AC6 Walkthrough - Chapter 1

AC6 Chapter 1 Walkthrough. Every mission, boss strategy, tips, gear upgrades, and more!

Welcome to the Chapter 1 and Tutorial part of my Armored Core 6 Walkthrough. Lots going on here as it's the early game! Hopefully Balteus doesn't give you too much of a hard time...

Missable Items in AC6? Will remind you in every chapter that you can't really miss items since you can replay missions. If there actually is one you can somehow miss, I will let you know when I find out.

Armored Core 6 Walkthrough - Navigation:
Walkthrough | Tutorial / CH 1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | NG+ | NG++

If you're reading this Chapters walkthrough and the mission you need advice on isn't here, it may be an NG+/++ specific mission - so click on that.

AC6 Tutorial

Ah, the infamous AC6 "Tutorial". While a vast majority of this is basic, well, there is a little problem of that flying dude at the end...

How to beat the Helicopter tutorial boss!? There's a few key things to help you out here if you're having trouble. Don't sweat it, you're not alone.

Lock-on: You can get a "mild" lock-on to enemies using R3 (KBM keybind?). It helps quite a bit.
Dodge / Boost: Dodging and Boosting. It's not exactly clear at the start but you can activate your "Boost" mode by "Dodging" first. This is how you SHOULD be fighting at all times. Not just straight up walking.
Get close, even on TOP and melee: The helicopter handily outguns you in midrange so get up close and get the job done. Literally fly up to and even on top of it! Use your melee weapon and obliterate this heli.

Locking on and Dodging / Boosting are a huge part of combat that wasn't exactly clear to me during the tutorial. These two tips alone are worth repeating. As for the third tip, that strategy will be present throughout the game. DO NOT ENGAGE ENEMIES IN THE "RANGE" THEY WANT TO BE IN. The heli OUTGUNS you in mid/long range - so get up close and DESTROY it with melee.

AC6 Chapter 1 Walkthrough

UNLOCK: Sorties

After the tutorial you unlock Sorties, which are essentially the missions in the campaign. Also you have here Training, AC Test...

Training #1

Formally, "Beginner Training 1: Basic Controls".

Do training ASAP as they usually have free stuff!

Reward: MG-014 LUDLOW - A basic "machine gun" that's great for short-range DPS.

Sortie: Destroy Artillery Installations

Your first mission! This one is basic and nothing really notable here. There are times you have choices between a number of missions, and the order I have here is what I recommend but feel free to mix it up.

UNLOCK: Parts Shop

Ah, the parts shop. Self-explanatory I'd hope! You buy new parts for your AC here. Notably SELLING PARTS doesn't have a penalty. Meaning you can sell a part for just as much as you bought it for. Feel free to experiment! New parts are unlocked to buy in the shop through various means.

Training #2

Formally, "Beginner Training 2: Combat Fundamentals".

Reward: Linear Rifle: LR-036 CURTIS - Slow firing long-range rifle that I personally don't like so much given that a much better weapon exists in the shop right now (MA-J-200 Ransetsu-RF). These types of Rifles are great "general purpose" weapons.

RECOMMEND TO BUY

Rifle MA-J-200 Ransetsu-RF, R-Arm. This is an amazing "general purpose" weapon that will serve you for a long time. Buy it now!

Sortie: Grid 135 Cleanup

Basic Sortie with nothing notable.

Sortie: Destroy the Transport Helicopters

You get a huge money bonus for beating the tetrapod AC near the end. Try it out! Melee is great against it. Otherwise, just ignore and destroy the rest of the Helis.

UNLOCK: Loghunt

Around this time (a little earlier maybe), is where you unlock the LOGHUNT system. Basically, each Sortie can have a "LOGHUNT" somewhere "hiding" (or not hiding - you'll get it naturally) in it. Usually by killing an enemy, and sometimes by interacting with an object.

If I find a weird LOGHUNT I'll make sure to note it.

Sortie: Attack the Dam Complex

A basic mission, and you have two friends! There's an AC at the end but 1v3 isn't fair at all.

Sortie: Destroy the Weaponized Mining Ship

This mission can be tedious. Start off by racing towards the walker. Big laser is gonna fire at you, so be prepped to dodge, or just eat 'em until you make it to the walker.

Next step is to damage one leg so you can get on top of the thing. Once there, you have to destroy all the generators located at the sides, top, and bottom of the walker. Be very careful not to fall off!

Finally, you fight the Eye. Just get up close and DPS hard. It has a hard time hitting you this way. Don't worry if you die, the checkpoint is literally right here.

