The Tower: By Kenneth Hicks ID: 896092

“Hmmm….Beefy…”

I stood back looking at our unit’s new Tower mecha. A full 105 tons of fire and projectile throwing fun. It’s Fortress A.I. is perfectly suited for enhancing these qualities. The one weird thing is the Thunderstorm cell system.

With a mech this huge, it’s obviously going to be slow. With the Thunderstorm, it actually diverts power into the weapons, giving it some nice x2 and x3 percentages. So basically, kill smaller mechs before they kill you.

To help with this, the Splash and Trample defenses are naturally cut down by 70%, has a ton of shield slots, and it’s ablative armor cuts down the effectiveness by 40%. Oh, and a point missile defense system to boot. So all together, extra power to massive weapons, slower speeds, but massive defenses. Nice mix!

My test pilot actually told me that a wing of Dilo’s trying to gang up on him actually started shooting a rock outcropping, mistaking it for the Tower, thanks to the Ablative armor. Defense that makes you shoot rocks…muahahahahaaaaa

So, recommendations? Trick this pony out in solid niode shields, give it a few cockpit slots with the VR Target Tracking so it has some freeze capability,then slap in an equal amount of Nebula and Cerberus drives for fire damage, x2 and x3 enhancements, and a few auto repair points.

Until we get some better gear built for the 105s, this is about the best you can hope for. So slap that baby into your formation, because if nothing else, it takes the attention off of your other mechs.

Hot Garbage: The Yallan Written By Notwillard ID# 953947 on kong

For long time I was looking forward to scavenging a Yallan from some Drochah minions, hitting raid after raid, with the carnage piling up around me, thinking one day I'll hit that One in Fifty chance and finally get me a sweet 95ton ride. Even though I didn't have any 95 ton mechs so far, bigger has always been better, and I remember looking at this mech early on in my piloting career, thinking that with all that shielding it's got to be one strong mech. Room for 5 shield modules at lvl 17? I don't think any other crystal mech can compare to that. Plus, they can equip some of the biggest, baddest shield modules in the game.

Recently I finally nabbed one. Best day ever! Or so I thought. 

At 95ton, seems any kind of flaw in a mechs design just gets magnified many times over. Test driving my Yallan was the most frustrating experience of my piloting career. It couldn't dodge any shots fired at it. From my early testing, and even after retrofitting it with some black market chassis unavailable to the masses to correct this, it under-performed immensely. Too slow it seems, and hardly any noticeable damage. Definitely not worth putting my limited collection of spikes on it to correct the dodge issue.

In the Yallan's defense, when configured with mostly niode equips it's almost not completely useless...except for that speed of 11 proved to be a killer in testing situations at my level. Compared to the top speed of similar mechs like the Magnus, which can readily hit 40, and has other similar stats, this Yallan really earned it's nickname of "Hot Garbage".

Hot Garbage

Tons: 95

Level: 60 / 60

Armor: 790

Proj. Damage + 4% 

Laser Damage + 13% 

Fire Damage + 46%

Speed + 11 

Fork 30% 

2X Damage 16% 

Trample 12% 

Crit-Kill 14% 

Dodge (50) 

Precision (52) 

Auto Repair (3) 

Shield (256) 

Pyophorus Mecha Review Update By Pat Willis#224534

When last we covered this mecha it was as a mission reward mecha, Since that time it has become available on the open market. Purchase and basic stats are in the image.

I managed to snag one when it was a mission reward and have been leveling it up since as resources allow. As such mine is at level 104, and I still have to get it to lvl 112. So I'll be speaking from experience with the one I own.

It is a fire mecha and that is evident with the build bonus it gets to Fire damage, it also packs X2 Damage,Laser shield, Projectile shield, Missile shield, Ice and Fire shielding, Splash, and Slow. That is all before installation of equipment.

Speaking of equipment mine has at present two cockpit slots, three chassis slots, four engine slots, and three shield slots. Again mine is not up to my current pilot level so bear that in mind.

I can say it is a pretty slick mecha to have and pilot. It packs a powerful hit for a little mecha, the fact that said hit is fire based just adds to the fun. Of course you can outfit it however you like with weapons but it does its best work with flame. I should also mention that it doesn't have a lot of armor as mine has only 700 A.P. at present. It does try to make up for the lack of shielding slots with the inbuilt shielding, but again remember this is a smaller mecha so what it does have to start is less than 10%. A great little scout mecha, and it packs enough of a punch with its flame arsenal. I have 22 weapon slots available to me so it has plenty of room to arm it up however you see best.

