GUNBOUND - LIGHTNING GUIDE v1.00 by EverNoob June 5, 2004 e-mail: gentil_requin@hotmail.com Copyright 2004 Son-Hai Mai This work is copyrighted material and is for private use only. Anybody who intends to post this guide elsewhere needs to email me first for permission. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've been using Lightning (aka Lovebot) ever since my newbie days (maybe those days aren't over yet), and have become fairly proficient with it. Seeing how painful it was to for me learn how to use Lightning properly, I thought I'd write a guide to make it easier for those who want to start using this mobile. Some of the info in this guide is synthesized stuff spread across the late www.gunbound-hq.com forum, and most is from my own experience. I know this guide is long. But I've tried to be as comprehensive as possible, and Lightning is a complicated mobile. Take note that Lightning is most suited for novices to experts, and *intelligent* players, not beginners. This guide is written with the assumption that the reader is an experienced Gunbound player. No Love for Lovebot! There are a large number of players out there who hold the opinion that Lightning is weak. Do not believe them! This belief usually stems from not understanding how this mobile really works. I can't blame them though, because Lightning's strengths aren't immediately obvious, and it requires a different way of playing. Lovebot is a strategic mobile, to be used by players who understand delay, avoiding being hit, trickshots, etc...Lightning is simply an underused and underrated mobile. Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Basic Information 2. Lovebot Quirks 2.1. Non-solid tracer 2.2. Tracer trickshots 2.3. Electrical splash damage 2.4. Tiny firing angle 2.5. Light projectile 2.6. Constant bunging 3. How to Win with Lovebot 3.1. General Lightning strategy 3.2. Tactics 3.2.1. Putting the enemy in a hole 3.2.2. Opening up holes 3.2.3. Melee 3.2.4. Using dual and dual+ 3.2.5. Defensive tactics 3.2.6. Using SS 3.2.7. Hitting multiple enemies 4. Game Settings/Items 4.1. Maps 4.2. Game types 4.3. Items 5. Avatar Equipment 5.1. Stats 5.2. Suits 6. Comments 7. Credits 1. Basic Information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strengths: - high defense and high total HP - great damage to delay ratio - good movement - can hit multiple targets far apart Weaknesses: - very small firing angle - requires a lot of accuracy - hard to use attack items effectively - can easily hit yourself or teammates Mobile type: shield Weapon type: electricity, tracer Natural enemies: Boomer, Turtle, Ice Natural prey: ArmorMobile, RaonLauncher, Bigfoot, Aduka HP: 800 Shield: 300 Shield regeneration: 20/turn Firepower: average Defense: high Health: high Movement: good Climbing: poor Bunge: average Shot 1 --------------------------------- Angle: 22, 12 true Max damage: ~200 Delay: 750 Weight: light Description: a single vertical lightning bolt strikes to where the tracer lands. Has a wide electrical splash damage area which does ~75 damage to nearby bots. On natural prey bots, shot 1 can consistently do ~220 damage. Requires high accuracy to do maximum damage. Shot 2 --------------------------------- Angle: 22, 12 true Max damage: 250-300 (on a single target) Delay: 800 Weight: light Description: this is the shot that makes Lightning complex. 2 bolts of lightning strike diagonally roughly 50 degrees from the left and the right to where the tracer lands, like a V. The left bolt strikes a fraction of a second before the right bolt (there's still debate over which bolt strikes first). For this reason, when you hit a speck of land, the bolts will make a y instead of a V. In practice, damage is around 200-250 on reasonably accurate shots. To do more damage requires you to land the tracer ever so slightly to the right of your target with *pinpoint* accuracy. Personally I've only done 300 twice, but I've heard of people doing more. However, it's extremely hard to consistently deal >250. Shot 2 has a wider splash area than shot 1, which makes it good for double kills (dk). SS --------------------------------- Angle: 12 Max damage: ~160 (on an isolated target) Delay: 1300 Weight: light Description: shoots a bird shaped projectile and creates a huge radius where it lands. For every enemy inside the radius, a single vertical lightning bolt will strike precisely where the bot stands. The bolts do splash damage, so that if two enemies are near each other, they will each be hit for more damage than if they were far apart. When 2 enemies are close they each get splash damage from the lightning bolt of their neighbour as well. The SS will do more damage to a group of enemies close together than to the same number of enemies further apart. Teammates are not targeted and are only hit by splash damage. VERY good for dk. I've had 6 dk so far, 5 of which were with Lightning, and 3 of them were from the SS. 2. Lovebot Quirks ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are some unique characteristics of Lightning and how to deal with them effectively. Most of them can be bad or good depending on usage, and the situation. 2.1. Non-solid tracer --------------------------------- When you shoot, you must remember that the projectile itself will go through bots. The tracer only stops when it hits land. Likewise, the resulting lightning bolt will also go through bots and only stop when it hits land. That's why Lightning always bunges by the same amount, whether you hit a target directly or not. Maximum damage to a mobile is dealt when the bolt travels through the center of the bot. Therefore, you have to aim so that the tracer lands at the center of where the target is standing, not the bot itself. This explains why shotgunning with Lightning is rarely effective. Trying to hit a bot standing on a pixel can be very frustrating. On the bright side, you can safely fire right through teammates! 2.2. Tracer trickshots --------------------------------- Lightning is a tracer bot. Like A. Sate and Aduka, you don't necessarily have to shoot where the target is to hit. So it can be really useful when you don't have a direct shot at your enemy. But also, if there is land between your target and the trajectory of the bolt, then the bolt will be blocked by the land. Very annoying on "layered" maps like Stardust, Metamine B side, and especially Nirvana B side. Shot 1 The easiest trick shot to do. Simply fire so that the tracer lands directly below your target, either at the chuck of land they are standing on, or at the ground below them. If the land they are standing on is thin, fire at the ground below. This is because a hit will bunge them, and they will fall straight down to where the tracer landed. If you fire upwards to where they were standing and they get bunged down, you will have to recalibrate your shot to hit them again. But if you shot at the ground below, you won't need to recalibrate your shot, since they get bunged down to where your tracer landed. Avoid using shot 1 when there is land right above your target. The shot 2 V Since the shot 2 bolts come down in a V pattern, you can shoot a tracer diagonal to a target and hit them. This is the most useful shot for hitting multiple targets and getting a dk. It just takes abit of thinking to estimate where the 2 bolts will strike. It's easier for you to see shot 2 for yourself, and imagine how to hit multiple targets with it, than it is for me to describe how to do it here. Not to be used when there is land blocking on both sides of your target, such as when they are in a hole. It's also very easy to hit yourself or teammates with this shot, splash damage isn't too bad, but a direct hit of a bolt can do 200+. All it takes is abit of thinking before shooting to use shot 2 effectively. The shot 2 y: Because the shot 2 left bolt strikes before the right bolt, if you fire on a speck of land, the left bolt will destroy the land, and the right bolt will go right through where the land used to be. This creates bolts in the shape of a y, meaning that you can hit targets diagonally below and to the LEFT of where your shot landed. Also explains why you do better damage by landing the tracer slightly to the right of your target. Whenever you see this, it will be in the shape of a y, never a reverse y. This trick also works well on ledges. The situations where you'll have the opportunity and the need to use this y effect are rare. But it's important to keep it in mind to avoid hitting yourself or teammates. 2.3. Electrical splash damage --------------------------------- Similar to JD and Aduka, Lightning shots deal electrical splash damage in addition to their base damage. The way each bolt deals damage is roughly: shot 1 = 125 base + 75 splash = 200 total damage. The splash part of the damage is not cumulative and only happens once per shot. This means that a dual would not deal splash damage twice, it would deal base damage twice and splash damage once: 125 base + 125 base + 75 splash = 325 total damage. Splash damage has a fairly wide area, and is useful for damaging more than one enemy. On the other hand, in close combat situations you might end up damaging yourself or your teammates. 