Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
instead it's way faster, making it harder to pin down and stunlock into oblivion than the original, and it opens with its melee immediately instead of at 50% which is the most dangerous part of both boss fights. it's more or a sidegrade rather than a downgrade.
Deleted line(s) 115 (click to see context) :
* ClippedWingAngel: Zigzagged, [[spoiler:when he shows up in a reverse-engineered Balteus for his final encounter, he's clearly at his most powerful he's ever been compared to his prior AC-only encounters... but compared to the original autonomous version fought at the end of the first act, which served as a ''massive'' WakeUpCallBoss, Snail's piloted Balteus is laughably [[BreatherBoss a pushover]] in comparison as it lacks ''a majority'' of it's prior moveset (including it's infamous MacrossMissileMassacre and flamethrowers), which makes the final encounter with Snail [[CatharsisFactor cathartic]] being able to finally give him the boot after suffering [[ItsAllAboutMe his insane ego]] for most of the game.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 496 (click to see context) from:
* EnergyWeapons: Alongside the Arquebus Group and the AmbiguouslyRelated VCPL, they're the main manufacturers of energy weaponry, with a cheap-and-cheerful vibe and an emphasis on rapid-fire pulse technology.
to:
* EnergyWeapons: Alongside Compared to the Arquebus Group and the AmbiguouslyRelated VCPL, they're the main manufacturers of energy weaponry, with a cheap-and-cheerful vibe and an emphasis on rapid-fire Takigawa specializes in pulse technology.weaponry and shields.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* MythologyGag: The quasi-American military styling and corporate culture, their weapons and parts all belonging to rectangular, utilitarian aesthetics, along with their focus on missiles, explosives, and ballistic weapons, emphasizing MightyGlacier traits, all call to mind [[VideoGame/ArmoredCore4 Global Armaments America]], to the point that the Redguns' truncated emblem resembles the [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/armoredcore/images/6/6d/GA_America_Logo.jpg GAA insignia]] too.
Added DiffLines:
* TheGhost: 621's status as G13 ''should'' imply there's a G8 through G12, but if there are, they aren't present on Rubicon.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DefeatEqualsFriendship: If Nile's own defeat was not being able to arrest Michigan, anyways. Out of all of the Redguns, he's by far the most loyal to Michigan.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 181 (click to see context) from:
* AHeroToHisHometown: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:While Rusty likely had been aligned with the RLF from the start as a native to Rubicon, the rank-and-file who recognize his appearance see his standing among the Vespers to be a betrayal at the surface, despite the necessity of Rusty's alleigance to Arquebus. At the same time, Middle Flatwell holds Rusty with great respect despite ostensibly being enemies, and is likely one of the few members of the RLF privy to Rusty's true loyalties.]]
to:
* AHeroToHisHometown: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:While Rusty likely had been aligned with the RLF from the start as a native to Rubicon, the rank-and-file who recognize his appearance see his standing among the Vespers to be a betrayal at the surface, despite the necessity of Rusty's alleigance to Arquebus. At the same time, Middle Flatwell holds Rusty with great respect despite ostensibly being enemies, and is likely one of the few members of the RLF privy to Rusty's true loyalties. Despite his seeming betrayal, once preparations for the RLF counteroffensive are made in "Liberator of Rubicon," the Rubiconians almost instantly rally behind Rusty (with a little help from Ayre) after he burns his bridges with Arquebus, bringing the trope straight in the end.]]
Changed line(s) 308 (click to see context) from:
* GoldfishPoopGang: Compared to the QuirkyMinibossSquad that is the Vespers, the Redguns are astonishingly low ranked in the arena to the point that, outside of their two elites, Michigan and Nile, their next-highest ranked Redgun, [=G4=] Volta, is the ''first'' to die. Combine this with their lack of strategic acumen, and most besides the previously mentioned top two barely register as threats in both a firefight and even moreso in the global strategic operation on Rubicon-3.
to:
* GoldfishPoopGang: Compared to the QuirkyMinibossSquad that is the Vespers, the Redguns are astonishingly low ranked in the arena Arena to the point that, outside of their two elites, Michigan and Nile, their next-highest ranked Redgun, [=G4=] Volta, Volta (Rank 17), is the ''first'' to die. Combine this with their lack of strategic acumen, and most besides the previously mentioned top two barely register as threats in both a firefight and even moreso in the global strategic operation on Rubicon-3.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 181 (click to see context) from:
* HeroToHisHometown: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:While Rusty likely had been aligned with the RLF from the start as a native to Rubicon, the rank-and-file who recognize his appearance see his standing among the Vespers to be a betrayal at the surface, despite the necessity of Rusty's alleigance to Arquebus. At the same time, Middle Flatwell holds Rusty with great respect despite ostensibly being enemies, and is likely one of the few members of the RLF privy to Rusty's true loyalties.]]
to:
* HeroToHisHometown: AHeroToHisHometown: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:While Rusty likely had been aligned with the RLF from the start as a native to Rubicon, the rank-and-file who recognize his appearance see his standing among the Vespers to be a betrayal at the surface, despite the necessity of Rusty's alleigance to Arquebus. At the same time, Middle Flatwell holds Rusty with great respect despite ostensibly being enemies, and is likely one of the few members of the RLF privy to Rusty's true loyalties.]]
* GoldfishPoopGang: Compared to the QuirkyMinibossSquad that is the Vespers, the Redguns are astonishingly low ranked in the arena to the point that, outside of their two elites, Michigan and Nile, their next-highest ranked Redgun, [=G4=] Volta, is the ''first'' to die. Combine this with their lack of strategic acumen, and most besides the previously mentioned top two barely register as threats in both a firefight and even moreso in the global strategic operation on Rubicon-3.
Changed line(s) 357 (click to see context) from:
* TheSmartGuy: Walter calls him "the brains to Michigan's brawn."
to:
* TheSmartGuy: Walter calls him "the brains to Michigan's brawn.muscle."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* HeroToHisHometown: Zigzagged. [[spoiler:While Rusty likely had been aligned with the RLF from the start as a native to Rubicon, the rank-and-file who recognize his appearance see his standing among the Vespers to be a betrayal at the surface, despite the necessity of Rusty's alleigance to Arquebus. At the same time, Middle Flatwell holds Rusty with great respect despite ostensibly being enemies, and is likely one of the few members of the RLF privy to Rusty's true loyalties.]]
* MidSeasonUpgrade: [[spoiler:His appearances in the endgame of both "Liberator of Rubicon" and "Fires of Raven" are heralded by his arrival in the new STEEL HAZE ORTUS, complete with the shedding of his Vesper callsign and redesigned emblem.]]
Changed line(s) 191 (click to see context) from:
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Of Joshua "White Glint" O'Brien from Armored Core 4. He befriends our protagonist using a speed build AC with a laser blade and is willing to protect the Rubiconians near the end of the game. [[spoiler:He even is forced to fight you in a prototype AC with the roles reversed - dying trying to stop you in the "Fires of Raven" route]].
to:
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Of Joshua "White Glint" O'Brien and his NEXT, White Glint, from Armored Core 4.''VideoGame/ArmoredCore4''. He befriends our protagonist using a speed build AC with a laser blade and is willing to protect the Rubiconians near the end of the game. [[spoiler:He even is forced to fight you in a prototype AC with the roles reversed - dying trying to stop you in the "Fires of Raven" route]].
Added DiffLines:
* MidSeasonUpgrade: In "Alea Iacta Est," [[spoiler: he changes from his personalized DUAL NATURE to an elite PCA-make High Mobility Light Cavalry alongside his promotion to V.III.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* NamedAfterSomeoneFamous: Named after psychologist UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:In the "Alea Iacta Est" route, he is notably completely absent as is the case with "Liberator of Rubicon." However, while Pater (now V.III) exclaims that he needs only to confirm V.II Snail's death before taking his rank, Pater shies away from making the same assumption for Freud. Given that Freud likely has no amibitions outside of combat, it's possible he's completely outside of the mess, or ALLMIND tracked him down to assassinate him. While LOCKSMITH likely appears alongside the other Vesper [=ACs=] that attack Overseer, the idea that the pilots need to be assimilated to use their AC data is still conjecture, considering ALLMIND has access to those schematics from the Arena...]]
* MustHaveCaffeine: Downplayed. He disdainfully calls it "coffee-flavored sludge," but to him, it's something important to him to live as a human. It's implied he offered to brew some for STV when they met the Vespers in the latter's sketch notes.
Changed line(s) 262 (click to see context) from:
* YouAreInCommandNow: In the "Alea Iacta Est" route, [[spoiler:he takes command of what little of Arquebus' troops are left since at that point the Vespers have been gutted and their leadership destroyed, becoming the third squad leader in the process]].
to:
* YouAreInCommandNow: In the "Alea Iacta Est" route, [[spoiler:he takes command of what little of Arquebus' troops are left since at that point the Vespers have been gutted and their leadership destroyed, becoming the third squad leader in the process]].process. He notes to himself to make sure to confirm V.II Snail's death before claiming his rank as well]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
minor fixes
Changed line(s) 160 (click to see context) from:
* AceCustom: STEEL HAZE is a Schneider FragileSpeedster noted in-game as being an atypical Arquebus design due to its use of old-school BAWS kinetic weaponry, signifying Rusty's strained relationship with his corp. [[spoiler:In the "Fires of Raven" and "Liberator of Rubicon" paths, he obtains a new and improved AC dubbed Steel Haze Ortus. It's explicitly stated to be far superior to its predecessor with an emphasis on maneuverability and aerial combat.]]
to:
* AceCustom: STEEL HAZE is a Schneider FragileSpeedster noted in-game as being an atypical Arquebus design due to its use of old-school BAWS kinetic weaponry, signifying Rusty's strained relationship with his corp. [[spoiler:In the "Fires of Raven" and "Liberator of Rubicon" paths, he obtains a new and improved AC dubbed Steel Haze Ortus.STEEL HAZE ORTUS. It's explicitly stated to be far superior to its predecessor with an emphasis on maneuverability and aerial combat.]]
Changed line(s) 262 (click to see context) from:
* YouAreInCommandNow: In the "Alea Iacta Est", [[spoiler:he takes command of what little of Arquebus' troops are left since at that point the Vespers have been gutted and their leadership destroyed, becoming the third squad leader in the process]].
to:
* YouAreInCommandNow: In the "Alea Iacta Est", Est" route, [[spoiler:he takes command of what little of Arquebus' troops are left since at that point the Vespers have been gutted and their leadership destroyed, becoming the third squad leader in the process]].
* MissionControl: He takes over this role from Handler Walter for the mission to destroy the [[spoiler:Ice Worm]].
Changed line(s) 359 (click to see context) from:
An opportunistic Redgun pilot who arrives on Rubicon-3 in his bipedal AC Li Long
to:
An opportunistic Redgun pilot who arrives on Rubicon-3 in his bipedal AC Li LongLI LONG.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
As far as grammar variants goes (e.g. Oxford comma vs no comma) — as opposed to outright mistakes — the rule is "first come, first served".
Changed line(s) 412 (click to see context) from:
* TheRival: Albeit entirely one-sided on his part. Iguazu initially considers C4-621 a "nobody" and disparages them, but begrudgingly acknowledges their abilities. [[spoiler:Until the Redguns' ill-fated assault on the Wall, at least. As 621 climbs the mercenary ranks and establishes themself as a top-tier pilot, Iguazu becomes ''obsessed'' with defeating them. His bitter rivalry with 621 is to the point where, in the GoldenEnding, he somehow hijacks ALLMIND to kill the augmented human in one final showdown.]]
to:
* TheRival: Albeit entirely one-sided on his part. Iguazu initially considers C4-621 a "nobody" and disparages them, but begrudgingly acknowledges their abilities. [[spoiler:Until the Redguns' ill-fated assault on the Wall, at least. As 621 climbs the mercenary ranks and establishes themself themselves as a top-tier pilot, Iguazu becomes ''obsessed'' with defeating them. His bitter rivalry with 621 is to the point where, in the GoldenEnding, he somehow hijacks ALLMIND to kill the augmented human in one final showdown.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Trope misuse. They have actually worked with Arquebus, or rather, Schneider.
Changed line(s) 491 (click to see context) from:
Also known as VCPL, it's a manufacturer whose primary focus in the AC part market is EnergyWeapons and especially melee-based ones.
to:
Also known as VCPL, it's a manufacturer whose primary focus in the AC part market is EnergyWeapons and especially melee-based ones. They had collaborated with Schneider on the development of one of their weapons.
Deleted line(s) 493 (click to see context) :
* AmbiguouslyRelated: To Arquebus. Their parts have a similar naming scheme and aesthetic to Arquebus gear, and the Vespers use a fair amount of VCPL tech, but the precise details of their relationship (if they have one) are unknown.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 302 (click to see context) from:
* SmugSnake: The Redguns are ''cocky'', to put it mildly. When you ally with the Redguns to take out some generators at a damn controlled by the RLF (and potentially an enemy AC pilot if you feel like blowing him up), the first thing they do is badmouth 621 and while disparaging their combat abilities. They still maintain this attitude when you complete the mission. [[spoiler:Despite their boasts, however, the Redguns fail to climb the Wall as you can find their ruined [=ACs=] scattered about the street.]]
to:
* SmugSnake: The Redguns are ''cocky'', to put it mildly. When you ally with the Redguns to take out some generators at a damn dam controlled by the RLF (and potentially an enemy AC pilot if you feel like blowing him up), the first thing they do is badmouth 621 and while disparaging their combat abilities. They still maintain this attitude when you complete the mission. [[spoiler:Despite their boasts, however, the Redguns fail to climb the Wall as you can find their ruined [=ACs=] scattered about the street.]]
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_ligertail.png]]
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_deepdown.png]]
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_lilong.png]]
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_cannonhead.png]]
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_headbringer.png]]
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_hermit.png]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_locksmith.png]]
Deleted line(s) 82 (click to see context) :
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_openfaith.png]]
Changed line(s) 107 (click to see context) from:
Officially Deputy Commander of the Vespers, Snail is its actually the ''de facto'' leader. Snail's personal AC is OPEN FAITH.
to:
Officially Deputy Commander of the Vespers, Snail is its actually the ''de facto'' leader. Snail's personal AC is OPEN FAITH.
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_barrenflower_9.png]]
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_steelhaze_7.png]]
Changed line(s) 174 (click to see context) from:
* HeroOfAnotherStory: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied that Rusty is a native Rubiconian secretly working with the RLF to undemrine the corporations, whose exploits are only partially glimpsed by 621.]]
to:
* HeroOfAnotherStory: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied that Rusty is a native Rubiconian secretly working with the RLF to undemrine undermine the corporations, whose exploits are only partially glimpsed by 621.]]
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_reconfig.png]]
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_infection.png]]
Changed line(s) 215 (click to see context) from:
* UnwittingPawn: V.II Snail uses Maeterlinck as bait [[spoiler:to lure 621 even further into the Institute City, enabling him to ambush them after the hard-fought fight with CEL 240.]]
to:
* UnwittingPawn: V.II Snail uses Maeterlinck as bait [[spoiler:to lure 621 even further into the Institute City, enabling him to ambush them after the hard-fought hard-won fight with CEL 240.]]
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_guidance.png]]
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:577:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ac6_dualnature.png]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 400 (click to see context) from:
* TheRival: Albeit entirely one-sided on his part. Iguazu initially considers C4-621 a "nobody" and disparages them, but begrudgingly acknowledges their abilities. [[spoiler:Until the Redguns' ill-fated assault on the Wall, at least. As 621 climbs the mercenary ranks and establishes themselves as a top-tier pilot, Iguazu becomes ''obsessed'' with defeating them. His bitter rivalry with 621 is to the point where, in the GoldenEnding, he somehow hijacks ALLMIND to kill the augmented human in one final showdown.]]
to:
* TheRival: Albeit entirely one-sided on his part. Iguazu initially considers C4-621 a "nobody" and disparages them, but begrudgingly acknowledges their abilities. [[spoiler:Until the Redguns' ill-fated assault on the Wall, at least. As 621 climbs the mercenary ranks and establishes themselves themself as a top-tier pilot, Iguazu becomes ''obsessed'' with defeating them. His bitter rivalry with 621 is to the point where, in the GoldenEnding, he somehow hijacks ALLMIND to kill the augmented human in one final showdown.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 374 (click to see context) from:
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiroshi Tsuchida (Japanese), Creator/GriffinBurns (English)
to:
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiroshi Tsuchida Creator/HiroshiTsuchida (Japanese), Creator/GriffinBurns (English)
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* SuperPrototype: He was in charge to pilot one that 621 is tasked to destroy. Unfortunately for the student the strong points of the prototype were compatibility and higher possibility of customization, the student doesn't have multiple parts to try on hand and the difference in experience is too great for him to stand a chance with basic equipment even if he gets better response.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DefiantToTheEnd: Even with his mech downed and seconds away from exploding, he won't drop the gung-ho sergeant banter for anything.
-->'''Michigan:''' Maggots! Do you read me? You can tell this to posterity: mean old Michigan died of a bad fall!
-->'''Michigan:''' Maggots! Do you read me? You can tell this to posterity: mean old Michigan died of a bad fall!
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ClippedWingAngel: Zigzagged, [[spoiler:when he shows up in a reverse-engineered Balteus for his final encounter, he's clearly at his most powerful he's ever been compared to his prior AC-only encounters... but compared to the original autonomous version fought at the end of the first act, which served as a ''massive'' WakeUpCallBoss, Snail's piloted Balteus is laughably [[BreatherBoss a pushover]] in comparison as it lacks ''a majority'' of it's prior moveset (including it's infamous MacrossMissileMassacre and flamethrowers), which makes the final encounter with Snail [[CatharsisFactor cathartic]] being able to finally give him the boot after suffering [[ItsAllAboutMe his insane ego]] for most of the game.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ThemeNaming: Balam's weapons and AC parts are named after various entomologists.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 218 (click to see context) from:
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Kosuke Echigoya (Japanese)
to:
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Kosuke Echigoya (Japanese)(Japanese), Creator/JohnnyYongBosch (English)
Changed line(s) 341 (click to see context) from:
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JohnnyYongBosch (English)
to:
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiroki Goto (Japanese), Creator/JohnnyYongBosch (English)
Added DiffLines:
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiroya Eshigawa (Japanese)
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 354 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:G4 Volta]]
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
keeping the folder name less wordy
Deleted line(s) 14,15 (click to see context) :
!In General
Changed line(s) 66 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Tropes applying to all / multiple members]]
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 301 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:G1 Michigan]]
to:
Changed line(s) 308 (click to see context) from:
* AFatherToHisMen: PlayedWith. There's a fair amount of evidence that he sees himself as a stern but sincere father figure to his troops. After switching sides from Furlong to Balam post-Jupiter War, he even posted a bounty on himself with stipulations that half the payout would go to the men of his old fleet. That said, his ToughLove can veer into extremely abusive at his worst. It's heavily implied that this, along with his crude, simplistic tactics, is responsible for Balam's poor performance against Arquebus and the RLF. Despite this, he's shown to know even his non-Redgun troops by name, and if [[spoiler:621 fails their assassination attempt]], he is heard calling for stretchers to help the wounded. A low bar, but still more care than any of the other corporate types show for their soldiers, especially non-elites.
to:
* AFatherToHisMen: PlayedWith. There's a fair amount of evidence that he sees himself as a stern but sincere father figure to his troops. After switching sides from Furlong to Balam post-Jupiter War, he even posted a bounty on himself with stipulations himself, stipulating that half the payout would go to the men of his old fleet. That said, his ToughLove can veer into extremely abusive at his worst. It's heavily implied that this, along with his crude, simplistic tactics, is responsible for Balam's poor performance against Arquebus and the RLF. Despite this, he's shown to know even his non-Redgun troops by name, and if [[spoiler:621 fails their assassination attempt]], he is heard calling for stretchers to help the wounded. A low bar, but still more care than any of the other corporate types show for their soldiers, especially non-elites.
Changed line(s) 311 (click to see context) from:
* DrillSergeantNasty: His entire persona. 621 is, ironically, the only character in the entire game who he has some degree of praise for [[spoiler:even when they're chewing through his entire army trying to kill him]], and he mostly uses that as a platform for creative bullying of his troops. As a result, Balam's forces are split evenly into mindless, gung-ho fanatics who he's successfully brought to heel and grumpy wannabe deserters who hate his guts.
to:
* DrillSergeantNasty: His entire persona. 621 is, ironically, the only character in the entire game who he has with some degree of praise for [[spoiler:even when they're chewing through his entire army trying to kill him]], and he mostly uses that as a platform for creative bullying of his troops. As a result, Balam's forces are split evenly into mindless, gung-ho fanatics who he's successfully brought to heel and grumpy wannabe deserters who hate his guts.
Changed line(s) 314 (click to see context) from:
* FourStarBadass: Even before entering Balam, he was already a highly decorated veteran of the Jupiter War who was known as a war hero throughout that sector of space. Even though he's no longer a part of his old army, his legend and reputation as a badass continue as the leader of the Redguns.
to:
* FourStarBadass: Even before entering Balam, he was already a highly decorated veteran of the Jupiter War who was veteran known as a war hero throughout that sector of space.space sector. Even though he's no longer a part of his old army, his legend and reputation as a badass continue as the leader of the Redguns.
Changed line(s) 323 (click to see context) from:
* ToughLove: Deconstructed. His bullying DrillSergeantNasty demeanor appears to have this as its rationale, but without any kind of positive reinforcement, it turns his troops into either suicidal fanatics desperate for his approval or bitter washouts with little (if any) motivation to follow his orders. The Redguns are fairly evenly split between both, and it's horribly degraded their combat effectiveness.
to:
* ToughLove: Deconstructed. His bullying DrillSergeantNasty demeanor appears to have this as its rationale, but without any kind of positive reinforcement, it turns his troops into either suicidal fanatics desperate for his approval or bitter washouts with little (if any) motivation to follow his orders. The Redguns are fairly evenly split between both, and it's horribly degraded their combat effectiveness.
Changed line(s) 330 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:G2 Nile]]
to:
Changed line(s) 336 (click to see context) from:
* BitCharacter: Compared to every other Redgun. Despite nominally being Michigan's right-hand-man, Nile's only in-story appearance is as the boss of an optional mission in Chapter 1, and he is never mentioned after his death.
to:
* BitCharacter: Compared to every other Redgun. Despite nominally being Michigan's right-hand-man, right-hand man, Nile's only in-story appearance is as the boss of an optional mission in Chapter 1, and he is never mentioned after his death.
Changed line(s) 342 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:G3 Wu Huahai]]
to:
Changed line(s) 370 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:G5 Iguazu]]
to:
Changed line(s) 410 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:G6 Red]]
to:
Changed line(s) 418 (click to see context) from:
* HeroWorship: G1 Michigan’s televised exploits left such an impression on G6 Red’s childhood that he pulled all the stops to model his career and mannerisms on his idol.
to:
* HeroWorship: G1 Michigan’s televised exploits left such an impression on G6 Red’s childhood that he pulled all the stops to model his career and mannerisms on his idol.
Changed line(s) 422 (click to see context) from:
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: G6 Red is rather superstituous and believes the number 13 is bad luck. In Chapter 3, he advises 621 to join the Redguns and climb up the ranks so as to ditch the G13 callsign altogether. [[spoiler:Red spends his duel with 621 in the "Alea Iacta Est" path ranting about how their 'joining' the Redguns as G13 was a curse, responsible for everything that had gone wrong since then.]]
to:
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: G6 Red is rather superstituous superstitious and believes the number 13 is bad luck. In Chapter 3, he advises 621 to join the Redguns and climb up the ranks so as to ditch the G13 [=G13=] callsign altogether. [[spoiler:Red spends his duel with 621 in the "Alea Iacta Est" path ranting about how their 'joining' the Redguns as G13 was a curse, responsible for everything that had gone wrong since then.]]
Changed line(s) 426 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:G7 Hakra]]
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 33 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 57 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 67 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 82 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 108 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 140 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 156 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 200 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 214 (click to see context) :
Changed line(s) 225 (click to see context) from:
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:V.II Snail uses Maeterlinck as bait to lure 621 even further into the Institute City, enabling him to ambush them after the hard-fought fight with CEL 240.]]
to:
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:V.V.II Snail uses Maeterlinck as bait to [[spoiler:to lure 621 even further into the Institute City, enabling him to ambush them after the hard-fought fight with CEL 240.]]
Deleted line(s) 228 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 252 (click to see context) :
Changed line(s) 271,273 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:As a Whole]]
!!As a whole
!!As a whole
to:
[[folder:As a Whole]]
!!As a whole
whole]]
!!As a whole
Deleted line(s) 291 (click to see context) :
Changed line(s) 304,305 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Tropes applying to all / multiple members]]
to:
Deleted line(s) 316 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 346 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 359 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 374 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 389 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 430 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 447 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 486 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 496 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 505 (click to see context) :
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 507 (click to see context) from:
A corporation whose primary focus in the AC part market are missiles and boosters.
to:
A corporation whose primary focus in the AC part market are missiles missiles, boosters and boosters.fire control systems.
* MeaningfulName: Furlong is a unit of measurement that is equal to one-eighth of a mile. It's fitting for a company specializing in missiles and guidance systems.
Deleted line(s) 513 (click to see context) :
Deleted line(s) 523 (click to see context) :
Changed line(s) 526 (click to see context) from:
---
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Examples are separated into specific folders for readability.
!In General
Changed line(s) 32,34 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Arquebus Corporation]]
!!As a whole
!!As a whole
to:
!!As
!Arquebus Corporation
[[folder:As a
Changed line(s) 53 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Schneider]]
[[folder:Schneider]]
Changed line(s) 60 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tropes applying to all / multiple members]]
Changed line(s) 72,73 (click to see context) from:
!!V.I Freud
to:
[[folder:V.I
Changed line(s) 96,97 (click to see context) from:
!!V.II Snail
to:
[[folder:V.II
Changed line(s) 126,127 (click to see context) from:
!!V.III O'Keeffe
to:
[[folder:V.III
Changed line(s) 140,141 (click to see context) from:
!!V.IV Rusty
to:
[[folder:V.IV
Changed line(s) 182,183 (click to see context) from:
!!V.V Hawkins
to:
[[folder:V.V
Changed line(s) 194,195 (click to see context) from:
!!V.VI Maeterlinck
to:
[[folder:V.VI
Changed line(s) 206,207 (click to see context) from:
!!V.VII Swinburne
to:
[[folder:V.VII
Changed line(s) 228,229 (click to see context) from:
!!V.VIII Pater
to:
[[folder:V.VIII
Changed line(s) 246 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Balam Industries]]
to:
[[folder:As a Whole]]
Changed line(s) 264 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dafeng Core Industries]]
[[folder:Dafeng Core Industries]]
Changed line(s) 273 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[/folder]]
Changed line(s) 275 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[folder:Tropes applying to all / multiple members]]
Changed line(s) 284,285 (click to see context) from:
!!G1 Michigan
to:
[[folder:G1 Michigan]]
Changed line(s) 312,313 (click to see context) from:
!!G2 Nile
to:
[[folder:G2 Nile]]
Changed line(s) 323,324 (click to see context) from:
!!G3 Wu Huahai
to:
[[folder:G3 Wu
Changed line(s) 336,337 (click to see context) from:
!!G4 Volta
to:
[[folder:G4 Volta]]
Changed line(s) 349,350 (click to see context) from:
!!G5 Iguazu
to:
[[folder:G5 Iguazu]]
Changed line(s) 388,389 (click to see context) from:
!!G6 Red
to:
[[folder:G6 Red]]
Changed line(s) 403,404 (click to see context) from:
!!G7 Hakra
to:
[[folder:G7 Hakra]]
Changed line(s) 412,413 (click to see context) from:
!!Dafeng Student Pilot
to:
!!Other Affiliated Individuals
[[folder:Dafeng Student
Changed line(s) 428,429 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Minor Corporations]]
!!Elcano
!!Elcano
to:
!!Elcano
[[folder:Elcano]]
Changed line(s) 438,439 (click to see context) from:
!!Takigawa Harmonics
to:
[[folder:Takigawa Harmonics]]
Changed line(s) 446,447 (click to see context) from:
!!Vice and Cohen Plasma Laboratory
to:
[[folder:Vice and Cohen Plasma
Changed line(s) 453,454 (click to see context) from:
!!Furlong Dynamics
to:
[[folder:Furlong Dynamics]]
Changed line(s) 459,460 (click to see context) from:
!!Belius Applied Weapon Systems (BAWS)
to:
[[folder:Belius Applied Weapon Systems
Changed line(s) 467,468 (click to see context) from:
!!Melinite
to:
[[folder:Melinite]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 470 (click to see context) from:
----
to:
* HufflepuffHouse: Unlike other corporations, Melinite has ''zero'' relevance to the plot. They are there to sell their brand of high-quality explosive weaponry, and at least one AC from each faction wield Melinite guns. They are a neutral party in the truest sense.
* MeaningfulName: Melinite is an alternate name of pirric acid, an explosive. It is an appropriate name for an explosive arms manufacturer.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 7,9 (click to see context) from:
!![[center:[-''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon'' '''[[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon Main Character Index]]'''\\
[[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIMainCharacters Main Characters]] | '''The Corporations''' | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVISecondaryCharactersAndFactions Secondary Characters and Factions]] | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and Bosses]]-]]]
[[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIMainCharacters Main Characters]] | '''The Corporations''' | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVISecondaryCharactersAndFactions Secondary Characters and Factions]] | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and Bosses]]-]]]
to:
[[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIMainCharacters Main Characters]] | '''The Corporations''' | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVISecondaryCharactersAndFactions Secondary Characters and Factions]] | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
This page details the Corporations of ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon''. Head back through [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon here]] for other character pages. '''Unmarked spoilers ahead.'''
to:
!![[center:[-''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon'' '''[[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon Main Character Index]]'''\\
[[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIMainCharacters Main Characters]] | '''The Corporations''' | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVISecondaryCharactersAndFactions Secondary Characters and Factions]] | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and Bosses]]-]]]
This page details the Corporations of ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon''. Head back through [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon here]] for other character pages. '''Unmarked spoilers ahead.'''
[[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIMainCharacters Main Characters]] | '''The Corporations''' | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVISecondaryCharactersAndFactions Secondary Characters and Factions]] | [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIEnemiesAndBosses Enemies and Bosses]]-]]]
This page details the Corporations of ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Page was too big
Added DiffLines:
%%
%% Currently under construction!
%%
%% There is no correct reason to put the name of a trope in spoiler tags. If the name of the trope constitutes a spoiler, either don't add it to begin with or pothole it from a related trope entry. The point of this page is to convey information; an entry that is completely spoilered out does not achieve this. See Administrivia/HandlingSpoilers for further details.
%%
%%
This page details the Corporations of ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon''. Head back through [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon here]] for other character pages. '''Unmarked spoilers ahead.'''
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:In General]]
Following the rediscovery of Coral on Rubicon 3, a variety of interstellar corporations have descended on the planet seeking to exploit this priceless resource.
----
* CorporateWarfare: As usual for ''Armored Core''. Arquebus and Balam are warring against each other and the Rubicon Liberation Front for control of the planet's Coral reserves.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:With few interests aside from keeping their Coral flowing, the corporations behave more like predictable forces of nature than traditional antagonists. The balance of power between them gradually becomes less important as the main story arc progresses to issues beyond their immediate concern. By each of the endings, they are fundamentally irrelevant and are all equally unable to stop what will happen in either of the three endings — with only "Liberator of Rubicon" giving them the potential chance to re-establishing the StatusQuoIsGod that is the ForeverWar for the Coral resources on Rubicon.]]
* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:In Chapter 3, Arquebus and Balam declare a temporary ceasefire in order to deal with the even greater threat of the PCA. They go right back to killing each other once the PCA are forced to withdraw from Rubicon.]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Arquebus is a classic high-class Western MegaCorp writ large, while Balam is largely a mix of Asian and American corporate culture.
* MegaCorp: All of them fit this to a tee, but especially Arquebus Corporation/Balam Industries, and their respective subsidiaries who are the two primary forces leading the invasion of Rubicon-3.
* NGOSuperpower: The corporations squabbling over Rubicon-3 have enough manpower and resources to sustain operations on an interstellar scale, as well as finance their own private armies.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Neither the corporations nor many of the people working for them care for Rubicon-3 and its inhabitants. So long as they get their Coral, and get paid in the process.
* PlanetLooters: The corporations solely interested in exploiting Rubicon-3 for its Coral, regardless of the effects on the native population, and their (lack of) consent in the matter.
* SlobsVsSnobs: Arquebus's leadership tries to exude an air of sophistication and regality and try to see the bigger picture in the conflict while Balam's leaders act more like loud military drill sergeants and are just happy for a big fight. [[spoiler:The latter traits for both factions leads to Arquebus crushing Balam when the latter chooses to lead the offensive against the Ice Worm in act 3, leaving the PCA's fleet to Arquebus, who happily loot it for advanced technology, which they proceed to use against Balam to great effect.]]
* StatusQuoIsGod: Before the events of the game, the corporations are locked in a ForeverWar with each other, the Rubicon Liberation Front, and the PCA. It's not until 621 shows up that any side makes any real progress in bringing the war under their control.
* WarForFunAndProfit: But of course. They're literally competing against each other and Rubicon's inhabitants to get their hands on Coral, a substance that benefits humanity greatly, and of course, each corporation has their own designs for it.
* WeHaveReserves: In addition to having their own strike forces of elite AC pilots, the corporations also have throngs of HiredGuns serving as the bulk of their military firepower...albeit in practice, serving as glorified CannonFodder in their endless battles.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Arquebus Corporation]]
!!As a whole
One of the two largest conglomerates attempting to exploit Rubicon-3's Coral, and a major AC parts manufacturer. The Arquebus Corporation focuses on sleek, high performance parts and energy weapons. Rival to Balam Industries.
----
* BeamSpam: They're specialists in EnergyWeapons, and their laser shotguns and AttackDrone technology can fill the air with a whole lot of blue light.
* BrainsVersusBrawn: The brains versus Balam's brawn, Arquebus is constantly playing manipulations, tricks and underhanded tactics to try to get one over on their competition. Their part types also compliment more lighter, energy-focused builds for your AC designs. [[spoiler:All that strategy works out against Balam, but their brains aren't enough to guess there's a GreaterScopeVillain in the works.]]
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:In the "Alea Iacta Est" route. Despite coming out on top in the race for Coral after incorporating PCA tech and Balam's forces forced to leave after losing the Redguns, ALLMIND utterly ''slaughters'' them in what can only be described as a MookHorrorShow as it takes control of the Institute MT mechs and sets them upon Arquebus' soldiers. With the Vespers similarly gone and V.II Snail having been killed earlier, Arquebus' forces are killed en masse in Depth 2.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: A two-fold problem following [[spoiler:their EnemyMine with Balam]].
** [[spoiler:Acquiring the treasure trove of PCA weaponry after defeating them might have finally forced Balam off of Rubicon-3 with their superior firepower, allowing Arquebus to become the sole corporation to monopolize Coral in the process... but as they quickly learn, being the last one standing does not mean they get to quietly begin harvesting their boons -- as the sole enemy of most of the remaining factions of Rubicon-3, ''everyone'' is gunning for them exclusively now, instead of deciding they are a LesserOfTwoEvils. Without Balam to take some heat off of them amid the ForeverWar, Arquebus simply does not have the manpower to enforce their control over the planet, even with their new technological advantage.]]
** [[spoiler:Just because they acquired the proprietary tech that the PCA had does not mean Arquebus has ''the time'' to roll out these upgrades. Many of their newly acquired SuperPrototypes barely had time for field-testing, leaving them to resort to their observations while ''fighting'' PCA tech to have the faintest idea of how they work. Not having the time to understand PCA tech properly means that it can be backdoored very easily and become a wide-spread TrojanHorse to their forces, as ALLMIND [[CurbStompBattle shows]] in "Alea Iacta Est".]]
* EnergyWeapons: They've created an entire brand for themselves as the galaxy's premium suppliers of laser and plasma weaponry. Their arsenal is light, sleek and deadly, if predictably energy-hungry.
* EvilBrit: Most of Arquebus' personnel speak in refined, upper clas British tones, and are decidedly antagonistic to 621 in all endings.
* ForceAndFinesse: At least in terms of market, Arquebus styles itself as the refined "finesse" to Balam's brute force military mindset. Their focus on EnergyWeapons (which are more lightweight and power-intensive than kinetics and explosives) also leans them slightly in favour of FragileSpeedster machines.
* InsufferableGenius: Their technological and military sophistication greatly outstrip that of their rivals, Balam - they've got better gear, better pilots, better tactics, and better strategy, and it's a gap that only keeps widening [[spoiler:once they apply these advantages to steal a gigantic treasure-trove of PCA tech]]. Unfortunately, they know this, and they're complete assholes about it. [[spoiler:It also gives them a serious UnderestimatingBadassery problem when one of their most useful external contractors turns on them for good.]]
* NothingIsScarier: It's not exactly stated what Arquebus's "re-education" entails to those enemy forces they capture beyond the obvious UnwillingRoboticisation that turns them into [[WeHaveReserves an obedient lapdog to throw at the enemy]], but it is apparently a horrific enough procedure that [[spoiler:even a strong-willed individual like Walter is psychologically ''broken'' to his core and is only able to keep some semblance of personal willpower despite being ordered around because of his UndyingLoyalty to the promise he made to his long-dead friends to fulfill their mission and the whole final battle of the "Liberator of Rubicon" route comes off more of a MercyKill from the horrors he suffered at Arquebus's hands.]]
* SmugSnake: Higher-functioning than Balam, but their confidence in their own power and intelligence still significantly exceeds their actual power and intelligence. [[spoiler:In the 'Fires of Raven' route, Walter has you mainly back Arquebus because even with stolen PCA tech, they'll still be a more easily-removable threat to his plans than the actual PCA.]]
* UnderestimatingBadassery: [[spoiler:Barring a couple like [[BloodKnight Freud]] and [[TokenGoodTeammate Rusty]], the whole Corporation looks down on C4-621 when they make their attack on their forces despite how frighteningly accomplished they are by that point. This, coupled with their SuicidalOverconfidence, ends up leading to their entire [[CorporateSamurai Vespers strike force]] and a majority of faction's elite being being ''[[CurbStompBattle obliterated]]'' singlehandedly in the closing acts of the game.]]
* UpperClassTwit: The Arquebus Corporation mission rep gives off these vibes, speaking with an upper-class twang in English, and referring to the soldiers of the RLF as "rabble."
* TheUriahGambit: Originally, Arquebus [[spoiler:only allowed 621 to participate in Operation Wallclimber with the intention of using them as expendable cannon fodder against the Wall's defenses while the Vespers did all the actual work. Later, Arquebus sets up competing contracts to have 621 and Rusty target each other, seeing it as a way to eliminate two potential problems at once]].
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Starting from Chapter 4, Arquebus becomes considerably more arrogant and heavy-handed. [[spoiler:Because Balam offered to spearhead the operation against the Ice Worm while Arquebus handled the PCA, the latter incorporated the PCA's tech and gained enough power and influence to effectively take control of the race for Coral. Late into the chapter, they set up V.IV Rusty and 621 to kill each other, the former for having become too rowdy for their liking and 621 for getting them to Institute City. When that plan fails, V.II Snail opts to capture them while they're exhausted and prepare to ship them off for "re-education".]]
!!Schneider
An Arquebus subsidiary, Schneider focuses on AC parts built for aerial combat. Its parts emphasize aerial mobility.
----
* TechnicianVsPerformer: Their AC parts lean more towards performance, relying on fast movements and flashy aerial combat.
* FragileSpeedster: Schneider's AC parts focus on speed and maneuverability above all other concerns, on both ground and air but ''especially'' in the air. However, this also means that very few Schneider parts provide high load capacity or high durability.
!!Vespers
Arquebus Corporation's elite AC pilot strike force. Like Balam's Redguns, they operate on a rank-based structure, with the prefix before their callsigns (V.(Roman numeral), pronounced "Vesper (number)") denoting what rank they occupy within the Vespers.
----
* CorporateSamurai: Act as these to Arquebus.
* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: The majority of them have undertaken next-generation augmentation surgery, as it appears to be a requirement to become a pilot in the Vespers, and the side effects of doing so have left many of them rather sick in the head -- some more so than others.
* DysfunctionJunction: Barring the relatively well-adjusted [[TokenHeroicOrc V.IV Rusty]] and [[TheSmurfettePrinciple V.VI Maeterlinck]], the Vespers are stated in their profiles to suffer from various psychological problems resulting from augmentation surgery, such as V.II Snail having an addiction to ''receiving'' augmentation surgery, V.V Hawkins suffering from SurvivorsGuilt after watching many of his friends die to the surgery, or V.VII Swinburne developing paranoia due to it being unclear if his augmentations even did anything meaningful. It's also stated that a few of them hade problems before they went through augmentation, as is the case with [[TheSociopath V.VIII Pater]] and [[BloodKnight V.I Freud]].
* TheProudElite: Besides a few exceptions, the Vespers are more or less a bunch of rich next-gen snobs outfitted with high-tech [=ACs=] who continuously look down on 621 simply for being an older-gen pilot. It's even shown in their callsigns, as they use more sophisticated-looking Roman numerals to denote rank in comparison to the Redguns using simple Arabic numerals.
* PsychoRangers: Although the Redguns themselves aren't exactly [[EvilVersusEvil upstanding examples of moral character]], the Vespers serve as their better equipped and less merciful counterparts who, unlike the Redguns, never consider 621 to be a part of. Bonus points for consisting mostly of [[DysfunctionJunction actual psychos]], thanks to the side-effects of augmentation surgery.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Serve as one of [[RuleOfThree three]] that can be found on Rubicon, the other two being the Redguns and the RLF's leadership. While many of them are simple bit characters, a few are powerful and/or insidious enough to serve as major players in the battle for Rubicon's Coral.
* RankScalesWithAsskicking: As a general rule in the VideoGame/ArmoredCore universe, the better one is at kicking ass, the higher rank they will be rewarded within an organization. The Vespers are no exception to this rule, with the highly-decorated war hero V.I Freud at the helm and the equally-formidable V.II Snail as the NumberTwo. [[spoiler:Subverted as it turns out that it's Snail who [[DragonInChief runs the majority of operations within the Vespers]]; Freud is a blood knight who only cares about piloting his AC and even takes orders (though he also ignores them just as much) from Snail when he finally sorties in one of the last few missions.]]
* ThemeNaming: With the exception of [[OddNameOut Snail and Rusty]], the majority of them are named after Western poets, painters, and philosophers.
!!V.I Freud
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Koji Okino (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' LOCKSMITH
->'''Rank:''' 01/S
->''[[BloodKnight "More... I want... More...!"]]''
Commander of the Vespers and their AcePilot. His personal AC is LOCKSMITH.
----
* AttackDrone: The VCPL Vvc-700LD Laser Drones are his unique asset in his otherwise mundane AC loadout, which no other pilot uses. Carla specifically warns 621 of them and that only someone like him can use them as well as he does. Players can acquire it for themselves by beating his simulation in the Arena.
* AuthorityInNameOnly: Officially, Freud is the commander of the Vespers. In practice, it's Snail who runs the group, since Freud is more interested in destroying enemies and improving himself.
* AxCrazy: His combat dialogue makes it clear that his BloodKnight tendencies have devolved all the way into AddledAddict territory. By the time you kill him, he's ranting at his own Core to hold together and help him keep the combat high going. Ironically, as TheTeamNormal, he's the only Vesper who has no excuse whatsoever for this behavior.
* BadassNormal: An extreme example. His Arena bio describes him as being a "ordinary human being", heavily implying that unlike the rest of the Vespers (and most other pilots on Rubicon), Freud is unaugmented and his unmatched piloting capabilities are pure, natural genius.
* BeamSpam: Uses a Laser Blade with wide-sweeping arcs if you get too close to him.
* BloodKnight: Once 621 gives him a run for his money, Freud immediately loses his boredom and gets excited at the prospect of fighting someone who can ''really'' push him to the edge. If you die during the fight with him, he'll get pissed and demand 621 keep fighting even though their AC is totalled. He even disregards Snail's orders and shut off his comms channel just to fight 621 all the way to the very end. [[spoiler:When you defeat him, he gets angry, not because he lost, but because he wanted the fight to last longer]].
-->'''Freud:''' ''(Taken down to half-health)'' I haven't seen moves like ''that'' before. ''[[WorthyOpponent Interesting]]''...\\
'''Snail:''' This is no time for ''fun and games'', Freud! Our objective is to seize the Xylem. [[UnderestimatingBadassery You can ignore the]] ''[[UnderestimatingBadassery mutt.]]''\\
'''Freud:''' [[TranquilFury Yes, Snail. You're right.]] ''(Freud hangs up the comm) Now then.'' ''[[BringIt Let's continue.]]''
* TheDreaded: He has a well-deserved reputation as the single deadliest pilot on Rubicon, and even hardened veterans like Carla are nervous about the idea of him taking to the field.
* HeroKiller: His grim in-universe reputation is entirely deserved - when Freud shows up, people die. [[spoiler:Your fight against him in the "Fires of Raven" route begins with him instantly obliterating "Chatty" Stick, a solidly competent AC pilot who's fought alongside you in several wildly dangerous situations and come out intact.]]
* TheTeamNormal: The only unagumented member of the Vespers - and, ironically, one of the most talented and most dangerously unhinged.
* TheUnfought: You only encounter him in the "Fires of Raven" path and in the Arena. He's nowhere to be seen in the other paths.
* WorldsBestWarrior: A BadassNormal who's the top-ranked AC pilot on Rubicon, where SuperSoldier augmented jockeys are the norm. He outstrips absolutely everyone else in pure technical skill. Even his Core, LOCKSMITH, isn't super-fancy for a top Arquebus machine, to the point that half of it consists of ''[[BoringButPractical Balam]]'' parts. This is in contrast to Snail's OPEN FAITH, which is a top-of-the-line hulking behemoth, entirely Arquebus-made, and uses mostly Arquebus weapons and accessories (and one of the two things he uses not directly made by Arquebus is made by Schneider, an Arquebus subsidiary).
* WorthyOpponent: [[spoiler:Freud very quickly grows impressed with 621's skills during their fight, glad that their reputation is well-earned. In fact, in his last moments as his AC burns up and crumbles to pieces, [[BloodKnight he's more infuriated that he can't keep fighting you than that he lost at all]].]]
!!V.II Snail
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiromichi Tezuka (Japanese), Jon Lipow (English)
->'''AC Name:''' OPEN FAITH
->'''Rank:''' 06/A
Officially Deputy Commander of the Vespers, Snail is its actually the ''de facto'' leader. Snail's personal AC is OPEN FAITH.
----
* BadassBookworm: Obnoxious SmugSnake he may be, he's a genuinely talented strategist and scientist who plays a key role in leading his corporation to victory against their enemies in Balam and the PCA (and in exploiting the fruits of their victory), and backs it up with solid piloting chops to make sure his BiggerStick rides hit as hard as they should. Even Rusty, who's no fan of his, admits that he's 'second to none' in the Vespers.
