| Model Number: RX-0 | Pilot: Banagher Links |
| Cost: 3000 Hp: 680 Transform: X Form Change: O | |
From the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn series comes the final battle version of the Unicorn Gundam. This upgrade was devised by Banagher Link’s friend, Takuya Erei, who equipped the Unicorn Gundam with a wide array of weaponry, including three shields that can be controlled directly thanks to the unit’s psycoframe and Banagher’s Newtype abilities.
FAUC (1st Form) Ability Summary
| Ranged | Armament | Ammo | DMG | Notes |
| Main | Beam Magnum | 5 | 95 | Long reload time |
| Charged Melee | Hand Grenade | – | 57 ~ 108 | Fire multiple projectiles at once in a fan shape |
| Sub | Beam Gatling Gun | 60 | 18 ~ 156 | Ammo shared with the 2nd Form |
| Special Shooting | Salvo | 1 | 93 ~ 172 25 ~ 129 85 |
Fires multiple projectiles covering a wide area |
| Special Melee | Special Movement | – | – | 5BC: Moves forward at high speed and changes to the 2nd Form |
| Large Booster Ejection | – | 216 | 4/6BC: Ejects out both boosters while flipping sideways. Changes to the 2nd Form | |
| Burst Attack | Beyond The Rainbow | – | 321(F)/306(E)/316(S) | Changes to the 3rd Form on activation |
| Melee | Input | DMG | Notes |
| 2B | 2B | 85 | High Priority |
Cancel Routes:
A: AB, AC, BC
CSB: A, 2B
AB: AC, BC
AC, 2B: BC
5BC: A (2nd Form), AB, all melee except CC8B
*BC: A(2nd Form), AB, AC, all melee except CC8B
FAUC (2nd Form) Ability Summary
| Ranged | Armament | Ammo | DMG | Notes |
| Main | Beam Gatling Gun | 60 | 18 ~ 156 | Shares ammo with the 1st Form Sub |
| Charged Main | Beam Magnum | – | 120 | High damage |
| Sub | Hyper Bazooka | 6 | 106 ~ 179 | 5AB: Fires 2 bazooka shots while remaining stationary |
| 96 ~ 162 | *AB Fires 2 bazooka shots while rolling towards the input direction | |||
| Special Shooting | Mega Beam Launcher | 1 | 24 ~ 190 | Thin gerobi |
| Special Melee | Psycho Frame Resonance | – | 132 | Release pressure and 3 Shield Funnels while changing to the 3rd Form |
| Burst Attack | Beyond The Rainbow | – | 321(F)/306(E)/316(S) | Changes to the 3rd Form on activation |
| Melee | Input | DMG | Notes |
| 5B | 5BB | 186 | Average 3-stage combo |
| 8B | 8B | 109 | Grenade will be fired automatically after the 1st hit connects |
| 8B~A | 195 | Forced Down | |
| 4/6B | 4/6BBB | 173 | |
| 2B | 2B | 80 | Launches the target up with a single hit |
| 2B~A | 176 | Same as 8B~A | |
| CC8B | CC8BBB | 185 | Tackles the target hard |
Cancel Routes:
A: AB, AC, BC
CSA, *AB: BC
5AB: *AB, BC
FAUC (3rd Form) Ability Summary
| Ranged | Armament | Ammo | DMG | Notes |
| Main | Vulcan | 120 | 5~90 | Narrow angle of fire head vulcans |
| Sub | Beam Magnum | 2 | 120 | Fires the beam magnum while remaining stationary. Able to deploy shields at the muzzle to block projectiles when shields are available |
| Special Shooting | Banshee Norn Assist | 1 | 90 | Norn fires a beam magnum shot |
| Special Melee | Funnel Shield (Gatling) | 3 | 10 ~ 135 | 5BC: Fires beam gatling shots from the shields |
| Funnel Shield (Assault) | 34 ~ 93 | *BC: Attacks the target with the shields | ||
| Special Movement | – | – | Can be used only during the BC animation or as a cancel route | |
| Burst Attack | Beyond The Rainbow | – | 321(F)/306(E)/316(S) | Friendship attack with Banshee Norn |
| Melee | Input | DMG | Notes |
| 5B |
5BBBBB | 274 | High damage |
| 5B(BBB)~BC | 281~296 | Blast from a series of attacks. | |
| 8B |
8BBB | 182 | Good priority which results in an Untechable Down |
| 8B(B)~BC | 276~282 | Similar to 5B | |
| 4/6B |
4/6BB | 132 | Fast startup |
| 4/6B~BC | 271 | Similar to 5B | |
| 2B |
2BBBB | 234 | High damage which results in a Bounce Down |
| 2B(BB)~BC | 280~314 | Similar to 5B | |
| CC8B |
CC8BB | 124 | Leaps at the enemy and slashes |
| CC8B~BC | 287 | Similar to 5B |
