Nemesis TLDR

Standing	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.L	8	3	13	+2	0
St.M	12	3	21	-1	-3
St.H*	17	3	28	--	-6
F.H	15	8	23	+1	-1

*Super Armor from frames 10-24.

Crouching	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Cr.L	9	3	12	+3	+1
Cr.M	11	3	20	0	-1
Cr.H*	18	4	29	--	-7

*Super Armor from frames 16-27.

Jumping	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
J.L	9	3	19	+16	+14
J.M	12	3	21	+21	+19
J.H	15	11	15	+22	+20
JF.H	15	8	23	+23	+21
JD.H	15	8	23	+23	+21

Launchers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.S	10	5	34	--	-13
J.S	17	4	25	--	+18

Same new format since nobody seemed to mind.

Nemesis's normals are all pretty terrible on block save for his tentacle normals.  The problem there is that they sail of most of the cast when crouching (and some when standing).  An interesting thing to note though is that the small explosion coming form Nemmy's hand when he throws them out has a hitbox and can hit crouching characters.  I don't know the frame data on just that part hitting, but I assume you're punishable since the last hit doesn't connect.

As far as the armor on his two H normals, it's important to note that while both moves have similar amount of frames in the move themselves the St.H has twice the amount of armored frames (they come out sooner as well) and is probably better to counter predictable pokes from other characters.

The jumping tentacle normals (F.H/D.H) are good pokes from a distance thanks to the massive frame advantage on hit or block, but using them to confirm combos may cut your damage potential down.

The last normal worth mentioning is his St.S, which has the benefit of having no hurtbox (you can't be hit) where the tentacles are.  However, it is horribly negative on block and easily punished by many characters.

Clothesline	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Clothesline L	18	5	23	--	-2
Clothesline M	22	5(28)1	20	--	+6
Clothesline H	22	5(28)1	20	--	+6

The Clothesline Launcher series is where you go to when you want to make your strings safe.  Canceling blocked normals in Clothesline L makes them completely safe (normally) against the entire cast so long as you block afterwards.

While the other two launchers are shown with positive frame advantage, you won't actually get that unless the rocket (which fires very high) connects and is blocked.  This makes it impractical for ending chains since a whiffed rocket means you're getting punished anyway.

Rocket Launcher	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Launcher	20	--	45	--	-19
Air Launcher	20	--	45	--	0
Anti Air Launcher	20	--	45	--	-19

Not much to mention here.  Nemesis's projectile series is best used from a long way off as a zoning tool since even at medium range some characters will still be able to punish you (if they don't run under the rocket and nail you in the first place).

Launcher Slam	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Slam L*	15	5	29	+2	-8
Slam M**	18	5	33	--	-12
Slam H***	22	5	39	--	-18

*Super Armor from frames 10-24.
**Super Armor from frames 15-29.
***Super Armor from frames 11-30.

A few notable things about the Slams.  One is that they all have super armor, although in varying degrees.

The difference in M that makes it typically better for countering pokes is that against airborne characters and most crouchers it leads into a full combo.  H is hard to followup unless you have an OTG assist and are near a corner while L is primarily used for command throw resets.

Tentacle Slam	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Tentacle L	7	1	48	--	--
Tentacle M	20	1	45	--	--
Tentacle H	20	1	45	--	--

The tentacle slam line has one interesting thing to note.  Tentacle Slam L is Nemesis's fastest move, which makes it the more ideal punish if you're close up instead of a St/Cr.L.  The only problem is that whiffing it will leave you on the other side of that situation so you may need to DHC to keep it safe.  I suggest using this particular strategy at your own discretion though.

Assists	Startup	Active	Recovery	Recovery (Other)
Clothesline M	46	5(28)1	111	81
Slam M	42	5	124	94
Launcher	44	--	136	106

Aside from the problematic issue of high flying rockets (which is everywhere on Nemesis) there is one thing to point out about his assists.

Slam loses its armor properties as an assist, so it isn't as reliable as a "get off me" assist as it may seem at first glance.  In fact, Clothesline M (if you can cover the period between the punch and rocket) is probably a little better for keeping people out since it covers much more of the screen than the other two assists.

Hypers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Bioweapon Assault	18+3	1(23)1(24)1(93)7	82	--	-58
Biohazard Rush*	15+3	10(23)11(26)11(33)11(50)20	69	--	-54
Fatal Mutation	15+0	2	58	--	--

*Super Armor from frames 11-260 (10 Hits).

Nemmy's hypers are a little wonky due to a few things.

Bioweapon Assault is the go-to combo ender and is reasonably reliable (sometimes the rockets miss), but like many Hypers it shouldn't be used on its own.

Biohazard Rush, while it does more damage than Assault, can be hard to nail reliably in combos.  It is relatively safe to use as a DHC tool when getting Nemesis to safety thanks to the armor, but is just as unsafe on block as Assault is.

Fatal Mutation is hard to use since it has no invincibility and a very slow startup period.  The best way to use it would likely be tick throwing (using an assist most likely), but it isn't viable as a counter since you can be hit out of it (or jumped on reaction).

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So the summary on Nemesis's overall data is that his chains should be canceled into Clothesline L for safety, he doesn't have any other real options to prevent punishment up close.  At a distance he has the option of jump Rocket Launcher shots and safe tentacle normals for good pokes.

Countering pokes is best done with St.H (it puts opponents high enough on hit for a Slam M to lead into a combo) and can be made safe (again) with a cancel in Clothesline L.

It's important to recap that Tentacle Slam L is Nemesis's fastest punish but should be used with caution since a whiff means you'll likely be eating a combo if your opponent is prepared.  You only have 1 active frame and after that you're vulnerable for 48 more.

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That's a warp on this week's articles.  I don't have many updates at the moment for you guys so keep an eye out for the next write up and have a Happy (and safe) New Year.  See you in 2012!

Strider TLDR

Standing	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.L	4	2	11	0	-2
St.M	6	3	15	0	-2
St.H	9	4	23	-4	-6
SF.H	10	4	22	-3	-5

Crouching	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Cr.L	5	2	11	0	-2
Cr.M	8	3	15	0	-2
Cr.H	10	3	26	--	-8
DF.H	9	10	22	--	-11

Jumping	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
J.L	5	3	15	+11	+9
J.M	7	3	21	+16	+14
J.H	9	4	23	+18	+16

Launchers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.S	9	4	29	--	-12
J.S	10	3	26	+14	+12

I wanted to try something new with this article in terms of format, comment if you don't like it and I'll go back to what I was doing.

Strider's normals need to take advantage of his range to stay relatively safe. Ending your chains in a F.H leaves you at -5 which is punishable by faster characters.  You also have the option of canceling into a Formation B shot to keep it safe but that requires a little bit of prep.  However like many other characters with weapons Strider has the option of using the edge of his normals' hitboxes to create a gap that makes punishing either difficult or impossible.

On the other side of things, using Strider's sliding momentum can make things like his St.H have a little more range and at 4 frame startup it can be used as a punish tool into a combo.

Ame-No-Murakumo	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Murakumo L	15	4	27	--	-10
Murakumo M	23	4	25	--	-8
Murakumo H	31	4	22	--	-5

Strider's running slash isn't really safe on block in any version (except maybe H) but using the running versions as a poke is vulnerable to projectile spam.  Murakumo L is really used as a combo utility after your standard ground series since it has no running startup, but M/H can be linked after a successful Formation B shot.

If you do want to use a running slash as a poke at any point (for some reason unknown to me) make sure you check up on who can punish which version. At -8 there are a number of even slow characters that get a free punish if blocked.  Just the same, using the L version as a hitconfirm is a bad idea as -10 assures that practically any character can punish you as long as they aren't pushblocking.

Excalibur	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Excalibur L	10	15	11 (Or Until Grounded)	+10	+8
Excalibur M	10	15	26	-9	-11
Excalibur H	10	15	26	-9	-11

The Excalibur worth looking at in terms of the data is the L version.  Excalibur L, outside of being used in certain combo strings, can be used as a divekick since it is +8 on block.  However you will need to pull it off closer to the ground so that the recovery is short enough to followup with a mixup or more pressure.

Wall Cling	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Wall Cling	Until Wall	--	1	--	--
Ladder Kick	8	11	16	-4	-6
Cypher Attack	6	3	23	-3	-5
Jump Kick	10	Until Grounded	10	+12	+10
Wall Exchange	27	--	1	--	--

The wall cling moveset is a little odd to discuss from a frame data perspective, but here goes.

Ladder Kick, while relatively unsafe, can be canceled into air specials while Strider is up there.  What that means is that you can go from it to Excalibur L and be much safer.

Then we have the Jump Kick, which while amazing on paper (ground bounce vs air opponents, crazy positive on block) is punishable if your opponent jumps up to block it in the air.  If you catch your opponent holding Up-Back to avoid the high/low mixups (it's an overhead) then you might want to think twice about throwing this out to catch him.

Gram	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Gram L	18	5	26	--	-10 (0)
Gram M	25	5	26	--	-10 (+8)
Gram H	33	5	26	--	-10 (+16)

Gram is probably Strider's best long range poke option with a couple of neat ways to keep is much safer.  Even at fullscreen though it is near impossible to punish normally.  Your first option to make a potentially disastrous Gram safe is to cancel it into Formation B (Shot, you can't cancel it into calling one up) which you can do at any time during the Gram.  The second option is to TK the Gram since that puts you at neutral or better frame advantage when you execute it right off of the ground.  The bonus?  They lead into combos on hit, which is always nice.

Formations	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
A1	21	--	14	+13	+11
A2	Table Cell	--	14	+14	+12
C	Table Cell	--	4	--	--
B	Table Cell	--	9	--	--
B (Shot)	Table Cell	--	18	+12	+8

These are really only effective as zoning tools, but since this is where Formation B is we should probably talk about that.

Formation B as a Shot can cancel anything Strider does, which means that so long as you have on out you have a fallback option to make yourself safe.  The only drawback is that getting hit nulls having it around but it does last a full 10 seconds upon activation.

Vajra	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Vajra L*	12	9	10	--	--
Vajra M*	12	9	10	--	--
Vajra H**	33	Until Grounded	11	+2	-7

*Frames 12-20 Invincible.

**Frames 13-29 Invincible.

Like all other teleports, Strider is unsafe on recovery after he does his.  Even after a blocked Vajra H he can be punished if blocked in the air, so the general teleporting rule of thumb applies to him like everyone else.  Use an assist to cover it or you'll likely eat a solid punish.

Assists	Startup	Active	Recovery	Recovery (Other)
Murakumo M	47	4	116	86
Gram M	49	5	118	88
Vajra H	59	10	102	72

To be completely honest, you'll never see Strider use anything other than Vajra as an assist.  The only other assist that comes close to it in utility is Gram.  All three assists can be used to extend combos though so long as you don't eat your wall/ground bounce with your point character's own merits.  Just be careful in that each assist has the same drawbacks as they do on point, which means that Vajra can be punished if used on its own.

Hypers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Legion	9+1	--	76	+12	+6
Ouroboros	13+2	--	7	--	--
Ragnarok*	8+0	21	33	--	-33

*Frames 1-20 Invincible.

Legion is an interesting HC in that the animals come out once Strider points regardless of him being hit or not, but be warned that it can be jumped over and is slow to cross the screen.

The Orbs, once you get them going, actually have enough projectile durability (3 low points a shot) to eat through a character trying to spam a beam to knock Strider down.  Just be warned that beam Hypers will negate that entire strategy so keeping your opponent locked down is key if you're at long range.

Last but not least we have Ragnarok, which outside of combos can be used on reaction to punish pretty much anything at point blank range.  With 0 startup after the flash and full invincibility up through most of the active frames there is very little that can be done if your opponent isn't blocking in the first place.

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That brings us to a close on Strider.  Some general notes on keeping him safe in terms of frame advantage are to make use of the range on his normals during hitconfirms.  St.M/Cr.M/St.H/Cr.H/F.H as a series puts you far outside of punish range thanks to the range on Strider's own weapon.  If you're in a pickle using his specials for pokes (Gram) then you can make sure to have a Formation B on board to shoot off to keep you safe.

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That's it for today's article.  You can expect to see some changes (and a few edits across the articles, there will be a notice for what is changed and where after it's over) hopefully within a week of this post.  As always, feedback is appreciated and helps me make this a better source of information for everyone; you can find my contact info on the panel to the left.

