Armored Core: Phantasma


Strategy guide for Arena combat
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I haven't found a good strategy guide for AC:P yet, so I'll write a short one
myself. The missions for the most part are fairly self-explanitory, so I'll
stick with the 50 "Arena" fights here.

The basics are fairly similar to the original Amored Core. Speed rules!  If
you're fast enough, you'll probably be able to dodge most of the stuff that
comes at you in the lower rounds.

A general tip; try to get behind your enemy.

Killer tip: every machine seems to have a "magical" circle. If you can follow
behind them and follow them on a circular path, you can keep nailing them, and
they can't fire back. Different opponents have a different "magical circle".
For some, it is really really tight. For some, it's actually somewhat large.
But you won't be able to pull this off unless you have the fastest of the
four-legs.  Sometimes with slower opponents, you can do it with the other
four-legs. But you've got to be able to move around them, faster than they can
turn.


High-level combat tip:
The AC's above level 10, seem to have unfairly balanced swords. Instead of
just being a slash,they also send out a wave. However, that wave seems to only
bee in front of them, and horizontal. So, if you just jump, you should be able
to avoid it. But better still is of course to stay behind them :-)

FCS tip:

Many weapons interact with FCS systems uniquely. That is to say, there isn't
one "best" FCS system. It depends on what weapon you want to use. You then
have to test it with a whole bunch of FCS systems to see which one gives you
the widest lock area. Sometimes the cheapest FCS systems can actually be best.
I like the cheap "short, wide" one, with 6 cylinders on it, for most things.


AREA choosing tip:

Choose your area. I'm a purist, so I like the sealed green space-dome a lot.
However, on my tougher opponents, I sometimes have to resort to the
underground cave. The advantages are that there is a low ceiling, so they
can't keep jumping up out of your sights :-) Plus, you start close to them.

One time, however, I was stuck on "joker" before I discovered the underground
cave. He was too fast for me, andkept jumpting around. At that point, I
changed into maximum armor parts, and picked the forest, just for the heck of
it.  I was planning on just taking his hits, while nailing him. However, it
was all over in 10 seconds, and I barely did anything. He moved around so
much, he must have hit four mines, and blew himself up!!

Bonus Weapons:

I'm only up to ranking #5 right now. But you don't get too many extra parts
from combat that I remember. The only really good one, is the "extra magazine"
one. The others I've seen so far are grenade launchers, and a 20000yard radar.
The grenade launchers reload so slowly, you're probably better off with just
regular shop weapons. I in fact beat the main story boss with the large
"cannon-arm" weapon bought right from the store.


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Notices:

This strategy guide is copyrighted by me, Philip Brown. You may copy it
freely, as long as you give me credit for it, and mention that it comes from
http://www.bolthole.com

"Armored Core: Phantasma" Copyright 'From Software', and 'ASCII entertainment'