(The following review is a transcription from audio. Thanks for reading! And special thanks for talking with me about this book I enjoyed so much! This review was transcribed from an episode of Atoz: A Speculative Fiction Book Club Podcast. If you're interested, you can check it (and other episodes) out here: Apple Spotify Amazon Website )
(Also, if you clicked on this it probably means you've read the book before -- so unless you'd like a refresher, go ahead and scroll right past the recap to get to the real discussion)

Recap

Monstress is a fantasy comic-book that takes place entirely in a self-contained secondary world – it’s not our world. It’s possible that it’s an imaginary distant future of our world, but in this first volume, at least, that’s not clear and it doesn’t matter.
This world is pre-industrial but still densely populated and highly sophisticated, and it’s also obsessed with religious dogma and with magic – so it feels a lot like the seventeenth century. While there aren’t any combustion engines or heavy industry, there are guns and at least one massive airship, though everyone else is using horse-drawn wagons.
Gradually, we’ll come to understand that there are four biological groups in this world – what D&D likes to call “races.” There are humans, of course, and we’re beginning in a human city. Then there are the Ancients, who are anthropomorphic animals – we’ll meet a wolf and a monkey later. They are magical and immortal, and are basically the High Elves of this world. The next group is the Arcanics, who are hybrids of Ancients and humans – something that was biologically impossible until suddenly it wasn’t not that long ago. Arcanics come in a variety of appearances, and some of them – including our protagonist – look fully human. But others, such as the character Kippa, have clear animal attributes like fox ears and a fox tail. There are also talking cats, who are distinct from the Ancients and are called Ubasti – properly The Children of Ubasti – and this name derives from the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Bast or Bastet or Ubaste who is depicted as a cat. If you’ve been to any museum with an Egyptian collection, then you’ve seen a sculpture of Ubaste. But even while these are just cats – they’re not anthropomorphic except for having sentience and language – there’s a weird thing going on with their tails. As they age, they grow more tails, and so an old wizened cat will have four while a kitten has only one tail.
These groups don’t all get along, and that’s going to be the driving force of our protagonist’s adventures – and we’ll meet her in just a minute. Essentially, there is a division between the mundane humans and the magical everybody else. And this is a recent-ish change as human culture has been leaning more and more into something we would call science, and so there is an element of the classic “magic vs. science” fantasy trope. As human culture becomes more interested in classifying and categorizing the world, naturally they become more interested in controlling the world and in containing magic.
There’s more to it than this, of course, as the human science actually has something to do with harvesting magic from Arcanics, and humans are able to use this to heal themselves and even resurrect the dead, and some other things as well. This science of magic is the special domain of a religious organization called the Cumaea. Cumaean clerics are female and they have a strict hierarchy that is basically modeled on the medieval Dominican Order. The leader is called the Mother Superior, there are Inquistrixes – that’s bad Latin, though, I’ll say – that X should become a C when it’s rendered into a plural form – and then there are Witch-Nuns, which is on-the-nose for sure. And if you’re thinking about the Bene Gesserit from Dune, you’re not wrong – and this keeps coming up, so maybe we should read Dune at some point.
So that’s the setting – well, not all of it, but as much as we need to get going. Our story begins in the human city of Zamora. Of course, Zamora is a real place in Spain – it’s a gorgeous place full of awesome Romanesque architecture – but this imaginary Zamora is not the real one, though it also is full of gorgeous stone architecture. Zamora also is a place in the Conan stories, and it’s even mentioned in the book we’re doing next month, so that could maybe be some sort of new Atoz drinking game.
Alright, we start at a slave auction – a very high-end slave auction being held in private in a swank Art Nouveau drawing room. The slave being auctioned is a young woman with only one arm, and we learn here that although she looks human she is actually an Arcanic. Her name is Maika Halfwolf and she’s our protagonist, and she’s on quite an adventure. So the slave auction is interrupted by a Cumaean witch-nun who wants Maika because of a symbol that she has on her chest that looks like a brand or a birthmark – it’s not a tattoo – that has some significance to the Order.
Maika and some other Arcanics are taken to a Cumaean facility and held in a dungeon. And this should be bad, but it turns out that Maika wanted to come here and allowed herself to be captured as her means of infiltrating this facility so she can carry out some vengeance on the Witch-Nun who runs the place. It also turns out that Maika has a crazy scary superpower. There’s a tentacled monster living in her arm that will protect her when she’s in immediate jeopardy – and we’ll learn more about this later. Right now, it breaks her out of jail and she tears up the place like an action-movie hero and makes her way to the boss-fight.
The boss, it turns out, is someone who knows Maika – who knew her when she was a kid, this is something of a family friend from a time before the most recent war made it impossible for humans and Arcanics to be friends. We come to understand that the boss – her name is Yvette, by the way – and Maika’s mother were a sort of Indiana Jones team searching for ancient magical relics from a legendary figure called the Shaman Empress. And, of course, they found one – a mask – and it’s messed things up pretty bad. Yvette has this mask, and it’s given her some Gollum-like qualities – it’s basically her Precious. But when they found this mask there was some kind of accident that Maika doesn’t really remember, but which took her arm and put the monster inside her.
Now Maika and Yvette fight, and Maika wins – she kills Yvette, which was her plan from the start – and she runs off with the mask. Now our story splits in half as we follow Maika and her adventures with a little-girl fox Arcanic and a cat; and as we see what’s going on with the Cumaean Order. All we really need to know about that part of the story is that the Mother Superior is very interested in this mask and in Maika, and so she resurrects Yvette and uses her Gollum-like connection to the mask to track it.
Maika and her friends make it out of Zamora, but they’re being hunted by Yvette and the Mother Superior, and there are some elaborate schemes here that are a lot of fun. One of the obstacles here, though, is Maika herself. See, she has a monster inside her and that monster needs to eat people, and she can’t always control it – so she’s kind of a threat to people who are with her. Fortunately, there are enough human soldiers chasing them, but they do have some close encounters.
Now that they are out of human territory, we learn a little more about the Ancients. There are two countries in Ancient territory: The Dawn Court and the Dusk Court, and they differ about how involved they should be in the world and the humans. Maika, of course, now has more questions than answers about her past and her mother and so on, and so she’s still on a quest. But they run into a powerful lord of the Dusk Court – a guy who is an angel with raven wings – and his name is Corvin, which is the Latin word for “raven,” which is a nice touch. Corvin is here to help, of course, and they should definitely super trust him … except that he isn’t and they shouldn’t.
Now Maika’s been capture by the Dusk Court and they’re going to kill her because they are scared of the monster inside her – and also they don’t want to deal with the humans. So here’s a good time to pause and talk about this monster business. The monster is a sentient creature – a person – and he’s not the only one, though he is the only one who spiritually inhabits the body of a humanoid person. These monsters are called Old Ones or Old Gods – and that’s some Lovecraft stuff there – and ghosts, and they can be massive creatures who materialize out in the Ancient lands but aren’t really there and don’t take notice of humanoid characters or perhaps even the world at all – these are regarded really as shadows of the Old Gods, not the Old Gods themselves. But legends and myths suggest that they were once a very real material presence in the world, and that they nearly destroyed it.
Something we learn from the Old One dwelling in Maika is that they’d like to come back to the world, and we also learn that this particular Old One has been dwelling inside Maika’s ancestors for generations – that he only came to dwell in Maika when her mother died. And when Maika is drugged up by the Dusk Court, she’s able to access some memories of her childhood that she didn’t have before, and so she learns the name of the monster which allows her to control it, and they enter into a kind of symbiosis – and this is just in time because the Cumaea are here now and there’s some fighting to be done.
Maika and her monster end up in another boss fight, this time with the Mother Superior of the Cumaea, who, it turns out, is actually another Old One who is masquerading as human. We don’t get very much explained to us – this volume has to end on a game-changer so we’ll want to keep reading – but the Mother Superior Old One claims that Maika’s Old One has betrayed their kind in favor of mortals, and I imagine we’ll get more on that in later volumes. And there’s more going on here. The Mother Superior Old One exists in the world without being tethered to a humanoid body because of what Maika’s mother and Yvette discovered when they were playing Indiana Jones – the Halfwolfs brought this Old One into the world. What’s more, the mask they found can keep the door open and let more Old Ones in, which we’re meant to infer would be very bad for the world and for our heroes.
So there’s a big fight with multiple groups, and in the end Maika and her friends make it out of the Dusk Court with a little help from Corvin, who had previously betrayed them. But the Dusk Court doesn’t just shrug it’s shoulders: they’re going after Maika, and here in the last panel of this book we learn that one of Maika’s old friends is now helping them – and maybe always has been. And that’s the end of this volume.

Themes

There are a number of themes that Liu is laying the groundwork for in this first volume – it’s an ambitious story just in its thematic scope, in addition to the massive world and epic plot. Since this is still an ongoing story, I’ll make more of a quick catalog of the themes that I see getting started here, and I’ll begin with one that I think shows up here pretty fully formed, and that’s Wrestling With Inner Demons.
This is literally what is going on with Maika – she has a monster living inside her that needs to eat people, and doesn’t care if those people are Maika’s friends or not. But there is a metaphorical inner demon here, too, and that’s Maika’s quest for vengeance. More than anything she wants to kill Yvette for taking her mother from her, and Maika is willing to pay any price for this. And much of the first volume is flashbacks that focus on Maika’s friendship with Tuya, who tries to talk Maika out of this quest because it will destroy her – both literally and metaphorically. And at the end of this volume, it’s Tuya who has become a part of the Dusk Court and is leading the efforts to stop Maika because Maika’s thirst for vengeance threatens to destroy the whole world by letting loads of other monsters in.
We see this struggle, as well, with the character of Yvette – though maybe we shouldn’t call it a struggle. As a result of the archeological expedition, Yvette now has to consume the body parts of Arcanics to stay alive, and of course she’s obsessed with this mask. And really, we should say that she’s enthralled to it – it’s very much an addiction, which is certainly an inner demon that many of us have to wrestle with.
The second theme that is clear right from the start is dehumanization and racism. It’s a fantasy world, so we’re dealing with several genetically distinct sentient species – what D&D likes to call “races” – and in this world they don’t all get along very well, and there are different varieties of this. Nobody seems to like Arcanics very much – certainly the Cumaea wants to oppress Arcanics for their own purposes, and as they’ve come to more or less rule the human lands they’ve created a culture that thrives on seeing the Arcanics as inhuman, as not quite people.
One of the things that Liu does really well here is to depict this as a process. We learn that this wasn’t always the case – that humans and Arcanics have formerly lived in the same society and the same political community and gotten along just fine. But the religious rhetoric of the Cumaea has changed that, and rather rapidly, too – really just over the course of a generation, it seems. And there are dissidents, people who resist this change – and who do so on religious grounds, and so there is something here of a dispute between what in American politics at least we think of as the Religious Right and the Religious Left. And the equivalent of the Religious Left here is operating something akin to the Underground Railroad to get Arcanics safely out of Cumaean hands, and at great risk to themselves.
I guess this is probably a good place to pause and talk a little more broadly about religion in this story – and there’s a lot of it. The villains in this story are a religious order, and let’s start by exploring their history a little bit. We learn that they worship someone named Marium, a goddess who had taken on human form and who discovered the healing powers of lilium, granting longer life and better quality of life, too. Marium lived in Galilea and when she died, thirteen apostles founded the religion and proselytized it, though it’s taken them a long time to become the dominant religion in the human community.
And if you’re thinking that this sounds a bit like Christianity, you’re right. Marium is Mary, the mother of Christ, who lived in Galilee and was a human incarnation of God. Christ also had apostles who evangelized after his death. Now, what Liu is doing with this is not clear to me – and this is something I’d love to talk about on the forum. It seems like low-hanging fruit to read this as a critique of Christianity, though perhaps that is what she has in mind. There is one other important reference to Christian history in this story, too, and that’s the battle at the city of Constantine. This battle was a victory for the Arcanics, but only because they had developed some kind of scary weapon of mass destruction, and this outcome led to a truce between the two states – though Arcanics in human territory are still being oppressed. We gradually come to realize that this scary new weapon was related to the mask and the monster, and that the Arcanics don’t really know what happened any more than the humans do. But the Cumaea claim that the Arcanics have developed this weapon in order to eradicate humans, and so it’s become the keystone in their othering and dehumanizing – we might even say nationalist – rhetoric. And where this circles back to Christian history is that the Roman Emperor Constantine was the first Christian Emperor, and his reign was significant in ceasing the persecution of Christians but also in formally establishing one sect of Christianity as the mainstream quasi-official sect of the religion, as well as helping to create the organizational structure of that Church. And I don’t think this parallel is coincidental.
But there is more going on with the real-world parallels of the Cumaea. Marium, they believe, could see the future – she was an oracle. And the name of this order comes from a real place, a city in Italy called Cumae. Cumae is where the most famous Roman oracle lived, the Sibylline Oracle. She lived in a cave near the city that was also regarded as an entrance to the Underworld – the land of the dead. And if you’ve read the Aeneid, then you’ve encountered this in Book 6, which is the greatest of the classical Underworld stories. Again, I don’t think this name is coincidental, though what Liu is doing with it isn’t entirely clear in just this first volume. But what jumps out to me is the connection with the entrance to the land of the dead, given that we are dealing with a story about the ghosts of Old Gods trying to get back into this world, and we’re dealing with magic that can resurrect people.

Strengths and Weaknesses

And all of these questions I have about religion in this speculative world have me eager to keep reading the series, and in general I think the world and the world-building are real strengths of Monstress. Liu does a wonderful job using the comics medium to construct her world. We get a mix of internal monologue with omniscient character dialogue, and we also get at the end of issues 2 through 6 little lessons about the history of this imaginary world on the last page. And these are just delightful. Liu gives us glimpses into the classroom of Professor Tam Tam, who is a cat – a Child of Ubasti – who wears an ascot and has some old-timey spectacles. These scenes are really helpful for building the world, but they’re also just fun – there’s always something silly going on, such as making chocolate-covered mice.
But of course the art is also doing a lot of the heavy lifting in building the world, and Sana Takeda’s work is just spectacular. And she’s got a tough task – it’s a huge chase of characters across different species and different cultures, and she has to draw a lot of different locations as well. And all of it is gorgeous. Zamora and the human culture has an Art Nouveau style to it that makes sense with the airship, and this gives the whole thing some steampunk visuals. But the Ancients get a wholly different style of art that looks like modern temple architecture in Thailand, and the palace of the Dawn Court looks like the famous Wat Benchamabophit dialed up to 11. Still again, the antique culture where Yvette and Maika’s mother found the mask looks very much like ancient Egyptian architecture. And all of this makes the world come alive.
And the art is so awesome that it’s impossible for me to pick a favorite panel, but if I had to pick I would choose the first glimpse that we get of Zamora on page four. This is a great establishing shot that tells us nearly everything we need to know about this fantasy world to buy in enough to want to get to the more elaborate world-building later. We get a view of one city street probably not at the center of the city, but still a bustling street with a lot of foot traffic and also a horse-drawn cart. And this tells us about technology and allows us to make some inferences based on that, but we also see that even though the city is built of stone and appears Byzantine or maybe Venetian, there is much about the city that is new. There are metal chimneys carrying black smoke into the sky and there’s a glass arcade on the right of the panel, and when we look closely at the street we see that there are cables stretching over it connecting the buildings, and these are carrying electricity – or something like it, anyway. And all of this is conveyed without a single speech-bubble, and it’s just wonderful.
The covers, too, are magnificent. My favorite is for the first issue, which then also supplies the cover for the whole volume. The foreground is Maika wearing a white robe with an intricate floral pattern on it that would make an amazing tattoo. But the background is what really draws me. This is an image of a figure from antiquity – it’s probably the Shaman Empress – done in an elaborate Art Nouveau style done in bronze. And there’s some really interesting iconography on this that doesn’t mean anything to me right now but which seems like a tease for big things to come.

Future Discussion

Well, that brings my review to a close. I hope you’ll talk with me about the themes and motifs and the strengths and weaknesses I’ve focused on, but especially on what I left out. I’m especially eager to talk about religion in this speculative world, and I’d love to know what your favorite panel is.
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Thanks for reading! And special thanks for talking with me about this book I enjoyed so much! This review was transcribed from an episode of Atoz: A Speculative Fiction Book Club Podcast. If you're interested, you can check it (and other episodes) out here: Apple Spotify Amazon Website

EDIT: "Intermittent Fasting" in the title of this thread should be replaced with "Intermittent Caloric Restriction" (creds to: u/Jiend).
I wrote a review on some recent fitness/nutrition papers. I tried my best to write for the layman but also not oversimplifying anything. I originally wrote all of this on an external page which will not be linked here but for those who wish to see it, kindly DM me. Regardless, I hope you all learn something and enjoy reading this. This is all written for educational purposes so any discussion or comments within this thread are very encouraged! Also, if everything is far too wordy for you, I have included TL;DRs for each section.
The covered topics: The anabolic window, intermittent caloric restriction, protein supplementation, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and squat technique (chronological order).
The first paper that we will cover is a short one by Schoenfeld & Aragon (2018) in which they reviewed the literature on the “anabolic window” for protein intake after training. Short-term studies had conflicting results but a meta-analysis conducted by Schoenfeld, Aragon & Krieger (2013) actually showed a minor benefit to consuming protein immediately after a training bout in terms of muscle hypertrophy. However, after more analysis where they controlled for more variables, they found that this small benefit was more attributed to overall protein intake. This is because some studies did not match for daily protein intake between groups meaning that some groups were having a higher daily protein intake than some other groups (which is generally considered to be more important than intake timing).
This meta-analysis has what we call a “heterogeneity” in the literature used. This simply means that the papers pooled and analyzed together widely differed in methods, populations and outcomes. So amongst those papers, we could see different protein intakes, training and untrained individuals and some being matched and not matched for daily protein intake. The review highlighted a trial done by Schoenfeld, Aragon, Wilborn, Urbina, Hayward & Krieger (2017) where 21 trained participants exercised 3 times a week for 10 weeks while either being allocated to a group that consumed 25 grams of whey protein immediately before or after a training session. Hypertrophy was similar between groups but the dietary control in the study was questionable as subjects actually ate at a reported calorie intake that was lower than baseline when they were supposed to be bulking.
It is still up in the air as to whether there is any real benefit but all in all, the authors suggest that if there is any effect, it is likely very small. They also propose that a meal 3–4 hours before a workout is likely good enough as the anabolic response to a meal lasts up to 6 hours (Layman, 2004). 0.4/0.5 g/kg of protein intake pre or post exercise is also advised to be sufficient.
TL;DR: There may be some advantage to eating protein immediately after a workout but it may be very small. More rigorous research needs to be conducted. Meals 3–4 hours before training and 0.4/0.5 g/kg of protein pre/post workout may yield adequate results.
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A randomized control trial studying the effects of intermittent caloric restriction (compared to a standard, continuous caloric restriction) on body composition and other bio markers in 136 men and women was recently published. Schübel et al. (2018) split all subjects into 3 groups. The first group did continuous caloric restriction where the daily caloric deficit was around 20%. The second group followed a 5:2 pattern for intermittent caloric restriction in which 2 non-consecutive days of the week consisted of a caloric deficit of 75%. The final group was a control group; a group with no advice to lose body mass.
The first 12 weeks of the study (intervention phase) had the subjects work closely with dietitians to help follow their allocated diet plans. This included face-to-face sessions as well bi-weekly phone calls. The following 12 weeks (maintenance phase) had no advice from any dietitians but the participants did receive motivational support. In the final 26 weeks (follow-up phase), the subjects received no help whatsoever. Scales and diaries were provided to everyone to help track and follow their diets.
The primary outcome chosen by the researchers was the expression (taking genetic information and turning it into a product) of 82 genes that are related to the pathophysiology of obesity. Other studied variables include body mass index, blood pressure, waist circumference, body fat, liver fat, diet compliance and quality of life.
During the intervention phase, the intermittent caloric restriction group actually lost more body mass (-7.1%) compared to the continuous restriction group (-5.2%) but the p-value was just above significance (p=0.053). This just means that if were to repeat the experiment (assuming there is no difference between interventions and that results are obtained purely by chance), the chance of seeing a more extreme result is above a level that is considered safe. Anyways, after the 50 weeks, the percentage losses were a lot closer, -5.2% vs 4.9% for intermittent caloric restriction and continuous restriction respectively with no statistical significance. For the primary outcomes (gene expression), there was no difference. Between sub-groups like male vs female or overweight vs obese, there were no differences. There were no differences in biomarkers or quality of life.
An interesting finding was that the intermittent caloric restriction group had the worst compliance in the later weeks. From 49 participants, only 9 were doing 2 energy-restricted days per week at the final week. This may be reflected in the fact that the intermittent caloric restriction group had a higher mass re-gain after week 24 compared to the continuous restriction group. Despite this, there were never any significant differences in any body composition variables at any time point in the study.
TL;DR: Intermittent caloric restriction is a valid method for weight loss but there does not seem to be a metabolic advantage from 5:2 intermittent caloric restriction over continuous restriction in overweight individuals. It may be harder to follow the intermittent caloric restriction diet for an extended period of time.
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The next study was carried out amongst new recruits in the US army while doing their Initial Entry Training (IET). IET is basically where civilians learn the fundamentals of being a soldier and improve their fitness before moving on to become trained soldiers. The programme is known to be quite tough and part of this is due to the documented caloric deficit (~600kcals) that most of the recruits suffer from during training (McAdam, McGinnis, Ory, Young, Frugé, Roberts & Sefton, 2018). McAdam et al. (2018) sought to see if there was an effect from whey protein supplementation on body composition measures (body mass and skin folds) as well as fitness test results amongst 69 male recruits.
The investigation was done in a double-blinded fashion (both the subjects and the researchers did not know who was getting which intervention) and the intervention lasted 8 weeks. Two servings (293 kcal, 40g protein) of whey protein were given per day (morning and night). Another group received a carbohydrate placebo that was matched for calories. Dietary analysis was done through logs completed by subjects in week 1 and 9 on 3 non-consecutive days.
Both groups maintained about the same body mass and gained similar amounts of lean mass, however, there was a statistically significant, greater fat loss in the whey protein supplemented group with a large effect size (-4.6kg vs -2.7kg). An effect size is basically a numerical measure on how strong one variable affects another. It is generally categorized into small, medium or large effect sizes. In terms of fitness, the amount of sit-ups done in 2 minutes as well as the 2 mile run timing did not differ between groups despite seeing improvements in both groups. For push-ups, the whey protein group performed 7 more on average in 2 minutes (medium effect size).
Despite having regimented meals and meal times, dietary control was an issue with this study. There was a documented ~150 daily kcal intake difference between groups favoring the whey protein group. Therefore, the results may be due to the higher kcal intake rather than the higher protein intake or it may be more of a combination. There was also a great difference between all the subjects in terms of training history as evidenced by the extreme variation in lean mass between recruits at baseline. Training history has an effect on bodily response to protein as well as fitness. Lastly, this study lacks a control group. Regardless of these problems, it is clear that the additional calories ingested by the recruits had a positive effect on their fitness. Perhaps such a dietary approach can be adopted by the U.S. army in the future.
TL;DR: The whey protein supplemented group had more body fat loss and higher push-up counts compared to carbohydrate supplemented group consisting of young males. This study, however, contains a few shortcomings in design (no kcal/training history matching).
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A review on omega-3 fatty acid (n-3PUFA) supplementation for sports performance was recently published (Philpott, Witward & Galloway, 2018). From the work of Smith et al. (2011), we see that n-3PUFA supplementation has the potential to increase muscle protein synthesis (MPS) rates in response to protein intake. Muscle protein synthesis is the addition of muscle proteins to muscle, the building blocks of muscle. The main acids of discussion are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA). EPA and DHA is mostly derived from fish oils while ALA is more from plant-based oils like soybean oil. An in-vitro (experiments done in controlled environments like laboratories instead of in living organisms like humans) study by Kamolrat & Gray (2013) found that DHA has no effect on MPS while EPA does. However, these effects on MPS may be redundant because optimal protein intake likely saturates any amelioration in MPS.
Unfortunately, no studies looking at the effects of n-3PUFA supplementation of muscle strength/hypertrophy in the young and athletic exist. Although, there is some evidence suggesting muscle strength/hypertrophy and performance benefits in older men and women(Smith, et al., 2015; Rodacki, et al., 2012). There is theory for n-3PUFAs to help with synthesizing mitochondria. The mitochondria are parts of a cell that have the role of producing energy for our body. However, only one study examined this relationship and while there was a positive correlation, it was conducted in obese subjects (Laiglesia et al., 2016). Therefore, the use of n-3PUFAs for improving endurance is largely still theoretical especially in the athletic population.
There is also some theory in n-3PUFAs having a positive effect on insulin sensitivity but it is mostly not understood. In a rodent study, increased expression of GLUT4 (protein which transports glucose to muscle, lowering blood glucose) was seen with n-3PUFA supplementation but any of this has yet to be seen in human experiments (Lanza, et al., 2013). Kawabata, Neya, Hamazaki, Watanabe, Kobayashi & Tsuji (2014) found reduced oxygen consumption with n-3PUFA supplementation in untrained, young males. This may be linked to insulin sensitivity theory as increased insulin sensitivity leads to more glycogen in muscles which would displace fat use for energy and less oxygen consumption as a result. This effect may not have such a considerable effect in sporting performance as Hingley, Macartney, Brown, McLennan, & Peoples (2017) found no improvement in time trial times, strength or average power with n-3PUFA use despite an observed reduction in oxygen consumption.
n-3PUFAs have anti-inflammatory properties so it has been proposed that they can support the recovery process after sport/exercise. However, the literature shows equivocal results. Finally, there is interesting discussion as to whether or not n-3PUFAs can aid in the recovery from a concussion as substantial amounts of DHA can be found in the brain. Wang et al. (2013) showed that rats had better cognitive performance with n-3PUFAs compared with rats that had soybean oil. The closest human evidence to all this theory was obtained by Oliver et al. (2016) in which less concentrations of a biomarker for head trauma was seen in American football players who ingested n-3PUFAs.
TL;DR: Omega 3 fatty acids have potential to improve muscle strength/hypertrophy, endurance, recovery and concussion recovery but much more evidence is needed before any recommendations can be made.
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Dutra, Alex, Mota, Sales, Brown & Bottaro (2018) ran a randomized control study to evaluate the relationship between antioxidants and muscle strength, hypertrophy and fatigue. 42 young women participated in the study and they were separated into 3 groups. The first group ingested 1000mg of vitamin C and 400IU of vitamin E daily. The second group received a placebo and the last group was the control. Everyone followed a periodized training programme consisting of 2 upper body and 2 lower body exercises 2 times per week for 10 weeks.
There were no reported differences in lower body muscle thickness, fatigue or strength. Furthermore, only the placebo group showed an improvement over control in peak torque and total work done. This indicates that antioxidant supplementation has a negative effect on muscular performance. It is unknown as to why the researchers did not assess the same variables in the upper body. The use of a dynamometer as a measure of strength limits applicability to training as more specific measurements like 1RM bench press or squat would give more realistic results. Finally, there was little to no dietary control within this study.
TL;DR: Antioxidant use was detrimental to muscular performance amongst young women.
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Comfort, McMahon & Suchomel (2018) undertook a review in search of the optimum squat technique. They defined optimum technique as having the least injury risk, most muscle activation and most carry-over to athletic performance. In regards to safety, they noted that squats are generally safer for the knee ligaments when compared to other leg exercises like leg extensions, however, the strain on the posterior collateral ligament increases with squat depth (Zheng, Fleisig, Escamilla & Barrentine, 1998). Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) strain can also be minimized by keeping the heels on the ground likely due to less tibial displacement (your shinbone moving around) with the heels on the ground (Toutoungi, Lu, Leardini, Catani & O’Connor, 2000).
Some people suggest to keep the knees behind the toes in the squat especially if you want to preserve knee joint health. While this does decrease the knee joint forces by 22%, it increases the hip joint forces by over 1000% and it may have negative effects on the lumbar spine due to a more forward trunk lean (Fry, A. C., Smith, J. C. & Schilling, B. K., 2003). One final point to make on injury risks is that using lighter loads for greater depth will not necessarily decrease the joint stress at the knee because the knee still has to withstand more force from the higher knee flexion angles as a result of increased squat depth.
As for squat depth, deep squats are better than 1/2 and 1/4 squats for strength and performances like jumping (Weiss, Andrew, Wood, Relyea & Melton, 2000; Hartmann, Wirth, Klusemann, Dalic, Matuschek & Schmidtbleicher, 2012). Part of these results were in conflict with a study done by Rhea et al. (2016) where sprints and jump performances were improved best in the 1/4 squat depth group when compared to those who did 1/2 depth or full depth squats. Bazyler, Sato, Wassinger, Lamont & Stone (2014) discovered that the addition of partial range of motion squats to full-depth squats over 7 weeks led to greater 1 rep-maximums against those who did only full-depth squats in trained men. However, this may simply just have to do with the increased volume as well as increased training intensity for those who did partial squats.
Digressing to muscle activation, smith machine squats have been shown to decrease activation in a couple of the quadriceps muscles (Schwanbeck, Chilibeck & Binsted, 2009). Before continuing, it is important to discuss the relation of electromyography (EMG, recording electrical activity from muscles) to muscle strength/hypertrophy. Correlation with strength has been documented by Hof (1997). The correlation with hypertrophy is not perfect but it is strongly correlated with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for measuring muscle activation and fMRI can adequately forecast muscle hypertrophy (Dickx, D’hooge, Cagnie, Deschepper, Verstraete & Danneels, 2010; Wakahara, Fukutani, Kawakami & Yanai, 2013).
In an EMG study run by Caterisano et al. (2002), the full squat was found to have had better activation in the glutes compared to parallel or partial squats. A more recent EMG experiment from Bryanton, Kennedy, Carey & Chiu (2012) discovered greater EMG responses in the knee extensors (quadriceps) with deeper squats but not in response to heavier loads. The glutes, however, responded more to heavier loads and deeper squats as well. This suggests the quadriceps can be “isolated” in a sense with low load, deep squats.
Foot rotation has only been reported to have an effect on hip abductor activation (the smaller glute muscles that sit under the gluteus maximus) with external rotation (feet turned out) and this rotation may allow for greater depths to be achieved (Pereira, Leporace, Chagas, Furtado, Praxedes & Batista, 2010). Lastly, an increased stance width (beyond shoulder width) results in more glute and adductor longus (thigh muscle under the quads, moves leg towards body along the lateral plane) activation.
In the end, the authors recommend a squat with a “natural” stance width / foot rotation, heels on the floor, full depth (115–125 degrees of knee flexion), neutral spine and free movement of the knees (allowed to go over toes).
TL;DR: Squats are fine for knee ligaments. Heels on floor = less ACL strain. Knees behind toes cause more hip joint stress. Deep squats generally better. Smith machine may have less activation of relevant muscles, greater depth has better activation, feet rotation does not have much of an effect and wider stance width can activate glutes more.
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Bazyler, C. D., Sato, K., Wassinger, C. A., Lamont, H. S. & Stone, M. H. (2014). The efficacy of incorporating partial squats in maximal strength training. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(11), 3024–3032.
Bryanton, M., Kennedy, M. D., Carey, J. & Chiu, L. Z. F. (2012). Effect of Squat Depth and Barbell Load on Relative Muscular Effort in Squatting. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(10), 2820–2828.
Caterisano, A., Moss, R. E., Pellinger, T. K., Woodruff, K., Lewis, V. C., Booth, W. & Khadra, T. (2002). The Effect of Back Squat Depth on the EMG Activity of 4 Superficial Hip and Thigh Muscles. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 16(3), 428–432.
Comfort, P., McMahon, J. J. & Suchomel, T. J. (2018) Optimizing Squat Technique — Revisited. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 40(6), 68–74.
Dickx, N., D’hooge, R., Cagnie, B., Deschepper, E., Verstraete, K. & Danneels, L. (2010). Magnetic resonance imaging and electromyography to measure lumbar back muscle activity. Spine, 35(17), 836–842.
Dutra, M. T., Alex, S., Mota, M. R., Sales, N. B., Brown, L. E. & Bottaro, M. (2018). Effect of strength training combined with antioxidant supplementation on muscular performance. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 43(8), 775–781.
Fry, A. C., Smith, J. C. & Schilling, B. K. (2003). Effect of Knee Position on Hip and Knee Torques During the Barbell Squat. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 17(4), 629–633.
Hartmann, H., Wirth, K., Klusemann, M., Dalic, J., Matuschek, C. & Schmidtbleicher, D. (2012). Influence of Squatting Depth on Jumping Performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(12), 3243–3261.
Hingley, L., Macartney, M. J., Brown, M. A., McLennan, P. L. & Peoples, G. E. (2017). DHA-rich Fish Oil Increases the Omega-3 Index and Lowers the Oxygen Cost of Physiologically Stressful Cycling in Trained Individuals. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 27(4), 335–343.
Hof, A. L. (1997). The relationship between electromyogram and muscle force. Sportverletz Sportschaden, 11(3), 79–86.
Kamolrat, T. & Gray, S. R. (2013). The effect of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid on protein synthesis and breakdown in murine C2C12 myotubes. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 432(4), 593–598.
Kawabata, F., Neya, M., Hamazaki, K., Watanabe, Y., Kobayashi, S. & Tsuji, T. (2014). Supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid-rich fish oil improves exercise economy and reduces perceived exertion during submaximal steady-state exercise in normal healthy untrained men. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 78(12), 2081–2088.
Laiglesia, L. M., Lorente-Cebrián, S., Prieto-Hontoria, P. L., Fernández-Galilea, M., Riberio, S. M., Sáinz, N., … Moreno-Aliaga, M. J. (2016). Eicosapentaenoic acid promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and beige-like features in subcutaneous adipocytes from overweight subjects. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 37(), 76–82.
Lanza, I. R., Blachnio-Zabielska, A., Johnson, M. L., Schimke, J. M., Jakaitis, D. R., Lebrasseur, N. K., Jensen, M. D., Sreekumaran Nair, K., … Zabielski, P. (2013). Influence of fish oil on skeletal muscle mitochondrial energetics and lipid metabolites during high-fat diet. American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism, 304(12), 1391–403.
Layman, D., K. (2004). Protein Quantity and Quality at Levels above the RDA Improves Adult Weight Loss. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 23(6), 631–636.
McAdam, J. S., McGinnis, K. D., Ory, R., Young, K. C., Frugé, A. D., Roberts, M. D. & Sefton, J. M. (2018). Estimation of energy balance and training volume during Army Initial Entry Training. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15(55), .
McAdam, J. S., McGinnis, K. D., Beck, D. T., Haun, C. T., Romero M. A., Mumford, P. W., Roberson, P. A., … Sefton, J. M. (2018). Effect of Whey Protein Supplementation on Physical Performance and Body Composition in Army Initial Entry Training Soldiers. Nutrients, 10(9), 1248.
Oliver, J. M., Jones, M. T., Kirk, K. M., Gable, D. A., Repshas, J. T., Johnson, T. A., Andréasson, U., … Zetterberg, H. (2016). Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid on a Biomarker of Head Trauma in American Football. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 48(6), 974–982.
Pereira, G. R., Leporace, G., Chagas, D., Furtado, L. F., Praxedes, J. & Batista, L. A. (2010). Influence of hip external rotation on hip adductor and rectus femoris myoelectric activity during a dynamic parallel squat. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), 2749–2754.
Philpott, J. D., Witard, O. C. & Galloway S. D. R. (2018). Applications of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for sport performance. Research in Sports Medicine, , 1–19.
Rhea, M. R., Kenn, J. G., Peterson, M. D., Massey, D., Simão, R., Marin, P. J., Favero, M., … Krein, D. (2016). Joint-Angle Specific Strength Adaptations Influence Improvements in Power in Highly Trained Athletes. Human Movement, 17(1), 43–49.
Rodacki, C. L., Rodacki, A. L., Pereira, G., Naliwaiko, K., Coelho, I., Pequito, D. & Fernandes, L. C. (2012). Fish-oil supplementation enhances the effects of strength training in elderly women. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 95(2), 428–436.
Schoenfeld, B. J. & Aragon, A. (2018). Is There a Postworkout Anabolic Window of Opportunity for Nutrient Consumption? Clearing up Controversies. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 48(12), 911–914.
Schoenfeld, B. J., Aragon, A. & Krieger, J. W. (2013). The effect of protein timing on muscle strength and hypertrophy: a meta-analysis. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10(53), .
Schoenfeld, B. J., Aragon, A., Wilborn, C., Urbina, S. L., Hayward, S. E., & Krieger, J. (2017). Pre- versus post-exercise protein intake has similar effects on muscular adaptations. PeerJ, 5, e2825.
Schübel, R., Nattenmüller, J., Sookthai, D., Nonnenmacher, T., Graf, M. E., Riedl, L., Schlett, C. L., … Kühn, T. (2018). Effects of intermittent and continuous calorie restriction on body weight and metabolism over 50 wk: a randomized controlled trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 108(5), 933–945.
Schwanbeck, S., Chilibeck, P. & Binsted, G. (2009). A Comparison of Free Weight Squat to Smith Machine Squat Using Electromyography. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 23(9), 2588–2591.
Smith, G. I., Atherton, P., Reeds, D. N., Mohammed, B. S., Rankin, D., Rennie, M. J., & Mittendorfer, B. (2011). Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids augment the muscle protein anabolic response to hyperinsulinaemia-hyperaminoacidaemia in healthy young and middle-aged men and women. Clinical science (London, England : 1979), 121(6), 267–278.
Smith, G. I., Julliand, S., Reeds, D. N., Sinacore, D. R., Klein, S., & Mittendorfer, B. (2015). Fish oil-derived n-3 PUFA therapy increases muscle mass and function in healthy older adults. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 102(1), 115–122.
Toutoungi, D. E., Lu, T. W., Leardini, A., Catani, F. & O’Connor, J. J. (2000). Cruciate ligament forces in the human knee during rehabilitation exercises. Clinical Biomechanics, 15(3), 176–187.
Wakahara, T., Fukutani, A., Kawakami, Y. & Yanai, T. (2013). Nonuniform muscle hypertrophy: its relation to muscle activation in training session. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 45(11), 2158–2165.
Wang, T., Van, K. C., Gavitt, B. J., Grayson, J. K., Lu, Y. C., Lyeth, B. C. & Pichakron, K. O. (2013). Effect of fish oil supplementation in a rat model of multiple mild traumatic brain injuries. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 31(5), 647–659.
Weiss, L. W., Andrew, C., Wood, L. E., Relyea, G. E. & Melton, C. (2000). Comparative Effects of Deep Versus Shallow Squat and Leg-Press Training on Vertical Jumping Ability and Related Factors. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 14(3), .
Zheng, N., Fleisig, G. S., Escamilla, R. F. & Barrentine, S. W. (1998). An analytical model of the knee for estimation of internal forces during exercise. Journal of Biomechanics, 31(10), 963–967.

