A Dummy's Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 2
Version 0.02
By: Iceman
[email protected],
[email protected]
January 1, 2001 [hey, that's about when the idea for this hit me :)]
Outline:
I. Opening
A. Legal Business
B. Why are you reading this?
C. Legend
II. Introduction/Basics
A. Dashing
B. Air Combos
C. Double/Triple Team Supers
D. Delayed Hyper Combos
E. Pushblocking
F. Variable (Alpha) Counters
G. Guard Breaking
H. Common Terms for Characters
1. Point Character
2. Assist Character
3. Battery Character
4. AAA
5. Pixies
I. The lifebar
1. Red Health
2. Stamina Tiers
3. Assist's Health
III. The characters
A. Top Tier
1. Blackheart
2. Cable
3. Cyclops
4. Dr. Doom
5. Magneto
6. Sentinel
7. Spiral
8. Storm
9. Strider
V. Closing/Credits
A. Revision History
B. Closing
C. Credits
**** I. Introduction ****
Let's kick things off with some small talk.
** A. Legal Business **
This guide is MINE! I'm very possessive. It is for use only by
websites I give/ask permission to post it. It strictly for FREE use.
This guide is not meant for profit in any manner. I will not hesitate
to seek legal action within my rights as an author if this guide is
used by any website w/o my permission. In no way is this guide to be
used in a magazine for sale without my permission and compensation.
This means no magazine shall print any portion of this guide, without
my explicit written permission. If anyone copies this guide and claims
it as their own, I will not hesitate to seek legal action within my
rights as an author under international plagiarism laws. If anyone
sees a magazine that they believe has ripped off parts or all of this
guide, please e-mail me. If I see it's true, who knows, there may be a
little cash reward appearing in your mailbox.
Now enough Legal crap, on to the good stuff.
** B. Why Are You Reading This? **
This guide is here because I realized a lot of people didn't know how
to play MvC2. I remember when I first started learning the game. I
had stopped playing Capcom fighters for a while and was playing games
of other genres and companies. When MvC2 came out, and when I saw the
large crowds for it, I decided I would learn it, because hey, fighting
games with lots of competition are fun! I realize how hard it is for a
newbie to find solid information. I looked around various websites for
guides and FAQs such as this one. I stumbled upon a useful website.
Finally, after reading lots of strategies, experimenting with lots of
characters, playing lots of people and playing in a few tournaments, I
feel I'm at a respectable skill level.
Why did I write this? Because I realize there are MANY guides other
authors have written dedicated to MvC2. The problem is, 90% of them
are CRAP! Either they are outdated, or they were horrible to begin
with. I won't BS you. My favorite Marvel Character is Gambit, and he
is not very good in this game. Dhalsim and Akuma are two of my
favorite Capcom characters. Akuma sucks, and Dhalsim is barely one of
the top 20 in MvC2. Really, most of the characters I like suck. I've
grown attached to many new characters, who I started using because I
was sick of losing, and realized my favorites were getting me nowhere.
Why are you reading this? Because you want to learn to play MvC2.
Hopefully, you will find some bit of information that you will find
useful. I'll admit, I'm writing for the beginner and intermediate
player. I live in Virginia, a state that has good MvC2 competition,
but I admit I'm probably not one of the 10 best MvC2 players in the
state (kind of sucks living in an area with a low density of good
comp). I'm not an expert, but I'm no scrub either. I wouldn't be
writing this guide if I wasn't confident that I knew what I was talking
about. If you have anything you'd like to add to this, and opinion
about what I may say, or any questions, my e-mail is at the top, feel
free to e-mail me.
** C. Legend **
Hey, you have to understand my language. I will warn you, I'm not
printing a movelist. There are several great movelists at most FAQ
sites, such as www.gamefaqs.com.
Joystick and Button Layout
--------------------------
(when character is facing right)
U
U/B | U/F
\|/ (LP) (HP) (A1)
B -- o -- F
/|\ (LK) (HK) (A2)
D/B | D/F
D
F - Forward U/F - Up/forward
B - Backward U/B - Up/backward
U - Up D/F - Down/forward
D - Down D/B - Down/back
LP - Light Punch / Jab
HP - Hard Punch / Fierce
LK - Light Kick / Short
HK - Hard Kick / Roundhouse
A1 - Assist 1
A2 - Assist 2
Abbreviations/Conventions
-------------------------
P - Hit either punch
PP - Hit both punches
K - Hit either kick
KK - Hit both kicks
+ - Input commands on either side of the sign simultaneously.
QCF - Quarter Circle Forward; D,DF,F
QCB - Quarter Circle Back; D,DB,B
HCF - Half Circle Forward; B,DB,D,DF,F
HCB - Half Circle Back; F,DF,D,DB,B
DP - Dragon Punch (Shoryuken) motion; F,D,DF
RDP - Reverse Dragon Punch motion; B,D,DB
360 - A 360-degree motion, starting anywhere; e.g. U,UF,F,DF,D,DB,B,
etc. [NOTE: You really only have to do a 270, hit 6 consecutive
directions, to register a 360 motion].
OTG - Off The Ground
DHC - Delayed Hyper Combo, also known as an EX Cancel
Universal Moves
---------------
F,F or PP - Dash forward
B,B or B+PP - Dash backward
D,U - Super Jump
(after blocking) PP - Push block / Advancing Guard
(after blocking) B,DB,D+A1 – Variable (or Alpha) Counter (to your A1,
Level 1)
(after blocking) B,DB,D+A2 – Variable (or Alpha) Counter (to your A2,
Level 1)
QCF+A1 - Snapback (to opponent's A1, Level 1)
QCF+A2 - Snapback (to opponent's A2, Level 1)
Combo Prefixes/Conventions
--------------------------
MP - Medium punch / strong. LP button in combos
MK - Medium kick / forward. LK button in combos
d - Dash. Dash forwards before executing the following command
s - Standing. e.g.- s.LK means a light kick while standing
j - Jumping. e.g.- j.LP means a light punch while jumping
c - Crouching. e.g.- c.HP means a hard punch while crouching
sj - Super Jumping. e.g.- sj.HK means a hard kick while super-jumping
XX - Cancel into. e.g.- s.LK XX QCF+P means a standing light kick
cancelled into a QCF+P motion.
/\ - Jump (usually after a launcher, to follow your opponent)
\/ - Land
**** II. Introduction/Basics ****
You need to learn the fundamentals before you try to tackle the
advanced strategy.
** A. Dashing/Jumping/Flying/etc. **
There are two main types of dashes, ground dashes, and air dashes.
Everybody has a ground dash. Only a lucky few have air dashes. First
off all, I'll begin talking about ground dashes. As I've already said,
every one has them. Tap the joystick f,f or press PP to dash. Press
b+PP, or b,b to dash backwards. You may attack out of a dash, but you
can't throw from a dash, you can command throw from a dash though. You
may cancel dashes by attacking, ducking, or jumping. You can also dash
forwards and cancel out of your dash pressing u/f and get extra
distance with your jump. There is a large difference with some
characters, less with others. Thanos can dash forwards for an extended
period (way longer then you'll need to) by dashing then holding
forward.
Zangief and Blackheart have unique dashes. I'll start with Zangief.
You cannot press PP to dash with Zangief, as you'll do his Spinning
Lariat. If you allow Zangief to complete his dash, he will end it in a
whiffed throw animation. If Zangief comes in contact with a point
character (more on terms later), he will grab them. After grabbing,
press forwards, backwards, or neutral plus punch for a suplex, or kick
for a bite hold.
Blackheart's dash is very unique. Only low attacks (attacks that would
OTG), or throws will hit him, since he basically teleports to where
he's going. You cannot cancel Blackheart's dash. You have a level of
control of the distance Blackheart dashes. By pressing PP, b+PP, f,f,
or b,b, Blackheart will dash about a half screen distance. But,
pressing and holding f,f or b,b, Blackheart will double Blackheart's
dashing distance, and his dashing speed increases. Blackheart can also
dash "though" (or really under) an opponent. In essence crossing his
opponent up.
Air Dashes vary depending on who has them. There are mainly 3-types,
8-way dashes, forward only dashes, forward/backward air dashes. To do
an 8-way dash, Hold the direction of your choice and press PP to dash
in that direction, pressing PP alone will result in a forward dash.
For a forward only dash, press PP to dash, holding directions will not
matter. For a forward/backward dash, press PP, f+PP to dash forward
and b+PP to dash backward. Canceling dashes depends on the character.
Those with 8-way dashes are: Dhalsim, Dr. Doom, Magneto, Iron Man,
Storm, and War Machine.
Those with Forward only dashes are: Anakaris, Chun-Li, Morrigan* Omega
Red, Rogue, Spider-Man, Tron Bonne and Venom
* You can control the arc of Morrigan's dash with up or down.
Those with Forward/Backward dashes are: Blackheart and Sonson.
Certain characters have double, triple, and/or triangle jumps. To
double, or triple jump, simply (super) jump and press U/B, U, or U/F.
To Triangle jump, press away from the wall you are touching. Strider
and Felicia can hang on to the wall for a limited time. Strider by
pressing QCB+P, Felicia by holding f, or b when touching a wall.
Characters with Double Jumps are: B.B. Hood, Cammy, Captain America,
Cyclops, Marrow, Roll, and Strider.
Characters with Triple Jumps are: Chun-Li and Psylocke.
Characters with Triangle Jumps are: Chun-Li, Marrow, Mega Man,
Sabretooth, Spider-Man, Strider, and both Wolverines.
Some characters have flight. You can fly by pressing QCB+KK. When in
flight, you cannot block, but you may use any move that applies while
in mid-air. You can de-activate flight by pressing QCB+KK. Characters
with Flight are: Dhalsim, Dr. Doom, Iron Man, Magneto, M. Bison,
Sentinel, Storm, and War Machine.
B.B. Hood, Captain America, Ken and Sonson have moves that will allow
them to pass through characters, potentially crossing them up. Captain
America has a cartwheel, B.B. Hood and Sonson crawl, and Ken has his
roll. Captain America, B.B. Hood, and Sonson are invincible to attack,
but vulnerable to throws. Ken's roll has no invincibility.
** B. Air Combos **
I know, I may be insulting some people's intelligence here, but this is
necessary. I have played some players that really didn't know how to
do air combos. This isn't rocket science. I'm not going to teach you
these wild combos that do 130-hits using an assist and 4 supers. I'll
let you figure those out :o) All I'm going to do is give you the
basics for Air Comboing. Combos start with launchers. Every character
has a launcher; you only need to learn what that move is. It could be
any of your characters 6 standing, or 6 crouching moves. But they are
not hard to figure out. Any move that knocks the opponent high into
the air is probably a launcher. Ryu's crouching HP, Cable's standing
MP, and Omega Red's standing MP are all examples of launchers. After
you connect with a launch, hold U, U/B, or U/F and you will
automatically super jump straight up, backwards, or forwards
respectively. Of course, if you go backwards you won't be able to land
and AC, so hold U or U/F. Some characters have several launchers.
Storm for example, has three launchers, her crouching HP, crouching HK,
and standing HK. Spider-Man's standing HK is a unique launcher. If
the opponent is on the ground, it will not launch; it will only launch
airborne opponents. Fortunately, Spidey's crouching MK knocks them a
little ways into the air, so you can follow it with a standing HK to
launch.
Now that you have them launched, what are you going to do with them?
Each character has what's called the "Magic Series", or chain combos.
You have 2, 3, 5, or 6 hit chains depending on whom you are playing
with. A 2-hit series of attacks can be started with a light attack,
and can be finished with either medium or hard attacks. A 3-hit series
allows either light attack to chain to either strong attack, then to a
hard attack. 5-hit chains are as follows: light punch, light kick,
medium punch, medium kick, ending with either hard attack. 6-hit
chains are as follows: light punch, light kick, medium punch, medium
kick, hard punch, hard kick. 5 and 6 hit chains must go in the order
listed above. You can skip attacks. For example, Strider, who has a
6-hit series at all times can chain the following: light punch, medium
punch, medium kick, hard kick, for a 4 hit chain. But, Strider (nor
anyone else) can chain a punch from a kick of the same strength. You
must also chain from light to medium to hard, not backwards. Some
characters (like Cyclops and Cammy) can combo light attacks after
medium attacks in air combos, but this is not part of the magic series.
This happens because of their exceptional speed. Some characters have
different series depending on whether they are on the ground, jumping,
or super jumping. Anakaris has a 5-hit chain on the ground, 3-hit when
jumping, and 6-hit when super jumping. Hulk has a 2-hit on the ground,
3-hit when jumping, and 6-hit when super jumping. Some characters
though, like Strider, have the same series no matter where they are.
Air Combos will end after most hard attacks, because the victim will be
sent flying, and you will dash back in. For future reference, this is
called the flying screen effect
Now, you've launched them, you've hit them a little, now you want to do
the real damage? Ok, the beauty of the combo system in Marvel vs.
Capcom 2 (and all the "Vs." series) is that it is wide open. Nearly
every attack can be cancelled into another one. For example, if you
are playing as Cable, who has a 3-hit ground chain, you can press LK,
MK, HK xx QCF+P. What will happen, Cable will throw a weak kick, a
medium kick, then a hard kick. The hard kick will cancel in mid
animation into a viper beam. You can also cancel into supers (LK, MK,
HK, QCF+PP with Cable), or you can cancel special moves into supers
(LK, MK, HK xx QCF+P xx QCF+PP with Cable). This applies to ground
combos, as well as air combos.
** C. Double/Triple Team Supers **
There isn't really much to cover in this section. To do a double or
triple team super, press A1+A2. If you only have one level of super
meter, your point character will do a super alone. If you have two
supers, then your first partner will join your point character and they
will do supers together. If you have three or more supers, then all
three of your characters will do their respective supers at the same
time. Of course, this is all taking for granted all of your characters
are alive. If you only have one character and you press A1+A2, no
matter how many supers you have built up, he/she/it will do his/her/its
super alone. If you have three or more supers, but only two characters
alive, the two remaining characters will super alone. Simply, a dead
character isn't coming back from the dead just to join in a
double/triple team super. What move each character does in a
double/triple team super is determined by which assist you choose:
alpha, beta or gamma (for the rest of the guide I will refer to these
as super A, B, and C).
** D. Delayed Hyper Combos **
You can do kick ass damage with Delayed Hyper Combos. To do a DHC,
simply do a super. When your character is in the middle of his/her/its
super, do the motion for one of the supers for your next character.
Your first character will stop his/her/its super, and your next
character will immediately finish the job with his/her/its super. You
can DHC one time through your line up, for a total of 3 supers. For
example, let's say you are playing with Dr. Doom, Storm, and Sentinel.
If you land Doom's Air Photon Array super, you can cancel it into
Storm's Hail Storm super. You can then cancel that into Sentinel's
Hyper Sentinel Force. In this case you cannot cancel Sentinel's HSF
into any of Doom's Supers. One word of advice, I used this team as an
example for a reason. Sentinel is a great character to DHC with. You
can do this combo taking for granted you have five supers built up [and
taking for granted your opponent isn't dead by the time you are halfway
through this ;o)]. Hit your opponent with Dr. Doom's Photon Array
super, then cancel into Hail Storm, then cancel into HSF. Sentinel can
combo after HSF with a standing fierce into another HSF. You may then
cancel the second HSF into Dr. Doom's Photon Array. If you have
characters who can combo into multiple supers (Thanos, Sentinel, Guile
or Charlie in the corner, etc.) you can DHC to them, let them combo
into their second super, then DHC out of that super for massive combos.
Just a word of advice :o)
** E. Pushblocking **
This is a technique that many beginning and intermediate players forget
to use. I didn't use pushblocking for a long time. Once I learned to
pushblock I saw a lot more wins come my way. Pushblocking is easy.
When you block an attack, and are in blockstun, press PP. What
pushblocking does is it throws your opponent across the screen. I
think the distance your opponent is pushed is determined by the
strength of the move pushblocked (can someone verify this 100%). If
someone likes to jump in a lot or dash in a lot and try to combo, block
then pushblock them. This will give you a little bit of breathing room
to plan your next attack. You can also use pushblocking to disrupt the
timing and/or escape some traps. The downside to pushblocking is that
you are kept in a slightly longer blockstun.
** F. Variable (Alpha) Counters **
Variable Counters, or Alpha Counters as I'll refer to them, are very
much like their counter parts in the Street Fighter Alpha series. When
you use an Alpha Counter, your point character will leave the screen,
and one of your partners will jump onto the screen and attack. The
attack used is determined by which assist you chose for that character.
To do an Alpha counter, as you block an attack roll the joystick B,
D/B, D and press either of the assist buttons. Which character does
the attack is determined by which assist button you use. One level of
super is used for an Alpha Counter.
