I’m going to clarify something which I believe would be appropriate. I am a one-trick pony; I know how to chain normals depending on the “magic series”, execute an OTG (or call an assist for it) possibly relaunch my opponent and finish with a hyper combo. This is the fullest extent of my knowledge regarding the combo system of this game. I see people creating their own unique combos or versions of other combos and yet for some reason I cannot do so myself. I cannot create my own, I can only (possibly) copy. Bluntly put: I don’t understand the combo system, I only know that I can chain normals and finish with a hyper combo. I can’t even add specials during my combo but whether that is just poor timing/execution on my behalf (I wouldn’t be too surprised) or just extreme lack of knowledge about how combos work, I don’t know. I always have my opponent “roll out” of the combo.
I want to understand how the combo system works in a way that enables me to make my own combos. Also for the record, adding to the beginning of my post, I’m like a baby in this game. I don’t call assists unless it’s an OTG, I don’t know much about opening people up (which might stem from my reluctance to call assists) and I don’t even use xfactor.
UMVC3 isn’t my first fighting game but its is the first that has compelled me to learn it and quite frankly the first to spark (more like blast) my interest in fighting games in general. So, do you think you can help a scrub out?
The Combo system operates on the same “base” mechanics of any other combo system its all about you entering a neutral state or state that chains into other hitting moves before your opponent enters a neutral state. MVC3 has a few nuances like hitstun deterioration where the longer an opponent is in a hit state or the more moves you perform on said opponent the shorter the time they can be in a hittable state lasts. Most extended combos in MVC3 are based around moves that negate this factor: like hard knockdowns, Weskers cobra strike for example, or the state one enters after ther are launched and then hit with S. Soft knockdowns ,moves like Zeros Lightning and buster specials, and moves with large amount of Fixed Hitstun, fixed hitstun is the hitstun a move has met maximum hitstu detirioration. Like Dr. Stranges Impact Palm and Vergils summoned swords. There are a lot more moves that take advantage of these concepts but theses are just basic common examples. Aside from these there are also other techniques that will get you into a neutral state faster than you opponenet like cancelling your moves with dashes this is primarily used by airdash characters in mid air combos. Also there are special hit states like ground bounce and wall bounce each of which can only be used once per combo some moves however can reset the bounce counter (Dantes Air QCF+H beintg the biggest example). The best way to explore the combo system is to check out each character and assist and see what state their move puts the opponent in.
Every time you connect a move, you put an opponent in hit stun. Hit stun is a state where they are helpless and reeling from your attack. If you connect a second move while the opponent is still in hit stun, the opponent cannot block the second move and the first move is said to have “comboed” into the second move.
The only rule of combos is to keep hitting the opponent without making them fall out of hit stun.
Each move has an associated hit stun value. This determines how long the opponent is put in hit stun whenever that move connects.
Hit stun does not carry over to the next move. This means that any “unused” hit stun from a previous move does not add to the hit stun of the next move. For example, suppose move A causes 30 frames of hit stun and move B causes 50 frames of hit stun. If you connect with move A, but you connect with move B only 10 frames later, the 20 “unused” frames of hit stun from move A does not get added to the hit stun of move B. No matter how early you connect move B, it will always cause no more than 50 frames of hit stun. (Frames are basically a measure of time, usually equal to 1/60 of a second)
Exclusive to Marvel 3, there exists something call hit stun deterioration or hit stun decay (HSD). Essentially, HSD is a mechanic that lowers the hit stun of a move by a value proportional to how much time the current combo has taken. For example, suppose move A causes 30 frames of hit stun. If you connect move A without comboing from any other move, it will cause 30 frames of hit stun. If you connect move A after a combo (assuming the opponent doesn’t fall out before you connect move A), it might cause, say, 20 frames of hit stun instead. If you connect move A after an even longer combo, it might cause just 10 frames of hit stun. You can find details here:
Some moves cause special states that still fall under the category of hit stun. These states include but are not limited to capture states, soft knockdowns, hard knockdowns, ground and wall bounces, and crumples. These states are generally unaffected by HSD; that is, they cause the same amount of hit stun no matter the length of the combo before they connect.
Some moves are innately unaffected by HSD without causing any of the special states mentioned above.
Before you can understand combo mechanics, you need to understand how frame data works. There should be several threads around SRK that will teach you the basics of frame data, and when you get to advanced frame data, you can begin understanding how combos ‘work’.
Understanding the frame data at the moment seems like the most logical choice. I guess it’s time to bang my head in frustration as I chase that endeavor.
> :h: > :s: