Guides

How to choose the best character in Arms

The perfect Arms character guide for beginners

By Jeff Ramos Jun 16, 2017, 11:15am EDT

Arms is filled with a memorable and diverse cast of characters. And while each of the characters can equip the same arms, the characters do have differences outside of aesthetics.

Each character has different abilities that change their play styles. Not only that, but certain characters actually deal different throw damage outside of the standard 150 damage. Mixing and matching characters with unique abilities and arms is what gives Arms a surprising amount of depth.

Choosing the best character depends on what attributes mean the most to you. Do you want a character with fast mobility? Or does the ability to take blows without flinching seem more up your alley? What about unique characters who can summon a third arm or characters who bring their pet into combat with them?

Below is a breakdown of what makes each character in Arms unique.

SPRING MAN

Spring Man has two passive abilities that make him difficult to fight against. His first ability allows him to release a burst of energy once his charges wear off, allowing him to deflect attacks. His second ability makes him frightening at low health. Once he’s under 25 percent, his arms stay perma-charged so he can use his elemental abilities on his Arms with every punch.

RIBBON GIRL

Ribbon Girl is all about midair mobility. She can jump four times in air, giving her a unique way to travel compared to her counterparts. In addition, if you hold down the dash button while jumping, she can fast fall which is a great dodging tool.

NINJARA

Ninjara is all about his unique ability to warp. When dashing in midair, he will teleport briefly, which means he can’t be hit. When he blocks an attack, he immediately counters by teleporting toward his enemy.

MASTER MUMMY

Master Mummy is a brute who can take normal punches without flinching. Plus, whenever he’s blocking, he slowly regains health. Master Mummy has the strongest throw in the game at 200 damage.

MIN MIN

Min Min has two unique abilities. The first one allows her to perform a spin kick that repels attacks when she dashes during a jump. Her second ability allows her to turn her left arm into a dragon after a throw or from a long charge, like a dash. The dragon arm will maintain a longer charge than usual so take advantage of that.

MECHANICA

Mechina is a heavy character who can absorb most blows without flinching, which allows her to keep the pressure on, even if her opponent is mounting an offensive. She can also hover in midair when she dashes during jumps, giving her some interesting mobility options. Her throws deal 160 damage.

TWINTELLE

Charging is Twintelle’s speciality. She’s one of the only characters who can charge midair by dashing. Whenever Twintelle receives a charge, she creates a field of flowers around her that slows enemy attacks. She also deals 160 damage per throw.

BYTE & BARQ

Byte & Barq are a duo, making them unique characters. Barq is an AI-controlled character that can randomly attack your opponent and will also block attacks with its body. If Barq sustains too much damage, he’ll be out of commission for five seconds. Whenever you jump off of Barq’s head, you’ll perform a high jump and create a field of energy that repels attacks. Byte doesn’t have any unique characteristics of its own, so the key is to leverage Barq’s presence as much as possible.

KID COBRA

Kid Cobra has some interesting mobility options. When charged, he has the fastest dash in the game. And while his normal dash is slow, he has a fast jump which is great for dodging. Kid Cobra deals 170 damage per throw.

HELIX

Helix can stretch out his body vertically when he holds down the jump button. When he does, he gains a charge in midair and can lean left or right. His dash also allows him to duck under most attacks.

Arms guide table of contents

Arms is a fighting game, so we’re going to break it down like we have broken down fighting games in our guides for Injustice 2 and Street Fighter 5. The first question is “What am I trying to do?”

We’ve organized our Arms guide based on related topics, each of which we’ve corralled below. You’re free to tackle them in our order or hop between them at your leisure.

Learning to fight

What am I trying to do in Arms?: Defense, not offense, is the key, and most of your damage is going to come from counterattacks.
Controls: Breaking all of the options down into motion controls and non-motion controls.
Movement, blocking and charging: It’s is important to know how to move around in Arms before throwing any punches. Remember: Punches don’t mean anything if you can’t land them.
Punching, throws and blocking: The basis of so many games — including Arms — is the time-honored playground classic rock, paper, scissors.
Rush attacks: The Rush move is every character’s “special” attack — and the most valuable resource you have in Arms.
Staying safe and when to strike: The whole game is about reacting to the other player’s actions, not so much rushing in boldly yourself.
Four things you need to know to win: Understanding how Arms wants you to play.

Characters

Which character should you choose? Rather than looking for the strongest Arms character, think about the way you want to play the game and try and match a character (and weapon) to that.

Elements and weapons

Elements: Every element type in action.
Arms attributes explained: Nearly every Arm has one of seven attributes — fire, electric, wind, ice, stun, explosion and blind — that augment their play style.
Weapons: Every weapon type, explained.
Choosing weapons and building sets: In Arms, you have your choice of weapons on either arm at the beginning of the fight. Deciding which of those you’re going to use each round is a major decision with a big impact on how you’re going to play.

Modes

Solo training: If you’re interested in getting better at Arms as a beginner, you should make your first major goal getting into Ranked Match. Here are some steps to take along the way.
Online modes: Party and Ranked matches, explained.
Extra modes: Overviews of V-Ball, Hoops, Skillshot and 1-on-100.
How to beat 1-on-100 mode in Arms: Some basic strategies to survive all 100 rounds.
Stages: What kind of characters, weapons and general play styles each stage favors.
Earning Arms coins: This depends on how good you are at Arms.
How to get every unlockable in Arms as quickly as possible: Your guide to maximum coins, not maximum fun.
How to change colors in Arms: Learning the “secret way to change your fighter’s color.”

Putting it all together

Conclusions, studying and moving on: Beyond the basics.