What are you playing?

[rabidtictac]

I never made an effort to get into older armored core games. I loved AC4 and I played a little of For Answer, but I tried V when it came out and hated it. I've played AC1 and Silent Line, but never beyond a few missions. I was thinking of jumping into AC3 and then carrying over some data to do a complete run of Silent Line. These games are pretty brutal, but I figured out a way to have completely custom controls, which should help.

From is a pretty weird company. People look back on them now and act like everything they touch is gold, but they made a lot of really strange games back in the day.

[AngrySpoonySnob]

Eador. Masters of the Broken World is free on steam so Im downloading that atm, might try it this weekend.

[mad bum]

Satellite reign is free on humble also

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

From is a pretty weird company. People look back on them now and act like everything they touch is gold, but they made a lot of really strange games back in the day.

At least they're always good for a surprise.

And I'm done with AC3. All parts, all OP/Intensify upgrades. Just missing 1% from full completion because I think there's a mission out there with an AC I have yet to kill, but fuuuuck that noise. Onto Silent Line then, where I will probably try to go through the arena with the most dakka built I can make.

And again, fighting ACs during missions is a bitch. The areas can get cramped and those fuckers always seem to have an easier time keeping a lock on you than you have. The controls are just clunky enough that you feel like they're getting in the way. I'd probably tear them a new one if my AC controlled more like the Wing Diver of EDF 2025.

(And that large floating MT boss goes down relatively quickly if you pick the heaviest rockets. The trick is not getting raped by all the explosions coming your way.)

Eador. Masters of the Broken World is free on steam so Im downloading that atm, might try it this weekend.

I think I own the original 2D sprite version of the game. Not bad if you're into HoMM or Age of Wonders.

[rabidtictac]

Voice, how the hell did you do the stupid cargo ship mission? I've been following the old AC perfectionist standby of save scumming most missions because I don't like paying recovery fees, but this mission is a pain in the ass. I looked at a wiki and the directions for where to go look about 2 pages long.

Also the first time I found the spider boss I got raped to fuck, so I went to do a different mission and now that mission is gone lel. Dammit AC3, at least let me lock on to spiders.

I'm using two AC types. One has a bazooka, left hand mortar and shoulder rocket launcher with tank treads and antimissiles. I use that for the arena.

The other is a bipedal heavy mech with a rifle, left hand mortar and rockets that I use for missions. Since the game is about ravens, the two shitty mechs are named karasu and corvid.

Barchetta fucking shrekt me in the arena. Grenade launchers are no joke.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

The cargo ship mission basically requires you to have a head with mapping function, since it's so easy to get lost. There are also some dead ends, just to fuck with you. I especially like the first dead end right at the start when you first drop all the way down. Without a map you may not realize that the actual path is slightly above the dead end path.
Also attacking the bots and security systems is a waste of time. Just zip past them.

The second half of the mission is a bit easier since that one is all on the same layer (instead of having the vertical shenanigans from the first half).

Silent Line also has that thing where beating one mission makes others unavailable until the postgame where everything's unlocked. Fun times.

I'm mainly using bipeds, though I'll also settle for reverse-joints if I need specific energy drain / weight capacity combinations I can't find elsewhere. My mission AC mostly uses energy rifles and blades so I don't have to pay for ammo (and I've recently been tinkering with weapon pods, since they seem to shred those slow MTs pretty fast), while my arena AC uses a machine gun. My third AC slot is reserved for whenever I need something specialized (like a hover AC for water missions, or a quad/tank AC for when I need to bring out massive firepower.)

In Silent Line, I've decided to spice up my arena game by giving my machine gun AC support missile extensions with a fast missile launcher (specifically that medium one who only locks on once, but shoots two missiles; I just want to blow through my extensions ASAP). Pretty fun as long as my enemy doesn't have decoys.

And it's easy to ignore your radiator until you run into an arena opponent who is all about heat weapons.

[FuckSploony]

I absolutely loved Armored Core 2,3 and 4. I havent had the chance to play the others.

