Overview
Psylocke first appeared in Capcom's premiere Marvel game "X-men Children of the
Atom". As a character however, she has been around much longer.
I don't follow comics very much, but from what I know (from like, grade 3)
Psylocke is an assassin with the ability to focus energy of the mind. Using her
unique powers, she can form weapons out of pure energy, which she dubs "Psi
Blades" and uses them to fight. Her fighting style is primarily Ninjitsu, and
hails on one of the X-men teams, I don't know which one. I'm sure this
information is probably horribly out of date by now since, once again, I don't
follow Marvel comics.
Back in the day of Marvel Super Heroes, Psylocke was one of my best characters.
Her combination of speed and power made her an excellent character to use.
She's changed minimally in Marvel vs Capcom 2, but in all I think she's been
strengthened quite a bit...
+ Pretty good power : speed ratio
+ Medium range reach
+ High comboability
+ All her special moves and 2 of her supers can be performed in mid air.
+ Different variations of her normal / special moves
- Unless used in combos, her normal moves have pretty long lag
- Her special moves are only decent
- She doesn't take damage all that well...
- Her fighting style has some strange priority holes that need filling
Standing: Psylocke motions her whole body forward and commits a quick slap to
the opponent's head. While the slap alone is fine, the movement forward really
slows the move down. This jab is a bit slower than most other character's jabs.
This LP has a slightly higher hitting angle than most other people's, but I
don't see it being much of an anti-air move. Basically, just use it to start
combos since its poking priority is pretty low.
Crouching: Psylocke quickly punches up from her crouched position.
Considerably slower than her standing jab. Again, not much unless used in
combos.
Jumping: Psylocke squats her body and punches her fist diagonally downwards.
Pretty useless since her fist barely goes past her legs. You COULD use it as a
combo starter, but there are a whole bunch of better moves.
MP: (LP Twice)
Standing: Psylocke reels forward and gives a gut punch. Not a bad punch, but
the recovery time is absolutely HORRID for a MP. Generally use it in combos,
although there are certain opportunities when it can be used to counter missed
moves (even then, her HP is far better.).
Crouching: Psylocke reels forward (from a crouching position) and slaps the
opponent in the chest. As a poke it isn't bad, but again by itself it has
absolutely horrid recovery time.
Jumping: Psylocke extends her body and punches upwards. This is somewhat of a
mini air launcher but with almost 0 range. It is useful to use in air combos
because, coupled with her multiple jumping ability, it means you can extend your
combos much farther than other characters. Again, not to be used by itself.
HP:
Standing: Here's where the meat and bones are, as all incarnations of
Psylocke's HP are good. In her standing version she turns her body away from
the screen, stretching forward and punching with a Psi-aura around her hand in
the shape of a dagger. The move has GREAT priority and is her main poke. The
recovery time is easily on par with her MP (well, close enuff). The range of
this move of this move, coupled with its high priority and power make it the
ideal move to stick out when in doubt and should be used often to keep an
opponent at arms reach.
Crouching: An uppercut with her Psi-blades, also her launcher. As far as
launchers go, this one isn't bad. It's pretty reminiscent of Morrigan's, minus
the range. The power is good, and the psi-blade gives her higher priority on
jump-ins. The forward range on it is kind of lacking however, so be careful not
to over-judge.
Jumping: Psylocke squats her body and thrusts downward diagonally with a psi-
blade. A pretty good jump in; again the psi-blade gives you slightly longer
range and priority than most would anticipate. May I also comment that the
power on this move is very impressive.
LK:
Standing: Your basic head kick. The priority and speed aren't bad so don't be
afraid to stick it out. However, in the wake of her other moves, its not really
all that useful.
Crouching: Psylocke sticks her foot out. In terms of the way it looks, it is
quite reminiscent of the shotos crouching LK, but with much farther range. Of
course, with farther range comes slightly longer lag since she sticks her leg
out farther. As it stands, it's a decent poke because the range is good and it
must be blocked low.
Jumping: Psylocke performs a slightly inverted ninjitsu kick upwards. At a
first glance, you might think it's a great anti-air, but to tell you the truth I
have yet to ever win an air-to-air battle with it.
MK: (LK twice)
Standing: Psylocke faces backwards and thrusts one foot forward, somewhat like
a mule kick. A pretty good poke, but it again has lag afterward. Use it as a
counter move or as a poke, just be careful of its lag.
Crouching: Psylocke kicks upwards with one hand. Again, you may think it looks
like a great anti-air, but its nothing compared to her crouching HP launcher. I
find this kick kind of useless.
Jumping:
HK:
Standing: A strange sort of roll kick. Psylocke rolls her body on the ground
and kicks, then returns to her original position. The lag on this move is a
pretty sorry sight. She can generally get nailed even AFTER she hits someone
with it. Thus, I avoid using the normal version of this move. What? Normal?
Is there a special version of it?
Hold backwards - Psylocke makes a quick hop backwards and then performs her
normal HK. Again, the kick isn't all that great, but the hop is ESSENTIAL for
getting out of tight spaces.
Hold forwards - Psylocke performs the kick and then slides forward. The slide
is really, REALLY fast and can easily get on the other side of normal jumpers,
confusing the heck out of them.
Crouching: In the classic ninjitsu fashion, it's a sweep. It's not a bad move,
but its just not that good either. It can be used to keep the opponent off
balance, but it does have quite a bit of lag afterward. As one of her moves, it
rates in the middle, but compared to other sweeps it falls short.
Jumping: A strange sort of roll kick. It isn't all that effective considering
you could be jumping in with a jumping HP. The priority isn't bad, it just has
somewhat of a starting lag.
Up + HK: Psylocke does a mid-air back flip that lifts your opponent up.
EXCELLENT to buffer at the end of an aerial rave to give just enough leverage to
pull a Kachou Gakure. Other than that, its uses are rather limited do to the
long startup and pitiful range.
Psi-shot
Motion: Down, down-forward, forward + punch (Ground or Air)
Psylocke fires a triangular projectile. This is her basic projectile move, it
comes out quickly and her recovery is near instant so don't worry about it
getting blocked. The LP travels downward at 45 degrees and the HP version
travels straight.
The HP version, as most would expect, is your basic keep away move. The only
problem is that she can't vary the speeds of her projectiles so they become
rather predictable. Still, the general speed is pretty fast, and they can be
used to counter missed moves and what not.
The LP version on the ground is really only useful for OTGing since the
traveling angle is so strange. When in the air, the LP version can be used to
pressure opponents as you make a getaway. I enjoy firing these off, then
jumping again (remember she can jump multiple times) and then letting another
one go. The first one is usually blocked, but the second one usually hits
because it is unexpected.
Psi-Blade
Motion: Down, down-forward, forward + kick (ground or air)
Psylocke's dragon punch imitation, IMO it's much better. The priority is much
high in the forward direction, but not so hot from above. Still, she covers a
large range (both in front and behind her) although the damage is somewhat
pitiful.
LP makes Psylocke move forwards and do the move. Since she barely leaves the
ground at all, this is the safest version. It can be used to end combos quite
efficiently since it leaves a good range between you and your fallen enemy.
It's not a bad poking move either since the range is actually quite far, but be
careful because it is a body attack.
HP makes Psylocke go straight up. The priority isn't bad for an anti air, but
it's not as good as certain other characters (such as the Dragon Punch or Flash
Kick). I don't use this version very much because I really don't think it is
that useful except for ending air combos.
Ninjitsu Teleport
Motion: Forward, down-forward, down, down-back, back + kick (ground or air)
Psylocke's very own teleport, I must say that I LOVE it. Instead of just
teleporting somewhere on the screen, 4 images of her appear to mask where she is
coming from! An absolutely essential confuse tactic, the Ninjitsu teleport has
a double role as both an offensive and defensive tactic. Added to this fact is
the ability for her to perform a sort of mini Psi-thrust coming out of the
teleport. Just hold a direction and press punch.
LP teleports her to the top left of the screen.
HP teleports her to the top right of the screen.
LK teleports her to the bottom left of the screen.
HK teleports her to the bottom right of the screen.
She does have recovery coming out of the move, but usually your opponent is too
busy guessing where you are going to come from to have time to retaliate.
Psylocke poses for a second and then rushes forward with her fist extended as
she is engulfed in a swirling mass of psi energy that comes to a point in front
of her. You can direct the initial hits by repeatedly tapping a direction right
after you perform the motion. After the initial hits you can redirect the Psi-
Thrust in a different direction should you choose to by holding a different
direction. I grade this as her second best super. It can be performed on the
ground or the air which makes it rather versatile, but it is a little slow to
combo. After the second redirection you only get about 3 hits so that's not all
that useful. I find it much more useful to stop after the first initial hits,
crouching LK, crouching HP and then an air combo. This usually does more damage
anyway. Note that the start up is pretty fast, and the super covers distance
rapidly so it can be used with much success as a counter to missed moves.
Psylocke ducks down and then shoots straight up while spinning and performing
her Psi-Blade. By far this is my favorite super simply due to the insane amount
of hits it does and the priority it has. Easily on par with Ken's Shinyuuken,
this super has anti-air written all over it, and few moves will hit you out.
