I also happen to be stuck in that boss in chapter 4 for a while for the same reason. I really like going fast in this game. I was trying to fight speed with speed, and it wasnt working. I knew if i tried with something else like machineguns it might be easier to deal with. But i stuck with my fast melee build only doing minor adjustments until i found a strategy that worked well enough. At the end i really enjoyed the fight once i knew how to do it my own, very fast paced fight, very exigent but also very rewarding to beat this way.
the boss is very vulnerable after some of her attacks and i think thats where fast melee builds shines. Peper with missiles and midrange weapon stay within 100-200m range wait for an opening and strike with melee i prefer dual melee builds like pilebunker and laser lance
Been stuck on this boss since yesterday, I am terrible at dodging the big laser and swipes. Light build running laser lance, Zimmerman, dual plasma missiles on the back. Had been trying the pile bunker and lance combo with but landing that initial hit is tricky.
I loved using the pilebunker against this boss specifically just because it destroys like half of its health and make the war of attrition less of an issue
It's funny that in his Elden Ring video Dunkey does in fact use that exact powerful spell that deletes Mohg and continues to complain how it's too easy with it. I also have a friend who watches guides and walk-throughs before even attempting FS bosses, he doesn't even explore the lands and experiment with different weapons. He said these two games weren't as fun as they should, because he killed most bosses easily, that they weren't challenging enough to feel like an achievement. Then it was him who played ER with double katanas and Bloodborne with Ludwig's greatsword because he, himself chose to look up best weapon (= easiest to kill with) instead of what was fun to him, personally. I remember him explaining to me how my choice of Amygdala Arm and Bloodletter wasn't the best whilst admitting they look so sick, and how I too should go with Ludwig's Greatsword instead... It almost seems sometimes ppl can't be self conscious about how they're actively breaking a game's and their own definition of fun when they do this.
Sounds like he hasn’t realized that different people have fun in different ways. He has fun following an optimal route and optimizing it, you have fun exploring/doing fashion souls. Sounds obnoxious, hopefully he realizes what’s going on.
@TheGallantDrake you're missing the part where the friend admits to not enjoying the games due to the lack of difficulty he has inflicted upon himself. He makes it evident that he does, in fact, not experience "fun" in this way.
I think Armored Core 6 is a good example of how some players will happily optimize the fun out of any game they play. Developers can't give options because players will take the path of least resistance and go for that even if they don't want to.
People lack agency and autonomy in games as in life, they want to be guided and teached everything, and not put any effort in making decisions and studying the mechanics, engaging with the core loop of the game. It's easier to use a cheese build than to learn how to proper balance and build a mech and pilot it.
Devs can still give options, they just need to keep working on balance, and players need to understand that decent balance is not easy to achieve and takes time.
Yep, I haven't played AC6 but am a heavy proponent of devs protecting the players from themselves. I don't want the balance of the game to fall apart if you optimize because optimization is fun and I don't like having to place arbitrary restrictions on myself, the game should do that for me. The best example of this is Slay the Spire imo, as it might be one of the few games where learning to play optimally makes the game MORE fun not less. It's definitely harder to do that outside a roguelike context though.
I agree for the most part, I was one of the unlucky ones who, as I was messing around with different customizations for my mech, found this one. I almost instantly noticed that it trivialized most encounters in the game and decided to not use that build again. Though every time i open up the assembly, trying to find a solution to my current situation, the thought of that build instantly ruins it for me. When a massive part of the game is combining parts for your situation, and you KNOW what combination will solve the issue, just having to ignore that feels like shit. I had the same issue with elden ring, where i was collecting all these neat items and spells and weapons, while i know most of them are not worth using. The way I approach both scenarios is the same; pretend the strongest option doesn't exist, which may cause me more annoyance than if I were to just use it and blow through the game
the funniest part of dunkey's review is while he is discrediting AC6 for his "unbeatable wheelchair miniguns" build and saying again how you had to respect the Elden Ring encounters There's a freaking clip of a Comet Azur shredding the ice dragon on the fog you encounter in the Mountain
Dunkey had some bad takes. If he took the time to make a good build in elden ring he would probably not feel like every enemy deserves respect lol. Very easy to trivialize most encounters in elden ring. It still doesn’t mean every encounter is simple but anyways I’m rambling. These games are usually as hard as you make them, if you’re a familiar with fromsoft games and a good gamer.
it's an issue of scale. you can't destroy every encounter in elden ring with comet azur, whereas you can in AC6. Additionally, it is MUCH easier to create a busted build in AC6 than it is in elden ring. If a game has 1 SUPER OP build but you can't get it until end game or NG+ and requires so many different parts working in inventive ways, it would be much more balanced than a game that has an equally busted build that you can get early game by equipping a single item.
tbf it's a very experiential sort of thing, in ER his build was balanced so he had to respect the encounters, which added a lot of tension and fun to the game. In AC6 his build was OP so he mindlessly rolled the game and didn't have a lot of the same fun he had with ER.
I stumbled upon the dual gatling build when i was bashing my head against Balteus. On NG + I've been running dual shotguns. To solve another problem, I ran dual bazookas and a pile bunker on my back. Just about anything in this game becomes "OP" when you wrap your head around optimizing your mech.
Right? Fast Dual Melee will delete pretty much everything in the game Does that make the game too easy? No.....That just makes you the type of player that chooses to play like that 🤷 Hes a 100% on point about Mohg vs Azure/Hidden Tear tbh....yes, you CAN do that but thats entirely your choice
@@scrotymcboogerballs6452 Then I guess I am just shit, because I tried defeating last boss in my alba frame with pulse blade//moonlight swappin around, songbirds, shotgun and some rockets and I just couldn't suvive for both phases or power thru, I would get staggered from any hit on this frame, swapped to heavy frame with meta weapons and the boss went down on first try
Dual pulse guns and dual pulse missiles will wipe every arena fight in 30seconds to 1 minute, but not great in most fights outside of that. Any time ive gotten stuck dying more than two or 3 times in a fight I keep switching weapons until something works better there so far always seems to be some specific combo that melts a boss even if its next to useless elsewhere
@kubekzpiciem nah, you arent shit lol Some of these bosses are fuckin legit hard and take a lot of practice to find the right openings and dodge windows....you can beat everything with every build, you just have to keep practicing
Even ignoring overpowered builds the biggest issue with the games difficulty is that the non-boss segments are complete cakewalks 9/10 times. So the games difficulty comes at you in sudden sharp spikes rather than a consistant experience that i felt elden ring and had
And I think this actually contributes to the problem at hand. I didn’t specifically look for overpowered builds but my melee lightweight build is not working good enough for some of the bosses. I switched a few times, still couldn’t figure it out, so I try to look up how to make my builds more effective. And most videos I found were using one of the overpowered builds. Realistically speaking, when people can’t figure things out on their own they go to the internet. And just like most things in nature, the path of least resistance is the one that will become most commonly used. These overpowered builds are universally acknowledged as so not because people specifically want to find something overpowered, but simply because that it is the most direct, effective, accessible and universally applicable solution to what’s supposed to be a puzzle. If the answer to all bosses are “dual zimmerman/songbird” then it’s inevitable that people will adopt such builds and have their experiences ruined.
Except you’re able to change your ac and restart at a checkpoint. Making difficulty spikes optional. Even going for a ranks, nearly all missions can be a ranked easily with little skill using tank legs and duel needles plus javelins.
This is one of the things that’s kind of deterring me from wanting to get it, those cakewalk levels seem like such a breeze I feel like I’d only ever have fun during bosses. While they are bound to be great, I want it to be continuously engaging
They used to have ai chips u could put in you mech and let them fight by themselves. You could even make 2 mech you built fight each other with their ai and spectate.
there's the arena fights where it's basically a 1v1 against CPU's, even gives you their template when you win. I actually used a few as templates but I do hope they add more as some are pretty interesting
@axis8396 I've notice that as well. Very cool blueprint to try different ways and understand other styles. Also if you don't have all the parts it tell how much it cost to build it too
I disagree. That just shows a lack of patience imo. Edit: wait if we’re talking about either Balteus then I do agree. But if we’re talking about the helicopter then my original comment still stands.
This is less a testament to difficulty and more so because the average gamer is dense as shit and won't make proper use of all the tools they're given. The game is just decently challenging but also easily cheesable (use double stun needles and double zimmermans and you've got a boss skip setup)
I played through the entire game with dual Zimmerman shotguns and chicken legs, but didn’t touch the internet until after I’d already beaten the game. I still struggled significantly with end game bosses. But when playing through NG+ I had that realization that there was no reason to change my build, because it dealt with everything. Would really like to see other weapons and non-tank legs improved. Or at least a weakness to tank builds which can still move like a lightweight
@@devinthorn8182 I have beaten that mission with Dual Zims. I did switch to Bad Cook for the S rank. But bro, if your counter to the Zimmerman's is that you'll have trouble on a singular mission on your third playthrough, perhaps they are incredibly broken. And no, you don't need to fight the ones guarding the optional weapon, you can just instantly open the chest and leave
@@devinthorn8182 yes it does. Firing both at the same time insta staggers them but if you bring songbirds you can straight up instakill any wheels by firing both at the same time. Made s-ranking the escort strider mission trivial
@@devinthorn8182 Zimms and Stun Needles both instantly stagger and/or straight up kill the wheels. I even made it harder on myself by using a biped most of the game
I also went in blind and found the dual ZImmerman tactic naturally. I could see their attack power being cut 15%, or 25% longer reload, or 35% more weight, or given a pause like bazookas but shorter. They’re one of the only weapons that can deal 900+ burst damage without needing to pause to fire on bipeds. That said, they’ve shown me a lot of love. An AC6 without Zimmermans to keep me safe sounds scary, but I’d be into it. But to say it’s too easy with ZImmermans is so silly. One of my favorite things to do in AC games is to make otherwise useless seeming weapons shine by producing unique circumstances in the build. When I get bored with Zimmermans, I change my build. I’ve spent dozens of hours practicing with other builds for that reason, and I’d feel like an idiot getting mad about that, because once they’re nerfed, that’s what I’ll be having to do anyway.
Fellow Lightweight enjoyer, I literally can't go back to bipedal after experiencing those crazy boost jumps. Also insane how a lot of stuff just miss when you're simply strafing or jumping with a lightweight
Same. I don't mind switching to an overpowered build if that's what it takes to beat a specific section of the game and access new content, but with more practice (and better parts) I imagine I can make jump builds work. At the end of the day, I want the mech to feel like something I'd actually want to pilot for the fun of it.
Bro i've been using a 385 boost build with the dual burst pistols and dual sweet 16 on the back for the S ranks and any other build i try is just not nearly as fun. Its so ridiculously fast and deals insane damage as well
I think most issues couldve been fixed if they worked in a debt system like previous games, since gatling and grenades cost a lot there would be a big trade off to using them, but right now you just get a little less money. Luckily the director did mention that want an opportunity to explore debt again so hopefully we can see that soon
Considering how Dunkey plays fighting games, it seems to me he's the type of player who looks for the path of least resistance. He has fun playing that way, so more power to him. It only becomes a problem when he berates a game because he refuses to innovate his gameplay slightly when a large part of the experience revolves around experimentation and customization. As you've said, the critique speaks more to his inability to tear himself away from an OP strat than the game providing the tools to have a challenging, fun experience. Again, why does Elden Ring get GOTY when I can one shot 90% of the bosses, but Armored Core stinks and is easy because Tank is stronk? There's no consistency.
Self-imposed challenges aren't as compelling as a challenge thrusted upon by a game. If a game that centers around experimentation and building new mechs to overcome new challenges gives you a build that's so completely broken that it completely renders that aspect irrelevant, that's not the fault of the player. It isn't as big of a problem in Elden Ring because that game is so massive in scope that you'd have to actively seek out components to a broken build and there's a lot more investment and commitment into achieving the optimal build. The stun needle is given to you for free, and the Zimmermans are, for some reason, dirt cheap. The game has a balance issue, that much cannot be denied.
@@gracecalis5421It is 100% the fault of the player for using something broken and then complaining about it. Sure the balance is an issue but no game will ever be fully balanced, not even fighting games
@@gracecalis5421 Those are absolutely fair points, and I do think the distinction is notable. However, I do believe the game's ease is being blown way out of proportion in the arguments this video is responding to, so much so that it merits reminding that practically every masterpiece ever released on the gaming market that contains an ounce of customization has some massive, game-breaking element that exists, and usually they aren't even difficult to find. I think the primary issue is how natural it is to begin using the OP items in AC. Those are generally not the arguments I'm seeing levied against the game though, as I agree with you... they should be toned down or way off the path of standard progression. It's just not *nearly* as game-breaking as people are making it out to be in my opinion.
@@Walamonga1313 No it is not, it's the fault of the COMBAT DESIGNER of the game. This is a problem that could have revealed itself in testing. If they allowed it, that is the game saying they are fine with the player using something that is, as you just described it: BROKEN. That's not the players fault. They didn't make the game man. Don't hate the player kind of goes without saying here.
Ah yes, the FromSoft game discourse cycle is in full swing. "Game too hard" "Game actually too easy" "Game fair but hard because designers have brain". Happens every time. Good video.
It's extremely funny because that's just games in general honestly. There's been so many games I have had a terrible time with because I missed a mechanic, and then there have been "hard" games that I flew through because I stumbled on to some over powered stuff
It think what happens most of time is newbies complain about the games being too hard while the souls/core veterans will complain about the lack of challenge. That's why I feel Lies of P did something special because that seems to be equally hard for both groups but interestingly enough the newbies can beat the game as well. I wonder how many old FromSoft fans realise that DeS and DS1 wouldn't have been nearly as hard if they played those after their newer games. I played DS3 first than DS2 then Sekiro and finally DS1 and the iconic OnS fight was almost comically easy for me at that point with a black knight greatsword. Then From makes an optional boss that's brutally hard like Malenia so even souls veterans will have a challenge and many people ends up hating her. It feels like some people cannot be satisfied.
The dual gattling build is literally given to you for one of the training missions, so saying that people have to go out of their way to find out about it is dishonest
Regarding the tank build, just thought you'd be interested to know that this is a throwback from older AC titles where equipping grenade arms and chain guns on tank legs was a good way to beat challenging encounters easily. I'm sure many who played those games remembered that build and recreated it here like myself. Still, any AC veteran would understand it's cheese and not complain about it so all your other points still stand.
@@roar104 it does work. The only problem is how op tank + gutling guns are. Bosses are fun and interesting its just that this build makes them boring like most other parts of the game
I think the problem here is two fold. 1. Using Comet Azur to cheese bosses in Elden Ring is a bit different, as, given how cryptic that game can be, I would wager there's no way to accidently fall into the proper set up to do so without specifically looking it up. Even if you did come by it by playing the game on your own, it's still a specific build path that would be the pay off of hours of specific set up and build choices. And still wouldn't work if Mohg's AI decided to walk out of it on a whim. Meanwhile, Armored Core 6 pushes you towards this by design. In that heavier parts take less damage, and heavier weapons deal more damage, the logical conclusion folks are coming to is to put the big heavy guns on the big heavy legs. I have 3 friends whom are new to Armored Core, and through the missions they learned that they die less and kill more by gravitating towards a build like this. The game's systems offers tons of checks to other builds, like stagger, weight limits and ammo conservation, but this bypasses them. Magic in Elden Ring at least leaves you squishy. 2. The idea that there's a "The Strongest" weapons or build is contrary to what, I imagine, most people want out of the game. We look at all the parts, and they're stats, and assume they're balanced in a way that there will be equal pros and cons among them all. Not entirely 1 to 1 equal, but also not such that one build path completely outshines the others and strips the game of difficulty. The point of the game being to build your machine to face the challenges of it, there being a one size fits all murder machine that conquers all those challenges sort of makes the idea moot. You can in fact challenge yourself and stick to a certain frame, but I believe the complaints being lodged is that we shouldn't have to figuratively tie one hand behind our back to continue experiencing the challenge. The parts aren't even labeled in a way that would let you know they're the best, so anyone who started using them like any other parts would naturally think the game is easy.
Beautiful comment. I feel that this design choice is a strength and a weakness in Armored Core , and is a far bigger issue than in Soulsborne because in those games you have to commit to a build and everything can be extremely good (Colossal+jump attacks can literally break endgame bosses in ER). Overall this is not a big problem, but it shows the conflicting ideas AC6 has when it comes to some weapons and builds being pretty bad, even for just PvE.
Elaborating a little on your point: The majority of builds in AC6 involve parts that you're handed for routinely completing missions, and bought with currency you can get by spamming repeat runs of whatever mission you personally find easiest. This means that the amount of gameplay skill required for set building is very very low. This is wildly different than a game like Elden Ring where there are absolutely broken things in the game, but it's going to be a huge undertaking to track them down and get your hands on them, and you often won't even know they exist to realize you should be looking for them. AC6 just adds stuff to the shopping list (for the most part). These scenarios really do not compare.
@cameronphares2482bro both of those bosses went down like butter with a tank build. Songbirds and mini guns trivialize them and all bosses in the game. I can attest to that.
Agreed. I'd add, that the way the game's designed, you hardly need to even build toward the OP weapons. The gatling guns aren't nearly as heavy as youd think and impose no firing restrictions to lightweight builds, and even when overloading, there's a no brainer OS chip that just lets you sortie *anyway*. I loaded up my lightweight frame (wanting to do something akin to Leena's Gun Sniper from Zoids), and it just.. works. No major drawbacks. Hardly had to change a thing. And as for Zimmermans, theyre extremely light and energy efficient, so any build can use them with ease. In fact, this is the build I went for naturally, as I wanted a quick CQB shotgun+blade build of some sort since the game was announced. Just happened to be way too OP unfortunately. Point being is, these aren't even really "builds" like a Comet Azur build is. Just a weapon choice.
@cameronphares2482 A tank build shits on both. Arquebuss shield gets almost one shot by two stun needles and then he gets rolled with gats. Ibis bosses its the same thing.
I also went with a more agile build pretty much the entire time I've been playing, but I do like that the game rewards you for refining your own mech and style. I will say going through my 2nd and now my 3rd time is much easier because I've fine tuned my mech over time. Blind playthroughs are that much nicer when you figure things out on your own
Figuring out atuff on your own is key. I also made a double batling double song bird build playing blind, they are easy weapons to get early. I thought it was neat but i didn't really use it again. It wasn't because i felt i needed to limit myself but because the fun is in making new mechs that i tweak into being just as broken. I want to figure out the broken lightweight bipeds, reversejoints, tetras and tanks so i won't stick with the first thing that works. Additionally, i love S ranking missions so those hulking monsters with gatlings or grenade spam are usually too expensive to run so i rarely pull them out.
I think a lot of people see the Gatling guns and think to slap them on a tank, i made my own version of the broken tank build pretty early on, but found it trivialized the game and was no fun so i switched back to my old mech. I had almost ten builds saved by the time i beat the game for the first time, after playing the tutorials i found it really fun to experiment with any new stuff i would find and i think a lot of people played the game similarly because thats how From presents it, arena is just unlocking new fun builds to try as well. If you can't have fun with a build why bother playing it, people that say it's too easy or too hard are just playing the game wrong and i hope they can pick it up again and give some other builds a chance, the funny thing is its not even like elden ring where you are actually stuck in a build unless you respec and farm upgrades, its so easy in ac and thats what i love about it, the variety is so good and because of that i would say its better balanced than anything, you literally get to pick your difficulty and can switch it anytime till the flow hits. Also the broken builds helped me a few times on the ch4 boss because my game crashed after i beat it two times while the cutscene was playing :P Maybe you could argue that they should be put further towards the end of the game but i'm sure some people made the op build and had a blast with it
I accidently discovered the OP Songbirds. But i figured everyone discovered these, you get them fairly early on, they look cool and sound cool and i am someone who likes to play with new toys so i immediately noticed how powerful they felt. But i never knew they would outperform so many of the weapons what would be coming later, i like heavy rocket launchers and boomsticks, and many of the later, heavy and girthy shoulder rocket launchers feel underwhelming. The Spread Bazooka was disappointing, so was the weird javelin (rocket that leaves a trail that explodes) and the container rocket that reaches a destination and shoots dozens of tiny rockets randomly. but i tested all of them myself, when someone goes online and finds the dual weilding gatlin wheelchair that trivializes 80% of the game that is entirely their fault. smh
Luckily for me i enjoy both building new mechs and S ranking. Song birds plus gatling worked for like one S rank but its so expensive i never use it. Its just one more build on the pile of stuff i've made that also works really well depending on the mission.
@@Pontif11 thats how the game should be enjoyed imo. i love tinkering with mechs and trying out new weapons. i am always excited when i unlock new shiny stuff. and some weapons perform differently to accomodate different playstyles. and many of the "good" weapons are also heavy and energy hungry, so the fault might not be 100% on the weapon balance but more so on how easy it is to equip a ton of good weapons and stuff with medium leg and generator power. but even so i dont think its a "problem", its liberating to be able to experiment and mix stuff PS: the true "culprit" of the weapon imbalance might be that generators are too good on average and legs carry too much weight, but that might be wrong
@@chrizzlyx i'm certainly getting a lot out of it. It would probably help if there was a reward for S ranking. I'm only doing it out of intrinsic motivation for the mech building. Maybe tying mech parts or OS chips to it would have helped.
Yeah, it is pretty easy to take a look at the stat screen and see what's good and what's not with a few moments (hours) of tinkering. I think Ratatoskr is underestimating how generous and transparent the game really is about what weapons are good and what weapons are worse.
I think they need to buff some of the other weapons to a certain level so that they can sort out where exactly those gatlings guns need to be. One example is the napalm launchers (which feel good to use imo) but are weak in pvp and versus flying bosses as well as certain ACs (there is also the speed to consider, so does the AOE of the napalm need to be larger? probably... most likely).
In Ironpineapple's video Fromsoftware said that "what they try to do during development is create this kind of default archetype mech or several archetypes that you can clear the whole game with... as long as player are willing to engage with the system and observe the enemy's attack pattern and really get into the nitty-gritty of the combat. we've tried to make that possible for them" it sad that player could just easily look up for these archtypes on the internet while figuring out what work best through your own engagement with the combat system is truly what make this game so fromsolf
Anyone looking for the "best build" is someone either not having fun with the game or doesn't know how to have fun. The most fun of the game is customizing your mech and trying each weapon and seeing what works and what doesn't.
That wasn't just "FromSoftware" that said that quote. That was Armored Core 6's director himself. Kinda amazing how he understands the community so well
I feel like a big part of the issue is just how weak some weapons are; especially the smgs and assault rifles. This can easily funnel you into only using chain guns because experimenting with kinetic weapons is very disappointing
@@IndorilNerevar yes the Zimmermans are considered overpowered as well. That doesn’t take away from the fact the amount of useless guns they’ve introduced into the game
@@huu6941 Zimmerman's are NOT overpowered. Learn to play around them. I have found it pretty easy to outplay anyone rocking dual Zim's. A lot of the weapons in the game become useless if you adjust your play style accordingly.
@@mysteriousmusikno? Stop it. If you cant outplay it, it doesnt stop it from being overpowered. I can outplay most meta builds with double nebula, so what? I can still be stunlocked with shotguns and needles very easily
I think it’s easier than previous AC titles, but thst may well just be experience talking. It is certainly a good challenge, though, and plenty of people are clearly struggling. And yeah, its not a universally agreed upon complaint. There are plenty of enemies that will bend you over and go in dry if you try that ‘OP’ build.
As Dark Souls games kept coming out, Dark Souls veterans kept insisting that they were getting easier. Meanwhile, in Dark Souls 3 newcomers were regularly getting filtered by the tutorial boss. I don't think AC6 is easier. I melted White Glint's face off with my very own dual gatling build not that long ago. It might be easier compared to the first couple gens of Armored Core but I refuse to play with that horrible control scheme so I wouldn't know. I do think AC6 is somewhat simpler, though, and that might be what you're actually thinking of. You're confusing simplicity for difficulty. They made AC6 simpler to control, but they put the difficulty elsewhere, in my opinion.
I'm not sure that it's outright "easier" than previous AC titles, but it is without question much less punishing than previous AC titles, particularly with regard to how money is handled. You'd have to work pretty hard to go into debt in AC6. You can replay missions at will and get full pay every time. You don't get penalized for dying. You can sell anything you own back to the shop for full price. It is incredibly forgiving compared to early AC games. And I'm 100% fine with that.
The amount of people who agree with Dunkey when he's always just so obviously missing the point in games is genuinely insane he's got a whole little cult of personality around him lmao 😭
The game is probably difficult for the majority of people (until they find op builds and hard lock), but some of us still found it easy without that. Hes not wrong about it being easy, his reasons just arent that great. Of course built in crutches are gonna make it easier and average players will gravitate towards that for some reason, despite deliberately choosing to play a "hard" game. But I for example played the first chapter with bad OS upgrades, a terrible build and a broken right bumper. I beat Balteus in 6 or 7 tries. I'm sorry, but if that's not too easy then idk what is.
People complaining about using an overpowered build ruins the game are the same people that can't think and rely on doing what others tell them to do. You can beat every single boss in the game without ever touching songbirds or the gatling guns.
That is a community problem i've found kind of recurrent through many souls games. Like for example the battle against Gwyn in Ds1 people often complaint about how cheesable the fight is using parrys, but like, how do you know it? There's no way the first time you play it you knew it, cuz there's like no other fight where you can use parrys, so its kinda strange. Good video btw
"Cheesing with parries" in Dark Souls is a moronic combination of words. It takes skill to parry in those games. I suck at parrying, so that wouldn't help me at all.
Well but it is not the same thing a 12 year old game than a 12 days old game. It is understandable that people figured out everything about DS1 already. Gwyn being parriable is a meme at this point. And I also agree that if the strategy is to parry him, that's not cheesing since cheesing is supposed to be something very easy to do, like the Comet Azure combo in ER.
To be fair, players are going to gravitate towards what works. Im saying that in a sense that i don’t think most people actively run cheese builds, but they might’ve stumbled upon a cheese setup. I’s wager that everyone did try using songbirds, zimmerman, gattling guns and pile bunkers, since these items are not hidden at all and it looks pretty cool. I remember fighting Snail Balteus with a bazooka and a stun baton and after the fourth try i literally just asked myself… Why the fuck am I doing this, i could just use the pile bunker and win here. This was before i even knew the pile bunker was OP, i just happened to be running an explosive melee oriented build. Point is many times people stumble onto broken items like black knight weapons in ds1 and it just became a bit pointless to fight a difficult boss and not use it regardless if you know that the weapon is op or not. It’s not really the fault of the player, its the fault if the game. Game design is the only variable here since most players will gravitate towards what works for them.
100% agree. I stumbled upon tank Gatling + songbirds mostly without looking anything up, but it didn’t stop me from experimenting. It also didn’t always work, for me at least, but it’s definitely kinda busted. Edit: After having beaten the game, yeah it's not that the game is too easy or too hard, it's that the weapon balance is kinda bad. Probably going to hold off on doing New Game+ until a balance patch is rolled out.
I think the issue is that boss battles are too hard, basic enemies are too easy, and loadouts are too diverse in terms of power level. Some loadouts are so dominant for so long that you don't toy with the loadout system.
I beat sea spider 2nd try with a light weight dual shotgun pile driver. I think ac6 has a good balance so far of some bosses punishing thicc weapons platforms
I coincidentally used Tetrepod Legs for the first time on this mission, and almost first tried it, beat it on the 2nd try. Hovering greatly helped. Then I went back with lightweight bipeds. Got slapped around multiple times. Got close, but still haven't beat it with my high risk biped builds.
That power imbalance shouldn't be I the game on the first place, and the game literally makes you buy and equip the double needles in the ice worm fight, so most people who play the game would have reached the double needle build by themselves.
forcing people to play sub-optimally to have a fun experience is not going to work out for a large portion of players. Many find the process of improving a build enjoyable in and of itself, plus more importantly it makes the difficulty of a game unengaging if you know you could just choose not to experience it.
Tbh I actually did discover the heavy stuff on my own, specifically cause I've always enjoyed big weapons better than small weapons, like in Monster Hunter I choose Greatsword 9 times out of 10 for most hunts, and so I leaned into making a tank build as my first major build, but even given that, I do switch my build up from time to time, doing a small build or choosing specific weapons and being a medium build, if you just stick to one build the whole game, of course it's boring cause you're not engaging with one of it's major functions
This problem is often fixed for me in roguelikes. You can get overpowered builds, but it is unlikely and requires you to really understand synergies and plan ahead when picking up equipment/relics/etc during a run. Because it still feels more fun to get that power within constraints, if I could always just pick the same powerful build it wouldn't be very satisfying. And many powerful builds also have strong counters from enemies to force you to plan ahead.
A randomised roguelike mod or dlc update for AC6 would be pretty sweet Force you to use whatever you have available so each run unique with new favourite mechs
As a longtime viewer of Dunkey at one point, I feel like he’s been making just the strangest most contrarian takes just for the sake of it as of recent years
@@tiagozilliosoares7988he said that armored core 6 was nowhere near the quality of elden ring and dark souls, while also saying it was more of a guilty pleasure game. In his review he framed it as a bad game that he had fun with, and not a good game.
I ran double shotguns through most of my play through, insanely effective, but only at close range so there was still the challenge of staying close to the enemy
Wanna know a fun way to improve your build even more? Unlock hangar weapons and pit two shotguns on your shoulders. That way you can fire both shotguns, switch to the ones in your shoulders, and fire those while your other shotguns are reloading. I love how shotgun swapping is a viable build in even a mecha game.
Yeah, similar build here. Went with double Zimmerman + Lance + flex on an agile bipedal mech and it was mostly easy but also super fun and rewarding. The penultimate boss of the Liberator ending humbled me though lol
@@TheLastDaysOfSorrowrecently found out zimmermans are the weapon people use for boss speedruns or no hit boss clears. Feels dirty to use them now lel
Dunkey just took a miniscule clip out of context (using weapons you don't even get at that point and then coming back to the first boss) to make the game look bad, he always does this and he gets away with it because his audience is just 12 year olds who are there to parrot his jokes and if he gets called out he'll just say his previous statement was a joke.
I don’t fully agree with either you or Dunkey here, I’m somewhere in the middle, but I think it’s disingenuous to say that most people who used double Gatling and song birds or even the funny little tank treads looked them up and didn’t find them on their own because of what they are. You get access to most of these parts fairly early on and they have a eye catching coolness/funniness factor to them. People see that you can use dual Gatling guns, and get to try it in a training mission, and they want to do it because it’s really cool. Songbirds are one of the first shoulder mounted explosive launcher style weapons you get so people put them on because they want a big rocket type projectile there and then discover how good they are. People see the little tank treads, think they’re funny, read the description and think they’re even funnier, try them out and then realise how good they are. I didn’t do double Gatling songbirds because I thought melee weapons were cool and I wanted a sword and pile bunker but I started using the Gatling gun because it was cool and same with the songbird. I think they’re very easily discoverable OP things that people would have already gravitated towards, same with Zimmermann because shotguns are cool. Most people found out about comet Azur by looking it up because it’s not so readily available and most players gravitate towards a melee build rather than magic because they think swords or whatever melee weapon you like is cool
I ended up using the Songbirds because I always make a fast, lightweight mechs with two big shoulder mounted cannons in these games. I didn't start out using them, obviously and I tried various other options but ended up going back to them in the end, mainly due to their ammo supply and reload time feeling nice. Only now, after playing a ton and beating the game, am I learning that they are supposedly big OP cheese weapons.
Tbh i think the songbirds are Not that strong. As they really are not as effective against other ACs. Compared to bosses with a large hitbox like smart cleaner and sea spider.
Well at their designated role they are not great, they are good at breaking stamina which most bosses after chapter 3 will dodge most of the shots. If you instead use them as finisher they only have 140 direct hit adjustment compared to 215 of stun needles or needle launcher.
I only tried the songbirds because I was trying different builds to fight the sea spider too but I ended up loving it with the hoverlegs as I liked raining down fire like a AC130 then rushing in for a melee attack. I was hitting my head against the wall to find something that worked for me but I've seen plenty of other people do different builds that beat Sea spider so I thought I was lucky. Found out later people saying that's the cheese build for sea spider. Like I wouldn't have known unless I looked for it or asked other people how they took on the boss.
they are ultra effective. If you have a Melee AC, Basically missing is a rarity, because you are up in their face. You will miss with your songbird more times at mid to long range, then melee range. That's the real issue I think. It is too easy to land shots with melee builds. Slap on the right things and it becomes even stronger. @@robbe3334
I just think difficulty works differently than in Souls. It's not just about skills but choosing the right tool for the job. Of course if you just look up the most broken builds online then the latter aspect is negated.
You don't have to look up the most broken builds in this game to easily gravitate to dual zimmermans and dual launchers. It is absolutely the best combo for PvE because enemies have virtually zero answer to it. It's broken, needs fixing, and does make the game worse than it can be. I don't understand why people are making these strawmen arguments. Nobody had to look up the fact stun launchers destroy bosses, the game itself puts a spotlight on this during the Ice Worm fight, and it never recovers unless the player SPECIFICALLY tells themselves not to use it. That's not a small thing.
So, if it's all about finding the right tool for the job, doesn't it lessen the experience if it turns out 90% of the time the answer is to just use a sledgehammer? And you don't need a "most op builds" guide for this. It's a straightforward build that many people will figure out on their own.
You only need to try out gatling guns for 15sec to realize how busted they are, at which point you'll never be incentivized to remove them which is a failure in design. The design philosophy of having to tune your mech for each encounter does NOT work unless you have a VERY balanced game.
@@KrystalmythIt’s a single player pve game my guy so I don’t think it needs desperate fixing and if it ruins the game for you because it makes it to easy then don’t use it. I didn’t use none of that shit and still found the game to be easy cause a majority of the bosses in the game just aren’t that hard once understand how to actually play. Still had fun because I developed a play style I enjoy on top of amazing gameplay the game offers.
If you're stuck in a boss and are tired and want to progress, just brute force it with tank and big guns. Otherwise, try other builds and have fun and have a tank+big gun build only for when you want to advance.
I did that for almost all of my first boss encounters just to get the progress and the achievement/trophy. Later, I retry It with different lighter builds as that's my preference. Practice with different parts over and over and study the bosses movements and attack patterns. It's less pressuring to me that way because I already went over those roadblocks. At that point, it's just a matter of dissecting what went wrong initially and discovering all the bosses vulnerabilities.
This is kinda like how people said save scumming in Baldur’s Gate 3 was ruining the game. People play games differently, if they end up optimizing the fun out of the game that’s their fault. I think it’s good for a game as repetitive as this one that it lets you make an AC that steam rolls. Almost like an easy mode for those who need it / want to feel powerful. And the rest of us can enjoy all the other builds. Learning to beat an arena match with a super shitty mech you made as a challenge can be just as fun
The real problem with the game isn't dual gatling guns + treads or any particular build. It's the stagger mechanic. When you stagger the enemy you not only get to hit 100% of your shots no matter how inaccurate your weapon, you also do increased damage with those shots. The end result is that any build that doesn't build up stagger quickly is at a huge disadvantage. Why use energy weapons when they don't build up stagger? Quite quickly you realize that the way to go is using 2 main weapons that can fill the stagger bar fast with 2 massive DPS slow firing inaccurate weapons that you then use on the enemy when they're staggered for insane damage. I think it's a mistake to make the victim take extra damage while they're staggered. It's already powerful enough that you're rendered completely defenseless for 2-3 seconds. I will add that despite this I still love the game and am having a blast playing it.
I made it to the chapter 4 boss before I found how good dual zimmerman shotguns are. I discovered this because I was stuck on the CEL 240 and looked up a video where I saw someone using them, some missiles, and the starter pulse blade. I tried that build out on the fight, after a few attempts I got used to the play style, and proceeded to use it for select fights. It wasn't until I started S ranking missions that I discovered just how good that build was for everything other than maybe the Cleaner from Infiltrate Grid 086 and when you face it again near the end of the Liberator ending. And you know what? That build is OP as hell and it's so much fun! The movement feels amazing, getting fast staggers on enemies feels good and a lot of enemies move around enough it's not some permanent stun lock, I'm still engaging with the fight and if I get out of position I still die almost immediately so it creates that rush of being a proper glass cannon. I am worried Zimmerman will get nerfed so I made sure to get all my S ranks done. It's a shame they didn't go the regulation route like they did with 4th Gen because it allows people like me to still play the game I want while providing balance updates for the people that want them.
zimmermans absolutely rock the cleaner though? just shoot its chimney until it goes down, then shoot its face when its down. easy clap in the liberator ending it died in like 30 seconds.
I don't think weapons really need balance changes for pve maybe besides buffing some of the very weak ones. Wish they would do some balancing for pvp though, I'm sick of having every game filled with dual zimmermans or missile spammers.
"It's a shame they didn't go the regulation route like they did with 4th Gen" You know the game is only a week old right? It hasn't even had time to HAVE additional regulations or balance patches yet. However, on the title screen if you look at the bottom right you'll see that the game is listed as being on "Regulation ver.1.01", which means the game is running on a regulation system too.
I used the Gatling-tread-Songbird combo, and yes it made large parts of the game fairly easy, but I at least was hard countered by the chapter 4 main boss and had to change my type. Furthermore now that I've beaten the newgame++ I can say confidently that it is no stronger than a well made mech of any other type.
Honestly the strength of the build is not in it's maximum effectiveness vs other builds, but that it is extremely easy to master. Tank legs give massive amounts of AP and stability allowing you to ignore attacks that would otherwise stunlock your build. Dual gatling guns are just hold triggers. There's no timing, charging or reloading required to use them. Shoulder weapons can be fired with no penalty from tank legs. The strategy is literally hold triggers until stunlock and then fire songbirds for fatty damage, while letting the high AP and stability carry you through attacks that would obliterate poor movement. You can achieve the same if not better results with other builds, but they will not be as easy and will require good piloting to get those results.
@@davidburke4101they do overheat, so you do actually have to pay attention to them. i thing everything with no reload animation has an overheat function. even the flamethrower, the thing made to spit fire, overheats after a while (tho it’s a long while)
I'd say it's more of a "you can pay attention to overheating" and less of a "you *have* to pay attention to overheating". It's an optimization sure but it's by no means "required"
I definitely agree, during my run I struggled with some bosses/situations I made a bunch of mechs over my playthrough I have about 10 main designs currently but around mech 6/7 I found the shotgun and eventually had a double trigger build with those, and tore through the first playthrough. I ended up feeling trapped in my build. I was still having fun but I was struggling with other builds, but in NG+/++ I found new builds, experimenting with PvP and trying to get S Ranks I've finally found a way to enjoy other builds and playstyles again. Fightingcowboys mech build videos have been a real eye opener now that I've started looking at content for the game. (Something like his old school light weight sniper build is a blast)
Same arguement for CoD 4 and the M16. It was the such a good gun and you had so many people arguing it ruined game variety in multi and was OP, meanwhile I regularly went 20+ kills using a Scorpion with an ACOG on it or running around with the golden Dragunov. You aren't required to use the meta builds in games and they may be the best but there is always fun to be had on the less walked path too.
I didn't discover the "broken builds" until dying a significant number of times, nearly edging out a win to a certain mid Ch 4 boss, before deciding to look up ideas for how to beat it. But I usually go back to playing other style of builds, I find a lighter weight build more fun. Or the Dafeng load out, thats also pretty fun.
I do still appreciate dunkeys review style where he tells you exactly how he felt while playing and not what he expects people to want to hear. Even when he makes missteps, he’s one of the most reliable when it comes to honesty.
I don't think its really a misstep to have a differing opinion. But I get how relegating an entire game as being 'easy' when choosing the easiest option is probably problematic to constructive discourse around its merits.
That doesn't make him a reviewer, that just makes him a person. I think the main value in his videos is that he's very funny. I watch him for entertainment, not for serious takes on games.
@@morgannyan2738 Armoured Core is all about the freedom to play the way you want, there's no reason not to experiment when you can just sell for full price. If someone doesn't want to do that, I don't think there's anything the devs can do short of completely nerfing the overpowered builds, which isn't a good idea.
@@morgannyan2738 some games force u to play in the "fun way" or proper way by being punishing like "doom eternal" , souls series. other games nudge you to play better via style meter or mission grading/ranking system like Armored core6, ultrakill , DmC etc. also ac6 lets u full refund on gears which is a big indicator and motivation booster to experiment
You can’t get S rank using the “overpowered” miniguns build because of the amount of ammo it uses. The game also encourages not taking any damage for S rank - something heavy builds using miniguns are poor at because of lower mobility.
I wanted to play AC6 in one way, as a build based off Gundam aerial from WFM. I found that most enemies were easy to beat but some of the bosses were hard due to my mech not being well formatted against them, but I didn't want to swap parts out and beat them using what others had said was op like the Gatling's, songbirds and zimms. That's where I think most of the challenge came from, which is similar to Elden ring as I made a Guts build which was super fun to play but difficult and when I replayed Elden ring I played a mage and defeated everything with ease. Asmongold has it right. Fromsoft games are as easy as you want to make them, if you want to use the best weapons in the game of course it wont be as hard. Which is why I always have an idea of what I'm going to play in a Fromsoft game so I don't end up just using the so called meta weapons or build.
If the game gives the player a braindead broken build, it's easy. It isn't even a build you have to work towards. Zimmermans are only 100k each more or less, and you get a stun needle for free.
@@gracecalis5421 Only if most players actually use said broken build, which they don't, judging by Steam reviews, Reddit posts, etc. Every modern FromSoft game has had broken builds, with the exception of Sekiro. While I'll concede AC6 is on the easier side compared to other FromSoft games, it's still difficult if you haven't discovered a cheap build and actually have to learn to play the game as a standard biped with a rifle, sword, and missiles.
@@deadeyedun So it's only difficult if the player self-imposes or for some reason doesn't come across the build. It doesn't take hours of research and going through forums to end up with dual miniguns/dual zimmermans paired with dual stun needles.
@@gracecalis5421 Yeah it's more difficult if the player plays the game normally without using the Internet to determine the meta builds? Is that what you're asking me? Everything is easier when you get help from Discord and UA-cam lmao
You are supposed to optimise your build, that's why there's a giant wall of stats for every part. Even if you don't read them, a smooth brain can figure out stagger is the aim for harder enemies and so you can just sort parts by impact and direct damage and... would you look at that! Zimmerman shotguns, songbirds, Stun Needle are all high on that list! Gatling guns also do quite good direct damage for a gun on top of looking awesome so they'll get used as well. Now, through the most primative understanding of the game, the caveman has optimised the fun out of it due to poor weapon balance combined with a system that rewards bursts of high impact and direct damage, over sustained rifle fire from afar
on NG I use double zimmer+stun needle. It's OP as hell but I get bored when I do NG+. Now I use double flamethrower with gatling drone and burn all like a psycho. XD now it's more fun to use weird build, because I already now the boss moveset.
Everyone talks about optimizing the fun out of the game but nobody talks about optimizing fun into the game. I used dual Zimmerman+dual stun needles and had a blast. Used it for almost all of NG++ and don't regret it a bit. Was way more fun than anything I used before that point.
@@jeff3221 Self imposed challenges have been a thing in souls games since the beginning. If you want a harder experience just go for an unoptimal build, just like SL1 challenge runs in dark souls. Here's a whole video about player decided difficulty all the way back in ds2. ua-cam.com/video/MM2dDF4B9a4/v-deo.html Fromsoft does this to make their games accessible (except for sekiro) as this design pattern allows players that want an easy time to choose a clearly best option like using op magic in elden ring or in this game running tank dual gats/dual shotguns. Those that want a harder challenge can use weaker weapons to better test their skill and learn even more about the gameplay mechanics. It's very clearly why this is in the game to draw more people into this niche genre but still allowing difficulty for players that want a more rewarding tough experience. You're not being forced to optimize anything if you don't want to just like in almost all of FromSoft's previous games. Fromsoft has even said in interviews before this game that difficulty depends on customization so if you want a more difficult experience the only one stopping you is yourself.
tbf i think some people just don't like the feeling of artifically making the game harder for themself. that makes the experience feel cheaper if you have to handicap yourself to have a challenge
@@thomasallister3446 I guess by definition not looking up the strongest setups online and using them is intentionally handicapping yourself, but that argument is still completely ridiculous. The normal intended experience is not using an optimal setup you found online with anything less optimal being a challenge run, and if anything you are making the experience artificially easier and cheaper by doing that.
The game is literally about customizing your mech to help you beat tough encounters. If you have to deliberately make your mech worse in order to have fun in a game about customizing mechs then that game has a problem. It call all be fixed with 1 patch. I don’t understand why people are taking this so personally when it’s literally a completely valid criticism. The game literally does everything in its power to encourage you to buy weapons and try them out, they should’ve done a better job balancing out builds that completely trivialize the experience.
ratatoskr again coming in with the great opinions actually backed up with an easy to understand and entertaining explanation. I found you from before totk and idk why i wasnt subbed. I am now tho. Keep at it man
The key thing that makes this less of a problem is how, like you said, even though certain builds are the strongest, they don't render the other dozens of builds obsolete. It's very easy to just use whatever build you think is fun despite there being better options because the vast majority of builds in this game are adequate and about as good as each other
People have no sense of style anymore. They just want to take the path of least resistance, even if that means being boring and uninteresting like everyone else.
You’ve always got the best outlooks! Yeah so similarly here, I have avoided kinda “build guides” but have seen some videos where people discussed what they were using… and on my own, after the initial couple levels where I had the starting mech load out, I got some money together and bought some stuff. I thought “man that would be cool to kinda be like Balteus just all rockets! So I got two (8)s on my back and four’s in hand… and I found myself absolutely mopping up with the setup! Except for some specific light ACs that are just exceptionally difficult, it melts! But because of that, I’ve started to veer from it and trying new things cause it is kinda “too good” most of the time! And just like you said it’s self-inflicted… like my very first elden ring playthrough I was using summons and RoB/moonveil and all that… but as I got more comfortable, I realized that I was hindering my own experience and went back to my roots!!! Wretch clubs bonk etc.! And now I’m one of those naked weirdos that just wants a single big sword and to go ham on some nerds! My idea going into this game was the same… “I’m gonna build an ultra light mech with just one bit bonk!” And immediately realized that’s not realistic and I’m bringing the wrong mindset into this game with me!
I think one of the main problems I see is that because armored core has much less weapons than something like Eldin Ring you are more likely to stumble into one of these builds. I played just picking what felt right and I ended up against the final boss with a pile driver a gatling gun a bazooka and some missiles. I did not look anything up and the build that the game led me to after trying all the parts was somewhat similar to the optimal builds. My thoughts on the difficulty are that in the main story bosses is it a perfect challenge that required many tries, but in the regular gameplay and ac fights it is just honing it as fast as possible and it isn't hard at all. I think that's what fromsoftware was going for and it is enough for me. I do not think the gatling gun is overpowered but the bazookas definetly are after I switched out my gatling gun for a third bazooka.
i’ve been loving the challenge in AC6, like you i went immediately for the lightweight reverse joints because they appealed to me, and the reason i haven’t touched the tank treads because i don’t like the look of them
I agree with what you say here, but I do think there is a lack of 'mid-powered' weapons in AC6 (not to say that there are none). In Elden Ring there are definitely S++ tier weapons and builds, but there are also many other things like a straight sword + shield build utilising square off and guard counters - certainly a strong build, but still one which requires the player to engage with a bosses moveset, and which facilitates the dance which you described when speaking about Mohg. When I build an AC, I often find myself straying too far either in the direction of being able to circumvent a bosses moveset through my sheer damage and stagger damage potential, or in the opposite direction where I feel very weak. Maybe it's just me being bad and/or just getting used to the eye-watering damage potential of the S tier builds, but I feel that AC6 needs more B tier weapons and less D tier ones. This comment was brought to you courtesy of the Please Buff Assault Rifles Association
I, personally, don’t like making meta builds at all. I’m more of a style/cosmetic person in video games. It’s why I’m a die hard Devil May Cry fan and addicted to buying cosmetics in Warframe. So when I play AC6, I’m out to make the mech(s) that look the coolest to me. If they happen to preform extremely well in combat, then that’s a bonus. Sometimes style over substance and rule of cool over efficiency is better/more fun
I went in blind and found a dual rensetsu single fire build early on and it carried me through the entire game. It's still one of my favorite games this year
The difficulty is all over the place for me because I'm too stubborn to replay missions for money with the goal of buying new weapons. I think I need to upgrade my gear at this point...
@@wolfiewoo3371 Ya, I don't doubt it. It's not a principled stance; I'm just banging my head against the wall like when I encounter a hard boss in a souls game.
I think its easy, but i dont think its too easy. It can be hard and it can be easy if you want, and even when its easy its still fun. Breezing through the game with double gatling guns is still really fun.
I had difficulty but by the 2nd playthrough with more weapons and parts unlocked the game isn't difficult. Armored Core isn't an RPG where you can make a mistake with builds, the change of weapons and legs changes your playstyle. It isn't as difficult or "Souls" like as other games make it out to be.
Just came from Asmongold's reaction and I wanna say how amazing this video is. So many people say a game's easy and unbalanced because OP thing's exist. I personally discovered the gattling guns organically and thought they were badass on my tank, used them and loved every bullet I shot. I have a 10 missile left shoulder and a bazooka on the right so I can swap and quickly stun a boss then melt w the gattling guns. This was a pretty powerful build and I thought it was great that the game let me do this, the sheer amount of different builds you have access to is truly commendable. People who think this is a stain on the game must hate Elden Ring and all the souls games because you can slap on a magic build and they're all a joke. My main response to people saying the build's too OP is simply don't use it, there are plenty viable (but weaker in comparison) builds in the game.
I don't even like to use the dual gatlings. I've used one from time to time, but I find playing with tank threads boring, so the game organically shifted me towards lighter weapons. My favorite so far is dual pistols, a drone weapon or secondary firearm in right shoulder and melee in left shoulder. Extremely fun (for me, at least), absolutely viable. I finished NG++ like that except for a couple of experimental builds i used along the way and for killing the roly poly thingies in the couple of missions where they appeared (flamethrower, because fuck those things).
Watching the start of the video I was hoping this would be a discussion about the difficulty gap between normal/"trash" mobs and bosses. I think it's a thing that could be addressed as unlike souls games or any other games really I don't think I ever died to anything other than a boss fight while playing.
Really? You never died to an MT, or the PCA shield guys? What about that one mission in chapter 1 with the room full of cloaked guys sniping you with lasers? I even died to energy turrets in a few missions. Oh yeah, what about trying to grab the Moonlight sword surrounded by like 5 wheel guys? I died several times trying to grab it.
@@beegest_yoshiI wouldn't consider them Mini-Bosses, more like Elite Enemies. Mini-Bosses are fights that have Health Bars but you wouldn't necessarily consider actual Boss encounters. For example, Sulla in chapter 1 is a Mini-boss. Mobile Defense Platform is a Boss. Iguazu in chapter 4 is a Mini-boss. The AI Defense protocol in that same mission is a Boss. Or more easily, does the encounter let you resupply, like before Balteus in chapter 1 or the PCA Airship in chapter 3.
@@netapel2625 oh okay, I agree with you. I still think that the smaller mobs should pose more of a challenge, I personally want less one shot mini MTs and more of the slightly tanky MTs and PCA bots like those in the depth 2 mission before the enforcer
that's because this isn't a souls game. it's a sim where you play as the elite pilot of an ace custom mecha. if you've ever watched a mecha anime, you probably remember that goons usually aren't terribly threatening right? and to this end: you don't complain about the hollow-like zombies in elden ring being no threat even in large groups right? do you complain that dante can easily trash puppets in dmc? is it a problem that mario can stomp goombas to death with one button? if you're dying to trash mobs in any of those games that'd be a reflection on you as a player. that's the kind of shit that makes people cry "game journalist" at you. mobs in most games but especially AC are supposed to be mostly easy, and even then there's the armored heavy mt's, quad mt's, and LC's that all take way more punishment and can absolutely kill you if you don't show them some modicum of respect(at least for me as a close range player)
During my playthrough i came across the gatling gun, zimmer shotgun and or the songbirds in game. I found these to be extremely powerful compared to other weapons, my build did not change for the entire duration of the game except adjustments to my AC outside of weapons (I did not use tank treads because i dislike them). I had experiment with other weapons but i had not found a good build to stick to so i was "stuck" to using these weapons. The game was still fairly hard and i was "stuck" on a few later game bosses. I still think the game is near flawless with its execution and thoroughly enjoyed the game. However i would like fromsoft to do something about these weapons for at least PVP because they are an extreme nuisance and a hindrance to enjoying pvp, especially tank treads
I mentioned this elsewhere, but the design of the game will funnel a lot of players into finding the OP weapons on their own. Theyre available early on, easy to equip to nearly every build, there's no penalty for buying and trying weapons out, and you can swap builds mid mission. I think it's actually quite likely someone will stumble on at least one of these 3 weapons in their time playing.
Great video! I found the dual gat +songbird combo without hearing about it online, and it did trivialize the game to some extend. But to be honest I loved it anyway, I seriously enjoyed the playstyle and never got bored. I think nerfs are in order but even being in the demographic of people who discovered an almost game-breakingly overpowered build on their own I have no complaints
My build I made while in Ch3 was a lightweight Quad Shotties build that became a Tetrapod Dual Gatling Dual shotties build. It tears through Arena, bosses, and enemy ACs. But it loses in encounters where range is better to have, and lacks splash damage from the songbirds.
I really hope the regulation system from For Answer remains in use for 6. The ability to just swap to a regulation to see how OP something really was, or how hard things used to be with a given fight? Priceless.
I just want more mission and enemy variety. They have a great rock, paper, scissor thing going with kinetic, energy, and explosive damage types that isn't really being taken advantage of. I'm taking my time with the game so I'm only now in chapter 3 but I was thinking how cool it would be to have a level where the goal is to navigate an obstacle course to beat the timer. I might actually be incentivized to get that dich weight perk from the os chips. I'm loving this game and i just want more of it!
Agreed on most points; I'd say that the obstacle course thing does describe the escape sequence in the mission where you have to escape the Coral surge in the mine. More would be fun though, for sure.
New game + and newgame++ give you alt missions and new missions, I think the game has just the right amount of missions to be fuffiling. It's not mega long like elden ring or something, but pvp will always make me come back to it every now and again.
The roshambo isn't from the weapon damage types, it's from Speed/Armor and Close/Long range status. Close range quick mechs can usually beat long range quick mechs and even long range armor mechs sometimes. Long range quick mechs can absolutely zone a close range armor mech to death but would suck against a long range armor mech. This game's combat is range control and speed vs tank.
"Oh this person doesn't hate any part of this game? What an insincere and non-credible fanboy." I in turn wonder if that person in specific even owns the game, or just watches videos with his "universally agreed upon" facts. I honestly haven't managed to make heavy builds work for my playstyle at all, so can't say if such a brute force build would make things boring or not, but... since I'm really not in the business of making my games boring deliberately, I'll gladly not even do that. Infact I often make up my own fun in games on top of the other awesomeness. For example, it was fun replaying some of the easier money making missions with no weapons, just punching and kicking. :D Why do we live in such a gaming culture these days that people seem to seek out things to hate and then call people insincere fanboys who have seeked out things to like and managed to love a game all throughout?
@@SeveRUS67 Not finding anything that bothers you or anything that you don't like isn't really a claim that it's flawless for everyone else. "A lot of problems", you say? What makes them universal flaws, instead of things you don't like?
I had the exact same experience during my first playthrough of AC6 (sticking with a lightweight build) and I loved the game-- a lot more than I was expecting. I honestly feel a little bad for the people who deprived themselves of the kind of experience AC6 gave me.
I don't think everyone purposefully goes out looking for optimal builds. Like I didn't know the Zimmerman shotguns were OP (to the extent of being used in boss clear speedruns) I chose them because big shotguns I could fit on my light mech were cool. In Elden Ring if I chose a melee class I'll level up my weapons and whatnot throughout the game. But if I find a cool OP spell I don't switch suddenly to a mage class. You likely had ignored all of the mage content up until that point. Never buying any spells, or doing anything mage related. No leveled up staffs. You might not even have access to respeccing, it it's something you want to even bother with for one spell. So you take your ultra great sword and continue along. In AC6 it's different though. Respeccing is a switch of an arm part away. You don't gotta use precious smithing stones to level up the new weapon, go to rennala, look up a meta guide on how to get infinite mana for a few seconds (as I doubt the player would think of it themselves). In AC6 you can just buy the gatlings and put them on without knowing, as had Dunkey. You end up optimizing the fun out of the game after that. Other weapons become unfun, not out of choice, but because there's a nagging in your brain going, "This weapon has way lower DPS than the gatlings," or, "This weapon has barely any ACS strain compared to the Zimmermans." Whenever I tried other weapons it made the game feel slower. (Or, in the case of handguns, run out of ammo unless I skipped all but required enemies). Dual assault rifles taking four or more magazines of ammo total to ACS strain an enemy, when dual zimmermans can do it in one shot.
