13 Sentinels Aegis Rim: Destruction Mode guide & walkthrough

by Nathan Lee on 13 April, 2022

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is mainly focused on the adventure-style portion of the game in Remembrance mode, but Destruction mode is still a necessary part of the game. In Destruction mode, you pilot the 13 characters as they fight off the kaiju invasion. Basically, this is the active combat mode.

In the broadest sense, the Destruction Mode battles in 13 Sentinels play like a real time strategy game, if all of the units you control are all "hero" units rather than simple grunts. And in that sense, perhaps it also resembles MOBA style games, too.

This guide aims to help you navigate the battles and character progression of Destruction Mode, and is ideal when paired with our Remembrance Mode guide - between them, they'll help you through all of the most difficult and obtuse parts of 13 Sentinels. Here's a quick table of contents, as this page is long:

Understanding Destruction Mode
Sentinel Skills & Abilities
- Generation 1 / Generation 2 / Generation 3 / Generation 4
Generations & Units Explained
- Generation 1 / Generation 2 / Generation 3 / Generation 4
Enemy Types Guide
Battle Preparation Tips
Battle Tips

13 Sentinels Aegis Rim Destruction Mode guide

In 13 Sentinels Destruction Mode battles, your goal is to defend the "terminal" until either time or runs out or you destroy all enemies on the map. There are various bonus objectives that ask you to take out the kaiju within a specific time frame, so this guide will assume you are going to aim destroy all the kaiju on the map in every encounter.

It probably makes sense for us to first explain the basic flow of combat outside of the pre-set tutorial battles - so let's do that. First of all, you have to pick a squad of characters - which is a key part of player strategy.

You will pick a strike team of 1-6 pilots that you will directly control.
Any pilots not assigned to the strike team will be placed on defence duty around the terminal. Pilots on the defence team have only one skill they can perform, as opposed to the strike team that has full use of their armaments.
Pilots that are put on the strike team will experience Brain Overload (BOL). Pilots who hit the maximum on BOL are incapaciatated for the next fight. Pilots can only recover from Brain Overload by hitting the Brain Overload limit. This is crucial, as managing this carefully impacts who is available over multiple fights.

Once you're in battle, you then have to think about what moves you're going to execute, and when. Strike team pilots can have up to 6 skills active at any time. These skills cost a certain number of 'EP' to use, and have a Wait Time (WT) associated with each skill.

While the battles are real-time, the game pauses when you want to take an action. You can take an action by either selecting the pilot on the map that you want to control, or you can hit left or right on the directional pad to select pilots. The latter method is recommended.

Each battle takes place in an arena that can vary in size and layout. Your starting position can also differ for each map. Some may start you in a corner in a nice, defensible position, or start you in the middle of the map at the mercy of your enemies. The enemy's main target is the terminal, which appears as a spiral-like area on the map. Loss conditions on every map are the same: The terminal gets destroyed, or any pilot dies. Victory conditions are usually to destroy all kaiju, or survive two minutes. The exceptions to this are boss battles that take place every 5 fights. In boss battles, the only victory condition is to destroy the boss(es).

Kaiju will usually appear as "meteors" that rain down on the battlefield, allowing you to predict the location of your enemy and plan accordingly. Some maps will have set enemy spawns that appear partway through the fight. Kaiju "meteors" come in two colours: white and red. Kaiju meteors that have a white landing area will be a basic group of enemies, or a couple of larger kaiju. Kaiju meteors with a red outline will either have a lot of basic enemies or a sub-boss kaiju. It is best to plan appropriately for this landing area.

Sentinel Skills & Abilities

Each generation of Sentinel comes equipped with its own set of weapons. However, with only 6 slots and each upgrade costing a good number of Meta-Chips, it might be hard to figure out what to spend your hard-earned "money" on. Don't fret, I've got a list of weapons here for your consideration on what I consider to be the best use of your Meta-Chips.

