UMVC3/Zero

Overview Combos Strategy/Counterstrategy Resources Data

Introduction

Zero is a robot warrior regularly appearing alongside the classic Capcom hero Mega Man. In the Mega Man X series, he initially appears as a supporting character and fellow Maverick Hunter, but became playable in later games. Zero also eventually got his own series, Mega Man Zero in which he is the primary protagonist. Besides his Z-Buster (a counterpart to Megaman's 'X-Buster' arm cannon), Zero fights with his iconic energy sword, the Z-Saber.

In UMvC3, Zero is a powerful all-rounder with tools to control neutral at most ranges and enormous damage. Although his standard mobility tools are not the best, Zero can use his command dash Hienkyaku (214X) in order to quickly zip around the screen. Using Zero's buster mechanic, he can store a powerful charged projectile until the moment he needs it, then instantly cancel any normal or special into Buster. This gives Zero unparalleled ability to convert stray hits into full combos, and makes him a threat from anywhere on the screen. Zero is also infamous for his ability to OTG relaunch with just about any assist in the game, and for his "Lightning Loops" combos, which allow him to kill any character with very good meter efficiency.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Very oppressive neutral game, with strong normal attacks and the ability to dart around the screen while throwing out projectiles. Zero's unique ability to "Buster Cancel" his specials into a fast, powerful projectile makes his gameplan very difficult to punish, greatly enhances his zoning potential, and allows him to convert just about any random hit into a full combo. With the help of his Sougenmu (214XX) install hyper, Zero can perform powerful combos, including his infamous "Lightning Loops", giving him some of the best damage potential in the game. He can consistently kill most characters for a single bar, oftentimes generating much more meter than he needs to spend on a touch-of-death. Zero's oncoming mixup game is extremely strong. Utilizing moves like Raikousen (j.623X) and Hienkyaku (214X) which can cross-up even in the corner, Zero can create layered mixups that are about as difficult to block as you can imagine without being literally unblockable (note: Zero also has unblockables) Can be easily paired with other top tier characters due to being very flexible with assist extensions.

Zero is rather selfish, as his assists are mediocre, and his hypers are awkward to DHC into. Ground dash and airdash speeds are slow, making Zero more dependent on his special moves for mobility.

Zero
Character Data
Health	830,000
Ground Magic Series	Stronger
Air Chain Combo Limit	None
Forward Dash Duration	41 frames
Backdash Duration	35 frames
Jump Duration	46 frames
Superjump Duration	81 frames
Walljump?	No
Doublejump?	No
Airdash?	2-Way
X-Factor Damage Boost (1/2/3)	20% / 50% / 60%
X-Factor Speed Boost (1/2/3)	20% / 30% / 40%
Minimum Damage Scaling (Normals, Specials)	20%, 30%
Minimum Damage Scaling (Hypers)	40%
Minimum Damage Scaling (X-Factor)	35%

Move List

Assists

Ryuenjin
Assist A

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
25,000 x5	29	25	116, 86
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid
THC Hyper: Rekkoha. Zero swipes upwards with his sword, carrying himself and the opponent into the air. Like other DP-style assists, it lacks any invincibility, has limited horizontal reach, and tends to knock opponents too high into the air to be practical for combos. Ryuenjin is notable for being an exceptional Crossover/Alpha Counter assist. When brought in this way, Ryuenjin does have a good amount of invincibility, and Zero can cancel the first hit into Sougenmu (214XX) before he becomes airborne. When canceled into Sougenmu, Zero is advantageous on block and gets a full combo on it, which can easily snowball into a dead opponent and a dangerous corner mixup for the incoming character.

Hadangeki
Assist B

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
70,000	32	-	126, 96
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid	Priority: Low, Durability: 3
THC Hyper: Rekkoha. Zero fires a standard projectile, which travels directly forwards. It is a competent neutral assist that can reach across the entire screen, but has poor durability and quickly gets smothered by projectiles from the opponent's own assists. Hadangeki becomes better if Zero is benefitting from his Sougenmu install in the backline, as he will fire two projectiles in quick succession. However, even the combined durability of both Hadangekis will lose to standard projectile assists, such as Plasma Beam and Sentinel Drones.

