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Oh, goodness. Another Armored Core LP...except this one is going quite in-depth! You certainly are blowing through this. I like this, but you should really consider opening up the floor to customization requests. Maybe not specific parts, but archetypes (heavy firepower and armor, lightweight, quadruped, etc). We all got our own preferred style, but then variety...well, I guess there's always Master of Arena for that, eh?  I love these games. I've played nearly all of them, and own half of them. I find it very interesting to see other players' approach to these games. For example, I'd never think of changing from the default controls, and when they first introduced the dual-stick scheme I was almost totally lost. I recognize the value of energy weapons, but I lean on the starting Rifle for...pretty much the entire game. It is a very reliable gun. I'm also a fan of Rockets, because aiming without a lock is a valuable skill if your weapon's range exceeds your FCS range. They are absolutely devastating and I find it depressing that people are so against them because they can't lock-on. You can setup a blade strike by blasting the target with a rocket, slashing them, and then rocketing them again after the slash. You can stunlock a whole lot of ACs this way, especially if you're using Middle Rockets.  Another interesting quirk is that, for inexplicable reasons, you deal more damage with a laserblade while airborne. Some things I feel like noting, however. That starting AC itself isn't garbage like many players expect. Unless you're talking about the Generator, Booster, and FCS, each part that makes up the default "starter" AC is solid in their own way, and I can back them up if you  . I've completed this game only ever upgrading the Generator, FCS, Booster, and weapon-changes, without Plus...so it really isn't that bad.On the mission "Rescue Survey Team", every MT you destroy grants bonus credits during the income/expense report. I almost always carry a chain gun for that mission, 3 rounds is enough to kill them if my memory serves, and the reward per MT far outstrips the ammunition costs. The part from Guard Factory Entrance, is the best overall booster in the game. The part from Secret Factory Recon is a middle-of-the-road Small Missile launcher, which has relatively light-weight going for it Clearly, you must throw in with Chrome. I'd have a snarky comment here as to why, but it's spoilers.
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Jun 3, 2014 06:53
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I'm a bit sad that you didn't pick up Attack Urban Center. That mission is a real kick in the balls for anyone who's not prepared (though you deserve it for being a rampaging psycho, I guess.)
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Jun 3, 2014 10:34
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I don't think you mentioned it in the posts, but the missions "Remove Gun Emplacement" and the second "Eliminate Squatters" mission were included as part of the Armored Core demo that was on the original PlayStation demo disc. Just a fun bit of trivia if you wanted to go back and include it in the previous updates. This was a lot of people's first and, in a lot of cases, only experience with an Armored Core game. I know it was where I first found the franchise. Also, for the love of god Arclight, do not let the thread goad you into letting it build its own AC. You're going to end up with a hot pink light weight armed with a hand gun and a heavy plasma cannon that's too heavy/too energy draining to properly equip and codenamed "Dongs". I guarantee it. One last fun fact: the AC on the cover of the game (named Jetter when it turns up in Last Raven's VR arena) is dual-wielding a pair of machine guns. This isn't going to possible to do in-game until Silent Line, and even then they don't do it properly until Nexus. Thus beginning From Software's largely unbroken streak of cover/opening cinematic ACs doing things that are impossible to replicate in-game and actually being kind of terrible unbalanced builds when you go to replicate them yourself. I know one of the cover ACs is a notorious in-game shitbox of a build, I just can't remember which one exactly.
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Jun 3, 2014 11:17
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Yeah, I'm definitely gonna reiterate that I'm not gonna take customization requests for the AC, especially in this game, Project Phantasma, and Master of Arena. I have very specific approaches to how I beat these games that I'd like to stick with what I know. It's what any Raven would do.Seiren posted:Some things I feel like noting, however. That starting AC itself isn't garbage like many players expect. Unless you're talking about the Generator, Booster, and FCS, each part that makes up the default "starter" AC is solid in their own way, and I can back them up if you And I did not know that about the MTs in Rescue Survey Team. I'll have to keep that in mind in the future. Ryas posted:I'm a bit sad that you didn't pick up Attack Urban Center. That mission is a real kick in the balls for anyone who's not prepared (though you deserve it for being a rampaging psycho, I guess.) nine-gear crow posted:I don't think you mentioned it in the posts, but the missions "Remove Gun Emplacement" and the second "Eliminate Squatters" mission were included as part of the Armored Core demo that was on the original PlayStation demo disc. Just a fun bit of trivia if you wanted to go back and include it in the previous updates. This was a lot of people's first and, in a lot of cases, only experience with an Armored Core game. I know it was where I first found the franchise. Anyway, more than 24 hours left, and we're already tied on which megacorp to support. Keep the votes coming in, people.
