Use your favourite features in-game with our Desktop AppAlthough meta builds have more consistency, you can still pull off victories if you don't hit them.
If you're starting with the Armored Core and you aren't running into Harmadillo (or you're just tired of playing it), this is a great alternate play line for you!
Be sure to watch the video guide by the off-meta master Kripparrian, who often puts limitations on himself to avoid the best items.
This is a play line that is based off of an Armored Core opening, so if you have a different starting Core, you'll want to consider another Dooley build.
The Armored Core gives you the option to Shield items to the right of it while getting Charged by items to its left.
You can adjust its positioning as needed throughout your run but for the final battle, Kripp positioned all items to the left of it to make it cast ASAP and often.
The Pulse Rifle acted as the build's Damage source but is also a key contributor to Charging the Core due to its Multicast.
The single Friend we paired it with is the ever-present Chris Army Knife, which can fit into any Dooley comp.
Kripp was able to Enchant the Pulse Rifle with Shield and Chris Army Knife with Shiny (grants Multicast), further contributing to the build's engine.
On the other side of Pulse Rifle was the Duct Tape, another classic Dooley Staple, especially in Shield builds.
Duct Tape does have the effect of Slowing enemy items but its signature ability is instantly Shielding when an adjacent item casts.
This is especially powerful when you pair it with items that are fast (like a Charged Core) and Multicast (like Pulse Rifle).
Chrono Barrier offered utility as a supportive item by contributing more Shield casts and debuffing the enemy with longer Cooldowns.
Note that the item is currently bugged and only increases enemy CD by 1 second.
Thrusters is a useful tech choice when you want to cast your items ASAP due to its adjacent Cooldown reduction.
Since Shields cuts Burn damage in half, self-Burn effects are usually worth the trade-off.
If you have Chris Army Knife on board, you can get a lot of value from Soldering Gun since you get its full Multicast trigger from one side.
In this build, Soldering Gun gets accelerated by Thrusters and can use its own 3x Multicast to Charge up the Core.
With any Shield-based build, you'll of course want to find skills that help your Shields scale or unlock Shield-related synergies.
Here are some examples that Kripp used during his run:
