ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ °°ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ°°°°°ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ°°°°ÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛ°ÛÛÛÛÛ°ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ °°° °°° °ÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛ°°ÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛ °°ÛÛÛ °°ÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛ °°° °ÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ°°°° °ÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛ °°ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ °°ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ ÛÛÛ Û ÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛ °°ÛÛÛÛÛ °°ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ °°°°° °°°°° °°°°° °°°°°°°°° °°°°°°°°°° ADVANCED STRATEGY FAQ by Joseph Christopher version 1.1 June 12, 2001 this faq is copyright 2001-2002 Joseph Christopher * I'll make this short: no stealing of ideas, no posting of edited versions, and no money-making via this file whatsoever. Also, I will not be held liable for anything related to this piece of reading material. The characters and other names mentioned here are copyrights of their respective companies. * Until recently I have been very lazy in writing faqs and even now I can't find it in my strength to write a guide for a specific character. However my interest in MvC2 is ever growing that I decided to write a faq like this, which could give you that specific strat you need to finally dominate in your local arcade or even your local tourney. * I'll assume you already know all conventional notations, gaming terms, and the like so I could get straight to the point. Why read this guide: I. My MvC2 Tiers II. Top Tier Strats III. Second Tier Strats IV. Third Tier and Below V. Credits VI. Revision History VII. Final Words %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ____ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ ___ ___ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___ (_ _) ( \/ )( \/ ) ( \/ )( \/ ) / __)(__ \ (_ _)(_ _)( ___)( _ \ / __) _)(_ ) ( \ / ) ( \ / ( (__ / _/ )( _)(_ )__) ) / \__ \ (____)() (_/\/\_) (__) (_/\/\_) \/ \___)(____) (__) (____)(____)(_)\_) (___/ If you plan to learn from ME, then you must know MY strengths and weaknesses. These are MY MvC2 tiers. They are based on who I OFTEN WIN WITH OR LOSE AGAINST. So don't go blasting my Inbox with quotes like "Man, what were you thinking? [blah blah blah] rules!!!" This list is pretty loose, and I've included Semi-Tiers to hold a place for the highly debatable characters. [in alphabetical order] TOP TIER Blackheart, Cable, Cyclops, Dr. Doom, Magneto, Sentinel, Spiral, Storm, Strider SEMI-TOP TIER Cammy, Capt. Commando, Dhalsim, Iceman, Iron Man, Psylocke, War Machine SECOND TIER Bone Claw Wolverine, Jin, Juggernaut, Ken, Megaman, Morrigan, Omega Red, Ruby Heart, Silver Samurai SEMI-SECOND TIER Akuma, Anakaris, Colossus, Felicia, Rogue, Sabretooth, Tron Bonne THIRD TIER BB Hood, Bison, Capt. America, Charlie, Gambit, Guile, Jill, Ryu, Thanos, Venom, Wolverine FOURTH TIER Amingo, Hulk, Kobun, Marrow, Sakura, Shuma Gorath, Sonson FIFTH TIER Chunli, Dan, Hayato, Roll, Spiderman, Zangief %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ____ ____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ (_ _)(_ _) (_ _)( _ )( _ \ (_ _)(_ _)( ___)( _ \ _)(_ _)(_ )( )(_)( )___/ )( _)(_ )__) ) / (____)(____)() (__) (_____)(__) (__) (____)(____)(_)\_) ___ ____ ____ __ ____ ___ / __)(_ _)( _ \ /__\ (_ _)/ __) \__ \ )( ) / /(__)\ )( \__ \ (___/ (__) (_)\_)(__)(__) (__) (___/ Included here are the most commonly used advanced strategies for members of my Top and Semi-Top Tier, their recommended teammates, and the opponents they should watch out for. 1) BLACKHEART - Mainly used for his Anti-Air Assist (AAA) which tracks an opponent down and can hit anyone from any height (besides out of the screen height), Blackheart is not without a decent strategy when up front. Super jump backwards, hk Demons to rain on your opponent, and air dash back for an opportunity to use your hp Demons, which in turn would give you landing cover. This strategy alone builds lotsa meter which can readily be wasted on an Inferno (hcb+p) cancelled into the Heart of Darkness (qcf+2k). Even if blocked, this super can take roughly up to 10% of an opponent's life away in chip damage! Of course, you can opt NOT to burn that meter and instead waste it all on the better point characters like Cable and Sentinel. The above strategy is best used with Doom AAA since you can call Doom before you super jump for even more chip. However, there is another type of Blackheart which concentrates on rushdown rather than keepaway. One variety is to do normal jumps back and forth while throwing hp and hk Demons all over the place and calling Doom AAA as often as possible to chip like hell. This could be used as an anti-pixie (ahem, Magneto) strategy, or if they get a little too close then you can out-prioritize them with a j.lk and try to work your way into a HOD. Another variation would be like the keep away strat, except that you super jump forward instead of backwards. This type of strat best works with Cyclops AAA, since if you call him before super jumping and if he connects, Blackheart can throw down hk Demons, air dash, throw them again, land, super jump, and throw more hk Demons and repeat the process for a very cool infinite combo, or just finish it off with a HOD while the opponent is trapped within the hk Demons. Iceman is, hands down, Blackheart's greatest fear since our cool friend here doesn't give a damn about chip. Iceman is the only character who can out-turtle Blackheart, primarily because for the big guy, the only way to damage a blocking Iceman is to throw him, which is pretty risky. One on one, Blackheart is sure to lose, but with Doom AAA, he just might still have a chance. Another character of note is Spiral, who, because of her almighty teleport, can escape just about anything Blackheart tries to hurl at her. CapComm AAA would probably take her out, but Blackheart and CapComm on one team just doesn't seem right. Well, that's if Blackheart is aimed at killing Iceman. But most of the time, it won't be the case, since Blackheart could just be the teams' main battery. Then Iceman dies to the likes of Sentinel. Another character to watch out for is Cable. If he is able to pin you down with assists and Grenades, you're in for a lot of trouble. Be careful using your AAA and HOD against him, since can block and AHVB afterwards. And even in the HOD's case, he can take the hit AND AHVB afterwards, ensuring success because of the "flying screen" effect the HOD brings, making Blackheart totally vulnerable to quick start-up attacks. Oh and, as far as Blackheart AAA is concerned, the people who can utilize this most are MvC2's resident trappers: Doom, Sent, and Spiral. 2) CABLE - The only hope for a scrub to actually win, Cable's main advantage lies in the extremely short start-up time of his Hyper Viper Beam (qcf+2p) when done in mid-air. And if that ain't enough, it's Cable who gets to benefit from most of MvC2's flaws in its gaming system. For starters, Capcom has programmed the game in such a way that if you do a "Tiger Knee" motion or qcf+uf instead of qcf, your character will jump a little and do the mid-air version of your super (assuming it has a mid-air version). Well it's Cable who utilizes this most since it's his Air Hyper Viper Beam that has almost zero start-up thus can be comboed into ITSELF, with the help of the "Tiger Knee" motion. And if that ain't enough, Capcom also made it so if you block during a normal jump, there is a small window of vulnerability before you land. Well guess what? With Cable's jumping hp you can make your opponent block and consequently eat an AHVB. People with mid-air moves and instant or invincible moves can just do those moves to counter the guard break attempt, but the only universal counter for that strat (as far as normal guard breaking rules were concerned) was to take the hit of the jumping hp. But in Cable's case, the hp combos into AHVB thus making the said super virtually impossible to escape! With Cable and 5 levels of super meter, you can kill anyone from 100% health and almost for certain cut his/her teammate from 100 to 50 percent life. How? Well first nail em with an AHVB (hold down while mashing). Then do the Tiger Knee AHVB and hold up while mashing. Finally jump straight up and do a normal AHVB and mash without directions. If comboed from Cable's bread and butter: j.hk, s.lk, s.mk, s.hk, AHVB, this should kill almost anyone and bring out their teammate. Now jump back and do a hp in mid-air as the opponent's teammate enters the screen. Land, and if the opponent blocks, wait for a sec and AHVB (hold up while mashing) then combo into another Tiger Knee AHVB. If the opponent pushblocks, do the same thing but hold down while mashing on the first AHVB. And if the opponent takes the hit, don't wait anymore. Just do the AHVB as soon as you see the opponent's body taking the damn bullet. And because Cable is at his best with 5 levels of super meter, he must always