Generation 1 Skills:

Rush Attack: Your basic attack. It's worth investing a little into every Sentinel's basic attack, but Rush Attack is one of the better basic skills out of the Sentinel generations. Rush Attack is a powerful basic ability that can easily take on anything that is unarmoured. I would recommend investing pretty heavily into this.
Leap Attack: Leap Attack is an AoE attack that causes a shockwave in an area dealing damage. Leap Attack is only really useful as an attack for the first 'area' of the game before its usefulness drops sharply. Upgrading the skill only increases the area of effect and WT, not the damage. It can be useful for repositioning in a pinch, but there are better options at your disposal.
Anti-Air Defensive Flares: A purely defensive ability, this skill allows first-generation Sentinels to put up flares which will destroy missiles and lightly damage aerial kaiju. Unless you are playing extremely defensively, I would not recommend getting this skill at all. Your first-generation Sentinels are meant to be out punching kaiju in the face, not staying on the defence. The only upside to this skill is that it's active for a long 20 seconds when fully upgraded, which is an eternity in this game.
Tackle: Tackle is a skill that a lot of people don't truly understand how to use properly as the game doesn't really explain how it works. Tackle is used to have a Sentinel charge from point A to point B, damaging and pushing any ground enemies in its path along the way. The skill is not instant; it takes time for the Sentinel to move from their starting position to the target area. It's best used for dealing with slow-moving enemies or if you want to reposition the Sentinel and there are enemies blocking their path. Usually, Sentinels will stop moving if you issue a Move command through an enemy, but Tackle will simply knock enemies out of the way. It has its uses, and is worth at least lightly investing into.
Demolisher Blade: The signature skill of the first-generation Sentinels, this is your bread and butter for these machines. Demolisher Blade is one of the best skills in the game, period. It can absolutely tear apart any enemy you use it on, and will be your primary way of dealing damage to armoured targets. Max this skill all the way up, and watch kaiju fall like leaves in the wind.
EMP Attractor: EMPs are useful at any time, so it's worth equipping one on all of your first-generation machines. EMP Attractor is the more risk-free of the two EMPs that the first-generation Sentinels can use as it fires in a cone in front of them. As the word "attractor" implies, using this on kaiju will cause the kaiju to focus on whoever used the skill… if they get the chance to move after being EMP'd.
EMP Surrounding: The more risky of the two EMPs, it also deals more damage than EMP Attractor. The reason EMP Surrounding is more risky is because the Sentinel uses the EMP in an area around them, which sometimes means running into a group of enemies. I wouldn't recommend getting this version except for Hijiyama, which I will explain in his character section.
Defence Mode/Limiter Removal : The first-generation Sentinels come equipped with these skills unlike any other generation. Defence Mode will quadruple defence at the cost of ⅔ of the Sentinel's movement speed, while Limiter Removal will reduce defence by ⅔ , but double movement speed and attack. Investing into these is entirely dependent on your own playstyle.
Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles: This is the only real ranged attack that the first-generation machines have, and it's one of the later skills that you can unlock. They're fairly useful, but awkward to use at the time you likely receive it, as you probably got used to using first-generation Sentinels in close-quarters combat.

Generation 2 Skills:

Heavy Knuckles: One of the two basic skills of the second-generation Sentinels. This attack is quite useful for dealing with G-Molers early, as you are guaranteed to kill one with this attack. Its usefulness falls off as more enemies become armoured in later areas. It also only attacks twice, which means its uses are limited to dealing with a single enemy, or two if you manage to kill the first enemy.
Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons: The second of the basic skills. This attack is only really useful for dealing with Workers or Hunters, or maybe weakened larger enemies. It's the weakest of the basic gun skills in the game, as the third-generations have higher attack power, and the fourth-generations' guns are armour-piercing.
Multi-Rocket Launchers: Useful for the first area of the game, but its usefulness falls off in later areas. Upgrading it only increases its area of effect and WT, meaning damage does not scale with this skill. Only useful for dealing with Workers and Hunters, or Twintails on the Switch version.
Sentry Gun: ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY SENTRY GUN! Seriously though, this skill is the best in the game. Any 13 Sentinels player will tell you so. Sentry Guns are deployable railguns that pierce in a straight line through any enemies. These guns fire about every 3 or 4 seconds, and upgrading them will increase their damage. The Sentry Guns scale extremely well throughout the game, so upgrading them early is a priority. Watch as your second-generation pilots take MVP in every battle you use their Sentry Guns in. The Sentry Gun's only downside is that it does not pierce armour.
- (Switch version): The Sentry Gun has been greatly nerfed from the PS4 version by reducing its damage, range, and fire rate. There is also a much smaller limit to the number of Sentry Guns that can be deployed at once, and they tend to target weaker kaiju first. In the Switch version, they act more like Guardians that can occasionally shoot. They still have their place in your arsenal, but you can no longer heavily rely on them.
Guardian: A deployable decoy machine that attracts enemies in the location you place it in. Note that it will only attract enemies that are in the vicinity when you deploy it. If enemies pass by it after it's been deployed, they will not be attracted to it. As such, its use is rather limited as most players would likely choose to attack a threatening group of enemies rather than distract them.
Anti-Ground Piercing Rocket Launchers: Exactly as its name implies, these armour-piercing rockets can be fired in an area to deal damage to ground kaiju only. The best use of these is on armoured G-Molers in later areas of the game. Other than that, it's not terribly effective on anything else.
Shield/Repair Emitters: These deployables can be used to shield/repair any Sentinels within their range. I've personally found that the best defence is a good offence, so using these emitters isn't terribly helpful in most situations.
Guardian Avenger: This is just like the Guardian, but only with less HP and the ability to deal damage in an area when it dies. I find this is much more useful than a regular Guardian, since you will likely only need a temporary distraction, and this one will help deal with the threat when it's destroyed.
Jammer Rocket Launchers: One of the only skills in the game that is purely meant for debuffing enemies. This skill slows enemies down by a quarter of their regular movement speed, and reduces their defence by half. This attack can kill enemies, but it's not meant for that. I struggle to find a good use for this skill personally.
Plasma Arc Fusion Cutter: "Demolisher Blade on steroids" is probably the best description for this skill. I personally find it worse than Demolisher Blade as this will only damage a single enemy, but any enemy outside of bosses are guaranteed to die when this skill is maxed out. If by some miracle the enemy survives, they are also slowed down after the attack.

Generation 3 Skills:

6 Multi-Launching Rapid Cannons: The basic attack for the third-generation machines. It deals decent damage, and can be useful for dealing with weaker enemies if you are out of EP on the pilot.
Long-Range Missiles: Exactly as the name implies, it deals damage in an area around it. Like other AoE missile/rocket attacks, I find the uses of this skill drop off after the first area. Any skill that doesn't increase damage when upgrading will always drop off as the game goes on. It's still useful for dealing with Hunters/Workers.
Main Battery Heavy Railgun: One of the signature weapons of the third-generation machines, the railgun pierces enemies in a line in front of the Sentinel. Piercing weapons will always have a use in 13 Sentinels. The railgun scales pretty well through the game, but it might not be as effective later as it doesn't deal increased damage to armour.
EMP Stunner: Easily the best EMP skill in the game when fully upgraded. The EMP covers almost half of most maps when it's fully upgraded, making it perfect for getting some breathing room. It deals miniscule damage though, and its high EP cost means you'll need to use it sparingly.
Stun Knuckles: The only melee attack the third-generation units have as they're designed for long-range combat. Honestly, you've messed up if you ever find a need for this weapon as third-generation machines move extremely slowly, meaning you're unlikely to use this offensively. The only use for this that I can think of is if a Gladiator is in range of the terminal, then you can stun it with this skill.
Anti-Air Bombardment: At first, this skill doesn't seem all that useful. It has an extremely short range, meaning kaiju have to almost be on top of the Sentinels for this attack to work. However, the range of this attack isn't truly displayed. Using this skill causes an almost chain reaction-like effect, as the damage extends far past the area that is displayed. It is very situational, so you may consider bringing another skill instead.
Homing Missile: A slow-moving missile that deals damage in a wide circle. It's one of the few skills in the game that doesn't have an instant effect. The homing missile can be shot down by enemies if it gets hit, making it risky to attack enemies that are preparing an attack. Its uses are really niche, and there are better skills you can use on your third-generation Sentinels.
Anti-Ground Hunter Missile: The only armour-piercing skill that the third-generations can get, so it can be useful for dealing damage to armoured units in a pinch. It's not the most powerful attack, and it doesn't have a large range.
Missile Rain: This skill scatters missiles in a wide area in front of the Sentinel. This skill is most effective for dealing with smaller enemies like the Workers and Hunters, but can still deal effective chip damage to any enemies that are unarmoured. This skill is infamous for causing framerate drops.
Super Large Missile: This skill is basically a nuke. It costs the most EP to use in the entire game, so you better make sure you're killing a bunch of strong enemies with this in order to use the pilot again after this skill. This attack destroys all but the largest armoured enemies.

