/acg/ Pastebin v. 1.8

Table of Contents
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Foreword
Music downloads
Animated Emblems
Cool videos worth watching
Recommendations for people new to Armored Core
Verdict Day information
Armored Core VD team information
Building a Better UNAC
General tips for each game
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Foreword
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Armored Core General is a very slow thread. We spend most of our time on page 9 with a bump every here and there as needed. If you have a question, fire away, it'll be answered eventually. Don't expect an immediate answer, 95% of the time you'll be disappointed. Come back in a few hours, or maybe the day after and check on it. If, for some reason, your question hasn't been answered and it's a day or two, we all missed it and we suck, so point attention to the question. If the old thread 404s, be sure to use the catalog, a new thread might already be up.
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Downloads
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Music:
Here's a torrent with just about everything you need:
http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=torrentinfo&tid=40669&showfiles=1
Ask for seeders and someone might be able to help out eventually.
Armored Core V OST:
https://mega.co.nz/#!slZX0ayD!bwwFeD6kkycLsfjqLpi20gxKf0dj60O9FWUjMC-QbE8
Verdict Day OST:
http://pastebin.com/PSDUQSiM
Armored Core Reprises:
https://mega.co.nz/#!cx4SDS7a!VtOdVEzNdFERAYCb0bt9lXK0vBJh198VaRc1gPu6SaM
Sunrise album:
http://www.mediafire.com/?pc0xz6doysinf58
https://mega.co.nz/#!A0MEjbzI!fKWLFDkQOgbDrL8SlZqUWTuv0mACqKrEgIw6LMdAFkw\
ACVD DLC tracks:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/2bjq1axj1pkojgj/ACVD+DLC+OST.zip

Non-music:
Anon was kind enough to put some artbooks into one Mega link:
https://mega.co.nz/#!JUB1ELZL!j-7tv4YpdvLBObmtVHgCLEgD9B-WOp_Y7ZWjCbIuP7k

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Animated Emblems
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Remember how in 3 through Last Raven some of the emails you got had a slick animated emblem? Anon is being really cool and compiling them as gifs for your viewing pleasure.
3:
https://mega.co.nz/#!O940QYwJ!mSuxmOifqN-8IgDrp7WCw8LocheJKHBcMLkh71XeOtM
Silent Line:
https://mega.co.nz/#!ro4HgL7R!RbzkB4xgxPhm1beyi8EZuoHGE-ZlY-j4vjC_yw3DmTE
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Cool videos worth watching
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Pretty things you can so with stuff in FA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWKfCpzpxg4
Everybody loves this song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z37MiCiKpqg
This is No. 39, arguably the best AC MAD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4uLTLSR2lY
If that was the best, then this is a close second
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5622RqeX3k4
Here's something kind of similar to No. 39 except not quite as fantastic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbCFFs4uI_o
Here's how you get good at For Answer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe2B8Skwybg
This is very important
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD5YWVb_Tws
Here's a good video for learning the basics of ACV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGANG8ZCLy0
Why Giga Missiles are rad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PbTed-88eg
It's time for a new meta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ND310NRHeM
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Recommendations for people new to Armored Core
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So here's the series at a glance:
Armored Core -> Project Phantasma -> Master of Arena
Armored Core 2 -> Another Age
Armored Core 3 -> Silent Line
Armored Core Nexus -> Ninebreaker -> Last Raven
Armored Core 4 -> For Answer
Armored Core V -> Verdict Day
The arrows show which games go into which. For each line, the game data of a game to the left can be imported to a game on the right. This means you get to transfer your saved ACs and your parts to the next game, though there's an exception in For Answer's case. It only allows you to transfer saved designs. No word on V -> Verdict Day yet.

Armored Core 2 is a pretty good place to start. The difficulty has a good curve to it, never really gets too rough and only a handful of missions are braindead easy. Starting with 2 also gets you better acquainted with the old controls. Don't worry, once you get through 2 you'll never have to use that d-pad again until you loop back around to the first one.
Nexus is also a good place to start. Nexus introduces the much friendlier controls that make dual wielding much more comfortable. Has a couple of difficulty spikes, especially at the end, but all in all not too tough.
4 is different enough from the previous games that using it as a springboard isn't too bad. Just be aware that some of the missions are pretty brutal, especially on hard. If you feel that 4 feels a bit unrefined, you're right. It gets cleaned up in For Answer.
By the same logic, V and VD can also be starting points. Be advised, the single player of V isn't too impressive and the online is completely dead thanks to server shutdown. VD is the better option here.

