Rush, Rush, Got the Yeyo?
The Drive system is the cornerstone of Capcom’s new slugfest, Street Fighter 6, and sees the player’s Drive Meter used as the fuel tank for a variety of powerful offensive and defensive tools. Alongside the Drive Parry and Drive Impact systems, Drive can also be spent on the highly technical Drive Rush system, which allows the player to discover new combo routes previously thought impossible.
Drive Rush is something of a “dash” system, which allows the player to lower their defenses and race toward their opponent, covering ground at an accelerated pace. Additionally, Drive Rush adds advantage on hits performed out of the dash, making it perfect for surprise attacks, or turning long-distance defense into up-close-and-personal offense. So grab your running shoes and let’s take a look-see.
What is Drive Rush?
There are, essentially, two forms of Drive Rush. One can be used to close the gap, and one that can be used to extend combos and open up new strings when dug down into the melee. Let’s check out both.
Drive Rush is performed by holding Parry (MP + MK) and then double-tapping Forward. Once the input is made, the character will start to dash. It is important to then release the buttons and not hold Forward. Once your character is off and running, your hands are free to start preparing your attack. You do not need to continue holding Forward or Parry.
You can Drive Rush into all manner of moves, which means you can Parry a long-distance projectile, then tap Forward Forward to instantly close the gap, perhaps landing a low hit into your favorite combo. In some cases, Drive Rush is so fast, that you can reach your opponent before they’ve even recovered from throwing the projectile! So while Full-Screen-Ryu might be super confident tossing out that Super, Parrying the fireball, and then rushing in, can shut down that confidence in seconds.
In the video below, you can see my gurl Juri demonstrate Drive Rush against Zangief.
Drive Rush Cancel
At close distance, Drive Rush has a different use. Every member of the roster has moves that can be canceled into Drive Rush, simply by tapping Forward, Forward at the moment the strike lands. This technique can be used to extend combos and even recover frames, making moves such as overheads a feature in combos, or simply allowing a fighter to repeat sequences for that little extra damage.
Drive Rush Cancel will be one of the key techniques applied in top-level Street Fighter 6 play. It will form the backbone of creativity when it comes to finding new combos and extensions, while also providing a knowledge check for the player’s usage of meter. Drive Rush Cancel costs a massive three blocks of Drive, and as such can lead to Burnout status in double quick time. So while definitely one of the most important techniques for landing damage, it can be devastating on the player as well as the opponent.
You can watch Juri perform a Drive Rush Cancel combo on Zangief in the video below. Notice the green blur indicating the moment Drive Ruch was canceled out of Juri’s B + HK.
Is there a Drive Rush shortcut?
Yes, there is, and you would do well to learn it. At long distances, players can activate Drive Rush by tapping Forward, and then tapping Forward + MP + MK all together. Not only does this method remove an input, but it also hides the initial Parry stance from the opponent — which is a boon in making your Drive Rush a surprise. For full details on this shortcut, check out our Drive Rush shortcut guide.