EDIT: "Intermittent Fasting" in the title of this thread should be replaced with "Intermittent Caloric Restriction" (creds to: u/Jiend).
I wrote a review on some recent fitness/nutrition papers. I tried my best to write for the layman but also not oversimplifying anything. I originally wrote all of this on an external page which will not be linked here but for those who wish to see it, kindly DM me. Regardless, I hope you all learn something and enjoy reading this. This is all written for educational purposes so any discussion or comments within this thread are very encouraged! Also, if everything is far too wordy for you, I have included TL;DRs for each section.
The covered topics: The anabolic window, intermittent caloric restriction, protein supplementation, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and squat technique (chronological order).
The first paper that we will cover is a short one by Schoenfeld & Aragon (2018) in which they reviewed the literature on the “anabolic window” for protein intake after training. Short-term studies had conflicting results but a meta-analysis conducted by Schoenfeld, Aragon & Krieger (2013) actually showed a minor benefit to consuming protein immediately after a training bout in terms of muscle hypertrophy. However, after more analysis where they controlled for more variables, they found that this small benefit was more attributed to overall protein intake. This is because some studies did not match for daily protein intake between groups meaning that some groups were having a higher daily protein intake than some other groups (which is generally considered to be more important than intake timing).
This meta-analysis has what we call a “heterogeneity” in the literature used. This simply means that the papers pooled and analyzed together widely differed in methods, populations and outcomes. So amongst those papers, we could see different protein intakes, training and untrained individuals and some being matched and not matched for daily protein intake. The review highlighted a trial done by Schoenfeld, Aragon, Wilborn, Urbina, Hayward & Krieger (2017) where 21 trained participants exercised 3 times a week for 10 weeks while either being allocated to a group that consumed 25 grams of whey protein immediately before or after a training session. Hypertrophy was similar between groups but the dietary control in the study was questionable as subjects actually ate at a reported calorie intake that was lower than baseline when they were supposed to be bulking.
It is still up in the air as to whether there is any real benefit but all in all, the authors suggest that if there is any effect, it is likely very small. They also propose that a meal 3–4 hours before a workout is likely good enough as the anabolic response to a meal lasts up to 6 hours (Layman, 2004). 0.4/0.5 g/kg of protein intake pre or post exercise is also advised to be sufficient.
TL;DR: There may be some advantage to eating protein immediately after a workout but it may be very small. More rigorous research needs to be conducted. Meals 3–4 hours before training and 0.4/0.5 g/kg of protein pre/post workout may yield adequate results.
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A randomized control trial studying the effects of intermittent caloric restriction (compared to a standard, continuous caloric restriction) on body composition and other bio markers in 136 men and women was recently published. Schübel et al. (2018) split all subjects into 3 groups. The first group did continuous caloric restriction where the daily caloric deficit was around 20%. The second group followed a 5:2 pattern for intermittent caloric restriction in which 2 non-consecutive days of the week consisted of a caloric deficit of 75%. The final group was a control group; a group with no advice to lose body mass.
The first 12 weeks of the study (intervention phase) had the subjects work closely with dietitians to help follow their allocated diet plans. This included face-to-face sessions as well bi-weekly phone calls. The following 12 weeks (maintenance phase) had no advice from any dietitians but the participants did receive motivational support. In the final 26 weeks (follow-up phase), the subjects received no help whatsoever. Scales and diaries were provided to everyone to help track and follow their diets.
The primary outcome chosen by the researchers was the expression (taking genetic information and turning it into a product) of 82 genes that are related to the pathophysiology of obesity. Other studied variables include body mass index, blood pressure, waist circumference, body fat, liver fat, diet compliance and quality of life.
During the intervention phase, the intermittent caloric restriction group actually lost more body mass (-7.1%) compared to the continuous restriction group (-5.2%) but the p-value was just above significance (p=0.053). This just means that if were to repeat the experiment (assuming there is no difference between interventions and that results are obtained purely by chance), the chance of seeing a more extreme result is above a level that is considered safe. Anyways, after the 50 weeks, the percentage losses were a lot closer, -5.2% vs 4.9% for intermittent caloric restriction and continuous restriction respectively with no statistical significance. For the primary outcomes (gene expression), there was no difference. Between sub-groups like male vs female or overweight vs obese, there were no differences. There were no differences in biomarkers or quality of life.
An interesting finding was that the intermittent caloric restriction group had the worst compliance in the later weeks. From 49 participants, only 9 were doing 2 energy-restricted days per week at the final week. This may be reflected in the fact that the intermittent caloric restriction group had a higher mass re-gain after week 24 compared to the continuous restriction group. Despite this, there were never any significant differences in any body composition variables at any time point in the study.
TL;DR: Intermittent caloric restriction is a valid method for weight loss but there does not seem to be a metabolic advantage from 5:2 intermittent caloric restriction over continuous restriction in overweight individuals. It may be harder to follow the intermittent caloric restriction diet for an extended period of time.
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The next study was carried out amongst new recruits in the US army while doing their Initial Entry Training (IET). IET is basically where civilians learn the fundamentals of being a soldier and improve their fitness before moving on to become trained soldiers. The programme is known to be quite tough and part of this is due to the documented caloric deficit (~600kcals) that most of the recruits suffer from during training (McAdam, McGinnis, Ory, Young, Frugé, Roberts & Sefton, 2018). McAdam et al. (2018) sought to see if there was an effect from whey protein supplementation on body composition measures (body mass and skin folds) as well as fitness test results amongst 69 male recruits.
The investigation was done in a double-blinded fashion (both the subjects and the researchers did not know who was getting which intervention) and the intervention lasted 8 weeks. Two servings (293 kcal, 40g protein) of whey protein were given per day (morning and night). Another group received a carbohydrate placebo that was matched for calories. Dietary analysis was done through logs completed by subjects in week 1 and 9 on 3 non-consecutive days.
Both groups maintained about the same body mass and gained similar amounts of lean mass, however, there was a statistically significant, greater fat loss in the whey protein supplemented group with a large effect size (-4.6kg vs -2.7kg). An effect size is basically a numerical measure on how strong one variable affects another. It is generally categorized into small, medium or large effect sizes. In terms of fitness, the amount of sit-ups done in 2 minutes as well as the 2 mile run timing did not differ between groups despite seeing improvements in both groups. For push-ups, the whey protein group performed 7 more on average in 2 minutes (medium effect size).
Despite having regimented meals and meal times, dietary control was an issue with this study. There was a documented ~150 daily kcal intake difference between groups favoring the whey protein group. Therefore, the results may be due to the higher kcal intake rather than the higher protein intake or it may be more of a combination. There was also a great difference between all the subjects in terms of training history as evidenced by the extreme variation in lean mass between recruits at baseline. Training history has an effect on bodily response to protein as well as fitness. Lastly, this study lacks a control group. Regardless of these problems, it is clear that the additional calories ingested by the recruits had a positive effect on their fitness. Perhaps such a dietary approach can be adopted by the U.S. army in the future.
TL;DR: The whey protein supplemented group had more body fat loss and higher push-up counts compared to carbohydrate supplemented group consisting of young males. This study, however, contains a few shortcomings in design (no kcal/training history matching).
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A review on omega-3 fatty acid (n-3PUFA) supplementation for sports performance was recently published (Philpott, Witward & Galloway, 2018). From the work of Smith et al. (2011), we see that n-3PUFA supplementation has the potential to increase muscle protein synthesis (MPS) rates in response to protein intake. Muscle protein synthesis is the addition of muscle proteins to muscle, the building blocks of muscle. The main acids of discussion are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and α-linolenic acid (ALA). EPA and DHA is mostly derived from fish oils while ALA is more from plant-based oils like soybean oil. An in-vitro (experiments done in controlled environments like laboratories instead of in living organisms like humans) study by Kamolrat & Gray (2013) found that DHA has no effect on MPS while EPA does. However, these effects on MPS may be redundant because optimal protein intake likely saturates any amelioration in MPS.
Unfortunately, no studies looking at the effects of n-3PUFA supplementation of muscle strength/hypertrophy in the young and athletic exist. Although, there is some evidence suggesting muscle strength/hypertrophy and performance benefits in older men and women(Smith, et al., 2015; Rodacki, et al., 2012). There is theory for n-3PUFAs to help with synthesizing mitochondria. The mitochondria are parts of a cell that have the role of producing energy for our body. However, only one study examined this relationship and while there was a positive correlation, it was conducted in obese subjects (Laiglesia et al., 2016). Therefore, the use of n-3PUFAs for improving endurance is largely still theoretical especially in the athletic population.
There is also some theory in n-3PUFAs having a positive effect on insulin sensitivity but it is mostly not understood. In a rodent study, increased expression of GLUT4 (protein which transports glucose to muscle, lowering blood glucose) was seen with n-3PUFA supplementation but any of this has yet to be seen in human experiments (Lanza, et al., 2013). Kawabata, Neya, Hamazaki, Watanabe, Kobayashi & Tsuji (2014) found reduced oxygen consumption with n-3PUFA supplementation in untrained, young males. This may be linked to insulin sensitivity theory as increased insulin sensitivity leads to more glycogen in muscles which would displace fat use for energy and less oxygen consumption as a result. This effect may not have such a considerable effect in sporting performance as Hingley, Macartney, Brown, McLennan, & Peoples (2017) found no improvement in time trial times, strength or average power with n-3PUFA use despite an observed reduction in oxygen consumption.
n-3PUFAs have anti-inflammatory properties so it has been proposed that they can support the recovery process after sport/exercise. However, the literature shows equivocal results. Finally, there is interesting discussion as to whether or not n-3PUFAs can aid in the recovery from a concussion as substantial amounts of DHA can be found in the brain. Wang et al. (2013) showed that rats had better cognitive performance with n-3PUFAs compared with rats that had soybean oil. The closest human evidence to all this theory was obtained by Oliver et al. (2016) in which less concentrations of a biomarker for head trauma was seen in American football players who ingested n-3PUFAs.
TL;DR: Omega 3 fatty acids have potential to improve muscle strength/hypertrophy, endurance, recovery and concussion recovery but much more evidence is needed before any recommendations can be made.
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Dutra, Alex, Mota, Sales, Brown & Bottaro (2018) ran a randomized control study to evaluate the relationship between antioxidants and muscle strength, hypertrophy and fatigue. 42 young women participated in the study and they were separated into 3 groups. The first group ingested 1000mg of vitamin C and 400IU of vitamin E daily. The second group received a placebo and the last group was the control. Everyone followed a periodized training programme consisting of 2 upper body and 2 lower body exercises 2 times per week for 10 weeks.
There were no reported differences in lower body muscle thickness, fatigue or strength. Furthermore, only the placebo group showed an improvement over control in peak torque and total work done. This indicates that antioxidant supplementation has a negative effect on muscular performance. It is unknown as to why the researchers did not assess the same variables in the upper body. The use of a dynamometer as a measure of strength limits applicability to training as more specific measurements like 1RM bench press or squat would give more realistic results. Finally, there was little to no dietary control within this study.
TL;DR: Antioxidant use was detrimental to muscular performance amongst young women.
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Comfort, McMahon & Suchomel (2018) undertook a review in search of the optimum squat technique. They defined optimum technique as having the least injury risk, most muscle activation and most carry-over to athletic performance. In regards to safety, they noted that squats are generally safer for the knee ligaments when compared to other leg exercises like leg extensions, however, the strain on the posterior collateral ligament increases with squat depth (Zheng, Fleisig, Escamilla & Barrentine, 1998). Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) strain can also be minimized by keeping the heels on the ground likely due to less tibial displacement (your shinbone moving around) with the heels on the ground (Toutoungi, Lu, Leardini, Catani & O’Connor, 2000).
Some people suggest to keep the knees behind the toes in the squat especially if you want to preserve knee joint health. While this does decrease the knee joint forces by 22%, it increases the hip joint forces by over 1000% and it may have negative effects on the lumbar spine due to a more forward trunk lean (Fry, A. C., Smith, J. C. & Schilling, B. K., 2003). One final point to make on injury risks is that using lighter loads for greater depth will not necessarily decrease the joint stress at the knee because the knee still has to withstand more force from the higher knee flexion angles as a result of increased squat depth.
As for squat depth, deep squats are better than 1/2 and 1/4 squats for strength and performances like jumping (Weiss, Andrew, Wood, Relyea & Melton, 2000; Hartmann, Wirth, Klusemann, Dalic, Matuschek & Schmidtbleicher, 2012). Part of these results were in conflict with a study done by Rhea et al. (2016) where sprints and jump performances were improved best in the 1/4 squat depth group when compared to those who did 1/2 depth or full depth squats. Bazyler, Sato, Wassinger, Lamont & Stone (2014) discovered that the addition of partial range of motion squats to full-depth squats over 7 weeks led to greater 1 rep-maximums against those who did only full-depth squats in trained men. However, this may simply just have to do with the increased volume as well as increased training intensity for those who did partial squats.
Digressing to muscle activation, smith machine squats have been shown to decrease activation in a couple of the quadriceps muscles (Schwanbeck, Chilibeck & Binsted, 2009). Before continuing, it is important to discuss the relation of electromyography (EMG, recording electrical activity from muscles) to muscle strength/hypertrophy. Correlation with strength has been documented by Hof (1997). The correlation with hypertrophy is not perfect but it is strongly correlated with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for measuring muscle activation and fMRI can adequately forecast muscle hypertrophy (Dickx, D’hooge, Cagnie, Deschepper, Verstraete & Danneels, 2010; Wakahara, Fukutani, Kawakami & Yanai, 2013).
In an EMG study run by Caterisano et al. (2002), the full squat was found to have had better activation in the glutes compared to parallel or partial squats. A more recent EMG experiment from Bryanton, Kennedy, Carey & Chiu (2012) discovered greater EMG responses in the knee extensors (quadriceps) with deeper squats but not in response to heavier loads. The glutes, however, responded more to heavier loads and deeper squats as well. This suggests the quadriceps can be “isolated” in a sense with low load, deep squats.
Foot rotation has only been reported to have an effect on hip abductor activation (the smaller glute muscles that sit under the gluteus maximus) with external rotation (feet turned out) and this rotation may allow for greater depths to be achieved (Pereira, Leporace, Chagas, Furtado, Praxedes & Batista, 2010). Lastly, an increased stance width (beyond shoulder width) results in more glute and adductor longus (thigh muscle under the quads, moves leg towards body along the lateral plane) activation.
In the end, the authors recommend a squat with a “natural” stance width / foot rotation, heels on the floor, full depth (115–125 degrees of knee flexion), neutral spine and free movement of the knees (allowed to go over toes).
TL;DR: Squats are fine for knee ligaments. Heels on floor = less ACL strain. Knees behind toes cause more hip joint stress. Deep squats generally better. Smith machine may have less activation of relevant muscles, greater depth has better activation, feet rotation does not have much of an effect and wider stance width can activate glutes more.
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Bazyler, C. D., Sato, K., Wassinger, C. A., Lamont, H. S. & Stone, M. H. (2014). The efficacy of incorporating partial squats in maximal strength training. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 28(11), 3024–3032.
Bryanton, M., Kennedy, M. D., Carey, J. & Chiu, L. Z. F. (2012). Effect of Squat Depth and Barbell Load on Relative Muscular Effort in Squatting. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(10), 2820–2828.
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Previous Week: https://www.reddit.com/Battleborn/comments/4klyhm/early_tier_list_pc_comp_version_2/
Continuing with my experience from the battlesphere.gg tournament and another week worth of scrims. We're going with Team 1 Ban / Team 2 Ban / T1 Pick 1 / T2 Pick Pick 12 / T1 Pick Pick 23 / T2 Pick Pick 34 / T1 Pick Pick 45 / T2 Pick 5
Usual disclaimer: Here are my thoughts on the power of each hero, in relative order descending. Do note, I consider every hero up until tier D to be completely playable. The tiers are relative power order, however you aren't going to, for example, pick Benedict 1-3rd in a scrim: You'll most likely pick him 4th or 5th assuming they don't have the hard counter to him.

