Astray Blue Frame 2nd L

Model Number: MBF-P03	Pilot: Murakumo Gai
Cost: 2000 Hp: 580 Transform: X Form Change: X

The Gundam Astray Blue Frame Second L is an upgrade of the original Astray Blue Frame. The “L” in its name is a reference to Lowe, who developed certain parts that were incorporated into this version of the Blue Frame.  

Ability Summary

Ranged	Armament	Ammo	DMG	Notes
Main	Beam Rifle	7	70
Charged Main	Tactical Arms (Gatling Form)	–	10~146	Comes with a shooting guard. Fires a mix of physical & beam projectiles.
Charged Melee (1)	Enhanced Beam Rifle	(1)	180	One shot down. Only once per life.
Charged Melee (2)	Armor Schneider Combat Knife Throw	–	50	Stuns upon hit. Usable after Charged Melee (1) is used.
Sub	Bazooka	3	86	Fast traveling speed with no cancel proration.
Special Shooting	Tactical Arms Throw	1	1 hit 35	Has multiple inputs.
Burst Attack	Astray Double Frame	–	295(F)/267(E)/267(S)	Friendship Attack with Astray Red Frame

Melee	Input	DMG	Notes
5B	5BBB	176
	5B(B)~BC	178~202
8B	8BB	144
	8B~BC	183
4/6B	4/6BBB	157	Melee with good movement
	4/6B~A~B	179
	4/6B(B)~BC	173~193
2B	2B	159	Pyonkaku which kicks twice after hit
CC8B	CC8BBB	128	Good reach and fast
	CC8B~8A	160	Fires physical shots after stun
	CC8B~8B	166	Stabs opponent after stun
BC	5BC~5BB	302	Super Armor during rush in animation. Able to derive to BC for Tactical Arms sword dance.
	5BC~BC	226	Tactical Arms sword dance
	8BC	231	Super Armor during rush in animation. Fires physical & beam property shots after stab.
	4/6BC~5BB	288	Super Armor during rush in animation.  Able to derive to BC for Tactical Arms sword dance.
	2BC	150	Melee counter with no super Armor or shooting guard

Cancel Routes:

A: AB,*AC, 2B

AB: *AC

Charged Melee (2): AB,*AC, all melee except CC8B & BC

Overview

Astray Blue Frame 2nd L is the only Astray Blue Frame in the game while the other two Astray have at least 1 other different unit of their own. 

HP of this unit is 580 which is the average for 2000 cost units. It’s red lock range and mobility is also average for its cost. An all-rounder unit that excels in close to mid-range shooting. The best weapon of this unit is the boomerang based weapon with the highest class in terms of power, range and speed which is the Tactical Arms throw. Thanks to that, it is in the category of high self defense power for the 2000 cost roster.

Also features the Tactical Arms Sword Form which deals high damage and comes with super armor. Although the motion and reach are inferior to the Astray Red Frame Kai, it has an exceptional performance as a weapon that can be used for a 2000 cost unit without burst. In addition, it also has one of the most powerful one-shot down CSBs which is the Enhanced Beam Rifle in the game.

From the above, despite being a 2000 cost all-rounder unit, it is able to deal  instant high damage which can help create one chance scenario.

However, the CSB is only once per life and most of the weapons are hard to get a hit so the overall damage output for this unit is quite low. The fundamental of this unit is to support your partner and have good self defense but sometimes you need to be ballsy to use the Tactical Arms Sword melee for the lack of firepower. 

Ranged Weapons

Main: Beam Rifle

Average Beam Rifle (3 Sec reload per shot) and the only weapon which does not cause vernier. Able to cancel to AB, *AC, 2B but little ammo count.

Due to the nature of other weapons which will be described later on, the dependence on BR is quite high so you will run out of ammo in no time if you are spending them mindlessly. Try to avoid situations where you want to fire your BR but you can’t. 

Use the bazookas and other weapons to save on ammo as you will need your BR for follow up in many situations. 

Charged Main: Tactical Arms (Gatling Form)

The Tactical Arms change form into Gatling Form and fires continuously with a mixed of physical & beam shots. You will remain stationary when using this but there will be a shooting guard on the front which blocks all incoming ranged attacks except bazooka & other explosions while shooting.

Able to move the Gatling gun to a certain extent like a bending gerobi and staggers the opponent on hit. You will definitely get a down if you hit but the charging time is long and muzzle correction is not good. In addition, even if you were to get hits your shooting guard might not be able to make it in time to block which is really inconvenient to use.

You will be unable to use or charge this weapon while the Tactical Arms is thrown out. 

Overall it is not recommended to use unless you are trying to protect yourself from punishment & buy some time if you land while overheating. 

