Armored Core has been largely absent from the gaming scene for over ten years, but now Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon aims to modernize the classic mecha franchise. But with all of these terms and story details being thrown about, it’s hard to figure out what’s going on.
Much like other FromSoftware games, there are a lot of moving parts to the narrative, but Armored Core 6 has an easier to follow story than others. As we gear up for the game’s release date, we’ve also got a rundown of the main AC6 characters and their roles.
What is Rubicon-3, and what happened to it?
Rubicon-3 is the fictional planet Armored Core 6 takes place on. In the distant future, mankind has achieved interstellar travel and has made an important discovery in the far-off star system of Rubicon – the revolutionary material known as Coral.
Dubbed the most important discovery in mankind’s existence, Coral is an exotic material that can provide unlimited power if utilized as an energy source and it can even allow human to bridge the gap between flesh and machine. However, a catastrophic accident involving Coral on Rubicon-3, the third planet in the Rubicon System, ignited the Coral deposits on the planet’s surface. This apocalyptic event not only resulted in the loss of Rubicon-3, but the entire solar system and nearby sections of space. Dubbed The Fires of Ibis, the Coral reaction left the Rubicon system ruined and uninhabitable for over 50 years.
Now, at the beginning of Fires of Rubicon, deposits of Coral have reappeared on the surface of Rubicon-3 and corporations are vying for the biggest shares of the new Coral. Corporations are using research based on Coral to develop revolutionary machinery such as the Armored Core, a gigantic robot piloted by a cybernetic-enhanced human that can serve a multitude of purposes such as construction, hazardous disposal, and obviously warfare.
What happens at the beginning of Armored Core 6?
After the Fires of Ibis ruined the Rubicon System, 50 years have passed and now a war has erupted over the fate of Coral and those living on Rubicon’s surface. You play as Augmented Human C4-621, a cybernetically enhanced human with only one purpose: Serve your Handler, and pilot your AC.
After a mission involving members of a mercenary company known only as “The Hounds,” and their Handler, a mysterious man named Walter, goes horribly awry on Rubicon-3 you are smuggled illegally onto the planet’s surface. Walter orders C4-621 be awakened from stasis, plugged into an AC and dropped onto Rubicon-3’s surface for an urgent assignment. Upon entering low-orbit and beginning descent to the surface, the ship containing C4-621’s AC is shot off-course by planetary defenses controlled by the local organizations of Rubicon-3.
621 survives the descent, but just barely, and then must obtain a valid Mercenary License to communicate with Allmind, the artificial intelligence that manages all mercenary activity on Rubicon-3. Going through legal channels is not an option, so Walter suggests to 621 that they steal a license off a wrecked AC.
After scouring wreckage, one particular License ID stands out to Walter. This license not only has a reputable ranking with Allmind, but has no ties to any corporation or known faction: RB23, callsign “Raven.” However, not all goes according to plan. The Rubiconians and fellow mercenary pilots are suspicious of Raven returning from missing in action.
As for why this is the case? Not much else has been revealed yet about the deeper story of Armored Core 6, but you can expect typical FromSoftware fair of wild twists and turns as you explore the surface of Rubicon-3 on a set of borrowed wings.
Before you land on Rubicon-3, you’ll want to check the Armored Core 6 system requirements to ensure your rig is up to the job. We’ve also got a handy guide to the different AC6 leg types available to make the strongest mech possible.