_____ _____ /| / \ / \ / | / \ / \ / | / \ / | / | | | / | | / /_____| | / / | \ / / / | \ / / / | \_____/ /________ - Armored Core 2 Arena Battles Version 0.3 This faq is copyright Nathan Manzella Armored Core 2 is copyright Software, Agetec, and Sony Entertainment of America - First off I would like to thank Agetec for releasing such a good game. Secondly I would like to thank CJayC for letting this faq be posted and for his own AC2 faq as it was of much use. Certain game play ideas suggested in CJayC's faq are used in my own strategies and I will give credit when I list them. - Index 1. Getting Started 2. Opponents 3. Strategies 4. Contact Information - GETTING STARTED This faq is written in normal mode without any plus modes activated. When you first start off as a Raven you are the weakest of the weak. You are the lowest ranked in the arena and if you go into performance it says "below average". Hopefully you can change all this in short order. The first thing to do when you start off is SELL EVERYTHING. Most games you are forced to sell your equipment for a lower price then when you initially purchased, not Armored Core 2. The only way to lose money is to botch a mission. Arena battles cost nothing and there are no repairs or ammo refill costs. I suggest doing a few of the beginning missions before you start the arena battles, just to get a little more cash. If you choose to not do any missions you will still have a fat wallet of 246,600 credits with which to purchase your new Core of destruction. Now you can custom make your Core. The most important aspect of your Core is the weapons. I suggest getting the EWG-HC-RAW for your Arm Unit R. It is affordable with your start up cash as long as you forego pretty much every other part. A tank type Leg part will serve you best for your cash. Also a Chaingun for either Back Unit will do fine. Keep in mind that you CAN afford all of this at the start without any extra income. The weapons are really your prerogative but I do highly suggest the EWG-HC-RAW for the beginning until you face a quick opponent. Go into Cockpit Arrange before you start your battles and turn on Enemy Weapon, Enemy Heat, Enemy Energy, Enemy Data, and if you feel like it Winning %. Now you are ready to face some Cores. - OPPONENTS Go into the Arena part of Nerve Concord and hit the x button over any Core, it has a brief description and it shows the Core graphics. Hit triangle and you get all the specs of the enemy. This can be incredibly useful if you wish to know what to expect, how to custom make your Core, or if you wish to make a Core just like theirs (who here does not want a Core like Nine Breaker?). Now after you win every battle in the Arena you get credits. This is basically free credits as first, you do not have to repair or reload anything. Second, you can face an opponent higher then you an infinite number of times without any credit penalties. So Arena cash is good. The only poor aspect of this is you get so little credits during the first few fights. Also you only get cash the first time you defeat a foe. Do not worry if you wish to face opponents lower then you in the ranks, you can not lose your position. Opponents are listed by name, rank, credits upon defeat of enemy, if New Mail comes in, if you get a new part through the mail, and a description of how to defeat the enemy Core. Castor drops out Co-op-Rank 50-1600 credits- You get to face this atrocious fighter only after you have gotten past rank 50. He is not a problem and not really worth the cash to fight, but if you feel like beating up on a newbie... Chris Miura-Rank 49-1200 credits- Similar to Co-op in not being worth your time. Chris Miura is another opponent that is a walking target. Kill him to try and get wins down the board. Light Seeker-Rank 49-2000 credits-New Mail- This Core is not a problem. It has weak armor and a weak weapon. You should be able to just soak all the damage while pummeling him if you do not feel like dodging. He sends you a kind letter after you obliterate his Core. Hustler Two-Rank 48-2500 credits- Just like Mr. Light Seeker, not a problem. He has a weak attack so just fire into him and his weak armor will not stand up to your superior weapons. Living Dead-Rank 47-3000 credits- Slow opponent that will be torn apart by EWG-HC-RAW. Get close and unload the grenade shots. It will not be hard at all. Splurge-Rank 46-3500 credits- This guy is a little tougher then the opponents you have faced. His fast speed and missile attack are somewhat dangerous if you just let him hit you. The EWG-HC-RAW should drop his AP by 900 per hit so just wait for him to slow down or use all energy then get in close. Missiles or long range high ammo guns work as well. Tomboy-Rank 45-4000 credits- She is fast and mobile. Expect her to get behind you. You also can overheat with her solid attack. Much like Splurge, she can be taken down with EWG-HC-RAW or missiles or machineguns. Phaethon-Rank 44-5000 credits-New Mail- This guy is a step down from the previous foes. He is slow and weak weapons. The rocket attack can be dodged by strafing, the rifle attack is so weak it is pitiable. He is slow and sometimes stands in the same spot so EWG-HC-RAW works very well. Venom-Rank 43-5500 credits- Erratically fast and somewhat dangerous. He will attempt to flank you if you are not careful. Keep your back to a wall if you are worried. EWG-HC-RAW will do around 1,000 damage per hit so head on you will destroy him. Also high rate of fire weapons will slow him significantly. Werehound-Rank 42-6000 credits-New Mail- Werehound should be up about ten ranks. His Core is well armored and has a very good weapon that will overheat you if you are not careful. His strategy of little hops is a very effective dodge for your EWG-HC-RAW so do not use it in this fight. If you have not upgraded at all before this fight, now is the time. He is an excellent target for the Pursuit strategy (outlined at the bottom of this guide). You can use a variant of the Pursuit strategy with Back Unit EWX-VLS241 which is slightly more affordable. Grudge-Rank 41-6500 credits- Grudge hops around randomly firing his four missile attack. He can be dangerous but if you keep him in front of you he is easy. Really, just keep shooting him and he will fall very quickly. Altogether much easier then Werehound. This Core is prone to run out of the battle zone giving you an automatic win. Psychedelic-Rank 40-7000 credits-New Mail-NEW AC PART- This guy is erratic to say the least. He will jump to the side one second, turn face the wall, fire his rockets into the wall, run around in circles... This is an exaggeration but this Core will do odd things. He is easy to spot with his color scheme though. His lack of strategy can be very useful to you. He will just stand around sometimes which will give you a chance to unload everything into him. Chasing him around with a flamethrower, EWG-FTG500, was fun and rewarding. After this battle and every battle after this which has the one's digit as a zero you get a new part. This time it is an Optional Part call SP-CBRX and it helps with braking. Not very useful but it sells well. The Engineer-Rank 39-7500 credits- You can outdamage this guy in no time at all. His attacks are weak and he is easy to keep in front of you. Overall not a problem. Prophet-Rank 38-8000 credits- Slow and unwieldy, this Core is an example of what not to do. His attacks, while mildly damaging have a slow rate of fire and are easy to maneuver. He is slow and has a tendency to stand in front of you. Flamethrower, EWG-FTG500, is suggested as it will easily outdamage him. Pollux-Rank 37-8500 credits- Fairly mobile, this Core will hop around using somewhat damaging attacks. Attempt to keep him in front and purchase a weapon with decent range and power, EWG-HC-RAW is suggested. I did chase him around with a EWG-FTG500 but I would not want to again. Death Merchant-Rank36-9000 credits- This is a joke of a fight. He has weak weapons and no dodging ability. Expect a ground fight EWG-FTG500 and EWG-HC-RAW are both suggested but really anything will work against this Core. The mines that he puts out are weak and will barely scratch you, ignore them and concentrate on destroying him. Funnel-Rank 35-9500 credits- His ZWX-IV/Pursuit missile launcher should be feared. You are incapacitated if you get nailed with every ZWX-IV/Pursuit shot. Dodge the four ZWX-IV/Pursuit shots and then move in. EWG-FTG500 and EWG-HC-RAW or any high damage yield weapon will work well as he does not dodge much. Malpractice-Rank 34-10000 credits- Reasonably difficult, the shotgun can really tear you apart. Concentrate on keeping you distance. Long range weapons are definitely suggested. He will use air tactics to get behind and then close in. His chase tactics are very good so be careful. Keep moving and stay far away. Castor-Rank 33-10500 credits- At long range he sometimes just stands there. You can take advantage of the fact and fire at him, despite not having a lock-on. Up close he dodges well but he can not dish out the damage. Get something that will handle his dodging tactics and do not stick with something close range. There is a reference to the 1997 film "Face Off" here, Castor Troy and Pollux Troy were brothers in crime. As several people have informed me it is also a reference to the mythological Gemini Twins. Just to keep the record straight. Time Keeper-Rank 32-11000 credits- Reasonably difficult, he can toss out the damage. His hops and dodges can avoid large powerful shots a decent amount of the time but he is not very fast. Strafe with him and fire when he hits a wall. He is easy to keep in front. Amnesia-Rank 31-11500 credits- He is slow so just concentrate on the damage. Dodging his energy blasts is difficult. Just outdamage him as soon as possible. EAW-DC10 Arms worked very well, three good shots put him down for the count. Chimera-Rank 30-12000 