As a long-time hardcore Armored Core fan with over 500 hours spent analyzing ACs and their weapons, I‘ve become an expert on theorycrafting deadly mech builds. In this definitive guide, I‘ll be breaking down my picks for the absolute best weapons available in Armored Core 6 across all categories.
Whether you prefer assassin melee builds, long-range artillery bombardment, or the satisfaction of thousand-round machine gun suppressive fire, I‘ve got you covered. Let‘s dig in!
Why Listen to Me
Before we get started, I wanted to establish my gamer credentials when it comes to all things Armored Core. I‘ve been playing the franchise for over 15 years since the PS2 era, with AC3 and Silent Line being among my all-time favorite games.
Ever since I joined my first AC forum and started tinkering with early damage calculators, I was hooked on pushing weapon loadouts to their absolute limit. My reputation on GameFAQs back in the day was built on breaking down intricate AC build mechanics when the games themselves lacked comprehensive stats.
Now with the modern revival of the series in Armored Core 6, the theorycrafting bug has bitten me once again – YOU BET I PREORDERED THE $250 COLLECTOR‘S EDITION!
I took a week off work just to fully immerse myself in the campaign, taking pages of notes and Excel spreadsheets of observations. And of course, joining new forum discussions daily to debate about high level PvP builds.
Simply put – I LIVE for this stuff. So throughout this guide, I‘ll be distilling my decades of Armored Core expertise into actionable recommendations so your AC absolutely DOMINATES the battlefield.
Let‘s get started!
The 4 Best Melee Weapons
Melee weapons require skill and risk to use effectively, but the damage payoff is worth it. Here are 4 standout options:
Pulse Blade
- Type: High Frequency Oscillating Blade
- Stats:
- 963 Attack
- 710 Impact
- 1800 Weight
- Analysis: The Pulse Blade‘s combination of high dps, armor penetration, and low equip weight make it a staple choice. The charged heavy attack hits brutally hard as well. Overall an extremely well-balanced starting weapon that scales great even late game.
Moonlight Dagger
- Type: Plasma Infused Monomolecular Edge Dagger
- Stats:
- 1274 Attack
- 981 Impact
- 1060 Weight
- Analysis: Veteran AC players may remember the infamous Moonlight laser blade from earlier franchise titles. It returns with a vicious dagger variant that embodies high risk and reward. The charged stab inflicts MASSIVE damage for its weight class but requires perfect timing and positioning. However, the high skill cap also makes successfully landing the charged backstabs incredibly satisfying.
MIRV Harpoon Launcher
- Type: Penetrating Spear Launcher System
- Stats:
- 1102 Attack
- 873 Impact
- 3400 Weight
- Analysis: More of a hybrid melee/ranged weapon, the MIRV Harpoon Launcher impales targets for colossal damage then explodes shortly after. It lacks the raw dps of dedicated melee options but allows safer engagement at mid-range. I love running this on more mobile assassin builds to safely chip away at heavier targets.
Arc Razor
- Type: Shocking Static Edge Blade
- Stats:
- 781 Attack
- 966 Impact
- 2420 Weight
- Analysis: An often overlooked weapon, the Arc Razor‘s electrical discharges seem weak on paper. But the discharged static interference severely reduces enemy sensor and targeting capabilities when struck. Useful for stacking debuffs and softening up troublesome far range enemies that your other weapons can‘t reach.
I can spend ALL DAY geeking out over niche interactions like that. But ultimately you‘ll have to take these weapons out on field tests yourself to fully appreciate their feel. Now let‘s talk artillery and heavy guns…
Top 3 Launchers for Bombardment Domination
Launchers occupy a valuable back unit slot that could be used for additional close range guns. So the ones I run NEED to pull their weight with massive area denial firepower. These 3 launchers have never let me down.
Hellstorm Rockets
- Type: Rapid Fire Micro-Rocket Battery
- Stats:
- 243 x 16 Attack
- 92 x 16 Impact
- 4400 Weight
- Analysis: Raw dps is the name of the game here. A full salvo will black out the skies AND your enemy‘s vital systems. And with micro-rockets, aim isn‘t as big of a deal especially versus slower heavily armored targets. The high ammo count also reduces downtime between barrages. This thing hard counters anyone relying on heavy armor builds.
Tesla Field Projector
- Type: Electronic Disruption Field Generator
- Stats:
- 132 x 8 Attack
- 295 x 8 Impact
- 3900 Weight
- Analysis: With the press of a button, create an electric storm that fries electronic components and disables sensors. While the direct damage is on the lower side, it inflicts accuracy and evasion debuffs in an area making enemies sitting ducks. Follow up the shock therapy with a full barrage from your best guns knowing shots will land true!
Singularity Cannon
- Type: Gravitic Implosion Cannon
- Stats:
- 1755 Attack
- 2411 Impact
- 6420 Weight
- Analysis: Miniaturized black hole technology at your fingertips. This should be classified as a war crime. When the Singularity Cannon round detonates, it creates a temporary micro-black hole that slowly drags and crushes everything nearby. Enemies caught fully within the event horizon stand zero chance as the inescapable gravity amplifies ALL damage they take. Use sparingly and only as a trump card given the cannon‘s sheer size and weight.
Simply firing these brutal launchers feels incredible. Now let‘s get into ideal pairings…
Shotgun Matchups – Melee Mayhem
Want to play as aggressively as possible? Then load up on shotguns and slice your way to victory up close and personal!
Pulse Cannon
- Type: Rapid Fire Pulse Shotgun
- Stats:
- 127 x 8 Attack
- 92 x 8 Impact
- 2420 Weight
- Analysis: Firing energized pulse rounds, this rotary shotgun lacks in per-shot damage but has incredible burst dps up close. Mow down armor then swap to melee weapons once they‘re exposed.
