Armored Core VI Announced, but will it have Patches?!

[Fyonn]

Cleared New Game++. Lots of good, different stuff in there, so maintaining that it's worthwhile to keep playing if the itch still remains.

Is it New Content or is it alternate decision point stuff? Like if I do more-or-less the same route, will I be seeing new stuff?

 

[Peklo]

Pick missions and choices within missions you didn't do the first time through, and you'll see new things--nothing more complicated than that. Things will be different on every loop up to the third, which is when you'll be eligible for the third ending route, provided you've seen the first two.

 

[Fyonn]

The game's chapter 1 boss is kind of pain in the buns, so here's a Share ID build for it using parts I believe should all be available in Chapter 1: 0NYYASHFN2CE. I think you'll need to do all the traning missions. I recommend you do all three Arena fights and spend your OST chips on the first level of Assault Boost, Explosive Damage, and Melee Damage (you should have just enough). It's built to favor the play style that ultimately proved most effective for me personally in the endgame and early post-game. I also made a video of me getting an A rank with it - despite pretty sloppy boost management on several counts:

Spoiler: New Game+ Stuff

Hahahahaha my break glass in case of emergency build simply does not cut it for any of the NG+ content. It runs out of ammo before it can get through the Alt version of Chapter 1's Attack the Dam Complex. I've upgraded my post-game AC and have had to sometimes sacrifice my Two Swords philosophy. Two swords means that I'm getting bigger payoffs for staggering enemies, but I'm essentially sacrificing two sources of stagger damage for that pay off. That works against bosses if you push yourself, it works against enemy ACs, but it doesn't work against two ACs that each have three heals and are hitting you with a collective 7 sources of stagger.

Whether I'm using a linear rifle, laser dagger, missile pack, and moonlight or shotgun, moonlight, and two laser orbits comes down to if I want to favor clearing out wide opposition or major opposition. And every single time I don't have the laser dagger equipped, I miss it dearly. But I do what I must.

 

[Peklo]

Speaking of the arena, I'm pretty disappointed with it in this game. Because of the game's design emphasis on auto-aim and stagger, you-could-build-this ostensibly equal ACs are at a severe disadvantage in it, where the big, "real" bosses are where all the attention and difficulty is spared. None of the opponents in it required a change of tactics on an individual level, or posed really any difficulty at all. Its framing within the narrative also bores me: previously it was a stupid cockfighting duel league in which pilots participated between merc jobs, and that had ramifications within the stories--an opponent that died in a mission would be scrubbed from the arena rankings, and so on. It was separate but integrated with the setting. VI's arena is just a virtual simulation based on notable AC pilot data, so climbing the ranks doesn't feel as meaningful as a parallel side narrative for the protagonist. Other things about the presentation feel like downgrades or simplifications too: you cannot freely choose the stage for matches, and the stages that do exist don't factor in terrain much or at all; sometimes arena opponents in past games only felt doable if you managed to outmaneuver them in tricky topography. Going out of bounds is similarly not a factor at all, which was another fun facet of the bouts. Lastly, though there's a handful of amusing or interesting pilot profiles, those are in short supply too, and the list of opponents are basically all people you'll run into over the course of the missions--the writing isn't as adept at managing levity (because the game largely isn't) and its world feels smaller than it should have to be for how it treats its wider cast.

 

[Paul le Fou]

Rolled credits on this tonight. Great game overall, thoroughly enjoyed. Started back into NG+ missions and reached the first big difficult change, the attack the dam mission where you now receive a counteroffer to take out your two allies instead of finishing the dam. That two-enemy fight so far has proved a bigger challenge than the final boss did.

I'm not entirely sure how far I'm going to go into NG+, I suppose it depends on how much I feel like it at a given moment. I did make a new build with plasma missiles and laser rifle and the Moonlight, but if I'm going to be facing new challenges continuing linearly from the endgame I might have to stick with my trusty Zimmermans and Songbirds for a little while longer.

