Robot Equipment Classification

Confused as to what each part excels at? Wondering why your planes explode so easily, or your mechs are slow? This basic guide teaches you some of the ropes of how different components placed on your bot operate and should be used and played to get the most out of them. The guide also explains in some detail how these components interact, giving you good footing to explore some of the neat stuff that can be done by combining them.

Currently, the guide covers details of Mobility, Weapons, Modules, and Armoring. Used together these can create a bot that can play the exact way you want to play your rounds, as well as what to expect from that combination.

UPDATE: this game is not good enough for this guide to have updates anymore sorry

MOBILITY: Key

Mobility is, in essence, the biggest determining factor of how your bot will play. Your choice of mobility will influence how much weight your bot can carry, how quickly you can potentially move, and how you handle. Not only that, but in the greater scheme of things, mobility choices also will affect how you choose to armor your components and build your chassis, making this a logical place to start the guide at - as well as your own bot!

Each mobility choice is ranked on several different criteria, each ranging from 1 to 5 stars:

CPU Cost - How much CPU does the component type itself cost?
Durability - How much HP/Shields does the component have on its own?
Weight - How heavy is the component?
Size - How large is the component?
Carry weight - Only applicable for aerial mobility; how much weight can you pile on before the vehicle is incapable of flight?
Maneuverability - How easy is a bot with this type of mobility to maneuver? How does it deal with rough terrain?
Speed - How fast can a bot of this type clear the map?
Vertical - How high up off the ground can the bot reach in general? Can that height be maintained?
Weakness - What weapon is this mobility type weak against? This stat is important both for attackers seeking what target to focus on, and for defenders who should know what attack types to attempt avoiding.
Construction Difficulty - How tough is a bot with this mobility type to design?
Playstyle Difficulty - How difficult is this bot to play and pilot?
Camera Aiming - Can you use the camera to steer this bot type? Camera aiming has a few advantages and disadvantages compared to standard steering:

Pros:

• Movement components can guess which way is forward, generally making bots more maneuverable
  
• In most cases, much tighter turning radius if you press directional keys right.
  
• Removes necessity to have weapons on different faces of your bot
  
• Can design to route damage for frontal assault or protect flanks

Cons:

• Certain movement types (i.e. tanks, cruisers, planes) do not become much more maneuverable when in this control scheme and might 'strafe' awkwardly.
  
• Cannot use certain niche tactics for combat (broadside combat, damage distribution by spinning, backwards weapons, etc)
  
• Less desirable for operations that require precise positioning for tight corridors
  
• Easier to tell from a distance usually who you're aiming at

Wheels

CPU Cost - ★★
Durability - ★★★
Weight - ★★
Size - ★★★
Maneuverability - ★★★
Speed - ★★★★★
Vertical - ★★
Construction Difficulty - ★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★
Weaknesses: Plasma, Railgun, Tesla, Ion, Mortar
Camera Aiming: Yes
Recommended Playstyle: Hit-And-Run scout, Kiting

The first mobility type to have been released and created, Wheels are notable for being one of, if not the lightest of the ground movement classes. Properly built cars control how you'd expect a racecar to handle, with high acceleration, tight turns, and the ability to perform ramping jumps off of slopes and perform admirably overall as a hit-and-run unit type. A minimum of 4 (3??) wheels are required to make a car that turns and performs as expected, while most practical car designs will make use of between 6 to 8 wheels for redundancy, in case other wheels are blown off.

Wheels are the fastest type of ground bot by a significant margin, with a base movement speed of 220 mph. Larger wheels become even faster with speed boost, and carry much more, but suffer from being larger targets, without much more durability. The key to choosing wheels depends on how large you want to create your car, keeping in mind that aspects of weight and durability need to be balanced.

Because wheels are so lightweight, they combine quite well with most other movement parts, benefiting a great deal from the use of thrusters, and having good synergy with winged craft.

While fast, their inability to turn without accelerating forward or backwards makes them somewhat awkward in close-quarters combat. Cruisers might have the final word in terms of potential ground speed, but their inflexibility in the air, as well as their huge weakness to plasma weapons, makes them fragile and susceptible to counterattack. The best way to utilize cruisers is for fast captures and ambush tactics, and to keep your momentum going as you weave your way through enemies.

General Tips

• Remember to add steering wheels to your bot. If you just use normal wheels, your bot will be unable to turn at all (unless you do something weird like use wings or jets). Using only steering wheels at all times is both common and acceptable.
  
• Wheel bots will want to keep mobile; their combined armor and speed means that this will play to their strengths the most, and therefore can make them harder to kill than most other bots. To this end, protecting your wheels is essentially your lifeblood for being a successful cruiser - if you lose even one wheel, a cruiser can become potentially immobile.
  
• Due to being both fast and pretty heavy, momentum plays a lot into their style. Any moment that you stop can be detrimental, as this will require you to build up speed again, and thus makes you more vulnerable to attack. Their awesome speed, combined with wheels being fairly light and capable of heavy carrying, means that careful consideration needs to be taken in terms of balancing mass - cruisers with high center of gravity are extremely susceptible to being flipped.
  
• Stick primarily to flat lanes if you simply need to get to a target or point without being detected. If it's an emergency make sure to build up speed before attempting to ramp over a hill; otherwise, you run a risk of becoming stuck on the hill. As a general rule of thumb, don't attempt to drive over hills steeper than 50 degrees or so.
  
• Cruisers can acceptably work with most weapons, but their strangeness in maneuvering in close-quarters due to turn radius means they work best with long-ranged weapons. Consider SMGs, Railguns, and perhaps even Shredders for armaments for your cruiser.
  
• Cruisers are a decent choice for stealth, as they can move quickly enough to make use of the stealth's duration, and are low-profile enough to be difficult to spot at far distances. However, they can't get to unusual locations like fliers can, and are less likely to escape.
  
• Cruisers are perhaps the only mobility type I do not recommend using camera aiming for, as this offers very poor control of which direction your cruiser turns in order to move a direciton. The reason this is important is because cruisers cannot turn in place, and the fact that camera aiming will tend to make your cruiser try to face forward in relation to camera angle, when it can be much more efficient to drive in reverse.

Treads

CPU Cost - ★★★★★
Durability - ★★★★★
Weight - ★★★★★
Size - ★★★★
Maneuverability - ★★★★
Speed - ★★★★
Vertical - ★
Construction Difficulty - ★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★
Weaknesses: Plasma, Tesla, Ion, Shredder, Mortar
Camera Aiming: YES
Recommended Playstyle: Frontline Soldier and Lane Defense

Treads are very similar, superficially, to wheels: both are largely ground-bound movement types with comparatively excellent carrying capabilities. Unlike wheels, tread tanks can turn in place (sometimes quite quickly), can keep moving with just one tread (though they can't turn if only one tread's left) and have bar-none, the highest HP-per-CPU for mobility in the game, and pair this with bonus health boost. The fact they also have a very high CPU cost means that they take an incredible amount of punishment to disable. The fact that they are also replete with connection points means they are also easy to armor, and this, overall, makes them the most durable movement option, capable of holding chokes and points for the longest duration if enemies keep going after them. Even if they do die, they usually are well-capable of fighting back and moving until the last hit if built properly - and in such cases, it usually will be the treads themselves to be the last things to go.

Tanks are easy to design - they have little regard to positioning or balance thanks to their high mass. Usually the mass is enough to throw a bot's center-of-mass far enough in favor of their treads to keep it balanced. Good tanks obviously will want to make liberal use of chassis blocks, meaning that, though they are simple to build, they can be somewhat expensive, and also take a while to build up.

The heavy weight of tanks means they combine poorly with other movement components, but they are still well-capable of gaining benefits from speed boost.

Tanks suffer from being somewhat sluggish in speed, limiting their ability to go offensive often (though thanks to high base speed, this can be remedied by stacking thrusters). They also struggle greatly when forced to deal with steep slopes, as this usually causes them to stall if they don't approach the hill with enough speed or aren't light enough. This said, the majority of their excellent performance is on solid, flat ground, meaning most tanks do best sticking to and controlling the main lanes of the battlefield - you know exactly where a tank will go, and it usually will be able to muscle out to hold that position. Inversely, they are easier to catch by surprise, and if there's no clear path between them and their team, they tend to flounder badly.

General Tips

• When adjusting the controls for a tread bot, there is the option "Tanks turn to face camera", which will modify whether a tank bot should rotate to face your aiming reticle while standing still or not. Usually I advise using this as it allows for quicker mobility when moving forward out of a still position, as well as smarter damage distribution (especially if your front face is extremely armored)
  
• Because treads almost always move, regardless of what you stack on them, this bot type can be a great practice form for learning how to perfect armoring. Effective tanks will want to make sure their armor is heavy and properly directed, as this will be their fallback as they attempt to make an escape.
  
• Though treads can utilize camera aiming, the aiming methods used to direct them can and will have them move backwards when possible. Thus you will want to equally armor most parts of the tank to ensure you do well when approached from any angle. Also, the camera aiming on tanks right now is currently super janky.
  
• Armor your treads. Always. By fully covering their top and sides, and having all their connection points attached to the chassis, they become way more difficult to eliminate, and therefore make your bot that much harder to immobilize. Also, it's much more valuable to armor the top and front of the treads rather than the sides, as most enemy bots you'll face will likely be attacking from above you.
  
• Tanks can excel using SMGs, Rails, or Aeroflak. I do not recommend using larger/mega versions of weapons, as the slowness and inertia of tanks does make them easier to hit and disarm, and your predictable movement will make it basically impossible to maneuver your tank to ambush an enemy and get the first strike. It's all about redundancy with these machines.
  
• Tanks generally are not a great option for using a special module. If you do want to use one, your best bet would likely be a shield module or weapon energy module. Still, even one module will heavily cut into your CPU funds and will usually make you easier to kill, and will otherwise negatively affect your ability to last long in combat.

Mech Legs

CPU Cost - ★★★★
Durability - ★★★★★
Weight - ★★★★
Size - ★★★★★
Maneuverability - ★★★★★
Speed - ★
Vertical - ★★★★
Construction Difficulty - ★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★
Weaknesses: Protoseeker, LOML, Ion, Shredder, Mortar
Camera Aiming: YES
Recommended Playstyle: High-Altitude ambush and backup

Mechs are the other heavyweight bot type available - high-profile stomping mech legs. Mechs walk slowly, but have access to a massive leap and a crouch (which can be used to crouch-jump to even greater heights), and are equipped with heavy self-righting mechanisms that keep the mech upright almost constantly. Mech Legs, along with treads, are one of the very few movement types that can retain a full range of motion with just one component, meaning that they can still attempt a getaway when on their (literal) last leg.

Mechs are also quite easy to build, as their self-righting component means most of the mech's mechanics will sort itself out after you've built your robot. Alongside tanks, they grant your bot some health boost, making them more difficult to take down.

Mech legs are heavy, but not prohibitively so. Mechs jumping means they gain some surprising combination potential with all sorts of aerial mobility options, including hovers (the oldest interaction), rudders, rotors, wings, and thrusters.

Though mech legs are generally a heavyweight playstyle, they should NOT be played like tanks: A mech is extremely weak when ambushed, as it lacks the speed on its own to make an effective getaway. Mechs also will slow down considerably when reduced to a single leg, so make sure to protect your legs carefully. The large profile of mech legs, their intractability to be armored, and their comparatively low health for what huge targets they are, means that mechs tend to be more easily immobilized than other bot types (unless a ton of legs are used). To deal with this, the jump power of a mech should be used to its fullest potential. Whereas a tank performs in main lanes and can provide powerful control when grouped together, mechs cross between lanes, jumping up cliffs and up mountainsides, and are heavy assault/ambush units that can lie in wait for prey.

General Tips

• Mechs can utilize mouse aiming. Because of this, it's possible to ensconce smaller guns inside chassis if you want to protect their flanks. This control scheme also allows you to fortify your most vital parts more smartly.
  
• Bumping into the side of a hill, or firing a high-recoil weapon (i.e. Mega-plasma or Ion Distorter) can disable your self-righting, so be wary if you're using thrusters or hovers and you try to climb a hill that's too high.
  
• Mechs do amazing with just about any weapon: Their ground steadiness makes them great candidates for aeroflak and railguns, while their ability to jump up to high ground gives them greater vantage points to fire said guns, as well as lay down powerful volleys with Plasma. They aren't bad with most modules either, though they are about the worst thing you could use for a ghost module.

Insect Legs

CPU Cost - ★★★
Durability - ★★★
Weight - ★
Size - ★★★★★
Maneuverability - ★★★★★
Speed - ★★
Vertical - ★★★
Construction Difficulty - ★★★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★★
Weaknesses: Laser, Plasma, Ion, Shredder, Mortar
Camera Aiming: YES
Playstyle: Stealth and Sniping

Insect Legs I can only describe best as 'precision' ground style movement. These legs are delicate, extremely grippy, and can perform some advanced maneuvers. Insect Legs have a ton of options, both in how to move as well as how to combine with other mobility. In the case of the former, insect legs can climb up any surface of any angle, make jumps off of their current surface (perpendicular to their current angle), stay folded up by holding down the jump button, can crouch towards their grasped surface, and can quickly turn in place. A minimum of 4 legs (2 forward, 2 sideways works best) is required to make an insect bot that operates effectively. In some cases, a trio of 2 sideways, 1 forward can also be effective.

At face value, there isn't a lot going for insect legs; they are large, fairly low health, and have a low HP value. To bypass their big weakness of slow movement, Insect's lightness on their own means they combine super-well with aerial mobilities of all types - their ability to fold their legs up into compact profile supports this, while the folding legs can also be utilized by a sled layout to allow an insect with thrusters to more quickly slide across the ground.

The grippiness and steadiness of insect bots means they are excellent snipers, and can quickly line up a steady shot, even if stationed on a steep slope. This is also because their legs are not suitable for upfront combat at all: For their size, they're very fragile, and losing even one leg can pretty seriously screw up a bots movement. While their hop is useful for avoiding a slow, singular strike from a railgun or plasma, its of no use against anything more directed or rapid-fire, so the majority of the insect-walker's maneuvers should be used to keep distance between themselves and their enemy.

General Tips

• Unlike with Mechs, Insect Legs cannot control their jump height; the only thing holding down space does on an insect mech is prevent the legs from unfolding when they make contact with ground - which, as mentioned below, can be utilized to allow faster mobility pieces to operate. Keep this in mind, as the buffed jump height of the insect legs is quite substantial.
  
• Insect Legs were basically made for Railguns. They aren't terrible candidates for Aeroflak or Lock-On Missiles either. If you do plan on making a stealth-assassin build (you'll want LOTS of speed boost), usually the Ion Distorter would be the way to go.
  
• Insects do well with most modules; they can gain height and grip to walls to use the Blink Module effectively, can stop precisely enough to use the Shield Module, and can get to some unexpected places (and fly if equipped right) to utilize Ghost Module.

Sprinter Legs

CPU Cost - ★★★★
Durability - ★★
Weight - ★★★★
Size - ★★★★★
Maneuverability - ★★★★
Speed - ★★★★
Vertical - ★★★
Construction Difficulty - ★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★
Weaknesses - Laser, Plasma, Ion, Chainshredder
Camera Aiming: YES
Recommended Playstyle: Shock troop, versatile assault, kiting

Sprinter Legs are a speedy offshoot of basic Mech Legs. They retain many of the traits that make Mech Legs so popular, including strong self-righting, and a powerful jump. What sets them apart from normal mechs big-time, however, is their high speed, clocking in at 180 miles per hour. They might not be as fast as well-built hovers or fliers, but with their much more reliable performance concerning staying upright and being able to conquer hills, they can do a laudable job at catching their prey. They also have access to a long jump, which can be done by jumping while running forward to produce a high-speed lunge forward, moving you even faster than just running, but leaving you completely stationary after a landing. You'll know when you do the lunge when your bot sticks their legs out in front of them.

Even with comparatively high health and speed, as well as support for making large bots, sprinters have their fair share of weaknesses. First off is that their high-speed lunge doesn't play nice with most mobility. Hovers will seriously slow you down on the descent of the lunge. The lunge itself also has a large downside, in that it leaves you immobile for a split-second after landing.

Second is that their self-righting, relative to their amazing speed, often isn't quite strong enough to always keep a sprinter balanced. Landing on tilted terrain can send you bouncing up in the air at low speed, and high-speed collisions with other bots often send both you and the other flying and flipping. Unless you have luck and some proper leverage, you likely will end up stuck at worst, and at best, a pretty obvious target.

Finally, their much smaller health pool, combined with their still-gigantic size, means they are very weak to being immobilized by incoming fire. Much like with normal mechs, losing one leg slows your mech to a crawl and removes your lunge. Combining this with the fact that they don't meld well with secondary mobility, and this means that Sprinter Legs can often find themselves immobilized and deep in enemy territory if not played well. Sprinters are powerful enough to lead attacks and deal with the flack, but they will want to use their agility to the best of their ability; to avoid attacks, knowing when to flee and return fire, and being able to quickly cross the side routes to deal flanking assaults.

General Tips:

• Know when and how to use your jumps. Standard jumps are still highly important to Sprinter Mechs, as this will again allow them to take unexpected routes to ambush enemies. In turn, the crouch jump technique still works to gain extra altitude (but because the crouch is glitched and moves at like 2mph, it isn't useful at all FIX THIS FREEJAM YOU IDIOTS). Inversely, the long jump will provide a huge speed boost in a pinch. Because of its drawbacks, though, always remember to know where you're jumping to. Sprinter mechs are very vulnerable to incoming attacks both during and after their leap, as they cannot change trajectory in the middle of a jump, and will be immobile after landing. The leap's best used to either flee behind a piece of cover, or to cross gaps and make jumps to get to the battle quickly.
  
• The long jump only will occur if you are running forward near your maximum speed, and if you hold down the spacebar for a jump. Short-hops can be utilized for some added evasiveness and unpredictability, while also preserving your forward momentum.
  
• Sprinter legs can only long-jump forward. If using camera aiming, they will not use the long-jump if you are strafing, backing up, or even running forward diagonally.
  
• Sprinter mechs might be the best option for many heavy-duty weapons, since they have the responsiveness to quickly get into position to use such weapons, the speed to chase down enemies with them, and the carry weight to maintain mobility with them. They tend to favor more wild weapons in this regard, with Ion Distorters and Chain Shredders likely being their best candidates. They are also very good with railguns, but only on solid, flat terrain.
  
• Thanks to their versatility between their speed and precision, they also will do well with just about any special module. A special module to note is the Blink Module, as it can be combined with the lunge to not just cancel out the landing stun, but to cover huge amounts of ground if you teleport to midair, thanks to the BLM preserving momentum. Probably the only 'iffy' choice would be the Ghost Module, due to sprinters' large size making them easy to graze with bullets.

Skis

CPU Cost - ★
Durability - ★★★
Weight - ★
Size - ★★
Maneuverability - ★★
Speed - ★★★★★
Vertical - ★★★
Construction Difficulty - ★★★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★★
Weaknesses: Laser, Plasma, Protoseeker, Chainshredder, Mortar
Camera Aiming: N/A
Playstyle: Rapid response hit-and-run

Skis are unusual in that they themselves are not a form of locomotion, but instead augment your bot in such a way that it can move. In other words, having skis on the bottom of your bot will make your contact with the ground very slippery, but skis alone will not enable you to move (despite having a base speed listed). Once a form of movement is added however, ski sleds can slide across the ground very easily, and with enough thrust, can charge right over hills and strike from unexpected angles. A well-constructed sled can perform many advanced maneuvers, including self-grounding, self-righting without having to use the self-right function, and even manual jumps/limited hovering. Their stats are quite similar to wheels, lack of movement aside, and much like wheels they work best in sets of at least 4.

Sleds have similar difficulties in creation as aircraft, with high concern for weight distribution, thrust distribution, and keeping light. Optimally, a sled will use thrusters to gain movement, so reference on thrusters should be read to see how those interact precisely. In short, however, sleds are heavily affected by mass and inertia, meaning the heavier your sled becomes, the more difficult it is to turn, stop, and accelerate.

Sleds extreme lightweight nature, as well as their low CPU cost, mean that they combine readily with almost any other mobility piece. Though keep in mind that their benefits are quite limited for other ground mobility options. Skis combine most naturally with thrusters, as they are the lightest mobility option that provide some of the fastest movement, and remove the thruster's normally low speed cap while also benefiting greatly from thruster speed boost. They are great support pieces for planes as well, providing an easier method for takeoff and landing.

Sleds, being a subset of thruster drones, are tough to precisely categorize in how they operate, but in general, like other drones, it shares the common weakness of falling apart rather quickly under concentrated fire, and being easy to throw off balance. Even when bound to the ground, providing more stability, sleds distribution of thrust means that a stray hit that sloughs off the right parts of the ship will render it unable to navigate properly.

General Tips

• I recommend a minimum of 8 thrusters on these bots; 2 pairs pointed forward and backwards near the center, and 2 pairs towards the front and back pointing to the sides. This grants your sled both mobility in general, as well as responsive turning in place.
  
• Turning thrusters can be omitted if you use a proper pairing of turning and normal skis, but I really do not recommend this - essentially, a setup with nothing but forward thrusters acts more or less like a very fast and slippery car, which will spin out of control very frequently.
  
• Having thrusters pointed down is also highly recommended, as these can help you stop in place, as well as stick to the ground if you're climbing up a steep slope.
  
• Steering Skis are both more flexible and shorter than normal skis. They generally are more desirable to use in general.
  
• Sleds' best bet as far as weaponry go would likely include Nanos, Tesla Blades, Protoseekers, and Ion Distorters. Going with heavy weaponry isn't recommended, as sleds are all about speed and response instead of sustained firepower.
  
• Sleds can do well with blink and ghost modules. Because their mobility is based on thrust, they are capable of jetting through the air temporarily if they do blink up high.

Hoverblades

CPU Cost - ★
Durability - ★★
Weight - ★
Size - ★
Carry weight - ★★
Maneuverability - ★★★
Speed - ★★★★
Vertical - ★★★★
Construction Difficulty - ★★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★
Weaknesses - Laser, Protoseeker, LOML, Ion
Camera Aiming: YES
Playstyle: Rapid response, ambush, and flexibility

Hovercraft are some of the easiest 'aerial' units to create, though they aren't strictly air units like most would expect, instead having only a basic control of how far off the ground they can hover. The biggest feature of hovers is that they are very easy and precise in their turning, and while they have low traction in terms of acceleration and deacceleration, they are overall a highly responsive movement type that can adapt altitude and facing easily to gain good position in combat. A hovercraft needs at least four hovers to keep stable in midair (positioned high off the ground, basically backwards to how you'd place wheels or treads), but a hover can maintain some slight movement and turning even with just one hover - it'll be stuck on the ground and will put you at an awkward angle, but in a pinch it can make for an alright escape.

Since hovers are technically "air" units, they are the first of the mobility types to be heavily impacted by carry weight. In this case, their carry weight determines if your hover can actually... Well, hover. Over-encumbered hovers can still move at the same speed, and turn (slowly), but completely lose any ability to actually fly above the ground.

Hovers can provide excellent benefits to most ground units, providing extra turning precision at least, and in more extensive cases, slight vertical movement. Planes and Copters can even benefit from hovers if you want to create aircraft that can maintain mobility on the ground after being shot down.

Hovers are one of the most flexbile mobility types in the game, as their ability to be hidden entirely inside a bot's armor means they can provide an alternative mobility type for a heavily-armored ship. Meanwhile their maneuverability and ease of use makes them otherwise a popular choice for lightweight bots. However, in both cases, hovers main weakness is that the component itself is quite fragile. even with surplus hovers, a hovercraft is generally easier to immobilize, and because of their hovering height, are also somewhat easier to spot if coming in through a main lane. Much like mechs, you'll want to plan your route of attack to create an ambush.

General Tips

• Hoverblades cannot climb super steep slopes, unless fitted with a great deal of forward thrust. In general, you won't want to go beyond 60-70 degrees.
  
• Hovers also ascend and descend very slowly, so always be ready to adjust altitude when you need to.
  
• Hoverblade stacking should be merely to ensure proper carrying weight for your hoverblades, as opposed to mobility redundancy. Again, because hovers can easily be embedded behind other components or chassis, they can easily be designed to be the last things you lose on your bot - which, by then, your bot will be lighter from damage and thus need less blades to carry itself around.
  
• Speaking of, Hoverblades benefit a huge amount from thrusters, which can help make them much faster and much more responsive, as well as climb up much steeper hills.
  
• Always descend when you aren't looking to fight. By keeping low to the ground, this gives you one less face of your bot you have to worry about being damaged. This is also a great tactic if you're using ghost modules or teslas, and is also great if you need stability after you've been damaged.
  
• Inversely, hovering at max altitude makes you much harder to nail with Plasma blasts, so look to reach high-ground if your enemy is trying to bomb you.
  
• Because hovers can gain altitude, they are similar to mechs in that they are great with a wide variety of weapons, with the exception of Aeroflak, Railgun (need steady positioning and grounding), and Tesla (slow to make contact with ground.) Keep in mind however whether you place weapons on the top or bottom; usually you'll want short-ranged weaponry on your lower side, and far-ranged weapons above. And of course remember you can place weapons on the front if you need both!
  
• Similarly, Hovers can use just about any module effectively.

Thrusters

CPU Cost - ★★★
Durability - ★
Weight - ★
Size - ★
Carry weight - ★
Maneuverability - ★★★★★
Speed - ★
Vertical - ★★★★★
Construction Difficulty - ★★★★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★
Weaknesses - Laser, LOML, Protoseeker, Aeroflak
Camera Aiming: YES
Playstyle: Extreme lightweight, super-evasive

Thrusters, like skis, are primarily an augmenting mobility option used to provide extra push to a bot in a specific direction. This is offset by their extremely poor maximum speed on their own, capping out at 120 mph (the slowest of any mobility types, tied with propellers) but this is also offset by their high speed boost stat. Because of thrusters' excellent force applied compared to their mass and cost, thrusters can produce some of the outright fastest bots in the game when used correctly, and make for some incredibly hard to hit targets. Depending on how extensive your thruster placement is, drones can either be a cakewalk to control, or be a laborious, unusual task.

That said, most of whether your drone's mobility really works comes down to how many, and in what directions, you place your thrusters. For basic lateral movement, it's important to have an equal number of thrusters facing forward, left, and right, providing the ability to go forward and turn in two directions - that's 6 thrusters minimum, and if you want to be able to do more advanced and desirable actions (ascend/descend, reverse, survive more than one shot), you are going to need more. This is why, despite individual thrusters being low in CPU, the rating for their cost here is so high.

One concept that's highly important to understand for thrusters is center of thrust. To provide movement desired in a given direction, you will want to balance your thruster placement perpendicularly to the center of mass. This provides thrust consistently in a plane versus the CoM of your bot, producing linear motion. If this is imbalanced, what tends to happen instead is that your bot will swing to the side that has more thrust on it, which can include downwards or upwards if you're building a flying craft, creating a sort of 'pendulum'.

As stated before, thrusters are the ultimate in terms of 'support' mobility - they can be used with literally any other movement option and can provide beneficial effects, mainly in terms of providing more acceleration.

Speed issues aside, thrusters biggest weakness is that they are fragile, though they are also fairly easy to conceal. A drone should make it an express point to try and avoid situations where they might directly take damage.

General Tips

• The speed boost stat is only applied from thrusters if they are facing forward. Even then I'm still not entirely clear if thrusters facing other directions are equally effective for your bot moving in different directions.
  
• While the size ranking listed here for Thrusters is low, thruster size seems to almost increase exponentially for each rarity tier you rise in. The largest class of thruster, Cheetah, really should be treated more as a booster for large bots with other mobility, rather than the basis for a thruster drone.
  
• Larger thrusters will provide your bot with much more boost-per-CPU than smaller thrusters that fill the same area. However, the smaller thrusters also will benefit from greater acceleration, as well as a much greater amount of boost regardless (while also being easier to place and coordinate.)
  
• Inversely, larger thrusters also have exponentially more armor than small thrusters, so if you're not confident in your bot's ability to evade incoming fire, you should stray away from the smallest thrusters when possible.
  
• When making a sled or other thruster-based vehicle, use larger thruster models for forward/backward motion, and smaller ones for more precise operations such as turning or elevation.
  
• Cars and Tanks will have the easiest time utilizing Thrusters (and propellers) if you want to use them. Since their mobility parts can already only move forward and backwards (no strafing), it is not strictly necessary to include thrust in any other directions.
  
• If making a pure thruster drone, your best hopes in terms of armament would likely include Plasma, Teslas, Nanos, or Protoseekers. For modules, use Blink or Ghost.
  
• Thrusters are very smart about how they apply to camera controls - a balanced portion of side thrusters, for example, can be used to not just turn your bot, but to also strafe. With enough thrusters it's possible to make a bot that responds as expected to just about any input, which in some way is the basis of the infamous Shuriken Drone.

Propellers

CPU Cost - ★★★★
Durability - ★★★★
Weight - ★★★
Size - ★★★
Carry weight - ★★★★★
Maneuverability - ★★★
Speed - ★
Vertical - ★★★★★
Construction Difficulty - ★★★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★
Weaknesses - Railgun, LOML, Aeroflak, Chainshredder
Camera Aiming: YES
Playstyle: Heavyweight aerial

Propellers are a large and heavy alternative to thrusters. By no means should they be confused for rotors, as Propellers do not angle like a rotor would, limiting the propeller's range of motion to forward and backwards thrust. That said, the propeller does have a leg up on thrusters in this regard; a single propeller can apply force in two directions, meaning a minimum of 4 propellers would be required for a full range of motion (one for up/down, one for forward/back, and two to enable turning off-center from Center of Mass). Propellers accelerate much slower compared to thrusters, but they offset this with their tankier nature. The high HP combined with their large hitbox means they can be used creatively to shield other components - like wings!

As a recent component, Propellers only come in two different size classes - the smaller Tomahawk, and the larger Thunderbolt. The speed boost difference between the two isn't that large, and the weight, CPU, and health relations between the two components are nearly linear, with tomahawks having roughly half the stats that thunderbolts do. The larger model does seem to get slightly more armor per CPU considering, but that likely is to cancel out its larger nature making it a bigger, more singular target.

The same general design principles behind a thruster drone would theoretically apply here - if we discount the fact that propellers are much larger and more difficult to place due to this. Whereas thrusters are fairly insubstantial, propellers are big targets, and are heavy. By and large, on an air vehicle, they very well might end up being the heaviest component slapped on there. This is offset of course by the power that a propeller offers, as the carrying capacity on a propeller is also extremely high, with the speed dropoff on the larger Thunderbolt model being a weight ranking in the realm of tank-level masses. (24,910 kg. To put that in perspective, my quad-tread 2000 CPU tank build I use weighs in at 28,265 kg.) Whatever aircraft you put together using propellers - yeah, it's probably gonna fly.

The weakness of these old-timey propellers is that, while very durable compared to thrusters, they still are large targets, making them prime victims for railguns. Inversely, a plane using propellers is not going to move anywhere near as precise as a thruster jet would, making it even more vulnerable against aeroflak and LOML barrages. Propellers also take a while to wind up, which makes them unsuitable for super-agile propeller drones and changing direction rapidly. The key here it seems is to establish aerial superiority early on.

General Tips

• Their immense carry weight and durability means they provide potentially an even greater amount of benefit to ground builds than thrusters do. Even mechs and tanks are more liable to obtain benefit from using propellers.
  
• The base of a propeller is easily surrounded, while the propeller itself isn't. It's a good idea to embed the heavy 3x3x3 base inside chassis if you can.
  
• As an aerial unit, most of the same rules of good weapon choices of a thruster drone would likely apply for the propellers. Likely with some added leeway for weapons such as ions considering their great carry weight.
  
• Propeller-using bots tend to not be great in terms of module choices, simply by virtue of propellers being CPU-expensive. That said, a propeller-bot can use most air-oriented modules effectively, such as blink and cloak. The energy module can also be useful in some instances.
  
• For all their strengths, propellers are not a good choice for close-ranged ambush builds (ones that don't rely on cloaking) because if there's one thing they can be faulted for, it's their extremely loud and distinctive noise they make while revved up!

Rotors

CPU Cost - ★★★
Durability - ★★
Weight - ★
Size - ★★★★
Carry weight - ★★
Maneuverability - ★★★★
Speed - ★★★
Vertical - ★★★★★
Construction Difficulty - ★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★
Weaknesses - Laser, Railgun, LOML, Aeroflak, Protoseeker, Chainshredder
Camera Aiming: YES
Playstyle: Rapid response, land-to-air ambush, interception

When it comes to true aerial bots, copters are some of the easiest to construct and control. They can maintain a fairly steady position in midair, and can gradually tilt in order to gain some momentum through the air. Rotors can also change altitude without having to build up speed, being able to just ascend and descend directly. This also means they can maintain altitude pretty closely to the ground. In essence they operate like hovers that have a much higher maximum altitude, but in exchange, a much larger hitbox, looser handling, and a much lower max speed than airplanes. While it is possible to pilot copters near the ground, it's not recommended since the tilt can easily make contact with the ground and roll your copter.

Building a functional copter is as easy as attaching at least 2 rotors to a bot and calling it a day. Lightweight copters are super-responsive and can make for some of the most agile builds in Robocraft. However, this benefit quickly goes away once mass begins to increase. Even after they go over carry limit however, they still will usually be able to get your bot into the air, albeit clumsily. The more rotors you use, the more you can carry - as well as the more hits you'll be able to take before plummeting to the ground.

Rotors go best with Insect legs, which can take the best advantage of Rotors' great ability to take off and descend rapidly anywhere. Thrusters also overcome most of the inertia issues that Rotors naturally have, enabling more aerial control. They also can be used pretty easily to make flying mechs. Hovers are an easily concealable and pretty similar component that can be used to quickly grant you some mobility if grounded.

The biggest weakness of the rotor is that their blades are very large, and very fragile for their size. This makes them somewhat similar to insect legs in that a copter isn't a great candidate for a frontline fighter. Copters are also very sluggish to planes, with the rotors themselves having a lot of inertia. The solution to these problem, however, lies in the fact that copter blades are also very thin, meaning it's possible to stack them vertically for a high degree of redundancy. Whether you have few rotors or many, however, you should use your ability to fly low, combined with your ascent and descent to hide behind cover, and then strike from above when they least expect it.

General Tips

• If all else fails, use redundancy. Because rotors are so hard to hide, and are pretty good at balancing by default, having just a huge cluster of them makes it possible to keep airborne, even when heavily damaged.
  
• While big, Rotors are also quite low CPU. As a result, very small copters with big weapons can put out some obscene damage thanks to DPS mechanics.
  
• Rotors can not only hover stationary in air, but can even do this while tilted up or down. They are one of the only mobility types to make full use of the "use camera angle" mechanic, and can do so without severe control impacts. That said, rotor positioning can be extremely robust in head-on combat if they are positioned directly behind the chassis of your bot, providing a wall between your rotors and the enemy.
  
• Copters, like hovers, benefit heavily from thrusters and will become much more responsive if fitted with some. If you aim thrusters upwards, they can also be used to enable a copter to rise above its normal height limit, making it a great option for aerial camping builds.
  
• Don't assume that all your targets will come from below. Keep in mind that rotors will also function if placed upside down, so when making redundant rotors, include some of those in case your enemy happens to strike from above.
  
• Because rotors can rise and strike from obscurity easily, as well as very rapidly retreat behind cover, they are some of the best candidates for most heavy weapons, including Missile Launchers, the Chain Shredder, the Mega Plasma (as well as standard plasma weapons), and a variety of other mega weapons. The simple fact they can be played so easily as either hit-and-run or a relentless chasedown unit means they do well with almost every weapon (save Aeroflak and Railgun).
  
• Air units in general do great with just about any module except the Shield Module.

Aerofoils/Rudders

CPU Cost - ★★
Durability - ★★★/★
Weight - ★
Size - ★★★/★
Carry weight - ★★/★
Maneuverability - ★★/★★★★
Speed - ★★★★★
Vertical - ★★★★★
Construction Difficulty - ★★★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★★
Weaknesses: Laser, Railgun, Aeroflak, Chainshredder
Camera Aiming: YES
Playstyle: Frontline rushing, bombing

Planes are notable for having some of the best base characteristics and stats of any mobility type: fair durability, an impressive carrying capacity, and lightning-fast speed, with the highest base speed of any mobility type (260 mph). They fly higher and more steadily than copters, and good designs can weave and dive through the air effortlessly to quickly change direction. Planes use a combination of large aerofoils and small rudders to gain control through the air, with a minimum of 4 wings, 2 on each side, to generate combined lift and control.

However, pure rudder drones are also capable of being made, which create builds that are lighter weight, even more responsive, and potentially even faster in the air. These designs can get by with even less; potentially only 4 horizontal rudders to generate even lift around the drone.

Designing a plane requires a mastery of understanding not just your center of mass, but also your center of thrust and center of lift. CoT is discussed in the thruster section, but center of lift requires that wings are fairly evenly distributed around your bot's center of mass. Mismatched center of lift and center of mass can cause your bot to either quickly or slowly tilt upwards or downwards when attempting to fly straight, and can make advanced aerial maneuvers difficult. There's also the issue of deciding what utilities to potentially include if you want to be able to stop in midair quickly, dive faster, or even retain control on the ground.

The recent change to wings also means that they now have built-in jets, meaning that thrusters or propellers are no longer necessary to create a plane. The jets on these wings are also combined with a feature that allows wings and rudders to pivot, aiming that thrust in any direction (planes can even fly backwards). That said, given that these mobility options provide sizable speed boost, it can be beneficial to add them in to maximize your plane's speed.

Lightweight planes or drones can gain enough thrust through design to control quite effortlessly and fly at any angle, but these tend to be fragile if hit. Inversely heavy planes are much easier to nail with weapons such as rails, but can take a few hits if they have redundant wings. Much like real-life planes, planes with lower thrust versus their mass can be subject to stalling in midair if they angle upwards too sharply, and once a normal plane crashes into the ground, they are at a serious disadvantage due to potential difficulty of realigning themselves properly for takeoff again.

