Armored Core 6: Top Tips To Become A Master AC Pilot

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is a game that puts you in the cockpit of the series’ titular ACs and will require you to really prove yourself as a pilot if you wish to survive the wartorn surface of Rubicon. So we here have a few tips that might help you become a better pilot in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon.

Experiment And Customize Your AC

The paramount tip that any player within Armored Core 6 can receive is to experiment with your AC builds. It can be very easy to find a specific configuration you like and get used to. If you reach a difficult mission/boss that doesn’t work well with your build, it’s better to retreat to the Garage and tinker than to continually bash your head against a difficult wall.

Arguably, the battles against the many bosses are won in the Garage before ever facing them in a mission since bringing in the right build that is tuned to the encounter can be the difference between a fight being a couple of minutes and a couple of days.

Understand How Stats Works

There are many stats in Armored Core 6, and while they might seem overwhelming at first, understanding them will give you an edge in battle. Whichever content you want to try when playing, it’s important to understand what every stat does.

AP: Your AC’s health. It determines how durable your AC is and encompasses the value of all parts.
Anti-Kinetic Defense: The defense rating against Kinetic damage.
Anti-Energy Defense: Defense value against Energy damage.
Anti-Explosive Damage: It shows how resilient your AC is against explosive or incendiary damage.
Attitude Stability: This determines the maximum load the Attitude Control System (ACS) can support. The higher the value, the less likely the AC to stagger.
Attitude Recovery: The ability of the ACS to manage strain. Having lighter weight increases the value of this stat.
Target Tracking: Performance during lock-on. Increase this stat to land shots easier on moving enemies.
Boost Speed: Maximum speed during boost.
QB Speed: Quick Boost determines the initial speed during boost.
QB EN Consumption: It determines how much energy the AC consumes while boosting.
QB Reload Time: How fast the QB recharges.
EN Capacity: The amount of Energy the AC can store.
EN Supply Efficiency: The rate at which energy is supplied to the AC.
EN Recharge Delay: Dictates the delay before the energy of the AC recharges.
Total Weight: The total weight of all AC parts.
Total Arms Load: Weight of the AC’s arm parts.
Arms Load Limit: It determines how much the arms can carry without compromising the AC’s performance.
Total Load: Body load weight.
Load Limit: The maximum weight the legs can support.
Total EN Load: It determines how much energy the AC can handle.
EN Outpu: The energy output of the AC.

Build Enemy ACS And Protect Your Own

The ACS Anomalies are the status effects of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon which are notified to the player by a meter that fills up above their health bar and ACS stagger meter. The ailment will take effect when the meter is filled. An ACS Anomaly will appear if the player is hit with certain attacks, with the specific effect corresponding to the type of attack that hit the player. There are 3 ACS Anomalies, also called AC system abnormalities, in the game’s Tips section.

For many encounters, especially with many of the tougher enemies and boss fights, building ACS should be your primary focus since it allows you to take huge chunks of health in a single flurry. That being said, while you focus on trying to stagger the enemy and fill their ACS, be mindful of your meter as well as a stagger for your AC can quickly bring a fully functioning AC back to checkpoint.

Use Cues To Prepare For Attacks

A missile coming at your AC from an enemy that is standing directly in front of you isn’t too much of an issue. You can track the course of the incoming attack the whole time, and will improve your dodge timing as you play. Some attacks, however, can come at you from off-screen, and others are so quick or powerful that you must be ready to avoid the incoming damage before it is even fired.

Thankfully, Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon Accounts for these types of attacks as they will provide a visual and audio cue to let you know about the incoming damage. When an attack from off-screen is launched, a beeping sound will trigger and a red icon around your crosshair in the direction the damage is about to come from. For quick-hitting or extremely damaging moves that happen in front of you, you will hear the same beeping sound cue, but you will also see red boxes surround the point that the damage is coming from before it fires, giving you a chance to see where the attack will come from and some time to avoid it before it is fired in your direction. Learn these cues and be aware that they should be your top priority when they are seen and/or heard to ensure that you stay alive during a battle.

Play Missions and Put Time Into Arena Program

Playing the main story missions make up a large part of the Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, but a few other modes are unlocked as you make your way through the game for the first time. These aren’t just simple distractions but also rewards that will help you improve your ACs with new upgrades and parts.

Training Programs are specialized 1-on-1 battles with AC pilots you will encounter throughout the game. Along with being a testing ground for your abilities against other ACs, they also provide you with OST Chips, which are used to upgrade your mech on the OS Tuning page. They can completely change your playstyle with abilities like Boost Kick and Weapon Bay, while other upgrades provide increased damage for your weapons, allowing you to unleash more powerful attacks.

Assault Boost Is Not Just For Crossing Long Distances

While Quick Boost will be the boost type that you will be forced to become familiar with the fastest since it functions as your dodge, the Assault Boost is arguably the most versatile out of all the boosts available in the game. On the surface, the boost seems to be used to travel long distances quickly, but it has many more functions that can benefit both traversal and combat.

The easiest way this can be seen is with the Boost Kick move. This attack is also an OS Tuning Upgrade, allowing you to get a small melee attack to end an Assault Boost. This move gives you a melee option even if you didn’t bring any melee weapons into a level, and it does massive damage to the enemy’s ACS meter.

Don’t Always Use The Hard Locka

In Armored Core 6, having the option to Lock-On to enemies could be a lifesaver in more ways than one. This can help in tricky combat situations, such as the first boss fight against the attack helicopter that is looking to put you out of commission before you can even start the game up properly. Navigating through the skies like a proper pilot while having your sights set on your enemies is the perfect way to avoid meeting an untimely end.

However, this will often be to the detriment of your gameplay. Using your Soft Lock when the Target Assist System is disabled makes battling against large groups of enemies much easier since your movement of the camera is freer and can make moving from target to target much more fluid. A small thing you will also notice is that when you Hard Lock, while the camera will track the enemy, your crosshair needs to catch up to the target before your shots start to land, making quicker enemies harder to hit.

Always Moving

A simple one to end it off! The amount of incoming damage that will be thrown your way in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is massive. Bullets, missiles, energy beams, etc. You will need to be on your toes at every moment to mitigate enemy volleys. When you are ready to move, make sure you use your Boost Movement Speed and keep up the speed.

An AC that stands still will quickly be turned to scrap metal, so move around and use everything else we discussed, and you will find yourself as a Master AC pilot in no time!