Ravens http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/Raven

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Ravens are mercenaries managed by a mediator like Ravens' Nest, Global Cortex, Nerves Concord or Ravens' Ark. Piloting customized mechs called Armored Cores (ACs), Ravens are contracted to carry out missions for their employers, and may either work exclusively for a particular organization, or independently.

A Raven is an Armored Core pilot under the employ of a private military company. Ravens are highly sought after by corporations, terrorists, city guards and warlords to perform tasks that would be considered too difficult or politically damaging for a normal military unit to engage in. While the names of the companies that handle Raven contracts have changed over time, the function of Ravens themselves remains largely the same - carry out missions given by the highest bidder.

Because the companies that employ these mercenaries are neutral in affiliation (Ravens' Nest, Ravens' Ark, etc.), Ravens are free to work for whomever they wish. Because of this, it is not uncommon for Ravens employed by opposing entities to fight each other on the battlefield. The unstable nature of a Raven's work and affiliation can lead to complicated relationships among each other and the companies, leaving most Ravens to lead a detached life.

In addition to carrying out missions for corporate clients, Ravens often participate in an arena league administered by the organization they work for. These matches are broadcast for additional revenue, and more popular, skilled Ravens can earn an easy living as arena combatants. It should be noted that while all Ravens are Armored Core pilots, not all Armored Core pilots are Ravens. The more affluent organizations have a stable of in-house Armored Core pilots, as was the case in Armored Core 2's Frighteners, which were a special forces unit of the Earth Government.

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The Earth Government http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/The_Earth_Government

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The Earth Government is an organization that features prominently in Armored Core 2 and Armored Core 2: Another Age. It appears to have been founded shortly after the events of Armored Core: Master of Arena.

The Earth Government was established at the signing of the Isaac Treaty following the conflict between the corporations Chrome and Murakumo Millenium. The Government quickly moved to fill the void left by the downfall of the first-generation corporations, and put restrictions on future corporations in an attempt to prevent another conflict on the scale of the Deep Earth War.

By the time of Armored Core 2, the Earth Government had moved away from simply "keeping the peace" between the new generation of corporations (Zio Matrix, Emeraude, and Balena), and toward attempts to reclaim the surface of the planet so that it could be repopulated. However, it was forced to work in tandem with the corporations, and it was only a matter of time before conflicts began to break out between the various groups.

When Zio Matrix announced that it had successfully terraformed Mars, thus making it suitable for human habitation, the Earth Government initially paid little attention to this, allowing Zio and the other corporate groups to found a system of rule on that planet similar to the Subterranean Era, which included bringing Nerves Concord - the successor to the Ravens' Nest - to Mars to provide a mediation group for the new generation of Ravens.

However, once Zio and Emeraude commenced a bloody war on Mars, the Earth Government decided to intervene before the corporate warfare that now dominated Mars spread back to Earth.

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Operators http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/Operators

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Operators are support personnel who are "partners" so to speak of Ravens and LYNX who pilot Armored Cores. While they do not control the AC itself, their jobs usually consist of remotely monitoring the unit's vital stats (namely, their AP), updating the Raven/LYNX of changes in combat (such as the arrival of reinforcements) or directing them towards designated targets; this allows the AC pilot to focus their attention entirely on combat. Operators are staple of the series and are present in almost every single game.

Armored Core

While not technically an Operator, R was an AI from the Ravens' Nest that managed the Ravens day to day missions.

Armored Core Project Phantasma

Sumika Juutilainen - A Raven working in Amber Crest, she becomes semi-operator for the Raven after he rescues her from the Doomsday Organization and gives missions.

Armored Core Master of Arena

Lana Nielsen - An operator working for the Raven's Nest. Seemingly sympathetic she seeks out The Raven after he becomes a Raven and serves as his manager, promising to eventually lead the player into a confrontation with Nine Ball. However, as the game goes on her motivations come into question and like many things in the AC universe, she's not exactly what she seems. In the final fight where The Raven fights against Nine-Ball in his final form, she appears to be the first Hustler One that you fight and in the end appears to be, like all other pilots of the Hustler One, part of the master AI.

Armored Core 2

Nell Aulter - An operator from Nerves Concord, she works with the Raven in AC2. She is 25 years old. She is the first Operator to be shown to develop true compassion and possible romantic feelings for the Raven. Only Fiona Jarnefeldt has the same affection for her Raven.

Armored Core 2 Another Age

Unlike in other games, the Operator is never given a name, but is known to be female.

Armored Core 3

Laine Meyers - The liaison representative from Global Cortex, Laine manages the Ravens affairs, include missions and pay. Although she generally does take the Raven's side, she is at the same time being conflicted by the necessity of the Controller.

Armored Core 3 Silent Line

Emma Sears - The Raven's operator assigned by Global Cortex.

