Musings on the Past Year by David McCallum : #701548

So, another year draws to a close, and what a suckful one its been.


Not only another year putting up with the mild alcoholism and drive by abuse of Patrick, but to make matters worse I now have to put up with the inane twitterings of Kenneth.


I mean,  Patrick you can cope with by throwing dirty looks, insults, crockery or area effect munitions at, depending on the level of escalation necessary and how severely he is being an insufferable ass.


But Kenneth is so... happy! I've seen puppies and kittens give up and commit sepuku at his enthusiastic approach.


If one of them did its business in his shoes before it popped it's clogs, he'd consider it to be a gift of free fertilizer, then joyfully apply it to one of the multiple potted plants he decided the office needed to 'brighten things up'.


And I swear, as in I make this my New Years Resolution, if he tries to rearrange the desks according to his Feng Shui book once more, I shall increase the flow of of his chi through prolonged use of  Hex Cannon.


Speaking of prolonged use of weaponry though,  I think we can all agree that while its nice to have free weaponry, perhaps we would have preferred not to have had reason to receive a Grabthar's Hammer, Purple Rain, Vulcan Phaser or Liea's Blaster.


And let us not forget those who no longer ride their battle beasts with us...


Anyway, by the time you read this, from my particular time zone, the year will be done and I will be able to give you an indicator if the new one is any better.


So, let your incoming fire be light, your shielding be heavy, your alcohol and ready ammunition never run out and your admirers be willing.


And since we at the G.G. offices are all inclusive, you may make your own choice.


Let the laws of nature always be on your side, or let the deity of your choice walk alongside you when you need them.

Submitted by David McCallum : #701548

Circuit Fight Update by David McCallum : #701548

Following on from Sgt Ron's article the other day, there have been more updates to the circuit fight rules, a lot of them after what appears to have been reasoned comments from the community.


The first addition was a new quest:

Win 4 Circuit Medals from Dec 27 thru Jan 25
Reward 30 Niodes.


Ah, there's nothing like a Niode reward to get folk crawling out of the woodwork. Don't think I can recall the circuits being so competitive.


Next up, the XP gain on losses has been removed. Can't agree more, you don't gain XP for a loss anywhere else.


The system for Niode rewards has also had a shake up. There are still a possible 4 up for grabs.

You gain 1 Niode on entry. 
You gain 1 additional Niode after winning 2 battles. 
You gain 1 additional Niode after winning 8 battles. 
You gain 1 additional Niode after winning 22 battles. 

So for the lazy slugabeds, an entry niode is back, not the 2 we had for so long. Fair enough say I. Its a reasonable compromise for those who want to camp vs those who want to be competitive. Also note that in line with the removal of gained XP for a loss, you now need actual wins (rather than just attacks) in order to get the other tiers of Niode reward.


The last change, and this is an absolute stoater for free players, Crystal rewards have gone from double to triple the XP gained for a win.


Now that is a game changer, and I'm not certain if it's good, bad or indifferent. You see, I am certainly aware of players who are leveling nicely, but perhaps a little faster than they may like. The reason they wish to level slow is due to maintaining a Niode income in line with their needs to be able to level and then equip both existing and new mechs.


By the same token, they are choked of crystal income and need to hit circuit fights to not only level their Crystal mechs but also to convert over to Bioptics/Ferrite because leveling takes its toll on those as well. Let's face it, people just don't farm like they used to.


But now, is there going to be any need to farm at all? I'll be honest, I have gotten out of the habit. To be honest this is mainly due to being able to use prizes or hand-me-downs to equip new mechs and I level fairly infrequently. The 40 a day plus a few seeds serves me fine. But those seeds can account for up to 50 Crystal a day (not that I've had that amount in ages mind you...) but even loosing the 1 or 2 seeds is the loss of a few hundred crystal a month.


With no XP at all.


I guess we'll have to see if there are any farmers left in a few weeks time.

Submitted by David McCallum : #701548

The Scorchers by Steven Firebird # 960653

Sometimes, squad commanders in Mecha Galaxy name their own squads. This is a story of Steven Firebird and the squad he calls The Scorchers.

