S-Ranking Every Mission in Armored Core 6 [Chapter 1]

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Illegal entry: 0:00
Grid 135 Cleanup: 7:00
Destroy the Artillery Installation: 10:35
Destroy the Transport Helicopters: 26:06
Attack the Dam Complex: 28:50
Destroy the Weaponized Mining Ship: 31:45
Operation Wallclimber: 37:30
Retrieve Combat Logs: 43:50
Investigate BAWS Arsenal No. 2: 56:45
Attack The Watchpoint: 1:02:35

[@CLMURD]

Timestamps so I can S Rank them all: Illegal entry: 0:00 Grid 135 Cleanup: 7:00 Destroy the Artillery Installation: 10:35 Destroy the Transport Helicopters: 26:06 Attack the Dam Complex: 28:50 Destroy the Weaponized Mining Ship: 31:45 Operation Wallclimber: 37:30 Retrieve Combat Logs: 43:50 Investigate BAWS Arsenal No. 2: 56:45 Attack The Watchpoint: 1:02:35

[@mdiaz033]

you skipped destroy tester AC, oh wait...

[@CLMURD]

@@mdiaz033 OH Didn't even notice he skipped it, lol

[@kirbyis4ever]

​@@mdiaz033To S rank Tester AC, simply destroy the dreams of a young pilot.

[@david5310]

Illegal entry is extremely forgiving, you don't actually have to complete the tutorial, and you can use up to two repair kits. Just try not to engage most enemies and use the pulse blade alot during the chopper boss and your costs should be low enough at the end that you get an admittedly boring, but consistent S rank

[@lucasnlima]

I can appreciate the arc as Vaati went from an ok player, the lore guy to "I'm doing everything in S rank" Someone needs to make a lore video for this arc.

[@sneachta.2184]

Ongbal or let me solo her coming out with the lore videos now

[@steel5897]

This game really brings out the sweat in me, maytbe the same for Vaati. Something about the high skill ceiling gameplay gets my blood pumping.

[@todd3143]

@@sneachta.2184can’t wait for ongbal’s prepare to cry: vaati vidya | hitless speedrun

[@tbxvividos]

fr fr

[@kirbyis4ever]

​@@steel5897once you see that you're being graded it's hard to not want to get the best score.

[@malespecimen21]

Man i feel sorry for anyone who doesn't get the visual presentation of AC6, personally i instantly feel in love with it i love the dystopian theme and the depravity the world makes you feel

[@koalatysleep]

I was so confused that people actually said graphics looked bad. Every trailer and details was amazing to me.

[@MrBabyBitch666]

@@koalatysleep need that fortnite color scheme lol

[@3v0luti0n]

the game is pure art

[@krzysztofprzybylski2750]

I am not fan of basically greyscale palette, but I also noticed that the structures look kinda generic and boring and there's little of that sense of verticality in them. I feel like I'm moving through local port's container yard except all containers are gray instead of blue, red etc.

[@malespecimen21]

@@krzysztofprzybylski2750 That's just part of the extreme industrialism theme, you're on a planet that's being bled dry and has been war scorched by depraved corps, they're not there to make it look like Hawaii the architecture is clearly depicted in a bland and bleak way to convey the priorities of the corps, they don't care at all about living conditions, they're there exclusively to exploit the dying planet

[@anaguma90]

Vaati is a great let's player - no over the top reactions for the audience, just gaming and chill

[@jorgwei8590]

Yeah, really pleasant to watch.

[@willostrand6555]

Agree with both. Also his reactions of shock are hilarious it’s funny to hear him sound distressed when you only ever hear him talking so calmly in his regular vidyas

[@perhaps4887]

We really need him to put out a lets play for those later missions

[@sknakhunt42]

yup

[@hammerenjoyer_]

That's why I like vaati 👍

[@johnarcher6150]

41:54 is the exact moment you can sense the pain in his voice from his hitless test runs.

[@kirbyis4ever]

And he did it going for an entirely different goal. Two birds, one stone

[@DannyStuart]

I don't think AC6 is colourless at all. Sure, the environments are intentionally drab, but the second the action starts you've got explosions, thrusters, lasers, and the screen is pretty much full of colour the entire time. It looks great!

[@vivil2533]

It's probably a good thing the environment is one color, since it makes it a little easier to see everything else going on. Although the yellowish deserts can hide missiles, and the Grey can hide some generic enemy mecha.

[@xx_amongus_xx6987]

Yeah but what if there were colorful explosions, thrusters, lasers, and a colorful environment like the original games?

[@musicman24X]

​@xx_amongus_xx6987 Then it would be less readable, which is the game design term vivil was dancing around.

[@xx_amongus_xx6987]

@@musicman24X Not necessarily. Most games are filled with color and don't have a big issue with readability. It wouldn't even be any more unreadable than it already is considering everything is gray and nearly every enemy in the game is also gray.

[@vivil2533]

@@xx_amongus_xx6987 I think you're a little confused, weapons are corful. That part of the readability, missles, and bullets are yellow lasers are bright blue pulse is a more faded blue, coral weapons a bright red. Electric weapons are a different yellow Different engines have different colors too, I don't actually know which is which, but the typical fire color are combustion engines which have high capacity low recharge ( i think). The. You have blue, and red which means something else. Color is used to indicate what kind of weapons is being fired at you. Early missions are just full of basic guns and missiles, so you don't see a ton of the other colors.

[@bane9951]

Vaati got the Armored Core fever more than anybody else, he truly found himself in the role of a cold mindless merc

[@Luarska]

I know this is late. But, the sherpa kits reset damage and ammunition costs. This can help with an S rank by reducing costs. You can also skip through the cutscene. Imo, its always beneficial to take them as with my testing, it has 0 detrimental effect towards ranking. Though, if someone else has tested this more and came to a different conclusion, feel free to let me know.

[@kirbyis4ever]

Many of the missions have different requirements for S ranking too. I've had my ass handed to me and be left with 0 repair kits and half health but STILL S rank.

[@SolaScientia]

@@kirbyis4ever That's happened to me a lot, especially missions with major bosses. Many times I swear I'd done a B or even C run and then the screen shows me the S and I end just staring at the screen and asking "But why? It was a trash run?" I was stuck on the transport helicopters mission until I had to come watch this to see how I was messing up. So many times ammo costs are a major factor in the score, but I guess not for that one. I'd been ignoring everything except the helicopters, but now I need to go kill a bunch instead. The parameters for the scoring don't always make sense to me.

[@ultraginge1990]

It will be super interesting to see what the actual datamined S rank criteria is for each mission because it’s 100% different for each one.

[@biggierocc1935]

I'm pretty sure it's just how much money you make

[@Havoc_279]

As far as I understood, you gotta destroy as much stuff as you can in the missions where you get paid for it. Did "infiltrate grid 086" using 2 repair kits total and taking my time destroying as much as I could and still got S rank

[@aquaticIntrovert]

In regards to the Destroy Transport Helicopter mission, I found out the painful way while trying to S-rank Grid 086 that if a mission pays out bonus for destroying enemies that doing so will contribute to your score. I had to hunt down a ton of optional enemies (earning close to 500k for the mission) to get the S

[@QwertYuiop-yt3uh]

Really? I literally just ignored all the enemies and bum rushed the helicopters for the s rank. Used plasma rifles and one shot each helicopter so relatively low ammo cost.

[@Tenchigumi]

I did that, and Vaati did that in this video (without taking damage and with minimum ammo), and we both got A's consistently, so I'm not sure how you pulled it off. But hey if it's possible, it's possible. For the majority of missions, speed does seem to be the key, but I also find that Loghunt enemies can help tip an A into S when all else fails (which is what I ended up doing to S this mission). @@QwertYuiop-yt3uh

[@ElodieFiorella]

My favorite weapon for the Investigate BAWS Arsenal mission has got to be the pilebunker. Killing the stealth mechs in one hit and sending them flying gives me tremendous satisfaction.

[@boopwoop5154]

It is quite amazing how your calm tone and disposition translates so well to let's play content. I'm new to the AC series (devastated I wasn't aware of it sooner), and you're making my discovery of it a little more special. Thanks Vaati.

[@Jay9966]

same with me, how could I have not heard of a mecha building game before this.......

[@tbxvividos]

i never expected souls lore guy to have a tryhard AC pilot arc but im all for it your coverage of this game has been really great and your passion really comes through throughout this entire journey. glad to see you continuing to enjoy the game post launch edit: oh, and you were talking about taking more time getting through the game than other reviewers. makes me wonder if you've done enough playthroughs to see all the story content yet since im still unlocking new stuff on the third one.

[@novemberguy]

The dedication you put into Armored Core is awe inspiring. From someone who had no knowledge of the series to S-rank every missions. Looking forward to the next videos.

[@Rippedyanu1]

Transport helicopter mission is definitely one of the hardest to S rank because you have to be stupidly fast and basically not use missiles at all. Someone suggested dual laser shotguns and just blitz through it and that worked out for me

[@iandonnelly6684]

Yeah thats how i got my s rank on that mission.

[@ultradude5410]

It’s a lot easier with the light laser rifles 2 shots takes down a helicopter, and you can keep firing Super easy to do fast if you double up on them

[@kirbyis4ever]

​@@ultradude5410lasers are great for trash mobs and anything that you're not worrying about staggering. They melt at a touch.

[@greevus3972]

I used missiles and got s first try, mission I'm having trouble s ranking is escort the mining ship

[@ultradude5410]

@@greevus3972 try using a bazooka, aperitif, earshot, and your choice of big missiles on a chunky quad That’s what worked for me! Extra aggression, and focus on the C-weapons over the robo-bonewheels

[@intensebug]

The struggle to S rank mission 4 is so real, glad to see I'm not the only one

[@MPRX87]

I've S-ranked a ton of the missions and from what I've deduced: If the mission has some pay like 200k, you need to earn something like 90% of it, so 180k+. There's also some hidden time multiplier, but as long as you go relatively fast, you'll be on par for time. Killing things on the way will help offset the costs of damage or ammo spent, which gets you closer to that 90%. There have been plenty of missions I used all my repair kits on and still S-ranked, just because I killed tons of things and did it quickly.

[@roorx341]

You know how you can call dogs dumb, but as long as it's in a happy tone they're happy about it. That Vaati and his fans

[@1Deep43VA]

Thanks Vaati. You’ve REALLY made me appreciate this game so much more. It’s insane how good they’ve made this. I still haven’t beat the last Ch 1 boss, as I’m trying to come up with cash. I love how technical and how different each Armored Core is and the styles of fighting you can have.

[@Andresdha]

Oh I didn’t know time was a factor in ranking! The final screen mentions repairs and ammo I thought those were all the considerations. Maybe that’s why I’m struggling to get S ranks because I take my time to prevent damage. It’d be cool to have a timer in that end screen to gauge the ranking on time also.

[@RebelGiga]

Even in past games getting a S rank didn't involve ammo and AP, a good example being the the 2nd mission in Armored Core 4 having you clear out a warehouse full of MTs. On hard mode it's impossible to do it without getting hit since the MTs are upgraded with nuclear missiles instead of regular ones. So clearing it quickly is paramount.

[@Andresdha]

@@RebelGiga right the time factor makes total sense I just hadn’t thought about it. This is my first AC so didn’t even cross my mind

[@RebelGiga]

@@Andresdha good luck raven! Hope you get them all to S rank! And don't worry about how unfair and hard it can be because like all FromSoft games we've all experienced your pain.

[@Andresdha]

@@RebelGiga thanks, fellow pilot!

[@imperiallarch7610]

It is pretty weird that time matters but the debriefing doesn't display it at all, so if you wanted to compare your performance including the time you would have to run your own timer.

[@potatoeOnRooftop]

Its so cool. I'm slowly getting better at the game and it kind of grows on me. I'm catching myself thinking about it constantly. It's also cool to just hop in play a mission or two, refine builds and my own skill. I'm falling in love :) watching you playing with clearly higher skill also is fascinating. Keep it up and thank you!

[@johncuda]

Thats what happens. Especially when your trying to S rank.

[@jo4h3zn]

For anyone else looking to do these S ranks, bazooka and pulse blade hard counters BAWS arsenal 2. The bazooka will stun everything except the shielded enemy in the last room in 1 shot and then the pulse blade will always finish them off. The enemies are actually surprisingly not evasive other than their teleports so they almost never dodge the bazooka. Sometimes the melee ones will but bring some good missiles on your back and they will tear through the melee enemies. Hope this helps anyone who sees it, I was stuck on this mission for an hour or two trying to get S rank because it’s really strict about damage and ammo costs here

[@kirbyis4ever]

Thanks for the pointer - I'd been doing that mission repeatedly and kept getting A rank instead. The shielded enemy is a real SOB.

[@jo4h3zn]

@@kirbyis4ever glad it helped! That mission is a surprisingly tough one to S-rank

[@slicksilver2961]

If Vaati ever taught me anything, it’s Lore and how to S-Rank Baltaus, by *Becoming Baltaus*

[@johnarcher6150]

Vaati out here being the Dongurii of Armored Core lets plays.

