The Ultimate Storm Thread v2.01 (Updated 2020.07.25)

General Strategy, Page 4

Air Juggles:
Rather than discuss launcher combos, this section is designed to give insight into Storm’s juggles and how they work; knowing why and how things work in UMvC3 is important because you as the player gain insight into why other things might work and you’ll know when something is going to fail, even in the middle of an attempt, and you’ll know how to salvage that situation.

Storm’s main juggle tools are j.:h: and j.:s: with j.:m: being a minor juggle tool. You won’t see too much of j.:m: in Storm juggles just because her moves have very little hitstun, so j.:m: only has uses very early on when juggling. J.:m: is used primarily to float opponents high enough to begin to take advantage of her air dash juggles for later in combos and has no other notable uses for juggles. J.:h: is the go-to juggle normal for Storm–this move has the most hitstun and gives Storm the ability to control enemy height during juggles. Time the air dash out of a j.:h: differently to control the opponent’s height. Air dashing early into another j.:h: will float the opponent higher and air dashing later into another j.:h: will float the opponent lower to the ground. J.:s: has some uses in basic Storm combos but many more uses in some of her intermediate and advanced juggles. This move doesn’t have as much hitstun as j.:h:, but has a downward angle unique to Storm’s moveset and float enemies up just a little bit, making some very fancy juggles possible when used with air dashes properly. Lightning Attack gets some burn here because of its ability to direct Storm and the opponent to the ground where the opponent can be picked up for a full combo in most cases.

j.:l: – No effect on opponent, low hitstun
j.:m: – High float, low hitstun
j.:h: – Low float, high hitstun
j.:s: – High float, medium hitstun
Lightning Attack – Medium float, high hitstun

Storm doesn’t have jump loops like most air dash characters and relies on ground re-floats to extend her combos. Storm’s primary goal with an air juggle is to stun the opponent long enough and low enough to the ground to land some ground normals ending with either c.:h: or s.:s: and jump cancel out of those to extend the combo. Typical air strings with Storm might look like < j.:h:, j.:s:, air dash, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, … > or < j.:s:, air dash :df:, land, s.:m:, … >. Also unlike most other air dash characters, Storm cannot abare her way into a Flight combo; if Storm intercepts her opponent in the air with a random j.:h:, do not attempt to cancel into Flight for an air dash combo because it will not work. The exception to this rule is if you are able to abare with super jump normals–those have more hitstun and will allow you to go into a Flight combo if performed quickly.

Running Away:
Running away is an essential part of life. Running away means that you’ve recognized a situation in which you cannot compete and doing so would injure or destroy you. This sort of self-awareness is important and getting out of a bad situation can make or break the match for a player. As noted previously, Storm has the basic runaway tools, but they are quite good at doing their job. Storm has arguably the best air dash in the game combined with great ground plink dashes. Storm can flee with the best of them, even using Lightning Attack to further her runaway potential. Unfortunately, Storm cannot mount an offense while running away due to the static nature of her moves and their recovery data; Storm’s specials leave her too still for too long and cannot be used to reliably pester the opponent while you’re moving around. Fair Wind, while only useable on the ground, actually gives Storm an option while running away, but beware for its recovery and for moves that negate momentum change.

X-Factor:
Storm is a fantastic candidate for X-Factor. While her power boosts are among the lowest in the game for X-Factor, he speed boosts are decent and she becomes much much harder to block even solo. Storm also gets real character combos complete with actual hitstun and OTG extensions. Most notably, though, Storm is famous for X-Factoring her Hail Storm hyper and activating another Hail Storm, dealing massive amounts of damage to opposing characters and their assists.

In X-Factor level 1, Storm gets access to extended combos and modified jump loops. Please be aware that Storm’s normal combos will not work button for button in XF1. The combos will have to be modified slightly, but XF1 is essentially Storm with a normal character’s combos and faster movement.

In X-Factor level 2, this is where things get interesting. Storm now is fast enough to get extreme damage in the corner with Double Typhoon loops by initiating a hard knockdown, then landing and firing a Double Typhoon and hitting the enemy with s.:s: as they descend from the Double Typhoon.

In X-Factor level 3, Storm becomes a good deal harder to block and still uses the same combos as XF2. Work may have to be done in the near future to optimize X-Factor Storm combos outside of jump loops and Double Typhoon loops.

Team Aerial Combos:
Storm has two immediately obvious uses for being the recipient of a TAC tag-in. First, she is capable of ending “happy birthday” combos with a quick air series into Hail Storm and DHC out from there for the KO on both characters if necessary. Next, she can initiate her TAC infinite combo variations from almost anywhere on screen from most TAC directions. The TAC infinite is especially important for Storm, as it is a viable resource-free way for her to score big damage that should would not otherwise be able to output normally.

Storm doesn’t use wall or floor bounces in her combos, so she can come in for her combos off of any TAC directional tag-in and perform the combo of her choice just fine. Beware if you plan on ending your combo with Elemental Rage, however, as you will not receive the wall bounce that is applied at the end of that hyper.

When initiating a TAC tag-out, Storm has the benefit of slipping TACs into many different areas of her combo, similarly to her resets. Keep the opponent on edge by attempting TACs in various areas and sometimes replacing those TAC attempts with resets–you’ll find that not giving the opponent a moment’s rest can force some second guessing and over-thinking on their part.

General Strategy, Page 5

Risk Assessment:
One word that has been ever-present throughout this writing is “risk”. If Storm has one concept that would measure her as a character and by the rule by which all her actions were measured, it would be risk. Storm, having the handicaps of low damage and low meter gain very often has to ask the question, “Is this action that I’m about to take…worth it?” As you can imagine, the answer is not always clear and can vary greatly based on the tiniest external factor. When playing as Storm, risk assessment needs to be a pillar of your gameplay and decision-making. While she’s not an absurdly strong character, Storm bring a great deal of powerful utility to a team and can very quickly become an indispensable member of the team if used at her maximum effectiveness. Every action with Storm entails some risk factor, however, so the player needs to be an effective judge of scenario construction while also being able to see beyond the immediate effects of any particular decision.

The notion of risk implies the idea of commitment; that is, the idea that once you begin an action, you are stuck seeing that action through (for the most part) and are responsible for the outcomes of that action, be they negative or positive. Storm only universally commits during two general scenarios: tridash approaches and projectile use.

Tridashing is different from ground dashes and Flight plink air dashes because once you start, there is no real way to back out or cancel out of your action within a reasonable enough time. When you tridash, you are tridashing and can’t really feint that. You can choose to not use an attack or to alter the timing of your attack, but when you perform that air dash, no matter what you do after that, you are in that lane of motion until you hit the ground. Tridashing is extremely vulnerable to reversal assists, mashed out anti-airs and instant air grabs.

Using projectiles needs to be as much about the risk Storm exposes herself to as it is about the risk the projectile poses to the enemy. When looking at projectile situations this way, projectiles hardly seem worth it, but it’s good to have a minimalistic view of Storm’s projectiles just because she becomes so vulnerable during their use. Of course situations exist when not only is throwing a projectile what Storm should do, but is also the best option; however, it’s important to realize that just because Storm has many good projectiles, that doesn’t make her a projectile character. She needs to apply their specific uses very intelligently not only to make the most out of those options, but to also minimize the chances that she’ll get KO’d for committing to some wind throwing.

Team Dynamics:
In this section, without turning this into a “team building” discussion, we’ll examine how Storm fits into teams, what she needs in a team and what she can offer to a team.

Team Needs

”Team Needs”

Spoiler

When considering what a fragile character like Storm needs for a team, the first idea that comes to mind is stability. Storm needs something that can mitigate her risk and let her flex on her opponents a little bit without worrying about making the safest possible approaches and extremely immaculate spacing. Next, she needs a boost. If Storm were to receive a report card with grades relating to her performance in UMvC3, she would score highly or admirably in several areas except areas where numbers are involved: frame data, damage and meter gain. Having something available to push her numbers game past its limit is a boon for her. Finally, Storm needs some help in executing a particular gameplan. Some characters can just sort of dash around and hit buttons and then KO people, but Storm definitely needs more of a gameplan and that gameplan needs to be flexible enough to adapt to different matchups but solid enough that it can fit within the framework of a team without becoming a detriment to the other members of that team.

In UMvC3, nothing adds quite as much stability as a beam assist. A strong beam assist is capable of letting Storm advance on the ground mostly unhindered and can serve as an opener for her combos if she is fast enough to capitalize on it. Stability can also come in the form of a reversal assist or a DHC into a safe hyper. Assists that can also be Crossover Countered into are valuable–anything that can help keep Storm safer and work to keep her alive so that she can continue offering the team utility and support.

Boosting Storm’s numbers game can happen in a few ways. Her frame data problems can be adjusted (not alleviated) with help from time-altering hypers. Storm’s damage is difficult to boost on its own; her combos already do miniscule damage, so extending them isn’t a highly viable option, but having a teammate who can tag in from a TAC or a DHC to pick up where Storm left off for big damage is a fantastic tactic and adds to the “fluid” nature of Storm teams. Storm’s damage can also be boosted indirectly through assists that also directly boost her meter gain. More meter for Storm to throw at enemies means less worrying about meter efficiency and more hail and more damage.

When it comes to gameplans, Storm’s needs should fit into the general mold of the team, but if she is the focus of a team, then by all means prioritize her, but be sure to do it intelligently. If your goal with Storm is to camp and throw projectiles and you want an assist that lets you do that, make sure that assist can also work with your other teammate so that you’re not having Storm be the team’s lynchpin. If your goal is lockdown, then make sure you’re using an assist that can be transitioned into a similar role or at least a functioning role for your other teammate. You want a flexible team that can commit to a solid goal.

Team Offerings

”Team Offerings”

Spoiler

Storm is one of those characters that brings almost pure support to a team. She is a capable character that can abuse many of the game’s mechanics, so she can likely successfully play the support role for a number of teams.

First, she has a solid assist. Just one solid assist, but as with everything else about Storm, that one option is super solid. Along with this assist comes an incredible THC hyper in Hail Storm. In fact, Hail Storm is one move that provides most of Storm’s utility for different situations. It’s a great THC, a great DHC both in and out and is perfect for sniping assists and fullscreen shenanigans.

Next, she has a relatively easy TAC infinite, making her a great candidate for receiving TAC tags. The ability to perform even extended combos without exactly comboing to a KO from almost any direction is important, especially for the lower damage characters, and Storm makes good use of this. Storm can also end TAC combos, infinite or not, with Hail Storm to finish off low HP enemies or to finish a TAC “happy birthday” combo.

Finally, Storm offers something a little less tangible to a team, but something that is important nonetheless. Storm can set pacing. If you need to slow the match down or to speed it up, Storm can do both of those things and as long as her team isn’t being completely overwhelmed, Storm can usually control the pace at which the match flows with relative ease. Whether you want to run down the clock or buy time for red HP to heal, Storm can take to the skies to slow things down or rush the enemy down with assists and tridashes. The ability to have a match proceed at your own pace is incredibly important as some characters are entirely reliant on their own rhythm to succeed. If you can not only remove another character from their pacing, but also put them into a pacing of your own design, you’ve gone a long way to finding success in that match already.

Team Order

”Team Order”

Spoiler

To make a long story short, Storm’s ideal position in a team is the second slot. If you’re wondering about where to put her, just put her there. Remember, however, that knowing why things work the way they do is important, so this section will still detail what Storm can do and what her strengths and weaknesses are in those positions. Who knows? You may find a different spot for your team in which Storm can realize her full potential within the framework of that team.

Point

[SPOILER=”Point”]
The point slot on a UMvC3 team is both the most dangerous and the most rewarding. A point character can easily set the tone for the rest of the match and, in some cases, completely decimate an entire team by itself. On the other hand, point characters are the most vulnerable characters on a team because they have to be able to deal with a team that has all its resources and as the first ten to twenty seconds of a match elapse, both teams will be gaining more resources in the context of meter and character-specific power ups. Point characters need to be able to effectively remove themselves from threats or to at least be able to survive dangerous situations.

Storm’s strength in this position is that her high mobility helps her move around so she is not totally susceptible to enemy tactics. She can also start the match by slowing things down a bit once she gets to a corner of the screen and starts throwing projectiles. Storm also has immediate access to both assists and a bar of meter without relying on a special tag in to let her start playing.

Storm has more weaknesses than strengths here, unfortunately. First, Storm’s opposing matchups against common point characters are between “average” and “pretty bad”. She has dominates very few point matchups and is especially vulnerable at the start of the round. Once Storm gets away from the enemy, she has an easier time, but that initial choice of when to jump or when to dash is the instant in which she can get tagged and KO’d with relatively minimal effort thanks to her low HP. Even if Storm is able to snag the first hit against the enemy and go into a full combo, there is a very high chance that she will not be able to KO the opposing point character without a DHC and the chances are still very high that she will not have built up the meter necessary to actually DHC out if the first hit she lands in the hit that leads into the aforementioned combo. Storm essentially has to hit the opponent twice to get rid of them and that is one time too many when looking at all the different strengths that other point characters will be using to bear down on you.

Support

”Support”

Spoiler

The support slot is probably the most important slot in a UMvC3 team. This character is the bridge between your point and anchor characters, so if your point character is KO’d and your support character cannot block the incoming mixup, your team is now sliding down a slippery slope with only your anchor left to play; if your support character has a way to make themselves safe on incoming, then you can at least halt the opponent’s momentum and try to get back into the match. Support slots are also generally where your best characters should be placed to avoid having your strongest character deal with the opponent at full resources while still offering that character an assist to help them out when they have to play. Supports are also some of the most fluid members of a team, meaning that they will be coming in and out as necessary to do damage or to keep teammates safe; support characters should have a good way to DHC in and out of the main stage.

Storm’s strengths in the support role are truly innumerous. Good DHC in. Great DHC out. TAC infinite tag-in from almost anywhere. Can perform ambiguously placed TAC tag-outs. Capable of buying time or stalling. Good assist. Strong THC. Playstyle flexible enough to suit multiple team styles or gameplans. Extremely strong use of XF2. These are all extremely strong traits and for one character to have them is fantastic. Storm is only really eclipsed by a few other characters in such an absolute support role. They key to having Storm in this position if you choose to house her here is to keep her moving. TAC in and out. DHC in and out. Crossover Counter when it’s warranted. Look for raw tag opportunities (Storm can combo off raw tags, by the way). That’s how you get the most utility out of such a fantastic support character.

Storm’s weaknesses in this area are only her main character weaknesses…low damage and low meter gain. Thankfully, these weaknesses are somewhat mitigated by the fact that DHCing into Hail Storm is a high-damage KO option and uses the meter that any other team would have spent on the DHC KO anyway, DHCing out of Elemental Rage gives some characters an opportunity for a full combo to beef up that damage and TACing into Storm also boosts damage and meter. What Storm needs to really be careful with in this position is making sure that she’s not a burden to the team once she’s in. If the point character has been KO’d, can she still function with the anchor as an assist? If the anchor got snapped in and KO’d, can she still function with the point as an assist? Answering these questions is vital because things don’t always go as planned and it’s very easy for a general support character to not operate strongly enough for the team once Plan A starts to fall apart.

Anchor

”Anchor”

Spoiler

Anchor characters are truly an enigma. The best characters suited for anchor are the most self-sufficient characters. Characters than can run, hide, rush and attack at almost any time. Anchors need easy and reliable hit confirms, especially into X-Factor and possessing a level 3 hyper helps to pull out clutch situations. High mobility is essential, as is the ability to combo from throws. The job description for an anchor character is pretty lengthy, but they pay back in spades when they win matches, often through the use of level 3 hypers or XF3 (sometimes both).

Storm’s strengths here are that her weaknesses as a character, which are few but overbearing, are minimized with the use of XF3. Furthermore, XF3 exacerbates her strengths and lets her also explicitly abuse her chip damage game faster and safer than she could otherwise.

Storm’s weaknesses here are that while she has good XF2 usage, it’s largely unchanged from her XF3 usage, so this means the only real benefits you’re getting from it are the extended time and the small damage boost. Storm’s combos still scale pretty hard and also take forever, so even though you’re pumping out actual damage, the combos will eat up a good deal of your X-Factor time and Storm may only be able to take out two characters on average. The bright side here is that Storm’s X-Factor combos in level 3 are mostly not optimized for level 3 as of this writing, so Storm may yet have improvement for this area.

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Gameplay and Combos

Foreword:
This section is designed to highlight Storm-specific information regarding gameplay and combos. This section will feature Storm players, different Storm teams and even Storm concepts or proofs of concept. It’s important to remember that several characters retain the possibility for limitless discoveries to be made about them and what they’re capable of; don’t limit Storm to what you read and see here and always be thinking of ways to improve the character.

The combo section will be updated as new ways of comboing are explored, but keep in mind that the combos listed are mainly bread-and-butter type combos, meaning that you can expand and complicate these combos at your leisure; these combos are not the be-all and end-all of Storm’s combo game. Combos are sorted based on type, damage and position with resource requirements and damage done listed along with full notation and any extra information needed to perform the combo correctly.

A bonus combo theory section follows afterward which details why Storm combos work the way they do and highlights what to look for when creating and constructing Storm combos.

Combo Videos:
Storm BnB Compilation (Xero18)
Storm Launcher Variations (Xero18, PacStrife)
Storm/Dante Assist Combos (Xero18)
Storm X-Factor Combos/Loops (scandiumtrioxide)

Gameplay Videos:
Chris Matrix

Chris Matrix

Spoiler

v. Lud (XBox Live, 2012)
v. Lud 2 (XBox Live, 2012)

Dios X

Dios X

Spoiler

v. Flocker (EVO, 2013)

Fanatiq

Fanatiq

Spoiler

v. Combofiend (Comboratory, 2012)

Justin Wong

Justin Wong

Spoiler

v. IFC Yipes (EVO, 2012)
v. Nerses (EVO, 2013)
v. Angelic (EVO, 2013)
v. Filipino Champ (EVO, 2013)
v. Flocker (EVO, 2013)

Mike Ross

Mike Ross

Spoiler

v. Nemo (EVO, 2013)

Remix

Remix

Spoiler

v. Flux (Summer Jam 7, 2013)

Concept Videos: (Updated 11/7)
TAC Concepts
Lightning Sphere TAC Proof of Concept (Xero18)
Optimized Corner TAC Infinite (Xero18)
Lightning Sphere Left Side TAC (Xero18)
Down TAC Infinite, Regular Size (Xero18)
Midscreen TAC Starters (Xero18)

Team Concepts (Updated 11/7)
Storm/Sentinel Proof of Concept (Xero18)
Storm Raw Tag Setups (Xero18)
Storm Double Hailstorm Concept (Xero18)

Gameplay and Combos, Page 2

Generic Notes (Updated 11/7)

”Generic Notes”

Spoiler

Here are some basic notes regarding Storm’s combos. Please refer to the in-depth combo theory section for more information.

Common Starters:
Common combo starters include…
• s.:l: (Chain)
• c.:l: (Chain)
• j.:l: (Link)
• s.:h: (Link)
• j.:s: (Link)
The moves listed above are common combo starters. Of course, you can start a combo with almost any normal, but these are the normals you’ll have the highest chances of hitting the most often. With the link-type normals, make sure to learn the timing for your followups from multiple ranges.

Double Typhoon Enders:
To end a combo with << Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm >>, one of two conditions needs to be fulfilled for Storm. She must either be below her opponent when she initiates the hard knockdown or she must be extremely close to the ground when she initiates the hard knockdown. Either scenario gives Storm enough time to land and fire off the Double Typhoon.

Hyper Substitution:
For any combos that end with << sj.:s:, land, Hail Storm >>, you can always replace the Hailstorm with Elemental Rage or even the entire ending sequence with << sj.:h:, Lightning Attack xx Lightning Storm >>. Adjust your combos for spacing and special situations like incoming opposing assist projectiles or “happy birthday” combos.

Double Hypers: (Updated 11/7)
For any combos that end with << Double Typhoon xx Hail Storm >>, you can always link an Elemental Rage at the end, provided the opponent is high enough off the ground when you canceled out of Double Typhoon. If you have a slow long-lasting fullscreen assist (like “Sentinel Force (Charge)”), you can forego the Double Typhoon to call the assist, activate Hail Storm, land, and then activate Hail Storm again while your assist is still hitting the opponent.

The winds of change are blowing and Storm can now perform double hypers using Double Typhoon and some common assists! More specifically, Storm can perform:
<< Double Typhoon xx Hail Storm, :a1: + Lightning Attack xx (Hail Storm or Lightning Storm or Elemental Rage) >>
Operating from the same basic tenets as Hail Storm to Elemental Rage, this setup relies on the Double Typhoon to lift the opponent high enough to allow for the Lightning Attack to connect as the opponent is still falling. The opponent should be hit by your assist immediately afterward and while the opponent is getting hit, Storm can cancel the landing recovery from Lightning Attack into any applicable hyper. Remember, you want Hail Storm for okizeme, Lightning Storm for damage and Elemental Rage for DHCs (you should have enough time to DHC once Elemental Rage finishes).

Following is a list of assists which allow double hypers to go off. The list is broken into those who can offer double Hail Storm and those who cannot (as a universal rule, you can always perform a secondary Lightning Storm or Elemental Rage interchangeably with all of these assists, but Hail Storm is assist-specific).

Assists that can offer Hail Storm:
Akuma (Tatsumaki Zankyaku)
Dante (Jam Session)
Deadpool (Quick Work)
Ghost Rider (Chains of Rebuttal)
Iron Fist (Rising Fang)
Spencer (Wire Grapple (Horizontal Shot))
Sentinel (Sentinel Force (Charge))
Doctor Doom (Hidden Missiles)

Assists that offer Lightning Storm/Elemental Rage:
Iron Man (Repulsor Blast)
Wolverine (Berserker Barrage)
Hawkeye (Quick Shot (Greyhound))
Vergil (Rapid Slash)
Dormammu (Dark Hole)

TAC Infinite Unfly :h:: (Updated 11/7)
In order to complete TACs, Storm has to perform the following sequence:
<< f.:h:, ADD, f.:h:, slight pause xx Unfly + j.:h:, land, j.:l:, … >>
In order to perform the << Unfly + j.:h: >>, the following inputs are needed:
:qcb: + :s: + :h:
The :s: and :h: have to be hit simultaneously. If done correctly, Storm will Unfly and immediately perform j.:h: as she’s descending. If done incorrectly, Storm may or may not Unfly, but will perform Double Typhoon :h:, which is probably not what you want. An important thing to note is that if this technique is not perform close to the ground, Storm will perform multiple Lightning Attacks instead. Make sure you’re close to the ground.

Beginner Combos

”Beginner Combos”

Spoiler

s.:h:, c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h: xx :h: Whirlwind xx Hailstorm

c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:m:, j.:m:, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

c.:l:, c.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, ADDF, sj.:h:, land, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADF, j.:s:, land, Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm

(Corner) c.:l:, c.:m:, [c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land]x5, c.:h:, s.:s:, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

c.:l:, c.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:m:, sj.:h: xx Flight, f.:l:, f.:h:, [ADF, f.:h:]x5, f.:s:, land, Hailstorm

Advanced Combos

”Advanced Combos”

Spoiler

c.:l:, c.:m:, s.:h:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h: xx :l: Lightning Sphere, sj.:h:, ADF, sj.:h: xx :l: Lightning Sphere, sj.:s:, land, Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm

c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:m:, j.:m:, j.:s:, land, s.:h:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, j.:s:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:s:, ADDF, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, j.:s:, ADDF, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, j.:s:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:s: xx :df: Lightning Attack xx :f: Lightning Attack xx :d: Lightning Attack, land, s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:s: xx :df: Lightning Attack xx :f: Lightning Attack xx :d: Lightning Attack, land, s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, j:s:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, jc, :f: Lightning Attack x2 xx :d: Lightning Attack, land, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h: xx :l: Lightning Sphere, sj.:h:, ADF, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

Anti-Air Combos

”Anti-Air Combos”

Spoiler

(Anti-Air) :uf: Lightning Attack xx :f: Lightning Attack xx :d: Lightning Attack, [land, s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, ADD]x3, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

(Air to Air) sj.:h:, sj.:s:, ADF, sj.:h: xx Flight, f.:l:, f.:h:, [ADF, f.:h:]x5, f.:s: xx :uf: Lightning Attack x3 xx Lightning Storm

(SJ Air to Ground) sj.:h:, ADD, sj.:h:, land, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h: xx :l: Lightning Sphere, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

Throw Combos

”Throw Combos”

Spoiler

(Ground Throw) Ground Throw, Hailstorm

(Air Throw) Air Throw, land, Double Typhoon, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

(Air Throw) Air Throw, ADDF, j.:l:, land, s.:l:, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, :f: Lightning Attack xx :d: Lightning Attack, land, s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

(SJ Air Throw) Air Throw, ADDF, sj.:s:, land, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, :f: Lightning Attack, :d: Lightning Attack, land, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, ADF, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

(SJ Air Throw) Air Throw, ADDF, sj.:s:, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, :f: Lightning Attack xx :d: Lightning Attack, land, s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, j.:s:, ADF, j.:h:, s.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Hailstorm

X-Factor Combos

”X-Factor Combos”

Spoiler

(X-Factor 1) c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, XFC, [s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, j.:s:, ADF, j.:h:, land]x2, s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h: xx :l: Lightning Sphere, sj.:s:, land, Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm

(X-Factor 2/3) c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, XFC, s.:m:, s.:h:, [s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Double Typhoon]x2, s.:s:, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm

(X-Factor 2/3) c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, XFC, [s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, j.:s:, ADF, j.:h:, land]x2, s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h: xx :l: Lightning Sphere, sj.:s:, land, Double Typhoon, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, sj.:s:, land, Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm

Assisted Combos

”Assisted Combos”

Spoiler

(Long-lasting assist, “Eye of Agamotto”) c.:l:, c.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h:, ADDF, sj.:h:, land, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m: + :a1:, c.:h:, s.:s: xx Flight, f.:h:, [ADF, f.:h:]x5, f.:s:, land, Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm
23.c:l: c:m: c:h: jc j:m: j:m: j:s: s:h: c:h: jc j:h: j:s: plus Sentinel Assist ADF j:h: s:m: :s: xx Fly [f:h: ADF]x5 sj:s: land Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm

(Long-lasting assist, “Hidden Missiles”) c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, jc, j.:s: + :a1: xx :df: Lightning Attack xx :f: Lightning Attack xx :d: Lightning Attack, land, s.:m:, s.:s: (:a1: connects) xx Flight, f:h:, [ADF, f.:h:]x5, f.:s:, land, Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm

(Corner)(Forward carry assist, “Tatsumaki Zankyaku”) c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, jc, :f: Lightning Attack x2 xx :d: Lightning Attack, land, s.:m:, jc, j.:h:, ADD, land, c.:h: + :a1:, s.:s: xx Flight, f.:h:, [ADF, f.:h:]x5, f.:s:, land, Double Typhoon xx Hailstorm

(Fullscreen horizontal assist, “Sentinel Force (Charge)”) c.:l:, c.:m:, c.:h:, jc, :f: Lightning Attack x2 xx :d: Lightning Attack, s.:m:, s.:s:, sjc, sj.:h: xx Flight, f.:l:, f.:h:, [ADF, f.:h:]x5, f.:s:, land, :a1:, Hailstorm, (:a1: connects), land, Hailstorm

TAC Combos

”TAC Combos”

Spoiler

(Midscreen)(TAC Infinite: Basic) f.:h:, slight pause xx Unfly + j.:h:, land, j.:l:, j.:h:, ADF, j.:h: xx Flight, f.:l:, f.:h:, ADDF

**(Corner)(TAC Infinite: Basic) f.:h:, slight pause xx Unfly + j.:h:, land, j.:l:, j.:m:, j.:h: xx Flight, f.:l:, f.:h:, [ADF, f.:h:]x3, ADD

**(Corner)(TAC Infinite: Lightning Sphere) f.:h:, slight pause xx Unfly + j.:h:, land, j.:l:, j.:h: xx Lightning Sphere :l:, j.:l:, ADU, j.:l:, j.:m:, j.:h: xx Lightning Sphere :l:, j.:h: xx Flight, f.:l:, f.:h:, ADF, f.:h:, ADD

(Up TAC Infinite) Up TAC, slight pause, ADD (until level with opponent), sj.:h: xx Flight, f.:l:, f.:h:, [ADF, f.:h:]x3, ADD, Infinite xN

(Down TAC Infinite) Down TAC, ADDF xx Flight, f.:l:, f.:h:, [ADF, f.:h:]x3, ADD, Infinite xN

Gameplay and Combos, Page 3

Combo Theory:
More important than actually being able to perform combos is knowing why and how they work. Not only does this knowledge make you, the player, more in tune with your characters and the game in general, but it gives you insight into whether or not combos will drop, how you can prevent or rescue those drops and how you can salvage situations that don’t seem to be in your favor. First, this section will discuss engine-specific combo theory and the next section will discuss Storm-specific combo theory.