Shippuga
Assist Y

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
30,000 x3	37	7	109, 79
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid
THC Hyper: Rekkoha. Zero lunges forward while attacking up to three times. Unlike the point character version of this move (6H), the assist deals chip damage when blocked.

Ground Normals

5L

HOO

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
35,000	5	3	12
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-1	-3	Mid	-
Zero does a quick swipe with his saber.

5M

HA

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
53,000	7	3	19
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-4	-5	Mid	-
Zero does a horizontal slice. Moves him forward very slightly, less than half a character length.

5H

HOO

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
25,000 x3	11	10	16
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+1	0	Mid	-
Zero grabs his saber with both hands and slashes down. During the startup, Zero steps forward slightly, advancing about half a character length. 5H hits three times, and the combined hitstop of all three hits gives this attack a very long duration on hit or block. Besides helping to hitconfirm, this hitstop is useful to stall for time while Zero builds up a Buster charge, or possibly to wait for his assists to come off cooldown.

5S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
80,000	9	5	22
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-5	Mid
Zero slashes upward. Fairly standard launcher.

2L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
30,000	4	2	11
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
0	-1	Low	-
Zero does a low kick.

2M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
56,000	8	3	20
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-5	-6	Low	-
Zero slashes low to the ground.

2H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
70,000	13	5	18
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-1	Mid
Note: Not a low. Zero spins forward with his saber. Advances him forward approximately one character length.

Jumping Normals

j.5L

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
33,000	5	3	12
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	OH	-
Zero kicks out into the air.

j.5M

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
55,000	5	3	19
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	OH	-
Zero slashes diagonally downwards in front of him.

j.5H
Pizza Cutter

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
25,000 x3	10	18	15
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	OH	except S
Zero spins clockwise with his saber. Works as a great jump-in with a deep cross-up hitbox. j.5H can not be special-cancled, except by chaining it into j.5S. This includes canceling into Lvl3 Buster, and so j.5H is one of the only moves that Zero can not Buster Cancel, making it relatively dangerous to whiff.

j.S

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
75,000	13	9	17
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	OH
Zero slashes forward in air. Standard air combo finisher.

Command Normals

Shippuga
Hurricane Fang
6H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
30,000 x3	14	7	17
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+5	+4	Mid	-
Zero dashes forward while swinging his saber. Like 5H, it hits three times, with a large amount of hitstop that is useful for hitconfirming and building a Buster Charge. Primarily used as combo and blockstring filler.

Kuenzan
Air Circling Slash
j.2H

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
64,200	9	18	9
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	OH	except S
Zero spins counterclockwise with his saber. Functions basically the same as j.5H, but spinning the opposite direction. You cannot chain into this normal from other air normals, you'll just get j.H instead. Like with j.5H, it cannot be special-canceled, except by chaining into j.5S.

Special Moves

Hadangeki
Wave Sever Attack
236X

L/M

H

L +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	70,000	17	-	25
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-2	-2	Mid	Priority: Low, Durability: 3
M +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	70,000	8	-	34
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-7	-8	Mid	Priority: Low, Durability: 3
H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	55,000 x 2	13	-	34
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-7	-8	Mid	Priority: Low, Durability: 3
Standard projectile special. Zero creates a slashing projectile that travels across the stage. L and M versions are single-hit projectiles, with the L version having slow startup and traveling slowly across the screen, while the M version starts up very quickly and has a fast travel speed. If Zero performs 236L and then 236M in quick succession, they will both reach fullscreen distance at the same time. H version startup and travel speed are somewhere inbetween the L and M versions, and notably hits twice for higher total damage. Hadangeki becomes a very powerful zoning tool while enchanced by Sougenmu, as the afterimage's projectile will neatly cover the real Zero's recovery. The gap between these projectiles is very small, and X-Factor Zero can keep an opponent trapped in blockstun while dealing very heavy chip damage.

Ryuenjin
Dragon Flame Blade
623X

L +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	70,000	5	9	24
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-10	-11	Mid
M +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	30,000 X 3 (81,200)	5	25	21
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-7	-6	Mid
H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	25,000 X 5 (102,300)	5	25	21
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-7	-16	Mid
Zero rises into the air with an uppercut special. Has no invincibility and very limited utility. Outside of its ability to be Buster-canceled, it also lacks combo utility. The H version is sometimes useful as a relatively high-damage way to end Lightning Loops without spending meter.

Raikousen
Lightning Flash
j.623X

Your life ends 2 Hypers from now

L In air, +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	25,000 X 5 (102,300)	30	15	8/until grounded
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+20	+17	Mid	(all hits) (air hit)
M In air, +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	25,000 X 5 (102,300)	30	15	8/until grounded
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+5	+4	-	(all hits) (air hit)
H In air, +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	25,000 X 5 (102,300)	30	15	8/until grounded
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+5	-15	-	(all hits) (air hit)
Zero's legendary lightning attack. Zero pauses for a moment, then charges in a direction, followed by a trail of lightning completely covering the distance he traveled. L version sends Zero and the lightning at a 45 degree down-forward angle. M version sends Zero and the lightning directly forward. H version sends Zero and the lightning at a 45 degree up-forward angle. Raikousen is a powerful offensive tool. Because the lightning becomes active after Zero moves, it can very easily cross up the opponent, and creates very heavily layered mixups when paired with assists, expecially on incoming. Buster-canceling the lightning lets Zero easily confirm the hit, or continue into further ambiguous mixups if the opponent manages to block the first assault. It also works as a serviceable mobility tool, alongside 214X. Most of Zero's combo game is focuses on carrying the opponent to the corner, where a low-to-the-ground j.623L Lightning will hit the opponent for very heavy damage. In Sougenmu, Zero can combo these j.623L's into each other, creating the basis for his famous "Lightning Loops" which effectively guarantee a kill on any opponent for 1 or 2 bars.

Sentsuizan
Whirling Crash Slash
j.236X

L In air, +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	-	1	-	15
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	-	-
M In air, +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	60,000	13	until grounded	10
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+9	+8	Mid
H In air, +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	80,000	18	until grounded	10
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	+9	+8	Mid
Zero's divekick. The L version is just a fake out, and the M and H versions make for a fairly standard divekick, with M going at a steeper angle, while H has a wider angle and is a bit slower. This is Zero's primary OTG tool. Zero can relaunch from just about any Hard Knockdown by using j.236X OTG and pairing it with either a Level 3 Buster-cancel or an assist call.

Hienkyaku
Flying Swallow Legs
214X

zoom

L +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	-	5	-	25
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	-	-
M +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	-	5	-	35
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	-	-
H +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	-	5	-	22
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	-	-
The grounded version of Zero's pseudo teleport dash. Zero dashes in a specified direction at high speed, and phases through the opponent if they're in his way. All versions can steal the corner from the opponent, but no version has any invulnerablity. L version dashes forwards along the ground, approximately 1/3 of fullscreen distance. M version dashes forwards along the ground, approximately 3/4 of fullscreen distance. H version causes Zero to shoot upwards to roughly superjump height, while also moving a small distance forward. He then plummets very quickly back down towards the ground. While falling, Zero can freely attack or dash. Hienkyaku is Zero's primary mobility tool, as his regular dashes are not particularly fast. It is also useful for Zero's offense, as he can use it in response to an opponent's pushblock in order to quickly re-close the distance between them. Calling an assist and then canceling into Hienkyaku to dash behing the opponent is a simple way to set up an ambiguous crossup.

Hienkyaku (aerial)
j.214X

Aerial zoom

L In air, +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	-	-	-	-
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	-	-
M In air, +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	-	6	-	20
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	-	-
H In air, +	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	-	6	-	21
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	-	-	-
The aerial version of Zero's pseudo teleport dash. The M and H versions can steal the corner from the opponent. Like the grounded version, these dashes also have no invulnerability. L version quickly drops straight down to the ground, acting as a fast fall. It is useful for air-to-air confirms, since it lets Zero quickly land after a Level 3 Buster and take advantage of the Soft Knockdown. M version dashes directly forward. H version causes Zero to dash diagonally upwards and then quickly fall down, similar to the grounded H version. Once Zero begins to fall, he is free to act.

