Gundam Battle: Gunpla Warfare - Part Spotlight - Sokai Special Part 3

Welcome back to the final installment of the GBGW Part Spotight - Sokai Special!  I've had a lot of fun with these, and definitely tried to make this as informative or as accurate as I can possibly manage. I maybe would've wanted to split up each analysis differently, with Qubeley and Zeta being part of the larger article, annd maybe Kshatriya and Unicorn moved back some to this article.  

You'll see why when we dig in.

I want to remind everyone again that, on average, Sokai Parts feature higher stat spreads/alottments than other Parts, but that doesn't always make them exceptional or stand out.  Most of the Parts in several slots from all four of our features today are filler Parts, and finding the more exceptional ones was really a lot more difficult this time around.

I can't just claim a part is stand out because it carries Ace tags for example, because then we'd be covering a great deal of Sokai Parts just for that reason.

To make up for a little lacking of stand-out Parts, we're going to give some honorable mentions that are great alternatives to other Parts, in the case you may be sitting on them.

Part One - Freedom, Justice, Kshatriya Unicorn, Nu Gundam

Part Two - Turn A Gundam and Turn X

**I am in no way telling anyone that they should or should not pay for premium currency in order to pull on Banners.  This is an informative overview of a Part's stand-out effectiveness or viability, and is based on observational data.**

HI-NU GUNDAM HWS [VER.KA]

I love how this thing looks, and first impressions had it at a pretty strong contender for shot builds.  After the shininess of the Sokai Banner wore off, though, we could see that while this suit has a large degree of Ace Exclusive Tags, the Parts just aren't as incredible in a standalone sense.

Keeping that in mind, Hi-nu HWS Head is an adequate alternative to something like Nu Gundam, Wing Zero Custom, or Veetwo, but each of those outclass it entirely.  HWS Head offers 3300+ shot attack, but backs that with head vulcans. Gross. But hey, it's got Ace, and that's not bad.

It should be said though, that the Parts we aren't going to mention in this article make excellent Parts to bring your build together, or activate that power Ace Exclusive Word Tag.  So it's not like they're bad, just not exceptional, and if you have better then you can afford to skip them.

CHEST - Another honorable mention, and that's because the stats are only resting in that sort of average/above-average break-point, but fail to cross the line into "wow". 551 across both attack stats is sorta meh, but we've got an Ace Exclusive Tag here which we just don't have nearly as plentiful as Protag... And a heap of defense. 

In addition to that, what makes this Part my pick for a mention are these factors plus the EX Skill.  I've said before that B+ is more than enough for a kill, and we've seen it with Gusion Rebake Shield. This is a comparable EX Skill for shooters that comes out at the same pace, and can end it on the spot. 

RIFLE - Onward, for glorious insanity!  This Rifle is IN-CRED-UH-BLE.  Yeah, I know it's a no-brainer, but for some reason people still don't know that 4105 Shot attack (one of the highest), 17% EX Skill Power boost if Technique attribute (any EX Skill), and the addition of both Ace Exclusive and High Firepower makes this easily one of the best Rifles in the game, hands-freaking-down.

I may even dare to say this gun is better than Nu's Rifle, considering it's 4105 shot attack vs Nu Rifle at 4110 (only 5 less), 15% added shot from Tags as opposed to Nu's 10%, and an additional 17% EX Skill Power boost, where Nu gets nothing similar there.  Stats aren't always the end-all be-all.

The 153 melee is a literal joke, and I get a giggle every time I see it, but IT'S SUCH A GOOD LOOKING GUN, and it's so strong.  Really, if you're sleeping on this baby, you are making a giant, cannon-rifle-sized mistake.

(previously this article stated the difference in shot attack at 95. This was a clerical error; the difference is only 5)

SHIELD - Oh this thing looks so cool, but man is it spicy.  I am gonna preach constantly about Shields that have Ace Exclusive until someone hits me with a brick, but this comes with Ace and High FirepowerThe EX Skill is just competent enough as one of those "last resort" Skills. Basically if you've got nothing better or you're definitely all about them beams.

On top of the excellent Tags comes a pile of shot defense, and serviceable melee defense and beam resist.  Physical resist leaves a little to be desired, and you get an extra 153 melee attack for your troubles!

Barring the bad jokes, this is definitely a unique Shield you're gonna want to keep and use often.

ENHANCED ZZ GUNDAM [VER.KA]

Man this big guy is a tanky Gunpla.  Honestly it falls to the same fate as Hi-nu HWS with a head at 3306 shot attack and an EX Skill that only really counts as filler.  The Mega Particle Cannon isn't quite as useful as Hi-nu HWS Shield, being that it's almost a glorified charge beam, but it can do something sometimes.

Beyond that, the EZZ mostly packs Ace and Gundam Type Tags with some of the more average Sokai standard of Parts, so they only ultimately work in most builds as filler quality Parts. But they'll be enough to finish off an important Tag or two somewhere.

 BACK - With 551 shot attack, this doesn't have amazing offensive stats, but it has a heap of defensive ones that can help in a pinch.  1732 melee defense on a back Part is nothing to shake a stick at, but isn't going to be the reason you use this Part, instead opting for High Firepower and the B+ EX Skill.

EZZ Back's EX Skill has a leg up on HWS in the regards that it has far better tracking, and seems to be able to hit targets more accurately from longer distances, securing that kill.  Fast B+ EX Skills are becoming more viable as Arena requires faster and faster kills.

