As a long-time gamer and fighting game combo enthusiast, unlocking a character‘s full combo potential provides an incredibly rewarding challenge. So when the zany DC villain Harley Quinn arrived in MultiVersus touting "heavy-hitting damage combos," I knew I had to master her kit. After weeks of labbing advanced techniques and studying pro Harley gameplay, I compiled this comprehensive 2,500 word guide so you too can inflict hearty damage through Quinn‘s most ridiculous combos.
Table of Contents
- Harley Quinn‘s Origins and Playstyle
- Combo Theory and Terminology
- Bread-and-Butter Combos
- Advanced Combos and Techniques
- Matchup Strategies
- The Evolution of Harley‘s Combos
- Tips from the Pros
- Harley Combos Across Game Modes
- Conclusion
Harley Quinn‘s Origins and Playstyle
As Joker‘s notorious sidekick and love interest across DC franchises, Harley Quinn encapsulates chaos with her eccentric personality and unpredictable fighting style. She unleashes savage attacks with her iconic oversized mallet, barrage of gag weapons, and trusty baseball bat. This heavy arsenal allows Harley to combo opponents relentlessly once she gets in close. Her grounded side attack, down attack, and air down special open combos, while air neutral attack, up attack, side air attack extend them. Special moves like Prank Shot, Batter Up, Jack-in-the-Box add flair and damage.
As an Assassin class, Harley has low health and takes 14% increased damage from all sources. This further motivates using high-damage combos to secure KOs before opponents KO you. Mastering her combos involves creatively chaining these attacks together to touch-of-death (zero-to-death) opponents. Executed properly, Harley can combo an opponent from 0% all the way to the KO blastzone for a quick stock. Now let‘s break down essential combo theory.
Combo Theory and Terminology
Understanding fighting game combo concepts allows you to maximize damage and react to opponents‘ escape options. Here are key terms and ideas to know:
Hitstun: The stun animation after being hit, leaving you unable to act
Juggling: Continuously hitting airborne opponents by canceling the prior hit‘s hitstun into new attacks
DI (Directional Influence): Allows players to influence the knockback trajectory to escape combos
Gravity Cancels: Special falling technique to cancel landing lag, enabling new combo routes
Edge Cancels: Cancel attack lag by grabbing the edge of a platform, used to extend juggles
The goal is to intentionally link attacks together by canceling the end lag of one move into the startup of another during hitstun. This locks the opponent in a continuous combo string until they finally get launched. Maximizing damage involves reacting to DI mixups and utilizing gravity/edge cancels to open new combo routes.
Now let‘s explore essential bread-and-butters before moving onto advanced tricks.
Bread-and-Butter Combos
Bread-and-butter (BnB) combos are easy-to-perform, reliable damage sequences commonly used by pros. Consistently hitting these will accelerate your improvement. Here are some quintessential Harley Quinn BnBs:
Side Attack > Side Attack > Side Air Attack
- Her most consistent 3-hit ground-to-air combo
- Deals 16 damage
Down Attack > Up Attack
- Launches opponents into the air for juggles
- Deals 15 damage
Air Down Special > Side Attack > Up Air Attack
- Descend onto the opponent with Air Down Special
- Pop them upwards with the Side Attack and Up Air Attack
- Deals 20 damage
Neutral Special > Neutral Attack > Neutral Special
- Quick explosive combo with her bombs
- Detonate the initial armed bomb with a second Neutral Special
- Deals 13 damage
Now let‘s augment these core combos with some flair!
Advanced Combos and Techniques
Once the BnBs feel natural, it‘s time to style on foes by chaining additional attacks and special moves between launch angles:
