ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON

30 Achievements

50-60h

PS5

The Perfect Mercenary

Cleared all missions with an S Rank rating. Details for this achievement will be revealed once unlocked

Gold

Very Rare

6.2%

How to unlock the The Perfect Mercenary achievement in ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON - Definitive Guide

PhantomPlanetAP

TrueAchievements

01 Sep 2023 13:02

Update 24/7/2024
Replenished a clip which got deleted earlier

Update 23/3/2024
Added one new mission detail and video

Update 9/11/2023
Added more mission details and videos

Update 9/8/2023
Added more mission details and videos

Update 9/3/2023
Added video guides to missions and a demonstration of boss fight
Added AC Share ID NRT38AW8K09 to download, go to Garage > AC DESIGN >AC Data > Download tab > Input above ID

Disclaimer & Announcement
This guide was created a week after the original launch of the game, It may not work well anymore when future version updates apply, but I will try updating as fast as I can if updates are present. Please leave a comment below if you have questions, I will answer them as quick as I can. If people demand solutions for specific missions, I will also add solution to those levels.

This achievement pops when all missions are cleared with an S Rank. It should be your final achievement in the game to mop up all

with S ranks, Assuming you have unlocked all OS tuning points and fully applied them before you start.

Note: To earn a rank for a mission, Select SORTIE then REPLAY MISSIONS but NOT MISSION, as progressing the story doesn't give ranks but only income. You should start attempting for S ranks once you get your last ending, failed attempts also give income for buying remaining parts as required by other achievements to own all parts:

The Secret Achievement achievement in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon worth 104 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement

The Secret Achievement achievement in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon worth 95 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement

The Secret Achievement achievement in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon worth 247 pointsContinue playing to unlock this secret achievement

General Stratetgy
The S rank conditions are NOT shown by the game and some missions are very nitpicky and harsh, I will be covering those hard to get missions one by one, following my general strategy: (Rather than trying to pinpoint the exact conditions)
1, No Checkpoint Restart: S ranks are only awarded by Non-Death runs, if you die, restart the mission
2, Speedrun: Light-weight and Powerful weapons AC build with fully aggressive play style, Always move with Assault Boost
3, Minimize Damage Taken: Avoid unnecessary combat, Finish boss fights ASAP. For the majority of the situations, Get up close and personal
4, Ignore Ammo Consumption and Mission Income: Rank system are NOT relevant to Mission Income

AC Build:

Weapons:Best weapons offer great staggering power and damage
Both Band: Shotgun SG-027 ZIMMERMAN unlocked by

Both Shoulder Weapons: Stun Needle Launcher VE-60SNA unlocked by

Core Expansion: Assault Armor

Body Frame should be as light as possible with energy supply optimized, you should use the best parts you have as far as weight and energy output is not in deficit. I used:
Head: HD-011 MELANDER
Core: EL-PC-00 ALBA
Arms: EL-TA-10 FIRMEZA
Legs: IB-C03L:HAL 826
Booster: BC-0200 GRIDWALKER
FCS: IB-C03F:WLT 001
Generator: VP-20D

Boss Fight Play Style
1, Dual shotgun at close range or dual needle launcher at close/mid-range to stagger enemy instantly
2, During the stagger state of enemy, use the opposite weapons to deal damage
3, Use Assault Armor to deal damage
4, (If the first weapons have finished reloading)Use the first weapons or (optional)Kick enemy
5, Repeat 1 to 4 or Assault Armor first then other weapons depends on the situations until enemy is dead

An example

Controls/Configurations
Any configuration type works best for you, I used Type B (As a Armored Core experienced player)

Boost On/Off

Activate Objects

Left Shoulder Weapon

Right Shoulder Weapon

Left Hand Weapon

Right Hand Weapon

Jump/Ascend

Quick Boost(Evade)
I didn't use lock-on targets at all but found out manually moving camera view worked best for me

