Street Fighter 6 has finally launched with loads of content to jump into. Between World Tour, mastering the characters, and everything else, there’s a lot to do. Even the stripped-back launch Street Fighter 6 roster can be a bit big for newcomers though. How do you decide which are the best Street Fighter 6 beginner characters though? We’ve broken down each of the top fighters to start off with here.

The Best Street Fighter 6 Beginner Characters

These are the best Street Fighter 6 beginner characters to jump into.

1. Ryu
2. Luke
3. Marisa
4. Ken
5. Lily

These all have different styles though, so which is perfect for you? We’ve broken down what makes each of them a perfect pick.

Ryu

Ryu is basically the OG of Street Fighter. He’s the most standard character, the archetype that other Street Fighter characters are built on. He can be a good character for beginners to start off with as many other fighters have Ryu styled characters at this point. You can use this to your advantage with Ryu in Street Fighter 6 as a beginner.

Ryu’s kit can be taken pretty far. However, with the new dynamic controls and other features, you’re able to start making progress with Ryu before you master absolutely everything. He’s a great place to start as one of the best Street Fighter 6 beginner characters.

Ryu is versatile in his moveset. He is a rushdown character, with more intense fast up-close fighting moments. However, he has plenty of other tools too. You’re not getting stuck into one specific playstyle like if you pick up Marisa or a similar character. However, his kit also includes Hadoukens and other tools for creating space.

Luke

Luke is basically the title character for Street Fighter 6, appearing on the game’s cover and all of its promotion. In this role, it’s quite fitting he’s one of the best Street Fighter 6 beginner characters.

If you play through solo content before you start online (and you probably should if you’re a beginner) You’ll be getting used to Luke’s play style before anyone else. This makes him a perfect fit as a Street Fighter 6 character for beginners. If you’re doing World Tour first or just clicked with him in the early stages of the game, stick with him. He’s definitely fun to keep pushing and has quite an accessible fighting game.

Marisa

Street Fighter 6 has a lot of different character archetypes and not all of them make for great Street Fighter 6 beginner characters. However, if you normally go for heavyweights when playing big fighting games, then Marisa might be the best place to start. Marisa is the easiest heavyweight to pick up immediately.

Marisa can hit hard but is slower. This fits the heavier character type in Street Fighter. Playing her as one of the Street Fighter 6 beginner characters is going to force you to master defence. You’ll have to space your own attacks out, so Marisa is a great pick if you’re looking to play these types of characters in the game.

Playing heavier is more difficult if you’re a real newcomer. However, if you’ve played other fighters before you’ve likely run into this dynamic before. It can be a good idea to focus on the type of characters you’re interested in, early for a beginner character.

Ken

Ken in Street Fighter 6 is pretty similar to Ryu, and in some ways Luke, but he’s still worth highlighting individually as one of the best Street Fighter 6 beginner characters. Ken’s moveset heavily relies on kicks rather than Ryu’s punches. This means he has different sets of light, medium, and heavy attacks. Ken slight differences can push you to play aggressively.

Even compared to Ryu, he’s definitely a rushdown character. You’ll need to balance heavier kicks with up-close brawling. There are some tools for controlling space with Hadoukens, but Ken’s kit is going to mean getting up close. It can be frustrating if you get caught in a combo, but Ken’s style is perfect for getting up to speed and one of the best Street Fighter 6 characters for beginners. Even if you’re brand new, you might recognise him from the SF prequel comic too!

Lily

Lily is another of the best Street Fighter 6 beginner characters to be brand new to the series! She has a particularly unique moveset among these characters though. She has moves which allow her to engage from range, she’s lightweight and has a fast movement speed. Kind of like playing Marisa as a beginner character, Lily is great for focusing on a different archetype.

Lily doesn’t have a projectile move, but attacks have a range which removes the need for one. You’ll need to use her controls to get comfortable engaging from the right distance and keeping your opponents at the distance where you can handle them. One of her best moves is a very powerful grab and super art, two moves that aren’t too easy to pull off. Building a beginner’s playstyle around this could help you master the fundamentals pretty quickly.

Where to Go After the Best Street Fighter 6 Beginner Characters?

Those are the best Street Fighter 6 beginner characters. There are tons more to discover in the roster for the game though. If you want to start rising up the Street Fighter 6 ranks, then finding your main and mastering them is going to be important. Especially as the early demos let players get experience with quite a few different characters.

We’re still early days for combos and other strategies though, so upcoming Fighting Game esports events like DreamHack Dallas might be worth catching to see how pros are performing with these characters early on.