From Shoryuken Wiki, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Strategy and More!

Contents 1 Combo Mechanics 1.1 Cancels 1.2 Chains 1.3 Links 1.4 OTG Hits 1.5 Landers 1.6 Character Size and Weight

Combo Mechanics

A combo is any series of attacks that are unblockable for the opponent after the first hit. The attacking player can create any number of elaborate combos with the creative use of a few, fundamental mechanics.

• Glossary: Combo Notation

Cancels

• Normals and Command Normals cancel into any Special Move or Blockbuster during all start up, active, and most recovery Frames. Normals that whiff can still cancel to a special move or Blockbuster.
• Air normals and command normals all cancel to an Air Dash for characters that have an air dash. Air dash canceling works on whiff, block, or hit similar to canceling to a special move.
• Specials always cancel into Blockbusters on start up. They cancel during active frames and part of recovery frames on hit or block. Late recovery frames can never cancel. No active or recovery frames can cancel for a missed special move.

Chains

All characters can chain cancel their Normal Moves on hit or block. Any move from an attack button lower on the chain will cancel to an attack higher on the chain during all active and some of the recovery frames. Standing, crouching, and command normals can appear in the same ground chain. Air normals and air command normals work in the same air chain. Different characters have different chain combo sequences for their ground and air chains, and maximum number of attack buttons in the chain describes the different chain types.

• 6 button chain:
• 5 button chain: OR
• 4 button chain: OR OR
• 3 button chain: OR OR OR

Normal moves with the Chains Twice, Chains Thrice, and properties can all chain into themselves. Self-chaining moves can still cancel into higher buttons in the chain. Chain cancels do not usually work on whiff, but self-chaining attacks will.

Links

A link allows a move to hit then completely animate and end without canceling, leaving the opponent in enough hit or block stun for another move to connect. Using links to combo normal moves often requires strict, frame specific timing and is more difficult than creating a combo using only cancels. The most important links appear in air combos that use unchained normals, which can be useful for getting a lander off of an otherwise simple launcher into air combo.

OTG Hits

The attacking player can hit the opponent off the ground once per combo. Anything can OTG if it hits low to the ground, even if it isn't a low move. During a typical any hit that lands on the opponent after a red impact effect but before the blue impact effect (and available Ground Recovery) consumes the one OTG. Hitting the opponent while the are on the ground from a or stun also uses the one OTG for that combo.

Landers

If the opponent hits the ground in hit stun from a non-knockdown move they land on their feet and get 1 extra frame of hit stun. Landers are independent from OTGs and nothing restricts multiple landers in the same combo. Both ground and air moves can cause an opponent to land during a combo. While air moves with multiple hits can easily land opponents from an air chain combo, getting a lander from other single hit moves may require strict timing during chains or a sequence of linked attacks.

Character Size and Weight

All characters have a unique weight to the game's engine. Attacks that give a change in momentum for the defending character, such as attack, will generally send a lighter character further than the a heavier character. Certain air combos will not work against every character because of this subtle detail. In game weight does not match the listed weights from the official character biographies.

• List of heaviest to lightest characters: Double > Cerebella > Parasoul > Valentine > Filia > Ms. Fortune > Painwheel > Peacock