Armored Core 6 weight, load and overencumbered explained

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Your weight, load and overencumbrance in AC6 determines your defence and strength alike.

Armored Core 6 best builds
(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Weight and being overencumbered in Armored Core 6 is a problem that can stop you bringing your mech into battle, and heavily change how it functions once you have it out there. Being overencumbered and managing weight is an essential part of AC6 that you'll have to deal with, determined by a stat referred to as your "Current Load". We'll get into all these below, as we explain how to deal with Weight and being overencumbered in Armored Core 6, and how you can solve it.

Weight and being overencumbered in Armored Core 6 explained

Armored Core 6 weight overencumbered load

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Weight and the overencumbered tag in Armored Core 6 is based around a simple idea: mechs can only support so much weight before they become too heavy to move, or at least need modifying to have a greater maximum load that they can support. 

If a mech is overencumbered in Armored Core 6, you have several options to solve it:

  • Reduce its weight. The simplest option, swap out parts of your mech for those with a lower "Weight" number, so the "Current Load" bar in its stats doesn't reach the white line that represents the current maximum. Lighter parts generally have less health and defence, meaning you'll either take more damage, or have less health - or both.
  • Buy better legs to increase the maximum load. Your mech's maximum weight load is determined by the legs (or wheels or tank treads, etc) that you have equipped to it. Bigger, bulkier legs can support a heavier mech, and provide more health, but inevitably either drain more battery or make for a slower, bulkier construct - probably both.
  • Purchase the OS upgrade "Weight Control". This allows you to sortie on missions while overencumbered, as well as drop weapons in the field so that you're not too slow. Still, this is a drastic measure, and it's probably better in most cases not to be overencumbered in the first place.

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.