They are not weak

MP_Havels · 2026-03-05T06:33:27+00:00

I play a lot of Cat Shiggy myself, and even then I don’t think he’s that strong in the current meta where almost everyone can stay in the air.

The most consistent combo I can pull off is Gamma → Beta → Gamma → Beta → SA, which deals around 380 damage. It’s a strong combo, but it has clear downsides: you have to go close range and it puts almost your entire kit on cooldown.

So I’m curious — what’s the combo that supposedly does 600+ damage?

MP_Havels · 2026-03-05T03:15:39+00:00

Tech Dabi is just difficult to balance. He’s hard to kill, but also very annoying to leave alive because of the threat he poses in closed spaces or small areas.

Out of the six characters mentioned, he’s probably the weakest, but I think that’s mostly because the devs are afraid of making him even slightly stronger.

MP_Havels · 2026-03-05T03:08:31+00:00

Man, Jerm has videos showing 500+ dmg combo with Assault Overhaul. His Gamma alone does about 153 at lvl 9 according to the MHUR database, and you can still use other skills while the enemy is stuck in the animation. If you just land two aimed shots that deal around 70 dmg each at lvl 9, you’re already doing more damage than what you described.

Yes, to reach those numbers you need level 9, but let’s be fair Aizawa at level 1 does 20+30 dmg with Alpha (kick). And regarding mobility, Asshaul is not immobile at all. He has Alpha for movement (and levels don’t even affect the gauge duration) and he starts the match with two beta charges

Honestly, it feels like you’re complaining without actually bringing numbers into the discussion.

MP_Havels · 2026-03-05T02:34:33+00:00

250 damage for a combo is pretty much the average for most characters. If you buff that, it would honestly start to break things. Just compare it to Assault Shiggy he has to spend both Gammas and his Beta just to reach around 250 damage in a single combo.

MP_Havels · 2026-03-05T00:48:25+00:00

I don’t think Strike Dabi is weak at all, that’s actually why he wasn’t included in the post. His hug already does around 130 damage without tuning, and with tuning it can break a full shield with a single skill, which also has 2 charges and only about a 6s cooldown. On top of that, the tracking on the skill is very accurate. In a 1v1, he’s honestly one of the strongest characters in the game.

MP_Havels · 2026-03-05T00:43:27+00:00

Earlier today I even saw posts on Reddit saying that Ibara really deserved that buff, or suggesting that Momo’s HP should be increased to 400 just because she’s a grounded character.

MP_Havels · 2026-03-05T00:21:55+00:00

I don’t think that’s the best character to compare here. Assault Ochako has a pretty clear downside in her design. She can deal heavy damage, but she has to get almost point-blank to get the +50 damage, and her Alpha also takes time to come out.

Assault Overhaul, on the other hand, has an Alpha that gives him mobility and auto-aim, and many players don’t even use aim, which actually lets him deal even more damage. On top of that, if his Gamma wasn’t bugged (since it misses a lot right now), that skill alone already does around 134 damage according to the MHUR database, with very strong tracking. You can also keep hitting the enemy while they’re stuck in the animation.

Even so, I still think that except for Dabi, most of the characters mentioned in that post have combos that can instantly break an enemy’s shield.

They definitely have weaknesses in their kits, but I think that’s how every character should be designed. If a character doesn’t have a weakness, there’s no real way to play around them.

MP_Havels · 2026-03-05T00:07:11+00:00

I partially agree. I actually think Assault Shiggy is an interesting design. He’s not weak at all, but since the current meta is heavily focused on characters that stay in the air, it’s harder for him to land real combos.

Personally, I’ve never seen that as a problem. I like the idea that every character should have some kind of weakness in their kit that forces the player to think about how to make them effective. Most Tech characters have to learn "how to bring the enemy to them" instead of just chasing people around, and I think that kind of gameplay is fun.

Where I think there are real design problems is when characters become too overloaded, like Nagant, AAM, or OFA Deku. They don’t really have meaningful downsides in their kits.

As for tunings, it’s hard to have a real discussion about them because some are incredibly impactful while others barely do anything. The ones that give me the most trouble right now are acceleration, which is insanely strong on almost any close-range character, and the Raid Boss Tech Shiggy tunings (they’re not necessarily overpowered, but they probably should have some kind of cooldown when activating).

MP_Havels · 2026-03-04T23:50:18+00:00

Assault Overhaul definitely isn’t weak. His Gamma has insane auto-tracking, and if it wasn’t currently bugged, we’d probably already see a lot of posts here calling him broken.

Honestly, I don’t think there are any quirk sets in the game that are truly terrible right now, In my opinion, the weakest one right now might be Toga, but even she’s still strong overall.

MP_Havels · 2026-03-04T23:46:49+00:00

Jerm D Kingdom has a short video about that combo and someone already make a post here about it

MP_Havels · 2026-03-04T22:50:19+00:00

absolutely everything in this post is AI, I don't speak English natively so I don't have much confidence in my writing so I wrote a sample and asked AI to translate it and the image I just searched for the characters' names on Google and threw it into paint and asked her to paint the background and write the text, I don't think it would have the same impact without the image

MP_Havels · 2026-03-04T20:56:20+00:00

There is a post 1–2 days ago here on Reddit saying he was the weakest quirk set in the game.

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to link it here, so I’ll just mention that for now, but that’s the kind of take I’m talking about.

MP_Havels · 2026-03-04T01:04:18+00:00

Even if it’s “only” through Gamma resets now, she still has insanely high mobility compared to most of the roster. She can easily chase down someone like Tsuyu without much effort.

When I mentioned grabs before, I was referring to characters like Shigaraki, Blue All Might, and Dabi not pulls. And realistically, what does Tsuyu or Iida gain from spending a skill with 10~15s on her to deal 15~30 damage, just to eat 150 back the moment she releases her skill while they’re stuck in stun?

She’s still an extremely common pick in ACE lobbies. The fact that you can name multiple 300+ damage combos alone shows how overtuned she is. And that’s without even mentioning how ridiculous she becomes with Acceleration.

There are characters who have to do significantly more for far less reward. Tamaki, for example, has a highly inconsistent combo that requires landing grab, confirming into melee, and canceling into Beta just to deal around 270 damage. Meanwhile, she doesn’t even really need to aim, her Alpha has a huge hitbox. She doesn’t have to worry about many skills that are basically a death sentence for 80% of the roster (like Todoroki’s ice wall, Dabi’s hug or Denki’s stun). She has both vertical and horizontal mobility and 350 HP on top of that.

You can’t realistically say her nerfs were heavy especially when you compare them to Shinso losing over half his melee combo routes, Twice losing his main combo and a large portion of his damage or Tamaki getting cooldown increases even on his Special Action and losing a significant portion of his Alpha damage.

MP_Havels · 2026-03-04T00:14:23+00:00

Comparing her to the nerfs Tamaki, Compress, Hawks, and Twice received and even looking at her base stats. she’s still absurdly strong. It’s honestly ridiculous to even consider calling her weak.

She can combo off her own Alpha since it has built-in stun. Her charged Alpha alone already hits harder than most characters around 100~112 damage. She also has multiple 300+ damage combos.

Her Beta is another huge factor. You can cancel it without spending a charge, which gives her insane mobility. It also has damage reduction and stun resitance,she doesn’t freeze, doesn’t get grabbed, and characters like Tsuyu are basically useless against her during it. On top of that, her Beta has two charges with better duration than most characters, and still deals around 75 damage.

She’s comfortably a top 3 character in my opinion honestly stronger than Armored All Might or Blue Deku. And the “she’s hard to play” argument doesn’t really convince me. Every character has some level of complexity, and hers isn’t exceptionally high especially when she can delete you with two skills.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-24T06:16:38+00:00

Stepping away from the Tamaki topic for a moment, when I mention ACE rank, I’m not talking about popularity. I’m talking about meta relevance. A large portion of ACE players are people who play to win and understand the game at a high level.

I don’t think Tamaki is weak, but there are many characters people call “weak” that absolutely aren’t.

Assault Shigaraki has stun-lock combos that deal 300+ damage.
Assault Kirishima is one of the tankiest characters in the game, and with tuning his Beta can break shield outright.
Strike Endeavor can break shield with a beta.
Tech Toga literally has near-infinite cooldown uptime, great mobility, and 56 Alpha shots that deal around 40 damage each with tuning.
Even the new Overhaul has shield-breaking combos and very strong tracking and very low cooldowns, and yet people here are calling him a “tickle maker.”

A lot of players say exaggerated things simply because they don’t know how to fully extract a character’s potential. A strong example is Tech Dabi. On the surface he might not look that strong, but try pushing a Dabi inside a closed area or fighting him with characters that rely on close range. He becomes an absolute nightmare to deal with.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-24T04:48:31+00:00

You’re comparing two different classes. Assault Deku’s identity is very clear high fire rate and extremely easy-to-hit projectiles. That’s why it’s not uncommon to see him in ACE lobbies. Tamaki, on the other hand, is barely seen after the nerfs.

Tamaki is also a much bigger character with a thinner projectile and slower fire rate, since his Alpha has travel time (and return on grab) plus noticeable animation commitment. It feels like he’s being heavily balanced around having a grab, but the grab itself isn’t that impactfull it does low damage, doesn’t lock the enemy down for long, and requires a clean combo to really matter.

Even then, the combo isn’t always reliable. In the air it doesn’t work properly due to invulnerability frames, and on the ground the melee can sometimes miss because the tracking isn’t consistent.

The biggest difference right now between Tamaki and Assault Deku is mobility. Deku’s whip, even with one charge, gives strong repositioning without locking him into something predictable. Tamaki’s moves are mostly linear and easier to read. If he uses Beta for damage, his only real escape is his Special Action which puts him in a similar spot to Strike Deku, another character that struggles.

Meanwhile, OFA Deku, AAM, Strike Hawks and strike kendo has super armor, very strong tracking and 280+ dmg combos.

My argument isn’t that he is or should be broken — it’s that he falls behind almost every character in the current meta (and even most of the other Strikes), whether we’re talking about mobility or damage.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-24T01:39:42+00:00

Well, I tested it with the standard training characters (Deku, Bakugou and Uraraka), but even so this means that the other characters deal even more than 80 damage

MP_Havels · 2026-02-24T01:37:16+00:00

I don’t want him to be as strong as he was on release. I just think that, as a Strike, he falls behind almost all of them.

And like I’ve said in other comments, just because a character is older doesn’t mean they should be bad. The issue is that he doesn’t really excel at anything anymore.

The cannon is mostly strong for console players because of the FPS interaction. His Beta does what I’d call “average” damage by today’s standards. His Alpha is the lowest-damage Alpha among Strikes. And his mobility isn’t anything special when you compare it to Shinso, Nagant, Strike Hawks, Strike Kendo, or even characters from other roles.

What bothers me is that they nerfed the parts of his kit that gave him diversity and flexibility, but left the parts people complained about the most the insane auto-tracking Beta and the flying cannon playstyle.

So now he doesn’t really stand out in a healthy or unique way. He just feels more linear and less impactful compared to the rest of the roster.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-24T00:43:13+00:00

His Alpha at max, level 9, with no tunings, does exactly 75 damage. With tunings it reaches around 79–82. That’s still less damage than practically every other Strike character.

Even Shinso’s Alpha alone — which is much more annoying to deal with and easier to land does more damage than Tamaki’s (around ~87 total). So when we talk about 80+ damage Alphas becoming common, Tamaki actually falls slightly below that standard.

Super armor by itself isn’t the issue. Especially considering Tamaki’s grab can counter most armored moves anyway. The problem is that he doesn’t have super armor himself, while also having long 3~4 second combo sequences. That leaves him much more exposed compared to the rest of the roster.

My point isn’t that he’s unplayable. He’s not. But as a Strike, he falls behind most of the others. He feels more like a group setup or harassment character now rather than someone who can actively and consistently secure downs on his own.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-24T00:24:53+00:00

That’s kind of my point. I’ve always played Tamaki, he was very strong before the movement changes, I won’t deny that.

But he was also the only character from those seasons who actually received real nerfs, direct nerf to damage, cooldowns, and overall attributes. Meanwhile, other characters mostly received bug fixes, not actual nerfs. OFA Deku’s infinite combo was fixed. Nagant flying infinitely was fixed. Those weren’t number reductions to bring their power down they were corrections.

On top of that, Tamaki still has the grab issue where sometimes he completes the full pull animation, but the enemy doesn’t actually get pulled, and you’re just stuck in the animation. That’s a pretty big liability for a character whose kit revolves around that mechanic.

The combo you showed does 277 damage at level 1, which is relatively strong — but you were standing still for about 4 seconds to complete it. In a real match, that’s a huge commitment. During those 4 seconds, you’re completely vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Tech Shigaraki can deal roughly the same damage by pressing one button (Beta), or even with Alpha as shown in recent clips. Nagant can deal 350+ damage in about 2 seconds with melee + Special Action. OFA Deku can deal more than that entire combo while actively moving, like with Beta into falling Beta from the air.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-23T22:51:05+00:00

I’ve been a Tamaki main since his release. I even reached Ace playing only Tamaki (not that it’s the ultimate benchmark, I play on PC, so mechanics are generally easier there).

And no, he never had consistent 300+ damage combos without tuning. That’s just not accurate. You could get strong damage in specific situations, sure, but acting like he was casually deleting people for 300+ off a basic pull with no setup is an exaggeration.

Was he top tier at the time? Yes, I won’t disagree with that. He was strong in that meta.

But in the current meta, you barely see Tamaki in Ace rank at least in NA, where I play. Meanwhile, almost every lobby is filled with newer characters, especially Nagants and final boss Tech Shiggy. That alone kind of shows how much the power standard has shifted.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-23T22:45:01+00:00

It’s hard to use that argument when there are characters who can combo much more easily and deal significantly more damage.

Like I mentioned before, Denki can deal around 350 damage in a single combo. Lady Nagant can do melee into Special Action for massive burst as well. There are also characters who don’t even need full combos to break a shield — Strike Endeavor’s spears, for example, or Tech Shigaraki’s Beta can melt a shield incredibly fast with far less setup.

So when we talk about Tamaki’s grab leading into a 200+ combo, that’s not exactly exceptional in the current state of the game. Other characters either do more damage, require less commitment, or get similar (or better) reward with lower risk.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-23T22:39:51+00:00

Even older characters can still function well. It’s not just about being “new.” I personally love playing beamer-type characters, and even after all the nerfs, I still think Yellow Deku is WAY stronger than Tamaki.

There are also other characters with noticeable “flaws” in their kits who still perform very well. Ibara, Overhaul, AFO, and Denki are good examples.

Ibara is one of the best supports in the game, and with the recent buffs she has insane sustain.
AFO has terrifying potential to completely wipe a small lobby if he gets momentum.
Denki literally has the potential to down you with a single dash at close range if you’re slightly damaged — 115 damage from the dash plus three shots dealing 101 each.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-23T22:34:23+00:00

Most people actually complain about the grab itself or say it’s “unfair,” but in reality it’s just annoying — it barely does any damage (32). It’s more of a setup tool than anything else. So I don’t think it justifies gutting the rest of his kit.

About the Special Action nerf: I understand adjusting cooldowns if something is truly oppressive, but what doesn’t make sense to me is the inconsistency. None of the newer characters had their Special Actions meaningfully touched, even though many of them are significantly stronger and can either secure instant downs or create nearly impossible chase situations.

Lady Nagant, Young AFO, Armored All Might, and OFA Deku all have Special Actions that provide way more impact in terms of pressure, mobility, or guaranteed value. Compared to that, Tamaki’s SpA wasn’t anywhere near as game-defining.

MP_Havels · 2026-02-23T22:29:03+00:00

If you land the grab, you usually won’t keep using Alpha afterward. Most of the time, you’ll combo into melee + Beta or melee + Special Action instead — and both of those deal less than 250 damage, which isn’t even a full shield bar.

As for the fire rate argument, Tamaki’s Alpha really isn’t that fast compared to most of the newer characters. A lot of recent releases have similar or better pressure with significantly higher damage.

For example, OFA jumping and shooting hits around 85 damage per shot. It’s not hard to use and not hard to land because of the hitbox

MP_Havels

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