Experiment with different weapons and leg types. If you're out of cash you can replay missions. Some loadouts make impossible fights way easier.
Managing your stamina/stagger and that of your opponents' is pretty much the whole core of success or failure. It's really down to practice, though.
Sometimes it's better to be locked on, sometimes it's a liability.
Always. Keep. Moving.
Adding to the comment above, you can also always sell back anything you bought for the same price you've paid, so don't threat about having to grind to gain something new if you disliked something you just got. And be mindful of the verticality in your dodges, be it to go over your target or sometimes even trying to go under it. Sometimes you may feel it's impossible to dodge to the sides, or backwards, so go under or over it.
> Alwasy Keep Moving
I don't think I've ever properly learnt how to dodge some bosses attacks, like I legit just kept my build kinda light and kept flying as fast as I could in circles, thst worked susprisingly well for a FromSoft game (it was my first actual, ha only ever played like 2 monies of DS3 before, tho I knew the games)
Few things;
Avoid meta builds and leaning on other peoples builds as much as possible. The main aspect of what makes this game fun is creating your own solutions to problems, not using a solution that someone else created.
Do those tutorial things at the start, you get free parts from them and the parts themselves are pretty solid.
If you get stuck on anything, feel free to ask for help/tips, but remember to treat everything as a suggestion rather than an instruction. Not everyone has the same playstyle and what worked for them may not work for you, depending on your playstyle.
That's about all I've got, some other users may come along and add other things, so keep an eye on this post.
Huh! Big thanks! About asking tips, it can be hard for me, because, english is not my native language, and I myself communicate poorly in it (especially without an translator), and communicate with others may be a problem, but, this is an excuse to improve my language skills, ha-ha! Big thanks again!
Be aggressive and, if that fails, be more aggressive
In other AC games (at least in the PS1 era) that would have been a surefire way to get to the game over screen, but ACVI heavily favours that kind of approach
Also don't worry too much if you get absolutely ripped apart at the beginning: the game has no qualms throwing a lot of shit at you and you're expected to fail and die a lot
As you play, you'll both get better at piloting your mech and at creating better/more optimised builds
If you really can't clear a mission, try to think about what exactly is going wrong and tweak your build accordingly, half of your battles will be won in the garage...
Huh. About beginning, I know that there is "funny" helicopter boss, but, some difficulty isnt problem for me. Probably its good, because if there is any difficulty in the game that makes you change, game get better for me
Don't be afraid to close the distance, it's what it's trying to teach you!
That's literally all there is to that boss, feel free to DM me or reply if you wanna know more tips & tricks. Lmao now imma hop on cause seeing this thread has got me in the mood for some AC. Thanks OP! 🍻
No. Thanks you for the tips and all of this! I really dont expect so much tips and things what I need to know, it's so cool.
But, only one last question before I will go sleep (Im UTC+7, I'm fockin braindead), is there any AC discord servers?
Trust me, you'll get plenty of that early on ahah
Once you get used to your build/playstyle, you'll absolutely carve through you enemies with little concern, but until then it's an uphill battle
Make sure to read through the tutorials the game provides you during the first stage as well as the training stages given by ALLMIND.
Feel free to try out different builds and to change it depending on what enemies you face as well as what fits your playstyle. You *can* clear everything with most builds once you familiarize yourself with the game but build swap makes some hard fights very easy if you manage to do it right and imo. that's one main aspect of where the fun of this game comes from. Do keep in mind that you can sell any items at the shop for their full price, thus effectively not losing anything. So don't be afraid to buy and try out new stuffs.
Lastly, be aggressive. Constantly attack, give your enemies no room to breathe. I think that actually makes so many fights more easier than when you're trying to stay passive.
These are the main 3 I can think of. I hope you get to enjoy this great game just as much as I did.
> Lastly, be aggressive. Constantly attack, give your enemies no room to breathe. I think that actually makes so many fights more easier than when you're trying to stay passive.
This is why I like dual-trigger builds with pistols. They let you get incredibly aggressive while staying fast and light.
Keep good energy supply efficiency, which you do by _not_ maxing out your EN budget. You can see the stat when you expand your AC's overall stat list. It should be at bare minimum equal to your generator's capacity. The core part also boosts or decreases your generator's output.
On that note, the very first generator you get is pretty bad, the first generator you can buy is even worse outside of very niche builds, but you get a generator by completing one of the tutorials and that one's pretty good.
Also, get comfortable with Assault Boost and don't be tempted to spam Quick Boosts. You'll be out of energy real fast and then get clapped when you can't dodge. AB is a very efficient way of moving fast, gives you bonus impact and reduces the impact you take. You'll eventually be able to kick which is an amazing move.
Also, use hard lock most of the time. It changes the way you move aside of just keeping a lock. The penalty in lock time doesn't make up for the disadvantages of softlock, especially against the stronger foes.
The name of the game is adaptation and experimentation. It’s not like Soulsborne where you can make one strong build and get away with using it the whole game.
Yeah, heard about that, but, that\`s why I wanted to play this game. Thats isnt standard From Software game, its.. Something different, but very interesting
Unlock the boost kick as soon as possible. That move is by far one of the best ones in your arsenal even if it isn't quite obvious why at first.
You can spam it to gain a lot of height with little energy cost, you can use it on a staggered enemy to extend the stagger, it also deals decent ACS strain by default so it can also be used to trigger a stagger, etc.
Kick attack power is based on weight and leg type. Leg type does have the highest effect on damage though. Below you will see a list of the leg types from most damaging kicks to least damaging:
Reverse Joint
Tank
Biped
Tetrapod
Also remember to use the expanded stat screen when building. The simplified screen is not very useful when build-crafting since it just gives you very basic information on parts.
If you find yourself stuck on a boss or encounter, remember you can completely change your build and loadout when restarting from checkpoint. Certain enemies are more vulnerable to different kinds of weapons and play styles. Experiment, try new things. You never know what might be very effective
Never stop moving.
Remember that most large explosions or AoE attacks become dramatically less effective while you're in the air.
Remember that staying in the air is a heavy tax on your mech's energy recovery, so you don't want to spend all your time up there.
Experiment with the different leg types, as they radically change how your mech handles and what sort of loadout you can use.
Play around and experiment. When experimenting with parts, make sure you utilize the TEST AC feature. This is useful for testing your builds, or you can use the ARENA. There are guides that go in depth with parts and weapons. Royal Skies and Chright are good channels for this. If your build isn't working on a boss, switch it up and see what works. If you're still struggling and need help with your build, post it on here, and we can give some feedback.
Be willing to change builds there's fights that one build just ain't gonna cut it beyond that if low on cash and in need of parts you can sell unused parts at the same price you bought them at
To add to this - you can only buy and sell OUTSIDE of missions so you'll have to have the parts on-hand if you die in a mission and are given the chance to update/change your loadout and build. So buy what you think may be useful before a mission in case you need to have more options later.
Accidentally buy a thing you didn't want? Didn't like a weapon you were testing and want something else?
You can sell then and get all your money back, no problems or anything.
The game has new content all the way up to NG++, so don't worry if you missed a chest or battle log. Replaying missionsnin the replay sections let's you obtain them aswell. I do recommend to use a guide for chests and battle logs when replaying missions since they can be easy to miss at first.
Chapter 2 onwards: some missions have a symbol, those are decisions. You can check which decisions you made in the replay section, so you can choose the opposite in NG+.
There's a wide variety of weapon and AC parts, try em out, there's no reason not to. First playthrough I stuck to missle/AR/melee, second playthrough I've tried more variety, like Launchers and double triggers from time to time.
"If theres wall, keep trying, at eventually it will broke"
I know about this before, in Soulsbourne series, but its different game series what plays differently, so yeah. Thanks for the tip!
Funny enough, I never got stressed or angry while playing AC 6, it was always: "Hmm, that didn't work, let me try something else"
Even with the harder bosses down the line
~~FUNNY HELICOPTER PARACOPTER~~
Yeah, but, this is lesson what I need, and, its first wall what says "You really want to play?", so, probably, morally, Im ready for this
People will hate me for this, but look up build guides and make adjustments where you see fit to matchup with how you'd like to play. However you'd like to play, there's fun stuff out there that you can tweak. I suggest the build guides because learning how each part interacts is super difficult at first glance.
After many hours of playtesting different parts and research you'll be able to build one from the ground up and be happy with your work.
Or you can just try and try again until you've made something you like. Don't let me or anyone else tell you how to learn/have fun.
Huh. Understood. Well, I will try guides, but at the last point, I wanna try myself in build-building (idk how to say that), and if there will be mistakes, this will be my mistakes that I will learn. Still, thanks for the tip!
Yeah just have fun and dick around. I used a build guide as a frame of reference. I didn't know how to make an ultrafast build with melee punishes until I saw people posting their builds and made adjustments from there.
There are two of the big tips I want to pass on that will apply no matter what your build is, except for maybe extreme heavy weights.
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-Other than missiles, pretty much every weapon in the game is borderline useless on a moving target of any kind past about 250m, 300m *at most*. Stay in close, even if you've chosen what this game considers "long range" guns. It sounds like you've never played other AC games, but if you have you need to understand this one is NOT like the others where there are more varied engagement ranges. It's alllll about brawling in AC6.
-You can dodge a lot more attacks than you would expect with just your regular boost glide. Quick boosting is extremely useful for the sake of agility, be it dodging a big attack, closing the gap, creating space, or maneuvering to cover quickly. That said, you definitely don't need to lean on it nearly as much as you might think.
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Other than that, play all the content you can as soon as it becomes available. This includes doing new arena matches and training modules as soon as they pop up *before* jumping back into the next mission. The more OS tuning chips, credits, and parts you have to choose from as you go the better. This allow you to experiment as much as possible, which is really the name of the game here. Hell, even parts you bought can be sold back for the same price you paid at any time, so there's literally zero harm in buying something to try it out.
To avoid getting brickwalled on tutorial boss, stick to the underside of it like glue. Also, experiment with different builds, don’t pigeonhole yourself into braindead meta strats.
When building and experimenting with your mech's, try to understand the underlying playstyle behind different combinations of weapons and parts. Get a feel for different playstyles and that will help guide you in learning the mechanics and knowing what to build
never feel like whatever build you make has to be one-size-fits-all. one of the best parts of the game is customizing, and saving different builds to tackle different situations.
You can solve a lot of problems in the garage/partshop, but it’s possible, even likely that you’ll end up in a situation where you’re the short variable. In that case, try finding which AC setup you naturally gel with the best and master it as opposed to radically changing your build/playstyle
Never stop moving, remember to use the jump as well as the qwick boost to avoid attacks, you have no iframes, use the verticality and all the movement optipms aveilable
Don’t be afraid to experiment and mess around with new stuff especially if you’re struggling
I cycled through like 5 different builds back when I was first fighting pre nerf balteus for the first time until I finally took it down and the process of failing changing some parts and play style and trying again is the best part of armored core imo and it’s a blast to build your mech once you get the hang of it
Pre nerf balteus... I know that before it was a hard boss, but... How hard?.. Maybe one day I will find a mod that makes him like he was before, but it will be in future. Thanks for the tip!
One thing that helped me early on whether its obvious or not but remember to use the verticality. I was so used to always being on the ground in every game the option to jump up and float around attack from above was something I forgot about until it was needed.
Once ya get a feel for the game and it clicks it gets much easier
Your starting weapon, Pulse Blade, in classic FromSoft fashion is actually goated. Not OP or anything but it packs one hell of a punch especially against shields and has a decent lunge.
Pile Bunker is legendary weapon but when people say its high risk high reward they do mean HIGH risk and HIGH reward. Also uncharged attack has a pretty good lunge, if you end up using it dont sleep on it, ended up using it more often than charged nuke.
WAAAAY down the line but Laser Dagger looks kinda absurd as a weapon but it has amazing lunge and, for all intents and purposes, NO cooldown whatsoever. LONDON BOTTOM TEXT.
Yes, I am melee enjoyer, how could you tell?
On that note, be sure to open full stats of all parts when tinkering with loadout. I know its kinda obvious but just in case.
IMO and I learned that the hard way, dont half ass anything. Fully commit to whatever build you are doing. If you leaning into facetanking shit, go full tilt there, beef up like you about to walk through Black Friday in the local mall, if you leaning into speed, discard armor, embrace meth as fuel, AP(HP) is overrated.
Don't worry if you get stuck. Keep adapting your AC and changing parts as needed. Individual missions are relatively short so you can afford to abandon them and come back later.
There's an early mission named "Attack the Watchpoint." This is your "git gud" mission where the game hard-checks you in your ability to evade incoming attacks. Do not get discouraged if it kicks your ass. Every non-godly player gets their ass kicked for a while in "Attack the Watchpoint."
Bazooka-type weapons are very useful early on for killing bosses until you get accustomed to dodging and keeping pressure on enemies with other weapons.
Unlike other Fromsoft games, your dodges do not grant invincibility frames, so you have to evade incoming attacks.
The game gives you a melee attack weapon on your left arm at the start, and while this is powerful, melee attacks are kind of risky.
Disregard anything anyone says about Meta and do your own thing.
Reason why I'm saying this is that after being told I had no shot with my build I went on steamrolling 3 matches in a row.
I'd have to look at my build to tell you what I was running but it was right after the Zimmerman nerf and I kept my lightweight build but switched to dual sampos (before it was popular) and felt so good when I proved other wrong by completely fucking up their heavyweight tank builds.
Edit: I was confident in my build and abilities and don't think it's for everyone as I've been playing AC since it was on the PS2.
Oh and also... Don't be afraid to fist fight/melee boost kick people. Half of winning online is messing with people's expectations. People didn't expect a LW to be hyper aggressive so that's exactly what I played into
The tutorial level doesn't really do much to explain what you need to know to beat the first boss. It *is* beatable and fairly easy once you know what you're doing, but for some silly reason, you won't know what to do to beat it easily by the time you fight it. The trick is >!stay close to it, especially underneath and behind it as much as possible and hit it with your Laser Sword every chance you get.!<
Once you get through the first mission, you'll get access to some tutorials. Don't sleep on them. They're very helpful, and you get free parts for doing them.
You can resell parts for 100% of their purchase price, so there's no reason not to buy a new part and test it out.
Oh, and you're a long way from this being relevant, but you get the whole plot over the course of multiple playthroughs, so if you're used to playing other FromSoft games and starting new characters at random intervals, you don't need to do that with this game. Just play through the game, then do the divergent missions you'll unlock on NG+ and NG++.
Be aggressive. Stagger enemies with explosions or stun weapons then melee them when staggered. Dual stun needles and gatlings on a quad leg is a godly combo.
The wheels are vulnerable to explosions. Fuck them with bazookas.
Sometimes it's best to sleep on a boss. There's definitely a couple times I would try a boss 200 times in a night and get no closer then I would go to bed, wake up, and first try it.
lot of good tips in here so i will give a bit more of a conceptual one . a core strategy of this game is posture break & punish . pay attention to which of your weapons can deal the most posture damage & which have the highest damage adjustment on staggered enemies if you want to be more efficient . this can really help you obtain an edge with boss fights, especially in the early game .
later in the game it becomes a little more viable to try builds with less emphasis on staggering & more on pure damage, but stagger & punish is the main strategy the game tries to push on you .
Move or die! Also just practice your basics get comfortable with your stats and your do not use EN weapons THEY ARE ALL WORTHLESS, For exceptions to the melee options
Moving right stick while hard-locked will break the lock. The only other things that can break hard lock are moving too far away and one niche weapon which jams the locks.
Don't be afraid to try anything and everything out. The AC Test simulation allows you to swap weapons and parts out on the fly, without having to load back into the menu, and allows you to spawn some different kinds of enemies. Sell weapons when you wanna try something else out and are short, buying and reselling stuff doesn't come at a cost, money is a more a "tota resources directly at hand" thing here.
I can personally recommend light and fast builds with small close range weapons, but to each their own. Take the time to read through what all the stats and such mean, as it will make a great difference to understand what things do and how they are affected. This game is like 2/3rds mech building in the menu and 1/3rd insane high octane action, but don't let that imply that building and painting a mech isn't fun, nor that making cool ass emblems isn't worth your time. Enjoy the vibes.
Oh and as a minor story spoiler (? I guess ?) you're not done with the story until you've played through the game 3 times and picked the missions that didn't pop up the previous runs.
Most of all though: en-fucking-joy this game. It is very fun and there is only one first playthrough!
I don't think I've seen anyone mention this yet
Here's some menu tips to make moving around it and looking for things more easier
While in the garage (base menu) if you press Y or ∆ for controllers V(?) for PC it'll pull up a sub menu on the right of your screen, you can look at logs and change your emblem and other stuff
If your in assembly and you press the back button it'll bring up a small menu at the bottom of your screen and there are 2 options I forget what the two options say but one of them tells you in detail what each stat does and how it affects your AC and what that stat does if your confused about it, if your inspecting weapons till give you detailed information about how those sats work. EX range, blast radius, reload time
You can save ACs you have made and name them as well! To do that make an AC you like and color how you wish, after you have done that go to AC data and press on the + you'll see after that if you press the back button it'll bring up the help menu and you'll be able to name your AC and give it and overall name like for instance I enjoy playing with heavy builds so for the general name I'll have War_rig_tank and then have different tank types if you like to do something like that
Going to mission replay let's you see what cards you didn't collect in that mission for your hunter rank (would recommend doing that as you get more parts and weapons from that)
That's all the menu stuff I can think of ATM if I left out anything or if I'm wrong about something I'm sure someone will add/correct
Good luck out there 621!
I’d genuinely recommend taking the time to learn what all the numbers in the garage mean, as it’s incredibly helpful when making an AC.
(Also, despite it’s status as a starting weapon, the Pulse Blade is one of the better weapons in the game. Don’t write it off.)
Okay so one other thing to chime in on here. While I agree with folks cautioning you about using someone else’s build; I do think it is important to understand build archetypes. Building to your desired playstyle is important for having success in this game. My recommendation for building is to ask yourself the following question when choosing a load out.
1. What is your desired engagement range?
2. Are you more interested in raw dps or building up ACS strain?
3. What weapons are you using to stagger your opponent?
4. What are you using to punish your opponent?
Additionally, vertical missiles (aside from the plasma variant) are unusable in anything aside from PvE. I recommend not using them if you plan on trying your hand in the NEST.
One other thing, I would highly recommend getting comfortable with the Assault Boost mechanic. The game rewards you for using that movement by increasing the impact you deal with kinetic weapons by 30% and reducing the impact you take from enemies by 30%.
Bit of a niche one, but if you're struggling to deal with melee attacks, try quick boosting towards the attacker. It seems counterintuitive, but it has good odds of putting you behind them where you can't possibly get hit. This is especially relevant against a couple of endgame bosses. I think in general the AI favors midrange combat, though, so I've had wonderful experiences being as close as possible. They kinda lose track of what they're doing.
Don't get hit by big missiles flying towards you and press shoot as fast as you can
Also dual Zimmermans if you find anything too hard at any stage, if you still lose refund
/s, have fun, it's truly a fantastic game
Be patience, the game walks you better through mechanics than I had anticipated, but do spend a lot of time understanding not only your build, but the stats. Once you have the grasp of combat, is only really a matter of building a good mech for you.
Draining your energy fully causes it to take longer to recharge.
At some points of the story you'll be given a choice of missions and can only pick one. Make a note of what you choose so that when you do NG+ you can pick the other option. In NG++ there will be more new options.
The easy way is to pick all the top options in playthrough 1 then the bottom in playthrough 2 and then the new ones in playthrough 3.
You only earn a rank when replaying a mission, you don't get graded on your first completion so just focus on actually beating it first. You can come back for ranks with better gear later.
Learn the movement, stay close as the guns in this game have shit range and divide weapons between maybe useful for pvp, weapons good enough for non boss/Armored Core enemies, weapons used to bring someone to stagger, and weapons used to punish said stagger.
You should breeze through the game once that clicks with you.
You know that whole dying thing? Try not to.
Aight, seriously though, treat bosses as something of a puzzle. If one walls you, change up your tactics and your build. And if your new build works, make sure you understand *why* it works, the specifics of how it countered the boss's bullshit.
First tip, there are no invincibility frames if you’re a soulsfan. Boosting only makes you travel a direction *faster*, it doesn’t actually make you magically dodge things.
Second thing, there will be a mission which allows you early on to fight a single enemy. The enemy is an ac, the thing you’re piloting, with a fairly basic AI, but this mission can be repeated. This will allow you to test out builds and designs in a low pressure environment, against an enemy that’s not hard but will still put up a fight, while also making money. Using this to test yourself early on with different weapons and builds is a great way to always have extra cash.
When you have everything unlocked and want to play with the nitty gritty, the actual AC test is a better playing ground.
Boosters have a ‘feel’ to them that numbers hide very well. Try actually testing out the boosters and seeing how they move. I was married to two boosters when I first started the game, but now I experiment and love most of them because they’re quite unique.
Be willing to try out different builds and parts. Not everything has the same solution.
Aggression is key. Taking cover will kill you faster than staying on the movie.
Anything, you buy in the store, can be sold back for a 100% refund. Buy things, try them, sell them back and keep experimenting, until, you find what you like.
Never, NEVER use softlock in a AC-vs-AC or AC-vs-Boss situation.
Always use Hardlock, Softlock is useless unless you are doing mop up of weaker enemies such as MT's, and even then is not that of a big deal, Softlock is almost never benefitial because it doesn't allow you to do strafing manouvers which are essential for dodgin and thus minimizing the damage you take.
The game guide tells you that there are ocassional uses for the softlock, but the advantages using softlock are very negible and not worthy, and this come from personal experience.
Try to reload your weapon whenever the Stagger Gauge of your oponent is orange (Very close to being full) because when you stagger an enemy, not only they will be unable to move, they will take increase damage from all weapons, so you wanna maximize the ammount of hits you can get on a staggered enemy.
Please note that this also applies to you, if you are staggered you WILL take additional damage and be unable to avoid it, so pay attention to your own stagger gauge.
Pay attention to the targe reticule of the Hud, if you fire your weapons when the targeting reticule is not on top of your target your shoots will miss, knowing when to fire will allow you to maximize the damage you do to an enemy.
Also, read the contextual help of all of the things in game, when you are garage customizing your AC, there is an option to, not only see all of the stats of your AC and the stats of each individual component, this will tell you things like, the optimal range of a weapon, how much energy you have for quick boosting, how much vertical boost consumes, etc.
And also, experiment with your weapons and loadouts, if you have a "bad weapon" that doesn't seem to work, consider that you might not be using the right weapon for the job, or using the weapon right.
For example, some weapons eequired you to be close and personal to shred your enemies, others will send your AC in a firing stance, knowing how each weapon works will help you to better figure out how to best synergyze them to create an efficient loadout.
And the parts of the AC matter too.
Edit: I almost forgot, Building an AC is half of the game, the other half is learn how to use your tools of trade, always try different strategies with the same build, learning how to be versatile and adapt to a changing situation will give you even more felxibility.
When I got stuck, I went two different ways.
If it was a big enemy, I’d use the fast tank treads, Gatling guns or shotguns, and the needle cannon or grenades.
If it was a smaller fast enemy I had trouble hitting. I’d switch to reverse joint legs, load up on missiles. Then fly around and shoot whenever I had a lock.
Also, don’t sleep on flamethrowers. Some enemies are extremely weak to them.
I already can't say thanks to all of you, but, really, thanks! I said this already sometimes, but I didn't expect so many tips and helping words! Great thanks for everyone! <3
Spend the first 10 or 15 seconds in any major engagement assessing your enemy. Put all of your effort into avoidance and only engage in skirmishing to whittle their AP and pressure them away.
Some of the earlier AC engagements are easy and lull you into a false sense of skill. This will quickly change, and it becomes important to assess the ballistics and effects of the enemys' weapons. Things like identifying the flight patterns of missiles and the charge sequences of heavy attacks gives you the edge. Once you become somewhat aquainted with their offensive capabilities, THEN you push and test their defenses with an aggressive rush. Starting the fight off with one often ends in your own death, especially when they have tricks like combo builds, melee, and core expansions.
If you're playing on PC with mouse and keyboard, softlock is mostly viable, but for enemy ACs and fast bosses, switch to hardlock. Be aware that moving the mouse will cancel hardlock - I used a controller for boss fights just to avoid this.
If you're playing on console, hardlock all the way, at least until you finish your first run through the game.
Don’t be afraid/ashamed to change your build, or strategy, to overcome the challenges of the game. Changing yourself to fit the situation is part of the experience, and part of the learning curve. And my personal favorite part :3
I recommend re mapping the Assault Boast and the regular boast.
For PS, it would be the L3 and the O buttons. Swap them and you will never accidentally press the L3 and send yourself into the nearest wall
* Sell the weapons/parts you don't use. You can buy them back anytime with the same amount of money.
* Legs define your combat style.
* Pay attention to the effective ranges of your weapons, and then pick a suitable FCS.
Pretty much everything everyone else has said. Such as make sure to experiment and see what you like. Avoid looking for "OP builds" as it takes the fun away. Feel free to ask for help but don't treat what is said as instructions, but suggestions etc.
I personally know of 3 people (AKA I was there chatting etc as they played) not including myself that have played the game. And each one had a different solution/build style. With each having different hard and easy points.
Ow but 1 tip watch out for the first end of chapter boss, he can be a pain point. That said, just wait till playthrough 2 as you will bulldoze through him. It is very satisfying.
Also if you didn't know the game has 3 endings. With 2 able to be gotten in the first playthrough and the 3rd ending unlocked in NG++ AKA playthrough 3.
I would recommend doing all the missions you didn't choose in playthrough 1 in playthrough 2 and not doing the same missions again. They are marked at the side with decision or something so it is hard to miss.
The test sortie option is your friend. Always clear the tutorial simulator for free parts. Play your favorite mecha anime soundtrack in the background for motivation. HAVE FUN and post your build here with your tales of taking down a hard boss or two with a sliver of health left. Welcome to the Nest Raven, we’re glad to have you:)
Always experiment. If you don't like something you bought, you can sell it for the same price you bought it for. You also might find something you never thought you'd like
what a lot of people already said, dont stick with just 2 or 3 weapons and try using them for everything, its always good to have tools for different situations and problems, also u can always sell stuff fot the same price u bought, so keep experimenting
The numbers are gonna be confusing. (things like having excess energy capacity and important weight thresholds are things that aren’t rlly explained and you will have to figure it out by trying) But trying all the parts and weapons is a good idea either way and play the practice missions as soon as you unlock them.
The stats screen on the weapons and parts has an option to display more details that you'll absolutely need when building your robot later on (took me a playthrough and a half to figure this out)
Game has 3 endings. Pick different options on each playthrough to get them all
Stealth mission has a hidden choice. Pay attention
Experiment with loadouts. It's part of the fun! If you lose too much to a boss there's probably a part or strategy that counters it
Kick an enemy when their staggered for style points.
Assault boost consumes less Energy than A-flying to an enemy.
The handguns are your greatest friends when Dual-Wielding
The Pulse Blade is the best melee weapon.
Get giddy you get called Buddy.
Now I'm only half way through the game on my first play through, but getting different parts like weapons and body parts are really helpful for different situations. You will have different battles that will require different strengths.
A little late to the party - but don't forget to have fun!
Plenty of excuses to re-run a mission you enjoyed, like trying out a new build, trying to get a better score or just wanting some more money.
The game starts off making all corporations feel kinda similar but they become more distinguished as the story goes on. The extra missions / tutorials are really useful.
The audio slaps.
Don't forget that you can lock onto enemy units which will make your camera track the target's movements making it "them" focussed - with higher speed this can make the screen swish and really gives us the dogfight fantasy.
Experiment with different weapons and leg types. If you're out of cash you can replay missions. Some loadouts make impossible fights way easier. Managing your stamina/stagger and that of your opponents' is pretty much the whole core of success or failure. It's really down to practice, though. Sometimes it's better to be locked on, sometimes it's a liability. Always. Keep. Moving.
Thanks! Yeah, *war is speed*, so... Thanks!
Adding to the comment above, you can also always sell back anything you bought for the same price you've paid, so don't threat about having to grind to gain something new if you disliked something you just got. And be mindful of the verticality in your dodges, be it to go over your target or sometimes even trying to go under it. Sometimes you may feel it's impossible to dodge to the sides, or backwards, so go under or over it.
>Always. Keep. Moving. That sounds like someone learned from experience 🍻
Some of those bosses were harsh mistresses, but I'm pretty sure all of us fromsoft fans are into that kind of thing.
> Alwasy Keep Moving I don't think I've ever properly learnt how to dodge some bosses attacks, like I legit just kept my build kinda light and kept flying as fast as I could in circles, thst worked susprisingly well for a FromSoft game (it was my first actual, ha only ever played like 2 monies of DS3 before, tho I knew the games)
Few things; Avoid meta builds and leaning on other peoples builds as much as possible. The main aspect of what makes this game fun is creating your own solutions to problems, not using a solution that someone else created. Do those tutorial things at the start, you get free parts from them and the parts themselves are pretty solid. If you get stuck on anything, feel free to ask for help/tips, but remember to treat everything as a suggestion rather than an instruction. Not everyone has the same playstyle and what worked for them may not work for you, depending on your playstyle. That's about all I've got, some other users may come along and add other things, so keep an eye on this post.
Huh! Big thanks! About asking tips, it can be hard for me, because, english is not my native language, and I myself communicate poorly in it (especially without an translator), and communicate with others may be a problem, but, this is an excuse to improve my language skills, ha-ha! Big thanks again!
Be aggressive and, if that fails, be more aggressive In other AC games (at least in the PS1 era) that would have been a surefire way to get to the game over screen, but ACVI heavily favours that kind of approach
Thanks!
Also don't worry too much if you get absolutely ripped apart at the beginning: the game has no qualms throwing a lot of shit at you and you're expected to fail and die a lot As you play, you'll both get better at piloting your mech and at creating better/more optimised builds If you really can't clear a mission, try to think about what exactly is going wrong and tweak your build accordingly, half of your battles will be won in the garage...
Huh. About beginning, I know that there is "funny" helicopter boss, but, some difficulty isnt problem for me. Probably its good, because if there is any difficulty in the game that makes you change, game get better for me
Don't be afraid to close the distance, it's what it's trying to teach you! That's literally all there is to that boss, feel free to DM me or reply if you wanna know more tips & tricks. Lmao now imma hop on cause seeing this thread has got me in the mood for some AC. Thanks OP! 🍻
No. Thanks you for the tips and all of this! I really dont expect so much tips and things what I need to know, it's so cool. But, only one last question before I will go sleep (Im UTC+7, I'm fockin braindead), is there any AC discord servers?
Trust me, you'll get plenty of that early on ahah Once you get used to your build/playstyle, you'll absolutely carve through you enemies with little concern, but until then it's an uphill battle
Hard battle — interesting battle. Interesting battle — good battle. Thanks!
Don't stop at one play through.
I totally wanna play this game more than one play through. So, yeah, I'm probably here for a long time...
This! There's good reason to replay it at least twice
Make sure to read through the tutorials the game provides you during the first stage as well as the training stages given by ALLMIND. Feel free to try out different builds and to change it depending on what enemies you face as well as what fits your playstyle. You *can* clear everything with most builds once you familiarize yourself with the game but build swap makes some hard fights very easy if you manage to do it right and imo. that's one main aspect of where the fun of this game comes from. Do keep in mind that you can sell any items at the shop for their full price, thus effectively not losing anything. So don't be afraid to buy and try out new stuffs. Lastly, be aggressive. Constantly attack, give your enemies no room to breathe. I think that actually makes so many fights more easier than when you're trying to stay passive. These are the main 3 I can think of. I hope you get to enjoy this great game just as much as I did.
> Lastly, be aggressive. Constantly attack, give your enemies no room to breathe. I think that actually makes so many fights more easier than when you're trying to stay passive. This is why I like dual-trigger builds with pistols. They let you get incredibly aggressive while staying fast and light.
Thanks!
Ai girl is waifu never forget
But schizophrenia is better, isn't it?
Have you heard of Doser Dommy Mommy?
What-
You heard me, Doser. Dommy. Mommy.
M-m-mommy??... Oh no..
Have a plan to kill everyone you meet
*Plan? What is plan? Does it have pictures?*
This is genuinely fantastic advice for this game.
learn about the targetting and how it works
Yeah, its totally needed... Thanks!
Keep good energy supply efficiency, which you do by _not_ maxing out your EN budget. You can see the stat when you expand your AC's overall stat list. It should be at bare minimum equal to your generator's capacity. The core part also boosts or decreases your generator's output. On that note, the very first generator you get is pretty bad, the first generator you can buy is even worse outside of very niche builds, but you get a generator by completing one of the tutorials and that one's pretty good. Also, get comfortable with Assault Boost and don't be tempted to spam Quick Boosts. You'll be out of energy real fast and then get clapped when you can't dodge. AB is a very efficient way of moving fast, gives you bonus impact and reduces the impact you take. You'll eventually be able to kick which is an amazing move. Also, use hard lock most of the time. It changes the way you move aside of just keeping a lock. The penalty in lock time doesn't make up for the disadvantages of softlock, especially against the stronger foes.
Huh! Okay, understood! Thanks!
That laser sword on your default build is a top 3 weapon in the entire game, and it will carry you against that very first boss. Have fun!
LMAO. Okay, its really interesting! Thanks! Have fun too <3
The name of the game is adaptation and experimentation. It’s not like Soulsborne where you can make one strong build and get away with using it the whole game.
Yeah, heard about that, but, that\`s why I wanted to play this game. Thats isnt standard From Software game, its.. Something different, but very interesting
Unlock the boost kick as soon as possible. That move is by far one of the best ones in your arsenal even if it isn't quite obvious why at first. You can spam it to gain a lot of height with little energy cost, you can use it on a staggered enemy to extend the stagger, it also deals decent ACS strain by default so it can also be used to trigger a stagger, etc. Kick attack power is based on weight and leg type. Leg type does have the highest effect on damage though. Below you will see a list of the leg types from most damaging kicks to least damaging: Reverse Joint Tank Biped Tetrapod Also remember to use the expanded stat screen when building. The simplified screen is not very useful when build-crafting since it just gives you very basic information on parts.
Huh! Interesting mechanics. Thanks for tip!
If you find yourself stuck on a boss or encounter, remember you can completely change your build and loadout when restarting from checkpoint. Certain enemies are more vulnerable to different kinds of weapons and play styles. Experiment, try new things. You never know what might be very effective
Thanks!
Be aggressive. Trying to keep your distance while picking of targets only works with the smaller MT's. bosses want you to be in there face.
Understood! Thanks for tip!
Hesitation is defeat
Understood. Thanks!
Prepare to cry.
I've already cried at Midir from DS3, at Ornstein and Smoug from DS1, and in League of Legends. If I'm going to cry, it's only out of pleasure!
Not OP but currently crying to Enforcer.
Never stop moving. Remember that most large explosions or AoE attacks become dramatically less effective while you're in the air. Remember that staying in the air is a heavy tax on your mech's energy recovery, so you don't want to spend all your time up there. Experiment with the different leg types, as they radically change how your mech handles and what sort of loadout you can use.
Understood, thanks for the tip!
Play around and experiment. When experimenting with parts, make sure you utilize the TEST AC feature. This is useful for testing your builds, or you can use the ARENA. There are guides that go in depth with parts and weapons. Royal Skies and Chright are good channels for this. If your build isn't working on a boss, switch it up and see what works. If you're still struggling and need help with your build, post it on here, and we can give some feedback.
Yeah, one guy already said about that I can ask help here, but, still thanks!
Be willing to change builds there's fights that one build just ain't gonna cut it beyond that if low on cash and in need of parts you can sell unused parts at the same price you bought them at
Thanks for the tip!
To add to this - you can only buy and sell OUTSIDE of missions so you'll have to have the parts on-hand if you die in a mission and are given the chance to update/change your loadout and build. So buy what you think may be useful before a mission in case you need to have more options later.
Accidentally buy a thing you didn't want? Didn't like a weapon you were testing and want something else? You can sell then and get all your money back, no problems or anything. The game has new content all the way up to NG++, so don't worry if you missed a chest or battle log. Replaying missionsnin the replay sections let's you obtain them aswell. I do recommend to use a guide for chests and battle logs when replaying missions since they can be easy to miss at first. Chapter 2 onwards: some missions have a symbol, those are decisions. You can check which decisions you made in the replay section, so you can choose the opposite in NG+. There's a wide variety of weapon and AC parts, try em out, there's no reason not to. First playthrough I stuck to missle/AR/melee, second playthrough I've tried more variety, like Launchers and double triggers from time to time.
Oh theres symbols about decisions what I choose before? Really cool! Thanks!
The replay section has all played missions, there isn't a specific mark for stuff you've done.
Sheeesh.
Never give up, when seems that you hit a wall, change you parts and weapons, there's always a solution
"If theres wall, keep trying, at eventually it will broke" I know about this before, in Soulsbourne series, but its different game series what plays differently, so yeah. Thanks for the tip!
Funny enough, I never got stressed or angry while playing AC 6, it was always: "Hmm, that didn't work, let me try something else" Even with the harder bosses down the line
Abuse that assault boost and that melee weapon, it’s one of the best in game
Understood! Thanks for the tip!
Prepare to cry at the first boss, it's going to be THE lesson. And remember: DON'T. STOP. MOVING.
~~FUNNY HELICOPTER PARACOPTER~~ Yeah, but, this is lesson what I need, and, its first wall what says "You really want to play?", so, probably, morally, Im ready for this
I can't give you advices because I don't know how to give good ones
For souls it's git good. For Armored Core it's adapt + git good. Many hurdles you may encounter is just one equipment change away from victory.
Well, I heard that ACVI (And all AC series) is a Barbie game but for boys, so yeah.. Thanks for the tip!
People will hate me for this, but look up build guides and make adjustments where you see fit to matchup with how you'd like to play. However you'd like to play, there's fun stuff out there that you can tweak. I suggest the build guides because learning how each part interacts is super difficult at first glance. After many hours of playtesting different parts and research you'll be able to build one from the ground up and be happy with your work. Or you can just try and try again until you've made something you like. Don't let me or anyone else tell you how to learn/have fun.
Huh. Understood. Well, I will try guides, but at the last point, I wanna try myself in build-building (idk how to say that), and if there will be mistakes, this will be my mistakes that I will learn. Still, thanks for the tip!
Yeah just have fun and dick around. I used a build guide as a frame of reference. I didn't know how to make an ultrafast build with melee punishes until I saw people posting their builds and made adjustments from there.
Yeah! Thanks for the tips!
Boost
Boost. Yeah... I n t e r e s t i ng
The first boss stay under it, directly under it
Understood!
You gotta put that shit to work. Every. Last. Credit.
There are two of the big tips I want to pass on that will apply no matter what your build is, except for maybe extreme heavy weights. ------------------ -Other than missiles, pretty much every weapon in the game is borderline useless on a moving target of any kind past about 250m, 300m *at most*. Stay in close, even if you've chosen what this game considers "long range" guns. It sounds like you've never played other AC games, but if you have you need to understand this one is NOT like the others where there are more varied engagement ranges. It's alllll about brawling in AC6. -You can dodge a lot more attacks than you would expect with just your regular boost glide. Quick boosting is extremely useful for the sake of agility, be it dodging a big attack, closing the gap, creating space, or maneuvering to cover quickly. That said, you definitely don't need to lean on it nearly as much as you might think. ------------------ Other than that, play all the content you can as soon as it becomes available. This includes doing new arena matches and training modules as soon as they pop up *before* jumping back into the next mission. The more OS tuning chips, credits, and parts you have to choose from as you go the better. This allow you to experiment as much as possible, which is really the name of the game here. Hell, even parts you bought can be sold back for the same price you paid at any time, so there's literally zero harm in buying something to try it out.
Use target lock
To avoid getting brickwalled on tutorial boss, stick to the underside of it like glue. Also, experiment with different builds, don’t pigeonhole yourself into braindead meta strats.
When building and experimenting with your mech's, try to understand the underlying playstyle behind different combinations of weapons and parts. Get a feel for different playstyles and that will help guide you in learning the mechanics and knowing what to build
Always remember there's a solution somewhere for everything. If you get stumped keep trying.
never feel like whatever build you make has to be one-size-fits-all. one of the best parts of the game is customizing, and saving different builds to tackle different situations.
Understood! Thanks for the tip!
Never give up. Even if victory seems impossible
You can solve a lot of problems in the garage/partshop, but it’s possible, even likely that you’ll end up in a situation where you’re the short variable. In that case, try finding which AC setup you naturally gel with the best and master it as opposed to radically changing your build/playstyle
Most of the time you need to keep moving.
Don’t play it like a souls game
Never stop moving, remember to use the jump as well as the qwick boost to avoid attacks, you have no iframes, use the verticality and all the movement optipms aveilable
Hi Vinay
?
Keep up. Some of the bosses will run circles around you. Get good at dodging.
Understood, thanks!
Don’t be afraid to experiment and mess around with new stuff especially if you’re struggling I cycled through like 5 different builds back when I was first fighting pre nerf balteus for the first time until I finally took it down and the process of failing changing some parts and play style and trying again is the best part of armored core imo and it’s a blast to build your mech once you get the hang of it
Pre nerf balteus... I know that before it was a hard boss, but... How hard?.. Maybe one day I will find a mod that makes him like he was before, but it will be in future. Thanks for the tip!
One thing that helped me early on whether its obvious or not but remember to use the verticality. I was so used to always being on the ground in every game the option to jump up and float around attack from above was something I forgot about until it was needed. Once ya get a feel for the game and it clicks it gets much easier
Yeah, I know that 50 tons mechas can fly easily in this game, still, thanks!
Learn to melee cancel
Your starting weapon, Pulse Blade, in classic FromSoft fashion is actually goated. Not OP or anything but it packs one hell of a punch especially against shields and has a decent lunge. Pile Bunker is legendary weapon but when people say its high risk high reward they do mean HIGH risk and HIGH reward. Also uncharged attack has a pretty good lunge, if you end up using it dont sleep on it, ended up using it more often than charged nuke. WAAAAY down the line but Laser Dagger looks kinda absurd as a weapon but it has amazing lunge and, for all intents and purposes, NO cooldown whatsoever. LONDON BOTTOM TEXT. Yes, I am melee enjoyer, how could you tell? On that note, be sure to open full stats of all parts when tinkering with loadout. I know its kinda obvious but just in case. IMO and I learned that the hard way, dont half ass anything. Fully commit to whatever build you are doing. If you leaning into facetanking shit, go full tilt there, beef up like you about to walk through Black Friday in the local mall, if you leaning into speed, discard armor, embrace meth as fuel, AP(HP) is overrated.
Step 1) Go faster Step 2) Repeat Step 1 Step 3) Success
War is speed. Thanks!
Melee the helicopter
Don't worry if you get stuck. Keep adapting your AC and changing parts as needed. Individual missions are relatively short so you can afford to abandon them and come back later. There's an early mission named "Attack the Watchpoint." This is your "git gud" mission where the game hard-checks you in your ability to evade incoming attacks. Do not get discouraged if it kicks your ass. Every non-godly player gets their ass kicked for a while in "Attack the Watchpoint." Bazooka-type weapons are very useful early on for killing bosses until you get accustomed to dodging and keeping pressure on enemies with other weapons. Unlike other Fromsoft games, your dodges do not grant invincibility frames, so you have to evade incoming attacks. The game gives you a melee attack weapon on your left arm at the start, and while this is powerful, melee attacks are kind of risky.
Disregard anything anyone says about Meta and do your own thing. Reason why I'm saying this is that after being told I had no shot with my build I went on steamrolling 3 matches in a row. I'd have to look at my build to tell you what I was running but it was right after the Zimmerman nerf and I kept my lightweight build but switched to dual sampos (before it was popular) and felt so good when I proved other wrong by completely fucking up their heavyweight tank builds. Edit: I was confident in my build and abilities and don't think it's for everyone as I've been playing AC since it was on the PS2. Oh and also... Don't be afraid to fist fight/melee boost kick people. Half of winning online is messing with people's expectations. People didn't expect a LW to be hyper aggressive so that's exactly what I played into
Huh. Okay, understood. Thanks!
The tutorial level doesn't really do much to explain what you need to know to beat the first boss. It *is* beatable and fairly easy once you know what you're doing, but for some silly reason, you won't know what to do to beat it easily by the time you fight it. The trick is >!stay close to it, especially underneath and behind it as much as possible and hit it with your Laser Sword every chance you get.!< Once you get through the first mission, you'll get access to some tutorials. Don't sleep on them. They're very helpful, and you get free parts for doing them. You can resell parts for 100% of their purchase price, so there's no reason not to buy a new part and test it out. Oh, and you're a long way from this being relevant, but you get the whole plot over the course of multiple playthroughs, so if you're used to playing other FromSoft games and starting new characters at random intervals, you don't need to do that with this game. Just play through the game, then do the divergent missions you'll unlock on NG+ and NG++.
I will ignore the spoiler part, sorry, but, probably it will be a better choice for me. Still, big thanks!
Be aggressive. Stagger enemies with explosions or stun weapons then melee them when staggered. Dual stun needles and gatlings on a quad leg is a godly combo. The wheels are vulnerable to explosions. Fuck them with bazookas.
Bazookas go boom! Thanks for the tip!
If you’ve played souls games before, know that this game does not have i frames.
Sometimes it's best to sleep on a boss. There's definitely a couple times I would try a boss 200 times in a night and get no closer then I would go to bed, wake up, and first try it.
Drop all wapons and go full mele
Anything you buy can be sold back at 100% price, so feel free to experiment with builds.
Understood! Thanks!
lot of good tips in here so i will give a bit more of a conceptual one . a core strategy of this game is posture break & punish . pay attention to which of your weapons can deal the most posture damage & which have the highest damage adjustment on staggered enemies if you want to be more efficient . this can really help you obtain an edge with boss fights, especially in the early game . later in the game it becomes a little more viable to try builds with less emphasis on staggering & more on pure damage, but stagger & punish is the main strategy the game tries to push on you .
Move or die! Also just practice your basics get comfortable with your stats and your do not use EN weapons THEY ARE ALL WORTHLESS, For exceptions to the melee options
Moving right stick while hard-locked will break the lock. The only other things that can break hard lock are moving too far away and one niche weapon which jams the locks.
Stay moving constantly, strafing left and right while advancing/ retreating is ideal
Don't be afraid to try anything and everything out. The AC Test simulation allows you to swap weapons and parts out on the fly, without having to load back into the menu, and allows you to spawn some different kinds of enemies. Sell weapons when you wanna try something else out and are short, buying and reselling stuff doesn't come at a cost, money is a more a "tota resources directly at hand" thing here. I can personally recommend light and fast builds with small close range weapons, but to each their own. Take the time to read through what all the stats and such mean, as it will make a great difference to understand what things do and how they are affected. This game is like 2/3rds mech building in the menu and 1/3rd insane high octane action, but don't let that imply that building and painting a mech isn't fun, nor that making cool ass emblems isn't worth your time. Enjoy the vibes. Oh and as a minor story spoiler (? I guess ?) you're not done with the story until you've played through the game 3 times and picked the missions that didn't pop up the previous runs. Most of all though: en-fucking-joy this game. It is very fun and there is only one first playthrough!
Don't be afraid to change your build
Whenever you make a custom AC, make sure to change it's NAME not just the data name.
I don't think I've seen anyone mention this yet Here's some menu tips to make moving around it and looking for things more easier While in the garage (base menu) if you press Y or ∆ for controllers V(?) for PC it'll pull up a sub menu on the right of your screen, you can look at logs and change your emblem and other stuff If your in assembly and you press the back button it'll bring up a small menu at the bottom of your screen and there are 2 options I forget what the two options say but one of them tells you in detail what each stat does and how it affects your AC and what that stat does if your confused about it, if your inspecting weapons till give you detailed information about how those sats work. EX range, blast radius, reload time You can save ACs you have made and name them as well! To do that make an AC you like and color how you wish, after you have done that go to AC data and press on the + you'll see after that if you press the back button it'll bring up the help menu and you'll be able to name your AC and give it and overall name like for instance I enjoy playing with heavy builds so for the general name I'll have War_rig_tank and then have different tank types if you like to do something like that Going to mission replay let's you see what cards you didn't collect in that mission for your hunter rank (would recommend doing that as you get more parts and weapons from that) That's all the menu stuff I can think of ATM if I left out anything or if I'm wrong about something I'm sure someone will add/correct Good luck out there 621!
Drop all your guns as soon as the map loads. Fists only. Show them you can do this. For Adrian!!
You're going to have to make a G13 AC, you have 120 save slots for ACs, have fun with the customization and find those hidden parts
I’d genuinely recommend taking the time to learn what all the numbers in the garage mean, as it’s incredibly helpful when making an AC. (Also, despite it’s status as a starting weapon, the Pulse Blade is one of the better weapons in the game. Don’t write it off.)
Ransetsu-RF (available as soon you unlock in the shop) is a great weapon if you're 0 iq like me. Point and click adventure.
Okay so one other thing to chime in on here. While I agree with folks cautioning you about using someone else’s build; I do think it is important to understand build archetypes. Building to your desired playstyle is important for having success in this game. My recommendation for building is to ask yourself the following question when choosing a load out. 1. What is your desired engagement range? 2. Are you more interested in raw dps or building up ACS strain? 3. What weapons are you using to stagger your opponent? 4. What are you using to punish your opponent? Additionally, vertical missiles (aside from the plasma variant) are unusable in anything aside from PvE. I recommend not using them if you plan on trying your hand in the NEST. One other thing, I would highly recommend getting comfortable with the Assault Boost mechanic. The game rewards you for using that movement by increasing the impact you deal with kinetic weapons by 30% and reducing the impact you take from enemies by 30%.
Bit of a niche one, but if you're struggling to deal with melee attacks, try quick boosting towards the attacker. It seems counterintuitive, but it has good odds of putting you behind them where you can't possibly get hit. This is especially relevant against a couple of endgame bosses. I think in general the AI favors midrange combat, though, so I've had wonderful experiences being as close as possible. They kinda lose track of what they're doing.
Don't get hit by big missiles flying towards you and press shoot as fast as you can Also dual Zimmermans if you find anything too hard at any stage, if you still lose refund /s, have fun, it's truly a fantastic game
Be patience, the game walks you better through mechanics than I had anticipated, but do spend a lot of time understanding not only your build, but the stats. Once you have the grasp of combat, is only really a matter of building a good mech for you.
Draining your energy fully causes it to take longer to recharge. At some points of the story you'll be given a choice of missions and can only pick one. Make a note of what you choose so that when you do NG+ you can pick the other option. In NG++ there will be more new options. The easy way is to pick all the top options in playthrough 1 then the bottom in playthrough 2 and then the new ones in playthrough 3. You only earn a rank when replaying a mission, you don't get graded on your first completion so just focus on actually beating it first. You can come back for ranks with better gear later.
Practice using lock-on as well as no lock-on. Depending on the fight it will make a big difference
Listen to what NPCs say about weaknesses on enemies, they're not just saying random BS
Have fun <3
Never stop moving Dont try to brute force fights with a single build, experimentation is key
Learn the movement, stay close as the guns in this game have shit range and divide weapons between maybe useful for pvp, weapons good enough for non boss/Armored Core enemies, weapons used to bring someone to stagger, and weapons used to punish said stagger. You should breeze through the game once that clicks with you.
You know that whole dying thing? Try not to. Aight, seriously though, treat bosses as something of a puzzle. If one walls you, change up your tactics and your build. And if your new build works, make sure you understand *why* it works, the specifics of how it countered the boss's bullshit.
Take it slow and cherish that first play through I wish I did
There is no perfect build. There are counters to nearly every build, and sometimes skill alone can trump a build disadvantage.
buy boost kick just buy it
Turns out, moving in one direction isn't enough to dodge projectiles.
First tip, there are no invincibility frames if you’re a soulsfan. Boosting only makes you travel a direction *faster*, it doesn’t actually make you magically dodge things. Second thing, there will be a mission which allows you early on to fight a single enemy. The enemy is an ac, the thing you’re piloting, with a fairly basic AI, but this mission can be repeated. This will allow you to test out builds and designs in a low pressure environment, against an enemy that’s not hard but will still put up a fight, while also making money. Using this to test yourself early on with different weapons and builds is a great way to always have extra cash. When you have everything unlocked and want to play with the nitty gritty, the actual AC test is a better playing ground. Boosters have a ‘feel’ to them that numbers hide very well. Try actually testing out the boosters and seeing how they move. I was married to two boosters when I first started the game, but now I experiment and love most of them because they’re quite unique.
Be willing to try out different builds and parts. Not everything has the same solution. Aggression is key. Taking cover will kill you faster than staying on the movie.
Complete all training and arena as soon as it’s available :)
Whatever you do, do not underestimate the spinning wheels of death.
When using melee remember, hesitation is defeat.
Do the training. It starts you out with a few free weapons.
Anything, you buy in the store, can be sold back for a 100% refund. Buy things, try them, sell them back and keep experimenting, until, you find what you like.
Failure is the tutorial.
Never, NEVER use softlock in a AC-vs-AC or AC-vs-Boss situation. Always use Hardlock, Softlock is useless unless you are doing mop up of weaker enemies such as MT's, and even then is not that of a big deal, Softlock is almost never benefitial because it doesn't allow you to do strafing manouvers which are essential for dodgin and thus minimizing the damage you take. The game guide tells you that there are ocassional uses for the softlock, but the advantages using softlock are very negible and not worthy, and this come from personal experience. Try to reload your weapon whenever the Stagger Gauge of your oponent is orange (Very close to being full) because when you stagger an enemy, not only they will be unable to move, they will take increase damage from all weapons, so you wanna maximize the ammount of hits you can get on a staggered enemy. Please note that this also applies to you, if you are staggered you WILL take additional damage and be unable to avoid it, so pay attention to your own stagger gauge. Pay attention to the targe reticule of the Hud, if you fire your weapons when the targeting reticule is not on top of your target your shoots will miss, knowing when to fire will allow you to maximize the damage you do to an enemy. Also, read the contextual help of all of the things in game, when you are garage customizing your AC, there is an option to, not only see all of the stats of your AC and the stats of each individual component, this will tell you things like, the optimal range of a weapon, how much energy you have for quick boosting, how much vertical boost consumes, etc. And also, experiment with your weapons and loadouts, if you have a "bad weapon" that doesn't seem to work, consider that you might not be using the right weapon for the job, or using the weapon right. For example, some weapons eequired you to be close and personal to shred your enemies, others will send your AC in a firing stance, knowing how each weapon works will help you to better figure out how to best synergyze them to create an efficient loadout. And the parts of the AC matter too. Edit: I almost forgot, Building an AC is half of the game, the other half is learn how to use your tools of trade, always try different strategies with the same build, learning how to be versatile and adapt to a changing situation will give you even more felxibility.
Be the drill that breaks the heavens buddy!
Dont cry.
Just attack
Hesitation is defea...what that's from different title.
"The best defense is a good offense" is usually dubious advice, but in this game, it's ironclad doctrine. Also, never, EVER stop moving. Good luck!
When I got stuck, I went two different ways. If it was a big enemy, I’d use the fast tank treads, Gatling guns or shotguns, and the needle cannon or grenades. If it was a smaller fast enemy I had trouble hitting. I’d switch to reverse joint legs, load up on missiles. Then fly around and shoot whenever I had a lock. Also, don’t sleep on flamethrowers. Some enemies are extremely weak to them.
Play the game and every boss is beatable
Play [this mix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhfV2TNG3bw) for extra **motivation**.
pile bunker
I already can't say thanks to all of you, but, really, thanks! I said this already sometimes, but I didn't expect so many tips and helping words! Great thanks for everyone! <3
Be *very* aggressive with the helicopter. And, the harder the challenge the sweeter it feels when you win
Do not google porn.
Don't get discouraged and keep trying different parts and strategies. Buckle up Raven, and give em hell.
Spend the first 10 or 15 seconds in any major engagement assessing your enemy. Put all of your effort into avoidance and only engage in skirmishing to whittle their AP and pressure them away. Some of the earlier AC engagements are easy and lull you into a false sense of skill. This will quickly change, and it becomes important to assess the ballistics and effects of the enemys' weapons. Things like identifying the flight patterns of missiles and the charge sequences of heavy attacks gives you the edge. Once you become somewhat aquainted with their offensive capabilities, THEN you push and test their defenses with an aggressive rush. Starting the fight off with one often ends in your own death, especially when they have tricks like combo builds, melee, and core expansions.
If you're playing on PC with mouse and keyboard, softlock is mostly viable, but for enemy ACs and fast bosses, switch to hardlock. Be aware that moving the mouse will cancel hardlock - I used a controller for boss fights just to avoid this. If you're playing on console, hardlock all the way, at least until you finish your first run through the game.
To in mostly blind experiment a lot
You're gonna love tinkering with builds. It's half the game, and it's soooo good.
Tank legs will just get you killed they suck ass. And also do as much of the arena as you can at every point. Its how you get your proper upgrades.
Don’t be afraid/ashamed to change your build, or strategy, to overcome the challenges of the game. Changing yourself to fit the situation is part of the experience, and part of the learning curve. And my personal favorite part :3
Always have a mix of different weapon types. Ballistic, explosive, plasma and energy weapons. Minimum have 2 of these types on your build.
I recommend re mapping the Assault Boast and the regular boast. For PS, it would be the L3 and the O buttons. Swap them and you will never accidentally press the L3 and send yourself into the nearest wall
* Sell the weapons/parts you don't use. You can buy them back anytime with the same amount of money. * Legs define your combat style. * Pay attention to the effective ranges of your weapons, and then pick a suitable FCS.
Balteous wants hugs
Keep moving, play with what you like, and do all the missions.
Pretty much everything everyone else has said. Such as make sure to experiment and see what you like. Avoid looking for "OP builds" as it takes the fun away. Feel free to ask for help but don't treat what is said as instructions, but suggestions etc. I personally know of 3 people (AKA I was there chatting etc as they played) not including myself that have played the game. And each one had a different solution/build style. With each having different hard and easy points. Ow but 1 tip watch out for the first end of chapter boss, he can be a pain point. That said, just wait till playthrough 2 as you will bulldoze through him. It is very satisfying. Also if you didn't know the game has 3 endings. With 2 able to be gotten in the first playthrough and the 3rd ending unlocked in NG++ AKA playthrough 3. I would recommend doing all the missions you didn't choose in playthrough 1 in playthrough 2 and not doing the same missions again. They are marked at the side with decision or something so it is hard to miss.
My best advice is to value generator and energy more than weapons, cause positioning in any armored core is more important than firepower
It's not a souls game, change all your stuff, buy and sell if you don't want something. Be adaptable.
The test sortie option is your friend. Always clear the tutorial simulator for free parts. Play your favorite mecha anime soundtrack in the background for motivation. HAVE FUN and post your build here with your tales of taking down a hard boss or two with a sliver of health left. Welcome to the Nest Raven, we’re glad to have you:)
Always experiment. If you don't like something you bought, you can sell it for the same price you bought it for. You also might find something you never thought you'd like
If you’re starting to get bored, download mods! The Coop mod has been a blast for me.
what a lot of people already said, dont stick with just 2 or 3 weapons and try using them for everything, its always good to have tools for different situations and problems, also u can always sell stuff fot the same price u bought, so keep experimenting
Keep moving, know where your enemy is at all times and have fun
The numbers are gonna be confusing. (things like having excess energy capacity and important weight thresholds are things that aren’t rlly explained and you will have to figure it out by trying) But trying all the parts and weapons is a good idea either way and play the practice missions as soon as you unlock them.
Git gud
The stats screen on the weapons and parts has an option to display more details that you'll absolutely need when building your robot later on (took me a playthrough and a half to figure this out) Game has 3 endings. Pick different options on each playthrough to get them all Stealth mission has a hidden choice. Pay attention Experiment with loadouts. It's part of the fun! If you lose too much to a boss there's probably a part or strategy that counters it
you missed pre-nerf balteus . thats all i gotta say
Shoot those motherfucking bad guys
Kick an enemy when their staggered for style points. Assault boost consumes less Energy than A-flying to an enemy. The handguns are your greatest friends when Dual-Wielding The Pulse Blade is the best melee weapon. Get giddy you get called Buddy.
Fuck around and find out
Now I'm only half way through the game on my first play through, but getting different parts like weapons and body parts are really helpful for different situations. You will have different battles that will require different strengths.
Aggression is key to boss fights. You'll find a spider. Kick it in the balls. A lot. So much kicking.
Don't give up if you can't finish the first mission
Git gud
A little late to the party - but don't forget to have fun! Plenty of excuses to re-run a mission you enjoyed, like trying out a new build, trying to get a better score or just wanting some more money. The game starts off making all corporations feel kinda similar but they become more distinguished as the story goes on. The extra missions / tutorials are really useful. The audio slaps. Don't forget that you can lock onto enemy units which will make your camera track the target's movements making it "them" focussed - with higher speed this can make the screen swish and really gives us the dogfight fantasy.
If sell you get 100% refund. Experiment. Be aggressive