Armored Core 6 gameplay finally revealed.

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Elden Ring having save points very near boss rooms and save points more frequently in general was a big change that made it feel a lot nicer to play.

There’s also 18 larval tears per playthrough to respec (available early on especially if skipping Stormveil), and they carry over into NG+. Only OCD freaks like me have probably used them all though. *cough*more than once*cough*

 

[Dreiko]

So I was kinda late to notice that there were these "choice" missions, and even after doing so, I thought it meant that you'd get a choice as you do the mission, not that the choice was which mission to accept out of the ones on offer (I assume this since after doing so the other mission vanished, which didn't happen with the non-choice ones), I had just been doing the missions from the top to the bottom cause that's the difficulty curve in the Arena fights lol. Anyhow, I did clear the S tier Arena fights so I think I'm close to beating the game, though this seems to need replays so you can see all the choice permutations. Man, going in as a total blank slate makes even basic things like multiple endings feel special somehow.

On the gameplay matters, I got this laser lance thing that boosts you insanely fast even if you're a fat mofo, and a shotgun bazooka on each shoulder, fun times.

Dark Souls 1 and Demon's Souls don't let you reallocate your stats, so you are essentially locked into a build, and Dark Souls 2, 3, and Elden Ring limit the number of times you can respect per play-through. In Bloodborne your stats basically don't matter, and in Sekiro you basically don't have stats or a build.

Also, most bosses in all of the souls games don't have a bonfire right before the boss. A few do, but most make you run though some bullshit to fight the boss each attempt.

This comparison is somewhat apples to oranges, because in souls games you don't get 100 levels worth of stats to assign instantly and then are locked into it. You gradually, very gradually, level up and gain a stat here and there, which allows you to adjust your build on the fly and allows for a greater degree of hybridization between builds. Say, you want a fast-moving slow-attacker for some reason, you can do that, your armor being light won't make you unable to lift your sword, but some flimsy ac arms are indeed unable to lift some heavy weapons and weapons themselves can make you very slow too, especially if your legs are light and can't handle em.


So yeah basically in souls games you can just decide to try something else for a bit and level in that direction, stats are not so important that they totally lock you out of most playstyles. As long as you can lift the weapon you're good, and outside of some crazy things that need like 50 str that still gives you a lot of leeway to experiment. For example, in Elden ring I went with my usual high str and stamina build, but as I discovered some of those dragon magics and this one beast talisman that scaled miracles off of your str, I started putting more points into faith so I could use these miracles, and it didn't really compromise my str build cause I could just do both easily, I do think it prolly ate at my HP, but having more heals negates the need to have a ton of HP anyways so outside of a few boss fights it wasn't even noticeable at all.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

This comparison is somewhat apples to oranges, because in souls games you don't get 100 levels worth of stats to assign instantly and then are locked into it. You gradually, very gradually, level up and gain a stat here and there, which allows you to adjust your build on the fly and allows for a greater degree of hybridization between builds. Say, you want a fast-moving slow-attacker for some reason, you can do that, your armor being light won't make you unable to lift your sword, but some flimsy ac arms are indeed unable to lift some heavy weapons and weapons themselves can make you very slow too, especially if your legs are light and can't handle em.


So yeah basically in souls games you can just decide to try something else for a bit and level in that direction, stats are not so important that they totally lock you out of most playstyles. As long as you can lift the weapon you're good, and outside of some crazy things that need like 50 str that still gives you a lot of leeway to experiment. For example, in Elden ring I went with my usual high str and stamina build, but as I discovered some of those dragon magics and this one beast talisman that scaled miracles off of your str, I started putting more points into faith so I could use these miracles, and it didn't really compromise my str build cause I could just do both easily, I do think it prolly ate at my HP, but having more heals negates the need to have a ton of HP anyways so outside of a few boss fights it wasn't even noticeable at all.

In Dark Souls could you have had a build that fluidly switches between strength, dex, faith, and magic, and use any armor and any weapon as the situation demands it? Of course not. You can build an all around character in a Souls game, and essentially not specialize in anything, and have a sort of hybrid build but you also won't be particularly great at anything either. You won't be able to use the heaviest weapons, or the most powerful spells, you'll just be limited to the lower tiers of all the abilities. You also can't upgrade every weapon and expect them all to perform equally effectively for you. You have to choose where you spend your resources. So you can either build a character that works in the majority of situations, but is largely mediocre (your standard sword and board with a little bit of magic if you will) or you can build a variety of specialists, each with massive strengths and weaknesses, and work around those.

In Armored Core you don't have to do either. You aren't locked into anything. You can completely change everything about your build from the weapons to the weight and speed of your mech at almost any moment, even mid-mission at a checkpoint. Armored Core never forces you to make do with what you've got and make it work. If something doesn't work you just try something else. That's why it's an entirely different beast. You can always build the best version of a mech possible to counter whatever the enemy is doing rather than just having to work around any weaknesses in your build.

 

[Dreiko]

In Dark Souls could you have had a build that fluidly switches between strength, dex, faith, and magic, and use any armor and any weapon as the situation demands it? Of course not. You can build an all around character in a Souls game, and essentially not specialize in anything, and have a sort of hybrid build but you also won't be particularly great at anything either. You won't be able to use the heaviest weapons, or the most powerful spells, you'll just be limited to the lower tiers of all the abilities. You also can't upgrade every weapon and expect them all to perform equally effectively for you. You have to choose where you spend your resources. So you can either build a character that works in the majority of situations, but is largely mediocre (your standard sword and board with a little bit of magic if you will) or you can build a variety of specialists, each with massive strengths and weaknesses, and work around those.

In Armored Core you don't have to do either. You aren't locked into anything. You can completely change everything about your build from the weapons to the weight and speed of your mech at almost any moment, even mid-mission at a checkpoint. Armored Core never forces you to make do with what you've got and make it work. If something doesn't work you just try something else. That's why it's an entirely different beast. You can always build the best version of a mech possible to counter whatever the enemy is doing rather than just having to work around any weaknesses in your build.

It's not that you can use the top level stuff for each build (which granted isn't really what makes or breaks most builds anyways, since tons of the best stuff is actually low on the requirement spectrum), but more that you can get a feel for how a build works fundamentally by dipping your toe in it, and then based on that decide if you wanna go that way or try something else, and you can do this flexibly enough to allow yourself to try every build and find what you enjoy or what you wanna go for without needing to actually respec. So it's less that you can switch fluidly and more that you aren't locked from the start in any one build, but by like lvl 60+, and in those levels you get to try stuff and figure out what you wanna play.

You don't need to use the 50str greatsword to figure out if you enjoy using greatswords, the 18str one feels more or less just like it and has only minute differences so just try that one and see if it's for you. You don't need to fire a magic missile that is gigantic and 1shots everything to figure out if you enjoy playing a magic user, even the low level missile feels similar in how you go about using them. You can use this information to figure out what build you wanna go for before you play enough where you've locked yourself down one path.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

It's not that you can use the top level stuff for each build (which granted isn't really what makes or breaks most builds anyways, since tons of the best stuff is actually low on the requirement spectrum), but more that you can get a feel for how a build works fundamentally by dipping your toe in it, and then based on that decide if you wanna go that way or try something else, and you can do this flexibly enough to allow yourself to try every build and find what you enjoy or what you wanna go for without needing to actually respec. So it's less that you can switch fluidly and more that you aren't locked from the start in any one build, but by like lvl 60+, and in those levels you get to try stuff and figure out what you wanna play.

You don't need to use the 50str greatsword to figure out if you enjoy using greatswords, the 18str one feels more or less just like it and has only minute differences so just try that one and see if it's for you. You don't need to fire a magic missile that is gigantic and 1shots everything to figure out if you enjoy playing a magic user, even the low level missile feels similar in how you go about using them. You can use this information to figure out what build you wanna go for before you play enough where you've locked yourself down one path.

How do you not get this through your skull? It's not about TRYING every build, it's about having every imaginable build available to you at a moment's notice at all times. Don't want to fight a boss with the build you have? Literally change it to something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT on the fly.

That's what makes the games work completely differently.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

In Dark Souls could you have had a build that fluidly switches between strength, dex, faith, and magic, and use any armor and any weapon as the situation demands it? Of course not. You can build an all around character in a Souls game, and essentially not specialize in anything, and have a sort of hybrid build but you also won't be particularly great at anything either. You won't be able to use the heaviest weapons, or the most powerful spells, you'll just be limited to the lower tiers of all the abilities. You also can't upgrade every weapon and expect them all to perform equally effectively for you. You have to choose where you spend your resources. So you can either build a character that works in the majority of situations, but is largely mediocre (your standard sword and board with a little bit of magic if you will) or you can build a variety of specialists, each with massive strengths and weaknesses, and work around those.

In Armored Core you don't have to do either. You aren't locked into anything. You can completely change everything about your build from the weapons to the weight and speed of your mech at almost any moment, even mid-mission at a checkpoint. Armored Core never forces you to make do with what you've got and make it work. If something doesn't work you just try something else. That's why it's an entirely different beast. You can always build the best version of a mech possible to counter whatever the enemy is doing rather than just having to work around any weaknesses in your build.

Easy fix is just leveling everything to 80

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I missed or forgot this recommendation, sorry, but I will try it next time I play, thx for reminding

Another random thought about your issue with tracking bosses. You said that you used target lock, and that it didn't help.

When using target lock (clicking the right stick), do you still keep your thumb on the thumb stick and try to move the camera, or do you completely let go of the thumb stick?

One of the things I did initially when I was playing (and then stopped doing) was locking onto enemies, and then still moving the camera around, and I didn't realize that doing this breaks target lock, whereas in other From Software games it wouldn't. When you click in the thumb stick you're supposed to completely let go of the stick and completely let the lock on track your target while you focus on movement and dodging. When you do that it becomes very rare for even very fast enemies to completely blow through your lock-on.

Having this realization made a world of difference to the way I play, made bosses much easier to track and made my movement feel much more smooth and responsive because I wasn't constantly taking my thumb off the dodge and jump buttons to reorient the camera.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Another random thought about your issue with tracking bosses. You said that you used target lock, and that it didn't help.

When using target lock (clicking the right stick), do you still keep your thumb on the thumb stick and try to move the camera, or do you completely let go of the thumb stick?

One of the things I did initially when I was playing (and then stopped doing) was locking onto enemies, and then still moving the camera around, and I didn't realize that doing this breaks target lock, whereas in other From Software games it wouldn't. When you click in the thumb stick you're supposed to completely let go of the stick and completely let the lock on track your target while you focus on movement and dodging. When you do that it becomes very rare for even very fast enemies to completely blow through your lock-on.

Having this realization made a world of difference to the way I play, made bosses much easier to track and made my movement feel much more smooth and responsive because I wasn't constantly taking my thumb off the dodge and jump buttons to reorient the camera.

Appreciate the write-up but honestly... I just stopped caring. It's all too much fussing. Game isn't fun any more.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Appreciate the write-up but honestly... I just stopped caring. It's all too much fussing. Game isn't fun any more.

 

[BrawlMan]

Appreciate the write-up but honestly... I just stopped caring. It's all too much fussing. Game isn't fun any more.

Nothing wrong with that. It didn't work out for you. There's plenty of games that I told that were greater will be fun, and I didn't like them for various reasons. You're hearing from somebody that gave up on Ninja Gaiden II (360) back in 2008 around the 9th chapter. That game is poorly balanced and the difficulty is absurd. It put me off the franchise for a long while. I traded in my copy of armored Core 6, because things are too busy right now and I lost interest. I traded it in for some extra needed cash at a different retail store. Besides, October is crowded enough as it is, and I know I'm not going to have time for it.

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As much as I like those memes, don't be harsh on him. I'm assuming you're being playful though.

Speaking of which: deconstructing the "git gud" defense.

​

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Nothing wrong with that. It didn't work out for you. There's plenty of games that I told that were greater will be fun, and I didn't like them for various reasons. You're hearing from somebody that gave up on Ninja Gaiden II (360) back in 2008 around the 9th chapter. That game is poorly balanced and the difficulty is absurd. It put me off the franchise for a long while. I traded in my copy of armored Core 6, because things are too busy right now and I lost interest. I traded it in for some extra needed cash at a different retail store. Besides, October is crowded enough as it is, and I know I'm not going to have time for it.


As much as I like those memes, don't be harsh on him. I'm assuming you're being playful though.

Speaking of which: deconstructing the "git gud" defense.

Eventually I want to check it out, but the second half of the clip basically gave enough reason to not bother with it anytime soon.

As an aside wouldn’t a microwave take be the opposite of what they said? Usually it’s the center that stays cold.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Nothing wrong with that. It didn't work out for you. There's plenty of games that I told that were greater will be fun, and I didn't like them for various reasons. You're hearing from somebody that gave up on Ninja Gaiden II (360) back in 2008 around the 9th chapter. That game is poorly balanced and the difficulty is absurd. It put me off the franchise for a long while. I traded in my copy of armored Core 6, because things are too busy right now and I lost interest. I traded it in for some extra needed cash at a different retail store. Besides, October is crowded enough as it is, and I know I'm not going to have time for it.


As much as I like those memes, don't be harsh on him. I'm assuming you're being playful though.

Speaking of which: deconstructing the "git gud" defense.

There's plenty of completely valid reasons not to like a game. I just think that it's a little silly to dislike a game because you misunderstand a mechanic or refuse to engage with a mechanic that would completely alleviate your problem.

It would be like refusing to play a game because you hate the default control scheme, even if the game gave you the ability to completely remap your controls, or saying that a fighting game is bad and unbalanced because you refuse to block.

 

[BrawlMan]

There's plenty of completely valid reasons not to like a game. I just think that it's a little silly to dislike a game because you misunderstand a mechanic or refuse to engage with a mechanic that would completely alleviate your problem.

