An Honest look into Armored Core 6's Flaws

[@Kurai_69420]

I feel like ricochet should have been limited to just specific close range weapons like shotguns, or at the very least disabled on long range guns like linear rifles.

[@dundealshowdown]

Mostly this yeah

[@noirekuroraigami2270]

@@dundealshowdown ricochet requires long distance targeting system

[@HappyTurtleTurtle]

Would have been fine if the ranges were much better on all rifles.

[@austin0_bandit05]

Seriously long range weapons are just mid range

[@NatsuKen1]

Tbh removing ricochets and increasing specific weapons' velocity will make combat so much better overall.

[@ktvx.94]

Failing a mission due to randomly going OOB is one of the most infuriating things in the entire series. I *do not* miss that. I'm with you with the music but as a fellow long time fan I'm happy with most modernizations

[@aemon5497]

New AC fan here playing through the old games and i've lost count of how many times i've gone out of bounds and wanted to rip my hair out. So fucking infuriating. I've never thought i would miss invisible walls this much

[@SilverGlint]

Ahaha it's not for everyone, I personally like it, maybe because older titles were made to feel you were piloting something very unyieldy.

[@air1744]

Yeah some of the old out of bounds are also just kinda bullsh*t. Especially the upper part and some map with cliff part. Never a fan of insta-death by falling mechanic. Except in platformers because they're literally built using it as part of they core gameplay. And there's one thing anyone who have played AC1 last mission can agree on: Armored should not have anything to do with platforming. (The c spider mission in AC6 technically have platforming section too and i bet nobody wants to do it and just either assault boost past it or go on top of the bridge and play rhythm game with the orbital lasers instead lol.)

[@RippahRooJizah]

@@air1744 I've played AC1's final mission multiple times with multiple builds. Never had any major issue with it. I took my time, planned my routes, and if I fell, I got right back up. Either that or had good enough energy efficiency to trivialize it. As for the under bridge part of that C-Spider mission, I always took that once I realized it was a choice.

[@justletmecomment6453]

​@@SilverGlintACs SHOULDN'T feel unwieldy, especially not in AC6. We are neurologically linked to the machine. It should feel like an extension of our body.

[@bohenian]

I think the assault boosting is fine and dandy without any additional cost. But give it a cooldown. Jeez. You can practically harass people with kicks if you are close enough.

[@Zedrinbot]

As someone who's played the series since AC3, I really agree with all these points. In particular, the checkpoint/lack of failure states stood out to me, as (unless I'm going crazy) I recall some of the earlier games had alternate missions that came up when you failed a mission, rather than just letting you restart. I feel like that was a missed opportunity for branching mission paths. There weren't really a lot of branching missions in AC6 overall, just occasionally an "A or B" single mission, save for the last 3 missions at the end. And while checkpoints did allow for more interesting and challenging boss fights, which I love, it kinda got a bit tiring how so many bosses have big, sweeping, map-traveling attacks. It was a complaint I had about the enemy design in Daemon X Machina (don't play it, not worth it), and it's really the only area where I feel like the game genuinely became more "soulslike" (and wasn't just a mechanic that existed in prior games that people were crediting to the Souls games). As far as stagger and assault boosting, I feel like an easy fix for some of the latter issues might be to lower stagger resistance / defense while assault boosting (after all, bullets are coming in at higher relative velocity, so they'll penetrate harder). It'd make assault boosting more a risk-reward mechanic, that you counter by being aggressive yourself. I heavily agree on the music too. It's more grounded than before, and I wish that there were more parts of the soundtrack that just let loose.

[@SilverGlint]

Great stuff you raised, especially mentioning how losing missions wasn't just "oh you have to restart the whole thing" but the mission board actually went forward. You fucked up? That's the job for you, next- People are forgetting how it worked in the first place and drawing comparisons on things they haven't tried out themselves.

[@topjos12]

Started with For Answer, if there's one thing I miss, it's using double melee. Sure it's horribly impractical but it's fun to just turn brain off and unga bunga with swords lmao.

[@stormysoup1083]

It's really odd how they don't let you do that, I'd never do it but it would at least be nice to have as an option

[@sssdrake]

With how strongly the game pushes aggressive play i would assume it was broken in playtesting, i bet double zimmermans into stagger double melee punish would be busted op as hell

[@topjos12]

@@sssdrake you have a good point, people gonna be spamming double zimm and pile bunkers, even the tankiest AC wouldn't be able to handle it

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

More than double melee, I just wish we could have melee on either arm. For example say I want two light machine guns and two melee weapons. As is, can't do it because you can only have your melee on the left side. If I want two melee options, I'm giving up the ability to fire with both arms at once. This feels like such a needless limitation. You can already swap two melee weapons for absurd damage, just limit us to only two melee weapons regardless of which side they're on and introduce a slight delay when going from melee to melee attacks with both arms to match the delay from switching between them on the left arm, like how the giant fucking coral laser rifle won't let you fire two of the giant lasers at the same time. It would prevent melee on both arms from being significantly more powerful than the current system and open up so much more choice in builds. Might enable some combinations that are a bit too op but it's not like quad shotguns don't already exist

[@AzazelTheMisanthrope]

I'm very positive the reason why they didn't allow dual melee or melee in either hand was because having the ability to assault boost at an enemy with a shield up and melee them at the same time would be an overwhelming combination that would easily destabilize the entire game. They specifically make you have a shield and melee weapon on the same side and cannot use them both at the same time, and that has to be intentional.

[@ragingpacifist2074]

As a lifetime fan of AC going back to gen 1, I agree with all points. I think the economy and music is probably the least important. Range and part variety biggest complaints from me. I think the game is exactly what the developers wanted. It was modest in scope and hopefully it enables more ambitious games in the future. Overall this fits in perfectly in a year with a ton of banger games being released one after another. Solid 8/10 game overall, only complaint is that it leaves me hungry for more.

[@placeholder3907]

I’m not sure I’d call this game modest. It’s quite long, and has been in development since 2018. Part variety is a sore point (specifically quads), but when it comes to achieving their goals, I think they went about as far as they thought they could.

[@natali_wolffe9012]

I wanna note that Over Boost still has one big advantage over Assault Boost, and that's that, at least in Gen 2 and 3, you can Overboost Strafe. Pair that with quick turning, and you can dash circles around your opponent like Nineball Seraph. That's how I beat Unfettered. And thank god you can't strafe in Assault Boost, only dodge or fully change direction, because nothing could threaten you anymore if you could do that.

[@SilverGlint]

Yeah lol good catch, that would be just fucking nuts

[@xendakakorva3267]

@@SilverGlint We call that pure AGONY XD

[@richardjohnson8991]

You sort of can actually. Timing is tight but you can assault boost dodge in circles around your enemy

[@linkkicksu]

Gen 5 overboost was the most mental, letting you OB in 360 degrees and with certain generator/booster and EN drain combinations you could basically stay overboosting permanently, turning yourself into a missile. Combine that with kicks in gen 5 being much stronger and you have peak fun.

[@EggBastion]

I really miss how the old lock-on system really defines the engagement of different weapons and the new lock-on appears to just do away with that wholesale

[@CruxG228]

@@sinAnon6689 you can use the missiles unguided here, however, which means you can use them as unguided rockets

[@nait5340]

yeah, the FCS choice was really important in old-gen titles. now everyone can just hardlock and the FCS choice is usually a no-brainer. add quickturn and assault boost to that and even ultraheavy tank builds have it pretty easy to keep a fast target in sight and range.

[@deuashachai]

Yea the unguided rockets were my jam. My buddy's were surprised how many hit from across the screen out of nowhere.

[@Lu1zF3l1pe]

​@@nait5340 dude wtf? FCS is still important as hell in this game, depending on the one you choose it'll get almost a second till the aim gets the target after he evades

[@hogsworld]

I would've liked more detailed deaths, like dismemberment of AC's at critically low health like in the trailer, and ammo cook offs, high speed crashes. You or your opponents AC just blows up in a relatively generic way. You're on point with everything and I hope there's more to come from this game.

[@demonslayervirgil600]

I think the ost fits the main character so much. Oppresive as they are devoid of feeling emotion due to the 4th gen Augmentations. Steel Haze and New Era are my personal favorites from this game

[@Ceronia]

previous AC ost is very funky and techno while AC6 OST seem more synchwave and much more subtle. Both style suit the tone of the story of their respective game.