[@Morveyn]

You *can* parry in this game if you use a pulse buckler type shield. Brought one to the "bad" ending and used it to spot-tank the boss' big melee sweeps so i could keep shotgunning it in the face.

[@codesymphony]

I love that they call it "buckler"

[@Himax9]

My game-defining weapon for my first playthrough was definitely the pile bunker, ashmead. With it, most bossfights become luck-based, though. Still, it got me through the whole playthrough.

[@Tenchigumi]

There is nothing more satisfying than assault boosting up to a staggered boss, charging your Pile Bunker from about 50m away, and letting your momentum carry you into their face as you Shin-Shouryuken their balls into the stratosphere. I always felt that the Pile Bunker in prior ACs were super niche troll weapons that were completely non-viable for normal gameplay, but DAMN are they winners here.

[@kirbyis4ever]

Less luck based and more spacing and timing. You can stagger the boss all day but if you're not in the position to capitalize you'll never get that chunky finisher. It did make me RECKLESS for my first playthrough - I had pile bunker bloodlust and wanted to bunker everything.

[@Tenchigumi]

@@kirbyis4ever Yeah now that I think about it, luck usually wasn't a factor in landing the big PB; my own stupidity was solely to blame if anything went awry. Because when in doubt, a regular Bunker shot could easily boost you into range for a solid hit, but that "bloodlust" definitely had me whiffing charged uppercuts from an embarrassing distance.

[@XenoVideoGaming]

S ranking past missions is helping me get used to the control in a much more efficient way. Since the missions are familiar and you know what to do, you can focus on speed and efficiency. This has allowed me to start building muscle memory with the controls. However I still keep pressing to hard on the L3 button by mistake causing me to boost at the wrong times 😢

[@iandonnelly6684]

Yeah i end up kicking by mistake in online and getting punished lol.

[@XenoVideoGaming]

@@iandonnelly6684 I find I end up doing it a lot when I double press both shoulder buttons for my duel laser cannons. Something about my hand placement that causes me to also squeeze down on the analog stick just a bit to hard engaging L3 :(

[@WarrenJamrock876]

The best game I played in a while

[@REAPER3fitty]

Same here. Didn't think I could love FromSoft any more.

[@lefunghi6151]

I’m so happy you love Armored Core. I got into your channel from the Souls Videos, but man, Armored Core was always special to me. Played one on my PS2 14 Years ago and the Mecha genre just stuck with me forever. And to see it have some form of a resurgence with first Gundam WFMs Popularity and now AC6? I could not be happier. Also, seeing you go all missiles for Watchpoint really nailed the point home to me that maybe Sword and Bazooka wasn’t the best play for Balteus xD

[@avlaenamnell6994]

my grandad bought me the OG armoured core 1. my nan bought me the last AC game before she passed away, and my love ofr the AC games is what made me give demon souls a try, so they have a very special place in my heart.

[@TSE_WOODY]

I’m really enjoying this style of content from you. Be cool if you did more in the future, even if it wasn’t necessarily restricted to Armored Core.

[@axellis8333]

Armored core is very hard for me, so I really appreciate the checkpoint system. I'll go back later and do the runs better if I really feel the shame of using checkpoints but on my first playthrough I like just being able to move through the missions.

[@namidragon13]

I'm pretty sure you don't have to kill the AC to get S Rank in "Destroy the Transport Helicopters". On my first replay I went through the mission with plasma rifles and just one shot everything except the AC and got an S.

[@roriksavant]

Me too. I took out the first lot of ACs with AA, some of the second with multilock missiles, and then took out the last helicopter. Got the S rank without killing the Quadrapod MT.

[@rooksnemesis]

The Armored Core series has always been extremely underrated and very niche.. back in the PS 1 days, friends and I picked it up day one and fell in love with it, quickly we started a AC dueling club at school.. once the follow ups were announced, we all got blown away when they also said (in the magazine lol) that your Data carried over (+project and parts/builds) which quickly started a new kinda arms race and different categories withing the duels.. man.. so much fun, good memories for sure. I do miss having to balance your parts, figuring out the synergies and balances was very rewarding for its time.. I do wish that all current AC games also allowed for Data transfers between the games.. you would think they would have cracked that "issue" even if it was just thumb drives being used over memory cards lol.. Anyways, shout out to any of the survivors of 8ball, 9breaker or the fall of the Ravens nest..

[@JohnDoe-yp3zv]

Aside from Grid 135 Cleanup (which I wouldn't count because it's the easiest mission), defeating the Strider was my first S rank. I used a tetrapod "oops, all heavy weapons" build with grenade launchers on the arms and laser cannons on the shoulders. So long as you avoid the laser, S rank is surprisingly easy as you don't have to worry about any other target besides the leg, the sub-generators, and the eye itself, and you can do so much damage in a volley that you stunlock the eye from hitting damage thresholds.

[@TheAkeem11688]

I’ve heard of this game, but I’ve never seen it. This is the first actual gameplay ever I’ve seen of armor Court. and I’m very impressed. It’s like a Gundam situation going on. I had no idea.

[@MarleyNegus]

Armor court 🥲

[@der_saftmon]

​@@MarleyNegusit's just food court,but for armor

[@adieu1389]

armor court

[@Gurenn83]

The game is called Armored Court just so you know

[@kyleoneill3420]

*insert photoshopped picture of a Mech as a court room bailiff*

[@andrewmcgowan9376]

I love watching you vati and I was excited when I saw this video as I was preparing to get s rank on all missions but I just can't there not in order lol. Thank you for all your content though especially all the prepare to cry series.

[@All_Mighty672]

For the invisible bots at the end on the BAWS arsenal mission, all their locations are exposed on your radar at the bottom without even scanning.

[@kittycatdreamz]

there's a radar?!?!

[@Tenchigumi]

It wasn't until after I got into NG+ that I realized a "radar" even existed, though it's more like a compass with waypoints.@@kittycatdreamz

[@bebopcola84]

Vaati's "Oh Dear" while having a monumental eye laser assaulting him might be the wholesome thing I've heard on KZbin for a while.

[@xen6093]

FYI Vaati - NG+ changes the story missions ENORMOUSLY (depending on path taken/ending unlocked previously) with new previously unavailable missions and variants. One of those games where you need to beat it a couple times to get to the "truth" - and also much harder mission variants. I'm now on NG+2 and getting a WAY different story path available than I had the first two times.

[@GoodnightMoon4]

Hey. I went with the "liberator of rubicon" route the first time and just started what I guess is NG+. I know there's another decision at the end that gives you the other choice, do I have to do this "bad" ending, as well, to unlock the true ending stuff?

[@xen6093]

@@GoodnightMoon4 Not sure yet - could be tied to ending unlocks, or just NG+ count

[@egoalter1276]

There's no good or bad endings. All of em are poorly explained.and I did do both before getting the hidden one on ng+2, but you might juat need to be on a third playthrough for it to show up.

[@zikarisg9025]

Did not expect that from Vaati, excellent guide to those, looking forward to later chapters...

[@DarkKnight6six6]

Spent all of yesterday playing and ended up stuck on Balteus. Going to be fun finding a strategy and build to overcome all those missiles!

[@TG-oq2jx]

I ended up using dual pulse weapons ( I forget what they are called) and the pulse shields gets destroyed really fast but I notice I run put of ammo at the second face so I just used 1 pulse weapon gun and 1 melee weapon and tried to balance it out so only used the pulse to destroy the shield and then barrage him with missiles and melee and just repeat, second fase was the most hectic it gave me a headache but I ended up winning after like 50 tries

[@loserlemby7273]

Dodge in dofferent directions to get away from missiles.

[@REAPER3fitty]

Get a pulse cannon to shred the shield. Boost into the boss when it shoots the missiles to avoid most of them. Bunch of missiles and pulse blade to punish when you drop it's shield.

[@remigusker6024]

I got him with tank legs, heavy armor on everything, dual plasma launchers and dual bazookas. Took a few tries but I got him eventually. Def get assault armor btw, the opening burst to nearly delete his shield right at the start of the fight is invaluable.

[@novemberguy]

If you're stuck on a boss it's because you haven't had enough gatling gun on your AC. That's pretty much my experience so far lol

[@nyx7664]

Honestly, I think the worst mission for me to S-Rank was the one with the sniper bots, the second to last mission in chapter 1 I think it is... That mission caused me so much grief, it's damn strict with the time and the amount of ammo you can use... In the end I beat it with Bazooka+plasma blade and homing missiles but it was so frustrating...

[@kenneth-kyefields9637]

Your tip to change the camera speed to 10 helped ALOT when I needed to fight balteus! Thank you!

[@thejuiceweasel]

*Awesome* let's play content! I won't spoil myself by watching ahead but I'm at chapter 4 rn and seeing Vaati's runs is so much fun ❤

[@notworthit7708]

From what I understand about the augmented humans in AC is they have humanoid bodies but consciousness downloaded into a digital mind, similar to ghost in the shell. Just based off the human plus cutscenes from AC 1 and 2.

[@Lotus_on_YT]

Vaati, loving the AC gameplay focused content. Though I followed initially for your story analysis, your gameplay stuff is unique and well done.

[@Madmeerkat55]

God damn that Balteus was clean! Nice work!

[@neda9438]

It may not be as big as elden ring but what I know for sure vaati this game did so well it definitely just opened the door for more armored core games it’s almost 100%. Ps I’m so glad someone finally mentioned how fffff smooth this game runs on pc and console. On ps5 no matter how many enemies bullets missiles are on screen at any given time it never dips under 60fps and most importantly ZERO POP IN even while assault boosting across the map it’s nuts. HOW DID THEY MAKE THIS GAME LOL.

[@ohthreefiftyone]

I S Ranked the Destroy Artillery mission sort of by accident testing out a light build to use against Balteus. It’s now my favorite build.

[@AnOnlyThird]

I liked the way in BAWS Aresenal No. 2 if you scanned the ambush walter gives you some props for being on the ball

[@cedricehlert3862]

I also like that you just show Chapter 1. I have to wait until Saturday to play AC6 and so i dont have big spoilers watching your videos

[@dwtnugget5256]

Yeah I love the fact a lot of people kinda waited a day or two to play ac6 and only showed the first chapter at most of not half of it

[@KABLAMMATS]

​@@dwtnugget5256because everyone is still stuck on chapter 1 lmao

[@FirelordRob76]

your channel has increased my enjoyment of fromsoft games so much. thanks for your dedication and for sharing your love of games.

[@iNicklen]

Parrying in this game is the increased damage reduction you get from timing the 'initial guard window' of the chosen shield. It doesn't actually parry but it's this games version of parry timing from other titles and offers massive damage reduction from even massive attacks.

[@Lucy_Pyre]

The game considers speed + optional objectives significantly higher than any other metric when going for S ranks. I had a run of the helicopter mission where I took 0 damage, spent 0 ammunition, and still cleared quite quickly and only got an A rank. Then the very next attempt when I did it in roughly the same time but with ~2k damage taken and killed the tetrapod MT I got an S. Generally speaking, any mission with optional objectives you'll want to do those as well as clearing as fast as possible to get an S rank (speaking from having gotten S rank on every mission).

[@Ultima1134]

9:10 'Significant' is a pov, we technically are significant because we are accomplishing something that most if not any other pilot is doing. But, at the same time, all that really means is that we are comparatively better than our peers and the corps see that as a useful asset rather than a significant person.

[@danidm5820]

Speaking in the most generic way possible to avoid any kind of spoilers: later on you start to choose between different missions at times, and the ones you pick will influence the ending, so you end up actually having agency in the story too. It just takes a while before the game asks you to start choosing, but it's there.

[@thelastbackbender9338]

0:57 This sequence is just a glimpse into how much skill you’ve accumulated.

[@tik2368]

I did a really similar combo on watchpoint with the bubble guns to break balteus’ shields but had a songbird and pilebunker instead on shoulders, and that pilebunker pulled its weight hard, I learned that you can use just maybe 2 repair kits and still retain S

[@hatearmy]

Much like Vaati, I got stuck in A rank on the helicopter mission, I was mostly playing around with bazookas, grenade launchers, etc. I then decided to switch to dual songbirds and dual laser handguns and was able to manage the economics/speed of the mission run: Laser handguns are cheap and let you pick up lots of kills on the trash as you're dashing from helicopter to helicopter (more kills -> more money -> closer to S rank), then use songbirds and laser handguns to quickly bring down the tetrapod. Make sure you take out the small MTs before engaging the tetrapod or they'll be taking pot shots at you while you're focused on evading the tetrapod's huge main cannon. Once the tetrapod is down, mop up the last 4 helicopters in that last area with laser handgun shots which, once again, are cheap. It's all about min/maxing time spent, damage received, ammo cost, and in some missions, that means doing the optional objectives. Would be nice if there was a more detailed "bill" at the end of a run to see where you got penalized, so you understand what part of your build/gameplan is costing you the most, and figure out ways to optimize it.