Armored Core Nexus

Like Another Age, the Operator is never identified. During Jack-O's restructuring of the Ravens' Ark, the Raven receives a new Operator, also unnamed.

Armored Core Formula Front

As ACs are unmanned and used for recreational purposes, Operators are nonexistent.

Armored Core Nine Breaker

Unidentified

Armored Core Last Raven

Sheila Caldwell - a mission operation specialist responsible for providing information and support to her Raven clientele. She used to be a director for Mirage's Information Department, but left after the Attack of the Unmanned Suicide Weapons.

Ed Weisz- a military researcher who gathers and analyzes information relating to various conflicts and battles. He used to make a living performing these duties for the corporations, but now works for the Ravens.

Armored Core 4

Fiona Jarnefeldt - Operator for Anatolia's Mercenary, she later develops romantic feelings for him and leaves Anatolia.

Emil Gustav - In the hard mode of Marche Au Supplice, Emil takes over as operator for the mission. Fiona is distressed as the raven must take on Berlioz's entire squad in a 4 on 1 fight, which is tantamount to suicide, and insistently pulls back to safety. Emil however is confident in his ability. At the end of the mission, he tells the raven " she's waiting for you here", meaning Fiona.

Armored Core For Answers

Serene Haze - Operator for Strayed; speaks with great seniority, hinting her past as a LYNX.

Fiona Jarnefeldt - Now works as the Operator for Line Ark's White Glint.

Armored Core V

The Operator is now a playable position in Armored Core V. Beyond just mission briefing, the Operator is also responsible for relaying real time information to AC pilots, marking targets, and setting rally points on the battlefield.

During Story Mode, the player has several operators:

Rosary - The pilot of a F21C Stork Helicopter and former member of the Men of Honor Compose Corps

Fran - the new leader of the Resistance

R.D. - Rosary's assistant who has a knack for detecting danger

Leon - a general in the Resistance.

During Mission 00, Carol, a member of the Corporation, acts as your operator.

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Raven's Nest http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/Ravens%27_Nest

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Unlike it it's predecessors the Nest had no influence on Ravens and no restrictions to what a Raven can do and not do; it only served as a mediation group and also as a place for Ravens to gather. It set many precedents for future groups, such as providing basic AC resupply and repair, stipulating that any mission handled by the Nest meant that a small fee was charged, and also that it did not support Ravens if they were in trouble. The only "Operator" was an AI by the name of R, and served as the operator for all Ravens. It is only during Master of Arena that individual Operators were hired. During the events of Armored Core: Master of Arena, it is revealed that the Ravens' Nest is controlled by Hustler One, a super advanced AI. Once it is destroyed, the Ravens' Nest ceases to exist.

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Global Cortex http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/Global_Cortex

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A unique organization, Global Cortex is the intermediary between corporate clients and mercenaries for hire. These mercenaries, more commonly referred to as Ravens, are pilots who operate the massive mechanized units known as Armored Cores. Though Global Cortex works closely with all of Layered's corporations, it maintains a strict level of neutrality and does not side with any of them.

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The League http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/The_League

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On paper, the League seeks to preserve peace and order within corporate society, but the grim reality doesn't match their aims. The League exists to represent the collective opinion of its corporate members, but in many cases it it is simply a front for the influential Omer Science, which has led the other Corporate Groups to begin operating independently.

The League also operates the LYNX organization, Collared.

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Ravens' Ark http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/Ravens%27_Ark

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The Ravens' Ark was an organization that acted as the hub for all Raven activity. Before its destruction, the Ark used to employ and manage almost all Ravens. By the time of Armored Core: Nexus, administration of the Ark had been transferred to Jack-O. The Ark's sole contingency on membership was that it would act as arbitrator for all agreements between the Ravens and the corporations, likely a measure put in place by the fiercely anti-corporate Jack-O to prevent undue interference on the part of the major corporate groups

The Ark stood on equal footing with the corporations and was thereby able to guarantee Ravens their independence. The organization ceased to exist after the attack launched by the Unmanned Suicide Weapons, as its leader Jack-O believed that the unification of the major corporate groups into the Alliance would rob the group of its hard-won independence. He would use much of its infrastructure as a foundation for Vertex during its earliest days, also taking with him a large number (around 40-50 percent) of the member Ravens with him.

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ORCA http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/ORCA

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ORCA is a faction that operates with some assistance, secretly, from the higher ups of The League. Their goal is to carry out the Closed Plan, and save the planet from death. They have 12 main members, all of them Lynx (they also have a number of MT and Normal pilots, which can be seen in Hard Mode Attack Anti-Satellite Cannons, referred to as Neo Nidus' recruits, as well as several of their own custom Arms Forts, referred to as the 'Jet-Type'). The leaders of ORCA are Maximilian Thermidor and Malzel, who act in the interests of former Rayleonard, the original creators of the Closed Plan.

