Here are our Armored Core 6 Tips and Tricks. Having a tough time making a name on Rubicon or getting a hang of things? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Armored Core 6 is finally here and it is everything fellow AC-Heads and FromSoftware masochists have been wanting and then some. Fast, heart-pounding action with just the right amount of merciless and downright insidious design to keep you playing.
In a year that seems to churn out great titles almost every other week, Armored Core 6 will definitely be up there regarding gameplay. But it has also been a long while since we’ve seen Armored Core and there are many players who might not be familiar with FromSoftware’s Mecha-franchise.
Armored Core 6 Tips and Tricks
If you’re used to Soulslike games, Armored Core 6 is vastly different but very similar in other ways. The game is much faster, exploration is an afterthought and instead of knights and wizards, you have tall death machines going after each other. So here are some tips to keep you going.
There are no I-Frames
The biggest shock to FromSoft veterans will probably be the absence of I-Frames or Invincibility Frames. Don’t even try to dodge through a bunch of missiles hurling towards you. There is no escape other than using Assault Boost or dodging away from them.
Dodging anything in Armored Core required precision and very exact timing. Sometimes you have to decide to take some damage by rushing right through the tail end of an attack instead of getting hit by the follow-up. This kind of quick decision-making is a series staple.
No Build is Perfect
Armored Core doesn’t have a one-fits build for your mech. No, you probably want to fine-tune and adjust your death machine between each and every mission and have alternatives to fall back to.
A build that might carry you through the first few hours of the game will eventually be crushed by a boss who’s designed to counter it. Unlike Dark Souls and Elden Ring, Armored Core doesn’t compensate for different playstyles. You either adjust or you die.
Luckily Armored Core 6 makes it really easy to completely change up your build in between missions. So instead of just throwing yourself at a mission or boss you’re stuck at, tinker with your mech in between respawns instead. Sometimes changing out just one weapon can make all the difference.
Assault Boost? Yes.
One of the big new features of Armored Core 6 is the Assault Boost which lets you rush forward at the cost of most of your Energy. It’s worth doing to dodge incoming projectiles as you can still dodge to the while Assault Boosting by flicking the stick. This also makes it easy to get into melee range where you can use the New Kick ability to build stagger and or deal damage.
Shop and Sell Frequently
Did you know that the reason why Armored Core 6 only has Ray Tracing in the garage is because that’s where you will spend most of your time? The game makes it easy to flip your gear and build a completely new mech within a couple of minutes.
Gear you purchased at the shop can easily be sold for the same price you bought them at, so there is no risk to trying out that new gun or those legs you’ve been eying. If you don’t need something and don’t plan to switch loadouts mid-mission, sell it. Armored Core is all about aggressively reinvesting in yourself.
Replay Value
While most Armored Core missions tend to be on the shorter side, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to find in them. Most of them have optional logs you can find while exploring. Those are not just text bits for you to read, they also unlock new parts at the shop.
You can replay missions you’ve already completed and the only downside to exploring a level to its fullest is that you will only receive a fraction of the initial reward.
Play the Tutorials
Yes, the tutorials might look trivial on your screen but you should still seek them out and complete them. not only will they teach you about different weapon and mobility types, but they also award you access to more gear in the shop.
Grind the Arena
In the Arena of Armored Core 6, you can go up against other ACs in one-on-one combat. Beating them will reward you with OST Chips which can then be spent on universal abilities, some credits, the ACs decal, and probably most importantly, the blueprint for that AC. As soon as it becomes available, you should always clear your Arena fights before moving on.
Time your Repairs
Your repairs will heal for a set percentage of your health. If a Repair Kit doesn’t overcap and heals the damage you’ve taken, it is worth using. It only takes a short time to use and you can repair it while moving and boosting.
Learn Your Boosts
The quick boost is a great way to get out of trouble, quickly change direction, or gain height. But you can also use it to cancel out charged shots, keep the charge, and readjust your aim. That knowledge is really valuable considering how often enemies will change directions and mess up your aim.
Generators, Headroom, and You
EN Output is a weird mechanic in Armored Core. When building and kitting out your mech, you need to have sufficient EN Output to feed the various parts that make up your machine. But here is the thing the game doesn’t tell you, if you have more EN Output than you need, the EN that you use for boosts and moving around will recover faster.
This will also scale depending on how much headroom you have.
Play Through The Game At Least Twice
Might be a bit of weird advice to put at the end of this, but it’s worth talking about. Armored Core games have traditionally several routes players can play through. Each of those routes is unlocked after completing a previous one and usually features revamped missions, new missions, additional story context, and more parts for you to find.
So don’t let the game trick you into thinking it’s over. Some of the best content is usually hidden away behind these additional routes and Armored Core 6 has at least 3 of them we currently know of. And you don’t want to miss out on those parts either if you want to take things into Multiplayer afterward.
We’ll have more pieces all around Armored Core 6 here really soon, so stay tuned.