UNLOCK: NEW PARTS in Shop!

The only thing I'd suggest buying ASAP is the HI-16: GU-Q1 Pulse Gun. Buy R, L, or both - this is an amazing short range weapon that's kinda like a SMG.

Training #3 & #4

Beat up this pair of Training missions for the practice and rewards.

Intermediate Support 1: Assembling an AC.
Intermediate Support 2: Reverse Jointed AC's

You get a bunch of rewards here.

Booster ALULA/21E
FCS FCS-006 ABBOT
Generator VP-20S
Laser Handgun VP-66LH

Sortie: Operation Wallclimber

Equip a machine gun (MG-014 LUDLOW - you get this for free in training missions) to more easily ensure beating the first checkpoint AC.

Beat up the chumps leading up to the wall. DO NOT ENGAGE the AC guarding the gate yet. Fly up and destroy the mounted wall cannons. There are two layers of them on each side - a lot of guns. As for the AC, make sure you win because you don't wanna repeat this process... It's very powerful at midrange, so punish it with melee and

After this, make your way through the complex with your new friend. You'll eventually end up at a resupply

-- How to Beat Juggernaut

TLDR is: While it's 2v1, conserve your HP and repair kits. Always fire at its side or behind. Once your friend leaves, AGGRESSIVELY try to fly up to, on top, and behind it. It's very weak at reacting to your aerial maneuvers.

If you die, don't worry, you can swap out your machine gun into something more powerful for the short windows of time you can damage it. Your typical Rifle will do fine.

Training #5, #6 & #7

Get these training missions over with...

Intermediate Support 3: Tetrapod AC's.
Intermediate Support 4: Tank AC's
Advanced Mercenary Certification

Rewards: Grenade Launcher DF-GR-07 GOU-CHEN (Not bad, a fun and powerful weapon but difficult to hit). Vertical Missile Launcher BML-G1/PO1VTC-04 (Get rid of your "default" back missiles asap).

The final one doesn't have a reward, but wrap it up anyway! It's a fight versus various AC's.

Sortie: Retrieve Combat Logs

Completing the mission without the LOGHUNT is easy, and you don't have to stress out about it right now.

I'll update this with the exact location but the LOGHUNT here can be a challenge. You have to fight an AC that's quite far away. You have to defeat Ziyi (the AC) and collect the 5 logs within the short time limit! Coming back later with better weapons will help.

UNLOCK: OS Tuning & Arena

You unlock two systems here. The Arena, which pits you against other AC's for rewards. Also, OS Tuning which is kind of like a skill tree. You get these chips in the Arena, so it makes sense they unlock together.

Arena: Rank F - get it done!

There are three AC's you can fight in the arena and I suggest getting these done ASAP always. Remember you get chips for OS Tuning via the Arena!

Sortie: Attack the Watchpoint

BUY A R-ARM HI-16: GU-Q1 Pulse Gun BEFORE PROCEEDING.

In the opening map, you'll be faced with a lot of long ranged turrets and mechs shooting you from everywhere. Kill them slowly and carefully -

-- How to Beat Balteus

Ah, this was a welcome challenge. Batleus is missile-mad aerial AC that has a secret weapon. That damn shoulder cannon is what will slowly kill you - not the missiles. Not to mention the surprise Flamethrower antics in Phase 2.

SETUP: My friends used various setups, and me as well. But I tried to revisit this with some new weapons and found the HI-16: GU-Q1 Pulse Gun to be the ABSOLUTE BEST WEAPON (for me) against Balteus right now. I'm not saying it's the only one - but it's the one I PERSONALLY VOUCH FOR AND TRIED with the "easiest" success chance.

Aside from that, the basic 2-hit sword, and double missile launchers work well as your other weapons.

Play very aggressively but save your sword (at least one hit of it) on overheat / stagger. Melt the shields with your Pulse Gun and play up close. Balteus will inevitably get good hits on you wether you like it or not - it's a race against time. DPS Batleus hard and fast.

Phase 2 happens at 50% or so. Balteus gains some weird Flamethrower like skills that thankfully she doesn't spam often. But, they are extremely deadly and have long reach. End the fight quickly with the same tactics.

Of the other setups my friends used, I feel like double machine guns work well too. Good old Rifle + Sword will always work, but I found the Pulse Gun to be extremely effective here.

Reward: Detonating Bazooka 44-141 JVLN ALPHA.

Congratulations! You've made it to the end of Armored Core 6 - Chapter 1!

Back to: AC6 Walkthrough Directory | Chapter 2 (TBA)