VOOT
 


... STRATEGY

 
 
VOOT BASICS
 
 
 
VOOT Dashing: Ground and Air
VOOT Dashing: Ground and Air
VOOT Dashing: Ground and Air
VOOT Dashing: Ground and Air
VOOT Dashing: Ground and Air
 
 
Dashing: Ground and Air
 
Ah, that high-pitched whirl of dashing Virtuaroid engines; there isn't anything quite like the thrill of dashing straight to your opponent with the intent of delivering some heavy explosive materials, only to eat a bomb that sends you into a backward head-over-robotic-heels flip. During any VOOT battle (I'd say some 70% of the time), you're dashing. And while it seems like a pretty simple concept--pressing the turbo button and direction to dash--there are some things that you know about dashing. The first rule: Unless you really like having a rocket up your butt, NEVER dash backward. Oh, sure, there are exceptions to this rule, especially if you want to launch a specific weapon that only comes from a backward dash. But for the most part, dashing backward is a big no-no, especially for beginners; unless you're dashing to get behind a obstacle, you're leaving yourself wide open for an easy shot.
 
New to the Virtual On series is Air Dashing. To execute an air dash, simply press the Y button to jump in the air, then press a direction on the D-Pad and any Turbo button. Ground Dashing rules apply to air dashing; mainly, DON'T DASH BACKWARDS. However, there is one interesting rule in Air Dashing. Once your robot is done with an Air Dash, the Virtuaroid will simply float straight to the ground, leaving your character very vulnerable. While you can speed up your descent from an Air Dash by pressing the A button (Crouch), the best way to avoid being an easy target while floating down from an Air Dash is not to jump to high and Air Dash. Whenever you choose to initiate an Air Dash, perform the maneuver low to the ground to cut down your descent duration. Also know as SLD (Super Low-Altitude Dashing), this is a valuable skill and should definitely be practiced.
 
Now, when you start dashing in a particular direction, you can always stop simply by pressing the dash button again, or by pressing Y to jump. However, you can't cancel your dash direction if you dash and attack. Dash Attacks will, more often than not, be your bread-and-butter attacks, and for good reason--with Dash Attacks, you can avoid enemy fire while closing in on an enemy and/or gaining better position (i.e., behind obstacles, away from the enemy's field of view).
 
Another advantage of the Dash Attack is in homing-in on the enemy. When you initiate a dash attack, your robot will always rotate toward its enemy and fire; each robot rotates and tracks at different speeds, so some robots are better at locking on to their targets, and some can rotate faster to face them (Raiden is especially good with his Dashing Center Weapon Attack).
 
There are three main types of Dash Attacks: forward, side and backward. Forward Dash Attacks deliver great damage and speed, but run your robot the risk of sustaining serious damage if hit during a forward Dash Attack. Side Dash Attacks are great for evading the enemy, but are less damaging and are slower than forward attacks. Backward Dash Attacks should be performed as often as back dashes--never! Yes, there are certain backward Dash Attacks that are useful to certain Virtuaroids, but for the most part, avoid them. Diagonal dashing attacks, as pointed out by PtBlank, are a combination of a side dash and forward dash attack, or a combination of a side dash and backward dash attack (obviously depending if you're dashing diagonally forward or backwards).
 
Dash Attacks will be your primary method of attack, but there's one huge penalty of executing them--at the end of your Dash Attack, you robot will eventually stop dashing, and when it does, it enters a one-second delay. During this freeze, you can't move or attack, leaving your 'bot extremely vulnerable to retaliation. Needless to say, many beginners are constantly frustrated when dashing side-to-side, weapons ablaze, only to be met with a heavy beam attack at the end of the dash. There are ways to shorten this delay (more on that in Part 2), but it's best not to abuse the Dash Attacks and know exactly where your Dash Attack will place your mech.