Besides their NEXTs and Normal units, ORCA has also mass-produced a type of Arms Fort known as the Jet. These are land-based machines, with a teardrop shape and heavy armor except for a small exhaust port on the upper side. Besides utilizing similar technology to Stigro's "Laser Plow" for ground level defense, they are also capable of utilizing ranged lasers embedded throughout the structure.

They were produced in varying sizes, as several large units appear in the League Path mission "Destroy ORCA's Special AF Unit", while at least one smaller unit appears in the League Path mission "Defend Arteria Carpals" (Hard Mode).

Maximilian Thermidor Unsung

Neo Nidus Gachirin

Julius Emery Asterism

Old King Lisa

Shinkai Split Moon

Vaoh Gleditsia

Malzel Opening

Totient Gray Gloom

PQ Yoroi Mogura

Hari Krasnaya

Buppa Zu Gan Big Barrel

Luster 18 Ferrum Solidus

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Line Ark http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/Line_Ark

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A maritime city-state formed by those who oppose the League and their Cradle system, they advocate freedom and democracy and appear to be fighting for just that cause. However, their motto of 'accepting all who wish to enter' has attracted a large number of unfavourable types, which has led to a slow decay of their government and society, leaving little of their original ideas and dreams remaining.

Their forces consists mostly of MTs, Normals, and one NEXT, White Glint.

Line Ark was established sometime after the end of the Lynx War, becoming the first non-corporate state to emerge in the post-National Dismantlement War era. As stated above, they opposed the League on the grounds that they were tyrants who were suffocating the life out of the Earth. Furthermore, they seemed to be at least somewhat aware that the continuing environmental pollution was being caused by the Cradles and the Arteria, although unlike ORCA, they had no significant military power to oppose the League.

During the course of Armored Core: For Answer, the League of Ruling Companies launches several attacks against Line Ark. The first of these in the game is the first mission, and is carried out by Strayed. Later, the player is given the option of either helping or carrying out further attacks against Line Ark (Chapter 2 of ACFA).

The first mission that the player can take to help Line Ark is "Defend Megalis", which involves repelling a League task force (consisting primarily of Omer forces) who are attacking the Megalis power plant. Successful completion of this mission opens up the "Defend Line Ark" mission and, if the player chooses to take that mission, the entire "Anti-Establishment" storyline in For Answer. "Defend Line Ark" involves working alongside the NEXT White Glint as a pair of League/Omer Lynx (Otsdarva and CUBE) come in to deal a death blow to Line Ark's defenses. Although successful completion of the mission involves apparently destroying Otsdarva and CUBE (although the latter is recovered afterward), White Glint is also taken out in this battle. Afterward, Line Ark ceases to play a major part in the story, and ORCA comes to the forefront.

If the player chooses instead to side with the corporations, the next mission played involving Line Ark is "Defeat White Glint", in which the Protagonist is teamed with Otsdarva against White Glint. During the battle, Otsdarva is apparently taken down by White Glint, who is subsequently taken out by the player. The final mission in this storyline that involves Line Ark is "Destroy Megalis", in which the Protagonist is tasked with maneuvering a gauntlet of Anti-Aircraft Energy Cannons to get to Megalis and take out the power plant, which results in the downfall of Line Ark.

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Zodiac http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/Zodiac

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Zodiac is a group of extremely powerful Armored Cores found in Armored Core V. They are products of the Zodiac Project, an undertaking to create the ultimate Armored Core pilot. Little is known about their origins, other than they are not associated with the City Police or the Corporation. They appear under special conditions in Story Missions and are featured in the Order Missions.

Zodiac is closer to a project than it is to an actual funded group of skilled pilots like the Men of Honor or the City police. Although they used to serve a greater purpose, whatever their original cause was has long since ceased to exist, leaving them no function other than to fight endlessly

• Zodiac No. 1: Pilots the AC Capricornus. Encountered in the Order Missions. (Order Mission 72)
• Zodiac No. 2: Pilots the AC Aquarius. Encountered in the Order Missions. (Order Mission 69,Order Mission 83)
• Zodiac No. 3: Pilots the AC Pisces. Encountered in the Order Missions. (Order Mission 81)
• Zodiac No. 4: Pilots the AC Aries. Encountered in the Order Missions. (Order Mission 79)
• Zodiac No. 5: Pilots the AC Taurus. Encountered in the Order Missions. (Order Mission 74)
• Zodiac No. 6: Pilots the AC Gemini. Encountered as a secret opponent in Story Mission 06.
• Zodiac No. 7: Pilots the AC Cancer. Encountered as a secret opponent in Story Mission 01.
• Zodiac No. 8: Pilots the AC Leo. Encountered in the Order Missions. (Order Mission 43, Order Mission 76, Order Mission 83)
• Zodiac No. 9: Pilots the AC Virgo. Encountered in the Order Missions. (Order Mission 79)
• Zodiac No. 10: Pilots the AC Libra. Encountered in the Order Missions. (Order Mission 81)
• Zodiac No. 11: Pilots the AC Scorpius. Encountered as a secret opponent in Story Mission 04.
• Zodiac No. 12: Pilots the AC Sagittarius. Encountered in the Order Missions. (Order Mission 64)
• Angie: The AI operator of Zodiac. Controls numerous F21C Stork helicopters (Polaris). (Order Mission 43, Mission 69, Mission 74, Mission 79, Mission 81, and Mission 83)

