Armored Core 6: How to beat the Ice Worm in AC6

You’d be forgiven for thinking you landed on Arrakis from Dune, given there’s a giant worm and all. This mechanical beast isn’t the most difficult to tame, but it will take some precise timing to pull it off. Here’s how to take on the Ice Worm in Armored Core 6.

What’s the best weapon to beat the Ice Worm in AC6?

For this mission, you’re required to equip a special anti-worm weapon on one of your shoulders. This, unfortunately, will take up a good amount of your weight and EN capacity. You’ll still be able to pack enough firepower, but it’ll be tricky. See our Ice Worm build guide for a more in-depth breakdown of the build we used.

For weapons we recommend:

• Right Shoulder – VE-60SNA Stun Needle Launcher (required)
• Left Shoulder – Vvc-703PM 3-cell Plasma Missile Launcher
• Right Hand – DF-GA-08 HU-BEN Minigun
• Left Hand – Nothing

Given the massive weight of the stun needle launcher, we found that this is the best combo to take on the Ice Worm. You could use a weapon in your left hand if you sacrifice your left shoulder, but here’s the thing—you only have a limited window to attack.

Plasma missiles will give you more damage pound-for-pound than any hand weapons available. You’ll only have time to fire one salvo and give the worm a decent spray from your minigun, but that’s it.

What’s the best build to use against the Ice Worm in AC6?

We recommend a medium build. It’s easy to avoid a lot of the damage in this fight if you’re quick on your feet, so feel free to focus on mobility. We really like the Melander parts and the Ming-Tang generator: Together they’ll give you a good balance between speed and toughness.

Ice Worm attack phase I in AC6

You roll into battle with a number of other ACs, but they’re not really there to do much except get blown up in a later phase. You’re the star of this show.

Keep your distance as the Worm enters the battlefield and wait for it rise up out of the ice. There will be a brief moment for you to fire just before it dives back down. Time your shot carefully, as the stun launcher is a bit slow. You need to fire just before the worm is vulnerable.

Shots to its body will do nothing—to stun it, you need to hit it right in the face.

With a successful hit, the worm will plunge back into the ice. The next time it pops up, it’ll take a hit from a railgun manned by your allies. The worm will go down and be stunned. This is your chance to deal some damage. Try to predict where it’ll land and start blasting it in the face. Again, body shots will just bounce off.

Ice Worm attack phase II in AC6

The Ice Worm will briefly leave the battlefield and send in a fleet of drones to attack. These aren’t much of a threat and you can blast through them pretty easily. Just be ready for the Ice Worm to renter the fray. It mainly deals damage by colliding with you, so make sure you’re looking in all directions.

Once you’ve cleared the drones, the Ice Worm will charge back into the fight. Wait for it to rise up and time your stun shot. Once it’s stunned, wait for the next railgun shot to hit, and then rush forward to attack.

Remember, it can only take damage from the front. It’ll also begin to launch heatseeking coral missiles in this phase, but they’re easy enough to dodge.

After you’ve dealt your damage, a coral explosion will trigger, dealing a good chunk of damage to the Worm. It’ll then overload, sending out a shockwave of damaging coral energy. Make sure you’re far away when this happens or you’ll be cooked.

Ice Worm attack phase III in AC6

The Ice Worm will start tossing up missiles from underground as well as letting loose barrages of coral missiles when it’s above ground. Keep dodging and look for your opportunity to deliver a final stun shot.

The Worm will also start projecting coral energy from its front. You don’t want to get caught in the blast. It’ll also sweep its body across a large area of the arena, so keep your distance.

Just be aware there’s an invisible barrier on the battlefield, and make sure you don’t get stuck against it or you’ll be a juicy target for the worm’s missiles.

With your final stun shot, the railgun will do its thing and put the worm down one last time. Just like in the other phases, you’ll roll up to its front and start blasting. It takes extra damage here and will explode into a giant ball of coral energy.

Congratulations, you just beat the Ice Worm.

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