Image: FromSoftware via HGG / Dominic Allain
Dominic loves to completely immerse himself in RPGs, then break them apart by modding and speedrunning them.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Armored Core 6 is well-known for its variety of parts and customization – with OS Tuning being just another facet of that customization. Some options simply increase your stats, while others add new and powerful mechanics to your gameplay. The latter tend to be the upgrades you want to focus on, but some of the stat buffs are worth grabbing early as well. With that in mind, we’ll be going over the best OS Tuning upgrades in Armored Core 6 to get.
How to Get OST Chips in AC6
Before you can begin OS Tuning, you need OS Chips. These are acquired through defeating opponents in the Arena, unlocked after completing either of “Retrieve Combat Logs” or “Investigate BAWS Arsenal No. 2.”
You’ll have a limited number of opponents to fight at first, equally limiting the amount of chips you have available. As a result, you should choose where to spend these initial chips wisely. You can reset your OS Tuning for a small fee at any time if you’d like to use other upgrades.
The Best OS Tuning Upgrades to Get in AC6
While there are more OS Tuning options than the following in Armored Core 6, these are the best to use and prioritize overall. We’ll start with the best OS upgrades and work our way down.
Boost Kick
The Boost Kick is easily the best OS Upgrade in Armored Core 6 and should be the first one you get. Costing only a single OS Chip, this upgrade adds a powerful melee attack when Assault Boosting. It’s a reliable melee option that complements close range fighting, dealing heavy stagger and good damage.
The kick even does a solid job punishing staggered opponents with a huge 3x damage multiplier, easily taking several thousand AP away. Assault Boost is already a powerful mechanic in Armored Core 6, and this OS upgrade makes it even better.
Core Expansions
You may have seen the expansion slot while customizing your mech’s parts and wondered how to get them, as they don’t appear in the shop. They’re actually acquired through OS Tuning. You have 4 options for this slot:
- Assault Armor: A powerful AoE attack centered on your AC. It deals high damage and extreme stagger to nearby enemies and destroys projectiles in its radius when triggered.
- Pulse Armor: A defensive shield that wears down over time or against gunfire. You’ll take practically no damage while it’s active, and it also completely resets your stagger bar.
- Pulse Protection: A stationary bubble that protects you from gunfire. It’s more durable than Pulse Armor but doesn’t reset your stagger. Pulse Armor is generally better as a result.
- Terminal Armor: Automatic Pulse Armor that activates when you reach 1 AP. It makes you functionally invincible for just a few seconds, enough to use a repair kit. More of a crutch for missions than anything.
Higher levels of each upgrade add additional charges of each skill for missions and the Arena only. PvP matches always limit you to a single use.
Terminal Armor is a good choice for newer players, as it will often save them from a death they didn’t see coming. Generally, however, the best OS upgrade for this slot is either Assault Armor or Pulse Armor.
Pulse Armor can be used proactively to tank big attacks and escape staggers, while Assault Armor heavily punishes enemies in melee range. Use one of those depending on your build and playstyle.
Weapon Bay
The Weapon Bay OS upgrade expands your build potential so vastly that it’s easy to see why it’s one of the best OS upgrades in Armored Core 6. It allows you to equip additional arm weapons in your back slots instead of missiles or cannons. Pressing the button to fire back weapons will then swap the weapon in your arm with that on your back.
With so many powerful arm weapons, this opens up so many combos, such as double melee attacks. A basic example would be using two guns to stagger enemies, then swapping your left arm to a melee weapon to punish the stagger.
Direct Hit Modifier
Something you do a lot in Armored Core 6 is stagger enemies. Doing so stuns them for a moment and gives your weapons a huge damage boost. This upgrade simply increases that damage boost, from 5% up to 15%.
With how much damage you do against staggered enemies, it adds up very quickly. This also applies to all weapons, so it’s a very cost-effective upgrade overall.
Repair Kit Optimization
Damage can rack up fast in Armored Core 6, both for you and for enemies. The game introduced Repair Kits as a method of healing a fixed amount of damage, increasing your longevity. This OS upgrade improves the amount of health a Repair Kit heals, effectively giving you much more health over the course of a mission.
It’s best paired with the OS upgrade that decreases the damage you take, so you aren’t finished off by a powerful attack before you can heal.
Damage Type Increase
There are 4 OS upgrades that give you a bonus to a certain damage type (Kinetic, Energy, Explosive, Melee), ranging from 3% to 15%. Much like the Direct Hit Modifier, the extra damage adds up over time and even stacks with the stagger bonus.
Since there are 4 different upgrades, you should focus on the one your mech takes the biggest advantage of. Remember that you can reset your OS upgrades at any time if you change your mind.
For example, if you primarily use kinetic weapons, take kinetic damage. In another case, if you use guns to stagger but use melee to punish, grab the melee bonus instead.
Join the High Ground
There are several more options available for OS Tuning beyond these six options in Armored Core 6. As you progress through the Arena, you’ll get more and more chips to use to further improve your build to its maximum potential. Like with everything in Armored Core 6, feel free to experiment with OS upgrades and see what works best for you.
Let us know your thoughts, like your favorite Core Expansion to use, in the comments below. Don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more Armored Core 6 content, either.
Happy gaming!
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