Topic: ARMS

More little tidbits!

-Some arms can fire in a vertical arc similar to the Blorbs by holding back on the control stick.
-Master Mummy's healing accelerates the longer he keeps it up, going from 10 HP per second to about 20. This means trying to time him out without a sizeable lead is a bad idea.
-Kid Cobra gets a single quick step when charged with a block. Important to know since charging this way is much faster than jumping or dashing (especially slow, and always is in the air).

@NEStalgia I have the same coordination issues, if I filmed myself I'd probably see my arms going in nothing resembling a punch, hah

I missed out on the test punch (apart from 5 minutes at the end of a session playing the 'Basics') so was a bit concerned about this game but pre-ordered anyway as I found a good deal.

Just had my first playthrough of the grand prix, on the easiest setting, and I have to say I like it a lot so far and I'm pleased I bought in, though I feel it's really got to be played with motion controls to get the most out of it and feel like you're part of the action.

I really hope this game succeeds enough for more motion-controlled games to return to the scene.

So finally had a chance to play about 30 minutes with standard controls last night. What a difference it was compared to motion controls. Felt like I had a better handle on the game. I actually "got" the game more. I was able to see the strategy of when to dash and dodge... you do lose a little bit of motion when trying to curve punches though. Overall I like the game a little better using these controls. Question though... is there a way to speed up the game a little bit?

Getting spanked on level 4... I love this game.

@Operative2-0 You know the infamous Wii Music E3 unveiling with the crazed Wiimote drummer? Yeah, that's pretty much me playing Arms with motion controls.

@gcunit I envy your coordination. I fear I can't pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time.... Motion is a no-go for some of us! At least not motion that requires separate hand actions

Just done level 2 and was in some much closer fights - one battle with Kid Cobra went to 4 bouts. And it took me about 6 attempts to beat Master Mummy in Skillshot. I sense level 4 is gonna be hard work...

@NEStalgia That's too bad, it feels pretty natural to me, and great fun as a result. Plenty of punches miss, but that's more due to my timing and dodging opponents, if I bide my time and wait for an opening, it feels good. Though, at only level 2, maybe I shouldn't be getting too confident...

I am much much more methodical now that I'm using a controller but I still stink! Especially with Min Min. It doesn't seem to matter when or how I activate my special, they always guard perfectly. But, that may just be the AI. Human players are probably easier to blind side. That's only at level 4, I can't imagine what the highest level would be like.

@Operative2-0 The jump, man! Watch for the jumps! They can't block in the air. Failing that, equip an incapacitating arm with shock or ice and only unleash your flurry on successful hits with those (but if you're using a fist-type arm, even a simple flinch on the ground can lead to a successful rush with how quick it is coming from that type!).

Lv2 are pushovers. motion at lv5 is a different thing but thats still probably me sucking...

@ryu_niiyama id have thought you were 4 characters through lv7 by now!

Anybody else playing a lot of the ranked matches? What's the highest ranking? I've made it to 8, but that took a while and might be hard to keep.

@NEStalgia bwahaha learning a fighting game takes time. I'm more fighting with myself than the AI. I have some curving and timing mistepps. And I need to find the ARMS set that works for me.

ARMS - Meet Master Mummy (Nintendo Switch)

I'm trying to complete Level 3 with Mechanica, having found that I do better fighting my daughter with her than with any other character. Levels 1 and 2 were easy peasy, but L3 is slow going - I win some rounds in a minute but can't get anywhere in the second and third rounds. I was stuck on Hoops vs. Ribbon Girl for two days! Hoops is definitely not Mechanica's game...

Venturing into Party mode occasionally with various characters. I lose more than I win, but I'm learning. This game has a lot more depth than I originally gave it credit for.

My kid is loving it, soaking up the lore like a sponge and pounding away with motion controls. She looks hilarious but she is a great fighter. She took Twintelle as her main the second she saw her in the second Testpunch, only occasionally using the other fighters for variety. I've never seen her get so into a game. Fighting games are really not my prefered genre, but the kid is all over them. She hasn't gone online much since the Testpunch, but y'all better watch out when she starts. Kid has killer reflexes.

So who else has Ribbon Girl's singing voice stuck in their head 24 hours a day, even waking up to it in their head in the middle of the night. "Na nah nahh." It's getting annoying....curse that theme song and Ribbon Ring!!

