Mega Man The Wily Wars/Weapons and bosses

Weapons list
At the beginning of every stage, Mega Man can choose up to eight different weapons from the 22 that were available in the first three Mega Man video games.

Damage chart
The following table reports the amount of damage every weapon deals to each of the bosses. Bosses names are written on top, while weapons names are on the left. The most effective weapon against a given boss is highlighted in green.

The Energy column reports how many energy bars are consumed by one shot of each weapon. Every weapon has a total of 28 energy bars at the beginning of each level.

Weapons are sorted by default according to the credits at the end of the game.

For the Atomic Fire, the first number is a normal shot, the second number is a shot charged to the maximum.

Suggested weapons
This table summarizes the weapons effective against the bosses.

Note that the Crash Bomber deals increased damage only if it explodes on a shielded part of the Wily Machine near the vulnerable spot. A direct hit in the vulnerable spot deals just 2 damages.

Weapons analysis
Many weapons have common traits, as shown in the sections below, that report them in groups of three, one from each Mega Man title.

Wall breakers

 * 1) Super Arm
 * 2) Crash Bomber
 * 3) Hard Knuckle

They can break specific different walls and allow to access areas with extra items, as shown in the breakdown below. The Super Arm lifts a cubic rock and throws it; the Crash Bomber attaches to the wall then explodes; the Hard Knuckle can be remotely controlled by pressing Up and Down.


 * Busterrod-G stage: Crash Bomber gets you an E-tank;
 * Megawater-S stage: Hard Knuckle gets you another E-tank;
 * Hyperstorm-H stage: Hard Knuckle gets you a 1-Up;
 * Wily Tower 1: Crash Bomber & Super Arm get you an E-tank and a 1-Up;
 * Wily Tower 2: Crash Bomber gets you a "?"-can;
 * Wily Tower 3: Hard Knuckle gets you two "?"-cans;
 * Wily Tower 4: (no breakable walls).

Multi-directional

 * 1) Thunder Beam
 * 2) Metal Blade
 * 3) Shadow Blade

The Thunder Beam shoots 3 beams at once (forward, up, down) and it can also destroy some walls; the Metal Blade is definitely the most versatile: it can shoot in 5 directions (forward, up, down, up/forward, down/forward); the Shadow Blade can shoot in 3 directions (forward, up, up/forward) and is short-ranged.

Enemy stunners

 * 1) Ice Slasher
 * 2) Time Stopper
 * 3) Spark Shock

The most useful is the Ice Slasher; the effect of the Time Stopper cannot be interrupted until all of its energy is depleted; the Spark Shock does not harm enemies, nor allows to change weapon as long as stunned enemies are visible.

Barriers

 * 1) Fire Storm
 * 2) Leaf Shield
 * 3) Top Spin

The Fire Storm creates a temporary barrier and shoots a fireball straight; the Leaf Shield is probably the most useful: it creates a barrier that lasts as long as Mega Man stands still, then the shield is shot in any one of three directions (up, down, forward); the Top Spin works only while Mega Man is jumping or in mid-air.

Along the floor

 * 1) (n/a)
 * 2) Bubble Lead
 * 3) Search Snake

Unlike the Bubble Lead, the Search Snake can also climb walls.

Rapid fire

 * 1) (n/a)
 * 2) Quick Boomerang
 * 3) Needle Cannon

Press and hold B to rapid-fire. Unlike the Quick Boomerang, the Needle Cannon is long-ranged.

Other weapons
Mega Man 1: Mega Man 2: Mega Man 3:
 * Rolling Cutter (ellipse)
 * Hyper Bomb (delayed blast)
 * Air Shooter (arc upwards)
 * Atomic Fire (charge-up)
 * Magnet Missile (homing)
 * Gemini Laser (bouncing)

The Magnet Missile is extremely slow and it also chases projectiles, therefore it is only useful against enemies that neither move nor shoot.