NEWCOMERS, PLEASE READ! -- FAQ topic, Please browse here before asking! Options

[Ky Kiske]

To all newcomers (to SLAI and our humble Forums), Welcome! We're glad you're here. In this topic you'll find links to a wide variety of information about SLAI from many sources. This topic serves as a Table of Contents to all the FAQ material thus far researched and compiled by several members of this forum and others, to whom I am very grateful. The topics this thread references have been un-Stickied and will drift downwards through the pages, but will still be easily accessible - and not cause clutter. Here goes. Please note! Mini-FAQ added after links - please read!

Table of Contents

Essential:
Konami's SLAI Homepage - and Amazon ordering info!

SLAI: Stock Market trading for easy wealth <-- BEGINNERS, READ THIS TO SAVE YOURSELVES MUCH FRUSTRATION!

Miscellaneous Info, how to get the 3 Boss-type SVs, and link to data on all 1P enemy SVs


Chip:
Animal Chip base stats, growth charts, and final stats (WIP)

Chip Personalities and availability schedule

Weapon Skill Training Trees - Chip growth and Attack Experience explained

How to raise a Chip the way you want - expository Chip training tactics


SV Mods:
SV Body, Leg and Weapon Stats Guide including some tuning info

Optional Mods info and some tuning stats

Option Module Stats


Stock:
Wild Machines schedule and inventory availability

New SV Appearance Schedule (from manufacturer shops)

Used SV Appearances Schedule (from The Mechanist)

Paint Kit, Decal Kit, and IDOL Persona availability schedule




Mini-FAQ

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Q: This game is insane! Immediately after I launch some jerk shoots me in the back and I die instantly... WTF?! How can you people play this?!
A: Unfortunately, SLAI's early difficulty is not very well-structured. The game is not nearly as hard as it seems, but too little instruction is given for beginners even in the in-game tutorials. Some pointers:

* ALWAYS keep your back covered. When moving through open areas, skirt the walls and keep your back to an obstruction. Damage from the rear is multiplied x3, so DO NOT get shot in the back if you can keep from it!

* Learn to use the special movement types common to all SVs; side-dodging and spin-turning. No matter how fast or slow your SV, it can do these maneuvers. Side-dodging will save you from damage and allow you to counterattack; spin-turning allows you to turn very quickly through 180 degrees or more. Also remember that SVs turn faster while in the air, so use turns while jumping and moving.

* Fight through a level's lower-ranked fighters, but exit when a Ranker appears. (You will always know they are coming thanks to a cutscene.) There is no penalty for doing this. Next time you enter the same battle, the Ranker will appear almost immediately, so you can fight them when you're fresh.

* Use the Stock Market tricks above! Get more money and tune your parts. You won't believe the difference it makes in your abilities.

* If the game is still too hard, try using a more heavily armored SV, like a Zwerg or Hartman. The high armor allows you to take heavy damage but still survive, unlike a lighter SV which can be frustrating to pilot until you have the basic skills down.

* SLAI is a game that takes skill to play. It will become easier with time if you practice the skills of SV control and learn the arenas.

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Q: I've beaten all the Rankers, D through A, in (any city), but the Regional Ranker won't challenge me. What else do I need to do?
A: Actually, none of the Regional Rankers will challenge you until you defeat all the normal rankers in ALL cities. Then, all Regionals will be available for challenge.

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Q: There are a lot of mech parts listed in the Part Stats guide that aren't in the shop yet. Do they appear later?
A: They might, but the rarer parts also appear exclusively in Wild Machines, the super-elite SV customization shop which only appears when you have gained several titles. The game will let you know when it is available.

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Q: What is the best Chip to use?
A: To my knowledge, there isn't one. Each different type of Chip combines certain strengths and bonuses to produce a different specialty or group of specialties. Also, Chips can be customized as they grow in levels, so two Chips of the same type will still not be exactly alike. Use the Chip Growth charts to see what each kind of Chip can become great at, and choose a Chip which best suits what you want your SV(s) to be able to do. Remember, you have to take your Chip's weight into account when building your SV.

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Q: What is the best type of leg mod?
A: Another really hard question to answer. All have strengths and weaknesses. 2-Leg mods tend to be the best balanced, but are not terribly fast in a dead sprint. Other leg mods combine higher armor and load capacity with lesser ground mobility. Wheel mods tend to have much better groundspeed, but sacrifice stability and jump/dodge ability, plus load capacity. Specialty leg types (Baller, Roller, Hover, Crawler) vary in strengths but tend to emphasize the key elements of their brand name (example: Proton Hover-Jet legs tune well for speed).

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Q: Are guns better than missiles?
A: They're probably easier to use, but not necessarily better. Chips which are particularly good with missiles (like Birds) can make them really devastating weapons. Also, missiles have Blast Damage, so their Attack Power stats are deceptive. Missiles can lock-on at longer ranges than guns and usually have larger lock-on sights if the Chip is skilled with them.

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Q: What is the best kind of gun? Best kind of missile?
A: The basic Sub-Machine Gun (first hand gun in the catalog of all brands) becomes extremely powerful when tuned to +99. They are also quite light for +99 weapons. It's hard to go wrong with these simple, powerful weapons; but don't forget that other weapons in each catalog have uses too. Missiles vary in effectiveness with each brand. Generally KHT has the most powerful and versatile missiles, followed by Carro, then Hartman. Proton and Zwerg still have useful missiles, the other brands are just a little better or more specialized.

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Q: What's the deal with laser beams?
A: Lasers cause a lot of damage quickly, but a high-level enemy Chip will reduce their damage with Protect (the brief force-field which sometimes appears around an SV when it gets hit). They can still be useful, just experiment to find a setup which works best for you. Also keep in mind you have to manage a Charge capacity with lasers. If you exhaust it completely, it has to fully recharge before you can fire the laser again.

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Q: How do I shot web?
A: Wrong FAQ, can't help you there.

[Mr.B]

Sorry for the stupid question but what is WIP?

[droobies]

Work In Progress, I'd assume.

[Mr.B]

Ahh I see. That was a stupid question. I guess I had a brain fart.

[Angry Raven X]

Do you think we could edit something about how you can't rename your chip later in the game into the first post of each topic under the "Chip" heading? I've seen a bunch of people not realize they couldn't change their chip's name and regret it. Just something like "Remember, you can't change your chip's name, so have a name picked out before you buy it" near the top so people who are new and skimming see it?

[Ky Kiske]

Done. Let me know if you think the wording needs to be changed.

[Mr.B]

I don't see why people don't name their chip. Doesn't the little prompt you get before you name it specifically say 'you can not rename your chip'.

BTW, ky, whooooo was that sexy hunk who suggested the new table of contents format? Oh wait, it was me wasn't it? Man, it is so much easier to quickly scan for the guide I want, I don't even have to read the titles anymore.

[Ky Kiske]

Needing validation today are we? j/k j/k j/k

Yes, it's a much better (organized) format... I think the title is an improvement also.

[Mr.B]

Ky, I was thinking, should we change the name of the 'module stat guide'? Only someone playing this game for a while would understand that the game refers to the parts as modules, a noob would simply skip over it.

What if we changed the title to something that emphasizes the stats for the body, leg, arms and shoulders like: 'Body, Legs, Arms and Shoulder Stats', or 'Body, Legs and Weapon Stat guide'.

Also, you could probably remove the WIP. I can't think of much more to put in it other than stat descriptions, which I'm doing right now.

[Ky Kiske]

Both changes are made.

[Mr.B]

I have another suggestion. Why don't you write in big bold letters at the top of the table of contents how to unlock access to the regional rankers. I've seen alot of questions about this and considering this is a FAQ topic...

[Ky Kiske]

Mini-FAQ rough draft added. I'll be looking to all our players for suggestions on how to streamline and improve it. What else do you want to see, or what should go? Post away!

[PratzStrike]

The newbie approves!

[Carbine]

[Ky Kiske]

[Carbine]

Just take your time. Nobody is either forcing you or paying you to write it.

[Gluttony]

The only info that seems to be missing from this site is the inventory list for The Mechanist.

But i'm not complaining, this site has saved me countless hours of frustration.

[Akiraka]

Yeah, for that, use a Brady Game guide. You can probably find the scans online.

Though, IIRC, you can find every Mod in the game on the new SVs in the manufacturer shops, or the used SVs at The Mechanist. And those parts lists are documented on here.

[bangbang]

Great information!!!

[Vulcan Raven]

This may be a dumb question. I'm new to this game so I don't know anything besides what I've read in the topics above (which by the way are awesome and helped out tremendously, thanks) but when/how do you delete experience from a chip? I see people talking about it and I have no idea where they are going to delete chip experience. Thanks.

[Ky Kiske]

Chips can't unlearn stuff, that I recall. Once a Chip learns a skill (or points in that skill), it just has those points. You can't allocate them where you would like them, sadly - just try to buff the Chip's areas of learning by carefully using weapons that drive experience in the areas you want.

[Vulcan Raven]

So then "deleting" experience is more or less reloading a game when you have gotten experience in an area you do not want it in? That seems simple enough, if that's what they are talking about.