MGs, SGs and Teambuilding

The TL;DR here is: do not make an MGSG Echelon. Just don’t.

The last two Doll types, MGs and SGs are generally not recommended to newer players for various reasons, most of which we will cover here.

Let us start with some small notes on what each Doll type’s characteristics are:

• ARs target the frontmost enemy, have a fairly constant damage output, average offensive stats and have no AP.
• RFs target the backmost enemy, have a fairly constant damage output, high DMG, low RoF, high Crit Rate and Accuracy and can deal with Armor through AP.
• SMGs generally have high HP and Eva, allowing them to survive much longer than most other Doll types.
• HGs generally have strong tiles and either have Skills that buff allies or debuff enemies, making them excellent support units.
• SGs have high HP, low Eva, and Armor which reduces damage taken by a flat amount, allowing them to shrug off low to medium damage easily. Struggle with high DMG or AP.
• MGs have random targeting, a burst of damage followed by a long reloading time and have low Accuracy.

From just this, you can see that MGs stand out significantly from the other two DPS types by having inconsistent damage output, uncontrollable targeting and struggling with evasive enemies due to their Accuracy. Additionally, their intended niche of having “high burst damage” just doesn’t work well later on when enemies survive way past it.

SGs on the other hand are a bit more functional, but are limited in that they need to negate enemy damage almost entirely to do their job.

Finally, MGs and SGs are much more expensive to resupply than all the other Doll types (Ammo/Rations):

• ARs are 60/60.
• RFs are 55/90.
• SMGs are 85/60.
• HGs are 30/30.
• MGs are 140/90.
• SGs are 90/140.

As you can see here, an echelon with multiple MGs and at least one SG is way more expensive to resupply than normal ARSMG or RFHG echelons.

MGs and SGs are Very Expensive to Craft

Compared to the other Doll types, MGs and especially SGs are way more expensive to craft. 

Any MGSG that successfully overcomes their weaknesses to perform well requires good MGs and SGs. Combined with the very high cost of acquiring them, MGSGs have a very high barrier to entry, and can be substituted with other more accessible echelon types in a vast majority of situations.

SGs are Armor tanks, and before you try to field an SG, ask yourself: 

• Can you just kill it before it becomes an issue? (RFHG standard motto)
• Can you Evasion tank it with an SMG? (Examples of units this does not work against: SMG Nytos, Gunners, Pyxis, Judge)

• Can an SG actually tank whatever it is that you’re fighting?

Only if you pass this gauntlet of questions should you start seriously considering using an SG tank. 

It is also worth pointing out that for most enemies where you do want an SG, a single SG will suffice. There are very few fights where having two SGs is actually needed.

Using an SG Doesn’t Mean Using MGs

Even if you do end up wanting an SG tank, this still doesn’t mean you should then add MGs to the echelon. Simply adding an SG as the tank in a standard RF or AR Echelon will usually solve the problem, and now you get to keep the more effective DPS Dolls, rather than having to deal with MGs.

One simple  example is Judge, an SF boss who hits two targets with extremely high RoF, but with somewhat low Damage. Two SGs is almost mandatory for fighting her, but the DPS doesn’t have to be MGs. M4A1 Mod together with two SGs is one such better solution.

Alternatively, if you run into Judge while clearing Story, a Friend Echelon can just kill her for you. There is no need to raise SGs early on when Friend Echelons solve the issue.

If Base Armor Isn’t High Enough

In the case that your SG doesn’t have enough Armor to negate most enemy damage, there are three options:

• Reduce enemy Damage through debuffing HGs. Two Damage debuffing HGs can keep enemy Damage at a tankable level forever, though this requires paying some attention to skill timers.
• Fairy aura and talent. Armor Fairy especially has very high Armor multipliers, which can then be further increased with an Armor talent.
• Armor tiles. Most of the better MGs have Armor tiles, which could bring Armor high enough to tank the incoming damage.

Coalition Units

Coalition units are unlike G&K in the way they tank, often having both high Armor AND high Evasion. Both Manticores and SWAP Aegis have very high base Armor (up into the 40s, comparable to buffed SGs) while also having very high Evasion (comparable to SMGs). 

While Coalition units struggle to keep up with the absolute highest end of G&K (i.e. extremely strong 5☆ Fairies, very strong specialized Dolls and the powerful synergy from HG buffers), for almost all content outside UX or ranking, simply slapping together an Echelon of some DPS units, a Manticore, and a Ringleader is sufficient, especially for any fights that you might want MGs or SGs for. 

While MGs are strongly discouraged for general use, they do still have some details worth looking at.

Burst Damage

MGs have high base Damage and very high attack speed, giving them high peak DPS. Back when enemy teams had low HP and most Armored enemies had low to no Evasion, MGs could eliminate almost all enemies in their first volley, and the SGs could tank the few stragglers indefinitely for any later volleys. However, as enemies have gained more and more total effective HP over time, it’s no longer possible to neuter the entire enemy team that quickly, forcing Echelons to prioritize the high threat enemies (making random targeting a massive drawback). Furthermore, with Evasion being on practically everything these days, MGs’ flaws have become increasingly obvious, and normal MGs just end up being ineffective.

That being said, thanks to their high (early) burst damage and the target dummy having no Evasion, MGs can be useful to enable higher yields from Data Sims. To that end, a single strong MG combined with other options is enough. For this, we highly recommend Kord because she has a strong niche outside Data Sim and is permanently farmable. Since you’ll want to raise her eventually anyways, raising her for Data Sim won’t cost you additional resources.

Armor Tiles

Most of the better MGs also have Armor tiles that can be useful for SGs to reach Armor thresholds to be able to negate enemy damage. However, most fights don’t need Armor tanking to begin with, and of those that do, only a small fraction need Armor tiles.

SLAP Ammo

While MGs are the only class that can equip SLAP ammo with its extremely high 500 AP, there are very few enemies with enough Armor for the extra AP to make any real difference. RFs have no problems dealing with heavily armored high priority targets like Hydras and Troys, while Maccabees are best handled using Armor tanks instead of crippling your DPS to kill the unimportant meatshields before the actual threats in the backline.

General Use

Despite their high burst damage, the fact that MGs spend so much time reloading means they have much lower sustained DPS than even the baseline self-buff RFs and ARs (WA2000 and G41), especially when Evasion enters the picture. Excluding the unique use cases discussed above, the only MGs worth considering are those that can overcome the Doll type’s numerous issues.

Some examples of these include:

• Actual targeting. 

• Little to no reloading.

• Bringing extra effects.

Compared to these newer MGs, older MGs just do not offer much useful to an Echelon.

For the few cases that you do want to use MGs and SGs, it is not recommended to craft for them.

Due to how expensive they are to craft, the better SGs are mainly acquired through True Core Masks, allowing the resources to instead be spent on other important areas like raising Fairies or Equipment.

Most of the stronger MGs actually aren’t craftable, but rather on the Limited Doll list, making them harder to acquire.