Marvel Combo Theory:
Combo Length

Combo Length

Spoiler

Combo length in UMvC3 is determined by an invisible timer within the game that inflicts a status called “hitstun deterioration” (HSD) upon the victim of a combo. As HSD begins to stack, the hitstun of your attacks will begin to deteriorate and make many chains and links invalid. The opponent will auto-tech to safety when their hitstun ends and you’ll have dropped your combo if you were swinging for the fences when HSD maxed itself out. First, before we discuss further specifics, some rules:

• Hitting an opponent on the ground starts the HSD timer at some unknown value.

• Hitting an opponent in the air starts the HSD timer at some smaller unknown value.

• Hitting an opponent on the ground continuously drastically stacks HSD in a short amount of time.

• Hitting an opponent in the air gradually stacks HSD over a long period of time.

• Hitting an opponent while in a super jump state inflicts much more hitstun than in a normal jump state; this bonus hitsun also applies to launcher-based combos.

• Hitting an opponent while in the air inflicts an additional stun separate from the move’s stun frame data called untechable time which is affected by HSD.

• Some characters’ HSD will reset completely when launching a standing opponent.

• Some characters have moves which inflict static stun, no matter what the opponent’s HSD status is.

• Knockdown states will ignore HSD but the timer will still stack while the opponent is falling down. Ground and wall bounces are considered knockdowns and, as such, are not affected by HSD.

• When performing a TAC, the enemy’s HSD is forced to 0 for the duration of the TAC or until the attacker touches the ground. Once released from the TAC state, the HSD will jump to its accumulated value, including the time spent performing the TAC.

Now, what does all this mean? Put simply, combos must be completed as quickly as possible in most cases with short ground strings and as many juggles that include super jump normals as possible. When HSD has started stacking up significantly, use bounces, TACs and knockdowns to extend combos past their normal limits. That is the long and short of it, but let’s go into the details.

Most combos start from grounded crouching normals. You’ll find that if you pick a character that has a quick c.:l: and position them next to the enemy, you can mash c.:l: and the enemy will be able to block after a couple hits even though you can start a legitimate combo with chains and links that carry on for fifty hits or more from the same c.:l:. Grounded strings are designed to be much shorter than air juggles in part because they have a history of leading to problematic infinites–you’ll notice that most moves in this game cause a float state on the opponent that lifts them from the ground. Standing resets are also incredibly potent and have the potential to put the defender in a 4-way mixup that airborne opponents don’t have to defend against (airborne resets only make you block left/right and not high/low as well), and that’s not counting high/low unblockables and command grabs. For these reasons, ground strings are kept very very short.

Striking an opponent in the air to start a combo starts with the HSD timer with a much shorter “fuse” than a combo started with a ground string. You’ll find that if you anti-air an opponent with a particular jump string, you can get a short combo, but if you start with a ground string and lead into a jump-cancelable normal that transitions into that same jump string from earlier, your combo will last much longer. Shorter anti-air HSD timers enforce the idea of getting a punish from an anti-air, but not one that can lead to a full-fledged kill combo (usually).

So what’s the connection that links ground strings to air juggles? The flow is as easy as A B C. Or, rather, :l: :m: :h: :s:. Think about the two timers as different kinds of decay; the ground timer gives you a larger value with exponential decay while the air timer is shorter–you lose a lot of time up front, but the remaining time ticks away much slower, making it seem longer. Since ground strings give you a greater starting time, you want to always start your combo there and pack as big a string in as you can before your transition into a float or a launcher to begin your air juggles. The combos from here are mostly character-dependent with regards to whether you should launch or float and how you continue from there. Either way, you want to pile as many moves into your combo during this time as possible; remember that air juggles have much longer timers than ground strings. You should also remember that if you intend to float or launch an opponent that you should avoid floating them earlier than you have to–for example, if your hypothetical character’s main float move is c.:h: and you can either choose to use your s.:m: (a normal move) or your c.:m: (which happens to cause float), your combo will be served better to chain from s.:m: to c.:h: instead of from c.:m: to c.:h:. Again, floating an opponent early shortens your HSD timer considerably up front, so only float or launch once you’re ready to and not anytime beforehand if you can help it.

As your combo goes along, HSD will eventually stack to some upper limit and get to the point where continuing a combo will just not work; the enemy will pop out of your combo due to deteriorated hitstun. When you get to the later portions of combos, this is where you need to start cheating. By using moves that have properties that ignore HSD in order to extend your combos beyond their normal limits. Keep in mind that even though moves “ignore HSD,” what this really means is that the HSD timer will still shorten while the move’s stun is taking place, but that stun itself will not be interrupted by HSD. The most common types of moves that ignore HSD are knockdowns. Knockdowns are simply moves that guarantee that no matter how high the opponent is off the ground, they will fall until the hit the ground. Soft knockdowns mean the opponent will recover immediately once they touch the ground and hard knockdowns mean the opponent will not recover immediately and you can OTG them in this state to continue a combo. Wall and ground bounces are also considered knockdowns and they also ignore HSD. Remember, though, that the timer will still be ticking while bounces are going on–if you can pick an opponent up from a bounce or a knockdown any faster and still continue your combo as planned, you should do that to preserve as much precious time as you can. Time is a resource when it comes to combos (unless you are part of a select group of characters who almost completely ignore HSD). Once you have used up as many special knockdowns as you can, it’s time to end your combo or to pass it on via TAC or DHC.