Other Tips:
1, Semi-Permanently Staying in the air: Energy Gauge recovers half after fully depleted if nothing is input, you can intentionally assault boost facing up to gain height first and let AC fall a bit before energy half recharged then to assault boost again to maintain height or climb higher
2, Exact Landing:

during assault boost to manually land a high ledge (like traveling among rooftops of the buildings) to fully charge energy instantly without falling off the ledge

Mission Details

Chapter 1 Illegal Entry
The order of reaching all 3 wreckages are: left,middle,right since the right one is closest to a vertical catapult to the final boss area. You need to use all 3 weapons to deal damage to the boss, the blade deal extra damage if it hits the body of it but not only the cockpit. You are supposed to stay close to it at all times to avoid its homing missiles and heavy rockets

Chapter 1 Retrieve Combat Logs
All 8 logs must be collected for S rank, you don't have to kill the AC down the pit. The well hidden one is located under the giant structure above the pit

Chapter 1 Investigate BAWS Arsenal No. 2
Tight time and damage mission, use dual needle launchers to instant-kill enemies or they will cloak and escape, causing extra time. You can scan and kill one enemy out of three before they activate to save time in the 3rd area. For the last area, you need to know where the 3 ranged enemies appear and take them out in one attempt

Chapter 1 Obstruct the Mandatory Inspection
For the final fight, lure and kill the 2 ACs one by one, you can use the high road as a barricade for the giant boss, also don't forget you got an ally. The giant boss seems only vulnerable of his front

Chapter 1 Attack the Watchpoint ALT
Once you made your way to the first boss, immediately turn back to kill 2 sniper enemies on the rooftop of the gate you entered this area, then rush to the opposite side to kill another 2 sniper enemies. If you don't kill them instantly they will cloak and move away, can be troublesome to take care of. I actually took a lot of damage in this mission, but still got S rank

Chapter 2 Infiltrate Grid 086
You need to kill the 2 quad-leg enemies located right above the mini boss for S rank. For the final boss of this mission, concentrate fire on its furnace and once staggered, concentrate on his head. You can land on ground when it does a volcano erupt move.

Chapter 2 Ocean Crossing
The satellite laser can be completely avoided by going through the interior from the elevator, once you reached the bridge fly under it but recharge energy before the exposed gap

Chapter 3 Attack the Refueling Base Personally it was the hardest mission for me (20+ retries

)
Start Point > Rush to and destroy first 4 oil tanks > Rush to and kill a LC enemy before the bridge > Fly above the bridge and proceed to main target all the way on the cliff on the right side > Fly directly to the plant and destroy it > Kill the 2 bosses
Note: Time seems to be the priority here, I only killed the LC before the bridge while ignored others

Chapter 3 Steal the Survey Data
Rush to 4 data post one by one and activate. The final area is quite messy, caution is advised. After killing the quad-leg enemy pay attention to the ship lasers and missiles, you can then jump to the top of hill here and kill the LT enemies one by one. Once the ship shows up again fly to and kill it immediately to leave all flying enemies it deployed in its own explosion

Chapter 3 Eliminate V.VII
A Time VS Kill VS damage minimization mission, S rank is awarded by both killing the target fast or accept his begging and kill the 2nd AC without taking too much damage. The target can be attacked during his begging without answering him, I would recommend doing this for avoiding the 2nd AC

Chapter 3 Defend the Dam Complex
A demonstration of AC fights by this build, 3 1 VS 1 fights consecutively

Chapter 3 Heavy Missile Launch Support
All 3 missiles have to survive for S rank, the vulnerable points of both side ones are the gaps of the low defense wall, a group of enemies will appear close to these gaps and will damage them quickly. Keep a close eye to the edges of the map, you can kill them all with one single assault armor

Chapter 3 Attack the Old Spaceport
Perhaps you need to kill all 3 LC enemies before taking the supply in mid-point for S rank. The final part can be cheesed by going under the lower area since the thing cannot reach you there

Chapter 3 Eliminate Honest Brute
A simple mission to rush to the end of the level for the boss fight, watch for red laser detector enemy along the way. I killed the enemies at the big platform at the mid-point

