There are multiple wake-up call fights in Armored Core 6, but the BALTEUS fight at the end of Chapter 1 is a whole different beast. By the time you reach it, you have access to a fairly solid selection of AC parts and have had a chance to experiment with playstyles that work for you, and BALTEUS is here to test just how much you’ve learned. The fight also tests your reflexes, split-second learning ability, and probably anger tolerance. In this guide we’ll go over how to beat BALTEUS in Armored Core 6.
How to Beat BALTEUS in Armored Core 6
To beat BALTEUS, you need three things: high damage output, incredible reflexes, and patience. The fight has two phases, and BALTEUS gets new attacks and is much more aggressive in the second phase. You also need to break its shield to deal any actual damage to the boss, and the shield only stays down for about twenty seconds.
I recommend keeping your blade melee equipped on your AC’s left arm, as the double slash can easily remove a third of BALTEUS’s shield, as can a charged attack. When I fought it, I always started the fight by dashing in and doing a double slash, then getting out of range of the boss’s starting missile barrage. For weapons, I was using a linear rifle, a back-mounted laser cannon, and a vertical missile launcher. While I could charge both the rifle and laser cannon, I only used the charged rifle, as I found always having the cannon available was more valuable.
Besides melee, I found energy weapons better to break BALTEUS’s shield, but my charged linear rifle also did wonders. The trick was finding openings to use it. Coincidentally, “finding openings” is the key to beating BALTEUS. Its onslaught of missiles might seem endless, but there are almost half a dozen moments where the boss will either sit still or otherwise be vulnerable. We’ll discuss those in the attack section.
You need to keep close to BALTEUS as well as if you’re even at medium distance, your shots will ricochet off both its shields and armor. This becomes more difficult in the second phase, as BALTEUS gains a wide, sweeping fire melee that it likes to combo with a pair of shotgun blasts. Both can quickly send your AC into stagger.
In short, you need to use everything at your disposal to beat BALTEUS, including a hefty amount of patience. The fight can initially seem like an impenetrable wall, but I guarantee it’s not. It just takes time and lots of failure to really learn.
All BALTEUS Phase One Attacks in Armored Core 6
Understanding how each of its attacks work will give you a better understanding of how to beat BALTEUS.
Full Barrage
BALTEUS extends all its missile bays around itself and launches everything it has at you. These missiles will track you, so trying to go through the barrage or only dodging in one direction will likely cost you. In my experience, strafing to the left or right is a good way to start, then quick-boosting in the opposite direction to send most of the missiles into the ground. BALTEUS will be vulnerable for a moment after this attack, so if you can get in close, you can do good damage.
Retreat and Missile
One of two possible attacks after the full barrage, BALTEUS backs up and fires a single, large missile at you. There will be a two-beep audio cue for the missile, and a square will appear on BALTEUS just before it fires. You need to juke the missile at the last second because the explosion has a lingering hitbox, and even if you dodge it correctly, you can get hit by the blast. Taking the thing in that face will immediately stagger you. If you avoid the missile, you’ll have an opportunity to attack.
Boost Away
The second of BALTEUS’s follow-ups to its full barrage, it fires up its boosters and jets away at high speed. You’ll know which direction it’s going before the boost fires, so use that second or so to start moving that way. BALTEUS will need a moment to recover once the boost ends, giving you an opening.
Instant Missile
If you spend too much time in BALTEUS’s face, it’s liable to use that missile launcher on his arm to shoot you in the face with no warning. No sound cue, a very hard-to-see visual tell, and more damage than should be allowed. In other words: Don’t spend too much time up in BALTEUS’s face, or it’ll make space. I sometimes got two missiles to the face or two separate powerful attacks that also stagger.
Vertical/Horizontal Missiles
BALTEUS sends out a set of vertical or horizontal missiles. These follow the same rules as the full barrage, and the boss sometimes follows up with the barrage anyway. If it doesn’t, you have an opportunity to get a bit of damage in, as BALTEUS will sit in the sky for a second.
Fly-by Shooting
BALTEUS flies by, shooting its machine gun. There’s not much more to this attack, and you can dodge to the side to avoid it, though there isn’t much room for retaliation.
All BALTEUS Phase 2 Attacks
When BALTEUS reaches around 50% health (and it can be almost 60%), it will stop. Ayre will tell you, “the waves are intensifying,” and then shortly after, the boss will cause a massive energy explosion. You need to get away from it at that point or risk-taking around 4,000 damage. After the explosion, phase two begins. BALTEUS has access to all its phase one attacks, plus the ones below.
Flame Slash into Double Shotgun
BALTEUS always begins phase two with this attack. After flying around shooting for a few moments, then slashes diagonally with a giant gout of flame. Shortly after, it fires two massive shotgun blasts. Getting caught by the flame blade will automatically combo into the shotguns and can easily one-shot lighter ACs. My best strategy here is to just stay away and plink away while the slash happens, then dodge the shotguns.
Single into Double Slash
After a brief windup, BALTEUS slashes horizontally from the left with one flame blade, then spins around and slashes with both blades. You can jump over the horizontal slash if you’re quick about it, and the hitbox for the double slash doesn’t quite extend to the end of the flames, so you can avoid damage by dodging away.
Diagonal Double Slash
BALTEUS floats above the ground and powers up the flame blade on your left, then charges forward to slash at you. After a brief delay, it uses the other blade. You can avoid this attack entirely by getting underneath the boss. If you manage that, you can quickly get a melee or two in.
Flaming Floor
BALTEUS aims its two flamethrowers at the ground and covers a large portion of the arena in flames. This attack does massive damage over time and can easily take you from full health to nothing in no time flat. Avoiding it is easy: just fly above the ground. If you get caught without energy, though, you’re in for overwhelming pain.
Flamethrower
In a surprise move, BALTEUS uses its flamethrowers like flamethrowers, aiming both of them directly at you and sending out a line of flames in your direction. This attack has bad tracking. If you get out of the way, you have an opportunity to get in close or do some damage from a distance.
And with that, you know everything I can teach about how to beat BALTEUS in Armored Core 6. Hopefully this guide was helpful, and you can take down BALTEUS on your own. It’s a very tough fight, and not the last of them. We’ll be covering much more Armored Core in the future, so stick to our AC6 hub for it all.