I played it blind and came to the dual gatlin gun + songbird build by myself because I just kept thinking about how to kill stuff asap and it sort of naturally came together. Great video and I completely agree.
i discovered the double Gatling lightweight tank double songbird set up on my own because i was just trying to make Guntank from the gundam series, i realized it was insanely strong and found it funny that it became known as the strongest build in the game
Let’s also remember that Dunkey’s main complaint of Elden Ring was that the enemy balance as you played through the game felt like it was all over the place. That didn’t stop him from playing through the game at least 4 times because he still found it enjoyable. Balance seems to be a sticking point for him, but that doesn’t mean he thinks the game was bad.
He just has higher standards for balance because he comes from league of legends where everyone is expected to gravitate towards the strongest thing as the standard rule. It's not the correct perspective for single player, where you may want to play worse things for fun.
Thank you. This observation entirely nullifies Ratatoskrs argument. Leaving the difficulty and balance in the hands of player restraint to NOT use the most powerful gear is, of course, going to mar the progression for a lot, if not most players. This is a valid complaint consistent with FromSofts recent design ethos and Ratatoskr somehow is completely missing the point here.
@@nathanielholzgrafe5274 To be fair Ratatoskr said the balance should be improved if it can be, he was just disputing the idea that it's a universal problem as he didn't experience it and he thinks most people don't end up with an overpowered build naturally. Most people playing non-pvp games don't optimize it for meta and instead just does what seems cool.
I was trying to make a tanky bipedal thicc boi and found my way to the dual gats and a songbird, was using a 10cell other shoulder vert missile until the chapter 3 end raingun thing. Its definitely OP. Its become my way to replay missions where I know I'm going to be looking for chests and combat logs I missed, and use as a fallback if I'm struggling... but it is so incredibly powerful I choose not to use it for progression or for trying to get better ranks, or learn boss fights better (as it trivializes most ive experienced so far, in the beginning of act 4 rn.) It's funny because I watched Dunkeys video last night and had a really sour taste in my mouth over it because of how I know it performs, let alone with the fast treads vs my bipedal. Your takes are so right. They are resounding truth. OP builds =/= bad game balance and doesnt make the game easy as a whole. Refusing to change things up from that comfort is a self inflicted problem.
You can't use dual gatling guns + double songbirds or whatnot for achieving S ranks, its simply too costly. S ranks are decided with how much you finish with, how many repair kits you have, how much ammo you expended, etc. Its a mindless build that will only get you so far.
Your perspective on Mohg is really on point imo The choice is yours....delete the boss with a laser, or fight him....the fact that you CAN delete him with a specific build doesn't make him a shitty boss....it doesnt even make YOU a shitty player...its just a choice you made imo I actually kind of like that you can do that, it allows less skilled players or players with less time to experience the whole game if they want to go through the trouble of making a "delete boss" build to continue progress...Because at the end of the day you know what you did lol....and thats fine. If you feel like doing a mano y mano fight against it later, go for it and prove to yourself you got the chops Im over here choosing to not do that because the game is fun as hell the way im playing it...if i get stuck and gated maybe ill go wheelchair bulletstorm, or maybe ill just grind out my GitGud
One thing I would mention about being able to trivialise bosses in Elden ring, you have to actually find the spells/weapons in the open world and build your character to meet requirements. So if you choose to fight a boss in an easier way, I think it is earned because you spent the time exploring. In AC6, most weapons are available in the shop or are made available just by progressing through the game, and it’s clear that some weapons are just better in almost all situations than others. Due to this I think there is less incentive to try alternate builds on your first play through. AC6 does provide an extra challenge with the ranks for missions. I haven’t s ranked all the missions yet, I’m hoping by doing so I’ll be pushed towards using different builds and learning the enemies’ moves better.
I’m glad someone else noticed this about his video, Dunkeys build he showcased is usually what comes up when you google what the easiest ways to one shot the bosses are, he literally searched up the most op build then complained that his cheese worked too well.
Dunkey also levied the balance complaint against Elden Ring as its biggest flaw. Trying to say that the complaint is invalid because Elden Eing has the same problem is a ridiculous attempt, and it shows you didn’t even try to refute this meaningfully. Balance is an issue during initial play throughs of ER and AC and leaving difficulty in the hands of player restraint is a gamble. The negative discourse around it is a natural consequence.
I don't remember seeing footage of him fighting Ibis, ALLMIND, Walter, or Ayre. People who haven't done all three playthroughs have only experienced 1/3 of the game and should be ignored.
Right now in the middle of NG+. I actually discovered what was powerful on my own. The only thing I looked up before I completed my first playthrough was the moonlight blade. I mostly used a medium weight bipedal mech and I enjoyed it a lot. Found the Zimmermans effective on my own and I saw it was kinda trivializing some encounters, so I started to just keep trying out new stuff every mission. I mean you earn credits after a mission and probably earned enough for at least 1 new thing to try out and so I kept doing that. Right now I mostly like using a linear rifle with some upclose weapon, a right shoulder missile launcher and a left bay melee weapon. My main criticism of the game is that I find the encounters and objectives in between AC duels and boss battles to be very lacking and undemanding. But I will say when I get into that "zone" or "flow" blasting through fodder MTs while zipping around, using only the necessary shots, not just mindlessly firing and efficiently flying through the battlefield it feels very satisfying, so maybe it was From's intention for the game to be more of a power fantasy once you get the hang of piloting your AC and then ramp up the difficulty with the AC duels and boss encounters. That still doesn't make me dislike the game any, its just something there that I wish was different. Or how even in this NG+, I wish there was even more modifiers for this second time around for the same missions, like adding more of those HCs or LCs in missions to complement the fodder MTs.
That's crazy, I'm in the middle of NG+, I use a linear rifle and a close range weapon, my r shoulder has missiles or a launcher, and my L bay is a melee weapon. We're problem solvers! :D
I did actually discover this on my own, and it's one of my biggest frustrations with the game Having your fun build that works sometimes, and having your "fuck it" build that just seems to win always Falling back on tank treads was the "Oh alright, fine, I give up" feeling I hate getting when I Google shit
what made it even more frustrating was that I was trying to do a fast build. At one point I struggled with a mission and felt like heavier weapons were necessary so I got the smaller tank legs for more load (I thought that the big ones would feel too clunky) and man, discovering that the wheelchair moves just as fast and is pretty damn agile too just felt so disappointing.
I googled how to beat that spider boss cause i was getting frustrated dieing all the time and said eff it and found that using quad feet was the aswer. Its not fun being stuck.
Same here, man. I started out with a garbage homebrew tanky low damage build. I couldn't get past Balteus because he just keeps shielding if you don't take him down fast enough, so I had to build towards higher damage. That was the most fun to have the gameplay and customization finally click for me. I went double songbirds once I saw them in the shop since I figured I might run into the same thing later and they were a straight damage upgrade. I took down the Sea Spider on the 5th or 6th attempt. All that aside, the game forces you to try the VE-60SNA for the Ice Worm boss. If you use both of them to hit a staggered enemy and they just straight get deleted right out of the game. First tried Chapter 4. I took down the S-rank 1 Arena battle in 16 seconds, before even knowing what to expect. Feels bad man
For me it was realizing I use my light build for ads and swapping to the tank after seeing I was doing piss for damage, it would take too long, and most of the time I'd fail with the bosses health at two thirds to half remaining. I fought Balteus for 7 hours. No this is not an exaggeration, this is my first AC and Ratatoskr's original "soulslike" video is what got me to play it. I realize there's some crazy shit going on, like Pulse Armor one shotting his shields, but the process of throwing bodies at something, swapping out a part or two just to get the boss done with was frustrating. It's a quality that one could praise, yet I find it obnoxious because I can't seem to use the build that I WANT TO... No, I gotta use what works or I'm just gonna sit there for a dozen hours banging my head into the wall. Fun game though, not a mech fan, but was still fun, beat NG today, probably won't continue, the game takes a helluva lot out of me mentally.
It's not exactly an issue with AC6 that one build can make it through the entire game. That's pretty much to be expected from a game with this level of customisation.
I expected game with this level of customization to have missions that would make me engage with customization. More missions like g1michigan mission where you have to deal with a lot of spam.
@@SeveRUS67 Just the amount of stuff you can customize IS engaging, I tinkered and tried different loadouts during missions even if i knew what options were considered super strong that didnt stop me from wanting to really try out other things that are in the shop or ive picked up that looked cool or interesting for a build. to say that it isnt engaging is crazy lol
@@wolfsy7 customization for sake of customization is sadly not enough FOR ME. I need a problem in game that a certain build can solve better than others. And 90% of problems are "1v1 fight in close to mid range". As soon as I build something that solves that problem I don't have reason to do more builds. I want extrinsic reasons to diversify my builds.
Another point to bring up as a counter to "universally agreed upon" is that forums tend to have a negativity bias and people typically only go to forums to see if someone else has a complaint. Also, majority of players for every game don't engage in forum discussions.
Compared to last armored cores, armored core 6 was laughably easy. But it makes up for it with a much much better pvp portion. I do wish they would bring back online co-op missions though
Liked your commentary and this video made me sub. One thing I’ll say at the end when you said it’s a self inflicted problem, the one caveat is that of course everyone looks for stronger builds while playing, it’s just that if you are playing the game correctly and trying to improve your ac and I. That process your build is just way better than anything. Else the. You’re going to gravitate towards it. For me this happened with plasma weapons in chapter 2, I just couldn’t find a reason to use anything else with a light weight mech but now I’m chapter 3 I feel like the options have really opened up so I’m not sure what the rest of the game is like in that regard
I also think it's worth noting that using OP strategies in games often times only feels cheap if you weren't the one that found the strategy. Something I think is interesting is that during my first playthrough of the game I made myself a heavy build with dual zimmermans and dual 10 cell missile launchers. My main strategy was to use my heavy armor to assault boost at the enemy, shoot them with my shotguns, kick them, then hit them with my missiles while they were staggered. During my first playthrough this was most of what I did and I had tons of fun doing it. It wasn't until after I had finished my first playthrough and started looking at community discussion that I learned I had accidentally discovered one of the meta strategies. After discovering this it made it less fun to use in the future because everytime I pulled out that mech I found myself having to rationalize to the little gremlin in my head that I was playing in a cheap way and the build I liked just happened to be meta. I imagine if I had googled good builds during my first playthrough and read about how good dual zimmermans are I probably wouldn't have had nearly as much fun with that build. OP builds in games aren't unfun, they're just unfun when you learn about them from reddit instead of finding them yourself.
There are bosses you cant beat with dual gatlings/songbirds. If people would advance far enough they would know. Also with this build you are most likely not getting s rank due to ammo cost.
I literally swapped on last boss from my "gundam" alba frame and weapons I liked to non os tuned double gatling and songbirds on heavy frame and guess what, one shotted, they literally work on everything. The heavy frame makes you take way more punishment and stagger, it moves pretty fast for a heavy slog and the weapons, well everyone knwos their power
@ISPY4ever i mean you can probably beat any boss with whatever loadout if you try hard enough but birds struggle against fast enemies. Also both weapons are rather weak at range. For faster bosses that are particularly strong in melee like Ibis or the first endboss (didnt finish ng+ yet) i either like going with strong missile setups that have great tracking through FCS or timing shotguns in close combat to stagger at close range. Sure birds can do that too but id say they are rather inefficient doing that. They are best against bis enemies like sea spider but dont deal great critical damage. If you have used basho arms + close combat FCS with impulse blade than you know what crit dmg actually is.
For reference I looked up no guides, but I enjoyed the mech building so much that I got stuck in it for hours. I found that zimmerman shotguns would 1 shot any normal enemy I was fighting, rarely missed, and had a very considerable range. I used them against bosses and at first felt proud that I had built something that could beat the boss. That feeling slowly wore off as I realized that I could stagger even "boss" AC's by double shotgunning them. It wasn't that I had made a smart build, it was that I had made a broken one. I tried PVP and realized that almost everyone I played against had a Zimmerman shotgun or gatling guns. I tried a gatling gun and zimmerman build to see how I was getting smoked by them. Once I picked up on the range of gatling guns I bursted AC's down and Pile Bunkered them. The game became easy and repetitious. I decided to switch off these weapons because they were ruining the fun and after I did I enjoyed the game more. However I ran into Michigan, this fight is an insane gauntlet. I don't want to resort to a broken build again, however it feels like Elden Ring all over again where if I want to win I have to use some broken gimmick because the odds feel so incredibly stacked against me. Atleast in Elden Ring I didn't have as much accessibility to broken builds due to the RPG mechanics. If I was a faith build I could try to pivot to a Intelligence build and use comet azur, but I'd have to respec, the weapons I was currently using would be useless, and i'd have to rebuild an entire build from scratch in order to actually use it. Since Armored Core encourages you to switch up your build to beat harder enemies it pushes you to find the best weapons. Which means balance is incredibly important to make sure that different builds are being used and feel like valid options for bosses.
My issue with what Dunkey said wasn't that the game was too easy, it was that he fell for the classic trap of hard game = good game. To paraphrase, he states that the ability for common enemies to roll him in Elden Ring is an indication that the game was good (Elden Ring rocks, but there's way more to it than difficulty). That coupled with saying AC6 "does not hold up under any form of scrutiny" just shows that this game wasn't for him. I feel like he was expecting a punishing soulslike title and was upset that this game wasn't exactly that, and it spoiled his perception of the game. Absolutely nothing wrong with not liking something!! I just wish his fanbase was lucid enough to recognize that a game doesn't suck just because funny internet man didn't like it.
I very much agree with this video, and the previous armored core video. Here are my personal opinions and experiences: I had personally found the "wheelchair" tank treads after fighting an arena mech that used them and found them to be incredibly fun with how fast they are (they, along with the other tank treads mostly suffer from dodging becoming compromised). I had also struggled a lot with the chapter four boss and after some extensive experimentation I discovered that songbirds are really easy to hit at close range and deal immense stagger, that paired with cannons is what I ended up doing for that specific boss. That being said, I do think that songbirds have too much tracking, and deal too much stagger damage and I prefer not to use them. The chainguns also probably suffer from too much stagger, although I do not think they are as much of a end all solution as the songbirds. I don't like how prevalent zimmerman is in pvp, but at least the "wheelchair" hard counters it pretty well with how fast it is. Might also be worth mentioning that I have not looked up anything for this game, but instead have no-lifed it to completion (83 hours, definity worth the money). I would also like to say that Mohg is also my favorite ER boss.
The video shows a few seconds of the Ch 4 boss. Forgot to put a spoiler warning.
I also happen to be stuck in that boss in chapter 4 for a while for the same reason. I really like going fast in this game. I was trying to fight speed with speed, and it wasnt working. I knew if i tried with something else like machineguns it might be easier to deal with. But i stuck with my fast melee build only doing minor adjustments until i found a strategy that worked well enough. At the end i really enjoyed the fight once i knew how to do it my own, very fast paced fight, very exigent but also very rewarding to beat this way.
the boss is very vulnerable after some of her attacks and i think thats where fast melee builds shines. Peper with missiles and midrange weapon stay within 100-200m range wait for an opening and strike with melee i prefer dual melee builds like pilebunker and laser lance
Been stuck on this boss since yesterday, I am terrible at dodging the big laser and swipes. Light build running laser lance, Zimmerman, dual plasma missiles on the back. Had been trying the pile bunker and lance combo with but landing that initial hit is tricky.
I loved using the pilebunker against this boss specifically just because it destroys like half of its health and make the war of attrition less of an issue
Word of advice, Shock Needle canon all the way whenever he stands still
It's funny that in his Elden Ring video Dunkey does in fact use that exact powerful spell that deletes Mohg and continues to complain how it's too easy with it. I also have a friend who watches guides and walk-throughs before even attempting FS bosses, he doesn't even explore the lands and experiment with different weapons. He said these two games weren't as fun as they should, because he killed most bosses easily, that they weren't challenging enough to feel like an achievement. Then it was him who played ER with double katanas and Bloodborne with Ludwig's greatsword because he, himself chose to look up best weapon (= easiest to kill with) instead of what was fun to him, personally. I remember him explaining to me how my choice of Amygdala Arm and Bloodletter wasn't the best whilst admitting they look so sick, and how I too should go with Ludwig's Greatsword instead... It almost seems sometimes ppl can't be self conscious about how they're actively breaking a game's and their own definition of fun when they do this.
Sounds like he hasn’t realized that different people have fun in different ways. He has fun following an optimal route and optimizing it, you have fun exploring/doing fashion souls. Sounds obnoxious, hopefully he realizes what’s going on.
Thats funny because even with the most optimized way of playing I would still die alot and still struggle to beat these kinds of games.
Imagine saying Ludwig sword is better than the bloodletter lol 😆
Dunkey never did that tho
@TheGallantDrake you're missing the part where the friend admits to not enjoying the games due to the lack of difficulty he has inflicted upon himself. He makes it evident that he does, in fact, not experience "fun" in this way.
I think Armored Core 6 is a good example of how some players will happily optimize the fun out of any game they play. Developers can't give options because players will take the path of least resistance and go for that even if they don't want to.
People lack agency and autonomy in games as in life, they want to be guided and teached everything, and not put any effort in making decisions and studying the mechanics, engaging with the core loop of the game. It's easier to use a cheese build than to learn how to proper balance and build a mech and pilot it.
Devs can still give options, they just need to keep working on balance, and players need to understand that decent balance is not easy to achieve and takes time.
Yep, I haven't played AC6 but am a heavy proponent of devs protecting the players from themselves. I don't want the balance of the game to fall apart if you optimize because optimization is fun and I don't like having to place arbitrary restrictions on myself, the game should do that for me. The best example of this is Slay the Spire imo, as it might be one of the few games where learning to play optimally makes the game MORE fun not less. It's definitely harder to do that outside a roguelike context though.
Optimizing my build is what made the souls games fun. My builds aren’t meta, but they’re effective, so I felt rewarded for making the right decisions.
I agree for the most part, I was one of the unlucky ones who, as I was messing around with different customizations for my mech, found this one. I almost instantly noticed that it trivialized most encounters in the game and decided to not use that build again.
Though every time i open up the assembly, trying to find a solution to my current situation, the thought of that build instantly ruins it for me. When a massive part of the game is combining parts for your situation, and you KNOW what combination will solve the issue, just having to ignore that feels like shit.