Planes need the rest of the team to distract the enemy to really excel; a spotted plane can get gunned down in seconds, and unless they dive fast and hide, enemy damage is going to tear them out of the sky anyways. Once they slip in behind their enemy, though, their unexpected striking angle can allow them to hammer on their foes hard, and a blindsided enemy that's sustained damage will really be in no position to take a plane out of the sky.

General Tips

• The direction that a wing is placed determines what it does. Wings sticking outwards to the sides are the most functional, which will generate lift to fly with, and allow you to both pitch your bot up and down and roll left and right. Vertical wings do not generate lift, but will produce aerial stability and enable you to roll. Wings pointing forwards or back only generate lift, and are good for planes or drones that do not want to roll in order to turn in midair.
  
• Once again, go for redundancy when using aerofoils. A plane with aerofoils is going to be easier to hit than a rudder drone, so make yourself hardy. If you want to be evasive, design light and consider using only your rudders. Some plane designs go so far as to base their entire armor around using tons of aerofoils (which can make for some pretty wicked looking designs)
  
• It is possible to protect rudders by plating them up with very light chassis, or by using an aerorod cage (creating the basis of a tesseract), though this usually requires careful engineering to achieve.
  
• Consider adding reverse thrusters to a plane to make it a little harder to predict and make a midair stop. Also, do not glue your finger to W when using a plane; your goal when piloting (especially when anti-air units are around) is to be difficult to predict - which, yeah, is tough when you're a large plane. The ability to thrash around wildly is part of the reason why Tesseracts and rudder drones are so popular.
  
• The best weaponry for a plane is one of the non-mega variants of a plasma launcher, as their high altitude and quick pass-by make them ideal for a hit-and-run bombing strike. They can also be modestly effective using SMGs or Protoseekers for air-to-air combat, but this tends to either be difficult in its own right, or too slow to be effective. Ion Divebombers can be effective, but highly-risky since pulling back up into the sky deep behind enemy lines usually doesn't go well. Most other heavy weapons either explicitly can't be used in midair, or focus more heavily on sustained combat (like the chainshredder) and are thus not robust choices for planes.

WEAPONS: Key

The next most important determining factor to making a bot is choosing what weapons to equip. Usually, this choice is closely related to your mobility, as specific positionings and speeds will be conducive or counteractive to what each weapon can achieve.

Much like mobility, each individual weapon is graded on a scale from 1 to 5. These ratings apply roughly over all different variants of the weapon inside its classification. Empty stars refer to the maximum potential of the weapon based on what rank is used, while filled ones refer to a base minimum.

General CPU cost: How much CPU is required to place a decent number of turrets?
Durability: How much damage can a turret take?
Weight: How much does a turret weigh?
Size: How big is a turret?
Damage: How much damage does each shot landed of this weapon do?
Rate of Fire: How often does it put out shots?
Accuracy: How straight or focused are these shots?
Range: How far can the shots travel before they bloom out too far from the center, have too long a travel time, or otherwise dissipate?
Energy Consumption: How long can you fire the weapon before you run out of energy?
Playstyle Difficulty: How tough is it to use this weapon?

Laser

General CPU cost - ★★☆☆
Durability - ★★☆
Weight - ★★☆☆
Size - ★★★☆☆
Damage - ★☆☆
Rate of Fire - ★★★★★
Accuracy - ★★★★
Range - ★★★★
Energy Consumption - ★☆☆☆
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★
Playstyle: Backup weaponry, consistent mid-ranged damage

The oldest of all the weapons and by far the most balanced, the Laser is a steady and consistent contender of a weapon, and a great option for any build. The Laser (Formerly SMG/Subatomic Machine Gun) fires a tight cone of bolts that do damage to one block point. The bullet spread increases slightly as you hold down the trigger, which can be reduced by firing in short bursts. Their light bloom as well as their high rate of fire make them effective at both plinking targets down at extreme range, as well as laying down consistent assault closer up.

As an older-style weapon, the Laser comes in several different sizes. The trend is that the smaller versions of the weapon have less damage output overall, but retain a high rate of fire if enough guns are used, and use up much less energy. Heavier Lasers will fire much stronger projectiles with more accuracy, but fire a bit slower and use up more energy. This ranges between the tiny little mosquito Laser to the massive leviathan - the latter of which usually can only have up to 2 feasibly fit on a bot. Using higher-tier weapons also makes you marginally more glass-cannonish, with stronger attacks, but making you slightly more simple to disarm. This applies in spades to the leviathan.

The Lasers do not suffer any accuracy penalty from movement, and are quite lightweight Leviathan aside. This makes them flexible enough to be used feasibly on any bot build. The Laser does fall a bit in the wayside as it lacks stopping power that other weapons often have, but for general purposes, and for forcing back the smallest builds quickly, you really can't do much better than fall back on an Laser.

Lasers can be considered a counter to fleeing enemies, as they are very good at forbidding enemy regeneration. Lasers can technically counter any other weapon so long as they are engaging it at the right range. Inversely they get countered by any other weapon when at the wrong range. Armor against Lasers by using lots of thick chassis.

General Tips

• Especially for the Laser, aim matters. Knowing how to aim at turrets is key if you plan to fight defensively with an Laser, as the rapid fire, high accuracy, and difficulty of disarming all mean that a well-played Laser bot can outlast most other enemy types if they can disarm their foe.
  
• Lasers are the only weapon to have 'top-mounted' and 'front-mounted' variants. There is basically no reason to ever use front-mount turrets, though, even if you plan to put guns on the front. the normal top-mounted variant of Laser has a much greater range of motion compared to a front-mounted type, and even has a smaller placement-area as well.
  
• Wasps and Hornets will use up energy slower than it regenerates. This makes them the goto option for a backup weapon, as they're perfect to keep pressure up while you wait for energy to return for your powerful weapons.
  
• The higher-tier Lasers get progressively better when performing with burst fire attacks, making larger Lasers better for far-ranged combat. That said, the Mega Laser is one of the best-rounded weapons in the game, and deals out massive damage with each shot which makes it effective for both rapidfire shooting close-up and precision strikes at range. The Mega Laser's weaknesses include its high energy usage (making burst fire more preferable to conserve energy) and that its turrets are much more fragile than most large-size weapons.
  
• If no one else is available to do it, Laser is the designated anti-air unit. Use small bursts to whittle down at air targets and drive them away.
  
• To take most advantage of their flexibility, Laser positioning should be distantly and evenly distributed around your bots different faces. By doing this, it will render you much more difficult to fully disarm, and therefore keep you fighting back for the longest period of time. Lasers can excel when placed on any side of your bot, save for the back (obviously).

Plasma Launcher

General CPU cost - ★★★☆
Durability - ★★
Weight - ★★☆☆
Size - ★★☆☆
Damage - ★★☆
Rate of Fire - ★★★★
Accuracy - ★★★
Range - ★★★★
Energy Consumption - ★★★☆☆
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★
Playstyle: Burst damage, AoE, Hit and Run, Aerial
Counters: SMG (When on higher ground), Tesla, Protoseeker, Ion (When far)
Countered by: SMG (When lower), Railgun, Aeroflak, LOML, Ion (When near), Chain Shredder

Plasma fires arcing, exploding shots at its location. This makes it somewhat difficult to use on flying targets, but inversely makes it an amazing option for flying bots that want to bomb ground targets. Plasma, while its shots arc strangely, has absolutely 0 accuracy penalty otherwise, and once you adjust aim for your arc, landing a full volley of explosive blasts becomes a highly precise and deadly assault.

Plasma is another old-style weapon, having 6 different variants of differing size. The larger you go, the more damage the Plasma gains, but also the more energy it eats through. Much like SMG and their mega-leviathan gun, Plasma gets access to the Goliathon mega-plasma, which deals out insane burst damage that can cut straight through injured bots, but is both extremely high in energy cost, and can be sniped off very easily.

Plasma weapons are generally treated as mid-range weapons, otherwise, as their blast radius becomes much bigger as the projectile travels further, while inversely landing distant shots is highly difficult. The number 1 thing that defines plasma is that it's about burst damage all over your opponent, instead of consistent fire.

Plasmas counter ground bots, slow bots, and small bots effectively, and generally are the best option available for vaporizing a heavily damaged bot. Inversely plasma bots are very bad at hitting aerial targets, and once they deplete energy, they are mostly harmless. Armor against plasma by using spaced-out plates that can deny AoE damage flow.

General Tips

• The further down you aim your weapon, the 'straighter' your plasma shot fires comparatively, as it has less gravity to counteract it. That's why aerial units and mechs perform so well with these weapons.
  
• The smallest variants of plasma are probably the best bet for you if you wish to use the weapon for anti-air, since its firing speed and energy usage give it the best chance to land hits. Still, not the optimal solution for fighting flyers. Just keep in mind; plasma pulsers are probably the best-rounded choice for Plasma weapons.
  
• Top-mounted or bottom-mounted plasmas work best for land and air units respectively. Plasma is another comparatively small gun, so the same rules of even distribution can apply to them.
  
• Plasmas pair optimally with the Laser and Aeroflak, as these are both moderate energy cost weapons that can effectively counter aerial targets. In other words, this covers the exact bases that Plasmas don't. Small-grade Railguns also might work quite well.

Railgun

General CPU cost - ★★★
Durability - ★★
Weight - ★★
Size - ★★☆
Damage - ★★★★☆
Rate of Fire - ★☆☆☆
Accuracy - ★★★★★
Range - ★★★★★
Energy Consumption - ★★☆☆
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★★
Playstyle: Sniping
Counters: Mega SMG, Plasma, Aeroflak, LOML, Ion (when far) Chain Shredder
Countered by: SMG, Plasma (When near), Tesla, Ion (When near), Protoseeker

The Railgun fires singular, high-power projectiles at its foes, dealing amazing damage at the point of contact. It's not entirely clear how the weapon works precisely at the moment - last I heard they mentioned that it dealt damage in a sort of 'pill' shaped AoE effect. When grounded or perfectly motionless, the railgun has spot-on accuracy, enabling far-ranged precision striking. Inversely, if flying through the air, the Railgun's bloom spirals out of control and it becomes impossible to hit targets beyond a couple feet, let alone a focus component. Shot bloom also will occur if you fire in rapid succession, or even if you just hold down the fire button (for some ridiculous reason, even if you're not firing off shots).

Railguns are another old-style weapon, though they only come in 5 sizes. The larger you get, the more devastating the railgun's strike becomes, but also the more energy it uses up per shot, and the slower your railguns can shoot. Even with slowed fire rate on higher ranks, DPS of your railguns will increase as you go up in size. The final class of Railgun, the Mega Impaler, can one-shot very small bots with ease, especially when combining with damage boost, but can only really feasibly fire 2 shots per full battery.

Railgun shots DO have a travel time, but they are very quick regardless. Just remember to lead your shots slightly if they're a fast-moving target, and always, ALWAYS pay attention to where your red aiming laser is showing. Once shot-leading is mastered, you can use the Railgun flexibly to either lay the hurt on ground bots, or rip aerial ones out of the sky. Do note that your laser is both visible and audible (as it generates a loud hum when near an enemy), so if you want discretion, keep your laser out of sight until you're ready to land a hit. (Also smaller rails might not generate as much noise)

In general, the railgun excels at countering flying targets, which is something only a few other weapons can really do. Copters in particular have a very hard time avoiding Railgun shots, and due to momentum, are pretty easy to predict in their trajectory. Railguns (smaller varieties) are also a counter to large, extremely-high CPU weapons, which are utter chump change for Railguns. A bot with a huge exposed weapon is just asking for it to get sniped off before they can close in. Inversely, railgun's counters are enemies that manage to get up close to the sniper, as the extreme energy costs of the weapon as well as its sluggish reload time means that it cannot keep up if the foe is bearing down on you. Railguns can be defended against by using good damage flow - external plates with oblique connections to the neighboring surface (and no connection to underlying armor) will stop damage from penetrating the inner-workings of your bot.

The slow firespeed of railguns also means that they are weak against small, fast bots that can put out high damage. Of course, if the user is lucky or skilled, these bots usually get vaporized in one shot.

General Tips

• The way damage and defense works in this game means that you'll want to be mindful of how you use your railguns depending on what size they are. Small railguns excel at disabling enemy weaponry, since the burst damage is still powerful enough to strip off enemy turrets one by one. Larger railguns will likely have a much better time aiming for center-of-mass to carve out the chassis and expose structural weaknesses with their limited energy. Keep this in mind also when considering your bot's damage boost.
  
• The railgun is hit the absolute worst by cooldown periods, with the penalty for recharge time per shot gets blatantly longer for each railgun you lose. This can also cause some issues if one of your railguns is blocked by chassis for a shot, as this will trigger a longer cooldown period. Regardless, one gun below nominal gun count tends to work fine. Anything lower and it becomes difficult to keep pressure up with railguns.
  
• A very important thing to note, holding down the trigger always produces bloom for railguns, even if you didn't shoot, and even if it wasn't a railgun you were shooting. This is part of why the Railgun is one of the hardest weapons to use properly, so always be light on your trigger finger when using this weapon. Even when using the smallest models, don't hold down the trigger unless your foe is very close.
  
• Railgun zoom when using ironsights is much stronger than any other weapon. It's so strong, it can even reveal enemies beyond the normal range of vision - and you can even land shots on these unaware enemies, too!
  
• While the Railgun is tough to land kills with, it earns tons of points for the sheer damage it can pump out, and is hands-down the best weapon for precision-disabling of an enemy. With this in mind, the Railgun needs lots of backup to really flourish in terms of killing power, making it much better in Team Deathmatch due to its tactical applications in enemy disabling and defense.
  
• Railgun turrets are the first ones that can be considered 'unwieldy'. Because railguns so severely outrange every other weapon, as well as the potential for certain bot types (mainly insect walkers) to stand at strange angles, it can be beneficial to put your railguns on the front face of your bot to maximize their aiming angle. This will make them more vulnerable to incoming fire, though, but this is only a concern at closer ranges.
  
• Railgun pairs best with Laser and Ion. The Laser can easily provide cover fire for when your weapon energy needs to recover, while an Ion can quickly send an enemy packing if they think they can get the best of you by getting close-up.

Nanotech Disruptor

General CPU cost - ★★
Durability - ★★
Weight - ★★
Size - ★★
Damage - n/a
Rate of Fire - ★★★★★
Accuracy - ★★★★★
Range - ★★
Energy Consumption - ☆☆☆☆
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★
Playstyle: Medic

The Nanotech Disruptor is the only weapon that cannot damage enemies (which doesn't really make it a weapon, but it can be selected and fired, so whatever). When used, it will fire repairing beams at a nearby ally, restoring lost parts and health over time. The beams lock on to the target, meaning you can focus on survival while healing your ally instead of aiming.

Nanotech Disruptors come in 3 sizes, with larger sizes offering much more healing per tick, and using up more energy. The smallest Nano, The Nano Binder, does not cost any energy to use, but it requires a lot of turrets to properly heal up an ally. Each of these energy/healing combinations make each disruptor good for something: The smallest Nano-Binder is optimal for subsistence healing when not in mid-combat, or in interrim situations where you need to recharge energy. Inversely the largest Nano-Constructor is best for emergency burst healing, and requires discretion to use properly (or else it quickly drains all energy.) The mid-level Nano-Mender is optimal for most balanced sustained medic use.

The Nanotech Disruptor's reach is not large, so you need to be fairly close to your target for it to work properly. You also cannot return fire while using a nano and will be vulnerable while aiming at the ally to heal, so it's best used when you're in cover. The decision on whether to try and heal up a dying ally or whether to fight back really comes down to if you have enough healing power to outdo enemy damage output.

Most Nanotech Disruptors, with enough turrets, can outheal just about anything over time if not shut down properly. Woe to any team that has to deal with an encampment that has 2 or more nano bots, as without some insane burst damage (specifically to the medics) that team will not go down. The best counter to a solo medic is to focus fire it, as there won't be any way for them to get healing in that situation. Inversely, the best counter to multiple medics is nothing short of pumping out enough damage fast enough to take out bots one by one - use weapons such as High-grade Plasmas, Tesla Blades, Ion Distorters, or Chain Shredders.

General Tips

• Backup weaponry is highly recommended. If you only have Nanos on your bot, they will have no way to fight back if cornered and alone.
  
• Stacking multiple types of Nano can be beneficial, as the smallest variant can keep you outputting healing while you wait for energy to return for your larger nanos.
  
• Simply firing Nanos will consume energy, whether your projectiles make contact with an injured ally or not. Keep this in mind and only attempt heals when you know your friend has taken damage. This obviously isn't a concern for players utilizing binder Nanos.
  
• A nano-bot will obviously want to be mindful of where their allies are clustering up so that they can provide support. Even if you're building a heavy bot to be for offense, having just a couple of nanos can be a huge benefit, and will generate more score for you if nothing else.
  
• Be judicious in which targets you choose to heal. Nearly-dead, immobilized bots are easy marks for enemies to hit, and usually will have glaring weaknesses exposed that can deal a large enough burst of damage to kill them entirely, no matter what healing you put out.
  
• Several different combinations of Nano size and numbers can generate similar amounts of healing (i.e. A full battery of Binders can heal about as much as a few Menders), without being impacted heavily by firing rate. Do keep in mind that the smaller number of nanos will be easier to disarm.

Tesla Blade

General CPU cost - ★★
Durability - ★
Weight - ★★
Size - ★★☆☆
Damage - ★★★★★
Rate of Fire - ★★★★★
Accuracy - ★
Range - ★
Energy Consumption - ☆☆☆
Playstyle Difficulty - ★
Playstyle: Stealth Melee/Backstabbing
Counters: SMG (When near), Railgun, Protoseeker
Countered by: SMG (When far), Plasma, Aeroflak (when in air), LOML, Ion Distorter, Chain Shredder

Appearing as a glowing fan of energy, the Tesla Blade cannot be fired like a traditional weapon, but instead automatically deals damage when it rubs up against an enemy while deployed. The weapon hits like a chainsaw, dealing rapid, huge bursts of damage at its point of contact, which can tear through a bot in seconds if the victim doesn't back out quick.

Tesla Blades come in 3 varieties, with larger blades being able to take marginally more punishment, and dealing much more damage. In exchange, the larger blades are obviously bigger targets, and they consume more energy. However in general tesla blades are a pretty low-energy weapon, which is part of what makes them such a great combination with the Ghost Module.

Tesla Blades can take a few hits, but they certainly are not made for such a purpose - to the point that, at any decent range, if an enemy sees you coming, they usually will be able to pick all your blades off before you can even close in. This is why it's key to either have your blades as a concealed backup weapon, or to simply take routes that the foe doesn't expect you to come from.

Once you've closed into range on your victim, not much can stop your destructive rampage. However, They can be pretty badly ripped up if an attentive user of the Ion Distorter weapons lands a hit on you. More generally, any bot that can outrun yours will be able to counter your tesla, so make sure to design your tesla bots light and flexible. Aerial units in general are much harder to nail with a tesla than ground, but it certainly isn't unheard of - especially if the air unit isn't moving much. Finally, never rush into a cluster of enemies head-on with teslas, as the combined damage from all of them will be enough to kill anything that thinks it's agile enough to hit all of them in a swoop.

General TIps

• Teslas are a notably poor choice for hovers, mechs, and tanks. The latter two are pretty self-explanatory, but in the case of hovers, their poor altitude-changing speed by default makes them more difficult than most to land killing blows on ground targets.
  
• While teslas can be highly effective on speedy ground units, such as cruisers, sleds, and even sprinters to a degree, keep in mind that having nothing but teslas on such a bot will render you useless against aerial foes.
  
• If you are combining the Tesla with something, Laser, Plasma, and Railgun can all be good options for landing shots to immobilize enemies and close in for the kill. Railguns work best for immobilizing aerial targets, while Plasma works best for ground targets. Laser is slower, but can potentially work for both. Even with all this, however, having extra weapons can potentially slow you down in being able to chase after fleeing enemies.

Aeroflak Cannon

General CPU cost - ★★★★★
Durability - ★★★★
Weight - ★★★★★
Size - ★★★★☆
Damage - ★(ground)/★★★(air)
Rate of Fire - ★★★★
Accuracy - ★★★★★
Range - ★★★★★
Energy Consumption - ★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★
Playstyle: Anti-Air & Defense
Counters: SMG (When below), Plasma, LOML, Tesla, Protoseeker
Countered by: SMG (When enemy is grounded), Railgun, Ion, Chain Shredder

The aeroflak cannon is a massive weapon that fires moderate-speed projectiles that hit their target for modest damage. On paper, the weapon's stats look amazing - its shots have 0 spread and spot-on accuracy when used on the ground, but in air, the gun cannot be fired, and the accuracy also doesn't take into account the fact that the projectiles shot are also quite slow (similar speed to Plasma). Used against ground targets or enemies at low altitude (hovers), the shots just hit the bot for some standard damage. When they even get near a target in the air, however, they instead explode in a smoky blast of destruction, dealing much higher damage in a radius. Aerial shots also will provide your gun with a damage boost that will stack over time, up to 10 times, ultimately resulting in around 7x its base damage output. The amount of this stacking buff that you have is visible inside the dotted ring surrounding the reticle, which slowly gets more spiked. Combined with the high fire rate of the weapon, this means that enemies that don't flee fast from the Aeroflak will soon get decimated by its sustained firepower.

The Aeroflak Cannon comes in two varieties, with the only difference being their fire rate per gun. The smaller variant is much smaller (though still gigantic for a single turret), but can't match the fire rate of the larger version. In turn, the larger cannon takes a gigantic mess of damage to destroy, having four very far apart connection points and the 2nd highest health of any gun, however it is so unbelievably unwieldy to both carry around and place on a bot, you usually are better off using the smaller Guardian model cannons.

The Aeroflak cannon's performance against ground targets is downright awful compared to most other weapons. If nothing else, the energy consumption for this kind of combat is extremely inefficient for how little damage it does. It also is not that easy to land its hits on aerial targets at a distance, due to slow projectiles once again, and of course there remains the issue of not gaining a damage boost from hitting ground targets. If a match has few aerial enemies, and/or enemies smart or flexible enough to remain at ground level, the aeroflak cannon quickly gets trumped.

Enemy flak cannons get countered very heavily by railgunners, which have superior range, are not vulnerable to their flak shots (when on the ground), can easily strafe out of the way of the slow projectiles, and against a large cannon, can easily nail shots on their weapon.

General TIps

• The name of the game with aeroflak is leading shots. For aerial targets, this tends to be a fairly simple task, due to basically all flying builds having a fair amount of inertia, making them take a while to turn or move. Unless their pilot is extremely good, even the dreaded drones will have a very hard time avoiding your shots. Landing shots on ground targets at a distance is a much different story, as you not only have to lead the shot, but also successfully land it.
  
• The smaller aeroflak model is strictly superior to one aeroflak guardian, as this will allow you to more evenly distribute cannons to make you more difficult to fully disarm, though this will cost twice as much CPU. Overall, the damage from projectiles of each gun isn't different, and the fire rate of the sentinel isn't too much lower than the guardian.
  
• Because of their purpose, aeroflaks will do best if placed towards or on the top of your bot.
  
• The Plasma provides perfect pairing with the Aeroflak, as it provides powerful killing force against both enemies not vulnerable to the Aeroflak, and against heavily-damaged aircraft.

Lock-On Missile Launcher

General CPU cost - ★★★★
Durability - ★★★
Weight - ★★
Size - ★★★☆
Damage - ★★★
Rate of Fire - ★★★☆
Accuracy - ★/★★★★★
Range - ★★★★★
Energy Consumption - ★★★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★
Playstyle: Pressure/Deterrence
Counters: SMG (When far), Plasma, Protoseeker, Tesla
Countered by: SMG (When near), Railgun, Aeroflak, Chain Shredder, Ion Distorter

The Lock-On Missile Launcher (LOML) Is a large missile battery that takes 3 seconds to lock on to a given target, within Line-of-sight of your camera. Without locking on, the LOML fires extremely drunken missiles that explode on contact with a bot or (more usually) the ground. Once locked on, however, these missiles will guide themselves towards their target, guaranteeing a hit unless the enemy ducks behind cover very early on.

The LOML comes in two different sizes: Stinger and Viper. The smaller Stinger, compared to the Viper, fires slower per individual LOML, and is roughly half the size and weight. Overall the Stinger can match the stats of the Viper while also being significantly more difficult to disarm, with the missles launched by each weapon doing the same damage on hit. The only drawback of the Stingers is that each missile launched does cost more energy.

LOMLs can be threatening, and are downright deadly if they catch an enemy in the middle of a clearing without cover. In this sense they are a brutal counter to tanks and mechs that find themselves in such a situation. Inversely, because there isn't exactly cover in the sky, they also make for a great anti-air weapon against planes - drones and copters, though, tend to have enough control to quickly drop out of the sky. On the other hand, the LOML is an excellent option for aerial units due to having no aerial penalties, generally higher possible speeds, and their high altitude giving them great lines of sight on their targets.

One of the biggest weaknesses of a LOML is that they indicate to the enemy the direction your attack is coming from, and also when you're ready to fire at them (with a really annoying klaxxon effect). This can be exploited to some psychological effect, as it essentially forces the target to either deal with you directly (which can be a problem for them if they're fighting others) or to flee. When fighting a LOML, know that breaking line of sight with a LOML, even for a millisecond, will force them to reprime their missile lock on sequence.

