How the Suit Change System Works in ARES: The Iron Vanguard

ARES: The Iron Vanguard is live worldwide on mobile and PC, and its combat is built around a single idea: you carry two power-armor suits and switch between them in real time, even mid-combo. Com2uS Holdings sets the action RPG in the year 3400 AD, where you fight to protect the solar system across foot combat, mech battles, and aerial fights inside the same mission.

Quick answer: ARES: The Iron Vanguard is live worldwide on mobile and PC. You equip two suits and swap between them in real time mid-combo, with the second slot unlocking after Act 1 Chapter 1.

How the Suit Change system works

You equip two suits at once and swap between them instantly. The two suits do not have to share a class, so you can pair a dual-blade Hunter with a spell-casting Warlock and switch mid-fight to match the moment. A clean swap can cancel recovery frames, trigger passive bonuses, or pull you out of a bad position.

Swapping mid-combo also keeps pressure on the enemy, and Perfect Change skills can fire when you time the switch correctly. Early on you only have one suit slot; the second opens once you clear the opening chapter.

Because moves reset on a swap, learn which attacks can be cut short with a suit change to maintain a longer combo.

The four classes and their weapons

Class	Weapon	Combat role
Engineer	Heavy Gauntlet, drone strikes	Heavy firepower and utility
Warlord	Rocket hammer, iron shield	Front-line tank, block counters
Hunter	Dual blades	Fast close-range combos
Warlock	Cosmic spells	Ranged, wide-area damage

Each class changes your moveset, skills, and role. The Warlord holds a line and counters after a well-timed block, while the Hunter slips through gaps and punishes openings. The Warlock keeps foes at range with area spells, and the Engineer mixes strikes with drone support. You can mix skills across classes to build your own combat style.

Timing: dodge counters and perfect blocks

Moment-to-moment fights reward timing over button mashing. Two defensive techniques set the pace of a clean run.

Dodge just before an attack lands to trigger a dodge counter, which briefly slows time and opens enemies to heavy damage.
Block at the right moment to stun the attacker; this costs less stamina than dodging but requires reading attacks earlier.
Heavier suits like the Warlord favor blocking, while faster suits like the Hunter favor dodging.
Suit swaps can cancel recovery frames, so switching keeps your combo going.

Image credit: Com2uS Holdings / StillAliveGG

Mechs, flight, and hoverboard traversal

Beyond foot combat, missions hand you hardware that changes how you move and fight.

Hover bike and hoverboard traversal for high-speed movement across the battlefield.
Goliath mech, which you pilot directly using dual miniguns and missiles to tank hits and deal burst damage.
Valkyrie flight suit for aerial combat, repositioning, and ranged options.

Save the Goliath and Valkyrie for elite packs and boss phases rather than basic enemies, since their impact is highest against heavy reinforcements.

Co-op raids and end-game bosses

The back half of the content assumes a team. Co-op covers raids, strike missions, Pilgrim Raids, and end-game bosses, all built for coordinated play. Roles carry weight here: Warlords draw aggro and control crowds, Engineers add buffs and drone support, and Hunters and Warlocks deal damage but need protection.

Unlock your second suit slot: Act 1 Chapter 1

Your early hours run on a single suit. The second suit slot and the full Suit Room open once you clear Act 1 Chapter 1 – The Supply That Never Came. Here is the path through that opening chapter.

Meet Quartermaster Lennon at the Supply Outpost to start The Supply That Never Came. Interact with the landed supply pod and pick a resupply suit, such as the Walter suit equipped with a hammer and shield.

Defend the outpost from a wave of Grug raiders using weapon combos and suit switching. A tutorial popup introduces Perfect Change skills during this fight.

After the defense, Lennon hands over Suit EXP Chips. Open suit management and level your Raven suit, using Auto Select to pull the Basic Suit EXP Chips for you.

Raven suit Level Up screen with the Auto Select button highlighted for picking EXP chips — The Raven suit’s Level Up screen, where Auto Select picks Basic Suit EXP Chips for you. Image: Com2uS Holdings

Lennon then unlocks your ground mount. Open the Mount tab, equip a mount such as Speedster Black, and ride out to find Scout Ron near the Communications Base Front.

Character menu open on the Mount tab with the player and mount shown while selecting a mount — The Mount tab, where you equip a mount before riding out. Image: Com2uS Holdings

Clear the Harkarn forces holding the power plant and activate the two generators to restore power. Push to the northern entrance and defeat the Harkarn assault soldiers blocking it.

Combat at the base northern entrance with the Base in Crisis quest tracker while fighting a Harkarn soldier — Fighting Harkarn assault soldiers at the northern entrance during Base in Crisis. Image: Com2uS Holdings

When Harkarn crewships bombard the base, you take control of Duke and deploy the Goliath mech, using its dual miniguns and missiles to clear reinforcements. If the mix is too loud, open Settings and adjust the background and UI volume on the Sound tab.

Settings Sound tab showing volume sliders for master, background, character, skill effects, and UI — The Sound tab in Settings, with sliders for background, character, and UI volume. Image: Com2uS Holdings

Duke tasks you with bringing the anti-aircraft guns back online. Search the backup generators around the base and retrieve the two emergency batteries.

Backup generator at the Satellite Communication Station with the gear interaction icon highlighted to grab a battery — Searching a backup generator for an emergency battery at the Satellite Communication Station. Image: Com2uS Holdings

Deliver the batteries, man the north gate anti-aircraft gun, and shoot down the incoming crewships across the three waves to finish the sequence.

You will know it worked when Act 1 Chapter 1 registers as complete and the full Suit Room opens. From that point you can equip two suits and swap between them in combat.

Global launch rewards

The global launch check-in and mission events hand out a set of starter rewards:

S Grade Operator Capsule
Suit Summon Tickets
Cybertron Black, an S Grade mount

Where to play and system requirements

ARES: The Iron Vanguard runs on mobile and PC. Grab it from the official listings below.

Mobile requirements

Platform	Minimum	Recommended
iOS	iPhone 11, iOS 15.0 or later	iPhone 14 or later, iOS 15.0 or later
Android	Galaxy S10, Android OS 15.0 or later	Galaxy S20 or later, Android OS 15.0 or later

PC requirements

Component	Minimum	Recommended
OS	Windows 10 (64-bit)	Windows 10 (64-bit)
CPU	Intel Core i5 3.0 GHz / AMD Ryzen 5 2600	Intel Core i7-9700K / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Memory	8 GB RAM	16 GB RAM
Storage	25 GB	25 GB
Graphics	GeForce GTX 1050 (4 GB) / Radeon RX 560	GeForce RTX 2060 / Radeon RX 5700
DirectX	Version 11 or later	Version 11 or later

Once you are in and past the opening chapter, the game opens up: pair two suits that cover different ranges, lean on dodge counters and perfect blocks, and save your mech and flight forms for the fights that need them.