Return from Santa, No thanks

CARLSEN CITY, CAISSA
September 23, 3318

The 144th Caisson Light Cavalry responded to protect civilians from the Mecha force sent by Evil Santa. This military unit was called “The Home Team” for a reason, and they were here to protect the planet, destroy these evil Mecha and keep the civilians safe.

Offshore, the Caissan Navy guided missile cruiser CMV-31 Tempest was bombarding the shoreline with ICE weapons and lasers. Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics (ICE for short) slowed Mecha operation and occasionally froze Mecha weapon systems and kept them from working correctly. Lasers, as pinpoint weapons, minimized collateral damage. These weapons had been chosen to minimize the fight so that citizens could evacuate.

On deck, painted reflective colors of ice blue and white for combat, the hunched, insectoid form of a ninety ton Jadoon model Mecha known as Destroyer stood watch. Inside the cockpit, Steven Firebird was smiling. He knew his Mecha well. Agile for its size, with speed and dodging ability as both its defense and offense, it stood ready and waiting. Time and time again, opponents of every size and shape had tried to take down the Destroyer and failed. With pit marks and dents painted over, Steven thought the wear and tear brought out the character in Destroyer, telling its story long before battle was engaged.

All of his Scorchers were as they waited for retaliation from the Evil Santa Mecha force. Yet the counterattack was not coming as quickly as Steven Firebird expected. With lasers and ICE fired into the city, the naval attack designed to scatter the evil mechas from the military bunkers they’d taken around Carlsen City, the expected response wasn’t coming.

Steven Firebird contacted his unit commander, Michael Stephen Janus. “Commander, this is Firebird, what is your ETA? Over?”

A crackle came over the commlink. “I have ten Mecha, ETA ten minutes. I am at the central bunker, so I can refine Mecha builds here. What conditions will we be facing. Over?”

“So far, Commander, we are not experiencing much retaliation from the Evil Santa Mechas. We’re on board the Tempest, offshore, and are shelling the peripheral bunkers with ICE weapons and lasers into the city to get the Mecha out of the bunkers. Over.”

“Can we punch through or bypass the city bunkers and secure the Gate. Over?”

“I believe we can, we are two minutes from the city and I’ll lead my squad to the east and force them your way, Commander. Over?”

“All right. Let's try to pin them between the city and the cliffs below the bunker. Hopefully the naval bombardment will force them against the wall and we can rain down on them from above. Over.”

“Aye, commander. Oh! Commander, there is a special package in your Mecha that I placed before leaving. Over.”

“I'll check my cockpit, sir. Good luck down there. We're reconfiguring our weapon ports for ICE weapons now. ETA eight minutes. Over.”

“Aye, Commander, and godspeed. Over.”

“Janus, Out.”

As the CMV-31 Tempest maneuvered closer to the shore, Steven Firebird gave the command to scramble to one of the mobile piers that the Tempest had on board. They had to move quickly to set the trap and still draw fire away from the civilians. Caissa had never been invaded by any Mecha force before, and no citizen in the city seemed to know what to do. As the mobile pier lowered into the water, Firebird could see that already the outgoing coastal highways were jammed to a standstill.

Steven Firebird’s squad of Scorchers landed on shore and stomped into the east part of the city. As the Tempest kept up the bombardment with their naval ICE weapons and lasers, dozens, hundreds of Evil Santa Mecha came boiling out of the military hangars and bunkers to face the Scorcher squad. While many of the Mecha were standard military issue, Evil Santa had built some of his own to look like Christmas trees, gift wrapped boxes, and reindeer. It would have been silly if these Mecha weren’t armed to the teeth.

The battle began. Outnumbered, outgunned, the Home Team started fighting back. Firebird knew that he had the advantage even then. While the oncoming force had the upper hand in weapons and defensive armor, Clan Mecha were designed to end combat early and return to the special Craftsmen built bases that ran Mecha, regardless of model, through a quick assembly line process of simply replacing exterior armor so that they could return to battle in mere minutes for another sortie.

The oncoming horde did not enjoy that advantage, and as the waves of smaller Mecha were cut down… they stayed down.

As the Scorchers were driving their opponents westward, Steven heard a chirp from his commlink. Three hundred yards away, a fifty ton Oggun Mecha turned to watch glints of light landing atop the snowy cliffs overlooking the city. Hundreds of tons of Mecha were landing, snow clouds spreading out in distant puffs as each heavy Mecha landed. Inside the cockpit, lit by the reds and greens and blues of the weapon displays, the tall Scorcher named Reaper, swept back his long black hair and toggled the mike inside the skull mask that covered his nose and mouth. His dark grey eyes glittered, as his tattooed hands gripped the controls. The trap was sprung. “Commander Janus has landed on the west side of the city!"

As the Commander’s forces were fighting from the west, providing covering fire, and the Scorchers from the East, taking the brunt of the early front line fighting, waves of Evil Santa’s crazed Mecha forces were being pinned down and obliterated.

They weren’t stupid, and so north and south suddenly looked inviting. As the Evil Santa Mecha force was trying to flee away from the battle, Reaper broke off from the formation, changed his Oggun’s direction and came from behind to blow out the back of a Mecha shaped like a Christmas tree. It jingled as it went down. Reaper activated his commlink. “Another one bites the dust, Commander.” As Reaper came back to the battle, dragging the fifty ton carcass of this Christmas Tree Mecha back with him, he keyed his mike again. “Can I have this one as a trophy?”

Steven Firebird gruffly responded over the commlink, “Leave it to the side for now, Reaper. We are not done yet.” Firebird turned his Destroyer Jadoon to watch garishly painted boxes with feet, larger than cars, thump through the streets toward the sea.

The smaller force that went south met the guided missile cruiser Tempest. The cruiser had gone silent. Swarming out onto the open beach, the Mecha watched as naval guns and missile batteries pivoted into place, the true weapons of the mighty Caissan Navy. With one calm word from the captain, the beach of Carlsen City, lined with Mecha from shoulder to shoulder, exploded. Armored legs and arms spiraled into the sky, trailing smoke and fire.

The greater force escaped the city, northward bound. What they found was worse. Chessmen. The mass of the 144th Caissan Light Cavalry, roaring down from the cliffs, came wave after wave. Squads led by experienced arena fighters like John Merchant. Illya Ring. Scott Heyward. Ronny Widjaja. The Metal Warrior Twiki. The mysterious Red Hot Applesauce. Squads of ten and twelve rolled into the battle lines one after the other, each one retreating just long enough to repair only their exterior armor and to reload at the Craftsmen bases before rotating back to the front line, fully repaired and loaded.

And angry.

The Evil Santa Mecha had no such luxury, and the 144th Caissan Light Cavalry was on home ground.

As Commander Janus and the Scorchers finally met up in the center of the city, looking for hidden fox holes, fifty more Evil Mecha stormed into the central square to prepare a final stand against the two platoons. Fighting back to back, both squads dealt heavy damage to the Evil Santa Mecha, bursting them into parts, scattering the area as ejection pods arced toward the sky. As they whittled their opponents down to the very last Mecha, Firebird swore he heard a sizzling, crumpled Xmas Tree mech emitting a radio frequency from its exposed cockpit, repeating, "You haven't heard the last from Evil Santa. Hooooo, hoooo, hoooo!" over and over, like a broken toy.

As Steven Firebird pointed the Punisher Missile Pack to the last Mecha, he scowled at the recording that mocked him. Before the Mecha could repeat its singsong taunt again, he pressed the fire button on his console and the array of missiles destroyed the final Mecha. “Commander? Mission accomplished.” With that, he turned his “Destroyer” Jadoon toward the cliffs, returning to base to access damage and repair.

He had the brooding thought that it still wasn’t over. Something wasn’t right. Something was missing from the hidden eye.


Submitted by Steven Firebird # 960653

Winter's Grasp Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

This  niode ice weapon comes equipped as standard weapon load out for the Boreas mecha. The Boreas actually has two equipped. The speed is pretty standard fare for an ice weapon. Seeing as many ice weapons are in the high 90's for a speed rating the 100 is a welcome sight to see. But not the fastest given other weapon classes like the Projectile, and Laser selections often have weapons above the 100 mark.

The built in abilities are pretty slick especially given the 50% freeze. Factor in that the Boreas doesn't have a built in Freeze capability and this weapon provides a much needed boost to its mecha. On the other hand a highly leveled Boreas mecha is capable of +100% ice damage just on mecha build bonuses alone and suddenly this becomes a very nasty weapon indeed. The slow is just there to add a little fun to the mix. Couple it with the right equipment and you could make a nice quick mecha get stuck in the slushy mud. Overall a solid weapon.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

A Dish Best Served... by David McCallum : #701548

... with fava beans and a nice chianti.


I'm reasonably sure that's how the old saying goes. Maybe not.


I'm talking about revenge of course, and I must admit, I may have inadvertently started something.


It started innocently enough.


I was bored.


It's been a while since I've had some down time, and with wars and coal and fat evil red people I hadn't really had  chance to sit back and take stock.


I am currently Tail-end Charlie in our clan, and while I don't do badly, I still need to check to see who I can sensibly attack when the need arises. So I had an idle flick through the pilot rosters to see what my tally was against those around me.


Not too shabby in a few cases, but there have obviously been a lot of folk who have pummeled me quite handily in the past and I'm only now able to start redressing the balance against.


And as you scroll up through the list, you note the ones which are regular rivals. We have a clan-mate nick-named 'Leghumper' who states publicly the need to regularly test against us, but all it feels like is yet another run in with your Granny's terrier...


There's the regular war rivals who have a crooked score... their wins when they test against you during scouting and the corresponding losses when they have been stupid enough to attack you when you've been in a specialist formation. Else it would probably be a sensible nil all draw.


Oh, and other rivals that if you looked at the lopsided tally you would never attack in a month of Sundays, but you will cheerily tilt at them on The Mountain. There's a few of those, and I'm sure you all have your own... the ones where you groan when you suddenly see you are going to have to fight them again and you just know its going to be a hard day at the office. But you love it just the same.


 So I scrolled higher and higher up the roster, idle curiosity compelling me to check to see if there was anyone up amongst the gods that I had scored a victory against, when I happened across a name that I recognised back from when I very first started.


Deborah Roache-Hudak, tally of 609 unanswered victories against me. You have to laugh because that's just an obscene number.


It was then that I remembered a particular in-game tab that I'll be honest, I think I've checked maybe 2 or 3 times ever.


Under 'Battle', you will find the 'Vengeance' option.


Now I'll be honest, I was expecting this to be a list of all those who have beaten you and you have never won against, but it is actually just a list of the people who have beaten you last and you have yet to get around to giving them a good kicking in return.


My list stretches back a long way, and like most folks I would reckon a lot of the entries on there are by folk who have long since retired judging by their level.


But one particular name popped out.


Now I'm reasonably sure we've only faced each other in actual battle once before, and that would have been in a Faction War just after I first joined the staff here. I seem to recall a certain amount of ribbing when a certain person decided he would go 'easy' on me and leave out his 1200 formation for me to try and have a go at.


At least I can claim he needed a a re-spray for his paint job after I'd finished.


I'm talking of course about our esteemed Editor in Chief, Patrick Willis.


Now, I suppose its an unwritten rule that apart from the petty larceny, general snidey comments, bickering, bitching, backstabbing and on one part, occasional bouts of sobriety, we do need to on occasion show that we actually know how to pilot these beasts. Otherwise how are we supposed to be able to give a professional (or coherent) review on things.


So I decided to have a pop, just to see who's opinion should actually hold weight... and admittedly to see if I could do better that to scratch the sott's paintwork.


I might have miffed him a bit, because when I woke up this morning he had counter attacked. That made us 1 for 1 on the exchange. I guess that makes us both reasonably competent when it comes to giving an opinion.


Well, except maybe for the fact that an even exchange between us means that I have to give the old drunkard a 1/4 honour guard and 8 level advantage.


Still, it got him back on the Vengeance list...

Submitted by David McCallum : #701548

Onyx Mech Review by David McCallum : #701548

Right, let's get a few things straight.