Cancel Routes:
A: AB, AC
AB: Special Movement
AC: A, AB, Special movement
BC: Special movement
Special movement: A, AB, AC, all melees except CC8B
All melee, Final stage of melee BC derivation: BC (Special Movement)
Overview
The Full Armor Unicorn Gundam (FAUC) is a 3000 cost unit that comes with 3 forms. Each form is used for a different purpose, and once you purge your armor to enter the next form you will not be able to return to any of the previous forms until you respawn.
At the start and at respawn, you will sortie with heavy equipment but it is possible to gradually purge the equipment one form at a time. Every time you perform an armor purge, Unicorn’s mobility improves dramatically and the appropriate distance where you should excel gets closer.
The 1st form is a slow-footed shooting unit that controls the shooting battle with great firepower using the heavy armaments mounted all over the Unicorn’s body. The 2nd form is an shooting all-rounder unit that uses its gatling guns and bazookas as it’s main method to apply pressure to the opponent. And the 3rd form which is the final form is a high-mobility fighting unit that uses top-level mobility and excellent melee combos with an all-range attack to corner the opponent.
FAUC is often misunderstood by players who are playing this unit for the 1st time due to its complicated form change system. The usual 1st impression is that, “This unit is a shooting-based unit that can be a melee-based unit” which is incorrect, instead it should be “FAUC is a melee-based unit that can fight in a shooting battle if necessary”. The 3rd form is the essence of this unit, but you will need to consider how to play the game without stress after purging twice.
One of the reasons why the 3rd form is the essence of this unit is because the purging action itself is often very advantageous, which gives no reason for not purging. Even in this game where the unit’s mobility is weakened a little as compared to the previous title, the other two forms do not have the performance to beat opponent 3000 cost units in a straight up brawl. So in order to master this unit, you have to master a wide variety of armaments and take advantage of its high maneuverability, in order to become a typhoon on the battlefield and see the end of the rainbow.
FAUC (1st Form) Ability Details
This is the form you start the match with, or respawn in. It has average or below-average mobility in general, but has terrible swivel speed. It has a really long red lock range and can boost dash consecutively 7 times.
Aside from its single tackle melee attack, FAUC’s 1st form’s loadout is clearly suited for shooting-based combat. However many of its weapons have a slow startup and no means of canceling to melee attacks for better damage, leaving this form often failing to match the performance of other shooting units in a straight up fight. It also has slow reload on its tools, however its projectiles have good tracking overall.
Overall FAUC in its 1st form does a great job of launching long range barrages that deal good damage. Its BC purge maneuvers are also both very good. To succeed in this form you will need to maintain a strong formation with your partner who can protect you from enemies who will undoubtedly want to rush you down and force you to purge. While your ranged game is excellent, it’s important to read the flow of the match and decide when to enter your next form.
Ranged Weapons
Main: Beam Magnum
It has the same high damage and muzzle correction as the normal Unicorn Gundam except that you are unable to manually reload, and the reload timing is rather frustrating as you will only begin your reload on zero ammo (takes 7 seconds to reload). This is the reason why it is so difficult to stay in the 1st form even if no one is aiming at you.
