Core Abilities

Core Abilities are long-cooldown, very powerful Titan abilities in Titanfall and Titanfall 2. Each Titan chassis has a unique Core Ability specific to that Titan - the only Titans that share a Core Ability are Ogre and Destroyer, both of which share the Shield Core. Core Abilities are also present in Titanfall: Assault, though they are available only to a specific few Titans; most such Titans have "Core" in their title.

Lore

Speculation The following information on this article, Core Abilities, is speculation, and should not be taken as definitive fact.

Core Abilities appear to operate through a process of "charging", wherein a capacitor is charged over time before unleashing the stored energy in a short attack or buff to the Titan in question. In the first game, cores were integral to the Titan chassis and couldn't be swapped out or replaced in any model. In Titanfall 2 however, cores became unique for each Titan class in the game, instead of depending on the chassis. This is most likely because of the Titans becoming more specialised and less "disposable" after Demeter's destruction, with the cores being repurposed for each particular class to better fit their roles. Hence, some cores are "cast" abilities in Titanfall 2 granting additional weapons or equipment, branching from the universal "transformation" abilities in the first game which merely upgraded a Titan's existing trait.

Presently, it is unknown how exactly all the cores operate. However, some can be justified relatively easily;

• It is possible that the Damage Core works as a similar process to Amping a weapon, wherein projectiles fired are given some kind of additional energy to increase their damage.
• Shield Core likely works by simply providing the Titan Bodyshield with more energy with which to absorb damage, as well as instantly replenishing it on the spot via redirecting said energy.
• Laser Core is possibly the easiest to justify - simply unleashing the stored energy as a direct attack to devastate anything caught in the way.
• Flight Core and Dash Core likely work by allowing the power stored to be poured into the Titan's thrusters/dash systems, allowing the Northstar to hover for longer and the Stryder to have extremely swift movement.
• Sword Core likely combines elements of Damage and Dash Cores, using the stored energy to both enhance the damage output of the Broadsword while also increasing the movement capacity of the Ronin.
• Like Damage Core, Burst Core likely works by applying the Arc Rounds upgrade to the XO16A2 Chaingun.
• Upgrade Core likely works by using the stored energy to instantly recharge the Monarch's Shield, alongside using similar techniques to Burst Core to amplify the damage of the chaingun and Energy Siphon.

Smart and Salvo Cores, as well as the Flight Core's rocket pods are harder to justify, given their reliance on ammunition as opposed to an electrical source of energy. It is best to assume that they are simply gameplay elements, as there is no logical justification as to why they are incapable of simply activating at anytime - the Smart Core is particularly baffling as unlike Salvo or Flight Core, the Predator Cannon does not physically switch ammunition to a new magazine or belt, the existing rounds are simply made "smart" instantly.

Speculatory information on this article, Core Abilities, ends here.

Titanfall

Mechanics

When a Titan arrives on the battlefield via Titanfall, its Core is uncharged and must be charged before the Core Ability may be used. On its own, it takes 200 seconds (3 minutes and 20 seconds) to charge the Core; like the Titan summon timer, this timer can be significantly reduced by damaging or killing an enemy target while piloting the Titan. When the Core Ability is fully charged, the Pilot can activate it at will, and after a two-second priming, the ability will be active.

When the Core Ability activates, the Titan will steadily restore their shields, regardless of Core type - Shield Core instantly replenishes it instead. Any incoming damage can interrupt the shield rebuilding, as with normal shields. A doomed Titan cannot activate their Core Ability; if the Titan is ever doomed during a Core Ability's effects, the Core Ability will immediately end. This is reflected in the bottom right of the HUD as the Core Ability's charging element is replaced by doomed health.

Core Abilities

Icon	Core	Titan Loadout	Description
	Damage Core	Atlas	All Titan attacks, including Electric Smoke and melee attacks, deal two times more damage.
	Dash Core	Stryder	Energy for dashes replenishes so fast that it is essentially infinite.
	Shield Core	Ogre Destroyer	The Ogre shield is replaced by a reinforced overshield shield that withstands twice as much damage. Even if the Ogre is under fire, the overshield will appear fully charged.

Titanfall 2

In Titanfall 2 as stated above, each Titan now has its own unique Core Ability that plays to that Titan's particular strengths, instead of a universal chassis-wide Core Ability. Some Core Abilities are passive boosts or overdrive states like those in the original Titanfall were, while many others are more single-use (or "channelled") superweapons that can deal devastating damage when used effectively, akin to Ultimate abilities in games like Overwatch. The mechanics of these cores vary and can be countered in different ways, emphasising the class-based Titan gameplay in Titanfall 2.

Like the first game, a Titan fresh from Titanfall arrives with no charge in their Core Ability, unless that Titan has the Overcore kit equipped, at which point it arrives with 20% core charge out of the gate (there is no ability that provides a fully-charged Titan fresh from Titanfall unlike Super Charger). The Core Ability gauge will build up on its own, but it can sped up by damaging or destroying enemies or by slotting a Battery into the Titan's chassis from the outside. As opposed to the first game, Core Ability usage varies widely - some are activated as soon as inputted, others require a brief charge-up time before the effects take place.

Core Abilities

Icon	Name	Titan Loadout	Description
	Laser Core	Ion Ion Prime	"A deadly oversized laser beam fired from the chest of the Ion and capable of stopping anything it its path."
	Flame Core	Scorch Scorch Prime	"Creates a giant wave of fire that destroys anything in its path."
	Flight Core	Northstar Northstar Prime Brute	"Hover, unleashing rockets at targets below."
	Sword Core	Ronin Ronin Prime	"Empowers his melee and sword abilities, and gives access to new sword attacks."
	Salvo Core	Tone Tone Prime	"Unleashes a barrage of rockets that can be guided in flight. They’ll prioritize any locked target Tone looks at."
	Smart Core	Legion Legion Prime	"The Predator Cannon automatically locks onto anything in range."
N/A	Burst Core	Expedition Vanguard (By default)	"Automatically fire a stream of Amped bullets."
	Upgrade Core	Monarch	"Upgrades Monarch's abilities on each use."

Titanfall: Assault

The mobile game Titanfall: Assault also features powerful Core Abilities, practically all of them brought over in some form from Titanfall or Titanfall 2. However, only a select few Titans (generally identified by the "Core" prefix) are equipped with a Core Ability at all. A Titan with a Core Ability will build their Core by landing successful attacks against any enemy target; a commander can tell how much of their Core is built by looking at the circular gauge at the Titan's feet. When the Core Ability is charged, the Titan will immediately activate it without any input.

The Titans equipped with Core Abilities use the Core available to their chassis in the regular game; Core Scorch utilises Flame Core, Core Ion uses Laser Core, Core Ogre employs Shield Core and BT-7274 utilises the Burst Core, found on his default Expedition loadout.

See Also

Titan

Core Accelerator

Core Extender

Super Charger