Something neat about the weapons

[CrowRising]

A neat thing about the weapons that a surprising amount of people don't seem to realize is that all of the weapons make up the playstyles of X, Zero, and Axl with the player having the ability to mix and match between all three playstyles.

X Playstyle:
Buster for both Primary and Secondary, Auto Aim Off, No Manual Aim

Zero Playstyle:
Melee Primary, Buster Secondary, Auto Aim Off, No Manual Aim

Axl Playstyle:
Any of the other weapons, Auto Aim On or Off, Manual Aim if Off

It's a cool thing that I don't really notice people talking about often, while I do see a lot of people not realizing that everything that isn't a Buster or Melee weapon represents Axl's arsenal.

If you're looking for some fun I definitely recommend trying out X, Zero, and Axl with as close to their normal playstyles as possible. Angie, Erato, and Droit in that order also seem to specialize in X, Zero, and Axl's respective playstyles, and the same goes for Alia, Layer, and Palette.

[CyclonefernoX]

Which makes it a shame that the game's systems are so heavily skewed towards using a buster/melee package. The best card combinations use either or both weapons, and of the cast that benefits from weapon usage both weapon types are over-represented. The over-representation is at least understandable, since the Megamen and Zeroes are almost inseparable from them. The card system just plain sucks, though, and more often than not i'm led into a Buster/Melee combo when trying a unique build.

[Lord Torstein]

As someone who habitually over-analyzes things, I think you're reaching here--particularly with the recommended playstyles list. Also, everything that isn't a buster or saber doesn't intrinsically fall in to Axl's purview.

The developers decided on a weapon system for the game, and in order to make sense of that endeavor, they arbitrarily decided on five broad categories. While they may have considered the common arsenals displayed by the X series trio, I doubt that was the primary deciding factor in determining weapon categories.

To toss more sand in your ointment, Alia and Pallette specialize in sprayers; neither specializes in machine guns or busters. Therefore, the distaff comparison falls apart.

Not every seemingly neat idea is a good one. In fact, most aren't.

[CrowRising]

Originally posted by CyclonefernoX:

Which makes it a shame that the game's systems are so heavily skewed towards using a buster/melee package. The best card combinations use either or both weapons, and of the cast that benefits from weapon usage both weapon types are over-represented. The over-representation is at least understandable, since the Megamen and Zeroes are almost inseparable from them. The card system just plain sucks, though, and more often than not i'm led into a Buster/Melee combo when trying a unique build.

Personally I generally find myself skewing away from Busters in favor of Rifles. While I do think that the Busters are neat, the fire rate on the rifles (Especially when paired with penetrating shots) makes for a more satisfying experience and quite a few characters have skills that act as charge shots, making for a nice replacement to the busters.

[Null_User]

I consider myself a buster/melee main in this game. There are some fast busters, and some even have speed buffs as their hidden skills. I think I was also spoiled by ult buster's terrain ignoring tracking shots and that laser. This weapon is pretty ridiculous. I then keep the melee on hand because most of the characters I use do not have a counter against those annoying sphere traps. Yet miracle blade can shoot them down at a distance.

Now, above all, the one feature I consider when picking a weapon is the ability to ignore terrain. Enemy penetration isn't bad, but terrain can become a hindrance for some weapons, as they would not be able to reach enemies unless they have a clear line of sight.

[CyclonefernoX]

Originally posted by CrowRising:

Personally I generally find myself skewing away from Busters in favor of Rifles. While I do think that the Busters are neat, the fire rate on the rifles (Especially when paired with penetrating shots) makes for a more satisfying experience and quite a few characters have skills that act as charge shots, making for a nice replacement to the busters.

I generally like machine guns more than busters, if only for their rapid fire. If it weren't for the numerous bonuses tied to busters in the game, and how varied their purposes are in-game, I may have agreed with you in a fuller capacity.

[Raven]

Originally posted by CyclonefernoX:

Which makes it a shame that the game's systems are so heavily skewed towards using a buster/melee package. The best card combinations use either or both weapons, and of the cast that benefits from weapon usage both weapon types are over-represented. The over-representation is at least understandable, since the Megamen and Zeroes are almost inseparable from them. The card system just plain sucks, though, and more often than not i'm led into a Buster/Melee combo when trying a unique build.

I don't think this is true at all, or rather, I do agree that there is a wide range of buster support, but I don't think its heavily skewed either. I find the cards a varied quite well, definitely though with thoughts of pvp still linger in the balancing. You can tell because a lot of the things you're pointing out about that "skew" towards buster and melee, are things that exist for other weapons but the color combinations aren't *quite* ideal. You can tell they really tried hard to make sure you weren't over stacking some of the damage buffs. Busters seem to get away with it because they are generally a weaker weapon.

I'm testing and playing with cards extensively and feel a couple things: if you try to go for maximum efficiency in bonuses, it tends to screw you over. (I.e. if you try to use cards that use 3 color bonuses, making sure that all 3 are "active", you'll find yourself with a weaker overall build). That said, when you're okay with letting a few bonuses be dead, you can ramp up damage even on some of the odd weapons, especially machine gun and sprayer.

The thing that I found most important though is looking at what your specific weapon *does*. you're way better off picking cards that say do extra damage on slow than looking for stacking bonus damage for using a machine gun.

If anything (I'm debating doing it myself because for whatever reason, people online never thought this was important), a spread sheet of what weapons synergize with what card effects would be extremely helpful.

[CrowRising]

Originally posted by Raven:

If anything (I'm debating doing it myself because for whatever reason, people online never thought this was important), a spread sheet of what weapons synergize with what card effects would be extremely helpful.

That does sound useful, though given the sheer number of possible combinations such a thing if it ever exists would take a very long time to document. Such a thing might be more efficiently put together as a collaborative effort in which anyone can contribute whatever useful combinations they discover that aren't already on the list.

[CyclonefernoX]

Originally posted by Raven:

I don't think this is true at all, or rather, I do agree that there is a wide range of buster support, but I don't think its heavily skewed either. I find the cards a varied quite well, definitely though with thoughts of pvp still linger in the balancing. You can tell because a lot of the things you're pointing out about that "skew" towards buster and melee, are things that exist for other weapons but the color combinations aren't *quite* ideal. You can tell they really tried hard to make sure you weren't over stacking some of the damage buffs. Busters seem to get away with it because they are generally a weaker weapon.

I'm testing and playing with cards extensively and feel a couple things: if you try to go for maximum efficiency in bonuses, it tends to screw you over. (I.e. if you try to use cards that use 3 color bonuses, making sure that all 3 are "active", you'll find yourself with a weaker overall build). That said, when you're okay with letting a few bonuses be dead, you can ramp up damage even on some of the odd weapons, especially machine gun and sprayer.

The thing that I found most important though is looking at what your specific weapon *does*. you're way better off picking cards that say do extra damage on slow than looking for stacking bonus damage for using a machine gun.

If anything (I'm debating doing it myself because for whatever reason, people online never thought this was important), a spread sheet of what weapons synergize with what card effects would be extremely helpful.

I've been playing around with card combinations as well, in fact I was in the process of making a guide before typing up my original comment. While I appreciate you have taken the time to think these things through, I stand by the card system and cast heavily skewing towards Buster/Melee.

Of the total cast of characters, 30 have some form of buster related benefit, and 31 have some form of melee related benefit. 6 of these characters have benefits tied to using both at the same time, and Harpuia and DiVE Zero benefit from using two melee weapons at the same time. By contrast, there are 20 characters total that benefit from using either machine guns, sprayers, or launchers. Almost half the cast, and nearly 75% of those that benefit from specific weapons, are oriented to either buster or melee weapons.

Also bear in mind that launchers have it especially bad, since both Tron and Vile Mk-II are encouraged to stay in their Ride Armours, especially if you use their exclusive cards and doubly so for Vile Mk-II.

The card builds for non buster/melee builds are generally weaker, largely due to a lack of synergy on par with the Dual Elite Hunter and Twin Heroes/X and Zero build. You either need to run a very specific weapon or a specific character, but buster and melee oriented loadouts can do the same with far more freedom due to how many cards they get in comparison.

Sure, non-buster/melee weapons are not unusable, but the game's systems heavily encourage players to use a buster and a sword because they have a much harder time making the most out of a build otherwise.

I do have a list of debuffs each weapon provides, though, as well as any other advantages they have. If I go through with my card guide, i'll be sure to include it.

[CrowRising]

Something that I have come to generally expect is that meta that develops in the early days of a game's release doesn't always stick around long-term. Strategies/techniques/combinations/etc. that are particularly effective do tend to get discovered immediately, but eventually once a few skilled players dare to break out of the meta for experimentation there's a general tendency for them to find something that becomes the new meta. It happens a lot in the speedrunning community.

It doesn't always happen and it could be that the best combinations and playstyles are in fact already being discovered, but for now I'd prefer to remain open minded that just because Busters seem to have a particular dominance in player builds now, that doesn't mean it will stay that way forever.