Alternatively, you can use it as a close quarters counter super since its
startup time is instant. On the bad side, it has no frames of invincibility
(meaning that you have to have the timing quite exact as a counter) and the
recovery time is HORRIBLE (she goes up really, really far). Basically, a highly
damaging and useful super, but make sure it hits or you could be eating it.
Kochou Gakure
Motion: Down, down-back, back + 2 kicks
Psylocke poses and then releases a plethora of "psi butterflies" (hey, that's
what I call them okay!?) which circle around her close, and then get
progressively farther. Although this super is far from worthless, it is really
difficult to hit with. There is a startup delay, so air-comboing it takes a bit
of practice. Also due to the startup lag, you can't really counter effectively
with it. However, let me note that the damage on it is the highest of all her
supers, and it is really, REALLY hard to avoid so if you need to chip that last
bit of block damage from the opponent's bar, pull it off. Note that her
recovery is pretty bad on this super as well, so if you miss, or get blocked at
close range, you might be eating an air combo.
Assists are Marvel vs Capcom 2's new feature. An assist temporarily brings in
one of your partners to perform one of their moves. I haven't used them
extensively so I'm not sure as to how useful the assists are...
Alpha: Psi-Blade
Beta: Psi-Shot
Gamma: Psi-Shot
The assist that you choose also determines which super that Psylocke will use
with his double / triple teams.
General Strategy
Psylocke is a purely bread offense character, simple as that. Her normal moves
have been created in such a way that if you don't chain them, you'll probably be
eating some sort of punishment. Her offensive capabilities and priority scream
out to be used consistently. Psylocke's basic strategies involve using
variations of the ninjitsu teleport to close distance, attacking with a flurry
of combos and supers, and then using her back hop (back + HK) or Ninjitsu
Teleport to get out before your opponent knows what happened.
Defensive
Hmm, while this is not Psylocke's specialty, she can fight relatively well in a
defensive position. Your basic defensive attacks consist of the standing LP to
keep opponents from getting a little too friendly. Sticking a few of these in a
row can get the opponent far enough away that you can perform a Ninjitsu
teleport. Her crouching LK is also a great way to surprise your opponent from
comboing you since it must be blocked low. From here you can go into an air
combo. As for supers, I wouldn't recommend using a Psi-thrust, it'd just get
you messed up at the end. The Kochou Gakure can work wonders after a few
standing jabs since it pushes your opponent far enough that you can avoid
retribution. As for jump-ins, her launcher is well adept at swatting those
pesky jumpers... and in failing that, the Psi-Maelstorm can always put a nice
dent in your opponent's life bar. Even better, launch them into a Psi-Maelstorm
= )
Mid-Range
I would have to say that mid-range is probably Psylocke's weakest position to be
in simply because she doesn't have enough good poking moves. At mid range you
should be primarily concentrating on using your standing HP or standing MK (but
then again, you always have to LK first... what a strange button setup) to annoy
the crap out of your opponent. The standing HP should be your main one since
the damage, range and recovery are all very good. However despite these, in the
end it is best to consistently try and move your mid-range position to an
offensive one.
Offensive
Combo, combo, combo. Like many characters in Marvel VS Capcom 2 (not my beloved
Jin mind you), Psylocke's offense basically comprises of a spewfully wide array
of close range combos. Basic strategies involve jumping in with a HP, air
comboing and the using a super at the end. Abuse your great priority and power
by consistently assaulting your opponent with punches and kicks. A great thing
about Psylocke is that she can jump three times in mid-air. Use this to confuse
your opponents into odd cross-ups so they wont know which direction to block.
At this point, you should land (don't perform any air moves) and crouching LK
them into an air combo (they'll be too busy trying to figure out which way they
should block your jump in that, by the time they figure out that you didn't even
use a jump in, it'll be too late). Another great offensive tactic is the
Ninjitsu Teleport. Use it to close range like mad, but also to put some
distance between you and your opponent just in case the heat gets a little too
hot. Additionally, try to fool the opponent with different Ninjitsu teleports
so that they waste supers on copy images. Another great tactic is to go on the
offense, get blocked, and end with a retreating hop (back + HK). Often times
the opponent will whiff whatever their counter attack was and leave them open
for heaps of hurtin'!
Movement
I've mentioned this many times, but here we go again. Psylocke's got tons of
different ways to cover distance. Her ground speed and dash speed are both
above average, and she jumps fairly quickly and precisely. Of course she has
her Ninjitsu Teleport as well. As defense, warp to the opposite side of the
screen (both horizontally and vertically) as your opponent was on. As offense,
never use the teleport to make your way right IN FRONT of your opponent, that
would just be sheer stupidity. Use the teleport to get behind your opponent and
follow up with a mini psi-thrust, or teleport behind the opponent when you
anticipate a fireball and super them. As for her HK, use the back hopping
version to evade counter attacks and possibly setup instances for brief spurts
of offense. Use the forward rolling version to get in under high traveling
moves (sonic booms for example) or to cross up high priority jumping moves.
High lag moves
Psylocke is rather odd in that, her moves are fully comboable, but when used
individually they seemingly have long lag times. While some people may brush
this off as a minor problem, it does turn out to be a big problem especially
when facing players with long reach and/or quick moves (Strider and Hayato
immediately come to mind). There are a few ways to get around this. First of
all, try to end with an air combo. Even if her launcher is blocked, it pushes
her a decent distance away that all but the characters with the longest reach
can still tag her. Even safer, combo and, if blocked, end off with a Psi-
Thrust, and then just go in reverse. Although it takes up a super bar,
performing this basically safeguards you against taking any kind of retaliation
damage whatsoever.
1.7 - Facing Psylocke
I've faced two really good Psylocke players in my life, a nameless fob in the
arcade, and my friend "Morrigan" (no not the character). Psylocke's basic
pattern of attack is hit and run. Attack like mad, and then retreat to a safe
position before repeating.
Do's
- Try to pick a character with long range, often times this makes it much easier
to capitalize on Psylocke's mistakes
- Try to keep her on defense or mid range, it is where she is weakest.
- Anticipate those teleports and where they will be. Even with the ability to
perform that strange Psi-spear move out of her teleports, she is still
vulnerable afterward.
- Block often. Psylocke's weakest point is her inability to defend after her
normal moves, so you should make a note of this and take advantage of it.
- Most of Psylocke's supers have big lag afterward, so try and fit your own
super in when she misses.
- Psylocke doesn't take damage all that well, big combos put her out of her
misery.
- Switch often, Psylocke can only deal damage in small spurts, so if you switch
often, most of that will be recharged.
Don'ts
- Stay in the corner and let her combo you to death. Get out there, falling
back is generally a mistake.
- Let her small size make you think she can't dish out damage. She is no
spiderman and thus, she can inflict large amounts of damage without incessantly
large combos
- Try and dispose of her quickly. Take your time, plan your moves and block
often. I admit that she isn't an easy character to K.O
- Get trapped in the infamous air combo, land, ducking kick, air combo deal.
Dash backwards to break the chain, or roll.
Psylocke's first line of offense is her massively damaging chain combo routines
which can all be lead into supers. Some of them can get pretty crazy,
especially with that triple jump in there.
Dash in LP -> LK -> MP -> MK -> crouching HP -> Jump LP -> LK -> MP -> MK -> Up
+ HK -> Psi-blade
- Her basic magic series combo, minus the two medium buttons on the ground when
performing on the smaller characters.
- You can substitute a Kochou Gakure for the Psi-blade... if your timing is good
enough.
Dash in LP -> LK -> MP -> Psi-Thrust -> Cancel initial hits into a crouching LK
-> crouching HP -> Jump LP -> LK -> MP -> MK -> Kochou Gakure
- The timing is a little iffy on this one, but it DOES work.
Dash in LP -> LK -> crouching HP -> Jump LP -> LK -> MP -> Jump LP -> LK -> MP -
> Jump -> LP -> LK -> MP -> MK -> Kochou Gakure
- I love this combo because it just shows how much the Marvel engine needs
refining.
Dash in LP -> LK -> MP -> MK -> LP Psi-blade -> crouching LK -> HP Psi-blade ->
Kochou Gakure
- This is actually one of the combos pictured on Fighters.net
Opening animation: Psylocke is standing with her hands on her hips, she then
whips her hair around as says "C'mon" before getting into her fighting stance.
Standing animation: The general Ninjitsu pose, one arm back and bent, the other
forward and bent with two fingers up. Her legs are spread out and bent as well.
Taunt: Psylocke beckons with her fingers and says "C'mon".
Ending animations:
1.) Psylocke whips her hair around and mutters something barely audible.
2.) Psylocke turns her back to the screen, thrusts out a hand with a psi-dagger
on it and laughs.
CJAYC - for posting my FAQs on his site. (I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy)
My brother - For giving my original (from MSH) Psylocke a good work out
Fob man - I don't know what your name is, but your Ryu hurts bad.
Morrigan - Your Psylocke was the basis of my "Facing Psylocke" section. Also
for help on some combos and the Up + HK move (made it VASTLY more easy to combo
that Butterfly super)
Capcom - For not turning her into yet another shoto-clone
Feel free to distribute this FAQ so long as MY NAME IS ATTACHED TO IT! Yes, we
do have a copyright thing here in Canada... No we do not eat blubber... = )
