Friday, December 10, 2010

Assault Armour Tactics

Eva turns its gaze upon...

Assault Armour


When regulations 1.20 were still being used I would make extensive use of AA (Assault Armour) as an alternate strategy if things were not working out for me. This was a while ago when i wasn't as good. So I ended up using  it a lot. In Reg 1.40 the viability of AA as a main weapon has been greatly reduced. It can still be used just not as frequently and  with a much greater risk since the length of the recharge has been drastically increased.

But there are still tactics that could effectively turn AA into a godly and stylish finisher...

I think this one for rushers
      If you're running machine guns and or shotguns you'll love this one. Say your opponent has say 5000 to 12000 AP and you're falling behind. Rush him really hard, preferably with OB(over boost) to reduce damage taken and then fire the AA. You may have to get the timing right with the OB into AA, but if you do it correctly you can attack while he is blinded by the AA. And with no PA he is very vulnerable to your high damage output weapons. I've done this in 1.20 and as a finisher or game changer in 1.40.
      It may also be prudent to weaken his PA with your weapons before you fire to negate the protection of his PA. But with this tactic you have to be really quick with your follow up. Their PA is going to recharge faster than yours. And that's an understatement in Reg 1.40.

For more mid-range players
    If you're getting rushed and your NEXT isn't tuned for close ranges, you're screwed. If you're amazing then you may be able to still win, but I haven't seen it. You have more of a chance in a team battle where you can have support from your team mates, but these tips could give an edge either way.
      Light-weight rushers generally use heads that have poorer System Recovery times and have NEXTs that have weak defense. So a particularly harassed player could fire the AA when the enemies is closing in to blind him and keep him from locking on for the next few seconds. And if you're quick you could either pull away or take those precious moments to pummel your now severely and vulnerable foe.  A well placed AA attack could break a rusher, and take him out of the game.
    But this is a double edge sword. If you miss or can't take advantage of him, he's gonna rip into you in your weakened state and you might as well put your controller down.
   For back-peddlers hit him with the AA and put some space between you and start peggin him with your more accurate weapons to make sure you can capitalize on his absence of PA protection.

But as for me with the new regulations, I cant rely on AA anymore except for a last ditch finisher

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Designing tips

Eva turns its gaze upon...
A post by Rogan from ArmoredCoreOnline.com forums. Very imformative. i Learned from this


CQC ACs need to be fast enough to close in. This means using high powered boosters to out maneuver and close in on your target.

Main boosters:

Virtue: These are the fastest boosters in the game and one of my favorites. Their Quickboost power is second to none and when combined with adds you can move as fast or faster than a blader. Excellent for closing and rushing with a very low equip cost. Their downfall is their vertical thrust. Extremely drainy for poor performance.

Aaliyah: High stats everywhere. Solitaire said it, these will have an advantage over every other booster in the game. They can position very well and they won't suck down your En as fast as Virtue does. These are likely the best CQC booster because of how easy it is to stick to people with them. Unlike virtue your target cannot escape by flying given their great vertical thrust. Equip cost is high but its well worth it.

Judith: Ok these are kinda weird and are very situational, often requiring a strong overbooster to help with closing. I've seen light quads use these to great effect and some MG arm featherweights. Not for beginners though, try using Aaliyah before you use these.

Back boosters:

Latona: If your playing CQC you really don't want to be backpedaling for long. These are the easiest to use and equip. They also keep your drain down.

Lahire: A stronger version of latona with a slightly higher equip cost. However they are lighter and can be used to place your self in a more strategic position.

Aaliyah: You won't be back pedaling but this gives you the ability to buy yourself a little breathing room should you come across another CQC AC. It has the same use as lahire for positioning but does the job better for a much higher equip cost.

Side boosters:

Holofernes: insane QB powers with drain that is manageable. Combined with Virtue mains its easy to run rings around other AC's. However that same power makes it even easier to overshoot your target.

Judith: Used for chain boosting on pure rushers. Low cost and performance. The chain boosting tactic works, but can eat your En quickly.

Latona: Low En drain and decent performance. Works well on just about any AC.

Lahire: Stupid amounts of instantaneous thrust. It will move you from A to B very quickly. It suffers from the same issue of over shooting as the holofernes and it drains more. However the booster is very light for its power.

Ortega: A very nicely balanced booster. It has good power and a very low equip burden. However it can be harsh on the En. Only the lahire's QB drains more and the Ortega drains more with its normal boost.

Aaliyah: behold and instant flank. These things are nuts and move ever faster than lahire. Beware their high equip cost and usage drain. Otherwise these are great boosters.

Schedar: High Equip cost for low useage drain. You can chain boost well with these and use them to dodge or flank acceptably. My favorite since I rush so much.

Overbooster


Linstant: For a little more weight and En drain than judith you get a lot more power. Used mainly for jousting and its effective at chasing people because of its speed.

Aaliyah: Zoom. High equip and usage cost but its extremely fast. If you have a heavier AC in need of some extra kick take this for a spin. However, its fairly situational and linstant is probably better overall.

Rigel: Assault Armor is incredibly useful for getting rid of an opponents Primal Armor and can be used to temporarily blind people. Extra damage is also welcome. Rigel has a low equip cost as AA goes and it has decent power. What makes it popular is how easy it is to hit with, it has an extra 10 range and that does make a difference.

Sobrero: Weights very little and drains a lot. In exchange you get the strongest AA blast out there.

Generators: En is important for any AC and CQC AC's need to be fast and be able to out maneuver their opponent. Plus since they fight in close they need defense in order to survive their opponents attacks PA is a big help here as most CQC AC's will be LW's and not putting much into their AC's defenses. Then generators listed are the most commonly used ones on CQC AC's because of their low weight and respectable stats.

Lahire: One of the most commonly used generators out their. It has balanced stats everywhere and no real drawbacks. You can AA or OB with it. The only problem for CQC AC's is that this is the heaviest generator you could get away with using.

Judith: Its lighter than the Lahire and has a much greater capacity, with slightly less En output and KP output. For a weight of 650 its an excellent generator, although I personally would rather use lahire.

Sobrero: For those of you who need all the recharge you can get. This generator is a light as it gets and has the highest En output in the game bar none. The capacity is fine given its huge recharge where it really falls is its very low KP output. Sobrero is great until you run into another CQCer or anything with a MG for that matter. Your PA will be gone before you know it and that hurts.

Linstant: If you can manage your en well this may be the best CQC generator. Its very lightweight and provides the best KP output in the game. This makes abusing assault armor easy and can give you a leg up vs other CQCers as your PA will last longer. However its low en output can be a problem.

Extra Equipment:
While a CQC AC generally want to be as light as possible there are a few pieces or equipment you should consider using outside of your weapons.

09-Flicker: the flash rockets are nasty pieces of work in the hands of a skilled player. Blinding your opponent and stopping them from locking on. However they are very tricky to hit with, you generally have to bounce them into an obstacle next to your opponent to hit the ground at their feet. If you score a direct hit more power to you.

P-Marrow: These amplify the range and power of Assault Armor. The longest possible range of attack is attained with the rigel for 235 effective range on your AA. The power you get when this is equipped to sobrero is plain silly. On reg 1.4 I've consistently landed AA hits that do 10k damage.

Flares: having to stop and dodge missiles is a royal pain. Flares negate that need and allow you to continue your attack. Highly useful and they have a low equip burden.

Laligras: These are fun, but their delay makes them extremely difficult to use and they have poor registration online. It should be noted that these plus the Sampaguita and a motorcobra can stunlock a light AC, provided you can get them to hit.

ACB-0710: These add boosters are more commonly seen on bladers but they do have a place on CQC AC's. The speeds you can reach using these boosters rivals that of a blader and you will be faster than some of them. These make it very easy to position yourself and close in on your target. However, you lose both your back slots in the process. I recommend using these with an AA overbooster since you aren't going to need to OB to close on fleeing targets. Unfortunately these are well know for causing large amounts of lag due to the speeds you'll be moving at. It can net you nasty messages from other players or even kicked out of rooms.


Weapons:
The most important thing for a CQC AC to do after closing is to break their targets PA. This means machine guns, shot guns and anything else that can strip PA has its place in close quarters combat.

Rifles: These work well at both mid and close range as spam and pressure weapons. Certain models can even provide kill weapons given their fire rate and power. The most common rifles will be listed.

MR-102: huge ammo reserves and decent power. This is the most commonly used rifle in the game for a good reason. Excellent for spamming or fighting up close. Pairs nicely with most other weapons in the game.

063ANAR: a more accurate version of the 102 it lacks the ammo and power of the 102 but it makes up for it with ballistics velocity and range. Simple put this rifle will hit more often from longer distances. Its good at poking people who back pedal away from you like a madman.

Marve: This thing rips AC's to shreds. Combined with the Motorcobra machine gun or a sister rifle. Then you can lock onto your opponent an watch their AP go down the drain. Only problem is it's low ammo.

AR-0700: A lighter weaker version of the Marve with more ammo, less drain and lower weight. These things are absolutely great as even PA won't save someone from an assault with these at 200m.

Machine guns: Their job is to break primal armor and they do so every effectively. After the target is stripped of its defenses the MG makes an excellent offensive weapon. However it should be noted that they don't work well outside of a 300 meter range. However since CQC is 200m, this shouldn't be an issue.

03-Motorcobra: The ultimate PA stripping machine gun with enough ammo to hold the trigger down all match. It is heavy and drainy though.

01-Hitman: A lighter more accurate and less drainy version of the motorcobra. In my experience it also registers better.

Eklakh: the MG arm weapons. These have a huge ammo reserve. If you have these equipped and your not firing them YOU ARE WRONG. They eat both your arm slots but make up for it in power and the ability to fire at awkward angles. I'm not going to lie, these weapons give a huge edge over another player in a CQC v CQC match since, unless you have absurd amounts of lag working in your favor, it's impossible to stand toe to toe with these. You will need a strategy or weapon to counter them. A lot of players consider them cheap so be warned before using them.

Shotguns and slug guns: Poor registration turns may players away, however they are great weapons.

SG-0700: This is a nasty little piece of work. It cuts through lag better than the other shotguns but thats not saying much. It also fires very rapidly allowing it to shred PA and AC's in seconds. Very light but has little ammo.

Mburucuya: Unlike the other shotguns this fires 16 rounds instead of 12, kinda like a mini kamal. Low ammo though.

Sampaguita: The heaviest shotgun and does the most damage per shot along with decent stun and the highest ammo out of all shot guns has made it my favorite one. It requires timing to use properly as it registers very poorly otherwise.

Kamal: A good rushing weapon. However it can only hit something when your on the same level as it. Trying to get it to hit something above or below you is a losing battle. Registers the best out of all the slug weapons.

Sautees: These are fun. They stun and inflict loads of damage with a very high ammo count. Harder to make register IMO but are great rushing weapons.

Bazookas: These are more commonly seem as CQC deterrents. They cause massive damage and large amounts of stun which can stop a CQC player cold. However the lighter models can be used to stun your opponent and provide loads or damage very quickly.

BZ-Brocken: A lightweight bazooka which can be used on a CQC AC given the right support. However it suffers from the same registration problems as shotguns do and it only has 35 rounds.

Grenade Launchers: These things can swing the flow of a game with just one shot. Break you target's PA, blast em and they lose a couple thousand AP easy. However they are hard to hit with. The most common ones will be listed.

Travers: This lighter grenade launcher was a gift to CQC AC's. Its light enough to be used on a LW CQC build and the recoil is easy to manage.

Spala: A spam drop weapon or a finish weapon. Light and easy to transport

Raiden Arms: Considered to be broken by many players. These boost the greatest accuracy and ammo in the grenade world. They also fire two grenades not just one and just like the MG weapon arms can hit from awkward angles. Best combined with a sniper cannon for accurate stun or a weapon that forces the opponent to dodge in a predicable manner. cough*wheeling*cough

High lasers and laser cannons: And they thought that enough shell defense would save them. Nope. Alas, laser weaponry is often screwed over by lag. I'll give a few that have worked well. Keep in mind that these are very heavy and you should only use one per AC, don't try to dual wield these.

HLC09-Acrux: A lighter high laser with decent hit registration and excellent power. However since CQC AC's tend to use high power boosters it can be difficult to mange your En. Pick your shots right and it will last you the whole match, don't try to spam it.

HLC09-Becrux: The hand held version of the Acrux. It weights more but drains less with more ammo. Solitaire's Aether build makes great use of this weapon as an example.

ER-0705: A En zook, the nasty little thing will and does make mincemeat of the toughest of AC designs. Provided you can hit with it. It has the same problems as a zook but fires rapidly.

EC-0300: Combine this with a 102 for a CQC combo that cannot be escaped at mid range. Slow fire rate and low ammo are the only bad things I can say about this weapon.

Plasma weapons: I retract my earlier comments, if these things hit then the opponent lost a good amount of AP, had their PA take a nasty hit and now has to deal with ECM. Very hard to make register.

Samsara: This is fun, and tracks well for the amount of damage it can cause.

Tresor: Faster ballistics velocity makes it more likely to hit and it comes with all the plasma benefits.

Missiles: These are easy to use weapons and can keep constant pressure on a target. They have a high drain cost and that can be a problem if your not ready for it.

Musselshell: Great jousting weapons. Get in close to your target before you let them fly and unless your opponent is very skilled or has cover readily available you won't be disappointed.

Dearborne02 and 03: Works in the same manner as the Musselshell, combine with a MG to deny your opponent any Primal Armor. Get in close and just keep firing, AC's will die, unless your opponent is good at dodging. Watch out if your trying to thread these through MG fire, they hurt if they explode in your face.

MP-0203: These can work like the Dearbornes or as mid range harassment. They are also your best weapon versus permaflyers. Very solid missiles but they do drain a fair amount, which can make them difficult to work into your AC.

Niobrora03 and the Allegheny01: You can joust these or use them like the dearbornes but they are lighter and drain less. The damage they produce is similar and in the case of the Allegheny can be better. These things are very hard to dodge at close range and most AC's will attempt to flee from them. You can then gleefully shoot your opponent in the back as your missiles chase them down.

Sniper weapons: For the most part these are combined with the raiden arms to stun and hammer someone. Keep in mind that someone skilled with a SC is a nightmare to face with a light CQC AC.

049Ansc: Most commonly seen as a long range spam weapon it also works up close for stunning people thus leaving them vulnerable to other weapons. Raiden arms are the best example. This SC is also great for jousting. On the downside its very heavy and the recoil is something most LW's can't deal with.

I'll post a frame breakdown tomorrow, too tired to do it now.
Ok here it is:

Frames: CQC AC's need to be able to close in and maintain their effective combat range above all else. This means you need to be fast. I tend to run a CQC build at around 8000-9000 weight for a LW build and around 11000-11500 for a mid CQC build. Sometimes lighter. Although they could work at higher weights depending on the weapons you have equipped and what type of opponent your fighting. The other factor which greatly impacts a CQC AC is the unit's stability. Without some stability any good stun weapon is going to give you a hard time.

Heads: Your need to look for stability and low weight here. For the most part heads that work well on dual rifle lights and mids work well here too.

047an02: This could be the best head part out there in 1.4 regs. Decent PA, great system recovery and very high stability. As an added bonus its camera function means that you can lock on from greater ranges. Its kinda heavy for my taste but I've seen it work for others.

Ekhazar: While its lacking in the areas or PA rectification and system recovery the head has an incredible stability rating with out being as heavy as the 47 and it drains less than some of the other heads. If you feel you AC needs an AP boost this head can give you that as well.

Judith: This thing is bad@ss. Nice PA rectification, over 600 in stability and acceptable system recovery. It also gives a boost to your lock on with camera functionality. All of this for 200 weight. The only real down side to this head is its drain.

Holofernes: The lightest head part in the game. It also has great stability and passable PA rectification, the downside is its low system recovery, getting hit with AA will hurt.

Soluh: Light and easy on the En with the best stability out of any head part. PA is passable although system recovery could be better. This may be one of the best choices for a CQC AC.

Linstant: Lightweight with the best PA rectification score. Stability and system recover are fine but this is also the drainiest head.

Cores: This is were you get most of the defense on your AC it will generally be the heaviest part you equip. Choosing a core should give you a balance of PA, defense and Stability without being too harsh on your En supply. As with the heads a few mids work, most of the LW's do and the heavies should be avoided.

Ekhazar: Watch out for its low PA score, but otherwise it excels in all other areas without being too heavy or too drainy. Its a fine choice for any AC. IMO its kinda overused but thats just me.

Aaliyah: If if weren't for the drain I would use this on every AC I built. Its a nice balance between mid and LW good defense, passable stability and great PA. The drain can really hurt AC's that aren't prepared for it though.

Latona: Very easy on the En, with passable stats everywhere else. Its one of the heavier LW cores though.

Lahire: Very light with PA out the wazoo. It has low defense though and the drain can be tough to manage.

Soluh: A solid choice if the Ekhazar it too heavy for you taste. It has nice PA and good stability with better AP and defenses that the other lightweight cores. Low cost to equip.


Arms: There are really only a few that work well in CQC one of them is a lightweight part and the other two are midweight.

063an03: Acceptable maneuverability with excellent aim precision. These work very nicely with an assault rifle and a machine gun. High weight and drain though.

Ekhzara: Same maneuverability as the 063 with less aim precision. However they are lighter, drain less and have more AP.

Lahire: Excellent maneuverability and are very lightweight. These are for those how really like to get in their opponent's face. Hence they are great for MG + shotgun AC's. They do have high drain however. My favorite CQC arm.


Legs: Like the core part you want to find a nice balance of stats that work well for you. I recommend looking at Stability, turning ability, how heavy the legs are and how much they drain. All the lightweight legs work well along with some of the mid weight ones. I'll also do my best to cover quads and RJ's.

Aaliyah: These legs are once again a nice balance between speed, stability and defense they aren't overly heavy and drain less than some of the LW leg parts. These stack nicely with the ekhazar core to give you loads of AP. A favorite of mine for light mids.

Judith: Light with good stability and turning, they are faster than the latona legs but also drain more.

Lahire: The Gremlin legs move at lighting fast speeds and turn very well, never giving your opponent a chance to rest. However they are quite drainy and their defensive stats are somewhat lacking compared to other leg parts, PA does help with this. This is the leg part I use the most.

Soluh: A bit slower and heavier than Lahire with less drain, the stability they give can be a great asset when using cannons and they turn very well.

Sobrero: The Feather weight legs make very quick agile AC's but thats all they have going for them. On the right AC these can be brutal, use them on the wrong build and you'll be dead before you know it.


RJ legs: CQC RJ is kinda weird. However they can move quickly in any direction and are great to pair with weapon arms. They play differently as well since you more of a spam bot than a controlled CQCer. MG arms plus missiles and assault armor are likely the best combo for these.

Saubees: Fast with great jumping. You can really mess someone up with how easily these can change elevation.

Alicia: The best turning out of all RJ's they give you the same abilities as the Saubees but for more weight and En drain you get better defenses and turning so you aren't completely screwed by a good flanker.

Quads: These have a lot of drain and poor air performance but their speed is their selling point. With Virtue mains these things will zip all over the map. Unfortunately they don't like grenades and thie high en cost is hard to get used too.

Duskaror: Very quick with great turning and they can abuse cannons with their high stability. They do have over 7k drain though.

FCS: Again only a few of these work well for CQC.

Inblue: Lock speed and high parallel processing make these great FCS for getting right in your targets face.

Ekhazar: If you have a weapon set like Marve/Marve/sapla/sapla use these. THE dual rifle FCS and can be used to fix tracking with weapons that have drastically different melee abilities.

Judith: If you want to use missiles look here. They have good stats all around.

Things CQC hates:
First and foremost, lag. If your opponent lags your likely going to spend time pounding them for nothing. Extremely frustrating. The best way around this is the use missiles, if you can stagger your shots well you can hit through flares.

Reverse Joints: A skilled reverse joint player is a terror to face. They move differently from other AC's and your aren't going to be controlling the air. A smart RJ player is also using high powered boosters so they might be faster than you are depending on the AC you've built. Their weakness is their piss poor turning. Flank them and once you get a proper position don't relinquish it for any reason. Easier said than done.

XCG-B050: When used defensively this is a surprisingly effective weapon. When combined with a SC it will give and CQC AC trouble. This is where Linstant gen comes in handy as the increase PA output can be a great asset. Approach carefully and focus on dodging. Don't let an opportunity slip by though.

Lightweight Dual rifle AC's. The most common AC out there, these are only an issue if the have high powered boosters. If they are idiots and using latona mains rush them and flat out overpower them. High powered boosters ones, however, will be much more difficult. They can pace you and control the range of the game well slowly wearing you down with their rifles. They cannot however stand toe-to-toe with your heavier weapons. Something to be especially wary of are DR lightweights with adds and Virtue mains. These will likely be faster than you and their weapons will register better both offensively and defensively. Try using one of your own and you'll see how easy it is to overwhelm someone with it.

Defensive play with a Kamal. The kamal will stun you and inflict major damage plus you still have to worry about their other weapons. Missiles can help here but if they have flares it becomes more difficult. Try to approach from above or below them as the kamal will be less effective there. Again, easier said than done.

Things CQC likes:
CQC: These matches are a blast. Its a knock down drag out slug fest that can have you on the edge of your seat given their furious pace. Keep a level head and remember that PA is your friend. Regrettably the number of people who play CQC is very low so you won't see this often.

Heavies: A good heavy player is also an extremely fun match up. As these two styles are counters to each other.

Tanks: Easy to flank and out maneuver unless your opponent knows exactly what their doing. Beware of those that drop all their weapons since they are likely to pull out hanger Marves which can shred you in seconds.

AC's with Sobrero gens. Their PA won't last long, don't hesitate to use assault armor if you've got it. An AC without PA is a dead AC versus CQC.

One on One matches. Some nut jobs like me enjoy battle royals but CQC AC's work better one on one. Given their weapons low ammo and poor registry its difficult to have to fight more than one opponent. Particularly since you'll likely lose some AP closing.

Look in schematics section of the forums, there are some good CQC AC's in there. Modify them to suit your taste. 

Monday, November 22, 2010

Controller Configuration

Eva turns its gaze upon...

                                               CONTROLLER CONFIGURATION

A the beginning of the game we get to choose some controller preferences. A lot of those who are new to the XBOX variants of armored core regularly choose control type A. With auto-sight, auto-boost, and auto-purge on to boost. They all sound very convenient and helpful to the new player. But today I'm going to tell you NO!

    Control A has you fire with the A and X buttons. But in doing so one cannot also turn at the same time.The auto sight compensates for this. But just like all the Artificial this is unreliable. Sometimes forcing you to lock on and face the wrong target. Really annoying of there are other targets besides the one you want like say multiple MT units on Arteria Carpals, and in Richland. But with Control B you fire with the left and right bumpers. All boosting mechanisms stay the same. At first it may seem awkward but use it for a little bit. Then change back to your old config. you will see an immediate difference. You will feel that the old is inferior to control -B. Especially if you try this using a rusher type NEXT. Being able to turn and shoot at the same time is godsend, and if you're getting raped by rushers, this is why.

The Control B is a little awkward compared to A, since putting your fingers on A and X is a little more natural than using both fingers to fire (If you're switching over i guess).

   Those three optional conveniences, turn them all off except for auto-purge. Since there's no reason to keep an empty weapon. Just extra weight. When you're being highly mobile you are up in the air and just drop to the ground to save energy works better than doing some soft landing which wastes energy and slows you down in my opinion. Especially in water arenas. Sometimes letting yourself half-sink and just quick-boosting is a lot more efficient than boosting. This is really helpful for those quad-leg users.

If you want to be EN efficient just turn it off. It really helps out. Many times in a heated fight i may forget to keep check on my energy and its low. What kept me from running out was the little extra that wasn't wasted on auto-boost.

   Don't use auto-sight because you don't want to trust a computer to decide which direction and which target you want to face and lock on to.  You may want to go to key-assign and change the lock type to the D-Pad. You might press the left stick by mistake, and thats annoying. Also it makes changing targets easier by just tapping a directional button than it is to hold down the left stick.  

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Eva turns its gaze upon...

O_o. Sightlock has some pretty insane moves being showed off in this 1 v 1 match vs Solterelor. Watch carefully from 4:30 on. He just seem to keep Sightlock locked on... sry 4 dat 1, hehehe

Eva turns its gaze upon...

A great vid that has it is annotated with useful tips on energy management

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Combat Analysis

Today we are all about combat analysis. We are going to start taking looks at some battles and review what was done right and what was done wrong.


At the beginning of this battle as you look at the player's next, you would see, if you're an experienced online player, that  this is a pretty unique design. The concept behind it not so much. You can also see he is using no right hand weapon. His setup from what i can tell:

63 AN frame
WHEELING01 missiles,
Acrux laser cannon (right shoulder)
Becrux Laser rifle- (left hand)

Many would say his concept would be high risk high gain, heavy hitter. This is a concept i would only reserve for those experienced with this method of fighting or for pros. If you can not learn to wait for your moment to strike you're going to keep missing. And you need to rely on getting hits or you're going to be losing by a large deficit like this player. His enemy on  the other hand is going for the exact opposite. He is using a lightweight- whittle em' down- sort of style. He relies consistent hits to win. But if you were an observant spectator, you would notice that he uses, i think MUSSELSHELLS , and the HUGE SIOUX missiles. He uses a pretty sneaky tactic. He fires the MUSSELSHELL missiles as a distraction and to hide the slow moving but very powerful SIOX missile. The same tactic is used with kojima missiles.

The enemy player is effectively using mobile combat tactics. Presenting himself as a hard target to lock-on. He doesn't stay on his screen for long making it especially difficult for our player to use his energy weapons which require a longer lock on time and decreased tracking ability. He is not so much flanking or passing his  enemy. He is just using good mobile tactics at near-midrange as his NEXT should. I myself favor this strategy.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Team Battle

If you've played team battle like basically anyone who has played online most certainly has, then you will notice trends in the flow of these battles.

     We all hate it that within the first 20 seconds into the match especially on the bigger maps your that one person for whatever reason is being singled out and annihilated by the whole other team. The reason for this is pretty simple. Either You're very good and they feel the need to gang up on you, or more likely you over extended yourself. Too many times, and we are all guilty of it, we just blast away forward ahead of our team mates out for blood. And being the only target in front of the entire team they metaphorically rape you.Then next thing you know you're sitting there wondering where the hell were your teammates.

     Don't rush forward, instead hang back and stay next to your team mates as close as reasonably possible. I myself prefer to stand back behind them. Reason being you want to wait and see who on the other team is the biggest threat to you and your team as a whole.


These are the NEXTs to look out for in Team Battle:

Support: These will be equipped with long range weapons. namely being sniper cannons or more threateningly rail cannons. Rail cannons have a faster reload time than snipers and are more effective in closer rangers while still giving  out really good damage.

Assault: These will be your heavies. BEWARE THE HEAVY!!! They can absorb ridiculous amounts of damage and will dish out insane grief too. These are normally armed with grenade launchers and bazookas. If you're penned in a confined area say like UNDERGROUND or the train within GREATWALL then you may as wells put your controller down. Things are gonna get ugly real fast.
 
Missiles Whores: We've all seen em'. They are everywhere. Doesn't take much skill to be one. They come with one or two WHEELING3s and can be devastating in the early moments in  a match. Your duking it out with one dude till all of a sudden you get hammered with explosive rain. It's always wise to bring flares to a team battle. Just because you can dodge one Hound doesn't mean you can avoid two. It may end up being a different story.

       To counter these support NEXTs then you want to identify and condemn. Start talking with your team and single out the most threatening NEXTs and kill them. Support NEXTs can cause havoc in the flow of  battle and you should NOT leave them alone. But don't worry they are usually not good in head to head confrontations. All of these supports, normally if they are doing their job right, stay back out of the action and just keep whittling down their enemies. The exception to this would be the Assault support. They go in the front where their weapons and armor keep them alive and their enemies dead.

Divide and Conquer

          If you start singling out one of their players and kill him quickly then you leave them at a pilot deficit. It can be very hard to win of you're outnumbered. But WATCH OUT, there are some players who can last a long time against multiple enemies. You usually see this when they are the last ones standing, and they can't seem to finish him off. If the three of you can't kill him quickly move on to the next guy. Kill somebody off. If he starts to run leave him ,and designate a new target from those who are still fighting. This splits them up, and you  can kill off the weak players to have chance against the really good ones. 

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Builds

This is not my post  I came around this post while searching to increase my knowledge. This was written by Johnny G  on a neoseker forum post. This is a very good post.


I'm starting this thread in part because of the number of PMs I get from other forum members asking for help or advice with the game. It's not generally an issue or someone being "stuck" somewhere, but rather people asking me for my opinion on designing or recreating cores. And I'm happy to do it - AC construction is my favourite part of the game. Even so, I figured the forum could use a thread like this, a place for veterans to share their advice with newer players. Just the same, newer players can ask questions or share their own personal experiences... basically anything goes. Discuss your personal principles of AC design or your combat tactics; some people win through superior designs, others through superior piloting skills. The true masters with through both.

I'll start this off with some core principles behind AC design which I have learned through many hours of hard work creating new setups. 

Versatility is critical to any AC setup. Now sometimes we'll go out and make cores that are specifically designed for a single purpose or theme, but any real "signature" design is going to have to be versatile. Signature design referring to a core that a person would use often. In order for a signature core to function properly in that role of being used alot it must be able to handle just about any situation. If the core is not balanced it will struggle in certain situations and glaring weaknesses will emerge. As far as I'm concerned, versatility = victory for any really well designed core. How do you make a core versatile? Well, there are several ways.

    Balance is critical to versatility. Your design must have a proper balance between weaponry, speed and defense. However, this does not mean that these three factors must be equal; they merely need to be balanced. Take for example my Phaedo core, a heavily armed heavy biped. It can bring a lot of firepower and defense to the table but as is to be expected it isn't the fastest design on the planet. However, I designed it to have enough mobility to suit my purposes and my combat style. For that reason the speed is in balance with the rest of the core, even though the speed is not directly equal to the attack or defense ratings. Variety in your weapon selection is also going to be a key factor when constructing an AC. Now that the left arm slot can be equipped with "standard" weapons there is a lot more freedom in what you can do. Generall however, there are certain elements in weapon choice that a versatile AC will need.
      Long Range Weapon: You're going to need a long range weapon for your core. This can come in the form of a sniper rifle, a missile setup or perhaps a large cannon that has a fast shot speed (ie. MWC-LQ/15). This gives your AC some teeth at range and gives you an advantage early on in matches, as well as providing support in the event that you need to back off. Mid Range Weapon: You'll be spending most of your time in your opponents mid range so having a good weapon for use here is going to be important. It can be an automatic (Chain/Machine gun), a big gun or cannon... anything with a high offensive edge basically. Close Range Weapon: This doesn't necessarily mean a blade, though it very well can. Other great close range weapons include shotguns, EO cannons and fast energy pulse cannons. These weapons will come in handy when you find yourself in close and can bail you out of tight situations.

Set your primaries - know which of your weapons you are going to use most often and make sure you are good with them. Even though most ACs have four or more different guns on them that doesn't mean that you will use all of them equally. Make sure you know which guns to use when and how best to operate them when in battle.

Know your strengths... and your weaknesses. We've all got them so try to work around these factors when building a core. Ideally you'll want a design that enhances your strengths while diminishing your weaknesses. For example, if you can't dodge worth shit why bother fronting anything? Build a massive AC that survives based on its defense over its speed. There's no sense in committing yourself to a core that is going to force you to use a specific tactic that you struggle with. The whole purpose of being able to build your own core is that you create something which works for you.

