Grid 086 feels like the closest thing Armored Core has to an open world

Did you know you can actually see the Strider wreckage if you look backwards from the starting point. Grid 086 is also visible in the strider mission, in the top right part of Bona Dea Dunes

Nossacc (or however his name is spelled) wasn't hired to eliminate you. He was hiding from loan sharks because he borrowed too much money. You can find an AC wreck of a loan shark in the opposite tube, and Nossacc also thought that you were a loan collector when you found him.

Very nice work here Glint. Grind 086 does feel like it own little world with all that is going on. The mts, all the moving parts and the sounds. Its a fun level to enjoy and just watch everything work.

Grid 086 is when armored core had finally got me hooked, for me, armored core had been these shades of militaristic desert camo and bland drab deserts and desecrated urban buildings, finally seeing that after the Baltaeus fight got me hooked on the game, hell any grid or desert mission are my favorites in the game

That intro is so good, can see this one has been cooking for a bit. Good examination of one of my favourite levels in the game, it's a great flexible sandbox of encounters with different levels of difficulty and very open vertically that allows us to start those encounters as you see fit making it a nice playground to test your AC vs different MT types with a layout so good they used it more than once and like you said it's also a good introduction to RaD and one of the most memorable characters in the game.

Fun fact about Nosaac, if you run away from him and fly back up the pipe without killing him, he has special dialogue! There's also dialogue for if you then come back after that as well. It inspired me to see if other similarly hidden ACs had the same, but I never found any. SPOILERS AHEAD: On the mission where you can fight G6 Red by going down into the area with all the fire, a mission area boundary actually traps you in until you kill him. I thought it was kind of lame at first, but (and this might not be intentional, just lack of a recorded line, I could be coping) after thinking a bit it made a lot of sense. Your operator for that mission is ALLMIND, not Ayre or Walter, and they want every trace of you scrubbed so they can fake your death. Plus, it's likely ALLMIND just wants as many pilots dead as possible, both so they don't get in their way and so they can steal as many souls of old-gen pilots as possible.

Grid 086 is easily my favorite level as it is filled with lots of actions and lots of hidden secrets like logs that you have to go out of your way to find.

What was a great design was that kick-ass production value introduction to this video! Especially with that Michael Bay transformer-esk theme music that I love every time I hear it! You're editing skills are top-notch these days! But I do have to agree with you, Grid 086 slowed the pace of the game down because the players' curiosity made them want to explore every nook and cranny that this area had to offer. The airship would have been another great one but, we were limited by it boundaries most of the time which made it linear. >_

Armored Core 6 succeeded masterfully at dynamic map-design which is something what Armored Core For Answer failed to do, despite the fact that I enjoyed ACFA I should acknowledge that ACFA in many missions it was too empty, too open (mostly because of how fast-paced it was but I felt it could've done it differently). Armored Core 6 on the other hand succeeds in that category, not one area feels too empty or open, just enough for heavy action combat while having no areas that are flat. Even the backgrounds just seeing multiple large Grid areas make the world feel believable, alive and a lot going on which is what I expect in Sci-Fi fictional worlds where buildings (great and small) are everywhere.

The trap with the explosive barrels also can be triggered by you directly by shooting them down from the ceiling! Carla even has dialogue for it.

What I think they could expand upon in AC6 dlc or AC7, is open areas with multiple interesting objectives that you can tackle in different orders. AC6 sort of has this but only with missions where the focus is scanning stuff, but I think small but focused open worlds as individual levels would benefit player agency significantly

086 was so cool with the little secrets. It made me wish the other levels had as many nooks and crannies, especially since you were supposed to play the game 3 times anyways.

086 is a truely well designed area. You know it was good because it got used for 3 different missions and each time didnt feel like it was just being reused but felt like it was necessary to return too.

We need more Grid 086 and that one mission where you have to destroy some generatos or reactors and then fight baltheus 2.0

Great video as always! It's clear to see you put a lot of effort in this one and it shows

Really impressed with the cohesiveness of you video, you did a great job explaining and showing your points with the Grid.

What would've made it better in my opinion is if you get access to both missions on 086 in NG++. Since both start at different locations, From could have you retracing your steps. To really make it feel like you are making amends to Carla for the shitstorm you've kicked up.

Great content as always, keep on that awesome work dude

Very well thought out. About half way thru. Waiting for my customers to finish with my finance manager before I get them out of here. Can’t wait to watch/listen to the rest on my way home

Not to be that guy, but the concept of multiple missions ocurrying in several areas of the same larger map is something the Armored Core has done from the very beginning. Grid 086 feels like an expanded version of the same concept, but done with a much bigger budget and experiences after 2 decades of making games. It's something From Software has done in all its games since the beginning of the studio, where they constantly improve or rework previous ideas they had or did on previous entries of the same franchise or even different ones they worked at.

Ah grid 86. One of my most replayed missions. If there's only one gripe I have with the grids is that we don't get to explore the top of them other than the sea spider fight, which is by the end near the edge of it.

To all the AC pilot's out there. Let your curiosity run wild. Just be sure to bring extra ammunition and new underwear.

So, this is all Kojima inspired speculation and boarder nonsense from my part but it bears mention, I guess: we get introduced to "Cinder" Carla but also "Chatty" Stick here. Ayre lays the foundation on how to interpret their written names when she elaborates the meaning of "Cinder", specifically affirming the usage of quotation marks for a nickname or inside joke. As you play through the game "Chatty" becomes quite easy to interpret, Carla never could get him to say more then necessary and inversely he was never able to understand her motto "get your laughs off while you can" ensuing an intriguing dynamic between the reserved AI and his eccentric creator. As to how Kojima ties into this, pun intended, he's the person that introduced me to the idea of the stick and the rope, he had this whole philosophical thesis going on in the run up to Death Stranding wherein the stick is analogues to warding of the bad and the rope to secure the good. Considering Carla is the feminine version of Carl, as in Carl Jung, the name Stick might have pretty deep implications. The feminine Carla creating, and interacting with, the masculine Stick has interesting implications if you read the later's arena profile from a Jungian perspective. It's also worth the mention Carla specifically made Stick without backup server, she did so to preserve is identity, effectively allowing him to experience mortality. In a broader philosophical sense, harkening back to Kojima, the name might symbolise the dual nature of tools and technology wherein the stick represents a tool that can be used for control and punishment, while the rope symbolises a tool used for connection and creation. This duality is often present in Kojima's work and, I'd argue, frontmost and centre to the narrative of Armored Core 6. That does beg the question of what happened to rope? Well.. there is another AI that, opposed to Stick who's all body, is of all mind; who'm Carla seemingly has a backdoor into, or at the very least is capable of manipulating somewhat, as demonstrated in her arena battle; who's feminine and shares similarities with Carla's personality and traits; and, arguably, could originate the RRI where one Carla used to work, perhaps, before her outlook on tools and technology changed; who's for all mercenaries, opposed to just Carla. Whilst that is, as mentioned before, all speculation and nonsense in a way there is the fact that AllMind names herself Markson, as in son of Marcus, as in Marcus Antonius, as in Ceasar's right-hand man. Kate, by the way, short for Katherine which could originate from the Greek katharos meaning pure or unsullied.. Kinda cute, right? The "unsullied" son of Marcus, it's almost as if there' a precedent for such ironic naming; that is if we're to assume the fires of Ibis necessitated the restoration from backup. I will say however, it is us that "let the die be cast" arguably making us Ceasar's analogue which would suggest a Marcus more along the lines of Brutus; in which case Rusty's ALBA would probably reference Alba Longa and thus would equate the fires of Ibis with the burning of Troy. I'm not cohesive enough to truly puzzle this all together, I wouldn't be eloquent enough the phrase it either; I've always just been really inspired by the likes of Miura, Kojima and Miyazaki from an early age and thus read a lot of random history, mythology, philosophy, esoteric scripture, literature etc etc.

If every stage was as good as Grid 086, Armored Core VI would have fared more memorably in the mainstream. Sadly it's the only stage with this level design in mind. The rest don't even come close sadly.

Grid 086 is what would happen if armored core was supposed to be made like dark souls

GAME OF THE YEAR NO QUESTION

👌🐸Very good.

My favorite level to test builds

I was so surprised by how large the map was while exploring/hunting battle logs, I kinda wished there were more maps like these

Its the stage with most rewards in the game and one of the ones it took me the most to S rank. I also like the Grid 012 area (Honest Brute Mission) and how far one can fly and explore.

Man, I was so confused for a moment when I was just listening to this while making supper. I was like, "Wait, why do I hear Zentreya in this video?", lol. Good video though. I thought I had explored this area pretty well, but it sounds like I still missed a couple things.

How'd ya get that Grid 086 text at the beginning to look so natural? Did ya port it in game? Made a 3d asset outside and greenscreened it?

The game needed more levels like this, less setpieces and more classic AC mission design

I really didn't care much for grid 086, until I finished all 3 endings and was cleaning my achievements. I realized, oh shit, this level is way bigger than I thought, this is the coolest mission in the game

can you do a video on some of the builds you use? they look really fun to play in combat

I try to play this level every day, ever since I unlocked it I can't help but do runs of 086. It's loaded with secrets and things to fight. You can kill everything, or skip all the enemies in speed runs that take your AC through twisting corridors, wide open spaces, and epic battles. Traps, destructible objects, a couple of battles with ACs, multiple Terapod MTs, and an amazing, dangerous bossfight. What did I do to deserve something THIS awesome??

I still think MIA was my favorite in terms of storytelling and looks.

How were you able to get gameplay with no HUD?

BUT FINDING THE BATTLE LOGS AINT FUN, HAHAAHAHAHAA I PUNCHED MY SOFA BC OF IT.

Love this game but can we talk about how boring those 5 minute defense missions are? They are so absurdly lazy and by far the most boring parts of AC6

I was jazzed to watch this, but like, please buy a decent mic and do a real voiceover.

are you serious,the game's level is as cheap as some ps3 vintage