Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon has no recruitable character system, but you can unlock every major hidden pilot encounter by clearing the Arena, finishing New Game Plus, and completing the exclusive New Game++ decision missions. The key names are Raven, Ayre, Handler Walter, ALLMIND, G5 Iguazu, Kate Markson, and the hidden Branch pilots; most appear automatically at specific campaign milestones rather than through optional collectibles.
This distinction matters because many guides call the Arena opponents “secret characters.” They are not party members, and you cannot add them to a roster. What you can unlock are their Arena dossiers, AC schematics, emblems, combat data, and story appearances. Finish all three endings and clear every Arena entry for the complete character and pilot lineup.
Before starting, keep your save after the first ending. Armored Core 6 carries currency, parts, OS upgrades, Arena completion, and mission replay progress into New Game Plus. You do not need to delete your original file or begin from a blank slot. The official Armored Core VI website is also useful for checking the game’s basic campaign structure, while our guide to farming money fast in Armored Core 6 helps fund the parts needed for repeated boss attempts.
How Armored Core 6 character unlocks work
There are three separate unlock systems: the standard Arena, the Analysis Arena, and alternate story routes. Treating them as one system causes most confusion.
Standard Arena pilots
The Arena opens during the early campaign and expands as you advance through the chapters. Standard entries include Balam and Arquebus pilots such as G1 Michigan, G2 Nile, G5 Iguazu, V.VII Swinburne, V.VI Maeterlinck, V.VIII Pater, V.V O'Keeffe, V.II Snail, V.I Freud, and V.IV Rusty. Other important entries include Rummy, Index Dunham, Nosaac, Mid-dle Flatwell, King, Chartreuse, and Raven.
Most of these fights unlock automatically after story missions. If an Arena portrait is greyed out, return to the sortie menu and finish the next main chapter mission instead of searching every map for a hidden NPC. You can replay a completed Arena match at any time, and the opponent’s AC data remains available even if you change your build.
Analysis Arena pilots
The Analysis tab is the real New Game Plus character reward. It adds tougher versions of familiar ACs and special encounters built around the game’s late-story machines. Analysis entries begin appearing in NG+ and NG++, with the complete list available only after the campaign reaches its final branch. Clear every newly displayed Analysis opponent; waiting until the end is safer because your parts and OS Tuning will be stronger.
Arena completion rewards more than a name on a menu. S-rank and late-game victories can award OST Chips, credits, pilot emblems, and access to additional AC data. The Arena is also the most reliable way to fight characters such as Raven and Freud outside their story context.
Unlock every Arena character and hidden pilot
Step 1: Finish the first campaign
Complete the campaign once and accept whichever ending your first decisions produce. Do not worry about obtaining every route on this run. Your immediate goal is to unlock the Arena and clear every available opponent, especially the late ranks that appear after missions such as Reach the Coral Convergence, Unknown Territory Survey, and Destroy the Drive Block.
Raven is one of the most commonly missed entries because the pilot is associated with the AC named NIGHTFALL. The Arena entry becomes available through normal progression, while the story also reveals Raven’s identity during Defend the Old Spaceport. Defeating NIGHTFALL requires patience: Raven’s reverse-joint AC uses a pile bunker, vertical missiles, and a high-impact assault rifle. Keep moving laterally, punish the pile-bunker whiff, and avoid hovering directly above the machine.
Step 2: Start New Game Plus and take the orange missions
After the first ending, select New Game Plus from the main menu. New missions and altered choices are marked with an orange NG+ icon on the chapter map. Choose these missions whenever they appear; simply replaying the original route will not unlock the alternate dialogue, Arena entries, or new story scenes.
The most important early choice is the alternate version of Attack the Dam Complex. When prompted to betray the Redguns, accept the choice. This creates a different mission sequence and is required for the full NG+ route progression. Continue selecting missions marked as new, then check Arena after every chapter completion. New entries may appear immediately after a decision mission rather than after a boss.
NG+ also changes the context around characters such as G5 Iguazu, V.II Snail, and V.IV Rusty. You are not unlocking separate playable versions of these pilots; you are revealing additional combat data and scenes. Clear the Analysis tab as soon as it opens, then use the Assembly menu to build counters for pulse shields, stagger resistance, and missile pressure.
Step 3: Reach New Game++ for the genuinely secret encounters
New Game++ begins after the second ending. The third run introduces missions that do not appear in the first two campaigns, and these are the closest thing Armored Core 6 has to secret-character quests. Select every mission with the NG++ marker, even when its title looks like a familiar operation.
The most important hidden pilot is Kate Markson. She is tied to the NG++ mission Coral Export Denial, where she operates the AC named TUMER. The mission is easy to overlook because it replaces a familiar operation on the Chapter 3 route. When it appears, select it instead of the standard mission and complete the sortie. Kate’s encounter then becomes part of the NG++ story and contributes to the final route requirements.
NG++ also exposes more of ALLMIND’s plan and expands the Analysis Arena. If you want every named pilot entry, do not rush directly to the final mission. Check the Arena after completing each orange-marked operation, clear every new Analysis fight, and replay any mission that has an alternate objective. This prevents a late-game cleanup session where several hidden entries appear at once.
