Score and Kudos

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The score and kudos, as shown in Azure Striker Gunvolt.

A Score is the total points a player has accrued during a stage, being a feature present in virtually all games in the series. Prior to stage completion, the current score is displayed in the top left corner above the player health bar.

The most visible mechanism that can determine score is Kudos. The next most visible mechanic is Stars, time limit bonuses or a penalty. There are additional, less obvious factors without official names that also have great influence on score.

Starting in Luminous Avenger iX, score result screens also display kudos mode, stage name, skill art (usually of the boss of the stage), the game's logo, and certain colors or special effects depending on the rank.

Ranks

A Rank is the grade assigned based on score total at the end of a stage. From lowest to highest: C, B, A, S, S+ (except iX2)/ X (iX2), and S++ (GV3). In the Japanese version of GV1, S+ is SS. In both languages of Luminous Avenger iX 2, the highest rank is X. In Azure Striker Gunvolt and Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, higher ranks reward the player with more Materials. In Luminous Avenger iX 2, the Ability Extra Prizes rewards the player with money based on rank when equipped.

C is a rank that is gained by dying and triggering a heroine's Anthem, negating the player's score for the mission. C Ranks can also be achieved through extremely poor play. B is a default rank for completing the mission without dying. A and S are intermediate ranks. S+ or equivalent normally has much higher requirements than the next highest, S. In Azure Striker Gunvolt 3, triggering Anthem before the boss results in no rank at all.

Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 additionally awards an Azure Striker rank (commonly known as the SS Rank) if a stage is completed with the "The Primal Dragon" Gunvolt Passive Image Pulse active from start to finish, and without removing it or reverting back to Kirin at any point in the stage. Azure Striker rank is independent of total score and overrides the standard Rank with its own unique insignia which resembles a blue SS. This insignia is displayed as a special icon next to the player's standard high score in the stage select, and should the score earned during an SS run be the player's best result, it will be displayed as the main rank until another record is set.

Kudos

Kudos Mechanics (Azure Striker Gunvolt - Luminous Avenger iX 2)

Unsaved points gained during a stage by damaging enemies, finishing them in a certain way, or performing special actions (Secret Kudos, or in the LAiX series collecting Bonus Emblems). Converting Kudos into actual score is done by touching checkpoints, using Special Skills (or Healing in iX2), or clearing a stage. When Kudos are converted into actual Score, they are multiplied depending on how many there are. The Kudos limit in GV1 is 9999, while in every game after it is 99999. Lost Kudos are not converted into Score. The conditions for Kudos loss vary, and are detailed in the section below.

In every game, 1 point of raw damage is 0.1 Kudos' worth under normal circumstances. For example, Gunvolt's bolts in GV1 and GV2 do 10 damage (except when using Dullahan), thus adding 1 Kudo per hit. Starting from GV2, however, the player can earn more Kudos from raw damage during most of the boss fights (always 2x in iX1 and iX2).

Reaching 1000 Kudos normally results in a song playing, and Overdrive activating in Copen's case. These end with the loss of Kudos.

Kudos Modes

Originally in GV1, the player taking a single hit resulted in the loss of all Kudos. GV2 introduced two more lenient modes, Cautious and Gutless, while naming the original style Fearless; these modes are selected before starting a stage and affect the final score. LAiX2 also has its own parameters. How each Kudos modifier works depends on the game.

• Fearless grants highest Kudos multiplier cap (x99.9) for GV1 and GV2, and the greatest score bonus (100,000) in iX1. It is the only mode in Score Attack.
• In Cautious, the player only loses Kudos if three hits are taken. Moderate Kudos multiplier cap (x49.9 on 3DS, x89.9 on other versions) for GV1 and 2, lesser score bonus (50,000) for iX1.
• In Gutless, Kudos are not lost when hit. Low Kudos multiplier cap (x29.9 on 3DS, x49.9 on other versions) for GV1 and 2, no score bonus for iX1.

Kudos modes do not change the multiplier cap in both iX1 and iX2, which is always the same as Fearless mode in GV1 and GV2 (x99.9). The only differences are the number of hits required to reset Kudos and the amount of score bonus exclusive to iX1.

In LAiX2's "normal mode", no Kudos are lost by taking hits (barring a specific program), but they are lost upon death. In Hard Mode, all Kudos are lost by taking a single hit. Regardless of mode, using healing, an offensive skill, or touching a checkpoint cashes in Kudos.

Kudos Mechanics (Azure Striker Gunvolt 3)

In Gunvolt 3, Kudos can no longer be lost upon being hit, using Skills, touching Checkpoints, or activating Anthem. Kudos can only be lost upon death. Touching a Checkpoint adds points to your score equal to your current Kudos multiplied by your current multiplier. During Anthem, the ability to earn Kudos is frozen until control returns to Kirin after triggering a cutscene/area transition.

