Items Collected
- Destroy enemies (during mission only):
Cyber-Elf Beenet: Destroy Shield Attackers.- Cyber-Elf Ribbid: Destroy C-Hoppers.
- Cyber-Elf Stickle: Destroy Securipiders.
Flame Chip: Obtained after the boss fight.
- Find crates (even after mission):
Cyber-Elf Greff: Found in an air vent.- Cyber-Elf Winkie: Found above the Carry Arms.
- Cyber-Elf Motolar: Found above a ladder.
- Cyber-Elf Nutan: Found in a secret passage.
Mission Requirements
Subway
Boss: Guard Orotic
Guard Orotic is a snake Mechaniloid that was built for search and rescue missions. It design deviates from the conventional sense of a snake's biology: it is really a mammoth-sized turbine with not one, but eight serpentine heads, akin to the mythical Hydra and Yamato no Orochi. The heads are attached to a gyrating wheel with a high velocity rotor inside that produces enough thrust so allow Orotic may hover in the air, but its unorthodox design limits its movements to delicate, sideways bobbling on the dense air streams its turbine generates. Consequently, the Mechaniloid's bizarre movements resemble the side-winding motions of a real snake. Originally, the heads were meant to be equipped with lifesaving, interchangeable tools that could swivel into place when a situation called for them: essentially, the ultimate Swiss Army Knife. That is, until someone found the idea of it becoming an oversized tool a waste of its potential and had it converted into a combat machine.
Unfortunately, when Neo Arcadia took on its darker initiative of Reploid elimination, its original purpose was nixed. Soon, the machine fell into the wrong hands and was outfitted with deadly weapons to become a cold-blooded guardian of the Abandoned Factory. Intruders who barge into the factory that outsmart the security systems are doomed to meet the snake if they penetrate through these defenses to the "heart" of the factory, the power station it uses to perpetually recharge itself.
Such great size comes at the tactical disadvantage, however. Guard Orotic's unconventional size and complex machinery requires the use of an energy core that guzzles enormous amounts of power to keep the Orotic beast activated round the clock. It is here that the Mechaniloid can replenish its power cell and be ready at a second's notice to follow out its solitary order to defend its den from any form of threat to its operations. However, Orotic will never be able to venture too far away from its guardpost because of this, so it lies in wait for intruders to enter the generator-filled room it lurks inside, where the lockdown protocols will keep them from running for their lives. But Zero is not a coward. He is a competent warrior in his own right who can wrestle with the Orotic, and perhaps, put the mishandled machine out of its misery.
When the boss battle begins, Guard Orotic weaves back and forth through the generator room by propelling itself around on its turbine for several seconds before it engages you. If you have a low mission rank, you can sit out this "rest" phase of Guard Orotic and simply dash out of its way if it is about to crash into you. However, if you've got a high rank, you'll be familiarized with its Core Vulcan attack on the double.
EX Skill: Core Vulcan
If you currently hold an A or S rank, Guard Orotic's EX Skill comes into play, the Core Vulcan. Before Core Vulcan is used, it has a tell that alerts you to its activation: the eyes on Orotic's retracted heads will light up in a clockwise motion. Between every "rest" phase Orotic goes through, the armored casing on its power core will retract to reveal the core, a blue dome. Orotic's core will focus its energy into spheroid plasma bullets and shoot eight times in a rapid-fire stream, each shot targeted on your position. The Shield Boomerang will be your best protection against these bullets, since it can block them and deflect the shots back at Orotic. However, you can't dash with the shield out, which is your second defense against the Core Vulcan hailstorms. By dashing, you can outrun the gunfire, but Orotic will continue shooting bullets in your general direction, and it will always move in the direction you're going, switching directions on a dime if you try to fake it out by dashing left instead of right, or vice versa. If you get cornered by Orotic, scale the sides of the room to goad it into shooting at the walls, then drop down to the floor and dash underneath the Mechaniloid before its bullets catch up with your movements.
Guard Orotic will always use Core Vulcan four times in a row at the beginning of the battle, and usually resorts to it after it fully cycles through its pattern of hydra head attacks. Aside from these set attack patterns, it can break sequence at any given time while it is about to switch to a different set of heads and opt for the Core Vulcan attack, where it can be used from 1-4 times, and the Mechaniloid's attack pattern will continue from where it left off.
Eight Heads of Horror
Guard Orotic has four sets of snake heads in pairs it cycles through as it assaults you with its diverse weapons. You can tell them apart They are color-coded by the stripes on their necks: orange, red, green, and blue, which denote normal, fire, electric, and ice attacks, respectively. The heads will take turns attacking you; the one that swoops down is about to attack, while the other head will stay poised up above. These heads can take a small amount of damage before being destroyed, which will temporarily impair the Guard Orotic's attacks.
Orange
The first set of heads Orotic will use are always the ones with the orange-striped necks, the element-neutral set. These are the least threatening of the bunch, because all they do is lunge at you with their jaws and bite. They don't have the added wrath of razing an elemental attack at your face if you get up close and personal with the heads, so you can afford to be more aggressive against these heads. When one snaps at you, dash underneath the opposite head before it drops down to do the same, or hack the heads to pieces with the Z-Saber.
Red
The heads with red-striped necks have flamethrower cannons in their mouths. You won't be able to go near them like you can with the orange-necked ones. Otherwise, you put yourself in the path of their fire breath. However, you can always attack the heads from behind, where the flames cannot reach you. The flames from these heads do heavy damage if they strike Zero, which is all the more reason to run from them.
Green
Probably the most dangerous of the hydra heads, the ones with green stripes on their necks spit out three huge balls of static electricity at you. These attacks have the widest range, rivaling that of Orotic's Core Vulcan EX Skill, spreading out across the room. When the static balls strike the floor or a wall, they leave residual static that peters out shortly after the balls dissipate. You will need to dash much further away from the Guard Orotic so you can retreat from the attacks of these heads and have enough time to react to the incoming static projectiles.
Blue
The fourth set of hydra heads, those with blue-striped necks, belch icy cold frost breath down on you. These attacks do not do any physical damage to Zero, but they are cold enough to freeze him a chunk of ice. If you're trapped in the ice, it can only be shattered by tapping the AB buttons and the buttons on your D-pad rapidly. Getting stuck in this ice can attribute to a higher mission time due to the time wasted on breaking out, which can reduce your rank. Be very cautious to avoid these heads when they are activated, as they prove to be the most irritating pair in Guard Orotic's moveset.
Weaknesses
Guard Orotic's weak spot is its blue core, but only when the casing protecting it from attack opens up. If it doesn't, the core will overheat and fry Orotic's inner body. You can inflict tremendous damage to the Mechaniloid by striking its core with charged strikes from the Z-Saber, but that means you have to approach it directly, which can be a huge problem when its heads are in the way of the core. If you want to attack the Orotic from a safer distance, use the Buster's Charge Shots on the core to do damage without coming near the eight-headed snake, but there is always the chance the Charge Shots will miss as the Orotic weaves in the air.
Guard Orotic's heads are also vulnerable to attack, but hitting them will not reduce its life bar. Instead, after enough damage is inflicted, they will be destroyed. This can temporarily cripple Orotic and leave it unable to properly execute its attack patterns, stuck with one head instead of two, or even both heads of a specific kind are lost and have to be skipped. However, even if you do damage a head, realize that you are in a factory that was once built to construct and repair robots. Surely enough, Guard Orotic is supplied with a boundless stock of replacement heads. If it cycles to a empty head socket, a robotic clamp arm will lower down from the ceiling and a a new head will be lowered into place. Any time a fresh head has to be attached to the Mechaniloid, it takes the place of its attack phase, and whatever stripe color that new head is will be skipped on the attack cycle (if it's blue-necked, blue heads cannot attack until they cycle around again, the same goes for all other colors). Just like the hydra of legend, for every head you cut off, another springs up to replace it.
With three layers on its life bar, the Guard Orotic is a very durable boss and takes a while to beat down. It is a particularly challenging enemy compared to most of the other mission bosses, though not as dreaded as ones like the infamous Pantheon Core. If you've got its attack patterns memorized and know how to escape their range, you can conquer this snake eight times over and send it back to the smelter pits from whence it came. But what's this? Something still remains of the snake... an Element Chip!
Mission Complete!
When Guard Orotic has been defeated, a Resistance soldier will radio Zero and tell him the other soldiers in his unit have secured the rest of the factory, officially wresting it from Neo Arcadia's control. Ciel thanks Zero for a job well done, and reminds him to claim the Flame Chip before he returns to base.
Like Ciel has instructed, capture the Flame Chip, and you will automatically finish the mission and return to the Resistance Base. Like Aztec Falcon's Thunder Chip, this Element Chip gives you access to fire-element attacks, which set enemies ablaze when they make contact. Fire-based attacks also have an advantage over enemies with an Ice affinity, for the simple reason that fire melts ice. You can now do additional damage to an Ice-element natured boss by using flame elemental attacks. All of your weapons in their fully charged state can use this type of attack, but only if you make sure to equip the Flame Chip on the Equipment Sub Screen.
Don't think that Neo Arcadia will take this loss standing down. You've just snatched a vital resource from their hands, and all the precious goods inside it are now yours for the taking. This leaves them with one alternative: they will ensure that if they can't have it, neither will you...