I had the same issue with elden ring, where i was collecting all these neat items and spells and weapons, while i know most of them are not worth using. The way I approach both scenarios is the same; pretend the strongest option doesn't exist, which may cause me more annoyance than if I were to just use it and blow through the game
the funniest part of dunkey's review
is while he is discrediting AC6 for his "unbeatable wheelchair miniguns" build and saying again how you had to respect the Elden Ring encounters
There's a freaking clip of a Comet Azur shredding the ice dragon on the fog you encounter in the Mountain
Dunkey had some bad takes. If he took the time to make a good build in elden ring he would probably not feel like every enemy deserves respect lol. Very easy to trivialize most encounters in elden ring. It still doesn’t mean every encounter is simple but anyways I’m rambling. These games are usually as hard as you make them, if you’re a familiar with fromsoft games and a good gamer.
Also mimic tear exists basically trivializing bosses.
it's an issue of scale. you can't destroy every encounter in elden ring with comet azur, whereas you can in AC6. Additionally, it is MUCH easier to create a busted build in AC6 than it is in elden ring.
If a game has 1 SUPER OP build but you can't get it until end game or NG+ and requires so many different parts working in inventive ways, it would be much more balanced than a game that has an equally busted build that you can get early game by equipping a single item.
tbf it's a very experiential sort of thing, in ER his build was balanced so he had to respect the encounters, which added a lot of tension and fun to the game. In AC6 his build was OP so he mindlessly rolled the game and didn't have a lot of the same fun he had with ER.
Comet azur is so powerful it also kills my enjoyment of the game everytime i see it being used
I stumbled upon the dual gatling build when i was bashing my head against Balteus. On NG + I've been running dual shotguns. To solve another problem, I ran dual bazookas and a pile bunker on my back. Just about anything in this game becomes "OP" when you wrap your head around optimizing your mech.
Right?
Fast Dual Melee will delete pretty much everything in the game
Does that make the game too easy?
No.....That just makes you the type of player that chooses to play like that 🤷
Hes a 100% on point about Mohg vs Azure/Hidden Tear tbh....yes, you CAN do that but thats entirely your choice
@@scrotymcboogerballs6452 Then I guess I am just shit, because I tried defeating last boss in my alba frame with pulse blade//moonlight swappin around, songbirds, shotgun and some rockets and I just couldn't suvive for both phases or power thru, I would get staggered from any hit on this frame, swapped to heavy frame with meta weapons and the boss went down on first try
Dual pulse guns and dual pulse missiles will wipe every arena fight in 30seconds to 1 minute, but not great in most fights outside of that. Any time ive gotten stuck dying more than two or 3 times in a fight I keep switching weapons until something works better there so far always seems to be some specific combo that melts a boss even if its next to useless elsewhere
@kubekzpiciem nah, you arent shit lol
Some of these bosses are fuckin legit hard and take a lot of practice to find the right openings and dodge windows....you can beat everything with every build, you just have to keep practicing
You know you only get the miniguns after you beat Balteus right? You were struggling with Balteus on ng+?
Even ignoring overpowered builds the biggest issue with the games difficulty is that the non-boss segments are complete cakewalks 9/10 times. So the games difficulty comes at you in sudden sharp spikes rather than a consistant experience that i felt elden ring and had
Exactly my thoughts
And I think this actually contributes to the problem at hand. I didn’t specifically look for overpowered builds but my melee lightweight build is not working good enough for some of the bosses. I switched a few times, still couldn’t figure it out, so I try to look up how to make my builds more effective. And most videos I found were using one of the overpowered builds. Realistically speaking, when people can’t figure things out on their own they go to the internet. And just like most things in nature, the path of least resistance is the one that will become most commonly used. These overpowered builds are universally acknowledged as so not because people specifically want to find something overpowered, but simply because that it is the most direct, effective, accessible and universally applicable solution to what’s supposed to be a puzzle. If the answer to all bosses are “dual zimmerman/songbird” then it’s inevitable that people will adopt such builds and have their experiences ruined.
Except you’re able to change your ac and restart at a checkpoint. Making difficulty spikes optional. Even going for a ranks, nearly all missions can be a ranked easily with little skill using tank legs and duel needles plus javelins.
the escord the helicopter mission in ng+ chapter 1 had me teared up for at least an hour
This is one of the things that’s kind of deterring me from wanting to get it, those cakewalk levels seem like such a breeze I feel like I’d only ever have fun during bosses. While they are bound to be great, I want it to be continuously engaging
The fun part is creating new builds and trying them out. Saving the data and tweaking the build. They should add a shadow mode to fight builds.
That's actually a great 💡
They need to add some sort of co-op
They used to have ai chips u could put in you mech and let them fight by themselves. You could even make 2 mech you built fight each other with their ai and spectate.
there's the arena fights where it's basically a 1v1 against CPU's, even gives you their template when you win. I actually used a few as templates but I do hope they add more as some are pretty interesting
@axis8396 I've notice that as well. Very cool blueprint to try different ways and understand other styles. Also if you don't have all the parts it tell how much it cost to build it too
I think the amount of people quitting from the first boss shows its not too easy
I disagree. That just shows a lack of patience imo.
Edit: wait if we’re talking about either Balteus then I do agree. But if we’re talking about the helicopter then my original comment still stands.
Why not both?
This is less a testament to difficulty and more so because the average gamer is dense as shit and won't make proper use of all the tools they're given. The game is just decently challenging but also easily cheesable (use double stun needles and double zimmermans and you've got a boss skip setup)
I find it funny people are when the game literally has the weapons that just shred it’s barrier but hey some people don’t read.
I haven't stepped back to it after rage-swapping to Remnant II. I'll give it a go soon, after watching and reading for tips
I played through the entire game with dual Zimmerman shotguns and chicken legs, but didn’t touch the internet until after I’d already beaten the game. I still struggled significantly with end game bosses. But when playing through NG+ I had that realization that there was no reason to change my build, because it dealt with everything. Would really like to see other weapons and non-tank legs improved. Or at least a weakness to tank builds which can still move like a lightweight
Dual zimmermans does not deal with the wheel enemies guarding moonlight or during protect stryder lol
@@devinthorn8182 I have beaten that mission with Dual Zims. I did switch to Bad Cook for the S rank. But bro, if your counter to the Zimmerman's is that you'll have trouble on a singular mission on your third playthrough, perhaps they are incredibly broken.
And no, you don't need to fight the ones guarding the optional weapon, you can just instantly open the chest and leave
@@devinthorn8182 yes it does. Firing both at the same time insta staggers them but if you bring songbirds you can straight up instakill any wheels by firing both at the same time. Made s-ranking the escort strider mission trivial
@@devinthorn8182 Zimms and Stun Needles both instantly stagger and/or straight up kill the wheels. I even made it harder on myself by using a biped most of the game
I also went in blind and found the dual ZImmerman tactic naturally. I could see their attack power being cut 15%, or 25% longer reload, or 35% more weight, or given a pause like bazookas but shorter. They’re one of the only weapons that can deal 900+ burst damage without needing to pause to fire on bipeds.
That said, they’ve shown me a lot of love. An AC6 without Zimmermans to keep me safe sounds scary, but I’d be into it.
But to say it’s too easy with ZImmermans is so silly. One of my favorite things to do in AC games is to make otherwise useless seeming weapons shine by producing unique circumstances in the build. When I get bored with Zimmermans, I change my build. I’ve spent dozens of hours practicing with other builds for that reason, and I’d feel like an idiot getting mad about that, because once they’re nerfed, that’s what I’ll be having to do anyway.
Fellow Lightweight enjoyer, I literally can't go back to bipedal after experiencing those crazy boost jumps.
Also insane how a lot of stuff just miss when you're simply strafing or jumping with a lightweight
Same. I don't mind switching to an overpowered build if that's what it takes to beat a specific section of the game and access new content, but with more practice (and better parts) I imagine I can make jump builds work. At the end of the day, I want the mech to feel like something I'd actually want to pilot for the fun of it.
Bro i've been using a 385 boost build with the dual burst pistols and dual sweet 16 on the back for the S ranks and any other build i try is just not nearly as fun. Its so ridiculously fast and deals insane damage as well
I think most issues couldve been fixed if they worked in a debt system like previous games, since gatling and grenades cost a lot there would be a big trade off to using them, but right now you just get a little less money. Luckily the director did mention that want an opportunity to explore debt again so hopefully we can see that soon
Considering how Dunkey plays fighting games, it seems to me he's the type of player who looks for the path of least resistance. He has fun playing that way, so more power to him.
It only becomes a problem when he berates a game because he refuses to innovate his gameplay slightly when a large part of the experience revolves around experimentation and customization. As you've said, the critique speaks more to his inability to tear himself away from an OP strat than the game providing the tools to have a challenging, fun experience.
Again, why does Elden Ring get GOTY when I can one shot 90% of the bosses, but Armored Core stinks and is easy because Tank is stronk? There's no consistency.
Self-imposed challenges aren't as compelling as a challenge thrusted upon by a game. If a game that centers around experimentation and building new mechs to overcome new challenges gives you a build that's so completely broken that it completely renders that aspect irrelevant, that's not the fault of the player. It isn't as big of a problem in Elden Ring because that game is so massive in scope that you'd have to actively seek out components to a broken build and there's a lot more investment and commitment into achieving the optimal build. The stun needle is given to you for free, and the Zimmermans are, for some reason, dirt cheap.
The game has a balance issue, that much cannot be denied.
@@gracecalis5421It is 100% the fault of the player for using something broken and then complaining about it. Sure the balance is an issue but no game will ever be fully balanced, not even fighting games
@@gracecalis5421 Those are absolutely fair points, and I do think the distinction is notable. However, I do believe the game's ease is being blown way out of proportion in the arguments this video is responding to, so much so that it merits reminding that practically every masterpiece ever released on the gaming market that contains an ounce of customization has some massive, game-breaking element that exists, and usually they aren't even difficult to find.
I think the primary issue is how natural it is to begin using the OP items in AC. Those are generally not the arguments I'm seeing levied against the game though, as I agree with you... they should be toned down or way off the path of standard progression. It's just not *nearly* as game-breaking as people are making it out to be in my opinion.
Your last paragraph is so dumb
@@Walamonga1313 No it is not, it's the fault of the COMBAT DESIGNER of the game. This is a problem that could have revealed itself in testing. If they allowed it, that is the game saying they are fine with the player using something that is, as you just described it: BROKEN. That's not the players fault. They didn't make the game man. Don't hate the player kind of goes without saying here.
Ah yes, the FromSoft game discourse cycle is in full swing. "Game too hard" "Game actually too easy" "Game fair but hard because designers have brain". Happens every time.
Good video.
Gamers never fail to disappoint
It's extremely funny because that's just games in general honestly.
There's been so many games I have had a terrible time with because I missed a mechanic, and then there have been "hard" games that I flew through because I stumbled on to some over powered stuff
It think what happens most of time is newbies complain about the games being too hard while the souls/core veterans will complain about the lack of challenge. That's why I feel Lies of P did something special because that seems to be equally hard for both groups but interestingly enough the newbies can beat the game as well.
I wonder how many old FromSoft fans realise that DeS and DS1 wouldn't have been nearly as hard if they played those after their newer games. I played DS3 first than DS2 then Sekiro and finally DS1 and the iconic OnS fight was almost comically easy for me at that point with a black knight greatsword.
Then From makes an optional boss that's brutally hard like Malenia so even souls veterans will have a challenge and many people ends up hating her. It feels like some people cannot be satisfied.
"It's a universally agreed upon fact that I looked things up." 🤓
The dual gattling build is literally given to you for one of the training missions, so saying that people have to go out of their way to find out about it is dishonest
Regarding the tank build, just thought you'd be interested to know that this is a throwback from older AC titles where equipping grenade arms and chain guns on tank legs was a good way to beat challenging encounters easily. I'm sure many who played those games remembered that build and recreated it here like myself. Still, any AC veteran would understand it's cheese and not complain about it so all your other points still stand.
That build in the older games loses you money tho, that's not an issue in ac6 sadly
@@mrblooper1994that's just an AC6 issue as a whole, largely stemming from the new ways boss fights are implemented. It just wouldn't work in AC6
@@roar104 it does work. The only problem is how op tank + gutling guns are. Bosses are fun and interesting its just that this build makes them boring like most other parts of the game
Can't call cheese if it's intended m8, it's not the same as shooting arrows at a boss from outside the arena
@@roar104 Just triple ammo cost across the board and disable replay missions before NG+
I think the problem here is two fold.
1. Using Comet Azur to cheese bosses in Elden Ring is a bit different, as, given how cryptic that game can be, I would wager there's no way to accidently fall into the proper set up to do so without specifically looking it up. Even if you did come by it by playing the game on your own, it's still a specific build path that would be the pay off of hours of specific set up and build choices. And still wouldn't work if Mohg's AI decided to walk out of it on a whim.
Meanwhile, Armored Core 6 pushes you towards this by design. In that heavier parts take less damage, and heavier weapons deal more damage, the logical conclusion folks are coming to is to put the big heavy guns on the big heavy legs. I have 3 friends whom are new to Armored Core, and through the missions they learned that they die less and kill more by gravitating towards a build like this. The game's systems offers tons of checks to other builds, like stagger, weight limits and ammo conservation, but this bypasses them. Magic in Elden Ring at least leaves you squishy.
2. The idea that there's a "The Strongest" weapons or build is contrary to what, I imagine, most people want out of the game. We look at all the parts, and they're stats, and assume they're balanced in a way that there will be equal pros and cons among them all. Not entirely 1 to 1 equal, but also not such that one build path completely outshines the others and strips the game of difficulty. The point of the game being to build your machine to face the challenges of it, there being a one size fits all murder machine that conquers all those challenges sort of makes the idea moot. You can in fact challenge yourself and stick to a certain frame, but I believe the complaints being lodged is that we shouldn't have to figuratively tie one hand behind our back to continue experiencing the challenge. The parts aren't even labeled in a way that would let you know they're the best, so anyone who started using them like any other parts would naturally think the game is easy.
Beautiful comment. I feel that this design choice is a strength and a weakness in Armored Core , and is a far bigger issue than in Soulsborne because in those games you have to commit to a build and everything can be extremely good (Colossal+jump attacks can literally break endgame bosses in ER).
Overall this is not a big problem, but it shows the conflicting ideas AC6 has when it comes to some weapons and builds being pretty bad, even for just PvE.
Elaborating a little on your point: The majority of builds in AC6 involve parts that you're handed for routinely completing missions, and bought with currency you can get by spamming repeat runs of whatever mission you personally find easiest. This means that the amount of gameplay skill required for set building is very very low. This is wildly different than a game like Elden Ring where there are absolutely broken things in the game, but it's going to be a huge undertaking to track them down and get your hands on them, and you often won't even know they exist to realize you should be looking for them. AC6 just adds stuff to the shopping list (for the most part). These scenarios really do not compare.
@cameronphares2482bro both of those bosses went down like butter with a tank build. Songbirds and mini guns trivialize them and all bosses in the game. I can attest to that.
Agreed.
I'd add, that the way the game's designed, you hardly need to even build toward the OP weapons. The gatling guns aren't nearly as heavy as youd think and impose no firing restrictions to lightweight builds, and even when overloading, there's a no brainer OS chip that just lets you sortie *anyway*. I loaded up my lightweight frame (wanting to do something akin to Leena's Gun Sniper from Zoids), and it just.. works. No major drawbacks. Hardly had to change a thing.
And as for Zimmermans, theyre extremely light and energy efficient, so any build can use them with ease. In fact, this is the build I went for naturally, as I wanted a quick CQB shotgun+blade build of some sort since the game was announced. Just happened to be way too OP unfortunately.
Point being is, these aren't even really "builds" like a Comet Azur build is. Just a weapon choice.
@cameronphares2482 A tank build shits on both. Arquebuss shield gets almost one shot by two stun needles and then he gets rolled with gats. Ibis bosses its the same thing.
I also went with a more agile build pretty much the entire time I've been playing, but I do like that the game rewards you for refining your own mech and style. I will say going through my 2nd and now my 3rd time is much easier because I've fine tuned my mech over time. Blind playthroughs are that much nicer when you figure things out on your own
Figuring out atuff on your own is key. I also made a double batling double song bird build playing blind, they are easy weapons to get early. I thought it was neat but i didn't really use it again. It wasn't because i felt i needed to limit myself but because the fun is in making new mechs that i tweak into being just as broken. I want to figure out the broken lightweight bipeds, reversejoints, tetras and tanks so i won't stick with the first thing that works.
Additionally, i love S ranking missions so those hulking monsters with gatlings or grenade spam are usually too expensive to run so i rarely pull them out.
I think a lot of people see the Gatling guns and think to slap them on a tank, i made my own version of the broken tank build pretty early on, but found it trivialized the game and was no fun so i switched back to my old mech. I had almost ten builds saved by the time i beat the game for the first time, after playing the tutorials i found it really fun to experiment with any new stuff i would find and i think a lot of people played the game similarly because thats how From presents it, arena is just unlocking new fun builds to try as well. If you can't have fun with a build why bother playing it, people that say it's too easy or too hard are just playing the game wrong and i hope they can pick it up again and give some other builds a chance, the funny thing is its not even like elden ring where you are actually stuck in a build unless you respec and farm upgrades, its so easy in ac and thats what i love about it, the variety is so good and because of that i would say its better balanced than anything, you literally get to pick your difficulty and can switch it anytime till the flow hits. Also the broken builds helped me a few times on the ch4 boss because my game crashed after i beat it two times while the cutscene was playing :P Maybe you could argue that they should be put further towards the end of the game but i'm sure some people made the op build and had a blast with it
I did it to cosplay functionally as guntank
@@kazze01megabased
With my heavy tank build i can beat every mech in the arena without moving 😂 not fun at all and definitely needs a nerf
Spring chicken gang rise up
The funny thing is that the gatling guns and songbirds are not even among the best and most overpowered options, lmao.
I accidently discovered the OP Songbirds. But i figured everyone discovered these, you get them fairly early on, they look cool and sound cool and i am someone who likes to play with new toys so i immediately noticed how powerful they felt. But i never knew they would outperform so many of the weapons what would be coming later, i like heavy rocket launchers and boomsticks, and many of the later, heavy and girthy shoulder rocket launchers feel underwhelming. The Spread Bazooka was disappointing, so was the weird javelin (rocket that leaves a trail that explodes) and the container rocket that reaches a destination and shoots dozens of tiny rockets randomly. but i tested all of them myself, when someone goes online and finds the dual weilding gatlin wheelchair that trivializes 80% of the game that is entirely their fault. smh
Luckily for me i enjoy both building new mechs and S ranking. Song birds plus gatling worked for like one S rank but its so expensive i never use it. Its just one more build on the pile of stuff i've made that also works really well depending on the mission.
@@Pontif11 thats how the game should be enjoyed imo. i love tinkering with mechs and trying out new weapons. i am always excited when i unlock new shiny stuff. and some weapons perform differently to accomodate different playstyles. and many of the "good" weapons are also heavy and energy hungry, so the fault might not be 100% on the weapon balance but more so on how easy it is to equip a ton of good weapons and stuff with medium leg and generator power. but even so i dont think its a "problem", its liberating to be able to experiment and mix stuff
PS: the true "culprit" of the weapon imbalance might be that generators are too good on average and legs carry too much weight, but that might be wrong
@@chrizzlyx i'm certainly getting a lot out of it. It would probably help if there was a reward for S ranking. I'm only doing it out of intrinsic motivation for the mech building. Maybe tying mech parts or OS chips to it would have helped.