Your other tools do reload quickly, so if you want to conserve your Main ammo, use other weapons first before this one. One good feature is that you can fire the hand grenades at the same time you fire your Main shot. Just keep your inputs clean or you might end up firing AB instead.
You are able to cancel to AB, AC, and BC. You are also able to perform a freefall by canceling to AB after firing Main while your back is facing the opponent.
Charged Melee: Hand Grenade
1.5-second charge time. Fires 6 missiles from the legs. Able to cancel to Main or 2B, and you can freefall by canceling to Main even if you have no ammo left. Additional missiles can be fired out with the B button. Since additional inputs can only be accepted after the 6 missiles are fired out, it would be recommended to input this when you score a hit from the 6 missiles.
Best used for crowd control since there is no tracking on the missiles. While this move forces vernier, FAUC automatically faces the enemy when firing it, and if you cancel into Main you can freefall nicely.
Sub: Beam Gatling Gun
Fires the Gatling gun mounted on the shield of both arms. Fires 3 shots per click with a maximum of 15 shots per input. Downs enemies with 13 hits. Reloads on empty, taking 5 seconds to fully reload. The shots are moderately fast and tracking is also average. Since it shares the same amount of ammo as the Main of the 2nd form, if you were to spam this weapon before purging, it will interfere with your play when you go into the 2nd form. This can be canceled from the Main shot and also can be canceled to AC and BC.
Just like with the Main, you can launch additional missiles with the melee input while firing the gatling gun. The barrage with missiles has moderate performance, and can apply more pressure with this than with the Main shot. Since the startup on this move is fast, so you can use it on self defense. However, you should avoid such situations as much as possible while being in the 1st form. You are able to freefall by canceling to AB after firing your Main shot while your back is facing the opponent. This is one of the important self-defense options of this form, and by adding missiles from the melee input, it is possible to launch a barrage. However, overconfidence is forbidden, so you should consider purging appropriately depending on the situation.
Special Shooting: Salvo
Fires a barrage from the bazooka, missile launcher, and hand grenade launchers mounted on FAUC’s legs. Takes 6 seconds to charge up.
The 3 types of weapons have different characteristics:
- Hand grenade from the bazooka: Tracks towards the opponent.
- Missile launcher: Flies in a V shape and generates an explosion after traveling a certain distance.
- Hand grenade from the legs: Fan-shaped spread.
Although it’s a salvo, the 3 types of shots are fired one at a time so if you boost dash early you will not launch everything. This weapon is considered top class among all moves meant for area control pressure. The tracking on the projectiles is passable, and the expected value of damage is high. Since it is an excellent barrage, it’s a good idea to use this often, and take it into account when planning on whether to enter form 2.
Special Melee: Special Movement / Large Booster Ejection
There are two types of inputs available:
5BC: Special Movement
FAUC moves forward at high speed and enters into its 2nd form after purging its boosters, missile launcher, and hand grenade. Your weapon set changes as soon as you enter the 2nd form and you can cancel to the 2nd form’s A, AB, and all melees except CC8B. Therefore, even if you boost dash or rainbow step out of the animation, immediately after the special movement occurs you will change to the 2nd form.
The movement is extremely fast, and if you use it in the sky, a downward vector is also applied so it can be used as an escape technique. It is not as flashy as a booster shot, but it allows you to travel very far very quickly to potentially land a melee combo. If you cancel to the Main shot, you will fall freely while keeping inertia so it is excellent for pursuing an escaping opponent. This can also be used as an evasive movement by canceling to 4/6AB.
Since it is a highly invasive maneuver, if you need to break into the front line quickly, use this input first.
4/6BC: Large Booster Ejection
While cartwheeling sideways in the input direction, the two back boosters are fired out consecutively, and at the same time, FAUC enters its 2nd form while the missile launcher and hand grenade are purged. Each booster has a slow traveling speed, but creates a huge explosion at the point of impact. FAUC itself moves by around 3 to 4 units-spacing worth during the maneuver. You can cancel this into 2nd form’s A, AB, AC and all melee.
Since the booster is disconnected in the opposite direction to the movement of the unit (The booster will be ejected to the side of the activation point), it will take some practice to hit this in the close range. If you can aim accurately on where to drop your boosters, you can aim to divide the enemy with the resulting explosion. Similar to Gottrlatan’s CS, the subsequent blast also induces an explosion, and if the 1st booster is shot down after being launched, the other booster will most likely disappear so be careful. The boosters will not be affected by your own attacks, so you can’t shoot to trigger it like in the anime.
You can aim to drive the opponent into the explosion with a beam or hit the opponent while they try to escape from the explosion. Also, note that the cancel timing is near the end of purging, so don’t try canceling too early.
Melee: Hand Grenade
Shoots the hand grenades inside the bazooka. You can fire a minimum of 2 shots per click, and up to 6 shots can be fired by pressing and holding the button. Even if you shoot with your back facing the opponent, you will be able to fire the grenade without turning around. The projectiles will curve 180-degrees and track towards the opponent. This reloads on empty, taking 5 seconds to reload back to full.
If you press the button during your A, AB, or charged shot input, it will consume the ammo of the hand grenade and fire. In this situation, you can fire anywhere between 1-4 shots.
Melee Set
2B: Shield Tackle
A one-stage melee attack. FAUC tackles the enemy with its shield. The rush speed and reach on this are not good, but the startup and priority are excellent, and most melee attacks including those with strong priority and strong startup can be unilaterally destroyed by this.
Although it is a strong self-defense option, it can easily end in a whiff unless it makes proper contact with the opponent. This can be canceled from CSB and also to BC only when you hit a target (Enemy, Ally or even destructible obstacle). It’s recommended that you follow up with A or AB after hitting with this melee attack.
FAUC (2nd Form) Ability Details
After purging various armaments from its 1st form and entering its 2nd form, FAUC becomes an all-rounder unit. With its wide range of shooting tools including its machine gun Main and fast-downing Sub, FAUC in its 2nd form does its best work in shootouts. Its melee attacks are pretty standard and deal poor damage, and also lack derivatives to cancel into. Its mobility is pretty average overall, and its red lock range is also shorter than it was in the 1st form, but still average for a 3000 cost all-rounder.
This is the form best suited for mid-range battles. However if you are unable to hit your AC gerobi the value you get out of this MS severely drops, and it also has poor melee performance overall, making this arguably FAUC’s weakest form. It plays and feels like a weaker Sinanju. However, this form still has its uses, and you can take advantage of an enemy’s wariness of you activating your pressure and entering your 3rd form.
Ranged Weapons
Main: Beam Gatling Gun
Although the command is different, it has the same performance as the 1st form’s Sub, but it’s easier to use overall due to the 2nd form’s higher mobility. However, please note that the ammo is shared with the 1st form’s Sub so if you have used quite an amount before going into 2nd form, do not go in mindlessly with a near empty Main weapon. Reloads in 5 seconds on empty, same as with the 1st form.
Able to cancel to AB, AC and BC.
Charged Main: Beam Magnum
2-second charge time. Fires a one-shot down beam magnum while remaining stationary. Due to the nature of the Main, it is possible to charge this while firing the Main. The startup is moderate but the traveling speed and tracking are excellent, and the inertia inheritance prior to firing is good. The muzzle correction is poor, making this a little uncomfortable to use in close proximity. It’s recommended that you use this to put pressure on the opponent after hitting with the Main shot or as landing punishment.
Sub: Hyper Bazooka
Fires two hyper bazookas. The performance changes accordingly to the input. Both shooting styles consume 2 ammo per shot but if it is canceled out of during the animation, it is possible to fire out only one shot. This reloads on empty, taking 5 seconds to reload all 6 shots.
5AB: Stationary Firing
Fires two bazookas while remaining stationary. A direct hit deals 90 damage and the following explosion deals 20 damage. When used from a cancel route, the direct hit deals 82 damage ( 70 damage for bazooka, 15 damage for explosion). Able to cancel to 4/6AB and BC. There is no cancel route from 5AB to 5AB.
*AB: Rolling Firing
Moves about 2~3 units worth of spacing after input, and fires one shot from each bazooka at the start of the rolling animation and the end of the rolling animation. A direct hit deals 80 damage and the explosion deals 20 damage. When used as a cancel route, the direct hit deals 77 damage ( 70 damage for bazooka, 15 damage for explosion). The animation is quick and the tracking is good so it is easy to handle. The second shot makes it easy to get around a shielding opponent.
Special Shooting: Mega Beam Launcher
A thin gerobi that can be maneuvered which deals a Forced Down in 10 hits. The startup, traveling speed, and bending speed of the beam is fast, but the muzzle correction is bad. It reloads quickly (6 seconds) so it would be good to use it often wherever you can, such as following up after hitting with the Main shot or for landing punishment.
It is also possible to bend the gerobi to catch enemy movement, or as a surface suppressing tool by bending it sideways. The down value and damage efficiency are excellent, and the damage is great even if you barely touch the target. This is something you can use to great effect even in green lock.
This can be canceled from the 1st form’s *BC. The main objective of this cancel route is to drive the opponent into the explosion with the gerobi or aim with the gerobi to hit opponents who are trying to escape from the explosion. Also take note that the cancel timing is near the end of purging, and make sure that you do not use this on the front line or in close proximity.
Special Melee: Psycho Frame Resonance
Releases pressure which stuns enemies while going into the 3rd form. There is no super armor or damage on the purge, but it is extremely effective against incoming opponents or as an okizeme. This also has a funnel-jacking effect. Since it can be canceled from A, CSA and AB, it can also be used for immediate interception.
Take note that this is ineffective against omnidirectional shooting guards such as Nu Gundam’s funnel barrier. Even if you do not score a hit with this weapon, you will still enter into the 3rd form.
After deploying the aura, the shield funnels will fire their beam gatling guns continuously at the enemy and charge at it. Due to this property, if you want to use the pressure to start a combo, unless you have moved the opponent some distance or skillfully changed target before the pressure, you will be interrupted by your own shields. During the shield funnel attack after activation, the 3rd form’s special movement can be used.
The startup is fast and can be followed up by the shield funnel’s attack, so it is best to use it to crush opponents who are in Burst. Think carefully about whether to use this immediately and rampage in the 3rd form, or to stop the opponent’s attack with this and then counterattack.
Melee Set
5B: Beam Saber
A basic 3-stage combo with average performance and slightly high damage.
8B: Knee Attack & Hand Grenade
Launches the enemy with a knee attack and fires 3 leg grenades. When the knee connects, the grenade will come out automatically. They will come out even if you score a forced-down with the knee, but the range for the grenades is very short so they will self-destruct immediately.
There is no cut resistance and there is a forced PoV switch, but the 1st stage startup and priority are good. This is highly reliable move, and can be used as a surprise attack when performed from the separation of the first booster. The rigidity after firing grenades is short, so it can be linked to other melee combos without using derivatives or cancel routes. A Main shot can be linked from the start of the grenade launch.
8B/2B~A: Beam Magnum
Fires the beam magnum after launching the target up. It is treated as a ranged attack so you are unable to rainbow step out of this combo. Using this you are able to score a quick down with moderate damage.
2B: Slash Up
Simply hits the opponent up into the sky. Shooting derivation is similar to 8B~A. Good to use if you are aiming for a quick down.
CC8B: Kick>Tackle>Thrust
A 3 stage combo. This melee combo has the 2nd longest reach out of all your combos so it is easy to use for following up after hitting with your Main shot.
FAUC (3rd Form) Ability Details
FAUC’s final form. In this form FAUC’s psycho frame glows green and it is surrounded by its 3 shield funnels. FAUC can boost dash consecutively up to 8 times in this form, and has excellent rising speed and general mobility. Much like the original Unicorn’s NT-D mode, this form is built for close-range combat.