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Several things to point out about Armored Core 6: - AC6 has a lot of replay value due to the decisions made throughout the campaign (that includes multiple endings), as well as the unlockables of New Game + and beyond! - For all newcomer Ravens, you DO NOT need to have played the previous AC games to get into this one, very similar on how Final Fantasy dev teams create its titles. - Plays different from Souls - same smooth, responsive controls. - Long range arsenal: bazookas, gatling guns, split missiles, plasma rifles and more. - Melee weaponry: Cluster bomb thrower, chainsaw, pulse blade, lances and more. - The movement speed is between AC3 and AC5 - There is a heavy on customization. - Tons of custom paint jobs and the posibility of downloading weapons for making decals. - Legs are one of the most important parts of your mech, because they determine how much weight your vehicle can carry. - Your power engine / energy source is on other one as it modifies the amount of energy available, as well as how slow or fast your energy bar will recharge, when its depleted.

[@lgngrbr588]

I'm so excited to play this, but all my game stuff is in storage right now. Thanks for all the great gameplay!

[@SunWolfAmaterasu]

Helicopter mission gave me the most trouble out of all the S ranks i've tried for. Literally flawless melee only killing everything but the boss.

[@viniciuslimasantos4103]

This other side of vaati gained my subscription! Perfect to watch while I can't get a ps5 to play myself AC6

[@foamyrocks665]

On the destroy the helicopters mission, the ammunition cost is more important. I did several runs really fast but was getting me only A rank. I used a machine gun in my right arm and because it's cheap ammo, I spend only 4000 credits at the end the mission. So focus on ammunition cost for that mission.

[@azukijelly7755]

Using energy weapons make this game really colorful

[@matthewm7590]

The artillery rank was the first mission I S ranked and it was my 2nd run of it. I just skirted around the edge of the map and only focused on the targets, ignoring other enemy. I’m by no means great at this game either, so I was surprised to hear Vaati say he thought it would be hard to S rank

[@Alice_Haukea]

Good showing sir. Despite having played all the previous AC games, this one has been kicking my butt super hard. My medium weight build just can't keep up with anything. Not enough energy or speed to outpace the enemy movements and attacks. And my own skill is bad enough that I can't dodge well enough with a fragile light build. I'm in the middle of chapter 4 so far, but I haven't earned any of my progress. Every single AC encounter or boss encounter wrecks me and I find myself needing the checkpoint a good dozen times or more per mission. Meanwhile my roommate has never touched an AC game before is yolo'ing with a blade speed build and managing just fine. I went from foaming at the mouth with anticipation of this game, to having no motivation to even finishing my first play though. That is how defeated I feel.

[@nickgrout2502]

God I cant wait to be able to play this. My computer is crapped out at the moment and im in the middle of a move but god it looks fun

[@Armor_Clad]

Would love to see more let’s play videos from you on ac6!

[@choppachino6968]

I was looking for this video series in your channel but then I realized you have another channel lol I didn't know it before

[@MrDontSubscribeToMe]

Great video! Please put chapters to find the missions easier as well as the codes for ACs used. It will make for a better experience :)

[@zerochill4326]

This is my first AC game, and I absolutely love it in between Starfield and BG3. This is the perfect pallet cleanser.

[@Rawmon94]

Great vid, im curious about how repair costs are calculated and what it takes to get an S rank, could you maybe make an video about the more in depth stuff?

[@pipelinepunchme]

S ranking seems to be based mainly on your score which takes into account Main objectives, side objectives(bonus pay), repair costs, and ammunition costs. Overall melee and the zimmerman shotguns seem to be the most efficient choices for LIGHTWEIGHT general purpose and have made S ranking 80% of the missions easy, and simplify most boss fights.

[@foreshadower4316]

For the S Rank on “Destroy the Transport Helicopters”, I went with a very basic and lightweight build with dual laser shotguns and focused only on the helicopters. Those shotguns have a very low ammunition cost compared to the weapons you were using, so my repair and ammunition costs were super low. There are so many ways to S Rank these missions though. I can’t wait to see what people come up with in a month or two from now.

