You have to change up your build to meet the demands of the enemies you’re facing. You can’t grab a Rivers of Blood Katana and roll through the game, nor can you dump your leveling into sorcery and attack from a distance. It’s a game that demands you engage with its dense build-crafting options, very unlike a Souls game. That’s one of the reasons you’re not ready for Armored Core. It helps that Armored Core VI lets you change your build on the death screen, as well as save different loadouts to change every aspect of your mech. You’re compiling an arsenal of attachments that you can swap to change up your build to meet a new challenge. That’s what makes Armored Core different. It was a great build for this boss, but it would be atrocious for taking out waves of lesser mechs. The laser gun dealt damage in a range, allowing me to hit the boss even if I didn’t have a clear shot, while the bazooka was able to dish out damage quickly once the boss was staggered. I had to adapt and swap out my boltgun with a laser gun and my sword with a bazooka. My blade and boltgun that I had equipped from the start wouldn’t cut it. The only way to stagger the boss was to shoot it in the back. Shortly into my demo, I encountered a boss, the Juggernaut, that blocked attacks from the front.

In Armored Core, your build is situational.

Sure, there are builds in Elden Ring and Dark Souls, but you can’t barrel your way through Armored Core VI with your cracked Rivers of Blood Katana build. These builds - called your Assembly - are what make Armored Core tick. You tackle dozens of bite-sized missions to earn money, use that money to buy new parts for your mech, and create unique builds specialized to tackle different challenges. That’s not a genre, it’s a unique description specific to Armored Core. Summer Game Fest: our 10 favorite games we saw and playedĪrmored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon follows up Elden Ring in AugustĮlden Ring developer’s next game is Armored Core VIĪssembling an Assembly Bandai Namco EntertainmentĪrmored Core is a mission-based mecha action game.

Wild hearts can't be broken preview