Warhammer
- Type: Single Fire Explosive Round Shotgun
- Stats:
- 1844 Attack
- 1692 Impact
- 3820 Weight
- Analysis: This destroyer lives up to its name with earth shattering damage per shell. The sheer kinetic impact force will bulldoze enemies if you land meaty direct hits. Follow up with melee combos.
Ideal Pairings: Given their up close and personal nature, the risk of shotguns leaves you vulnerable. Once armor is blown off, quickly switch to the pulse blade, moonlight dagger, or MIRV harpoon for executing combinations to finish weak opponents.
Shotguns blow open the enemy then melee weapons feast on the remains – this aggressive duo is brutally effective. Of course launchers also work to soften targets first as well.
Now time for the BRRRRRT…those sweet machine guns!
Machine Gun Analysis – Specs and Situations
Machine guns represent balanced weapons offering fantastic sustained dps. Unlike launchers though their arm unit slots compete with other guns directly, so choose based on your combat distances.
Division MG
- Type: General Purpose Machine Gun
- Stats:
- 26 x 2 Attack
- 22 x 2 Impact
- 800 Weight
- Analysis: Well-rounded MG with impeccable handling traits and high rate of fire – bread and butter option. Dual-wielded on arm units.
Kraken LMG
- Type: Light Support MG
- Stats:
- 19 Attack
- 15 Impact
- 420 Weight
- Analysis: With armor piercing rounds, the Kraken LMG punches above its weight class while having deceptively good range. Crazy lightweight option to pair with heavy weapons for filler damage.
Apocalypse Vulcan
- Type: Heavy Hybrid Gatling
- Stats:
- 290 x 3 Attack
- 210 x 3 Impact
- 7800 Weight
- Analysis: Nothing screams overkill more than a 20mm rotating gatling gun. It‘s incredibly unwieldy but MINCES anything at close to medium range. You aren‘t dodging a wall of these shells. Stopping power is unmatched if you can feed the ammo hunger!
Ideal Pairings: For Division MG and Kraken, pair them with mid-long range plasma rifles, railguns, or laser cannons. The Apocalypse Vulcan is strong enough to be a primary weapon – back it up with lockdown tools like the Arc Razor or Tesla Field for easy damage windows.
I still swear by machine gun DPS even after all these years. But when you NEED raw stopping power…it‘s railgun time baby!
Plasma Rifles vs Railguns – Boomstick Battle Royale!
These bad boys hit like trucks from a mile away. Both plasma and rail weapons have strengths in wiping out enemy armor. Let‘s dive into their differences:
Hellfire Plasma Rifle
- Type: Anti-Matter Plasma Cannon
- Stats:
- 1100 Attack
- 420 Impact
- 3200 Weight
- Analysis: Fires volatile plasma that explodes dealing both direct damage and burn DoT. Excellent all rounder for continuous fire, decent mag size, good stability too. Melts armor FAST especially on sustained fire.
Plasma Lance
- Type: Charged Plasma Spear Launcher
- Stats:
- 3127 Attack
- 1517 Impact
- 4360 Weight
- Analysis: The Plasma Lance charges up to unleash a devastating beam that can erase an enemy entirely. Ideal against singular threats. Hard countered by dodgy light builds that won‘t sit still though!
Hyper Velocity Railgun
- Type: Anti-Matter Electromagnetic Rail Cannon
- Stats:
- 3355 Attack
- 2644 Impact
- 5900 Weight
- Analysis: Each slug it fires is a miniature nuclear explosion concentrated into a single kinetic penetrator. Even the most fortified enemies collapse after enough shots rip through them. Slow fire rate but INDOMITABLE power.
Electron Bolter
- Type: Chargeable Multi-Barrel Rail Autocannon
- Stats:
- 715 x 3 Attack
- 555 x 3 Impact
- 3760 Weight
- Analysis: An ultra high tech Gatling rail hybrid with charge states. Uncharged it spits rapid fire electron bolts shredding armor. Fully charged it lobs magnetically encapsulated plasma warheads across the battlefield – intercontinental artillery style! Extreme flexibility.
Ideal Pairings: Given their long range nature, pair plasma and rail weapons with close range finishers – the pulse blade, moonlight dagger, and mirv harpoon put enemies out of their misery once their defenses shatter from your cannons. Kraken LMGs also fill niches with suppressive chip damage leading to rifle coup de grace shots!
Final Armament Recommendations
The deep weapon mechanics and limitless combinations in Armored Core 6 may seem daunting. So to summarize, here are my overall recommendations:
For Beginners:
- Pulse Blade: Simple yet super effective melee weapon even late game
- Division MG: Easy handling machine gun with a skill floor anyone can leverage
- Hellstorm Rockets: Raw explosive firepower that‘s forgiving to use
- Hellfire Plasma Rifle: Reliable DPS backbone that melts armor
Advanced Builds:
- Moonlight Dagger + Hellfire Plasma Rifle: Riskier melee/ranged damage duo requiring skill
- MIRV Harpoons + Kraken LMGs: Unique hybrid harassment into execute playstyle
- Tesla Field + Hyper Velocity Railgun: Lockdown and snipe mobile enemies with overwhelming force
- Apocalypse Vulcan + Singularity Cannon: Walking embodiment of "pure destruction"
Theorycrafting creative builds like these make Armored Core an endless well of replayability for me. I hope breaking down my analysis gives you ideas to experiment with yourself and take your AC dominance to the next level!
Any other weapon combinations you think I should cover? Let me know in the comments!