2.4. Tiny firing angle --------------------------------- A *major* weakness of Lightning, given that fact that shotgunning isn't very useful with this bot. With a total firing angle of 22, of which only 12 is true angle, you will need to rely heavily on terrain to get a good angle. Fixed power shots aren't very useful with Lightning because, more often than not, you will need to shoot with whatever angle you get. However, you should use the highest true angle possible, because of the way Lightning bunges (see Constant bunge). Your enemies will find it very easy to screw up your angle. In desperate times, shoot the ground next to you to make an angle for yourself. 2.5. Light projectile --------------------------------- Lightning is the only mobile that fires a light projectile. It actually has the same weight as a teleport shot. This means that your shots are very sensitive to wind compared to most other bots (except Boomer). On far shots, a difference of *1 wind* will make you miss if you don't adjust your power and/or angle. Wind going with, or against, your shot can be good or bad depending on the angle you can get. But in mostly, it's better to have the wind against you, so that your tracer comes straight down on your enemy. Even moderate wind going with your shot can make hitting opponents in holes impossible. 2.6. Constant bunging --------------------------------- As described above, both the tracer and lightning bolt are non-solid, going right through bots and hitting land. Your shots will always bunge by the same amount, even on a direct hit on your enemy. The good side of this is that you will constantly be changing your opponent's firing position and angle. The bad side of this is that you will often have to readjust your shot if you want to keep hitting your opponent. Especially at low angles, you'll have to decrease your power, or adjust your angle. The most frustrating consequence of the constant bunge is its effect on dual/dual+. You'll find that at low angles, the first shot will hit and bunge, making the second shot miss. For this reason, it's preferable to shoot in a way such that your tracer comes down vertically on your opponent. One way to do this is to use high angles. The second way is to shoot against the wind. In those cases you won't need to re-adjust your shot every time. A problem with shot 1 is that if your opponent doesn't move, they will end up in a deep narrow hole. Again, to keep hitting your opponent in a hole, you have to use a high angle, or shoot against the wind. 3. How to win with Lovebot ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, now that you have a good background on how Lightning works. You must now learn to win!!! In this section I'll outline Lightning's general strategy, and tactics for specific situations. Basic Gunbound strategy also applies to Lightning, but this being a Lovebot guide, I won't cover them. 3.1. General Lightning strategy --------------------------------- The key to Lightning is low delay, so be sure you understand how to control delay. Combined with accuracy, Lightning has the best damage to delay ratio of any mobile. Shot 1 does 200 for 750 delay. Shot 2 does 225-250 for only 800 delay! You can still effectively play a game hitting with only shot 1. The only way for other bots to keep up with your low delay is to use shot 1. In that case you will do more damage than they will. Low delay combines well with your shield regeneration (+20/turn). In general, make sure you have at least 1 turn for every turn your opponent has. Occasionally you'll be able to lap a turn as well. Also, if you're ahead on delay (meaning you have less), you can use items without your opponent lapping a turn. Lightning's natural high defense and high total HP also helps you last long enough for your accumulated lead in delay to become effective. DO NOT let your opponent lap turns! Keep in mind the low dual damage when trying to finish someone off with dual or dual+. This forces you to use a dual/dual+ abit later than other bots to finish off. If you are ahead enough in delay, you can use dual+ safely even if it won't finish them off. Don't use a dual if it won't finish them off! The damage is simply not worth the delay. Try to use an item only if you are ahead enough in delay to cover it. Meaning that even if your enemy fires a shot 1, they won't be able to go twice in a row. Although you'll find that you can sometimes win games without using any items at all. 3.2. Tactics --------------------------------- 3.2.1. Putting the enemy in a hole This can be accomplished with a simple shot 2. Although depending on the bot and terrain, they may be able to climb out. The most effective method is to use dual+ shot 2. The shot 2 puts them in the initial hole, and then shot 1 makes it deeper, all the while keeping the hole narrow. Multiple shot 1 can also be used, if your opponent doesn't move. Dual shot 1 can also be used, but not recommended due to the low damage/high delay. It's important to keep in mind that putting your enemy in a hole can be very bad for you, since it will become harder to hit them. In general, only put your enemy in a deep hole if you have a high enough angle to keep hitting, or have the wind blowing against your shots. 