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Men of Honor http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/Men_of_Honor

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The Men of Honor are a large organization of Migrants and one of the main antagonist groups in Armored Core V's Order Missions. They play the primary role of allocating mercenaries with clients in Multiplayer, and are also the holders of neutral territories in that part of the game. They eventually, after the fall of Regan and Goneril, become a major force in the creation of the Sirius Corporation in Armored Core: Verdict Day.

The Men of Honor is a large Migrant organization known well in the world of Armored Core V. They hold a large amount of power and resources under their name, and are the main group to issue contracts to freelance mercenaries. They possess a significant amount of military might as well, with some suggesting it is equal to, or if not more then, that of the City Police. This large amount of military power also holds sway over most territorial areas before the rise of mercenary warlords, forcing most to accommodate neutral areas.

While they hold sway over many things in the world, the MOH are still predominately a Migrant group, and are often found salvaging resources in almost any part of the world.

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The Foundation http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/The_Foundation

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he Foundation is a research organization dedicated to restoring lost technology. They appear as the primary antagonist alongside the Reaper Squad in Armored Core: Verdict Day.

The Foundation has provided advanced technology to numerous other factions. Although it has huge military power, it is a neutral faction that merely sells technology.

It was founded by a group called the Migrants, although there are rumors that its existence predates the other three major powers

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Reaper Squad http://armoredcore.wikia.com/wiki/Reaper_Squad

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The Reaper Squad (a.k.a. Death God Unit in the Japanese version) is a unit of Armored Core pilots that first appear in Armored Core: Verdict Day. They are the ones responsible for Magnolia's (temporary) retirement from the mercenary life, and are the primary antagonists of the game, with the Foundation working in the background.

First introduced in mission 3: "Rusting Steel," they are a group of pilots who appear seemingly at random in various battles and attack indiscriminately, targeting military forces and known highly skilled opponents. While allying with the Foundation, it is unknown where they serve as a branch of the organization or simply have a temporary alliance.

The Reaper Squad is composed of five members. Like Zodiac before them, Reaper Squad is reputed to be nearly unbeatable in combat and seek out anyone who they feel could become a threat. Their base of operations appears to be located on a massive moving train, in which their ACs are serviced and their missions planned out. The protagonist encounters and defeats all five member throughout the course of the story.

• J - Commander of the Reaper Squad. Shot down Magnolia Curtis two years prior to the start of the games story; and pilots the N-WGIX against Fatman's partner in Mission 10. An enigmatic, shady character. He shows great respect for Fatman's partner by the end of the campaign, and has an interest in Magnolia because he finds out that she had survived their encounter which had effectively 'crippled' her.
• N - The most mysterious member of the Reaper Squad, under the callsign 'Reaper Three'. He pilots the close-ranged lightweight bipedal, R.I.P3/N. He appears to have a rather honest, forth-coming, yet snidely cynical attitude to things. He is encountered during Story Mission 05-6.
• K - The first Reaper to be encountered in the game fully. Goes under the callsign 'Reaper One'. She pilots the long-range, sniper-oriented heavy-reverse-jointed AC, R.I.P1/K. She seems to hold the Raven in high regard, out of respect for his/her skill.
• D - The third Reaper squad member to be encountered, under the callsign 'Reaper Two'. He pilots the only-known assault-model tank AC among the group, R.I.P2/D. He seems to be very fond of the protagonist, quoting in admiration how they first defeated N, and then K. He seems to have a preference to cheat, made clear as to how he is often encountered with UNAC support when entering the battlefield.
• M - The newly introduced member of the Reaper Squad, M was once a proud, well-respected mercenary that went under the callsign 'Blue Magnolia'. M goes is administered the callsign of 'Reaper Three' after N's defeat. She pilots the only-known medium bipedal AC, R.I.P3/M. She becomes fixated on eliminating Fatman's partner, due to fear of them becoming another Dark Raven, but eventually comes to regret her actions in the end. She seems to have been fairly close, at least to some degree, to Fatman--as indicated by her dialogue before her end.