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Jun 3, 2014 18:11
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Isn't mission selection going to be a moot point in the end, or is AC1 not like the others where you can play the missions that skipped after you beat it? Voting Murakumo either way.
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Jun 3, 2014 18:48
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I'm pretty sure the other missions will be covered at some point. Right now it's just down to deciding what comes first.
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Jun 3, 2014 18:58
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I'm still waiting for someone to LP Last Raven, that game had so many branching paths and such a high degree of difficulty that I only got like two or three of the shittier endings.
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Jun 4, 2014 04:05
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The Casualty posted:I'm still waiting for someone to LP Last Raven, that game had so many branching paths and such a high degree of difficulty that I only got like two or three of the shittier endings.
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Jun 4, 2014 04:35
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ArclightBorealis posted:I have very specific approaches to how I beat these games that I'd like to stick with what I know. It's what any Raven would do. Though the real stand-out Ravens are those who adapt to, and master ever-changing configurations. It's alright though, you don't need to change the way you play for quote:I can't stand to have an energy meter with such a high redzone, especially for how I play with using energy weapons and boost hopping all over the place. quote:And I did not know that about the MTs in Rescue Survey Team. I'll have to keep that in mind in the future. quote:Yeah, it was a gently caress up on my part because I didn't expect it to disappear after doing Guard Freight Train. Not every mission stays available indefinitely, so you gotta pick your battles carefully. And yeah, it is a big kick in the balls, especially if your expenses don't cover the income for all the poo poo you destroy. quote:Anyway, more than 24 hours left, and we're already tied on which megacorp to support. Keep the votes coming in, people.
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Jun 4, 2014 05:52
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Seiren posted:Destroying -that- should easily make up a substantial portion of your pay, but they are a dirty cheater who has a stupidly-fast-firing slug gun not normally available until Project Phantasma.Aside from that, now you're absolutely going to need a flawless run if you even want to have a chance at the #1 Ranking. Even then, it's a chancy proposition. I've had games with 100% success rates still end up in Rank #2 or #3 because certain ranking Ravens were still alive at the end. Apparently, there's a bug involving the "Destroy Plane Computer" mission where if the AC is left alone, you'll miss out on a single percent, even if you go back to it later. The mission also has to be done when it's available normally.
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Jun 4, 2014 12:54
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Murakumo, and do Chrome highlights in a bonus update. Also, FFS put some camo on that thing, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
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Jun 4, 2014 15:21
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nine-gear crow posted:One last fun fact: the AC on the cover of the game (named Jetter when it turns up in Last Raven's VR arena) is dual-wielding a pair of machine guns. This isn't going to possible to do in-game until Silent Line, and even then they don't do it properly until Nexus. Thus beginning From Software's largely unbroken streak of cover/opening cinematic ACs doing things that are impossible to replicate in-game and actually being kind of terrible unbalanced builds when you go to replicate them yourself. I know I had a hell of a time trying to build the one on the cover of Nexus, and it was a piece of poo poo. On the other hand the machine guns you are referring to from the cover of this game will take you all the way through Nexus. Pierzak posted:Murakumo, and do Chrome highlights in a bonus update. The Codex does not support the action you have suggested. *EDIT* Don't care which Corp we go with either way, they're both incredibly dirty.
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Jun 4, 2014 17:01
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RickVoid posted:He's Cosplaying an Ultramarine.
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Jun 4, 2014 19:14
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Destroy city and that murakumo mission you spoke of are my two favorites. I DEMAND A TANK and Murakumo And grenades. (yes I beat her with a grenade launcher and being a dickbag camping in a corner.)
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Jun 4, 2014 19:15
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Seiren posted:Destroying -that- should easily make up a substantial portion of your pay, but they are a dirty cheater who has a stupidly-fast-firing slug gun not normally available until Project Phantasma.Aside from that, now you're absolutely going to need a flawless run if you even want to have a chance at the #1 Ranking. Even then, it's a chancy proposition. I've had games with 100% success rates still end up in Rank #2 or #3 because certain ranking Ravens were still alive at the end. I started playing through AC1 again and did that mission last night. I got absolutely murdered by that guy. I barely made it out alive (2 digit AP!) and ended up $5k in the hole from my insane repair bill. I didn't feel like reloading so I just went with it. Whatever, I suck, this is known  .
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Jun 4, 2014 19:18
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RickVoid posted:I know I had a hell of a time trying to build the one on the cover of Nexus, and it was a piece of poo poo. On the other hand the machine guns you are referring to from the cover of this game will take you all the way through Nexus. At least paint it red so it'll go fasta.
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Jun 4, 2014 19:31
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I actually like that a lot about the AC universe. There's really no Good Corp and Bad Corp; one might pretend to be nicer but it just means they have better PR and aren't as honest. It makes playing as a completely neutral gently caress all y'all mercenary very fitting.
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Jun 4, 2014 19:48
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Just the other day I was thinking "man, has Armored Core been LPed yet? I should do that." Looks like I got beaten to the punch  The AC series holds a special place in my heart, ever since the Playstation demo disc featuring it. I spent a lot of time playing the original, and countless hours with Masters of Arena; I lucked out as a teenager by having friends who also were bonkers for the series, and more than enough PS1's kicking around to actually do link-cabled multiplayer. Few things are as satisfying as hearing an angry *thud thud* from the room above as you bitch-slap your friend with nothing but rockets and flamethrowers My vote goes for Chrome, because they are just so bold-faced about being total assholes.
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Jun 4, 2014 19:58
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Murakumo because I know what one of a kind enemy you are talking about and it must be seen. It simply must. But man, I only just found this lp now and I'm glad its here. More AC LPs are good things. If I could record AC3, I would be all over LPing that and Silent Line. I played through those two alone about as much as you say you've played through the original trilogy.
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Jun 4, 2014 20:05
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Alright, voting is closed. Looks like we'll be supporting Murakumo for the rest of the game. Time to do some recording this evening.
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Jun 4, 2014 22:33
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Part 4.5: A Choice is Made Directly following from last time, this post has only one mission and is shorter than previous ones, but it is important as it determines the type of missions we’ll be receiving for the rest of the game. And the mission we are going to take is… Secret Factory Recon! Murakumo Millenium won the vote, so we’ll be supporting them. The briefing again so you know what we’re doing this time.  Our intelligence has determined that Chrome has an underground factory in the snowy region of Whiteland. We plan to send our Special Forces to destroy the factory. We are looking for someone to scout out the entrance to the factory in advance of the attack. Your mission is to find the point of entry and destroy the door lock system. There is no particular need to engage the enemy, but we will pay an 800 C bonus per enemy MT destroyed. The main force will attack 6 minutes after you start, so your executing the mission within this time limit is absolutely necessary for the surprise attack to succeed. Due to its nature, this mission will be a night maneuver.  We’ve got six minutes to find the lock, which is more than enough time for finding that, the hidden part, and destroying as many enemies as we can with our KARASAWA. Let’s get to it. Secret Factory Recon   First order of business is to find the secret part in this mission.   This is one you need to be careful with when acquiring because it’s on the edge of the area, and crossing over the red border will forfeit the mission. In the southwest corner past a gun battery is a box. Destroying it reveals the part. We’ll take it and proceed with the main objective.  This mission has nine Tiger Moths and six gun batteries. Obviously destroying them all isn’t a priority, but each kill gives us an 800 credit bonus and getting as many as we can with our limited ammo would be wise.  There’s the lock switch to the factory. All it takes is one shot to destroy it.   And with that, the mission is over, with around 4 minutes to spare. They were quite generous with the time limit on this one.  We didn’t get all the enemies, but 7200 as a bonus more than makes up for the 4095 in expenses for AC repairs. Nothing really lost on this one. Now, Murakumo has sent us a new email, so let’s check it.  The success was all thanks to you. It was a beautiful job. I wish that Chrome would change their tactics, even a little. They are too forceful, don’t you agree? The right leaders are necessary in order for all of humanity to be able to return above-ground. Chrome is not suited for this. A simple congratulation for our work in the last mission. I’m not particularly fond with the tone of the message trying to sound too friendly, but it’s probably better than having to deal with Chrome’s PR. Now, even though we’ve done our one mission for today, we have something else important to cover here in this update. The Ranking system. I originally had a lead in for introducing the Ranking screen by completing the Attack Urban Center mission, but that disappeared after completing the other missions available, and since we won’t be able to access it again until all missions are unlocked after beating the game, well, I might as well explain what it’s about. To describe the original context, the Attack Urban Center mission requires you to go on a rampage in Fortgarden city and you get paid for how much damage you cause, but that’s not the interesting part. In the last minute of the mission, you fight against Losvaize, piloting the AC Valkyrie and is the #2 ranked Raven in the Nest. To put it simply, the fight is loving tough. Not only do you have to deal with Fortgarden City guard before hand, a powerful AC is thrown into the mix, and the mission only ends when you survive the three minutes you are supposed to be active in the area for. But it is possible to defeat Valkyrie if you’re prepared, and it’ll be necessary if you want to be the #1 ranked Raven. Here’s the email you receive after the mission concerning the encounter with Valkyrie (dug up from an old 100% save I have on the side).  This means that sometimes Ravens may fight against each other. This time, you fought against the ranking Raven “Losvaize”. He is one of our top-ranked Ravens. You should consider yourself lucky to have escaped with your life. I’ll be in touch. Even though you can destroy Valkyrie during the mission, the email you get from “R” makes it sound like you survived long enough for the mission to end instead of defeating the AC. I guess FROM figured most people wouldn’t be able to destroy it their first time.   Anyway, this is the ranking Raven leader board, as of the point we are at now in the game. While it only lists the top 10, there are more Ravens that show up as the game continues. And with the exception of three Ravens on the list, you do not fight against these ranked ACs at any point. Obviously you do fight more Ravens during the missions, but they never show up at any point under Ranking. So who are the three ranked ACs we end up facing during the game?  As mentioned before, the first one is Losvaize, and whether or not you defeat him/her in Attack Urban Center will determine whether or not Valkyrie is removed from the leader board and you move up in rank.  The second one is Mizuho Kamui, piloting the Kamui mk. 17. He appears in the mission Destroy Plane Computer, but that’s not likely to come up until post game due to supporting Murakumo. And who’s the third Raven we face? Hustler One. Nine-Ball.  I have nothing to say regarding this particular character, because his time has not come yet. Any Armored Core fan who’s played the hell out of these games will know who he is and what he represents. And if you don’t know why he, or his emblem for that matter, is as significant as he is, you’ll see.  You will loving see... That’s all I wanted to show for this update. We’ll be going through our new set of missions next time, as well as picking up some extra parts for our AC since we have tons of money to spare right now. I’ll be in touch. Edit: I miscounted, there are five Ravens on the leader board you face during missions. The remaining two are Boss Savage, piloting the AC Sledgehammer, and Barutazaru, piloting the AC Fefnir. ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 02:53 on Jun 5, 2014 |
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Jun 5, 2014 01:45
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Hustler One could take out the White Glint with ease. On foot. That's all that needs to be said.
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Jun 5, 2014 02:21
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You missed two Raven fights that show up in the Rankings at some point. Barutazaru and Boss Savage
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Jun 5, 2014 02:21
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There's a reason my username is nine-gear crow. ^^^That's it.
