[ Phase 04: Training MS ]

No matter how much you might want to get rid of them...

The Training MS, both unit A (on the left in the yellow) and unit B (on the right in gunmetal grey) are identical in terms of stats.  There's always been an ongoing debate as to which one is better, and really, I don't think there's a proper answer. The two units are so similar that I'm going to be reviewing them both in this one post, as the only differences between them are in their weapons (slightly).

First, let me answer a question that drives a lot of people crazy when they're desperately looking for more space in their hangar - why the hell can't you scrap this thing? Once you get better units, why would you want to hang onto your old Training MS? Nostalgia? Not quite. The reason is twofold, and I've experienced its consequences for myself.  If you were able to delete your Training-MS, and someone hacked into your account and deleted all of your units, then you would have no units to equip, right? The game's system doesn't handle that too well, because it's designed to always have a unit of some kind equipped, and it causes problems with your account data. Think about it - the first thing you do after inputting your in-game name for the first time and doing the little tutorial thing, before you even hit the Training Channel, is cap either Training MS-A or MS-B.  It doesn't know how to react if it sees a player with no unit attached to them.

A while back, I was granted The O Awakened by OG Planet in error, and they took it back off of my account while I had it ready to sortie (which I'm fine with, since it was in error after all and I hadn't earned it, but some compensation for my disappointment and my troubles as a result of its removal wouldn't have gone amiss). So when I logged back in, I had no unit equipped, and as far as my friends and clan-mates were concerned, my account was gone. Looking me up in their friends list or the clan list and selecting "User Info" would return an error, and I myself was running into trouble all over the place with error messages until I realized that my The O wasn't in my hangar anymore and I had to swap to one of my older units. Relogging a few times then cleared up the rest of the issues. Now, imagine I hadn't had another unit to switch over to, and no points with which to cap one - then what? Then it's game over, because you can't earn points without a unit, and you can't get a unit without points (or Astros, but that's a whole other beast unto itself).

It's for that reason that the Training-MS can't be scrapped - in case your account's been compromised and someone's gone in and deleted all of your units, your account's data itself won't get screwed up in the process because you will still have that little Training MS there for you, and using it, you can (in theory) start over. As much as you might overlook it, that little guy's keeping your account's data safe, so give it some love every now and again.

Now, story-time's over. Time to actually look at these units. 

Both are very easy to use because they're the first units you get.  Between the two of them, I'd say that MS-B has more damage potential simply because it prefers solid-state weapons over beam ones (for which there are more damage-reducing skills), but both are very straightforward, simple C-ranks. MS-A introduces players to CIWS, which tends to be a high-damage, close-range machine-gun-like weapon that many units feature (and many others wish they featured), while MS-B is a gateway to bazooka-type weapons with its hand grenade.  Bazookas are notoriously tricky to aim with on a moving target that isn't the size of a city block like a Gaw, especially for newer pilots who lean on auto-lock like a crutch, but MS-B makes it a little easier for them to get them started. It's completely stationary when it throws a grenade, which takes one movement factor out of the picture.  It also has a pretty appreciable splash damage radius. Between the two of them, I'd say I prefer MS-B more, but that probably stems from the fact that I've used it more, as it's the Training MS I started with on my main account. My noobish alt, TieriaErde (why yes, I did enjoy grabbing canon character names after OBT started), has MS-A, but since I haven't used it nearly as much, I guess I just haven't gotten too cozy with it.

For weapons, MS-A has a beam sword, beam rifle, and the CIWS that I mentioned before. MS-B has a beam/"heat" axe, the game's first machine gun, and hand grenades.  Both have a pretty standard four-hit knockdown melee combo, and neither of them packs a shield. 

There's a trend that I've noticed in the higher ranks where people will return to their Training MS for C-rank only PvP rooms from time to time. And usually, the people that use them are shockingly good with them. As far as the Training MS's go, they remain relatively viable in C-rank only PvP for quite a while, but there is that predictability factor that you have to take into consideration. Since everyone has one and absolutely cannot scrap it, everyone knows how they work.

Like most lower-rank units, they can only go so far in Missions because they simply don't have the durability of higher-ranks.  They'll work fine for you while you finish the first few quests, get a few more C-ranks, and then it'll probably unlock Freedom for you.  After that, though, you'll find yourself really struggling to keep yourself going with it without the help of a really good team.  And even then, you'll probably find that team getting annoyed with you for using the Training MS anyway. Having said that, I've seen a guy use a Training MS and get more kills than an A-rank in the same Mission room, so there you go.

When you first start playing SDGO, you'll get your Training MS, use it for a bit, and then you'll be itching to upgrade to something a whole lot cooler from whatever your favourite Gundam series installation is. Once you get that unit, whatever it may be for you, you'll sideline your Training MS and think "Oh, I'll never use it again".

The weird thing is, once you hit a certain point in the game where your level's high enough and you've assembled yourself quite a collection of units, you may find yourself wanting to drift back to your old Training MS every once in a while, 'for old time's sake'.

My advice? Go for it. If you're an upper-rank player and you're using your Training MS, nobody's going to think less of you for a second. In fact, if I see an upper-rank player using their Training MS, especially in C-only rooms in PvP, I generally make a mental note to keep an eye on them, because they could actually be quite a potential threat. It's probably a bit of a generalization, because the units really aren't superior to other C-ranks at all, but I know from experience that if a guy's got the stones to risk using his Training MS at a high level, then he probably knows what he's doing. On its own, the unit isn't anything special, which is why I gave it a relatively low rating, but in the right hands, it performs admirably in PvP against units of the same rank.

And for the record, when I was having trouble with my account when my The O was removed, the first unit I ran to when I realized the problem?  It was my Training MS.

Ratings:

Ease of Use:
PvP Potential:
Mission Potential:
Enjoyability:
Frequency of Use: