What it is
A Power Crush is any attack flagged with armor frames during its startup. While in the armor window, the move absorbs the hit damage from one incoming mid or high attack and continues animating. You take recoverable chip damage (white bar) for the hit you ate, but your attack lands and you keep your turn. It is designed as the universal answer to mash-heavy pressure: at any rank below Tekken King, expect opponents to mash one button into your blockstring, and Power Crush punishes that exact behavior.
Every character has at least one. Universal Heat Burst (2+3) is also a Power Crush.
Inputs
Power Crush inputs are character-specific, but the common patterns are:
| Move type | Common input | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Mid Power Crush | 1+2 from neutral | Kazuya b+1+4, Bryan b+1+2, Paul qcf+1+2 |
| Stance Power Crush | input from a stance | Jin df+3+4, Reina Sentai 1+2 |
| Heat Burst (universal) | 2+3 | Every character |
PC keyboard players should bind 1+2 to a single key. Macro binds are fully legal in ranked.
Frame data summary
- Startup: typically 14–22f. Heat Burst is 16f universally.
- Armor window: active from roughly frame 5 to frame
startup - 2. Absorbs one mid or high hit. - Block: usually -13 to -15 (full launch punish on most characters).
- Hit: wall-splat or knockdown. Many Power Crushes are Heat Engagers on top of armoring.
- Recovery: long. Whiffing a Power Crush is a 20+f punish window — disaster vs a competent player.
Do NOT armor through lows or throws — armor only triggers on mid/high contact.
When to use it
- Frame trap break. If you blocked a
+2string and the opponent is mashing ai12jab, youri14Power Crush armors through their jab and you keep turn. - Wakeup vs predictable mids. Same logic as Rage Art, but cheaper and available every round.
- Heat refill. Many Power Crushes are also Heat Engagers — armoring through their poke and entering Heat in one button is a huge swing.
When NOT to use:
- Opponent has 50/50 with a low option (90% of the cast).
- Opponent has a throw at close range.
- You are at -10+ on block (your Power Crush startup is slower than their i10 jab — eat the second jab raw).
Counterplay
- Low pokes. A
i14low gets a free hit on any Power Crush attempt — Power Crush armor does not cover lows. - Throws. Walk forward,
1+3or2+4. Power Crush armor does not stop throws. - Delayed mids. Wait out the armor window (typically until frame 18), then hit. Bryan’s
b+3is the classic example — released late, beats any Power Crush. - Sidestep. Many Power Crushes don’t track. Sidestep right vs Kazuya
b+1+4, sidestep left vs King’s options. See /mechanics/sidestep.
Common mistakes
- Mashing Power Crush at -10. Their next jab connects before your armor activates — you eat 30 damage and keep your -frames.
- Power Crushing a low string. No armor on lows. You eat the low and get launched.
- Power Crushing vs Heat Smash. Heat Smash armor-breaks most Power Crushes. Block instead.
- Using Power Crush as a launcher. Most are very unsafe on block; using one as your “go-to launcher” gets you killed.
Patch history
- 3.00.00: Heat Burst armor frames standardized — some chars had longer armor than others in S2, now all 5–14f.
- 2.05: Several Power Crushes (Lars
db+1+2, Bryanb+1+2) lost 2f of armor duration to reduce defensive abuse. - 2.00: Power Crush vs Power Crush — now the faster startup wins instead of a clash animation.