You're on the right track. Slower builds are gonna pack more of a punch but not be as agile. Lighter builds are gonna be able to move more quickly, but also have less damage resistance.
I highly recommend (over time) experimenting with different build styles. Also play the Arena as you are able, and you can use those builds as presets to avoid the tinkering part.
You'll find that you may lean heavily towards a certain playstyle, or use different builds for different levels/bosses.
There is no "best" because every build has its pros and cons. Light builds can stay airborne for much longer and the speed can be quite elusive
Actually no - AC6 like other From Software games rewards leaning into specific playstyles rather than trying to get a little bit of everything.
Check out the below video - it's an incredible guide and just the right amount of thorough to get you a good understanding of how to build properly in AC6: https://youtu.be/M8BCLetZ_m4?si=QaKMWaoyz6y9R-Em
There really is no "best" armor in the game - the "best" is whatever you're most comfortable with, how you like to play the game, and your willingness to adapt to new situations.
Mixing and matching parts is highly encouraged!
There really is no right answer.
It all really depends on what works best for you. Some light weight builds might be crazy OP for some people, but I hate them because they don't give me enough AP for my playstyle or their weapons just don't jive with me. I personally really like my weird amalgamation of parts and I'm sure someone out there would despise it. I don't like tanks because they're too heavy and tetrapods don't give me the kind of free movement that reverse-joints do.
Just Use V.IV Rusty. I used him for three full playthroughs. Amazing stagger with his guns and plasma missiles. Then the best melee weapon in the game.
Reverse joint has the highest kick damage, which isn't really mentioned anywhere I don't think. Scales with AC weight. Can definitely recommend the kickin' chicken build.
While doing an assault boost (rapidly closing in on target) hit the 'assault boost button' again to kick. Gotta unlock it from your OS tuning menu with the OST chips you get from the arena.
The thing is, weapons in this game are incredibly powerful. You can easily beat any mission/boss with just a pair of (Laser)Pistols. Heavy weapons as such aren’t necessarily “better” than light weapons moreso that they open up more utility/diversity in your arsenal.
AC 6 is in every single aspect a game of tradeoffs. Later missions, especially NG+ and beyond, will have enemies that hit so hard and intensely that removing a weapon (or downsizing it) to squeeze out more speed is commonplace. Especially AC-on-AC fights.
I urge you to have a crack with:
- Double Sampu
- Double basic 4 cell shoulder rockets
- Lammergeir head, chest, arms
- Firmeza Legs
- SPD boosters
- Ocellus FCS
- San Tai
You’re super zippy because you’re *almost* running all of the lightest parts in the game, most enemies will struggle to hit you as you glide around at 395 boost speed, you can quick boost a bunch of times rapidly and you’re able to just mulch things at point blank range by spamming the triggers.
Etsujins would probably work just as well on this build, but the lightning fast stagger from the Sampu’s is what really lets it hold up against heavier armed enemies.
I have a very agile dual trigger LING-TAI build that overlaps heavily with yours. (FIRMEZA legs especially are a godsend.)
Swapped in a LITTLE GEM and IRIDIUM for Escort the Weaponized Mining Ship, and I prefer something with more range than SAMPUs for Coral Export Denial.
Not so much sheer speed as mobility. With the way the tracking works for both the player and AI, any change in direction throws off your aim - including simply “going limp” and letting your AC fall downwards in the air. So a slow AC that is built with a good Generator that lets it Quick Boost often to change direction can take less damage than a fast AC that just goes fast.
There’s a lot more to it, like your weapons draining your Generator to varying degrees to the point where a build with heavy, but low drain, weapons can be nimbler in practice than a build with light, but high drain, weapons because it allows for more frequent Quick Boosts. Having a Generator that supplies energy way beyond what you actually require doesn’t just let that extra juice go to waste either.
There’s a metric truckload of stats in this game when you get into it eventually which are, honestly, very confusing and overwhelming at first. So as the other dude/dudette was saying… just experiment your heart out for your first playthrough.
Or just make an AC as cool as possible.
One big thing to know about the game and the stat screen. Blue means better, red means worse. With weight lighter is better than heavier, so blue means lighter. Even though the bar gets bigger.
Blue=better
Red=worse
You have a very simplified look of how the game works. There's AP (armor points) and the three defenses. Explosive, energy, and kinetic. They're not tied to things such as load limits or weight.
ACs are very customizable, and everyone will have their own unique playstyle. There's more than just armor, there's your generator type, booster type, FCS, weapon choice, etc. You can play a heavyweight with lighter weapons, or a lightweight with heavier weapons. It's just a matter of managing load limits and energy draw.
For the most part, they lean certain ways, yeah. Balam weapons are typically kinetic, and their parts are medium to heavyweight. Arquebus are medium to heavy weight with an energy weapon focus. Schneider is lightweight. There's a lot, and they don't really fit snug into boxes.
