Got some questions...

WARNING: A fairly long post will follow this statement. Feel free to scroll down to the tl;dr part if you want.

Hi all! I'm relatively new to Cosmic Break. Been playing a couple weeks, maybe a month now. I feel like I've been getting better lately, but of course I've still got a long way to go. I decided the next step should be to expand my skillset.

See, right now, I use mostly AIR bots. I'm using some really simple, basic tactics: find some high ground, then flit about raining beams and tail wisps on enemies before landing and then doing it all again. It's been working out alright for me so far - I've gotten to the point that I can consistently make top ten, which is just fine for me.

But I've been thinking...I've got a hell of a hero complex, so I don't feel like I'm living up to my full potential just providing some support fire from the air. I want to get better at this game, maybe start making more like top five, even three, maybe start getting some awards...

But the major thing is, I just want to feel like I'm making major contributions for the team. I wanna "lead the pack," as it were. Get in, kill some stuff, probably die in the process but it'll be alright because the amount of damage I did more than makes up for it. More than anything, when the match is over, I want to feel like I really did something - through a high rank, awards, anything to prove I made a serious impact on the battle.

I know a lot of that is gonna come from skill, which means it'll be a long time before I see results like that. But I also know that part of it comes from what I'm using and my playstyle. And I feel like my style right now is just...stale. I've just got the one strategy, which works for me, don't get me wrong, but I don't see as much of the action as I'd like.

That's where you all come in. I'd like to get the opinions of the people who are really good at this game. What kind of bots would suit what I want to do best? Melee bots that rush in, destroy some faces, and die? Artillery to bomb the hell out of dudes from afar? Or is air really the best for obliterating enemies quickly?

And with that in mind, what sort of bots would be good ones to use? I'm sort of interested in high STR/WLK/TGH melee LND-types, but if those aren't as suited to my style as I think they are, then I'll gladly try something else. I'm thinking about Blazed Baron, though it'll cost all the RT I'll have from leveling/the exchange...

Also note that I am strictly UC. That said, I do plan to buy all the RT from the exchange, but other than that, I'm not liable to have a lot of RT. I know this really limits me, and maybe one day when I have money to spend, I'll change things. For now, just assume I've got 60 RT (10 from leveling, 50 from the exchange). (Also note that I absolutely REFUSE to do RT garapon. I'll do the UC version because UC is so easy to make up, but RT is a rare treat for me.)

tl;dr version: What's the best playstyle and robot for a guy with little RT, no plans to ever do RT garapon, and a heavy desire for massive contribution in combat and subsequent recognition through rank/awards?

by getting either

3xKurimoruze (That you then evovle into Serhaps) with Limited/Standard Plasma Gun + Mini Bazooka (can get basic plasma gun and mini zook @ shop) - If you want to play AIR
3x GP Accel Saber for LND Shooter (I think rifles are their favourite weapon with a zook or buckler/viper shield)
3x Destructor/DestructorCN/Victory1's and hope you get box missiles from the UC Garapon

Don't bother with UC Melee unless you want to do -alot- of dedication and time consumption to make a melee LND bot that doesn't go in negative stats.

If you want a high STR/TGH/SPD get ready to tune, alot. With alot of harmonics and hope you don't fail the slots.

Mighty Byne is a good choice for this. While some of the more heavy hitting melee bots out there at the moment (Vanguard, Daedalian , ect) are RT Garapon, Byne is a very good melee core. With sheilds covering most of his body, he can attack for quite a while and not even be damaged. I do warn you though that playing a UC melee bot right now is a risky and unprofitable business. To get Byne to his full potential requires tuning, good part setups, and effort.


Red Squealer is a good core too, with its rocket dash that gives a 1.5x multiplyer to the first melee hit.

Land melee

Only pure uc bot that can lead a pack without being cover fire or artillery is really Red Squealer.

Squealer parts can be obtained as a normal drop

Red Squealer core
2x Red Squealer Arms
Head and legs can be swapped for better parts.
Haku Staff - 3 star haku specific quest drop
Viper Shield - buy from shop

I see, I see...thanks for the suggestions, guys!

I've used Accel Saber a little bit and I was pretty impressed with what he could do. The only deaths I remember having with him were getting reckless enough to be surrounded by enemies. Maybe I'll try him out again more seriously.

I've looked at Mighty Byne and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't he really slow? I tend to favor very mobile bots. It might be worth trying a legit tank, though...I'll have to consider that one.

I've seen a couple Red Squealers, and they seemed to be doing well enough. If I can, I'll definitely see about getting some of those parts to try it out.

A couple more questions:

First, just in case I decide to stick with my air plan, I have some questions. Right now, I'm using a Seraph Crimrose and she's working well for me, but I'm not entirely sure if I've screwed up with the cartridges. Right now, she has five cost capacity boosters, the first Enhanced Internal Weapon (and planning on taking the second), Quick Boost, and I think Stun Regain. Was I right to take these? And which other one should I take? If I've already screwed her up completely, can I junk her to start her from scratch, or will she revert to regular Crimrose? (The thought of 75k UC down the drain is pretty depressing already...)

Second, as I mentioned in my first post, I'm already somewhat interested in Blazed Baron. I may end up spending what little RT I have on him anyway, just because he's such an interesting concept to me. If I do this, in what ways might I go about building/using him? I'm not looking for anything super-detailed here unless you want to, I'd just like an idea of what the best way to play him would be.

I also have a couple of more general questions. How important ARE tune-ups? I mean, I originally thought I'd just say "screw tune-ups, I just don't have the resources for that," but now I realize it'll be unavoidable. My question is, just how important are they? Can I get by without them if I improve my skills enough? Would I be alright if I only managed to get a few good ones but couldn't max them out? Or do I really NEED to have perfectly tuned parts to keep up in higher-level play?

Also, which is better, a commando with three of relatively the same bot so no matter what, I can keep doing the same sort of job, or one with three different bots so I have some versatility? I like to take one job and stick with it, which can be hard to do with a mixed up commando. At the same time, I do value versatility - if I could have a perfect "jack of all trades" bot, I'd give up every point of UC and RT I have for it, lol.

I had another question but I can't for the life of me remember it right now, lol...ah well, if it comes to me, I'll post it later. Again, thanks so much for the help guys, and sorry for the extra-long post!

EDIT: Remembered my other question! Lol. For the most part, is it better to load up with guns and pray the match ends or you die before your ammo runs out, or is it advised to carry a melee weapon, even if you're not planning on doing any melee? It doesn't hurt to be prepared, but I don't know if it's really worth it...

Rathmana wrote:

I've looked at Mighty Byne and correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't he really slow? I tend to favor very mobile bots. It might be worth trying a legit tank, though...I'll have to consider that one.

From what I've seen, you either need to choose strength or mobility with him. You can't really have both. And his cost is sky high (1400 cost with all capa carts?). I don't see the appeal in byne, unless you want his legs for free shielding on another bot. Nobody keeps the arms, and the head and booster don't have shields, so...

Rathmana wrote:

First, just in case I decide to stick with my air plan, I have some questions. Right now, I'm using a Seraph Crimrose and she's working well for me, but I'm not entirely sure if I've screwed up with the cartridges. Right now, she has five cost capacity boosters, the first Enhanced Internal Weapon (and planning on taking the second), Quick Boost, and I think Stun Regain. Was I right to take these? And which other one should I take? If I've already screwed her up completely, can I junk her to start her from scratch, or will she revert to regular Crimrose? (The thought of 75k UC down the drain is pretty depressing already...)

Depends on how you're building her. If you're going tec, take all capacity + internal carts and stun regain. If you're going fly, you can actually copy my second seraph's build; all capacity, one internal, quick boost, stun regain. And yes, if you junk her she stays a seraph.

Rathmana wrote:

Second, as I mentioned in my first post, I'm already somewhat interested in Blazed Baron. I may end up spending what little RT I have on him anyway, just because he's such an interesting concept to me. If I do this, in what ways might I go about building/using him? I'm not looking for anything super-detailed here unless you want to, I'd just like an idea of what the best way to play him would be.

Basically you play him like an air that uses L-Land parts. Get quick boost and anti-burn, baron is useless without them. Use the self-burn internal to give yourself maxed flight speed, then go sneak attack people before they can even react to what's flying at them. I personally run bazooka and a shield on mine.

Rathmana wrote:

I also have a couple of more general questions. How important ARE tune-ups? I mean, I originally thought I'd just say "screw tune-ups, I just don't have the resources for that," but now I realize it'll be unavoidable. My question is, just how important are they? Can I get by without them if I improve my skills enough? Would I be alright if I only managed to get a few good ones but couldn't max them out? Or do I really NEED to have perfectly tuned parts to keep up in higher-level play?

In general arena tunes aren't a big deal. In higher level play not being fully tuned can easily mean death. Generally speaking (not always), mobility tunes should be top priority. On mobile wlk-based bots you should shoot for 32 wlk most of the time, and 38 fly on fly-based bots. Things get more complex when you factor in boost run. Namely though, mobility is usually the most important thing to have tuned, then damage is just a bonus on top of that. Certain speed-tuned weapons are impossible to dodge at lower mobility levels, if you're untuned in the 10s~20s you won't live long against >400-speed magnums or >300-speed missiles.

Rathmana wrote:

Also, which is better, a commando with three of relatively the same bot so no matter what, I can keep doing the same sort of job, or one with three different bots so I have some versatility? I like to take one job and stick with it, which can be hard to do with a mixed up commando. At the same time, I do value versatility - if I could have a perfect "jack of all trades" bot, I'd give up every point of UC and RT I have for it, lol.

Completely player preference. Sometimes I stick with one type at a time, sometimes I use duplicate bots, sometimes I make them completely different from each other.

Rathmana wrote:

EDIT: Remembered my other question! Lol. For the most part, is it better to load up with guns and pray the match ends or you die before your ammo runs out, or is it advised to carry a melee weapon, even if you're not planning on doing any melee? It doesn't hurt to be prepared, but I don't know if it's really worth it...

I guess that really depends on the bot and build. Generally, most higher-end builds use a primary combat weapon built for high combat efficiency, then have a cheaper backup weapon for farming trees for ammo/making a last stand/finishing off weak targets/(ry. Not sure if I saved the build itself, but I remember seeing a seraph build that had a 275 cost Power Shooter decked out to >400 range and >500 speed, with a 20-cost beam gun as a backup weapon. Just an example.

Wow...thank you for the very detailed response, Suguri! (I saw it last night and would have responded then, but I desperately needed sleep at the time, lol.)

Whoa, Byne costs quite a lot...granted, my current plan for my Seraph isn't much cheaper, but...at 1400, Byne is worth two, three, maybe even four other bots...I think I'll pass on him, lol.

Hm...for Seraph, would it be worth dropping one of the capacity carts to get both internal carts, Stun Regain and Quick Boost? Or is it really imperative that I have all the capacity I can get? I suppose if I'm gonna tune the hell out of her, it is, hehe...

So let me see if I've got this straight...while burning, no matter what it was before, Baron's fly speed will be maxed? Like, I could even tune it into the negatives and once he's on fire, he's still careening around the field? If that's the case, what stats should I focus on otherwise? STR/TEC and TGH? Maybe I should actually go look up a tuning guide, lol...

Sorry for asking even more questions. I know the "I'm a newb, I need help" excuse goes only so far, lol...at least it's shorter this time!

Try searching for more guides. There're a lot of good advices here.(Even a very very old one.)