Heat System in Tekken 8 Explained

The Heat System is one of the new mechanics that separates Tekken 8 from previous games in the series and it was cooked up to make combat even more intense. To get a full grasp of the system, I’ll explain what it does and how it can be used within each match.

What is the Heat System in Tekken 8?

In Tekken 8, the Heat System is a small boost to damage and combos that is represented by a blue bar underneath the yellow health bar. Both players start the round with a bar full of Heat that can be activated in a couple of different ways. Once it’s used, there is no way to get it back until the next round of the fight.

Any time you activate Heat, you get a few different benefits. The most prominent is stronger attacks that even guarantee some chip damage against blocking opponents. Then you can pair that with better combinations as long as the blue bar is burning. And if you want to save it to break a potential combo before it happens, that’s an option as well.

Just remember that your opponent has the same access to the system that you do. So when yours is gone, the combos you dish out need to count or that damage might be thrown right back in your face.

How to Activate Heat in Tekken 8

To activate the Heat System, you can press R1/RB to start a Heat Burst and burn the blue meter or you can start with a Heat Engager. Using the burst option is much easier to pull off and can even get you out of a hairy situation. However, the burst option isn’t nearly as good for an offensive push or a potential setup.

When you use the Heat Engager instead, the Heat System activates at the end of a combo and sends the opponent flying to the ground for an additional combo setup. Each character has a different combo requirement to activate their Engager. On a character like Lars, I had to use three side kicks to the middle for the blue bar to start burning down.

Once that Heat is gone, you’ll need to get back to blocking or face some backlash from your opponent.