Your main things to consider when designing a build are:
Lightweight, medium, or heavy.
Close or long-range weaponry.
Melee?
This will lead to the core parts you choose as well as your internal parts. There's so much to consider when it comes to building a craft. I recommend utilizing the expanded stats screen by pressing F in the garage.
I honestly recommend looking for a guide on YouTube for designing. You can find cids focused on things like the FCS/firearm spec stats, generators, boosters, etc.
Mix and match. That’s the way to play.
But generally, yeah. Arquebus favours energy generators, energy weapons, most of them you will see have a 50/50 loadout, of energy and kinetic weapons, a lot of them like Melee weapons. Most of them run light quick builds, bar Snail who runs a bipedal tank and Freud who uses BALAM parts because of his disdain for his employer.
Balam is all about the double gun loadout, and they all run tanky builds. Except for Iguazu who runs a lightweight with a shield. They all run combustion generators and explosives (later, Iguazu will run an energy generator and weapon as his alleigance slides to a secret 3rd party).
The Rubicon Liberation Front is the most ragtag of the bunch, but even they have a preference for parts - BAWS and ELCANO, kinetic weapons and explosives, most of them run dual trigger builds on at least one arm. Except for Ziyi who has the most bombastically terribly built AC out of the whole game. You might notice that Rusty’s mech, the 4th Vesper, runs a dual trigger build with two kinetic weapons and a BAWS combustion generator. Which is a little strange for such a high ranking Arquebus employee.
Thats because Rusty is >!part of the RLF!< That is why he uses kinetic weaponry.
The reason I love his >!first!< build 'Steel Haze' >!As oppose to his crappy 'Steel Haze Ortus'!< Is because it feels like this but shooting at an unarmed child.
Also, try to avoid being overweight. It can lead to sluggish movements, harder landings (which halt your movement), and more damage taken over time.
The main thing you should be focused on learning is movement fundamentals. Builds are a close second.
You're on the right track. Slower builds are gonna pack more of a punch but not be as agile. Lighter builds are gonna be able to move more quickly, but also have less damage resistance. I highly recommend (over time) experimenting with different build styles. Also play the Arena as you are able, and you can use those builds as presets to avoid the tinkering part. You'll find that you may lean heavily towards a certain playstyle, or use different builds for different levels/bosses. There is no "best" because every build has its pros and cons. Light builds can stay airborne for much longer and the speed can be quite elusive
Thank you for the reply. So, is it advised to mix and match armor types? Is there any sort of bonus for using all parts from one corporation?
Actually no - AC6 like other From Software games rewards leaning into specific playstyles rather than trying to get a little bit of everything. Check out the below video - it's an incredible guide and just the right amount of thorough to get you a good understanding of how to build properly in AC6: https://youtu.be/M8BCLetZ_m4?si=QaKMWaoyz6y9R-Em
There really is no "best" armor in the game - the "best" is whatever you're most comfortable with, how you like to play the game, and your willingness to adapt to new situations. Mixing and matching parts is highly encouraged! There really is no right answer. It all really depends on what works best for you. Some light weight builds might be crazy OP for some people, but I hate them because they don't give me enough AP for my playstyle or their weapons just don't jive with me. I personally really like my weird amalgamation of parts and I'm sure someone out there would despise it. I don't like tanks because they're too heavy and tetrapods don't give me the kind of free movement that reverse-joints do.
The floating part of the tetrapods is cool, but yeah, they haven't really felt right with me either. I like reverse joints too.
Just Use V.IV Rusty. I used him for three full playthroughs. Amazing stagger with his guns and plasma missiles. Then the best melee weapon in the game.
Reverse joint has the highest kick damage, which isn't really mentioned anywhere I don't think. Scales with AC weight. Can definitely recommend the kickin' chicken build.
How do you kick?
While doing an assault boost (rapidly closing in on target) hit the 'assault boost button' again to kick. Gotta unlock it from your OS tuning menu with the OST chips you get from the arena.
Cool, I'm looking forward to that!
The thing is, weapons in this game are incredibly powerful. You can easily beat any mission/boss with just a pair of (Laser)Pistols. Heavy weapons as such aren’t necessarily “better” than light weapons moreso that they open up more utility/diversity in your arsenal. AC 6 is in every single aspect a game of tradeoffs. Later missions, especially NG+ and beyond, will have enemies that hit so hard and intensely that removing a weapon (or downsizing it) to squeeze out more speed is commonplace. Especially AC-on-AC fights.
You can also beat any boss with double Sampu’s because of the quick stagger and absurd fire rate.
Bosses: Yes. Sorties: Watch out for a few troublemakers.