* BadBoss: While Walter is pragmatic in his relationship with the augmented humans under his employ, especially 621, he at least values their abilities since they get the job done. Snail is the exact opposite and will use anyone and everyone as sacrificial pawns to get what he wants. In "Reach the Coral Convergence", [[spoiler:he purposefully leaves his troops and a fellow Vesper to die at 621's hands]].
* BiggerStick: A firm believer in using his PositionOfLiteralPower to give himself the biggest possible stick. Apart from his perfectly (and expensively) adjusted SuperSoldier augmentations, OPEN FAITH is a behemoth heavy biped loaded with the latest and deadliest Arquebus tech. [[spoiler:After 621 tears it apart in the Liberator of Rubicon route, he upgrades to an AceCustom version of the PCA's Balteus assault craft.]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: He's just not a trustworthy partner or employer. Any job you or anyone else takes for him carries the risks of him sacrificing you or otherwise screwing you over in order to ensure that he earns more than you do. [[spoiler:One of his most spectacularly dickish moves involves hiring you and Rusty to investigate Watchpoint Alpha in a multi-mission chain, and then finishing it off by telling both of you that the other has gone rogue, in the hope that you'll kill each other off.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Rather than attempt to kill [[spoiler:621 himself, he instead allows them to demolish his troops and take on the Ibis series mech controlled by the Coral and uses a stun launcher to lock down their AC afterward when they're exhausted]].
* DirtyCoward: Downplayed, but definitely a character trait of his. He is a very pragmatic sort of coward, avoiding any and all conflict unless he's either forced into it or it would reflect poorly on him not to. He constantly orders his augmentation surgeries tested on others, often to the point of death, entirely to avoid any risk to himself, and in both the Liberation of Rubicon route and NG++ he focuses on avoiding 621 up until the last moment. But when he ''is'' cornered, he gives it his all.
* DragonInChief: He's prone to screaming that he ''is'' Arquebus when a situation turns against him, and to be fair to him, this actually seems to be fairly accurate. Freud is an AuthorityInNameOnly who's basically just Snail's BloodKnight attack dog, and the offworld Arquebus executives appear to have little (if any) influence on how he and the rest of the Vespers conduct their business. For all intents and purposes, he's the commander-in-chief of all Arquebus operations on Rubicon, whether military or scientific, and has no difficulty whatsoever in diverting company resources towards his own ends. [[spoiler:It's why he effectively ends up as the BigBad of the Liberator of Rubicon route, with Carla and Chatty quickly being killed off, ALLMIND having no reason to intervene, and Walter ending up ReforgedIntoAMinion to serve as little more than a vehicle for his posthumous revenge against you.]]
* EvilIsPetty: As he freely admits in his MotiveRant, this is the entire reason for his continued involvement in the Liberator of Rubicon route. [[spoiler:With "Cinder" Carla and "Chatty" Stick gone and the Xylem safely crippled, there's no reason for him to send the entire Arquebus fleet and his own AceCustom assault craft against it. The only reason he picks a fight with 621 is that they tried to kill Snail on their way to deal with OVERSEER. Or, if you chose not to engage him, he's instead furious that 621 ignored him.]]
* HateSink: Arrogant, smug, conniving, convinced of his own superiority over even his own superiors, apathetic to others, and the list goes on. From was ''not'' trying to make Snail even remotely likable. This of course makes it all the more satisfying when [[spoiler:you finally get to kill him.]]
* IAmTheNoun: As mentioned elsewhere, he regards himself as ''being'' Arquebus. He's not entirely wrong though; having benefitted from every single augmentation procedure they provide makes Snail a living embodiment of Arquebus's ideals and visions for what a human ought to be.
* InsufferableGenius: A legitimately competent tactician, strategist, and pilot who also happens to be such a gigantic, arrogant asshole that not one member of the cast is prepared to give him more than the occasional backhanded compliment for it.
* IronicName: His AC is called OPEN FAITH, even though he is the absolute ''last person'' you should ever consider trusting.
* ItsAllAboutMe: [[spoiler:On the Liberator of Rubicon route]], he makes it clear that he views himself ''as'' Arquebus, seeing as how [[spoiler:whether or not you shot him down or ignored him on the route to Carla, he takes your action as an insult to himself and the company as a whole.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Notorious in-game as perhaps the single biggest asshole on Rubicon - nearly everyone who's interacted with him socially has some sort of horror story about the experience. He's an overwhelmingly arrogant, abrasive InsufferableGenius who's always condescending at best and viciously rude at worst in his spoken dialogue.
* LackOfEmpathy: One of his defining traits. He believes human lives to be a cheap currency to spend in pursuit of his ambitions, either by sacrificing his troops to secure military/political victories so often that it becomes a matter of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder or by engaging in industrial-scale human experimentation to secure his PositionOfLiteralPower. This naturally also carries over into his social interactions with other people, where he's never anything other than an arrogant, condescending {{Jerkass}}.
* MightyGlacier: Downplayed. His two machines, OPEN FAITH and [[spoiler:the Arquebus Balteus]] are mobile but not agile, possessing limited evasion capacity and relying on sturdy defences and heavy firepower to come out on top when trading blows with enemies. They can rush their foes down, but it's strictly a secondary tactic.
* {{Narcissist}}: An extreme example. As he himself will tell you, he ''is'' Arquebus, and everyone else is either an obstacle to be removed or a resource to be consumed. Most of his dialogue consists of him preening over his own genius, trash-talking someone else, or, ideally, doing both at the same time.
* OhCrap: Although he regains his composure quickly, [[spoiler:he's shocked that 621 was somehow able to track him down in the "Alea Iacta Est" path]].
* PositionOfLiteralPower: Unlike the genius BadassNormal Freud, Snail gained most of his combat chops from his power and influence within Arquebus, devoting a considerable amount of the company's resources to improving his own gear and personal augmentations. He's even got an entire human-experimentation programme in the R&D department devoted to making sure his augs are perfectly-tuned no matter how many lives it costs. It's to the point where he declares he is Arquebus itself.
* RenaissanceMan: Scientist, general, businessman, politician, and pilot. The only things he lacks are empathy, humility, and basic conversation skills.
* SmugSnake: Being the RenaissanceMan DragonInChief of a mighty, technologically-advanced MegaCorp gives him a solution to nearly every problem. Unfortunately for him, his own LackOfEmpathy and planet-sized ego are not among them, and they ensure that every victory of his, no matter how impressive, can only ever be temporary.
* VillainousBreakdown: During [[spoiler:his boss fight in the "Liberator of Rubicon" path]], he has a progressive one as you [[spoiler:deal more and more damage to his piloted Balteus unit]], ranting about the "dolts at command" and the Rubiconian "rabble", and finally proclaiming that he ''is'' Arquebus. His final "words" make clear he died ''exceptionally'' painfully as well, and his scream as he dies is humiliatingly shrill and nasal.
!!V.III O'Keeffe
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiroki Yamada (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' BARREN FLOWER
->'''Rank:''' 12/B
Third squad leader of the Vespers. He pilots the Tetrapod BARREN FLOWER.
----
* TheCynic: Has an understandably very dim view about life on Rubicon. [[spoiler:Still, he prefers the mundane discomforts and miseries of human life over the evolution planned by ALLMIND.]]
* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:Takes his death surprisingly well, simply commenting how he finally be able to get some sleep.]]
* TheMole: [[spoiler:On the final story path, ALLMIND assigns 621 a mission to assassinate O'Keeffe, who instantly recognizes 621 as being ALLMIND's latest pawn. 621 learns that O'Keeffe was another one of ALLMIND's operatives, having infiltrated Arquebus.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:ALLMIND targets him for elimination because he's no longer working in its interests and has in fact betrayed the AI. It's implied he betrayed ALLMIND when he realized [[AssimilationPlot the full scope of its plan]] and preferred the mundane, albeit problematic parts of human life over their "evolution".]]
* ShoutOut: His name and mech reference the American painter Georgia O'Keeffe, best known for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_paintings_of_Georgia_O%27Keeffe her paintings of flowers.]]
* TheUnfought: O'Keeffe and his AC can always be encountered in the Arena, but [[spoiler:he only ever appears in person on the "Alea Iacta Est" path, where ALLMIND suddenly takes a more active role in the narrative and decides to start tying up loose ends.]]
!!V.IV Rusty
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YasuyukiKase (Japanese), Creator/ChrisHackney (English)
->'''AC Name:''' STEEL HAZE, [[spoiler:STEEL HAZE ORTUS]]
->'''Rank:''' 09/B
The fourth squad leader of the Vespers, Rusty is a veteran AC pilot who 621 meets during Operation Wallclimber. His unit is STEEL HAZE [[spoiler:and eventually upgrades to STEEL HAZE ORTUS.]]
----
* TheAce: One of the best AC pilots on Rubicon 3 with an impressive track record.
* AceCustom: STEEL HAZE is a Schneider FragileSpeedster noted in-game as being an atypical Arquebus design due to its use of old-school BAWS kinetic weaponry, signifying Rusty's strained relationship with his corp. [[spoiler:In the "Fires of Raven" and "Liberator of Rubicon" paths, he obtains a new and improved AC dubbed Steel Haze Ortus. It's explicitly stated to be far superior to its predecessor with an emphasis on maneuverability and aerial combat.]]
* AffectionateNickname: Refers to 621 as "buddy", indicating how he appreciates them as a rival and ally, [[spoiler:and much later a friend in "Liberator of Rubicon"]].
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Of [[VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar Larry "Pixy/Solo Wing" Foulke.]] Like Pixy, he is a merc turned revolutionary that keeps [[spoiler:his true agenda hidden]], refers to the protagonist as "Buddy", has similar motifs (Pixy's paintjob having a single red wing against Cipher's two blue wings, Rusty's muzzled wolf emblem reflecting 621's status as Walter's current Hound), [[spoiler:attacks the protagonist midway (for varying reasons; Pixy defects from Ustio after seeing the seven nukes detonate on Belkan soil, Rusty is tricked into fighting 621 under the pretense of dealing with an rogue mercenary)]], disappears afterwards, and in the "Fires of Raven" ending will suddenly [[spoiler:duel you in an untested prototype over a potential ApocalypseHow, as Pixy does with his [=ADFX-02 "Morgan"=]; Rusty is not the FinalBoss of the route, though, and he's actually [[HeroAntagonist fighting to stop you from detonating the Coral]], unlike Pixy who believes [[WellIntentionedExtremist launching V2 will truly erase all national borders and with it bring pointless squabbling and war to a close]].]]
* AnimalMotifs: His emblem is that of a muzzled wolf, indicating a sense of noble intentions carefully constrained by Arquebus. [[spoiler:When he shows up in the STEEL HAZE ORTUS for the normal endings, he's also changed his emblem to that of a freed and unmuzzled wolf with a flowing mane, showing he's finally untethered to be what he truly was this entire time.]]
* ArcNumber: His arena rank is 9, a significant number throughout the series that is attached to important characters. Just like White Glint before him, despite being nowhere near the top [[spoiler: He is a lot stronger than his rank implies. He takes on the mission to wipe out the Redguns himself and wins, and this is against over 50 MTs and a higher ranked mercenary. And this is before he gets ORTUS]]
* BadassBoast:
** During "Destroy [[spoiler:the Ice Worm]]", Rusty claims he never misses. [[spoiler:As you see for yourself, he was not kidding.]]
** In the penultimate mission of the "Liberator of Rubicon" path, [[spoiler:he tells the Arquebus forces there's only one person who can keep up with him, referring to 621. Of course, he says this as he's laying waste to their invading fleet]].
* BirdsOfAFeather: Rusty has a closer and more friendly rapport with 621 than almost anyone else on Rubicon. You and he also have numbered callsigns associated with numbers denoting misfortune: [[FourIsDeath Four]] and [[ThirteenIsUnlucky Thirteen]].
* BookEnds: At the start of the game, Rusty shows up to help 621 deal with the Juggernaut, the massive RLF mech keeping Arquebus and 621 from climbing the Wall and moving further into Rubicon-3. From there, Rusty declares them war buddies and establishes friendly relations with them. [[spoiler:In the "Liberator of Rubicon" path, Rusty shows up one final time, this time to help 621 of his own volition to protect Rubicon-3. He even lampshades this when they fight a Cleaner mech, noting how it reminds him of when they fought the Juggernaut atop the Wall.]]
* TheCavalry: Shows up to assist 621 [[spoiler:In the "Liberator of Rubicon" ending in his new STEEL HAZE ORTUS in response to Ayre asking for the RLF's assistance]].
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:In the "Liberator of Rubicon" ending, he's unceremoniously shot down during 621's final assault on the Xylem.]]
* FightingYourFriend: 'Friend' might be a bit much, but Rusty respects 621's combat capabilities and calls them "buddy". [[spoiler:V.II Snail purposefully sets him up to fight 621 in a bid to get rid of them both before Arquebus reaches the Coral so as to eliminate any potential complications. In the "Fires of Raven" route, he's saddened that he has to fight you but considers it necessary to stop your plan of igniting the Coral at all costs.]]
* {{Foil}}: With G5 Iguazu from Balam Industries' Redguns in regards to their relationship with 621. After their first mission together, Iguazu immediately develops a petty rivalry toward the augmented human and incensed by their further victories. The jealous grows to the point where Iguazu will actively seek out 621 in an attempt to kill them and prove his superiority, unwilling to be upstaged by some random merc who came out of nowhere. Rusty is far more amicable and friendly with 621 when they defeat the Juggernaut [[spoiler:defending the Wall and unknowingly upstage the Vespers in the process]] and assists them when the situation arises. [[spoiler:When V.II Snail pits them both against each other in an attempt to get rid of them, Rusty is reluctant to fight 621 but justifies himself by saying 621 is a potential threat to Rubicon. In "Fires of Raven", Rusty isn't happy with how things have turned out, but he still challenges 621 to a fight in his new and improved STEEL HAZE ORTUS in an attempt to try and stop them from starting a second Fires of Ibis.]]
* FragileSpeedster: His Core is named STEEL HAZE for a reason - it's an ultra-light wraith of a machine that relies chiefly on delivering moderate-but-steady damage without getting hit in return, and duelling him will place a serious strain on your ammo capacity as he dodges shot after shot before you finally manage to punch through his paper-thin armour. [[spoiler:STEEL HAZE ORTUS has slightly more armour and firepower, pushing it closer to the LightningBruiser trope, but is still fundamentally the same sort of opponent.]]
* FriendlySniper: He doesn't sortie any marksman weapons on his AC, but he's your designated sharpshooter during your attack on the [[spoiler:Ice Worm]] and Rusty delivers every shot.
* FriendlyRival: In contrast to Iguazu's bitter and one-sided rivalry with 621, V.IV Rusy is more amicable and friendly with them. He's also professional enough to not let personal feelings get in the way of the job, and is interested to see just how far 621's mercenary career will go. [[spoiler:The rivalry goes out the window in the "Fires of Raven" ending where he recognizes 621 as a threat to everything he holds dear to him.]]
* HeroOfAnotherStory: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied that Rusty is a native Rubiconian secretly working with the RLF to undemrine the corporations, whose exploits are only partially glimpsed by 621.]]
* HeroicWillpower: [[spoiler:In the Fires of Raven ending, Rusty musters everything he has to stop 621 and Carla from burning the Coral again. So much so that he literally forces his AC back to life after he’s beaten for one final desperate attempt to kill you.]]
--> '''Rusty:''' [[spoiler:[[HeroicSecondWind I won't stop!]] I'll chase the clouds from over Rubicon! ''Only I...'' '''can fly high enough!''']]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Towards the end of the game, he defects from Arquebus to throw his lot in with the Rubicon Liberation Front. It's heavily implied that he had been their inside agent from the beginning.]]
* IKnowYourTrueName: When he first meets 621, he greets them by their callsign before referring to them as "one of the infamous Handler Walter's hounds".
* ImprobableAimingSkills: In the [[spoiler:Ice Worm]] mission he repeatedly lands sniper shots on the target ''across the continent'' with a railcannon that is at least 50 times larger than an AC.
* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:Unceremoniously shot down off-screen by a "re-educated" Walter in "Liberator of Rubicon" path as he tells 621 he's dealt with things on his end.]]
* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler: ORTUS is likely named after Orthus of Greek Mythology, a two headed dog who guarded the red cattle of Greyon. He has two dog emblems between his two machines and sides with you to protect the Vascular Plant from Xylem, and by extension the red Coral.]]
* TheMole: [[spoiler:He's been secretly passing Arquebus technology to Elcano and Furlong as part of an arrangement with the RLF and BAWS. The culmination of his efforts takes the form of the AceCustom Armored Core STEEL HAZE ORTUS.]]
* MysteriousPast: Granted, the history of every AC pilot barring a few characters isn't explored in-depth and/or has no relation to the main story, but V.IV Rusty's past is layered in mystery on account of the breadcrumbs found in the Chapter 2 mission "Retrieve Combat Logs" and later story chapters. The logs retrieved by 621 imply V.IV Rusty has a personal connection with the RLF, or at least was associated with them as one of the downed pilots recognizes him and demands to know why he attacked them. [[spoiler:His familiarity with Middle Flatwell, one of the leaders of the Rubicon Liberation Force who has significant influence with Schneider (a Arquebus subsidiary and coincidentally the group who "discovered" Rusty in the first place) and calls 621 his "war buddy" after the mission "Intercept the Vespers" (coincidentally using the same words as Rusty after "Operation Wallclimber"), and Rusty's statement that Rubicon is his home all imply Rusty is a native Rubiconian and was involved with the RLF before becoming a Vesper, and may in fact be a spy for the RLF.]]
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Downplayed. Toward the game's final act, V.IV Rusty [[spoiler:forgoes his contractual obligations with Arquebus and assists the RLF in protecting Rubicon 3 from the Corporations and the PCA]]. The reason it's downplayed is that [[spoiler:it's implied Rusty was never loyal to Arquebus to begin with and is in fact a RLF double agent]].
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Of Joshua "White Glint" O'Brien from Armored Core 4. He befriends our protagonist using a speed build AC with a laser blade and is willing to protect the Rubiconians near the end of the game. [[spoiler:He even is forced to fight you in a prototype AC with the roles reversed - dying trying to stop you in the "Fires of Raven" route]].
* TokenGoodTeammate: He's this to pretty much the entire Arquebus group, and the Vespers in particular. After defeating the Juggernaut atop the Wall, V.IV Rusty contacts 621 and tells them the reason he left halfway through the fight was because Arquebus ordered him to withdraw and was going to use 621 as a sacrificial pawn for the Vespers. That he goes out of his way to divulge information that would ''definitely'' get him in trouble and is upfront about how the corporation is not to be trusted speaks volumes of his character. This trope actually puts him at odds with some of his fellow Vespers, particularly V.II Snail who is annoyed by his "antics". [[spoiler:He's also one of the few mercenary pilots who leaves the corporations to fight with the Rubicon Liberation Force in defense of the planet. "Cinder" Carla even suggests that he was using Arquebus to further his agenda of protecting Rubicon all along in the "Fires of Raven" path.]]
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:The implication of his absence in "Alea Iacta Est". He makes no appearance there unlike in the other story paths where he either stands in opposition to Raven or helps them. In the penultimate mission, it's noted that ALLMIND is attacking the Xylem with unmanned Vesper [=ACs=], implying Rusty was killed offscreen.]]
* UnusableEnemyEquipment: Subverted. While you don't get all the parts right away, players can create their own STEEL HAZE AC unit via story progression and the Parts Shop. [[spoiler:His AceCustom STEEL HAZE ORTUS is also unlocked for your personal use in NewGamePlus after completing "Fires of Raven", though you'll need his AC Data in the Arena, in a ''third'' playthrough, to get the full parts list.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: He makes no appearance in the "Alea Iacta Est" story path. [[spoiler:It's unclear whether Rusty is alive or was KilledOffscreen by ALLMIND.]]
!!V.V Hawkins
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NobuoTobita (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' RECONFIG
->'''Rank:''' 20/D
Fifth squad leader of the Vespers, Hawkins is a veteran pilot haunted by the deaths of his friends who attempted to receive the same augments he has.
----
* AFatherToHisMen: Shows a fairly paternal protectiveness towards Pater in their DualBoss, giving him several gruff reassurances and bits of advice and becoming outraged if the young pilot is taken out first.
* SurvivorsGuilt: His noted major psychological instability is grief at all the friends that died from undergoing the same augmentation procedures he did. If Pater is defeated before him in the Ambush the Vespers mission and if 621 falls afterwards, Hawkins mutters how "it should have been him".
* VillainRespect: When put on the ropes he tells 621 that he can see why Rusty praises them so much.
* WeCanRuleTogether: His last words when struck down are to wryly ask 621 if they want to be a Vesper.
!!V.VI Maeterlinck
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/{{Lynn}} (Japanese), Creator/KateHiggins (English)
->'''AC Name:''' INFECTION
->'''Rank:''' 25/E
Sixth squad leader of the Vespers, Maeterlinck is an eighth-generation augmented pilot noted for her loyalty to Arquebus and risk-averse nature.
----
* AintTooProudToBeg: Maeterlinck spends her last moments repeatedly calling for more help after 621 ambushes her and her limited MT squad in [[spoiler:the Institute City at the climax of Chapter 4.]]
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: In line with the Vespers theme naming, she is named after Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Maeterlinck is the only female AC pilot in the Vespers.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:V.II Snail uses Maeterlinck as bait to lure 621 even further into the Institute City, enabling him to ambush them after the hard-fought fight with CEL 240.]]
!!V.VII Swinburne
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Kosuke Echigoya (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' GUIDANCE
->'''Rank:''' 23/E
Seventh squad leader of the Vespers, Swinburne is an immensely paranoid pilot. In Chapter 3, the Rubicon Liberation Front asks 621 to assassinate him so as to weaken Arquebus. His AC is GUIDANCE.
----
* AintTooProudToBeg: Once his AP is brought down to a certain level, he asks 621 to spare him, offering contacts and resources from Arquebus in exchange for his life. You can accept his offer, refuse, or continue attacking him.
* DidntSeeThatComing: You can potentially accept his offer so that he'll drop his shields and let his guard down -- and then finish him off when he least expects it. It's obvious that it completely caught him out as he dies in terror.
* FailedASpotCheck: You can actually opt to approach him and get noticed rather than ambush him, where he temporarily fails to realize you're ''not'' Arquebus back-up for a solid bit of irritated dialogue before finally noticing something is up and that you're [[BlatantLies clearly disguised and trying to trick him.]]
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Pater and Snail will ship him off to reeducation if he is spared due to how cowardly he was, and as far as the rest of the Vespers go, it seems no one gives a single damn about his fate either way. This is largely a result of his overbearing paranoia, which his Arena profile describes as "the final jewel to crown his odious personality."
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: A full half of his lines are rants about how his enemies need to be disciplined and reeducated. If 621 spares him, he is shipped off to an Arquebus reeducation camp due to his 'shameful behavior.' [[FateWorseThanDeath Given the little we see about what 'reeducation' entails, 621 just killing him may be kinder.]]
* IGaveMyWord: If 621 spares him, he follows through on his end and pays what the RLF was supposed to.
* {{Irony}}: For all his paranoia, Swinburne lets his guard down way too easily as you can ambush him or simply stand there until he realizes you're not a friendly unit.
* KnowWhenToFoldThem: Unlike most pilots who will fight to the death or eject, Swineburne's enough of a coward once he ran his repair kits dry that he'll try to bribe his way to survival knowing 621 will explicitly kill him otherwise.
* LaserGuidedKarma: When you approach him, he is gloating about how the Balam soldiers he has just defeated will be subject to "re-education". [[spoiler:If you take his offer, after the mission, V.VIII Pater contacts you afterwards to thank you for your work and notes that because of his cowardly actions, Swinburne will be subjected to "re-education" himself.]]
* MeaningfulName: His AC name likely refers to his belief that Arquebus' enemies need "re-education".
* MortonsFork: If attacked from behind by 621, Swinburne will be furious at the cheap trick. However, even if 621 politely walks in front of him to announce their presence, it takes ''several'' lines of dialog before the Vesper realizes you're not one of his troops. He then angrily rants about 621's entirely unintentional 'disguise.'
* OneHitKill: If you wear him down enough to make his offer, accept to spare him and then [[ILied attack him anyway]], he'll always go down in one hit, presumably having let his guard down so hard that even the AC's defenses weren't ready. You can even kill him with [[CherryTapping a bullet or a single punch.]]
* TheParanoiac: His Arena bio notes that the augmentation surgery left him a paranoid wreck.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Of Patch The Good Luck from ''For Answer'', and ''[=FromSoftware=]'''s RecurringCharacter Patches overall. Swinburne, like these characters has a mismatched loadout, and is a DirtyCoward to boot. They beg for mercy when cornered, and their respective missions allow them to retreat and reward the player with credits. This time, Swinburne is punished for his cowardice, and you have to fight BetrayalInsurance Rokumonsen from the RLF in order to earn this outcome.
!!V.VIII Pater
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Ryo Shimokawwa (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' DUAL NATURE/[[spoiler:[=AA18A=] LIGHT CAVALRY HM]]
->'''Rank:''' 16/C
The eighth squad leader of the Vespers, Pater is highlighted as a recipient of generation ten augmentation. His unit is named DUAL NATURE.
----
* FauxAffablyEvil: He serves as your liason when Arquebus contacts you for a job, being nothing short of polite and courteous in the mission briefings and messages to you. [[spoiler:He also has no problems sending you off to be "re-educated" in Chapter 5. In the "Alea Iacta Est" route, Pater's polite behavior also goes flying out the window in favor of rage against 621 for having killed his friend and mentor V.III O'Keeffe.]]
* FieldPromotion: If you choose to ambush him and V.V Hawkins for the RLF and take out Hawkins first, Pater is initially very upset until he realizes that his is now V.V Pater. After you defeat him as well, he can only bemoan the fact that he had ''just'' become rank V.
* InformedAttribute:
** Pater's Arena profile suggests that Pater displays certain personality defects that were attributed to his augmentations, but that he was, in reality, a sociopath even before receiving his augments. Curiously, when 621 [[spoiler:fights Pater in the "Alea Iacta Est" path where he is one of the last surviving Vespers, he rages at 621 for fighting and killing V.III O'Keeffe claiming his superior always looked out for him, implying a much warmer relationship between the two than most of the other Vespers. For all of Pater's alleged sociopathy, he comes across as a pretty normal person who is understandably upset about his friend and coworker's death]].
** Note that this is but one of his two possible dialogues in the mission, in other dialogue he only expresses nothing but excitement over [[spoiler:his new rank of V.III after his superiors death, in the exact same way as he reacts to V.V death and he even shows a strong attachment to become the top of Arquebus corporation]] in the same mission. Showing signs of dual personality disorder which stays true to his AC name DUAL NATURE.
* NumberTwo: Pater is normally assigned to overseeing the transport wing of Arquebus with V.V Hawkins, serving as Hawkins's adjutant.
* SplitPersonality: While not directly stated in his bio, the signs are there - his AC is called DUAL NATURE and has an emblem of two fetuses linked together, and when [[spoiler:Hawkins and O'Keeffe is killed, his behavior flip-flops between openly weeping and mourning them, and being ''positively'' giddy at the prospect of being promoted and rising through the Vespers' rank]].
* YouAreInCommandNow: In the "Alea Iacta Est", [[spoiler:he takes command of what little of Arquebus' troops are left since at that point the Vespers have been gutted and their leadership destroyed, becoming the third squad leader in the process]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Balam Industries]]
!!As a whole
->''"Domination through material superiority."''
-->--Slogan of Balam Industries
One of the two largest conglomerates attempting to exploit Rubicon 3's Coral, and a major AC parts manufacturer. Balam is blunt, highly militaristic corporation, whose simple yet effective AC designs follow a K.I.S.S. principle. The Arquebus Corporation is their main rival.
----
* BoringButPractical: Compared to Arquebus, much of Balam's arsenal is comprised of rugged, bulky yet reliable military hardware.
* BrainsVersusBrawn: The brawn versus Arquebus' brains, Balam is gung-ho and focus more on straight up destruction operations or overt combat. There's also not much for group solidarity, as it's primarily G1 Michigan and G6 Red keeping everything in check. Their part selection generally emphasizes bigger pieces, heavier weapons, and plenty of bullets and explosives. [[spoiler:Naturally, this focus on trying to kill the Ice Worm in exchange for letting Arquebus get the PCA warship fleet is the perfect highlight of them showing off their power over considering advanced technology, which is such a monumentally foolish decision that it costs them the war.]]
* CurbStompBattle: On the receiving end from [[spoiler:621 if they accept the mission to destroy the Redguns, and Rusty if they don't. With G1 Michigan and the Redguns decimated, Balam has no choice but to withdraw from Rubicon]].
* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler:As a result of entrusting Arquebus with the job of defeating the PCA’s warship fleet in exchange for taking lead against the Ice Worm, their biggest rival ends up looting enough valuable equipment to raise an unstoppable army and become the only corporation left in the Coral race.]]
* DumbMuscle: Their corporate culture emphasises firepower, not brainpower. Simple tactics, slavish loyalty, and disdain for independent thought are the name of the game here, which helps explain their poor performance against their more innovative rivals, Arquebus, despite their considerable military strength.
* ForceAndFinesse: The force to Arquebus Corporation's finesse, Balam takes a brute force, shock and awe style approach to the corporate war. Their emphasis on heavyweight kinetic and explosive weaponry also means they favour MightyGlacier designs that can take the strain of their enormous guns.
* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Their in-universe philosophy. No fancy EnergyWeapons here, just high-velocity steel, much of which will explode. To be fair to them, the low energy load of their weaponry does make it easier for their Cores to pile on the armour plating without overstraining their generators, and its sheer, brutal hitting power is not to be discounted. Just don't look too closely at your post-mission ammo expenses...
* MagneticWeapons: Balam's ''other'' specialty is its use of linear rifles and high-powered railguns, which can be on par with any energy weapon system through sheer velocity.
* StuffBlowingUp: Between Balam and its two subsidiaries, Furlong and Dafeng, they've cornered the market on powerful, high-quality explosive weaponry. If you want something that makes things go boom thoroughly, reliably, and spectacularly, they're your first port of call.
* TankGoodness: Balam is one of three manufactures of tank legs for [=ACs=]. The [=LG-022T=] Bornemizza is the first tank part available and the heavyweight style. It's heavily armored, gives high Attitude Stability, and maxes out the equipment load, allowing for use of heavier loadouts. It is also fairly sluggish and has poor thrust for verticality.
!!Dafeng Core Industries
->''"Stout tree, slender branches."''
A Balam Industries subsidiary with a MightyGlacier design philosophy summarized by their motto.
----
* GatlingGood: One weapon from Dafeng's arsenal is the [=DF-GA-08 Hu-Ben=], a gatling gun that gives unsurpassed suppressive fire and can easily stagger enemies from sheer volume.
* MightyGlacier: As their motto implies, Dafeng's AC parts have some of the highest weight loads and have slow maneuverability, but make up for it with high AP.
* ThemeNaming: Dafeng's arsenal and components are references to Chinese mythology, befitting the company's pretentions to the MightyGlacier design philosophy.
!!Redguns
Balam Industries' in-house stable of AC pilots.
----
* CorporateSamurai: Act as these to Balam.
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:If 621 accepts the mission to destroy the Redguns, G1 Michigan brings his mercs' full force to bear. It ultimately means nothing beyond his death. Worse, the Redguns' destruction ensures Balam has no choice but to withdraw from Rubicon, leaving Arquebus the sole Corporation to benefit from the Coral. This also happens to them if Rusty takes on the mission instead, albeit happening entirely offscreen.]]
* SmugSnake: The Redguns are ''cocky'', to put it mildly. When you ally with the Redguns to take out some generators at a damn controlled by the RLF (and potentially an enemy AC pilot if you feel like blowing him up), the first thing they do is badmouth 621 and while disparaging their combat abilities. They still maintain this attitude when you complete the mission. [[spoiler:Despite their boasts, however, the Redguns fail to climb the Wall as you can find their ruined [=ACs=] scattered about the street.]]
* TemptingFate: After your first mission with two of the Redguns, one of the duo, Iguazu, smugly tries to make it seem like ItsPersonal and says that he'll be the one to climb the Wall, not you. [[spoiler:He's long ejected in his own failed attempt by the time you actually get the mission request to do it yourself, and his partner, G4 Volta, was killed by the fortress's defences.]]
* ThemeNaming: They're all named after Earth rivers, lakes or waterfalls. In a darkly humorous touch, the PosthumousCharacter G7 Hakra is named after a ''dried-up'' river in Pakistan.
* UndyingLoyalty: By the time 621 [[spoiler:is assigned the mission to take out Michigan, the Redguns have been reduced to just him and his most fanatically loyal subordinates who have stuck with him despite Balam's increasingly worsening position against Arquebus. The remaining Redguns eagerly charge at 621 in suicidal wave attacks just to buy time for Michigan to get his AC ready to fight]].
!!G1 Michigan
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Setsuji Sato (Japanese), Creator/DCDouglas (English)
->'''AC Name:''' LIGER TAIL
->'''Rank:''' 02/S
The leading officer of the Redguns and the man in charge of their operations. A highly dedicated war hero, veteran of the Jupiter War and former fleet commander of Furlong Dynamics when it was still a rival company to Balam. Nile convinced him to start the Redguns over a drink of beer, and he now stands at its helm. He pilots the LIGER TAIL.
----
* AFatherToHisMen: PlayedWith. There's a fair amount of evidence that he sees himself as a stern but sincere father figure to his troops. After switching sides from Furlong to Balam post-Jupiter War, he even posted a bounty on himself with stipulations that half the payout would go to the men of his old fleet. That said, his ToughLove can veer into extremely abusive at his worst. It's heavily implied that this, along with his crude, simplistic tactics, is responsible for Balam's poor performance against Arquebus and the RLF. Despite this, he's shown to know even his non-Redgun troops by name, and if [[spoiler:621 fails their assassination attempt]], he is heard calling for stretchers to help the wounded. A low bar, but still more care than any of the other corporate types show for their soldiers, especially non-elites.
* CruelToBeKind: His bullying DrillSergeantNasty attitude could be interpreted as this ''at best'', being meant to both build up his men's mettle as soldiers, and keep them from dying needlessly. With mixed results.
* DoNotGoGentle: [[spoiler:If Rusty ends up being the one to kill him Walter mentions that Michigan went down fighting. Obviously this applies to when you're the one to kill him as well.]]
* DrillSergeantNasty: His entire persona. 621 is, ironically, the only character in the entire game who he has some degree of praise for [[spoiler:even when they're chewing through his entire army trying to kill him]], and he mostly uses that as a platform for creative bullying of his troops. As a result, Balam's forces are split evenly into mindless, gung-ho fanatics who he's successfully brought to heel and grumpy wannabe deserters who hate his guts.
* EvilIsHammy: He's a heavily implied war criminal DrillSergeantNasty working for an EvilInc corp who splits his time between hammering his allies and enemies into submission, and he does it with more psychotic gusto than nearly any other character in the game.
* FlunkyBoss: [[spoiler:He sends a horde of Balam MTs after you while preparing his AC for battle, and if you are too slow in dealing with them, you will be facing however many are left alongside Michigan. And after his defeat, another big wave of MTs show up as well.]]
* FourStarBadass: Even before entering Balam, he was already a highly decorated veteran of the Jupiter War who was known as a war hero throughout that sector of space. Even though he's no longer a part of his old army, his legend and reputation as a badass continue as the leader of the Redguns.
* FrontlineGeneral: He's the leader of the Redguns and one of the most important people in Balam. He still takes to the frontlines in his AC Liger Tail, first against the Ice Worm [[spoiler:and second when he moves in with his entire MT battalion to eliminate you.]]
* GeneralFailure: A walking demonstration that [[ThePeterPrinciple peerless piloting skills do not translate to peerless leadership skills]]. His corporate rivals in Arquebus have little but disdain and mockery for him, and considering how regularly and easily they outmaneuver him, it's not hard to see why. His tactics don't really have any greater depth than 'throw steel at a problem and hope it goes away', his peculiar obsession with 621 means the independent merc is routinely EasilyForgiven for PlayingBothSides even when their antics do serious damage to Balam (up to and including bullying and demoralizing his own troops with 621's superior performance [[spoiler:even when they're literally coming for his head]]), and his constant DrillSergeantNasty attitude has created a downright toxic internal culture in Balam's armed forces that further degrades their combat effectiveness.
* {{Jerkass}}: He's a DrillSergeantNasty who appears to believe that the best way to get the most out of his troops is with constant insults and condescension. This makes his sincere VillainRespect for 621 even stranger and funnier, [[spoiler:especially in the mission where you're assigned to assassinate him]].
* KilledOffScreen: [[spoiler:If you opt to assassinate V.V Hawkins and V.VIII Pater instead of Michigan when given the choice Arquebus sends Rusty to kill him instead, with Walter only making mention of it once you return from your own assassination job.]]
* LaughablyEvil: A brutal, bullying corpofascist whose LargeHam DrillSergeantNasty persona is so over-the-top it becomes hilarious.
* OldSoldier: He's old enough to have gained command of an entire armed fleet ''before'' joining Balam and creating the Redguns. He's evidently much older than the rest of the Redguns as well -- Red saw news reports of Michigan's heroic deeds during the war when he was still just a young lad, and now is part of the Redguns as an adult. Doesn't stop him one bit from taking to the frontlines in a tetrapod AC.
* PriceOnTheirHead: He put a hit ''on himself'' on Balam's bounty board, despite his status as one of Balam's primary military assets and a [[FamedInStory famous war hero]] that nobody in their right mind would ever want to kill. It's essentially a scheme to provide pension money for his former comrades at Furlong Dynamics, as half of the proceeds gained from killing Michigan will go to them instead.
* RedBaron: V.IV Rusty says he's known as "The Hell on Four Legs," likely having earned his name as a top-tier AC pilot and his unit being a tetrapod.
* ToughLove: Deconstructed. His bullying DrillSergeantNasty demeanor appears to have this as its rationale, but without any kind of positive reinforcement, it turns his troops into either suicidal fanatics desperate for his approval or bitter washouts with little (if any) motivation to follow his orders. The Redguns are fairly evenly split between both, and it's horribly degraded their combat effectiveness.
* VillainRespect: [[spoiler:Even if 621 chooses to fight him, he recognizes them for the threat that they are and [[NoNonsenseNemesis brings the full might of Balam's MT squad down on them]]. When one of the MT pilots laughs at how it's just a single AC against all of them, Michigan gets downright ''offended'' on 621's behalf and goes down a list of their accomplishments, saying the squad has no chance against them until he can get his own AC deployed. When another pilot mocks Iguazu as a cowardly traitor, he tells her that Iguazu was worth 100 of her, and that 621 is worth 20 of ''him'']].
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Logs and arena bios indicate that the way he won his reputation as the 'Hero of Jupiter' really wasn't pretty. Red's writeup even describes him as being inspired by Michigan's 'brutality'.
* WorthyOpponent: Despite [[spoiler:knowing 621 has been sent to kill him]], Michigan immediately chastises any of his subordinates who badmouth 621, pointing out that the independent mercenary is worth 20 times as much as a Redgun, which makes them worth several ''thousand'' times as much as a lowly MT pilot.
* ZergRush: [[spoiler:Attempts this on 621 by siccing an entire ocean of [=MTs=] to eliminate him in one of the selectable missions in Chapter 4. He was evidently prepared for it, but it doesn't succeed.]]
!!G2 Nile
->'''AC Name:''' DEEP DOWN
->'''Rank:''' 07/A
The deputy commander of the Redguns and a former foe of Michigan's before Michigan was recruited by Balam. He pilots the AC DEEP DOWN.
----
* BitCharacter: Compared to every other Redgun. Despite nominally being Michigan's right-hand-man, Nile's only in-story appearance is as the boss of an optional mission in Chapter 1, and he is never mentioned after his death.
* NumberTwo: The second of the Redguns both in callsign and his status as the secondary commander.
* TheRival: His Arena profile states that he and Michigan were once rivals during a corporate conflict between Balam and Michigan's old employer, Furlong, before Michigan jumped ship and the two started working together. It must have been a friendly rivalry because the two shared a drink once they were on the same side.
* TheSmartGuy: Walter calls him "the brains to Michigan's brawn."
!!G3 Wu Huahai
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JohnnyYongBosch (English)
->'''AC Name:''' LI LONG
->'''Rank:''' 22/D
An opportunistic Redgun pilot who arrives on Rubicon-3 in his bipedal AC Li Long
----
* BoxedCrook: Wu Huahai's Arena profile reveals that he was a con artist at the head of a vast criminal enterprise before G2 Nile brought him down. Much like Iguazu, Wu does not seem particularly loyal to Michigan or the Redguns and only serves reluctantly.
* GlorySeeker: He's actually glad if Maeterlinck is defeated before him, saying that the glory of defeating 621 will be all his.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: In a roundabout way, V.II Snail's idea of rewarding G3 for turning coat is to throw him under the bus immediately, either at the hands of Institute City's autonomous defenses or 621. He's barely a speedbump to the latter even alongside V.VI Maeterlinck.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Deserts Balam for Arquebus some time before they reach Institute City. Ayre herself muses he made the right call. Unfortunately for him, that also put him in 621's way.
* VillainousFriendship: G4 Volta's Arena profile states that Volta has been taking business lessons from the savvy G3.
!!G4 Volta
->'''AC Name:''' CANNON HEAD
->'''Rank:''' 17/C
A braggadocious Redgun pilot first introduced during Balam's assault on the Galia Dam Complex alongside his fellow Redgun, G5 Iguazu. He operates the AC CANNON HEAD.
----
* BruiserWithASoftCenter: Despite his attitude and his rough comradery with Iguazu over their shared animosity towards Michigan, Volta's last thoughts were addressed to Iguazu. It was about how Michigan actually does care about them both in his own way and that Michigan certainly cares more about them than the suits at Balam do. Volta even seems entertained with the notion that the Redguns are like "a family" to them.
* KilledMidSentence: The log retrieved from his smoking wreck at the Wall cuts off his last thought abruptly.
* KilledOffscreen: Dies during Balam's failed assault on the Wall, with his wrecked AC being shown during the briefing to add insult to injury. Notably, he is the only pilot in the game who will, regardless of route, die without 621's intervention.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Volta is rarely seen without G5 Iguazu as they both came from troubled backgrounds and were both put in their place by G1 Michigan. Both want to leave the Redguns once they prove themselves superior to Michigan and "punch the daylights out of him".
* TankGoodness: His Armored Core, CANNON HEAD, lives up to its name as a tank-styled AC outfitted with tank treads as a base and multiple explosive weapons.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: While many pilots only appear in one mission, Volta is still the first of the corporate elite to die.
!!G5 Iguazu
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiroshi Tsuchida (Japanese), Creator/GriffinBurns (English)
->'''AC Name:''' HEAD BRINGER/[[spoiler:ALLMIND]]
->'''Rank:''' 19/D
A confident and dismissive Redguns pilot that 621 meets early in their career on Rubicon. His unit is HEAD BRINGER.
----
* AceCustom: [[spoiler:In the TrueFinalBoss battle, he overpowers ALLMIND and takes control of their MIND ALPHA AC, which is leagues better and stronger than his HEAD BRINGER. In the second half of the fight when the AC is totalled, he also takes control of ALLMIND's new AC, which is even deadlier.]]
* AlwaysSecondBest: The core motivation behind his rivalry and jealousy toward 621. No matter what he does, Iguazu always falls short behind some no-named freelance merc who showed up out of nowhere. It doesn't help that when faced with overwhelming odds, Iguazu opts to get the hell out of dodge while 621 charges into battle and somehow comes out on top. As he puts it in "Alea Iacta Est", 621 was "the freelancer who had it all".
* BoomerangBigot: His Arena profile reveals that he's a Generation 4 Augmented Human just like 621, which explains a lot about both the peculiar mental issues that tend to distract him in combat and his passionate hatred for Handler Walter's pet 'freak'.
* BoxedCrook: He and G4 Volta were criminals who were picked up by the Redguns. Despite his initial misgivings, Iguazu accepted his role in the company and began working for the Redguns in full.
* BrainUploading: [[spoiler:In NG++, he uploads himself into ALLMIND purely out of his desire to kill 621. His comments on how his "ghost of [him]" won't last long imply that not only did this process kill his original body, but that he is slowly undergoing a DeathOfPersonality as a result of the assimilation. Despite this, he ultimately manages to maintain his identity and control over ALLMIND's AC through [[ThePowerOfHate pure hatred]].]]
* ChekhovsGunman: He makes a handful of three appearances across the whole story, with his last appearance [[spoiler:ending in his death at 621's hands]]. His role is significantly expanded in NG++ [[spoiler:where he repeatedly shows up to attack 621, and in the TrueFinalBoss battle, hijacks ALLMIND in a last-ditch attempt to kill them once and for all]].
* CurbStompBattle: His Arena profile mentions that he once tried picking a fight with G1 Michigan, and was so thoroughly wrecked that his face got literally disfigured in the process.
* {{Determinator}}: The moment C4-621 shows him up, Iguazu decides then and there he will surpass and/or kill 621, even if it kills him. [[spoiler:It's a testament to his strength of will that even after having his mind uploaded into ALLMIND, he fights back against the A.I. and hijacks its AC just to try and kill 621 one last time.]]
* DirtyCoward: While talking tough, you can generally count on Iguazu to never fight fair if he doesn't have to, either ambushing you while you're already in a fight or having backup in some form. He is also one of the few pilots to rely on a shield.
** On NG+, [[spoiler:instead of facing you himself at Watchpoint Alpha, he hires an assassin to kill you for him. Though this is justified in that in NG+, you have likely already defeated him two separate times by this point.]]
* DyingDeclarationOfHate: [[spoiler:On the final route, as the final boss, Iguazu spits out with vitriol his envy of 621 as ALLMIND's AC self-destructs.]]
* EvilCounterpart: [[spoiler:In "Alea Iacta Est" he becomes an evil 621, simply put. Whereas 621 and Ayre have a symbiotic partnership as part of the Coral HiveMind, Iguazu becomes a finger puppet in ALLMIND's network. Even the circumstances that leave the two to fight alone are completely opposite -- Ayre fights alongside 621 until her AC is crippled, while Iguazu forcefully hijacks ALLMIND because he wants to kill 621 himself that badly.]]
* EvilIsPetty: On NG+, his hatred for you goes so far beyond just trying to prove that he's the better pilot than you that [[spoiler:he hires an assassin to kill you at Watchpoint Alpha rather than try to take you there himself.]]
* FourIsDeath: In "Alea Iacta Est", Iguazu makes five appearances in comparison to the three times he shows up in the other two story paths, though he appears as an enemy four times: First [[spoiler:at the Galia Dam when 621 betrays the Redguns mid-op at the RLF's behest]], second [[spoiler:when he takes on a job from the Coyotes to steal data from [=RaD=] at Grid 069]], third [[spoiler:at Institute City where he tries to take out both 621 and V.II Snail]], and lastly [[spoiler:in the final story mission where he pulls a VillainOverride against ALLMIND for one final attempt. It winds up being his last.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In Chapter 4, Iguazu complains [[spoiler:about hearing voices in his head, heavily implied to be the Coral attempting Contact with him as Iguazu, like 621, is an augmented human and one of the few people who can hear and interact with the Coral. Unlike 621 with Ayre, Iguazu does ''not'' deal with it very well]].
* GreenEyedMonster: As 621's career continues to grow, Iguazu becomes increasingly resentful of what he considers to be a simple merc. A lot of this resentment stems from the fact that 621 is not only a far better pilot than he is and upstages him at almost every turn, but also the fact that 621 takes down threats Iguazu chose to run away from. [[spoiler:His envy and hate for 621 is so great he essentially pulls a HijackedByGanon VillainOverride ''on the TrueFinalBoss''. His final moments in this route finally has him admit his envy to himself, seeing 621 as "the freelancer who had it all".]]
* HotBlooded: Deconstructed. He gets annoyed and infuriated very easily, which leads him to picking fights with people he ''really'' shouldn't. His Arena bio notes how he tried to pick a fight with Michigan, the Hero of Jupiter, and got the shit kicked out of him for his troubles. After 621 performs admirably during the assault on Galia Dam [[spoiler:or betrays them mid-op to assist the RLF]], he develops an intense and bitter rivalry with them, [[spoiler:which leads to his death; in the first two paths, he's killed in an attempt at ambushing 621 in Depth 2 while in "Alea Iacta Est", he's destroyed despite having hijacked ALLMIND and taken control of its assets, though at that point he's already been absorbed into its network and will disappear once he kills 621]].
* KarmicDeath: Normally not the case since he usually is unceremoniously mowed down by you in Watchpoint Alpha, [[spoiler:but in "Alea Iacta Est", when you finally beat him and ALLMIND, he tries [[DeathOrGloryAttack one last]] attempt to take you down with one last laser blade swing. Unfortunately for him, this overclocking ends up blowing up what was left of the AC. Iguazu's hot blood always got him into trouble for nothing, so it's appropriate his last act of hatred was sabotaged by his own fury.]]
* ThePowerOfHate: [[spoiler:His envy and hate toward 621 is what propels his actions, but it's especially poignent in the "Alea Iacta Est" path where his obsession with killing 621 is so great he overpowers and takes control of ALLMIND's AC and two Sea Spider C-Weapons just to have the opportunity to kill them one last time.]]
* RecurringBoss: Iguazu has the "honor" of being the most fought character in the game. On NG, you fight him [[spoiler:when he attempts to ambush you at Watchpoint Alpha]]. On NG+, you [[spoiler:can choose to betray him and his teammate at the dam assault mission and when he attempts to kill you while you are helping Carla take out a rival dozer clan encroaching on her territory. Though notably, you do NOT fight him at Watchpoint Alpha, as he hires the assassin Coldcall to kill you in his place.]] And on NG++, [[spoiler:he manages to hijack ALLMIND itself just for one last attempt to kill you.]]
* TheRival: Albeit entirely one-sided on his part. Iguazu initially considers C4-621 a "nobody" and disparages them, but begrudgingly acknowledges their abilities. [[spoiler:Until the Redguns' ill-fated assault on the Wall, at least. As 621 climbs the mercenary ranks and establishes themselves as a top-tier pilot, Iguazu becomes ''obsessed'' with defeating them. His bitter rivalry with 621 is to the point where, in the GoldenEnding, he somehow hijacks ALLMIND to kill the augmented human in one final showdown.]]
* RuleOfThree: Outside of "Alea Iacta Est", Iguazu shows up three times in each story path: Once at Galia Dam, again during [[spoiler:the operation to destroy the PCA's Ice Worm]], and at Watchpoint Alpha [[spoiler:after going AWOL and attempting to kill 621 in a panicked frenzy]].
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Despite his boasts, he gets cold feet before the Redguns attack the Wall and flies AWOL just in time for his teammates to get soundly defeated. [[spoiler:He does this again at Watchpoint Alpha, this time deserting the Redguns.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: His role in the GoldenEnding. [[spoiler:ALLMIND was all but guaranteed to win and absorb 621 and Ayre into itself until Iguazu takes control of it to kill his "rival".]]
* TakingYouWithMe: Attempts this in [[spoiler:"Alea Iacta Est" where he tries to mount one last attack after his AP is depleted. As the AC has suffered critical damage, however, all he accomplishes is overloading it to the point the AC can no longer function at all]].
* TookALevelInBadass: For most encounters, such as his Arena match, his fighting style is ill-suited for HEAD BRINGER's loadout. He plays very safely keeping his pulse shield up as often as he can while circling around you from a safe mid-range distance while trying to land hits with his (uncharged) linear rifle shots and missiles, and really only resorts to his machine gun if his shield overheated. [[spoiler:When he joins the skirmish as 621 attempts to get the drop on V.II Snail creating a MeleeATrois, he fights noticably more aggressively, making more effective use of his dual trigger loadout to create much more pressure on both 621 and Snail, and will capitalize on staggers with a Boost Kick, which he will not use otherwise. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration Though, it can also be explained that continually hearing voices in his head is driving him into a blind berserker rage as well.]]]]
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: [[spoiler:His hatred for 621 is so great it allows him to take control of ALLMIND in the GoldenEnding all so he can finally kill 621.]]
* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Having integrated into ALLMIND, Iguazu suddenly fights with the A.I. and takes control of its AC body to kill 621, becoming the final boss of "Alea Iacta est" and of ''Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon'' overall.]]
* VillainOverride: [[spoiler:In the GoldenEnding, Iguazu forcefully takes control of ALLMIND and their mech during the final battle as he is simply ''that'' obsessed with killing 621 once and for all.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: On NG+, he is unaccounted for by the end. On NG, [[spoiler:he presumably dies in the tunnels of Watchpoint Alpha after his failed attempt to kill you. And in NG++, he dies after trying to kill you using ALLMIND. But on NG+, he never appears in person again after the Iceworm mission; he sends an assassin after you instead of trying to kill you himself.]]
* YouCanSeeMe: [[spoiler:Due to his status as an augmented human, Iguazu can hear the voices of the Coral. In fact, the voice he's been complaing about is actually Ayre's, as he recognizes her voice during the TrueFinalBoss battle.]]
!!G6 Red
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Katsunori Okai (Japanese), Creator/RobbieDaymond (English)
->'''AC Name:''' HERMIT
->'''Rank:''' 27/F
The intermediary between 621 and Balam Industries. His unit is called HERMIT.
----
* DrillSergeantNasty: He is this incarnate. He constantly talks like a Southern drill instructor to everyone. According to his arena bio, he looks up to G1 Michigan, so this mannerism is likely a result of imitation.
* HeroWorship: G1 Michigan’s televised exploits left such an impression on G6 Red’s childhood that he pulled all the stops to model his career and mannerisms on his idol.
* MilesGloriosus: He's very loud and authoritative and somehow is the superior to most of the other Redguns. Despite that, he's a ''very'' low-ranking mercenary, being the final battle of the F series, aka the series 621 starts in.
* SanitySlippage: Is very understandably freaking out when encountered in the third route. [[spoiler:He briefly teams up with 621 to fend off some attackers, before turning on them out of (justifiable) paranoia. Ayre sadly notes that he's under too much combat stress to be reasoned with.]]
* SoleSurvivor: By the end of the game, he's the last Redgun standing, and likely the last ''Balam'' trooper left on Rubicon. [[spoiler:He's killed directly by 621 in the "Alea Iacta Est" path, and presumably burned with the rest of the planet in the "Fires of Raven" ending, but he is to be seen in the "Liberator of Rubicon" path and may have been able to escape the planet.]]
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: G6 Red is rather superstituous and believes the number 13 is bad luck. In Chapter 3, he advises 621 to join the Redguns and climb up the ranks so as to ditch the G13 callsign altogether. [[spoiler:Red spends his duel with 621 in the "Alea Iacta Est" path ranting about how their 'joining' the Redguns as G13 was a curse, responsible for everything that had gone wrong since then.]]
* UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler:621 can rescue him from an ambush late in the game after the Redguns are destroyed. However, Red subsequently turns his own guns on 621 in a fit of rampant paranoia]].
!!G7 Hakra
->'''AC Name:''' Unknown
->'''Rank:''' 22/D
A Redgun pilot whose wrecked machine is found among the ruins of the contaminated city in 621's first mission.
----
* PosthumousCharacter: It's all but outright said that Hakra's dead, given that G3 Wu Huahai takes his rank later. Walter rejects the idea of 621 using Hakra's pilot license because the risk of 621 being exposed as an imposter is greater than if they took an independent license.
* RedRightHand: Almost literally. From the scan take 621 takes, the left arm of Hakra's AC was brick-red, contrasting the dull green paint scheme the rest of the mech had.
!!Dafeng Student Pilot
->''"I just wanted a callsign of my own..."''
-->--Last words of Dafeng Student Pilot
A student pilot assigned to an ill-fated mission to deliver a Dafeng sample AC to the Redguns.
----
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: A common character type in Real Robot anime is the teenage pilot who finds himself controlling a SuperPrototype, which becomes instrumental in a conflict. The Student Pilot hits all these checkmarks, as he is suddenly forced to pilot the Tester AC in live combat, a machine Arquebus considers to have dangerous potential. Unfortunately, without narrative causality to protect the student, his inexperience dooms him and his advanced AC while fighting a veteran mercenary using a tried and tested model.
* EagerRookie: Young, idealistic, and [[WrongGenreSavvy in the wrong genre]] to be the hero he imagines himself to be.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: The student pilot was only assigned to the Dafeng test AC to deliver it to the proper Redguns, only to end up in actual combat when the Arquebus Corporation hires the player to destroy the craft. [[DeconstructedTrope He's effortlessly killed by 621.]]
* HeroicWannabe: The student pilot talks like your typical mecha anime protagonist, but he's utterly out of his depth against 621, and dies an unceremonious death.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: As his death quote says, his main motivation is to get a callsign; proof that he's joined the ranks of the 'elite' soldiers in Rubicon.
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Had 621 not shown up and killed him, the student pilot would have taken up the callsign G13 in the Redguns. If G6 Red's words in Chapter 3 during the prep work to take out [[spoiler:the PCA]] are any indication, however, anyone who winds up with that callsign isn't going to last very long.
* WarmUpBoss: As a student pilot in a test AC, The student pilot serves as an introduction to AC on AC combat. The student pilot goes down like a chump due to inexperience.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Minor Corporations]]
!!Elcano
A company that began in steel forging and production, and has shifted to producing advanced, lightweight AC parts with a flashy, sporty aesthetic. More deeply involved in the Rubicon conflict than is immediately apparent.
----
* AmbiguouslyRelated: [[spoiler:They're the primary suppliers of the RLF's most advanced technology, with no other faction using their gear, and ALLMIND lists a test AC with Elcano and BAWS parts as 'Rubiconian'. What's unclear is the nature of their link with the planet and its people, and why they're so close to the RLF - are they also a Rubiconian company, do they have Rubiconians in management positions, or are they just sympathisers?]]
* ChekhovsGunman: Mentioned as early as the back-half of Chapter 1, between BAWS guards idle chatter and an intercepted encrypted communication when revisiting the Wall. [[spoiler:By applying the knowledge they gleaned from Schneider [=ACs=] and putting their lot in with the RLF and collaborating with Furlong Dynamics, they create the top-line AC, STEEL HAZE ORTUS for Rusty, and provide other Schneider-based [=ACs=] to furnish members of the RLF during the "Liberator of Rubicon" route.]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: A high-tech, sporty Italian AC parts company that focuses on speed, style, and flair. They're basically Ferrari or Lamborghini if they were [[spoiler:bankrolling an anticolonial guerrilla movement.]]
* FlechetteStorm: They have a unique line of needle weaponry, designed to punch through enemy armour with high-velocity metal spikes. [[spoiler:In-game information implies that it was designed with the help of Furlong, the galaxy's leading missile launcher manufacturers.]] Elcano needlers are lightweight and have an excellent balance of damage and rate of fire, at the expense of range and ammo capacity.
* FragileSpeedster: Their signature FIRMEZA frame is sleek, lightweight, speedy, and skeletally thin. [[spoiler:The ALBA parts belonging to STEEL HAZE ORTUS take the traits even further.]]
* NeutralNoLonger: [[spoiler:The RLF manages to secure a formal arrangement for their cooperation sometime towards the end of Chapter 4.]]
!!Takigawa Harmonics
One of the leading manufacturers in pulse technology.
----
* DispelMagic: As the majority of pulse weapons are also made by Takigawa, their armaments will prove valuable in disabling enemies utilizing Pulse Armor faster.
* EnergyWeapons: Alongside the Arquebus Group and the AmbiguouslyRelated VCPL, they're the main manufacturers of energy weaponry, with a cheap-and-cheerful vibe and an emphasis on rapid-fire pulse technology.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: They manufacture nearly half of the pulse shields available in the game.
* {{Vibroweapon}}: The Pulse Blade pounds its targets with high-frequency oscillations.
!!Vice and Cohen Plasma Laboratory
Also known as VCPL, it's a manufacturer whose primary focus in the AC part market is EnergyWeapons and especially melee-based ones.
----
* AmbiguouslyRelated: To Arquebus. Their parts have a similar naming scheme and aesthetic to Arquebus gear, and the Vespers use a fair amount of VCPL tech, but the precise details of their relationship (if they have one) are unknown.
* EnergyWeapons: Much like Arquebus, though specializing towards plasma-based guns and launchers.
* LaserBlade: VCPL's other specialty is manufacturing these, with many of the melee weapons out in the battlefield being their handiwork.
!!Furlong Dynamics
A corporation whose primary focus in the AC part market are missiles and boosters.
----
* AceCustom: With their assistance, the Rubicon Liberation Force managed to create a state of the art AC. [[spoiler:It becomes Rusty's new AC at the end of the game.]]
* MacrossMissileMassacre: Their specialty. Their most extensive shoulder weapon platform can launch up to ''sixteen'' missiles at once, and [=ACs=] can equip two of them.
!!Belius Applied Weapon Systems (BAWS)
A Rubiconian MT manufacturer based in the southern Belius region. Due to their technological inferiority to the extrasolar corporations, the BAWS product line focused on cheap, mass-produced [=MTs=] and low-grade AC hardware.
----
* ArmsDealer: Of the legitimate variety compared to [=RaD=], and willing to sell to all sides of the conflict due to their neutrality.
* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: While BAWS [=MTs=] are used by all factions, their AC part lineup consists mostly of legacy parts for last-generation units, with their main selling points being low cost, low EN drain, and general ruggedness.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:Behind a veneer of neutrality that BAWS uses to protect themselves from reprisal, its employees are bonafide RLF sympathizers attempting to use investments into Elcano for the sake of drawing another corporation into the war on their side.]]
* TheRemnant: BAWS comprises much of what remains of Rubicon-3's homegrown industry following the Fires of Ibis, and still maintains its own functional infrastructure rather than just scavenging or improvising.
!!Melinite
A manufacturer that specializes in explosive weaponry.
----
* StuffBlowingUp: Their main specialty is bazookas and grenade launchers, small and large, including SONGBIRDS.
[[/folder]]
%% Currently under construction!
%%
%% There is no correct reason to put the name of a trope in spoiler tags. If the name of the trope constitutes a spoiler, either don't add it to begin with or pothole it from a related trope entry. The point of this page is to convey information; an entry that is completely spoilered out does not achieve this. See Administrivia/HandlingSpoilers for further details.
%%
%%
This page details the Corporations of ''VideoGame/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon''. Head back through [[Characters/ArmoredCoreVIFiresOfRubicon here]] for other character pages. '''Unmarked spoilers ahead.'''
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:In General]]
Following the rediscovery of Coral on Rubicon 3, a variety of interstellar corporations have descended on the planet seeking to exploit this priceless resource.
----
* CorporateWarfare: As usual for ''Armored Core''. Arquebus and Balam are warring against each other and the Rubicon Liberation Front for control of the planet's Coral reserves.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:With few interests aside from keeping their Coral flowing, the corporations behave more like predictable forces of nature than traditional antagonists. The balance of power between them gradually becomes less important as the main story arc progresses to issues beyond their immediate concern. By each of the endings, they are fundamentally irrelevant and are all equally unable to stop what will happen in either of the three endings — with only "Liberator of Rubicon" giving them the potential chance to re-establishing the StatusQuoIsGod that is the ForeverWar for the Coral resources on Rubicon.]]
* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:In Chapter 3, Arquebus and Balam declare a temporary ceasefire in order to deal with the even greater threat of the PCA. They go right back to killing each other once the PCA are forced to withdraw from Rubicon.]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Arquebus is a classic high-class Western MegaCorp writ large, while Balam is largely a mix of Asian and American corporate culture.
* MegaCorp: All of them fit this to a tee, but especially Arquebus Corporation/Balam Industries, and their respective subsidiaries who are the two primary forces leading the invasion of Rubicon-3.
* NGOSuperpower: The corporations squabbling over Rubicon-3 have enough manpower and resources to sustain operations on an interstellar scale, as well as finance their own private armies.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Neither the corporations nor many of the people working for them care for Rubicon-3 and its inhabitants. So long as they get their Coral, and get paid in the process.
* PlanetLooters: The corporations solely interested in exploiting Rubicon-3 for its Coral, regardless of the effects on the native population, and their (lack of) consent in the matter.
* SlobsVsSnobs: Arquebus's leadership tries to exude an air of sophistication and regality and try to see the bigger picture in the conflict while Balam's leaders act more like loud military drill sergeants and are just happy for a big fight. [[spoiler:The latter traits for both factions leads to Arquebus crushing Balam when the latter chooses to lead the offensive against the Ice Worm in act 3, leaving the PCA's fleet to Arquebus, who happily loot it for advanced technology, which they proceed to use against Balam to great effect.]]
* StatusQuoIsGod: Before the events of the game, the corporations are locked in a ForeverWar with each other, the Rubicon Liberation Front, and the PCA. It's not until 621 shows up that any side makes any real progress in bringing the war under their control.
* WarForFunAndProfit: But of course. They're literally competing against each other and Rubicon's inhabitants to get their hands on Coral, a substance that benefits humanity greatly, and of course, each corporation has their own designs for it.
* WeHaveReserves: In addition to having their own strike forces of elite AC pilots, the corporations also have throngs of HiredGuns serving as the bulk of their military firepower...albeit in practice, serving as glorified CannonFodder in their endless battles.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Arquebus Corporation]]
!!As a whole
One of the two largest conglomerates attempting to exploit Rubicon-3's Coral, and a major AC parts manufacturer. The Arquebus Corporation focuses on sleek, high performance parts and energy weapons. Rival to Balam Industries.
----
* BeamSpam: They're specialists in EnergyWeapons, and their laser shotguns and AttackDrone technology can fill the air with a whole lot of blue light.
* BrainsVersusBrawn: The brains versus Balam's brawn, Arquebus is constantly playing manipulations, tricks and underhanded tactics to try to get one over on their competition. Their part types also compliment more lighter, energy-focused builds for your AC designs. [[spoiler:All that strategy works out against Balam, but their brains aren't enough to guess there's a GreaterScopeVillain in the works.]]
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:In the "Alea Iacta Est" route. Despite coming out on top in the race for Coral after incorporating PCA tech and Balam's forces forced to leave after losing the Redguns, ALLMIND utterly ''slaughters'' them in what can only be described as a MookHorrorShow as it takes control of the Institute MT mechs and sets them upon Arquebus' soldiers. With the Vespers similarly gone and V.II Snail having been killed earlier, Arquebus' forces are killed en masse in Depth 2.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: A two-fold problem following [[spoiler:their EnemyMine with Balam]].
** [[spoiler:Acquiring the treasure trove of PCA weaponry after defeating them might have finally forced Balam off of Rubicon-3 with their superior firepower, allowing Arquebus to become the sole corporation to monopolize Coral in the process... but as they quickly learn, being the last one standing does not mean they get to quietly begin harvesting their boons -- as the sole enemy of most of the remaining factions of Rubicon-3, ''everyone'' is gunning for them exclusively now, instead of deciding they are a LesserOfTwoEvils. Without Balam to take some heat off of them amid the ForeverWar, Arquebus simply does not have the manpower to enforce their control over the planet, even with their new technological advantage.]]
** [[spoiler:Just because they acquired the proprietary tech that the PCA had does not mean Arquebus has ''the time'' to roll out these upgrades. Many of their newly acquired SuperPrototypes barely had time for field-testing, leaving them to resort to their observations while ''fighting'' PCA tech to have the faintest idea of how they work. Not having the time to understand PCA tech properly means that it can be backdoored very easily and become a wide-spread TrojanHorse to their forces, as ALLMIND [[CurbStompBattle shows]] in "Alea Iacta Est".]]
* EnergyWeapons: They've created an entire brand for themselves as the galaxy's premium suppliers of laser and plasma weaponry. Their arsenal is light, sleek and deadly, if predictably energy-hungry.
* EvilBrit: Most of Arquebus' personnel speak in refined, upper clas British tones, and are decidedly antagonistic to 621 in all endings.
* ForceAndFinesse: At least in terms of market, Arquebus styles itself as the refined "finesse" to Balam's brute force military mindset. Their focus on EnergyWeapons (which are more lightweight and power-intensive than kinetics and explosives) also leans them slightly in favour of FragileSpeedster machines.
* InsufferableGenius: Their technological and military sophistication greatly outstrip that of their rivals, Balam - they've got better gear, better pilots, better tactics, and better strategy, and it's a gap that only keeps widening [[spoiler:once they apply these advantages to steal a gigantic treasure-trove of PCA tech]]. Unfortunately, they know this, and they're complete assholes about it. [[spoiler:It also gives them a serious UnderestimatingBadassery problem when one of their most useful external contractors turns on them for good.]]
* NothingIsScarier: It's not exactly stated what Arquebus's "re-education" entails to those enemy forces they capture beyond the obvious UnwillingRoboticisation that turns them into [[WeHaveReserves an obedient lapdog to throw at the enemy]], but it is apparently a horrific enough procedure that [[spoiler:even a strong-willed individual like Walter is psychologically ''broken'' to his core and is only able to keep some semblance of personal willpower despite being ordered around because of his UndyingLoyalty to the promise he made to his long-dead friends to fulfill their mission and the whole final battle of the "Liberator of Rubicon" route comes off more of a MercyKill from the horrors he suffered at Arquebus's hands.]]
* SmugSnake: Higher-functioning than Balam, but their confidence in their own power and intelligence still significantly exceeds their actual power and intelligence. [[spoiler:In the 'Fires of Raven' route, Walter has you mainly back Arquebus because even with stolen PCA tech, they'll still be a more easily-removable threat to his plans than the actual PCA.]]
* UnderestimatingBadassery: [[spoiler:Barring a couple like [[BloodKnight Freud]] and [[TokenGoodTeammate Rusty]], the whole Corporation looks down on C4-621 when they make their attack on their forces despite how frighteningly accomplished they are by that point. This, coupled with their SuicidalOverconfidence, ends up leading to their entire [[CorporateSamurai Vespers strike force]] and a majority of faction's elite being being ''[[CurbStompBattle obliterated]]'' singlehandedly in the closing acts of the game.]]
* UpperClassTwit: The Arquebus Corporation mission rep gives off these vibes, speaking with an upper-class twang in English, and referring to the soldiers of the RLF as "rabble."
* TheUriahGambit: Originally, Arquebus [[spoiler:only allowed 621 to participate in Operation Wallclimber with the intention of using them as expendable cannon fodder against the Wall's defenses while the Vespers did all the actual work. Later, Arquebus sets up competing contracts to have 621 and Rusty target each other, seeing it as a way to eliminate two potential problems at once]].
