Salted Caramel: A guide to KUMA

Overview

Hi! Thanks for checking out my KUMA guide!

Who? #WHOU

Hi! I’m JEDO on the Steam US server and I play an aggro style of KUMA. After 2 seasons of playing mostly KUMA, I feel like I’ve played the mech enough to speak on the topic to help newer KUMA players out.

Stats:

• S2: Rank 3 KUMA
• S3: Rank 1 KUMA (as of 06/23/21)
• S3: Rank 3 TDM Ace Duel Leaderboard

Mech Overview #MO

KUMA is a cute teddy bear mech that can bombard your opponent with explosives and send them flying with a mega buster shot. KUMA is categorized as a Heavy/Continuous mech which means that on top of having heavy weapons (missiles/cannon shells), you can deal sustained damage.

As KUMA, you have 2 forms: (a) Bear Form and (b) Tank Form which you can freely switch between without worrying about cooldowns. Keep in mind that there is very slight delay before you can act after switching forms.

Moveset #MS

While in Bear Form, you have access to your entire kit except the Tank Form’s Heavy Bomb. (VID)

• Heavy Missiles – Slow-moving missiles that serve as your primary attack. Core Mod 1 makes the projectile speed and reload speed significantly faster.
• Rocket Jump – This is your tactical skill that can serve as an evasive or gap-closing move.
• Blast – Resembles Megaman’s Buster Cannon and will knock back enemies on contact. You can get a few attacks in when this lands because it disorients the enemy and makes them unable to move for a short period of time.

While in Tank Form, you are rendered immobile but you have access to Heavy Bomb (cannon shells) which have long range and deal massive damage to enemies. Heavy Bomb has a parabolic projectile trajectory. The shell gradually sinks based on distance. (VID)

• Core Mod 2 gives you zero-gravity shells that move faster and lets you shoot at faster intervals.

  

Pilot Recommendations #PR

These pilots have great synergy with KUMA:

• Mila – Aside from being the canon pilot to KUMA, she is my personal choice for TDM to deal with enemies that have good movement or play long distance. Her main pilot skill let’s you not only reload while tumbling, but also reload FASTER. This means you can finish reloading an Ion Cannon in 2 dodge rolls.
• Vita – Strong anti-mech main skill. No-brainer.

  

Pilot Secondary Skills #PSS

• Combat Control – CD Reduction applied to your TACTICAL skill—Rocket Jump.
• Extreme Firepower – Lower HP = More Damage

  

Whichever one you pick is purely based on preference/how you intend to play in a given game mode. Combat Control offers greater survivability whereas Extreme Firepower gives you exactly what the name implies. In TDM I play an aggressive KUMA and I usually get into close range fights. This dangerous playstyle is works well with Extreme Firepower.

Modules #MOD

• Attack: Blazing Meteor – Helps you land your missile shots.
• Defense: Air Shield – 200 shield restoration every jump is clutch. Offers great survivability.
• Propulsion: Superleap – Upgrades your rocket jump from an A-tier to an S-tier evasive/offensive maneuver.

I strongly recommend always getting Air Shield and Superleap in tandem. Both mods just work too well together. The other mods are mostly geared to enhancing Tank Form. It’s not currently part of my playstyle but other pro KUMA players like Spee (big fan) use the other mods to great effect in both BR and TDM. The High-Energy Blast mod seems too situational so I skip that altogether.

Strengths/Weaknesses #SW

• Burst Potential – your most damaging combinations come from mid to close-range combat. A combination of Rocket Jump (to start your attack) combined with your primary guns and Blast used in unison can wipe out more than half of most mech’s HP.
• Unpredictable – KUMA moves slow, but shifting gears with Rocket Jump gives you an extra layer of unpredicability. It’s perfectly fine to raise hell behind enemy lines if you attract more than enough attention to help your teammates finish the job.
• Versatile Offense – You can deal heavy damage up close and from mid-range via Bear Form, but you can also dish out deadly support fire in Tank Form. It’s hard for the enemy team to ignore you in this mode if you have line of sight of any battles your teammates are in.
• Finishing the Job – KUMA is definitely one of the fastest mechs in terms of prceisely closing the gap with rocket jump and finishing off enemies (mostly pilots) due to his insane AoE burst potential. This is especially useful in TDM because pilot kills and mech kills count for the same amount of points and we take what we can get!

• Mobility – Outside of your rocket jump, KUMA is a slow-moving mech that has a large hitbox. Whenever you’re jump shooting with the primary weapon to dodge damage, make sure you manage your fuel effectively so that you can use another rocket jump when it’s no longer on cooldown.
• Fast Opponents – Your weapons generally have slower projectile speeds compared to other mechs. That’s why it can be tough to hit good Skylarks and Neutron Stars. You can somewhat make up for this by playing to your strengths—whether it’s fighting up close or using explosion radius to land hits.
• Long-range Battles – Although your Tank Form deals good damage and has great range, it renders you immobile and turns you into an easy target. Some mechs are more suited for long-range battles. Instead of taking 1v1 battles at that distance, you’ll have more of an impact by supporting your team with cannon fire.

Combat Tips #CT

There’s no single best way to play KUMA, but here are just some basic moves that I employ after playing hundreds of TDM and BR games as the Bully Bear:

Your reload persists even after switching forms. This is definitely the most important KUMA mechanic as it allows you to minimize DPS downtime so you can maximize your damage dealt.

Since KUMA can switch quickly between bear and tank form, you can seamlessly transition your offense from short-range to long range while even combo shooting with left+right-click and shooting a cannon shell in tank form once you hit your stun (right-click).

(VIDEO PLACEHOLDER)

I really like this one because you can abruptly accelerate in a different direction once you’re in the air. Whether you use it to attack or to run away, it can confuse your enemies if you’re quick about picking the direction you want to go. I often use it to land on healing packs while running away.

Because all of your attacks have a larger than normal AoE radius, it’s easier to kill people hiding around corners, behind cover (even doomlight cover), or inside a house.

Sometimes using rocket jump to recharge your shield can mean the difference between winning and losing a duel against a better player. Manage your cooldowns to the best your ability and try to really utilize that 200 shield recharge on every jump.

You can shoot between gaps to get some sneaky kills. The Tank Form cannon shell looks huge, but it actually fits under railings and small windows.

Originally posted by JEDO:

Smother them with love.

Combat Footage #CF

Thanks for reading up to here! Here’s some KUMA combat footage for your enjoyment.