Armored Core 6: How to defeat the first boss

Aden Carter

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Are you having trouble with the first boss in Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon? Having pushed past a bunch of MTs, you will come across this large boss equipped with missiles that can easily take you down.

There are plenty of missions in the game that will make it last a while and a lot of bosses to fight. Combat is a constant, so you will want to make sure you are up to the challenge. What makes the first boss difficult, however, is you are stuck with the default loadout as you need to defeat it to unlock customization.

Explore the grand world of Armored Core 6 and get ready for a fight. Make sure your weapons systems are up to par. If they aren’t, you will easily be taken down. This guide will show you how to defeat the first boss in Armored Core 6.

How to beat AH12 HC Helicopter in Armored Core 6

AH12 HC Helicopter is the first boss of Armored Core 6. Leading up to this boss, the enemies are pretty easy to manage but FromSoftware has a habit of making the first boss pretty tough. After all, look at Bloodborne, Elden Ring, and Dark Souls. There are a few simple tricks that you can use, however, to take down the PCA Heavy Combat Helicopter pretty easily:

1. Be aggressive
2. Stick to the helicopter’s blind spot
3. Use melee attacks
4. Avoid the ground

Let’s break these down.

Be aggressive

It is no secret the Armored Core rewards aggressive gameplay and it shows with the tutorial boss. Most of the boss’ attacks consist of long-range missile shots which means that sticking close to the boss and aggressively chasing it will reward you with an easier fight.

Act like an enforcer and jam yourself into the helicopter’s face to get some clean hits on it. This will help you out in the long run.

Stick to the helicopter’s blind spot

The classic “soulslike” strategy that many utilize is sticking to a boss’ blind spot to avoid taking damage or making attacks easier to dodge. This same strategy can be used in Armored Core 6 to get the upper hand in multiple fights.

While you should be aggressive, it helps to also stick to the sides of the helicopter or behind it. This will limit the number of attacks that can hit you even more than simply getting close to it. This way, you can avoid taking direct hits and instead significant damage.

Use melee attacks

With the limited loadout that you have, the best weapon in your arsenal against the boss will be your melee weapon. Yes, you can use missiles and an assault rifle but those will be useless against the boss unless you want to make the fight more difficult.

Sticking to your melee weapon and getting close to the boss will ultimately help lead you to victory and allow you to deal more damage.

Avoid the ground

Since you will be using the basic loadout, it will be difficult to stay in the air the whole time. However, you should try to stay off the ground as much as possible. The reason for this is that the boss’ attacks are mostly missile-based. Staying in the air will help you avoid these attacks and help you get in close to the boss.