Etzam Nar

Etzam Nar is a Raven in Armored Core: Nine Breaker. She is ranked 1st in the Arena.

Information[]

AC design with emphasis on mobility and thermal stress firepower. The pilot's deft handling skills mesh so well with the unit's setup that she overwhelms all opponents.

AC Proto Exus[]

Proto Exus is a middleweight bipedal equipped with inside ECM makers, a machine gun on the right arm, an energy-based machine gun on the left arm, a dual missile launcher and relation missile extensions. The unit also has an E.O. core which further reinforces the unit's offensive capability. The unit is also equipped with OP-INTENSIFY, enabling the unit to boost for prolonged periods of time without landing and the unit will not be affected by heat.

Strategy[]

Being the top Ranker of this game, Etzam Nar is no pushover & is one step up from majority of the other opponents. She will continually attempt to hover above you while harrying with copious amounts of machine gun fire, and due to having OP-INTENSIFY, she has prolonged flight capability & is unaffected by heat, meaning she can float around you almost indefinitely. She will switch to her dual missiles at longer ranges, but also has the tendency to drop it to allow for better mobility in close combat (what will render her relation missiles useless as well).

Because of the OP-INTENSIFY effects, her Proto Exus AC has copious amounts of energy at its disposal, enhancing its mobility by significant degree. In result, Etzam Nar will chase you down in no time if you cannot manuever well. Once she enters the machine gun range you will suffer a prolonged volley that is likely to overheat you quickly, all while she flies around in an attempt to stay above you at all times - keeping up with her in the air while not absorbing constant machine gun barrages is going to be extraordinarily difficult. Proto Exus' lockbox is big, serving its arm weapons well. While her guns do not have that much ammo reserve, forcing her to miss is going to be a tall order, and Proto Exus sports a machine gun Exceed Orbit as a backup.

To deal with Etzam is no easy task as she’s actually competent for a 1st Ranker. Due to her affinity to remain close to you to inflict maximum damage possible, it’s better to use rapid fire close range like her own against her. Even with her prolonged boosting ability, her use of the SILKY energy machine gun can drain out her energy reserves, forcing her to descend to recover energy, and this is your moment to hit her as hard as you can. Beware that she tends to pop ECM makers to disrupt your lock-on, so having high ECM resistance would help greatly. Adding the fact that Proto Exus is also equipped with an anti-lock on pulse jammer, this renders missile weapons considerably less effective against this rival.

While Etzam Nar does tend to float around close to you - making it somewhat difficult to keep a constant beat on her - it’s also somewhat possible to get behind her. When she descends to recover energy, try to angle yourself in a way where she has trouble turning to face you, that way you need not worry about her damage output while you’re hitting her. But be mindful that she’s good at countering opponents trying to get behind her so don’t count on the flanking too much. You will still likely need to catch her off the ground when rotating after her, as her landings are brief. To make matters a bit easier however, you not need to worry about a sudden deadly backstab coming out of nowhere when fighting Etzam in tight quarters, thanks to Proto Exus' arsenal being deprived of melee weapons.

Another strategy to defeat Etzam Nar is to deny her the optimal engagement range, staying away from her machine guns as much as possible. If she reaches you at that distance, it is very unlikely you will be able to throw her off yourself, since Proto Exus is very fast for an Overboost-lacking AC. However, if you can maintain a longer distance and fight her with adequate weapons, you will find out that Etzam's dodging skills are actually somewhat lacking when she is forced out of her comfort zone. In particular, she displays a tendency of repeated landings when boosting after you in an attempt to close the distance for her machine guns; the moment when she touches the ground makes the best opportunity to hit her. If you are able to evade her assault, then the fight will be decided whether you can damage her in return when she makes the touchdown before another arcing boost maneuver. Grenade weapons are recommended - about ten grenade shots will be enough to dismantle her AC.

Parts[]

Head: YH08-MANTIS
Core: CR-C98E2
Arms: A09-LEMUR2
Legs: LH09-COUGAR2
Booster: B05-GULL
FCS: CR-F73H
Generator: CR-G91
Radiator: ANANDA
Inside: HOHSHI
Extension: CR-E73RM
Back Unit R: WB06M-SPARTOI
Back Unit L: None
Arm Unit R: CR-WH79M2
Arm Unit L: WH10M-SILKY

Trivia[]

Etzam Nar is the first top Ranker in the series to not feature a laser blade as a main weapon. She is also the first top Ranker to not have any back mounted cannons of any kind, and the first to use an Exceed Orbit core.
Etzam Nar is also the first and, so far, the only top-ranker to be a female in the series.
Etzam Nar's particular combat style of staying high above the opponent constantly while raining gunfire resembles one of the previous top Arena Rankers in the series: Ace.
The name of her AC, "Proto Exus", might be translated as "first exile" or "first outsider".
The words on her emblem read "I don't know defeat I don't know fall therefore I'm No.1."