[@illusionaryphantom3470]

@@Ceronia AC6 OST reminds me of hauntology (Burial, The Caretaker). Most tracks sound distant, like echoes from the past breaking through electronic interference. Cold, nostalgic. High emotional moments are punctuated with more "clear" sound, like Contact With You or The Man Who Passed the Torch. Also Rough and Decent with it's jazzy attitude and even piano solo in the middle is the prime example of that nostalgic distant sound. It's warm, fun and comforting, yet filled with harsher electronic sound. And Rusted Pride - lyrics are nigh-unintelligable, like you know the melody you heard long ago, but forgot the exact lyrics. It fits the player's perspective. Player is augmented human, barely able to exist outside his AC. This is like 621's memories, like it's the soundtrack inside his head. So yeah, the OST is perfect for the game. Even if not that pleasing to listen on it's own.

[@Nine-ball777]

I think AC5 had a better balance though.

[@First-Name_Last-Name]

As someone who played AC since 1998, I personally find myself astounded on AC:Last Raven music design. Always find myself chuckling hearing the music while playing it. For me most of Last Raven BGM's can be described as "clowncore technofart penis music".

[@BazTheBlue]

COMPLETELY agree with part cohesion. The RRI and ALLMIND line of parts are so insanely alien and downright Zone Of the Enders-tier that they're insane to try and fit on other parts. Not to mention the frame Rusty uses giving you a virgin neck

[@TheTrveMothlord]

Yep, given the lack of part quantity you're forced to put bits together that don't suit way more often. Also the parts on offer that do look more like gen 2 or 3 tend to have more odd proportions for this gen. Maybe it's just the modern from soft quirkiness they can't help these days. But I miss how everything in gen 3 in particular was so damn clean and cool to look at with almost no weird shapes or proportions.

[@antihero9443]

I agree. But I guess it's better than the 4 series. Playing the 4 series any part felt awkward unless it was from the same manufacturer.

[@ChestyMcGee]

Interesting to hear a long time AC fan's opinion on the soundtrack. There's like 2-3 amazing tracks (like Balteus imo), but I was also quite underwhelmed by the music and "vibes" in general. I was chatting to some friends and we were all saying "imagine if Armored Core had the music of Ace Combat", and it seems like previous A(rmored)C(ore) games did have more energetic, exciting, and memorable music like that.

[@SilverGlint]

Armored Core games of the past had some of the most energetic, fucking ecstatic and banger music in video games. I really like Ace Combat soundtracks but even that is tame compared to old AC tracks - pun intended, I seriously recommend you check out my playlist when you have time.

[@MrPikaGammer]

You should give a listen to the Nineball theme, it gives us veterans the same feeling the Balteus theme gives alot of people. That feeling of fear mixed with paranoia.

[@RiddleAnim]

My biggest complaint; PvE enemies can,at will,freely cancel out of an ACS break. Even if I don't hit them with a rogue shot between breaking their ACS and cashing in on it,whenever I move in to cash in on an ACS break,it's typically a coin toss on whether or not the enemy would actually remain disabled for the full five seconds,or if they'd either instantly cancel out,or cancel out at the single most inopportune moment for me. Peer ACs are the most guilty of this,and they tend to cancel out eight times out of ten. I love the ACS system,but if a game wants to include a system like this,then it needs to be consistent in following its own goddamned rules.

[@Spleen2ween]

Range/ricochet and part variety are my biggest complaints and I agree completely with your points on that. I think “no hard lock while assault boosting” is actually a genius change that would make combat a lot more intricate and expressive.

[@roar104]

No hard lock while assault boosting just means missing kicks constantly

[@davidweaver4436]

@@roar104 Yeah. I forgot that hard-lock even existed (more likely I just clicked through the tutorial too fast, oops) and played so much of the game without using it... and my kicks CONSTANTLY missed to the point I gave up on trying to use it. Then I rediscover hard lock and suddenly I'm punting MTs across the map. Removing hard-lock from assault boost would ruin kicking in a lot of situations. That said, hard-lock also kinda ruins multiplayer since a light ACs maneuverability becomes almost meaningless, so something needs to be done. Might just need to balance MP and SP separately in the long run, because what makes MP fair might make dealing with SP content way more difficult than intended if they're not careful.

[@anacreon212]

@@davidweaver4436 i feel if they remove hard lock in multiplayer they need to increase the camera speed for console and people on controllers because even on max turn speed the camera moves too slow for people on controller. However i do agree with the sentiment that hard lock should be removed.

[@sushiknight7013]

​@davidweaver4436 they could make it so if you break the line of sight of an ac the hardlock breaks till they can see you again but I'm no game dev so idk how that would effect that would be

[@TheBigHaloFreak]

About the Soundtrack, while I know what they were going for with a cold and dark setting, we still got Rusted Pride and Stargazer which feel very much like Hoshino classics. Like, even if they wanted to have exclusive atmospheric ambient synth for the entirety of the game, we still got songs like these. What I want to say is, if they would've given Hoshino full reigns on how the OST needs to be, he would've incorporated the ambient soundtrack AND would've had more opportunities to really let the AC soul shine. ACVIs Soundtrack isn't bad by any means, it's different and that's okay too. It successfully accomplishes what it went for. I just wished something like Morning Lemontea would've played in a Arena battle or two.

[@AFloofyBoy]

I knew in my heart when the game was coming out, it would be extremely unlikely that fromsoft would keep some of the more hardcore elements of previous games, I love armored core 6 to peices though, because I tempered my expectations correctly, my hope is, that they just used this game to put the series back on the map, and then introduce the more hardcore stuff in sequels/dlc. I love your video though, all of your points are very respectfully delivered, and at the end of the day, we all just want whats best for armored core

[@SilverGlint]

Precisely, I don't want to slander it for the sake of doing it. It's in all of my best interest, pretty obviously, that the games perform as best as they can. In fact if anything I'd be leaning into it appealing to most people possible so I could reach more audiences. However, we need to voice our criticism if we are to respect the things we love, can't love blindly.

[@suirenko7721]

A thing that I was thinking related to the early parts of the video is how Armored Core has been shifting from making moment to moment difficulty better at the expense of long term consequences and I think that showcases with AC6: Ammo isn't much of a concern anymore outside of a few missions/weapons but reload times have a bigger impact than before, bosses are generally harder because they can be seen as their own isolated thing due to checkpoints without having to rely on making a mission just for them when you want to turn up the heat etc...and as a result the long term considerations like the economy feel vestigial outside of hitting S rank requirements. It's an issue (if you want to consider it that) the series as been having the more we move from game to game and became really noticeable from Last Raven onwards. Glad you also talked about OS tuning because even excluding how it isn't actual tuning and is pretty much a skill tree it feels like a weird addition to the game and I think the passives unbalance the campaign too much, 15% more for both attack and defense stats and +6000 extra AP heals is big for a game like this and would recommend people turning at least passives off if the game is feeling too easy on NG+ and NG++. I agree with you on the stagger and assault boost, they only need some tuning but the concept is great (I personally love stagger and the setups it encourages and isn't as one dimensional as I have seen being described). My problem with assault boosting is the lack of weaknesses, even just increasing stagger damage we get and have weight impact its speed more would make it more interesting. Also big agree at stuff like refuel stations not being that necessary and I feel like from soft agrees cause NG+ and ++ exclusive missions don't tend to have it, it's stuff like it that makes me wish NG missions got the 4th gen hard mode treatment cause clearly from soft understood how powerful our endgame tools are and how to challenge them a bit in those exclusive missions, maybe fan mods will give us those crazy missions in the future. One thing I disagree a bit is with the bosses, not because of what you said about them more than the series has always had these build check bosses or at least bosses where certain setups just wouldn't work (MoA's nineball seraph without big damage weapons is a pain, ultimate zinaida would turn any AC with boost speed below 450 into swiss cheese) so I don't think 6 is unique in this regard, just probably more noticeable cause we have more bosses than usual. And the part cohesion thing I'm a bit 50/50 on cause most parts do fit our core (except nachtreiher, that core feels like it was made to make rusty's AC look cool while making everyone else look goofy), it's the RaD and institute parts that can look out of place but I think it works for both showcasing Carla's fondness for weird designs in the case of RaD which is good characterization and to also sell institute parts as exotic and alien but it does comes at the expense of fashion. Good video all in all, even if I think some of these work within the context of AC6 I do agree with some of it too and will be interesting to see how From Soft will look at the observations the community has been having about the game and apply it to patches/expansion/sequel moving forward.

[@SilverGlint]

Great takes, thanks for the input! Yeah I agree with you, I also have more vocal and reactive things to say now that it's still hot in my mind, I'm sure I'll feel a bit different later down the line. But what's true is that it's a great game, that has a lot going on for it - it's really hard to pull off a revival like this without conceding a lot of stuff.

[@FSVR54]

ehhh, Ayre took me 4 hours with OS upgrades, I think I'll keep them on...

[@CastIronNest]

"vestigial" is a great word to describe the mission expenses/penalties here, love that.

[@Jeikobu]

@@FSVR54 I watched my buddy struggle for hours on Ayre for hours. Then when he needed a break I switched to my tank build that I used on balteus and beat her first try in under a minute. Going back to the base comment of this thread, sure there have been build checks in the previous games, but I feel like the checks here are very build weighted.

