Running and gunning will only get you so far in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. Sooner rather than later, you’ll realize you need to beef up and optimize your Armored Core to give you a bit more survivability. Armored Core 6 doesn’t have a traditional RPG level up and increase stats style system, rather it’s entirely parts-based like classic entries in the series. Lets’ take a look at how you can increase your health and durability in Armored Core 6.
How to Increase Your AP in Armored Core 6
As you start out in Armored Core 6, you’ll notice your Armored Core doesn’t have an HP stat. In this game it’s instead called AP which is Armor Points. This is because the game is purely focused on the mech itself rather than the pilot, so only the armor matters. To increase your survivability, you’ll want to have more AP to work with. In order to increase this, you’ll need to start completing some of the missions available in the Sortie missions menu. Successful missions will award you funds that you can then use to spend in the parts store. This is where the mech improvement goodies are. Browse through the parts available in the store and keep an eye on the stats below. Blue highlighted stats show an increase in the stats value compared to your current parts and red the opposite.
In order to increase the AP of our Armored Core, we’ll need to look for parts that increase the AP stat. From the head unit to the core and legs, all these individual parts contribute to your overall AP stat. Completing plenty of missions and buying new, higher AP parts is how you can increase your survivability. Keep an eye on the Weight and EN Load stats as well, as you don’t want to exceed the limits on those or you’ll run into issues. Weight determines your speed and overall maneuverability. This is very important to consider as being able to avoid damage can be just as valuable as being able to tank a little bit more of it. EN Load stands for Energy Load and determines how much energy your Armored Core is capable of handling. So you’ll want to keep your part choices within the lines indicating the limits on those two stats in particular.
So in Armored Core 6 you don’t have health, you instead have Armor Points. Complete missions, earn funds and use those to buy parts for your Armored Core. The better the parts you have, the higher your AP will be. It will make tougher missions much easier.
For more basics on the game, check out our guide to how targeting works in Armored Core 6.