credits-New Mail-NEW AC PART- Very slow, he should not last ten seconds. You can move in, which will help avoid the missile blasts, and fire upclose. Overall not a threat. You have gotten to Rank 30 which means you get another AC part. This time it is the DOX-ELENA, a very good long range FCS, upclose you would be better off with the standard FCS then this one. It sells very well and you can always re-purchase it. Hades-Rank 29-12500 credits- This Core can be immensely dangerous if left to fire continuously. Get the jump on him and fire from long range. He will poorly attempt to dodge. His blasts will reduce you to so much scrap metal if you just stand around. Cerberus-Rank 28-13000 credits- While Hades is all high damage, few shots, Cerberus is multiple shots, speed, and armor. This Core can soak an incredible amount of damage. Fortunately it is not too hard to hit. A low power weapon is not suggested as it will simply put scratches in this Core. Dr. Simon-Rank 27-13500 credits-New Mail- This Core's good aerial tactics can prove difficult. Just wait for your shot if you go with high power weapons. Dr. Simon stays at middle range and will put up a good offense. His relatively weak armor will be his downfall. Grenstone-Rank 26-14000 credits- He picks at you with his rifle but his shots are weak. His very good aerial skills are to be watched out for. Grenstone likes to get behind you. Turn quickly while strafing and attempt to get him in your sights. Take your time with him as it will take a while before he can really get through good armor. Cruel Justice-Rank 25-15000 credits- Cruel Justice can deal damage very, very quickly. The grenade launcher on his arms is extremely hard to avoid and can put you down fast. Either dodge very quickly or shoot faster then he does. He will not dodge effectively and he stays on the ground so use that to your advantage. Blood Striker-Rank 24-16500 credits- He should be rank 34 instead of rank 24. Weak attack and really no comparable dodge. You can just sit back and shoot. Keep your head and this Core will be a cakewalk. Divine Bloom-Rank 23-18000 credits- Another aerial Core. He can dodge very well and has a tendency to get behind you. His weak attack and poor armor give you good advantages, still this Core is dangerous. Super Sonic-Rank 22-19500 credits-New Mail- Very, very fast. This Core will be the fastest you have seen yet. Fortunately it does not actively attempt to get behind you. Its weapons are not dangerous but still keep on your toes. Wait for your shot when you can. Do not worry if you do not hit, you will miss a lot while facing this Core. SAMSARA-Rank 21-21000 credits- Potentially dangerous for this Core has good offensive attacks. The energy blast is very strong so avoid it if you can. SAMSARA stays on the ground, which is very good as he is also very fast. He does stay in front of you so he will be well placed for your shots. This was a nice battle because you get back at him after you constantly sends you these quasi-threatening E-mails. Helios-Rank 20-22500 credits-New Mail-NEW AC PART- His rocket attacks are easily avoided but what you have to watch out for is the EWG-FTG500 flamethrower. If you get too close to him it is all over. The damage from the weapon and overheat must be avoided. Helios will stay in front of you but will dodge quite effectively. Exercise caution while encountering him. When you win, that's right! New AC part. They give you a ZEX-RS/HOUND Extension, a high quality missile interceptor. Bulk-Rank 19-23500 credits- Bulk's bazooka and slug gun are incredibly vicious. You either need a very fast Core or a heavily armored one, preferably both. It is possible to dodge until he is out of ammo but not suggested. Bulk has some of the best armor seen so far and he can dodge and weave quite well for the size of his Core. Dangerous to say the least. Helzehen-Rank 18-24500 credits-New Mail- Less dangerous then Bulk overall. Helzehen has a much better dodge then Bulk but a much weaker pulse rifle. This Core is no push-over but a nice change from the high damage Cores that you have had to face so far. Higher Force-Rank 17-25000 credits- Yet another high damage, decently fast Core. Hope that he does not change to the pulse rifle otherwise this fight could get very ugly. The high AP and tough armor may drag this fight out quite a while. In the race to outdamage Higher Force, you should win but you have to be accurate with your shots. Ever Fighter-Rank 16-26000 credits- Despite Ever Fighter's description, the piloting is not enough to overcome the low quality of the Core. Ever Fighter's weapons are too weak and he is not fast enough to dodge a lot of your high damage weapons. Suave-Rank 15-27000 credits-New Mail-NEW AC PART- Now the dangerous fighters are appearing. Suave has the most damaging attacks yet. He only needs about five or six good shots even if you have a highly armored Core. Like every good defense put up a spectacular offense. He