The

Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3

by Hunter Smith

D i s t r i b u t e d b y C r o s s C o u n t e r T V

 Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................4 General Fighting Game Terminology: .........................................................................5 Point Character ........................................................................................................................................................... 5 Normal............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Command Normal...................................................................................................................................................... 5 QCF (Quarter Circle Forward).............................................................................................................................. 5 QCB (Quarter Circle Back) ..................................................................................................................................... 5 HCF (Half Circle Forward) ..................................................................................................................................... 6 HCB (Half Circle Back) ............................................................................................................................................. 6 DP (Dragon Punch) ................................................................................................................................................... 6 RDP (Reverse Dragon Punch)............................................................................................................................... 6 Throw.............................................................................................................................................................................. 6 (in-air) ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9 MvC3 Specific Terminology: ......................................................................................12 Exchange..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Magic Series............................................................................................................................................................... 12 Aerial Magic Series (aka Aerial Rave (AR)) ................................................................................................. 12 Aerial Exchange ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 Hypers.......................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Red Health.................................................................................................................................................................. 13 Chip Damage ............................................................................................................................................................. 14 Combo Scaling .......................................................................................................................................................... 14 Damage Scaling........................................................................................................................................................ 14 X-Factor....................................................................................................................................................................... 14 KFC/XFC (X-Factor Cancel) ................................................................................................................................ 15 Assists .......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Tagging ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16 Dashing........................................................................................................................................................................ 16 Wavedashing............................................................................................................................................................. 16 Dash Canceling ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 Tri-dashing ................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Meter ............................................................................................................................................................................ 17 DHC (Delayed Hyper Combo)............................................................................................................................ 17 THC (Team Hyper Combo) ................................................................................................................................. 18 Groundbounce.......................................................................................................................................................... 18 Wallbounce................................................................................................................................................................ 18 OTG (On-The-Ground).......................................................................................................................................... 18 Snapback..................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Advancing Guard (aka Pushblock) .................................................................................................................. 19 Unblockables............................................................................................................................................................. 19 PseudoUnblockables ............................................................................................................................................. 19 Character Kill Combo (CKC) ............................................................................................................................... 20 Infinites ....................................................................................................................................................................... 20 2

Building Your Team in MvC3 ......................................................................................22 Rushdown .................................................................................................................................................................. 22 Keepaway ................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Multipurpose ............................................................................................................................................................ 22 Tank .............................................................................................................................................................................. 22 HeavyHitters ............................................................................................................................................................. 23 Synergy........................................................................................................................................................................ 23 Lockdown................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Final Notes.................................................................................................................26

The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 3

Introduction
This guide is meant to help you make a smooth transition from the world of SSFIV into the world of MvC3. I know several gamers didn't get into fighting games until SFIV came out and they want to jump into MvC3. This guide is here for them. I use terms and examples that you are used to in SSFIV to help explain what's going on in MvC3. A couple days post launch of MvC3, you can check out scarsofzsasz YouTube channel, where I will have video examples of each of the terms listed here. Subscribe now so you won't forget!!***

General Fighting Game Terminology:

Button Config: L M H
S A1 A2 A or L = Light Attack B or M = Medium Attack C or H = Heavy Attack E or S = Exchange/Launcher A1 = Assist 1 A2 = Assist 2

Point Character
In versus fighting games this is the term for the main character who you have out on the screen at the moment. Term may also be used when you are talking about your team of characters and you are specifying which one you want to be out on the field at most times, usually this is the one you pick to go out first at the beginning of the match. e.g.: Amaretsu, Deadpool, X-23 is my team with X-23 being my point character.

Normal
A normal attack. Pressing an attack button without using a directional input at the same time. e.g.: Pressing LP will do Ryu's standing light punch in SSFIV.

Command Normal
Pressing an attack button with a directional input at the same time. e.g.: Pressing MP and towards the opponent will do Ryu's overhead 2 hit punch in SSFIV.

Special

An attack that is not simply a normal strike, it has special properties that normals don't. e.g: Ryu's Hadouken, Shoryuken, Tatsu are all Specials.

Hyper/Super/Ultra

An attack that is very special, in most games these attacks can only be used a few times per match and require you to fill some type of meter. In MvC3, these attacks are called Hypers.

QCF (Quarter Circle Forward)

Inputting down, downforward, forward. e.g.: QCF + P will make Ryu do a Hadouken in SSFIV.

QCB (Quarter Circle Back)

Inputting down, downback, back. e.g.: QCB + K will make Ryu do a Hurricane Kick in SSFIV

The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 5

HCF (Half Circle Forward)

Inputting back, downback, down, downforward, forward. e.g.: HCF + P will make Rose do a Soul Spark in SSFIV.

HCB (Half Circle Back)

Inputting forward, downforward, down, downback, down. e.g.: HCB + P will make Abel do a Tornado Throw in SSFIV.

DP (Dragon Punch)
a.k.a. Shoryuken. Inputting forward, down, downforward. e.g.: DP + P will make Ryu do a Shoryuken.

RDP (Reverse Dragon Punch)

Inputting back, down, downback. e.g.: RDP + PPP will make Akuma teleport backwards in SSFIV.