have a teammate who can build meter fast, perfect examples of which would be Spiral and Storm, although a good rushdown character like Magneto and Cammy can refrain from using supers to save them for "the man". There are also two types of Cables. The more popular keep away Cable, which utilizes jump back Viper Beams (qcf+p) and super jump back Grenades (qcb+k), and the rushdown Cable, which concentrates on connecting his jumping hk to combo into a standing hk and into an AHVB x3. The first type is helped best by Cyclops AAA since he helps so much in keeping people away, not to mention giving Cable a free AHVB x3 everytime that AAA connects, although you have to remember that the first AHVB must be done during the first hit of the AAA, otherwise you'll probably only get AHVBs to combo. The second type on the other hand is best paired up with an AAA like Psylocke's which can be comboed into a crouching lk, standing hk, AHVB x3. You may also just AHVB as soon as the AAA connects, and it's actually a little easier to get three AHVBs out since she doesn't knock people too high. Cable pretty much loses to rushdown, even if he tries to rush himself, thus the opponents of note are Magneto, Strider, Cammy, and Storm, although Storm has more than just rushdown to shut Cable up; she has runaway. And speaking of alternative ways to beat Cable, Spiral has her wall of swords which would constantly stuff any AHVB attempts. And even if one gets through, she can always teleport. Iceman, on the other hand, can't be chipped, so turtling for the ice cream man can be very rewarding, although again if Cable has chipper assists then bye-bye Iceman. Cable also has no way (besides vertical and close to vertical AAAs) to protect the area directly above him (hence the Storm runaway start to kill Cable), so people like Blackheart, who can keep it to the top of the screen, can pretty much waste him if he doesn't get to trap with assists, jumping Viper Beams, and Grenades first. 3) CAMMY - She's got the rushdown, she's got the AAA, she's got the look. As point, not as good as Magneto and Storm, but good nonetheless. She has no air dashes to complete her rushdown quality, but her ground dash is among the fastest in the game. Combos are also very sweet, and that's why she is a formidable foe even among the solid top tier. And to use her to the fullest, there is only one thing to remember: c.lk, c.hp, sj.lp, sj.lk, sj.Cannon Drill(qcf+hk), Killer Bee Assault (qcf+2p). You can even OTG into the same combo if the opponent doesn't roll immediately. Cammy is plain rushdown at point, and a lot of people can enhance the rushing qualities of their teammates. Psylocke is one and Cyclops is another, that is, if you're planning raw offense. Otherwise, good ways to keep your assaults retaliation-free would be to have Doom(B) and Sent(y) backing you up. Magneto and Storm are probably Cammy's greatest foes, since they are everything she is and more. Anti-rushdown teams like Strider-Doom and Sent-Blackheart also come to mind. But other than those Cammy would probably at least put up a good fight. As for her AAA, well it has the reputation of stuffing the Strider-Doom trap, and that in itself should already be a reason to call it a great assist. However the fun doesn't stop there. Because her AAA (on the way up) is invulnerable to a lot of things, it also has the reputation of having the ability to stuff LOTS of other traps, including Doom-Blackheart and all similarly fashioned, "rain of projectiles" type of trap. Cammy can be a good compliment for any team, be it keep away, so as to serve as anti-rush, or in a rushdown team, to serve as ANTI-anti-rush. =) 4) CAPT. COMMANDO - CapComm AAA is just like Blackheart's only his comes out faster, has more priority, and dishes out much more damage. The only thing it doesn't have is the ability to track opponents down, and that's why many teams would still rather have Blackheart's AAA than Commando's. As far as I know, only the Strider-Doom team, unique as it is, may need the kind help CapComm AAA offers. Pure rushdown teams often need setup AAAs like those of Psylocke and Cyclops, while keep away ones would need locker AAAs like those of Blackheart and Sent. The only thing Strider- Doom needs is someone who could bring a runaway Storm back to the ground, so might as well do that with massive damage, something CapComm AAA is famous for. But, in the case of one-on-ones or simply cases wherein you're waiting for your main character to heal, CapComm has but one major trick up his sleeve: the jump back hp. It has sick priority, and coupled with extended range, catches even the rushdown veterans off guard, giving way to a dash-in c.lk, c.hp, Captain Storm (qcf+2k) and OTG into your favorite aerial rave. Sadly, CapComm can only do so much, and at most stall the opponent. He really doesn't win by himself, and fears pretty much every solid ground- based trap in the game. But, if he were to choose his helpers, he'd probably go for Doom(B), Cammy(a), and Iceman(a) for an even greater stalling game. He may also go for Cyclops AAA, since it's a good setup for the Captain Sword, which wrecks major havoc. 5) CYCLOPS - Nothing much can be said about this X-men leader, but that doesn't mean he's a bad choice. It's just that he's got what it takes to be semi-top tier wihtout much strategy. Cyclops, like CapComm is just another staller. As point, he has but one extremely useful strategy: build meter. And this is done by repeatedly hitting hk while super jumping. Cyclops' mid- air hk also has sick priority and quite an extended range. Coupled with a double jump, you can throw out a LOT of hks per trip to the air, and easily get yourself 5 levels of meter. And once you've charged it all up, the path branches two different ways. Path one suggests you burn all that super on Mega Optic Blasts (qcf+2p), heavily draining an opponent's life away in chip damage (since actually connecting a MOB is pretty tough save for a few combos like the Cyclone Kick -> MOB). This path also suggests that you choose the other major chippers like Doom(B) and Iceman(a). The other, more popular path is to simply use Cyclops for his invaluable AAA, and suggests that, after building 5 levels of super meter, switch to your teammate safely by DHC or alpha counter, and let him/her do all the meter burning. And speaking of his AAA, this assist is probably the only one that keeps the opponent extremely vulnerable for a very long period of time, enough for nearly every super in the combo to combo into. This AAA, coupled with Cyclops' ability to build meter like hell when he's at point, makes him one of the best teammates for meter hogs like Cable, Sent, Blackheart, Magneto, and Spiral (because of her killer 3-level super) Remember to watch out for Iceman, the beammer's ultimate nightmare. He can out-turtle you and can throw out anticipating Icebeams to put a stop to your super jump hk strategy. Other than him, Cyclops can pretty much hold his own in a fight, although again like CapComm cannot really win by himself. 6) DHALSIM - OMG, it's the runaway king! With Dhalsim on your side you can do runaway literally FOREVER!! His runaway teleport (b,d,db+2p), besides being a move that can be done in mid-air indefinitely, resets his air dash counter, meaning as long as he teleports, he can also air dash forever! Even high-reaching AAAs like those of Blackheart and CapComm will have a VERY tough time bringing this plastic man back to earth once he's got in touch with the bliss from above. With that strat alone you could already win lots and lots of matches, but that's not the only way Dhalsim can take home the trophy. In fact, you can just use it as battery, and we all know batteries are just the tip of the iceberg. As I've said, Dhalsim as an invaluable air dash that he can do over and over as long as he does a corresponding teleport. Well what I haven't mentioned yet is the fact that this air dash is F.A.S.T. It even rivals that of Magneto himself! And because of this great asset, Dhalsim can now add rushdown to his winning techniques. Super jump, air dash down- forward and cross-up with a light yet quick attack, ground combo into Yoga Inferno(qcf+2p) DHCed into something more damaging. Or just air dash behind, land and grab with a Yoga Strike(hcb+p) and mash like hell. Sounds good, and that's not even the best of Dhalsim. The Yoga Master's main weapon is his keep away ability. A couple of standing and/or crouching weak-to-strong chains on a blocking opponent will keep him/her pinned quite constantly. Opponent tries to jump? Dashing s.hk will shut him up. Opponent is already in mid-air? sj.hk will bring him back down. It's as easy as that. Not dealing too much damage himself, Dhalsim would definitely have to rely on his chipping assists to do the dirty work. And what could be better chippers than Doom(B), Sent(y), and Iceman(a). On runaway he should be dropping these assists before he takes off, on rushdown he better drop em while or before air dashing, and on keep away he can just drop em anytime!! Of course, for a third member IMO Blackheart should be a constant. He just triples Dhalsim's lockdown qualities. Only two assists can counter Dhalsim's type of runaway since he actually does NOT need to land. And those two are the AAAs of Blackheart and CapComm As for both his rushdown and his keep away, any immediate AAA like those of Cammy and CapComm would prove quite annoying, and the fact that Dhalsim has low stamina makes it quite lethal as well. So as you may have noticed, CapComm should be the all-around anti-Dhalsim. 