================================================================= Doctor Strange Character FAQ v1.0 for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 By Lord_Cooler Created on: 11/24/11 ================================================================= ================================================================= Legal Stuff All characters are owned by Capcom Co. and Marvel studios. I do however own this guide, this guide is not for sale and may not be copied without my express permission. The only site with permission to host this guide is gamefaqs.com. If you see this guide hosted somewhere else or someone taking credit for my guide please email me at arenstimage@gmail.com. Thank you. ================================================================= ================================================================= Table of contents: 1a: Introduction 1b: Character History 1c: Button Layout 1d: The basics 2a: Normals 2b: Specials 2c: Hypers 2d: Assists 2e: Combos 3a. Team Building 4a: Q&A 4b: Special Thanks ================================================================= 1a: Introduction Hello and welcome to the character FAQ of Doctor Stephen Strange AKA. Doctor Strange. This guide intends to cover the most mundane to the most interesting parts of the (former) Sorcerer Supereme, and aims to help you get a good understanding of the character. Whether you want to just start learning him or want to improve with him, this is the guide for you. Be warned, Strange is not for the faint of heart, it takes dedication to use him well. Though he does have his drawbacks (low speed, no way to get pressure off him, big hitbox, low health), he has plenty of tools that make him viable. ================================================================= ================================================================= 1b: Character History Real Name: Stephen Vincent Strange Height: 6'2 Weight: 180lbs Gender: Male Occupation(s): Former Sorcerer Supreme, former Neurosergeon Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Alignment: Good Short Bio: Stephen Strange was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to his parents, Eugene and Beverly Strange. As a child he was already destined to become the next Sorcerer Supreme. However, a resentful sorcerer who knew about Strange's destiny, Karl Mordo, cursed the young Strange's life starting from the age of 8. During some point in his childhood, Strange began an interest in medicine that he did not fully go into until the death of his parents. Strange finished medical school in record time, and his success made him very arrogant. However, one tragedy after another befell Strange culminating in a tragic car accident that ruined his hand. Although different surgeons tried, they were unable to fix his hands. Strange, being the arrogant man he was, would not take a desk job and instead spent all of his money looking for something that would cure him. Strange went to Tibet in search of the Ancient One, who wanted to teach Strange in mysticism. At first Strange refused, but after seeing a battle between the Ancient One and Baron Mordo, Strange changed his mind and studied under the Ancient One, eventually becoming the next Sorcerer Supreme. ================================================================== ================================================================== 1c: Button Layout The layout in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (which I will be shortening to UMvC3 now) is very simple. There are four types of basic attacks, light, medium, heavy, and launcher. Light attacks have the least amount of startup but deal the worst damage. Heavy attacks are the opposite, and Medium falls somewhere in between. Launchers are special moves that lift your opponent high in the air, allowing you to air combo them. All normal moves change properties depending on whether you are jumping or crouching. UMvC3 is a team game, and as such you can pick three characters, and call on their assists anytime you are not superjumping, using a special or hyper, or in hit/blockstun. To call out an assist, press the A1/A2 button. Your partner will appear and do an attack, then retreat. You may only use one assistp er character in a combo, and you can call your assist again once your combo ends. Assists take 50% more damage so learn when and when not to call them. You can tag out by holding the assist button of the character you want to switch in. =================================================================== =================================================================== 1d: The basics In this section I will cover things like basic movements and button presses that are uniform to most every character. Dashing: Dashing is performed by either double tapping the direction you want to go in, or you can press two buttons simultaneously to dash forward. Dashing is useful to cover ground more quickly than walking, and you can cancel your dash by pressing down. A popular strategy regarding is to cancel the ending frames of your dash into another dash, covering ground even faster. Jumping/Superjumping: This is done by pressing up on your joystick. Jumping allows you to evade some ground attacks, changes your normals, and some specials and hypers can only be performed in the air. Superjumping is performed by pressing down and then up quickly. It is higher than a regular jump and can give you some much needed breathing room. If you land a launcher, you can superjump by just pressing up after the hit connects, and this allows you to combo your enemy further. Command Normal: A command normal is a "special move" that doesn't count as a special move. Other normals may be canceled into command normals, and most command normals may be canceled into specials and hypers. Special Move: Moves that are unique to each character that require a combination of button presses and joystick movements. Most normal moves except for launchers can be canceled into special moves, and special moves can further be canceled into hypers. Hyper Move: A powerful move that consumes at least 1 bar of your Hyper gauge, these moves are the strongest in a characters arsenal, however they cannot be canceled unless you use your X-Factor. Hypers have many different effects from dealing straight up plain damage, to increasing your characters strength and speed, among other things. X-Factor: X-Factor is activated by pressing Light, Medium, Heavy, and Launcher at the same time. Your character will glow red, will cancel any animation they were in, and they will have increased strength and speed. They will also recover red life. X-Factor is also the only way to cancel your hyper moves. You may only use X-Factor once per battle, and you can use it at any time except for when you're in hitstun. DHC: Stands for Delayed Hyper Combo. A DHC is when you use your hyper combo, and then input your teammates hyper combo, allowing your first character to switch out safely. For example, if I used Strange's Spell of Vishanti hyper, then inputted the motion for Ryu's Shinkuu Hadouken, Strange would leave the battlefield, and Ryu would come out, performing his hyper. This costs multiple hyper bars so use it wisely. THC: Stands for Team Hyper Combo. A THC is performed by holding down both assist buttons. A THC costs as many bars as you have characters on your team. Unlike DHCs a THC will have all of your characters come out and perform a hyper combo for massive damage. The hyper performed depends on what assist you've chosen for them; however some characters have only one THC hyper. For example, every time Spencer is called in to do a THC, he will always do Bionic Lancer, since Bionic Maneuvers is a cutscene hyper. TAC: Stands for Team Aerial Combo. A TAC is performed by pressing either left/right, down, or up + launcher. A left/right TAC will drain your opponent of one hyper bar, a down TAC will give you one hyper bar, and an up TAC gives you a damage bonus. TACs can be countered if you accurately predict the directionyour opponent is going to TAC in and press the same buttons/direction as them. This will break their combo and they will take extra damage. Advancing Guard: While in blockstun, if you press two buttons simultaneously, you will perform an advancing guard, which pushes the enemy back slightly. This technique is vital in getting out of blockstrings and chip damage. However, Advancing Guard will not push back enemies doing a hyper. Knockdown: There's 2 kinds of knockdown, soft and hard. Hard knockdown means that the opponent will lay on the ground for a little while, allowing you to hit them with certain moves. Those moves are called "OTGs". Soft Knockdown means the opponent will get up as soon as they touch the ground. =================================================================== =================================================================== 2a: Normals Ah, finally the meat and potatoes of this FAQ, we finally get to see exactly what each of Strange's normals do! In this guide I will analyze each normal with this format: Attack Data: -Hits: -Damage: Frame Data: -Startup Frames: -Active Frames: -Recovery Frames: -Frame Advantage on Hit: -Frame Advantage on Block: Summary: All of Strange's normals can be canceled into normals of a higher strength. Example: A chain Strange can do is L, M, H, S. With that all said and done, lets get to it! (Unless otherwise specified, all moves hit mid and thus can be blocked high or low) Standing L: Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 45,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 4 -Active Frames: 3 -Recovery Frames: 20 -Frame Advantage on Hit: -10 -Frame Advantage on Block: -11 Summary: This move is absolutely terrible. Strange pokes his oponnent with a little piece of light. It's reasonable fast, but it hits so high that it'll miss on average size and small size characters, opening him up for punishment. Crouching L is infinitely superior to this piece of crap. Standing M: Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 53,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 6 -Active Frames: 3 -Recovery Frames: 30 -Frame Advantage on Hit: -15 -Frame Advantage on Block: -16 Summary: Strange arcs his hand downward and a trail of light appears, hitting the enemy. This move is pretty standard, nothing special about it really. Standing H Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 70,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 8 -Active Frames: 4 -Recovery Frames: 35 -Frame Advantage on Hit: -16 -Frame Advantage on Block: -17 Summary: Strange shoots out a thin beam of light that reaches pretty far, but has a lot, and I mean a LOT of recovery if it whiffs. Use it only if you know for sure it's going to hit. Standing S (Launcher) Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 75,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 8 -Active Frames: 5 -Recovery Frames: 38 -Frame Advantage on Hit: N/A -Frame Advantage on Block: -21 Summary: Strange does a high kick that launches his enemy up, who can then be air comboed. Like with his H, it has stupid amounts of recovery time. Also like his Standing H, it has lots of range. Pretty decent launcher, just don't have it blocked and don't let it whiff. Also doubles as an anti-air. Crouching L Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 43,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 5 -Active Frames: 2 -Recovery Frames: 17 -Frame Advantage on Hit: -6 -Frame Advantage on Block: -7 Summary: Strange slashes at his opponents feet with light. It can be canceled into itself, making it a good hitconfirm. Definitely start off with this move in your combos if you haven't crumpled your opponent with his Flames of the Faltine or Impact Palm. More on those moves later. Crouching M Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 50,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 8 -Active Frames: 5 -Recovery Frames: 25 -Frame Advantage on Hit: -13 -Frame Advantage on Block: -14 Summary: Strange circles his hands above his head. Serves as an anti air and you can combo off of it. Crouching H (block low) Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 68,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 9 -Active Frames: 4 -Recovery Frames: 27 -Frame Advantage on Hit: N/A -Frame Advantage on Block: -9 Summary: Strange sweeps your enemy off their feet with light. It's fast, not extremely punishable on block like many of his normals, and can be canceled into his launcher. Decent move I guess. Air L (All air attacks must be blocked high) Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 48,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 5 -Active Frames: 8 -Recovery Frames: 15 -Frame Advantage on Hit: +11 -Frame Advantage on Block: +10 Summary: I've never used this move because air Ls are terrible and only increase damage scaling in your combos while not doing a lot of damage. Air M Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 58,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 7 -Active Frames: 3 -Recovery Frames: 25 -Frame Advantage on Hit: +16 -Advantage on Block: +15 Summary: Strange slashes at his enemy with light in midair. Standard air combo filler. Air H Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 68,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 8 -Active Frames: 3 -Recovery Frames: 34 -Frame Advantage on Hit: +18 -Frame Advantage on Block: +17 Summary: Strange kicks his enemy in midair. Again, standard air combo filler. Air S Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 73,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 9 -Active Frames: 4 -Recovery Frames: 28 -Frame Advantage on Hit: +18 -Frame Advantage on Block: +17 Summary: Strange shoots a short but concentrated beam of light from his hands. This move slams the enemy to the ground if you've launched them. It can also act as a good overhead if you cancel a move into flight and then use this move, opening them up for combos. Impact Palm (air ok) f+H Attack Data: -Hits: 1 -Damage: 75,000 Frame Data: -Startup Frames: 6 -Active Frames: 5 -Recovery Frames: 35 -Advantage on Hit: N/A -Advantage on Block: 18 Summary: Strange hits his enemy with his palm, causing them to enter a crumple state.This move will be in EVERY single one of your combos, whether ground or air. If youhit them with IP while they're in the air, they will fall very fast. If you do it at the right time, you will fall and hit the ground faster than they do, allowing you to jump and to the "Impact Loop". More on that later. Illusion: b+h Summary: Strange puts his hand up preparing to counter his enemies physical move. If they hit you, you'll take no damage and instantly appear behind them. This is Strange's only real option of getting someone off him without assists, so it's useful for that. It also option selects into his back throw. Don't throw out random Illusion's though, as you will eat big damage if you keep abusing it. Throw: near opponent, press H Summary: Strange envelops his enemy in light, then throws them to the ground. This move causes hard knockdown. If you're fast enough, you can tack on a Spell of Vishanti hyper for extra damage. That about does it for Strange's normals. As you can see, they have a large startupand are horribly unsafe on block. Luckily his specials and hypers are amazing, and there's even one special that allows you to circumvent the terribleness of his normals on block. =================================================================== =================================================================== 2b: Specials This is where Strange truly shines, using his multitude of projectiles to keep enemies at bay, then striking up close when they make a mistake. Before we look at Strange's specials, here are some notations you'll need to know. Atk= any attack button except S. QCF = quarter circle forward. Performed by pressing down, down-forward, forward DP = Dragon punch. Performed by pressing forward, down, down-forward. QCB = Quarter Circle Back. Performed by pressing down, down-back, back. RDP = Reverse Dragon punch. Performed by pressing back, down, down-back. Now without further ado, lets get on to the good Doctor's specials! Daggers of Dennak: QCF + L or M (air ok) Attack Data: •Hits: L- 1, M- 3 •Damage: L- 50,000, M- 50,000x3 Frame Data: •Startup Frames: L- 11, M- 31 •Active Frames: N/A •Recovery Frames: L- 34, M- 29 Summary: Strange snaps his fingers, and either 1 or 3 discs appear. These disks will home in on your opponent. As you can see, the startup varies greatly between the L and M versions. You can use these in conjunction with your teleport to cross the enemy up and score a combo. If used in the air, Strange will immediately fall down, unable to move or even block. Be careful using these in the air. Eye of Agamotto: QCF + H (air ok) Attack Data: •Hits: 10 •Damage: 97,300 Frame Data: •Startup Frames: 31 •Active Frames: 120 •Recovery Frames: 14 •Frame Advantage on Hit: +53 •Frame Advantage on Block: +52 Summary: Strange takes a LOOOOOOOONG time summoning a stationary yellow orb. This orb can be moved using the Impact Palm. If hit by IP, it will home in on the enemy. This move can be good for lockdown, allowing you to keep up your corner pressure. If Strange is hit, it will disappear completely. As with the Daggers, if he uses this in the air, he will fall down without being able to perform another action. Bolts of Balthakk: Atk+S Attack Data: •Hits: 2 •Damage: 60,000x2 Frame Data: •Startup Frames: 19 •Active Frames: 15(29)15 •Recovery Frames: 14 •Frame Advantage on Hit: -6 •Frame Advantage on Block: -7 Summary: Strange casts 2 high Lightning bolts from his fingers. This move can be ducked under and it's pretty useless. However if it hits in the corner, Strange can instantly throw them. It's pretty useless overall though. Mystic Sword: DP + Atk Attack Data: •Hits: L- 3, M/H - 2 •Damage: L- 50,000x3, M/H - 50,000+80,000 Frame Data: •Startup Frames: L- 8, M/H - 11 (projectile: 13) •Active Frames: L- 3(1)4(8)4, M/H - 4 •Recovery Frames: L- 18, M/H - 36 •Frame Advantage on Hit: M/H - -15 •Frame Advantage on Block: L- 0, M/H - -16 Summary: This is all around an amazing move. The L version is a melee attack, and the end frames can be jump canceled into the Impact Loop if you're opponent is even just a little bit off the ground. It also makes Strange's blockstrings safe, so if your series of attacks are blocked, you can end them with Mystic Sword L and most enemies can't retaliate. The M version is a moving projectile that can't be stopped most by other non hyper projectiles. The H version is similar to the M version but moves at a 45 degree angle. Between