There are three damage types in Armored Core 6: Kinetic, Energy, and Explosive. Each has unique strengths and weaknesses you need to master to use them effectively. The training missions lightly touch on these, but the interplay between these damage types deserves greater emphasis. We describe how Kinetic, Energy, and Explosive damage work below and why a combo loadout is better than specializing in a single type.
What’s the difference between Kinetic, Energy, and Explosive damage types in Armored Core 6?
Every weapon in Armored Core 6 falls under Kinetic, Energy, or Explosive type in addition to its weapon type. For example, while all machine guns cause Kinetic damage, not all Kinetic weapons are machine guns. When equipping your Armored Core, you’ll need to consider each damage type’s advantages and disadvantages if you want a well-rounded loadout.
Kinetic Damage
Kinetic weapons are your basic everyday gun. Rifles, Linear Rifles, Machine Guns, and Shotguns are some of the armaments you’ll find under this category. Kinetic damage is caused by blunt force (bullets) and is best at close to medium range. These are the fastest-firing weapons and can cause massive amounts of damage to staggered enemies.
Pros:
- High rate-of-fire
- Great stagger damage.
- Decent ACS strain output.
Cons:
- Apt to ricochet outside of optimal range.
- Poor long-range performance.
Energy Damage
Laser, Plasma, and Pulse weapons cause Energy damage. These guns have a slower rate of fire than Kinetic weapons but cause more damage per shot. However, their lower impact rating means they have a harder time causing ACS strain. Most of these can also be charged to cause more damage, which is useful against groups of MTs. The biggest drawback to energy weapons is that they overheat, which can leave you defenseless during a crucial moment.
Energy weapons are further broken down into three subtypes:
- Lasers: Fire a beam in a straight line.
- Plasma: Shoots a beam that detonates and creates Area of Effect damage.
- Pulse: Fires orbs that specialize in breaking down shielding.
Pros:
- Good damage per round.
- Excellent at most ranges.
- Unique subtype properties.
Cons:
- Overheating.
- Poor impact.
Explosive Damage
Grenades, missiles, and shells cause explosive damage. These are the big guns. They’re slow to reload, and some generate heavy recoil when fired. You’ll usually want to use them as a secondary weapon. They cause massive damage and ACS strain and can hit at any range. However, it can be a challenge to line up a good shot.
Pros:
- Best overall damage output per shot.
- Good ACS strain buildup.
Cons:
- Slow to reload.
- Limited ammo.
- Some have heavy recoil.
