Armored Core Enthusiasts Unite to Bestow a Heroic Callsign on a Deserving Character

Highlights

Armored Core 6 players are brainstorming a callsign for a tragic character in the game, showcasing the community's engagement and empathy.

In Armored Core 6's early-game mission, players are introduced to short one-on-one boss battles where they face an inexperienced Dafeng pilot. Defeating the Dafeng student pilot multiple times is encouraged, as it grants players a Combat Log that boosts their ranking and unlocks additional parts in the game. Armored Core 6 can be played on various platforms.

Hundreds of players of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon have joined forces to come up with a fitting callsign for one of the game's most tragic characters. Their collaborative efforts come shortly after the highly acclaimed release of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon.

Warning! Minor spoilers for the early stages of Armored Core 6 ahead. The initial chapter of Armored Core 6 encompasses a series of around twelve missions, including the task of annihilating the Tester AC (02-B). This particular assignment introduces players to the concept of brief missions that essentially involve one-on-one boss battles, pitting them against their first tester AC, which bears resemblance to the protagonist's own mechanized vehicle. This war machine was produced by Dafeng, a competitor of the Arquebus Corporation, who seeks to intercept its delivery. Although the mission itself is relatively straightforward, its completion is portrayed as a bitter accomplishment, particularly due to the inexperienced Dafeng student pilot operating the target AC.

During the ongoing fight, the trainee's emotions transform from excitement as he tries to keep up with the highly skilled mercenary, to fear as defeat looms over him. Eventually, his fear turns into resignation just moments before his inevitable demise. In his last moments, he solemnly expresses his longing for a unique callsign. This heart-wrenching death scene touched a Reddit user who initiated a thread within the Armored Core 6 community, requesting fellow players to fulfill the fallen pilot's dying wish by suggesting new callsigns. This resulted in hundreds of suggestions being made. The entire thread can be found here.

Among the various responses, several participants proposed anime-inspired callsigns such as Yamcha and Zaku, drawing inspiration from Dragon Ball and Mobile Suit Gundam respectively. However, the most popular suggestions, as determined by the upvotes they received, had a playful and ironic tone. These suggestions ranged from names like Fodder and Loot Box to Piñata and Armored Coffin.

In Armored Core 6, FromSoftware emphasizes the significance of names. However, they choose not to assign a name or callsign to the tragic Dafeng student pilot. This decision effectively sets the dark tone of the game, indicating that the protagonist and their employers are not the heroes. This style of worldbuilding is a key aspect of FromSoftware's game development, which they have been perfecting since the 1990s.

Aside from the moral dilemma it presents, the killing of the Dafeng student pilot offers players an incentive to do so multiple times. This unlucky character drops a Combat Log that enhances the protagonist's Loghunt ranking. Thus, repeatedly completing this mission becomes a strategic way to unlock more parts in the early stages of Armored Core 6.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.