TLDR Special Edition - X Factor and What it Means to Your Frames

Yay!  A special thing I had planned for everyone!

I figured that since I kept mentioning how things are "normally not able to be punished" I should really talk about what I mean by that.  So let's dig in shall we?

Your average character has a 5 frame L somewhere.  What this means is that you can punish any move that is -6 on block or more as long as you are in range.  This is why I talk about moves that are -4/5 as "relatively safe" because your average character can't punish it.  I'll make this easy for everyone though and use a character I've already covered so you have their frames on hand.

Wesker

Crouching	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Cr.L	5	2	11	+2	+1

This is Wesker's Cr.L, which is a 5 frame move.  Some characters, however, have 4 frame moves.

Firebrand

Crouching	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Cr.L	4	2	12	0	-1

Here we have Firebrand, who happens to have a 4 frame L.  All this means is that he can punish slightly more things than Wesker (range permitting, his Cr.L has almost none) into a hitconfirmed combo.

So then you might be asking yourself who/what qualifies as a slow normal.  The measuring stick for this (in my case) is Hulk.  Hulk has a horribly slow L at his disposal that you really have to work around to make it do something for you.  How slow is slow though?  9 frames, or 7 in some cases.  Dormammu has a 7 frame L, for an example.

I wanted to get all of that out of the way because this article is about how X Factor changes up all of this, specifically level 2 and on.

On average a character gains a 20% speed boost at XF2, which means quite a bit for your average 5-Frame-L character.  In that case specifically said character's 5FL becomes a 4FL, and in XF3 a 3FL in some cases.  In this game specifically a 3FL is a very powerful tool and only occurs naturally (no XF) in very few characters.  I'll include a list of characters and their L speeds at the end of this article.

So what does all of this mean for you 4FL characters? Well, for them XF2 grants a 30% boost which still takes them down a frame to 3FL status.  In XF3 though it is rare for any of them to drop down to a 2FL.  Characters like Firebrand, Joe, and Chun Li fall into this category but only Chun Li amongst them gains a 2FL.

The translation of most of this is that with XF2/3 characters many more moves can be punished than normal.  Things like Captain America's St.S (-4 on block) while normally punishable by the tiniest fraction of the cast is easily punishable for many characters even in XF2.  So it's something to keep in mind when you're checking your options against certain members of the cast.

That really covers it all for this article.  I'll punch up that list really quick so you guys can see who has what speed L, but have a great Christmas (or whatever holiday happens to be yours this time of year) and a Happy New Year.

Character	Frames (Startup)	Position
Captain America	4	Crouching
Deadpool	4	Standing
Doctor Doom	5	Standing
Doctor Strange	4	Standing
Dormammu	6	Standing
Ghost Rider	7	Both
Hawkeye	5	Both
Hulk	9	Both
Iron Fist	5	Both
Iron Man	5	Both
MODOK	5	Crouching
Magneto	5	Standing
Nova	5	Standing
Phoenix (Dark)	4 (3)	Crouching
Rocket Raccoon	4	Both
Sentinel	7	Standing
She Hulk	7	Both
Shuma	4	Standing
Spiderman	4	Standing
Storm	5	Both
Skrull	6	Both
Taskmaster	5	Both
Thor	7	Crouching
Wolverine	4	Standing
X-23	4	Standing
Akuma	5	Crouching
Amaterasu	3	Standing
Arthur	6	Standing
Viper	4	Crouching
Chris	6	Both
Chun Li	4	Both
Dante	8	Both
Felicia	4	Standing
Firebrand	4	Crouching
Frank West	6	Both
Haggar	7	Standing
Hsien Ko	5	Both
Jill	4	Standing
Morrigan	4	Both
Nemesis	8	Standing
Phoenix Wright	6 (5 in TB)	Standing
Ryu	5	Both
Spencer	6	Standing
Strider	4	Standing
Trish	5	Both
Tron	7	Standing
Vergil	5	Crouching
Joe	4	Standing
Wesker	5	Both
Zero	4	Crouching

*Note that this is not a guide to a character's best punish, it simply lists their fastest normal and the position it is used from as a reference.

TLDR Blog News (12/23)

So I'm updating with some news real quick since I'm figuring things out a little more.

After Christmas I'll be cutting down to two articles a week.  As things are at the moment I'm having a hard time staying consistent with my work on this blog so I think a little bit more of a break will help me.  This change will come following the Christmas article (which won't be a character feature, by the way).

You can also expect some changes coming in terms of appearance here fairly soon, so be on the lookout for that and get back to me via my contact info (and all that jazz) to let me know what you think when it comes down the pipes.

Frank West TLDR

A small foreword for this article, but I had no idea how to go about organizing this so it would be digestible.  My hopes are that I did a good enough job for most folks.

Misc Normals	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.L	6	3	12	+1	-1
Cr.L	6	2	15	-1	-3
Cr.H	10	12	19	--	-8

Misc Air Normals	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
J.L	5	8	13	+13	+11
J.H	11	5	20	+21	+18
JD.H	13	Until Grounded	13	--	+4

Many of Frank's universal normals don't see much action outside of combos and progressively less so the more you level him up.  However, the normal worth talking about a little is the Knee Drop (JD.H).  Being that it is +4 on block it is deceptively safe just by appearances, but throwing out Cr/St.L's (both are safe to anything without an invincible startup) is a natural frame trap since it leaves 1-2 frames for your opponent to try and hang themselves retaliating.

Aside from that, Cr.H is his only low hitting normal which can be slightly problematic if Frank is alone since his this can make mixups a little hard at lower levels where pressure isn't as good of an option.

Stand M's	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Level 1	10	3	22	-4	-7
Level 3	10	3	22	-4	-7
Level 4	10	5	22	-2	-5

Crouching M's	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Level 1	9	3	22	-4	-7
Level 3	9	3	22	-4	-7
Level 4	9	7	20	-2	-5

Jumping M's	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Level 1	7	3	22	+19	+16
Level 3	7	3	22	+19	+16
Level 4	7	12	22	+18	+15

The M's!  The ones worth noting as far as frames are concerned are the level 4+ ones since poking with them gets you chip damage.  At -5 you shouldn't be poking at point blank range since fast characters can punish you, but at a reasonably safe range (a couple characters out) you can poke safely without worrying about most punishes.  However, if you're up in close range you can take advantage of the jumping M's since jumping normals in UMvC3 are crazy positive on block.

