Foreword: Another Age, another FAQ. Those who have read the AC2
version of this guide have some idea of what to expect,
but for those who haven't, this FAQ is here to explain
all of the weapons as accurately, and in as much detail
as possible.
Most importantly, you'll find a new set of statistics
used for each weapon, (when applicable), some of which
tell you how much damage it does over a certain period
of time, how much damage it is capable of doing given
its ammunition supply, how quickly it drains energy, and
more, plus a short, but descriptive commentary on each
weapon.
Version History: Use this in conjunction with the Table of Contents to
find the newest changes quickly.
12/16/01 Version 1.3 (current)
* Removed "off topic" stuff from Section 4i.
* Rewrote a few part descriptions.
* Corrections...
* Unbelievably minor layout revisions.
* Calculated Power of "Plus Blades" added (section 4a and 4g).
* Calculated Shockwave Power added, and is now considered in all related
parameters (section 4c-4g), which have been re-calculated just for the
occasion.
* Stats "Cluster Power" and "Cluster Heat" added. See Section 3 for
details. Ditto for the other stats above. Likewise, Cluster Shockwave
Power was added to all weapons it applies to.
10/13/01 Version 1.2
* Corrected some info on the Energy Supply Stat (section 2).
* Put some more info about the Orbit Cannon and Orbit Maker.
* More info on the Mine Dispenser added.
* Small reminder added to Inside Parts (section 4c).
* Some more modification notes that aren't part of the given stats.
* Misc. topics (section 4i) updated with a topic on the speed of your ACs.
* Misc. topics (section 4i) updated with a topic on enemy ACs, making
this guide officially no longer spoiler free.
9/18/01 Version 1.1
* Removed the blade length stat explanation left over from the AC2
version, as it was fixed in AA.
* Cleaned up Section 4i, so it now makes mention of the new parts.
* Fixed up some Human Plus comments left over from the previous guide.
* Serious Corrections
* Made a much needed update to Section 6, "guidelines" if you will.
* Added a little note on the Stealth part that I neglected the last time.
9/2/01 Version 1.0
* First release, based on the AC2 version 1.6 of this guide.
* Weapon stats changed to reflect the new part "parameters" in AA.
* New AA weapons profiled.
* Another Age-ized the whole guide.
* Some additions that were also planned for the AC2 version as well.
* Revisions to weapon descriptions, and the intro, some major, some minor.
* Stat "Travel Speed" REMOVED from all weapons for now, but it'll be back.
* New subjects "Human Plus", and "Overweight" added to Section 4i.
Author's Note: Shot Velocity stat still coming. No new developments there.
Table of Contents:
1) Legal Info
2) Statistics Explained
3) Additional Statistics
4) Weapons
4a) Blades
4b) Shields
4c) Inside Parts
4d) Extensions
4e) Right Arm Weapons
4f) Back Weapons
4g) Fixed Arm Weapons
4h) Optional Parts
4i) Miscellaneous (or FAQs yet to be asked, but already answered)
5) Thanks
6) Contact
Legal Info: This guide can be reproduced for placement on any website
that wants it, providing it is kept exactly as it was found. While it
would be nice to let me know you're using it, it isn't mandatory. It is,
however important that you keep it up to date. The newest version will
always be submitted to GameFAQs, so if you're reading this from another
site, go there to make sure you have the right one.
Statistics Explained: These are some parameters found in the game, used
to describe the various parts. In most cases, From's wording on what they
mean is rather obscure and unhelpful. If I put something in this section,
it's because it's very related to weaponry, and/or is explained rather
poorly in the game. I'll make some effort to skip the obvious ones. If
I missed something, drop me a line and I'll put it in with the next
update. These are sorted alphabetically, and the parts they affect will
be listed below.
Accuracy: This determines how well your blade attacks will be guided.
The higher this number is, the more reliably your AC will
target the enemy for sword attacks. Lower numbers can make it
much more difficult to strike with the blade.
{Arm Stat}
Ammo Heat: More or less the single round value of "heat damage". Consider
this number cut in half if you are fighting a Plus that has had
the third operation performed on them. Heat damage is the
amount of heat your opponent takes in when hit. The higher it
is, the closer they will be to overheating, (once they're
overheating, any additional heat damage will make it much
harder to cool off), but of course, the Radiator they have
will work hard to "undo" the heat damage after it's been
inflicted. By "undo", it will lower the AC's temperature, but
not undo any damage to the AC's armor that's already been done
as a result.
{Right Arm Weapon, Arm, Right or Left Back Weapon,
Inside Part, and Extension Stat}
Ammo Price: Corresponds DIRECTLY to Ammo in that one ammo count is worth
whichever value is given.
{Right Arm Weapon, Arm, Right or Left Back Weapon,
Inside Part, and Extension Stat}
Attack Heat: This is how much your opponent heats up when they get hit by
your sword. Think Ammo Heat here, but for your sword. I'm
willing to bet that this also gets multiplied if you get a
nice clean hit.
{Left Arm Weapon Stat}
Attack Power: This is the raw, (usually single round), damage for a
weapon. What you aren't told, however, is how much damage
a single discharge of a spread shot weapon causes. In the
case of such weapons, I will include the full damage of
the weapon if the the entire cluster of shots were to hit.
A good thing to remember is that Laserblades which also
possess this stat will multiply it based on how clean the
hit is, (and are also manipulated by Energy Supply), but
energy projectiles made by a Laserblade have a fixed
power that, while unique to each blade, has its own Attack
Power separate from that of the actual blade.
{Right or Left Arm Weapon, Arm,
Right or Left Back Weapon, Inside Part,
and Extension Stat}
Bio Sensor: A simple yes or no stat. A part either has it or doesn't.
What it does depends on what part has it. In back radars,
it causes Biological Units to appear on radar, as without a
Bio Sensor equipped radar, you must locate them visually.
In a head, a Bio Sensor will allow you to lock on to such
units, and in some cases, it will also have a Bio Sensor
equipped radar, although it seems the only way to find out
is to take it into battle and see.
{Head and Left or Right Back Weapon Stat}
Discharge Heat: I don't think it's important, but it's the heat your
sword or shield generates. The values are all really
small, but I guess they wont help when you're already
overheating.
{Left Arm Weapon Stat}
Energy Supply: This stat comes into play when you equip a sword on your
AC. The higher it is, the more damage the blade you
equip will do.
{Arm Stat}
Lock Speed: This dictates how quickly your missile weapons should lock on
to their targets. The lower this number is, the faster they
are supposed to lock. This isn't really important if you use
single lock missiles, but eight or twelve lock types can
greatly benefit from having a faster their lock speed.
{FCS Stat}
Maximum Lock: The most locks you'll get out of a weapon. Both the weapon
in question, and the FCS you have equipped will determine
this, with the lower number of the two having priority,
since neither can exceed the other.
{Right or Left Back Weapon, Arm, and FCS Stat}
Precision: After a lot of play testing, I have to conclude that this is
strictly the ability of the FCS to compensate for movement.
In this case, the results of my testing have suggested that
a higher number will make your weaponry more accurate against
moving, particularly quick moving targets.
{FCS Stat}
Range: There are a few places where you'll find this stat, and in each,
it has a slightly different meaning. Range with a weapon is the
effective distance it has, or to specify how far the shot will
travel before it fizzles. On a FCS, it's the maximum range from
which you can lock on to your opponent. Even if your FCS has LESS
range than the weapon, you would still be able to hit a target
outside of that range, so long as it does not exceed the range of
your weapon. If the weapon's range is less than the FCS range,
the FCS will revert to the weapon's range, (hint hint guys,
don't equip DOX-ELENA with a handgun).
{Right Arm Weapon, Arm, Right or Left Back Weapon, Inside Part,
Extension, and FCS Stat}
Recoil Control: What recoil? None of the right arm weapons have it.
Despite that, I gave this one a few shots and honestly
noticed no difference whatsoever in how my Right Arm
Weapons performed. Ignore this.
{Arm Stat}
Reload Time: Specifically, the time needed for a reload, given in units
equal to 1/60 of a second. Additionally, for weapons that
function as missiles, it's the time between launches, the
difference being that however many locks you had is the
number of missiles you'll launch before waiting out the
actual reload.
{Right Arm Weapon, Arm, Right or Left Back Weapon,
Inside Part, and Extension Stat}
Reticle Mobility: This appears to be the speed of the reticle when, and
only when you lock on with missiles. The reticle in
question is the little diamond that appears in front of
your AC, and then finds its way to an enemy within the
range of the FCS. Once it reaches its target, the lock
process begins. Higher numbers seem to be good here.
{FCS Stat}
Weapon Lock: The size manipulation of your FCS for using the weapon. In
other words, it will either make your FCS bigger, smaller,
not affect it at all, or make it a tiny bit smaller. Those
parameters are respectively, Wide and Shallow,
Narrow and Deep, Standard, and Special.
{Right Arm Weapon, Arm,
and Right or Left Back Weapon Stat}
Additional Statistics: This section will explain some stats that I use,
but the game does not, stats that I think more accurately describe
weapons. Such stats assume several things, and those things, along with
the actual calculations are given here for your convenience.
One VERY important thing to remember is that ALL stats which are calculated
through a formula involving the number of Ammo a given weapon has will be
affected if any magazines are equipped. For a good estimate, you could
simply take that stat and add the given percentage increase to it, but for
the truly accurate count, you should replace the Ammunition part of the
formula with the increased number of ammo after using the Magazine.
As another note, all stats found here that happen to have the Attack Power
stat involved in their calculation will be given in the same units used by
the game. Same goes for those involving energy drain, ammo price, and the
like.
Yet another important note is that all energy weapons' stats are calculated
as if NONE of the optional parts were equipped, which means they can be
very much affected by them. Keep that in mind when trying to select a
weapon that's right for your AC.
And yet ANOTHER note, (I promise, this is the last one!), Missiles are
compared to MISSILES, and not other weapons. I say this because there
simply is no reliable way to calculate their stats so they could be
compared to weapons that don't require a certain amount of time to lock on.
You'll have to use common sense to do that, and there just isn't a formula
for common sense. I've done as much as I could by supplying a relative
lock speed.
Without any more diversions, here are the statistics, in the order that
you will likely see them.
Plus Blade Rating: This one is hidden in the context of blade weapons'
"Plus Blade" descriptions. Self explanatory, if not
for the whole "Plus" issue which can be confusing to
people who didn't play the original AC2 to find out
what "Plus" was, (skim way down to the bottom of
Section 4-H if you're curious). This rating can be
thought of the attack power unique to each blade's
Plus Blade, which for those who don't know, is quite
independent of the blade itself. The rating is given
in the same units as Attack Power. There may or may
not be a slight margin of error, due to the fact that
I wasn't getting whole numbers and had to round, but
they are all in proportion to each other, and at least
somewhere in the ball park with respect to other
energy weapons.
Shockwave Power: Proving that I really have nothing better to do, I went
and calculated the Attack Power of that pretty little
explosion that some shots make, which adds to the damage
you already took, or manages to hurt you if the shot
didn't quite hit. This is also the damage you will take
if you shoot that weapon at something that's right in
front of you. Interestingly enough, some weapons can
hit twice for this value, depending on how well pinned
the opponent is by the explosion. Likewise, if the shot
itself pushes them far enough, they may not take ANY
Shockwave Damage. Thus, this stat will be given in the
form of a base attack power, along with the _maximum_
number of times it can hit. 99 x2, for example, would
be saying that the Shockwave has an Attack Power of 99,
but it can hit once or twice, depending on whether or
not the impact pushes the opponent too far away. As with
the above stat, allow a narrow margin of error. It's no
more or less narrow than the ones the game expects you
to tolerate in some cases.
Burst Power: The calculation of the full damage of a spreadfire weapon i.e.
the Slug Gun, Shotgun, Bombs (others too). The assumption
is that every round that is part of the burst hits. This stat
is only used on weapons it applies to. It very directly
corresponds to ONE unit of ammunition. Therefore, if a
weapon fires multiple shots at once, but subtracts the same
number from the ammo count, I wont provide this stat, but I
WILL give you a little something called "Cluster Power",
because I seem to think it's absolutely urgent that I make a
distinction between the two scenarios. Amusingly enough, you
may even see both stats for one weapon, (Slug Gun arms come to
mind, possibly a few others).
Cluster Power: Same as Burst Power, but in the cases where multiple units
of ammunition are consumed in that one shot. Most common
for Fixed Arm Weapons and some Dual Back Units which expend
two units of ammunition at once, as well as weapons that
expend more ammunition per shot.
Burst Heat: Same as the Burst Power, but measuring heat.
Cluster Heat: Same as Burst Heat, but in cases where multiple units of
ammunition are consumed in that one shot. Hey, you know,
in retrospect, I probably could have saved space by
saying "Same as Cluster Power, but measuring heat."
Cluster Shockwave Power: Same as Cluster Power, (and Cluster Heat),
measuring only the Shockwave Power.
Potential Damage: This is a simple "Ammo" multiplied by "Attack Power"
formula. Such a calculation does not take missed shots
into consideration, which isn't so much an assumption as
it is a matter of sticking to the actual definition of
"potential". It is the full damage that a weapon will
inflict if every last shot hits its target. Where
applicable, Shockwave Damage is considered, and noted
to the right in parentheses so one can subtract it from
the Potential Damage if one needs to.
Offensive Edge: Not to be confused with Offensive Point, this is the
measurement of damage over time. This stat is obtained
by dividing a time period of 255 by the current weapon's
reload time, then rounding down to the nearest number,
or just ignoring the decimal value, however you choose
to view it. That number is multiplied by the attack
power, or burst power if it applies. It does, of
course, assume that you are constantly firing, and
that no extra space is put in between you and your
target. The stat when given for missiles is given as
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge. Minimum Volley Offensive
Edge will be given too. If a missile only locks once,
you get plain old Offensive Edge. This stat should
really help you when thinking in terms of one on one
combat when enemies could actually survive for a long
period of time, (Mainly ACs). Also, some weapons do
consume more than one round at once, so that is also
taken into consideration when this stat is given.
Shockwave damage is also considered where applicable,
and in those cases, just how much of the Offensive
Edge consists of Shockwave Damage is provided next
to it in parentheses.
Accumulative Heat: The same as Offensive Edge, but given in terms of
Heat as opposed to damage. Because of this, the
calculation is the same as the above, but with Attack
Power, or Burst Power, as the case may be, replaced
with Ammo Heat, and its burst counterpart, Burst Heat.
Just like Offensive Edge, this stat will be given for
the maximum and minimum volley of a multiple lock
missile. Likewise, it does not account for the time
it takes to acquire a lock.
Lasting Power: A simple calculation with "Reload" multiplied by "Ammo" to
come up with a number. The assumption here is that you
never take your finger off the trigger and thus fire as
quickly as possible. The idea of this one is to let you
know how long your weapon lasts even when someone, (namely
me), is desperately trying to empty it as quickly as
possible. Minimum and Maximum Volley versions of this
stat are supplied for multiple lock missiles.
Total Cost: Yet another simple calculation, this time consisting of
"Ammo Price" multiplied by the amount of "Ammo". There is no
assumption here, as it is, much like Potential Damage,
defined as the maximum possible cost.
Energy Consumption: Like Offensive Edge, but it tells you how much
energy you will use in that given time frame. Even
though many energy weapons aren't meant for constant
firing, it complements the Offensive Edge statistic.
It is, of course assumed that the attacking side
does not refrain from firing for as much as a
nanosecond more than they have to.
Weapons: This section is going to be divided into several sub sections.
That will hopefully make it much easier to classify weapons. All Right
Arm, Back Unit, Extension, and Inside Part weapons will have my own
stats listed for them, all derived from the previous section. None of
the stats you could get by pressing Triangle while viewing a part will
be listed outside of the summary, (and in that case, I'd probably try
to use relative terms and not numbers unless it's really important).
Since there are new weapons in Another Age, and some of the old weapons
were modified, I will blatantly label each weapon as such, since some of
these changes are quite dramatic, and require you to look at an old weapon
like a brand new one. I also did revise some notes on old, yet unmodified
weapons, because a new or modified weapon will shed some new light on it,
making a new commentary necessary, although I wont label those, so you'll
need to look for them. A good rule of thumb is that if it makes you think
about it, it probably made me think about it too.
Lastly, _please_ look at Section 3 of this guide for an explanation of
all the statistics I use here.
~~~~~Section 4-A~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blades: There are no more than six blades to use, and each has varying
statistics that I'll spare you of, (really, they're self-explanatory
enough). "Plus Blade" refers to the blade generated when a Level 2 Plus
uses the sword and adds energy to the blade, (by pressing X during the
slash), to create a projectile. The actual blade hits differently from
most projectiles, because it's persistent. This is why it usually does
substantially more damage than projectile weapons that have the same, or
similar Attack Power ratings, (particularly when you score a really good
hit). The Plus blade, and the Irregular Blade are both regular
projectiles, and only do their damage once on impact. I think that's all
that needs to be said for now.
"ELS-2772"
This orange blade is the one you start with. It boasts the longest range
(though honestly not by that much), and the lowest weight. Accordingly,
it is the weakest. I consider it the very bare minimum requirement for
most missions, especially those with many non-enemy targets. Lots of
ammo could be a substitute, but this weapon is very reliable.
-Plus Blade: When used by a Level 2 Plus, this sword can create a small
orange energy plane, which strikes from much farther than the blade
itself, but is also somewhat weaker. Of course, you could use it while
normally slicing somebody for more damage. The plus blade itself has
an Attack Power of 501. If you do not have access to a file from the
original AC2 that had the Human Plus Upgrades, you will not be able to
use this ability.
"ELS-3443"
This green blade trades just a bit of range for more power, and actually
drains less than the above blade when used. It is slightly heavier
though. It is a good choice for missions, having sufficient power to
defeat weaker enemies very easily.
-Plus Blade: When used by a Level 2 Plus, this sword can be used to make
three green energy planes that fire out in a fan trajectory. Used up
close and combined with the blade itself, you could do serious damage
with an apparently weak blade. Each individual plus blade projectile has
an Attack Power of 449, but that's more than made up for by the potential
to connect with two or all three from close range, adding a combined
Attack Power of 1347 to your already decently powerful blade swipe.
"ZLS-T/100"
This triple bladed pink sword has noticeably less range than either of the
above, but offers impressive power, (more than the last two), at the cost
of increased weight and a higher drain in addition to diminished range.
This is a good choice for missions where other ACs are present, more than
the regular missions, but that's not to say there wont be any tough guys to
be fought in those. Overall, a very well rounded sword.
-Plus Blade: A larger, single pink energy plane can be made with this
sword. Its has an Attack Power of 747.
"ELS-7880" *NEW*
This sword has the highest attack power of all, but the worst range of
the regular swords. It comes in at less than half the length of the
ELS-3443, but the raw power it has makes up for it. It weighs in at
nearly double the previous blade's weight, but no matter how you look
at it, it's an excellent deal. The blade emitted is worth noting.
It's a wide, albeit short orange blade, that is generated using two
emitters, which results in a gap in the blade at the bottom of it,
but roughly halfway through, it forms one very powerful blade. Neat,
huh?
-Plus Blade: A very large orange energy plane is made, although it's not
as strong as you'd expect. It has an Attack Power of 652.
"LS-MOONLIGHT"
At a first glance, everybody will drop this sword and scoop up the
ELS-7880. At a first glance, that _seems_ to be the wise thing to do.
It does weigh about half of what this does, and has yet a more
impressive Attack Power. Well, this sword still has a few things to
offer. Firstly, the blade range is more than doubled. Secondly, the
blade itself drains significantly less when used. I think this sword
would still be the best if its weight was around 450 WP, but even still,
it has its uses.
-Plus Blade: A very large blue plane of energy is made with this sword.
It has an attack power of 1358, which makes it the strongest of all Plus
Blades that are generated by a regular sword, so the grand "Slice + Plus
Blade" combo is utterly devastating when performed with this blade, which
has raw power in both forms.
"ZLS-400/SL"
This is the infamous irregular sword. While it has no conventional blade
to strike with, it does have the ability to project energy waves similar
to the Plus Blades created with regular swords. Over the Plus Blade, this
"Irregular Blade" has some advantages. Firstly, it is usable by any pilot.
Secondly, it can project energy waves while the AC wielding it is airborne.
It seems to has an attack power of 1425, as opposed to the 1420 stated in
the game, which makes it a bit stronger than the Moonlight's Plus blade.
~~~~~Section 4-B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shields: There are only four shields to be acquired and/or used. Ideally,
these would be given to ACs with a great amount of Ammo for use in
Missions. Generally, you can afford to be more lenient with ammo in
missions that are guaranteed to have less enemies, such as Arena Missions,
or those pertaining to certain large MTs that need to die, so you don't
have to design your AC to have huge amounts of ammo to use shields in
those situations.
Another thing to think about is the fact that if you have enough of your
Generator's Energy Output left over, you can recover energy WHILE using
the Shields. Be careful though, since movement will stress your Generator
in some cases, enough to actually make the shields start draining. Using
your boosters while shielding will drain under ANY circumstances, and it
will drain FAST. Be careful.
A nice, across the board change to all shields in Another Age is that
they now drain significantly less than before. I still wish there was
some way to inflict damage with them, no matter how meager, but as they
are, they're not too shabby.
"EES-2555"
This cheap little shield emits a yellow energy barrier that shields the
AC's forearm. Coverage is so-so, shell defense is so-so, energy defense
isn't too bad, and the drain is extremely low. Weight itself is also low,
checking in as the lightest of all shields. Good for slow ACs generally,
but usable by quicker ones. If you can't use a better shield for any
reason other than that you want to pack on as many weapons as you can,
you better change this to the ELS-2772 because chances are you'll run out
of ammo and be left defenseless otherwise. In an Arena Mission, this
isn't as much of a risk.
