Fuzzy Dice Equipment Review By Pat Willis#224534

Fuzzy Dice is a cockpit equipment piece available for mechas with a tonnage of 30-60. To purchase one you will need 159 Ferrite, 151 Bioptics, and 29 Crystal. It features the abilities of Slow (2), and Laser Damage at +2%.

A throwback to the old earth days when people hung such things from their car rear view windows, nostalgia is strong with the mecha pilots who purchase this piece. It is uncertain how exactly it adds to laser damage, and the ability of slow, unless the enemy is staring through their cockpit to try and figure out just what the hell is hanging in your mecha for decoration. But the results are obviously worth while and do indeed work. As usual mecha build stats, skill point allocation, and other equipment will play into the damage and over all effectiveness of this piece.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Spinal Bracing Equipment Review By Pat Willis#224534

This is a crystal chassis piece for mechas 25-50 tons, and will run you 246 Ferrite, 187 Bioptics, and 34 Crystal to purchase. It has a dodge of 12 as its only ability which is only 2 points less than the Hip Hopper Hips we looked at yesterday. So all of a 2 point difference in equipment pieces from niode to crystal, and within the same weight class.

There are other pieces out there that offer advantages to your mech for installing them, there are also many that will give you some kind of vulnerability, these are just good old fashioned dodge. Nothing fancy, nothing hidden in the wings just straight up dodge. For the lower classes which often have dodge of some sort built into the mecha itself this is a good thing, as the more dodge you have the less likely you are to be hit. Stack them to really move out  of the way, remember if you don't hold still they can't hit you.

  








Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Reinforced Joints Equipment Review By Pat Willis#224534

For mechas 0-25 tons we have this piece of chassis equipment. It costs a flat 123 Ferrite, and 120 Bioptics. Plain and simple no frills ability of Dodge [10] comes with it. Cheap, simple, easy part designed to give dodge and that's what it does. No added bonuses, no vulnerabilities, just as is.

Doesn't even fit the traditional Crystal/Niode dynamic we're used to seeing for weapons and equipment. Granted it is for lower tonnage mechas, perhaps that plays into the simplicity of the part. But the fact remains it is inexpensive, and highly vital for any mecha worth its salt out on the battle field.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Poking the Mutant by David McCallum #701548

So this is the mutant strain of Shocklite that Hornblower and his crew (and I use that term loosely when I talk about a set of pilots that model themselves on 19th Century British Naval practices... just be very very careful if you get invited to any of their parties...) captured and came back with.


But to give it a proper designation that you may recognise, what we are actually talking about is the captured beasty, the Banshee.


SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!


No, that's not me fan-girling, its the sound of the 'shee riding the wind... or more precisely the sound of a decent incoming barrage from one of the things.


Now so far I've only got mine up to level 24, but its already starting to show some marked difference
from the other missile mechs at lower tonnage. For comparison purposes, we really need to be looking at its parent the Shocklite, plus the next Niode missile mech, namely the Dread.


For starters, the Banshee seems to be activating missile mounts at 1 per 5 levels, the same as the Dread and better than its progenitor the Shocklite that can only do so 1 every 7 levels. This means its going to have almost the same weight of metal throw as the Dread does at a similar level, minus one port since it started with one less to begin with.


Unlike the Dread that uses vertical movement for distance bracketing on its target (allowing for hits on following lines), the Banshee uses lateral movement for its area effect like the Shocklite but does it better, giving not only splash damage to those in the vicinity but having enough concentration of fire to give it a small chance of delivering direct damage to an adjacent target as well.


The one big difference is that there appears to be a velocity regulator on the launch controls; You can lob a missile in a slow arcing trajectory then follow up with a flat high velocity shot so that both munitions arrive on target at the same time for double damage. Takes some getting used to though. It's also possible that the velocity variation accounts for a slightly higher damage output than either of the two older mech types.


Speed wise the chassis is looking faster than the Shocklite, but as with all low tonnage mechs it is a bit cramped for extras. Level 23 and you will finally have a single equipment slot in all categories.

All in all its shaping up to be a nasty little beast for its weight, and I can't wait to see what it's like when it hits the 50 and 100 benchmarks and gets whatever bonuses happen there. I just wish when they used the gene splicing, they hadn't gone so overboard with the purple intestines and teeth...


One final thought. Its going to be interesting to see what these are like when they get into battle, because the way it's tracking at present if used in conjunction with those new high speed missile systems, this could be a rival for mechs like the Nephilax. Maybe those Kings and Queens of the Mountain are going to have time called on their domination of the 40 ton brackets.



Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Random Musings by David McCallum #701548

So there appear to be... occurrences...

First of all, with the upcoming Faction War coinciding with the ancient Olympics being held on Old Terra, how many of you were expecting another Mechalympix, hmm?


I believe the collective sigh of relief was heard around Mecha Galaxy, which is no mean feat when you take into account noise doesn't travel in a vacuum. There were however reports of gale force winds at the niode gateways cause by mass exhalation of mecha pilots.


Speaking of things coming through Gateways, there is a fair amount of traffic over on the direction of the smelly armpit of the universe, also known as the Jungle Moon of Rizpah.


Beasties, greeblys, sightings of scaly face himself and a chance for a crack at some of his high ranking if decidedly inept clones. Not to mention reports of increased salvages of the recently released Spitfire and sightings and capture of a new 30 ton Niode mach (the Banshee) is making the Jungle Moon a bonus pay day for quite a few.


Not much detail on the Banshee as yet apart from the fact that it appears to be a missile mech, and the styling and body work appears to be by Lilo and Stitch.


Of course the big thing on everyone's mind is the impending Faction War.


A few changes here, with both minimum and maximum for faction size being lower than ever before plus complicated calculations required to ensure clan levels are valid.

