Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is the latest installment from FromSoftware, and true to the studio’s style, the game features a high level of difficulty and a steep learning curve. The game has been very well received by critics, so we highly recommend the experience and suggest finding resources for players.
The game was released yesterday, and today we’ve already seen countless comments on social media about the difficulty and the obstacles most players have encountered, especially with the final bosses. While the game is undeniably challenging, there are some tips that can help you overcome the difficulty. Keep in mind, though, that this is Armored Core, not Dark Souls.
How to improve in Armored Core 6
The game has become a real headache for many players. The difficulty of reaching the final boss of Chapter 1 seems overwhelming, but the truth is, we haven’t learned to use our weapons to their full potential. So, here are 5 tips to improve in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon and avoid frustration:
1. Balance your weight and armor properly
It might seem obvious, but the game heavily rewards a healthy balance between weight and armor. It might seem like the obvious choice of going very light and fast or very heavy and slow is rewarded, but no, sometimes a combination of factors and creativity is much more effective.
This, of course, should match your playstyle, but it’s always good to explore the possibilities. If you like to play fast, you don’t strictly need to use light gear, as it’s heavily focused on jumping and dodging. In that case, one option is to use legs with more equipment loadout, like the VP-200, and lighter gear on your arms and torso to improve dodging and increase your stamina.
As we’ve said, the key is variety, not getting stuck on the obvious. Energy, weight, and armor are crucial, but we should never aim for high values in all stats. As a final example, I must say that weight is perhaps the most important, as it affects the other two variables depending on our equipment. That’s why starting with the structure, rather than the weapons, is ideal.
2. Get money, repeat missions, and save equipment
To make the experience more enjoyable, ideally you’d have at least two different team compositions and customizations to rotate as needed. This is difficult in the first chapter of the game, but not impossible. It all depends on your budget and having two different playstyles.
So, if you repeat missions to achieve the best performance and earn more money, you can save up to buy more than four weapons, allowing you to vary your arsenal depending on the mission’s requirements. For example, if you’re taking a lot of damage in a certain area and don’t know what to do, the ideal solution would be to change your weapon build between restarts, rather than having to quit the mission, sell parts, buy new ones, and then repeat the mission to see if the strategy works.
While this isn’t advice on how to become a better player, it will help you avoid frustration and starting a negative dynamic that affects your performance.
3. Learn about the different types of ammunition and their function
Of all the advice we can give, this is perhaps the most valuable. Armored Core 6 isn’t a Souls game, so we need to learn new and effective combat mechanics. One that we often overlook is that each type of ammunition deals damage to different enemy characteristics, in addition to its proximity and timing. As always, this might seem obvious, but let’s look at some examples to make it clearer.
Kinetic weapons are quite useful for dealing damage, but they’re not very effective at lowering enemies’ posture bars. While there are other weapons like light machine guns that are very useful for lowering posture, they’re not effective against energy shields. Therefore, if you don’t have enough options, you’re going to have a tough time defeating enemies.
Another example is energy-based weapons. Even though they may seem ineffective, they’re very useful for lowering the enemy’s shield and draining their energy. It’s not all about damage; focus on their usefulness in weakening the opponent and enabling effective counterattacks.
You’ve probably gotten stuck on a boss in the game, and it’s up to you to figure out how to beat it, but with these tips and a cool head, the challenge will surely be overcome with ease. That was our experience; after changing our strategy with one enemy, the process became much simpler.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon has now been released on all platforms and at Generación Xbox we consider it a complete success that is worth trying.