Also, I noticed a lot of the time I'm just repeating myself. So if you need more indepth explanations on why someone belongs in their tier, just either ask or go to last week's post linked above.

So on to the tier list:
S Tier: ISIC, Marquis
A Tier: Thorn, Oscar Mike, Miko, Caldarius
B Tier: Ghalt, Reyna, Galilia, Boldur, Mellka, Kelvin
C Tier: Toby, Montana, Shayne & Aurox, Kleese, Benedict, Orendi, Deande, El Dragon
D Tier: Rath, Ambra
Unknown Tier: Attikus, Pheobe, Whiskey Foxtrot
Haven't scrimed against yet because she's banned until everyone can play her: Alani
Moved: Thorn to top of A from mid A. Miko from S tier down to A tier. Ghalt down to B tier. Oscar Mike up further into A tier. Ambra down to D tier. Kelvin to bottom of B tier. Toby down to C tier. Mellka up to B tier. Shayne from Unknown to C tier. Deande to the bottom of C tier.
S Tier: ISIC, Marquis
ISIC : ISIC was banned in every single match. Not banned/picked, banned. He just does too much damage, has far too much survivability- he's overtuned.
Marquis : Marquis has disgusting amounts of damage, but he also has disgusting amounts of reach. He can kill your thumper from his allied minions and the other thumper 1/4 up the bridge. He hard counters half of the cast. He puts out disgusting amounts of damage- great for forcing people to back.
A Tier: Thorn, Oscar Mike, Miko, Caldarius
Thorn : She's the god of wave clear in this game. A blight + volley will instantly clear any lane pretty much regardless of how many enemies are in there. Later in the game, you can start assassinating people with Blight + Volley + Ult - giving your team a viable counter to Miko and Marquis if you can get a good angle on them. At level 5 with Hexanguinate, you are super duper annoying to everybody with shields. Most of the time in the tournament and scrims, she was either picked first, or she was respect banned.
Oscar Mike : Kind of bad at level 1, super mega turns on at level 2. At level 2 he can clear a lane all by himself. He can also throw a grenade at your thumper and run away- and the thumper dies pretty much solo to the fire DoT.
At level 5, he can solo clear BOTH lanes by airstriking one lane / grenading the other lane if under isn't contested. I consider him the second best wave clear in the entire game behind thorn, because the minions need to be fighting each other for his napalm to be super effective (Thorn's swampfoot will just root and kill everything on its own). Besides that, his airstrike actually does a lot of damage. If he plays safe, he's literally unkillable because his cloaking gives him +30% move speed. It's really the great wave clear + decent DPS + airstrike potential that makes him super good.
Miko : Dropped from S because I feel that Reyna has started to grow on me. As usual, Miko gives your team a lot of sustain and a lot of early game pressure, but I found that having sustain and early game pressure isn't that big of a deal in my eyes anymore. Since I'm putting less of a weight on the early game, Miko dropped a few tiers. We don't mind going against Miko anymore, especially if we have someone like Thorn or Marquis or someone that can burst him down.
Caldarius : He's slightly worse than I thought he was, but he's still super solid. He hasn't changed from last week.
B Tier: Ghalt, Reyna, Galilia, Boldur, Mellka, Kelvin
Ghalt : Ghalt moved down because they nerfed his slug rounds (Sniper shotgun!), and they also broke his double damage trait at level 7.
That said, I'm pretty sure we lost the finals of the tournament pretty much because Woof is a god with Ghalt.
Ghalt's hooks are extremely potent. His traps give him a lot of lane control. His only problem now is that his damage isn't obscenely good now- he's just really good. He has great initiation if you can land hooks.
He's a little big and bulky too- I find it's really hard to stay up early early game unless you have dominant lane control. So hug your Mikos guys.
Reyna : Reyna has been getting better and better in my eyes. At level 2 if you take the homing helix, she can do 30-40% of any single target's HP by herself. If you take the slow, you have a potential of 9 seconds of slow on any target. It's pretty gross.
Besides that, I found that being more liberal with her ult is actually really good. In such a ranged dominant game, it shuts down a lot of people (Toby, Marquis, things like that), and gives you a chance to turn the game around.
Unfortunately, it's kind of hard to use. But it's the type of thing where I see Reynas doing a lot better with more experience.
Galilea : First off, if she has a Miko or Reyna on her team, knock her up a few pegs. If she doesn't, knock her down to the bottom of B.
She still does great damage at full HP and she still has great territory control. The nerfs didn't do much. Shields are still broken in this game.
Boldur : Boldurs never die. Great lane disruption, a very good charge stun. Good damage too if he tries hard. Boldurs tend to lag behind the team in terms of experience, but I don't feel that it's a big deal for boldur. He can be effective even if he's underleveled late game.
Mellka : I moved Mellka up from C tier to B tier. She's a lot better than I thought. She still needs to get in your face in order to kill you, but I underestimated two things- One, her mobility is caldarius levels of mobility. She can zip around the map and reliably have lane presence in both lanes. Second, her poison is god damn annoying if you have a shield.
She also does a lot more damage than I expected. Especially with the slow on her Spike. The only thing that separates her from the A tier is her lack of super easy lane clear. She's okay at it.
Kelvin : I'm starting to dislike Kelvin.
The dedicated stun is super nice. And the burst damage from Chomp is good. You can make big plays with Ice Wall.
The issue is that he isn't tanky compared to Boldur and Galilea. It can be really hard to get into the lane and tag the minions, so as a result you tend to fall behind in experience as a Kelvin. And since you don't have a shield, things can get pretty rough in the Kelvin department.
Don't get me wrong though. The dedicated, super reliable stun is -super- nice.
C Tier: Toby, Montana, Shayne & Aurox, Kleese, Benedict, Orendi, Deande, El Dragon
Toby : I'm starting to also dislike Toby a bit more. I find that even in lineups where we're like "Oh man, there's no way they can take down his shield with that lineup!", they can take down the shield with something as simple as a Miko throwing Kunai at it.
Plus with his big ol' hitbox, it makes people that can't aim (like me) able to aim. And if he doesn't have his shield up, he dies really, really easily.
That said, he still does a shitton of damage. And if he hits you with the bomb, you're probably dead. And he can still kind of clear waves relatively safely. So he isn't on the bench yet.
Montana : I'm a little split.
On one hand, if you go on a Montana, he's really really good. On the other hand, if you force the Montana to go on you... he's kind of really really bad besides his mediocre DPS. Great at counter initiating, really shitty at initiating.
Still decent at stopping people that are super agile with his cold rounds. And he actually functions decently well without a Miko or Reyna.
Shayne and Aurox : Moved out of Unknown tier. They're surprisingly tanky. They don't really bring anything to the wave clear front, until she gets her ult.
I find they can't really do that much damage unless you have like a Galilea/Kelvin/Boldur stun. Then the opponent is probably dead with Shayne's damage. Solo assassinwise, though, highly vulnerable to quick melee. Like every other melee in the game.
Only way I'll ever see Shayne and Aurox picked is 5th, so into C tier they go.
Kleese : Same as last week. I find you need to baby him too much. At level 5 he turns out to be super good at sustain healing, but not really in fight healing. His hitbox is similar to Toby's, but on the other hand he does have the highest DPS in the entire game with Railgun. I think the only way he's going to move is Up, but I have no evidence for this yet.
Benedict : Same as last week. I think he's worthless if he doesn't land his Q. If he lands his Q, you will probably die. Especially if he has his ultimate.
I don't like that his ultimate stuns him for the duration.
Benedict is weird because if you're really good with him, you can do miracles. If you're not really good with him, you're useless.
That said, there's zero competition in the Benedict picking department. So tier 3 he goes.
Orendi : I still think she's a bad version of Thorn.
She can very easily, reliably clear lanes at level 4. Before that, if you split up the group even a little she can struggle. And she has to blow Pillar > Nullify > Pillar before that, which just isn't good when compared to Thorn or OM or (etc).
I find that I struggle killing the far thumper with Orendi. And the close thumper is rough unless you go deep on their ramp or deep near their accelerator. Not that big of a deal though.
At level 5 she gets a bad version of Thorn's ult. Luckily at level 6 and 7 her damage explodes with two +15% damage to Shadow Pillars. There's not that much demand in the Orendi picking department though, so tier 3 she goes.
Deande : Uppercut is really good. Uppercut without attack speed, less good.
It seems like she doesn't really do that much aside from solo chain stun locking. If you have map control, she can be super deadly and great at getting picks. She won't actually contribute to getting you any map control though.
I think her ult is really good when you're coordinated.
El Dragon : Same as last week. He's really good after level 5. Golden says he's actually pretty good at clearing waves at level 2 with his lightning helix. But I feel he's way too squishy to be that great of a pick.
Fortunately, he doesn't really have the same issue that every other melee in the game has with Quick Melee, probably because you're fucking stunned and super slowed when he goes on you.
If you let him get to end game, though, he becomes a monster. So maybe he'll get better with time.
D Tier: Rath, Ambra
Keep in mind, I consider D tier to be not very viable. Everyone above D tier is perfectly 100% pickable, usually something like S tier- usually banned, A tier - First/Second picked. B tier - 3rd/4th picked, C tier, good 5th pick. And you don't want to pick people in D tier.
Rath : Super DUPER vulnerable to quick melee. Rath decides to ult you? Hit that quick melee button and he no longer does any damage to you.
If you're dying to Rath, there's really only four reasons for it.

