Growing Your Stats
There are two ways to grow your stats: raising your Proficiency, or Training/Enhancement.
Proficiency rises once the Experience you earn from defeating enemies reaches a certain amount. Training/Enhancement, on the other hand, costs Credits.
To earn Experience, you can use the Simulator, fight the champion, or take on individual battles.
Your stats themselves tend to rise faster from fighting the champion or taking individual battles, but your chances of earning a large amount of Experience at once are lower.
If you defeat the champion, a win-streak-stopper bonus is added to both your Experience and Battle Results, based on how many wins the champion had strung together.
Training costs scale with your stat values and your Proficiency.
Learning Skills
Skills fall into a few categories:
Combat skills (two tiers each)
"Melee: Increases Attack Power and Accuracy at close range."
"Rapid Fire: Increases Attack Power and Accuracy at mid range."
"Precision Fire: Increases Attack Power and Accuracy at long range."
Skills that improve your unit's terrain aptitude (three tiers each)
"Piloting (Ground): Raises stats on Ground terrain"
"Piloting (Underwater): Raises stats on Underwater terrain"
"Piloting (Space): Raises stats on Space terrain"
"Piloting (Air): Raises stats on Air terrain"
Special actions during battle
"Special Attack: Deals damage to the enemy when your Durability hits 0"
"Recovery: Restores a small amount of Durability when it hits 0"
"Taunt: Sharply lowers the enemy's Accuracy and Attack Power for that turn only"
"Focus: Sharply raises your own Accuracy and Attack Power for that turn only"
"Counter: Returns the opponent's attack right back at them"
Other
Newtype: Raises Accuracy, Evasion, and Attack Power, and lets you buy Newtype-only units (10 tiers).
Cyber-Newtype: Raises Accuracy, Evasion, and Attack Power, and lets you buy Cyber-Newtype-only units (7 tiers).
That covers the main categories.
You can only learn Skills by battling other characters.
Winning a battle raises your chances of learning a Skill.
You can sometimes learn a Skill even from a loss.
When you create a new character, you may also randomly start with a Skill other than Newtype from the very beginning.
Beyond that, you can also learn Cyber-Newtype and Newtype Skills through Training/Enhancement.
* Newtype and Cyber-Newtype
Awakening as a Newtype (which can happen at the end of a battle, among other times) comes with perks: "Newtype-only units (marked with a special icon in the unit list) become available at Anaheim," "riding a Newtype unit gives you a bonus (increased detection range)," and "Newtype-exclusive weapons get a bonus (increased power)."
Newtype strength also has tiers — 10 in total (NT+1 through NT+9, then full Newtype).
You can pay Credits at the Institute to raise your Newtype level up to NT+5. From NT+6 onward, you can only wait for it to rise naturally.
A Cyber-Newtype, meanwhile, gets the perks "you can reach MAX level (7 tiers, from Cyber-Newtype up to Ultimate Cyber-Newtype) early, as long as you have enough Credits, purely at the Institute," "Cyber-Newtype-exclusive units (marked accordingly in the unit list) become available at Anaheim," and "riding a Cyber-Newtype-exclusive unit gives you a bonus (increased detection range)."
While you're a Cyber-Newtype, you won't awaken as a Newtype through battle, and your Cyber-Newtype level won't rise through battle either. If you want to become a Newtype from Cyber-Newtype, you can pay Credits at the Institute to do so. When you do, your level resets to the starting Newtype tier — your Cyber-Newtype level does not carry over. (The same applies going the other way, from Newtype to Cyber-Newtype.)
Piloting a Unit
You can buy a unit at Anaheim once your stats meet its piloting requirements.
Even if you don't meet the requirements, you can still ride a unit if you buy it from the used market.
As a rule, units get stronger — and harder to pilot — in roughly the order shown on the piloting requirement chart.
The stats required to pilot a unit also directly affect the maximum damage it can deal.
That said, riding a strong unit slows your own growth.
(Example) Defeating a Ball with a Big Zam grows your character less than defeating a Big Zam with a Ball.
Once you've gotten reasonably strong, it's often better to switch to a weaker unit.
Choosing Weapons
There are many different weapons, but the Credits they cost don't vary all that much.
What differs is ammo type vs. EN type, attack power, and whether the weapon carries a special effect.
(Example: the Gatling Shield has a shield effect that can sometimes block an enemy attack)
Early on, any weapon good for around 10 shots or so is a fine choice.
Note that EN-type weapons fire a different number of times depending on which unit you're riding.
Equipment adds special effects to your unit.
(Example: the Bio-Sensor increases the amount of Battle Results — Credits — you earn when you win)
About Detection
Detection depends on your Intuition and your unit's Detection stat.
If the distance to your opponent is within your unit's Detection range, success is determined by (Unit Detection + Intuition) versus (Enemy Unit Mobility + Piloting).
If the distance is beyond your unit's Detection range, success is determined by (Intuition) versus (Enemy Unit Mobility + Piloting).
Failing to detect your opponent reduces the damage you deal to them, so keep this in mind.
Battle Damage
Battle damage is affected by every element — Proficiency, Skills, stats, weapons, and the unit itself. The elements that increase damage are:
Proficiency, Skills (Melee, Rapid Fire, Precision Fire, Focus, Newtype/Cyber-Newtype), stats (Piloting, Close Range, Mid Range, Long Range), weapons
while the elements that decrease damage are:
Proficiency, Skills (Taunt, Newtype/Cyber-Newtype), stats (Intuition), unit (Armor, Mobility), weapons
Of these, the ones that show up on both sides — Proficiency, Newtype/Cyber-Newtype Skills, and weapons — are especially important.
Also, if the opponent is outside your equipped weapon's range, that weapon simply won't fire, and your damage will drop drastically. The basic rule for staying on top: fight from within your own weapon's range, not from within your opponent's.
Battlefields
When you challenge the champion or fight an individual battle, there's a battlefield (Ground, Underwater, Space, or Air) involved.
(In the Simulator, you can freely choose whether to set a battlefield at all.)
Every unit has its own aptitude for each battlefield, and Accuracy and Evasion both rise on a battlefield it's good at.
You can change the battlefield by spending Fame, so it's a good idea to switch to one that favors you before fighting.
Incidentally, the battlefield will also gradually shift on its own the more you fight, even if you don't change it yourself.
* What is a "battlefield"?
There are four battlefield types — Ground, Underwater, Space, and Air — and every unit has its own aptitude for each. The aptitude value shown on your status screen for a given battlefield is added directly to your Accuracy and Evasion during the fight. For example, if a unit with Ground -150 fights a unit with Ground +150, that's a 300-point swing in the Accuracy/Evasion calculation. Fighting on terrain that suits your unit makes it much easier to beat an opponent who's stronger on paper.
Tactics
Tactics are a crucial part of battle. The right combination of Tactics can let you beat an opponent stronger than you.
Team Tactics
Target
Choose the target of your team Tactic.
Action
Choose what to do.
* Team Tactics
-- Team Tactics Details --
[Target selection]
No preference ：Doesn't target anyone in particular.
Leader ：Targets the Leader.
Attacker ：Targets the Attacker.
Defender ：Targets the Defender.
Supporter ：Targets the Supporter.
[Action selection]
Do nothing in particular：No special action.
Attack ：Attacks the target chosen above.
Defend ：Defends the target chosen above.
Support ：Supports the target chosen above.
Effective combinations are as follows:
Attack the Leader：Attacks the enemy Leader.
Defend the Leader：Protects your own Leader.
Support the Leader：Supports your own Leader.
Attack the Attacker：Attacks the enemy's attacker.
Defend the Attacker：Protects your own side's attacker.
Support the Attacker：Supports your own side's attacker.
Attack the Defender：Attacks whoever is protecting the enemy.
Defend the Defender：Further protects whoever is protecting your own side.
Support the Defender：Supports whoever is protecting your own side.
Attack the Supporter：Attacks the enemy's supporter.
Defend the Supporter：Protects your own side's supporter.
Support the Supporter：Supports your own side's supporter.
The Attacker (someone who chose "Attack") deals more damage, but has reduced Evasion.
The Defender (someone who chose "Defend") deals less damage, but has increased Evasion.
However, if the Defender is directly targeted, the Attacker's bonus takes priority instead.
Otherwise (when the Defender manages to intercept an attack meant for someone else), the Defender's bonus takes priority.
1) A Leader can also set a Team Tactic. It behaves the same as anyone else's.
2) When "No preference" is combined with "Attack":
Attacks without targeting anyone in particular. In this case, your own Attack Power and so on get a bonus, but the opponent gets no penalty.
3) When "No preference" is combined with "Defend":
Doesn't take any conspicuous action and barely participates in the fight (you could say it's protecting itself). It technically still counts as a Defender, so it can be targeted by someone using "Attack the Defender." You could call it a decoy of sorts.
4) When Leader / Attacker / Defender / Supporter is set to "No preference":
It has no effect.
5) If there's no Leader, setting a Tactic to Attack/Defend/Support the Leader has no effect either.
6) The bonus for "Defend the Defender" is set lower than "Defend the Leader" or "Defend the Attacker." (It takes more damage.)
Given all this, taking down the enemy Leader requires someone set to Attack the Leader. But if the enemy has someone set to Defend the Leader, the Leader will be well protected, and your Leader-attacker will wear themselves down — or even get taken out instead.
So you also need someone to Attack the Defender.
But if the enemy has someone set to Defend the Defender, that Defender is protected to a degree as well.
And if everyone focuses purely on offense with no Defender at all, your Leader becomes an easy target for the enemy's attacker.
The Leader's Team Tactic gives a bonus to every roll for the whole team.
If the Leader chooses "Attack," the whole team's Attack Power increases.
Anyone who chooses the exact same Team Tactic as the Leader gets an even bigger bonus to both Attack Power and Evasion.
Think of it this way: when the Leader fights at the front, morale rises for everyone, and the units directly under their command get even stronger.
Also, each Supporter assigned to support someone adds a 20% support bonus to that target.
That said, a Supporter itself is quite fragile if attacked.
And if a Supporter is defeated, the support bonus for whoever they were supporting drops by 30%.
In other words: having Supporters makes you stronger, but if all of them get wiped out, you end up weaker than if you'd never had any support at all.
Special Units
Beyond the units you can normally use, there are special units as well.
Char's Custom, Gato's Custom, and several other exclusive units are hidden throughout the game.
These exclusive units appear based on things like the order in which you switch between certain units.
Your stats, Fame, and Newtype/Cyber-Newtype status also factor into their appearance, so it's worth exploring.
Making a Unit "Yours"
You can turn any regular unit into your character's own exclusive unit.
Doing so lets you add your own custom name to the unit.
Nothing else changes besides the name, but it's a solid way to show yourself off to other players.
Customizing Units
You can customize your unit however you like.
Customization raises that unit's stats, letting you make even a normally weak unit fully competitive.
Customize a unit you love, and go grab that victory.
Unit Proficiency
Every unit gradually gets stronger the more you use it.
Think of it as the pilot growing more familiar with that specific unit. Once you've flown one for a while, you'll really notice the difference if you pick up a fresh copy of the same unit.
That said, this Unit Proficiency resets to zero if you sell the unit on the used market. It's ultimately the fruit of effort shared between that character and that unit — if a different character ends up piloting it, they'll have to build up their own familiarity from scratch.
Comments
You can set lines for your character to say during battle.
You can only set one line each for a critical hit, a win, and a loss.
Beyond that, you can set as many everyday battle lines as you can think of.
Set some distinctive lines and bring your character to life.
Traits
"Traits" exist to bring out your character's personality.
They express personality as a number, and each Trait has some effect on things like battle.
That said, none of them are dramatically better or worse than the others, and none give a one-sided advantage.
Think of them purely as a way to express personality, and pick whichever one fits your character.
Terrain
Beyond the default terrain, Desert, Atmosphere, Lunar Surface, and Forest have been added.
A unit without an aptitude for Desert loses EN every turn.
A unit without an aptitude for Atmosphere loses HP every turn.
On the Lunar Surface, close-range attack power is reduced.
In Forests, long-range attack power is reduced.
Also, beam weapons are strong in Space and weak Underwater.
How to Earn Credits
Unlike some other MST-style games, going after weak units belonging to top-ranked characters won't earn you much.
The amount of Credits you can earn goes roughly Simulator < Battle vs. Other Characters < Champion Battle.
Early on, it's also worth trying your luck against Guest characters.
Equipping a Bio-Sensor lets you earn more Credits as well.
Up through your first 1,000 battles counts as a beginner period, during which wins earn you extra Credits.
That said, if the gap in level with your opponent is too large, your Credits can actually drop instead — so pick opponents that give you a reasonable amount.