Unlocked everything and beat down everyone. It was awesome.

My favorite weapon by far is the OGOTO grenade launcher (dont remember if they changed names in other games, its basically the grenade launcher that folds itselfs), great damage, fires pretty fast, good capacity, tons of heat, etc.

For missiles, at least in AC2 it was the multi-missile, launch one and it breaks in 4. The normal missile launchers are fine as long as you have a part that allows you to lock on many, the problem is when you run into an enemy with tons of anti missiles.

The mounted chaingun is also awesome in each of those games, and of course, the KARASAWA, since its pretty much the best energy hand weapon. But sometimes using a hand-grenade launcher is also fine, as long as you have an auto wwapon to fall back in your shoulder.

[rabidtictac]

The cargo ship mission basically requires you to have a head with mapping function, since it's so easy to get lost. There are also some dead ends, just to fuck with you. I especially like the first dead end right at the start when you first drop all the way down. Without a map you may not realize that the actual path is slightly above the dead end path.
Also attacking the bots and security systems is a waste of time. Just zip past them.

The second half of the mission is a bit easier since that one is all on the same layer (instead of having the vertical shenanigans from the first half).

Silent Line also has that thing where beating one mission makes others unavailable until the postgame where everything's unlocked. Fun times.

I'm mainly using bipeds, though I'll also settle for reverse-joints if I need specific energy drain / weight capacity combinations I can't find elsewhere. My mission AC mostly uses energy rifles and blades so I don't have to pay for ammo (and I've recently been tinkering with weapon pods, since they seem to shred those slow MTs pretty fast), while my arena AC uses a machine gun. My third AC slot is reserved for whenever I need something specialized (like a hover AC for water missions, or a quad/tank AC for when I need to bring out massive firepower.)

In Silent Line, I've decided to spice up my arena game by giving my machine gun AC support missile extensions with a fast missile launcher (specifically that medium one who only locks on once, but shoots two missiles; I just want to blow through my extensions ASAP). Pretty fun as long as my enemy doesn't have decoys.

And it's easy to ignore your radiator until you run into an arena opponent who is all about heat weapons.

Thanks. I think I tapped out of that cargo ship mission. I went all the way down, got the item, then made it ALMOST all the way back out but ran out of time 2 or so jumps from the exit. Fuck my life. If I did reload my save, I'll try it again. I have a radar head but never thought about needing a mapping head. I'm using mostly Crest parts.

I might start a new file so I can do things right this time, but we'll see. I've noticed heat weapons are great in the arena but shitty in missions thanks to the expense. There's some core type that has a turret thing and I've seen people use that to save money/kill trash mobs.

I played a LOT of Armored Core 4 but, like I said, I just never got the hang of the older games. My main AC4 file has probably 5-8 different mech designs that are all mission/arena viable. But the companies and parts are all so different in AC4 from the older games.

I finally have found a control scheme I like in AC3 though. Swapping strafe with turn on the controller helps a ton.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

That control scheme sounds promising. Might try that one out.

And at least you know now the rough layout of the ship. The next try should work out better.

You don't really have to restart from scratch to do it "right". Once you've beaten the storyline you'll have access to all the missions, which is also the first time you can actually farm money.
(Only downside is that although bonus missions you can access via other missions are directly available like any other mission, you won't get any special reward they might offer unless you've accessed them through their parent mission. Then again you won't know about those rewards without a walkthrough, anyways.)

The turret cores are called EOs (Exceed Orbit) and I've used them a lot. They're especially handy because they actually regenerate their ammo supply, which can get handy during lengthier missions. The main issue with them is that some models will drain your energy fast, and the auto-aiming can be a bit stupid (if the next enemy is a corridor or two away from you, they'll just fire at the wall). Also you basically have to combine them with decoys or anti-missile extensions because only the normal Over Boost cores have that built-in.
(I think Silent Line or a later game introduced EOs firing solid projectiles, which won't drain your energy supply, but won't regenerate their ammo for obvious reasons)

My favorite weapon by far is the OGOTO grenade launcher (dont remember if they changed names in other games, its basically the grenade launcher that folds itselfs), great damage, fires pretty fast, good capacity, tons of heat, etc.

