So many of you probably have heard enough to confirm it yourselves, but I have some pictures that confirm it too now. Basically, for anyone who doesn't know, the armor break system is supposed to punish players for being too defensive (and presumably or hopefully just guarding too much, not countering, but at least for the guarding). It's divided into three parts of armor: head, upper, and lower.

Here's some images:





I'm just wondering: WHAT TO BREAK OFF OF IVY AND VOLDO? Sure, maybe like Ivy's shoulder pad or Voldo's knee pads, but if Xianghua's losing her whole jacket, I shudder to think of worst case scenarios here.

On another note, for those interested in the Star Wars aspect: there's a playable stage that's the Star Destroyer's docking bay, and it even has the Imperial March music on it. XD

Death Beams have never been more catchy and awesome.

"Well damn. These guys are a little wimpier looking than I expected. I thought your spirits were supposed to burn with fire! It's like they're all so..." he grumbled, rubbing his chin moodily before finishing his sentence, "...normal."

Rania nodded, making an attempt at visually verifying the identities of the three viruses but finding she'd yet to encounter the majority of them. "You can't always pick your battles, MeleeMan. If you're so eager to get to strong opponents, you should finish these ones off quickly."

"Heh. I'm not that stupid. Just because I like constant battle doesn't mean that I want to fight slowly. Rather than savoring the individual battle, I like to think that my pleasure is found in a non-stop flow of endless challenges by my inferior opponents," MeleeMan explained, feeling proud of himself for being able to put his feelings into such superior sounding words.

He was annoyed to find that his operator had basically ignored the explanation and had instead turned to picking out chips for him to use. "Alright, here's a nice one. We're going to try out your new kunai chips," Rania decided, slotting in the chip for him.

"Kunai? What's that? Aw dammit!" he grunted, holding the ninja weaponry between two of his greatly oversized fingers. "These things are puny. What the hell do I do with them? It's like tossing butter-knives or something equally ineffective and lacking in terms of masculinity!"

Rania laughed, giving him a sly look. "You must not realize the killer implementations of the weapons you're holding there, MeleeMan," she sighed, shrugging her shoulders coolly. "Those are the blade weapons used by ninjas, masters of stealth and assassination! No blade has greater throwing ability or more practical ability for concealment."

"Or, I could not act on that ridiculous, unmanly suggestion and instead opt to use these babies as punching daggers. Haha!" he growled, running in towards one of the Melodies with his fist held above his head. "Smash!" the giant navi roared, arcing his arm downward to crush his foe with the blades held between his fists.

Rania would ordinarily have laughed in good humor at his usage of the weapon, but she'd had her heart set utterly on seeing MeleeMan do something cool and ninja-like, so instead she simply felt ashamed and embarrassed. "That's not how you use kunai at all! That's not even how you use a punching dagger!" she exclaimed furiously.

The navi simply laughed. "Rania, please concentrate for now and send me more weaponry, okay?" he chuckled. "Firehits would be good."

"Firehits it is then," she sighed, slotting in her navi's favorite chips. "Next battle, can we please try out your new tankcannon? And can you try not to use it just like you use everything else, but, you know, put some strategy into it instead?"

"Maybe, Rania. Maybe," MeleeMan laughed under his breath, rushing in to pummel his opponents with his ignited gauntlets.

1. Kunai1 to MelodyA [30 x 3]
2. Firehit1 to MelodyB [75]
3. Firehit1 to MelodyB [75]
4. Dodge
5. Dodge

MeleeMan wondered into the steamy terrain, sweating underneath his heavy black jacket and armored gauntlets, but relishing the sweltering heat. "Ah.... This is the stuff. After being thrown into Sharo twice and that stuffy Electown Net all the time, this kind of air is refreshing. It's what a man like me needs: stimulating air filled with the sweat and toil of battle! I wonder what kind of opponents I'll find to duke it out with here?"

"They're only viruses, MeleeMan, don't get too excited. I don't think you're likely to meet your life's rival or anything," Rania sighed.

MeleeMan also frowned disappointedly, but then went on to think about the previous statement. "My life's rival... Rania, isn't there some kind of person in your school you consider a rival? Like, Abella or whatever her name was? She's kind of like a rival, right?"

