AC:VD <<PROJECT HYPERION>>

[White_Rain]

GREETINGS, one and all! I am the ever-the-same, foolish newbie White_Rain (PSN: Helldog_spawn), bringing you the data of a project of mine - HYPERION.

Some background before the actual information (skip if you so wish):
What started out as a simple wanting of an effective Armored Core, which was decent in Armored Core V due to ignorance of the best way to tune (I just went with whatever improved the most on my AC then, so it was pretty weak in the DEF specs due to focusing on unimportant aspects), changed drastically - and for the better - as I joined you kind folk in the Raven Republic team on Verdict Day. It's gone through its trials, its tribulations, and it had to go through many a change in everything - I had to ditch my Gatling gun, and now my load out is MUCH more well-rounded, and it even had a brief period of time going from Heavy Bipedal to Heavy TETRAPOD, which was certainly a bit of a change for me to adjust to. Nevertheless, with the VERY helpful assistance from Arrui and R.Leonhardt, the insight I gained from their advice, and the battle skill I acquired from this absolutely unforgiving lovable-nightmare-of-a-game that nearly competes with Dark Souls as "Most Difficult Game Ever", this AC has gone beyond its predecessor from the game before, performing miraculous feats left and right, proving its strength in the battlefield. It may be considered done, but with the new parts that start coming in as I grow in pilot rank...
the journey to the end of the cycle of Hyperion's development continues to elude me. There's still work to be done.



-CURRENT SETUP-
>NOTE: My TV's not an HDTV, so it makes the text REALLY hard to read (Seriously, FROM/Bamco? Those are the two complaints I have with this game - so many menu screens, and text you can't read unless your TV is the size of your entire wall.). Apologies if I mess up any of the names, and do please correct me.<

HEAD:
KAGARIBI mdl.1 [TE-DEF Type]

CORE:
CA-215 [KE-DEF Type]

ARMS:
Ar-M-M48 [CE-DEF Type]

LEGS:
AOI mdl.1 [TE-DEF Type] [Heavyweight]

FCS:
Fs-L-E28 [WIDE-ANGLE TYPE]

GENERATOR:
Ge-D-G23 [HIGH-OUTPUT TYPE]

BOOSTER:
Bo-C-H11 [HIGH-POWER TYPE]

RECON UNIT:
Re-X-A13 [HOVER TYPE]

RIGHT ARM UNIT:
ARAGANE mdl.1 [BATTLE RIFLE (CE)] <<TUNED FOR FULL POWER>>

LEFT ARM UNIT:
AM/RFA-222 [RIFLE (KE)] <<TUNED FOR FULL POWER>>

SHOULDER UNIT:
SU09 Jellyfish [VERTICAL MISSILE (KE)]

ULTIMATE WEAPON:
n/a

RIGHT BAY UNIT:
HATSUKARI mdl.1 [PULSE MACHINE GUN (TE)] <<TUNED FOR FULL POWER>>

LEFT BAY UNIT:
AM/SHA-109 [SHIELD]



-STATS-
Booster: 140
HB: 280

KE DEF: 1712
CE DEF: 1812
TE DEF: 3382

Total Weight: 8,217
Stability: 1,073
Recoil Resistance: 1,266
Turning Performance: 685
Energy Recovery: 5,446

AP: 43,210 (What are the odds? 4-3-2-1-0. Do you see what I see?)
Total Load: 5,764
Loading Capacity: 7,453
Total EN Consumption: 12,084
Energy Output: 17,530



EXTRAS:
AC Desc.: "Defense Spec Heavy Bipedal"
Accomplishments/Feats:
1) Surviving a direct hit by the most powerful H.E.A.T. Pile Driver in AC:VD with 15K+ AP left (out of 43,210 AP)
2) Defeating 4 Reaper Squad Soldiers in one run without any assistance, human or UNAC, one first and then the other 3 all at once, and THEN causing Maggy (Blue Magnolia) to retreat after running out of ammo and doing one daring Boost Charge.
3) Defeating the final boss N-WGIX ("Black Glint", as some call him) with 5K AP left and a lack of ammo.
-All of these are practically miracles, but the AC's performance has significantly increased because, well, I've gotten a lot better at this game-

If you wish for me to go further in-depth with anything listed, I will do so.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Any ideas for improvement? Let me know in a reply! Special thanks to Arrui and R.Leonhardt for guiding me to a stronger AC, but the journey is not over yet.