For missiles, at least in AC2 it was the multi-missile, launch one and it breaks in 4. The normal missile launchers are fine as long as you have a part that allows you to lock on many, the problem is when you run into an enemy with tons of anti missiles.

The mounted chaingun is also awesome in each of those games, and of course, the KARASAWA, since its pretty much the best energy hand weapon. But sometimes using a hand-grenade launcher is also fine, as long as you have an auto wwapon to fall back in your shoulder.

Folding grenade launcher sounds like a back unit. Haven't experimented with either type of grenade launcher, though. Might wanna try that out in the arena.

The Karasawa is really nice, but non-heavy bipeds might find themselves not able to carry anything in addition to it because of its weight (especially if you also equip the Moonlight, AC3's best arm blade), and 50 shots might not be enough for some missions. I find myself resorting to the XCB/75 (which has half the power, but +50% more ammo), especially early on (the Karasawa is a lot more expensive and will raise your repair costs more).

The multi missile sounds familiar, but I haven't tried it. Combined with my favorite support missiles, this would allow me to effectively fire 12 missiles with a single lock-on...

[rabidtictac]

That control scheme sounds promising. Might try that one out.

And at least you know now the rough layout of the ship. The next try should work out better.

You don't really have to restart from scratch to do it "right". Once you've beaten the storyline you'll have access to all the missions, which is also the first time you can actually farm money.
(Only downside is that although bonus missions you can access via other missions are directly available like any other mission, you won't get any special reward they might offer unless you've accessed them through their parent mission. Then again you won't know about those rewards without a walkthrough, anyways.)

The turret cores are called EOs (Exceed Orbit) and I've used them a lot. They're especially handy because they actually regenerate their ammo supply, which can get handy during lengthier missions. The main issue with them is that some models will drain your energy fast, and the auto-aiming can be a bit stupid (if the next enemy is a corridor or two away from you, they'll just fire at the wall). Also you basically have to combine them with decoys or anti-missile extensions because only the normal Over Boost cores have that built-in.
(I think Silent Line or a later game introduced EOs firing solid projectiles, which won't drain your energy supply, but won't regenerate their ammo for obvious reasons)

The Karasawa is really nice, but non-heavy bipeds might find themselves not able to carry anything in addition to it because of its weight (especially if you also equip the Moonlight, AC3's best arm blade), and 50 shots might not be enough for some missions. I find myself resorting to the XCB/75 (which has half the power, but +50% more ammo), especially early on (the Karasawa is a lot more expensive and will raise your repair costs more).

The multi missile sounds familiar, but I haven't tried it. Combined with my favorite support missiles, this would allow me to effectively fire 12 missiles with a single lock-on...

Yeah, I'm addicted to the EO cores now. It's a turret that costs me nothing and kills trash mobs while I do something else. It's beautiful. Especially for those "retrieve x" missions where the game throws thousands of shitty trash mobs at you to drain your health and get in your way (literally, they stand in front of hallways you need to go down.)

I don't use missile launchers, fuck them. I was using the rockets as an "oh shit" no ammo weapon for if I need a few more shots to kill something, but now I'm using a chain gun. There's a "balanced" SMG that also kicks ass. I used that to beat that fucking Claizen asshole. I tried the flamethrower but the range is too low. I'm still using the mortar in my off hand because I don't really like blades.

I've been resisting the urge to just e rank any mission that annoys me. I know beating the game gives you level select, but I'm trying to at least make a good attempt at each mission in the main story progression. I'll do secret parts when I have level select.

I think my ultimate aim will be a hover legs energy build with EO turret and laser weapons. Hover legs move super fast. But right now I have a heavy biped build for long "kill shit" missions, and a mid biped energy build for "go here and kill shit" missions.

Edit: Goddammit "defend crest hq" you bastards, From.