[Gaming] Playing Feng Wei in Tekken 7

The first step to playing any character in Tekken 7 is understanding the basics about movement, spacing and gaming style about that character.

Some characters get good movement and might rely heavily on agility and sidestepping like Lili or Zafina and some don't like the buff characters.

Some characters have a close-up game like Feng or Kunimitsu and some have a range 1 or 2 game like Asuka.

Some characters rely heavily on pokes like Feng or Dragunov and some don't.

Some characters are mixup heavy like Feng or Kunimitsu and some are not like Bryan.

Feng Wei is an aggressive character and has a close-up game. He is susceptible to side-step on both sides.

And the gaming style is that of poking and mixups.

One rule to remember while playing against Feng is - Always respect the opponent. You have to respect Feng else Feng has too many tools to make sure you respect him. b1 is enough in itself in most cases.

Pokes

Best poke in Feng's arsenal according to me is b4, arguably one of the best in the game. Decent range, 

12f fast, neutral on hit, safe on block at -9 and near homing. What most players do is spam while it hits since its neutral on hit.

Another godlike poke is df1. It's neutral on block and on counterhit +36!! Insane move IMO.

Another poke that's neutral on block is db1+2, it has a low extension but never use it since everyone knows the string and will simply low parry it. The only thing about it is that it is on the slower side at 21f.

Arguably one of the best lows in the game also is with Feng which is db3. 16f unseeable low that is launch punishable on block at -15 but on counter-hit leads to additional damage with leaving you back-turned for a mixup. On normal hit, you can either go for ws2 after this move hits since it is 15f fast and db3 is +5 on hit, so if the opponent commits to something, you get a counterhit and extra damage. But don't do it everytime, only when your opponent disrespects you since, if the ws2 gets blocked, you lose your turn.

Another common extension to db3 on normal hit is FC4.

You could also crouch cancel and do db3 again.

d2 is another good low poke with Feng. Only -12 on block so most characters can just do a ws4 to punish it. A good way to mix it up with ff2 is by going ffd2.

Needless to say, ff2 is super good since its a mid 18f move that is safe on block and knocks down on hit.

Evasion

You can't play Feng without learning his evasion. He has one of the best evasion techniques in the game that can make your opponent cry.

Kenpo (b3+4)

The most annoying move in the game in my opinion and single-handedly makes Feng OP. Going into kenpo stance makes you go back and evade a lot of moves and is not even risky. It has a very small window frame where it can be punished but otherwise it is safe.

knp 1 is a low and only -13 on block, so not even launch punishable by any character.

knp 2 is a high that is safe on block and on CH gives guaranteed shoulder.

knp 3 is a launcher that is launch punishable on block at -16 (now. previously it was not even launch punishable)

knp 4 is a high range mid that is safe on block.

Shifting clouds (f3+4)

STC is a parry and has extensions after the animation as well. Don't use the extensions like standard moves though.

You can go from KNP to STC by just pressing forward and similarly from STC to KNP by pressing back.

uf2 is another OP evasion that is only -10 on block, but most people find it hard to punish due to the pushback, so basically safe. This would be your no.1 go-to panic move.

uf3+4 is another high crush launcher that is only -10 on block.

bf1 is another OP evasion move that can be used to setup opponents. It is launch punishable on block at -15 so don't randomly throw it out. But in setups it is godlike since on CH, it gives guaranteed ff3.

db2 is another high crush move that can be used in mixups as well. db2,2,2 is the actual string but you can either do a db2,2 and press back to cancel the second hit and go for a mixup - maybe an uf4 or another db2 and so on.

db2,2 launches the opponent on hit, so thats a good option as well. But it is launch punishable on block.

db2,2,2 is safe on block at -8 only but it looks like unsafe so most players try to punish it. Go for bf1 immediately if you see them disrespecting you.

Mixups

Most of Feng's dangerous mixup game is accessed from backturn.

There are multiple ways to go BT - the normal way, b3~4. The other ways are f4b, SS2,  SS3b, 1,2,2b, 2,4,1b, 3~4b, 3,3,4b.

Feng has too many options from BT.

BT d4 is a 10f fast low poke that is only -11 on block.

BT 2 is a 16f mid that is only -6 on block. It has an extension in the form of BT2,2 but that is -13 on block.

BT 1+2 is another 16f mid that is only -5 on block and gives good oki situation on both hit and CH.

BT 4 is a high at 10f that is safe on block, BT uf4 comes out as a mid option though.

BT 1 would be your best standing option frame-wise at 12f that is only -1 on block but its a high.

BT 3 is the stomp, the same as ff3.

BT d3 is a low launcher that is launch punishable on block.

What makes this backturn dangerous is that WS options can be accessed from BT by pressing db or df.

So you could go BT and press db and make a good space between you and your opponent and if they commit to something, access WS moves to oppress them.

Or you could mixup BT d3 with BT WS3 since WS3 is only -12 on block and launch them either way.

To make things worse, Feng also gets a BT throw by pressing 1+4 or 2+3 and can also access generic throws by pressing forward and the corresponding generic throw.

So overall, a dangerous mixup game.

Setups

Use his punch parry or sabaki well. 1+2 that Feng has is a move that has inbuilt parry in it and hence is a sabaki. Feng's ws1+2 also has inbuilt parry.

