Beginner's Guide to AC Building in Armored Core 6

So, you've just started playing Armored Core 6, and you're neck-deep in FromSoftware's latest masterpiece. You've just defeated the incredibly tough AH12 and unlocked the hangar. Well, my friend, get ready because the real battle begins now. It's time to build your first AC.

It doesn't have to be a nightmare. You can tinker, customize, and reconfigure without investing too much energy, and that will help you through your first missions. But eventually, you'll have to delve into the details, and there's a lot to consider! Don't worry, we've compiled all the information you need to build the best AC. We'll show you everything important about building an AC. By the end of this guide, you'll be able to shape your path to victory!

Basic Stat Display Vs. The Advanced Stat Display

When you first dive into the assembly, you'll find that the statistics are all pretty easy to understand. However, at the bottom of the screen, you'll see an option called "Toggle Display." Take a deep breath and press it. Now you'll see all the important information. Is it a lot? Sure. But you'll need this information to build the best AC.

The basic display doesn't show you the jump height of a reverse joint leg (which is the only reason you would use it). It doesn't show you your melee specialization stat for the arms. It doesn't even show you the booster efficiency adjustment stat of the core. However, all of this information is very important. So when you're building an AC, you'll need to be prepared for that and delve into the spreadsheet. Don't worry, after a few times, it will become much easier to process the information.

Load Vs EN Load

This is the main balance you need to achieve when building an AC. Your EN (Energy) load is largely determined by the capacity of your battery and your core (which determines battery efficiency through the Generator Supply Adjustment and Generator Output Adjustment stats). Your maximum weight load is determined by several parts, with the biggest factor being your choice of legs. The big catch is that batteries with the highest EN load are extremely heavy, thus heavily impacting your weight load. Balancing these components while maintaining a lighter weight requires calculated sacrifices.

There is also an "Arms Load" that becomes visible when you toggle your display to the more detailed version. Your arms can only carry a certain amount of weight, so if your weapons are heavy enough, you'll need to switch to stronger arms.

Light Vs. Heavy

As discussed in the previous section, balancing weight load and EN load is a significant part of AC construction. But wait a moment, look at the load capacity offered by tank legs! They provide a tremendous load, which in turn allows you to equip the best battery. Problem solved.

right?

Well, the issue is that as the weight increases, the speed significantly decreases. The more you stack on your AC, the slower your boosts become, and the slower they recover. This also slows down the recovery of your alignment and hampers your mobility.

Alignment, for those who don't know, refers to your stagger bar. The worse your alignment stability is, the easier it is for you to be thrown off balance. The heavier your AC is, the more alignment stability it will have. However, alignment recovery will be better the lighter your AC is. This is just another aspect that is interconnected with the choice of weight for your AC!

But being heavy isn't necessarily always strictly negative. Heavier parts will have more AP (Armor Points) and alignment stability. That means you can withstand most hits. While an extremely light AC won't be able to shake off any impactful shot. So once again, you'll have to choose what is important to you!

Heavier ACs are generally more resistant to kinetic, energy, and explosive damage.

Head Types

Among all the frame parts, this one is the least important. Different heads offer the same statistics as all other parts. The only thing they specifically influence is the scanner range, recovery, and duration. While the scanning ability is useful, it's not really a feature we should worry too much about. If you're undertaking a mission that leans more towards stealth, you should choose your head carefully, but otherwise, this is a relatively unimportant part of your AC construction.

Core Types

The core will play a significant role in determining your AP (Armor Points) as well as your resistance to kinetic, energy, and explosive damage. However, the larger aspect is how it affects your booster efficiency, generator output, and generator supply.

When swapping out your core, you can have a massive impact on the energy consumption of your boosters. For a lighter boost-focused build, it's crucial to pay close attention to the core you use. If, in the attempt to lighten your AC, you choose a core that has poor booster efficiency, you're likely undermining the entire reason you're trying to make your AC lighter in the first place.

Arm Types

The arms may be one of the most neglected equipment components when constructing ACs, and that is a SIGNIFICANT error. Like any structural element, they impact your defensive performance and your AP. However, the more crucial aspect is how they influence your weapon specialization and recoil.

A pulse blade strike executed by arms with poor close combat specialization can only inflict half the amount of damage compared to a strike performed by arms specialized in close combat. This is immensely significant! When selecting your arms, it is crucial to consider your weapons without fail!

Regarding recoil, arms with poor recoil control will result in irregular spray patterns. That is something you do not want. You must also consider the recoil. Another aspect that is not often mentioned is the burden of the arms. Your arms have a specific carrying capacity. Some heavier weapons require arms that can meet their weight requirements.

Do not underestimate the value of your AC's arms. The AC arms are one of the major factors in determining how much damage your AC inflicts.

Leg Types

Legs serve to establish your maximum weight limit and determine your mobility options. Undoubtedly, they are the most crucial part of the AC frame. As we have already discussed in the "Load vs. EN Load" section, the type of legs determines your weight. However, even more significant is how they influence your maneuverability, which is immensely important in Armored Core 6. Here is a detailed breakdown...

Bipedal Legs

These are the all-rounder leg types. Bipedal legs do not provide any additional mobility options but offer the best statistics in relation to their weight.

For example, when comparing the Kasuar Reverse Joint legs to the VP-422 bipedal legs, you will notice that these two pairs of legs are similar in terms of weight (with the VP-422s being slightly lighter). However, the bipedal legs provide a significant boost in practically every category, except for jump distance and jump height.

Damn, the Tian-Quiang bipedal legs are astonishingly close to the VP-424 tetrapod legs in terms of statistics, despite being only one-third of the weight! Essentially, if you're looking for the best statistics for your money, the bipedal legs are the optimal choice.

Reverse Joint Legs

Reverse Joint legs are, so to speak, inferior to bipedal legs in terms of statistics. However, despite the compromises they make in statistics, they allow you to jump extremely high. It's a considerable trade-off in terms of statistics, but they provide you with a tremendous advantage in mobility, as you can cover a significant distance without expending even the slightest amount of energy. This means you can utilize all your energy for swift boosts in the air. It's a tempting proposition, and we believe it's worth considering.

Tetrapod Legs

Tetrapod legs are inherently heavy, making true speed builds nearly impossible. However, they offer greater versatility in terms of load capacity and have the ability to hover in the air with very low energy consumption.

These legs are not the most versatile, as you will find that certain enemies simply require a faster AC to be effectively fought against. However, any enemy that struggles with aerial suppression will be completely overcome by the Tetrapod legs. There is no doubt about it, there are situations where hovering above your foes and unleashing devastating blows is simply the best approach.

Tank Legs

While you might expect us to say that the tank's "legs" are the heaviest and slowest, the matter is not quite so straightforward. On the ground, tank treads are actually surprisingly fast. This speed, coupled with their ability to drift around opponents, makes them highly formidable against certain adversaries.

In addition to their incredible ground mobility, they also allow you to fire heavy weapons without any recoil. Oh, and they have their own boosters that provide fantastic boost statistics!

However, unsurprisingly, they perform poorly in the air. Therefore, any opponent who prefers aerial combat can be an absolute nightmare for users of tracked vehicles.

Boosters

There is a lot to consider when it comes to boosters. Let's start with thrust. There is regular thrust, upward thrust, QB thrust, AB thrust, and thrust for melee attacks. These statistics determine how fast your boost is while performing these actions.

In addition to that, you have consumption statistics. These include upward energy consumption (Upward EN Consumption), QB energy consumption (QB EN Consumption), AP energy consumption (AP EN Consumption), and melee attack energy consumption (Melee Attack EN Consumption). Naturally, these statistics determine how much energy is consumed by each respective action.

Like with most other aspects of building your AC, you have to make a choice when it comes to boosters. Do you want to be able to perform multiple boosts over longer periods of time, or do you want your boosts to be lightning-fast? Keep this gameplay dynamic in mind and adapt accordingly to minimize either frequent energy depletion or boosts that are not fast enough.

It should be noted that some boosters are also better suited for ascending or for melee combat. If these are important aspects of your gameplay, you should also take these elements into consideration.

FCS

Finally, we have a straightforward component. Your FCS (Fire Control System) determines the effectiveness of your target acquisition and targeting alignment process. The choice of FCS depends solely on the type of weapon you prefer. If you frequently use blades and shotguns, the focus should be on close-quarters support. For assault rifles, you should concentrate on medium-range support, while cannons and bazookas will benefit from long-range support.

Furthermore, your FCS (Fire Control System) also determines how long it takes for you to acquire a target with your missiles. The "Missile Lock Correction" is used for acquiring a single target, while the "Multi-Lock Correction" is used for acquiring multiple targets.

Generators

As we briefly discussed in the "Load vs. EN-Load" section, your generator plays an important role in determining your energy capacity (EN capacity) as well as the speed at which your energy recharges (EN recharge). In general, the heavier the generator, the better these statistics are. However, as a consequence, your AC will inevitably become much slower.

Two other notable statistics are "Supply Recovery" and "Post-Recovery EN Supply." "Supply Recovery" determines how quickly you start building up energy again after it has been completely depleted (the lower this number, the greater the delay), while "Post-Recovery EN Supply" determines the speed at which you regain energy once you have started rebuilding it again.

Finally, your generator will contribute to determining the amount of energy that your energy-based firearms generate (but not blades or missiles). If you use energy-based firearms, you should pay special attention to the value of the specification for energy-based firearms.

Expansion Slot

You will likely notice that you have an "Expansion Slot" for which there is currently nothing to purchase. How peculiar! Well, once you have the opportunity to invest in operating system optimization, you will be able to deploy various expansions. This includes...

• Assault Armor: This will create an explosion that will disrupt any nearby enemies while also dealing damage to them. It leaves an energy field behind that will deal sustained damage to your foes.
• Pulse Protection: This will create a barrier that will stop all incoming fire.
• Pulse Armor: This will create a barrier that will follow your AC around and greatly enhance your AC's defense.
• Terminal Armor: This armor will activate when your AP drops to 0, effectively saving you from death.

All of these core expansions can be extremely useful. Which ones you choose will depend primarily on your playstyle.