### ##### ##### ## ####### ## ### ### ## ######### ## ######### ## ### ### ## ### ### ## ### ### ##### ============= || || || || || || || || || || || || ============= ~ANOTHER AGE~ Armored Core 2: Another Age Walkthrough/FAQ Author: Vaporjolt E-mail: vaporjolt@cs.com Started: 7:05 PM EST; October 17, 2001 Version: 1.1 Table of Contents: I. Introduction II. Copyright/Disclaimer III. Version History IV. Permissible Site List V. AC Training Center - Control - Combat Strategies - FAQs VI. Walkthrough VII. Secret Parts FAQ VIII. Lost Field FAQ IX. AC Ratings X. Cheats/Codes XI. Legal Junk XII. Credits/Special Thanks ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ Here it is. Finally. My first FAQ/Walkthrough ever. Take your time, take a deep breath, and dive right in! I've tried my very best to make this guide as accurate, detailed, and comprehensive as possible. Use the Table of Contents (located above) to find the information you need. Need help beating the crap out of your friends in VS. mode? I've got you covered. Run over to the AC Training Center to get the tips and strategies you need. Need help on a particular mission? It's right in here. The walkthrough covers every mission of the game in detail, and there's even a codes section for you cheaters out there who just can't get enough. If you'd like to see something that's not here, or would just like to comment on my FAQ, then please e-mail me: vaporjolt@cs.com. Please label the title "Armored Core" or it WILL get deleted. Thanks, and enjoy the FAQ. =) -------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ This document is copyright Dustin Wallace "Vaporjolt" 2001. All rights reserved. This FAQ may be distributed freely, but you must give full credit to myself. However, it may not be changed, augmented, or amended to in any way--otherwise, you are guilty of plagiarism. Plagiarism, like any other illegal crime, is punishable by international copyright law. If anyone wishes to use this FAQ for use on a particular website, then s/he must consult me first. Then, after deciding if your website is worthy of my FAQ, will I consider it to be displayed there. Regardless of whether or not I give permission for this FAQ to be viewed at anywhere but Gamefaqs, the document's contents still may not be changed. I am very serious about my work, and I will take legal action if I suspect any literary theft and the like. You've been warned. ------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ Version Alpha: First version ever. Pretty much complete except for section VI (Secret Parts FAQ) and section VIII (AC Ratings), which will be updated in the future. All of the known cheats/codes known at this time are in here. More cheats/codes will be added as they are discovered (although I highly doubt that there will be more). Version Alpha (+): Cheat Code Central was given permission to post this at their site in the Copyright/Disclaimer section. Nothing else was touched. Version Beta: Decided to add an "Permissible Site List" to show which sites may post this guide. Found a typo or two and changed it. Nothing else major. Expect a real update in the near future. Version 1.0: First real update. Added some new AC's in the AC Rating section. Revised PSL to include another site. Added the limiter release cheat in the Cheats/Codes section. Added tips to various missions from e-mail contributors. Version 1.1: *Finally* opened the Secret Parts Section. Added more tips. Added AC's for section IX. Section IX (the AC Ratings section) is now closed to keep it from getting too large. It has served its purpose, and I personally thank all of the contributors. ------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ This section posts the list of websites that may post this guide. The list that you see here is _exclusive_ for this current version. * Gamefaqs * Cheat Code Central * Cheat Happens ---------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ CONTROLS- **NOTE - controls are based on the default settings. Triangle: Cycle through equipped weapons Circle: Use left hand (LH) equipment/open doors/activate switches X: Jump/Use boosters (hold down) Square: Use currently selected weapon R1: Strafe right R2: Look down R3: Overboost (OB); press once to begin, and once more to stop L1: Strafe left L2: Look up L3: Activate/deactivate extension Start: Pause game Select: Display Map COMBAT STRATEGIES- This section covers basic and advanced strategies to help you win battles (mostly discusses one vs. one AC fights). This part is divided into two sections: VS. Human and Single Player game. I'll cover VS. Human tactics first. VS. Human- * First and foremost, set up some ground rules between you and your friend. Decide whether or not Human Plus enhancements and/or overweight AC's are allowed. This may seem silly to mention, but it can really save you a lot of headaches and fights later on. * Be mobile. This is also important when facing the computer, but it is even more vital against humans, as your friend won't be able to "read" your movements like the AI can. Mobile AC's take less damage. Less damage = longer life. Longer life = longer durability. Person with the longest durability = winner. You get the picture. ;) * Good ways to be mobile: 1) tap your boosters while moving 2) keep changing your direction and altitude 3) use L1 and R1 buttons to strafe left and right * Try to attack your opponent from above or from the back. While your opponent is not facing you, you'll be able to damage them while they remain confused and unable to hurt you. Be wary of the two inside parts that are used in these types of situations by your opponent. The INW- 0M-PRT is an inside orbit weapon that is generally used by opponents that can't get a good lock on you. It attacks any hostile force within its vicinity, and does quite a good job at that with it low-moderately powerful (but fast firing) laser beams. On the other hand, the INW-RV- 08 is a vulcan cannon installed on the rear of the core. It can deal with enemies directly behind the AC (that would be you if your opponent has this inside part equipped). Watch out for these parts--they're actually quite common among human players and for that reason, I suggest you use them, too. * Conserve your ammo. It's usually a BAD idea to fire immediately upon getting a red lock (unless you're really close). You see, it takes the FCS (your onboard computer & targeting system) a second or two to get a "true" lock. A true lock is when your FCS is ready to compensate for your opponent's distance, speed, trajectory, and so on when firing. All a red lock means is that there are no obstructions between you and your target. Therefore, don't be afraid to hesitate for a second when firing at a relatively distant foe. This tactic will make your shots more efficient and you'll end up saving ammo. * Equip parts that suit your fighting style. If you prefer to stay in the air for long periods of time, you'll probably want to equip reverse joint legs and a booster pack that has a low energy consumption rate. If you like to wear your opponent out, equip light parts (which would make it easier to avoid enemy fire), or an extremely durable and heavy AC (that can withstand a lot of punishment). * Don't forget about optional parts. They are a great way to improve your AC's stats without adding any weight. The number of option slots depends on the core being used. Make sure you're not wasting slots on things that won't benefit you (example - activating the slot that powers up energy weapons when you don't have any energy weapons equipped). I highly recommend always having the defense shell and defense energy slots on. Between the two of them, they only occupy three slots, and it'll cut down on your overall damage. Single Player game- * Don't use high damage, low ammo weapons for missions (in general). Even though you may be able to one-hit KO some opponents, keep in mind that many missions have over 20 enemies, and you'll exhaust all of your ammo before you're even half way through. * Remember, you'll want to be making a profit so that you can buy better parts. What does this mean? Well, you may not want to use weapons that have expensive ammo for every mission, or extremely expensive parts for that matter. All of the ammo you spend and all of the AP (armor points) you deplete come out of your paycheck. * For most missions, you'll want your AC to have the following: 1) A moderately powerful Right Hand (RH) weapon with good (about 200) ammo. Rifles work pretty well here. 2) A blade for the Left Hand (LH). The power isn't that important--the point is that you have an option for those close encounters. It also allows you to destroy non-hostile objects without using ammo. A blade is an essential piece of equipment. 3) A radar. A radar is an absolutely necessary piece of equipment. If one isn't installed in your AC's head, then you'll have to waste a shoulder equipping an external one. Learn to utilize your radar to find out your location relative to your enemies. Most radars also have missile display, which can be useful. Figures on the radar in blue/purple are above you. Figures in red are level with you, and orange/yellow figures are below you. Know that some weapons and equipment can temporarily disrupt radar, but these weapons are somewhat rare anyway. I can't stress enough the importance of a radar. Develop habits of using radar to improve your performance. It allows you to plan strikes, when/if to use the "blind" inside equipment discussed in VS. Human, how many enemies you must deal with, and so much more. The radar is your friend. Use it. 4) A back-up shoulder weapon for your RH weapon. Use it when your RH depletes all of its ammo, or if you just feel like switching tactics. Shoulder mounted machine-guns work well. If you have the other shoulder available (which should be if you have a radar in your head), I suggest a missile or grenade launcher. * Read the mission objectives. There are quite a number of missions that don't require you to defeat 100% of your enemies. If you do eradicate all foes when you don't have to, you'll waste ammo and AP. Lost ammo and AP WILL come back to haunt you when you get paid. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q: Every time I try to start a mission or an AC test, it won't let me. How come? A: It depends. If the phrase "overweight" appears when you try to start a mission/AC test, then your AC is too heavy. Equip your AC with lighter parts. If the phrase "your equipment is not complete" appears, then go back to your garage to make sure you have all necessary parts equipped. Necessary parts will usually be equipped automatically upon entering your garage, but for your information, necessary parts include: head, core, arms, legs, generator, radiator, boosters, and FCS. Yes, this means that it is indeed possible to enter a mission without any weapons whatsoever, but who'd want to do that? Q: Sometimes I can't use my boosters. Why is this? A: Anything that requires the use of energy (e.g. energy weapons, blades, and boosters) depends on the current amount of power stored in your generator. The capacitor gauge (on the left side of the screen) displays how much energy you have to spend. The current level of energy in the bar will lower if you use anything that consumes energy. It (the power gauge) charges automatically, but the rate of recharge depends on the AC. If you have outfitted your AC with parts that drain power from your capacitor even when stationary, then expect your energy gauge to deplete quickly. **NOTE - If you ever completely deplete the energy gauge, it will take a moment or so to fill back up to its maximum. During this time, the entire gauge bar will be red and you cannot use energy-consuming devices until it fills COMPLETELY back to the max. One would be quite vulnerable during this time, so I suggest that you never allow this to happen. It pays to have a weapon that uses solid ammunition (solid weapons don't rely on the energy gauge to fire). This dilemma is easily avoided-with practice, you can find ways to maneuver with the best energy efficiency and ration out your energy consumption. Q: Why does my equipment occasionally seem to malfunction? A: It's most likely because a nearby opponent(s) is using jamming equipment or a device that causes FCS errors. Don't worry too much about it--your head part will automatically adjust to it. The amount of time needed for your FCS systems to recover depends on the head you have. Equipment malfunctions usually range from radar jamming to FCS errors. ** NOTE - If you want to see specifically how fast your system recovery is, check your head's stats in the garage and look under "system recovery". Q: I noticed that some doors do not open in missions. How can I open them? A: The only doors that can be opened in missions are those that your head is capable of hacking into. Again, see your head's stats to see its level of hacking. The higher the number, the higher hacking function the head has. So to answer the question, equip a head with a higher hacking function. Know that not all doors can be opened, not even with the highest hacking function. Q: Sometimes a sign that says "leaving area of operations" comes up and I fail the mission. What does this mean? A: Think of area of operations as a boundary limit. If you leave the boundary limit of the mission, you automatically fail. A red line on your radar indicates the area of operations. A beeping noise will sound if you start to get too close to the red line. Therefore, stay inside of the red lines and you'll be just fine. :) Q: I've heard of a term called Human Pluses that increases your AC's abilities. Is this true? A: Yes, it is true. Human Pluses (a.k.a. Pilot Enhancements) are secret improvements that increase your AC's abilities. Q: Okay, so how exactly can I get Human Pluses? A: If one was to drop below 49,999 credits in Armored Core 2 (and I mean just Armored Core 2, not Another Age), s/he would "lose" the game (Game Over) and have to start again from the beginning. Each time the player would start again, the player would receive a Human Plus. Up to five Human Pluses can be achieved this way. To use Human Pluses from AC2 in Another Age, simply load the old save file at the beginning of the game by choosing "convert data". You'll start with all of the equipment and configuration settings you had. The five Human Pluses that you can have, in the order you get them, are: 1 = built in radar 2 = blade beam ability (press X to shoot it while blading) 3 = double radiator efficiency 4 = ability to use back weapons while moving on all leg types 5 = double generator efficiency **NOTE - It is quite worthwhile to have the option to use Human Pluses. If you don't have Armored Core 2 for the Playstation 2, I highly recommend you pick it up (or at least just rent it to get the Pilot Enhancements). The Human Pluses can only be attained by using the "start over" method in Armored Core 2. Armored Core 2 is also worthwhile since some modes that are in that game are not in Another Age, like Arena mode and the Mail system. Q: Are there any secret parts in Another Age? If so, where can I find them? A: Yes, there are hidden parts in this game. The majority of them are acquired after successfully completing all of the missions in an area. The rest of them can only be acquired by meeting certain conditions, as I've been told. The hidden parts that I can confirm (and how to get them) are in the Secret Parts section (VII) of this guide. They are also dotted throughout the mission walkthrough, usually right where they can be acquired. Q: How can I unlock more emblems in the garage? A: For every AC that you defeat in the single player missions, you receive its pilot's emblem. Therefore, to get every emblem sample, you'll have to defeat every AC in the single player game. If you wish to see more FAQ's listed here, just e-mail me at the usual address to let me know. ----------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ This section, as you've no doubt guessed, covers every single mission found in Armored Core 2: Another Age. The exception is the Lost Field campaign, which is covered in section VIII. This guide refers to the Normal difficulty mode. The Hard mode is basically the same, but enemies are tougher. Whether you consider Human Pluses to be ethical in VS. Mode or not, it is highly recommended that you use Human Pluses for the single player missions. The computer sure does. This is the AC that I'll be using for just about every mission (best if converted from Armored Core 2--that way it won't cost you a dime in this game): * Indicates a hidden part from Armored Core 2 HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-2000/SV CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-F/ROOK ARMS. . . . . . . .EAN-2112 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLB-7744/VAT BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000* FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B999 RADIATOR. . . . . .RPS-MER/SA INSIDE. . . . . . .nothing EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BAMS-287 BACK UNIT R . . . .EM-AAT110 BACK UNIT L . . . .EWC-CNG4000 ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2* ARM UNIT L. . . . .ZLS-T/100 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BSNDR SP-BSI-LE SP-BE++ SP-ENE-ACC It's a very-well balanced core. Although the radiator part is cheap, the Human Pluses kind of negate that. :) Fiddle with it a little if you wish, but there really aren't that many options--this core was made with just a little weight to spare. The overall flow of the game is, you complete a few missions, and then a few more open up in different places. To begin, start a New Game from the main menu (duh). When you get to the mission/garage/system/shop screen, choose the load option if you've got Armored Core 2. Choose "convert AC2 data", and you'll find that all of the parts and configuration settings you had remains intact--including Human Pluses. There is no real set order that you must follow to finish this game. Therefore, don't feel that the mission path I choose is the only way to proceed. The missions that follow are labeled the same way they are in the game, so you can just skip to the mission(s) that is giving you trouble and be done with it! <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> MISSION # : MISSION NAME 1: Attack Terrorist Sabotage 2: Destroy Prototype MT's 3: Attack Terrorist Convoy 4: Defend the Elevator Facility 5: Assist Emeraude Forces 6: Pursue Emeraude's Forces 7: Attack the Airbase 8: Destroy Radar Array 9: Eliminate Trespassing AC 10: Defend the Airbase 11: Intercept Mine Intruders 12: Defend Storage Complex 13: Defend the Materials Cache 14: Eliminate Patrolling AC 15: Eliminate the Search Team 16: Take over Military Warehouse 17: Attack the Storage Complex 18: Defend the Bomber 19: Enter Waste-Treatment Plant 20: Disarm the Bombs 21: Destroy Security System 22: Raven Assessment 23: Destroy Insertion Team 24: Training Exercise 25: Reactivate Facility Gates 26: Attack the Terrorists 27: Training Rematch 28: Infiltrate Weapons Facility 29: Eliminate Outlaw Organization 30: Eliminate the Bureau Forces 31: Rescue the Trapped Indies 32: Recover Materials Cache 33: Attack Secret Warehouse 34: Eliminate the Raven 35: Special Arena Appearance 36: Special Arena Rematch 37: Terminate Raven 38: Attack Abandoned Facility 39: Eliminate Biological Menace 40: Eliminate Unmanned Weapons 41: Assist Research Team 42: Shutdown Nuclear Shelter 43: Remove Occupant in Facility 44: Clear the Disposal Facility 45: Rescue VIP 46: Eliminate Unmanned Weapons 47: Eliminate Intruder 48: Escort Transport Convoy 49: Probe Balena's Defenses 50: Defend the Shipyard 51: Attack Coastal Defenses 52: Disarm the Explosive Devices 53: Destroy Submarine 54: Attack Spaceship Dock 55: Defend Development Lab 56: Attack the Train 57: Destroy Space Transport 58: Destroy Top Secret Unit 59: Eliminate AC 60: Test New MT Model 61: Defend the Fortress 62: Escort AC Parts Transport 63: Destroy Missile Batteries 64: Eliminate Hijacker 65: Test Facility's Defenses 66: Safeguard Stolen Prototype 67: Restore Temperature Setting 68: Remove Germ Warfare Toxin 69: New Part Acquisition 70: Defend Transport Ship 71: Escort the Transport Plane 72: Attack the Ocean Base 73: Defend the Ocean Base 74: Destroy the Transport Ships 75: Escort Airborne Transports 76: Destroy Government Fleet 77: Airborne Attack 78: Attack the Bureau's Base 79: Performance Evaluation 80: Eliminate Raven 81: Destroy Massive MT 82: Prevent Prototype MT Theft 83: Infiltrate the Ancient Ruins 84: Arctic Battle 85: Attack the Storage Depot 86: Attack Zio Matrix Patrol 87: Eradicate Unidentified Units 88: Destroy Security Detail 89: Free Rapture Orbit Elevator <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Mission 1: Stop Terrorist Sabotage Location: Neo Isaac Reward: 20,000 credits This mission is simple. Neo Isaac, your client, wants you to eradicate the Indies near their construction site. The Indies are a terrorist group attempting to sabotage Neo Isaac's construction, so you have been hired to deal with them. Despite what the mission briefing claims, the Indies are in fact lightly armored, and they have weak weaponry. The only thing that they seem to have going in their favor is their relatively good aim. Six of the seven MT's can be destroyed with one shot from your Karasawa MK2. The leader tends to take about 3-4 shots before biting the bullet. Use this mission to learn how to control your AC if you need to. Practice using OB (overboost), and your boosting skills. Remember to stay mobile when engaging in a fight. Once you destroy all of the enemy forces, seven in all, you successfully complete the mission. Mission 2: Destroy Prototype MT's Location: Neo Isaac Reward: 26,000 credits This is another easy mission. Some of Zio Matrix's researchers have hijacked some prototype MT's to escape certain punishment for treason. They are traitors to their employer, and as usual, it's up to you to take them out. The area of operations is the same as the previous mission (the bridge-construction site), so you can basically use the same tactics you used before. Just note that the MT's start out airborne this time. Once you destroy the "helicopter" that they're attached to, the base part of the MT will fall to the ground, and become much easier to target. There are four MT's to destroy in all. Mission 3: Attack Terrorist Convoy Location: Neo Isaac Reward: 27,000 credits Special Additions: 1,500 credits/convoy vehicle; 3,000 credits/MT Your objective this time is to destroy one of Zio Matrix's transport convoys (notice how a corporation can be your client one day, and your opponent the next). The area of operations moves you to one of Zio Matrix's underground cities. Don't feel overly compelled to destroy every escort MT you see--they needn't be removed in order to complete the mission. They do, however, provide an extra 3,000 credits for every one you destroy. You must destroy the four transport vehicles before they leave the city. Unfortunately, they do not show up on your radar, which can make this mission somewhat difficult. They only show up within the proximity of your AC with a yellow "target" indication. In my experience, I can track down two to three transports and then have difficulty tracking down the last one(s) within the given time limit. Use the map function (press Select) to mentally check places you've already been to, and use your boosters to move quicker. Don't hesitate to OB down long roadways to save time searching. Mission 4: Defend the Elevator Facility Location: Neo Isaac Reward: 23,000 credits Remember the first two levels with the huge platform above you? Now you're in the same location, but instead you're on top of that same huge platform (which turns out to be part of a bridge structure, by the way)! Obliterate the two hovering MT's that come your way at the beginning of the sortie. One shot each from your MK2 will do. The remaining MT's can be taken out in about two-three shots. This is a ridiculously short and easy mission, but hey--it's work (and easy money). Watch your footing so that you don't fall off the bridge. If you do fall off, you'll have to start over! Mission 5: Assist Emeraude Forces Location: Neo Isaac Reward: 31,000 credits Special Deductions: 7,500 credits/friendly MT lost You will recognize the location as an underground Neo city from mission 3, where you had to hunt down the four transport vehicles. This time, though, your objective is much simpler. A squad of Emeraude MT's is under attack by the Indies. Your task is to work alongside Emeraude's forces to destroy the Indies. If you've been following my guide, then this is the first mission where you work with friendly MT's, so make sure you know whom you're targeting. Even though the auto-aim function won't target friendly units, this doesn't mean that they won't get hit if they're in your line of fire. A 7,500 deduction (kind of pricey considering how crappy they're built--they can't take much punishment before falling) will be made per MT that is lost, so it is in your favor to move with haste. Mission 6: Pursue Emeraude's Forces Location: Neo Isaac Reward: 41,000 credits Zio Matrix wants you to seek and destroy the thieves who have stolen some secret material. Once again, your mission takes you to the dark recesses of the underground residences. The enemies here are the toughest you've faced so far in terms of offensive strength, so make sure you're always mobile when engaging in combat. Unfortunately, the narrow streets make horizontal movement rather difficult, so try to dodge vertically in the air as best you can. Another reason to travel airborne is because dozens of mines have been placed throughout the level. They are difficult to depict from cars, and for this reason I suggest staying away from any object(s) on the ground (even though stepping on helpless cars & buses can be very fun :P). The exciting thing about this mission is that you can receive the hidden part, EWR-M40 upon its completion; that is, if you successfully completed all of the previous missions. The EWR-M40 is a rather lightweight rocket shoulder weapon with decent (40) ammo. Like other rocket launchers, you must aim it yourself, and therefore must be relatively close to have a chance at hitting your target. It does do a nice chunk of damage, though. You can equip it right away, if you want. I stuck with my 10% extra ammo pack. It's your call. I'll be moving to the Horwick Mountains area next. Mission 7: Attack the Airbase Location: Horwick Mountains Reward: 38,000 credits Zio Matrix, a rival corporation to Emeraude, has constructed an airbase in the Horwick Mountain region. Emeraude sees the bomber located there as a potential threat, and wants you to remove it. When the mission starts, boost onto the platform below. The reason you have to boost is because the moron who is piloting drops you into the chasm when the mission begins. If you drop below a certain distance in the chasm, you'll leave the area of operations and fail the mission. The bomber is located West of the position that you start at, so head in that direction (see your map to see what direction is West). Enemies in this mission are usually one-hit kills from your MK2, but there are many of them. Therefore, you probably don't want to waste time (and ammo) dealing with all of them. You can proceed by going inside of the doors that are exposed outside the canyon wall, or you can just go on top of the cliffs themselves. If you're like me, you find helicopters to be incredibly annoying when they gang up on you, so you may want to traverse the canyon by going underground rather than staying on top. If there's one thing that you need to watch out for in this mission, it is to beware of the AC waiting for you in the bomber hanger! Since the bomber that you need to destroy to complete the mission won't fight back, take care of the AC first. He's not too tough--assuming that you don't allow him to get behind you. Just keep him in front of you where you can get a decent lock and then blast away. The destruction of the enemy bomber will successful finish the sortie. Mission 8: Destroy Radar Array Location: Horwick Mountains Reward: 39,000 credits The battle between Emeraude and Zio Matrix continues on. Your objective this time is to destroy Zio Matrix's radar array, effectively giving Emeraude the advantage. Within the given time limit (about five minutes), you are to destroy the twenty-odd radar dishes scattered throughout the level. This is actually quite easy, and the only thing stopping you is the annoying floating bombs. These "mobile mines" will lock onto you when you enter their vicinity, and will follow you until they catch up to you (and explode). Fortunately, they are relatively slow (about as fast as you can boost), and I suggest you just ignore them all together. Raze the last radar dish and successfully complete the mission. Short and sweet. Mission 9: Eliminate Trespassing AC Location: Horwick Mountains Reward: 45,000 credits Moving away from the outside location of the previous sorties, your employer takes you to the underground Irina Mines. An enemy AC has infiltrated the Old Gal BOC's mines, which they own, and you've got to teach the intruder(s) a lesson. Navigate your way down the mine (the path is very linear) to the leader, taking out any opposition that gets in your way. To initiate the fight with the leader, simply drop down the hole that you'll find at the end. The AC is a wimp, albeit somewhat fast. He's lightly armored both defensively and offensively. It also doesn't take much for it to overheat, so chain gun and blade tactics are highly recommended. Mission 10: Defend the Airbase Location: Horwick Mountains Reward: 32,000 credits Special Additions: 600 credits/fighter plane Back to the surface, Zio Matrix wants you to defend the same airbase that you raided when you were affiliated with Emeraude. Emeraude has sent a squadron of airbase fighters to the Horwick Mountains. Their assumed target: Zio Matrix's airbase. Protect the base by not allowing the enemy to break through the facility's gate that you're assigned to. There's another gate too, but you shouldn't have to bother with it as long as the friendly MT that is protecting it is still alive. The enemy fighter planes use missiles, so make sure that you activate your anti- missile extensions for this mission. You'll take less damage this way. Hold out against the enemy forces long enough and you win. Mission 11: Intercept Mine Intruders Location: Horwick Mountains Reward: 46,000 credits The Old Gal Bureau of Control has you returning to the Irina Mines for their next request. Your goal is to eradicate the intruders that have again infiltrated the mines. This time, however, you start at the bottom of the cavern. As the mission briefing states, make sure that the AC that you're using has adequate ascension capabilities. You are required to ascend significant distances now, as the elevators' power have been cut off. It just may be that your AC has high-energy usage, so you may have to use the cracks in the walls (lined in red) to give your capacitor an opportunity to recharge. Or of course, you can just use parts that don't consume as much energy. The opponents are the same you faced last time you were here, minus the AC at the end. If you successfully completed the previous Horwick Mountain missions, you should be awarded the hidden part, ELN-070. They come from Emeraude's line up of newly developed bipedal legs. The cool thing about them is, they are the fast type of bipedal legs with higher-than- usual maximum weight. This means that you can build a fast/light type of AC with heavier parts than you'd usually be able to. Alright, now that the Horwick Mountain missions are finished, I'll be moving on to the Old Gal area. Mission 12: Defend Storage Complex Location: Old Gal Reward: 32,000 credits The terrorist group that you know as the Indies has called upon you for assistance. There is a storage complex under their possession that they want you to help defend from enemy attack. A floor of the complex in particular has been assigned to you to protect. You need to destroy all enemy units on your floor. New enemies will appear as the mission progresses, so don't think that the few measly opponents that you start out with are all that you need to fight. I find it helpful to stand next to a wall, and allow the enemies to come to you. This tactic is very helpful, as you only have to guard one side of yourself, and can more or less control the number of opponents you must face at one time. Make it a priority to have the optional part, SP-ENE-SCR. It (the part) will decrease the amount of energy weapon damage you receive, and energy weapons seem to be the weapon of choice amongst the enemy MT's. Missile defense extensions are a must, too. Mission 13: Defend the Materials Cache Location: Old Gal Reward: 32,000 credits Once again, the Indies are requesting your help to defend a materials complex. Now you're on the fifteenth floor, and are assigned to defend a shutter that houses their secret materials. When the mission starts, you'll immediately see the shutter that you have to protect, so go ahead and stand in front of it (with your back to the shutter). Be aware that the wall to your left can be destroyed, so you may not have the luxury of its protection for the entire mission. With your back still to the wall, enemies will poor out of the door to your right. Take them out as the come to you--don't bother going to them. You'll leave the shutter undefended this way, and if the shutter is destroyed, it's mission failure. A group of two MT's will attack you at first, followed by two more waves of three. When you get a clear shot from your MK2, take it. Despite the MT's bulky build, they're actually pretty competent at dodging shots (jumping, hiding behind walls, etc.), so pause for a second when you get a red lock until you get the "true" lock. Mission 14: Eliminate Patrolling AC Location: Old Gal Reward: 45,000 credits The only thing difficult about your objective is that you must take out the AC while incurring as little damage as possible to the warehouse's materials. If too much of the warehouse's objects are destroyed, the mission will be called back. To minimize damage to the surroundings, try to take the fight to the middle of the warehouse, where there is more open space. As for the AC battle itself, the AC uses a flamethrower, so up-close fighting (a.k.a. blading) is NOT a good idea. It also has a missile launcher, but it's a weak one that only fires one missile at a time. If the flamethrower is giving you trouble, go to the SHOP and buy the shield with the "high heat defense" description. Also, don't let him get behind you. Mission 15: Eliminate the Search Team Location: Old Gal Reward: 30,000 credits Okay, this mission is either one of the easiest around, or one of the hardest in the game. It all depends on your objective. To successfully complete the mission, all that you have to do is destroy the wimpy MT's throughout the level. A few minutes into the mission, however, two AC's will come out to assist their fellow MT's. One could easily enough ignore the AC's and quickly take out the remaining MT's. But if you beat the MT's before the AC's have a chance to hurt you, you'll miss out on the emblems that you receive after beating them, not to mention the bragging rights. If you want strategies to beat the two AC's, read on... First, let's go over the AC's equipment. One AC is outfitted with a bazooka RH gun, the ZWX-IV/PURSUIT (!), and a shield. The other one has a machine gun and a grenade launcher to look out for. Okay, now that you know what you're up against, let's talk about some strategy. The one with the pursuit missiles takes an unbelievably amount of time to kill due to its high AP and shield, so I suggest that you turn your attention to the other one. Keep a distance from him at all costs, or at least until his Grenade launcher runs out of ammo. If one of those grenades connects, you'll be feeling about 1,000 +/- AP of hurt. Keep boosting to the left and right. I found multi-missiles and the MK2 to be very affective in this mission. MK2 users need to have the SP-ENE- ACC, SP-BE++, and SP-E/SAVER optional parts activated. These parts increase the power, speed, and efficiency for energy weapons. Missile users need to have extensions (namely the BEX-BRM-04) that fire extra missiles. Even for the most skilled players, it's quite difficult to challenge both AC's at the same time. You'll probably find that even if you've got one AC under wraps, the other one will be beating you into a pulp with your attention occupied. What can you do? Well, the door that you have to open in the beginning of the level plays a big part in this upcoming tactic. Attempt to lure one AC into the small tunnel shaft that you started out in. To do this, open the door and stand near it. Wait until the AC comes close, and then back off into the shaft. If you can successfully do this, take out the AC that you lure in this tunnel. These guys aren't TOO bad one on one. Once he's finished, go outside and finish off the other one. Keep in mind that these AC's can run out of ammo. If you can use the buildings as obstructions to escape enemy fire, you should be able to deplete most of their ammunition without or barely getting hit. Anonymous tips: * Although it may seem so, using the top of buildings for