AC Classifications
Veteran AC players have devised special categories and terminology when in reference to highly specialized ACs. Often these reflect the players preference in combat or missions.
Juggernaut - This term refers to extremely heavyweight humanoid-leg ACs laden with high powered weaponry, heavy armor, and are noted for having extremely limited ammo. Commonly the first type of AC for many players to develop, it is looked upon as being a bit of a starter AC. One of the most notable combination of weapons is the Karasawa and Moonlight combo, a highly powerful energy gun and laserblade respectively. With the redevelopment of these weapons in later installments, it continues to be a popular Juggernaut design.
Missile Boat - As the name suggests, this particular AC type is laden with missile exclusive weaponry. As well as the back unit missile launchers, the right arm may also use a missile launcher, or the arms may be replaced with missile weapon arms. In the original Armored Core, it was common for the Missile Boat to be constructed over a Four-leg base, but with the addition of the hover legs, the nom de plume has been extended over this category also.
Orbit Platform - Seen most commonly used with the hover legs, this AC utilizes only orbit cannon based weaponry. Of the fan categorized cores, this type is the newest in its inception.
Samurai - A type of AC used only by expert players and hardcore veterans. The Samurai type ACs are equipped exclusively with blade based weaponry. They often have high mobility and since the inclusion of the dual blade weapon arms this variety has seen more action. Rarely this type of AC can be equipped with a combination of the solid blade right arm weapon and the laser blade left arm part.
Sniper - Sometimes being looked down upon as a "coward's AC", it is a design that literally focuses on long range attacks. Being a sniper, it designed for speed, stamina, and long-ranged combat. Even with the introduction of the Over Boost function, the Sniper may still be formidable. It serves as an extremely dangerous, and annoying, foe, for the traditionally close-ranged designs. The Sniper also goes by the name "Archer" for designs that use weapons with an "arched" line of fire, or "Bomber" for designs using bomb dispensers.
Ninja - A kind of "shadowy" AC, it is designed to defeat the enemy though stealth. It is often colored black (sometimes uses camouflage colors for a particular environment). These designs tend to catch the enemy player by surprise. Often it is equipped with stealth equipment such as ECM to jam radar and lock-on. Ninjas are also very quick and use a blade. To avoid further attention, they also use a hover platform, which tends to be very silent during movement. However, ever since the discovery of the PoD (poke of doom) players have switched to a quad-leg platform (very noisy) or a tank (very slow). Now, with the addition of the parrying blade (a substitute PoD), the player can achieve mobility without sacrificing speed, stealth, or offence. However, it comes at the price of accuracy and range. This is why Ninja cores are reserved for the very best.
Bullet-Sponge - Probably the most bizarre is the Bullet-Sponge design, which is also known as the "armored armored core". This core is designed to literally absorb large amounts of damage. With AC battles becoming more of a damage race, the so-called AAC has arisen, and has also given rise to an arms race in the Armored Core universe. Typically they are equipped with a tank platform and are given heavily armored parts and are also tuned to withstand heavy damage. Now, they are mostly equipped with solid weapons. This is because an AC can't use energy weapons on low power. Second, in Nexus and so forth, the AC will quickly heat up, making energy weapons ever more useless unless the AC has a good radiator (which won't be enough to defeat the heat.) This is why a tank platform works best with the design, not only for defence, but to load more weight as well as use cannons. These are quite popular among the beginner players as well as the higher up. Of course, being ridiculously slow, they don't do so well on trying to cover their backs, the most vulnerable part of an AC. Another weakness is their defence on a particular element. Usually armor with high solid resistance can't defend well against energy weapons. To make up for both weaknesses, a player may use high-heat weapons (such as a railgun) to drain energy from an enemy's generator, preventing them from using anything that uses or shoots energy. The heavy, solid resistant armor will protect the AC from damage from a solid projectile.
DeFAC (Death From Above Core)- A type of core seen used mostly by the computer players, it is only suggested for absolute experts at energy conservation and aiming. Usually equipped with a high powered generator with excellent energy production values and a low heat and low power booster, they execute the maneuver known as "boost hopping" until they are slightly above their target and then move in to incredibly close range and blitz their enemy. Common armaments vary widely depending on the player but it is not unusual to see a combination of rifles and rockets being used; missiles take too long to achieve a lock and any sort of energy weapon would drain too quickly from their generators. Since the inception of the "hover booster" extension parts, the frequency of the DeFAC has increased.
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