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Jun 5, 2014 02:49
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Singh Long posted:You missed two Raven fights that show up in the Rankings at some point. Barutazaru and Boss Savage
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Jun 5, 2014 02:54
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I may be recalling incorrectly, but when you fight Barutazaru, doesn't he have a 2nd AC with him to "even the odds"? I still can't figure out if it's an AC or just a large, tough MT or something. Also while I'm still under spoilers, kiss the best booster in the game goodbye until post-game! The best small-missile is nowhere near as good. Do you know about the cheats? Specifically, the ones that let you change your pilot-name and the various camera-fuckery (including first-person mode)? I'd be happy to share. Slimnoid posted:Few things are as satisfying as hearing an angry *thud thud* from the room above as you bitch-slap your friend with nothing but rockets and flamethrowers  Rockets are soooo gooood.... A Pleasant Hug fucked around with this message at 05:18 on Jun 5, 2014 |
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Jun 5, 2014 05:14
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Seiren posted:Rockets are soooo gooood.... Confirmed. Rockets + Gameshark + Infinite Ammo Cheat + Spamming the Fire Button = Oddly Satisfying.
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Jun 5, 2014 05:36
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Seiren posted:I may be recalling incorrectly, but when you fight Barutazaru, doesn't he have a 2nd AC with him to "even the odds"? I still can't figure out if it's an AC or just a large, tough MT or something. Also while I'm still under spoilers, kiss the best booster in the game goodbye until post-game! The best small-missile is nowhere near as good. And yes, I know about the cheats and know how to activate them. Not gonna use them though. nine-gear crow posted:Confirmed. Rockets + Gameshark + Infinite Ammo Cheat + Spamming the Fire Button = Oddly Satisfying. A little sneak peak as to what I've got prepared for the next part or two.
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Jun 5, 2014 05:57
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nine-gear crow posted:Confirmed. Rockets + Gameshark + Infinite Ammo Cheat + Spamming the Fire Button = Oddly Satisfying. 
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Jun 5, 2014 12:05
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It's a pity you're not into quads; cruising around blasting everyone with the shoulder-mounted plasma cannon and chaingun is pretty neat. Even moreso with the plasma cannon or tank cannon arms. I beat the nine ball fights my first time through with this build just though sheer firepower. If/when you go on to MoA or Phantasma where they have proper 1-on-1 fights, consider using a lightweight reverse-joint with good boosters, the dual cluster missile launcher part and the quad machinegun arms. This setup puts out so much firepower in such a short time that it will melt a single AC in seconds, but it has so little ammo that you need to make every shot count. Which is easy to do because the arm cannon fire has an extremely high projectile velocity and massive amounts of stun - most enemies will be stunlocked after the first shot if you keep the fire button held down. The Murakumo path ends with the missions to take down the orbital cannon, right? Those were fun.
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Jun 5, 2014 13:33
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Pierzak posted:Good generator + Blow Dryer (is it even in this game?) + Dual Shock + hold fire until dead If the "blow dryer" is the shoulder-mounted plasma cannon that fires green death explosions, it's definitely in this game.
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Jun 5, 2014 16:51
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Polaron posted:If the "blow dryer" is the shoulder-mounted plasma cannon that fires green death explosions, it's definitely in this game.