will rarely miss so you have to put him down as soon as possible. A EAW-DC10 Arms will put you on equal terms with high as you will both have nearly the most damaging weapon in the game. You just have to hit him more often then he hits you which may prove difficult. Ares/Nine Breaker E-mails you after this fight and gives you the ZWF-S/NIGHT Arm Unit R, a good sniper rifle as long as you have FCS and energy for it. Ken Hayabusa-Rank 14-28000 credits- Just like Ever Fighter, a very good pilot in an ancient Core. Ken Hayabusa will dodge most of what you throw at him but if you fire enough EAW-DC10 Arms at him, you will eventually hit and kill him. His dodging is top rate though and he will constantly hit you with his small missiles and uzi style Arm Unit R. Stoic-Rank 13-31500 credits- His missile attacks are very dangerous and that is all you have to worry about him throwing at you. Stoic can just stay in one area so charge him when he does so and fire your guns at the same time. The charge may help avoid some of the missiles but I guarantee whatever Core you are in, unless you have cover, his missile barrages will hit you. Brazen-Rank 12-33700 credits- This Core is one of the toughest you will have faced in quite a while. The missile attacks Brazen starts with are tough to avoid and will eat at your AP very quickly. He will very quickly start flying through the air at a high rate of speed firing missiles. After the missile barrage will use his shotgun to finish you off. Keeping away from this Core is the highest priority. Get very good missile defense then find some cover and dodge when the shotgun comes out. No matter what type of Core you have there is a good chance Brazen can give you a run for your money. No.1111-Rank 11-36500 credits- The plasma cannon here will be your biggest worry, the large rockets will rarely ever hit if are you dodging. No.1111 will start off with the plasma cannon blasts which are powerful but not extremely so. He will then switch to the large rockets which you will have no problem avoiding. A fast Core will take him apart in no time. A slower Core will have the high damage weapons to destroy him from the long range No.1111 enjoys fighting from. Strung-Rank 10-40500 credits-New Mail-NEW AC PART- This is the guy that gave you the "test" when you got in with the Ravens. He is highly dangerous with his weapons and decent dodging. He will start with the vertical missiles which can do a significant amount of damage. He will move in with the bazooka which you need to avoid if possible. He will not dodge too well so you can outdamage him as long as you do it quickly. Pump up your armor for this one unless you feel like a rough fight. After the fight you get the INW-EM-RRO Inside part. It is a ECM to disrupt enemy locks. Merciless-Rank 9-45000 credits- This Core is the ultimate in attempting to get behind you. Unless you have your back to a wall you are going to have Black Scythe behind you for the majority of the fight. The chain gun that he has is moderately damaging, the real danger of this core is the laser blade. It is highly damaging and he is fast enough to get behind you and slash you with before you can turn. Suggested strategies are put your back to a wall or corner. Black Scythe eventually try to jump on your head in an attempt to get behind you. Aim upwards and take the would be assassin down. Another strategy would be to get an incredibly fast Core and run Black Scythe out of chain gun ammunition. This can be done fairly quickly and you will have roughly half your health. Then either put your back to a wall or quickly move so that you can see Black Scythe. You will only have to worry about the laser blade so unleash with whatever you can. Mines and bombs may work quite well but I have not tested them. Keep the fact that Black Scythe is incredibly fast foremost in your mind. Dreadnought-Rank 8-54000 credits- This epitomizes the strong, tough Core concept. Dreadnought has enormously damaging attacks with very little ammunition. He will dodge and weave while firing damaging shot after damaging shot. His dodging is very good for his size but he will settle down after a little while and concentrate on blasting you. If you choose to outdamage him with a tank Core of your own do so with excellent accuracy. You need a huge amount of damage in a very short time. A more viable option would be to dodge Dreadnought's shots with a quick Core and then whittle him down. Keep in mind that he can use the laser blade on his Arm Unit L with incredible proficiency. Rose-Rank 7-80000 credits- Here is the video game stereotype that all women in combat are fast and fragile with weak attacks. She has top notch dodging but the armor (pink by the way) is sub-standard for her rank. The attacks she uses can drop you but she needs a decent amount of time to do so. Strong attacks will drop here in a decent amount of time. Having a fast AC is not suggested as she will probably win out by hitting you with accurate shots. Isotope-Rank 6-120000 credits- An aerial Core which will take flight and then settle to the ground fairly quickly. The vertical missiles can do significant damage but they have a slow rate of fire. The other weapons, while dangerous, can be ignored as long as you can outdamage him. He does very little in an attempt to dodge your attacks once he is on the ground. So move in and blast away if you have a heavier Core. A fast Core will probably fair well as long as enough damage can be dealt. The Animal-Rank 5-150000 credits-New Mail-NEW AC PART- This Core is appropriately named for its feral and vicious attacks. He will be unloosing a barrage of highly damaging weaponry constantly throughout this battle. It is difficult to lay down any one strategy for this Core as it is so widely adaptable. It will hit you with middle missiles at long range which are hard to avoid, grab some missile defense if needed. Midrange it will switch to the spread bazooka which should be avoided if at all possible. Upclose it will switch to the laser blade, which with almost any other Core would be a blessing but it deals incredible amounts of damage and sends out a wave of energy with each swipe. If you are going to outdamage him (tough but possible) rush him at the beginning and get him to switch weapons giving you a couple fractions of second more. Fire while advancing and strafe while hitting him with everything you have. Do as much damage in a short a time as possible. I do not advise a fast Core as it will be dropped fairly quickly by the missiles, spread bazooka, and chain gun. You need the AP that you do not have on a fast Core. After the battle The Animal gives you the ZAW-SPLASH Arms part. He feels you have the ability to defeat Nine Breaker so he is contributing this part. This essentially an energy shotgun. Personally I would say stick with the EAW-DC10 if you wish to use the Arms parts as weapons. D. Sebastian-Rank 4-400000 credits- A very fast Core with a tendency to use aerial techniques to get behind you. It has very strong low ammo blasts as well as a machine gun that can overheat you in short order. Just try to keep him in your sights. You have to hit him at every opportunity you can and you will not have a whole lot of opportunities. Fire a strong weapon when you feel it can hit and keep moving. No matter what Core you are using you must pilot well and react to D. Sebastian if you are to win. High AP and defense are always a plus. A fast, well piloted Core can do well against him as long as you can hit him every chance you get. Lion Heart-Rank 3-500000 credits- This Core is as well rounded as they get. A near perfect design. Again, no sure win strategy can be given. Lion Heart's cannon can hit a good portion of the time and that means your destruction. He uses at nearly any range expect inside laser blade range. He is an excellent dodger and his speed is very good. His defense is incredible so light weapons will do you no good. If you have the speed dodge until you see him switch weapons. Then nail him with whatever you can. To outdamage him the only sure way is to charge him until you are in laser blade range. He will switch to the laser blade meanwhile you will hit him with your nasty weapons. It will be a race to do the most damage. Prisoner No.B-24715-Rank 2-600000 credits- Like Lion Heart Prisoner No.B-24715 is well rounded except for his weapons. He uses exclusively grenades which should make you very worried. He will deal immense amounts of damage but with poor accuracy. He will dodge and fly around to get behind you. Keep in mind the only way to beat him is to dodge his shots. If you can not see him you may dodge in the incorrect direction and get shot for it. Quick Cores with good offense will go far. Even if you have a big, tough core, dodge as much as you can. His accuracy is such that few shots will hit if you are on the move. Ares-Rank 1-1500000 credits-New Email-NEW AC PART- This is the legendary Nine-Breaker. He is probably the most well-rounded Core in the Arena. The piloting skills are impressive but not perfect, and that is how you can beat him. He has a laser cannon, laser rifle, and middle missile. They all deal large amounts of damage and they all are near impossible to dodge. He has a laser blade with wave capabilities as well. As far as piloting goes he will hop and overboost about. In he can he will get behind you and you will be torn to shreds. His overall strategy is large damage in a very short period of time. There will be very few times he is not firing. The key to defeating him is to wait for the shots you can guarantee will hit. When you are going parallel in a dash, at the beginning of the fight he will stand still, when he is charging you, and when he lands from a short flight. You absolutely need as much damage as you can put on your Core. By this time you will have all the cash you need from arena fighting. Upgrade completely if you have not by concentrating on AP and defense. Get missile defense and turn on the damage reducing options. Then on top that you must react to Ares's every movement. Keep him in front of you and shoot when you have the shot. Firing recklessly with high damage weapons will probably mean you give up a chance between shots for a sure hit. Winning this fight earns you the ZXR-S/STEALTH back unit. Many thanks to those people that sent in e-mails about when you earn the Stealth during the Arena Battles. Congratulations, after all that you receive the title Nine-Breaker and you are immensely wealthy. Enjoy your laurels. (But the true challenge awaits when you face Matthias). - STRATEGIES You have several advantages while facing computer controlled opponents in the Arena mode. First you can pick the stage. This can help immensely. Large amounts of cover can stop high powered attacks. If you know an opponent likes to get behind you go to the Battle Dome, counter their advantages if you have to. Two of the big strategies to bring down an opponent take place on the Abandoned Highway. You start off on a skyscraper far above the ground and near the edge of the zone. The first strategy is simply staying up there if you have a fast mobile opponent. The opponent will fly out of the zone if you give them enough time. It can work on any Core potentially, it simply works better with fast, flying ones. A Core that likes to fly too much can fly up to your altitude and shoot you regardless so be careful in its use. Another strategy also using the Abandoned Highway. I label this the Pursuit strategy as it uses the deadly ZWX-IV/Pursuit Back Unit. Equip the ZWX-IV/Pursuit and start the battle. The opponent will advance on your position and stop when they are at the base of the skyscraper. Once they have stopped moving fire one shot of the ZWX-IV/Pursuit as close to their position as possible. If they do not move they can take up to roughly 2500 points of damage. Continue doing this until they are destroyed or they are so feeble you can drop down and finish them off. Fire wisely since you have only four shots. Also moving opponents or opponents with missile defense are likely to take less damage from this (but moving opponents may ring themselves out). The Pursuit strategy has the same failings as the ring out strategy as a lot of the high ranked Cores will simply fly up and blast you. Still with these two strategies you can finish off most of the lower ranked Cores if you are feeling cheap at the time. Both of these strategies were inspired by CJayC's Armored Core 2 faq This strategy is contributed by Steve MacDougall avaible at e-mail: XIX Tseng XIX@aol.com First off, always go to the space base with the huge tall towers in it. That's where the advantage is. This works on nearly every opponent too. Outfit your AC with one of the following: -Single missles (default) -Single missles with better ammo -Multimissles launcher -Persuit missles Basically, any missle that locks on. Next, get a good FCS unit. Not essentail but it helps. Now, equip the launcher according to the enemy strategy. Big bulky suckers just equip the singles. Quick, annoying enemies will get the shaft from your big momma's the multi or the persuit launcher. Have a good booster and cooling system, or this will be harder. Pick an opponent and get ready for a massacre. As soon as the level begins, turn behind you, see that tower just up ahead in the corner? Get there. Fly up to the top, the veeery top with the peg sticking out. Ah, tough part. Here's what to do next: IF the enemy has missiles and good distance weapons: Wait. If they fire, backup and drop behind the peg, the weapon will not harm you if you time right. IF the enemy has nothing but speed: Wait. IF the enemy is average: Got a tough back unit? Here's a chance to get in a few good licks if your aim is swell. IF the enemy is average with amazing weaponary: take cover behind the peg until they arrive. Now, the enemies always go under the platform. lock and load baby. Have those missiles out, get lock on's through that platform, and let them roar. Keep doing this until the enemy has like, 100 Hp. then go down and peck em' with your gun and watch their rear burn baby. Note that if the enemy has interceoptors, you'll need the persuit. Be prepared to use mega boost to fly to other towers if they are fast and avoid lock on. Do this effectively, and you'll get perfect every time. It's a synch. A little time and effort is all you need.I beat Ares by standing atop my lil peg and nailing him for a bout 5 minutes with single missiles. I won without losing a single spec of health. It's cheap. So what. It reels in the dough, joe (baaad joke). Note that I did this on normal mode; it could differ if it is on hard, so know now you are warned. - SPECIAL When you fall below -50,000 credits and enter plus mode the game is essentially reset, except you get a new plus ability added and you keep all your