T h e     N e s t Parts New Strategy Strategy Hidden Parts Pictures Links Contact Information Email me!	The Armored Core: Project Phantasma Official Survival Guide This page is a direct copy, word for word, of the "Official" Armored Core: Project Phantasma strategy guide. It does not contain the mission guidelines, as I do not see any reason to include them (and besides, it would take WAY too much time to put those in along with this part) however, it contains all of the author's tips and hints on how to pilot your mech. Trust me, nothing is as important to your gameplay as your piloting ability. Even if given an extremely poor, subgrade mech, a good pilot can still kick some major ass. The other day, I played against my friend, who had stolen an incredible mech off of my memory card. I was using my second-worst mech, and I still beat him four out of the six times we played. (now, remember- he had an awesome mech- and I flew too high in one of the duels, so he only actually killed me once.) Anyway, the point is that a good pilot will win, no matter what mech he's using. Now, for the strategies that will help make you a better pilot... Basic Strategies for Armored Core: Every veteran Raven is alive for two reasons, a little bit of luck and a knowledge of these strategies. If you want to make it past the opening sorties, you may just want to heed a veteran's advice. Don't stop moving. The strafe buttons are there for a VERY good reason. The CPU has a hard time tracking moving opponents. Against slower ACs, you can run circles around your enemy by strafing in one direction and holding the D-pad in the other direction. Watch your energy level. If your energy gets completely drained, you must wait for it to recharge completely before using any energy drain weapons (laser sword) or booster packs. The game will warn you once you reach the red area, so back off energy consumption and let it build back up. If you find yourself running low on power frequently, you may need to rethink your weapons layout or purchase a new generator. Use the terrain. In an open field agains numerically superior forces, you can get blown to bits. However, most levels provide you and your AC with cover. It was put there for a reason, so use it. Use the shop. There are meany different kinds of weapons and AC parts. Try them all. Mix and match until your heart is content, nothing is too good for a Raven. Unlike some games, you aren't penalized for selling a weapon back to the Raven's Nest; you receive full purchase price in return. Combine that with the AC test feature in the shop and you can find which AC parts fit your style of fighting, without doing it in real combat where you can lose precious armor and ammo. The laser-sword is your friend. It requires no ammo and does fairly good damage. If you can close in on your enemy (or if you are facing an enemy that can not shoot back) work in close and hit them with the laser-sword. Avoid taking the AC arms that have weapons built in, as you will lose the use of the laser-sword. Conserce ammo. Most ammunition costs hard-earned credits, so the less you use the more you have at the mission's end. Try to use weapons with low or no ammo costs. Don't get hit. Sounds simple, right? At the end of each mission credits are deducted for AC armor repair. If you don't get hit, the more money you'll have for the next go around. Speed. Speed. Speed. The enemy can not hit you if you can moce fast enough. AC parts with high amounts of armor are nice, but usualy slow you down, which turns you into a very large target. The yellow and red lines. On your radar screen you may notice a yellow and red box. The red line is the boundary for the Theatre of Operations. Once past the yellow, the computer will warn you that you are leaing the fighting zone. Step past the red lline and the mission is over. Auto-map is your friend. Want to see the whole level, or at least where you have been? Then get a new AC head with built-in auto-mapping features like the HD-ONE. Don't forget about the Optional Parts of your AC. You can add systems to speed up lock-on time, reduce energy weapon damage, and many other useful services. Different cores will allow you more slots for Optional Parts. Configure your AC for the mission at hand. If the mission takes place in base, where the combat will take place in a corridor rather than in the open, leave the missiles at home. More often than not, they will impact with the walls instead of your enemy. If you need to sell the missiles to purchase rockets or a plasma cannon, do so. You can sell the plasma cannon at the end of the mission to buy back your missiles without penalty.' Go bankrupt! Yea, go bankrupt. When you reach -50,000 credits, an animation will come up showing your character undergoing surgery. You are being giver "Plus" enhancements (you are no longer totally human). After surgery, you start at the beginning with 0 credits. Do this ten times, and you will have all of the "Plus" enhancements. Put your back to the wall. The enemy can't hit you from behind if there is a nice wall, mountain, or building protecting it. Basic Strategies for Project Phantasma: The Jump/Missile tactic: In my opinion, this is the single most important strategy for dealing with opponents of equal or better strength.           Step one: Find cover. Get an object between you and your enemy. This will allow you to avoid direct fire.           Step two: Switch to a long-range weapon and wait for the lock-on tone. In the beginning, the small missiles work good, but later on, high damage energy weapons can be used.           Step three: Use your boosters to pop up from your cover. At the apex of your jump, fire the weapon.           Step four: Repeat this process until the enemy's armor is riddled with holes like a side of Swiss cheese. Save your credits. In AC, going bankrupt leads to "Plus" enhancements. With "Plus" out of the picture in PP, watch your credits. Conserve your ammo and armor as these will take away from the bounty on each mission. Use the Arena to your advantage. If you need just a few more credits to buy that new laser rifle or the upgraded FCS, fly a few sorties in the Arena for the credits you need. Save early, save often. AC had multiple missions and failute/bypassing a mission was not an acceptable strategy. ACPP has 17 misssions in a strict linear story line. If you fail a mission you must repeat it before moving on. Repeated failures cost you credits and lower your success percentage. If you fail, go back to the earlier save. You still can learn from the experience of the failures, but you get to attack the mission with a clean slate. If at first you don't succeed, try something else. There is no sense banging your head into a wall. If you fail, go back to an earlier save and try refitting your AC with different equipment. Sometimes the difference between success and failure is the choice of one weapon over another. Sometimes the difference between winning and losing comes down to who got the first shot in, or who got multiple shots off the quickest. A controller with a turbo button like th ASCII Wireless Pad is a good controller for this kind of rapid-fire fighting.