Are you feelin' it? In my personal experience the one factor above all others than gives a core lasting value is whether or not you enjoy using it. You could go and create an awesome design that looks great on paper and in battle... but if you aren't having fun with it you aren't going to want to use it. When you come across that perfect configuration you'll know, trust me. You'll become hooked on the design and you'll never really want to use anything else in battle. Why do you think I never shut up about Phaedo? That core breathed new life into my waning love for the series.

This may be about older games but the concept still applies to the new ones too, and will continue to apply to future games.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Videos

Im trying to get my hands on a recording device to make and post videos to go along with my lessons. Once i get the money you will start to see my videos ono this blog.

this one is for a class.

Combat maneuvers

I generally use lightweight frames, and sometimes mid-weights. So i try to find a balance between boost power and boost drain. If you have somewhat low power but high sustainability then you're alright. But what you can't do is start quick boosting like crazy to try to keep up with a rusher or to dodge missiles. Both will get you killed.

 The rusher has his own tempo for out maneuvering you and if he's good he watching out for his energy to keep up the pressure, so in short you're gonna run out and he going to rape you with what ever CQB weapons he's packing.

The dude with missiles is just going to launch again, and you will have little or no energy to dodge- that's if you were dodging missiles instead of running from them. So Don't over do it.

When trying to avoid missiles you first have to identify what missiles your opponent is using. Tactics for evading missiles vary from weapon to weapon. The WHEELING3s are quite possibly the easiest to identify because they are the most commonly used by missiles spammers, and because they shoot a trillion missiles at once at you.
To dodge these you really don't want to outrun them. It is very inefficient and you wont be able to attack back. And I will be straight with you- I tested this out- you actually improve those missiles hit rate if you run than if you stand still. What instead you need to do is get some altitude. Rising upwards at an angle will cause most of the missiles to miss.

another dangerous but much less common missile are the hand missiles. They are not used because they take up the arm weapons slots, but when you see them they hurt. The key to dodging these accurate direct fire missiles are to
A. use flares (easiest way to avoid missiles of any kind)
or
B. regular boost towards the missile than QB (quick boost) int the opposite direction the missiles are traveling.

The missiles move at a good pace so get your timing right. But once you accomplish this then this player is not longer a threat to you unless he's pulling off the missile-boost swing. Then you may be in trouble. I don't really know how to counter this yet so if you know then let me hear about it in the comment section.

To deal with slow but accurate missiles just outrun them. They have low flight time, but there's no dodging them. To accurate and slow to out maneuver. So run. A common tactic i use so people dont outrun them is to combine these with the MUSSLESHELL supplemental missiles. You need to have the MUSSELSHELL missile on your back as well to use the side ones but just fire Poplar1 missiles while you have the side missiles on, and your enemy will try to dodge them like any other direct fire and they WILL get hit. Nice way to whittle down your enemy.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Energy conservation

When in intense battle royals players find only too often that they have run out of energy and are struggling to maneuver. A solution to this problem is tuning one's NEXT to have very high EN efficiency. In my opinion this is only a viable solution for beginners and begins to lose its advantages in intermediate battles. This is a complete waste of time in higher level battles. When tuning for efficiency you trade off other valuable stats and weapons like energy rifles. That's because being able to quick boost like crazy won't save you from skilled players, and you will still run out and you will still die. The trick to it is quick boosting efficiently. One of my favored combat styles that's extremely effective against close range rushers is my mid range combat style. I use a Lahire frame. I got this notion from seeing Otsdarva, who uses a close range NEXT for mid-range. It's EN efficiency is very good and so are its side booster (Holofernes). Basically I just back peddle,
                                             side->side->back->side
It seems cheesy but finding a rhythm that will keep you from getting hit and allowing you to dish out the damage is a very good strategy indeed. This style requires some accurate and strong mid-range weaponry. For this I use an EN efficient energy rifle and the 47 AN assualt rifle. I use the En rifle because I've noticed that many NEXTs are weak to energy weapons. Especially lightweight rushers. IN a pitched battle you don't noticed your being culled until your almost dead. It doesn't seem that strong but it can actually dish a very reasonable amount of damage  in a relatively short amount of time. The real reason most people don't recognize that they are in trouble is because these are low impact weapons. They don't cause grievious amounts of damage in one or two shots or stun you. they have plenty of ammo, assuming you're somewhat conservative with the En rifle (it only has 80 something shots), and you're using your other weapons.

My next Eva is a very versatile next. Its lightweight frame allows me to hold my own a maneuvering fight and my long range cannon missile allows me some accurate distance fire to cause some good damage. Its not much of a heavy hitter, but for the SAPLA grenade cannon on it left shoulder. This I wip out if my opponent is getting to close or if they're a heavy and slow. It's fast and hits hard. This is also the NEXT that incorporate the En Rifle and Assault Rifle combo. It's very versatile and after building so many designs working off the concepts I've seen from other players, taking the advice to play with what works for me best, and settling down on one of my first Originals, I have found my main NEXT.

