MMBN 1 - 3 Folder and charachter building guide

Hello and welcome to my guide that will cover character build aspect off the first 3 MMBN games, having grown up with these, I thought about sharing everything I know about the most crucial part of the games.
In the first game, the chips were lacking in terms of coverage and combos, starting from the 2nd game, things began to go busted, with the third game offering the most glass cannon meta out of the bunch. In this guide, I will teach you how to make your combat build on your own. There will be another guide for the next 3 games, which will be published in their respective game’s guides section.
The games are too old and their community content is scrapped all over the places in many forums. I will try to compile most of what I think is useful.
This guide will not present you information on where to find a specific item, however, I will link to some sources that you can use instead.

One last side note: This guide is aimed towards assisting you with the mid-end until post game due to the farming nature and item drops of the game.

At the end of each section there will be a table to aid you at picking a unicoded folder for the die hards. To use the table efficiently: pick a chip letter, preferably one that covers about 20 to 25 chips of your choice and go for it.

General knowledge and building theory

There are 2 major types of folder building in the series:

• A folder that focuses on 1 strategy
  
• A folder that is versatile, coming up with various tools to aid the navi

Generally speaking, you are dealing here with a deck building mechanic, and first kind of these aforementioned types counters the combinatoric complexity, because on a vanilla setup, you will pull 5 chips out of 30 in a random fashion and you can't guaranty what comes next nor can you predict your first 5 chips. A folder that aims to pull a specific strategy will allow you to play against bad luck, but still runs the risk of having your setup being countered.

On the other hand, a folder that is versatile will offer you various tools that enable flexibility, yet goes weak against the theoretical complexity for obvious reasons.


Each iteration of the games came up with innovative chips and tools to aid you in combat, the first game was clunky as it began as a proof of concept. There are high and low tiers of chips, and the playstyles are few and far in between, ranging from poison stalling to going fist-to-fist with the opponent. With that said, I will cover first some basic things that the games do not explicitly teach you right away.

The way the games reward you with the weapons that you need is linear as you keep progressing through the story. Anything post-game is PVP-heavy focused and farming all the necessary things for a good PVP setup may take some time, because not only you need the proper chips, but you also have to insure that they meet the criteria of having the proper codes.

The general rule of building a folder:

• Try to minimize the number of different chip codes in your folder, preferably a maximum of 3.

Elementals



In the first 3 games, there are 4 elements to speak of: Fire, water, thunder and grass with a weakness chain goes as follows: Fire beats grass, grass beats thunder, thunder beats water and water beats fire.
Hitting the enemy with its appropriate elemental weakness results in it taking double damage.. The weakness factor does not apply in a way that halves the damage to an attack that the element is stronger against.

Starting from the 2nd game, each element is coupled with some sub-advantages that allow them to strengthen themselves depending on some specific setups, with the introduction of elemental ground panel types.

Grass panels can heal grass type units when they step on them, however, not only they disappear after having a fire attack going through them, but they also cause whoever is on these panels to receive double damage when they also receive the attack, making the damage 4 times more deadly to a grass type unit. The same can be said for Elec attacks damaging a water unit while on an icy panel.

Water type units cannot slide on icy panels and fire units cannot suffer the consequences of stepping on a lava panel.

Grass style players usually go for an aggressive yet safe playstyle, as the grass-type chips can attack without causing the opponent to go into a flinch state, they also pack some secondary effects like confusing the enemies or filling the field with grass panels. A playstyle that favors support and damage if you must say.
A water style focused folder usually comes up with having access to fast attacks with some wide area coverage, giving you the opportunity to attack from a distance. Just like the water style, fire style offers more hitbox yet trades speed for high damage.
Lastly, Elec style combat focuses more on dealing less damage and locking the opponent in place, their chips usually do not cover much space and require good timing and positioning.

The following table should sum up everything I said. Use the following information to your advantage to aid your style's adaptation, there are some other panel types but I don't think that they influence your folder builds, though it's good to know about their existance.

Panel	Appears in	Effect on the unit that steps on it
	Battle network 2 and 3	- Offers slow healing to grass units - Fire attacks eliminate grass panels and units stepping on them receive x2 damage upon the hit
	Battle network 2 and 3	- BN3 only: All non-water units slip and slide till the next non-ice panel - Units standing on it receive 2x damage upon getting an electric attack
	Battle network 2 and 3	- Any non-fire unit that attempts to land on these panels will take 50 hp of damage - The panel can either be evaporate using water attacks or disappear by placing a summoning chip on it
	Battle network 3 only	Elec damage done to units standing on this panel type will be doubled.

Style change

Starting from the second game, Megaman gains the ability to change its core element and armor.
Aiming to obtain one can be tedious, as there are no ways to officially be able to tell your progression. I will cover them more in their respective games' section.

Custom parts


Starting from the third game came one of my favourite mechanics up to this very date. Fun fact: The way this mechanic works was patented by capcom and no other game uses it as far as I know.
The bigger question here is: how much does cust program setup change in your gameplay?
I would say a whole lot. BN3 however might be the last game where you can go nuts with the navicust parts, because it has the mod tools, and as far as I know people abuse for their builds.


The general gimmick of these NCPs revolves around their size: Bigger size means more utility, though not all NCPs are worth it. With that Said, I have put in a table the navicust programs that you should avoid, again, though if you want to build your own set, go for it, I encourage you to be more creative with both the navicust and the folder builds.

Usually you’d want to have some tankiness to work with, I personally like to run parts that allow me to chain more chip combos andusually ditch the buster support parts, though I have seen people go for some of these, mainly the ones increasing the buster damage.

More into that will be shown in the BN3 section.

Battle network 1 - Main information and chips

In this game, there is not much to discuss here in terms of building your character. The game started as a proof of concept, limiting you to modifying your armor and folder only.

Do not follow this advice, though it will come in handy in the later games:



The first game had an exclusive mechanic that was altered then completely removed from the rest of the franchise: upsizing the amount of chips that you can choose from in a given turn after choosing the "Add" function in the custom screen up to 3 times. The effect of this buff ends upon choosing any given chip.

Now let's discuss the folder proprities in this section. In the first game, your folder restricts you to owning no more than 10 of the same chip (independent of its code). A second restriction goes for the navi chips, including the event exclusive Bass chip, as you can only have 5 of these within the folder.
Because of this, PVP folders tend to have 10 copies of the best chips in the game, though generally speaking, the same aforementioned recommended rule apply, especially in this game, savor the 10 chip-copies rule while you can!


Side note:
Sometimes it's good to trade damage for consistency, in this example we will take a look at LockOn 2 and 3. Notice how LockOn 2 has more chip code compatibility with some of the great chips in comparison to its superior version (damage wise), remember! consistent code wins over damage!

Chip	Code	Compatible with
	BEGHM	AquaAura, AquaTowr, BBlWrap1, BBlWrap2, BBlWrap3, BstrGard, Bstrbomb, Bstrsword, BigBomb, Bodyburn, Bombman, Cannon, Candle2, Candle3, Cloud, CrosBomb, Cyclone, Drain1, Drain3, Dropdown, Dynamyt1, Dynamyt3, Elecman, Elecsword, Escape, Fireswrd, Fireaura, Firetowr, Ftrsword, Gaia3, Geddon1, Geddon2, Gutsman, Gutspnch, Heater, Herosword, HiCannon, Howitzer, Huricane, Invis3, Ironshld, KngtSwrd, Lifeaura, LilBomb, Longsword, Mine1, Mine2, Mine3, Minibomb, Murasama, Popup, Protoman, Quake1, Quake2, Quake3, Ratton1, Ratton2, Redwave, Remobit2, Remobit3, Repair, Ringzap1, Ringzap2, Ringzap3, Rockcube, Snakeegg1, Snakeegg2, Slogauge, Spreader, Steal, Sword, Thunder1, Thunder2, Thunder3, Timebom1, Timebom3, Trispear, TriArrow, Typhoon, Woodtowr, X-Panel1, X-Panel3.
	ADKNO	Anubis, AquaAura, AquaSwrd, AquaTowr, Barrier, BigWave, BblWrap2, BblWrap3, BstrBomb, BstrGard, Bubbler, Cannon, Candle3, Cloudest, Cloudier, Crosbomb, Dash, Drain1, Drain2, Drain3, Dropdown, Dynamyt2, Dynamyt3, ElecSwrd, Escape, FastGauge, Gaia1, Gaia2, Geddon1, Geddon2, GutsPnch, Hammer, HeroSwrd, Howitzer, Huricane, IceCube, IcePunch, Invis1, Invis2, Invis3, IronBody, Ironshld, Leafshld, LifeAura, LilBomb, Lockon1, LongSwrd, Longswrd, M-Cannon, Metguard, Mine3, Numberman, Popup, Quake1, Quake3, Ratton1, Ratton3, Remobit1, Remobit2, Remobit3, Repair, Ringzap3, Shotgun, ShokWave, Snakeegg3, Slogauge, SoniWave, Spreader, Steal, Thunder1, Thunder3, Timebom3, Trilance, TriArrow, Typhoon, Wave, WideSwrd, X-panel 1, X-panel 3 .

There is another mechanic that I have not spoken about it: Program advance. First I thought it was cool after watching the anime, but then I was disappointed by the fact that the combos aren't something you want to rely on in the first game for 2 reasons:

• The program advances are not that good in the first game.
  
• most program advances use some awful chip combinations, so much so that building a raw folder feels much better.

Now, here is the question: what chips to choose ?
Other than the general rule, we've got some caveats to abuse in this game:

- Cut-in wasn't invented yet: Cut-in is a mechanic that wasn't invented until the 4th game, it allows to delay an opponent's screen dimming chip.
- You can use the same navi chips as long as their total does not exceed 5! Abuse the unbalanced shadoman v3!
- Have at least some form of recovery and defense: The folder contains 30 chips, that is a minimum of 6 turns if you manage to pick up all the chips in each turn and eventually you might need something to back yourself up, I would say 5 defensive chips should do it.

-Equip one of the given armors you receive: Prior to a PVP fight, an armor might be super important as it cuts in half the damage that you receive despite the 1 weakness that you have. So unless your opponent knows exactly which armor you have, you might want to enjoy some good defenses, it's like having your HP doubled.

I will now sort list here every chip that is compatible with each code so that you can easily choose your code yourself.

Chip's code	Chips compatible with the code
A	AquaSwrd, AquaTowr, BblWrap3, BstrGard, Bubbler, Candle3, Cannon, Cloudier, Drain1, Drain2, Drain3, Dropdown, Dynamyt2, FstGauge, Geddon2, Hammer, Howitzer, IceCube, Invis2, IronShld, LifeAura, Lockon3, MetGuard, Mine3, Quake1, Ratton1, Recov10, Recov120, Recov150, Recov200, Recov30, Recov300, Recov50, Recov80, Remobit1, Repair, RingZap3, Snakegg3, Steal, Thunder1, TimeBom3, TriArrow, Typhoon, Wave
B	BblWrap3, BigBomb, BombMan, BombMan2, BombMan3, BstrSwrd, Candle2, Cannon, Cloud, CrosBomb, Dash, Drain1, Dropdown, Dynamyt1, FireAura, FireSwrd, FtrSword, Geddon2, GutsPnch, HeroSwrd, IcePunch, Invis3, IronShld, KngtSwrd, LilBomb, Lockon2, Mine3, ProtoMan, ProtoMn2, ProtoMn3, Quake2, Ratton1, RedWave, Remobit2, RingZap3, RockCube, Snakegg1, Sword, Thunder2, TimeBom3, TriArrow, Typhoon, WoodTowr, X-Panel1, X-Panel3
C	Anubis, AquaTowr, BblWrap1, BigWave, BstrPnch, Candle1, Cannon, Cloudest, ColorMan, ColorMn2, ColorMn3, CrossGun, Drain2, Dynamyt2, DynaWave, FstGauge, Gaia1, Gaia2, Gaia3, Heater, Howitzer, IceCube, Invis2, IronBody, KngtSwrd, LeafShld, Lockon1, MetGuard, Mine2, MiniBomb, Muramasa, Popup, Quake2, Quake3, Ratton1, Recov10, Recov120, Recov150, Recov200, Recov30, Recov300, Recov50, Recov80, Remobit1, RingZap2, ShokWave, Snakegg2, Snakegg3, SoniWave, Thunder2, TimeBom2, TriArrow, WideSwrd, WoodAura, WoodTowr
D	AquaAura, Barrier, BblWrap2, BstrBomb, Candle3, Cannon, Cloudier, CrosBomb, Dash, Drain1, Gaia1, HeroSwrd, Invis3, IronBody, LeafShld, LilBomb, Lockon1, Lockon3, LongSwrd, Popup, Quake3, Ratton1, Remobit2, SoniWave, Thunder3, TriArrow, Typhoon, Wave, X-Panel1, X-Panel3
E	AquaAura, BblWrap1, BodyBurn, BstrSwrd, Candle2, Cannon, CrossGun, Cyclone, Drain3, DynaWave, ElecMan, ElecMan2, ElecMan3, ElecSwrd, FireTowr, FstGauge, Geddon2, KngtSwrd, Lockon2, LongSwrd, MetGuard, Mine2, MiniBomb, Muramasa, Quake1, Ratton1, Recov10, Recov120, Recov150, Recov200, Recov30, Recov300, Recov50, Recov80, RedWave, Remobit2, RingZap2, RockCube, Snakegg1, Snakegg2, Steal, Thunder1, TimeBom1, TriArrow, Typhoon

Battle network 1 - Chips part 2 and some tips

Below is the next part of the chips table I presented in the first part at the end.

Chip's code	Chips compatible with the code
F	Barrier, Bass, BblWrap2, BodyBurn, BstrPnch, Candle1, Cloudest, CrossGun, Cyclone, Drain3, Escape, FireMan, FireMan2, FireMan3, FireSwrd, FireTowr, Gaia2, Geddon1, Hammer, Heater, HeroSwrd, HiCannon, Interupt, Invis2, LeafShld, Ratton2, Remobit1, Snakegg3, Thunder2, Thunder3, TimeBom2, TriSpear, WoodAura
G	AquaTowr, BblWrap1, BigBomb, BstrGard, Candle2, Cloud, Cyclone, Dash, Dynamyt1, Dynamyt3, ElecSwrd, FireAura, FireSwrd, Gaia3, GutsMan, GutsMan2, GutsMan3, Heater, HiCannon, Howitzer, Huricane, KngtSwrd, LilBomb, Lockon2, MetGuard, Mine1, Mine2, Muramasa, Ratton2, Recov10, Recov120, Recov150, Recov200, Recov30, Recov300, Recov50, Recov80, Remobit3, Repair, RingZap1, RingZap2, RockCube, Snakegg1, Thunder1, Thunder3, TimeBom1, TimeBom3, TriSpear, Typhoon, X-Panel1, X-Panel3
H	AquaTowr, BblWrap2, BigWave, BstrBomb, Candle3, Cloud, CrosBomb, Cyclone, Drain2, Escape, Geddon1, GutsPnch, HiCannon, Howitzer, IcePunch, Interupt, Invis3, KngtSwrd, LifeAura, Lockon1, Lockon2, Mine1, Popup, Quake1, Quake3, Ratton2, Remobit2, Repair, RingZap1, SloGauge, Snakegg2, Spreader, Thunder1, TriSpear, WoodTowr
I	BblWrap1, BstrPnch, Candle1, Cloudier, Cyclone, FireAura, Geddon2, Hammer, HeroSwrd, HiCannon, Huricane, IceCube, IceMan, IceMan2, IceMan3, Invis1, Lockon1, Quake2, Ratton2, Remobit2, Spreader, Thunder2, TriSpear, Wave
J	BstrBomb, Candle2, Cloudest, CrosBomb, CrossGun, Escape, Geddon1, HeroSwrd, HiCannon, Huricane, Interupt, Invis1, Invis2, Mine2, MiniBomb, Muramasa, Ratton2, RedWave, Remobit3, RingZap2, SoniWave, Spreader, TimeBom1, TimeBom2, TriSpear, WoodAura
K	BblWrap2, BigWave, BodyBurn, BstrGard, Bubbler, Candle3, Cloudest, CrossGun, Drain1, Dynamyt2, Dynamyt3, FtrSword, Gaia2, Geddon2, Heater, Huricane, Invis3, LeafShld, LifeAura, Lockon3, M-Cannon, Muramasa, Popup, Quake1, Quake2, Ratton3, Remobit3, Repair, ShokWave, Shotgun, SloGauge, Spreader, Sword, Thunder3, TriLance, WideSwrd, WoodTowr
L	Anubis, AquaAura, BblWrap3, BigWave, BstrSwrd, Bubbler, Candle2, CrosBomb, Dash, Drain3, ElecSwrd, Escape, FireTowr, FstGauge, FtrSword, Gaia1, Geddon1, Huricane, IceCube, Interupt, Invis1, IronBody, Lockon1, M-Cannon, MetGuard, Mine2, MiniBomb, Ratton3, Recov10, Recov120, Recov150, Recov200, Recov30, Recov300, Recov50, Recov80, RingZap2, ShokWave, Snakegg3, Spreader, Steal, Sword, Thunder2, TimeBom1, TimeBom2, TriLance, Wave, X-Panel1, X-Panel3
M	AquaSwrd, Barrier, BblWrap1, BodyBurn, BstrPnch, Candle3, Cloudier, Dynamyt2, Dynamyt3, DynaWave, FireTowr, Gaia3, GutsPnch, Hammer, IceCube, IcePunch, Invis2, LifeAura, Lockon2, M-Cannon, MagicMan, MagicMn2, MagicMn3, Mine1, Quake3, Ratton3, RingZap1, RockCube, Shotgun, Snakegg1, SoniWave, TriLance, Wave, WideSwrd
N	Anubis, AquaSwrd, BblWrap2, BodyBurn, BstrGard, Drain2, Dynamyt2, Escape, FireAura, FireSwrd, FstGauge, Geddon1, GutsPnch, IcePunch, Interupt, Invis3, Lockon3, LongSwrd, M-Cannon, Mine1, NumbrMan, NumbrMn2, NumbrMn3, Popup, Ratton3, RedWave, Remobit1, RingZap1, ShokWave, Shotgun, SloGauge, Snakegg1, Snakegg2, Thunder3, TriLance, WideSwrd, WoodTowr
O	AquaSwrd, BigBomb, BstrBomb, Cloud, Cloudest, Dash, Drain1, Dropdown, Dynamyt1, Dynamyt3, ElecSwrd, Gaia1, Heater, Howitzer, Invis1, IronShld, LilBomb, Lockon3, LongSwrd, M-Cannon, Mine3, Ratton3, Remobit1, RingZap3, RockCube, SloGauge, TimeBom3, TriLance, WoodAura
P	AquaSwrd, BstrSwrd, Bubbler, Candle1, Cloudier, Dynamyt3, FireSwrd, FtrSword, Gaia2, LifeAura, Mine1, MiniBomb, PharoMan, PharoMn2, PharoMn3, RedWave, Remobit3, RingZap1, ShokWave, Snakegg2, Steal, Sword, TimeBom3
Q	Anubis, BblWrap3, BigWave, BstrPnch, Drain3, Dynamyt1, Hammer, Invis1, IronBody, LeafShld, Quake1, Quake2, Quake3, Remobit3, Shotgun, SloGauge, TimeBom1, WoodAura
R	AquaAura, AquaTowr, Barrier, BblWrap3, BstrGard, Cloud, Dropdown, DynaWave, Gaia3, IronBody, IronShld, Mine3, RingZap3, Roll, Roll2, Roll3, Shotgun
S	AquaAura, Barrier, BigBomb, BstrSwrd, Bubbler, Candle1, Dynamyt1, DynaWave, ElecSwrd, FtrSword, Gaia2, LongSwrd, Repair, ShadoMan, ShadoMn2, ShadoMn3, SharkMan, SharkMn2, SharkMn3, SkullMan, SkullMn2, SkullMn3, Snakegg3, SoniWave, Steal, StoneMan, StoneMn2, StoneMn3, Sword, Thunder1, TimeBom2, WideSwrd, X-Panel1, X-Panel3
T	Anubis, BigBomb, BstrBomb, Drain2, Dropdown, FireAura, FireTowr, Gaia1, Gaia3, GutsPnch, IcePunch, IronShld, LilBomb, Mine3, RingZap3
W	WoodMan, WoodMan2, WoodMan3

Woodman is a great chip but its code has a weak array of chips.. You get the idea! pick a code that has your favourite chips.

Because the limit on how many chips you may be able to pick is nuts in this game, it is safe to say that you will probably be able to pull your strategies off by the third turn at most. I am not too versed when it comes to these in this game, but if you care, I will link to one big guide and I will put my own words to it in the next section.

Please comment what your favourite codes are. I recommend: B, C, E, G, K, L, M, N, as their chips contain some good coverage in both offense and defense, especially the G folder due to how broken it is, as you can build it super early in the game and gives you access to some great chips and combos, mainly Gutsshoot, which is viable for the entire game and may carry you.


In terms of PVP however, I see lots of Anubis spammers, one can argue that the A code is superior, but hey! If you think something works for you, if you like it and comfy with it, then go for it then! These are just suggestions in the end. Of course you wouldn't be accepting to have the escape chip in your folder for instance.

MMBN1 Folder strategies and combos

I did find many MMBN1 guides where most of them share similar strategies, one of which that compiles these into a Giant compendium [gamefaqs.gamespot.com]. Credits go to GeoffMendicino.
Use their folders for inspiration.

I am going to try to list the ones from this guide and sum up my thoughts in their regards:

Strategy's name	Chips	Strategy's name	Chips
ArmyAreaLock	Recov300 - 9X Geddon2 - 6X TimeBomb3 - 7X Lockon3 - 7X LifeAura - 1X	MuraMasa MAX	Muramasa - 10X Geddon2 - 7X Steal - 8X Recov300 - 5X
Rockman! Literally	BstrPnch - 8X IceCube - 10X RockCube - 6X Candle3 - 5X LifeAura - 1X	Zero's Resurrection	ProtoMn3 - 5X Invis3 - 4X FghtSwrd - 6X KngtSwrd - 7X HeroSwrd - 7X LifeAura A - 1X
Wild Whirlwinds	Typhoon - 5X Huricane - 5X Cyclone - 5X Repair - 5X Recov300 - 5X HeroSwrd - 5X	Stones N Stomps	Gaia1 - 5X Gaia2 - 5X Gaia3 - 5X Quake3 - 5X IronBody - 5X Recov300 - 5X
Gutsman's Gater	Gutsman3 - 5X Dash - 5X MetGuard - 5X Recov300 - 5X Remobit3 - 5X Lockon2 - 5X	Rainbow Crusher	KngtSwrd - 10X Colormn3 - 5X Popup - 5X Dynawave - 5X Recov300 - 5X
Vampire Kiss	Drain1 - 7X 350 Drain2 - 7X 490 Drain3 - 8X 720 Wave - 7X 560 LifeAura - 1X	Mike Tyson's Revenge	GutsPnch - 10X IcePnch - 10X Dash - 10X
PerfectAura	Recov300 - 10X Steal - 10X LifeAura - 10X	Zero's Shrine	FstGauge - 2X Steal - 5X Recov300 - 5X Anubis - 8X FghtSwrd - 10X

• ArmyAreaLock: This is a stalling folder, it goes as follows: Use a time bomb, immediately use Geddon2 and then once the bomb activates use Lockon and let it shred. This strategy is countered by having Life- or Wood aura, though the latter can decipate after a fully upgraded charged mega buster. I like how the strat is light on the positioning requirements.
  
  
• Vampire Kiss: This folder tries to execute the program advance Blood Suck, which combines all 3 Drain chips + Wave. It hits all rows so nothing is safe from it. This is a hard combo because you need to specifically draw 4 out of 5 chips to run it, and the chips themselves require a clean row with no holes.
  
  
• Zero's Resurrection I like this one, as it does not aim only for the P.A. but the chips themselves have a great range and damage, especially in PVE.
  
  
• Stones N Stomps: Great combo honestly that offers a balance of offense and defense and offers a great PA option, gets countered by geddon2.
  
  
• MuraMasa MAX: The Murasama chip is more of a comeback chip that isn't worth the hassle considering its short range, which is why the steal chips are included. Sure you might go places in PVE, but in a PVP environment however, I don't think its viable as a strategy, because you can't predict what the opponent can do.
  
  
• Gutsman's Gater: Great! The focus here is to build the Gutsshoot PA. This Folder can be built in the early-mid game phases and is known to be OP in PVE.
  
  
• Wild Whirlwinds: Don't! The range does not speak for itself and building the P.A. is not worth it despite the low requirement.
  
  
• Zero's Shrine: Stalling with Anubis is still the meta.
  
  
• Rockman! Literally: Big no! it has a slow execution and can be easily countered.
  
• PerfectAura: Need I say more ? this folder has no offense to offer and only does emphasis on time stalling, this is not Pokemon PVP.
  
• Mike Tyson's Revenge: this is more of a meme build in my opinion, punches in these series aren't something that people run due to their bad range in both PVE and PVP.
  
• Rainbow Crusher: Honestly I like the creativity aspect behind it, the towers and the dynawaves can be shutdown by Geddon2 but in a PVE scope, I think it's viable and offers some good balance with its chips choice.

Feel free to create your own folders and get inspired, as long as it offers you all the fun that you need. One comment on this guide by Syltphademus caught my attention and has a great selection with a focus on the G code, feel free to style out with it:

• 5 Gutsman/2/3 G (Preferably 3 for options/utility)
  
• 10 Heater G (Extremely quick attack that hits the surrounding squares as well, also good for finishing off viruses that live through a Gutsman)
  
• 7 MetGuard G
  
• 8 Dash G

Battle network 2 - Changes from the first game

Capcom had to balance many chips and tools after the first game, so what's new ?

Style change, new chips, no more elemental armors, no more free HP recovery after each fight...etc..

The major changes to the folder building are as follows:

• Your folder can only contain 5 copies of the same chip
  
• A new propriety has been added to the folder pack, you can now select a specific chip to appear always at the start of a battle, provided Mega man has enough memory for it, something that you can slowly upgrade throughout the game.
  
• A new asterisk code was added to the series, these codes are compatible with all the chips unless you are attempting to build a program advance combo using a different chip.
  
• Speaking of program advance, new combos were created, but almost half of these are not worth it.

Side note: Picking a style does not influence your folder build much, I will address more on these after this table.

Style	Name	Abilities
	Custom style	Gains the ability to start with 7 chip slots in the cust screen
	Guts style	You gain super armor and double the attack power but your rapid fire gets locked to 1
	Shield style	A barrier gets installed the moment you start the battle, and by pressing backwards + The buster shot, you invoke a shield that protects you
	Team style	This style allows you to equip up to 8 navi chips
	Hub style	Starts the fight with 10 chips on the cust screen and has the ability of all other styles but his HP gets halved

The game allows you to contain 2 styles at most that you can swap freely, these styles (Except Hub Style) can be traded with other players or farmed.

Having done lots of PVP in BN2, I think I would neglate Guts-, Shield and Hub style as a reliable PVP option.
PVP in this game is infested with deadly dimming chips. Since Time freeze counters (More on that later) weren't invented yet, together with this collection's bad netcode implementation, it's all a matter of who ends up spamming the A button, so much that they can unleash a chip before the opponent.

Hub Style comes with some great benefits for sure, but the trade-off isn't worth it, as you would easily die to almost any combo. Tankiness is key! and Hub style's squishiness makes it a hard choice despite the strong rewards.

Guts style on the other hand only allows you to have the benefit of a powerful buster. Shield is more defense oriented; the good chips in this game do not provide you with a proper reaction window that allows you to think about summoning the shield, other than that the shield mechanic itself has bad startup and active frames in my opinion, leaving you in place and open for the next attack much easily.

With 2 styles left, I think custom and team are both equally powerful depending on what you might want to run. Team style allows you to stock more mega chips, a folder full of Bass chips would greatly benefit from this for sure. Custom style let's you have more chips in the custom screen, need I say more, more chips mean more combo building odds ?



Now let's get to the chips, shall we ?

Battle network 2 - The chips

Just like with BN1, I will now sort the chips and organize each code with its respective compatible chips set, I will start with the asterisk code. Most of what you will see in its row is unavailable without cheating, I will have to clean this guide and put only the officially obtainable chips in it without cheating.

Chip's code	Chips that are compatible with the code
*	AirMan, AirManV2, AirManV3, Aqua+40, AquaBlde, AquaGspl, AreaGrab, Atk+10, Atk+20, Atk+30, Barrier, BgRedWav, BigBomb, BlkBomb, CannBall, Cannon, CrossGun, CutMan, CutManV2, CutManV3, DashAtk, Elec+40, ElecBlde, ElecGspl, ElecSwrd, Fan, Fire+40, FireBlde, FireGspl, FreezBom, FreezeMn, FstGauge, FtrSword, FullCust, GaiaSwrd, GateMan, GateSP, GrassLne, Guard, GutsMan, HeatMan, HeroSwrd, HiCannon, Invis1, Invis2, Invis3, KnghtMn, KngtSwrd, KnightMn, LilBomb, MagBomb1, MagBomb2, MagnetMn, Mine, MiniBomb, Navi+20, Navi+40, PanlGrab, PanlOut1, PanlOut3, Poltrgst, ProtoMan, QuickMan, QuickMnV2, QuickMnV3, Ratton1, Ratton2, Ratton3, Recov10, Recov30, Recov50, Recov80, Repair, RockCube, Roll, RollV2, ShadoMan, Shotgun, SloGauge, SnakeMan, Snctuary, Sparker, Spreader, ThunMan, ToadMan, TreeBom1, WideSwrd, Wind, Wood+40, WoodGspl, ZapRing1
A	AirMan, AirManV2, AirManV3, AirShoes, AntiWatr, AquaAura, AquaBall, AquaBlde, AquaSwrd, Burner, Candle2, Cannon, CrsShld1, CrsShld2, CrsShld3, DoubNdl, DropDown, Fan, FreezBom, FtrSword, Geyser, GrabRvng, IceStage, Invis1, LavaLine, LeafShld, LongSwrd, MagLine, Meteor12, PanlOut1, Quake1, Recov10, Remobit3, Repair, Slasher, Snctuary, Spice1, Sword, V-Gun, Whirlpl, WideSwrd, Yo-Yo2, ZapRing1
B	AntiRecv, AquaBall, Barrier, Blckhole, BlkBomb, BrnzFist, Bubbler, Burner, Candle3, Cannon, ColdPnch, CustSwrd, DashAtk, FireAura, FireRat, Geyser, GrassLne, GrassStg, GutPunch, HeatShot, IceLine, Invis2, LifeAur1, MagBomb2, Meteor18, Meteors, MiniBomb, PanlGrab, PanlOut1, Prism, ProtoMan, ProtoMnV2, ProtoMnV3, Quake2, Recov30, Remobit2, RockCube, Shadow1, Shotgun, Spice2, TreeBom1, VarSwrd, ZapRing2
C	AntiDmg, Bub-V, Candle1, Cannon, CutMan, CutManV2, CutManV3, DoubNdl, DropDown, Geddon1, Heat-V, HeatBall, HiCannon, HolyPanl, IceStage, Invis3, Kunai3, LilCloud, Meteor12, Meteor9, OldWood, PanlOut3, Prism, QuadNdl, Quake3, Recov10, Recov50, Repair, Shadow3, Snctuary, Sparker, Spice1, StoneBod, TimeBom1, TreeBom2, TripNdl, Whirlpl, WideSwrd, WoodAura, Yo-Yo1, ZapRing3
D	AntiRecv, AntiSwrd, AntiWatr, Blckhole, Bub-V, Cannon, ColdPnch, CrosBomb, DashAtk, ElecAura, GaiaSwrd, Geyser, GoldFist, GrassStg, GutPunch, Heat-V, HiCannon, Kunai2, LavaStge, LeafShld, LifeAur2, MagBomb2, MedCloud, Meteor15, Mindbndr, PanlOut1, PoisMask, PopUp, Recov30, Recov80, RockCube, Shadow2, Slasher, Spice3, StepSwrd, TreeBom2, Yo-Yo3
E	AntiElec, AquaAura, AreaGrab, Barrier, BubSprd, Candle3, Cannon, DblSnsr, ElecBall, ElecBlde, ElecSwrd, Geddon3, GodStone, HeatSprd, HeroSwrd, HiCannon, HolyPanl, IceLine, IceStage, Jealosy, Kunai1, LifeAur3, M-Cannon, MagLine, Meteor9, MiniBomb, PanlOut3, Poltrgst, Quake3, Recov10, Recov50, Remobit1, Repair, Shadow2, SilvFist, Snctuary, Sonicwav, Sparker, Spice2, StoneBod, TimeBom3, Tornado, Trident, Whirlpl, Yo-Yo1, ZapRing3
F	AntiFire, AquaBlde, Bass, BassV2, BgRedWav, Blckhole, BlkBomb, BubSprd, Burner, Candle1, Catcher, DoubNdl, DropDown, ElecBlde, Escape, FireAura, FireBlde, FireRat, FireSwrd, FreezeMn, FrzManV2, FrzManV3, GrassLne, HeatBall, HeatSprd, HiCannon, Invis1, KngtSwrd, Kunai2, LavaDrag, LavaLine, LifeAur2, LilBomb, LineOut, M-Cannon, MagBomb1, Meteor12, Recov30, Recov80, Remobit2, Shadow3, Shotgun, TimeBom2, V-Gun
H	BlkBomb, Bubbler, Candle2, CustSwrd, DashAtk, Dynawave, Fan, FireRat, GateMan, GateManV2, GateManV3, GateSP, GoldFist, GutsMan, GutsManV2, GutsManV3, HeatShot, HiCannon, Invis3, Kunai3, LavaDrag, LifeAur1, LilCloud, M-Cannon, MagBomb1, Meteor15, Meteor18, MiniBomb, Quake2, Recov10, Recov50, Remobit1, RockCube, Satelit1, Shadow1, Sparker, Spice1, TimeBom1, TimeBom2, TimeBom3, TreeBom1, V-Gun, Whirlpl, Wind, WoodAura, Yo-Yo2, ZapRing2
H	AntiElec, AntiSwrd, Anubis, AquaSwrd, BgRedWav, Blckhole, Bubbler, Candle3, CrossGun, ElecAura, ElecBall, ElecSwrd, Escape, FireBlde, FireRat, FireSwrd, FrntSnsr, GrassStg, GutPunch, HeatMan, HeatManV2, HeatManV3, HeatShot, HolyPanl, Invis2, Kunai3, LavaStge, LifeAur3, LineOut, M-Cannon, MagBomb3, MedCloud, Meteor15, Meteors, PanlGrab, QuadNdl, Ratton1, Recov30, Recov80, Satelit2, Shadow1, Shockwav, Shotgun, Slasher, Spice2, StepSwrd, TreeBom1, UnderSht
I	AntiSwrd, AquaAura, BblWrap, BubSprd, Candle1, Catcher, DoubNdl, FreezBom, FtrSword, GodStone, GrassLne, HeatSprd, IceStage, Kunai1, LifeAur1, LilCloud, LongSwrd, M-Cannon, MagBomb2, MagLine, Meteor18, Mindbndr, PopUp, QuadNdl, Ratton1, Recov50, Remobit2, SilvFist, Sonicwav, Trident, TripNdl, Whirlpl, Yo-Yo3
J	AirShoes, AntiDmg, AquaBlde, BblWrap, Blckhole, Bub-V, Candle2, Catcher, CrosBomb, CrossGun, DashAtk, DblSnsr, DoubNdl, ElecBall, Escape, FireAura, FreezBom, Geddon2, Geddon3, Heat-V, IceLine, Jealosy, KngtSwrd, Kunai2, LavaLine, LifeAur2, LilBomb, LineOut, MagBomb1, MedCloud, Meteor12, PopUp, Ratton1, Ratton2, Recov80, Remobit1, Satelit2, Shadow2, Shockwav, Shotgun, Spice2, Tornado, TreeBom2, UnderSht, Wind, Yo-Yo2, ZeusHamr
K	AntiFire, AntiNavi, Anubis, BubCross, CustSwrd, ElecBall, Geddon1, GutPunch, HeatCros, Invis3, KnghtMnV2, KnghtMnV3, KngtSwrd, KnightMn, Kunai3, LifeAur3, LilCloud, MagBomb3, Meteor18, PanlGrab, Ratton1, Ratton2, Remobit1, Satelit2, Shadow3, Sparker, Spice3, Sword, TimeBom1, TimeBom2, TimeBom3, TreeBom3, Trident, WoodAura, Yo-Yo2, ZeusHamr
L	AntiFire, AntiNavi, AreaGrab, Barrier, BubSprd, Burner, Candle2, ColdPnch, DashAtk, ElecAura, Escape, Fan, FtrSword, GaiaSwrd, Geddon1, Geyser, GodStone, GoldFist, GrabRvng, HeatSprd, HolyPanl, Invis1, Kunai

Battle network 2 - The chips part 2

Now unto the rest of the codes:

Chips' code	Age
M	AntiDmg, AntiRecv, AntiSwrd, Anubis, AquaAura, BubSprd, Candle1, CrossGun, ElecBlde, FrntSnsr, Geddon2, HeatSprd, Invis2, KngtSwrd, LavaLine, LavaStge, LifeAur3, MagBomb1, MagLine, MagnetMn, MagntMnV2, MagntMnV3, Mindbndr, OldWood, Quake1, Ratton2, Ratton3, Recov200, Recov30, Remobit3, RockCube, Shadow2, Sonicwav, Spice3, Spreader, StepSwrd, TimeBom1, Tornado, TripNdl, Yo-Yo3, ZapRing1
N	AntiElec, AquaSwrd, BrnzFist, Bub-V, Candle3, Catcher, Dynawave, ElecBlde, ElecSwrd, Escape, Fan, FireAura, FireSwrd, GaiaSwrd, Geddon3, GrassLne, GutPunch, Heat-V, HeroSwrd, IceLine, Kunai3, LifeAur2, LilCloud, MagBomb1, Mindbndr, Mine, Muramasa, NapalmMn, NaplmMnV2, NaplmMnV3, PanlOut3, Prism, Quake2, Ratton2, Ratton3, Recov150, Recov200, Recov50, Remobit1, Shadow3, Shotgun, Spice2, Spreader, TreeBom2, Twister, UnderSht, VarSwrd, Yo-Yo2, ZapRing2
O	AirShoes, AntiNavi, BigBomb, BrnzFist, BubCross, CannBall, CrosBomb, CrsShld1, CrsShld2, CrsShld3, GoldFist, Guardian, HeatCros, HeroSwrd, Jealosy, Lance, LavaDrag, LifeAur1, LilBomb, LongSwrd, MagBomb3, MedCloud, Meteor18, Meteors, MiniBomb, Muramasa, Quake3, Ratton3, Recov120, Recov300, Recov80, Satelit1, Spreader, TimeBom2, TreeBom3, Trident, Twister, Wind, WoodAura, Wrecker, ZapRing3, ZeusHamr
P	AntiFire, AntiRecv, BgRedWav, BlkBomb, Blower, Bubbler, BubCross, CannBall, ColdPnch, CrsShld1, CrsShld2, CrsShld3, DblSnsr, ElecAura, FireBlde, Geddon3, GrabRvng, GrassStg, Guardian, HeatCros, HeatShot, Invis3, Kunai1, Lance, PanlGrab, PharoMan, PharoMnV2, PharoMnV3, PlanetMn, PlnetMnV2, PlnetMnV3, PoisFace, Poltrgst, QuadNdl, Quake1, Ratton3, Recov150, Repair, Satelit2, Spice3, Spreader, TimeBom3, TreeBom1, TreeBom3, V-Gun, ZapRing1
Q	AntiWatr, AquaAura, AquaBall, BblWrap, BigBomb, BigCloud, CannBall, CrosBomb, CrossGun, CustSwrd, DropDown, Dynawave, FreezBom, FrntSnsr, Geddon1, GodStone, IceLine, Invis2, KngtSwrd, Kunai2, LifeAur1, LilBomb, LineOut, MagBomb3, MagLine, PoisFace, Prism, Quake1, Quake2, Quake3, QuickMan, QuickMnV2, QuickMnV3, Recov120, Satelit1, Slasher, Spice1, Spice3, Spreader, StepSwrd, Tornado, WideSwrd, Wind, Wrecker, ZapRing1
R	AntiDmg, AquaBlde, AquaSwrd, AreaGrab, BblWrap, BgRedWav, BigCloud, BlkBomb, Blower, BrnzFist, Bubbler, CannBall, ElecBlde, ElecSwrd, FireAura, FireBlde, FireRat, FireSwrd, FrntSnsr, Geddon2, GrassLne, GrassStg, Hammer, HeatBall, HeatShot, HolyPanl, Invis1, Jealosy, Kunai2, LavaDrag, LavaLine, LeafShld, LifeAur2, MagBomb2, Meteor15, Meteors, Mine, PanlOut3, Poltrgst, Recov150, Recov300, Remobit2, Roll, RollV2, RollV3, Satelit2, Shadow1, Shockwav, TreeBom1, UnderSht, Yo-Yo1, ZapRing2
S	AntiDmg, AreaGrab, Barrier, BgRedWav, BrnzFist, Bub-V, Burner, CannBall, ColdPnch, CrossGun, CrsShld1, DropDown, FtrSword, Geddon1, Geyser, GrabRvng, Heat-V, HeatBall, IceStage, Kunai1, LeafShld, MagBomb3, Meteor9, Mine, OldWood, PanlOut1, PoisMask, Recov120, Satelit3, ShadoMan, ShadoMnV2, ShadoMnV3, SilvFist, SnakeMan, SnakeMnV2, SnakeMnV3, Snctuary, Sonicwav, StoneBod, Sword, TreeBom2, WoodAura, Wrecker, Yo-Yo3, ZapRing2
T	AntiFire, AntiNavi, AntiSwrd, AquaBall, Barrier, BigBomb, BigCloud, Blower, BubCross, Candle2, Catcher, CrosBomb, CrsShld2, CustSwrd, Dynawave, ElecAura, FrntSnsr, Geddon2, Hammer, HeatCros, HeroSwrd, Lance, LifeAur3, LilBomb, LineOut, MagBomb2, Mindbndr, Muramasa, OldWood, PopUp, Recov150, Remobit3, Satelit3, Shadow2, Spice1, StoneBod, ThunMan, ThunManV2, ThunManV3, ToadMan, ToadManV2, ToadManV3, TreeBom3, Trident, TripNdl, Twister, VarSwrd, Wind, Yo-Yo1, ZapRing3
U	AntiElec, Anubis, BigCloud, CrsShld3, FireSwrd, FreezBom, GodStone, Guardian, Hammer, HeatBall, Invis1, Jealosy, LavaStge, Muramasa, PoisFace, PoisMask, Poltrgst, QuadNdl, Recov120, Recov200, Remobit2, Satelit1, Shockwav, StepSwrd, Twister, Wrecker
V	AirShoes, BigBomb, BubCross, Candle1, CrsShld2, Dynawave, ElecBall, ElecSwrd, Guardian, Hammer, HeatCros, Invis2, Lance, LavaStge, Meteor9, Meteors, Mine, Recov150, Recov200, Recov300, RockCube, Shadow3, SilvFist, Sparker, TreeBom3, TripNdl, Yo-Yo1, ZeusHamr
W	AntiRecv, AntiWatr, Anubis, AquaBall, AquaSwrd, BblWrap, BigCloud, Blower, Candle3, CrsShld3, DblSnsr, GaiaSwrd, GrabRvng, Invis3, LeafShld, Meteor12, Muramasa, OldWood, PoisFace, PoisMask, Poltrgst, PopUp, Quake1, Quake2, Quake3, Recov120, Recov200, Recov300, Satelit1, Sonicwav, StoneBod, UnderSht, Wrecker, ZapRing1
X	AntiNavi, AquaGspl, BassV3, ElecGspl, FireGspl, WoodGspl
Y	AntiElec, BigBomb, DblSnsr, Fan, FtrSword, GaiaSwrd, Geddon3, Lance, LavaDrag, LongSwrd, PanlOut3, PoisFace, Remobit3, Satelit3, Sword, Twister, WideSwrd, Yo-Yo3
Z	AirShoes, AntiWatr, AquaBlde, AreaGrab, Blower, CrsShld1, FireBlde, Geddon2, GoldFist, Guardian, Hammer, HeroSwrd, Meteor15, PoisMask, Recov300, Satelit3, TimeBom1, TimeBom2, TimeBom3, VarSwrd, ZapRing3, ZeusHamr

Battle network 2 - Folder builds

Despite the new constraints added to folder building, this game is still contagious with some unbalanced chips, so much so that people do not even consider it for tournaments.

For the following, I will be using information taken from both [gamefaqs.gamespot.com] of these guides [www.neoseeker.com]. I will be skipping the obvious and focus on what's important:

The neoseeker guide recommends setting Fstgauge as your regular chip, allowing you to have it always picked among the chips on the first turn. Fstgauge is a great chip that allows you to potentially escape many situations and set up strategies.

Area grab is great, it allows you to manage your space and bottleneck your opponent's area. Lifeaura3 counters most of these strats since they relay on dealing multiple hits x low damage.

The same guide puts some emphasis on having some defenses, but does not mention anything in regards to heals. Heals are great, but because PVP runs usually end fast in MMBN2, heals get neglated.

The folders presented in these guides revolve around program advances, at least most of these folders. I will be listing those that I think are worth it.
My judgement will be based on their ability to balance damage and hitbox, for example the elemental sonic booms program advance is in my opinion not the best, as it leaves you open for attacks and unlike the other P.A.s, this one is non-dimming. With a screen freezing setup, you ensure that your opponent won't be able to react. I took some of these from the guides and edited some chips within them, I will be explaining why I had to edit some of these. Most of the ones from the guides were built with PVE in mind, which is why I decided to edit or put only those which work both in PVP and PVE. Do note that some of these chips require lots of farming to get them in their asterisks code.

Strategy's name	Chips	Strategy's name	Chips
2xHero Folder, source: Neoseeker link	1 FstGauge * [regular] 5 CustSwrd B 5 VarSwrd B 5 ProtoMn v3 B 5 FullCust * 1 LifeAura3 * 5 Atk+30 * 3 invis3 *	Gater folder, source: Neoseeker link	1 FstGauge * [regular] 5 Wind * 5 Fan * 5 GateMan v3 5 Atk+30 * 5 FullCust * 3 Invis3 * 1 Lifeaura3 *
Forte's Revenge, source: Neoseeker	1 FstGauge * [regular] 4 BassV3 X 1 any Gospel chip X 5 Navi+40 * 5 Atk+30 * 5 Navi+20 * 2 LifeAur3 * 5 ZeusHamr * or Area grab * 2 FullCust *	Penguin Knight's Snakeman, source: Gamefaqs link	AreaGrab * x5 Geddon 2 Z x4 FullCust * x5 [regular] Invis 3 * x3 Wood +40 * x3 (If unavailable, Atk+30 will substitute just fine) Navi +40 * x5 SnakeManV3 S x5
Old wood folder, source: Gamefaqs link	OldWood T x5 PanlOut1 * x5 FstGauge* x1 FullCust * x3 [regular] Invis3 * x3 Areagrab * x1 GrassStage * x5 Wood+40 * x5 ToadManV3 T x2	Zero, source: Gamefaqs	ZuesHammer Z x5 GoldFist Z x5 VarSword Z x5 AreaGrab Z or * x3 Geddon2 Z x3 AirShoes Z x3 FullCust * [regular] x3 Invis3 * x3
SciFi guy's Meteoric Hell, source: Gamefaqs	Grass Stage H x5 AreaGrab * x5 Meteors H x5 Fire+40 * x5 FastGauge * x3 [regular] FullCustom * x5 LifeAura3 H x2	Xel23's Bad Omen, source: Gamefaqs	Poltergeist U x5 Invis3 * x5 RockCube * x3 Guardian U x5 Remobit2 U x3 FullCust * x4 Muramasa U x3 Anubis U x2

• 2xHero Folder: Originally, it had 2 shadow chips, invis is superior because it lasts longer and grants protection against all sorts of attacks, unlike shadow which is vulnerable against sword attacks, whereas BN2's PVPers mostly have a Protoman in their folders very often. This folder aims to pull the 2x hero P.A. and spam it as much as possible; it's a great P.A. that hits every areabut can be countered by having a lifeaura, of course you might consider using a protoman to wipe it before going for the P.A.
  
• Gater folder: A great folder that has only 1 disatvantage: having the P.A. and Gateman as your only source of damage. The P.A. tracks opponents and destroys obstacles, making it great against those hiding behind rocks.
  
• Forte's revenge: I think including Varsword in this folder is a hard choice, I did replace it with 2 extra Bass v2 chips, Varsword is great, but having Bass by itself is enough since it damages everything on its path including obstacles, the same comment can be said about having 5 area grabs, sure the chip is great but it barely supports the main strategy, instead I did put 5 Zeushammers to counter Lifeaura. Together with the potential Darkness PA and you can dish out some great performance out of this folder. The suggestion to add a gospel chip was given by HeraldOfOpera.
  
• Penguin Knight's Snakeman: This strat requires you to maximize your space, using geddon and then Snakeman. Without holes, you can't use Snakeman. Potentially this outperforms gater, but in a PVP setting, expect your opponent to have their own Area grab counters, pick your poison.
  
• Oldwood folder: This one aims to spam Oldwood, which has a great synergy with Toadman thanks to its code. Setting the stage to grassy will increase its damage for each panel by +20, unlike Godstone, which cannot be boosted. I don't honestly like this folder since its hitbox is arbitrary as best. I did replace undershirt with area grab to increase the damage output.
  
• Zero: I like this folder, it makes the best out of the Z code, though this one requires some dexterity with the execution of its chip's secret inputs, inputs which may damage the entire field, this even allows you to counter auras with its Zeushammer.
  
• SciFi guy's Meteoric Hell This folder tries to capitalize on decreasing the enemy's space with area grab and spamming meteors, great folder by the way that can counter auras with grass stage and at least having 2 boosting fire chips.
  
• Xel23's Bad Omen: If you've been doing lots of BN2 pvp, on average you always play with a stage hazard and some obstacles, with Poltrgst and some summon chips, you can deal some great damage directed to your opponent.

All in all, these folders heavily focus on dealing multi-hit attacks, which can all be countered by having Lifeaura3. The general premis is to hope that you will be able to pull your combos as fast as you can and kill the opponent by the third turn. Naturally it would be best to have a custom style setup in order to have the extra chances to draw your combos. BN2 is a game that PVPers do not usually run unless there is a layer of rules to go through that constraints the potential abuse of the high tier chips.

Battle network 3 - which version to pick ?

A first in the series is the version splitting that occurs starting from third game. Both versions come with the same features and plot but have some minor mechanic differences, the first is the difference in the Giga class chips, the second has you receive a potential different style; both of which can not be traded to the players of the other version, locking them in their respective game.
The third difference is that some chip codes may only drop in either white or blue, but not in both, encouraging the players to perform trading to craft their folders.

White exclusive chips	Blue exclusive chips
Navi Recycle	Folder Back
Bass	Bass+
Serenade	Dark Aura
Balance	Delta Ray
Alpha Arm Sigma	Alpha Arm Omega

As for the forms, I will reveal these in the next segments, for now let's focus on the giga chips and how they may define your Folder + some comments from my side on the chips themselves:

• Navi Recycle This chip is super good as it re-summons your last used Navi mega chip and allows you to reuse it with its previously installed buffs, Plant man and Flash man spammers love this.
  
• Bass You really love BN2 PVP do you ?
  
• Serenade A good chip that dishes damages and breaks panels, it outputs more damage the more areas you control.
  
• Balance I have never seen anyone running this in PVP. The Y code is not compatible with the good meta chips. it pierces Auras for sure and works great if your folder focuses on quick kills, which is the case for most of the good folders. you would often want to have this on your first turn.
  
• AlphArmΣ Although not listed, it does Elec damage and covers the entire area if you run it in the middle, together with Icestage you may burn the opponents to crisp, but the V code does not motivate its synergy with other chips.
  
• FoldrBak A chip so good they had to remove it from future installments, great for stalling and has the added bonus of giving you a free full cust. This chip encourages having cust+ support NCPs installed.
  
• Bass+ Can someone confirm whether this one pierces Auras ? if yes I would recommend it over the other Bass.
  
• DarkAura A great chip that can only be countered with North wind. The A code is great too with lots of combo potential.
  
• DeltaRay They didn't invent Full synchro yet as of the third game nor do I see people running this due to its timing requirement. The netcode is absurdly bad, making you guaranty only the first hit, big No my dudes.
  
• AlphArmΩ Same words on the V code apply here, this outclasses the other just because it can remove Auras, I can't honestly see a specific folder for this but it may go flexible if you can find any uses for the V code, unlike the Sigma which can be boosted by Icestage and Elec+.

I can't honestly decide on which version to go for in terms of PVP, both FoldrBak and Navirecycle are great in their own ways, unlike the future games, the choice is balanced here between the former 2 chips that I have mentioned, as they are the most used chips in PVP, though there is some room of usage for the other chips too.

Battle network 3 - New mechanics and navi cust

New game, new mechanics, buffs, nerfs...etc..
Battle network 3 came up with various changes that reshaped the meta.
Before tackling the new styles, I wish to go through the navi cust side of this game.

As I said earlier, setting up a good navi customizer plays a huge role in your gameplay, if you plan to go full serious, consider abusing the mod codes, a mechanic introduced and stuck in the third game that gives you some free additions. Clicking this will send you to a great source on this topic[megaman.fandom.com]
Cust parts can be compressed, once compressed, their new form can not be reverted to how it was, Refer to this table here from the wiki to learn more about the execution of this mechanic[megaman.fandom.com].
While I can not easily tell you to plan how to make a good setup, I will instead name what I think are bad cust parts in the following table.

Cust Part	Name	Cust Part	Name	Cust Part	Name
	Alpha		ATK+1		Battery
	BlckMind		BrakBust		BrakChrg
	DarkLcns		Collect
	EngyChng		Fish
	HP+500		Humor		Jungle
	OilBody		Press		Regular+5
	Sneakrun		Speed+1		Weaponlvl+1

Allow me to comment on some of these choices:

• Dark licence: There are only 4 dark chips to speak of, 2 for each version. Though their damage and utility speak for themselves, the fact that the part's size takes a huge chunk of the setup does not make up for it to substitute a chip in my opinion.
  
• HP+500: The part is too big and with the mod codes, I think you can achieve a bug free setup, which is honestly not as great as +500 but +300 is a nice welcome extra for the cost of having no parts to include.
  
• BrakBust and BrakChrg both counter shielded units, only a few exist in PVE and the mechanic is not PVP viable.
  
• Unless you do not aim to boost your buster and have a free cell or two, there is already a very small cust part that maxes out your buster, look up BSTRMAX.

Update: I can't edit this part due to the characters limit, jump to part 4 to read about something regarding bugs.

Overall, starting from the third game, the amount of possible (good) builds that you can achieve gets even more vaster. With that said, your style change will certainly influence your setups here unlike the second game. Your style imposes you not to pick cust parts that match the colours indicated on your Navicust screen.
The third game has nerfed styles on many dimentions, I am going to name the changes that are important:

• You can only install 1 style at a time, previously you could have 2 that can be swapped freely outside of combat.
  
• Every single style brought back from the second game lost their initial abilities. Leveling them up to regain them is a requirement and doing so does not improve your buster's power, this means:
  
  • Guts style lost its initial super armor and now has to instead level up to obtain it back in the form of a cust program.
    
  • Custom Style initially starts with an extra 1 chip in the cust screen instead of 2, the same leveling up gimmick applies here.
    
  • Team Style offers the ability to equip 1 more Mega chip.
    
  • Shield style lost its shield and has to regain it back.
• Styles can not be traded anymore.

Now let's showcase the new styles brought to this game, to make it short, Bug style is all about RNG, Ground style is all about managing the field and Shadow style works better in favour of stalling.

Style	Name	Abilities
	Bug style	Prior to starting a fight, one or more of these effects will be applied Start the battle with a Barrier100. Invincible for 10 seconds Buster stats getting maxed 10 chips in the Custom Screen Mega man loses control over his mobility, my least favorite bug Your HP will slowly drain While fighting Your HP will slowly drain While on the cust screen Having a random chance of losing your ability to shoot
	Ground Style (White version only)	Your buster can crack panels upon hit
	ShadowStyle (Blue version only)	Defaults the buster's charge shot into turning you invisible unless you equip Weapon level +. your charge time won't be affected by any Charge+ NCP

Timing Guard
Discountinued after BN3, this allows you to cut the damage of a screen freezing chip by half, simply by inputting the backwards button upon seeing the opponent using a dimming chip. This technique has no strict time window and can be spammed, though its effects do not stack.

Battle network 3 - Chips

Because BN2 brought lots and lots of chips, people used to spam the good ones to hell and Capcom had to step it up and make a big change to the folder:
Now the chips are split into 3 classes: Standard, Mega and Giga chips. You can equip now up to 5 Mega chips at a time, and only one of each copy, as for Giga chips, only one can be equiped to a folder. Other than that, you may only equip 4 copies of the same standard chip.
The number of chips containing the asterisks code has been reduced and only a few support it.

A new addition to the series is the Lotto number machine, Lotto codes are scrapped all around the game through interactions with NPCs or objects, by inserting the said codes in the lotto machine, you end up obtaining its corresponding item, be it a chip or a navi cust part. By having access to a wiki beside you, once you visit the chips shop for the first time, you may go receive all the goods to your hearts's content, some of which are super OP at the early stages of the game; More on that on the wiki [megaman.fandom.com]

Trying to lock your opponent as much as you can and stalling is still the way to go for. The P folder is so great that they had to ban the Plantman chip series from official tournaments.

Chip's code	Chips compatible with the code
A	AirStrm1, AirStrm3, AntiNavi, Anubis, AquaSwrd, Arrow3, Bubbler, Bunny, Burning, CannBall, CopyDmg, CrsShld1, DarkAura, DublBomb, Fan, GrabBack, Hole, IceWave1, LavaCan1, LavaStge, Magnum1, Mine, Mole1, NrthWind, Panic, PanlGrab, PanlOut1, Plasma2, PoisFace, PoisMask, Ratton1, Ratton2, Ratton3, Recov10, Repair, RockCube, Scuttlst, Sensor2, ShotMetr, SloGauge, Snctuary, Spikey, Team1, Timpani, Totem2, Volcano, Wind, ZapRing1
B	AntiRecv, AntiSwrd, Arrow1, BambSwrd, BeastMan, BeastMn V2, BeastMn V3, BeastMn V4, BeastMnV5, BowlMan, BowlMan V2, BowlMan V3, BowlManV5, BubblMan, BubblMn V2, BubblMn V3, BubblMn V4, BubblMnV5, BublSide, Bunny, Burner, Condor, CrsShld2, CustSwrd, FireRatn, FstGauge, Geyser, GutPunch, Hammer, HeatShot, Hole, Invis, LavaBall, LavaCan2, Magnum2, MetaGel1, MiniBomb, Mole2, PanlOut1, Pawn, Plasma1, ProtoMan, ProtoMn V2, ProtoMn V3, ProtoMn V4, ProtoMnV5, Recov30, RedWave, SandStge, Sensor3, Shake2, ShotGun, Slasher, Spice1, VarSwrd, ZapRing2
C	AirStrm2, AirSwrd, AntiDmg, Barrier, BlkBomb3, Bubbler, CrsShld1, CrsShld2, CrsShld3, DashAtk, DublBomb, Fanfare, Geddon3, Geyser, GrabRvng, GutPunch, HeatSide, HoleMetr, IceStage, IceWave3, Knight, LavaBall, Magnum1, MetaGel1, Mole3, Mushy, NoBeam1, NrthWind, Panic, PanlOut3, Ratton1, Ratton2, Ratton3, Recov10, Recov50, Repair, RockArm3, RockCube, SandStge, Sensor1, SideGun, SloGauge, Snctuary, Spice2, Team1, Tornado, Totem2, VarSwrd, WatrLine, WideSwrd, Yo-Yo1, ZapRing3
D	AntiRecv, BlkBomb2, Bub-V, Bubbler, CannBall, DarkMan, DarkMan V2, DarkMan V3, DarkMan V4, DarkManV5, DashAtk, DesrtMan, DesrtMn V2, DesrtMn V3, DesrtMn V4, DesrtMnV5, Discord, DrillMan, DrillMn V2, DrillMn V3, DrillMn V4, DrillMnV5, Fountain, Geddon1, GutPunch, IceWave2, IceWave3, Lance, LavaCan2, LifeAura, Magnum3, MetaGel1, MetlStge, Mine, Mole1, Mole2, MudWave, Needler3, PanlOut1, Plasma1, Recov30, Recov80, Repair, RockArm1, Rook, Rope1, Scuttlst, Shake3, ShockWav, ShotMetr, Slasher, Snake, SnglBomb, Spice1, Spice3, Swordy, Team2, Totem3, V-Gun, VarSwrd, Yo-Yo1
E	AirSwrd, AntiRecv, AreaGrab, Arrow1, Barr100, Barr200, Barrier, BigWave, Boomer2, Bub-V, Bubbler, BublSide, CrsShld3, DynaWave, ElecSwrd, Fanfare, FstGauge, GrabBack, GrassStg, GutPunch, HolyPanl, Invis, Jelly, KillrEye, Lance, LavaCan3, LavaStge, LongSwrd, MetaGel2, Mettaur, Mole3, NoBeam2, PanlOut3, Pawn, Recov10, Recov50, RndmMetr, RockCube, Rope2, Scuttlst, Sensor3, Shake1, Snake, Snctuary, Spikey, Sword, Team1, Totem2, TrplBomb, VarSwrd, Wave, WideSwrd, Wind, Yo-Yo1, ZapRing3
F	AirStrm1, AntiDmg, Arrow2, Aura, Barr200, BlkBomb1, Boomer1, Bub-V, BublSide, Burner, Burning, CannBall, CopyDmg, CustSwrd, Discord, FireRatn, FireSwrd, FlamMan, FlamMan V2, FlamMan V3, FlamMan V4, FlamManV5, FlashMan, FlashMn V2, FlashMn V3, FlashMn V4, FlashMnV5, Geddon2, GutPunch, Heat-V, IceBall, Invis, LavaCan2, Magnum3, MetaGel2, Needler2, NoBeam1, Plasma3, PoisMask, Ratton1, Ratton2, Ratton3, Recov30, Recov80, RedWave, Repair, Rook, Shake2, ShotGun, ShotMetr, SnglBomb, Spice2, Spice3, VarSwrd, Yo-Yo1
G	AirStrm2, AirStrm3, BlkBomb3, BublSide, DashAtk, Fan, Fanfare, GaiaBlad, GaiaSwrd, GrabRvng, GutImpct, GutsMan, GutsMan V2, GutsMan V3, GutsMan V4, GutsManV5, Hammer, IceStage, LavaCan1, Magnum2, MetaGel2, MetaGel3, MetlStge, MiniBomb, Momogra, MudWave, NoBeam1, Plasma2, Poltrgst, Recov10, Recov50, RockArm2, Rope1, Rope2, Sensor2, Shake1, Slasher, SonicWav, Spikey, Totem1, V-Gun, Volcano, Yo-Yo1, ZapRing2
H	AirShoes, AirStrm1, AirStrm2, AirSwrd, AntiDmg, AquaSwrd, Arrow3, Barr200, Boomer1, CopyDmg, CrsShld1, DublBomb, FireRatn, Geddon2, GutImpct, HeatShot, HiCannon, HoleMetr, IceWave2, Knight, Lance, LavaBall, LavaCan3, Magnum1, MetaGel3, Mole1, Mushy, Needler2, NoBeam3, PanlGrab, Prism, Ratton1, Recov30, Recov80, RockArm1, RockCube, Rope3, Sensor2, Shadow, ShockWav, SideGun, SnglBomb, Sword, Totem1, Wind, Yo-Yo2
I	AirShoes, AirStrm3, Aura, BlkBomb2, Boomer2, Bunny, Condor, GrabBack, GutImpct, Heat-V, HeatShot, HiCannon, IceBall, KillrEye, LongSwrd, Magnum3, Mole2, Needler1, NoBeam2, Plasma3, Recov50, RndmMetr, RockArm3, Rope3, Shake2, Snake, SonicWav, Spice1, Spice2, Swordy, Totem3, TrplBomb, Wave, Yo-Yo2

