Massive Armored Core 6 update nerfs the most overpowered gun in the game and buffs its awesome-but-awful handguns

(Image credit: FromSoftware)

Armored Core 6 patch 1.31 has landed like a missile barrage, and between unsurprising nerfs and long-awaited buffs, FromSoftware's mech beatdown is suddenly a whole new game.

The update is live now on all platforms, and the headliner from the patch notes will come as no surprise to anyone who's played a single match of Armored Core 6 PvP. The infamous Zimmerman shotgun, which was so busted that it completely warped the entire game, has been nerfed. And I mean really nerfed: lower attack power, impact, accumulative impact, and direct hit damage. This gun is still good, but it's not the meta-defining monster it once was.

The Zimmerman is finally out of the spotlight, and dozens of guns have been buffed to make them more competitive. The biggest winners, for my money, are handguns. The Coquillett, Duckett, and Sampu handguns have all had their total rounds increased, which is a huge deal. Handguns have always been cool and pretty powerful, but their ammo reserves were so terrible that you could barely use them in difficult fights and missions. Hopefully this patch fixes that and then some.

Elsewhere, several bazookas have had their projectile and reload speeds improved, multiple missile launchers received improved damage and tracking, and the small turret archetype got a much-needed buff. An honorable mention goes to the flamethrower, which was already secretly very good, and may be a true beast after its buff. There's another high-profile nerf buried in the buffs too: the popular Songbird rocket launcher has had its stats reduced across the board.

Additionally, this patch gave many explosive weapons quite the stealth buff: "Rounds now explode upon reaching their Effective Range, even if they don’t make contact." This ought to make it much easier to deal meaningful damage with bazookas, grenades, and rockets during Armored Core 6's hectic dogfights.

To top it all off, dozens of AC parts have been rebalanced, and almost all of the changes are buffs to your mech's stability, system recovery, recoil control. A few top performers have been nerfed, but mechs should overall handle much better after this update, from booster speeds to to EN capacity. I'm already itching to take my build out of the garage and give it a tune-up using these new specs.

The best Armored Core 6 builds and Armored Core 6 weapons are about to change, that's for sure.

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.