FromSoftware’s Most Detailed Game Isn’t Elden Ring By A Long Shot

The depth of character builds you could make in Elden Ring was staggering, with FromSoftware’s expansive RPG allowing for a variety of archetypes and playstyles based on what stats you leveled up. Gear, magic, and other tools added even more detail to your character’s path, but Elden Ring is far from the only FromSoft game to offer a long selection of build options. That being said, one title from the same developer makes Elden Ring‘s various paths look like single drops of water in a vast ocean.

The “Soulsborne” series of games are notorious for not really telling you how to best engage with the details of character building, nor any clear story. Most FromSoft games are deliberately vague, encouraging player creativity and problem solving based on a repeated process of trial and error. Even in titles with linear mission structures or world design, learning how to succeed often takes an investment of your time.

Armored Core 6’s Build Mechanics Are Far More Intense Than FromSoft’s Other Titles

No matter the nuance behind Elden Ring‘s character building, nothing in that game comes close to the level of detail in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. FromSoft’s sci-fi mech building game uses character customization as its core feature, as your entire journey is about building the perfect Armored Core suit to tackle various missions. It’s hard to describe just how every little part of your mech matters, with nothing insignificant to its overall design. Every choice needs to be well-thought out, making the mech creation something you’ll spend more time on than actually using it.

Mechs in Armored Core 6 rely partially on Weight, with certain parts taking up more of this resource than others. Armored Core suits with a higher weight capacity can wield heavier weapons and bulkier parts for better defense, but lose a lot of mobility as a result. On the other hand, you could build a light Weight mech for incredibly agility, but you’ll only be able to use lighter weapons to compensate a featherweight build, meaning you’ll do less damage to targets during missions.

Other factors like Energy Load also have to be considered as you play too, alongside features like AP (health), Attitude Stability, and System Recovery affecting other parts of your mech’s design. Some parts allow your mech to have a high Energy Load, but reduce the total stamina your Armored Core has as a direct result. The constant back-and-forth between various stats is intensive at every phase of your mech’s development.

With balance updates to Armored Core 6 and expansions to what parts you can equip as you complete missions, there is almost an endless variety of mech customization options. Weapons, Arms, Legs, and the Head of your mech are just the start, as you have to factor internal components and other small pieces that make the machine work too. Almost to an overwhelming degree, Armored Core 6 has the most possible builds for your mech “character” than any other FromSoft game comes even close to.

Elden Ring’s Weapons & Gear Don’t Have The Same Level Of Interaction Compared To AC6

One could argue that Elden Ring specifically has tons of build variety through its impressive arsenal, which includes a number of weapons and armor sets that create custom styles of combat for players. Although there is merit to this, Elden Ring simply doesn’t have these elements interact with each other enough to be on par with Armored Core 6. Gear and weapons don’t affect your character’s overall stats, nor do they impact one another to create unique restrictions based on specific gear combinations.

For example, imagine if an Elden Ring weapon directly had its damage tied to whether you were wearing light, medium, or heavy armor. Or if the typical stat-based weapon damage scaling of a weapon also affected how fast your character rolls during combat. That would make Elden Ring closer to Armored Core, as it would mean that every single item in the game had some sort of balancing act going on with one another. Mech parts are in constant contention with each other in Armored Core 6, adding depth to every build decision.

Half Of Armored Core 6’s Gameplay Comes From Mech Customization Rather Than Action

You’ll spend hours upon hours in Armored Core 6 debating over which parts can work together best to make the optimal mech design. In some ways, this is the core gameplay of the Armored Core series, a sharp contrast from Elden Ring‘s or any other “Soulsborne” title FromSoft has made. While controversial parts of Armored Core 6 or Elden Ring may have you prefer one over the other, there’s no denying that each approach character building with an incredible amount of detail compared to other action RPGs.

The satisfaction that comes with finding the perfect mech for your play style justifies the extreme level of detail Armored Core 6 demands from its players. Even if some players of different FromSoftware titles believe Elden Ring is the most complex game for character building they’ve ever played, Armored Core exists as an example that other titles are even more zealous in their approach to detail.

Do you think Armored Core 6 pays more attention to detail in character creation compared to Elden Ring? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!