this, Daggers of Dennak, and a certain hyper I'll cover later you'll win pretty much every projectile war. Teleport: RDP + Atk (air ok) Summary: Strange has one of the fastest teleports in the game. These are vital to moving around the screen as he has no airdash and his ground dash is slow. L teleports you right in front of them, M behind them, andH gets you right above them. Grace of Hoggoth: QCB + L or M (air ok) Summary: Strange places a glyph on the screen. L creates a yellow one, and M creates a red one. Yellow ones increase FotF power, and red ones do not, but they do more OTG damage than yellow Grace. These don't do anything on their own. There can be up to 3 glyphs on the screen at a time. Flames of the Faltine: QCB + H (air ok) (may OTG) Attack Data: •Hits: 1 •Damage: 40,000/80,000/100,000/130,000 Frame Data: •Startup Frames: 12 •Active Frames: Varies •Recovery Frames: 18 •Frame Advantage on Hit: +4; N/A •Frame Advantage on Block: +3 Summary: Strange shoots out a weak little green fireball. This move is exceedingly weak without powering it up with Grace of Hoggoth. After 1 Yellow grace, FotF gets faster and stronger. After 2, it gets even stronger and faster, and will cause soft knockdown if your opponent is in the air. After 3, it becomes a fast beam, that crumples on hit and still causes soft knockdown if your opponent is in the air. The crumple beam is a huge threat, and if you land it, you can set up 2 more Graces of your choice and still have enough time to combo. A good strategy is to teleport behind your opponent right as the beam would hit to force them to block the wrong way, and get a free combo. =================================================================== 2c: Hypers Strange's hypers are so good. They are just so useful in every situation and can be used to keep your opponent in check. Strange has 2 level 1s and a Level 3 hyper. Lv.1: Spell of Vishanti: QCF + 2Atk (air ok) (OTGs) Attack Data: •Hits: 10~20 •Damage: 264,000~317,400 Frame Data: •Startup Frames: 11 •Active Frames: 30 •Recovery Frames: 45 •Frame Advantage on Hit: -17 •Frame Advantage on Block: -26 Summary: One of the best hypers in the game period. Strange causes a huge pillar of light to appear under the opponent, hitting them up to 20 times. This hyper is so good, because of it's start up. With this hyper, Strange has a near instant full screen punish. If he X factors, he can even TELEPORT TO WHERE YOU ARE AND GET A FULL COMBO OFF OF IT. Any time you catch your opponent making a dumb mistake, don't hesitate to throw this out. Lv.1: 7 Rings of Raggador: QCB + 2Atk Attack Data: •Hits: 15~30 •Damage: 300,000~360,000 Frame Data: •Startup Frames: 15+1 (Beam - 11) •Active Frames: 25 (Beam - 65) •Recovery Frames: 19 (Beam - 39) •Frame Advantage on Hit: N/A •Frame Advantage on Block (Beam): -24 Summary: Strange surrounds himself in protective rings. If a projectile hits him, he will counter with a beam. Strange has a couple of invincibility frames on startup, and while firing the beam, he is totally invincible while the beam is firing. This move makes it so Strange with meter will win pretty much ANY projectile war, meaning you can't play it safe fullscreen vs Strange, as you will pretty much always lose and eat a nice piece of damage. Lv.3 Astral Magic: DP + 2Atk Attack Data: •Hits: 1 •Damage: 450,000 Frame Data: •Startup Frames: 10+1 •Active Frames:30 •Recovery Frames:49 •Advantage on Block: -57 Summary: Strange sends out his Astral form to wrap his opponent, he then says "By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!", while several Orbs of Agamotto approach the bound target and explode.The astral form is decently fast, and can catch some people off guard. If it's blocked however, Strange is in for a world of pain since he can't move until his astral form is returned back to him. If you're fast enough, you can use Spell of Vishanti after this to tack on extra damage. So now we've come to the end of Strange's movelist. He's a keepaway character that is big on punishing mistakes with crossups between his Spell of Vishanti, FotF crumple beams, and his Daggers that allow him to create openings with his teleports. But UMvC3 is not a 1 on 1 fighter, and Strange has to contribute to the team in some way. Let's look at his assists. =============================================================== 2d: Assists Strange, while not having the best assists like Doom Missiles or Unibeam, has some pretty decent assists. Assist a: Daggers of Dennak M Summary: Strange throws out 3 Daggers of Dennak. Like the regular move, they home in. Also like the regular move, they go away if Strange is hit, and Strange stays out for a long