Armored Core 6 difficulty curve: Settings and modes, explained

Like nearly every FromSoftware game, Armored Core 6 (AC6) has quickly picked up a reputation for being brutally difficult. 

2019’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice ignited renewed discussion about difficulty modes in gaming and their necessity, leading many fans of the studio to wonder whether their future titles would be a little more accommodating to new players. Could the days of the “git gud” mentality finally be over?

Armored Core 6 difficulty settings, explained

Unfortunately, there are no standard difficulty modes in Armored Core 6. In keeping with FromSoftware’s design philosophy, the game that’s presented is the game you get, and whether it’ll be on the easier end (like Elden Ring) or the harder end (like Sekiro) is entirely up to the individual title you’re playing. 

AC6 definitely doesn’t start you off easy, with the very first boss serving as a hardcore test of the mechanics you only learned mere minutes ago. Every few missions, another monstrous mech is thrown at you, but the biggest difficulty spike in the game by far is the autonomous craft BALTEUS, whose seemingly unavoidable attacks and massive pool of HP have been the end of many players’ AC6 experience.

Luckily, it doesn’t have to be. As with Elden Ring, there are a wide variety of tools that new pilots can take advantage of to make fights a little easier. Adjusting AC6’s difficulty doesn’t happen through any in game menu—it’s all about the parts you use. Equipment matters far, far more than in any previous FromSoftware game, and even brick walls like BALTEUS can be made trivial with the right build. 

While this approach to difficulty is less intuitive than flicking a setting down to “easy,” it allows players to tailor their experience that much more… even if the trial and error inherent to puzzling out the right build does result in a few broken controllers.