Ultimate Armor

The Ultimate Armor is a secret and formidable armor for X that bestows the most all-around fighting power in any of the games in which it appears. Because it appears in so many games in the series, it has the most recurring traits of any of X's armors.

Mega Man X4-X6
In Mega Man X4, X5, and X6, the Ultimate Armor grants all of the abilities of the Fourth Armor, and appears as a modified version of that same armor. Its buster's charged shot is the plasma shot of the Fourth Armor, and its powerful Nova Strike can be performed an unlimited number of times.

In Mega Man X4, even if a code has been inputted, the armor must still be obtained through one of Dr. Light's hidden armor capsules (the easiest of which is in Web Spider's stage). Until then, X's secondary turquoise hue is changed to a lighter purple one, a tell-tale sign that the code has been entered correctly. In Mega Man X5 and X6, the armor will be equipped on X when starting a new game, as long as the code has been entered correctly.

However, in Mega Man X5, there is a way to receive the Ultimate Armor without using a code. In the third station of the Zero Virus stage, there is a vertical shaft that leads to a special armor capsule. Entering this capsule as normal X will grant him the Ultimate Armor.

Mega Man X8
In Mega Man X8, the Ultimate Armor may be unlocked through either a code, or by starting a new game from a save file that has been cleared while X is at 100%. In addition, X has to also obtain all 8 Armor Parts that forms the Icarus and Hermes Armors for the Armor to be available.

In this game, the Ultimate Armor appears to be a black version of the Neutral Armor, with its own violet glow. It is a separate option within the Neutral Armor selection, and thus cannot mix its parts with those of the Hermes and Icarus Armor.

In this game, the Ultimate Armor's buster retains the Plasma Shot of the Fourth Armor, and grants the protection of the Icarus Armor's body part, the Shoryuken (or Dragon Punch) ability from Mega Man X2, as well as the abilities of both boot parts from the same game. This Armor has one uncanny ability that other Ultimate Armors do not have - It grants X unlimited usage of all Special Weapons obtained by Maverick Bosses, including charged shots! This is different from what the Ultimate Armor in Mega Man X4 does in using weapon energy for charged shots only.

This version of the Ultimate Armor has a more limited but ultra-powerful Nova Strike, which is limited by its own weapon gauge. It will drain the entire energy gauge, but automatically refills itself over a short period of time. This version of the Nova Strike is more powerful when X's weapon gauge is augmented via Pallette's chip development. When used on a boss in Normal Mode or higher, it can reduce its health down to a single unit of life, but cannot kill unless used a second time due to the boss having to unleash an Overdrive Attack first. Also, if used on Sigma before he automatically grabs the character, it will only reduce his health enough to initiate that segment of the fight. The way X performs his Nova Strike in this armor resembles that of the Blade Armor's Mach Dash in Mega Man X6 covered in powerful destructive energy and can only dash left or right.

Mega Man X: Command Mission
In Mega Man X: Command Mission, the Ultimate Armor is X's second Hyper Mode, and is earned by defeating the boss Rafflesian.

As in Mega Man X8, this version of the Ultimate Armor looks very different from its previous incarnations. This version appears closer to a Ride Armor than an actual armor, and as such is very large. His arms are placed in massive cannons, he has a scope over one eye, a missile rack is located on his back and he hovers above the ground due to some form of rocket being affixed to his foot parts.

X's Action Trigger in this Hyper Mode is still called the Nova Strike, but functions much the same as the Final Strike. The higher X's WE is when the move is started, the longer X has to attack enemies.

Ultimate Armor Codes
Refer to the table below for codes used to gain use of the Ultimate Armor. The codes are listed with the button pressed and the number of times pressed next to it. In Mega Man X4 and X5, highlight X on the Character Select screen and enter the codes. In addition, in X4, the shoulder buttons must be held until the actual game begins (after the cutscenes). In Mega Man X6 and X8, highlight Game Start, complete the sequence of buttons, and press Start.

Trivia

 * The armor in X5 is a slightly different color than in X4. The legs are a lighter blue, more similar to his usual color, and the purple parts of his upper legs, arms, and waist is his usual cyan color instead. However If Zero is selected during the third Zero Virus stage in Mega Man X5, X will be equipped with the Ultimate Armor with the X4 palette, (and X4 special weapons) during their battle.
 * Coincidentally, the battle also sees the temporary return of X's Special Weapons from Mega Man X4, the game in which the Ultimate Armor debuted. The weapons that X uses in that battle are Frost Tower, Double Cyclone and Soul Body.


 * In Mega Man X6, The Ultimate Armor has a black color, however if the Buster is charged, the Ultimate Armor will resemble its original palette.


 * The Ultimate Armor's Nova Strike is one of two that is immediately available at the start of the game (in this case, X5 after entering the code). The other is the Giga Attack of the Falcon Armor, one game later.


 * Unlike any other armor set, the Ultimate Armor in every game has had several transparent parts, revealing X's inner workings.


 * During the first selling of Rockman X4 for the Sega Saturn system, Capcom included a Special Limited Pack containing an X constructible model toy, with his Ultimate Armor version.


 * Zero was originally planned to have his own Ultimate Armor alongside X in Mega Man X4, but it was replaced with Black Zero. The designer of Zero's Ultimate Armor hinted that his ultimate armor had to do with his connection to Dr. Wily, but stopped himself before he could reveal any more and instead supplied the design.