AC4 backstory:
http://pastebin.com/Qquxtb9f
ACV/VD extra fluff:
http://pastebin.com/Y4AMbSPv
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Verdict Day information
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IT'S OUT GO GET IT
So, world mode information. Each team chooses one of three factions to fight for. For the most part, this only determines your lobby music and the people you'll see in PvP. If you decide to allow intra-combat drills, it really only affects your lobby music.
Each faction has a number of zones under its control, each of which has an AP bar and up to 8 bases. The AP bar you see on the map applies to the current base. When it empties, the base is destroyed, the AP bar resets, the the X/8 indicator ticks down by one to show that there is one less base. If a base is destroyed, it can't come back. When a zone loses its eighth base, it's completely wiped off the map. If a faction loses all of its zones, its teams can still participate in normal sorties, but I'm pretty sure they can't do defense.
From here, there are two kinds of sorties your team can depart on, normal and special:
Normal sorties choose an area to fight in within certain parameters that the organizer of the unit can set. When you launch, the game tries to find another group for you to fight. If the bar gets mostly full (about 90%) at its regular pace, odds are you've landed a generic PvE mission. Good for money, but kind of boring. Normal sorties can either put you on offense or defense and while you can tip the odds one way or the other, you have no real control over where you end up.
Special sorties require team points, which are acquired by winning normal sorties. The bar maxes out at 6 and it costs 6 to launch on a single special sortie. Again, the game will try to find a PvP session for you. If it fails to do so, it will put the squad up against Unidentified Weapons, which can wreck a team that isn't ready for them.
In any given PvP session, if the offense team wins, the zone in which the battle took place takes a little bit of AP damage. If the defense wins, the zone recovers a little bit of AP.
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Armored Core VD team information
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PS3 /vg/ teams:
Vagrant Guns (full)
Ninebreakers (some openings for now)
American Vanguard
Hot Blooded (RIP)
ACG (RIP)
Vermillion (RIP)
Hollow Merchant (RIP)
Squad (RIP)
PS3 /m/ teams:
8th Cyclops (RIP?)
PS3 teams not affiliated with us but could use the members:
ACVD REAPER SQUAD (someone check my spelling on this one)
360 /vg/ teams:
A.E.U.G (RIP)
Razgriz Battalion

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Building a Better UNAC
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Here's what we've got so far:
http://pastebin.com/yXeRtatQ
Kudos to Anon for getting it off to a good start.
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General tips for each game
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Armored Core:
So the main thing with the first Armored Core is to make sure you don't run out of money. There's no arena here to generates loads of money and you don't get free mission until you've beaten the game, so always make sure you have plenty of cash on hand. Once you get to the final mission, feel free to start buying stuff and trying it out. At this point, anything that helps you get through the mission is worth it. If you fail the mission, you can sell back the things you've just bought for full price.
Weapons that do it to it:
WC-O1QL
Karasawa (but it's hidden)

Project Phantasma:
Project Phantasma isn't really that hard. There's a mission or two to watch out for and a couple of arena opponents that can kill your face in four seconds, but aside from those you shouldn't have much of an issue. It's worth nothing that early on, there's a mission in which you have to destroy two of three trucks moving along a road. The game never tells you which ones to destroy, so destroy the front and rear trucks. Leave the middle one alone.
Weapons that do it to it:
Same as above
Finger (beat everyone in the arena)

Master of Arena:
Master of Arena is a little tougher than PP was, but it's still not too bad. The Finger had its ammo cut way the heck down, so it won't carry you through everything like it could before. It still brings some good damage to bear if you can land the shots. Other than that, if you don't have a Karasawa, there's another laser rifle (or plasma rifle, whatever they called it) with PPK in its name that'll do some work for you. It won't be as fast as the Karasawa, but it still does just fine. If you're having trouble with an arena opponent, equip that WC-O1QL and damage race them. Final mission's pretty tough, you're going to need enough power and ammo to deal with three ACs.
Same as above except maybe without the Finger. It depends on who you ask.

AC2:
Heat is a thing now, so keep an eye on it. When an AC overheats, it takes damage and has reduced energy output. So don't overheat. If you want to overheat your opponents, look into handguns, machine guns, chain guns, and plasma. Flamethrowers can do it too, but they take a lot more work than the others. Make progress in the arena when you can. Once you get far enough, Ares will send you a weapon, the Nights. It's an energy sniper rifle with 20 shots and it tears ACs apart right quick. The Karasawa isn't until pretty far in the game and it's well hidden and annoying to get while beating the mission. If an AC is giving you problems, try a handgun. Oh, and press L1, L2, L3, R1, R2, and R3 all together for Limiter Release.
Karasawa (but it's hidden)
Nights (work your way through the arena, it'll come to you)
(Find the name of the quad launch missiles and the really good extensions)

Another Age:
Basically, you can beat just about every mission with whatever you're comfortable with. There are a few missions where you'll want a more specialized setup, but they're few and far between. Unfortunately, most of those missions are really tough. Missile boats do pretty well against most of the AC fights here.
Same as above

AC3:
Honestly, 3 is kind of easy compared to the rest of the series, but there are still a few things you have to watch out for. The damage done by overheat has gone up a lot, so  burning up your opponent is actually really efficient.
Left hand flamethrower (but only with a right hand weapon)
Chain gun
Any machine gun
Stealth extension
Just make them overheat and that's almost a guaranteed 2000-4000 damage. Keep up the pressure and they'll die.

