Part 91: Yeti Teaches The Class About Styles.
Pretty sure we've covered this in the thread already, but why not! People can use a refresher from time to time.Guide to Styles: How to be The Most StylishTM
Right, so what exactly are styles? Styles are unlocked after a certain point in the game has been reached, and are only present in MegaMan Battle Network 2 and 3. In the previous game, we earned our styles by infiltrating Yumland and stealing their treasure - a program named Chng.BAT (not Hub.BAT, like I'd originally thought! Thanks, Blaziken). Why exactly their cyber-treasure was a program that only MegaMan could run, I'm not sure, but whatever. Dr. Hikari is basically a god in this setting, so maybe it was like a church holding on to a piece of wood. Absolutely useless, but it has special significance.
Anyway, in this game we earn our style halfway through BubbleMan's scenario, thus marking the only good part of the scenario. (Fuck you, Press!)
Breaking down the style change
Right, so first things first. A style consists of two parts: an element and a, well... style. Don't look at me, it's the only word that really fits. Regardless, element is the easy one to talk about, so let's talk about that one first.
The element part
First off, this is absolutely random. Yep. The element of your first style is determined when you make a new game, and the element of each following style is selected from the three others. So you wanted a HeatStyle? Hope you get lucky. Literally nothing affects this - not what type of chips you use, not how you fight, nothing.
Fire element - charge shot is a Flamethrower (HeroSword range - that is, it reaches forward three squares). Weakness is water element chips. Completely ignores Lava panels.
Aqua element - charge shot is a Bubbler (like the chip). Weakness is elec element chips. Can walk on ice and water panels normally. Fastest charge shot (barring Shadow Style Charge Level 6).
Elec element - charge shot is a ZapRing (also like the chip). Weakness is wood element chips. Ignores Magnet panels, though that might only be in BN2.
Wood element - charge shot is a Twister (do I even need to say it at this point?). Weakness is fire element chips. Regens on grass panels.
You'll notice that the element style changes your charge shot, as well as usually gives you some sort of field effect. Other than that, they're more or less identical, barring elemental weakness and a few other minor tidbits. Each style also gives access to the respective MegaChips: Fire <-> Salamander/StandOut, Aqua <-> Fountain/WaterLine, Elec <-> Lightning/Bolt, Wood <-> GaiaSword/GaiaBlade.
Wanted a different element than you got? Whoops, too bad.
The style part
This is where things get complicated. See, the game has a kind of mini-counter that it increases based on how you fight your battles. Use the buster a lot? You're more likely to get Guts style. Regardless, each style has a few certain similarities - they all change Megaman's sprite in some way (though hilariously, the moving sprite is still the same, so if you get Team style you can watch MegaMan's ears appear and disappear), they all allow use of a different color NaviCust part, and they all can level up a certain number of times.
Guts Style - Has a huge arm. Buster attack power is doubled. Repeatedly mashing B will use a machinegun buster (5 buster shots) that can inflict hitstun. Allows use of Red NaviCust programs.
Custom Style - Gets a backpack. Gets an additional chip at each Custom screen. Can earn the S+ and S++ buster ranks. Allows use of Blue NaviCust programs.
Team Style - Gets some wingflaps on his helmet. Can use one extra MegaChip. Deleting Navis with an S rank and under 20 seconds might get the V4 chip. Allows use of Green NaviCust programs.
Shield Style - Get a shield on your arm. Start battles with a Barrier. Gives certain programs that allow blocking with B+Left - for Shield and Reflect, good timing yields a health boost. Allows use of Blue NaviCust programs.
Those are the styles that were in BN2 as well.
New to BN3:
Bug Style - Megaman is covered in bug data (a checkerboard pattern). Start the battle with random bugs. Allows use of Gray NaviCust programs.
code:
- Advantagous Bugs:
- 100 Barrier
- Invisible
- 10 Chips to choose from in the Custom Window
- Buster MAX
- Disadvantagous Bugs:
- HP Drain (either during the Battle or in the Custom Window)
- Uncontrollably moving up or down
Shadow Style (BN3 Blue exclusive!) - You are now wearing a sweet scarf. Having a charge shot without Weapon Lv. +1 program uses Invis (Having it installed just goes back to elemental charge shots). Allows use of Red NaviCust programs.
Ground Style (BN3 White exclusive!) - Megaman now has some kickin' kicks. Programs earned will alter the beginning state of the field. Charge shot can crack panels they touch. Allows use of Green NaviCust programs.
Pretty neat, huh?
