Wrapping Up AC6

[This is a repost of this post I originally made on Cohost on 19 September 2023.]

I've beaten Armored Core VI, all the way through the third loop. I've S-ranked every mission, and then I went back and S-ranked a bunch of them again to get better recordings. I have every piece of equipment, every combat log, every OS upgrade. Although my fingers haven't given up their itch for it, I can't justify playing this game anymore when so many other games are sitting on my virtual shelf, so I'm putting it away. For now.

As I always do with FromSoft titles, I've recorded my major accomplishments. They're available for anyone who's interested in two different playlists:

• My boss fights, including AC fights that felt major enough to be worth including. These are all official story mission victories in the order I did them in my three loops through the game.

• My S ranks, in the order they appear in the game. If you're struggling to S-rank a specific mission, this may help you out.

I had five different Armored Cores I rotated through for the S ranks, largely based on my experimentation during the main game:

FLAUMPTCH Three Time Charmed

Share ID: EZ4E4PCJAE90

My go-to mech. Double SG-027 ZIMMERMAN shotguns are already a cliché but they're so much fun I can't bring myself to care. They force you to prioritize getting in close, hitting quick, and punishing hard. The digitigrade legs allow for huge quick boosts to get out of dodge fast if the enemy starts a melee attack or an AOE, plus it gives a great kick with a long hitbox—crucial for punishing staggers during this build's long reload windows.

This is a terrific boss-killer and one-on-one battler. Its biggest downsides are the relative lack of long-range options for mob-heavy missions and the low ammunition which makes it ill-suited for long-haul S-ranks.

APOCRITA Plasmatic Surgeon

Share ID: VHZN3ZKQL4YJ

A relatively minor variation on FLAUMPTCH, with two Vvc-760PR plasma rifles taking the place of the shotguns and some tweaks to handle the added energy burden and give better long-range tracking. What this lacks in one-on-one stopping power it makes up for in its ability to absolutely mow down MTs and other weak enemies. The plasma rifles have good range and a long-lasting AOE when they land, so they can one-shot all but the toughest mobs.

I use this for missions where the bulk of the fighting is with random smaller enemies, or where I need a good amount of reach. It's great for "tower defense" style missions and some of the trickier "mop up the random MTs" missions where waiting for a shotgun or a missile reload for each enemy is just not practical. It struggles mightily to build up ACS damage against bosses and ACs, so look elsewhere if you want to bring down larger prey.

MAILLARD Cuite à Point

Share ID: 2UKXM4N9TQG5

I'll be honest: when I first saw flamethrowers in AC6, I thought they couldn't possibly be any good. They do negligible ACS damage, they can't knock around or stagger the enemy, and you have to keep them close for ages to do anything.

I was wrong. Flamethrowers fuck.

WB-0000 BAD COOK puts out a tremendous amount of damage over time for very little ammunition cost. It'll pop MTs like bugs in the microwave and can quickly overpower the incredibly annoying shield guys that show up in later missions. Yes, it'll probably soak up some damage while it's cooking, but the stun needles on the shoulders will put all but the most hardy ACs down for a long and toasty nap.

I used MAILLARD to S-rank missions that involved multiple AC encounters and especially those where I was outnumbered, since it's so effective at simply burning away anything in its path. It's probably good enough to make it through more or less the whole game—like FLAUMPTCH, its biggest weakness is the short range of its main hand weapons, but the VE-60SNAs on the shoulders reload surprisingly fast and can probably handle most ranged needs.

OK BOOMER Hi, Explosive!

Share ID: N6YSPD9P74AV

A specialized mech for some specialized needs. I only used this for a few S ranks, because it has exactly one pattern: it stuns enemies with the VE-60SNA stun needle launchers, then blows them to high hell with its DIZZY grenade launchers. The grenades take a metric eternity to reload, so you'd better finish your business the first time or be prepared to dodge and weave a bit while you wait.

I'm not generally a fan of tank builds (as you can see from the mechs I've built), but grenade launchers turn out to weigh in pretty heavy so it was unavoidable. Thankfully, the missions I sent this demolition expert on required minimal verticality and a fair amount of raw ground speed so the bite-sized EL-TL-11 FORTALEZA treads ended up being a good fit anyway.

ANTHOZOA Coral Sniper

Share ID: WCANT2NAN0WX

I used this mech for exactly one Loop 3 mission, a real nasty one where I needed a specific combination of extremely long range, quick reload speed, medium-high damage, good vertical movement, and a serious energy capacity. If you've played the mission, you know which one I mean.

This is not a general-purpose mech. It doesn't do a lot of ACS damage, which doesn't matter because it has no way to punish a stagger other than a swift kick to the head. It's got terrible short-range stats but other ACs move too much to get a lot of hits in long range. It is purpose built for exactly one thing: sniping mobs. And for that, it's excellent.