Armored Core 6: Which is better? Controller vs. keyboard

Armored Core 6 is finally here. The anticipated release is the first Armored Core game in over 10 years, and it’s already proving to be a fantastic continuation to the saga, as well as a worthy follow-up to games like Elden Ring and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. AC6 is very much a FromSoftware game—by which we mean it’s challenging. This, of course, means you’ll want to ensure you’ve chosen wisely on the never-ending controller vs. keyboard debate.

Should you play Armored Core 6 with a Controller or keyboard?

We’ve tested it, and you should play Armored Core 6 with a controller. This game is actually the first time an Armored Core game has been released for PC, and it shows. The game is fantastic, and the movement system has a great flow to it—on a controller. Adding a third dimension to movement suddenly makes playing on keyboard feel sort of clunky, and like you’re almost fighting against the game’s control system.

You won’t need to be doing any tremendously quick target acquisition like you would in FPS games that normally grant keyboard an advantage over controller.

In Armored Core 6, the combat has a very side-to-side/up-and-down feel to it. You aren’t exactly strafing, more like gliding circles around opponents. The Auto Targeting system is clearly built for controller as well—a mouse simply doesn’t need any help with accuracy. We all know how keyboard players feel about auto aim, after all.

Even taking all technicality and efficiency out of the equation, there is still just a different feel to playing a game on a controller vs. keyboard. If you think of any racing game, you probably think about a controller before a keyboard. It’s just somehow smoother. Piloting your AC in Armored Core 6 feels almost like driving a car.

Of course, you don’t need to simply take our word for it. Try both out, and see what works best for you. Although, we did manage to beat the final boss of Chapter One in under five hours on a controller, so the results do sort of speak for themselves (seriously, boss fights in Armored Core 6 are HARD).

At the end of the day, your preference will likely boil down to which medium you are more practiced on. But, if you aren’t leaning one way or another based on your comfort levels, controller really is the way to go. Armored Core was designed with the controller in mind, after all.