God forbid if somehow all the saves and data on my profile were to be deleted, and I had to do everything again, I wouldn’t even be mad.
This game is sublime. What happens when you mix a cocktail of the mecha genre, FromSoftware magic, and the “rule of cool” taken to the extreme? You get Armored Core 6.
One of the greatest games I have ever played.
Coming In As a “Souls Vet”
To be honest, my first few hours with this game were not stellar. I didn’t find the game bad, but I got the sense it wasn’t for me. I was massively into Soulsborne and I got this not long after Elden Ring which had clicked right away. By the time I Platinum’d it and finished its brutal DLC, I had only got through Chapter 1 (of 5) of AC6.
Something about the mission structure took getting used to; even with informative debriefs, I felt uncertain about my loadout going into each mission. The game loved to throw in ambushes, curveballs, surprise enemy ACs, and what seemed at the time to be unforgiving bosses. The infamous missile boat that was Balteus, I was hardstuck on for at least an hour or two (yes I know this is nerfed Balteus). It made Souls bosses look like Zelda bosses.
But somehow, the game slowly clicked. Not immediately after Balteus, but I think it was at some point when I unlocked enough parts to really start experimenting with builds, regularly finding myself in the AC Test simulation (or against that poor student pilot, IYKYK). When I did enough of this to truly rid myself of the Souls mentality of “make a hard set build and then tackle everything in the game with it”, was when I really started Armoring my Core.
From Hesitance to Addiction
Eventually I had like a dozen different AC builds made. Some for MT clearing, others for enemy ACs, a couple for aesthetics, maybe a meme build or two. Now, going into missions with at least a few good options to choose from, I was clearing the game much faster. And the more of the game I saw, the more enamored I got with how COOL everything was.
This aspect of the game was already my biggest strong point even when I didn’t click with the rest, but as I got into it, this aspect too only got better. Whether it’s the Ice Worm getting decimated by rail cannon shots, the first real introduction to the PCA fleet, the sheer scale of stuff like the Weaponized Mining Ship, the way a boss will aura farm and release steam during a cutscene, or just all the melee weapons in general, this game oozes awesomeness from every exhaust vent.
Certainly doesn’t hurt that the story only got more interesting. I started to care about the feelings of Ayre, the motivations of Walter, names like Arquebus and The Institute actually started to mean something. I won’t spoil much, and no it’s not some Frank Herbert level sci-fi masterpiece, but I’ll say this much: when I initially started, I thought I’d do one ending and be done with it. But man, if the True Ending required 10 full playthroughs instead of 3, I would’ve done it. Because this game is…
The Completionist’s Dream
This is probably my favorite NG+ experience I’ve ever had with a game.
Typically NG+ means one of two things: either it’s made harder to prove your mastery, or it’s an easy victory lap with your fully kitted character. In AC6, it’s the best of both worlds. Regular missions don’t suffer any artificial bloat, instead you get to decimate them with your veteran knowledge of builds. But also, NG+ and NG++ will throw in a few new/alt missions that up the difficulty again, which combined with the new lore and building up to a new ending path, keeps things from getting stale.
By this time I had a couple builds that would melt through any boss/AC fight (I’ll cover exact builds later) and I was baffled how I ever struggled with Balteus. Once I understood how to build and punish stagger well, AC6 boss difficulty went considerably down, and it was not at all the “bash-your-head-against-wall” affair I was accustomed to from Souls games. In those, even with the strongest builds, Sister Friede and Fume Knight will still push your shit in. But in AC6, a good enough build will first try Ibis CEL without properly learning her moves. Some would say this is a bad thing, but for me, the fact that half the difficulty is made-or-brade (???) in the garage is kind of the point of the game. You don’t have to learn every dodge timing and find the perfect melee counters; you have to solve the problem using the tools at your disposal.
Having to S-Rank everything for Platinum only made the game more fun. Surprisingly, boss-focused missions had super lenient S ranks, even for final bosses, and the same kind of build could do them all anyway. Where things got interesting was longer complex missions with unconventional objectives. I was looking forward to every mission with an A or B more than ever, having fun trying to build around “what’s the fastest and cheapest way to kill 5 waves of MTs” or “what weapon can take out 3 snipers in 3 corners of the map” or “what build is perfect for claustrophobic tunnels with melee ambushes knowing there’s a boss at the end”. For anyone that happens to be trying, I’ll say that more times than not, speed is the key.
Not My First Rodeo
Something I haven’t mentioned till now is, this is not my first AC game: my intro to the series, and only other entry beaten, is Armored Core 3. I love that game in its own way, but it might as well be a different genre, and not just for the awkward controls. Honestly, AC3 does just as much to highlight how far AC6 has come, as it does to reveal some of 6’s few shortcomings actually.
For vets of the series, I suspect 6 was not all sunshine and rainbows, as many things were taken out. There is no heat mechanic, no radiators, no extension parts, and surprisingly much less variety in leg parts. Also the stagger system is not for everyone, and admittedly it can seem like an artificial action-gamey addition to a mech ba
FLOUDY - Axis defense
Do not walk my MG line twice.
