Melty Blood/MBTL/Resources
Moon Icons
Moon Icons (also known as the Moon Gauge or just Moon) is a new mechanic in the Melty Blood series, visually calling back to the Moon Type system in Melty Blood Actress Again. Comparatively, Type Lumina's Moon system acts much more like a secondary resource to manage alongside Magic Circuit. The Moon Gauge itself has 11 phases spanning from empty to full. Characters start battles with a full Moon Gauge, and spending it and gaining it back are an important part of Type Lumina's resource management.
Gaining Moon Icons
- Land a hit or start a combo (or get hit) to gain 1 Moon Icon
- Use an EX Special move to gain 2 Moon Icons, once per combo
- Successfully Shield an attack to gain 2 Moon Icons
- Land a Fatal Counter to gain 2 Moon Icons
- Moon Charge to slowly refill Moon Icons
Spending Moon Icons
- Moon Skills cost 3 Moon Icons, but refund 1 on hit. Moon Skills can still be used without enough Moon Icons left, in which case they use the remainder.
- Shield Counter B+C can only be used with 50% or more Moon Icons stocked, and costs 5 Moon Icons
- Clash frames during Moon Drive absorb attacks at the cost of 2 Moon Icons per clash
- Whiffed Shields cost 1 Moon Icon
Moon Drive
Moon Drive can be activated by pressing 5B+C when your Moon Icons are at 50% or more. This refills your Moon Icons to full and turns them into a slowly draining timer that cannot be refilled until Moon Drive ends.
On activation, Moon Drive will cause the game to pause, giving you time to react to what is happening or punish gaps in strings. Universally, characters get the following buffs:
- Moon Skills only cost 2 Moon Icons instead of 3
- Clash frames on Moon Skills at the cost of 2 Moon Icons per clash
- Passive Magic Circuit gain
- An additional airdash
- An additional double jump
Moon Drive can also be used to cancel special moves (except for blocked invincible reversals) even on whiff, providing utility as a combo extension tool and a way to make risky choices safer. Lastly, it works as a universal reversal as its activation is fully invincible.
Moon Drive Counter
When an opponent activates Moon Drive, it is possible to perform your own Moon Drive in response to keep yourself safe or reset the situation.
Moon Charge
2A+B performs a Moon Charge, which restores Moon Icons and Magic Circuit gauge for as long as the buttons are held. However, it slowly converts your character's life to Vital Source until both Moon Icons and Magic Circuit are full.
