Crossfire Hybrid Design By Pat Willis#224534

I have put this mecha in the Spotlight before, roughly one level ago so not much has changed. However I have decided to go ahead and switch up his weapon systems a bit. You see a Fext is a laser machine set up to do multiple damage modifiers in a single hit. This applies itself beautifully to the higher end damage lasers on hand. But the damage modifiers will go off regardless of what weapons you put in. So aside from the Lasers, how do you get the best bang out of your Fext?

I looked at other weapon types and decided for my personal play style to mix up the lasers with projectile weapons. Projectiles do high end damage if you're the right level to purchase such weapons. They also have nice weapon abilities like Trample and X2 or X3 damage, not to mention they are generally fast weapons as a whole. So these abilities combined with the inbuilt bonuses on a Fext got me thinking about a hybrid laser/projectile wielding design.

Please note as with all my builds I am not saying it's the best mecha out there, nor is it the worst. I simply put these up to show you where my mind is at on a given mecha at a given time. Here are the results....

Level: 116 / 116
Armor: 1532

Laser Damage + 51%
Missile Damage + 6%
Fire Damage + 7%
Proj. Damage + 30%
Speed + 59
3X Damage 87%
Trample 33%
Fork 9%
2X Damage 57%
1.5X Damage 65%
Crit-Kill 16%
Dodge (79)
Precision (74)
Shield (151)
Trample Shield 79%
Ice Shield 42%
Laser Shield 12%
Proj. Shield 38%
Proj. Shield (30)
Fire Vulnerable 15%
Missile Vulnerable 8%

Class: Fext
Weapons: 49

Crossfire

1532 Armor = base armor + 461.33% from upgrades and skills

Mech Bonuses: (Without Equipment)
Laser Damage + 41%
Speed - 27
Speed + 26
3X Damage 28%
Fork 9%
1.5X Damage 65%
2X Damage 21%
Trample Shield 70%
Ice Shield 70%
Precision (5)

As to what all is in it...
7 Cockpit slots with 5 Predicative Analysis, 1 Oculus Drift, 1 Retro Controls.

Chassis is 6 slots all Lateral Stabilizers

Engine 6 slots with 5 Orcus Wheels, and 1 Quantum Pulse.

Shields are 4 slots with 2 Viridel Epsilon, 1Crabworth Epsilon, and 1 Lightning shield.

Weapon slots 9 Blue Dragons, 2 Rage Pulsars, 4 Kaos Beams, 2 Blossoming Beams, 5 Galaxy Eyes, 5 Harmonic Disruptors, 2 Nutcrackers, 9 Kanabos, 3 Vadhar, 1 Exacto shot, 7 Big Berthas.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Frozen Dream Build Update By Pat Willis #224534

When last we looked at my build for my Frigis Mecha Frozen Dream, he was at level 108. That build as well as accompanying stats can be found here . I have made some modifications since then to try and keep him more viable for the upper levels since I am now level 115.

 Let's be truthful though there is only so much an 80 ton Frigis can do when facing a enemy line worth of Fext mechas.  This build however has some advantages over its predecessor I feel and given the tweaks made, it gets an updated entry. So here we go.

Both models employ 4 Hawkeye M.M. for the cockpit. For the Precision, Crit-Kill, Laser and Missile damage boosts. (Just because it's a mainly laser mecha with a secondary ice capability doesn't mean you can't add a few surprises.)

For the Chassis I went down to only two  Coolant Systems, added in 2 Wheeled Feet, and kept in 3 Muon Junctions. Again going for a bit of a surprise. While the Hawkeye boosts Laser, and  the Coolant Boosts Ice it also adds in Fire. So really this build is more about giving yourself options.

The Engines were over hauled pretty much entirely to all Indefinite Singularities across the 4 slots. Not only for speed but also for the 2X Damage boost. And shielding stayed as it was.

But now at Level 115 the stats prior to equipment are.
Tons: 80

Level: 115
Armor: 1126
Class: Frigis
Bonuses before
equipment:
Precision (30)
Speed - 15
Ice Vulnerable 10%
Freeze 58%
Speed + 25
Laser Damage + 46%
Ice Damage + 44%
3X Damage 10%
2X Damage 8%
Shield (40)

And now with level and equipment boosts factored in he sits with.
Level: 115 / 115
Armor: 1126

Ice Damage + 64%
Missile Damage + 28%
Laser Damage + 86%
Fire Damage + 20%
Speed + 70
2X Damage 20%
3X Damage 10%
Fork 18%
Crit-Kill 8%
Dodge (66)
Freeze 90%
Precision (74)
Shield (156)
Ice Shield 8%
Fire Shield 29%
Fire Shield (40)
Proj. Shield 29%
Laser Shield 29%
Missile Vulnerable 9%

Now on to the weapons, 35 in all. Most of the old weapon systems got relocated to other mechas and I tried to center in a few unexpected surprises. I installed 5 Frigis Dream Ice weapons, 5 Man O' War Rays, 1 Twin Grazer I had lying around, 1Kojin Stove, 1 Birthday Fist, 4 Tinsel EMP, 1 Triple Matrix, 1 Ammo Cookoff, 3 Chimera, 5 Helios Forge, 5 Winter's Grasp, 2 Northwind Eradicator Lasers (still got em from the NW/CS wars.), and finally 1 King Cobra Laser.

 So there you have it folks a Frigis that got me where I am today, and what it looks like now both inside and out. I do these pieces so folks can see there are some in the game who aren't afraid to show their builds for good or bad. What's the worst that can happen? Someone builds your load out to fight you? Oh no, not like you can't change it up and out in a short period of time. Also on the flip side you may get feedback to help improve on your already existing build. So what I am saying here folks is basically, stop being scared, show off the builds, get feedback, see what happens. Until next time both Frozen Dream and myself wish you happy hunting.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Sideways The Novum Mecha Spotlight By Pat Willis#224534

Like most I obtained my flying mecha from the mission Zone it shares its name with, Novum. Its a slick, swooped back design, sporting more dodge ability than thought previously possible. Normally I would sell off a low tonnage mech, but something about this one made me keep it. As far as I know these are still available on the mission zone Novum Dolorum. Bosses completed or not, it is a mission drop, a very rare mission drop, but a drop all the same.

So I kept this little speed demon and noticed right off she wasn't crystalline based like the Jadoon, this puppy is a niode mecha. As such she is three niodes per level for leveling cost. That isn't too bad if you are a niode heavy player, use your one a day level gifts (that takes forever at the rate of one a day.), or frequent the missions zones which reset often now for mini boss fights to save up niodes for leveling. So there are ways to level it in game without having to spend a dime, unless that is your preferred route in which case more power to you.

The Novum is a 25 Ton flying niode mecha with real simple basic abilities before  installing equipment. Right now mine is at level 57 and slowly being upgraded, I am at level 95, so its before equipment bonuses are as  follows- Speed + 44, Dodge (24), Missile Vulnerable 30%, Laser Damage + 9%, 3X Damage 14% . As with the Jadoon it shares a missile vulnerability, but this is at a higher percentage rate than the Jadoon. It is simply smaller and packs less armor so whatever can hurt a Jadoon, will really hurt these Novum as they share the same basic design body wise.

As it is a smaller lighter mecha thus far it has only 2 cockpit slots which I have filled with FOF Targeting systems granting it a precision bonus, x2 Damage, Missile and Projectile weapon damage upgrades to a small percent. The chassis is made up of 2 Hip actuators for a dodge of (12) per, and one spinal bracing for another dodge of (12). I have 2 engine slots which I put Cogwerk Micro Blocks in for a speed of +25 and and auto repair of (1) per engine. Also it has 1 shield slot which I filled with a Crabworth Alpha for a missile shield of 44%, but I gain an ice vulnerability of 12%. Honestly that doesn't overly concern me as most ice weapons can't fire as fast as this thing can move, and dodge. See what I mean below....

All told with equipment her stats become......
Level: 57 / 94
Armor: 131
Laser Damage + 9%
Missile Damage + 20%
Proj. Damage + 8%
Speed + 94
3X Damage 14%
2X Damage 12%
Dodge (60)
Precision (10)
Auto Repair (2)
Shield (6)
Missile Shield 14%
Ice Vulnerable 12%
Class: Novum
Weapons: 16

Nothing ground breaking I know but hey she is fast and can dodge like crazy, precision needs work but again this is only level 57, working with what I had stored away in my hanger.

The weapon systems are simple with 2 Rage Pulsars with 95 straight damage and crit-kill abilities, 3 H.Blast Plates to take advantage of the projectile bonus with 63 straight damage and the small chance for trample, 2 57AM missile launchers for 96 straight damage with a small percentage chance for Splash ability, and finally 9 Heat Lasers with straight damage of 60, and a small percentage chance at x2 damage.

All in all this is a fine mecha. It's fast, its small, and maneuverable. Light armor but built for speed and dodging at high velocity, and able to pack a punch to boot. So I have to say I'm thus far impressed by the outcome. Somethings could be improved on yes, but this is a work in progress and will likely change a few times before I settle on a configuration. But for now that's how she stands for better or worse.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Cryomancer Fire And Ice KOTM Configuration Mecha Spotlight By Pat Willis#224534

This particular Boreas build is at 108, and leans heavily on the ice side of the weapons configuration. As always there is room for improvement but that is what this game is all about, constantly evolving and getting better.. So first off basic stats just from levels and build with no equipment are as follows...

Tons: 95

Level: 108
Armor: 1337
Class: Boreas

Bonuses before
equipment:
Ice Damage + 100%
Speed - 24
Speed + 24
Precision (51)
3X Damage 18%
Slow (20)
Trample Shield 50%
Splash Shield 25%
Laser Shield 40%
Wide Fork 4%

To bring those stats up I had 6 Cockpit slots, 6 Chassis slots, 6 Engine slots, and 5 shield slots to fill. A lot of equipment and weapons on this mecha are niode yes, but this is a specific build for a specific KOTM so I ramped it up as much as possible. The cockpit slots all got filled in with Haptic Interface, for the 13 precision, added Crit-Kill, and Trample bonuses. The Chassis like so many of my builds are all Muon Junctions. What can I say a Fork of 6%, dodge of 10, and added freeze of 6% is just a good combo. R.A.C.E. Engines went into its slots for speed of 10, an added 1 to dodge, and auto repair capabilities of 1 per piece. The projectile bonus gets utilized a little but as I said this is mainly an elemental build. The shielding slots are not maxed out no, but what I do have is 1 Lightning shield,1 Thiokol Delta, 1 Caudata Delta, and 1Arctic Delta.

Once all that is installed it bring the mechas total stats up to.....

Level: 108 / 108
Armor: 1337

Proj. Damage + 24%
Ice Damage + 100%
Speed + 60
Fork 36%
Wide Fork 4%
3X Damage 18%
Trample 18%
Crit-Kill 12%
Slow (20)
Precision (129)
Freeze 36%
Dodge (66)
Auto Repair (6)
Shield (112)
Splash Shield 25%
Trample Shield 65%
Laser Shield 40%
Missile Shield 38%
Ice Shield 19%
Proj. Shield 29%
Fire Shield 52%
Proj. Shield (30)

Class: Boreas
Weapons: 46

Now those 46 weapon slots were a total pain in the exhaust vent to fill but I took pretty much all the big Ice weapons I had and split them up between this model and its two brother models. This configuration focuses on speed with its lesser damage Ice weapons, and high damage weapons to cash in on the mecha bonuses mainly the +100% Ice damage bonus.

I put in 7 Wendigo, 8 Flash Freeze, 4 Burning Ice, 3 Polar Vortex, 5 Winter's Grasp, 6 Skuliaq, 6 Khron, 4 Arbitrator, 1 Glace,and 2 Creeping Chill. So as I did apply the damage bonus for projectiles weapons with the Arbitrator I focused mainly on the ice weapons. I figure for a 95 ton mecha the speed isn't bad at all, couple that with the precision and faster ice weapons before the slower heavier damage weapons kick in, and it's kind of a monster on the field.

Now of course a high percentage crit-kill mecha with crit-kill weapons will take it out, then again such will take out even the heaviest and toughest of mecha no matter what you put on it. With that said this build for Cryomancer is perfect for fire and ice tourneys with the build bonus to weapons as well as tourney bonus to the same and this is one fairly solid mecha.

So here you have it, a mecha with very high precision, decent speed, auto repair which helps in a pinch, huge ice weapon damage bonuses, and fairly stable shielding perfect for your elemental weapon damage tourneys. I do these little spotlights just to show where my head is at on a certain build. I know folks read them as I can see the site stats for each article, I just hope it helps out those trying to figure out how to set up a mecha. My way is not the only way obviously, and yes some of my builds carry obvious flaws, but hey at least you get an idea of what's behind the hanger doors.














Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Jabberwocky The Dilophos Mecha Spotlight

* Editors note - I came across this in my files of writing, it is the humble origins of my Regis mecha Jabberwocky. She wasn't always a Regis. She used to be a Dilophos, this is the basic build for her back then.

The origins of this mech are quite a tale in and of themselves. It was once part of the beginnings of the AFF piloted then by a man simply called Jabber. This mech has been spoken about in both the A.N.N. and here in our pages at Galaxy Gathering. It was taken to Immolia where the pilot Jabber was then killed by the reawakened Niodemancer Captain Johnathan Judas. Judas then piloted over to the Cogwerk ports and laid siege to the ports with this mech after he renamed it The Heretic. After a long and drawn out confrontation both the Niodemancer and the Dilophos both were brought down by the Illyrain task force and the mech found its way to Star Factories where it was stripped of its weapons and scrubbed of all mission data or so they thought, that is when I purchased it.

It came to me pretty much as an empty mech, no weapons, no equipment and just your basic functions on board. As I started to repair and rebuild it I made a startling discovery. Somehow the original Battle A.I. who was call-signed Wocky was still on board and viable. She had hidden away deep within the mechs subroutines to avoid deletion by The Niodemancer when he had stolen and renamed her. I was elated to say the least. This was a part of history I now owned. This mech and its accompanying A.I. had brought down rouge Shogunate forces, and bested Sever driving bounty hunters, all before it had ever come into the Galactic spotlight with Judas!

So I began rebuilding her from the ground up. First was her cockpit the battle A.I. needed to be comfortable so I filled her up  with Betrus Processors to give her an overall precision of 70. Next was the chassis which was a simple mixture of Coolant systems and Untiam Actuators, all powered by the engines which were placed inside for which I selected three Indefinite Singularity engines. I even found a couple of shield systems laying around that I installed to her using Vympel Gamma shielding in concert with KLIF Gamma shields and added an Arctic Delta.

I had to strip down some other mechs I had to get all the weapons together and splurged to get a few more in the process. Resulting in the following for her weapon system - a simple mixture of multiple Archfiend lasers, double Rage Pulsars, multiple Flavian Spears, a bank of quad Kaos Beams, three Carnassal lasers, with the rest being Galaxy Eye lasers to fully round out her 27 weapon slots at level 85 modification.

So she went from being purchased unequipped and nothing but a shell with the following ratings...

Bonuses before equipment:
Precision (10)
Speed - 15
Fork 27%
Speed + 21
Slow (10)
Missile Vulnerable 8%
Laser Shield 40%
Fire Vulnerable 5%
Laser Damage + 45%
2X Damage 45%
3X Damage 15%
Fire Damage + 10%

To this once all was said and done with her various equipment installed...
Ice Shield 38%
Fire Vulnerable 14%
Shield (61)
Proj. Shield 38%
Laser Vulnerable 10%
Missile Shield 38%
Ice Vulnerable 10%
Speed + 76
2X Damage 54%
Precision (70)
Crit-Kill 18%
Dodge (32)
Fire Damage + 40%
Ice Damage + 30%
Fire Shield (60)
Freeze 21%
Speed - 15
Fork 27%
Slow (10)
Missile Vulnerable 8%
Laser Shield 40%
Laser Damage + 45%
3X Damage 15%

Is there room for improvement? Of course there is and rest assured I will make many modifications before I retire this mech, but for now given it's rich history and some of the battles it has seen it is an honor and a pleasure to own as well as drive this 75 ton monster. The Jabberwocky lives again and she is mine!

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Crossfire The Fext By Pat Willis#224534

The Fext is a one hundred ton monster as we all know, capable of handing out up to X9 damage in one hit. This is more of a in progress build as I am still tweaking it and dialing it in. But I will tell you what all is on it for now.

I have 7 Cockpit slots I filled with 5 Predictive Analysis, 1 Oculus Drift, and 1 Retro Controls. The 5 P.A.'s provide Precision, Trample, Crit-Kill, and X3Damage potential. They also pack a Laser Vulnerability at 4% a piece. The 1 O.D. provides further precision, more Trample, as well as Laser and Projectile Damage bonuses. Last we add in the Retro Controls for added Precision, Crit-Kill, X2 Damage, a Dodge bonus, and a Speed boost.


The Chassis is 6 slots all filled with Lateral Stabilizers for the Dodge, X3 Damage, and Speed bump. The trade off there is even more Laser vulnerabilities, and now a Fire Vulnerability. The six engine slots are all filled with Orcus Wheels for the Speed, Projectile Damage, X2 Damage potentials. But again we have even more Laser Vulnerabilities, and now we have Ice added in as well. It should be noted that this mecha has built in Ice shielding as a build bonus and at my current level of 115 it sits at 70% with a Trample Shield likewise at 70%.

The four shield slots are equipped as follows. 1 Lightning shield which gives Projectile shielding, Fire shielding and further Trample shielding, as well as a basic "shield" rating, but has an Ice vulnerability. Then I have a Crabworth Epsilon for Missile shielding but again we run into Ice Vulnerability. I then installed 2 Viridel Epsilon Laser shields seeing as my Laser vulnerabilities were getting a bit out of hand. Those in turn left me with Missile vulnerabilities. But as there are only 4 shield slots you kind of have to hope for the best.

So when everything gets installed and he fires up his engines his total build stats plus equipment turns his total stats into the following......


Level: 115 / 115
Armor: 1521
Proj. Damage + 34%
Laser Damage + 51%
Speed + 55
1.5X Damage 65%
2X Damage 57%
Trample 33%
3X Damage 82%
Fork 9%
Crit-Kill 16%
Dodge (79)
Precision (74)
Shield (151)
Trample Shield 79%
Proj. Shield (30)
Laser Shield 10%
Ice Shield 40%
Proj. Shield 38%
Fire Vulnerable 15%
Missile Vulnerable 8%
Class: Fext
Weapons: 49

Now as to the weapons, they cost a pretty penny to accumulate but hell it's a niode mecha with full on niode gear may as well give it niode guns and round it out. So it has 7 Blue Dragons, 1 Kanabo, 1 Jurassic Storm, 2 Blossoming Beams,5 Harmonic Disruptors, 7 Galaxy Eyes, 5 Ursa Strikes, 11 Big Berthas, 2 Death's Rage, 2 Nutcrackers, 4 Kaos beams, and 2 Rage Pulsars.

So there you have it my build for my first ever Fext named Crossfire. Are there flaws here? Of course there are, but as I said it is a build in progress. This is just what I have in it so far. Take from it what you will.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Apocalyptor Of The Jadoon Mecha Spotlight

This mech is special to me, while not sentient in the traditional sense like your Skraig, Gigus, or Nakshi it is aware. It is crystalline based as opposed to niode and is imbued with an insectoid intelligence yet no biological systems or organic material are to be found anywhere on or within the mech. Somehow it retains a consciousness and is most definitely self aware. One day soon I hope to crack this mystery and reveal it to the Galaxy at large, for now we'll all just have to settle on the basic modifications I have made to the mech for its current battle prowess.

To start with the brains of this mech are very simple as it already comes with a highly complex system for detecting energy fluctuation, I further modified that ability by giving it all Sensor Arrays. Nothing fancy here really just bonuses to its precision and added damage bonuses to the already deadly laser weapons the mech employs as is. Chassis is likewise simple utilizing Muon Junctions across the board for dodge, a fork ability and a freeze potential. Engines are likewise pretty simple with all Heat Cyclers, doesn't make it the fastest mech granted but it does allow for it to move at a good clip for so heavy a mech.

Weapon systems in keeping with the design of the mech set to maximize laser damage I went a little niode happy with its guns. His main back cannons were taken apart and I installed two Rage Pulsars, then the minor laser banks received my fave bank of five Black Widows (stripped from my other mechs to go to better use on a laser based machine), a Flavian Spear for fun, three Heat Lasers, four Kaos Beams taken from my Dilophos mech, a King Cobra laser system I picked up somewhere along the line, two Cat's Eye Mega beams I got, a couple of  Hack Lasers, a Duboce, and the rest filled in with Galaxy Eyes.

All in all the modifications allow for a 36% fork ability, dodge and precision both coming in the 60's, and laser damage at +87%. This is a work in progress of course as I learn more about the strange critter that is the Jadoon of course I will modify it further to increase and capitalize on its unique abilities. As stands now it is no slouch in the damage department, the  on board insect intelligence seems pleased with hard work and effort that have gone into it thus far. With his guidance and teaching I hope to make Apocalyptor one of the baddest little crystal mechs out there. Time will tell if I succeed.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Mecha Spotlight : Red October by David McCallum #701548

In light of the fact that next Clan War we are going to be both fielding and facing some certain mandatory specialists, I decided to go back and take a look at what is for all intents and purposes my third home.


We all have made mistakes... some of them being such massive howlers that you could put a tail on them and call them a primate.


Mine would have been back when I was in my level 40 odds and strapped for funds. A lot of stuff got sold off back then that I have had to subsequently replace anew at not inconsiderable cost.


Happily one of the things I purchased as a replacement didn't cost a huge amount, has seen an awful lot of action and definitely done me proud.


Purchased is June of 3286, Heroes mech provisional number RRA-1 (standing for Replacement Red Ant #1) was bought with a single purpose in mind... this was the mech that would be my command mech for Clan War XVII, also know as the Rise of the Specialists.


Re-designated as Red October, this mech and the rest of the RRAs were an educated gamble... half our squad had just jumped 3 divisions and were facing the Torrent walls of higher level clans. If you can't beat 'em, take 'em off 'em... it's surprising how many big clans disdained the use of Red Ants back then.

As far as the October goes, while weapons have been chopped and changed over the years as soon as I had access to better ones, the equipment load out has remained the same... and my word is it spartan.


A set of Reinforced Joints in the chassis. Two Ferrite/Bioptic shields on the off chance somebody uses a light weapon, augmented by what was at the time my only Alpha Niode shield, purchased when I didn't know what I was really doing and it seemed like a good idea at the time.


And as befits its namesake, a FOF targeting array to go with the twin cup holders. After all, you may as well get some clout out of those scavenged missiles and there's always the chance that fork is going to take out more than one of the enemy blighters.


It's a matter of record that the Red October's first battle honours were gold. While it's not a bad start, there have been others of perhaps greater note on a personal level for my Ant squadron.


Against an Exiles clan a few years later it would be from this cockpit that I ran against my old mate Randy Taylor to break the tie in a bitterly fought match for silver. It was the last attack of the battle, and none more nerve wracking... but it was only the second sweetest victory.


The highest accolade on record was a personal duel victory against somebody who was at the time a clan mate but would go on to become a member of Zeon and a Legendary Pilot in his own right. The fact that there was a perfect storm of circumstance that involved potatoes, alcohol and somebody having a complete brain fart does not take away from the fact that somewhere in a deep dusty records office, there is a note that says... I won.



Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Red Ants Set Up & Workshop By Germán Jaramillo# 685605

1. INTRODUCTION.

Ok galactic folks, Factions Wars are in the horizon, and you want to get ready with one of the most famous specialist formations… the 10 tons max.

What equipment should you use in your tiny red mechs?

While I don't own the absolute truth, I dare share my thoughts, in the knowledge that only yours will be the final decision in your work to improve your red ant force.

First, we want to see what we could equip into our Red Ants… Let’s see:

__________________________________________________________

2. EQUIPMENT SLOTS:

At level 8 to 17 we can equip 1 Cockpit
Level 18 to 27: 2 Cockpits
Levels 28 to 43: 2 Cockpits, 1 Chassis
Levels 44 to 53: 2 Cockpits, 1 Chassis & 1 Shield
Levels 54 to 73: 2 Cockpits, 1 Chassis & 2 Shields.
Levels 74 to 99: 2 Cockpits, 1 Chassis & 3 Shields.
Level 100 and above: 3 Cockpits, 1 Chassis & 3 Shields.

We get that we aren’t going to equip engines in our fast red ants… All right, they don’t need them as long as they are already so fast mechs. Then, what other qualities might we be aiming for?

As red ant has a low armor, our goals are going to be faster than the enemy ants and precise, to achieve a hit and destroy the enemy mech before he destroyed yours, this is almost a Far West duel… and also, we want to be dodgy, to avoid the enemy shoots…

__________________________________________________________

3. MAIN SKILLS FOR RED ANTS:

So we could want what we usually want in any other mech:

Speed
Precision
Dodge

But also we may look to pierce (trample) the enemy lines and fork or splash them to maybe eradicate extra ants in every single shoot.

So:

Trample
Fork
Splash

Any other skill will be a plus, but probably not as decisive as those we commented above.

So let’s see what gear we have available in the galaxy stores:
__________________________________________________________

4. COCKPITS:

We get cockpits slots at levels 8, 18 and 100, so from 1 up to 3 cockpits.

4.1.1. Standard quality Cockpit devices (nor crystal)

Cup Holder: A crystal and cheap (just some ferrite and bioptics) stimulating drink that will boost us by Precision (4) and Crit-kill 1%... So this easy to acquire device, will give us some precious precision and a thin, very thin chance to knock out in one critical shoot the enemy (not really astounding as in a standard shoot we will probably do it as well). So we have the Precision (4).

4.1.2. Niode quality Cokpit devices:

FDF Targeting: Elite device giving Precision (5), 2x Damage 6%, Miss Dmg +10%, Proj. Dmg +4% by the cost of 16 niodes (plus some ferrite and bioptics)… The enemy red ants will be one shoot matter, right? So the 2x Dmg won’t be as amazing as the higher precision… Red Ants uses laser as weapon of choice, so we won’t need that boost for missile nor projectile (unless we decided to load exotic missile or cannons into our Red Ant, hey, a tactic!)… But basically, we have here Precision (5).

Aviator 3.0. Amazing pilot glasses micro-computerized with battle AI allowing: Precision (4), Trample 4%, 2x Dmg 3% & 3x Dmg 3%... Interesting… We have here Precision and Trample as two of our desired skills… Yes, there is also a bump on dmg, but in our one shoot standard kills, we will as mainly for the two mentioned.

Known Hacks. A neat patch to hack the enemy devices, signed by the famous hacker Skeleton not the less! Slow (5), Laser Dmg +4% and Freeze 6%. Ok, it bumps laser damage, but really, do we need to increase the damage on our weapons when Red Ants are almost one shoot down?. No, we don’t… And do we need to slow or freeze the enemy red ants, when all is one shoot matter? Nope, neither.

4.1.3. Best Cockpits?

This leaves us with two winners:

- Cup Holder
&
- Aviator 3.0

Well… One cockpit device is free of Niodes or Crystal: Cup Holder, that is; and the fashion sunglasses while I admit will give to your pilots a pro appearance… This will require 14 Niodes (and some ferrite and bioptics) from you.

__________________________________________________________

5. CHASSIS:
We can only equip a single chassis, because as all we know, the Red Ants are the tiniest of the mechs… So, the battle suit might get enforced with:


5.1.1. Standard quality Chassis (non niodes nor crystal):

- Alloy Tendons. (standard): Dodge (8), Shield (4)
- Reinforced Joints. (standard): Dodge (10)

Well… From both standard chassis, between Alloy tendons and Reinforced Joints, the call is easy: Reinforced Joints are our non-elite winner here, as they provide a higher dodge, and as the extra shielding from alloy tendons is going to be useless most of times (while this may be arguable), so low that our ant won’t get the difference yet.

5.1.2. Elite quality Chassis (Niode Chassis):

- Boxing Gloves. (elite): Dodge (11), trample Shield 30%, Shield (3)
- Hip Actuator. (elite): Dodge (12).
- Improvised Jump Jet. (elite): Dodge (16), 3x Dmg 5%, Kickback 5% odds 40% dmg returned.

Among the elite gear, we have interesting options with the boxing gloves dodge (11), that also might save some of you red ants from enemy trampling damage (30% trample dmg reduction), or Hip Actuators (dodge 12)… About the improvised jump jet, yes, it is tempting (dodge 16) but in a bad RNG draw, you are going to kill yourself. Overall, I may say the boxing gloves are the best elite chassis for your red ants…

5.1.3. Best Chassis?

PRACTICE (not Rich) pilots:
Reinforced Joints (up to 1): Zero Crystal, Zero Niodes. 203 ferrite & 120 Bioptics e/a.

ELITISTS (and rich) pilots:
Boxing Gloves (up to 1): 14 Niodes, 168 ferrite & 242 bioptics e/a.

__________________________________________________________

6. SHIELDS

We acquire Shield slots at levels 44, 54 and 74.

Let’s face it, as most of the enemy red ant squads will keep advantage of the impressive laser boost… They will load lasers and no one can blame them. You should too!

So, to protect your own red ant squad from the enemy laserization, you may want to equip as many Viridel Alpha/ Shields as possible (from 1 in level 44, to 3 in level 74 and above).

Oh yes, there is vulnerability for missile weapons, but if your enemy is going to load missiles, he will sacrifice in a great amount the speed factor (since most of missile have crappy speed rates, in opposition with the usually fast lasers).

If you want to be ready for any contingence and you were not short on resources, then you might want to keep different shields against every different enemy weaponry types. So if in the battle logs, you detected your enemy using different weapons than lasers, in a big amount, then you could just switch shields, loading those that could better protect your red ants from the opposite barrages.

Note that the % damage reduction is not arithmetically accumulative (two shields providing the same % protection of 10 won’t provide together 20% but but will escalate improving percentages as following.

6.1. Standard Shielding: Viridel Shield (34% laser damage reduction, Vulnerabilities: 12% missile damage & 10% fire damage)

1 Shield: 34% laser dmg reduction.
2 Shields: 56% laser dmg reduction.
3 Shields: 71% laser dmg reduction.

6.2. Elite Shielding (yes… Niodes): Viridel Alpha provides a really higher protection: 44 laser damage reduction, Missile Vulnerability 12% and Shield (6)

1 Alpha: 44%
2 Alphas: 69%
3 Alphas: 83%

Definitively, if you could invest in shields, those will really mean a true difference in your Red Ants duel.

__________________________________________________________

7. THE CHOSEN GEAR. TOTAL BONUSSES.

7.1. If you want to economize as Niodes are not infinite and neither grow from the friend’s farms…

COCKPIT: 3x Cup Holders
CHASSIS: 1x Dodge Joint
SHIELDS: 3x Viridel Shield

TOTAL BONUS (at his maxed gear):
Precision +12
Crit-Kill: +3%
Dodge: +10
Laser shield: 71%

Vulnerabilities:
36% missile damage
30% fire damage

7.2. If you are looking for the best possible for your Ants, my suggestion here (and keep in mind you might have a different goal in mind) may be:

COCKPIT: 3x Aviator 3.0
CHASSIS: 1x Boxing Gloves
SHIELDS: 3x Viridel Alpha

TOTAL BONUS (at his maxed gear):
Precision +12
Trample: 12%
2x Damage: 9%
3x Damage: 9%
Dodge: +11
Laser shield: 83%
Shield: 21
Trample Shield: 30%

Vulnerabilities:
36% missile damage

__________________________________________________________

8. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

The main niode piece that makes the bigger difference here may be the shields. Even one or a couple of frontal lines properly protected against the weapons chosen by your opponent might move the edge of victory towards your field.

But then, even the cockpits and chassis; make a slight advantage that in the long term of the RNG (Random Number Generator) might also favors your odds with the precious Win Point.

As always, yours is the election. Be wise, be victorious!

Submitted by Germán Jaramillo Pulido#685605

Mecha Spotlight : Aurora by David McCallum #701548

You hear about those old classics that sit in the barn for years on end, neglected, perhaps past their prime but with a little bit of spit and polish, beauty just waiting to be brought back to the surface.


We all have clan mates that are in a sort of similair position; that mech sitting at the back of the hanger gathering dust, too nice to sell but not important enough to use,  missing that vital component, its "round tuit."


They want to do something with it, but really need to get a round tuit...


That was my Smilodon. I know where I picked her up... she was a prize for the gold we won during the Rise of the Specialists. I'd sold the previous gold medal mech I won and deeply regretted it. I just couldn't part with this one. But she seemed just a little too light and a little too expensive... the niodes were needed elsewhere. So she sat.


It must have been a good 6 months before I dusted here off... more even. The line was heavier but a hole needed filling and I finally had a little spare resource. God I wished I'd done it sooner.


Finally named the 'Aurora' (because that's a pretty golden name), she slotted in to fill the final gap in a new line of light skirmishers at the front. And started to earn her position many times over straight away.


Equipment was easy... as the lightest in the line she had the run of surplus equipment, and every spare set of Enhanced Senses that were a staple in silver medal prize packs went into the cockpit. Solderbots, Fast Data Switches and Pneumatic Shocks were dropped into the cramped chassis. Even though I had a surfeit of spare engines for that tonnage range, there was no messing about... pure speed, pure crystal, pure Pebble Bed Reactors. Oh, I did retrofit a pair of Quad Turbo drives down the track when I got some, but that was later after kitty was already purring.


Shields were the big problem (being decidedly lacking on a Smilo), but the freebie of a Light Bringer while not giving Gamma Grade shielding at least didn't leave a gaping hole.


Armament was dead easy. She got Galaxy Eyes all the way. But I'm guessing for those veteran Smilodon pilots out there, that's not coming as a great surprise.


I know that a lot of pilots feel a big wrench when they finally have to retire a Smilodon, and truth to tell, I probably kept the Aurora in the battle line longer than I should. I just didn't have anything that could compare with the kill power until I managed to salvage a Nakshi, but even then it didn't quite have the same killing power. It did make up for it in staying power though. Swings and roundabouts.


She's not retired though... only transferred. You see, I'm in the unenviable position of being eligible for a specialist slot a lot of the time. When I do, the big toys get put away and my cruiser mechs take the field. Aurora leads the squadron from the first rank.


It seems fitting that the mech I won in the first specialist war now leads my specialist formation, breaking hearts and mechs as she goes.


But don't worry... if you get hurt, she may just sing you a song...


"Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty,
Little ball of FLAMING MEGA DEATH DIE DIE DIE!!!"



Submitted by David McCallum #701548

The Legendary Frigis Mecha Spotlight On Frozen Dream By Pat Willis#224534

Ah Frozen Dream, my Frigis mecha who acquired me no small amount of fame when it helped me reach legendary pilot status. The battle Artificial Intelligence program received the same upgrades as Jabberwocky making it an Actual Intelligence program, and giving it a near limitless capacity to learn. He took a short break for a time and downloaded himself into a Boreas frame due to frustration at the age, as well as wear and tear his old "body" was put through. So many wars, raids, and tourneys will make short work of almost any mecha fast.

So as he was enjoying his life as a Boreas, I shipped his Frigis frame back to the manufacturer for a complete overhaul and upgrade. It took a while, but eventually they shipped me back a totally overhauled, good as new, like it stepped off the assembly line fresh Frigis. I looked it over head to toe until I was satisfied that it was 100%, then I got the Actual Intelligence back into its proper frame. To say Dream was happy to be back home would be a huge understatement. He started doing laps around the hanger because he enjoyed the lighter frame so much more than the lumbering speed of the Boreas.



As was he came back without weapons and equipment so his basic build stats at my current level of 107 were as follows.....


Tons: 80

Level: 107
Armor: 1061
Class: Frigis

Bonuses before
equipment:
Precision (30)
Speed - 15
Ice Vulnerable 10%
Freeze 58%
Speed + 20
Laser Damage + 46%
Ice Damage + 44%
3X Damage 10%
2X Damage 8%
Shield (40)

He had 4 Cockpit slots, 7 chassis slots, 4 engine slots, and 4 shield slots to be filled. So we got to work right away. I outfitted him with Hawkeye Marksman Modules across all his cockpit slots for added laser damage, added precision, and a small bonus to Crit-Kill  capability. The chassis got 4 Muon Junctions for the combined dodge, fork, and freeze capabilities, combined with 3 Coolant Systems to give it added speed and Ice damage. The 4 engine slots utilize  1 Indefinite Singularity Engine for speed and 2x damage ability, 1 Max Torque Charged engine for the speed, and 2 Parallel Relays for the extra energy output/speed. Lastly the shield slots were taken up by MNTN Delta, Caudata Delta, Arctic Delta, and a Faraday Delta. So all that thrown in on top of the build stats comes out to.....


Fire Damage + 30%
Ice Damage + 74%
Laser Damage + 86%
Missile Damage + 28%
Speed + 68
3X Damage 10%
Fork 24%
2X Damage 11%
Crit-Kill 8%
Precision (74)
Freeze 103%
Dodge (40)
Shield (156)
Ice Shield 28%
Fire Shield 29%
Fire Shield (60)
Proj. Shield 19%
Laser Shield 21%
Missile Vulnerable 9%

On top of that he has room for 33 weapons at present which a couple were borrowed from Jabberwocky as they just made more sense here with the added laser damage potential. So I put the following weapons in 7 Black Widows, 3 Archfiends, 2 Rage Pulsars, 2 Northwind Eradicators, 3 Flavian Spears, 4 Burning Ice, 4 Polar Vortex, 2 Nova Zembla, 1 Tinsel EMP,  and 5 Winter's Grasp.

 So while there are a few things I mean to correct or replace in the near future by and large this is what he is shaping up to be. Yes he is vulnerable to missiles, but with his speed of both the mecha, and his weapons he should get off the shots before missiles fly. Not to mention not a whole lot of folks run missile mechas out in the front line. But before he had an Ice vulnerability of 10%, now he has a less of a percentage to a different weapon type.

 So until multi purpose shields make it to this weight class I just may have to deal with it and hope another shield expansion will pop up eventually. Dream is still a work in progress and won't be done for a bit yet, at least not to my satisfaction, but it is getting there little by little.