7) DR. DOOM - Currently the best character in the game (many people argue, IMO he still is), Dr. Doom is the perfect example of versatility: great assists coupled with great keep away games, not to mention a good amount of rushdown and chipping strats at point. Let's tackle these great assests one by one ok? Here goes... The assist: Doom has two unique and extremely useful assists, namely, the Photon Shot (a) and the Molecular Shield (B). The former covers a lot of space, and is used mainly to further tighten traps and projectile wars like those of Spiral and Sent. However the same holds true for his AAA or his Molecular Shield (B) assist, since those rocks also scatter themselves after reaching half a screen's distance. But the real reason why his AAA is considered not only the best AAA but the best ASSIST in the game is its versatility. Pick any character, any character at all, and Doom AAA will somehow find its way to usefulness for that character. For rushdown characters, it keeps the opponent blocking and/or guessing where to block. For the keep away peeps, it first backs them up (hence "Shield") and then it actually adds things (rocks) to keep away with. And for chipping games, well how much chip do you think a bunch of swirling rocks for several seconds can do to you? I will no longer be discussing those who can fully utilize this assist cause there simply are too many. The keep away game: Doom has two main keep away games, one is aimed at chipping an opponent to death, another is to just build some quick meter. The first one is done by repeatedly throwing out Air Photon Shots (hcb+p) while super jumping away from the opponent. The opponent can do two things to counter this. One is to dash-in directly below you and wait for your decent, in which case you should air dash forward and start raining down Photon Shots on him/her from there. The other is to super jump with you and nail you in mid-air, in which case you can opt to do an air hp (laser gun) as soon as you super jump so as to nail the opponent at the peak when the laser has already reached the other side of the screen, OR you could just air dash in the same direction as your super jump at the peak of the jump and start raining Photon Shots from the top of the screen. This type of strategy is best complimented by another massive chipper like Iceman and his projectile assist, or a good solid, pinning AAA like that of Blackheart. The second main keep away game of Doom is done by repeatedly jumping back, hitting the hp as soon as you jump. The result as an almost gapless stream of lasers which, although does not deal chip damage, gives the opponent a good block stun and keeps him/her at the other side of the screen, thus 5 levels of super meter in a jiffy. This type of straegy is best used with helpers that can take care of those who could super jump during the slight gaps. Such a helper is Blackheart. Another idea would be to have a helper who could take care of those who could dash-in from under the lasers, and such a helper would be Capt. Commando. Lastly, to turn this strat into a chipping game instead we better choose Iceman, since those hp lasers of Doom virtually guarantee lotsa free Ice Beams. Doom, as point, relies very much on energy based attacks, and will not be able to fare well against that no-chip bastard Iceman. When up against ol Frosty, it is recommended to simply restort to building meter with the jump back laser strategy, otherwise your efforts are futile. But other than Iceman, no one really gives Doom a hard time, except if the opponent is using AAAs that go through his projectiles, like those of Ken and Cammy. When up against those helpers, be ready to air dash forward or away from them as soon as you see their icons at the bottom of the screen. You'll just have to be a little more alert, but in the end you WILL survive. Other tricks to know when using Doom are, first, the air hk cancel trick. Basically you just do a D+hk when in mid-air. This causes you to slowly try to stomp on your opponent. And just when the opponent thinks you're wide open, boom! Photon Array (qcb+2p)! The second thing to remember is the insane priority of his c.lp. This attack stuffs most c.lps and c.lks in the game so learn to abuse it to your advantage. Of course, landing a c.lp means you'll get a free aerial rave, and that's where our third and fourth trick is geared for. Third trick, when going for a Photon Array in an aerial rave, don't just do da magic series cancelled into Photon Array cause you'll tend to miss a LOT of those lasers. What you should do is sj.lp, sj.lk, sj.mp, sj.mk, (and here's the important part) sj. hp, Photon Array. No, the hp laser will NOT combo, but it will move Doom upwards a little enough to get him into a position where ALL of the lasers in the Photon Array will connect. Just remember to IMMEDIATELY cancel the sj.hp into the Photon Array. You'll know you did it right if the hp laser didn't even come out of Doom's hand. The fourth trick is Doom's corner infinite: Launcher, sj.lk, sj.mp, sj.hk, Flight (qcb+2k), [sj.lk, sj.mk, sj.hk, Flight] x2, [sj.lk, sj.hk, Flight] xINF . . . . . Enjoy!! 8) ICEMAN - If chip damage was the only type of damage this game offered, Iceman would have been the sole candidate for Top Tier. He is, hands down, the game's Master of Chip, since besides taking no chip damage AT ALL from energy based attacks and some others, he has in his arsenal one of the most chip-damaging moves in the game, the Ice Beam (qcf+p). Iceman's specific strategies vary from opponent to opponent, from teammate to teammate, and from situation to situation. For beammer opponents like Cable and Cyclops, for example, it's all about turtling. Get the lead, and win by time over. Or just make them wanna throw you and be prepared for it. If you could throw THEM instead then it's a free aerial rave for you. For locker teammates like Blackheart and Sent, on the other hand, as you call for help, super jump and do an Ice Beam at an angle depending on where you think the opponent will be. And for one-on-one situations, never forget to push block and Ice Beam immdeiately afterwards cause it never fails to catch people off guard. On a side note, if you plan on comboing an Artic Attack (qcf+2p) in an aerial rave, do an Ice Beam first but don't even let it leave his hands and cancel IMMEDIATELY to the super; this will levitate Iceman a little higher thus enabling a LOT more of those bits of ice to connect. Whenever Iceman super jumps and throws an Ice Beam diagonally downward, he controls half of the upper part of the screen and half of the lower part. BUT he is VERY vulnerable from the other two "halves", thus the right assists for him are those that could cover at least one of his two major openings. Doom AAA would be the man for the job if you prefer covering the area directly below Iceman, although anyone with a horizontal assist would do. As for the area directly across Iceman, Blackheart AAA is best suited for this task, although again any assist that could reach that part of the screen (like Cable AAA, barely) may be used. Iceman's greatest fear is the Strider-Doom trap, since his no-chip policy can't save his hide from this type of threat. Also, Iceman can't block forever, so pure rushdown teams like those with Magneto, Storm, Psylocke, or worse, all of them would definitely give our cool friend here a very tough time. Any rushdown team with Doom AAA should also be a threat. As for Spiral, well Ice Beams cut through her wall of swords, but she can out-teleport any Ice Beam attempt. And if her swords get close enough, most Ice Beam attempts will get stuffed. But the most important factor here is the fact that her swords WILL deal chip damage on a blocking Iceman, thus her status as a natural threat. 