So from mission reward mecha to shop room model there you have it. A solid mecha, decent hit and build bonuses, and a creepy little bug design to boot. Well worth the crystal if you have it to spare and meet the piloting requirements.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Aspis Mecha Review By Pat Willis#224534

The Aspis mecha is available from Alpha Corp it will cost you 16,000 Ferrite, 13,500 Bioptics, and 145 niodes to obtain one. Their beginning stats are as follows, Tonnage 90, Armor Points 250, Start Weapons 13, Min Level 77, Min Heavy Skill ,45 Levels/Weapon 4. These also come with the following weapons 3 Tri-Slagger niode lasers, 1 Sikuiaq niode ice weapon,  2 H. Blast Plate crystal based slug throwers, 1 crystal based Death Head missile, 1 Ol' Willie Pete crystal flame weapon, and 5 crystal Rail cannon Slug throwers. So right out of the box it has a little of everything for weapon ability.

So that is the basic show room floor model without any bells and whistles. I own a few of these myself and have them sitting at my current level of 108. They are good machines to be honest and at level 108 I have available to me 5 Cockpit slots, 5 Chassis slots, 4 Engine slots, and 6 Shield slots. So you definitely have room to outfit it as you like with equipment. Basic build stats for this model at my level are ...

Tons: 90
Level: 108
Armor: 1337
Class: Aspis
Bonuses before equipment:
Trample Shield 88%
Speed - 30
Precision (12)
Speed + 22
3X Damage 18%
2X Damage 18%
Trample 12%
Splash Shield 30%
Fork 15%
Fork Shield 25%
Wide Fork Shield 50%
Crit-Kill 6%

As you can see this is a pretty defensive model. Unless you add in equipment that gives weapon perks or bonuses in your equipment this mecha is one of the few blank slate machines that doesn't cater to one weapon type or another, like the Regis with lasers, or the Ignis with fire. It does however specialize in shielding to counter Trample, Slpash, and Wide Fork weapon abilities. It also allows a decent bonus stat to X2&3 damage,  Trample ability, and Crit-Kill. Overall a very solid mecha especially if you can equip one right to enhance their admittedly lumbering speed.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Dilophos Mecha Review At A Glance By Pat Willis#224534

Tonnage    75
Armor Points    175
Start Weapons    10
Min Level    47
Min Heavy Skill    30
Levels/Weapon    5
Manufacturer    Alpha Corperation

Review -   It looked odd, no two ways about it. The color scheme was quite gaudy in comparison to other mecha and frankly first impression I can sum up in one word…Hideous.  Then I took it for a test drive, and I have to say color scheme be damned this mecha is incredible! Most would pass this mecha up due to the fact that it has some “flaws” in the form of fire and missile vulnerabilities. That really isn’t a problem in the field seeing as one of these ugly little beauties will usually put down a volley of laser and flame before a missile ever leaves the tube to hit it.

These are fast, precise, dangerous killing machines. They slowly build up momentum and unleash a volley of hell all at once. The pay offs are obvious when many smoldering mecha lay defeated by one superb specimen.

This mecha shines no matter what position it is put in. The built in fork ability while starting off small and insubstantial, gradually increases to a very formidable ability. The emphasis on laser damage alone makes this a winning mecha, but it also adds flame damage bonuses and has nice shielding. At first glance this mecha with its color scheme and built in flaws seems like an obvious pass, but given time and proper upgrades this particular model can rock the battle field like few others. This is a mecha to invest in and make no mistakes something like this is a solid investment.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Vizi Mecha Review By Pat Willis#224534

The Vizi mecha is a reward mecha handed out by the Craftsmen guild as rewards for particular raids, wars, or tourneys. As such it's basically a restricted mecha and no real pertinent information is available unless you have one, or an army of them laying around. They are 45 ton mechas that are unique in the fact that they get bonuses to all weapon types, as opposed to most mechas who only concentrate on one or two weapon types at best.

It also has the abilities of  Fork, Splash, Slow, Shield, and 3X damage. Rounding out an already versatile design. Of course with the addition of equipment you can fine tune those particular skills to a razors edge or add others like Crit-Kill for fun. These mechas are fun, they excell at all weapon types, zip around the battlefield with the right engine/speed set up, and are relatively inexpensive to upgrade and level up as they are crystal based mecha.

Now of course there have to be some limiting factors in there somewhere given it is a jack of all trades with weapon set up. That trade off looks to come in the form of limited equipment slots. But think it through it is a 45 ton mecha with just about every inch of its tech going towards weapon bonuses and a few select other tricks, of course the equipment slots are going to be a bit on the skim side, this isn't the God Mecha you know. But for what it is, well I have to admit it's pretty dammed cool. So if you own one or more take pride, if not go get one! Cause when you get down to it I'd rather have some of these in my corner than not.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Nifthel Mecha Review By Pat Willis#224534

This is a former Star Factories design now turned over to Alpha Corporation, weighing in at 40 tons, and costing 1,800 Ferrite, 1,200 Bioptics, and 64 Crystal. Its starter weapons are fairly simple as it comes with 4 Sleet Storms, and an Adv. Cannon. For an ice mecha this one is fairly versatile by build design it is made to field both ice and projectile weapons.

If properly equipped with higher end ice and projectile weapons this little mecha could be a nasty surprise for those who would seek to challenge it. Of course as with all mechas it gets equipment slots and more weapon slots as it levels  up, as well as bonuses to its ice and projectile weapons. It also packs the slow ability by design to help out with clogging an opponent mechas joints and gears thus slowing it for better and easier hits.

As it is a lower tonnage mecha don't expect a lot of equipment slots, there is only so much room after all. But you can build up the engines so that speed is respectable, cockpit is minimal so investment in niode gear for extra accuracy is recommended, as well as with the chassis for the dodge potential.

Shielding is likewise on the trim side so choose wisely. All in all these are fine little mechas that will do their best before they are blasted apart. If equipped right with both equipment and weapons they have the potential to be a tough opponent mecha that can stand up to some serious punishment. As a fan of ice mechas I can strongly recommend this ice/slug thrower combo. It may not be pretty, it may not pack a ton of slots, but if utilized right and in the right spot in your formation this mecha can and will shine.








Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Pike Mecha Review By John Ringo#899287

Greetings pilot! Welcome to Shock and Awe your un equaled distributor of Mechs and MOAR! I can see that you are a discerning individual of both taste and skill. May I direct your attention to our newest arrival from Alpha Corporation – The Pike. No war is too big, no local uprising to small. With this Mech you can crush them all!

Now I am very sorry to have to ask this but I need to see your pilot ID card. You see you must be pilot level 128 or better to buy this unit. I have also taken the liberty to check your credit balance and I see that you have much more than the needed 25,200 Ferrite, 17,000 Bioptics and 140 Niodes to take this home. Here is a brochure that explains the basics and then how well it will perform after you invest in upgrades:

280 AP
12 Gun Slots (You will gain a new slot every 3 levels)
2X Damage 5%
3X Damage 3%
Freeze 5%
Shield (5)
Speed - 34

At level 227 you get the following:

Gun Slots – 75
3X Damage 25%
2X Damage 38%
1.5X Damage 40%
Precision (17)
Crit-Kill 6%
Fork 14%
Freeze 30%
Slow (9)
Wide Fork 15%
Shield (40)
Fork Shield 35%
Wide Fork Shield 60%
Auto Repair (4)
Speed +1

Cockpit Slots – 7
Chassis Slots – 8
Shield Slots – 6
Engine Slots – 6

Now imagine yourself at the controls laying waste to every foe who stands against you and a few of them who do not run away fast enough. You will be the envy of everyone not fortunate enough to own one. Why General Nova himself was just here placing an order for enough Pike’s to go on a Colony Drop. How many can I put you down for?

Submitted by John Ringo #899287

Sgt. Ron's Input On The New Slate Mech By Ron Frye#879655

Ok, I did some math (yeah, I know ... not my strongest area of expertise ... lol) and I have come to a conclusion concerning the new Slate model mecha. After reviewing the various niode and crystal mechs involved, the Slate, with it's extensive level advancement tree, large array of possible equipment slots, and very few negative modifiers, may very well be THE best missile OR ice mech currently available.

 What impresses me the most is that it is a crystal mech. Completely out of character for Chef, but it looks like he finally threw those of us who choose not to spend the same amount of cash monthly on this game as we do on our car payments (lol).

Ok...ok....I'll back off the smart ass comments. Seriously, if you haven't taken a hard look at this new mech, you need to; Right now! It is going to be a main stay mech for many serious players in the upcoming months. In combination with the Balrog and Corsair model crystal mech's, it gives the low budget player a very flexible field to work with now, in the higher tonnage ranges.