• He's being a vulture and is picking off people at 500 HP.
  
• It's not actually Rath killing you, it's his teammates and he's just following up.
  
• He has a disgusting level advantage over you
  
• You're bad.
  

As for his actual problems, he's way too squishy and he doesn't bring anything to the table. Seriously, just quick melee him. Congrats, you just made him completely useless.
Ambra : I liked Ambra, but with the last patch they completely neutered her.
She used to have good damage and wave clear, and they just shat all over it. Her left click's range has been reduced by around 30%. Her right click no longer does any damage with heat. There's no more reason to pick Ambra anymore. Sorry guys, she's just in a really really bad spot right now.
I mean, I guess you could pick Ambra so she can Solar Wind the wave as a vulnerable melee range wave clear that will do around 1/3 the enemy HP. and I guess after level 5 you can start ulting the wave
but what's the point? Just pick someone else.
Unknown Tier: Attikus, Pheobe, Whiskey Foxtrot
Attikus : I have a feeling his big hitbox is going to be really bad for him. His charged initiation is pretty solid, and god damn his jump is the most disorienting thing I've ever been hit by in the entire game.
I haven't seen him in comp play more than once, so I don't know where he should be.
Pheobe : She's pretty tanky and her ultimate is really good, but I haven't really seen Pheobe shine yet. If I placed her now, it would be somewhere inside of C.
Her 6 second slow is disgusting and having +shields and +shieldregen is really good. Phase gate is really good too.
But I haven't seen anyone really pick her. I'm pretty sure she's viable, because 6 seconds of slow is actually really good. When I play her in pubs, I find that she's pretty vulnerable to quick melee though- especially if you're using true strike.
Whisky Foxtrot - Probably around the bottom of B or high in C.
Nobody's picked him since last week so I don't know.
Haven't scrimed against yet because she's banned until everyone can play her: Alani
Alani : Lets be real here. She's going to be in S tier. Is she as broken as ISIC? Probably more broken.
She has two flaws. One- She has shit mobility (If you pick the surf helix you're shooting yourself in the foot). Two- She has no sustain/aoe healing without minions (So she can't heal you at your healing station for example)
Those are literally her only downsides. In battle, she's a very effective healer. She does great damage. Great wave clear. Stupid amounts of control. Her hitbox is super funky. She can pretty much 1v1 anyone in the game and win.
She's broken as fuck. Fortunately, she's hard banned until it unlocks for everybody and not just season pass holders.
Let me know if you have any questions about placements on the tier list. As I've stated before, I believe that everyone in this game up until D tier is viable. And in general, the way it goes is- S tier = Usually banned. A tier = Usually first/second picked. B tier = Usually 3rd/4th picked. C tier = Usually 5th picked. D tier = Never picked because they are flawed / don't bring anything to the table that another character can but better.
and as I've stated before, this is for PC. If I'm not mistaken, PC players have a more ranged meta than you XBONE/PS4 people do. There are also no items allowed as of writing this, but that may change by the next tier list.
I am 100% comfortable with: Ambra, Caldarius, Marquis, Thorn, Oscar Mike, and Reyna. I can also play Orendi and Pheobe (in pubs). So if you have any build questions for these people, I can help.