3.2.2. Opening up holes That's right, as silly as it may sound, you'll need methods to avoid putting your enemy in a hole. If you're lucky, your enemy will keep moving out of the small hole every time you shoot and do the job for you. In situations where they stay in the shallow hole you've made using shot 2, or shot 1 twice: fire a shot 2 on the on the right edge of the hole, next fire a shot 2 directly at your target. Here's the explanation, the first shot 2 on the right edge of the hole uses the y effect to hit your target, while opening up the right side of the hole. Then the second shot 2 directly on your target will hit with the right bolt, and open up the left side of the hole with the left bolt. Eventually, your enemy will be sitting at the bottom of a small v-shaped valley.This method should be used no matter which direction you're shooting, since the y effect always occurs in 1 direction. It should also be used early on, before the hole becomes too deep. 3.2.3. Melee For melee situations, shot 1 must be used because it has a smaller splash area. Smart opponents will try to exploit your splash damage and stay close to you, so that you will splash yourself when you shoot them. There are 3 possible solutions to this: teleport, walk away, or put them in a hole. Teleporting is sometimes the best option, it allows you to put yourself in a better firing position, ie: higher angle or shooting against the wind. Since Lightning has good movement, walking away is also a good option, terrain permitting. The only mobile that can outrun you is JD, but JD also needs a minimum distance to shoot. Usually the preferred option is to put them in a hole so they can't walk towards you. It also has the added advantage of making shots harder for your enemy. There are some mobile against which melee is generally a bad idea: boomer, sate, armor, and nak. Since those bots dish out a lot of damage, you must make them miss. Changing to a farther location makes their shots harder, and maximizes your tactics for screwing up their shots. 3.2.4. Using dual and dual+ The different ways to use dual/dual+ with Lighting vary a lot depending on the terrain, wind, and firing angle. You have to imagine where the second shot would land after the first shot has slightly bunged your opponent. Ideally, you'd want the tracer to come straight down on your target, so that both shots land in the exact same spot. But in most game situations you'll have to make do with what you have. For most situations, I recommend dual+ over dual, since the damage dealt it essentially the same, for much lower delay. Dual shot 1 - 1350 delay - 325 damage This is the easiest shot to land and the one that does the most reliable damage. A good shot does around 325, which is 125 base + 125 base + 75 splash. It's also nice for putting enemies in a narrow hole that can block their shot, depending on the mobile. However, it has very high delay for only 325 damage. The first situations that I recommend using it would be either to finish someone off. The second is to put them in an angle-blocking hole, which will require them to waste a shot opening up the hole. In the second case, make sure that the hole you dig will block their shot, or else it's not worth using dual shot 1. Dual shot 2 - 1400 delay - 200-450 damage From experience, I've found that this shot is almost never worth it. The damage is much too variable and the delay too high. Because shot 2 bunges more than shot 1, the second shot of the dual shot 2 is less likely to land in the right spot to do full damage. Also, the first shot usually puts the enemy in a hole, blocking the incoming bolts of the second shot. It might be ok to use it if your target is standing on top of a hill or bump. Theoretically, dual shot 2 could deal (125 base x 4) + 75 splash = 575, but I haven't been able to consistently get anything higher than 250-325. That's less damage than dual shot 1! One time I saw someone deal a lucky 450. One time. For bunging situations, dual shot 2 is better than dual shot 1 if you can get all 4 bolts to hit. But for damage purposes, just avoid it. Dual+ shot 1 - 1000 delay - 325-400 damage A good low delay way to deal damage. However it can only be used if they are on flat land or high ground. Since the initial shot 1 will deepen the hole they're in, blocking the following shot 2. Shot 1 bunges less than shot 2, so you can use dual+ shot 1 with a lower angle than dual+ shot 2 for the same amount of damage. A good hit does consistently around 300-350 damage, and will put them in a hole. Dual+ shot 2 - 1050 delay - 325-400 damage Another good way to deal damage for low delay. As opposed to dual+ shot 1, this can be used to hit mobiles already in a shallow hole. On the other hand, because the initial shot 2 bunges a lot, it requires a higher angle compared to dual+ shot 1 for good damage. This is the best method for putting them in a narrow hole they can't walk out of, and usually does around 325-350 on a good hit. The most damage I've done once is ~400. 3.2.5. Defensive tactics If you want to win against good players, you must learn the basic Gunbound tactics for making people miss. The most popular way to do this is to screw up your opponent's angle: either by bunging them so that they cannot get their angle/firing position back, or by blocking their shot. Lightning is especially good at this with dual+, since a direct hit will bunge significantly and put them in a hole. While at the same time deal good damage. Even a simple shot 2 is effective. Try to use shot 2 whenever terrain permits and delay isn't an issue, since it will constantly force your opponent to readjust their shot. Also, take advantage of Lightning's good movement and keep moving. A combination of moving and screwing up their angle will make you very difficult to hit. However, you must choose where you move to wisely because Lightning depends heavily on terrain to get good firing angle. It also depends on what mobile you are fighting. For example, against a Nak you should walk away, but a JD you should walk forward. Moving around a lot requires that you have good aim, since you'll be changing your firing position and angle each time. But sometimes it's better to stay put to preserve your firing position/angle, and only screw up your opponent's shot instead. It's a matter of who has more skill. If you have enough skill to keep moving, as well constantly hit and screw up their angle, then they need just as much skill to keep hitting you as well. In solo and tag games, Lightning has an advantage in that it can fire right through dead mobiles' bodies. As a result, you can take cover behind bodies very easily, and bodies will offer no protection to your opponents. This tactic can be so effective that it is sometimes worth teleporting next to a body for cover. I've sometimes killed 3 enemies all by myself this way! 3.2.6. Using SS Lightning's SS is very different from other mobile's. The first thing to remember about the SS is that it is NOT used to deal high damage. On a single target, it deals less damage than shot 1. The true power of the SS lies in its huge hit radius. It has the largest radius in the game. The most obvious use for it is getting a dk or hitting a group of enemies. If you can hit at least 3 enemies at once with SS, then you should probably do it. The combined damage usually reaches 500. There are also more subtle tactical uses for the SS. The first tactical use for SS is blocking the shot of an enemy sitting in a hole. When an enemy is in a deep hole, it gets progressively harder to hit them with normal shots. This is because most opponents will lean on the side of the hole closest to you in order to get an angle to hit you. Hitting an enemy in such a position can become impossible depending on your angle and wind conditions. An option is to fire an SS nearby. This will cause a lightning bolt to come straight down on their position and destroy the portion of the wall that they were leaning on, causing that side of the hole to curve inwards. Most mobile's shot will be blocked this way. Be careful though, shots won't necessarily be blocked for Ice and Boomer, who both have very large firing angles. The high delay from the SS may allow your opponent to lap a turn, but is worth it if they need to waste a turn unblocking their shot. The second tactical use is as a test shot that will guarantee a hit. If I have enough lead in delay (about 650 lead), I move to a new position, then fire SS as my test shot. I use SS in this way if conditions make judging shots difficult. In more favorable shooting conditions, a regular test shot with shot 1 or shot 2 is better since it still does splash damage on a miss, while at the same time conserving my lead in delay.There are tons of ways to use the SS, just be creative! Just 2 things to remember about it, first it requires open space above your enemy for a hit, and second it doesn't target teammates. 