These three dual purpose mechs are an essential tool for the upper brackets, in my personal opinion. By dual purpose I mean that the Slate is an Ice/Missile mech, the Corsair is primarily a Projectile mech, but it has a lot of features that make it a desirable Fork/Wide Fork specialized mech with a small back up in Ice weapon features, and finally, the Balrog, with it's heavy Fire and Laser capabilities, nicely wraps the ensemble up.

They certainly make up for the Humbaba and Notos disappointments (or as I prefer to call them, and their inclusion into the game; The Great "No-Go" and The "Hump-yo-mama" Incident). LOL !!!

Cheers and happy hunting,
Sgt. Ron Frye#879655  

The Slate Mech Review By John Ringo#899287

For those pilots who just have to get their hands on every mech available your job just got a little bit harder. GDI has just released the Slate to the general market in hopes that it will become your next go to tool in your fight against the Unification Army. Of course, if you also use it to smash pirate bases, fringe world outposts or other mercenary clans it will not void your factory warranty.

This 100T Crystal Mech tops out at level 218 and you must be level 121 to buy it. After you pop for the 21,500 Ferrite, 17,000 Bioptics and 430 Crystal to have one of your very own here is what you get right off the showroom floor:

255 AP
11 Gun Slots (You will gain a new slot every 5 levels)
Ice Damage +7%
3X Damage +3%
Laser Shield 10%
Speed -28

After you have raided a few planetary systems for the needed resources to level this beast to level 218 you get the following:

Gun Slots – 54
Freeze – 25%
Ice Damage – 53%
Missile Damage – 39%
Crit Kill – 1%
Precision – 6
3X Damage – 29%
Splash Damage – 12%
Speed – 0
Trample Shield – 20%
Laser Shield – 30%
Shield – (23)
Splash Shield – 30%
Projectile Shield – (45)
AR – 2
Fire Vulnerability – 25%
Cockpit Slots – 5
Chassis Slots – 7
Shield Slots – 5
Engine Slots – 6

So, love it or hate it you now have the option to buy it and the staff at G.G. would love to hear from you with your thoughts on build options or creative ways to use this in your combat formations. Drop us a line and get paid in niodes for your time!

Submitted by  John Ringo#899287

Antithesis Mecha Review By Theo Peeples#847147

When you think of the best 90 ton mech, what comes to mind? Most people say the Regis, or the Ignis, or even the defensive stalworth Aspis. But what about the Antithesis? Why is it regarded as the weakest of the 4 niode 90 ton mechs?

Maybe it’s the lack of engine slots, making it the second slowest of the bunch, only faster than the Aspis. Maybe it’s because it has the lowest armor of the 4. Maybe it’s the lack of cool and fun extras like fork or any multipliers.

I personally think the Antithesis is the best of the 90ton niode mechs. It has the highest base precision and dodge fully leveled of the 4. A whopping 47 for each. It has my favorite built in weapon multiplier, the projectile bonus. And it comes with a slew of other great bonuses:Trample, Slow, Freeze, Crit-Kill, & Wide Fork. It even comes with cockpit and 6 chassis slots, along with 4 engine and 4 shield slots. This mech is a utility marvel. It is fantastic in causing disruption and chaos and should not be overlooked.

The Antithesis is a very versatile mech and can fill many roles in your lineup. At one point they were the gold prize in Clan Wars for several months. Yet I still don’t see many out there. Maybe it’s time we go back and look at this 90 ton Black Knight. Let the creative juices flow and see what we can come up with. It may not be the easiest to use, but once you get down to it, it can be the most fun. I’ll be out there with my Anti’s on front line, Grim, Hades, Hel, Osiris, and Deathscythe leading the way.

Submitted by Theo Peeples#847147

Novum Mech Review by David McCallum : #701548

There are a few things I dislike.


Having to strip down the wife's cockpit after she poured vodka and lemonade all over it is one of them.


OH behave you lot... just because I used words like strip and... look, no, its not a double entendre... or a single one either. Genuine drinks wastage (a crime in itself), controls, targeting, A.I., the whole lot needed to be yanked and replaced.


And while I'm waiting for the new out of the box A.I. to do its fifty squillion updates, I had time to flick back through some of our archived articles.


That was where I found another thing I dislike.


I agree with Pat on something.


Yes, I know, he's slightly up the evolutionary chain from chimpanzee with a bourbon bottle (he still flings his poo though...) but given an infinite number of monkeys with typewriters you eventually get something sensible.

