| Model Number: ZGMF-X56S | Pilot: Lunamaria Hawke |
| Cost: 2000 Hp: 580 Transform: X Form Change: O | |
After Shinn Asuka acquired the Destiny Gundam, Lunamaria Hawke took over as the pilot of the Impulse Gundam. Together with Rey Za Burrel in the Legend Gundam, the trio entered the Battle of Messiah and took on the battleship Eternal and its Mobile Suit envoys.
Force Impulse Ability Summary
| Ranged | Armament | Ammo | DMG | Notes |
| Main | Beam Rifle | 7 | 70 | Standard BR |
| Charged Main | Beam Rifle (Reflect) | – | 50/85 | Reflects a BR shot off a thrown shield. Dmg indicates shield/BR |
| Sub | Body Split | 1 | 70~119 | Splits torso and legs, fires up to 2x BR |
| Special Shooting | Swap Silhouette Pack | – | – | 4AC: Blast 6AC: Sword |
| Pack Swap: Kerberos Recoil Shot | (2) | 130 | 2AC: Swaps to Blast, fires Kerberos with heavy recoil. Shares ammo with Blast Impulse Main. |
|
| Burst Attack | Destiny Gundam Summon | 227(F) / 206(E & S) | Explodes when destroyed |
| Melee | Input | DMG | Notes |
| 5B | 5BBB | 141 | |
| 5BB~ 8B | 140 | Resistant to interrupts | |
| 5BB | 110 | Stop all input after 5BB for this autocombo | |
| 8B | 8B | 117 | High priority |
| 4/6B | 4/6BBB | 112 | Go-to melee |
| 2B | 2B | 70 | Inflicts Down with 1 hit |
| CC8B | CC8B | 121 | |
| 8AC | 8AC | 85 | Swaps to Sword for a stab attack |
| BC | BC | 75 | Jump melee |
Cancel Routes:
A: AB, AC
CSA: AB, all AC, BC
AB: all AC
Any melee (except BC) during Force: 8AC, 2AC
Pack swap cancel routes (applicable to all forms)
5AC: Force’s AB
6AC: Sword’s A
4AC: Blast’s 2B
8AC (on hit): Sword’s any melee except CC8B and 8AC
Sword Impulse Ability Summary
| Ranged | Armament | Ammo | DMG | Notes |
| Main | Flash Edge | 1 | 15~80 | Throws 2 at once |
| Sub | Beam Rifle (Rapid) | 3 | 60 ~ 126 | Fires up to 3 shots by pressing A |
| Special Shooting | Swap Silhouette Pack | – | – | 4AC: Blast 5AC: Force |
| Pack Swap: Kerberos recoil Shot | (2) | 130 | 2AC: Swaps to Blast, fires Kerberos with heavy recoil | |
| Burst Attack | Destiny Gundam Summon | 227(F) / 206(E & S) | Explodes when destroyed |
| Melee | Input | DMG | Notes |
| 5B | 5BBB | 176 | High damage |
| 5BB~8B | 172 | Slash-through | |
| 8B | 8B | 75 | Bounce |
| 4/6B | 4/6BB | 134 | Go-to melee outside of BC |
| 2B | 2B | 71 | |
| CC8B | CC8BB | 178 | Multi-hit on the last stage |
| 8AC | 8AC | 85 | Stab |
| BC | BC | 101 | Shoryuken |
Cancel Routes:
Any melee: 2AC
5B(B), 4/6B, 2B, CC8B(B): BC
Any part of BC: 8B
Pack swap cancel routes (applicable to all forms)
5AC: Force’s AB
6AC: Sword’s A
4AC: Blast’s 2B
8AC (on hit): Sword’s any melee except CC8B and 8AC
Blast Impulse Ability Summary
| Ranged | Armament | Ammo | DMG | Notes |
| Main | Kerberos | 2 | 130 | Fires a pair of thick beams |
| Charged Main | Kerberos (Gerobi) | – | 20~220 | Can be swept around |
| Sub | Hyper-Velocity Rail Cannon | 2 | 100 | Fast railgun |
| Special Shooting | Swap Silhouette Pack | – | – | 6AC: Sword 5AC: Force |
| Kerberos Recoil Shot | (2) | 130 | Fires Kerberos with heavy recoil | |
| Melee | Quadruple Missile Launcher | 24 | 25~50 | Fires 2 missiles, doesn’t vernier |
| BC | Quadruple Missile Launcher (Full Salvo) | 18~123 | Fires 8 missiles, verniers. Better than default B missiles | |
| 2B | Beam Javelin | – | 40 | Stuns |
| Burst Attack | Destiny Gundam Summon | 227(F) / 206(E & S) | Explodes when destroyed |
| Melee | Input | DMG | Notes |
| 8AC | 8AC | 85 | Swaps to Sword for a stab attack |
Cancel Routes:
A: AB, 4/5/6 AC
AB: any AC
2B: 4/5/6 AC
BC: any AC
Pack swap cancel routes (applicable to all forms)
5AC: Force’s AB
6AC: Sword’s A
4AC: Blast’s 2B
8AC (on hit): Sword’s any melee except CC8B and 8AC
Overview
A downgraded version of the Impulse piloted by Shinn, with numerous nerfs in performance to all 3 forms. In particular, the great increase in boost consumption on Force’s pyonkaku and the heavy proration added on attacks performed after form switching really hurt, and one must ask him/herself if all the heavy nerfs warrants the 500 cost reduction. The answer is a resounding no— the loss in power is not proportionate to the drop in cost.
While Shinn’s Impulse can be played as a unit that cycles between its options freely, Luna’s Impulse has to be played as a unit that picks a form based on the current situation. If you try to play Luna’s Impulse in the same way you would with Shinn’s, you’ll be taking on risks that are not worth the returns, and you will for sure end up losing the damage race. Your only playstyle option is using Force and Blast for support, while using Sword for sneak attacks or self defense.
Nerfs from Shinn’s Impulse to Luna’s Impulse
All Forms
- Cost down from 2500 to 2000
- HP down from 620 to 580
- Mobility down
- 8AC: Cancel proration added
- 2AC: Damage from 150 to 130
- Burst Attack: Changes to a Destiny Gundam Assist
Force
- Red lock range reduced from 7.2 to 7 squares
- Main ammo from 8 to 7 shots, damage reduced by 5
- CSA charge time from 1.5 seconds to 3
- Sub reload time from 9 to 10 seconds
- Melee damage reduced
- BC boost consumption from 20% to 40%
Sword
- Red lock range from 6.5 to 6.2 squares
- Main range lowered, startup increased
- Sub reload time from 4 to 5 seconds
- Melee damage reduced
Blast
- Red lock range from 8.5 to 7.8 squares
- Main damage from 150 to 130, reload time from 8 to 9 seconds
- Sub damage from 130 to 110
- Melee input missiles ammo from 24 to 16
Force Impulse Ability Details
Unlike the original, you will have to swap packs more often and not just stay in Force. While you still have pyonkaku and AB, the standard BR and pack swap attacks won’t be enough. The reduced boost and lack of cancel route into BC also greatly limits your ability to monkey around.
Ranged Weapons
Main: Beam Rifle
Standard BR that reloads continuously at 3sec/ammo. You’ll be using this a lot as your own non-vernier weapon so don’t spam it too much. This reloads faster compared to Shinn’s BR.
Charged Main: Beam Rifle (Reflect)
3-second charge time. Impulse throws a shield and fires a BR at it which reflects the beam at the target. 5CSA will throw the shield directly forward, while 4/6 will throw the shield towards the input direction. The beam’s speed after reflecting off the shield is faster than your Main’s, but the tracking doesn’t keep up as a result. Hitting the shield itself does 50 dmg and the beam does 90. This move inherits inertia prior to the attack, and the shield works like a boomerang which can penetrate certain shooting guards and assists, like The O’s AC. You can guard even if you have thrown out your shield (assuming you boost dash before the BR shot). You can also cancel into other moves before the BR shot. The shield itself also can be destroyed.
Use 4/6CSA to make the beam reflect off into your target’s blind spot to land a hit. The beam can reflect to any direction, even directly below and above the shield. The muzzle correction and startup on this shot is good enough to make it viable as a self-defence tool in the close range. This is an important tool for messing up your opponent’s camera by using BC to jump over your target then firing CSA, before linking into other cancel routes.
Sub: Body Split
Splits the torso and leg parts, with the torso flying upwards while firing a BR shot. Hold A to fire once more. Takes 9 seconds to reload. Each shot does 40 damage when canceling from another move. After splitting, your hurtboxes are on the torso and legs separately. Impulse will get an instance of yellow lock during the split, and any incoming projectiles fired at you prior to the body split will target your last position before the split. Use this to dodge standard BRs and some thin attacks. Know your enemies well to be aware of what you can dodge with this move. This move will also help you to down enemies without wasting your Main ammo.
Special Shooting:Swap Silhouette Pack
Same move in all 3 forms. Impulse verniers to transform into its other packs. You can even ‘transform’ into your current pack as a cancel route.
