Oh yeah, FromSoft in general makes me think of that one scene from the Jim Carrey Grinch, where he's like "Solve world hunger....tell NO ONE!" They love hiding cool crap and deleting all evidence.
@@CoffeePotato My favorite example of this was in 5 and VD. Get hit hard enough and you get put into a "super stagger" state where you take increased damage, about 25% more. Usually only sniper cannons can do it.
There was this woman who unironically would smoke me with Parry Blades in AC:LR. She was one of the best pilots on the forums back in the day, her name was Heavenlyblade (or heaven something it's been over a decade lol), but she was in a relationship with the forum admin if I remember correctly and she was sick. She'd use the 4 ammo one and would just 1 tap you. This was AFTER I was taught how to use perfect OB drift from my AC master BattousaiAnubis, but even with that her movement was so good she'd be able to line it up after like 1 miss.
@@GriFFonRec4 Hey. Would you happen to be the same Griffon who used to hang out on the AC Garage forum from Silent Line through Last Raven days? I was Lionhart. I'm looking for my old Raven friends.
Additional notes: -I can confirm all of Third Gen has this mechanic. -Also 2nd gen does not, it just adds defense in that one. -PS2 versions also have it. -Surprisingly, you can Parry kill Ace, It's just super unlikely he'll take the exchange. If you can line it up, the basic -Sbroz Parry can outdamage the Moonlight with decent armor. -Shell Shields don't have the parry mechanic. -Both shield types seem to prevent taking enemy self destruct damage.
There is NO way I would've figured that out. No wonder souls games lets you parry with just about any weapon(even if badly). Needing to pair the weapon with a shield just for the parry to function as intended ensures that it would never happen. The ammo thing is a neat touch, too. The pile goes through a lot of heat and impact to fire, and if that hardened stake is ruined then you're not replacing it with a fresh one anytime in combat.
this further supports my idea that the souls games take way more after armored core than any of from's dungeon crawlers. this is like looking at the fish that would become all modern animals crawl out of the water
Stability = Poise Energy guage = Stamina bar Weapons have distinct play styles and can inflict status effects Separate defensive stats Armored Core and King's Field have basically been Fromsoft's bread and butter for years and people never realized it. Darksouls is literally just King's Field as an Armored Core game (with the refinement of time)
From what I remember in SL the parry mechanic works by default in all EN shields including the extension ones, no matter what weapons you are carrying.
True, though the angles make it hard to make any use of. When using a parry blade, that block animation pretty much puts it square where a blade usually hits.
also sorry going back to this recently but didnt someone stated that extension shields in 2nd gen or 3rd gen are logically broken? as the reverse happens instead you get a stability penalty as long as the extensions are on yeah its on A-0's video about Side shields are BUSTED I guess the idea is there but they forgot some flags... sadly I'm not sure if... wait I can test in LR port LMAO Shield Extensions has been fixed in Gen3.5 so that mechanic ideally should work in Last Raven
I'm currently doing an AC through last raven in pcsx2. (Because upscaling the games just looks glorious.) I'm almost through with Silent Line after importing my AC3 save and am a little bummed I did not know this. Like I'm in my mid thirties and wished I known this like 20 years ago when I was split screen pvping against my neighborhood friends/ravens 😂.
I'm using this to wipe the arena on the ruin map tricking the ai to get stuck cause the always know where you're "aiming" with or without a lock found about it in project phantasma they always move out from where you're looking
Who knew that Armored Core 3's parry mechanic would be the inspiration for the Parry Mechanic from Dark Souls. I never use the Parry Blade my entire playthrough back in the day because I never saw any practical use for a melee weapon with limited charges. I can see this build as a viable counter against melee based AC.
this completely explains why Grinder wins in the trade when i'm trying to blade him. I feel that you can actually soak blows with the parry blade itself since i've literaly punched large missles before and taken significantly less damage.
Yup, that's a hitbox thing. You're pushing away with the left arm, which increases distance to your core's hitbox. I thought that was all it did until trying with a shield.
