Tekken 8 – 5 best beginner characters

Tekken is a franchise renowned for its complexity, and while Tekken 8 is a little more beginner-friendly, it’s still no joke. With fighters boasting massive move lists, complex playstyles, and difficult execution, you’re doing yourself no favours picking up a hard-to-play character in an already hard enough game.

But there are some characters that are a lot more beginner-friendly. Whether they have simple combos or just have a straightforward game plan, you’ll have much more luck using one of these characters to learn the game. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of our top five best characters for beginners.

Best Tekken 8 characters for beginners

When you’re getting started, there are a few things you want in a character. These can be things like easy execution, a small move list, or good fundamentals. Our list has characters that fit all of these moulds, so take your pick. Here are the best characters for beginners in Tekken 8:

Shaheen

Shaheen gets a bad rap from many Tekken fans as, while he has a pretty cool design, he has all the personality of wet newspaper. For beginners, though, he makes up for this with a relatively small move list and some great fundamentals, with some solid combos and pokes. He’s not flashy by any means, but he’s a solid all-round pick, is great for learning the basics, and is one of Tekken 8’s most underrated fighters.

Paul Phoenix

One of the OGs of the franchise, Paul has been around since the very start and is as popular with the Tekken faithful today as he was 30 years ago. Paul hits hard. He has some of the highest damage combos in the game, and a throw game that can contend with any grapplers. He also doesn’t have anywhere near the execution requirements of some of the other fighters in that field. While his backsway stance might take a bit of getting used to, it’s a great way to start learning mix-ups.

Paul offers a simple strategy, fairly easy-to-execute combos and the potential for massive damage if you put the work in to master him. And if all else fails, your Deathfist will demolish any opponent. If you’re interested in Paul, check out our Tekken 8 Paul guide for some beginner combos to try out.

Alisa Bosconovitch

If you like footsies in fighting games, then Alisa might be the character for you. She has some quick movement, with a strong backdash and one of the most evasive sidesteps in the game, as well as a couple of moves that let you fly quickly towards your enemy to close the gap. With her great movement and some decent punishment tools, she’s a great choice to help you learn how to punish opponents, using her tools to bait your enemies before capitalising with some high-damage combos.

Marshall Law

Another character who has been around since the start, Marshall Law is Tekken’s take on Bruce Lee, and has had some buffs coming from Tekken 7. Almost the opposite of Paul, instead of a strong defense and high damage combos, Law plays a pressure game, with fast offense, low-damage pokes and some strong mix-ups to whiff punish with. While he’s perhaps not as easy to pick up as our previous mentions, he’s great at learning the fundamentals and with his execution becoming easier in Tekken 8, it’s the perfect time to pick him up.

While he’s easy to start with, he has a sky-high skill ceiling, meaning you’ll be handsomely rewarded for putting in the effort in the long run. If you’re interested in learning to play Law, check out our Tekken 8 Law guide to get you started.

Jin Kazama

In days gone, Jin was one of the least friendly characters for beginners, but with Tekken 8, he’s become significantly more approachable. His execution is nowhere near as hard as it once was, and with the ability to use electrics when in Heat, he’s a genuinely great option. He has some more complex mechanics later on like wavedashing and mastering electrics, but you won’t need them early on. Couple all this with the fact you’ll be using him throughout the story mode, and it’s a better time than ever to start learning Jin. If you’re interested in learning Jin, we’ve got a Tekken 8 Jin guide with some starter combos for you to have a go at.

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Alex’s Advice

While in Heat, Jin can use electrics without frame perfect inputs, making landing them much more consistent if you’re a beginner player.

Should you play a beginner character in Tekken?

Despite being easier for new players to pick up, many of these characters are great fighters in their own right, and place pretty favourably on our tier list. Their ease of use might mean they don’t have as high of a skill ceiling, but it also means you can do what other characters do with a lower execution requirement.

That being said, just because some characters might a little easier than others, the most important thing is to choose a character that you like the look of. There’s no use choosing Shaheen because he’s ‘easier’ when in reality you want to play Asuka, Claudio, or Feng Wei.

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Alex’s Advice

If you’re interested in a character, try them out in Practice Mode. Use the combo challenges to get a feel for them and see if you like how they play before you commit to anyone.

Even more complex characters like Jun, Kazuya and Hwoarang have plenty of tools to help you get started, so don’t be afraid to go with someone a little tougher. And at lower level play, you’ll be up against other newer players, meaning you’ll have room to make mistakes and learn at your own pace.

So if you want to play someone who isn’t on this list and are worried about it, don’t be. Give them a go, and though it might take you a bit longer to get started, there’s nothing stopping you from playing them well.

Tekken 8 best beginner characters FAQs

Who is the easiest character in Tekken 8?

While there is no easiest character in Tekken, some beginner friendly characters include Paul, Alisa, and Shaheen.

Is Jin a hard character in Tekken 8?

Jin has become much easier to play in Tekken 8, and while still not the easiest, is much more beginner friendly.