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 Shining Fighter guide.

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Sylar

Sylar



Shining Fighter guide. Empty
PostSubject: Shining Fighter guide.   Shining Fighter guide. I_icon_minitime30/8/2011, 15:28

Shining Fighters

Shining Fighters are seen as by some as just the 'jack of all trades, master of none'. I disagree here.

Shining Fighters, at first glance, are average at everything. They have poor jump height (HJ can defuse that, but that causes many more problems), and two decent length airdashes (the exact length doesn't matter, but it's somewhere around 50 inches). Shining Fighters all average 4.5 in all stats (not a real number, just an estimation), so they seem to have no real strengths.

Ray MKIII is the personification of what SFs are assumed to be; really really useless. Ray MKIII has five in every stat, and a meh-ish charge. The charge is really the defining factor when choosing a robo out of a set, i.e., Glaive beats Javelin, because his charge allows him to gain much needed jump height, while Javelin is left stranded on the ground.

Generally, the all around tier list for Shining Fighters would be this:

X-Ray/Ray 01
Ray MKII
Apollo
Ray
Shadow
Ray MKIII

X-Ray excels in close quarter combat because of his nearly lagless charge, and Ray 01 takes the cake for mid range, because of good defense and approach abilities. Apollo is typically a combo robo, and is used for many different tasks. Ray is actually exceptionally good, but his charge is very tough to use.

The other two are just not good enough to be worth using. Shadow suffers from poor placement of invincibility frames, while MKIII has a slow, clumsy, charge with a poor hitbox.

Now that we got the general anti SF bias out of the way, let's move on to basic SF use and customization.

Movement
===============


This is a big one. Never, and I repeat, never use Formula legs on a Shining Fighter. Why?

1.) Formula legs make turning incredibly hard to do, and they slow down the acceleration time.
2.) High landing lag. Shining Fighters need lag reducing legs to function well.
3.) I don't use them.

Ground movement is something that all robos should take advantage of, the question is just how much.

It goes without saying that the difference between the aerial and the speed stat should give an idea of what that time should be. i.e., Codger has a much higher aerial stat than his speed stat, so ground movement is impaired.

Shining Fighters have a pretty even balance between the two, so you would assume that the majority of the time is spent on the ground.

Wrong. Air>ground. Always. Yes, it's depressing, but the aerial space gives you more room to maneuver, which helps when pinned.

Shining Fighters' airdashes (dashes, not jumps) are of a decent length, and they have two of 'em, which lets them dash in, attack, and dash out to avoid damage. The dashes should always be your primary movement, not running.

So many times, I see newbs online with a cliche setup like this:

Ray MKIII
3-Way
Geo Trap
Satellite
Formula

and their entire 'strategy' consists of running around releasing pods in random places, and then spamming the gun's enhanced slide shot (that's the one thing Formula does right; enhanced the slide shot) and then throwing a bomb wherever the reticle starts. Don't be this guy. It's not a good strategy, and it won't ever beat a good vet. It'll even sometimes lose to another crappy set.

Lag reducing legs

There are three pairs of landing lag reducing legs in this game:

Ground Legs (http://customrobo.wikia.com/wiki/Ground_Legs)
Feather Legs (http://customrobo.wikia.com/wiki/Feather_Legs)
Quick Jump Legs (http://customrobo.wikia.com/wiki/Quick_Jump_Legs)

Ground legs are the most common, and, in my opinion, the best legs for a Shining Fighter. They greatly reduce jump height, and almost entirely eliminate landing lag, which gives you almost infinite airdashes.

Feather legs are okay. They don't reduce jump height, but they reduce jump speed, which also includes falling speed. I love these legs, but not on a Shining Fighter.

Quick Jump legs are subpar. Go ahead and try them, but I strongly advise against them. They barely reduce landing lag, and also speed up falling speed, which stops the set from running as smoothly. This is not SSB. Fast falling is hardly ever the best option.

As I said, Ground is my favorite, and probably the best, choice for legs on a Shining Fighter. This is one robo type that doesn't allow for much picking and choosing when it comes to legs.

Why is airdashing so important?

Airdashing is very important for the same reason as dashdancing in SSB; it keeps the enemy guessing when and where your attack will come from. As you get better, you'll learn to fire weapons from different areas of the stage (airdashing to new areas) so that your weapons will be covering area all across the stage.

Airdashing is used for either approaching, positioning or retreating. In other words, airdashing is used for everything.

Shining Fighters have two base airdashes, which gives them a stronger aerial game than might be expected. It follows that the more airdashes you have=the stronger your aerial game becomes. This leaves two choices:

Reduce landing lag and jump height to rapidly replenish airdashes.
Increase the number of airdashes that you have.

Ground legs reduce landing lag far beyond what you might think, and it reduces jump height, which makes short hopping even better.

Plus One legs increase your aerial ability by one. Airjumpers gain a jump, and airdashers gain a dash.

Plus One's are an option, but you'll have to square with the landing lag after the third dash. Using them also means it would be a waste if you don't use all three airdashes before landing. There are many times when no more than one dash is needed to reach the area.

Ground legs give you as many dashes or as few as you need, with the only 'fault' being the loss of jump height. But who cares? Most guns that will be used on a Shining Fighter set only need a short hop, and, again, only most of them, would benefit from the shortest hop possible. +1 for Ground legs.