True, but it's so oddly specific that almost no one did. Most folks figured there wasn't interaction between the two. I'd say you're definitely in the rare few on that one.
I'm wondering if something similar was intended in AC6, with shield and pilebunker. The pile's charged attack has no blade tracking. Once again, nobody uses it this way, but that's probably because Fromsoft never explains sh1t.
I'm surprised as well. AC3 is among my favorite games ever and I never noticed this. I did one or two laserblade + parryblade run with those small 50 rockets as back part when melee in missions was impossible, but I never went with a shield, being a blade lover. HUH! Ty for sharing! FromSoftware and their secrets...
I knew that shields could stun laser blades but I figured I would be better off with an offensive weapon in the left hand. It totally passed my mind to pair it up with a parry blade, but again, like with the shield in the left arm, I figured it was better to have some other weapon in hand for most engagements.
It's oddly specific, but so cool even if it's not the most practical. Works for AC3, though, because Rockets and Missiles can basically deal with anything that's not an AC just fine.
We saw a shield block a laserblade in the AC2 intro, but that was before the games introduced parry blades. Other games, like Front Mission, call them pilebunkers, and intend them to be normal offensive weapons, not defensive ones.
Doesn't this also happen with simultaneous laserblades? If two blades strike simultaneously, both ACs will get stunned, knocked back and do reduced damage. At least, as far as I remember.
wow great find, I played AC3 before but never really got the chance to explore some of the hidden mechanics besides the orbital cores and overboosts. I used Howitzer all through out the game cause Overheat is OP
Howitzer was OP in AC3. The Silent Line expansion added a variety of left arm guns, but it wasn't until AC4 on PS3/XBOX 360 that arm weapons became fully ambidextrous.
@@CoffeePotato honestly, after seeing bits of gameplay, the King's Field games appeal to me more than Souls. I started AC with Master of Arena, so Fromsoft PS1 jank is nostalgic. I love the menus.
Was this only a portable mechanic? I thought shield was only in left hand on 3 but I played it on ps2 and don't remember. 🤔 I'll have to go back and replay it again sometime.
I've tested in 3, and that's a ...kind of. They seem to stop in place for a second, but you're still the one taking the Knockback. Their animation doesn't change, presumably they just don't have a stagger state.
@@CoffeePotato nice! I remember how aggressive with the moonlight he gets in the corner. In the parking lot his aerial/crow/machine tactic is neutralized.
Yeah, typical FromSoft. They don't teach players how to do stuff. They let the player learn by themselves in the hardest way possible. The parrying blade mechanic is something no one expected from a Armored Core game. But the fact that it was there means that the devs expect the player to at least use these mechanics for at least once or something. Unless they purposely not telling the players because they're "FromSoft" you see. But regardless, holding shoot button with a machine gun is much more effective and more fun on dealing with an AC, unless you don't care about the expense afterward.
They're about the same power as a grenade launcher, but usable without kneeling, and can fire much faster. Kind of. The heat cripple is nice, but unreliable. I think it's fair to say they're more of a self reference, especially with the self overheat
For PS2: select the weapon you want to drop, hold all shoulder buttons and press triangle. To drop extensions, hold all shoulder buttons and press L3. To drop left arm weapon, hold all shoulder buttons and press circle. I don't know about the PSP version, but I imagine it's similar.
@@johnr4836 That sounds plausible, but I'm pretty sure it couldn't add a parry mechanic. I thought we were talking about that awkward sword fight in the intro.
![BRASIL vs. PERÚ [4-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 10](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tbyOJKXfQnI/mqdefault.jpg)
That's quite intriguing. AC has a weird trend of hiding a small mechanics without any documentation
Oh yeah, FromSoft in general makes me think of that one scene from the Jim Carrey Grinch, where he's like "Solve world hunger....tell NO ONE!" They love hiding cool crap and deleting all evidence.
@@CoffeePotato Totally. As strange as it is, I find myself oddly charmed by these omissions, and I have no idea why.
@@defenestrationismyfavoriteword Because it's quirky and interesting!
Yes, like the limiter release in AC2.
@@CoffeePotato My favorite example of this was in 5 and VD. Get hit hard enough and you get put into a "super stagger" state where you take increased damage, about 25% more. Usually only sniper cannons can do it.
14 years later, never touched parrying blades or shields. Thought I knew everything about these games. Thanks for sharing this!
Glad to share, it's a really fun mechanic.
A game that keeps on giving.
There was this woman who unironically would smoke me with Parry Blades in AC:LR. She was one of the best pilots on the forums back in the day, her name was Heavenlyblade (or heaven something it's been over a decade lol), but she was in a relationship with the forum admin if I remember correctly and she was sick. She'd use the 4 ammo one and would just 1 tap you. This was AFTER I was taught how to use perfect OB drift from my AC master BattousaiAnubis, but even with that her movement was so good she'd be able to line it up after like 1 miss.
@@GriFFonRec4 Hey. Would you happen to be the same Griffon who used to hang out on the AC Garage forum from Silent Line through Last Raven days?
I was Lionhart. I'm looking for my old Raven friends.
"It's so stupidly specific that no one would ever use this" We'll see about that. I'll have to try to see if this still works in LR.
I can confirm that it does.
Maybe thats why most MTs in AC2 can use blade and energy shield got introduce there.
Additional notes:
-I can confirm all of Third Gen has this mechanic.
-Also 2nd gen does not, it just adds defense in that one.
-PS2 versions also have it.
-Surprisingly, you can Parry kill Ace, It's just super unlikely he'll take the exchange. If you can line it up, the basic -Sbroz Parry can outdamage the Moonlight with decent armor.
-Shell Shields don't have the parry mechanic.
-Both shield types seem to prevent taking enemy self destruct damage.
Thats quite ironic consider most Gen2 MTs use laser blade but don't have such mechanic.
@@HellHound13th yup, nothing for Gen 2, though it does flutter nicely.
There is NO way I would've figured that out. No wonder souls games lets you parry with just about any weapon(even if badly). Needing to pair the weapon with a shield just for the parry to function as intended ensures that it would never happen.
The ammo thing is a neat touch, too. The pile goes through a lot of heat and impact to fire, and if that hardened stake is ruined then you're not replacing it with a fresh one anytime in combat.
Right? It's just so absurdly specific, I LOVE it!
Never in my life would I have guessed that the shields actually parry
this further supports my idea that the souls games take way more after armored core than any of from's dungeon crawlers. this is like looking at the fish that would become all modern animals crawl out of the water
Stability = Poise
Energy guage = Stamina bar
Weapons have distinct play styles and can inflict status effects
Separate defensive stats
Armored Core and King's Field have basically been Fromsoft's bread and butter for years and people never realized it.
Darksouls is literally just King's Field as an Armored Core game (with the refinement of time)
Wow, I thought I knew everything about AC3 already. Jesus Christ
Oddly specific nonsense is great!
This is the greatest easter egg on ANY AC game. I didnt know shield in AC has this mechanic it makes me wanna play AC again! GREAT VID!
Thanks, man!
it's not really an easter egg
ive always wondered why they were called parry blades what a twist they really do help with parrying hahaha
Right? I did a double take when seeing it for the first time.
From what I remember in SL the parry mechanic works by default in all EN shields including the extension ones, no matter what weapons you are carrying.
True, though the angles make it hard to make any use of. When using a parry blade, that block animation pretty much puts it square where a blade usually hits.
also sorry going back to this recently but didnt someone stated that extension shields in 2nd gen or 3rd gen are logically broken? as the reverse happens instead you get a stability penalty as long as the extensions are on yeah its on A-0's video about Side shields are BUSTED I guess the idea is there but they forgot some flags... sadly I'm not sure if... wait I can test in LR port LMAO
Shield Extensions has been fixed in Gen3.5 so that mechanic ideally should work in Last Raven
ive played this game for YEARS and had no idea about this game mechanic... wow thanks for showing this.
Glad to help, this blew my mind when it happened.
I'm currently doing an AC through last raven in pcsx2. (Because upscaling the games just looks glorious.) I'm almost through with Silent Line after importing my AC3 save and am a little bummed I did not know this. Like I'm in my mid thirties and wished I known this like 20 years ago when I was split screen pvping against my neighborhood friends/ravens 😂.
Great content bro. Revealing the hidden mysteries of old games without modern comprehensive breakdowns is a fascinating service.
Thank You! I had to after accidentally figuring this out during a meme challenge run.
I'm using this to wipe the arena on the ruin map tricking the ai to get stuck cause the always know where you're "aiming" with or without a lock found about it in project phantasma they always move out from where you're looking
No wonder I had such a hard time blading Grinder in AC3. I wonder if his build was specifically made by From Software to show off this mechanic.
Makes sense, though we apparently all missed it.
Who knew that Armored Core 3's parry mechanic would be the inspiration for the Parry Mechanic from Dark Souls.
I never use the Parry Blade my entire playthrough back in the day because I never saw any practical use for a melee weapon with limited charges. I can see this build as a viable counter against melee based AC.
I've been trying to find a Parry mechanic in Shadow Tower ever since.
So many hours into this, never knew.
Even tried using the "blades", but stopped because they were a bad weapon, lmao, this is gold
this completely explains why Grinder wins in the trade when i'm trying to blade him.
I feel that you can actually soak blows with the parry blade itself since i've literaly punched large missles before and taken significantly less damage.
Yup, that's a hitbox thing. You're pushing away with the left arm, which increases distance to your core's hitbox. I thought that was all it did until trying with a shield.
Considering the arena AI in silent line like to bum rush you, parrying them with a 4500 damage blade would be so satisfying
Yes, but no. They rush, but only under some circumstances. They're harder to hit than they look
What..... so many years and i've never even tried.. its so cool
Right? It's awesome to find absurdly specific stuff like this.
Am I the only one who figured this out like 15 years ago? I mean its called a Parrying Blade
True, but it's so oddly specific that almost no one did. Most folks figured there wasn't interaction between the two. I'd say you're definitely in the rare few on that one.
ah, parry blades.
(Read: worse poke of death)
The Shank with Extra Steps!
Haven't heard that term in a while. Poke of doom, also.
Holy FUCK. That's pretty fucking cool.
My thoughts exactly.
Shield and melee in Frame Gride.
There's a blast from the past
I'm wondering if something similar was intended in AC6, with shield and pilebunker. The pile's charged attack has no blade tracking. Once again, nobody uses it this way, but that's probably because Fromsoft never explains sh1t.
@@taylordiclemente5163 Pretty sure it is, I've run that nonsense for fun before.
I knew it was going to be about shield and parry blade 🐄
Dang right, it's fun times!
Holy shit! A new secret has been found!
It's pretty fun to play with actually
I'm surprised as well. AC3 is among my favorite games ever and I never noticed this. I did one or two laserblade + parryblade run with those small 50 rockets as back part when melee in missions was impossible, but I never went with a shield, being a blade lover. HUH! Ty for sharing! FromSoftware and their secrets...
Right? Gotta be sneaky for no reason, it's our way.
It's why we like them! No hand holding! Buuut yeah, game mechanics should be well introduced.
@@Vaxsysl I'm wondering if the AI was meant to show it more, but they forgot
Damn, ive literally played this shit my entire life and i would of never known this shit lol
Right? It's crazy how there's still new stuff to discover!
I knew that shields could stun laser blades but I figured I would be better off with an offensive weapon in the left hand. It totally passed my mind to pair it up with a parry blade, but again, like with the shield in the left arm, I figured it was better to have some other weapon in hand for most engagements.
It's oddly specific, but so cool even if it's not the most practical. Works for AC3, though, because Rockets and Missiles can basically deal with anything that's not an AC just fine.
We saw a shield block a laserblade in the AC2 intro, but that was before the games introduced parry blades. Other games, like Front Mission, call them pilebunkers, and intend them to be normal offensive weapons, not defensive ones.
