Card 9 or Main Weapon Supercharge is a Permanent Bonus Card, which grants a unique ability to supercharge the Main Weapon.
In-game Description[]
Supercharge module has been installed. To use it - add second finger just next to the one you're controlling your plane with. Weapons will stop firing and begin to charge. When you release the finger, the cannon will fire accumulated bullets for a short time. Charging process requires the navigation computer to be halted, so the plane will not be able to move for a short time.
Warning: If you charge the weapon for too long, the module will explode.
Function[]
Holding down on the screen with a second finger along with your main finger controlling your Plane/pressing an assigned key on the Steam/Console version will cause all its weaponsMain & Wing Cannons, Missiles, Technicians as well as Support Drones to be temporarily inactive. Lucky Shield still functions as per normal even if you receive a fatal blow, and the Magnet and rescue rope for Survivors still work too. When charging, your Plane's movement will be frozen, providing a brief period of vulnerability, and on the mobile version with two fingers holding on, it is impossible to activate Power-ups.
After releasing one finger, the Main Cannon will discharge accumulated bullets, presumably all that it should have normally fired, for the same duration as the charging period, while the rest of the weapon systems continue firing regularly. This mighty surge of firepower is helpful in almost any situation, and especially combining with Power-ups swarms of enemies can be blown away.
Limp Berserker's MWS and explosion.
When charging, the Plane will be seen gathering yellow particles and energy from its surroundings, and glowing with increasingly strong intensity, before flashing a few times. These flashes act as a warning to release the finger now, and otherwise the Plane blows apart, ending the Stage immediately. Charges are not refreshed entirely after releasing, and if the player performs continuous repeated bursts of this firepower surge, then the charge will accumulate and can eventually lead to an explosion as well.
There are a few Planes with unique supercharge abilities. Iron Clad's supercharge causes a shockwave that blows away enemies' projectiles (radius is dependent on charging duration), and Octopus's in the Steam/Console edition will cause it to discharge multiple high-speed damaging missiles instead of the standard firepower surge, which it does in mobile. Supercharging as the Gladius will cause the end of its attack range to focus into a point, allowing for massive damage at a distance.
Strategy[]
Main Weapon Supercharge (MWS) is a crucial mechanic in the game, used extensively to swiftly take out high health or dangerous enemies. MWS is most useful in Boss fights, especially during their animations when appearing or in between phases. By remembering the patterns of Stages or Boss phases, the player can use the MWS to take out those armaments as soon as they appear, even on Nightmare difficulty. This is an expertise of the Octopus Plane on Steam and Console version.
The Classic vs. Nuclear Ballistic Missile. Each flash on the laser whip indicates a successful hit, so four flashes prove the missile has four hitboxes.
With The Classic, the high damage from MWS can be used to take out long vertical fleets of Prop Planes or Drones, or lines of turrets placed after one another thanks to its superior piercing ability. One of its best use cases is against the Nuclear Ballistic Missiles on Stage B2 which normally have ridiculously high health, since they not only have one hitbox, but four (Laser power-up can do the same job).
While rescuing survivors or charging power-ups from dispensers, MWS can be used during the long period of just waiting in order to annihilate any enemies once the charge/rescue is completed. Make sure that the Plane will not leave the radius required for those actions during the MWS, due to automatic screen scrolling.
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