Street Fighter V Winter Update Explained

Street Fighter V's Winter Update was explained in greater detail during a showcase from Capcom. The update is the first stage of Season 5, which will be SFV's last season of add-ons. The showcase provided details on a bundle of new content coming to the game.

Street Fighter V Winter Update Explained

Coming up on its fifth anniversary, Street Fighter V has continuously given players new content since its release. Although six characters are slated for Season 5, only two of them will be released with the Winter Update: Rose and fan-favorite Dan.

Rose is an Italian fortune-teller who manipulates Soul Power. She has long-reaching Normal Moves and several different projectile Special Moves. Her V-Skill I allows her to buff her own or nerf her opponent's attributes while her V-Skill II is her classic Soul Satellite move where two damaging orbs surround her on both sides. Her V-Trigger I allows her to teleport across the stage while her V-Trigger II is her classic Soul Illusion move, where her shadow fights alongside her to add extra damage to attacks.

Dan is an interesting character in the Street Fighter lore given that he was originally created as a "joke" character. He is designed to be something of a parody of Street Fighter poster boys Ryu and Ken. His character background is that he is an arrogant and unskilled martial artist who runs a failing dojo.

Dan features a similar move set to Ryu and Ken as he possesses his own "Gadoken" and a "Koryuken" uppercut. His gameplay revolves highly around his taunts, which are mixed in with his V-Skills. In V-Skill I, Dan can cancel out his special moves with a taunt to extend combos.

In V-Skill II, Dan has a damaging taunt that can be canceled into any of his Special or Normal moves, allowing for erratic pressure and mixups. Failing to cancel out this move leaves him in an unsafe state where he can be easily punished. When either of his V-Skills is used, it adds to both Dan and his opponent's V-Gauge meter.

Dan's V-Trigger I allows him to charge his "Hoah-Gadoken" move to inflict large damage on opponent's or break their guard. His V-Trigger II allows him to perform enhanced versions of his normal Gadoken and Koryuken moves. The showcase provided an in-depth look at Dan's abilities by exhibiting a Dan vs. Dan mirror match.

Aside from new characters, SFV's Winter Update will also see the introduction of a new stage. The Marina of Fortune is new to SFV but is a redesigned version of the same stage that appeared in Street Fighter Alpha 2. Marina of Fortune is set in an Italian port and is the home stage of Rose.

SFV will also introduce a new game mechanic in the Winter Update with the V-Shift. The V-Shift is similar to the V-Reversal mechanic already in the game, where a player can escape pressure while blocking an attack at the expense of V-Gauge meter. The V-Shift allows players to similarly escape pressure by performing an evasive backstep maneuver that leaves the player invincible to projectiles and body blows.

The ending of the showcase teased the arrival of Oro, another DLC character set to join the SFV roster in Season 5. Akira Kazama, a character from Capcom's Rival Schools fighting game series, will also be added along with another character to be revealed. The shapeshifting Eleven was also leaked as a bonus DLC character for Season 5.

Street Fighter V's Winter Update goes live on Feb. 22.