Armored Core 6: Fires Of Rubicon Chapter 1 Final Boss

Balteus is the final boss of chapter 1 in Armored Core 6. It shows itself after a cutscene in the final mission of chapter 1. It took me a while to get through this bossfight, and it was frustrating. If you are unable to defeat Balteus, this guide will help you.

Key Takeaways

The final boss of Chapter 1 is Balteus, a fierce robot with strong attack patterns who floats.
It will show itself after a cut scene at the end of the first chapter in the eleventh mission, Attack the Watchpoint.
I suggest you to use side boost movements throughout the boss fight to conserve health and land hits on Balteus.
The final boss is weak when its blue shield bar is depleted. Hence, that is the best time to throw all your firepower to deal massive damage.

Table of Contents

Final Boss Description

final boss of chapter 1 — First look at the final boss of Chapter 1 | Picture Credits: VeryAli Gaming

The first chapter of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon introduces several bosses before you confront the challenging final boss, Balteus. Balteus is a formidable adversary known for its agility, utilizing both close and long-range combat techniques against your mech. Throughout the battle, Balteus hovers, protected by Pulse shields and layers of armor, while armed with top-tier weaponry attachments.

Balteus poses a continuous threat by launching guided missiles that track your movements and explode upon impact. Initially, it primarily relies on long-range attacks, making it advantageous to engage in close-quarters combat. However, as you manage to deplete Balteus’s health to the 50% mark, it transitions to close-range confrontations, utilizing a Flamethrower ability and burst attacks. With careful strategy and proper counters, victory can still be achieved in this intense boss fight.

Final Boss Attacking Moves

Final boss has two health bars, with the colored bar being a shield.
When the shield depletes to the end, the boss enters a frozen state; I will suggest you to approach and hit with two melee attacks.
The boss starts with a missile attack, with guided missiles moving upward and then rapidly towards your mech.
Dodge missiles by conserving boost and performing side steps.
When the boss relocates, it fires high fire rate canon bullets from its center body, causing critical damage.
After losing 50% health, the boss attempts to recover its shield, leading to a damaging bubble burst if you stay close.
Bubble burst can hit your core, resulting in a temporary freeze.
Following the shield recharge phase, Balteus uses a powerful Flamethrower attachment; your only way out is to quickly boost away and avoid damage.

Attack Moves Summary

Attacking Moves	Description	Counter
Missile Rain	After boss fight starts, you will get bombarded by a large group of guided missiles that slowly follow an upward projectile and then approach you	Perform multiple side steps using boost with left and right movements
Canon Shots	When Balteus changes position, it draws bullets from a high fire rate canon that last for a quick instant but deal high damage	Use boost to get out of sight. Perform movement in any possible direction where you do not face the center of Balteus
Shield Bubble Burst	After crossing the half health mark of the final boss, a shield bubble will burst, damaging all units in close range	Stay far when this occurs. Use backward boost movements if you are dangerously close
Flamethrower	When the bubble burst shocks hit, Balteus will use its flamethrower attachment to damage you with flames in close range	Use your Boost movement to stay out of its range

Lock-in Rocket hit

When you hear alarm and a red lock in sign on your screen, Balteus shoots a Rocket at you that deals a lot of damage

Use Quick Boost to move up or down to avoid getting hit by it

How To Defeat?

Balteus weakness armored core 6 fires of rubicon — Break the pulse shield to make the boss vulnerable | Captured By: VeryAli Gaming

To be successful in this final boss fight, players must focus on strategic gameplay and avoid all enemy attacks. Note that you must keep all your repair kits and avoid using them in other aspects of the eleventh and final mission of Chapter 1. Unfortunately, if you have used them, you can intentionally die during the boss fight and restart from the last checkpoint to restore all repair kits.

Keep A Pulse Weapon

Balteus has several defenses that require a pulse weapon to breach them.
Hence, I will recommend you keep the HI-16: GU-Q1 Pulse weapon that will evade the defenses and help you deplete its health.
After the defenses break, the shield bar above the health bar will reduce to 0 and Balteus becomes invulnerable for a few seconds.
In this window, use your quick boost feature to approach the final boss and hit it with two melee hits using the blade.
It is restricted to two hits in an instant, therefore, I advise you to retreat after that and find a safe spot.

Master Side Movement

In this boss fight, side movements are essential to avoid missile and flamethrower attacks.
Players can perform a side movement by pressing the left or right movement key and using the quick boost.
This is handy throughout the fight and it will save you from severe health loss, so you can avoid using repair kits and save them for dangerous situations.

Never Make The First Move

In these situations, staying patient must be your priority.
Let Balteus throw an attack at you first.
When you successfully counter it, I recommend you to use your right arm weapons and blast attacks to damage the final boss and gain an advantage.
This will work for you in most cases, as making the first move can get you hurt if you are caught in the trajectory of guided missiles or flames.
Following the analogy, use your melee attacks only when Balteus is vulnerable and his shield is broken.
If you approach the final boss with his shield activated, it will bombard you with canon bullets and flames which you will not survive.

Chapter 1 Powerful Build

build customization window armored core 6 fires of rubicon — Players can customize their builds in the Allmind portal after completing any mission | Captured By: VeryAli Gaming

Even if you keep your strategies top notch, a weak build will keep you hanging as your build will have less resistance. Therefore, players must choose a powerful build that has a strong armor and reliable weapons.

Part Labels	Part Names
R-Arm	SG-026 Haldeman
L-Arm	SG-026 Haldeman
R-Back	VP-60LCS
L-Back	VP-60LCS
Head	HD-012 Melander C3
Core	DF-BD-08 Tiang-Qiang
Arms	DF-AR-08 Tiang-Qiang
Legs	LG-022T Bornemissza
Booster	–
FCS	FC-006 Abbot
Generator	VP-20D
Expansion	–

My Experience With The Final Boss

For me, this was the hardest boss in the complete storyline. It took me hours to get through this boss battle, as I tried multiple builds and strategies. But, the build I shared did the trick for me, as I implemented the best attacking schemes and Tank Build. Ensure you follow the instructions given in this guide.

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Ehtishaam Tanveer

Ehtishaam is an enthusiastic gamer who is never tired of playing games and writing about them. He is pursuing his career in Electrical Engineering while keeping an active interest in CS. I keep myself busy playing football when I am not focused on content writing. My dedication towards gaming knew no bounds, as I started spending hours on my Pentium 4 PC, playing GTA. If you don’t see me posting content, I’ll probably be pushing rank in Valorant or Counter Strike. Connect with me on Steam if you plan on playing some competitive.