Hey, welcome back. This is part two of an ongoing look into what it takes to be a successful Danmaku player. I highly recommend part one if you're new here.
https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3313842420
Since then we got a lot of hate mail, lost a few friends, but gained some new ones and new readers. We win some, they lose some, it all comes out in the wash. I’m out there getting those 1ccs and you should be too! Today we’re going to talk about discipline and standards when it comes to choosing your game. Of course we’re going to talk about what you need to know to beat ASSAULT SHELL. If you just want to skip to that part, go for it. But I think you’ll be missing the real heart of what is being said here.

I see too many of you guys out there buying every game. Look I know you want to support your favorite devs and support your favorite genre, and I’m down with that. But I talk to a lot of devs and they tell me the same thing over and over. Please, play their games, don’t just buy it and leave a cheap review after you ‘played’ it for thirty minutes. That’s not love, that’s not true support. Get the clear, show your true self! Show everyone that you played, and that you won. That’s why you’re here right? You could be anywhere playing anything, yet you’re here right now, learning. Love is passion and passion needs its 1ccs. Help these devs’ passion, give them a reason to keep making games. It’s hard out there man, being an indie dev sucks, respect.

I’m seeing buying being used a lot as an excuse, you need to finish your vegetables, you can’t run off every time a new shinny game is released. If nothing else the 1cc journey teaches you discipline, and it’s all about discipline. We need more discipline! It’s good for you! If you’re new here, try it. Honestly, sit down and really TRY to beat Assault Shell. You can do it, and it’ll feel so good. You need to show your love by finishing what you started. Just because there’s more games than ever everyday, doesn’t give you a pass on playing poorly, you owe yourself better than that. Finish your vegetables.

But know when those vegetables are rotten! I see way too many new players, new people on the path. They are playing games they don’t like, sometimes in a effort to please people, sometimes because they don’t know any better, they don’t know what is out there and what they want. Can’t blame them, and I’m going to try to help you. Don’t play games you don’t feel good playing. You need no reason, you owe no game your time. If stage one is over and you’re not having fun, don’t play this game. How are you going to clear if playing just the first level is like eating glass? If you’re not getting hyped after beating each boss for the first time, don’t play this game. Try not to get really hung up on what is established “good” in the genre. I like Garegga too, but I don’t recommend it to many. Ketsui is a fine game, but not for your first one. “Best of” and “Top 10” lists can get you into a lot of trouble. I think it’s best you try to follow a curator or user that writes reviews that you agree with. They’ll be a better guide than most for you. Watch out for people than only have good things to say, you can’t trust that. Leaving a negative review doesn’t always feel great, but sometimes its necessary.

Throw that game out! It doesn’t matter who else is or isn’t playing it. You need to get good at deciding which titles and devs will give you what you want. Otherwise, this can become a rather expensive hobby. If you’re refunding all the time, slow down. If you have more than five games with less than two clears going, slow down! Ask yourself why? What is missing from your current games? Be honest about that, are you buying because you ‘should’ or because you really want to prove something. Buying a game is a statement! Make sure you’re making the right ones for you, not someone else. Go through your wish list, be honest with yourself about if you’re really going to play this. Always be honest, no one will like it, but you’re the one that has to look at yourself in the mirror.

Anyway, I should teach you how to play Assault Shell at this point. We can always write a part three.

Assault Shell is a resource management game. It features a double Stand/Hyper system similar to that in Clover if you’ve played it. No bomb, but a sub weapon and hyper, both cancel bullets. This system allows you basically skip any part of the game. You don’t need to dodge every bullet, and a lot of the time you’d want to cancel them anyway, for score, and for more stand meter.

There are score based extends, so try to get good enough at the scoring so you can get both. There’s also a hidden extend on the second level during the mid-boss,
destroy all the panels before you kill the boss. A yellow star will spawn, free extend.

Scoring isn’t super difficult and lends its self to survival play quiet nicely. Being in a stand state multiplies your score, two times for hyper stand and four times for break stand. There’s also a combo bar you need to keep in mind. It fills as you destroy enemies, and tops out at 64x up to 256x during break stand. Killing medium enemies causes bullet cancels that are worth a lot of points during stand. Cancelling bullets with the sub-weapon during stand is also a good way to get them points. The con for being in a stand state is that the rank goes up, that is to say, the game gets harder while you’re in any stand state. When and which enemies we kill is key to getting large combs and cancels, that will both keep us alive and give us even more shields for future use.

Some of the bosses shoot real fast and you’re just going to have to remember when that happens. Don't forget to use stage select! You may want to consider only using hyper stand and never even going into break. This will offer you some safety cancels without putting the game into a dangerous state. Be loose with your sub-weapon it charges pretty fast. Don’t be cheap with your hyper either, it’s easy to get another if you have full sub-weapon. Chain hypers and sub-weapon together and you’ll have a nice smooth ride.

Give Type C (Suzy) a try. She’s got tracking options and an easy to use sub that acts as a great shield that’ll keep you alive most of the time. There is a TLB, so be ready for it. I normally wouldn’t recommend an easy mode, but the game’s Light mode is so close to Single I almost couldn’t tell the difference. You’re not learning bad habits by playing it, and that’s always my concern with easy modes.

Here's a Light 1cc

Here's a Single 1cc

Here's a Void Arrange 1cc

All Type C, all played by me. Do with them what you will.







Now what? Beat it? Liked it? Play the FULL mode, go for the 2-ALL. It's not much harder and you can say you got a 2-ALL. Just watch out for the suicide bullets and the bosses are decently harder. You'll only have to fight the TLB once at the end of the second loop, which is nice.

As always, if you need more help than that. Ask away, I’ll answer anyone that is out there, trying to put it down. I don’t care if you have one clear or fifty. It’s the trying I’m always about. The struggle, my dear reader.

Next time we'll talk about the system I personally use for getting my clears. It's been requested more than once. I'm workin' on it. It's out!
https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3431844646
To you and everyone putting down out there. I wish you guys the best! Keep it real, and leave a favorite if you enjoyed and we’ll be back the next time we need to talk about the path.