3.2.7. Hitting multiple enemies It is obvious to any good player that if you can hit more than one enemy at a time, then you should do so. Therefore in situations where a shot 1 will do, but a shot 2 would hit more than one enemy, then use shot 2. Just remember to concentrate your damage on at least one mobile. Splashing many opponents for only 75 is generally less effective than doing a full 200 on a single target. It'll require some imagination on your part to exploit situations where you can hit multiple enemies. 4. Game Settings/Items ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As with other mobiles, certain maps, game settings, and items, can affect the effectiveness of Lightning. 4.1. Maps --------------------------------- I haven't mentioned other maps here simply because there's nothing special to write about in relation to Lightning. Nirvana B-side The all-time worst map for Lightning. Against players who exploit your weakness, it is almost impossible to win. Smart opponents will simply move under the many little "islands", rendering you completely helpless. Choosing Lightning to play on this map is suicide. Stardust and Metamine B-side Stardust and Metamine B-side are difficult, but manageable. In fact, you can hold the advantage in these two maps if you manage to get below them and do tracer trickshots. You just have to know when to use shot 1 or shot 2. Cave Since everyone starts out very close to each other on this map, you have to be careful about hitting your teammates with splash damage. Then again, it's also very easy to hit multiple opponents as well. If you have smart teammates who stay outside the radius of your shots, you should have no problems. 4.2. Game types --------------------------------- Score and Solo In general, I have found that Lightning does better on smaller games, 3v3 and less. This is for two reasons: 1) the most popular sudden death setting is double death 40, and since Lightning does less damage on dual shots, other mobiles will deal more damage than you when double death comes around; 2) smaller games are less crowded, giving you more room to maneuver around the map. In a 4v4 game with double death 40, you will have fewer turns before sudden death than other games. The more turns you get before double death, the better. Likewise, because in solo you have the chance to kill your opponents before double death comes around, it is better than playing score. If I had my way, I would choose the other types of sudden death settings. It's just that other people don't like playing anything other than double death 40. Very boring, IMO. What I usually do is put double death 56 for 4v4 games. People will mostly be ok with that. In 3v3, double death 40 is fine. Just try to win before double death comes. I'm not saying 4v4 score double death 40 should not be played with Lightning. It's just that it will require superior skills in order to gain an advantage over your opponents during double death. Tag I haven't played tag very much, but when I do, I like to pick Grub as my tag mobile. Grub complements Lightning's hole digging abilities. Narrow holes are excellent for Grub SS. Other mobile I sometimes choose is Armor, but that's simply my preference. Any other mobile with a "normal" shot would do, in case of situations where land blocks your lightning bolts. On certain maps, Bigfoot can be a good tag as well, with it's tunnel digging abilites. You can dig under your opponent, and use tracer trickshots to hit from below. I've never tried it myself. But I've seen people do it with some degree of effectiveness. Jewel It's a shame people don't play jewel more often. It can be very relaxing! That is because players in jewel games tend to be alot nicer. Also there's less pressure, since nobody is dying :) In jewel games you will need to be very accurate to kill jewels. SS can be used kill a group of 5s. A well aimed shot 1 is effective for 10s. 25s can only be killed with a very well aimed dual or dual+. I really enjoy playing jewel with Lightning, since you have the ability to kill multiple jewels with SS or shot 2. 