Mega Man 11 will stick to the classic formula of Eight Robot Masters to tackle in any order the player wants.
The user interface stays clean and similar to that of the original series with a life bar and a weapon energy bar. There is one new major addition that seems to be an emphasis in the game and that is the Gears section of the user interface. When activated, the gears will give Mega Man a temporary new ability; the blue gear seems to give him a speed boost, whilst the red gear gives Mega Man a circular area-of-effect attack that covers a large portion of the screen. The large gear appears to be a brand new ultimate or super type ability that allows Mega Man to fire fully charged shots as fast as the normal Mega Buster.
The Japanese subtitle for Mega Man 11 is ‘Gears of Fate’, revealing the importance of these gear abilities in the gameplay and story of Mega Man 11.
Mega Man can switch between Special Weapons in a brand new weapon wheel at the flick of an analog stick, which changes the colour of the weapon energy bar to suit the selected weapon. Instead of just changing Mega Man’s colours, all Special Weapons will now also change Mega Man’s form with the Stone Special Weapon giving him a bigger Hellboy looking fist and new helmet. The Stone Special ability summons four falling stone blocks in front of Mega Man; they can be charged to increase the size and strength of the stone blocks making it one of the best stone abilities in a Mega Man game.
Another Special Weapon was briefly revealed; the weapon gives Mega Man a spiked jack hammer arm which deals damage to enemies and also allows Mega Man to dash mid-air. One of the core design philosophies of Mega Man 11 is to give Special Weapons multiple uses.
The items available in Mega Man 11 currently consist of the classic Extra Lives, Weapon Energy Refill Tanks, Small Life Energy Refill (2 bars), E Tanks and bolts, which may be used for upgrades, E Tanks, Lives, abilities in a shop. The bolts may allow Mega Man to buy new costumes as well, such as the Star Force costume. There are also Gears which can be picked up but their use is unclear right now.