Well, we've finally started getting the long awaited range of equipment applicable to the big 95 and 100 ton mechs, and this is the first crystal variant that gives something other than pure speed.
Its a little bit pricier than the straight flat out speed generating Kinetic Converter with a book price of 60 Crystal, 1775 Ferrite and 1352 Bioptics, but you do get a nice wee twist for the added outlay.
And twist is exactly what I mean when I say it. Trying to heft a tenth of a kiloton of metal off its starting blocks is no mean feat, and for that you need not raw horsepower, but lots and lots of torque. As a result, a lot of pilots are generally disappointed that these behemoths have a very low top speed, but all of that power (and these are BIIIG engines) has to go into torques just to overcome all that inertia.
And the VASMIR delivers that, laying down more torque than your granny's wound up knicker elastic. So much in fact, that it introduces a wobble to the chassis that translates into an increase in dodge which is always a welcome bonus.
The fact that it runs hotter than the Kinetic converter is both a blessing and a curse... they've managed to bleed of some of that excess heat off to pre-warm the volatile mix used for flame weapons for some extra 'whumph', but it does give out a higher heat signature that those pesky seeking missiles can home in on.
All in all though, the pluses and minuses balance out making this a nice engine for a little variety to your builds.
Submitted by David McCallum #701548