[@denisd1248]

miniguns are surprisingly good for S ranking a lot of missions too. they do use a lot of bullets but the ammo is pretty cheap if you dont waste it

[@dethette]

very interesting to see vaati opt for dual pincer missiles as opposed to the starter four cell launchers considering the rest of his build can handle the weight and energy requirements of the alternative; in my experience i found them to be relatively lackluster in terms of tracking, simultaneous targets, and damage output. i assume the decision was made in the interest of keeping overall weight as low as possible, but i wonder if the extra speed ultimately makes up for the difference in dps potential.

[@daemons117]

plasma rifles and plasma missles r amazing as well for one shotting early missions

[@aphidamas1]

It was much easier for me to S rank in the previous games than in AC6. I've only managed to get one so far.

[@slickr_392]

What are the requirements for an S rank?

[@generalsweet8212]

@@slickr_392clear quick, clean and cheap.

[@InMaTeofDeath]

@@slickr_392 So far it hasn't given me anything really specific it just says get the mission done fast, without taking much damage, and without using too much ammo. I've done 5 missions so far and after replaying them a bit got S rank on 2 of them once I nearly lost half my health so it can't be too strict.

[@17thknight]

@@slickr_392 No idea but it feels impossible. One mission I took *one hit* and got it done in 30 seconds and that wasn't good enough. I've given up trying, feels like real BS.

[@slickr_392]

@@17thknight I guess it comes down to ammo management too. I'm not sure. I got it randomly for the Dam mission in Chap 1. No idea how

[@sanguiniusszuiriel4984]

Preordered this to support fromsoft, and very happy with it so far

[@fjordojustice]

Ah, so this is what good play looks like. Very cool. One day I'll remember how to use all four of my weapons mid-combat. Maybe I'll even do so while not wasting all my energy and getting hit constantly lol.

[@Acheron420]

Just got this game, currently running a quad leg build with massive 10 shot rockets for suppression, and a cannon for dps

[@JarisJ_]

Bonus pay or kills only matter for missions that specify it in the briefing before you choose for S rank.

[@cedricehlert3862]

Its good to see the Tarnished AC here in this video again

[@SSNessy]

It's kind of funny how Vaati's instincts from the no-hit run make him end up playing worse, particularly in the BAWS mission. Instead of tanking a hit or two for minor damage he's dodging around and taking longer to actually kill the mechs. Great gameplay! I just thought it was interesting - it's like watching a speedrunner do a casual playthrough of a new game and you can see the speedrunner brain take over when it's not needed

[@elishaberry611]

Nice work on this. I think you skipped a mission though; the one where you fight the tester AC pilot.

[@potatomasherr]

The game has variations of dialogue aswell, like if u repair before Walter tells you to he becomes in impressed, idk if the entire game has little moments like that

[@saifuddinareeb657]

I love the Gameplay videos Vaati, but when are we getting dat juicy lore.

[@ROIBR]

This Mission took me so lojng to S rank. .. You need only to destroy the Choppers but the Ammo Cost and Speed is veryimportant. I went after many tries, with double shotgun on a fast AC. You can even avoid the BAWS. Just go for the Choppers and your good!

[@AbsoluteZeroGravity]

can't wait for Vaati to do lore video for AC6 and AC series

[@Mr_NightOwl]

As an aside, on the destroy the transport choppers mission, you get a specific voiceline if you S rank it so I surmise most of the missions will tell you if you S rank them

[@KDoodleNoodle99]

I wish my heli would sit still like yours did for S ranking the first mission 😂

[@imperiallarch7610]

I'm glad to see that much better players than me still sometimes have awkward fights against the helicopter in the first mission, lol.

[@TheHogfatherInvades]

The ranking of all time!

[@arthurhsu9111]

Vatti: I knew BAWS is going to be memed. Me: Ey BAWS.

[@alechall7871]

It took me a few attempts to S rank that 4th mission as I kept killing the elite, was fun trying different builds against it though 👌

[@betlogboy3]

That one mission , no damage - was indeed godly.

[@antroise]

Calmest letsplayer right here. Your content is always so refreshing!

[@candyvampire3393]

whats also amazing about this game is that the models are actually to scale- i dont remember who but someone ported the AC models to Elden Ring and the Armored Core is like twelve times the size of the tarnished.

[@JordTheeNord]

9:23 holy shit that's crazy! Have you thought about doing a vid for AC6 lore? I never would have thought our main character and every other gen 4 human could be without a body.

[@christopherjm21]

Loving this game!! Just started playing last night

[@benny_44222]

I love this content vaati❤