X-Men Vs. Street Fighter Storm FAQ version 1.0

written by ReCharredSigh
September 24, 2004

copyright 2004 ReCharredSigh

email: [email protected]
     (please title your questions/comments/etc as "XvSF Storm FAQ comments", or
      i'll think it's junk mail and delete it)

First of all, lemme sum the legal mumbo jumbo regarding this FAQ in the simplest
terms, please don't be like those snobby lawyers that twist every word to their
own benefit, it's really degrading of you:

================================================================================
1. I am not responsible for harm to you due to something in this FAQ, whether it
was in the computer sense(i.e. your computer crashed while you tried to save
this FAQ) or in the arcade playing sense(lost/won and got beat up due to some
technique in this FAQ).

2. This FAQ is free.  Plain and simple.  That means trying to make money off of
this FAQ is wrong, and that this FAQ can't be included in any publications in
any way for money profit.  You can find it free at the websites I listed.

3. For you people who do write free publications(most likely on the web) and
want to use this FAQ for aid in some way, give me credit if you want to use
anything from this FAQ, you don't need to quote me on everything, just give me
credit at the beginning/end of your work, and I will have no beefs against you.
If you want to post this FAQ on your website, please e-mail me first asking
permission, else I will be pissed off.

4. And lastly, if you don't want to obey the above, please just ignore this FAQ,
and read some other.

5. What characters Capcom has created, is of their entire copyright.  What
characters Marvel has created, is of their entire copyright.  I have in no
effort tried to take one of their works as my own.

6. You can find this FAQ at the following sites:
Gamefaqs.com, http://www.gameadvice.com, http://www.neoseeker.com

If you didn't find it there, chances are it isn't in the latest version.
================================================================================

CONTENTS OF THIS FAQ:
Revisions
Credits
Why this FAQ
Why Storm
Why not Storm
Basic Terminology
Combos
 Lightning Attack(LA) Properties
 Weight Classes
  Midscreen Air Combo Into Infinite
  Corner Air Combo Into Infinite
  Corner Throw Combo Into Infinite
  cLA Combo Into Infinite
  The Infinite Combo(s)
  Anti-Juggernaut Combos
  Police Van(manhattan stage) Combos
Runaway tactics
Rushdown tactics
Flight tactics
Putting It All Together
Team Suggestions

================================================================================

Revisions:

September 24, 2004: version 1.0

================================================================================

Credits:

(this will be a short list, because i came up with most of the combos in this
FAQ, and i don't know who originally found out how to triangle jump or how to
runaway with storm, so i don't know who to thank for those respective
strategies)

Capcom: for creating this game

Shoryuken.com: for continuing to be a site that exchanges good strats and stuff
              on any fighting game Capcom created.  and then some :D  i guess i
              might thank Prozac Nation for his technical info on Storm's
              floating and some flight pointers.  and other various people who
              said some stuff here and there on storm.

Gamefaqs.com: for hosting this FAQ

God: for doing his thing

================================================================================

Why this FAQ:

There's not a lotta good FAQs out there stating how to play XvSF correctly; this
game is O-L-D, but still very fun; I wrote this FAQ to give a good idea how to
play Storm defensively as well as offensively; it's not everything, but it
should be something to really start upon.

I'm gonna assume you know SOME stuff about XvSF, and are not a complete newb to
the game.  And this guide concerns XvSF versions 1.0 or 2.0, the arcade
versions.

Why Storm:

-TOP TIER CHARACTER; if you're using a character solely for their reputation(and
chance) to win, then i guess storm's a pretty good choice; cyclops and chun-li
are also no-brainers, but that's for some other writer to tackle.  make no
mistake though, this is XvSF, not MVC1; anyone can make a comeback.

-GREAT AT STALLING; storm can spend eons of time in a super jump, while building
at least 1 level of meter before she even touches the ground; she is not only
arguably the fastest at building meter in the game, but the best character at
playing the run-the-clock-down game when you are ahead by a huge chunk of
lifebar.  disgustingly effective at just safely building meter, avoiding
confrontation and chipping the opponent.

-FAST RUSHDOWN; due to her fast dash and air dash, storm can play a very fast
(and fun) offensive game, swarming her opponent in an attempt to land a combo.
couple her ability to land a hit with her damaging combos, and you have one
heck of a dangerous character.  her flight, when used properly, isn't bad
either for helping her offense.

-CAN KILL ANY CHARACTER OFF OF ANY COMBO; once she lands almost ANY hit, and
properly combos it, storm can destroy ANY character; doesn't matter how heavy
or light.  her infinite is also one of the easiest to perform, making her good
in the clutch, but she still has her high damage non-infinite combos if you
want to be stylish.

-VERY STRONG COUNTER; storm's counterattack combos into her infinite; that means
she is one of the few characters in the game who is still dangerous even on the
sidelines.  plus, her counter's already fairly good in itself; invincible for
the  most part, decent speed, etc.

-TEAM PLAYER; storm is arguably the best team player in XvSF; as point, she can
easily build 3 meters in a heartbeat for your 2nd character to use.  as 2nd,
she multiplies your lead character's defense and makes it that much more
dangerous to attack on fear of losing all of a lifebar.  great for the
beginning, middle, and end of the match, whether as the point character, or
sitting in the sidelines, period.