Yeah, it is pretty easy to take a look at the stat screen and see what's good and what's not with a few moments (hours) of tinkering. I think Ratatoskr is underestimating how generous and transparent the game really is about what weapons are good and what weapons are worse.
I think they need to buff some of the other weapons to a certain level so that they can sort out where exactly those gatlings guns need to be. One example is the napalm launchers (which feel good to use imo) but are weak in pvp and versus flying bosses as well as certain ACs (there is also the speed to consider, so does the AOE of the napalm need to be larger? probably... most likely).
In Ironpineapple's video Fromsoftware said that "what they try to do during development is create this kind of default archetype mech or several archetypes that you can clear the whole game with... as long as player are willing to engage with the system and observe the enemy's attack pattern and really get into the nitty-gritty of the combat. we've tried to make that possible for them" it sad that player could just easily look up for these archtypes on the internet while figuring out what work best through your own engagement with the combat system is truly what make this game so fromsolf
Anyone looking for the "best build" is someone either not having fun with the game or doesn't know how to have fun. The most fun of the game is customizing your mech and trying each weapon and seeing what works and what doesn't.
It’s not about the journey for some people, they just want to race to the finish line and move onto the next thing to consume.
@@ronthorn3Peple have become Pac-Man
Nope, there is nothing fun about dying 10 times to Balteus, unless you don't really value your time on earth that is.@@alenezi989a3
That wasn't just "FromSoftware" that said that quote. That was Armored Core 6's director himself. Kinda amazing how he understands the community so well
I feel like a big part of the issue is just how weak some weapons are; especially the smgs and assault rifles. This can easily funnel you into only using chain guns because experimenting with kinetic weapons is very disappointing
Shotguns are kinetic and effective
@@IndorilNerevar yes the Zimmermans are considered overpowered as well. That doesn’t take away from the fact the amount of useless guns they’ve introduced into the game
@@huu6941 Zimmerman's are NOT overpowered. Learn to play around them. I have found it pretty easy to outplay anyone rocking dual Zim's. A lot of the weapons in the game become useless if you adjust your play style accordingly.
@@mysteriousmusikno? Stop it. If you cant outplay it, it doesnt stop it from being overpowered. I can outplay most meta builds with double nebula, so what? I can still be stunlocked with shotguns and needles very easily
@rotonek2887 Sounds like a skill issue. Not a problem for me, I outplay them consistently.
I think it’s easier than previous AC titles, but thst may well just be experience talking. It is certainly a good challenge, though, and plenty of people are clearly struggling. And yeah, its not a universally agreed upon complaint. There are plenty of enemies that will bend you over and go in dry if you try that ‘OP’ build.
For real older AC games are way harder for many different reasons XD
As Dark Souls games kept coming out, Dark Souls veterans kept insisting that they were getting easier. Meanwhile, in Dark Souls 3 newcomers were regularly getting filtered by the tutorial boss.
I don't think AC6 is easier. I melted White Glint's face off with my very own dual gatling build not that long ago. It might be easier compared to the first couple gens of Armored Core but I refuse to play with that horrible control scheme so I wouldn't know. I do think AC6 is somewhat simpler, though, and that might be what you're actually thinking of. You're confusing simplicity for difficulty. They made AC6 simpler to control, but they put the difficulty elsewhere, in my opinion.
I'm not sure that it's outright "easier" than previous AC titles, but it is without question much less punishing than previous AC titles, particularly with regard to how money is handled.
You'd have to work pretty hard to go into debt in AC6. You can replay missions at will and get full pay every time. You don't get penalized for dying. You can sell anything you own back to the shop for full price. It is incredibly forgiving compared to early AC games.
And I'm 100% fine with that.
I think so. The 360 gen games were easy. Campaigns felt like shoe ins for wat were multiplayer focused games.
@@ShjadeNexayre o yea. I would separate those things. Grinding vs difficulty in combat encounters.
The amount of people who agree with Dunkey when he's always just so obviously missing the point in games is genuinely insane he's got a whole little cult of personality around him lmao 😭
That's what happens when meme culture is more important to people than their own ideas.
Just like from soft and their rabid fanbase
I never take dunkeys reviews for serious more like humerous. It just his opinion and nothing more or less.
The game is probably difficult for the majority of people (until they find op builds and hard lock), but some of us still found it easy without that. Hes not wrong about it being easy, his reasons just arent that great. Of course built in crutches are gonna make it easier and average players will gravitate towards that for some reason, despite deliberately choosing to play a "hard" game.
But I for example played the first chapter with bad OS upgrades, a terrible build and a broken right bumper. I beat Balteus in 6 or 7 tries. I'm sorry, but if that's not too easy then idk what is.
People complaining about using an overpowered build ruins the game are the same people that can't think and rely on doing what others tell them to do. You can beat every single boss in the game without ever touching songbirds or the gatling guns.
That is a community problem i've found kind of recurrent through many souls games. Like for example the battle against Gwyn in Ds1 people often complaint about how cheesable the fight is using parrys, but like, how do you know it? There's no way the first time you play it you knew it, cuz there's like no other fight where you can use parrys, so its kinda strange. Good video btw
"Cheesing with parries" in Dark Souls is a moronic combination of words. It takes skill to parry in those games. I suck at parrying, so that wouldn't help me at all.
Well but it is not the same thing a 12 year old game than a 12 days old game. It is understandable that people figured out everything about DS1 already. Gwyn being parriable is a meme at this point. And I also agree that if the strategy is to parry him, that's not cheesing since cheesing is supposed to be something very easy to do, like the Comet Azure combo in ER.
To be fair, players are going to gravitate towards what works. Im saying that in a sense that i don’t think most people actively run cheese builds, but they might’ve stumbled upon a cheese setup. I’s wager that everyone did try using songbirds, zimmerman, gattling guns and pile bunkers, since these items are not hidden at all and it looks pretty cool. I remember fighting Snail Balteus with a bazooka and a stun baton and after the fourth try i literally just asked myself… Why the fuck am I doing this, i could just use the pile bunker and win here. This was before i even knew the pile bunker was OP, i just happened to be running an explosive melee oriented build. Point is many times people stumble onto broken items like black knight weapons in ds1 and it just became a bit pointless to fight a difficult boss and not use it regardless if you know that the weapon is op or not. It’s not really the fault of the player, its the fault if the game. Game design is the only variable here since most players will gravitate towards what works for them.
100% agree. I stumbled upon tank Gatling + songbirds mostly without looking anything up, but it didn’t stop me from experimenting. It also didn’t always work, for me at least, but it’s definitely kinda busted. Edit: After having beaten the game, yeah it's not that the game is too easy or too hard, it's that the weapon balance is kinda bad. Probably going to hold off on doing New Game+ until a balance patch is rolled out.
what did it not work on for you? I s-ranked the whole game with it.
what are songbirds again?
@@jaydeejay4166dual grenade launcher
for me I stumbled on tank dual gatling and stun shooters (the weapon you get at the worm boss)
I built it as a “guntank” cosplay from Gundam. My only problems with it was that it was heavy and costed a lot in the ammunition department
Seeing the trouble I went through with the SEA spider, I disagree, died like 30 times.
I think the issue is that boss battles are too hard, basic enemies are too easy, and loadouts are too diverse in terms of power level. Some loadouts are so dominant for so long that you don't toy with the loadout system.
@@sauceinmyface9302 I disagree with the loadout part, I think the only thing that limits it, is the ammount of money you get and yourself
I beat sea spider 2nd try with a light weight dual shotgun pile driver.
I think ac6 has a good balance so far of some bosses punishing thicc weapons platforms
@@uncletzeentch2282 Sorry, not limits, but there's not much of a reason to use different loadouts once you find the one.
I coincidentally used Tetrepod Legs for the first time on this mission, and almost first tried it, beat it on the 2nd try. Hovering greatly helped.
Then I went back with lightweight bipeds. Got slapped around multiple times. Got close, but still haven't beat it with my high risk biped builds.
I really don't get people that go into building an overpower character and complain that the character is overpowered
That power imbalance shouldn't be I the game on the first place, and the game literally makes you buy and equip the double needles in the ice worm fight, so most people who play the game would have reached the double needle build by themselves.
forcing people to play sub-optimally to have a fun experience is not going to work out for a large portion of players. Many find the process of improving a build enjoyable in and of itself, plus more importantly it makes the difficulty of a game unengaging if you know you could just choose not to experience it.
@@Nutt_lemmings No? The game gives you one needle for free, but buying the second one is completely out of your own volition.
That's true, but there probably shouldn't be something so strong that it trivialises the game to begin with.
@@pangilli18801 is all you need.
Tbh I actually did discover the heavy stuff on my own, specifically cause I've always enjoyed big weapons better than small weapons, like in Monster Hunter I choose Greatsword 9 times out of 10 for most hunts, and so I leaned into making a tank build as my first major build, but even given that, I do switch my build up from time to time, doing a small build or choosing specific weapons and being a medium build, if you just stick to one build the whole game, of course it's boring cause you're not engaging with one of it's major functions
This problem is often fixed for me in roguelikes. You can get overpowered builds, but it is unlikely and requires you to really understand synergies and plan ahead when picking up equipment/relics/etc during a run. Because it still feels more fun to get that power within constraints, if I could always just pick the same powerful build it wouldn't be very satisfying. And many powerful builds also have strong counters from enemies to force you to plan ahead.
A randomised roguelike mod or dlc update for AC6 would be pretty sweet
Force you to use whatever you have available so each run unique with new favourite mechs
That would be so sick , can somebody please do this !!!@@kaidrazarc8000
My man is talking about rogue lites like they're actual games and has never touched ToME or CCDA lmao
The thing is, that you’re absolutely right
Not much else to add. Correct.
As a longtime viewer of Dunkey at one point, I feel like he’s been making just the strangest most contrarian takes just for the sake of it as of recent years
Same ttbh
You're saying a game that is all about combat and he happens upon a broken build and destroy everything is the most strange and contrarian take? Lmao
donkey is clearly overrated
@@tiagozilliosoares7988he said that armored core 6 was nowhere near the quality of elden ring and dark souls, while also saying it was more of a guilty pleasure game. In his review he framed it as a bad game that he had fun with, and not a good game.
@@jakestaheli8532he's full of shit
I ran double shotguns through most of my play through, insanely effective, but only at close range so there was still the challenge of staying close to the enemy
Wanna know a fun way to improve your build even more? Unlock hangar weapons and pit two shotguns on your shoulders. That way you can fire both shotguns, switch to the ones in your shoulders, and fire those while your other shotguns are reloading. I love how shotgun swapping is a viable build in even a mecha game.
Dual zimmerman shotguns made the game almost too easy lel. Stagger them instantly, then melee, then repeat.
Yeah, similar build here. Went with double Zimmerman + Lance + flex on an agile bipedal mech and it was mostly easy but also super fun and rewarding.
The penultimate boss of the Liberator ending humbled me though lol
@@TheLastDaysOfSorrowrecently found out zimmermans are the weapon people use for boss speedruns or no hit boss clears. Feels dirty to use them now lel
@@TheMagicalWizardPyroIt's not your fault FromSoft couldn't be fucked to balance them. Use them guilt-free
Dunkey just took a miniscule clip out of context (using weapons you don't even get at that point and then coming back to the first boss) to make the game look bad, he always does this and he gets away with it because his audience is just 12 year olds who are there to parrot his jokes and if he gets called out he'll just say his previous statement was a joke.
be careful or his autistic fanbase will parrot the same joke to you a million times
I don’t fully agree with either you or Dunkey here, I’m somewhere in the middle, but I think it’s disingenuous to say that most people who used double Gatling and song birds or even the funny little tank treads looked them up and didn’t find them on their own because of what they are. You get access to most of these parts fairly early on and they have a eye catching coolness/funniness factor to them. People see that you can use dual Gatling guns, and get to try it in a training mission, and they want to do it because it’s really cool. Songbirds are one of the first shoulder mounted explosive launcher style weapons you get so people put them on because they want a big rocket type projectile there and then discover how good they are. People see the little tank treads, think they’re funny, read the description and think they’re even funnier, try them out and then realise how good they are. I didn’t do double Gatling songbirds because I thought melee weapons were cool and I wanted a sword and pile bunker but I started using the Gatling gun because it was cool and same with the songbird. I think they’re very easily discoverable OP things that people would have already gravitated towards, same with Zimmermann because shotguns are cool. Most people found out about comet Azur by looking it up because it’s not so readily available and most players gravitate towards a melee build rather than magic because they think swords or whatever melee weapon you like is cool
I ended up using the Songbirds because I always make a fast, lightweight mechs with two big shoulder mounted cannons in these games. I didn't start out using them, obviously and I tried various other options but ended up going back to them in the end, mainly due to their ammo supply and reload time feeling nice. Only now, after playing a ton and beating the game, am I learning that they are supposedly big OP cheese weapons.
Tbh i think the songbirds are Not that strong. As they really are not as effective against other ACs. Compared to bosses with a large hitbox like smart cleaner and sea spider.
Well at their designated role they are not great, they are good at breaking stamina which most bosses after chapter 3 will dodge most of the shots. If you instead use them as finisher they only have 140 direct hit adjustment compared to 215 of stun needles or needle launcher.
I've tried the songbirds + Gatling. it's honestly not that fun, and it hardly makes other builds obsolete.
I only tried the songbirds because I was trying different builds to fight the sea spider too but I ended up loving it with the hoverlegs as I liked raining down fire like a AC130 then rushing in for a melee attack. I was hitting my head against the wall to find something that worked for me but I've seen plenty of other people do different builds that beat Sea spider so I thought I was lucky. Found out later people saying that's the cheese build for sea spider. Like I wouldn't have known unless I looked for it or asked other people how they took on the boss.
they are ultra effective. If you have a Melee AC, Basically missing is a rarity, because you are up in their face.
You will miss with your songbird more times at mid to long range, then melee range. That's the real issue I think.
It is too easy to land shots with melee builds. Slap on the right things and it becomes even stronger. @@robbe3334
I just think difficulty works differently than in Souls. It's not just about skills but choosing the right tool for the job. Of course if you just look up the most broken builds online then the latter aspect is negated.
Seems the jobs i encounter all equally get dealt with with grenade launchers and melee. I barely even really need a right arm gun
You don't have to look up the most broken builds in this game to easily gravitate to dual zimmermans and dual launchers. It is absolutely the best combo for PvE because enemies have virtually zero answer to it. It's broken, needs fixing, and does make the game worse than it can be. I don't understand why people are making these strawmen arguments. Nobody had to look up the fact stun launchers destroy bosses, the game itself puts a spotlight on this during the Ice Worm fight, and it never recovers unless the player SPECIFICALLY tells themselves not to use it. That's not a small thing.
So, if it's all about finding the right tool for the job, doesn't it lessen the experience if it turns out 90% of the time the answer is to just use a sledgehammer?
And you don't need a "most op builds" guide for this. It's a straightforward build that many people will figure out on their own.
You only need to try out gatling guns for 15sec to realize how busted they are, at which point you'll never be incentivized to remove them which is a failure in design. The design philosophy of having to tune your mech for each encounter does NOT work unless you have a VERY balanced game.
@@KrystalmythIt’s a single player pve game my guy so I don’t think it needs desperate fixing and if it ruins the game for you because it makes it to easy then don’t use it. I didn’t use none of that shit and still found the game to be easy cause a majority of the bosses in the game just aren’t that hard once understand how to actually play. Still had fun because I developed a play style I enjoy on top of amazing gameplay the game offers.
If you're stuck in a boss and are tired and want to progress, just brute force it with tank and big guns. Otherwise, try other builds and have fun and have a tank+big gun build only for when you want to advance.
What I'm doing now, loll
This is what i do lmao. If I'm stuck then I'll pull out double stun needle or double zimmerman, or both.
I did that for almost all of my first boss encounters just to get the progress and the achievement/trophy. Later, I retry It with different lighter builds as that's my preference. Practice with different parts over and over and study the bosses movements and attack patterns. It's less pressuring to me that way because I already went over those roadblocks. At that point, it's just a matter of dissecting what went wrong initially and discovering all the bosses vulnerabilities.
That’s what I do 😂
This is kinda like how people said save scumming in Baldur’s Gate 3 was ruining the game.
People play games differently, if they end up optimizing the fun out of the game that’s their fault. I think it’s good for a game as repetitive as this one that it lets you make an AC that steam rolls. Almost like an easy mode for those who need it / want to feel powerful.
And the rest of us can enjoy all the other builds. Learning to beat an arena match with a super shitty mech you made as a challenge can be just as fun
The real problem with the game isn't dual gatling guns + treads or any particular build. It's the stagger mechanic. When you stagger the enemy you not only get to hit 100% of your shots no matter how inaccurate your weapon, you also do increased damage with those shots. The end result is that any build that doesn't build up stagger quickly is at a huge disadvantage. Why use energy weapons when they don't build up stagger?
Quite quickly you realize that the way to go is using 2 main weapons that can fill the stagger bar fast with 2 massive DPS slow firing inaccurate weapons that you then use on the enemy when they're staggered for insane damage. I think it's a mistake to make the victim take extra damage while they're staggered. It's already powerful enough that you're rendered completely defenseless for 2-3 seconds.
I will add that despite this I still love the game and am having a blast playing it.
I made it to the chapter 4 boss before I found how good dual zimmerman shotguns are. I discovered this because I was stuck on the CEL 240 and looked up a video where I saw someone using them, some missiles, and the starter pulse blade. I tried that build out on the fight, after a few attempts I got used to the play style, and proceeded to use it for select fights. It wasn't until I started S ranking missions that I discovered just how good that build was for everything other than maybe the Cleaner from Infiltrate Grid 086 and when you face it again near the end of the Liberator ending.
And you know what? That build is OP as hell and it's so much fun! The movement feels amazing, getting fast staggers on enemies feels good and a lot of enemies move around enough it's not some permanent stun lock, I'm still engaging with the fight and if I get out of position I still die almost immediately so it creates that rush of being a proper glass cannon. I am worried Zimmerman will get nerfed so I made sure to get all my S ranks done.
It's a shame they didn't go the regulation route like they did with 4th Gen because it allows people like me to still play the game I want while providing balance updates for the people that want them.
They do have regulations. I think its at 1.01
zimmermans absolutely rock the cleaner though? just shoot its chimney until it goes down, then shoot its face when its down. easy clap in the liberator ending it died in like 30 seconds.
I dont play online so i just wont update if that happens lol
I don't think weapons really need balance changes for pve maybe besides buffing some of the very weak ones. Wish they would do some balancing for pvp though, I'm sick of having every game filled with dual zimmermans or missile spammers.
