Moonlight

[Lunar]

NiX suggested i post my workhorse here. I'm a little nervous in doing so 'cause i'm not sure how you guys'll react to it.

MOONLIGHT
Head: YH14-STING
Core: C03-HELIOS
Arms: CR-A92XS
Legs: LH10-JAGUAR2
(all tunes are half-solid defense/half-cooling, with slight adjustments in the legs to prevent overweight)

Booster: B03-VULTURE2 (maximum booster heat)
FCS: MF03-VOLUTE2
Generator: KONGOH (maximum energy output)
Radiator: ANANDA (maximum cooling)

Extension: FUNI RELATION MISSILE
Back Unit R: KINNARA MICRO MISSILE
Back Unit L: WB19M-HYDRA2 MULTI MISSILE
Arm Unit R: WR07M-PIXIE3 MACHINEGUN
Arm Unit L: CR-WL88LB3 LASER BLADE

O01-AMINO, CR-O69ES, CR-O69SS, CR-O71EC, CR-O75LA, CR-O79L+,
O03-CODON, O08-RIBOSE, MARISHI,

Color scheme:
General
Base: 150/150/150
Optional: 100/30/0
Aid: 100/100/100/100
Detail: 150/150/150
Joints: 75/75/75

Head detail: 10/200/75


That's my baby. Looking at the weapons, it may seem to be sorely lacking in firepower but its speed makes dodging and closing-in with the enemy very easy. It gets even faster as soon as i start dropping the used-up weapons.

I used this Core to finish most of the missions and arena opponents in Last Raven. I say most of them because i've almost given up on defeating Zinaida. I"ve tried switching to other weapons but she's just too crazy for my meager skills. <_<

So what do you guys think of my mech? I may not know a lot about building a decent AC but i know what i like. Moonlight is one of them.

[Lord_Leperman]

I'll be reviewing this within two contexts, one as a mission AC and the other in a competition context (Let's say you're entering PACT in the 2nd case).

I'll say a few things first before the actual review:

I was expecting the KONGOH/ANANDA/VULTURE2 to heat up really fast along with the HELLIOS, but I was surprised that it can be a workable booster/gen/rad combo. However, there is a high risk involved because of the low battery capacity of the KONGOH.

The AC is called Moonlight, but where's the Moonlight?

Also, we think alike in a sense that we don't tune our ACs frame parts ) just the internals and the boosters .

Oh, and using a blader design against Zinnaida is hard, at least for me. So yeah, it takes a bit of guts to bring a design like this and fight against someone like her.

Anyway, for a mission AC it has what it needs to fight almost any boss in the game (excluding some ACs IMO). The HYDRA2 missiles launch a fairly large salvo, which if all missiles connect, will be enough to kill most bosses such as Leviathans and some Pulverizers. The KINNARA + FUNI can also do the same job, only a bit more general purpose because of its straight flying arc, making it effective against more heavily armored MTs. The LB3 makes short work of most slow and stationary targets (at least the slow ones, and some slower ACs like Jack-O) while the PIXIE3 is used as a general-purpose weapon with plentiful ammo.

However, the design has trouble against ACs in general because their high mobility, which makes it hard to hit them with your hard hitting weapons such as the LB3 and the HYDRA2. The KINNARA + FUNI and the PIXIE3 are the only weapons that have the accuracy to hit fast AC opponents.

In a tournament setting though, this AC will have a lot of trouble dealing with accurate, and sustained firing weaponry (the 93RL and the RS come to mind) as its low shell defense leaves it vulnerable to such weapons (coincidentally, the RL was the most commonly used weapon in PACT1). Dual gunners will also be a problem since they can out damage a blader design at range. Oh, and if you think blading the AI is hard, then blading against a human opponent is much harder (well, it depends. Some might screw up their dodging and one might land a lucky hit, while others remain airborne for quite a while, making the blade useless against such opponents).

However, it does display some potential against other blader opponents. The PIXIE3 is an OK damage racer at close ranges while the KINNARA + FUNI can be used as a

[NiX]

Well since I know you chose the frame parts because of aesthetic reasons, I won't really comment on that.

STING (great because of its cooling but the energy drain is pretty nasty), HELIOS, XS, and JAG2 are all very good frame parts anyway... So yeah, looks good, functions good.

Some other suggestions:

Try the LOTUS+VULTURE2 combo. You'll notice that with this combo, you'll be running seriously cool. You won't heat up so much even when Overboosting.

If not, then the G91+VULTURE2 works just as good depending on your needs.