CHEST - At a beefy 1732 in both Armor and melee defense, you know this Part is going to lean for the tank side of things, and it definitely does.  Like HWS chest, it only has that 551 for both melee and shot attack stats with some sizeable shot defense at 965.  Following suit with most of these two suits' Parts, it's got that Ace Tag included on top of all this.

The real draw here is the super-unique EX Skill that buffs only defensive stats (melee and beam resist) by 20 and 40% respectively, while giving the normal 20% speed boost.  We don't really have any other EX Skill that leans this hard into defense stats, and it may be something handy coming up if we can build with real tanks in mind.

Thanks for checking out this three-part segment covering these Sokai suits! I hope that it helps dispel some confusion people have and sets them on the right path.

Starting next Friday, we're going to be coming out with a Part Spotlight every week, so check back often!

Be sure to check out our GBGW Discord Server - NEWTYPE LABS!  We've got a contest running for the month where you design your best looking gunpla with the theme of "New Beginnings and Big Ends! Build a gunpla celebrating our wonderful decade or the closure of it, and whatever that means to you!"

Submissions run from January 1st to January 15th, and all you need to do is design your gunpla, fill out the Google form located in our #Event-Announcements Channel, and you're in!  The Prize is a 10 dollar gift card for Android or IOS, as well as top 3 will receive invites for an upcoming competition for even greater prizes!

Happy building, and Happy New Year!

QUBELEY

Admittedly, we're starting here to get this monster out of the way, and I'm not using that term positively.  At the time that the Qubeley/Zeta Sokai dropped, a lot of these Parts were very rare and unique, and that's just not the case anymore.

More so in the case of Qubeley, it is the most significant example of power creep in this game so far, and is honestly one of the only examples, but it's as a whole.  The Legs used to be great, until Kshatriya.  The Arms were previously super strong, but has been entirely outclassed by Providence Arms, of all things (really though, Prov arms are strong as heck), in all of Tags, Stats, and EX Skill.

There's basically just better things around, in both Standard and Sokai currently, except for one unique thing.

HEAD - Here it is, the one thing that I couldn't entirely discredit from Qubeley, and that's mainly due to the fact that the EX Skill will heal all Squad members.  This is great for clearing special missions in Events, or EX difficulty missions, and even Ono.  

What it won't do, is be viable in Arena, because when you run it you lessen overall damage output on all areas, and basically are gearing for a losing situation, when you should be pushing for a winning one.

As far as Stats, though, Qubeley isn't anything special.  A very clear ~3k shot attack, above-average melee, a lesser tag than Ace in Commander, and some smattering of defense.  It's a nice tool to have though, and we may need more use for heals later.

ZETA GUNDAM

I'm gonna come right out at the gate and say that Zeta is one of the tankiest selections of Parts available in terms of raw stats.  Alas it suffers the same fate as Qubeley and is showing it's age.  There's a definite difference, though, in overall terms of individual Part viability, and that's because Zeta packs three notable Parts to Qubeley's one in addition to shining in defense.

The real tragedy here is the fact that the game doesn't really reward you for building for Armor, Defense, and Resistance.  At best, you can weather the tide of oncoming EX Skills, and maybe survive a Power A EX Skill in Arena, but if you're trying to tank attacks then you are planning to be in a losing situation.   The game really pushes you to kill everyone and everything as fast as your little thumbs can manage, so this is just counter-intuitive play.

All things considered, these stand out Parts are really something, and have been heavily overlooked since August.

CHEST - How many of you here knew that Zeta Gundam packs a Power A EX Skill?  This skill is a little different, though, and lacks a 'hissatsu' dash animation, but makes up for it with a combination of invincibility frames (preventing you from being interrupted), and that it's one of the few ranged melee EX Skills with enough power to matter.

It's a little tricky to hit with, but actually has a good deal of solid tracking that can assist you in landing the hit, and has a pretty fair path.  I'm not sure of the exact area of effect, but it appears that it reaches farther than Shining Finger Sword, though it's only one hit, if I remember. 

Attack stats are about average, which is technically the low end of Sokai Parts, but defenses on are on the higher end.  Tags are notably off, being Ace and Transformer, but the EX is the low-hanging fruit here.

BACK - The Back is another thing that seemed people had overlooked, with how strong that Trait can be. A 17% boost to shooting power when attacking with Beam, and requiring no attribute restrictions can be really strong.  

I know that a maxed out Nadleeh back can reach a higher percentage, but this enables you to slap it on a Beam-based Technique shooter packing Beam Magazine skills for added power (for daka daka daka), and really push the damage higher.

Honestly the offensive stats are really average again, with the defense being extremely notable though you still shouldn't be leaning for defense over attack, it's just a bonus. Something else of note is that while the Transformer Word Tag is really negligible on this Part, Gundam Type will help you enter the upcoming Arena.

SHIELD - For me, I just couldn't ignore this Shield as an honorable mention.  Honestly, again, the defense are high, and this time it's both in melee and shot defense, with sizeable beam resist.  Defense on a Shield is probably the only place where you'll currently prioritize that sort of stat spread.

In addition to that, this packs a Close Combat Word Tag for your melee build, should you need or want one, and comes complete with a solid D/C physical magazine EX Skill. 

This Shield at one point was probably the strongest Shield in the game and has probably fallen a short way from there with some of the other Sokai Shields being so strong... but it's worth keeping if you've already got it.