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Jun 13, 2023

Armored Core 6 part locations: Where to find hidden chests

Some secret upgrades for your mech are hidden away in Armored Core 6's levels. Here's where to find them. Didn't know you were signing up for a treasure hunt, did you? Armored Core 6 is primarily a

Some secret upgrades for your mech are hidden away in Armored Core 6's levels. Here's where to find them.

Didn't know you were signing up for a treasure hunt, did you?

Armored Core 6 is primarily a game about blowing up big, powerful mechs with your own monstrous machine, but sometimes there's a little downtime between the fighting. And what's a mech pilot meant to do with a little peace and quiet? On Rubicon 3, the best use of that time is searching for hidden chests that contain upgrade parts for your mech.

Some of Armored Core 6's stages are big, while these mech part chests don't even come up to your mech's knee. In other words, they're easy to miss. In this AC6 chest guide I'll show you where to find all the chests in the game as well as what items they contain. I'll also give you some tips on how to find the chests yourself, if you'd prefer a treasure hunt.

Mild spoilers for mission names and locations below.

One of your mech's basic abilities in AC6 is Scanning, which emits a pulse to highlight nearby enemies and hidden objects. Scanning is the best way to track down chests unless you want to exhaustively scour every map. But as I mentioned in my Armored Core 6 tips guide, there's a trick to getting the most out of that Scan ability.

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Every head part for your AC has a stat called "Scan Distance" that isn't immediately visible in the AC Assembly menu or in the Parts Shop. To see it, you need to press the "Toggle Display button (Y on a controller, F key on keyboard) to expand the full stat breakdown for the parts you're cobbling together. Scan Distance can range quite a bit: I have one head part with a 280 meter range, while another from late in the game with a 700(!) meter range.

I recommend assembling a scouting-focused mech using the head with the highest Scan Distance stat available to you, as well as a booster that prioritizes total thrust so you can cover ground more quickly. Head parts also have a Scan Effect Duration stat that isn't quite as important for finding chests, since you really just need the highlight to pop up on your screen to help you zero in on your target.

Once you've cleared a mission, you can tackle it again from the Replay Mission menu and go on the hunt for hidden chests. Below are the ones I've found so far.

Total chests: 4

Mission timing: When you reach the interior section, after defeating not-so-Invincible Rummy and traversing the second open area

HC-3000 Wrecker Head part location: This mission—and specifically this small enclosed area—is a bounty of AC parts. The first is the easiest to find. As you first enter this enclosed area, you'll drop through a torn-up hole in the ceiling into a small room with two weak mechs. Kill them, then check the back corner for a chest containing the Wrecker Head part.

Mission timing: Continuing through the interior section, shortly after the first chest

CC-3000 Wrecker Core part location: And another one! Keep making your way through this interior section until you reach a two-level room containing several enemies and a smelting furnace. This is Armored Core's equivalent of a waterfall, and you have to put treasure behind a waterfall, right? Head past the magma flow into another room with several enemies and a parts chest containing the Wrecker Core piece.

Mission timing: In the interior section, via the smelter room

AC-3000 Wrecker Arms part location: This last chest is incredibly well hidden. I noticed it through the floor using the Scan ability, but didn't find my way there until this YouTube video showed me the way. Right after you grab the previous chest in the room behind the smelter, head into the pipe sitting beside that magma flow. It'll take you around a corner and to a drop down, where you'll find another tucked away chamber with the chest containing the Wrecker Arms and an AC duel to contend with.

Mission timing: After the second checkpoint, in the last big open area

2C-3000 Wrecker Legs part location: After you grab the second and third chests, head to the door marked by your next waypoint. This will open out into the last large explorable area, peppered with enemy mechs. Head up and to the right to the higher of two inset platforms. Near the back of the second you'll find a couple enemies waiting to ambush you and the fourth chest containing the Wrecker Legs.

Total chests: 1

Mission timing: After passing the second waypoint

Nebula Plasma Rifle part location: Enter the tunnel, and the second waypoint will appear at the rear of a chamber housing the first few enemies you'll face. They're easy to deal with; head past the waypoint and you'll enter a long cavern with bridges crisscrossing it. Instead of heading forward deeper into the cavern, look up and to your left to find a recessed chamber housing a PCA squad, including a pesky sniper up on a ridge. Deal with them and boost up to where the sniper was standing to find the chest containing the Nebula Plasma Rifle.

Total chests: 1

Mission timing: When you reach the second objective

IA-C01G Aorta generator part location: From the start of the mission, follow the red beacons to your first objective and disable it. From here you should see another string of red beacons—follow them until you reach the second objective, which is located on a raised circular platform. You'll be attacked by several flying enemies. Deal with them, and then check the roof of the nearby building from the direction you just arrived to find the chest containing the Aorta generator.

Total chests: 3

Mission timing: Beginning

Double Trouble chainsaw part location: This chest is right out in the open, but in such a large space it's actually easy to miss. From the start of this mission, boost forward and slightly to your right as you descend through the wreckage. When the third waypoint appears, look at the platform below you and just to the left—as you get closer you'll see a bunch of red laser lines appear, which are traps set up by Brute, who you're here to fight. Land on the tip of the laser-heavy platform and you'll be right in front of the chest with the Double Trouble chainsaw.

Mission timing: Right after the first chest, before entering the structure

BC-0600 12345 Booster part location: After grabbing the first chest, descend again to a large platform with what looks like a train turn-around bracket in the center. Head towards the enclosed portion of the platform and you'll eventually emerge onto an extended arm, at the end of which you'll find a mech and the chest containing the 12345 Booster.

Mission timing: Just after you fight the enemies within the dome shield and enter the structure

Bad Cook flamethrower part location: After the second chest, continue towards your objective; it'll take you to a platform where several enemies are protected within a dome shield. Kill them and enter the structure behind them, then immediately head to your right as you drop down. On the right side of a short wall in this first chamber you'll find the chest with the Bad Cook flamethrower.

Total chests: 1

Mission timing: Right after the shutters close while you descend

IA-C01L Ephemera Legs part location: As you descend down the shaft, the partition will close on you at one point, blocking further progression. If you drop to the partitions there will be several enemies to kill; defeat them, and you'll get an objective to interact with an access point. It's located in the only room cut into the wall of the shaft; head to the back of that room to find the chest containing the Ephemera Legs.

Total chests: 2

Mission timing: Following the G5 Iguazu checkpoint and large cavern

IA-C01B Gills thruster part location: After you fight Iguazu, you'll enter a long, vertical cavern, then make your way into another chamber with a familiar blast door that needs opening. Duck off into a side room that looks identical to one you were in a few minutes earlier, but this time with a chest in the back containing the Gills booster.

Mission timing: After you enter the ventilation duct

IA-C01A Ephemera Arms part location: After grabbing that first chest, you're tasked with finding a ventilation duct to find a way to turn the power back on. Head back to that large cavern, then float off to your rich into what seems like a whole lot of empty space. Through the fog you'll eventually spy a duct. Enter it, kill the enemies, and jump onto the vertical lift. It'll rocket you upwards, and directly ahead you'll spy a few more enemies guarding a chest. Wipe them out and grab the Ephemera Arms.

Total chests: 2

Mission timing: Beginning

IA-C01F Ocellus FCS part location: When you begin your exploration of Depth 3 and head into the large open chamber, make a beeline for the first platform below you and slightly to your right. Head along the length of this platform to the right and overboost to the next platform over, dodging the turret laser blasts as best you can. On the other side of a pile of machinery about the size of your mech you'll find the chest containing the Ocellus FCS.

Mission timing: Right after the first chest

IA-C01C Ephemera Core part location: This large chamber is a nightmare of long-range turrets placed around the circular platform in the center. Make your way to the center and take out as many turrets as you can on your way. From the first chest you'll have to head three spokes over to find the second chest containing the Ephemera core near the outer edge of the chamber.

Total chests: 1

Mission timing: Beginning

IA-C01H Ephemera Head part location: This one's pretty much unmissable. Drop down from the starting point into the caves; make your way past the worms, down a level and then across a gap towards your objective. The chest containing the IA-C01H Ephemera head will be on your path, right before you receive a waypoint in the next large chamber.

Total chests: 2

Mission timing: Beginning

IA-C01W3 Aurora Light Wave Cannon part location: As soon as the mission begins, instead of heading directly into the fray, overboost slightly to the right; you should be able to see a chest on top of a small building in the distance. It's sitting right out in the open. Grab it to get your hands on the IA-C01W3 Aurora Light Wave Cannon.

Mission timing: After the first checkpoint, across the lake

Moonlight Blade part location: Start this mission by dealing with the ACs that are already battling one another in this ruined city. After making it through that fight, you'll get a waypoint that puts you on the precipice of a shallow lake with a bridge spanning its breadth. Head across the lake and then instead of climbing up to your objective, look down. You'll see a grouping of very dangerous giant wheel enemies circling around a chest that contains the Moonlight Blade.

The wheels can easily stunlock you, so be ready for them—explosive damage is particularly effective. Alternately, you can jump down, grab the chest, and then quickly boost away, but if you're unlucky you might die in the process. Don't worry too much about your ammo or repair kits here—there will be a resupply point not far ahead.

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Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he'll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games.

When he's not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it's really becoming a problem), he's probably playing a 20-year-old Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, to be specific).

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