equipment. An enterprising Core pilot can see the immediate advantage in this. First off your Arena ranking is reset to 50th place. So when you first go through the game (without plus mode) fight through the Arena and get the immense amounts of cash, activate plus mode, and then fight through the Arena again. This is probably the only way to purchase every single item in the entire game. While this can be quite tedious it is excellent Arena training as well as getting to know what parts work and what do not (as you can switch them in assembly and you do not have to deal with selling equipment to buy new equipment). As you go through the mission modes certain Arena fighters drop out (like Castor) and new opponents enter. Unfortunately the new opponents start at rank 50 and are very weak. Here is a list of some of the new Arena Cores. Chris Miura-Rank Variable-1st extra Arena Core-1200 credits- Similar to Co-op in not being worth your time. Chris Miura is another opponent that is a walking target. Kill him to try and get wins down the board. Co-op-Rank Variable-2nd extra Arena Core-1600 credits- You get to face this atrocious fighter only after you have gotten past rank 50. He is not a problem and not really worth the cash to fight, but if you feel like beating up on a newbie... Lost Lamb-Rank Variable-3rd extra Arena Core-3600 credits- Slow and weak, Lost Lamb should not even be a worry. His chaingun is his must intimitading weapon and that is easily avoided. Blow this guy away and count your blessings that you have not faced Matthias yet. Scarlet-Rank Variable-4th extra Arena Core-10000 credits- Missiles are a little dangerous but easily countered with missile interceptors. She does not really dodge so you can take her down fast if you are packing anything mildly powerful. The Veteran-Rank Variable-5th extra Arena Core-15000 credits- A very dangerous opponent on the rise. The grenade launcher is really what you have to watch out for and that is what he opens up with. He has plenty of fire-power so stay on the move and chip away at his armor. FalconVII-Rank Variable-6th extra Arena Core-20000 credits- Dangerous missiles and a decent machinegun. Make sure you can deal with the missiles is priority one as he opens up with them. They can easily toast your Core if you are not careful. Decently strong and not to be trifled with. Riot-Rank Variable-7th extra Arena Core-25000 credits- Riot can fly around but does not do a good job of getting behind you. Keep to middle or long range otherwise his energy shotgun (ZAW-SPLASH) will tear you up. Keep moving and the little pods from the ZWX-FO4/ORBIT will not even bother you. Less dangerous then FalconVII in my opinion. Now it is time to pay for your sins, children. Matthias is ready for you and it's not going to be pretty. Matthias-Rank Variable-8th extra Arena Core-100000 credits- If Ares was the most well-rounded Core Matthias is the most cheap, under-handed Core you will ever face in the game. Do not be put off by the fact that he will most probably blow you away with ease the first couple of times you face him. Matthias is ridiculously hard, there is no doubt about that. My strategy was to strafe overboost as much as I could while pulmelling him with my arm lasers as much as possible. Keeping him in front of you is priority one, you can dodge his shots while facing him as well as hitting him with your own shots (which can stun). Second priority is distance. The laserblade on his arm is souped up to do around 3000 damage (at least that is what I recall). Dodge and fire as fast as you can. Here are spec's for Ky Kiske's Thunderblade. Head: ZHD-8008/S Core: ZCL-XA/2 Arms: ZAW-XP/T9 Legs: ZLC-M2/PIKE Boost: [Equip Impossible] FCS: LODD-BLAZER Gen.: HOY-B1000 Rad.: RPS-MER/A3 Ext.: BEX-BB210 Back: ZWX-E90/MAC Option Parts: (21 Slots Used) SP-BCNDR - better Gen SP-CIR-K - faster turn SP-BE++ - increase NRG weapon dmg SP-ENE-ACC - increase NRG weapon fire rate SP-E/SAVER - decrease NRG weapon drain You have to keep in mind at all times that Matthias is complete ai cheese. He knows your position at all times and he will be firing upon you constantly. It is essential that you know his position otherwise you are meat. Using the Thunderblade above I once got him into a circle strafe lock (because of my good leg unit speed and the faster turning optional part) where he could not turn fast enough to hit me with his fire yet I could pummel him with every shot. There are many different strategies for beating Matthias but I have never heard of a sure-fire one that will defeat him easily without cheap tactics ie missile barrage from a high altitude. Learn to dodge very well or his weapons will drop you without a doubt. The Karasawa seems to be stronger then usually (he probably has the extra energy damage optional part) the energy cannon on his back, while easier to dodge, can do more damage then the Karasawa. His grenade launcher should also be feared. In many ways he