Weapons:

PIXIE3 - excellent.
KINNARA+FUNI - high equip drain but yeah they're pretty good
HYDRA2 - most other missile packs will probably do a better job.
LB3 - yeah you might wanna try the ELF3 or the LB2.

As for your FCS, you might wanna try the COWRY for the HUGE lockbox... The LIMPET is also good for its range. Basically, any WS-type FCS will do a good job for your weapons.

And... there you go. Good job with the AC! Form and function roled into one.

[Serene]

LB3 is Ok, I use it a lot myself...
But still, it has short blade...
But if you're comfy with it, go ahead, but same with Nix's recommendations, go with and LB2 if you want good handling or ELf3...

Since you're using the Kongoh, I suggest That you tune it to 1-6-3...
It balances it's already fast recovery time with its condernser capacity...
The excess 1 point can be put anywhere you like...

The Hydra2, I think, could stay... Spam and Eject huh?
But still, replacing it other fast straight launch missiles would be better...

It's a White, Red and Gray AC...
Monochromatic but Ok...
I guess this is why you named it Moonlight...

[R.Leonhardt]

the ac looks really cool,but when i saw the name moonlight, i was expecting to see a moonlight blade equipped on it. the LB3 laser blade is short,why dont you change it with somethig longer. and by the way when facing zinaida,when she's jumping try to boost below her and outturn her a bit then slice her at the back,i know it's risky but i've tried this a lot of times and won too (well,barely)...sometimes you win while sometimes you lose, you only have 20% chance of acheiving this technik,goodluck )

[NiX]

<!--QuoteBegin-Serene+Nov 29 2006, 05:41 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Serene @ Nov 29 2006, 05:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Since you're using the Kongoh, I suggest That you tune it to 1-6-3...
It balances it's already fast recovery time with its condernser capacity...
The excess 1 point can be put anywhere you like... [/quote:109f1c44a8]
Actually, it's probably best to tune KONGOH to 100% on the Condenser Capacity.

There's no real point in tuning KONGOH to output since KONGOH already has one of the highest output ratings among all the generators.

And the problem with the HYDRA2 is that it has a weird trajectory that makes it easy to dodge in actual play.

[wanzerfreak]

my suggestions:

kongoh to lotus - lotus is great for OBing. it's also great for those who are new to LR-style OBing.
lb3 to elf3 - elf3 is the better blade overall. stats do lie in this game.
volute2 to miroku - miroku works great with the combination WS, Standard, and SP locks with a classic, non-dual gun weilder setup. WS and Standard locks get a really huge lockbox.

as for the backmounts and extensions, you might wanna try these:

nymphe, 69m, 75mt - these are top tier direct fire missiles. the 75mt is pretty devastating. breaks a lot of stuff when paired with the rm3. you should also try the satyros and the spartoi.

mv2 and 73mv - verts are pretty good against human or non-rushing ai opponents. 73mv does the job just as good as good but the mv2 is still pretty accurate.


extensions - rm3 is the best, IMO. gar and gar2 are also pretty good. i'm pretty skeptical about the rm's homing, and it seems the only thing going for it is spammability and light weight.

oh btw,

hydra > hydra2

[Lunar]

Ummm, ok.

Seriously, thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll try switching some stuff around later before i meet up with Fox. I have sumthin' to say about your comments.

*Commenting on comments? Isn't that an oxymoron?*

Ananda and Vulture2 work fine for me. The last game i played before Last Raven was Armored Core 3. When i played Last Raven, i was confused with some of the changes in the gameplay mechanics. Darn heat was a helluva downer for me while the magazine reloading did a good job of irking me out > . Trying out some parts, i found out that the Ananda/R92 and the Vulture2/Birdie2 were pretty cool, literally

I sometimes use the G91 if the sitch calls for it. I remember trying other gens before, including the lotus. I do not use OB very much but i do boost hop like crazy. The Kongoh seems to be the only gen that can keep up with my, umm, nimbleness

The weapons are a mixed bunch. I haven't fought another player in quite a while so the load-out is better suited for missions. I am so very annoyed with the magazine reloading for all weapons. That means no more going all-out with machine guns but i still love them, so whatever . The missiles were chosen because of their damage potential. I use the Kinnara for MTs and ACs encountered in missions while the Hydra2 goes good with the bigger targets like the airborne pulverizer and the Leviathans. Actually, the Hydra2 seemed pretty decent against a few ACs like Shade and Principal.

And the Moonlight blade? Haha, actually i did use it before but it was just too effing heavy for a lighty like mine. The LB3 seemed better at heat damage and was a tad lighter. I may be wrong but it seems like the LB3 swings just a bit faster than the Moonlight.