At lower levels you can still use J.M's as quick overheads since you can combo from J.M into J.S.  The hitbox reaches very wide outside of Frank so it can also make a good poke early on.

Standing H's	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Level 1	14	4	28	-6	-9
Level 3	14	3	29	-6	-9
Level 4	14	7	30	-7	-10

The St.H series for Frank is interesting.  At lower levels (Sub 4) you have enough pushback on block to seem safe, but certain faster characters have a shot at punishing it which makes it unsafe for hitconfirming.  Your option to make a series safe at lower levels is to go from St.H to Cr.H and cancel into Tools L.  While you won't be positive on block you will be safe from most punishes.

At higher levels (4+) you can simply cancel into Tools L directly and get both positive frame advantage and some chip in.

Object Throw	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Level 1	12	--	35	-10	-13
Level 3	12	--	35	-7	-10
Level 4	12	--	35	-5	-8

Each projectile has 3/4/5 low durability points.

At 12 startup Object Throw is actually about as fast as your standard projectile which is good for when you can't get a Giant Swing in.  It also makes it a good harassment tool from a distance, but the frame disadvantage up close means that's where you shouldn't be using it.  Stay back and use it for chip and basic zoning and it stays safe.

Launchers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.S	9	5	25	--	-7
J.S (1)	13	3	23	+16	+13
J.S (3)	13	4	22	--	+18
J.S (4)	13	4	22	--	+17

The J.S series for Frank is really good for just poking.  Even at low levels a hit can confirm straight into a combo and the hitbox covers a really good area for Frank.

That about covers Frank's normals.  He isn't exactly safe in lower levels so it helps to get your hitconfirms down before he gets leveled (should you have to fight at level 1 Frank) but later on you can pretty much poke around with M's without consequence.  But if you're pressed for safety at level 1, know that canceling from Cr.H to Tools L is safe.

Tools L	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Level 1	15	2(5)3(4)3(4)3	22	+1	-2
J.Level 1	15	2(6)3(3)3(4)3	7	+16	+13
Level 3	15	4(3)5(2)5(2)5	20	--	-4
J.Level 3	15	4(3)5(2)5(2)5	7	--	+12
Level 4	15	25	11	+8	+5
J.Level 4	15	25	8	+11	+8

Tools L!  Outside of the usefulness in cranking the hit counter up you can also use it on the ground to make typically unsafe strings safe.  The more you level Frank though the utility changes in that you can use it for safe chip pressure with the range on it.  If you count out the frames as well you can see that at level 4 going from Tools L to Cr.M for safe chip (barring pushblock of course).

Tools M	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Level 1	20	3	33	--	-13
J.Level 1	20	3	33	--	-8
Level 3	20	3	33	--	-13
J.Level 3	20	3	33	--	-4
Level 4	20	11(1)2	22	--	-7
J.Level 4	20	11(1)2	22	--	-3

Tools M really shouldn't be used outside of combos, being as negative as it is without respectable pushback will get you punished hard.

Tools H	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Level 1	27	3	31	--	-11
J.Level 1	27	3	Until Grounded	--	+21
Level 3	27	4	30	--	-11
J.Level 3	27	4	30	--	+21
Level 4	27	5	29	--	-11
J.Level 4	27	5	29	--	+21

Tools H would make for a good jumping poke if J.S didn't do the same thing.  It's in the same class as Tools M, stick to combos and OTG with this if you need damage.

Roundhouse Kick	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Roundhouse L*	--	--	--	--	--
Roundhouse M	16	5	24	--	-6
Roundhouse H	18	5	32	--	-14

*Lasts 25 frames.

Roundhouse M is a safe poke if you use it from half screen since using it too close makes it punishable by your average character.

Roundhouse H, while Frank's only other low hitting attack outside of his slide, is not safe for poking around with.  It does make a good OTG after a Tools H if you're looking for damage though.

Giant Swing	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Giant Swing L	28	21	8	--	+17
Giant Swing M	38	21	8	--	+17
Giant Swing H	48	31	8	--	+17

If you have room and time (the startup leaves a lot to be desired) then using Giant Swing is a good way to get in.  Having massive advantage on block and a combo on hit makes it a good way to go fishing for hits or getting in.  However, Object throw makes for better poking if you're being pinned down with beam spam.

Hammer Throw	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Hammer Throw L	30	--	10	+15	+15
Hammer Throw M	30	--	10	+15	+15
Hammer Throw H	40	--	10	+101	+15

Each zombie has 1 low durability point.

Thanks to the above note, Hammer Throw is really only a good means to poke out if you're at medium range where it's hard to counter with a projectile (or jump away) since the zombies are so fragile.  The startup on the H version can be a little slow, but a free combo on hit is always nice and being positive on block makes it safe to throw out too.

Misc Specials	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Snapshot	15	10	31	-25	-27
Bottoms Up	60	--	145	--	--
Barrel Roll*	--	--	--	--	--

*Lasts 30 frames.

There isn't much to say here since these are all utility specials.  The recovery on Bottoms Up is actually how long it takes Frank to puke after it's over.  Do keep in mind as well that the Barrel Roll is not invincible, so while it is good for getting in it can be punished if predicted well enough.

Assists	Startup	Active	Recovery	Recovery (Other)
Shopping Cart	31	35	104	74
Tools of Survival	29	2(5)3(4)3(4)3	134	104
Pick Me Up	25	--	177	147

Shopping cart assist?  Yeah, that's universally the best option for Frank.  Tools L might be a good lockdown tool but would only surpass the Cart if you have a high level Frank.  Even then the added recovery might not be worth it.

Pick Me Up is on the low end of meter building assists.  It recovers much slower than the more popular Morrigan assist and is only slightly (~3 frames) faster than Ammy.

Hypers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Blue Light Special	12+2	62	45	--	-35
Funny Face Crusher*	6+4	5	21	--	--
Survival Techniques**	8+4	15	21	--	-13

*Invincible from frames 1-12.