The general playstyle of this form is pressuring the enemy with Main and BC, and then using the ~BC barrel roll derivative to close in on the enemy. This is the form you’ll want to be in when using your Burst.
This is the form that is best suited for taking the front role, and FAUC does it well. Compared to other close-range units like Quanta or Master, FAUC doesn’t have any good shooting attacks to link into melee combos, so it’s important to corner opponents through clever schemes or make the right reads in order to land your hits.
While this form is less effective in the mid range than the 2nd form, the purging maneuvers and attacks of the 1st and 2nd form are simply too good to pass on using, so aiming to forego on using this form is not a feasible strategy. This form has really good mobility both for escaping and chasing down enemies, so sometimes it makes sense to purge straight into this form.
Ranged Weapons
Main: Vulcan
Head vulcan. The bullets are blue and look like beams but are physical shots. Fires 6 shots per click and is able to fire out a maximum of 20 shots. Although not as good as the beam gatling gun, it has excellent tracking and elasticity at close to mid range. If the target is behind FAUC, FAUC will not turn around and shoot, instead firing at the direction that you are currently facing if it is out of shooting angle. Reloads on empty, taking 5 seconds to reload back to full.
This can be canceled into AB and AC. Like the GP02, you can’t do a cancel route by holding the Main button so be sure to press the fire button repeatedly when shooting the vulcan. This weapon has a fast rate of fire and causes a quick stagger, and it works better than weak machine guns when chasing an escaping opponent on a flat surface. It is also good at close proximity but always keep the limited firing angle in mind. The rigidity after firing a click is very short, so you can immediately input your melee combo after as if its a cancel route. The stagger caused by the vulcan hits might be too short for you to follow up with AB, so following up with your CC8B melee might be a better option.
Since the shooting angle is narrow and the down value is low, it is impossible to rely on this alone for long-distance combat. Fight at mid to close range while utilizing all of your weapons.
Sub: Beam Magnum
FAUC fires the beam magnum while remaining stationary. The reload time is a little long (7 seconds), but the single-shot damage is high. So if you feel like the opponent is coming at you while you are doing a melee combo, you can consider ending the combo quickly with this weapon. When used with the funnel shield available, the shield will be deployed in front of the unit when you fire the beam magnum, and the shield is able to block incoming ranged attacks. This weapon is often useful in shooting battles and is an offensive and defense option.
However, hit stop is incurred when enemies hit the shield, causing FAUC to delay its shot. So it is not compatible to counter gerobis with a long firing time and machine guns with long firing intervals + quick stagger. Immediately after firing the beam magnum, it is possible to cancel into your ~BC special movement. It can also be used to chase the opponent and to launch a surprise attack. Also, you can do a safe landing by doing AB~BC~A. But take note that this derivative is not possible when you are in Overheat.
Special Shooting: Banshee Norn Assist
Banshee Norn appears to the left of FAUC and fires the beam magnum. A psycho field occurs between Unicorn and Banshee Norn but it is only a visual object and has no function in the game. This can be canceled into A and AB or the ~BC special movement. Takes 6 seconds to reload.
It is hard to rely on Banshee Norn’s shot to hit as the startup prior to firing is slow and muzzle correction is weak, but since Norn still fires off the beam magnum even if you boost dash out of the animation, it provides some nice cover fire. You can aim for a simultaneous hit if you cancel into AB at the right time, but it is difficult to execute this unless you practice a lot.
You can perform a freefall by canceling into AC~A, and even if your back is facing the opponent while you are doing this cancel route, you will still be able to freefall since the Main shot does not cause your unit to turn around in the first place.
When viewed as a means to cancel to the special movement, it is superior to AB because it can be canceled immediately after the summon.
Special Melee: Funnel Shield
An all-range attack that simultaneously deploys 3 shields to attack the target. Performance changes accordingly to input. Both kinds of input are able to cancel into the special movement. Although it is a Unicorn weapon, it is affected by any opponent’s Psycommu Jack. If your shields are jacked, they will not come back for a while but you are able to use the special movement as much as you want during that period of time. The weapon ammo gauge turns red during a melee combo but this has no specific effect. This takes 13 seconds to reload on empty.
