Any Tips for Beginners?

[Alpha_Synergy]

Like a lot of players here, I am new to the Armored Core games. Any series veterans want to give some tips for starting out?

[Emerald Lance]

Get comfortable with the idea of trying new build ideas to tackle specific situations. Try not to get married to your first build (or honestly any build).

[potato]

don't fat roll

[awanderingswordsman]

Don't forget that you can go up. That seems obvious but a lot of newer players take a while to actually incorporate going up and down into their gameplay when it's not directly forced.

[The Bunny In the Bush]

Freedom of movement, don't just move on a flat axis, that way is the way of losing funds, don't just go up, go up and left/right, don't just strafe back, ZIG and ZAG using your thrusters

[Call Sign: Raven]

A still mech is a dead mech. A moving mech is a live one. Something something.

[Techsuport]

1 Dodging is your first layer of defense, worth mastering.
2 Where your aiming your target lock, where your fire control is aiming when locked, and where you need to shoot to lead the enemy so you hit them are 3 of the 5 things about aiming you need to know to hit a target that isn't standing still.
3 If using a controller, set your controls so you can easily use the dodge/boost and all weapons, so you don't have to take your fingers off the joysticks.

[hakabata]

Don't be a trigger-happy. Weapons have different effective range and projectile speed just as Fire Control Systems provide varied range assists. You will need to consciously read the targeting ui at first to get know-how when the timing is to shoot. The more you pay attention, sooner the graduated.

[Heroine Nisa]

Spend your credits. All of them. You see a piece you like? Buy and try. You don't like? You sell it back for full price. Keep the ones you like and find useful, get rid of anything you don't use. Unlike the previous games, interviews have revealed there is no fail state for running out of cash, unless the devs were lying.

Usually the weapons is the first thing you want to change, as the starter rifle tends to be quite "alright" or just "good enough" at the start. Don't ever be afraid to try and experiment.

Older games had secret parts and weapons hidden on the maps, may be worth taking a peek around suspicious corners and so to find them.

[Order]

Be open minded in terms of how you play and design your AC. Some Missions light Mechs tend to be better, some the more tanky ones. Reverse joint legs can jump high, quad legs can hover and so on. Experiment A LOT in the garage and dont brute force your way through it, it will only burn you out.

Learn and master your energy, a mech that only walks is, most of the time, a dead mech. Movement is the key and you gotta make sure you NEVER stand for more then a few seconds anywhere, best jet never stand still.

Each Weapon has its ups and downsides. Missiles are fire and forget but can be easily evaded. Energy Weapons pack the biggest punch but overheat quite fast (in older games they used your own energy as a resource). Ballistic weapons are good allrounders but need to be reloaded in the heat of battle quite often.

[k-ricks]

build what you like and be happy with it

[XionAvalonArcadia]

Wise namekian once said.... "DODGE!"

[Null Winter]

Some more abstract tips:

Ammo costs money which is deducted at the end of the mission, so try to be efficient. That big launcher which clears out all the trash mobs in a single shot? It probably costs more than the 20 rifle shots which could have done the same job.

If you're about to cause a stagger on an enemy, then save your heaviest weapon until after they are in the staggered state; staggered enemies take extra damage from weapons, so it would be pretty awful if they were staggered while all your weapons were cooling down or reloading.

Be careful when choosing your chip upgrades; you likely want to grab the "basic function" stuff like the Boost Kick and quick turns before you start committing to the tiny stat boost options.

Medium range is the best overall range until you get more experienced; weapons have trouble dealing damage past their effective range with the new ricochet mechanic so long range is a poor choice, but close range is very high risk especially with many of the bosses possessing extremely high damage melee/ramming attacks.

In PVP, dazzle camo (look it up if you aren't familiar with it) is your best option for tactical paint; breaking up and obfuscating your mech's outline makes it more difficult for an enemy to read its movements and react to them.

[Blackmage]

There area only three universal truths to every Armored Core game:

1) Every mission starts in the garage. How you design your mech can make or break your ability to complete a mission. You can often get away with a sort of basic/universal go-to build kind of AC. This might involve a rifle or machine gun, an energy sword, missiles, and a heavy-hitter of your choice, such as a grenade launcher. You'll probably be able to complete most missions with it, but maybe not as optimally as a specialist design.

2) With every AC build, and gameplay in general, energy management is key. You will usually want a generator with a high energy output, capacity comes second. There is room for less powerful generators if you need to shave some weight for a light AC.
This is because the best armor is to not get hit. This doesn't mean you always want light and flighty though, because you inevitably will take hits. Heavy AC's can move almost as well with powerful boosters, so don't be afraid to experiment.
The point is good mobility means boosting as often as possible. Boosting, either flight or quick boosts/dodging, cost energy. If you've drained your energy, you're walking. And a walking target is a lot easier to hit.

3) Unspent money isn't doing anything for you. Spend your money. Only a few past entries had parts sell at a diminished value, but not AC6. Unfortunately, FromSoftware has also abandoned the debt system for AC6. In most past titles you could go into debt. This made it difficult for you to upgrade your AC and you'd have to take on tougher missions with subpar gear. That was a part of the difficulty curve and experience of the Raven lifestyle. But they want to onboard new players with AC6, so they've slapped on the training wheels for financial management.

[FaZe Richard]

Don't play it, read the manual on your way back to your house while your mom is driving, I did this when I was beginner back in my days, needless to say im now a pro

[Melomaniak]

There are usually ton of tutorial missions to get you into the game. You can replay them as much as you want most likely.