**(Lvl3)Invincible from frames 1-17. (Lvl4)Invincible from frames 1-25. 

Frank's hypers get much better as he levels up, although Blue Light Special has great utility as a THC it can be overshadowed by the others when he's on point.

Funny Face Crusher has full startup invincibility which makes it great for what it's for, an anti air tool.  You can use it off of a Tools H OTG, St.L into a Face Crusher as a basic example for a reset though.

Survival Techniques, aside from outdamaging Blue Light Special, becomes good for punishes thanks to the good invincibility at higher levels.  At level 3 it starts with a little invincibility during active frames and at level 4 it gets almost complete invincibility throughout the active frames.  Having so much is good enough to beat out the likes of Iron Fist's 3, Wesker's level 3, and even Captain America's Hyper Star's and Stripes on reaction.

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That pretty much wraps us up for Frank.

In general with his normals you need to watch out to cancel your Cr.H's with Tools L to stay safe, but whiff punishes are possible if you're push blocked so don't get predictable with it.  If you get in close you can use J.M and J.S (which at higher levels leads into full combos) to stay safe with their good hitboxes.

For poking Frank does very well at a halfscreen space by tipping his Tools L and Roundhouse M's, the latter of which will get you a combo if you're at level 3 or higher if you connect.  Getting in from that space is also safe and painless thanks to Giant Swings and Hammer Throws as well.

Punishing is relatively easy at higher levels thanks to Survival Techniques and you should make use of those invincibility frames once you hit level 3 (even more so at 4).

Thanks for your time and look forward to a special Christmas article coming up soon.

Iron Fist TLDR

Standing	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.L	5	2	11	+3	+1
St.M	7	4	16	+1	-1
St.H	11	5	19	+2	0
SF.H	9	4	21	+4	+2
SB.H	12	7	25	-6	-8

Alright, time for Iron Fist.

His standing normals are really good.  Being around the -1 to -4 range on block means they are practically safe from punish against the entire cast.  This makes hitconfirming pretty easy since you can poke out with a simple M H B.H and be positive on block.

At 5 frame startup Iron Fist sits around average in terms of speed on his L's, however the range is pretty terrible.

As a special not, his B.H cancels up to medium priority projectiles and if you can preemptively throw one out against someone like Magneto then you can actually beat L Disruptor spam with B.H spam.  It has slow startup but better recovery than Disruptor, which is why you need to get a little psychic with it (and that shouldn't be too hard since everyone wants to zone Iron Fist out).

As a small sidenote, St.M and any of the St.H normals (forward and back) can be used to kara other moves.  Ranges vary though so choose wisely.  Practical applications of the particularly poor-ish range on SB.H would be to punish a zoning attempt if you were fast enough.

Crouching	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Cr.L	5	2	12	+2	0
Cr.M	8	4	17	0	-2
Cr.H	10	4	25	--	-5

Not much to mention here except that the only true low amongst his crouching normals is the H, which is incredibly slow as far as crouching normals go.  Even so, at -5 it is punishable by the faster characters unless you cancel it into a St.S (but we'll get to that in a minute).

Jumping	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
J.L	6	8	12	+14	+12
J.M	8	3	20	+19	+17
J.H	9	3	29	+20	+17

Not much to see here either.  Iron Fist isn't amazing in the air.

Launchers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.S	12	2	27	--	-5
J.S	10	4	27	+18	+16

St.S is interesting in that it's a low attack and is generally safe.  At -5 a faster character can punish it, but the range and pushback on it makes it safe unless used on a cornered opponent.  So if you're going for a low mixup on a blockstring and your Cr.H is blocked, a late cancel to St.S will either catch them into a launcher or push them back enough to evade punishes.

Forward Rekka (Punches)	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Rekka L	15	3	21	+2	0
Rekka M	10	2	39	--	-17
Rekka H	20	3	28	--	-7
Rekka S*	15	5	41	--	-22

*Frames 5-17 have super armor.

Now we're into the meat of IF's game.  The two Rekkas we're looking at for this article are the L and S ones though.

L Rekka is completely safe on block which makes it good for extending hitconfirms if you really need to.  Note that while you can't do 3 L Rekkas in a row, you can do 2 by putting something else in the middle.

S Rekka having super armor makes it interesting.  While it doesn't have startup armor, it does have armor on through until it is active.  It's particularly good if you can train your opponent into attempting punishes after a second Rekka and following up with a late cancel S Rekka.

Chi	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Chi L	1	29	--	--	--
Chi M	1	29	--	--	--
Chi H	1	29	--	--	--

Not much to see here except that each of these have a point of super armor from frames 5-20 and last 300 frames (which is 5 seconds).

Backward Rekka (Kicks)	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Back Rekka L	13	3	25	-2	-4
Back Rekka M	21	5	33	--	-14
Back Rekka H	15	3(3)4	36	--	-16
Back Rekka S	20	10	33	--	-19

There are two Rekkas to look at here, which are L and S once again.

L Rekka is Iron Fist's third low attack and in this case is probably one of his better tools for high/low mixups.  It is safe on block to any non-XF character, but the forward (punch) version of the L Rekka is a better option for ending blocked strings.

The S Rekka on this end is has an interesting property in that it eats medium and low priority projectiles, but the angle on it and the fact that you need to do 2 Rekkas beforehand make it hard to use as a general projectile punishment tool.  It is also horribly unsafe on block.

Assists	Startup	Active	Recovery	Recovery (Other)
Dragon's Touch	34	2	125	95
Crescent Heel	45	5	119	89
Rising Fang	34	10	122	92

Dragon's Touch, as an assist, is functionally the same as its Rekka counterpart (Forward M Rekka) but is likely only good as a combo utility.

Crescent Heel is a little slow and the range makes it difficult OTG assist for some characters, but the overhead functionality makes it useful for unblockable setups.

Rising Fang is functionally the same as the Rekka, which makes it a better assist thanks to the relatively fast startup and projectile cancelling ability.  However, it does wall bounce so make sure you either use a character that doesn't use one or modify your combos to accommodate.

Hypers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Iron Rage*	3+3	46	34	--	-14
Volcanic Roar	9+1	90	38	-17	-35
Dragon's Prey**	10+10	21	38	--	-35

*Frames 1-11 invincible.

