Key Takeaway
You receive OST Chips by beating the ACs in the Arena. Defeat all ACs in two full playthroughs in the Arena and you’ll receive every OST Chip you’ll need to unlock all OS Tuning upgrades.
OST Chips are the second form of currency in Armored Core 6. You need these to tune your OS. OS Tuning unlocks new mechanics like Boost Kick and Manual Aiming. It can also enhance your damage and defense. Essentially, get more OST Chips and you can become stronger.
Table Of Contents
Head to the Arena to Get OST Chips
The only way to earn OST Chips in Armored Core 6 is to go to the Arena.
The Arena is a section of the game where you can battle AI ACs. The ACs you fight have their ranks. The higher the ranking, the tougher the AC. The tougher the AC, the more OST Chips you’ll receive for beating them.
The ranks start from 29/F up until 01/S. You won’t have access to every single rank when you first gain access to the Arena. Instead, each letter rank becomes available to you after you reach certain parts of the main story and after you defeat every AC from the previous letter rank.
As mentioned previously, you receive OST Chips by defeating the ACs in the Arena, along with COAM and the defeated AC’s presets. The higher the rank, the more chips with which you’ll be rewarded. There are 29 ACs in the Arena and you can fight all of them during your first playthrough.
That being said, here is every rank in the Arena, when it unlocks, and how many OST Chips you’ll receive for defeating it.
| Rank | When it Unlocks | OST Chips Reward |
|---|---|---|
| 29/F to 27/F | After "Retrieve Combat Logs" | 2 per AC |
| 26/E to 23/E | After "Attack the Watchpoint" | 2 per AC |
| 22/D to 18/D | After "Ocean Crossing" | 3 per AC |
| 17/C to 13/C | After "Tunnel Sabotage" | 3 per AC |
| 12/B to 08/B | After "Attack the Old Spaceport" | 4 per AC |
| 07/A to 04/A | After "Destroy the Ice Worm" | 4 per AC |
| 03/S to 01/S | After "Underground Exploration - Depth 3" | 6 per AC |
New Game Plus Arena Battles
After defeating every AC, and climbing the ranks until you reach 01/S, you’ll earn a total of 98 OST Chips. However, this still isn’t enough to unlock every single OS Tuning upgrade. That’s because there are more Arena battles that will unlock as you head to New Game + and New Game ++.
Once you clear the “Attack the Watchpoint” mission in New Game +, a new section of the Arena called “Analysis” will become available to you. Here you’ll fight different and tougher ACs and receive even more OST Chips per battle.
Just like the Arena ranks, the Analysis battles unlock in increments. Progress through New Game + and New Game ++ to unlock every single Analysis battle. However, you’ll only need to finish all Analysis battles in New Game + to have enough OST Chips to unlock the rest of the OS Tuning upgrades.
| Rank | When it Unlocks | OST Chips Reward |
|---|---|---|
| A-1 to A-3 | After "Attack the Watchpoint" in New Game + | 8 OST Chips per Rank |
| B-1 to B-3 | After "Prevent Corporate Salvage of New Tech" in New Game + | 10 OST Chips per Rank |
| Y1 to Y3 | After "Destroy the Ice Worm" in New Game + | 15 OST Chips per Rank |
| D-1 | After "Ocean Crossing" in New Game ++ | None |
| D-2 | After "Destroy the Special Forces Craft" in New Game ++ | None |
| D-3 | After "Underground Exploration - Depths 2" in New Game ++ | None |
At the end of New Game +, you’ll receive a total of 99 more OST Chips. All in all, this totals 197 OST Chips, which is also every chip you’ll need to unlock all OS Tuning upgrades.
On top of giving you OST Chips, the Arena is an engaging side-activity where you can fight different ACs, some of which are familiar characters. You can also use this to train yourself to be better at the game. You can also use it to learn the backstories of some of the characters you meet in the game.
Incidentally, the Arena is also a great place to earn money in Armored Core 6. Considering that, you can earn both modes of currency when you participate in this game mode. Be sure to take a dive into it as soon as Arena battles become available. You’ll need the upgrades for later challenges.