Charged Melee (1): Enhanced Beam Rifle

Astray Blue Frame 2nd L’s trump card which can only be used once per life which deals 180 damage with a one shot down. The tide of the match will turn if you were to hit with this weapon. 

As this is a very precious weapon, you have to be prepared when using it. The shot is thick but the muzzle correction and tracking are not particularly good. Recommended to use as a follow up after getting a hit from your BR or Tactical Arms throw. This weapon is different from usual as it is not affected by the enemy’s guts correction due to it being a single heavy damage shot unlike the other weapons.

This is the only weapon that can do a one-shot down for the Astray Blue Frame 2nd L. So if you are fighting against a unit that has super armor, it will be a good idea to keep the Enhanced Beam Rifle until you see the opportunity to fire it. 

Although it is very hard to incorporate this weapon into a melee combo, it is necessary to prepare it in advance. Please do not hold on to this weapon until you are already dead.

Charged Melee (2): Armor Schneider Combat Knife Throw

Throws out an Armor Schneider Combat Knife. Usable after firing the Enhanced Beam Rifle. The tracking and traveling speed is similar to the usual BR. It has decent startup speed and is more effective to use at short distances than medium to long-distances as  the knife throw will disappear after traveling a certain distance. 

Abundant cancel routes are available: AB, *AC, 5B, 4/6B, 2B.  By canceling into 2B or different types of AC, you can either pursue the opponent or flee from them when you are overheated. 

This weapon has excellent damage but poor correction rate, so it lowers the overall damage when incorporated into a combo. 

Sub: Hyper Bazooka

A bazooka with good traveling speed which takes 4.5 seconds to reload on empty. Similar to Zudah’s AB. 

You will remain stationary when using this weapon, there is no cancel proration, and you are able to cancel to AC. The main use of this weapon is to be used as a follow up after hitting with BR or melee combo. Since this weapon only reloads when it’s at zero ammo, just fire off the bazooka if you are only left with one shot. 

Special Shooting: Tactical Arms Throw

Transform the Tactical Arms into Sword Form and throw it out while remaining stationary. Works like a boomerang. Takes 3 seconds to reload only after the Tactical Arms is back. 

This weapon is the lifeline of this unit. It deals 35 damage per hit and although it deals multiple hits, the damage proration is as low as a melee combo from a melee-based unit so the damage will increase easily. 

Although it is slightly slower for a boomerang weapon, it could easily hit the opponent due to its high traveling speed, long range, wide hitbox, and good muzzle correction. This weapon is considered to have high performance for a boomerang with a 2000 cost unit. Due to the nature of boomerang-based weapons, it can also be used against opponents who are guarding and wait for the Tactical Arms to return & hit the opponent from the back while breaking his/her guard. 

There are 4 types of input for this weapon (8AC,5AC, 4/6 AC, 2AC). The traveling distance varies depending on which one you use. Ranging from longest to shortest: 5AC -> 8AC -> 4/6AC -> 2AC. Take note that the reload time is slightly longer than other boomerang weapons.

5AC: Throws the sword straight. The closest performance when compared to other unit’s boomerangs. It is useful in various situations such as following up from hitting with BR or bazooka, setting up for melee combo, landing punishment, and self defense. This is the most recommended out of the 4 inputs as it can be used in most scenarios. 

8AC: Alike to 5AC but when it travels to its max range. The Tactical Arms will be stationary & rotates on point for a period of time before returning. As this causes multiple hits, it is useful when you can quickly down opponents who are away from you.

4/6AC: Flying back in the direction of the lever, drawing a trajectory in the shape of a 「く」. Good to use when you are predicting the opponent’s next move or blocking the escape path of the opponent who has rushed to the wall. It is the most difficult to use out of the 4 inputs but if you adjust the position of your unit, you can immediately attack after hitting the opponent from the back with your Tactical Arms. Consider this input if you are confident in “reading” your opponent.

2AC: Stops on the point and rotates the moment it is thrown. Like 4/6AC, it is easy to quickly take down an opponent in close range as it causes multiple hits. Recommended to use this input for self defense against incoming melee attacks. 

Melee Set

5BBB: Right Strike -> Thrust -> Left Backward Kick

A melee combo which uses Armor Schneider Combat Knife. Out of all the melee combo for the Astray Blue Frame 2nd L, it has good reach, average priority, but high damage. Suitable to be used as part of a melee combo instead of starting the combo with it.

8B: Right Strike -> Front High Kick -> Slam Down

Bound down the opponent after slash. Good to use for self defense as the startup is fast and have high priority, as for its reach it’s about the same as 5B melee. Your unit will be facing the back of the opponent after bounding him/her so following up after the combo might be a challenge. A 4/6 rainbow step and a little delay is needed if you try to follow up. It would be recommended to let it be after the combo since its a bound down.

