A player in a purple armored core saying "Nothing personal, kid" after destroying a tester armored core piloted by a trainee.

Armored Core 6: How to Earn Money Fast

Bully a trainee pilot for maximum profit.

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Reyadh is a writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction who loves to play video games full of monsters and magic. When he's not scribing unique and unrelenting speculative fiction or slaying demons in virtual worlds, he is writing strategy guides to help others reach their gaming goals.

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Marshall is a seasoned writer and gaming enthusiast based in Tokyo. He's a prolific wordsmith with hundreds of articles featured on top-tier sites like Business Insider, How-To Geek, PCWorld, and Zapier. His writing has reached a massive audience with over 70 million readers!

Key Takeaway

In Chapter 1 of Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, the “Destroy the Tester AC” mission can be completed in under a minute and gives you around $95,000. As such, it’s the best early-game mission to play repeatedly to get a lot of COAM.

A great way to earn money fast in Armored Core 6 is to replay short and easy missions. In Chapter 1, there are many of these from which you can choose. We recommend that you pick your favorite; however, our top choice is the one titled “Destroy the Tester AC.”

Why “Destroy the Tester AC” Is the Best Mission to Earn Money Fast

Since the “Destroy the Tester AC” mission can be completed in less than a minute and grants you around $95,0000 each time, it’s the most efficient way to make money in the early parts of Armored Core 6. The trainee pilot you fight doesn’t have great AI and their armored core is fairly weak. As such, you can exploit this for fast and easy COAM.

The "Destroy the Tester AC" mission briefing screen in Armored Core 6.
Note
Keep in mind that your repair costs and ammunition usage are subtracted from your final earnings—so don’t get hit often and be sparing with your ammo.

Tips for Completing This Mission Quickly

When the mission begins, fly to the left side of the building separating the tester AC from the rest of the area. Next, hop on top of the building and attack your foe from above. They won’t see this ambush coming, so you’re all but guaranteed to land your opening attacks.

Red text indicating the best spot from which to ambush an enemy armored core.

You can easily rush the inexperienced pilot and overwhelm them. As such, high Attack Power weapons are important here. Use a firearm that has high single-shot damage and impact as well as a melee weapon for the best results.

We recommend using the DF-BA-06 Xuan-GE bazooka and the HI-32: BU-TT/A pulse blade to destroy the tester armored core. After landing a two-hit combo with your pulse blade, blast the rookie with a shot from your bazooka. This string of three simple attacks is guaranteed to stagger them. Rinse and repeat for a win in potentially under a minute.

With that said, you should also equip the SI-24: SU-Q5 pulse shield to protect yourself. This is essential for preventing damage while your bazooka is reloading and your pulse blade is recharging.

Don’t use your back weapons, as they consume a lot of ammo and aren’t needed to defeat the tester armored core. When you avoid using such weapons, you won’t lose money from ammunition costs.


If you’re seeking to get S-Rank on this mission, you’ll naturally earn money fast in Armored Core 6 through doing so. You’ll also gain a lot of practice dueling enemy armored cores. Unfortunately for the tester AC’s trainee pilot, this means you’ll repeatedly kill them. The world of mercenaries is a harsh one.

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