Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon PC Performance Review

Introduction

Developed by FromSoftware Inc. and published by Bandai Namco, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon is the first Armored Core game in 10 years since Verdict Day and one I have been dying to play. As someone who has played Project Phantasma and Master of Arena growing up, Armored Core leaves a lasting impression and it has been a painful wait as we see the company toiling away at another genre.

Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon continues the legacy of the Amored Core franchise featuring 3rd-person mecha combat with fully customizable mechs called ACs that allow a rich assortment of parts and arsenals to tackle each mission and foe.

Read on!

Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon is available on PC as well as PlayStation. We also have a review for the PlayStation 5 here.

Screenshots

All scenes are captured in 4K maximum details on our test system.

Graphics Settings

Armored Core VI features graphics controls that enable quick selection via profiles. The game supports Fullscreen, Windowed and Windowed Fullscreen. One of the most notable changes here from Elden Ring is the availability of a 120FPS frame rate option. Further customization to graphics settings can be made in a custom qualty settings menu.

The custom settings allow control over various settings including texture quality, shadow, reflections etc.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon does feature raytracing but only in the garage scenes. Raytracing is not available in any combat or test mode.

Game Performance

Test Setup

Processor: Intel Core i9-13900K
Memory: Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-6400 32GB
Storage: Kingston FURY Renegade 2TB SSD
PSU: FSP Hydro G Pro 1000W
Cooling: ROG Ryujin II 360 AIO Cooler
Monitor: ROG PG27UQ 4K 144hz HDR1000
VGA: Listed

The game is benchmarked in the Strider mission, an obnoxiously demanding level which is the lowest your framerate could go for any mission in the opening scene. The benchmark route for this test starts from the opening of the stage to the belly of the Strider. Outside of this mission, you will never encounter a similar condition like it and your entire game performance would definitely be much higher.

Also as indicated, the game enforces a frame cap with a possible 120FPS maximum. The frame cap has been hacked to disable it for this benchmarks. The game uses Easy Anti-Cheat and will ban your ass if you try this online.

The game allocates around 5GB to 6GB of VRAM in maximum settings from 1080p to 4K.

Conclusion

Prior to release of Armored Core VI, there are few games that capture the soul of Armored Core but the prevailing assumption is that FromSoftware may have spent too much time on its Soulsborne games that it may have lost touch of what an Armored Core game is.

With the games release, it was quite apparent that FromSoftware is proving the earlier assumptions true by making Armored Core VI a very difficult game and the first few days have seen massive negative feedback for the difficulty. As someone who has played a lot of the older Armored Core titles, I can say with confidence this does ring true but not to the extent that claim it to be. While my biggest gripe with Armored Core VI has to do with the combat mechanics, many of the DNA which made the game an “AC game” is still in this title and the choice to spice it up with Soulsborne-level bosses is not 100% true, more like 80%.

Because for all the tough time that Balteus or even NoobFilter Boss (that chopper in the opening mission) gives you, the game also gives you the option to fully adjust to the situation. Balteus’ mission in particular pits you in 2 AC combat situations, both AC feature wholly differing attack patterns and in your initial playthrough, many players of the game would definitely be overwhelmed. But comeback with a kitted out AC later in the game and speed thru these levels and bosses like it was nothing.

Fact of the matter is, like older AC games, much of the challenge of AC missions is put on the bosses but AC missions are also padded with squash jobs. The tester AC mission is a big example of this where I’ve been very reliant on the results of finishing this mission as fast as possible to test the mobility and damage my AC build does.

And that leads us to the game’s vast assortment of parts and weapons which leads to another rabbit hole with its rich customization options. There is a reason why Armored Core model kits are called Variable Infinity and the same applies to the games including Fires of Rubicon.

The game various playstyles thanks to the rich assortment of parts and while they can be narrowed down to various archetypes, the player’s grasp on how to handle their personal mech is truly unique to their own. I personally prefer extremely light builds but weapon effectiveness is a highly tough choice pre-game. In most mission, I’d go with a heavy loadout but for the arenas, the same mech can be outfitted with quad vertical missile launcher and 2 laser handguns, foregoing my typical melee and dual rifle wield approach. I prefer stunning enemies from midrange, and floating over them then delivering a quick melee for massive damage. While this works with certain foes in the arena, its safer to go ranged full-midrange here and chip the enemy as efficiently as possible before I run out of ammo.

Ultimately, its a tough game to appreciate if you can’t hack it on any of the game modes. Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon does not have a difficulty slider and the game makes it quite clear you need to work thru the missions before you progress thru the arena. The game doesn’t hand hold you into understanding its mechanics as well, all the details are presented on your build screen but the game doesn’t give a tutorial on which weapon does better on what. Heck you don’t even get an idea how your arena foe handles in-game until you meet them during missions so you can prepare beforehand.

And this difficulty tug-of-war to just open up more content in the game is the wall the players need to overcome and the game is pretty good at filtering out those that will like the game or not. AC oldheads like me could hate a little or a lot about the game, its ultimately down to how open one is to new tropes and with this title, I do feel its Armored Core not growing up, but adjusting with the times.

Amored Core boss arenas used to be wider, and some did allow abandoning fights by exceeding map limits. This allowed for some excellent dog fights and aerial missile dodges that were really ahead of its times. The lack of really iconic ACs also puts Armored Core VI at a disadvantage save for Balteus who isn’t even a standard AC. Its disappointing we don’t have memorable naming like the AALIYAH or the HOGIRE.

Regardless, FromSoftware now has multiple game lineage to pull from and those that made Armored Core a success in the past has now married into what makes FromSoftware a success in current times. Despite its shortcomings, Armored Core Vi is now the defacto template for mecha combat on modern games and with the game being published by Bandai Namco, it has also spurred hopes of Bandai Namco contracting FromSoftware to spearhead a new Gundam game franchise. Such is the success of Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon.

PC Port Report

Armored Core VI is assumed to be running on the same engine as Elden Ring with FromSoftware implementing a higher 120FPS cap for modern systems but deadlocking PC gamers to 120FPS as well. The game is fairly light and can be run on most modern systems at fairly acceptable framerates although aging GPUs like the GTX 1050 Ti are best used in lower settings and resolutions though mid-mainstream GPUs akin to the GTX 1660 SUPER could still push out decent framerates on 1080p.

Regarding the frame lock, FromSoftware is known to keep a 60FPS lock on their games and a move to have a 120FPS did surprise some critics but with the game moving as fast as it does, AC6 needs more than a120FPS limit on PC and should’ve been disabled overall for PC. Regardless, its more of a wish rather than a criticism as the game runs fine regardless.

Running fine is differnet from looking fine, and AC6 looks like FromSoft pulled their PS3 assets and dropped them straight to new-gen. As mentioned, this is an Armored Core game that released 10 years since the last installment, a game which did not see a PlayStation 4 release. That’s how far back the last release was. It could be said that the last-gen console support of AC6 didn’t allow FromSoftware to go further but it does feel the game was meant to be made this way.

Regardless, this is a game that once again enforces the “gameplay over graphics” notion and is a solid game regardless. Bringing it to PC welcomes a new generation of players to th Armored Core franchise and hopefully rekindles a new start for the series.