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Starting from Chapter 4, Arquebus becomes considerably more arrogant and heavy-handed. [[spoiler:Because Balam offered to spearhead the operation against the Ice Worm while Arquebus handled the PCA, the latter incorporated the PCA's tech and gained enough power and influence to effectively take control of the race for Coral. Late into the chapter, they set up V.IV Rusty and 621 to kill each other, the former for having become too rowdy for their liking and 621 for getting them to Institute City. When that plan fails, V.II Snail opts to capture them while they're exhausted and prepare to ship them off for "re-education".]]
!!Schneider
An Arquebus subsidiary, Schneider focuses on AC parts built for aerial combat. Its parts emphasize aerial mobility.
----
* TechnicianVsPerformer: Their AC parts lean more towards performance, relying on fast movements and flashy aerial combat.
* FragileSpeedster: Schneider's AC parts focus on speed and maneuverability above all other concerns, on both ground and air but ''especially'' in the air. However, this also means that very few Schneider parts provide high load capacity or high durability.
!!Vespers
Arquebus Corporation's elite AC pilot strike force. Like Balam's Redguns, they operate on a rank-based structure, with the prefix before their callsigns (V.(Roman numeral), pronounced "Vesper (number)") denoting what rank they occupy within the Vespers.
----
* CorporateSamurai: Act as these to Arquebus.
* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: The majority of them have undertaken next-generation augmentation surgery, as it appears to be a requirement to become a pilot in the Vespers, and the side effects of doing so have left many of them rather sick in the head -- some more so than others.
* DysfunctionJunction: Barring the relatively well-adjusted [[TokenHeroicOrc V.IV Rusty]] and [[TheSmurfettePrinciple V.VI Maeterlinck]], the Vespers are stated in their profiles to suffer from various psychological problems resulting from augmentation surgery, such as V.II Snail having an addiction to ''receiving'' augmentation surgery, V.V Hawkins suffering from SurvivorsGuilt after watching many of his friends die to the surgery, or V.VII Swinburne developing paranoia due to it being unclear if his augmentations even did anything meaningful. It's also stated that a few of them hade problems before they went through augmentation, as is the case with [[TheSociopath V.VIII Pater]] and [[BloodKnight V.I Freud]].
* TheProudElite: Besides a few exceptions, the Vespers are more or less a bunch of rich next-gen snobs outfitted with high-tech [=ACs=] who continuously look down on 621 simply for being an older-gen pilot. It's even shown in their callsigns, as they use more sophisticated-looking Roman numerals to denote rank in comparison to the Redguns using simple Arabic numerals.
* PsychoRangers: Although the Redguns themselves aren't exactly [[EvilVersusEvil upstanding examples of moral character]], the Vespers serve as their better equipped and less merciful counterparts who, unlike the Redguns, never consider 621 to be a part of. Bonus points for consisting mostly of [[DysfunctionJunction actual psychos]], thanks to the side-effects of augmentation surgery.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Serve as one of [[RuleOfThree three]] that can be found on Rubicon, the other two being the Redguns and the RLF's leadership. While many of them are simple bit characters, a few are powerful and/or insidious enough to serve as major players in the battle for Rubicon's Coral.
* RankScalesWithAsskicking: As a general rule in the VideoGame/ArmoredCore universe, the better one is at kicking ass, the higher rank they will be rewarded within an organization. The Vespers are no exception to this rule, with the highly-decorated war hero V.I Freud at the helm and the equally-formidable V.II Snail as the NumberTwo. [[spoiler:Subverted as it turns out that it's Snail who [[DragonInChief runs the majority of operations within the Vespers]]; Freud is a blood knight who only cares about piloting his AC and even takes orders (though he also ignores them just as much) from Snail when he finally sorties in one of the last few missions.]]
* ThemeNaming: With the exception of [[OddNameOut Snail and Rusty]], the majority of them are named after Western poets, painters, and philosophers.
!!V.I Freud
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Koji Okino (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' LOCKSMITH
->'''Rank:''' 01/S
->''[[BloodKnight "More... I want... More...!"]]''
Commander of the Vespers and their AcePilot. His personal AC is LOCKSMITH.
----
* AttackDrone: The VCPL Vvc-700LD Laser Drones are his unique asset in his otherwise mundane AC loadout, which no other pilot uses. Carla specifically warns 621 of them and that only someone like him can use them as well as he does. Players can acquire it for themselves by beating his simulation in the Arena.
* AuthorityInNameOnly: Officially, Freud is the commander of the Vespers. In practice, it's Snail who runs the group, since Freud is more interested in destroying enemies and improving himself.
* AxCrazy: His combat dialogue makes it clear that his BloodKnight tendencies have devolved all the way into AddledAddict territory. By the time you kill him, he's ranting at his own Core to hold together and help him keep the combat high going. Ironically, as TheTeamNormal, he's the only Vesper who has no excuse whatsoever for this behavior.
* BadassNormal: An extreme example. His Arena bio describes him as being a "ordinary human being", heavily implying that unlike the rest of the Vespers (and most other pilots on Rubicon), Freud is unaugmented and his unmatched piloting capabilities are pure, natural genius.
* BeamSpam: Uses a Laser Blade with wide-sweeping arcs if you get too close to him.
* BloodKnight: Once 621 gives him a run for his money, Freud immediately loses his boredom and gets excited at the prospect of fighting someone who can ''really'' push him to the edge. If you die during the fight with him, he'll get pissed and demand 621 keep fighting even though their AC is totalled. He even disregards Snail's orders and shut off his comms channel just to fight 621 all the way to the very end. [[spoiler:When you defeat him, he gets angry, not because he lost, but because he wanted the fight to last longer]].
-->'''Freud:''' ''(Taken down to half-health)'' I haven't seen moves like ''that'' before. ''[[WorthyOpponent Interesting]]''...\\
'''Snail:''' This is no time for ''fun and games'', Freud! Our objective is to seize the Xylem. [[UnderestimatingBadassery You can ignore the]] ''[[UnderestimatingBadassery mutt.]]''\\
'''Freud:''' [[TranquilFury Yes, Snail. You're right.]] ''(Freud hangs up the comm) Now then.'' ''[[BringIt Let's continue.]]''
* TheDreaded: He has a well-deserved reputation as the single deadliest pilot on Rubicon, and even hardened veterans like Carla are nervous about the idea of him taking to the field.
* HeroKiller: His grim in-universe reputation is entirely deserved - when Freud shows up, people die. [[spoiler:Your fight against him in the "Fires of Raven" route begins with him instantly obliterating "Chatty" Stick, a solidly competent AC pilot who's fought alongside you in several wildly dangerous situations and come out intact.]]
* TheTeamNormal: The only unagumented member of the Vespers - and, ironically, one of the most talented and most dangerously unhinged.
* TheUnfought: You only encounter him in the "Fires of Raven" path and in the Arena. He's nowhere to be seen in the other paths.
* WorldsBestWarrior: A BadassNormal who's the top-ranked AC pilot on Rubicon, where SuperSoldier augmented jockeys are the norm. He outstrips absolutely everyone else in pure technical skill. Even his Core, LOCKSMITH, isn't super-fancy for a top Arquebus machine, to the point that half of it consists of ''[[BoringButPractical Balam]]'' parts. This is in contrast to Snail's OPEN FAITH, which is a top-of-the-line hulking behemoth, entirely Arquebus-made, and uses mostly Arquebus weapons and accessories (and one of the two things he uses not directly made by Arquebus is made by Schneider, an Arquebus subsidiary).
* WorthyOpponent: [[spoiler:Freud very quickly grows impressed with 621's skills during their fight, glad that their reputation is well-earned. In fact, in his last moments as his AC burns up and crumbles to pieces, [[BloodKnight he's more infuriated that he can't keep fighting you than that he lost at all]].]]
!!V.II Snail
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiromichi Tezuka (Japanese), Jon Lipow (English)
->'''AC Name:''' OPEN FAITH
->'''Rank:''' 06/A
Officially Deputy Commander of the Vespers, Snail is its actually the ''de facto'' leader. Snail's personal AC is OPEN FAITH.
----
* BadassBookworm: Obnoxious SmugSnake he may be, he's a genuinely talented strategist and scientist who plays a key role in leading his corporation to victory against their enemies in Balam and the PCA (and in exploiting the fruits of their victory), and backs it up with solid piloting chops to make sure his BiggerStick rides hit as hard as they should. Even Rusty, who's no fan of his, admits that he's 'second to none' in the Vespers.
* BadBoss: While Walter is pragmatic in his relationship with the augmented humans under his employ, especially 621, he at least values their abilities since they get the job done. Snail is the exact opposite and will use anyone and everyone as sacrificial pawns to get what he wants. In "Reach the Coral Convergence", [[spoiler:he purposefully leaves his troops and a fellow Vesper to die at 621's hands]].
* BiggerStick: A firm believer in using his PositionOfLiteralPower to give himself the biggest possible stick. Apart from his perfectly (and expensively) adjusted SuperSoldier augmentations, OPEN FAITH is a behemoth heavy biped loaded with the latest and deadliest Arquebus tech. [[spoiler:After 621 tears it apart in the Liberator of Rubicon route, he upgrades to an AceCustom version of the PCA's Balteus assault craft.]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: He's just not a trustworthy partner or employer. Any job you or anyone else takes for him carries the risks of him sacrificing you or otherwise screwing you over in order to ensure that he earns more than you do. [[spoiler:One of his most spectacularly dickish moves involves hiring you and Rusty to investigate Watchpoint Alpha in a multi-mission chain, and then finishing it off by telling both of you that the other has gone rogue, in the hope that you'll kill each other off.]]
* CombatPragmatist: Rather than attempt to kill [[spoiler:621 himself, he instead allows them to demolish his troops and take on the Ibis series mech controlled by the Coral and uses a stun launcher to lock down their AC afterward when they're exhausted]].
* DirtyCoward: Downplayed, but definitely a character trait of his. He is a very pragmatic sort of coward, avoiding any and all conflict unless he's either forced into it or it would reflect poorly on him not to. He constantly orders his augmentation surgeries tested on others, often to the point of death, entirely to avoid any risk to himself, and in both the Liberation of Rubicon route and NG++ he focuses on avoiding 621 up until the last moment. But when he ''is'' cornered, he gives it his all.
* DragonInChief: He's prone to screaming that he ''is'' Arquebus when a situation turns against him, and to be fair to him, this actually seems to be fairly accurate. Freud is an AuthorityInNameOnly who's basically just Snail's BloodKnight attack dog, and the offworld Arquebus executives appear to have little (if any) influence on how he and the rest of the Vespers conduct their business. For all intents and purposes, he's the commander-in-chief of all Arquebus operations on Rubicon, whether military or scientific, and has no difficulty whatsoever in diverting company resources towards his own ends. [[spoiler:It's why he effectively ends up as the BigBad of the Liberator of Rubicon route, with Carla and Chatty quickly being killed off, ALLMIND having no reason to intervene, and Walter ending up ReforgedIntoAMinion to serve as little more than a vehicle for his posthumous revenge against you.]]
* EvilIsPetty: As he freely admits in his MotiveRant, this is the entire reason for his continued involvement in the Liberator of Rubicon route. [[spoiler:With "Cinder" Carla and "Chatty" Stick gone and the Xylem safely crippled, there's no reason for him to send the entire Arquebus fleet and his own AceCustom assault craft against it. The only reason he picks a fight with 621 is that they tried to kill Snail on their way to deal with OVERSEER. Or, if you chose not to engage him, he's instead furious that 621 ignored him.]]
* HateSink: Arrogant, smug, conniving, convinced of his own superiority over even his own superiors, apathetic to others, and the list goes on. From was ''not'' trying to make Snail even remotely likable. This of course makes it all the more satisfying when [[spoiler:you finally get to kill him.]]
* IAmTheNoun: As mentioned elsewhere, he regards himself as ''being'' Arquebus. He's not entirely wrong though; having benefitted from every single augmentation procedure they provide makes Snail a living embodiment of Arquebus's ideals and visions for what a human ought to be.
* InsufferableGenius: A legitimately competent tactician, strategist, and pilot who also happens to be such a gigantic, arrogant asshole that not one member of the cast is prepared to give him more than the occasional backhanded compliment for it.
* IronicName: His AC is called OPEN FAITH, even though he is the absolute ''last person'' you should ever consider trusting.
* ItsAllAboutMe: [[spoiler:On the Liberator of Rubicon route]], he makes it clear that he views himself ''as'' Arquebus, seeing as how [[spoiler:whether or not you shot him down or ignored him on the route to Carla, he takes your action as an insult to himself and the company as a whole.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Notorious in-game as perhaps the single biggest asshole on Rubicon - nearly everyone who's interacted with him socially has some sort of horror story about the experience. He's an overwhelmingly arrogant, abrasive InsufferableGenius who's always condescending at best and viciously rude at worst in his spoken dialogue.
* LackOfEmpathy: One of his defining traits. He believes human lives to be a cheap currency to spend in pursuit of his ambitions, either by sacrificing his troops to secure military/political victories so often that it becomes a matter of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder or by engaging in industrial-scale human experimentation to secure his PositionOfLiteralPower. This naturally also carries over into his social interactions with other people, where he's never anything other than an arrogant, condescending {{Jerkass}}.
* MightyGlacier: Downplayed. His two machines, OPEN FAITH and [[spoiler:the Arquebus Balteus]] are mobile but not agile, possessing limited evasion capacity and relying on sturdy defences and heavy firepower to come out on top when trading blows with enemies. They can rush their foes down, but it's strictly a secondary tactic.
* {{Narcissist}}: An extreme example. As he himself will tell you, he ''is'' Arquebus, and everyone else is either an obstacle to be removed or a resource to be consumed. Most of his dialogue consists of him preening over his own genius, trash-talking someone else, or, ideally, doing both at the same time.
* OhCrap: Although he regains his composure quickly, [[spoiler:he's shocked that 621 was somehow able to track him down in the "Alea Iacta Est" path]].
* PositionOfLiteralPower: Unlike the genius BadassNormal Freud, Snail gained most of his combat chops from his power and influence within Arquebus, devoting a considerable amount of the company's resources to improving his own gear and personal augmentations. He's even got an entire human-experimentation programme in the R&D department devoted to making sure his augs are perfectly-tuned no matter how many lives it costs. It's to the point where he declares he is Arquebus itself.
* RenaissanceMan: Scientist, general, businessman, politician, and pilot. The only things he lacks are empathy, humility, and basic conversation skills.
* SmugSnake: Being the RenaissanceMan DragonInChief of a mighty, technologically-advanced MegaCorp gives him a solution to nearly every problem. Unfortunately for him, his own LackOfEmpathy and planet-sized ego are not among them, and they ensure that every victory of his, no matter how impressive, can only ever be temporary.
* VillainousBreakdown: During [[spoiler:his boss fight in the "Liberator of Rubicon" path]], he has a progressive one as you [[spoiler:deal more and more damage to his piloted Balteus unit]], ranting about the "dolts at command" and the Rubiconian "rabble", and finally proclaiming that he ''is'' Arquebus. His final "words" make clear he died ''exceptionally'' painfully as well, and his scream as he dies is humiliatingly shrill and nasal.
!!V.III O'Keeffe
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiroki Yamada (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' BARREN FLOWER
->'''Rank:''' 12/B
Third squad leader of the Vespers. He pilots the Tetrapod BARREN FLOWER.
----
* TheCynic: Has an understandably very dim view about life on Rubicon. [[spoiler:Still, he prefers the mundane discomforts and miseries of human life over the evolution planned by ALLMIND.]]
* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:Takes his death surprisingly well, simply commenting how he finally be able to get some sleep.]]
* TheMole: [[spoiler:On the final story path, ALLMIND assigns 621 a mission to assassinate O'Keeffe, who instantly recognizes 621 as being ALLMIND's latest pawn. 621 learns that O'Keeffe was another one of ALLMIND's operatives, having infiltrated Arquebus.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:ALLMIND targets him for elimination because he's no longer working in its interests and has in fact betrayed the AI. It's implied he betrayed ALLMIND when he realized [[AssimilationPlot the full scope of its plan]] and preferred the mundane, albeit problematic parts of human life over their "evolution".]]
* ShoutOut: His name and mech reference the American painter Georgia O'Keeffe, best known for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_paintings_of_Georgia_O%27Keeffe her paintings of flowers.]]
* TheUnfought: O'Keeffe and his AC can always be encountered in the Arena, but [[spoiler:he only ever appears in person on the "Alea Iacta Est" path, where ALLMIND suddenly takes a more active role in the narrative and decides to start tying up loose ends.]]
!!V.IV Rusty
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YasuyukiKase (Japanese), Creator/ChrisHackney (English)
->'''AC Name:''' STEEL HAZE, [[spoiler:STEEL HAZE ORTUS]]
->'''Rank:''' 09/B
The fourth squad leader of the Vespers, Rusty is a veteran AC pilot who 621 meets during Operation Wallclimber. His unit is STEEL HAZE [[spoiler:and eventually upgrades to STEEL HAZE ORTUS.]]
----
* TheAce: One of the best AC pilots on Rubicon 3 with an impressive track record.
* AceCustom: STEEL HAZE is a Schneider FragileSpeedster noted in-game as being an atypical Arquebus design due to its use of old-school BAWS kinetic weaponry, signifying Rusty's strained relationship with his corp. [[spoiler:In the "Fires of Raven" and "Liberator of Rubicon" paths, he obtains a new and improved AC dubbed Steel Haze Ortus. It's explicitly stated to be far superior to its predecessor with an emphasis on maneuverability and aerial combat.]]
* AffectionateNickname: Refers to 621 as "buddy", indicating how he appreciates them as a rival and ally, [[spoiler:and much later a friend in "Liberator of Rubicon"]].
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Of [[VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar Larry "Pixy/Solo Wing" Foulke.]] Like Pixy, he is a merc turned revolutionary that keeps [[spoiler:his true agenda hidden]], refers to the protagonist as "Buddy", has similar motifs (Pixy's paintjob having a single red wing against Cipher's two blue wings, Rusty's muzzled wolf emblem reflecting 621's status as Walter's current Hound), [[spoiler:attacks the protagonist midway (for varying reasons; Pixy defects from Ustio after seeing the seven nukes detonate on Belkan soil, Rusty is tricked into fighting 621 under the pretense of dealing with an rogue mercenary)]], disappears afterwards, and in the "Fires of Raven" ending will suddenly [[spoiler:duel you in an untested prototype over a potential ApocalypseHow, as Pixy does with his [=ADFX-02 "Morgan"=]; Rusty is not the FinalBoss of the route, though, and he's actually [[HeroAntagonist fighting to stop you from detonating the Coral]], unlike Pixy who believes [[WellIntentionedExtremist launching V2 will truly erase all national borders and with it bring pointless squabbling and war to a close]].]]
* AnimalMotifs: His emblem is that of a muzzled wolf, indicating a sense of noble intentions carefully constrained by Arquebus. [[spoiler:When he shows up in the STEEL HAZE ORTUS for the normal endings, he's also changed his emblem to that of a freed and unmuzzled wolf with a flowing mane, showing he's finally untethered to be what he truly was this entire time.]]
* ArcNumber: His arena rank is 9, a significant number throughout the series that is attached to important characters. Just like White Glint before him, despite being nowhere near the top [[spoiler: He is a lot stronger than his rank implies. He takes on the mission to wipe out the Redguns himself and wins, and this is against over 50 MTs and a higher ranked mercenary. And this is before he gets ORTUS]]
* BadassBoast:
** During "Destroy [[spoiler:the Ice Worm]]", Rusty claims he never misses. [[spoiler:As you see for yourself, he was not kidding.]]
** In the penultimate mission of the "Liberator of Rubicon" path, [[spoiler:he tells the Arquebus forces there's only one person who can keep up with him, referring to 621. Of course, he says this as he's laying waste to their invading fleet]].
* BirdsOfAFeather: Rusty has a closer and more friendly rapport with 621 than almost anyone else on Rubicon. You and he also have numbered callsigns associated with numbers denoting misfortune: [[FourIsDeath Four]] and [[ThirteenIsUnlucky Thirteen]].
* BookEnds: At the start of the game, Rusty shows up to help 621 deal with the Juggernaut, the massive RLF mech keeping Arquebus and 621 from climbing the Wall and moving further into Rubicon-3. From there, Rusty declares them war buddies and establishes friendly relations with them. [[spoiler:In the "Liberator of Rubicon" path, Rusty shows up one final time, this time to help 621 of his own volition to protect Rubicon-3. He even lampshades this when they fight a Cleaner mech, noting how it reminds him of when they fought the Juggernaut atop the Wall.]]
* TheCavalry: Shows up to assist 621 [[spoiler:In the "Liberator of Rubicon" ending in his new STEEL HAZE ORTUS in response to Ayre asking for the RLF's assistance]].
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:In the "Liberator of Rubicon" ending, he's unceremoniously shot down during 621's final assault on the Xylem.]]
* FightingYourFriend: 'Friend' might be a bit much, but Rusty respects 621's combat capabilities and calls them "buddy". [[spoiler:V.II Snail purposefully sets him up to fight 621 in a bid to get rid of them both before Arquebus reaches the Coral so as to eliminate any potential complications. In the "Fires of Raven" route, he's saddened that he has to fight you but considers it necessary to stop your plan of igniting the Coral at all costs.]]
* {{Foil}}: With G5 Iguazu from Balam Industries' Redguns in regards to their relationship with 621. After their first mission together, Iguazu immediately develops a petty rivalry toward the augmented human and incensed by their further victories. The jealous grows to the point where Iguazu will actively seek out 621 in an attempt to kill them and prove his superiority, unwilling to be upstaged by some random merc who came out of nowhere. Rusty is far more amicable and friendly with 621 when they defeat the Juggernaut [[spoiler:defending the Wall and unknowingly upstage the Vespers in the process]] and assists them when the situation arises. [[spoiler:When V.II Snail pits them both against each other in an attempt to get rid of them, Rusty is reluctant to fight 621 but justifies himself by saying 621 is a potential threat to Rubicon. In "Fires of Raven", Rusty isn't happy with how things have turned out, but he still challenges 621 to a fight in his new and improved STEEL HAZE ORTUS in an attempt to try and stop them from starting a second Fires of Ibis.]]
* FragileSpeedster: His Core is named STEEL HAZE for a reason - it's an ultra-light wraith of a machine that relies chiefly on delivering moderate-but-steady damage without getting hit in return, and duelling him will place a serious strain on your ammo capacity as he dodges shot after shot before you finally manage to punch through his paper-thin armour. [[spoiler:STEEL HAZE ORTUS has slightly more armour and firepower, pushing it closer to the LightningBruiser trope, but is still fundamentally the same sort of opponent.]]
* FriendlySniper: He doesn't sortie any marksman weapons on his AC, but he's your designated sharpshooter during your attack on the [[spoiler:Ice Worm]] and Rusty delivers every shot.
* FriendlyRival: In contrast to Iguazu's bitter and one-sided rivalry with 621, V.IV Rusy is more amicable and friendly with them. He's also professional enough to not let personal feelings get in the way of the job, and is interested to see just how far 621's mercenary career will go. [[spoiler:The rivalry goes out the window in the "Fires of Raven" ending where he recognizes 621 as a threat to everything he holds dear to him.]]
* HeroOfAnotherStory: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied that Rusty is a native Rubiconian secretly working with the RLF to undemrine the corporations, whose exploits are only partially glimpsed by 621.]]
* HeroicWillpower: [[spoiler:In the Fires of Raven ending, Rusty musters everything he has to stop 621 and Carla from burning the Coral again. So much so that he literally forces his AC back to life after he’s beaten for one final desperate attempt to kill you.]]
