The-O

Model Number: PMX-003	Pilot: Paptimus Scirocco
Cost: 2500 Hp: 620 Transform: X Form Change: X

The 4th suit in the PMX series. “What makes a combat-effective MS is not complex transformations nor high-powered attacks, but an interface that reflects the skill and abilities of the pilot”. The-O was developed through Scirocco’s design philosophy to be simple, but deadly.

 Move Summary

Ranged	Armament	Ammo	DMG	Notes
Main	Beam Rifle	5	70	A standard Beam Rifle
Sub	Palace Athene Summon	3	84	An assist that charges at the enemy and slashes with its Beam Saber
Charged Melee	Sliding Beam Shot	–	48~100	The O fires beams while sliding towards the enemy (in red lock) or in the direction it is facing (in green lock). Can be followed up with a shooting (press a) or melee (press b) derivative.
	CSB~5B: Hidden Arms Assault		109~134	Can be canceled into various other melee attacks
	CSB~A: Beam Rifle Volley		149~182
Special Shooting	Bolinoak Sammahn Summon	1	50	An assist that guard frontal ranged attacks, and fires its Beam Rifle together with you
Special Melee	Pressure	1	0	The O releases a wave of pressure, stunning anyone caught in it.
Burst Attack	Giant Beam Swords	–	284 (F)/270 (S & E)	The O slashes the enemy with 4 giant beam swords. Downs on hit. High tracking.

Melee	Input	DMG	Notes
5B	5BBB	164	A simple, 3 hit combo.
	5B(B)~A	172~208	Fires the Beam Rifle repeatedly, downs the enemy.
8B	8BB	140	The-O tackles the opponent before tossing it in a giant swing.
4/6B	4/6BB	152	The-O slashes an opponent and spins upwards.
	4/6B~A	172	Fires the Beam Rifle repeatedly, downs the enemy.
2B	2B	136~200	I hope you ain’t afraid of no ghosts. Mash for more hits.
CC8B	CC8B	146	The-O slashes the opponent into the air and leaves it spinning.

Cancel Routes:

A: AB, AC

CSB~B: All melee

CSB~A: AC

AB: AC

AC: A, AB

5B, 4B, CC8B: 2B

Overview

A suit with very simple weapons, but a strong emphasis on good mobility and a strong defense. 

This MS excels in the close range as an all-rounder, and although it looks pretty big it’s very fast with regards to its boost dash, rising, falling, and pivoting. Its excellent defense is thanks to its AC which allows it to ignore certain ranged attacks, and of course the infamous Pressure that grants it super armor and an AOE stun. It even rounds everything up with above average melee capabilities, and while its melee damage output is average it has some nasty hitboxes that makes landing hits easy. Its middling melee damage can be made up for during Burst by using its bone-chilling 2B, and of course its high power Burst Attack.

This suit’s weakness is its shooting game. Relying mostly on its Beam Rifle which has very limited ammo means that you have to be extra careful with your shots, and even deciding on whether to use a Zunda or not can be a predicament. Unlike GVS, you don’t have a CSA to rely on, either. But if you have a partner who can keep up the pressure, you can play the role of a high-mobility wall that weaves in and out of combat.

One last thing to note is that this suit has a large hitbox, meaning you need to be extra careful with your spacing and avoid eating stray shots. 

Ranged Weapons

Main: Beam Rifle

A standard beam rifle with a low ammo count. 3-second reload time per shot.

Sub: Palace Athene Summon

The-O calls upon the Palace Athene to charge at the enemy with its Beam Saber. Stuns on hit.

As far as assists go, this one is pretty good. The assist speed and tracking are both in the upper class, and compared to other assists this one actually works very well for catching enemy landings. Of course, the problem remains that if the enemy sees it coming and sidesteps it immediately, all tracking is cut. You will not be able to use this move again until the current Palace Athene on the field disappears.

One easy way to hit enemies with this move is to position yourself above them in the close range, and dropping Palace Athenes on them like a B-52 bomber. Because of The-O’s large size, it can block off your enemy’s view at wonky camera angles, making it difficult for opponents to see Palace Athene coming. I know all this sounds really suspect and cheesy, but take it from me who’s been on the receiving end of this: it’s extremely effective. 

This move is also one of the ways you can combo into your powerful Burst Attack.

Charged Melee: Sliding Beam Shot

The O fires beams while sliding towards the enemy (in red lock) or in the direction it is facing (in green lock). Can be followed up with a shooting (press A) or melee (press B) derivative.

This move is very difficult to use effectively because you dash in a completely straight line towards your opponent for a brief moment before firing your weapons, and as you’d expect, this leaves you very open. The one saving grace is that The-O kind of lowers itself into a sliding motion, reducing the size of its hitbox enough to slide under beam rifle shots, with the right timing. 

You can sidestep cancel this move and then shoot your Main, this works passably as a freefall. This move is best used when you’re out of Sub ammo and you need something else to use, but it really has to be used with extreme caution.

CSB~B: Hidden Arms Assault

You can cancel into melee to attack the enemy with the arms located in the front skirting. You can follow up from this directly into other melee attacks without the need to step cancel. 

CSB~A: Beam Rifle Double Shot

Fires the Beam Rifle twice at the enemy. There’s a bit of delay between firing but this move can be used to catch opponent landings.

Special Shooting: Bolinoak Sammahn Summon

The-O calls upon Bolinoak Sammahn to his side. This assist stands in front of The-O, and blocks ranged attacks until it has exhausted its 100hp limit. Note that certain attacks that pass through, such as boomerangs or bazookas that have an explosive AOE, will still hit The-O. 

When The-O fires its main, Bolinoak shifts ever so slightly to the side to provide room for The-O to fire, and after a short duration it fires its own Beam Rifle at the same target. When shifted to the side its defensive properties shift with it, so be careful when firing your Beam Rifle as it may leave you exposed. While dashing-in at an opponent with The-O, Bolinoak will properly guard The-O’s front, but once you start the actual attack animation (swinging of the Beam Saber, etc.) then Bolinoak will move off to the side. This means you will only be guarded while dashing towards the enemy, and not while attacking. 

While you can only do this every so often due to the long reload, this move can be step canceled or used as a freefall with your Main. Using your Burst reloads this, so try to activate this move before you burst so you can instantly use it again once the current summon disappears. 

Special Melee: Pressure

A signature move of the Zeta series. You gain super armor during the startup, and once released it stuns all enemies (and friends) in a huge spherical AOE. 

When compared to Qubeley (the original pressure user in the EXVS series), The-O’s pressure has worse proration. Also, unlike Qubeley it does not sortie with Pressure fully loaded. However, one advantage The-O has is that its burst attack synergizes beautifully with Pressure. 

This move has so many uses, including self defense, okizeme, a combo into Burst Attack, etc. Unlike Qubeley who has a lot of other tools for offense, it’s recommended that The-O finds other uses for Pressure other than simply for self defense.

Pressure cannot be shielded against, but barrier type moves like Nu’s shield or even Dynames’ cloak will block Pressure. Super armor beats out Pressure as well. 

Melee Set

5B: 3-Stage Beam Saber Combo

A quick combo with better damage proration than your other melee moves. Use this as a combo part.

5B or 4/6B~A Derivative: Beam Rifle Quadruple Shot

The-O fires 4 shots simultaneously using its 4 arms. Does not consume Main ammo. The timing to cancel into this is rather strict and you can’t rainbow step cancel this. However, this is one quick way to end your combos.

8B: Tackle and Giant Swing

Fast startup with a good hitbox. However after the initial grab it takes some time before you actually do damage, which is the main weakness of this move.

4B: Pinwheel Saber Spin

This has a fast startup and a good hitbox, and a very nice wraparound. This is your main melee combo initiator. 

2B: Ghost Grab

The melee that The-O is best known for. Mash B for more hits and more damage. If you want a damaging combo this is your best bet.

CC8B: Slash-through

Good startup and a good hitbox that allows you to even occasionally hit enemies who sidestep. The charge speed and reach of this move is also good. Hitting this move can net you a 280 damage combo. This together with 4/6B are your main combo starters.

Burst Attack

 Giant Beam Swords

The O slashes the enemy with 4 giant beam swords.This instant downs an enemy on hit, and has good tracking.

As you’d expect, this is your main comeback mechanic, allowing you to do almost 300 damage in an instant. You also have super armor on startup. 

While it’s recommended that you try to combo into this move, it’s not wrong to try and hit this raw, either.

Strategies

• Although this suit excels in the close range, you need to focus more on shooting than melee. The-O’s melee combos in general have middling damage numbers, so charging in with your beam sabers is a high-risk, low-reward strategy. 
• Instead, focus on using your high mobility to bully suits into playing at the range you are most comfortable in. 
• F burst powers up your melee and gives you a strong comeback factor. S burst is good for giving yourself even stronger self defense against melee opponents. Those options are mostly for situations where you are in the front position, though. As you’d expect, if you are playing The-O as a rear guard for a 3k front, E burst is the best option.