Hyper Zero Blaster
[X], then ]X[

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 1	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	40,000	5	-	23
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-6	-7	-	, Priority: Low, Durability: 2
Level 2	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	70,000	5	-	23, air 15
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-4	-5	-	, Priority: Low, Durability: 4
Level 3	Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
	108,300	5	-	23, air 15
	On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
	-	+2	-	, , Priority: Low, Beam Durability: 3 per frame for 3 frames.
Zero's Buster shot. Holding down any button (except S) will start charging the Buster. To use it, release all held buttons. You can switch the button being held and keep your charge - for example, if you start your charge by holding L, but switch to holding H, Zero won't fire the Buster. Zero is free to act while charging, but he loses his charge if he is hit by an attack. Level 1 Buster requires at least 30 frames of charge. It is a small projectile with no notable properties, low damage, and limited durability. Level 2 Buster requires at least 70 frames of charge. It has improved damage and durability, but is still fairly standard. By charging Buster for at least 150 frames (2.5 seconds), Zero gains access to Level 3 Buster, an extremely powerful move and the defining point of his moveset. Besides having greatly improved damage and durability, it now gains two notable special properties. First, Zero can cancel his other special moves into Level 3 Buster. This greatly improves Zero's combos, mixup game, zoning, and basically every aspect of his gameplay by giving him a very quick cancel option. Second, Level 3 Buster forces a Soft Knockdown on hit, regardless of height or hitstun deterioration. Zero can use this to consistently convert even very stray, awkward hits into a standard BnB combo by Buster-Canceling the hit, then catching the opponent before they reach the ground. Glitch: Normally, the strength of maintaining a stored Buster charge is tempered by losing access to the button being held for the charge. Using an attack that is input using the button held for Buster requires either first releasing the button or switching to another held button in advance, which can be awkward to perform quickly. A glitch allows Zero to perform specials using his held Buster input without losing the charge: Zero can release the input for Buster during the hitstop caused by a normal on hit or block, input a special using that button, then re-hold the button before hitstop concludes. If done fast enough and with proper timing, Zero will perform the special but not forfeit his Buster charge. This is functionally similar to [/Vergil#Special_Moves Vergil's] much more well-known Round Trip Glitch. Video Guide on implementing the Buster Glitch

Hyper Combos

Rekkoha
Rending Light Rule
236XX

Note the delay

This was totally cooler in TvC

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
15,000 X 30 (269,300)	16+10	80	29
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
+1	-14	-	on final hit, Priority: High, Beam Durability: 1 per frame for 30 frames
After the super flash, Zero plants his Buster arm on the ground, then rainbow colored lasers shoot down directly in front of Zero after a short delay. The lasers cover the entire area vertically. Can technically but the delay means that it has some rather strict timing.

Sougenmu
Twin Phantasm
214XX

"This is over!"

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
-	10+1	-	1
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	-	-
Install hyper. For 300 frames (5 seconds), Zero has a shadow clone that imiatates all of his actions with a 16 frame delay. This hyper is extremely powerful and is Zero's primary way to spend meter, thanks to numerous ways to take advantage of the clone's attacks. Attacks during Sougenmu effectively have greatly improved frame data due to the additional delayed hit from the clone, allowing combos and blockstrings that are not normally possible. Projectiles used in Sougenmu will fire twice, improving their coverage, total durability, and damage potential. This also applies to Level 3 Buster, and combining Zero's improved pressure under Sougenmu with his ability to freely buster-cancel almost anything means it is guaranteed to be Zero's turn for the duration of this hyper. Zero can create very dangerous solo High/Low mixups, or even unblockables, while in Sougenmu. If he quickly follows up an Overhead attack with a Low, or visa-versa, the opponent will simultaneously have to block the clones High/Low and the real Zero's, which may be impossible if timed correctly.

Genmu Zero
Phantasm Zero
623XX

"Ittouryoudan!"

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
350,000	10+1	-	57
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Mid	Invuln until frame 24, , Priority: High, Durability: 100
Zero's level 3 Hyper. Unlike most level 3 hypers, it is not a cinematic. Zero produces a giant slash, which covers most of the screen and quickly travels forward as a projectile. It is a solid combo ender to secure a kill without having to perform Lightning Loops, which carry a risk of messing up. Its large amount of invuln frames mean it can also be used on reaction to many other hypers to blow through them.

Universal Mechanics

Ground Throw
(near opponent) 4/6H

Forward

Back

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
80,000	1	1	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-	Throw
Throwing an opponent (even if the throw is teched) resets Zero's Buster charge, if he has one.

