Developer Diary #3: Combos & Team Compositions

Combos:

• Managing power costs to combo
  • When it comes to combos the important thing to keep in mind is what moves work well with each other. Timing and attack distance are both really important, but for any combo it’s the Power cost that’s going to get you. Some Warriors are quick and agile, able to pull off a string of moves with ease because of their low Power Cost; let’s face it some moves are expensive. Take Goldar for example, he’s got quite a few moves that cost a lot of points. If you manage his Power Costs well and stun your opponent to regenerate Power for a few extra seconds,  you’re golden. No pun intended.
• Chain actions in advance
  • What’s the point of comboing if you’ve got a slight delay between moves where your opponent can recover and pound you into the dirt? Chain actions together by pressing a 2nd action before the first one completes. This ensures a seamless transition between your Leader’s moves that’ll let you be the one doing the pounding.
• Hit effects/reactions
  • We mentioned stun a bit earlier and how useful it is to give you a few extra seconds to regenerate Power. But stunning isn’t the only hit effect that’s useful in combat. Launching an opponent into the air renders them helpless until they are able to regain their bearings.  Staggers push opponents a short distance away which could give you a little space to set up a mid-ranged attack like Movie Yellow Ranger’s Ground n Pound. Knockbacks send the opponent hurdling backward giving you some space if you’ve been wedged into a corner.

Team Compositions:

• Leaders that work well with specific assist characters
  • Mighty Morphin’ Pink Ranger is a ranged Warrior who likes to keep her opponents at arm’s length. Team her up with 2017 Movie Pink Ranger whose Dive Kick can quickly close the distance to cover the entire play-space and you’re good. Follow up with a nice Backflip Kick if you can time it right!
  • The newly released In Space Psycho Red Ranger loves to get in his opponent’s face with some far reaching attacks that allows him to be up close and personal. While that’s all well and good sometimes you need to back up, so why not top it off with an attack? Add our new Dino Charge Purple Ranger to your team and her Dino Morpher Blast will send both the opponent and herself flying backwards giving you plenty of space before you start mad dashing across the stage again to do some serious damage.
  • Still having trouble landing Movie Yellow Ranger’s Ground n Pound? Well, the Dino Charge Blue Ranger has got you covered. His Spinning Shield attack causes the opponent to stagger back at just the right distance for your Leader’s Ground n Pound to take full effect.
  • Mixing up Warrior types: Attacker, Defender, Support is a great way to cover your bases.
• There’s a lot to say for all combinations of Leaders + Assists but here’s a few that work well together
  • Assist characters that pair well with one another:
    • Not enough blocks coming up? No problem pull in the Movie Blue Ranger and you’ll be launching opponents into the air in no time with his Rapid Counter move.  Throw in a Super MegaForce Yellow Ranger Assist in for a powerful staggering shot to give you some distance. That’s some heavy damage right there.
    • Classic Goldar and Lauren Shiba, the Super Samurai Red Ranger make for a pretty good team. Goldar charges in for some damage and gets you up close and Lauren Shiba goes in for a burning Fire Sword Slash which leaves the opponent staggering.
    • Master Xandred’s got a killer knockback on his Echo of Pain attack and add Movie Red Ranger’s Aerial Assault to finish off the distance and launch the opponents into the air.
  • There’s a lot of Leaders and Assists to mix and match with. And this goes for Assists too! Be warned though, these guys don’t come cheap!
• Overall Team Health
  • Overall Team Health is the combination of the Player Health, Leader Health and both Assists’ Health. If you’re struggling, but have an Assist with a lot of health, add them to your team because a little more Health Points goes a long way. Leader and Assist Health increase by Upgrading Warriors, but to increase your Player Health you’ll need to increase your Player Level.  
• Find the right team that matches your fighting style and make sure you’ve got plenty of health.  Keep upgrading your Warriors and you’ll be fighting your way to the top of the leaderboard in no time. Good luck Rangers!