Some of the best counters to the LOML include fast bots that can get close to the ground, bots with the BLM (can jump behind cover quickly or cross behind cover to break lockon), and the Ghost Module (cloaking instantly cuts off lockon). Firing aggressively at their turret (preferrably, once again, with a railgun) can also cut off their assault.

General TIps

• If fighting in close range, scattered dumbfire LOML shots can still hit and inflict damage, so use this if you're nearby a ground target and you don't have time to switch weapons/need powerful damage fast.
  
• LOML can be used to defend allies if you see them losing a 1-on-1 battle; even if you don't fire, the threat of being hit by missiles will force your foe to either retreat or return fire at you. Likewise, the indicated direction of incoming missiles can be tough for them to spot unless they look down.
  
• It's highly recommended to combine the LOML with a backup weapon, as it quickly uses up energy and can be easy to disarm.
  
• On aerial units, LOML is another weapon that pairs great with plasmas, as this can provide quick damage when there isn't time or need to lock-on with the LOML.

Protoseeker

General CPU cost - ★★★
Durability - ★★
Weight - ★★★
Size - ★★★
Damage - ★★
Rate of Fire - ★★★★★
Accuracy - ★★★★★
Range - ★★
Energy Consumption - ★★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★
Playstyle: Anti-Lightweight, Chasedown
Counters: SMG, Railgun, Tesla
Countered by: Plasma, Aeroflak, LOML, Ion Distorter, Chain Shredder

The Protoseeker can, in some way, be considered a small version of the LOML. It also locks on to targets, but it does so instantly and silently. Its projectiles are extremely fast and hit very rapidly for annoying damage, but this is offset by the weapon's limited range and low damage per projectile.

Protoseekers are the only weapon to only have one size. They come in surprisingly large turrets, which can make their positioning be a bit awkward. They also are disproportionately heavy compared to their size. Still, compared to a lot of newer weapons, they are a good deal lighter and smaller than usual, but they still stick out pretty severely.

Protoseeker qualities make them excellent mid-range weapons - in fact, they are strictly better at this function than SMGs are, as they reliably hit way more shots at that range and thus deal higher damage. In comparison, PSKs are way less flexible: Up-close, PSKs can theoretically get outdamaged by the SMG (so long as the SMG is above minimum rank), while at range, they just can't land shots. The ability to land shots up-close with PSK and force enemies back into this range, however, as intimidation by incoming damage can force enemies nearby to flee into this optimal range.

PSKs perform poorly against bots with high redundancy, as their shots cannot exactly focus-fire key components like a SMG can. Because their turrets are fairly large and low on HP, Plasma could also be considered a counter to them, as they slightly outrange the PSK, and also deal much higher damage. Even then, any bot that can stay outside their reach will be able to take them down.

General Tips

• If PSKs do not have a target, they fire with an annoying bloom that makes it difficult to hit non-enemy targets precisely at range (protonium cores or crystals). If you plan to run Ranked Mode with a PSK, It's recommended to carry some sort of backup weapon.
  
• For their damage output, PSKs are quite inefficient compared to SMGs. PSKs can continue firing fairly rapidly even when energy has run out, but the rate of fire reduction does have a large impact on DPS output.
  
• PSKs simultaneously counter and benefit fast, lightweight bots the most - a lightweight bot will not have the extensive network to deal with the incoming damage. Inversely, being fast will allow the player to close in and chase their target with a swarm of PSK most effectively.
  
• While PSKs can still nail targets using turrets behind your chassis, they do not benefit from the same immense range that the LOML has, and are much more liable to fizzle out in this case before they reach their target.

Ion Distorter

General CPU cost - ★★★★
Durability - ★★★
Weight - ★★★★
Size - ★★☆
Damage - ★★★★☆
Rate of Fire - ★★☆
Accuracy - ★★★★
Range - ★★
Energy Consumption - ★★☆☆
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★
Playstyle: Burst destruction/Close-ranged deterrence
Counters: SMG (When near), Tesla, Railgun (When near), Aeroflak, Protoseeker, LOML
Countered by: SMG (When very far), Plasma, Railgun, Chain Shredder

The Ion Distorter/Destabilizer is essentially this game's version of the shotgun, firing out a cone of shrapnel when used. The spread of the shot is quite extreme, which means the weapon is only effective at fairly short distances. Though the range on the weapon shouldn't be fully discounted - about 2 or 3 bots away is the maximum effective range of this weapon, with a decent gap between bots being allotted for full possible damage dealt.

Ion Distorters come in two sizes, with the smaller version having a lower damage output and fire rate, in exchange for being harder to hit, easier to stack up multiple guns with, having a much more lenient energy cost, as well as a lighter weight for stealth builds. Even in its larger form, the IND is a somewhat compact square gun, standing around the same size as the LOML.

INDs are quite big, which makes them pretty easy to single out. The weapon is also somewhat heavy-duty in terms of its energy usage, as well as its general weight - which makes it difficult to use with a ghost module due to energy drain. Even then, the energy cost of the Ions is rather lenient considering, and has some of the absolute best damage-per-energy ratios for any weapon, save for teslas. Even high-CPU builds can let loose 6-8 shots before running out of energy, which is more than enough to shatter even the sturdiest of bots. Despite being a short-distance weapon, the IND is not an easy weapon to use, as your shots are still very limited, and they need to be landed well in order to cause maximal damage.

The IND suffers when forced to contend with far-ranged weapons, with Railguns once again being a thorn in the side of these large and high CPU weapons. Chain Shredders are also extremely dangerous to INDs, since once they get wound up they have a lot more sustained DPS than INDs do, and not nearly as much concern for precision. Enemies who try to backpedal out of range usually are either too slow to really escape the reach of this weapon, or are too fragile to survive a shot and be mobile enough to leave, so that's at least one benefit of the Ion weapons versus Tesla.

General TIps

• Having an IND on the bottom of your mech or hovercraft can be a consideration, as a top mounting can sometimes limit your minimum range on such builds. Keep in mind that this will prevent you from shotgunning jumping mechs or hovercraft going up. Inversely this also means they can't land hits on your IND while jumping.
  
• Use Destabilizers as heavy-duty close-ranged deterrence weapons, as their superior firepower will put serious dents in anyone who attempts to get up close to you. The one exception to this creed is Sprinter Mechs, who can successfully combine their carrying capacity and speed to close in and deal serious damage on the offensive. The smaller Distorters are ideal for stealth builds due to their more forgiving energy costs and lighter weight.
  
• Because of the significant energy use of this weapon, it's not a great pairing with the Ghost Module if you want to do quick ambush. On larger builds that can't find secure hiding spots, the IND's true purpose is as a point-defense weapon, as it can easily force enemy craft off of the point, or force them to take catastrophic damage.
  
• While powerful, large INDs are notable for having some of the most extreme kickback of any weapon, which is especially noticeable if you use them on the sides of a lightweight bot (i.e. hover). This is another reason why they should generally be reserved for more heavy-duty builds.
  
• Ion Distorter's high firepower and energy cost will heavily define the role of users of this weapon, meaning the best backup I can really recommend for an Ion is Laser - lightweight suppressing fire that can be used to finish off enemies trying to flee from you, or to soften them up as you close in.

Chain Shredder

General CPU cost - ★★★★★
Durability - ★★★★★
Weight - ★★★★☆
Size - ★★★★☆
Damage - ★★★
Rate of Fire - ★★★★★
Accuracy - ★★
Range - ★★★
Energy Consumption - ★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★
Playstyle: Ambush and Deterrence
Counters: SMG, Plasma, Tesla, Aeroflak, LOML, Protoseeker, Ion
Countered by: SMG (When very far), Railgun

Currently the highest CPU component in the game, The Chain Shredder has the absolute fastest fire rate of any weapon, and lays down a constant, wearing onslaught of firepower at enemies, intended to carve quickly through large enemy bots. While it lacks in burst damage that can tear a bot in half with a single shot, it fires at an extreme rate and can direct it fairly accurately, too. It combines these traits with a decent mid-range reach, the most durable turret, and absolutely amazing energy efficiency for the DPS it puts out, making it a sustained threat while wound up.

The Chaingun has two size variants: The full-sized Chain Shredder, and the smaller Chain Splitter. The Chain Shreddder has the distinction of being the highest-health, largest, and most CPU-expensive weapon in the game, and connects via 5 close-by connectors, generally making it a sturdy and imposing weapon. The smaller Splitter is only slightly smaller, has half the health, and half the CPU cost. Despite that, the Chain Splitter's only directly worse stat is its firing rate, which it almost entirely matches a Chain Shredder when using a full 2 turrets. The only other drawback of the Splitter is that it might have a slower windup, but it's difficult to tell.

The above description also discounts its biggest distinguishing factor and its biggest weakness: its windup. When you start firing the chain shredder, it needs around 2 seconds to wind up to full firing speed. Prior to this windup the shredder will only fire out infrequent shots, while still using up energy. If energy is depleted while using the Shredder, it will continue firing shots slowly, but it will be unable to wind up. You likely will want to keep the CPU value of a chain-shredder bot somewhat low to maximize its staying firepower on the battlefield.

In close-midrange, nothing beats the Chain Shredder; its directable firepower, and insane firing speed, means it can put up incredible pressure on components without much concern for precision or counterattack. Most would be wise to flee from its firepower once it's wound up, which is something only smaller, more fragile bots can really manage. Inversely, however, this also reveals the Chain Shredder's more general weaknesses - being ambushed and distance. The bloom on the shredder's shots is vicious once it gets going, and overall make it a completely unfeasible weapon at long range if you plan on doing serious damage. If the chain shredder-weilding bot is blindsided, there simply won't be enough time for the cannon to wind up. Once again, the Shredder has a notable weakness to the Railgun, but in reality, any bot that can outrun the Chain Shredder bot and return fire from afar (and especially if it focuses on the Chain Shredder turrets) will not be at risk from this weapon.

General Tips

• The requirement for movement precision and its extreme mass means that your best bet will usually be a Mech, if you want to easily use the Chain Shredder. However, Hovers and Copters are also not uncommon, though they usually will fall apart more quickly if put under fire and have a tougher time carrying the weapon. Tanks theoretically can move quite quickly with the shredder, but they lack the real responsiveness required to quickly initiate an attack or pull out once energy is depleted.
  
• If seeking to use a chaingun-style weapon on a large, tanky build, Chain Splitters are a much better choice than Shredders, as their greater allowance for redundancy will make them that much more difficult to disarm - all without severely impacting damage output.
  
• Even when winding up, the damage of each individual shot dealt by your shredder is about as powerful as a mid-tier SMG. You can use this to deal slight damage as you close in on your enemy, but keep in mind this will warn them of your coming and can be bad if they're in a position to escape. If serious ambush is a consideration, wind up in advance and jump out at them as they pass in front of you.
  
• The gun will retain some windup while firing with no energy. Which allows it to fire at roughly the speed of an SMG (albeit with much worse accuracy). If you're up close and need to finish off an enemy, continue using the Shredder to finish the job. Otherwise, it's a much better idea to conserve energy for your next Chain Shredding. The windup conservation also makes this possibly the best weapon to combine with an Energy Module.
  
• Backup weapons are absolutely essential to the Shredder, as it is not precise enough to work at anything beyond midrange, and gets hit the absolute hardest when it runs out of energy. A shredder is also a high-priority target for enemies, so having alternate guns to whip out when your minigun is inevitably destroyed will be vital. Using 2 shredders will grant you minutely higher DPS, but the real reason for this stacking is so that you can just keep firing in case one gun gets disabled.
  
• The fact that a CSH user will often end up completely depleted of energy at seconds at a time means that it'll likely want a low-energy weapon to keep it going while waiting for its main guns to recharge. That said, the best backup for this purpose is, of course, the laser weapons.

Gyro Mortar

General CPU cost - ★★★★
Durability - ★★★
Weight - ★★
Size - ★★★★
Damage - ★★★★
Rate of Fire - ★★
Accuracy - ★★★★
Range - ★★★
Energy Consumption - ★★★
Playstyle Difficulty - ★★★★★
Playstyle: Area Denial/Point Defense
Counters: Laser, Aeroflak, Protoseeker, Ion, anything out of direct line of sight
Countered by: Plasma, Railgun, Chainshredder, Tesla, anything within line of sight/ambushing.

The mortar is a very esoteric weapon, capable of pumping out massive damage within a limited range over time. The Gyro Mortar fires slow, arcing explosive shots with a blast radius twice the size of plasmas, and with roughly the strength of a whole Ion shot. The aiming reticle displays the current vertical angle of the mortar, while explosions of the mortar shells themselves will show a ring on the ground displaying the area that was hit, allowing for aim adjustment.

The Gyro Mortar only comes in a single size, with roughly the same stature as the Ion Distorter, making it a pretty beefy gun. Only a single cannon is required to reach full firing capacity. However the Gyro Mortar suffers from construction constraints that limit where it can be placed - it is so far, the only turret that can only be placed on the top of blocks, which will limit how many guns you can place without making your bot horrendously big.

This isn't even counting its ingame limitations: the Gyro Mortar cannot be fired if the bot is in the air, meaning the gun is useless to aerial builds (that can't make quick landings). The way aiming works with the Mortar is, the closer your aiming angle is to 45 degrees, the further your shot will fire, but both extremely low-angle shots and high-arc ones will have the same range. This gives the weapon a very discrete maximum, and minimum range. Lower-angle shots will obviously explode sooner, but high-arc shots will be much more useful for the primary purpose of the weapon - clearing high mountains and hitting whatever is on the other side of them.

This is an awkward weapon that requires a lot of positioning and practice to use. If a mortar-user is caught in the open, chances are it'll be all over for them unless they can maintain the precise distance needed in order to land those mortar shells. Bots that will optimally use this weapon likely will want to keep out of sight, and will thus focus on agility and evasion as much as possible, given the circumstances of the very large turret.

As for what this weapon counters and is countered by, the mortar will make anyone think twice about capping a point once you get the art of mortar-defense down, as the weapon does enough damage to make even tanks crumble pretty fast - anything less, even including aircraft attempting a cap, will be crippled in seconds by this weapon. However, your big size will make you a prime target for many different weapon types in direct combat, and especially vulnerable to aerial bots that are actually flying - landing air-shells is not easy with this weapon.

• The aiming of the mortar ranges from a minimum of 10 degrees, to a maximum of 80. Both of these aiming angles will hit roughly 2 explosions-radii away from your bot's location. Anything closer will not be hit by the arc of the explosive. The exception to this are tall bots such as mechs and sprinters, as a well-aimed mortar shell will crash into them if their body is in the way. Shorter bots (including damaged mechs) won't be as easy to nail though.
  
• Both your bot's angle and altitude will affect how the weapon fires. The angle at which your bot rests will accurately be reflected by the number displayed on your reticle (and this angle can even go negative if your bot is flipped over.) Obviously, the distance from the ground will need to be considered for mortar range, but usually going higher will make your aiming a bit easier. Insect legs might be a pretty good option for this weapon type all things considered.
  
• Related to above, designs that can tilt forward, such as insect/mech hybrids and even copters close to the ground, can aim lower to land close-up shots with this weapon. This is questionably an exploit and might be patched out.
  
• For all its power, the Mortar is actually fairly lenient on energy cost and is obviously meant to be a pretty spammy weapon. It will thus mesh pretty well with heavy backup weaponry, as long as bot mass and CPU is taken into consideration. With the pretty severe minimum-range limitation in place, though, having a close-ranged deterrence weapon such as an Ion might be a good idea. Aeroflak also isn't a bad idea, because the blast radius of Mortars are big enough to even be a decent threat to bots flying low enough to not be hit by Aeroflak attacks.

MODULES: Key?

Modules are large pieces of bot that grant your build some extra flexibility. While some are integral to how a bot might play, others are much more useful for side-functionality or extra flexibility for different situations.

Modules are not a necessity of a bot at all, and many of the largest or fastest builds omit them entirely. However, making some room for at least one module can provide some great benefit if it's used correctly.

Because the effect of each module is so variable, The key for these parts is much shorter, and will focus much more heavily on what the description says. In addition, almost all modules are around the same size (3x3x3), weight, and CPU cost.

Weapon Energy Module

CPU Cost: 165
Effect: Active
Energy Cost: -infinity
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Connectors: 6
Recommended Usage: hit-and-run alpha strikes, high-energy weapons, sustained combat

The Weapon Energy Module is essentially a module you can put on your bot to enable you to 'reload' your energy. When used it instantly refills all your energy reserves with a bright particle effect.

The power booster is ideal for bots that want to use high-energy weapons that emphasize burst damage, such as plasmas and railguns. Thanks to the way Weapon Energy is calculated, it is much more important to have on large robots than small ones. The fact that its cooldown is so severe, however, still means that your battle presence with a bot that needs the Weapon Energy Module will be limited by that large 60-second cooldown. Still, that's less time than if you didn't have a Module.

Its moderate CPU cost means that the functionality it allots a fair amount of flexibility with the ability to fire twice as long in certain situations, and certainly a ton of potential for large bots with high-cost weapons.

Disc Shield Module

CPU Cost: 225
Effect: Active
Recharge Period: 25 Seconds
Energy Cost: 0
Connectors: 6
Best used on: Far ranged builds, stationary builds, ground builds

The Disk Shield Module (DSM) Projects a shield in front of your aiming reticle. The shield is automatically angled perpendicular to your camera, meaning it will always do its best to block as much space in front of you as possible. The shield also is projected a set distance in front of you, which is usually quite far. The distance on this projection can be reduced if the shield is aimed at the ground in front of you.

Every shot aimed at the shield by an enemy is detonated on impact. Keep in mind this means that plasma bursts and explosions still can damage you if you're right next to the shield (the Gyro Mortar will actually specifically fizzle out if it hits a shield). Inversely, your own shots, and allies' shots, will be able to pass right through the barrier, just like how Battle Arena fusion shields operate.

The DSM's barrier lasts for around 10 seconds, and is about wide enough to cover the entirety of most chokes in Ranked Mode maps. A far shot in front of you is useful if you're planning to make a straight advance to the given location, while nearer shots are more useful for quick defense.

Ultimately, the DSM provides great protection against enemy snipers and other far-ranged ground bots. Its weakness becomes highly apparent when forced to contend with nearby enemies, who can just pass through the shield to get at you (but you can use mobility to pass through to the other side, and keep switching). Aerial bots will also not usually be able to utilize the DSM to shield themselves reliably, and inversely, the DSM's protection against enemy aerial units is questionable due to their vantage point, as well as the awkwardness of aiming a shield upward.

Blink Module

CPU Cost: 285
Effect: Active
Recharge Period: 60 Seconds
Energy Cost: 0
Connectors: 6
Best used on: Aerial builds or Jumping builds

The Blink Module enables your bot to make a near-instantaneous leap forward to their targeted area, stopping with contact at a solid surface. Upon arrival, the bot is placed at the point in the air or on the ground, with momentum and angle preserved. The BLM is fairly smart about how it positions you now, and can even set you straight on top of taller ledges if you aim carefully and stay still.

The BLM is the most optimal choice for quick escape for just about any build, as its effect cannot be stopped by incoming damage (though you can still take hits while teleporting oddly enough). If you have a corner or hill you can teleport behind, you will be much harder for enemies to kill. If your point of target is beyond the corner of one, or even multiple, bumps in the terrain, the BLM will send you straight through them to get to that location. Inversely, the BLM can also be used for aggressive chasedown, but this usually isn't a great idea unless you can verify that your point of arrival isn't populated with the entire enemy team.

While the BLM's benefit is undeniable, its application is really only good for bots that can gain height, or otherwise have aerial control. While the BLM does enable a car or tank to get up to higher areas, it tends to do so by also placing you helplessly in midair, so effectively a BLM on such a build would feasibly limit you to just teleport to what terrain you can see - which usually isn't much from a low vantage point.

The BLM is also currently the most expensive module in terms of CPU, and its effects can only be used once every minute. Choose your battles carefully.

Ghost Module

CPU Cost: 255
Effect: Active
Recharge Period: 10 Seconds
Energy Cost: 1000 energy/second, disables when energy's fully depleted.
Connectors: 4
Best used on: Stealth Builds, Close-range approach

The Ghost Module will render you nearly invisible to your enemies, as you will only appear as a faint glistening form. Your module also mutes local sound while in the vicinity, which (on the receiving end) is usually a telltale sign that a ghosting foe is getting near.

The ghost effect is immediately removed if the stealthing enemy attacks, or is hit by any attack. Other special effects, such as automatic healing from 10-second regeneration, are entirely visible through the stealth. If you see blue flashes appearing out of nowhere, that's usually a sign that a healing, ghosted enemy is lying in wait.

Activating your ghost will immediately wipe your Spotted status, making you invisible to all enemies once again. Of course, observant players will be able to just shoot you once and spot you again to undo the module's effects.

The Ghost Module is put to absolute best use on fast, close-ranged builds, which can make the most of the ghost module's features for silent approach. Because the Ghost Module tends to leave you drained of energy after its usage (and is the only module to use up weapon energy), combining it with a low-energy weapon can be desirable (SMG and Tesla are better choices than IND, for example).

• Having the Ghost Module active also disables you from receiving healing from allies. If you absolutely need the healing and know you probably shouldn't retreat, that can be a good time to uncloak and regroup with your team.

EMP Module

CPU Cost: 195
Effect: Active
Recharge Period: 50 Seconds
Energy Cost: 0
Connectors: 4
Best used on: Support builds, Defense, Countering high CPU bots

The EMP module will fire down a massive cylinder of EMP energy after a few seconds of priming, at the area on the ground aimed at. The effect is shown initially as a warning reticle, which can give enemies the opportunity to move outside of the area of effect. If the enemy is caught in the blast, however, they are temporarily disabled, unable to either shoot or move. This even goes so far to cause self-righting mobility types, such as mech legs or hovers, to tip over if their build isn't naturally balanced. Even after the EMP wears off, the module will leave them with 0 energy, making it a very deadly detriment to users of heavy weapons such as Plasma or Ion.

The EMP's blast can be fired quite far away, and only takes 2 seconds to prepare, allowing only the most agile and lowest-inertia of builds to escape. Even sprinter mechs caught in dead-center of this blast are not likely to escape it, making it a devastating counter to these large bots. Even without that, the EMP retains a variety of other potential uses:

• If you see an enemy flipped over or even in mid-recovery from flipping, use it on them. Usually the builds that get flipped over are cruisers, tanks, and sometimes even unlucky mechs, so this can capitalize on their weaknesses.
  
• Large clusters of enemies should be a priority, just to drive them apart. Specific situations where this can be especially effective is if a healer is trying to repair a heavily-damaged bot, enemies are preparing to capture a point en-masse, or if doing an elimination/deathmatch fight and want to break up the enemy army.
  
• If going for precision kills, focus your starting fire on disabling their mobility, then follow up with EMP. This can give you some time to go straight for the kill, or otherwise disable their guns to whittle them down with impunity.

Be careful how you aim the EMP, as the module's cooldown means that it won't be a feature you'll be able to rely on for most of the battle. Aim it wisely and aim for big clusters.

Windowmaker Module

CPU Cost: 135
Effect: Active
Recharge Period: 60 Seconds
Energy Cost: 0
Connectors: 5
Best used on: Easily-ambushed bots, snipers, rear-guard

When you use the Windowmaker module, no bot will be able to hide from your sights. When activated, the module reveals the position of every enemy on the map for around 7 seconds. Thanks to its long recharge, it's best to use this module when you suspect an enemy is about to close in, or if one is attempting retreat.

The Windowmaker has a much lower than average CPU cost compared to most modules, but suffers from its very large hitbox (accounting for its rotation while active), making it an easy target to disable, and difficult to conceal under armor.

Keep in mind that the Windowmaker will not reveal enemies hiding via a Ghost module. Inversely, since the ghost module isn't constantly on, as well as the status bars at the top of the screen revealing the current health of players, it can be possible to deduce from the windowmaker when there is an enemy cloaked.

The enemy positions are broadcast to everyone on your team when the module is used. This is why Windowmakers aren't common in solo-queues, since their benefits are diminished if multiple people have them available (unless the team coordinates and cycles activations of the Windowmaker.)

ARMORING VARIETIES

What separates good builds from great builds is how the robot is constructed inside. Every bot can lay down powerful attacks with their weapons, or achieve high speeds if the conditions are right, but it's the difference between a well-crafted machine and a quickly slapped together one that determines whether it will fall apart from one stray bullet or not. There's a wide variety of blocks you can put your bot together with, and each have their own strengths, weaknesses, and uses.

Chassis

The basis of every bot in existence, chassis blocks all fit into 1x1x1 areas. They are quite literally building blocks, and most basic varieties of chassis blocks have 6, 4, or 3 different faces they can connect other blocks or components to. There's two varieties of block: Standard, and Light (differentiated by a circuitry texture). Standard Blocks cost 1 CPU cost and offer a greater health boost, while light blocks have lighter weight and higher HP, but cost 3 CPU instead and don't offer as big of a health boost.

The biggest strengths of Chassis are their flexibility and their connectivity. Chassis can be built in almost any shape possible, giving you great control over where damage can transfer through and where it stops. In addition, a big chunk of solid, full blocks is some of the most solid protection you can hope for, as it essentially maximizes the number of different ways an entire bot can hold itself together under fire. Large, interconnected chassis is comparatively very durable against plinking strikes of rapidfire weapons such as SMG or Chain Shredders.

