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{{quote|''Congratulations [troper], from this point on, you are a Raven.''}}
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* ''Armored Core: Silent Line'' - Following the destruction of the machine-run society of Layered, mankind seems to be back on it's feet, and has begun repopulating above-ground cities. All seems to be well, and reconnaissance teams are sent out frequently, to determine what has changed. One area, however, seems to be unable to be scouted, and is dubbed the 'Silent Line,' as all communications past that point go silent. As a Raven of Global Cortex, you're employed to find out what is behind all this.
** ''Armored Core: Silent Line Portable''
* ''Armored Core: Nexus'' - Years have passed since the incident at Silent Line, but as always, the corporations are still at war with each other. Navis, a new corporation, is obviously much smaller than it's competitors, but has complete control over a new resource. As a Raven of Raven's Ark, you are employed by various corporations to deal with this. The first game in the franchise to allow use of the standard twin-stick third person shooter control scheme, resulting in it consistently recommended as an entry point for newcomers.
* ''Armored Core: Nine Breaker''- During a rare lull in the war between corporations, humanity is finally in a state of relative peace. All the world is happy for this change, save one organization. This organization does not want the world to return to the state of constant war, but does not want the Ravens, who will man the front lines in the event of a future emergency, to become complacent. The goals of this organization are- to hone the skills of the best, and provide a sufficient, capable fighting force should the need arise again in the future. Often thought of as the [[Oddball in the Series|worst game in the series]].
* ''Armored Core: Formula Front'' - As the newly hired architect for a new team in the Formula Front league, your job is to design and assemble the team's ACs.
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''Armored Core V'' is an online team-based multiplayer game in the same vein to ''[[Chrome Hounds]]''. Furthermore, the eponymous Armored Cores seem to have been scaled down to a "mere" 5 meters tall, as well as making it grittier and [[Real Robot|real]][[Buffy-Speak|...er]], making them very reminiscent to ''[[Front Mission]]'' wanzers. The story for the single-player campaign mode is told through 9 lengthy Story Missions. After the conclusion of the main storyline however, the player character, and the two [[Mission Control]] character banded together to become freelance mercenaries [[Walking the Earth]], narrated through simpler bite-sized Order Missions, amounting to an astounding 83 of them. Here too however, it follows a less-detailed B-plot detailing one of the main character's origins, the Mercenary organization Men of Honor, and a band of 13 powerful AC pilots called the Zodiac. New to the series is the ability (at a cost) to essentially repair, rearm, and remodify your AC in the middle of any Story Missions on pre-set places. Also different is the big change in controls; ACs capable of raw, astounding speed are no longer the norm. Instead, the terrain plays a very important role as ACs can now walljump quickly from places to places, and most maps feature very detailed and varying terrain unlike its predecessor. The new mechs even feature a function to essentially kick any targets, dealing damage according to speed and weight of the AC. The online gameplay has been described as "mech game meets [[Tower Defense]]", in which most online interaction between teams of player are measured in territorial assaults and controls, most of them involving invading a map guarded by turrets. If the invasion is intercepted however, the game switches into Team Deathmatch mode that pits a maximum of 5v5 players, 4 as Ravens, one as [[Mission Control]] complete with its own battle overview map. In addition, special events include Extra Missions that pit a maximum of four players against a variety of gigantic Bosses, some of which had a variant within Story Missions.
'''''Armored Core: Verdict Day''''' - TBD
'''''Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon''''' - 10 real-world years after the release of ''Verdict Day'', in an [[Alternate Continuity]], starfaring humanity discovers a substance called "Coral" on the planet Rubicon 3. Unparalleled as both a power source and data conduit, it promises to be revolutionary. Unfortunately, it is also highly volatile, and an event called the "Fires of Ibis" burns not just the planet but the whole system to the ground. 50 years after this cataclysm, Coral has reemerged on Rubicon 3, and corporations war over it against native resistance under the watchful eye of the Planetary Closure Administration, which regulates access to the planet. As C4-621, an augmented human under the command of Handler Walter, the player infiltrates Rubicon 3.
Among the new features in ''6'' are Assault Boost, which greatly increases forward speed at the cost of energy use, and "stagger", which is similar to "posture" from ''[[Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice]]'' in inflicting vulnerability on foes.
{{tropelist|Main system: Engaging combat mode.}}
* [[Ace Pilot]] - Every AC pilot is one, so
* [[Affectionate Parody]] - AC's very own [[Parodius]] is called ''[[Metal Wolf Chaos]]''.
