| Model Number: EMS-10 | Pilot: Jean-Luc Duvall |
| Cost:1500 Hp: 450 Transform: X Form Change: △ (Suicide mode) | |
The Zudah was a mobile suit made by Zinmad Corporation during Zeon’s arms race to compete with other prototype units being rolled out. The first few prototypes initially failed when they disintegrated during their official test flight. They were then upgraded to the current EMS-10 versions which claim to have fixed the flaws of the previous version. The new Zudah was also equipped with the new Saturn engine for better output. However, during various maneuverability tests and battles, these new Zudahs were discovered to be still prone to disintegrating when the engines were overloaded, resulting in the units exploding after long combat operations.
| Ranged | Armament | Ammo | DMG | Notes |
| Main | Zaku Machine Gun | 45(∞) | 10~125 | Manual reload on empty. Infinite ammo during Suicide Mode |
| Charged Melee | Suicide Mode | (100) | – | Timed power-up with no ammo restriction |
| Sub | 135mm Anti-Ship Rifle | 3(6) | 125 | Increased ammo during Suicide Mode. Can be manually aimed |
| Special Shooting | Sturm Faust | 2 | 78~132 | Can fire up to two times |
| Special Melee | Zudah Assist | 3 | 111 | Explosion Melee |
| Burst Attack | True Worth of the Saturn Engine | – | 321 (F) / 300 (E & S) | Grapple into self-destruct |
| Melee | Input | DMG | Notes |
| 5B | 5BBB | 169 | Prone to being interrupted |
| 5B(B)~A | 174~226 | Bazooka finisher | |
| 8B | 8B | 136 | Fast animation |
| 4/6B | 4/6BB | 136 | Can cancel into Sub after full string |
| 4/6B~A | 147 | Bazooka finisher | |
| 2B | 2B | 86 | Can cancel into Sub after full string |
| 2B~A | 176 | Bazooka finisher | |
| CC8B | CC8B | 134 | High priority grab into a fling |
| CC8B~A | 204 | Bazooka Finisher | |
| CSB during CSB or Burst | CSB | 324~360 | Press B to explode immediately |
Cancel Routes:
A: AB, AC
AB: BC
AC: BC
BC: A, AC
Overview
Zudah is a 1500 unit with a long red lock range and only physical projectiles. It is well known for its 2 self-destruct attacks, but it is actually also very good at mid-range shootout and high melee damage due to his Sub. When played properly during CSB, it can provide pressure almost like a 2500 unit. The mobility gained during CSB is massive, and your all-important Sub ammo is also refilled. Enemies caught unaware will be severely punished. However, just like in the OVA, Zudah is limited by its boost. Coupled with most of his attacks causing vernier, it has to spend a lot of boost to cancel out of them. One has to be skilled enough to manage all these factors in order to make the best out of Zudah.
Ranged Weapons
Main: Zaku Machine Gun
Typical machine gun. Fires 3 shots per input up to 15 shots when held. Note that it will flinch with 3 shots. Manual reload when empty, and can be used for Reload freefall cancel. The only non-vernier weapon that Zudah has and also used for his freefall. Only travels up to Zudah’s maximum red lock and starts to scatter more at that range.
During CSB Suicide Mode, this weapon slot swapped to a CAUTION icon. You still can press A to fire the machine gun with the same properties as the original except that it now has infinite ammo. The caution icon has 100 ammo that ticks down over time, representing CSB’s timer. Refer to the section below.
Charged Melee: Suicide Mode
Timed powerup mode with 3 second charge time and no ammo restriction. Activatable as long as you charge up CSB while in regular mode. When activated, Zudah verniers and strikes a pose that grants him an orange aura. Inherits momentum, and can be camera canceled with down. Zudah also enters this mode when in Burst. When the timer ends, Zudah will simply return back to regular mode with the same Main and Sub ammo as it was before. The charge bar does not carry over between regular and Suicide Mode.
During Suicide mode, Zudah gets the following buffs:
- Significant increase in mobility
- Main weapon swapped to an infinite ammo machine gun, the ammo in the main slot changes to CSB’s timer
- Sub weapon swapped to 6 ammo and refilled.
- CSB is changed to the Suicide Attack.
For Zudah, there is no reason for you to not enter Suicide Mode as there are no downsides to it. The mobility buff is so good that your walking speed can be faster than the Boost Dash of slower units. Furthermore, your all-important Sub that deals tons of damage has its ammo refilled to 6 and you also gain access to CSB Suicide Attack. The only problem is that when charging CSB, you will be locked out of your AB and BC, meaning you won’t be able to freefall and you will be stuck with only using the machine gun and AC. The long charge time of 3 seconds coupled with the charge bar dropping very quickly the moment you release B are also significant downsides. It is advisable to charge this the moment the match starts and when you’re downed.
There is a technique for CSB that lets you go into CSB right after the first one instead of waiting for the buff to end, charging for 3 seconds again before reactivating it. To do this, you will need to prepare your CSB while in Suicide Mode, and take note when your timer is close to 0. Then, you release CSB just as the timer hits 0. This will greatly improve the uptime of this buff and in turn, help you in winning the game. Below are 3 methods to help you in ensuring you get into another CSB, and not end up suiciding.