And Patrick has done a fair few articles in his time, so I guess the chimp had to get lucky on occasion.


In this case it was with regard to the Novum Mech.


Now Pat's original review and spotlight went on about how you can only get them as a rare Novum mission and how he kept his and he was slowly leveling it and blah blah blah its good.


Yes it is, but unlike Pat's theoretical conjecture, I actually earn a living in the murky depths of the lighter tonnage mech specialists and I can quite categorically tell you that pound for pound this is perhaps the strongest mech you will come across.


Now the Novum is 25 tonner, and as a general rule of thumb I would tend to class a Niode mech as roughly equivalent to a crystal mech ten tons heavier.


The fact that I have seen these beasties in 70 ton lineups and they are certainly welcome in a 55 line just goes to show how much these little boogers can punch above their weight. I have seen a single Novum go berserk and munch through twelve enemy 40 tonners like Pac Man after a ganja session.


The crux of it essentially comes down to their defensive doctrine. Shielding is minimal, a 25 ton mech is never going to have huge armour to take a hit, they rely on simply not being there.


Mine are over level 100 and have built in dodge of 24 and that is before you fill any of the 3 chassis slots.


Rate of fire is excellent. With the throw weight inherent to a niode mech, a built in speed of 50 and three additional engine slots, it can out shoot most things in its weight bracket and an awful lot of them that are heavier. The built in damage boost for lasers is almost negligible so you can load it with whatever fast weaponry you have available.


I know of some pilots who load up on FOF Targeting and Forking Missiles to get big collateral damage, but one of my favorite builds is using a full load of venerable Galaxy Eyes. If you can couple that with Immersive Neural Rigs (4 of them in the cockpit) then almost a quarter of what you hit with will be a kill shot. Use Targeting Reticles and that drops to 1 in 5 but you also get 1 in 4 chance of Freeze, leaving them open for another pass.


The point is with 4 cockpit slots, you can realy tune your build to be a right royal pain in the posterior.


So any of you new pilots who happen to visit Novum and see something whizz past at high speed, check your hanger and offer a silent prayer to whomever in case something has landed in there... and for crying out loud, don't sell it!

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

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

Commissar Mech Review by David McCallum : #701548

Ah, the fickleness of youth.


Being one of the newest mechs out there, according to Junior Pilot, they are the 'Best Mech Ever'. When Cherry Blossom Mechworks started production and put them on sale as an introductory offer, Junior Pilot decided that a 20 ton specialisation was the way to go and purchased a full squadron.


Now, I'm all for specialists, but even on sale it seemed... excessive. Ah well, wisdom comes with age, and Junior Pilot has a long way to go.


Now this is not the first mech that has been declared the 'Best Mech Ever'.


I recall when Junior Pilot had yet to earn their licence. We watched archaic vid-slugs of primitive fighting mechs in action. When they recognised the Axebot as being available on the open market, it was declared 'Best Mech Ever'. I was even derided for not having any and pestered to the point of insanity until I gave in and bought one. I never did actually, Junior Pilot just got bored eventually and wandered off. It was a close run thing though.


Then came graduation from pilot school and a few jaunts around the Pirate Moon, hauling in a Nerio and Trooper. These mecha were capable of conquering the Galaxy, and were therefore the 'Best Mechs Ever'.


I must admit, those mechs have served well. With the advent on Squad wars and the need for brevet promotions, way down at the bottom end of the divisions, Junior Pilot is leading a group. As such, and leading from the front, those mechs helped bring in two solid KotM bronzes.


But in the quest for the bounty from a third, they were not up to the task. They were replaced by Luisons, which even though they are crystal, they are, of course, the 'Best Mech Ever'. A solid and hard won silver was the prize.


And all the while, under their dust covers at the back of the hanger , unused, untested, all but forgotten by the fickleness of youth, sat a reserve formation.


And the War Gods smiled upon Junior Pilot, and for the fourth and final medal needed for the big bounty, they called forth the 20 tonners.


There were some sharks down there. Dragons, newly minted alumni from the Mech Point Academy. Highlanders are always a handful. They fielded Shocklites and Axebots. A few brave souls took to the field in Red Ants.


And yes, there was the odd captured Commissar.


I had never seen them in action before, and it felt strange to not be in the driving seat. However as a spectator, I had the chance to weigh the odds first.