5AC:Force Silhouette
6AC: Sword Silhouette
4AC:Blast Silhouette
8AC: Sword Silhouette with a Excalibur Stab
2AC:Blast Silhouette with a Kerberos recoil shot
Down Special Shooting: Pack Swap-Kerberos Recoil Shot
Swaps to Blast and fires the Kerberos while moving backwards slightly. If done when you have no Kerberos ammo, you’ll transform but nothing will be fired. Great to cancel into this move as a combo ender for the damage and the instant down. For details of the projectile, check the Blast Impulse section.
Melee Set
5BBB: Beam Saber
PoV change on the third stage. Low down value and long animation on the second stage. Average melee with okay startup but fast swing speed.
5BB~8B:Somersault>Slash-through
PoV change. Launches high, and the slash-through action is very nimble. Impulse dashes slightly downwards if used at at a certain distance off the ground. This does the least damage of all your 3-stage combos but it is the standard derivative finisher from 5B.
5BB:Cleave
A very unique melee. By not inputting the final 5B, Impulse will auto combo into an untechable cleave. The 8B derivative is arguably better so there’s not much of a reason to use this.
8B: Stab>Cleave
A multi-hit stab into a cleave. Launches the target slightly upwards and away, making it hard to combo into another melee attack. Good priority, but the startup is average.
4/6BBB: Diagonal Slash
Launches on the second stage. Your go-to melee for Force Impulse with its good curve, startup, and priority. The launch makes it not suitable to combo into 4/6B again.
2B: Shield Uppercut
Launches. Instantly inflicts Regular Down on the target. Use this to force your target’s all-range attacks to be canceled. Low priority.
CC8B: Slash-through
Cleaves, then follows up with a slash-through. The startup is decent, and the slash-through has good cut resistance. Only inflicts a regular down, so follow up with another move after hitting this.
Special Melee: Jump Slash
Jumps up and forward extremely quickly and slashes downwards. Bounces on hit, does not have landing property and the downwards movement speed is slow. The initial movement is fast and the hitbox appears quickly too, allowing for clashes against sneak attacks. Cancel into CSA when above your target to attack them from their blindspot. However you consume boost throughout the whole animation.
However, this move costs a whopping 40% of your boost gauge to perform. If you use it as a combo part you are almost certainly going into Overheat. Use it only in dire situations or when the time is right, if any.
8AC: Pack Swap: Excalibur Stab
Transforms to Sword Impulse and dashes forward with the Excalibur raised for a multi-hit melee attack. The reach is not that great and the dash speed is also only average. However it has good priority and startup, and is suitable for intercepting incoming melee attacks. However this has damage proration when canceled into, so follow up combos may end up dealing less damage than you might hope for.
Burst Attack
Destiny Gundam Summon
Similar to Gunner Zaku’s Burst attack. Summons the Destiny Gundam who flies forward at the target and performs a multi-hit stab. If Impulse shoots Destiny, a big explosion will occur. The Destiny summon has terrifying travel speed and tracking. If your target isn’t paying attention this attack will hit very easily.
Sword Impulse Ability Details
The melee-centric form that will be the source of most of your damage. The downside is that Sword Impulse has terrible boost efficiency, and only has a boomerang as a reliable ranged attack. Try not to stay in this form for too long as you’ll be vulnerable to being out-ranged.
Ranged Weapons
Main:Flash Edge
Throws 2 boomerangs forward. Reloads in 1.5 sec after the boomerangs returns. Causes vernier, but the boomerangs’ hitboxes are big and but has a slight startup. The range of the boomerangs is shorter compared to Shinn’s Impulse, and the startup is slower as well. However you can still use this for starting combos and intercepting attacks.
Sub:Beam Rifle (Rapid)
Verniers to fire the Beam Rifle. Press A to fire up to 3 shots in total. Reloads constantly at 4 sec/ammo, and has weaker tracking compared to a regular BR. You only get muzzle correction on the first shot, so if your target performs a cut-tracking move after your first shot, the 2nd and 3rd shot won’t track anymore. Due to this, there will be times where the 1st shot hits but the 2nd and 3rd won’t. You can opt to cancel out after the first hit, then fire 2 more after confirming a hit.
Special Shooting:Swap Silhouette Pack
Same move in all 3 forms. Impulse verniers to transform into its other packs. You can even ‘transform’ into your current pack as a cancel route.
5AC:Force Silhouette
6AC: Sword Silhouette
4AC:Blast Silhouette
8AC: Sword Silhouette with a Excalibur Stab
2AC:Blast Silhouette with a Kerberos recoil shot
Pack Swap: Kerberos Recoil Shot
Swaps to Blast and fires the Kerberos while moving backwards slightly. If done when you have no Kerberos ammo, you’ll transform but nothing will be fired. Great to cancel into this move as a combo ender for the damage and the instant down. For details of the projectile, check the Blast Impulse section.
Melee Set
5B: Excalibur
Standard 3-stage melee, with the last stage being a multi-hit. Doesn’t have good reach nor startup. Does good damage, so try to use this as after a hit confirm.
5BB~8B: Slash-through
Launches the target directly upwards into an untechable down. Possible choice of a cancel route when you are out of boost.
8B: Cross Slam
Fast startup with average reach. Bounces on hit. High damage, and one of your combo enders as the bounce allows you to stall for time or to follow up with another attack.
4/6B: Cleave
Swings a sword downwards vertically despite being a side melee, thus this attack won’t hit enemies coming from the side by accident or if the target steps to the side. However the parameters for the first stage are on the same level as a melee-centric unit.
2B: Upswing
Upswing that does 2 hits. If you are intending to cancel this into BC you’ll need to be quick with the input.
CC8B: Slash-through
Out of all of Sword’s melee attacks this has the best dash speed and reach, but low priority. Forced PoV on the last stage. Doesn’t track well vertically.
8AC: Excalibur Stab
Impulse dashes forward with the Excalibur raised for a multi-hit melee attack. The reach is not that great and the dash speed is also only average. However it has good priority and startup, and is suitable for intercepting incoming melee attacks. The down value and proration are also low, allowing for big damage on follow up combos. Cancel this early for even more damage by getting less heavy proration.
BC: Excalibur Shoryuken
A multi-hit rising attack that pushes both you and the target upwards. On whiff, Impulse will only dash forward and spin on the spot without going upwards. Good dash speed, tracking, and reach. This is also useful as a movement tool for Sword who has low mobility. You can even close in on enemies by using this move, then sidestep and boomerang for extra pressure. This move can’t be easily interrupted due to the fast upward movement, but it consumes a lot of boost.
While you can cancel this from almost all of your melee attacks, this will easily miss if the previous melee inflicts Regular Down. It also tends to miss when near a wall. On hit, you can cancel into 8B at any time. Your typical combo will be BC~8B~2AC for lots of damage plus launching the target away.
Burst Attack
Destiny Gundam Summon
Similar to Gunner Zaku’s Burst attack. Summons the Destiny Gundam who flies forward at the target and performs a multi-hit stab. If Impulse shoots Destiny, a big explosion will occur. The Destiny summon has terrifying travel speed and tracking. If your target isn’t paying attention this attack will hit very easily.
Blast Impulse Ability Details
The artillery form of Impulse and has a longer red lock range than the other two forms.Most attacks cause verniers which makes it dangerous for your boost. The slow reload time of your Main also means you can’t stay in this form long. Despite being the ranged form of Impulse, the red lock isn’t nearly long enough to make it viable as a dedicated long-range attacker.
Ranged Weapons
Main: Kerberos
Fires a pair of thick beams. Impulse inherits a good amount of inertia prior to firing, and the attack itself has decent startup, a fast projectile speed, but sub-par tracking. This can be fired while grounded. Constant reload at 8sec/ammo. Each beam has an individual hitbox, and will knock the target away if only 1 shot hits. Forced Down occurs instantly if both beams hit as each beam has a down value of 3.
While this weapon itself is pretty good, the long reload time plus the fact that you would be using this ammo for your 2AC from other forms makes it less desirable as a tool to try and hit raw. Only use this raw for self defense in Blast or when you’re certain you’ll hit. For self defence in Blast, fire A~AB.
Charged Main:Kerberos (Gerobi)
Fires gerobi version of Main that you can sweep around. Has a high sweeping speed, but also has a long charge time of 3 seconds, slow startup, and weak muzzle correction. This can be fired while grounded. Each beam has an individual hitbox. This can be used for okizeme, but note that the full damage is dealt over a longer-than-average period of time.
Sub: Hyper-Velocity Rail Cannon
Verniers to fire a pair of railguns. Reloads on empty after 10 seconds. The projectiles are thin, and the speed isn’t exactly ‘hyper’, but it’s good enough to hit enemies who get staggered in the mid range. The tracking is pretty bad against targets below you. Unlike with your Main, this doesn’t cause an instant down so you can still follow up after. Remember that this is a physical projectile which is effective against ABC Mantles. Compared to a lot of Luna Impulse’s other attacks this one was on the more gentle side of the nerf hammer, so you may end up having to rely on this tool a lot.
Special Shooting: Swap Silhouette Pack
Same move in all 3 forms. Impulse verniers to transform into its other packs. You can even ‘transform’ into your current pack as a cancel route.
5AC:Force Silhouette
6AC: Sword Silhouette
4AC:Blast Silhouette
8AC: Sword Silhouette with a Excalibur Stab
2AC:Blast Silhouette with a Kerberos recoil shot
2AC: Kerberos Recoil Shot
Swaps to Blast and fires the Kerberos while moving backwards slightly. If done when you have no Kerberos ammo, you’ll transform but nothing will be fired. Great to cancel into this move as a combo ender for the damage and the instant down.
Melee: Quadruple Missile Launcher
Fires 1 missile from the launchers mounted on each shoulder. This is a non-vernier move that can be fired while grounded. Shares ammo with BC, and reloads on empty after 18 seconds.. The missiles will be fired as long as Impulse is facing forward in about a 160-degree arc, and the missiles will fire forward in the direction you’re facing before homing towards the target. If Impulse is out of that arc, it will face front before firing. Simply put these properties are similar to that of a Beam Rifle, without the muzzle correction. The tracking on these missiles is much weaker compared to those fired with BC, and can’t be used against incoming melee attacks due to the firing arc.
Blast’s only weapon that doesn’t cause vernier while facing the front. Don’t forget to use this during Shooting Burst for a freefall. Combine this with 2AC to get the backwards movement while free falling.
BC: Quadruple Missile Launcher (Full Salvo)
Impulse verniers to fires 4 pairs of missiles for a total of 8 missiles. Can be fired while grounded, shares ammo with B, and reloads on empty after 18 seconds. Forced Down if all 8 missiles hit. The firing animation for this is slow as Impulse fires the missiles consecutively. The missiles travel in an arc, and thus are unable to hit targets close to you.
Fire this weapon to force your opponent to move. You have plenty of ammo available for this, so you can repeatedly boost dash cancel this move into itself to release the missiles in volleys. Don’t forget to empty the clip with B when you are low on ammo so you can get the reload started. You will be in Blast mostly to fire this and 2AC.
2B:Beam Javelin
Verniers to throw a beam javelin almost directly forward, does not inherit momentum. Unlike the other weapons, Blast will throw this attack out normally while not grounded. The projectile travels slowly so it isn’t reliable even when throwing it out randomly. The startup is also slow, but has somewhat acceptable tracking. It can even destroy missiles coming at you directly from the front.
Melee Set
8AC: Excalibur Stab
Transforms to Sword Impulse and dashes forward with Excalibur raised for a multi-hit melee attack. The reach is not that great and the dash speed is also only average. However it has good priority and start up, suitable for intercepting incoming melee attacks. The down value and proration are also low, allowing for big damage. Cancel this early for even more damage by getting lesser proration.
Burst Attack
Destiny Gundam Summon
Similar to Gunner Zaku’s Burst attack. Summons the Destiny Gundam who flies forward at the target and performs a multi-hit stab. If Impulse shoots Destiny, a big explosion will occur. The Destiny summon has terrifying travel speed and tracking. If your target isn’t paying attention this attack will hit very easily.
Recommended Combos
Force Impulse
| Ranged Weapons | ||
| Input | DMG | Notes |
| A~AB (2 hits) | ||
| A~2AC | ||
| Melee | ||
| 5BB~8AC~5BBB | ||
| 4/6BB~8AC~BC(2/3hit)~8B | ||
| BC~8AC~5BB~8B | ||
Sword Impulse
| Ranged Weapons | ||
| Input | DMG | Notes |
| A>>5BB~8B>2AC | ||
| A>>BC~8B | ||
| A>>BC>BC~8B | ||
| Melee | ||
| 5BBB>BC~2AC | ||
| 5BB~8B>2AC | ||
| 4B>5BB~8B~2AC | ||
| 4/6BB>BC>2AC | ||
| BC>5BB~8B>2AC | ||
| BC~8B~BC | ||
| 8AC~5BB~8B>2AC | ||
| 8AC~5BBB>BC(1hit)>2AC | ||
Strategies
- Unlike the 2500 version, this 2000 watered down Impulse will actually need to use all 3 forms equally to win. Keep swapping and fire off your weapons from each form.
- Once you get the knockdown and in range, swap to Sword for the okizeme using your boomerang. Sword will also allow you to push for massive damage. Close in with Force, and damage with Sword. Once your target escapes out of range, swap back to Force.
- In Blast, you would mostly be using BC missiles to force movement from your opponent or using Main to score knockdowns. The reload on Blast’s Main is long, so manage the ammo well between using it as a combo ender from other forms, or using it like a sniping attack (although Blast’s red lock range isn’t really sufficient to do so regularly).
- At the start of the match or when you’re going very back, use Blast’s CSA for okizeme.