AC6 Melee Build: Pulse Blade Stats and 1.09.1 Changes

Short answer: the melee build lands more easily now than it did on 1.06.1 — but not because melee weapons were buffed. The Pulse Blade "HI-32: BU-TT/A" has not had a single stat change since Regulation 1.01, right through to the current 1.09.1. What changed is how fast you get there: boosters, generators and lightweight legs were improved patch by patch, and 1.09.1 cut the IG damage mitigation of the PULSE SHIELD "VP-61PS". Melee stayed flat, the approach got faster, and the shield waiting for you got thinner.

Version covered: Regulation Ver. 1.09.1 (App Ver. 90), released 29 May 2025 and still the latest regulation at the time of writing. ARMORED CORE VI has no "season" system; balance moves through regulation updates. A distribution went out on 16 December 2025, but it targeted pre-order bonuses and the artwork & soundtrack application — the developers state explicitly that the main game is not impacted. So the balance you are playing has not moved since 29 May 2025.

HI-32: BU-TT/A actual numbers (as of 1.09.1)

Start with the star of the build — the L-arm unit that sits on your starting AC's left arm from the first mission.

These come from the per-regulation table on the ARMORED CORE series wiki. After PA Interference dropped from 210 to 147 in 1.01, nothing changed across 1.06.1, 1.07.1, 1.07.2, 1.08.1 or 1.09.1. There is no "the latest patch buffed/nerfed the blade" story to tell. If it feels stronger, that is the surroundings moving.

What actually changed for melee between 1.06.1 and 1.09.1

This guide previously described the 1.06.1 environment. Here is every official adjustment since then that touches a melee build.

Regulation 1.07.1 (3 October 2024)

• LASER BLADE "Vvc-770LB": fixed an issue where enemies would not react to non-charged hits immediately after being staggered.

Regulation 1.07.2 (29 October 2024)

• Boosters "BST-G2/P04", "BUERZEL/21D", "BC-0600 12345" and "IA-C01B: GILLS": increased Upward Thrust.
• Generators "AG-T-005 HOKUSHI" (post-recovery EN supply) and "VP-20D" (supply recovery): increased.

Regulation 1.08.1 (21 May 2025)

• Hit detection was improved on ACs whose frame configurations made them harder to hit, with compensating buffs to the CORE "AC-J-120 BASHO" (booster efficiency adj.) and the bipedals "NACHTREIHER/42E" and "VE-42A" (AP).
• Stagger behaviour was adjusted for enemy ACs when several hit detections register at the same time.
• Fixed a bug that prevented ACS load buildup under specific circumstances.

Regulation 1.09.1 (29 May 2025 — current)

• Booster "FLUEGEL/21Z": increased Thrust and AB Thrust. "IA-C01B: GILLS": increased Thrust.
• Generators "AG-E-013 YABA" (EN recharge, EN output) and "VP-20D" (EN capacity, EN recharge): increased.
• Legs "IA-C01L: EPHEMERA": increased jump distance, decreased weight. "IB-C03L: HAL 826": increased AP, decreased weight and EN load. Reverse-joint "RC-2000 SPRING CHICKEN": increased attitude stability and load limit.
• PULSE SHIELD "VP-61PS": decreased IG Damage Mitigation.
• Fixed a bug where an attack landing at the moment Pulse Armor activated against a staggered enemy was not treated as a direct hit.

Across those four regulations, not one melee weapon stat was adjusted. The only melee weapon touched at all was the LASER BLADE "Vvc-770LB" in 1.07.1, and that was a behavioural bug fix rather than a number. What actually moved was the approach (boosters, generators, light legs), the hit-detection and stagger plumbing, and a nerf to the defender's pulse shield. For a melee build, all of it points the same way.

The assembly

Shotguns build impact, the charged blade cashes the stagger in.

Correction 1: the old leg pick, LG-022T BORNEMISSZA, is a tank leg

An earlier version of this guide listed LG-022T BORNEMISSZA as the legs, described it as a heavy bipedal, and paired it with the booster FLUEGEL/21Z. Both of those are wrong. BORNEMISSZA is a tank leg, and tank legs carry their own thrust, upward thrust, QB and AB values (they do not use the booster slot the way bipedals do). The old assembly therefore cannot be built as written.