Leveling Up
I mentioned that the styles could be leveled up, right? I know I did. Anyway, after fighting a certain number of battles, the style will level up. In addition to increasing the damage of the charge shot, you earn a NaviCust Program. And yes, you can earn them multiple times if you level up a style multiple times.
code:
Style Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Total
Guts 80 120 160 --- 360
Custom 50 100 160 --- 310
Team 50 100 180 --- 330
Shield 50 80 180 --- 310
Bug 120 200 --- --- 310
Shadow 50 100 150 --- 300
Ground 50 50 50 120 270
NaviCust rewards:
code:
Style Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
Guts SuperArmor BrkCharge BrkBuster ---
Custom Custom+1(B) Custom+1(Y) Custom+2 ---
Team Mega+1(G) Mega+1(P) Mega+2(G) ---
Shield Block Shield Reflect ---
Bug BugStop DrkLicense --- ---
Shadow ShadowShoe FloatShoe Anti-Dmg ---
Ground SetGreen SetIce SetMagma SetHoly
How to get the different styles
"Well, that's all fine and good, GeneralYeti," you might be saying, "but how do I know which style I'm getting?" Hold your horses, I'm getting to that. Jeez, you couldn't just read a few lines more?
Basically, the game has a set of parameters (Let's call 'em 'Ranks') where it decides which Style is in the lead. After every fight, you get one Rank in whatever style you focused on in the fight - if you fought with the Buster a lot, you'd get a Rank in Guts style. When you've earned your next style, it then checks to see which one has the most Ranks, and there you go.
Every action you take earns you a certain number of points towards each Style, and at the end of the battle the Rank goes to whichever style has the highest number of points. There are a few fringe cases: if the Rank would go towards the style you've already mastered, then it puts a point in every other Style instead.
However, there's also another fringe case: in the original version of the game (v1.0, the Japanese version of EXE3) you can actually get the style of the opposite game! That means you can get Shadow Style in White, and Ground Style in Blue. Normally, if the highest rank is in the locked style, the game sets the rank to 0 points and moves on to the next one (it does this for the one you're currently using as well). However, in the original version, that doesn't happen.
Giver explains it best:
giver336 posted:
New bug discovered:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR-k-J98_-0
To understand this, you'd have to know about "Random Style Change" mechanic. Whereby if you satisfy no conditions for any Style except the one you're in, the game will increment 1 point towards every other Style. So, if I'm in Custom and don't use NaviChips, don't get hit, don't use the Buster, or Invis/Stage chips, then every other style will get a point towards it. If you keep doing this, when it comes time to select your style after about 100 fights, the game randomly picks a style, and it's in THIS way that you could end up with Shadow Style in EXE3 Vanilla.
This was fixed in the English version and a re-released copy of EXE3(v1.1) in Japan. They did the same thing for Red Sun, too. Not sure what glitch was so bad that warranted a re-distribution over there.
EXE3 V1.0
EXE3 V1.1
EXE3 BlackV1.0
EXE3 BlackV1.1
Notes: (copied directly from the original notes, for archival purposes)
02000e60 - address for style change points.
Values:
1-Custom
2-Guts
c3-Shield
c4-Team
5-Shadow
c6-Ground
7-none
c8-Bug
100 battles to obtain next style.
All Style points drop to 0 when: Obtaining new style, declining new style.
You can only obtain 1 point to a Style per battle. Which Style gets the point is scored on what you do in that battle.
RANDOM STYLE CHANGE
-If the point should be added to the currently Maxed Lvl Style you are in, all styles get 1 point.
-During the time the next Style is being selected:
--If the most points are in the style you are already in, that style's points is reduced to 0.
--If there are points for Shadow Style in White or Ground Style in Blue, that style's points is reduced to 0.
---In v1.0 versions of EXE3, this does not apply. This allows the opposite version to obtain the other version's specific style.
Anyway, here's what each action gets you:
...Um. This was going to be where I gave this neat list o' data, listing how much each action taken got you points for the styles, so on and so forth, when I realized my data was for BN2. Whoops!
The gist of it is pretty simple, though.Guts - use the buster a lot. Especially when the Custom gauge is full.
Custom - select a lot of chips in the Custom screen and use PAs.
Team - use a ton of Navi chips (but not the PAs associated with them).
Shield - use a ton of defensive chips, like Barrier and whatnot, and healing chips. Also don't get hit.
Shadow - use Invis a lot.
Ground - use terrain-altering effects.
Bug - have a bunch of NaviCust bugs for most, if not all, of your fights.
I don't have the hard numbers, sorry. I wish I could put up the random magic numbers, but I'm not a wizard. Just a General. Bottom line, fight like the style you want, not like the style you have.
Important note: Custom gets points for selecting, the others get points for using. So, for example, if you selected 4 Invis chips in the Custom screen, you'd get a bunch of points for Custom - and you wouldn't get any Shadow points until you actually used them in battle.
So there you have it, folks. That's pretty much everything you need to know about Styles! We've shown off all of them in the thread at least once, as well as what you get for levelling up, so now you have no excuses!