cover usually isn't a good idea. They'll just boost on up after you and use "hit-and- run" tactics. By "hit-and-run" I mean that they'll boost up to get a few shots off, then drop back down. Not only is this tactic annoying, but it's also very effective. * There's a strange glitch that you can enjoy. Sometimes, when the AC's appear, they'll get stuck inside of the buildings. This is good since, even though they won't target you inside of the building, it IS possible to damage them with weapons that cause explosions and/or blades. On the same note, if you stand in front of the door that you have to open in the beginning of the level, you can hit them with your blades. To hit them with your blade without opening the door, stand on the far left or right of the door. When you hit circle to use your blade, the door won't open as long as you're not standing in the center of the door. Since the collision detection is a little off, you can visually see them through thin objects like this door. Cheap? Yes. Effective? Definitely. Ratbadspider: Try using vertical missiles behind buildings. Vaporjolt: Yeah, I agree with this one. Try boosting about halfway up the side of a building and let those suckers fly! There's only a small window between the ceiling and the top of the building but if you time it just right... Mission 16: Take over Military Warehouse Location: Old Gal Reward: 35,000 credits Special Deduction: 1,000 credits/container The Indies are running low on supplies (again), and they need to steal the Old Gal BOC's warehouse materials. To do this, they must first have someone remove the enemy units present in the warehouse. This is where you come in. You are requested to infiltrate the facility and remove the enemy MT's. You'll get deductions as materials in the warehouse are destroyed. It's basically the same objective as Eliminate Patrolling AC, except this time you're facing MT's. After successfully completing the first five missions in Old Gal, you should receive the hidden part, BEX-BT180. Mission 17: Attack the Storage Complex Location: Old Gal Reward: 42,000 credits Apparently, the Old Gal Bureau of Control has been fed up with the Indies, so they wish to remove their presence from Old Gal. The Indies are currently housed in a storage complex. You've been assigned to eliminate the forces in the complex. Unlike the previous missions, you'll have to traverse several floors, via the elevators. When the mission begins, destroy all of the enemies on the floor. After you eliminate them all, you'll be instructed to move onto the tenth floor. Go ahead and use the elevator (located on the northern side of the floor). After the tenth floor enemies are dealt with, you can proceed to the twentieth floor. The elevator to floor twenty is on the western side. Take them out like you've been doing. When that's done, make your way back to the fifth floor, because more enemies have appeared there. The last floor is on the thirtieth floor, and you can take the express elevator from the fifth floor to get there. Finish off the remaining MT's and the mission is over. Congratulations! The Old Gal missions are complete! You'll receive the EWG-RF-10LB gun after successfully completing the Old Gal missions (two hidden parts from one area--not too shabby!). Mission 18: Defend the Bomber Location: Old Zam Reward: 18,000 credits Zio Matrix needs you to guard a bomber of theirs the ARG Aircraft Hanger. As is reflected from you cash reward, this mission is ridiculously easy. Simply go in and destroy the MT's that are attacking the bomber. Usually they're so occupied with damaging the bomber that they won't even bother attacking you. Don't be surprised if your net pay ends up being exactly the same as your initial payment. :) Mission 19: Enter Waste-Treatment Plant Location: Old Zam Reward: 22,000 credits Some pro-environmental terrorists have attacked the Old Zam Bureau of Control's treatment plant. The Old Zam BOC, of course, denies the fact that the plant is hazardous to the environment (yeah, right). Anyway, it's your habitual duty to remove the terrorists from the facility. There are six enemy MT's in all. A few of them are equipped with grenade launchers, so be wary. In addition, make sure that you don't fall into the magma pit at the bottom of the level. On a side note, why in the world would you need lava to treat water? The only conclusion that I can come to is that microorganisms in the future have grown an immunity to "just" boiling temperatures. :P Mission 20: Disarm the Bombs Location: Old Zam Reward: 36,000 credits If you've been following my mission path, then this is the first time that you've encountered a "find the bomb(s)" objective. You should know that these missions typically ask you to locate and neutralize any number of bombs within a given time limit. So put on your "Die Hard" thinking caps and lets get to it! You are assigned to disarm the bombs that have been planted throughout the facility. You've also got to keep a close eye on the time limit. If you take too long, the facility will explode and you'll fail the mission. The hallways deviate into many directions and can make finding the bombs difficult. There are lots of enemies too. Fortunately for you, though, you've got this point-by- point guide to keep you from getting lost. At the beginning of the mission, immediately boost forward to the end of the path where the hall splits left and right. Go right. When you hit the intersection, just keep going straight. At the end of the hall, you'll reach a room. Disarm the two bombs here. One is on the second level of the platform to the left. The other is on the right wall at ground level. Press the same button that you use to open doors (Circle if you haven't rearranged the button configuration). When the bombs are disarmed, go back to the intersection that you passed before. Coming from the room you just exited, head left. You'll find a lone bomb in the next room on the far wall. Turn around, go back to the intersection, and go left. Disarm another bomb in the room that you come to. Once you get back to the four-way intersection, make yet another left, heading north. Ignore the closed door that you'll pass on your right. The next room has two bombs. When they're dealt with, the door on the east side of this room will open up. Go through it. There's one bomb to disarm in here. You remember that door that you ignored earlier? Now it's been opened for you. Trek back there. Behind these doors are the final two bombs! Note that one bomb is on a raised platform. Once you've disarmed the final two bombs, you're done. Congratulations! You may breathe now. Mission 21: Destroy Security System Location: Old Zam Reward: 38,000 credits **NOTE - make sure that your head/radar has a map function with memory location Kind of a breather compared to the last mission, the Indies merely desire you to blow up the security system. The only thing stopping you are the guard MT's scattered about. The down side is, there is a LOT of MT's, and the path to the security system is long. From the starting point, go down the hall and turn left. Follow this linear path that will bend right and go through a room. When you reach the end of the path at a wall, you have the option of proceeding either left or right. Go left, and then make the very next right. This hallway leads to a room. Take the West exit out of the room. The next hall will have a closed door on the left, and a passageway that continues further to the right. Go right, and follow this path to the end. Ignore the room that you'll pass on your right. You should eventually reach a room with a lift. Take the lift to the top. Go through the doors, and take out the security system with your blade. Mission accomplished, right? Wrong! Zio Matrix has been alerted to your presence and is attempting to trap you in their facility. The doors that enclose each sector of the complex will begin to slowly shut. You've got to make it all the way back to the starting point, where the escape point is. Use your map to retrace your steps. The escape point is labeled, uh, "escape point" on the map display. Use OB (overboost) to abbreviate long, straight hallways as much as possible. The actual escape point is ridiculously close the mission boundaries, so carefully walk up to it when you're near enough. Mission 22: Raven Assessment Location: Old Zam Reward: 52,000 credits In order to test the abilities of a Raven that they are considering for hire, Emeraude wants you to engage him in combat. The battle takes place in the treatment plant, so again be wary of the lava at the bottom of the level. The AC battle itself can be annoying. While he really isn't too dangerous offensively, he's somewhat fast and has a penchant to attack you from behind. His weapons of choice seem to be his ZWM-M24/IMU (Multi missiles) and his rocket launcher. The rocket launcher won't give you trouble if you keep moving, but the missile launcher is something else. Make it a priority to have missile- interceptor extensions equipped (and ON of course). If any missiles make it past your extensions, try maneuvering _towards_ the missiles at the last second. Sometimes the missiles will overshoot you this way. Also, try destroying the floors and luring the AC into the lava pit. It's difficult to do, but that doesn't mean it's not worth seeing. You'll get the hidden part, EWM-M03 back weapon for successfully completing this last mission at Old Zam. Mission 23: Destroy Insertion Team Location: Zearm Desert Reward: 30,000 credits A bunch of re-entry pods containing secret information are plummeting towards the Earth's surface. Zio Matrix, apparently, has reason for this information not to be distributed, as you've been hired to destroy the pods. You have to destroy the pods and their contents (MT's) to successfully complete the mission. No, the mission will not end if the pods hit the ground before you can destroy them in the air. The pods just make much easier targets while they're airborne. Once they hit the ground, you see, the MT's will pour out and you'll have to destroy them individually. Mission 24: Training Exercise Location: Zearm Desert Reward: 28,000 credits This is the first in a series of training exercises where the Indies will ask you to participate with them in a real battle situation. They need to gather live fight data from their MT's. In order to ensure that the fight data is authentic as possible, you will only be paid if you defeat the eight MT's. The MT's themselves are wimps. The most difficult aspect of this mission is that the various trains may get in your line of fire. Other than that, this is just a target practice mission. Have fun. Mission 25: Reactivate Facility Gates Location: Zearm Desert Reward: 21,000 credits Your main objective is to reactivate the security system at the end of the level. The wimpy (but numerous) MT's shouldn't get in your way. You are going to have to blast through cracked walls to proceed. Try to use your blade as much as possible. Some paths may lead to dead ends, so you'll probably find yourself backtracking a little bit. Some dead ends are not what they seem, however. Don't forget to look at the ceilings and floors for cracks, too. This is another easy mission, really. Enjoy it while it lasts... Mission 26: Attack the Terrorists Location: Zearm Desert Reward: 38,000 credits This mission is kind of cool. You have to destroy a bunch of MT's as usual, but you also have to look out for a bomber from above, too! The bomber plane will barrage you with laser cannons when it's close enough, and to make matters worse, it's an incredibly good shot. OB (overboost) around and take out the MT's as quickly as possible. I like to OB right past them while blasting away with my shoulder chain gun (I chose the chain gun over the MK2 because the energy guage will go down slower while Obing). OB will make you a harder target for the MT's, as well as help you stay ahead of the bomber. Give it a try! Mission 27: Training Rematch Location: Zearm Desert Reward: 36,000 credits You have the exact same purpose as the last training exercise, except the MT's are beefed up now in weaponry. Don't worry about the missiles. The limited vertical space in the train yard will pretty much protect you. The grenade launching MT's are the real threat here. I like to fire from a distance and take out one MT at a time. Try "peeking" on top of the trains and firing. There's a small space between the ceiling and the top of the train where you can fire and still remain relatively protected. Make use of the colored target indicator to know when there are no obstructions between you and your target(s). Mission 28: Infiltrate Weapons Facility Location: Zearm Desert Reward: 28,000 credits Balena Corporation brings you back to the underground facility that you were at earlier. Your assignment is to retake the facility that has been recently captured by Neo Isaac's Bureau of Control. The MT's that reside in the narrow passageways and rooms aren't as tough as they look, fortunately. They are poorly equipped, and have low AP. A few quick swipes from your blade should be enough to destroy them. The removal of all enemy forces successfully completes the mission. Mission 29: Eliminate Outlaw Organization Location: Burrough's Hill Reward: 42,000 credits A crack group of outlaws have been harassing Old Avalon's transport planes, and you have been hired to launch a retaliatory strike against them. The tanks in this level have incredible range and accuracy, so be mobile! A few minutes into the mission, a tank-based AC will show up. He's equipped with twin laser spread-shot cannons and missiles. It's difficult to dodge missiles in an open space like this one, so you're going to have to largely rely on your extensions for protection. There's really not much you can do against the twin laser cannons, but they're not too powerful. You could always equip a shield if it's giving you trouble. Try attacking him from behind when possible. Mission 30: Eliminate the Bureau Forces Location: Burrough's Hill Reward: 34,000 credits The Indies' orders require you to move to the Old Battlefield area and eliminate the Bureau's forces there. The area of operations is an old minefield, so stay in the air as much as possible to avoid the live mines. It's fun to watch the MT's destroy themselves as they walk over the bombs. By the time you destroy 3-4 of them, the other one(s) will have probably been destroyed or severely weakened from the mines. Mission 31: Rescue the Trapped Indies Location: Burrough's Hill Reward: 31,000 credits Some Indies have been trapped at the Old Battlefield and you have got to escort them to safety. Follow them as they leave the area, and shoot down the enemy MT helicopters. Don't pursue any MT's that may lead you away from the friendly tanks--if they die, then you'll fail the mission. Make the friendly tanks' safe passage a top priority. Yes, the mines that littered the level before are still here so be careful of them, too. The tanks are considered to be at a safe distance when they pass the red line area of operations, so you'll be coming very close to the mission's area limits. Keep a close eye on your radar so that you don't leave the area of operations yourself. Mission 32: Recover Research Materials Location: Burrough's Hill Reward: 35,000 credits A plane of Zio Matrix's containing top-secret materials has plummeted to the surface of the Gihen Crater. Your initial assignment is to go to Gihen Crater and recover the materials. Upon arrival, though, your mission objective will change. Biological menaces arrive at the site and Zio Matrix leaves their annihilation to you. The biological entities will not show up on your radar, so you must locate them visually. They're not too tough, but they bounce really high to avoid your shots. A biological creature that has built-in guns is apparently just another quirk of the future. Either they're advanced aliens from outer space, or rodents have learned how to use firearms. Weird. Mission 33: Attack Secret Warehouse Location: Burrough's Hill Reward: 34,000 credits Ultimately, all that you have to do is eliminate the lead MT, so you don't necessarily have to destroy every enemy that you come across. There are lots of MT's that are spread throughout the facility and its caverns. So much, in fact, that you may deplete all of your ammunition before you reach the mission's end. Thankfully, there are two ammo- replenishing vehicles located on site. They look like yellow tanks, but they won't move. Press Circle when you're standing next to it and it will refill your ammo. It won't replenish armor points, though. Make sure that you're as close as possible when you press Circle. Don't make the same mistake I did--I pressed Circle when I wasn't close enough and accidentally destroyed the vehicle with my blade (d'oh)! Mission 34: Eliminate the Raven Location: Burrough's Hill Reward: 76,000 credits A "fellow" Raven has hired you to ambush a rival of his that is giving him trouble in the Arena. The call for assistance is just a guise to hide his real motives: to destroy you. Yup, as soon as the mission begins he'll turn on you. Lumberjack (the Raven) is a missile freak, so get your anti-missile tactics in gear! This means equipping the proper extensions and constantly using overboost to avoid the swarms of missiles that he'll send at you. He's really not that much of a threat. The partner that takes his place after he dies though, is quite a menace. Not only does he have the advantage of facing you after you've been softened up, but his RH laser rifle is extremely powerful (I'm talking -1,000 AP a hit). You can't rely on him depleting all of his ammo, either (he's got the +60% ammo back equipment). You only chance is to hit him hard, and hit him fast. Even though the MK2 isn't quite as powerful as his laser rifle, it can fire more frequently. Pummel him with constant attacks, and never let up. Try to stay behind him. You can use your blade if you get the opportunity, but NEVER attack him from the front. Upon clearing the Burrough's Hill area, you'll receive the ZWC-CN/500 hidden part. Mission 35: Special Arena Appearance Location: Old Avalon Reward: 46,000 credits Concord Corporation (you may remember them from AC2) has taken special notice of you. They want you to fight a Raven from Mars to give the crowd something to remember. Zaltehook, your opponent, uses a quick- fire laser rifle (ZWG-MG/ENE) and a triple rocket launcher (EWR-M60). Both can be devastating if you're not careful. Try to keep a distance, and keep changing your trajectory to avoid his fire. I don't recommend attempting to get behind him, as he's usually too smart to let that happen. You should have the advantage in terms of offensive capability, so you should pretty much be in control of the fight. Mission 36: Special Arena Rematch Location: Old Avalon Reward: 70,000 credits Your opponent is the same as last time, but since you won the previous fight you've been given a handicap to even things out...how cheap. That's okay though, it just means that you're that much better, right! The handicap is the sentry cannons placed on the ceiling that have been programmed to target you. Zaltehook uses his booster much more often this time around and makes him more difficult to target. I suggest this setup to make things easier: Back weapon (Left & Right) . . . . . .EWX-BAL4 Extension. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BRM-04 A missile offensive seems to be the best choice here. Don't bother targeting the sentry cannons, just take out Zaltehook as quickly as you can. Inundate him with swarms of missiles. If you hit him hard, he'll die before he hits the ground. Mission 37: Terminate Raven Location: Old Avalon Reward: 100,000 credits Don't let the mission name fool you, there are TWO Ravens in this mission that you have to beat. Soul and his buddy, Scalp Lock, are no pushovers either. Just like in the Old Gal VS. 2 AC mission, this will require strategy. Soul has a bazooka gun and the EWX-BAL4 multi-missile pack. Scalp Lock is equipped with the dual arm blades and the orbit cannon. Let's talk about Scalp Lock first. You will NOT win a blading contest against Scalp Lock, so don't even think about blading him to death. Granted, the very skilled player should be able to attack him from behind, but there's no point in doing so unless you're looking for a challenge. His orbit cannons are annoying, but fortunately they don't do that much damage and have low ammo. When he fires them, you can either (a) turn on your shield and simply endure the light-medium damage, or (b) OB out of there as soon as you hear him launch them. Once his orbit cannons are gone, he'll have no long-range attacks whatsoever. Attack him from afar and he won't be able to touch you. Be warned that his AI can be fairly clever. From time to time, he does attempt to pursue you in the air with his blades (and his accuracy is usually dead-on, so watch it). Okay, that takes care of Scalp Lock. Now, onto Soul. Soul's bazookas really aren't that powerful, and they have a slow reload time. The real threat is his multi-missile launcher, which, after repeated attacks, can leave you pretty much dead. The key to this problem lies not so much within your own missile evasion skill(s), but a commonly overlooked inside part. I'm talking about the INW-DEC-MQ2. Yup, that little inside part is capable of sending his twelve-odd missiles right at that little decoy. Right before the multi- missiles are about to split apart in the air, let one rip (the decoy...not a fart :P). It's probably a good idea to plant two decoys, just to be safe. The point is that you get to have a cheap decoy absorb all of his missiles, leaving you practically unscathed (no big deal if one or two missiles make it through, right?). One more tip: don't fight on the ground level. Try attacking from the tops of the pillars or the second level platform surrounding the arena. The ground floor is just too wide open and Scalp Lock and Soul will get too many additional hits in. If you absolutely must get to the ground level, have your finger ready to press OB (overboost) at any moment. Offensively, tactics that you previously employed against AC's should work fine here. The MK2 and shoulder-mounted chain gun (to overheat 'em) are good weapons as usual. You should also try to attack from behind whenever possible. Mission 38: Attack Abandoned Facility Location: Thorn Garden Reward: 42,000 credits This is incredibly easy. You start out in a room. A room with those alien-looking thingy's from the Burrough's Hill mission. They hardly move, and when they do, it's in a sluggish manner. Their cannons are virtually harmless. Kill them all, and you win. How these things could defeat a group of "professionals" is very questionable indeed. Mission 39: Eliminate Biological Menace Location: Thorn Garden Reward: 60,000 credits Okay, this assignment was obviously intended to make up for the ease of the last mission. All of those little critters have been coming out of a "mother" critter. The mother critter is huge...if you somehow can't pick her out, then you've got a problem. She's located at the bottom of the pit that you have to fall down past the hallway. The damage that she can deal is INSANE, so your only option is to take her out before she takes you out. The MK2 probably isn't powerful enough (!) to kill her before you're dead, so I'd equip the EWG-HC-GN210 (the arm-mounted grenade launcher). Yeah, it's slow, but the mother alien can hardly move anyway. Get her in your sights, and blast her away like there's no tomorrow. Keep boosting right and left to avoid some of her shots while you blow her up and stuff. Once she's dead, you win the sortie. Mission 40: Eliminate Unmanned Weapons Location: Thorn Garden Reward: 36,000 credits By "obstructions" the mission orientation actually means bombs. And boy are there a lot of them. The objective is to remove as many of these bombs as possible. The two types of bombs are the stationary, floating mines and the heat-seeking bombs. Both can be taken out with any type of fire. I suggest bringing along a high ammo weapon like a machine gun this time. Don't rush into any of the rooms. Chances are, you'll just run smack into a cluster of mines or a smart bomb will be there waiting to greet you. The stationary mines actually possess the greatest potential threat. If you run into a group of them (highly unlikely without your knowing but it's still possible) and one goes off, ALL of the ones close to it go off. If you've gotten yourself into a cluster of six or more, you're pretty much done for. You can use this to your advantage though. Take out the mines in the center of the clusters and it will detonate the surrounding mines in a chain reaction, saving you of the trouble (a.k.a. ammo). The other enemies are lightly armored MT's that barely pose a threat at all. When most of the threat is removed, you'll successfully complete the mission. I won with 4% enemies remaining. Also, has anyone else noticed the stupidity of being sent to blow up bombs in a nuclear shelter? Mission 41: Assist Research Team Location: Thorn Garden Reward: 35,000 credits Even though there is no official time limit, you have to destroy all hostile MT's before any friendly target is killed. Use your boosters to quickly move about. Proceed through the facility, destroying the MT's as you meet them. One clear shot from your MK2 will kill an MT. If you see the "hit" indicator flash, then you've got the MT and you can move on. Don't bother confirming its destruction--every second counts. Assist the friendly target, move on, etc. Speaking of friendly targets, your MK2 is a powerful weapon so make sure that your aim is perfect! Mission 42: Shutdown Nuclear Shelter Location: Thorn Garden Reward: 42,000 credits Special Addition: 2,500 credits/MT Initially it seems as though the AC is the only enemy that you have to be concerned with. The doors on the various levels are closed, after all. There's a reason for this, but you'll see later. The enemy AC starts out below you. This is definitely a bonus since his aim isn't too great from down there, and I've never actually see him come up after me. Get all the shots in you can from above, then descend and finish him off. Go through the door on the ground level and destroy the target and wha...? It looks like you've been caught yet again and the alarm sounds. You have three minutes to make it back to the top. The problem is, the shutters in the main room are now closed and you have to take the long way up (the other door on the ground level is now open). Eliminate any MT's that get in your way, but don't go too far out of your way. They don't have to be destroyed. Make it out in time (the path is linear) and you beat the sortie. Mission 43: Remove Occupant in Facility Location: Thorn Garden Reward: 38,000 credits The floating MT's in the facility seem to be there for the sole purpose of wearing you down for the AC fight, so take them out quickly before they can do any real damage. At the end of the facility you'll meet an AC. He's easy. He's shotgun is weak (compared to a laser rifle anyway) and does considerably less damage the further away from him you are. Although it's tough in the limited space, try to keep at a distance and keep up the pressure with your MK2. Mission 44: Clear the Disposal Facility Location: Thorn Garden Reward: 44,000 credits Now way around it, this mission is a pain-and-a-half to beat. This difficulty is due large in part to the corrosive gas present throughout the facility. As long as the gas is still in the air, your AP will continue to drop. Your success depends entirely upon the removal of the sources of the gas: the gas generators. Use your map to locate the gas generators, and seek them out first. Once they're gone, you can turn you attention to the disorder units that have infested the facility. The disorder units won't appear on your radar, so you may have to return to some rooms to completely eradicate them if you're not thorough. The destruction of all disorder units will grant you success, as well as the hidden part ELN-02SLD (assuming you successfully completed the previous TG missions, of course). Mission 45: Rescue VIP Location: Earth Central Reward: 32,000 credits Get your espionage skills in gear! A group of terrorists have captured a VIP. The VIP will be executed if you're caught trying to save him/her, so be careful. You'll fail if: (a) you use your boosters out in the open (b) pick a fight with an MT and don't take it out quickly (it will call its friends) (c) step on the cars (unverified, but that would make an audible explosion, right?) Obviously, stay away from the spotlights and work as quickly as possible. Don't fight more than one MT at a time, or one may get the opportunity to notify its comrades. Work stealthily, and you will be successful. Mission 46: Eliminate Unmanned Weapons Location: Earth Central Reward: 48,000 credits Make no mistake: there are MANY disorder units to destroy in this mission. Disorder units are generally wimps on their own, but if they gang up on you, watch out--they can deal some serious damage. For this reason, I suggest that you pick them off individually from the rooftops of the buildings. If you exhaust your ammo (and you very well may), you'll have to blade 'em to death, so make sure you've got one equipped. Aside from the large number of disorders, there's nothing in particular that should give you trouble in this mission. Mission 47: Eliminate Intruder Location: Earth Central Reward: 70,000 credits You have been assigned to deal with the AC that has intruded Earth Central's HQ. Unlike the majority of the AC opponents that you have to face, Unfettered (the AC) is no fool when it comes to piloting. By this I mean that he'll do whatever it takes to stay out of your line-of- sight so you can't hit him. In addition, he also prefers to attack you from behind. What makes things worse is that he's quite fast AND he's powerful. Read on for strategies. When the mission starts, take out the two MT's posted on the side of the city. If you leave them be, they will continually whittle away at your AP with their guns. Unfettered has got some serious equipment. He has the one-shoulder multi-missile launcher, anti-missile extensions, shoulder chain gun, and a bazooka gun. Yikes. Well, your own anti missile extensions and your decoy inside part (see mission # 37 for more on that) should render his missiles somewhat useless. The best advice I can give is to keep your distance. You won't have enough time to dodge his bazooka gun at close range (and he's got the Moonlight blade, so close combat is out of the question anyway). You really can't do much to defend against his chain gun, though. If you can't seem to get a good lock or he starts to overwhelm you, OB to the other side of the level and get your bearings straight. You should receive the ELS-7880 hidden part for completing this mission. Mission 48: Escort Transport Convoy Location: Colnart Bay City Reward: 34,000 credits As the mission name implies, the duty given to you is to protect the convoy en route to the city limits. The enemy planes only come from the north side of the bridge, so that at least narrows the area that you have to protect the convoy from. The enemy planes are typical--they primarily use missiles to attack. Equip extensions accordingly. Try to draw the planes' fire as much as possible. Their missiles aren't a great threat to your AC, but the transport vehicles really can't take too much punishment. I like to attack each wave of planes in the air before they reach the bridge, retreat back to the bridge to recharge my booster energy, then wait for the next wave of enemies. Mission 49: Probe Balena's Defenses Location: Colnart Bay City Reward: 0 credits Special Additions: 2,900 credits/tank; 2,000 credits/guard MT You're probably thinking, "What? I'm not getting paid?!" Well, you are getting paid, but there's a catch. The number of tanks/MT's that you shoot down determines your pay. The more units that are destroyed, the greater your pay. In other words, your skill will greatly reflect the amount of cash that you're rewarded with. The difficulty of this mission is totally up to you. Simply board the transport ship to end the mission. It is fun, though, to see how many enemies you can destroy. The tanks' rockets can be avoided by boosting in a circular type motion in the air (the computer doesn't seem to catch on to your circular maneuvers, so you should be able to repeatedly execute this simple tactic). The guard MT's only shoot missiles once at a time, so that's not much of a threat. See how long you can last in this "survival" mission! You'll receive the EWM-NAP-02 for completing the first two missions at Colnart Bay City. Mission 50: Defend the Shipyard Location: Colnart Bay City Reward: 45,000 credits Recall from your mission briefing that if even one ship makes it past the buoys you'll fail the mission, so work diligently. When you begin, boost to the battleships in front of you and take them out to give yourself a headstart. From then on, concentrate your attacks on the battleships closest to the line of buoys. Ships will appear on both sides of the lighthouse, so be wary of that. The ships are equipped with vertical missiles, but they are slow, fired one at a time, and can be avoided fairly easily by boosting laterally at the last second. Last but certainly not least, don't fall into the ocean (particularly at the end of the mission) *smacks himself* DogMeatOne@aol.com: Here's a huge tip on beating the "Defend the Shipyard" mission in Colnart Bay City. Just use hover legs and you can float along the water. This way you can dash out and shoot all of the boats before they come anyway near the buoys. Vaporjolt: This tip came in before my first real update, and I couldn't agree more. I recommend you use hover legs in any mission where falling through the water will result in mission failure. Mission 51: Attack Coastal Defenses Location: Colnart Bay City Reward: 65,000 credits Special Addition: 1,500 credits/MT The grenade launchers here are brutal. Don't ever remain stationary or else you'll be an easy target. The gun batteries have shutters that open and close and you won't be able to destroy them if they're closed. If you're waiting for a shutter to open, take a few shots at the MT's behind the line of gun batteries. I'd work quickly if I were you because it's really easy to absorb lots of damage in this mission. Take out the line of gun batteries on your side of the river, then move to the other side and take those out as well. The destruction of all gun batteries successfully completes the mission. Mission 52: Disarm the Explosive Devices Location: Colnart Bay City Reward: 42,000 credits Special Addition: 2,000 credits/amphibious MT A group of time bombs have been set on key structural points on the Ford Bridge, which of course, you have to disarm. There is a limited amount of time that you have before the bombs detonate. The bombs are only located underneath the bridge that you start out on, so they're really easy to find (look on the support beams). Move east (or west, it really doesn't matter) and disarm the bombs by pressing Circle. When you reach the yellow mission boundary line, turn around and disarm the bombs on the other side of the bridge until you reach the other yellow boundary line. Oh yeah, and don't forget that there are two bombs underneath one of the supports (on two separate beams). The double bombs are under the supports near the middle, and you won't be able to see them both facing one direction. If you reached the other yellow boundary line and you still haven't got the "mission complete" message, then it's probably one of the double bombs that you're missing. If you find yourself in need of time, don't fight the MT's--they are optional. Mission 53: Destroy Submarine Location: Colnart Bay City Reward: 68,000 credits Your mission this time is either ridiculously easy or nail-bitingly frustrating. Your only requirement to beat the sortie is to destroy the submarine. Although helicopters are littered throughout the level, the sub itself is unguarded and can be taken out with a few blade swipes. Continue on through the mission, however, you'll find that an AC will appear to halt your progress. Just like that Old Gal mission, you could easily enough ignore him and destroy the sub before he can do any real damage. But, if you hope to complete the game with the confident knowledge that you've done everything there is to do, you're gonna have to deal with that AC, too. The AC fight isn't the problem here. Destroying the AC and the sub before the sub leaves the area of operations is the problem. While you're waiting for the AC to appear, start attacking the sub with your blade or whatever (but make sure you don't completely demolish it). When the AC appears, leave the sub for now and go after the AC. He's poorly equipped, fortunately. You'll need to take him out as quickly as possible. Grenade launchers work really well here. Once he is dead, rush back to finish off the sub. You should be rewarded with the EWG-XC213 hidden part for finishing the Colnart Bay City missions. Mission 54: Attack Spaceship Dock Location: Balboa City Reward: 22,000 credits Special Addition: 900 credits/Guard MT For three minutes, you've got to distract Zio Matrix's forces so that Emeraude can successfully do their work. There will always be a constant amount of enemies (more MT's come about