There are many times when you must move on the ground (when a Gravity shot is hanging over your head, for example) so don't naturally think that in order to be a pro, you have to airdash every time you move. One of the best pieces of advice I can give you here is to not worry about how 'pro' you look, but just use your common sense to figure out when airdashing should be avoided.

Offense

Normally, when I use a Shining Fighter, I play defensively. There's nothing wrong with playing either way, whether offensive or defensive; Shining Fighters do both well.

An offensive playstyle can either be based on mid or close range combat. Because of the defensive nature of the game, offensive is harder to accomplish, but ultimately more rewarding when it comes to increasing your skill.

When creating a set for offensive play, don't use all high powered, low range weapons; mix it up, you need pressure ability if you ever want to get a hit in. Here's an example of an all offensive set:

Ray 01
Magnum
Direct Bomb
Buster Pod

That's also a rather common set I see online. Look at it, then answer the question below.

How would you try to get the gun (main power source) to hit?

Hm. How about charge spamming? Nope. A decent player can easily deter charge spamming.

Airdashing? Closer, but that still won't work.

Give up? I thought so. There is no way. Direct bomb flies right at your enemy like a gun, and Buster pod has poor range.

Try changing the parts up to aid trapping them for a hit from your gun. Below are a few ideas for improvements on this set.

Ray 01
Magnum
Crescent C
Diving (GameFAQS censor >_>)
Ground

Ray 01
Magnum
Smash
Wave
Ground

Ray 01
Magnum
Charge
Umbrella
Ground

All of these have long range weaponry that can be used to draw you opponent in, and then trap them.

Playing offensively is not limited to close range guns; far from it. Most offensive sets are actually combo sets, usually with a mid range gun. My main, for example:

Amy
Needle
Burrow P
Wall
Wide Jump

Or Mega Rat's Leon:

Leon
Sniper
Crescent C
Sky Wave
Ground

If offensive is the way you want to go with you Shining Fighter, continue reading.

Obviously, the first step is to decide which robo is the one that will work for you. There isn't a magic way to figure this out. Go into training with the full Basic set and try all the Shining Fighters.

X-Ray has a very powerful close range charge that also has a long period of invincibility, making it ideal for comboing into weapons that have lingering blasts. (Wall pod, Buster pod, Burrow D etc.)

Ray is my favorite Shining Fighter. His charge does high damage (about the third or fourth best in the game) and can be used multiple times if the enemy is up against a wall. However, the weird frames of invulnerability make it very hard to use.

I suggest starting with Ray MkII or X-Ray for now.

Guns can vary from Needle to V-Laser to Knuckle. Check out my customization guide for help on picking the right set for a Shining Fighter.

Defense

Defensive play is based around keeping the opponent away (duh). This can be done in several ways:

~Running evasion.
~Pinning yourself in.
~High powered guns.
~Spam.


Let's examine these more in depth.

Running evasion

This is done without any weapon assistance. Run from wall to wall, or jump from place to place. Generally done with Little Sprinters or Raiders to get in position for attacks.

It's also helped by lag. Weaving in and out (the 'z' formation) causes the relay of information from your game to the enemies to be delayed; this happens because the more you move and the faster you move causes there to be more information to transfer, which makes you appear to warp instead of move.

Pinning yourself in

Using bombs and pods, block the places that the enemy is trying to approach, then jump to a new area. Used with many types of robos, Shining Fighters being one of them.

High powered guns

Jumping (either short hopping a regular jumping) and then using a high powered gun to pressure. This helps when you need keep an aerial at bay.

Spam

Not usually an SF tactic, spamming long range guns such as Glider keeps the enemy from being able to approach. Make sure to watch them closely.

My Ray set combines two tactics; 2 and 3. Here's the set:

Ray
Needle
Burrow D
Umbrella
Ground

Airdash constantly to new positions, dropping bombs near yourself to stop approaches. Spam the ground shot on the gun the most, mixed with the aerial shot. When a hit is landed, I strike with my combo.

In most sets, a mixture of offensive and defensive is present. Making a set with just one or the other is called a counter.

A counter is designed to beat a certain set, but is most likely weak against others. If you're unsure of what set the opponent will use, don't use a counter.

Tricks, tips and techniques

This section will be used for recording all the useful or semi useful tricks and tips I know of for Shining Fighters.

Increase your jump height by holding down the jump button. It had become second nature for me to always short hop whenever I moved, so I didn't realize that you could negate some of the Ground legs' effect by holding the button down. Can be useful for getting on top of a box or other obstacle.

Bomb charging. Something I use to make a Burrow Bomb explode faster (obviously only used on ground shots) is to use my charge attack straight into it. Many times the enemy will have been running towards me, planning to avoid the bomb before it explodes, thus giving me another hit. Do not use with Ray.

Mix it up. It should always be priority to mix up the approaches or escapes you use so that you aren't predictable. Predictability leads to being combo'd to no end.

Aerial movement. This is something that you should practice. Dodging Glider shots is one thing I get asked about most. As a Shining Fighter with Ground legs has poor jump height, you need to increase your jump height, and confuse the shots. The technique I use most often is to jump (remember to hold the button down to increase the height) and then spin my thumb in a circle on the D-Pad. This will move you in a spiral motion as you fall. If you jumped at the right time, you should have fallen past the shots as the went under you, and then they should have flown past you at an upward angle.

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