Part 7: Post-Mission 2 upgrades and Unit Analysis#3 ("Microphone-Destroying" Edition)

Time now for our post-mission blabber.

Let’s start by checking our Top Ace roster:


All those bugs really helped Blade out. He’s joined our group at the top of the list with 9 kills. Bless still holds the 2nd place with the kills he got with his MAP attack and I’m surprised to see Kazuma down there…I may have neglected him during the last mission.

Now, let’s go for the upgrades. I sold the Consumables I won during the last couple missions (1 repair kit, 2 energy kits, 3 cartridges). Each one sells for 5000 bucks, so that’s 30000 in our pockets, added in the 28000 we already had.

With all that, I go on a spending spree.


I boost Blade’s EN by two and give him one extra point in both Mobility and Weapons.



Kazuma gets an extra EN and Weapon boost(shared with the Valstork).



I give Duo one increase in both EN and Mobility.



Finally, Quatre gets a boost in his HP and Mobility.


As for BP usage. Only Blade and Noal had any amount worth anything, so here they are:


Blade most usable attack, Tek-Lancer, is melee and his most powerful attack, Voltekka, is ranged. As such, I give Melee 3 points, Shooting 4 and the spare 1 point goes to dodge.



Noal is a support but he may see a wee bit of combat this early in the game. I boost his dodge by 5 to help his survivability and give him 2 points in Shooting because every bit helps.



Now, it’s time for Unit Analysis #3.

Let’s start with the good unit and talk about Tekkaman Blade:







Blade is a really, REALLY good unit. He’s sporting 3800 HP, 150 EN, 1000 Armor, 120 Mobility and 7 Movement, with an SS size. Also, as a Radam-based unit, he has a Small HP and EN Regen effect (10% recover at the start of the player phase).


Let’s start with Blade's attacks from the bottom up:

• Crash Interlude – This is a 2-6 range attack that’s not post-movement. Normally, you won’t be using this attack Blade is a much more “in-your-face” unit and Teklancer is more powerful. Still, it’s there to stop him from getting sniped at mid-range when your morale isn’t high. Costs 10 EN.
  
  
• Tek-Lancer – Post movement, 1-3 range melee attack. We’ve shown him during the last battle, it’s got a 40% Accuracy rating, so it’s unlikely to miss and it’s got a 30% crit ratio, so it’s likely to get a boost. It’s also free, so you don’t need to worry about anything stopping you from using it. Very reliable and it’ll probably be Blade’s most used attack.
  
  
• Voltekka – Ah, the microphone-destroying attack. Blade’s strongest attack is a ranged energy blast with a 3-8 range. It takes 120 Morale to unlock so it’ll be complicated to use it this early in the game but it’s a very nice damage. It’s also expensive, at 50 EN per shot, it takes a third of Blade’s EN total for each attack so you really need to think before using. This attack is the reason why Blade doesn’t get a damage penalty against big bosses as this attack has the Ignore Size property (which does exactly what it says on the tin).
  
  
• Voltekka also has a MAP version which costs a whopping 80 EN and has a 130 morale requirement. I do not use it very oftenly because it’s post movement or smart-targeting and Blade’s a good shot. So, your guys are unlikely to dodge it without defensive measures. It has a decent area of effect and power that’s not enough to justify that EN cost unless a prime opportunity presents itself in which Blade can kill a lot of enemies in one go.

Now, let’s go over Blade’s Pilot Skills:

• Sword Cut (斬り払い)
  
• Shield Defense (シールド防御) – huh?
  
• Prevail L3 (底力) – huh??

OK, that’s an odd list. Sword cut makes sense and it will proc a lot but why did they give him Shield Defense and Prevail? Blade’s purely meant to dodge (he has horrible defense stats) and Prevail requires his life to be low to properly benefit but getting (and keeping) an unit with that little health in the red is a really dangerous game.

I don’t get these skills at all but let’s check his spirit commands:

• Focus (集中)
  
• Invincible (不屈)

Standard issue, no problems here.

Conclusion: Tekkaman Blade is going to be one of your best real robots in the game. It does everything well and will only get better. He could make good use of some EN so he can use Voltekka more oftenly.
Give Blade little love in upgrades and he’s gonna tear through the battlefield and not one unit in the game is gonna be able to touch him with Focus going. Absolutely use him unless you have a problem with Tekkaman.


Now, let’s go over what little there is in the Blue Earth.



Blue Earth is a pure-support unit with 4000 HP, 110 EN, 1000 armor, 100 mobility and 6 movement, with an S size.

This ship is mainly there to repair/ressuply your units although, you can use it to soften enemies up some with his pea-shooter.
It’s got a Barrier for added survivability but it’s not gonna do much since it’s defenses aren’t that great. Nevertheless, it can be used for a support defense in an emergency.

Let’s go over Noal Pilot Skills:

• Shoot Down (撃ち落とし)
  
• Prevail L1 (底力)
  
• Support Attack Lv1 (援護攻撃)
  
• Support Defense Lv1 (援護防御)

Now, for Noal’s Spirit Commands:

• Guts (ド根性)
  
• Focus (集中)

And Aki’s:

• Accelerate (加速)
  
• Alert (ひらめき) – The next attack that hits you has a guaranteed chance to miss. Costs 10 SP.

Conclusion: The Blue Earth is nothing amazing in this game (Sorry, Tobias!). It’s average, really. This unit will do its job well enough this early in the game but, as it goes along, it’ll quickly lose its position to more competent guys.
Use it as you see fit, it can attack directly, assist attack or defend. It’ll do an OK job but don’t expect anything else.



That's it for today! Next update, we'll go over to prologue of Mission 3.