Here's what the book says. 35 Niodes, 500 Bioptics and 550 Ferrite gets you a 20 ton mech with all the advantages inherited from the Red Ant plus more besides. That means it's a heck of a laser mech, but it also starts picking up speed boosts very quickly while being able to slow an opponent down on any successful shot. The Axebot favours engine modules and rightly needs it in a match up as the Commissar gets so much speed just built in. The Comissar can devote that other internal space to other things and seems to favour chassis enhancements making it a far more slippery target.


Add in its 4 weapon slots with another every 4 levels compared to the 3 and 7 of the Shocklite and the 3 and 5 of the Axebot, it starts with a higher throw weight and just gets better.


Now we already know that a Shocklite is vastly outmatched by the Axebot, but how will the Commisar stack up?


Yes, it has better damage potential with its chosen weapon type and can fire faster, but the Axebot is rightly feared with its built in ability to Crit Kill and its damage multipliers. The Axebot has the track record. It was going to be interesting to see how the newcomer fared against it.


It was a very thrilling contest, if a little short, which was perhaps disappointing. Junior Pilot was attacked by higher level opponents with both well tricked Shocklites and heavily armed Axebots.


But at the end of the day, direct observation can attest to the fact that the Commissar is up to the task.


A fourth medal in a row and a 100 niode bounty declared that, according to the fickleness of youth, the bright shiny new Nephilax in the hanger was indeed the 'Best Mech Ever'.


But from what I saw, just for a few moments at the top of the mountain the Commissar has very rightly earned a title.


It was the 'Best Mech Ever'.

Submitted by David McCallum : #701548

The Reaper A Second Look By Pat Willis#224534

Today we're taking a look at the new 100 ton, niode slug thrower the Reaper. As usual all pertinent purchase and basic level information are in the image.The last time I reviewed them I had a couple but none at pilot level. Now that is corrected, and we'll see if this is just another Fext wanna be or if it deserves its own special place in your line.

The starting weapons here are pretty nice actually. You get 2 Harvesters, 2 Raven's Claws, 2 Silencers, and 5 MAK - 47's. Before installation of equipment, just based on standard mecha build stats, the mecha has the following for innate abilities.

Bonuses before
equipment:
Proj. Damage + 54%
Speed - 30
Trample 22%
Trample Shield 25%
3X Damage 26%
Missile Vulnerable 26%
Fire Shield (30)
Splash Shield 20%
Speed + 24
Freeze 19%
Slow (12)
Shield (17)
Precision (9)
Crit-Kill 2%

For equipment slots it gets 6 cockpit, 4 chassis, 5 engine, 6 shield and 50 weapon slots. So there is room to make modifications and dial in your mecha how you would like with equipment slots.

However be aware you'll be wasting at least one good shield slot to cover for the shoddy  manufacturing job that leaves this model vulnerable to missiles. I'm sorry but if I'm shelling out 140 niodes I expect to see a mecha without such weak ass parts on it that by the time it levels up has that weakness at a whopping 26%, which has actually increased since the last time I reviewed this mecha when it was in the level 70's. Last time I had looked that vulnerability was only at 20%. So in the levels that I have gained I have also gained another 6% weapon vulnerability.

Sorry I just can't get behind or support such a shoddy design, and such a bad rip off of another mecha. Save your niodes buy a Fext. They do more damage, aren't as slow, and aren't put together with bargain basement parts so as to blow up if you mention missiles. These look nice but in the end even for a niode mecha I have to say at best they are sub par.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

The Second Look At The Notos By Pat Willis#224534

When last we reviewed this mecha I only was able to base the review off of it at level 70 something. Now I have the majority of them up to full pilot level of 116, and can give a more informed review. As usual basic purchase information and stats are contained in the side image.

Off of the show room floor your Notos comes equipped to BBQ the hell out of its opponents. It packs 1 Prometheus, 4 Illyrian Flares, 2 Chimera, and 4 Setaline Torches. Taking it from level 0 to level 116 gets you the following for in built mecha bonuses.

Fire damage at +74%, 3X damage at 17%, Shield of (15), Fork shield at 30%, Laser shield at 15%, Missile shield at 40%, Ice shield at 15%, 2X damage at 8%, Fire shield at(25) Missile shield of (24), Splash at 20%, Precision of (12), Wide Fork shield 20%, Projectile vulnerable 4%, and a Dodge of (5). I Have 6 Cockpit slots, 5 Chassis slots, 5 Engine slots, 4 Shield slots, and 49 Weapon slots available to me.

