Melty Blood: Type Lumina battle system guide - How to master French Bread’s new fighting game

With Melty Blood: Type Lumina out, fans are impressed by what French Bread has shown. Given the addition of Type-Moon’s Saber from the Fate/Stay Night series, the hype and excitement around Melty Blood: Type Lumina has only grown.

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Just like any other fighting game, the battle system of Melty Blood: Type Lumina can be overwhelming and sometimes scary. French Bread has made sure to streamline the new Melty Blood with a new battle system. These additions make the new game approachable for novice players while also making it interesting for veterans.

Understanding the battle system of Melty Blood: Type Lumina

Melty Blood: Type Lumina features a robust battle system (Image via French DELiGHTWORKS)

The game features a welcoming yet deep battle system that is meant to hook players from the get go.

Rapid Beat

In Melty Blood: Type Lumina, players can perform a hard-hitting combo by pressing attack buttons continuously, in rapid succession. Known as Rapid Beat, this works just like an auto combo in current fighting games. This is added for newcomers, who want to enjoy the main story and play the game casually.

Moon Mark beside the health

Melty Blood: Type Lumina features a new battle system to even the odds (Image via DELiGHTWORKS)

In 2008's Melty Blood: Actress Again, the game introduced a new system called moon styles. This allowed players to choose three different styles, changing their attacks and movement options.

Melty Blood: Type Lumina goes for something a bit more streamlined and straightforward compared to the moon styles. The game introduces the new battle system Moon Skill and Moon Drive, each of which has its powerful effect achieved by using the Moon Icons.

Moon Icon

In Melty Blood: Type Lumina, Moon Icons are the newest resources added to the game. They are the marks beside the health bar, which is used to power Moon Skill and Moon Drive. The Moon Icon builds up as an opponent gets hit with attack. The moon grows depending on the gauge usage.

Moon Skill

Moon Skill, one of the new additions to the game, are specials that can be used in a match by using Moon Icons. Moon Skill in Melty Blood: Type Lumina deals higher damage than regular specials. They are easier to trigger by using simple directional inputs and attack buttons. Moon Skill can help a player to deal more to their damage during a combo string.

Moon Drive

Melty Blood: Type Lumina also introduces the new battle system, Moon Drive. It is a power-up that can be taken advantage of by using all of the Moon Icons. Moon Drive can be used anytime, as long as a player has one-half full. During its usage, the Moon Icon will turn red.

Moon Drive temporarily boosts Moon Skill, increases Magic Circuit or number of possible jumps/dashes. Moon Drive adds tons of other effects and can be used if players want more variety in their movement and gameplay.

Magic Circuit and EX Specials

Magic Circuits can be used to go into the special state (Image via DELiGHTWORKS)

In Melty Blood: Type Lumina, players can see an orange-yellow gauge at the bottom of the screen. This is called Magic Circuit, it can be used to take advantage of high-power moves called Specials.

Using Moon Circuits, players can use EX Special (Image via DELiGHTWORKS)

Spending Magic Circuit gauge effectively will allow the players to dish out a more powerful move called EX Specials. EX Specials deal more damage and visually look flashy.

Shield/Shield Counters

Use shield counter to live longer in the battlefield (Image via DELiGHTWORKS)

In Melty Blood: Type Lumina, defense is a crucial component to winning any match. To aid that goal, Shield and Shield Counters are valuable assets in the game.

Shield counter will help to change the tides of battle (Image via DELiGHTWORKS)

Shield can be used to block an opponent’s attack. Players can also follow up with an attack. Shield Counter will counter specific attacks of the opponent, letting the player take advantage and deal damage.

Heat/Blood Heat and Arc Drives

Go into Heat mode to become dominant (Image via DELiGHTWORKS)

Players trying the new Melty Blood: Type Lumina will use their character in Heat Status. This boosts a character’s abilities, recovers their HP, and lets players use Arc Drive. Having one full bar will allow players to go into Blood Heat status, in which case they will use the Last Arc.

Activating Heat Status also allows players to use Arc Drives. They are an extremely powerful special that uses three Magic Circuit gauges. Alternatively, the character to be in Heat Status.

Arc Drive deals higher damage than specials and can be used as a combo finisher. For example, Akiha Tohno's Arc Drive is called "Scarlet Mistress - Cage Hair." The high-power special turns her hair red before she grapples with the enemy at close range.

Akiha Tohno using her Arc Drive (Image via DELiGHTWORKS)

Last Arc

Once a character in Melty Blood: Type Lumina has four Magic Circuit gauges, they can use a super Special called Last Arc. They are flashy super-specials that deal incredible damage and can be used as an alternative combo ender. Last Arc is also usable in Blood Heat status after successfully using Shield.

Tohno Shiki using his last arc (Image via DELiGHTWORKS)

For example, Tohno Shiki uses a last arc called “Testify - Seventeen Dissection.” This high-power Special deals damage 17 times in an instant as Shiki uses his “Mystical Eyes of Death Perception."

Melty Blood: Type Lumina is a fighting game produced by Japanese game developer French Bread. Serving as a reboot of the Melty Blood series, Melty Blood: Type Lumina is out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam.