Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness/Gameplay

Cyberbots works on a simple 4-button system: three buttons attack, one dashes.

Notation

Refer here for information on notation used in move lists or elsewhere.

Property	Meaning
{{#motion:Airok}}	Move can be done on the ground or in the air
{{#motion:Aironly}}	Move can only be done in the air
{{#motion:High}}	Move must be blocked high
{{#motion:Low}}	Move must be blocked low
{{#motion:Throw}}	Move can only be performed at point-blank range and has no whiff animation if it fails
{{#motion:Airthrow}}	Same as a throw, but in the air
{{#motion:Unblockable}}	Used only for a few Cyber-EX moves, this move cannot be blocked if it connects
{{#motion:Cptr}}	Move acts like a throw if it connects, but it can be blocked
{{#motion:OTG}}	Move has the On-The-Ground property (see below)

Symbol	Meaning
{{#motion:L}}	Light Attack
{{#motion:H}}	Heavy Attack
{{#motion:Atk}}	Light or Heavy Attack
	Boost
	VA Weapon
{{#motion: qcf}}	Quarter Circle Forward
	Quarter Circle Forward to Down
{{#motion: qcb}}	Quarter Circle Back
{{#motion: hcf}}	Half Circle Forward
{{#motion: hcb}}	Half Circle Back
{{#motion: dp}}	Dragon Punch
{{#motion: rdp}}	Reverse Dragon Punch
{{#motion: 360}}	360° Rotation

Controls

The standard button layout is:

Basic Elements

① Round Timer

Shows remaining time. If the timer runs out before either player is eliminated, the one with the highest health wins.

② Life Gauge

Shows remaining life. Whoever runs out of life first loses.

③ Arm Gauge

Shows how close the VA is to losing its arm. Similar to a stun gauge, this bar decreases when taking damage and refills after a period of not taking damage. If it empties completely, the VA loses its main arm and cannot perform certain attacks. Helion, Super-8, and Warlock cannot lose their arm.

④ Weapon Gauge

Dictates how often the VA may use its weapon attack. Most weapons have a short cooldown before they can be fired again.

⑤ Boost Gauge

Shows remaining number of air boosts. The gauge refills completely any time a VA is on the ground. Number of boosts varies greatly depending on VA model and leg type, and the gauge is visually different for each main model (i.e. Blodia-type, Reptos-type, etc).

⑥ Super Gauge

Shows amount of super meter filled. It can be filled by landing attacks or Charging. When full, the VA may perform a Super Counter or Cyber-EX, which will drain the bar back to empty.

Universal Techniques

Normal and Special Moves

The {{#motion:L and H}} buttons are the basic attack buttons, used for normals, specials, and other techniques. Generally {{#motion:L}} is fast, short range, and weak, and {{#motion:H}} is the opposite.

• All VAs have access to standing, crouching, jumping, and ground-dashing versions of {{#motion:L and H}}.
• All VAs can do {{#motion:d + H}} in the air, which often has a special property to set it apart from regular air {{#motion:H}}.
• Most VAs have a short ground combo of {{#motion:L > H}}, or {{#motion:L > L > H}}.

Boosting

The button serves as a shortcut for ground dashing, as well as air movement specific to the VA's leg type.

• Dash-Type Boost

Causes the VA to dash in any of 8 directions or neutral when pressed, up to the VA’s limit.

Used by Command Walker and Treads leg types.

• Jump-Type Boost

Causes the VA to jump left, right, or neutral when pressed, up to the VA’s limit.

Used by Insectroid leg types.

• Hover-Type Boost

Causes the VA to enter a steerable free-flying mode as long as the button is held, for up to 5 seconds of sustained flight.

Used by Turbo Jet leg types.

Weapon Attacks

The button will fire your VA's shoulder projectile, but has a cooldown so it cannot be used like a regular attack button.

Most Weapon attacks have a neutral, crouching, and jumping version; however some weapons have other directional inputs as well, such as forward, jumping-down, jumping-up, and so on.

A few weapons have also have special moves that can be done with them, which are listed in each VA's move list.

Throws

This game features a variety of throw types, but all of them require your VA to be touching the other for them to connect.

Also note that there are no whiff animations on failed throws.

• {{#motion:b or f + L}} will do a multi-hitting throw which can be mashed for more hits.
• {{#motion:b or f + H}} will do a strong, single hit throw.
• {{#motion: + Atk}} will do a multi-hitting throw that heavily damages the opponent's arm gauge.
• Reptos and Killer Bee have the exclusive ability to airthrow.
• Some VAs have additional throws with special move inputs, such as Reptos and Vise.

The Super Gauge

When a VA's super gauge is not full, there are two ways to fill it:

• Landing attacks, whether they hit or are blocked, will gradually fill the gauge.

• {{#motion:L + H}} will quickly fill the super gauge; however if a VA is hit while charging, it immediately loses its main arm.

When a VA's super gauge is full, there are three ways to use it:

• {{#motion:L + H}} will do a Super Counter, which knocks the opponent away and does some damage if it hits. Super Counters can also hit downed opponents.
• {{#motion:qcf qcf + Atk}} will do the VA's Cyber-EX move, which is typically flashy and does very high damage.

• VAs automatically gain a 20% damage boost for 10 seconds once their super gauge is full, but they lose this effect early as soon as a Super Counter or Cyber-EX move is used.

Advanced Mechanics

Special Cancel

Most ground normals can be cancelled on hit or block into special moves, Cyber-EXs, and super counters.

Slide

When knocked down, holding left or right will cause the VA to roll in that direction as it gets up. You can also cross-up your opponent this way.

Recovery Slide

As a VA is being knocked down, pressing Boost with proper timing will cause the VA to leap to its feet much quicker, making it safe from OTGs. However, this cannot be performed if the VA was knocked down with a counter-hit.

OTGs

Once the opponent has been knocked down, your VA can hit them with one more move which has the OTG (On-The-Ground) property. This includes most throws and Super Counters.

Instant Overheads/Triangle Jump

By jumping and immediately dashing down-forward at the opponent while doing an attack, VAs can create almost unreactionable overheads. Due to the nature of this technique, it can only be done by VAs which have Dash- and Hover-type boosts.

Short Dash Attack

By pressing either attack simultaneously with Boost, the VA will perform a shorter distance version of their dash attacks. This is useful for staying outside throw range while still doing the attack.

Startup Cancel

Because of the way the game handles move inputs, all ground normals can be cancelled early in their animation into other techniques, whether or not they hit. This includes special moves, Cyber-EXs, super counters, and charging.