Nightingale 

Model Number: MSN-04II	Pilot:Char Azanable
Cost: 3000 Hp: 680 Transform: X Form Change: X

From the novel Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s counterattack Bertochika’s Children, this takes the place of Sazabi. It’s weapons might seem similar to Sazabi, however, certain weapons and the playstyle of Nightingale differs greatly from it. Unlike sazabi, this suit specialises in medium to long range engagements with its plethora of long range weapons. Being the largest playable suit in the game, you are sure to make your presence felt in any engagement.

Move Summary

Ranged	Armament	Ammo	DMG	Notes
Main	Mega Beam Rifle	8	75	Thick BR
Main link (In burst)	Funnels (deploy)	–	40~80(S) 36~72(F & E)	Deploys 2 funnels and shoots when main is fired
Charged Main	Mega Beam Rifle(Spread shot)	–	28~160	Nearly identical to sazabi’s CSA, Spread shot that travels short but over a wide area
Charged melee	Psycho Doga Call	–	60~108	Summons a psycho Doga assist, will follow you and shoot 2 shots when main is fired
Sub	Funnel	3	30~60	Will surround and follow your target and fire when you fire Main
Special Shooting	Mega Beam Rifle (gerobi)	1	28~226	5AC: Able to sweep the gerobi
	Mega particle Cannon(spread shot)	1	36~204	*AC: The cannon does not track, instead it fires in the direction you are facing
Back melee	Shield Missile	1	87~154	Fires 3 missiles in succession
Burst Attack	Purging light	–	295(S)/267(F & E)	Mega Beam Rifle and Funnels fire multiple gerobis. Super armor on startup

Melee	Input	DMG	Notes
5B	5BB	155	Last hit will cause target to bounce
8B	8B	120	During the charging animation, has shooting guard
4/6B	4/6B	126	Nothing special to note
	4/6BA	231	Summons funnels to shoot 4 times, will chase and cause knockback
CC8B	CC8B	90	One-hit down, note that it is a 360-degree swing
BC	BC	80	Can be cancelled from main
	BC~A	168	Will move back and shoot
	BC~B	194	Will launch target above
	BC~BC	255	Will stay stationary but does high damage

Cancel routes:

A: AB, 2B, BC, AC, *AC (freefall)

*B: CSA (freefall)

2B: CSA (freefall)

CSB: A (freefall) , CSA (freefall)

5B(Any Stage except during the stabbing portion), 4/6B(Any stage), 8B(Any Stage): BC

Overview

The Nightingale Mobile Suit has many ranged weapons which allow it to lay down suppressive fire on its opponents preferably in mid to long range engagements. It is vital for players using this suit to know the use of the lever input AC, as it is a powerful tool for catching targets with the large spread shot. Despite being the largest suit, It does sport some decent mobility despite its size. However, some suits at the same cost are able to out-shoot you, and it is highly discouraged to get into close range with such suits.

Ability Details

Ranged Weapons

Mega Beam Rifle

Fires a very thick BR, roughly the size of V2 Assault’s main. This will be your primary weapon in shooting battles. It has a decent ammo count of 8, but improper use will result in the quick depletion of ammunition. It is recommended you use this in conjunction with your other weapons for economic usage.

Funnel firing during burst with main

During Burst, when the Main is fired, 2 funnels will deploy to the side of Nightingale and fire 2 beams. You can cause a lot of pressure in Burst mode due to this which can quickly result in a massive barrage of beams at your intended target. However, care must be taken not to be too trigger happy as you are still able to fully deplete your main even in shooting burst. It is recommended to go in close with Nightingale and then burst, resulting in a higher hit chance.

Charged Main: Mega Beam Rifle Spread shot

Fires a spread shot similar to a shotgun. Will not cause vernier and fires like a regular BR. Similar to Sazabi, it has low muzzle correction, has a charge time of 1.5s and a single hit from any of the shots will cause your target to stagger. It is good to note that even though individual shots do not cause your targets to down, a target that takes nearly a full hit of the spread shot will cause down. This is very useful in situations where you face suits with super armor as you can potentially cause a 1 hit down. 

It is also important to use the spread shot for freefalls. You can cancel any melee and 2b with CSA, which results in a freefall. It is also a good alternative to using your BR to conserve ammo.

Charged Melee: Psycho Doga assist

Summons a Psycho Doga assist that will follow you. It will fire when you fire your main. 1 hit will do 60dmg and it will shoot 2 times each time. The charging bar will disappear when the psycho doga is present and reappear when the psycho doga leaves. It is important to use this often  assist as it will complement your shooting by helping you to use less shots to pressure your opponents. In some rare cases, you might be able to get the psycho doga to do a cross fire, which is useful against certain suits with assist shields.

Like Sazabi, you are able to cancel CSB into CSA for a freefall, though for Nightingale, a regular main will do. 

Sub: Funnels

Releases 2 funnels per 1 ammo, will track and surround the target. Fires a thin blue beam similar to Sazabi funnel. You are able to release all 3 of the funnels at once by holding the AB. Unlike other funnels, these funnels will surround and stay locked onto the target until the set time expires or when you fire the main.

There is a slight delay between the funnels firing and you firing the main. this is something to take note of when aiming for landings. Do take note that unlike other funnels, obstacles such as buildings, hills, do not obstruct the funnels when they are fired. Take note that you still will face the same issue when you are downed and if you have deployed the funnels. The funnels will return to you and the ammo would have been consumed. Note that during burst, if you fire main which causes the funnels to deploy, you will not be able to use sub. The ammo for the funnels will only start to reload when all 3 ammo has been used and fired.

N Special Shooting: Mega Beam Rifle(Gerobi)

A gerobi that can be curved. It has decent curve and speed, but has poor muzzle correction, thus usually you will cancel it from BR. This gerobi can also be used similar to gunner zaku’s CSA, you can fire in green lock in between your two enemies and curve the beam to one of them.

Lever Special Shooting: Mega particle Cannon (Spread Shot)

Causes Nightingale to fire a Spread shot over a large area in front of it. There is a good bullet density in the spread shot so chances of targets flying through it unscathed is slim. There is NO tracking on this move unlike Sazabi, and it will fire in the direction in which Nightingale is currently facing. It is possible to use it for freefall by sidestepping and using lever input AC to move momentum while free falling. 

The range of the spread shot is up till red lock, but to confirm the hit, it is recommended to get slightly closer to the target.

Back Melee: Shield Missile 

Extremely good long range tracking. It will cause a large explosion when hit, and the explosion is able to do damage and cause a knockdown. You are able to cancel Main into 2B, but this will result in lower damage of the missile. When the missiles are firing, it causes nightingale to recoil backwards. Using CSA after 2B will cause a freefall  with momentum. 2B should be used often due to its high tracking capabilities and is extremely useful for catching overheat targets going to land from a high altitude.

Melee Set

5BB Slash>Stab and Slam

A 3 hit combo that is extremely vulnerable to get interrupted. The last hit will cause the target to bounce, which you can follow up with another 5BB or BC.

8BB Shield bash>tackle

2 hit combo that charges towards your target. Has shooting guard properties in the 1st stage. Use this to block shots from your target and close in for a CSA or 4/6B. It is not possible to do any follow up after the tackle, hence it is recommended to cancel after the shield bash into other melee strings

4/6B horizontal slash>shield bash

2 hit combo that causes a soft knockback to your target. Ideally you would want to follow it up with either A or BC.

4/6B~A horizontal slash>shield bash> funnel juggle

After the 2 hit combo, deploy funnels that will shoot 4 times and cause knockback when they hit. Note that even if the target has for some reason recovered from the knockback from the shield bash, if you deployed the funnels, the funnels will still chase and fire and cause knockback. It is difficult to follow up after the 4th funnel shot. It is recommended that you do another melee combo after the 2nd hit to follow up.

CC8B Spin slash

A straight forward 1 hit down melee, it is a 360 degree hitbox, meaning that if you have anyone who tries to get close to you when you do this move, even from behind, he will get hit as well. This is excellent against foes with super armour as you can instantly do a 1 hit down. 

BC~A  Slash> BR

Has the least chance of being interrupted mid combo as it is a fast 2 hits, and Nightingale moves backwards while shooting. Unable to follow up after.

BC~B Slash>Shield stab and missile

Nightingale stays stationary for the duration, but after the shield stab, fires 3 missiles in quick succession for a down.

BC~BC Slash>grab and Mega Beam Particle Cannon

Nightingale will grab the target, charge and fire its cannon at point blank range. Nightingale will stay stationary for the duration of this move, making it difficult to pull off. However the damage is very high at 255.

Burst attack

Purging light

“This is the end! Know your foolishness!”

Has super armour during the startup. Has 2 stages of start up. In the 1st stage the funnels will deploy in a row and fire gerobis, which stun on hit. In the 2nd stage the mega beam rifle will fire a gerobi. Has a very fast start up which can catch opponents off guard, the funnel deployment into gerobi is extremely fast. Also each stage has its own tracking, meaning if your target cuts the tracking of the 1st stage of the attack, the 2nd stage will still track and fire. This does high damage in shooting burst and provides a strong comeback factor.

Strategies

• Nightingale is best used in the medium to long range, however to get the best mileage of this suit, it should be in the front position. Nightingale has an abundance of cancel routes that should be exploited to get an edge over you opponents.
• As much as possible, Nightingale should not engage in close range melee fights. Its melee capabilities are very unlike Sazabi’s. 
• Take note of your ammo count. As mentioned before, use CSA or CSB to reduce the reliance of using more main ammo.
• Use ab to catch landings, or use it to force enemies to use their boost to evade, then punish them with N AC. Or run them into your lever AC, or use 2B.

Burst Considerations

F burst

Not recommended at all. You have no viable melee strings that you would want to use F burst with. If you pick it please apologise to your partner and buy him a cookie. If you see your opponent pick it, laugh at his demise. In other words, avoid this burst like a plague.

E burst

Does decently well if you are not confident in surviving, as you can get out of sticky situations with a half burst. However if you are looking to do damage, this burst is not for you.

S burst

Highly recommended. In burst you will have 2 additional funnels shooting with your Main. This can cause a huge barrage of lasers going into your opponents. In addition, since pretty much all your offensive tools are range weapons, this is your go to burst for this suit.

Partner Considerations

Partners for Nightingale should be aware of Nightingale’s close range weaknesses and choose a partner that either helps to cover this deficit or choose a partner that is able to keep up the constant range barrage of ranged weaponry.

3000 cost

As with the other 3000 costs suits, this is not a good pair to have, and usually happens in shuffle. But if you find yourself in a situation due to shuffle, you should stay back and let your other 3000 partner take the front position.

2500 cost

Recommended cost. Many of the suits in this cost are able to keep up with Nightingale and also be able to compliment your shooting or help you when an opponent closes in on you.

Noteable suits: Z, ZZ, Age-2 Dark hound, Strike Noir

2000 cost

While you are able to have some cost stability with a 2000 cost partner, the difference in mobility will become an issue, hence in some cases they might not be able to support Nightingale properly.

1500 cost

Not recommended. As Nightingale’s mobility will outperform almost if not all of the suits in this cost range, it is very unlikely that they will be able to properly support you and vice versa.