Fighting styles are the backbone of PvP in Gakuran, and while none of them are outright useless, a few clearly outperform the rest once you factor in their bonuses, chip damage, and how forgiving they are in a real fight. Your height build and how well you parry matter enormously, but the ceiling of each style still sets the tone.
Quick answer: Boxing is the strongest overall pick and sits alone in S tier, mainly on shorter to medium builds where its iFrame M2s and block chip damage smother most opponents.
Gakuran fighting style rankings (July 2026)
Treat A tier as the reliable gold standard. S tier simply has more raw power in more matchups, while B and C tier styles are either situational or held back by a weakness that skilled opponents can exploit.
| Tier | Fighting Styles |
|---|---|
| S | Boxing (Epic) |
| A | Hakari (Epic), Wrestling (Legendary), Muay Thai (Rare), Basic (Common) |
| B | Capoeira (Legendary), Karate (Rare) |
| C | Slugger (Rare) |
Why Boxing tops the list
Boxing wins because it stacks defensive and offensive pressure at the same time. Its M2s carry iFrames and cannot be interrupted, so you can throw them out safely and force enemies into a bad position. On a good latency server, spamming M2s off parries becomes brutal to deal with, and the 20% block chip damage means opponents lose posture even when they defend correctly. Short and medium builds get the most out of it thanks to faster attacks and a smaller hitbox.
The A tier is where the game’s balance is healthiest. Hakari delivers enormous burst through Momentum Rush, but it struggles to get started against experienced players and folds to Wrestling, which keeps it just below the top. Wrestling itself rewards patience and read-heavy play with guaranteed grabs and hyperarmor, though it demands far more practice than Boxing. Muay Thai thrives on tall builds and relentless close-range aggression, while Basic keeps Gakuran genuinely free-to-play friendly because its M1s and counterattacks stay competitive at any height.
Lower down, Capoeira trades power for mobility, so only patient players with clean spacing get value from it. Karate is a middle-of-the-road all-rounder with no glaring weakness but no real win condition either. Slugger sits in C tier as a noob-stomper. Its Unstable bonus deals 10% more damage but makes you take 20% more, which punishes you harder than your opponent once skill levels even out.
Style bonuses for every fighting style
| Fighting Style | Tier | Style Bonuses |
|---|---|---|
 Boxing (Epic) | S | Untouchable: M2s have iFrames and are uninterruptible. Perfect Reflex: perfect blocks cut current M2 cooldown by 1s. Guard Pierce III: 20% block chip damage. |
 Hakari (Epic) | A | Powerful: ragdoll M2s. Momentum Rush: a full M1 combo without being stunned grants a 7s window where M2 deals 3x damage. Guard Pierce II: 15% block chip damage. |
 Wrestling (Legendary) | A | Takedown: M2 grabs and slams for 1.5x damage. Heavy Hitter III: +15% guardbreak damage. Guard Pierce II: 15% block chip damage. Resilience V: 55% clash-into-grapple chance. |
 Muay Thai (Rare) | A | Powerful: ragdoll M2s. Crushing Force II: +15% posture damage. Guard Pierce V: 30% block chip damage. Resilience V: 55% clash-into-grapple chance. |
 Basic (Common) | A | Counterstrike: +5% damage on your next attack after a perfect block. Swift Recovery: +15% posture regen. Guard Pierce II: 15% block chip damage. Resilience II: 25% clash-into-grapple chance. |
 Capoeira (Legendary) | B | Powerful: M2 ragdolls on hit. Heavy Hitter I: +5% guardbreak damage. Guard Pierce II: 15% block chip damage. Ginga: dash cooldown 25% shorter. |
 Karate (Rare) | B | Steady Nerves: perfect block gives +15% posture regen for 3s. Balanced Strike: landing an M2 refunds 25% posture. Guard Pierce II: 15% block chip damage. Resilience II: 25% clash-into-grapple chance. |
 Slugger (Rare) | C | Unstable: deal 10% more damage but take 20% more. Guard Pierce V: 30% block chip damage. Resilience III: 45% clash-into-grapple chance. |
How to roll and reroll a fighting style
There is no unlock requirement for any style. Every fighting style is rolled from the Stats screen, and you can keep rerolling until you land the one you want.
How height changes your build
Height is rerollable and directly shapes which styles feel strongest. Taller builds hit harder and survive longer but attack slower with a bigger hitbox, which is why Muay Thai and other pressure styles like them. Shorter builds do less damage and have less health, yet their faster attacks and smaller hitbox make them ideal for Boxing and combo-hungry styles like Hakari.
| Build | Effect |
|---|---|
| Taller | More damage, more health, larger hitbox, slower attacks |
| Shorter | Less damage, less health, smaller hitbox, faster attacks |
These placements reflect the July 2026 meta and weigh PvP performance, versatility across builds, and how much skill each style demands before it pays off. None of that overrides fundamentals, though. Clean parries, spacing, and movement will carry a weaker style far past a top pick played sloppily, so pick the style that suits how you actually fight and lean into its bonuses.