We are receiving widespread reports as to how various clan leaders are coping with this new twist on eligibility. RND have opened a new spreadsheet. John Mainer was found attempting to use empty beer cans as an aid to calculating clan level until his wife relented and raided the petty cash tin to buy him a calculator (then spent the next 3 frustrated hours showing him how to use it...). Veteran clan leaders like John Fuller of the Heroes simply delegated the task and went fishing instead...


And finally we have the upcoming celebration of another Mecha Galaxy anniversary. The party is likely to be loud and long and appears to have been timed precisely so that pilots are going to be sufficiently hung over (and or still drunk) for the first round of Faction Wars.


Suffice to say, it's going to be interesting...



Submitted by David McCallum #701548

New Mecha Sighted On Rizpah By Pat Willis#224534

There is a new mecha that has been sighted on the jungle moon Rizpah. Apparently it is much like the other found mechas on Novum. It is a random mission pop up/reward, it also has a basic, "You saw it  but it got away.", mission screen. It looks to be one of the infected type of mecha, although what exactly that is and what it means for the mecha in question are yet to be known.

What we do know is this it is a 30 ton niode mecha, it is a missile boat, level one build stats are - Class: Banshee,  Missile Damage : +4%, Armor: 67, Weapons:4.

 Unfortunately at this time that is all the information we have been able to get for this mecha. Well that and the image provided here, rest assured we will keep you updated as more information becomes available. If it is one of the highly valued mission reward mechas basic rules of if the boss is fought or beaten should be in play here and it shouldn't matter. Good luck to all, and as always happy hunting.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Man O' War Ray By Patrick Willis#224534

A new laser is out for higher level players starting at a whopping level 111. It'll cost 2,800 Ferrite, 1,900 Bioptics, and 74 Crystal. It has 77 Straight damage, a speed of 102, and the ability of 2X damage at 10%. Bulk buy is an option here with 5 for 296 Crystal. There is a limit on these of 40 per player.

It does 6 more points of straight damage, and is one point faster than the Scion Beam available at level 98. There are no lasers for crystal available between level 98 and 111 so you'll have to rely on things like war or raid prizes to get one, or you just simply fall into one of two camps. Those of proper level who can access it and those who can not. Not a bad laser, good damage, good speed, decent ability, really the only draw back here is the limits on how many you can own and the gap between levels from this to the Scion Beam.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Targeting Reticle Equipment Review by David McCallum #701548

Sometimes I love my job. We get to play with new toys and occasionally the suppliers will let us have a nosey around their research labs to see whats about to hit the market.


This one is one that I've had my sights on, if you'll excuse the extremely bad pun, since I first got wind of it.


This is to my mind a perfect piece of niode equipment. It really is that simple.


And it's simplicity is what makes it so elegant.


Hitting the catalogs with a price of 502 Bioptics, 397 Ferrite and 22 Niodes, the boffins have taken the innards of the venerable and well loved Rackmount and miniaturised it onto a Niode based matrix and helmet mounted it.


So you have the exact same specifications performance wise as the Rackmount, but the freed up space has allowed them to include enhanced close range targeting that can give you a hit that will temporarily disable a target and longer range fire control that can walk your shots onto second rank opponents.


And therein lies the beauty of this system. The Rackmount is the best basic Crystal based cockpit system for this weight class and the Targetting Reticle is a direct Niode replacement for it. No compromises needed, no trade offs, just a one for one swap out.


Thumbs up.

Because he says so...



Submitted by David McCallum #701548

Zirconium Windshield Equipment Review By Pat Willis#224534

For mechas 20-45 tons we have this great piece of cockpit niode equipment. It'll cost you 313 Ferrite, 282 Bioptics, and 12 Niodes. It gives your mecha Precision of [4], Ice Damage +13%, Freeze of 5%, and Fork of 2%

Precision isn't bad, it could be better but as is not too shabby, the added Ice Damage is great if you add this to an ice specialty mecha. The Freeze also comes into play with the added ice damage to amp up some shots. Again it could be better, then again it could be worse so it's pretty even in that respect. The Fork is always a good thing especially if the mecha in question already has a penchant for this ability. Otherwise it will be a minimal chance of going off but when it does I would wager its users are pleasantly surprised. Overall a solid cockpit equipment piece.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Coolant System Equipment Review By Pat Willis#224534

For starters this is a Niode chassis piece for mechas 60-80 tons in weight. One will cost you 632 Ferrite, 492 Bioptics, and 38 Niodes. It has Speed of +6, Fire Damage at +10%, Ice Damage at +10%, Fire Shield at [20], and Freeze at 7%.

Due to the added damage on fire and ice weapons, as well as the added freeze this is a great piece to put on things like the Frigis mecha, or even the Inferno. Truthfully any fire or ice mecha in that tonnage range will do, but the Frigis and Infernos seem to be perfectly set up for these equipment pieces. Fire shielding and added freeze potential just round out a real kick ass equipment piece.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Long Range Sensors Equipment Review By Pat Willis#224534

For mechas 70-85 tons we have this crystal cockpit equipment. It will cost you 654 Ferrite, 200 Bioptics, and 46 Crystal to buy. It has Trample at 7%, Precision of (4), and Missile damage at +4%. It's a very inexpensive and straight forward piece. Which pretty much seems to be designed for missile boat type mechas.

Added Trample is always a good thing and 7% for a crystal based cockpit equipment piece isn't bad at all. The added Precision always helps to land those shots on an opponent, and the +4% to missile damage is nice, especially seeing as many missile based mechas increase their damage with weapon specializations as they level up. So all told it is pretty cost effective, isn't the best piece out there, but far from the worst. I'd say probably middle of the road and worth looking into if you need a extra kick.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534