Combo Damage

Combo Damage

Spoiler

Combo damage in UMvC3 is determined by a per-attack proration system in which the damage of any move is only affected by the number of hits in the combo and modifiers based on strength of attacks. Before we go into specifics, some rules:

• The first hit in a combo will always deal full (100%) damage.

• Subsequent hits in a combo will undergo the following damage calculation:
Damage = (BaseDamage * StrengthModifier ^ ComboCounter) / 100

Base damage is the listed damage of an attack.

The strength modifier is applied as follows, based on the attack:
:l: = 0.75
:m: = 0.80
:h: = 0.85
:s: = 0.90

All special moves, command normals and hyper combos count as :s: moves.

The combo counter is simply the number of hits currently in the combo.

• Damage for any one attack can never be lower than 10% of its base value.

• Max scaling for :s: moves will kick in at hit 23. Lower strengths will reach their max scaling earlier.

• The individual hits of hyper combos are not affected by their own scaling.

What does this all mean? To make this particularly long story short, this means to score the best damage, you should use as many high strength moves as possible while inflicting as the least amount of hits necessary to keep the combo valid. With that out of the way, let’s look at the nitty-gritty.

First, let’s debunk a myth. Unlike many other games with the scaling proration system, UMvC3 does not have damage for its moves calculated in proportion with the other moves used in that combo–each move contributes its own damage to the combo independent of the damage of other moves! In many other games, part of the proration calculation is based on the damage of all previous moves used in the combo; an additional percentage modifier is applied to the moves such that starting combos with light attacks will negatively affect the total damage of the combo overall when compared to starting a similar combo with a stronger button (outside of the lower damage of that light attack). In UMvC3, the difference between a combo starting with a light attack and a medium attack (if both combos are identical and both the :l: and :m: are 1 hit moves) is actually the difference between the damage of the :l: and the damage of the :m:…likewise, moves used in the middle of a combo do not negatively affect moves later on down the line…they only affect themselves.

Many ideas are going to converge at once when it comes to damage scaling and they all seem to jostle for priority when creating combos, so it’s important to be able to understand these ideas individually while being able to see the links between them. To squeeze the most damage out of a combo, you want to clearly hit as hard as you can. What you need to combine with this idea, though, is the notion of hitting as seldom as possible. This is the area where moves in one part of a combo can negatively affect the others–multi-hit moves add to the combo counter and part of the damage calculation is based on hits, so you want to keep the hit count down for as long as possible for how many heavy attacks you can use.

The next idea to toss into the mix is the idea of max scaling and knowing when to avoid risking the validity of the combo for the sake of damage; by hit 23 of any combo, not matter the character, if an :s: move is used in that spot, it will have reached its max scaling value. Any other lower strength of attack will reach its maximum scaling value a bit earlier in the combo. Time to debunk another myth! No move will ever do less than 10% base damage for any character. Special moves have a per-character minimum damage percentage and hyper combos also have a per-character minimum damage percentage. Normals have an across-the-board minimum of 10%. Now that we know the deal about minimums and maximums, let’s apply this. For a standard combo, you can start with whichever attack you like, regardless of strength, but you want your hit confirm to be as short as possible. Once you confirm into your combo, you want to pile as many big hits in before you reach your maximum scaling and from there, any hits you do are considered bonus damage–your combo’s damage can’t scale any further, so you want to put as many hits as possible in at this point and extend the combo for as long as you possibly can because penalties are already maxed out at this point.

A small note to put here regarding the scaling of hyper combos: most hyper combos are multi-hit. The individual hits of hyper combos will still increase the combo counter, but the damage of those individual hits will be calculated from the combo counter’s value at the time of the first hit of the hyper combo. What this means is that multi-hitting hyper combos will not scale themselves just because they hit so many times. Combos performed after hyper combos will resume scaling as usual.

Constructing Strong Combos: Abridged Edition
Let’s put everything we learned together. To construct an ideally strong combo, lead into your combo with a ground string while keeping your hit confirm very short with as few hits as possible. Extend this ground string for as long as possible before launching or floating. Once the enemy is in a juggle state, you want to hit as hard as you can, using special moves when you can, as fast as possible. After a while of juggling, minimum damage will have been reached, so you can forfeit hitting hard for consistency or combo validity. Once the combo begins to reach the limits of hitstun, start abusing knockdowns and bounces to extend the combo and add even more bonus damage. End your combo with a hard knockdown to apply an okizeme game, an air tech to attempt a reset or a hyper combo to add heavy damage.

Knowing why combos work and how damage is calculated will help you in constructing your very own combos or in improving the combos of others.

Storm Combo Theory:
Critical Moves

Critical Moves

Spoiler

Storm has some moves that are absolutely essential to her combo construction. These moves are:

s.:m: (Jump cancel)
c.:h: (Soft knockdown, jump cancel)
j.:h: (High hitstun)
Lightning Attack (Special attack, positioning)
Lightning Sphere :l: (Special attack, positioning)
Hail Storm (High damage, OTG, fullscreen)

Not every Storm combo will contain all of these moves, but most of the high damage combos will contain most of these moves. The moves I want to focus on in particular are c.:h: and j.:h:. These moves are, without a doubt, the cornerstone of Storm’s combo game. In particular, c.:h: is a fantastic move–the jump cancel combined with the soft knockdown make this move essential in every facet of Storm combos. With its high hitstun and height control properties, j.:h: is also an extremely important move for Storm combos.

Critical Damage

Critical Damage

Spoiler

The first thing people tend to realize about Storm is that she does “low damage”. Well, why is that? At first glance, most Storm juggles do about 350K damage before application of Hail Storm. This is after jump loops and all sort of shenanigans. Why the low damage? Aside from the fact that Storm’s moves all have much lower base damage than the rest of the cast, her moves typically have low stun and also take forever to start up–what this means is that her combos are very fragile because the HSD timer is getting used up by the time it takes for her moves to start up and that HSD is applying itself to moves that already have very low stun; Storm’s combos aren’t “short”, but these properties stunt the length of her combos considerably when compared to other high stun characters like Magneto.

Another factor for Storm’s low damage is that she doesn’t get to really take advantage of the game’s scaling system that counts special moves as high strength :s: moves. The only special moves Storm ever gets to use early enough for damage to matter are Lightning Attack and Lightning Sphere. Without more ways to use high strength moves, Storm’s combo damage remains almost artificially low by having to rely on slow low damage normals. Using Lightning Sphere and Lightning Attack are critical for scoring higher-end damage with Storm.

Critical Positioning

Critical Positioning

Spoiler

Storm is one of the characters in this game that has to control the enemy’s height during her juggles or risk dropping the combo. Your primary height control tools are j.:h: and j.:s: in conjunction with air dashing. For example, many Storm air juggles contain the << j.:h:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, … >> string. Going by the rules of generic combo construction, you would normally want to perform the j.:h:s and the air dash as fast as possible, but if you do, the opponent will be too high for s.:m: to connect and the combo will become invalid. In order to control the opponent’s height, you’re going to want to time your air dash with a slight delay in order to let the opponent drop a little bit to allow your s.:m: to pick them up; with this, you can see how Storm has to sacrifice some HSD time up front to extend her combos later on. Knowing when to sacrifice speed for consistency is important and even more easily visible with Storm’s << f.:h:, ADF >>xN combo in Flight; perform the combo too fast at an incorrect height and Storm will travel right under the opponent and drop the combo.

In instances where Storm might actually be going too fast (X-Factor, for example), you will need to keep your opponent higher in the air rather than lower and this is where j.:s: comes in. The previous string can be modified to look like << j.:h:, j.:s:, ADF, j.:h:, land, s.:m:, … >> and be performed as fast as possible to both increase the damage and consistency with the added float of j.:s: to keep the opponent in the air longer.

Horizontal positioning is another facet of combo construction that Storm needs to adjust as her combos go on, though not as much as height control. The rules of thumb for horizontal positioning are as follows:

• If you are attempting to hit confirm, use multiple c.:l:s instead of chaining into :m: attacks.

• Use s.:m: for blockstrings only and c.:m: for combos only.

• If you plan to perform a float juggle, chain into c.:h:.

• If you plan to launch, skip :h: attacks and go straight for s.:s:.

Since Storm’s attacks have so much pushback, you’re going to want to keep hit confirms to an absolute minimum as necessary. By using multiple c.:l:s for a hit confirm instead of chaining into :m: attacks, you are able to keep the enemy close while still retaining safety for blockstrings. :m: attacks have tons of pushback, s.:m: in particular, and that move should be chained into for a blockstring because of its jump cancel property. If you have confirmed a combo, you want to chain into c.:m: because of its lower pushback–this move is much less safe on block than c.:l: and is not jump cancelable, so only use it when you have confirmed into a combo.

For float juggles, you only solo option is to use c:h: and jump cancel from there for your combo. For launches, you may be tempted to climb your way up the chain into the launcher, but you need to beware. First, we learned in Marvel Combo Theory that floating before a launch is not optimal because it shrinks your HSD timer when you can just go straight into a launch and preserve some of that timer for later on in the combo. Next, c.:h: has a lot of pushback on its own and makes some launcher-specific combos very difficult (and some impossible) to perform if you chain all the way into the launcher and include c.:h:. If you have a confirmed combo, go straight from c.:m: into s.:s: and you will find your combos to be much easier and more consistent. Normally, I would suggest using s.:h: as a substitute for c.:h:, but that move has even MORE pushback and often makes s.:s: whiff unless Storm is extra close to the opponent.

Critical Construction

Critical Construction

Spoiler

To close the book on Storm combos, they follow the general rules of Marvel combo construction, but you have to be mindful of Storm’s inherent limitations which seems to almost directly conflict with the provisions of the combo system. You have to make due and fit as many heavy hitting attacks and special attacks as early as possible. Mind your speed so that your ground-based pickups don’t whiff and drop the combo; control your opponent’s height so you can extend the combo for as long as you can. Carry your opponent to the corner, end with a hard knockdown and trigger Hail Storm for max damage.

Special Thanks

Foreword:
This thread was made primarily not only to service the Storm community with updated information, but also to showcase the hard work done by Storm contributors who have been diligent and thoughtful even though their work does not always get the spotlight. We play Storm because we genuinely enjoy the character and the contributors make everything easier for all players and use knowledge as the building blocks to construct a more thorough understanding of the character.

Thank you.

The List:
@Karsticles - Thread template and structure.

@xero15 - Foremost video content creator for Storm.

@The Matrix367 - Bringing an old school perspective of hard work and combining that with a drive to optimize.

All Storm lab monsters - Even if you don’t go to tournaments, just experimenting with the character helps everyone in the long run.

All Storm tournament players - Every match played with Storm is a lesson learned to help everyone succeed.

Thank you for reading!

Nice!

THANKS FOR ALL THE HARD WORK!
it’s great to see.

Thank you, BasedYannick

Damn that’s a lot of info. Good job organizing it. I’m working on new Storm tech that’s more team related. Once I understand it fully I’ll share but I put a small clip called Storm Shenanigans on my page with very general ideas.

Nice, I look forward to it!

Going to update in a week or two with damage and meter data for combos and add some generic Marvel tech and how it applies to Storm (Kubota escape, TAC glitches, etc.).

Also Storm and Iron Man on Repulsor Blast can set up double hailstorm setups

Here you go. Raw tag concepts I feel she’s been missing

Here are more double hailstorm concepts

Sweet, I will put these up when I get home. :smiley:

You should also probably note that Storm can only use the input nullification glitch when close to the ground otherwise she will get consecutive lightning attacks

Hmmm… So this can be done

Yeah I told yall I’d find it

Is the Elemental Rage mashable?

No unfortunately