Generation 4 Skills:

Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers: The fourth-generation Sentinel's basic attack. It deals decent consistent damage to small or mid-sized enemies when fully upgraded. Before it is fully upgraded, it's best used to take out small enemies when the pilot is out of EP for other skills.
Multi-Lock Missiles: One of the best early AoE attacks in the game, this is likely one of the skills you will have your fourth-generation pilots use to deal relatively effective damage. Its effectiveness drops off in the late game, especially because this attack requires Sentinel pilots to jump into the fray.
Shield Matrix: This is easily one of the best support skills in the game. This skill places a shield on any Sentinels within its target area, protecting them from taking any damage at all. While it only lasts 6 seconds, that's usually plenty to cover an ally from an enemy's attack until their turn comes up again.
Leg Spike: This skill is best for the fourth-generation pilots to use early in the game against armoured enemies before unlocking other abilities. The one exception to the rule is Takamiya, who is the best for using this skill at any point in the game.
- On Switch, this skill gets more use due to the fourth-generation Sentinels lacking any other abilities to deal damage to Gladiators.
Flare Torpedo: A good skill that can double as protection and a bit of offence. This skill places down an area that can deal damage over time to kaiju inside it, and also destroy any missiles that fly through it.
Arm-Mounted Convergent Lasers: I find this skill really hard to recommend. It's an armour-piercing weapon that pierces through enemies, making it effective for taking out enemies that are lined up. My issue with it is the area of effect is too narrow to be that effective, and it only hits four times for not a ton of damage. I find that the Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers are better in most situations in the late game.
Shield Repair: This is a very niche skill that you can use. Ideally, you will want to prevent any damage to your Sentinel pilots at all, so Shield Matrix would be better to use in almost any other situation. This skill does shield and heal an ally, but it can only be used on one ally even if two or more Sentinels are close together.
Gravity Missiles: Gravity missiles are a unique ability in the game that will pull in almost any enemy that is in its range. This skill is good for locking down large groups of enemies for a set time, or grouping them up for a powerful AoE attack. This attack deals no damage, so using them will be situational.
Interceptors: Interceptors are an absolute menace to kaiju in the mid to mid-late game, and they will shred any targets, especially slower enemies like the RPF or Hi-Quads. Interceptors are extremely fragile, and they will likely die if they're hit by even a Worker or Hunter. Enemies will get EMP skills of their own in the late game, which will completely nullify the Interceptors.

13 Sentinels: Generations & Units Explained

The titular Sentinels that you use throughout 13 Sentinels are split across 'generations' - and each generation adds additional twists and wrinkles into the combat abilities you'll have at your disposal. I also have some builds for each Sentinel pilot. Please note that the builds posted below are from the PS4 version of the game. The Nintendo Switch version gives each pilot two new skills, which I recommend putting on your pilots. However, these new skills cost double the Meta-Chips to upgrade over the base skills, so the Switch version is a lot tighter on upgrades. On PS4, fully upgrading all of these skills to max is possible with a bit of light grinding before the final battle. As you approach the end of the game, make sure you unlock all of the Mystery Files you can. After you unlock them all, any future Mystery Points will be converted into Meta-Chips for extra income.

Generation 1: Ogata, Hijiyama, Sekigahara

These three are your main melee units. These Sentinels are equipped with powerful close-range ground attacks like Rush Attack, Leap Attack, and their signature Demolisher Blade. They are also equipped with different modes: Limiter Removal and Defense Mode. They also come equipped with EMPs for dealing with aerial units or shields.

The best use of the first generation models is to wipe out strong enemies like the Hi-Quad. Their lack of ranged area of effect attacks makes them vulnerable to smaller enemies, and they also cannot directly attack aerial units with their powerful skills.

A (*) will denote which skills I would recommend keeping on the pilot on the Switch version as well.

