UMVC3/Wolverine

Overview Combos Strategy/Counterstrategy Resources Data

Introduction

A mutant and member of the X-Men, Wolverine's power gives him immense capability for regeneration, also known as a Healing Factor. Far more iconic, however, is the adamantium skeleton grafted into his body as part of the Weapon X project, including three retractable claws on each hand.

In UMvC3, Wolverine is a high-speed, momentum-focused rushdown character. While lacking long-ranged attacks or projectiles of any kind, he can quickly close in with his fast ground dash and aerial divekick. Once there, he has no shortage of tools to open an opponent's defense with cross-ups, instant overheads, and hit/throw mixups.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Very strong mixup potential via crossup Berserker Slash, instant overhead j.5L, and strong throw game through OS Divekick Exceptional grounded dash speed Has very practical routes for converting stray air hits into a standard combo	Virtually no projectile game and limited aerial movement makes it hard for him to approach zoners Poor assists and awkward DHC options Needs assist support or X-factor to convert his strongest mixup options

Wolverine
Character Data
Health	950,000
Ground Magic Series	Zig-Zag/Stronger++
Air Chain Combo Limit	None
Forward Dash Duration	20 frames
Backdash Duration	34 frames
Jump Duration	39 frames
Superjump Duration	80 frames
Walljump?	Yes
Doublejump?	No
Airdash?	No
X-Factor Damage Boost (1/2/3)	25% / 45% / 65%
X-Factor Speed Boost (1/2/3)	15% / 25% / 35%
Minimum Damage Scaling (Normals, Specials)	10%
Minimum Damage Scaling (Hypers)	35%
Minimum Damage Scaling (X-Factor)	35%

Move List

Assists

Tornado Claw
Assist A

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
35,000 x3	30/24	11/9	135/126, 106/83
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid
THC Hyper: Fatal Claw. Has no invulnerability despite the DP-esque appearance (neither does the non-assist version). Since Wolverine's assists are quite poor no matter what, it may be worth taking this assist just for the more damaging THC Hyper.

Berserker Slash
Assist B

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
100,000	44/35	3/3	121/114, 91/71
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid
THC Hyper: Berserker Barrage X.

Berserker Barrage
Assist Y

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
30,000 x4	33/26	16/13	117/112, 87/69
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid	-
THC Hyper: Berserker Barrage X. Out of Wolverine's assists, this causes the most hitstun/blockstun, and thus is the best to choose for its actual assist potential. It juggles in an awkward way that makes it difficult to use for relaunches.

Ground Normals

Stand Light
5L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
53,000	4/4	3/3	11/8
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
0/+3	-1/+2	Mid	-
Wolverine's fastest attack; good to throw out in scramble situations. He can set up reset attempts by using this normal on airborne opponents, then jumping up as they air recover for a throw/divekick mixup.

Stand Medium
5M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
67,000	6/5	3/3	22/17
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-6/-1	-8/-3	Mid	-
Decent poke

Stand Heavy
5H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
95,000	11/9	4/4	24/18
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+11/+17	-6/0	Mid
Good button for converting combos on airborne opponents, such as after an assist hit. Causes a significant amount of blockstun for a normal, so it is useful to cancel this into a variant of Berserker Slash, forcing them to block the crossup.

Crouching Light
2L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
48,000	6/5	3/3	12/9
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-1/+2	-2/+1	Low
Slower than standing light, but VERY low-profile. Rhythmically tapping 2L allows Wolverine to evade underneath many projectiles, such as Doom's Plasma Beam. Be careful not to mash too quickly, which will result in Berserker Rage. Simply throwing out this fast low works quite well, as opponents are usually more scared of Wolverine's instant overhead attacks.

Crouching Medium
2M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
70,000	7/6	3/3	19/14
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+15/+20	-5/0	Mid
Good anti-air attack (although the upward-angled part of the attack is not active right away). This button is also very strong for abare purposes: If you are crouch blocking and mash L+M pushblock, this button will come out during gaps. It is quite fast when used this way and, on hit, forces an air recovery that gives you time to reset to neutral or steal momentum.

Crouching Heavy
2H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
78,000	12/10	4/4	20/15
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-2/+3	Low	,
-

Launcher/Special
S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
80,000	9/7	4/4	27/21
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
Launch	-9/-3	Mid	,
Fairly standard launcher. Combos easily after 5H or 2H except at the very end of 5H's range.

Aerial Normals

Jumping Light
j.5L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
50,000	4/4	7/6	12/9
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+9/+9	+8/+8	OH	-
Very fast instant overhead normal. Works without needing to set up fuzzy guard even on normal-sized characters. Needs either an assist or X-Factor activation to convert into a combo. If you land this attack without an assist, activate X-Factor and then immediately perform a falling j.5M to convert into a full combo.

Jumping Medium
j.5M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
70,000	6/5	3/3	24/18
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+13/+14	+12/+11	OH	-
-

Jumping Heavy
j.5H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
80,000	8/7	2/2	26/20
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+17/+15	+14/+13	OH	-
Upward-angled attack, which makes it difficult to use against grounded opponents (read: don't do it).

Jumping Special
j.5S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
90,000	11/9	4/4	21/16
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+16	+14	OH
Solid cross-up attack. Also useful for jump loops or similar airborne combos due to its high hitstun.

Command Normals

Cross Slash
5M > 5L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
64,000	3/3	2/2	17/13
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
0/+4	-2/+2	Mid	-
5M > 5L chain unique to Wolverine. On hit or block, it pulls the opponent slightly closer to Wolvie. It's primary use is as combo filler, or to give more time to hit confirm. Can be chained into heavy attacks (or launcher), but not back into medium attacks.

Sliding Claw
3M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
70,000	10/8	8/7	21/16
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-12/-6	Low	,
Wolverine's only OTG option. He can not follow this up normally, but is very easy to relaunch when combining this move with common assists. As it lowers Wolverine's hurtbox very low to the ground, it can also be used to advance underneath certain projectiles.

Brutal Claw
j.5M > j.5L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
64,000	3/3	3/3	29/22
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+15/+14	-13/+19(?)	OH	-
Combo filler similar to Cross Slash, but airborne. Unlike Cross Slash, it does not pull the opponent closer.

Diving Kick
j.2H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
75,000	8/7	Until Grounded	10/8
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-1*	Mid	on counterhit vs grounded, on any hit vs airborne
Very powerful command normal with a variety of uses. Can (and should) be input as j.1H or j.3H to option select an airthrow. Use it to alter your jump arc and maneuver through projectiles. Jump and immediately divekick to bait attempted throwbreaks or pushblocks. Use Drill Claw to combo into this move, allowing Wolverine to finish his air combos with a ground bounce and solo relaunch.

Special Moves

Berserker Barrage
236X

L +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	35,000 x2 - x4	6/5	7-16/6-13	25/20
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-4/+2	-6/0	Mid	Mashable, extra mashed hits cause
M +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	30,000 x4 - x6	9/7	16-25/13-20	25/20
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-5/+3	-7/+1	Mid	Mashable, extra mashed hits cause
H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	28,000 x6 - x8	13/10	24-34/19-27	25/20
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-6/0	-8/-2	Mid	Mashable, extra mashed hits cause
Wolverine rushes forward with multiple consecutive attacks. Because it is fairly fast and moves forward, it can work as a sort of "poke" in neutral. However, it does not practically combo into anything except its hyper version, Berserker Barrage X. Deals decent damage, but standard combo routes do not use any version of this move.

Tornado Claw
623X

L +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	30,000 x3 - x7	6/5	11-24/9-20	26-32/20-23
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-18/-8	Mid	Mashable,
M +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	30,000 x4 - x10	6/5	11-32/9-28	35-30/27-22
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-28/-16	Mid	Mashable,
H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	30,000 x5 - x11	6/5	12-41/9-34	45-22/39-18
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-38/-24	Mid	Mashable,
Despite appearances, this move has no invulnerability and is a fairly poor anti-air. Tornado Claw is mainly used as a combo tool for its solid damage output. Tornado Claw xx Fatal Claw can link into itself multiple times, allowing Wolverine to dump meter in exchange for securing a kill.

Drill Claw
X+S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
80,000	16/13	14/11	25/19
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+18/+20	+9/+11	Mid	, 8-way directable (5 ways on the ground), , *On whiff, Wolvverine does not recover until landing
Much slower and less versatile than a real airdash, but still a useful tool to increase Wolverine's aerial mobility. Wolverine can combo his aerial normals into Drill Claw and then follow up with either Dive Kick or Fatal Claw, making it an important asset for combo extensions and air-to-air confirms.

Berserker Slash
214X

L +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	100,000	18/14	3/3	24/18
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-10/-5	Mid	Passthrough,
M +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	100,000	20/16	3/3	26/20
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-12/-6	Mid	Passthrough,
H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	100,000	22/17	3/3	27/21
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-13/-7	Mid	Passthrough,
Dedicated crossup attack. Button strength determines the distance Wolverine travels and the amount of time he has passthrough (10 frames for L, 12 for M, 15 for H). Thus, Wolverine can use a higher-strength button to dash behind the opponent or a lower-strength to fake a crossup but stay in front. If Wolverine passes through the opponent, he automatically turns around to hit behind him. This is ideally converted into a combo using assist support, but Wolverine can also convert solo by canceling the slash into Berserker Charge install hyper.