There are 2 types of inputs available for this weapon:
5BC: Funnel Shield (Gatling)
FAUC stages the shields above the opponent’s head and fires gatling guns in the order of front>shoot facing right>shoot facing left. Although it is a gatling type, it seems that the muzzle correction is only applied on the 1st shot coming from each funnel. The performance is close to sending 3 regular funnels. Like other generic machine gun weapons, it takes several shots to stagger the opponent. The range limit is longer than that of *BC and since it fires beam gatling shots after reaching the opponent, it is effective against opponents who move around often.
*BC: Funnel Shield (Assault)
Sticks to the side of the opponent and charges in after a delay. Deals a Down if all shields hits. It is similar to the assault-type funnels of other units. The range is short but the overall performance is excellent because it closely follows the opponent’s movement. This input can be considered as the main setup play for this unit. Even if you hit the enemy directly with every shield, it will not incur a Forced Down so you can still follow up with your melee or AB.
Special Melee Derivation: Special Movement
A barrel roll. You can use this in one of two scenarios: when canceling from BC (must have at least 1 BC ammo remaining), or when canceling from AB, AC, or BC. 5BC makes you dash straight at the enemy, where *BC makes you dash towards the left or right of the enemy, depending on your input. At the end of the animation, you can cancel to A, AB, AC or any melee. By canceling to A, you will land smoothly at an angle while firing your vulcans.
The boost efficiency on this move is very good, it consumes as much boost as one boost dash, and the overall movement is quick. Although it is mainly used to pursue opponents, it can also be used for escaping by dashing towards a secondary target, fleeing from the primary target.
Melee Set
While FAUC is a close-range unit, its 4/6B’s priority and damage output is rather low, which really puts a damper on your overall effectiveness in melee combat. You have 5B and 2B for lengthy, high-damage combos, and the ~BC melee derivative for dealing big damage as well. Overall FAUC’s melee performance in this form allows it to go toe-to-toe with other melee units.
5B: Beam Saber/Beam Tonfa
A 5-stage melee combo that uses beam saber and beam tonfa. There is a change in viewpoint after the 3rd stage. Forced down on the last stage.
The reach, priority and startup of this move are good, to the extent that it is able to be compared with Master Gundam’s 4/6B. The damage efficiency of the second half is good, and it is more powerful to use this melee combo as it is rather than canceling out of it. However, the cut resistance on this combo is poor so you would like to cancel out of this combo if you notice your second opponent closing in on you.
8B: Thrust
A 4-stage combo that ends with an Untechable Down. The startup and priority on this are good, and its performance is comparable to Gundam Deathscythe Hell and Master Gundam’s 4/6B. One of the recommended melee attacks to use after the special movement. During Fighting Burst, the stab performance becomes even better. You can do a back rainbow step after the end of the combo to have a better chance of following up.
4/6B: Slash Up>Wrap Around
A 2-stage melee. After slashing with the beam tonfa, Unicorn wraps around the opponent’s back to the direction of your input and launches the opponent up with the beam tonfa. Both the startup and reach are excellent, you may be unable to win against the 4/6B of melee-based units but you will have no problem beating out the melee of all-rounder units.
The damage efficiency is not so good, but it works well as a quick finish and it has good cut resistance. You can use the wraparound curve on the dash-in in conjunction with your ~BC barrel roll to move in tricky ways. If you want to follow up with your AB at the end of the melee combo, it is recommended that you cancel by sidestepping to the front instead of canceling to the side to have a higher chance of hitting the target. It is impossible to follow up with AC.
2B: Strikes & Tonfa Spin(3 Hit)> Overhead Kick
A 4-stage combo that spins the tonfa for a moment and hits 3 times before delivering an overhead kick with a Bounce Down attribute on the final stage. Although you will remain stationary until the end of the melee combo, it has good damage efficiency and also has a good reach and rush speed. Another recommended melee to use after the special movement.