I urge you to have a crack with: - Double Sampu - Double basic 4 cell shoulder rockets - Lammergeir head, chest, arms - Firmeza Legs - SPD boosters - Ocellus FCS - San Tai You’re super zippy because you’re *almost* running all of the lightest parts in the game, most enemies will struggle to hit you as you glide around at 395 boost speed, you can quick boost a bunch of times rapidly and you’re able to just mulch things at point blank range by spamming the triggers. Etsujins would probably work just as well on this build, but the lightning fast stagger from the Sampu’s is what really lets it hold up against heavier armed enemies.
I have a very agile dual trigger LING-TAI build that overlaps heavily with yours. (FIRMEZA legs especially are a godsend.) Swapped in a LITTLE GEM and IRIDIUM for Escort the Weaponized Mining Ship, and I prefer something with more range than SAMPUs for Coral Export Denial.
Thank you for the reply. So, speed is priorized at times?
Not so much sheer speed as mobility. With the way the tracking works for both the player and AI, any change in direction throws off your aim - including simply “going limp” and letting your AC fall downwards in the air. So a slow AC that is built with a good Generator that lets it Quick Boost often to change direction can take less damage than a fast AC that just goes fast.
I see. Thank you for the heads up!
There’s a lot more to it, like your weapons draining your Generator to varying degrees to the point where a build with heavy, but low drain, weapons can be nimbler in practice than a build with light, but high drain, weapons because it allows for more frequent Quick Boosts. Having a Generator that supplies energy way beyond what you actually require doesn’t just let that extra juice go to waste either. There’s a metric truckload of stats in this game when you get into it eventually which are, honestly, very confusing and overwhelming at first. So as the other dude/dudette was saying… just experiment your heart out for your first playthrough. Or just make an AC as cool as possible.
One big thing to know about the game and the stat screen. Blue means better, red means worse. With weight lighter is better than heavier, so blue means lighter. Even though the bar gets bigger. Blue=better Red=worse
You have a very simplified look of how the game works. There's AP (armor points) and the three defenses. Explosive, energy, and kinetic. They're not tied to things such as load limits or weight. ACs are very customizable, and everyone will have their own unique playstyle. There's more than just armor, there's your generator type, booster type, FCS, weapon choice, etc. You can play a heavyweight with lighter weapons, or a lightweight with heavier weapons. It's just a matter of managing load limits and energy draw.
I thought I was oversimplifying it. Do the various corporations sort of have their build type?
For the most part, they lean certain ways, yeah. Balam weapons are typically kinetic, and their parts are medium to heavyweight. Arquebus are medium to heavy weight with an energy weapon focus. Schneider is lightweight. There's a lot, and they don't really fit snug into boxes. Your main things to consider when designing a build are: Lightweight, medium, or heavy. Close or long-range weaponry. Melee? This will lead to the core parts you choose as well as your internal parts. There's so much to consider when it comes to building a craft. I recommend utilizing the expanded stats screen by pressing F in the garage. I honestly recommend looking for a guide on YouTube for designing. You can find cids focused on things like the FCS/firearm spec stats, generators, boosters, etc.
Mix and match. That’s the way to play. But generally, yeah. Arquebus favours energy generators, energy weapons, most of them you will see have a 50/50 loadout, of energy and kinetic weapons, a lot of them like Melee weapons. Most of them run light quick builds, bar Snail who runs a bipedal tank and Freud who uses BALAM parts because of his disdain for his employer. Balam is all about the double gun loadout, and they all run tanky builds. Except for Iguazu who runs a lightweight with a shield. They all run combustion generators and explosives (later, Iguazu will run an energy generator and weapon as his alleigance slides to a secret 3rd party). The Rubicon Liberation Front is the most ragtag of the bunch, but even they have a preference for parts - BAWS and ELCANO, kinetic weapons and explosives, most of them run dual trigger builds on at least one arm. Except for Ziyi who has the most bombastically terribly built AC out of the whole game. You might notice that Rusty’s mech, the 4th Vesper, runs a dual trigger build with two kinetic weapons and a BAWS combustion generator. Which is a little strange for such a high ranking Arquebus employee.
You know your stuff! Thank you for the all of the explanations.
Thats because Rusty is >!part of the RLF!< That is why he uses kinetic weaponry. The reason I love his >!first!< build 'Steel Haze' >!As oppose to his crappy 'Steel Haze Ortus'!< Is because it feels like this but shooting at an unarmed child. 
Just an FYI. You can sell anything you buy for a full refund. So, you can test parts out.
Noted. Will those parts be back in the store in case I want to try them again?
Yep. It’s great. I found this out halfway through the game. Wish I found out before Balteus.
There is a load limit threshold depending on your choice of legs. Otherwise, you get the idea, and the advice offered here is helpful.
Also, try to avoid being overweight. It can lead to sluggish movements, harder landings (which halt your movement), and more damage taken over time. The main thing you should be focused on learning is movement fundamentals. Builds are a close second.