Throw
Grabbing the opponent and throwing them to the ground. This does damage, and in MvC3 it can lead to setting up OTGs. In SSF4, you do a throw by pushing towards or away from the opponent and pressing LK + LP. In MvC3, you do a throw by pushing towards the opponent and pressing H. TK (Tiger Knee) TK is the name for a specific motion that helps some specials come out faster and closer to the ground. The motion you need to input is down, downback, back, upforward and then immediately press the desired attack button. The motion must be done very fast and be done perfectly. TKs are a bit advanced for beginning players but are very effective once mastered. Not all moves can be TK'd though, only certain specials can. The most prominent example seen in SSFIV is with Cammy's Cannon Strike. If she does a TK Cannon Strike she does it immediately off the ground, and if she's close to her opponent it actually hits them low for a great mix- up. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOnqhknsj_w HP/MK/H/etc. If you see a move written without it specifying whether its standing or crouching it is assumed to be standing. If you see "LP" written in a SSFIV combo, then it is a standing light punch. If you see "M" written in a MvC3 combo, then it is a standing medium attack.

c.HP/c.MK/c.H/etc.

If you see a move written with a "c." before it then it is a crouching attack. In SSFIV terms, "c.LP" is a crouching light punch. In MvC3 terms, "c.M" is a crouching medium attack. 6

j.HP/j.MK/j.H/etc.

If you see a move written with a "j." written before it then it is a jumping attack. In SSFIV terms, "j.LP" is a jumping light punch. In MvC3 terms, "j.M" is a jumping medium attack. xx Cancel. Term for cancelling the ending animation of one move into a special, letting you do a normal into a special. When you input a cancel, you have to put it in very quickly after you input your first move and before the animation of the first move ends. e.g. In SSFIV: c.MK xx into QCF + P will do a crouching MK canceled into a Hadouken. + When you see a plus sign written in fighting game notation it typically means "and". So Towards + MP would be pressing toward on the joystick and pressing MP, making Ryu do his two hit overhead punch in SSFIV. , When you see a comma sign written in fighting game notation it typically means "then". So c.LP, c.MP, c.HK would be a crouching LP then a crouching MP, then a crouching HK if you are playing SSFIV. In SSFIV this combo would be "linked" where you have to press the next attack in the exact frame its supposed to be for it to combo. In MvC3 this combo doesn't have to be "linked", you just press the buttons in the correct order and the combo will happen if it works for the character you are using. In MvC3 you may also see this sign used ">". It means the same thing. "L>M>H" would mean you press L then M then H. <==, ==> If you are looking at the input directions for a move and it has an arrow back, then an arrow forward, it means this is a charge move. To do a charge move you hold the direction that it shows first (for usually 2 seconds), then you move the stick to the 2nd direction and press the button it tells you to. For example, in SSFIV the input for Guile's Sonic Boom is <==, ==> + P. This requires you to hold the stick away from the opponent for two seconds, then move it towards the opponent and hit a punch button. PPP/AtkAtk Pressing all Punch Buttons/Pressing two attack buttons. In SSFIV, two QCFs plus PPP would do Ryu's Ultra. In MvC3, one QCF plus AtkAtk will do Ryu's Hyper Shinku Hadouken.

Atk

If you see the abbreviation "Atk" or "At" written on your character's move list in MvC3, then it means that the move will happen no matter which attack strenth you The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 7

use. So if it says Hadouken is "QCF + Atk", it means that you can do a QCF and press either Light, Medium or Hard and the Hadouken will come out no matter which attack strength you chose. Combo When you input attacks with a specific timing and in a specific order which makes them all hit your opponent as long as the first attack hit. These are in SSFIV.

Chain

When you input attacks in a specific order without the need of precision timing, they will all hit your opponent as long as the first attack hits. These are in MvC3. Chains may also be known as "Magic Series" when you are discussing a versus game like MvC3 or Mortal Kombat vs. DC, etc. (I'm aware that technically both chains and combos are in both SSFIV and MvC3 but that's an advanced topic and not important at this stage)

Launcher

An attack that knocks your opponent up into the air when it hits, in order to let you follow them into the air and continue to hit them. In MvC3, the "S" button is your launcher. SJC/SJ (Super Jump Cancel/Super Jump) In MvC3 this is when you perform an attack and as soon as the attack hits, your character will instantly jump and follow your opponent up to start a new air combo on them. To do this in MvC3, you end your combo with "S", which is the launcher button and when you press "S" you hold up on your joystick. This will make your character "sj" and follow your opponent up into the air after they launch your opponent. In SSFIV, to do a sjc you had to tap down and then up for the super jump to come out. In MvC3, you just hold up and your character will sjc after the launcher hits. Reset This is a term for when you do a move that does not combo, but leaves your opponent in a position where they are right in front of you and have to decide whether they think you are gonna attack high, attack low, or grab. In SSFIV these usually "pop you up" into the air, making your character do their little backflip animation and land on their feet, right in front of your opponent. Resets will be used in MvC3 both in the ground and in the air, since some characters in MvC3 have effective Air Command Grabs. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJldbSc3UeQ bnb (bread-n-butter) This is the nickname for a combo that a specific character relies on to start their offense. Each character has a couple bnb's which you should learn and master if you want to be successful with them. In SSFIV, bnbs usually start out with light attacks, 8

build into stronger ones, then cancel into specials. For example: Akuma's main bnb in SSFIV is c.LK, c.LP, c.MP, xxQCB + LK. Off of that he can either c.HK, DP + HP, or do a reset. In MvC3, a character's bnb will likely begin with a light attack, go into a progressive magic series, which ends with launcher and then into whatever they choose. For example: Thor can do L, M, S, sjc. After this he can go into an Aerial Rave and into an Air Exchange or a groundbounce, whatever you choose. But its important to master his bnb so you can start the offense and make those choices.

Cross-Up

A jumping attack that hits your opponent on the side of them opposite of where you were when you jumped. If you are Ryu on the left side of a screen, and you jump over Akuma and do a j.MK, the kick will actually hit his right side. So if the Akuma player wishes to block the attack he has to block upleft. Advanced players can use specific spacing and timing to make it hard to tell whether they are going to cross you up or not and make it difficult for you to know where to block. You may also see this written as "x-up" in some move lists. So the move we talked about above would be termed "x-up j.MK".

Mix-Up

An attack or strategic way of spacing that makes it harder for your opponent to decide if you are going to attack high, attack low, or throw. Mix-ups are very effective once mastered and are prominent in SSFIV and will likely in MvC3 as well. Some characters naturally have good Mix-Ups that are part of their game in SSFIV, such as Abel and El Fuerte. For example, in SSFIV, after El Fuerte gets a knockdown on you. He can start his run at you as you are getting up off the floor. He has three different options that he can do to you, he can do his slide which hits low, do his splash which hits high, or fajita buster which is a grab. VIDEO: (0:46 - 1:03) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiSjCf_oG5Q

(in-air)
If you are looking at a character's move input list and you see a move that has "(in air)" before it, then it usually means you can only do it when your character is in the air. Sometimes people will put (in air) before a move that can hit both on the ground or in the air. So basically if it says (in air), test it and see where it can be done. I know this is confusing, and I don't know why everyone can't be uniform about it. I think that if a move can only be used in air then you should say (in air only). If it can be used on ground and air you should say (in air also). *****So putting this all together, we will interpret a SSFIV combo and then a MvC3 combo, both with Ryu: c.MP, c.MP, xxDP + P, xxFADC, QCF (x2) + PPP In SSFIV this would be crouching MP, then crouching MP, canceled into a Shoryuken, canceled with a FADC, then activate Ultra. L, c.M, H, S, sjc, L, M, H, xxQCF + H, xxQCF + LM The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 9

In MvC3 this would be LightAttack, then crouching MediumAttack, then HeavyAttack, then Launcher, super jump cancel will make you follow them into the air, there you start your air combo of LightAttack, then MediumAttack, then HeavyAttack, cancelled into a Heavy Hadouken, cancelled into Ryu's Hyper Shinku Hadouken. This may all seem daunting, but I promise that MvC3 combos are very easy to do and you will get the hang of this very fast. *****You may also see direction inputs written using letters instead of using arrows. The letters are L for left, U for up, R for right, D for down. So if a move in MvC3 is written as RM, LH it means to do a M attack while holding right, then do a H attack while holding left. In my opinion, using arrows for directions is much more streamlined and easier to decypher than using letters for directions. The above example using arrows would look like this: ==> M, <== H. Whichever way that you think is easier for you to use, use it. But as far as for my guides, you will see the arrow notation used. **MvC3 doesn't require much frame knowledge but SSFIV and some other fighting games do. Below I'll give a brief and basic explanation of frame data.

Frame

A frame is 1/60th of a second. In fighting game notation its represent by a lower case "f". 3 frames would be represented by "3f".

Start Up Frames

These are the frames where you see the attack start but the attack cannot actually hit yet.

Active Frames

These are the frames in which the attack is actually active and can hit your opponent. A 3f move is a term for one that reaches its active frames at its 3rd frame.

Recovery Frames

These are the frames in which the attack can no longer hit and it is ending, but you are still vulnerable to their attacks if you missed your attack. *****So putting this all together, lets look at Ryu's Hard Kick in SSFIV: The part in which Ryu raises his hand and is turning his body and raising his leg up are the Start Up Frames. The part in which Ryu's foot is out in front of him and the kick can hit the opponent are the Active Frames. The part in which Ryu is returning his foot back down to the ground are the Recovery Frames. You can be hit or thrown during your Start Up Frames and if you are hit, then your 10

move will be "stuffed", this is when your move gets stopped before it even happens. You can be hit or thrown during your Recovery Frames if your move missed or was blocked, this is known as being "punished". Usually, once your move is in its Active Frames, and your opponent does a move, either one of your moves will win out over the other, or you both get hit known as "trade". Whether your move wins or whether you trade is all based upon hitboxes. Hitboxes are slightly more complex and I'm not going to go that far into it. Google if interested.

Block Stun

This is the term for what happens when you block an opponent's attack, but there is still a split second(s) where you cannot move your character. That moment where you just blocked an attack, but you still can't move yet, is "block stun". Usually the stronger the attack you blocked, the longer you will be in blockstun.

Hit Stun

Similar to block stun except this is the time that occurs when you are hit with an attack, your character does the animation they make whenever they get hit, but you cannot move yet. For example, in SSFIV, after you get hit with Ryu's j. HK, your character will make their little animation where they turn their head away, or scrunch up their face in pain and you cannot move. This is a lot of hit stun, it lasts a long time. Since it lasts so long, Ryu can hit you with almost any attack he has after he hits you with j.HK, because you will still be in hitstun by the time the Active Frames of his next attack are out. This is why moves combo, the first move has to put you in hitstun for enough frames for Ryu to have his Recovery Frames of the first move and the StartUp Frames of the next move. If that happens, then the moves combo. If the StartUp frames of his second move are too long, then you will be out of Hit Stun and can block the second attack by the time that it reaches it's Active Frames.

The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 1

MvC3 Specific Terminology

Exchange
This button has multiple uses in MvC3. If you are on the ground and doing a combo and press it, it will be your launcher. If you use your point character to combo, then launch, then sjc and start an air combo, then hit Exchange (the S button) without using a directional input, you will slam your opponent into the ground, at this point some characters can continue after the slam into a combo and/or hyper. If you use your point character to combo, then launch, then sjc and start an air combo, you can hit Exchange and a directional input (up, right, left, or down) during your point character's air combo, this will cause your next character to come out and you can continue the air combo with them.