**Frames 1-30 invincible.

Iron Rage's invincible frames mean that it is great for countering certain specials and hypers on reaction at close range.  Frames 1-11 covers the startup completely and slightly into the active frames so you're assured a punish if used correctly.

Volcanic Roar is actually a big beam.  It eats practically all other projectiles but shouldn't be used primarily for that.  As an interesting note, even though you are negative on hit with this hyper you do have time to jump up for an air throw after it finishes.

Dragon's Prey is your typical invincible level 3.  Frames 1-30 ensures solid punishes at close range, but the startup is a little slow.  All this means is that moves with more invincibility or an XF cancel can save someone from being hit by it, so be careful.

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In summation IF is a safe close range character.  The things you would want to look out for is making sure your hitconfirms end in St.H or Punch Rekka L for best results.  The vast majority of his other moves go from being reasonably safe on block to being horrendously punishable, so stick to poking around with St.M and H and using kara canceled Rekkas into Punch L's if blocked.

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As always, feedback is welcome and my contact information can be found in my profile on the sidebar and you can catch me around the UMvC3 Gamefaqs message board as well as SRK (occasionally).  Thank you for your time and look for more articles in the future.

Firebrand TLDR

Standing	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.L	5	3	9	+6	+6
St.M	8	3	15	+1	0
St.H	10	2(7)4	18	+2	+1

Dear sweet craziness is this fool safe.  Relative testing, meaning that I tried all manner of normal punishes, shows that the Pushblock The M method doesn't work at all against Firebrand.  In fact, the only time you can pushblock and punish is when he's attacking you from the corner.  St.H is insanely safe for ending hitconfirms if you don't want to commit to a Demon Missile mixup or don't have an assist to back him up.  It's also good to note that Firebrand is on the faster end of the L's.  We'll get into that in a minute.

Crouching	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Cr.L	4	2	12	0	-1
Cr.M	8	4	17	-2	-3
Cr.H	10	8	26	--	-11

As far as I've seen, 4 is the fastest a normal gets without help in this game.  It may have short range, but the speed of a wavedash does wonders for punishing with a 4 frame normal.  Any time I've ever mentioned a move being borderline punishable by the faster members of the cast, I'm pointing mostly at Firebrand.  Don't get into the habit of abusing his slide too much and too carelessly (explained below) because it's one of those Hulk-Punishable moves.

Jumping	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
J.L	5	3	17	+12	+11
J.M	8	4	22	+17	+16
J.H	8	3(2)4	29	+19	+18
JD.H	18	Until Grounded	11	--	+11

Some special notes about his air normals.  Firebrand's L has a good enough angle on it to get instant overheads on some members of the cast.  As of this posting I haven't tested it on every character, but it works on a crouching Magneto so I assume it works on the majority.  The larger characters can net you a full combo, but the smaller ones might require an assist to take advantage of it.

The JD.H is a really good normal to use for pressure.  It is largely unaffected by pushblocking and very safe on block.  Following it up with an air Bon Voyage leaves a 2 frame gap where your opponent can do anything and even if that is pushblocked you're still right in their face (and safe).  On hit you can go ahead straight into a combo.

Launchers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.S	9	5	30	--	-12
J.S	10	4	32	+15	+14

Not much to say here so I'll put my closing notes on Firebrand's normals in this slot.

By and large Firebrand is a very safe character.  Ending hitconfirms with St.H leaves you safe against practically all punishes (except things like Spell of Vishanti/Gimlet on pushblock) and his air JD.H is great for keeping up pressure.  Further down I'll have more notes about Bon Voyage and Luminous Body that will pertain to that as well, but we'll get there when we get there.

Spitfire	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Spitfire L	16	--	29	0	-1
Spitfire M	16	--	29	0	-1
Spitfire H	26	--	20*	--	+54(+41)

*Recovery in the air is until you are grounded.

Each of these projectiles has 5 low durability points except H on the ground (which the initial spit only has 3) and then spawns 5 more projectiles at 3 points a piece.

These are not good for projectile wars.  You won't win them so don't really try.  As an example, Magneto gets two Disruptors to your one Spitfire.  While each cancels each other out, the second one will hit you unopposed if you try to keep throwing them out.  You're much better off flying up and throwing out Spitfire M's since that's a much harder angle to counter.

H is pretty much used for OTGs post throw.  It doesn't really work as a pressure tool on point since pushblocking will put you far away (where you don't want to be).  Keep note though since you can use this assist for pressure if you have Firebrand on your team.

Demon Missile	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Missile L	15	20	21	+2	+1
Missile M	15	20	21	-17	-18
Missile H	23(~60)	30	0	-4	-4

The Demon Missiles are good mixup tools if you tack them on the end of blockstrings.  We'll start with L since it's generally the safest of the three.

Demon Missile L, when not pushed, leaves you in a position to follow up with a air Bon Voyage.  All of that is generally safe on block, but you may want to be careful since being +1 really doesn't mean much.  Chances are you can be thrown out of the startup of your next move or hit with a beam special if it's fast enough.  This brings us to the next Missile.

Missile M isn't safe at all.  Even on hit you're at a severe disadvantage.  To make it safe you need an assist that can really cover you or works well for crossups.  Iron Man's Unibeam is a good example since it has 25 active frames to cover your -17/18 and let you combo on hit.  Other assists would work as well, but this is a general example.  The Missile is unaffected for the most part by pushblocking which is where your mixups come in.  Training your opponent to not pushblock M Missiles (since it doesn't do much) can give you non-pushed L's and more air-to-ground pressure.

H Missile's frames for the unblockable were counted roughly, so take my count with a grain of salt.  This really shouldn't be used too much since -4 on this move specifically leaves you vulnerable.  Most of the time -4 is a break point for punishes since there aren't normals outside of certain situations that are that fast, but you are left in air in a flight state after this move connects.  This means that you can't block and that you can be thrown since this is another move unaltered by pushblocking.  Cover this with an assist or use it for the unblockable setups.

Hover	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Hell's Elevator	26	--	1	--	--
Hell Dive	15	--	--	--	--
Hover	30	--	--	--	--

Not much to say here since these are all movement related specials, but it's good to note that there is (almost) no recovery on the command airdashes.  This makes them relatively useful (especially Dive M) for pressure after being pushblocked out.