4/6BB: Kick Combo -> Knife Thrust 

One of the Astray Blue Frame 2nd L main melee. Dealing damage to the opponent while wrapping around the side. 

Low damage but reach is decent. The startup and priority  is also excellent. The combo ends quickly because it moves quickly and well with good cut resistance. Recommended to use this melee more often. 

Able to cancel to A after 1st hit.

4/6B~A~B: Beam Rifle -> Thrust 

The shooting derivative also works well, but pay attention to the remaining ammo as it consumes one ammo from your BR. Rather than letting go of this combo, you can make use of the fact that the BR fired from this combo has a stun attribute and you can continue to attack from there. 

Any melee except except the last melee hit from 5B, 4/6B and 8B melee: Tactical Arms Sword Dance

Able to do this melee via canceling from all melee except except the last melee hit from 5B, 4/6B, and 8B melee. Almost alike to Extreme Gundam Type Leos Aios Face sword dance, it is also possible to boost out while the sword dance continues. 

This melee hits the opponent up high and does not down the opponent at the end of the combo. Good to follow up with a BR if the opponent still has down value left. However, following up is quite difficult because it hits away in the direction where your unit was at. 

Causes a knockdown if you use 5BB > 5BB~BC. 

2B: Jump Melee -> Kick Combo

Jumps up and pierces before kicking, The first stage of this melee has a jump attribute which is called the pyonkaku. Has an excellent jumping trajectory making this move the other lifeline of this unit. On the other hand, it should not be used head on as it is a weak jump attack. You can move in the direction you are facing by changing the lock on to an opponent in green lock. 

CC8BB: Slash-through>Slash-through

Another one of Astray Blue Frame 2nd L’s main melee. Stuns the opponent with a slash-through and does it again. Able to cancel to A or 2B after 1st hit. 

The reach of this melee is very good and it’s an excellent way to move forward while in red lock for Astray Blue Frame 2nd L who lacks in boost dash speed. The startup is fast and the unit is able to have a fair chance in a melee fight. This melee is an important source of damage but it is vulnerable to attacks in vertical directions, and if there is a slight difference in height, you might even miss the 1st hit of this melee. 

CC8B~A: Back Facing Gatling Gun Shots 

Fires the Tactical Arms Gatling Gun after stunning the opponent while facing back.

Unlike the CSA, this gatling only fires physical shot so it can reliably down the opponent even if the opponent has a shooting guard like ABC mantle. This input consumes a small amount of boost and will continue to consume boost during the whole animation. Unlike the 4/6B~A, this does not consume any ammo. 

This move has excellent cut resistance so it is useful when you want to leave the enemy quickly while scoring a down on the opponent. The muzzle correction seems to be reapplied so even if you are blocked by a wall ETC you will still turn your back against the opponent and fire at them. 

*CC8B~2B: Cockpit Stab

Stabs the opponent while remaining stationary. Very poor cut resistance so use it only when you are not worried about being shot at. 

BC: Tactical Arms (Sword Form)

Turns the Tactical Arms into sword form and slashes the opponent. Motion changes according to different input. Take note that the startup is very slow as you need to see the transformation of the Tactical Arms into sword form before doing any attacks. 

There is super armor during the rush in animation making this excellent to use in a messy fight or when you anticipate a counter-attack while overheated. Be careful as there is no super armor during the transformation into sword form / after the attack occurs. Also good to use to push in or intercept using the super armor or to shadow strike the opponent who is not looking at you. 

During Burst, your reach is greatly improved especially for 4/6BC so it has the biggest chance of hitting something. Since Astray Blue Frame 2nd L has low damage output overall, you would want to hit more often with this move even if you were to over do it a little. However, don’t let the opponent make a fool outta you just for this. 

Here shows the startup speed from fastest to slowest: 2BC -> 8BC -> 4/6BC -> 5BC

Here shows the reach from longest to shortest:4/6BC -> 5BC -> 8BC -> 2BC(Which totally have no reach)

5BC: Tactical Arms (Sword Form) Vertical Slash

Good reach but normal traveling speed. Damage is the highest among all the inputs. Even without burst, you can do more than 300 damage by just hitting with this melee. The damage is even higher than the burst attack damage, Because the hitbox is large in the vertical direction, the opponent may be caught if he/she did just a back step or halfass jump etc. However, its practicality is low because the startup is slow. Also, pay attention to your position and surroundings because if you were to slash your opponent on the slope, you may not complete the whole melee combo as the opponent might already be lying on the ground.