Magic Series
Combos done in versus games are easier and don't require perfectly timed links. You simply continue the correct inputs in the correct order to keep your string of normals and command normals going. You must follow each input with a stronger input. Example: L>M>H>S. Some characters who have bad range on some moves and their launcher may need to slightly modify the chain and make it shorter for it to combo. e.g.: Thor does L>M>H. You can also follow up a hit with a command normal of the same strength. e.g.: Chris has a chain that goes L>M>H>towards H. Sadly, most of these magic series are character specific, so you really need to learn your character's particular magic series. You can check out your character on various forums and websites (like Shoryuken.com, eventhubs.com, option- select.com) and look for their magic series.

Aerial Magic Series (aka Aerial Rave (AR))

A magic series done after a launcher and sjc. Do a combo that ends with a launcher, hold up, or uptowards to follow the opponent into the air and then start a new magic series. Most characters in some pre-release builds have been able to do A>A>B>B>C>E, but this won't always have every hit connect with every character. Experiment with your character to see what works, or again you can check out character specific guides/forums.

Aerial Exchange
The term for doing a ground magic series into launcher and follow your opponent up, doing an Aerial Rave, the hitting Exchange and a direction. This makes your point character swap out with one of your other characters who comes in, and you can start a new AR from there. However, if your opponent hits the exchange button and matches your directional input at the same time you do it, then they will 12

perform a "Combo Breaker", which stops your attempt to do your Aerial Exchange and sends you both back to the ground. So if you do a magic series into launcher into sjc, start an AR, then you hit Exchange and left to do your Aerial Exchange at the same time your opponent hits Exchange and left, they will do a Combo Breaker on you.

Hypers
To activate a Hyper Combo in MvC3, you do the motion for your specific hyper you want with that character (usually QCF or QCB) and then press AtkAtk (any two attack buttons simultaneously). In this game hypers are your character's most special attacks and require you to lose 1 or 3 bars of hyper meter. There are different kinds of Hypers. "Normal" hypers will do the full attack animation no matter if they hit or are blocked. They do a decent amount of chip when blocked but are generally more punishable. e.g.: Iron Man Proton Cannon. "Catch" Hypers will not do their full animation if they are blocked or missed so they generally recover faster than "Normal" Hypers. However they do little to no chip damage. e.g.: Captain America Final Justice. "Utility" Hypers do not hit the opponent. They give you an advantage that usually only lasts a certain amount of time. Some give damage boosts, some give speed boosts, some give invisibilty, some heal damage, etc. e.g.: Morrigan Astral Vision creates a copy of herself on the opposite side of her opponent. There are Level 1 hypers, which each character has at least two of, these do good damage if they hit and can usually cancel off one of your character's special moves. Level 1 Hypers do pretty good damage typically, and they cost you 1 of your hyper meters. Most Level 1s seem to have little to no invulnerability frames (frames in which your character cannot be hit) during their start up though. In SSFIV when most characters activated their "Super" or "Ultra" close to you, you generally had to block or your attack would be beat out, but in MvC3 it appears that several things can beat out most Lvl 1 Hypers if the person doesn't use it in a combo. Level 3 Hypers however do seem to have invulnerability frames at start up. Lvl 3s cost you 3 bars of hyper meter but generally do a ton of damage. Not all characters have Lvl 3 Hypers though so check out your character's in-game move list to see what hypers you have.

Red Health
When you look at an MvC3 or MvC2 match, you will notice that at certain times, a portion of a character's lifebar may be filled solid red, while the rest of the lifebar has the typical color scheme. This solid red part is known as "red health". Red Health is a part of your life bar that can be recovered if you tag out to a different character and/or if they are not hit. For example: You start Storm out on point, she gets hurt and has about 25% of health left plus another 25% of her life bar is red The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 1
3

health, you tag her out for Magneto. The whole time that Magneto is out and Storm is not, she will be recovering that red health back. This health recovers very slowly while Storm is not on the field. If you do a "dry tag" and call Storm back out on the field to take point, she will immediately lose all of that red health. Or if you were to call Storm in as an assist and she were to get hit, she would lose that red health. But if you bring her in as a DHC or during an Aerial Exchange she will not lose the red health.

Chip Damage
This is damage that your opponent takes even when they are blocking your attacks. Normals and command normals do not do chip damage. Only specials and Hypers do chip damage.

Combo Scaling
This is the term that describes how damage downscales the farther a combo continues. For every single attack that you add on to your combo, each hit will do a percentage less and less each time. So in theory L, M, H, S, sjc, L, xx L Hadouken, xx Hyper Shinku Hadouken may on paper look like it all equals out to 500,000 damage. But with combo scaling it would only do 425,000 damage. The more attacks you add on to your combos the more the next attack in the combo will be combo scaled. Now you may think to yourself, "That's bullcrap, it should do full damage", but combo scaling is actually a good thing. It helps prevents people from doing "infinites" on you, where they combo you repeatedly non-stop until you die and you can't stop them. It also helps games last longer and require you to get hit by a few different combos instead of dying off the first combo you are hit by.

Damage Scaling
This is the term that describes how damage downscales the farther down your lifebar goes. For example: if Ryu has 100% of his life bar and he gets hit by Iron Man Proton Cannon it may do 230 damage. But if Ryu was already down to 30% life bar and then was hit by Proton Cannon it may only do 140 damage. Damage Scaling keeps your character alive longer and helps make games more exciting, and again, it helps prevent people from doing "infinites".

X-Factor
MvC3 introduces a new ability called X-Factor which gives several special abilites to your team. To activate X-Factor you hit ABCE, all at the same time. Your character will turn red. They get back their red health much quicker, they become faster, you do more hit damage and chip damage. You can also activate your X-Factor at any time during one of your hypers and this will cancel the recovery frames of that hyper. So if you do a hyper, activate X-Factor during it, and immediately do another 14

hyper it will all land. This is usually the only way to land two hypers in a row with the same character. Or if you do a hyper that has a lot of recovery frames and you miss it and are afraid of getting punished by your opponent, then you could activate X-Factor during that hyper to immediately end it and be safe. The catch to X-Factor is, you only get to use it once per game. Also, the duration of your X-Factor depends on how many characters you have left. If you activate it near the start of the match when you have all 3 chars, then it will only last 10 seconds. With 2 characters left, X Factor will last 15 seconds. But if you save it until the end when your down to your last char, it will last 20 seconds!!! Your damage boost is 30%/60%/90%. Your speed boost is 5%/10%/15%. These may vary slightly from character to character but the average are the numbers I just listed. All in all X-Factor is an excellent and interesting addition and adds even more to the strategic choices you will make in MvC3. Will you pop it early in the game if you get a chance to one hit KO your opponent's best character? Will you save it until you're down to your last character and go balls to the wall rushdown for a last ditch effort to win? Will you save it to use on a character who still has a lot of red health left that you want to quickly recover before its lost? These choices are all up to you and all have their pros/cons. Its up to you to decide how you want to use X-Factor to your particular strategy.

KFC/XFC (X-Factor Cancel)

This is the term for when you cancel the end of a combo or hyper into your X-Factor, to recover instantly and chain it into another combo or hyper. Which can end up being a huge deal once people get very good at this game, I think it will lead to there being multiple ways to One-Hit KO an opponents character if you have enough hyper meters and have X Factor. Again, KFC can also be used to stop your unsafe hyper if its blocked, to prevent you from being punished.

Assists
Assists call in a teammate to aid you. They can do various attacks, grabs, counters or even charge up your hyper meter. In MvC3 each character has 3 different choices of assists, you choose their assist after you choose them on the team select screen. Each assist is labeled loosely by "type" and "direction". "Type" is what kind of attack it is, there are direct, shot and special types. Direct type means the assist comes out and directly hits your opponent. Shot type means the assist comes out and launches a projectile at your opponent. Special type means it does something unique, the assist comes out and boosts your hyper meter, or recovers some red health for your point character, or some other unique assist. "Direction" generally specifies where on the screen the assist will hit. Either upward (straight up), uptowards (at an angle), or direct front (straight at the opponent). Some assists hit high and must be blocked high. e.g.: Viper's Burning Kick Assist. Some assists hit low and must be blocked low. e.g.: X-23's Ankle Slicer Assist. But the vast majority of assists can be blocked either high or low. In my opinion the descriptors on the assists telling you the type and direction aren't really accurate enough. For the best results you should The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 1
5

play around with each different assist your character has and decide which is best for you. You cannot call an assist during a special or during a super jump. You cannot tag in during an assist. One other note: if you see the term AAA written when you are looking through notes for this game, it generally refers to the phrase Anti- Air Assist (an assist that is designed to do an Anti Air move).

Tagging
To tag you hold the corresponding assist button for about a half second. This will take your point character off the screen and switch it with the assist character you designated to tag in. When your next character tags in they will do a little taunt that lasts a few frames, this leaves them vulnerable. Therefore, it is best to tag in by doing a DHC (which we will get to later), or tag right after defeating your opponent's point character, or while your opponent is recovering from a blocked/missed special or hyper. "Naked" tagging is when you tag while your opponent is not in one of those situations. Naked tagging is a very bad idea against decent players. This is because when your character tags in and does their taunt the opponent can combo them into hypers and other things for large amounts of damage.

Dashing
Either double tap your desired direction. or hold to that direction and press AB (Light and Medium Attack simultaneously). This will make your character move to that spot quicker than just walking over. Some characters have faster or farther dashes than others. Not all characters have ground dashes, and not all characters have air dashes.

Wavedashing
Using multiple dashes to cover ground quickly. The best way to wavedash is to hold the direction and tap AB repeatedly. This is useful if you need to get to your opponent quick to either keep pressure on them or to punish them if they whiff a move. This could also be used in reverse to get away from your opponent if you are playing a character who relies on a strong keepaway game like MODOK or Chris. VIDEO: (0:00 - 0:40) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9_K9BVFtfI

Dash Canceling
You can cancel the end of any dash by ducking (crouching) or doing an attack. Duck (crouching) cancelling a dash ends your approach early and is good for safely approaching or baiting your opponent. Attack cancelling is an important part of rushdown. (We will get more into character choices like rushdown, keepaway, etc. later.). Not all characters can dash cancel, so experiment with your characters and see what is available to you. 16

Tri-dashing
Dashing in the air with a character who has an 8 way dash. Most characters in MvC3 can only dash left or right on the ground or in the air. Some characters can dash left, right, up, down, upright, downleft, any direction they want to go. This is called an 8 way dash and only a small number of characters can do them (Magneto, Storm, Viper just to name a few). Tri-dashing down onto an opponent and cancelling the tridash with an attack is a great way to keep pressure on them.

Meter
In this game you gain no meter for whiffing (missing) attacks like you did in MvC2. You build meter when your attack is hit or blocked, or you block an opponents attack, or you are hit by an opponent's attack. You build a lot of meter for landing an attack or being hit, and build a little meter for blocking or being blocked. The thing that seems to build meter the fastest in MvC3 is when you combo into launcher then into an AR and then Aerial Exchange another character in and do another AR, so on and so forth. The highest number of meter levels you can have in MvC3 is 5. MvC3 seems to grant good meter gain, by the end of the match you will have likely gotten at least 5 meters. There are some characters who have specials or assists that have the sole purpose of building meter. e.g.: Felicia has a move where she scrunches up and cowers while sparks fly up around her, this special builds lots of meter but doesn't attack the opponent and is vulnerable to punishment.

DHC (Delayed Hyper Combo)

This is when you do a Hyper with your point character, and then interrupt the hyper to bring in your next character who immediately activate's their Hyper. To do this you activate a Hyper with your point, then sometime before the end of that Hyper's animation, you do the input for your next character's Hyper. You have to input the next character's Hyper Combo before your first character's Hyper Combo ended for this to all work. When your second character comes in to do the DHC they will land generally in the same spot on the screen that your first character was at. You should know that just because you perform the DHC properly, doesn't mean that the two Hypers will for sure connect. It all depends upon which Hyper you are DHC'ing into. For example, if you hit an opponent who is across the screen with Iron Man's Proton Cannon, and then DHC into Haggar's Grab Hyper, Haggar's Hyper will not hit because it requires Haggar to be close to the opponent. Haggar would get to tag in and do his Hyper, but his would not hit and do damage. However if you had done an Iron Man Proton Cannon and DHC'd into Deadpool's Happy Happy Trigger Hyper (where he shoots his pistols rapidly across the screen), then the hits would continue the combo that Proton Cannon had started. Some Hypers in MvC3 are better suited to be DHC's than other Hypers, because they hit full screen and do good damage (an example would again be Iron Man's Proton Cannon). If you wanted to do even more damage you could DHC from the second character's Hyper into your third character's Hyper (as long as you had 3 meters to begin with). DHC's are useful The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 1
7

because they serve many purposes. They can be a way to deal more damage off a single combo (like what we just discussed above), they can be a way to run time out off the clock if there are a few seconds left and you are about to win, or they can be a safer way to tag in your next character instead of you risking a naked tag.

THC (Team Hyper Combo)

When all of your characters come on screen simultaneously and all perform their hyper. You do this by pressing both the assist buttons at the same time. The hyper that each character does when they come out is predetermined by the assist you chose for that character. So when you THC all the characters come out and do their Hypers at the same exact time, this is differen than when you DHC and each character came out one at a time. Experiment to see which assist gives you which Hyper in a THC. But honestly, THC should rarely be used, it is better (and not much more difficult) to just DHC through 3 characters because you are using the same number of meters but are also able to tell whether your Hyper is being blocked or not with a DHC instead of a THC. The only time I could ever see a THC should be used is when you literally have one second left and you want to try to chip down the opponent to put their life total lower than yours. Or if your opponent did something very stupid and punishable and you want a quick high damage punish and you have 3 meters to waste.

Groundbounce
This is an attack that knocks the opponent into the ground and causes them to bounch up off the ground. After your opponent bounces up, most characters can combo them. As of right now the only thing we have seen that will cause groundbounce is when you do an Aerial Rave on an opponent and end it with the Exchange button (without using a direction input). That slams them out of the air into the ground and causes them to groundbounce. There may be characters who have moves/specials that cause groundbounces, research your characters to see what is available to you.

Wallbounce
In MvC3 there are some attacks that make the opponent hit the wall and bounce back at you. e.g.: Ryu's Donkey Kick. You can then do a combo or Hyper before they land. After a wallbounce or a groundbounce any attack will land. You can only do one wallbounce or one groundbounce per combo. But you can do as many OTGs as needed.

OTG (On-The-Ground)
Some attacks in MvC3 will knock your opponent down to the ground but not make them bounce up. You can hit the opponent while they are lying on the ground 18

though, as long as your character has an OTG. Not every character has an OTG. An OTG is an attack that is specifically for hitting your opponent up off of the ground and starting a combo. Examples of OTG's are Dormammu's Tower Pillar and Deadpool's Katana Rama. OTG's either lift you off the ground, or make you bounce up off the wall or ground. So to sum these up: If you make your opponent bounce up off the ground or wall you can attack with any attack. If you make your opponent slam into the ground and lay on their back, then you must have an OTG move that makes them come up where you can hit them.

Snapback
When you do a command normal which will make the opponent switch to their next character if it hits. To do a snapback you input QCF + A1 or A2. In MvC2 this made the character you snapped back have a red "X" over their name and not let your opponent use that character for anything for a few seconds. But in MvC3 it just makes your opponent's character automatically switch out to their next one.

Advancing Guard (aka Pushblock)

Pushblock is a technique in MvC3 that helps you keep opponents from non-stop pressuring you. If you are blocking a string of your opponent's attacks, and you input pushblock, you will push them farther away from you. To do a Pushblock you press LM after you have started blocking the opponent's attack.

Unblockables
This is a term for when you create a situation that makes it impossible for your opponent to block your attack. This is no easy task. You won't see many if any unblockables in SSFIV, but in MvC3 we will see a handful for sure. It will take time for advanced players to discover them and figure out the timing to perform them in a match, but it will happen. In order for something to be unblockable it must hit the opponent high and low at the same exact time. Since low attacks must be blocked low, and overheads must be blocked high, then its impossible to block both if your opponent makes them hit at the same time. An example that may be possible in MvC3 would be to use C.Viper's Burning Kick Assist (which is an overhead), and have it hit the opponent at the exact same time as X-23's very fast Ankle Slicer special (which hits low), if you timed them perfect they will hit at the same time and be......unblockable. If you successfully create the unblockable both moves will hit the opponent and you can combo out of it.

PseudoUnblockables
This is a term for when you create a situation that makes it very difficult to block your attack, but not impossible. Using the example we used above with X-23 and C.Viper, if you slightly missed the timing on that attempt, and either the Burning The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 1
9

Kick assist or the Ankle Slicer hit slightly later than the other, it would be very hard to block one way then the other, but not impossible. Another way you can create pseudounblockables is to hit your opponent from both sides at the same time. There are a couple of ways to do this. A very basic way is to hit your assist button just as you jump over your opponent's head, which causes your assist to come out on the left side of your opponent, while you land on the right side and go straight into an attack. Another way to do a pseudounblockable can be done when you have a character with a move (typically one of their specials) that puts them quickly over on the other side of their opponent. An example of this in MvC3 is by using Wolverine who has a special that has him very quickly teleport to the opposite side of his opponent and do a slashing attack. If you called in an assist right when you teleported to the opposite side of the opponent it would be very hard for the opponent to block, thus, it will be a "pseudounblockable". An example you may be more familiar with is from the SSFIV world, Dhalsim can use his Yoga Catastrophe Ultra to spit out his huge fireball then he can teleport to your opposite side and attack you. This may be hard for some players to block, but it is not impossible. Some of you may be thinking right now, this stuff sounds hard to block, how am I suppossed to know where to block? Well in the case of being hit from both sides from a pseudounblockable, you would block away from the main character you're currently facing. In the Dhalsim scenario, you need to block against Dhalsim, do not worry about his Yoga Catastrophe, if you block Dhalsim, you will block him and the fireball. So in the Wolverine situation, when he teleports to the opposite side of you, you block him and focus on him, don't worry about the assist he calls in. In the case of a high-low pseudounblockable, you just block whichever one hits you first, then block the second one. So if C.Viper's Burning Kick gets to you first, you block high, then immediately block low to be able to block X-23's Ankle Slicer.

Character Kill Combo (CKC)

When you perform a combo that does so much damage that it could kill an opponent's full health character all in one combo. This typically requires multiple bars of Hyper (usually at least 3) and a KFC (X-Factor Cancel) to be performed during some part of the combo. You may hear CKC referred to by other names like "touch of death combo" or "One-hit kill combo" or "one-shot", but technically these aren't "one-shots" because its taking far more than one hit to kill the enemy. CKC is the term being used the most as of late on multiple MvC3 forums and will likely be the term that sticks.

Infinites
This term refers to a magic series that allows you to continue your combo for an infinite amount of time (until you kill your opponent's character) if you perform

20

them perfectly. There were some characters who had infinites in MvC2. However, a new system has been implemented in MvC3 to prevent infinites from technically existing. The addition is called Hit-Stun Decay. We discussed hit stun earlier in the guide, as the time that your character is in after being hit, in which the opponent has enough time to hit you again before you are out of hit stun. What hit-stun decay does is make the hit-stun of every move slowly become less and less the longer your combo goes on (kind of like comboscaling). So while players may discover ways to loop a combo two, or maybe even three times, it will be impossible for them to do an infinite on you because as they add more and more hits, the window for the next hit of the combo gets smaller and smaller until its eventually impossible to continue the combo. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNaq0GuRVno

The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 2

Building Your Team in MvC3

Rushdown
The term for a character who's strengths are in getting in their opponents face and putting a lot of pressure on them. These characters typically have good speed or dashes, but they also usually have lower health than most other characters. In SSFIV these are characters like Makoto and Rufus. They need to get to you fast and keep constant pressure on you if they want to be successful and they are very good at it. Some examples of rushdown characters in MvC3 would be Zero, Viper, Wolverine, etc. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYE28...540AD8A71C59A7

Keepaway
The term for a character who's strengths are in keeping their opponent at the other side of the screen and hitting them with ranged attacks and setting up traps to keep their opponent away. They have more zoning tools than most other characters and usually have average health. In SSFIV you might call these "zoning characters", like Dhalsim or Sagat. Some examples of keepaway characters in MvC3 would be MODOK, Dormammu, Arthur, etc. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXMNH3PDXgo 7

Multipurpose
The term for a character who can generally play decently well with whatever playstyle they choose. If they need to rushdown they can, but they may not be as effective at it as a character like Zero. If they need to play keepaway, they have a tool or two that helps them do that, but they may not be as effective at it as MODOK would. They typically have normal health. You may hear other terms used for these characters other than Multipurpose, like All-Around, Balanced, etc. Some examples of Multipurpose characters in MvC3 would be Deadpool, Dante, Amaretsu, etc. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv5PI7UHffE

Tank
The term for a character who deals big damage, has above average health, but is also usually slow and has shorter ranged attacks. An example of a tank in SSFIV would be Zangief, he hits very hard, has a ton of health, but is relatively slow and likes to be in close range. Some examples of tanks in MvC3 would be Hulk, Haggar, etc. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gImpF0uTnx0

22

HeavyHitters
The term I use for a character who deals a lot of damage, could be from having one really good and powerful Hyper move, or just the term for a character who deals above average damage on all hits. An example of someone who is a HeavyHitter because of their Hyper would be Iron Man because you can call him in as a DHC with his Proton Cannon and do tons of damage or chip. An example of someone who could be called a HeavyHitter because of his above average damage would be Wesker (or in SSFIV this would be like Cody). All of his attacks do above average damage, but he doesn't have really high health himself and he has a playstyle that can fit several situations. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7LGIxvST0

Synergy
The term used to describe characters that seem to mesh together nicely when used on the same team. There are several different factors that determine whether characters have synergy. One can be when a character's assist works well with another character's need to pressure. An example of this would be X-23 and C.Viper. X-23 has very fast attacks that hit low and she has fast dash speed, while C.Viper has her Burning Kick Assist which must be blocked high by your opponent. If you partner X-23's fast low hitting skills with a well timed C.Viper Burning Kick Assist you can create unblockables and pseudo-unblockables. Another example of synergy in MvC3 could be Wolverine partnered with a Chun-Li LightingLegs Assist. Wolverine has a special that lets him teleport to the opposite side of his opponent and hit them on that side, Chun-Li's LightingLegs Assist hits on the front side of the opponent with a flurry of kicks that hits multiple times and has an outstanding hitbox. So you could use Chun's assist as you do Wolverine's special that puts him on the opposite side and attack the opponent from both sides for a pseudounblockable. You could also say that two characters have synergy if one has an assist that is helpful to a Keepaway character. For example, Amaretsu's Ice Shot Assist is when she comes out into the air and shoots ice shots down at the opponent. These ice shots come very fast, hit a good sized area of the screen, and its hard to punish Amaretsu during it. You could use the time that Amaretsu is making your opponent block her ice shots, to allow your main KeepAway character to back away from the opponent and set-up their traps and zoning game. So a keepaway character like MODOK would have good synergy with Amaretsu because of her Ice Shot Assist. Another way that characters can have synergy is their DHC compatability. This is when one character's Hyper DHC's nicely into another character's Hyper. Like the example I used earlier. Deadpool's Happy Happy Trigger Hyper is a projectile Hyper that goes full screen, if The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 2
3

you hit with it and then DHC into Iron Man's Proton Cannon (which is also a projectile Hyper that goes full screen) the two Hypers will combo into each other and do full damage. Most skilled players agree, that your team for the most part, should have good synergy if you wish to succeed against decent opponents. I'll go deeper into synergy on the Advance Guide to MvC3, which will be written up about a week after release of MvC3. *****Some characters can fit in more than one role. For example Iron Man has an 8 way dash, decent projectiles and a hard hitting DHC with his Proton Cannon, therefore he could be considered a Multipurpose character and a HeavyHitter.

Lockdown
This is a term that I decided to throw in here simply because I know that once you get further into this game and read up on strategies you will be hearing it a lot. Lockdown is the term for a particular setup that forces the opponent to block and stay in a certain part of the screen (thus keeping the opponent "locked down"). This is usually done by using an assist that hits a large part of the screen and provides cover for the point character to also attack with a good zoning move. This combination of strong attacks usually forces your opponent to block and stay where you want them. A classic example of Lockdown is accomplished by using Dr. Doom's "Doom Rocks" Assist, since they have a large hitbox, last a decent amount of time, and allow the point character to either move in on the opponent, or use a projectile or similar attack to keep the opponent locked down. Lockdown is usually used as a term for a playstyle than it is for a particular character however. *****Most players feel it is important to have a somewhat balanced team. What that means is having your team of 3 characters have a variety of playstyles instead of having everyone on your team be Rushdown, or everyone be Tanks,etc. You may have one Keepaway, one Rushdown, and one Tank as your team if you wish to be able to adapt to whatever situation your opponent throws at you. You may have 2 Rushdown characters mixed with a HeavyHitter who comes in as a DHC to add punishment after your Rushdown character started a combo into their Hyper. There are nearly infinite ways to build your team to your liking and that's one great thing about versus games. You will still see people who build a team based around one character type like all Rushdown, or all Keepaway. But if you do that you need to understand that there will be holes in your team's strategy that can be exploited by good players. For instance if you play a team that is all Keepway, and your opponent is very skilled with a strong Rushdown character like Viper, you may have a hard time keeping their Viper off of you. All in all, the way you build your team is completely up to you, just realize the strengths and weaknesses of the team you built and be prepared for them. 24

*****If you pick your team, then see your opponent's team and decide you don't want to start the first character you selected against the first character they selected, then there is a way for you to change your point character right before the match begins. You just hold down the assist button for the character who you would rather use first, holding it all the way until the match begins. For example: You chose MODOK/Deadpool/Storm, and I chose Zero/Chun-Li/Magneto. You think to yourself: Wait! I don't want MODOK out against his very good rushdown Zero! Then you could hold the A2 button, and Storm would come out for you at the start instead of MODOK. *****There are 4 characters in this game who are unlockable. Below are their names and how to unlock them: Akuma - Beat Arcade Mode 1 time. Sentinel - Beat Arcade Mode 2 times. Hsien Ko - Beat Arcade Mode 3 times. Taskmaster - Beat Arcade Mode 4 times.

The Beginners Guide to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 2

Final Notes
*****I will be writing another guide, a week after MvC3 launches, that will consist of terminology, strategies and components that are a little more advanced than what I felt comfortable putting in this guide. So if your interested check back with me in a few weeks. If you have any questions email me: hsmith403@yahoo.com If you have ideas of how to contribute to this beginner's guide, email them to me and if they are needed I will add them and credit you.*****

26