Armored Core 6 OS Tuning explained: Best upgrades for early-game

Armored Core 6’s OS Tuning system allows players to unlock and upgrade useful features for their Cores. However, there’s a lot you have access to right out of the gate, so it might be overwhelming. Thankfully, some of these abilities are far more important than others in the early going. Whether you want to focus on healing more efficiently or have access to more familiar in-game mechanics, there’s plenty to be aware of.

We’ll go over the OS Tuning options you need to grab in the early hours of Armored Core 6. This comes down to the writer’s opinion, and you may not agree with these picks. That’s perfectly fine - you should pick whatever is most desirable/most needed for your situation.

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Which OS Tuning upgrades should you get in Armored Core 6’s early-game

As you unlock OS Tuning Chips in Armored Core 6, you can spend them on passive and active abilities. The passive abilities can be used anytime without having to slot them into your Armored Core. However, the active ones require a slot in your build. Many of the best early-game abilities are passive, thankfully.

Important upgrades

• Boost Kick
• Quick Turn
• Repair Kits
• Direct Hit Modifier - Damage Tuning
• Core Expansion: Pulse Armor
• ACS - Damage Deflection Control Tuning
• Weapon Bay

Boost Kick is a must-have upgrade (Image via FromSoftware)

Boost Kick is arguably one of the most important OS Tuning upgrades in Armored Core 6. It allows you to increase the amount of stagger you do, which, in turn, increases your overall damage. It’s really incredibly potent.

You may also want to consider Quick Turn as early as possible. This lets you make quick snap turns either to the side or behind you. It would have made certain boss fights much easier in the early game of Armored Core 6 when I did my preview.

Each time you upgrade the Repair Kits - Optimization upgrade, it increases the amount of healing you do with the Repair Kit. This caps out at 2,000, which is a significant amount of healing. Direct Hit Modifier - Damage Tuning is important because it improves the precision of your attacks on staggered targets, making all these come together nicely. It’s always nice to deal more damage.

Pulse Armor can save your life in sticky situations (Image via FromSoftware)

Equipping Pulse Armor is going to be a must-have in Armored Core 6. There are several things you could equip in the expansion port, but Pulse Armor is far and away the best. When you activate it, it creates a bubble that absorbs incoming damage. There are several fights where it could easily save your life if you have this OS Tuning upgrade.

ACS - Damage Deflection Control Tuning speaks for itself - you’ll take less damage having this unlocked. The final upgrade gives you a 15% total damage reduction. You don’t need to max it out immediately, but having some of it early is helpful when it comes to OS Tuning upgrades.

Weapon Bay will let players try very interesting builds if they choose to (Image via FromSoftware)

Weapon Bay is also an incredibly useful OS Tuning upgrade for Armored Core 6. It allows your shoulder weapons to be replaced by additional hand weapons. This allows for more flexibility in your builds, letting you go from double guns to sword/gun or something similar in a pinch. It’s certainly a must-have upgrade.

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What order you pick these up is entirely up to you in Armored Core 6. That said, these are all incredibly important if you want to start dominating the early portions of FromSoftware’s latest title. You can find our full review of AC6 here.