How to unlock Ayre, Walter, and ALLMIND
Ayre, Walter, and ALLMIND are route bosses, not characters unlocked by winning Arena matches. You encounter all three by completing different endings across multiple playthroughs. The game only counts an ending after the final mission and credits sequence are complete, so quitting after the boss victory will not finish the route.
Ayre: Liberator of Rubicon
To reach the Liberator of Rubicon ending, side with Ayre and choose Eliminate Cinder Carla during Chapter 5. This leads to the final operation against Handler Walter, followed by Ayre’s Coral-powered AC. Ayre’s machine is extremely mobile and uses fast blade strings, Coral projectiles, and a powerful phase transition.
Use a medium-weight build with one reliable stagger weapon and keep Assault Boost available for closing distance. Shotguns such as the SG-027 Zimmerman can build stagger quickly, while the PB-033M Ashmead pile bunker converts a stagger into heavy direct damage. During Ayre’s red afterimages, do not chase every decoy; watch the real AC’s movement trail and punish immediately after the multi-slash sequence ends.
Handler Walter: Fires of Raven
For the Fires of Raven ending, choose Intercept the Corporate Forces in Chapter 5. This route leads to the final battle against Ayre and then Handler Walter in the HAL 826. Walter’s AC combines Coral weaponry with high stagger pressure, so equip the Pulse Protection expansion if you struggle with the projectile phase.
Stay close enough to force Walter into predictable melee and shotgun patterns, but do not stand directly in front of the HAL 826. A reverse-joint or tetrapod frame can maintain altitude while dodging Coral blades. Punish the recovery after his charged weapon swing rather than firing during the tracking portion of the attack.
ALLMIND and Iguazu: Alea Iacta Est
The third ending, Alea Iacta Est, is available only in NG++. Select the new missions throughout the run, complete Coral Export Denial, and follow the NG++ objectives until the final operation Regain Control of the Xylem. The last battle reveals ALLMIND’s plan and places G5 Iguazu inside the SOL 644.
The encounter has multiple phases. First, deal with the supporting machines without spending every repair kit. In the second phase, ALLMIND adds fast blade pressure and large Coral attacks; prioritize staying grounded and use quick boosts diagonally through the attack rather than backward. In the final phase, Iguazu’s aggression makes a heavy stagger build effective. Dual SG-027 Zimmermans, the BML-G1/P31DUO-02 split missiles, and a pile bunker can finish the stagger window before the boss resets its distance.
Best order for every secret character
- First playthrough: unlock the Arena, complete every available standard entry, and finish either ending. Record which final boss you fought so you do not repeat the same route.
- New Game Plus: choose the orange alternate missions, accept the alternate Attack the Dam Complex decision, clear new Arena and Analysis entries, then complete the opposite ending.
- New Game++: select every NG++ mission, complete Coral Export Denial to encounter Kate Markson, finish the Alea Iacta Est route, and defeat ALLMIND and Iguazu.
- Cleanup: return to Arena after the credits, clear every remaining Analysis opponent, replay missed missions for S-ranks, and inspect the AC Data and Emblem menus for newly awarded pilot records.
This order minimizes repetition because the second run naturally supplies one ending and the third run supplies the exclusive route. You can use mission replay to collect missed choices, but mission replay alone cannot create a new ending; you must launch the route from the campaign map and complete its final sequence.
For difficult fights, tune your build to the opponent rather than relying on one universal AC. Pulse weapons are valuable against pulse shields, explosives punish slow tetrapods, and kinetic shotguns remain excellent stagger tools. If performance makes fast boss attacks difficult to read, our Steam Deck OLED settings guide and PC graphics settings guide explain the same frame-rate and clarity priorities that help in Armored Core 6.
What you actually unlock after all three endings
Once the three endings are complete, the reward is a fully revealed campaign, not a character-select screen. You retain parts, weapons, OST Chips, Arena records, emblems, and mission replay access. New Game++ also exposes the complete Analysis roster and the story’s final explanation of ALLMIND, Iguazu, Coral, and the Rubicon conflict.
There are a few important limitations. You cannot play as Ayre, Walter, ALLMIND, Raven, or Kate Markson. Their ACs can be defeated, studied, and in some cases recreated with available parts, but their pilots are not selectable. Likewise, completing an Arena portrait does not alter the campaign ending or unlock a companion.
To verify that your collection is complete, check three places: the Arena and Analysis tabs for every cleared opponent, the AC Data menu for unlocked enemy schematics, and the Emblem menu for pilot insignias. Finally, review the Replay Mission list for orange NG+ and NG++ operations. If any alternate mission remains unavailable, advance the campaign to the next chapter and check the map again rather than restarting the entire game.
In short, the complete secret-character route is three campaigns, every orange-marked decision, the Kate Markson NG++ mission, all Arena and Analysis battles, and all three endings: Liberator of Rubicon for Ayre, Fires of Raven for Walter, and Alea Iacta Est for ALLMIND and Iguazu. Follow that checklist and you will see every major hidden pilot encounter Armored Core 6 has to offer.