[FB] Gunner Zaku Warrior General Discussion: LUNAAAAA Edition

[HDKirin]

All Gunner Zaku Warrior general discussion is welcome here! Try to focus more on the suit than the pilot!

Move List:

[A] - Orthos Beam Cannon

Long, semi-fat beam that hits hard. Can down an opponent in one shot.

[CSa] - Orthos Beam Cannon (Gerobi)

Gerobi version of A. It can be slightly moved around, which bends the beam.

[AB] - Tomahawk Throw

Gunner's new move in FB. Chucks a tomahawk at opponents & causes a light stun on hit.

[AC] - Blaze Zaku Phantom Summon

Summons an assist to fire missiles at the opponent. Uses went from 3 -> 2 in FB, but is now reloadable as a result.

[bC] - Hand Grenades

Throws 4 grenades that cause a little explosion upon impact on the first surface they touch. Anything that comes into contact with the explosion will be heavily stunned.

- 8BC throws it farther and spreads the grenades slightly further apart.

- 2BC throws it nearer and keeps the grenades slightly nearer to each other.

Cancel Routes

TBA

Strategy

TBA

Basic Combos

Note: -> means normal cancel, >> means boost dash cancel, > means rainbowstep cancel

Video Section

My YouTube Playlist of Gunner Zaku Warrior Matches: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMqEAx-yqn49CMwQBcSnpDjId8IRDJqe1

Edited March 3, 2014 by HDKirin

[FatalDMG]

The Tomahawks seem to have some guidance on them from what I tried in the arcade.

either way....lUNNNNNAAAAA!

[ShinsoBEAM]

Feels better then in the last game reloadable Blaze Zaku is sooo good, feels like she got other buffs too.

So if I'm reading the jp wiki right at 100 wins you get to play Luna in a miniskirt.

[ShinsoBEAM]

Wow the tracking on her Super is absurd. Also man hitting an single Beam Cannon shot on someone high in the air is game changing. Won a good number of games today from the absurd about of double lock time we were able to get off a single hit.

[BrasaSonozaki]

The buffs are really nice. She was my main in vanilla so when I picked her up in full boost I was really pleased that she felt way better overall. I'm happy they replaced the single grenade throw for the tomahawk. It was way more useful. The tomahawk and Blaze Zaku assist are pretty good at keeping aggressive melee suits off of you too. More often than not they will come in on me, I will deploy the Zaku assist last second and they will take missiles to the back forcing their combo to stop before it even gets a second hit in. She is still my favorite suit to play back with so far.

[FatalDMG]

Posted a character tutorial on YT for those looking to play as Luna Maria. Hopefully these tutorials will help in some way.

[Mr.Sparkman]

Cool tutorial Fatal, part 2 will go over EX burst right? I think Luna has one of the best bursts because of the refill of ammo and boost which leads to really good pressure. Also that super is good for making comebacks, at least for me.

[FatalDMG]

Yea I will go more in depth with her with regards to her ex burst, melee options (or lack thereof lol) and more.

[FatalDMG]

Part 2 of the Luna guide is now up for viewing.

[ShinsoBEAM]

There are totally situations in which you should use half burst...it's not preferred but still. Like half of time I do use it, it's to just strike freedom punish someone that overheated, if it will win the game.

Also anyone have any tricks for dealing with X-3 when he just bum rushes me. He seems to be immune to everything.

Edit: nvmd tested it A+B works on his stupid dash thing.

Are you going to do a Gerobi/Luna Beam tutorial? Despite that it's not used too much I feel it has enough situational stuff to make an entire video.

Most of it is the same as other Gerobi things but, because of beam bending you have a couple of new unique tricks.

Edited February 6, 2014 by ShinsoBEAM

[yaeca]

I dunno about never half bursting. Also the tomahawk part during melee is odd since if you hit them with it, it's probably better to beam then leave. Why go in for melee?

[ShinsoBEAM]

A good number of times I grenade after tomahawk instead...beam ammo always feels sparse to me. Once in a blue moon I have a Gerobi charged and that's always hilarious.

[FatalDMG]

I dunno about never half bursting. Also the tomahawk part during melee is odd since if you hit them with it, it's probably better to beam then leave. Why go in for melee?

Everything stated is very subjective and doesn't have to be followed to the tee. It was more of an observation that seemed to prove worthwhile, had the situations arose. Melee was an option after Tomahawk since it just adds on some extra damage to your opponent, and allows you to run away freely without much concern. Plus, in a close ranged situation such as when being followed, using tomahawk into melee felt very useful. The grenades from T.hawk are all fine too.

Hitting them with the T.Hawk and running off also is fine, there isn't really a finite solution. Luna can be played in whichever way the player feels.

A lot of things can be really relied heavily on the situation, so using half bursts may be permitted. I feel that in most cases, Luna tends to gain more momentum when she retains a full bar since it allows her to do more in tight situations.

Perhaps it would have been better to say, dont rely on half bursts.

Edited February 6, 2014 by FatalDMG

[ShinsoBEAM]

Yeah I can totally agree with that, normally I only half burst if it's a crital moment when me doing so could change the flow of the match, if I'm sitting on 60HP and 1 shot from death at 2/3 bar NO FUCKING WAY AM I GOING TO ACTIVATE THOUGH, unless of course my teammate managed to die twice or something lol shuffle.

[ShinsoBEAM]

Was trying to explain how grenades work to a friend this weekend and decided I might as well post it here. You can't just throw out grenades when you normally would another weapon they are terribly slow and are liable to just blow up in your face if you do them at the wrong time. The way you need to think of them in is more of an FPS terms as in, one second from now an explosion will occur X distance forward/neutral/back away in the direction I am aiming. A good majority of the grenades I land other then overheated scenarios, is I quickly target the other player throw grenades intending to hit the player I'm currently not locked onto BOOM they dash into them. The other main usage is when space is cramped or the other 3 mechs are all grouped up close for some reason just throw some nades and split up the melee party.

[AutomaticCat]

Few things about Gunner you guys might not know:

1) A+B , A+C , and B+C all freely cancel into one another. So tomahawk>missile assist>grenade or missile assist>grenade>tomahawk all work.

2) Her tomawhawk does not go through X3's I-field dash.

3) 8B and CC8B are untechable.

4) 2B can cancel into A+B.

In terms of half burst vs full burst usage on Luna, it really depends on how you intend to play her. For starters, half burst and full burst both replenish ammo on all suits, it is not a Gunner specific ability. The only plus side to using full burst (aside from the ability to burst out of combos) is you get more immediate boost back and increased duration. With a half burst you get maybe 40% of your boost back, where as full burst gives about 80%.

----Opinion section----

While Luna's design appears to be that of a hard back suit (good heavy shots, frequent gerobi dragging, mediocre melee, low ammo count), I'm contend that she is more optimally played as an aggressive mid ranged suit with the option to play further back if necessary.

Luna's tools are not very subtle. Her main hits hard and fast. Her assist is very good, and in order to make the most of it, you want to expend it as quickly as possible, but still with purpose (don't throw them out in greenlock just to empty it out). Since it reloads on empty, if you front load them, you will get access to more within each life, especially if you are half bursting. Her tomahawk and grenade are thrown out to keep enemies moving, but are rarely used to actually kill. By keeping the enemy moving, they are forced to overboost more often creating opportunities to hit with your main. Her gerobi charges very fast and can drag fairly quickly. I highly recommend learning to use it not only from red lock, but also from greenlock (yami uchi gerobis are the most satisfying thing ever). Knowing how long and which direction to drag is also important.

Because her ammo count it relatively low compared to other suits, I recommend using half bursts more often. I also recommend Assault burst instead of Blast burst. Frequent half bursts will allow Luna to mix up her pacing and not be trapped into following the enemies pace while also actively reloading her low ammo count. And to reiterate, her main hits hard and fast. It is more important to surprise your opponent in a boost battle and get off two shots than to have a full burst and have long lasting impressive stats. Once the enemy has seen you burst, they will either respond with their own burst (negating your advantage), run away from you(negating your advantage), or engage upon you because they still have a decent chance of beating you out (Quanta with shield bits). I recommend Assault burst for this style of gameplay because it complements the purpose of hitting hard and fast.

Being in mid range also helps with melee rush down and vectoring. If the enemy has a melee rush down, you can either be close to him, medium range, or far away. If you are too close then he will consistently beat down on you (not good) If you are medium or far range, he will have to expend boost to get to you, allowing you to play accordingly. If you are too far though, and he decides to come at you, you create a situation where you front will have to disengage off the other enemy in order to protect/peel for you. Vectoring is difficult to adjust if you are too far. In order to hit with the right trajectory, you need to boost further horizontal directions to compensate if you are really far from the fight.

Give it some thought, don't just fall into the mindset of "I'm a back suit, I should stay back."

Cheers

[ShinsoBEAM]

I have been playing Assault a good bit too for the same reason. I don't like using red lock gerobi's unless it's like guarenteed(they overheated). At last when you green lock gerobi you arn't totally screwed if you whiff it.

[WindmanV3]

Since I am doing this for a lot of other threads, here's the stats on Gunners' weapons:

[A]

Ammo: 3

Damage: 120

Reload: ~4.5 seconds

[CSa]

Charge time: 3 seconds

Damage: 231

[AB]

Ammo: 1

Damage: 60

Reload: 5 seconds

[bC]

Ammo: 2

Damage: 126, when all the grenades hit though

Reload: ~4 seconds

[AC]

Ammo: 2

Damage: 123, if all the shots connect

Reload: Roughly 30 seconds

[ABC] *Not counting the blow-up at the end

Assault: 218

Blast: 196

[Densuo]

When are the best times to use the Tomahawk throw. I have trouble using it effectively

[AutomaticCat]

Her tomahawk can be thrown pretty much when ever you have it. It's mostly to force enemies to move more. Throwing one just before an assist can help the missiles hit. Be careful throwing tomahawks when an ally is nearby or meleeing your target. Not only does it cut them, but it sets them up for enemy fire, maybe even a melee string.

[ShinsoBEAM]

THREAD NECRO.

When are the best times to use the Tomahawk throw. I have trouble using it effectively

*When melee suits are closing on you.
*Canceling with other specials
*when they overheated and a hit is guaranteed but a gerobi would be unwise
*Conserving A ammo.

In pretty much every other situation A is better.