@Ryu_Niiyama My curving missteps are continuous And my timing. But I'm not a fighting game vet, so I expect that from me!

One thing driving me crazy is the whole weapons upgrade thing.....I haven't bought anything yet, but I end up partly choosing characters based on their 3 starting arms more than the characters. I'm not sure how you deal with buying other weapons for any character, and I'm not sure I like the idea you can upgrade the power of a weapon (I.E. fighting in party mode (or even ranked?) against people who's same weapon is stronger just because they've played more hours and spent coins on it.... ) But I haven't even TOUCHED the purchasing system yet, and may not even change the default arms on my characters, just switching characters to change weapons.

I do think the AI fights very differently from humans though. No less fun, but I'm finding I need to fight differently. So far most characters are getting destroyed in Lv5 except Mechanica that I'm up to round 8. (Not looking forward to solo lv5 hedlock...my online teams get obliterated 3v1.) But I get ruined playing mechanica online, but seem to be decent with Ribbon, Ninjara, Min Min, Cobra.... I can do Twintelle ok for both, but don't enjoy playing her too much.

The AI in this game is so brutal!

Though I almost don't care about ranked. I'm up to Lv3 Pinwheel, and my last fight to get there was against a Lv4 playing byte and barq that I absolutely trashed....which feels wrong because lv1's were trashing me the other day. But somehow party mode is so fun that ranked isn't appealing. The nodding and winking rivalries in the lobby are weirdly fun, and every lobby seems to have one or two players that are top notch so you keep getting rematches against them in random times. It was really rewarding trouncing the Master Mummy that kept hiding in the corner and healing and deflecting the grab attempts once I figured out how to find an opening. Or the handful of 3 way matches that I cleaned up the floor with only a shred of health remaining (and finishing off the little snot that tried hiding in the corner with full health while the other two battle it out ) Ranked seems bland in contrast.

I'm really enjoying party mode. It's a shame there isn't some variety in ranked mode, or separate ranked modes for 1v1v1/minigames/whatever.

@JasmineDragon You have to play very safe against the AI, spacing as much as you can. For Hoops, forget trying to grab them unless you're absolutely sure you can get them (via shocking or other disable). Just keep throwing punches from afar until you get your flurry, then fire that off on a smaller opening to get a three-pointer and slam on the defense for the rest of the match.

@NEStalgia You can only upgrade weapons once, for a small 10 damage increase. And unlike Smash, you won't get stuck getting useless duplicates near the end, they're taken out of the selection entirely. So everyone has a fair shot of collecting all arms.

I get that you're afraid customization will take away some of the character's individuality, but it can really open doors for new strategies with them. Master Mummy, for instance. You could go with an ice-wind combo like Chilla-Popper for strong keepaway and holding leads with his healing, or move in with a shock arm to help land those damaging grabs, with an anti-air Hydra to keep them honest about jumping.

There's not much distinction between level 1 ranked and level 4 with how easy it is to raise at that point. And rank is never a perfect gauge of skill in fighting games anyway. Just because they haven't gone on ranked to increase it yet does not mean they haven't been honing their skills in other modes.

Face it, the other modes just aren't conducive to competitive play because the game is not balanced around those. Shock arms give a huge advantage in Hoops, and slow characters like Mummy really stink at it (especially since the latter's healing is now useless). V-Ball is often decided by unfair coin-flips, and Skillshot again favors particular arms, this time of the spread variety.

I enjoy Party mode as much as the next guy, but the random elements can really wear on you after a while. Ranked gives a respite from that, and really lets you get into a groove with multiple rounds.

So I don't actually plan on getting this game. I enjoyed what I saw and played, but I had a hunch that I won't play it.

How are the ranked matches in this game? From what I heard they're apparently awful. The streamers I watched said that the games turn into sessions of cat and mouse. With it basically being that it comes down to one player landing a few hit(s) on you and running away the rest of the match to win by time out. They also said that the game doesn't reward offensive moves enough, and that it's overall pretty bad. How true is that? Like I said, I wouldn't actually know.

I managed to beat level 5 with Mechanica after some time. I think electricity is by far my favorite of the elemental charges.

The people I've played against who go for a time out win just lose.

I suppose there's some truth to the not offensive enough notion but I find it's because the game is alot easier once you figure out how best to block/dodge and apply it to the triangle of block-throw-punch.