4.3. Items --------------------------------- I prefer to have games with ALL items open, because the variety makes very interesting and strategic games. However, the most common items that people leave open are dual+, teleport, and dual. Packing 1 of each of those items is what I've found to be the most effective. It allows you to be more versatile, although taking 2 dual+ and 1 teleport is good as well. If heals are open, you can try 1 dual+, 2 bandages, 1 teleport. Or 1 dual+, 1 medkit, 1 teleport. If teleport isn't open, try 2 dual+, 1 dual. Dual As described above, avoid using duals. However, there are times when an opponent is in a deep hole, and a dual shot 1 is needed to finish them off. Don't pack more than 1, unless it's the only item available. I avoid rooms with dual as the only item, because other mobiles will have too much advantage over Lightning with only dual open. Dual+ The best item to pick with Lightning. Always pack at least 1 dual+, since you'll need it to dig enemies into holes. Not effective on opponents in deep holes unfortunately. Blood Can be quite effective, especially since Lightning depends on low delay. It takes off 8% of your HP, and since Lightning is a shield mobile, it takes off less life than it would on non-shield mobiles. I'm not sure if it takes 8% of your total HP, or current HP. If it were only current HP, it would make sense to use blood later in the game, after you've been shot a few times. In that case, you'd sacrifice less HP to blood. Blood shot 1 does 275 damage usually. I haven't tried it much with shot 2. Power up If possible, choose dual+ over power up. The extra delay from power up isn't worth the relatively small increase in damage. Dual+ has 100 more delay, but is also used to trap enemies in holes. Does the same damage as blood, obviously. Shovel I haven't tried shovels with Lightning yet. But it would seem to me a bad item to use. Bunging your opponents more will make it harder to hit them, and wider holes will also make it easier for them to shoot out of the hole. Although, when I have the chance, I might try putting someone in a hole without the shovel first, then shoot a shot 1 shovel, to see if it blocks their angle. It might make a bottle-shaped hole? Thunderbolt While it will increase bunge somewhat, and up damage very slightly, there is no reason to choose thunderbolt over dual+. With shot 2, you will see a third vertical lightning bolt come down. With shot 1 you won't be able to see it, but it's there. Thunderbolt is only good for mobiles that fire multiple projectiles at once. Energy 1 (bandage) For some reason, most players believe heals to be cheap noob items. I don't share that view. It simply requires a slightly different strategy to play against. With that said, I usually don't open up heals because it scares other players away. But if you get the chance, pack 2 bandages over a dual, even if heals are less effective for shield mobiles. Energy 2 (medkit) Same as bandage, although I'm not sure which would be more better, 2 bandages or 1 medkit. I probably won't get the chance to find out since most good players simply refuse to play in a room with heals on. Packing no more than 1 medkit seems to be effective the few times I've been able to try. I would definitely choose a medkit over a dual, but not over a dual+. Windchange A very practical item to have. There may be times when the wind is blowing with your shot, making it impossible to hit enemies in holes. A wind change reverses the direction of the wind, making it much easier to hit targets in holes. Also good to screw up Boomer's shots. Teleport Always pack 1 teleport when it's available. This is because Lightning has a small firing angle and is very sensitive to terrain. Teleporting to a spot with a better firing angle and wind direction can win you the game. Also great for getting out of holes and potential bunge situations, of course. Team teleport Errrrr, well what can I say. Use this like you would with any other mobile. 5. Avatar Equipment ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most of my time is spent on the avatar-off servers. But I've found Lightning to be more effective on avatar-on games. It's possible that there are more skilled players on the avatar-off servers. Or maybe because the strategy is slightly different. Keep in mind I haven't tried many different types of avatar yet, and I will be updating this section as I get the chance to try different equipment combinations. Always remember that good avatar equipment is no substitute for skill and strategy. "Player wins the game not the bot." -- a very wise player, the name I can't remember. 