David - Ok, I'll start off and you can chime in.
Light category I'd have to go for the Hoplite. Ants are one shot death traps, Anzus even worse because they just blow themselves up as soon as you sneeze and while the Shocklite is a decent little missile mech, its a touch too under-shielded for my liking.
The Hoplite however has decent shielding, reasonable dodge and most importantly is the first light mech that gets access to Beta grade shields which makes it a good survivable point mech for a good few tonnage levels.
Medium has got to be the Oggun. Pound for pound its one of the strongest crystal mechs out there, and is one of the only ones that can really hold its own against its niode counterpart, the Fides.
I do feel however that the Luison deserves an honorable mention as it makes a better point mech in its weight class than the Oggun does, even though the Oggun has access to a higher grade of shield.
Heavy has got to be the Ammonite. Again brilliant shielding and a higher grade than others in the class, its a solid workhorse wherever you put it.
Huge is a very difficult category, because the mechs are all so very different. I haven't had a brilliant run with Gigus or Ballista,and while the Jottun is a brilliant ice mech and served me well as a utility specialist, I think I'd have to plump for the Harrel. Again a good point mech but instead of a generalist like the luisons and ammonites before them, this one specializes in a nice fast projectile payload so it can start killing things quickly rather than perhaps stand and take shots first before it replies.
And onto the BFM's. In a word, Urgh. Now the caveat is that I'm not a high enough level to have played in a Balrog, so of the others... umm... actually the Glaccus. Its got the best shielding available, and while it is certainly eclipsed by the Boreas as an ice mech, we aren't bringing niode mechs into it... and as a crystal chassis, it does its job as an ice mech very nicely indeed.
Pat - Granted I haven't used many of these lighter mechs for a long time now. Hell I've sold most off, but my list will be from what I remember.
For light I have to give it to the Shocklite. Yes David has a point about the lack of shielding, however with newer equipment coming out, faster weapon systems, and dialed in level stats this still has my vote for the top player in its weight class.
Medium is Oggun hands down, always was the major work horse of its weight class and major ass kicker to boot. As long as we're doing honorable mentions mine for this category would of course go to the Nifthel. Remember I can recall a time before equipment and back then this mech was an ice monster. After equipment got implemented I can only imagine it getting stronger.
Heavy for me is a tie between the Krampus and the Ammonite. Both solid mechs, both utilize fast weapons in the projectiles they use. Both have nice equipment slots (Ammo yes has an extra or so but it is a higher weight by 5 tons) and both can deliver solid damage while retaining their position on the field very well.
For the Huge ranking there aren't many crystal choices to be had. Out of the Gigus, Harrell, and the Jottun choices the only reasonable one to me is the Harrell. Again fast firing weapons with projectiles, and nice damage built in to the guns even before adding in mecha bonuses, or damage multipliers that the mecha gives you. Tack on your X2/X3 damage, equipment boosts and modifiers, and shielding and well you just have one solid mecha.
For the BFM class I would pick the Magnus. Yes it has limited equipment slots. So no it'll never haul a lot of ass or dance a jig in a dodge, but it will give you seven shield slots to play with, it packs Freeze, Fork, with Trample, and Splash shields as in built mecha bonuses. Plus it uses again projectile weapons, and if you can get the higher end faster missile systems this mech packs a nice boost to that damage as well.
Ron - laser/jadoon.....missile/typhoon......projectile/magnus......fire/yallan.....ice/glaccus...........10t/red ant......50t/oggun.....the rest.....I'm a bit undecided on......for overall heavy I would have to say....its a tie between magnus and glaccus for me. In crystal that is, niode is a whooooollllle other ball of wax
Pat -No lie there niode is an entirely different beast.
Kenneth - Like in all things, judging the "best" can be broken down into style of play, rolls, versatility, Att/Def, and aesthetics. Let's take a look:
Light: Ant, Anzu, Shocklite, Hoplite.
Ants have been given their niche as a 10 ton specialist. Fast, one shot machines, be it giving or receiving, they have only one purpose, the 10 ton spec. This alone makes them more useful than either the Anzu or Hoplite.
Until the day they let us reconfigure Anzus to carry Hand held nukes, they are even less than useless. So my vote in the Light category will go to the Shocklite.
I've blown up many the preening Axebot with my Shocklites, as they can be set up with very decent speed and freeze weapons depending on what equipment you set up. And in my book, a crystal mech who can stand toe to toe with arguably the best mech in it's weight class niode or crystal, gets my vote.
Medium:iMech, Holmes, Zadok/Nephilax, Nifthel, Luison, Oggun, Xmas Tree
Zadoks and Nephilax would win easily, but while they are "technically" a crystal mech, they really aren't. More weapon slots, more bonuses, these two prize mechs signify bragging rights as to a pilot's prowess in one of the countless arenas. Because of this, I don't think they fit in this judging.
There are a lot of really good crystal mechs in this division, but my vote has to go with the scrappy Oggun which time and again has proven to be a solid competitor against whomever wants to take a shot at it.
Heavy:Warg, Namtar, Orester, Krampus, Freon, Ammonite, Bishop
This Division is a combination of laughable vs what role you need in this division.
Laughable: the Orester and Namtar.
The rest: My personal favorite is the Bishop. My Bishops have proven extremely good at dodging and have great accuracy. Load them with Eyes of the Galaxy and you have a very serious threat.
Huge:Gigus, Ballista, Jottun, Harrell.
I always wished that the Gigus had better capabilities. This mech has one of the coolest back stories, including a detailed description of how they actually ingest a pilot to link. I mean really, how cool is that (unless you're the pilot of course.)
My vote has to go to the Harrell though as they are a certified workhorse that can take punishment as well as dish it out. My Harrells have been able to stay in my lineup longer than any other crystal mech in their weight division.
BFM:Jadoon, Magnus, Yallan, Glaccus, Typhoon, Corsair
This category breaks more into what roll you need. Jadoons are one shot, laser killing machines that can dance, duck, dip, dive, and dodge across a battlefield.
Typhoons also show great ability in the dodge department, and can carry some of the most devastating weapons utilized at this level efficiently.
My vote goes to the Magnus however for a couple reasons. One, it's built to be a front line fighter, capable of taking damage. Many have shot this beast with what should have been a kill shot, only to see it rise from the smoke and commence to whooping butt. Also, it has imho the best versatility of the weight class. Truly a well balanced performer.
Submitted by your Galaxy Gathering staff, Ron Frye#879655, David McCallum#701548, Kenneth Hicks#846092, Pat Willis#224534