Battle network 3 - Chips part 2 and tips/tricks

J	AirSwrd, Arrow3, Barr100, BigWave, Boomer1, DashAtk, FstGauge, Geddon1, GrassStg, GutImpct, Heat-V, HeatShot, HeatSide, HiCannon, HoleMetr, HolyPanl, IceWave3, Jealousy, Jelly, LavaCan3, Mole1, Needler1, Plasma1, Prism, Ratton1, Recov80, RedWave, RockArm1, Rope1, Sensor3, Shadow, ShockWav, ShotGun, SnglBomb, Spice3, TimeBomb, Volcano, Yo-Yo2
K	AntiSwrd, BlkBomb2, Boomer2, DublBomb, ElecSwrd, GrabBack, GutImpct, Heat-V, HeatSide, HiCannon, IceWave1, KillrEye, KingMan, KingMan V2, KingMan V3, KingMan V4, KingManV5, MetaGel1, Mole2, Plasma2, Prism, Sensor1, Spice2, TimeBomb, Totem3, Yo-Yo2
L	AreaGrab, BambSwrd, Barrier, BlkBomb1, BlkBomb3, Boomer3, Bunny, Burning, CannBall, Condor, CopyDmg, CrsShld1, CrsShld2, CrsShld3, Fan, Fanfare, Geyser, Hammer, HeatSide, HiCannon, HolyPanl, IceWave2, Jelly, KillrEye, Lightning, LongSwrd, Mettaur, Mine, MiniBomb, Mole3, Needler3, Panic, PanlGrab, PanlOut1, Recov10, RockArm3, Sensor1, Shake2, ShockWav, Snctuary, StepSwrd, Sword, Team2, TimeBomb, Tornado, V-Gun, Wave, WideSwrd, Yo-Yo2
M	AirStrm2, AntiDmg, AntiNavi, Arrow1, Barr100, BigWave, Boomer1, FireRatn, Geddon1, Geddon3, IceBall, IceStage, IceWave1, Knight, LavaCan2, MetalMan, MetalMn V2, MetalMn V3, MetalMn V4, MetalMnV5, MetlStge, Mettaur, MistMan, MistMan V2, MistMan V3, MistMan V4, MistManV5, Mole3, Momogra, MudWave, Muramasa, Mushy, Needler1, Needler2, NoBeam3, Plasma2, Recov200, Recov30, RockArm2, Rope1, Scuttlst, Shake3, SideGun, SonicWav, Spreader, StepSwrd, TimeBomb, Totem1, Yo-Yo3, ZapRing1
N	AirShoes, AirStrm3, AntiNavi, AquaSwrd, Arrow3, BambSwrd, BlkBomb1, Boomer2, CrsShld3, Discord, DynaWave, ElecSwrd, FireSwrd, Geddon2, GrabBack, HoleMetr, LavaBall, Magnum2, NrthWind, PanlOut3, Pawn, Plasma3, PoisFace, PoisMask, Ratton2, Recov150, Recov200, Recov50, Rook, Sensor2, Shadow, ShotGun, Spreader, StepSwrd, TimeBomb, Timpani, Totem3, TrplBomb, Yo-Yo3, ZapRing2
O	AirStrm1, AntiRecv, Boomer3, Geddon1, Geddon2, Guardian, GutStrgt, LavaCan2, M-Cannon, Magnum2, MetlStge, Mettaur, MiniBomb, Mole1, Momogra, Needler3, Ratton2, Recov120, Recov300, Recov80, RockArm1, Rope1, Rope2, Sensor1, Sensor3, Spice3, Spreader, StepSwrd, Swordy, Totem1, Wind, Yo-Yo3, ZapRing3
P	AquaSwrd, Arrow3, BambSwrd, BigWave, BlkBomb1, Boomer3, Bubbler, CannBall, CrsShld1, ElecSwrd, FireSwrd, GrabRvng, GutStrgt, Hammer, HeatShot, HeroSwrd, IceWave2, M-Cannon, MetaGel2, PlantMan, PlantMn V2, PlantMn V3, PlantMn V4, PlantMnV5, Plasma3, Punk, Recov150, RockArm1, RockArm2, Sensor1, Sensor3, Spreader, StandOut, StepCros, StepSwrd, Team2, TrplBomb, V-Gun, Yo-Yo3, ZapRing1
Q	Arrow1, BlkBomb2, Burner, DublBomb, DynaWave, GutStrgt, HoleMetr, IceBall, IceStage, IceWave1, M-Cannon, Mole3, Plasma2, PoisFace, PoisMask, Prism, Recov120, Rook, SandStge, Shadow, Shake2, Spice3, Spreader, StepCros, Timpani, Totem3, WideSwrd, Yo-Yo3, ZapRing1
R	AirSwrd, AntiSwrd, AreaGrab, Arrow2, Barr100, Barr200, Barrier, BublSide, Bunny, Burning, CrsShld3, CustSwrd, Fan, FireSwrd, FstGauge, GrabRvng, GrassStg, GutStrgt, HolyPanl, IceWave2, IceWave3, Invis, Jelly, KillrEye, Lance, LavaCan3, LavaStge, LongSwrd, M-Cannon, Meteors, Mine, Mole2, Momogra, Needler1, Panic, PanlOut3, Pawn, Plasma1, Ratton3, Recov150, Recov300, RedWave, RockCube, Roll, Roll V2, Roll V3, Scuttlst, Shake1, Shake3, ShockWav, Slasher, SloGauge, Snake, Spice2, Spikey, StepCros, Tornado, ZapRing2
S	AirStrm1, AntiDmg, AntiRecv, AreaGrab, Arrow2, Aura, Barrier, BlkBomb2, Bub-V, Burner, Burning, Condor, CrsShld2, Geddon1, Geyser, GodStone, GutStrgt, Hole, IceBall, Invis, LavaCan1, M-Cannon, Magnum3, MetaGel2, MetaGel3, MetlStge, Mine, MiniBomb, Mushy, Needler1, NoBeam2, NrthWind, PanlGrab, PanlOut1, Plasma3, Ratton3, Recov120, Repair, RndmMetr, RockArm2, Salamndr, Sensor2, Serenade, Shake1, ShotMetr, SideGun, Slasher, SloGauge, Snctuary, SonicWav, Spice1, StepCros, Sword, Swordy, Team2, Wave, Wind, ZapRing1
T	AquaSwrd, Arrow1, Barr100, Bolt, Boomer1, CrsShld2, Discord, DynaWave, Fan, Hammer, HeatSide, Hole, IceStage, LavaCan1, LavaStge, Magnum1, MetaGel3, Mettaur, Needler2, NoBeam1, Plasma1, Recov150, RockArm3, Rope2, Rope3, Shake3, ShotGun, SnglBomb, StepCros, Team1, Tornado, Totem2, Wave, ZapRing3
U	AirShoes, AntiSwrd, Arrow2, Aura, Barr200, BlkBomb3, Boomer3, FireSwrd, Geddon3, HolyPanl, Knight, MetaGel3, Momogra, Needler3, NoBeam2, Recov120, Recov200, RedWave, Rook, Rope2, Rope3, SandStge, Shadow, Shake1, Spikey, Timpani, Tornado
V	AirStrm3, AlphArm?, AlphArm?, AntiNavi, Boomer2, Bub-V, CustSwrd, DynaWave, ElecSwrd, Heat-V, IceWave3, Knight, LavaCan1, Magnum1, MudWave, Needler2, NoBeam3, PoisFace, PoisMask, Recov150, Recov200, Recov300, RndmMetr, RockArm2, Rope3, Totem1, V-Gun
W	AirStrm2, AntiNavi, BambSwrd, Burner, Geddon2, Geddon3, Geyser, GrassStg, IceWave1, LavaBall, LavaCan3, Magnum3, NoBeam3, OldWood, PoisFace, Prism, Recov120, Recov200, Recov300, SandStge, SonicWav, Swordy, Timpani, TrplBomb, ZapRing2
X	Bass, Bass+, BassGS
Y	AirShoes, AntiSwrd, AreaGrab, Aura, Balance, BigWave, BlkBomb3, CopyDmg, Fanfare, FireRatn, FstGauge, Geddon3, GrabRvng, JapanMan, JapanMn V2, JapanMn V3, JapanMn V4, JapanMnV5, Jelly, LavaStge, LongSwrd, MetaGel1, Mushy, NoBeam2, PanlGrab, PanlOut3, Pawn, ShotMetr, SideGun, Snake, Sword, Volcano, WideSwrd
*	AirShoes, AirShot1, AirShot2, AirShot3, AirSwrd, Aqua+30, AreaGrab, Atk+10, Atk+30, Barr100, Barrier, Bolt, Boomer1, Boomer2, Bubbler, CannBall, CopyDmg, CrsShld1, DashAtk, Discord, DublBomb, Elec+30, Fan, Fanfare, Fire+30, FoldrBak, Fountain, FullCust, GaiaBlad, GaiaSwrd, Geddon1, GrassStg, Guard, Hammer, Heat-V, HeatShot, HeatSide, HiCannon, Hole, HolyPanl, IceBall, IceStage, IceWave1, IceWave2, Invis, LavaBall, LavaStge, Lightning, Mine, MiniBomb, Mole1, Mole2, Navi+20, Navi+40, NavRcycl, PanlGrab, PanlOut1, PoisFace, PoisMask, Recov10, Recov120, Recov30, Recov50, Recov80, Repair, RockArm1, RockArm2, RockCube, Rook, Rope1, Salamndr, Shadow, ShotGun, SideGun, SloGauge, SnglBomb, Spice1, Spreader, Team1, Team2, Timpani, V-Gun, WatrLine, Wind, Wood+30, Yo-Yo1, ZapRing1
Z	Arrow2, BlkBomb1, Boomer3, Condor, CustSwrd, DashAtk, DeltaRay, Discord, GrassStg, Hole, Lance, Magnum2, MudWave, Needler3, NoBeam1, NoBeam3, NrthWind, Panic, Recov300, RndmMetr, RockArm3, Shake3, SloGauge, Spice1, Team1, Team2, Totem2, Volcano, ZapRing3, ZeusHamr

Some chips from BN1 to 2 have been nerfed. I have seen people going for lots of +ATK chips in PVE while going for a full custom support build that allows them to draw as much chips as they can, a notable combo was bubble man + 4 of Aqua plus chips.. You get the idea.
Swords are super good in this game unlike the past games, I do not see them much in tournaments but in PVE they really shred the game.