* [[After the End]] -
*
** The Fires of Ibis serve as ''6'''s answer to the Great Destruction.
* [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot]] - Surprisingly for a mecha series, usually averted. Most of the featured [[A Is]] are designed to kill people, and that's what they do. Played straight more than a few times though.
* [[All There in the Manual]] - Given some [[Blind Idiot Translation]] and [[No Export for You]] for some of the extra material collections and artbooks, you need to do some digging to understand some of the games plot.
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** Sniper weaponry is good and all, but nothing screams Awesome ''and'' Practical like ''4/4A'' Railguns. To elaborate, sniper weaponry have tremendous recoil and only dedicated machines can handle it. Railguns have zero recoil ''and'' competing muzzle velocity in addition to awesome [[Armor-Piercing Attack|PA-penetration rating]]. Plus, unlike energy weapons, railguns are not affected by energy weapons-compatibility rating. Coupled with fairly high ammo count, railguns are easily one of the [[Game Breaker]]s in PvP. Of course, [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]], in a very literal sense (it since has been rendered unplayable due to nerfs).
** The Overed Weapons Mass Blade and Huge/Giga Missile has been known to be very usable even in Multiplayer. The Mass Blade is a monstrosity of an [[Improvised Weapon]], being a collapsed concrete girder attached with rockets used as a mech-mounted gigantic hammer with bent iron bars as its "hammerhead". Not only it features the lowest drain of all OWs, it has a low energy charging requirements and can be fired off three times with the right setup, instead of the usual two for most models. The Huge Missile is, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]], a very large, possibly nuclear-warheaded missile. Capable of one-hitting an AC caught directly in its blast, it is even more useful in multiplayer thanks to a weapon called the Target Gun, which enables the user and the user's teammates to lock on to a target even beyond an obstacle. Since the Huge Missile homes on targets and is vertically launched, thereby clearing any obstacles, many teams use it to its fullest advantage having a different, "reconnaissance" oriented teammate tag a target for it to fire, with documented videos showing it killing two players at once.
* [[Badass Normal]]:
*
** V.I Freud in ''VI'' has no augmentations whatsoever and is the best pilot of the Vespers on pure skill alone.
* [[Base on Wheels]] - The land-based Arms Forts are either crawlers or massive walkers that easily fit the trope; Spirit of Motherwill is basically a walking aircraft carrier.
* [[Battleship Raid]] - Arms Fort missions from For Answer are long, drawn out, often spectacular fights with your Core taking on fortresses the size of cities, many of which have to be destroyed in sections. Well, other than "Defeat Arms Fort Stigro."
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** While Sol Dios Orbit can be ohko'd It still requires you to take out the cannons, and Great Wall can only be damaged from the inside.
** Actually if you time it right, the sol dios crab will release the cannons, then you immediately 1 hit it with a laser sword, and they will die as well. Actually very easy to do.
** ''VI'' has the Weaponized Mining Ship, as well as a one-vs-fleet mission near the end.
* [[
** To clarify, the opening cutscene to For Answer shows that a basic rifle has to be transported to the launch site by a helicopter, which is slightly smaller than the gun itself.
** Deployable weapons, the Giga Cannon and Legion/Multiple Pulse Ultimate/Overed Weapon in 5 really get the point across by being much bigger the the AC itself.
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* [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp]]: One mission in ''AC4'' has the player intercepting "self destruct drones" fired from a submarine. Drone aircraft that only carry one warhead and are used only once are more normally called "missiles". That being said, the drones are much smaller than missiles and are much more numerous, clouding the horizon with an eerie shade of red.
* [[Capcom Sequel Stagnation]]: There were three games before ''Armored Core 2'' was released, one more before ''Armored Core 3'', '''six''' more before ''Armored Core 4'', and one more before ''Armored Core V''. There's usually enough content, new parts, and a new mechanic or two to make them better than the average [[Mission Pack Sequel]], though, thankfully. From Software apparently just didn't want to change numbers that often. Also, a new number in the title usually means the start of a new storyline. The sole exception is ''Armored Core: Formula Front'', a [[Gaiden Game]] that's basically a [[Fighting Game]] built on the ''Armored Core 3''-series game engine.
* [[Carry a Big Stick]]: Despite
* [[Chainsaw Good]]: The Grind Blade in 5 and Double Trouble in 6.
