Because I've been active for the last few months after a 2 year hiatus, I figure I might as well update this for the new meta, newfound things from research and experimentation, and after a few months worth of scavenging and hoarding data. Though there's a lot less now than there was two years ago ;~;
I HOPE MORE NEW PEOPLE READ THIS BECAUSE I FOUND SOME NEWB JERKS TRYING TO RIP ME OFF (and insult me) WHILE RUNNING HAKU WHEN I SAID I WOULD CARRY.
Seriously I didn't think I'd meet tards like that outside the DotA community. Pricks.
Needless to say I ran out of their group at the last moment. And their Haku route was wrong to boot too.
HOW TO USE THIS THREAD:
PLEASE CTRL+F AFTER READING THE TABLE OF CONTENTS. Table of Contents:
A. The Basics
[A001] The Dead Basics
[A001A] The Basics of the Arena
[A002] The Miscellaneous Basics (including breakpoints)
[A002A] A Mini Guide to Using CosmiCalc Hosted by blead
B. Cartridges: What do they do? What to take?
[B001] Basics
[B002] Mobility based
[B003] Defense based
[B004] Offense based
[B005] Etc.
C. Bots: A Breakdown by Type; but Mostly by Motif
[C001] LNDs
[C002] Airs
[C003] ARTs
[C004] Support
[C005] Special Mentions
D. Popular/Basic Weapons and Other Equipment: Based on Motif
[D001] LNDs
[D001A] Hoppers
[D001B] Blast Type-Carriers
[D001C] LND Alphas
[D001D] Melee
[D002] AIRs
[D002A] Air Alphas
[D003] ARTs
[D003A] ART Alphas
[D004] Other (Including shields, burners, and +1 tune hand slot items)
[D005] Wonder Bits: How to use them? Which to use?
E. Tuning: (WITHOUT RT. READ. PLEASE STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS. IT’S POSSIBLE. AND YES I DO IT ALL THE TIME.)
[E001] Basic Tuning (Stats): A Viewpoint Based on Common Sense and Efficiency
[E002] Non Stat Tuning
F. Gameplay
[F001] PvP General Strategies
[F002] Arcantus Boss General Strategies
[F002A] Haku
[F002B] Berzelius
[F002C] Fractulus
[F002D] Sugoi Experiment
G. Miscellaneous Tidbits
[G001] Miscellaneous
[G002] Bazaar
H. Useful Links That Aren't Stickied
I. Credits
*******NOTICE:
Of course, I will be taking much needed criticism from the community—just please, constructive criticism.If you have anything more to add, please feel free to drop a post. Educating the masses should be a community thing organized into a well fitted framework; not the handiwork of a single person.
A. Basics[A001] The Dead BasicsThe dead basics here are for absolute newbies, in which I assume have undergone the tutorial and have a basic grasp of the information there. Those who are familiar with the game can skip this section.
Bot Types:These are lands, supports, arts, and airs. The type of each bot can be seen in your garage, shop, etc., just take a look. Really the only thing that is different about each bot type is what weapons they can equip, AND their role in:
The Weapon Triangle:Blast type weaponry (ie. Bazooka types, missiles, grenades) hurt AIRs. (2.3x dmg)
Beam weaponry (ie. Various beam guns, beam rifles, blasters) hurt LNDs. (1.4x dmg)
Melee weaponry (ie. Kamui Staff, various swords, halberds, spears) hurt ARTs. (1.4x dmg)
Shell types (ie. Magnums, machine guns, plain rifles, shotguns) damage each type of bot equally.
Wonder Bit:Press F once your gauge is charged (the screen lights up with a crack of lightning when the gauge is full) and for a moment, you will have invincibility while your bot flashes during the summoning or unsummoning period. Invincibility period varies between bots, but generally these are special bots (ie. Nicole Malice and Patty Lopp). The bit can be unsummoned at any time to preserve what is left of your gauge. Duration of wonderbit depends on the differences between your STR and TEC; for the longest duration, the difference must be 0. Damage also depends on the lowest stat (between TEC/STR).
Stats: (Max is 40)STR: Calculation of melee damage (Though it affects the projectile size of Pump Gun; max is either 19 or 20; conflicting information found)
Formula of STR based dmg: (Weapon's Force) * (1 + 0.025 * (STR-10))
TEC: Calculation of ranged weaponry damage, some melee (ie. Frau Adone’s legs, Crim B. Spear, Connie’s WSB).
Formula of TEC based dmg: (Weapon's Force) * (1 + 0.016 * (TEC-10))
WLK: Your WLK speed on land (LND types get a bonus to walk and run speed)
FLY: Your FLY speed in air (NOTE: I DID NOT SAY FLIGHT DURATION. Airs always have a 10 second flight time; other types have less). There are no bonuses for flight speed for AIR typed bots.
TGH: Affects % chance of being stunned, what degree of stun you would be susceptible to (because there are varieties of hard/soft stuns), and decrease in damage taken from consecutive attacks in a short period of time.
Having 0 in any of these stats:
STR: Wonder bit duration is limited to a few seconds. Very low STR based damage e.g. melee weapons (NOT WONDERBIT DAMAGE, WONDERBITS ALWAYS DO DAMAGE ACCORDING TO THE LOWEST STR OR TEC).
TEC: Wonder bit duration is limited to a few seconds. Very low TEC based damage e.g. every gun (NOT WONDERBIT DAMAGE, WONDERBITS ALWAYS DO DAMAGE ACCORDING TO THE LOWEST STR OR TEC).
WLK: Walk speed so slow it’s laughable. A new, horrible, more time consuming animation will occur if your bot lands from the air. But hey, if you have that, it makes it all the easier to shoot you… *evil laughs*
FLY: Fly speed so slow it’s laughable. Also jump speed (into the air) is incredibly slow. Quick jump (the cartridge) will not save you fast enough. Also can tank landing as well.
TGH: You get stunned at the drop of a hat and you esplode from the subsequent gangbanging that ensues.
[A001A] The Basics of the ArenaWhat are the items? How to use them?
To use items, press the assigned number on the number row. To drop an item, hold tab while pressing that slot's number. You will also get support points for doing that (though I think someone else has to pick it up for it to work..)
Hurricane:Summons a funnel of wind to blow robots away quite a fair distance. It is to be used for various strategies, such as playing keep away, stunning a coming robot against a wall, or for pushing enemies towards or away from an area (be creative). DON'T PUSH A GROUP OF YOUR ALLIES TOWARDS YOUR ENEMIES UNLESS IT WAS COORDINATED. THAT IS A FATAL MISTAKE THAT CAN COST YOU A MATCH.
