Link Power

Link Power (abbreviated as LP), known as Kizuna Ryoku (キズナリョク) in Japan, is a system from Mega Man Star Force 2 and 3, revamping the BrotherBand mechanic from the first game.

Overview
In the first game, a BrotherBand gives a HP boost and a fixed ability depending on which version that Brother is playing. With the Link Power mechanic, the player instead gains Link Power with each BrotherBand he forms. This Link Power grants the player the ability to equip Ability Waves, and it can unlock some areas and items.

In-game Brothers are now kept in a separate interface from the player's real-life Brothers, allowing the player to fill all 6 Brother slots with real-life players without risking BrotherBands with in-game characters. The amount of Link Power granted by a BrotherBand increases as the player, or that Brother, has completed more of the game (inclusive of post-game content). Link Power granted by an in-game Brother is increased by completing that NPC's sidequest after the main story is completed.

In Mega Man Star Force 2, NPC Brothers (including the player's Auto Brother) award a maximum of 100 Link Power, while real-life Brothers award up to 150. The maximum Link Power a player can have is 1300 (400 in-game and 900 from 6 real Brothers)

In Mega Man Star Force 3, the player can form BrotherBands with more NPCs than simply Geo's friends, resulting in a maximum of 900 in-game Link Power. Real Brothers award a maximum of 130 Link Power, and more if they are in the same Purpose team with the player, with 50 LP for the first Brother and 10 more for every additional one. Furthermore, engaging in Wi-Fi battles with Brothers grants the player 1 more LP, up to a maximum of 120. This totals a maximum of 1900 Link Power a player can have.

Ability Waves
Ability Wave (アビリティウェーブ), Ability for short, is a system that is similar to the Navi Customizer from the Mega Man Battle Network series. Each Ability Wave contains a slash, followed by a number. This number depicts how much Link Power the Ability Wave requires to be equipped by Mega Man. Naturally, stronger Ability Waves consume more LP than weaker ones, and rarer versions of Ability Waves consume less LP than commonly found ones.

Ability Waves are commonly found in Mystery Waves located all across the EM Roads. In addition to this, the player may encounter a Hertz in-battle. The Hertz is deleted if the player even touches him with a single Buster shot, but if the battle is finished with the Hertz intact, the player rescues him. In Mega Man Star Force 2, the Hertz immediately rewards the player with an Ability Wave, while in Mega Man Star Force 3, Hertzes are collected and can be returned at the Mr. Hertz Square in exchange for strong Ability Waves.

Noise Changes also award special Ability Waves after completing a certain number of battles, much like how Style Changes in Mega Man Battle Network 3 award NaviCust programs. These Ability Waves also take up much less LP than other commonly acquired versions.

List of Ability Waves

 * HP +X: Increases HP by the displayed amount.
 * Undershirt: Whenever MegaMan would be deleted while he has more than 1 HP, his HP instead falls to 1.
 * First Barrier: MegaMan begins the battle with a 10 HP Barrier.
 * Float Shoes: MegaMan is unaffected by the negative effects of panels.
 * Reflect: Successfully blocking an attack inflicts 50 damage down MegaMan's column.
 * Super Armor: MegaMan cannot flinch.
 * Mega Class +1: MegaMan can place 1 more Mega Class card in his folder.
 * Giga Class +1: MegaMan can place 1 more Giga Class card in his folder.
 * Charge- (Pattern): Increases the area of effect of MegaMan's default Charge Shot.
 * -V: Charge Shot spreads in a V pattern on contact.
 * -Cross: Charge Shot spreads in an X pattern on contact.
 * -Spread: Charge Shot spreads to all surrounding panels on contact.
 * Charge- (Panel): Charge Shots have a 50% chance of creating special panels where they connect.
 * -Wood: Creates Grass panels.
 * -Ice: Creates Ice panels.
 * -Paralyze: Creates Paralyze panels.
 * -Sever: Creates guard-nulling panels.
 * -Poison: Creates Poison panels.
 * First Aura: MegaMan begins the battle with an Aura that deflects attacks of under 100 damage.
 * Auto Lock-On: MegaMan's Lock-On now has infinite range and is permanent.
 * Quick Gauge: Doubles the rate at which the Custom Gauge fills.
 * Side Select: MegaMan automatically gains the ability to select cards within a row.
 * Air Shoes: MegaMan can stand on holes.
 * (Status) -Body: Renders MegaMan immune to a status ailment.
 * Gravity-: Protects against Gravity.
 * Bubble-: Protects against Bubble.
 * Paralyze-: Protects against Paralysis.
 * Flash-: Protects against Blinding.
 * Freeze-: Protects against Freezing.