Berserker Rage
"Swiss Cheese"
Mash X

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
20,000 x5 - x52	11/9	29/23	14/11
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+9/+8	+7/+6	Mid	Mashable
A move that was made bad on purpose in order to discourage Wolverine players from mashing (not a joke). Button strength only determines the maximum number of mashed hits (L: 18, M: 24, H: 52).

Hyper Combos

Berserker Barrage X
236XX (1 bar)

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
286,000 - 343,600	13+3	71(13)4	29
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-10	Mid	Invuln frames 1-7. , , Mashable
Lower damage than Fatal Claw, and ironically also more difficult to efficiently combo into. Mainly used if a stray Berserker Barrage connects or if an extended combo such as a jump loop causes too much hitstun deterioration for Fatal Claw to be used.

Fatal Claw
214XX (1 bar)

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
302,100 - 362,500	9+8	50	37*
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-17	Mid	, Mashable,
Wolverine's standard combo ender. Deals solid damage and can be comboed into easily from either Drill Claw or Tornado Claw. Low-to-the-ground Fatal Claws can actually have another Tornado Claw linked afterwards, leading to additional damage. *Wolverine recovers upon landing, recovery listed is for a grounded Fatal Claw.

Berserker Charge
22XX (1 bar)

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
-	4+0	-	8
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	-	400 frame duration, 30% speed increase, disables meter gain
Install hyper. Fast startup and recovery allow Wolverine to combo into this easily (such as after Berserker Slash), although doing so will disable meter gain for the duration. This is also a strong DHC tool in either direction. Use this hyper and DHC to another to effectively give that hyper a 4 frame startup. Alternatively, do a hyper with another character and then DHC into Berserker Charge. On hit or block, Wolverine will almost certainly recover well before the opponent.

Weapon X
623XX (3 bars)

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
440,000	16+1	17	15
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-6	Mid	Invuln frames 1-21, , Unscaled damage
Standard cinematic level 3 hyper. Typically used to secure an easy kill on the opponent's last character.

Universal Mechanics

Ground Throw
6H, 4H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
60,000 - 100,000	1	1	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Throw	Mashable,
Wolverine's throw by default deals less damage than the standard throw, but can be mashed for additional hits. Fully mashed, it does slightly more than a regular throw (although this also causes more damage scaling). On a successful airthrow, Wolverine can follow up with OTG 3M, but needs assists or X-Factor to convert further.

Air Throw
j.6H, j.4H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
60,000 - 100,000	1	1	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Airthrow	Mashable,
Wolverine's airthrow by default deals less damage than the standard throw, but can be mashed for additional hits. Fully mashed, it does slightly more than a regular throw (although this also causes more damage scaling). On a successful airthrow, Wolverine can follow up with OTG 3M, but needs assists or X-Factor to convert further.

Snap Back
+/

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
50,000	2	3	28
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-10	Mid	Snapback
Animation and hitbox based on 5H.

Hard Tag
Hold 14f /

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
27,000	-	20	34
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-15	OH
-

Team Position

Wolverine is almost exclusively played as a Point character. While strong on his own, he benefits heavily from assist coverage that can help him approach long-range fighters, and lock down opponents while he sets up his offense. In addition, Wolverine's own assists have very poor coverage and are awkward to use in combo extensions, so he does not offer much from the backline.

Wolverine's level 3 x-factor provides a significant (35%) boost to speed. When combined with his naturally high base speed, and possibly the speed boost from Berserker Charge, he hits truly ludicrous speeds, to the point where controlling him properly is difficult. Wolverine used as an Anchor, while funny, is not particularly effective.

Notable Synergies

Akuma: Wolverine and Akuma have historically been referred to as "best friends" in UMvC3, owing mostly to Akuma's Tatsumaki assist as a support tool for Wolverine. Tatsu assist destroys (non-hyper) projectiles it collides with, allowing Wolverine to close the distance against zoning opponents. It also has a very long duration, meaning it can keep opponents in hitstun or blockstun for quite a long time. If Wolverine can call Akuma and then attempt either an Instant Overhead or a cross-up Berserker Slash. If these attacks hit, Akuma will juggle the opponent long enough for Wolverine to recover and start a combo for free. If the opponent manages to block, Akuma will still keep Wolverine safe.

Players to Watch: Justin Wong (Wolverine/Storm/Akuma), SumBrwnKid (Wolverine/Dante/Akuma), SBK (Wolverine/Dante/Akuma)

Doctor Doom: All three of Doom's assists have been used to tournament success with Wolverine. Molecular Shield in particular is nice for Wolverine, who can hide inside or behind the rocks to approach in relative safety, or use them as a combo extension tool after his 3M OTG. Wolverine's Fatal Claw hyper, while strong, can be awkward to use in DHC setups. Doom provides a solid, consistent option via a Fatal Claw -> Sphere Flame DHC, which works anywhere on the screen and even recovers fast enough to hard tag Wolverine back in for more a mixup afterward.

Players to Watch: Winrich (Wolverine/Doom/Vergil), Noel Brown (Wolverine/Doom/Phoenix), PR Balrog (Wolverine/Doom/Vergil, Wolverine/Doom/Rocket)

Shuma-Gorath: Shuma's Mystic Ray assist is among the best in the game, and in particular provides a lot of what Wolverine is looking for in an assist. It is a beam attack with massive coverage, hitting almost the entire screen for at least part of its duration. It connects OTG, can snipe opponents at superjump height, and punish the opponent's assists. On hit, it causes a significant amount of hitstun, more than enough for a prepared Wolverine player to convert into a combo. Lastly, although it has quite long startup, Mystic Ray has a very low assist cooldown period - one of the few assists in the game whose self-recovery period is less than 100 frames - making it very spammable.

Players to Watch: Angelic (Wolverine/Dorm/Shuma)

Vergil: Like the other characters on this list, Vergil provides Wolverine with a high-duration, horizontal coverage assist in the form of Rapid Slash. Wolverine can use it in the usual ways: to force an opponent to block, to confirm off berserker slash, or to pick up after a knockdown. Additionally, Vergil provides generically strong DHC options via Devil Trigger and Spiral Swords, taking advantage of the knockdown caused by an early-canceled Fatal Claw. In particular, DHCing into Spiral Swords and doing a Swords Loop is one of the highest damage ways to spend meter in the game.

Players to Watch: Winrich (Wolverine/Doom/Vergil), PR Balrog (Wolverine/Doom/Vergil),

Storm: Her "Hail Storm" hyper hits OTG, which is uniquely useful when used in THCs. Rather than bother with picking up using OTG 3M slide, Wolverine can end his combos with a hard knockdown, dash up, and activate a 2-bar THC to combine his own high-damage Fatal Claw with Hail Storm. Even a very basic Wolverine combo into this setup causes close to 900000 damage, enough to kill many popular point characters. This setup was popularized (and almost exclusively used) by Justin Wong, who would use the THC setup to secure a quick kill, then tag in Storm to run away while maintaining a one-character life lead for as long as possible.

Players to Watch: Justin Wong (Wolverine/Storm/Akuma, Wolverine/Storm/Vergil)

Combos

Solo Combos

2L > 5M > 5L > 5H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H xx X+S, j.2H, land, 5H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H xx X+S xx 214XX (~683,000 damage, costs 1 bar and builds ~0.9 bar)

Very basic no-assist BnB off any standard hit. Deals solid damage, but ending with an aerial hyper makes DHCs awkward.

214X xx 22XX, dash, 5M > 5H xx 214L, dash, 5L > 5M > 5H xx 214L, dash, 5L > 5M > 5H > 5S, sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H xx X+S, j.2H, land, 5H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, land, 3M (~580,000 damage, costs 1 bar and builds almost none)

Standard no-assist confirm off crossup Berserker Slash using Berserker Charge. Hitstun deterioration gets very tight near the end, so chain everything as quickly as possible.

X-Factor Combos

(Airthrow), land, 3M (X-Factor), j.5L > j.5M > j.5M > j.5S, rejump j.5L > j.5M > j.5M > j.5S, land, 5H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5H xx X+S, j.2H, land, 5H > 5S sjc. j.5H xx X+S xx 214XX (~1,222,000 damage, costs 1 bar and builds just under 2 bars)

Use level 1 X-factor to convert an airthrow into a touch of death combo. If you are using a higher level of X-Factor, or your opponent is already damaged, you should use a shortened version of this combo (omit one or both jump loops) in order to not waste time.

Sample Team Combos

2L > 5M > 5L > 5H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H xx X+S, j.2H, land, 5H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, land, 3M + Assist (Akuma - Tatsumaki), 623L xx 214XX, land, 623L xx 214XX (934,000 damage, costs 2 bar and builds ~1.25 bar)

Since Wolverine is typically played point, he will almost always have at least one assist call available for this extension, so it can be thought of as his standard BnB. Using assists allows Wolverine to pick up after a knockdown and go into Fatal Claw loops, and also keeps his hyper lower to the ground for easier DHC potential. With some variation on timing, this extension works with just about all of Wolverine's most common assists: Tatsu, Beams, Doom Rocks, Rapid Slash, whatever.

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