Armored Core: Verdict Day Guide to the basics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By obliviondoll ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS Use the bracketed headings with ctrl+F to skip to any section you want to read. [CHNG] CHANGELOG: What's been added/updated? [LEGAL] LEGAL: Copyright and contact details [CRED] CREDITS: Who else contributed? [INTRO] INTRODUCTION: Why write this guide [CONT] CONTROLS: How to pilot your AC [ADV] ADVANCED MANOUEVRES: Important tricks to stay alive [WRK] WORKSHOP BASICS: How to optimise your AC's performance [STATS] ADVANCED STAT GUIDE: The key elements to look at ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [CHNG] CHANGELOG: What's been added/updated? Current version: 1.1 +Updated authorised sites list to include Neoseeker. +Added section on Scan Mode to Controls section (how did I miss that?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [LEGAL] LEGAL: Copyright and contact details ------------------------------------ I don't own Armored Core, or have any formal agreements with the owners to make an official guide to the game. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. That said, this guide is my own work, and not anyone else's. Copyright belongs to me with a fancy (c) thing and all that entails. Please ask before posting this anywhere. If you see this guide anywhere but GameFAQs, Neoseeker or on my blog at obliviondoll.blog.com, please let me know. This information (or any other feedback) can be emailed to me at flyingmouse@hellokitty.com - yes, that's really my email address. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [CRED] CREDITS: Who else contributed? ------------------------------ The majority of this guide is based on my own personal experiences with Armored Core V and Verdict Day. I learned my lessons by getting beaten down many times over, and watching how it was done. I haven't referred to any other sources for the information contained within. That said, however, honourable mention needs to be made of Ohnoeszz and his excellent "Beginner's Guide to Everything" thread on the Armored Core Legacy forum (forum.armoredcorelegacy.com), but as a specific part/build guide, it's not a direct source for this work. Also, in spite of the name, it makes a few assumptions that make it better for players with a moderate amount of experience, rather than true beginners. If anyone else contributes useful content for this guide, I will list them here along with a mention of how their contribution helped. This includes additional information or corrections. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to help out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [INTRO] INTRODUCTION: Why write this guide? ----------------------------------- Welcome to this, my first FAQ. I've played both Armored Core V and Verdict Day from day one, and I've got a lot of experience behind me. If you're not playing on the Japanese server in Verdict Day, you might have run into me or my team, Nergal. I've been speaking to a few people recently who have mentioned that the game is decidedly lacking in useful tutorials for many skills which are important to being competent even in single player, let alone the harsher environment of online play. As a result, I decided to try and fill this gap with my knowledge. I'm not the best player, but hopefully, I'm a good enough teacher to set you on the right track. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [CONT] CONTROLS: How to pilot your AC ------------------------------ Sometimes, it's the simple things that trip us up. In Armored Core, piloting is easier than building the perfect AC, but it's not always easy. Almost every AC pilot in Verdict Day will advise you to change your controls from the default layout, because it doesn't really help you to play effectively. I'm going to list the default control layout, even though I don't personally use it. I'll also list the changes between my layout and the default, to give an example of how you can change things. After the layouts, I'll explain basic piloting and what the controls actually mean. NOTE: This guide is being written based on the PS3 version, but the controller layout is placed identically on the Xbox 360. Square/triangle/X/O on PS3 correspond to X/Y/A/B respectively on the 360. R1/R2/L1/L2 are likewise the same as RB/RT/LB/LT. Start is the same on both consoles, but the PS3 has "select" where the XBox has the "back" button. ---------------------- DEFAULT CONTROL LAYOUT ---------------------- The controls listed below may be customised thoroughly: Movement: Left stick (each of 4 directions can be mapped independently) Aim/turning: Right stick (again, 4 independent directions) Fire Right-Hand Weapon: R2 Fire Left-Hand Weapon: L2 Fire Shoulder Weapon: R1 Toggle Boosters: L1 High Boost: Square (hold for Boost Charge) Swap weapons: Triangle (used in conjunction with the appropriate fire button) Jump/Boost Drive: X Deploy Recon unit: O Glide Boost: L3 (click left stick) Toggle Scan/Combat Mode: R3 (click right stick) Purge Weapon: D-pad Down (with appropriate fire button, like swapping weapons) Buzzer: D-pad Left Text chat: D-pad Right Note: Due to the freedom to remap directions independently, the player can bind forward and backward movement onto the same stick as turning instead of strafe controls, which some old-school players prefer. The options below may not be customised in the game menu: Pause: Start (single player only) Menu: Select ----------------- MY CONTROL SCHEME ----------------- Anything not listed below is the same as for the default controls Aim/Turning: Still on right stick, but with up and down inverted. Fire Right-Hand Weapon: R1 Fire Left-Hand Weapon: L1 Fire Shoulder Weapon: R2 Toggle Boosters: Square High Boost: L2 (hold for Boost Charge) "Bumperjumper" type control schemes using R1 or L1 as the jump button (usually with the opposite as High Boost) are popular as well. Whatever control layout you decide to use, make sure all the functions you plan to use regularly are easy to reach without losing control of movement and turning. --------------------------------------- That's nice, but WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? --------------------------------------- Now HERE'S the tricky part. Armored Core V (and Verdict Day) introduced some new tools to your movement and combat arsenal, and renamed a couple of the old ones just to be confusing. Here's what you need to know: Boost/High Boost: In this guide, and for most experience players I know, "Boost" refers to having your normal boosters turned on (default L1). While in Boost movement, your AC gets a speed boost based on the effectiveness of the boosters you have equipped, and the weight of your AC. Most players use boost movement for the majority of most battles. High Boost, on the other hand, is similar to the "quickboost" in AC4 and For Answer. This allows you to perform a high-speed dodge in your current movement direction. Once again, your booster stats affect how fast you accelerate, how long you move for, peak speed and various other things about the performance of these manoeuvres. Your normal boost doesn't drain energy, but high boosts cut into your AC's energy reserves. Boost Charge: This is an ability that's linked to your AC's High Boost action. When you hold the button instead of tapping it, the AC's boosters charge up for a (very) short time before you unleash a powerful kick. Bipeds hit harder than reverse jointed legs, but tetrapods and tanks hit really hard too. Also, nobody says "tetrapods" - they're "quads" in all previous AC games. Glide Boost: When you click down the left stick, you get a short "charge up" animation, then your AC accelerates up to high speed. It's a lot like the past games' "Overboost" ability, but you need boosters active and your AC's feet on the ground to activate it. Also, if you reverse your movement direction from the direction you started in (relative to your AC's facing), it disables the Glide. If you activated it while moving forward, you can only angle back a limited distance without cutting off your Glide Boost. If you activate it to move right, you can only angle slightly to the left from either forwards or backwards. You can, however, activate it while moving forwards and continue moving forwards while turning your AC in circles without any trouble. You can also deactivate Glide Boost by releasing the left stick to stop, clicking the button again, or disabling your boosters (usually good to reactivate them immediately). Boost Drive: This was new in ACV, and has been kept for Verdict Day. A lot of players refer to this as a wallkick or walljump instead. Basically, you can boost yourself off walls with a quick kick that uses less energy than a High Boost for similar effect. Scan Mode/Combat Mode: Another new feature for this generation of Armored Core, there are several important reasons to use Scan Mode. At its most basic level, it provides increased energy recovery, but it does so by disabling weapons. If you use slower-firing weapons, you can use the lull between shots to switch and keep your generator charged during combat. With rapid-fire weapons, you'll want to break from combat to recharge, or use Scan mode for getting into and out of fights. The other major advantage is, predictably enough, scanning enemies. If you have Recon Units active, any enemy within their area of effect will be visible even through obstacles. When you keep an enemy lit up for a short time (as indicated by an on-screen scanning bar), your AC will scan them, and once scanned, you can view the weapons and defenses of the target with your right hand fire button. The left button allows you to mark targets for your team while in Scan Mode. Proper use of Recons and Scan Mode can be the deciding factor in many fights, so it's important to get a good understanding of how your AC's performance changes between the two modes. Honestly, this isn't an easy thing to explain, and the only way to truly understand it is to experience how your AC handles in the AC Test area and in battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ADV] ADVANCED MANOUEVRES: Important tricks to stay alive --------------------------------------------------- There's more to it than just knowing what the buttons do and how they work. This section is where I'm going to cover the practical use for those techniques covered previously. ---------- Jumping sounds easy enough. Press jump, and go up. In Armored Core, though, there's a little more involved. By default, you have "auto-boost" turned on. This means that when you jump, your AC's boosters will automatically engage, keeping you in the air for longer. You can disable this, which means if you want to float once you're in the air, you'll have to manually engage your boosters. The other thing to keep in mind is that with most ACs (tanks work differently), tapping the jump button quickly will barely lift you off the ground, but a slightly more solid press will jump to your AC's full height. In the case of some heavy bipeds, this isn't much of a difference. Your AC's jump height is influenced by the weight of your build as well as the jumping performance of your legs. ---------- Next I'll explain the Boost Drive. This is an advanced technique in and of itself. The basics are simple enough. Hold jump or tap it when near a wall, and you jump from the wall. If