Abilities

## **Introduction**

Abilities are part of a titan's toolkit that grant it a special buff or capability, allowing it to further its strategic, tactical, and/or technical playstyle as well as enhance its overall flexibility in a warzone. Titans with abilities can either maneuver around the battlefield using a different technique or enhance what mobility they already have. As of currently, there are four abilities available in the game.

## **Jump**

The ability Jump is held by the Titans Little Shon, Mite and Nelly.

Jump lets the Titan propel into the air and lets it travel for a distance, allowing it to bridge across gaps, cover spans of ground in a shorter time, bypass a short wall, or, in the case of Mite, hopping onto and rodeoing an unsuspecting target. Note that once a titan commits to a jump, **it cannot change direction midair,** meaning that you can just as easily leap into danger as you can do so out of it; exercise caution when you don't (or do) know what's around the corner.

It gives the Titan a huge speed buff in a short time (usually about 3-4 secs). Once the jump button has been pressed, a cooldown of 5-10 seconds will start, depending on the titan.

## **Sprint**

The ability Sprint is held by the Titans Bully, M.A.O., Ravager, and upcoming titan Atlas.

Sprinting moderately to drastically boosts a titan's maximum speed for a period of around 10 seconds, after which a cooldown of 8-10 seconds will follow, depending on the titan. During the sprint, a titan can rush to a teammate's aid or a critically important fight on the map, cover large portions of the map, secure a drop zone before others can, ambush an unwary opponent, or escape an unfavorable situation. Unlike with a jump, a titan can still change direction mid-sprint or can even stand completely still ~~though I'd suggest getting yourself checked for clinical insanity if wasting your sprint on a regular basis is something you find fun~~. Pressing the sprint button will turn it red, indicating that the titan is currently receiving the speed boost; it can be pressed again to cancel the sprint and incur a shorter cooldown than if it were to run the timer down.

As with jumping, sprinting around the corner may not always be the best idea as you may end up in the crosshairs of several enemies. Keep your head on your shoulders and play *aggressively*, not *recklessly*, if you plan on using sprint as an offensive ability.

## **Flight**

The ability to fly is currently only held by the titan Cormorant.

When activated with the appropriate button, a titan will undergo a short animation before switching to a state of heightened aerial mobility. Once in the air, the titan will then able to move around in a more three-dimensional fashion for an indefinite period of time; pressing the flight button again will return the titan to its walking state. The HUD will adjust to accommodate flight by adding a pair of arrows to the right of the screen; pressing these will make the titan rise or lower in altitude until either the same arrow is pressed to return the titan to a hovering state, the opposite arrow is pushed to make the titan go the other direction, or if the thrusters are disabled due to either combat damage or to receiving the input to swap back to terrestrial movement. Note that there is a height limit; once the titan hits this point, it will still attempt to ascend further up, but cannot.

With its blistering speed, flight can be used in a myriad of applications. It can be used to gain elevated vantage points on a map, drop down or perform a strafing run on an unsuspecting foe, cover large portions of the map while bypassing obstacles, scout the enemy from a bird's eye view, or capture points ahead of the enemy.

Flight also has noticeable drawbacks. A titan is woefully exposed while midair, especially to guided missiles or to high velocity cannons such as the Inquisitor or Hammer. In addition, aerial titans don't take sudden inputs very well; it takes several seconds to change directions, which is capable of leaving a flying titan a sitting duck for much longer than is ideal. In the case of the Cormorant, it loses some of its firepower in order to fly; the two heavy hardpoints (and if mounting the Onager, the backpack) are disabled until the player walks again; this isn't to say that the titan is completely helpless, but the potential damage output is reduced drastically when flying.

## Wall-Climbing

Currently, Nelly and Mite are capable of climbing walls.

While not technically labeled as an ability in-game, it still functions as one nonetheless. Titans with this ability are able to walk on walls just as they do on the ground. This allows them to take advantage of positions on terrain and manmade structures that most others might not be able to, as well as bypass walls by simply walking over them. In addition, these titans are able to climb onto other titans as well, allowing them to hitch a ride on a teammate or rodeo an enemy to take it down, though this works best when performed with titans of a smaller stature like Mite.

However, you can put yourself in an awkward position if you climb yourself into a corner or in front of several enemies; in addition, you may be highly exposed to incoming homing missiles if you don't grant yourself enough cover to hide. Titans with wall-climbing also have a tendency to struggle maneuvering in tight conditions such as urban areas due to attempting to cling to nearby walls.