"EES-777LAR"
This shield offers much better shell defense than the previous one, and
a bit more energy defense as well, but drains yet more, and is also a bit
heavier. The shield emitted is blue, and covers roughly the same area as
the previous one. This shield is a much better balanced version of the
2555, so if you can fit it on, do so, but make sure you are more than
covered in the ammo department.
"ZES-500/SU"
Quite possibly the best shield in terms of balance. Both types of defense
are boosted, especially energy defense, but it has the highest drain of
all, yet thankfully not the heaviest weight, even though it's heavier than
the 777LAR. One big bonus is the incredible coverage you get from this
shield. I cannot stress enough though, your need to have a lot of ammo if
you make this commitment. This shield isn't so cool anymore once you're
doomed to die because you don't have anything left to attack with and all
you can do is cower behind its pinkness. Admit it, you thought I was
going to finish the paragraph without telling you what color it was,
didn't you?
"ZES-99-MIRROR"
This shield emits a green barrier that absorbs the most damage, of either
type, making it the absolute most defensive of all. It is 100 WP
heavier, but drains just a bit less than the previous shield. Coverage is
better than usual, but not as good as the 500/SU. I can wholeheartedly
recommend any tank that uses the Moonlight to drop it in favor of this
unless they are truly deprived in the ammo department. The nigh 300 WP
you are given back can be put towards yet more weaponry, hopefully
shutting out any ideas of running out before you're done with your job.
~~~~~Section 4-C~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside Parts: Often overlooked and underestimated, these parts are
generally light, and have varying uses. Believe me when I tell you
nothing is worthless here, (although some push the envelope). Unlike any
other weapons, inside parts always fire backwards. Keep that in mind.
Lastly, some seem to forget that optional parts fire true projectiles,
even if most of them don't travel towards the opponent or deliver damage.
This means that they can be detonated like other projectiles...
"INW-DEC-00A"
Type: Decoy Dispenser
Total Cost: 1680
This part and the next are probably the most widely used. They set decoys
right behind your AC when "fired". This decoy will attract missiles to
it, thus aiding you in your dodging efforts. A single decoy can fool as
many missiles as are launched at it, providing it doesn't blow up, which
it will do after a short time. Its life span is typically long enough to
last against a volley of missiles.
"INW-DEC-M02"
Type: Decoy Dispenser
Total Cost: 2800
More or less the exact same thing as the above, except it has more ammo,
and thus weighs more, and drains more energy. Use this whenever possible
over the previous part, unless you can't take the weight and/or energy
drain.
"INW-EM-RRD"
Type: ECM Maker
Total Cost: 6525
This is an interesting little part. First, it is a bit pricey. Second,
it has limited ammo. It does do a lot of good though. When you launch
one of these, it breaks all locks within a certain range. If you stay
near it, the opponent cannot lock onto you. Like the previous part, it
does blow up after a while, but while it's active, your opponent must
manually aim all of their weapons, or not fire at all, leaving you in a
favorable position.
"INW-DM-PUPPET"
Type: Dummy Maker
Total Cost: 6720
This is good to bring into battle against a human competitor. The CPU
always knows where you are, regardless of what the Radar it may or may
not have tells it. This item fools the Radar by sending out a dummy
which emits a signal just like that of your AC. Enough of these at once
will make you VERY hard to find. Like the previous parts, the Dummy
will blow up after a while.
"INW-DM-MV" *NEW*
Type: Dummy Maker
Total Cost: 5760
As you probably know, the original Dummy Maker just dumped out stationary
dummies, which weren't really that convincing, and were only truly useful
when a large mass of them were dumped in one area making a "forest" of
radar blips to hide behind. Well, these dummies move, so you can more
easily fool your opponent with fewer of them. Rightfully, the number you
can carry dropped by half, while the unit itself weighs more, and each
dummy costs more than the regular type. These things don't last forever,
and will eventually blow up on their own.
Probably the most underestimated part. It dumps six bombs outwards,
which fall to the ground and explode. While it's near impossible to hit
someone behind you with this weapon, it is very easy to hit someone in
front of you if you boost backward along the ground and drop it.
Of course they'll have to be very close, so it's ideal to use against
aggressive, blade happy enemies. Just don't drop them on yourself.
Also, the higher you are when you drop these, the farther apart they will
spread.
A vastly superior version of the previous weapon. It's a bit heavier,
and drains energy, but you get three times the ammo, and a higher
attack power. Usage is the same as the last weapon.
Too expensive. Normally, these are dropped insanely high. If you drop
them while moving backwards, they'll drop lower. Now, in order to let
them damage both the player and enemy, From let the shockwave damage
equal what they listed as the Attack Power, and set the actual Attack
Power to zero. What they didn't count on was the fact that this would
delay the damage. What that means to you is that if you're moving fast
enough, you can clear the radius before the damage can be delivered, and
not get damaged at all. That alone ruins this weapon, which is a shame.
The Back Weapon incarnation from Master of Arena was much better. All
in all, there are much better things to do with that Inside space.
After seeing it in action, I have to say this is one awkward weapon. Yet
again, we have an extremely powerful inside part weapon that's highly
difficult to aim. For starters, it's a spread shot weapon. Add to this
the fact that it fires backwards, just like any other inside part. Now,
get this, it fires diagonally UPWARDS as well. I've noticed that if you
move backwards, it fires somewhat straight behind you, although still in
a fairly wide spread. The closer you are, the better your chances of
hitting are. Hitting with all the bullets requires you to be extremely
close, although if you can manage it, you can do some nasty damage. In
reality, you wont do much damage with this, but you can probably do at
least something. Since it's so light, it's not a terrible choice.
There should be no question as to why this is the heaviest inside part of
all. When used, it drops an independent attack unit near your AC, which
will attack enemies that appear within a certain range of it. This would
seems to be within the 130-140 unit range, and lower. Assuming that an
enemy is present for its entire life span, (life span being defined as the
time before it blows up), it will fire thirty one shots at them in rapid
succession, hence the incredibly high burst power. Aside from taking
forever to reload, (the Orbit Maker itself), this is a highly useful part.
Realistically, one can't expect all of the shots fired by the pod to hit a
moving opponent, but it does provide a good distraction, and decent damage
to complement whatever else you may be trying to do, not to mention the
fact that you can toss out several of them before the first unit explodes.
~~~~~Section 4-D~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Extensions: These plug into the hardpoints on your AC's shoulders. They
come in four types, most with at least two parts varied enough to warrant
usage. While very light, none of these are standalone weapons, hell, some
of them aren't even weapons, but they can make a huge difference if used
properly.
"BEX-BB210" *MODIFIED*
Type: Back Booster
Nifty little part. When activated, it pushes you back suddenly in a
short burst. This obviously has many uses, since the boost is so
spontaneous. It can do such things as fake out the opponent's FCS, or
even your opponents themselves. Great for otherwise immobile ACs.
New for Another Age, there is a pretty long reload time, so these are a
bit harder to abuse, and to further discourage abuse, they require more
energy to use.
"BEX-BD150" *MODIFIED*
Type: Dive Booster
This part is more helpful to those who enjoy flying. It will give you a
quick drop in altitude, enabling you to shake off many things,
including missiles, and approaching opponents. Using it on the ground
is pointless, but funny. Like the previous extension, a reload time was
put in place to prevent this one from being abused, although it is much
shorter.
"BEX-BT180" *NEW*
Type: Turn Booster
Aside from having a misleading name, this is a pretty good addition to
the lineup. It will almost instantly turn your AC around ninety degrees
to either the left or right. By default, it appears to favor turning
you to the left. However, once you have moved your AC, it will favor
the side you last turned to, so if you had turned left before firing, it
will turn you to the left, and if you turned right before firing, it will
turn you to the right. It is my personal suggestion that you use the L3
Stick to choose the direction instead of the D-Pad, simply because it's
much more natural than trying to hit the D-Pad and the analog stick in
such quick succession, when you can use your thumb to move the stick left
or right, and then push it down. It takes a while to get used to, but you
can use it to really surprise your enemy who thinks they've found your
blind spot. If you thought the Back Boosters made blade attacks fun, you
need to try them with these boosters. If you time it right, you can slash
to the left or right instead of straight forward, which makes it much
harder to dodge your blade swipes up close. And yes, there is a reload
time, but that shouldn't be much of a deterrent.
This is a very popular part. When used, it interfaces with any weapon
that uses the AC's FCS to program a guided projectile. This includes all
missiles, and the Orbit Cannon, but NOT the Pursuit Missiles, since
they are guided by whatever targeting system their home pod uses. So,
once you toggle it on, and fire one of those weapons, it will launch
four missiles along with whatever your weapon launched. Two weapons,
(the S608 and S612 back missiles), allow this weapon to fire twice for
the same launch since they fire constantly for longer than the duration
of its reload when locked on eight times or more. Of course, that would
mean expending almost half of your supply with one launch.
This is more or less the same as the previous weapon, except it fires
weaker missiles with more than 1.5 times the range. It also fires two at
once when triggered, as opposed to four. Having the same reload time,
it can be made to fire twice from the same launch as the above extension
can. The reason to use this is either if you're pressed for weight, or
if you just want to spread out your relation missile launches as it has
the same number of ammo, but just goes through it more slowly. It also
uses cheaper ammo.
"EEX-AM45"
Type: Anti Missile
Total Cost: 4080
This is the least taxing Anti Missile you could equip, in terms of
weight, drain, and expenses. It serves as a shield against enemy
missiles, by aiming at and shooting them down when they are within range.
By toggling the extension on, it will scan for incoming missiles, and
upon detecting them, it will launch missiles of its own to counter them.
It does not work perfectly, however, it does help you out tremendously.
The missiles it counters are of the missile projectile type, not weapon
type, so it will NOT counter the Orbit Cannon, but it WILL counter
Pursuit Missiles.
"ZEX-RS/HOUND"
Type: Anti Missile
Total Cost: 5440
Better quality than the above, being capable of doing a better job all
around. Being a better all around product, it has more expensive ammo,
and is a bit heavier, plus it drains more.
"BEX-BAMS-287"
Type: Anti Missile
Total Cost: 8000
Does the best overall job of shooting down missiles, at the most
expensive cost, for the most weight, and highest energy drain of the
solid anti missiles. It also has more ammunition.
"ZEX-AL/REX"
Type: Anti Missile
Unlike all the previous Anti Missiles, this one intercepts with lasers,
for a more immediate interception. The stats are not up to par with the
solid interceptors, but for free, you really can't complain.
"BEX-AA00" *NEW*
Type: Additional Armor
This part is somewhat self explanatory. It lets you bulk up a bit, yet
it's very light, which makes it only second nature to slap on a lightweight
AC, which could use the durability. Be careful, however, that in putting
it on, you're not using more weight than you would to upgrade to another
set of arms with more defense. As I see it, the most practical use for
this extension is on a pair of weapon arms, which seem to need it the most.
Then again, there will be those who wear it just for the sake of putting
their emblem on display, with it being attached to both pieces, and drawn
larger than on most arms.
~~~~~Section 4-E~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Right Arm Weapons: Often thought of as the main weapon of the AC, being
the one selected by default. All sorts of weapons fall into this
category, each with their own class, and specialties. Weapon type is
kept handy as it was in the previous sub sections, for those of you who
haven't committed every part to memory.
This is the Rifle you start with, but it has received some great new
parameters, which help to make it more offensive, and more reliable. As
a starting weapon, this will help you get through quite a few missions
without putting a huge dent in your wallet. Though reliable, it still
doesn't have the power it needs to handle well equipped ACs, or stronger
MTs that will possess high power weapons as it seems to be geared towards
handling weaker enemies in large numbers.
This Rifle has more power than the previous Rifle, and weighs a good deal
less. Though it has somewhat limited ammo, it is capable of dealing more
damage than the ZWG-RF/37, which greatly increases its overall usefulness.
Since AC2, this rifle has been upgraded similarly to the last one, with
a faster reload and more ammunition than before.
This Rifle is great because of a combination of decent attack power and
an abundance of ammunition. Its biggest problem is that it reloads slower
than the other Rifles, which cripples its Offensive Edge. Its very high
Potential Damage will make it easy to kill many enemies, even if you have
to work at it more so than with the previous, much more powerful Rifle.
Anybody who has played Project Phantasma or Master of Arena will recognize
this Rifle instantly. Though it may have a new name, the concept is still
there, which is to take your standard rifle and turn it into an extremely
deadly weapon. With incredible single round damage, and a magnificently
fast reload, it accomplishes just that. It does lack Ammo, although its
high attack power compensates very well for that doing more damage in 120
shots than the ZWG-RF/37 does in 200.
The nature of this weapon makes such things as offensive edge, and
lasting power somewhat useless, as it is supposed to be a weapon
of opportunity. It's an accurate weapon with limited ammo. Note the
phenomenal range of this weapon. I seriously wouldn't even think
about putting this on a Heavy AC despite the weight of the weapon
itself. You need the mobility to keep the enemy in your sight, as
well as to keep them away while you use this. It remains mostly
unchanged, save for a slight boost in Attack Power.
This rifle leans more towards the heavy weapon category with its
higher single round damage. Being a Sniper Rifle, it's still good
at a distance, but the range is diminished, in order to offset the
damage. It's bound to be the more popular of the two, especially
with its lower weight and lower total ammo cost. This too remains
mostly unchanged, but yet again, the attack power was slightly
increased. I guess From decided to throw the snipers a bone.
Probably the most deadly of the Sniper Rifles. Being energy based
gives it one weakness, which is that it needs energy to be fired,
but on the other hand, the single round damage, accuracy, and all
around good range, (though the poorest of all Sniper Rifles),
make it a weapon to be careful of. Potential damage is rather low,
which affects the mission performance, (that and having 20 shots
to its name). It is the lightest Sniper Rifle as well.
Getting into deadly territory, which is good. This weapon is a
good one to put on mobile ACs that can keep the opponent within
their targeting box relatively easily. It has a very high single
round attack power for a Machine Gun, but at the same time, has
a good load of ammunition, as well as some decent lasting power.
It does enter Another Age mostly unchanged, save for a significant
drop in the actual weight, making it more widely useable.
This is a lovely little weapon. It's not too expensive to use,
and does damage very quickly, in addition to its rampant
overheating abilities. It doesn't last long, and wont do much
damage in the long run, but if it did, it wouldn't be a very
balanced weapon, now would it? The stats speak for themselves
on this one.
This is the weakest of all machine guns, showing its true
value to those patient enough to wait it out with both a
long lasting power, and great potential damage. A very
practical choice if you're thinking about grabbing a
shield.
All in all, not a very good weapon. But then again, at that weight,
it's to be expected. Note the high accumulative heat, as well as the
marginal offensive edge and lasting power. Despite a very short range,
this is a good weapon to equip if you really want to sacrifice raw
power for speed or a good Generator, or whatever. One thing the stats
don't tell you is that this weapon has a good stun value, a common
characteristic of handguns, (more accurately, it's more effective
because of their characteristically fast reload). Therefore, it's not
a complete waste against stronger enemies either.
I'd say that accumulative heat is where this one excels. It is the
lightest of all Right Arm Weapons, but still has good performance to
back it up. High Attack Power, as well as high Ammo Heat help to make
it what it is in spite of low ammo. In all other areas, it's only
marginally worse than the previous gun, but is cheaper to use,
although not by much. The stun value of this weapon makes it quite
annoying combined with the heat.
The best, albeit heaviest Handgun in terms of balance. Attack Power
and Ammo are at their peak, accumulative heat is somewhere between the
other two, lasting power beats the other two, (thanks to a slower
reload however), and all that means this is one good weapon for its
low weight. Mind you that I say that with regards to it as a weapon
for use on missions. Combat with ACs is another story. The stun value
will get you somewhere, but a powerful Heavy AC will be able to take
you out long before it helps, well, that and you wont have an easy
time stunning a heavy AC. Not with this weapon, anyway. Drop this
to one of the other two if you need free weight for stronger back
weapons.
Nasty weapon. This is a great choice for a heavy AC. Slow traveling
shots, big damage, decent ammo, not insanely expensive either. It
has the potential to do a lot of damage, but it's better suited for
large, durable targets so as not to waste the attack power of the
weapon by killing little muscle tracers three or four times over with
a single shot. You get the idea. Guard your ammo well. Note the
stun value in addition. That's a common characteristic of Bazookas,
although it isn't quite as maddening as the Handgun's near consistent
stun, it can snuff pesky blade happy opponents. This weapon was only
slightly modified for Another Age, now boasting a significantly higher
Ammo Heat.
Offensive Edge seems fishy, and if it does, it's because I'm rounding
down to the nearest whole shot before multiplying. That's why it's
seemingly disproportionate between the two bazookas. So while if more
time were a factor, you'd see the weapons a LOT closer together, it
isn't. Anyhow, this is best described as high risk, high reward.
Ten less shots, for a considerable boost in damage. As you can see,
thanks to the potential damage stat, the missing ten shots don't
really keep this weapon down. Offensive edge is vicious as well. The
main form of balance on this weapon is the tiny targeting box. Like
the previous Bazooka, this one now enjoys a greater Ammo Heat.
In all fairness, a unique weapon. It fires three shots at once,
meaning heavy damage up close, and a chance at smaller damage from
far away. The spread feature makes it harder to dodge, and it's
very nicely balanced by a low ammo count, thus potential damage.
Not only does it empty quickly, but it is also the second heaviest
of all handheld weapons. Like the previous Bazookas, this one
received minimal modifications, but in a different area, namely
Ammo. Enjoy your two extra shots.
Useful little spread shot weapon. This one has a decent punch up close,
and all in all okay power from far away, depending on how many shells
hit. For what it does, it does it rather well. The ammo cost is nice
and low, compared to some of the other weapons. As a spread shot
weapon, it could hurt a few enemies from far away with one shot,
somewhat evenly, making it good for mission use. Against an AC, you
probably want to be up close and personal to deal the most damage,
unless it has a Flamethrower.
This one is quite a bit more deadly. Unlike the EWG-GS970, this one has
a burst count of 8. It has a bit less range, as well as noticeably less
ammunition. The fact that each shell fired is deadlier makes the
increased burst count even more effective.
A lightweight energy gun. The lackluster performance practically begs
you to put some optional parts on to speed up its Reload Time, and boost
its Attack Power. Thankfully, it weighs very little, and costs nothing
to fire, and at the same time doesn't consume energy very quickly.
This particular weapon was a bit more powerful in AC2, where it reloaded
more quickly, and had a bit more heat to its name, but in this game, it
was toned down in those areas.
This Pulse Rifle has the ability to kill more enemies with both increased
ammo and Attack Power over the EWG-XP1500. Though slower, and thus less
powerful than that weapon, it has greater range. It was very slightly
changed for the better in Another Age thanks to a marginally quicker
reload, which unfortunately, couldn't be reflected in the statistics
because more time is needed for it to make much of a difference. Ammo
heat was also lowered in this game, but it never was much to begin with.
One of two new Laser Rifles, hauntingly similar to the WG-XC4. Medium in
weight, packs a decent punch, has quite a bit of ammo. It's worth noting
that it fires lasers like those from the first game, which is nice. It
has a reasonably swift reload given the type of weapon that it is, and
because of that, it maintains an excellent power rating, in the form of
Offensive Edge.
The second new Laser Rifle is a bit like a watered down Karasawa. It
even fires the same exploding shots, which don't stun, but they do add
shockwave damage to an already decent Offensive Edge. Though not as
good statistically as the EWG-XC213 in all of the major areas, it does
have higher single round damage, and most importantly, lower weight.
As far as shockwaves go, this weapon has one that I've just about never
seen NOT hit.
There isn't much to say here. It's the Karasawa. Use it reasonably
competently and watch stuff blow up. Aside from obviously superior
stats to most weapons, it stuns its target. From AC1 to AC2, it most
definitely crossed the line between "good" and "cheap" without a truly
significant, (the word I'm looking for is "rightful", actually), weight
gain. Some effort was made to tone this thing down. The Shockwave
Damage may not mean as much to this weapon, but it still powers it up
quite significantly. Just looking at the stats, you'll see a lower ammo
heat, but it takes closer inspection to spot the real change. After
reading various posts in the Karasawa's defense, I brought it into battle
against another player to find that the stun was significantly lowered,
yet not negated, which means it's still fully capable of snuffing sword
attacks.
"ZWG-MG/ENE"
Type: Energy Machine Gun
Potential Damage: 36600
Offensive Edge: 6222
Accumulative Heat: 408
Lasting Power: 1500
Energy Consumption: 34680
This one is an interesting concept. On its own, it's not that bad, even
though it's pretty heavy, but once you pile on some optional parts, this
thing becomes quite nasty. It does lap up energy rather quickly, so I
shouldn't have to tell you to keep an eye on you energy gauge, especially
while flying. As a standalone weapon, I'd say to pass on this, but if
your Core has the room to equip the few optional parts needed to turn it
into a monster, go for it.
Weighing in at 777 WP, this is quite a convenient weapon. It packs a
good punch, but has very little ammunition. There aren't many cases
where you'll find this kind of single round damage in this weight class,
so at least try this one out. It was slightly nerfed in this game,
losing out on some Heat Damage, as most energy weapons seem to have, and
now unable to stun enemies quite as well as it used to.
This weapon gives you fantastic power with limited ammo. Though slow, it
hits incredibly hard, with an attack power well above any other Right Arm
Weapon. Between this and the AC2 version, these are entirely different
weapons. Ammo was cut in half, but the Attack Power was boosted, helping
to balance this weapon out nicely. On top of that, the loss of ten extra
shots cuts down on Ammo costs.
Narrowly, the most powerful Right Arm Weapon, gaining its power from both
a speedy fire rate, and the fact that it fires two rockets at once. It
does empty quickly, which is the only downside to its furiously fast rate
of fire. Now, it manages to have all of that power, and still be a fair
weapon, because it doesn't lock. You have to aim it manually, which takes
quite a bit of skill. This weapon was incredible in AC2, but in Another
Age, it's even better, thanks entirely to a faster reload.