* [[Character Customization]]: Thanks to the number of body parts and weaponry, a [[Self Imposed Challenge]] can be to make up the sleek [[Evangelion]] or [[Super Dimension Fortress Macross|Valkyrie]] robots, the Fujikoma from [[Ghost in the Shell (manga)|Ghost in the Shell]], your very own [[Metal Gear (video game)|Metal Gear]], a [[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]] Zord, or anything in between. Then there's the reverse joints and tank treads.
** In For Answer, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVIBnJFF7p4 one player] even managed to create a copy of Id Weltall from [[Xenogears]] and took down the Answerer with it.
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** In ''Armored Core 2'', [[Big Bad|Leos Klein]] is outright stated in game, and [[Word of God|on the promotional site at the game's launch]], to be the ''original'' "Ninebreaker", the {{spoiler|player character}} from ''Master Of Arena''. He was part of the Mars research project, making him at ''least'' 90 years old.
** Characters from the japanese only story Armored Brave New World appear in the portable 3 era games as bonus arena fights.
* [[Continuity Reboot]] - Several. ''AC3'', and then ''4''
* [[Convection Smonvection]] - Notably, averted. In any mission near lava or other high temperature environments, being anywhere near it increases your AC's heat. Post-''Nexus'', your boosters also contribute to your AC's heat output. If you pair really powerful boosters with a weaksauce radiator, your AC will overheat begin to take damage until it cools down.
** Kojima does this too in ''4/4A''.
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* [[Destroyable Items]] - In ''Last Raven'' parts of the AC's anatomy were damageable and would lead to noticeable drops in the AC's performance if they were destroyed. A busted head means no more radar. Lose an arm? Kiss your weapons good bye. Busted legs=crippled AC. And a destroyed core left your AC nothing but a fiery wreck.
* [[Deus Exit Machina]]: {{spoiler|The reason why White Glint is taken out so early in the story of For Answer.}}
* [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything]]: In ''VI'', ALLMIND gets special lines if you only complete the Arena and various other sidequests just before the final mission of NG+2, which is not one but a whopping three runs without all the attendant benefits, and thus not something the majority of players will encounter. There's also a victory line for "Invincible" Rummy, a [[Zero Effort Boss]] that you have to be really trying to lose against.
* [[Disc One Final Boss]]: {{spoiler|White Glint in ''For Answer''.}}
* [[The Dog Bites Back]] - In ''Armored Core 2'', the once-weak Martian Government gets a sudden taste of power and promptly abuses the heck out of it. This leads to many Ravens (including their own hired guns the Frighteners) revolting to form a Raven's Republic when they are needed the most. ''For Answer'' had the ORCA Brigade, made up of dissatisfied LYNXs and most of all Old King.
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** A more major version from the same game is that, thanks to [[Qurac]]-influenced [[Theme Naming]] in Eqbal's products, most of them were named after Islamic terms, such as Tawhid (Oneness of God) arm-shotgun, Injil (Bible) reverse-legged part and Zakat (Charity) machinegun, amongst others. These were changed into meaningless gibberish such as Zakajj in subsequent versions. See also [[I Have Many Names]] entry below.
** Also in 4 the 03-AALIYAH mecha became ALIYA most likely due to the singer who died. The first A and the H was added back in For Answer.
* [[Expy]] -
*
** ''6'' has Rusty. He calls you "buddy", has a wolf emblem, and {{spoiler|breaks from his original allegiance to (potentially) fight you in the endgame with a spiffy new laser-equipped ride and apocalypse at stake. His talk about resolve has vibes of "Have you found a reason to fight yet, buddy?"}} ''[[Ace Combat]]'' players, doesn't that sound like Pixy?
* [[Fan Vid]] - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWKfCpzpxg4&playnext=1&videos=gaP_tEMEVwk There] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CP7DLsiqvo&feature=related are] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5622RqeX3k4&feature=related quite] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4uLTLSR2lY&feature=related a] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn7HFnR5gXI&feature=related few.]
* [[Face Heel Turn]] - Strung in 2, {{spoiler|Thermidor/Odstarva in the Orca path hard mode and you operator Kasumi Sumika in the destruction path hard mode}} in for Answer and {{spoiler|RD}} in 5.
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** Pro Tip: Equip two energy blades to dash continually (at least until your energy bar runs out).
** Aretha, the [[Final Boss]] in ''4'', pulls this one off much better. The Quick Boosters on that thing are ''insane'', crossing a distance of what appears to be several dozen meters within an instant.
* [[Fragile Speedster]]: The IB-01: CEL 240 in ''VI'' is insanely agile, but takes equally massive damage after getting staggered if you can land any hits.
* [[Frickin' Laser Beams]] - Lots. From laser rifles to back mounted cannons, to cores that shoot pods that shoot lasers.
* [[Friendly Enemy]] - This happens quite a bit but the two most prominent cases are Evangel in ''Nexus'' / ''Last Raven'' and Antares in ''Another Age''. {{spoiler|Evangel turns out to be a jerk with an inferiority complex, and Antares smooth talks you into giving him access to a space elevator for some vaguely malevolent purpose.}}
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* [[Gun Porn]] - The new Overed Weapons in ACV all have an elaborate setup sequence in which parts fold and unfold into their ready forms.
* [[Guide Dang It]] - Good luck trying to find and/or unlock the secret parts in the 1-3 era games and in 5 or the {{spoiler|the hidden Zodiac fights}} in 5 without one.
* [[Heroic Second Wind]]: In an oddly ''shonen'' moment of an otherwise cynically gritty game, ''6'' has {{spoiler|Rusty}} seemingly forcing his AC back into working order by sheer force of will for a second try after you first beat him.
* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]] - Fiona Jarnefeldt is voiced by [[Maaya Sakamoto]], who also voiced Sumika Juutilainen all the way back in ''Project Phantasma''. In English, she's voiced by [[Kari Wahlgren]], best known to gamers as [[Final Fantasy XII|Princess Ashe]].
** And Serene Haze is voiced by none other than [[Atsuko Tanaka|Major Kusanagi]]. Really, that low-pitched voice should have been a giveaway.
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** This trope may be the reason most Missile Boats use vert-fire missiles instead of head-on or sideswipe missiles. Doesn't help much against enemies with good air time, but you can forget about shooting down the missiles if you can't stay off the ground.
** VTF Missiles are meant to subvert this as they do proximity detonation, but a fast and agile enough AC can still dodge it.
* [[Humongous Mecha]] - MTs, ACs, and in the later games, NEXTs and Normals.
* [[100% Completion]]- After beating the games, it's possible to go back and select any mission you like. Getting 100% completion means doing every mission and finding every hidden part. In universe some Raven and LYNX have a 100% mission rating.
* [[I Am Not Left-Handed]] / [[Restraining Bolt]] - In ''Armored Core 2'', it was possible to do something known as 'Limiter Release,' which gave your mech infinite energy for about 30 seconds, followed by an extremely long recharge time.
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* [[Instant Armor]] - Primal Armor in AC4/for Answer.
* [[In Medias Res]] - The tutorial mission of ACV drops you into a burning city replete with (easy to kill, thankfully) enemies. Then it gives you some critical plot, in which you have no idea who is whom, and then a Boss Fight. This is then handwaved away as a dream you were having while going to execute a mission. Later on, you come across the exact same scenario, this time with all the clues that the game gave you beforehand.
* [[It Can Think]]: In ''VI'', {{spoiler|Coral turns out to be sapient, with one such entity, "Ayre", becoming a major side character.}}
* [[Kill'Em All]] - Old King's solution to the question at hand in ''For Answer''.
* [[Law of Chromatic Superiority]] - Nineball, Amazigh and Hari [[Subverted Trope|but you can do the same things Amazigh and Hari can.]]
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** In universe White Glint is this due to the name coming from how fast he moves so all you see is a "white glint". Also have a completely custom NEXT parts (until you get your own) helps as well.
** Two [[Bonus Boss|bonus bosses]] of V are red even better, one of them is an upgraded version of the final boss.
* [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]]: In ''6'', ALLMIND saying "Welcome back, Raven" as an in-universe acknowledgment of the reactivation of said identity taken by 621 can also be interpreted as the franchise welcoming players back.
* [[Legacy Character]]: A less voluntary than usual example in ''6'' with 621 taking the Raven name. {{spoiler|When you meet the original Raven, his operator is interested in seeing whether you're worthy of it.}}
{{quote|Let's see how far they can fly... on borrowed wings.}}
* [[Leitmotif]] - Nineball's ''9'', Spirit of Motherwill's theme of the same name.
* [[Lethal Joke Item|Lethal Joke Weapon]] - Technocrat Company's FSS-53 Shock Rocket. Described in-game as "A dummy rocket that doesn't explode". The stats however says something else: it has ''the highest Primal Armor-reducing capability of any weapon'', meaning one lucky hit and say goodbye to your usually very tough [[Force Field]]. To put things in perspective, weapons that usually do reduce PA does it by continuous hits, by large explosions, or the [[Awesome but Impractical]] Kojima weapons. This being a rocket shoulder weapon, not only you can spam it without needing to free a weapon slot, a good hit means that you can immediately follow up with weapons that deals most damage to PA-less targets. [[Oh Crap|Like grenade launchers, for example]].
* [[Lightning Bruiser]] -
**
** {{spoiler|Exusia}} in 5 who is basically the fifth
** Any lightweight AC in ACV using a HEAT Pile can oneshot any AC. Except for tanks, which, even then, only require as much as a finger poke for it to die afterwards.
* [[Lost Superweapon]]: There's usually one per game. Its relevance to the plot varies from game-to-game.
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* [[Machine Empathy]] - In ''AC4'', the AMS Piloting System links the pilot to their AC for perfect reaction time. The title LYNX comes from the word sounding similar to LINKS.
* [[Macross Missile Massacre]] - You can do this in all of the games, but ''4A'' takes the cake. Starting with the Spirit of Motherwill, we work our way up to the Answerer. Barring Stigro and Orca's AFs, every AF has missiles by the dozen (Stigro has them too, [[Curb Stomp Battle|but he's special]]).
** One notable Raven in Nine Breaker has
* [[Made of Explodium]] - Most
* [[Mana Meter]] -
*
**
* [[Master Computer]] - R from ''Armored Core'', The Controller from ''Armored Core 3'' and IBIS from ''Silent Line'', {{spoiler|though remember that [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot]].}}
** {{spoiler|There's some implications that ''Nineball'' is one, too.}}
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* [[More Dakka]] - Ever-present in the form of Chain Guns, but applies doubly to any Arms Fort, which is essentially a mobile gun made out of other guns.
** ACV one-ups the great tradition by offering Autocannons. Essentially as strong as regular cannons, with 3 to four barrels, and an extremely astounding fire rate. While all ACs require kneeling to use this, tanks don't, and in addition can dual wield it for even more dakka.
* [[Multiple Endings]] -
*
** Last Raven also has this. The [[Fanon|"canonically" accepted one]] is there one where {{spoiler|every [[Incredibly Lame Pun|last raven]] but you is killed and both sides of the war are devastated by the Pulverizers}}. The other endings are just one of two variations: {{spoiler|Alliance wins}}, {{spoiler|Vertex wins}}.
** ''6'' has three: {{spoiler|"Liberator of Rubicon", "Fires of Raven", and the [[New Game+]]-only "Alea Iacta Est".}}
* [[Mythology Gag]] - Given all the different continuities there all over the place. Some examples are:
** Your Operator in for Answer Kasumi Sumika plays a similar role
** The way Wonderful Body moves in for Answer is in a simmlar way you pilot Armored Cores in pre Armored Core 4 games.
** [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The Classic Pallets in 4/4A are color schemes from older games.]]
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** The Moonlight due to it being in every game [[From Software]] makes.
** ''Armored Core: Nexus'' and the Revolution disk.
** Chief and Carol in 5 who {{spoiler|[[Expy|are basically Nineball/Lana Nielsen from Master of Arena]]
** ''6'':
*** The fight with {{spoiler|the original Raven}} is one to the White Glint fight in ''for Answer'', complete with the boss being silent and leaving the talking to his operator.
*** The uses of "Ibis" in both the Fires of Ibis and the Ibis Series mech.
* [[Neglectful Precursors]] - in Armored Core 2 {{spoiler|It is implied that all of the [[Lost Technology]] was left behind by a long dead alien race.}}
* [[New Game+]]- It's possible to upload your data from previous games in the series. In an interesting example, in the first and second games, getting 50,000 credits in debt resulted in your character being made "Human+ ," and starting over from the beginning with some bonuses, such as a better radar, double energy, and the ability to fire large weapons without kneeling.
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** Overed Weapons play this straight by do 60,000 to 150,000 damage a hit, the standard AC has around 34,000 AP.
* [[Passing the Torch]] - Your character's operator (possibly mentor) in For Answer is {{spoiler|1=Kasumi Sumika, a Lynx who first appeared in AC4}}.