Fire Pillar:Summons a fire pillar that burns all in its path. It is to be used mainly for killing off a healer's WB (unless they have the Tough Wonderbit cart, it won't survive) and Rouche barrier bits but it can also be used to break up formations in an especially tight area. For example, the bridge on the sunset map. THIS CAN HURT YOUR ALLIES AS WELL. AND KILL THEM. AND SET THEM ON FIRE WHICH CAUSES A DAMAGE OVER TIME DEBUFF WHICH STILL CAN KILL THEM.
By the way if you wanna be not on fire, you can jump into the water.
Repair Kit:Restores 100 HP. Use it when you're least likely going to be comboed easily to death (they'll finish you off now), but make sure a medic isn't healing when you're going to use it. Otherwise, it would be a waste.
Note**: If it's a Repair Kit All +50, use it whenever you get it to drop. It applies to all allies on the map. It only drops on certain maps (namely Angel Academy now) and usually only drops from those really big structures that take a bajillion hits. Or ghosts.
Parts Restore:Restores broken parts and their associated weapons. However, it won't restore shields.
Wonder Drug:Automatically fills your wonder bit meter. Most of the time it's better to drop the WD for a support bot so that they can repair for a longer period of time (and quicker if it's early in the match). If the match is about to end, you can pop it to get your WB up. It might save you; it might not.
Summon HipporoidSummons oftentimes a little red bazooka shooting robot that is great for powerspot trolling (especially in Epoch) or for self defense (drop him under your own PS so that it can gain a hypershot boost!). He can also be used to body block. Occasionally though, you will summon an Omega Hipporoid, which is that giant white hippo with the hammer that you saw in the tutorial.
Ammo SupplyRefills the ammo of your currently wielded main weapon and some subweapons (but most of them cannot be refilled with this, Fluene is the only one who will be able to restore those kinds of ammo). If you don't need it, drop it when you're at a healing point or PS so that someone else can use it. SHARE THE WEALTH!
CometAn area around you is suddenly hit with comets. This is especially useful in Epoch where large masses of oftentimes damaged bots can be killed in an instant, which can make or break a match in some cases. However, the comets may be large, but their aim is pretty off at times -_- Expect bots to still be standing though unless they were very weak.
HypershotGives you a hypershot buff as if you were underneath a power spot (PS).
Misc. TrapsThese are usually just for PS trolling. If you are near the enemy PS, drop it in the middle. They will be applied in midair if you were hopping or flying when you used the trap, so be careful, or else it won't be really effective trolling :c
Disable RadarUse it when you get it. If your enemies can't see anything, then they can be quite easy to fragged away from their team.
Basic Etiquette of the Arena: A Mini Rant on How to Play WellPLEASE. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WORK WITH YOUR TEAMMATES.
We play with other HUMAN players; not AI. Be nice; if you see someone soloing not so far from you, take some time to jump in and help them take down the other person. Teamwork is key; frag stealing is not a big deal in this game as score is dictated more by dishing damage; but what would matter is whether or not your ally died a stupid death that could have been avoided completely. A battle is lost by losing all of your BP; and that means, preventing an ally's death means a more likely chance of you winning the match.
Don't use your items stupidly. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, but don't deliberately hurricane a bunch of your allies who are healing into the enemy's powerspot where they'll be destroyed easily. Don't fire pillar a bunch of allies if they are in front of you BECAUSE IT CAN AND WILL HURT THEM. I've had matches where friendly fire costed us a match. Not cool.
If you have broad radar, use it! Warn your teammates of a incoming rushing LND while you're healing. Or if an AIR is sneaking from behind! You'll save lives!
Use your radio commands wisely! Press C,X, or Z and then the number from the resulting menu that pops up to send a radio voiceover that can be heard by all members! Use it but do not spam! The only command that you can and should spam is *Repairing!* Call for support, a medic, backup, just let other people know!
Use macros! In options, you can set your own voiceover commands with your own custom text, with the press of ALT+# (just make sure you click on the speech bubble when you make them to set it to "members only" ). You can add voiceovers too by using (#R_??) where _?? is the radio command from the normal menu. For example, #RC01 will play your message with the *Roger!* voiceover.
This means easier communication, which leads to better teamwork! Use macros as a support bot, by asking for WD or for trees. Use macros to warn people easily if you have broad radar. You can do lots of things with macros, you just simply have to try.
This is just something all new people must understand. Arena may be about bot killing, but it's also just as much as teamwork. Watch some CBJP vids; you'll see the atmosphere is much different there.
[A002] The Miscellaneous BasicsThe Notion of Breakpoints:For those unfamiliar with this concept, a breakpoint represents a point or value in which a higher gain or endpoint is noted. This is especially important in regards to stats and damage calculation because although the formulas and logic deems it so, there are breakpoints in CB despite linear growths. If you want to blame something, you can blame the fact CB does round things off.
For damage breakpoints, breakpoints in TEC/STR are dependent on the force of the weapon in question. Please refer to a STR/TEC chart either found here or in your Cosmicalc. HOWEVER THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT MAXING TEC/STR IS NOT IMPORTANT. They play into the damage calculation for subsequent instances of damage. BREAKPOINTS ONLY APPLY TO THE FIRST HIT.
For WLK, the breakpoints are as follows: 19/22/25/28/32/36
**Though caution: please read Suguri's diary post; apparently WLK speed may vary depending on the map but this are the general agreed upon breakpoints.
For FLY, the breakpoints are as follows: 15/18/20/23/25/28/31/34/38
For TGH, the breakpoints are really just for stun regain. TGH is not as important as other stats unless you were buliding towards a high TGH build to begin with.
But if you twisted my arm: "7-12 TGH if S sized, 12-16 if M sized, and 16/22 if L sized" - Trill
STR vs. Force Chart:
- Spoiler:
TEC vs. Force Chart:
- Spoiler:
The Notion of PositioningApparently, it's not just about whacking someone. It's about where you approach 'em to whack (and I mean that in both where you are on the map and how you face your victim). Backstabbing/hitting someone from the side will deal more damage than face on. Backstabs do roughly 50% more damage.
[A002A] A Mini Guide to Using CosmicCalc Hosted by bleadFor those who are more in tune with the game and want more in terms of being able to plan and toy with your possible creations, I turn you to blead's version of CosmicCalc found at these URLs:
http://cosmiccalc.appspot.com
http://cosmiccalc.vacau.com
http://cosmiccalc.zzl.org
There is also a downloadable base that you can use (because I like having it on my desktop and I usually have like 60 bajillion tabs in my browsers anyway from multiple page combing) but sometimes it's not updated to the newest gara. You can find that at the main sticky for the Cosmiccalc as described below.