you're not moving, or you're moving towards the wall, you go straight up. This isn't as useful for dodging (unless you're a reverse jointed AC), but it does give you a larger boost than a normal jump. For bipedal legs, horizontal walljumps get you a similar distance to a high boost, while reverse joints travel a fair amount further. Quads are less effective for boost using this technique, while tanks aren't able to walljump at all. Also, the acceleration on a walljump is near-instant, hitting top speed pretty much as you kick off from the wall, then gradually slowing down. This speed loss can be minimised by cutting your boosters as you jump (or not turning them on if you disabled auto-boost). You'll quickly lose height as you slow down if you do this, but it lets you travel further, faster. Knowing when to use boosters during Boost Drive and when to cut them off is key to chaining walljumps to cover long distances. ---------- While Glide Boosting isn't an advanced technique in its own right, it deserves a mention here. You can transition from a Glide Boost into a Boost Drive or a jump, but doing so will break the glide. You can also High Boost freely while gliding. Because of the energy drain, this isn't generally going to be a reliable strategy in the long term, but "permaglide" ACs can make sparing use of HBs for evasion while maintaining altitude and speed with a Glide Boost. Just keep in mind that reversing from your initial direction will interrupt the glide, and you can't resume it until you're back on solid ground. ---------- An important technique to cover here is the Drift Turn. This is mentioned in passing during the tutorial mission, but as it isn't a specific button command, many players don't follow the poor explanation. A lot of players do still notice the effect, but assume it's a glitch. When you've been zooming around and suddenly stop to turn, have you ever had your AC spin sharply for no apparent reason? Congratulations, you were drift turning! The process here is fairly simple. While moving, cut your boosters or simply release the movement controls and start to turn. When your AC's feet touch the ground, you'll get a momentary increase to your turn rate. The turn speed increase lasts for as long as your AC continues to slide along the ground, so the faster you're moving, the longer you can keep a drift going and the further you can turn before returning to normal. Lightweight ACs, particularly bipeds with their higher turning rate, can pull full 360 drifts, and sometimes even further. Light Reverse Joints can also usually manage this, or close to it. Midweights are generally only going to pull 180 Drifts, and anything heavier is going to be lucky to make 90 degrees. As with walljumps, tanks don't benefit from Drift Turns, thanks to their lack of feet. ---------- Tank movement is an advanced technique of its own. As covered previously, tanks can't use Drift Turns or Boost Drive. Instead, they have more control over ascending, and the ability to make rapid stationary turns. When you press the jump button with a tank AC, you start rising instantly, where other ACs take a moment to initiate a jumping motion. Also, while holding the jump button, tanks will continue to rise for a short distance before reaching their maximum jump height. As with all other leg types, lighter builds will be able to ascend higher on the same legs. The other aspect where tanks differentiate themselves from other leg types is how they get accelerated turning. Tank ACs have a stationary turning modifier which allows them to turn significantly faster while not moving. While this makes you an easy target, being able to track lightweight ACs as they try to circle you can be worth it. This is even more true when you consider a tank's ability to use cannons without going into ready position, meaning you get free full-speed turning while armed with autocannons or other heavy weapons that another AC would be locked into a restrictive firing arc to use. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [WRK] WORKSHOP BASICS: How to optimise your AC's performance ------------------------------------------------------------ Learning to handle an AC isn't going to get you far if you can't build one that suits you. Knowing your way around the Workshop is just as important as being a skilled pilot. I'm not going to go in-depth on explaining everything, but this part of the guide will tell you the most important factors to consider when designing an AC that's right for you. This "basics" section is going to cover more general AC stats and some tips on making the Workshop screen work for you instead of against you. There's also an advanced workshop section below with more in-depth analysis of various parts and stats. ----------------- WORKSHOP CONTROLS ----------------- In the Workshop screen, there are a few things it's worth pointing out. The biggest one is to use the triangle button (Y on XBox). This switches between several stat views. The default view shows basic stats for each item, but with a press of triangle, you get a full stat view, and a second tap hides all the stats and just gives you a clear view of the AC and whatever part you're trying to fit onto it. Additionally, using select (or back) provides a short description of what each value means. Using this on the full stats screen can be very useful once you've got some experience with the game. Another important and useful tool is the AC Test room. By default, this is set to load you into an empty map. Switching the enemy type under settings gives a different level and type of challenge. The various ACs are relatively skilled for AI enemies, but the non-AC enemies are pretty weak compared to the ones you'll encounter in real missions. When learning the basics I've listed above, I'd recommend practicing movement in the AC Test area with no enemies first, then training against all the different pre-built ACs provided. They're not as skilled as some of the tougher AC battles in Story mode, or even close to the level of an intelligent human player, but they give you a variety of targets to experiment against, and they're competent enough that you'll see improvements as you practice. -------------- BASIC AC STATS -------------- The first thing to do here is to press triangle and bring up the full view. The right-hand side of your screen will now have the aggregate stats for your AC. A few key elements here need to be looked at and focused on, with different ACs and players having different reasons to value certain stats over others. Defenses (KE/CE/TE) are important for obvious reasons. Having a higher defense value against the enemy's damage type means you'll take less damage from those weapons. If your defense value exceeds the damage dealt by a weapon, then the weapon's shots will hit for "ineffective" damage. In most cases, you'll see the projectiles bouncing off your AC's armour when this happens. The damage reduction abilities of your armour are greater against ineffective hits. It's worth aiming to deflect hits from as many common weapons as your AC can handle, but in many cases, there are other factors which matter more to your build than simple durability under fire. AP is another factor in direct combat, since this is your raw health value. Having moderate AP but extremely high defenses can be more valuable than high AP and moderate defense values, but it depends on the opponent's weapons as to which is more effective. Your AC's primary movement stats are shown at the top right, with "Booster" and "HB" numbers. The first number is the speed your AC moves with normal boost active, and the HB value is your High Boost speed. This speed value is less of a practical value than the standard boost, but beside these numbers is a graph of the acceleration curve, which tells you the AC's speed over time using each boost method. Further down, and also related to your AC's mobility, the stats screen includes a listing for "turning performance". A higher value means, of course, faster turning. The final mobility-related value is your AC's energy recovery. This only lists your energy recovery in combat mode, but the scan mode value can be calculated when you understand how scan mode works. Scan mode disables the arms, FCS and any weapons/equipment in the arms, bays and shoulders. Add the energy drain of those items to the recovery value to see how fast your AC recovers energy in scan mode. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [STATS] ADVANCED STAT GUIDE: The key elements to look at -------------------------------------------------------- This is still a basic guide, so I won't go too in-depth on how every part in the game works, but I'll list a few things to look out for on certain parts of your AC when building. First I'll cover some of the more complex stats that are shared across multiple parts, then a few part-specific details. ------------- GENERAL STATS ------------- Defenses (KE/CE/TE): I explained how these work already, but when building your AC, it's important to know the numbers on each part are added together. Because each part has a different defense focus, you need to pick parts with different defense types in order to balance your AC's overall defense values. Weight/Load: Your AC's legs have a Load Capacity stat, which is the amount of weight the legs can carry. The weight of the legs themselves isn't counted for Total Load, but it does count towards your AC's Total Weight, which influences your movement speed (Booster/HB stats). Exceeding your AC's Load Capacity will result in significantly degraded speed. Energy Consumption: Every part except for Generators has this value. Your Generator has an Energy Output value instead, which needs to be balanced in a similar way to Load Capacity. Unlike Load Capacity, you need a surplus of Energy Output compared with your Consumption. Your AC's Energy Recovery is the balance between these two factors. If you exceed your AC's Energy Output, the AC is simply not able to be used. ---------- PART STATS ---------- FRAME PARTS ----------- Head: Hacking stats are important for hack missions, but totally irrelevant at any other time. Camera Performance gives you increased lock on range, and also lets you scan targets at longer range. Core: Energy Conductivity improves your Booster acceleration. This and Thermal Resistance both also affect the performance of Ultimate Weapons, but I won't cover those details in this guide. The Core also determines how many Recon Units your AC carries. Arms: Having a higher Firing Stability gives most hand weapons a faster fire rate. The Shoulder Unit Storage number tells you if you have no Shoulder Unit, single or dual. With dual shoulder missiles, you fire two missiles with each lock, and with other units like Subcomputers, you get double the normal effect. You don't get to equip two separate Shoulder Units, the game just doubles up the effects. Legs: Your AC's legs are usually the base from which you build an AC in this generation of Armored Core. As such, they're the base on which your defenses are built. Unsurprisingly, they're also the primary factor determining how your AC moves. Movement Control, Turning Performance and Jump/Ascent Performance are all fairly self explanatory. Different leg types have their own unique stats as well, so it's worth giving these a look (triangle then select on the Assembly screen) to see what they do. INTERNAL