Armored Core 6 Patch 1.31 nerfs its most powerful combo & buffs everything else

Armored Core 6 patch 1.31 has touched down on Rubicon and a plethora of balance changes come with it. The most notable change has the community somewhat split.

Armored Core 6 was a sleeper hit in a 2023 full of major releases. The mech-action revival could soon be in full swing thanks to the game’s successful launch eclipsing most other FromSoftware titles.

The game is a bit of a departure from FromSoftware’s more well-known dark fantasy RPGs, but their patented brand of challenge is still present. In a bizarre form of praise, fans claimed Armored Core 6 was harder than Dark Souls.

The difficulty of Armored Core 6 was so punishing that even FromSoftware decided to tone down some bosses in a previous patch that caused some rifts among players. Now thanks to patch 1.31, fans are divided for a different reason following nerfs to the extremely popular Zimmerman Shotgun and SONGBIRDS Grenade Cannon.

To be fair, the divide is less pronounced than the boss nerfs of the previous patch thanks to a general consensus that these particular weapons were a little busted. The complex mathematics of Armored Core 6’s interwoven mechanics did set the Zimmerman leagues ahead of other options.

It has taken hits to attack power, impact, accumulative impact, and direct hit damage and the SONGBIRDS have been similarly adjusted. Anyone who’s played a round of Armored Core 6’s PVP will be familiar with the two weapons shredding competition.

This formed a love-hate relationship so strong that it actually birthed tsundere fan art of the dual-wielded shotgun combo lovingly referred to as Zimmy Chan. PVP players loved the power provided by the Zimmerman but loathed going up against it.

Herein lies the disparity. Most players are happy that everything has been brought into relative equilibrium while enjoyers of Armored Core 6’s less challenging playstyles are dreading the adjustment.

Along with the weapon balancing which gave a boost to nearly every other offensive option in the game, other changes have been made to Armored Core 6. These primarily affect the frame parts with buffs to lightweight builds and some tuning down for Tanks and Quadraped mechs.

These patches apply solely to Armored Core 6’s PVP so you can still shred the game’s bosses with your dual Zimmermans if you’ve yet to do so. For those still wading through Armored Core 6’s campaign, check out our handy guides.

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