Why not Storm:

-SUPER COMBOS ARE PAR AT BEST; best you can do is use them for chip; storm has
no easy-damage options available to her; no short-> fierce xx super.  using
hail storm for chip IS good, but you can't abuse it as well as in mvc2, without
the ability to cancel a horizontal typhoon into it

-COMBOS TAKE A WHILE TO GET USED TO; this has a lot to do with her sky-high
launchers in this game, and her funky unorthodox air combos that you'll have to
learn.  on many characters, to combo after her counterattack into the infinite,
you need to time a c.short perfectly so it hits them before they touch the
ground, or they can roll and save their life.  short story is: to make storm
really effective, be prepared to spend some extra minutes on a combo dummy to
get those combos down.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Basic Terminology:

Air Dash: in air, any direction + 3 punches
Horizontal Typhoon: down, down/forward, forward + any punch
(can be done in the air)
Vertical Typhoon: down, down/back, back + any punch
(can be done in the air)
Flight: down, down/back, back + 3 kicks
(can be done in the air, repeat to unfly)
Lightning Attack:
(strong+short+any direction, then 45 degrees either direction) x3*
Lightning Storm: down, down/forward, forward + 2 punches, then mash
(1 level or more, can be done in the air)
Hail Storm: down, down/back, back + 2 punches, then mash (1 level or more)

*see lightning attack properties in the combos section for more details

pushblock: while blocking, press 3 punches
alpha counter: while blocking in a standing or crouching position
(you can be in a pushblock if you want), let the joystick go to a neutral
position, then:
back, down/back, down + fierce + roundhouse (1 level or more)
tag out: fierce + roundhouse
team hyper combo: down, down/forward, forward + fierce + roundhouse (2-3 levels)
roll: back, down/back, down + punch when knocked down
tech hit: forward + strong/fierce when thrown, either right when grabbed, or
right when about to hit ground

pushblock into superjump: while pushblocking in the air, hold up
wavedash: [ down/forward + 3 punches ] xn or [ down/back + 3 punches ] xn
triangle jump: super jump, then airdash down/forward
              (down/backward,up/forward,forward,down/forward + 3 punches)

jab: light punch
strong: medium punch
fierce: heavy punch
short: light kick
forward: medium kick
roundhouse: heavy kick

up.:     hold up while doing the move
dn.:     hold down while doing the move
back.:   hold back while doing the move
fwd.:    hold forward while doing the move
[ ] x @: repeat whatever's in the brackets "@" times
d.:      dashing; start the move by dashing first
s.:      standing; do the move standing
c.:      crouching; do the move crouching
j.:      jumping; do the move while jumping
\/:      this signals that you should be on the ground now
/\:      cancel the previous move into a super jump
(otg):   this move will knock the opponent off the ground
ad.:     air-dashing; do the move when you're air dashing
sj.:     super-jumping; do the move when you're super jumping
,:       link; wait til the move animation ends, then do the next move
->:      chain; link the move together to the next move
xx:      cancel the move into the next move

air dash can cancel any normal air move
c.forward knocks down
s.roundhouse is her launcher
c.roundhouse can launch, but is unreliable, ditto w/c.fierce
s.forward is a "mini-launcher"
s.fierce is a strike, knocking the opponent away
aerial strong is a bit hard to combo into, but it can be aimed with the joystick
downward, upward or straight
aerial forward knocks the opponent back

holding any direction upward while in the air causes storm to float; if done
during a super jump or flight, it enables storm to cancel the recovery of some
of her normal moves prematurely; floating during flight can reset the
1-air-dash-per-combo rule.  floating during a jump or super jump causes storm to
fall slower to the ground until the joystick is let go from the upward position.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Combos:

let's start off with storm's long list of air combos, seeing how you're gonna
eventually have to get around to practicing those to be truly formidable.  but
don't get discouraged; this section is only long because of the NUMEROUS setups
that storm has, as well as different weight restrictions and the like.  other
than that, her combos pretty much boil down to:
-air combo leading into the corner, infinite/corner combo afterwards

in this sense, storm's utilizing the basic idea behind a good "Custom Combo" you
find in top street fighter play; juggle them into the corner so that you can do
the bulk of your damage there.

to understand how to really do storm's air combos, you need to have a basic idea
of how her lightning attack works and the various weight classes in the game
before you do anything else, so i'll list them right now:

Lightning Attack(LA) Properties:

-LA can be linked up to 3x, any direction, whiffed, hit, or block; LA1, LA2, LA3
denotes the respective lightning attacks
-within each LA, you have the ability to "redirect" it 45 degrees either way; ie
if i choose to LA upward, i can tap up/forward or up/backward to redirect the
LA to go that way anytime i choose; if i choose to instead link the LA upward
to a LA forward, now i can redirect the 2nd LA up/forward or down/forward; it
will not add an additional hit to the LA though
-"redirecting" an LA occurs faster than linking an LA; the 1st is instantaneous,
the 2nd requires a slight startup; thus, it's better if you need to
"whiff"(make a move miss) an LA for positioning, that you "redirect" it, not
link another LA
-there are other weird funky properties concerning redirecting and linking LA's,
but these are the main ones you need to keep in mind; you need to know these in
order to understand how to do storm's air combos
-storm's alpha counter has her come in and do a horizontal lightning attack;
i'll refer to it as "cLA" in this guide; it can't be linked into any other
lightning attacks, but it can be redirected up/forward or down/forward, and it
is slightly invincible near the beginning of the attack.

