Clive Rossfield's Game Tips

Summary

• Clive excels in mid-range combat with sword strikes and Eikon abilities for powerful control.
• Use Clive's various launchers to catch opponents off guard and increase combo potential.
• Use Torgal for extra damage, Pile Driver for versatility, and Heat Smash for strategic attacks.

After weeks of speculation and rumors, the final DLC character for Season 1 Tekken 8 was finally announced at the Game Awards. ​While Tifa is at the top of many people's wish lists, the spot will instead be filled by Final Fantasy the character is Clive Rossfield from the sixteenth mainline game.

Clive will be released a few days after the announcement, with Tekken players begin to grasp the basics of this blade-wielding protagonist fairly quickly. However, it has already become clear that Clive, with his magical abilities and elemental attacks, is very different from everything Tekken 8 seen so far, so it might be worth keeping these helpful tips in mind when trying to use it in practice and in real combat.

8 Favor his mid-range attacks

Clive turns out to be one of the best mid-level characters in the game

Simply put, Clive is one of the best middle-range fighters in the game. His big cuts with the ball and Eikon's long-range abilities allow him to control the neutral game with ease. For example, Prominence, which is a double sword strike, is an almost full-screen attack that is incredibly difficult for the enemy to avoid.

Many of his basic sword attacks also have absurd range, such as his Spin 2, which is a high move that can be thrown incredibly quickly. As a result, keep Clive at mid to long range, as that's where he'll be most effective, as he excels at keeping enemies at a distance with his powerful weapon.

7 Alternate Clive's launchers

Clive has several launchers that can catch the enemy off guard

Echo Breaker, Wyrm Killer, and Stone Smite are just a few examples of the many moves that can lead to the launchers that Clive has hidden up his sleeve. However, while some will be activated during a sidestep, others require Clive to stand still or engage an enemy first.

As a result, it can be a good idea to mix them up mid-battle to play mind games with your opponent, making them guess where the launch will come from. Of course, given Clive's combo potential, launching an enemy can also inevitably result in the complete destruction of a significant amount of their health, making him a real force to be reckoned with.

Torgal can be used to extend the combo and to carry the opponent to the wall

Clive brings his trusty canine companion Thorgal with him into battle, and although he can only be summoned for a quick attack, he can help either carry an opponent to a wall or simply push him away if he starts to get too close. Thorgal's most common use is with the Great Hound move, where it kicks in after Clive deals some damage with his blade, sending the enemy to the other side of the screen.

Given that Clive excels at this distance, Torgal can be used as a device to punish the opponent and keep them tense. That extra lick of damage from Torgal can also activate Wall Break, leading to even longer combos.

5 Use the Radiant Backflip as a wall extender

Radiant Backflip pins the enemy against a wall to unlock new combo potential

Radiant Backflip is Clive's Wings of Light 3 attack where he spreads his wings and performs a backflip. This particular move can be a bit risky to throw in neutral, but if the opponent is facing a wall, he can launch it high enough to start or continue a combo.

It also gives Clive plenty of time to pull off a few extra moves after he's done, thanks to the quick, snappy animations. Clive has some decent combo expanders when the opponent is pinned against a wall, but the Radiant Backflip proved to be one of the most effective due to its speed and reliability.

4 Note the Zantetsuken

Clive can charge up his deadly Zantetsuken ability with special attacks

Zantetsuken is a powerful attack that Clive can unleash after raising the bar visible below the health bar. This bar can reach up to five stacks, but can only be replenished with special attacks. However, given that a fully charged Zantetsuken will melt the opponent's health bar, Clive players should always try to charge it up so they can perform a quick finisher on their opponent.

The easiest way to fill this meter is with Clive's Soul Cleaver, which is a midrange slashing sword that's already a staple in Clive's toolkit, meaning it's likely to be thrown a lot during a matchup anyway. Many of these moves will also boost Clive's count even if the opponent is blocking, so it's worth learning what these moves are—and how to charge Clive's Zantetsuken as quickly as possible to finish the match in style.

3 Never be afraid to throw away the hammer

A mid-attack knockdown that is incredibly versatile and has a huge Hitbox

Pile Driver is Clive's +1 +2 downward attack that can be used in his normal stance. The reason it gets a special mention is because of how versatile it is as an attack, because not only can it easily extend a combo thanks to its large hitbox, but it can also flip an opponent who is already on the floor and push them back to prevent them from recovering too quickly.

Also, given that Pile Driver also knocks down mid-attack, this means that when it lands, it stops the opponent's attack completely. Needless to say, this should always be one of Clive's go-to moves considering how extremely powerful he is in action.

2 Make good use of his heat

Clive's Heat Smash is very safe to throw even if the opponent blocks

Clive's Heat Smash ability will allow him to unleash the power of the Phoenix as flames swirl around him. When this lands, it sends the enemy up and does some serious damage, but even if they manage to block, it's still powerful enough to send them back a decent distance, and it's also a plus when blocking, allowing Clive to do whatever he wants after using the attack.

So it's much less risky to throw out Clive's Heat Smash compared to a lot of characters in the game. It's also worth noting that Clive has another ability similar to Heat Smash, Phoenix Shift, which is a bit more difficult to use, but it also causes the floor to break.

1 Power up Phoenix Shift to unlock more moves

Gives Clive some sneaky swings and high mobility moves

Clive can enter his Phoenix Shift in a few different ways, but the simplest is his 1.1 – also known as Double Blow. In this mode, Clive will perform several sneaky swipes that can catch the opponent off guard, along with a devastating ranged attack known as the Bolt Boot.

Bolt Boot is a mid-range attack where Clive teleports across the stage before knocking the opponent away, but what's most impressive is that Clive is safe on the block, meaning there's little to no risk of throwing him. Learning to activate Phoenix Shift and familiarizing yourself with Clive's additional moves in this state can help turn the tide of a tight battle.