If you’re a mecha fan, odds are you’re looking forward to customizing every inch of your hulking Armored Core (AC) mecha in Armored Core 6. Just like in a Souls game, what gear you outfit your mech with determines everything about how you play, including your movement speed, optimal ranges, defense, and more. You’ll be expected to tweak and update your AC constantly to handle new situations and missions. Still, there are a few builds that you can gravitate toward for more broad use to overpower and overcome any task at hand reliably. Because Armored Core 6 doesn’t do upgrades in the traditional sense, such as earning XP and gradually increasing in power, it all comes down to your gear. If you want to overpower your opponents with sheer force, here are some of the best builds you can make in Armored Core 6.
Best early game build
During chapter 1, and in general for Armored Core 6, having the maximum amount of Armor Points (AP) is your top priority. Enemies and bosses are brutal right from the jump, and since you’ll still be finding your footing in how to fully control your AC, being able to survive long enough to learn the game and mission is key. Here’s a solid build to save up for:
Arm weapons: SG-026 Haldemans. Pairing up shotguns on your arms is one of the fastest ways to shred through boss health bars, especially when staggered and you can get in at point-blank range.
Shoulder weapons: VP-60LCS: To help get you that stagger, a pair of laser cannons like these are perfect. Lasers can’t run out of ammo, only overheat, and are designed to fill stagger gauges.
In terms of your actual mech parts, there is some leeway with your head and arms, but the spider-type legs are key for this specific build. This type isn’t so great on the ground, but is very agile and maneuverable in the air, which is where you will want to be essentially at all times.
Head: HD-012 MELANDER C3
Core: DF-BD-08 TIAN-QIANG
Arms: DF-AR-08-TIAN-QIANG
Legs: LG-022 BORNEMISSZA
Booster: None. You will already have boost thanks to your legs.
Fire Control System (FCS): FC-006 ABBOT
Generator: VP-20D
Expansion: Empty.
Best heavy-type build
If you want to be the tankiest tank an AC can be, here’s how you can become a nearly unkillable hulk. This build will almost entirely rely on giving you as much AP as possible while taking advantage of your high carry capacity to pack on some of the heaviest, most damaging guns you can get. You have to be comfortable taking a lot of hits here, but once you are, you’ll start to feel like an unstoppable killing machine.
Arm weapons: SG-027 ZIMMERMAN. Once again, we pair up some shotguns, only this time a more powerful version you can get later on in the game compared to the early game build.
Shoulder weapons: FASAN/60E. Upgrading from our lasers, we pick the first plasma cannons you can get. These are perfect for this build thanks to a perk of the legs we’ll get to soon.
For the construction of the AC itself, this time we’re only focused on AP. You can mess with some parts if you like, but this example will raise your health above 1,800. Also, the tank legs we pick don’t require you to go into a firing stance before unleashing heavy weapons, at the cost of being extremely heavy and slow-moving. Since you’ll be taking quite a bit of damage, the Repair Kits upgrade is essential to make them restore a decent chunk of your health compared to an almost negligible amount.
Head: IA-C01H EPHEMERA
Core: DF-BD-08 TIAN-QIANG
Arms: DF-AR-09-TIAN-LAO
Legs: LG-022T BRONEMISZA
Booster: None.
FCS: VE-21A
Generator: VP-20D
Expansion: Repair Kits
Best endgame build
If you’ve cleared the game once and are heading into a second playthrough, or are looking to craft the perfect AC to take into online matches now that you’ve unlocked the majority of parts the game has to offer, you will have more choices than ever. Here’s one build to test out and see how you fare against the game’s, or community’s, toughest challenges.
Arm weapons: DF-GA-08 HU-BEN. While shotguns are great, a pair of Gatling guns can do everything they can and more. The clip sizes are insane, and if you can get sustained fire on your target, especially in stagger, you’ll rip them apart in no time.
Shoulder weapons: VE-60SNA. This weapon is exclusive to the very late game of Armored Core 6, especially if you want the pair, but they are perhaps the most efficient shoulder weapons in the game. They fire fast, are accurate, and deal massive stagger damage.
For the body, you can swap out the legs depending on your preference. We prefer to be a bit more mobile with spider legs, especially in PvP, but the traditional tank legs will obviously make you much harder to kill at the cost of speed. If you want to go with the spider legs, but can’t quite make the weight work or don’t have access to everything suggested, swapping out the Gatling guns for either the Zimmerman or Sweet Sixteen shotguns will keep your weight down without sacrificing too much damage per second (DPS) potential. Both of those sets of legs avoid the need to enter a firing stance, though, so we suggest at least picking between those two.
Head: HD-033M VERRIL
Core: CC-2000 ORBITER
Arms: AA-J-123 BASHO
Legs: LG-033M VERRILL
Booster: None.
FCS: FC-006 ABBOT
Generator: AG-E-013 YABA
Expansion: Terminal Armor
