| Matthias | |
|---|---|
| |
| AC Name | Funeral Mask |
| Profile | |
| Gender | Male |
| Rank | 58 |
| Affiliation | Nerves Concord |
| Appearance(s) | Armored Core 2 |
| AC Characteristics | |
| Armor Points | 9110 |
| Weight | 11670 |
| Price | 826000 |
| Offensive Points | 9837 |
| Defensive Points | 3497 |
| Moving Speed | 4530 |
| OB Ability | 2400 |
| Grade | Excellent |
| Armaments | |
| Core | Over Boost |
| Inside | None |
| Extension | Anti Missile |
| Back Unit R | Grenade Launcher |
| Back Unit L | Plasma Cannon |
| Arm Unit R | Laser Rifle |
| Arm Unit L | Laser Blade |
Matthias is a Raven in Armored Core 2 and is ranked #58 in the Arena. He can either be unlocked by killing enough ranked Ravens in the main story, or if the main story is completed.
Information[]
Takes the name of his mentor who was killed in battle. He pays tribute to his friend by keeping the name and legend alive. He is not to be trifled with.
AC Funeral Mask (US)/Death Mask (JP)[]
Funeral Mask is a heavyweight four-legged AC armed with a back mounted plasma cannon, grenade launcher, anti missile extensions, an overboost core and the famed MOONLIGHT laser blade + KARASAWA laser rifle combination. Its weapons are geared for long range combat, but the unit is extremely deadly at close and mid range as well. Due to the Human PLUS enhancements of the pilot the unit can fire blade waves and it also is able to ignore weight restrictions, making it a PLOW AC.
Strategy[]
In contrast to Ares, Matthias lacks the AI quirk and will actually try to take to the skies. The tactic of trying to get him snagged on Malea Base will not work as it has on Ares. Further, every weapon he has is a heavy hitter that he is quite accurate with. In many ways, Matthias is an upgraded version of Prisoner No. B-24715, in that he pilots a heavy AC with an assortment of high-powered armament; but unlike the Rank 2 contender, Funeral Mask sports a more balanced weaponry with a larger ammo reserve (including the ever deadly KARASAWA MK 2) and Matthias is more relentless and accurate by a significant margin. Arguably, he is the most challenging opponent in the Armored Core 2 Arena.
Fortunately, Matthias has a few drawbacks as an opponent. While he may have PLUS enhancements, the quad legs his craft has (in combination with his energy weapons) makes taking to the air extremely difficult for him; it is possible, though very difficult to run him out of energy (limiting him to his grenade launcher in the process). A good tactic is to keep a middleweight biped AC with a strong generator and all solid weapons to ensure maximum possible flight time without a suicidally low amount of AP. Take the fight to the Abandoned Highway and jet as far upward as possible without leaving the battlefield area.
You will have to descend to force him to fire -- that is a guarantee. Predict the shots and dodge (hardest with the laser rifle). Keep your distance at all times to give yourself a good chance of dodging Matthias' barrages. PLUS users will have an even greater chance at this strategy working, as they'll have extra energy to work with.
Ultimately, it comes down to trial and error (and is a time consuming process to force him to waste ammo).
Another tactic, assuming favorable terrain and flight, is to keep dual vertical missiles or dual multi-missiles and relation missile extensions. Matthias has missile interception extensions, but with the help of the BEX-BRM-04 or a similar extension, it's possible to overwhelm his considerable defense and even overheat him. The sole problem with his tactic is that you must still enter his own lock-on range in order to lock on yourself (even with a long-range FCS like the DOX-ELENA).
Another surprisingly decent strategy is to simply take advantage of his low ammo count; he only has 85 shots total before he is completely out of ammo. With light parts with good efficiency, and utilizing parts like the HOY-B1000 (Incredibly good charge recovery due to excellent output) and the EBT-V55 (second lowest charge drain with above average boost power overall), it is possible to simply hover far over him with proper boost management and easily avoid his long range attacks. Being a PLUS with increased energy recovery can also help. Alternatively, copious amounts of horizontal dodging (namely, Overboost abuse) might work just as well for exhausting Funeral Mask out of ammo; Etal Base is well suited for this purpose thanks to the abundant cover.
Once Matthias runs out of ammo, his threat level drops significantly, though he can be very quick at attempting to dash in to attack with his MOONLIGHT. However, only dealing with a blader whilst having a full arsenal of weapons yourself is far, far easier than attempting to go toe-to-toe with a walking armory of weapons that can blow you away in a few shots. Still, you would do well to never underestimate him; even after all of his guns run dry, Matthias is very capable with MOONLIGHT, and will cut you down in just a few hits (even faster if he nails you with an aerial attack - a midair MOONLIGHT thrust inflicts some truly tremendous damage, being the most powerful melee attack in the whole game), if your melee dodging is not at top form. Once Matthias is down to his blade, do not let him corner you, keep him at safe distance, and destroy him as quickly as possible.
Parts[]
- Head: EHD-DOME
- Core: ZCH-GR/1
- Arms: ZAN-707/E
- Legs: ZLF-A3/CARM
- Booster: ZBT-GEX/3000
- FCS: DOX-ALM
- Generator: GPS-BVX/10
- Radiator: RBG-CLX5000
- Inside: None
- Extension: BEX-BAMS-287
- Back Unit L: ZWC-IR/FLUX
- Back Unit R: EWC-GN44-AC
- Arm Unit R: KARASAWA-MK2
- Arm Unit L: LS-MOONLIGHT
Trivia[]
- Despite being the lowest rank in the Arena, his AI behavior is that of an expert, or a master difficulty. In addition to his weapon loadout that makes him one of the deadliest opponents in the Arena.
- Image courtesy of TMRaven.
- Matthias is actually the name given to the disciple of Judas Iscariot, as one of the 12 apostles. Strung, whose AC's name is Judas, may actually be Matthias' mentor. Furthermore, Strung's real name is never stated in the game, and it is also likely Matthias is in fact Strung's real name, as Strung is a nickname. Matthias' description also states that he took the name of his mentor who was killed in battle, which would make sense as The Raven was the one who killed Strung in Attack Research Team.
- In the Japanese verison, Matthias' AC name is known as Death Mask (デスマスク).
Videos[]
Armored Core 2 -EX40- - Arena -58 Matthias