"It's a shame they didn't go the regulation route like they did with 4th Gen"
You know the game is only a week old right? It hasn't even had time to HAVE additional regulations or balance patches yet. However, on the title screen if you look at the bottom right you'll see that the game is listed as being on "Regulation ver.1.01", which means the game is running on a regulation system too.
I used the Gatling-tread-Songbird combo, and yes it made large parts of the game fairly easy, but I at least was hard countered by the chapter 4 main boss and had to change my type. Furthermore now that I've beaten the newgame++ I can say confidently that it is no stronger than a well made mech of any other type.
She is countered by the other OP combo Hand Missiles and VE-60SNA(Stun Needle)
which boss is this? the enforcer?
Honestly the strength of the build is not in it's maximum effectiveness vs other builds, but that it is extremely easy to master. Tank legs give massive amounts of AP and stability allowing you to ignore attacks that would otherwise stunlock your build. Dual gatling guns are just hold triggers. There's no timing, charging or reloading required to use them. Shoulder weapons can be fired with no penalty from tank legs. The strategy is literally hold triggers until stunlock and then fire songbirds for fatty damage, while letting the high AP and stability carry you through attacks that would obliterate poor movement.
You can achieve the same if not better results with other builds, but they will not be as easy and will require good piloting to get those results.
@@davidburke4101they do overheat, so you do actually have to pay attention to them. i thing everything with no reload animation has an overheat function. even the flamethrower, the thing made to spit fire, overheats after a while (tho it’s a long while)
I'd say it's more of a "you can pay attention to overheating" and less of a "you *have* to pay attention to overheating". It's an optimization sure but it's by no means "required"
I definitely agree, during my run I struggled with some bosses/situations I made a bunch of mechs over my playthrough I have about 10 main designs currently but around mech 6/7 I found the shotgun and eventually had a double trigger build with those, and tore through the first playthrough. I ended up feeling trapped in my build. I was still having fun but I was struggling with other builds, but in NG+/++ I found new builds, experimenting with PvP and trying to get S Ranks I've finally found a way to enjoy other builds and playstyles again. Fightingcowboys mech build videos have been a real eye opener now that I've started looking at content for the game. (Something like his old school light weight sniper build is a blast)
Same arguement for CoD 4 and the M16. It was the such a good gun and you had so many people arguing it ruined game variety in multi and was OP, meanwhile I regularly went 20+ kills using a Scorpion with an ACOG on it or running around with the golden Dragunov. You aren't required to use the meta builds in games and they may be the best but there is always fun to be had on the less walked path too.
I didn't discover the "broken builds" until dying a significant number of times, nearly edging out a win to a certain mid Ch 4 boss, before deciding to look up ideas for how to beat it. But I usually go back to playing other style of builds, I find a lighter weight build more fun. Or the Dafeng load out, thats also pretty fun.
Which boss?
@@TheDsLeet the spoiler one
I do still appreciate dunkeys review style where he tells you exactly how he felt while playing and not what he expects people to want to hear. Even when he makes missteps, he’s one of the most reliable when it comes to honesty.
Dunkey is also a comedy channel, he may be mostly genuine but he's also playing it up for the lols
I don't think its really a misstep to have a differing opinion. But I get how relegating an entire game as being 'easy' when choosing the easiest option is probably problematic to constructive discourse around its merits.
@@peridiusoverlord Opinions can be wrong.
@@peridiusoverlordThis. Its akin to using Mimic Tear to cheese Elden Ring and then calling it too easy and unengaging.
That doesn't make him a reviewer, that just makes him a person. I think the main value in his videos is that he's very funny. I watch him for entertainment, not for serious takes on games.
Im soo glad that i didnt see a single video or forum on AC before completing the true ending
Honestly if you can't tear yourself away from an overpowered build and consider it a negative, that sounds more like a you problem.
isnt it the game designers job to nudge the player into a balanced playstyle?
@@morgannyan2738 There's only so much devs can do. The rest is up to the players
@@morgannyan2738 Armoured Core is all about the freedom to play the way you want, there's no reason not to experiment when you can just sell for full price. If someone doesn't want to do that, I don't think there's anything the devs can do short of completely nerfing the overpowered builds, which isn't a good idea.
@@morgannyan2738
some games force u to play in the "fun way" or proper way by being punishing like "doom eternal" , souls series.
other games nudge you to play better via style meter or mission grading/ranking system like
Armored core6, ultrakill , DmC etc.
also ac6 lets u full refund on gears which is a big indicator and motivation booster to experiment
You can’t get S rank using the “overpowered” miniguns build because of the amount of ammo it uses. The game also encourages not taking any damage for S rank - something heavy builds using miniguns are poor at because of lower mobility.
I wanted to play AC6 in one way, as a build based off Gundam aerial from WFM. I found that most enemies were easy to beat but some of the bosses were hard due to my mech not being well formatted against them, but I didn't want to swap parts out and beat them using what others had said was op like the Gatling's, songbirds and zimms. That's where I think most of the challenge came from, which is similar to Elden ring as I made a Guts build which was super fun to play but difficult and when I replayed Elden ring I played a mage and defeated everything with ease. Asmongold has it right. Fromsoft games are as easy as you want to make them, if you want to use the best weapons in the game of course it wont be as hard. Which is why I always have an idea of what I'm going to play in a Fromsoft game so I don't end up just using the so called meta weapons or build.
Fromsoftware already said in Interviews that Armored Core isn't a Souls Like, so i don't see a problem with it being one of there easyer games.
Thats the great thing with build based games. The difficulty level will often scale with your build.
The game gives you broken builds almost for free. You don't have to work for the parts, you don't have to put in effort, time or skill.
@@tjl4688then dont use them
Why is AC so easy when I use the most braindead broken build and have played every FromSoftware title released in the last 15 years? 😢
If the game gives the player a braindead broken build, it's easy. It isn't even a build you have to work towards. Zimmermans are only 100k each more or less, and you get a stun needle for free.
@@gracecalis5421 Only if most players actually use said broken build, which they don't, judging by Steam reviews, Reddit posts, etc. Every modern FromSoft game has had broken builds, with the exception of Sekiro. While I'll concede AC6 is on the easier side compared to other FromSoft games, it's still difficult if you haven't discovered a cheap build and actually have to learn to play the game as a standard biped with a rifle, sword, and missiles.
@@deadeyedun So it's only difficult if the player self-imposes or for some reason doesn't come across the build. It doesn't take hours of research and going through forums to end up with dual miniguns/dual zimmermans paired with dual stun needles.
@@gracecalis5421 Yeah it's more difficult if the player plays the game normally without using the Internet to determine the meta builds? Is that what you're asking me? Everything is easier when you get help from Discord and UA-cam lmao
Since when fixing poor balancing is player's problem and not dev's?
"Given the chance, players will optimize the fun out of the game" seems to be in full effect with AC6.
You are supposed to optimise your build, that's why there's a giant wall of stats for every part. Even if you don't read them, a smooth brain can figure out stagger is the aim for harder enemies and so you can just sort parts by impact and direct damage and... would you look at that! Zimmerman shotguns, songbirds, Stun Needle are all high on that list! Gatling guns also do quite good direct damage for a gun on top of looking awesome so they'll get used as well. Now, through the most primative understanding of the game, the caveman has optimised the fun out of it due to poor weapon balance combined with a system that rewards bursts of high impact and direct damage, over sustained rifle fire from afar
on NG I use double zimmer+stun needle. It's OP as hell but I get bored when I do NG+.
Now I use double flamethrower with gatling drone and burn all like a psycho. XD
now it's more fun to use weird build, because I already now the boss moveset.
Everyone talks about optimizing the fun out of the game but nobody talks about optimizing fun into the game. I used dual Zimmerman+dual stun needles and had a blast. Used it for almost all of NG++ and don't regret it a bit. Was way more fun than anything I used before that point.
@@jeff3221 Self imposed challenges have been a thing in souls games since the beginning. If you want a harder experience just go for an unoptimal build, just like SL1 challenge runs in dark souls.
Here's a whole video about player decided difficulty all the way back in ds2.
ua-cam.com/video/MM2dDF4B9a4/v-deo.html
Fromsoft does this to make their games accessible (except for sekiro) as this design pattern allows players that want an easy time to choose a clearly best option like using op magic in elden ring or in this game running tank dual gats/dual shotguns. Those that want a harder challenge can use weaker weapons to better test their skill and learn even more about the gameplay mechanics.
It's very clearly why this is in the game to draw more people into this niche genre but still allowing difficulty for players that want a more rewarding tough experience. You're not being forced to optimize anything if you don't want to just like in almost all of FromSoft's previous games.
Fromsoft has even said in interviews before this game that difficulty depends on customization so if you want a more difficult experience the only one stopping you is yourself.
I discovered that build on my own but then it immediately didn't work against the trash compactor boss guy.
People consciously choosing OP options be like "i chose easy mode and now the game is too easy. 😢"
tbf i think some people just don't like the feeling of artifically making the game harder for themself. that makes the experience feel cheaper if you have to handicap yourself to have a challenge
@@thomasallister3446 I guess by definition not looking up the strongest setups online and using them is intentionally handicapping yourself, but that argument is still completely ridiculous. The normal intended experience is not using an optimal setup you found online with anything less optimal being a challenge run, and if anything you are making the experience artificially easier and cheaper by doing that.
The game is literally about customizing your mech to help you beat tough encounters. If you have to deliberately make your mech worse in order to have fun in a game about customizing mechs then that game has a problem. It call all be fixed with 1 patch. I don’t understand why people are taking this so personally when it’s literally a completely valid criticism. The game literally does everything in its power to encourage you to buy weapons and try them out, they should’ve done a better job balancing out builds that completely trivialize the experience.
@@invaderzod8092yep, they gotta nerf the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Zimmerman, songbirds, gatling and needle.
@@beegest_yoshi for real it would be a completely different game if they do that imo a better one.
ratatoskr again coming in with the great opinions actually backed up with an easy to understand and entertaining explanation. I found you from before totk and idk why i wasnt subbed. I am now tho. Keep at it man
The key thing that makes this less of a problem is how, like you said, even though certain builds are the strongest, they don't render the other dozens of builds obsolete. It's very easy to just use whatever build you think is fun despite there being better options because the vast majority of builds in this game are adequate and about as good as each other
People have no sense of style anymore. They just want to take the path of least resistance, even if that means being boring and uninteresting like everyone else.
Beating and S clearing the game are different. High ammo cost weapons make winning easy but perfecting difficult.
You’ve always got the best outlooks!
Yeah so similarly here, I have avoided kinda “build guides” but have seen some videos where people discussed what they were using… and on my own, after the initial couple levels where I had the starting mech load out, I got some money together and bought some stuff. I thought “man that would be cool to kinda be like Balteus just all rockets! So I got two (8)s on my back and four’s in hand… and I found myself absolutely mopping up with the setup! Except for some specific light ACs that are just exceptionally difficult, it melts! But because of that, I’ve started to veer from it and trying new things cause it is kinda “too good” most of the time!
And just like you said it’s self-inflicted… like my very first elden ring playthrough I was using summons and RoB/moonveil and all that… but as I got more comfortable, I realized that I was hindering my own experience and went back to my roots!!! Wretch clubs bonk etc.! And now I’m one of those naked weirdos that just wants a single big sword and to go ham on some nerds! My idea going into this game was the same… “I’m gonna build an ultra light mech with just one bit bonk!” And immediately realized that’s not realistic and I’m bringing the wrong mindset into this game with me!
Facts.
I think one of the main problems I see is that because armored core has much less weapons than something like Eldin Ring you are more likely to stumble into one of these builds. I played just picking what felt right and I ended up against the final boss with a pile driver a gatling gun a bazooka and some missiles. I did not look anything up and the build that the game led me to after trying all the parts was somewhat similar to the optimal builds. My thoughts on the difficulty are that in the main story bosses is it a perfect challenge that required many tries, but in the regular gameplay and ac fights it is just honing it as fast as possible and it isn't hard at all. I think that's what fromsoftware was going for and it is enough for me. I do not think the gatling gun is overpowered but the bazookas definetly are after I switched out my gatling gun for a third bazooka.
"Much less weapons"
i’ve been loving the challenge in AC6, like you i went immediately for the lightweight reverse joints because they appealed to me, and the reason i haven’t touched the tank treads because i don’t like the look of them
I agree with what you say here, but I do think there is a lack of 'mid-powered' weapons in AC6 (not to say that there are none). In Elden Ring there are definitely S++ tier weapons and builds, but there are also many other things like a straight sword + shield build utilising square off and guard counters - certainly a strong build, but still one which requires the player to engage with a bosses moveset, and which facilitates the dance which you described when speaking about Mohg. When I build an AC, I often find myself straying too far either in the direction of being able to circumvent a bosses moveset through my sheer damage and stagger damage potential, or in the opposite direction where I feel very weak. Maybe it's just me being bad and/or just getting used to the eye-watering damage potential of the S tier builds, but I feel that AC6 needs more B tier weapons and less D tier ones.
This comment was brought to you courtesy of the Please Buff Assault Rifles Association
I, personally, don’t like making meta builds at all. I’m more of a style/cosmetic person in video games. It’s why I’m a die hard Devil May Cry fan and addicted to buying cosmetics in Warframe. So when I play AC6, I’m out to make the mech(s) that look the coolest to me. If they happen to preform extremely well in combat, then that’s a bonus. Sometimes style over substance and rule of cool over efficiency is better/more fun
I went in blind and found a dual rensetsu single fire build early on and it carried me through the entire game. It's still one of my favorite games this year
The difficulty is all over the place for me because I'm too stubborn to replay missions for money with the goal of buying new weapons. I think I need to upgrade my gear at this point...
Replay missions. It's fun to find secrets and money too
@@wolfiewoo3371 Ya, I don't doubt it. It's not a principled stance; I'm just banging my head against the wall like when I encounter a hard boss in a souls game.
@@ratoftoska7497 That can be fun too in its own way
I think its easy, but i dont think its too easy. It can be hard and it can be easy if you want, and even when its easy its still fun. Breezing through the game with double gatling guns is still really fun.
I had difficulty but by the 2nd playthrough with more weapons and parts unlocked the game isn't difficult. Armored Core isn't an RPG where you can make a mistake with builds, the change of weapons and legs changes your playstyle. It isn't as difficult or "Souls" like as other games make it out to be.
Just came from Asmongold's reaction and I wanna say how amazing this video is. So many people say a game's easy and unbalanced because OP thing's exist. I personally discovered the gattling guns organically and thought they were badass on my tank, used them and loved every bullet I shot. I have a 10 missile left shoulder and a bazooka on the right so I can swap and quickly stun a boss then melt w the gattling guns. This was a pretty powerful build and I thought it was great that the game let me do this, the sheer amount of different builds you have access to is truly commendable. People who think this is a stain on the game must hate Elden Ring and all the souls games because you can slap on a magic build and they're all a joke. My main response to people saying the build's too OP is simply don't use it, there are plenty viable (but weaker in comparison) builds in the game.
Op things shouldn't exist people are going to use them and say the game is easy that's just pretty much common sense to me.
I don't even like to use the dual gatlings. I've used one from time to time, but I find playing with tank threads boring, so the game organically shifted me towards lighter weapons. My favorite so far is dual pistols, a drone weapon or secondary firearm in right shoulder and melee in left shoulder. Extremely fun (for me, at least), absolutely viable. I finished NG++ like that except for a couple of experimental builds i used along the way and for killing the roly poly thingies in the couple of missions where they appeared (flamethrower, because fuck those things).
Watching the start of the video I was hoping this would be a discussion about the difficulty gap between normal/"trash" mobs and bosses. I think it's a thing that could be addressed as unlike souls games or any other games really I don't think I ever died to anything other than a boss fight while playing.
Really? You never died to an MT, or the PCA shield guys? What about that one mission in chapter 1 with the room full of cloaked guys sniping you with lasers? I even died to energy turrets in a few missions. Oh yeah, what about trying to grab the Moonlight sword surrounded by like 5 wheel guys? I died several times trying to grab it.
@@tonystarrk4859trash mobs are the small MTs that die to one shot. PCA officers and the other tougher ones are considered mini bosses I think.
@@beegest_yoshiI wouldn't consider them Mini-Bosses, more like Elite Enemies.
Mini-Bosses are fights that have Health Bars but you wouldn't necessarily consider actual Boss encounters.
For example, Sulla in chapter 1 is a Mini-boss.
Mobile Defense Platform is a Boss.
Iguazu in chapter 4 is a Mini-boss.
The AI Defense protocol in that same mission is a Boss.
Or more easily, does the encounter let you resupply, like before Balteus in chapter 1 or the PCA Airship in chapter 3.
@@netapel2625 oh okay, I agree with you. I still think that the smaller mobs should pose more of a challenge, I personally want less one shot mini MTs and more of the slightly tanky MTs and PCA bots like those in the depth 2 mission before the enforcer
that's because this isn't a souls game. it's a sim where you play as the elite pilot of an ace custom mecha. if you've ever watched a mecha anime, you probably remember that goons usually aren't terribly threatening right?
and to this end: you don't complain about the hollow-like zombies in elden ring being no threat even in large groups right? do you complain that dante can easily trash puppets in dmc? is it a problem that mario can stomp goombas to death with one button? if you're dying to trash mobs in any of those games that'd be a reflection on you as a player. that's the kind of shit that makes people cry "game journalist" at you. mobs in most games but especially AC are supposed to be mostly easy, and even then there's the armored heavy mt's, quad mt's, and LC's that all take way more punishment and can absolutely kill you if you don't show them some modicum of respect(at least for me as a close range player)
During my playthrough i came across the gatling gun, zimmer shotgun and or the songbirds in game. I found these to be extremely powerful compared to other weapons, my build did not change for the entire duration of the game except adjustments to my AC outside of weapons (I did not use tank treads because i dislike them). I had experiment with other weapons but i had not found a good build to stick to so i was "stuck" to using these weapons. The game was still fairly hard and i was "stuck" on a few later game bosses.
I still think the game is near flawless with its execution and thoroughly enjoyed the game. However i would like fromsoft to do something about these weapons for at least PVP because they are an extreme nuisance and a hindrance to enjoying pvp, especially tank treads
A fix to bullet velocity and optimized damage ranges would solve this issue
If you have a light reversejoint AC you can easily outrun most bullets and rockets tank players throw at you.
I mentioned this elsewhere, but the design of the game will funnel a lot of players into finding the OP weapons on their own.
Theyre available early on, easy to equip to nearly every build, there's no penalty for buying and trying weapons out, and you can swap builds mid mission. I think it's actually quite likely someone will stumble on at least one of these 3 weapons in their time playing.
Great video! I found the dual gat +songbird combo without hearing about it online, and it did trivialize the game to some extend. But to be honest I loved it anyway, I seriously enjoyed the playstyle and never got bored. I think nerfs are in order but even being in the demographic of people who discovered an almost game-breakingly overpowered build on their own I have no complaints
My build I made while in Ch3 was a lightweight Quad Shotties build that became a Tetrapod Dual Gatling Dual shotties build. It tears through Arena, bosses, and enemy ACs. But it loses in encounters where range is better to have, and lacks splash damage from the songbirds.