Bon Voyage?	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Bon Voyage	13	15	28	--	-30(+10)

Bon Voyage is an amazing move, just don't use it on the ground.  At -30 it's one of those moves you can have a tea party before punishing it, but used from the air you're left at +10 which means you have time to start a ground string when it's blocked.

Hypers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Dark Fire	12+1	50	33*	-14	-25
Luminous Body	9+11	--	--	--	--
Chaos Tide	9+0	--	20	--	--

Some notes on Dark Fire aren't really needed aside from positioning.  Being directly above your opponent seems to yield to most damage followed by next to on the ground, a dash away on the ground, then a dash away from the air.  Of course, don't use this raw as you're very open to punish on block.

Luminous Body is interesting in that it gives you 25% more speed.  What this means is that your 4 frame normal becomes a 3 frame normal, which is rare to see outside of XF level 3.  You can also use it to cancel otherwise unsafe moves and make them safe with the added bonus of better frames on everything.  I don't have the time to calculate the exact difference across all of his moves, but generally speaking Firebrand gets 1-2 frames faster on all of his fastest startups.

As for Chaos Tide, any move done by the helper is the exact same as Firebrand's version of the same move.

Assists	Startup	Active	Recovery	Recovery (Other)
Spitfire H	50	--	111	81
Missile M	39	20	112	82
Missile H	50	31	112	82

Firebrand's assists are generally poor since none of them have any invincibility on them and there are better pressure options across the cast.  Missile M can be used to extend combos off of OTG moves though, which is its only real utility.

Honorable mention goes to Spitfire H though since you can use it for certain OTG situations (as an example, after Vergil's S in an air series since it ground bounces) but the duration of the flame can be used as a decent pressure tool if you're pressed for one.

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That's really it for Firebrand.  So long as you end your blocked hitconfirms in St.H or stick to your air attacks you're generally very safe.  He's also fairly good at capitalizing on mistakes thanks to his quick speed and very fast normals (even moreso with Luminous Body on), but at range he really doesn't have the tools to get damage or maintain pressure.

As always, feedback is welcome and my contact info can be found in the first news post.  Feel free to contact me however and whenever you want and I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can.  Thanks for your time and have a good one wherever you may be.

TLDR Blog News

So I've had this thing open for about a week now and I've been thinking a couple of things over.  First though I'd like to thank the people at the Gamefaqs board that have motivated me to keep this going.  There are a lot of you out there right now so I won't list names, but it's good to know you're out there.

Regarding updates on the site itself, I would like to do 3 a week.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday if I have the time and I'll likely omit Wednesday if time isn't allowing.  The articles themselves won't always be straight frame data analysis on a per character basis as I have a few plans to evaluate the normals of the entire cast and make a comparative article for that as well.

Other games are also planned to be covered as the frame data becomes available to me and so long as my wallet permits I will pick up guides and games to facilitate.  I have a very healthy interest in fighting games as a whole and this, despite the soul consuming march that is typing frame data, I really enjoy doing.  I will also be accepting outside submissions if they are relevant to fighting games and of good quality.  If anyone wants to discuss details with me about that you can email me at:

Dwinters2006@yahoo.com

I'll make an attempt to check it more often so I don't miss an email.  Aside from that you can usually find me lurking around Gamefaqs as FaustianLogix and occasionally at SRK under a similar name.  Feel free to send me any feedback or suggestions at any time and thanks again for your support.

Hawkeye TLDR

Standing	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.L	5	2	11	0	-1
St.M	7	3	17	-2	-3
St.H	10/29/39	1/4/7	30/20/12	-5/+5/+13	-6/+4/+12
F.M	13	--	27	0	-1
F.H	9	3(13)4	27	--	-9

Let's dig right in, shall we?

The first thing worth mentioning about Hawkeye's is that standard LMHS isn't possible.  He has to cancel from M to one of his command H's.  This makes hit-confirming a little more dangerous for close combos since he's extremely negative on block.  I use him as a reference a lot, but if Hulk can punish you on block then you should probably be careful.

Notes on his F.M are scarce at the time of this article's publishing.  I did a little testing and found that it seems to have around 10 low durability points.  It's also effective for medium range zoning since most projectiles at that range are faster than Spritzer (which beats most other projectiles clean).  Being -1 on block means that it's pretty spammable with the only way around it is to get over it.  It is still fairly safe though.

F.H is an interesting move in that it can be used in combos if your execution is up.  Canceling the first kick into Trick L -> M scores you damage before having to burn your ground bounce, but requires semi-tight timing.  Other than that it is bad on block (Hulk? Hulk) but does have notable knockback that puts your opponent in range of a F.M, although I believe they might be at slight advantage on recovering.

St.H is, of course, up for discussion at this point.  It's worth noting that the longer you charge it the better it is, but that of course adds up to the 39 (apparently 38 if you time it right) startup frames.  Other than the obvious "don't use this point blank" there isn't much else to mention.

Crouching	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Cr.L	5	2	15	-4	-5
Cr.M	9	4	19	-5	-6
Cr.H	12	3	26	--	-7
DF.H	11	11	24	--	-13

Not too much to say here other than don't slide unless you know you're going to hit.  All of Hawkeye's pokes and hitconfirms should end at St.M if blocked.

Jumping	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
J.L	5	3	19	+11	+10
J.M	8	4	24	+16	+15
J.H	9	11	25	+18	+17

I thought it was worth mentioning at this point that J.H can crossup and only does the damage listed when both hits connect.  Aside from that, standard massive frame advantage on jumping normals is standard.

Launchers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
St.S	9	3	29	--	-10
J.S	11	4	26	+15	+14

Coming to a close on Hawkeye's normals you can see he doesn't have much special (outside of the command normals and his St.H) but what he does have is very unsafe.  This plays to his zoning style since he's built to take advantage of his great projectiles.  If you find yourself fishing for a combo then I'd suggest stopping at St.M.  It has good range and is safe enough on block to keep you out of harm's way.

Quick Shots	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Greyhound	10	9	35	-13	-14
Hunter	20	--	30	+12	-9
Spritzer	20	--	40	-11	-13

The projectile to look at here is Hunter specifically because it can be used to run loops.  Against airborne opponents it puts them in a unique knockdown state similar to a groundbounce and allows for a combo afterwards.  As an example, after a forward throw you can do:

Kamikaze -> Hunter -> St.H

...to see the effects.  This isn't the most prudent use of Hunter though since the timing to loop St.H back into it is tighter the farther away you are.

