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Streetwize edited this page Sep 3, 2023 · 14 revisions

Introduction

Competitive games have been a part of my life since infancy, but I'd dare not call myself a pro at such. My skills lie in breaking games down as an analyst to help others learn and improve. I have rebalanced niche fighters for the past decade, finding uncharted territory fun to explore. If I knew about Xenogears back then, I would've been in love with the Battling Arena even though it's a kusoge.

The game was balanced a little too "fundamentally" by giving everyone the same general attributes. This made attack speed the main "property" in determining who's good as a result. There is a LOT to improve, but the plan isn't to be competitive nor 100% accurate to the RPG. This update is meant to be more fun for all players while keeping a decent balance in all modes of play.

The mechanics were tightened to fix most issues, while the roster stays a little loose with the idea that it's a game made back in the 90s. 49 Gears is too many to properly balance, but I'm trying to make all major Gears solid and the lesser Gears more fleshed-out and coherent. Most adjustments are made with all skill levels in mind. Those who like competitive games should be able to enjoy it without compromising the larger, casual audience. As such, while the skill ceiling is a bit higher, the skill floor is made more accessible.

-Streetwize

Changes

QOL

  • Mirror matches no longer need a button held to access.
  • The game no longer forgets the last position of the "Bonus Battling" menu upon starting a battle.

Control

  • Attack lockout upon reading an invalid attack has been set from 15 frames to 0; tapping L1 or Circle mid-attack still Blanks the buffer for a new string.
  • Guarding is now semi-actionable, allowing attacks and backdashes while holding L1. It remains impossible to interrupt during blockstun.
  • Deceleration is raised to tighten movement.

Gameplay

  • Everyone now has their own HP values, mobility traits, stun limit, and costs for Ether bullets.
  • Damage rebalanced for all Gears with strings:
    • All attacks leading to enders deal between the first two tiers of damage (10~20 > ~15) and Enders use the third tier, even for two-hit strings (~25)
    • The attack's speed and alternative were taken into consideration when adjusting damage further
  • Most attacks recover faster, especially if they manually returned to idle like enders. Leading attacks were shortened to help with combos where possible.
  • The stun cap while blocking has been lowered from 20 frames to 15.
  • Infinites removed by adjusting "combo" stun without affecting time spent in stun:
    • The threshold is raised from 38 to the highest amount for each Gear's melee strings to all knock down; projectile-only Gears have no use for this
    • Melee hits raised from 120% damage to 220%
    • Projectiles raised from 60% to 100%
    • Drain is doubled while not in stun to compensate raised values
  • The combo tracker removed for melee; it only applies for projectiles while not in the downed state. The limit stays 4 hits.
  • Projectiles back-hits deal 150% damage from 200%, and Guarding now ignores that situation.
  • Popup attacks cause a vertical knockdown upon surpassing combo stun.
  • Damage multiplier removed. All Gears had 1.0 assigned to it anyway.
  • Damage reduced while prone:
    • Melee deals 80% of its original value
    • Projectiles lowered to 75% and ignore the back-check for extra damage
  • Heat mechanics altered:
    • Movement cooldown -4 > -6
    • Dash buildup +32 > +34
    • Terrain effects also apply outside of movement
    • Sand lowers cooldown by 1 for non-desert Gears
    • Water adds 1 to cooldown
  • The AI "rests" for 1.3 seconds rather than 3.

Future Planned Changes

  • Make trails update instantly rather than lag a frame behind
  • Realign hurt poses for better combo consistency

Gear Changes

Terminology

  • Armor: A Gear's durability
  • Ether: How many frames it takes to cool off while idle after firing a bullet
  • Combo: The amount of stun you can deal before a forced knockdown
  • Speed: A Gear's mobility at max speed
  • Accel: How fast it takes to reach top speed (2x on desert)
  • Decel: The time before a Gear stops moving from full speed
  • (Desert+): Ignores the sand penalty
  • (Ocean+): Can dash while submerged
  • d: Damage
  • h: Active duration/Projectile start
  • e: End point (actionable)
  • #: A or B (interchangable)
  • Advance: If an attack moves you forward
  • Trail: The visibility of any hit-trails
  • (New): Not present in the original

Note: The game runs at 30 FPS. Numbers listed below are raw values and won't reflect frame data accurately in-game from engine quirks and Gears being sped up.

Weltall

Armor- 300
Ether- 144
Combo- 90
Speed- 22
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 10 > 16
  • B: d 10 > 16, e 21 > 19
  • AA: d 20 > 15, e 18 > 17
  • AB: d 20 > 16, h 10-12 > 9-13
  • BA: d 20 > 16, h 8-11 > 8-12, has more range
  • BB: d 20 > 15, e 26 > 24, has more range
  • AAA: e 28 > 26, Hit trail adjusted
  • AAB: d 25 > 30, h 16-20 > 15-20, e 30 > 29
  • ABA: d 20 > 19, Second hit more consistent
  • ABB: d 25 > 22
  • BAA: d 25 > 28
  • BAB: d 25 > 26
  • BBA: h 6-11 > 5-11, e 25 > 24, no Advance
  • BBB: d 25 > 26
  • Ether: Unchanged

I want to say he is balanced with a slight emphasis on strength. As who you use to progress the plot, it was imperative that he's solid. Most problems affecting his consistency have been fixed to make him simple and effective, regardless of skill, without being absurd. Even though his damage is above-average, his stats are the baseline.

Vierge

Armor- 295
Ether- 143
Combo- 82
Speed- 23
Accel- 6f
Decel- 4f

  • A: d 10 > 15, e 20 > 17
  • B: d 10 > 15, e 17 > 15, Hit trail adjusted
  • AA/BB: d 20 > 14, e 25 > 21, Hit trail adjusted
  • AB: d 20 > 15, e 25 > 22
  • BA: d 20 > 15, h 10-13 > 10-14, e 31 > 28
  • AAA: e 30 > 28
  • AAB: d 25 > 24, e 30 > 26
  • ABA: d 25 > 26, e 31 > 30, h 15-24 > 15-23, Hit trail adjusted
  • ABB: d 25 > 24, e 30 > 28
  • BAA: d 25 > 22
  • BAB: d 25 > 18, e 35 > 34
  • BBA: d 25 > 26, e 41 > 40
  • BBB: now Dropkick, d 25 > 28, e 30 > 28
  • Ether: d 20 > 24, h 15 > 13, e 20 > 19

The boss version was used here. Half of her enders were popups and made those strings unsafe. Fast-hitting moves with too much recovery left her in mediocrity. Following the new speed tweaks, changes were made that ended up making her a foil to Weltall, such as weakening her enders a little and buffing her Ether.

Heimdall (Heimdal)

Armor- 290
Ether- 145
Combo- 75
Speed- 24
Accel- 7f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 10 > 12
  • B: d 10 > 12
  • AA: d 20 > 11, h 3-5 > 3-6, Hit trail adjusted
  • AB: d 20 > 11, h 4-6 > 4-7, Hit trail adjusted
  • BA: d 20 > 13, e 25 > 21, Hit trail adjusted
  • BB: d 20 > 12
  • AAA: d 25 > 22, e 23 > 21, Hit trail adjusted
  • AAB: d 25 > 24, sticks further out
  • ABA: d 20 > 17, e 44 > 40, second hit moves further out
  • ABB: d 25 > 23
  • BAA: d 25 > 21, h 5-8 > 4-8, e 32 > 27
  • BAB: d 25 > 20, e 18 > 16
  • BBA: d 25 > 20, e 22 > 20
  • BBB: d 25 > 17, h 7-12 > 6-12, e 24 > 21
  • Ether: d 20 > 18

This Gear was proof that speed dominated the original meta, with only slow Ether bullets stopping him from being objectively superior to Weltall. He was also one of the few instances where lowering the damage was enough to balance him, and remains the one of the few Gears with access to more intricate combos despite the low limit.

Brigandier

Armor- 305
Ether- 144
Combo- 96
Speed- 21
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f
(Desert+)

  • A: d 10 > 16, e 25 > 20, Advance on
  • B: d 10 > 17, e 25 > 23, no pushback
  • AA: d 20 > 16, Advance on
  • AB: d 20 > 18, e 25 > 22, Advance on
  • BA: now Twin Crack, d 20 > 18, e 25 > 22
  • BB: d 20 > 16, e 31 > 24, Advance on
  • AAA: d 25 > 30, e 37 > 34, Advance on
  • AAB: h 11-15 > 11-19, 15-29 > 20-28, Advance on
  • ABA: d 25 > 26, Advance on
  • ABB: now Divekick, d 35 > 32, Advance on
  • BAA: d 25 > 26, e 31 > 27, Advance on, backward movement reduced
  • BAB: d 25 > 35, e 42 > 40, Advance on
  • BBA: Advance on
  • BBB: e 24 > 23, Advance on
  • Ether: d 20 > 19

Bart is cool, but I found his Gears boring here. The crimson mid-range pirates had many flaws. This one had no scooting attacks, a double-hit which cut off the first hit too early, and a 2D mixup too slow to actually work and preceded an attack you could dodge. Though some quirks remain, he's far more functional now as a mini-powerhhouse.

Renmazuo

Armor- 295
Ether- 143
Combo- 78
Speed- 25
Accel- 7f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 6 > 10, e 22 > 21
  • B: d 10 > 14
  • A# e 10 > 8
  • BA: d 20 > 14
  • BB: d 20 > 14, h 7-8 > 6-8
  • AAA: d 10 > 12, e 49 > 32
  • AAB: d 10 > 13, e 46 > 30
  • ABA: d 25 > 28, e 37 > 33
  • ABB: d 8 > 11, e 45 > 32
  • BAA: d 25 > 22, e 45 > 32
  • BAB: d 25 > 20, e 31 > 28
  • BBA: d 25 > 24, e 18 > 17
  • BBB: d 25 > 20, e 27 > 24
  • Ether: d 20 > 18

Being a ranged Gear means nothing if you're left open during non-homing attacks. That was largely why I lowered the recovery. At the very least, he could cool off faster than his opponent by forcing them to stay on the move. I took a bit off his Ether to compensate for his projectiles.

Stier

Armor- 310
Ether- 146
Combo- 120
Speed- 20
Accel- 10f
Decel- 7f

  • A: d 15 > 20, e 19 > 18
  • B: d 15 > 20, Hit trail adjusted
  • A#: d 25 > 20
  • BA: d 25 > 18, e 18 > 14
  • BB: d 25 > 20, e 23 > 21
  • AAA: e 21 > 19
  • AAB: d 30 > 35, e 27 > 26
  • ABA: d 30 > 28, e 18 > 14
  • ABB: e 23 > 21, Hit trail adjusted
  • BAA: d 30 > 35, e 27 > 25
  • BAB: d 30 > 32, e 25 > 23
  • BBA: e 19 > 18
  • BBB: d 30 > 32, Hit trail adjusted
  • Ether: e 30 > 28

If there were a grappler, Stier would have been it. Grabs might be a bit too hard to add, however. As your final opponent, both his damage and frame data surpass Weltall's, and his only negative was his Ether Bullets havnig just as much startup as recovery. Slower movement helps balance his melee prowess while the better armor solidifies his tankiness.

Bladegash

Armor- 305
Ether- 144
Combo- 82
Speed- 26
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 10 > 16, Hit trail adjusted
  • B: d 10 > 15, e 24 > 23
  • AA: d 20 > 15, h 1-6 > 3-7, Hit trail adjusted
  • AB: h 7-13 > 6-12, Hit trail adjusted
  • BA: d 20 > 14
  • BB: d 20 > 14, e 20 > 19
  • AAA: d 25 > 26, h 4-12 > 4-13, e 27 > 25, Hit trail adjusted
  • AAB: Hit trail adjusted
  • ABA: d 25 > 30, e 41 > 39, Hit trail adjusted
  • ABB: d 25 > 20, h 7-13 > 6-12, Hit trail adjusted
  • BAA: Hit trail adjusted
  • BAB: d 25 > 28, Hit trail adjusted
  • BBA: Unchanged
  • BBB: d 25 > 24, e 18 > 17
  • Ether: h 15 > 16

A Gear that seems really strong, although her weapon missed at times. It seems that her swings didn't fully cover the sword. With damage tweaked similarly to El-Fenrir, she is a bit stronger for being overall slower.

Siebzehn (Seibzehn)

Armor- 330
Ether- 143
Combo- 116
Speed- 21
Accel- 7f
Decel- 5f

  • A: d 20 > 22, e 32 > 29
  • B: d 42 > 60
  • AA: e 36 > 31
  • AB: d 24 > 20, e 29 > 27
  • AAA: d 28 > 48
  • AAB: d 28 > 20
  • ABA: d 28 > 50, e 37 > 36
  • ABB: d 28 > 35, e 33 > 32
  • Ether: Unchanged

This Gear is among the best in combat, yet pitiful in the Arena. Most of his attacks were weaker and slower than Stier's. His ranged attacks, while decent, failed to make up for ABB being the only working string. AAB now works, and the enders still too slow at least do a substantial amount of damage if they connect.

Crescens

Armor- 280
Ether- 144
Combo- 102
Speed- 29
Accel- 5f
Decel- 4f

  • A: d 10 > 17
  • B: d 10 > 17, e 19 > 16
  • AA: d 20 > 17, e 25 > 23
  • AB: d 20 > 17
  • BA: d 20 > 18, h 12-16 > 12-17, lower dive, pushback added
  • BB: d 20 > 17
  • AAA: d 25 > 28
  • AAB: d 25 > 22
  • ABA: d 25 > 28
  • ABB: d 25 > 26, e 29 > 27
  • BAA: d 25 > 26
  • BAB: d 25 > 30
  • BBA: d 25 > 28
  • BBB: d 25 > 26, e 30 > 28, pops up
  • Ether: d 20 > 25, h 15 > 13, e 18 > 17

I didn't know what to do with her for the longest time. She probably would have been an aerial fighter if aerial melee attacks actually existed. She was eventually adjusted to reflect her RPG stats with an unparalled ratio between her damage output and mobility at the cost of low durability.

Chu-Chu

Armor- 320
Ether- 144
Combo- 105
Speed- 22
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: Punch, d 20 > 28, e 31 > 29
  • B: Kick, d 20 > 30, h 19-23 > 19-24, e 31 > 29
  • #A: Long Hop, d 30 > 18, h 19-22 > 18-22, e 31 > 30
  • #B: Hip Bump, d 30 > 20, e 31 > 28
  • ##A: Small Hop, d 35 > 40, h 12-16 > 11-16, e 31 > 28
  • ##B: Flip Kick, d 35 > 32, e 31 > 30
  • Ether: d 30 > 35 h 16 > 15, e 17 > 16

Yes, the fanbase hates her, but I can't ignore the buffs she needs as a main character. The strings she had originally made no sense and left gaps in her attacks. With six different attacks, they now each correspond to a certain part in her string that chu can mix for damage or speed. It may still be hard for her to land a hit, but the new order lets her combo properly for a lot of damage if she does.

Weltall 2

Armor- 285
Ether- 145
Combo- 104
Speed- 23
Accel- 7f
Decel- 5f

  • A: d 10 > 18
  • B: d 10 > 18, e 21 > 19
  • AA: d 20 > 17, e 18 > 17
  • AB: d 20 > 18
  • BA: d 20 > 18
  • BB: d 20 > 17, e 26 > 24
  • AAA: d 25 > 27, e 28 > 26, Hit trail adjusted
  • AAB: d 25 > 32, h 16-20 > 15-20, e 30 > 29
  • ABA: Second hit made more consistent
  • ABB: d 25 > 24
  • BAA: d 25 > 30
  • BAB: d 25 > 28
  • BBA: d 25 > 27, e 25 > 24, no Advance
  • BBB: d 25 > 28
  • Ether: d 20 > 22

Upgraded Gears are meant to be superior, but I can't properly translate that to a balanced environment. The differences between the two Weltalls only being subtle made it hard to deviate them until it became possible to alter attributes. His larger size plays into the strengths and weaknesses added to this Gear seamlessly, making a solid Gear even better for those with more experience.

Xenogears

Armor- 270
Ether- 145
Combo- 68
Speed- 19
Accel- 9f
Decel- 7f

  • A: d 10 > 16, e 28 > 27
  • B: e 25 > 24, no Advance
  • AA: d 20 > 16, e 28 > 27
  • AB: d 20 > 18
  • BA: Trail removed
  • BB: e 25 > 24, no Advance
  • AAA: d 15 > 17, e 72 > 69
  • AAB: e 30 > 25
  • ABA: Unchanged
  • ABB: Unchanged
  • BBA: Unchanged
  • BBB: e 31 > 28
  • Ether: d 20 > 22

Unlike Weltall 2, Xenogears is a completely different beast and generally seen as the best in the game. System changes make Big X's awesome zoning prowess less overwhelming by lowering the free damage his onslaught of homing shots gave. He also has the worst durability in the game. His overall gameplay is otherwise intact, including his poor melee, along with some minor buffs in return. There is a damage nerf ready for the projectile enders in case he's still broken, but I'd rather not risk laming him unless absolutely necessary.

El-Regulus (El-Regrs)

Armor- 275
Ether- 144
Combo- 70
Speed- 24
Accel- 7f
Decel- 5f

  • A: d 10 > 12, reaches in front of her
  • B: d 10 > 13, e 19 > 18
  • AA: d 20 > 12
  • AB: d 20 > 13, h 8-18 > 8-13
  • BA: d 20 > 14, h 5-21 > 9-20, e 29 > 21
  • BB: d 20 > 12, e 22 > 21
  • AAA: d 25 > 22
  • AAB: d 25 > 23, e 30 > 27
  • ABA: d 25 > 6, each hit lasts longer, e 43 > 42
  • ABB: d 25 > 22, e 22 > 21
  • BAA: d 25 > 21, e 32 > 29
  • BAB: d 25 > 28, e 34 > 32
  • BBA: e 27 > 26
  • BBB: d 25 > 24. e 30 > 25
  • Ether: d 20 > 24

As a semi-hidden Gear, some serious oversights held her back from what she should have been. The frame of animation where A swings in front of her gets skipped, her multi-thrust dropped possible hits, and some strings were too slow to combo. BAB was the only thing I couldn't fix. Her damage was slightly lowered to help level out her speed, giving her access to longer combos as well.

El-Fenrir

Armor- 290
Ether- 144
Combo- 90
Speed- 25
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 10 > 16, e 24 > 22, no longer hits twice, pushback added
  • B: d 10 > 15, h 10-15 > 10-16, e 21 > 20, pushback added
  • AA: d 20 > 15, h 1-6 > 3-6, pushback added
  • AB: d 20 > 14, h 4-8 > 4-9, e 13 > 12, pushback added
  • BA: d 20 > 18, pushback added
  • BB: d 20 > 16, e 17 > 16, pushback added
  • AAA: e 33 > 27
  • AAB: d 25 > 31, h 19-23 > 19-24, e 39 > 35
  • ABA: d 20 > 18, e 47 > 44, no Advance
  • ABB: d 28 > 32, h 13-18 > 16-20, e 32 > 29, no Advance
  • BAA: d 25 > 28, pops up, h 8-13 > 9-13, e 38 > 33
  • BAB: d 18 > 11, each hit has longer duration, e 35 > 33
  • BBA: e 27 > 25
  • BBB: d 25 > 20, h 2-8 > 2-6, e 20 > 18
  • Ether: d 20 > 18

This Gear retains some aspects of Heimdall, but lacks the same finesse. He hits harder when using his katana in exchange. His thin weapon causes some problems with elevation that are hard to address, though it seems like a fair weakness for how strong he is.

El-Andvari

Armor- 300
Ether- 144
Combo- 90
Speed- 21
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f
(Desert+)

  • A: d 10 > 18, e 28 > 27
  • B: d 10 > 16, e 17 > 16
  • AA: d 20 > 17, e 28 > 24
  • AB: d 20 > 17, e 25 > 22, no Advance
  • BA: d 20 > 17, e 24 > 21
  • BB: d 20 > 16
  • AAA: Unchanged
  • AAB: d 25 > 30, no Advance
  • ABA: d 25 > 30, forward movement reduced
  • ABB: d 20 > 22
  • BAA: d 20 > 21, both hits adjusted to whiff less
  • BAB: h 17-27 > 17-28, e 42 > 39
  • BBA: d 25 > 28
  • BBB: e 26 > 25
  • Ether: d 12 > 20, e 31 > 18

Like Brigandier, I had trouble with this Gear. I do believe this one is better with more coherent strings, although a few quirks were still present. I also fixed him up to the best of my ability. It turns out that the whips are a pain to properly adjust since they're spawned objects rather than a part of his model.

El-Renmazuo

Armor- 290
Ether- 143
Combo- 78
Speed- 24
Accel- 7f
Decel- 6f

  • A: e 21 > 20
  • B: d 10 > 15
  • A#: e 8 > 7
  • BA: d 22 > 14
  • BB: d 22 > 14
  • AAA: e 38 > 28
  • AAB: d 10 > 11, e 38 > 26
  • ABA: e 36 > 31
  • ABB: d 10 > 9, e 37 > 29
  • BAA: e 33 > 30
  • BAB: d 25 > 19, e 33 > 27
  • BBA: e 29 > 26
  • BBB: d 25 > 22, h 1-6 > 2-7
  • Ether: d 20 > 18

This Gear did what Renmazuo wants to do but better. I had no idea how to balance him until looking closer at the speed of their attacks. This one shot faster, so I gave the other stronger projectiles and this one slightly better melee damage, alongside tweaks similar to what the predecessor had gotten.

El-Stier

Armor- 305
Ether- 146
Combo- 124
Speed- 20
Accel- 10f
Decel- 8f

  • A: d 15 > 20, h 5-13 > 5-10, e 19 > 17
  • B: d 15 > 20
  • AA: d 25 > 20, h 6-13 > 6-14, e 22 > 19
  • AB: now Low Punch, d 25 > 20
  • BA: d 25 > 20, e 18 > 17
  • BB: d 25 > 18
  • AAA: d 30 > 32, e 32 > 30
  • AAB: d 30 > 35, e 31 > 28
  • ABA: d 30 > 34, e 43 > 40
  • ABB: d 30 > 32, e 25 > 23
  • BAA: d 30 > 32, e 31 > 29
  • BAB: d 30 > 35, e 39 > 38, forces knockdown, Hit trail adjusted
  • BBA: d 30 > 28, no Advance
  • BBB: e 24 > 21, no Advance
  • Ether: d 20 > 21, e 30 > 28

He didn't feel much different from Stier, so most adjustments between the two were in line with each other. This Gear gets a few extra buffs to help justify the lower HP as an Omnigear.

Ganador

Armor- 310
Ether- 143
Combo- 80
Speed- 21
Accel- 11f
Decel- 9f

  • A: d 10 > 20
  • B: d 10 > 22, e 36 > 34
  • #A: d 20 > 25, h 1-16 > 4-16
  • AB: matches BB
  • #B: d 20 > 30, e 31 > 29, popup hit
  • ABA: Removed
  • ABB: Removed
  • Ether: Unchanged

My favorite Gear. With fast Ether shots, what held him back was a lack of damage on his slow swings. I had the B# and AB# enders do the same damage to prevent overtuning him, but 3-strings were removed for more flexibility via Blanking. That route can still be done with A, L1/O, B.