** [[Older Than They Think]]: [[Action Girl|Your part-time partner and proto-operator]] in ''Project Phantasma'' is also called Sumika. However, given PP and 4A take place
* [[Point Defenseless]]: Played straight, subverted, double subverted, averted, all over the spectrum. General rule of thumb is that any Close-In Weapons System designed to pick off incoming missiles mounted on your AC usually works, except when it doesn't (poor detection rates, etc). Conversely, non-AC opponent's CIWS will usually not work, except when it does (a particularly strong CIWS, for example).
** One of the biggest recent{{when}} aversion of this trope is the Aegis-CIWS unit onboard the St. Elmo. While it says it's a CIWS, it's more effective shooting down AC units rather than missiles thanks to its endlessly stunlocking bullets, not to mention St. Elmo is covered by six of them.
* [[Poor Man's Substitute]]: A low-ranked Raven in the Arena in ''Armored Core 2'' goes by the moniker "Hustler Two" (AC: Eight Ball). He claims to be a descendant of Hustler One, which is kinda hard to take seriously seeing as how {{spoiler|1=rogue AIs don't have kids}}. His AC is also hilariously shitty in comparison to Nine Ball.
* [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]
{{quote|'''Hustler One/Nine Ball/{{spoiler|Lana Nielsen}}''': ''Target Verified.'' '''''[[Oh Crap|Commencing Hostilities]]'''''.}}
* [[Preorder Bonus]] - Armored Core 5 had two, the Recon pack and Heavy Assault pack which gave some of the Overed Weapons early without needing to beat the game. Apparently Armored Core 4 had one which added two more NEXT's to fight in the Simulation (one of which was apparently Nineball) but it's most likely a Internet rumor since there's no proof anywhere.
* [[Private Military Contractors]]: Raven's Nest, Nerves Concord, Global Cortex, Raven's Ark, Vertex, and Line Ark. They bill themselves as "[[Insistent Terminology|
* [[Psycho for Hire]] - Stinger, Shamir, Do Su, Chief, most games
* [[Punch Clock Hero]] - See below.
* [[Punch Clock Villain]] - Nearly every AC you fight against is one of these, as they are usually just recruited by corporations you happen to be fighting, corporations which may later recruit you because you killed their employees. Sometimes subject to [[Lampshade Hanging]], including an instance in Armored Core 3 where Nocturne tells you "We're both Ravens, just do what comes naturally, and don't think about it." right before trying to kill you.
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* [[Real Robot]] - The MTs and Normals are about as real a robot as it gets, outside of ''[[Patlabour]]''. The more powerful ACs and NEXTs develop immunity to g-forces, but are still fairly 'real'.
* [[Rebellious Princess]]: Rosary aka: Cordelia
* [[Reforged Into a Minion]]: In ''6'', the Arquebus Corporation subjects captives to "reeducation". What exactly it entails is unknown, but {{spoiler|Walter's}} demeanour when you fight him suggests it's nothing pleasant.
* [[Revealing Coverup]]: Crest Industries' sloppy attempt to deny that The Controller is malfunctioning in ''Armored Core 3'' only stand to confirm the Union's theory that it is malfunctioning.
* [[The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized]] - Orca and Vertex, who is borderline darwinist in selecting rebels against the corporations
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* [[Secret AI Moves]]- Aside from enemy ACs occasionally having parts that simply don't exist, the higher-ranked Arena opponents in 3 and Silent line have ''ALL'' the optional parts equipped, including the OP-Intensify (which, by itself) takes up all the slots on a Core).
** Proudly presents : [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv5Q1VGPn4U Rai-Den, god of QB-chaining.]
* [[Sequel Gap]]: 10 real-world years pass between the releases of ''Verdict Day'' and ''Fires of Rubicon''.
* [[Shoot the Dog]] - One interpretation of ''For Answer'' Ending C. {{spoiler|Sacrifice a hundred million innocents for a chance to save humanity? Tough choice.}}
* [[Shout-Out]] - Despite being 10 feet tall, Armored Cores have the [[Expy|the same feel as]] [[Armored Trooper VOTOMS|VOTOMS]]. They skid across the battlefield using a combination of boosters and feet, highly customizable, and some of the parts such as grenade launchers and missiles bear striking similarity to VOTOMS [[Ace Custom]] models. And don't get started on [[Hideo Kojima|Kojima]] [[Mobile Suit Gundam|Particles]]...
** There's one to the [[Xanth]] novels, of all things. In the first book there's a character that uses three pseudonyms: {{spoiler|Wynne, Dee & Fanchon.}} Then in this series there's the character {{spoiler|Wynne D. Fanchon.}}
** Every chapter in Armored Core 4 is named after a book by [[Agatha Christie]].
** "Liberator" is a generic word in of itself. However, one of the endings to ''6'' being called "Liberator of Rubicon", when viewed in light of the fact that Bandai-Namco now has not one but two games called ''[[Ace Combat|AC6: Fires of X]]'', does make a person wonder. The last word in that other AC6's title? '''Liberation'''.
* [[Sibling Rivalry]] - Rosary and Regan
* [[Skippable Boss]] - In some cases you are not obligated to kill certain boss enemies you meet and are encouraged to evade them to continue the mission uninterrupted. The bosses are usually hard enough in AC that some of them are considered [[Hopeless Boss Fight|Hopeless Boss Fights]] the first time you try them, but can usually be beaten after acquiring better parts.
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* [[Staying Alive]] - In Armored Core 5 has {{spoiler|Chief}} who you knock into the ocean but comes back a few missions later [[Not Quite Dead|which doesn't follow this trope]] until you fight him in a one on one duel and beat him there...but then he reactivates, reveals that he is an AI, [[Crazy Awesome|rips a support beam out of the wall and tries to kill you with it.]] [[But Wait! There's More!|But it doesn't stop there,]] he comes back again as the final boss using Exusia. And it's implied in the ending that [[Oh Crap|he isn't done there.]]
* [[Super Prototype]] - Usually a few of them around in each game, whether its a mech or just a weapon part. Subverted in ''For Answer'' where the player's operator comments that because they are sending out last generation Super Prototypes ORCA must be getting desperate.
* [[Surprisingly Elite Cannon Fodder]]: 621 in ''6''. You're not just a newbie, you're outright expendable. There have been 620 before you. That "4" in C4 means you're a part of the fourth generation of augmented humans, which means there have been three preceding generations with who knows how many members dead or missing. There are almost certainly more waiting to be raised up should you fall. Nevertheless, you not only survive, you thrive and become decisive in the fate of Rubicon.
* [[Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors]] - Y'see, the best way to counter the [[Macross Missile Massacre|missile spam]] is usually [[More Dakka|machine gun fire]] which is then best followed up with [[
* [[Tank Goodness]] - Even if the player doesn't use a tank type AC, at least a couple opponents certainly will.
* [[Title Drop]] - Partial. In ''For Answer'', Ending A, Kasumi Sumika/Serene Haze addresses the player, referring to their choices and decision to {{spoiler|let humanity live in the Cradles}} as the "Answer".
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** White Glint in ''For Answer'', though only if you don't use parts that conflict with its transformation.
*** White Glint's transformation is only seen in the intro movie and in the model kits--the only part of the transformation that happens in gameplay is the Overboost wings opening up.
* [[Unskilled but Strong]]: In ''6'', the PCA's Light Cavalry and Heavy Cavalry are technologically superior to ACs, but their pilots being mostly simulator-trained and reliant on carefully-constructed playbooks of anticipated opponents leaves them vulnerable to skilled AC pilots in properly-customised rides.
* [[Unstable Equilibrium]]: [[Word of God|Nabeshima]] discussed this in an interview over ''5''. Specifically, he noted that most battles are "centered around how well you could dodge your opponent's attacks while firing away and gradually whittling down his AP...That's fun, of course, but once one side has an AP advantage over the other, it became difficult to come back from that. Overed Weapons are intended to dramatically change that battle balance."
* [[Updated Rerelease]]: ''Armored Core 3'', ''Silent Line'' and ''Last Raven'' (but no ''Nexus'' for some reason) were re-released for the PSP with the title ''Portable'' tacked onto the end. All three games featured brand new parts and arena fights not found in the [[PlayStation 2]] versions of the games.
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{{quote|{{spoiler|Angie}}: "Damage critical. Mission failed, #3/#8."
{{spoiler|Zodiac #3/#8}}: "This is some kind of a sick joke, right {{spoiler|Angie}}? [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul|We turned ourselves into puppets]] for this?! ''I don't even remember why!'' }}
* [["Wake-Up Call" Boss]]:
** ''For Answer'' has White Glint, who is notorious for chewing through newbies to the game, using its overwhelming speed to dodge all of their attacks.
** ''6'' has not one but two. A PCA Heavy Combat Helicopter at the end of the tutorial serves to make the player aware that this game isn't a mindless spamming experience and check whether the player's been paying attention to the instructions and hints given up to that point. Balteus at the end of the first chapter further checks that the player didn't just get this far on beginner's luck.
* [[Walking Wasteland]] - Any NEXT is this due to the ubiquitous use of Kojima Particles in their Primal Armor and possibly weapons.
* [[Wall Jump]] - Added in 5
* [[Wave Motion Gun]] - So many.
* [[We Will Spend Credits in the Future]]: Interestingly, only Stateside editions use "Credits". Japanese versions use COAM instead; short of COmpany Assured Money<ref>An Engrishy translation of ?????? (Kigyo Hoshu Tsuka)</ref>.▼
** Credits are called "Au" in 5, implying gold is being directly traded but it still follows the trope.▼
* [[Weak but Skilled]] -
** ''Verdict Day'' has '''you''' {{spoiler|fight a NEXT in the final battle using only a Normal. In other words, he has the equipment the player did in ''4'' and ''For Answer'', while you're in the kind of machine that's not even a speed bump in those games.}}
** ''6'' has {{spoiler|the original Raven.}} His AC, should you recreate it, is almost identical to [[With This Herring|your starter AC Loader 4]] - unimpressive, crappy even. Nevertheless, you first encounter him after he's singlehandedly defeated a numerically and technologically-superior PCA force. Fight him, and while he's not on par with the toughest bosses, he is still very much able to make you regret taking him lightly.
* [[Weaksauce Weakness]] - The Spirit of Motherwill is beaten by destroying its weapons (because the explosions cause uncontrollable internal fires, a rather glaring engineering fault for a weapons platform), Stigro has absolutely no resistance to energy blades (which generally do a huge amount of damage when they land).
** Arguably, BFF probably didn't think anything would be able to get close enough to Spirit of Motherwill to destroy its weapons in the first place, considering it can precisely hit a relatively small NEXT moving at least Mach 2 (You can hit as high as 2600kmph with the Vanguard Overed Boost.)
*** [[Star Wars|Well, they apparently don't consider a small one-man fighter to be any threat, or they'd have a tighter defense.]]
** Pretty much any arms fort can be destroyed in one motion by any AC that has two energy blades and has a four-legged chassis.
* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] -
*
▲* [[We Will Spend Credits in the Future]]: Interestingly, only Stateside editions use "Credits". Japanese versions use COAM instead; short of COmpany Assured Money<ref>An Engrishy translation of ?????? (Kigyo Hoshu Tsuka)</ref>.
** In ''6'', {{spoiler|Walter wants mankind to know that Coral is too dangerous to be used. To do this, he plans to induce a second Fires of Ibis, which will scorch Rubicon 3 anew and kill so very many people.}}
▲** Credits are called "Au" in 5, implying gold is being directly traded but it still follows the trope.
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]] - {{spoiler|Your operator, who has stood by you through countless missions}} in For Answer can't help but register her disgust at the choices your pilot makes that [[Moral Event Horizon|lead to]] [[Kill'Em All|Ending C]]. The enemies who appear to kill you and your accomplice after the fated mission also lash out at you with the following, starting with your Operator herself:
** "Please accept my apologies. That briefing you saw was manufactured. This is the end of road for you. I think you understand why."
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**** That mission [[Captain Obvious|has a]] [[Holy Shit Quotient|Hard Mode?!?!!?]]
**** It's beatable...if you cheat. {{spoiler|When you kill Kasumi Sumika's NEXT, these are her last words: "If this is my time...who better than you to deliver the final blow?"}}
**** And the worst part about it? Old King was the only true rebel leader against the corporations which speaks a lot [[The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized|about the rebel groups]].
* [[With This Herring]] - The Story Missions in V are often long, hard, and brutal. The beginning AC you have is nothing more than a hodgepodge of "Junk" parts; parts that are no longer in their peak state due to damages they've sustained, denoted with the prefix "D/".
* [[Wolverine Publicity]] - Nine Ball is the series's unofficial mascot despite appearing in only four out of '''fourteen''' games.( {{spoiler|and his cameo boss apperence in [[Another Century's Episode]] R}}) And any Armored Core fan worth their salt will recognize him. It probably has to do with the fact that every Armored Core fan worth their salt has had their [[That One Boss|asses handed to them by it at least once]].
* [[Word Salad Title]] - Even in context some of the games titles are just weird. By way of example the thirteenth game's full is Armored Core 4: For Answer. Say that out loud and see how it sounds.
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