While Street Fighter IV gave players access to highly damaging combos off light normals, Street Fighter V seeks to change that by limiting their effectiveness in that area. That being said, they are still highly useful in a number of different situations.
In his latest primer video, Bafael explores this concept, describing the ways in which this changes overall gameplay strategy. For most characters, light attacks are their only option for low hit-confirms, and their chaining properties allow players to easily convert blockstrings into combos.
For more of Bafael’s findings, as well as a hefty collection of light normal confirms, be sure to check out the full video below. Please note that, as this information was gleaned from the beta, nothing is confirmed to appear in the final release.
Source: Bafael