What is the Current Meta?

With so many mobile suits in the game, it's hard to pinpoint which units are the absolute best that will give you a competitive advantage against others. This article aims to discuss which teams are finding the most success in the PvP arena game mode, why they're strong, and how to counter the meta comps.

What Is The Current Meta?

AOE Ex Teams

These teams like to use mobile suits that target all opponents and hit them for big damage, like the Gundam GP02A, The-O, and the Hamma-Hamma. Along with units that can fulfill conditional bonuses to their EX Skills, like the Hyaku Shiki and the Qubeley.

AOE teams often have to chain together their EX Skills manually and in a certain order. For example, you'll want to activate the Hyaku Shiki's EX Skill first because it'll inflict the Unavoidable status effect on all enemies. Afterward, you use the Hamma-Hamma's EX Skill to stun all targets with the unavoidable debuff, then The-O's EX skill to hit them for massive damage. The Unavoidable debuff is required for the Hamma-Hamma to stun and for The-O to deal big bonus damage.

When things go their way, this team comp will burst down most opponents. However, if a key unit dies before it can unleash its EX Skill combo, the team's effectiveness drops considerably. If the Hyaku-Shiki gets taken down, the team misses out on the AOE Unavoidable debuff, which will make it difficult to capitalize on The-O's and Hamma-Hamma's bonus damage. If The-O or Hamma-Hamma is taken down early, the team loses a substantial amount of its attack power.

To counter these AOE teams, focus on quickly eliminating key targets before they can chain together their EX Skills. This can be achieved by strategically positioning units that have advantages over them. For example, to quickly take out The-O, you should position units like the Banshee Norn and the Gundam GP04 in front of it since these units boast high damage output, enjoy type or category advantages against The-O, and have the accuracy needed to hit it (as The-O is a dodge tank).

Multi-Purple Teams

One of the most common teams among the top of the leaderboards consists of multiple strong Purple-type mobile suits like the Sisquiede Titans Color, the Banshee (NT-D), the Zaku I with Big Gun, the Gundam Full Armor, and the Qubeley. Not only are these some of the best units in the game, but they are also very hard to counter. Purple-type units have a unique advantage as they are both strong against and vulnerable to Yellow-type units. However, the current meta lacks a wide selection of top-tier Yellow-type mobile suits, making it difficult to build a competitive team around them other than the Zeta Gundam.

That said, teams centered around a Zeta Gundam and the new Yellow Sazabi can do great against this type of meta team. These two units are the only Yellow-type units strong enough to build a team around. When positioned well, these two units can wreak havoc on these Purple-type units, provided they are not taken down first.

Zeta Gundam and Yellow Sazabi

These two units are some of the most powerful in the game at the moment, largely due to their ability to counter many of the top-tier units which are predominantly Purple-types. Since Purple-types take increased damage from both the Sazabi and Zeta Gundam, their presence on a team can significantly shift the tide of battle. Some of the top Arena players often field them with units from the two team compositions we've listed above to give them an overpowered supporting cast, if you could call it that.

The Zeta Gundam works well with the units from the AOE team above, as its EX skill also benefits from bonus damage when targeting opponents with the Unavoidable status effect, much like The-O. On the other hand, the Yellow Sazabi is a versatile powerhouse, delivering consistently high beam damage. It has the added benefits of not missing attacks during the first 18 seconds of combat, and restoring 66% of the damage it deals as HP. While the Zeta Gundam should be ideally paired with units that can inflict Unavoidable on foes, the Yellow Sazabi can fit into almost any team composition.

How To Form/Beat A Meta Team?

Forming meta teams can take a lot of investment. To form a meta team, you have to see which units are powerful enough to build a team around and you have to understand what makes them meta, and then try to strengthen or support whatever that is by fielding units that synergize with your key units.

For example, if you have a The-O, it's known for being an evasion tank that deals heavy damage with its EX Skill. But to maximize its damage potential, its target has to have the Unavoidable debuff. Hence, it makes sense to field it with units that can inflict Unavoidable like the Hyaku Shiki. Alternatively, if you have a Yellow Sazabi, try to build a balanced team around it with whatever strong units you have, since it's a self-sustaining all-around unit that can fit well in almost any team composition.

You might not have all the meta units to make the strongest of team comps, but understanding these principles will help you form the strongest team available to you.

The same strategic thinking applies when planning to counter meta teams. It all boils down to game knowledge, particularly understanding type and category advantages, which are crucial in determining matchups. For example, if your opponent has a Gundam GP02A, you could quickly take it out of commission by positioning a ZZ Gundam to fight it, as this is a high firepower unit that enjoys both category and type advantages over the GP02A.

Should I Follow The Meta?

The answer to this question is entirely up to you. If you're serious about climbing the PvP leaderboards of Gundam UC Engage, then yes, using meta units will give you a competitive advantage over non-meta teams, as these are the best units in the game for PvP.

On the other hand, if your goal is to just play, have fun, and collect the mobile suits you like, then that's perfectly fine as well. With enough resources, you can make pretty much any unit work, though they'll undoubtedly perform worse than the meta units would. At the end of the day, the meta will always come second to your own enjoyment.

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