Chapter 1 of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon concludes with a massive boss that many players have found themselves being completely decimated against. This boss, known as BALTEUS, awaits the player at the end of Mission 11: Attack the Watchpoint. Thanks to its overwhelming explosive attacks, quick movement, and seemingly impenetrable shield, this boss is a wall that many players are struggling to overcome. For those who need some tips and help against this roadblock, allow me to provide assistance! This guide will tell players how to defeat The BALTEUS Boss Fight in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon.
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How To Beat The Balteus Boss Fight In Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon
The key to this encounter is being able to cut through its Shield barrier. The best way to do this is to use the HI-16: GU-Q1 Pulse Gun. This is a quick-firing gun that does amazing damage against the shield, quickly cutting down the defense of the boss.
While the Pulse Gun is required for a great build in this fight, there are a few other choices in the rest of the build. Using a second HI-16: GU-Q1 Pulse Gun to duel-wield the gun can do a great job of repeatedly cutting through the shield whenever it appears, causing it to stagger. While this is a good idea, other good options include the RF-024 Turner Assault Rifle and MG-014 Ludlow Machine Gun. These weapons can do great damage to the Balteus itself when its shield is down. HI-32: BU-TT/A Pulse Blade and Vvc-770LB Laser Blade are also great since they can do great damage to both the shield and its actual health bar. As for your Back Units, the Vvc-70VPM Plasma Missile Launcher can be a great addition to your loadout since it has great enemy tracking and does good damage to the shield.
For players who are willing to trade out their Back Units for more Arm Unit firepower, consider using your OST Chips to unlock the Weapon Bay in the OS Tuning menu. This would allow you to use your HI-16: GU-Q1 Pulse Gun to decimate the boss’s shield while also having other weapons like the RF-024 Turner Assault Rifle, MG-014 Ludlow Machine Gun, and the HI-32: BU-TT/A Pulse Blade/Vvc-770LB Laser Blade when the shield is down. This is the route I enjoyed using but there are some other Back Units that can do good damage to both the health bar and ACS stagger, so use these as suggestions and then get a feel for it yourself. Speaking of OST Chips and OS Tuning, the Assault Armor Core Expansion is also a great get for this fight since the AOE shock attack also does great damage to both the shield and health of BALTEUS.
For the actual parts of the AC, many have suggested getting as many high AP body parts so that you are able to tank a lot of the incoming damage. This includes using the Tank Legs LG-022T BORNEMISSZA and the DF-BD-08 TIAN-QIANG Core since these provide a lot of health. While this is a good way to brute force the encounter, especially if you are able to do a lot of damage very quickly, I suggest a quicker build to dodge the incoming damage from the many missiles while also allowing you to get in a good position to use your shield-shredding attacks.
After the cutscene leading into the boss fight, BALTEUS will immediately use the move that has caused many players to be destroyed right out of the gate. The ring around the central chassis will deploy a series of rocket launchers around itself, unleashing a wave of explosives at the player. There are different variants of this ring rocket attack. He can create a full circle around himself horizontally, create a half circle going over its head vertically, use both the vertical half circle and the full horizontal circle, and finally fully surround itself in rocket launchers, creating a full bubble of missiles. For all versions that aren’t the bubble, you can use the space that doesn’t have a launcher present as a route to avoid the missiles. the bubble attack is the one that I suggest getting in close and using the weird pathing to dodge around the explosions. He also has a shotgun he will shoot at you when you get close.
This is a move that many have found difficult to avoid. In my experience, I found the best way to avoid the missiles is to either be far away or right next to BALTEUS. This is because when the missiles are fired, they don’t immediately go after you, they travel straight out from where they are fired for a moment before tracking the player. The first option gives you the chance to see the missiles coming toward you and allows them to start to bunch up as they start to zero in on you. Meanwhile, being close to BALTEUS gives the missiles a strange angle when they try to redirect toward you, making them easier to dodge. Just don’t find yourself at a medium distance as the sudden change in the direction of the rockets when they begin to track can be deadly as they suddenly come barreling down on top of you.
There are other missiles that BALTEUS will fire, but these are more in line with regular rocket launchers like the BML-G1/P20MLT-04 as they will just come at you. You can tell the difference between these rockets in both the start-up and the rockets themselves as BALTEUS will not create the ring around himself to shoot these rockets and the trail behind the rockets has a bit more of a yellowish hue compared to the red shown in the image below. He also has a bazooka weapon that will notify you when the attack is coming with a red square around the weapon and a sound cue.
Between its attacks, BALTEUS will fly across the arena at great speed before coming to a halt and attacking again, depending on the weapons you brought in, you can use your Missile Launchers to track BALTEUS when he begins to move to cover your approach as you try to get close. Once you are close, use your Pulse Gun, whether it be one or two, to make quick work of its shield. When firing the Pulse Gun, make sure to use controlled, measured bursts because the weapon can quickly overheat, leaving you without a weapon to fire for a few moments.
When the shield is broken, the BALTEUS is stunned for a moment. Take your most powerful weapons and unleash everything you can into the boss. Once the stun wears off, I suggest using the weapons that aren’t the Pulse Gun and saving that ammo for when the shield comes back. When the shield is down, build the ACS meter to get another stagger off and then get more Direct Hits. If the weapon does overheat, use your melee weapon or Plasma Missiles (if you brought any of these) to cover your escape as you wait for the gun to recharge. The BALTEUS is also extremely fast so blindly firing while it is moving will have you missing a lot of shots and eventually running out of ammo. Since the shield can come back after some time and is guaranteed to come back when you reach Phase 2, running out of ammo in the Pulse Guns can make chipping away at the shield more of a hassle than it needs to be.
When BALTEUS reaches around 50-60% health, he will enter his second phase. This begins by changing up and releasing an AoE attack similar to the Attack Armor Core Expansion. In addition to the visual charge, Ayre will also warn you of the incoming attack. Get away from the boss as this attack will do massive damage and is guaranteed to stun you if you’re hit. He will follow up this attack with his new flaming melee attacks. He unleashes a flurry of melee, shotgun, and missile combinations. Avoid them and try to use your Pulse Gun to interrupt this sequence by breaking his shield. Another new attack in this phase is the flamethrower which will see BALTEUS take his two arms put them in front of their chassis and shoot fire at you, covering the ground for a moment. Getting hit by any of these fire attacks will inflict you with the ACS Failure System Abnormality, which will make you more susceptible to stagger and impact damage.
While these new moves are dangerous and need to be accounted for as you continue the battle, the strategy remains the same in battling BALTEUS. Keep using your Pulse Guns to break its shield whenever it is active and then use all of your other weapons to deal as much damage as possible when it is staggered and then build up its ACS to stun it again. Repeat this process while avoiding his moves and you should be able to utilize constant stuns to eventually bring the behemoth down.
Once BALTEUS is defeated, Mission 11: Attack the Watchpoint and Chapter 1 of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon will be completed! This also unlocks the Contact Achievement and Trophy.
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