2v2 3D Arena Fighter
MBON is 3D Arena fighter played in teams of 2. Players select a unit from the full roster of 180+ units with preset moveset and weapons and play against another pair of enemies in PvP, or against 2 or more enemies in AI battles. The battle is carried out in an enclosed arena with some destructible terrain, all of which are locations from various Gundam series faithfully recreated.
Unit Cost System
There are plenty of Mobile Suits in the Gundam franchise, some of which are canonically much stronger than others. The Cost System is a balancing tool introduced to make sure that “weaker” suits have a place on the battlefield.
Every Mobile Suit is assigned one of four costs— 3000, 2500, 2000, or 1500. The higher the cost, the “stronger” the suit is. Higher cost suits typically have stronger weapons, higher performance, and more boost. However, being more powerful comes at a cost.
Each 2v2 team starts with a total team cost of 6000. Once your team cost gauge is depleted, your team loses the match. So if your team has two 1500 cost suits, you can both die a total of 6 times (6×1500=6000), but if your team has two 3000 cost suits, only two deaths will mean game over (3000×2=6000).
“Overcost” occurs when a Mobile Suit is destroyed, and the remaining team cost is a value lower than the cost of the suit that was destroyed . For example, if your 2500 cost partner died once, your remaining team cost would be 3500 (6000-2500=3500). If you are using a 3000 cost suit and you died second, this will leave you with 500 team cost (3500-3000=500), which means you still get to respawn. However, in this situation “Overcost” will kick in, and you will respawn with 500/3000 (one-sxith) of your HP.
To put things simply, more powerful suits come at a price. You will have more survival and offensive tools at your disposal, but the penalty for death is much higher. Understanding the cost system and planning which suits to use, and even the order in which you and your partner die, could mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Boost Gauge
Most movement options in MBON require boost to perform. These actions deplete your boost gauge, which is displayed at the bottom of your screen. Once your boost gauge hits 0, your movement will be severely limited, and you will be left vulnerable to all forms of enemy attacks.
In addition, there is a restriction that is imposed upon touching the ground: a small window where you will not be able to attack, move, or block. The more boost you have remaining in your gauge when you land, the sooner you will be able to move again.
Managing your boost effectively and choosing the right timings to land is essential to launching strong offenses, and keeping yourself safe.
Tracking/ Guidance
Every attack in GVS has a varying degree of tracking applied to it. You may have noticed that certain attacks like beam rifle shots move mostly linearly, whereas missiles seem to follow the enemy much more aggressively. That’s because missiles have stronger tracking capabilities than beam rifle shots, but in exchange missiles usually move a bit more slowly.
Melee attacks have tracking as well. They will follow the opponent in any direction they boost dash.
The only way to avoid many of these attacks is to cut the tracking, which is often done through a sidestep. After a sidestep, whatever attack was tracking you will continue towards your position prior to the sidestep.
Fuwasteps and rainbow steps cut tracking as well, in addition to certain skills (MEPE, Mirage Colloid, Zero System, etc.). It’s important to understand how tracking works from both an offensive and defensive standpoint.
Arcade system (for MBON Arcade only)
Set of 4 cabinets
MBON machines come in a set of 4 cabinets plus one main console as this is intended to be a 2v2 versus game. The arcade owner will be able to set the machines as PvP or CPU. If the machines are set to PvP, players will play CPU routes until an opponent appears in the opposing team, or if the machine is set to accept online matches, any opponent online will trigger the versus. If the machines are set to CPU-only, then the player will not get challenged by players in any method.
The main console allows you to watch replays of games played locally and also replays from all over the world (Currently the game is in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia and Thailand so you’ll find some English and Chinese names within the replays).