A tank-based melee build is a legitimate thing to make, but it cannot jump and its movement is a different game, so the assembly above has been rebuilt around bipedal legs. To put it plainly: tank legs are the only ones with propulsion built in, while bipedal, reverse-joint and tetrapod legs all take a separately chosen booster. The rule to remember is simply that a build which picks a booster does not pick tank legs.

Correction 2: the OS tuning is Weapon Bay, and there is only one of it

An earlier version of this guide listed "Weapon Hanger" and "Weapon Bay" as two separate OS tunings. That was wrong. There is no OS tuning called Weapon Hanger. The single unlock that lets shoulder slots carry hand weapons is Weapon Bay (System Unlocks, 2 OST Chips), and it is the only prerequisite this build has.

OS Tuning is split into four menus. The entries that matter to a melee build:

1. Weapon Bay (System Unlocks): replaces a shoulder weapon slot with a hand weapon. Mandatory here. 2 OST Chips.
2. Boost Kick (System Unlocks): the assault-boost kick. Heavy impact, and the cleanest way to open a combo. 1 OST Chip.
3. Melee Weapons - Drive Control Tuning (Attack Control): raises melee attack power directly.
4. Direct Hit Modifier - Damage Tuning (Attack Control): pairs with the blade's 230 direct hit adjustment to stretch the payoff swing.
5. Assault Armor (Core Expansions): an escape and a follow-up in one, and it never goes dead at knife range.

OST Chips come from Arena wins. 98 of them are available on a first playthrough, with more in NG+ cycles. You can respec for COAM, but the more chips you hold, the more it costs.

The combo, and how to carry it

There is exactly one line to run:

Assault Boost in → Boost Kick → both shotguns → (stagger) → swap to the Pulse Blade via Weapon Bay → charged attack

Close with Assault Boost and land the Boost Kick if it is there. If it is not, stacking both shotguns point-blank still gets the stagger. Then swap to the shoulder blade and charge. Chg. Attack Power 1,586, carrying a Direct Hit Adjustment of 230, is the entire damage output of this build — which also means nothing happens at all against an opponent you cannot stagger.

Recovery after the swing is long, so cancel with a Quick Boost and either leave or chain into the next input. Because 1.08.1 adjusted stagger behaviour for simultaneous hit detections and improved hit detection itself, walking in with 1.06.1 muscle memory and assuming "stack hits and it lands" can miss. Spend a fight or two feeling out how staggers come now before you take it somewhere that matters.

Where it works against ACs, and where it does not

1.09.1 reduced the IG damage mitigation of the PULSE SHIELD "VP-61PS", so the defender's shield buys less than it used to and pressure gets through more easily. The Pulse Blade also sits at the high end of PA Interference among melee weapons, which is what makes it bite into Pulse Armor-type defences — though that value itself has been static at 147 since 1.01.

What it does not beat is clear enough: an opponent who breaks the distance before the stagger lands. The charged attack needs wind-up, so swinging it without a stagger simply feeds a single Quick Boost. Carry one extra way to force the stagger — missiles to pin the feet, or the Boost Kick for extra impact — and the build stops being a coin flip.

Summary

The current build is Regulation Ver. 1.09.1, released 29 May 2025, and the Pulse Blade's numbers have not changed since 1.01. What moved over the last year and a half is the approach, the hit detection, and the defender's pulse shield. The one OS tuning you actually need is Weapon Bay — "Weapon Hanger" does not exist. Take the stagger with twin shotguns, pull the blade off your shoulder, and charge. That single line of damage lands more reliably today than it did on 1.06.1.

Sources

• ARMORED CORE VI official news on Steam (the contents of regulations 1.06 / 1.06.1 / 1.07.1 / 1.07.2 / 1.08.1 / 1.09.1, and the statement that the 16 December 2025 distribution does not affect the main game)
• ARMORED CORE Wiki — HI-32: BU-TT/A (per-regulation stats; unchanged from the 1.01 PA Interference change through 1.09.1)
• Fextralife — OS Tuning (the four menus, Weapon Bay's effect and chip cost, 98 chips on a first playthrough)
• Fextralife — Legs (name check for LG-022T BORNEMISSZA, KASUAR 42Z, IA-C01L: EPHEMERA, RC-2000 SPRING CHICKEN)