I play on a PS3 pad and I have to say that tri-dashing is way simpler on a arcade stick, I’ve been playing Doom for a while and I still mess up his tri-dashes from time to time. Other than that I can do everything else a stick supposedly does better like Buster charging, Plink dashing, etc. Heck I even play Shuma on pad 
Not gonna lie, playing mahvel on DS3 is pretty ass imo.
To be honest, I feel that with a little button switching and a day in practice mode anyone can play any character. (And yes I do play Phoenix wright on occasion) Mainly I see it as which do you prefer to use, the d-pad or the actual joy stick. If its the joy stick, I’d recommend you to get a stick and if its the d-pad I’d recommend the ps3 pad.
#my 2 cents
A stick is a luxury in this game, not a prerequisite. I play DualShock 3 pad and I play rather “high execution” characters in this game, including Magneto/Dante/Iron Man/Morrigan/Zero.
and Pad is better for numerous things as well.
Double/Triple Motions, CPing, TK’s are a few.
It’s a preference.
Ok Pad (d-pad on pad?) Vs stick is preference.
However what do you guys think about using the ANALOG stick on a controller? That’s what I play with but I have a feeling the d-pad or a stick is 20x more accurate especially with diagonal motions. I can’t get myself to really play the d-pad on controllers as I love the smooth motions of the analog hence me looking for a stick.
I use the standard PS3 dualshock, and used the PS2/PS1 controller before that.
Generally modern games cater towards pad players much more than they used to (with the exception of KOFXIII. Short hops etc seems pretty hard on pad. Also Skullgirls is kinda hard with all it’s butttonss.)
I’ve found nothing in UMvC3 that’s impossible to execute on the PS3 standard controller. 
@Bryanv2: Dude, I used to play on the analog. Learn d-pad, it makes things A LOT easier in the long run.
It takes a little while though. My execution got a lot better when I learnt d-pad, especially with things like FADCs in SF4.
I know a dude in PA that took top 16 at NEC 2k11 on an Xbox pad…
He manages Wesker/Dorm/Task on pad just fine…
I think I’m going to seize the opportunity and ask the PS3 pad players here: how do you backwards wavedash on the PS3 pad?
Back + Square + Triangle, down/back, repeat.
My config was a bit different… For the record, I don’t play anymore, but when I did…
SQ = L
TRI = H
X = M
O = S
L1R1 = A1
L2R2 = A2
I held the right “handle” of the pad with my thumb, ring and pinky, and used my index and middle to attack. Left index to use assists, and analog stick on thumb. If I had a DS1 with converter at my disposal, then I used the R1/R2 instead of the L buttons and tapped them with my ring finger.
I played X23/Wesker(Sometimes Nova)/ (Doom/Sentinel/Task/Hawkeye)
I play KOF on pad. The only thing I really find difficult is buffering charge moves into each other, like with Leona’s HD combos.
I’ve been trying to do that, and it just doesn’t work for me. So I thought I could do something similar to plink dashing - assign :l:+:m: to R1, for instance, then go for 
+ :h:, + R1, repeat. It would be interesting to know if anybody else does it this way, and find out which of the two methods is easier.
I knew it! Damn :[ lol. Ive been using Analog forever and even did pretty good Vs the locals here here but the amount of random input errors I get suck. Doesnt help that im playing Dante, and learning Viper/Mag on the side lol. Also yea anything involving multiple direction presses looks easier
Ill just order a stick and if I don’t like that I’ll swap to the d-pad. If players like Fanatiq can place incredibly high with a pad anything should be possible. Tho if its the most practical Im not sure. I want a stick mainly for things like easoer plnkings and better diagonal inputs. Possible on pad, just more annoying for me.
- Hold the analog stick back with your right thumb
- Dash
- Press down on the D-Pad with your left thumb
- Repeat steps 2 and 3
It’s pretty much completely impractical in almost every situation, but hey, it’s an alternative.
This is my controller setup:
My setup
[details=Spoiler]Square: L
Triangle: M
O: H
X: S
L1: A1
L2: A2
L3: A1+A2
R1: L
R2: L+M
R3: L+M+H+S
[/details]
With this setup, I can use Task’s supers by pressing R1+Tri for Horizontal, R1+O for Diag, and Tri+O for Down/Up supers. Changing R2 to M+H will allow you to charge with Zero/Viper and dash with R2 at the same time. Also, you could use the Fanatiq setup which is like my setup but with L3 and R3 blank and R1=L+M and R2=M+H.
I know having 2 L buttons is really redundant, but I don’t know what to replace Square with so I left it like that.
I used to only use pad, but I always liked the feel of arcade sticks more. I switched a couple months ago after I had enough money to get one, and rarely thought about switching back. I think that some things were easier to me on pad, like double motions, quick DPs, and such, but it was all ironed out through training mode. I found movement to be much easier and smoother on a stick, even though my movement was superior on pad at first. Also, I never could of learned Magneto on pad.
Whoa, that IS impractical, hahaha! Thanks for the input, though. I tried doing what I mentioned before (assigning :l:+:m: to R1, then backwards wavedashing via + :h:, + R1, repeat), but idk, it didn’t work out the way I thought it would.
I guess I’ll just keep practicing the “, dash, :db:, dash” thing.
I wish Sony would make an official controller suited for fighting games.
I second that. Sony, Madcatz or any other reliable company. I’m thinking of buying this controller (http://www.amazon.com/PS3-Fighting-Commander-3-Pro-Playstation/dp/B0057WDD6O/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1356367958&sr=8-6&keywords=fighting+pad+ps3). Those six buttons would help me a ton!
Does anybody play ultimate on a legit Saturn pad? I’m not talking about those wanna-be USBs where the d-pad breaks off over time.