Before starting Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, players are probably curious about two things. Is this a reboot of the franchise, turning it into a Soulslike RPG? The answer to that is an easy no. While it has been some years since the last game, the action is more or less the same. Players will go on missions, fight giant robots, and repeat.
It's not a Soulslike RPG and yet it still follows the FromSoftware standard of not including difficulty levels. So, those hoping Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon would be easy will be sorely disappointed. Those are important things to be aware of before buying the game. Now, for those that did get the game, let's get into the tips.
8 Getting Through The First Boss
The first mission in the game is mostly a cinch. The enemy mechs fall relatively quickly and the length isn’t terrible. The only trouble is the boss, HC Helicopter, which is just a giant helicopter with loads of guns attached along with missile launchers. At first, it may seem impossible because the starter rifle and missile attachment don’t do a lot of damage. The trick is to hide from missile barrages and then fly at HC Helicopter to perform a double sword attack to do massive damage.
7 Where You Attack Is Important
Positioning is important in the game which should come as no surprise to Soulslike fans. There are random enemies with shields that can either be taken out from behind or with a quick sword slash. Then there are more extreme cases like bosses. Juggernaut is a relatively early boss that has a giant shield in the front protecting its body. Its thrusters in the back are its major weak point, so a sword thrust to those will do nicely. However, soaring above and shooting onto the head with a gun or missile could prove useful too.
6 Take Out Snipers
Battlefields are relatively open meaning that enemies can be hiding anywhere. Players have a scanner that can be deployed at any time but it can only do so much. The most dangerous enemies in the game reveal themselves without being scanned in via their shots fired.
Snipers are often the most deadly enemies in action games and the same is true for Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. Trace the laser sight or beam back to the enemy and eliminate them as fast as possible.
5 There Are More To Missions Than Blowing Up Mechs
Destroying mechs is one of the most satisfying things about the game. There’s a lot more variety to missions than killing random enemies or bosses though. Some missions task the player with recovering data from fallen soldiers, for example. There are also side quests within missions that are not explicitly highlighted. If players take their time then they can find secrets like chests that contain everything from more money to rare mech parts which is a trope of RPGs.
4 Customizing Your Mech
The best mech games out there allow players to customize their rigs in a variety of ways. Besides the Armored Core series, there is also Front Mission from Square Enix. In Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, players can equip weapons, arm parts, leg parts, thrusters, change their colors to a finite degree, and so on. Equipping new parts will raise stats as well as increase the mech’s load which can slow things down. Before setting off on a mission, don’t forget to test the new setup in the VR trials.
3 Find Easy Missions To Replay For Cash
Money takes many forms in RPGs and action games. In Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon it is referred to as COAM, and it can be earned in several ways. The best way is by replaying missions, but finding the best ones to go back to is key.
“Destroy the Tester AC” is an early mission that has a big map, but players only have to defeat one enemy before they can move on. The max total of COAM that players can earn for this mission is 95,000, but they will probably only get around 60,000 COAM for the job. That’s still a decent chunk of change in Chapter One for a few minutes of gameplay.
2 Take Advantage Of Checkpoints
Soulslike games often have renewable resources for healing. For example, in Dark Souls players have Estus Flasks which will recharge at bonfires. Players get three Repair Kits per mission in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon and their amount cannot be increased, unlike Dark Souls. However, if players die, all Repair Kits will be replenished along with their entire life bar. It can be advantageous for players to die right away on a boss to refill their healing supplies.
1 Customizing Your OS
Eventually, players will unlock a menu in the HUB garage called OS Tuning. Players can compete in the Arena to earn Chips that can then be placed in what amounts to a skill tree in an RPG. For example, players can put Chips into Repair Kits to increase their potency. This placement will not be finalized either as players can pay a small sum to retool their loadout. From increasing melee damage to allowing mechs the ability to aim manually, players should experiment with OS Tuning.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon was released on August 25, 2023, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.