Being struck by an attack will inflict the Kudos Lock status, indicated by a red padlock and chains effect covering the Kudos counter. Kudos Lock is displayed as a "negative" Kudos value, the severity of which scales to the current Kudos count. While Kudos Lock is active, Kudos cannot be earned. Kudos Lock can be deactivated by earning the specified number of Kudos. If the Lock is incurred with 4001.0 or more Kudos, the player should try to release it without being struck, as the counter will be reset to its initial number when hit.

Lumen's songs have a time limit which can be extended at each 1000 Kudos threshold. Reaching any of these thresholds will begin a song if one is not already playing. After a certain number of extensions, usually when reaching 4,000 and 7,000 Kudos, the "level" of the song will increase up to 3. The song will change to a different one upon level-ups, indicated by the Kudos counter turning gold and a golden soundwave effect appearing around the edges of the screen. If Kudos are not earned fast enough to maintain Lumen's song, the song will deactivate.

Every time a checkpoint is passed, score is updated based on current Kudos and multiplier. This means overall performance in a stage, rather than purely the end result, determines the final score. Thus, ending a stage with similar Kudos counts may give vastly different scores depending on which part of the stage had greater Kudos accumulation.

While the player is controlling Gunvolt, Kudos earned from raw damage and Skill Finishes will be reduced to 80%. The formula for multi-kill bonuses is also different from the one in previous games. Both of these penalties can be negated with a certain DLC Passive Image Pulse.

Djinn's Wish

With certain exceptions and when not playing as Special GV, there is a chance that upon the defeat of a boss, Luxia will revive it with reduced health. The likelihood of this occurring depends on total Kudos accumulated, with 5,001 or more Kudos guaranteeing a revive. In exchange for the added challenge, the revive provides an opportunity to accumulate an even greater amount of Kudos, with the Skill Finish bonus applying to the revived version as well.

Since it usually occurs at the end of a stage, these revives aren't strictly necessary to obtain the S++ rank and are even disabled in Trial Mode. However, there is a single exception where this is crucial to scoring: Sunrise Palace 3. Due to Gunvolt 3's checkpoint system, the Kudos accumulated from the Grazie re-fight and Djinn revival are cashed in multiple times, significantly inflating the final score. Since the score requirement accounts for the inflated score and Trial Mode uses the Demanding/Merciless requirements, this mission is the only impossible S++ in Trial Mode if glitches are not used.

Using the "The Primal Dragon" Gunvolt Passive Image Pulse completely disables Djinn's Wish, even after reverting back to Kirin.

"Overkill Kudos"

In GV1, GV2, and iX1, if a foe is defeated by an attack that yields Kudos from raw damage and that deals more damage than the foe has remaining HP, the Kudos gained will be based on the attack's damage, effectively yielding Kudos for depleting HP that the foe did not have. In GV1, SP Skills yield raw damage Kudos, so the optimal way to defeat the last boss of a stage is to whittle it down to very low HP and then hit it with a powerful single-hit SP Skill like Voltaic Chains or Septimal Surge Luxcalibur. Using Voltaic Chains on a group of regular enemies can also yield a great deal of overkill Kudos, even moreso if Adrenaline Lens is equipped and you're lucky enough to use Septimal Surge beforehand without consuming a Skill Point. This is likely why SP Skills do not yield raw damage Kudos and Adrenaline Lens caps Kudos at 1200 in GV2.

In Luminous Avenger iX 2, overkill Kudos are absent for normal enemies, but bosses can yield overkill Kudos for each segment of their health bar independently. Copen's EX Weapons and Colossal Maelstrom do not yield raw damage Kudos, but a small amount of overkill Kudos can still be squeezed out with basic attacks. Copen's strongest basic attacks are his dashing Razor Wheel attack and the third hit of his melee combo.

"Kill Points"

Raw score points gained simply for killing enemies, with bosses and minibosses grant more than normal enemies. Like Kudos, the amount rewarded depends on the kill method in all games except iX2.

In GV3, enemies no longer grant any kill points, and cashing in Kudos is the only method to gain score points during a mission.

Bonuses

The main way to earn Kudos in each game aside from inflicting damage is via Kudos Bonuses, which are awarded via special "stylish" actions accomplished when defeating enemies. Each character has access to Kudos Bonuses unique to their playstyles.

In Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced, Kudos Bonuses earned from Gunvolt's skill Electroshock will be reduced to 80% in both GV1 and GV2. The same penalty is also applied to Crashbolt in GV1 only.

Bonus	Description	Kudos Awarded	Characters
Double	Defeat two enemies at the same time, or in rapid succession.	+100 (GV1/GV2) +50 (GV3)	Gunvolt
Triple	Defeat three enemies at the same time, or in rapid succession.	+250 (GV1/GV2) +100 (GV3)	Gunvolt
Electric X	Defeat more than three enemies at the same time, or in rapid succession. Limited to Electric 8 in GV1 and GV2.	+400 (4 enemies in GV1/GV2) +550 (5 enemies in GV1/GV2) +600 (6 enemies in GV1/GV2) +750 (7 enemies in GV1/GV2) +900 (8 or more enemies in GV1/GV2) +50𝓍-50 (𝓍 enemies in GV3)	Gunvolt
Full Strike	Defeat an enemy with the Lock-on Flashfield, while it is stacked with three Tags.	+10	Gunvolt (GV1/GV2)
Air Strike	Perform a Full Strike while airborne.	+30	Gunvolt (GV1/GV2)
Aerial	Defeat an enemy while airborne. Multiplied by current aerial chain (caps at 5x for Copen, caps at 4.0x for Kirin and Zed). In Luminous Avenger iX 2, attacks other than the Lock-on Wheel do not grant this bonus, requiring Copen to defeat a Tagged foe with a homing razor before touching the ground or losing the Tag.	+10 (Copen) +15 (Kirin, Zed)	Copen Kirin Zed
Aerial EX	Defeat a Tagged foe with an EX Weapon while airborne. Earned in place of the standard Aerial bonus. Multiplied by current aerial chain (caps at 5x).	+20	Copen
Quick	Defeat more than one foe at the same time, or in rapid succession while grounded.	+10	Kirin Zed
Quick Aerial	Defeat more than one foe in rapid succession while airborne, or with a single aerial attack (such as Arc Chain). Multiplied by current aerial chain (caps at 4.0x).	+20	Kirin Zed
Reload Crush	Defeat a foe with the landing impact caused by midair reloads.	+15	Copen (GV2/iX1)
Guard Counter	Quickly defeat a foe with any EX Weapon after deflecting its attack with the Flashshield.	+50	Copen (GV2)
Guard Counter EX	Quickly defeat another foe with any EX Weapon after performing a Guard Counter. Defeat multiple enemies in rapid succession for bigger bonuses.	+200 (per enemy)	Copen (GV2)
Quick Razor	Defeat a foe with a Razor Wheel melee attack less than five seconds after defeating a previous foe.	+30	Copen (iX2)
Skill Finish	Defeat a foe with a Skill, including GV2 Gunvolt's 0 SP Skills. Reduced to 80% while playing as Gunvolt in GV3 (+400 from mid-bosses and +800 from bosses).	+30 (GV2 basic enemy) +200 (GV1 mid-boss) +500 (GV1 boss, GV2/GV3 mid-boss) +1000 (GV2/GV3 boss)	Gunvolt Kirin Zed
Shredded!	Defeat a foe with Copen's Special Skills.	+30 (Basic enemy) +500 (GV2 mid-boss, iX1 boss) +1000 (GV2 boss)	Copen (GV2/iX1)
X Crush!!	Defeat a foe with CoLoSSAL MAELSTROM.	+50 (Basic enemy) +500 (Boss)	Copen (iX2)
Secret	Find a Secret.	Varies	All (GV1/GV2)
Secret icon	Find an icon.	Set Kudos to 1000, regardless of the original Kudos.	Gunvolt (GV1)
Bonus	Pick up a Bonus Emblem.	+500	Copen (iX1/iX2)
Assembled!	Pick up all four Bonus Emblems in a stage.	+1000	Copen (iX1)

* In GV3, Gunvolt's Double, Triple, Electric 4~6 and Skill Finish bonuses will return to GV2 levels when Kirin is using his Passive Image Pulse included in DLC Pack 1. Electric bonuses will also increase from 50𝓍-50 to 150𝓍-200, resulting in Electric 7~8 bonuses becoming 100 points higher than their GV2 counterparts.

Combo/Chain

Copen can earn additional Kudos for each Kudos Bonus accomplished with a Combo. For each enemy defeated without landing, Combo is increased by one stage, increasing the total multiplier for each Kudos Bonus by +1.0x. Combo caps after the 5th enemy for a maximum possible 5.0x multiplier for Aerial and Aerial EX bonuses. Combo resets upon landing on the ground.

Kirin and Zed have access to a similar mechanic called Chain. For each enemy defeated without landing, Chain increases by +1.0x, for a maximum possible multiplier of 4.0x. Unlike Copen's combo, this multiplier will apply to every bonus and even Kudos from raw damage. Chain resets upon landing on the ground or wall jumping.

Stars

Stars are multiplicative bonuses or a penalty to the final score for completing the stage within a certain timeframe or taking too long. There are five star grades in the mainline Gunvolt series, while the LAiX series only has three star grades. In both cases, the highest amount of stars multiplies the score by 1.5x. In GV2 score attack, five stars multiplies score by 2.0x, while anything lower results in a 0.1x multiplier.

"Quick Clear Bonus"

Additional score points awarded for completing a stage under the lowest time limit. Present in GV2's Score Attack and the LAiX series. Sometimes worth it over actual Kudos, such as when breaking Crimm's shield. The Time Points gained from that outmatch the Kudos lost with his self-damaging attacks, for example.

Trivia

• The Kudos system might have been inspired by Project Gotham Racing, which series director Yoshihisa Tsuda is a big fan of.

References

• Lancer's Inti Creates Game Resources
• Lancer's Gunvolt Series Score Utility v4.0