Melty Blood: Type Lumina has recently been updated with some balance changes and new moves for characters. Along with those changes came two new playable characters: Neco-Arc and Mash Kyrielight. Here's a guide on Mash if you're interested in learning about her, but if you'd like to get into playing Neco-Arc herself, then stick around; hopefully this guide can help you out.
While Mash is a beginner-friendly character, Neco-Arc is the complete opposite. She has some great tools, such as several projectile attacks and unconventional movement that she can freely control for the most part, like an infinite air-dash. Being the smallest character by a landslide also helps her avoid getting hit by some attacks. However, her small size makes her normal buttons very small, and she also has the lowest amount of health out of all the characters. Naturally, she gets destroyed by characters that have far range and deal lots of damage. On top of that, her own damage output is low, with her throw being very weak and not even granting a hard knockdown. She's definitely a character that'll be interesting to play and fight against. Let's look at each aspect of her toolkit.
Normals
As mentioned before, Neco-Arc's normals are pretty small. However, she has plenty of unique attacks. Her standing and crouching light attack is super fast, but very low in range (the crouching light is a bit longer so it does the job better). Her forward light attack is smaller, but holding the attack button will let her perform a whole combo that can be canceled with a special attack. Her aerial light attack isn't much to write home about either. The medium attacks are where things get interesting.
Her standing medium attack has a Blowback Edge version that moves her forward and wall-bounces opponents. The crouching medium attack is a slide that can be charged to go farther and faster. Charging it fully gives it the Blowback Edge version that's unblockable. Her aerial medium attack hits lower than her aerial light attack but goes a bit farther. However, she has an aerial down medium attack that carries aerial opponents downward with her as she flops, and it hits opponents on the ground as well. This attack isn't an overhead though. Her heavy attacks get even more interesting.
Neco-Arc's standing heavy moves her forward a bit, and has a wider range due to the claw slashes. Her forward heavy is a unique jab-like attack that can lead to two other attacks, the final one being a jump-cancelable launcher. She also has an overhead attack in the form of a backward heavy attack; while it's super slow and only cancelable with a special attack, it can work in block strings and moves her forward a bit. Her crouching heavy moves her forward as well but not as much. Her aerial heavy attack is a series of scuttle kicks, and it has a Blowback Edge version that allows her to affect her momentum while doing the attack. She also has an aerial downwards heavy attack that can ground bounce opponents (you can affect the direction you recover from this attack). Finally, there's her throw. Despite being weaker and not granting a hard knockdown, it has a Blowback Edge version that charges her forward, making her invincible to attacks. However, hitting a wall or getting blocked causes her to bounce back, so either be really careful with this or...just not use it.
Specials/Moon Skills
Neco-Arc's specials are tricky and funny. They fulfill a variety of purposes in unusual ways. Since she's weaker than the average fighter, you'll have to work hard to get decent damage with her specials. That work is made harder by the fact that some of her specials are luck-dependent in many scenarios. When explaining the input for each special, it will be under the assumption that you’re facing the right side of the screen, since the numbers for the analog inputs are dependent on such.
Neco-Arc's first special is her 236 special (or quarter circle forward, or QCF), True Ancestor Beam. She simply fires a laser beam from her eyes. The light version goes all the way across the screen. The medium version is a bit faster, but it only hits opponents that are directly next to and above her. The heavy or EX version is also full-screen, but hits wider and deals more damage. You can also combo into the EX version from the light version for good damage. The Moon Skill covers the same range as the light version and deals more damage, on top of being as fast as the medium version in terms of startup. True Ancestor Beam will be your main zoning tool.
Up next is her 623 special (or dragon punch input, or DP) Neco Sidestep. It's a very unconventional DP that has her step side to side. The light version travels a far range and works best for combos, especially out of the overhead attack. The medium version has her sidestep a shorter distance, but gives her invincibility for the duration of the attack until it hits. The EX version also gives invincibility, and the full attack will be performed even if the move lands later in the animation. The Moon Skill is much faster so it's great for applying and resetting pressure. If you want to combo other EX moves or Arc Drives out of the other versions of the move, be mindful of your positioning during it. Neco Sidestep is a tricky DP that'll also function as one of Neco-Arc's main combo tools.
Now there's her 214 special (or quarter circle backward, or QCB), Resurrection Cat PR (Double Returns). This has her burrow into the ground and return with three different Necos. Each Neco will be a specific distance from the opponent, and whichever one will be the real you will depend on which button you use. The light version will make it so you're the Neco that's farthest from the opponent, the medium version have you at the halfway point between you and the opponent, and the heavy version will make it so you're closest to the opponent, sometimes ending up behind them depending on the distance as well as where the opponent is. The Moon Skill has her burrow in the ground before popping out right under the opponent, damaging and launching them in the air. The Moon Skill is also jump-cancelable. Each version of the move has invincibility, and the exact positioning of the other two Necos for the light, medium and heavy can be random. The move also has a random chance for any of the other Necos to turn into a rocket and shoot up in the air. Resurrection Cat PR (Double Returns) is a tricky mix-up tool that can surprise your opponent if they don't know when to expect or how to deal with it.