The Onyx in my hanger is mine. I have the ownership papers and despite what you say, the ink is not still wet on them. Feel free to prove otherwise, the Legion hasn't been able to.


Yes, as a pilot for the Heroes, I had the chance to run one of these before they came on the open market. Pat and Kenneth can go and sulk all they want because despite how much they whine or attempt to pull (nonexistent) rank, they don't get to play with my toys.


And no, this is not a Galaxy conquering mech... it was never designed to be.


You see, we aren't the richest clan. We don't have the funds of the likes of Zeon or Fusion, nor are we as numerous as the AFF or Dragons. We get by.


To get by, sometimes you need to invest sensibly in mechs that can do as much as possible for as little outlay as you can get away with. We love mechs like the Oggun or the Ammonite that can be configured for any role you need. Just bear that in mind.


When we found out that new mounts were being developed to help in the Heg-Shogun Trade Wars, we had some very definite stipulations, a lot of them defined by the need to "get by".


If you can't afford to buy or equip BFM, you use something a little bit lighter in the hope you can shoot first because those things are slow. 85 Tons is still strong enough to exist in the line of battle and has access to a raft of gear that you will have picked up over the years. 90 tons might well seem better, but it's a royal pain trying to put anti trample defenses on that kind of platform.


Speaking of defense... love a shield. I may have said that before. Better than you get intrinsically on either the Dreadnought or the Torrent. In built trample shielding would have been nice, as would auto repair, but there's only so much you can put on any bare bones chassis. There is an extra hard-point though, making it the heaviest shielded of the 85 ton niode mechs.


Its not going to stop one of the 9 X supercharge shots favoured by the BFMs, but anything less you have a chance of walking away from... or alternatively not being there in the first place, because a good dodge is a good defense. Perhaps not as agile as the other 85 ton niode mechs, it still has an edge with the equipment available to its weight class compared with the big heavy boys.


The best defense of all however is a good fast offence, and our guys were rightly impressed with its speed. Not quite as good as the Dreadnought, the Onyx is at least in the same ballpark with its higher throw weight, and it is miles ahead of the Torrent or any BFM.


You see, we learned a while ago that the way to combat the Great Wall of Torrent, or the later Wall of Boreas was to use something fast and get of the first shot. Hopefully do something to stun them, and just keep hitting until they fall over. You may not kill them all, but you can break the line and the guys behind you can finish the job. We earned a whole of Dreadnoughts from constant silver medals, and they are absolutely brilliant for that job.


The Onyx slots right in there, especially when you take into account it's intrinsic abilities to slow or freeze. Add in the extras with a cockpit suite the same size as the torrent, and you can very easily give this a heck of a lot of (albeit temporary) stopping power. Well, apart from that intrinsic crit kill which can stop anything in its tracks.


Now you're probably under the impression that I'm going to keep going on about how brilliant the Onyx is and simply gloss over any downsides. That's not the way we roll.


Lets start off with that in built stopping power. Intrinsically the over charge capacitors from the engine suite can give you either X3 or X1.5, so a X4.5 overcharge shot is the best you are going to get. I wouldn't guarantee that's going to one shot an undamaged BFM (although it will hurt it..) so you really need to invest some add-ins that will fill in the missing X2 overcharge area.


The other big thing is the lack of dedicated damage to any particular weapon. Now this is both a curse and a blessing.


The downside is that you are going to end up hitting with less power than most other mechs. There's no getting away from that, even if you spend a small fortune on enhancements.


The plus side however is that you aren't shoe-horned into a particular weapon type or to completely discard a huge amount of bonuses by shoehorning the chassis into something it isn't and losing a lot of its power.


I've seen the ice and fire builds that our respective specialists have come up with, and they aren't bad at all. My own preference is along other lines, but to be honest I was really tempted to use it as a true stop gap.


You see, one thing I've noticed. While everyone always keeps up to date with the best weapons they cam, there's always a weapon type that is under used... you just don't have the chassis to fit them on, and you end up with a whole slew of high damage weapons that you have nowhere to place.