8BC: Tactical Arms (Sword Form) Stab -> Zero Range Gatling

Fires the gatling gun at zero range after stabbing the opponent. Physical and beam shots are mixed in for the gatling gun shooting. This melee startup is 2nd fastest next to 2BC. However, since the attack range is only at the point of the sword, the hit will not land if the opponent did a side step. 

If you were to hit a unit with the ABC mantle on, you can hit the ABC mantle with the gatling gun beam shots and deal some damage with the physical shots. (49 damage to cloak and 190 damage to opponent) If you hit a unit with an active shooting guard, you will only deal damage resulting from the sword which is 144 damage.

Among all the input, this input is the most suitable to use as part of a combo.

4/6BC: Tactical Arms (Sword Form) Horizontal Slash

The most practical one out of all input. Moves according to the direction of input. 

Since the attack is wide on the left and right, it is easy to hit opponents who are sidestepping or having a messy melee fight. It is a melee that can be relied on in actual battles so use this input more often. Performance in reach and damage will increase if you are in F burst.

The downside of this melee is that if you are too close to the opponent, it will take a long time to hit due to its motion. In such a case, using 5BC or 8BC will be better. The 1st stage of this melee is left-leaning so it’s easy to hit the opponent going to the left, but might occasionally miss when trying to hit targets on your right. 

2BC: Melee Counter

Counters and stuns the opponent upon hit and does a sword dance. A melee counter that does not guard against ranged attacks despite the appearance. Follow up during the sword dance animation is recommended as it is difficult to follow up after the last hit of the sword dance. 

The counter reception time is about 1-2 seconds. Probably not much different from other melee counters. Note that the counter can only be done if the melee is dealt upfront. Due to the existence of AC and 4/6BC, there isn’t much practical use for this input, but it is wasteful to seal this move. Even if you simply put out a shield against incoming melee attacks, you can use this input considering the possibility of turning the table. In addition, there is a guard break in F burst so it might be more effective to use this than a shield against opponent who are in F burst. However, it is better not to use this against opponents who are closing in via side stepping. 

Overall the usability is not bad, but intercepting the opponent is basically sufficient with AC and 4/6BC. 

Burst Attack

Astray Double Frame

Summons out Astray Red Frame and does a friendship attack. 

The Astray Blue Frame 2nd L kick up is an untechable down and the slash from Astray Red Frame has stun attribute. There is super armor while rushing in and has a good reach. 

At first glance, the cut resistance looks good. However, the actual Astray Blue Frame 2nd L movement is significant only in the area where Astray Red Frame jumps up after slashing through so the cut resistance is neither good nor bad. Note that if the Tactical Arms gets stuck in a building, the motion will end with a kick and the Astray Red Frame will not come out. The last grabbing may or may not succeed depending on the condition of the wall, you might have a chance of getting counterattacked if the gap is too large.

The reach of the burst attack is good and if you were to use it as part of your melee combo, you could rainbow step out after your 1st hit and follow up with the burst attack for a good damage. 

Recommended Combos

Ranged Weapons
Input	DMG	Notes
A>>A>>A	147	Don’t use this often as it will deplete your main ammo fast
A~AB>>A	148	Zunda combo (1)
A~AB>>AB	148	Zunda combo (2)
A>>A~AB	143	Zunda combo (3)
A>>A~AC	128	Not recommended. Only use this if you run out of AB.
A~CSB(1)	196
A>>A~CSB(1)	191
A>>5BBB	181
A>>4/6BBB	163
A~AC>>CC8B	169
AC~CSB(2)~AB	133~153	Good to use when overheated. Able to score a down if the Tactical Arm hits twice.
AC~CSB(1)	201
AC>>CC8B>AB	188	Step cancel to the back after hitting twice with CC8B for A/AB to hit.
AC>>CC8B>A	192
CSB(2)>>5BC~5BB	243
Melee
5BB>5BBB	217
5BB>4/6BBB	206
4/6BB>5BBB	208
4/6BB>4/6BBB	197
4/6B~A>>8BC	235
CC8B(1st slash through)>5BBB	208
CC8B(1st slash through)>4/6BBB	194
CC8B>A~AB	195	Step cancel to the back after hitting twice with CC8B for A/AB to hit.

Strategies

• As Blue Frame does not have much BR ammo, try to conserve it by using bazooka or knife throw.
• Use 2B and jump to safety when you are overheated. 
• The Tactical Sword throw is the lifeline of this unit. Do not throw it mindlessly as it takes a while to reload. Use it as a follow up after hitting with BR or use it to punish landings.
• Prepare CSB in advance in case you see an opportunity to use it. Good to follow up after hitting with the sword throw or BR.
• E burst is recommended for this unit.