Now is Neco-Arc's 421 special (or reverse dragon punch input, or RDP), Neco Packet 2022. This has Neco-Arc take out her phone and utilizes a luck-based system for support. The light version has her choose from seven different apps that have their own uses, including one that'll bring up a livestream. The medium version will have her call on some Necos for support. The amount of Necos summoned can range from one to three, and each will also do a random action, some being useless. Since you can perform both versions of the move quickly, you can have many of the effects on-screen at the same time. However, some effects can't overlap with each other, so be wary of that. The EX version summons two other Neco-Arcs, and all three of them will perform the light version of the move for three different effects. The Moon Skill has her summon twice as much Necos from the medium version, so it can range from two to six. Neco Packet 2022 is a tool to test your luck and create some chaos within the battle that can work to your advantage.
Now are her 252 specials (or down-down input). The first one is the light version, Abaddon Flare. This has Neco-Arc shoot fire from her mouth that goes a decent distance ahead of her and pushes her back a bit on hit and block. It also has a Blowback Edge version that has her go full Godzilla and fire a laser from her mouth that hits full-screen and leads into a True Ancestor Beam. However, this doesn't combo out of the normal Abaddon Flare. Next up are the medium and heavy versions, Abaddon Force. This has her spit out a Neco at five different trajectories chosen at random ( they can also bounce off of the edges of the stage). Each Neco will perform an action at random, some being useless. The EX version will have her spit three Necos that will fire straight ahead as rockets. The Moon Skill has her perform Abaddon Force's medium version but spit out two Necos instead of one. Abaddon Flare and Abaddon Force works as Neco-Arc's mid-range zoning tool, which will also test your luck with Abaddon Force.
Now we move on to Neco-Arc's aerial specials, the first of which is her aerial 236 special, I want to Go to Bird Garden. This has her spit an electric ring out from her mouth that oddly resembles the aerial special of another character. The light version has her spit it out normally while continuing her descent from the air and keeping a bit of her forward or backwards momentum, so this will be the one you want to combo with the most. The medium version has her halt in the air a bit before shooting it out and pushing her backwards. Use this one to control space or apply pressure from above while getting away from the opponent. The EX version deals the most damage and is what you'll want to use as a combo ender in the air. The Moon Skill functions like the light version but gives her a bit of a jump and is stronger. I Want to Go to Bird Garden is one of Neco-Arc's projectiles that works for applying pressure and control.
Her other aerial special is the aerial 214 special, I Want to Go to Crocodile Garden. This has her transform into a rocket and propel herself forward. An additional attack input paired with a direction will have her move in that direction after the first one. The downwards input has a chance of giving her a bad landing if it blocks or misses completely, and the upwards input is jump-cancelable. Other than that, the medium version travels farther than the light version. The EX version is another aerial combo ender and works to carry the opponent a far distance in tandem with the light or medium versions. The opponent is able to recover if you perform the EX version too high off the ground or if the combo is too long, so be mindful of those. The Moon Skill isn't able to do an additional input, but it deals nearly as much damage as such and does the move much faster. I Want to Go to Crocodile Garden functions as a move that helps carry opponents, as well as a movement option to weave in and out of different situations.
Now we have Neco-Arc's Arc Drives. Her first one is her 236B+C, Sword of Promised Vacuum. She summons a sword of that transforms into a pile of Necos that becomes too heavy for her to lift, so the pile causes her to buckle under the weight and tip it over, causing the Necos to jump out at the opponent. The Necos travel full-screen, but deal very little damage on their own so you'll want to be very close to deal the most damage. Her second one is 214B+C, Nyampsey Roll~! TL. This has her turn into a tornado and advance forward. This move is unblockable, but can easily be shielded on reaction. It also can't combo from anything so it's ultimately pointless.
Combos
Using some of Neco-Arc's specials for combos can be very tricky. You have to keep in mind all the unconventional aspects of her moves, and some of them will need some resources. You'll see exactly that with the combos in Mission mode, but try these relatively easy combos that utilize all of her offensive specials:
- 236A>236C
- 5C>6C+C>3B+C>2A>5C>5C>air 5B>air 5C>air A+D
- [In a corner] 5B (Blowback Edge)>4B+C>jump cancel>air 5C>air A+D
- [This works depending on the app/Necos you end up using] 412A>A+D
- [In a corner] 5B (Blowback Edge)>252C>5A>5A>5A>air 5B>air 5C>air A+D
- 5A>5A>5A>air 5A>air 5B>air 236B>air236C
- 5A>5A>5A>air 5A>air 5B>air 214A+6A>air 214C
That's Neco-Arc on a basic level. The character is still quite new, so lots of things are still being found out. Hopefully, this guide helps put you on the right path to figuring some things out for yourself. It'll definitely be hard at times but don't give up and keep at playing the character. You'll certainly find success if you dedicate time to learning her. Have fun!