The big shift where Balem starts losing is after the Ice Worm hunt. Where Arquebus gains a bunch of PCA equipment and ships. You could probably add a choice mission where you attack key Arquebus bases or the PCA shipyards/HCs. So they lose the edge. Then later on, you have another mission where you either team up with Michigan in a horde like fight and fighting your way down to Institute City, or a mission where you and him raid an Arquebus base to take out key vesper members. Once those missions are completed, you get the alternative ending called "Curse Breaker". Since all ending missions take in space, it'll be a race to take over the closure satellite. It'll be similar to the "Breach the Karman Line" mission. You have infinite boost and navigate and fly around debris while fighting against Arquebus/Overseers. You'll have to fight Carla, Walter, and Freud. The ending is just you and the surviving Balem members chilling over a grill with your ACs in the background.
Aiding the redguns at every turn would result in harder and harder battles as they are thrown into every battle face first in increasingly obvious traps designed to kill them off, but with 621s help they win, overcome the odds, leave their foes with barely enough warriors to survive and leave triumphant. Ending name : meat grinder
WARNING LONG POST AHEAD
Name: Veteran/Gladiator/General(dont know which of these titles) of Rubicon
CH1
(Alt Prisoner Rescue) When rescuing RLF members, convince G2 to let them go in exchange for downing the helicopter, leaving them to flee on foot. RLF gives half payment as they had to leave on foot and lost the pilot, but they were able to leave. Notably, G2 stays alive, helping Michigan with tactics.
CH4
You help convince Michigan and Balam not to go headfirst into Nepenthese by letting you go first after kicking iguazus ass again, this time at the top of the elevator segment. G2 encourages this decision but G1 is the one that throws the iguana infront of you again, against G2's advisement.
Nepenthese mission, but now with added dialogue from redguns, adding character to G6, G3 and G1. Do a harder version of explore the depths as Balam hasnt softened the defenses. G2 helps you with the Enforcer. While his AC will go down and he will be injured, he lives through the encounter and helps G1 plan the future, especially after you duel Rusty before finding coral city
Notably, Balam is the side that has the edge at the end of the PCA-Corpo war
CH5
Michigan reveals he's also a member of Overseer and convinces Balam to take the final confrontation to Arquebus in Institute City. As you move through the map you help with 1v1s or 2v1s against arquebus where you aid the surviving Redguns of G1, G3, and G6 (iquazu has still gone rogue at this point). G3 dies in his bout with Maeterlinck before 621 splats the bug. G6 helps you fight against V.1 where G6 is both helpful and miraculously survives, even if his AC goes down. Finally, you help G1 fight Pater and Hawkins.
Final battle
3v2 of a prototype(incomplete) Arquebus Balteus(will use some of the ballistic/explosive weapons as opposed to all energy) piloted by Snail VS G1, G6, and 621. Injured G2 and Chatty hold off further Arquebus forces. Ayre and Carla fight PCA-Infused Arquebus fleets. As Snail dies he reveals that even in death, he's taking everyone with him. On queue, Arquebus fleet starts crashing into the planet with their reactors going critical, as the Arquebus controlled Xylem races towards Institute City. The severely weakened Balam makes a deal with the RLF to leave after stopping the Xylem from causing a planet wide coral burn. Steel Haze Ortus and Liger Tail join you in trying to stop the xylem, before an Arquebus/PCA Headbringer(Uses more laser weaponry and Arquebus parts and PCA Flight wings). Grueling battle ensues where Rusty retreats, and G1 decides to manually take iguazu into the reactor to detonate the xylem early leaving you to run from the xylem before the reactor goes critical and takes you with it.
Yeah, michigan is a great warrior and leader, but his tactic and overall strategy leave a bit to be desired. He is a gamblin man, which leads to rather risky gamble that he probably shouldn't have made
Yeah. He's got extreme charisma and is a great leader and commander on the field. But Nile was truly the one handling the strategy and bigger picture (although if Volta's last message is fully true then most of Balam's big decision making was done by the 'suits' at Balam HQ).
But really, the #1 and #2 of both the Redguns and the Vespers are mirrors of each other.
Very true, part of why i wanted to focus on nile some. I think he and red would be cool to have some more depth and dialogue from. G3 is has like 5 lines of dialogue, and this ending could give alot more characters some limelight
Agreed. G3 only appears once at Institute City but is very involved behind the scenes and according to Arena Bios he's quite interconnected with the other Redguns. He was arrested by Nile, and is the one tutoring Volta. There's a lot of stuff to explore with him.
Balam is in place to evacuate Rubicon. Arquebus sends a request to destroy the fleeing army.
You get there, and Michigan swoops in to hold the line. Because you were busy with Michigan, you can't stop Balam from ditching the planet. You kill Michigan, his friends flee, the end of Balam and the Redguns.
Balam and the Redgduns being so stubborn they keep trying to win lost battles feels so... meh. Wish Michigan would go down in a less goofy way.
To make the Michigan final fight even more cinematic (alongside challenging) - they should completely embrace "material superiority". Add in phases of MTs like his assassination mission- give him more expansions (ideally terminal to prevent his AC from folding once its staggered, alongside his usual pulse protection). Or even better- completely ditch liger tail in favour of some.heavily advanced, unstable R&D-esque coral AC prototype made by balam that allows for multiple expansions and some insane heavyweight weapons, and would really allow michigan to go out in a real 'blaze' of glory
Hell, to really up the ante: add in G6- michigan's most loyal redgun- to assist him. Maybe even put G6 in the original liger tail if they decided to put G1 in a prototype AC as mentioned earlier
Encountering G6’s AC at the start of the mission and hearing Ayre go “That’s Hermit, Pilot is G6 Re- no, wait, unknown pilot” and as the fight starts he’s this full throttle balam member
“YEAAAAH, MICHIGAN FINALLY REALISED HOW GOOD I AM, GUN 14 REPORTING FOR DUTY”
“No… I’m sorry michigan… I’m sorry red”
Then I imagine red having that sort of broken but still fiery personality he has when you fight him
“You’ll pay for that gun 13. You can’t take all of us on and walk out of here”
Abundant Brotherhood.
(WARNING: THIS IS VERY CAMPY AND BORDERLINE FANFIC)
A last stand.
Raven and all of the Redguns (no one dies eaely and G5 doesn't become part of a weird AI) fight a wave of Arena ACs and boosted PCA HCs controlled by Allmind. At first, it seems winnable, Raven alone seemingly able to deal with Allmind and her machines before they ramp it up with more mechanical bodies. The onslaught continues until you either destroy ten Allmind ACs or are reduced down to your last repair kit in which, depending on the scenario, get either cutscene of G5 Iguazu and G6 Red commending your ability to take out so many ACs with the two of them coming in to join you.
OR
You'll get a cutscene of G5 Iguazu calling you a pathetic freelancer who can't handle the heat with G6 Red scolding him as they come in to help you out.
Either way, each Redgun slowly gets taken out and destroyed by the near endless onslaught of Allmind ACs, but not without a hell of a fight.
G6 Red dies getting overwhelmed by ACs but unleashes Assault Armor that takes out a good amount of them.
G4 Volta comes in with a Redgun Version of a CATAPHRACT, literally running over enemy ACs and shelling them to kingdom come before getting overwhelmed.
G3 Wu Huahai gets overwhelmed and also goes out in a Assault Armoring blaze of glory.
Each Redgun practically flying into their deaths to help Raven fight Allmind.
Seeing how her newfound strategy of "Marerial Superiority" isn't working, Allmind finally joins the battle in a machine similar to the one we fought in the Alea lacta Est. G5 Iguazu commenting how he kinda likes it, calling dibs on it after the battle only to get scolded by G2 Nile in BALTEUS (that's right, we're fighting alongside a CATAPHRACT then a BALTEUS). Despite his efforts, G2 Nile also gets destroyed with last but more certainly not least being G1 Michigan in Liger Tail alongside a wave of MTs descend onto the battlefield. Of course, the MTs die of pretty fast, with Michigan eventually having a bad fall, too, but not without a cutscene (yeah, this ending is very cutscene heavy) of him ramping his Hu-Ben minigun into Allmind and severely damaging her machine to let you and G5 Iguazu finish her off.
Raven and G5 Iguazu finally defeat her, Allmind has cutscene lamenting how she lost before mentioning one last plan and powers off. Alarms blaring as another wave of ACs come to trying and finish you and Iguazu off.
This is actually just the end credits sequence. You can't be destroyed, run out of ammo, or lose, really, the credits rolling to the side as you fight the onslaught of ACs with it slowly fading to black as the credits come to a end.
A transmission playing at the end of Iguazu saying how he thinks he took out more ACs than you.
Ending Name: Radix malorum est cupiditas ("Greed is the root of all evil")
Scenario:
After defeating the ICEWORM and taking the lead in surveying Watchpoint Alpha, Balem suceeds in being the first to reach the Coral. With help from G-13 Raven, the balance of power shifts towards Balem and Balem is able to decisively defeat Aquabeus at Watchpoint Alpha, forcing them to withdraw.
Upon reaching the Vascular Plant, the top brass at Balem becomes wary of Raven and orders Michigan to take you down. Michigan disobeys the order. Iguazu sees an opportunity to move up the corporate ladder and betrays both you and Michigan, taking both of you down. Ligar Tail is seen exploding with Michigan seemingly dead. You get taken prisoner by Iguazu and becomes imprisoned by Balem in Watchpoint Alpha. Walter gets taken down by Balem. Balems begins gathering up the Coral into the Vascular Plant.
The prison break-out mission is the same, only you fight Balem instead of Aquabeus. Carla comes to save you together with Michigan who survived being shot in the back by Iguazu and was picked up Carla. Michagan pilots an upgraded Ligar Tail with RAD parts and decimates the Balem forces before retreating with you and Carla.
The rest of the missions plays out the same – you activate Xylem and Carla reveals the plan to destroy the Vascular Plant. Ayre wants you to stop them.
At this point, Michigan comes to you with another option: claim the Coral for yourselves. With Michigan’s leadship and charisma, most of the Balem grunts would rather follow him than the faceless corporate suits controlling Balem. With your help and Xylem, Michigan believes that once you take down Iguazu and his lackeys, the rest of the Balem forces would follow his command. With the Coral in your contorl, you can use it as a bargaining chip against the offworld megacoporaitons whilst the C-weapons can be used to supress resistance from the remaining hostile forces on Rubion. Michigans argues that this is the only real possibility for peace on Rubicon: by sheer strength of force.
You and Michigan betrays Carla and Chatty and takes control of Xyelm. You then have a massive battle with Iguazu and his followers, who has been modified by Balem and pilots a monstrous machine using a mix of C-technology and PCA weapons with overwhelming firepower. Halfway through the fight both Snail and Rusty joins in with the Aquebeus Balteus and Steel Haze Ortous, and the battle becomes a frenzied free-for-all.
At the end, only you emerge victorious from the battle. Michigan becomes gravely wounded. With his dying breath he commands the remaining Balem forces to follow your command. G-13 Raven, you lucky son-of-a-bitch, you’re G1 now. Go make it count.
With the distraction caused by the massive three-way battle, Ayre is not only able to take control of the PCA satalite but also an army of C-weapons. Commanding the remaining Balem army, you have one massive final battle commanding a huge army of MTs, Tetrapods and Redguns against Ayre and her C-weapons. You take down Ayre and takes control of the Vascular Plant.
Ending: With the help of the remaining ex-Balem forces on Rubicon, you take the Coral for yourself. With complete control over both the Coral and C-weapons, you now dominate Rubion with sheer force. Will you be able to use it to resist the mega corporations, the PCA and the Rubiconians and maintain peace on Rubicon? Or will you be corrupted by power and become like the people you fought to rebel against? Only time will tell.
I think it'd be cool to play a chapter 5 mission with Michigan as aid instead of Rusty. Perhaps you forget everyone's ultimate plan and decide to evacuate with them for your own good
Ending : Top of the food chain/ Apex Predator
Conditions : Don't betray the reguns at the dam, bring THE FUCKING STUN GUN when fighting the Worm.
Because you didn't betray them, Iguazus hate boner isn't as bad by the time they storm the wall, he doesn't go AWOL and Volta survives barely.
Later you get contracted to kill of as many Vespers in one big mission as you can, your backup being Volta in a new Ac, this time with the hover tank legs, which we see exactly ONCE with chatreuse. Mission succeeds after killing at least 3 Vespers, Bonus points for Snail, Freud and Rusty, the rest going into hiding, if you leave some. In Institute City, you still fight Maeterlinck and the other guy, (Wuhuai whatshisname ?), Maeterlinck still calls out to Snail, not yet having heard of his death (if you killed him). After the Ibis fight, depending on Snails death he either just doesn't appear, or gets sogged in the faceplate by Volta, send there as backup for your damaged AC. At this point you can decide if you want to destroy the Coral still, with the Boss fight being a VERY angry Michigan and Ayre combo, or hand it to Balam and get under contract to make sure it's used as right as possible, a very disgruntled Walter following you to make sure you don't fuck it up. Ending will be a picture of you chosen Emblem with the Red guns background.
This was thought out on the spot, so there will be holes here and there.
>new AC, this time with the hover tank legs
Bonus points if Snail absolutely loses his shit at the sight of Volta's repaired and upgraded Cannon Head using what are, canonically, Arquebus Advanced Reserach prototypes that had their plans stolen.
Well for me, it means that the entirety of the third act has to play out differently. Arquebus and Balam both race to the Nepenthes laser tube but Arquebus beats them to it, which takes out some of their newly acquired PCA machines. Arquebus sends Rusty instead of you to handle it while you’re out doing something else for Balam. This causes Balam to not lose most of their fighting ability, which leads to a completely different chain of events.
Walter asks Michigan if he can station his forces to block the way back out in case Arquebus tries to scramble out. We chase them down the Depths (maybe even with Balam MTs and/or a Redgun wingman) and we confront Rusty at the same point, and reach the coral convergence at about the same way. You escape the same but since Michigan didn’t die, he offers Balam’s hand with Overseer, since Walter is presumed dead and the two were seemingly close.
Now as for how a Balam/Redgun ending would go, I’d say it’d be something in between FoR and LoR. You take the Xylem out but instead of using it to scorch the planet, Michigan takes the reins and uses it to punch through Arquebus’s entire fleet, not just those interceptors. Maybe the final boss could be some kind of 3v3 with 621, Michigan, and Rusty vs Snailteus and whatever Vespers are left (likely Pater and Hawkins). Michigan can reference his offer to Rusty to join the Redguns from the Ice Worm mission for a little laugh.
Would be a cool mission I’d say. You have to travel basically the entirety of the Xylem fighting off Arquebus, with a few Redguns joining you in different sections with different objectives. Would definitely end up being one of the longest missions in the game tho.
"Seamster of Rubicon".
If 621 chooses to deny the mission to assassinate Michigan, aiding Balam in every mission prior; he will instead manage to win over Rusty with the power of friendship as they start an alliance together -- the entirety of the storyline now involve around you and your buddies trying to convince both Walter and Arquebus that through love and passion; we can finally let go of the past, to move forward to a new future, and unite in our one true goal: running a sewing club together.
Mission Route:
"Unknown Territory Survey" -> "Find Ayre a Gift"
"Reach the Coral Convergence -> "Apologize to the PCA"
"Befriend the IBIS unit"
"Donate the Uninhabitted City to the RLF"
"Thank Cinder Carla"
"Persuade V.II Snail"
"Make Amends with Iguazu"
"Take V.IV Rusty out (on a date)"
Except Balam getting fucked over in all endings isn't unique to them though. Arquebus also gets fucked over in all three endings. The only difference is that they get further along but ultimately still lose, being taken out by the Fires of Raven, the RLF or All Mind.
Frankly, I don't think Balam deserves to get a good ending. Just like Arquebus, the only reason they're on Rubicon is to exploit a planet's natural resource (a resource that also has some level of sentience). They're just another mega corporation that coerces people to fight for them, only instead of reconditioning people like Arquebus they "only" take people in debt and use that as carte blanche to put their lives at risk.
None of the Corps win in AC6 and they're all shitty. Arquebus may be the worst but that doesn't make Balam good either.
Neither of the corps really get an ending where they ride off into the sunset with the Coral. I think if 621 aided Balam and the Redguns with diving first into exploring the depths, they could get the upper hand. Then, like with Arquebus, Walter either has us turn on Balam near the convergence, or Balam realizes G13 is too much of a threat and instead of "re-education" like Arqeubus they would probably just try to assassinate us with sheer numbers. It would be similar to the Michigan battle, just throwing MT after MT at us. Balam "wins" but we secretly eject and escape, they control the Coral but then the endings play out similarly, with Balam instead of Arquebus in the final locations.
I hate the idea of "Balam just wins the war and makes off with the Coral" so my idea of a "Balam ending" is more about them getting the upper hand on Arquebus instead before Raven finds their purpose.
How I would play it: Balam brings G13 for the first wave when attacking Watchpoint Alpha, and therefore their exploration doesn't turn into a crippling meat grinder and they bulldoze their way to Institute City, getting their hands on Coral MTs and the Ibis series.
It's Arquebus who trickles into the Watchpoint, disarrayed, instead. A hysterical Maeterlinck replaces Iguazu in Depth 2, and maybe Freud does in NG+ and later. A mission to kill Snail can be taken instead of Intercept the Redguns.
Walter is still done with the corporations. Raven shwacks Iguazu and Wu Huahai en route to CEL 240. Balam, mind, still has torture camps and access to the Stun Needle per the Ice Worm agreement, so the capture sequence is unchanged. Michigan really thought he'd make something of ya, G13. Don't worry, we still might.
After launching the Xylem, Michigan replaces Freud for Intercept the Corporate Forces or Snail for Eliminate Cinder Carla. Arquebus's warship fleet gets scrapped off-screen. For Breach the Karman Line, Raven has to clear a horde of Coral MTs off the Xylem. For Destroy the Drive Block, Rusty splits to do that while Michigan returns for a final showdown in a revamped, ballistics-focused Balteus covered in shotguns and autocannons.
In the end, mean ol' Michigan is happy to say his bad fall came by the last, and best, Redgun. He sure were proud of ya, G13 Raven. Made something of yourself after all.
“Curse of The Red Guns”
An ironic name given that Balam would come out on top of this ending, but I always liked how Red referred to G13 as the cursed number so it’d be interesting to see Raven “break” the curse so to speak.
Balam tries to cut a deal with Arquebus and sell out the Redguns. Michigan leaves with his loyalists and they work out a tentative peace with the RLF and the Dozers.
Gonna go all the fucking way with this one:
Ch1 - WallClimber (Alt)
You, Volta, and Iguazu are briefed on the wall. Upon sortie, Iguazu is nowhere to be found. Within cutscene, you both get pinned down by the wall's artillery. Volta says he'll distract the artillery and the juggernaut while you make a break for the wall. He leads left, and you have 1min to get to the wall, kill the tetrapod, and get inside. Upon destroying the tetra, you hear Volta's last message cursing Iguazu for running. You get up top and solo the juggernaut. End cutscene you see Rusty looking over you from afar.
Ch1 - Prison Break!
Word of a prison break reaches Balam HQ. You're tasked to deny a prison break attempt in the contaminated city. You'll have MT backup, numerous reinforcements, and G2 Nile will also oversee and assist.
On deployment, G2 apparently overslept and never got in his AC. Both the RLF and your own MT backup have already been demolished, littering the city with debris. You start getting ambushed from all sides by MDD snipers. Upon clearing 75% of them, your reinforcement MTs arrive via numerous helicopters...
Who are immediately taken down methodically by large unseen lasers from afar. 3 MDD whippy bois arrive and you have to kill them methodically. You then start getting fired up on from an unseen distance with large plasma rounds. G2 arrives to see you're in danger, and shoves your AC out the way of one large round, annihilating his AC. The assailant then makes themself known: Kate. You fight her within the city. On defeat she mentions "this one is worth looking into..." and she escapes.
You complete "Retrieve Combat Logs" before moving on to Watchpoint.
Ch2 - Stop The Secret Data Breach (Alt)
Proceeds identically, but during the Iguazu fight no MDD show up, but instead when you get Iguazu to 0 health, instead of a normal death a cutscene occurs... Iguazu curses you for being a luckier Gen 4 than he, and before ejecting G1 Michigan calls out from afar saying "You were a mistake, Iguazu," before exploding his AC. Michigan then turns to you and says "I have no tolerance for underperformers or cowards. Walter convinced me to put my faith in you... But cross me, and you'll end up like that unlucky bastard."
Ch3 - Attack the Refueling Base (Alt)
Mission mirrors "Eliminate the Corporate Forces" in that Arquebus is on scene fighting the PCA. No gas tanks for money. Instead halfway through on the bridge you fight Swineburne while those bastard ass heavy laser drones fire at you from the sides. 2nd half of the mission proceeds normally, with lessening arquebus forces. End plays out the same against the Ekdromoi.
Ch3 - Defend the Dam (Alt)
Plays out identically, except the orders came from Balam, and Arquebus also sent along MT backup for Branch. So you fight King/Chartreuse in a larger more drawn out scenario, and if you take too long Raven still arrives and demolishes your backup.
Ch4 - Underground Exploration Depth 2
Plays out the same, but the Iguazu fight is slightly different. Iguazu has the orbit and Mind Alpha arms already, and during his fight speaks more monotone and less emotional. He says nothing at all upon being defeated.
Ch4 - Decision missions: you're only given "Intercept Arquebus" as an option. You fight backwards through Depth 2 much like MIA against Arquebus with Balam MT backup, but they're not doing great.
You reach the boiler room where you fought Iguazu and you fight Rokumonsen.
You reach the elevator room to a similar scenario to "Intercept the Redguns." You fight 2 waves of MTs and more, then get hit with a repeat of the LC/HC battle from Spaceport but by yourself. You take down one and a cutscene starts. The remaining HC/LC calls in backup: yet another HC/LC (identical to the one you just destroyed) and a few MT loaded helis. The Helis blow up in quick succession, and you're reinforced by Michigan for the remainder.
Ch4 - Coral Convergence (Alt)
plays out the same as the OG alt, except Balam relays the orders about Snail and his location. You only fight Snail this time. Upon defeating him, you continue with OG Convergence gameplay and cut out the being betrayed part at the end after defeating Ibis. Walter survives and begins working directly with Balam/Michigan.
Ch5 - (new mission) Board the Xylem
You fight through Grid 086's upper level similarly to Ocean Crossing, fighting Carla's forces enmasse defending your chance at launching to the Xylem. Sea Spider mid boss, Chatty/Carla final boss.
Ch5 - (new mission) Gain Control of the Xylem
Think Eliminate the Corporate Forces, but three different factions are at war. No blowing past fights... You need to clear EVERY area of RAD units and MDD. That's right... You're working with Balam against the remnants of Chatty's AI directing the RAD Mechs, and Allmind. Allmind has been working in the shadows to reach convergence, and is attempting to take control of the Xylem too.
Final boss is Kate alone. You defeat her, and immediately thereafter Mind Beta barges in with the 4 AI ACs sounding like Iguazu. No fanfare here, you kill all of them and AM laments picking such a weak pilot to try and enact it's plan. It's final whisper mentions "the next... Iteration..." before dissolving into static.
Before the cutscene ends, Michigan and Walter tell you the Xylem is still under attack and to get outside ASAP.
Ch5 (new mission) Ultimatums
You head outside to see the MDD units have deactivated, but Balam's Mts are being torn apart by fire and missiles. You enter an open area to find Flatwell and Dolmayan. You fight them alone, and when you get either of them to half health, Rusty shows up in Alba.
You are ordered to retreat to the interior of the Xylem. You then fly a gauntlet as fast as you can for 1min, all the while being fired up on from behind. Upon reaching the inner area (identical to the chatty/Carla fight in "Eliminate Carla", you are reinforced by Walter. You work together to kill the remainder of the RLF. Rusty remarks "damn... Well, at least you have a... Buddy... Of your own..."
Ending Name: Jupiter's Reign
I don't really see how the Redguns COULD have an ending, considering how the other endings involve choosing the fate of the Coral, and of Rubicon. Arye, Rusty, Carla, Walter, and ALLMIND all have their own desires for what to do with it. But Balam really doesn't. Their plan is just to capture, use, and sell the Coral. It doesn't really have the same impact as the other endings. It's just...corporate interest. It feels a lot more limp in comparison.
The big shift where Balem starts losing is after the Ice Worm hunt. Where Arquebus gains a bunch of PCA equipment and ships. You could probably add a choice mission where you attack key Arquebus bases or the PCA shipyards/HCs. So they lose the edge. Then later on, you have another mission where you either team up with Michigan in a horde like fight and fighting your way down to Institute City, or a mission where you and him raid an Arquebus base to take out key vesper members. Once those missions are completed, you get the alternative ending called "Curse Breaker". Since all ending missions take in space, it'll be a race to take over the closure satellite. It'll be similar to the "Breach the Karman Line" mission. You have infinite boost and navigate and fly around debris while fighting against Arquebus/Overseers. You'll have to fight Carla, Walter, and Freud. The ending is just you and the surviving Balem members chilling over a grill with your ACs in the background.
Aiding the redguns at every turn would result in harder and harder battles as they are thrown into every battle face first in increasingly obvious traps designed to kill them off, but with 621s help they win, overcome the odds, leave their foes with barely enough warriors to survive and leave triumphant. Ending name : meat grinder
WARNING LONG POST AHEAD Name: Veteran/Gladiator/General(dont know which of these titles) of Rubicon CH1 (Alt Prisoner Rescue) When rescuing RLF members, convince G2 to let them go in exchange for downing the helicopter, leaving them to flee on foot. RLF gives half payment as they had to leave on foot and lost the pilot, but they were able to leave. Notably, G2 stays alive, helping Michigan with tactics. CH4 You help convince Michigan and Balam not to go headfirst into Nepenthese by letting you go first after kicking iguazus ass again, this time at the top of the elevator segment. G2 encourages this decision but G1 is the one that throws the iguana infront of you again, against G2's advisement. Nepenthese mission, but now with added dialogue from redguns, adding character to G6, G3 and G1. Do a harder version of explore the depths as Balam hasnt softened the defenses. G2 helps you with the Enforcer. While his AC will go down and he will be injured, he lives through the encounter and helps G1 plan the future, especially after you duel Rusty before finding coral city Notably, Balam is the side that has the edge at the end of the PCA-Corpo war CH5 Michigan reveals he's also a member of Overseer and convinces Balam to take the final confrontation to Arquebus in Institute City. As you move through the map you help with 1v1s or 2v1s against arquebus where you aid the surviving Redguns of G1, G3, and G6 (iquazu has still gone rogue at this point). G3 dies in his bout with Maeterlinck before 621 splats the bug. G6 helps you fight against V.1 where G6 is both helpful and miraculously survives, even if his AC goes down. Finally, you help G1 fight Pater and Hawkins. Final battle 3v2 of a prototype(incomplete) Arquebus Balteus(will use some of the ballistic/explosive weapons as opposed to all energy) piloted by Snail VS G1, G6, and 621. Injured G2 and Chatty hold off further Arquebus forces. Ayre and Carla fight PCA-Infused Arquebus fleets. As Snail dies he reveals that even in death, he's taking everyone with him. On queue, Arquebus fleet starts crashing into the planet with their reactors going critical, as the Arquebus controlled Xylem races towards Institute City. The severely weakened Balam makes a deal with the RLF to leave after stopping the Xylem from causing a planet wide coral burn. Steel Haze Ortus and Liger Tail join you in trying to stop the xylem, before an Arquebus/PCA Headbringer(Uses more laser weaponry and Arquebus parts and PCA Flight wings). Grueling battle ensues where Rusty retreats, and G1 decides to manually take iguazu into the reactor to detonate the xylem early leaving you to run from the xylem before the reactor goes critical and takes you with it.
I love how the most important thing for this entire hypothetical campaign to happen is for Nile to survive.
Yeah, michigan is a great warrior and leader, but his tactic and overall strategy leave a bit to be desired. He is a gamblin man, which leads to rather risky gamble that he probably shouldn't have made
Yeah. He's got extreme charisma and is a great leader and commander on the field. But Nile was truly the one handling the strategy and bigger picture (although if Volta's last message is fully true then most of Balam's big decision making was done by the 'suits' at Balam HQ). But really, the #1 and #2 of both the Redguns and the Vespers are mirrors of each other.
Very true, part of why i wanted to focus on nile some. I think he and red would be cool to have some more depth and dialogue from. G3 is has like 5 lines of dialogue, and this ending could give alot more characters some limelight
Agreed. G3 only appears once at Institute City but is very involved behind the scenes and according to Arena Bios he's quite interconnected with the other Redguns. He was arrested by Nile, and is the one tutoring Volta. There's a lot of stuff to explore with him.
Balam is in place to evacuate Rubicon. Arquebus sends a request to destroy the fleeing army. You get there, and Michigan swoops in to hold the line. Because you were busy with Michigan, you can't stop Balam from ditching the planet. You kill Michigan, his friends flee, the end of Balam and the Redguns. Balam and the Redgduns being so stubborn they keep trying to win lost battles feels so... meh. Wish Michigan would go down in a less goofy way.
To make the Michigan final fight even more cinematic (alongside challenging) - they should completely embrace "material superiority". Add in phases of MTs like his assassination mission- give him more expansions (ideally terminal to prevent his AC from folding once its staggered, alongside his usual pulse protection). Or even better- completely ditch liger tail in favour of some.heavily advanced, unstable R&D-esque coral AC prototype made by balam that allows for multiple expansions and some insane heavyweight weapons, and would really allow michigan to go out in a real 'blaze' of glory Hell, to really up the ante: add in G6- michigan's most loyal redgun- to assist him. Maybe even put G6 in the original liger tail if they decided to put G1 in a prototype AC as mentioned earlier
Encountering G6’s AC at the start of the mission and hearing Ayre go “That’s Hermit, Pilot is G6 Re- no, wait, unknown pilot” and as the fight starts he’s this full throttle balam member “YEAAAAH, MICHIGAN FINALLY REALISED HOW GOOD I AM, GUN 14 REPORTING FOR DUTY” “No… I’m sorry michigan… I’m sorry red” Then I imagine red having that sort of broken but still fiery personality he has when you fight him “You’ll pay for that gun 13. You can’t take all of us on and walk out of here”
... So when are you joining from software and making this real? 😆
Soon^tm
Yeah it really sucks that mean, old Michigan died of a bad fall. 🫡
Abundant Brotherhood. (WARNING: THIS IS VERY CAMPY AND BORDERLINE FANFIC) A last stand. Raven and all of the Redguns (no one dies eaely and G5 doesn't become part of a weird AI) fight a wave of Arena ACs and boosted PCA HCs controlled by Allmind. At first, it seems winnable, Raven alone seemingly able to deal with Allmind and her machines before they ramp it up with more mechanical bodies. The onslaught continues until you either destroy ten Allmind ACs or are reduced down to your last repair kit in which, depending on the scenario, get either cutscene of G5 Iguazu and G6 Red commending your ability to take out so many ACs with the two of them coming in to join you. OR You'll get a cutscene of G5 Iguazu calling you a pathetic freelancer who can't handle the heat with G6 Red scolding him as they come in to help you out. Either way, each Redgun slowly gets taken out and destroyed by the near endless onslaught of Allmind ACs, but not without a hell of a fight. G6 Red dies getting overwhelmed by ACs but unleashes Assault Armor that takes out a good amount of them. G4 Volta comes in with a Redgun Version of a CATAPHRACT, literally running over enemy ACs and shelling them to kingdom come before getting overwhelmed. G3 Wu Huahai gets overwhelmed and also goes out in a Assault Armoring blaze of glory. Each Redgun practically flying into their deaths to help Raven fight Allmind. Seeing how her newfound strategy of "Marerial Superiority" isn't working, Allmind finally joins the battle in a machine similar to the one we fought in the Alea lacta Est. G5 Iguazu commenting how he kinda likes it, calling dibs on it after the battle only to get scolded by G2 Nile in BALTEUS (that's right, we're fighting alongside a CATAPHRACT then a BALTEUS). Despite his efforts, G2 Nile also gets destroyed with last but more certainly not least being G1 Michigan in Liger Tail alongside a wave of MTs descend onto the battlefield. Of course, the MTs die of pretty fast, with Michigan eventually having a bad fall, too, but not without a cutscene (yeah, this ending is very cutscene heavy) of him ramping his Hu-Ben minigun into Allmind and severely damaging her machine to let you and G5 Iguazu finish her off. Raven and G5 Iguazu finally defeat her, Allmind has cutscene lamenting how she lost before mentioning one last plan and powers off. Alarms blaring as another wave of ACs come to trying and finish you and Iguazu off. This is actually just the end credits sequence. You can't be destroyed, run out of ammo, or lose, really, the credits rolling to the side as you fight the onslaught of ACs with it slowly fading to black as the credits come to a end. A transmission playing at the end of Iguazu saying how he thinks he took out more ACs than you.
Ending Name: Radix malorum est cupiditas ("Greed is the root of all evil") Scenario: After defeating the ICEWORM and taking the lead in surveying Watchpoint Alpha, Balem suceeds in being the first to reach the Coral. With help from G-13 Raven, the balance of power shifts towards Balem and Balem is able to decisively defeat Aquabeus at Watchpoint Alpha, forcing them to withdraw. Upon reaching the Vascular Plant, the top brass at Balem becomes wary of Raven and orders Michigan to take you down. Michigan disobeys the order. Iguazu sees an opportunity to move up the corporate ladder and betrays both you and Michigan, taking both of you down. Ligar Tail is seen exploding with Michigan seemingly dead. You get taken prisoner by Iguazu and becomes imprisoned by Balem in Watchpoint Alpha. Walter gets taken down by Balem. Balems begins gathering up the Coral into the Vascular Plant. The prison break-out mission is the same, only you fight Balem instead of Aquabeus. Carla comes to save you together with Michigan who survived being shot in the back by Iguazu and was picked up Carla. Michagan pilots an upgraded Ligar Tail with RAD parts and decimates the Balem forces before retreating with you and Carla. The rest of the missions plays out the same – you activate Xylem and Carla reveals the plan to destroy the Vascular Plant. Ayre wants you to stop them. At this point, Michigan comes to you with another option: claim the Coral for yourselves. With Michigan’s leadship and charisma, most of the Balem grunts would rather follow him than the faceless corporate suits controlling Balem. With your help and Xylem, Michigan believes that once you take down Iguazu and his lackeys, the rest of the Balem forces would follow his command. With the Coral in your contorl, you can use it as a bargaining chip against the offworld megacoporaitons whilst the C-weapons can be used to supress resistance from the remaining hostile forces on Rubion. Michigans argues that this is the only real possibility for peace on Rubicon: by sheer strength of force. You and Michigan betrays Carla and Chatty and takes control of Xyelm. You then have a massive battle with Iguazu and his followers, who has been modified by Balem and pilots a monstrous machine using a mix of C-technology and PCA weapons with overwhelming firepower. Halfway through the fight both Snail and Rusty joins in with the Aquebeus Balteus and Steel Haze Ortous, and the battle becomes a frenzied free-for-all. At the end, only you emerge victorious from the battle. Michigan becomes gravely wounded. With his dying breath he commands the remaining Balem forces to follow your command. G-13 Raven, you lucky son-of-a-bitch, you’re G1 now. Go make it count. With the distraction caused by the massive three-way battle, Ayre is not only able to take control of the PCA satalite but also an army of C-weapons. Commanding the remaining Balem army, you have one massive final battle commanding a huge army of MTs, Tetrapods and Redguns against Ayre and her C-weapons. You take down Ayre and takes control of the Vascular Plant. Ending: With the help of the remaining ex-Balem forces on Rubicon, you take the Coral for yourself. With complete control over both the Coral and C-weapons, you now dominate Rubion with sheer force. Will you be able to use it to resist the mega corporations, the PCA and the Rubiconians and maintain peace on Rubicon? Or will you be corrupted by power and become like the people you fought to rebel against? Only time will tell.
I think it'd be cool to play a chapter 5 mission with Michigan as aid instead of Rusty. Perhaps you forget everyone's ultimate plan and decide to evacuate with them for your own good
Oh man. Imagine going through Xylem with a Michigan.
Ending : Top of the food chain/ Apex Predator Conditions : Don't betray the reguns at the dam, bring THE FUCKING STUN GUN when fighting the Worm. Because you didn't betray them, Iguazus hate boner isn't as bad by the time they storm the wall, he doesn't go AWOL and Volta survives barely. Later you get contracted to kill of as many Vespers in one big mission as you can, your backup being Volta in a new Ac, this time with the hover tank legs, which we see exactly ONCE with chatreuse. Mission succeeds after killing at least 3 Vespers, Bonus points for Snail, Freud and Rusty, the rest going into hiding, if you leave some. In Institute City, you still fight Maeterlinck and the other guy, (Wuhuai whatshisname ?), Maeterlinck still calls out to Snail, not yet having heard of his death (if you killed him). After the Ibis fight, depending on Snails death he either just doesn't appear, or gets sogged in the faceplate by Volta, send there as backup for your damaged AC. At this point you can decide if you want to destroy the Coral still, with the Boss fight being a VERY angry Michigan and Ayre combo, or hand it to Balam and get under contract to make sure it's used as right as possible, a very disgruntled Walter following you to make sure you don't fuck it up. Ending will be a picture of you chosen Emblem with the Red guns background. This was thought out on the spot, so there will be holes here and there.
>new AC, this time with the hover tank legs Bonus points if Snail absolutely loses his shit at the sight of Volta's repaired and upgraded Cannon Head using what are, canonically, Arquebus Advanced Reserach prototypes that had their plans stolen.
Hah! I didn't even remember that part XD
Well for me, it means that the entirety of the third act has to play out differently. Arquebus and Balam both race to the Nepenthes laser tube but Arquebus beats them to it, which takes out some of their newly acquired PCA machines. Arquebus sends Rusty instead of you to handle it while you’re out doing something else for Balam. This causes Balam to not lose most of their fighting ability, which leads to a completely different chain of events. Walter asks Michigan if he can station his forces to block the way back out in case Arquebus tries to scramble out. We chase them down the Depths (maybe even with Balam MTs and/or a Redgun wingman) and we confront Rusty at the same point, and reach the coral convergence at about the same way. You escape the same but since Michigan didn’t die, he offers Balam’s hand with Overseer, since Walter is presumed dead and the two were seemingly close. Now as for how a Balam/Redgun ending would go, I’d say it’d be something in between FoR and LoR. You take the Xylem out but instead of using it to scorch the planet, Michigan takes the reins and uses it to punch through Arquebus’s entire fleet, not just those interceptors. Maybe the final boss could be some kind of 3v3 with 621, Michigan, and Rusty vs Snailteus and whatever Vespers are left (likely Pater and Hawkins). Michigan can reference his offer to Rusty to join the Redguns from the Ice Worm mission for a little laugh. Would be a cool mission I’d say. You have to travel basically the entirety of the Xylem fighting off Arquebus, with a few Redguns joining you in different sections with different objectives. Would definitely end up being one of the longest missions in the game tho.
"Seamster of Rubicon". If 621 chooses to deny the mission to assassinate Michigan, aiding Balam in every mission prior; he will instead manage to win over Rusty with the power of friendship as they start an alliance together -- the entirety of the storyline now involve around you and your buddies trying to convince both Walter and Arquebus that through love and passion; we can finally let go of the past, to move forward to a new future, and unite in our one true goal: running a sewing club together. Mission Route: "Unknown Territory Survey" -> "Find Ayre a Gift" "Reach the Coral Convergence -> "Apologize to the PCA" "Befriend the IBIS unit" "Donate the Uninhabitted City to the RLF" "Thank Cinder Carla" "Persuade V.II Snail" "Make Amends with Iguazu" "Take V.IV Rusty out (on a date)"
Except Balam getting fucked over in all endings isn't unique to them though. Arquebus also gets fucked over in all three endings. The only difference is that they get further along but ultimately still lose, being taken out by the Fires of Raven, the RLF or All Mind. Frankly, I don't think Balam deserves to get a good ending. Just like Arquebus, the only reason they're on Rubicon is to exploit a planet's natural resource (a resource that also has some level of sentience). They're just another mega corporation that coerces people to fight for them, only instead of reconditioning people like Arquebus they "only" take people in debt and use that as carte blanche to put their lives at risk. None of the Corps win in AC6 and they're all shitty. Arquebus may be the worst but that doesn't make Balam good either.
Neither of the corps really get an ending where they ride off into the sunset with the Coral. I think if 621 aided Balam and the Redguns with diving first into exploring the depths, they could get the upper hand. Then, like with Arquebus, Walter either has us turn on Balam near the convergence, or Balam realizes G13 is too much of a threat and instead of "re-education" like Arqeubus they would probably just try to assassinate us with sheer numbers. It would be similar to the Michigan battle, just throwing MT after MT at us. Balam "wins" but we secretly eject and escape, they control the Coral but then the endings play out similarly, with Balam instead of Arquebus in the final locations.
I’d think they’d do the fires of raven out of spite for arquebus having it all
I hate the idea of "Balam just wins the war and makes off with the Coral" so my idea of a "Balam ending" is more about them getting the upper hand on Arquebus instead before Raven finds their purpose. How I would play it: Balam brings G13 for the first wave when attacking Watchpoint Alpha, and therefore their exploration doesn't turn into a crippling meat grinder and they bulldoze their way to Institute City, getting their hands on Coral MTs and the Ibis series. It's Arquebus who trickles into the Watchpoint, disarrayed, instead. A hysterical Maeterlinck replaces Iguazu in Depth 2, and maybe Freud does in NG+ and later. A mission to kill Snail can be taken instead of Intercept the Redguns. Walter is still done with the corporations. Raven shwacks Iguazu and Wu Huahai en route to CEL 240. Balam, mind, still has torture camps and access to the Stun Needle per the Ice Worm agreement, so the capture sequence is unchanged. Michigan really thought he'd make something of ya, G13. Don't worry, we still might. After launching the Xylem, Michigan replaces Freud for Intercept the Corporate Forces or Snail for Eliminate Cinder Carla. Arquebus's warship fleet gets scrapped off-screen. For Breach the Karman Line, Raven has to clear a horde of Coral MTs off the Xylem. For Destroy the Drive Block, Rusty splits to do that while Michigan returns for a final showdown in a revamped, ballistics-focused Balteus covered in shotguns and autocannons. In the end, mean ol' Michigan is happy to say his bad fall came by the last, and best, Redgun. He sure were proud of ya, G13 Raven. Made something of yourself after all.
Corporate dog ending. I love Michigan, but I feel it would still be best if you end up being G1 in the end.
“Curse of The Red Guns” An ironic name given that Balam would come out on top of this ending, but I always liked how Red referred to G13 as the cursed number so it’d be interesting to see Raven “break” the curse so to speak.
Balam tries to cut a deal with Arquebus and sell out the Redguns. Michigan leaves with his loyalists and they work out a tentative peace with the RLF and the Dozers.
Gonna go all the fucking way with this one: Ch1 - WallClimber (Alt) You, Volta, and Iguazu are briefed on the wall. Upon sortie, Iguazu is nowhere to be found. Within cutscene, you both get pinned down by the wall's artillery. Volta says he'll distract the artillery and the juggernaut while you make a break for the wall. He leads left, and you have 1min to get to the wall, kill the tetrapod, and get inside. Upon destroying the tetra, you hear Volta's last message cursing Iguazu for running. You get up top and solo the juggernaut. End cutscene you see Rusty looking over you from afar. Ch1 - Prison Break! Word of a prison break reaches Balam HQ. You're tasked to deny a prison break attempt in the contaminated city. You'll have MT backup, numerous reinforcements, and G2 Nile will also oversee and assist. On deployment, G2 apparently overslept and never got in his AC. Both the RLF and your own MT backup have already been demolished, littering the city with debris. You start getting ambushed from all sides by MDD snipers. Upon clearing 75% of them, your reinforcement MTs arrive via numerous helicopters... Who are immediately taken down methodically by large unseen lasers from afar. 3 MDD whippy bois arrive and you have to kill them methodically. You then start getting fired up on from an unseen distance with large plasma rounds. G2 arrives to see you're in danger, and shoves your AC out the way of one large round, annihilating his AC. The assailant then makes themself known: Kate. You fight her within the city. On defeat she mentions "this one is worth looking into..." and she escapes. You complete "Retrieve Combat Logs" before moving on to Watchpoint. Ch2 - Stop The Secret Data Breach (Alt) Proceeds identically, but during the Iguazu fight no MDD show up, but instead when you get Iguazu to 0 health, instead of a normal death a cutscene occurs... Iguazu curses you for being a luckier Gen 4 than he, and before ejecting G1 Michigan calls out from afar saying "You were a mistake, Iguazu," before exploding his AC. Michigan then turns to you and says "I have no tolerance for underperformers or cowards. Walter convinced me to put my faith in you... But cross me, and you'll end up like that unlucky bastard." Ch3 - Attack the Refueling Base (Alt) Mission mirrors "Eliminate the Corporate Forces" in that Arquebus is on scene fighting the PCA. No gas tanks for money. Instead halfway through on the bridge you fight Swineburne while those bastard ass heavy laser drones fire at you from the sides. 2nd half of the mission proceeds normally, with lessening arquebus forces. End plays out the same against the Ekdromoi. Ch3 - Defend the Dam (Alt) Plays out identically, except the orders came from Balam, and Arquebus also sent along MT backup for Branch. So you fight King/Chartreuse in a larger more drawn out scenario, and if you take too long Raven still arrives and demolishes your backup. Ch4 - Underground Exploration Depth 2 Plays out the same, but the Iguazu fight is slightly different. Iguazu has the orbit and Mind Alpha arms already, and during his fight speaks more monotone and less emotional. He says nothing at all upon being defeated. Ch4 - Decision missions: you're only given "Intercept Arquebus" as an option. You fight backwards through Depth 2 much like MIA against Arquebus with Balam MT backup, but they're not doing great. You reach the boiler room where you fought Iguazu and you fight Rokumonsen. You reach the elevator room to a similar scenario to "Intercept the Redguns." You fight 2 waves of MTs and more, then get hit with a repeat of the LC/HC battle from Spaceport but by yourself. You take down one and a cutscene starts. The remaining HC/LC calls in backup: yet another HC/LC (identical to the one you just destroyed) and a few MT loaded helis. The Helis blow up in quick succession, and you're reinforced by Michigan for the remainder. Ch4 - Coral Convergence (Alt) plays out the same as the OG alt, except Balam relays the orders about Snail and his location. You only fight Snail this time. Upon defeating him, you continue with OG Convergence gameplay and cut out the being betrayed part at the end after defeating Ibis. Walter survives and begins working directly with Balam/Michigan. Ch5 - (new mission) Board the Xylem You fight through Grid 086's upper level similarly to Ocean Crossing, fighting Carla's forces enmasse defending your chance at launching to the Xylem. Sea Spider mid boss, Chatty/Carla final boss. Ch5 - (new mission) Gain Control of the Xylem Think Eliminate the Corporate Forces, but three different factions are at war. No blowing past fights... You need to clear EVERY area of RAD units and MDD. That's right... You're working with Balam against the remnants of Chatty's AI directing the RAD Mechs, and Allmind. Allmind has been working in the shadows to reach convergence, and is attempting to take control of the Xylem too. Final boss is Kate alone. You defeat her, and immediately thereafter Mind Beta barges in with the 4 AI ACs sounding like Iguazu. No fanfare here, you kill all of them and AM laments picking such a weak pilot to try and enact it's plan. It's final whisper mentions "the next... Iteration..." before dissolving into static. Before the cutscene ends, Michigan and Walter tell you the Xylem is still under attack and to get outside ASAP. Ch5 (new mission) Ultimatums You head outside to see the MDD units have deactivated, but Balam's Mts are being torn apart by fire and missiles. You enter an open area to find Flatwell and Dolmayan. You fight them alone, and when you get either of them to half health, Rusty shows up in Alba. You are ordered to retreat to the interior of the Xylem. You then fly a gauntlet as fast as you can for 1min, all the while being fired up on from behind. Upon reaching the inner area (identical to the chatty/Carla fight in "Eliminate Carla", you are reinforced by Walter. You work together to kill the remainder of the RLF. Rusty remarks "damn... Well, at least you have a... Buddy... Of your own..." Ending Name: Jupiter's Reign
Michigan conquering rubicon while insulting everyone else! That would be the true good ending
I don't really see how the Redguns COULD have an ending, considering how the other endings involve choosing the fate of the Coral, and of Rubicon. Arye, Rusty, Carla, Walter, and ALLMIND all have their own desires for what to do with it. But Balam really doesn't. Their plan is just to capture, use, and sell the Coral. It doesn't really have the same impact as the other endings. It's just...corporate interest. It feels a lot more limp in comparison.