Tips, Tricks, and Things to Avoid on your way to becoming a better pilot. Introduction With the constant doomsayers, "This game will die" crowd, "Blame your team, never yourself" posters, and "The game can't connect, ree!" Lagtypes, I thought I'd put this guide together for new players to learn, and possibly to help with some of the issues you all face. This is coming from someone whose clan contains several members of one of the top US Clans on PS4, and a top-10 of PC (before their temporary disabling), so while you may take things with grains of salt, it's genuine advice given to try to help the health of the community to see a game we all want to do well, flourish. Connectivity Issues: For starters, this game runs on an admittedly archaic P2P connection system at this point. What this means is that if you have a wireless connection, you're going to have a bad time. Disconnects, latency problems, and the dreaded "good work out there" all stem from this fact. Your best bet to fix these things are as follows: 1.) First and foremost, make sure that you have a *wired* Ethernet Connection to your internet. Packet Loss and "Connection Jitter" (the fluctuations of what your ping actually is versus the median that is shown in things like speedtest or fast.com tests) play hell with things - if your wireless isn't perfectly stable you will disconnect. Period. A personal reccomendation to find your jitter would be https://speed.cloudflare.com/ - a site that while it takes several minutes, gives a very comprehensive test. 2.) Port Forwarding : To forward your ports for this game, you're going to need access to your router. 192.168.0.1 is the default gateway for connecting to it and changing settings, though exact instructions will depend entirely on your make/model for actually setting them. Steams ports for this game are as follows : TCP: 27015, and 27036 UDP: 27015, and 27031 through 27036 Opening these ports will help you match better with people of a similar ping to you, lessening the issues caused in actual matchmaking. 3.) Know your timezones. If you try to connect to games during peak JP hours, you're going to match almost exclusively with them. And I promise you, this game *will* favor them as the hosts - Japan has internet as a basic requirement, and if it's in the cities, it's going to be gigabit - something even a lot of the US doesn't have yet. 4.) It should go without saying, but make sure you're not streaming, downloading, watching things, etc, when trying to play. As stated above, any fluctuations can severely affect experience. While of course having a fast enough, and more importantly *stable* enough connection can mitigate that fact, you will still be playing with a different latency than normal that can change on a dime. The Combat Triangle The Mobile Suits in Gundam Battle Operation 2 are divided into three categories : Raid, General, and Support, and what they do and are meant for greatly different from each to the next. In addition, there are advantages and disadvantages between categories, and the amount of damage you do or take varies greatly depending on it. Advice for each category are as follows : Raid Types: Strong in close combat, mainly Mobile Suits with excellent mobility. Their "Advantage State" is strong against support and weak against generals. There are many Mobile Suits with excellent skills and attack power, but they are weak and extremely fragile, making it difficult to operate. In addition to knowledge of the Mobile Suits at the current rating, it is also required to have the ability to quickly see through the opponent's team composition, habits and how they coordinate. If you can get close to support Mobile Suits that are not good at close combat, you may be able to shoot them down in an instant, and even against general-purpose Mobile Suits that are disadvantageous in terms of correction in close combat, you can stand on equal terms with your high attack power if properly played. Your job is to interfere with enemy supports that cause great damage to allied generals, and to surprise enemies who are fighting with allies. If you choose to fight a support or general opponent head-on, you will likely lose due to the difference in the number of shots and Advantage State General Types: Mainly Mobile Suits with well-balanced shooting ability, melee ability, and mobility. The Advantage State is strong against raids and weak against supports. Rather than generals, it is closer to being positioned as an all-purpose weapon, capable of adapting to various situations and developments, becoming the frontline of the battlefield and shaping how it plays out. In order to respond to any situation and control the flow for the team, a wide field of view and adaptability are required to always see and feel the situation on the spot. It's simply disadvantageous to have a shooting battle against a support, and even if you get close, you'll often get a big hit due to the Advantage State. Even if you fight with an raid that is advantageous in terms of advantage state, the distance will be shortened by their mobility or you will be beaten one-sidedly. Fighting an opponent with an advantage in terms of damage and a battle with a disadvantage in terms of performance, or fighting an opponent with an advantage in terms of performance and a battle with a disadvantage in terms of compensation, etc. It rarely falls into a hopeless situation, but it overwhelms the performance with a single unit. I'm not in a situation where I can. There are a wide variety of things to do, such as combating the enemy front line, following an assault, and escorting supports. Support Types: Although inferior in mobility, it mainly has a long range and excels in shooting battles. Advantage State is strong against general, weak against raid. The advantage itself is strong for generals, but since it is a Suit meant to support the battlefield, it is unwise to engage any opponent when fighting face-to-face. Their job is to provide offensive support to the generals to help break the enemy line, as well as information support through skills such as Informational Data Link . Due to their difficulty to play in defense and mobility, and in order to make it easier for allies to stand around, a wide range of knowledge and accuracy of the strengths and weaknesses of each unit in addition to the map and environment is required. You're already dead to a raid by the time you've finished reading this. Stunning, Staggers, and You One of the biggest features of this game's battle system is the staggering state. Hitting an enemy with a bazooka, cannon, some beams, or melee (excluding "downswing" melee and special ones) can make the enemy stagger . In addition, weapons have a stagger value, and if this value exceeds 100 without skill damage control, you will be forced to stagger. When staggered , you will be unable to act for a few seconds, unable to move or attack. Strong Stagger (Also known colloquially as Heavy Stun) is an attack that is even stronger than stagger , and can be overwritten on stagger. If you receive an attack with this attribute, the unit will make a kneeling motion and will be in a strong stagger state, and will continue to receive damage for a longer time than in a staggered state. This is also the state that you are put into if you overload your legs. Knockdowns follow this, and typically only come on the ground in the form of down-swinging / heavy melees. They can also happen from being in the air and being staggered out of your flight. Knockdowns last the longest, but when finished, you gain about 10 seconds of invulnerability (unless you attack, transform, or fall from an ally). It is difficult to keep staggering and knocking down enemies with a single unit, but if you cooperate with an ally, you can disable the enemy for a long time, so you can gang up and defeat the enemy without taking damage. It is also possible. This is why covering is so important. In the same notes, buildup stun and instant stun: Buildup stun is built up over time, through rapid-fire shots typically, and results in the stun after a certain amount of damage has been applied. For example, Nero Trainer's Vulcans will stun in between 13-18 shots, wheras suits like the GM Sniper 2 will require you to reload before you even hit halfway. What should be noted is that buildup stun does not affect allies, while instant stun does. You can safely shoot your machine guns, your beam rifles (uncharged) or throw (some) grenades into the melee to help add on damage without worrying about stunning your allies, but while aiding in the buildup of stun for your enemies! General Gameplay Tips Now, on to general gameplay tips. One of the first things to note is something I personally see a lot : Ignoring of points. Arctic Base aside given how small it is, points should not be simply ignored in attempt to rush down the enemy team, nor should you leave a single person to capture the starting point without any backup for similar reasons. In 5-person games, 3 people will start at A side and it's not uncommon for a raid to try to take a side path on, for example, Ruined City, to kill the capturer (who is typically a Support given they're left behind) for an easy kill and decap. Don't try to push the opposite side of the map without controlling yours first. *Stop "Wiggling" in front of your allies.* While you make yourself marginally harder to hit by enemies, you are also making yourself far more likely to be shot in the back by your allies - leading to at best, wasted damage and ammo, and at worst, you being chain-staggered to death - all because you stepped in front of your allies rocket. *Group Up* One of the biggest things I see is "main character syndrome" and people running around solo as if they're single-handedly going to change the match. This game will almost always boil down into a numbers game, and staying with your team and covering eachother is the only way you're going to win. Very few suits are designed to actually be able to handle being solo. You're always best off with your team to cover you, and vice-versa. *Stop rushing for base bombing* Base Bombs are meant to be a comeback mechanic, and therefore even if you do plant the bomb, untill <2:00 on the clock you get negligible points for planting one, even if it goes off. In planting early you are sabotaging your team in two key ways : You are making the game a 4v5, or 5v6 situation, and if the bomb does go off, your enemy no longer has to play around the base being a factor. They can push forward, trap you, and bomb your own base at their leisure because they no longer have a reason *not* to push forward and guard their own. *STOP Recklessly Using the Supporting Fire* I cannot