PARTS -------------- FCS: Your AC's FCS (Fire Control System) is what handles lock on functionality for your weapons. Most stats here are fairly self explanatory. Lock Computation is specifically for non-missile weapons, while Missile Lock Computation is for Shoulder and Weapon Arm missiles. As mentioned previously, the Camera Performance stat on your AC's head adjusts lock range from the value shown here. Generator: As mentioned previously, Energy Output is crucial for maintaining mobility in battle. Equally important is your Energy Capacity, which is the total amount of power your Generator can provide in one burst. Particularly with Suzumushi, there are actions which can quickly drain your Capacity and momentarily prevent you from performing certain actions. EXcept with Ultimate Weapon use, this debilitation rarely lasts if your AC has decent Energy Recovery. Booster: Each Booster has separate Boost and High Boost stats for almost every aspect. The values shown for High Boost are also used for Glide Boosting, so having a low High Boost EN Consumption value is important when building an AC for Gliding. Initial Ignition Eff is the percentage of your AC's Boost power that's available when you first turn your Boosters on, and Time to Max Accel tells you how long it takes the Boosters to "warm up" to full power. The stats below these show similar information for High boosting. The graph beside the Booster and HB values on the full stat view shows the speed over time for normal and High Boosting. Recon: There are three types of Recons, each of which behaves uniquely. Sticky Recons are fired forward from your AC, and can attach to anything (including other ACs, both friendly and not). Tracking Recons float above your AC and move with you. Hover Recons deploy above your AC like Tracking Recons, but remain where you place them. Tracking Recons always have a limit of one active, since they'll always be where you are anyway. The other types can have a number of Recon Units deployed at a time. The Simul Communications value tells you how many you can have running at one time. Recon Range tells you how far the Recon can scan around itself, and the Operational Time is how long the Recon lasts before disappearing. WEAPONS ------- There are two basic weapon types with different behaviours. Direct Fire weapons fire their projectile and it usually loses speed and power past a certain range. Missile weapons fire guided missiles which accelerate on their way to the target and deal full damage on detonation. There are a few exceptions to the basic rules for these weapon types, and some individual weapons of each type work differently from others. Shared Stats: Damage is pretty self-explanatory, while Impact is a bit more complex. An AC's Recoil Resistance stat acts like a defense value against Impact. When hit with a high Impact weapon, an AC may be staggered, which reduces its defenses for a short time. If the target's Recoil Resistance is exceeded by a large enough amount, the AC will be "stunned", stopping it in place for a moment. This doesn't last as long as the stagger effect, but it can be crippling if repeated hits can be landed on a single target. Reload Time is the fire rate of your weapon. Low Reload Time means a faster firing weapon. Base Lock-On Time is adjusted for the relevant FCS Lock Computation value to determine how fast your AC targets an enemy ready to fire. With missiles, you need to wait for the reload time to pass before it begins to lock again, but direct fire weapons will stay locked as long as the target is in your FCS lock circle. There are weapons with no lock on stats. These don't lock onto targets, and behave a little differently as a result. Direct Fire Weapons: There's an important factor in Verdict Day which is often overlooked by new players. A weapon's Muzzle Velocity is the speed at which a projectile is fired, and at longer ranges, this value becomes increasingly important. Most CE weapons fire slow projectiles, limiting their effective range to quite a way below the Optimal Range shown. Also, TE weapons have a cutoff point where the projectiles dissipate or detonate rather than simply falling like KE and CE rounds do. KE weapons lose more damage when they go past Optimal Range, while CE projectiles maintain damage, but lose more of their (already low) speed. Along with the Lock Computation of your FCS, a weapon's Base Lock-On Time determines how fast you lock onto a target and have your weapon start to track the enemy. No-lock projectile weapons require manual aim, and while they can be difficult to use, they're often very powerful and as such, can be deadly in skilled hands. Missile Weapons: Instead of a Muzzle Velocity value, these have Top Cruising Speed and Acceleration Duration. There's also a Firing Range stat, which limits how far they can lock onto a target. This limit is a hard cap which may be less than the range of your FCS. If it's further, you still have to get within FCS range to lock on. No matter how far they travel, missiles always hit for full damage, and often have a splash damage value which hits anything in a radius around the impact point. Some missiles detonate in proximity rather than requiring a direct hit on a target. Most missiles have a Base Lock-On time like Projectile weapons do, with AS Missiles being the exception. These missiles can be fired without a lock, and will track any target in range. Missile Guidance is another important and often overlooked stat. This determines how sharply the missile can turn while following its target. Higher values here make evasion more difficult, but the missile's speed is also a factor. Faster missiles need a higher Guidance value to manage tight turns.