Choosing the right fighting style in Gakuran can completely change how you approach every fight. While mechanical skill, parry timing, and spacing are still the biggest factors in winning battles, some fighting styles simply provide stronger passives, better pressure, or more reliable damage than others.
After testing every core fighting style and comparing how they perform against both casual players and experienced fighters, it’s clear that some styles dominate the current meta while others are mainly useful during the early game.
This tier list ranks every fighting style currently available in Gakuran based on overall performance, consistency, pressure, survivability, and effectiveness in PvP.
Gakuran Fighting Style Tier List
| Tier | Fighting Styles |
|---|---|
| S Tier | Boxing, Hikari |
| A Tier | Capoeira, Muay Thai, Slugger |
| B Tier | Karate, Wrestling |
| D Tier | Basic |
S Tier
These are currently the strongest fighting styles in Gakuran. They have very few weaknesses and remain effective in almost every matchup. Whether you’re fighting beginners or experienced players, these styles consistently perform at the highest level.
Boxing
Boxing is arguably the safest and most consistent fighting style in the game.
Its heavy attack includes built-in invincibility frames against normal attacks, forcing opponents to either dodge or perfectly parry instead of simply interrupting you. That alone gives Boxing tremendous control during engagements.
The style also comes with Guard Pierce III, allowing attacks to deal significant chip damage through blocks. Since blocking is an important defensive option in Gakuran, this passive constantly pressures opponents even when they defend correctly.
Another major advantage is its parry reward. Successfully landing a perfect block reduces your heavy attack cooldown, allowing you to maintain pressure more frequently throughout a fight.
Boxing excels in almost every situation and has virtually no glaring weaknesses.
Pros
- Extremely safe heavy attacks
- Excellent chip damage
- Rewards successful parries
- Consistent in every matchup
- Strong offensive pressure
Cons
- Requires good timing to maximize its potential
Hikari
Hikari is one of the most explosive fighting styles currently available.
Everything revolves around Momentum Rush, a passive that dramatically increases your damage once you successfully begin landing clean M1 attacks.
A simple opening combo can quickly snowball into massive burst damage, making Hikari incredibly dangerous once it gains momentum.
Its heavy attack also ragdolls opponents, allowing players to reset spacing before continuing their assault.
Many experienced players also pair Hikari with maximum-height character builds to gain slightly better reach, making its pressure even more difficult to deal with.
When played correctly, Hikari can end fights incredibly quickly.
Pros
- Outstanding burst damage
- Excellent combo potential
- Strong momentum-based gameplay
- Great pressure
- Powerful heavy attack
Cons
- Requires consistent offensive execution
A Tier
These fighting styles are extremely powerful and can easily compete with S Tier options. They simply have one or two weaknesses that prevent them from reaching the very top.
Capoeira
Capoeira is the newest addition to Gakuran’s fighting style roster and has already become one of the strongest mobility-focused options.
Its Ginga passive reduces dash cooldowns by 25%, making Capoeira users much harder to catch during fights.
The style also includes Heavy Hitter I for additional guard break damage and Guard Pierce II for reliable chip damage through blocking opponents.
Its heavy attack ragdolls enemies, allowing Capoeira users to maintain offensive momentum while controlling positioning.
Capoeira excels at staying mobile while constantly pressuring opponents.
Pros
- Excellent mobility
- Reduced dash cooldown
- Strong guard damage
- Reliable chip damage
- Great pressure
Cons
- Slightly less oppressive than the top S Tier styles
Muay Thai
Muay Thai specializes in relentless offensive pressure.
Rather than relying on huge burst damage, it slowly overwhelms opponents through posture damage and continuous attacks.
Blocking against Muay Thai quickly drains posture, eventually causing guard breaks that leave opponents stunned for several seconds.
Its heavy attack also ragdolls enemies, making it easier to continue applying pressure after successful hits.
If you enjoy staying aggressive throughout an entire fight, Muay Thai is one of the most rewarding styles available.
Pros
- Excellent pressure
- High posture damage
- Strong chip damage
- Effective guard breaking
- Great offensive momentum
Cons
- Doesn’t rely on explosive burst damage
Slugger
Slugger is one of the highest-risk fighting styles in the game.
Its passive increases your damage by 10%, allowing you to hit much harder than normal.
Unfortunately, the same passive also causes you to receive 20% more damage.
This creates a true high-risk, high-reward playstyle.
Against weaker players, Slugger can feel overwhelming because fights end incredibly quickly.
Against experienced opponents, however, every mistake becomes much more punishing due to the increased damage taken.
Players who enjoy nonstop aggression will likely love Slugger, but defensive players may struggle with its drawbacks.
Pros
- High overall damage
- Excellent offensive pressure
- Strong chip damage
- Rewards aggressive play
Cons
- Takes 20% additional damage
- Extremely unforgiving when mistakes happen
B Tier
These fighting styles remain perfectly usable but lack the overwhelming strengths found in higher tiers.
Karate
Karate is one of the best balanced fighting styles for newer players.
Its primary strength is posture management, allowing you to maintain your posture more effectively during long fights.
Instead of relying on flashy mechanics, Karate rewards solid fundamentals, spacing, and defensive play.
While it doesn’t possess massive burst damage or overwhelming pressure, it’s reliable in nearly every situation.
Players who enjoy straightforward combat will appreciate Karate’s consistency.
Pros
- Excellent posture sustain
- Reliable performance
- Great for learning fundamentals
- Balanced gameplay
Cons
- Limited offensive pressure
- No major burst damage
Wrestling
Although Wrestling is the only Legendary fighting style, rarity doesn’t necessarily make it the strongest.
Its defining mechanic is a powerful command grab heavy attack capable of dealing massive damage.
Against inexperienced players, this attack can completely dominate matches.
However, skilled opponents can often dodge or parry the grab, leaving Wrestling users vulnerable to heavy punishment.
Because of its reliance on correctly predicting enemy movement, Wrestling becomes much less consistent in high-level PvP.
Pros
- Massive command grab damage
- Excellent against defensive players
- Strong punish potential
Cons
- Very dependent on successful reads
- Easily punished if the grab misses
- Less reliable against experienced players
D Tier
These styles are useful only during the early stages of progression and should be replaced as soon as possible.
Basic
Basic is the default fighting style every player begins with.
It provides small stat bonuses designed to help new players learn the combat system.
Unfortunately, once other fighting styles become available, Basic quickly falls behind.
It lacks burst damage, offensive pressure, unique passives, and any mechanic capable of competing with stronger styles.
While skilled players can still win using Basic, they are generally placing themselves at a significant disadvantage.
Pros
- Beginner friendly
- Easy to understand
- Small stat bonuses
Cons
- Weak offensive pressure
- No unique mechanics
- Easily outclassed
- Poor late-game performance
The current Gakuran meta heavily favors Boxing and Hikari thanks to their consistency, offensive pressure, and ability to dominate nearly every matchup. Capoeira, Muay Thai, and Slugger remain excellent alternatives that can easily carry skilled players through PvP. Meanwhile, Karate and Wrestling are solid but more situational choices, and Basic should only be used until you unlock something better.
Remember that no fighting style can replace good mechanics. Players with excellent parry timing, spacing, and decision-making can still defeat stronger styles if they consistently outplay their opponents.