Airthrow
(near opponent) j.4/6H

Forward

Back

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
80,000	1	1	-
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-
Throwing an opponent (even if the throw is teched) resets Zero's Buster charge, if he has one.

Snap Back
+/

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
50,000	2	7	17
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-2	Mid	Snapback
Animation and hitbox based on 6H.

Hard Tag
Hold 14f /

Damage	Startup	Active	Recovery
27,000	-	20	33
On Hit	On Block	Guard	Properties
-	-15	OH
-

Team Position

Zero is most commonly chosen as a Point character. Zero has a strong neutral game that becomes even more oppressive when assists are smartly utilized to cover holes in his gameplan. Assists are also important for Zero to carry opponents to the corner mid-combo, so that he can activate Sougenmu (214XX) and begin his Lightning Loops for a kill. Zero is a very meter-efficient point character who excels at building meter for his teammates to spend, making him a good choice to pair with meter-hungry anchor characters.

Notable Synergies

Dante: Jam Session is one of the game's best neutral assists. It provides a sheer vertical wall of coverage, preventing opponents from moving freely even at superjump height. Superjump height is otherwise one of Zero's biggest weak points in neutral, so this nicely closes that gap. The huge amount of blockstun caused by Jam Session can also be used to set up multi-layered Oncoming Mixups, something Zero is particularly good at doing. Jam Session's weakness is usually that its odd hitstun makes the assist difficult to convert into a combo. However, Zero can convert this easily using Level 3 Buster Shot.

Players to Watch: Megaman Steve (Zero/Dante/Akuma), Cloud805 (Zero/Dante/Vergil), Flux (Zero/Dante/Vergil), Jibrill (Zero/Dante/Vergil), Nolife (Zero/Dante/Vergil)

Vergil: Rapid Slash provides Zero with a powerful horizontal assist (which pairs nicely with the vertical coverage from Dante's Jam session, above). In the case of Zero, it is particularly notable because of the huge amount of corner carry it provides. Zero can use Rapid Slash to drag nearly any confirm to the corner, where he can start his Lightning Loops and kill for very little meter. Because Zero is so meter-efficient in terms of damage, he can be counted on to build several bars of hyper meter for Vergil, who is a famously meter-hungry character. This gives Vergil plenty of access to Spiral Swords and Devil Trigger, drastically increasing his effectiveness.

Players to Watch: Flocker (Zero/Vergil/Hawkeye), Joey D (Zero/Doom/Vergil), Cloud805 (Zero/Dante/Vergil), Flux (Zero/Dante/Vergil), Killer Kai (Zero/Vergil/Strider), Jibrill (Zero/Dante/Vergil), Nolife (Zero/Dante/Vergil), Romora (Zero/Doom/Vergil), Marn (Zero/Vergil/Strider)

Phoenix: Zero excels at being a battery for meter-hungry anchor characters, and no anchor is more meter-dependent than Phoenix. Although Zero doesn't really have the capacity to build several meters in a single combo (barring a TAC Infinite), he is constantly building bar through his oppressive neutral and meter-positive combos. Zero's excellent neutral game means he can do without calling Phoenix except as a combo extension, reducing the risk of her being sniped early.

Players to Watch: PZPoy (Zero/Doom/Phoenix)

Other Players to Watch: WindZero (Jill/Zero/Chris)

Combos

Solo Combos

(Charging [L]), 2M > 5H > 6H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, rejump j.236H xx ]L[, j.623[L], land, 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, land, 236XX (581,000 for 1 bar)

Video Timestamp. Basic no-assist midscreen route. The ending given goes into Skittles super, but it can be modified to go into Lightning Loops by instead going j.5S, rejump, j.236H xx ]L[, j.623[L] xx 214XX. Lightning Loops are detailed further below.

(Charging [L]), 2M > 5H > 6H > 5S sjc. j.2H, j.5M xx ]L[, j.623[L], land, 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, land, short dash, jump, j.236H xx ]L[, j.623[L] xx 214XX

Video Timestamp. Alternate solo route into Lightning Loops.

(Charging [L]), 2M > 5H > 6H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, rejump j.236H xx ]L[, j.623[L], land, 2H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, rejump, j.236H xx ]L[, j.623L xx 214XX

Video Timestamp. Corner optimization on solo BnB into Lightning Loops. Basically identical to the first combo, but you can connect an extra 2H after the Buster relaunch.

(Charging [L]), 2M > 5H > 6H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H, ]L[ (side switch), j.623[L], land, 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, rejump, j.236H xx ]L[, j.623L xx 214XX

Video Timestamp. Side-switch variant for when Zero is cornered.

(Charging [L}), (Any air hit) xx ]L[, j.214L, land, short dash, 5M > 5H > 5S sjc. j.5M > j.5M > j.5H > j.5S, rejump, j.236H xx ]L[, j.623[L], land, 5S sjc. j.2H > j.5S, rejump, j.236H xx ]L[, j.623L xx 214XX

Video Timestamp. Generic way to confirm air-to-air hits with stored Buster charge.

Lightning Loops

Basically all of Zero's combo routes are designed to carry the opponent into the corner, and then end with a j.623L Lightning canceled into Sougenmu activation. From here, Zero can repeatedly combo Lightning into itself, jumping and reactivating the attack while his afterimage covers his own recovery. The high base damage of Lightning when most hits connect, combined with Zero's naturally high minimum damage scaling, and effectively doubled due to Sougenmu, make this extremely powerful. Indirectly, Sougenmu is the most damaging level 1 hyper in the game.

The oldest, original variation of Lightning Loops uses repeated Tiger Knee inputs to perform L Raikousen very close to the ground. This version can be mechanically difficult to execute, and deals significantly lower damage due to several Lightning hits missing, but has lax timing requirements. The input looks something like:

j.623[L] xx 214MH, jump back ]L[, j.623L (Charge [H]), j.62369L, j.62369L, jump back ]H[, j.623L (Charge [H]), j.62369L, etc.

You can see a video example here. Note how very few instances of Lightning actually connect for their full five hits.

Here is another video tutorial on classic Lightning Loops which shows an alternative TK Lightning Input: 36823L

Lightning Loops were later refined to not require a TK motion for each rep, instead just using a standard neutral jump into Lightning. This is more damaging, and less mechanically intensive (especially on P2 side), but does introduce the risk of mistiming the juggle. A Loop using this method would look something like:

j.623[L] xx 214MH, jump back ]L[, j.623L (Charge [H]), neutral jump j.623L, neutral jump j.623M xx ]H[, j.623L (Charge [H]), neutral jump j.623L, neutral jump j.623M xx ]H[, j.623L etc.

You can see a video example here. This video also shows a standard post-Sougenmu ender. It is useful if your Lightning Loop sequence will not kill, but you do not want to spend an additional bar on activating Sougenmu a second time. The inputs for this ender are:

(During Lighting Loops, charging [M]), j.623L, neutral jump, j.623L, land, 623H xx ]M[, j.623L, land, 623H

Note that since you need the H button free to perform the DP ender, you will want to charge Buster with the M input, and should switch to holding [M] once you are no longer going to use j.623M extensions.

Lastly, you can implement the "Dylnyan Extension", in which you double up on releasing H Buster input to also buffer an additional H Lightning at the end of your loop. This is generally the most optimized one-bar Sougenmu combo, and will kill normal-health characters even if the pre-loop combo was very simple:

j.623[L] xx 214MH, jump back ]L[, j.623L (Charge [H]), neutral jump, j.623L, neutral jump, j.623M xx ]H[, airdash (charge [H]), j.623L, neutral jump j.623L, neutral jump j.623L, jump back j.623]H[~[H], j.623L, j.62369M, land, 623M xx ]H[, j.623L

Video Timestamp

X-Factor Combos

XF3 Combos

Sample Team Combos

Strider Hard Tag to Zero Loops
Doom Hard Tag to Zero Loops

Zero May Cry (Zero/Dante/Vergil) reference video

Zero/Dante/Strange Throw Conversions

Zero/Doom/Dante

Zero/X23/Dante

Deadpool/Zero/Rocket

Videos and External Resources

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Video Guides

Zero May Cry Tutorial

FingerCramp Zero Guide (from 2012)

Punish Guide for Buster > Lightning

Setup / Mixup Videos

Zero Corner Mixup Notes

Using Buster Glitch for Mixups

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