A guide to Balteus, for those still struggling.

[Riley]

Yesterday I replied to a thread of someone having trouble beating Balteus, while the game has been out for awhile now it's clear this early game boss is still causing issues for many players picking up AC6. While I personally didn't have much trouble with him my first time around, I can respect and understand the wall he might appear to be for others. So I wanted to create this as a sort of guide or understanding for anyone still struggling, in the hope it'll help you push through this barrier. As the footage I provide will show, I'm not perfect or amazing at the game, I take damage and hits where I shouldn't, just press on, don't panic and keep going, then victory will be yours.

First thing I'll state is, you don't need tank treads, you don't need songbirds or even plasma bubble guns. Once his attack patterns become obvious to you, everything else will fall in place, and you'll realise the weapons you use aren't as important as simply capitalising when required. I do find the ALULA/21E booster to be the best for quick boosting personally, and so I tend to use it over other options. Though it's definitely not required.

General tips and tricks: The best piece of advice I can give you, stay close to him at all times, if you allow Balteus to gain distance he'll spam you with range attacks, but if you get close and stay to his blind sides you'll find yourself taking much less damage. Secondly, time your attacks properly, once his shield does eventually pop, he'll become staggered, if you're needing to reload or out of effective melee range you'll waste a lot of damage potential. So try not to pop it until you're certain you can follow up. In phase 2 after his big aoe blast, Balteus will start using flame attacks, this makes the fight arguably much easier as if you just keep above him, you're completely safe. For his missiles, I personally find keeping lower to the ground and quick boosting when appropriate to be best in avoiding most of the damage coming in.

https://youtu.be/c1-4pOTjRZo

The first video I'll post is the one I made yesterday, this one uses the default starting AC, trading out missiles for a plasma bubble gun on my right shoulder. This of course requires OC tuning. I don't use core expansions at all or anything someone at that point should have access to. You can see the equipment listed here https://ibb.co/xS3LTrC

https://youtu.be/tYcbQi9DPkQ

The second video I made I decided to challenge myself a little more, I switch back out the plasma gun, opting to use the starting missile pod. Instead of the starting AC I use the jail break one you don't get until much later in the game, though it's factually the worst AC in the game in terms of states and performance. Equipment used https://ibb.co/xgXHxNN

I hope by making this to at least help anyone still having a hard time, if it can do that then it was worth the effort of making this post along with the videos. Good luck.

[魔装機神 Psybuster]

I definitely want to emphasize the importance of timing the popping of the bubble. It's a free down where you can unload on him, and while it's intimidating the first time you see it it's actually a blessing in disguise because unlike normal stagger it doesn't start regenerating if you stop attacking, so you can let off on the triggers for reload/cooltime and time the down to when it matters most.

[Riley]

Originally posted by 魔装機神 Psybuster:

I definitely want to emphasize the importance of timing the popping of the bubble. It's a free down where you can unload on him, and while it's intimidating the first time you see it it's actually a blessing in disguise because unlike normal stagger it doesn't start regenerating if you stop attacking, so you can let off on the triggers for reload/cooltime and time the down to when it matters most.

Absolutely! If you check out my second video fighting him, you'll also notice how much damage I manage to inflict by keeping up that pressure, staggering him again before his shield can come back means it's possible to prevent it restoring until he hits stage 2. Even with basic gear and weapons.

[魔装機神 Psybuster]

Originally posted by Riley:

Absolutely! If you check out my second video fighting him, you'll also notice how much damage I manage to inflict by keeping up that pressure, staggering him again before his shield can come back means it's possible to prevent it restoring until he hits stage 2. Even with basic gear and weapons.

That's also possible once you start to get the hang of it, though for people still struggling to clear it at all, it might be more worthwhile not to "waste" shots at that point since it can be demoralizing to get the stagger bar just one shot away from filling only for the pulse shield to materialize. Definitely a good thing to try and challenge yourself with though once you get the hang of it.