5.1. Stats --------------------------------- Defense According to a post on GB-HQ, defense increases mobile base defense by percentages. Therefore, the higher natural defense a mobile has, the greater the defense increase. Also, since Lightning is a shield mobile, the longer you last, the more shield regeneration will benefit you. Every turn you take will give you back +20 shield. For these reasons, defense should be your primary stat. Attack The attack stat boosts total damage normally when you do splash + base damage on an opponent. But if you miss your enemy and only do splash damage, the splash will always do around 75 damage, no matter what your attack stat is, or how much defense stat they have. Shot 1 with 0 attack stat, on an opponent with 50 defense stat does around 120 damage. With 18 attack stat it does around 160, just to give you an idea. So far I've tried attack as a secondary stat, and it seems to be work well that way. Someday I might try an attack clone outfit and see. Delay A good secondary stat to have, especially since Lightning's strategy revolves around delay. It prevents opponents from lapping turns at the beginning of the game, and lets you keep up with JD shot 1 machingunners (ZZZ...). Anything more than 20 is excessive though. Shield Regeneration I've tested this myself, and the shield stat increases shield regen per turn point for point. That means 12 shield stat will increase your shield regen by +12/turn. For Lightning that would be 20 (base) + 12 = 32 total shield regen/turn. After maxing out defense, minor shield stat seems to be good. If you play Lightning properly and take at least 1 turn for every 1 of your oppenent's turn, then 12 shield regen shaves off an extra 12 damage from your enemy's attacks. In addition to your base shield regen. Combined with delay stat, and turn lapping (which happens often with Lightning in avatar-on games), shield regen is a viable tertiary stat. Maxing out defense also maximizes shield regen effectiveness, since it lets you last longer, which means you take more turns, which then leads to more shield regeneration. If I had to choose between boosting heart stat or shield, I would choose shield. The weakness of the shield stat is that Mage SS nullifies it for a few turns (4 turns I believe). Hearts Since Lightning only has 800 HP, and as far as I know heart stat boosts by percentage, it means that heart stat is less effective on Lightning than for other non-shield mobiles. Therefore, if you rank the defensive stats in order of effectiveness, defense is 1st, shield 2nd, and hearts 3rd. Unless you know you're going to be facing Mage SS, in which case hearts is better than shield. Still, I avoid the heart stat since it's less effective for shield mobiles. Item delay Well...I wouldn't know since I've never tried it, but most definitely a tertiary stat. Bunge I'm not sure how good bunge is yet, so I won't make any comments on it for now. 5.2. Suits --------------------------------- Here are some suits that I've tried with Lightning. "Dark Elf" suit - Elf hair A, Kendo armor, Pet-02, RobotX $$: 537 000 gold defense: 32 heart: 9 attack: 22 bunge: 0 delay: 16 itm dly: 0 shield: 12 fame: 0 This is my favorite suit, since it's a reasonable compromise between looks and utility. This isn't as strong as a clone suit, but is surprisingly quite playable. The difference in strength compared to a clone suit isn't so great that you can't make it up with superior skill. A good suit to get you by until you can afford the more expensive items. "Warrior Mage" suit - Golden helmet, Elf clothes A, Pet-02, RobotX $$: 767 000 gold defense: 45 heart: 6 attack: 18 bunge: 0 delay: 15 itm dly: 0 shield: 12 fame: 2 I've found this suit to be equal to clones, or at least the difference in strength is so small that it doesn't matter. It looks kinda nifty too. For the moment this is my main Lightning suit. It's difficult to compare this suit to a standard clone because I don't own one. I can only judge it by observing how it does against clones, and I seem to be doing just fine. Gold only suit - Golden helmet, Kendo armor, Pet-03, RobotX $$: 795 000 gold defense: 50 heart: 0 attack: 25 bunge: 6 delay: 19 itm dly: 0 shield: 0 fame: 0 I haven't had much chance to test out this suit extensively yet. But the +6 bunge does affect gameplay. It changes the sizes of the holes slightly, as well as the workings of dual and dual+. It's also easier to use the shot 2 y effect with this suit. The real powet of this suit is the delay. Taking 3 turns after an opponent's dual is not uncommon if you manage your delay properly. Once in a 2v2 score game, a Boomer dualed me, then I got 2 turns using shot 1 and killed him. Before he came back I got another turn, then when he respawned near me, I got to take 3 more turns to shoot him with shot 1 before his turn ever came up! 6. Comments ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Still need to figure out landmark angle/power shots, such as 1/2 screen, 1 screen, etc...I always shoot by instinct, therefore I've never memorized such things. I might get around to it, please don't ask me :) 7. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Basic Information comes from the main Gunbound site (www.gunbound.net), and the now closed GB-HQ site (www.gunbound-hq.com). - SS angle screwing idea and the y effect is from the GB-HQ forum. ----- The End :) -----