I really hope the regulation system from For Answer remains in use for 6. The ability to just swap to a regulation to see how OP something really was, or how hard things used to be with a given fight? Priceless.
Here here. Looking up strats online is like changing a difficulty slider.
I just want more mission and enemy variety. They have a great rock, paper, scissor thing going with kinetic, energy, and explosive damage types that isn't really being taken advantage of. I'm taking my time with the game so I'm only now in chapter 3 but I was thinking how cool it would be to have a level where the goal is to navigate an obstacle course to beat the timer. I might actually be incentivized to get that dich weight perk from the os chips. I'm loving this game and i just want more of it!
Agreed on most points; I'd say that the obstacle course thing does describe the escape sequence in the mission where you have to escape the Coral surge in the mine. More would be fun though, for sure.
New game + and newgame++ give you alt missions and new missions, I think the game has just the right amount of missions to be fuffiling. It's not mega long like elden ring or something, but pvp will always make me come back to it every now and again.
they have those later on, and there's plenty of enemy variety too. trust me just keep playing you're not even halfway done yet
The pvp is really neat, again I would love to have more of it. I guess I've been spoiled by live service games 😆
The roshambo isn't from the weapon damage types, it's from Speed/Armor and Close/Long range status.
Close range quick mechs can usually beat long range quick mechs and even long range armor mechs sometimes. Long range quick mechs can absolutely zone a close range armor mech to death but would suck against a long range armor mech.
This game's combat is range control and speed vs tank.
"Oh this person doesn't hate any part of this game? What an insincere and non-credible fanboy."
I in turn wonder if that person in specific even owns the game, or just watches videos with his "universally agreed upon" facts.
I honestly haven't managed to make heavy builds work for my playstyle at all, so can't say if such a brute force build would make things boring or not, but... since I'm really not in the business of making my games boring deliberately, I'll gladly not even do that. Infact I often make up my own fun in games on top of the other awesomeness. For example, it was fun replaying some of the easier money making missions with no weapons, just punching and kicking. :D
Why do we live in such a gaming culture these days that people seem to seek out things to hate and then call people insincere fanboys who have seeked out things to like and managed to love a game all throughout?
It's OK to love a game with flaws. It's not OK to call a thing you love flawless when there are certainly a lot of problems.
@@SeveRUS67 Not finding anything that bothers you or anything that you don't like isn't really a claim that it's flawless for everyone else.
"A lot of problems", you say? What makes them universal flaws, instead of things you don't like?
I had the exact same experience during my first playthrough of AC6 (sticking with a lightweight build) and I loved the game-- a lot more than I was expecting. I honestly feel a little bad for the people who deprived themselves of the kind of experience AC6 gave me.
I don't think everyone purposefully goes out looking for optimal builds. Like I didn't know the Zimmerman shotguns were OP (to the extent of being used in boss clear speedruns) I chose them because big shotguns I could fit on my light mech were cool.
In Elden Ring if I chose a melee class I'll level up my weapons and whatnot throughout the game. But if I find a cool OP spell I don't switch suddenly to a mage class. You likely had ignored all of the mage content up until that point. Never buying any spells, or doing anything mage related. No leveled up staffs. You might not even have access to respeccing, it it's something you want to even bother with for one spell. So you take your ultra great sword and continue along. In AC6 it's different though. Respeccing is a switch of an arm part away. You don't gotta use precious smithing stones to level up the new weapon, go to rennala, look up a meta guide on how to get infinite mana for a few seconds (as I doubt the player would think of it themselves). In AC6 you can just buy the gatlings and put them on without knowing, as had Dunkey.
You end up optimizing the fun out of the game after that. Other weapons become unfun, not out of choice, but because there's a nagging in your brain going, "This weapon has way lower DPS than the gatlings," or, "This weapon has barely any ACS strain compared to the Zimmermans." Whenever I tried other weapons it made the game feel slower. (Or, in the case of handguns, run out of ammo unless I skipped all but required enemies). Dual assault rifles taking four or more magazines of ammo total to ACS strain an enemy, when dual zimmermans can do it in one shot.
In DS1 if you pick up the great scythe at the start you beat the game.
I played it blind and came to the dual gatlin gun + songbird build by myself because I just kept thinking about how to kill stuff asap and it sort of naturally came together. Great video and I completely agree.
i discovered the double Gatling lightweight tank double songbird set up on my own because i was just trying to make Guntank from the gundam series, i realized it was insanely strong and found it funny that it became known as the strongest build in the game
Let’s also remember that Dunkey’s main complaint of Elden Ring was that the enemy balance as you played through the game felt like it was all over the place. That didn’t stop him from playing through the game at least 4 times because he still found it enjoyable. Balance seems to be a sticking point for him, but that doesn’t mean he thinks the game was bad.
He just has higher standards for balance because he comes from league of legends where everyone is expected to gravitate towards the strongest thing as the standard rule. It's not the correct perspective for single player, where you may want to play worse things for fun.
Thank you. This observation entirely nullifies Ratatoskrs argument. Leaving the difficulty and balance in the hands of player restraint to NOT use the most powerful gear is, of course, going to mar the progression for a lot, if not most players. This is a valid complaint consistent with FromSofts recent design ethos and Ratatoskr somehow is completely missing the point here.
@@nathanielholzgrafe5274 To be fair Ratatoskr said the balance should be improved if it can be, he was just disputing the idea that it's a universal problem as he didn't experience it and he thinks most people don't end up with an overpowered build naturally. Most people playing non-pvp games don't optimize it for meta and instead just does what seems cool.
Never take dunkey review seriously his videos have and always being entertainment first and maybe real review third or fourth and that ok i enjoy that
Dunkey took the easy mode build. And never got to NG+, it looked like since its much harder
I was trying to make a tanky bipedal thicc boi and found my way to the dual gats and a songbird, was using a 10cell other shoulder vert missile until the chapter 3 end raingun thing. Its definitely OP. Its become my way to replay missions where I know I'm going to be looking for chests and combat logs I missed, and use as a fallback if I'm struggling... but it is so incredibly powerful I choose not to use it for progression or for trying to get better ranks, or learn boss fights better (as it trivializes most ive experienced so far, in the beginning of act 4 rn.)
It's funny because I watched Dunkeys video last night and had a really sour taste in my mouth over it because of how I know it performs, let alone with the fast treads vs my bipedal. Your takes are so right. They are resounding truth. OP builds =/= bad game balance and doesnt make the game easy as a whole. Refusing to change things up from that comfort is a self inflicted problem.
You can't use dual gatling guns + double songbirds or whatnot for achieving S ranks, its simply too costly. S ranks are decided with how much you finish with, how many repair kits you have, how much ammo you expended, etc. Its a mindless build that will only get you so far.
Your perspective on Mohg is really on point imo
The choice is yours....delete the boss with a laser, or fight him....the fact that you CAN delete him with a specific build doesn't make him a shitty boss....it doesnt even make YOU a shitty player...its just a choice you made imo
I actually kind of like that you can do that, it allows less skilled players or players with less time to experience the whole game if they want to go through the trouble of making a "delete boss" build to continue progress...Because at the end of the day you know what you did lol....and thats fine. If you feel like doing a mano y mano fight against it later, go for it and prove to yourself you got the chops
Im over here choosing to not do that because the game is fun as hell the way im playing it...if i get stuck and gated maybe ill go wheelchair bulletstorm, or maybe ill just grind out my GitGud
One thing I would mention about being able to trivialise bosses in Elden ring, you have to actually find the spells/weapons in the open world and build your character to meet requirements. So if you choose to fight a boss in an easier way, I think it is earned because you spent the time exploring. In AC6, most weapons are available in the shop or are made available just by progressing through the game, and it’s clear that some weapons are just better in almost all situations than others. Due to this I think there is less incentive to try alternate builds on your first play through. AC6 does provide an extra challenge with the ranks for missions. I haven’t s ranked all the missions yet, I’m hoping by doing so I’ll be pushed towards using different builds and learning the enemies’ moves better.
I’m glad someone else noticed this about his video, Dunkeys build he showcased is usually what comes up when you google what the easiest ways to one shot the bosses are, he literally searched up the most op build then complained that his cheese worked too well.
i stopped watching him few years ago after he said something along the same lines about Shadow of the colossus.
Dunkey also levied the balance complaint against Elden Ring as its biggest flaw. Trying to say that the complaint is invalid because Elden Eing has the same problem is a ridiculous attempt, and it shows you didn’t even try to refute this meaningfully. Balance is an issue during initial play throughs of ER and AC and leaving difficulty in the hands of player restraint is a gamble. The negative discourse around it is a natural consequence.
I don't remember seeing footage of him fighting Ibis, ALLMIND, Walter, or Ayre. People who haven't done all three playthroughs have only experienced 1/3 of the game and should be ignored.
I'm 100% the Nintendo fanboy only passed it once
Right now in the middle of NG+. I actually discovered what was powerful on my own. The only thing I looked up before I completed my first playthrough was the moonlight blade. I mostly used a medium weight bipedal mech and I enjoyed it a lot. Found the Zimmermans effective on my own and I saw it was kinda trivializing some encounters, so I started to just keep trying out new stuff every mission. I mean you earn credits after a mission and probably earned enough for at least 1 new thing to try out and so I kept doing that. Right now I mostly like using a linear rifle with some upclose weapon, a right shoulder missile launcher and a left bay melee weapon.
My main criticism of the game is that I find the encounters and objectives in between AC duels and boss battles to be very lacking and undemanding. But I will say when I get into that "zone" or "flow" blasting through fodder MTs while zipping around, using only the necessary shots, not just mindlessly firing and efficiently flying through the battlefield it feels very satisfying, so maybe it was From's intention for the game to be more of a power fantasy once you get the hang of piloting your AC and then ramp up the difficulty with the AC duels and boss encounters.
That still doesn't make me dislike the game any, its just something there that I wish was different. Or how even in this NG+, I wish there was even more modifiers for this second time around for the same missions, like adding more of those HCs or LCs in missions to complement the fodder MTs.
That's crazy, I'm in the middle of NG+, I use a linear rifle and a close range weapon, my r shoulder has missiles or a launcher, and my L bay is a melee weapon.
We're problem solvers! :D
@@Frederic_104 it just works
I did actually discover this on my own, and it's one of my biggest frustrations with the game
Having your fun build that works sometimes, and having your "fuck it" build that just seems to win always
Falling back on tank treads was the "Oh alright, fine, I give up" feeling I hate getting when I Google shit
what made it even more frustrating was that I was trying to do a fast build. At one point I struggled with a mission and felt like heavier weapons were necessary so I got the smaller tank legs for more load (I thought that the big ones would feel too clunky) and man, discovering that the wheelchair moves just as fast and is pretty damn agile too just felt so disappointing.
I googled how to beat that spider boss cause i was getting frustrated dieing all the time and said eff it
and found that using quad feet was the aswer.
Its not fun being stuck.
Same here, man. I started out with a garbage homebrew tanky low damage build. I couldn't get past Balteus because he just keeps shielding if you don't take him down fast enough, so I had to build towards higher damage. That was the most fun to have the gameplay and customization finally click for me.
I went double songbirds once I saw them in the shop since I figured I might run into the same thing later and they were a straight damage upgrade. I took down the Sea Spider on the 5th or 6th attempt.
All that aside, the game forces you to try the VE-60SNA for the Ice Worm boss. If you use both of them to hit a staggered enemy and they just straight get deleted right out of the game. First tried Chapter 4. I took down the S-rank 1 Arena battle in 16 seconds, before even knowing what to expect. Feels bad man
For me it was realizing I use my light build for ads and swapping to the tank after seeing I was doing piss for damage, it would take too long, and most of the time I'd fail with the bosses health at two thirds to half remaining.
I fought Balteus for 7 hours. No this is not an exaggeration, this is my first AC and Ratatoskr's original "soulslike" video is what got me to play it. I realize there's some crazy shit going on, like Pulse Armor one shotting his shields, but the process of throwing bodies at something, swapping out a part or two just to get the boss done with was frustrating.
It's a quality that one could praise, yet I find it obnoxious because I can't seem to use the build that I WANT TO... No, I gotta use what works or I'm just gonna sit there for a dozen hours banging my head into the wall.
Fun game though, not a mech fan, but was still fun, beat NG today, probably won't continue, the game takes a helluva lot out of me mentally.
It's not exactly an issue with AC6 that one build can make it through the entire game. That's pretty much to be expected from a game with this level of customisation.
I expected game with this level of customization to have missions that would make me engage with customization. More missions like g1michigan mission where you have to deal with a lot of spam.
@@SeveRUS67 Just the amount of stuff you can customize IS engaging, I tinkered and tried different loadouts during missions even if i knew what options were considered super strong that didnt stop me from wanting to really try out other things that are in the shop or ive picked up that looked cool or interesting for a build. to say that it isnt engaging is crazy lol
@@wolfsy7 customization for sake of customization is sadly not enough FOR ME. I need a problem in game that a certain build can solve better than others. And 90% of problems are "1v1 fight in close to mid range". As soon as I build something that solves that problem I don't have reason to do more builds. I want extrinsic reasons to diversify my builds.
Another point to bring up as a counter to "universally agreed upon" is that forums tend to have a negativity bias and people typically only go to forums to see if someone else has a complaint. Also, majority of players for every game don't engage in forum discussions.
Compared to last armored cores, armored core 6 was laughably easy. But it makes up for it with a much much better pvp portion. I do wish they would bring back online co-op missions though
Liked your commentary and this video made me sub. One thing I’ll say at the end when you said it’s a self inflicted problem, the one caveat is that of course everyone looks for stronger builds while playing, it’s just that if you are playing the game correctly and trying to improve your ac and I. That process your build is just way better than anything. Else the. You’re going to gravitate towards it. For me this happened with plasma weapons in chapter 2, I just couldn’t find a reason to use anything else with a light weight mech but now I’m chapter 3 I feel like the options have really opened up so I’m not sure what the rest of the game is like in that regard
I also think it's worth noting that using OP strategies in games often times only feels cheap if you weren't the one that found the strategy. Something I think is interesting is that during my first playthrough of the game I made myself a heavy build with dual zimmermans and dual 10 cell missile launchers. My main strategy was to use my heavy armor to assault boost at the enemy, shoot them with my shotguns, kick them, then hit them with my missiles while they were staggered. During my first playthrough this was most of what I did and I had tons of fun doing it. It wasn't until after I had finished my first playthrough and started looking at community discussion that I learned I had accidentally discovered one of the meta strategies. After discovering this it made it less fun to use in the future because everytime I pulled out that mech I found myself having to rationalize to the little gremlin in my head that I was playing in a cheap way and the build I liked just happened to be meta.
I imagine if I had googled good builds during my first playthrough and read about how good dual zimmermans are I probably wouldn't have had nearly as much fun with that build. OP builds in games aren't unfun, they're just unfun when you learn about them from reddit instead of finding them yourself.
There are bosses you cant beat with dual gatlings/songbirds.
If people would advance far enough they would know.
Also with this build you are most likely not getting s rank due to ammo cost.
I literally swapped on last boss from my "gundam" alba frame and weapons I liked to non os tuned double gatling and songbirds on heavy frame and guess what, one shotted, they literally work on everything. The heavy frame makes you take way more punishment and stagger, it moves pretty fast for a heavy slog and the weapons, well everyone knwos their power
@ISPY4ever i mean you can probably beat any boss with whatever loadout if you try hard enough but birds struggle against fast enemies.
Also both weapons are rather weak at range.
For faster bosses that are particularly strong in melee like Ibis or the first endboss (didnt finish ng+ yet) i either like going with strong missile setups that have great tracking through FCS or timing shotguns in close combat to stagger at close range.
Sure birds can do that too but id say they are rather inefficient doing that. They are best against bis enemies like sea spider but dont deal great critical damage.
If you have used basho arms + close combat FCS with impulse blade than you know what crit dmg actually is.
I swear we had this exact discussion when comet azure/Rivers of Blood was discovered
For reference I looked up no guides, but I enjoyed the mech building so much that I got stuck in it for hours. I found that zimmerman shotguns would 1 shot any normal enemy I was fighting, rarely missed, and had a very considerable range. I used them against bosses and at first felt proud that I had built something that could beat the boss. That feeling slowly wore off as I realized that I could stagger even "boss" AC's by double shotgunning them. It wasn't that I had made a smart build, it was that I had made a broken one. I tried PVP and realized that almost everyone I played against had a Zimmerman shotgun or gatling guns.
I tried a gatling gun and zimmerman build to see how I was getting smoked by them. Once I picked up on the range of gatling guns I bursted AC's down and Pile Bunkered them. The game became easy and repetitious. I decided to switch off these weapons because they were ruining the fun and after I did I enjoyed the game more. However I ran into Michigan, this fight is an insane gauntlet. I don't want to resort to a broken build again, however it feels like Elden Ring all over again where if I want to win I have to use some broken gimmick because the odds feel so incredibly stacked against me.
Atleast in Elden Ring I didn't have as much accessibility to broken builds due to the RPG mechanics. If I was a faith build I could try to pivot to a Intelligence build and use comet azur, but I'd have to respec, the weapons I was currently using would be useless, and i'd have to rebuild an entire build from scratch in order to actually use it. Since Armored Core encourages you to switch up your build to beat harder enemies it pushes you to find the best weapons. Which means balance is incredibly important to make sure that different builds are being used and feel like valid options for bosses.
My issue with what Dunkey said wasn't that the game was too easy, it was that he fell for the classic trap of hard game = good game.
To paraphrase, he states that the ability for common enemies to roll him in Elden Ring is an indication that the game was good (Elden Ring rocks, but there's way more to it than difficulty).
That coupled with saying AC6 "does not hold up under any form of scrutiny" just shows that this game wasn't for him. I feel like he was expecting a punishing soulslike title and was upset that this game wasn't exactly that, and it spoiled his perception of the game.
Absolutely nothing wrong with not liking something!! I just wish his fanbase was lucid enough to recognize that a game doesn't suck just because funny internet man didn't like it.
I very much agree with this video, and the previous armored core video. Here are my personal opinions and experiences:
I had personally found the "wheelchair" tank treads after fighting an arena mech that used them and found them to be incredibly fun with how fast they are (they, along with the other tank treads mostly suffer from dodging becoming compromised). I had also struggled a lot with the chapter four boss and after some extensive experimentation I discovered that songbirds are really easy to hit at close range and deal immense stagger, that paired with cannons is what I ended up doing for that specific boss. That being said, I do think that songbirds have too much tracking, and deal too much stagger damage and I prefer not to use them. The chainguns also probably suffer from too much stagger, although I do not think they are as much of a end all solution as the songbirds. I don't like how prevalent zimmerman is in pvp, but at least the "wheelchair" hard counters it pretty well with how fast it is. Might also be worth mentioning that I have not looked up anything for this game, but instead have no-lifed it to completion (83 hours, definity worth the money).
I would also like to say that Mohg is also my favorite ER boss.