Doesn't this also happen with simultaneous laserblades? If two blades strike simultaneously, both ACs will get stunned, knocked back and do reduced damage. At least, as far as I remember.
They do, but that's more of a stun, and seemingly an attempt to make the first hit the only one that counts.
wow great find, I played AC3 before but never really got the chance to explore some of the hidden mechanics besides the orbital cores and overboosts. I used Howitzer all through out the game cause Overheat is OP
Howitzer was OP in AC3. The Silent Line expansion added a variety of left arm guns, but it wasn't until AC4 on PS3/XBOX 360 that arm weapons became fully ambidextrous.
Hah, I never knew parry blades worked in tandem with shields! That's what I get for not having played King's Field.
Gotta experience that legendary jank! 😂
@@CoffeePotato honestly, after seeing bits of gameplay, the King's Field games appeal to me more than Souls. I started AC with Master of Arena, so Fromsoft PS1 jank is nostalgic. I love the menus.
That's so randomly cool.
Was this only a portable mechanic? I thought shield was only in left hand on 3 but I played it on ps2 and don't remember. 🤔 I'll have to go back and replay it again sometime.
Nope, third gen only, though.
theres MTs that use laser blade and melee in both AC3 and ACSL. Does the shield work against them?
I've tested in 3, and that's a ...kind of. They seem to stop in place for a second, but you're still the one taking the Knockback. Their animation doesn't change, presumably they just don't have a stagger state.
Now this give me an idea for AC Evidence (Brave New World) lance shield build.
I've got videos going up of just sword and board, and it's a really fun run.
Fight Exile in the Parking lot with this setup
I did, it actually works kinda well.
@@CoffeePotato nice! I remember how aggressive with the moonlight he gets in the corner. In the parking lot his aerial/crow/machine tactic is neutralized.
in acV or VD you can parry by kickboosting the enemy
True, but it's an actual mechanic the devs remembered 🤣
Yeah, typical FromSoft. They don't teach players how to do stuff. They let the player learn by themselves in the hardest way possible. The parrying blade mechanic is something no one expected from a Armored Core game. But the fact that it was there means that the devs expect the player to at least use these mechanics for at least once or something. Unless they purposely not telling the players because they're "FromSoft" you see. But regardless, holding shoot button with a machine gun is much more effective and more fun on dealing with an AC, unless you don't care about the expense afterward.
True, but also dungeon crawler roots Easter egg
If you use a blade on a shield that is what causes the parry. A massive stagger. I still have my ps2 and have over 300 hours into this game. 🤣
I know, that's what the video's about 🤣
I thought getting hit by parry blades just drain the hp faster in three to four hits. There's a reason why it has limits.
They're about the same power as a grenade launcher, but usable without kneeling, and can fire much faster. Kind of. The heat cripple is nice, but unreliable. I think it's fair to say they're more of a self reference, especially with the self overheat
I never considered this a secret, more just a thing people never used.
True, but how often is the animation stance of the worst weapon in the game considered to have a purpose?
Have you never blade an ac w/ energy shield?
Well, I'm doing the whole series like this now, but yeah, even when doing a run as Grinder way back when, I just never noticed the Parry mechanic.
parry Nine-Ball please
I'll add it to the list.
Holyshit
Yes but how do I drop weapons? I still dont know how😞
For PS2: select the weapon you want to drop, hold all shoulder buttons and press triangle. To drop extensions, hold all shoulder buttons and press L3. To drop left arm weapon, hold all shoulder buttons and press circle.
I don't know about the PSP version, but I imagine it's similar.
@@taylordiclemente5163 Thanks you are appreciated yo!
Master of Arena ps1 was first
Hah, fair point. If only you could actually have mechanized light saber duels in game 😱
@@CoffeePotato there's a mod for tht
@@johnr4836 Is there actually?
@@CoffeePotato I remb a patch iso way back from mod DB idk wtf it was called or anything it added a bunch of parts
@@johnr4836 That sounds plausible, but I'm pretty sure it couldn't add a parry mechanic. I thought we were talking about that awkward sword fight in the intro.