Boss Fight: MVC2 Abyss
This is your host, Slices of Life and welcome to Boss Fight. The article section that talks about the Boss Fights in Video Games and explains in detail what they do and how to overcome them. Now, most of the articles I've published have been about MVC3 and the various aspects of the characters. I don't intend to stop with the MVC3-related articles, but I will expand into other subjects. I did promise an article on the Boss Fight at the end of MVC3, I decided to do a throwback to the classic that is MVC2 and it's final boss, Abyss.
Phase 1 - Like all phases, Abyss has a single life bar. For this phase, Abyss takes the form of a giant suit of armor infected with the green slime that is supposed to be his true form. The trick with this boss involves jumping.
Attacks
+ Charge - Abyss will arc his back, and raise his arms up and to the side. That means he's about to charge you. Either block or high jump out of the way quickly or lost an eighth of your life bar. If you're in the air when hit, you get knocked back. This gives you a chance to quickly block unless you're in a corner.
+ Swipe - Abyss will try his entire arm forward into a strike. This is the quickest attack he has. Block is your only option.
+ Electric Orbs - Abyss will shoot his hand forward, summoning three lightning orbs. Block is the easiest option. Though if you're in mid high jump, you can outrun them, but just barely.
+ Slime Javelin - Abyss will rip a horn from his helmet and thrust it down to the player. You can block, but jumping over to his other side is better and you can get in some nice hits on the way up and the way back down.
Hypers
+ Super Beam - Abyss will bring his arms down toward him and extend his back slightly behind him. you have only two seconds to high jump over him before he unleashes the beam at you.
+ Javelin Rain - Abyss will stretch his arm up to the sky, block now or eat several Slime Javelins.
Strategy - Usually you'll need only one character to deal with this phase. The best strategy is to jump over him, striking as you do so and hit him when you land. Block and high jump on the moves above and you can get through this phase without losing half a life bar.
Phase 2 - When you removed a life bar from Abyss. The armor will fall over and the slime will pour out of him. The scenery will change as the armor sinks beneath a sea of slime. Now Abyss will be a slime humanoid and this is, I dare say, the hardest phase of the three. This Abyss will glide at a decent speed.
Attacks
+ Flamethrower - Abyss will turn one of his arms into a large barrel that shoots a burst of flame. If it hits, your character will be sent to the other side of the screen losing about an eighth of his/her life bar.
+ Laser - After usually three bursts of flame, he turns one of his arms into a thin barrel. High Jump just after the third burst and when he shoots the laser. Unless you have a screen length between you, you'll be behind him and unload some of your best combos. This comes in two versions: a thin beam you can usually duck under and a thick beam that you can't. Both should be blocked regardless if you can't get over to him.
+ Summon Bubbles - Once he gets below 50% health, he will submerge into the pool of slime and summon three bubbles that will ensnare your character if hit. You can either attack them or high jump and evade them. If you're caught, mash buttons to get free or you're open for an attack or hyper.
Hyper
+ Slime Dart Spray - Abyss will spin himself around, shooting small slime darts that do about a third life bar damage if hit by all five. Blocking is your only option.
Strategy - Unload a Triple Team Hyper Combo to start, that takes away a 1/3-to-all his life bar, depending on your team. Follow the tips I gave you above and you should take him down easy.
Phase 3 - When Abyss fades into the slime, the scenery will change and the green slime will turn red. Abyss will become this giant mammoth of a creature. High Jumping isn't an option here as his most frequent attack punishes jumping.
Attacks
+ Bloodbolt Vertical - When he submerges, he fires several bolts up from the pool of red slime. He fires in different patterns depending on where you're moving before he submerges. Block or if you're lucky, you'll avoid the pattern, allowing for some free combos.
+ Bloodbolt Horizontal - He will shoot two long bloodbolts forward, just block.
+ Overhead Slam - When Abyss is on the surface, He will reach an arm up, slamming it down a decent range. When it hits the ground, it will shoot a quick pillar of flame. Blocking is the best option.
+ Venom Dive - When Abyss is on the surface, he will launch himself forward, turning into a huge mouth before crashing down into the pool. He will emerge right after. Block, enough said.
Hypers
+ Bloodbolt Barrage - Abyss will fire several horizontal bloodbolts. Just like the non-Hyper Versions, just Block.
Strategy - Abyss will have a large sphere that floats inside him. This is the only part that takes damage when he's submerged, you can whale on him when emerged normally. This fight is all about choosing your moment to strike. Blocking for most of the time and in the small gaps when he's between attacks is the best time to unleash a combo. Usually calling for assist, executing hyper combos or team hyper combos is not recommended.
Thanks for walking down this trip through Memory Lane, Next Boss Fight, we take on MVC3's Galactus and his Heralds.