** G. Guard Breaking **
This is not to be confused with the guard breaking (or guard crushing)
methods in Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Capcom vs. SNK. Guard breaking in
MvC2 is really more of an exploited glitch in the game engine then
anything else. First, before you can understand how guard breaking
works, you must understand the following. When you do a normal jump,
you are allowed one action. Be it an attack, a block, whatever, you
get one action. Basically, you can't block twice, that's what you need
to remember. To guard break, you must catch your opponent jumping, not
super jumping. First you must make them block an attack. From the
time they get out of blockstun to the time they touch the ground, they
are vulnerable. Here are three examples of guard breaking. Cable has
the easiest guard break, since he can do his from anywhere on the
screen. Get your opponent to block a jumping HP, then when they
release out of blockstun hit them with and Air Hyper Viper Beam (AHVB).
Many characters, if not all the characters, can use their jab to guard
break. Or characters like Strider, Jill (IIRC), and Captain Commando
can use their helpers to guard break. The easiest scenario to apply
guard breaking is after you have killed one of your opponent's
characters. The "fall in" counts as a jump, not a super jump. Once
you kill a character, time an attack (jumping jab, Strider/Jill/Captain
Commando helper, Cable jumping HP, etc.) to hit your opponent just as
or slightly before they enter the screen. Then hit them with the
attack of your choice (a big super, or a launcher into a nice combo,
whatever).
** H. Common Terms for Characters **
This probably belongs in the legend, but I thought I'd address it now.
I've already been using some of these terms, and if they've confused
you, now is the time for you to learn these terms.
1. Point Character: Simply put the character you are controlling on
the screen. If you are playing a team of Venom/Dhalsim/Shuma-Gorath,
Venom will start the match as your point character.
2. Assist Character: The character you call in as an assist. You have
no control of this character other then when he/she/it is called out.
Assist Characters can't/won't block, and they take more damage then
point characters. Of course all of their damage can be healed.
3. Battery Character: A character who can charge a lot of super meter
quickly. Omega Red, Storm, Spiral, Dr. Doom, and Blackheart are all
examples of great battery characters. Cable and Silver Samurai would
not be good battery characters because they use a lot more super meter
then they can quickly build.
4. Anti-Air Assists (AAA): AAAs are characters that have an assist
designed to be used to stop jumping opponents. Ken is the archetypal
AAA. His Dragon Punch comes out with good range, quickness, and
invincibility. Most teams do not function well unless they include a
solid AAA, though there are exceptions.
5. Pixies: Pixies are characters who rely on combos. Wolverine is
prime example of a pixie. Wolverine's best offense is to dash in, land
a low short and either combo into a super, or launch for an air combo
(for other pixies that may include an air combo as well). Pixies are
called so because most pixies are small and annoying (Wolverine and
Spider-Man for example are small and annoying).
** I. The Lifebar **
Let's face it, what's more important then the lifebar? You goal is to
empty your opponent's lifebar faster then he can empty yours. Or just
to have more lifebar remaining after 99 seconds. Either way, you need
to understand the lifebar, so you'll know if you are in danger and need
a tag, or need to do some last minute damage to win by time.
1. Red Health: After getting hit by a move, there will be some red
health remaining. This health is important. You still have a chance
to recover red health. You can only recover red health, nothing more.
There are a few ways to recover red health, the easiest being tag that
character out. Some characters have moves that recover red health,
such as Omega Red. Some characters have assists, like Jill and Sonson
that will allow you to recover red health.
2. Stamina Tiers: Not all characters have the same stamina. In MvC2,
the life bar is 143 points longs. The average jab does about 4-5
damage, and the average fierce does about 12-16. Dan's suicide move
(Otoko Michi) takes off 100 points of damage. So if you have questions
about any of these damage numbers, you Dreamcast owners can test them
for yourself. From highest to lowest, the stamina tiers run:
75%: (highest) Sentinel
81%: Colossus
87%: Blackheart, Hulk, Juggernaut, Zangief
93%: Captain America, Dr. Doom, Omega Red, Rogue*, Silver Samurai**,
Thanos, Tron Bonne
100% (average stamina) Amingo, Cable, Captain Commando, Charlie,
Cyclops, Gambit, Guile, Iron Man, Jin, M. Bison, Ruby Heart, Ryu,
Sakura, Venom, War Machine
106%: B.B. Hood, Chun-Li, Hayato, Jill, Ken, Magneto, Megaman,
Sabretooth, Spiral, Storm
112%: Cammy, Dan, Dhalsim, Felicia, Iceman, Pyslocke, Shuma Gorath
118%: Marrow, Morrigan, Sonson
125%: Anakaris, Spider-Man, Strider, Wolverine
137%: Akuma, Roll, Servbot, "Bone" Wolverine (aka Bonerine)
* Rogue takes 46% damage upon receiving "Defense Up" from her Power
Drain.
** Silver Samurai takes 117% damage if he uses his lightning power-up
once or twice. Should he use his lightning power-up three times in a
row, his stamina will return to 93%. Silver Samurai takes 46% damage
if he uses his ice power-up once, twice, or three times in a row.
Silver Samurai takes 140%! upon using his fire power-up once, 117%
after using it twice in a row, and after using it three times in a row,
his stamina returns to 93%.
Summarizing this, Sentinel takes 75 points of damage from Dan's
suicide, Akuma takes 137, and so on. These percentages don't mean so
much, until you start getting into the big combos. Let's compare two
of the better characters on the game, Dr. Doom and Strider. A 50 point
combo will only do 45 to Dr. Doom, but it will do 62 to Strider. Yes,
a big difference and this can mean the match. Of course, don't think
that better stamina makes a better character. Strider takes hits
horribly, but he's one of the 3 best on the game. He'd probably be #1
if he didn't take damage so bad. Zangief has great stamina, but he's
one of the worst 5 on this game. Stamina doesn't help him out much.
**** III. The Characters ****
Hopefully, you now have the basics down. It's time to learn about your
characters of choice. I'm not getting into too much detail, since
there are 56 characters, but I'll try to have a little something for
every character. I'm listing the characters by their respective
"tiers." Tiers are simply groupings for the characters. The top tier
is the top group of characters that stand out above the rest. The
second tier characters are all relatively even in ability, and so on.
I'm listing the characters in alphabetical order after that so there
isn't too much confusion and so I don't get too many flame e-mails
cause I rate someone's character too low. As far as rankings, these
are my opinions, based on what I've seen, heard, read, played against,
and experimented with myself. As far as strategies, well, the same as
above applies. I welcome you to e-mail with strategies, and if you
disagree with my rankings. I'm just trying to remember what I've seen
and what I use myself.
I'll list some strategies for each character, and then I will list what
assists work well with them, as well as what characters to watch out
for.
** A. Top Tier: The Dominators **
These characters are you main tournament winners. They are the ones
that dominate Marvel vs. Capcom 2. These characters have fewer bad
match-ups then the other characters in the game. By no means are these
characters unbeatable. Simply put these characters win more often in
EVERY situation then those below them.
1. Blackheart: Blackheart is primarily a keep-away character. You
should super jump backward, use Roundhouse while you are in the air.
After dropping the demons, air dash, after your dash has ended press
Fierce and some demons will cover your landing. This alone is
difficult for many characters to beat. When you have meter, try to
drive your opponent a full screen distance away from you. Then use the
Inferno (HCB+P) canceled into the Heart of Darkness super (QCF+KK).
This does very nice chip damage; about 5-8% depending on who well the
super connects. You can go offensive with Blackheart. When he's
backed up by Cyclops AAA Blackheart is a dangerous rushdown character.
Take advantage of Cyclops AAA to set up Blackheart's infinite combo
(Air Roundhouse hitting in the air, repeat with more air Roundhouses).
One of Blackheart's greatest assets is his anti-air assist, which
tracks the opponent and reaches the full height of the screen.
Blackheart works best with Dr. Doom Rocks or Cyclops AAA. The
characters that will give him the most trouble are Cable, and Iceman.
Cable can AHVB Blackheart after being hit by a Heart of Darkness
(unless in the corner), and can punish many blocked moves. Iceman can
simply out turtle Blackheart, since he has no way to chip Iceman.
2. Cable: This is the character more people bitch about then any
other. Rightfully so, a good Cable can be a pain to deal with. First
off, learn the "Tiger Knee" Air Hyper Viper Beam (AHVB). AHVB is the
fastest super in the game, and you can link at least 3 with relative
ease. For those familiar with the older Street Fighter 2 series,
you'll remember Sagat's Tiger Knee was D, D/F, F, U/F+K. If you do the
same motion then press both punches, Cable barely hop off the ground
into an AHVB. To link 3 AHVB, use the Tiger Knee motion for the first
two AHVB. For the third, jump straight up, and do the motion at the
peak of your jump. This super is fast enough to punish any unprotected
assist, nearly all whiffed moves and supers, and MANY blocked moves or
supers. Cable's strengths are as a keepaway character. Generally, you
will want to have a good battery character build supers for Cable, then
bring him in with 3-5 supers ready. Of course, you can start Cable;
you just have to build those supers your self. Jump back Fierce can be
Cable's best friend. That gives your opponent two options, dash in, or
super jump. You can cancel jump back fierce into jab viper beams, or
grenades. You can also simple hop around and toss grenades, hoping to
control as much space as possible. If an opponent gets close, or tries
to dash in, call Cyclops (or whatever AAA you have). If Cyclops AAA
hits, you get a free AHVB. If you decide you want to go on the
offensive with Cable, have a good assist ready to back you up, such as
Cyclops AAA, or Sentinel's drones. Try to connect this combo up close,
c. LK, s. MK, s. HK xx AHVB x 3. You can cancel out of the s.HK into a
super jump, so if you do the "Tiger Knee" motion quickly, in the later
frames of the kick, you'll cancel out into AHVB. As far as which
assist to use, really, all 3 of them have their uses. The Grenade is
probably the worst of the 3. As far as projectile or anti-air, it's a
matter of personal preference, and what better benefits your team.
Cable works great with Cyclops AAA. Other Dragon Punch-Style AAA's
work well with Cable. Cable beats Sentinel and Blackheart with ease.
He also beats many both beamers or people with long recovery on their
moves. Cable loses to Spiral and Storm. Spiral's Wall of Swords can
leave Cable unable to AHVB out of it, plus Spiral can easily teleport
away from AHVB. Storm can runaway to the top of the screen, above the
reach of Cable and the AHVB. If played correctly, Storm can also rush
Cable down. Magneto and Strider, using the Strider/Doom trap, will
also give Cable troubles because of rush down. If Iceman has a
significant lead on Cable, he can out turtle Cable and win by time. If
Cable has the lead, and Iceman is forced to attack, Iceman should lose.
One thing to remember about Cable, the slightest opening, and Cable
will KILL that character. Combine this with Cable's Guard Break, and
you can kill one character, and put half-life away on the next one.
3. Cyclops: The first thing Cyclops has going his way is his Anti-Air
Assist. His Anti-Air assist has invincibility, though not as much as
Psylocke or Ken. It also has good range, and sets air combos up
nicely. As a point, Cyclops is not completely useless. He can quickly
build meter by super jumping and whiffing Roundhouses. Once he has
meter charged, he can chip away with his supers. Mega Optic Blast (the
big one) does more chip damage, while you can aim Super Optic Blast,
which is also faster then MOB. If Cyclops can manage to get close he
can do nice combos with his Cyclone Kick and his supers.
Cyclops works well with Dr. Doom's Rocks, and any good beam assist
(such as Cable or Storm). Usually Cyclops is picked as an assist and
not as a point character so he usually has to make due with what
assists he has. Fortunately, he works well when backed up by Cable,
who Cyclops is most often picked to back up. Cyclops has lots of
trouble with Cable and Iceman. Other then that, I don't think Cyclops
has few of very bad fights, but he only has few very good fights.