Silent Line:
Really not that different from 3 except that heat seems to be more forgiving. The main things to watch out for are the Silent ACs. You'll recognize them by the way they're big, white, and imposing. They also look like nothing you've ever seen. Just stay on your toes and keep shooting, they can't track very well. If you're in a tank, keep moving left and right while unloading the biggest gun your brought.
As for weapons, same as above minus any machine gun. Only most of the machine guns are worth using now.

Nexus:
Booster heat is a thing now. If you're not careful with it, it will get you killed. Machine guns got nerfed pretty hard, but they're still pretty good. Especially the long-barreled one with "power comparable to a rifle." A good laser rifle backed up by a rifle or a machine gun can get you through most missions. Watch out for the missions involving the biological units. You can't lock onto them unless you have a bio sensor (head or radar) and they explode for big damage and massive heat. Don't get close to them.
Wyrm - sniper rifle that double taps. Crazy damage, heat, and ammo.
Really fast laser rifle - its stat block looks subpar, but the shot velocity makes this thing nasty
Back cannon

Ninebreaker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H47ow4_Cmk0
But seriously, know your mission. Build your AC to conquer the specific simulator. Don't bring weapons where you don't need them, time matters and you need all the speed and energy you can get.
There's a simulator that basically amounts to platforming. Platforming in Armored Core is awful, but there's an easy way to get through this. Use a tank. Trust me.
There is no amount of good advice that we can give you for Proper Distance 4. Don't bother asking, you'll only dredge up painful memories.

Last Raven:
Last Raven is pretty tough. Everything in this game is designed to frustrate and kill you in ways you never thought possible. It's highly recommended you start Last Raven with at least a 100% completed Nexus save. If you've got a Ninebreaker save with a lot of or all the new parts it introduced, even better. Use whatever legs you're best with, but don't be stubborn. Some missions are just better suited for hovers (like almost any mission at Airsul Dam) or bipeds. Also note that just because someone hands you a build made solely to destroy a given mission, your success is not guaranteed. You still have to have some skill to get through. Knowing that Pulverizers have no anti-missile defense doesn't win the mission for you.
Finally, there are six paths in this game. Which path you end up on depends on the missions you complete. If you are absolutely totally stuck and don't think you're going to beat some mission any time soon, you have the option to completely restart the 24 hour countdown and try different missions.
tl;dr git gud and GOOD LUCK
Same as Nexus minus Wyrm.

AC4:
The difficulty in 4 swings pretty wildly. Some missions can be breezed through with a machine gun and nothing else. Others will keep you up for three days trying to figure out what you can possibly use so that you don't fail. On top of that, some of the AC fights are pretty rough. For the most part, the Ogoto grenade cannon (or two), the Sirius laser cannon (or two), and the only railgun in the whole game (definitely consider dual wielding) will take any AC and kill them to death. Ogotos are also really useful for most of the game's missions, so consider having at least one equipped at all times.
For the most part, if your mission involves killing a lot of things, a machine gun or two or a machine gun + rifle combo should handle it fairly well. If it involves killing durable things, see the above weapons.
Oh, and when you unlock them, those triple laser cannons that look like wings are unholy, just make sure you watch your energy.

For Answer:
Sideboosting
Pair of rifles
Pair of Motocobras
Motocobra rifle combo
Energy blades on regulation 1.20 or 1.15
Saline05 on 1.00
No, seriously, that's pretty much it. Everything in the game can be done with the above except maybe S ranking Red Rum and Starka. That takes some finesse. Quickboosting sideways is your number one way to dodge.

V:
Story and order missions go down easy to a rifle or two, Lampourde seems to yield the best results. Bring pulse guns or pulse machine guns to handle anything that has KE defense. For order missions where you're fighting an AC or two, a quad with a sniper cannon or two generally works wonders.

Verdict Day:
There isn't really one setup that'll dominate the entire game, but it's really easy to figure out what works best in an individual mission. Use this pastebin, provided to us by Anon's friend, to figure out what you need to do against any given AC.
http://pastebin.com/vghyavd7