Rania shook her head and laughed amusedly. "No, no!" she responded, shaking her hands in front of her to quickly disillusion her navi. "Amelie and I aren't rivals or anything. She's my best friend! We do all sorts of things together, like kendou and fighting and boxing and every other activity that I participate in at school."

"And... you don't compete in any of that?"

"Of course not, because I'm the best! I don't actually 'compete,' really, ha ha ha!" Rania laughed as if it was some sort of matter of fact.

MeleeMan smiled and kept quiet. "Yeah, definitely rivals," he affirmed with an astute nod of his head, walking forward into the net.

((Battle 1 please))

Returning home, Rania quickly dressed into her pajamas and readied herself for the night ahead.

Within the span of a single sleepless night, Rania and MeleeMan faced their toughest opponents yet, meeting new allies and testing their abilities like never before. When it was all over, MeleeMan achieved the only prize he could have hoped for: survival in what was set to be recorded in history as an event that nearly destroyed all balances of power within the very net. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, Rania reflected upon the events with a sort of dazed, dream-like feeling, then sunk into slumber as the sun rose.

MeleeMan, though frustrated over the loss of many good allies, silently praised himself for once over a job well done. As much as he liked fighting, order in moderation was not such a bad thing to have on the net.

Awakening and greeting her grandfather, speedily devouring her breakfast despite her previous lack of rest, Rania bolted up and headed out onto to do some netbattling. The excitement of the previous night was hot in her mind as she sprinted out the door to the nearest public net terminal in the park. "Well, I'm thinking the viruses around here are actually a little weak for your current level of power," Rania told her navi, frowning as she realized she was only feeding his ego.

"Well, I'm glad you realize this, but it's nothing new. These viruses have always been laughable opponents for me. I've yet to find a challenge worthy of my limitless strength!" MeleeMan guffawed, grinning widely. His expression quickly settled back into a stoic frown, however, and he crossed his arms across his chest concernedly. "But honestly, we're running out of opponents challenging enough for me to waste my time on, which is why I've considered..." he paused for a moment, bringing up an advertisement for an action flick on her monitor.

"A-A movie? You want to see a movie with me?" Rania asked, her eyes widening in surprise as she was caught off guard.

MeleeMan laughed rudely, shaking his head. "Dream on. No, my concern is this: the manly are only made more manly by fighting in the jungle. Observe this man: an epitome of manliness equal almost to myself, as visible from his physique and the laborious scars of his battle. Certainly the jungle is the most harsh, intense environment for him to fight his opponents in, and can only tone his body further!" he informed her, smiling as if he'd stumbled upon a really revolutionary idea.

Rania sighed, plugging him into the net. "Netfrica it is then. I hope you're up for it."

Hastening as if her life depended on it, Rania got changed into her red carnival jacket, enjoying the comfy fit over the black undershirt and pants. "Well, finally, I can enjoy the carnival in peace," she sighed. Living up to her expectations, the carnival provided her with fun for her friends for many long hours. Suien was sadly forgotten in the commotion until a later date.

Pleased with her outing, Rania made a fast-track back to her house on the metroline. Little could she have suspected the event that would rock the stability of the entire net that very night and how MeleeMan would become involved in it...

"Well, that was manly Rass, even if all in a sort of childish, marketable way. I think I'm going to back out for now. It seems Rania's clothes, er, ticket out... that is to say, she's ready to leave," MeleeMan sighed. "As much as I'd love to continue to fight the forces of evil on the net, our quest for justice remains for another time. Adios!" he saluted coolly, before disappearing from the net.

Rania sighed, glad to hear from Adelie that her grandfather had arrived with the outfit she needed for the carnival. "Thank you God! Just in time," she murmured, scampering out of the water as discreetly as she could and jumping for her towel. In a frenzy of motion, she barreled out of the room, as if more concerned about her embarrassment from being seen without proper carnival attire than being seen in only a bath towel.

Sadly, that evening with Suien was to be entirely forgotten until some time later in her hectic state.

((Jacking out))

Cardboard box tornados have never been so awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGEJDKJdPGg

NOT THE HEAD-BITE.