 

[Fyonn]

And I rolled credits on New Game++. Absolutely adored the game the whole way through. This is so far and above my favorite mecha game ever created that there's not even a contest. Can't wait for a sequel and I'm currently working on S ranking all the missions. On the note of S ranking missions - it's way more forgiving than I expected, especially for boss fights. I walked out of the NG++ final boss with like 300 AP left and no repair kits only for the game to go "yep, that's a S rank."

I suspect that balance patches will probably make the Zimmerman and Songbird worse. I personally can't imagine standing still long enough to fire (then miss with) the Songbird, but the Zimmerman is pretty critical to my build for handling serious threats. That said, my recommended build for the first chapter boss uses the other shotgun more-or-less just as effectively, so a tuned-down Zimmerman would probably still be my favorite anti-boss weapon. I also can't imagine using non-melee energy weapons. Sure, they deal more damage, but they're weaker on impact, aka the thing the entire combat system is built around.

 

[Peklo]

I wanted something unwieldy and funny for New Game+/+ so the shoulder-mounted triple laser cannon was what I stuck to as the main damage dealer--the one with something like eight effective shots per mission, so it's strictly for problem-solving only. Few things continue fighting after two simultaneous charged shots from it when staggered, so it did as hoped. I think the focus on burst damage when staggered does more harm than good for weapon choices across the board, but there's also an element of the playerbase zooming in on the most effective/convenient thing they can identify, labeling it "cheese" or "OP" and that's where the discourse stays at the expense of other fun and valid options... so despite Armored Core retaining much of its identity, it sure inherited the audience and attitudes from From's other projects.

 

[Oathbreaker]

Chapter 4's final enemy is new favorite mech thing. I've been trying to ignore the game wanting me to switch parts and approaches and stick to my usual ol' fashioned right hand, sword left hand playstyle. And I was rewarded with more of a dance than a battle and it was amazing. Crushingly difficult, but amazing. One of the few fights in all of videogames that has fully lived up to the fantasy of the premise.

 

[Peklo]

I think this game doesn't subscribe that much to the "your build is literally incompatible with the mission" design philosophy of older AC since all it really cares about is combat, not navigation, and combat can always be supplemented with honing down timing etc. I played through Armored Core 2: Another Age after this and you have several missions that are uncompletable unless you have the required boost distance/altitude, ability to hover over water (an element absent from VI), and so on. The game cares about your mech's capability to navigate the surrounding terrain in a way VI never does, because Assault Boost alone allows one to travel anywhere and leg parts mostly only inform how you fight things. Ammo limits are generally much less of a concern too, especially if you're beelining to the marker objective which is totally natural to do after a while, and trivial to accomplish. It's a weirdly constructed game where the "level design" in terms of geography rarely has a reason to exist.

 

[Fyonn]

I did it!
Ironically most of the endgame is far easier to S rank than the early game. I think a lot of it must be based on reward money, because I walked out of nearly every difficulty encounter busted up to heck and back only for the game to go "Yep, that's an S rank."

I dedicate my victory to Assault Boost and Boost Kick.

 

[spines]

got first credits early this afternoon. the game's good, and it's fun and polished as one might expect given that despite being a sort of niche underdog from has been bordering on an AAA studio since like...DS2. but it still manages to avoid feeling totally unweird and sanded off. though most of the friction is in boss fights, which...yeah, i still dunno. i felt pretty strong at all the ones i fought by the time i beat them and felt like i was vibing with the game even in that regard. and then i got to the final boss (hal) which was just way too hard for me to keep normal hits on and avoid, though admittedly i didn't spend quite as long trying to understand things as cel, much less balteus who took me several hours and even the better part of one after i equipped the bubble gun. so i shot him with 30000 missiles and the moonlight

i think the thing is that the stagger tends to trivialize normal ACs since they're practically dead once you hit it despite the fact that in most cases (...minus...the aforementioned) the enemies aren't actually really set up to kill you for getting staggered without there being two of them or something (which are probably my favorite fights in the game, lol). as a result, bosses have to have something bigger going for them, which is usually either "mostly impervious bodies with weakpoints" (silly and videogamey, but i thought these were fairly fun for the most part) or "feeling like fighting an AC with cheatcodes" which...i did not like so much. bosses that pester you constantly with gigantic attacks that require pretty specific stamina management while dodging constantly any time you press a button if they aren't committed then flying far away with seemingly infinite stamina, ridiculously good aim, and gigantic numbers in general are, well, totally beatable, but get sort of monotonous to me. especially because stagger does flatten offense so much unless the boss can weasel out of staggers before you can hit with a payload (which is extremely how i felt on the final boss). even enemies with high bullet resistance can usually be ground to stagger with shotgun blasts or gatling guns and then, assuming you haven't just held down the button to overheat during that, they suddenly start taking tons.

related to all that, the escape mission near the end of the game was probably the one i found funniest overall. though i liked most of chapter 4 a lot, and i enjoyed that stage at the end of it a bunch too, it's definitely the coolest "map" area in the game so far and even for my high jumping bird legs wasn't the easiest to traverse and fight in.

also, i really like the music. on its own merits, at least, since certainly i'd agree with people who feel the older games' music was more interesting, and in particular the fact that the only vocals i can remember are choral is a bit of a bummer. buuuuuut i still think the blend of synth drones with stuff like industrial and 00s trance elements is a cool aesthetic that feels a little retro even for a polished modern sound. i hope they can go out there a lot further if this game gets its expansion or sequel or whatever

but this one'll keep me in it a while longer. i'm glad they made this

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I died over three dozen times on the big helicopter boss in the opening mission. I finally beat it, yet I can’t tell what I did differently than the other dozens of failed attempts. It seems that there is a stagger meter for both you and enemies, which discourages careful play and using the environment to take cover. This may not be a game for me.

 

[Fyonn]

Yeah the key to the helicopter is to try to be in its face and swording it as often as possible. It can go down in like 40 seconds if you're aggressive enough. The other safe place is directly underneath it. You can't ever do that mission with a different AC, so I think the point of the fight is "please understand how extremely good your melee attacks are."

As I've said elsewhere, Armored Core 6 is a game in which it is far, far easier to kill your opponents than survive them.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I kept forgetting I had a sword.

I hope I can modify my robot so I can hold more ammo. I kept running out of ammo constantly in the fight, and the UI for you weapons is very small on the screen when a whole bunch of stuff is going on.

 

[Fyonn]

The Turner rifle you start with is a really bad weapon as a main offensive against a serious threat. Also I think it gets like, what, 18 shots before you need to reload? If you want to go gun-focused, you'll probably want to swap that rifle out with a machine gun (and later a gatling gun) or linear rifle, and swap that sword out for like a bazooka. Laser weapons (and gatling guns) also have an overheat mechanic instead of a reload mechanic, so that's also a choice that might be worth looking into. You won't have access to them for a few missions still, but tetrapod and tank legs will both give you more armor points and let you play more defensively.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

Thanks for the advice. I want to like this game!

 

[spines]

started off ng+ in the same groove from ch5 of the first run, but the twist fight midway through chapter 1 didn't really work out till i switched to a totally different build. then i went back again but i couldn't really make other ideas work against balteus so i gave up and equipped better versions of all the stuff i beat it with the first time

"ugh", i thought. "i still hate this guy. why does this game hate what i want to do so much?"

so then i was thinking what to do on the next level. i kinda just wanted to go back to the CATAPHRACT build from my first run, but i was thinking about how annoyed i was with the pilebunker by now.

"you know what seems really cheap? tank legs. i hate fighting against tank legs. they're also what i had trouble with in the arena. and i did use them to beat g4 and g5. if they're so good i should just use them all the time unless i really can't. i can carry all the weapons i want and shoot them without getting stuck recoiling.

"and you know what else seems really good? the annoying cluster bazookas that all those tetra MTs have"

so i bought the morleys and the fortaleza and i'm taking most missions with those and a huge grenade launcher and bazooka (unless i know they're basically all popcorn. if it is something like the missile defense i just grab the should laser cannons and plasma guns instead) and i feel understand the game now. i actually got bopped by the cleaner because...i was still used to the idea i'd be able to jump away from the arms. and i genuinely think it might be one of the hardest fights for tank builds in the game...but it still only took me two or three tries. when i die i have a really hard time thinking it's because the game is cheap. i move super fast and deal out horrendous amounts of stagger and damage, so even though some of the bosses still have annoyingly huge amounts of hp for how much they can move, i still feel pretty overpowered...

the lesson i have learned is like fighting games. if you think the game is cool but you're not having fun, you're not playing the right character. a bunch of the medium-sized guys who have slow-mos when they blow up die in like 3 hits and i usually think i just didn't hit them directly until it happens. almost no AC can handle me getting close and letting loose, and i'm really not that afraid of double-teams because at best one of them is going to be staggered or on the run constantly. those terrifying PCA HCs? lol. and most bosses i've either beaten first try or gotten super close and not needed to spend very long on. and sometimes when i get really good stagger timings and manage to get the time to hit with all four weapons and/or 2-3 and a boost kick (which i think does like 2000? fortaleza doesn't have the highest carry weight but it's very good and i'm not running particularly light) i'm absolutely cackling at the massive amount of giant explosions i get to unleash

also, i finally named my mech. "IMPOSSIBLE DUST"

 

[R.R. Bigman]

It’s a bit disheartening to fight against the Liberation folks and hear them trying to stay calm and brave over the radio as you kill them by the dozens and obliterate their infrastructure. The extremely callous handler likewise does instill me with much confidence that we are good people, even for mercenaries.

I bought some expensive legs that give my robot more health and defense. It unfortunately made me a lot heavier, which made the mission where you need to scale a big mining vehicle a challenge. I suppose I need to think about the terrain of a level before I equip certain parts.

 

[Fyonn]

Yeah, Armored Core as a franchise is tonally very big on "if you have a giant robot, you are inherently either an awful person or working for an awful person." A lot of Chapter 1 is AC6 going "okay this is what your day-to-day mercenary work is actually like." It's Status Quo, the chapter.

PATCH NOTES - IT'S ONLY BUFFS FOR US YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

BALANCE ADJUSTMENTS​

• Weapon Unit balance adjustments:
  • MA-J-200 RANSETSU-RF: Increased attack power/rate of fire, decreased reload time.
  • LR-036 CURTIS: Increased attack power, decreased reload time.
  • RF-024 TURNER: Increased attack power/projectile speed, decreased reload time.
  • RF-025 SCUDDER: Increased attack power/projectile speed, decreased reload time.
  • MA-J-201 RANSETSU-AR: Increased attack power/projectile speed, decreased reload time.
  • MG-014 LUDLOW: Increased attack power/total rounds/projectile speed, decreased recoil and reload time.
  • DF-MG-02 CHANG-CHEN: Increased attack power/total rounds/projectile speed, decreased reload time.
  • MA-E-210 ETSUJIN: Increased attack power/total rounds/projectile speed, decreased reload time.
• Adjusted certain attacks performed by the enemy units [Chapter 1 Boss], [Chapter 2 Boss] and [Chapter 4 Boss].

 

[Peklo]

Basically the first missions in the first game in the series is you breaking up a workers' strike (by murdering everyone) and killing homeless "squatters" to free up housing for redevelopment on behalf of your corporate clients. The series is not unclear about its subject matter.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I haven’t had time to play this much in the last few days, resulting in my only now getting to the end of the first chapter. The upcoming mission seems to be a bottleneck for many people, so I suppose I should finish the last training program and challenge the arena fights before I go into it, huh?

If I really struggle, I can watch Fyonn’s help video, at least.

 

[Fyonn]

You should definitely do the training and arena. You get free parts and OS Tune chips.

 

[Oathbreaker]

Okay wow, successfully Platinum'd the game and even found all the non-combat data logs. The final boss of NG++ really kicked my ass harder than anything else until I realized one absolutely huge thing I realized I could do differently and then everything made sense again. S ranked the final mission first try after getting beaten down like 30 times trying to get the first clear.

 

[keele864]

The first boss of chapter two is really frustrating me:

Spoiler: strategy notes

The "weak spot" damage seems inconsistent even with vertical launchers, and my targeting keeps switching to the wrong place

. It got bad enough that I checked a guide to see if I was doing anything wrong, and nope: My build was basically what was recommended.

 

[Fyonn]

The first boss of chapter two is really frustrating me:

Spoiler: strategy notes

The "weak spot" damage seems inconsistent even with vertical launchers, and my targeting keeps switching to the wrong place

. It got bad enough that I checked a guide to see if I was doing anything wrong, and nope: My build was basically what was recommended.

Spoiler: Strategy Recommendations

An effective build doesn't benefit you if it doesn't match up with your playstyle.

You might want to bring a machine gun to deal consistent, minimal stagger damage. No matter how little stagger damage you're dealing, it'll still keep the boss from recovering accumulated stagger.

If you can get off the ground in a hurry, the boss also has *two* weak points. There's one up front that is more dangerous to attack but usually easier to hit, especially since you aren't expending Energy to reach that weak point.

 

[Oathbreaker]

I find that vertical launchers for the higher weak point aren't as effective as getting up in the air and shooting directly into it. They're prone to approaching at angles that hit outside the sweet spot because of how frequently the boss moves.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

As advertised, the Chapter 1 boss is maddeningly difficult. I’m going to use Fyonn’s AC Data tomorrow and see how that goes.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting flashy, Bloodborne style bosses in this mech game. I thought it was going to be more tactical and focused on firefights with squads of similar mechs. Instead, what I’ve seen so far is you blasting through two or three encounters of weak fodder enemies, with 95% of the meat of the game being the occasional boss fight against a ludicrous machine monster.

I think I may have confused Armored Core for Front Mission.

 

[Fyonn]

As advertised, the Chapter 1 boss is maddeningly difficult. I’m going to use Fyonn’s AC Data tomorrow and see how that goes.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting flashy, Bloodborne style bosses in this mech game. I thought it was going to be more tactical and focused on firefights with squads of similar mechs. Instead, what I’ve seen so far is you blasting through two or three encounters of weak fodder enemies, with 95% of the meat of the game being the occasional boss fight against a ludicrous machine monster.

I think I may have confused Armored Core for Front Mission.

Yeeeeeah, Armored Core has never been this boss-focused before, but ACs have always been significantly more powerful than MTs, the standard type of mech for the franchise's common setting elements. It's a much grimier setting, but you're piloting the equivalent of a Gundam. ACs generally do not work in squads because fielding a whole squad of ACs would be prohibitively expensive for routine operations.

 

[keele864]

Spoiler: Strategy Recommendations

An effective build doesn't benefit you if it doesn't match up with your playstyle.

You might want to bring a machine gun to deal consistent, minimal stagger damage. No matter how little stagger damage you're dealing, it'll still keep the boss from recovering accumulated stagger.

If you can get off the ground in a hurry, the boss also has *two* weak points. There's one up front that is more dangerous to attack but usually easier to hit, especially since you aren't expending Energy to reach that weak point.

Thank you: The advice you gave worked like a charm, and now I understand some of the mechanics much better.

Oddly enough, the next boss went down pretty easily, and I get the impressions it's generally considered to be harder.

 

[spines]

nobody really has an objective assessment of which bosses are easier or harder overall (though there's a couple outliers i think might be pretty clearly the easiest and hardest bosses in the game on the overall scale), it changes hugely based on the way you move and attack and what weapons/parts (especially legs) you use, which has an influence on the former. i do think a lot of the people who found the first chapter boss easy thought the second one was hard and vice versa, because a lot of things that work against one aren't as easily effective against the other. but that's not true of everyone either