Titan

Armor- 310
Ether- 140
Combo- 90
Speed- 19
Accel- 9f
Decel- 7f

  • A: d 10 > 15, e 51 > 48, first hit has no pushback
  • B: d 10 > 18, e 25 > 19
  • AA: d 20 > 19, e 27 > 25
  • AB: d 20 > 18, e 25 > 19
  • BA: d 20 > 30, e 31 > 29
  • BB: d 20 > 25, e 46 > 40
  • A#A: d 25 > 32, e 31 > 29
  • AAB (New) Hammer Drop d 30
  • ABB: now Side Swing, d 25 > 31
  • Ether: d 20 > 25, e 51 > 46

This Gear had several kinks, but as an early fight, I can see why he was made weak. He becomes far less of a pushover with working combos and good damage, yet still cannot do Ether in the air without the dash-slope exploit. In return, the cost is lowered more than usual since he has to commit to two.

Wind Shaver (WShaver)

Armor- 300
Ether- 140
Combo- 68
Speed- 18
Accel- 6f
Decel- 5f

  • A/AB/AAA/ABB/BBA: d 18, e 31 > 29
  • AA/BB/ABA/BAB: d 15, e 21 > 19
  • B/BA/AAB/BAA/BBB: d 25, e 31 > 27
  • Ether: d 20 > 22, h 16 > 12, e 17 > 13

As a Gear few attacks, there was little effort to make him competitive since it had a full set of strings, albeit arbitrary. I think he's worse than Tin Robo. At the very least, his attacks are improved and do consistent damage regardless of their position in the string.

Firewheel

Armor- 320
Ether- 146
Combo- 92
Speed- 30
Accel- 12f
Decel- 10f

  • A: d 10 > 16
  • B: d 10 > 15, e 21 > 18
  • AA: d 20 > 15, e 21 > 19
  • AB: d 20 > 18
  • BA: d 20 > 18, e 43 > 36, hits slightly higher
  • BB: d 20 > 20
  • AAA: d 25 > 35, e 52 > 48
  • AAB: Unchanged
  • ABA: e 43 > 36, hits slightly higher
  • ABB: d 6 > 8
  • BAA: d 25 > 28, h 11-31 > 5-31, e 41 > 40
  • BAB: d 25 > 30, e 29 > 28
  • BBA: d 25 > 22, e 28 > 24
  • BBB: d 25 > 20
  • Ether: Unchanged

This Gear has a rather neat design, but does have a few things holding him back. Being perceived as easy despite being so far in the tourney (and an endgame enemy in the main file's strings) prompted some buffs to put him closer to the same level as Hatamoto. Since he rolls around, I thought it might be interesting to make his mobility rather polarized.

SilverStar

Armor- 290
Ether- 144
Combo- 80
Speed- 26
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 10 > 15
  • B: d 10 > 13
  • AA: d 20 > 14
  • AB: d 20 > 13, e 15 > 13
  • BA: d 20 > 14. e 16 > 15
  • BB: d 20 > 14, e 18 > 16
  • AAA: d 25 > 22, e 17 > 16
  • AAB: d 25 > 24, e 33 > 31
  • ABA: d 25 > 20, e 19 > 18
  • ABB: d 25 > 24, e 30 > 28
  • BAA: d 25 > 21, h 9-14 > 9-16, e 27 > 26, uses popup state
  • BAB: d 25 > 23, e 30 > 29
  • BBA: d 25 > 14, h 5-11 > 5-12, e 25 > 24, 2nd hit uses normal state
  • BBB: d 25 > 22, e 31 > 30
  • Ether: d 20 > 18, h 15 > 16

Undoubtedly deserving of the penultimate story fight with speed outclassing Stier's. After the nerfs to his Ether, his damage was lowered only slightly to keep the threatening prowess he has at close-range intact.

Musha

Armor- 280
Ether- 144
Combo- 64
Speed- 25
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 10 > 25, e 31 > 30, has` slightly more reach
  • B: d 10 > 12, e 31 > 30
  • BA: d 10 > 16, e 31 > 30
  • BB: d 8 > 10
  • Ether: Unchanged

This Gear received buffs to be somewhat competitive in case people actually liked zoning. This makes him more challenging for the story, but any strategy stays the same.

Hatamoto

Armor- 305
Ether- 143
Combo- 84
Speed- 24
Accel- 7f
Decel- 5f

  • A: d 10 > 16, h 14-21 > 14-20
  • B: d 10 > 15, h 8-17 > 8-16, e 25 > 22
  • #A: d 20 > 15, e 22 > 21
  • #B: d 20 > 14
  • #AA: d 25 > 24, e 25 > 23
  • AAB: d 25 > 24, h 8-17 > 8-16, e 25 > 22
  • ABA: d 25 > 24, h 8-17 > 8-16, e 25 > 22
  • #BB: d 25 > 20
  • BAB: h 14-21 > 14-20
  • BBA: d 25 > 24, e 22 > 21
  • Ether: d 20 > 19, e 20 > 18

Mainly thought of as solid in the original due to the twirls. Balancing them was a little difficult since his #BA enders were normal attacks, but I found a good solution. He gets a slight damage reduction to compensate for the new speed.

Backfirer

Armor- 275
Ether- N/A
Combo- 64
Speed- 20
Accel- 9f
Decel- 7f

  • A: Homes in, d 20 > 24, e 41 > 40
  • B: d 8 > 10, h 1 > 2

[DEV NOTE REDACTED: DISPARAGE THIS GEAR AT YOUR OWN PERIL.]

Shinobi

Armor- 295
Ether- 143
Combo- 64
Speed- 29
Accel- 5f
Decel- 5f

  • A: d 15 > 18, e 31 > 27
  • B: d 16 > 25, e 31 > 29. knocks down
  • AA: d 30 > 28, e 31 > 27
  • AB: d 30 > 25, e 31 > 30, h 9-14 > 9-15, starts a bit further out
  • BA: e 31 > 29
  • Ether: d 23 > 24, h 16 > 15, e 17 > 16

I think I nerfed his enders because they were too similar in frame data, but I tried to speed him up starters in return. The only issue that needs to be addressed now is the lack of range on AB, which is oddly animated.