Now you do. It's a perfect stop-gap make-do chassis, not quite as good as  specialised type but better than having nothing at all by a long stroke.


Think of it like this. You can have the most amazing meal, a total gastronomic delight. But right at the end, just to completely satisfy you, what you need is a slice of bread and butter to soak up the last of the gravy.


Here's the Onyx, an honest to goodness bread and butter mech.

Submitted by David McCallum : #701548

New Circuit Battle Rules and Rewards by Sgt Ron Frye #879655

Go check out the battle circuits. Chef just put one up and he has changed it up again. Now, if you place Gold, Silver or Bronze, you get prizes in addition to the crystal earned in the battles themselves. Still a major XP fest, but now he has made it far more valuable. Open to players level 10 and up.


Entering a Circuit pays you 10 Crystal on entry.

Winning Circuit Fights pays crystal equal to double the energy spent.

All Circuit Fights (win or lose) pay XP equal to the energy spent.

You gain 1 Niode on after your 5th and your 15th battle (win or lose).

You gain 1 additional Niode after winning 7 battles.

You gain 1 additional Niode after winning 22 battles.

Up to 4 Niodes per Circuit.


To pass someone in rank, you must win more fights than them.
Ties go to whoever got the wins first

If 2 players both have 5 wins, the player who got 5 wins FIRST is ranked higher.

GOLD PRIZE:

Free 2X Upgrade Kit +
90
104
Amnesia Torpedo
COMMON
Amnesia Torpedo
3X Damage 7%
The ultimate in fire-and-forget missile technology. Direct hits are devastating.

SILVER PRIZE:

86
104
Phyrenado
COMMON
Phyrenado
Burn 12%
Uses local airflow to create wind and turns it into a spinning vortex of flame.

BRONZE PRIZE:

81
104
Incinerator
COMMON
Incinerator
Splash 12%
Equipped with a nozzle that sprays boiling oil to damage additional attackers.


....so.....in summary.....10 crystal if you enter.......loads of crystal if you fight, but xp too.....up to four niodes for playing.....a highest end crystal weapon for gold, silver or bronze.....and a x2 upgrade kit for first place.

Also, there is now a divisional level spread, offering us the opportunity to not only test formations against equally powered opponents, but actually paying us for the effort we would be expending on ordinary side battles anyway.

A big improvement. What do you think? Post your input!

Submitted by Sgt Ron Frye #879655

THE 144th CAISSAN LIGHT CAVALRY [RND] Michael Stephen Janus#952521

The RND, amid much chaos, has reemerged on Caissa as one and only one solidified unit. The recommissioned 144th Caissan Light Cavalry, affectionately called "The Home Team", is now fully operational.

Displayed is their new unit patch. The ringed planet is clearly the planet Caissa. The white star within the ring system represents the moon Fischer, and the dark star represents the darker, larger moon Kasparov. Mecha of the 144th in full dress or gaming livery sport a color changing coat that varies from an almost black midnight blue to a much brighter cobalt blue as the Mecha moves. Shoulder pauldrons, arms and legs are lined with broad stripes of matte black that are bordered with white-gold stripes. In the field, Mecha of the 144th typically sport camouflage with a disruptive pattern of pixelated white, off white and ice blue, each of the colors having a different reflective value to mirror the reflections of glare from the ice, snow, glaciers and bright water common to Caissa. This camouflage is the same as that newly used for Caissan Navy aircraft, personnel and ships since 3312.

Tasked primarily with planetary defense and militia training, the 144th is newly working alongside the Caissan Navy, and more closely than any other RND unit has historically. This signals a vastly improved relationship with the planetary government. Mecha pilots are now practicing new methods of combined forces combat involving naval bombardment and island fighting. Mecha are now part of naval beach landing operations on mobile piers. RND trained planetary Mecha can now be seen on the main decks of naval craft acting as missile turrets.

As an independent Mecha unit, the 144th is now operating and refurbishing the original RND cliffside bunkers, and the snow covered training arenas are busy with commanders who are honing their Specialty formations for the next Mecha Galaxy game. Raid coordination and Honor Guard satellite networks are improving, and the 144th is quietly recruiting under old RND standards to forge a new breed of Chessmen.

