X-Men Vs. Street Fighter Storm FAQ version 1.0 written by ReCharredSigh September 24, 2004 copyright 2004 ReCharredSigh email: peesigh@hotmail.com (please title your questions/comments/etc as "XvSF Storm FAQ comments", or i'll think it's junk mail and delete it) First of all, lemme sum the legal mumbo jumbo regarding this FAQ in the simplest terms, please don't be like those snobby lawyers that twist every word to their own benefit, it's really degrading of you: ================================================================================ 1. I am not responsible for harm to you due to something in this FAQ, whether it was in the computer sense(i.e. your computer crashed while you tried to save this FAQ) or in the arcade playing sense(lost/won and got beat up due to some technique in this FAQ). 2. This FAQ is free. Plain and simple. That means trying to make money off of this FAQ is wrong, and that this FAQ can't be included in any publications in any way for money profit. You can find it free at the websites I listed. 3. For you people who do write free publications(most likely on the web) and want to use this FAQ for aid in some way, give me credit if you want to use anything from this FAQ, you don't need to quote me on everything, just give me credit at the beginning/end of your work, and I will have no beefs against you. If you want to post this FAQ on your website, please e-mail me first asking permission, else I will be pissed off. 4. And lastly, if you don't want to obey the above, please just ignore this FAQ, and read some other. 5. What characters Capcom has created, is of their entire copyright. What characters Marvel has created, is of their entire copyright. I have in no effort tried to take one of their works as my own. 6. You can find this FAQ at the following sites: Gamefaqs.com, http://www.gameadvice.com, http://www.neoseeker.com If you didn't find it there, chances are it isn't in the latest version. ================================================================================ CONTENTS OF THIS FAQ: Revisions Credits Why this FAQ Why Storm Why not Storm Basic Terminology Combos Lightning Attack(LA) Properties Weight Classes Midscreen Air Combo Into Infinite Corner Air Combo Into Infinite Corner Throw Combo Into Infinite cLA Combo Into Infinite The Infinite Combo(s) Anti-Juggernaut Combos Police Van(manhattan stage) Combos Runaway tactics Rushdown tactics Flight tactics Putting It All Together Team Suggestions ================================================================================ Revisions: September 24, 2004: version 1.0 ================================================================================ Credits: (this will be a short list, because i came up with most of the combos in this FAQ, and i don't know who originally found out how to triangle jump or how to runaway with storm, so i don't know who to thank for those respective strategies) Capcom: for creating this game Shoryuken.com: for continuing to be a site that exchanges good strats and stuff on any fighting game Capcom created. and then some :D i guess i might thank Prozac Nation for his technical info on Storm's floating and some flight pointers. and other various people who said some stuff here and there on storm. Gamefaqs.com: for hosting this FAQ God: for doing his thing ================================================================================ Why this FAQ: There's not a lotta good FAQs out there stating how to play XvSF correctly; this game is O-L-D, but still very fun; I wrote this FAQ to give a good idea how to play Storm defensively as well as offensively; it's not everything, but it should be something to really start upon. I'm gonna assume you know SOME stuff about XvSF, and are not a complete newb to the game. And this guide concerns XvSF versions 1.0 or 2.0, the arcade versions. Why Storm: -TOP TIER CHARACTER; if you're using a character solely for their reputation(and chance) to win, then i guess storm's a pretty good choice; cyclops and chun-li are also no-brainers, but that's for some other writer to tackle. make no mistake though, this is XvSF, not MVC1; anyone can make a comeback. -GREAT AT STALLING; storm can spend eons of time in a super jump, while building at least 1 level of meter before she even touches the ground; she is not only arguably the fastest at building meter in the game, but the best character at playing the run-the-clock-down game when you are ahead by a huge chunk of lifebar. disgustingly effective at just safely building meter, avoiding confrontation and chipping the opponent. -FAST RUSHDOWN; due to her fast dash and air dash, storm can play a very fast (and fun) offensive game, swarming her opponent in an attempt to land a combo. couple her ability to land a hit with her damaging combos, and you have one heck of a dangerous character. her flight, when used properly, isn't bad either for helping her offense. -CAN KILL ANY CHARACTER OFF OF ANY COMBO; once she lands almost ANY hit, and properly combos it, storm can destroy ANY character; doesn't matter how heavy or light. her infinite is also one of the easiest to perform, making her good in the clutch, but she still has her high damage non-infinite combos if you want to be stylish. -VERY STRONG COUNTER; storm's counterattack combos into her infinite; that means she is one of the few characters in the game who is still dangerous even on the sidelines. plus, her counter's already fairly good in itself; invincible for the most part, decent speed, etc. -TEAM PLAYER; storm is arguably the best team player in XvSF; as point, she can easily build 3 meters in a heartbeat for your 2nd character to use. as 2nd, she multiplies your lead character's defense and makes it that much more dangerous to attack on fear of losing all of a lifebar. great for the beginning, middle, and end of the match, whether as the point character, or sitting in the sidelines, period. Why not Storm: -SUPER COMBOS ARE PAR AT BEST; best you can do is use them for chip; storm has no easy-damage options available to her; no short-> fierce xx super. using hail storm for chip IS good, but you can't abuse it as well as in mvc2, without the ability to cancel a horizontal typhoon into it -COMBOS TAKE A WHILE TO GET USED TO; this has a lot to do with her sky-high launchers in this game, and her funky unorthodox air combos that you'll have to learn. on many characters, to combo after her counterattack into the infinite, you need to time a c.short perfectly so it hits them before they touch the ground, or they can roll and save their life. short story is: to make storm really effective, be prepared to spend some extra minutes on a combo dummy to get those combos down. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic Terminology: Air Dash: in air, any direction + 3 punches Horizontal Typhoon: down, down/forward, forward + any punch (can be done in the air) Vertical Typhoon: down, down/back, back + any punch (can be done in the air) Flight: down, down/back, back + 3 kicks (can be done in the air, repeat to unfly) Lightning Attack: (strong+short+any direction, then 45 degrees either direction) x3* Lightning Storm: down, down/forward, forward + 2 punches, then mash (1 level or more, can be done in the air) Hail Storm: down, down/back, back + 2 punches, then mash (1 level or more) *see lightning attack properties in the combos section for more details pushblock: while blocking, press 3 punches alpha counter: while blocking in a standing or crouching position (you can be in a pushblock if you want), let the joystick go to a neutral position, then: back, down/back, down + fierce + roundhouse (1 level or more) tag out: fierce + roundhouse team hyper combo: down, down/forward, forward + fierce + roundhouse (2-3 levels) roll: back, down/back, down + punch when knocked down tech hit: forward + strong/fierce when thrown, either right when grabbed, or right when about to hit ground pushblock into superjump: while pushblocking in the air, hold up wavedash: [ down/forward + 3 punches ] xn or [ down/back + 3 punches ] xn triangle jump: super jump, then airdash down/forward (down/backward,up/forward,forward,down/forward + 3 punches) jab: light punch strong: medium punch fierce: heavy punch short: light kick forward: medium kick roundhouse: heavy kick up.: hold up while doing the move dn.: hold down while doing the move back.: hold back while doing the move fwd.: hold forward while doing the move [ ] x @: repeat whatever's in the brackets "@" times d.: dashing; start the move by dashing first s.: standing; do the move standing c.: crouching; do the move crouching j.: jumping; do the move while jumping \/: this signals that you should be on the ground now /\: cancel the previous move into a super jump (otg): this move will knock the opponent off the ground ad.: air-dashing; do the move when you're air dashing sj.: super-jumping; do the move when you're super jumping ,: link; wait til the move animation ends, then do the next move ->: chain; link the move together to the next move xx: cancel the move into the next move air dash can cancel any normal air move c.forward knocks down s.roundhouse is her launcher c.roundhouse can launch, but is unreliable, ditto w/c.fierce s.forward is a "mini-launcher" s.fierce is a strike, knocking the opponent away aerial strong is a bit hard to combo into, but it can be aimed with the joystick downward, upward or straight aerial forward knocks the opponent back holding any direction upward while in the air causes storm to float; if done during a super jump or flight, it enables storm to cancel the recovery of some of her normal moves prematurely; floating during flight can reset the 1-air-dash-per-combo rule. floating during a jump or super jump causes storm to fall slower to the ground until the joystick is let go from the upward position. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Combos: let's start off with storm's long list of air combos, seeing how you're gonna eventually have to get around to practicing those to be truly formidable. but don't get discouraged; this section is only long because of the NUMEROUS setups that storm has, as well as different weight restrictions and the like. other than that, her combos pretty much boil down to: -air combo leading into the corner, infinite/corner combo afterwards in this sense, storm's utilizing the basic idea behind a good "Custom Combo" you find in top street fighter play; juggle them into the corner so that you can do the bulk of your damage there. to understand how to really do storm's air combos, you need to have a basic idea of how her lightning attack works and the various weight classes in the game before you do anything else, so i'll list them right now: Lightning Attack(LA) Properties: -LA can be linked up to 3x, any direction, whiffed, hit, or block; LA1, LA2, LA3 denotes the respective lightning attacks -within each LA, you have the ability to "redirect" it 45 degrees either way; ie if i choose to LA upward, i can tap up/forward or up/backward to redirect the LA to go that way anytime i choose; if i choose to instead link the LA upward to a LA forward, now i can redirect the 2nd LA up/forward or down/forward; it will not add an additional hit to the LA though -"redirecting" an LA occurs faster than linking an LA; the 1st is instantaneous, the 2nd requires a slight startup; thus, it's better if you need to "whiff"(make a move miss) an LA for positioning, that you "redirect" it, not link another LA -there are other weird funky properties concerning redirecting and linking LA's, but these are the main ones you need to keep in mind; you need to know these in order to understand how to do storm's air combos -storm's alpha counter has her come in and do a horizontal lightning attack; i'll refer to it as "cLA" in this guide; it can't be linked into any other lightning attacks, but it can be redirected up/forward or down/forward, and it is slightly invincible near the beginning of the attack. Weight Classes: (they can usually get more complex, but to know how to do storm's air combos, this is the bare minimum tiers you need; tier 1's the heaviest, tier 4's the lightest) tier 1(juggernaut): juggernaut tier 2(normal weight): akuma, bison, charlie, cyclops, gambit, ken, magneto, rogue, ryu, sabretooth, storm, zangief tier 3(light males): dhalsim, wolverine tier 4(light females): cammy, chun-li finally, for all the air combos, the chain i use to combo into a launcher is d.c.short-> s.roundhouse, but you're welcome to try other chains as you see fit. ok, here we go... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Midscreen Air Combo Into Infinite: ---------------------------------- vs normal weight: d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab, sj.up.fwd.jab-> sj.up.fwd.short xx LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward-> LA3 forward-> whiff redirect LA3 down/forward\/ (in corner) LA1 upward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite -general timing of the LA's is this; link the downward LA2 as soon as you can, then spend as much time going directly downward before doing the redirecting LA2. then pause slightly before doing the LA3; it should be close to near the bottom of the screen; once LA3 hits, immediately redirect -the heavier the opponent, the less delay you put between each LA link and redirect; you still don't want to link insanely fast though; just practice on different opponents and you'll get the timing -wait until you get slightly above the opponent before doing the 1st sj.jab -you can skip the 1st sj.jab if you are not close to fullscreen, and in that case you won't need to wait til you get above the opponent before doing sj.jab vs light males: d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab, sj.up.fwd.jab xx LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (near corner) LA1 up/forward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite -pause a bit after LA1 before doing LA2; the timing is a bit slower than normal weight; you want to go a bit more forward before going downward, then after a short pause, redirect -this combo only deals if you are going from close to one corner to another; if you are somewhere midscreen, start the LA2 when you're very close to the corner, but not in it, and let the downward LA2 hit, then infinite vs light females: d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab-> sj.up.fwd.short xx LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> LA3 forward-> whiff redirect LA3 down/forward\/ (in corner) LA1 upward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite -concerning the midscreen LA's: whiff the LA2 almost immediately, and then give a semi-long pause; redirect the LA3 right after it hits Corner Air Combo Into Infinite: ------------------------------- vs normal weight, light males, light females: d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.jab-> sj.up.short-> sj.up.forward xx LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite to combo directly into the jumping infinite, do this after a s.roundhouse: (hold up during the entire combo til you get to the bottom) sj.up.short-> sj.up.fierce, [ sj.up.fierce-> sj.up.roundhouse ] x5, sj.up.fierce\/ (right after the last sj.up.fierce, let go of up so you don't float) then proceed to the jumping infinite -let's call this from now on as the multiple sj.up.fierces air combo; most ppl like to do only sj.up.fierces as the filler of a corner air combo, but by simply adding a sj.up.roundhouse after each sj.up.fierce, you add a few extra hits, making the combo a lot more damaging, and more consistent, as well as being easier to lead into the infinite on light characters, do this instead as your multiple sj.up.fierces air combo: (hold up during the entire combo til you get to the bottom) sj.up.short-> sj.up.fierce-> sj.up.roundhouse, [ sj.up.fierce-> sj.up.roundhouse ] x4 \/ infinite Corner Throw Combo Into Infinite: --------------------------------- vs normal weight, light males, light females: punch throw, j.short xx LA1 up/forward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite -can be done from an air throw instead -on light characters, take out the j.short if started from an air throw -if close to the corner, and you air threw them, you can use an airdash for positioning so that you land the combo vs normal weight, light males, light females: punch throw, s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ corner air combo of your choice -if you air throw them, then first do LA1 up/forward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ then proceed as usual also always throw w/strong on the ground; if you miss you'll just do a quick punch; in the air, throw with fierce instead. and tap the button twice, just in case the opponent threw you first; then it's easier to tech hit. cLA Combo Into Infinite: ------------------------ vs normal weight, light males: cLA-> whiff redirect cLA down/forward\/ c.short(otg)-> s.roundhouse/\ ad.up.fwd.jab-> ad.up.fwd.short xx LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (in corner) LA1 upward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite -redirect the cLA right BEFORE the opponent reaches the apex of the hitstun -you can just land after the LA2, but if you want, you can still leave the LA3 in, like it's the normal weight midscreen air combo. as an alternate combo vs light males, you can do this instead; it's harder, but more guarenteed, since you hit the opponent before he touches the ground: cLA-> whiff redirect cLA down/forward\/ j.short xx LA1 up/forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (near corner) LA1 up/forward-> whiff LA2 down/backward-> redirect LA2 downward\/ infinite -if you end up near the corner while doing the LA1, aim LA2 downward before ending up in the corner and let downward LA2 hit, then infinite vs light females: cLA-> whiff redirect cLA down/forward\/ j.short xx LA1 up/forward-> LA2 forward-> whiff LA3 down/backward-> redirect LA3 downward\/ (in corner) infinite -redirect the cLA right AFTER the opponent reaches the apex of the hitstun -long pause between the LA1 and LA2 is the key The Infinite Combo(s): ---------------------- do one of the setups above so that both requirements are fulfilled: -your opponent is in the corner, in the air -you're slightly out of the corner, on the ground then do the following: [ LA1 upward-> LA2 downward\/ ] xn* or: jump forward, j.short-> j.forward-> j.fierce-> j.roundhouse\/ [ jump up, j.short-> j.forward-> j.fierce-> j.roundhouse\/ ] xn^ *this is the LA infinite; there's many variants on this combo, but the main idea is that if you want to do a LA downward, you need to be slightly out of the corner, or you'll knock some characters out of the corner and end the infinite; however, if the opponent is in the corner, LA upward or LA forward should never knock the opponent out, so feel free to experiment. ^this is storm's jumping infinite; just make sure to not float, aka hold up on the joystick during the combo and you'll be fine; this is one of the easiest jumping infinites in the game; just time the j.roundhouse late and overall have a slow timing to the chain and you'll be fine; on heavier characters, sometimes you may be naturally be pushed back after a few reps if you let the opponent get too close to the ground; simply remedy this by doing one rep of the infinite by jumping forward, and you should be ok; i don't recommend jumping infinite on light characters; you need to take out the j.fierce, and the timing of this combo becomes that you need to SLOOOW it down; not easy at all. the LA infinite can combo right into the jumping infinite(not recommended), or you can follow the LA infinite with a s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ corner air combo(on light characters, following LA inf with a s.roundhouse w/o s.strong is good enough); you could do a LA infinite variant where you keep relaunching them into an air combo ending in LA's carrying you back into the ground. there's a lotta potential for experimentation to make your corner combos look stylish; fool around. i personally like this combo on normal weight characters: setup to LA inf\/ LA inf x1, s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ multiple sj.up.fierces air combo\/ jumping inf x2\/ c.strong(otg)-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse this combo ALWAYS dizzies the opponent, and usually leaves them with only 10% life left. so it's stylish and damaging, and kinda practical; just the s.strong-> s.roundhouse timing to catch the opponent out of the LA and still combo to the launcher is the main key. Anti-Juggernaut Combos: ----------------------- you can't infinite juggernaut; he falls too fast. however, storm can still do 100% damage on him in most cases; you have to make do with a 60+% damage combo that dizzies him, then recombo him instead. all the combos listed will dizzy juggernaut, and then you can just repeat the corner air combo to kill him. all the combos also make do with a special "anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo" listed at the end of the "anti-juggernaut combos" section to do the bulk of the damage. basic midscreen anti-juggernaut combo: d.c.short-> c.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab, sj.up.fwd.jab-> sj.up.fwd.short xx LA1 down/forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (in corner) s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo\/ c.strong(otg)-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse -aim the 1st sj.jab at his hand. make just a slight pause between the redirected LA2 and the whiffed LA2. LA1 can go forward instead of down/forward, but the timing to combo s.strong in will be tougher. it will carry you forward more though, so it's ideal going from corner to corner. -for his corner combo, instead, just modify the LA1 to go forward, make the LA2 go immediately directly down after that, and immediately add an LA3 going directly downward as well. then it's the same corner combo after that. corner anti-juggernaut throw combo: punch throw, s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo\/ c.strong(otg)-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse -if you throw them in the air, first do LA1 upward-> LA2 upward-> LA3 downward\/ then do the above combo cLA anti-juggernaut combo: cLA-> whiff redirect cLA down/forward\/ c.short(otg)-> s.roundhouse/\ ad.up.fwd.jab, ad.up.fwd.jab-> ad.up.fwd.short xx LA1 down/forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (in corner) s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo\/ s.jab-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse -redirect the cLA right BEFORE the opponent reaches the apex of the hitstun -in the corner, just aim the 2nd LA directly down instead, and then add a 3rd LA going directly down. anti-juggernaut sj.up.fierces combo: (after s.roundhouse in the corner) /\ (hold up) sj.up.short-> sj.up.fierce, [ sj.up.fierce-> sj.up.roundhouse ] x4, sj.up.fierce, sj.up.fierce, sj.up.fierce-> sj.roundhouse (let go of up right when you start doing the last fierce)\/ -if you haven't otg'd yet before the combo, then end the air combo with: c.strong(otg)-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse -if you have otg'd the opponent in the combo, even if you hit the opponent before they touched the ground, follow the combo with: s.jab-> s.forward-> s.roundhouse Police Van(manhattan stage) Combos: ----------------------------------- if comboing on the right side of the screen towards the left, you can use the police van to add extra hits to your combo; then when it falls away, you can either follow with the regular LA infinite or do an immediate hailstorm for good damage: vs juggernaut, normal weight, light males: d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab-> sj.up.fwd.short xx LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> redirect LA2 down/forward\/ (opponent hits van) then take a step or two forward or backward for positioning(so that the opponent doesn't fall out of the corner when you do the LA infinite) and then do: LA1 upward-> LA2 upward-> LA3 downward (opponent hits van)\/ x2, infinite (on light males, change LA2 to forward, and LA3 to whiff down/backward-> redirect downward) vs light females: d.c.short-> s.roundhouse/\ sj.up.fwd.jab-> sj.up.fwd.short xx LA1 forward-> whiff LA2 downward-> LA3 forward-> whiff redirect LA3 down/forward\/ (opponent hits van) take a step or two forward/backward as necessary, then: LA1 upward-> LA2 forward-> whiff LA3 down/backward-> redirect LA3 downward\/ (opponent hits van) x2, infinite Resets: ------- resets are basically confusing the opponent into blocking the wrong way or eating a non-comboed throw in the middle of a combo so that the combo meter resets(remember, this is XvSF; almost all throws are combo starters, not enders, so they can work as reset tools); it resets the damage scaling system, since you essentially start a new combo, and thus enables you to do a bit more damage for taking a gamble. i usually don't recommend resetting in the middle of a combo with storm, because her combos already do HUGE amounts of damage. even if you aren't going for the LA infinite, relaunching into her corner air combo involving multiple sj.up.fierces hurts like hell. why gamble away guarenteed BIG damage? well, you sometimes aren't always playing in a tournament or the like; for those casual matches, resetting can look very cool and fun. so i'll put down a few tips for storm resets; most of these will be throws, but what the heck; if anything, resets can often just involve your imagination, since you can often just stick throws in anywhere, especially if you're cornering the opponent in a combo: -after LA infinite: instead of doing s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ *corner air combo*, you can do: s.strong, strong throw, s.strong-> s.roundhouse/\ *corner air combo*; it's more or less the same thing, but for someone who hasn't gotten down the s.strong-> s.roundhouse timing after an LA, it's not bad to learn; then you could mix between s.strong-> s.roundhouse and s.strong, throw, and maybe they might eat s.strong-> s.roundhouse even if it doesn't combo on fear of the throw. s.jab into throw might also work better, but you'll need to see what you like and how good you are with s.strong, strong throw. -this one's a bit harder, but harder to defend against than the above; make the tri-jump very low to the ground and fast, and it becomes very effective AND stylish: after LA infinite: s.strong/\ ad.dn.fwd.short\/ strong throw, etc, etc... -during the multiple sj.up.fierces air combo: at any time you can sj.up.short, then strong air throw. you can then redo the infinite, or lightning storm. to keep them honest, sometimes you can stick in sj.up.short-> sj.up.fierce, or some other variant starting with sj.up.short and ending with either sj.up.fierce or sj.up.roundhouse -after the sj.up.fierces air combo: c.strong(otg)-> s.forward, strong throw, etc, etc... -after jumping infinite: s.jab or s.strong, strong throw, etc, etc... you can also pause a bit after the s.jab/ s.strong, then triangle jump with a short that's very low to the ground, then throw. or follow the triangle jumping short with an immediate c.jab-> s.short-> s.roundhouse if it hit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Runaway tactics: runaway is basically storm's way of hanging in the air as long as possible to avoid confrontation with the opponent; she is the best at doing this than any other person. generally, you only want to runaway for a couple of reasons: -you want to build meter to hand off to your partner; if your partner has a really good super, this isn't a bad idea. AND, it gives them storm's powerful counter right when they come in. -you have a huge lead, and by playing it safe, can win by time over; this one's a no brainer. -your opponent is getting used to your offense, and lifebars are about even; by switching pace you could catch him off guard for a while, then switch back to trick him. anyways, these are the main tools storm has to use during her runaway: sj.up.fierce- the main tool of storm's runaway; holding up a little bit AFTER fierce comes out cancels the fierce's recovery prematurely. this enables storm to whiff MANY of these, and since it's a heavy attack, not like a jab, storm can build meter THE fastest in the game. storm also falls slower than normal due to holding up. not a bad air-to-air weapon either; good priority. however, the main reason you're running away is to avoid confrontation, so try to stay out of their way. use smarts when using this move. mainly you should use the fierces near the top of the superjump, then stop and fall normally and safely. air dash- goes hand in hand with your super-jumping up.fierces; one way to use it is sorta a "reverse triangle jump" tactic; superjump with an immediate fierce going away from the opponent; immediately cancel that into an airdash down and away from the opponent, fierce, then land. fast and safe(for the most part). also a lot of potential in how you want to use this; you may want to use this to get a bit higher off the screen(very few characters can reach you when you go off the screen, giving you free sj.up.fierces for a bit), or position yourself higher to make your vertical typhoons a bit harder to reach you. or use it to surprise your opponent when you get closer to the ground, and suddenly transition to offense. LA- there are two ways to use this; either to get off the screen(aim it up), where only a few people can reach you here, so that you can get some free sj.up.fierces for meter, and prolong the time you spend burning off the clock. the other way is to save the LA for a possible threat of attack if the opponent chooses to come after you when you're running away. if you're lucky, you could use it to setup into an infinite; if blocked, simply link LA2 to go up off the screen, so you can safely get away and build more meter. or whiff a redirected LA1 up/forward like you're going off the screen, then LA2 right back at them to check, before LA3'ing off the screen so you can runaway. i wouldn't use LA3 to hunt for a hit though; if blocked, you wouldn't be able to save your hide, esp if you LA3'd downward from way up. sj.dn.strong- not a bad move to throw out during runaway; if you're going to throw it out, do it during the beginning of the superjump if the opponent is almost fullscreen; that way, if they try to chase you, the projectile will hamper them; don't forget that you could cancel it into an airdash down/backward to suddenly change direction. or just follow it with some sj.up.fierces. vertical typhoon- it's storm's slowest move; however, it will track them if they don't move quickly enough. best used when you go off the screen, then just reenter it, or off an upward airdash. it's mainly used for variety and annoyance, just to keep them honest and not always chasing after you. it also enables you to hang in the air a bit. it's not as useful as it is in mvc2 though; if the opponent does a pushblock into superjump, they'll be right there with you. so use with discretion. c.short- good range and speed to defend against people who repeatedly try to dash at you to start a combo; nothing like chun-li's c.forward though. c.roundhouse- very good range, but somewhat slower; however not bad to use when the opponent is a bit further for stopping dash-ins. but do cancel into something, like hailstorm or flight if it gets blocked. c.fierce- mainly for stopping jump-ins; it comes out very fast. pushblock into superjump- this is a good way to get some breathing room; if you pushblocked in the air, you can hold up to automatically superjump afterwards, enabling you to runaway for the time being. hail storm- ok block damage, safe upon block, covers the entire area in front of storm, but it has a LONG startup. main way to burn meter with storm on point is using this super for block damage. best way to make sure you don't get hit or trade when you pull it out is to make sure the opponent is in the air when you do it. otherwise, most characters can do something to stop storm before she gets the super off. only zangief seems unable to do anything to stop her. other notes: storm recovers BEFORE she touches the ground, almost right after the hail stops raining down. and she's considered in normal jump; so you can throw out an immediate j.strong, and it will keep the opponent from taking to the air; ditto w/an aerial horizontal typhoon. you can also try going into flight off of this against some characters, or airdashing down/forward with an attack if the opponent is somewhat close to try to go on the offense. main gameplan: superjump away from the opponent and whiff sj.up.fierce repeatedly. land safely. repeat. when the opponent starts trying to chase you down, mix in airdashes and LA's to hang longer in the air to screw with him. when he starts trying to take to the air to bring you down, get in some chip with the hailstorm. play it safe, build meter, and only chip when it's safe to do so. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rushdown tactics: storm's offense is VERY effective, because she can swarm her opponent better than most other characters. with damaging combos backing her up, and a good ability to force the high-low-throw game, storm is very dangerous when attempting to rush her opponent down. triangle jump: -mainly you triangle jump as a jump-in; because of storm's fast air dash, you can make storm's jump-ins very fast, and thus a bit more useful than most others. below are storm's best triangle jump-ins: j.fierce- your tri-jump off into this can be fairly low to the ground; plus, it provides quite a bit of hitstun making it very easy to dash up and combo afterwards. not the fastest tri-jump attack storm can do, but it's fairly good all-around; aims downward a bit more than j.short anyways. j.short-> j.fierce- you'll need to do the chain fairly fast if you want to be able to do it from a low tri-jump. anyways, compared to j.fierce as a jump-in, it's faster, but has a LOT less vertical reach. the horizontal reach is much better though, so it's your best tri-jump when a little bit farther out. j.short- rarely will you do this as a tri-jump; however, it's especially good if you do it up-close and the opponent blocks it; you can get tick throws fairly easily off of j.short up-close. just pause slightly after landing then throw. once you get the opponent jittery, you can mix in d.c.jabs after j.short or more tri-jumps, etc. ground chain: -below are the list of storm's best chains to do on the ground against an opponent: d.c.jab-> s.short-> s.roundhouse- its main hampering is the short range on the c.jab. but other than that, it's great after a triangle-jump, since you'll be right up-close. c.jab's pretty fast too. and the large number of hits makes sure you can react to an opponent blocking early enough to decide what to do afterwards. d.s.short-> s.roundhouse- only real weakness is that s.short can be blocked standing. best used when you see that your tri-jump HIT, since it's very easy to do so, and gives you an easy way to launch and air combo afterward. d.c.short-> s.roundhouse- this is best when you are straight up just dashing into the opponent w/o a tri-jump; c.short is fairly long in reach. d.c.short-> c.strong-> s.roundhouse- against juggernaut, use this over regular d.c.short-> s.roundhouse; because juggs has super armor, he doesn't feel hit effects til the 2nd hit hits, making this better over a 2-hit chain. be prepared to possibly airdash during the air combo to reach juggernaut though. d.c.jab- best for tick throw attempts. throw with strong. if not in the corner, follow the throw w/hailstorm; you have no guarenteed combos, so just get some free chip. d.c.jab-> s.short- best for tick throw attempts. throw with strong. if not in the corner, follow the throw w/hailstorm; you have no guarenteed combos, so just get some free chip. options after blocked s.roundhouse: -so you're rushing the opponent down, and then you get a s.roundhouse blocked. you pretty have a 2-way situation to get out of its slow recovery: xx flight- flight is slightly invincible as storm's floating up, so it can be used to stop anyone who immediately attacks you. you'll need to see what options you have after flight to maximize its use though. xx hailstorm- hail is used when the opponent thinks you're going to go to flight, and thus tries to meet you in the air. or, for the passive types. against anyone with close to no range(zangief comes to mind), this is completely safe to always do. main gameplan: try to land a combo, but don't get too carried away that you eat an anti-air. tri-jump forces them to block high, and the ground forces low. so you might dash-in and see how they react. if you can't break through, mix in tri-jumps. if that doesn't get through, mix in the occasional throw. occasionally utilize hails and flight off of blocked moves or when the opponent superjumps, and you're set. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight tactics: it isn't mvc2 sentinel. but there are some redeeming factors that make storm's flight worthwhile: -her initial startup is invincible; it's not fast, but it can avoid a lot of stuff; use this invincibility to your advantage; one of the best ways to go into flight is off of a blocked s.roundhouse; if the opponent is too eager to punish, cancel into flight and they'll whiff; your initiative will then be about 50/50. -she can airdash in the flight; this enables her to cover ground fairly fast and extend her pressure chains; i still don't believe you can rush like sent does, but it's worthwhile to use in a while. -she can cancel her f.strong into airdash or unfly; actually, an air strong can be cancelled, period, but at flight height, you actually make the projectile useful, instead of way high in a superjump; it's not lightning fast, but by cancelling the recovery time, you can control space fairly well while safely exiting flight. flight for storm is IMO best activated after a blocked hail(depends on the character), or after a blocked s.roundhouse; see how eager the opponent is to attack you after those specific moves(especially s.roundhouse), and react accordingly. here are IMO storm's best flight options: f.fierce- against those who try to pressure you up-close immediately after flight, this is your best air-to-air move. after you do it, you can cancel to an airdash, so you do what you wanna do off of that. f.dn.strong xx airdash down/backward- this is if you want to retreat; ie you just used flight to safely cancel out of something and just want to safely land; the projectile will keep them from being able to pressure you while you safely get away. f.dn.strong xx airdash down/forward- best when done fullscreen, ie off of a blocked hail. the projectile will help shield you while you get close to go on the offense. if you do it after a blocked s.roundhouse, it's a little too close for the slow projectile to be effective; the opponent can easily hit you before you get it off. airdash down/forward, f.up.fwd.fierce, f.fierce xx airdash either down/forward or down/backward - this is better than the pressure cooker(see below) if you are midscreen and just tried to rush the opponent hoping to land a combo; the pressure cooker's a bit easier to get off, but fierce has better vertical priority than short, and since you started flight a bit up from the opponent, this is a no brainer; the trade off is that it's much harder to do, so if you can't do it, stick with the regular short-> fierce, fierce. after you get in close, you can switch to the pressure cooker. ie, start the rushdown with airdash into fierce, fierce, then if they don't pushblock you off, cancel the 2nd fierce into airdash into short-> fierce, fierce and react upon that. [ airdash down/forward, f,short-> f.up.fwd.fierce, f.fierce xx ] xn - this is storm's main pressure cooker off of flight; make sure you hold up slightly after the 1st fierce comes out, or you won't be able to link into a 2nd fierce and then cancel into an airdash forward. usually, you shouldn't do this more than 2x in a row, or they'll pushblock and then ream you. use it to(hopefully) start a combo into air combo, or if they keep blocking, to apply pressure so they won't be as eager to hit you out of flight, enabling you to just airdash away and safely land. if they pushblock you at any time, IMMEDIATELY unfly to avoid punishment. -airdash down/forward, f.short-> f.fierce xx unfly(auto f.roundhouse)\/ - if the pressure cooker hits, do this, and then you can followup with an immediate d.s.short-> aircombo for massive damage. also, even if it doesn't hit, if you want to end flight up-close, this is the way to do it. -airdash down/backward: - can be done straight up, off the pressure cooker, or after a f.dn.strong. it's mainly used to retreat safely. look at the options below after airdashing backwards: - xx unfly\/ - fairly safe way to exit flight; you're close to the ground