Nenji Ogata (Glass Cannon):

Rush Attack*
Demolisher Blade*
Tackle*
EMP Attractor
Limiter Removal*
Hyper Condenser*

This is my preferred build on Ogata. This build will make mincemeat out of anything the kaiju can throw at you. Ogata's Hyper Condenser enhances his Demolisher Blade to absurd levels, and even if you don't fully upgrade the Demolisher Blade on him, the Hyper Condenser more than makes up the difference with its extra hits. Limiter Removal doubles his attack power, and the combination of those skills will shred anything but the Area 3 late-game bosses.

Takatoshi Hijiyama (The Tank):

Leap Attack*
Demolisher Blade/Rush Attack/Tackle
EMP Surrounding*
Defence Mode*
Counter*
Composite Ceramic Armour*

No 0 EP skill? No problem. With his Defence Mode/Counter/Composite Ceramic Armour combo, Hijiyama can jump into the fray with little fear. The low cooldown of Leap Attack means that he can likely escape any attacks from enemies that try to attack him afterwards. Either Leap Attack away again, or stun them with an EMP Surrounding. His Counter will mean he will attack all ground kaiju near him, earning him a little extra EP if he destroys enemies.

Ei Sekigahara (Lone Wolf):

Rush Attack*
Demolisher Blade*
EMP Attractor
Limiter Removal*
Forced Cooling Device*
Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles

Sekigahara gets an Attack and WT (wait time) skill that activates when he's alone on the battlefield. The WT boost from that skill and the Forced Cooling Device means he can act again almost instantly after he uses an attack, so long as there are no other allies nearby. His Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles also allows him to keep his distance from other allies by placing him in more remote corners of the map. EMP Attractor is best used on Ei due to his Marksman skill, which deals increased critical damage against aerial targets. On the Nintendo Switch version, he gets the "Hurricane Rush" attack which I highly recommend putting on him.

Generation 2: Kurabe, Shinonome, Fuyusaka

The Generation 2 units are listed as all-rounders. They have a couple of strong melee attacks including Plasma Arc Fusion Cutter, the most powerful melee attack in the game, as well as guns and rockets for crowd control.

What makes the Generation 2 units unique are their deployables. The Guardian deployable distracts kaiju within its range and shield/repair emitters assist your Sentinels with defence.

On PS4, this generation will be nothing but Sentry Gun batteries. You don't need any other skills really. Build them however you want. Give Shinonome her Hyper Condenser for more Sentry Guns. If you would prefer to use the second generation Sentinels as intended, give Fuyusaka most of the deployable equipment since her skills buff deployables. Shinonome has skills that give her increased stats if she's alone, so she would prefer to go out and destroy kaiju. Kurabe is the true main protagonist and is a pure all-rounder. Build him however you like.

On the Nintendo Switch version, I do still recommend putting Sentry Guns on all of your second generation units, but you can't rely on them to deal the damage they used to on PS4. I would recommend Kurabe's new Arm-Mounted Piercing Cannons to deal more effective damage to armoured targets. Fuyusaka gets a powerful new armament called the Plasmic Wrecker, which I would recommend putting on her to dole out good damage in a line in front of her. Shinonome's new Cyberattack Missile has amazing utility with the ability to turn kaiju against each other. Using this on a sub-boss kaiju can buy you valuable time (20 seconds, which is an eternity in this game), as well as a powerful new temporary ally.

Generation 3: Kisaragi, Minami, Miura

Generation 3 Sentinels are designed for long-range combat. They are the slowest moving of all the Sentinel models, and you are unlikely to move them from where they start.

Third generation Sentinels have the best crowd-control abilities in the game with the majority of their attacks dealing damage in an area, and they can also learn EMP Stunner, the most effective EMP in the game besides the Meta-Skill Phase Plasma EMP.

There aren't many skills to separate these three. Feel free to build them however you like. My only recommendation is to give the Main Battery Heavy Railgun to Kisaragi, as well as her Hyper Condenser.

Minami is much more powerful in the Nintendo Switch version. Her new weapons, Precision Machine Cannons and Wide-Range Railgun, take advantage of her previously useless skill, Warmup Run. These armaments allow her to reposition for the attack, which makes use of her Warmup Run skill. Precision Machine Cannons is one of the best weapons in the Nintendo Switch version, in my opinion.

Miura gets a new attack called Wide-Range Bombardment, which has amazing crowd-clearing abilities. The area of effect is much larger than what is displayed, and it can absolutely clear off incoming waves of enemies. It also allows him to reposition to attack, so you aren't stuck having him in place to use it.