time. Still, they can be used for getting in. Assist b: Eye of Agamotto Summary: Like the regular move, it takes Strange quite a while to get this move out. However once it's out, it provides great corner lockdown, and can be used by your other teammates to keep the pressure on. This IMO is the best assist for Dr Strange and is my preferred assist for him. Assist y: Bolts of Balthakk Summary: It's essentially an inferior Unibeam/Plasma Beam. That said, it can create ghetto unblockables if your opponent decides to crouch under it. It can also help certain characters get in. Note that all of Strange's assist give him the Spell of Vishanti THC super. =============================================================== 2e: Combos I'm sure plenty of you were waiting for this. I'm not much of a combo guy with Strange, but there are some bnb's I've decided to share, if you have some, please share them with me! I'll feature them in this guide here with your name next to it. Beginner: c.L, M, H, Impact Palm, M, H, S, jump, M, M, H, Impact Palm, S, Spell of Vishanti c.L, M, H, Impact Palm, Mystic Sword L, S, jump, M, M, H, Impact Palm, S, Spell of Vishanti c.L, c.L, c.L, Impact Palm, M, H, S, jump, M, M, H, Impact Palm, S, SoV (corner only), c.L, M, H, Impact Palm, H, Mystic Sword L, H, Mystic Sword L, H, S, jump, M, M, H, Impact Palm, S, Spell of Vishanti Intermediate M, H, Impact Palm, H, S, jump M, H, Impact palm, j.M, j.H, Impact Palm, H, S, M, M, H, Impact Palm, S, Daggers of Dennak M, SoV M, H, Impact Palm, Yellow Grace, Yellow Grace, Flames of the Faltine, Impact Palm, Mystic Sword L, j.M, j.H, Impact Palm, H, S, jump, M, M, H, S, SoV Advanced M, H, Impact Palm, Yellow Grace, Yellow Grace, Flames of the Faltine, Impact Palm, Mystic Sword L, j.M, j.M, j.H, Impact Palm, j.M, j.M, j.H, Impact Palm, H, Impact Palm, S, jump, M, M, H, Impact Palm, S, Daggers of Dennak M, SoV (Corner only) M, H, Impact Palm, Mystic Sword L, Impact Palm, Mystic Sword L, Impact Palm, S, jump, M, M, H, Impact Palm, S, Daggers of Dennak M, Sov (Corner only) M, H, Impact Palm, Yellow Grace, Yellow Grace, Eye of Agamotto, Impact Palm, S, Flames of the Faltine, Red Grace, Impact Palm, S, jump, M, M, H, S, Flames of the Faltine, Astral Magic, SoV If you've noticed, a lot of Strange's combos after Mystic Sword L have a j.M, j.M, j.H, impact palm. This is called the "Impact Loop" and is in pretty much all of Strange's combos. ================================================================ 3: Team Building As I've stated multiple times before, this is not a 1v1 game, and if you want to win, you'll need teamwork.The most important assist for Strange is a "get off me assist as he can't deal with rushdown very well. I would put Strange either on point or in the middle to take advantage of that assist. Notable partners/assists for Strange include: Dr. Doom: Hidden Missiles Let's face it, Strange can get overwhelmed by pure rushdown, and Doom's missiles are excellent at combo breaking due to the delay in which they hit. It serves as a get off me assist when Strange is in trouble being rushed down by the likes of Wolverine and Zero. Sphere Flame also DHCs into/out of Spell of Vishanti beautifully. Sentinel: Sentinel Force (charge) Strange's hit confirms outside of c.L are horrible. Sentinel force gives you some added time to react due to the unique hitstun on the move. Unfortunately the 2 have no DHC synergy unless you're DHCing out of Strange's 7 Rings beam into Hyper Sentinel Force. Haggar: Double Lariat The ultimate (pun intended) get off me assist in Vanilla has returned, albeit not without some nerfs. Haggar is vulnerable at the start of the move, and no longer causes hard knockdown. However he still has some invincibility,and can save Strange in situations where Strange can't save himself. Giant Haggar Press DHCs out of/into SoV pretty well too since Haggar goes straight up. If you have a suggestion tell me, you'll get credit for it. ================================================================ 4a. Q&A Coming soon... ================================================================ 4b: Special thanks Thanks to you the reader, for reading my first character guide! =) Thanks to the Brady Games guide for providing me with Frame Data Thanks to shoryuken.com for giving me some posts I could read and give me insight I hadn't noticed before Thank you to Marvel for creating the most fun character in the game to play And Thank you to Capcom for creating Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3! Now then, go online or in your local scene and show them what the Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Stephen Strange is capable of!