Street Fighter 6: What Is Frame Data & Types

What Is Frame Data?

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.

 

All Frame Meter Types

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.

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 

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 

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. 

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

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

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

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.

Next:

• Street Fighter 6 Ken Guide
• Street Fighter 6 Tier List
• Street Fighter 6 Game Pass
• Street Fighter 6 Jamie