Chapter 3 Coral Export Denial
S rank is for destroying all targets. For the final area, you can use the vertical catapults under the bridge or simply assault boost heading up to reach one of the cliffs on sides to gain attitude

Chapter 3 Destroy the Ice Worm
Personally my 2nd hardest mission, the worm can randomly emerge anywhere near you and crush you with a few hits, so stay away from your allies is a must. As time limit is also very tight for this mission, you need to get to right positions to rip its face shield, if you miss any of positions just restart mission. The first position is the first time it shows up, it will rise up and gradually face down. Once you dealt first amount of damage, immediately rush to the edge of map slightly right from the gaint cannon operated by Rusty, it took me 2 assault boosts to get there, the worm kind of always emerges there as this is the 2nd position. Once second amount of damage is dealt, immediately take distance from it, in the final stage it fires more coral missiles and newly torpedoes on ground, keep an eye on its location and all those projectiles. From now on the situation becomes luck-based, so watch out for its red electricity bursts near it, you can aim for 2 patterns at this moment, one is it completely emerges from soil then do an area wipe anti-clockwise, so rush to where it will stop the wipe and take your shot. Another one is quite hard to aim for the right timing, your shots need to hit it when it rises up and stop while doing a electricity discharge. Good luck!

Chapter 4 Underground Exploration Depth 1
The only threat is the 6-multiple giant laser shots, you want to free fall while avoiding those at all times. For the first part before the partition door, use the pillar as cover to free-fall. If act fast, you can reach the partition door before it even starts to fire. For the second part take advantage of the small platforms near in the video, wait for the time lag between giant laser shots to free-fall and land on them before it fires

Chapter 4 Underground Exploration Depth 3
Start Point > Rush and free fall to lower level in the open area > get on the collar of the pillar and move the entrance from the back > get inside and open the circular door > once inside, immediately Assault Armor all enemies and kill the remaining > Open another door and destroy the target > Fly back inside the furnace area and immediately start shooting the boss until she dies > Unlock the door and fly out of blast radius
Note: It seems the S rank condition is to kill the boss fast, I had the timer at ~~1:30~~ 1:40 when she dies

Chapter 4 Intercept the Redguns
A long fight of numerous enemies of MT, shielded MT and AC, but not big deal with this build, dual shotgun shots can instantly kill shielded MTs, other MT dies on a single shot if it's close enough

Chapter 4 Reach the Coral Convergence
For the boss fight, He will stop temporarily after his opening attack (after he fires the drones and does a slash to you), A lot of damage like half of his HP gauge can be dealt at this moment, you can just wait for him to do the same attack while shooting him once he gets close. For the 2nd phase, You need to have full HP to survive his 3 long-range slashs at all times. He will do a flying charge move towards you once he loses 2/3 HP, so you can just adjust and wait for his opening move again to avoid this move and kill him

Chapter 4 Reach the Coral Convergence ALT
Ambush the main target AC by dual needle launchers in the final sewer opening area and then get close to assault armor all enemies for an advantage. You can take him out first since another AC can fire at you at the same time

Chapter 5 Take the Uninhabited Floating City
S rank requires leaving the target undamaged, while its shield can be totally ripped. Enemies will move faster and more of them will head to the target near the end of timer, you should stay closer. Seems both turrets got limited ammo, they work best against the sniper enemies so you can activate both right before the snipers show up, as far as you kill the remaining fast you should got no problem. I couldn't kill most the suicide missiles but still got S rank

Chapter 5 Eliminate Cinder Carla
Take the high roof way of the city here and get down when you reach the entrance, you don't have to fight any enemies except for the 2 bosses at end. Once the boss fight starts, hide behind the pillars to avoid her missile rain to gain a temporary shelter, then you wanna focus on Carla first then Chatty. Unfortunately There is no effective way to dodge her homing missiles like using flares in previous AC games, so just focus on killing her by getting close and deal damage as much as you can.

Chapter 5 Destroy the Drive Block
The final boss has a powerful attack of way wider sweep range than its original, but no worries, it seems S rank for this mission is lenient, I took a lot of damage and still got it

Chapter 5 Shut Down the Closure Satellites
Stay close to the boss and ascend/descend often to dodge her melee attacks. She will stop after performing some moves, you can aim for those.

Chapter 5 Coral Release
The 1st phase starts with the boss doing a charge shot, you can quickly move closer and fire dual needle launchers to stagger him before he does this (It takes a few tries), and then quickly dual shotgun and assault armor to deal devastating damage to the boss like 80% of his HP gauge.
The 1st phase of the 2nd boss, ignore the 2 spider enemies and concentrate fire on him. He dodges most of your attacks but I found getting close increases the hit rate.
For the 2nd phase of the 2nd boss, it requires you to ascend and fall frequently to avoid his deadly melee attack. Some times you can prevent it right before he starts, but you can just deal damage normally like other bosses while ascending and descending.

Update: Chapter 1 Escort the Weaponized Mining Ship
Using the same build, Remove the dual needlers and change hand weapons to dual Flamethrowers
Arms: WB-0000 BAD COOK

The strategy for this mission is to fry all enemies with dual flamethrowers in high-speed close-range combat. There are 2 enemy types in this mission: ACs and Roundsaws, ACs are main threats while roundsaws are weak but could also can deal some damage to you if not handled properly. From the beginning fly directly to where the first 2 ACs will spawn, the advantage here is they aren't programmed to react immediately if you get to their spawn location, if you are lucky enough one of them can be instantly killed. Don't worry about the scenery collapse of the giant ship, it doesn't hurt you. Dash directly towards them, quick boost to stay close to them so that your flamethrowers can reach them. The 2nd wave of enemies are 4 roundsaws, they can be easily taken care of by moving backwards while spiting fire as their first move is to charge at you. The last wave of enemies are 2 ACs and 2 roundsaws, Once 2 ACs spawn first, take distances from them and wait a few seconds for the 2 roundsaws spawn from a different direction, then take out the 2 roundsaws first before 2 ACs reach you. Then you should fry them easier, they briefly stall after firing so you can aim for those chances. I took some damage ~~and used 1 repair kit~~, still getting S rank.

~~Video clips made by myself will be added soon once TA upload is complete,~~ please feel free to give feedback and I will improve the guide

01 Sep 2023 13:02

9 Comments

What about alt missions? Could people potentially miss this because they didn’t choose different missions each play?

By SonnieSlim on 06 Sep 2023 15:57

What about alt missions? Could people potentially miss this because they didn’t choose different missions each play?

By SonnieSlim on 06 Sep 2023 15:47

Yes. Alt missions count toward as different missions from the originals. First you must unlock all missions by at least 3 playthroughs. If you cannot play a mission then you cannot register a rank for it

By PhantomPlanetAP on 06 Sep 2023 18:28

Very good guide! Thanks for details in some missions.

By Fellipe B T on 21 Dec 2023 20:33

I'm going to be that guy, why no guide for the hardest mission in the game: Escort the Weaponized Mining Ship?

Otherwise, this has honestly been a huge help, thank you.

By XWiishireX on 26 Jan 2024 01:08

For Escort the Weaponized Mining Ship i swapped out the stun needle launchers for a dual missile launcher and the ten shot missile launcher. Just make sure to lock on, it does good damage to the mech without worrying about missing and most of the time stuns the wheels. Only used the shotguns for when they are stunned to finish them off.

By lkillsall on 13 Mar 2024 19:17

@Fellipe B T Glad it helped
@XWiishireX Escort the Weaponized Mining Ship added today, sorry for the delay. I used the same build but flamethrowers to fry enemies, hope it helps
@Ikillsall yeah that should work too

By PhantomPlanetAP on 23 Mar 2024 11:15

This man is a legend; only complaint gone. Thanks again.

By XWiishireX on 10 Apr 2024 06:07

@XWiishireX you’re welcome, glad I could help

By PhantomPlanetAP on 28 Apr 2024 07:02

View all 9 comments Show less comments

WhatTheScar

TrueAchievements

08 Sep 2023 13:24

Few tips other than usual common knowledge:

Look on the right side of your screen when you kill enemies. If you don't get any points for killing the minor enemies and they aren't a requirement to completing the mission do not waste time, health and bullets to kill them. They do NOT count towards the final score.

After acquiring this achievement I came to the conclusion that all missions boil down to time spent + COAM (money) you acquired.

Some threads I've seen elsewhere mention that you can't use heal packs and yes,
losing health does affect your COAM but specifically healing does not nearly as much or maybe even at all. So don't be afraid to heal.

Don't skip out on resupplies, resupplying does not impact your grade.

Gatling guns, a great choice for your first run but not nearly as good for S ranks. Their ammo cost is quite insane and sometimes you can even run out before finishing the mission. Try using dual Zimmermans, they are just as good if not better and lighter. (Will update this part if Zimmermans end up getting nerfed as they probably will)

Later missions seem daunting at first after S ranking the first few starter ones but don't worry, they loosen up on requirements quite a lot near the end game missions. I S ranked late game missions much easier and usually on first tries compared to the early game ones.

Don't bother with S ranks until you finish NG++ as you won't even have all missions and your AC will be much worse.

RRI generators stat wise on the surface look subpar to some others but they are secretly overpowered. The specs display the recharge and recovery to be terrible but the trick is to flatten the entire charge and then the best Post-Recovery in the game kicks in recharging in less than 2 seconds compared to 5-6s you wait don't use the entire charge.

Also, as previously stated by other guides, no checkpoint resets are allowed.

08 Sep 2023 13:24

Kaiser Backtrac

TrueAchievements

01 Sep 2023 20:34

Here is my mech ID: ADKV1LXLKU6

It uses very endgame parts but this build carried me for about all missions with the dual shotguns being very good damage dealers coupled with the laser sword that is used when the enemy is staggered. The plasma missile launcher is good with AOE clearing and dealing with whatever that is outside of your range. This is a close range build so keep that in mind.

The generator is a quirky one that has both top of the line EN Cap and load but has terrible normal recharge rate. You would want to empty the energy bar on this one due to it restarting about the same time compared to other generators but it will almost fill your EN to full upon a restart. This make it good at flying around maps and the damage allows you to boss pretty effectively.

"Investigate BAWS Arsenal" mission is one that requires a faster build than this one

"Destroy the ice Worm" mission requires a more heavy build for the boss mechanic on it

"Escort the Weaponized Mining Ship" made me make a heavy build with dual SG-027 ZIMMERMAN and Dual WS-5001 SOUP to be able to complete it in S rank

01 Sep 2023 20:34

Sturmhauser

TrueAchievements

11 Apr 2024 18:21

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWotOowxzHfblk-HACVAj...

11 Apr 2024 18:21

ultras

stratege.ru

01 Sep 2023 21:40

This guide was translated automatically.

S-rank here is extremely player friendly.

Therefore, if you received a lot of damage on a serious boss, do not rush to start the mission over again.
In almost every mission, the time it takes you to complete it is a priority.
There are missions with defense or destruction of a specific number of enemies (like transporting a coral), here the rank already works from the full completion of the task, and it does not matter what the cost of ammo or AP.

On bosses, it's pure speed.
More than once I took out a boss without repair kits and with minimal AP remaining, and still got an S-rank.

01 Sep 2023 21:40

2 Comments

Rank calculator for each mission.
I also want to note that many guides use release builds, and often there are miniguns, now there is no point in using miniguns, the price of ammo there is such that to get S-rank you will have to complete all missions in a minute (in other words, you will not pass). As an alternative, I used Zimmerman shotguns and laser shotguns 66. You can not spend money on weapons at all, playing through milli-guns.

By Mersyside on 01 Aug 2024 02:14

To get S rank, many missions will have to be repeated many times (and there are 59 of them), also many missions can be completed to S rank on the first try

By InTheLights on 01 Apr 2024 06:52