MMBN3 - folders and navicust setups

With the inclusion of navicust programs to the gameplay, the depth of the game widens, opening the players to various options to choose from. I personally go for the following setup, as it combines everything that I need but loses to tankiness, my chips setup compensates for this lack.



Make sure to use the compression mechanic, you gain no disadvantages from cutting your parts down despite the warning stating that this change can not be reverted, but if you seek to intentionally cause bugs, then leaving some parts uncompressed might be a good idea.

Use this link to refer to the compression codes for each part [www.therockmanexezone.com]

The screenshot above is my setup @Elec bugstyle. it contains the following programs:

• Hubbatch
  
• 5 x charge +1
  
• Fastgauge
  
• Bug stop

Hubbatch is a compact bundle containing everything I need to be versatile, bug stop is just there to negate the HP bug penality, lastly fastgauge allows me to chain my combos quite swiftly, while the charge +1 are essential for my zapring shot that suffer from a long charge requirement.

folders:
As for the folders, I could find a great source for some good setups, check this youtube playlist. MMBN3's meta folders are all about abusing plantman and flashman to lock opponents, coupled with stage hazards and elemental boosting chips and you would not fail, unless the opponent has an aura. the following folders were extracted from guide Malinhion / CrimsonKnight's guide [gamefaqs.gamespot.com] , I will showcase what I think is great for PVP, gimmicky builds will not be here since I believe most of these are very situational.

Folder's name	Chips	Folder's name	Chips
Bubonic Plague	3 Invis * 3 Ratton1 C 3 Ratton2 C 3 Ratton3 C 2 AreaGrab * 2 VarSwrd C 2 Shadow * 2 CrsShield1 C 2 CrsShield2 C 2 CrsShield3 C 2 Geddon3 C 2 Sanctuary C 1 FoldrBak * 1 FullCust * [preset]	Disco Inferno	4 Sensor3 J 4 Prism J 3 HeatShot J 3 Heat-V J 3 HeatSide J 3 GrassStage J/* 3 Areagrab * 2 Shadow J/* 2 Invis * 1 Jealousy J 1 FoldrBak * 1 Fullcust * [preset]
Allied Assault	4 Slasher B 4 CstSwrd B 4 VarSwrd B 3 Invis * 2 Shadow * 2 Rook * 1 ProtomanV1 B 1 ProtomanV2 B 1 ProtomanV3 B 1 ProtomanV4 B 4 Atk+10 * 1 Atk+30 * 1 FoldrBak * 1 FullCust * [preset]	Prismatic Edge	4 AreaGrab * 3 MetaGel2 P 3 FireSwrd P 3 AquaSwrd P 3 ElecSwrd P 3 BambSwrd P 3 Invis * 2 Shadow * 1 IceStage * 1 PlantManV2 P 1 PlantManV3 P 1 PlantManV4 P 1 FoldrBak * 1 FullCust * [preset]
Flash crusher	3 PanlGrb * 3 Ratton1 F 3 Ratton2 F 3 Ratton3 F 3 VarSwrd F 3 Plasma3 F 3 Invis * 2 Mole2 * 1 Fullcust * 1 FolderBk * 1 FlashManV1 F 1 FlashManV2 F 1 FlashManV3 F 1 FlashManV4 F 1 Icestage * [preset]	Hydro Blaster	4 Sensor3 B 4 PanlGrab * 2 AreaGrab * 2 Shadow * 3 Invis * 4 Aqua+30 * 4 Navi+20 * 1 Navi+40 * 1 BubblMan B 1 BubblMnV2 B 1 BubblMnV3 B 1 BubblMnV4 B 1 BubblMnV5 B 1 FullCust * [Preset]
High impact	4 Guard * 4 DashAtk G/* 3 AreaGrab * 4 PanlGrab * 3 Invis * 2 Shadow * 2 Rook * 2 GutImpct G 1 GutsMan G 1 GutsManV2 G 1 GutsManV3 G 1 GutsManV4 G 1 FoldrBak * 1 FullCust * [preset]	Hymn of the Grave	4 AreaGrab * 4 RockCube * 3 MetaGel3 S 3 Rook * 3 AirShot3 * 3 Invis S/* 2 Shadow * 4 Atk+10 * 1 Atk+30 * 1 GodStone S 1 Serenade S 1 FullCust * [preset]

All styles are flexible with these. Field setups are a great bonus, their chips can be substituted if you run a ground style NCP, this is a strat that I have seen lots of hardcore players do.
Although the wiki [wiki.n1gp.net] is still incomplete as of yet, I have the confirmation that Invis lasts and outclasses shadow for the obvious reason of leaving an invulnerability in the form of sword attacks.

The WWW mega chips are great and have good spam potential, I recommend taking a look at my chips table sorted by code and pick the chips that go together with their respective codes.
Giving some input on these folders would not be fruitful, they are all equally good and have the same purpose of focusing on a specific strategy, the most versatile and interesting folder however is Disco Inferno, this one involves using prism to cover the area with your wide attacks, and can also work out greatly even without the prism chip.

Let's not forget the regular chip setup, provided you have enough memory, choose a chip that you would need in all the given situation. Neoseeker's guide [megaman.neoseeker.com] recommends having Fstgauge since its low memory usage is great for the setup, as for me, I would go for northwind to repel auras in PVP.

Battle network 3 - Even more tips and a small note on bugging your HP

Nav cust bugs part goes here: Steam does this thing where you have an invisible character limit per section to deal with. Anyways, Each badly positioned program can cause bugs. Due to the nature of the combinatorial optimization; sometimes you just want to fit some parts even though they might cause bugs, bugs which you can tolerate and simply ignore.

HP boosting parts will always cause HP bugs if you malplace them within the grid. Because tankiness is important, sometimes it's totally fine to increase your HP while dealing with a slow HP burn, of course this means either: you need to heal yourself from time to time, or you opt for risky plays and go for fast deletions.

Use this guide to learn more about tolerable bugs [www.therockmanexezone.com]


Update 27/10/2023: Prof 9 made a great mod that allows you to revert the compression effects. [forums.therockmanexezone.com] If you wish to make a specific build without fearing the consequences of compression then this mod should be the go for it.

Conclusion

Building a proper folder is no easy task if you lack the experience, I hope that my guide will compensate for this and allow people to have more fun playing this game.
If I ever receive Ideas, I will certainly update the guide, meanwhile I will be reading the various GameFAQ files with the hopes to find something useful, this game is so ancient that I saw hundreds of these, though I read some, I think some of these are not viable. I hope I can make a compendium of some sorts.

As always, don't restrict yourself to a meta, be creative and make your own folders by yourself!

Thanks for reading, commenting on this guide with suggestions and ideas or even corrections will always be welcome!

Update: 18/08/2023 I consider the guide to be done as of now, I will perform some grammatical cleaning and some text optimization soon, I am super happy to see this finally done.
Update: 23/08/2023 Done some cleaning.

Update 27/10/2023: Done the final cleaning chores, the BN2 table now shows the proper asterisk chips.

The chips, panels, elemental cycle and MM.exe forms images were all taken from Mega man wiki [megaman.fandom.com]

The NCP images were taken from the The rockmanexe zone [www.therockmanexezone.com]

[HeraldOfOpera]

It's a consideration seeing as it deals 3000 damage (twice, to an opponent who's not in the back row).

[Applethal]

Well, you think they should substitute 2 of the Zeushammer chips ? Thanks for coming back to the revisited version of the guide, it's still WIP.

[HeraldOfOpera]

Forte's Revenge in the BN2 section may want to consider the semi-secret Darkness PA. It wasn't in the original folder because it was for the original GBA game and the writer only knew one person who obtained the Gospel chips legitimately, but that's not an issue for us.

[Applethal]

I read a week ago that it was a counter measure against a potential soft lock since you can't obtain it before reaching planet man. Thanks for pointing this out.

[Lumanator]

Just a headsup, HubStyle/SaitoStyle cannot be traded as of Legacy Collection.

[Applethal]

@Syltphademus Thanks for the input, I made an update on the guide containing your suggested folder. A replacement for Heater would be great for its low range, what do you think ?

[Syltphademus]

@Fusapple The odds aren't particularly low. Access to 5 Gutsman chips is a 1 in 6 chance of getting a Gutsman chip, and if you went all in with 10 Dash and Guard (not recommended), you are going to see GutsShoot in your opener every other battle (it's a ~60% chance to open Gutsman). Additionally, for S ranks on V3 navis (the only case where speed actually matters), you have 30 seconds before the timer starts to count against you, which is generally more than enough time to fire off two GutsShoot if you plan appropriately. Even more if you're willing to break unicode and run FstGauge.

A very simple but effective mid-game folder that will carry you through to the 'Undernet' where you can start grinding for the chips you really want would be:

5 Gutsman/2/3 G (Preferably 3 for options/utility)
10 Heater G (Extremely quick attack that hits the surrounding squares as well, also good for finishing off viruses that live through a Gutsman)
7 MetGuard G
8 Dash G

[Applethal]

@Syltphademus, I will consider what you pointed out in your guide, thank you. Gutsman is a chip I would rather use in a raw fashion than in a PA due to it's nice effect of breaking panels, it's a damaging chip with a free geddon1; Gutsshoot is indeed strong I can't deny that, but considering the low odds of drawing it without using the add function, I think it's a difficult pick.

[Syltphademus]

I can't say I entirely agree with your MMBN 1 section. While most program advances are garbage, GutsShoot in particular is an extremely strong PA for killing bosses that can carry you through the entire game if you really want, and it is accessible very early (you can start farming GutsMan after the 2nd 'dungeon' if I recall correctly) while also giving you GutsManV3 for farming/clearing viruses.

Equally, 2xHero is another strong PA that, while not quite as good against bosses, is a better 'general' folder and gives you the three strongest swords in the game for general use (alas, if only Steal was in B). B code also contains some very powerful utility chips (Invis3 being the biggest one, BblWrap3 being another decent one).

[HeraldOfOpera]

For what it's worth, the NaviCust patent semi-recently expired. Games can now make ripoffs without being sued.