Cat Ear Follies

Cat ears...They look like cat ears. 

No, it's probably some kind of antenna for the active scanner though.

Lynx Prototype Head Unit (NekoMimi) 

They actually used that silly emoji item name. If I was the first discoverer, I'd have given it a cooler name.

I was able to obtain this new head unit after clearing Stage 7, but it seems other players had already acquired it before me and named it that weird thing. The name itself doesn't really matter, but how did they clear that brutally difficult water stage with the Lynx? I thought I'd be the first for sure.

In my case, an idea for a strategy randomly occurred to me at work, and it worked when I tried it. Though calling it a strategy is generous, I just dragged enemies into a chain death match with the wire anchors, then spammed them with Xcalibur stabs. Beam swords don't work underwater, but Xcalibur's blade itself is a physical sword, so I could impale enemies then trigger the beam edge for insta-kills through brute force.

Whatever, let's just go with the NekoMimi name already. With that design, anyone seeing it would think cat ears anyway. Maybe it's for the best I didn't get naming rights. If I gave some lame name to this kind of item, I'd just get endlessly roasted on forums.

This NekoMimi head has dual sensors designed to look like human eyes, giving it a heroic robot vibe visually. 

The phased array sensors on the head unit I was using made it inescapably look like an insect, with those dragonfly-like compound eyes. An alien mechanical invader sort of design. I liked it fine, but it might scare little kids into tears with how creepy it looks.

Just switching the head unit turned my ant-like alien into an adorable cat-eared robot girl. With that exaggeratedly slender waist, any visible facial features instantly give a feminine proportion vibe. I hear in ancient China, they complimented shapely beauties by likening them to wasps. Come to think of it, ants and wasps do have a vaguely feminine quality. 

For the Lynx II, they clearly evolved the design to be inspired by the feminine form. Having a token female is obligatory for competitive games, so the designers probably aimed for that. Those long antennae evoke rabbit ears, so the Lynx II is nicknamed the "Bunny-chan." No tail though.

Performance-wise, the Lynx II is rated as essentially a shieldless Scutum. With the Lynx's characteristic agility lost, it has no particular strengths, so few players use it. 

The Lynx II added firearm control functions to the originally melee-focused Lynx to diversify its abilities, but it couldn't match the excellent utility of the Scutum as a general-purpose unit.

This NekoMimi-equipped Lynx is more like a Lynx 1.5 I'd say. Being able to freely swap head units is a boon for me since I have no intention of switching units.

I should try fighting focused on shooting for a change of pace. 

I could buy the classic 44 Beam Gun as the main weapon, but I'll try out the 38 Beam Rifle that's been sitting unused in storage. Some gun enthusiast player likely named it, taking inspiration from the Imperial Japanese Army's Type 38 infantry rifle. The slender, elongated barrel does resemble it, though most old rifles tended to be slim like that. I would have called it the Tanegashima probably.

This Triple 8 is a beam gun that drops frequently from gacha, despite being a rare weapon that actually underperforms compared to the purchasable 44 Beam Gun. I got it from the gacha ages ago and left it sitting in case it ever became useful. Putting it on auction wouldn't net more than scrapping value.

A notable feature is the bayonet socket under the barrel, allowing compatible bayonet units to be equipped. Unfortunately, the store-bought bayonets are all trash tier. A blade would make a bayonet redundant, but might as well use this socket since it's there.

Checking the compatibility list, the Sword Breaker has a triple circle rating, so short swords and tanto knives of that size seem viable as bayonets. Crosses probably mean incompatible, but I don't get the difference between triangles and circles.

Attaching the Sword Breaker under the barrel locks it perfectly in place to avoid beam interference. Quite the compact spear, this is. The forward weight distribution might hinder gun handling, but I like little gimmicks like this. I'll give it a try at least.

The moment I sortied, I was stunned by the crisp clarity of the supposedly familiar Stage 1 scenery. So this is the dual sensor's power. The rock textures and shading clarity is incredible, it feels ultra immersive. I also seem to have an improved sense of depth perception.

On the flip side, rear visibility is poor. The Lynx's head unit tracks my neck movements with a slight delay. The old phased array sensors had no such lag at all. Well, I can use the rear monitoring sensors like a rearview mirror, but it's more of a feel thing.

With my distinct discomfort handling guns, the non-aggressive spider mecha on Stage 1 make perfect practice targets. I lock on and pull the trigger. A hit. Was shooting really this simple? Now that I've gotten used to the controls, aiming and firing techniques that used to give me so much trouble feel effortless.

But it's so easy it feels off somehow. With lock-on doing the aiming automatically, there's nothing for me to do in between.

With swords, I can freely control all the subtle impact timing adjustments, and that's the fun part. I try manually aiming by directly manipulating the arm movements instead of relying on lock-on.

Moving the gun after locking on seems to cancel the auto-aim mode. But as expected, my manual aim isn't very accurate yet. Well, it comes down to skill I suppose.

The ranged weapons in this game don't have physical triggers, the controller buttons you press function directly as the trigger. Having to animate pulling a trigger with the robot's fingers would be redundant busywork. Apparently when hobbyists trying to make models noticed this, they complained on forums that it looked lame, causing quite the debate. I don't care either way as long as it's user-friendly.

You can fire as long as part of the gun is contacting the unit somewhere. You could theoretically step on a dropped gun and press fire. Obscure details like that are hard to notice without hands-on experience. "Know thy enemy and know thyself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles," the saying goes. I should just try out all sorts of things.

The 38 rifle only has semi-auto mode, but the short cooldown makes it quite usable. Might be just right for shooting practice.

After clearing out Stage 1's enemies, on to Stage 2. Dealing with returnfire requires different handling. Even scoring direct hits on the spider mecha's weakpoints doesn't bring them down in one shot. A shootout ensues naturally. 

The bayonet lets me deflect just fine, but waving the gun around means not shooting back. A shield like Scutum's would be handy about now.

I try shooting while dodging, but manual aiming is tricky. Relying on auto-aim also misses frequently since enemies are evasively maneuvering. More importantly, having my arms jerk around during evasive motion throws off my balance annoyingly. 

The gun-readying stance is just inherently unwieldy for movement. You have to stabilize the unit to aim properly, opening you up. I need to stop thinking of it as a gun, and treat it like a spear instead.

I get the idea to twirl the gun around like a baton. I've been training my balance sense lately by randomly practicing during any free time, so I've gotten decent at moves like this with swords, axes, anything really. It's the same principle as pen spinning, mastering the timing and weight points lets you apply it to anything. I spin the gun from right to left hand and back, twirling it in flowing demonstrative moves like a martial art form.

This gun spins smoother than a sword, not surprising since I'm gripping close to the center of mass. Whoa, almost like baton twirling, it actually looks kinda cool. I could use this technique to showboat and apply psychological pressure in matches. Make a big flashy display to psych out the opponent.

Getting overconfident, I try deflecting beams while spinning the bayonet, but the difficulty spikes hard. My success rate is only around 10% against these lowest tier spider mecha. The challenge is precisely timing the narrow bayonet's hitbox to intersect the incoming beam path, requiring impeccable reading ability. It gives a pretty nice flair as a showpiece, but I need way more practice before attempting it publicly.

Trying to fire off some run-and-gun style shots without stopping my movement resulted in something crazy happening. Like swinging a beam saber, I could mow down wide swaths with scattering beam arcs. The shredded beam potency means any hits do negligible damage, but the dispersing particles look visually striking. Could this work as a psychological intimidation tactic in player battles? CPU Sagittarians sometimes use a similar wide-beam attack from their main cannon that does pitiful damage if it hits, yet it always gets my heart pounding anyway. Classic fearmongering, but as a mental attack it might have merit - close in while the opponent is distracted, and it's finished.

It's been ages since I had this much fun on Stage 2. Switching weapons up brings a refreshing novelty. The purest gaming joy might only come from being a beginner.

Shooting alone will get me through Stage 3 at most. The multi-legged battleships seem manageable given time, but the 38 Beam Rifle lacks the firepower. It's not that expensive anyway, so I may as well pick up the 44 Beam Gun too.

"For the ultimate gunblade, you gotta go with the Tiger Matchet. Attack power is a 20% boost over the Buster Sword."

"Whoa, I want one of those."

Apparently this Tiger Matchet Jimmy recommended is a Leo exclusive short sword. There's supposedly a workaround to use it as a bayonet on other units by equipping it in the socket. A popular item that rarely comes up on auction and commands premium prices when it does. Well, most players are suckers for exploiting little loopholes like that.

I don't particularly care about using a gunblade that much. But the Tiger Matchet's stats are seriously impressive in an understated way. Not that remarkable for just one, but dual-wielding is just dirty. I honestly can't think of any good counter-strategy. Though Leo itself seems quite rare, so I probably won't encounter it anytime soon.

"Oh yeah, the Junior division separates for the 5th round of the Christmas Tourney tomorrow. It'll be harder to find matches if you enter late."

Apparently starting with the 5th round, underage players get split into a separate division with entry time restricted to before 5pm. A measure unique to this game that requires registering personal info to make pilot cards. "Good kids go home before dark" and all that.

It might be a countermeasure against that terror threat from the "Citizens Guarding Peace" group frequently in the news lately. Apparently there's some nutjobs claiming this "Guardian Troopers" game about piloting robot weapons is demonic indoctrination training. What an absolute farce - not only do combat-scale giant robots not actually exist in this world, but even if they did, what purpose could publicly sharing top secret weapon operation knowledge possibly serve?

Their delusion seems to stem from the game's operating company also being an American military contractor that manufactures actual missiles. Shouldn't a "peace" group welcome defense industry members pivoting to the gaming sector instead? Well, these types never stop short of indiscriminate terrorism for their "peace". Here's hoping they get preemptively arrested before any incidents occur.

With fewer players in the tourney, matchmaking will get that much harder. Minus the minors, there will only be around 200 remaining potential opponents. I need to make sure not to enter late tomorrow.

Wait, does that mean I'm currently ranked around the top 200 players in Japan? That's actually incredible, isn't it? 

If I win tomorrow, I could break into the top 100. What loadout should I use? The makeshift beam gun probably won't cut it, but the intimidation factor could work? Xcalibur is a must-have regardless.

The players left at this stage know better than to underestimate melee combat specialists. 

Whoa, I'm suddenly feeling the pressure now.