I've been putting off posting this for a while, but while we're at it, here's a gigantic list of what the various part stats mean, according to the in-game help.
First off, generic stats that (almost) every part has:
- Weight
- The number of WP it costs to equip the part. The maximum available weight comes in two forms: the amount of weight the legs can carry, and the amount of weight the arms can carry.
- Energy Drain
- The amount of energy required to equip the part. The energy available is a function of the current generator.
External Part Stats
These are stats that are common to "external" parts: the head, core, arms, and legs.
- Armor Point
- The number of AP you get from equipping the part.
- Def Shell
- The amount of damage reduction from "solid-round based attacks." The exact words used by the in-game help are: "Damage control system. The higher this number, the better an AC can endure the damage from solid-round based attacks."
- Def Energy
- Same thing as above, but for energy-based attacks.
Weapon Stats
- Weapon Lock
- "Weapon's sighting capability." - Honestly, I have no clue what this actually means.
- Number of Ammo
- The amount of ammo you can carry for this weapon. Some weapons fire multiple rounds at a time.
- Ammo Type
- Either "Solid" or "Energy." This basically tells you the type of damage inflicted, and whether Def Shell or Def Energy defends against it.
- Ammo Price
- The cost of firing a single round. You always are charged to bring your ammo count back to full - I guess the cost of ammo is included in the weapon price. (All of a sudden I wonder if there are parts that cost less than the price to restock all their ammo.) Energy based weapons do not have an ammo price, firing them is free.
- Range
- The distance in "doesn't say" that a fired round travels.
- Maximum-Lock
- Maximum number of lock-ons that the part can make at once. Certain FCSes allow multiple lock-ons, and missiles that support this can allow multiple missiles to be fired at once. Other missiles simply always fire multiple missiles at a single target - this just means you can lock on additional shots before firing.
- Reload Time
- The time in "doesn't say" required to reload the weapon after firing. Essentially, the maximum firing rate.
Head Stats
- Map Type
- One of the following:
- No Memory
- Only a close area around the AC is displayed on the map.
- Area & Place Name
- Places you've visited appear on the map, and certain places are marked with a "Place Name." This is somewhat useless since you have to visit an area for the place name to be shown.
- Area Memory
- Same as above without the place names.
- Computer Type
- How detailed the computer's reports are. This determines what the computer will tell you; for example, "Gate does not move" versus "Gate check: Cannot unlock gate."
- Noise Canceler
- "Indicates availability of a jamming unit." - No clue what this means. This is either provided with the head or not available.
- Bio Sensor
- "Indicates ability to detect Bi" [sic]. This allows you to lock on to "biological" targets, which is pretty much limited to the "organisms" in Armored Core.
- Radar Function
- Whether or not the head provides a radar. If it does, it will also have the radar stats.
What's important in a head is really up to the player. The Bio Sensor feature is almost entirely useless, but when it is useful, it can be very useful. I find the map feature to be very useful, but if you're better at wandering through corridors than I am, you might not care.
The difference between "Detailed" and "Rough" computers is again mostly cosmetic - one of the videos showed the difference more clearly where the "Rough" computer just said "Danger" and the "Detailed" computer expanded on that to indicate that the danger was from "electromagnetic barriers" as I recall.
Core Stats
- Max Weight
- How much weight the core can carry. This is the weight of the arms, any shoulder parts, and any weapons equipped on the arms.
- VS-MG-RESPONSE
- Cores provide a basic anti-missile capability. According to the help text, this is the "unit's missile intercept probability."
- VS-MG-ANGLE
- "Range in front of the AC where missiles can be intercepted." (Specified in "doesn't say.")
- Extension Slots
- The number of optional slots.
In the original AC, there are only three cores, making almost all the stats moot: the only really important one was the number of optional slots.
Project Phantasma extends that to four cores, but even then, you're really only choosing based on the maximum weight and the AP, everything else might as well be incidental.
Leg Stats
- Max Weight
- How much weight the legs can carry. This is the maximum amount of weight the entire AC can have at all.
- Speed
- Higher numbers mean the AC moves faster.
- Stability
- Higher numbers mean that the AC is less effected by "recoil" which is essentially the stun time after being hit by a shot.
- Jump Function
- Whether or not the AC can jump. All units can boost upwards, but some ACs can't jump.
Generator Stats
- Energy Output
- Total amount of available EP. (See Energy Drain above.)
- Maximum Charge
- The size of the charge gauge on the right. Higher numbers mean you can boost longer and fire energy weapons longer. Completely empty the charge gauge and you enter "charging" where you can't boost or use energy weapons until the gauge refills.
- Charge Redzone
- The size of the "red zone" at the bottom of the charge gauge. Entering the red zone causes the game to start beeping at you, but I have no idea if it really makes a difference when charging in the red zone. I'd assume the red zone charges more slowly than the rest of the gauge, but it also depletes more slowly. The AI has no problem using up all the energy in the red zone until it's just above empty, so the AI at least doesn't seem to think it's worth worrying about.
Booster Stats
- Boost Power
- The acceleration provided by the booster. Higher numbers are better.
- Charge Drain
- How fast the booster depletes that charge gauge.
FCS Stats
FCS is the "Fire Control System."
- Lock Type
- This is the size of the "lock on box" displayed on screen. It's one of:
- Standard
- A "medium" box in the middle of the screen.
- Wide & Shallow
- A "large" box, but with a short range. (My preferred type.)
- Narrow & Deep
- A "small" box but with a long range.
- Lengthway
- "Longer distance lock-on." As I recall, this is a "tall" box. I guess it also has a longer range?
- Sideway
- "Wider lock-on." This is a wider box.
FCSs have a bunch of other stats, but that's all the help text is going to tell us about them, and all the Master of Arena manual says as well.
Radar Stats
- Radar Range
- How large an area the radar scans.
- Radar Type
- Quoting directly: "Indicates radar type. Radar shapes vary, but their performance remains the same." Basically, this determines... the shape of the radar on the HUD? The shape the radar scans? I have no clue, honestly. In any case, the shapes are "Standard," "Circle," and "Octagon."