--> '''Rusty:''' [[spoiler:[[HeroicSecondWind I won't stop!]] I'll chase the clouds from over Rubicon! ''Only I...'' '''can fly high enough!''']]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Towards the end of the game, he defects from Arquebus to throw his lot in with the Rubicon Liberation Front. It's heavily implied that he had been their inside agent from the beginning.]]
* IKnowYourTrueName: When he first meets 621, he greets them by their callsign before referring to them as "one of the infamous Handler Walter's hounds".
* ImprobableAimingSkills: In the [[spoiler:Ice Worm]] mission he repeatedly lands sniper shots on the target ''across the continent'' with a railcannon that is at least 50 times larger than an AC.
* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:Unceremoniously shot down off-screen by a "re-educated" Walter in "Liberator of Rubicon" path as he tells 621 he's dealt with things on his end.]]
* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler: ORTUS is likely named after Orthus of Greek Mythology, a two headed dog who guarded the red cattle of Greyon. He has two dog emblems between his two machines and sides with you to protect the Vascular Plant from Xylem, and by extension the red Coral.]]
* TheMole: [[spoiler:He's been secretly passing Arquebus technology to Elcano and Furlong as part of an arrangement with the RLF and BAWS. The culmination of his efforts takes the form of the AceCustom Armored Core STEEL HAZE ORTUS.]]
* MysteriousPast: Granted, the history of every AC pilot barring a few characters isn't explored in-depth and/or has no relation to the main story, but V.IV Rusty's past is layered in mystery on account of the breadcrumbs found in the Chapter 2 mission "Retrieve Combat Logs" and later story chapters. The logs retrieved by 621 imply V.IV Rusty has a personal connection with the RLF, or at least was associated with them as one of the downed pilots recognizes him and demands to know why he attacked them. [[spoiler:His familiarity with Middle Flatwell, one of the leaders of the Rubicon Liberation Force who has significant influence with Schneider (a Arquebus subsidiary and coincidentally the group who "discovered" Rusty in the first place) and calls 621 his "war buddy" after the mission "Intercept the Vespers" (coincidentally using the same words as Rusty after "Operation Wallclimber"), and Rusty's statement that Rubicon is his home all imply Rusty is a native Rubiconian and was involved with the RLF before becoming a Vesper, and may in fact be a spy for the RLF.]]
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Downplayed. Toward the game's final act, V.IV Rusty [[spoiler:forgoes his contractual obligations with Arquebus and assists the RLF in protecting Rubicon 3 from the Corporations and the PCA]]. The reason it's downplayed is that [[spoiler:it's implied Rusty was never loyal to Arquebus to begin with and is in fact a RLF double agent]].
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Of Joshua "White Glint" O'Brien from Armored Core 4. He befriends our protagonist using a speed build AC with a laser blade and is willing to protect the Rubiconians near the end of the game. [[spoiler:He even is forced to fight you in a prototype AC with the roles reversed - dying trying to stop you in the "Fires of Raven" route]].
* TokenGoodTeammate: He's this to pretty much the entire Arquebus group, and the Vespers in particular. After defeating the Juggernaut atop the Wall, V.IV Rusty contacts 621 and tells them the reason he left halfway through the fight was because Arquebus ordered him to withdraw and was going to use 621 as a sacrificial pawn for the Vespers. That he goes out of his way to divulge information that would ''definitely'' get him in trouble and is upfront about how the corporation is not to be trusted speaks volumes of his character. This trope actually puts him at odds with some of his fellow Vespers, particularly V.II Snail who is annoyed by his "antics". [[spoiler:He's also one of the few mercenary pilots who leaves the corporations to fight with the Rubicon Liberation Force in defense of the planet. "Cinder" Carla even suggests that he was using Arquebus to further his agenda of protecting Rubicon all along in the "Fires of Raven" path.]]
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:The implication of his absence in "Alea Iacta Est". He makes no appearance there unlike in the other story paths where he either stands in opposition to Raven or helps them. In the penultimate mission, it's noted that ALLMIND is attacking the Xylem with unmanned Vesper [=ACs=], implying Rusty was killed offscreen.]]
* UnusableEnemyEquipment: Subverted. While you don't get all the parts right away, players can create their own STEEL HAZE AC unit via story progression and the Parts Shop. [[spoiler:His AceCustom STEEL HAZE ORTUS is also unlocked for your personal use in NewGamePlus after completing "Fires of Raven", though you'll need his AC Data in the Arena, in a ''third'' playthrough, to get the full parts list.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: He makes no appearance in the "Alea Iacta Est" story path. [[spoiler:It's unclear whether Rusty is alive or was KilledOffscreen by ALLMIND.]]
!!V.V Hawkins
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NobuoTobita (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' RECONFIG
->'''Rank:''' 20/D
Fifth squad leader of the Vespers, Hawkins is a veteran pilot haunted by the deaths of his friends who attempted to receive the same augments he has.
----
* AFatherToHisMen: Shows a fairly paternal protectiveness towards Pater in their DualBoss, giving him several gruff reassurances and bits of advice and becoming outraged if the young pilot is taken out first.
* SurvivorsGuilt: His noted major psychological instability is grief at all the friends that died from undergoing the same augmentation procedures he did. If Pater is defeated before him in the Ambush the Vespers mission and if 621 falls afterwards, Hawkins mutters how "it should have been him".
* VillainRespect: When put on the ropes he tells 621 that he can see why Rusty praises them so much.
* WeCanRuleTogether: His last words when struck down are to wryly ask 621 if they want to be a Vesper.
!!V.VI Maeterlinck
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/{{Lynn}} (Japanese), Creator/KateHiggins (English)
->'''AC Name:''' INFECTION
->'''Rank:''' 25/E
Sixth squad leader of the Vespers, Maeterlinck is an eighth-generation augmented pilot noted for her loyalty to Arquebus and risk-averse nature.
----
* AintTooProudToBeg: Maeterlinck spends her last moments repeatedly calling for more help after 621 ambushes her and her limited MT squad in [[spoiler:the Institute City at the climax of Chapter 4.]]
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: In line with the Vespers theme naming, she is named after Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Maeterlinck is the only female AC pilot in the Vespers.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:V.II Snail uses Maeterlinck as bait to lure 621 even further into the Institute City, enabling him to ambush them after the hard-fought fight with CEL 240.]]
!!V.VII Swinburne
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Kosuke Echigoya (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' GUIDANCE
->'''Rank:''' 23/E
Seventh squad leader of the Vespers, Swinburne is an immensely paranoid pilot. In Chapter 3, the Rubicon Liberation Front asks 621 to assassinate him so as to weaken Arquebus. His AC is GUIDANCE.
----
* AintTooProudToBeg: Once his AP is brought down to a certain level, he asks 621 to spare him, offering contacts and resources from Arquebus in exchange for his life. You can accept his offer, refuse, or continue attacking him.
* DidntSeeThatComing: You can potentially accept his offer so that he'll drop his shields and let his guard down -- and then finish him off when he least expects it. It's obvious that it completely caught him out as he dies in terror.
* FailedASpotCheck: You can actually opt to approach him and get noticed rather than ambush him, where he temporarily fails to realize you're ''not'' Arquebus back-up for a solid bit of irritated dialogue before finally noticing something is up and that you're [[BlatantLies clearly disguised and trying to trick him.]]
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Pater and Snail will ship him off to reeducation if he is spared due to how cowardly he was, and as far as the rest of the Vespers go, it seems no one gives a single damn about his fate either way. This is largely a result of his overbearing paranoia, which his Arena profile describes as "the final jewel to crown his odious personality."
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: A full half of his lines are rants about how his enemies need to be disciplined and reeducated. If 621 spares him, he is shipped off to an Arquebus reeducation camp due to his 'shameful behavior.' [[FateWorseThanDeath Given the little we see about what 'reeducation' entails, 621 just killing him may be kinder.]]
* IGaveMyWord: If 621 spares him, he follows through on his end and pays what the RLF was supposed to.
* {{Irony}}: For all his paranoia, Swinburne lets his guard down way too easily as you can ambush him or simply stand there until he realizes you're not a friendly unit.
* KnowWhenToFoldThem: Unlike most pilots who will fight to the death or eject, Swineburne's enough of a coward once he ran his repair kits dry that he'll try to bribe his way to survival knowing 621 will explicitly kill him otherwise.
* LaserGuidedKarma: When you approach him, he is gloating about how the Balam soldiers he has just defeated will be subject to "re-education". [[spoiler:If you take his offer, after the mission, V.VIII Pater contacts you afterwards to thank you for your work and notes that because of his cowardly actions, Swinburne will be subjected to "re-education" himself.]]
* MeaningfulName: His AC name likely refers to his belief that Arquebus' enemies need "re-education".
* MortonsFork: If attacked from behind by 621, Swinburne will be furious at the cheap trick. However, even if 621 politely walks in front of him to announce their presence, it takes ''several'' lines of dialog before the Vesper realizes you're not one of his troops. He then angrily rants about 621's entirely unintentional 'disguise.'
* OneHitKill: If you wear him down enough to make his offer, accept to spare him and then [[ILied attack him anyway]], he'll always go down in one hit, presumably having let his guard down so hard that even the AC's defenses weren't ready. You can even kill him with [[CherryTapping a bullet or a single punch.]]
* TheParanoiac: His Arena bio notes that the augmentation surgery left him a paranoid wreck.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Of Patch The Good Luck from ''For Answer'', and ''[=FromSoftware=]'''s RecurringCharacter Patches overall. Swinburne, like these characters has a mismatched loadout, and is a DirtyCoward to boot. They beg for mercy when cornered, and their respective missions allow them to retreat and reward the player with credits. This time, Swinburne is punished for his cowardice, and you have to fight BetrayalInsurance Rokumonsen from the RLF in order to earn this outcome.
!!V.VIII Pater
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Ryo Shimokawwa (Japanese)
->'''AC Name:''' DUAL NATURE/[[spoiler:[=AA18A=] LIGHT CAVALRY HM]]
->'''Rank:''' 16/C
The eighth squad leader of the Vespers, Pater is highlighted as a recipient of generation ten augmentation. His unit is named DUAL NATURE.
----
* FauxAffablyEvil: He serves as your liason when Arquebus contacts you for a job, being nothing short of polite and courteous in the mission briefings and messages to you. [[spoiler:He also has no problems sending you off to be "re-educated" in Chapter 5. In the "Alea Iacta Est" route, Pater's polite behavior also goes flying out the window in favor of rage against 621 for having killed his friend and mentor V.III O'Keeffe.]]
* FieldPromotion: If you choose to ambush him and V.V Hawkins for the RLF and take out Hawkins first, Pater is initially very upset until he realizes that his is now V.V Pater. After you defeat him as well, he can only bemoan the fact that he had ''just'' become rank V.
* InformedAttribute:
** Pater's Arena profile suggests that Pater displays certain personality defects that were attributed to his augmentations, but that he was, in reality, a sociopath even before receiving his augments. Curiously, when 621 [[spoiler:fights Pater in the "Alea Iacta Est" path where he is one of the last surviving Vespers, he rages at 621 for fighting and killing V.III O'Keeffe claiming his superior always looked out for him, implying a much warmer relationship between the two than most of the other Vespers. For all of Pater's alleged sociopathy, he comes across as a pretty normal person who is understandably upset about his friend and coworker's death]].
** Note that this is but one of his two possible dialogues in the mission, in other dialogue he only expresses nothing but excitement over [[spoiler:his new rank of V.III after his superiors death, in the exact same way as he reacts to V.V death and he even shows a strong attachment to become the top of Arquebus corporation]] in the same mission. Showing signs of dual personality disorder which stays true to his AC name DUAL NATURE.
* NumberTwo: Pater is normally assigned to overseeing the transport wing of Arquebus with V.V Hawkins, serving as Hawkins's adjutant.
* SplitPersonality: While not directly stated in his bio, the signs are there - his AC is called DUAL NATURE and has an emblem of two fetuses linked together, and when [[spoiler:Hawkins and O'Keeffe is killed, his behavior flip-flops between openly weeping and mourning them, and being ''positively'' giddy at the prospect of being promoted and rising through the Vespers' rank]].
* YouAreInCommandNow: In the "Alea Iacta Est", [[spoiler:he takes command of what little of Arquebus' troops are left since at that point the Vespers have been gutted and their leadership destroyed, becoming the third squad leader in the process]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Balam Industries]]
!!As a whole
->''"Domination through material superiority."''
-->--Slogan of Balam Industries
One of the two largest conglomerates attempting to exploit Rubicon 3's Coral, and a major AC parts manufacturer. Balam is blunt, highly militaristic corporation, whose simple yet effective AC designs follow a K.I.S.S. principle. The Arquebus Corporation is their main rival.
----
* BoringButPractical: Compared to Arquebus, much of Balam's arsenal is comprised of rugged, bulky yet reliable military hardware.
* BrainsVersusBrawn: The brawn versus Arquebus' brains, Balam is gung-ho and focus more on straight up destruction operations or overt combat. There's also not much for group solidarity, as it's primarily G1 Michigan and G6 Red keeping everything in check. Their part selection generally emphasizes bigger pieces, heavier weapons, and plenty of bullets and explosives. [[spoiler:Naturally, this focus on trying to kill the Ice Worm in exchange for letting Arquebus get the PCA warship fleet is the perfect highlight of them showing off their power over considering advanced technology, which is such a monumentally foolish decision that it costs them the war.]]
* CurbStompBattle: On the receiving end from [[spoiler:621 if they accept the mission to destroy the Redguns, and Rusty if they don't. With G1 Michigan and the Redguns decimated, Balam has no choice but to withdraw from Rubicon]].
* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler:As a result of entrusting Arquebus with the job of defeating the PCA’s warship fleet in exchange for taking lead against the Ice Worm, their biggest rival ends up looting enough valuable equipment to raise an unstoppable army and become the only corporation left in the Coral race.]]
* DumbMuscle: Their corporate culture emphasises firepower, not brainpower. Simple tactics, slavish loyalty, and disdain for independent thought are the name of the game here, which helps explain their poor performance against their more innovative rivals, Arquebus, despite their considerable military strength.
* ForceAndFinesse: The force to Arquebus Corporation's finesse, Balam takes a brute force, shock and awe style approach to the corporate war. Their emphasis on heavyweight kinetic and explosive weaponry also means they favour MightyGlacier designs that can take the strain of their enormous guns.
* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Their in-universe philosophy. No fancy EnergyWeapons here, just high-velocity steel, much of which will explode. To be fair to them, the low energy load of their weaponry does make it easier for their Cores to pile on the armour plating without overstraining their generators, and its sheer, brutal hitting power is not to be discounted. Just don't look too closely at your post-mission ammo expenses...
* MagneticWeapons: Balam's ''other'' specialty is its use of linear rifles and high-powered railguns, which can be on par with any energy weapon system through sheer velocity.
* StuffBlowingUp: Between Balam and its two subsidiaries, Furlong and Dafeng, they've cornered the market on powerful, high-quality explosive weaponry. If you want something that makes things go boom thoroughly, reliably, and spectacularly, they're your first port of call.
* TankGoodness: Balam is one of three manufactures of tank legs for [=ACs=]. The [=LG-022T=] Bornemizza is the first tank part available and the heavyweight style. It's heavily armored, gives high Attitude Stability, and maxes out the equipment load, allowing for use of heavier loadouts. It is also fairly sluggish and has poor thrust for verticality.
!!Dafeng Core Industries
->''"Stout tree, slender branches."''
A Balam Industries subsidiary with a MightyGlacier design philosophy summarized by their motto.
----
* GatlingGood: One weapon from Dafeng's arsenal is the [=DF-GA-08 Hu-Ben=], a gatling gun that gives unsurpassed suppressive fire and can easily stagger enemies from sheer volume.
* MightyGlacier: As their motto implies, Dafeng's AC parts have some of the highest weight loads and have slow maneuverability, but make up for it with high AP.
* ThemeNaming: Dafeng's arsenal and components are references to Chinese mythology, befitting the company's pretentions to the MightyGlacier design philosophy.
!!Redguns
Balam Industries' in-house stable of AC pilots.
----
* CorporateSamurai: Act as these to Balam.
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:If 621 accepts the mission to destroy the Redguns, G1 Michigan brings his mercs' full force to bear. It ultimately means nothing beyond his death. Worse, the Redguns' destruction ensures Balam has no choice but to withdraw from Rubicon, leaving Arquebus the sole Corporation to benefit from the Coral. This also happens to them if Rusty takes on the mission instead, albeit happening entirely offscreen.]]
* SmugSnake: The Redguns are ''cocky'', to put it mildly. When you ally with the Redguns to take out some generators at a damn controlled by the RLF (and potentially an enemy AC pilot if you feel like blowing him up), the first thing they do is badmouth 621 and while disparaging their combat abilities. They still maintain this attitude when you complete the mission. [[spoiler:Despite their boasts, however, the Redguns fail to climb the Wall as you can find their ruined [=ACs=] scattered about the street.]]
* TemptingFate: After your first mission with two of the Redguns, one of the duo, Iguazu, smugly tries to make it seem like ItsPersonal and says that he'll be the one to climb the Wall, not you. [[spoiler:He's long ejected in his own failed attempt by the time you actually get the mission request to do it yourself, and his partner, G4 Volta, was killed by the fortress's defences.]]
* ThemeNaming: They're all named after Earth rivers, lakes or waterfalls. In a darkly humorous touch, the PosthumousCharacter G7 Hakra is named after a ''dried-up'' river in Pakistan.
* UndyingLoyalty: By the time 621 [[spoiler:is assigned the mission to take out Michigan, the Redguns have been reduced to just him and his most fanatically loyal subordinates who have stuck with him despite Balam's increasingly worsening position against Arquebus. The remaining Redguns eagerly charge at 621 in suicidal wave attacks just to buy time for Michigan to get his AC ready to fight]].
!!G1 Michigan
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Setsuji Sato (Japanese), Creator/DCDouglas (English)
->'''AC Name:''' LIGER TAIL
->'''Rank:''' 02/S
The leading officer of the Redguns and the man in charge of their operations. A highly dedicated war hero, veteran of the Jupiter War and former fleet commander of Furlong Dynamics when it was still a rival company to Balam. Nile convinced him to start the Redguns over a drink of beer, and he now stands at its helm. He pilots the LIGER TAIL.
----
* AFatherToHisMen: PlayedWith. There's a fair amount of evidence that he sees himself as a stern but sincere father figure to his troops. After switching sides from Furlong to Balam post-Jupiter War, he even posted a bounty on himself with stipulations that half the payout would go to the men of his old fleet. That said, his ToughLove can veer into extremely abusive at his worst. It's heavily implied that this, along with his crude, simplistic tactics, is responsible for Balam's poor performance against Arquebus and the RLF. Despite this, he's shown to know even his non-Redgun troops by name, and if [[spoiler:621 fails their assassination attempt]], he is heard calling for stretchers to help the wounded. A low bar, but still more care than any of the other corporate types show for their soldiers, especially non-elites.
* CruelToBeKind: His bullying DrillSergeantNasty attitude could be interpreted as this ''at best'', being meant to both build up his men's mettle as soldiers, and keep them from dying needlessly. With mixed results.
* DoNotGoGentle: [[spoiler:If Rusty ends up being the one to kill him Walter mentions that Michigan went down fighting. Obviously this applies to when you're the one to kill him as well.]]
* DrillSergeantNasty: His entire persona. 621 is, ironically, the only character in the entire game who he has some degree of praise for [[spoiler:even when they're chewing through his entire army trying to kill him]], and he mostly uses that as a platform for creative bullying of his troops. As a result, Balam's forces are split evenly into mindless, gung-ho fanatics who he's successfully brought to heel and grumpy wannabe deserters who hate his guts.
* EvilIsHammy: He's a heavily implied war criminal DrillSergeantNasty working for an EvilInc corp who splits his time between hammering his allies and enemies into submission, and he does it with more psychotic gusto than nearly any other character in the game.
* FlunkyBoss: [[spoiler:He sends a horde of Balam MTs after you while preparing his AC for battle, and if you are too slow in dealing with them, you will be facing however many are left alongside Michigan. And after his defeat, another big wave of MTs show up as well.]]
* FourStarBadass: Even before entering Balam, he was already a highly decorated veteran of the Jupiter War who was known as a war hero throughout that sector of space. Even though he's no longer a part of his old army, his legend and reputation as a badass continue as the leader of the Redguns.
* FrontlineGeneral: He's the leader of the Redguns and one of the most important people in Balam. He still takes to the frontlines in his AC Liger Tail, first against the Ice Worm [[spoiler:and second when he moves in with his entire MT battalion to eliminate you.]]
* GeneralFailure: A walking demonstration that [[ThePeterPrinciple peerless piloting skills do not translate to peerless leadership skills]]. His corporate rivals in Arquebus have little but disdain and mockery for him, and considering how regularly and easily they outmaneuver him, it's not hard to see why. His tactics don't really have any greater depth than 'throw steel at a problem and hope it goes away', his peculiar obsession with 621 means the independent merc is routinely EasilyForgiven for PlayingBothSides even when their antics do serious damage to Balam (up to and including bullying and demoralizing his own troops with 621's superior performance [[spoiler:even when they're literally coming for his head]]), and his constant DrillSergeantNasty attitude has created a downright toxic internal culture in Balam's armed forces that further degrades their combat effectiveness.
* {{Jerkass}}: He's a DrillSergeantNasty who appears to believe that the best way to get the most out of his troops is with constant insults and condescension. This makes his sincere VillainRespect for 621 even stranger and funnier, [[spoiler:especially in the mission where you're assigned to assassinate him]].
* KilledOffScreen: [[spoiler:If you opt to assassinate V.V Hawkins and V.VIII Pater instead of Michigan when given the choice Arquebus sends Rusty to kill him instead, with Walter only making mention of it once you return from your own assassination job.]]
* LaughablyEvil: A brutal, bullying corpofascist whose LargeHam DrillSergeantNasty persona is so over-the-top it becomes hilarious.
* OldSoldier: He's old enough to have gained command of an entire armed fleet ''before'' joining Balam and creating the Redguns. He's evidently much older than the rest of the Redguns as well -- Red saw news reports of Michigan's heroic deeds during the war when he was still just a young lad, and now is part of the Redguns as an adult. Doesn't stop him one bit from taking to the frontlines in a tetrapod AC.
* PriceOnTheirHead: He put a hit ''on himself'' on Balam's bounty board, despite his status as one of Balam's primary military assets and a [[FamedInStory famous war hero]] that nobody in their right mind would ever want to kill. It's essentially a scheme to provide pension money for his former comrades at Furlong Dynamics, as half of the proceeds gained from killing Michigan will go to them instead.
* RedBaron: V.IV Rusty says he's known as "The Hell on Four Legs," likely having earned his name as a top-tier AC pilot and his unit being a tetrapod.
* ToughLove: Deconstructed. His bullying DrillSergeantNasty demeanor appears to have this as its rationale, but without any kind of positive reinforcement, it turns his troops into either suicidal fanatics desperate for his approval or bitter washouts with little (if any) motivation to follow his orders. The Redguns are fairly evenly split between both, and it's horribly degraded their combat effectiveness.
* VillainRespect: [[spoiler:Even if 621 chooses to fight him, he recognizes them for the threat that they are and [[NoNonsenseNemesis brings the full might of Balam's MT squad down on them]]. When one of the MT pilots laughs at how it's just a single AC against all of them, Michigan gets downright ''offended'' on 621's behalf and goes down a list of their accomplishments, saying the squad has no chance against them until he can get his own AC deployed. When another pilot mocks Iguazu as a cowardly traitor, he tells her that Iguazu was worth 100 of her, and that 621 is worth 20 of ''him'']].