So what? Regardless if he understood the mechanics or not, it didn't jive with him, and that's okay. I've been on both sides, we all have at some point or another, with the whole "misunderstanding/understanding" mechanics debate. @Old_Hunter_77, can't get into DMC5 and heunderstand the mechanics well enough. He has admitted that he doesn't like seeing a terrible grade for not doing well. Obviously the game wants you get better and understanding how Nero/V/Dante works is important, but he's not alone in this attitude. It's why some people preferred DmC (2013), because it handed out high SSS like candy, and felt good to do something with minimum effort. I don't jive with that mind set, but I get it.

Still the whole "old man" argument this case, seems more like a de-flinging of criticism or legit problems with the game. Cold Take just talked about this today in his video, and it applies here as well. It's just another and fancier version of "git gud". You're just replacing it with "old man" straw arguments.

It would be like refusing to play a game because you hate the default control scheme, even if the game gave you the ability to completely remap your controls,

That depends if the remapping is good or not. Does the game have presets, or actual control customization? Is person completely abled, or do they have a specific handicap or are completely handicapped with their hands and fingers. I know many games are making sure even visually or physically disabled are able to play games, but many customized controls or presets from games in the past and now, won't work well with them.

I'll give you a non-disabled version. I hate the default controls for DmC (2013). I know it has customized controls and thankful, even when customized to my specific needs, it's awkward and shows how unnecessary the changes were made at the time and now. Another example: you can't customize the control in a majority of Platinum's action games. The default set up works fine for me, but not for those who want a specific control set up, or are handicapped. All you get is 2 presets at best for most of their titles. The only exception is Transformers Devastation, which gives you about 8 of them.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

That depends if the remapping is good or not. Does the game have presets, or actual control customization? Is person completely abled, or do they have a specific handicap or are completely handicapped with their hands and fingers. I know many games are making sure even visually or physically disabled are able to play games, but many customized controls or presets from games in the past and now, won't work well with them.

I'll give you a non-disabled version. I hate the default controls for DmC (2013). I know it has customized controls and thankful, even when customized to my specific needs, it's awkward and shows how unnecessary the changes were made at the time and now. Another example: you can't customize the control in a majority of Platinum's action games. The default set up works fine for me, but not for those who want a specific control set up, or are handicapped. All you get is 2 presets at best for most of their titles. The only exception is Transformers Devastation, which gives you about 8 of them.

My post literally says "completely remap."

 

[BrawlMan]

My post literally says "completely remap."

I heard you and read it loud and clear. I was giving you hypothetical and actual examples. What works you, may not work for others and vice versa. Even with the control remapping, I highly doubt that was Old_Hunter_77 only issue, as he has pointed out multiple times. The game didn't work for him, and he didn't like it. You love the game, and that's all that matters. It's has nothing to do with OH77 being an "old man yells at cloud" thing.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

I heard you and read it loud and clear. I was giving you hypothetical and actual examples. What works you, may not work for others and vice versa. Even with the control remapping, I highly doubt that was Old_Hunter_77 only issue, as he has pointed out multiple times. The game didn't work for him, and he didn't like it. You love the game, and that's all that matters. It's has nothing to do with OH77 being an "old man yells at cloud" thing.

To be fair, I seem to recall him saying he must be getting too old for these types of games (with enemies flying around the screen), or something like that.

 

[BrawlMan]

To be fair, I seem to recall him saying he must be getting too old for these types of games (with enemies flying around the screen), or something like that.

He ain't that old; he is in his early forties. Less of an age issue, and more of a patient's issue. I get it. There are certain games I will never play again either being too difficult, too frustrating, or just bad and archaic design that's frustrating. Comix Zone I will never play again.

Besides, I seen old people kick ass at House of the Dead. That requires a lot of reaction time.

 

[Dreiko]

So I beat the game, ended up helping my coral lady in the end cause I felt bad about all this mess happening in her planet. I wonder how many other endings are there. Also that one boss that comes back to life and turns into some sort of energy bird for one of his moves kicked my ass so hard. Really fun battle.


Time for ng+!

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I heard you and read it loud and clear. I was giving you hypothetical and actual examples. What works you, may not work for others and vice versa. Even with the control remapping, I highly doubt that was Old_Hunter_77 only issue, as he has pointed out multiple times. The game didn't work for him, and he didn't like it. You love the game, and that's all that matters. It's has nothing to do with OH77 being an "old man yells at cloud" thing.

There's plenty or perfectly valid reasons not to like a game, but when the reason you don't like the game has a simple fix/solution built into it and you refuse to use it then it really just comes off as "I don't want a solution I want to complain."