The Epic Showdown: Unveiling Armored Core 6's Ultimate Ending

Highlights

Armored Core 6 revolutionizes the gameplay experience by incorporating innovative decision-making mechanics that profoundly influence the game's multiple endings. Notably, the choices you make during your initial playthrough carry substantial weight and contribute to the overall impact of the narrative.

The "good" and "bad" endings require specific player decisions, but each can be attained within a single playthrough. In order to access the ultimate ending, players must embark on their third playthrough, where new choices and events unfold.

Spoilers ahead for Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon takes the beloved mech series into the future, while maintaining the elements that made previous titles so popular. Finishing Armored Core 6 is a challenging task, and players will need to carefully consider their choices. Players aiming to unlock all three endings in Armored Core 6 must determine which major decisions have the most impact on their progress. With multiple paths leading to each ending, which are influenced by the number of playthroughs, this is how the biggest decisions in Armored Core 6 determine its various endings.

Aligning with Key Figures Determines Armored Core 6's Ending Paths

Beginning in Chapter 3 of their initial playthrough of Armored Core 6, fans will encounter Missions labeled as "Decision" that present a distinctive twist. Each Mission will guide the player along a unique path, locking its alternate option until the next playthrough. While fans can freely explore different paths in subsequent playthroughs, the choices made during the first playthrough hold exceptional importance. Starting from the second playthrough, extra steps are necessary to achieve the "good" ending in Armored Core 6, while the ultimate, secretive ending remains elusive until at least the third playthrough.

In their initial playthrough of Armored Core 6, most players strive to achieve the game's Good Ending. By aligning themselves with Ayre during crucial decisions, they can unlock the coveted "Liberator of Rubicon" ending. Once Chapter 3 begins, Ayre establishes direct communication with the Pilot and assigns various Decision Missions. Ayre urges the player to rescue her "brothers and sisters," later revealing that Coral possesses immense potential when merged with humanity.

In Chapter 5, players must support the decision to eliminate Carla in order to progress towards the good ending where humanity and Coral co-exist after the Xylem's destruction. To achieve this ending on a second playthrough, players need to make additional choices like "Refuse" during the Assault the Dam Complex mission and Prevent Corporate Salvage of New Tech mission in Chapter 5.

The Bad Ending in Armored Core 6, known as "The Fires of Raven," is the easiest to attain. In this ending, players align themselves with Handler Walter and Carla, and should accept any missions assigned by either character. Specifically, players should choose the Tunnel Sabotage and Eliminate the Enforcement Squads missions in Chapter 3, and Intercept the Redguns mission in Chapter 4. When faced with the same final decisions as in the first playthrough, players should opt not to eliminate Carla and instead choose to intercept the corporate forces. The Bad Ending results in the successful crashing of the Xylem into the Convergence, causing a chain reaction that engulfs the entire Rubicon in flames, leaving it permanently lifeless.

Armored Core 6's Final Ending is Locked Behind Multiple Playthroughs

In Armored Core 6, the player can only access the third and final ending after completing the game three times. During the third playthrough, a new challenger emerges to compete for control of Rubicon and the Coral. ALLMIND, the AI mercenary liaison encountered in previous playthroughs, becomes a significant force after the player completes the exclusive Analysis tasks in New Game Plus. Starting from Chapter 1, ALLMIND begins to change the mission objectives to align with the enemies of the game. In Chapter 3, the AI directly approaches the player to ensure the success of the Coral Release program. If players continue to support ALLMIND, the escape sequence in Chapter 5 is replaced with a new mission called MIA.

Completing the MIA mission allows players to regain control of the Xylem by eliminating its parasite modules. They then face off against ALLMIND itself, which proves to be the most challenging boss fight in Armored Core 6. This fight takes place in two frantic phases that put the player's skills to the ultimate test. With the help of Ayre, players are able to thwart ALLMIND's master plan, resulting in the Coral Release and the creation of a black hole that consumes everything and everyone. Players awaken on a distant planet with the other mechs, where Ayre explains that the Coral, as well as the pilots, have been scattered across the stars by the black hole's dissemination.

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