[@FSVR54]

yeah but its so much more satisfying to get the victory the way I did it lol. Bipedal for lyfe @@Jeikobu

[@faaf_quaaf]

The soundtrack and part cohesion part has been bugging me since day 1, thank you so much for bringing it up! Although, i would be lying if i said i wasnt regularly listening to the ambient tracks for AC6... The death of long range combat was also pretty disappointing as I was hoping to recreate my sniper builds from previous games Overall, pretty well thought out video. A lot of the points made here i pretty much resonate with 100% as an oldgen player, you've got a sub from me

[@stormysoup1083]

I think the only thing that really bugs me is OS tuning just being a flat upgrade system, I don't think that really fits Armored Core at all, otherwise I see a lot of the complaints as differences that don't really make the game better or worse in my eyes, although more long ranged options would be nice, I'm definitely very excited to see how Fromsoftware responds to the criticism and how this style of Armored Core evolves

[@ulric8445]

The flaw I’d like to add is how you can’t help Balam win

[@flavorgod]

Interesting thing about part cohesion, Shoji Kawamori is back in AC6. He designed nearly everything in oldgen.

[@SilverGlint]

Yeah I know right? It's so weird, something has influenced the direction though! Well he did design White Glint and the such in 4th gen too, but maybe the team was just going for something else

[@flavorgod]

@@SilverGlint surprisingly his designs in DxM have more parts cohesion.

[@ChaoticLaughter7]

I really think this nails the issues tith armored core 6. By no stretch is it a bad game, but imo its being bogged down by lots of small things thats preventing it from reaching its amazing potential. I think the most important points mentioned were deffinatly part varity and range viability, and how the lock on applies (or doesn't) to both when mixed with richochet. I do feel that AC6's soundtrack was a bit on the safe side. Ive always valued AC soundtrack with unique and experimental tracks. And i deffo agree that theres an issue with missions from the healing (theres litterally no point to it existing, just x3 my health) to S rank having a tangable effect.

[@KnightCrown]

I think the ammo resupply and checkpoints may be to discourage players to use melee for everything until the boss.

[@Rocklow31]

This awoke a memory of me playing AC1 when I was a kid. Boss Savage locked me in the underwater base room with the hidden door and I had spend so much time trying to shoot everywhere with the default rifle that I was all out of ammo and tried to escape the maze with just laser sword. Suffice to say I didn't make it through alive the first time. Taught me to conserve ammo at a very young age.

[@MaidenlessScrub]

1. AC6 tracks are still extremely mechanical and catchy. They also fit the theme and characters they represent well. You CANNOT say that the tracks are mediocre let alone bad or flawed. 2. AC games are best when you have as much customisations as possible, so I do not miss the debt system that prevents me from getting parts 3. Smaller missions are there to let you breath in between big missions and let you earn money without farming a specific mission to get parts for the bosses. In those smaller missions you don't have to use checkpoint, and some of them don't have checkpoints in the first place. And I surely don't want to replay a long mission to reach the boss that I die to. That's already your middle ground. Shorter missions don't have checkpoints while longer missions do, especially those with a boss fight. 4. If the bosses don't force players to switch builds, they will complain that the game give no incentive to do so. If the bosses force them to switch builds, they will complain that they want to fight them with their favourite weapons and don't want to change. PICK ONE 5. Although I do want more parts, I understand what FromSoft is doing here. They make the quantity of each archetype just enough to make each part feels unique instead of bloating the game with slight variations of the same thing. So, I don't want more parts as reskins of the same things, but more categories like the double shoulder weapons or gun arms. However, the devs will have to come up with ways to make them feel different instead of being the same as putting the same weapons on both shoulder or just holding a normal gun. One thing that would be quite funny is if they make purging weapon a throwing attack 😅 Agree on the next three points. The ACs are designed to fit into a specific schematic, so switching them around can make absolute abominations 😰. The OS tuning also feels half-baked. Seems like they just threw it there to make you feel some progress. Ricochet is too... idk but it just forces you to play at close range and limits the build variety and playstyles of the game. At the time I'm writing this, Assault Boost had been nerfed, and light ACs had gotten a massive buff to their speed and stagger recovery, so they threat of them not being able to kite heavier ACs is pretty much gone or at least very small. Uhh hard locking benefits controller players more imo. It's extremely hard to keep the lock on with M&K because the slightest movement of the mouse will break the lock, and holding it still is really hard. The shoulder weapons being tied to E and Q also makes it awkward and limiting to move around while firing them, especially when you need to charge the things. M&K can benefit from manual aiming accuracy or fast speed to keep the soft lock on the target, but it does not get anything from hard lock. Or maybe it just because of my shaky hands

[@lanji21]

This is also an armored core that I feel will greatly benefit from expansion down the road. I know Fromsoft said they weren't considering DLC right away wanting to smooth out the base gameplay and give us a finished product, but can you imagine some of the classic weapons they could bring back if they decided to? They have a very solid engine to work with that I feel is just begging for them to make more parts for the game down the road.

[@Rohtix]

My biggest complaints is the hyper-focus on aggression. Low range weaponry across the board with no long range choices except for missiles, hard-lock over performing because of said low ranges, emphasis on stagger with crazy direct hit damage, weapon combos that can 100 to 0, no way to put distance between you and your target if they OB towards you, and the handful of overtuned weapons and builds thats typical if fromsoft pvp. I finished the main game, S-ranked all missions and got all achievements before I tried pvp. The more honest matches were fun, but my builds were next to useless against hardlock tryhards. Ignoring the lag, it was really frustrating. Not really intrigued to play more. I pretty much agree with your entire video as well. Youre definitely an AC veteran if you have these gripes, especially about the awesome tracks!! My poor bazookas need a buff. Rip you cant hit a damn thing

[@Tigersight0]

Agreed on pretty much everything. My biggest issue so far has been how heavy builds are simply more effective in almost all cases. The amount of mobility they give up in exchange for multiple times over the level of firepower that ""fast"" builds get feels like it skews things heavily out of balance. Not to mention the defensive benefits either. I haven't been able to get into PvP because any time I tried, I had to buzz around these heavies at warp speed and play perfectly because one single mistake and they would just instantly delete me without any effort. And I mean LITERALLY one mistake. For example: I flew all around this heavy tetrapod one game, hitting it from all angles and dodging between its shots it just sprayed around randomly. Nearly had it up to an acs stagger so I could land a good melee hit. Probably would have gotten it to 50% hp or so, so I'd have to do it all again after. It hard locked and landed one assault boost kick. Made me stagger, which instantly stopped me in place. Song birds to the face, staggered again. Charge shot to the face, acs stagger. Stun needle to the face, stagger. Rocket to the face. Dead.

[@SilverGlint]

Heavy weight builds dominate everything at the moment

[@boredomkiller99]

Eh I think medium builds are better especially for S ranking Two needlers and a right hand weapon to stagger into a charge pile bunker is the best way to clear most S Rank missions that have bosses and you want a high general speed and QB boost to set it up. Even then in many stages you will fail the S rank due to lack of speed with heavy builds. Early on heavies are great but once you get boosters that allow you to achieve +340 speeds and .50 or lower QB heavies dominate a lot less. Light builds are the only real problem but that is more because it is hard to make a light build that doesn't loss too much speed weapons. Most med builds can rock 320-345 speed and a good QB while carrying lots of damage while lights need to give up a lot of strong weapons to get to 360 or achieve a faster QB

[@BitBlush]

I agree with the Music bit. The only two times I stopped and even **noticed** the music was vs Balteus and Rusted Pride.

[@nait5340]

when i think about oldgen AC music "king lear" immediatly starts playing in my head. great video. i agree with alot of your points.

[@MachineMan-mj4gj]

I hate the stagger system because it defines the entire combat system. If filling you ACS meant you were just EASIER to stagger or stunlock that would be fine, because as it stands now, a single rifle bullet can mean the difference between high speed dodge and sitting there like a mushroom while the enemy winds up a pile bunker.

[@twocontradictions]

that is also my problem with this game, some of the weapons fall off thanks to the stagger system, and you're forced to conform into using different weapons just to fill that up quickly. otherwise you'd get staggered first and get sent back to the garage. i just want to use my dual assault rifles please, need to rp as Berlioz.

[@Spleen2ween]

I’m sure playing only AC3, ACFA, and now AC6 shapes my perspective on this, but I don’t really agree that the economy system is so far out of line with previous entries. To me it felt like AC3’s economy had the illusion of scarcity but as long as you weren’t failing missions you couldn’t re-do you would never go anywhere near debt, and my finances only constrained my build for the first like quarter of the game. ACFA seemed to completely do away with the notion in favor of feeling like an arcade more than a sim, which I liked for ease of use but didn’t like thematically. I do think it would be really cool to have an actual debt mechanic as in 1st gen, especially with the whole human plus system, but as with the devs I’m not sure how that could work.

[@belldrop7365]

IMO, S ranking can be the middle ground for the stage difficulty. You can still beat the game -like a casual- intended for new audiences with checkpoints, but if you want the S rank, you have to go in knowing what need and cannot use the supplies and check point. But right now it still needs refining. Most missions are still too short and has an over reliance on time limits instead of actual performance. But we can trust that next games will at least have more readily available assets to supplementmaking bigger and longer stages, even ac parts.

[@SilverGlint]

Yeah I think so too!

[@CastIronNest]

I think the only part of this I hard disagree on is the music, but that's a taste thing. As much as I love previous OSTs, atmospheric music is my jam and I'm always happy for more of this high quality. I'm definitely more critical of AC6 stagger system too, and it's hard for me to see the comparisons to AC2 like the example you used. Just because you can use the same word to describe both things doesn't mean they're functionally the same. That said, I definitely agree that the solution can come from tuning and tweaking some things rather than a huge overhaul or cutting it altogether. Also since we don't have all the same opinions I'm putting a formal request in the System to raise your threat level. Escalation is the only solution.

[@SilverGlint]

Requesting for code 9 - Target Verified 👀

[@Ruriko-Is-Playing]

My main gripes is the part we have is really really really limited part counts hopefully the G edition (ya know like FA, LR and the likes) we get more part and Please addd more arena fights Edit: I meant I want more part due to lack of it

[@ジョン·スペクター]

I want my AC to look like fragile someday. I am a man that has a thousand things for skinny fast mechs.

[@nutral13]

To help with range We Need To be Able to overboost backwards from to oppo while keeping the oppo in visual site , the assault boost locking ur vision forward is the issue

[@SilverGlint]

Yeah sadly I don't know how to fully go about fixing it but it needs something

[@jactstone]

I agree with most of the points, especially to features in older games past AC Gen 1 I never played. Part cohesion, I'd say its the curse of high fidelity and increased polygon count. I'd say if old gen AC designs were modelled today accurate to the art, it would also be noticeable. For the music, a friend has this headcanon that From was holding Kota Hoshino back with the current OST as to not scare the newcomers. I'd compare the shift to ambient and atmospheric music tracks similar to C&C Tiberian Sun moving to Tiberium Wars. That said, some of the most memorable AC6 tracks appear late in the game, and you really appreciate those. Stargazer, Rough and Decent, the Bad Joke version that goes harder, and the ALLMIND bgm that is basically a dark reprise of Shape Memory Alloys for a few pick favorites. As for things that would've been nice: - Cross platform code sharing, or at least the decals. - Let Kota Hoshino go all out for arena combat music, maybe give each arena pilot their own theme. What we had was still nice. - Some form of basic AI tuning that lets me fight my own builds, and can be appended in build sharing so other players can do some kind of mock 1v1.

[@SilverGlint]

Good insight, those would be cool to add!

[@Krystalmyth]

It doesn't make sense that a machine of war has weapons that can't hit a target at 150m, I'm sorry, but even tanks are effective at ranges far more than this. Aircraft, are effective at ranges WELL beyond this. For ACs to be this combat ineffective at these ranges, questions the very need for their existence. Ricochet is a half baked decision at the scale AC6 wants us to believe it's in. In ACV gen it made sense as ACs were MUCH smaller, and the scale of caliber on weapons was tiny by comparison. The weapons in AC6 are exponentially more powerful. They should not be bouncing off of other ACs if farther than a football field.

[@Okil_Atlas]

The difference in camera turning speed, not AC turning speed just the camera, between PC and console is staggering. Even with my camera sensitivity up to the max my camera speed is still only about half that of PC and mouse. So players on PC don't really need to use hard lock that much, but on console hard Lock at times is just necessary because even slow tanks can outpace the camera. If your fighting anything closer than far mid range it's an absolute chore desperately trying to keep the camera on the enemy for soft lock. So it pushes console players to only use hard lock

[@Jyten901]

Great video. Glad there are still some old AC fans left. As a hardcore AC fan, AC6's biggest loss is not having a ranked ladder. I'd live with all of the other issues if it just had a ladder. But stagger needs to be nerfed in pvp. 1v1 pvp feels pretty bad due to it. Fights can end in literal seconds as you can shoot all your weapons in rapid succession after staggering. Master of the arena was the perfect AC game. As an old man now, AC6 is the perfect game. It was very easy to s ranked everything (except the bs 2 AC snow level, I still don't understand how I S ranked it). I can no longer play AC 6-8 hours a day, everyday.

[@DIMOHA25]

Yes, fuck that fuel mission. It had the dumbest S rank requirements. I wasted the entire evening trying to do it and while I was doing it I've seen people on youtube S rank it with way worse stats than what I had as an A rank. Literally 50-100% more expenses and noticeably less bonus pay. I screenshotted some of my best attempt stats and the S rank attempt didn't stand out among them at all. Felt like absolutely random lottery nonsense.

[@foxhoundms9051]

Dude this video was amazing! As a fellow Armored Core old head I'm glad someone did this kinda comparison. I love the game all in all. While it isn't exactly the old games, it isn't stuck in the rut of 4A or VD. A new Armored Core with a fresh story and background. While the sweet music like lynch law is gone it definitely still has that dark, human plus, black market, corporate vibe that I know and love from the OG story arcs.

[@kamerona4723]

range and ricochets are the big ones for me especially since ive always ran mid ranged builds and run one here, another thing with range is that projectiles are also kinda just slow

[@axsprime]

I agree with every point you made, especially on the music. The game still has bangers like Contact With You, Fight or Flight, Rough and Decent Rusted Pride and Stargazer but most of it is too ambient for my taste and I'm someone who can get behind mood music or is too "Souls-ish" for what I would want in an AC game. The final boss theme for NG++ was a major letdown for me but at least I got Stargazer afterward. If anyone felt the same way try playing Inherit the Stars from Daemon x Machina instead, it fit way too well especially given what happens at the end of that game and AC6. As for the parts, AC4 had the same problem in variety but then 4A came along and spoiled everyone so here's hoping whatever expansion AC6 gets fills the gaps ( and I really want two handed weapons in a similar style that The Enforcer boss has to fill the Overed Weapon niche).

[@gingerpauls]

I have high hopes for an expansion

[@Tsyke]

The flaw you listed are pretty fair in my opinion. I also appreciate how you ordered and explained the flaws in a way that shows how all these systems (especially combat) are interconnected with each other! In some way or another, Fromsoft definitely needs to tweak some of the values on a variety of stuff, like raising the "Ideal Range" on weapons like Rifles so they ricochet less at farther ranges (my personal wish) or cutting down a weapon's Impact damage to bring it more in line. There's probably a lot of things they'll need to look at before making improvements but I believe they're up to the challenge, even if the changes come in small batches. Personally, I like AC6's OS Tuning as a means to ease into the game's various systems, I can't deny that I also would've preferred fine tuning your AC's stats rather than be given a bunch of damage percentage bonuses. While the OST gives a nice ambience to the game, I definitely would've liked some moments where a bumpin yet outlandish track would start playing amongst the tension of traversing a mission (In My Heart from AC3 living in my head rent free). Low key I feel like the times when FreQuency would step out on stage to put out a new track have now gone but here's to hoping that Kota Hoshino will get the band back together someday! Thanks for the great video, SG! I think you did a great job articulating your concerns, at least enough to help me finish sorting out my own! lol

[@SilverGlint]

Thank you for your input!

[@brentramsten249]

10:50 there only being two tetrapod legs makes me very sad. still used them for most of the game. absolutely love the playstyle

[@blackmage471]

I think you hit the nail on the head. I agree with all of these points. Off the top of my head, I would add I think the boss fights overstay their welcome. There are too many bosses and not enough regular missions.

[@SilverGlint]

Knew you would agree, this is pretty much the same you said. It's a great game but it's not the best AC game at all

[@almightytwinkie2171]

Unpatched Balteus made ultra instinct gamer awaken. No shottys(as I thought they were useless on day two), just me, my 10 cell missiles, the basho set, laser saber, and the Turner AR. I was so determined to prove I could make my set work(without even knowing what the Basho's hidden stats were), that I just kept trying to muscle through it. Balteus made me understand that if you aren't going to change your loadout, you need to understand the attack pattern. I had basically the same loadout, just with the whip, for the Cel240 fight. The Turner, Basho, 10 Cell, and Whip combo made Cel240 the most fun fight I *ever* had with Armored Core, and that's saying a lot with just how much fun I had getting the legendary 100% complete achievement The "Fires of Raven" fight, though. That was the first fight I was forced to swap off my loadout. One Ten Cell, Bunker on hangar, and two SPAS shottys(not the Zimms, as I found it made the fight too trivializing), paired with the 3 nozzle booster

[@SilverGlint]

Yeah and the fact this is possible is really cool, just wish it wasn't so railroaded into the game and that people were more encouraged to try other stuff rather than what just works the best

[@manuelrosso7018]

i love this game, but the fact that when you are in soft lock the ac doesn't follow the camera like it did in older games is the biggest flaw imo, sometimes it felt that hard lock was required to finish cerntain encounters and i didn't really like it.

