Written by Novril

I haven’t actually played Tekken 7 yet, but Bob seems to be almost identical to his Tekken Tag Tournament 2 incarnation. This means that you can grind him on TTT2 and start Tekken 7 from an experienced position with the character. As more info is discovered I’ll update the guide if needed. Also my Tekken memory may be hazy so let me know if you spot an inaccuracy.

Glossary:

u=up
d=down
f=forward
b=backward
1=Left Punch
2=Right Punch
3=Left Kick
4=Right Kick
ssr/ssl=Side Step Right / Side Step Left
ws=While Standing
cd=crouch dash
f=Frame
_=”Or”, an alternative option.

 

Pros:

• Speed
• Weight
• Plenty of great high and mid hitting pokes and strings.
• Long arms complements the range of many of his moves.
• Relatively balanced in all areas. Can play both safe and high risk/high reward, both offensively and defensively, and has tools for various ranges.
• d/f+2 is a panic button that the opponent cannot afford to stop respecting.
• 14f while standing launcher.
• Solid standing punish options of up to -12f.
• Has a fast, threatening low, cd+4 1+2.
• Has a 1+2 break throw that leads to a small juggle.
• Has safe wall splat moves.
• Has moves that fill niche goals very well.
• Can end juggles with b+1+2 and leave the opponent close.

Cons:

• Average juggle damage, especially in open stages.
• Slow standing launchers hurt his ability to stand punish hard on block and whiff
• His safer low pokes (d/b+3, d/b+4) are overall slow and subpar
• Is forced to take extra risks against opponents who don’t let themselves get his by his

Notable frame punishmers: (Don’t use the unsafe punishers when you are not sure if they’ll hit)
Standing
10f: Various jab strings
12f: f+2,3 (Knockdown/wallsplat, Unsafe)
16f: u/f+1+2, 1+2 (Knockdown/wallsplat, Unsafe)
18f: d/b+1+2 (Launch, Unsafe)
20f: u/f+3 (Launch, Unsafe)
Crouching
11f: ws+4
14f: ws+2,1 (Launch, Unsafe)
20f: u/f+3 (Launch, Unsafe)

Close ranged options:

1- One of the only moves that grants advantage on block, so it’s a useful pressure tool, and Bob’s long arms make it even better.

1,1_1,1,(hitconfirm)2_1,4- Fast high poking options that let you choose between extra damage (1,4 and 1,1,2) , better frames on block (1,1) , and better frames on hit (1,4). In -10f punishment situations, where you are sure to hit, 1,4 is the best of the 3, as 1,1,2 leaves you at -1f on hit.

1,2_1,2,1+2- Frame-wise, 1,2 is subpar to 1,1 but has an offensive pressure option. In the recent Tekken games moves that grant frame advantage on block are rare, so in order to not “lose your turn” after 1 move you have to take a risk. This comes in the form of strings with a safe start but also an optional punishable ending. In our case, you poke safely with 1,2 several times, and sometimes mix in a 1,2,1+2. The opponent tries to get his turn after the 1,2 and gets hit with the 1+2, which in Tekken 7 starts a juggle on counter hit. This in turn makes him scared to attack you after doing 1,2’s even though you are at a frame disadvantage. But remember to not overuse the 1+2 ending, as it can be punished on block (-12f). Like a Dragon Punch in Street Fighter, only use this once in a while to make the opponents less confident to take their turns after your safe string starters.

2,1_2,1,4- This starts like the aforementioned moves with a high 10f jab, but the 2nd hit is a mid. It also has an optional ending in case the opponent wanted to attack. The 4 will knock the opponent down on counter hit and will allow you to get an extra hit afterwards like a b+3. While this is a noob killer and can mindlessly beat randoms at the initial stages of tournaments, make no mistake- The last part is punishable; Not by blocking, but by sidestepping it, which knowledgeable Tekken players WILL do, so use sparingly.

1 d+4- A jab into a -12f low. This move works in conjunction with 2,1 for a poking mixup. While one starts with a left jab and the other starts with a right jab, it’s hard to recognize in the heat of the match, especially if you mix in more moves too, and stuff like 1->d/f+1.

d/f+1_d/f+1,2- A standard mid hitting d/f+1. This too has an optional -12f ender to use sparingly.

d/f+2- Safe on block and launches on counter hit. Great range for a d/f+2. Use more after scouting for the opponent’s habits, as you don’t want it sidestepped. d/f+1 and d/f+2 cover each other in terms sidestep weakness so it’s good to mix between them.

ss+1+2- I LOVE this move. It’s mid, fast, only -5 on block, leaves the opponent in a crouch state, and a bit more a rewarding near the wall since the backroll doesn’t let them get any extra space. Because Bob lacks fast punishment options from standing, this is usually his go-to move after evading with a sidestep.

b,f+1- An evasive move that will scare the opponent to attack during their turn. It’s -11f on block but near the wall it can cause a wall splat so the risk/reward ration becomes much better. Again, use sparingly.

d/b+1- Always good to remember the crouching jab which is fast and goes under highs.

ws+4_cd+4- Every character’s ws+4 is important and Bob can also use it from a crouching dash. If you keep the d/f held you get his hellsweep but if you let go before pressing 4 you get a ws+4 which is his fastest, safest option from a crouching dash.

Lows and throws:

d/b+3_d/b+4- Both are on the slow side. d/b+3 grants frame advantage on hit and is slightly faster, but d/b+4 has more range. Low pokes are not Bob’s strong point.

cd+4,1+2- Bob’s hellsweep. Sure, it’s launch punishable, but it’s a threatening low that is there to make the opponent crouch more and eat the safe mids. Always make your opponent think you are not hesitant to use this. You can create a high risk high reward mixup by mixing the hellsweep with doing u/f+3 or u/f+1+2 out of crouch dash. If for whatever reason you hate the hellsweep, use d/b+3+4,4 as your threatening low.

ff+1+2- A throw that has to be broken with 1+2 and starts a small juggle. Better when a wall is nearby.

Midrange options:

d+2,1_d+2,1,2_d+2,1,2,2- d+2,1 is a great 2 hit mid poke with massive range. It has an optional punishable ender that’s -12f on block (d+2,1,2) which should be used once in a while. It also has an ADDITIONAL optional ender afterwards (d+2,1,2,2). Sure, the last hit can be punishable by big launchers, but this move gave me a clutch win in an important tournament match during the Tekken 6 days- An unforgettable “once in a lifetime” parlor trick. By the way, the full string can be used against back turned opponents for some nice damage after evading via a sidewalk. d+2,1 is -10 on block in T7… It’s dead.

cd+1- Bob’s electric. Bob rushes forward with a safe (-2f), high punch that starts a juggle on counter hit.

f,f+2- People like to crouch your Boblectric? Mix with this safe rushing mid or with d+2,1.

u/f+3- Bob’s hopkick launcher is very slow, 20f, 5 frames slower than most hopkicks. But it does have massive range which can be useful to punish big whiffs. And of course it’s also good to evade predictable lows and punish.

u/f+1+2_u/f+1+2,1+2_u/f+1+2,4- Heatbutt and belly. Can be used as a whiff punisher or a mid option. Evades lows when Bob leaves the ground. The first hit is safe, but the 2nd hit (the belly) is highly punishable. Hit confirming is possible but hard so you really have to be on point on either confirming the hit, or confirming that the opponent whiffed something slow enough. Leads to big damage near the wall. New in Tekken 7 is the 4 ender, which is safe on block but high. You can try doing a high risk/high reward mixup near the wall but I’m not a fan of a mixup where both options can get you launched if the opponent guesses correctly…

ws+2,1- Bob’s fastest launcher can only be done from a crouching position. Only the first hit is safe. The second is launch punishable and you can’t hitconfirm in between. So the hitconfirm needs to be regarding what the opponent was doing as you were sending the ws+2. That is why I adopted the habit of waiting for whiffs while crouching against certain characters in certain ranges. While this tactic allowed my to compensate for one of Bob’s flaws, I think overall it’s pretty advanced and requires knowledge about the game and the characters that new players often don’t have. Consider adding this to your arsenal once you get more experience with the game. This is how it looks like in action:
https://youtu.be/YclztHPOZDY?t=127
Notice the brief moments of crouching and waiting a split second for a whiff, and then quickly standing up to block possible incoming long range mids.

d+1- This is a weird “stay away from me” move with deceptively long range which is extremely safe to whiff. It leaves Bob crouching so afterwards you have ws+4 and the usual crouch cancel options like dashing and sidestepping upwards. On counter hit it splats the opponent on the ground and you get another d+1 or a b+3.

f,f,f+3+4- Bob has an additional unique running move that he learned from Blanka. It’s better than his running 3, grants advantage on block and not that easy to punish after evading it with a sidewalk.

Niche Moves:

cd+2- Shoryuken! When the opponent just made the slowest whiff possible, this will bring you the best reward, even from very far ranges. Launch punishable so don’t just throw it out…

b+2_b+2,2_b+2,2,4_b+2,2,4,4- This move would have been broken, but the 2nd hit of the string is high. Still, b+2 is a 13f mid with a hitbox that hits very low, so it’s an anti-low profile move. This move was very important in the matchups against Xiaoyu and Eddy/Christie. b+22 could often start a juggle when caught them airborne. The full string is guaranteed against backturned opponents, and the fast startup makes it good to punish such situations.

bb+4- The slowest launcher ever and doesn’t have a lot of range, and the backwards dash motion only makes it worse. But it’s very safe on block, and smoothly evades lows as Bob flails around the air. Useful against the mixup of mid launcher or low when you are not afraid to get picked up by jabs and d/f+1’s. After it hits, pick the opponent up with b+22.

b+4,1- It’s just a safe 2 hit mid string that doesn’t really top his best moves. But it starts with a knee. Knees and elbows can’t be grabbed so it’s good against characters with “limb catch” counter moves, especially Asuka’s stance!