Stage 1: Valley Target score is around 620k to 720k after the boss.
For this stage, it is important to pick up all Weapon bullets available for use on the birds in stage 2, and also to get powered up enough for later.
Destroying the train from the end carriage first will give Weapon bullets, whereas destroying from the front carriage gives Options.
Stage 1 BOSS MD-113 Nose Laughin
The tail turret is the first key scoring target, as it gives 50,000 when destroyed. It's easy to lose this target by destroying the other tail segments, so careful targeting is important here.
Second major target is the two front propellers, which must be destroyed with a non-piercing Shot to award full value. Kamui here sets her Options to fire backwards, so she can target the propellers with her normal Shot.
Kamui uses this easily avoided attack to pick up some free tick points, and waits for the boss to time out.
Unlike some of her earlier plays, Kamui actively targets the central propeller before destroying the boss in this credit, to gain more points.
Stage 2: Plateau Score target is between 4.5 to 5.5mil after boss.
All high-level players will have suicided twice before the birds in this stage, for the Weapon bullets.
It is possible to push medal values up using both sides of the blimp within one invincibility period, but for safety most players will only use one side before destroying the blimp.
The most notorious technique in the game, this suicide is carefully timed so that the game spits out a full Weapon (usually given on Game Over) just as you get enough points for the next Extend. This full Weapon is then used on the birds.
You need to drop three full Weapons at once so that they overlap each other in order to get a high amount of points. This can be difficult depending on which direction the large Weapon flies off in.
Scoring from the birds also requires a high amount of luck - Kamui aims for an average of 3.2mil after the birds, but I've seen her get close to 3.7mil in some plays. If the score is not over 3mil, it's usually an instant restart for a player of Kamui's level of skill.
A suicide is generally required at some point to stock Weapon bullets for use against the boss.
Stage 2 BOSS SF-4518 Mad Ball
Key to this fight is the dead zone at the top of the screen: the outer ring of turrets must be underneath the dead zone (which starts just underneath the INSERT COIN text and ends at the top of the screen) for them to be damaged by your attacks.
The general strategy is to wait until the earliest opportunity to drop a Weapon on top of the boss, so that all the parts of the outer ring are destroyed as they start to expand outwards.
Destroying the inner ring and the main center turret requires patience and care in placing your shots. Waiting five cycles before dropping a Weapon to destroy the outer ring helps in damaging these inner targets enough to make them easy to shoot off.
If you have no Weapon bullets left, another suicide is required for the start of stage 3.
Stage 3: Factory Target score of between 6.4 to 7mil after the boss.
Early preparation during the stage 2 boss should give you full access to this large cache of medals at the start of stage 3.
Depending on how well you can score in this stage, you want to suicide at least once anywhere in the stage to decrease rank, as you'll get a free Extend from the midboss.
To get the Extend item, you need to full destroy the two side parts of the hovercraft, then let it roll to the parking space at the end of the stage before destroying it. Leaving the center turret makes things a lot easier.
Throughout this section expert players will use Weapon bullets to destroy the scaffolding around the Slayer ships. The amount of points is minimal, so intermediate players can safely avoid this to minimise rank.
Using Weapon on the green planes on the right gives points, while the red planes do not. Be sure to pick up the Extend, and all the medals quickly here.
These flipover turrets are worth more if they are destroyed while in the process of flipping over.
Stage 3 BOSS ST-22 Earth Crisis
The key to dealing with this boss is to leave at least one of the three round turrets in the center of the boss alive, as this stalls the core from activating - the core fires a spray pattern that is difficult to deal with if it is combined with other attacks.
Stalling out the core also allows you to safely pick off the other armaments, and also milk tick points off the body. Milking points off the body isn't necessary for intermediate players - killing the boss at speed is safer for rank at this point in the game.
As Kamui has a high life stock at this point, she will suicide all of them away in quick succession to push rank back down. This is possible only with Gain, as Gain's score potential is much higher than the other ships.
Stage 4: Plant Target score of between 8.4 to 9.4mil after the boss.
There are lots of Weapon targets in this stage - pipes, gratings, tank hangars and so on - so aim for efficient destruction using minimal resources here.
Gain's piercing options make it easier to get full Weapons from these tanks - other ships will require a suicide at the earliest opportunity from the center of the screen to damage these tanks enough.
The medal rails can make or ruin a good credit. The timing and positioning of your Weapons is different for each ship, but the common factor is in efficient collection of the medals that drop from the rails.
Leaving a set of medals from the tank hatches on each side can help you retain medal values during this section.