[@heaventohell97]

The massive imbalance spread across weapon and body parts, the lack of basic matchmaking qualities, the ancient netcode, the lack of modes or ranked…. I love this game too but I also hope FromSoft has the awareness to fix these major issues

[@gluelake]

AC6 is my first AC game, and ever since 100% completed it I have been playing the old games, namely AC1, PP, MOA and AC2. I definitely agree with your sentiment on hard lock. I think HL should only be used for tracking the enemies during fast maneuver while the aiming should be done manually with SL. To that end, nerfing HL targeting, separating camera speed and turning speed are brilliant ideas. On a side note, how you vets were able to adapt to the ps1 control is beyond me. I gave up on it and used the modern control scheme and yet the missions were still hard af.

[@SilverGlint]

Ahahah it's moreso a "you just had to do it" kinda thing

[@nuruddinshah684]

O.o Just like a MC in a anime...Shangri la frontier Extreme "trash gamer" with MAD SKILL (seen you have to have EXTREME PATIENT with those old game)

[@Bath0rius]

I think the very high payouts for missions make a lot of sense from a story perspective. You're not just trying to eek out a living like in other AC titles, you're on Rubicon chasing after the most valuable resource in the universe, trying to make the real big bucks. And so are the corporations, therefore it makes sense, that they'd be willing to pay unusually high amounts for missions, since it'll ultimately be worth it, if they get their hands on the coral. If you were just trying to make a living, you wouldn't need to risk your life even just attempting to land on the planet. You're also not really independent in this game, you are more or less the property of your handler, which ultimately means, making money from missions isn't really your main priority, the priority is reaching the coral. From a mechanical perspectinve I get where you're coming from, though I think debt simply doesn't quite fit in, given the storys premise.

[@KK-zm6sd]

I totally agree with your points about the economy. After playing several stages at the beginning and realizing that I didn't need to save ammo anymore, I was shocked.

[@SilverGlint]

Right? It feels a bit off, at that point why not just reward parts per mission

[@KK-zm6sd]

And I also agree with the part cohesion. I always faced a dilemma: choose aesthetics or performance. Most of the time, I opted for aesthetics. I couldn't stand having my AC appear non-cohesive during missions, even if it meant making the game more challenging for myself.

[@KK-zm6sd]

My biggest complaint in this game this game lies in its mission structure. While the narrative of AC6 is compelling, the design of each mission feels overly simplistic and predictable. AC6 lacks several mission elements that were present in the older generations. Specifically: 1. Missions that truly test your mettle. Starting with a mission that already arouses suspicion, you work to clear the map, a process that's nerve-wracking in itself. And just when you think you've achieved your objective and allow your concentration to relax, the game throws in an unexpected twist. Suddenly, you're faced with additional tasks to complete, even though you're nearly depleted. 2. Overwhelming enemy onslaughts. These force me to abandon my usual trigger-happy approach and strategize how to manage the situation most effectively. Even "Intercept The REDGUNS" feels gentle.

[@SilverGlint]

@@KK-zm6sd yes the best way I can put it is: the game feels like it's safe. It's afraid of being what it always was because of possible backlash from people that never played anything like this, so instead of leaning into what it already was, it goes into a different direction. You can see some of this almost come back through missions like grid 086 but it's very rare.

[@aemon5497]

i did feel like AC 6 gives you too much money but i don't really like how punished you are for using solid weapons in the older games. energy weapons are just super lame to me compared to metal and gunpowder

[@CallofWar5]

Been playing since last raven and not being too have viable mid to long range options was noticed immediately and sorely missed. But i do also still enjoy the fast paced, aggressive style they were going for

[@bankuei]

I agree with most of what you're saying here. I played a ton of AC 1 & 2 back in the day and missed everything in between. I'm like halfway through chapter 3 and it finally is starting to "Feel like AC" to me. I think my two biggest issues with AC6 are pacing and inconsistent game logic at times. Pacing-wise, it feels like the standard missions aren't really tough enough or teaching enough skills to help get you up to speed for the bosses; in that way, repeating missions doesn't help you really hone your skills, and the bosses are a huge jump up in challenge. I'd probably feel like I was getting more from standard missions if we had more elite mobs with the combo of tankiness and high attack rate. Game logic, sometimes the missions are best done by doing the smart, real world type thing ("I can get past most of the defenses by flanking this area, that makes sense") then there's missions where it turns to videogame logic ("If you get seen just kill the enemy within 2 seconds, and they can't tell anyone. No one will seem to notice when 48% of their folks go offline."). I didn't mind early AC "it's hard because you need to figure out the build and experience whatever mid-mission problem appears" but this kind of inconsistency makes another layer of artificial difficulty that feels cheap and it's only because it swings back and forth. Anyway, because I know modern FromSoft design, I can't fully judge the game until I get a second playthrough, so we'll see how I feel when I get around to pushing through further.

[@leetagent]

but i hope they will recognize the things you point out, AC:6x could be truly next level if they see what worked and didn't in AC:6

[@legibleusername6202]

I'd say this vid def shines a light on many of the paper cuts AC6 has on the whole One of the more succinct approaches out there

[@SilverGlint]

Yeah it's not that there's anything inherently wrong with the game as a whole, it's pretty fantastic. But it has a lot of holes in it, truly the swiss cheese of AC

[@legibleusername6202]

@@SilverGlint We're gonna need a AC Cheese Tier List now

[@blockchainballer4542]

Not to mention the lack of online features! I’d love to see a matchmaking mode with a ranking system. Being able to see the top online NEXTs in ACFA was amazing. There’s a lot of potential for new online modes overall.

[@gingerpauls]

rank needs to be in the game. they even tease it with "PvE Ranked Arena"... like come on! PvP Ranked Arena would be so sick

[@Blind2D40]

Some aspects could be interesting. But; How are they gonna monetize it? How much development time will they lose assigning people to manage ranked pvp? How many Zimmermans is too many? I think some simple game modes would be cool though, and maybe some form of coop. Best things about FromSoft is they don't try and milk us for money and that they produce great games that work on release. Let's not compromise that.

[@blockchainballer4542]

@@gingerpauls I hope they intentionally delayed releasing the ranked mode for after a balancing patch.

[@gingerpauls]

@@blockchainballer4542 I get that. However I'd personally like to see truly how broken zims are. Maybe we would see some high ranked off meta builds!

[@Orinslayer]

I'd also like to see damage done by what sources. It just feels like if you do all the damage but someone else gets the kill you get screwed.

[@Lahdee]

The part variety is definitely the thing that I'm most disappointed with. I feel like there are some gaps that need filling like a machine gun type for shoulders. I also agree that stagger is too strong right now to the point where energy weapons with lower base impact can make the game seem harder in comparison. In my first playthrough on PC I went purely energy weapons because they felt more interesting because of different types of projectiles or managing overheating. It was very apparent for me until Sea Spider that I tried explosives and felt that stagger was so consistent and quick that my energy weapons felt inferior. It wasn't until my first playthrough on PS5 (yes I bought it on both) that I beat Sea Spider with energy weapons but it was a much longer fight in comparison. I had to learn the fight better with energy weapons than with other types because staggers were harder to come by. Ibis just reinforced this for me as I struggled but overcame it with my light RJ with dual energy pistols, 3-cell plasma missile, and pulse blade after many hours of learning my openings. Then trying it again but with the impact kings zimms and needle launchers and felt like I didn't have to think just fire.

[@Renousim]

I think the best sort of fail conditions are those that don't make the game unfun. I think restarting entire missions is unfun, but I think being penalized for not achieving certain objectives, losing stealth, or your allies dying would be better since they're connected to how the player actually interacts with the game.

[@MBunn-uf1we]

Hardlock doesn't have any inherent penalties other than making fighting chaff a pain, softlock gets a mild increase to tracking while also nerfing your movement by disabling strafe and making shield/melee usage a pain. I do expect assault boost to end up being affected more by the weight of the AC so heavier ACs have a harder time chasing things down with the ease they currently have, like the amount of time the combat wheel chair can stay in the air is just gross. I expect sniper style weapons to change a bit too however I think there'll be a few DLCs to give us more gear variety down the line.