Whether the RND can repeat past glories is uncertain, but the core practices that created it are being put back into place.

Submitted by Michael Stephen Janus#952521

Ammo Cookoff Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

This was a limited edition Niode based laser, which at the time of its release saw 313 released. It then became a prize weapon for CW/raids, then as a weapon reward in KOTM, and finally it was last seen some time ago in the mystery vortex. It was for levels 44 and up, and would have cost you 1,776 Ferrite, 550 Bioptics, and 42 Niodes. Bulk purchasing was also available here with 5 for 168 Niodes. A limit/restriction had been placed here of 13 per customer total. It had a straight damage of 75, a speed of 99, and featured the abilities of Splash at 4%, and burn at 12%.

The straight damage is pretty good, and seeing as this is a Niode laser you would be best served giving it to a mecha who specializes in laser damage. The Bishop, Jadoon, come to mind off the top of my head. Realistically you can couple them with any mecha and achieve results just seeing as it is a laser, laser based mecha are the best way to go. As usual build stats, skill point allocation, and equipment load out will go a long way to determine your damage here. Heck with the burn rating you could even try it on flame based mecha to see what kind of results you can get for damage. A solid buy at the mid tier levels when it was available..

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Merry Christmas from The Galaxy Gathering

Well, since Kenneth is indisposed in a fairy costume at the top of the tree and Patrick is upside down in a drunken stupor claiming to be Godzilla after having cracked open his emergency flask of absinthe, it looks like I'm the only one who can do anything vaguely sensible with a keyboard.

So from our offices, have a stonking good holiday, may you and your families stay safe and get everything you wish for.

Give the fat sod and his minions a good kicking and make sure you shake them down for the last bit of loot you are able to, and we shall see you all on the Fields of Glory in the near future.

Submitted by David McCallum : #701548

Rudy Mech Review by David McCallum : #701548

Well, you have to hand it to old Beardy McPudding-Face, he certainly knows how to turn a perfectly brilliant mech into a turkey.


I mean, look at it!


What are those antlers for? Is somebody trying to compensate for the fact that he has to use a mirror to see his.... boots?


Sum total of antler usefulness, zero. Unless you want to hang your washing on them or try and disguise yourself as a tree.


There must be a good 5 ton of useless metal there. Ten minutes with a hacksaw would give me a usable cruiser mech, but oh no, he'd rather have somewhere to perch a parrot on than listen to me.


Sigh.


But instead of pining over what could have been, lets look at what we actually have.


Now its at this point I would normally list out the sale price. If, however, like me you were sensible, you would have procured one by gathering up some large lumps of the coal that appears to by lying around all over the place these days, popping them into a stocking then applying it vigorously to the skull of the original pilot while he was bent over puking up the eggnog that these clowns seem to use instead of Hatorade.


Suffice to say that you are now the proud owner of a 75 ton Niode mech.


Primarily a fire mech, you do get a bit of missile and laser thrown in, but not enough to be worth it. It should be noted it has a higher damage bonus to fire than both the Inferno and the Gigus, but that could well change when those models eventually get their long overdue upgrade package.


A bit of built in shieldiness, especially for Fork, Trample and Ice makes it a good choice off the bat for rear rank duties. Once you've got it decently upgraded there's also 5 extra hard-points to mount on what you want, and being at that crux point you have access to decent Delta shielding.


Speaking of mounting extra gear it tops out at 6 cockpit and 4 each of chassis and engine.


All in all, I suppose its not the worst mech I've seen. The problem it has is that in the 75 ton arena you already have some of the best mechs in production.


Ammonite, solid as a rock with extra rocks on top.


Sever, nasty icey beasty.


Rook on missiles and Dilophus and Bishop on laser.


Well, at least it fills a gap. And if you are of the level of expertise where you are still using Cindrons and Poryphorus in you line as a matter of necessity to get the best out of your fire weapons and you managed to snag one of these, it's a nice upgrade.


And there's a few choice bits of equipment that are directly transferable... just saying.

Submitted by David McCallum : #701548