Topic: ARMS

@-Green- While it's true that time-outs are not an uncommon occurrence, the notion that all you have to do to win is land a few hits and run away for the whole match is laughable (except in free-for-alls, and maybe Kid Cobra's stage with the snakeboards). If this tactic is working on you, then you need to reconsider your arm selection, strategy and-or ability to read patterns. And if you still can't find openings, throwing punches while your opponent is running scared builds your special, which can nail them with the smallest of openings (read: when they jump).

People do sometimes run to win by time-out, but only when it is close to running out and they have a narrow lead. This happens in any fighting game. Never have I seen anyone in ARMs make that their main strategy. I can only assume these people are just overreacting to tactics that beat them like they always do with new games.

@Operative2-0 Electricity is purposefully strong. Arms that use it deal lower damage than comparable ones. They lend themselves better to aggression because of this, since otherwise you won't get as much out of them.

@meleebrawler Actually I originally loved the idea of weapon customization ala Splatoon. I actually began liking the idea less once I started actually playing the game. I imagined the weapons, like Splatoon, really determine how you play it, but once I realized it's a more technical fighter than it appeared, I liked the idea of set weapons per character. Whats REALLY the difference between Min Min, Cobra, Ninjara, and Cobra if they have the same weapons? I mean, yes Ninja has the smoke puff, Cobra has the rapid dash when charged, and Min Min has the kick away a puch (I'm not even sure that's useful...) move....but overall with the same weapons, they're all going to play extremely similarly. Maybe less so for Ninjara since he's more about psyching out the opponent.

Well, yeah, I'm not a fan of hoops, skillshot, and vball, honestly. I dread getting those in party mode. But the party mode fights and lobby rivalries are still a lot more fun than the random "sit on the menu until a challenger appears, then either fight the same one again or move to the next one" There's that looming sense that you may or may not face them again. I'd have loved to see a bracket system instead of a rank system for ranked.....it somehow fits the game really well, and party has more that aspect. Maybe because it's so well set up like a boxing promotion which would of course be bracketed.

@-Green- It's only cat and mouse if you don't get caught. Hiding isn't really a good strategy in this game, your opponent can just corner you. And if you're both actively attacking/dodging, then it's not actually cat and mouse hiding but dodging and trading blows. Sure, whoever is ahead is going to try to defend and avoid risking more damage. So the opponent is on the offensive trying to whittle them down. You know...like any boxing? Sure you may be able to run out the clock but it's not exactly passive...it's frantically trying to dodge punches while the other frantically tries to land them. Either the dodger or the attacker will be the better player. No different than Street Fighter, just a bigger map.

Not sure what they mean by not rewarding offensive moves.....every move but dashing is offensive. Guarding is important but dangerous since it leaves you open for grabs which break guard. It's not a particularly defensive game.

I'd say it really embodies Ali's philosophy for real boxing well of "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." It's best if you can stay nimble, stay moving, and stay out of range....then close in and strike, and float away again if you can.

If you're not being offensive, you're not knocking down your opponent's health. If you're not knocking down their health you can't win. If you're the one ahead and are trying to hide, and you MANAGE to not get hit again, then you earned that win - it's difficult. If you're the one behind and can't hit them...well they earned that win

If there are any real complaints about the game it's not the pacing so much as potential balance issues with some characters (which I'm sure will get appropriate buffs/nerfs when Max Brass is released.

Good points about the cat and mouse. Yeah, even if someone were to do that, there's always ways around it. Even if they block when you use your special, you do damage. Eventually they'll slip up and have to move, giving you more openings. I think running away is an easily punishable strategy.

@NEStalgia Min-Min's air kicks move her further in the air than other character's air dashes. In addition, her backdash, normally a poor option to dodge punches is covered by one, giving her added defense. Ninjara has a fast walk speed and ground dash recovery, giving him more rounded mobility compared to Cobra being slow in certain areas with huge bursts. Cobra's air mobility also isn't very flexible with a poor air-dash, despite being able to jump far naturally.

It's your prerogative if you want to stick to defaults, play how you want is basically the game's (and the Switch's!) unofficial motto. But you can still customize them in such a way that your characters still feel distinct from each other.

I haven't really noticed much balance issues with the characters. Only Master Mummy strikes me as being somewhat lacking; his armor doesn't stand up to the majority of charge attacks and he obviously can't dodge well. I'd personally kick it up a notch to be more like Party mode Hedlok. Or give him a temporary speed boost after guarding in addition to healing.

@Operative2-0 Not to mention the grazing hits landed on the opponent's arms can weaken their guard even if they run a lot, allowing it to be broken by your eventual flurry.

@meleebrawler mummy also had an issue in pairs mode that his model size obstructs his teammates view..... that's really annoying as the teammate

Bytebarq seems reallyy imbalanced (weak) as well. I have yet to see any player really doing great with him. Could be learning curve though.

@meleebrawler Master Mummy just needs to keep his distance and make the most of his healing. An ability that essentially forces the opponent to make a move can be quite potent if used well. The only potential issue, I think, is that if the opponent does get up in his face it becomes rather difficult for him to do much.

Right now I do feel like the game is a bit slanted towards defensive play - or perhaps the word would be reactive. Since you can't defend with an arm extended, throwing the first punch leaves you pretty open. It therefore seems as if the best strategy is often just to wait for your opponent to do something so you can punish them. Hopefully, though, as people improve we'll start to see better ways of mounting an offense.

@MyNameIsRandy I got to 7 easily. Maybe I just got lucky.

@NEStalgia He (or rather they) happen(s) to be one of my mains. Barq can sometimes be unreliable, especially on uneven terrain, but he is invaluable at relieving Byte of wakeup pressure, even if that comes in the form of the opponent taking time to knock him out. The ability to jump super-high in the opponent's face is also a powerful move, easily throwing your opponent's punches off-target (if the jump itself doesn't deflect them harmlessly). It works well with his default Cracker, for painful surprise attacks. But of course, nothing is more surprising than Barq himself, especially when he manages to release you from a grab or sneak in a KO.

I like to fight primarily at range with his Seekie, and a Coolerang to help keep the opponent there, or a Cracker if the opponent is particularly adept at approaching. This way, Barq trampoline attacks keep their element of surprise.

@Zyrac True... I feel equipping him with a Hydra is a sensible choice for it's speed, vertical coverage and power, easily deflecting oncoming grabs and keeping opponents from being too jump-happy near him. And now that I've unlocked the sneaky Thunder Bird for him... hehehe...

@Nintendoer
You might just be good. At level 8, wins and loses count close to the same(also seems to be where I'm going to stay for a while). So maybe wins and loses count the same at 9 and 10 is the highest you can get. I was wondering if anyone figured that out.

The more I play ARMS the more I like it. Was actually bored with the global testpunch, but since I bought it I've learned to really really like it. It's a fantastic fighting game that's really weird. I'm a big fan of fighting games and this one is legit. Worth buying a Switch for.

I find the AI is much harder than anyone online, I feel equally matched online yet against the AI I sometimes feel at a disadvantage. For example, I had a fight with Spring Man who just seemed to telepathically know when I was going to use my power move, even if I held on to it for ages and used it at random rather than straight away.

I loved this game.... right up till I got beaten 3 times in a row by my 9 year old niece. Going back to Mariokart so at least I can beat her on that ha ha

@NEStalgia I'm really enjoying Byte & Barq. Barq can be really useful, getting extra hits in and often blocking incoming punches or the first hit of a rush. He's an extra thing the opponent has to keep an eye on.

@MyNameIsRandy I believe ranks go up to 15, though I'm nowhere near that myself.

@Linoshi The AI has quick reactions. The way to get a rush to hit is to use it in response to them punching or jumping, so they can't block, or just get in really close so they don't have time.

Sorry if this has been answered already (it is a 52 page thread now!)

Is this worth playing with a single joycon for each player?

@mav-i-am I had a friend over to try this and we both found this method extremely...odd feeling. It didn't feel right at all and we quickly gave up.

@chardir Thanks for the tips.

Yay, I'm not the only one! My 9YO daughter was stomping me so hard when we started playing ARMS! After some more practice on my part we're about 50-50, but at first she would completely own me. Don't underestimate 9 year old gamer girls - their reaction times are freaky good!

Does anyone else think ARMS is a little too light on content? I get that more will be added ala Splatoon, but Splatoon seemed to have more at launch than ARMS, and had much more plentiful updates to boot. Sure, Ranked will keep me busy for a month, as I'm all about getting a high rank, but I don't know if it's enough to keep me playing for years like Splatoon did. Anyone else notice this?

@Nintendoer Honestly, I think this feeling is just due to the nature of fighting games. ARMS has more variety in stages and weapons than Splatoon did at launch, but with gameplay built around 1v1 player interaction, there's only so much you can do to mix things up, especially with the simple mechanics here.

@Nintendoer Well, technically Splatoon didn't even have ranked at launch But no, I doubt Arms is going to get that much more content. We'll get a few new arms and characters but I doubt there'll be any new game modes.