[arrui]

It's quick for a heavy. I had the pleasure of fighting this AC in a mock battle a while ago, and I was soundly defeated in an open area shootout. All rifles except for a full powered Tansy are innefective against your KE defense. All HEAT machine guns are innefective against your CE defense. All pulse machine guns, pulse guns, and a number of low tier laser rifles are innefective against your TE defense.
I think this build works as a good bruiser and it reminds me of VANIR's NoHonorLost's fave Heavy Biped.
I tried staying out of your effective range but you've gotten better at closing in and after a minute my AC became scrap metal. My BRA-125 was not able to outdamage your Aragane and 222.
Consider raising your stability and recoil resistance to withstand STAGGER from missiles.
You may also want to try using a PULSE GUN or PLASMA RIFLE for your Right Bay Unit.

PSN ID: Arrui_La_Ferte

[Gradlein]

Hooooh...an AC and pilot that can beat Arrui in an open area shootout. I'd like to have a match against it one of these days.

[White_Rain]

Heheheh! Thanks for the compliments, guys, I might actually be more dangerous than I expected! I think my main issue with closing in was a lack of confidence and bravery, but the bravery was solved by quickly remembering an old saying I commonly tell myself and sometimes tell others:

Sometimes, you just have to take big risks if you want to get anywhere.

Since then, according to Arrui, I brought near-hellfire in a juggernaut, and thus confidence is fixed (to a degree; I still have self-esteem issues, but blame my family for deliberately putting me in this state of believing I've been damned to an eternity of betrayal and suffering). If it weren't for his guidelines, though, I'd still be using my damn Gatling gun, and that was only effective back in V.

Nevertheless, I've bought all arm units left AND right for AC:VD that were unlocked at this time, as well as all legs and cores unlocked at this time, so any suggestions for weapons, legs, and cores will be noted, such as the pulse gun and plasma rifle. I've got many things I need to be doing aside from VD, so testing won't begin immediately. However, I WILL stick around to chat, and I can do quick battles every now and again, so if you do wish to fight Hyperion, do please ask and I'll come gunning when I'm definitely available.

[R.Leonhardt]

There are no real weakness for the design, but it does require skills to make it effective. Using Hi-power booster for heavies might be a bit of a problem for me. You're trying to give a heavyweight design speed but what it really needs is maneuverability. 140 is quite slow for something that utilizes Hi power boosters, it's not efficient if you consider the drain and the lack of control. What you really need are boosters that have high acceleration for sharp movements rather than speed which can be very predictable.

On a side note, I've observe something about your style. Through out our mock battles, I've noticed that you tend to move your AC in order to keep a lock on me. That's not a good habit. Practice keeping the enemies under your lock with the right stick alone. It's very important to maintain lock without moving your AC to another direction especially when you're using Hi power booster which takes a lot of time to accelerate and will lose power when there's even a slight change of direction.

The frame is tried and tested so there's no need to alter it. But do try other weapons so you'll know what to switch into when the situation calls for it =)

[White_Rain]

What you really need are boosters that have high acceleration for sharp movements rather than speed which can be very predictable.

On a side note, I've observe something about your style. Through out our mock battles, I've noticed that you tend to move your AC in order to keep a lock on me. That's not a good habit. Practice keeping the enemies under your lock with the right stick alone. It's very important to maintain lock without moving your AC to another direction especially when you're using Hi power booster which takes a lot of time to accelerate and will lose power when there's even a slight change of direction.

Well, I've got about 200,000 Au... What's one booster set gonna hurt in money that I probably wouldn't even spend otherwise?

Either way, thanks, R. I will also take those notes into consideration. And don't worry - I was planning on testing different weapon combinations as well, but I think I should KEEP my rifle and battle rifle, those things brought suffering to many a story opponent. ... Oh, and death, too.

[White_Rain]

HYPERION 2.0 is emerging. The AC is a med-biped with the same weapon loadout (except for a different shield), higher speed and more balanced resistance. It probably can't survive pile drivers like it used to, but it is just as powerful as ever before, but now actually able to MOVE. And strangely, it has more AP than 1.0 has now (thanks to the update, it is no longer at 43,210 AP, but 41,210 AP). I find that incredible in comparison to the sluggish 1.0 that tried to rely solely on weapon power and defensive stats. Regardless, it's a lot more powerful than I expected, and it actually fits my playing style, so I might actually be able to fight.

[R.Leonhardt]

-____-

I would recommend just posting about the design and its specs, not its feats.. While the frame itself seems solid enough, I find the Pulse machine gun rather questionable for an AC of this category. PMGs are only effective from close to close mid range, but with this AC's speed, I don't know..Of course I could be wrong, the only way to know that is to see it in action. I'll come test it out when I get the chance =)

[White_Rain]

I've been trying to decide whether or not to post it HERE or in a new thread. Sounds awful silly of me to be so held up by THAT and not come to a clear decision, but I'm not always one for logical decisions. As for the feats, I realized how cocky I sounded and deleted them from this thread sometime around when I presume you were typing your post, so your response, if I'm not mistaken, was a bit late. In the end, however, sorry for being a nuisance, I'll cut straight to the chase and put the specs below.

---

HYPERION 2.0 BETA SPECS:
-----
Some parts of the frame, as you may notice, are unchanged. This is still a unit in testing, but it's been working well so far.

HEAD: KAGARIBI mdl.1 [TE-Resistant Type]
CORE: Co-G-F37 (Salvador Keene Variant) [TE-Resistant Type]
ARMS: Ar-M-E34/L (Jack Variant) [CE-Resistant Type]
LEGS: Le2M-T-W30 (Caesar Dunbar Variant) [BIPEDAL-M]
FCS: Fs-L-E28 [WIDE-ANGLE TYPE]
GENERATOR: Ge-D-G23 [HIGH-OUTPUT TYPE]
BOOSTER: Bo-C-H11 [HIGH-POWER TYPE]
RECON UNIT: Re-X-A13 [HOVER TYPE]
RIGHT ARM UNIT: ARAGANE mdl.2 (Full-Power Tune) [BATTLE RIFLE]
LEFT ARM UNIT: AM/RFA-222 (Full-Power Tune) [RIFLE]
SHOULDER UNIT: SU09 Jellyfish [KE MISSILE]
ULTIMATE WEAPON: n/a
RIGHT BAY UNIT: HATSUKARI mdl.1 (Full-Power Tune) [PULSE MACHINE GUN]
LEFT BAY UNIT: AMAGOROMO mdl.1 [SHIELD, TE-DEF]

Booster: 143
HB: 297

AP: 43,186
KE DEF: 1808
CE DEF: 1376
TE DEF: 1276

Total Weight: 7,769
Stability: 1,056
Recoil Resistance: 1,189
Turning Performance: 753
Energy Recovery: 4,836
Total EN Consumption: 12,894

Picture:


Again, mistakes are bound to have happened in the naming or stat-typing because, again, my TV is old, and I can't get any output better than 480p.
It got to the point where I had to use the ACVD link to find the parts I used for this build.
At least this TV has stereo sound and not mono...