Updated 3/20 - Character Links Added - Available Character Videos Added - Available Multiplayer Videos added - Factions Information
Battleborn is a hero-shooter created by Gearbox Software, and is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 3, 2016. The game will feature a unqiue campaign mode and multiplayer modes featuring new and unqiue styles of play. At launch the game will feature 25 heroes from 5 different factions, each with their own talents and play styles.
Table of Contents 1. Character Profiles 2. Factions 3. Mulitplayer 4. Features 5. FAQ
---------1. Character Profiles-------------------------------
----Boldur---Eldrid Defender Boldur the Unbearable is a gruff, axe-wielding native of Ekkunar who has survived the last two millennia through sheer stubbornness. Tough as a gnarled root, the Ekkuni dwarf carries only a rune-forged axe and shield into battle against any foe who dares land their dropship in his front yard.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 26 or Challenge- Complete "The Experiment"
-Abilities- Runic Axe -Boldur deals slow, powerful melee strikes with his Runic Axe. When he throws the axe, Boldur falls back on hand-to-hand combat to take enemies down. Boldurdash -Boldur leaps forward, dealing 141-213 damage and knocking back enemies. Rune Power: Dash causes an explosion on contact, dealing up to 534 damage. Runes of Power -Increases Axe damage when meleeing or health regeneration when blocking damage while Shielding. Using Axe Toss or Boldurdash, consumes the magic. Ekkuni Greatshield -Though he lacks an energy shield, Boldur is an elite defender, utilizing his Eldrid greatshield to block incoming damage, and rapid health regeneration to stay in the fight. Axe Toss -Throws Boldur's axe through multiple enemies, dealing 208-280 damage to each enemy. Rune Power: Axe explodes on impact, dealing up to 520-700 damage to nearby enemies. Rage -Killing enemies causes Boldur to melee faster for a short time.
----Kelvin---Eldrid Defender There are many strange beings in Solus, but the ice golem Kelvin is definitely one of the strangest -- a single consciousness emerging from a colony of extremophilic microorganisms. Rescued by Miko, Kelvin now fights for the Eldrid to preserve what's left of the cosmos.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 18 or Challenge- Win 5 matches as an Eldrid character
-Abilities- Sublimate -Kelvin becomes a cloud of frigid air for a brief time, greatly increasing movement speed. Touching enemies deals damage and stuns them. Chomp -Bite an enemy, dealing a large amount of damage. If the target is killed, Kelvin gains permanent health. Instantly kills minor enemies. Ice Wall -After a short delay, Kelvin creates a temporary impassible Ice Wall that will stun nearby enemies on spawn and block movement. Permafrost -Kelvin gains temporary shield strength after he completes a skill. Ice Fists -Kelvin’s primary attack deals damage with a series of melee strikes, while his secondary attack pounds the ground, dealing area-of-effect damage. Ice Form -Kelvin’s dense crystalline ice shape is exceptionally durable, allowing him to soak up damage for his team.
Kelvin Let's Play
----Mellka---Eldrid Attacker Born as a refugee, Mellka was raised and trained among an aggressive Eldrid commando group known as the Vigilant. Proficient at several combat styles, but prefers exotic weaponry such as her biologically-active Eldrid gauntlet, now permanently fused with her left hand.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 34 or Challenge- Complete "The Heliophage"
-Abilities- Custom Machine Pistol -Mellka's machine pistol envenomates targets on hit. Reloading launches a venom canister that explodes on impact. Exhaust the clip to deal more damage. Eldrid Operative's Garb -Trained in the elite Eldrid unit known as the Vigilant, Mellka is a versatile and nimble assassin, utilizing her weapons in concert to control the tide of battle. Claw Lunge -Lunges forward a short distance for a powerful claw strike dealing 187 damage. Can lock onto nearby targets. Spike -Charges a burst of energy that deals 280 damage to nearby enemies, and launches Mellka into the air. Blade Launcher -Unleashes a barrage of laced blades that envenomates targets and dealing 233 damage with each hit. Venom -Enemies afflicted with Venom suffer increased damage from Mellka's melee attacks and Claw Lunge.
----Miko---Eldrid Supporter The last surviving bud of a planet-spanning fungal colony, the otherworldly Miko is regarded as a capable "combat botanist", healing and protecting its allies while hurling poison-tipped kunai at pretty much everything else.
--Unlock-- Rank- Starter or Challenge- Starter
-Abilities- Combat Botany -Miko's primary attack hurls a barrage of poison-tipped Kunai, while its secondary activates a Healing Beam that restores health to target allies. A. Mikollopria -Miko has evolved to adapt and survive through natural toughness, rapid health regeneration and the ability to cover ground quickly. Cloud of Spores -Throw a spore sack that explodes on contact, dealing 139-187 damage and leaving behind a cloud of spores that slows all enemies that enter it for the next 4 seconds. Biosynthesis -Miko gains 260-350 health over 5 seconds. During that time, Miko's healing beam grants 35% more health. Fungus Among Us -Hurl a mushroom to create an area of effect lasting 45 seconds. Allies gain 83-150 health per second while in range. Can be destroyed by enemies. Molecular Mycology -Miko's kunai poisons enemies on impact, dealing 50-68 damage over 2 seconds.
Miko Skills Overview
----Thorn---Eldrid Attacker Teshka Elessamorn—nicknamed "Thorn" for her short temper—was the last child born to her homeworld before the Varelsi claimed it. Armed with her longbow, Kreshek, she now ranges the wilds of Ekkunar, fueled by her own boundless fury.
--Unlock-- Rank- Starter or Challenge- Starter
-Abilities- Kreshek -Thorn's devastating Ekkuni longbow can be augmented to increase damage, range, and accuracy. Ready and hold an arrow to charge it. Eldrid Vitality -Thorn carries no shield, relying instead on rapid health regeneration to survive in combat. Volley -Fires a horizontal swath of 5 arrows, each dealing 42-56 damage. Volley arrows ricochet off of world terrain. Blight -Summons a field of corruption for 6 seconds. Enemies caught within this field take 32-42 damage every 0.5 seconds. Wrath of the Wild -After a brief charging period, hurls a massive energy bomb that explodes for up to 525-750 damage and knocks enemies backward. Nature's Judgement -Enemies hit with a charged arrow are cursed for 8 seconds. Skills and charged arrows deal 35% additional damage to cursed targets.
----El Dragón---LLC Attacker Francesco Drake ruled the LLC's professional wrestling circuit as El Dragón until his last match, when the renegade magnus ISIC claimed his title... and his arms. Fit with cybernetic replacements, El Dragón now fights for the Battleborn, patiently awaiting a rematch against his greatest foe.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 20 or Challenge- Win 5 matches as an LLC character
-Abilities- Clothesline -El Dragón charges forward with his arms outstretched, dealing damage to enemies. En Fuego: A powerful leap dealing massive damage. Dragon Splash -El Dragón leaps into the air and falls back down, dealing damage to nearby enemies. En Fuego: Stuns all enemies damaged. En Fuego -El Dragón explodes, dealing damage to nearby enemies. For a period of time El Dragon’s attacks and skills take on additional properties. Undisputed Champ -Each enemy killed grants a stack that boosts El Dragón’s melee damage. A percentage of stacks are lost on death. M-RBX Cybernetic Arms -El Dragón’s primary melee combo is a flurry of blows, while his secondary is a powerful Clap. Activating his off-hand melee while sprinting executes a Dropkick. CWF Championship Belt -The symbol of El Dragón’s faded glory in the ring provided a synergistic effect with the champ’s abilities, increasing his effectiveness in battle.
El Dragón Skills Overview El Dragón Let's Play
----ISIC---LLC Defender Once the lead manufacturing Magnus of Minion Robotics, ISIC abandoned his post to crash reality itself through the application of unthinkably complex code. Though debugged by Kleese, this Magnus is still regarded as among the most nihilistic and terrifying of the Battleborn.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 30 or Challenge- Complete "The Algorithm"
-Abilities- Charge Cannon -ISIC's Charge Cannon can be fired instantly for low damage, or charged for greater damage to multiple targets. Charging reduces ISIC's movement speed. Energy Aegis -ISIC's secondary attack deploys his Energy Aegis to block up to 500 incoming damage. Rotating Wards -Raise 5 protective wards that orbit ISIC for 8 seconds, each blocking up to 315 damage from enemy fire. Overcharged: Each ward blocks up to 365 damage. Plasma Dash -ISIC charges to a target location while engulfed in plasma, dealing 280 damage to enemies along the way. Overcharged: Deal 325 damage to hit enemies. Omega Strike -Toggle turret mode, replacing basic attacks with weapons that deal 24 and 140 damage per shot. Overcharged: Gain 787 overshield on activation Overcharge -Activating a skill while ISIC's Charge Cannon is fully charged empowers that skill with additional Overcharged effects, and consumers the charge.
----Kleese---LLC Supporter Following his dismissal as director of Minion Robotics, the cantankerous Kleese now serves as Nova's chief science officer and mad-scientist-in-residence. Abhors away missions but relishes opportunities to test his tech, such as his "Battle Throne".
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 36 or Challenge- Earn a Silver rating on all Story missons
-Abilities- Energy Rift -Kleese opens up an Energy Rift that restores friendly Shields and deals damage to enemies. Energy Mortar -Kleese shoots a barrage of Mortars at an area. Mortars damage enemies and deal bonus damage to Shields. Black Hole -Kleese summons a Black Hole that pulls in enemies towards it dealing damage. Tactical Battle Chair -Kleese rolls into battle in the most deluxe of all battle furniture. It increases Kleese’s maximum Shield capacity per level and can be used to extend jumps. Wrist Cannon and Shock Taser -Kleese fires energy blasts from his Wrist Cannon. He also fires a powerful Shock Taser from his chair, dealing bonus damage to Shields. Battlefield Tactician -Kleese controls the battlefield through a variety of electrical based Shield attacks, stripping away his enemies’ Shields and Buffing his teammates’ Shields.
Kleese Skills Overview Kleese Let's Play
----Marquis---LLC Attacker Class. Sophistication. Insanity. Formerly butler to Phoebe, Marquis d'Caliber was driven mad by a sudden loss of connection to the LLC's governing AI. Now, this high-society sociopath wreaks havoc on the unwashed masses in his endless pursuit of profit.
--Unlock-- Rank- Starter or Challenge- Starter
-Abilities- Bindlebane -Marquis' signature collapsible sniper rifle, fit with a custom hilt pistol for close-range engagement. Heavily augmentable. Titanium Dandy MK VI -Marquis' relatively fragile chassis necessitates careful, strategic engagement with enemy Battleborn. Temporal Distortion -Alter the flow of time in a targeted area for 6 seconds, slowing all enemies who are inside of the time warp. Predatory Strike -Deploys Hoodini to a target location. Hoodini reveals nearby enemies on the map and collides with them, dealing 208-280 damage. Up to 3 owls can be active at once. Bindleblast -A powerful single shot that deals 525-750 damage, and increases its damage the longer it is in flight. Must be charged before firing. Ein, Zwei, Die -Rifle shots mark targets. The third shot on the same target adds 50% of your attack damage as bonus damage.
Marquis Skills Overview Marquis Let's Play
----Phoebe---LLC Attacker Counted among the LLC's greatest engineers, Phoebe Elizabeth Audelia Hemsworth IV utilizes powerful technology to move swiftly about the battlefield, and an array of five telekinetically-suspended swords to annihilate her foes.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 22 or Challenge- Kill 50 enemy players
-Abilities- Five Virtues -Phoebe's primary attack chains multiple melee-range sabre strikes, while her secondary attack launches her in a direction, dodging incoming attacks. Technocracy -Phoebe's high-tech formal wear and telekinetic sabres can be augmented to substantially increase her survivability and lethality. Phasegate -After a brief charging period, Phoebe teleports to a target location. Blade Rush -Phoebe launches a barrage of four charged rapiers, each dealing 52-70 damage. Blade Cascade -Conjures a storm of falling rapiers dealing 505-730 damage over time to a large area. True Strike -Phoebe swipes at enemies and activates her high-tech formal wear to propel herself in any direction.
Phoebe Let's Play Let's PLay
----Orendi---Rogue Attacker Unhinged, unpredictable, and feared even by members of her own faction, Orendi channels bursts of chaotic energy to ravage her opponents at incredible speed, and seeks to test herself against the greatest challenges Solus has to offer.
--Unlock-- Rank- Starter or Challenge- Starter
-Abilities- Chaos Bolts -Orendi's primary attack is a rapid fire volley of chaos bolts. Her slower secondary attack fires four bolts simultaneously. Chaos Magic -Orendi's abilities can be augmented to increase damage, add status effects, or drastically reduce cooldown timers. Nullify -Orendi unleashes a burst of energy, dealing 75-147 damage and propelling her backwards from the blast. Shadowfire Pillar -After 1.5 seconds, Orendi summons a mighty pillar of shadow and flame at a target location, dealing 208-280 damage. Paradigm Shift -Orendi conjures an intense blast of energy directly in front of her, dealing 525-750 damage to enemies caught in the blast. Gnosis -Activating Nullify lowers the cooldown of Shadowfire Pillar by 8 seconds.
----Reyna---Rogue Supporter Known as "the Valkyrie", Reyna Valeria is one of the few Battleborn native to the Solus system, and the ad-hoc leader of the Rogues. Reyna uses her command glove to shield her allies from danger and mark targets for swift retribution.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 8 or Challenge- Get 50 assists in Versus matches
-Abilities- Laser Pistol -Reyna's primary attack utilizes her lethal laser pistol to deal damage to her enemies. Plasma Pulse -Reyna's secondary attack launches shield-melting plasma pulses from her command gauntlet, dealing 50% bonus damage to shields. Shield Booster -Applies an overshield to target ally that blocks up to 315 damage over the next 8 seconds. During the time, Reyna's Plasma Pulse can charge the target's shield. Priority Target -Fire a homing blast that deals 81 damage (+50% bonus to shields) and reveals the target's position. The target takes 116% incoming damage for 6 seconds. Photonic Ward -Deploy a large energy dome that immediately knocks enemies out of the area, and continues to block enemy fire from entering or exiting for 6 seconds. Failsafe -When Reyna places a Shield Booster overshield on an ally, she receives one as well.
----Shayne & Aurox---Rogue
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 6 or Challenge- Complete 5 co-op missions or matches with at least one player
-Abilities- Aurox -Shayne’s companion djinn serves as Shayne’s shield and bodyguard, helping to melee enemies at close range. Shayne's Boomerang -Shayne’s secondary attack hurls her trusty Boomerang that damages enemies on impact. Stealth Strike -Shayne cloaks for 5 seconds. When the cloak expires or is cancelled, Aurox crashes down, dealing 181 damage to the area around Shayne. Fetch -Aurox charges forward and pulls the first enemy he encounters back to Shayne, dealing 248 damage. Tag Team -Summons Aurox at target location, dealing 79 damage over time. After 5 seconds, Shayne teleports to Aurox damaging and knocking nearby enemies into the air. Fleet-Footed -When Aurox is disabled, Shayne moves +30% faster for 2.0 seconds.
Shayne & Aurox Let's Play
----Toby---Rogue Defender Despite his talent for engineering, Toby was rejected as a potential Peacekeeper conscript due to his adorable and diminuitive form. Toby then offered his genius to the Rogues, where he can pour his anxious, self-loathing energy into the construction of walking death machines.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 24 or Challenge- Win 5 matches as a Rogue character
-Abilities- Arc Mine -Launches an Arc Mine, which arms after a brief delay, dealing 60 area damage per second for 8 seconds. Afterwards, Arc Mine will explode for 90 damage. Force Field -Deploys an energy field that blocks 750 enemy damage. Firing a Railgun shot through the field increases projectile velocity. Core Discharge -Transform your mech to charge up a powerful laser that deals 120 damage a second for 6 seconds. Boosters -Double-jumping while holding a direction grants Toby a quick boost in that direction. Boosters hold a total of 3 charges that recharge after 8 seconds. UPR H8-MS Custom Railgun -Toby's powerful Railgun can be charged, dealing increased damage at higher charge levels. Me 'N My Mech -Clad in his battle mech "Berg", the adorable-yet-fearsome Toby's considerable engineering talent provides for on-the-fly modification to respond to a variety of battlefield conditions