[@asparagoosagus5954]

as a newcomer who was honestly pretty skeptical about the series coming into it, i kind of liked that a lot of the systems were simplified. I think if everything was as complicated as it seems to have been in previous games i might not have bothered trying it out. but that being said, now that im into it i would definitely welcome more complicated building systems and other mechanics going forward

[@SilverGlint]

Yeah and I think this might've been their move and reasoning too. Hook people with AC lite so they can bring back complexity slowly. But that's one hell of an ask to make of an old timer that's foaming at the mouth for more traditional content.

[@marshalclarke5417]

@@SilverGlint That's just the old guard sitting there and yelling "You young whipper snappers, stop having fun and slog up the mountain like I did every day for school!" And while that is fun for a niche group sadly this does not have mass appeal

[@SilverGlint]

For some things that's exactly it, you're right. For others it's just plainly something that deviates from what makes the games fun in the first place. You wouldn't probably like a souls game having a gps map marker, rendering the exploration aspect completely useless right?@@marshalclarke5417

[@marshalclarke5417]

@@SilverGlint No, no it would not be fun. Still, keep in mind that some things that old vets may seem essential is actually just seen through rose tinted glasses. The debt system added more world building and punished the bad players. But nowadays its not quite fitting anymore. Yes, it'd add more complexity but also removes ~80% of the new player base you could get. There is an interview where the director said he wanted to keep the debt system and wants to revisit it but it did not fit a relaunch of a franchise. Imagine if AC 6 flopped due to holding onto a relic mechanic instead of reviving the franchise. We can now look forward to more Armored Core as Fromsoft tests and polishes the systems

[@SilverGlint]

@@marshalclarke5417 yeah of course, they know better what market they want to hit. I don't think it's rose tinted glasses as I play these games all on rotation often, and these things do matter. I went on to play SL right after beating 6 and it's noticeable. You're right about reach and standards for modern audience though!

[@gingerpauls]

Agree with everything here you nailed it. If the old parts tuning returned, I think it should cost COAM to give a reason to spend them and do missions after you've completed the game.

[@colbyboucher6391]

On the music: I think From is rightfully proud of the game's audio in general and wanted the music to take a back seat. I miss the crazy ayy lmao music of first gen (Verification kinda brings it back) but they kinda had to compensate for the rest of the audio being lackluster.

[@Jcoaerlrsiocno]

Man if the music in this game is subpar the older AC games must have some heaters. I cried several times on the way to the checkpoints on some later missions bc the music just got to me As a first time AC player: I really hope the sequel says “fuck you new guys, it’s the old people’s turn to have fun”. All the older gen AC stuff you showed looked so sick

[@SilverGlint]

It's subpar personally compared to the previous ones, but by itself it's fantastic, might be a taste thing but check out some of my playlist and see for yourself!

[@RoyRusso89]

My top 3 complaints: 1- Tunning worst than previous games (OS tunning & parts variety) 2- To easy to stagger 3- Bad long range But i love the game, loved more AC FA but this is my second in the list.

[@itslilithsan7130]

completely agree on all points Fromsoft played it way too safe with this one, hopefully Miyazaki takes full direction of the next one. I NEED more missions with poison swamps, you can't comprehend how disappointed I was with that lame ahh cave mission being the only one with poisoning element. 6/10 no Actual poison swamp mission.

[@SilverGlint]

Yeah what the fuck is this ☠️ But you're not ready to know the poison swamp was there in AC1, before Miyazaki was a god

[@itslilithsan7130]

Been there, Corrosive Gas my beloved "melts"

[@aidanklobuchar1798]

I think one thing they did really well was with the booster/generator/core combinations and how those parts interconnect. There isn't always one clear best combo and the generators leaning into different playstyles is a great direction. Of course, heavy builds will just use the Buerzel booster, but that's an issue with AB being completely OP at the moment. Also, I'm surprised you didn't comment on every FCS having the same tepid max lock range of 450m. That just feels way too short, especially on these pretty large and open maps. And it further nerfs the idea of long range combat. I hard disagree with the criticisms of the economy changes though. In my experience of playing through all the old-gen games, once you learn how to play one of the games, debt will never be a real issue for the rest of the series and after you get like 10-20% of the way through the game, you can afford pretty much any build you want anyways. Hell 6 of the games let you import your garage, all bit circumventing the economy anyways! (PP, MoA, AA, SL, NB, and LR)

[@SilverGlint]

Oh yeah for sure, but atleast you can often get red report cards somewhere in missions much more often!

[@jean-bastienjoly5962]

I feels like AC6 biggest problems is a lack of Balance, both in gameplay but also in the casual sides of thing: Gameplay wise, you have stagger, unbalanced weapons and parts, a relatively easy series of ission followed by, saddly, build check bosses, ect... But then you have the game trying to be easier to casuals, while doing things that are NOT firendly to casuals (and non-From Software veterans): On one hand, you have the Hard Lock, parts of the gameplay are simplified (easier to access), reduced cost and bigger pays, more ammunitions for your weapons, health bar on all enemies; and on the other hand, you have the First stage boss, the repair kits system, the stagger sytem, and so on (they're most certainly others that i haven't experienced or realised) It feels like AC6 is in this weird state of caering toward a more casual public , but it also bring new mechanics that weren't present in the older games... "Unbalanced" would probably be the best word to describe the game current state. The worst past for me is that... this doesn't feel like the Armored Core i grew up with. ...which to be fair, would be Last Raven.

[@tratamarack441]

This game needs bigger Field of View or just a transparent AC. Its really annoying when you can't know what your enemies are doing when your ac takes up a 1/3(normal) or half(assault boosting) of the screen and had to just rely on auto targeting, compass and sound cue for everything. Also, invisible walls like the one on helicopter boss, snailteus, michigan, firework mission, ibis, etc. It just ruins the experience when you are (especially on speed and melee build) chasing down those enemies, only to be blocked by game constraints and have them attack you in a range where all your weapons are useless, when you know damn well that they would be dead if this wall is not blocking you. How is that fun? They could AT LEAST make those enemies not able to leave the tiny tiny combat arena like us and this wouldn't have been a problem.

[@justinw4447]

I am glad somebody made this video. As a long time AC fan (Started with AC: MoA) I wholeheartedly agree with you. While I know that FS are trying to cater to newer audiences they could've easily avoided this by locking certain mechanics to different playing modes. What I mean by that is say the present default AC6 is under "Modern" and then another which packs most of the original features as "Classic". Personally, above all the things u mentioned what I really dislike the most is the stagger system and the ricochet as a close second. I wished they kept the stagger system feature specifically for Boss fights only as that's where it will shine the most. Stunlocking fellow AC's doesn't feel really satisfying to me not to mention the system alienates other weapons because of that. Ricochet on the other hand, invalidates long range playstyle. It just further reduces the variety of builds u can do with your AC. As a melee pilot myself, there's times I just want to play a laid back type of game with long range weaponry, and now it's barely there. Also, I know a lot dislike this but I miss the Booster / Heat Mgmt. thing of the older games. You don't get penalize that much anymore unlike on older titles in which if you drain yourself out during a match, u are pretty much a goner. That said, I wish they could add more leg types / varieties in the future even as a form of DLC. All these things are from a long time fan and is by no intention of offending newcomers. So again, these are just personal takes. Thanks and really hopeful for this franchise's future.

[@SilverGlint]

I agree with you tit for tat on pretty much everything, I'm sure it could have been worse, way worse - but what we have albeit good betrays a lot of core design ethos from AC, which admittedly were lost in the transition from old gen to 4th gen.

[@MrAgill1970]

You touched on a number of issues I have with the game, but one of my biggest gripes is how much better quad legs are, and how bad reverse joints are. This largely comes down to vast differences in stability, and how critical stagger has become to the game. This should be optimized so that there isn't a best choice overall, nor a worst choice, but what is best for the particular style of play the player is utilizing. Under the current conditions, that's just not really an option that can be met. Also, I that hard lock can be knocked off just by touching the right stick. Many of us have spent countless hours in FPS play where muscle memory has locked into us to keep our thumb planted there. I'd rather it go dead stick until it is pressed again than having any movement on the stick register as an off button.

[@cataclysmicacedia824]

I just started the video but you perfectly described how I feel about the OST! I do adore it and the style but I would have very much liked the older games style of ost composition.

[@SilverGlint]

Yeah! It's not a matter of it being bad, because it's so good still. I just...wanted it to be more of what it was

[@zagansonneillon2997]

simple solution, mute the music ingame, cue monkey beats daddy lol

[@RyukagiRen]

need more Piano... and vocal/choir, fer me AC6 soundtrack is just too dark even fer AC lul

[@WankMk2]

Want to preface by saying im a series newcomer, but there was a definite turning point for me when I was thinking about my weapons and eventually realized that the ammo count didn't really matter, because the level would either end or I'd get handed more when I needed it. In four runs of the game, I think I've run out of ammo maybe twice using a variety of different builds and weapons.

