Ammo and limited-use abilities - July 25, 2015

Daily posting, on the topic of Gachduine's limited resource system for combat.

While there are no magic points in Gachduine, there are possible limits to how many times and when abilities can be used. Though some abilities are unlimited use, some require time to recharge (the Recharge Rate Competency improves recharge time for ALL rechargeable abilities) and some start with 1-3 uses (and some abilties can gain more uses with customization), but these limited use abilities cannot have their uses restored midway through combat or a dungeon, meaning you will have to decide when and where to expend what ability, though they are not lost forever; Green Lampposts or events that restore your party also restore uses, so if a powerful ability will be the best way to clear part of a battle or dungeon, it is likely the best way to go (so there is less worry as to whether an ability should be saved).

Gachduine also uses an ammo system for non-melee weapons (Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, Assault Rifle, Flamethrower, Rocket Launcher, Behemoth, Barrels, C4, Jupiter, Glacier, Sulfur Ball), and is something to keep in mind for strategic application alongside ability uses. Unlike ability uses, there are a number of ways to restore ammo, the most obvious being the Ammo Drone, a "summonable" entity that can be upgraded by some characters (can be learned by the custom main characters, Miranda, Noah, Arthur and Hayley).

Other abilities include the Unarmed passive ability Snatch (all Unarmed attacks restore ammo), the Rocket Launcher -> Sledgehammer Juggle ability Full Rocket (which fully refills Rocket Launcher ammo), Sabine's Biomachine ability Silvery Mend (every Heal ability restores 3 of each ammo type to those healed), the Omni Drone Extreme (which combines all Drone types, even Ammo Drone) and Melissa's Colossus Extreme (which not only restores all ammo, but grants her unlimited ammo. Abilities can also be learned to reduce the chances of expending ammo across various weapons (Assault Rifle, Flamethrower, Rocket Launcher, Behemoth, Barrels, Jupiter, Glacier).