Armored Core: For Answer - Plot - Arms Forts

Arms Forts

Large-scale weapons created by the Companies to replace NEXTs in military operations as well as keeping each company in The League in a state of checks and balances. They are many times larger and much more powerful than any single NEXT is, and are usually deployed in matters where a NEXT is neither available nor sufficient.

• Stigro: A marine-type Arms Fort from Interior Union, armed with massive scale laser blades and missiles, the Stigro is the fastest of all Arms Forts, but largely based in water. While an extremely well designed AF for combating enemy naval fleets it will not fare well against a NEXT. Appears in "Attack on Naval Port of Mimir", "Defeat AF Stigro" and "Defeat the 8th fleet"

• Spirit of Motherwill: A huge walking Arms Fort created by the Bernard and Felix Foundation. It is designed like a gargantuan aircraft carrier and is bristling with several homing missile launchers, long-ranged cannons, and many NORMAL units. Heavy armor made this AF indestructible from the outside. However, its design is fundamentally flawed. When the main gun batteries, missile launchers and the defensive guns in its midsection are destroyed, it causes the internal structure to catch fire. Sufficient destruction of these weapons will cause Spirit of Motherwill's reactors to overheat and explode. Appears in "Defeat The spirit of Motherwill", as well as the intro movie appearing when starting the game.

• Cabracan: A large, tower-like Algebra Transport/support AF with a shredder-like apparatus equipped to the front. All around defense made this AF totally indestructible by NEXT grade weaponry. However, its focus on defense results in it having far less firepower than many other AFs. Furthermore the steel plated 'skirt' that protects its treads must open up to adjust to the uneven surface while travelling, leaving the treads temporary vulnerable. Its top half contains its main offensive support weaponry, several hundred drones, as the launching of the drones requires the AF to detach the armor on the top half of its body, these drones will not be used unless stronger enemy forces are near or if the AF should suffer any larger damages lowering its otherwise high speed, its best way to avoid destruction. Appears in "Defeat AF Cabracan"

• Land Crab: A mass-produced Arms Fort designed and used mostly GA, who seems to have sold some units to the Interior Union, GA Land Crabs are equipped with High Caliber Cannons, whereas the Interior Reequipped their units with precision laser cannons. Much like the mobile fortresses from Armored Core 4, they are easily destroyed from the underside. This AF is massively produced. Appears in "Attack on Richland", "Rescue the GA Transport Unit" and "Ambush Sphere Invasion Forces(Hard Mode)".

• Eclipse: Omer Science's Arms Fort, flight capable and equipped with a laser cannon that rotates a full 360 degrees around the craft. It relies on speed, the offensive power of its High Impact Laser cannon and vertical launch missiles (which actually fire downwards) Appear in "Defend Megalis" and "Defend Anti-Satellite Cannons"

• Answerer: A large hovering AF with the appearance of a topdown flower. It is armed with the latest in Energy based weaponry, including High Impact laser cannons, Kojima missiles, homing missiles, experimental Assault Armor and an amazingly large Kojima shield, similar to PA, that renders most long range attacks useless. Heavy armor is used to protect its core. However to reduce its weight this AF only used standard armor for its outer shell, and its large "wings" housing the main HI Laser batteries are vulnerable to attacks . Appears in "Defeat AF Answerer"

• Sol Dios Orbit: A modified Land Crab Arms Fort created by TORUS with several Sol Dios Cannons that are capable of splitting off and operating independently from the main unit. However the Sol Dios Cannons take a while to engage, which might allow a fast moving NEXT to approach before it happens. In Normal Mode, the AF is equipped with 4 Sol Dios cannons while in Hard Mode, it has 6. Also worth noting that in Hard Mode, the Sol Dios cannons have the Assault Armor ability, which is utilized when a NEXT approaches it and gets too near. Appears in "Defeat Unidentified AF"

• Great Wall: Global Armament's primary Arms Fort, the very symbol of the company's power. It is several miles long and equipped with long range ballistics and heavy missile ordnance. Many consider it the "greatest land-based weapon" ever built. Heavily armored from the outside, the only way to defeat this AF is by traveling through the machine's rear and working one's way internally towards its power source. Great Wall can detach its individual segments as a last-ditch defensive method. The NEXT Rai-Den defends Great Wall once a segment detaches in Hard Mode. Appears in "Defeat AF Great Wall"

• Jet-Type: ORCA's special, custom-made AF, heavily armored except for a single exposed exhaust vent on its upper half. It is armed with multiple energy blades. Due to its small size design and relatively low cost this AF was massively produced. Appear in "Defeat ORCA's Special AF Unit"; miniature versions appear in "Defend Arteria Cranium (Hard Mode)"

• Giga Base: An amphibious AF, a relic from the age when developers still hadn't understood the power of the agile NEXTS. It is equipped with a very powerful long-ranged cannon and several homing missile launchers. However, its lack of defense against either fast-moving or close-range attacks make it vulnerable against the increasingly fast-moving NEXTs. Giga Base is capable of moving on land and water, as one appears in the distance to provide backup during the mission 'Defeat AF Cabracan' (backup is only provided on Normal Difficulty Mode). Also appear in "Defeat AF Giga Base" and "Clear Former Chinese Shanghai"