[@MrUnimport]

There's exactly one mission in the game that makes ammo consumption a big deal and players generally seem to hate it lol. Maybe if more missions were like that people would feel used to it.

[@FrostRare]

Your points are so uncannily spot on. The laser rifles, the music, it feels like there was some miscommunication on the development end.

[@cjmcd2332]

I started out with 4th generation, less than a year before the first announcement of AC6, so that's my main point of reference. I miss tuning, but mainly part variety. There are no snipers in AC6. No basic rifles (not burst and not linear), no old-style pulse guns, no railguns, no physical shields, no FINGER, no radar, no weapon arms, and no shoulder weapons/attachments (I see the joints on the shoulders, GIVE THEM THEIR WEAPON). Also, as much as I like the moonlight in AC6, it acts less like a sword than it should, and more like a weird short-range gun. Also yeah there needs to be more frame parts. To be honest if from decided to just remaster the parts from 3rd gen, maybe sprinkle a couple from 1st, 2nd, or 4th gen that would probably work for most people. (could work with 5th gen, but some parts seem too bulky to fit in, imo) I also agree with enemy variety. Maybe because I wasn't looking too carefully, but for the most part the MTs used by the corporations and the RLF all have the same design. Wish there were more variety.

[@docbones213]

There's a lot missing.

[@brandonbackup873]

​@@docbones213TBF, it's the first game in almost a decade, in a franchise infamous for information overload for newbies. I think From was playing it safe for a variety of reasons, and we can only hope they'll build on this with an expansion sized dlc or two.

[@docbones213]

@@brandonbackup873 If they don't It will be the first time.

[@10XSeiga]

Stagger needs nerfs across the board. Lightweights should recover from stagger more quickly. Heavyweights should take longer to recover from stagger. Lightweights should be much faster across the board. Ricochet needs to occur at much farther ranges. Kicking should burn alot more energy or it should just be nerfed. Assault boosting should disable headlock.

[@Warpded]

I feel like AC6 was something From is using to test the water. It's a GREAT test

[@SkiGlovesie]

I feel like I've had a different experience to you in some respects. But I can definitely agree that the nostalgia and effect of Artificial Sky is perhaps only rivaled in the new soundtrack by the man who passed the torch. But crucially two things I must contend. I find it strange that you say Balteus enforces you away from using bazookas, because bazookas were precisely what I found most comfortable for fighting it. What changed for me in my struggles against Balteus was reattaching my knees... Only to chop 'em off again because I found tank drifting too fun. And because of the details on parts and the careful balance of parts of niches I feel like most options are purposeful. AC3 might have had more machine guns, but one had 1000 ammo and wasn't terrible. And lastly... My biggest complaint about Hardlock is that it's in my way. Manual aim is useful, but it's trapped behind a delay of holding a middle mouse button and returning to good aiming is then trapped behind clicking through bad aiming. My experience of Hardlock lead to me missing more shots because my FCS was taxed more and it didn't do anything to help maintain a lock on the hard to track targets or the AC surrounded by MTs.

[@RavenKnight2408]

I will agree on the soundtracks. The soundtracks for Rubicon felt... Felt a little weak when compared with FreQuency and Kota Hoshino's other works that are so robust, full of energy and a lot of drive. The AC4 and 4A soundtracks were in my opinion his best because they had a strong and unique sound. The moment I hear the "oooohhh" I immediately knew it was Thinker. The way I hear the guitar ringing with a few notes. I knew it was Remember. The way I hear the first few keys on the piano, definitely someone on the surface. Violin? Day after day. Hear a loud drum sound? My first thought would be Artifiical Line It feels like Rubicon's soundtrack doesn't have a certain sound signature to it, if that makes sense? The specific ways to beat bosses is what I somewhat agree with. Mainly because of the build aspect. 50 to 70% is won within the garage and the rest is skill. My only issue is that weapon wise. It feels weird how I need to stick to an enemy like glue with a pair of assault rifles and rail guns when I can be at a distance. The ricochet mechanic has to be tweaked better. Because If I'm in the effective range of my weapon. It should cause some damage not just bounce off. Example. I did tests with rifles and I see that within the effective range, you need to adjust to drop it by 10 to 15. So if something is at 260? Then you should keep in mind that it'lll be useful at 245m. And I agree with the part cohesion nitpick. It does feel like some parts suffer a lot from it *Basho* especially. It's like the lightweights and midweights can blend together easily but the others are just complete jank if left alone. My main complaint is the weapons. Plenty of weapons feel a need for rework + a bit more variety to twhat we have owuld be great. A sniper rifle would be useful and long range kinetic weapons would bea game changer with an FCS that can handle it. *Cries in lack of energy machinegun and pulse rifles that dont look like microwaves*

[@baval5]

Your criticism of Balteus funneling certain builds is interesting to me, because at one point you say "youre probably not going to want bazookas here either", but that is exactly how I defeated Balteus the first time. As a Tank player my instinct is always to solve big problems with bigger guns, and noticing that my bazooka was dealing large amounts of stagger to Balteus I equipped two with two laser cannons to take out its shield, and was able to bully Balteus all around the arena. A friend of mine coming to the same problem was using handguns and vert missiles at the time. Going in to it I thought "this isnt going to work, his weapons are too small so hes going to have to dodge a lot" but no, I was incredibly wrong and he also easily beat Balteus because vert missiles do incredible damage to his shields and handguns stagger him super easily. A third friend used the pulse blade to deal with his shield and punished with his missiles. Later on during my Jailbreak challenge run I used a shotgun to break his shield and punished with the laser sword. Theres actually quite a lot of ways to beat Balteus easily that cater to a lot of playstyles, and I feel like people are getting hung up on "i want to use *this specific* gun" instead of "I want to use this playstyle" and then saying they cant play the way they want. Its true that not every combination of weapons works because you need to either combine high stagger weapons with high punishing weapons or forgo that gameplan entirely by using weapons that do damage regardless of stagger and mixing these strategies will make you unoptimal, but I have yet to find a playstyle that doesnt have a weapon set that can make it crush all the bosses in the game.

[@SilverGlint]

I say that as the background footage shows me performing exactly what I said you probably shouldn't do! What I mean is, these bosses go from extremely piss poor easy to pretty tough if you swap one weapon unit out.

[@baval5]

@@SilverGlint Hmm, they can but it depends on how critical that weapon was to your strategy and if you swapped it out for a weapon that performs the same role, and if you swapped your other weapons to match your new strategy if not. For example if you have a Songbird equipped because you know that your Hu Ben requires a staggered opponent to do decent damage then yeah swapping off the Songbird for a shield or laser cannon is going to result in you having a much harder time. However if you swap that Songbird for Vert missiles or a Spread Bazooka or even a bay Zimmerman youre going to find that not much changed because you retained a weapon cohesive to your strategy. Likewise if you swap the Songbird for a Pulse Cannon but then you also swap the Hu-Ben for a Bad Cook then now you have a build made to do damage without staggering, and so the boss will remain around the same difficulty even though your strategy changed. It just takes a bit more consideration of how your whole build comes together to make a game plan IMO.

[@boredomkiller99]

You hit the nail. People really act like builds are limited when pretty much every boss has multiple effective builds. In general as long as you follow certain concepts you can make many builds that are very effective. Mostly it comes down to having a good stagger builder and good weapons to capitalize off it

[@notspiderman4158]

It would be good if in next game there were different types of missions, something like Small contracts missions where you just go in on a short mission like previously ACS, no check point, no resupply, if you fail you lose the contract and have to deal with the consequences. And Expeditions/ Main missions : long missions with side content, big missions where if fail you just go back to a checkpoint. I think with these you can have the mercenary fantasy of previous games and the big story moments where from soft can go for the big hard and refined fights they are know for without compromising the experience.

[@stuffyevil]

Gosh I should seriously go through your Armored Core Playlist to find more songs to add to my own playlist. Never played the older gens but Something is Always Moving on the Surface is one of my favourite OSTs of all-time (4th gen has a lot of my favourites).

[@stuffyevil]

Beside everything that people has already said (mid range being dicey, long range outside of missiles being non-existent, straight-up lack of parts like sniper rifles), I'd say that AC6 could have had more Arms Fort types of boss fight as we only have the Strider, though this is more of a missed opportunity.

[@stuffyevil]

As for new parts, I don't really feel that FROMSOFT will just add them in a patch, but I do hope we get some kind of free expansion (or something like that) which adds a ton more parts to mess around with.

[@JaggedJack1]

Sure I suppose the honeymoon phase may be over with AC6 but I am still in love with it.

[@SilverGlint]

Based, me too, I'm just being very critical because I like it a lot!