Wyrm

Armor- 315
Ether- 144
Combo- 96
Speed- 27
Accel- 6f
Decel- 5f
(Desert+)

  • A: d 10 > 12
  • B: d 10 > 18
  • AA: d 20 > 18, e 31 > 29
  • AB: d 20 > 15, e 20 > 18
  • BA: d 20 > 15, e 20 > 18
  • BB: d 20 > 10, e 41 > 39
  • #AA/#BB: d 25 > 30, e 41 > 38
  • AAB: (New) Triple Wriggle, d 14, e 41 > 39
  • ABA: d 25 > 16
  • BAB: d 25 > 16
  • BBA: (New) Bite, d 28
  • Ether: Unchanged

This creepy monster is based on the Germanic dragons who resemble worms. It can slip past certain Gears between their legs, which may confuse your opponent. It was hard to find combos that worked, so I tried to give the best variety I could.

Tin Robo

Armor- 300
Ether- 144
Combo- 94
Speed- 24
Accel- 9f
Decel- 7f

  • A: d 10 > 15
  • B: d 10 > 16, e 30 > 25
  • AA: d 20 > 35, no Advance
  • AB: d 20 > 17, no Advance
  • BA: d 20 > 20, e 34 > 32
  • BB: d 20 > 16, e 29 > 24
  • AAA: Removed
  • ABA: (New) Flail, d 20
  • ABB: d 25 > 22, e 38 > 36
  • BBA: (New) Stomp, d 22
  • BBB: d 25 > 18, e 34 > 32
  • Ether: Unchanged

Despite being intentionally weak, all the possible improvement made it become around mid-tier. It should remain easy in the story with the buffs Weltall has. The high combo limit does not actually help it do longer strings since its enders are double-hits. As such, this Gear treads the line of being a handicap.

Rankar

Armor- 330
Ether- 146
Combo- 120
Speed- 23
Accel- 9f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 10 > 25, e 24 > 23
  • B: d 10 > 24, e 21 > 19
  • AA: d 20 > 25, e 18 > 17
  • AB: d 20 > 24, e 21 > 19
  • BA: d 20 > 25, e 24 > 23
  • BB: d 20 > 25, e 18 > 17
  • A#A: d 25 > 35, e 42 > 34
  • AAB: now Flame, d 25 > 38
  • ABB: d 25 > 40, e 37 > 33
  • B#A: d 25 > 35, e 42 > 34
  • B#B: d 25 > 40, e 37 > 33
  • BBB: d 25 > 38
  • Ether: d 20 > 30

Despite being the first boss you fight, having base damage for such a slow fighter just made him awful. The massive damage buff couldn't fix everything, although Blanking helps make some Enders properly combo.

Etone

Armor- 290
Ether- 141
Combo- 72
Speed- 23
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: now poke, d 10 > 17, h 4-6, e 2 > 13
  • B: now homing shot, d 10 > 25
  • AA: (New) vertical swipe, d 28, h 18-30 > 18-25
  • AB: d 20 > 26, h 15-30 > 15-22
  • A#: Cosmetic trail timings altered to make hits clearer
  • BA: Removed
  • ABA: Removed
  • Ether: Unchanged

For a while, this Gear was outright awful. The effort to make the pair unique made this one need to rely on projectiles to even use physical attacks. The unused poke attack was what it needed to be reasonably playable by being able to confirm into the slower attacks.

Neo Etone

Armor- 290
Ether- 141
Combo- 64
Speed- 23
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: now homing shot, d 10 > 18, e 31 > 19
  • B: d 10 > 15, h 1-10 > 2-10, e 10 > 11
  • AB: Removed
  • BA: now overhead blast, Chalice lowered
  • BB: (New) lunge, d 22, h 10-30 > 9-30, e 31 > 29, no Advance
  • Ether: Unchanged

The B attacks were so easy to spam while the A attacks were too slow to be reliable, but it was still better than the original. Amid being able to make the original more viable, this one also received a few buffs to help it stay good.

Golem

Armor- 315
Ether- 144
Combo- 84
Speed- 26
Accel- 11f
Decel- 9f

  • A: d 10 > 15
  • B: d 10 > 16
  • AA: d 20 > 15
  • AB: d 20 > 15
  • BA: d 20 > 30
  • BB: d 20 > 14
  • AAA: Unchanged
  • AAB: d 25 > 22
  • ABA: e 34 > 33
  • ABB: d 25 > 28, e 35 > 34
  • BBB: d 25 > 24
  • Ether: Unchanged

A monster surprisingly fun to play as. The changes it gets are relatively minimal with how rounded it is. Even though AAA is too slow to be of any practical use, it can teach newer players the importance of movement.

Fixbot

Armor- 305
Ether- 142
Combo- 90
Speed- 27
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • All Melee attacks cause no pushback
  • All hit trails have been adjusted
  • A: d 10 > 16, e 31 > 24
  • B: d 10 > 15
  • AA: d 20 > 10, e 31 > 29
  • #B: d 20 > 15
  • BA: d 20 > 16, e 31 > 24
  • AAA: (new) Slow Jab. d 26
  • AAB: Otherwise unchanged
  • ABA: e 31 > 24
  • ABB: (new) Shock, d 18
  • BAA: (new) Fast Jab. d 25
  • BAB: d 25 > 26, e 31 > 24
  • BBA: d 25 > 18, e 31 > 29
  • BBB: (new) Fast Jab, d 25
  • Ether: d 20 > 17

With only three unique attacks spread throughout four linear strings, this Gear may have been been limited to compensate the dumb AI's commitment to strings. I decided to fill in the blanks for a bit more flexibility, not that there was much to begin with. None of its melee attacks have pushback because I needed to make the multi-hit more consistent, and attack properties were shared between moves.

Worker

Armor- 295
Ether- 138
Combo- 68
Speed- 27
Accel- 7f
Decel- 5f

  • A: d 15 > 12, e 31 > 16
  • B: d 10 > 15
  • AA: now Headbutt, d 30 > 12
  • AB: d 20 > 15
  • AAA: (New) Zoom, d 30, h 51-61 > 43-61, e 71 > 69
  • AAB: (New) Fire, d 15
  • Ether: d 20 > 12

This mediocre Gear would have been alright if the second hit of both A attacks worked properly. A little creative compromise was needed to fix that, but it makes A far less of a commital now. Combine that with fast ethers and strong projectiles, and you have the ability to poke, harass, and confirm however you wish.

Dozer

Armor- 300
Ether- N/A
Combo- 96
Speed- 20
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 15 > 18, e 36 > 28
  • B: Homes in, e 61 > 59
  • AA: e 49 > 31
  • AB: (New) Double Spin, d 24, e 31 > 30
  • AAA: d 28 > 24, h 11-15 > 11-16, e 31 > 30
  • AAB: (New) Punch, d 28

This Gear gets a slight damage buff, but can attack much faster now along with some more reliable strings for damage. It is still awfully slow, and not much more that can be done about that.

Death(scythe)

Armor- 325
Ether- 144
Combo- 96
Speed- 28
Accel- 4f
Decel- 12f
(Ocean+)

  • A: e 62 > 57
  • B: Now Flame, e 31 > 30
  • AA: e 62 > 61
  • AB: Now Tail 2, e 62 > 60
  • Ether: Unchanged

I am unsure what else I can do with this monster. Getting something to poke with is massive, but its strings stay rather useless with laggy, two-second attacks.

Merman

Armor- 290
Ether- 140
Combo- 88
Speed- 25
Accel- 5f
Decel- 11f
(Ocean+)

  • A: d 10 > 14
  • B: d 8 > 12, e 51 > 48
  • AA: d 20 > 14, e 21 > 20
  • AB: d 20 > 18, e 26 > 25
  • AAA: d 25 > 22
  • AAB: (New) Twist, d 26
  • ABA: d 25 > 22
  • ABB: d 12 > 10, e 41 > 37
  • Ether: d 20 > 24, e 51 > 46

Another hidden high-tier Gear. His projectiles were absurd, but nerfing back-hits has helped level that out without needing to nerf them much. AAB is somewhat inconsistent, and was added to fill out his moveset.

Salvager

Armor- 275
Ether- 138
Combo- 74
Speed- 28
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f
(Ocean+)

  • A: d 10 > 18, e 25 > 22
  • B: d 10 > 12
  • AA: d 20 > 16
  • AB: d 20 > 22
  • BB: d 20 > 15
  • AAA: d 25 > 22
  • AAB: d 0 > 24, e 31 > 29
  • BBB: d 25 > 18
  • Ether: d 20 > 12

The best non-Hero Gear, used for speedruns. This gremlin can easily spam spins and Ether Bullets. It remains the only Gear who benefits from spamming one attack more than doing a full string with infinites gone, making it tough to balance.

Trooper

Armor- 325
Ether- N/A
Combo- 166
Speed- 20
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: e 41 > 31
  • B: e 46 > 40
  • AA: e 28 > 22
  • AB: d 10 > 12, e 46 > 40
  • BA: d 20 > 25, e 41 > 35
  • AAA: e 47 > 43
  • AAB: d 10 > 15, e 46 > 40

This Gear is a good example of why I cannot make everyone viable. It was given buffs to at least make it feel better, but there is little room for improvement.

Twinburner

Armor- 310
Ether- 144
Combo- 100
Speed- 22
Accel- 7f
Decel- 5f

  • A: d 10 > 15, e 31 > 28
  • B: e 32 > 31
  • AA: d 20 > 25, e 31 > 30, Trail enabled
  • AB: d 15 > 18, e 31 > 30, No advance
  • BA: d 20 > 22, e 31 > 30, last two shots removed, No advance
  • Ether: Unchanged

What this Gear has is neat, but it feels like he could have had one or two more attacks. The damage buffs, intended to mitigate that, made BA even more devastating on block. Two nerfs fixed that infinite in exchange for a little speed boost.

Sand Trooper (S-Trooper)

Armor- 310
Ether- N/A
Combo- 112
Speed- 20
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: e 24 > 22
  • B: e 43 > 33
  • AA: e 22 > 19
  • AB: d 20 > 35, e 43 > 33
  • AAA: e 25 > 23
  • AAB: d 30 > 25, e 24 > 22
    (Desert+)

Probably my favorite low-tier Gear with strings that work, now better. AAB was nerfed rather than buffing AAA in case it's too good. With his range, I decided to try low recovery instead of homing on his projectile to set him apart from the others.

Sand Tripper (S-Tripper)

Armor- 290
Ether- 144
Combo- 64
Speed- 24
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 15 > 17 e 31 > 27
  • B: now Rapidfire, d 20 > 8, e 26 > 25
  • AA: d 10 > 8, e 26 > 25
  • AB: d 20 > 22 e 31 > 28
  • BA: Removed
  • Ether: d 20 > 18
    (Desert+)

This Gear needed was a few tweaks to be passable. He now has a projectile on-command like other "zoning" Gears. It needed to be toned down a bit with how easy it was to spam, but the melee that worked stayed intact.

Sphar (Sufal)

Armor- 315
Ether- 144
Combo- 64
Speed- 22
Accel- 5f
Decel- 4f

  • A: d 15 > 22, e 31 > 28
  • B: d 10 > 20, e 36 > 35, first hit no pushback
  • AA: d 20 > 25
  • AB: e 31 > 29
  • BA: d 20 > 30
  • Ether: h 16 > 15, e 17 > 16

One of the late bosses who is rather limited. He gets a few tweaks to be better, but I have no intention of trying to make such a slow and gimmicky Gear feasible.

EG-Gunner

Armor- 305
Ether- 142
Combo- 64
Speed- 23
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 30 > 35, h 14-18 > 13-18, e 31 > 28
  • B: e 31 > 27
  • AA: Removed
  • AB: Removed
  • BA: Removed
  • BB: now Rapidfire, d 30 > 20, first shot 1 > 2
  • ABA: Removed
  • BAB: Removed
  • Ether: Unchanged

This Gear had an awkward moveset and high damage. It's now simplified and made faster to streamline his gameplay, especially since cooldown is removed.

EG-Armor

Armor- 315
Ether- 143
Combo- 68
Speed- 21
Accel- 10f
Decel- 8f

  • A: d 15 > 16
  • B: d 10 > 15, e 39 > 25
  • #A: now Rifle d 20 > 15, h 4-8 > 4-9
  • BA: d 20 > 12, e 31 > 29
  • BB: d 20 > 14
  • AAA: now Low Shot, d 25 > 28, h 12 > 11, e 33 > 31, no Advance
  • AAB: now Kick, d 25 > 22
  • ABA: now Spread, d 25 > 12, e 31 > 29, no Advance
  • ABB: now Charge, d 25 > 24, e 26 > 23
  • B#A: Straight Shot, e 39 > 36, no Advance
  • BAB: e 41 > 39, no Advance
  • BBB: d 25 > 14, no Advance
  • Ether: Unchanged

Having a full set of attacks is a big surprise when the two other were so limited. Even more so is how fast it strikes and how slow it shoots. With iffy melee strings, I made new ones that flow better.

Pedestal

Armor- 320
Ether- 144
Combo- 92
Speed- 20
Accel- 9f
Decel- 7f

  • A: d 12 > 17, e 30 > 28
  • B: Right Swing, e 29 > 27
  • AA: d 22 > 17, e 26 > 24
  • AB: d 22 > 17, e 29 > 27
  • BA: d 22 > 17, e 30 > 28
  • BB: Left Swing, e 26 > 24
  • AAA: d 25 > 28, e 36 > 34
  • AAB: Unchanged
  • ABA: d 25 > 28
  • ABB: d 25 > 28
  • BAA: d 25 > 28
  • BAB: Unchanged
  • BBA: d 25 > 28
  • BBB: Double Shot, d 20 > 12
  • Ether: Unchanged

Please disregard where this Gear shoots Ether bullets from. As an end-game enemy with a full moveset, I had no qualms making sure it was viable. Although some of the system changes nerf its potential for Infinites, it still has a curious blend of tankiness, melee, and zoning.

Edin

Armor- 290
Ether- 144
Combo- 80
Speed- 24
Accel- 7f
Decel- 5f -All but AAB have their hit trails adjusted to cover more area

  • A: d 10 > 14
  • B: d 10 > 12
  • AA: d 20 > 14, e 24 > 23
  • AB: d 20 > 18, movement reversed
  • BA: d 20 > 9, hits twice
  • BB: d 20 > 14
  • AAA: h 10-15 > 10-16, d 25 > 23, e 31 > 29
  • AAB: d 25 > 22, e 39 > 33
  • ABA: e 31 > 28, realigned and sticks out less
  • ABB: d 35 > 32, realigned and sticks out less
  • BAA: d 25 > 20
  • BAB: d 25 > 12, e 30 > 27, hits twice
  • BBA: d 25 > 22
  • BBB: d 25 > 20, e 27 > 22
  • Ether: d 20 > 24

An interesting Gear you fight in the endgame. She bears some similarities to Regulus, so I took a few cues from her. Fixing her AB to move forward barely lets it combo. I had to remove the "fake" trail to make BA and BAB hit twice, and a good balance between that and the rest of her kit was hard to find.

EG-Blade

Armor- 295
Ether- 145
Combo- 96
Speed- 22
Accel- 6f
Decel- 4f

  • A: d 18 > 20, h 13-18 > 13-19, e 31 > 27
  • B: d 10 > 15, e 17 > 16
  • #A: d 20 > 25, h 15-19 > 15-20, e 31 > 28
  • AB: d 20 > 22, h 16-18 > 16-21, e 31 > 28
  • BB: d 20 > 18, e 17 > 16
  • AAA: (New) Flip, d 24
  • AAB: d 25 > 18, e 17 > 16
  • ABA: d 25 > 22, e 31 > 28
  • ABB: (New) Stab, d 18
  • BAA: (New) Laser, d 22
  • BAB: (New) Flip, d 24
  • Ether: d 20 > 24, e 31 > 30

I didn't realize this Gear had two forms between dagger and sword, but they're merged here. It has a lot of potential even though some people think otherwise. In trade for losing infinites, it gets many improvements all around as well as an expanded moveset.

Argento

Armor- 270
Ether- 146
Combo- 90
Speed- 18
Accel- 8f
Decel- 6f

  • A: d 18 > 22
  • B: d 18 > 22, e 16 > 15
  • AA: Now the same punch as BA
  • #A: d 26 > 22, e 18 > 17
  • AB: d 26 > 22, e 16 > 15
  • BB: d 26 > 22
  • AAA: d 28 > 27, e 17 > 16
  • AAB: d 28 > 26
  • ABA: d 28 > 24, h 11-13 > 10-13, e 27 > 26, 2nd hit pops up
  • ABB: Unchanged
  • BAA: d 24 > 30, h 8-13 > 8-14
  • BAB: d 28 > 24, 2nd hit pops up
  • BBA: Has slightly more coverage
  • BBB: d 28 > 27
  • Ether: Unchanged

As the secret Gear, his fast attacks and high damage were likely meant to make him unfair. The mechanics worked against him as all but BB# knocked down prematurely. His melee prowess was among the best in the game, but his attacks are uniquely animated 25% slower than everyone else. I chose to lean into his "boss" status by making him volatile and inflexible.

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