Let’s try something a bit different with a mech review.
Instead of reviewing a single mech, I’m going to look at two
of them and draw comparisons. Again, I’m revisiting some old favourites in
order to give up and coming pilots some sage advice… or something else to ignore
because that’s what the youth of today seem to enjoy doing.
In the Blue Corner, we have that tried and trusted old
favourite, the Oggun.
In the Red Corner, weighing in at the same 50 ton mark we
have the Fides.
Now I’ve chosen these for a number of reasons. First, these
are the first mechs you will need to train towards by putting points into
piloting skill. Second, 50 tons is a magical transitional tonnage number
whereby some important equipment systems overlap, thus meaning that what starts
as a high end mech can have a set of equipment when you first get it then by
upgrading the equipment it doubles its lifespan by being the low member of the
next generation of mechs. Third, either by price or ease of acquisition as a
prize, they are both common chassis.
The fact that you want them for a 50 ton speciailist
formation should go without saying.
So let’s start off. Fides is a niode mech, the Oggun is a
crystal one and therefore a lot would consider it to be the cheap and cheerful ‘alternative’.
Not quite so fast…
First point of difference is that the Oggun is way more heavily
armoured, boasting a full 25% more armour than the Fides. I guess metal plate
is relatively cheap. On the downside it starts with less weapons and gains them
at a slower rate, meaning in terms of firepower output its good defence has
been offset by a poorer offense.
The Oggun also suffers when it comes to equipment slots,
having less in all 4 areas than the Fides. Our niode mech can therefore hit
more often, crit more often, dodge more often, fire more often and just plain
deflect damage more often. Not looking good for the Oggun, is it?
The Fides is also a weapon specialist, meaning it can
eventually do more damage with both projectiles, the fastest weapons in the
game and missiles, potentially the most devastating for collateral damage.
So when all is said and done, why do veterans go on and on
about the Oggun?
Well, that ability to absorb damage at this weight is a big
bonus, but the real advantage is that the Oggun is not a specialist like the
Fides but a hard hitting generalist. You can mount any weapon and in very short
order each and every shot will have the chance to do double damage purely from
built in bonuses. No special equipment, just every shot having the chance of 2
x damage. At higher levels the percentage chance is up to 60%, so that means
each and every shot is on average going to be putting out around half as much
again. The Fides only gets 16% unless you add extra gear.
And because you can fit any weapon on the Oggun to get that
bonus, if you’ve been sensible, 1 in 5 shots is going straight through the
vulnerable shield gap where the Fides couldn’t get that 5th shield
type on. The Oggun may only get 3 shields, but you can guess enough to put projectile
and missile on which are the Fides strong suites.
And that generalist ability is the reason why veterans love
the Oggun. You can use it for pretty much any application. It’s never going to
be as good as a specialist chassis, but if you’ve guessed wrong in your assessment
of the enemy, it’s strong enough and hard hitting enough to bull you out of
trouble because it doesn’t have the big vulnerabilities a specialist has.
This match up, to put it another way, is very much like
Rocky vs Apollo. One is fast, accurate, lots of good jabs, nimble and has a
touch of class. The other has no defence to speak of, takes a lot of punishment
and has a killer hit.
So which would you choose? Well, both of course. Even in the
movies, the honours were even. And because in the grand scheme of things (and I’m
talking here when you are trying to level 90 and 95 ton mechs) Ogguns are so
cheap, you see armies of them.
There is a legend in my clan that a certain Colonel got to
the point where he could use Ogguns and replaced his whole force with them.
They were cunningly named Oggun 1, Oggun 2, etc. It wasn’t until a few levels
later he finally got himself a Namtar.
Called ‘NotAnOggun’.
The crying shame is that the Fides, the nimble, well
shielded, fast and accurate hitter gets shredded for scrap value. Sure, you
would never own more fides than Ogguns, but those that you do have are so
incredibly useful.
And you will be using both classes for a long while. 50 and
70 ton specialists, and I can guarantee that you will need to drop down to 50
ton levels to fill out a complete rainbow formation long after you have access
to BFM class mechs.
So the big question, which is better? Best to call it an honourable
draw, and that’s saying a lot for the Oggun because normally a niode mech will
outstrip a crystal one. The Oggun is just that much better for its weight than
other crystal mechs.
Submitted by David McCallum #701548