How to Beat EC-0804 Smart Cleaner in Armored Core 6 (AC6)

Armored Core 6 kicks off its second chapter with a doozy right at the beginning, with not one but two boss fights in the first mission. As you make your way through the mission Infiltrate Grid 086, you’ll be faced with some average combat and a simple boss in “Invincible” Rummy, but when you get to the end, things get a bit more challenging. Here’s how to beat the EC-0804 Smart Cleaner in Armored Core 6.

How Do You Destroy the Smart Cleaner?

To take on the Smart Cleaner, you’ll need to make sure that you’re focusing on either one of its two weak points. It doesn’t have pulse shields or anything of the sort, but the outside armor is almost impossible to damage from just regular attacks. Instead, focus your firepower on the chimney at the top of the Smart Cleaner or the vent in the front.

Be careful as you attack these weak points because this is also where some of the Smart Cleaner’s attacks come from. The top chimney will blow out globs of hot lava that do heavy damage on impact, and the front vent will spew lava all over the ground which does damage both if it hits you and if you stand in it. If you’re using Assault Armor, you can hit it with a couple of well-placed blasts to build up its stagger bar a bit while also avoiding some incoming damage.

Do your best to stay off the ground as much as possible. The Smart Cleaner has two incredibly powerful grinder arms, and if you get caught up in them you can be knocked down to very little health in almost no time at all. I would recommend focusing your firepower on the chimney at the top because you can avoid most of the grinder attacks while still dealing damage, but if you can get between the arms and the front vent, you can make quick work of the Cleaner’s health.

What Is the Best AC Build for the Smart Cleaner?

To take on the Smart Cleaner, the best build is going to be one that can stay off the ground and deal heavy kinetic damage. I didn’t focus as much on Plasma weapons because I found them a bit slow and the Cleaner doesn’t have any plasma shields to remove. I would recommend using the IRIDIUM Grenade Launcher, the DF-BA-06 Xuan-GE Bazooka, or the HML-G2/P19MLT-04 Missile Launcher. That way, you can focus the weak points with heavy damage and stagger it as fast as possible.

For your shoulders, I’d recommend using any of the missile launchers, but the vertical ones like the BML-G1/PO3VTC-08 Missile Launcher will be more helpful for getting damage into the upward-facing chimney. The Cleaner can block attacks to the front vent with its grinder arms, and if you’re close enough to hit it, it’s close enough to hit you too.

Try to make sure your AC can get off the ground and get away quickly, so I would stick to as nimble of a build as you can, with something like the KASUAR/42Z legs and the BUERZEL/21D booster for an easy in and out. If you want to get off the ground and stay there, the VP-424 Tetrapod legs are going to be perfect for hovering above the Smart Cleaner and focusing your damage into the chimney. Just make sure you’ve got the EN to power them.

That’s about it for how to beat the EC-0804 Smart Cleaner in AC6. It’s a nice, tough boss to start off chapter 2, and if your AC isn’t up to the task, you’ll know almost immediately. If you need more guides for Armored Core 6 — be it bosses or builds, be sure to check back here.