Do you LIKE "having" to switch builds for specific fights?

[Ivan Osorio]

...Or do you stick with your build until it works?
How often do you customize the body of your AC, versus simply switching out generators and weapons?

Personally, I don't feel like switching out builds is fun, and find that being somewhat pigeonholed into something that can easily win a fight is... not interesting. The issue arises that often going with a sub-optimal build is extremely sub-optimal, not merely a slight disadvantage, to a degree that I believe renders "customization" pointless.
They might just as well have had predefined mechs for each mission that you could chose to use from a menu, if you so desired.

I understand this is the intended design of the game. The question is: Do you enjoy it?

[adobo]

Yes. Though I do have a generalist build that can handle all sorts of weapon. So its a matter of swapping out weapons than rebuilding the whole mech.

[D. Flame]

No, I switch as little as possible.

[HypetheKomodo]

Well, yeah.

Armored Core has always been about adjusting your build for various challenges. There were missions that challenged you vertically, challenged you with obstacles your build just couldn't handle, so you changed it up.

It's a, well, core part of the game.

[魔装機神 Psybuster]

I love spending time tinkering in the garage more than the battlefield, so I absolutely welcome the concept of it being more about finding an optimal build than anything.

[opus132]

This is how FromSoft does difficulty settings.

People who complain about there not being a difficulty slider don't understand that it's not easy to adjust difficulty merely by fudging with numbers like in most games. Since everything has to be tuned to perfection, all the windows of opportunity, the timing, and most important of all, the pattern of the attacks, you can't just make the game easier or harder simply by adding health or damage to enemies and call it a day, and if they had to tune each boss fight for every difficulty setting it would double developing time.

In the Souls, you have OP set ups as well, and stuff like summons etc that can assure no one will ever have their progress impeded completely. If a boss is simply unbeatable for you, try a more favorable set up or have someone help you.

And personally, i find this system much more well thought out and fun that a mere difficulty slider, which in most games is just lazy (especially when they make enemies into bullet sponges at higher difficulty settings. Just make the numbers bigger, no thought or finesse).

[Ivan Osorio]

Originally posted by HypetheKomodo:

Well, yeah.

Armored Core has always been about adjusting your build for various challenges. There were missions that challenged you vertically, challenged you with obstacles your build just couldn't handle, so you changed it up.

It's a, well, core part of the game.

I've played a few of the past AC games (mostly 2 and 3) and while it is true that you always could switch things up, and there was an incentive towards it in the sense that some parts where better suited for certain mechanics... I don't feel like the discrepancy between using an "ideal" part and a "sub-optimal" part was as drastic as it is here.

[BKo]

If your build clearly isn't suited to complete or better yet S rank a mission, like shooting down the transport helicopters, yes. You go into the garage and come up with something that will absolutely destroy that mission, maximizing every strength you're going to need and discarding the stuff you don't need in order to make room for it. If you're not doing that you're just playing some action game with maybe a few selectable swords.

[ptp120122]

Depends. I like it purely for just customizing, gunpla like mentality, and taking into a sandbox to mess around, like the old games. It's severly lacking there anyways.

PVP, I'd like to use a moderate balanced build, but you run into all tanks, or all missile builds, and it's not fun. Then, everyone's' AC looks the same with only color scheme being different.

[Faust Wither]

No, but if I want to clear it faster I will do it.

[Vaati]

I got through basically the entire game running two ACs (An agile reverse joint mech and an balanced bipedal mech) and enjoyed myself and popped off hard after i beat IBLIS since that one gave me the most trouble.

[HypetheKomodo]

Originally posted by Ivan Osorio:

Originally posted by HypetheKomodo:

Well, yeah.

Armored Core has always been about adjusting your build for various challenges. There were missions that challenged you vertically, challenged you with obstacles your build just couldn't handle, so you changed it up.

It's a, well, core part of the game.

I've played a few of the past AC games (mostly 2 and 3) and while it is true that you always could switch things up, and there was an incentive towards it in the sense that some parts where better suited for certain mechanics... I don't feel like the discrepancy between using an "ideal" part and a "sub-optimal" part was as drastic as it is here.

I agree, for better or worse. In older games, bringing up AC3 in particular in this example, not having Hover legs for some missions was a failure state.

There's less of that, but there's still builds that are overall worse for the task at hand. You are still encouraged to mix up your build, although it's more due to combat and not so much because of the enviroment.

[Zogtar]

I like it, "you failed this mission, try again, feel free to respec for free"

[MrLuckless]

That's the general idea here. So much so that the game lets you go back to the drawing board should you fail mid-mission. Sometimes you just have to realize some mechs can't handle every job. No such thing as a perfect pasta sauce and so on.

[Ivan Osorio]

Originally posted by HypetheKomodo:

I agree, for better or worse. In older games, bringing up AC3 in particular in this example, not having Hover legs for some missions was a failure state.

I am not exactly sure how that works, but I find having to tweak my mech for environmental hazards more acceptable than to have to tweak it for a boss encounter. I'll have to meditate on why I think that way, hahahaha.

[HypetheKomodo]

Originally posted by MrLuckless:

That's the general idea here. So much so that the game lets you go back to the drawing board should you fail mid-mission. Sometimes you just have to realize some mechs can't handle every job. No such thing as a perfect pasta sauce and so on.

I dunno, the shotgun copy pasta is pretty close.

I am not exactly sure how that works, but I find having to tweak my mech for environmental hazards more acceptable than to have to tweak it for a boss encounter. I'll have to meditate on why I think that way, hahahaha.

Well in older games, you went lighter if the mission required platforming, or more speed, or water was involved. AC6, you have a boss popping pulse shields you have the option to get a pulse gun to melt it. It has heavy melee attacks you build around being able to better dodge them, vertically or otherwise.

It's the same concept, just a bit of a different context.