faraway, so it's impossible to punish you. very good off a f.dn.strong. - f.strong xx unfly\/ - ditto, except you throw out a f.strong close to the ground before doing so; you spend a bit more time, because you throw the projectile, but you cancel it, so you recover quickly while sending something towards the opponent to deal with, enabling you to land safely. main gameplan: now, you kinda have to come up with what custom chains you wanna do, but in general, you airdash backwards if you're just trying to safely retreat, and airdash forwards if the opponent's passive and you wanna pressure them. if they try to pressure you air-to-air, use f.fierce. use the pressure cooker no more than 2x; preferably once. don't spend too much time in flight; get in, do your thing and quickly get out; if you keep flying around trying to land a hit, the opponent will eventually land a hit on you, since storm can't block. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Putting It All Together: so, we've basically, summarized 2 main ways for storm to be played: -rushdown -runaway of rushdown; there's two main ways to play her: -ground chains, tri-jumps and throws -flight to be a really effective storm, you have to just combine everything together. unless if you're a lifebar behind, mix between rushdown and runaway. when rushing, have the occasion where you just poke and tri-jump, looking to start a combo. have other times when you go into flight and CAREFULLY poke a few. etc. after all, storm's greatest strength is her versatility, so you want to see what makes your opponent play worse. if you're low on life and think you're gonna die, you can build as much meter as possible so that your next character has a good amount of meter to work with. it's not always the best idea, but it should be considered. and finally, when using your other character, always try to have at least 1 meter set aside; remember that one of storm's greatest assets is her cLA; you can interrupt blockstun into cLA, so you'd be surprised at the number of times you'd get to have that thing connect, over trying to start an infinite as storm herself. i can't stress it enough; you practically soup your other character's defense by miles with a meter and storm sitting on the sidelines. and guess what that does to any opponent? it takes away many of their options. moves that originally seemed safe to throw out against you, now become too risky. your opponent is forced to attack you less aggressively, and to play it safe more. and that enables you to take charge of the match. i'm of course, not advocating turtling and hunting for cLA. but you can obviously see the potential, as it enables you to play a much fuller, stronger game, as you don't need to fear hiding from your opponent's offense. just imagine; you build one meter as soon as possible right at the beginning of the match. then if the opponent gives away even a hint of a recovery time, counter, then infinite. then just runaway from the 2nd character, and if you don't do anything drastically stupid, you pretty much sealed the match without storm seeing any real offensive play. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team Suggestions: Storm's a team player; thus, you kinda have to see what your other character needs, and then put storm 1st or 2nd, depending on their ability to quickly build meter or use it. These of course, aren't all the good Storm teams, but a few notable ones IMO. However, because cLA is SO STRONG, look to put Storm 2nd whenever possible, unless if your other character absolutely needs meter badly; you'd be surprised how much of your opponent's game you can take away from them just by having a meter to spare and storm waiting in the sidelines. Cyclops/Storm -if you go by top tiers, this is supposed to be the strongest XvSF team. both can infinite from midscreen into the corner. cyke has RIDICULOUS priority on his c.forward and s.roundhouse as defensive moves. he can play a keepaway game, and his mega optic blast does huge block damage. he also builds meter pretty well, and can stall like storm. his throws are very good. and when he has storm waiting in the sidelines ready to counter, well... Magneto/Storm -if you've played MVC2 this one should be a no-brainer; all-out triangle jumping offense; this team can overwhelm anyone who is not on their toes with their defensive skills, and is IMO one of the most fun teams to play around with; combos galore. not to mention magneto with storm counter backing him up is scary. Storm/Chun-Li -this is probably the only team in XvSF with storm in it, where i absolutely recommend storm going 1st; chun-li builds meter fairly well herself, but storm builds it so much faster, and chun is a COMPLETELY different character without any meter; she's just a good poker. with meter though, and c.forward's range and priority, she becomes a beastly turtler. and her throw range is pretty good, so that when they get scared of attacking due to c.forward xx kick super, you can tick throw them. Rogue/Storm -rogue does NOT need meter to do damage; her air combos do more than a combo into her super. and her offense is pretty good; the only real weakness is the lack of damaging throws. thus, in that sense, she builds meter VERY quickly. so imagine how scary rogue + storm counter can be. Wolverine/Storm -because of wolvie's ability to gain meter insanely fast, via sj.strong repeatedly, he can soup his defense incredibly quickly right at the start of the match. enough said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- well, it's come to the end of this FAQ. remember; all this knowledge is useless if you don't practice against many different players. storm has all the right tools to take down almost any single character in XvSF, but to fully utilize those tools, you need to pick up on experience, or it'll all just be for nothing. end