BREAK ARTS III Gameplay Guide vol. 3

Welcome Artists!

Previously, we created a custom Architecture and customized it to maximize racing performance. Today, we’ll explain the principles behind Architecture movement as well as heat and energy management, then apply this knowledge to participate in our first proper race. Let’s begin!

[p][h2]Thruster Types and Movement[/h2][/p]
As previously explained, unit customization is done by placing different types of modules on the frame’s connectors. One of these types are Thrusters, which are responsible for unit propulsion. There are three types of Thrusters, each used to control different types of movement.

Accelerators: Thrusters that provide constant thrust for a rigid Energy and Heat cost. They are used to increase base speed in a direction or provide neutral movement. While flying, downwards facing Accelerators can be useful to keep the unit from falling.

[Using Accelerators]

Detonators: Thrusters that provide a burst of speed towards the direction they’re facing. Unlike Accelerators, their Heat generation and Energy consumption increases if they’re used in rapid succession. They are most commonly used to control momentum by increasing or cancelling out lateral movement, but they are also great at quickly bringing the unit up to its max speed. They can be extremely versatile with proper usage, however excessive reliance on them might make Heat and Energy control difficult.

[Using Detonators]

Turning Thrusters: Thrusters that increase the speed at which the unit rotates. They incur a small passive Energy and Heat cost.

[Using Turning Thrust]

Accelerators and Detonators provide thrust only towards the direction they are currently facing. The direction might change as the unit is moving around, so thruster placement is crucial to the unit’s performance. To test this, we may use the motion check tab in the customization menu.

[Motion Check. Blue indicators are for Accelerators, Pink for Detonators.]

Please note that Accelerators and Detonators are also affected by the Driving Speed stat of the unit. The amount that each thruster is affected is proportional to the Conversion Efficiency listed on its tooltip. Since this is a bit more advanced, you may refer to the in-game tutorials for more details.

[p][h2]Managing Energy and Heat[/h2][/p]
Your Architecture has two main resources used by Thrusters: Energy and Heat. The maximum amount of Energy available is determined by its Energy Capacity, while Energy Generation represents how much Energy is regenerated every second. Trying to use more Energy than is available will cancel Energy-consuming actions that exceed the available capacity.

Likewise, Heat Capacity represents the maximum amount of Heat that can be stored without overheating, while Cooldown Ability represents how much Heat is dissipated every second. Exceeding the Heat Capacity of the unit will cause it to overheat and take damage proportional to the amount of heat over its maximum capacity.

[Overheating]

Keeping heat above 80% of the available capacity will cause the Architecture to enter Critical Heat state, significantly increasing its performance. Aggressive heat management is key to unlocking your unit’s full potential, but be careful not to overheat!

[Critical Heat]

Score Attack and Hard Mode stages might also feature environmental hazards which affect your unit’s Energy Regeneration and Cooldown Ability. If you plan on attempting these modes, be sure to properly design your Architecture to withstand these harsh conditions!

[p][h2]Pure Racing[/h2][/p]
It’s time to race! Pure Races disable all offensive capabilities of the Architectures in order to provide Artists with a clean racing experience. Selecting a racing stage will pit your Architecture against up to 5 AI opponents. Some stages may span multiple rounds of racing and feature different tracks under different conditions.

[Example of a Pure Racing match]

Race against your opponents while loosely staying within course limits. Exceeding these limits will start a 4 second Repositioning timer, and failing to re-enter before it runs out will reposition your Architecture back on the track. Note that this still allows the unit to slightly deviate from the intended path, so flying above the track or taking shortcuts is allowed.

[Repositioning Timer]

And that’s all for now! We’ll leave you with a video of our CRITERIAn EX competing in a Pure Race. In the next installment of this guide, we’ll be going over the offensive capabilities of Architectures, showcasing Weapon building and Plugin usage, and using a new custom Architecture to compete in a Battle stage. Stay tuned!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]Video of a full Race in the CRITERIAn EX


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