Shielding: By holding your Guard, you can release CSB just as you release your shield to enter Suicide Mode again. Just like other timed powerups with weapon change, you will only exit Suicide Mode when your unit is at neutral. Hold the Guard to wait for the timer to reach 0, then release the Guard and CSB at the same time.
With some practice, this method is the safest and most reliable. However, it also has the most delay out of the three. It’s safe since when guarding, you can charge CSB. It also does not require as much timing as the other two.
Landing Recovery: Using the Landing Recovery frames, release CSB at the same moment to enter Suicide Mode again. This is harder to perform than the Guard method since your Landing Recovery changes based on how much Boost you have. Unlike the other two methods, you need to actually land, so this cannot be done if you’re too high up in the air.
Timing-based: Release CSB right as the timer hits 0. Much more difficult than the other two methods, and even risk performing the Suicide Attack. Get ready to Boost Dash in order to cancel the Suicide Attack. This has the lowest downtime of the 3 methods but it is generally not worth the risk.
Sub: 135mm Anti-Ship Rifle
Verniers and fires the anti-ship rifle. This is Zudah’s main source of damage. It has decent muzzle correction, but the slow startup means it cannot be used to intercept incoming enemies. It also consumes a lot of boost, so be mindful not to get caught in Overheat when trying to Zunda using this move. Use this to catch landings and also as combo ender for melee attacks. This has 3 ammo while in regular mode and 6 ammo in Suicide. Reloads on empty with a reload time of 6 seconds per 3 ammo and has a cooldown of 3 seconds.
This weapon has a unique feature where if you hold AB, the reticle will turn light blue and you can move your directional buttons or lever around to manually move the reticle. This will make Zudah fire this weapon as if it was in an FPS game, and fire the anti-ship rifle at where the reticle is. This makes the projectile lose its tracking, and can be only used as an okizeme attack. You will need good game sense and be very skillful in reading your opponent to accurately guess which direction they would be moving at and manually aim your shot.
You get 3 ammo when in regular mode, and 6 full ammo whenever you go into Suicide Mode. These are considered separate weapons and will revert back to whatever you are left when exiting Suicide Mode. Most of the time you would simply enter Suicide Mode to get the sweet 6 ammo again instead of waiting for the 3 ammo version to reload. While in regular mode, you would also be holding CSB most of the time. Hence, there is no need to purposely fire this while in regular unless you know it’s surely going to hit.
Special Shooting: Sturm Faust
Verniers to fire 2 Sturm Faust one after the other. Reloads on empty with a 4 second reload time. This move causes a little recoil that pushes Zudah backward when firing this, and a slight momentum inherited when firing this. A pretty decent weapon due to the large explosion and the 1-2 firing style. Also useful for destroying barriers. The fast startup allows for intercepting, but the 1-2 fire is kind of slow and if you Boost Dash too quickly, you might end up just firing one shot.
This weapon reloads very fast and can be fired off before you dash into melee range for covering fire. Also, this is used to face front into your free fall with AC~BC~A. Bear in mind that the whole chain of actions is quite slow and that you might as well just let your unit fall naturally while facing back. This is a viable option if you really need to face front while freefalling.
If you’re using Shooting Burst, you can make use of the improved mobility from Burst, Suicide Mode, and your Blue Step by doing AC (1shot) > AC (1 shot)> A to free fall while moving backward diagonally.
Special Melee: Zudah Assist
Summons a Zudah at your 4 o’clock which charges at your target after a short delay. Explodes and launches upon contact. The assist appears very fast, but it takes almost a second before it starts charging. You can summon up to 2 assists at a time. Reloads on empty and takes 17 seconds for full reload.
Zudah’s lifeline for both self-defense and freefalling. Cancel into A to fire your machine gun for freefall (front-facing only), or if your A has no ammo, you can still do BC~A to freefall with the reload animation (Reload freefall cancel). It isn’t too far fetched to say that how much ammo you have left for BC is directly tied to your survivability. Furthermore, the long reload time of 17 seconds, which only reloads on empty, is something extremely important to take note of, especially when not using this move for its freefall characteristic. Hence, it is advisable to put in some thought as to when exactly to use this move.
This is a very strong tool if used as a multi-angle attack due to the delay. While in close range, summon one, and move forward to let the assist hit your target’s side or back. The large explosion also helps if the assist is charging from a higher elevation towards a lower elevation, especially during okizeme. The assist itself is considered a melee attack, but the explosion will also deplete barriers if it hits. Furthermore, the assist’s hitbox is also active as soon as you summon it, so you could summon it if you see an enemy coming to melee you from your 4 o’clock.
Melee Set
5BBB: Heat Hawk
Your typical 3 hit combo. Priority isn’t great, and the total down value is only 2.5 after the full string. Even if you finish the combo with Sub, the overall damage is lesser than 4/6B. There are not many oppourtunities to use this.
5BB(B), 4/6B,2B, CC8B~A: Zaku Bazooka
Fires 1 shot from a Zaku Bazooka. You would only use this if your Sub is out of ammo or you’re out of boost since ending the combo with Sub does more damage.
8BB: Shield Pick Cleave
Very fast animation, but the last hit only launches very slightly, thus making it hard to follow up
4/6BB:Uppercut>Slash-through
Upwings, then flies back for a slash-through. The slash-through animation will still happen even if the initial hit missed, which makes it usable for air stalling when you’re out of boost. This move does good damage but is only passable in other departments.
2B: Uppercut
Launches the target. You can safely fire 2 Subs after this hits due to the height of the suit being uppercut. If you want to stall for time, cancel into AC instead.
CC8B: Shield Pick Stab >Fling
One input will perform both the stab and the fling. The start-up is average, but the stabbing animation is rather long and has high priority. Switch locks before the fling to toss your target at the other opponent, which causes a Knee Stagger on hit. This move is not entirely practical, but the unit you toss can also stop incoming physical projectiles. If you want to end the combo after the fling, step forward to chain it into a Sub or just use the A derivative.
CSB: Suicide attack
Only usable in Suicide Mode. Zudah charges at its target with a multi-hit kamikaze attack that has Superarmor and a wide explosion at the end. Press B during the charging animation to manually trigger the explosion. If your team has 1500 or less team health when you use this move and it hits, you will win. Somehow, the system will process the hitbox from the explosion and the resultant damage first before Zudah is considered destroyed.
Most of the damage comes from the explosion, so the lesser hits you deal during the charge the more damage you will do due to the damage portation involved. It is advisable to press B early as the explosion alone does a whopping 360 damage. Moreover, the explosion radius is especially wide horizontally allowing for random hits if your opponents choose to only sidestep.
Burst Attack
Burst Attack: True Worth of the Saturn Engine
Grabs the targets and boosts vertically before self-destructing. Has Superarmor during the charging animation. The timing between the grapple and vertical boost is rather fast, making it difficult for you to be interrupted. You would not be considered dying in Burst if this Burst Attack goes off. If your opponent manages to Escape Burst during the part where you are boosting vertically, Zudah will still continue to self-destruct. Be very careful of your enemies’ Extend Burst.
Recommended Combos
| Ranged Weapons | ||
| Input | DMG | Notes |
| A (3hit)>>5BBB>>AB | 235 | |
| A (3hit)~AC | 137 | For incoming enemies |
| AB>>AB | 213 | Angle dependant and works on walls as well |
| BC>>AB | 186 | Basic combo when BC hits |
| BC>>4/6BB~AB | 215 | If BC hits when you’re in melee range |
| AC~BC~A~(BC hits) | Used when AC hits. Cancel route for freefall | |
| Melee | ||
| 5BBB>2B~AB | 257 | High damage, launches |
| 8B>5BBB>AB | 235 | |
| 4/6B>CC8B->CC8B~A | 216 | Stall combo. 222 dmg if the A derivative is changed to Sub instead |
| 4/6BB>AB->AB | 260 | High damage combo. Damage might differ based on how early you cancel out of the second hit of 4B. |
| 2B~AB->AB | 254 | Launches |
| CC8Bx3~A | 242 | Stall combo and high damage |
| 2B>ABC | ?? (F) / 316 (E) / 316 (S) | |
Strategies:
- Zudah can use all 3 types of Bursts, pick one that fits the situation.
- Fighting Burst gives Zudah a lot of movement speed thanks to the buff from both Fighting and Suicide Mode. Great for both running away and going on the offensive. It is also great for skirting around the enemy with your Main, and increases the movement speed of your CSB Self-Destruct for tons of damage.
- Extend will let Zudah survive not just because of the Escape Burst, but also reloading of your BC which is your freefall lifeline. Furthermore, Extend Burst lets you go forward a little bit more without the fear of dying too quickly. However, due to the short Burst duration, you won’t get much juice out of it and the free Suicide Mode.
- Shooting allows for Zudah to spam his weapons a lot. Assuming you start firing in red lock, you can cancel between his A, AB, AC while landing on the ground and backing off at the same time (all your shots will track if canceled properly as you’re carrying over the red lock). Unlike F Burst, there is not much surprise factor as your opponents will surely be paying attention to your barrage of fire and can also easily destroy them since they are all physical projectiles.
- The general playstyle for Zudah would definitely be staying in CSB Suicide mode as long as possible due to all the buffs it gives. Your main attack will be landing hits with the Sub, and other weapons to chase the opponent around.
- Even with the freefall, Zudah is limited to the ammo count, and the CSB timer is not suitable for extendable dogfights. You can pop in to draw some aggro before backing off and being shelling artillery with Sub. Whenever possible, landing a nice 4/6B~AB->AB combo will help a lot in the damage race.
- Always keep track of whichever enemy that still has Escape Burst, so as to not whiff your CSB or ABC. You do not want 1500 of your team cost wasted just because of it.