Missile

Missiles are guided explosive projectiles equipped with warheads that track their targets and explode upon impact with a solid object, whether its an enemy or a wall. They are a common and frequently used weapon due to their high damage output and reliability.

Description

Missiles come in many varieties. Among the most common are the "small" missiles, which are light, medium power warheads which follow their target and explode upon impact. "Middle" missiles are essentially the same, but are more powerful, about equal to a small Rocket. "Large" missiles are cruise-type slow weapons capable of laying waste to enemies with their enormous firepower and blast radius. Multi-fire missile launchers are missile launchers which fire a predetermined number of missiles on a single lock, usually between two and four. Multi-warhead missiles are missiles which, when a predetermined distance between the missile and the enemy is reached, split into several sub-missiles; another missile type, ground torpedoes, works on the same principle, but travels as a small pod, which splits into low-flying missiles. Lastly, there are vertical missiles, which fire upwards in a climbing arc before dropping back down to hit their target. These general missile variants are specialized further with some extra subtypes (see the list in the following secton for details).

In the older games, the missile launchers are among the most commonly used back slot weapons, due to the fact that most leg types are forced to deploy most other back weapon types while stationary. Additionally, the only other full-mobility back-mounted weapons (excluding the exotics such as the Orbit Weapons), the rocket launchers, require manual aim. Therefore, for many AC builds outside of quadripeds and tanks (and Human PLUS-assisted ACs), the missile launchers are the only back weapons that combine high accuracy with no mobility restrictions.

Furthermore, thanks to the large variety of missiles, they offer many combination options for engaging the opponents effectively. In particular, their damage potential can be further enhanced with the use of relation missile extension launchers, which add extra missiles to any regular missiles fired (and only then). In result, the missile-focused AC builds can offer a highly impressive firepower that can be deployed in large volumes with relatively high accuracy, which can prove deadly to any opponent that has subpar missile defence ability (and force the others to take intensive evasive actions instead).

However, the missile weapons as a whole come with some general drawbacks of their own. Across the board, they are not well suited to tight-quarters combat due to the normally longer lock time delay as compared to the direct fire weapons. They tend to be some of the slower weapons as well, with considerable reload time - mostly relying on deploying many missiles in a volley to compensate. Finally, while the target tracking ability of missiles offers a special way of pressuring the opponent, they still can be avoided to various degree by the experienced AC pilots utilizing specific missile evasion maneuvers.

Types

Armored Core 1 Era

• Small Missiles- The most basic weapon, they deal fairly low damage (around 765 to 780) and frequently have large missile capacity. Frequently of the weapon types, Small Missiles have the largest lock on amounts for this weapon type.
• Missiles- These are larger and stronger missiles that have almost double the amount of damage of Small Missiles but have half the ammo capacity. Initially the Vertical Missile launcher was classified under this group in Project Phantasma and Master of Arena.
• Dual/Triple Missiles- These missiles are frequently either Small or "medium" Missiles that launch in two or three missiles per launch. Some like those in the original game, fire in an arch, making them useful for ambushing enemies.
• Multi Missiles- These missiles launch a single warhead that splits up into four (or more in later renditions) which can deal heavy damage. From Armored Core 2 on, these launch in an arch allowing them to hit targets potentially from cover.
• Large Missiles- These appear in two groups although the first type does not appear in any other Armored Core game save for the original PS1 games, They fly and look like regular Missiles but deal much greater damage. The second type is extremely slow and deals massive damage, capable of tracking an enemy although it does get fouled up by terrain.

Armored Core 2 Era

• Vertical Missiles- While they technically appeared in the original game, they were not named as Vertical Missiles until Armored Core 2 on. They deal the damage of a Missile and fire in a parabolic arch. This allows them to fire over terrain but are hard (if not impossible) to hit in indoor environments.
• Pursuit Missiles - A remarkably unique weapon, pursuit missiles are designed to produce a hail of ordnance fire on demand. To that effect, they are designed to launch a missile pod, which will promptly fire a barrage of Small Missiles at the intended target. On an interesting note, the pod itself did significant damage, at least the sum of every missile it launched, if not more. A valid tactic, therefore, would be to simply hit an enemy with the pod, though their low ammo count made this somewhat impractical considering that they were manually aimed.
• Napalm Missiles - A special type of missile that sets a target on fire, if it hits. It only appears in Armored Core 2: Another Age.
• Ground Torpedos - Another unique type of missile that fires a low flying warhead that splits into 4 missiles when close to the target. Due to their trajectory and speed, they're somewhat difficult for anti-missiles to shoot down. Introduced in Armored Core 2: Another Age.
• Hand Missiles - Arm-mounted version of the small missile launchers.
• Relation Missiles - A missile that can only fire when other missiles are launched.

Armored Core 3 Era

• Hi-Act Missiles - High-mobility missiles. Hi-Act missiles come in both straight-arc and vertical forms, and are able to track enemies much better than standard missiles.
• Stealth Missiles - Stealth missiles were able to ignore enemy AMS, and simply travel straight to the enemy unhindered; enemy core AM guns and AM lasers or missiles would not react to stealth missiles, though they could still be seen on radar, dodged, and be attracted to decoys.
• Burst Missiles (Cluster Missiles)- Odd weapons that can be described as a combination of vertical missiles and bomb dispensers. Burst missiles are two stage projectiles: first flew like their vertical missile cousins; then, when they reached the air above their target, they shower it with bomblets, causing large amounts of damage and heating their victims by huge amounts. However, burst missiles had low accuracy against all but slow moving or stationary enemies, as any other ones are prone to escaping their cone of attack.

Armored Core Nexus Era

• Micro Missiles - A new type of ordnance launcher, micro missiles focused on a "quantity over quality" strategy in order to achieve maximum effect. Micro missiles were smaller than even "small" type missiles, leading to their apt name, and were typically launched in massive swarms of 5 up to 9. These missiles, though individually weak, were able to do astonishing damage upon connection with their target, had especially persistent tracking ability, and their numbers allowed them to overwhelm even the best anti-missile systems. In turn however, micro missiles were especially vulnerable to missile decoys, had a very limited amount of shots (volleys) to be fired, and they were some of the slowest missiles around.

Armored Core 4 Era

• Kojima Missiles - Carry a volatile Kojima payload and do significant damage upon impact. Very slow, but has a long flight time. They work much like the normal Large Missiles except upon impact, they will basically deplete an NEXT's Primal Armor.
• AS Missiles - Missiles that target an enemy automatically without any lock on necessary, AS Missiles can be useful as they can be deployed without having to lock on to a target but they have low launch amounts and low damage.
• Scatter Missiles - similar to Micro Missiles, scatter missiles fire a large number of smaller, weaker missiles. Unlike their cousins from Nexus, Scatter Missiles are basically an improvement over the Multi Missile, firing a single larger missile that splits into multiple warheads, making them very dangerous if a target does not have AMS capabilities.
• PM Missiles - These missiles are similar to the Hi-Act Missiles in that they track targets very well. They don't deal as much damage as normal missiles however.
• Hi-Act Missiles - A type of missile that has a slow speed, but with high agility. Perfect for engaging enemy NEXTs with slower speeds.
• VTF Missiles - A high-damage missile with increased agility and power.

Armored Core V Era

• Kinetic (KE) - Missile type that does damage by delivering the kinetic energy into a target. KE missiles have wide variety of different types.
  • Large Missile - A large, slow moving missile that has huge damage capability and explosion radius. Despite being rather sluggish, it has amazing tracking ability which allows it to continue following a target where most other missiles would burn out.
  • Vertical - Fires from an upward position, then comes raining down on an opponent. Has very good attack power and can fire many at once, but has somewhat poor tracking ability.
  • High Speed - Missile that has a high initial velocity with great impact force to stun opponents.
  • VTF - Missile that has an internal fuse, which causes it to explode once it is within a certain distance of a target.
• Chemical (CE) - Missile that delivers a chemical payload. Has fairly good tracking and can fire many in a short period of time.
  • AS - Missile type that automatically tracks a target without requiring an AC to lock on to it by detecting nearby units. They have fairly decent range and great tracking ability, but suffer from overall low attack power.
• Thermal (TE) - A special missile type similar to KE VTF Missiles, they explode nearby a target and unleash a plasma field which damages opponents. These missile have a high resistance to missile interception technology, and have overall good tracking.

ARMORED CORE VI Era

• Explosive - Missile type that can deliver explosive payload into an enemy AC. There are types of launchers.
  • Active-Homing Missile Launchers - A type of missile that contains high-explosive payload, with slow maneuverability.
  • Vertical Missile Launchers - A type of missile that fires in a upward position in a high trajectory, gradually hinders enemy evasion and cover.
  • Container Missile Launcher - A type of container missile that release micro missiles, perfect for indirect attack.
  • Cluster Missile Launcher - A missile that releases a cluster payload. Can release payload in three strafing passes before exploding.
  • Scatter Launchers - A type of missile that fire multiple missiles and scatters into multiple targets.
  • Split Missile Launchers - A type of missile that splits into smaller missiles when a target is locked on.
  • Dual Missile Launchers - A type of missile that fires at the same time or in one by one and surrounds the target.
  • Detonating Missile Launcher - A type of missile that creates a chain of explosives for suppressive fire within in a high trajectory, even the missile was evaded.
  • Siege Missile Launcher - A type of missile that lingers for a while after launch and propels into a target that allows the user to surround their intended target single-handedly.
• Plasma - A type of missile with proximity fuses that triggers plasma explosions. Creates area-of-effect damage when hit.
  • Vertical Plasma - A type of missile that fires overhead, hindering enemy evasion.
• Coral Missile Launcher - A type of missile that uses Coral swarm intelligence that deals Coral damage. When charged, the missile is split into smaller Coral missiles that is guided into a target.
• Pulse Missile Launcher - A type of missile that uses PA Interference to destroy Pulse Armor and Pulse Shields.
• Needle Missile Launcher - A first ever guided missile that deals kinetic damage. Low tracking ability, can fire on a straight line.
• Light Wave Cannon - A type of missile that uses both laser and pulse technology. It leaves a trail and an erratic movement of the missile's guidance. Can be evaded, due to the missiles' erratic guidance.