Highlights
- Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon has released its first update since patch 1.05, introducing balance changes and bug fixes.
- The update includes weapon units, frame parts, and inner parts, along with some nerfs and buffs.
- The Armored Core 6’s player base has declined since launch, but fans hope solid updates like this can bring back players and showcase the game’s combat.
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon has released its newest update, which introduces plenty of balance changes and bug fixes. This is Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon‘s first update since patch 1.05.
Armored Core 6‘s December update added a ranked matchmaking system as well as new frame parts, weapons, name plates, and more. FromSoftware’s mech-based action game has struggled to maintain a solid player base since its launch in August 2023, despite receiving strong reviews from fans and critics alike. Currently, it sits at just under 2,000 average Steam players in the last 30 days after peaking at 156,000 players at launch. This is largely due to Armored Core 6 being a single-player game first and foremost, causing most players to move on once they had completed its PvE content. However, some fans hope that Armored Core 6 can recapture some of its fan base by releasing solid updates, and its latest one has just been released.
Why an Armored Core-Esque Soulslike by FromSoftware May Never Happen
Armored Core 6 wasn’t a Soulslike like some wanted, and there may never be a mech-focused Souls game from FromSoftware, for a few reasons.
Armored Core 6 released its patch 1.06 on February 5, which introduced balance changes to a wide variety of weapon units, frame parts, and inner parts. The changes include nerfs to the Viento needle gun and LCB laser cannon, and buffs to the WLT FCS and Kasuar reverse joint. All in all, 21 weapon units, 19 frame parts, and 8 inner parts were rebalanced, with the changes likely having a significant impact on Armored Core 6‘s current meta. Patch 1.06 also implemented various bug fixes, such as tank legs incorrectly causing a shorter hit stun and back weapons improperly firing after being reloaded. The update is now available on all platforms, and Armored Core 6 advises users to apply the new patch before attempting to play online.
Armored Core 6 is regarded as one of FromSoftware’s best mech games, so hopefully, the newest patch will help encourage players to return. Although Armored Core 6 is primarily a single-player PvE game, its PvP multiplayer offers a high skill ceiling for players to work towards. The newest balance changes were positively received by the community, as they nerfed some of the more frustrating meta tools while buffing rarely used off-meta tools. Fans hope these changes will help showcase Armored Core 6‘s excellent combat.
Armored Core 6 even manages to crack the list of FromSoftware’s highest-rated games on Steam, which is an extremely competitive category. It’s only beaten by hits like Dark Souls Remastered, Elden Ring, Dark Souls 3, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
As for the future, fans can expect more FromSoftware content this year. However, DLC for Armored Core 6, in particular, is not confirmed to be in development. But Elden Ring fans can look forward to the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, which is rumored to release sometime this year.
Armored Core 6 Update 1.06 Patch Notes
Balance Adjustments
Weapon Units
- STUN BATON “VP-67EB” : increased Attack Power / Chg. Attack Power
- LIGHT WAVE BLADE “IA-C01W2: MOONLIGHT”: Energy Firearm Spec. scaling now applies
- LINEAR RIFLE “LR-037 HARRIS”: increased Attack Power / Projectile Speed
- HEAVY MACHINE GUN “WR-0555 ATTACHE”: increased Direct Hit Adjustment / Projectile Speed
- BURST MACHINE GUN “MA-E-210 ETSUJIN”: increased Attack Power / Magazine Rounds / Total Rounds / Projectile Speed
- BURST HANDGUN “MA-E-211 SAMPU”: increased Magazine Rounds / Total Rounds / Projectile Speed
- NEEDLE GUN “EL-PW-00 VIENTO”: decreased Impact / Accumulative Impact, increased Reload Time
- DETONATING BAZOOKA “44-141 JVLN ALPHA”: increased Attack Power, decreased Weight. Adjusted hitbox so that an enemy staggered by the projectile impact will not be released from hit stun by the follow-up explosion
- GRENADE LAUNCHER “DF-GR-07 GOU-CHEN”: decreased Weight / EN LOAD
- GRENADE LAUNCHER “DIZZY”: decreased Weight / EN LOAD. Reduced range of projectile before it explodes
- GRENADE LAUNCHER “IRIDIUM”: increased Projectile Speed
- STUN BOMB LAUNCHER “WS-1200 THERAPIST”: increased Attack Power, decreased Reload Time. Increased Projectile Speed for regular fire
- LASER HANDGUN “VP-66LH”: increased Chg. Attack Power, decreased Charge Time. Reduced interval before being able to attack again after a charge attack. Reduced interval before charge gauge begins to empty after cancelling charge. Increased speed at which charge gauge empties
- MULTI ENERGY RIFLE “44-142 KRSV”: Adjusted knockback distance of staggered enemies, so consecutive attacks are easier to land. Adjusted hitbox so that an enemy staggered by the plasma impact will not be released from hit stun by the follow-up plasma explosion
- MISSILE LAUNCHER “HML-G2/P19MLT-04”: decreased Accumulative Impact, increased Reload Time
- PULSE MISSILE LAUNCHER “PFAU/66D”: increased Charge Time / Reload Time
- STUN NEEDLE LAUNCHER “VE-60SNA”: increased Attack Power
- LASER CANNON “VE-60LCB”: decreased Rapid Fire. Reduced hitbox size of charge attack
- DIFFUSE LASER CANNON “VP-60LCD”: increased Chg. Attack Power. Reduced scattering range to make multiple laser hits easier
- DETONATING MISSILE LAUNCHER “45-091 JVLN BETA”: decreased Blast Radius. Each missile fired now follows the same guidance angle
- LASER ORBIT “45-091 ORBT”: increased Attack Power / Cooling / Projectile Speed. Reduced interval before cooling begins, except when overheating
Frame Parts
- BIPEDAL “AL-J-121 BASHO”: increased AP / Jump Height, decreased Weight
- BIPEDAL “LG-011 MELANDER”: increased AP / Jump Height, decreased Weight
- BIPEDAL “LG-012 MELANDER C3”: increased AP / Jump Height, decreased Weight
- BIPEDAL “DF-LG-08 TIAN-QIANG”: increased Weight
- BIPEDAL “VP-422”: increased AP / Jump Height, decreased Weight
- BIPEDAL “VE-42A”: increased Weight
- BIPEDAL “2C-2000 CRAWLER”: increased Jump Height
- BIPEDAL “2C-3000 WRECKER”: increased Weight
- BIPEDAL “2S-5000 DESSERT”: increased Weight
- BIPEDAL “EL-TL-10 FIRMEZA”: increased Jump Height
- BIPEDAL “EL-PL-00 ALBA”: increased Jump Height
- BIPEDAL “06-041 MIND ALPHA” : increased Jump Height, decreased Weight
- BIPEDAL “IA-C01L: EPHEMERA”: increased Jump Height
- BIPEDAL “IB-C03L: HAL 826”: increased AP / Jump Height, decreased Weight
- REVERSE JOINT “KASUAR/42Z”: increased AP / Attitude Stability, decreased Weight
- REVERSE JOINT “RC-2000 SPRING CHICKEN”: increased AP / Attitude Stability, decreased Weight
- REVERSE JOINT “06-042 MIND BETA”: increased AP / Attitude Stability, decreased Weight
- TETRAPOD “LAMMERGEIER/42F”: increased EN consumption while hovering. Reduced max movement speed while hovering
- TANK “LG-022T BORNEMISSZA”: decreased AP / Attitude Stability / High-Speed Perf. / AB THRUST
Inner Parts
- BOOSTER “FLUEGEL/21Z”: increased Thrust / Melee Attack Thrust, decreased Melee Atk. EN Consump.
- BOOSTER “IA-C01B: GILLS”: increased Thrust
- FCS “FCS-G2/P10SLT”: decreased Close-Range Assist / Missile Lock Correction
- FCS “FCS-G2/P12SML”: decreased Missile Lock Correction
- FCS “VE-21A”: increased Close-Range Assist / Medium-Range Assist
- FCS “VE-21B”: increased Medium-Range Assist
- FCS “IB-C03F: WLT 001” Increased Close-Range Assist / Medium-Range Assist / Long-Range Assist
- GENERATOR “VP-20D” : increased EN Capacity / Energy Firearm Spec.
- Decreased damage from AC system abnormality: Shock
Bug Fixes and Other Improvements
Player AC related fixes
- Fixed a bug with Tank legs that caused shorter hit stun from stagger under specific circumstances
- Fixed a bug with TETRAPOD “LAMMERGEIER/42F” where firing certain weapons upwards or downwards while hovering caused the player AC to remain at an angle for an extended period of time
- Fixed a bug that caused ACs in hit stun to fall, instead of stop in place, when staggered while performing a mid-air boost kick
- Fixed a bug that caused back weapons with manual reload to fire after manual reloading had completed
- Fixed a bug that caused unintended animations and sounds to play when using Weapon Bay to repeatedly switch weapons
- Improved certain attack animations that play under specific circumstances
Mission/enemy related fixes
- Fixed a bug during the mission “Destroy the Drive Block” that caused the boss to use specific attacks at unintended times
System related fixes
- Fixed a bug that prevented access to the AC DATA menu, or caused the game to crash when multiple data slots contained ACs with decal images using a large number of layers
- Fixed a bug in the IMAGE EDIT menu and DECAL menu, where fully tilting the stick to move a piece or image did not move the element at a consistent rate
- Fixed a bug in Photo Mode that caused a blur effect on the player AC even when Blur Type was “OFF”
- Fixed a bug in Photo Mode that made player AC booster effects disappear
- Fixed a bug in Ranked Match that caused results from the previous match to display after a disconnection
- Fixed a bug with AC data uploaded to the game server, where if the data was loaded and then deleted from the game server, the loaded data would be reverted to default paint and decals
- Fixed a bug with image data uploaded to the game server, where if the data was set as pilot emblem and then deleted from the game server, the emblem would become invalid
Other
- Corrected some in-game text
Steam
- Fixed a title screen rendering issue that occurred at specific screen resolutions
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is the latest installment in the Armored Core franchise, bringing players high-octane mechanized warfare as they pilot massive machines and battle against one another for mech supremacy. The release is made by From Software and released by Bandai Namco.
- Franchise
- Armored Core
- Released
- August 25, 2023
- How Long To Beat
- 17 Hours