The original Raven wants his callsign back and is willing to fight you for it. To the death. To make sure you walk away in one piece you’ve got to tune your AC for the specifics of the encounter.
This is a pure medium range, medium weight fight with a few twists. For one thing, Raven can use repair kits so just as you think you’re getting the upperhand you’ll see his healthbar recover. Second, he can spawn a pulse shield. And third, he’s packing a pretty beastly melee weapon. You’ll want to keep your distance.
For a complete guide to the fight, see our guide here.
Here’s the AC we used to defeat him:
Right Arm – DF-GA-08 HU-BEN Gattling Gun
The DF-GA boasts a high rate of fire and deep reserves of ammo. You’ll need to put constant pressure on Raven to stagger him and he has no mitigation against kinetic damage like a shield or thick armor.
Left Arm – HML-G2/P19MLT-04
Like we said before, you want to keep your distance. Raven’s melee weapon and pulse shield are two very good reasons to keep back. And given this is a medium-range encounter, weapons that lock on take the guesswork out of aiming or counting on your timing.
If you’ve been upgrading your explosive damage via the OST chip upgrades, this compact 4-cell missile launcher can do decent damage.
Heavier explosive or energy weapons have one big drawback—you have to stop to fire them. This leaves you vulnerable and you want to keep your guard nice and high in this battle.
Right shoulder Vvc-703PM 3-cell plasma missile launcher
Plasma missiles are great for high-speed encounters given their generous area of effect. After launch, even if they don’t directly hit their mark, each missile will explode and envelop the target area in a cloud of damaging purple plasma. It’s pretty much the high-tech equivalent of “dodge this, you filthy casual.”
Raven moves very fast so not all of your lock-ons will stick; nothing stings worse than watching a salvo go flying off as your target gains an angle on you.
Left Shoulder – Songbirds Grenade Cannon
The Songbirds is one of the heaviest pieces of artillery in the game and they’ll come especially in handy for this fight. The cannon fires two high explosive grenades that detonate on impact, creating a massive explosion. Anything in the neighborhood of said explosion will get a lot more than a bad sunburn.
During the fight go vertical by hitting your booster jets. Once you’ve gained some altitude, aim the cannon down and fire. We caught Raven off-guard several times as if he wasn’t sure which way to dodge.
A direct hit will take his health down a decent peg but even being close to the explosion will do serious damage.
Head – HD-012 Melander C3
Melander parts are fantastic for medium-weight builds. Why? Because they’ll get your armor up above 10,000 without making you too heavy. Weight equals less mobility and in a high-speed encounter the extra armor won’t do you any good—it’ll just take a little more time for the enemy to blow you to pieces as you struggle to keep up.
In this fight, you need to be light on your feet but you can’t dodge every bullet like you’re in The Matrix. You’re going to take some damage. Okay, a lot of damage, but appropriately armored you’ll stand a fighting chance.
Core – VP-40S
The VP-40s is the core of choice for medium-weight builds. Like Melander parts, it offers a great balance of protection to weight. Drill this into your mind or else be prepared to see the checkpoint screen a billion times: you have to balance your AP and mobility.
Arms – EL-TA-10 Firmeza
We went with a lighter set of arms for the sake of mobility. Most of the time we’re rocking a set of Melander arms but here we needed something to give our mobility a boost. These arms are solid for armor, weight, and EN load. Plus who wouldn’t want two big mechanical Doritos for shoulders?
Legs – 06-041 Mind Alpha
You may, at this point, be sensing a theme. Balancing the weight of your armor is essential for mobility. We went for a lower-weight pair of legs but ones that would still keep our health north of 10,000.
Booster – Fluegel/21Z
Though the name sounds like some kind of obscure piece of Ikea furniture, the Fluegel booster set will give you the Sonic the Hedgehog level of speed you’ll need. You’re going to have missiles and high explosive grenades flying at you nearly constantly in this fight so come ready to spam the dodge button.
FCS – FCS-G2/P05
For your fire control system, you want to max out your medium assist support. Try to keep at least 100 feet of distance between you and Raven. Any closer and you’re a bigger target for his missiles, cannon, and in range of his melee strike.
Generator – DF-GN-06 Ming-Tang
Generators are always tricky because they can add so much extra weight. For a heavyweight, this isn’t such a problem but for a medium-weight build, the choice is crucial. We’ve found the Ming-Tang to offer solid recharge and supply. The last thing you want in any fight is your boosters shutting down or your weapons taking forever to recharge.
Expansion – Pulse Armor
By this point, you should be well into your OST upgrades. We recommend the pulse armor because not only does it cancel out a ton of damage, you get to choose when to use it.
