In Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, players will be joined by the mysterious Rubiconian "Ayre." After making Contact during the final mission of Chapter 1, she becomes a constant ally for much of the game's story. She remains an ally in two of the routes players can take through the game but becomes the final boss during the "Fires of Raven" ending route.

In the "Fires of Raven" route of Armored Core 6, players will have to face off with Ayre as she takes command of an Institute AC to hold off the Xylem and prevent the Overseers from burning the Coral. Ayre's AC is incredibly fast and can deal incredible damage with its Coral Weaponry, making for an excellent final challenge.

RELATED: Armored Core 6: How to Farm Money Fast

Attacks

Phase 1

Ayre can fire off homing coral projectiles which are best avoided by strafing quickly to the left or right, and she tends to fire them right after boosting. Quick boost can be used to get some extra distance away from them if necessary.

Ayre will dash around and try to close the distance, so she can use her Coral blades to slice up the player's AC. These can be dodged by quick boosting diagonally towards and past her, aiming for the side of her that isn't emitting an energy blade. She can combo these slashes together and alternate arms, so players without the energy or the timing to keep quick boosting out of the way might instead consider keeping their distance and utilizing quick boost to stop Ayre from getting close enough.

Ayre will also fire off blasts from her Coral Rifle, which can be avoided by strafing to either side. Ayre's final attack during this phase of her particularly brutal boss fight has her transforming her AC into a bird-like form and charging toward the player. This can be dodged by quick boosting to the left or right, or by jumping with reverse-jointed legs to get above the charge. Avoiding this charge is a top priority since it does incredible damage.

Phase 2

After dropping to half health Ayre will enter phase 2 (indicated by a brief period of slow motion) and boost quickly away from the player. Ayre will then create two red copies of herself in the air that lunge toward the player with coral blades. These can be dodged by quick boosting forward to slip between the two slashes. Ayre follows this attack with a charging slash of her own, which can be dodged in the same way as her melee combos from phase 1. She'll continue using this attack periodically throughout phase 2.

After this Ayre will continue using her attacks from phase 1 and also start using a few new tricks. The first of these has her performing a transformed dash like she does in phase 1, but now with a dangerous follow-up attack. This can be dodged by quick boosting to the side or by jumping over it. After the first dash she'll circle around and create several red clones of her AC that will charge the player and explode. These can be dodged by strafing and boosting in the opposite direction to the one she is flying in. She will then charge in herself, which can often be dodged by continuing to strafe sideways or by quick boosting to the side if it looks like she'll still hit the player.

Ayre can also now charge up a red energy beam that deals a ton of damage if it connects. Players should watch for the red energy gathering on her gun to indicate she's charging the attack and then quick boost to the side as she finishes charging to get out of the way. Ayre can also dash erratically into the air while firing off explosive shots. These will detonate after a short delay and are best dodged by backing away while she does this and staying on the move.

Strategy

Ayre has Pulse Armor during phase 1 that players will need to break through before she can be damaged. Pulse Armor is best damaged with rapid-fire weapons (like SMGs), weapons that fire multiple projectiles at once (like shotguns), and pulse weaponry (A lesson learned during the earlier boss fight with Balteus). It's easiest to hit Ayre after she swings her coral blades since there's a short delay before she continues attacking. She also leaves herself open after firing her charged blast during phase 2, allowing players to dash in and unload. Players fighting from long range can keep firing at her constantly, but her high movement speed makes it likely that many of these attacks will miss entirely.

Ayre's charging attack with her clones during phase 2 leaves her wide open to attack after the real Ayre charges, so this is a good opportunity to focus fire on her.

Build Recommendations (Best Build)

Players hoping to take down Ayre should pack weapons that fire quickly and/or fire multiple projectiles at once. This will help with getting through her Pulse Armor and make it easier to stagger her. Reverse-jointed Legs are also helpful for additional mobility and easier dodging of her fast attacks.

The build below is excellent for dealing with Ayre:

This build uses shotguns in each hand to rapidly break through Ayre's Pulse Armor during phase 1 and build up ACS Strain on her during both phases, allowing players to stun her relatively easily. Once stunned, players should dash in quickly while swapping the ASHMEAD Pile Bunker onto the left hand for a charged strike. These charged strikes deal incredible damage and can easily deplete Ayre's health bar.

With reverse-jointed legs this build is able to hop up and over Ayre's charging attacks and coral blade swings if necessary, providing a valuable emergency dodge if the player's AC is out of boost energy. The SONGBIRDS are a great way of dealing extra ACS Strain to Ayre when she stops moving after an attack. Pulse Armor is a useful expansion for blocking Ayre's homing shots if players run out of energy at the wrong time and can also refresh the ACS Strain meter when activated to avoid staggering. Players could also swap this for Assault Armor to stun Ayre whenever she closes the distance for a melee attack.

Armored Core 6 is available for PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.