

The frame where the character grabs or attacks the opponent. This is the time when your character executes the attack and damages your opponent if he’s in range. A quick punch or kick will have few active and startup frames whereas a heavy attack will take more frames. The red section in the frame meter displays the active frames. 

3. Recovery Frame

It is the quick cooldown time that your character takes after landing an attack. During the recovery time, you are vulnerable and cannot perform any move. The heavier your attack is the more recovery time it will take. This is the stage when your character is returning to neutral after an attack.

If your opponent recovers quicker than you from an attack, then you can be caught off guard by a lethal attacking combo. The blue boxes in the frame meter represent the recovery frames. 

What Are The Advantages & Disadvantage Of Frame Data

The frame advantage and disadvantage can be calculated by checking the frame number. If you get a positive number after a move, it means that you’re at frame advantage and you can act before the opponent is in its neutral state, and if it’s negative then the opponent will recover faster.

  • A +5 means that you can act 5 frames before your opponent to punish him and a -5 means that you’re vulnerable to attack for the next 5 frames until you recover. 
  • Startup and Recovery frames of an attack primarily decide the frame advantage or disadvantage.
Punish attacks
Frame Data Ryu and Luke[Image by eXputer]
These are also the two phases in which you can be caught off guard if the opponent’s attack has a lesser number of startup of recovery frames. So, the edge a player can get depends on the type of attack they decide to use in a specific situation.

For example, if Ryu and Luke are at neutral and Ryu throws a standing hard kick, but Luke lands a light punch, then Luke’s attack will land faster as he has a startup frame of only 4 frames whereas Ryu’s attack takes 9 frames data in Street Fighter 6. 

To check the frame advantage, you can compare the frame meter of both the players when they perform a move and see which character’s move was faster than the other. 

On-Hit 

On-Hit meter
On-Hit advantage [Image by eXputer]
To excel in SF6, understand movement frames for each fighter. Exploit frame knowledge for on-hit advantage, crucial in simultaneous attacks. Lower startup frames increase success in hitting first.

Observe the yellow bar during attacks – opponent’s “Hit Stun.” Post-attack, if your recovery frames are less than hit stun, you gain advantage. Execute a follow-up attack with lower startup frames during hit stun for success

On-Block 

Street Fighter 6 Frame Data
The On-Block Advantage [Image by eXputer]
On-block situations are when you successfully block an attack and recover faster before the opponent can come into a neutral state. For example, if your opponent dodges or blocks your heavy kick, then you will be at an On-block disadvantage as your opponent will recover faster than you.

For example, if the On-Block disadvantage period is 6 frames, it means that your opponent can initiate any attack with startup frames of 6 or less to land a successful hit. 

Important: Dodging an attack gives you more On-block advantage frames than blocking it.

Other Frame Types In Frame Meter

Other than the three primary frames, there are a few more frame types in the meter that gives you further information about different types of attacks such as aerial attacks and projectiles. So, let’s have a quick overview of them as well. 

1. Invincibility Period

Street Fighter 6 Frame Data
Invincibility frame [Image by eXputer]
Most characters have one or few moves that come with an invincible period during which you can not hurt them at all, for example, if we take the frame data of Dragon Punch of Ryu, it has an invincibility duration of 3 frames. The invincibility frames are portrayed with white and grey striped boxes, which shows you that you can not deal any type of damage at all to the player during these frames. 

2. Strike Invincible Period

SF6 Frame meter
Strike Invincible [Image credits: eXputer[
Some characters have moves that you can cancel by projectiles only. Strike Invincible Frames is the period in which you can not receive damage from any type of strike attack but are vulnerable to projectile attacks. These frames are represented by white and red stripes on the frame meter. 

3. Projectile Invincibility Period

Street Fighter 6 Frame Data
Invincible Projectile [Image by eXputer]
Projectile Invincible Frames is the time in which you can not receive damage from any type of projectile attack but are vulnerable to strike attacks. These frames are represented by yellow and white stripes on the frame meter. 

Summary

This sums up our guide on Street Fighter 6 Frame Data. Understanding the frame data gives you a great advantage in fights and combats, especially if you want to play at competitive levels. Normal attacks usually have a startup of 3 to 12 frames depending on the type of attack you’re initiating. Throws and projectiles are mostly 5 frames. Special attacks and combos can vary from 3 to 60 frames.

Now that you have all the information about frame data, you can implement your knowledge on different characters such as Dhalsim, JP, and Chun Li. Moreover, you can learn about all editions of Street Fighter 6 to choose the best some for you. Lastly, don’t forget to check out the Plot of Street Fighter 6, where your avatar takes place in the Open World.

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Huzaifa is eXputer's Review Editor, who’s all about RPG games. He’s got several years of experience critically judging games and writing his unbiased thoughts on them. You can also find his content published on sites like Twinfinite & GearNuke. Huzaifa has been gaming for 23+ years, during which he managed to amass 400+ hours on Elden Ring! You can follow his gaming activity on his Xbox and Steam Profiles.

Experience: 5+ years || Previously Worked At GearNuke & Twinfinite || Mainly Covers RPG Guides & Latest Games Reviews || Education: Bachelors in Hospitality.

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