9) IRON MAN - Iron Man has, like a lot of my Top and Semi-Top Tier, two ways to get his team closer to victory. One of them is simple, super jump back and Smart Bomb(lk+hp) like crazy, just like how Doom rains Photon Shots on his hapless opponents, only this time holding forward or backward can increase or decrease the range of the bombs respectively. And like Doom, good ways to counter those who would super jump with you are to fire horizontally as you jump, in this case with a Unibeam(qcf+p), or to just air dash up-back and get more chances of throwing them smart-ass bombs. If they dash-in under, air-dash forward and drop bombs from there. Other tricks learned from Doom include stomping tricks. Do a d+hk in mid-air to try to double knee stomp the opponent, but cancel into the air dash and into more Smart Bombs if you detect an AAA comin. Best assists for the job are Doom(B), Iceman(a), and Sent(y) to call on just before you super jump for more chip. The other, more frightening strat is to focus on landing an infinite combo. That's pretty tough, cause besides having to actually hit those who refuse to get hit and keep you as far away from them as possible, the infinite itself needs some getting used to. You just can't go all- out dialing those buttons cause timing is VERY essential. Ok, first things first, here's the infinite (opponent in mid-air): [ [jump] j.lp, j.mp, [pause] j.lk, [pause] j.uf+hp ] xINF Sometimes you won't be able to it right, since the opponent is too low, in those cases you better continue with [jump] j.lk, [pause] j.mk, [pause] j.uf+hp to remedy the situation. Then proceed with the normal way to do the infinite. Eventually you'll reach the corner, and that's where you can just do the "remedy" part over and over. And remember to cancel into the Proton Cannon as soon as you land if you're garnering around 50+ hits already, cause the game won't allow you to proceed and "undizzy" the opponent, breaking him free from the infinite. So how do you actually get to start this mofo? Three ways: First is to combo into it. Easiest way to do this is c.lk, c.hk, [jump] sj.df+hp, air dash down-forward, then do the infinite I just said. Second is to use a setup assist. Who else would come to mind but Cyclops and Psylocke, the two best combo setup peeps in MvC2. Just do it as the assist connects, as simple as that. Third way is what makes Iron Man as lethal is they comes---to Guard Break. You see the potential in this? Means if your opponent's entire team is composed of characters without any air manuevering abilities whatsover, and you start the infinite, the match is won! How do you do the guard break? Simple again, just do a j.uf+hp, it'll even combo into the infinite if they decide to take the hit. Now THAT'S scary!! 10) MAGNETO - Are cross-ups your area of expertise? Do you hate the slow paced game of keep away? Then the Master of Magnetism is the man for you. Finding an opening to start a huge combo is generally tough, but this man begs to differ. Let's see how..... The dash-in: Magneto has the fastest dash in the game, therefore it is he who can most easily punish the mistakes off an opponent. Unlike the other characters in the game, if you happen to block a projectile super from across the screen, chances with Magneto are you can dash-in all the way from the other side and nail em with a big, nasty aerial rave. The cross-up: There are two major ways by which Magneto can cross an opponent up. One is to super jump forward WITH A SJ.HK and quickly air dash down-forward before the screen even leaves the opponent. With proper spacing achieved through practice, this allows Magneto to end up at the back of the opponent's neck, an area defined as the main target of a cross-up. Now hit hp or hk and you will be able to combo into an aerial rave. The other cross-up is done AFTER the aerial rave. Naturally your opponent falls and gets up first. So what you do is fall directly above him facing one direction then quickly manuever yourself via air dash at the last second to end up again at the back of his/her neck, for yet another free aerial rave. The throw: Magneto has two throws, and both contribute a LOT to opening an opponent up for a combo. Sometimes you encounter an opponent who justs knows when you're gonna cross-up and blocks the other way. Now you've got throwing, and it's gonna be yet another threat he/she would have to anticipate. The first throw, using a hp, envelops an opponent with metallic debris in an effort to render him immobile. This only lasts for a very short time especially if you're opponent is good at mashing, but with Magneto's great dashing speed he could probably barely connect his c.lk just before the opponent is able to block. Another free aerial rave for you. The second throw is the hk throw, which slams the opponent to the ground. This obviously opens them up for an OTG, which of course leads to yet another aerial rave. It's best to do these throws in the corner since, for the hp throw, the opponent bounces up and down, and he CAN'T escape while bouncing, meaning loads of free time for a combo. The hk throw on the other hand, will be UNROLLABLE and can be comboed into a c.lk, c.hk, Hyper Grav, then do what you like. The assist: Although Magneto is a great character that can generally still fight relentlessly even without an assist, it would still be a lot greater if he had one right? Yep, and since Magneto's aerial raves are as damaging as hell, it doesn't matter if his assists gave his opponent's life back, as long as it sets him/her up for a certified Magneto combo. And the award of the best Magneto assist goes to, well TWO peeps, namely, Psylocke and Cyclops!! With Psylocke AAA the opponent is opened up for an OTG which leads to a big aerial rave. With Cyclops AAA on the other hand, the opponent is raised to super jump, thus if you dash directly below them and super jump, you have just "manually" started an aerial rave! Side note: Have you ever tried Bone Claw Wolverine's gamma assist with Magneto? It's pretty cool I tell ya. With the only low hitting assist in the game, Magneto doesn't need to make sure he crosses the opponent up, if Wolvie is able to keep em blocking low, Mags will get free aerial raves all the time! This is serious shit. Try it! Ok, now you know the setups, now you must know how to fully take advantage of every opportunity. I won't be giving out a whole list of the many varieties of the famous Magneto combos, only those that are simple and have their distinct strategies involved. First of all you must understand that when I say Grav-Tempest, I mean Hyper Gravitation (hcb+k) cancelled into Magnetic Tempest (qcf+2p). The timing is pretty tricky at first, cause if you do it too fast, the Grav won't come out, but if you do it too slow, it won't combo. Also, these moves alone will cannot be the last hit of an aerial rave, since they are too slow. But together, the temporary game freeze cause by a super (namely the Tempest) doesn't affect the Grav, so it continues to travel towards the opponent and in effect counts as a combo from the last normal hit (usually sj.mk). And with the Grav holding the opponent in place, comboing the Tempest follows naturally. Of course, the Grav can be mashed out of, and that's why you must be choosy on who to execute Grav-Tempest combos on. Anyway, on to the combos: c.lk, c.hp, [jump] sj.lp, sj.lk, sj.mp, sj.mk, Grav-Tempest ----------------------------------------------------------- This should be second nature to you if you plan on going pro with Mags c.lk, c.hp, [jump] sj.lp, sj.lk, sj.mp, sj.mk, Grav-Tempest, sj.d+lk, sj.mk, air dash up-forward, ad.lp, ad.lk, ad.mp, ad.mk, Grav-Tempest, sj.d+lk, sj.mk, Grav-Tempest, sj.d+lk, sj.mk, sj.hp --------------------------------------------------------------------- Now that's what I'm talkin about!! Be prepared to practice hard for this combo, since after the air-dash you will be facing the opposite direction thus reversing the required joystick motion to execute the Grav-Tempest. Also remember to IMMEDIATELY hit the opponent after the Grav-Tempest. That's the only way to keep the combo goin. c.lk, c.hp, [jump] sj.hk, air dash down-forward, ad.lk, ad.mk, [land] c.hp, Magnetic Shockwave (qcf+2p) --------------------------------------------------------------------- This is for the quite paranoid. If you really think your opponent has the skill to mash out of your Tempest combos, then try this on for size. I could've just said c.hp, Magnetic Shockwave, but it's quite tough to combo the super on reaction. Going back to non-combo related things, Magneto works best with, besides Psylocke and Cyclops, characters who generally give all rushdown peeps a solid back-up. Examples of such characters include Doom(B) and Sent(y). As for bad match-ups, although anyone with an immediate AAA could give Magneto quite a tough time, anyone else would probably be at a disadvantage. An exception would be Strider-Doom. Doom AAA generally wouldn't give Magneto much trouble since he could just air dash over it or just hit Doom in the head to stop him. But in the case of Strider-Doom, Strider gets to the other side of the screen, thus leaving Magneto with nothing to combo, especially if dogs and birds start coming his way from behind. In this case Magneto would need a solid Strider-Doom breaker like the AAAs of Cammy and Ken. 11) PSYLOCKE - Psylocke made it to my semi-top tier simply because her AAA is the easiest to set a big aerial rave up from. With Psylocke AAA, rushdown peeps all over the MvC2 character select screen can focus their frustrations on the combos themselves, and no longer the "trying to start it" part. The peeps who can utilize this great rushdown tool the most are Magneto (duh), Storm, and even Cammy. As point, however, Psylocke plain sucks (at least in Top Tier terms). She's got quite a big combo, c.lk, c.hp, [jump] sj.lp, sj.lk, sj.mp, sj.mk, sj.UF+hk, double jump, dj.lp, dj.lk, dj.mp, dj.mk, dj.UF+hk, triple jump, tj.lp, tj.lk, tj.mp, tj.mk, tj.UF+hk, Psy-Blade (qcf+k), Kochou Gakure (qck+2k) but it doesn't really deal frightening damage compared to Cable's AHVBs and Magneto's Grav-Tempests. Compared to the rushdown experts like Magneto and Storm, Psylocke has nothing since she has no 8-way air dash to cross opponents up. And compared to Cammy, Psylocke isn't that small to allow her to dash under most traps nor does she have that invincible anti-air that'll allow her to nail airborne trappers safely. Don't get me wrong, Psylocke is quite a toughie at point. She's got a very fast dash and a triple jump that can really fake the crap out of most people. But against members of the top tier? Let's just keep her for her AAA, ok? =) 12) SENTINEL - Being a great big robot and all, Sent has the highest stamina in the game and can eat supers without much worry. Usually, this should mean he's got a whole bunch o weaknesses cause in most games the strongest character is the one of the lamest. Not this time. Sent's only two major weaknesses are the facts that infinites are easier and sometimes only possible on him and that he's such a biggie trapping him is helluva lot easier than most people. Other than those, he pretty much takes advantage of every other aspect of the game. His hp is a mouth laser than comes out pretty fast. Do it from across the screen and, if blocked, call the Sentinel Force (qcf+k) for chip damage and repeat. You may use either type of Sentinel Force (lk or hk) to give your trapping a good variety. If the hp Laser connects, however, you can immediately combo into the forward Rocket Punch (qcf+hp) cancelled into the Hyper Sentinel Force (qcf+2k) and do another hp laser (which would combo from the HSF) and repeat the process till you run out of meter. This combo is also great for killing helpers direct from 100% health. Just make sure it DOESN'T combo! Pause a little after the hp Laser and after the Rocket Punch so as to prevent any decrease in the amount of the damage the Rocket Punch and the HSF deals but without allowing the helper to leave the screen. Two to three of these will kill ANY helper as long as it doesn't combo. This strat works extremely well with Blackhert(B) and Iceman(a) , since these assists are but perfect tools to keep opponents at the other side of the screen, where both your hp Laser -> SF trap and your hp Laser -> Rocket P -> HSF combo will be at it's easiest in execution. That ain't all Sent's got to offer though. This unit's been programmed to not rely on just one killer tactic to win. In it's arsenal is the invaluable Flight Mode (qcb+2k), which could be utilized to give Sent a rushdown approach on characters who simply can't be trapped that easily. Rushdown Sent is fairly simple, all you have to remember is mess with the opponent's head by flying everywhere, sieze any openings with f.lk, f.hk, downward Rocket Punch (qcf+lp), and immediately cancel Flight Mode by repeating the qcb+2k whenever you sense danger cause you can't block in this mode. An advantage however, is the fact that Flight Mode is considered by the game engine as a long lasting NORMAL JUMP, thus helpers are allowed. And the best helper for the job is none other than Doom(B), although Iceman(a) is a close second. The greatest threat to Sentinel IMO is Cable. In Cable's case, Sent suddenly acquires a third weakness which is recovery time. In almost anything Sent tries at all, Cable can just block and AHVB Sent to death. The rushdown couple Magneto and Storm can also take Sent out fairly easily, simply because although Sent (teammed with Blackheart or Iceman) is a great anti-rushdown, Sent is still VERY vulnerable to infinites once a single jab or any attack connects. Strider, on the other hand, is also a great threat since besides having the ability to teleport and do put Sent on the receiving end on an infinite, he also has the ability to keep the big robot blocking forever with the Strider-Doom trap. Oh and, in case you didn't know, all of Sent's normal attacks deal chip damage, thus burning 5 meters on hp laser, rocket punch, HSF combos on a blocking opponent wouldn't really be a big waste o meter, especially on one-on-one matches. 13) SPIRAL - Another "beginner's choice", Spiral can make you seem to have a skill level higher than your actual with minimal effort. All you have to do is call a ground-based assist, super jump, activate Dancing Swords (hcb+p), throw three on your way down, land, jump and throw the remaining three, re-activating Dancing Swords at the peak of your jump and continuing with the semi-trap. The only resort for most characters is to super jump, and that's when you'll jump and do the circular swords (qcf+lk) immediately after activating Dancing Swords in mid-air. This builds meter like there's no tomorrrow, meter which you could use on your level burner teammate, possibly Cable, and most of the top tier (who could enter the screen safely if they tag as Spiral's swords hit a blocking opponent), or just use it on Spiral herself by nailing the opponent with a Stampede Sword (qcf+2p) which deals nice chip when blocked. In the case that you wanna go pro on Spiral, there are a lot more to keep in mind. First of all is her sudden drop (qcb+hk) which would, of course, cause her to fall rather more quickly than normal. This is VERY useful for peeps who keep on super jumping with you and throwing anticipation supers like AHVB. The quick lets you set the opponent up for a Dancing Swords trap. Also this puts Spiral in a state of NORMAL JUMP, meaning you can now call assists, and at super jump height, which is pretty useful. Second is her very very simple semi-infinite. Just activate the Speed Dance (qcb+2k), [dash-in, s.lk, s.hk] xINF at least til the Speed Dance timer runs out, when you simply follow-up with an aerial rave. Third is her teleport (qcb+lk), which is fast enough to escape an AHVB, and therefore fast enough to escape ANYTHING. But did you know there are actually NINE possible places she could re-appear into? Depending on what you do immediately after doing the qcb+lk, Spiral will re-appear on a different area. Here's a list: do nothing - above the opponent's head hold lp - center of the screen hold hp - upper-right corner of the screen hold lk - lower-left corner of the screen hold hk - lower-right corner of the screen hold D+lp - midway between center of screen and opponent hold D+hp - upper-right of the opponent hold D+lk - lower-left of the opponent hold D+hk - lower-right of the opponent Teleports are of course not restricted for defensive purposes like escaping. They can also be used offensively, and the thing that I love to do after teleporting near an opponent is throwing them. On the ground, do her hp throw and MASH LIKE HELL!! I've taken out A LOT of life this way. In the air, however, and especially during an aerial rave, use her special throw, the Six-Hand Grapple (f,d,df+p) and hold UP to throw them upwards. A neat trick to this is to reverse the code after doing this move once because you'll be facing the other way. This will allow you to repeat the throw over and over until your opponent thinks of a way out of the situation. Remember though that this shouldn't be abused against air manuevering people since Spiral will end up looking like a fool, very vulnerable. Another thing I would like to do after teleporting over an unsuspecting grounded opponent is to combo. You have three choices: s.hp (6 hits) cancel into your VC (hp+hk) and deal lotsa damage on a level 3 meter. You may also use those 3 levels on super meter on her Metamorphose (qcb+2p and grab with p) safely via this air combo: [Dancing Swords activated] c.lk, c.hk, [jump] sj.lk, sj.mk, Circular Swords, Metamorphose (yep, cancel into the super and grab while the opponent is in hit stun from the swords). This deals A LOT OF DAMAGE!! Since Spiral relies so much on her Dancing Swords, there are only two major ways to enhance this via assists. One is to control the air so as to prevent super jumpers from closing in on you. And of course the two characters that do this best are Blackheart and CapComm. The other way is to add to the chip damage the swords bring, as well as impliment a good amount of ground control. Doom(B) and Iceman(a) are good men for the job, but Sent is the best. A nice little lockdown with Sent is to activate Swords, call Sent(y), dash-in with s.hp, wait for about 3-5 hits, throw out swords slowly at first and a little faster at the end, and reload once Sent comes out. Almost inescapable if done right, but they could alpha counter into Cable(B) and AHVB you to death. On a very special note, Spiral is currently the only character who can literally lock an opponent down, as in keep him blocking even if he already WANTS to take the hit. This is made possible via Sabretooth's projectile assist, since it is composed of three bullets that act the same way as Spiral's swords, meaning those bullets could keep the oppo- nent blocking while Spiral reloads her swords and starts throwing a next batch. The downside is you can only successfully lockdown 24 of the 56 characters in the game, specifically, only those who cannot evade the bullets by crouching or blocking low. And there actually is a way to escape, which is via alpha counter. One more thing, timing is extremely difficult to get down right but the concept roughly is to just activate Dancing Swords and throw them all at the opponent and repeat the process indefinitely, calling on Sabretooth slightly after the second sword in every batch comes out. Spiral is the only top tier character whose major threats come from second and semi-second tier. First threat is Omega Red. Why? Simply because his coils, upon connection, nullify all swords and can drain either meter or life, not to mention give Spiral a good slamming. Second threat is Ruby Heart. Her AAA, even if she uses it herself as point, also nullifies all the swords in the world and renders Spiral pretty useless. Of course, Spiral doesn't come without Top Tier threats. Storm is one, cause with her in the background teleporting from a sport will let you eat a DHCed Ice Storm. Sent is another. His hp laser cuts through swords fairly easily, making you have to reload without back-up, something very to hard to do once Sent's got its own trap going. Also his frying pan on a j.hp is a good way stuff anything, including a Spiral trying to do her thing. Other than them, anyone with a projectile assist that cuts through the swords becomes a threat, and examples of these assists include those of Iceman and Storm. 14) STORM - As Strider-Doom employs a rare type of rushdown, so does Storm with a rare version of keep away, more popularly known as "runaway". Storm doesn't really run per se. Actually she flies to the top of the screen and stays there as long as possible, making it extremely hard for most characters to nail her with anything at all. With this strat Storm can just make sure she has more life than the opponent and start flying away til time runs out. A pretty annoying strategy, but a very effective one nonetheless. How is this done? Simple. Just super jump then air dash further upward. Now hold UP to greatly decrease the speed of your descent. And when you get a little too low, do an upwards Lightning Attack (u+lk+hp) back to the top of the screen and again hold UP to greatly decrease your falling speed. When you finally land, just super jump back up and repeat the process. Besides taking a lot of time, a good use for this tactic is to build meter or deal chip damage. To build meter, just repeatedly do sj.hps as you keep yourself in mid-air, and to deal chip, do repeated Double Typhoons (hcb+k) instead. And if the opponent tries to super jump with you, you can surprise him/her with an instant Lightning Storm (hcf+2p). Great damage! As a side note, her Ice Storm (qcb+2p) deals a lot of chip, so if you decide to use the meter she builds, use it on her Ice Storm! The above strategy works well with characters who can either control the ground like Sent(y), control the air like Blackheart(B), or just deal much more chip like Doom(B) and Iceman(a). Of course, that strat doesn't really need much assistance, but of you're planning on building meter, then the best teammates for you would be the meter hogs: Cable Sent, Blackheart, Magneto, and Strider. And as another side note, Storm's hp throw, especially when mashed, builds A LOT of meter, try it! In case you're wonderin, that's NOT the only thing Storm has in her arsenal. As previously mentioned, Magneto and Storm are the King and Queen of rushdown, and Storm does it no differently than the King himself. Two ways: super jump forward and quickly air dash down-forward before the screen even leaves the opponent and hit hp or hk, or after a big successful aerial rave, fall directly above the opponent facing one direction then quickly manuever yourself via air dash at the last second to end up again at the back of his/her neck, for yet another free aerial rave. What aerial rave you say? There is only one that is IMO practical enough to abuse: c.lk, s.hk, [jump] sj.lp, sj.lk, sj.mp, sj.mk, up-forward Lightning Attack, Lightning Storm. Rushdown characters generally play at their best the same set of assists, and Storm is no different. Her best buddies are Cyclops and Psylocke, the corresponding King and Queen of combo setups, and characters who generally give all rushdown peeps a solid back-up. Examples of which include Doom(B) and Sent(y). Yep, Bone Claw Wolverine's gamma assist is quite a nice choice here too! The good thing about Storm is, if one tactic doesn't work, the other will. Storm runaway loses to anyone with a high reaching AAA like CapComm and Blackheart, but she could rush those peeps down like taking candy from a baby. Storm rushdown, on the other hand, is at a disadvantage against peeps with immediate AAA, but in those cases she could runaway fairly easily. As for Strider-Doom, well that's a different story. Storm can't rush it down, nor can she runaway forever no matter who the third character is. In this case she would need a solid Strider-Doom breaker like the AAAs of Cammy and Ken. 15) STRIDER - I'll go straight to the point. Here's how I do the infamous Strider-Doom trap: First you have to do is teleport (b,d,db+p).Using lp makes Strider appear on the upper-left corner of the screen and using hp will make him appear on the upper-right, you may also use lk and hk to make him appear in the lower-left and lower-right parts of the screen respectively, but I'd rather use lp or hp so I could attack from the above instantly. Ok, back to the trap. Just a millisecond before you hit the p, call Doom AAA first, so hitting the assist button will almost be simultaneous with hittin the p button. So what you've done now is put the opponent between you and Doom, which is the primary goal of the trap. And while this is happenin, you can either call dogs and birds (qcf+k) to maximize chip or you can do some ground combos which don't really aim on damaging the opponent rather just plain building meter. When Doom leaves the screen, you have two options: One is to repeat the process. You do this if you don't have meter yet. The other (assuming you have at least 1 super meter charged up) is to call a dog or a bird depending on what you think the opponent will do and once they make contact (blocked or not) cancel into the Ouroboros (qcf+2p), immediately call Doom, teleport behind, and continue to pummel the opponent with ground combos to build meter while using it. And here's the most important part: Just as the Ouroboros end, CALL DOOM IN THE OPPONENT'S FACE!! Strider-Doom works best when you have more than just 1 meter charged, but even if you do, you won't be able to call out Ouroboros immediately ater the first one finishes, and that's why calling Doom to pin your opponent for awhile is very important. Doom gives your Orbs just enough time to leave the screen, enabling you to call on dogs or birds, cancel into the next batch of Orbs, and repeat the entire process til you run out of meter. Do I even have to state it? Doom AAA IS THE BEST assist for Strider!! No one except Felicia and her Sand Splash (qcf+k) can outright counter this trap, and even she will have a very tough time doing it. Anyone with an invincible AAA like those of Cammy and Ken will also prove tough and even annoying, but patience and practice will teach you to anticipate and evade those Sand Splashes as well as those flaming helpers. So who's gonna be your third character? You'll have two ways to judge. First is if you wanna make sure no one takes it to the air, the one area where Strider-Doom cannot do their thing. In this case CapComm and Blackheart come to mind. It's just a matter of preference. Second is is you wanna increase your ground control and chipping abilities, thus making it as tough as hell to try and escape in mid-air. Such ground controllers and major chippers include Sent(y) and Iceman(a). With perfect execution, NO ONE will be able to win against Strider-Doom. However, perfect execution is a near impossibility with this team, since there are so many loop holes only constant practice can teach you to cover up. Because of this, the greatest threats to a NON-EXPERT Strider- Doom, besides those mentioned, are those who can dish out mucho damage at the slightest opening. Cable and his AHVBs come to mind, and so does Sent and its HSFs. Combo freaks like Magneto and Storm may also be worth mentioning. And Spiral? Well she'll put up a very good fight because of her evasive manuevers, but in the end, it's probably all about who gets to anticipate who. On a side note, if you mess up with the controls and do a circular slash instead of the Ouroboros, don't freat. Just cancel into Legion or just re-execute the motion for the Orbs so it may cancel. And if you happen to do a wall climb instead of teleport, in most cases you're screwed, but there's nuthin to lose if you took the chance right? Here's what you do: If the opponent is near, take your chance and leap to the other side of the screen (by hitting b,f) and go down from there. Most probably the opponent saw your wall climb and hoped to immediately cash in on the free damage, not taking into account that you can switch sides. Next, if your opponent is across the screen, then you can just risk hitting the kick buttons and land cause most probably he'll jump and do an air super on you. Now let's tackle what would you do if you actually connect with Strider. As far as air combos go, most people say do da double jump aerial rave with the multi-hit finisher (qcf+p). I say don't. Unless you really got it down right and you're 100% sure you'll do it correctly every single time, don't do it. The risks are too great and for what? A little more damage and a little more meter built. It ain't worth it. I say just finish it off with a four hit aerial rave followed by a hp or a throw. That's about it. How about after connecting an Ouroboros? Most people say do da VC as the Orbs end. And again, I say don't. What the hell do you get with a VC of Doom AAA anyway? That upward shit? You'll be lucky if that mofo even connects! I say continue to combo the Orbs, then tag Doom in, launch, aerial rave, Photon Array, DHC into Legion or yet another Orbs. Now THAT would be fully utilizing your meter. But without Doom, what would be left of Strider? Most people say nuthin much. I say a lot. First, if you're still gonna use him as you would with Doom, a pale comparison but nevertheless decent replacement would be Iceman(a) or Sent(y). Doom AAA is a combination of both, but at least Iceman has the chip, while Sent has the ground control. Second if you wanna use him in an alternative way then I suggest making him the cross-up king. Basically any assist that is composed of a single strike that pushes the opponent back will do him good. Omega Red(a), Colossus(a), Gambit(B), Juggernaut(B), and Sabretooth(a) are but a few of those who IMO have some potential. Even Bone Claw Wolverine's gamma assist works well here. All you do is simultaneousl call the assist, teleport above the opponent's back, and hit them with an hp one moment after the single strike assist connects. Unless they switch blocking direction at the last moment, they'll eat the hp, and the corresponding aerial rave. And third, Strider(B) is somewhat a great assist to keep opponents in place. Only covers grounded opponents unlike CapComm and Blackheart, but pins them nonetheless. So who can use this pinning well? A great chipper, I guess. Iceman comes to mind again, and so does Spiral. 16) WAR MACHINE - Just another Iron Man package (refer to my Iron Man guide instead). War Machine comes with the same strats, and can do both the infinite and the keep away. The only major difference I can see is in their arsenal of supers. War Machine has the War Destroyer, but Iron Man's Proton Cannon is a whole lot more comboable and has a vacuum factor that ensures maximized damage. War Machine works better against Iceman, though, since he can chip the cool guy with his "missile-based" moves. Against everyone else however, Iron Man does have the advantage because, like I said, his Proton Cannon is a whole lot better. Well, that concludes my War Machine guide, sorry if he's your favorite character. =p %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ____ ____ ____ ___ ____ ___ _____ _ _ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ (_ _)(_ _)(_ _) / __)( ___) / __)( _ )( \( )( _ \ (_ _)(_ _)( ___)( _ \ _)(_ _)(_ _)(_ \__ \ )__) ( (__ )(_)( ) ( )(_) ) )( _)(_ )__) ) / (____)(____)(____)() (___/(____) \___)(_____)(_)\_)(____/ (__) (____)(____)(_)\_) ___ ____ ____ __ ____ ___ / __)(_ _)( _ \ /__\ (_ _)/ __) \__ \ )( ) / /(__)\ )( \__ \ (___/ (__) (_)\_)(__)(__) (__) (___/ Included here is a brief rundown of strengths, weaknesses, and recommended teammates for members of my Second and Semi-Second Tier. I don't think I need to enumerate the opponents they should watch out for, cause they generally would be nearly everyone in the Top and Semi-Top Tier! 1) AKUMA - a) advantages - invincible AAA - high damage aerial rave: c.lk, c.hp, [jump] hk Hurricane Kick, Tenma Gou Zankuu b) disadvantages - low stamina and range of attacks c) suggestions - Akuma(B) / Doom(B) / CapComm(B) - Akuma(B) / Doom(B) / Blackheart(B) - Akuma(B) / Doom(B) / Sent(y) - Akuma(B) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(B) - Akuma(B) / Sent(y) / Iceman(a) - Magneto(a) / Storm(a) / Akuma(B) - Magneto(a) / Akuma(y) / Cyclops(B) - Iron Man(a) / Akuma(y) / Cyclops(B) - Strider(B) / Doom(B) / Akuma(B) 2) ANAKARIS - a) advantages - unpredictability with Idle Hands - with correct setup, high damage super (Coffin Drop) b) disadvantages - extremely slow jump speed - low stamina and overall speed c) suggestions - Anakaris(B) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(B) - Anakaris(B) / Sent(y) / Iceman(a) - Anakaris(B) / Cable(B) / Cyclops(B) - Spiral(a) / Blackheart(B) / Anakaris(B) - Spiral(a) / Sent(y) / Anakaris(B) - Strider(B) / Doom(B) / Anakaris(B) 3) BONE CLAW WOLVERINE - a) advantages - expansion assist must be blocked low b) disadvantages - low stamina - no projectiles c) suggestions - Magneto(a) / Storm(a) / Bonerine(y) - Magneto(a) / Dhalsim(B) / Bonerine(y) - Magneto(a) / Iron Man(B) / Bonerine(y) - Iron Man(a) / Storm(a) / Bonerine(y) - Iron Man(a) / Dhalsim(B) / Bonerine(y) - Strider(B) / Doom(B) / Bonerine(y) 4) COLOSSUS - a) advantages - invincible Power Tackle - high damage aerial rave: s.hk, [jump] sj.lp, sj.lk, lk Power Tackle, Power Dive, d+P b) disadvantages - trap prone - no projectiles c) suggestions - Colossus(a) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(B) - Colossus(a) / Sent(y) / Iceman(a) - Colossus(a) / Cable(B) / Cyclops(B) - Magneto(a) / Colossus(a) / Cyclops(B) - Iron Man(a) / Colossus(a) / Cyclops(B) - Strider(B) / Doom(B) / Colossus(a) 5) FELICIA - a) advantages - anti Strider-Doom - overall speed b) disadvantages - no other advantages c) suggestions - Felicia(B) / Spiral(a) / Blackheart(B) - Felicia(B) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(B) - Felicia(B) / Doom(B) / Blackheart(B) - Magneto(a) / Storm(a) / Felicia(B) - Magneto(a) / Cyclops(B) / Felicia(B) - Iron Man(B) / Cyclops(B) / Felicia(B) 6) JIN - a) advantages - invincible AAA - guard breaking Blodia Vulcan b) disadvantages - start-up and recovery time c) suggestions - Magneto(a) / Storm(a) / Jin(B) - Magneto(a) / Jin(a) / Cyclops(B) - Iron Man(a) / Jin(a) / Cyclops(B) - Spiral(a) / Sent(y) / Jin(a) - Strider(B) / Doom(B) / Jin(B) 7) JUGGERNAUT - a) advantages - power-up glitch - start-up and damage of Juggernaut Headcrush b) disadvantages - trap prone and a very large target c) suggestions - Juggernaut(B) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(B) - Juggernaut(B) / Sent(y) / Iceman(a) - Juggernaut(B) / Spiral(a) / Sent(y) - Magneto(a) / Juggernaut(B) / Cyclops(B) - Iron Man(a) / Juggernaut(B) / Cyclops(B) - Strider(B) / Doom(B) / Juggernaut(B) 8) KEN - a) advantages - invincible alpha assist - pinning gamma assist - high damage aerial rave: c.lk, c.hp, [jump] hk Hurricane Kick b) disadvantages - low range of attacks - useless projectile c) suggestions - Magneto(a) / Storm(a) / Ken(a) - Sent(y) / Doom(B) / Ken(y) - Sent(y) / Iceman(a) / Ken(y) - Spiral(a) / Doom(B) / Ken(y) - Spiral(a) / Sent(y) / Ken(y) - Spiral(a) / Cable(B) / Ken(y) - Strider(B) / Doom(B) / Ken(a) 9) MEGAMAN - a) advantages - screen-filling projectiles b) disadvantages - projectiles have no block damage c) suggestions - Megaman(B) / Cable(a) / Cyclops(B) Megaman(B) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(a) Megaman(B) / Sent(y) / Iceman(a) Megaman(B) / Doom(B) / Blackheart(B) Megaman(B) / Strider(B) / Doom(B) 10) MORRIGAN - a) advantages - great rushdown because of air manueverability b) disadvantages - no big easy combos to capitalize on rushdown tactics c) suggestions - Morrigan(a) / Doom(B) / CapComm(B) Morrigan(a) / Doom(B) / Blackheart(B) Morrigan(a) / Doom(B) / Sent(y) Morrigan(a) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(B) Morrigan(a) / Sent(y) / Iceman(a) Magneto(a) / Storm(a) / Morrigan(a) 11) OMEGA RED - a) advantages - great battery with sj.hp - great hit and run with Omega Strike - anti keep away with Coils b) disadvantages - start-up time c) suggestions - Omega Red(a) / Doom(B) / Blackheart(B) Omega Red(a) / Doom(B) / Sent(y) Omega Red(a) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(B) Omega Red(a) / Sent(y) / Iceman(a) Omega Red(a) / Cable(a) / Cyclops(B) Omega Red(a) / Strider(B) / Doom(B) 12) ROGUE - a) advantages - great rushdown with dive kick and air dash - gamma assist is great setup for big combos b) disadvantages - AAA prone - no projectiles c) suggestions - Magneto(a) / Storm(a) / Rogue(y) - Magneto(a) / Dhalsim(B) / Rogue(y) - Magneto(a) / Iron Man(B) / Rogue(y) - Iron Man(a) / Storm(a) / Rogue(y) - Iron Man(a) / Dhalsim(B) / Rogue(y) - Rogue(y) / Doom(B) / Blackheart(B) - Rogue(y) / Doom(B) / Sent(y) - Rogue(y) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(B) - Rogue(y) / Sent(y) / Iceman(a) 13) RUBY HEART - a) advantages - anti Spiral - pinning alpha assist b) disadvantages - recovery time c) suggestions - Sent(y) / Doom(B) / Ruby Heart(a) - Sent(y) / Iceman(a) / Ruby Heart(a) - Spiral(a) / Doom(B) / Ruby Heart(a) - Spiral(a) / Sent(y) / Ruby Heart(a) - Spiral(a) / Cable(B) / Ruby Heart(a) 14) SABRETOOTH - a) advantages - completes Spiral lockdown - with correct timing, Hyper Armed Birdie DHCed will make his teammate recover a LOT earlier b) disadvantages - no other advantages - no projectiles c) suggestions - Spiral(a) / Blackheart(B) / Sabretooth(B) - Spiral(a) / Sent(y) / Sabretooth(B) - Spiral(a) / Doom(B) / Sabretooth(B) - Spiral(a) / Iceman(a) / Sabretooth(B) - Spiral(a) / Cable(B) / Sabretooth(B) 15) SILVER SAMURAI - a) advantages - most moves deal great chip damage b) disadvantages - uses up too much super meter c) suggestions - Spiral(a) / Silver Samurai(B) / Blackheart(B) Spiral(a) / Silver Samurai(B) / Iceman(a) Spiral(a) / Silver Samurai(B) / Sent(y) Spiral(a) / Silver Samurai(B) / Doom(B) Storm(a) / Silver Samurai(B) / Iceman(a) Storm(a) / Silver Samurai(B) / Sent(y) Storm(a) / Silver Samurai(B) / Doom(B) 16) TRON BONNE - a) advantages - great chipping strategies with Bonne Strike b) disadvantages - recovery time - low damage attacks c) suggestions - Tron Bonne(y) / Doom(B) / Blackheart(B) Tron Bonne(y) / Doom(B) / Sent(y) Tron Bonne(y) / Sent(y) / Blackheart(B) Tron Bonne(y) / Sent(y) / Iceman(a) %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ____ _ _ ____ _ _ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ (_ _)( \/ ) (_ _)( )_( )(_ _)( _ \( _ \ (_ _)(_ _)( ___)( _ \ _)(_ \ / )( ) _ ( _)(_ ) / )(_) ) )( _)(_ )__) ) / (____) \/ () (__) (_) (_)(____)(_)\_)(____/ (__) (____)(____)(_)\_) __ _ _ ____ ____ ____ __ _____ _ _ /__\ ( \( )( _ \ ( _ \( ___)( ) ( _ )( \/\/ ) /(__)\ ) ( )(_) ) ) _ < )__) )(__ )(_)( ) ( (__)(__)(_)\_)(____/ (____/(____)(____)(_____)(__/\__) YES!! There's still a ray of hope for your favorite character to win in a local tourney! Of course, having mad MvC2 skills is a must here, but if you're REALLY that loyal to your favorite char then, coupled with the right higher ranking chars, you do have a chance!! name | play style | main asset | snapback combo ================================================================= | | | AMINGO | chipper | (that bulb move) | c.lk, s.mk, SB | | | BB HOOD | chipper | Cool Hunting | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | | BISON | trapper | Psycho Field | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | | CAPT. | rushdown | j.hp & Hyper | c.lk, c.mk, SB AMERICA | | Charging Star | | | | CHARLIE | rushdown | Sonic Break x3 & | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | aerial rave | | | | CHUNLI | rushdown | Kikoshou & | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | aerial rave | | | | DAN | rushdown | Otoko Michi | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | | GAMBIT | rushdown | Cajun Explosion | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | | GUILE | turtler | Sonic Hurricane & | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | aerial rave | | | | HAYATO | rushdown | Plasma Field | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | | HULK | rushdown | Gamma Wave & | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | Gamma Crush | | | | JILL | turtler | zombies & | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | Kinsetsu Sentou A | | | | KOBUN | chipper | size & gamma VC | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | | MARROW | trapper | Bone-Merang & | c.lk, c.mp, SB | | Bone Burst | | | | ROLL | chipper | Beat Plane | c.lk, SB | | | RYU | rushdown | Shin Shoryuken | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | | SAKURA | rushdown | Shououken | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | | SHUMA | grappler | Chaos Dimension | c.lk, c.mp, SB GORATH | | | | | | SONSON | rushdown | aerial rave | c.lk, s.mk, SB | | | SPIDERMAN | combo freak | aerial rave | c.lk, s.mk, SB | | | THANOS | combo freak | Power Gauntlet & | c.lk, s.mk, SB | | Soul Gauntlet | | | | VENOM | turtler | Venom Fang | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | | WOLVERINE | rushdown | overall speed | c.lk, s.mk, SB | | | ZANGIEF | grappler | Final Atomic | c.lk, c.mk, SB | | Buster | | | | | | | ================================================================= The play style suggests which high tier teammates should you use with your favorite character. When I say rushdown, by no means am I even comparing to the type of rushdown Magneto supplies, only the fact that these characters can only win by attacking and actually connecting their moves. For almost anybody in this section, Doom(B), Sent(y), and Iceman(a) could be suitable teammates. For the rushdown people, you may throw in Magneto and Iron Man for hide-saving if you die quickly. Bone Claw Wolverine should also be a top choice here. For the turtles, trap breaking AAAs like those of Cammy and Ken are recommendable, although CapComm AAA should not be left unnoticed, since it'll save you from the runaway peeps. Trappers could go well with Blackheart, but they'll be at their best with the universal teammates (Doom,Sent,Ice). Combo freaks should take Cyclops and Psylocke under consideration, and grapplers? Well, they'll have the toughest time, but space control like Doom(a) and again a touch of Blackheart(B) should do the trick. As for the peeps whose main asset is a super, great batteries like Spiral and Omega Red may be added to their team for increase chances of success. You know why I included a SNAPBACK Combo column? That's right, Snapback infinites are the rays of hope for the near hopeless. In order to actually be a threat, you will have to utilize every "legal" trick in the book, and one of the most important are Snapbacks!! Try to make them your main target in playing, and if you mind-read pretty well, then you can really capitalize especially on keep away characters who rely a lot on their assists. Just snap them back, and launch their assist indefinitely. And if you have lightning reflexes, then snap them back using the button THEY used to call the assist. This way, if you mess up on the launcher infinite, the character whom you are launching to death will be the same one who comes out immediately afterwards, with all his red life now gone. But what if your opponent is too far when he/she calls an assist? (note that in keep away games this is almost always the case) Then you have to learn how to WAVE DASH. Top Tier peeps IMO don't need this cause either they don't need to dash at all or their dash is already one of the best in the game. Anyway, it's pretty simple. Just dash-in using f,f, and at the end of the dash tap DOWN lightly in order the cancel the stopping animation of the dash. Then immediately hit the two punch buttons simultaneously to start yet another dash. If done correctly, you will be able to reach the other side of the screen in half the time! Another neat trick you could do is choose a mighty damaging teammate like a glitched Juggernaut (or even Cable with his AHVBs and Sent with its HSFs) and use your character as bait. Pretty lame way to include your character in a team, but if snapback infinites just don't work, then you'll have to learn this: What you do is block, yes block. And if you have at least two super meters all charged up, you can do an alpha counter, and as your teammate comes in to do his thing, cancel into that teammate's super. Of course, in Cable's case, you need to pick his AAA which puts him in mid-air and is his the best move to cancel the AHVB into. Same goes for Sent(a). For Juggy, it would be best to use his earthquake assist. Gives you lotsa time to cancel into the Headcrush. So there, if your favorite character happens to be in this section, don't fret. Practice hard, and you may just be able to pull off something big and surprising it moves your character up one or two tiers =) %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% _ _ ___ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___ ( \/ ) / __)( _ \( ___)( _ \ (_ _)(_ _)/ __) \ / ( (__ ) / )__) )(_) ) _)(_ )( \__ \ \/ () \___)(_)\_)(____)(____/ (____) (__) (___/ www.Shoryuken.com for their forums where I get the most useful advices Chris MacDonald (cmd@hooked.net) for his MVC2 Moveslist FAQ which helped me name some of the less used special and super moves in the game Cary Wun (cwun@ucla.edu) for showing me how outdated my strats are =) responsible for the most part of version 1.1 Capcom and all its affiliates for creating such a great game %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% _ _ ____ ____ ____ _ _ ____ ___ ____ _____ _ _ ( \/ )(_ _) ( _ \( ___)( \/ )(_ _)/ __)(_ _)( _ )( \( ) \ / _)(_ ) / )__) \ / _)(_ \__ \ _)(_ )(_)( ) ( \/ (____)() (_)\_)(____) \/ (____)(___/(____)(_____)(_)\_) _ _ ____ ___ ____ _____ ____ _ _ ( )_( )(_ _)/ __)(_ _)( _ )( _ \( \/ ) ) _ ( _)(_ \__ \ )( )(_)( ) / \ / (_) (_)(____)(___/ (__) (_____)(_)\_) (__) 1.1 - updated a lot of top tier strats %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% _ _ ____ ____ ____ ____ _ _ __ __ ( \/ )(_ _)(_ _) ( ___)(_ _)( \( ) /__\ ( ) \ / _)(_ _)(_ )__) _)(_ ) ( /(__)\ )(__ \/ (____)(____)() (__) (____)(_)\_)(__)(__)(____) _ _ _____ ____ ____ ___ ( \/\/ )( _ )( _ \( _ \ / __) ) ( )(_)( ) / )(_) )\__ \ (__/\__)(_____)(_)\_)(____/ (___/ Did I underrate your favorite character? Am I saying anything that is obsolete? Please feel free to email me if there's something about MvC2 Advanced Strategies I left out or if you just want to comment on my work. Thank you. If ever I revise this faq and add something you feel came from one of your emails to me, email me again and remind me bout it so I can give you credit. Thanks again. I know you don't care, but I'll post my current teams here nonetheless: 1) Strider / Doom / CapComm 2) Spiral / Sent / Blackheart 3) Magneto / Storm / Cyclops Those are my top three, but of course I use non-classic teams too: 4) Strider / Doom / Iceman 5) Storm / Strider / Doom 6) Spiral / Strider / Doom 7) Sent / Blackheart / Iceman And my signature team: 8) Magneto / Ryu / Cyclops %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%