As for the color scheme. Well, the original colors were white, gray and silver to give it a full-moonish appearance. That version had the Moonlight equipped. Eventually i got tired of the look and switched to ver.2 and a new blade. Bye-bye Moonlight and bye-bye boring color scheme.

Hello sunshine! The sun's already up as i began to type this.

And there goes another one of my monologues. Damned old college writing habits are creeping up on me again.

[wanzerfreak]

1. damage potential means nothing if you cannot hit someone. but since you haven't fought another human before, you can forget about that for now.

2. the lb3 is weaker than the moonlight. it's short range makes it inconsistent. the moonlight is said to have 6 strike points while others only have 3. stats lie, my friend.

[maitreya]

A note on the LB3: Generally, this blade IS the best blade for people training to be bladers. It'll force them to get in-close and time their slashes properly instead of just spamming the blade with hopes of hitting the opponent.

For combat purposes, LB3 has a quick start-up and good recovery (and a decent damage interval - not as high as a full Elf3 strike with wave balde, but not as low as a single "contact" from the Elf3 - which achieves a good balance). It's only drawback, actually, is just the range. One of the known Kai bladers (Shadowspear) of ACG uses the LB3 on Kai, for both training and battle purposes.

Hmm.. I'm going off-topic already. LOL!

Before we go astray... I'd suggest switching the EC ops part for Primer (IIRC, you're supposed to have one extra slot by doing this, so use it for whatever purpose, like R+). This'll greatly boost the blade's damage - which will counteract XS's low blade aptitude. Also, based on experience (though this is still untested and unverified), I find it easier to break parts using a blade with the Primer ops on.

A reduced e-bar (that is, without the EC ops part) will help you manage your OBing, so you wouldn't abuse it uselessly. And, in the worst case scenario for OB-users, a reduced e-bar will recharge faster during "charging status", which is definitely a good thing.

Everyone's got the rest covered.

Lastly, welcome to the Republic! (Yeah, I know I'm late )

[Grim]

maitreya's right, the others have covered pretty much everything already. That said, I'd definitely go with some of the suggestions here.

Here's my summary of what I would change (note that these are also for competitive play, as I have long ago stopped playing LR missions ):

Vulture2's tuning (try 0,3,3,4 or 0,2,4,4)
Kongoh -> Lotus (0,10,0) because like I told you before, this would take care of your heat problem.
Volute2 -> agreed with NiX on the Cowry
Funi -> agreed with wanzerfreak on the Gar, Gar2 or RM3. I'd go for Gar myself though.
Hydra2 -> Nymphe it up and throw originality out the window.
LB3 -> Moonlight! There, now your namesake is equipped again.

Optional Parts: Amino, ES, SS, L+, Codon, Primer, Marishi

OK, so I was pretty comprehensive in making changes on the other parts. I tried to stay away from your frame because it's solid as it is. Lotus would really really really eliminate any semblance of your heat problem while still being boost-hopper friendly. And with the Vulture2 tuned to something along the above suggestion's lines, it should really be no problem now.

For the extensions, Gar provides a long-lasting missile extension for a bit more weight and much lesser drain, which is what you want. Hydra2 launches volleys in a vertical pattern, which means one sidestep will make everything miss, extensions and all. I suggested Nymphe because it locks on fast and fires directly, allowing you to harass people and keep them back, even while OBing. Also, if you want to be a bit cheap and underweight a bit , drop the Kinnara. Most people can dodge them fully anyway. Plus you'll get a speed boost like no other, hehe.

Now for the blade. The Moonlight, as you'll see in <a href='http://ravenrepublic.net/index.php?showtopic=318' target='_blank'>this</a> topic, is really quite better than the Elf3 in practical terms, like when playing a real person. It's all explained there. LB3 on the other hand, while it may be great up close, is really hard to pull off. I dunno. Experiment, see what you like. Personally though, I think the Moonlight is the best choice for this design (not considering it's where the ACs name comes from ).

As an ending point, let me run through the optional part choices. Putting on Primer will really buff the heck out of the Moonlight's effectiveness. Also, not putting on EC, as Tim right above me already suggested, would make your energy recharge faster, as there is less capacity to fill up. Not equipping this part would make OBing a lot easier and usable, especially on the Lotus.

[wanzerfreak]

i don't understand why you fools would want to recommend the cowry on this machine.


miroku has lockspeed, range, and it already provides a huge lockbox for standard and ws lock types on a non-dual wielder.