Tekken 7 on Hit Box - Getting Started

The Hit Box is the best alternative to a standard fight stick or pad controller for Tekken 7. In order to help you take advantage of the precision of this arcade controller, we have compiled this post to go over the basics of the Hit Box and key techniques to learn in Tekken 7.

The Hit Box is native on PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. If you are trying set up for Steam, please follow the information in our post "Hit Box on Steam."

If you have any questions about Tekken on Hit Box, be sure to join our community on Discord and visit the #3d-fighters channel. In addition, you can explore the "Hit Box" and "Tekken" tags at the bottom of the post for more How-To content.

The Basics

Layout

The first thing to note is how the directional buttons are placed on the Hit Box, and what that big button is for. Left, Down, and Right are all next to each other - the ASD of "WASD" - with the Up button being the big red one at the bottom. Having the Up button in the middle, and larger than the others, allows players to use Up in a similar way that keyboard users activate the space bar, and it allows you to use whichever thumb you want.

In addition, the directional buttons are placed fairly close to the action buttons in order for both hands to be used for either directions or actions. The most obvious example is simply being able to press Up and an action with the right hand at the same time.

SOCD

On the Hit Box, you have the ability to press opposite directions at the same time. We call this Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions, or SOCD for short. There are two specific SOCDs we have to consider on Hit Box: Left + Right, and Up + Down.

With Left + Right, we get SOCD Neutral. Meaning "center" is output to the game - not left or right. With Up + Down, we get Absolute Priority of Up. Meaning Up will always override Down, no matter what order they are pressed in.

How to play

Instant Dash

Forward (hold)
Back + Forward (Neutral) (cancel each other out)
Forward (still held after releasing Forward)

You can also think of it as:
Forward (hold)
Back (tap)

A dash requires a Forward, Neutral, Forward. It is normally a slower input because you have to press and release a button, then press it again. But we have a much better way to dash!

Instant Dash, also known as "SOCD Dash," allows you to move without any telegraphing or delay.

With Instant Dash you can consistently input your dashes in 3 to 4 frames with this method. Also, continuing to hold Back allows you to block mids while attempting to create space!

Standard KBD

This is the original way to Korean Backdash on Hit Box, also known as the SOCD Backdash, because it uses Left + Right simultaneously. This way is much faster than tapping out "Back, Back, Down" over and over, and by holding Back you constantly block mid attacks while dashing.

Back (hold)
Down (tap & release)
Forward (tap & release)

Be sure to tap Down and then Forward individually. If you roll your fingers or press Down and Forward together at any point the dash will not come out. Make sure you tap one button at a time.

For more on KBDs, check out our post "Hit Box Korean Back Dashes."

Sidestep Cancels Into Background

Jump (tap)
Forward (tap)

The quicker and more crisp you are on the buttons, the better you will do. As you can see, same with KBDs, you can go way faster than what even makes sense. Each character has a unique feel and timing to get the most out of their sidestep cancels.

For more on Sidesteps, check out our post "Sidestep Techniques."

Instant While Running

Forward
Forward
Forward -> Attack (next frame)

Tapping out F, F, F is the easy part! We are using all buttons, so tap away!

The very ending is the part that needs timing. It requires frame-perfect timing to go from the final Forward into Attack.

Tip: Listen to the video above to hear the sound of my buttons. You can hear the timing for the Forward into 2+4. It is a very distinct sound that you will get a feel for while learning.

For more on Instant While Running, check out our post "Hit Box iWR."

EWGF

Forward
Neutral
Down (Hold)
Forward + 2 (While still holding Down)

EWGF is very consistent on Hit Box.

Since Hit Box uses Sanwa buttons for both attacks and directions, there is no odd timing going on here. If you were to use a D-Pad, Analog Stick, Korean Stick, JLF, or even keyboard keys, they would be VASTLY different than your attack buttons. Each of those input methods have much more travel time to get the input to come out: Hit Box does not have that travel time.

EWGF requires you to hit the attack button at the EXACT same frame as the Down-Forward. So it makes sense that hitting two matching Sanwa buttons on the exact same frame will be much easier than the movement distance of a joystick, for example.

For more on EWGF, check out our post "Electric Wind God Fist."

Wavedash

This video showcases how to Wavedash in TTT2, but it works the same way in Tekken 7.

For the bravest out there, we have a full YouTube playlist of the main Hit Box tech in Tekken 7 - it is a straightforward presentation with the commands in the descriptions of each video: Tech - Hit Box - Tekken 7.

Tags: 3D FGC Hit Box T7 Tekken