"EWG-HM-04" *NEW*
Type: Hand Missile
Potential Damage: 46800
Lock Speed: Very Fast
Minimum Volley Offensive Edge: 3120
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge: 12480
Minimum Volley Accumulative Heat: 400
Maximum Volley Accumulative Heat: 1600
Minimum Volley Lasting Power: 3360
Maximum Volley Lasting Power: 840
Total Cost: 6000
An entirely interesting concept, and long overdue, if I might add. An
Arm Mounted Missile Launcher is an extremely useful addition, since it
provides an alternative to missile arms, which have no defense, and can't
be equipped with left arm weapons. With four locks, you can unleash a
fairly impressive salvo. And this thing launches FAST. The missiles
are extremely close together, which unfortunately makes them easier to
dodge at a distance. Use relation missiles to mix things up a bit.
While the stats may be impressive, keep in mind that like the previous
weapon, this does not lock on, and also note its short range. Using it
like a machinegun wont help much against moving targets, since the range
and lack of a lock will make it hard to keep the flames on them for an
extended period of time. This weapon is almost exactly like it was in
AC2, since it has merely one noticeable difference, which is that its range
has been doubled! Would have been nice to lower the weight too, but this
is one of those times where you take your winnings and run.
~~~~~Section 4-F~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back Weapons: These parts plug into either, (and sometimes both), of the
hardpoints on the back of your AC's torso and fire over your shoulder.
Some of these are so powerful that you have to kneel to fire them lest
they knock you over, (or at least that's what would happen if the game
let you do it). However, if you loaded a file from the original AC2 that
had at least four Human Plus Upgrades, you wont be affected by the recoil,
and will thus be able to use such weapons in any position.
"EWM-S602"
Type: Small Missile
Potential Damage: 18720
Lock Speed: Normal
Minimum Volley Offensive Edge: 3120
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge: 6240
Minimum Volley Accumulative Heat: 580
Maximum Volley Accumulative Heat: 1160
Minimum Volley Lasting Power: 1344
Maximum Volley Lasting Power: 672
Total Cost: 3360
This would be your default back weapon. Not much potential damage,
not much lasting power, not expensive at all. It is light, which will
hopefully justify its use. As a missile launcher, it has to acquire a
lock for each missile it fires, and missiles, as projectiles generally
do track fairly well, but are easily tricked given ample time, and are
slower than most regular projectiles. Also, they can be shot down by
extension anti missiles, or the core's anti-missile gun, if it has one.
"EWM-S608" *MODIFIED*
Type: Small Missile
Potential Damage: 37440
Lock Speed: Barely Slower than Normal
Minimum Volley Offensive Edge: 3120
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge: 24960
Minimum Volley Accumulative Heat: 580
Maximum Volley Accumulative Heat: 4640
Minimum Volley Lasting Power: 2976
Maximum Volley Lasting Power: 372
Total Cost: 6720
There are some obvious perks to this launcher. It launches the exact same
missiles as the above launcher, but has different properties. First of
all, it holds double the ammo, and can lock up to eight times, vastly
increasing its usefulness although the ever so slightly slower lock speed
means you'll have to wait quite a while to reach that potential. This one
is probably most easily used like a high ammo version of the above weapon,
but if you have the chance to acquire eight locks, unleashing all those
missiles can be a daunting sight. Note the significantly slower reload
though. Also note that this is capable of triggering your Relation
Missile twice if you fire enough missiles (8) to last through its reload
in one volley. For those of you wondering what modifications were made
to it for Another Age, the reload has been sped up.
"EWM-S612"
Type: Small Missile
Potential Damage: 46800
Lock Speed: Fast
Minimum Volley Offensive Edge: 3900
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge: 46800
Minimum Volley Accumulative Heat: 725
Maximum Volley Accumulative Heat: 8700
Minimum Volley Lasting Power: 2880
Maximum Volley Lasting Power: 240
Total Cost: 8400
The best, and of course, heaviest small missile launcher. Not only does
it lock very quickly, but it can lock up to twelve times. Top it off
with yet more ammo, and a FASTER reload time, and this one is a winner.
Like the previous launcher, if you can lock and fire eight missiles,
you'll be able to trigger your relation missile twice if you use it with
this deadly weapon. This one also fires the exact same missiles as the
previous launchers, so while it has the potential to cost more, it's
still a very good deal if you're worried about money.
As you can see, there's really nothing special about these missiles, if
you go by stats alone. That's where observation comes into play. Those
stats you see are of little importance. Once one of these missiles hits,
you'll notice that the recipient is on fire. This status does not last
long, but when it is in effect, the recipient's heat level will increase
rapidly. A single missile is enough to make most ACs overheat, but there
are some ACs with extremely good cooling that will need two missiles. It
should be said that these don't appear to have any effect on the normal
enemies in the single player mode, aside from their initial damage.
"ZWM-M24/IMU" *MODIFIED*
Type: Multi Missile
Burst Power: 3920
Burst Heat: 1240
Potential Damage: 54880
Lock Speed: Fast
Offensive Edge: 15680
Accumulative Heat: 4960
Lasting Power: 784
Total Cost: 15750
These are very pricey missiles. They are also interesting in design, in
the sense that they start off as one missile, but once they get within a
certain range of the enemy, they split into four missiles.
Unfortunately, they don't always hit, because the bottom missile, (they
fly in a cross formation), has a tendency to hit the floor and not the
opponent, but that can be rectified by shooting from way above. The
range lets you get very far away for just that. Oh, and yes, these
work wonderfully at draining enemy missile interceptors, providing 56
missiles when all is said and done. It would seem that these were too
powerful in AC2, so From thought it would be a good idea to very slightly
lengthen the reload time.
"EWM-M444"
Type: Vertical Missile
Potential Damage: 25440
Lock Speed: Normal
Minimum Volley Offensive Edge: 4240
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge: 16960
Minimum Volley Accumulative Heat: 1000
Maximum Volley Accumulative Heat: 4000
Minimum Volley Lasting Power: 1368
Maximum Volley Lasting Power: 342
Total Cost: 9960
These are okay missiles. They launch upwards, soar really high, and
rain down. Low ceilings are your enemy here. Things like the segments
of the highway on the Abandoned Highway Versus Stage are just the type
of objects your opponent can safely hide under. They are quite a bit
more expensive than Small Missiles, but since they do more damage, and
let you attack even when the opponent isn't in your line of sight, you
could say you get your money's worth.
"EWM-M03" *NEW*
Type: Middle Missile
Potential Damage: 32400
Lock Speed: Barely Faster than Normal
Minimum Volley Offensive Edge: 5400
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge: 16200
Minimum Volley Accumulative Heat: 744
Maximum Volley Accumulative Heat: 2322
Minimum Volley Lasting Power: 1440
Maximum Volley Lasting Power: 480
Total Cost: 16560
Finally, the normal sized missiles are back. This particular missile
launches in an outward curving pattern, which does restrict where they
can be used, and where the enemy has to be for them to hit. The tradeoff
of the indirect launch is that they can be more difficult to intercept.
The side you mount these missiles on determines which direction they fly
off in. I like that these can do some respectable damage with a lower
number of locks, and that they're also rather light.
"ZWM-M55/6" *NEW*
Type: Middle Missile
Potential Damage: 48600
Lock Speed: Barely Slower than Normal
Minimum Volley Offensive Edge: 4050
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge: 24300
Minimum Volley Accumulative Heat: 558
Maximum Volley Accumulative Heat: 3348
Minimum Volley Lasting Power: 2304
Maximum Volley Lasting Power: 384
Total Cost: 25380
I don't like this launcher as much as the previous one. For some yet to
be explained reason, the missiles it launches are more expensive, despite
being the exact same damn things. While it does have more ammo, and the
ability to lock three more times, it also launches the missiles directly,
which makes them easier to dispose of. With a fast FCS, this can be a
deadly launcher, but it's easily one of the more expensive ones, and is
also quite heavy.
Weapon Classification is a bit off if you ask me. These are Quad Missiles
and they're very deadly. A single lock is all you need to send out four
missiles. With only 24 missiles, that's not going to last long at all.
These missiles are very straightforward, which makes them easy to shoot
down, (your anti missile hardly has to look very far), and somewhat easy
to lead. Bad for long haul missions, pretty good for one on one encounters.
This is a nice cheap weapon. It sends missiles out quickly, in pairs,
and has a very decent amount of ammo. Better still, these are indirect
missiles, which makes them harder to keep track of. You have to watch
out for walls with these. Keep some distance, and you should be fine.
They also have a much better range from which they can be effectively used
than the previous missile. Furthermore, these are good to use since they
are as I said, dirt cheap.
This is a fairly innovative weapon. When fired, it falls to the ground,
and glides towards its target. Once within a certain distance from the
target, it splits into four missiles, which proceed to attack the target.
In the end, we have an inexpensive, and potentially powerful weapon. If
the torpedo itself hits, the damage done is meager. It is important that
you keep a certain amount of range between you and your opponent when you
let these go if you want to really damage them.
I was a bit hard on this weapon the last time. Its main flaws are its
low ammo count, and horrendously slow locking and travel speed, making
it a true chore to hit somebody with, given its high probability of
being intercepted during its longer flight time. Aside from that, it
has the distinction of being the heaviest back weapon, with the most
expensive shot around. It can be used with some degree of success,
if mounted on a highly mobile AC, capable of getting behind and very
close to enemies to keep the flight time minimized. If you can do
that, you can enjoy its incredible firepower. If not, stay away.
Needless to say, you are in dire need of a support weapon, as its
Potential Damage is hindered by its meager ammo count, which also
renders it a complete waste on the most common of enemies. Try some
relation missiles with it to really mix things up, (and have you filing
for bankruptcy in no time).
"ZWR-S/60"
Type: Small Rocket
Potential Damage: 42000
Offensive Edge: 7350
Accumulative Heat: 1610
Lasting Power: 1440
Total Cost: 3920
Finally, out of Missile Territory, (for now anyway). These rockets are
powerful, quick, and inexpensive. They are good for some very fast
damage, but there is one thing about them that scares people away.
Rockets don't lock. Period. You have to aim them manually. No FCS in
the world could help them. This makes them somewhat difficult to use at
first, but eventually, they become very effective.
Self explanatory. This launcher fires weaker rockets, but it fires three
at a time. Such an idea should be enticing to people who either can't
aim with rockets to begin with, or enjoy weapons that hit over a wider
area. Used point blank, you will do some big damage, but also note that
firing three rockets at once means you'll be out of ammo quickly. There's
something in it for everybody. Be warned that both the increased ammo
capacity and slightly higher ammo cost do mean you'll spend more to use
these.
It's about time we got the normal Rockets back. Though heavier than the
Small Rocket, these pack more of a punch, despite firing a bit slower.
These are for no particular reason more expensive than Large Rockets, but
the AA paychecks are generous enough for you to ignore that. If you want
more power, and are willing to deal with less ammo, drop the Small Rocket
and grab these.
This weapon is the same as the previous one, but with ten extra shots, and
a slower reload. Oh, and let's not forget the absolutely ridiculous price.
