Q: What is Armored Core Last Raven, and why should I play it?
A: Armored Core: Last Raven (LR), as the name might imply, is the last Armored Core game to be released for the PlayStation 2 and the culmination of mechanics that were iterated and built upon since the first Armored Core game, and adding even more of its own, creating the most feature rich PS2 Armored Core in terms of the amount of parts you can use and how the new mechanics make this one play differently over the other games, before or after.
Armored Core: Ninebreaker or Armored Core: Last Raven both have the most active playerbase, but they play differently enough that preferring one over the other is common for players interested in PvP play, but most tend to play both.
Q: Why this game in particular over the other Armored Cores?
A: Last Raven is one of a kind game that is both simultaneously the culmination of almost 10 years perfecting the Armored Core formula at the time it was released, as well as playing like no other due to the unique mechanics this game introduced compared to the previous games, as well as the next games playing using completely different systems altogether.
Each generation in the Armored Core series (1st Gen up to 6th gen) has game(s) that are played competitively for different reasons. For Last Raven, it is decisively on the slower paced side.
In terms of competitive multiplayer: booster heat, which was first introduced in Armored Core: Nexus, has been further toned down since Armored Core: Ninebreaker, and the outputs of most generators was increased, which gives more mobility options compared to Nexus and Ninebreaker. But LR also introduced booster acceleration, which makes weapons more inaccurate.
LR's higher mobility and lower accuracy forces a more methodical and tactical style of play compared to the prior games. Range control and spacing are generally more important than outright DPS. For offense, the attacker is encouraged to shoot within effective ranges and when the target's acceleration is minimal. And for defense, it's ideal to constantly shift velocity to force misses, or to shake off the opponent's tracking to break lock-on. These nuances of offense and defense have been in every Armored Core, but they are most emphasized in LR.
However, LR matches can be fast, they can be more frantic instead of the calculating and opportunistic type, and all sorts of builds and playstyles can be (and are) present in the game, ranging from aerial domination, zone denial, rushing down your opponent, and more; yet knowing your limitations is crucial, as well as your opponent's. This is a game where careless play is the most punisheable, and it's what makes it so exciting for its playerbase.
Q: How good is the balance? Are there parts that are banned or unviable?
A: Before the age of regulation patch fixes, it was inevitable that a game with as much customization as Armored Core would have parts that were overwhelmingly better than all other options. For Armored Core: Last Raven, as with all prior AC games, some communities chose to ban such parts with the goal of promoting build diversity. (Sample ban lists will be linked in this wiki).
Among the regular selection of parts, there are still a few that are more competitively viable than others, but there are still enough to have good build variety for everyone. Slapping "top tier" parts together without a care may make your AC horribly energy dependant, overheat in no time, have an unbalanced Shell/Energy defense ratio, or quite simply go against the playstyle you are aiming for; so a lot of parts are still usable but in more niche ways.
Q: There's a lot of stages in this game, do people prefer some over the others?
A:
Q: With so many parts, making a build seems very daunting, are there any good easy to use parts/builds for a beginner?
A: