Sky, congratulations on the recognition for your skill in Ammonite piloting. How does it feel being inducted into the pilots Hall of Fame?
Sky: Thanks David. I'm just lucky I guess. I fought hard in the King of the Mountains and the tournaments and it's nice to have tht recognized.
Dave: You use Kongregate as the underlying operating system for your combat AI, which is one of the less common options. For those of us unfamiliar with it's setup, how does it differ to what most of the rest of us have?
Sky: Actually , I'm an email- address only player. I don't even get the advantages of Kongregate. I don't have a Facebook account, so I felt it was the best option. My dad doesn't want me on social media yet but I like to watch the mechs blow up. You don't get friends for honor guards or to collect your crystals, so you have to make sure to harvest yourself every day, a and you ahve to spend niodes for honor guards. You don't get gifts either but the developers make sure that we get an allotment of stim packs, hatoraides, etc.
But you have to budget those carefully because you don't get as many as you would get as gifts
Dave: I stand corrected, thanks for that. Getting legendary status needs a proven track record on your chosen mech type in terms of victories. Has being an e-mail only player had any effect on that?
Sky: you just have to play smarter. sometime you have to pick your battles and just know you are fighting with one hand tied behind your back not being able to get an honor guard to give you that boost. you have to look for advantages, like entering ones where you are at the top of the level range for a division.
You also have to find a strategy and stick to it. I've focused a lot on building crit-kill units because I find it to be an effective strategy. It's one of the reasons I like the ammonite so much.
Dave: Funny you should mention that, as it leads nicely to my next question. So for the benefit of pilots up and coming, what was it that drew you to Ammonite in the first place, apart from the crit kill aspect?
Sky: The fact that it does good damage with any weapon due to the 2x/3x damage bonuses the mecha gets. Also the fact that it gets good defensive bonuses inherent in its build. It makes it VERY durable.
It can be flexible in a lot of formats which makes it useful in things like Clan Wars too. If you have to switch to a weapon specialty, you can plug and play in the right weapon type
Dave: A sound appraisal. Are there any other mechs that you would recommend to the new blood?
Sky: Of the crystal mechs, I find Ogguns and Luisons to be useful because of that same flexibility. Luisons are surprisingly underrated. I use specialty mechs, but if you are looking for a more flexible option, those are two to look at.
Among the niode mechs, megazomes and smilodons are also good flexible units.
Dave: Any of the big boy mechs you have your eye on that you haven't had the chance to use yet?
Sky: I have a prize niode mech coming into the fold for this Circuit war. interested to see how it performs. What it is you will just have to see...
Dave: Fair enough. Change of pace with some random questions, pilots need to think on their feet sometimes. So hypothetical tactical appraisal, which would win a fight between a badger and a babboon?
Sky: Babboon. It has the ability to get vertical to escape if needed.
Dave: And what is your stance in the debate on the strategic use of raccoons?
Sky: It works for some people. If you believe in a talisman of some sort, go with it.
I'll believe in a good blaster over some hokey raccoon, thanks.
Dave: Your father may disagree, but we'll move along. Do you have a favorite snack food that you take in the cockpit while you are fighting?
Sky: Cheetos. or Sour cream and onion chips, or what you on the far side of the world call crisps.
Dave: Oh, good call young man...
But since its on the event horizon, I guess since we are here we should talk about the upcoming Mechalympics. Looking forward to it?
Sky; It's going to be a grind. Ten days in a row? I love the game but that is a lot for players without a break.
We aren't but some people might want to go camping on a weekend or fishing or something that takes a chunk of their day and might not be able to participate.
Dave: It's certainly going to be a longer affair this time. How do you think people are going to cope with the time-frame, and do you think there is a chance of boredom or burnout before the end?
Sky: Some people won't play because they don't like the format. Some people might get burned out on it by the end. I don't know how I will feel after it's over.
Dave: Can you see any changes in the results compared to the usual clan war format?
Sky: I don't know at this point. Some of the clans who usually do well will do well. This is so different from any other format that I don't know how it will play out
Dave: Fair call. We'll leave that topic for now as our time is almost up
.
Now, we've been clan-mates for around a year and a half now, and we were both pretty low level when we met. Looking back, did you prefer fighting in the lower divisions or do you get more of a kick out of fighting at the higher level?
Sky: I like to fight. each level has its challenges. I'm starting to get into the levels where it is going to be a bigger climb but I welcome the challenge
Dave: One final question from me, If there was one piece of kit that you could walk away with as either a raid or medal prize, what would it be?
Sky:I'd like to get a few Cherenkov rays. Big laser, big critkill
Course I'd love to get more niode mechs but that's a given.
Dave: Yeah, I should have put that caveat on the question, shouldn't I? Anyway, any last words for the viewers at home?
Sky: See you on the other side... of my targeting sights!
Submitted by David McCallum #701548