What the hell are these things made out of? Well, anyway, if you have the
free weight, and nothing in particular that you want to buy, use these over
the previous Rocket Launcher. You can do much more damage, even if it
takes longer to do it.
"EWR-L24"
Type: Large Rocket
Potential Damage: 74400
Offensive Edge: 15500
Accumulative Heat: 3175
Lasting Power: 1152
Total Cost: 8208
Not cheap, but not bad at all. Huge potential for damage, despite a
somewhat limited amount of ammo, and better still, it heats enemies up
nicely while hitting very hard. As with any rocket weapon, you cannot
lock on to use this, and must aim manually. This weapon should be
valuable especially to a non-plus, since you can run around and fire it
whereas to get this kind of power anywhere else, you either take the
rip-off FIN-BOO with four shots total, or a cannon. Of course, if you
can't aim, you wont like this weapon no matter what.
As you can see, this is statistically, a terrible weapon. That's because
unlike most weapons, this one isn't designed for damage. Instead, it is
designed to hinder the opponent. When one of these rockets hits a target,
it will interfere with that unit's FCS, rendering it completely useless
for a time. Without the FCS, no locks can be acquired, and all weaponry
must be manually aimed, not to mention that no missiles can be programmed.
Obviously, this will hinder some players more than others, and certainly
some weapon types more than others. These are more or less the same ECM
Rockets found in AC2, but they have a lot more ammo this time.
This is the first Back Mounted Cannon type weapon. It exhibits a good
amount of power, being capable of taking out many enemies in an efficient
manner. Being Cannon Style weaponry does make it so you have to kneel to
use it, unless you're using a Quadrupedal or Caterpillar Base, which is
always a deterrent unless your enemies are really weak and will die in a
short hail of bullets. This weapon has undergone several modifications
between AC2 and Another Age. Most importantly, the Attack Power of each
individual shot was increased, and as if that wasn't good enough, the
weight was cut by 100.
Finally, some light Cannons. Aside from the weight, another great thing
about this weapon is its brutal Offensive Edge, thanks entirely to an
amazingly fast rate of fire. Though it does empty very quickly, and will
certainly not kill as many enemies as the previous Chain Gun, it's still
a great weapon to bring along. Usage is pretty much the same, only you
can expect your enemies to die much faster.
This is much more of a Cannon than the previous weapons, complete with
recoil so you can scrape your AC's knees along the ground as you fire it.
It's mission friendly, energy burning, and surprisingly weighs less than
900 WP. I'd prefer this cannon on the move, given its less than stellar
attack power, but it's quite capable of downing most weaker enemies in a
single shot. Don't use this too close, or the explosion can hit you as
well. Speaking of which, the Shockwave Damage makes up a big chunk of
its power, (1/4, give or take), but that's only if the enemy is not
pushed out of the explosion before it can register damage twice. More
often than not, the Shockwave Damage will register only once. Two truly
significant changes were made to this cannon for Another Age. One is
increased ammo, (ten extra shots!), while another is reduced weight.
Probably the definitive Cannon. Devastating single round damage makes
this more than worth the effort to use even if you have to kneel. Though
more than overkill for the most common enemies, it's a nice weapon to
have when you're facing off against other ACs and large scale MTs. It
also has this annoying tendency to blow the enemy clear of the explosion
before the Shockwave Damage can be done. Refreshingly, it's not quite as
Shockwave reliant as the previous weapon. In Another Age, the single
round damage has been increased by a reasonable amount to help make up for
the risks involved with using it, or something.
Though it fires weaker shells, this Grenade Launcher has a faster Reload,
which is valuable to Quadrupedal and Caterpillar ACs, but an AC that has
to kneel to use it probably wont want to stick around long enough to snap
off more than one shot, either way. Statistically similar to the Grenade
Rifle, this "mini" Grenade Launcher is just good enough for those who do
not have the free weight necessary to equip the more efficient EWC-GN44-AC
to use.
Best thought of as the midpoint between the Laser Cannon and the Grenade
Launcher, in terms of power and ammunition. Though slow, this is a
fantastic cannon, with good power, combined with an all around low
usage drain, thus energy consumption. In AC2, this was very heavy, but
in Another Age, it checks in at under 1000 WP.
This is one slow weapon, but having a burst power of 3216 over sixteen
shots, it's to be expected. I don't think that it would be a good weapon
to use if you have to kneel because of how close you'd have to be to let
it unleash its full power on somebody, but I could see it being used to
hurt a group of small enemies at mid range, putting a few shells into each
one. At long range, you may as well use a Handgun, for the amount of shots
you'll hit with. This would do fairly well equipped on a Caterpillar or
Quad, since they can both get up close and personal with this, and fire it
off without stopping. I'd advise against using this in one on one combat,
as there are many better alternatives, but it does have ammo to waste.
Why the hell didn't they do more for this weapon? Yeah, it's the same
Pulse Cannon from AC2, but with 11 extra shots. It's still too heavy, it
still isn't worth kneeling to use, and most frustrating of all, it's SO
similar to the next weapon, yet worse in every important way. For once,
I'm going to say that high single round attack power is more important
than Offensive Edge, because you have to kneel to use it, and you really
don't want to stick around for a long time. If not for that, this weapon
would be absolutely useless once you acquire the new one. If you ask me,
this thing needs an extra ten shots, and 150 WP shaved off to be worth
looking at again.
What the hell do they mean by "Limited ammo" (see short in-game weapon
description)? It's things like this that make me think they forgot to do
a little something more for the EWC-XP0808. Well, this weapon packs quite
a punch, achieving a high Offensive Edge thanks to a fast reload, rather
than high single round damage. It also weighs quite a bit less than the
previous Pulse Cannon. Once you acquire it, there are very few reasons I
can think of not to use it in place of that old monstrosity.
"EM-AAT110"
Type: General Magazine
Not a weapon per se. This adds ten percent ammo to every weapon you have
equipped. And I do mean every weapon, including extensions and inside
parts. With such a low boost, make sure you have all of the above equipped
to truly get something out of this part.
"EM-SD120"
Type: Solid Magazine
This is like the previous magazine, but it adds twenty percent ammo to
all shell weapons, but nothing to energy weapons. Really shows its worth
when you load up with an extension, an inside part, a back weapon on the
other side, and a right arm weapon. Or load up with two of these. I do
wish it added more though, but it's still good.
"ZRS-554/BW"
Type: Radar
This one isn't good or bad. It's just there. Let's think of it as normal.
It's also the radar you're equipped with by default.
"ERM-TE3000"
Type: Radar
More range than normal, but lacking a Bio Sensor. It's lighter too.
"ZRL-774/WH"
Type: Radar
Better in practically every way than the last two, and it still has a Bio
Sensor. It's also heavier and drains more.
"BRLT-B10000"
Type: Radar
Even more range. Heavier, and now with a Stealth Sensor.
"BRS-B-OSPREY"
Type: Radar
Best radar. Period. Has everything, including a Noise Canceler, and
has the best range. It is, however, the heaviest, and drains the most
energy.
Pricey little weapon of mass destruction. You take this weapon, and
that's it. It attaches to both hardpoints on the back of the AC. It
fires TWO multi missiles at once, which both split into four missiles
each. Using it on the ground is asking for the bottom two missiles to
blow up on the floor and not the enemy, but if they all hit, there will
be a substantial loss of AP for the unlucky recipient. This weapon does
make it into Another Age mostly unchanged, save for a slight increase in
Ammo Heat. By the way, the burst power given is only for one full multi
missile. If you want to know how much both will do, see Cluster Power.
Ditto for heat.
The classification is a bit misleading. These are not just Vertical
Missiles. They're Vertical Multi Missiles. Dual Vertical Multi Missiles,
at that. These are pretty deadly, and rightfully are to be attached to
both hardpoints on the back of the AC. As with regular Vertical Missiles,
low ceilings and structures with room underneath are your enemies. Use
with care or not at all. These aren't good long haul weapons, really.
Eight launches and they're gone. They are still useful against ACs and
bigger targets. These were toned down in Another Age, having a now lower
Attack Power, and a longer Reload Time. On the bright side (hardly), the
Ammo Heat was slightly increased.
A very unique weapon. This one also makes use of both hardpoints on the
back of your AC, but unlike the previous two weapons, it fires only one
shot at a time. This shot is in fact, a (pretty expensive) pod, which
stops at one point, and empties its contents of 12 missiles into all
surrounding enemies. The pod is launched like a rocket, and CAN hit.
After launching all of its missiles, it blows up. It's very good in the
sense that you can shoot it somewhere near the opponent, and keep on
moving while it does your work for you. You only have four pods,
however, so don't waste them. It actually isn't a terrible weapon to
have on missions. Just remember that you'll need something to take care
of nearly all minor enemies before you get to the point where you may
actually need that kind of firepower. Your worst nightmare when using
this weapon, (other than decoys), is a long mission with lots of weak
enemies all spaced far apart.
"ZWX-F04/ORBIT"
Type: Orbit Cannon
Burst Power: 2030 to 2320
Cluster Power: 4060 to 4640
Burst Heat: 168 to 192
Cluster Heat: 336 to 384
Potential Damage: 41760
Lock Speed: Extremely Fast
Minimum Volley Offensive Edge: 4060 to 4640
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge: 12180 to 13920
Minimum Volley Accumulative Heat: 336 to 384
Maximum Volley Accumulative Heat: 1008 to 1152
Minimum Volley Lasting Power: 2160
Maximum Volley Lasting Power: 720
Minimum Volley Energy Consumption: 2600
Maximum Volley Energy Consumption: 7800
This needs a bit of explanation. Firstly, this is a double back weapon,
meaning it is attached to both hardpoints on the back making up your
entire back mounted arsenal, as the last three, and next three weapons
do. Second, it's not a Cannon per se. You don't have to kneel to use
this for any reason whatsoever. Thirdly, it locks like a missile, which
means it can be combined with relation missiles (!) and that it fires in
varying degrees. For each lock, you will launch two pods that zoom over
to the enemy, surround it, and open fire on it. After MANY uses, and a
lot of pausing, I have noticed that each pod fires from 14 to 16 shots
before exploding, (note the variable damage stats). With a full three
locks, a total of six pods will have encircled the enemy and will fire
for some great damage, if only all the shots would hit. Nimble enemies
can make a joke out of this weapon if you use it like that. I think you
are best advised to fire with one lock against them, so you at least get
some time with it to harass the hell out of them. If one tries to escape
from them, the orbits will give chase once they are too far away to shoot
at. When an enemy is killed by the orbits, they automatically direct their
attention to another one nearby, and will attack it until they run out of
power and self destruct.
The stats for this weapon are messed up, so I treated it like a spread
fire weapon after a comparative damage test with the starting rifle. One
unit of ammunition for this weapon is basically two shots, which makes it
extremely deadly. Thankfully, the price wasn't doubled too! This is
great weapon if you're willing to sacrifice having a second back unit to
use it. The stats, as I have said about other weapons, speak for
themselves. This weapon, however, is still a Cannon, so you must kneel
to use it if you are not using either a Quad or Caterpillar Base without
the Human Plus enhancements. In Another Age, this weapon now has a higher
Attack Power, and weighs a bit less. It seems to combine the best aspects
of both single unit Chain Guns.