[arrui]

This AC is stacked! Very high AP count for a medium biped. And I personally witnessed how it was able to soak enemy fire, providing us with enough cover to whittle away the enemy's AP.
I doubt it will be able to survive a focused assault, but it wasn't built for that anyway. It's a good distraction, able to take enemy hits and lead them on. It's a bit fast so luring enemies and staying alive in the process shouldn't be difficult.
I haven't seen a lot of PMG and PG users lately so unless you're defending against a KARASAWA or any other laser rifle for that matter, your AMAGOROMO is just dead weight.
With your current recoil resistance, a missile salvo is almost always guaranteed to stop you in your tracks. You'll have to learn how to evade them. I personally suck at evading missiles during stressful situations which is why I carry a CIWS.
I like how you carry a weapon for each damage type I have mixed feelings for the ARAGANE mdl.2 though. It has great reload speed (48 for full power), its damage is comparable to the 125, and better optimal range than most BRs. The problem is the slow lock on speed and muzzle velocity making it a poor combo with the FCS that you are using. You will have to learn to make your shots connect during blue lock on.
Your rifle is basically a shield buster unless the enemy is using a KE shield. Don't expect to deal great damage with it because it will be ineffective to most AC builds.
I can't comment on the PMG since I dont really know how to use one effectively.


PSN ID: Arrui_La_Ferte

[White_Rain]

As Arrui stated, the AC is a good distraction/support type with the ability to hold its own. The fact that I'm starting to pick up the pace of skill might just be a sign that I found the AC I was looking for the whole time, the AC that actually worked with my play style, and that skill might just be getting picked up faster with a mech I can work with.

More pictures of HYPERION 2.0 for further details:

[R.Leonhardt]

The shield you're currently using is a deadweight. Judging from the frame, the design basically has enough defense to repel Pulse guns and machine guns. Switch to CE shield to avoid getting raped by battle rifles and Medium missiles, trust me you'll find it very useful.

PMGs aren't that good unless amplified with an EN amp. Using an EN amp increases drain. Increased drain results to hindered maneuvering. Poor Maneuvering can cause death. Switch to something else like a hand gun as a side arm. Or better yet, a Pile Driver =)

Another issue is the drain on that thing. Seeing as you're using High power booster, High Drain TE Head and the TE shield, I can imagine the danger of maneuvering in an open space where there's no obstacles to jump on. When using G23, I always make it a point to have at least 5500 EN recovery both for my laser rifle and boosters. You can switch the core for something lighter like a CE core for more CE defense(which you'll really need). You only really need 900 TE to protect against Pulse machine guns. Other TE weapons have like 2000 which will penetrate any Mid to light weight so if I were you, I wouldn't bother much about TE def =)

[White_Rain]

You seem to know this AC fairly well to know the weaknesses I've been experiencing. Did you construct this AC on your own and test it recently?
Anyways, I'll see what I can come up with.

---

Updates to HYPERION 2.0 BETA:
Changed shield from the AMAGOROMO TE-type shield to the Au-U-E02 CE-type shield.
I'd look into updating further, but I feel like I could fall asleep at any second, so I'm gonna do that. Goodnight.

[arrui]

You seem to know this AC fairly well to know the weaknesses I've been experiencing. Did you construct this AC on your own and test it recently?
Anyways, I'll see what I can come up with.

If I have to take a guess, i'd say it's his experience talking. Our friend here has gone through countless battles and has been subjected to a lot of combat scenarios. Your AC description is very detailed so it wouldn't be hard for him to make an accurate analysis of your AC's strengths and weaknesses.

PSN ID: Arrui_La_Ferte

[R.Leonhardt]

After playing a few rounds with this machine(my version of loadout), I notice a really big weakness for the design; stability. The part has good defensive ratings, but it's maneuvering is sacrificed which makes it harder to evade and get into position for a counterattack.

Your new frame was a lot better as I noticed a lot of my rounds didn't connect. It's probably the FreQuency legs doing wonders. You've grown stronger, I give you that! keep up the good work =)