However, do note that this attack sequence has almost no cut resistance, so only use it when you’re certain you won’t get cut. Either that or sidestep out and hit the enemy with an AB shot to quickly down it if trouble comes your way.
CC8B: Jump Slash>Slash-through
A 2-stage melee where FAUC leaps at the target. Both the 1st and 2nd stage are composed of multiple hits. At the 1st stage, the reach is excellent and the unit jumps up while approaching so it is possible to avoid a BR shot coming at you. Unfortunately you cannot cancel into this from the ~BC barrel roll. It can be used as a high-efficiency combo part by following up with AB at the end of the melee combo.
BC Derivation: Soft Chest Touch
A melee that can be derived from any stage of melee combos except from the last stage. After 5 consecutive hits of shoken x2> hand sword> penetration x2, Unicorn pierces the enemy with both hands and finally pours “Warm light” from both palms into the opponent, making the target explode internally.
The cut resistance of this combo is low but the damage dealt is extremely high. However, depending on the combo selection, the opponent may be knocked down in the middle of the melee combo. The last explosion deals multiple hits and if you can cancel it before a full hit, you can make the opponent float in a non-forced down state so you can follow up for more damage with AB, your Burst Attack, etc.
Burst Attack
Beyond The Rainbow
Does a friendship attack with Banshee Norn and finally ends with a double beam magnum shot. The 1st stage has super armor. It does not move much until the 2nd slash, and it has low cut resistance but high damage. This Burst attack can be used in all forms, and if you use it in your 1st or 2nd form you will instantly purge into the 3rd form.
The overall DPS is average given the length of the animation, but it is worthwhile to recognize it as an option to turn the tide around because of it’s super armor.
The last beam magnum shot is considered as a ranged-attack, so be mindful that it can be stopped by shooting guards. Like with your AB, the shields are deployed at the beam magnum shooting animation and provide you with shooting guards. So depending on the timing, you might be able to block an incoming shot.
Strategies
- As mentioned in the summary, this unit is a melee-based unit that can engage in shooting battles if necessary. If you feel that you should be using melee to pressure the opponent, use the booster to charge in and purge straight into the 3rd form to apply pressure.
- Try not to maintain in the 1st form for too long as this form does not apply much pressure on the opponent and you might have a higher chance of dying after your partner since you will be at the back most of the time.
- Even if you have more mobility in the 2nd form, you will likely be outmatched when going up against other 3000 cost units. It’s okay to stay in this form if you feel that you are dealing damage often, but if you feel like you are getting nothing out of this form then be prepared to purge when needed.
- As the 3rd form will be the one you should be in most of the time, F Burst is recommended.
- Do not rush in like a monkey in the 3rd form. Instead use your cancel routes to slowly close in while recovering your boost to be prepared for a rainbow step war.
Recommended Combos
3rd Form Combos
| Ranged Weapons | ||
| A(6hit)~AB | 134 | May not link depending on the distance |
| A(6hit)~AC~AB | 180 | May not link depending on the distance |
| AC~AB | 174 | |
| *BC(3 hits)>>2BBBB | 240 | |
| *BC(3hits)>>5B~BC | 282 | |
| *BC(3hits)>>CC8BB>AB | 230 | |
| Melee | ||
| 5BBBB~BC | 296 | |
| 5BB>4/6BB>AB | 231 | |
| 8BBB>AB | 246 | 8B starter BnB |
| 8BBB>>CC8BB>AB | 266 | |
| 8BB~BC | 282 | |
| 4/6BB>4/6BB | 212 | Fast combo, but low damage |
| 4/6B>4/6BB>AB | 216 | |
| 4/6B~BC | 271 | |
| 2BBB~BC | 315 | Dream |
| 2BBBB>AB | 286 | |
| CC8B~BC | 287 | |
| CC8BB>AB | 201 | Low damage but fast and safe |
| CC8BB>CC8BB>AB | 250 | |