Stage 4 BOSS PS-50 Satanic Surfer
To trigger the homing torpedoes, a key scoring element, you need to destroy the four round turrets on the center of the body, then the two retracting wings underneath them.
The two large turrets have four segments that are worth a lot of points, but are prone to being destroyed out of turn. If you use a Weapon to assist in triggering the torpedoes, take care not to damage these segments too much.
Stage 5: Cloud Target score of over 13mil after the boss.
The platform section is important as it is worth over 1mil in points. It can be tricky to deal with as each ship requires a very specific strategy and a certain number of Weapon bullets to destroy the target propellers.
Gain's Weapon is quite powerful and useful in this section. Take care not to destroy the platform cockpit too early, and don't use a piercing attack to destroy it, or you won't gain full value from it.
This is a technique probably only used by WR class players, as it is essentially exploiting the dead zone and enemy behavior to generate more tick points. Like Earth Crisis, it isn't necessary to do this trick if you're an intermediate player.
Important to note that there are two spots that this trick can be performed in this stage - just before the pair of platforms, and just after. Kamui only does this trick once, but is likely to require both in a 21mil run.
The repeat versions of the first and second stage bosses are handled in generally the same way as before, taking into account the more aggressive attack patterns.
If you have no Weapons stocked, then suicides are required to get some ready for Mad Ball 2.
For the Slayer carrier, you need to use Weapon to destroy all body armor targets and propellers. There are also four hatches (two on each wing) that are worth 30,000 each, and must be destroyed promptly.
You must time your kill carefully here, so that you have a chance to drop a Weapon on top of Slayer's cockpit as it explodes, destroying all the shrapnel released for big points.
Stage 5 BOSS G-616 Black Heart
Black Heart is pure survival. Most players will minimise damage by targeting the wings rather than the core, for higher tick points.
Stage 6: Base Target score of over 15.5mil after the boss.
Kamui will from this point on be looking to push rank through the roof for scoring purposes explained later.
To that end, suicides will now be kept to a minimum, and she will only suicide to reduce life stock down from five (the maximum amount).
In order to score from these blimps via suicide, you must destroy the right side one first, then suicide on the left edge of the screen so that the shrapnel releases all the medals.
You can also use piercing shots if you are careful, or if you want safe passage, target and destroy the cockpits of the blimps.
This advanced safespot milking technique is designed to generate more tick points, and also to drive rank up for stage 7. This technique isn't required in rank-controlled play.
In order to trigger Search Options here, it is necessary to carefully leave five Weapon bullets to scroll off-screen. This is probably the easiest place to trigger them before entering the base.
The route through the stage also differs depending on whether you're piloting a Garegga or Mahou ship.
Garegga ships will use minimal Weapon bullets to destroy tank hatches for medals, while Mahou ships will be hoarding every Weapon bullet for use against Black Heart 2.
Stage 6 BOSS DT-38A Junkey Monkey
Retaining Search Options definitely helps in speedkilling the first two forms of the boss.
Destroying the arms takes time, but is worth a lot in both actual value and tick points. Ensuring you do not damage the boss' core is crucial to taking maximum points here.
Stage 7: Airport Target score of over 19mil after the boss.
Leaving at least one of these large round turrets - the ones on the right side are easiest - stalls out the next scrolling part with the regenerating turrets, giving you more point gain.
You can also destroy the rear boosters with Weapon, but Mahou ships tend to conserve their Weapons for Black Heart 2.
Stalling out this section here (by leaving a turret) usually allows a player to time a Weapon on the shrapnel when Glow Squid appears. Kamui on the other hand is using this time to drive rank up by firing her Options offscreen, so they rapidfire.
You can also stall out this section by waiting to destroy the cockpit, giving you a bunch of free medals from the drones.
Stage 7 BOSS 1 N-617 Black Heart 2
The key to keeping rank as high as possible throughout this run is this boss: Black Heart 2 generates more grenades when rank is high, increasing scoring potential greatly.
All Mahou players will try to reduce damage as much as possible, so that BH2 will use its pointblank grenade spray during the second and third forms as many times as possible. Using Weapon on these attacks skyrockets score greatly.
There is still some luck involved that influences your maximum score potential, however. BH2's attack patterns during the first and third forms are random - ideally you want it to spew grenades all the time.
Suicides are carefully managed to generate more Weapons for use on the third form, while ensuring there is enough stock for Glow Squid.
Stage 7 BOSS FINAL DT-070 Glow Squid
Glow Squid is just pure survival - the only scoring to be done is from the destroyable missiles during the second form.