So there you have it folks a Frigis that got me where I am today, and what it looks like now both inside and out. I do these pieces so folks can see there are some in the game who aren't afraid to show their builds for good or bad. What's the worst that can happen? Someone builds your load out to fight you? Oh no, not like you can't change it up and out in a short period of time. Also on the flip side you may get feedback to help improve on your already existing build. So what I am saying here folks is basically, stop being scared, show off the builds, get feedback, see what happens. Until next time both Frozen Dream and myself wish you happy hunting.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Current Jabberwocky Build By Pat Willis#224534

As many know I am very fond of my Frigis mecha, Frozen Dream. After all that mecha got me legendary pilot status, then there is my Boreas, Cryomancer. He's all ice, and projectile death, a total killing machine. Now we come to my other favored mecha the Regis I found when they were still out and about on the Yomi Reefs, Jabberwocky. My current pilot stats are at level 107 and the build stats for this mech are also at that level. 


First off the basic build stats which are as follows......
Tons: 90
Level: 107
Armor: 1433
Class: Regis

Bonuses before
equipment:
Laser Damage + 54%
Speed - 26
3X Damage 10%
Crit-Kill 10%
Speed + 28
Fork 20%
Trample Shield 40%
Laser Shield 25%
Trample 10%
Auto Repair (1)
Precision (5)
Proj. Damage + 15%
Wide Fork 8%
2X Damage 10%
Dodge (2)


Now to start with at this level she has 39 weapon slots. I decided to capitalize on her inbuilt laser bonuses, and her crit-kill capacity. As such she is outfitted with four Twin Grazer lasers, ten Cherenkov Rays, two Black Widow lasers, three Archfiend lasers, and the other twenty slots are all Flavian Spears.

She is thoroughly equipped to do massive damage as soon as the power button is turned on and her laser batteries are charged. She can take just about as much punishment as she can dish out which saying quite a bit given her damage potential with just build stats, then factor in weapons and equipment and she is a nightmare to face on the field.




Now we come to her equipment with currently six cockpit slots, six chassis slots, five engine slots, and four shield slots. The cockpit I just loaded up with crystal based Sensor Arrays for both precision and Laser damage bonuses, also the lesser freeze potential comes in quite handy. The chassis slots are all Muon Junctions. What can I say with inbuilt Fork, attached to a dodge ability, well to me that is win/win. The engines are R.A.C.E engines across all slots. Mostly because they bring a decent speed to the party, enhance the dodge by a touch, and the auto repair stacks nicely. Then finally down to the shielding slots it took some doing but finally I managed to balance it all out with a Lightning shield, Thiokol Delta, Caudata Delta, and an Arctic Delta. All of these goodies plus build stats combine make her total stats look like this....

Level: 107 / 107
Armor: 1433

Proj. Damage + 35%
Laser Damage + 84%
Speed + 52
Trample 10%                                                          
3X Damage 10%
Wide Fork 8%
2X Damage 10%
Fork 56%
Crit-Kill 10%
Freeze 60%
Precision (65)
Dodge (67)
Auto Repair (6)
Shield (112)
Trample Shield 58%
Laser Shield 25%
Proj. Shield 29%
Fire Shield 49%
Proj. Shield (30)
Missile Shield 38%
Ice Shield 19%

Class: Regis
Weapons: 39

So there you have it folks my current build up for Jabberwocky. Is she the best out there? Nope, can she hold her own? Hell yes. Can she be improved upon? Always no doubt about it. But for now she is just a fierce crit-kill, laser bonus death machine, and honestly I just love her this way.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

My First Love Io The Inferno By Nathan Justin Weiser#817890

My First Niode mech, and one that is still a useful installment in my mecha line up to this day has gone by many names. From the fearsome to the sublime, all that matters to me is that my Inferno will always be with me. Currently named Io, after the Volcanic moon of Jupiter, it has always been able to dish out damage like few other mechs.

I originally received my Inferno during my first clan activity, a faction war alongside the lower leveled Exiles clans. As many did not wish to over level, I gladly ate through much of the raid with the mechs I had available to me, well equipped crystal mechs. The result surprised me greatly as I was expecting one of the more likely results, a fides or maybe even an megazome if I was lucky, but instead I was able to receive this immensely powerful mech.

It began it's life in my line up as a heavy splash mech, slamming the opponents lines with flames and barrages of missiles. It helped me tow the line through many early clan wars. The build called for great chances to create trouble for the mechs on either side of it's direct opponent by employing high amounts of multiplier damage through battle A.I., and shriekers. This allowed me to tear apart whole lines at a time with vicious efficiency.

Through time I found it was somewhat sadly lacking in it's ability to take hits without dropping out too soon to do any hard damage. With not enough chassis or shield slots and a number of bulkier and dodgier mechs coming about as competition, I had to find a new role for my original power house. And that was as an fire artillery. By placing it behind a line of 3 mechs at the bottom in a row of four, I no longer had to worry about keeping it afloat with auto repair and could instead go for an all out assault style. As I grew in level things changed and positions moved, but it still finds its self employed as a great artillery that is able to raze larger, bulkier mechs down to their frames.

To do this, it still employs many Niode equipment, with three battle ai's installed, allowing for its targeting system to locate the next step the opponent will take and to fire walls of flame just as they step into place for maximum damage and pinpoint strikes. It's legs are each equipped with dual untiam actuators allowing for it to skip and dodge around attacks even against the most high level opponents. Surprisingly, at its level, I find that niode equipment simply falls short in the engine department, and instead I have two pebble bed reactors for each leg working in tandem with the untiam actuators, allowing for it to hit you before you can even hope to lock on. And of course it is equipped with the best shields money can buy, allowing it to take the hits its opponents luck into hitting him with. As for it's weapon load out, the most recent Mechalympix found me in a very fortuitous range and I was able to equip it afterwards with mostly jubilee flares and liquid torches, which allow for it to burn its opponents seemingly every time. It is a vicious component of my line up with very much to offer.

For a full view of its capabilities, see the following:

Level: 45 / 45
Armor: 448

Fire Damage + 32%
Speed + 62
3X Damage 15%
Splash 10%
2X Damage 21%
Precision (36)
Dodge (64)
Shield (55)
Proj. Shield 28%
Ice Shield 38%
Fire Shield 28%
Laser Vulnerable 10%













Submitted by Nathan Justin Weiser#817890

Regis Spotlight By Kyle N April Harrison#765035

I love laser mechs so naturally when I received my Regis he went straight into my army. He is now at level 93 but he reaches his peak at level 154, so I will be doing my report on what I will be doing when he reaches that point.

Once Regis hits level 154 he should have 50 weapon slots. With these slots I would probably fill them with the highest level crystal weapons I can get with the prices you will have to pay to get the equipment. I would probably do all 50 slots as Blurring Beams, which is a crystal Laser weapon. If you buy all 50 in bulk it would cost you 2760 crystals.

For his cockpit I will have 2 Psychic Enhancers, 2 Haptic Interfaces, and 3 S.M.A.S.H. 8. For his chassis 3 Midori’s Boots and 3 Energy Aura. For engine I have 2 Caged Singularities and 4 Precision Drives. For shielding I have an Artic Delta, Caudata Delta, and MNTN Delta. If you want to put in another shield for the 4th slot you can but this is how I have it. I believe that everyone should set shielding to their own preferences. With this equipment set up my Regis will have these stats:

Laser Damage + 90%
Fire Damage + 48%
Proj. Damage + 39%
Missile Damage +24%
Ice damage + 24%
2X Damage 20%
3X Damage 16%
Speed + 8
Fork 20%
Freeze 42%
Trample 22%
Auto Repair (16)
Precision (67)
Crit-Kill 22%
Dodge (53)
Shield (119)
Trample Shield 40%
Proj. Shield 23%
Ice Shield 6%
Fire Shield 29%
Laser Shield 16%
All of this equipment totals to 1,073 niodes so it is a pretty big chunk in your pocket.










Submitted by Kyle N April Harrison#765035

Mecha Spotlight Northstar The Boreas By Pat Willis#224534

I love a good ice mech no secret there, my Frigis, Frozen Dream has long been a favorite of mine. So when I saw the Boreas available for purchase I just had to have one really. These puppies are expensive though no doubt about it. They run 17,400 Ferrite, 14,200 Bioptics, and 150 Niodes. Also remember that as a Niode mecha they cost 3 Niodes per level plus resources to gain a level and these aren't even available until you have a minimum pilot skill of 50. Right off the assembly line they come with two Winter's Grasp ice weapons, a Burning Ice, a Polar Vortex, two Gorgons, and four envelopers. No equipment per usual.

For the record I am now level 96, my mech is only level 59 at the moment so the build is more to show the direction I am taking this in, the final result once it attains my actual level may have variances. At level 59 however the stats are as follows just with build stats before equipment.

Tons: 95
Level: 59
Armor: 841
Class: Boreas
Bonuses before
equipment:
Ice Damage + 60%
Speed - 24
Speed + 18
Precision (27)
3X Damage 8%
Slow (5)
Trample Shield 50%
Splash Shield 25%
Laser Shield 40%
Wide Fork 4%

What I have done so far with the six available cockpit slots is filled them all with Haptic Interfaces for the 13 per piece Precision bonuses. The five chassis slots are taken up by Muon Junctions for added fork and freeze ability  at 6% each and a dodge of 10 per piece. So far the four engine slots are filled with R.A.C.E. Engines for additional dodge at 1% per piece, auto repair of one per piece, and overall speed of +10 per piece. So all told the build stats above after my equipment additions are as follows...

Level: 59 / 96
Armor: 841
Ice Damage + 60%
Proj. Damage + 16%
Speed + 34
Fork 30%
Trample 18%
Wide Fork 4%
3X Damage 8%
Crit-Kill 12%
Slow (5)
Precision (105)
Dodge (54)
Freeze 30%
Auto Repair (4)
Splash Shield 25%
Trample Shield 50%
Laser Shield 40%
Class: Boreas
Weapons: 29

Keep in mind it isn't fully leveled up yet so the stats will assuredly change once it hits the proper level. It has a long way to go and has been costly in niodes to equip and arm so again just an idea of the direction I am going in with this.

For weapons I kept the dual Winter's Grasp ice cannons, I added three Khron Ice weapons, one Tinsel EMP, two Big Bertha cannons, four Sikuliaq ice weapons, I added my five Tricks Not Treats slug throwers, and added twelve Gorgon crystal ice weapons. It will need more weapons as it will equipment slots once the leveling is complete so I have room yet to improve upon the design or change out weapons as needed. No shielding has been added yet as is this has cost a bit to outfit, so shielding will be last on the list of things to do with this particular build. As is with the equipment stats above it should be able to take a beating, add to that the armor levels still to come, this stands to be a rather intimidating and nasty opponent on the battle field.

So thus far I can honestly say as a fan of ice mechas when you can pilot it and afford it get one of these. It has much possibility to it, and the slots are rather nice to see in a larger mecha. There you have it folks the build thus far for Northstar, it may change as I go but for now this is what I am running on it, make of it what you will.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Coleopteron The Jadoon, Bane Of Space Pirates

Biblically speaking, the largest land monster was Behemoth and the largest sea monster was Leviathan.  The largest air monster is Ziz.  A mecha which I encountered in deep space, Coleopteron was fearfully spoken about in fevered tones by drunk superstitious space pirates.  He is not one of these three fabled Biblical destroyers though. He is (merely) an enormous 90 ton beetle which would feed on ships unfortunate enough to wander into the asteroid field he'd chosen to reside in over the ages as well as your occasional stray mecha.

On each uppermost arm he's got a Black Widow Laser, and his body is studded with a bank of 8 Res Lasers that are capped by a Duboce Laser and Trident Beam.  The middle arms house three Chem Throwers each.  Six Heat Cycler engines ensure a smooth ride. Missiles are the Achilles heel of Jadoon so he has a Thiokol Delta shield as some insurance against them.  Arctic Delta mitigates the ice vulnerability created by his missile shield and stacked pair of Advanced Alloys in the Chassis.  Trample is not going to ruin our day either as Coleopteron is also equipped with Reinforced Plating among his shielding.

My preferred method of communicating with him is through interface via a Neural Recalibrator helmet (much less migraine inducing than the buzzing that is heard when using an aural implant alone).  Coleopteron uses his three Sensor Arrays to do sweeps and gather stimulus information which we then analyze.

In addition to the two Advanced Alloys in the Chassis, Coleopteron also has a Magnetic Aura generator and a set of Trilerian Sprockets to keep him nimble.

The last mecha I'd needed to reach Adept status in Beast Mastery, this ancient Jadoon adds some serious firepower at decent speed to my arsenal.  Now, to see if I can get him and my Beast mecha to be able to get along...

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Giga Rex The Gigus A Missile Flinging, Fire Throwing Berserker

I often, especially lately hear people once in awhile gripe about the low speed of a Gigus.  At +9, Giga Rex will never exactly be a speed demon but what he lacks in speed he makes up with in pure firepower.

Four Smelters, two Diablis Nozzles, a Rage Pulsar, two Plutocracy Missiles, twin Rupture Shots, five Death Heads, a Hornet's Nest, and two Arctic Gales make up his arsenal.

The particular equipment load out I've set him with provides the following stat bonuses:

Fire Damage + 50% <- This may not sound like alot as compared to some other, more expensive mecha that boast higher damage boosts but when combined with high output fire weapons is plenty deadly enough.

Missile Damage + 37% <- The secondary weapon employed by Giguses, missiles, receives an understandibly smaller boost than that of the primary weapon, but this is still nothing to sneeze at.

Laser Damage + 10% <- Just for kicks

Ice Damage + 10% <- No one expects a fire mecha to shoot ice beams.

Speed + 9

Fork 8% <- Not terrible but not exactly worth writing home about.

3X Damage 3%

Splash 14% <- This is decent.

Trample 20% <- Goes off 1/5 of the time, which isn't bad.

2X Damage 3%

Crit-Kill 6% <- the small double, triple damage chance increases and crit-kill % are pure gravy.

Precision (28) <- not terrible and it's higher than a buchis to be sure, but there are more precise builds and mecha out there.

Freeze 19% <- Not too shabby, considering this isn't really an ice nor a laser focused mecha.

Dodge (41) <- To be honest, I'd like to do something to increase this with further mods at later levels.

Slow (8) <- Slow is derided as not that useful compared to the other abilities like burn or freeze but it certainly doesn't hurt when the mecha with slow ability also is one that has low overall speed; Forcing an enemy mech to decelerate can potentially even the table.

Auto Repair (6) <- Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

Shield (111) <- not too bad.

Fire Shield (20)

Proj. Shield 3% <- Pew pew! Ping ping! Secondary shielding is laughable at best most of the time but it can help in some instances

Ice Shield 26% <- Neither rain nor sleet,

Fire Shield 29% <-  nor rampaging inferno...

Missile Shield 33%  <- Yeah, you aren't going to make a substantial dent in his defenses by firing a rocket.

Laser Shield 4% <- More secondary minor shielding.

Cockpit: Neural Recalibrator, Hawkeye Marksman, Long Range Sensors and a Betrus Processor.  Just because the fire and missile weapons have a tendency to do Area of Effect damage when it comes to things like splash and fork doesn't mean you can't also be throwing them around with precision while doing so.

Chassis:  Coolant System, Magnetic Connectors, Shear Thickening Fluid, Magnetic Aura, Muon Junction and Trilerian Sprockets.  <- This is to provide significant Shielding and dodge boosts (You've got a huge equip bay chassis section on a Gigus, so you may as well take full advantage of this!).

Engines: Dark Matter Converter, Indefinite Singularity and Caged Singularity.  <- the trifecta of huge heavy duty engines.  It isn't about speed as much as it is about combat advantages, giving the Auto Repair and some further shield effects, plus damage effects.

Shielding: Three deltas: Caudata for protection against fire, Thiokol for protection against missiles, and Arctic for Protection against ice.










