June 2024 Update
Development Update
It’s June, and the rainy season will soon begin in Tokyo. We’ve been experiencing days of high humidity and low atmospheric pressure, but let’s all try and get through it with cheerful spirits.
Today’s update will be brought to you by Sekiya.
ARMED FANTASIA June 2024 Project Update
Director Sekiya here.
Sorry to start things off with something personal, but I became under the weather for the first time in a while in early May, and since it was Golden Week, I ended up spending about a week holed up in my house eating nothing but rice gruel and water. As a result, after recovering, I experienced a loss of energy unlike anything I’d ever felt before. The bag I always carried as well as my footsteps themselves felt so heavy, and I could barely make it to my office.
At that time, one of my colleagues said “Meat! Eat some meat!”, but I didn’t really believe them. I replied: “Meat, right after recovering from an illness? Are you serious? Shouldn’t I eat something a little better for my digestion?” But after taking their advice and forcing myself to consume some animal protein, I immediately regained my stamina, and even my bag returned to its original weight! Incredible!
The point of all this isn’t to try and remind you all to take care of your health… It’s meant to be a report on how the phenomenon of characters instantly regaining health from eating meat in games from all around the world isn’t completely fiction.
Or maybe it was because it’s been imprinted in me from so many games that the meat was able to restore my health. Games always give us a glimpse of the truth of the world. Thank you, games! (Especially Capcom’s belt-scroll action games.)
ARM Shops
This time around, we’ll explain how ARM shops and early ARM customization works. ARM shops are operated by the Church of the Sacred Key and are literally facilities meant for ARM maintenance. Players will frequent ARM Shops to strengthen their ARMs, the lifeline of every pathfinder.
Please don’t forget that this information is based on the specifications currently under development, and may be subject to change based on future adjustments.
What are ARMs?
ARMs are the general names for mechanical devices widely distributed in Londenium. Their official names are “Aether Reaction Maximizers,” and ARM is an acronym. While ARMs are weapons that operate based on their forms, they are also equipped with functions that dramatically increase their wielders’ physical capabilities by amplifying aether (a magical element possessed by living organisms).
ARMs are categorized into six basic types: gun, spear, staff, gun, sword and fist, with three additional types: bayonet, whip, and saw, for a total of nine. Each type has a different role in battle. For example, if you equip a “gun” type ARM, you will become a damage dealer with superior speed, and if you equip a “spear” type ARM, you will become a tank with superior defense.
At the start, each player character can only equip their default weapon type, and you’ll need to level them up in order to increase the amount of types they can equip.
ARM Structures
ARMs consist of the basic frames, extension components, and skill modules. The frames influence the player character’s basic ability values, while TP (tuning points) can be consumed to set skill modules.
Each skill module contains one skill, such as attack skills, defense skills, support skills, buff skills, and status ailment resistance skills, which can be used when the module is set in a frame.
The amount of TP needed to set a skill module differs depending on its type, and skill modules that exceed a frame’s maximum TP cannot be used. Lastly, there are two types of skill modules: those that can only be set in specific weapon types, and those that can be set in any type of weapon.
ARM Customization through Modules
The basic purpose of ARM customization is to change skill modules and edit skills in order to create a skill composition that best fits your tastes.
For example, in a dungeon filled with anomalies who use poison, you can set a ‘poison resistance’ skill module in order to deal with that. Or, you could add ‘speed up’ and ‘attack up’ skill modules in order to kill them before they can poison you. There will be many different ways to deal with problems depending on the player’s creativity and ingenuity.
Only one of each type of skill module can be set in a frame, but there exist various levels of the same skill, so you can enhance the effects of a skill by replacing it with one of a higher level.
ARM Shop System
In ARM Shops, frames and skill modules can be purchased for galla (money). Initially, there won’t be many different skill modules to choose from in the shops, but if you sell the “battle data” you gain from defeating anomalies to ARM Shops, they’ll develop and sell new skill modules based on that data.
For example, the battle data gained from defeating several anomalies with hard shells can be used to develop a skill module that makes a weapon especially effective against hard enemies. Also, if you sell battle data gained from a huge anomaly, such as a boss, shops may develop things other than skill modules, such as advanced rank frames.
As you can see, through selling battle data to ARM shops, you’ll be able to increase their line up of new frames and skill modules as well as widen the options you have for strengthening your ARMs.
Regarding Advanced Rank Frames
When you purchase an advanced rank frame, it will come with a new skill module that was developed at the same time. Not only will these boost your stats far more than lower rank frames, but they will also give you new skills, meaning that getting ARM shops to stock will give you a chance to instantly power yourself up.
Pathfinders and church members may stop by, meaning shops may be useful as sources of intel as well.
The Relationship Between Pathfinder Guilds and ARM Shops
Along with ARM Shops, many towns also have Pathfinder Guilds operated by the Church of the Sacred Key. These facilities are mainly responsible for coordinating quest-related things.
However, Pathfinder Guilds sometimes receive requests from ARM Shops to retrieve special battle data, and fulfilling these requests may earn you rare frames and skill modules.
Additional Notes: Pathfinder Guilds and Pathfinders
Londenium contains guild-affiliated Pathfinders who venture out of their own free will, those who agree with the significance hoisted by the Church of the Holy Key and those who wish to benefit from the Church’s assistance.
In other words, there are many Pathfinders who do not belong to any guilds and some who belong to the Iconocluster, those who oppose the Church. There is no way for anyone to tell whether a Pathfinder standing in front of you belongs to a Guild or not… The only proof of identity a Pathfinder has is the registration card issued to them from their guild.
Additional Notes: Pathfinders and Church Knights
Pathfinders travel through the wilderness, bring back resources from ruins, and exterminate dangerous anomalies. The roles of Pathfinders who belong to Guilds are similar to those of Church Knights.
But if the Church already has an army of knights to do their bidding, then why bother establishing Pathfinder Guilds? To put it in different terms, Church Knights are employees while Pathfinders are freelancers.
Supplies are already scarce as it is in Londenium, so it’s not cost-effective to mobilize Knights to solve every little problem. Therefore, it’s advantageous for the Church to have Pathfinders who will take on requests in exchange for rewards that are only paid out upon success. The difficult reality of the Church is that they have no choice but to rely on Pathfinders for things like exploration missions, where there’s no telling when such missions might actually be completed.
Lastly
Somehow, whenever I’m in charge of a monthly update, it always ends up being full of information on the Church. I am by no means a Church spokesman…
Oh, by the way, when I revealed the information on the Church of the Sacred Key in April, I received responses from those of you who have already glimpsed the truth of the world in various games saying “they’re probably just an organization full of jerks claiming to be the
key to the future of mankind.”
Seeing that, Kaneko-san said “They really are doing their best for the sake of the world, though…” His words left an impression on me, so I’d like to add them to this report.
See you all next month.
