Slip Slide - Mercedes slides along the ground, firing multiple piercing shots upwards that will return back to the ground, dealing damage again.  Slip Slide is fantastic for re positioning and getting to a safe area to reload.  Not to mention it helps build up a massive chain. 

Energy Shot - Mercedes fires a piercing laser forward that deals damage multiple times and immediately breaks any guard.  Although Energy Shot has a heavy resource cost, it's ability to break any guard on top of adding to your overall chain is solid.  Energy Shot can also be used mid flight to destroy those pesky flying enemies rather quickly, or at least ground them. 

MAGIC





Unlike Cornelius and Gwendolyn, the majority of Mercedes' best abilities are magic.  I definitely recommend utilizing the "Restore" potion for extended fights.  To create "Restore" simply Mix a Material and 2 Carroteers. 



Round Shot - A very basic spell, Round Shot fires a massive fireball in front of Mercedes.  Round Shot uses very little PP, pierces and can hit an entire side of the map if Mercedes' is mid flight, so keep this simple spell equipped and upgraded. 



Spread Shot - A personal favorite, Spread Shot is my bread & butter for Mercedes.  Firing a plethora of shots in starting forward and slowly angling upwards, Spread Shot covers a massive amount of space and spikes your chain quickly and easily.  I recommend leveling Spread Shot early and keeping it equipped throughout Book 3. 



Unlimited Ammo - Self explanatory but amazing nonetheless.  Based on the level of the skill Unlimited Ammo will allow Mercedes to fire Riblam with no limits.  This skill makes airborne Mercedes an absolute menace! 



Brionac - Mercedes' ultimate ability.  Brionac is the weakest ultimate ability up to this point, but still devastating, capable of wiping all enemies on screen.  Brionac uses a massive amount of PP and can completely whiff on smaller enemies but is a cinematic display of Vanillaware's incredible art style. 









"Brionac", Mercedes' cinematic ultimate ability. 













*** Spirit Call/Banshee Call/Pixie Call - I certainly do not recommend exclusively using these abilities, but they have a very interesting synergy.  Each of these "Call" abilities spawns a familiar that will fire magic alongside Mercedes.  Spirit is not only the best familiar but is incredibly potent when paired with Unlimited Ammo.  Spirit Call summons a group of faeries that fire forward, Banshee Call summons a familiar that fires along the ground and Pixie Call's familiar fires in an aerial arc.  With the help of Restore potions and Unlimited Ammo these abilities have the potential to rip a boss to shreds with relative ease, not to mention filling up your entire TV screen with magical bullets. 







PASSIVES





I believe that passives are the trick to playing Mercedes to her full potential, more so than any other character.  Before I get into her best passive skills, take a look at my mid-game Mercedes build -









Ignoring my embarrassing flub at 1:35 ( I was trying so hard to Slip Slide out of danger, but unfortunately failed to notice my utter lack of a POW gauge), did you notice the consistent spikes in my POW gauge? 



Power Recovery - The single most vital ability in Mercedes' kit.  Power Recovery recovers POW gauge whenever you defeat an enemy.  As you can see above this skill allows Mercedes to front a constant offensive when there are many enemies, or allow her to deal enough damage to buy the time to reload. 



First Shot - Another unique passive, First Shot allows Mercedes' 1 second charge shot to charge up even faster.  Great for buying extra time to disengage and reload without dropping your combo. 



Skill Link - Exactly the same as Gwendolyn's and Corenlius' Skill Link, deal more damage based on the number of skills you have used in the current chain.  Works best with Round Shot and Spread Shot. 



Assault High - Deal more damage based off how high your current chain is.  Works in tandem with Skill Link and the multitude of multi-hit shots in Mercedes' arsenal.