stress this enough. You are more likely to hurt your allies in a supporting fire than you are to kill your enemies. It does not discriminate on who it damages, and anyone inside it is going to die if they're caught. "Supporting Fire Missed It's Target" is something you will hear far more often than "Supporting Fire Dealt Damage" - There are *some* exceptions to this; such as a player on the enemy team on his own who hasn't been moving, aka trying to be a sniper, and making themselves an easy target; or if you have a single ally trying to fight the entire enemy team - he's likely to keep their attention long enough to at least get *some* damage, but these are *RARE* instances. On the instance stated before of people playing "sniper"... Please stop trying this. Some Support-type units have the ability to use long range sniping, however this is not how you want to be playing. If you are sitting back and taking random potshots (I'm looking at you, GM Sniper 2 Players) then you are nothing but easy food for the enemy Raids. Move closer to the battle lines, *support* your Generals, so they can be the front line that allows your Raid unit to get to their own support. You deal massive damage to the enemy General frontline, and being close to your own Generals allows them to peel the enemy Raid Types off of you. A typical team should look something like this, though keeping in mind that there are of course exceptions based upon map, communication with your allies if you are in voice, etcetera : " 1 Raid, 3 Generals, 1 Support", "2 Raids, 3 Generals, 1 Support", "2 Raids, 2 Generals, 1 Support" - Support is by and far away the weakest role of the game, as this is a stun-and-melee focused meta, and they are only used for their skills in most cases. Radar Uplink, Viewing enemy Health, etc; the bulk of your team should make up that General-use role. They're General-use for a reason. Stop taking the kills from the Ace! A kill from the ace is worth three times as many points as if you kill it. Get things low, sure, but never take the kill from the ace if you can help it. Set them up to be knocked down and you won't be losing Ace matches anymore - they're Ace for a reason. They are the best player on your team! Animation Canceling and Timing : Learn it. I see a lot of people asking why people always seem to be able to tackle before them when they're both staggering eachother, or why someone can swing first; other than latency, this is the entire cause. As soon as your suit is beginning to do its standup animation from a stagger or stun, you are able to boost - long before you are able to walk. Boosting to the side, boosting back into a tackle immediately, etc, are all done because of this. Think of it the same way you would think of your melee down-swing cancels when knocking opponents down. Something that a lot of people don't know that I've noticed : Vulcans can be fired while boosting. For some suits with powerful vulcans (GP02, Nero Trainer, etc etc) this is an incredibly useful tool to buildup stun while chasing, or fleeing. The big one, mainly for generals, but raids apply : When an enemy is down, stop trying to all crowd around and downswing it. Let your strongest melee suit do that, while everyone else piles on the damage to the legs from range. If it's you and one other person ganking someone, take turns. Whoever knocked them down with a downswing will boost back to reset their melee - get a single downswing then boost away and let them do their duty afterwards. Being greedy only hurts your team - Remember : Allies that you downswing don't get the i-frames when they're getting up, that they would if the enemy did it. **PARTS, PARTS, PARTS.** So much more important than suits, getting your parts from the DP Counter is an absolute must. Don't waste your early DP on suits! *DO NOT* Play higher cost than you are comfortable with. The higher cost games, the faster paced the action, and the more you'll be expected to know what you're doing without dragging down your team. Stick with 450 or lower how you can, until you've acclimated and begun to learn all your basics. Then work your way up to the higher costs. Tier, Suit, Level, and Choice Advice Now, some general suit choice advice, depending on tiers. As a general rule, taking a Lv3, Lv4, or Amuro-forbid a Lv5 suit into a room? Bad idea. You do not have the rank to have the weapons that make that possible, and you will be leaving yourself without the tools to survive. Far too often I see people in Lv4 Guncannons at 500 cost, or Geara Doga Heavy Arms at 700. Leave those suits at their cost and take something native - it's very rare for a higher level suit to be viable higher than native, and it usually requires the Step-Up-Reward-Only, %-based parts that are based on the level of the suit. Stop taking GM Sniper's. 2, Custom, it doesn't matter. The only useful GM Sniper is typically the Missile Launcher custom, and you don't bring the rifle - you bring the rocket bazooka. Snipers do not fare well in this fast-paced game. Same goes for Gouf Custom. It's bad. *any* other Gouf is better. Personally, I love the Thunderbolt Flight Unit. Nero Trainer, Dom Gnomides, EWAC Jegan. (Lately;) Toedsritter, are all suits that appear only (or in Toedsriters case, easier to get because of rank requirements) in the Recycle Ticket shop. All of them are fantastic suits - Nero Trainer being the premier, Meta-definer 450-cost Raid suit. It's always worth waiting for a RT-exclusive than wasting it on a camouflage or piece of clothing. What follows is a general tier list of some of the best or meta-defining suits of each general cost: 700 Cost Phenex [NT] Dag Doll Sinanju Stein Sinanju Sazabi [Horn Funnels] Unicorn Gundam Moon Gundam, Asshimar (Lv4) Nu Gundam [LRFF] Kshatriya Hi-Nu & Nightingale 650 Cost Gundam Delta Kai Toedsritter ReZEL (Defense b-Unit) *Zeku Zwei* Dijeh (CA) Rebawoo The-O MP Quebeley 600 Cost Geara Zulu (Angelo Custom); SPECIFICALLY with the Gacha-only Bruno Gun only. Hyaku Shiki Kai, Byarlant Custom, Mass-Production ZZ Gundam, Geara Zulu (EH) 550 Cost Jegan ECOAS (CH) - The meta Raid for those with experience Bull-G - Coming soon as of update Woundwort Sisqueide Geara Doga Heavy Arms (And Geara Doga Kai; neither are meta but both are fantastic suits) GP00 Blossom GP01 Aqua GP02 MLRS GP02 Beam Bazooka (Noticing the GP Trend, yet?) Gaplant 500 Cost Gundam Titania Gundam Pixy (LA) *(Important, this is the Code Fairy Pack Pixie. NOT the base Pixy. This is a skill suit that is very squishy, but very strong. NOT NORMAL PIXIE.)* Mudrock Gundam Lv2 Bolinoak Sammahn Jegan Type D Prototype Stark Jegan (Important: You will see far better results with the bazooka found in the gacha, than with the Jegan beam rifle) GM Night Seeker Space Type (V) (WITH THE FEYADEEN RIFLE. This comes from owning the Hamrabi, available in the DP shop) Hazel II Jamru Fin Psycho Zaku MkII Gundam Unit 5 (Bst) (Note : This may seem like a ranged raid. It is NOT. This things melee is insane, and the minigun is actually quite terrible.) 450 Cost GM III Powered *Nero Trainer* (Recycle Shop exclusive) Mudrock Gundam Silver Haze Kai Ga-Zowmn [Gunner Type] Gelgoog (High Mobility Type) Gundam Alex (Chobham Armor) Zock (Admittedly more of a meme unless your team supports you, but very fun) Hizack Cannon AA 400 Cost Pezun Dwadge Gouf [F Unit] [TB] Red Rider GM Dominance (and Aqua) Blue Destiny Unit-2 Gelgoog Marine Playing a Better Cost. 350 Cost Guncannon Aqua [TB] *Efreet Nacht* GM Sniper Custom [ML] (With the rocket bazooka, not the sniper rifle) Gundam Marine Type Zaku II (Stutzer) Playing a Better Cost 300 Cost GM Kai [Shadows WR] (Clan-match exclusive) Efreet (DS) Zaku Half-Cannon (MB) (Exclusive to the Code Fairy Pack) Gundam Ground Type Guncannon Mass Production Type Aqua GM Agguguy Lv2 GM Guard Custom PLAYING A BETTER COST (And because R/GBO2 would Lynch me if I didn't list it...) Gogg The Noob Traps The following is a list of "noob trap" suits - these are suits to be avoided at all costs along with small blurbs as to why despite their appealing nature they are listed here - Typically it is because there are far better options even in the same suits with different variations. In no particular order: Gouf Custom (Other Goufs at the same cost do what this does better. It loses its heat rod in exchange for a shock whip, which cannot be used in multi-directional attacks.) Gundam Pixy (Just...Just no. Don't do this to your team.) Gundam White Rider (While a high-power shot sounds tempting, it requires 20 seconds to charge and has an incredibly long cooldown time. You'll feel the miss.) Pale Rider D2 (Sustained, but low, damage, and requires a charge on beam) Pale Rider Dullahan (Nerfed to hell, and generally powercrept) Gundam Unit 05 (NOT 05 Bst. There is a large difference) Gundam Unit 04 (Same as above) GM Night Seeker (V) (Non-space-type) Full Armor Gundam [Type B] (High firepower, but incredibly slow, and likely to stun your own team) Gundam Ez8 [WR] (This unit is far too slow with long switch times on weapons) GM Sniper - Pretty much any of them. (Noob-traps. People see "sniper" and think "oh boy, long range!" ...These things are slow with long reloads, and paper armor. You will die.) GM Sniper II [White Dingo] - (This is here to check if you're reading, mainly. As much as I LOATH to admit it, this thing is meta at native cost. Instant-stun beam rifle into downswing, you play this as a close-range general, rather than a sniper.) Gunner Gundam (This thing is just...Terrible. In every sense of the word. Even BamCo's attempts to make it viable in applying a radar option to its weapons is simply just... It's probably the worst suit in the game.) Closing Notes While I'm not particularly happy with exactly how this guide has shaped up, and know that there's a lot of room for improvement, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for taking the time and reading it anyway. A lot of collective effort and time has gone into this, and on a final note I wish to share one last piece of knowledge in the form of videos. These videos are made by a player who is possibly (though he may deny it) the best player in GBO2; in the world. They have no voiceover, but show the potentials of suits at their fullest, and many things can be learned simply through watching. I greatly recommend this man, as even the Japanese players respect (and fear) seeing him in a game. https://www.youtube.com/@TopTierGBO2 I would also like to thank not just him, but the rest of my clan as well for their aid and input in what things to include in this guide: TB12eX, Prouf667, Treble0110, Voltronimus Prime, AriochNova, Breaker, and though he is no longer with us, Leomog. Without their input this wouldn't exist.