Weight Classes:
(they can usually get more complex, but to know how to do storm's air combos,
this is the bare minimum tiers you need; tier 1's the heaviest, tier 4's the
lightest)

tier 1(juggernaut):
juggernaut

tier 2(normal weight):
akuma, bison, charlie, cyclops, gambit, ken, magneto, rogue, ryu, sabretooth,
storm, zangief

tier 3(light males):
dhalsim, wolverine

tier 4(light females):
cammy, chun-li

finally, for all the air combos, the chain i use to combo into a launcher is
d.c.short-> s.roundhouse, but you're welcome to try other chains as you see fit.

ok, here we go...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Midscreen Air Combo Into Infinite:
----------------------------------

vs normal weight:

d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab, sj.up.fwd.jab-> sj.up.fwd.short xx
LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward-> LA3 forward->
whiff redirect LA3 down/forward\/ (in corner) LA1 upward->
whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite

-general timing of the LA's is this; link the downward LA2 as soon as you can,
then spend as much time going directly downward before doing the redirecting
LA2.  then pause slightly before doing the LA3; it should be close to near the
bottom of the screen; once LA3 hits, immediately redirect
-the heavier the opponent, the less delay you put between each LA link and
redirect; you still don't want to link insanely fast though; just practice on
different opponents and you'll get the timing
-wait until you get slightly above the opponent before doing the 1st sj.jab
-you can skip the 1st sj.jab if you are not close to fullscreen, and in that
case you won't need to wait til you get above the opponent before doing sj.jab

vs light males:

d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab, sj.up.fwd.jab xx LA1 forward->
whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (near corner) LA1 up/forward->
whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite

-pause a bit after LA1 before doing LA2; the timing is a bit slower than normal
weight; you want to go a bit more forward before going downward, then after a
short pause, redirect
-this combo only deals if you are going from close to one corner to another; if
you are somewhere midscreen, start the LA2 when you're very close to the
corner, but not in it, and let the downward LA2 hit, then infinite

vs light females:

d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab-> sj.up.fwd.short xx LA1 forward->
whiff LA2 downward-> LA3 forward-> whiff redirect LA3 down/forward\/ (in
corner)
LA1 upward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite

-concerning the midscreen LA's: whiff the LA2 almost immediately, and then give
a semi-long pause; redirect the LA3 right after it hits


Corner Air Combo Into Infinite:
-------------------------------

vs normal weight, light males, light females:

d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.jab-> sj.up.short-> sj.up.forward xx
LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite

to combo directly into the jumping infinite, do this after a s.roundhouse:
(hold up during the entire combo til you get to the bottom)
sj.up.short-> sj.up.fierce, [ sj.up.fierce-> sj.up.roundhouse ] x5,
sj.up.fierce\/
(right after the last sj.up.fierce, let go of up so you don't float)
then proceed to the jumping infinite

-let's call this from now on as the multiple sj.up.fierces air combo; most ppl
like to do only sj.up.fierces as the filler of a corner air combo, but by
simply adding a sj.up.roundhouse after each sj.up.fierce, you add a few extra
hits, making the combo a lot more damaging, and more consistent, as well as
being easier to lead into the infinite

on light characters, do this instead as your multiple sj.up.fierces air combo:
(hold up during the entire combo til you get to the bottom)
sj.up.short-> sj.up.fierce-> sj.up.roundhouse,
[ sj.up.fierce-> sj.up.roundhouse ] x4 \/ infinite


Corner Throw Combo Into Infinite:
---------------------------------

vs normal weight, light males, light females:

punch throw, j.short xx LA1 up/forward-> whiff LA2 down/backward->
redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite

-can be done from an air throw instead
-on light characters, take out the j.short if started from an air throw
-if close to the corner, and you air threw them, you can use an airdash for
positioning so that you land the combo

vs normal weight, light males, light females:

punch throw, s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ corner air combo of your choice

-if you air throw them, then first do LA1 up/forward-> whiff LA2 down/backward->
redirect LA2 downward\/ then proceed as usual

also always throw w/strong on the ground; if you miss you'll just do a quick
punch; in the air, throw with fierce instead.  and tap the button twice, just in
case the opponent threw you first; then it's easier to tech hit.


cLA Combo Into Infinite:
------------------------

vs normal weight, light males:

cLA-> whiff redirect cLA down/forward\/ c.short(otg)-> s.roundhouse/\
ad.up.fwd.jab-> ad.up.fwd.short xx LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 downward->
redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (in corner) LA1 upward-> whiff LA2 down/backward->
redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite

-redirect the cLA right BEFORE the opponent reaches the apex of the hitstun
-you can just land after the LA2, but if you want, you can still leave the LA3
in, like it's the normal weight midscreen air combo.

as an alternate combo vs light males, you can do this instead; it's harder, but
more guarenteed, since you hit the opponent before he touches the ground:

cLA-> whiff redirect cLA down/forward\/ j.short xx LA1 up/forward->
whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (near corner) LA1 up/forward->
whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite

-if you end up near the corner while doing the LA1, aim LA2 downward before
ending up in the corner and let downward LA2 hit, then infinite

vs light females:

cLA-> whiff redirect cLA down/forward\/ j.short xx LA1 up/forward->
LA2 forward-> whiff LA3 down/backward-> redirect LA3 downward\/ (in corner)
infinite

-redirect the cLA right AFTER the opponent reaches the apex of the hitstun
-long pause between the LA1 and LA2 is the key

The Infinite Combo(s):
----------------------

do one of the setups above so that both requirements are fulfilled:
-your opponent is in the corner, in the air
-you're slightly out of the corner, on the ground

then do the following:

[ LA1 upward-> LA2 downward\/ ] xn*

or:

jump forward, j.short-> j.forward-> j.fierce-> j.roundhouse\/
[ jump up, j.short-> j.forward-> j.fierce-> j.roundhouse\/ ] xn^

*this is the LA infinite; there's many variants on this combo, but the main idea
is that if you want to do a LA downward, you need to be slightly out of the
corner, or you'll knock some characters out of the corner and end the infinite;
however, if the opponent is in the corner, LA upward or LA forward should never
knock the opponent out, so feel free to experiment.

^this is storm's jumping infinite; just make sure to not float, aka hold up on
the joystick during the combo and you'll be fine; this is one of the easiest
jumping infinites in the game; just time the j.roundhouse late and overall have
a slow timing to the chain and you'll be fine; on heavier characters, sometimes
you may be naturally be pushed back after a few reps if you let the opponent
get too close to the ground; simply remedy this by doing one rep of the
infinite by jumping forward, and you should be ok; i don't recommend jumping
infinite on light characters; you need to take out the j.fierce, and the timing
of this combo becomes that you need to SLOOOW it down; not easy at all.

the LA infinite can combo right into the jumping infinite(not recommended), or
you can follow the LA infinite with a s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ corner air
combo(on light characters, following LA inf with a s.roundhouse w/o s.strong is
good enough); you could do a LA infinite variant where you keep relaunching
them into an air combo ending in LA's carrying you back into the ground.
there's a lotta potential for experimentation to make your corner combos look
stylish; fool around.
i personally like this combo on normal weight characters:

setup to LA inf\/ LA inf x1, s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\
multiple sj.up.fierces air combo\/ jumping inf x2\/ c.strong(otg)-> s.forward->
s.roundhouse

this combo ALWAYS dizzies the opponent, and usually leaves them with only 10%
life left.  so it's stylish and damaging, and kinda practical; just the
s.strong-> s.roundhouse timing to catch the opponent out of the LA and still
combo to the launcher is the main key.

Anti-Juggernaut Combos:
-----------------------

you can't infinite juggernaut; he falls too fast.  however, storm can still do
100% damage on him in most cases; you have to make do with a 60+% damage combo
that dizzies him, then recombo him instead.  all the combos listed will dizzy
juggernaut, and then you can just repeat the corner air combo to kill him.  all
the combos also make do with a special "anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo"
listed at the end of the "anti-juggernaut combos" section to do the bulk of the
damage.

basic midscreen anti-juggernaut combo:

d.c.short-> c.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab, sj.up.fwd.jab->
sj.up.fwd.short xx LA1 down/forward-> whiff LA2 downward->
redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (in corner) s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\
anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo\/ c.strong(otg)-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse

-aim the 1st sj.jab at his hand.  make just a slight pause between the
redirected LA2 and the whiffed LA2.  LA1 can go forward instead of
down/forward, but the timing to combo s.strong in will be tougher.  it will
carry you forward more though, so it's ideal going from corner to corner.
-for his corner combo, instead, just modify the LA1 to go forward, make the LA2
go immediately directly down after that, and immediately add an LA3 going
directly downward as well.  then it's the same corner combo after that.

corner anti-juggernaut throw combo:

punch throw, s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo\/
c.strong(otg)-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse

-if you throw them in the air, first do LA1 upward-> LA2 upward-> LA3 downward\/
then do the above combo

cLA anti-juggernaut combo:

cLA-> whiff redirect cLA down/forward\/ c.short(otg)-> s.roundhouse/\
ad.up.fwd.jab, ad.up.fwd.jab-> ad.up.fwd.short xx LA1 down/forward->
whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (in corner) s.strong->
s.roundhouse/\ anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo\/ s.jab-> s.forward->
s.roundhouse

-redirect the cLA right BEFORE the opponent reaches the apex of the hitstun
-in the corner, just aim the 2nd LA directly down instead, and then add a 3rd LA
going directly down.

anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo:

(after s.roundhouse in the corner)
/\ (hold up) sj.up.short-> sj.up.fierce, [ sj.up.fierce-> sj.up.roundhouse ] x4,
            sj.up.fierce, sj.up.fierce, sj.up.fierce-> sj.roundhouse
  (let go of up right when you start doing the last fierce)\/

-if you haven't otg'd yet before the combo, then end the air combo with:
c.strong(otg)-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse
-if you have otg'd the opponent in the combo, even if you hit the opponent
before they touched the ground, follow the combo with:
s.jab-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse

Police Van(manhattan stage) Combos:
-----------------------------------

if comboing on the right side of the screen towards the left, you can use the
police van to add extra hits to your combo; then when it falls away, you can
either follow with the regular LA infinite or do an immediate hailstorm for good
damage:

vs juggernaut, normal weight, light males:

d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab-> sj.up.fwd.short xx LA1 forward->
whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (opponent hits van)

then take a step or two forward or backward for positioning(so that the opponent
doesn't fall out of the corner when you do the LA infinite) and then do:

LA1 upward-> LA2 upward-> LA3 downward (opponent hits van)\/ x2, infinite
(on light males, change LA2 to forward, and LA3 to whiff down/backward->
redirect downward)

vs light females:

d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab-> sj.up.fwd.short xx LA1 forward->
whiff LA2 downward-> LA3 forward-> whiff redirect LA3 down/forward\/
(opponent hits van)

take a step or two forward/backward as necessary, then:

LA1 upward-> LA2 forward-> whiff LA3 down/backward-> redirect LA3 downward\/
(opponent hits van) x2, infinite

Resets:
-------

resets are basically confusing the opponent into blocking the wrong way or
eating a non-comboed throw in the middle of a combo so that the combo meter
resets(remember, this is XvSF; almost all throws are combo starters, not enders,
so they can work as reset tools); it resets the damage scaling system, since you
essentially start a new combo, and thus enables you to do a bit more damage for
taking a gamble.

i usually don't recommend resetting in the middle of a combo with storm, because
her combos already do HUGE amounts of damage.  even if you aren't going for the
LA infinite, relaunching into her corner air combo involving multiple
sj.up.fierces hurts like hell.  why gamble away guarenteed BIG damage?

well, you sometimes aren't always playing in a tournament or the like; for those
casual matches, resetting can look very cool and fun.  so i'll put down a few
tips for storm resets; most of these will be throws, but what the heck; if
anything, resets can often just involve your imagination, since you can often
just stick throws in anywhere, especially if you're cornering the opponent in a
combo:

-after LA infinite: instead of doing s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\
*corner air combo*, you can do: s.strong, strong throw, s.strong->
s.roundhouse/\ *corner air combo*; it's more or less the same thing, but for
someone who hasn't gotten down the s.strong-> s.roundhouse timing after an LA,
it's not bad to learn; then you could mix between s.strong-> s.roundhouse and
s.strong, throw, and maybe they might eat s.strong-> s.roundhouse even if it
doesn't combo on fear of the throw.  s.jab into throw might also work better,
but you'll need to see what you like and how good you are with s.strong,
strong throw.

-this one's a bit harder, but harder to defend against than the above;  make the
tri-jump very low to the ground and fast, and it becomes very effective AND
stylish:
after LA infinite: s.strong/\ ad.dn.fwd.short\/ strong throw, etc, etc...

-during the multiple sj.up.fierces air combo: at any time you can sj.up.short,
then strong air throw.  you can then redo the infinite, or lightning storm.  to
keep them honest, sometimes you can stick in sj.up.short-> sj.up.fierce, or
some other variant starting with sj.up.short and ending with either
sj.up.fierce or sj.up.roundhouse

-after the sj.up.fierces air combo: c.strong(otg)-> s.forward, strong throw,
etc, etc...

-after jumping infinite: s.jab or s.strong, strong throw, etc, etc...  you can
also pause a bit after the s.jab/ s.strong, then triangle jump with a short
that's very low to the ground, then throw.  or follow the triangle jumping
short with an immediate c.jab-> s.short-> s.roundhouse if it hit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Runaway tactics:

runaway is basically storm's way of hanging in the air as long as possible to
avoid confrontation with the opponent; she is the best at doing this than any
other person.  generally, you only want to runaway for a couple of reasons:
-you want to build meter to hand off to your partner; if your partner has a
really good super, this isn't a bad idea.  AND, it gives them storm's powerful
counter right when they come in.
-you have a huge lead, and by playing it safe, can win by time over; this one's
a no brainer.
-your opponent is getting used to your offense, and lifebars are about even; by
switching pace you could catch him off guard for a while, then switch back to
trick him.

anyways, these are the main tools storm has to use during her runaway:

sj.up.fierce- the main tool of storm's runaway; holding up a little bit AFTER
             fierce comes out cancels the fierce's recovery prematurely.  this
             enables storm to whiff MANY of these, and since it's a heavy
             attack, not like a jab, storm can build meter THE fastest in the
             game.  storm also falls slower than normal due to holding up.  not
             a bad air-to-air weapon either; good priority.  however, the main
             reason you're running away is to avoid confrontation, so try to
             stay out of their way.  use smarts when using this move.  mainly
             you should use the fierces near the top of the superjump, then
             stop and fall normally and safely.

air dash- goes hand in hand with your super-jumping up.fierces; one way to use
         it is sorta a "reverse triangle jump" tactic; superjump with an
         immediate fierce going away from the opponent; immediately cancel that
         into an airdash down and away from the opponent, fierce, then land.
         fast and safe(for the most part).

         also a lot of potential in how you want to use this; you may want to
         use this to get a bit higher off the screen(very few characters can
         reach you when you go off the screen, giving you free sj.up.fierces
         for a bit), or position yourself higher to make your vertical typhoons
         a bit harder to reach you.  or use it to surprise your opponent when
         you get closer to the ground, and suddenly transition to offense.

