Armored Core 6 Impact Bar - How to stagger enemies

The release of Armored Core 6 is right around the corner, and players are hyped to see what this latest entry brings to the franchise. As mech combat is the main charm of this franchise, the new Impact bar feature will massively change how the fights work. With that, let’s take a look at the Impact bar and how to stagger enemies in Armored Core 6.

If you’re familiar with the combat in Sekiro, that will give you a general idea of how stagger works in this game. Although the base mechanic is the same as Sekiro’s posture bar, this game adds further nuances to the staggering in combat, making the feature feel inherently different. Here is everything you need to know about Impact bars and how staggering functions.

Also, check out our Armored Core 6 guides for the lock-on systems and if the game will be open world.

Impact Bar in Armored Core 6 - How to stagger enemies

If you’ve played any Dark Souls game before, you will understand the importance of staggering enemies during fights. Deal enough damage, and you can incapacitate your target for a couple of seconds, allowing you to register a few hits for free. Staggering enemies in Armored Core 6 works almost the same way, with the introduction of Impact bars.

The Impact bar is a yellow-coloured bar above an enemy’s health bar that acts as a visual indicator of their stagger meter. As you damage the enemy with your weapons, this stagger meter gets full. At this point, the enemy enters a staggered state for a few seconds and takes almost double the amount of damage, depending upon the damage multiplier of your weapon.

As you take hits from the enemy, your mech gets staggered as well, making you vulnerable to increased damage. So, keep an eye on your yellow stagger meter at the bottom of the screen.

Armored Core 6 Impact bar mechanics

You may have noticed that the Impact bar stagger mechanic resembles the Posture bar feature of Sekiro, but there are some distinctions to be aware of in case you've played it.

Just like Sekiro, as you deal impact damage to the enemies in Armored Core 6, the stagger meter goes up. In Sekiro, maxing out this meter lets you hit a deathblow, finishing one of the health bars of the enemy. However, in Armored Core 6, staggering the enemies works more like it did in Dark Souls, where they are incapacitated for some team, allowing you to cause increased damage. You will likely stagger a tough enemy multiple times during fights.

Another key difference to note here is the accumulated strain. Sekiro’s posture bar goes down rapidly if you stop attacking your enemy. On the other hand, the Impact bar in Armored Core 6 has an accumulated strain on this stagger meter, ensuring a part of the meter stays full even when you stop attacking. The amount of accumulated strain you build up depends on your weapon.

So, now you understand how the Impact bar in Armored Core 6 works and how to stagger enemies. Your goal in combat is to constantly keep the stagger meter building while you deal damage to the enemy's Armor Points (AP) until you defeat them.