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Jun 5, 2014 17:40
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Crazy Achmed posted:The Murakumo path ends with the missions to take down the orbital cannon, right? Those were fun. Pierzak posted:Good generator + Blow Dryer (is it even in this game?) + Dual Shock + hold fire until dead
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Jun 5, 2014 23:57
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edit: gently caress me, I misread that somehow. Anyway, didn't MoA introduce blades that came with the projectile trick without using Human Plus? Singh Long fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jun 6, 2014 |
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Jun 6, 2014 01:30
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Part 5: New Missions, New Parts, Slightly New Look We have now entered the second half of Armored Core, the part of the game where the missions we undertake will influence the war between the mega corporations. Don’t be surprised if we still get missions from Chrome now and again. Helping Murakumo with that last mission just gave them an advantage in the war. Now, with the money we’ve been saving up over the last couple updates, I felt it was time to give the AC a nice little upgrade.  As you can see we have new, lighter arms equipped on us to reduce the number of leg weight points, which allows us to have additional weapons beside our trusty KARASAWA (the arms also boosted our AP even slightly higher, up to 9173). These weapons are the LS-3303, the second most powerful energy blade in the game, and the WC-01QL, a back mounted plasma cannon with 80 rounds and has an attack power on par with the KARASAWA. But these weapons and pair of arms aren’t the only things different about our AC, oh no. We’ve now begun to include optional parts.  In keeping with our energy focused build, as well as what I had money left to spend on these parts, I have purchased the SP-SND-K and the SP-E+. The former increases our generator’s energy output, and the latter increases the power of our energy weapons. Note that we have a limited number of slots available for optional parts (12 for our core, as ones with higher AP tend to have fewer slots). But we will have enough room for the modules we need to boost our AC’s performance slightly.  I don’t think I’ve shown this part of the garage before, but the performance menu gives an evaluation of your AC based on various factors which are shown in the image. The overall score is literally all the other scores added together, and what you get determines the grade. Until now we were just “average” but now we are “above average.” If you ask me, this system is kind of lovely, and the grade it gives would’ve been better replaced with a description of what category your AC falls into based on weight, leg type, weapon type, etc. This sort of performance review would remain mostly the same for quite a while, though it does get better in more recent entries in the series.  Anyway, we’ve got the upgrades we can get for our AC; let’s go to the next mission, Guard Wharf Warehouse.  We want you to guard a new type of radar for ACs that we have developed. A prototype model is new stored in a warehouse at the wharf, but for some reason the security system does not function at all. There is a good chance that someone intentionally sabotaged the system. It is probably the work of Chrome agents. You must protect the radar for your mission to succeed. We do not know the enemy’s target, but you must not let them steal or destroy the radar. Do not let anyone near the warehouse until the system is restored. We are counting on you Raven.  Interesting enough, the part we have to protect is technically a hidden part that counts towards our completion percentage. It also means failing the mission if we take it for ourselves, loving up our win/loss ratio. What do you think I’m going to do? Guard Wharf Warehouse  Yeah, we’re gonna be doing as the job says and get paid. It’d be kind of a dick move to do it at this point considering we just helped Murakumo with their attack on the Factory last mission.  The enemies come in three waves. The first wave consists of five Firebrands, second wave has two Firebrands and one Lightning, and the last wave has three Lightnings. Lightning MTs are actually quite a bit taller than an AC, but of course their firepower just doesn’t compare to ours.  Interestingly enough, even though this is a mission where you’re supposed to guard something, the enemies seem more interested in taking you out than the target you’re protecting first. Oh well, I’m not complaining, doesn’t mean I have to worry as much about failing.  Hmm, par for the course at this point.  No time for any shopping or AC modification, let’s start the next mission, Stop Gang “Dark Soul.”  The gang “Dark Soul” broke into our property at Heavensrock, stole several tanks and fled. Since they stole tanks, we cannot leave them alone. Go and defeat them as soon as possible. Judging from their direction of escape, they seem to be hiding in the Zahm Desert. In that area many mines remain, left from the war. Be very careful. Note that your pay for this mission is not cash but AC parts.  Yep, another mission where parts are the reward instead of money. Still isn’t anything we can’t handle. Stop Gang “Dark Soul”   A Barracuda drops us high above the battle zone, and while I’m still always amused/slightly annoyed by it getting shot at every time, diving into battle dodging enemy fire is rather exhilarating.  You know what’s great about land mines? Enemies will sometimes save you the trouble and blow themselves up out of stupidity.   And that’s that. Simple, yet fun mission. Anyway, the part we obtained for completing that mission was the SP-AXL, an optional part that increases the speed at which our weapons lock on to enemies. It’s nice, but only really useful if your AC uses weapons with relatively slow lock on speeds like missiles. I sell the part for some extra money and buy the SP-EH, an optional part that increases the rate at which energy weapons fire. Given our AC load out, I don’t think I need to explain why that’s important.  Anyway, next mission on the agenda, Destroy Plus Escapee.  A subject from the “Plus” next-generation experiments has escaped from the lab. We cannot divulge any details, but a certain experiment seems to have adversely affected the mind of the subject. An eye witness said that the subject is completely deranged. An ex-Raven, he ran amuck with his AC in the city, mowed down a Guard detachment and ran away above ground. We found him in an abandoned skyscraper in the old city. If we leave the situation as is, we don’t know when he will start running amuck again. Go to the skyscraper now and destroy him and his AC. We regret having to resort to such measures, but there is nothing we can do. The footing is very poor at the site, so if you enter into combat, be very careful not to fall. When he escaped, he took a prototype AC part with him. You don’t have to return the AC part. If you find it, it’s yours. We are counting on you.  This is the lowest paying mission in the entire game. But you can get a huge amount of money out of the hidden part in this mission, which Murakumo was kind enough to point out to us. Destroy Plus Escapee   The hidden part in this mission is right below us on a ledge. Back off of the elevator at the start, and grab the part. It’s very easy to spot.  Now, the briefing for the mission said this escapee was an ex-Raven piloting an AC. The former is true, but the latter isn’t exactly correct. To be specific, it is a General Purpose Armored Core model called the Heat Wave. GP-ACs are designed as a sort of compromise between the easy to produce MTs and expensive to maintain ACs. They’re definitely tougher than a regular MT, and can be pretty fast.  We defeat the escapee, but not before he gives us a final message that is incomprehensible. Even weirder is that the audio for it continues AFTER the GP-AC has exploded and killed the pilot. Odd.  A little over half of the promised reward due to expenses. But we’ll be making A LOT more money quickly after selling a particular item. But first, email!  For this reason, it almost certainly has some extremely unstable side effects. We cannot be sure that this kind of incident has not happened in the past. Yes, I am referring to “that man”. I’ll be in touch. Yep, it’s basically what we already described about Human PLUS in an EX Part. Nothing else really enlightening. Now then, about that part we acquired.  The GBG-XR is the heaviest generator we got, but also has the highest maximum charge out of all generators in the game. Energy Output is nearly 2000 points less than our previous one, but as you can see we are still nowhere near that limit. Redzone is slightly higher by a few hundred points, but it’s still an acceptable threshold. We’ll be using this from here on out.  Since we have a new generator, I sell the previous one for a hefty sum, and use the money from that to buy two new optional parts, the SP-S/SCR and SP-E/SCR. The former reduces shell damage and the latter reduces energy damage to the AC. And this leaves us with three slots left, and we’ll find a way to fill those up pretty soon.  Now, on to the next mission, Exterminate Organisms.  This is the Gal City Guard. Our city is now occupied by unknown giant organisms. I don’t even know if “organism” is right, but I’ve never seen anything like ‘em before. The things are extremely fierce and attack anything that moves. Our citizens have suffered many casualties from the animal horde. We have no way of fighting back. A biological analysis of their behavior patterns shows a social structure much like that of ants or bees. There must be a “queen” somewhere that directs the swarm. Investigators found an unfamiliar hole in a wall in the office district, so this might be the beast’s nest. Your mission is to find and destroy the “queen”. If you can take out the leader, the swarm will become disorganized and we can take it from there. We are counting on you.  Time to go on a bug hunt! Exterminate Organisms  These bugs are unique in that you can’t lock on to them unless you have a bio sensor equipped, which our HD-ONE already has covered.  This level has a lot of branching paths that lead to dead ends, though some of these lead to spawn points where the bugs come out of. The enemies will continually respawn, and because we get a credit bonus for each one killed, you can farm a lot of these fuckers and earn way more than you would doing the minimum objective. Also, because of the amount of ammo at my disposal and with so many enemies, this is the first mission where my back mounted plasma cannon gets some use.  DIE! EAT PLASMA YOU LITTLE FUCKERS!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!! BURN! BUUURRRN!!!! Ah, that felt good. Let’s continue on.   We arrive at the room where the queen is, but before killing her, there is a hidden AC part along the edges of the room. Grab it first, then kill the queen and complete the mission.  