Street Fighter 5 – How to Play F.A.N.G

There were plenty of Beta tests for Street Fighter 5 in the months leading up to release. However, the one character who was not featured in any of the Beta tests was F.A.N.G. The newcomer to the Street Fighter series is the first character to use poison as a primary attack, making him a unique addition to Street Fighter 5 that some people are having trouble with. At the moment there aren’t a lot of F.A.N.G players around, especially online, so we thought it was time to shed some light on Shadoloo’s number two.

Normals

High-level Street Fighter revolves heavily around the neutral game and how well you use normals. For F.A.N.G you want to focus on his long-rage normal down-forward + Heavy Punch from a distance. At close range this is a punishable attack, but from about mid-screen you can poke with it and even punish some whiffs with proper timing.

At close range you can frame trap with F.A.N.G’s crouching MK (+2 on block) into any of F.A.N.G’s 4-frame normals (crouching or standing Light Punch), or you can links into crouching MP on counter-hit. You can pressure knocked down opponents with F.A.N.G’s standing Heavy Kick, which also leaves him at +1 when blocked. This allows you to frame trap with a 4-frame normal or mix things up with a throw.

Punishment

As previously mentioned, you can punish some attacks from mid-screen with F.A.N.G’s down-forward + Heavy Punch command normal. In addition, F.A.N.G’s crouching Heavy Kick has deceptive range, but it can be punished if it’s blocked.

Generally speaking, if you block an attack that’s unsafe, you should be punishing with crouching Medium Punch. This allows F.A.N.G to combo into the Light Punch Sotoja (charge Back, Forward + Light Punch). After connecting the Sotoja you can link directly into F.A.N.G’s Critical Art (super) or transition into his mix-up game.

Mix-Up Options

After a Light Punch Sotoja immediate start charging down so you can follow with the Nishikyu projectile (charge Down, Up + Punch). Depending on the distance between F.A.N.G and the opponent you should use the Light Punch or Medium Punch projectile. Immediately cancel the projectile into the EX Nikankyaku (Dragon Punch motion + Two Kicks).

In many cases you can also end a combo with the EX Ryobenda (charge Back, Forward + Two Kicks), then once again go right into the Nishikyu projectile and cross-up with the EX Nikankyaku. In this situation follow the EX Nikankyaku with F.A.N.G’s standing Heavy Kick. This pushes the opponent into the EX Nikankyaku adding more damage to your combo, or causing significant frame advantage if the opponent manages to block.

After knocking an opponent down with a back throw, you can even go into the Light Punch Sotoja and EX Nikankyaku mix-up if the opponent doesn’t quick rise. Of course in any of these situations you can opt for a different strength Nikankyaku to stay in front of the opponent (depending on the distance) or cross them up.

Zoning

F.A.N.G’s zoning options are fairly straightforward. Against other fireball characters you want to lay out the Heavy Kick or EX Ryobenda to absorb any single hit projectile attacks. This gives F.A.N.G time to start his zoning with the Sotoja projectile. At full screen you want to use the Heavy Punch Sotoja, then lay out another Ryobenda and go for either a second Sotoja or your V-Skill.

The basic gist of F.A.N.G’s zoning pressure is to maintain a wall of poison alternating between the Ryobenda on the ground and the various projectiles (V-Skill and Sotoja). This should force your opponent to move in, at which point you can poke with F.A.N.G’s various normals to maintain frame advantage or go into his various mix-up options.

As you can see, F.A.N.G has a ton of options based on range and meter. You just need to make sure you’re keeping charge so you’re ready for the next setup. Even if you don’t have charge, F.A.N.G has plenty of good normals that can keep him in the game and even combo into his super more often than not.

We’ll have more on Street Fighter 5 in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime be sure to check out our guide on earning fight money so you’re ready for the first round of DLC coming next month!