Armored Core 6 features a Stagger mechanic where you can use weapons to knock out enemies for a few seconds. During this time, you can rain hell on them until they recover.
The following guide covers all the things you need to know about the Stagger mechanic in Armored Core 6 along with the best weapons to leverage this feature in your favor.
How to Stagger Enemies in Armored Core 6
Every time you damage an enemy, they receive stagger damage along with losing health in Armored Core 6. This staggering damage is represented by the depletion of the yellow Impact meter.
The meter is independent of the HP bar and is displayed above it. Once the impact meter is fully depleted; the enemy is staggered.
This mechanic bears a lot of similarities to the posture meter in Sekrio: Shadows Die Twice, another FromSoftware title. The one key difference between the Impact meter and the posture gauge is that enemies do not recover their Impact meter if they aren’t damaged for a while. This makes staggering enemies much easier.
Staggered enemies are unable to move or attack the players. Therefore, try attacking staggered enemies with your most powerful attacks as they won’t be able to dodge them.
Best weapons to fill the Impact Stagger Meter in AC6
While you can use pretty much any weapon to fill the Stagger meter in Armored Core 6, there are certain weapons that are capable of doing maximum Stagger damage.
These Impact weapons fill the Stagger meter in quick time, faster than any other weapons in the game.
Generally, high-explosive weapons, deal the most stagger damage, though you can make use of melee weapons as well.
The following are the best explosive weapons and the best melee weapons to fill the Stagger meter in Armored Core 6:
- Majestic (Bazooka)
- Dizzy (Grenade Launcher)
- DF-GR-07 GOU-CHEN (Grenade Launcher)
- Iridium (Grenade Launcher)
- Songbirds (Grenade Launcher)
- BML-G2/P05MLT-10 (Missile Launcher)
- Pile Bunker (Melee Weapon)
- Pulse Blade (Melee Weapon)
Having at least one of these in your ASC is essential if you want to deal with consistent Impact damage even in lighter builds. You can use the Kinetic and Impact weapons to complement your explosive weapons.
How to avoid getting staggered in Armored Core 6
Like the enemies, your mech has its stagger bar, which leaves you vulnerable to attacks if it fills up all the way. Projectiles like rockets and high AOE weapons tend to fill up your stagger meter quicker than standard bullets and attacks.
The best way to avoid getting staggered is by prioritizing dodging these attacks over standard ones. Additionally, your stagger resistance is measured by the Attitude Stability of your mech. The higher its value the more damage you can take before getting staggered.
Furthermore, the Attitude Recovery stat dictates how quickly you can start moving again after being staggered. It is important to keep both of these stats in mind when considering your immunity to stagger attacks in Armored Core 6.