It should be noted that using these projectiles at a closer range will get you punished.  The rushdown crowd tends to have normals around 5-6 frames, which means a blocked arrow can lead into a quick dash up and punish.  Using these at range is key to avoiding the drawbacks of their bad frame advantage.

Tricks	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Maneuver L	8/14/16	27	14	--	--
Maneuver M	11	19	6	--	--
Maneuver H	16	19	12	--	--

Trick Shots	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Violet Fizz	5	--	30	+5/-8/-3	+5/-6/-3
Ice Breaker	5	--	30	+11/+6/+11	-3/-9/-4
Rusty Nail	5	--	30	0/0/0	+1/+3/+1

Normally I wouldn't warrant a command dash type move being listed in these analyses but Trick L is an interesting case.  Depending on the arrow you want to use the minimum startup changes, which means that Fizz comes out the fastest, Breaker next, and Nail slowest.  This is why you can OTG in the corner using Fizz without backdashing first since it comes out fast enough to make the arc that low to the ground.

Other than that you should note that if applying pressure with projectiles then Nail is the best bet as it is always positive on block and advancing with Trick M -> H can help you adjust for more offensive spacing.

Just another quick note, Ice Breaker on hit gives you enough frame advantage on hit (from Trick L/H usually) to followup with a combo if you're close enough.  If you're unsure of your execution, then LM->DF.H should pick up fast enough if you're close.  Omit the L if you're more confident.

Ragtime Shots	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Jack Rose	13	--	37	--	--
Kamikaze	15	--	45	--	--
Balalaika	21	10	35	--	--

Coming up on the end of the projectiles we have the Ragtime shots.  It's hard to say much about these other than to use them from a safe distance or under the cover of an assist.  They are expressly used for zoning (except maybe Kamikaze, which can be used as an OTG in some situations) and so long as you aren't interrupted should put you at neutral before their effects are seen.

Jack Rose will get a mention though because of its unique properties.  It is inactive for 37 frames upon landing (or explodes on contact if it hits before that) which is a little more than half a second.  At that point it explodes and has enough durability (99 low durability) to eat practically anything that runs into it.  That is really just a sidenote though since it isn't a reliable way to win projectile wars.

Hypers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Gimlet	8+1	--	50	-8	-29
Kiss of Fire	9+1	--	58	--	--
Tag Team Special	10+1	37	37	--	-45

On to the hypers, all with lovely 1 frame startups, and only Gimlet really worth mentioning.

Gimlet itself has been said a number of times to be punishable on hit.  This is actually true, as the numbers above show, but in some cases (really slow normals...Hulk) you're still considered safe.  -8 however is still dangerous in relation to the majority of the cast that fights up close so try to avoid landing it too close outside of combos.  Other than that it is a perfect punishment tool.  1 frame startup means that unless your opponent was already blocking beforehand there's a good chance you've hit them.  It's ideal for pegging people out of their recovery since it hits anywhere, instantly after that 1 frame.

Assists	Startup	Active	Recovery	Recovery (Other)
Greyhound	34	9	118	88
Violet Fizz	49	--	136	106
Kamikaze	39	--	126	96

Finishing up with this rundown we have Hawkeye's assists.  He comes pretty standard though with the Greyhound assist.  It's the staple go-to projectile cover that other characters have been seen with (Tasky specifically).

The other assists are almost situational though since Fizz is at weird angle and using Kamikaze outside of a combo makes for another awkward OTG.  The suggested combo method for Kamikaze though is to call it before your S and after MMH it will drag your opponent down for a relaunch opportunity.

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That concludes this analysis.  Thank you for your time in reading it and feedback is always welcome.  Shortly after this is published I intend to write up a quick news/informational post concerning some decisions about the blog I've had in the last couple of days.  Stay tuned for more.

Wesker Amendment

Just a quick follow up article to cover the things people wanted. This will be included in future articles by default now.

Assists	Startup	Active	Recovery (This Assist)	Recovery (Other Assist)
Ghost Butterfly	42	3	117	87
Samurai Edge	39	2	116	86
Jaguar Kick	49	5(9)4	114	84

Well there isn't much to mention here.  The "Other Assist Recovery" is actually the time until you can use the other assist that isn't Wesker.  It may not seem like much of a difference but there are characters who are ~20 frames slower than the average.

Wesker's assists are all pretty much combo utilities with Jaguar Kick possibly doubling as a lockdown tool and Samurai Edge being used for unblockable setups.

Hypers	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Hit	On Block
Phantom Dance	10+1	83	40	--	-20 ~ -30
Rhino Charge*	5+0	16	28	--	--
Lost in Nightmares**	6+8	5	30	--	-12

*Invincible on frame 5.

**Invincible on frames 1-16.

I assume that the variance in Phantom Dance depends on if the 15th or 16th hit was blocked last.  This is why we don't use it point blank on block.  -20 frames (best case scenario) means that characters like Hulk (with those lightning fast 8 frame normals) can go get a cup of tea and come back with time to punish.

There was sarcasm there.  I hope you caught it.

Rhino Charge has lost a bit of utility since the first game since it used to have 5 full frames of invincibility and now is only invincible on frame 5.  What this means is that punishing hypers on reaction to the flash is a little more dangerous than it used to be.

As far as it being punished, Wesker is active while his arms aren't moving for that brief 1/4th of a second that is 16 frames.  Once they start moving you can feel free to hit him, it's 28 frames (roughly half a second) so you have a little breathing room.

Lost in Nightmares has kind of replaced Rhino Charge in terms of utility.  16 frames of invincibility means that you are safe from harm for the entire startup and for 2 of the active frames.  Expensive?  Yes.  However, the point is that you now know (if you didn't already) that you have an invincible hyper you can use on reaction to other poorly timed moves.

On block though it's completely punishable by any character's LM(H)S at -12.  So be careful and make sure you can connect it (lab time with P2 Record is a good idea) before throwing it out.

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Again, thanks for reading.  Any feedback anywhere is great and encourages me to do more and get better.  Suggestions are welcome any time.

The next article will most likely be out Friday.