Kisaragi doesn't get a cool new weapon unlike Miura and Minami unfortunately, but her new skill, High Performance Charger, can make her an EP battery. It decreases the time to recover EP ("Defending"), and increases the EP restored. Along with her skill, Fight Song, she can help out her fellow pilots in a pinch if their EP runs low. This also means she is the best candidate for using the Super Large Missile, which takes the most EP to use in the game.

Generation 4: Yakushiji, Takamiya, Gouto, Amiguchi

Fourth Generation Sentinels are listed as "aerial support" and they do behave like that for the most part. These models are aerial all-rounders with a variety of skills that can deal effective damage in an area and to individual targets. However, the fourth generation pilots have the most obvious deviation in the skills each of them can equip.

Yakushiji does not have the powerful Leg Spike ability that the others have, and instead has multiple support skills and a cooldown reduction passive skill. Takamiya can equip Composite Ceramic Armour and Counter, which means she functions more as a frontline fighter.

Megumi Yakushiji (Pure Support)

Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers
Shield Matrix
Flare Torpedo
Forced Cooling Device*
Hyper Condenser*
Interceptors*

This strategy doesn't work as well on Switch since Yakushiji gets new offensive capabilities, but it works perfectly fine on PS4. Her Hyper Condenser allows for an increased number of Interceptors, and her Forced Cooling Device allows her Shield Matrix/Flare Torpedo to be available faster for any emergency situations that arise.

Yakushiji gets a new weapon called Piercing Multi-Lock Missiles, which are way better for dealing damage to armoured targets than the regular Multi-Lock Missiles. I would highly recommend getting them.

Yuki Takamiya (The Brawler)

Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers*
Multi-Lock Missiles*
Leg Spike
Any other skill you want
Counter*
Composite Ceramic Armour*

Takamiya is the oddball of the fourth-generation units. She behaves more like a fourth first-generation, since she wants to get up close and personal, all the time. Her signature skill is Leg Spike, since she gets a skill that gives her increased damage with it. Like Hijiyama, the Counter/Composite Ceramic Armour combination means she can get up close and personal without worrying too much about small incoming damage.

The only reason I don't recommend the Leg Spike on Takamiya in the Nintendo Switch version is because she gets an upgraded Leg Spike called Quad Leg Spikes. This attack only costs an extra 50 EP for almost double the damage of regular Leg Spikes. This attack will take out pretty much any sub-boss kaiju in the game if she travels the maximum distance to her target using the Brawling Prodigy skill.

Renya Gouto/Shu Amiguchi

I don't have specific builds for these two, besides giving Gouto Interceptors because of his Hyper Condenser. I ended up building Gouto into more of a support role, but you can build him up for offence as well. Amiguchi loves to dive into the thick of the fight like Takamiya, and he's the only pilot with a skill that can increase his evasion. Pair up Takamiya with Amiguchi, since he gets a skill that gives him increased damage if he's close to her.

Gouto has increased utility on the Nintendo Switch version, including EMP Spikes and Teleportation Field. EMP Spikes will stun any enemies nearby for 10 seconds, and it also pierces armour. Teleportation Field allows Gouto to recall any allies in a circle to an area near him. This can save other pilots if they run into trouble.

Amiguchi gets an Optimised Generator as one of his new armaments, and I do recommend that one. It gives him increased damage and range on his attacks in exchange for an extra 50 EP on all of his attacks.

Enemy Types in 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

As you work through the combat encounters in 13 Sentinels, you'll of course encounter an ever-expanding range of enemy types. How these enemies are used changes throughout the game, too. In Area 2, all basic kaiju types get upgraded to better models. Later in Area 3, the sub-boss kaiju get upgraded as well, except for the Gladiator. Its upgrade doesn't come until Area 3.

Worker: Small basic ground enemies with low HP and deal low damage.
G-Moler: Medium-sized ground enemies that will usually destroy the city if left alone. Has a powerful headbutt attack that deals a lot of damage if you get hit.
Twintail: Long-range ground enemies equipped with a machine gun and missile launchers. Will rarely move from where they spawn.
Drum Mine: Enemy ground type that charges at whatever ground unit is closest to them and prepares to explode. It can be destroyed or punched away to deal damage to other ground kaiju if it's preparing to explode. The explosion will not damage your Sentinels if you destroy them before they explode.
APSOS: A support ground kaiju with a distinctive fan-like appearance. It can give other kaiju shields and health.
Hi-Quad: Large quadruped ground kaiju equipped with missiles and a powerful laser. Avoid the laser at all costs as it deals massive damage.
Hunter: Basic aerial kaiju that behave like the Worker kaiju.
Drillflies: Aerial kaiju equipped with missiles and drills for attacking the terminal.
Sub-boss Kaiju: These enemies first appear as bosses before becoming regularly appearing kaiju.
Terra Carrier: Large aerial kaiju equipped with large bombs, missiles and Hunters in its cargo bay.
RPF: Large ground kaiju equipped with a machine gun and is able to produce multiple kaiju types out of its body. Later models will come equipped with missiles.
Gladiator: Kaiju-controlled first-generation Sentinels with the same basic skills. They also come equipped with composite ceramic armour which nullifies low damage attacks that do not pierce armour.

In the Switch version, some balance has been changed. It's worth noting thereofre that on Switch, armour-piercing attacks do not pierce through the composite ceramic armour. You will need to hit them with weapons that deal over 500 base damage, almost all of which will not pierce armour.

Battle Preparation Tips:

I would highly recommend upgrading the terminal first before anything else. This is because the terminal is the only thing that's always available in every battle unlike the pilots themselves. Upgrade the meta system to level 10 as soon as possible and upgrade your chip multiplier as high as it will go. The chip multiplier will exponentially increase the amount of Meta-Chips you receive from combat, and you will be able to buy and upgrade more things sooner. Don't worry about falling behind in upgrading your Sentinels' skills; the default skills you have are sufficient to make it through the first area. If you are feeling a bit of pressure, feel free to buy more skills for your pilot to increase your versatility or upgrade your default skills.
Since Remembrance segments reward you with Meta-Chips, I would recommend doing as much of Remembrance as you can before diving into Destruction.
When you unlock the Sentinel Upgrades, don't focus on upgrading much. I find the chip requirement to upgrade anything in that screen is far too high to be effective. It's better to focus on upgrading the armaments your Sentinels have since those noticeably increase the effectiveness of your skills. The only thing I would recommend upgrading on that screen is the Neurolink, and only upgrade it to +2. By reaching +2 on Neurolink, your pilots will be able to take part in 3 battles instead of 2 before reaching Brain Overload.
If you want to get all of the bonus objectives but don't want to give up your consecutive battle multiplier by recovering, go back and complete Area 1 Wave 1's fight to get the pilot that you need back.
I would recommend completing as much of Remembrance mode as you can before diving into a new Area. The start of each new area is a difficulty spike, so make sure your team is ready for the next challenge.

Battle Tips:

You will usually have some time to prepare for the kaiju when the battle first begins. Spend this time by placing down your Sentry Guns and launching Interceptors. Move your first-generation Sentinels towards the kaiju's landing points if the wave isn't all aerial enemies.
Use your Meta-Skills if you run into trouble. The Phase Plasma EMP is the only Meta-Skill you start off with, but it's one of the best in the game for its utility.
You can enhance your terminal mid-battle. If you haven't upgraded your Meta-Skill uses yet, and find you need a second one, you can go into the terminal menu by pressing left or right on the D-pad when you bring up the Meta-Skill menu by pressing Triangle/X.
Back attacks on enemies will inflict 50% more damage so try and get it whenever possible. Fourth generation Sentinels can get guaranteed back attacks with their Leg Spike skill as long as you position them correctly.
Try and remember where your pilots are on the map and what the situation around them is like after they finish an attack. If they were under attack by an enemy, and you're not confident you can destroy it in time, you should consider giving them a shield from either a fourth-generation pilot or using the Meta-Skill Team Barrier.
Make use of the unique skills of your Sentinel pilots. Forced Cooling Devices and Hyper Condensers can help change the playstyle of your Sentinels.
On Switch, all pilots will have new abilities that make them stand out. Pretty much all of them are worth using for assistance in dealing with a variety of situations.
Your EP does not fully recover after every fight. If you find a pilot is low on EP but the battle looks like it will be over soon, use Defend on them to recover some EP for the next fight.