Guide to the Sea Spider Boss in Armored Core 6 IA13

The IA-13: Sea Spider is the final boss of the last chapter of Armored Core 6. And like all these bosses, it can be a real problem if you're not careful. The Sea Spider not only exerts significant pressure with a variety of long-range attacks, but it is also constantly present with surprisingly fast close-range melee attacks. And we haven't even talked about the second phase of the battle, where it takes to the air...

But as is customary in Armored Core 6, this battle will become much easier with the right approach. We will provide you with two highly effective loadouts for fighting the Sea Spider - each loadout has its own strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, we will explain all of its attacks in detail to give you the best possible advantage against this opponent.

AC Loadout Recommendations

There are a few notable elements to consider when putting together an AC for this battle. First and foremost, the beam and jumping attacks of the Sea Spider are quite fast, so mobility is a must. Being in the air is naturally a good way to evade a number of these attacks, making reverse-joint legs a strong choice here.

Tetrapod legs are a good choice due to their hovering capabilities, which help deal with a range of these attacks. However, it becomes much more challenging to handle the beam attacks if you have naturally heavy tetrapod legs and cannot boost quickly enough. We consider them a poor choice for this encounter.

The tank chassis can be extremely effective in the first half of the battle, especially because it allows you to use powerful weapons to destroy the Sea Spider. However, you will need to rely solely on your Quick Boost to dodge certain attacks, as your ability to ascend is severely hindered. If you are familiar with the tank build, though, it can be a very solid AC to use against the Sea Spider.

If you decide to go with the tank chassis, make sure to use the lightest set of tank parts. You'll need that mobility.

The tank treads offer many advantages but make the second half of the battle against the flying Sea Spider somewhat more dangerous. Nevertheless, they provide overall strong performance and allow you to inflict considerable damage. The reverse-joint legs truly help you make better use of horizontal movements, but to have the necessary speed for effective evasions, you'll likely need to prioritize lighter shoulder weapons.

Using a melee weapon in this battle will help keep your weight low, and it can be extremely effective in putting the Sea Spider in a weakened state when they are close to maximizing their ACS gauge.

When it comes to weapon types, you should focus more on heavy-hitting weapons. Shotguns, blades, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and energy weapons are all viable options. The Sea Spider is a huge target and not particularly agile, so there is no real advantage to using lighter weapons.

IA-13: Sea Spider Attacks

Missile Cluster

This is a fairly straightforward cluster of homing missiles. The Sea Spider launches them into the air before they home in on you. As is often the case with missiles, it is easiest to use your Quick Boost to move towards the boss when these missiles rain down to evade them. However, if your boost is fast enough, you can also dodge them sideways.

Laser Volley

During the battle with the Sea Spider, they will frequently unleash salvos of laser beams. Individual laser beams don't inflict particularly high damage, but if you get hit by a full salvo, the damage can be significant. The Sea Spider will often use this attack while performing other attacks, forcing you to remain constantly vigilant and keep moving.

Cannon Blast

This is a powerful barrage of laser cannons. This attack is telegraphed as the Sea Spider needs to charge it up before firing its cannon at you. It often comes in groups of three, so make sure you're prepared to quickly boost away from it. Vertical movements will help partially evade the beam, but it has a fairly high accuracy.

Sweeping Laser Beam

This attack is very similar to the cannon barrage, but instead of being a concentrated, projectile-like energy burst, the laser beam remains active, and the Sea Spider swings it around. Your position when the attack begins determines its trajectory. Ideally, you want to be on the ground while the beam is charging and then jump over it as it moves towards you.

During the second phase of this battle, the Sea Spider will use this attack more frequently and execute it from the air, meaning the beam will come at you at an angle. Try to be at the same height as the laser while it charges (which requires ascending into the sky), and then reduce your boost and descend as the beam moves around you to avoid getting hit.

Pouncing Attack

This is a significant source of damage for the Sea Spider, especially during the first phase. When you see the massive mechanized threat charging towards you, it will attempt to execute this attack. You can quickly boost away from it, but you should wait until the attack is in motion. The most effective way to deal with it is to take to the air.

Spin Rush

With this attack, the Sea Spider will spin and lunge at the player. This is one of the attacks the Sea Spider uses during its second phase, more or less replacing the jumping attack. The spinning lunge is not only fast but also comes from different angles, and often you'll need to dodge it multiple times as the Sea Spider follows up if it misses. Moving away, ascending, then descending as it approaches, and using the boost to get away is a good way to evade this attack.

Giant Laser Blast

This final laser attack forms the core of the Sea Spider's second phase. It will charge up this attack while hovering above the center of the stage, and then when it fires, it will cause a massive explosion at the impact point, sending out an energy wave across the entire stage. If you are in the air during this attack (and not underneath the Sea Spider), you are completely safe. Otherwise, you will need to jump over the energy wave if you are on the ground.

IA-13: Sea Spider Battle Strategy

To start the boss fight, interact with the container. Once you've done that, Carla will warn you that something is wrong, and the sea spider will drop from the sky and land directly on the container you were about to enter. So make sure you gain some distance once you fully activate the container. You don't want to be standing nearby when the sea spider lands.

Now you should immediately start dodging sideways. You'll be circling around the sea spider the whole time, making a quick boost to the side whenever a laser beam is coming towards you. While dodging sideways, you should, of course, fire all your long-range weapons. When you see the sea spider lunging at you, start ascending and go over it. This will completely miss its jumping attack. Similarly, when it uses its fully charged cannon to sweep a laser beam across the stage, ascend into the air when it approaches you. Jumping up and down throughout this battle is a great way to dodge a variety of attacks.

The area in which you move will naturally be determined by the weapons you brought with you. Shotguns will work wonders in staggering the sea spider but will require you to fight in the danger zone. As long as your boost is strong enough, however, you will still be able to dodge everything she can throw at you.

Throughout the entire first phase of the battle, you will constantly move and jump in circles. Once the second phase begins, you should position yourself underneath the sea spider and shoot at her from below. Of course, you should continue to dodge sideways. When the sea spider starts to spin, you should go into the air. Try to go over the sea spider when she turns towards you, and then descend and go beneath her when she comes back.

If you're using the tank treads, your approach should be to drift around the sea spider at high speed. Try to do this in the center of the stage so that you don't get stuck against a wall.

You should also be in the air when the sea spider unleashes its large laser attack. If you are above the explosion zone, it will be harmless. The rest of the battle will proceed mostly the same, although some of the attacks will now be fired from different angles (as the sea spider is in the air). As long as you maintain the pressure, you should be able to inflict enough sustained damage to defeat her once and for all.