This weapon is much better than before. It still fires extremely powerful
Plasma rounds, but it's been improved in nearly every way possible. For
starters, it now does more damage per shot. Even better, the amount of
Ammunition has been doubled. What you're left with is an incredibly
powerful backup weapon. The only real problem is that it will be your
only Back Weapon, which means you'll need to use the Arm Weapons and ONLY
Arm Weapons to handle the more common enemies while you save this for the
real challenges, or basically anything with enough armor to appreciate the
full damage of this weapon. The Shockwave Damage on this weapon is on the
meager side, considering its actual attack power, and is really quite a
drop in the bucket.
"ZXR-S/STEALTH" *MODIFIED*
Type: Stealth
First off, this part has two functions. Primarily, it conceals your
location on Radar UNLESS your opponent's radar has a Stealth Sensor. If
it does, this part is now half useless. If it doesn't, good. They have
to locate you visually now and will never be able to see you on radar for
the duration of the battle. The second function is the one that requires
you to switch to it, and fire it like a weapon. This makes you invisible
to the FCS. Thus, your opponent has to aim manually, and can't use
Missiles. The catch? Firstly, it wears off after a little while. It's
long enough though. But, if you were to fire any weapon, or even use your
sword, the effect cuts off completely. If either of those happen, just
fire Stealth again. It's not a terrible system. Not at all, if you were
to have say, twenty or thirty shots, but no. You get ten. At the cost of
not one, but two back weapons, which is exactly what you could equip in
its place, I just don't think it's worth it. If you ask me, this is the
next candidate to become an inside part when From Software makes AC3.
This part did receive a minor modification for Another Age, which is
purely cosmetic, or is it? You see, when Stealth is activated, you can
see it at work, which is helpful in the sense that you know exactly when
it's active. It still isn't worth using, but it's a nice touch.
"EXM-DD02" *NEW*
Type: General Magazine
This is for people who love their Right Arm Weapons, Inside Parts, and
Extensions more than their back weapons. Put this on and you'll be able
to carry 60% more ammo for all of those things, no matter what type of
Ammunition they use. From something that occupies both hardpoints on your
back, you should expect no less.
~~~~~Section 4-G~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fixed Arm Weapons: These arms don't hold weapons, they are weapons. A
universal benefit would immediately be the loss of weight since you don't
have to equip arms and weapons, making them ideal for quick, lightly
armored ACs, but perfectly acceptable on heavy ACs that want more weight
to go towards other parts. All of these arms have no defensive points,
but make up for it in raw power since all but one of these sets have fire
linked in both arms. Occupying both arms with weapons as these do can
lead to ammunition issues, so pick your other weapons wisely to make
sure you'll have at least something to throw at your enemy for quite a
while.
"ZAW-2/SAMURAI" *MODIFIED*
Type: Laserblade
These arms will give you two swords to attack with. This allows you to
attack twice before having to stop. In most cases, scoring one hit means
you get the second hit for free, which effectively doubles their Attack
Power, to the point where it exceeds any Left Arm Sword. These are much
more useful than they were in AC2 because of their dramatically increased
Attack Power.
Plus Blade: For each strike, these arms can create one purple energy plane
for a long distance attack. Each has an Attack Power of 681.
These are pretty nice. They are capable of doing quite a bit of damage,
although they don't last very long. The rate of fire is probably the worst
I've seen for any Machine Gun, but the linked fire makes up for it. I
can't see penny pinchers using these liberally. As with all arm weapons
except the previous one, once you're out of ammo, you have no melee weapon
to fall back on. In Another Age, these were given a higher single round
Attack Power, which boosts their overall usefulness.
I'm sort of partial to this weapon. It's easily one of the lighter weapon
arms, and also one of the cheaper. It does burn ammo surprisingly
quickly, thanks in no small part to the linked fire, which helps it do
tons of damage in no time at all. The slow traveling ammunition
practically begs you to use this close, but the Narrow and Deep weapon
lock will make that hell. If you can get past that, you'll probably find
it to be a good set of arms to put on lighter ACs. With the very light
weight, you have no reason not to splurge on a back weapon or two. Some
modifications were made to this weapon in Another Age, specifically, the
Attack Power was lowered slightly, but the Ammo Heat was more than doubled.
This weapon specializes in both drilling a hole in your pocket, and the
enemy's AP. Ideal for people who like to pull off one shot and leave.
So how do you get your money's worth out of this weapon? You don't.
There are so many reasons to keep this well away from most missions. Low
ammo, pathetic lasting power, exorbitant ammo cost, all of those put it in
league with the FIN-BOO missile.
This always was a fun weapon. It was more fun when it made big
explosions, but we can't hold that against it, now can we? As you
can see, it guzzles energy, and empties rather quickly, but also
has a great potential for damage. Once again, slow traveling
ammunition and a Narrow & Deep weapon lock balance it. Two changes
were made to it for Another Age. One is the significantly reduced
weight, and another is the seemingly standard drop in Ammo Heat.
Now we know where the SPGUN went, sort of. Um, well, for a Slug Gun,
this is slightly unorthodox. Instead of one huge cluster with devastating
damage that takes forever to reload, this fires fairly quickly, but with
weaker clusters of shots. The result is a higher offensive edge, but
lower burst power. Plus, since this isn't a Back Unit, this can be MUCH
better for Bipedal, Reverse Jointed, or Hover ACs to get close with. It
does have quite an appetite for energy, but it has an excellent amount of
ammo. The only real change made to it for Another Age is that the amount
of Ammo it has was significantly boosted.
I'd say that this is a better weapon comparing it to the DC10 arms
simply because it has more ammo and has the potential to deliver more
damage. However, it is much weaker, thus not as well suited to the hit
and run style of the DC10. As long as there is something to back these
arms up when they're all out of ammo, you should be just fine for most
missions. A little trick you can use to conserve ammo with this, or any
energy ARM weapon is to fire when you have enough energy for only one
shot, as opposed to two shots. The AC will fire with just one arm, as if
it were a right arm weapon. The Shockwave Power here is truly significant
in that it makes up well over 1/4 of the damage done. There were two
modifications made to this weapon in Another Age. One is the slightly
increased Attack Power, and another is the significantly cut down usage
drain.
"EAW-H801" *MODIFIED*
Type: Small Missile
Cluster Power: 2700
Cluster Heat: 1000
Potential Damage: 64800
Lock Speed: Fast
Offensive Edge: 13500
Accumulative Heat: 5000
Lasting Power: 1104
Total Cost: 39840
Wow. They really saved this weapon. These are powerful missiles, but
they can only lock once. They also have incredibly high Ammo Heat.
I still think there's more room for improvement, but these aren't too
awful now. This weapon sucked in AC2, but was turned around for the
better in Another Age, thanks to a higher Attack Power.
"EAW-S604"
Type: Small Missile
Cluster Power: 1560
Cluster Heat: 290
Potential Damage: 62400
Lock Speed: Fast
Minimum Volley Offensive Edge: 9360
Maximum Volley Offensive Edge: 37440
Minimum Volley Accumulative Heat: 1740
Maximum Volley Accumulative Heat: 6960
Minimum Volley Lasting Power: 3280
Maximum Volley Lasting Power: 820
Total Cost: 11200
These missiles are far more offensive than the EAW-H801 Missiles, but they
achieve that power through multiple locks, which means they have to use
more Ammo to compete. I still think these are better, but at least they
have a weakness, which happens to be a marginally lower Potential Damage,
and the fact that they need all four locks to compete with the heat damage
of the H801. The stats on these arms are also too good given what they
do as weapons, and their ridiculously low weight.
~~~~~Section 4-H~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Optional Parts: Just about all of these parts, with maybe a few
exceptions, in one way or another, do affect your weaponry. Each part
occupies a set number of "slots" in your Core, where the Core you select
determines how many slots you have available. The number of slots used is
kept with each part here for convenience.
"SP-S/SCR"
Slots Used: 2
This part increases your defense against shell weapons. It doesn't
increase it by any vast amount, but it does help lightweights feel a bit
tougher, and makes heavyweights even more durable.
"SP-ENE-SCR"
Slots Used: 1
This one increases your energy defense a little bit. Using just one slot,
it's probably the most widely used optional part. Like the previous part,
this will make a noticeable difference, but it wont be anything dramatic.
"SP-BCNDR"
Slots Used: 4
This part gives you a higher maximum charge on your Generator, while
apparently doing nothing for your energy output. Very useful for any
and all ACs. The only big drawback to this part shows itself when you
run out of energy, where it will take longer to charge back up. I
don't see many people doing that often though.
"SP-BSI-LE"
Slots Used: 2
This will make you take your hits a little better, making it harder to
snuff your attacks, or trap you by stunning you while shooting you to
death. Lightweight ACs should definitely give this a look.
"SP-SAB/J"
Slots Used: 1
If you've had the fourth Plus Operation performed, you don't need this
one bit. If you haven't, it'll make you move back less when you fire
cannon style Back Weapons other than the one sided Chain Guns, (which
have no recoil to speak of).
"SP-CIR-K"
Slots Used: 5
This makes you turn a bit faster. Any AC can benefit from this one,
although some are just lost causes in this area, and are better suited
to upgrades in other areas, or would be better off with the new Turn
Booster part.
"SP-BE++"
Slots Used: 6
Very, very useful. This part increases the attack power of all Energy
Weapons, thus boosting their offensive edge, and potential damage stats.
If you have more than one energy weapon, (or an energy weapon with very
little ammo), you really should put this on. Don't use this thinking
it makes your sword stronger. It doesn't affect it, blade, or Plus
Blade.
"SP-BMALAD"
Slots Used: 1
Not that many scenarios where this is needed. A bunch of the radars in
this game already have a missile display on them. If and only if your AC
can't detect oncoming missiles, you MIGHT want this. I find it rather
distracting myself, as missiles can't be distinguished from enemies on
the radar.
"SP-BFS/LOSP"
Slots Used: 2
Just what a missile boat needs. It will lower the time needed to acquire
a lock on with any weapon that functions as a missile. Use if you have
missiles that lock more than twice, or if your lock speed is truly
unbearable, due to either the FCS, or use of the EWM-FIN-BOO.
"SP-ENE-ACC"
Slots Used: 1
Lowers the reload time of energy weapons, thus boosting their Offensive
Edge, but lowering their Lasting Power, while boosting their energy
consumption. Taking up only one slot, I'd put this on any AC with the
Energy Machine Gun, or a Pulse Rifle, or just to fill a leftover slot
on any AC that has an energy weapon. Can't go wrong with this.
"SP-E/SAVER"
Slots Used: 5
Looks to cut down energy usage as a result of using energy weapons by
25 percent. I, personally would use this with any of the Energy Weapon
Arms, and the Pulse Cannon back weapons. For any other weapon, I'd
save the slots and take my chances, but again, that's just me.
"SP-ECM-JAM"
Slots Used: 5
This breaks missile locks after a little while, making it very hard to
line up a good volley, and even harder to get multiple locks. A
thoroughly annoying part.