Obviously this is a flame thrower through and through, but as with most mechas it has room to modify it in the equipment slots to make it more accepting of other weapon types. Granted you probably will not get a lot out of whatever you install for a secondary or fall back system, but you can put it in there.

It has a decent array of inbuilt shielding to it so you're looking good on that even with just 4 Shield slots available. But you may want to get that pesky inbuilt vulnerability to Projectiles shielded off as soon as possible. That weapon family is one of the fastest firing and most devastating weapons the game has at higher levels. As a result it's popular with many a pilot and something you are often going to run into in a fight. So be smart shore up your weaknesses as soon as you can, especially with so much in built shielding to help negate whatever vulnerabilities equipping it with gives you in the first place.

Follow all that? Good moving on...

The weapons slots allow you to pretty much equip most of the flame weapon family to this mecha if you were so inclined. The flame weapons have a long and solid history of burning and splashing their way to victory. Add on the weapon specific damage bonus and you could be looking at burning your opponent to a smoldering wreckage in no time.

The 2X and 3X damage potential can be upped of course with proper equipment and placement so capitalize on that as you go. It doesn't have a lot of slots for dodge or have much for inbuilt dodge itself so do yourself a favor and go for the niode gear on this. Not saying you can not go crystal with it. Just saying niode gear usually does more and packs more of a punch and after all isn't that what you want out of a mecha you are investing in rather heftily from the get go?

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

A Look At A Reaper By Pat Willis#224534

Today we're taking a look at the new 100 ton, niode slug thrower the Reaper. As usual all pertinent purchase and basic level information are in the image. I have two of these mecha, neither is fully leveled to the 116 pilot level yet. So out of the two, a level 43 and a level 74, I'll be basing my review on the level 74.

The starting weapons here are pretty nice actually. You get 2 Harvesters, 2 Raven's Claws, 2 Silencers, and 5 MAK - 47's.

Build bonuses before equipment sit at Projectile Damage +41%, 3Xdamage 20%, Trample 10%, Trample Shield 20%, Missile vulnerable 20%, Fire shield 20, Splash shield 20, Freeze 13, Slow 6, Shield 17, and Precision 3. With all that I have at present 4 Cockpit slots, 3 Chassis slots, 3 Engine slots, 4 Shield slots, and 35 weapon slots.

Now admittedly I'm a little put off by this mecha as giving a mech an inbuilt weapon vulnerability in my books is worse than the crap the equipment does to the mecha. Also the equipment slots aren't quite as beefy as I would like...yet. As it levels we'll see how much better it gets but based on standard build stats at present I'm wondering why this mecha was needed given we have the monstrosity that is the Fext?

I have to wonder if this mecha was a... "We did it because we could."... kind of deal. It looks slick, it has nice weapons, it has 3X damage multipliers, and it uses fast weapons. You can outfit a Fext with projectile weapons pretty efficiently and achieve more damage with it getting all your damage modifiers to pop in that one shot. So honestly which is better?

Given the two I own aren't fully leveled yet it's kind of hard to say. Although the equipment slots honestly don't tell me much, as more open as you level. However just that one 3X damage modifier just bugs me. Not because it is there, but because there is no 2X, or 1.5X modifier anywhere to be seen. Granted that would make it a projectile only bad ass, but ultimately a rip off of the Fext.

Honestly I wouldn't mind seeing such a thing. So I'm going to level up what I have and see where it goes, but at present I'm thinking my two are destined for the scrap pile. If I want to do heaps of damage and use projectile guns to do it, I'll just slap em on a Fext and call it a day.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Revisiting the Regis By Pat Willis#224534

Today we're looking at another niode Jurassic mecha the Regis. As usual all pertinent purchase information is contained in the side image. As to their starting weapons, they come standard issue with two Twin Grazer cannons, two Flavian Spear lasers,  five Heat Lasers, and four Hyper Amps they are ready for a fight straight off the assembly line. Please note this is taken from one of my Regis mechas as the basis for this review. As such it is based on a Regis sitting at my level of 116.

Now before equipment is installed I'm looking at +54% laser damage, 3X damage 10%, Crit - Kill 10%, Fork 20%, Trample Shield 40%, Laser shield 25%, Trample 10%,Auto repair 5, Precision 5, Projectile damage +15%, Wide Fork 8%, 2X damage 10%, and a dodge of 2. That's a pretty hefty laundry list of mecha abilities that can be made better by filling in the equipment slots.