is the perfect opponent (despite the fact that he is obviously plus with amount of energy he runs through). At every range he can kill you quickly and his armor is decent and his speed in ridiculous. He does follow a pattern though, watch for it and you will be better prepared for whatever he pulls next. Good luck! - SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT The Arena battles are really just a race to damage as quickly as possible to the opponent. While dodging, missile defense, AP, and defense are all included they are just a slow down factor in their attempt to do as much damage to you as quickly as they can. You will take damage, that is a fact. The question is how do you stay alive long enough to deal the damage back to the opponent. The defensive extremes for a Core are speed, Ap, and energy/solid defense. Speed can be a big help to dodge those big, nasty attacks, however the flip side is that if the opponent has a machine gun or good missile system you will get constantly pelted. It is a given that if you go the speed route you will sacrifice a good portion of AP and energy/solid defense on your Core. Another problem with the speed route is you give up the heavy, high damage weapons as you can not support the weight or energy. This means if your opponent can hit you, you are have no recourse. Pick speed if you know what you are doing and know the controls well. AP is a good help in any situation. You will slow your opponents attack by giving yourself extra, precious seconds to fire back. The down-side is that the high AP equipment is also very heavy and energy dependent. This means lack of mobility and possible use of treads for maximum AP. Energy/Solid defense is very useful, you may not see the effects at first but a good example is some of the Arena Cores. Fire a high powered shot into a Core somewhere in the 40-50 ranking. Watch their AP drop signifigantly and also notice the overheat. Now hit a well designed Core in the 1-20 ranking. They will take anywhere from 25%-50% of the damage and no overheat. You need defense as it will help overall in any situation but again it suffers from AP's dependency on large heavy, energy consuming equipment. Finding the correct fit for you is important for defense. Also do not forget alternative forms of defense. There are two option parts that reduce damage from energy and solid damage, have those activated indefinitely. Also missile defense can help if you face a missile crazed opponent. I would urge you away from the ZXR-S/STEALTH, Extensions and Inside parts that fool fcs, and any other form to disrupt the opponent's sensors. When facing the computer opponents it is not clear how much this will affect it. I guarantee the computer will know where ever you are, every second and will not lose track of you. Concentrate on offense instead of this quasi-defense. - CONTROL Control can be quite an issue in Armored Core 2. The real problem is the d-pad moves you forward and looks/turns you left and right, while the L1, R1 buttons strafe you and the L2, R2 buttons look up and down. This is a very non-intuitive control as the d-pad will move you in certain directions and simply turn you with others, the same can be said of the L/R buttons. Your mind will get confused often in the heat of battle and will attempt to hit the incorrect controls as it will assume they are all in the same general, control area. My solution is a new set of controls that are more suited to reflexive control. First switch the d-pad to all looks/turns. Switch left d-pad to turn left, right d-pad to turn right, up d-pad to look down (or up, I prefer pilot controls), and switch down to look up (or down, I prefer pilot controls). Now you can lock on much easier and looking up and down, convenient for rough terrain, is not a chore. Place all your movement controls on the square, triangle, circle, x buttons. Switch square to strafe left, circle to strafe right, triangle to move forward, x to move backward. Now you can move easily without hitting those L/R buttons all the time. Place your remaining controls on the L/R buttons. I put fire on R1, switch weapons on R2, boost on L1, and Left Arm on L2. While the majority of people will not use these controls, I suggest them as they are much more intuitive (at least to my own style of control). These controls are similar to 1.2 controls in Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, that is probably why I can use them so easily. I believe the beginning controls are inefficient and will slow your reflexes. Basically pick what you can use best but do not be afraid to change controls. It will only take longer to learn a better set later so you may as well switch to controls (whatever they may be) you can use now. - CONTACT Direct suggestions, comments, compliments, and flames to manzella@student.umass.edu This faq is copyright Nathan Manzella Armored Core 2 is copyright Software, Agetec, and Sony Entertainment of America