Submitted by Mycobacter #712744

Mecha Spotlight Diocese The Bishop

Diocese is very much a work in progress.  It had humble origins as a junker I threw together while low on funds but with clan winnings and bounty hunting, through scrimping and saving it was rapidly upgraded to be cutting edge, proving that sometimes even in technology and war, faith is important.

You may have noticed on a Bishop how there is an asymmetric shoulder load out with the large triangular spike jutting out from the left shoulder. This serves as a mounting place for certain sensor equipment as well as a hard point for auxillary ray emitters to pack more laser weaponry in for just in case the two arms are not enough for you.  The right shoulder houses nuclear battery cells to power the equipment on the left and under the hull plating these two set ups are connected via wiring in what would be the mecha's clavicle (it's all pretty well shielded by the way so you don't typically need to worry about radiation leaking).

There are panels in the shoulders out past these set ups which can be used to house even more weapons as a nasty surprise for your opponents.  My bishop is customized to have a secondary bonus to missile weapons and has three Death Heads in each shoulder panel to round out its armaments.  Diocese's spike has a Carnassial Laser, Rage Pulsar and Black Widow, taking as full use as possible of the dedicated nuclear batteries on its opposite shoulder.  Moving down from that, each arm is equipped with a Hyper Amp, Galaxy Eye, Res Laser, Trident Beam and Swirly of Doom.

Now for the interesting technical nuts and bolts of what Diocese has packed beneath the hood (which I have to thank Quanta for assisting me in choosing during the process of Diocese's multiple design revisions):

The deadly particle beams lashing out of the shoulder and energy waves firing out of the arms are pretty bright, so the Bishop requires optical ports incorporating a type of tinted and leaded glass to avoid damaging the CCDs and retinas of those inside its cockpit.

Diocese's cockpit features a Betrus Processor linked to a Ballistics Computer that use a Hawkeye Marksman as a peripheral. It's a bit spartan but there are times when simple can also be effective. The Bishop is a pretty fast mecha for one of its weight class.  Mine has a speed of 43.  This is in no small part due to the abundance of Chassis expansion slots.  Diocese makes use of Hercules Fibers, Wheeled Feet, Untiam Actuators, Magnetic Connectors, and Shear Thickening Fluid.

The Engine loadout is a Caged Singularity sandwiched between a pair of Indefinite Singularities.  Artic, Thiokol and Caudata Delta shields protect it from Ice, Missiles and Fire.
Let there be light! It's time to get Sunday-Schooled!

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Mecha Spotlight Waldo The Harrell

My Harrell is named both after the remote manipulator arm machine and a series of children's books about a difficult to spot traveler who liked to hide within crowds. I have a slight confession to make.  My skill in aiming projectiles is somewhat wanting... which is the main reason why I tend to overwhelmingly prefer either guns that have built-in precision bonuses or letting Battle AIs control guidance.

Waldo has a pair of Exacto Shots and a large bank of Wrecker Shots crowned by a Six Shooter in its arsenal.  It took me a whole ton of engineering to accomplish but by linking a great many Betrus Processors in series and teaching the mecha's Battle AI some predictive algorithms during deep meditation sessions I think I've gotten a hang of Waldo's most devastating attack, the Teleshot: Phasing shells which density shift can be materialized in an enemy rather than penetrating through it.  I know that sounds insane but on inspecting the trashed hulks of enemies I've faced piloting Waldo... my salvage crew documented this phenomena.

Is it cheating to have a complex simulation do the aiming for you?  I guess that is something I can ponder about later.  All I know is it seems to work well enough for the most part.  Advanced Alloys, Wheeled Feet, a Muon Junction, Trilerian Sprockets, an Energy Aura and Heracles Fibers get this brutal siege engine going and it's powered by a Dark Matter Converter that is fed from an Indefinite Singularity. The only shielding which it lacks as of present is adequate defense against missiles... I'll have to upgrade Waldo a bit more to unlock that fifth shield bay expansion slot.

Waldo has 28 speed, 52 precision, 49 Dodge, 38% increased double damage chance, 26% increased triple damage chance, 10% Fork, 12% freeze and Crit-kill.  A slow ability of 8, 4 Auto Repair and 134 Shield round out Waldo's defensive capabilities.  Unfortunately the trample bonus is quite low at 4% but with the right equipment mods perhaps this can be improved at subsequent levels.

Waldo is a workhorse for some of my more exotic equipment prototypes and is the first unit I've attempted running the thermographic imaging based AR Targeting system in.  Though still much more comfortable in close combat or using missiles, I'm beginning to get a little more used to projectile based mechs and am realizing they are capable of their own formidable amount of badassery.

Particularly when there are techniques available in their arsenal like the Teleshot.  TIAR targeting is an idea I'd gotten from Drake's antithesis which involves changing the way in which a pilot visualizes his or her targets.  It makes use of visual sensors which can track targets based on their heat signatures and a cockpit sporting a embedded combination of holographic projector systems and pilot motion capture devices.  These then composite scaled down false images of the enemies you are facing right there in the cockpit with you so that rather than looking out of a cockpit window or through scopes it feels like you are the mecha facing them down... sort of.

Doing all this while simultaneously controlling projectile trajectories places quite a strain on system resources though and I worry that the network of Betrus Processors I've used to accomplish this runs risk of overheating in the middle of a fight.  So far it hasn't but things have been just a wee bit glitchier than I'd like.

Submitted by Mycobacter#712744

Holmboy Mecha Spotlight

This isn't the original Holmboy...that one, and its remake were both scrapped a long time back many levels ago. I'm not totally sure but according to records in my hangar it might be my third or fourth customization of a Holmes unit. I wish I'd kept better notes.

Anyway, I was in New California awhile back and learned of a sort of "sport" practiced by the people there involving light and medium weight division mecha that they call "mech surfing". You take advantage of the nimbleness of these mecha to ride an incoming wave of carnage during a battle. This iteration of Holmboy like the first two makes use of a Spinal Bracing and Nanobot Repair chassis while sporting an Omnigrav Rotational Engine.

I was at a mech shop when it hit me that since the Holmes is primarily an offensive focused mech lacking shielding options you've got to make due with clever chassis configurations.
At the time I was using torso plating but that stuff while providing an alright shield slows the sucker down considerably and in these less heavily armored/shielded guys it tends to be hit first, die later... or get scraped off a bigger mecha's hull/cockpit.

I saw there was a new type of Hip Shocks available that offered some ice protection, a speed boost, some dodge plus a bit of precision and I had to have it. Holmeboy isn't the fastest mecha in my fleet but a base speed of 19 + 4 more clocks it in at 23 which isn't too bad all in all.

For armaments I put in a Death Orchid I'd scored a long time ago from a lower division KoTM (Div 4 and 3 are super aggressive so I'd hoard stuff you win in 5 or even back in 6 if you're super cautious. Like they say though, hindsight is 20/20), and a Trident Beam I had just sitting around in the armory that had been laying there unused for awhile... the rest of Holmboy's weaponry being a bank of Res Lasers, Hyper Amps and Cheops Beams.

Fuzzy Dice, A Rackmount and Telescopic Sight make up the cockpit options for this customization.  Mech surfing is highly dangerous but if you have an alright amount of speed and dodge in your mecha you can pull it off in one piece.

It's the kickback that has rendered many a promising young pilot to paste however so your best bet is not trying it in your front line, but to attempt it in a line of your formation where you've got support from other heavier/more solid mecha.

Here are the stats for this iteration of Holmboy:

Laser Damage + 36%
Speed + 23
2X Damage 18%
Trample 5%
Crit-Kill 2%
Precision (10)
Slow (2)
Dodge (20)
Auto Repair (4)
Shield (1)
Ice Shield 8%
Kickback 10% odds 80% dam

Also, while in New California it helps if you kind of understand the lingo of its people (for example, know the difference between a "hodaddy" and a "shoobie").  Hang ten dudes.

Submitted by Mycobacter of Samurai Mecha#712744