In 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, you'll pilot giant mechs alongside 12 other high-school students to defend Earth from the Deimos invaders. This isn't just about giant robot battles; it's a sprawling narrative woven through time and space, where uncovering clues and keywords in the 'Adventure' segments is key to piecing together the truth. The 'Destruction' phases demand strategic thinking to survive waves of enemies, making for a unique blend of visual novel storytelling and tactical combat.
This guide will help you master both sides of 13 Sentinels. We'll walk you through the intricate steps needed to clear every scenario in the Adventure mode, from gathering those crucial clues to understanding your Sentinels' roles and upgrades. For the intense Destruction waves, we'll provide combat tips and strategies to help you survive the Deimos onslaught. Plus, we've got you covered with extras like trophy guides and dedicated tip pages to ensure you experience everything the game has to offer.
Terms and Game Concepts
Learn the essential terms and game concepts for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, including HP, EP, ATK, DEF, SPD, ACC, POW, WT, BOL, and more.
This section explains the core terms and game concepts used throughout 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Understanding these will help you better grasp the game's mechanics and strategies.
- HP
- Health points. The amount of damage a Sentinel can take before it’s immobilized.
- EP
- Energy points. Resource consumed to use armament. Restored through the Defend command or by getting the killing blow on kaiju.
- ATK
- Sentinel attack stat. Increases the damage of most attacks.
- DEF
- Sentinel defense stat. Decreases damage taken.
- SPD
- Sentinel speed stat. Slightly speeds up Wait Time.
- ACC
- Stat that increases the chance that the Sentinel gets a critical hit (orange numbers, double damage).
- POW
- Stat that indicates the damage of an ability. Useful mostly for comparing abilities to each other to see which deals more damage. Modified by ATK to calculate the final damage.
- WT
- Wait time. Usually part of the description of an action, and it describes how much time you have to wait until the unit can act again. Modified by SPD.
- In-game time
- Time as denoted by the timer in the upper middle of the screen. Some abilities have durations measured with in-game time.
- BOL
- Brain Overload. Each pilot has a BOL stat that, when it reaches 1000 or above, causes that pilot to have to skip the next battle, at which point BOL resets to 0. By default each battle adds 500 BOL to every pilot on the strike team.
- Armored
- An enemy status that causes them to take only 1/3 damage from attacks without the armor-piercing capability.
- Back attack
- Most attacks that hit a kaiju from an angle in their back 90 degrees deal 50% additional daamge. Every kaiju has a small white triangle on their symbol indicating facing, which helps you determine where their back is.
- Setup Movement
- Movement that occurs in the course of using an armament, which does not use WT like a normal move.
- Power attack
- Special kaiju attack that shows up as a magenta colored danger zone that slowly fills with yellow to indicate the time until the attack executes.
- Wave
- The game uses this term to refer to individual combat stages. Synonymous with “battle” or “mission”.
- G1, G2, G3, G4
- Generation 1, 2, 3, 4. Used to refer to Sentinel classes.
- Unlockable unique armament
- Refers to the pilot specific unique armaments added first in the Nintendo Switch version of 13 Sentinels and later added to the PS4 version in patch 1.02.
Basic Concepts
Understand the basic mechanical functions of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim with this gameplay primer. Covers essential concepts to smooth over knowledge gaps.
- 1Understand the basic mechanical functions of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.
- 2Many concepts can be picked up through gameplay observation.
- 3This section covers essential concepts to fill in any knowledge gaps.
- Everyone focuses on different things during gameplay, so knowledge gaps can occur.
- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim does not take special care to document every mechanical function.
Basic Concepts (2)
Understand the core mechanics of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim with this essential gameplay primer to fill any knowledge gaps.
Much of the analysis in later sections won't make much sense without a decent grounding in the basic mechanical functions of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Many of these concepts can be picked up by game observation, but everyone focuses on different things and no two people are going to have absorbed the exact same knowledge from gameplay. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim does not take special care to document everything, so it's helpful to start with a primer on how the game works to smooth over any knowledge gaps. That's what this section covers.
- Reviewing these basic concepts is clutch for understanding more advanced analysis later on.
- While gameplay observation can teach you some mechanics, this primer ensures you don't miss anything.
Next: Terms and Game Concepts
Brain Overload
Understand the Brain Overload (BOL) system in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Learn why you should never use Recover to preserve your Win Streak for Mystery Points.
- 1Being on attack adds 500 BOL to a unit.
- 2Being on defense does not add BOL, but also does not reduce it.
- 3The only way to reduce BOL (without using the Recover option) is to have a unit reach or exceed 1000 BOL, causing them to become Overloaded and sit out a battle.
- 4You should avoid using the Recover option because it resets your Win Streak.
- 5Maintaining your Win Streak raises your score, which grants extra Mystery Points.
- 6These Mystery Points enable you to unlock all Mystery Files without needing to grind repeat missions.
- 7The Brain Overload system pushes you to use everyone instead of just one team.
- 8It is impossible to mismanage BOL so badly that you must use Recover, as a maximum of 6 units can be overloaded at once, always leaving 7 units available.
- 9You can replay an earlier wave (e.g., Area 1, Wave 1 on Casual difficulty) to reduce BOL on a specific unit without significantly impacting your progress or Win Streak. This is useful if an overloaded unit is needed for a bonus objective.
- 10Therefore, you should never use the Recover option, even on Casual difficulty, to ensure you have enough points to unlock all Mystery Files.
- For a personal challenge, you can attempt a one-run playthrough, completing every wave in order without replaying. A suggested team for each wave that manages BOL is available for this challenge.
- Replaying an earlier wave, even with just one Sentinel on Casual difficulty, can clear the overload off any unit and accumulate BOL on only one unit.
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