Armored Core 6 was released on Aug. 25 and almost immediately became a top hit on Steam. The game, developed by FromSoftware (Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice), had some pretty massive boots to fill but seems to have absolutely no problem doing so, despite it not necessarily falling into the Soulslike category that fans have come to love and expect from FromSoftware.
Armored Core 6 is a simple enough concept that is executed flawlessly—exciting combat meets total customization. There are tons of different parts and weapons you can swap out to maximize your AC’s potential in combat, and how these parts fit together and complement one another feels truly unique. Some elements are very intuitive (speed, durability, damage), while others are a bit more difficult to see the benefit of.
You can Purge (drop) Weapons during a mission. This happens automatically when a weapon’s ammunition is depleted, but there is actually an OS Tuning (a perk) that allows you to purge a weapon at any point, even if it has ammunition left. Our first thought was, “but…why?” We understand now.
Manually purging weapons in Armored Core 6
If you found yourself confused about why this feature is present in Armored Core 6, you’re not alone. It seems odd to think that you would ever want to drop your mech’s weapons, especially because weapons will automatically be purged when they are out of ammunition. Initially, the only reason we could think of was shedding weight off of your AC, but even then, you would have known before starting the mission that your Assembly was too heavy and as such, would have changed weapons.
If that didn’t seem strange enough, you have to use your limited supply of OS Tuning Chips even to unlock the option to drop your weapon before it’s out of ammunition—implying this is a greatly desirable choice to have.
We’ve tested it, and it turns out that this actually is an awesome OS Tuning, and one that greatly enhances your choices in Armored Core 6. Regardless of whether or not your AC is overburdened, weight does slow you down. Even if you’re well within the limit, your mech would still be faster if it was even lighter. The OS Tuning that allows you to manually purge weapons actually also allows you to begin a mission even when your AC is overburdened. In other words, you no longer have a weight limit. You will still be slowed by adding weight, but the game will never stop you from doing so.
There are two things to consider here that make Weight Control, the Tuning to manually purge weapons, worthwhile. First, you never know what to expect on a new mission. Keeping your options open to adapt mid-fight by loading up on weapons and dropping the ones you don’t need will make your mech much more versatile.
More importantly, you get all weapons back when you reach a Supply Drop—and almost every boss fight has one right before it. This means that you can start a mission with TONS of firepower, shed the extra weight to cruise through smaller enemies and reach the boss fight, then pick the extra weight and kaboom back up when they’re needed again.
For players who are looking for an S rank clear, this Tuning is a necessity. You can change your assembly upon defeat before continuing from your last checkpoint, but being defeated will ruin your S rating, as continuing from a checkpoint automatically prevents an S rank from being earned. Given this feature of the game, the Weight Control Tuning/manual purging combination becomes the only way that players can actually “change” their assembly in the middle of a mission while still being eligible for an S rating.
Related: Why tank builds are best in Armored Core 6
Weight Control isn’t just useful for adding firepower—it’s also phenomenal for adding speed. Many bosses have a second phase in which they alter their attacks and greatly increase their offensive capabilities. A time like this may be exactly when a lighter, more agile mech is needed. You can keep, say, dual missile launchers on your shoulders and an extremely heavy weapon in one hand for firepower to burst the boss down to half health (clear time also matters for an S rank). After that, you can drop one shoulder weapon and one hand weapon, keeping just enough firepower to finish the boss off while also greatly increasing your ability to evade the bosses’ devastating final attacks.
