Shinova/Playstyle

This is a guide on how to use Shinova's full potential. To see the main page, go to Shinova.

This ship can be used in unique ways, such as using an EMP before using Kappa Drive to clear the screen and get lots of Energy. This ship should also be used with some prediction skills due to the bullet speed starting slow and speeding up.

### Overview

Bullet EMP and Kappa Drive are two abilities that grant the Shinova excellent survivability in projectile-heavy situations. The ship rewards a defensive, slow and measured playstyle heavily centered around the utilization of a maxed Kappa Drive and its ability to slow time, as well as replenishing energy for repeated Bullet EMP firings.

For a defensive Shinova playstyle, Act 1 should consist of a focus to collect sufficient energy to fully charge the Bullet EMP. Deciding when to activate this ability is situational. It is best used when the majority of the screen is dominated by projectiles or if the ship's reactor is in danger of being hit. Because Bullet EMP instantly clears projectiles within its area, it is highly effective for resetting the wave and buying the player time. Maxing Bullet EMP is also highly recommended because it offers a stun of 0.6-second duration. Although this is not sufficient to halt the firing of invaders for a long time, it serves to "reset" their weapons. If an invader's turret requires three seconds to charge before firing but is hit by a maxed Bullet EMP before it fully charges, the charge duration will return to three seconds and count down again, giving more time for the player to destroy the invader.

The Shinova should employ liberal use of the Kappa Drive, and if possible, with it upgraded to the maximum level to enable Kappa Overdrive. The time-slowing effect of a maxed Kappa Drive significantly reduces the difficulty of grazing and makes escaping from situations with crowding of projectiles easier. If players wish to conserve energy for the Bullet EMP or decide it is not required for a particular wave of invaders, it is recommended to activate the Shinova's Kappa Drive, alternating between dodging and firing the main weapon to destroy the enemies. Where it may be too risky to move up and collect energy particles, Kappa Drive's attraction ability eliminates the need to do this. By destroying invaders and then activating the Kappa Drive in short bursts, players would be able to receive a fairly constant stream of energy. Because the Kappa Drive also includes a generator that recharges the aura ability over time, players may also seek to activate it for its recharging ability for some time after eliminating the majority of enemies within a wave or between the end of a wave and the start of the next.

### Strengths & Weaknesses

The Shinova excels in projectile-heavy missions because of its excellent ability to clear using Bullet EMP and dodge using Kappa Drive. Because its main weapon has a shield breaking nature, the Shinova is most viable for use in missions with shielded invaders. However, even in missions where the invaders are armored or unprotected and therefore there would be no bonus provided to the main weapon, the Shinova is still somewhat viable because both of these mission types still contain a number of projectiles.

The weakness of the Shinova lies in missions with large amounts of lasers. Bullet EMP does not clear lasers and Kappa Drive is ineffective in dodging them. While a maxed Bullet EMP's stun can reset laser turrets on invaders, it becomes overwhelmed easily, especially against many fast-tracking turrets. Likewise, Bullet EMP may only destroy laser MIRVs before they are triggered, after which it will have no effect on them. Using a Shinova in laser missions is discouraged.

Because the Shinova is defense-oriented and promotes a slow, methodical playstyle, it is not viable if players wish to clear a mission at a fast pace. The time for successful clearance of a mission in this ship would be normally around 5 minutes.