No. 14, Ryoko Shinonome

Review Ryoko Shinonome's unique armaments in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, including Hyper Condenser, Cyberattack Missiles, and Anti-Ground Salvo.

Ryoko Shinonome's specialization is generally lower in power compared to other pilots in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Her unique armament, the Hyper Condenser, makes her a Sentry Gun specialist. However, Sentry Guns are not a powerful ability on their own, meaning Ryoko relies more heavily on the G2 arsenal, which is considered underpowered. This reliance makes her a weaker combatant. She does not have access to Jammer Rocket Launchers, but this is not a significant loss.

Furthermore, Ryoko's pilot skills are largely ineffective, with most being based on taking damage, which is not ideal for S-rank runs. It is advisable to consider her skill panel as empty.

Unique Armaments

Hyper Condenser (G2)

This armament increases the EP cost of Sentry Gun by 150, allowing you to deploy two Sentry Guns simultaneously. You receive 100% more Sentries for only a 60% increase in EP cost. While Sentry Guns are not exceptionally powerful, deploying two at once offers moderate effectiveness, and Ryoko lacks other strong offensive options. This armament is of medium priority.

Cyberattack Missiles

This ability unlocks from Multi-Rocket Launchers. Ryoko likely benefits from having rocket launchers, making this a free unlock, though the ability itself is unimpressive. It launches a single missile that deals minimal damage to all kaiju within an area and corrupts their AI for 20 in-game seconds. During this time, any missiles or power attacks, even those initiated before the Cyberattack Missiles hit, become friendly. This is indicated by the usual magenta warning zone turning blue, signifying that the attack will not harm your Sentinels or the terminal. While unique, missiles can be intercepted and kaiju can be destroyed before their power attacks, offering alternative solutions. This effect does not impact their normal attacks. If the effect wears off mid-attack, the kaiju will become hostile again, which can be an unwelcome surprise. Affected kaiju will also attempt to attack each other. Corrupted kaiju are not allied units; you cannot heal or shield them, and they can still be damaged and destroyed. They attack each other instead of uncorrupted kaiju, but this is not highly effective as kaiju do not kill each other efficiently. Armored kaiju are particularly resistant to this. The only kaiju reliably destroyed are Drum Mines, due to their self-destruction. This ability could be a decent control tool if it guaranteed a 20-second window where a specific kaiju drop could not attack you, but it is unreliable. Hunters ignore corrupted AI, do not attack other kaiju, and continue to target your terminal. Drillflies also continue to target the terminal. Terra Carriers may deploy non-corrupted Hunters. Corrupted RPFs produce non-corrupted kaiju. Some kaiju, including Workers and Gladiators, may ignore the effect. Consequently, after using Cyberattack Missiles, there is a high chance some kaiju will still attack you, making it an unreliable control option. Guardians are better distractions but are still largely ineffective. The ability costs 200 EP and is unlikely to be refunded, making it expensive, unsustainable, and unreliable.

Anti-Ground Salvo

This ability unlocks from Ground-Piercing Rocket Launchers +4. It fires rockets in an outward spiral motion around Ryoko, hitting every part of a circular area with 2-3 rockets, enough to destroy small kaiju. It does not hit aerial targets. The ideal scenario is being swarmed by Workers, but the spawns are not dense enough to warrant its use, and it requires a substantial chip investment early on. Enhancements only slightly increase POW and add a few rockets, offering a poor return on investment.

Recommended Armaments

• Sentry Gun
• Hyper Condenser (G2)
• Multi Rocket Launchers
• Anti-Ground Piercing Rocket Launchers
• Plasma Arc Fusion Cutter
• anything