4. Dr. Doom: Doom is Arguably the best character on the game. He
possesses the most versatile assist on the game, his "Anti-Air" assist,
the Molecular Shield. It is great because it locks the opponent down,
and does amazing chip damage. Interesting enough, it is not good as
anti-air. Dr. Doom can also dominate as a point character. His air
Fierce is a great move. Doom can simply use jump back Fierce and often
this will dictate the pace of the game against taller characters. Doom
can also super jump backwards, firing fierce, then shoot off two sets
of air Photons (HCB+P) before landing. Doom can air dash upwards at
the peak of his super jump to fire more then two sets of photons before
landing, but you risk your opponent dashing under you and waiting on
you to land. With Blackheart AAA backing him up, Dr. Doom can form
traps that are very difficult to fight through. Doom can also go on
the offense if needed. If ground dash is very quick, and his crouching
jab is a nice lead in. C. LP, c. MP, c. HP into air combos finishing
with the air Photon Array super (HCB+PP) do great damage, plus his
Photon Array super sets up DHCs well, even if it's the first, second or
third super involved.
Dr. Doom works best with Blackheart, and he works well with any
projectile assist, most AAA, and Sentinel's Drones. Dr. Doom has no
really bad matches. Cammy and Ken can annoy Doom with their Anti-airs
breaking traps. Dr. Doom can beat tall characters (Zangief and taller)
relatively easy, thanks to his jump back Fierce.
5. Magneto: Magneto is the best Pixie in the game, hands down. He is
the fastest character in the game. Use this speed to rush your
opponent down. He can super jump, quickly air dash down-forward, and
cross-up opponents easily. You need to learn to combo the Hyper Grav
(HCB+K) and Magnetic Tempest (QCF+KK) in air combos. This can be done
by quickly canceling an air chain into the Hyper Grav, then quickly
canceling into the Magnetic Tempest. You may notice these two moves
won't combo alone in air combos, but together they will. This is
because when you activate the Magnetic Tempest, the action stops, but
the Hyper Grav will not stop, giving you the few extra frames you need
to combo the Hyper Grav into your air combo, likewise allowing the
Magnetic Tempest to hit. If your opponent is quick, he can mash and
break the Hyper Grav, only taking block damage from the Tempest, but
this is difficult to do correctly. You can combo two or three Magnetic
Tempests in the same combo with Practice. After the Tempest is
finished, try to hit your opponent with a d+WK, MK, then air dash up-
forwards and do a 4-hit chain into a second Hyper Grav/Magnetic Tempest
cancel. You strategy really isn't that complicated, attack, attack,
attack!! Use you fast dash to close the distance. If you get close,
try a low Short into low Fierce. Beware of AAAs. They can be a
nuisance when you try to dash in. Your air-dash is fast enough that
not even AAAs can save your opponent if you dash properly. Super Jump
up-forward, then quickly air-dash down-forward. Be sure to lead in
with your fierce or roundhouse (I prefer fierce, but I don't play
enough Mags to know which is truly better). This can be an effective
cross-up depending on where you start your jump.
Magneto is one character that really works well alone IMO. He's at his
best with Psylocke AAA. Mags also works good with Cyclops AAA, Tron
Bonne Projectile assist, or any good beam assist to cover him when he
dashes, such as Storm. Dr. Doom's Rocks is also a great for Magneto.
Magneto is one character that can take it to Cable. Cable's main
weakness is being rushed down, and Magneto can do that better then
anyone else. Magneto and Sentinel is an interesting match-up. If
Sentinel leaves himself the slightest bit open, Magneto will hit him
with a big combo (possibly an infinite). Magneto wins the fight, but
Sentinel won't go down easily. Magneto does well against Spiral,
because he is fast enough to get out of her traps and chase her. IMO,
Magneto's worst fight is against Strider. Magneto lives by rushing
people down, but the Strider/Doom trap turns the tide on him. Magneto
can only super jump to escape Strider/Doom, but even then, he must land
sometime. Other then this, Magneto has no other bad fights. Dr. Doom
can be annoying, if backed up by Blackheart. Dr. Doom can use the
super jumping variety of his trap with Blackheart and make it difficult
for Magneto to fight through.
6. Sentinel: The big robot may appear slow and useless at first, but
don't be fooled. There's really two distinct ways to play Sentinel.
You can play him as a keep-away character, setting up traps with his
standing fierce beam, drones, and calling assists. There are actually
some very nice traps I'll discuss later using this same idea. Sentinel
also functions well as a rush down character. Flight is the key to a
great Sentinel. Sentinel becomes a fast character in flight mode.
Sentinel's flight is as fast as his dash (and his dash is not slow).
Once in flight there are two things to remember. One, cancel flight if
you are ever too far away so you aren't punished for flying. Secondly,
STOMP! When you get above your opponent, stomp on their head. I like
this combo myself, j. WK, j. HK, WP Rocket Punch. This is a solid
three his combo that you can use in flight mode. If you are close
enough you can also jump up and throw this combo out. Sentinel has one
of the best supers in the game in the Hyper Sentinel Force (HSF). If
your opponent leave himself or herself open, throw a Rocket Punch and
cancel it into HSF. You can easily combo HSFs as follows, HSF, Fierce
xx HSF. You can use this method as well, HSF, Fierce xx Fierce Rocket
Punch xx HSF. This is more difficult to do then the first method. I
only use the second method if I am about half screen from my opponent.
Experiment and you can find other ways to combo into HSF. Sentinel's
Ground assist (the Drones) is the way to go. This assist sets up
combos well, and does a good job of controlling the ground, forcing
your opponent to take to the air. Also, Sentinel can punish assists
well. If your opponent calls an assist, hit that assist with the
following; Rocket Punch xx HSF, s. fierce xx Rocket Punch, HSF, repeat
from s. Fierce as needed.
Sentinel works great with Blackheart AAA. These two form a nice trap.
Sentinel also works well with Dr. Doom's Rocks, Juggernaut Punch (he's
my favorite to use Glitched Juggy with), and Spiral projectile assist.
I guess beam projectile assists are good, but I don't see where they do
anything abnormally unusual for Sentinel, same with DP-Style AAAs.
With Doom, Juggy, Spiral, or even Storm, try this: get airborne, use
the 3-hit air combo I listed above, while calling the assist to cover
up Sentinel's recovery on the Rocket Punch, does nice damage, and good
Chip Damage depending on which assist. Sentinel generally beats who he
is supposed to. Anyone in the lower tiers, Sentinel beats. As far as
top tier, Sentinel plays well against Blackheart, Spiral and Cyclops.
Sentinel has several bad fights in the top tier. Cable kills Sentinel.
Cable can block almost all of Sentinel's moves and punish him with
AHVB. Sentinel's only chance is to find an opening and fly right above
Cable, stomping away at him. AAAs are all that can save Cable in this
situation, but at least you don't have to fear eating multiple AHVBs.
Magneto, Strider, and Storm can all three destroy Sentinel quick
because they can easily land big combos and/or infinite combos on him.
Strider is also a threat because of the Strider/Doom trap.
7. Spiral: The Dancing Swords are the key to Spiral's success.
Mastering the Wall of Swords (WoS) is your first order of business with
Spiral. This is done by calling your dancing swords (HCB+P). You then
throw a sword with jab. The safest time to activate your swords is to
super jump straight up, maybe even call an assist before you jump, then
if your opponent doesn't follow you activate the swords. To achieve
the WoS, you'll want to begin throwing swords in the air. Jump and
throw 2 swords as you all, or if you super jumped to activate, throw 2
or 3 as you land, throw 2 (or 1 if you threw 3 on the way down), jump
throw 2 more and call more swords. After calling swords, throw two as
you fall, 2 on the ground, and two as you jump back up and call more
swords at the peak of your jump. So, basically, it's get in the air,
call swords, throw 2 as you land, 2 on the ground, 2 as you jump up,
call swords at the peak of your jump, repeat. This is a solid trap
alone. The only way most characters can escape is to super jump up
during the gap that occurs after you call swords. Should someone super
jump out of the trap, you have several options. You can simply call
swords, jump up and do her QCF+LK sword circle, teleport away and try
again, try her DP+P anti-air grab if you are brave and don't think your
opponent will try to attack you, or call an assist to aid you.
Spiral's teleport (QCB+LK) is extremely useful. It if fast enough that
you can see Cable begin an AHVB, and teleport on reaction to escape.
You can control where Spiral appears by pressing and holding a button
after you input the command. Holding LK will make Spiral appear in the
bottom left corner, LP in the top left, HP in the top right, and HK in
the bottom right. Holding down on the joystick along with the button
will make Spiral appear closer to your opponent, in whatever part of
the screen you want her to appear. Inputting the command, and holding
no buttons will result in Spiral appearing directly above her opponent.
The Wall of Swords, combined with this tricky teleport makes Spiral a
dangerous fight for anyone.
Spiral works best with Cable Projectile or Blackheart Anti-Air assist.
Both work well for different reasons. Cable helps keep them locked
down in the WoS trap, and Blackheart is good should they super jump out
of the WoS trap. Spiral also works well with any quick beam assist.
Most AAA with range will work well with Spiral. Spiral fights very
well against Cable. Cable can't AHVB his way out of the WoS if it's
used right, and even if he gets and AHVB off, Spiral can teleport out
of it's way easily. Sentinel gives Spiral fits. His Super Armor
allows him to take the swords and not budge, while beaming and calling
drones to disrupt the trap. Magneto and Storm give Spiral trouble
because they are fast enough to get away from the swords. Storm's
horizontal tornado will go through the swords as well if she can get it
off. She will still take the hit, but they should trade. Spiral has a
rough time against the Strider/Doom trap. Really, Spiral vs. Strider
comes down to who can out teleport who. If Strider activates Outboros
and Spiral can super jump, then she can teleport around, and stay in
the air hopefully long enough to let the Outboros end. If Strider
manages to get close and activate the trap, Spiral will lose. Spiral's
teleport is faster, so that is to her advantage. Ruby Heart is also
VERY good against Spiral. Sublimation will eat up the WoS, and then
Ruby will win up close.
8. Storm: Earlier I said Dr. Doom was arguably the best character in
MvC2. Storm is the reason I said "arguably." Storm is the queen of
the skies. In Storm, you have one of the best, and most annoying,
runaway games in MvC2. Storm can super jump, air dash upwards out of
the screen, repeatedly call typhoons (HCB+K), when she gets too low
Lightning Attack (HP+LK, press joystick in the direction you want to
travel, no joystick press results in a forward attack) back up out of
the screen, and call more typhoons. Storm can whiff fierces to build
meter. This is difficult for many characters to stop. Storm doesn't
have to runaway though. She is equally dangerous as a rushdown
character. She has one of the fastest dashes in the game, and the
second fastest air dash (behind Magneto). With Storm, good offense is
to super jump up-forward, immediately air dash down-forward and attack
with a fierce, canceled into a roundhouse. There are several good
combos Storm can land when she gets close. One is c.LK, c.MK, pause,
s.HK (OTG) xx Lightning Attack forward xx Lightning Storm (HCF+PP).
Another is c.LK, s.HK (launch) sj.LP, sj.LK, sj.MP, sj.MK, xx Lightning
Attack (forward or up forward) xx Lightning Storm. Storm has a great
Assist punisher in her HailStorm. If you need to, throw a tornado
(qcf+K) then cancel it into HailStorm. One final not about HailStorm,
it is mashable. That means if you are going to hit it, mash on those
buttons for extra damage!
I really don't know who to say Storm's best assist is. She works great
with Psylocke AAA when you play an offensive Storm. She also works
well with Doom, as you can drop Doom, then begin your runaway pattern.
Blackheart works well with runaway Storm, allowing you to super jump
from most characters without being followed. Storm kills Cable. Storm
can runaway, and easily stay above the range of the AHVB. Storm is
also fast enough to rush Cable down, avoiding his AAA. Storm will also
give Sentinel fits if she gets close. She has an advantage on Strider,
ONLY if she stays airborne. If grounded, Strider puts her away. Her
speed also makes her a good choice against Spiral. Storm's hardest
fights are Strider (if he can keep her grounded) Dr. Doom, and Magneto.
Dr. Doom and Storm are an even match. Storm can beat Doom's traps, and
Doom can usually fill the screen with enough crap to make it difficult
(but not impossible) for Storm to runaway. Magneto can beat Storm, if
the match becomes a pixie contest. Strider can beat Storm, only if he
can keep her grounded. Dhalsim plays Storm very tough. Dhalsim is the
one character that can stay in the air longer then Storm. This means
Storm can't runaway. Dhalsim also fights well up close against Storm.
9. Strider: First off, let's make one thing clear. If you are picking
Strider, pick Dr. Doom! Strider is an entirely different character
with Doom backing him up, a more dangerous character. Many believe
Strider is the best character in the game. With the power of the
Strider/Doom trap, it's hard to argue that he isn't. Since the
majority of Strider's offense comes from the Strider/Doom trap, I won't
be discussing much about Strider here. I'll say this much for now,
every time you get a chance to do the trap, take it. That's about 20%
of your opponent's health you can take away instantly. And try to
build as much meter as possible while the trap is going on. I'll be
talking more about the trap in a later section, dedicated to traps.
For now, one thing you need to remember about Strider is his Stamina.
Strider takes 125% damage from every hit. This means if a hit does 12
points of damage, it will do 15 to Strider. One mistake can easily
mean death for Strider. Personally, I look at Strider like this: I
know unless I play a perfect match, Strider is going to die, it's just
a matter of how many of my opponent's characters I take with me. If
you find yourself without any meter, start building it. Strider can
call birds and kitties (QCF+HK and QCF+LK respectively) rather safely
against most characters. This builds meter fast. Strider's teleport
and double jump are his best weapons to get close. Strider's teleport
is RDP+any button. LK puts you on the ground, on the left side of the
screen, LP puts you on the left about a character height high (Cable
height), HK puts you right, on the ground, and HP puts you right, in
the air.
Strider works best with Dr. Doom, no questions asked. He is a totally
different character without Dr. Doom. He wouldn't even be top tier if
not for Doom. Aside from Doom, Strider works best with Sentinel ground
assist (controls the ground, sets up combos and the trap), Blackheart
AAA (they can't runaway in the air) and especially well with Captain
Commando AAA (covers the ground and the air). I also like Juggernaut
Dash assist with Strider. But it's a difficult Challenge to glitch
Juggernaut (see Juggy's section for the glitch) w/o getting Strider or
Doom killed. Strider eats Magneto for breakfast. Magneto wants to get
in to do damage, and does it very well. That's a problem because
Strider also wants to get in to do damage, and he does about 20% block-
damage a shot if he has the chance. Strider also does great against
Sentinel. Once Sentinel falls victim to the trap, it is hard for his
big @$$ to get out. Strider also does very well against Cable.
Cable's AAA is his only chance to beat Strider. Of course, you Cable
hit Strider with anything; he has the chance to kill Strider. Storm
owns Strider if, and only if, Strider lacks an assist to bring her
down. Once grounded, Strider kills Storm much like Magneto. Spiral
puts up a decent fight against Strider, as it becomes a teleport vs.
teleport match. A match that Strider can win if he plays his cards
correctly. Felicia give Strider a hard time, because her "Sand
Sweeper" super is a pain in the @$$ for the Strider/Doom trap.
**** V. Closing Credits ****
Yes, you are reading this right. I skipped III and IV and went
straight to V. That means III and IV are coming soon ;o) Watch out
for revisions.
** A. Revision History **
1/9 This is the first version :o) So there is no history!
1/11 Added sections 2,H,4&5, 2,I, 3,A, and 5,B. Made some corrections
in section 2,A (Oooops, Servbot can't Double Jump! :p)
** B. Closing **
This is coming, whenever I think of something to type.
** C. Credits **
Yes, I have people to thank.
$ Ug the Caveman: For all those philosophical talks about MvC2 ;o)
And for helping to edit this guide. Also for letting me rip-off your
legend.
$ Mom: For buying me video games, and for the spending money to play
in the arcade.
$ The boys at the Bluefield, WV and Roanoke, VA (before it closed)
Mindboggles: Thanks for the competition, and having someone to test out
my strats against.
$ Masaka: Good MvC2 comp (even if you HATE the game), and for letting
me test Spiral/Sabretooth on ya ;o)
$ Shoryuken.com: For the great articles about MvC2 (go check them
out!!). Also for releasing, and doing nice job on the B4 tape.
$ Those on the forums at Shoryuken.com: You may or may not know who
you are. If you want to learn the intricate details of your characters
and of good strategy, go to the forums and search for the knowledge you
seek.
$ Kao Megura: For an excellent movelist, which I have used as a
reference several times in this guide.
$ Sweets: For the love, support, and putting up with my never-ending
desire to go to an arcade and play some fighting game against human
competition. I love you.