How you are supposed to set it up is - you need to use sabaki when you are anticipating the opponent to do a punch. And that is mostly on moves that are -8 to -9 on block.

So, go df2,2 into punch parry.

or df3 into punch parry.

These two alone get so many opponents in the mid ranks.

Also, utilize his plus frames well.

db3 on hit into ws2 is a good setup.

Also, wr3 is +6 on block, so go for hopkick immediately if the opponent is disrespecting you and you get a free launch.

ff3 is +8 on block, so you get a free df3 since df3 is 18f and a safe mid launcher. Don't go for it always though since it will make you lose your turn.

ff3 on hit will leave the opponent close to you so go for f3,4 immediately to launch them again and reset the combo.

CD1+2 is +4 on block, so go for df1 which is 14f since on CH you get +36 - no launch but a mixup nevertheless. But be careful since at a wrong range, opponents can sidestep this. Another good setup is CD1+2 into a throw. Since the opponents recover from the crouch, they don't anticipate a throw there.

Combos

Feng has decent combo damage and wall travel. Execution-wise, they are one of the easiest in the game.

Launch -> df1 -> f3,4 -> 1 -> df4,3 -> 3~4,3 itself does high damage and has easy wall travel and execution.

Sometimes, 3~4,3 might not connect and hence, df4,3 after a dash is a safer option for a slightly lesser damage.

Launch here would be f3,4 or uf4 or ws3.

Next, df3 -> 2 -> f3,4 -> 1 -> df4,3 -> dash -> df4,3

On low parry, you could do

ff4,3 and continue from there, but that is a little harder to execute.

An easier way out for a slightly lesser damage would be

low parry -> df1 -> df1 -> df1 -> df4,3 -> dash -> df4,3

If you want maximum damage out of a combo, that would be 

f3,4 -> f1+2 -> ff4 delay 3 -> 1 -> micro dash -> 1 -> df4,2,1+2

A general rule to remember is to go for f3,4 in the combo to get good wall travel whenever needed.

Wall game

Feng is menacing at the wall as if he doesn't have enough tools already.

Good frames give him many options at the wall.

df1, db3, b4, db1+2, d2, CD1+2 and his generic jabs are oppressing enough at the wall because of their frames.

To add to that, he has good SS options in the form of SS1+2 and SS4.

SS1+2 is +1 on block, so a SS1+2 into a b1 gives you a wall splat and huge subsequent damage.

To mix it up he has SS4 which is a low launcher but launch punishable on block.

Post wall splat option is simple and you can go with 1,3 -> b1+2

If the wall is a little further away from your carry, get the wall splat using f3,4.

Else if the screw is too close to the wall, your best option would be b2,3,4,2 if near and df4,2,1+2 if far.

You could also go for 3,3,4 near the wall so that you can access backturn and oppress the opponent with mixups post wake-up or even good oki.

Negatives

Negatives of feng would be his range and bad punishment.

Feng has a close-up game and you will need to stay in opponent's space to play aggressively. And that would make you vulnerable to throws as well.

The only move that counters the above argument is CD ws1, I think it's the one tool in Feng's arsenal that makes Feng really OP as it helps him cover large distances with a mid poke with -1 on block, so basically neutral.

Standing punishment

Punishment-wise, he has a decent 10f punish with 1,2,2.

And then he gets no 12f punish. He has a good 13f punishment though, his shoulder, which is b1+2. Don't throw this move out unnecessarily how may ever addictive it is since it's -19 on block.

No 14f punishment but at 15f, he gets one of the worst hopkicks in the game if not the worst since Kazumi might have the worst hopkick. Zero range and practically unuseable in most cases as a 15f punisher. So instead, you will need to rely on df4,3 to punish -15. So, you don't get a proper launch at 15f for a large opponent moveset.

At 16f, he gets db1,4. Nothing special either here.

At 18f, you get f4.

f4 has two extensions in the form of f4,3 and f4,4. But I would advise you to use neither since they are not that great. Instead use f4 as a keepout since Feng doesn't have great keepout options. It's a high and a little slower at 18f. But, you can go backturn from f4 by pressing back and create some distance away from the opponent and immediately access ws options from there if the opponent presses a button. Because of the additional distance from backturn, it's hard to punish when it whiffs. So yeah, both pros and cons there.

At 19f, you get f1+2. Really good move, safe on block, screws on CH and covers great distance. But don't be predictable since it is a high.

At 21f, you get f3,4. Unsafe and launch punishable on block, so don't throw it out just to get a launch. Instead, go for f3 into db3 or f3 into b4 or f3 into df3. You get the extensions mostly even when f3 is blocked since the opponents usually respect you after f3 in fear of getting launched. f3 is just -3 on block so you are good to use it as a ranged poke.

WS punishment

Feng's WS punishment is decent though IMO.

At 11f, you get generic ws4.

At 13f, you get ws1,2,1. You can delay the 1 after 1,2. So, use it as a bait and on CH you get guaranteed shoulder. The whole string is just -12 on block, so don't be afraid to use the extension.

At 15f, you get ws2 and ws3. ws2 is safe on block and on CH gives additional damage. ws3 is launcher and just -12 on block.

So yeah, basically none of the ws moves are launch punishable.

In conclusion, Feng is a really OP character with some insane pressure game, dangerous mixups and an oppressing wall game. Give it a try if you haven't already and have fun!