EXVSFB/Altron Gundam

XXXG-01S2 Altron Gundam

Pilot: Chang Wufei

Cost: 2500

Durability: 640

MA Mode: No

Equip Change: No

Dustloop Thread: Altron Gundam Discussion

JP Wiki: Altron Gundam

Common Nicknames:

Introduction

Altron is a DLC unit, released in the 7th batch of DLC 14/08/06.

Altron plays chiefly as a close-range melee unit - at its core playing very similar to Dragon Gundam - but is not so simply described. Altron's melee is actually inferior in performance to a number of other agressive melee push-back-type suits, but it carries a number of ranged tools those other suits tend to lack, which allows it to play more from spacing, patiently looking for its opportunities to strike quickly and effectively before pulling back again to continue trying to force disorder on the battlefield more than direct pressure to an enemy. These ranged tools include a single-hit Down main, a Sub that can fire from all directions without incurring off-angle or turn-around firing, and a boomerang-style beam trident throw for ensnaring or intercepting opponents.

Moveset

Ranged	Name	Ammo	Damage	Reload/Charge	Down Value	Notes
[A] Main	Dragon Fang	(1)	95	0s	>5.5	Single hit Down
[CSa]	Twin Dragon Fangs (Punch)	--	120	2s?	>5.5	Multi-lock-capable
[AB] Sub	Beam Cannon	4	75	7s	2.0	Allows non-turnaround rear-direction firing.
[AC]	Beam Trident Throw	1	35/68	5s	??	5/8/2[AC] throws it a fixed straight distance before return (strong stagger). 4/6[AC] causes the trident to swing outward then return (kneeling stagger).

Melee (Input)	Name	Total Damage	Total Proration	Total Down	Notes
5BBB	Twin Beam Trident	187	53%	3.0
5B~A 5BB~A	→Flamethrower	127 154/181	65% 58%/40%	2.6 2.7/2.9	Weak Stun
4/6BB	Side Attack	176	53%	3.0
4/6B~A 4/6BB~A	→Flamethrower	122 167	65% 50%	2.6 2.9	Weak Stun
8B	Shield Tackle	80	80%	??	Has shield priority
2B	Leaping Slash	85	80%	??	Bounced Down Has landing priority
BD8B	Wind-up Stab	129	??%	3.0
[BC] [BC]~A [BC]~B	Twin Dragon Fangs (Grab) →TDF Flurry →Double Kick	50 188 152	10% 60% 65%	0.2? 3.0 2.7	Grabs enemy and pulls you in for followup attack High damage, low cut resistance Launched special Down

Cancel Routes

[AB] Sub → BC

5BBB (final stage) → BC

4/6BBB (final stage) → BC

Ranged Moveset Details

[A] Main - Dragon Fangs

Attacks with a single dragon fang arm, similar to Dragon Gundam's main. Has vernier but permits a great deal of sliding while using. Single-hit Down. Has the same shooting barrier priority as Dragon's main. Startup and especially the traveling speed are faster than Dragon's main; muzzle correction and range are about the same. Can be used for intercepting incoming melee, sitting somewhere between Dragon's main and Turn-A's main in its utility for this.

[CSa] - Twin Dragon Fangs (Punch)

Hits the enemy with both dragon fangs. Forced Down. Has a multi-lock version as well. MCS has just slightly longer range but reduced damage. (Also forced Down?). Strong combo finisher.

There exists currently a bug that allows you to cancel the attack in a way such that the animation cancels, but the hit confirmation of the attack still carries through and strikes the opponent with an invisible punch. While this may or may not be fixed in a Maxi Boost update, it could be quite a while (if ever) that it is fixed on the PS3 Full Boost.

[AB] Sub - Beam Cannon

Attacks with the back-mounted beam cannon tail. Can be fired facing away from the enemy without incurring turn-around firing. Guidance is lower than common BR, performing similar to Rozen Zulu's main.

[AC] Special Shooting - Beam Trident Throw

Throws the double beam trident in a boomerang fashion.

• 5/8/2[AC]

Throws it straight forward a fixed distance. Okay muzzle correction. Similar performance to Destiny's boomerang.

• 4/6[AC]

Throws the trident with curvature similar to Char's Gelgoog's Sub, but wider. Its priority is not so high, and so a little difficult to use as a trapping armament.

Melee Moveset Details

5BBB(A) - Twin Beam Trident (→Flamethrower)

3-Stage, 4-hit attack which can branch into Flamethrower from any of the first 3 hits:

5B Attack Properties

The startup time is clearly kinder than that of 4/6B, but is still a little sluggish. Unlike most suits that can keep their melee weapon out, Altron must draw its beam trident out each time before it uses it. Because the final stage is a launch it's easy to followup and chain combos with. Furthermore, the →BC cancel from the final stage provides you with two simple and very high damage followups.

The stun time on Flamethrower is decently long, but so is your amount of stiffness after the attack, making it difficult to followup and also leaving you briefly vulnerable. Maybe more importantly is that it can be used as a great overheat landing tool.

4/6BB(A) - Side Attack (→Flamethrower)

3-Stage, 3-hit attack that has the same Flamethrower and →BC properties as 5B:

4/6B Attack Properties

As a whole, its opening stage performance isn't so great, and it's not very well-suited for rainbow battles. Not only will it often lose to pure melee suits, but even against stronger all-purpose suits (Sazabi, F91, etc) it is not uncommon it will lose. Your best way to use this attack is for its wrap-around movement on approaches, or possibly for catching weaker suits that it has a chance to beat off-guard not expecting it.

8B - Shield Tackle

Altron shoulder charges the enemy using the shield on its left shoulder.

8B Attack Properties
Stage Hit# Attack Total Damage Total Proration Total Down Notes 1 1 Tackle 80 80% ?? Breaks melee. Converts to shield when hit with ranged

The attack has shield priority, and from the moment the shield priority kicks in (when then wind-breaking visual starts) you cannot CS cancel from it. If you are hit with ranged attack, the attack will automatically convert to a shield state. A uniqueness in the VS series about it though is it will crush through melee attacks, making it a great clash-winning tool.

It's drawbacks though are that it's difficult to extend damage from, has a slow startup and travel speed, and cannot be CS canceled.

2B - Leaping Slash

Altron first leaps into the air spinning the beam trident overhead, then drops down for a single slash, bouncing the enemy.

2B Attack Properties
Stage Hit# Attack Total Damage Total Proration Total Down Notes 1 1 Slash 85 80% ??

The rising speed is top-class but the falling speed is normal. It's possible to use the attack as a forced landing tool but the drop distance is limited. When in green lock using it just before landing is an essential technique. You can use the attack in combination with Sub to produce a setup similar to Zeong's 8B or 4/6BC, where doing Sub(hit)→2B(land)→sidestep→Sub can allow you to overwrite some of the stiffness from landing. However, despite Sub being non-vernier, it differs slightly from Zeong's tactic in that you cannot overwrite overheat stiffness.

All-in-all, as a suit structured around causing havoc in melee range, it's really an indispensable tool for the quick vertical motion and advantage it can provide you, as well as using it with combos for added cut resistance.

BD Melee - Wind-up Stab

Altron does its iconic one-handed trident spin as it rushes in for a single powerful strike that is made up of 4? mini-hits.

BD8B Attack Properties
Stage Hit# Attack Total Damage Total Proration Total Down Notes 1 1 Stab 129 ??% 3.0

Good followup properties, especially by using forward-step. If you want to tie in Sub or other ranged, this is a good attack to link them to. Its attack priority is kinda narrow, and can slide off its normal axis. When that happens followup can be inconsistent.

[BC] Special Melee - Twin Dragon Fang (Grab)→

Altron reaches out with both arms, grabbing the enemy and pulling itself in where it can then perform one of two fiercely strong followup attacks:

BC Attack Properties

The attack carries some inertia and can slide. It also has barrier priority. As soon as the fangs hit they instantly change from Stun→Hold attribute. If you cancel while en route the enemy will be instantly dropped, so you can't try to followup just the stun.

Caution: While Dragon Gundam's 2[BC] Twin Dragon Claw grab has you essentially wait until you reach the opponent before inputting followup kicks, with Altron you have to choose either ~A or ~B followup essentially the moment you use [BC]. If you don't pick one, at the latest, while en route you will arrive at the enemy and then do nothing - falling passively back to the ground having missed a prime damage opportunity, spent boost, and now being vulnerable from stiffness.

Furthermore, if chaining two [BC] attacks together, forward-step is absolutely the most consistent transition, and anything else can be iffy (even more so depending on terrain).

• →TDF Flurry ~A Followup

This is the attack from which Altron's highest damage arises. Not only does it do enormous damage (being able to cross over 300 damage), but it carries low proration and zero Down value until the last punch. Because the rest of your melee damage is not very impressive, this is the attack you will rely on. While the final punch adds quite a bit of proration and Down, it also does a slightly lifted knockaway that allows you to anchor-grab and do another attack. If you cancel out of the attack before the final punch the enemy will ground out unless you have some decent altitude at the time (and even then, they seem to fall quickly). Therefore, depending on if you are starting with [BC]~A or ending a combo with it you need to decide to include the punch or not. When transitioning from the grab a small amount of momentum from the approach is carried through.

However, as great as its damage is and as easy as it is to use, it has zero movement and forces a camera change you can't cancel, so it has zero cut resistance, and you have to be extremely cautious about when you pursue this attack.