Health Boost is also an extra unique feature that Chassis makes use of, which offers a global health boost to all components on your bot. This makes tanky bots built out of normal blocks very durable, and bots made out of light blocks less so. A mix of the two can be used to balance your bot out and define a weight class. In any case, they are essential to any bot design you wish to create. This change means that all the below armoring options should be considered add-ons to chassis instead of alternatives, as only chassis will provide health boost.

The big weakness of Chassis is that individual blocks are fragile. If you have a single, extruded chain of blocks sticking out and holding another part of your bot on, that is an extreme structural weakness to the design. If even one of those blocks in the chain is destroyed, you are going to lose everything on the smaller end - and whatever that is, it most likely will be a heck of a lot more than one block's HP-worth of components. Chassis also is slightly more vulnerable to explosions and high damage than other armor types, as this will spread the damage of a blast more readily between a cluster of blocks, versus concentrating it into one component.

Electroplates

Electroplates are sets of predefined, shaped plates of shielded armor. Compared to chassis, they are much lighter, and provide a high amount of protection-per-CPU, which combined with high CPU costs, makes them very durable. The exception to this are the very large multi-connection point plates. Electroplates are ideal for lightweight, ambushing builds, but are strong enough to see some use on larger bots as well. If the base of an electroplate is heavily padded with chassis, these shields can be tough to destroy.

Electroplates arguably have some of the best size-to-protection ratio in the game, with high-tier EPs being able to cover an entire flank or component of your bot. If your bots interior is skeletal or contains a lot of sensitive equipment, using EPs can be a good strategy. As said before, EPs are also some of the lightest armor in the game, which melds well with usage on hit-and-run builds that focus on agility.

The downfall of EPs is that they can get quickly destroyed if their connecting block at the base isn't well protected, which can circumvent their entire benefit if an enemy sneaks a shot at the EP's connection point. The high cost of EPs also makes them inefficient to work with on bots with energy-heavy weapons. Most EPs also don't have multiple connection points to fall back on, either, which also means they cannot support weapon attachments on their exterior, and this, combined with their fixed shapes, can make them very awkward to work with.

Aerorods

Aerorods are thin, 1-block wide rods that connect 2 different blocks at each end. They are a good deal lighter than the equivalent space in blocks, and cost the same amount of CPU. Aerorods come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, even including diagonal angles and curves. Their properties happen to make them some of the best candidates for connecting weaponry to your bot - possibly even good mounts for electroplates as well.

The big draw of Aerorods is that they are fairly durable pieces that make for excellent weapon mounts and are extremely light. Despite appearing thinner than blocks, their collision area ingame counts their entire area as solid, meaning that even a tight lattice of aerorods will stop incoming damage. Finally, because the aerorod has multiple times the HP of a single chassis block, this means that it will take more damage to the rod's area in general to make whatever is behind it vulnerable, making this superior armor for the exterior of your bot.

The big problem with Aerorods is that they only connect at two points, as well as their binary status. They also have a slight health disadvantage versus a line of blocks, meaning they will take overall less damage to be eliminated. While true that they are strictly superior for linking together a distant piece of your bot (especially compared to a chain of single chassis blocks) Aerorods are fairly large targets, and taking a rod out can render whatever is on the other end useless if it's the only thing attaching it to your bot. The size of aerorods can also make them tougher to work with in general. If using them as a mounting point for weapons, or even as a sort of 'skeleton' for mechs or other builds, it's highly recommended to protect and hide them with chassis blocks - or even just use more aerorods to block them from being destroyed.

Struts

Being 3 blocks thick, Struts are the larger and heavier variant of Aerorods. Their durability is higher than the amount of health that an equivalent number of blocks would have, and unlike aerorods, they aren't much lighter. They still do come in a good deal of different shapes and varieties. Struts' properties make them good candidates for exterior blast armor for middleweight builds, and for protecting mobility pieces.

Because struts are wide, fairly durable, and provide protection until they are destroyed, they are a good first-line for defense. Because it takes such a large amount of punishment to even make the strut disintegrate, this makes them a wonderful option for indirectly shielding a part of your bot. Struts are also noticeably lighter than an equivalent number of full chassis blocks in the same area, though they still retain similar durability.

Struts are more unwieldy than aerorods, which means they aren't a great candidate for weapon mounts. This also means they are much easier to spot and hit from the side, and they do not benefit from an increased number of connection points either, giving them a similar weakness to Aerorods. Much like with Electroplates, you will want to ensure the connection point of a Strut is well-hidden inside chassis to ensure its protective benefits are not entirely bypassed with a good shot. You also likely will not want to chain more than 3 or 4 Struts together at once, and if you do, make sure the struts are connected to chassis at both ends.

TEAM COMPOSITION READING

Prior to a game loading up, the loading screen will show both the loading status of other players, as well as basic information about the bot they are playing. Understanding how to read these stats will give you some valuable information to the type of bot you'll see, but at the same time, can omit other valuable bits. What is included is:

• Weapons used
  
• Modules equipped
  
• CPU cost of the robot

The key information that is being left out, however (that honestly could be useful to know) include:

• Mobility type used
  
• Health levels
  
• Health boost stat
  
• Speed and Speed boost

Even from just the given information, however, a lot can be already inferred. Using the information, you can quickly categorize the bots you'll run into to roughly 4 categories:

Glass Cannons

• Equipped with large, high-rarity weapons
  
• Low CPU (usually 500-1000)
  
• As a result of CPU, mobility and armor will be heavily compromised, but damage boost stat will be very high, and they can one-shot other small builds with ease.

Glass Cannons excel at racking up kills. They have unrivaled power when they are able to ambush and get the first hit, often pushing out enough damage with single shots that even those first few warning strikes will send most bots fleeing. That extreme damage output is a thin veneer for the bot otherwise being very poor at everything else - they have low redundancy, are often sluggish from only using rudimentary mobility parts, and will themselves crumble fast under an attack.

Their awesome damage boost also doubles in buffing the power of nanos, making them very powerful medics as well. If these builds are doubling as healers, they are absolutely a priority target.

In a battle arena, Glass Cannons can muscle around the battlefield with their damage, but otherwise are taking a huge risk if they have to capture a point. They perform strongest when attempting to equalize a battle by destroying a Protonite Core.

Speedsters

• Equipped with light weapons, possibly modules
  
• Low/Medium CPU
  
• If the CPU cost of their armaments are light, they will tend to pour most of that CPU into very quick mobility, making them small targets that are tough to kill.

Speedsters design around their light weight to move as fast as possible, making them tough to nail with most weaponry. They can utilize this light weight and low CPU to also deal higher damage than average, but without the necessary baggage of a huge weapon, their damage output will usually only be 'OK' for the most part instead of disastrous.

Speedsters are a risky bot type to play, since they usually don't lean heavy into redundancy. A couple of solid hits will usually be enough to render them inoperable, so this bot type has to use their speed to their advantage. As a result, they're usually very easy to push around the battlefield and force out of defensive positions.

In battle arena, speedsters will be first-responders to most situations. Their slipperyness, as well as their choice of modules, will also influence what they'll be capable of, such as EMPs allowing speedsters to force enemies off of a far point. Due to a variety of factors, mainly fragility, this bot type isn't commonly seen in most unorganized PUB contexts.

Skirmishers

• Have a wide variety of different equipment pieces, or otherwise carry heavy weapons.
  
• Medium/High CPU (anywhere from 1000-2000)
  
• Can be geared more heavily towards any given type of build - more damage, more speed, or more armor. But the constant is that they are generally designed with flexibility in mind. They can do it all, but excel at nothing.

Skirmishers are the true all-rounder build types, and on the loading screen, are generally the toughest bot types to read since they can usually be equipped with just about any mobility type. Almost universally, though, these bots will be pretty large, and be able to put out some impressive damage in bursts.

Because Skirmishers will naturally have a larger health pool to draw from, alongside their heavy armaments, they can be considered a counter to huge tanky builds, and if equipped with light weapons, can ward off speedsters with ease. However, these large, somewhat fragile builds are prime prey for glass cannons.

Skirmisher builds are useful in Battle Arena since they can do just about anything effectively, and will generally have the most intuitive playstyle when it comes to this game mode. Your best bet, in general, will be to stay with the pack when using this build type.

Tanks

• Usually equip only a single weapon type, usually lightweight.
  
• High CPU (Almost always upwards of 1800)
  
• Can retain very impressive speed if a ground bot. Almost invariably, they aim to have extreme health boost values, making them very tough to kill.

The most effective tanks will almost guaranteed make use of a solid ground-mobility type: treads, hovers, and wheels tend to be most common. They can have the same amount of CPU as a skirmisher, but the big thing that'll differentiate them from a skirmisher is that their weapon choices will be austere, usually just carrying small weapons such as lasers or low-tier railguns.

Tanks most typically carry a low-CPU weapon, as this allows them to both maximize their health boost with armor blocks, as well as place as many guns as possible, making them tough to fully disarm. As a result, however, their maximal damage output is often pretty awful, but is still more than enough to take out Glass Cannons, while still weathering their assault. Tanks with light weapons also pretty handily counter ones with a few heavy ones, as their larger guns are often easier to nail than their small, scattered weapons.

In a Battle Arena, Tanks are all about point defense. Their ineptitude at landing kills will make it tough for them to force enemies off of a point if they want to capture, but inversely, their ability to hold a point on defense means that's still extra time for more energy to build up in your base, as well as for your allies to show and back you up. This is also compounded by the fact that, thanks to high base speeds of many ground mobility types, tanks can still move at a pretty good pace.

Conclusion: How to tell a quality robot

While the guide will give you the basics on how to assemble and connect parts to make them functional, as well as their ingame application, it doesn't go into the nitty-gritty details of positionings or balancings for your bot - that is all for you to determine, now that you have the basis for an informed decision.

To close us off, this part will simply have a short list of how to tell if what you crafted is good or needs work:

A good bot:

• Moves as expected and moves stably
  
• Moves appropriately for the weapon it uses
  
• Is balanced and will stay upright or in operable condition
  
• Has been tested and is determined to have a maximum capability to climb or overcome some sort of obstacle without flipping or stalling
  
• Cannot easily be disarmed with a few shots
  
• Will not easily be immobilized; mobility should be the last functionality a bot should lose when damaged.
  
• Has enough weaponry and modules to remain an active threat at all times

Large bots can achieve this by:

• Designing with redundancy, keeping weapons shooting or mobility going even when large chunks of your build are destroyed.
  
• Designing with versatility, taking advantage of higher carrying weights to have balanced weapon choices for every situation.
  
• Practicing shrewd armoring and keep important components protected, even if they stick out.
  
• Having enough armoring, used effectively, to not be killed in one shot.
  
• Retaining enough control and speed to keep up with teammates when working at full capacity.

Small bots can achieve this by:

• Smartly utilizing higher CPU components to maximize speed and maneuverability, and overcome their own mass.
  
• Utilizing appropriate modules to grant them tactical edges
  
• Never taking the front route, and always know where they're needed
  
• Piloting their bot to minimize chances of being hit
  
• Specializing smartly, picking a weapon that suits them and then playing it to the best potential to overcome its weaknesses.

A bad bot:

• Has poor chassis planning, and can have significant amounts of CPU removed by destroying one block.
  
• Is imbalanced and prone to flipping over
  
• Does not have enough mobility to carry its weight, and will move slowly.
  
• Can easily be immobilized
  
• Will get stuck on rough terrain, whether by luck or if the pilot accidentally pushed the build to its limit

[Fritz]

are heavy blocks a more recent addition? i dont see them in the ARMORING VARIENTIES section

[TalmondTheLost]

Insect legs. Play difficulty 5. Me: Makes a super fast easy to play spider.

[Sir Carrot Nashimira]

Thanks, great guide!

[kozei_nakara]

what should i buy the aeroflak guardian or a chain splitter?

[SQUIGLONKER99]

@TomG2013: Last I checked, yes, but they could've changed that around in one of the updates. I distinctly remember that compact healing drones that follow their allies around can be effective. If it did change, I don't see any patch notes that'd indicate it.

[MEMES AMIRITE]

Are Nanotech Disruptors affected by the damage boost on lower cpu robots?

[Cavendish]

Instructions unclear Aeroplane now walks

[SQUIGLONKER99]

Unfortunately there's no way to rotate/flip your bot. I've had that occur to me a couple of times where I built an entire robot backwards. The feature's really tough to implement for FJ since several components (particularly mobility and mech legs) can only be legally oriented in one direction.

The best way to check if your bot's facing forward is to make sure the front is facing towards the wide-open windows showing a planet. There's also a (very small) arrow on the ground at the edge of the building area that displays forward-facing.

[eaglethemedic]

say, you went full retard while building how do you rotate the creation to face the right way?

[Bekky]

It'd be worth noting that when I use railguns, the serious bloom only appears to occur when I'm aiming, eyballing the shot appears to work better.