LA- there are two ways to use this; either to get off the screen(aim it up),
   where only a few people can reach you here, so that you can get some free
   sj.up.fierces for meter, and prolong the time you spend burning off the
   clock.

   the other way is to save the LA for a possible threat of attack if the
   opponent chooses to come after you when you're running away.  if you're
   lucky, you could use it to setup into an infinite; if blocked, simply link
   LA2 to go up off the screen, so you can safely get away and build more
   meter.  or whiff a redirected LA1 up/forward like you're going off the
   screen, then LA2 right back at them to check, before LA3'ing off the screen
   so you can runaway.  i wouldn't use LA3 to hunt for a hit though; if
   blocked, you wouldn't be able to save your hide, esp if you LA3'd downward
   from way up.

sj.dn.strong- not a bad move to throw out during runaway; if you're going to
             throw it out, do it during the beginning of the superjump if the
             opponent is almost fullscreen; that way, if they try to chase you,
             the projectile will hamper them; don't forget that you could
             cancel it into an airdash down/backward to suddenly change
             direction.  or just follow it with some sj.up.fierces.

vertical typhoon- it's storm's slowest move; however, it will track them if they
                 don't move quickly enough.  best used when you go off the
                 screen, then just reenter it, or off an upward airdash.  it's
                 mainly used for variety and annoyance, just to keep them
                 honest and not always chasing after you.  it also enables you
                 to hang in the air a bit.  it's not as useful as it is in mvc2
                 though; if the opponent does a pushblock into superjump,
                 they'll be right there with you.  so use with discretion.

c.short- good range and speed to defend against people who repeatedly try to
        dash at you to start a combo; nothing like chun-li's c.forward though.

c.roundhouse- very good range, but somewhat slower; however not bad to use when
             the opponent is a bit further for stopping dash-ins.  but do
             cancel into something, like hailstorm or flight if it gets
             blocked.

c.fierce- mainly for stopping jump-ins; it comes out very fast.

pushblock into superjump- this is a good way to get some breathing room; if you
                         pushblocked in the air, you can hold up to
                         automatically superjump afterwards, enabling you to
                         runaway for the time being.

hail storm- ok block damage, safe upon block, covers the entire area in front of
           storm, but it has a LONG startup.  main way to burn meter with storm
           on point is using this super for block damage.  best way to make
           sure you don't get hit or trade when you pull it out is to make sure
           the opponent is in the air when you do it.  otherwise, most
           characters can do something to stop storm before she gets the super
           off.  only zangief seems unable to do anything to stop her.

           other notes: storm recovers BEFORE she touches the ground, almost
           right after the hail stops raining down.  and she's considered in
           normal jump; so you can throw out an immediate j.strong, and it will
           keep the opponent from taking to the air; ditto w/an aerial
           horizontal typhoon.  you can also try going into flight off of this
           against some characters, or airdashing down/forward with an attack
           if the opponent is somewhat close to try to go on the offense.

main gameplan: superjump away from the opponent and whiff sj.up.fierce
              repeatedly. land safely.  repeat.  when the opponent starts
              trying to chase you down, mix in airdashes and LA's to hang
              longer in the air to screw with him.  when he starts trying to
              take to the air to bring you down, get in some chip with the
              hailstorm.  play it safe, build meter, and only chip when it's
              safe to do so.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rushdown tactics:

storm's offense is VERY effective, because she can swarm her opponent better
than most other characters.  with damaging combos backing her up, and a good
ability to force the high-low-throw game, storm is very dangerous when
attempting to rush her opponent down.

triangle jump:
-mainly you triangle jump as a jump-in; because of storm's fast air dash, you
can make storm's jump-ins very fast, and thus a bit more useful than most
others.  below are storm's best triangle jump-ins:

j.fierce- your tri-jump off into this can be fairly low to the ground; plus, it
          provides quite a bit of hitstun making it very easy to dash up and
          combo afterwards.  not the fastest tri-jump attack storm can do, but
          it's fairly good all-around; aims downward a bit more than j.short
          anyways.

j.short-> j.fierce- you'll need to do the chain fairly fast if you want to be
                    able to do it from a low tri-jump.  anyways, compared to
                    j.fierce as a jump-in, it's faster, but has a LOT less
                    vertical reach.  the horizontal reach is much better
                    though, so it's your best tri-jump when a little bit
                    farther out.

j.short- rarely will you do this as a tri-jump; however, it's especially good
         if you do it up-close and the opponent blocks it; you can get tick
         throws fairly easily off of j.short up-close.  just pause slightly
         after landing then throw.  once you get the opponent jittery, you can
         mix in d.c.jabs after j.short or more tri-jumps, etc.

ground chain:
-below are the list of storm's best chains to do on the ground against an
opponent:

d.c.jab-> s.short-> s.roundhouse- its main hampering is the short range on
                                  the c.jab.  but other than that, it's great
                                  after a triangle-jump, since you'll be right
                                  up-close.  c.jab's pretty fast too.  and the
                                  large number of hits makes sure you can react
                                  to an opponent blocking early enough to
                                  decide what to do afterwards.

d.s.short-> s.roundhouse- only real weakness is that s.short can be blocked
                          standing.  best used when you see that your tri-jump
                          HIT, since it's very easy to do so, and gives you an
                          easy way to launch and air combo afterward.

d.c.short-> s.roundhouse- this is best when you are straight up just dashing
                          into the opponent w/o a tri-jump; c.short is fairly
                          long in reach.

d.c.short-> c.strong-> s.roundhouse- against juggernaut, use this over regular
                                     d.c.short-> s.roundhouse; because juggs
                                     has super armor, he doesn't feel hit
                                     effects til the 2nd hit hits, making this
                                     better over a 2-hit chain.  be prepared to
                                     possibly airdash during the air combo to
                                     reach juggernaut though.

d.c.jab- best for tick throw attempts.  throw with strong.  if not in the
         corner, follow the throw w/hailstorm; you have no guarenteed combos,
         so just get some free chip.

d.c.jab-> s.short- best for tick throw attempts.  throw with strong.  if not in
                   the corner, follow the throw w/hailstorm; you have no
                   guarenteed combos, so just get some free chip.

options after blocked s.roundhouse:
-so you're rushing the opponent down, and then you get a s.roundhouse blocked.
you pretty have a 2-way situation to get out of its slow recovery:

xx flight- flight is slightly invincible as storm's floating up, so it can be
           used to stop anyone who immediately attacks you.  you'll need to see
           what options you have after flight to maximize its use though.

xx hailstorm- hail is used when the opponent thinks you're going to go to
              flight, and thus tries to meet you in the air.  or, for the
              passive types.  against anyone with close to no range(zangief
              comes to mind), this is completely safe to always do.

main gameplan: try to land a combo, but don't get too carried away that you eat
              an anti-air.  tri-jump forces them to block high, and the ground
              forces low.  so you might dash-in and see how they react.  if you
              can't break through, mix in tri-jumps.  if that doesn't get
              through, mix in the occasional throw.  occasionally utilize hails
              and flight off of blocked moves or when the opponent superjumps,
              and you're set.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flight tactics:

it isn't mvc2 sentinel.  but there are some redeeming factors that make storm's
flight worthwhile:

-her initial startup is invincible; it's not fast, but it can avoid a lot of
stuff; use this invincibility to your advantage; one of the best ways to go
into flight is off of a blocked s.roundhouse; if the opponent is too eager to
punish, cancel into flight and they'll whiff; your initiative will then be
about 50/50.
-she can airdash in the flight; this enables her to cover ground fairly fast and
extend her pressure chains; i still don't believe you can rush like sent does,
but it's worthwhile to use in a while.
-she can cancel her f.strong into airdash or unfly; actually, an air strong can
be cancelled, period, but at flight height, you actually make the projectile
useful, instead of way high in a superjump; it's not lightning fast, but by
cancelling the recovery time, you can control space fairly well while safely
exiting flight.

flight for storm is IMO best activated after a blocked hail(depends on the
character), or after a blocked s.roundhouse; see how eager the opponent is to
attack you after those specific moves(especially s.roundhouse), and react
accordingly.

here are IMO storm's best flight options:

f.fierce- against those who try to pressure you up-close immediately after
         flight, this is your best air-to-air move.  after you do it, you can
         cancel to an airdash, so you do what you wanna do off of that.

f.dn.strong xx airdash down/backward- this is if you want to retreat; ie you
                                     just used flight to safely cancel out of
                                     something and just want to safely land;
                                     the projectile will keep them from being
                                     able to pressure you while you safely get
                                     away.

f.dn.strong xx airdash down/forward- best when done fullscreen, ie off of a
                                    blocked hail.  the projectile will help
                                    shield you while you get close to go on the
                                    offense.  if you do it after a blocked
                                    s.roundhouse, it's a little too close for
                                    the slow projectile to be effective; the
                                    opponent can easily hit you before you get
                                    it off.

airdash down/forward, f.up.fwd.fierce, f.fierce xx airdash either down/forward
                                                   or down/backward
 - this is better than the pressure cooker(see below) if you are midscreen and
   just tried to rush the opponent hoping to land a combo; the pressure
   cooker's a bit easier to get off, but fierce has better vertical priority
   than short, and since you started flight a bit up from the opponent, this is
   a no brainer; the trade off is that it's much harder to do, so if you can't
   do it, stick with the regular short-> fierce, fierce.  after you get in
   close, you can switch to the pressure cooker.  ie, start the rushdown with
   airdash into fierce, fierce, then if they don't pushblock you off, cancel
   the 2nd fierce into airdash into short-> fierce, fierce and react upon that.

[ airdash down/forward, f,short-> f.up.fwd.fierce, f.fierce xx ] xn
 - this is storm's main pressure cooker off of flight; make sure you hold up
   slightly after the 1st fierce comes out, or you won't be able to link into
   a 2nd fierce and then cancel into an airdash forward.  usually, you
   shouldn't do this more than 2x in a row, or they'll pushblock and then ream
   you.  use it to(hopefully) start a combo into air combo, or if they keep
   blocking, to apply pressure so they won't be as eager to hit you out of
   flight, enabling you to just airdash away and safely land.  if they
   pushblock you at any time, IMMEDIATELY unfly to avoid punishment.

-airdash down/forward, f.short-> f.fierce xx unfly(auto f.roundhouse)\/
 - if the pressure cooker hits, do this, and then you can followup with an
   immediate d.s.short-> aircombo for massive damage.  also, even if it doesn't
   hit, if you want to end flight up-close, this is the way to do it.

-airdash down/backward:
 - can be done straight up, off the pressure cooker, or after a f.dn.strong.
   it's mainly used to retreat safely.
   look at the options below after airdashing backwards:

  - xx unfly\/
    - fairly safe way to exit flight; you're close to the ground faraway, so
      it's impossible to punish you.  very good off a f.dn.strong.

  - f.strong xx unfly\/
    - ditto, except you throw out a f.strong close to the ground before doing
      so; you spend a bit more time, because you throw the projectile, but
      you cancel it, so you recover quickly while sending something towards the
      opponent to deal with, enabling you to land safely.

main gameplan: now, you kinda have to come up with what custom chains you wanna
              do, but in general, you airdash backwards if you're just trying
              to safely retreat, and airdash forwards if the opponent's passive
              and you wanna pressure them.  if they try to pressure you
              air-to-air, use f.fierce.  use the pressure cooker no more than
              2x; preferably once.  don't spend too much time in flight; get
              in, do your thing and quickly get out; if you keep flying around
              trying to land a hit, the opponent will eventually land a hit on
              you, since storm can't block.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Putting It All Together:

so, we've basically, summarized 2 main ways for storm to be played:
-rushdown
-runaway

of rushdown; there's two main ways to play her:
-ground chains, tri-jumps and throws
-flight

to be a really effective storm, you have to just combine everything together.
unless if you're a lifebar behind, mix between rushdown and runaway.  when
rushing, have the occasion where you just poke and tri-jump, looking to start a
combo.  have other times when you go into flight and CAREFULLY poke a few.  etc.
after all, storm's greatest strength is her versatility, so you want to see what
makes your opponent play worse.

if you're low on life and think you're gonna die, you can build as much meter as
possible so that your next character has a good amount of meter to work with.
it's not always the best idea, but it should be considered.

and finally, when using your other character, always try to have at least 1
meter set aside; remember that one of storm's greatest assets is her cLA; you
can interrupt blockstun into cLA, so you'd be surprised at the number of times
you'd get to have that thing connect, over trying to start an infinite as storm
herself.  i can't stress it enough; you practically soup your other character's
defense by miles with a meter and storm sitting on the sidelines.
and guess what that does to any opponent?  it takes away many of their options.
moves that originally seemed safe to throw out against you, now become too
risky.  your opponent is forced to attack you less aggressively, and to play it
safe more.
and that enables you to take charge of the match.  i'm of course, not advocating
turtling and hunting for cLA.  but you can obviously see the potential, as it
enables you to play a much fuller, stronger game, as you don't need to fear
hiding from your opponent's offense.
just imagine; you build one meter as soon as possible right at the beginning of
the match.  then if the opponent gives away even a hint of a recovery time,
counter, then infinite.  then just runaway from the 2nd character, and if you
don't do anything drastically stupid, you pretty much sealed the match without
storm seeing any real offensive play.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Suggestions:

Storm's a team player; thus, you kinda have to see what your other character
needs, and then put storm 1st or 2nd, depending on their ability to quickly
build meter or use it.  These of course, aren't all the good Storm teams, but a
few notable ones IMO.  However, because cLA is SO STRONG, look to put Storm 2nd
whenever possible, unless if your other character absolutely needs meter badly;
you'd be surprised how much of your opponent's game you can take away from them
just by having a meter to spare and storm waiting in the sidelines.

Cyclops/Storm
-if you go by top tiers, this is supposed to be the strongest XvSF team.  both
can infinite from midscreen into the corner.  cyke has RIDICULOUS priority on
his c.forward and s.roundhouse as defensive moves.  he can play a keepaway
game, and his mega optic blast does huge block damage.  he also builds meter
pretty well, and can stall like storm.  his throws are very good.  and when he
has storm waiting in the sidelines ready to counter, well...

Magneto/Storm
-if you've played MVC2 this one should be a no-brainer; all-out triangle jumping
offense; this team can overwhelm anyone who is not on their toes with their
defensive skills, and is IMO one of the most fun teams to play around with;
combos galore.  not to mention magneto with storm counter backing him up is
scary.

Storm/Chun-Li
-this is probably the only team in XvSF with storm in it, where i absolutely
recommend storm going 1st; chun-li builds meter fairly well herself, but storm
builds it so much faster, and chun is a COMPLETELY different character without
any meter; she's just a good poker.  with meter though, and c.forward's range
and priority, she becomes a beastly turtler.  and her throw range is pretty
good, so that when they get scared of attacking due to c.forward xx kick super,
you can tick throw them.

Rogue/Storm
-rogue does NOT need meter to do damage; her air combos do more than a combo
into her super.  and her offense is pretty good; the only real weakness is the
lack of damaging throws.  thus, in that sense, she builds meter VERY quickly.
so imagine how scary rogue + storm counter can be.

Wolverine/Storm
-because of wolvie's ability to gain meter insanely fast, via sj.strong
repeatedly, he can soup his defense incredibly quickly right at the start of
the match.  enough said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well, it's come to the end of this FAQ.  remember; all this knowledge is useless
if you don't practice against many different players.  storm has all the right
tools to take down almost any single character in XvSF, but to fully utilize
those tools, you need to pick up on experience, or it'll all just be for
nothing.

end

You are viewing proxied material from gopher.endangeredsoft.org. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.