Field Gimmicks (NGS)
During your explorations, you may encounter various Field Gimmicks that can help or hinder as you try to achieve your objectives. Some of them you can target, meaning you likely need to destroy the object to activate the gimmick, while others cannot be and are activated with various actions and skills.
Targetable Field Gimmicks
Targetable Field Gimmicks are gimmicks that behave in a lot of ways like a regular enemy, you can target them and attack them. Destroying the object will activate the gimmick.
Drome-type
Dromes are type of DOLL enemies that are encountered in some Combat Sections and Quests. They behave like a regular enemy, however upon killing them, along with EXP drop, the Drome-type gimmick will activate and the device will be hacked, fighting for you instead of the enemy. The obedience gauge above it determines how long you have before the hack will stop. It takes 4 minutes for the bar to reach 0%. Each extra kill of a Drome gives it a level up, up to level 3, along with a full recharge. Once that happens, every drome kill recharges only 1 part of the bar (about 1 minute).
The attacks that Dromes do are adjusted for player's ATK Power (basic, weapon and +%Multipliers). The base PA Power for attacks are 100, however all of them have a unique attack multiplier, taken into account. They do not accumulate any sort of Down. They can also grant buffs upon reaching maximum level.
Dependent on the type of a Drome currently active, different things will occur.
Drome
A regular drome when turned on your side, attacks the enemy with a single strike worth 200 PA Power every 10 or so seconds after using first attack. Each level up gives him an extra attack on a new enemy worth the same amount, so on level 3, 3 enemies are targeted. Upon reaching level 3, it can also grant a Drome buff of +10% Damage and +10% Damage Resistance for 40 seconds every minute.
Dromes appear primarily in Vanford Laboratory Ruins Combat Section and some quests, like Buddy Attack.
Hovac
A Hovac when hacked fires 2 missiles worth 200 PA Power every 10 seconds (4 seconds for it's first attack), which has damage falloff if it hits the same enemy multiple times. Upon reaching level 2, on top of doubling it's missile count to 4, it also gets a laser attack worth 700 PA Power every 30 seconds (7 seconds for it's first attack). Upon reaching level 3, it gets 6 missiles now, and the laser attack gets upgraded to 1200 PA Power. Hovacs do not grant a buff.
They appear primarily in Bergana Ruins Combat Section and some quests like Geometric Labyrinth(Rank 2).
Hi-Drome
A Hi-Drome when turned on your side attacks with a 5-tick strike worth 210 PA Power, adding extra 10 PA Power each time it connects in a single attack. Each level up gives him an extra attack on a new enemy, so on level 3, 3 enemies are targeted. Furthermore on level 3, the attack power increases to 315 PA Power, adding extra 15 PA Power each time it connects. Along with that, it can also grant a Drome buff of +10% Damage and +20% Natural PP Recovery for 40 seconds every minute.
Hi-Dromes appear primarily in Neusen Plant Combat Section.
Punisher-type
Punisher-type gimmicks are bombs placed on the field during quests, ready to be detonated if hit by any attack. They however do not take player stats into account, instead their 10000 PA Power is scaled with their own internal Attack Power.
The Attack Power of the bomb is determined by a special attack power calculation, which is as follows:
Attack Power=600*1.1^((Enemy Level-1)/5)
If the result cannot be rounded down, the attack power will have a 1 attack power worth of variance. Once attack power is determined, it is applied to the regular Damage Dealt calculation, with an extra multiplier dependent on level of enemies in a quest:
| Enemy Level | Damage Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 11-20 | 1.1x |
| 21-30 | 1.3x |
| 31-40 | 1.5x |
| 41-50 | 1.6x |
| 51-60 | 1.7x |
| 61-70 | 1.8x |
If an enemy is hit, it will also instantaneously max out his Attribute Down gauge, downing him instantly (assuming another down is not in progress).
There are 2 types of Punisher-type bombs:Mega Punisher and Proto Punisher.
Mega Punisher
Mega Punisher is a large bomb with speakers attached to it. Once hit, it will create a shock wave in the direction opposite to the attack hit, dealing damage in a large cone Area of Effect.
However, should a player decide to use a Dive Attack, the behavior will change to an even bigger circular area. Damage remains the same.
Proto Punisher
A Proto Punisher is a smaller bomb then it's Mega counterpart. it creates a small, circular Area of Effect upon detonation.
Pod-type
Pod-type gimmicks are there to block something from your hands, preventing you from doing anything to the object before you destroy them. It takes a single hit to destroy them. There are a few type of Pod-type gimmicks:
Barrier Pod
A Barrier Pod appears nearby a protected Red Container. There are between 4 to 5 per such container. They're visible however they tend not to flash up or trigger Mag Sonar, requiring using your game sounds as they are loud or explore near the container to find them.
