and/or firepower, but destruction in battle will severely hurt the team's battle gauge, while units with lower costs and lower performance will allow the team to survive longer even after repeated losses. Awakening The sequel introduces new awakening modes, diversifying from its prequel's single Awakening mode. 'Awakening' is a mode which a player may activate to gain certain effects for a certain period of time. For the mode's duration, a player is endowed with abilities depending on the mode he/she chooses: RUSH Mode The awakening mode from the prequel. A player's attack delay is greatly decreased (allowing for rapid, consecutive attacks), and has increased defense. Weapon ammunition is also replenished at a faster rate, as well as speeding up the charging of special attacks. POWER Mode At the cost of some defense and speed, a player gains a boost in attack strength in this awakening mode. It also allows the player to ignore flinching from enemy attacks. SPEED Mode This mode greatly increases the player's movement speed and allows the player to cancel any movement (including attacks) with a jump or a step, as well as decreasing attack delay. When activating any of the Awakening Modes, the player is able to instantly recover from enemy hits, providing a chance to counterattack. Game Modes Arcade Mode Arcade Mode (アーケード モード)is the standard arcade format of the game. The player selects a 'route' to follow, and a unit & pilot. The player will then have to complete 9 consecutive missions based on the route chosen, with a special 10th mission if certain conditions are met during the playthrough. The chosen pilot will also determine which faction the player joins; opposing units in battle may change according to the faction chosen. In this mode, there may be certain stages where depleting the opposing team's battle gauge is not the objective; instead, a 'target' unit appears, which the player will have to defeat to end the level in victory. Completing a mission with a high score results in the player receiving a 'Destiny' rank, and a 'FAITH' medal. Upon acquiring such a rank, the player is treated to a special 'EX' version of the next mission. The EX mission is usually more difficult than the non-EX version. This does not apply for RANDOM routes and the FINAL PLUS route. After the 9th stage (FINAL PHASE), if the player has accumulated 5 or more FAITH