[@sujammasunset1556]

AC6 is my first foray into the series and largely agree with your criticisms. Boy I wish debt was part of the game. All tension vanished once I realized I was turning a profit no matter how bad I was playing or how much ammo I used. Hopefully debt gets implemented if we get an expansion/DLC. Also S ranks feel way too easy to get. Like I just attempt to win and bam! The requirements could be a little tighter imo. It's also hard to ignore how hard the game funnels you into close range and arguably high-mobility ACs (at least from my perspective). I was having rough fights with a ranged mid-weight AC until I switched to a lightweight AC with dual shotguns and a melee weapon and suddenly the game got much easier. All AC/Boss encounters pretty much boil down to building stagger and then punishing with a high damage attack (melee, laser cannons, ect.) and close range weapons and melee build stagger and do damage much more reliably. Also if that wasn't enough reason to go close ranged there's ricochet. I hate ricochet. H A T E. That said I plan to experiment with more builds now that I have all parts unlocked. That being said, the part variety isn't bad but still left me wanting more. I also wish there were more mix n match part combinations that were fashionable or at least weren't absolutely hideous because there is no point in piloting a mech if it just doesn't look cool. Maybe a nitpick but I also hate how weathering effects are just a mirrored texture. It's not always obvious, but when it is it just looks too artificial to be real, proper god-fearing rust, grime and dirt. Now that all that whining is out of the way I'm going back to messing with the colors on my AC for a couple hours.

[@SilverGlint]

Ahaha well put

[@Zero_8347]

you should be able to control the direction of OVER BOOST the exact same way as normal boosting. i want to be able to OVER BOOST toward the camera, so i can retreat from a rushing dual zim melee build without losing sight of them

[@eyescreamsandwitch52]

I think KBM users won't have an advantage if Hard lock is removed if only they made the camera stick to your butt and made quick turning manual and skill based. If the sensitivity of how you turn is locked / capped to your turn rate, it wouldn't be an issue regardless if you're using a mouse or a thumb stick.

[@ravelt321]

yeah rifle types should be buffed on the ideal range stat. hope they add sniper rifle types and back chainguns. parts tuning should also make a comeback.

[@Posaydal]

Without the day 1 patch, rifles had about 300 ideal range 600 max range which got shortened on day 1, though I think the projectile velocity is the same or similar which ultimately limits how well you can hit with them (and damage was still low).

[@KoongYe]

I understand the soundtrack could be a bit boring for old fans but I think the ambient aspect of the soundtrack makes long playthrough less psychologically demanding. I can't imagine myself playing tens of hours of nonstop rock n roll or hyperbeat electronic music. Especially in the hangers. I agree very strongly on the combat range. The game limits you much to close to middle range combat. Long range will either ricochet or be dodged. There's no sniping. It all makes the game very repetitive in playstyle. No wonder everyone uses shotguns.

[@armoredcorelore]

I think this was fair shake of ac6 glint. Keep up the good work.

[@SilverGlint]

Thanks ACL, but I'm curious, what is your biggest gripe?

[@armoredcorelore]

@@SilverGlint My biggest grip as to be lack of documented history. Its a shame as LR history was there and ready to read and now we seem to going back to the days of well here's some hints and then that's it. But that's just me being spoiled by LR with its information on everything. The real kicker for me is the lack of quad leg parts much as i love bipedal legs, i wanted more leg parts.

[@SilverGlint]

Got it, yeah I missed the documentation too...

[@wilddreams]

I think the only thing that kinda puts me off while I am new to the series, so I have no standards for this franchise in particular, are checkpoints and how they are used. It makes no sense. I think resupply and checkpoints should inherently be tied together and you can't just magically reappear with full ammo and a brand new AC right in the bosses face. If anything I think checkpoints should just let you retry with the current state of health, repair kits and ammo and if that state was fked up, then redo the mission. I think that's a fair compromise between completely throwing players into depth and missions being basically a training room.

[@linkkicksu]

Yeah, going from Verdict Day's incredible selection of bangers to AC6's very quiet and tame OST was sad. Also my biggest gripe outside of hard lock is that the game just outright gutted a ton of the depth of customisation for the sake of making the game approachable. Heads and arms are basically just cosmetic spare a few particular specialised arms (RIP weapon arms), cores only matter for output adjust and AP, and outside of bipeds, there are only one of each weight class for RJs, Quads and Tanks. I'm at least thankful they brought back hover legs, but it's only one single part. Compare that to generation 3 where heads were super specialised with different radar shape, speed and range, bio sensors, night vision, and each head even changed the voice of the AC's main system. Arms had a lot more variety not only in balance of weight, EN drain, accuracy etc, but we had weapon arms too to forego some AP and versatility in exchange for superior firepower. Cores had the considerations of selecting between Standard, Overboost and Exceed Orbit, each with their benefits and drawbacks, and each having a number of choices that varied with the inclusion of the VS MG, weapon hangers and optional part slots, and each leg type had a large variety of choices with different stat balances for minmaxing to perfection. Weapon variety is boring too, especially back weapons with missiles taking up the majority of the selection. The lack of dual back weapons, chainguns, linear guns etc. was just sad. And to top it all off, they swapped out tuning for a flat overall stat upgrade system that only works in PVE anyway.

[@invictus_1245]

I've only played ac 6 and really agree with the economy point, and it really makes me wonder why its still in there besides tradtion with the way theyve implimented it. Theres a penalties section on the mission report but i cant think of a single mission where there was a penalty applied. The base pay for all the jobs was so high expenses never came close to depleting half of it. Ive only seen a screenshot of a report card in the negatives and that was the ayre mission with no base pay and where the guy deliberately didnt scan the wrecks that pay out and expended all his ammo.

[@arturoz6547]

It may be a bit of hopium but I "suspect" that having few parts may be a way to introduce Armored Core to the mainstream before going all out with future releases of 6th gen. Let's see if this game is just the seed or is the direction they want to aim for.

[@SilverGlint]

I hope that it's the seed theory. It makes sense if we look at it that way!

[@anthill4329]

They have been hiring mech artists in the weeks after the game launched so more content is absolutely planned.

[@SilverGlint]

@@anthill4329 do you have a reliable source, if so it's big!

[@anthill4329]

Its a youtube video so secondhand source but, ZioStorm’s “Armored Core 6 Just got a Big Update Patch 1.02 BREAKDOWN!” At 6:33ish is where he mentions it

[@SilverGlint]

@@anthill4329 thank you! As far as I know ziostorm tends to be correct about these sorts of things

[@Blackcloud288]

It's the range. Sniper was always my jam in Armored Core, and having straight up no options with which to play long-range really took a lot of the wind out of my sails. Still love most other aspects of the combat though, and I'm about to start NG+.

[@zorain2354]

Correction: Average Gen1-4 ACs were 10m, 5th gen were 7m, not half the size of full blown ACs. They just had shorter legs.

[@SilverGlint]

Well some ACs just had taller legs and heads anyway so I wouldn't be surprised you could reach 14m with some builds!

[@billybegood466]

This is my first AC game, so I can't relate to many of the things on your list. I am really enjoying the game though and am halfway through NG+. That being said, I 100% agree with you about the Stagger mechanic. I like that it exists but I'm not a fan of the execution. Also, I'm referring only to the PvE aspect of it. There were several encounters where I was just constantly chain staggered, which made it feel unfair and not fun. One encounter that really stood out for this (spoiler ahead!) was the fight with Carla and Chatty. I'm trying to keep track of both of them, but I would basically get staggered every other hit. Very frustrating. I eventually wound up shoving myself under the upper ledge and behind one of the pillars since Chatty didn't seem like he ever wanted to come down from there. But still, the few hits he managed to land just instantly staggered me every time.

[@foodomanthemagnificent2650]

My biggest gripe is the refused maps. It's pretty obvious they only made a few, large, maps to use.

[@GettingYourNerdOn]

I've thought about this a lot over the past few weeks and you're the first person online that I've seen mention it. Maps get constantly reused with different entry points, times of day, or weather conditions lol

[@foodomanthemagnificent2650]

@@GettingYourNerdOn I remember in the old AC games there was a variety of maps over the course of many missions. Sure, a good number of them were pretty simplistic, but it helped say 'this world is huge!' AC6 size does feel a bit smaller due to the number of maps.

[@newCoCoY6]

im gonna add that in the old AC games we had hangar units for smaller backup weapons for when our primary ones run out of ammo, this made it so you can bring enough firepower if a long mission is eating up your ammo. But AC6 removed the hangar units in favor of resupplying ammo mid mission instead.

[@KingOfTheNights]

The main flaw is the lock on system and lock on range.

[@yeetgoblin9785]

My only complain is the weapon variety honestly. I hope fromsoft brings back chaingun, slug gun and adding more energy and coral variant to existing weapon types