Dazzle Pod
Appears during "Sonner Destruction" Trials, those pods are initially invisible,however their location is not only extremely flashy but can be toggled via Mag Sonar. They will eventually appear on the radar or as Targets after enough of them are destroyed. Destroy them all to expose Sonner to damage.
There is one that flashes red as well- this is a Control Pod. Destroying it will mark all Dazzle Pods visible both to the player and on the radar.
Target-type
During quests in Virtual Environment, you will see Target-type gimmicks. Destroying them might cause a plethora effects to occur, from unlocking areas to enemy spawns. It is quest dependent if destroying all targets is required to progress.
Training Target
A Training Target is a regular target with red inner circle that can be destroyed in any attack. A special type of training target is one that has a purple inner circle - that one must be destroyed by a Photon Blast and will be immune to any other damage.
Standard/Extra Targets
A Standard Target is a target with yellow inner circle. Those must be destroyed using a Cannonball throwing object and are immune to any other damage sources. Extra Targets are similar, but have 4 targets attached to each other.
Tender
A hostile aligned device that appears mostly during "Assembly Point Mop-Up" Trial, aside of some quests. This device heals all enemies in it's radius by 20% of their maximum HP. However, you can target it and destroy it. Upon destruction, all enemies in the area will be dealt 12000 PA worth of damage, with attack power being calculated the same way as aforementioned Punisher-type bombs.
Transorve
A hostile device appearing in "Transorve Destruction" Trial. It will switch into it's defense or summon state every 10 seconds. You can only damage and destroy them in their summon state. Should you fail to destroy them before they go back to defense state, they will spawn extra enemies that will be given permanent buffs of +50% Damage +10% Damage Resistance and which must be killed to progress trial/quest.
Beehive-type
A Beehive is a hostile weapon similar to Dromes, but without the hacking mechanic, they are purely hostile. They're not required to destroy to progress through a quest. There are 2 types, a regular Beehive and a Beehive E
Beehive
A regular beehive attacks with a series of 3 shots, each dealing 150 PA Power worth of damage. However, each hit will also cause an interrupt effect where you will remain frozen for a few frames, which might cause more attacks to connect, and a series of Beehive attacks connecting might completely freeze you and force you to take massive damage.
Beehive E
Appears as a result of not killing Scout Wasp in time(appearing 3 at the time), in addition to some quests. It creates a prediction line and then attacks, also dealing 150 PA Power worth of damage. However unlike the regular variant, it counts as a kill if destroyed (giving EXP), even if it's not required for progression.
Mining Rig Defense exclusive gimmicks
Other gimmicks called DOLLS Weapons could be found exclusively in Mining Rig Defense quests. Look to page below for more details.
Non-targetable Field Gimmicks
Some of the gimmicks are not targetable at all, requiring some other ways to take advantage of them.
Updrafters
Updrafters can be found in a lot of sections and quests to make it easier to travel vertically. Once you are using Photon Glide, an updrafter will take you in it's direction at a constant speed. To reach maximum height possible, you must leave an updrafter right before reaching the top- otherwise if you reach the top, you will remain flying at the exact point of updrafter ending.
Some of them are also placed horizontally, taking you like a tunnel through to the destination. You have limited steering during this time, it is difficult to get out of the grasp of a horizontal updrafter.
Teleporters
Some quests have teleporters that are accessible upon pressing the use button. They might lead you to another part of the map or to a completely new area entirely.
A special type of a teleporter is one that appears on start of most Single Party Quests. Activating that will teleport the user + anyone in the range within 10 seconds, unless everyone is here, then time is reduced down to 4 seconds.
Point Cubes
Point Cubes are a gimmick seen primarily in Trainias. They're a gold cube that is picked up automatically once you reach it. Quests that have it appear will likely ask you to collect all of them as a Sub Mission before you complete the quest.
Mines
Mines can appear during quests. Colliding with them deals damage worth 10% of your max HP and knocks you back,even if mid-flight.
Slow-down Mines
Switches
During some Quests in Virtual Environment you will encounter switches you can activate. Those can give variable effects, from unlocking gates to allow a top-down view of the map. There are also switches that are activated by stepping on them instead of using them.
A special type of switch is a Finish Point, a large step-down switch that will finish the quest if any player steps on it.
Blast Charge Sign
Blast Charge Sings appear near the tornados in Trials featuring them as well as in loosely during Quests. Collecting them automatically allows you to use Photon Blast, bypassing any cooldowns if necessary.
Tornados
A Tornado appears during "Defeat the Storm Area Enemies" Trial, though occasionally they might be found running loose during a quest. They are considered by the radar to be a mob. Touching them will cause any player to be knocked back, taking 100 PA Power worth of damage in the process. In addition, there are ice-based Tornados appearing during "A Song of Ice and Snow" Trial, which accumulate Freeze status effect on top of damage and knockback.
Neusen Plant exclusive gimmicks
Some of the non-targettable gimmicks appear only in Neusen Plant combat section. See page below for details