I encourage you, if you own the new upcoming bots that are released, to give him some info on cartridges, health, etc. to help speed the updates along
Please find that post here or stickied to the General section of this forum: http://www.cosmicbreakfanforum.com/t9040-updated-cosmicalc-mega-gara-4-dango
I also encourage you to help SeniorGrey expand his NACosmicbreakWiki channel at youtube.com and help him upload new bot demonstrations! You can check that out at: http://www.cosmicbreakfanforum.com/t10441-demonstration-videos
Now for a short tutorial:
When it loads (if it loads; please read the main CosmicCalc thread that can be found in the General section or can be googled. There are some browsers that have issues running it, and yes, loading problems are common. Chrome and Opera can run it; personally I use Chrome. I've had some problems loading it at first but for some magical reason, it works now o.O Thank God.), you can see a rather blank looking interface (this picture is shown with a bot already chosen):
- Spoiler:
A. Choose your bots BD there. The subsequent empty tabs that appear afterwards are for the other parts. For those with locked parts, their parts will show up automatically.
B. The cartridge list of the bots; sometimes the carts for some of the bots are wrong or missing; check with your client’s data to ensure accuracy. Press "Delevel" up in the corner if you make a mistake/want to change a cart.
C. The parts that you can equip to your bot. When you pull up one of the part slots, there is a little search window that you can exaggerate; click "Organize" to bring this window up. This can help narrow your search to find particular stats on a part. It has specific numbers as well as >/< signs for flexibility, and you can search internal weapons too.
D. These boxes are for inserting tunes.
E. Information about the highlighted weapon, internal, part, etc. Just like in the garage.
F. A STR/TEC vs. Force chart that can be manually pulled up by clicking on it. Clicking on it again will close it. Also, if you hover your mouse over a weapon/internal, the bars will show the appropriate Force and you can see how your damage increases or decreases with TEC/STR.
G. Copy: opens a new window in which shows a complete blueprint of your bot, including tunes, what materials will be needed to complete the tunes, the weapons equipped, etc.
H. Output: opens a new window containing a string that imports the data so that you can share your build with others conveniently. The strings look something like this:
ZakSbkGck%26BD%3ALS15jLGidjHDiejBSiflglh%23|ero|aber|irl|ndefined|ndefined|ndefined|ndefined|ndefined|%3Au|%7C|%20|jAMi
By the way, that string only opens up a plain ZSG. So if you see that when you paste it in "input" (read below,) then you know you’re doing it right.
I. Input: opens a new window in which you can put that string generated from output. Just paste it in and press "Read."
J. Renames/Saves/Loads/Deletes the slot selected from the drop down of possible save slots.
Whoever designed this lovely thing, cookies to you.
B. Cartridges: What do they do? What to take?For those who have been keeping an eye on this thread, you will have realized that I’ve moved the discussion about carts before the bots. My reason? I think it’s easier to understand bot motifs once you understand what carts do, what benefits they provide, and what would most likely consist of their play style. So without further ado:
[B001] Basics (Capacity Up Carts)Cartridges are level bonuses that you can get every time a bot is leveled (up to level 10). A good rule of thumb is to get a capacity up carts early, even straight up to level 5, which adds to your maximum capacity and health. In some builds, especially those built for the PVE mode, Arcantus, some bots only take capacity carts and don't reach level 10.
The bonus here is that you get to equip better weapons, parts, and have more health at the same time. Keep in mind that getting capacity up carts do take cost; so most likely you will profit at an amount less than what you’d think you would get.
Costs for each cart are also different for each type of bot, as well as the size of the bot. For example, a cap up cart for a Crimrose is 25 cost, but gives 75 capacity (a profit of 45). However, a cap up cart for a Lily Rain is 20 cost, but gives you only 60 capacity (a profit of 40). It is recommended that you take at least 6 capacity carts (some bots have 7) as a basic rule of thumb. When you get better at building, you can take as many or as few as you'd like.
You can find the full cartridge list on any bot opened in the shop or garapon. The position of the carts on the list will determine the level requirement; the lower they are, the higher the level. For example, for most bots, short boost can only be taken at lvl 6; carts like sniper sight can only be taken at lvl 9. This plays into the carts that you can pick and sometimes you have to make hard decisions. For example, Lily Rain Eve has to choose between Quick Boost or Broad Radar at level 9 to 10. Of course, there are always exceptions.
[B002] Mobility basedA.
Short Boost: The infamous short boost. Instead of a dash, you will hop a distance. This will eat your boost gauge. Instead of explaining it, I think a (modified~!) excerpt from Vyolets himself can put a better description to short boost:
- Short Boost distance is set by WLK or FLY (please see chart below). LNDs hop longer distances and do it quicker than AIRs due to inherent WLK bonuses on LNDs. However AIRs get the benefit of a larger boost gauge so you can hold your arrow keys or W/D keys for a longer distance.
- For more height, get the Quick Jump cartridge. It increases your Short Boost height pretty well, making it much easier to hop over terrain. Your distance also naturally increases with the added height making it much harder to hit you.
(My opinion: This is pretty much mandatory for most LND hoppers if you don't plan to run away from every melee bot you see now and are not investing into another special BS that lets you move a large distance quickly/accel roll).
-Height also increases if you run (boost run too) before you start a hop.
- Quick Land pairs very well with Short Boost, if it wasn't obvious already. Quick Land reduces the landing lag you get from any type of landing, so paired with Short Boost, you can pretty much boost indefinitely with good timing. It's still usable without Quick Land, but it helps a lot if you have it. If you play an offensive hopper, you must get quick land. Otherwise you can get away with something like short boost+quick boost+accel roll, which is something many ARTs that hop do.
I would also like to add that since the amount of short boosting you can do finitely without sitting to charge depends on your boost gauge, (which affects your distance per hop depending on how long you hold your dash and how much available boost is left), a FLY type (say Crim), can be a very annoying and unexpected hopper as she can hop quite a distance and for a long period of time. Though the most notable thing about a Crim hopper is that her wings have antihoming, which prevents lock on weapons like Destructor's subweapons, TBG missiles, Illumis subs and other missiles from hitting her (the projectiles approach her, and then veer off course). Psyguns will hit her though.
Short Boost Chart (courtesy of revelske/noirel):
- Spoiler:
Who to use short boost on?
-Hoppers of any kind. LNDs are the most common, followed by ARTs that you will see these cart combinations used offensively. Obviously these usually have the normal short boost+quick land combo (hop combo) and may or may not have quick jump.
-AIRs will often use short boost and quick jump to replace BS that have bulit in "stovls" which are subs that help you land immediately or reach a high height very quickly. They often will not have quick land.
B.
Float Dash: Instead of a dash, you will fly a very low height above the ground. This will eat up your boost gauge of course.
This is great for bots who have a high FLY stat and are usually found on the ground (ie. Lily Rain, EVE, Illumis, Kagura, Albatreos). However, this is also a great mobility cart for Airs since it allows you to get out of a sticky situation when you shouldn’t be in the air, but you need to move—FAST. For example, if you see a railgun shot coming or if a few missiles are flying at you, you can try to hit the ground (especially with something like Brickgale BS or Tengu BS) and float dash out of there. It can even save you if you’re knocked out of the air by said missiles. Remember, AA missiles have better tracking when your target is in the air. It tends to hit ground when you’re flying rather low to it.
Float dash's speed dependence on stats hasn't been thoroughly tested yet. The odd thing though, is that it's generally rumored to be the opposite of short boost (FLY>WLK) but apparently it can also be effective even with 2 FLY... It has been stated that 16 FLY is enough to float dash-dodge an incoming melee.
C.
Sway: Instead of a dash, you will have a slightly different dash that at first sight, only makes you look like you dash diagonally forward to your desired direction.
The great part about sway is that it provides a small time frame of invincibility (at the very beginning of the sway) which you can use to your advantage to possibly dodge a few things. The not so great part? It’s rather hard to use.
To quote Suguri: Sway is a shorter dash that moves quickly, has brief invincibility, and is highly spammable. Distance, speed, and spammability all increase with wlk. Very good for dodging, and it's also superb for positioning with melee (especially when you have something like a Vanguard that knocks back frequently; just sway right up to your target and continue slashing before the stun wears off).
Sway is a great cart to take now that it has been buffed since I first started. It can be an alternative to hopping on LND gunners and is a good cart to take if you have a melee that doesn't really benefit from starting a combo from mid air (like Vanguard Fencer, MBG, Eris, Resha).
Sway is most easily used with homing weapons though if you're planning to play one as a gunner. Hopping for me is much easier to predict bullet trajectory, but sway enough, and you can make your bullets boomerang (and as cool as that is, no it's not a very accurate way to shoot something).
D.
Boost Run: Whenever you run, you will now boost run. This means that you will run at a much higher speed until your boost gauge depletes. This also stacks with other movement carts that replace your dash animation (ie. Sway, Boost Run, etc.).
When using this cart, be aware that running will eat up your boost gauge; and you might be in a pinch when you realize you need to run/fly and can't. Conserve your boost gauge so that you will always have some left to make it out of the place alive.
The speed of your boost run can be determined by this chart below:
- Spoiler:
Basically, the chart reads from upper left to lower right (lowest to high). Blocks are grouped by color scheme and are equal in terms of speed. This means a 22 WLK, 4 FLY is the same boost run speed as 17 WLK, 18 FLY.
Boost run is a good cart to get if you’re planning to be a melee but don’t plan to max your WLK for whatever reason you please. It’s also great for gunners, however, it doesn’t provide you the safety of a hop (or the annoyingness you bring -_- ). Slow ARTs also tend to take this as well (for example, Destructor).
Be aware though, shooting some guns or subweapons during boost run can hamper their aim. For example, I was told that firing DG’s AA missiles while boost running will actually make the missiles hit the ground instead because her shoulders tend to face the ground as she runs. Not fun.
E.
Quick Jump: Allows you to reach maximum height quicker.
Depending on your playstyle, this may be up your alley. If you are not using an instantaneous booster (ie. Stovl from Brickgale boosters or Tengu BS’ Fly High) this may be a god send if you always fly at your maximum height (especially if you’re a wisp spammer, although I do not encourage that -_- ). I would like to remind you, the reader, that this doesn’t mean it’s okay to have 0 FLY for whatever reason and have this.
F.
Quick Land: Shortens the animation duration when your bot lands from the air by 30%. Meaning: you can take off again much sooner!
This is generally a must have for a hopper as it allows you to get back to hopping much quicker.
For melee, it is useful for certain attacks, such as Renny Lopp's STR mode kicks (which lets her kick and shoot with less of a pause in between, or chain multiple kicks), or for Hatigarm Machine (to help chain his attacks after dropping Lancerlot's K shields on). Generally, it's the melee attacks that have you lift off from the ground that benefit from this cart.
For a mobile air bot that will constantly be in the fray, having quick land could mean the difference between getting caught by a bazooka or being able to float dash/fly away. However, it is a personal preference; some people think it is not worth a slot on their bot, some people can’t live without it.
G.
Quick Swim: Makes you move faster in the water slightly.
You’re better off not jumping in the water to begin with, and there is little water in the arena. Unless you're Ion; I heard she walks on water o.o *prepares for Jesus jokes*
H.
****RT: Accel Roll: A twirl in mid air along a horizontal axis.
Watch this link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm14585172
If you don't have an acct, use this link to help watch: http://www.mmcafe.com/nico.html
Yes this is also the vid of powered laser in action.
I.
****RT: Air Loop: Enables a mid-air dash action that makes you do an upwards flip in the direction of the dash.
Watch koi's seraph vid link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYxqf7MtMOg
Air loop is that weird loop thing.
This is a very useful cart for air bots, as you can easily somersault away from missiles or rail gun shots. It can also be used to gain a little extra height over your maximum flight so you can use it to “hop” to a slightly higher platform during landing, which is useful for climbing cliffs quickly. It can cause people to be rather reliant on it though.
[B003] Defensive CartsThis category consists of fairly straightforward set of carts catered to lessen the damage of the 4 types of damage available, as well as other things. Keep in mind that you cannot select a guard cart that your bot type is weak to; ie. airs can’t take blast guard, and lands cannot take beam guard, etc.
A.
Blast Guard: Reduces blast damage by 50%A very useful cart in today’s metagame as bazookas, missiles, and many spammable subweapons are centered around this particular damage type. Keep in mind though, this guard only protects against BLAST damage; most blast type weapons carry a mix of both blast damage and shell damage. The list of known ones will be explained later on in the weapons section. This is the reason why if some of you take it, you may see little of a damage increase than you have expected. However, it shows a rather large decrease in damage taken by a blast bazooka considering they are 100% blast damage.
Should you take it? If you are going to take a guard, this is the guard to take.
B.
Beam Guard: Reduces beam damage by 25%. Not as high as a defense protection as blast guard’s, but still useful nonetheless. It will defend against big damaging beam type weapons (I’m looking at you stardust cannon =/ ) amongst other things. Its damage decrease is not as noticeable on low damage weapons (which beam guns generally consist of) since it’s based on a percentage. But since you’re getting sprayed with tons of those low based damage at once, it does help a bit in the long run.
Should you take it? Depends really but I would lean on yes. If you’re a small bot and you don’t generally get hit by something like a SDC in the face, you could afford to skip it. Still, beam damage is a very varied pool considering the large amount of airs in play. It’s a nice cart to have.
C.
Sword Guard: Reduces melee damage by 30%. Should you take it? Depends again. If you’re a support type prone to getting rushed by Vanguards and Oukas while healing because you can’t get away in time, this should prove invaluable. If you’re an air type that’s not going to be touching ground so much, you wouldn’t worry about melee as much. Theoretically speaking of course.
D.
Shell Guard: Defends against shell damage by a measly 10%.Obviously by my very biased explanation, I don’t think it’s very useful. Take it at your own risk.
E.
Stun Regain: Restores a little health when stunned (Percentage of hp restored is a % of the damage that hit you).This is much more useful for big, bulky, armored land type bots than any other bot I can think of. The HP gain is small, and most bots can’t afford to be stunned multiple times without exploding. This is especially useful for bots with very high TGH; having stun regain with 40 TGH can cause Winberrl to actually heal you instead of damaging you because of the HP regain.
It also stacks with Crimson Veil (yes, the revenge tune).
Stun Regain for AIRS is also helpful, as every blast type weapon in the game is guaranteed to stun you upon hit (the bigger hitting things anyway). As such, it does extend your life by quite a bit. (Thanks pulupulu for the tip.)
F.
Anti Slow: Self explanatoryIt’s useful, but it’s more useful for doing boss runs than arena, ie. Haku. You’re better off dodging those slow traps, or learn to not get caught by a Frau Adone/Ouka that will most likely have the tunes for it.
G.
Anti Burn: Self explanatorySame deal as anti slow, however, it’s much more useful in Haku as it allows you to tank his fire and melee him more easily. However, this cart is necessary if you're playing blazed baron. This is the way Blazed Baron can abuse the 40 FLY that he can obtain by setting himself on fire.
H.
Tough Runner: Roughly doubles your TGH while RUNNING.It’s a rather situational cart, but best suited obviously towards land type bots. Since the bonus only kicks in while you’re running, it’s useless for anything else but (boost) running bots.
I.
Tough Wonderbit: Increases the HP of your wonderbitsThis is a situational cart to take. Support bots that heal would most likely want this as it would give the WB enough extra hp to survive a fire pillar. Patty Lop (from the garapon) would also be a special case in which her WB puppets would be able to survive longer to deal more damage, which is a good thing because some WB puppets are better than others >.>
J.
Fast Recovery: Status effects last half as long.A situational cart, and not really one I find too useful in the arena.
[B004] Offense basedA.
Sniper Sight: Removes the red flashing warning on the sides of your screen that you get when someone shoots at you (for the people you’re shooting at!)
A useful cart that allows you to sneak up on people (although it doesn’t prevent them from seeing you on the radar). Its usefulness declines as you fight more experienced people though who can tell where you are judging from the angle your shots came at. It’s a handy cart to take, but not necessary.
B.
Stealth System: Prevents you from appearing on the minimap/radar.
A useful cart again, for tactical purposes of sneaking behind backlines. Great for solo ganks, airs, and small melee bots who enjoy being sneaky. It’s countered by another cart called Broad Radar which detracts from its usefulness because it’s generally the smart players that carry it. Still, it is handy to have. No doubt, it will net you frags (if you can kill with your bots on a normal basis that is…).
C.
Moving Burst: For a short duration during flight or a dash animation (includes sways, short boost, float dash, etc.) you will be able to fire all alpha strikeable weapons (basically weapons that aren’t sub weapons) for a short period before you are forced to stand still.
A very useful cart for run and gun type of characters, especially if they hold more than one weapon at once. From what I heard though, moving burst is not necessary with float dashers, as float dashing allows you for a briefer period to fire all of your weapons at once.
D.
Soul Eater: Restores a small amount of HP whenever you destroy a robot in arena.
From what I’ve heard, the HP gain for soul eater is not very high; about 5% of your hp total. It is also very likely you would not be able to gain enough frags on a regular basis to make it worth your while. You’re better off hunting for the field medic or trees for repair kits if you need the health.
E.
Revenge shot: Allows you to occasionally attack without using bullets at below 50 HP.
Okay yeah, that's worse in my book than soul eater. By that HP you're on your way to being dead, running around desperately trying to find a healer, or getting Great Fighting Spirit.
[B005] Etc. This particular section contains a mishmash of carts that I can’t really place anywhere else.
A.
Broad Radar: Lets you see all players on the minimap. Counters the Stealth cart.
It may be a high cost cartridge, but it definitely is useful. If you can spare the cost, it’s worth it. Most bots get this at lvl 9 or so, but some bots like Tesladonna, can take this cart at lvl 1. It can be used for both offense and defensive purposes; if you have it, let your team know!
B.
Wonder Rate Up: Increases the speed in which your WB recharges when damaged.
Useful for support bots, but it is wise for a support bot to not get hit so that your score won’t suck (that and you won’t heal yourself from using a healing WB so it’s good to again, not get hit). Still, it could be useful in a pinch.
It is useful for AURA bots that rely on their WB gauge to deal the most damage that they can possibly do, and more likely than not, you will get hurt a bit while trying to replenish your WB gauge for AURA mode.
C.
Growing Wonder: Your WB gauge will slowly increase automatically.
Only a few bots can carry this cart; one of them is Medi Aide. This is definitely useful if you’re planning to play a healer.
D.
Absorb Bump: You won’t be able to be bounced around by other bots.
This is very useful for healing support bots, again, as other people come by to get into your heal aura, you will be pinballing around. This prevents that. It can also be useful for certain melee bots in which their animations cause them to impact a bot, pushing them away from your melee range.
E.
Quick Boost: Your boost gauge replenishes 30% faster.
Take this if you’re an air bot. Enough said. Otherwise, if you’re not one, it could be useful for bots with boost run to help replenish their gauge quicker.
F.
Enhance Internal WeaponThis cart differs for every bot out there, and thus, for some bots it’s worth taking this, for some it’s not. There’s another thread in the Guides section tailored to this. However, what I can say, is that if you want to see the differences, highlight the BD of the bot.
C. Bots: A Breakdown by Type; but Mostly by MotifOkay this part will be unfinished for quite some time. The reason? Because eventually I want a little bios on all of the popular bots so that people can get a general idea on how to play them. The problem? I don't own most of them, there are a LOT of them, and honestly I don't have the time/money to go get them all, play them, and come with a reasonable review. So I end up hunting guide links and whatnot and eventually, I'll accumulate a nice database. But for now, I want to finish this guide as fast as possible while my free time is still somewhat here, so I'll be presenting it first by MOTIF!
Now, what is a motif? It's a recurring theme, subject or idea. Now, while bots are quite different, they often do have similar kinds of strategy/gameplay to them, making it easier to draw a bigger picture of them. So, let's get started! ...And I'll probably hafta put up a flame shield due to the advice I'll be giving out...
**By the way, eventually this section will be revamped somewhat to make way for that more thorough bit on the bots. But for now, this will do~
[C001] LNDsThese consists of the following:
A.
HoppersShort boosting robots that generally wield bazookas, cards (from Domiclown Jo's arms), lasers, gatling guns, vulcans and a few other sort of weapons. Their gameplay style revolves around mixing up short boosts to make an unpredictable bot that can constantly dance in your face while you're frustrated by the game's aiming system. They can dish out heavy damage too.
The general idea? Drop yourself two zooks (or a fat zook and a shield), look for a good spot on your map where there are less airs, lands, but lots of fat ARTs and start dancing circles around them. Mix up your hops; don't just keep going to the left or right. You can short boost DIAGONALLY! Keep shooting. Learn to shoot while hopping because it'll take some time to get adjusted to it. Then move on to the bigger fish; the things that fly above you that you can touch at your full height using short boost; some lands as you tease them by jumping backwards and to the sides while pelting their faces. But most importantly? Have fun because by most of the CB community, you're officially being a really annoying fag. And I bet some of you really like that.
The most popular hoppers consist of: Zook hopping Mistys, Zook hopping custom bots, zook hopping Accel Sabers, Vulcan hopping Shinos, Cardhoppers, Lazflamme and Patty Lopp (with her gatling). There are also shield holding hoppers that hold K Shields (120 HP; from Lancerlot), or equip LazFlamme AM2 AMS which come with a shield (HP of this shield I do not know of yet =S )
B.
MeleeBots that specialize in getting in your face, hurting you for big damage, chain stunning you, and most likely, suiciding while doing so.
Learn to know when to rush, when to approach, and how to get in there. It kind of works like a fighting game; because once you get in there, you can proceed to combo their little butts off and do some major damage. The only problem becomes getting in there. Experience in the game will teach you faster than what I can say: learn to position, watch your minimap, Broad Radar may be your best friend, and if all else fails, be like the rest of the fish in the sea and suicide rush the PS. But if you did that, you're probably not gonna be labeled as pro because you will be suiciding. Rushing smartly=pro.
Also, if you hit someone's shield, no, you didn't stun them. You're more likely to either lose your target or eat bullets to the face. Or both.
Popular ones include: Ouka, Vanguard, Red Squealer, Manly (Okay, his real name is Mighty) Byne (NOT HN. That particular bot is more suited to be a run n' gun type.), Jikuns, Byne Girl, Zero Saber Girl, Zero Saber, and Scaregant.
C.
Subtype of Melee: Tank/Damage SpikerA specialized niche of melee which classes generally L LNDs with high TGH (30+). Choice weapons generally include Daed AM2 (otherwise known as BC), Jet Hammer, Vanguard (possibly, depending on play style), Lancerlot AM5 (K-Sword). Choice cores generally involve high cap/stat cores such as Cyclotes, Daedalian, Red Squealer, Lancerlot, Mighty Byne and Scaregant. These melee bots require heavy tunes, as they generally use 40 STR/TGH with 30+ WLK, depending on the core being used.
Gameplay style is generally much like a regular melee, except with a few exceptions. Assassinations are not necessarily needed, as these bots generally are bulky enough to withstand running up to someone's face to do their job. However, the backstab damage generally is what causes many arena players to hate them (200+ is quite common when it is built and played right). However, because of the attention that you focus, if you stay too long, you often die upon going in. You're also a much larger target, making it much more easier for AOE blasters (ie. Blitz blaster/Aquila Girl blaster) to hit you, and hurt you much more.
D.
Run N' Gunners Consist of boost runners/swayers. Typically carry a number of guns to abuse while moving bursting. There are many sorts of these kinds of bots so it's hard to pin down popular ones, although Accel Saber is indeed, a popular one for newbies. Sharhead is also a fun, although understated bot.
Your general gameplay style will be a land based harrasser. You zip in and out, pelting shots at people until you find a good, lone, fat ART of a target. Then you proceed to whip out your melee WB of choice, tag the victim and walk all over him. Learn to back off if you realize you can't frag the guy fast enough. More likely than not, your greed will equal your doom. Oh also, learn to dash away like a fish's tail; go from side to side and you'll be dodging more shots. Sure, you'll take longer getting to a further distance, but you'll be a harder target to hit. That alone makes you a bigger turn off than the distance.
[C002] AirsA.
Subweapon/Weapon SpammersConsists of certain sorts of bots/parts, most notably though, Air Raider, Helingal, Izuna BS (for their wisps), Aquila Girl Homing Blaster spam, and amongst other things. They auto aim for you and can hurt quite a bit.
How2Play? Get to a nice high altitude landing point. Fly to a nice height that's probably will be your maximum altitude. Proceed to turn your camera downward, find some nice targets, and spam that mouse click. Shoot a bit. Chase a few low HP targets because you can. Return to that landing point to refresh your boost gauge. Rinse and repeat. Oh, and if you get targeted by ARTs, you're probably better off finding somewhere else to land at or think of getting outta range. It's better to survive than to throw a few pot shots at the ART on the off chance you get stunned...and drop into the middle of a firefight... Bai bai birdie...
Also, this is also considered a low skill-way to play. Most of these sub/weapons have very good homing and..require you to just have limbs to play -_-
B.
Alpha StrikersConsists of air bots holding at least 4 weapons (but the best builds typically carry at least 6; one more in their HD, and another core weapon) whose main job is to kite around, looking for unsuspecting victims, before dropping out of the sky to unload pain. Press both mouse buttons to alpha strike (fire all main weapons).
These bots are generally custom made, but generally consist of parts such as a Raystag HD (for their homing blaster like thing), Frau/Pacifar/Garulabird AMs (or any other weapon internal in AMs) and weapons such as Cross Shooters, flint muskets, wide beam gun and other beam type weaponry. Some of them also carry BD internal weapons, but a lot of these custom made bots typically have a homing subweapon to prime their targets with, if not have also other alpha strikeable weapons, as in the case with bots such as XX Cross Raptor.
If you got a homing subweapon, prime your target. Shoot them, tease them, see if they react to your constant nagging and see if you're in range for the rest of your arsenal. If that all checks out, feel free to drop in a safe distance/position behind them and wail away. If their attention turns to you, finish the frag or get the hell out. It's not worth being shot at.
C.
Assassins from the AIR!These are fly n' run melee types of bots. They're usually tailored to a certain few bots because otherwise their melee capabilities are better performed by lands.
These bots include: Frau Adone (for her LGs), Herr Victor (Combination of both AMs and LGs), and melee Izunas/Crims typically wielding Kamui Staffs.
Same as lands except for one big thing: you have a blast damage weakness. Meaning, if you see some fat ARTs or some other bot carrying zooks at the PS or something, DON'T ENGAGE. NOT UNLESS YOU WANNA SUICIDE. A flying melee should be using what they have over lands: their mobility. And flying right into that pretty light is only gonna get you zapped hard. Find lone fat ARTs at the back ranks, drop in for a combo, then fly away. When you can, finish a target off. Playing a good air melee means being careful about what you do, who you engage, and even what angle you engage at (especially with the Frau LGs; those are harder to chain stun without slow than you'd think it would be) especially when blast damage is EVERYWHERE.
[C003] ARTsA.
Fat ARTsDubbed to those artillery bots who are big, slow, chunky, but have the potential to HURT. Or be a total nonmoving pile of free BP to the other team. They're often stigmitized by the CB community because more often than not, they tend to be the latter. It's also partially how BoyTitan became (in)famous -_-''
There are a lot of fat ARTs, but generally they're in the L range, and typically hold painful subweapons and multiple mains. They are often also customized to hold even bigger, fatter missiles and bazookas.
As most ARTs would be typically played, you have to stick with your group (and if you're not with one, get with one ASAP or get yourself on a high, high cliff for some solo time sniping). You have to watch your minimap for potential targets, potential fat ART hunters, and to see if your group is moving on, because you need to be in that herd (on most maps) or you're a dead bot. When you see some distracted targets (because if an AIR notices you first, more than likely, you will be the one to die), unload your salvos, watch the flies drop, and then be consumed in the massive ravaging, kinda like dropping meat on a fishing line to a pit of hungry tigers. Oh yeah, and if you see an air drop from your stun, wait a sec for it to take off, then proceed to unleash your salvo again. It'll help you pin that air down much more, because the more time that air is in your grasp, the more damage you can deal to it.
B.
SnipersGenerally are Rail Gun holding S-sized arts (DG and Lily Rain are popular subjects), Sagi, or the almighty EVE. They generally can fire from ranges of at minimum 384 range ( I believe that's Sagi II's range), but typically around 390+. Useful for staying out of the firefight while being fairly immobile, and being given chances to spam subweapons (for DG mostly though).
Be patient with your shots. Account for lag. Really, to be one, it's all about positioning, timing, and practice. Learn to shoot while you're not moving around because otherwise it hampers your aim. Just like any other FPS.
C.
The Mobile ArtThis type of art plays more like an air bot with the capability of holding bazookas with no blast damage weakness. You gain the mobility to avoid melee danger, and be able to dish damage at the expense of being tight on capacity, shorter ranged, and if not careful, more likely to die to something other than the melee.
Play Lily like an AIR. Just know that if you see melee, you should back off because you don't have that 10 second flight time. And more likely than not, you will be only off the ground at a height where Vanguards can and WILL still catch you. For Albatreos, the other mobile ART with float dash, most players play him as an alpha ART striker of sorts, with either missiles, bazookas or a lot of other psyguns. (I don't own one, so I can't say =S )
[C004] SupportNot much here that is special besides your typical bread and butter healer/burst firer in epoch/random arcantus except..
The Gimper:Consists of some way of gimping your opponent's ability to escape, deal damage, or being able to do their job. Such support types often make melee impossible when they're around on the field (such as Bugsycait AM or Squidol whip), or can inflict certain status defects, such as bad homing (from Pulsardio), bind (from Winberrl), or waste booster (Nicole Malice). (By the way, booster trouble is what Amateus Muchi inflicts).
Proceed to do your healing/supportive duties. Farm trees, ask teamies for WD, and shout a few *Repairing!* before whipping out your heal bit. When you see lands, whip out the antimelee gimp if you're Bugsycait and/or Winberrl. When you see units (if you're something universal like Greinaut), whip out your special ability. Just gimp the other guys and laugh as your now alarmed, edgy teamies (WHO DARE INTERRUPT MY HEALING TIME??) rage hard on them. Or flee. Yeah... they might flee... I don't know, I'd help rage hard on them... *twiddles*
A more extreme example consists of a modded Tarantulic with some sort of stunning guns, and Winberrl AMs. Slow, hold, and watch your prey be unable to escape being drawn toward you, all except by using WB invincibility to delay their death. You suffer from short supplies of ammo, low HP and probably the scorn of the victim you gimped. With this kind of support bot, you're more likely to be assassinating other bots. Hypershot = <3
If you like some more information about a very popular AM (Bugsycait shield anyone?), then read all about it in CapeMike's combination guide of both Pulsardio and Bugsycait: Pulsycait! (That name's ever so cute, it reminds me of Cait Sith :oops:Good times..): http://www.cosmicbreakfanforum.com/t5289-romy-1st-guide-meet-the-pulsardio-d
**NOTE: There are a lot of unique things about support bots, for example, Nicole Malice's Waste Booster, Bugsy's Shock AM, Greinaut's Gravity Spheres, etc. but they're all specifically tailored to that specific bot. Hence, not really a theme. I'll get to them more later on when this becomes much more fleshed out.
[C005] Special MentionsCertain bots here have general themes but have special tidbits about them. For example, Patty Lopp, although generally is just a gatling hopper, also has puppets as her WB, making her a more powerful hopper with multiple purposes depending on her puppets.
EVE is your standard sniper, although she can do gobs of damage once her lock on is lvl 3, and has an ability to speed up locking on AND have her bullets pierce. She can also float dash quickly, making her just as mobile as Lily Rain, with the bonus of having a shield, which can stun at a very short range upon first summoning it, and block bullets for a short period afterwards.
Renny Lopp is your typical hopper as well, but she has a mode change ability which lets her STR swap with her TEC. If done while running, she will do a twirling somersault in midair that has a longer distance than a short boost. Her LGs also change abilities in these two different modes as well; in her STR mode, she gains a jumping double bunny kick which is a great WB killer, stuns a bit, and does great damage versus arts. (It also benefits from quick land!) In her TEC mode, she gains a little twirl backwards which is just the right distance to dodge most melee attacks (and it's so much fun just being a hair outside their range!).
Seraph Crim is a basic S-sized AIR and is a heavy part of the AIR bot army for a reason. Her possible performance is great, and she is obtainable through UC. (Level a Crim to 10 THEN USE A PROMO, NEVER BELOW, as you get free capacity and HP for waiting to 10). Her wings give her a good minute and a half of perma boost (although you cannot air loop/accel roll while using it) and have antihoming, causing lock on (sub)weapons and missiles to veer off course when they approach her. Propeller bit does not extend the wing duration (if you use propeller bit as you are about to lose the wings, you'll realize you'll still lose the perma boost until you clock to nothing). Once you activate Wings, you have to press and hold the spacebar at the right time (about a half-second after the the wings flare out), otherwise you're gonna drop to the ground where fatass ARTs can get you. The Seraph Tackle also has invincibility, (up to the loop), and is good for dodging a few shots here and there/frustrating your fellow enemy Misty and ARTs. It can also be used to reach land if you're about to land just short of ground. Just be wary, despite what you see from other people, the tackle animation actually is much slower than what you would think it would be.
She can be played as a wing spammer (by getting both internal upgrades to increase the amount of wings she has from 1 to 3) and be equipped with basic AIR weapon loadouts, or as a typical air looping/accel rolling/mobile AIR.
Until I can think of any more special bots or any other particular motif, I'll let this stay for now. Until then, moving on to popular equipment!
D. Popular/Basic Weapons and Other Equipment: What to use? Where to find?NOTE***** Along with the areas listed below, weapons can be found in lotto cubes and weapon cubes handed out during events. Most, if not all, UC weapons can be found either in shop or as rewards for completing missions, arenas, quests. They can also be found in Arcantus.
Slotted weapons often come from lotto cubes, weapon cubes, or garapon. Most of the time, weapons held by bots found in garapon or in boxes are not slotted. Weapons bought from the shop hold 1 slot.
[D001] Ranged WeaponryThis consists of a variety of different guns, lasers, and other ranged weapons. Durr.
Also because I don't own a large variety of weapons (I only own a handful really, and have tested even less), I'm going to need some help with this :3[D001A] Shell Type Shell types consist mainly of different handguns, rifles, machine guns, gatling guns, and a myriad of other weapons. They are most often equipped by LNDs and ARTs, but can be found on other bot types. Some shell based weaponry, most notably the breakers, consist of 80% shell damage (the other 20% presumed to be blast?) The most popular ones are:
A.
8 Vulcan (Found in Arcantus only (confirmation please!)): A good UC weapon (albeit high cost) for those into hoppers for LND bots. A popular bot found using the 8 Vulcan is Shino Exroad, in which it generally is used in a hopper build. Does a high amount of damage in a short period time due to the low INT and high bullet SPD.
B.
Flint Muskets (Shop for 28 RT): A fairly high firing rifle like weapon. Fires a series of 5 bullets in a single clip. It's typically used as low cost DPS weapons, especially for alpha strikers.
C.
Raid Rifle + 1FLY (Garapon): A high rate of fire rifle that's high cost. It is especially used in a lot of LND harassing builds, fires a stream of 4 bullets very quickly, with good accuracy.
D.
Scout Rifle (Found doing Boss Quests, especially Berzelius): Damage, rate of fire, and clip size is very similar to Raid Rifle. Cost is high. The only catch is that it has a much more severe penalty to stats (-4 STR) as opposed to Raid Rifle. It's not a bad UC alternative though.
E.
Custom Mags (Found in arena, quest mode, and boss quests): Have a high damage compared to most magnums, a higher cost, bonuses to WLK, and a larger bullet size. However, it suffers from low ammo as well as a much higher cost.
F.
Cross shooter/Cross shooter Mod (Garapon): A low cost, rather high DPS crossbow weapon used mainly for alpha strikers. However it can also be useful for run n' gunning type LND bots. Has a higher chance of stunning than most guns.
G.
Railgun (Shop for 36 RT): (Not sure if it's completely shell damage but..) Standard weapon for sniper builds of the S sized artillery. Boasts far range, good ammo supply, and very fast projectile speed. It takes a split second for it to fire, and it has some recoil to it as well.
H.
Linear Cannon (Shop for RT): The upped version of Railgun except made for L sized artillery. Hurts incredibly hard.
I.
Garulabird AMs (Garapon) Although not weapons, due to their internal weapons (though with the inability to hold any other weapon) they are a popular choice. They're often known to be Power Spot Breakers (especially for Epoch) because they work much like Raid Rifles except cheaper in cost, and with less ammo. It should be noted though that quad wielding these AMs will most likely cause most of the shots to miss on a small target, as the asura AMJs with the robot's core will push the AMs too far apart.
J.
Custom Shotguns (Quest: Fractulus) Most famous for being a power spot breaker in Epoch, as well as the go to gun for DPSing other quest bosses, ie. Fractulus, Berzelius, even Haku for when he's not weak to melee. (By the way, until you get Custom Shotguns for Quest running, shotguns make good alternatives)
K.
Structure Breaker (Garapon) Although not common, it was one of the most damaging guns in the game, and is generally used as a sniping kind of gun (without the range). However, it only has 50 ammo.
L.
Drum Gun (Shop, Mission, Quest, Arcantus) A high base damage machine gun that suffers from rather severe stat penalties considering most shell based weaponry. It also suffers from being very short range. Good for machine gun hoppers though hefty on cost.
M.
Magnet Gun (Shop 16 RT): A rather cheap gun to use for alpha airs in terms of both cost and RT cost.
N.
Custom Gun (Shop): A low ammo, short range, but high DPS gun due to its high rate of fire and rather high base damage considering shell based weaponry of this category. It's rather expensive to equip though since it eats up ammo so fast.
O.
Musket: 25 cost, -1 FLY. (Shop) Your basic long-range rifle. Performs decently well considering its cost (12 Force, 250 ammo, good range and speed). It's a nice UC alternative for Lily Rain to hold, although flints are generally recommended because Muskets -1 FLY.
P.
Shotgun: 50 cost, -1 WLK. (Shop) Exactly what it says. Good for crowd control if you dual wield, but in the arena, it's not seen very much, as blitz blaster is the most notable blaster/shotgun type weapon found. Shotguns truly shine in Quest, where they are often the go-to DPS weapons for boss hunting if you don't have custom shotties.
Q.
Combat Mag: 120 cost, +2 WLK. (Garapon) Works very much like Custom Magnum with the same bullet, however with a faster INT and higher ammo. This is wonderful for bots who can fit the extra 20 cost that otherwise could be better used for tunes.
R.
LL Bulk Mag: (Garapon) It's like a vulcan except with a smaller clip. Would work nice for run n' gunners of the L variety.