"SP-M/AUTO"
Slots Used: 1
This uses one too many slots. Basically, it fires any weapon that
functions as a missile automatically when it locks as many times as
possible. I'd like it more if it launched them for you when your
opponent was about to counter your lock with the previous part, or
when they were about to exit your targeting box, but it doesn't do
that. I'd rather leave that slot empty than put this thing in.
"SP-BLS"
Slots Used: 6
Use only if you have a sword. It will enhance it very slightly,
(yet noticeably), leading to more powerful blows.
"SP-CBRK"
Slots Used: 2
This part is helpful for ACs using Hover Legs, or those who are fond of
Override Boosting, as it allows you to come to a complete halt much more
easily.
"SP-VEICH"
Slots Used: 6
This part improves your FCS by letting it scan a larger area for targets.
Great for Narrow and Deep Weapons, and especially when you play on Hard
with those weapons. Try to limit it to just that though, since it uses a
substantial amount of slots.
~~~~~Section 4-I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miscellaneous: Just a bunch of information that you shouldn't be without,
but doesn't quite fit into any other section. I will add things as I see
fit, and on occasion, remove things, like I have done as of v1.3, as they
were too irrelevant to the subject. If you're wondering about anything I
may have said in this document, or just about weapons in general, check
here, and if you don't see it, fire off an e-mail.
Core Weapons: Just a touch up on something not everybody knows. Three of
the six cores have a gun fixed in the center of the front of
them. For easy classification, those would be the Emeraude
Cores. Whereas Zio Matrix Cores seem to excel in the areas
of Override Boosting, (mostly, compared to others in their
weight class, and in terms of power), and room for
Optional Equipment, (compared to others in their weight
class), these Emeraude Cores do one VERY important thing to
make up for their shortcomings in those areas. They shoot
down missiles with those aforementioned guns. Several stats
determine how well they will do so, but you can rest
assured that if you are facing missiles that are speeding
towards you, your core will on average, nearly always try
to shoot down at least one, often more.
Shields and Cannons: In the case of most cannon weapons, an AC using one
will grasp it with one hand when it's readied,
providing that hand is free. The hand always
corresponds to the side that the weapon is equipped on.
However, when used with shields, this becomes
complicated. For a shield to be readied, the hand
must be neutral. For some reason, if the left hand
of an AC using the shield is being occupied to hold
the cannon, the shield cannot be activated. This
means that you can't shield yourself while using that
weapon. Furthermore, if you ran out of ammo, and
the last weapon you used, (the last one to run out),
is your left back weapon, you can't use the shield at
all! Well, you would be more than likely done at that
point anyway. Fortunately, not all of the cannons
are held by the AC when in use. Specifically, five
of them, namely the ZWC-CN/500, EWC-GN-81, EWC-XP0808,
ZWC-XP02/QL, and EWX-GCN77-4 are too small to grab,
and thus do not interfere with shields in any way at
all. I just can't help but find it funny how something
started in the first AC, presumably as a matter of
aesthetics, has gone on to cause a very real problem.
Your lesson? When using a shield, equip cannons on the
RIGHT side, (unless they're any of those five).
Classification: While most weapons can be easily classified by their type,
their functions fall into six Categories. They are normal,
missile, cannon, automatic function, sword, and shield.
While the type often helps speak for the function, (i.e.
Small MISSILE, Laser CANNON), it can also be misleading.
For one, Pursuit MISSILES do not function as missiles at
all in the sense that they don't lock, thus can be fired
as long as they're not reloading, just like any normal
weapon, and at the same time Orbit CANNONS, aren't
Cannons at all, but missiles. For single back weapons,
the only cannons you'll find have _WC as the prefix of
their part name. The blank represents the enterprise that
makes the part, of course. Now, with dual weapons,
(_WX), you need to know what they really are since the
name doesn't tell you anything other than that they
connect to both hardpoints on your AC's back. Another note
is that Arm Weapons use the _AW prefix, which hardly
classifies them as anything but arms with built in weapons,
but their types thankfully correspond to what they are. To
add to the wonderful confusion, projectile types can be
different from weapon functions, (Pursuit Missile again),
which means next to nothing until we begin to talk
Anti-MISSILE systems. In that case, always assume the name
is right.
Dual Back Weapons:
Cannons: Such weapons require the AC, if it uses bipedal, reverse
joint, or hover legs, to kneel prior to firing in order to
counter the force of the weapon. When used as Arm Weapons,
they act precisely like Normal Weapons. Such Dual Back Units
are:
EWX-GCN77-4 (Chain Gun)
ZWX-E90/MAC (Plasma Cannon)
Normal: Such weapons require no special circumstances for firing.
Such Dual Back Units are:
ZWX-IV/PURSUIT (Pursuit Missile)
ZXR-S/STEALTH (Stealth)
Missile: Such weapons require at least one full lock on to fire, and
can also trigger Relation Missiles. Such Dual Back Units are:
EWX-BAL4 (Multi Missile)
EWX-VLS241 (Vertical Missile)
ZWX-F04/ORBIT (Orbit Cannon)
Automatic Function: Such weapons or parts function whenever they are
equipped, requiring no deliberate action to make
use of them. Such Dual Back Units are:
ZXR-S/STEALTH (Stealth)
EXM-DD02 (General Magazine)
Blade Attacks: The laserblade is a fairly limited weapon, in that it can
only be used to perform one type of strike on a given AC.
There are three distinctly different attacks, each more
or less determined by the legs the attacking AC uses.
It's relatively uncomplicated until we get to middleweight
Bipedal legs which act like true hybrids bringing your AC's
arms and core into the matter.
ACs using light Bipedal legs, (ZLN-EK1/SRRT, ELN-701,
ZLN-WA02/SS, and ELN-070), or ACs that use Reverse Joint
Bipedal Legs will perform the Diagonal Slash. This attack
is somewhat difficult to hit with, thanks to a narrow arc.
ACs using heavy Bipedal legs, (ZLN-2A/GR, ELN-STVM,
ZLN-9001/A, and ZLN-01/BARREL), or Hover legs will perform
the Horizontal Slash. This has a nice wide arc, and is
much easier to connect with.
Lastly, ACs using either Quadrupedal or Caterpillar
legs will perform the very direct Thrust Attack.
Now, regarding midweights, there are quite a few factors
that determine the attack you will perform. ACs that use
middle weight Bipedal legs, (ZLN-XX0/TP, ZLN-XA1/FA,
ELN-2002AT, ELN-02A, ZLN-XA2/FF, and ELN-02SLD), can do
either the horizontal, or diagonal slash depending on the
rest of their equipment. If you place a midweight core,
(ECM-XR00 or ZCX-F/ROOK), or a heavyweight core, (ECH-D4
or ZCH-GR/1), on top of those legs, the AC will perform
the Horizontal Slash when it uses the laserblade.
Should you use either lightweight core, (ECL-ONE or
ZCL-XA/2), things will become complicated, as you
can still perform either slash depending on what arms
you put on. If you place lightweight arms,
(ZAN-202/TEM, EAN-02-BG, ZAN-303/S, and EAN-1111),
on the core, your AC will perform the Diagonal Slash.
Placing any other arms on, however, will cause it to
use the Horizontal Slash.
Blade Damage: There are quite a few factors involved here. The most
important, I suppose would be Attack Power. After that,
you have Energy Supply. Make those as high as you can
and you have statistically, the best blade. For your
convenience, that would be the ELS-7880 with the
ZAN-303/S arms, and the SP-BLS option part. The parts
you take will determine the attack you perform as
detailed above. No matter what parts you take, once
you are in battle, to do the most damage possible,
you must hit your opponent with a sword blow from the
air. It does not matter where they are. A hit from
the air is significantly more powerful than a charging
strike from the ground. If you do all those things,
and land the cleanest blow possible, you can do at least
5100 Armor Points of damage to the starter AC.
NOTE: I'm aware that there are claims of higher damage
than what I've listed. If you're one of the people who
has managed to do such damage, send me an e-mail with the
method, intended damage against the default AC, and the
setup of the AC you used to do the damage in order for me
to verify it. If I'm able to verify it, you'll be given
credit for the method, and this section will be updated.
Missiles: Missiles are clearly different from most projectiles. The
way they are used is different, and the way they strike is
different. Their semi-intelligent tracking and high damage
swarms make them deadly. To defend against them, we have the
old style fixed guns on some of the Cores, which will attempt
to shoot them down, and we now have dedicated Anti Missile
Extensions, which do the same thing, but much more reliably.
Such things, combined with the limited air time of missiles,
have over time lead people to believe they can shoot missiles
down with normal weapons, such as Rifles, Grenade Launchers,
and normal Missile Launchers themselves. Not so. On a tip I
received from a fellow message board user, I too tried to shoot
them down in that manner, only to see what he saw. It is not
possible. Missiles can be shot down by the fixed gun on the
AC's Core, or Anti Missile Extensions, or they can blow up
after a set time, during which they were not able to strike
anything, be it their target, or some scenery.
Human Plus: Whatever upgrades you had in Armored Core 2 will be brought
into Another Age when you import a file that had them. If
you do not have such a file to load, you can not use the
Human Plus Upgrades in any form. For those of you who don't
know what Human Plus is, it is a set of upgrades which can
significantly turn the tables in your favor. Some abilities
bestowed upon you involve having a built in radar in case you
don't equip one, the ability to project energy waves with even
regular blades, halved heat damage, the ability to fire your
cannons on the go with any legs, and doubled Generator
efficiency.
Thanks:
These are the people responsible for helping with the guide, through
direct or indirect actions, both major and minor additions.
-From Software and AGETEC: Aside from the usual "they made the game, and
they localized it" reason, I also can thank From Software for having the
part modifications on display on their website well before the game was
released here, which cut down on the amount of time I'd need to spend
comparing weapons.
-"Kenjii": Feedback on the original guide, convinced me to go in depth
with some more miscellaneous topics.
-"Collider": Started a topic a while back on the message boards about not
being able to shoot down missiles with normal weapons, turned out to be
right, which caused me to quickly address the topic in my guide to back
it up.
-"Tknoot" sent in a reader tip regarding the reload time units, which I
was able to confirm. That tip makes visualizing the actual reload time
quite a bit easier.
That's it for now.
******Section 6**********************************************************
Contact: Have a question about weapons that isn't addressed in the guide?
Spotted a mistake? By all means, drop me a line. I will make an effort
to answer every question you have, as well as correct any mistakes you
spot upon confirming them myself. Feedback is also welcome, and
encouraged.
If you've decided to host this guide, and want to let me know as a favor,
this is also your outlet for that. Basically, anything that relates to
this guide will be considered, and if appropriate, responded to.
Send it all to: ixzaku@optonline.net
For those with corrections, try to be as specific as possible. If you
aren't, there is a very small chance that I'll be able to find the
mistake, (unless it's really obvious), and correct it.
If you have a question about a subject that isn't covered in this guide,
don't be afraid to ask on the message board at GameFAQs.
My alter ego "Gelgoog IX" may just show up to answer your question.