• →Double Kick ~B Followup

While only 2 hits it does very strong, time-efficient damage, and the second kick puts the enemy in a non-ukemi Down state. Of the two choices this is the one you will typically want to use.

EX Burst

EX Burst Attack

Beam Trident Assault

297/275

Melee attack stringing many of Altron's core beam trident attacks together

EX Attack Details

Stage Hit# Attack Cumulative Damage Stacking Proration Cumulative Down Notes 1 1 Slash ???/??? ??% ?? Stagger 2 Slash ???/??? ??% ?? Stagger 3 Slash ???/??? ??% ?? Stagger 2 4 Uppercut ???/??? ??% ?? Stagger 3 5 Wind-up Slash ???/??? ??% ?? Stagger 6 Slash ???/??? ??% ?? Stagger 4 7 Kick ???/??? ??% ?? Down 8 Kick 178/164 60% ?? Down 5 9 Stab/Throw 214/197 55% ?? 6 10 Impale 220/203 55% ?? Stun 7 11 Explosion 297/275 ??% ?? Forced Down

Extremely long animation time (over 6s) with very little movement or cut resistance. The final stage particularly leaves you just floating completely motionless in midair while waiting for the explosion to occur. Its only real positives are that the first stage has Super Armor to give it a better chance of hitting the target, and that besides [BC]~A it's really your only other high damage source.

EX Burst Selection

Assault: +7% Damage, +20% Defense

Blast: +0% Damage, +30% Defense

Assault Burst is the most natural fit for the suit, but Blast Burst can be used to up your ranged output, and also to blue step all of your ranged armaments, saving you a tremendous amount of boost and vulnerability (especially if you are still trying to learn the range of your attacks)

Info and Tactics

Tactics

Altron is a close-range melee push-back/pressure suit. For easy to see reasons it's looked at as "an elevated Dragon Gundam." However, compared to other suits in the "melee push-back/pressure" category, Altron actually does not operate really the same or as well as they do. Despite being a melee-oriented suit, your attacks aren't all that strong or damaging. Rather than try to rush down on an enemy to lock them into strong melee strings, your aim and playstyle should be something more in line with The O - creating havoc with more simplistic and quick melee attacks, then somewhat pulling back and re-establishing space from which to play and plan, patiently waiting for your next chance to swoop in with a swift attack and once more back out (although your ranged game potential isn't quite as strong as The O's).

The first, most important thing you must do is learn your range. Your red-lock indicator is tuned to your Sub weapon, and your main and CSa will come up considerably shorter than that, so you cannot just blindly rely on your lock-on indicator. If you cannot consistently land your main, CSa, AC, or BC, you will struggle mightily to win games. If you continually fail to hit with your main/CSa/AC you will not be able to close down on an enemy for melee attacks, and will also often leave yourself vulnerable to counterattack. You will at the same time fail to contribute to the damage race, and also fail to keep an enemy down to give your partner a safe matchup with their target.

As already stated, although your melee is not up to par with other rush-down suits, you have a number of range tools which you can employ that separate you from that pack and let you shine. Your main weapon is a single-hit Down, invaluable for throwing off enemy attempts to establish pace and momentum, frustrating them. Your Sub beam cannon - while not having as good of guidance as a standard BR - can be fired from any angle without forcing you into off-angle or turn-around firing, allowing you a great amount of freedom in using it to peck at opponents on-the-fly from a distance. Your boomerang-style trident throw can entrap enemies and intercept melee attempts, giving you more control over the situation as it is developing. This wide variety of shooting styles useful at both mid- and close range is what many more pure melee rush-down suits are lacking in, and is your advantage that you should seek to make best use of, compensating for your inferior melee startup properties.

When you do find your opportunity to unleash some melee you need to be very time-effective as well as damage-effective. In pretty much all combo cases this means setting up simple combos that you are going to end with →CSa for a powerful finishing strike that also knocks the enemy away a fair distance. You obviously can't rely on your main weapon Dragon Claws to help you set up your approaches, so you're going to want to rely on either [AC] or Sub if they are available, otherwise you are going to want to try to utilize the great reach of [BC]. 8B's melee-crushing ability can help you win hand-to-hand clashes, but remember its necessary startup time and that you cannot CS cancel escape from it. At all costs, you strongly want to avoid getting drug into a rainbow war, as you seldom will win; you need to play with your ranged tools. If you find yourself in the blessed situation to not have the attention of your opponent's partner you can rip off absolutely ferocious damage using [BC]~A and, to a somewhat lesser degree, [BC]~B.

A closing point: remember to make frequent use of your 2B leaping slash for its great vertical elements. It may not raise as high as Exia or Force Impulse's [BC] leap attacks, but its rising speed is very comparable to both, and furthermore, you can use it to help remove the stiffness from some of your landings via 2B→side-step thanks to its landing priority.

In summary, use your ranged tools and mobility to support your partner by creating chaos on the field and frustrating your opponents, and be patient, then quick and efficient when seeking melee chances. Above all, do not play Altron like a standard melee push-pack, rush-down suit.

Partner Considerations

As best you can you want to try to match yourself to either a 3k or another 2.5k suit that can defend themselves well without needing much help from you, while also playing well off the chaos you try to sew into the field using your single-hit Down main and other ranged tools.

Combos

Standard Combos

Input	Damage	Notes
[AB] Sub Starter
Sub>>A	142
Sub>>Sub>>A	166
Sub>>Sub>>Sub	158
Sub>>5BB~A>>A	207
Sub→5AC>>BC~B>A	208
[AC] Starter
5AC>>A	108-137	For when you want a quick, easy, reliable Down
5AC>>Sub>>Sub	141	For if you are worried about turn-around firing, but beware that the beams can fire inaccurately
5AC>>BD8B>A	196	8SC into A is most consistent
5AC>>Sub>>A	151

5BB indicates the second stage is 2hit, otherwise 5BB(1hit) will be used.

Input	Damage	Notes
5B Starter
5BB~A>2B→CSa	260
5BB>5BB→CSa	253
5BB>5BB~A(→CSa)	237(255)
5BB>5BBB	241
5BB>2B>CSa	245	Launched Down
5BB>BC~A	246
5BB>BC~A(7hit)→CSa	225
5BB>BC~B→CSa	262	Can do entire combo holding CS
5BBB→CSa	251
5BBB>5BB	246
5BBB>>BD8B	233
5BBB→BC~A	288
5BBB→BC~A(7hit)→CSa	285
5BBB→BC~B	257
5BBB→BC~B(1hit)→CSa	270
4/6B Starter
6BB~A>>CSa	227
6BB>5BB→CSa	239
6BB>BC~B→CSa	248
6BBB→CSa	240
6BBB>6BB	235
6BBB>6B→CSa	251
6BBB>6B~A	220
6BBB→BC~A	263
6BBB→BC~A(7hit)→CSa	266
6BBB→BC~B	246
6BBB→BC~B(1hit)→CSa	259
8B Starter
8B>A	156
8B→CSa	???
8B>5BBB→CSa	260
8B>BD8B→CSa	???
8B>BC~A→CSa	272
8B>BC~B→CSa	251	8SC into BC most consistent
2B Starter
2B>
BD8B Starter
BD8B(3hit)>5BB(1hit)→CS	237
BD8B(3hit)>5BB	209
BD8B(3hit)>BC~A(7hit)→CS	255
BD8B(3hit)>BC~A	239
BD8B(3hit)>BC~B(1hit)→CS	235
BD8B(3hit)>BC~B	218
BD8B→CS	206
[BC] Starter
BC~A(7hit)>BC~A(→CS)	269(311)	Requires altitude for enemy to not ground out
BC~A(7hit)>BC~A>BC~A(7hit)>BC~A	334	Requires extreme altitude and extreme negligence by the target's partner
BC~A(7hit)>BC~A>BC~A(7hit)>BC~A(7hit)→CSa	339
BC~A(7hit)>BC~B(1hit)→CS	267
BC~A(7hit)>BC~B(→CS)	244(292)	Requires altitude for enemy to not ground out
BC~A>BC~A(7hit)→CS	306
BC~A>BC~A	289	Use above combo instead
BC~A>BC~B	270
BC~A>BC~B(1hit)→CS	285
BC~B(1hit)>BC~A→CS	271	Requires altitude
BC~B(1hit)>BC~B→CS	262	Requires altitude
BC~B→CSa	???
BC~B>5BB(2hit)→CS	270	Optimal BC~B starter combo
BC~B>5BB(2hit)~A	242
BC~B>5BBB	258
BC~B>2B>CSa	262	Launched Down
BC~B>BC~A(7hit)→CSa	283
BC~B>BC~A(7hit)>BC~A(7hit)→CSa	299
BC~B>BC~A	263
BC~B>BC~B(1hit)→CS	261
BC~B>BC~B	243

EX Combos

Input	Damage	Notes
ABC(EX)	297/275	Damage Reference
5B Starter
5B>	???/???
BC Starter
BC~A>BC~A(7hit)>EX	347/???
BC~B>BC~A(7hit)>BC~A(7hit)>EX	350/???
BC~B>BC~B→CSa	301/???

External Links

EXVSMB PV

Bandai Summer Festival stream session first gameplay footage

Altron basic techniques and combos (Japanese)

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