I have 6 Cockpit slots, 6 Chassis slots, 5 Engine slots, 4 Shield slots, and 42 weapon slots available to me. This mecha gives you some room to play with. It allows you plenty of room to dial in your precision rating, gives decent dodge slots with the Chassis, and if you do it right with engines you can eek out every last bit of speed. The shields aren't a complete set so you're down one slot. But careful selection can net you decent protection overall.

Now what does this mecha excel at? Laser damage hands down is its primary weapon ability. Yes, it has bonuses to projectile as well but at nowhere near the percentages that are for laser damage. Of course as with most mechas you can set it up how you like for weapons systems and go to town with it. However this is telling you right off the bat it is a monster with lasers, and it has a Crit - Kill ability that can be capitalized on with proper equipment set up. This mecha is perfect for the Crit - Kill club group of lasers I am so fond of. The Blue Dragon, Cherenkov Ray, and the Archfiend respectively.

So you get a small laundry list of abilities, some nice starting weapons, decent weapon and equipment slots, and it is fairly fast on the draw for using laser and being 90 tons. Sure it'll cost you a bit in resources to get a hold of one, but truth be told they are well worth it. To me about the only thing that ruins this mecha is all the stupid limits on lasers and equipment at the higher levels/ ranges. If you have more than a handful of these you'll notice as you go on outfitting and equipping them, that well they are slowly declining in performance.

Why? Because after a time you get locked out of the good weapons and gear and have to make due with the vulnerable, slow you down, give you problems gear. So be smart keep a many of these as you like but be forewarned after a time gear and equipment gets scarce and your Regis variants will start to decline the further away they get from the original purchase. Yes they can handle niode and crystal gear/weapons just fine. It's just that let's be honest here niode gear gives you more overall which makes it more appetizing for this mecha model.

The same can be said for the weapons systems honestly. So the mecha itself is great. Equipment slots are all right there, weapon slots likewise accessible, it's just the dumb limits on the gear, and some of the limitations on the weapons themselves as far as slowing you down or leaving you vulnerable that totally suck. Especially when you're limited on shield slots from the get go to cover your ass with. But if worked right, with a careful selection of weapons and gear these things become Crit - Kill monsters. That almost makes the rest of the BS worthwhile trying to outfit more than a couple at a time.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Aspis Mecha Review By Pat Willis#224534

 Today we'll be looking at the Jurassic mecha the Aspis, please note it is a niode mecha and all pertinent purchase information is available in the image to the side. As usual I'll be basing the review off of the couple I own.

The starting arsenal isn't too bad really. It comes off the showroom floor with 3 Tri - Slagger lasers, 1 Sikuliaq ice weapon, 2 H. Blast Plate projectile weapons, 1 Death Head missile, 1 Ol' Willie Pete Fire weapon, and 5 Rail cannons.

All in all not a bad array of weapons, and proof of intent of this mecha being one of the ones capable of handling multiple weapon types.

You may quickly outgrow most of what it is packing, and of course as you do, replacing the weapons can become an awesome headache. But let's look at the build stats, and slots to see if we can't play around some with this design. Built in before equipment this mecha packs Trample Shield at 88%, Precision of (12), 3X Damage 18%, 2X Damage 18%, Splash Shield 30%, Fork 15%, Fork Shield 25%, Wide Fork Shield 50%, Auto Repair (4), and Crit - Kill 6%. (Using my pilot level Aspsis at 116 for this review, results may vary.)

For equipment I have 5 Cockpit, 5 Chassis, 5 Engine, 6 Shield and 42 weapon slots to play with. Now that is a decent amount of slots to build up your Precision, Dodge, Speed, and various Shielding systems on top of what this mecha already packs as an on board package. Of course how you set it up will depend on your play style. But please note unlike many mecha that come equipped with multiple weapon types from the get go, this ones stats do not reflect that at all in the build.

Instead this is pretty intensely focused on defensive measures given all the inbuilt shielding and slots for even more shielding. Adding in equipment of course will add to your arsenal in the form of bonuses to damage for your given weapon types but that is it. This mecha seems to concentrate on defensive as opposed to offensive measures.

It'll give you bonuses on 2X & 3X damage, as well as Fork for inbuilt mecha ability but it is up to you to properly capitalize on that with weapon abilities/load outs. Niode equipment as well as weapons may serve you better than crystal here as they have more abilities/damage/power to them. With that said however this mecha handles both crystal and niode gear with ease, just you will probably get more out of it, if you niode it out.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534