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Logs and arena bios indicate that the way he won his reputation as the 'Hero of Jupiter' really wasn't pretty. Red's writeup even describes him as being inspired by Michigan's 'brutality'.
* WorthyOpponent: Despite [[spoiler:knowing 621 has been sent to kill him]], Michigan immediately chastises any of his subordinates who badmouth 621, pointing out that the independent mercenary is worth 20 times as much as a Redgun, which makes them worth several ''thousand'' times as much as a lowly MT pilot.
* ZergRush: [[spoiler:Attempts this on 621 by siccing an entire ocean of [=MTs=] to eliminate him in one of the selectable missions in Chapter 4. He was evidently prepared for it, but it doesn't succeed.]]
!!G2 Nile
->'''AC Name:''' DEEP DOWN
->'''Rank:''' 07/A
The deputy commander of the Redguns and a former foe of Michigan's before Michigan was recruited by Balam. He pilots the AC DEEP DOWN.
----
* BitCharacter: Compared to every other Redgun. Despite nominally being Michigan's right-hand-man, Nile's only in-story appearance is as the boss of an optional mission in Chapter 1, and he is never mentioned after his death.
* NumberTwo: The second of the Redguns both in callsign and his status as the secondary commander.
* TheRival: His Arena profile states that he and Michigan were once rivals during a corporate conflict between Balam and Michigan's old employer, Furlong, before Michigan jumped ship and the two started working together. It must have been a friendly rivalry because the two shared a drink once they were on the same side.
* TheSmartGuy: Walter calls him "the brains to Michigan's brawn."
!!G3 Wu Huahai
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JohnnyYongBosch (English)
->'''AC Name:''' LI LONG
->'''Rank:''' 22/D
An opportunistic Redgun pilot who arrives on Rubicon-3 in his bipedal AC Li Long
----
* BoxedCrook: Wu Huahai's Arena profile reveals that he was a con artist at the head of a vast criminal enterprise before G2 Nile brought him down. Much like Iguazu, Wu does not seem particularly loyal to Michigan or the Redguns and only serves reluctantly.
* GlorySeeker: He's actually glad if Maeterlinck is defeated before him, saying that the glory of defeating 621 will be all his.
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: In a roundabout way, V.II Snail's idea of rewarding G3 for turning coat is to throw him under the bus immediately, either at the hands of Institute City's autonomous defenses or 621. He's barely a speedbump to the latter even alongside V.VI Maeterlinck.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Deserts Balam for Arquebus some time before they reach Institute City. Ayre herself muses he made the right call. Unfortunately for him, that also put him in 621's way.
* VillainousFriendship: G4 Volta's Arena profile states that Volta has been taking business lessons from the savvy G3.
!!G4 Volta
->'''AC Name:''' CANNON HEAD
->'''Rank:''' 17/C
A braggadocious Redgun pilot first introduced during Balam's assault on the Galia Dam Complex alongside his fellow Redgun, G5 Iguazu. He operates the AC CANNON HEAD.
----
* BruiserWithASoftCenter: Despite his attitude and his rough comradery with Iguazu over their shared animosity towards Michigan, Volta's last thoughts were addressed to Iguazu. It was about how Michigan actually does care about them both in his own way and that Michigan certainly cares more about them than the suits at Balam do. Volta even seems entertained with the notion that the Redguns are like "a family" to them.
* KilledMidSentence: The log retrieved from his smoking wreck at the Wall cuts off his last thought abruptly.
* KilledOffscreen: Dies during Balam's failed assault on the Wall, with his wrecked AC being shown during the briefing to add insult to injury. Notably, he is the only pilot in the game who will, regardless of route, die without 621's intervention.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Volta is rarely seen without G5 Iguazu as they both came from troubled backgrounds and were both put in their place by G1 Michigan. Both want to leave the Redguns once they prove themselves superior to Michigan and "punch the daylights out of him".
* TankGoodness: His Armored Core, CANNON HEAD, lives up to its name as a tank-styled AC outfitted with tank treads as a base and multiple explosive weapons.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: While many pilots only appear in one mission, Volta is still the first of the corporate elite to die.
!!G5 Iguazu
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Hiroshi Tsuchida (Japanese), Creator/GriffinBurns (English)
->'''AC Name:''' HEAD BRINGER/[[spoiler:ALLMIND]]
->'''Rank:''' 19/D
A confident and dismissive Redguns pilot that 621 meets early in their career on Rubicon. His unit is HEAD BRINGER.
----
* AceCustom: [[spoiler:In the TrueFinalBoss battle, he overpowers ALLMIND and takes control of their MIND ALPHA AC, which is leagues better and stronger than his HEAD BRINGER. In the second half of the fight when the AC is totalled, he also takes control of ALLMIND's new AC, which is even deadlier.]]
* AlwaysSecondBest: The core motivation behind his rivalry and jealousy toward 621. No matter what he does, Iguazu always falls short behind some no-named freelance merc who showed up out of nowhere. It doesn't help that when faced with overwhelming odds, Iguazu opts to get the hell out of dodge while 621 charges into battle and somehow comes out on top. As he puts it in "Alea Iacta Est", 621 was "the freelancer who had it all".
* BoomerangBigot: His Arena profile reveals that he's a Generation 4 Augmented Human just like 621, which explains a lot about both the peculiar mental issues that tend to distract him in combat and his passionate hatred for Handler Walter's pet 'freak'.
* BoxedCrook: He and G4 Volta were criminals who were picked up by the Redguns. Despite his initial misgivings, Iguazu accepted his role in the company and began working for the Redguns in full.
* BrainUploading: [[spoiler:In NG++, he uploads himself into ALLMIND purely out of his desire to kill 621. His comments on how his "ghost of [him]" won't last long imply that not only did this process kill his original body, but that he is slowly undergoing a DeathOfPersonality as a result of the assimilation. Despite this, he ultimately manages to maintain his identity and control over ALLMIND's AC through [[ThePowerOfHate pure hatred]].]]
* ChekhovsGunman: He makes a handful of three appearances across the whole story, with his last appearance [[spoiler:ending in his death at 621's hands]]. His role is significantly expanded in NG++ [[spoiler:where he repeatedly shows up to attack 621, and in the TrueFinalBoss battle, hijacks ALLMIND in a last-ditch attempt to kill them once and for all]].
* CurbStompBattle: His Arena profile mentions that he once tried picking a fight with G1 Michigan, and was so thoroughly wrecked that his face got literally disfigured in the process.
* {{Determinator}}: The moment C4-621 shows him up, Iguazu decides then and there he will surpass and/or kill 621, even if it kills him. [[spoiler:It's a testament to his strength of will that even after having his mind uploaded into ALLMIND, he fights back against the A.I. and hijacks its AC just to try and kill 621 one last time.]]
* DirtyCoward: While talking tough, you can generally count on Iguazu to never fight fair if he doesn't have to, either ambushing you while you're already in a fight or having backup in some form. He is also one of the few pilots to rely on a shield.
** On NG+, [[spoiler:instead of facing you himself at Watchpoint Alpha, he hires an assassin to kill you for him. Though this is justified in that in NG+, you have likely already defeated him two separate times by this point.]]
* DyingDeclarationOfHate: [[spoiler:On the final route, as the final boss, Iguazu spits out with vitriol his envy of 621 as ALLMIND's AC self-destructs.]]
* EvilCounterpart: [[spoiler:In "Alea Iacta Est" he becomes an evil 621, simply put. Whereas 621 and Ayre have a symbiotic partnership as part of the Coral HiveMind, Iguazu becomes a finger puppet in ALLMIND's network. Even the circumstances that leave the two to fight alone are completely opposite -- Ayre fights alongside 621 until her AC is crippled, while Iguazu forcefully hijacks ALLMIND because he wants to kill 621 himself that badly.]]
* EvilIsPetty: On NG+, his hatred for you goes so far beyond just trying to prove that he's the better pilot than you that [[spoiler:he hires an assassin to kill you at Watchpoint Alpha rather than try to take you there himself.]]
* FourIsDeath: In "Alea Iacta Est", Iguazu makes five appearances in comparison to the three times he shows up in the other two story paths, though he appears as an enemy four times: First [[spoiler:at the Galia Dam when 621 betrays the Redguns mid-op at the RLF's behest]], second [[spoiler:when he takes on a job from the Coyotes to steal data from [=RaD=] at Grid 069]], third [[spoiler:at Institute City where he tries to take out both 621 and V.II Snail]], and lastly [[spoiler:in the final story mission where he pulls a VillainOverride against ALLMIND for one final attempt. It winds up being his last.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In Chapter 4, Iguazu complains [[spoiler:about hearing voices in his head, heavily implied to be the Coral attempting Contact with him as Iguazu, like 621, is an augmented human and one of the few people who can hear and interact with the Coral. Unlike 621 with Ayre, Iguazu does ''not'' deal with it very well]].
* GreenEyedMonster: As 621's career continues to grow, Iguazu becomes increasingly resentful of what he considers to be a simple merc. A lot of this resentment stems from the fact that 621 is not only a far better pilot than he is and upstages him at almost every turn, but also the fact that 621 takes down threats Iguazu chose to run away from. [[spoiler:His envy and hate for 621 is so great he essentially pulls a HijackedByGanon VillainOverride ''on the TrueFinalBoss''. His final moments in this route finally has him admit his envy to himself, seeing 621 as "the freelancer who had it all".]]
* HotBlooded: Deconstructed. He gets annoyed and infuriated very easily, which leads him to picking fights with people he ''really'' shouldn't. His Arena bio notes how he tried to pick a fight with Michigan, the Hero of Jupiter, and got the shit kicked out of him for his troubles. After 621 performs admirably during the assault on Galia Dam [[spoiler:or betrays them mid-op to assist the RLF]], he develops an intense and bitter rivalry with them, [[spoiler:which leads to his death; in the first two paths, he's killed in an attempt at ambushing 621 in Depth 2 while in "Alea Iacta Est", he's destroyed despite having hijacked ALLMIND and taken control of its assets, though at that point he's already been absorbed into its network and will disappear once he kills 621]].
* KarmicDeath: Normally not the case since he usually is unceremoniously mowed down by you in Watchpoint Alpha, [[spoiler:but in "Alea Iacta Est", when you finally beat him and ALLMIND, he tries [[DeathOrGloryAttack one last]] attempt to take you down with one last laser blade swing. Unfortunately for him, this overclocking ends up blowing up what was left of the AC. Iguazu's hot blood always got him into trouble for nothing, so it's appropriate his last act of hatred was sabotaged by his own fury.]]
* ThePowerOfHate: [[spoiler:His envy and hate toward 621 is what propels his actions, but it's especially poignent in the "Alea Iacta Est" path where his obsession with killing 621 is so great he overpowers and takes control of ALLMIND's AC and two Sea Spider C-Weapons just to have the opportunity to kill them one last time.]]
* RecurringBoss: Iguazu has the "honor" of being the most fought character in the game. On NG, you fight him [[spoiler:when he attempts to ambush you at Watchpoint Alpha]]. On NG+, you [[spoiler:can choose to betray him and his teammate at the dam assault mission and when he attempts to kill you while you are helping Carla take out a rival dozer clan encroaching on her territory. Though notably, you do NOT fight him at Watchpoint Alpha, as he hires the assassin Coldcall to kill you in his place.]] And on NG++, [[spoiler:he manages to hijack ALLMIND itself just for one last attempt to kill you.]]
* TheRival: Albeit entirely one-sided on his part. Iguazu initially considers C4-621 a "nobody" and disparages them, but begrudgingly acknowledges their abilities. [[spoiler:Until the Redguns' ill-fated assault on the Wall, at least. As 621 climbs the mercenary ranks and establishes themselves as a top-tier pilot, Iguazu becomes ''obsessed'' with defeating them. His bitter rivalry with 621 is to the point where, in the GoldenEnding, he somehow hijacks ALLMIND to kill the augmented human in one final showdown.]]
* RuleOfThree: Outside of "Alea Iacta Est", Iguazu shows up three times in each story path: Once at Galia Dam, again during [[spoiler:the operation to destroy the PCA's Ice Worm]], and at Watchpoint Alpha [[spoiler:after going AWOL and attempting to kill 621 in a panicked frenzy]].
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Despite his boasts, he gets cold feet before the Redguns attack the Wall and flies AWOL just in time for his teammates to get soundly defeated. [[spoiler:He does this again at Watchpoint Alpha, this time deserting the Redguns.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: His role in the GoldenEnding. [[spoiler:ALLMIND was all but guaranteed to win and absorb 621 and Ayre into itself until Iguazu takes control of it to kill his "rival".]]
* TakingYouWithMe: Attempts this in [[spoiler:"Alea Iacta Est" where he tries to mount one last attack after his AP is depleted. As the AC has suffered critical damage, however, all he accomplishes is overloading it to the point the AC can no longer function at all]].
* TookALevelInBadass: For most encounters, such as his Arena match, his fighting style is ill-suited for HEAD BRINGER's loadout. He plays very safely keeping his pulse shield up as often as he can while circling around you from a safe mid-range distance while trying to land hits with his (uncharged) linear rifle shots and missiles, and really only resorts to his machine gun if his shield overheated. [[spoiler:When he joins the skirmish as 621 attempts to get the drop on V.II Snail creating a MeleeATrois, he fights noticably more aggressively, making more effective use of his dual trigger loadout to create much more pressure on both 621 and Snail, and will capitalize on staggers with a Boost Kick, which he will not use otherwise. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration Though, it can also be explained that continually hearing voices in his head is driving him into a blind berserker rage as well.]]]]
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: [[spoiler:His hatred for 621 is so great it allows him to take control of ALLMIND in the GoldenEnding all so he can finally kill 621.]]
* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Having integrated into ALLMIND, Iguazu suddenly fights with the A.I. and takes control of its AC body to kill 621, becoming the final boss of "Alea Iacta est" and of ''Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon'' overall.]]
* VillainOverride: [[spoiler:In the GoldenEnding, Iguazu forcefully takes control of ALLMIND and their mech during the final battle as he is simply ''that'' obsessed with killing 621 once and for all.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: On NG+, he is unaccounted for by the end. On NG, [[spoiler:he presumably dies in the tunnels of Watchpoint Alpha after his failed attempt to kill you. And in NG++, he dies after trying to kill you using ALLMIND. But on NG+, he never appears in person again after the Iceworm mission; he sends an assassin after you instead of trying to kill you himself.]]
* YouCanSeeMe: [[spoiler:Due to his status as an augmented human, Iguazu can hear the voices of the Coral. In fact, the voice he's been complaing about is actually Ayre's, as he recognizes her voice during the TrueFinalBoss battle.]]
!!G6 Red
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Katsunori Okai (Japanese), Creator/RobbieDaymond (English)
->'''AC Name:''' HERMIT
->'''Rank:''' 27/F
The intermediary between 621 and Balam Industries. His unit is called HERMIT.
----
* DrillSergeantNasty: He is this incarnate. He constantly talks like a Southern drill instructor to everyone. According to his arena bio, he looks up to G1 Michigan, so this mannerism is likely a result of imitation.
* HeroWorship: G1 Michigan’s televised exploits left such an impression on G6 Red’s childhood that he pulled all the stops to model his career and mannerisms on his idol.
* MilesGloriosus: He's very loud and authoritative and somehow is the superior to most of the other Redguns. Despite that, he's a ''very'' low-ranking mercenary, being the final battle of the F series, aka the series 621 starts in.
* SanitySlippage: Is very understandably freaking out when encountered in the third route. [[spoiler:He briefly teams up with 621 to fend off some attackers, before turning on them out of (justifiable) paranoia. Ayre sadly notes that he's under too much combat stress to be reasoned with.]]
* SoleSurvivor: By the end of the game, he's the last Redgun standing, and likely the last ''Balam'' trooper left on Rubicon. [[spoiler:He's killed directly by 621 in the "Alea Iacta Est" path, and presumably burned with the rest of the planet in the "Fires of Raven" ending, but he is to be seen in the "Liberator of Rubicon" path and may have been able to escape the planet.]]
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: G6 Red is rather superstituous and believes the number 13 is bad luck. In Chapter 3, he advises 621 to join the Redguns and climb up the ranks so as to ditch the G13 callsign altogether. [[spoiler:Red spends his duel with 621 in the "Alea Iacta Est" path ranting about how their 'joining' the Redguns as G13 was a curse, responsible for everything that had gone wrong since then.]]
* UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler:621 can rescue him from an ambush late in the game after the Redguns are destroyed. However, Red subsequently turns his own guns on 621 in a fit of rampant paranoia]].
!!G7 Hakra
->'''AC Name:''' Unknown
->'''Rank:''' 22/D
A Redgun pilot whose wrecked machine is found among the ruins of the contaminated city in 621's first mission.
----
* PosthumousCharacter: It's all but outright said that Hakra's dead, given that G3 Wu Huahai takes his rank later. Walter rejects the idea of 621 using Hakra's pilot license because the risk of 621 being exposed as an imposter is greater than if they took an independent license.
* RedRightHand: Almost literally. From the scan take 621 takes, the left arm of Hakra's AC was brick-red, contrasting the dull green paint scheme the rest of the mech had.
!!Dafeng Student Pilot
->''"I just wanted a callsign of my own..."''
-->--Last words of Dafeng Student Pilot
A student pilot assigned to an ill-fated mission to deliver a Dafeng sample AC to the Redguns.
----
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: A common character type in Real Robot anime is the teenage pilot who finds himself controlling a SuperPrototype, which becomes instrumental in a conflict. The Student Pilot hits all these checkmarks, as he is suddenly forced to pilot the Tester AC in live combat, a machine Arquebus considers to have dangerous potential. Unfortunately, without narrative causality to protect the student, his inexperience dooms him and his advanced AC while fighting a veteran mercenary using a tried and tested model.
* EagerRookie: Young, idealistic, and [[WrongGenreSavvy in the wrong genre]] to be the hero he imagines himself to be.
* FallingIntoTheCockpit: The student pilot was only assigned to the Dafeng test AC to deliver it to the proper Redguns, only to end up in actual combat when the Arquebus Corporation hires the player to destroy the craft. [[DeconstructedTrope He's effortlessly killed by 621.]]
* HeroicWannabe: The student pilot talks like your typical mecha anime protagonist, but he's utterly out of his depth against 621, and dies an unceremonious death.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: As his death quote says, his main motivation is to get a callsign; proof that he's joined the ranks of the 'elite' soldiers in Rubicon.
* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Had 621 not shown up and killed him, the student pilot would have taken up the callsign G13 in the Redguns. If G6 Red's words in Chapter 3 during the prep work to take out [[spoiler:the PCA]] are any indication, however, anyone who winds up with that callsign isn't going to last very long.
* WarmUpBoss: As a student pilot in a test AC, The student pilot serves as an introduction to AC on AC combat. The student pilot goes down like a chump due to inexperience.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Minor Corporations]]
!!Elcano
A company that began in steel forging and production, and has shifted to producing advanced, lightweight AC parts with a flashy, sporty aesthetic. More deeply involved in the Rubicon conflict than is immediately apparent.
----
* AmbiguouslyRelated: [[spoiler:They're the primary suppliers of the RLF's most advanced technology, with no other faction using their gear, and ALLMIND lists a test AC with Elcano and BAWS parts as 'Rubiconian'. What's unclear is the nature of their link with the planet and its people, and why they're so close to the RLF - are they also a Rubiconian company, do they have Rubiconians in management positions, or are they just sympathisers?]]
* ChekhovsGunman: Mentioned as early as the back-half of Chapter 1, between BAWS guards idle chatter and an intercepted encrypted communication when revisiting the Wall. [[spoiler:By applying the knowledge they gleaned from Schneider [=ACs=] and putting their lot in with the RLF and collaborating with Furlong Dynamics, they create the top-line AC, STEEL HAZE ORTUS for Rusty, and provide other Schneider-based [=ACs=] to furnish members of the RLF during the "Liberator of Rubicon" route.]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: A high-tech, sporty Italian AC parts company that focuses on speed, style, and flair. They're basically Ferrari or Lamborghini if they were [[spoiler:bankrolling an anticolonial guerrilla movement.]]
* FlechetteStorm: They have a unique line of needle weaponry, designed to punch through enemy armour with high-velocity metal spikes. [[spoiler:In-game information implies that it was designed with the help of Furlong, the galaxy's leading missile launcher manufacturers.]] Elcano needlers are lightweight and have an excellent balance of damage and rate of fire, at the expense of range and ammo capacity.
* FragileSpeedster: Their signature FIRMEZA frame is sleek, lightweight, speedy, and skeletally thin. [[spoiler:The ALBA parts belonging to STEEL HAZE ORTUS take the traits even further.]]
* NeutralNoLonger: [[spoiler:The RLF manages to secure a formal arrangement for their cooperation sometime towards the end of Chapter 4.]]
!!Takigawa Harmonics
One of the leading manufacturers in pulse technology.
----
* DispelMagic: As the majority of pulse weapons are also made by Takigawa, their armaments will prove valuable in disabling enemies utilizing Pulse Armor faster.
* EnergyWeapons: Alongside the Arquebus Group and the AmbiguouslyRelated VCPL, they're the main manufacturers of energy weaponry, with a cheap-and-cheerful vibe and an emphasis on rapid-fire pulse technology.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: They manufacture nearly half of the pulse shields available in the game.
* {{Vibroweapon}}: The Pulse Blade pounds its targets with high-frequency oscillations.
!!Vice and Cohen Plasma Laboratory
Also known as VCPL, it's a manufacturer whose primary focus in the AC part market is EnergyWeapons and especially melee-based ones.
----
* AmbiguouslyRelated: To Arquebus. Their parts have a similar naming scheme and aesthetic to Arquebus gear, and the Vespers use a fair amount of VCPL tech, but the precise details of their relationship (if they have one) are unknown.
* EnergyWeapons: Much like Arquebus, though specializing towards plasma-based guns and launchers.
* LaserBlade: VCPL's other specialty is manufacturing these, with many of the melee weapons out in the battlefield being their handiwork.
!!Furlong Dynamics
A corporation whose primary focus in the AC part market are missiles and boosters.
----
* AceCustom: With their assistance, the Rubicon Liberation Force managed to create a state of the art AC. [[spoiler:It becomes Rusty's new AC at the end of the game.]]
* MacrossMissileMassacre: Their specialty. Their most extensive shoulder weapon platform can launch up to ''sixteen'' missiles at once, and [=ACs=] can equip two of them.
!!Belius Applied Weapon Systems (BAWS)
A Rubiconian MT manufacturer based in the southern Belius region. Due to their technological inferiority to the extrasolar corporations, the BAWS product line focused on cheap, mass-produced [=MTs=] and low-grade AC hardware.
----
* ArmsDealer: Of the legitimate variety compared to [=RaD=], and willing to sell to all sides of the conflict due to their neutrality.
* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: While BAWS [=MTs=] are used by all factions, their AC part lineup consists mostly of legacy parts for last-generation units, with their main selling points being low cost, low EN drain, and general ruggedness.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:Behind a veneer of neutrality that BAWS uses to protect themselves from reprisal, its employees are bonafide RLF sympathizers attempting to use investments into Elcano for the sake of drawing another corporation into the war on their side.]]
* TheRemnant: BAWS comprises much of what remains of Rubicon-3's homegrown industry following the Fires of Ibis, and still maintains its own functional infrastructure rather than just scavenging or improvising.
!!Melinite
A manufacturer that specializes in explosive weaponry.
----
* StuffBlowingUp: Their main specialty is bazookas and grenade launchers, small and large, including SONGBIRDS.
[[/folder]]