But now I sound like hypocrite. Talking about how you should be conservative with En and I just sort of went off on a tangent. My bad. The point I'm trying to make is that you don't need to be able to fly forever. Your much better making your own combat style and if flying forever works for you than so be it, but you don't need to do that. Mine is only partially conservative to facilitate my evasive combat style. Not getting hit is kinda the point with a light weight. So what you need to do is find a rhythm if it's too obvious pros will pick up on it.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

You have never seen missiles do such things before. I bet you didnt know that they were even capable of such feats

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

I do not reccomend the use of a left hand blade. This creates a phenomenom called white lock. The host is unaffected, but other players do not recognize that there is a lock on them. Due to a game flaw the game checks to see if thee is a lock on weapon on the right hand. If there is none it does not know that there is a lock. This causes the host blader to seemingly teleport and warp across the field for a kill. This is the lag u experiance. I want to help get the word out, so blading can at least have a little more respect.

Personal learning network

Welcome to the Armored Core learning blog. I will take request at topics to help make this blog grow for the good of the Armored Core communtiy. I will primarily use this blog since its easy to read and organize. I have a delicious acount if anyone would like me to use that also, it is a possibility. I want to get connected with other Armored Core blogs out there and increase my learning base, which will in turn help others. Im stoked for AC5 and will definetely buy and go pro. As it is im an above average player. The japanese used to kill me, but with the proper application of tactics and str8 up skill, I overcame. And these are the tactics I want to impart onto others. I will be posting a tutorial video from youtube shortly to get started.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

A teacher trying to ban facebook

First things first, WHY EVEN BOTHER. If u say something is forbidden than natural humans are tempted to do it( as we all know). Facebook, is a means of communicating like talking. You cannot ban  speech, so why try to ban facebook. You really can't, well not effectively anyway. Although  I do agree that online flaming, and cyber bullying are wrong, those kinds of things happen evrywhere. The only difference is that online the messenger is wearing the cloak of anominty. This lets them write whatever they want without fear of someone physically confronting them. Pretty weak huh. So thats why flaming doesnt bother me. Write what you want, your just one fool. I agree with those who believe we can only teach our children how to interact as we teach them how to deal with people physically also. Its hit or miss there too, but then again tis always been when its come down to parenting. Well good luck all you parents. Give my generation some footing to continue where you leave off.

This Blog

I like talking about various subjects and  i like hearing about the world, and i luv speaking about contriversial issues(in an educated and respectful way.) If u want me speak on a subject leave a comment and lets start a discussion. Even if its about games or wat i should write about.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Schools finally getting that technology upgrade

Don't exactly know where and how this up in tech at schools is going, but it's getting pretty sick. The world is making remarkable bounds in the field of technology but our schools are essentially as they were 20-30 years ago. Kids need to learn to be savvy with our new world in school. Isn't that what school is for? To prepare children for the world outside their parents' bubbles? Burlington High School are taking the first steps to comply with this goal. The web 2.0 class are helping students become part of  a personalized learning social network (something like that, its a mouthful I know). With this new form of interlinking networks students can take the initiative in their own learning. Students around the school, state, country, or even world can connect share ideas help with research topics, and just discuss ideas using the new growing social network. Those who don't take school seriously are going to fail either way, but this gives boundless opportunities for students reach out and find out what they want to do with their lives. This is a great way for kids to open their eyes to the world and leave their ignorance behind. What better way to learn about current conflicts and their affect than just going online and talking to people or other kids in those areas and seeing how they feel about it. Information and numbers are powerful, so the collective can overcome the tyrant. They only have the power we give them. So horay for technologay!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Armored Core For Answer Online Gameplay

watch these videos (i will continue to update this post as i find more videos)
japanese players
americans

Gaming

One of my favorite game series is Armored Core. It's a series that began on the playstation and has continued onto the 360, and PS3. I played armored core last raven on the PS@, and was hooked. It's a giant mech game, that's gives the player full customization, of all the parts and weapons and auxiliaries of your AC or armored core. I currently play AC For Answer on the 360, and I'm in love. I love the fast paced action I would have never dreamed to see in a mech game. And noobs begone! Any good player will be able to kill newb tactics. The community is pretty closeknit. Online matches can be extremely intense or slower more tactical game, depending on the level of skill or fighting style of the players. I prefer high speed gameplay that you've never seen in mech games. Watch this youtube video. These MAY be japanese players but you still see combat like this with american players too.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Middle East

We have been in a state of war with Iraq, and Afghanistan for almost ten years! What have we been doing and what are we doing now? Is it possible for us to just leave, was our time their worthwhile? Did we have a positive effect in those countries, or did we just further its collapse?

My opinion is that at first we were right to invade Iraq, Saddam Hussein is just to dangerous to leave alone. 9/11 was proof of his hostility with his unprovoked attacks against America. We needed to remove the Taliban, who were oppressing the people in the region and that were planning attacks on our own country. At least we needed to make them think before attacking us. The Taliban was the ruling government in Iraq, so we are at war with that country. Our priorities should be our own country's welfare then theirs.

After invading and destabilizing them, it would be ethical, but mostly prudent to make sure there is a government that is not in favor of continued hostilities with America. Although we can provide suggestions in what form of government they should take, we cannot impose a democracy on them either. They choose to tie religion in their government, and has been their tradition for many years. They need to resolve their issues on their own, at this late stage in the game though. The war has stagnated and we should now leave after giving what aid we can give. America should leave contacts there though to keep an early watch for anything that could be hazardous to us as Americans, and if they try get funny with us come down on them like a storm. We are not responsible for them, we did not conquer them so we shouldn't feel, as Americans, the need to mollycoddle them.