Ooooh! New Shields! Love a shield...Alright, they may not be the most glamorous item in the universe and you might think there's not a lot to be said about them. They don't have the flashy lights and heads up displays of cockpit pieces, the magical repair properties or the handling characteristics that make your Boreas move like Jessica Bradley Rabbit on a floor full of ball bearings, or the throaty growl of big engines that make you feel like your bum is about to take flight and soar along the runway at mach 4.....
They just sort of... sit there.But I bet you'd feel naked if you went into battle without them.
In fact, since thay are essentially clothing for your mech, it's a big fat hairy lie to say they aren't much to look at. They are the evening gown worn on the red carpet.
So lets see what the newest creations from Nu Milan have in store for us...As an Alpha grade shield set, it's less of an evening dress and more like swim wear... but instead of the usual boring old one piece that only covers against a single weapon type, the new shields cover against two. I guess that makes them more of a bikini...
7 niodes, 150 Ferrite and 225 Bioptics is the same cost as your bog standard old Alpha grade shield and you get a smidge less straight shield blocking, a touch more vulnerability and a whisper less protection.But what you do gain, and this is the important part, is a heck of a lot more flexibility.
25 ton or lighter mechs have so little shield in the way of shield slots available that it is not the pure blocking shield that saves you, its the percentage of degradation that is going to keep you alive. Yes, these newer shields give less of that mitigation, but they give far more than they take away and more importantly they close off the holes or vulnerabilities. Suddenly 1 shield type is 2, 2 is 4 and 3 is the complete rounded package.I can only wait for the Beta, Gamma and Delta versions of these shields to hit the market, because there are some big boys in the line that can sure do with some bikini lovin' of their own...
Submitted by David McCallum #701548