Toby Skills Overview
----Whiskey Foxtrot---Rogue Attacker
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 16 or Challenge- Win 15 matches
-Abilities- UPR-SL3 Tactical Rifle -Whiskey Foxtrot’s Tactical Rifle is accurate, deadly, and fires in three-round bursts. UPR-RDC Combat Armor -Whiskey Foxtrot’s battered UPR armor still serves him well in battle – with a few modifications here and there, of course. Sticky Bomb -Hurls a grenade that sticks to surfaces and enemies. Detonates after 3 seconds, dealing 126 damage to nearby targets. Scrap Cannon -Fires a spread of shrapnel from the rifle’s underbarrel, dealing 180 damage. Overdrive -Loads Whiskey Foxtrot’s Tactical Rifle with a clip of 75 bullets which can be fired fully automatically. Combat Rhythm -After each enemy kill, Whiskey Foxtrot’s attack damage is increased by 25% for 10 seconds.
Whiskey Foxtrot Let's Play
----Benedict---Peacekeepers Attacker Brash and arrogant Benedict loves three things: himself, rockets, and himself. Though his left wing was crippled during the evacuation of his homeworld, Benedict is still capable of limited flight, raining down rockets from a high vantage point.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 10 or Challenge- Win 5 matches as a Peacekeeper character
-Abilities- UPR-SM23 Rocket Launcher -Benedict's trademark rocket launcher deals heavy damage in a wide explosive radius. Aviant Exosuit -Benedict's battle armor, heavily augmentable to support combat mobility and damage output. Hawkeye -Fires a rocket that deals 187 damage and targets your enemy for 3 seconds. Subsequent rockets home in on targeted enemies. Liftoff -Launch Benedict skyward for a strategic advantage or a hasty withdrawal from combat. Boomsday -Launches a player-guided missile that deals 750 damage. Reactivating the skill in-flight triggers early detonation. Flyboy -Jump again in the air to double-jump. Hold the jump button to glide for a limited time.
----Galilea---Peacekeeper Defender Warped by a corruptive agent in a mission against the Jennerit, Galilea endured hundreds of years of self-imposed exile on Bliss before joining the Battleborn. The darkness within her is both her greatest strength and most profound struggle.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 12 or Challenge- Kill 800 minions of any type
-Abilities- Shield Throw -Galilea throws her Greatshield, dealing 200 damage and stunning the target for 2 seconds. Desecrate -Galilea curses the ground beneath her feet, amplifying damage to enemies within the area for 8 seconds. Abyssal Form -Galilea explodes into dark energy, dealing 125 damage over 4 seconds. During this time, Galilea takes reduced damage and regenerates 250 health. Corruption -Attacking and using skills accelerates Galilea’s Corruption, which deals up to20damage per second and steals health from nearby enemies. Wraith’s Greatsword - Galilea’s primary attack strings a series of attacks with her Greatsword and Greatshield into a swift combo. Sentinel’s Greatshield -Galilea’s secondary attack raises her Greatshield, absorbing up to 1000 damage at the cost of agility.
Galilea Character Highlight
----Montana---Peacekeeper Defender When he’s not clotheslining bears for fun, Montana can be found suppressing enemies with his fearsome minigun and soaking up industrial-sized buckets of hurt on behalf of his comrades. Self-appointed morale officer of the Battleborn and friend to all.
--Unlock-- Rank- Starter or Challenge- Starter
-Abilities- Montana's Minigun -A truly fearsome weapon, the Minigun accumulates heat as it fires, increasing bonus damage dealt. Augments can increase or modify this effect. Hearty Constitution -Montana's remarkable size allows him to soak up a substantial amount of damage. Lumberjack Dash -Montana dashes and collides with an enemy, dealing 208-280 damage and knocking them back. If the hit enemy hits an object or ally, they are stunned for 1 second. Hailstorm -Loads a specialized ammunition that slows enemies hit and uses less heat per shot. Also adds armor that reduces damage taken. Mansformation -Stomp the ground, dealing 525-750 damage and knocking up nearby enemies. Montana takes reduced damage for 8 seconds after. Heatwave -The hotter Montana's minigun is, the more bonus damage it deals.
----Oscar Mike---Peacekeeper Attacker A discarded clone soldier from a long-forgotten war, Oscar Mike is a capable front-line fighter, engaging enemies at range with his assault rifle, cloaking for quick exits from tight spots, and inspiring his allies with his... unconventional personality.
--Unlock-- Rank- Starter or Challenge- Starter
-Abilities- UPR-AR7 Assault Rifle -The core of Oscar Mike's combat effectiveness is his Assault Rifle and its many available upgrades. UPR-RDC Combat Armor -Oscar Mike's standard issue combat armor can be enhanced to increase survivability. Frag Grenade -Launch a grenade that explodes 3 seconds after launch or 1 second after impact, dealing up to 208-280 Damage to each enemy within its blast radius. Stealth Generator -Activate a cloaking device obscuring Oscar Mike from view and radar detection for 9 seconds. Attacking or using a skill cancels the effect. Airstrike -Target an area to strike with 28 laser-guided missiles, each of which explodes dealing 141-282 damage to enemies. Tactical Rounds -Oscar Mike's Assault Rifle is loaded with tactical rounds. The first 15 rounds in each magazine deal additional damage.
----Trevor Ghalt---Peacekeeper Attacker Former Peacekeepers officer and capable commander Captain Trevor Ghalt wields his charisma and shotguns with equal effectiveness. As one of the first among the factions to call for unity against the Varelsi, Ghalt is considered the first Battleborn.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 40 or Challenge- Earn a Silver rating on all Story missions on Advanced difficulty
-Abilities- The Hook -Ghalt fires out an energy hook that pulls enemies to him. Scraptrap -Deploys a trap to a target location which stuns enemies for 2 seconds, and then explodes dealing 133 damage. A maximum of 2 traps can be deployed simultaneously. Dual Wield -Ghalt equips a second shotgun, doubling his damage output for 10 seconds. Tactical Shells -The last 4 shots in Ghalt’s Revolver Shotgun cylinder deal 25% additional damage. UPR M8-R Revolver Shotgun -Ghalt’s customized shotgun deals incredible damage at short range, but is weaker at greater distances. UPR-EC Technician’s Rig -Ghalt’s UPR engineering rig provides a decent amount of defense while also permitting heavy augmentation of Ghalt’s armament.
Ghalt Skills Overview Ghalt Let's Play Ghalt Character Highlight
----Ambra---Jennerit Supporter Ambra long served within the Jennerit Silent Sisters - priestesses who weaved secrets of the stars into prolonged life called "Sustainment". Betrayed by Rendain, Ambra now fights with the Battleborn, healing her allies and devastating foes with localized solar anomalies.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 14 or Challenge- Win 5 matches as a Jennerit character
-Abilities- Staff of Radiance -Ambra's Staff of Radiance drains health from a targeted enemy, returning 30% of the damage dealt to herself. Scorching Strikes -Ambra unleashes a series of melee strikes, spending Heat generated by her staff to do up to 38 extra damage per hit. Sunspot -Summon a Sunspot that does 56 damage a second to nearby enemies at the cost of its own health, exploding if touched. 750 health. Up to 2 active at once. Solar Wind -Channel a fiery wind that damage enemies in front of you. Solar Wind lasts up to 3 seconds, doing 84 damage per second. Extinction Event -Calls down a meteor at a targeted location, dealing 450 damage and leaving a scorching area of effect, dealing 300 damage over 5 seconds. Flame Shield -When Ambra's health falls below 20%, she is protected by a Flame Shield for 4 seconds that provides 450 Overshield. 30 second Cooldown.
----Attikus---Jennerit Defender A born leader arisen from within the ranks of the lowborn Jennerit Thralls, Attikus was forever changed when his Imperium overseers implanted shard-powered tech throughout his body. He now fights to overthrow Rendain, beat back the Varelsi, and save his people.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 32 or Challenge- Kill 800 Jennerit enemies
-Abilities- Pounce -Leap to a target location, dealing 67 damage and knocking back enemies where Attikus lands. Fully Charged: Deals 100 damage to shields. Hedronic Arc -Electrifies Attikus for 8 seconds. Enemies meleed during this time are shocked, taking 8 damage over 4 seconds. Fully Charged: Shock also damages nearby enemies. Hedronic Eruption -Attikus hurls 10 shockwaves of energy over 5 seconds that each deal 84damage. Fully Charged: Enemies are also knocked into the air. Hedronic Collector -Attikus gains 1 charge per kill (5 for major enemies) up to a maximum of 5. While Fully Charged the next skill use consumes all charges for an added effect. Barefisted Brawling -Attikus’ primary attack is a relentless bare-handed assault using both fists. Fully Charged: Attacks gain 25% shield penetration. Charged Hook -Attikus’ second attack is a devastating right hook that can be charged-up for additional damage.
Attikus Let's Play Attikus Character Highlight
----Caldarius---Jennerit Attacker Caldarius won his name, fame, and eternal Sustainment in the Jennerit Fighting Pits. Clad in his J-HTX Assault Frame, the Jennerit shock trooper dominates battlefields with incredible mobility and efficient, effective hit-and-run strikes.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 28 or Challenge- Complete "The Renegade"
-Abilities- TMP and Energy Blade -Caldarius' rapid-fire TMP and wrist-mounted energy blade are devastating weapons at closer ranges. J-HTX Assault Frame -Caldarius' formidable battle armor can be augmented for high mobility or maximized damage output. Gravitic Burst -Launches Caldarius forward, dealing 142-214 damage on impact. Flashbang -Fires a grenade that deals 70-94 damage and blinds enemies for 2s. Aerial Assault -Launches Caldarius into the air after 1s. Activate the skill again to land at a targeted location, dealing 200-425 damage. Gravitic Manipulators -Caldarius can activate his thrusters to jump a second time mid-air, in any direction.
----Deande---Jennerit Attacker Before Deande spearheaded the Jennerit rebellion, she was the Spymaster of the Jennerit Imperium, and one of Rendain's closest advisors. Swift, stealthy, and exceptionally lethal, Deande is one of the deadliest assassins the Imperium has ever produced.
--Unlock-- Rank- Command Rank 38 or Challenge- Complete "The Heliophage" on Advanced
-Abilities- Holotwin -Cloaks Deande and deploys a decoy (20% health, 25% damage) to fight in her stead for 8 seconds. Upon death or expiry, the decoy explodes for 200 damage. Burst Dash -Deande charges forward, dealing 200 damage and pushing back enemies. Hit enemies are weakened, lowering their attack damage by 30%. Blink Storm -Upon activation, Deande unleashes a flurry of 10 strikes directly ahead of her, stunning up to 5 enemies and dealing 50 damage per hit. The Element of Surprise -For 3 seconds after uncloaking, all of Deande’s skills and attacks deal 25% additional damage. Tessurim War Fans -Deande’s primary melee combo strings a series of rapid melee strikes, while her secondary attack hurls her fans at foes for ranged damage. Diplomat’s Battle Garb -Deande’s Jennerit elite uniform, tailor-made to maximize agility, mobility, and lethality.
Deande Skills Overview Deande Character Highlight
----Rath---Jennerit Attacker Brutal, efficient, and deeply devoted to the art of combat, Verod Rath once served as elite guard to the Jennerit Empress, Lenore. He utilizes three energy blades to devastate his foes in close-quarters engagements. Not a vampire, though he gets that a lot.
--Unlock-- Rank- Starter or Challenge- Starter
-Abilities- Axiom and Order -Rath's primary melee attack can be chained multiple times for a quick combo. Rath's secondary melee attack conjures a powerful lightning bolt. Bladekeeper's Vestment -Rath's ceremonial Jennerit armor is sturdy enough to absorb plenty of damage, but light enough to preserve his speed and mobility. Crossblade -Rath throws energy blades forward a limited distance, dealing 208-280 damage. Catalytic Smash -Rath unleashes a shockwave dealing 139-187 damage directly ahead. Dreadwind -Rath spins into a whirlwind attack for 4 seconds, causing 41-68 damage per hit to enemies around him. Genetic Syphon -When Rath damages an enemy's health he steals health worth 10% of the damage from melee attacks and 10% of the damage from skill attacks.
---------2. Factions-------------------------------
The Last Ligh Consortium The mostly-cybernetic LLC is the greatest economic power left in the universe, defined by a relentless pursuit of profit, no matter the cost. Once a constituent body of the United Peacekeeping Republics, the LLC abandoned the coalition when it became clear that principles and purpose did little to contribute to the bottom line. Owns and operates Minion Robotics, the largest weapons manufacturer still standing.
The Eldrid A naturalistic order of observers and scientists, charged with the stewardship of the natural order of the cosmos. Long ago, the reach of the legendary Eldrid spanned entire galaxies -- but as the stars themselves have faded into darkness, so too has the might of this ancient faction. As all eyes turn to Solus, what remains of the Eldrid are grappling with their place in a darkening universe as they rally in defense of the Last Star.
The Rogues The unaffiliated free peoples of Solus, colloquially known as the Rogues: misfits, renegades, and survivalists answering to no one. The Rogues make their home in the Detritus Rings, far from the squabbling of the other factions – but they too will have a part to play in determining the fate of the Last Star.
United Peacekeeping Republics A collection of civilizations banded together under the banner of mutual protection, freedom, and equality, the nomadic UPR – like the other factions – now find themselves in Solus with no home to call their own. Though recently crippled by the secession of one of their strongest constituents, the Last Light Consortium, the UPR remains nonetheless committed to their idealistic sense of justice.
The Jennerit Imperium The mighty Jennerit Imperium once led the fight against the Varelsi, forging alliances with the other factions to save the stars from the void. But in a desperate turn to spare his people from the darkness, the warlord Lothar Rendain staged a coup to seize control of the Imperium, and aligned its destiny with that of the Varelsi. Though the Jennerit have lost much in their struggle, they remain one of the strongest military forces in Solus.
---------3. Multiplayer-------------------------------
Battleborn's team-based competitive multiplayer action can be experienced by up to 10 players online in 5v5 matches, and includes three distinct multiplayer modes.
INCURSION Teams of heroes must defend their base from waves of AI-controlled minions while working together alongside their own minions to destroy their opponent's base.
Incursion Let's Play
CAPTURE Teams of heroes face off in a fast-paced death match and must capture and hold objectives on the map to win.
Capture Tutorial
MELTDOWN Teams of heroes must guide their minions as they march to their death at the center of the map. Points are scored for every minion who throws themselves into the incinerator, and the team with the most points wins.
Meltdown Tutorial
---------4. Features-------------------------------
PERSISTENT PROGRESSION SYSTEM All experience points, whether earned through playing Battleborn's Story Mode or Competitive Multiplayer modes, contribute to leveling up individual Character Rank, as well as player profile Command Rank.
CHARACTER RANK Each hero can permanently rank up from 1 to 15 outside of missions and matches, allowing players to unlock additional augments in their helix skill tree, as well as additional skins for each character.
COMMAND RANK Players can rank up their own player profile, unlocking badges and titles to impress friends, and loot that can be used to benefit any hero the player chooses to command.
HELIX SYSTEM Battleborn's accelerated character growth system allows players to level-up a character from 1 to 10 and fully experience each hero's unique weapons and powers in a single story mission or multiplayer match.
---------5. FAQ-------------------------------
When is the game released? May 3, 2016 on PS4, Xbox One and PC
Is their a Beta? Yes, there isnt an exact date but it seems likely itll be mid-April
Do i need a code for the beta? Not completely sure. They've said it's an open beta, but it may have a pre-order early beta access
What do i do if i have a question? you can either comment it bellow or message me, I'll put all questions down and fill them in as we get the information