Armored Core 6 Balteus boss guide – how to beat Balteus in AC 6

Trying to beat Balteus in Armored Core 6? Balteus is a massive jump in difficulty within the early game, and represents one of the first truly punishing bosses in the series. Even veterans of From Software might find themselves struggling.

Like all bosses though, he’s not unconquerable, and some advice on how to tackle the threat he poses could make all the difference. Here, we’ll outline how to beat Balteus in Armored Core 6, covering our best tips, advice and information. He’s not the only challenge the series has to offer though. If you’re looking to take on the Smart Cleaner or the Sea Spider, checking out our guides could give you the edge you need to win.

How to defeat Balteus in Fires of Rubicon

Here are the major tips to keep in mind to help you to beat Balteus in Armored Core 6:

• Learn the counters to his main attacks.
• Keep spacing in mind.
• Build your mech for speed and aggression.
• Use the most effective weapons.
• Keep up your stuns.

These might sound obvious, but there’s a lot more to each point than there might appear to be on the surface. Let’s break down each of these points one-by-one.

Learn the counters to his main attacks

This one is perhaps the most obvious, but also the most important. Balteus has an enormous arsenal, and more than a few moves in it that can deal catastrophic damage to your mech. But with time you can learn counters to each of them. Without these particularly deadly moves, he’s a much more manageable threat, rarely being able to deal more than moderate damage. Here’s the main moves you’ll want to watch for, and how to counter them.

Missile swarm

He’ll fire massive barrages of tracking missiles at you. You’re actually best to stay back when he does this. Let the missiles group up and start heading for you at the same time. Doding forward at the last second a few times will usually be enough to skirt the majority of the missiles and avoid a stun.

Homing missile

This one’s deadly because there’s no minimum range – he can fire it point-blank. Try to maintain a middle distance, especially in the first phase where he uses it most prolifically. This way you can still deal adequate damage, but maintain enough time to execute a dodge when your system warns you of an incoming shot.

Shotgun blasts

Balteus will fire a volly of shotgun blasts. If more than one hit you in a combo, it can easily stun you, and even kill you. He’ll almost always do this after another attack like a missile swarm or homing strike, so be careful about the speed at which you close distance to give yourself the room to avoid the worst of it.

Flamethrowers

In his second phase, Balteus will whip out two flamethrower moves. The first move sees him swing arcs of fire around like swords for massive damage, and the second sees him pair them together and bathe the arena floor in flame like Midir or Khalameet. Staying in the air is the best counter to the latter. For the former, either keep a wide distance when he enters phase 2, or close the distance fast and stay directly above or below him, where the arcs can’t reach.

Keep spacing in mind

As you’ll have noted from the last section, spacing is critical in this fight. Because of the speed of combat and the range of different weapons, too close presents obvious risks to you, and too far reduces the effectiveness with which you can handle him.

We’d advise that for most of the fight, you try to maintain a middle range. Close in if you have an opening, but make sure to back up and keep enough space to render his close-quarters arsenal ineffective.

Build your mech for speed and aggression

Sometimes the best defence is a good offence. Though it might seem counterintuitive given Balteus’ extreme aggression, fighting fire with fire is actually the best way to handle him. If you play from a defensive posture, you’ll be able to chip away at his health, but with his high speed and powerful pulse shields, you’re unlikely to win a test of endurance.

Playing aggressively – once you know how to employ counters to his worst moves – allows you to maintain a steady stream of damage against him, creating openings instead of simply waiting for them to appear.

To this end, it’s worth considering how you approach your mech build for this fight. We’d advise having a high-speed loadout saved. Something with a reasonable amount of health, but with the flight capability and movement to allow you to overcome most of what Balteus can throw at you.

Use the most effective weapons

One of the greatest problems you’ll encounter in this fight is Balteus’ tough defences. While his health pool is already enormous, it’s his pulse shields, which protect him from direct damage, that can prove a real threat.

When considering your loadout for this fight, one good option to bring is a Pulse Gun. By this point in the game you should have access to the HI-16: GU Q1 arm-mounted Pulse Gun. This weapon is specially designed for depleting pulse shields – you’ll have encountered Sulla using one in the fight just before. Its range is limited, but when close enough it concentrated fire can rapidly bring down Balteus’ most potent defences.

Aside from the pulse gun, it’s worth bringing some high damage options, since your windows between shield regenerations are pretty tight. The shoulder-mounted laser cannon has limited ammo, but its strong damage makes it a good possibility. Missiles are another great choice, and Assault Armor can find its use in this fight too.

Keep up your stuns

Our last piece of advice is to maximise the effectiveness of an aggressive playstyle. Just like Sekiro, Armored Core 6 has a posture bar. Dealing enough damage consistently in Fires of Rubicon will fill this bar and stun a target. When Balteus’ shields go down, he’ll be automatically stunned, giving an opening for high damage. But with potent enough weapons, you can easily stun him again before his next shield regen.

Consistent stuns are critical to opening enough damage windows to play the fight on your terms. A battle of endurance against an opponent this fierce is not recommended, and the quicker you can beat him, the better your chances are.

Who is Balteus?

AAP07: Balteus is an automated craft owned by the PCA, the main planetside defence force for Rubicon that maintains order across the colonies and finds itself at odds with the many competing factions. With access to some of the best technology in the system, dedicated PCA attack and defence vehicles tend to be among some of the most sophisticated and dangerous threats you’ll encounter.

Balteus will close in on you following your assault on an important PCA facility, and will block your path forward in the game. He is the final boss for Chapter 1 of the game.

That covers everything you’ll need to beat Balteus in Armored Core 6. Equip the right parts, sharpen your skills in the arena, and follow our advice, and you’ll have Balteus crumbling into scrap metal in no time.

Is Balteus the final boss in Armored Core 6?

Balteus is the final boss of Chapter 1 in Armored Core 6, but not of the whole game.

Is Balteus harder than Sulla?

Balteus is a more difficult fight than the one just prior against fellow AC pilot Sulla. Balteus is faster, has more health, and boasts a much larger arsenal of weapons.