NG+ Lore Implications (Spoiler Warning)

[Bean Chili]

I have noticed three things and I’m sure you all have too relating to NG+ and the Arena. I’m on the last mission of NG++ and completing the story so I don’t know if I’m missing anything and this is my first AC game in the series.

When you start a new game it starts after the first mission. It could be explained as the first mission being the tutorial mission but AC6 has alternate versions on different missions such as Attack the Damn Complex. I personally think it has to do with picking up the pilots license and becoming Raven and if that’s the case that means NG is baked into the world. Wether that be time travel, a AI computer model or some weird circumstances relating to Coral.

I understand that Analysis in the Arena is ALLMIND collecting Data for the NG++ ending but why does the Raven Nightfall you fight in the campaign not included in the first play through Arena list but instead Raven Nightfall is the last Arena fighter in Analysis when all the AC’s you fight in the the original Arena list are AC’s you fight in the campaign.
There is not much in game on Raven Nightfall and I’m wondering if it has to do with the Alt Mission where you fight the AC’s King and Chataruse in NG+ and then Raven Nightfall shows up somewhere in the action instead of the First Play through mission where you fight Raven Nightfall alone Making Raven Nightfall also an anomaly to ALLMIND needing analysis.

I have also noticed that the AC’s HAL (Walter’s AC) and Rusty’s Upgraded AC (I forgot the name of it.) are in the Arena Analysis of NG++ albeit significantly not as strong as they are in the campaign. In theory they shouldn’t have been known to ALLMIND yet. If the story takes place in a AI computer algorithm it could explain it but that does not explain why Ayre was able to hack into ALLMIND and get the AC data.

That leaves the AC Echo, why does ALLMIND have data on an AC and not use it against us or the Xylem. Why did it have to use Coral tech? Why was it able to be taken control of by Ayre? It seems like an oversight by ALLMIND to make an AC that uses Coral tech when ALLMIND is attempting to free the coral in Coral Release only for it to be taken control of by the Coral Ayre. Why is Echo the last AC you fight in the Arena before you fight ALLMIND?

In the end 621 and Ayre are set up as messiah type characters aand FromSoft can do whatever they want but it doesn’t stop my brain from being boggled by these.

[Birdii]

1. Skipping the tutorial is purely for gameplay reasons. Story wise, the only thing that happens is you arrive on Rubicon and find a mercenary license. It occurs in the story every time you playthrough the game.
2. Lack of arena Raven - You are Raven, and are filling the role of Raven in the arena. Multiple characters know of the previous Raven and make note about how different you. Previous Raven was an F tier pilot according to the initial rankings.
3. King/Chataruse/Raven - No one said that the previous Raven was dead. One of the characters will actually say something along the lines of "You took your time getting here" and Nightfall Raven will reply with something similar to "I'm sorry," depending on how long you take and who you kill first.

The game mentions that the callsign "Raven" is a floating title. Most AC games involve you being called "Raven" in some capacity.

4. Analysis AC's - Walter's AC isn't Walters directly. It was built by the Institute as a last resort. He was brainwashed and forced to pilot it. ALLMIND already knew of its existence. We don't know what Walter's AC is or looks like.
5. Steel Haze Ortus is already developed by the time you unlock the arena mission. ALLMIND knew of it already.
6. AC Echo - Echo is the final arena fight because its the AC ALLMIND built to beat you, and it tests it against you. ALLMIND doesn't use it against you because you already defeated it in the analysis. ALLMIND uses that data to build another AC. That new AC is the Final Boss of Ending 3.

It's safe to assume that any AC created while connected to the mercenary network is recorded by ALLMIND.

Additional:
It's worth noting that the three arena fights you are mentioning get reclassified in any subsequent playthroughs after ending 3. You have to re-unlock those fights by going through the story again. Echo analysis unlocks in toward the end of Chapter 4 and I believe you have to complete the analysis to finish the ALLMIND path.

ALLMIND doesn't use Echo against you because it's a video game. The big bad will follow the logic of, "This lost, so lets make a better one and disregard this one."

The Analysis stuff being locked to NG+ and after completing the Arena is purely video game logic. Nothing states that you weren't able to soar through the Arena and get S rank after the tutorial. Nothing states otherwise either, so it's just video game logic.

To your point about Coral ACs: Coral AC's cannot be piloted by humans. They don't have a cockpit or anything to allow for human interfacing. Ayre is able to take control of it because Ayre is part of the coral. She basically possesses the AC.

Armored Core stories aren't like Souls stories, where tiny details can have huge implications.

[GLOAM]

don't forget that coral is not the original name of the substance
the original name was 'melange'，as in，spice melange， the magical substance from the dune novels
this story was written as a fromsoft adaptation of dune，thats why we have a sandworm
so
there is another thing they share
coral expands sensory abilities just like spice and can be used as a drug. in dune，spice melange gives you the ability to perceive alternate futures
that's probably why you have a new game system like this
coral allows you to see other timelines as dreams
and so you follow the path of the god emperor of dune one way or another，either blowing it up to ensure humanity's survival，catching it to contain it from the rest of the known universe，or risking it all and force human evolution