Just a few days ago, Tekken 8 released its major Season 2 balance patch which also included the release of Anna Williams, the second season’s first additional character.
It didn’t take long for players to voice their dissatisfaction with the changes leading to overwhelmingly negative reviews on Tekken 8’s steam page and this morning, the Tekken team have released a statement on their official X account.
While there were many points of contention regarding Tekken 8’s second season, one of the biggest issues came specifically from changes to Paul and JACK-8 and these issues seem to have been unintended.
This is the first point brought up in the X post, specifying that Paul’s Hammer of the Gods was not intended to lead to a guaranteed follow-up on block and that JACK-8’s Jab Elbow > Make Some Noise having its third hit be uninterruptible will also be adressed.
Fighters,
we are aware of the current community feedback regarding #TEKKEN8 Season 2.
We are carefully reviewing the balance of the game; expect more information about these changes soon.In addition, an emergency patch will be released in April to adress the following issues pic.twitter.com/Gvet0IOISu
— TEKKEN (@TEKKEN) April 3, 2025
The patch addressing these emergency issues is stated to be released at some point in mid-to-late April, so within the month but likely not within the next two weeks.
These are labeled “high priority issues” by the team and will thus be addressed as promptly as possible.
Further, they state that they will “continue to carefully review and respond to feedback from the community” and will provide detailed information on any changes as soon as they are confirmed.
Even after the release of patch 2.00.02, we will continue to carefully review and respond to feedback from the community.
We will provide detailed information and the release date as soon as they are confirmed.
Thank you for your passion.
— TEKKEN (@TEKKEN) April 3, 2025
Although getting these unintended issues solved quickly is definitely a good thing, the overall reception to Tekken 8’s balance direction as a whole has not been particularly well-received, with many players feeling that the team have doubled down on many of the aggressive aspects fans already were not fond of in the game’s first season.
It remains to be seen what the team’s direction for Season 2 will be after this wave of feedback and whether this backlash truly does represent the community at large.
Given that many of the game’s pro players such as five-time Evo champion TM|Arslan Ash have been quick to express their unfavorable opinions about the patch, there are definitely a lot of eyes on Bandai Namco and their Tekken 8 development team at the moment.
How do you feel about Tekken 8’s Season 2 patch a few days in, notwithstanding these unintended problems relating to Paul and JACK-8? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Event Hubs