every 30 seconds) so you've got to be evading as many attacks as possible. The MT's are armed with standard missiles and will use laser fire if they're close enough. While you don't technically have to destroy any enemies, it's worth your effort since you'll get paid extra for every MT eliminated. When the three minutes are over, Emeraude will tell you to leave. Open the door that was behind you when started to complete the mission. Mission 55: Defend Development Lab Location: Balboa City Reward: 42,000 credits The attacker that you must face is an AC, and a dangerous one at that. His equipment consists of quadruped legs, the ZWG-HC-IR/K99 laser rifle, missile interceptor extensions, and what appears to be a shoulder-based laser gun. Your success relies heavily upon how well you can dodge that laser rifle of his. It can take as little as four direct hits from that thing to be destroyed. Basically, you want to take advantage of the flaw in his AC design: energy usage. It takes a considerably large amount of energy to support quadruped legs and two energy weapons. Although his laser rifle has 12 ammo, he'll probably switch weapons after about six hits to regain some energy. Also, you'll notice some delay between shots due to the large usage drain of the ZWG-HC-IR/K99 weapon. Back off into the "half-pipe" floor to give yourself more room immediately after the mission starts, constantly making alterations in your trajectory to dodge his shots. By the time you're half way to the back of the room, he should have switched to his weak shoulder weapon. This is your chance to hit him hard with the MK2. Missiles aren't terribly effective here because of his missile interceptors, so I'd stay with the guns. If you make it to the back of the room and he's still not dead, OB right over him and attack him from the other side. Mission 56: Attack the Train Location: Balboa City Reward: 30,000 credits This sortie will definitely test your agility! Your goal is to destroy a train passing through a sector of the subway before it leaves the area of operations. There are absolutely no enemies here, just the train. Sound easy? Well, that depends on how capable you are of dealing a lot of damage in a short amount of time. The train consists of two engine cabooses and a few cars in between. You have to demolish all of them. Start shooting the train's engine car as soon as you can see it. Move along with the train down the tracks and starting with the front, destroy each car. The train moves about as fast as you can boost so you'll have to step on it. If it gains too much ground on you, OB a little in front of it. You may want to use a grenade launcher for the extra damage, but the MK2 did just fine for me. Blade work, if you can time it, can be effective too. The mission fails if the train leaves the area of operations before you can destroy it. Carry out the mission quickly. Mission 57: Destroy Space Transport Location: Balboa City Reward: 40,000 credits Special Additions: 1,500 credits/Guard MT; 2,500 credits/MT; 500 credits/M Battery The transport ship will not be docked for long, so move along to its location in haste. Proceed through the hallways and doors. The path is very linear, just ignore the dark docks. The dock that the ship is in is lighted. Only fight the MT's that get in your way unless you feel that you have the time to. Once you reach the ship, demolish all of the key targets (marked "target" in yellow) before it can leave the bay. You will receive the hidden part, ZWM-M55/6 for completing this mission. Mission 58: Destroy Top Secret Unit Location: Zearm Desert Reward: 60,000 credits Continue through the shaft and destroy the fencing with your blade. Open the doors. Now, up to this point, I'm sure that you're attitude towards MT's was that they were nothing more than half-witted AC's; nothing to fear that much. Once you meet this MT, though, I'm sure your opinion on them will change. The top-secret unit is actually a GIGANTIC MT. It's also as tough as it looks. Not good. Facing the MT (your starting position after the mini-cutscene), the arm on your left poses the greatest threat. The grenades that it packs are very wicked on damage (and seem to move faster than regular grenades too). Take that out first, then concentrate on the body. Keeping at a distance will make dodging the grenade easier. Grenade launchers are effective here since the MT won't move, so use one of those if the MK2 isn't powerful enough for you. J.kisman@verizon.net: Immediately overboost directly under his head. Fire away until it is destroyed. The grenades can't hit you here. ONLY THOSE STUPID ORBIT POD THINGS! When the head is destroyed the left side...umm his left side is destroyed...that's your right hee hee. Now just look over at the other arm and shoot. IT CAN'T TARGET YOU NOW NO DANGER AT ALL! I suffered about 500 pts. of damage. Vaporjolt: I haven't actually tried this tactic, but it seems valid enough and should give people who found my strategy unhelpful another resource. Mission 59: Eliminate AC Location: Old Avalon Reward: 150,000 credits The AC is unbelievably tough in regards to both his AI and his offensive capabilities. It's not hard to see why so many Ravens have fallen victim to his superior ability. He is pretty much the only enemy I can think of that has a pulse laser gun that actually poses a threat. The reason for this is that his fires repeated blasts in a row. His grenade launcher is probably the greatest threat at close range, and for the love of all things good, STAY AWAY FROM HIM! He'll make quick work of you if you don't (he also blades very well). If he gets too close, overboost to the other side of the arena. Consider yourself fortunate if he sends his two dinky missiles at you; you shouldn't concern yourself with those at all. While the MK2 can certainly hold its own in this battle, it may not be enough to earn you victory. I like to use this AC, designed specifically for this mission: HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCH-GR/1 ARMS. . . . . . . .EAW-DCIO LEGS. . . . . . . .ECL-D1S1 BOOSTER . . . . . .NONE FCS . . . . . . . .DOX-ALM GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-BV2500 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-DEC-MQ2 EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-04 BACK UNIT R & L . .EWX-VLS241 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-SAB/J SP-BF5/LOSP Obviously, you don't need every listed part to follow this upcoming strategy. What you will need are the arm, extension, and back unit parts. Activate your extensions quickly, and target the AC with your vertical missiles. Let him have it. His only missile defense is his non-accurate core interceptors, so missiles are very effective. When you run out of missiles, or he just gets too close, switch to your twin grenade launcher. He'll fall fast if you get most of your hits in. If you're actually afraid of his missiles, use a core with built in missile interceptors (like his) or use a decoy. I'd keep the extra ammo extension though. You should receive the EWM-DD02 hidden part for completing this mission. Mission 60: Test New MT Model Location: Eyelet City Reward: 41,000 credits Special Addition: ??? The MT's won't give you trouble as long as you fire at them from afar. The shotguns that they are equipped with will inflict little damage over a long range. There are four D-1 MT models to destroy, which start out on the four corners of the level. You can get bonus monetary earnings depending on how fast you complete the mission. I can confirm up to 25,000 bonus credits for finishing quickly. Just like they say, "Time is money!" Mission 61: Defend the Fortress Location: Scissors Forest Reward: 36,000 credits Welcome to the dark and eerie plains of the Scissors Forest area. Although the mission briefing claims that you have to defend the fortress, there's really nothing to protect. You're area of operations is just outside of the fortress' vicinity, and all of the MT's will target you instead. Most of the MT's are equipped with accurate laser cannons, and the others have machine guns. Neither MT's are a particular threat, just keep moving. One shot from your MK2 will destroy an MT in one hit. After a little over one minute, the fortress' security system will come back online and will assist you with eradicating the MT's (that's where the missiles are coming from). Mission 62: Escort AC Parts Transport Location: Scissors Forest Reward: 46,000 credits All seems well until a mysterious AC appears to intercept the transport vehicle. I must tell you though--he's a complete wimp. The AC has a tendency to use his single-fire sniper rifle. In spite of the fact that the gun has good range, it's fairly weak. His dual missile launcher can be countered easily enough with missile interceptors. If you lose him in the fog, utilize your radar to locate him again. Draw the fight away from the road to minimize the damage that the vehicle may receive. He is completely at your mercy. Use your favorite method(s) of taking down AC's, and have fun! The mission will be complete when the AC is destroyed. Easy mission, easy money. :-) Mission 63: Destroy Missile Batteries Location: Scissors Forest Reward: 42,000 credits The task given to you is to obliterate the ground-to-air missile batteries within 3 minutes, before the bombers get there. Your assignment is made even more difficult because it's hard to find the batteries in the dark, and they won't show up on your radar. Like most other mission-vital targets, the batteries only show up visibly labeled in yellow as "target". I found it best to use the yellow area of operations border and follow that around the entire level, systematically searching around the perimeter of the level for batteries. Once you've cycled around the entire perimeter, venture into the center of the level and take out any batteries that you may have missed. It's a good idea to ignore the MT's here since they won't net you any extra payment. Don't forget to boost and overboost around to move faster. You should receive the INW-RV-08 hidden part for finishing the Scissors Forest missions. Mission 64: Eliminate Hijacker Location: Folk City Reward: 46,000 credits Your mission is to eliminate the lead MT found at the end of the level. Those annoying floating mines (the ones that follow you and attempt to explode in your face) are back, so proceed with caution. Continue through the facility. Like most other levels, the path is incredibly linear as you can only pass through the white doors. When you reach the room with floating mines on your left and right on the other side of the glass windows, just keep going straight through the door. Go to the left side, blow up the mines on that side of the room, and continue on. The room with the lead MT is guarded with some other MT's and more floating mines. Lure the floating mines into the tunnel that you came from and get those out of the way first, then turn your attention to the remaining enemies. Destroy the lead MT and you win. Mission 65: Test Facility's Defenses Location: Folk City Reward: 48,000 credits Special Addition: Time Bonus = 10,000 x #min ??? Unfortunately, Emeraude plagues you with a five-minute time limit, so you must move quickly. Travel through the facility and destroy the MT's. The most abundant MT's are the rocket launching type, and it's difficult to dodge in the confined space. Don't hesitate; destroy them as soon as you have a clear shot. The other hostile forces are the green, stationary MT's and guns mounted on the ceilings. Prepare yourself accordingly. Special additions are possible depending on how fast you beat the mission. I believe the computer will round down to the nearest minute and multiply that by 10,000 to determine the bonus money. I know that I got 20,000 bonus credits with 2:## left on the clock. Mission 66: Safeguard Stolen Prototype Location: Folk City Reward: 47,000 credits Well I do believe that this is the first (and only) time that _you_ outnumber the enemy. In this sortie, you team up with a fellow MT to eliminate an enemy Raven. Even though your sort of supposed to just give the MT cover fire, I recommend that you take care of the AC yourself entirely. Because the MT is carrying the secret parts, the mission will end if it is destroyed. The Raven is quite incompetent at defending itself against blading, so I suggest you primarily use that tactic to destroy it. The MK2, as you might have guessed, will be effective too. Fire at it with guns when it jumps in the air, and when it lands, overwhelm him with a barrage of blade + blade beam attacks (Human Plus only). Mission 67: Restore Temperature Setting Location: Folk City Reward: 44,000 credits The extremely high temperature of the facility poses a deceptively subtle threat. It won't take much enemy fire at all to cause your AC to overheat. And it's just your fortunateness that the MT's are packing the most overheat-inducing weapons of all: machine guns and grenades. Not only are these weapons damaging, but also continuous attacks may cause your AC to drop into the dreaded "output down" status (your AP drops). Take out the MT's as quickly as you can when you meet them. Hesitation to attack will cause much pain to follow. Blading the MT's at close range can be effective if you're fast enough (before they send a grenade right into your face). Destroy the MT's and reactivate the temperature module to successfully complete the mission. Mission 68: Remove Germ Warfare Toxin Location: Folk City Reward: 55,000 credits The toxin containers are those green test tubes that you may remember from previous sorties here. Move along through the level and trip the temperature device (the same one that you had to reactivate in mission 67). When the device is activated, the temperature will go way up and begin to damage your AC. Get out of there fast (the escape point is the hallway opposite of the temperature device. One last word of advice: destroy all of the MT's BEFORE you activate the temperature device! Mission 69: New Part Acquisition Location: Folk City Reward: 52,000 credits Special Addition: 100 credits/container The only container that you have to destroy is the one with Balena's part, but that shouldn't stop you from destroying the rest. After all, each container will score you an extra 100 credits. 100 credits may not be that much, but there are plenty of containers here and it will add up quickly. The only thing that may discourage you from obliterating the containers is the fact that some of them hold explosives or FCS damaging shrapnel. Shoot the containers will your Human Plus blade beam from a distance. If you don't have Human Plus, then you'll have to expend ammo and destroy the crates that way. There's nothing you can do to prevent the FCS damaging shrapnel--just sit it out. When you reach the room with three exits, head to the east door (you just came from the west door, so just head straight and pass the door on your right). The final container is in this room. Take out the MT's and the normal containers. The crate with Balena's part is in a small cubicle behind some fencing in this room. Destroy the fencing and the two crates, then pick up the part. Even though you pick up the part in the mission, you have to buy it at the shop to get it. The part name is the ZWG-XC/01 (laser rifle). It's an okay weapon, but it can't compare to the MK2. You should get the hidden part ZWC-XP02/QL for completing the Folk City missions. Mission 70: Defend Transport Ship Location: Arkot Ocean Reward: 48,000 credits Take heed of your briefing: submergence of your AC into the water will result in a mission failure. You can defend the ship from the buildings or the ship itself. I just landed on the ship and waited for the planes to come to me. For three minutes, you must protect the ship so that its repairs can be made. For the first two minutes, only bomber planes will attack you. Have missile interceptor extensions ready to combat their missile swarms. After two minutes, however, boat MT's will also join the enemy assault team--beware. If all of the yellow "defend target" points on the ship are destroyed, you'll fail the mission. Sure, you can try to be a hero and defend the entire ship, but it's probably a better idea to pick a side and concentrate on its defense. The ship will only "sink" if all key points are destroyed. Mission 71: Escort the Transport Plane Location: Arkot Ocean Reward: 51,000 credits This is the same "defend the target" objective as the last one. You'll find that you still need to watch where you land. The enemy bombers are back for more, so prepare accordingly. I like to stand in the middle of the plane and rotate my AC to find the next wave of planes. Either that, or equip a shoulder radar. Both methods will provide you a heads- up for the next bomber wave. If you use my rotating method, try equipping the SP-CIR-K optional part (makes you turn faster). Mission 72: Attack the Ocean Base Location: Arkot Ocean Reward: O credits Special Addition: 3,200 credits/Amphibious MT; 1,600 credits/M Battery; 2,400 credits/GN Battery Lock and load! A corporate venture into hostile seas calls for a Raven to distract the ocean base for safe passage. In two minutes, destroy all of the MT's that you can. The only things that pose the slightest of threats are the grenade launching MT's, but to tell you the truth, the grenade shots are so infrequent and the MT's that carry them so few, it's really nothing to worry about. Think of this mission as a shooting gallery. How many enemies can YOU kill? :D Mission 73: Defend the Ocean Base Location: Arkot Ocean Reward: 42,000 credits Okay, so it may not be as fun as the previous mission, but it's still easy. Destroy a few helicopters that appear in front of you at the start of the mission, then move to the carrier. Take out the carrier's missile launchers, and then the bridge itself (marked "target"). When that's completed, return to the base and shoot down the remaining helicopters and amphibious MT's. Piece of cake for a seasoned pilot like you, right? Mission 74: Destroy the Transport Ships Location: Arkot Ocean Reward: 50,000 credits Ignore the annoying helicopters here and just go for the two transport ships. Grenade cannons are outfitted on both ships so you'll definitely want to take those out first. The ship's structural points can be taken out with regular fire or blade swipes. Overboost and building hop quickly to minimize the damage that you may incur from the helicopters. As always, don't fall into the ocean. Mission 75: Escort Airborne Transports Location: Arkot Ocean Reward: 58,000 credits A wave of planes will appear behind you when you gain control of your AC. After their destruction, hop over to the next plane and defend it for awhile. Clearly, Zio Matrix has found it to be too expensive to hire two Ravens to protect the two planes, so the responsibility of defending both transports has been conveniently given to you. Yay. Don't waste time waiting for the next wave of attack on one plane. While one plane may be experiencing a moment of peace, the other plane is probably under heavy fire. Destroy the bombers and floating MT's around one plane for a bit, and then move on to defend the other plane. Keep this up for three minutes, and you'll complete the mission. Mission 76: Destroy Government Fleet Location: Arkot Ocean Reward: 65,000 credits Boost from the submarine to the destroyer on the left. Destroy the missile, guns, etc., and then wipe out the ship's structural points (labeled "target"). From there, head east and hop from ship to ship, demolishing them as you go. There are lots of helicopters in this mission--probably more than you can just blow off and ignore. Alternate between targeting the ships and taking out some helicopters for optimal success. Mission 77: Airborne Attack Location: Arkot Ocean Reward: 60,000 credits Your objective requires you to perform an airborne assault on four transport planes. Each plane has six key points: body (1), wings (2), nose (1), and tail wings (2). Demolish any four of them and the plane will begin its downward spiral into oblivion. :D Ignore the MT's that hover around the transports, as they are not even worthy of your attention. Move quickly and they won't get the chance to bother you. Logically, you'll want to start from the plane with the highest altitude and move downwards so you won't have to boost up or anything. Mission 78: Attack the Bureau's Base Location: Arkot Ocean Reward: 50,000 credits Just like mission 72, this mission is basically a shooting gallery. Most of the targets aren't mobile, and the ones that are mobile are easily defeated. There is no time limit, but your reward is a set 50K. Just keep moving, and the grenade cannons won't touch you. Nothing else can really harm you here. The only feasible way I can see anyone failing this mission is by accidentally stepping over the mission boundaries. :P You'll get the EWG-GN-81 hidden part for completing the Arkot Ocean missions. Mission 79: Performance Evaluation Location: Eyelet City Reward: 52,000 credits Special Addition: 7,500 credits/D-1 The new (and powerful) MT's will continually harass the your buddies, the D-1's, unless you do something to stop them. Each D-1 still alive by the end of the test will score you an extra 7,500 credits, so it's definitely in your favor to keep them alive. Time is of the essence. Get into medium-close range, and blast the new models with your MK2. Take them out one at a time, and make sure that you don't accidentally hit your allies. There are four enemy MT's all together for you to dispose of. Mission 80: Eliminate Raven Location: Zearm Desert Reward: 110,000 credits See that reward? There's a reason for this huge cash prize. This mission CAN be the hardest mission in the game. Commence the mission, and you'll soon see why. You're outnumbered 3 to 1, and all three of the Ravens are packing some serious heat. The odds are even worse if you haven't learned by now how to dodge enemy fire efficiently. Let's take a look at their *confirmed* equipment before I go into some strategy: Pendulum: rocket Launcher, grenade launcher, Moonlight Pit Viper: shoulder chain gun, shoulder laser rifle Heaven's Blaze: shoulder vertical missiles x2, sniper rifle Yeah, I'd say you've got your work cut out for you. Offensively, there's no way you could win an all-out assault without getting wasted first. I found it ridiculously useful to use a missile based AC since not any of the three Ravens have missile defenses, save the built-in (but rather ineffective) anti-missile systems in their cores. Here's what I used: HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-F/ROOK ARMS. . . . . . . .EAW-S604 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLB-7744/VAT BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B999 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-DEC-MQ2 EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-02 BACK UNIT L & R . .EXM-DD02 ARM UNIT L & R. . .NONE ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-BSI-LE SP-CIR-K SP-BFS/LOSP Activate your extensions as soon as the mission starts, and concentrate on one AC at a time. Try to stay in the air and dodge their fire. Let those missiles rip! Heaven's Blaze dies in _3 direct hits_ from the missile fire with extensions! Pit Viper usually takes around 5 assaults before he bites the big one, and Pendulum will fall in about the same number of strikes. The point is that it's quite possible to finish this mission in under a minute and-a-half using this set up, and you'll probably find that you still have plenty of AP to spare. This AC is unbelievably effective for this mission. If Heaven's Blaze vertical missiles are giving you trouble (although they shouldn't considering she dies in three missile swarms), lay a few decoys. Her sniper rifle is not a major threat. If you stay away from Pit Viper, he won't get in enough shots from his chain guns to cause any significant damage, as the individual shots are weak. Pendulum poses the greatest threat--his grenade and rocket launchers cause heavy damage and can nail you from quite a distance. His Moonlight may (and probably should) deter you from battling him at close range. Try to take him out first, if possible. This missile AC is the easiest method. For an alternative method, check out this set up: HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCH-GR/1 ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-707/E LEGS. . . . . . . .ELN-STVM BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-BV2500 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-DEC-MQ2 EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-02 BACK UNIT L & R . .EWM-NAP-02 ARM UNIT R. . . . .EWG-MGSAW ARM UNIT L. . . . .ZLS-T/100 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BSI-LE SP-CIR-K This is the AC that I used before I realized the effectiveness of a missile-swarming AC. It takes advantage of one of the game's best AC- beating tactics: overheating. The effect that the napalm missiles have during this night mission is not only cool looking but also beneficial to my strategy. Since the AC hit with the napalm missiles will be set on fire for a few seconds, you won't have to worry about losing it in the dark. This is important, since you need to follow through with your machine gun immediately after the AC is set on fire by the missiles. Your goal is to get the pilots' AC's to go into the dreaded "output down" status to get their AP to plummet. When the fire dies out, switch from your machine gun back to the napalm missiles and start it all over again. Attack only one AC at a time using this method. If you spread the damage out over the three of them, their AC's will probably never reach the output down status, and the non-cumulative damage of machine guns and napalm missiles is less than stellar. It's important to keep up the pressure. Use this alternative method if you feel guilty about beating one of the game's hardest missions in under a minute or are just looking for a challenge. 8-) Mission 81: Destroy Massive MT Location: Zearm Desert Reward: 200,000 credits Remember that huge MT that you destroyed in the underground bunker? Well now you have the not-so-joyous honor of fighting that same model when it's fully operational and free to roam where it pleases. This will be no ordinary MT battle, so let me give you the recommended AC for this mission: HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-F/ROOK ARMS. . . . . . . .EAW-H801 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLB-7744/VAT BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B999 RADIATOR. . . . . .RPS-MER/SA INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-DEC-MQ2 EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-04 BACK UNIT R . . . .EM-SD120 BACK UNIT L . . . .EWC-GN44-AC ARM UNIT L & R. . .NONE ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-BSI-LE SP-CIR-K SP-BFS/LOSP Whatever AC you choose, make sure it utilizes long range attacks--the MT can quickly move out of range. Before I go any further, let me say that it IS possible to beat this mission. In fact, it's quite easy if you've got the right strategy. The Battle- Recall the words of the Neo Isaac BOC briefer: this MT has firepower that does indeed exceed anything you've previously encountered. This is due large in part to its fast-launching dual grenade launchers. That's right, I'm talking about a quick-fire dual grenade launcher--easily the most damaging weapon in the game. The grenades are fired from its two arms in the front, so for this reason don't even think about making a frontal assault! The massive MT can also fire large missile swarms (I'm talking 8 missiles at least). It's not unheard of for the MT to launch _several_ swarms at you for a total of 20-30 odd missiles heading your way. Not good. Not only is it impossible for any missile interceptors to shoot down more than 2 missiles at a time, but the MT can fire as many as it wishes so you'd run out of interceptors before too long anyway. This brings me to another point: the MT will never run out of ammo, so "dodge-and-wait-for-your-opponent-to-run-out-of-ammunition" tactics won't work here. Attack from behind or under this MT only. Attacking from the sides is rather risky since it can turn without any warning (and fast too). Okay, so now your educated enough to know that this thing can drop you in less than 5 seconds. Now what do you do? Don't get hit by its weapons of course! Dotted throughout the level are the remains of several building structures. These buildings play a large role in completing this mission. Actually, I can't find it conceivable to beat this mission without any structures to hide behind. Wait for the MT to come right at you. When it seems to be on a crash course right for you, hide behind a moderately tall building. Turn around so that your view is parallel to the MT's path, with your back turned to the MT. Look up a bit, and prepare to commence your attack when it proceeds above you. Providing the building is tall enough, it will shield you from all of the MT's most dangerous attacks--grenades and missile swarms. The MT has some other weak attacks like laser cannons and orbit cannons, but those aren't much of a threat. When the MT passes above you, boost up behind it and launch your missiles/grenades/whatever. The MT won't turn around until enough distance has accumulated between itself and you. Aim for the core as much as possible, but the upper arms are good targets as well. After you've let loose your attack, retreat to the other side of the building that you hid behind before and prepare to repeat the whole process over again. Use this tactic until it dies. Aside from the little bit of weak orbit cannon damage, you should return from this battle unscathed if you've played your cards right. You'll receive the hidden part, ZHD-102/ROCK for finally completing all of the Zearm Desert missions. Mission 82: Prevent Prototype MT Theft Location: Eyelet City Reward: 80,000 credits This mission is comparable to the "Eliminate Raven" mission at Zearm Desert. I like to use the EAW-S604 arms here, with the BEX-BRM-02 part as extensions. Here's the AC I used: HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-F/ROOK ARMS. . . . . . . .EAW-S604 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLB-7744/VAT BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B999 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-DEC-MQ2 EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-O2 BACK UNIT R . . . .E-AAT110 BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWC-LQ/2552 ARM UNIT L & R. . .NONE ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-SAB/J SP-BE++ SP-BFS/LOSP I chose the ZWC-LQ/2552 over the grenade launcher because it's faster, and these MT models are quick. The big MT is the most dangerous, but it's also got the most AP so save it for last. Take out the smaller MT's first or else they'll whittle down your AP while you take on the big one. These MT's can and will boost around, so you may have to utilize your radar if you lose visual contact. Use up the missiles & extensions first, then switch to the laser cannon if you run out of ammo. Get a lock x 4 with the missiles, turn your extensions on, and let those missiles fly! Your success here largely depends upon your evasion skills. All three MT's are equipped with highly damaging laser weapons, so you have to boost continually and keep changing your trajectory. If you can move about easily and still get/keep a lock on your opponents, then this mission shouldn't be too hard. Just avoid a long, drawn-out battle and kill them as quickly as possible. "But I still keep getting my butt kicked!" Don't worry--you're just going to have to sacrifice the arms for the Karasawa MK2 and a shield to reduce damage. The ZES-99/MIRROR is a good shield to use. Make sure you're facing the enemy when you turn it on or its purpose will be nullified. Your strategy will still be the same, but you'll just have a shield to reduce damage and lengthen your life. You won't have to dodge as much with a shield (and you can't, really, since shields require energy to function), just keep the MT's in front of you. Try luring one MT at a time to one end of the level, and take it on there. You will receive the EWG-HM-04 hidden part for completing the Eyelet City missions. Mission 83: Infiltrate the Ancient Ruins Location: Whiteland Reward: 34,000 credits Special Addition: 800 credits/container The Balboa City BOC wants you to hinder and peck at the Indies some more, so you're going to be sent to the Ancient Ruins where they're located. Your objective is to destroy the Indies' forces (MT's and some grenade cannons) and sabotage their equipment (a.k.a. blow up every container that you can find). Make it a priority to have a blade for this mission--there's no need to waste limited (and costly) ammunition on non-hostile/immobile objects. There are also a bunch of walls that you have to blow up first before you can proceed. Take note of the cannons on the second floor. Their grenades are damaging. Other than that, just blow stuff up like usual. :) And don't forget the crates on the bottom floor! Mission 84: Arctic Battle Location: Whiteland Reward: 48,000 credits Special Deduction: 6,000 credits/Fellow MT Let me say that it's nearly impossible to protect all four friendly MT's from destruction. They are wimps both offensively and defensively so don't feel bad if a couple of them die. It remains if your favor, though, to protect them as best as possible. Six thousand credits will be deducted from your pay for each MT destroyed, you see. I found it best to pick a pair of friendly MT's and focus on protecting them. The other two MT's should at least be able to weaken or maybe even destroy a few enemy units before you have to clean up and finish the job. All of the enemies are those half helicopter, half MT thingy's and usually require two MK2 shots to kill. They use missiles so make sure you have missile interceptors. Stand between the friendly MT's and the oncoming helicopters so that they will target you first. Mission 85: Attack the Storage Depot Location: Whiteland Reward: 40,000 credits Special Addition: 1,000 credits/container In the first sortie here demolishing the containers was optional, but now it's mandatory. Don't bother re-blasting the walls that have mysteriously rebuilt themselves on the first level--I checked them and they hide nothing. When you're ready, go down the large hole in the middle of the room. More MT's and crates down here. Look behind broken walls for hidden rooms and such. Most, if not all of the enemies here use laser weapons, so be sure to activate the energy damage screen (optional part). Mission 86: Attack Zio Matrix Patrol Location: Whiteland Reward: 37,000 credits These MT's are somewhat tougher than the run-of-the-mill MT's, as they feature many of an AC's characteristics (better AI, inside parts, higher than normal AP). I like to get into medium-close range and blast them with my MK2 a few times for an easy kill. They are definitely jumpers, though, so blading may be a little difficult. The MT's almost never ambush you, so you have the luxury of taking them on one at a time. You will want missile interceptors for sure while you close the gap between you and the MT's at long range. Destroy all of the MT's (there are almost a dozen) and you will finish the mission. Mission 87: Eradicate Unidentified Units Location: Whiteland Reward: 45,000 credits The disorder units are back (and in large numbers), therefore carry plenty of ammo with you! Ammo packs help a lot, or just equip another shoulder weapon if you've got the spare weight. Once you've destroyed enough units, more will pour out of the wall. The operator will instruct you to find the source of the disorders. When the new disorders are taken care of, go into the hole that they came out of. The path leads to a room with more disorders and a rotating obstruction in the middle. Destroy it to stop the flow of disorders, then finish off the remaining disorders themselves. You should receive the ZLN-01/BARREL hidden part for finishing the Whiteland area missions. Mission 88: Destroy Security Detail Location: Rapture Reward: 40,000 credits Special Addition: 700 credits/Guard MT; 1,000 credits/Guard MT; 1600 credits/MT Your objective is to defeat the lead MT, but you'll almost certainly want to defeat the other MT's that reside here to make your progress easier (and your wallet more lucrative). Be warned that about halfway through, the MT's begin to wield powerful grenade launchers (the humanoid MT's). Quickly get a shot to two in, then retreat behind a corner or something to avoid getting hit. When you reach the room with the lead MT, go right for the lead MT (he's the yellow one), preferably with a chain gun to finish him off quickly. Take note of your client's name, Antares. It's going to be a name that you won't forget after like say, the next mission... Mission 89: Free Rapture Orbit Elevator Location: Rapture Reward: 40,000 credits Surprise, surprise! Antares turns out to be a wanted rebel Raven, and the government has sent you to take him down! This mission is divided into parts A and B. B is after the "now loading" screen, after which your ammo and AP will be replenished for the Raven x 2 fight. If you're using the Karasawa MK2, remember to equip all three energy weapon enhancement optional parts to increase its performance. Actually, the AC that is posted at the very beginning of the Walkthrough section served me very well in this mission. PART A- Go down the corridor and the two doors and meet...the first Raven! It's the easiest of the three you'll meet at Rapture. It usually only uses its machine gun, which is good or bad depending on how many hits it gets in. Your priority is to dodge his fire as much as possible to avoid the dreadful "output down" status where your AP continually drops. The AC is really no match for your MK2, fortunately. Try boosting above, beside, and behind the AC whenever possible. As you'll soon see, his quadruped legs have difficulty turning quickly. Normally I'd say this fight was intended to wear you down for the final showdown, but since your AP and ammo are replenished right before that fight, that's obviously not the case! Go nuts and use as much ammunition as you need. When the AC is destroyed, move on through the next door (which is located on the second floor, by the way) and continue through part A. Only MT's await you for the rest of this part of the mission. PART B- Antares and his buddy are the last two opponents in this mission. If you lose here, you have to do part A all over again so try not to make any silly mistakes. Honestly, I found this battle to be rather anti- climatic. I walked all over Antares in less than two minutes with my MK2. He spent so much time trying to keep a good lock on me that he rarely even fired. Boost around him to confuse him a little, and get your shots in during this time. I prefer to ignore Antares' buddy--he's not really a threat. The pilot's AC is lightly armored and carries a weak rifle among others. Save him for last. Sure he'll peck at you a little with weak attacks but Antares is the greatest danger. Advanced tactics- They're actually giving you trouble?! Well, no need to fear. You could probably build a missile boat to solve your problems (see mission # 80 for the recommend AC). The problem with this tactic is that you'll probably run out of ammo before you finish part A. However, since you only need to defeat the AC in part A, you can just OB past most of the MT's and continue onto part B. Even if you take a little extra damage for just speeding by, your health and ammo will be replenished for free before part B anyway. When you start fighting and if the two AC's happen to overwhelm you, then boost to one of the ledges and get yourself together. On a side note, these ledges are also good places to lure an AC towards you, get a lock with your missiles, and still maintain a decent level of protection. ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ It took me several months, but the Secret Parts FAQ section is now up. I restarted a game and compiled a list of all the secret parts that I found, and as well as how to get them. If I have missed any, they'll come up later. Note that the "mission #" is referring to the number given to the missions by myself (the game doesn't assign numbers to the missions). Enjoy. Q: Do I have to pick up the secret parts in missions like I had to in Armored Core 2? A: For the most part, no. Most of the secret parts in Another Age are acquired AFTER a mission on the world map (usually just after finishing a mission). Some can be found in missions, though. Q: Oh no! I accidentally sold a part at the SHOP! Can I ever get it back? A: Yes. If you ever sell any part at the SHOP, you can get it right back by purchasing it again. Q: Can I acquire the secret parts from Armored Core 2? A: Yes. All of the secret parts from Armored Core 2 are available for purchase at the SHOP from the beginning of the game. ======================================================================= Secret Part Name | Location | Special Condition ======================================================================= EWR-M30 | Neo Isaac | Complete all area missions | | ZWR-M/30 | Horwick Mtns. - | Look inside the second mountain. | Mission # 7 | It's inside a crate that you | | must destroy. There are | | entrances on the West and East | | side. | | ELN-070 | Horwick Mtns. | Complete all area missions | | ZLR-ARROW | Lost Field | Defeat Ultimate Nine Ball | | INW-OM-PRT | Lost Field | Defeat Ultimate Nine Ball | | EWM-MO3 | Old Zam | Complete all area missions | | ZWC-CN/500 | Burroughs Hill | Complete all area missions | | BEX-BT180 | Old Gal - | N/A | Mission # 16 | | | EWG-RF-10LB | Old Gal | Complete all area missions | | ELN-02SLD | Thorn Garden | Complete all area missions | | ELS-7880 | Earth Central | Complete all area missions | | EWM-NAP-02 | Colnart Bay City | Survive long enough, and | | you'll be rewarded with it | | EWG-XC213 | Colnart Bay City | Complete all area missions | | EXM-DD02 | Old Avalon | Complete all area missions | | ZWM-M55/6 | Balboa City | Complete all area missions | | EHD-SCOPEEYE | Scissors Forest | Hit the transport 7-8 times with | | your Karasawa. Destroy the AC. | | Destroy the transport and pick | | up the head before the end of | | the mission. | | INW-RV-08 | Scissors Forest | Complete all area missions | | EWC-GN-81 | Arkot Ocean | Complete all area missions | | ZHD-102/ROCK | Zearm Desert | Complete all area missions | | ZWG-XC/01 | Folk City | Pick up the part in the mission, | | then buy at the SHOP | | ZWC-XP02/QL | Folk City | Complete all area missions | | EWG-HM-04 | Eyelet City | Complete all area missions | | ZLN-01/BARREL | Whiteland Area | Complete all area missions | | ZWM-GT/100 | Rapture | Defeat 100% enemies | | BEX-AA00 | Rapture | Complete all area missions -------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ So, you've finally "beat" the game, eh? Well I've got some news for you: it's not over yet! After successfully completing the last regular mission in the game, you'll be deemed good enough by the Earth government to head to a top-secret area called the Lost Field. The Lost Field is a three-mission siege located in the southern most region of the map where the toughest opponents dwell. Three opponents, to be exact, and all of them are old model AC's that predate any current technology. Don't let the fact that they have old technology deceive you--all three of them are deadly! In each of the three missions, you'll be pitted one-on-one against an AC. No time limit, no other MT's, just you and the AC. The good news is that you can concentrate solely on a single foe in a Lost Field mission. In addition, you can earn some pretty nifty equipment for completing the three missions. The bad news is that you'll probably need 100% of your concentration to win! To aid you in defeating these fearsome opponents, you've been granted the ability to build overweight AC's. At last! Now you can equip those powerful and heavy weapons on a lightweight AC! This is definitely a bonus, and one that you'll want to take advantage of. Overweight AC's make the Lost Field adversaries a little more manageable. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> MISSION # : MISSION NAME 1: Explore Uncharted Region 2: Revisit Uncharted Region 3: Destroy Designated Target <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Mission 1: Explore Uncharted Region Location: Lost Field Reward: 350,000 credits Recommended set-up: Lightweight AC with KARASAWA-MK2 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-BE++ SP-ENE-ACC SP-E/SAVER The key here is the MK2. The MK2, with the optional parts, is really powerful and suited for this fight. It's best to have a lightweight AC here, so that you can dodge his shots while yours *hopefully* connect. The ZLN-WA02/SS is a good candidate for a leg part. It's quick and at least has _some_ defense unlike the other light bipedals. Your adversary is a laser freak. His weapon of choice is a three-shot laser sniper rifle that's got some range and (unfortunately) some power. Sometimes, he'll revert to his slow firing (but greater in strength) laser rifle. And speaking of strength, each of the Lost Field AC's have their own "little" super attack. This guy will stand still and launch a barrage of laser beams out of his core. At close range, it's usually fatal. Do whatever it takes to keep at a distance! I like to stay in medium range. The MK2 can do it's best in this vicinity and your opponent usually won't let you drift too far away from him anyway. :P Keep moving while you fire or you're toast. To get some idea of how much AP this AC has, it took me around 35 shots from my beefed-up MK2 to beat him. Yeah, I'd say that's a lot of AP. Mission 2: Revisit Uncharted Region Location: Lost Field Reward: 600,000 credits One certainly wouldn't be able to guess that this is an AC--its appearance more closely resembles that of a spaceship or something. Whatever! Although it has lost a little of the speed of its predecessor, it's packing even more weapons than the first AC. This combatant has a penchant for missiles...the multiple vertical missiles to be precise. Missile interceptors and missile decoys are a must. This AC has retained the powerful laser rifle, so keep a little breathing space between the two of you as usual. His super attack is like the first guy's, but it is more powerful. He will hover in place and gather energy, then send a beam of rainbow-colored lasers at you. Although this is a powerful attack, it leaves him vulnerable so get some hits in during this time. The super attack also has infinite range (within the confines of the arena, anyway), so you're still in danger no matter how far you are. However, it is much easier to stay in the space between his laser beams the farther away from him you are. I found the same set-up from mission # 1 to be just as effective here. The MK2 strikes an excellent balance between single-hit power and speed. Your may be better off equipping heavy armored, high AP legs though. Boosting should be enough to get you where you need to be, and dodging isn't as large a role as it was in the first battle at the Lost Field. Personally, I had an easier time defeating this AC than the first one. If you thought these guys were tough, wait until you see Ultimate Nine Ball... * Tip: marchenton@hotmail.com adds that if you can land on top of his AC, you can unload some shoulder chain gun shells into him. Equip an energy shield so you can get close enough for this to work without being killed. Use the limiter reset cheat, if you need to. Mission 3: Destroy Designated Target Location: Lost Field Reward: 999,999 credits The final mission. You versus Ultimate Nine Ball. Are you ready? U9B is the game's most horrifying enemy. His AC is simply unlike anything you've seen before. Multiply the difficulty and cheapness of the first two AC's by about 10 and you'll get some idea of how hard he is. Almost worthy of an entire section for itself, the U9B battle proves to be a most difficult one. It's going to require a great deal of strategy to defeat him. Let's talk about U9B's AC for a bit. He basically has two modes of attacking: jet-mode and regular mode. In jet-mode, U9B's wings will spread and he will race around the circumference of the arena, usually firing missiles at the same time. During this time, it's nearly impossible to get a lock since his speed and turning ability are phenomenal. While his direction is usually unpredictable, you can count on missiles and nothing else during jet-mode. Use whatever means necessary to evade the missiles (decoys, interceptors, etc.) and wait for him to revert to regular mode. U9B's regular mode introduces a new array of challenges. In regular mode, U9B's speed is reduced, but his attacks are more dangerous. His primary attacks consist of laser cannons and chain guns. Considering the circumstance, those weapons really aren't that much of a threat. It's his Moonlight LH blade that is the greatest danger. Yeah, the Moonlight is powerful, but it's not that bad, right? Normally, I'd have to agree with that statement, but when you're dealing with U9B, nothing is as it seems. U9B has the coveted ability to launch _THREE_ consecutive Moonlight assaults on you. If you value your life, STAY OFF THE GROUND when U9B is in regular mode. As you'd expect, he can follow each blade swipe with a blade beam for even more damage. After a brief pause (and if you somehow survived the first wave), he can follow through with another wave of blade attacks. U9B has no "special" attack, but when you consider the proficiency and skill that he utilizes with all of his attacks, would you really want to see one? I didn't think so. The AC to bring you victory: HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-102/ROCK CORE. . . . . . . .ZCH-GR/1 ARMS. . . . . . . .EAW-DC10 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLB-7744/VAT BOOSTER . . . . . .EBT-GR4300 FCS . . . . . . . .DOX-ALM GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-BV2500 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-DEC-MQ2 EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-AA00 BACK UNIT R . . . .EWC-GN44-AC (or Large Rockets for the non-Plus) BACK UNIT L . . . .EWC-GN44-AC (or Large Rockets for the non-Plus) ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE/SCR SP-BCNDR SP-SAB/J SP-BFS/LOSP So just how do you take on the cheapest AC in the game? By being cheap yourself, of course! Although the developers went out of their way to make U9B's equipment unparalleled in performance, they evidently did not enhance his AI. U9B, like every other AC in the game, has the usually annoying tendency to attack you from behind. I say "usually" because in this battle, it's this little AI bug that ends up handing you victory. U9B, however cheap he may be, has his limits. He can't pass through walls**. This is golden, since it's possible to get U9B to spend most of his efforts trying to get behind you when it's simply not possible, even for him. After U9B "commences hostilities", boost backwards, all the way to the wall behind you. U9B will usually transform into jet-mode during this time, launching missiles at you. When you reach the wall, avoid U9B's missiles and wait for him to come to you. You may take some pretty heavy damage, but as long as you still have around 3,000 AP by the time U9B reaches you, you should be fine. When U9B reaches you, boost up in the air. The booster that you've equipped has amazing power efficiency and allows you to stay in the air for a long time. U9B should be boosting into the wall next to you now (trying to get behind you), hitting you with his chain guns or whatever from below. Hover over to him. Float on top of him, but stay close. Your feet should almost be touching the top of his AC. In this position, U9B can't harm you. As long as you keep him below you laterally, U9B will spend the rest of the fight trying to boost behind you. Thanks to the solidity of, erm...solid objects, that just isn't possible. At this range, grenades are your best friends as they are powerful and U9B won't have the space to dodge them! I killed U9B with 14 grenades (from a shoulder grenade) this way. The other shoulder grenade launcher and the grenade arms are just back-ups if you run out of ammo. If it takes a little longer than expected and you need a second to recharge your energy, land on U9B! He doesn't seem to mind and as long as he doesn't move too far to the side (which is inevitable if you wait too long), he still can't touch you. Just don't fall off him--he'll be waiting with his Moonlight attack x 3 the second you hit the ground so be careful. If the saying "fight fire with fire" ever had meaning, it's right here. Best way to beat cheap is to be cheap yourself, right? More tips: * Non-Human Plus AC's shouldn't use the EWC-GN44-AC shoulder grenades unless they have tank legs equipped. Otherwise, non-plus AC's won't be able to fire the grenades in the air, and will have to remain stationary. Stationary is not a good thing in this fight. Equip rockets instead. Sure, you'll have to aim manually, but it's much safer. Human Plus AC's can fire shoulder grenades in any position, and should therefore ignore this tip. * Whatever you do in this fight, don't use energy weapons. U9B has incredible energy defense. Stick with shell weapons. Machine & Chain guns are super effective, as are powerful single-round shell weapons like grenades and rockets. Sirius87@aol.com: I also found this strategy would do some serious damage to Ultimate Nine Ball, but is very dangerous at the same time. If you can inverted circle-strife around to where he's in front of you, (non-jet mode), he'll approach you using his blade. Continue circle- strifing, and the beams that come from U9B's blade will (usually) pass by you. If you are circle-strifing to the right, they will pass you on the left, and vice-versa. You can pound him into the dirt with whatever weapon, until he gets close enough to you, when he will go into jet mode. He won't stay in the air long, only long enough to launch a single-volley of missiles, (he doesn't always launch them), and get behind you. You might want to circle-strife with your boosters until he's in front of you. He will come at you with his blades two or three times before he goes into jet mode for an extended period of time. When he lands, I was usually able to get him into a position to where I could repeat the process. Then I had to do this process four times before I finally beat him. Vaporjolt: A nice alternative from my strategy, but only for the daring. Close proximity with U9B on the ground is risky. He can literally kill you in three seconds (even at 5,000+ AP) with his Moonlight if you're not careful. Therefore, I'd personally suggest a lightweight for that strategy for the mobility (even a heavy weight won't make much of a difference against a 3x Moonlight + blade beam attack). After raping U9B, you'll be rewarded with two hidden parts: ZLR-ARROW & INW-OM-PRT. **Actually, he can pass through walls. =P Or rather, through the floor. On my subsequent battles with U9B, I have occasionally experienced a strange glitch in which U9B will, ahem, fall through the floor. The glitch is rare though, so it's not a major concern. At first I thought this was cool, because he couldn't hurt me! Unfortunately, I soon discovered that I was unable to hurt him, as well. The only way to get out of this is to reset. Hope you saved! ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ #### CLOSED--THANKS FOR THE CONTRIBUTIONS #### This section is dedicated entirely to AC designs submitted by people. Special thanks to the good folk at the GameFaqs AC2:AA message board for submitting some of their designs to be used in this section. Although this section is labeled "ratings", I don't feel that I'm in any position to rate them myself. The intended purpose of each AC (vs. mission, vs. friend, et cetera), after all, was not mentioned. You can just judge them for yourself. Use them to get some ideas, or try them out yourself and see how they handle. This section is now CLOSED to keep it from getting too large. Many thanks for all the people who made "AC Ratings" into the meaty-sized section that it is today. =) Submitted by: bbb123 HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ECL-ONE ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-303/S LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN-WA02/SS BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-21/ATERE FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-QHT GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CM6 INSIDE. . . . . . .NONE EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BAMS-287 BACK UNIT R . . . .EWM-S608 BACK UNIT L . . . .EWM-S608 ARM UNIT R. . . . .EWG-MGSAW ARM UNIT L. . . . .ZLS-T/100 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-BSI-LE SP-BFS/LOSP SP-ECM-JAM Submitted by: Darkraven13 AC Name: Darkcore HEAD. . . . . . . .EHD-SCOPEEYE CORE. . . . . . . .ECL-ONE ARMS. . . . . . . .EAN-1111 BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RRX-COT/1550 INSIDE. . . . . . .NONE EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BT180 BACK UNIT R . . . .EM-SD120 BACK UNIT L . . . .EWC-GN-81 ARM UNIT R. . . . .EWG-RF-10LB ARM UNIR L. . . . .ELS-2772 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-BCNDR SP-CIR-K SP-CBRK SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BSI-LE COLORS- General: Base r80 g80 b80 Aid r110 g110 b110 Optional r80 g80 b80 Detail r130 g0 b0 Joint r50 g50 b50 Submitted by: Darkraven13 AC Name: 13th Omega HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-202/TEM LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN-XA2/FF BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .GR-XR/SEED RADIATOR. . . . . .RPS-MER/A3 INSIDE. . . . . . .NONE EXTENSION . . . . .ZEX-RS/HOUND BACK UNIT R . . . .ZWM-M24/IMU BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWC-LQ/2552 ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 or ZWG-XC/01 w/out OW bonus ARM UNIT L. . . . .EES-777LAR ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-BSI-LE SP-CIR-K SP-BE++ SP-ENE-ACC COLORS- Head: Base r0 g60 b150 Aid r65 g60 b85 Optional r15 g50 b130 Detail r130 g0 b0 Joint r50 g50 b50 Core: Base r0 g65 b150 Aid r65 g60 b85 Optional r15 g50 b130 Detail r65 g60 b85 Joint r50 g50 b50 Arms: Base r0 g65 b150 Aid r65 g60 b85 Optional r15 g50 b130 Detail r160 g90 b90 Joint r50 g50 b50 Legs: Base r0 g65 b150 Aid r65 g60 b85 Optional r15 g50 b130 Detail r65 g60 b85 Joint r50 g50 b50 Submitted by: Adam Taylor **NOTE - next three AC's share same color scheme: General: Base r0 g0 b200 Aid r200 g200 b200 Optional r0 g200 b0 Detail r200 g200 b0 Joint r200 g0 b0 AC Name: Sheath HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-303/S LEGS. . . . . . . .ELN-STVM BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-BV2500 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-BD/XVX EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BAMS-287 BACK UNIT R . . . .ZWM-M5516 BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWC-LQ/2552 ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIR L. . . . .LS-MOONLIGHT ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-CIR-K SP-BE++ SP-ENE-ACC SP-CBRK Submitted by: Adam Taylor AC Name: Ballistik HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .EAW-H801 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLC-C04T/CYOR BOOSTER . . . . . .NONE FCS . . . . . . . .DOX-ELENA GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-BV2500 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-DM-PUPPET EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-O2 BACK UNIT R . . . .ZWC-LQ-2552 BACK UNIT L . . . .EWC-GN44-AC ARM UNIT R. . . . .NONE ARM UNIT L. . . . .NONE ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-CIR-K SP-BFS/LOSP SP-M/AUTO SP-VIECH Submitted by: Adam Taylor AC Name: Zeon HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAM-303/S LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLR-ARROW BOOSTER . . . . . .NONE FCS . . . . . . . .DOX-PG2 GENERATOR . . . . .GR-X/SEED RADIATOR. . . . . .RPS-MER/SA INSIDE. . . . . . .NONE EXTENSION . . . . .NONE BACK UNIT R . . . .NONE BACK UNIT L . . . .EWM-M03 ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIT L. . . . .ELS-2772 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-CIR-K SP-BE++ SP-BFS/LOSP SP-ENE-ACC Submitted by: Elusive AC Name: Nine Killer II HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-F/ROOK ARMS. . . . . . . .EAN-1111 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLF-A3/CARM BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CM6 INSIDE. . . . . . .NONE EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BAMS-287 BACK UNIT R & L . .EWX-GCN77-4 ARM UNIT R. . . . .EWG-RF-M15 ARM UNIT L. . . . .NONE Submitted by: Captain_No_Help HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-F/ROOK ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-202/TEM LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLB-7744/VAT BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RPS-MER/A3 EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-04 or ZEX-RS/HOUND BACK UNIT R . . . .ZWM-M24/IMU or EWM-S608 or ZWM-M55/6 BACK UNIT L . . . .EWC-GN44/AC ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIT L. . . . .ZLS-T/100 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-SAB/J SP-CIR-K SP-BE++ SP-ENE-ACC Submitted by: HiiroZero AC Name: Gun Sniper HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-102/ROCK CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-F/ROOK ARMS. . . . . . . .EAW-MG-03 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLB-7744/VAT BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RRX-COT-GK10 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-OM-PRT EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-02 BACK UNIT R . . . .ZWC-LQ/2552 BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWM-M24/IMU ARM UNIT R. . . . .NONE ARM UNIT L. . . . .NONE ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-SAB/J SP-CIR-K SP-BFS/LOSP SP-ENE-ACC Submitted by: Hiruma Ryuei AC Name: Blue Kaiser HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ECL-ONE ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-303/S LEGS. . . . . . . .ELB-5005B BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .DOX-ELENA GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CM6 INSIDE. . . . . . .NONE EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BAMS-287 BACK UNIT R . . . .EWR-M60 BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWM-M25/IMU ARM UNIT R. . . . .ZWF-S/NIGHT ARM UNIT L. . . . .ZLS-T/100 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-BCNDR SP-CIR-K SP-BE++ SP-ENE-SCR Submitted by: Rat_bat_spider AC Name: Warhead *Omega* HEAD. . . . . . . .EHD-ONE-NT CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .EAN-2112 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN-WA02/SS BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-ZI/ATERE FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-OM-PRT EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BAMS-287 BACK UNIT R . . . .EWC-GN44-AC BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWC-XP02/QL ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIT L. . . . .LS-MOONLIGHT ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-CIR-K SP-ENE-ACC SP-E/SAVER SP-ECM/JAM COLORS- General: Base r0 g0 b0 Aid r115 g115 b0 Optional r115 g115 b0 Detail r200 g90 b90 Joint r90 g90 b90 Submitted by: Rat_bat_spider AC Name: Odin HEAD. . . . . . . .EHD-NIGHTEYE CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAW-LC/NPM LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLF-A3/CARM BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-ZI/ARTERE FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-OM-PRT EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-04 BACK UNIT R & L . .EWX-VLS241 ARM UNIT R. . . . .NONE ARM UNIT L. . . . .NONE ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-SAB/J SP-CIR-K SP-BFS/LOSP SP-ECM-JAM SP-M/AUTO COLORS- General: Base r180 g180 b180 Aid r115 g115 b0 Optional r59 g0 b200 Detail r0 g0 b200 Joint r0 g0 b200 Submitted by: Rat_bat_spider AC Name: Vulcan HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .EAN-MHKS LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN-XA2/FF BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-ZI/ARTERE FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIAT0R. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-OM-PRT EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-04 BACK UNIT R . . . .EWC-GN44-AC BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWM-M24/IMU ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIT L. . . . .LS-MOONLIGHT ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-SAB/J SP-CIR-K SP-BFS/LOSP SP-ECM-JAM SP-M/AUTO COLORS- Head: Base r0 g0 b0 Aid r55 g55 b55 Optional r118 g118 b118 Detail r200 g0 b0 Joint r118 g118 b118 Core: Base r90 g0 b0 Aid r0 g0 b0 Optional r89 g89 b89 Detail r0 g0 b0 Joint r118 g118 b118 Arms: Base r118 g118 b118 Aid r0 g0 b0 Optional r200 g0 b0 Detail r117 g117 b117 Joint r118 g118 b118 Legs: Base r0 g0 b0 Aid r55 g55 b55 Optional r200 g200 b200 Detail r200 g0 b0 Joint r118 g118 b118 Submitted by: CrazyHoot AC Name: Breaker *Omega* HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-8008/S CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-F/ROOK ARMS. . . . . . . .EAN-2112 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN-XA2/FF BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RRX-COT-GK10 INSIDE. . . . . . .NONE EXTENSION . . . . .ZEX-RS/HOUND BACK UNIT R . . . .EWM-S608 BACK UNIT L . . . .NONE ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIT L. . . . .NOTHING Submitted by: CrazyHoot AC Name: Swarm Caller HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .EAW-S604 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN-WA02/SS BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RRX-COT-1550 INSIDE. . . . . . .NONE EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-04 BACK UNIT R . . . .EWM-S608 BACK UNIT L . . . .EWM-S608 ARM UNIT R. . . . .NONE ARM UNIT L. . . . .NONE Submitted by: jipthegreat@hotmail.com AC Name: Necro Angel HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-200/SV CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .EAN-1111 LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLR-ARROW BOOSTER . . . . . .NONE FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-QHT GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-OM-PRT EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-AAOO BACK UNIT R & L . .ZWX-FO4/ORBIT ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIT L. . . . .ELS-7880 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BCNDR SP-BSI-LE SP-CIR-K SP-BE++ SP-ENE-ACC COLORS- General: Base r150 g0 b0 Aid r80 g0 b0 Optional r200 g175 b40 Detail r200 g175 b80 Joint r95 g95 b95 Submitted by: J.J. Bartley AC name: Crow HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCH-GR/I ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-004/B LEGS. . . . . . . .ELC-HTTO808 BOOSTER . . . . . .NONE FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-DEC-MQ2 EXTENSION . . . . .ZEX-RS/HOUND BACK UNIT R . . . .EWR-M40 or EM-AA110 BACK UNIT L . . . .EWM-M03 ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIT L. . . . .ZLS-400/SL or LS-MOONLIGHT ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BE++ Submitted by: Chinoarc@hotmail.com AC name: Nine Breaker HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-8008/S CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-F/ROOK ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-202/TEM LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN-XA2/FF BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RPS-MER/A3 EXTENSION . . . . .ZEX-RS/HOUND BACK UNIT R . . . .EWM-S602 BACK UNIT L . . . .EM-SD120 ARM UNIT R. . . . .EWG-HC-GN210 ARM UNIT L. . . . .ELS-3443 COLORS- General: Base r0 g0 b40 Aid r15 g35 b110 Optional r30 g100 b200 Detail r160 g90 b90 Joint r95 g95 b95 Submitted by: ACBlazer57@aol.com AC name: Devil's Flame HEAD. . . . . . . .EXD-SCOPEEYE CORE. . . . . . . .ZCX-GR/I ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAY-202/TEM LEGS. . . . . . . .ELC-XTT0808 BOOSTER . . . . . .NONE FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .GPS-BUX/10 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .NONE EXTENSION . . . . .ZEX-RS/HOUND BACK UNIT R . . . .ZWC-LD/2552 BACK UNIT L . . . .EWC-GN-81 ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIT L. . . . .LS-MOONLIGHT ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-BE++ SP-M/AUTO COLORS- General: Base r184 g58 b0 Aid r100 g0 b0 Optional r200 g100 b0 Detail r150 g150 b0 Joint r200 g0 b0 Submitted by: j.kiseman@verizon.net AC name: Swordfish VII HEAD. . . . . . . .EHD-WACS CORE. . . . . . . .ZCH-GR/I ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-707/E LEGS. . . . . . . .ELN-STVM BOOSTER . . . . . .EBT-GR4300 FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RRX-COT-1550 INSIDE. . . . . . .N/A EXTENSION . . . . .N/A BACK UNIT R . . . .EWC-GN44-AC BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWC-XPO2/QL ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIL L. . . . .ZES-500/SU ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-BE++ SP-S/SCR SP-BFS/LOSP Submitted by: Dark Death AC name: Red Menace HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-102/ROCK CORE. . . . . . . .ZCH-GR/1 ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-707/E LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN01/BARREL BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-Z1/ARTERE FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CM6 INSIDE. . . . . . .N/A EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-04 BACK UNIT R & L . .ZWX-IV/PURSUIT ARM UNIT R. . . . .ZWG-BZ/HYDRA ARM UNIT L. . . . .ZES-500/SU Submitted by: Aged Warhead AC name: MR. DOOM HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-102/ROCK CORE. . . . . . . .ZCH-GR/1 ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-707/E LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN-XA2/FF BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RRX-COT-GK10 INSIDE. . . . . . .INW-DEC-MQ2 EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BRM-04 BACK UNIT R . . . .ZWM-M24/IMU BACK UNIT L . . . .EM-SD120 ARM UNIT R. . . . .KARASAWA-MK2 ARM UNIT L. . . . .ELS-7880 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-S/SCR SP-ENE-SCR SP-ENE-ACC SP-E/SAVER SP-M/AUTO Submitted by: Nova162 AC name: Draco HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MD/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAW-XP/T9 LEGS. . . . . . . .ELC-DISI BOOSTER . . . . . .N/A FCS . . . . . . . .LODD-BLAZER GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B1000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RBG-CLX5000 INSIDE. . . . . . .N/A EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BAMS-287 BACK UNIT R . . . .EWM-FIN-BOO BACK UNIT L . . . .EWC-GN-81 Submitted by: Draco AC name: Fire Storm HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-2000/SV CORE. . . . . . . .ECL-ONE ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-303/S LEGS. . . . . . . .ELB-50058 BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-GEX/3000 FCS . . . . . . . .DOX-PG2 GENERATOR . . . . .GR-XR/15000 RADIATOR. . . . . .RPS-MER/SA INSIDE. . . . . . .N/A EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BAM-04 BACK UNIT R . . . .ZWM-M24/IMU BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWM-M24/IMI ARM UNIT R. . . . .EWG-WM-04 ARM UNIT L. . . . .ELS-2772 Submitted by: Sinus87@aol.com AC name: Superman HEAD. . . . . . . .ZHD-MO/EGRET CORE. . . . . . . .ZCL-XA/2 ARMS. . . . . . . .ZAN-202/TEM LEGS. . . . . . . .ZLN-XA/FA BOOSTER . . . . . .ZBT-H4/T FCS . . . . . . . .VERTEX-124/EE GENERATOR . . . . .HOY-B999 RADIATOR. . . . . .RPS-MER/SA EXTENSION . . . . .BEX-BAMS-287 BACK UNIT R . . . .EWR-L2H BACK UNIT L . . . .ZWM-LD2/IDA ARM UNIT R. . . . .EWG-XC213 ARM UNIT L. . . . .ELS-7880 ACTIVATED OPTIONAL PARTS- SP-BCNDR SP-CIR-K SP-BE++ SP-ENE-ACC SP-E/SAVER COLORS- General: Base r96 g0 b0 Aid r0 g0 b95 Optional r0 g0 b125 Detail r0 g0 b139 Joint r98 g0 b0 ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ Is the game too hard for you? Well with the Gameshark cheating device, let the difficulty be no more! If you find that any of the codes don't work, please e-mail me so that I can fix it. This is just the first batch of GS codes, and more will be in the next update so be patient. Not that any of you _real_ pilots would need to cheat anyway, right? :P Gameshark Codes: Must be on >> EC8782601432EE9C Infinite AP >> 4CA7F06C14564E2E Infinite Energy >> 4CA7F07014564E2E Infinite RH Ammo >> 4CA7FB301456E788 Infinite Back Ammo >> 4CA7FBB01456E788 | 4CA7FA301456E788 Infinite Option Slots >> 4CDC25B41456E7A5 LIMITER RESET TRICK- Same as in Armored Core 2. Hold R2 + L2 + R3 simultaneously and your AC will enter the "Limiter Release" mode. For about one minute, you'll have an unlimited supply of energy! Be wary, however, as after the limiter release mode is up, it will take some time before you can use energy again. ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ Armored Core is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Armored Core 2: Another Age is copyright 2000, 2001 From Software Inc., all rights reserved. Gameshark is copyright 2001 InterAct Accessories, Inc. A RECOTON COMPANY. All rights reserved. ------------------------ ------------------------------------------------ I'd like to make a special thanks to Software, for creating such an awesome game. Truly, it is a model for all other mech games to follow, and I can't wait for another installment! Thanks to the people at the GameFaqs Armored Core 2: Another Age message board for their contributions to my Walkthrough/FAQ. Thanks to Rat_bat_spider for his small (but quite useful) tip in the Eliminate the Search Team mission. Thanks to DogMeatOne for his Colnart Bay City tip. Kudos to marchenton for his Lost field tip. Thanks to all the numerous Version 1.1 tip contributors. My computer is the real star here, as is my Playstation 2 for making this entire thing possible. The PS2 is a great piece of hardware. Watching Dragonball Z DVD's during those late nights after working on my FAQ was a great break before bedtime. Heh. And thanks to you, for reading this. I would really appreciate some comments on my FAQ--the only way I can improve it is if people give me feedback! My e-mail is at the top of this guide, but in case you're too lazy to scroll all of the way to the top: vaporjolt@cs.com Kthxbye!