Yep, lot of money made this time. Because of this new development, you’d probably expect there to be an email explaining what’s going on. Well there is, courtesy of our good friend “R.”  You may already have noticed this yourself, but those things were in no way organisms. They are undeniably weapons that are disguised as organisms. From the look of things, it appears that this outbreak was really a field exercise to test a new weapon. Such large-scale testing could only have been done by Murakumo or Chrome, so one of the two must have been behind it. Regardless of which it was, I feel that it will not be long before we see the confrontation between the two come to a head. I’ll be in touch. So it’s one of the two mega corporations in this war that was responsible for releasing these “organisms,” huh… I’ll let you all take a guess as to who was responsible. Anyway, that wasn’t the only message we got in our inbox.  WM-L201 Powerful large missiles fired singly. 46200 C WC-LN350 Linear gun for the shoulder. Burst-fire type weapon emphasizing firepower over number of shots. 41800 C WC-XC8000 Energy weapon. Fires laser beams. 78700 C Unfortunately, none of these parts are ones we will use. The energy weapon in particular is too heavy for us to equip at this point, even if it’s to replace the shoulder cannon we have now.  But we will go to the shop to sell the FCS we acquired in the last mission. I also buy the SP-ABS and repurchase the SP-AXL that I sold a few missions ago. With those two installed, now all my optional part slots are filled up.  Alright then, last mission for this part, Repulse Enemy Attack.  Recently, our transport blimps have been attacked one after another. We don’t know what they want, but the blimp is always shot down so the target is probably not the payload. Perhaps they are simply intending to interrupt our operations at someone’s instigation. We could provide full-scale escorts, but this risks marring our reputation. These incidents have not gotten out to the public, so we want you to ride secretly in the blimp and repulse the attacking group. Note that we expect the battle to be fought on the blimp, so be careful not to fall.  It doesn’t say who is responsible, but it’s not hard to imagine Chrome is backing some punks or sending their own out to troll the poo poo out of Murakumo’s air transports. This is also one of the missions that is exclusive to the Murakumo path in the game. Repulse Enemy Attack   This mission I ended up having more trouble with than I would’ve liked. The Welkins move pretty fast, and it’s at this moment that I feel like the size of my aim window is too small for my liking.  Damage does get done to the blimp over time, but you’re pay doesn’t get any deductions because of it. You just need to shoot all these bastards down in order to clear the mission.  Hmm, expenses aren’t too bad, but that mission still took longer than I would’ve preferred. Gotta do something about that FCS. That’s it for today though. More missions and further minor modifications of our AC will continue next time. I’ll be in touch.
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Jun 6, 2014 01:36
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That last mission gave me a lot of trouble when I started out. Honestly, I hate missions like that one. The worst one, IMO, doesn't show up till MoA.
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Jun 6, 2014 01:50
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I love how there's a gang in this game called Dark Soul. I can't help but wonder if From recycled a name or two somewhere in there... Also, I was surprised to see those organic enemies. I understand that they're genetically modified and all that, but I wasn't expecting to see something like them in an Armored Core game. Then again, I'm only familiar with the newer titles, so maybe that kind of thing happened more often? I don't really know.
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Jun 6, 2014 02:03
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Having only gotten into the series with 4A, that energy blade seemed... anemic. Probably because I'm used to being able to take out anything but another
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Jun 6, 2014 02:07
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The Destroy Plus Escapee is pretty creepy, in it's own way. The dangerous terrain set at night, the lack of music, the weird whistling sound when the enemy AC jumps and the garbled warning when he dies...it really helps set a dark tone for the mission overall. Also, if I remember correctly, you can get a second swing out of an energy blade. Hit the blade button just as you're touching down from a jump and you do a quick half-slash, which can quickly be followed by another swing. It's a bit tricky, but similar to how you pull off the same glitch in Symphony of the Night and Megaman X4.
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Jun 6, 2014 02:12
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Dr. Snark posted:I love how there's a gang in this game called Dark Soul. I can't help but wonder if From recycled a name or two somewhere in there... If there's one thing From is good at... outside of making pubbies cry, it's running gags. Hell, From named two of its standalone games after Chrome and Murakumo from this game: Chromehounds and Murakumo: Renegade Mech Pursuit.
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Jun 6, 2014 02:23
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