How to Beat AA P07 Balteus in Armored Core 6 (AC6)

Chapter one in Armored Core 6 has a sprinkling of challenges to help you prepare for the chaos that awaits you, and the AA P07 Balteus boss fight signifies the end of the training wheels. Within seconds, this fight becomes twice as challenging compared to anything before it, and your own AC build will be put to the test.

How to Beat Balteus in Armored Core 6

To beat Balteus in Armored Core 6, you need to attack with aggressive weapons on the ground in phase one, and then utilize aerial combat in phase two. You also want to have around 10,000 AP on your core in order to tank the hundreds of missiles that the boss will launch at you. With those baselines in mind, I managed to take down Balteus with two very different approaches in the two main phases.

Balteus Phase One in Armored Core 6

In the first phase, the boss will launch rockets at you as soon as the fight begins. Your goal is to assault boost forward and start chipping away at the shield. You need to break the blue shield down before dealing any real damage. In phase one, I recommend being as aggressive as possible and staying close to the ground.

The reason I stayed close to the ground is because Balteus relies in missiles for nearly every attack. For that reason, I wanted as many small dashes as I could get. When you’re on the ground, your boosts charge almost instantly. Whenever the boss starts shooting missiles or locks on, just dash away and keep shooting.

While you dodge seven times every three seconds in this fight, you want to stay as close to the boss as possible. Any time AA P07 Balteus started to slow down or finished shooting missiles, I would use two strikes with my sword, followed by my own missiles. If his shield is down, then this combo will tear through his health while also causing almost instant staggers. Aggression is the key in phase one.

At 50% health, the boss will start to charge up. You need to back up as far as possible so the surge doesn’t hit you. This marks the next phase, and the fight changes quite a bit in AC6.

Balteus Phase Two in Armored Core 6

In phase two, you want to keep your distance and stay in the air when Balteus starts to use combos. Right after his energy surge at 50% health, you should back up as far as you can and get ready for the fire combo. At this point, the boss will use multiple strings of attacks that have waves of fire. I found that staying in the air allowed me to avoid nearly everything thrown my way.

Balteus will continue to use some missiles, and in those cases, you want to get back on the ground for energy. However, if you start to see fire again, you better get yourself back in the air and far away from AA P07.

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To dish out damage in this stage, you still want to use aggressive damage from launchers or swords. The difference is you need windows. More time is spent on defense. But when the fire cools down, you can break the shields once again and cause stagger. I had to really remember the first phase in AC6, so I had enough healing at this stage. By the time I took down Balteus, my attack combo felt fluid. You just need those windows to attack.

The Best Build to Beat Balteus in Armored Core 6

I used a medium build to defeat Balteus, and my weapons were fairly standard. I had 9,970 health, a pulse blade, a kinetic burst rifle, and two missile launchers on my shoulder units. I’m sure players will have all kinds of builds for this chapter one boss, but I have the full build I used to beat AA P07 below.

AAA P07 Balteus Build for AC6:

• R-Arm Unit: MA-J-200 RANSETSU-RF (Burst Rifle)
• L-Arm Unit: HI-32 BU-TT/A (Pulse Blade)
• R-Back Unit: BML-G1/P20MLT-04 (Missile Launcher)
• L-Back Unit: BML-G21/P20MLT-04 (Missile Launcher)
• Head: VP-44S
• Core: BD-011 Melander
• Arms: AR-012 Melander C3
• Legs: LG-012 Melander C3
• Booster: BST-G2/P04
• FCS: FCS-G2/P10SLT
• Generator: DF-GN-02 Ling-Tai
• Expansion: Assault Armor

For me, this build had the perfect mix of speed, damage, and defense. Balteus is the first boss to truly test your balance of parts in Armored Core 6, which is clear enough after you get turned into a box of scraps in each phase.

To get a better feel for builds, check out our guide on all the weapons in Armored Core 6.