Armored Core 6 is “easier” than players are making it out to be argues Dark Souls expert

Ethan Dean
Armored Core 6 PCA Dropship Cutscene

Armored Core 6 is not an easy game. No FromSoftware game is, but one Dark Souls expert claims it’s not as hard as people say it is.

Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon has had an explosive launch and rocketed its way past most of FromSoftware’s other titles to become their second-biggest PC debut. While that would appear to bode well for the game’s accessibility, prohibitive levels of difficulty are often a draw for FromSoftware fans.

Players have come out of the woodwork with horror stories about being walled out by the tutorial boss. Some are calling Armored Core 6 one of the developer’s hardest games and a select few are even breaking controllers in frustration.

Despite all of this, Dark Souls content creator and expert Iron Pineapple has taken to Twitter to correct the record. They’re arguing that the perceived difficulty of Armored Core 6 comes down to a fundamental misunderstanding of how it’s supposed to be played.

FromSoftware has built a bit of a name for itself with its punishing but fair titles. Iron Pineapple cautions players against letting that particular esteem throw them off.

“I think Fromsoft’s reputation for making “hard games” is preventing people from understanding how Armored Core 6 is supposed to play,” Iron Pineapple explained. “Pretty much every challenge/boss can be trivialized by a certain build or strategy. Yet people are quitting left and right due to difficulty.”

Armored Core 6 does have a massive array of customization options and allows players to switch up their build mid-mission upon death. All of the game’s punishing bosses have specific weaknesses and while they can be beaten with grit, the game does encourage experimentation.

Players sounded off in the thread firmly agreeing with Iron Pinapple’s assessment. “Every boss can be made easier with the right build,” one user said. “It’s great that it mixes things up and makes you adapt,” replied another.

While the usual “git gud” mantra is dominating a lot of Armored Core 6 discourse, its focus on mech customization allows plenty of room to play on enemy weaknesses. The clip above shows a player melting the same Chapter 1 boss that had others breaking their controllers. All with early game parts.

If you’re thinking of checking out FromSoftware’s latest title but are a little put off by the potential challenge, check out all of our Armored Core 6 guides to prepare yourself.

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About The Author

Ethan Dean is a Staff Writer on the Australian Dexerto team. He graduated from RMIT with a Bachelors Degree in Journalism and has been freelance writing in the gaming space ever since. His favorite game is the third-person, open world flavor of the month and when he doesn't have a controller in his hands, there's a paintbrush in them. He's a self-described Warhammer nerd and a casual DnD player too. You can contact Ethan at ethan.dean@dexerto.com