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

Rednose Laser Review By Pat Willis#224534

Looking back through my image files of limited release Niode weapons I happened to find this little holiday gem. So I figured even though we may not be able to purchase them any longer, doesn't mean we can not review them. The image and information are all correct for when the weapon was released but please note it is no longer available (minus coming equipped on one of the Reindeer mecha this CW.)

Well lets look at the weapon available below it. This is a level 50 and above weapon so the next niode laser weapon down would be the Flavian Spear, available at level 45. Which has a damage of 70, a speed of 100 and a crit kill ability of 15%. The Rednose laser burys both the speed and damage, adds another ability by giving you Precision perks, and gaining a 14% 2x damage rating, so you only lose 1% of an ability.

The one up from that is the Black Widow Laser, it's available at level 57. It sports 85 Damage, 101 speed and the ability of Crit kill at 17%. Again the Rednose laser comes out on top in both speed and damage. and again the weapon abilities are a slight trade off in percentage, to gain a mecha perk when firing this weapon.

As always your skill point allotment, mecha build stats, and equipment load out will play a huge factor in how this weapon handles for you. But just doing a straight up stat comparison this looks to be the superior laser when compared to both the niode lasers available in levels beneath and above it. It is a limited release weapon to coincide with the holidays, so if you are going to get one I'd suggest doing it now.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Jurassic Thunder Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

Currently these wicked missile systems are only available on the Apatotron mecha, as a weapon system for a 100 ton mecha they need to be bad assed to be standard equipment. These do not disappoint. They sport a Speed of 90, a Damage of 126, and have Wide Fork of 20%, as well as freeze of 51%.

Now as folks know I am not a fan of the new big mecha, or more to the point not a fan of the less than stellar equipment available for them at the time they were released. However the weapons they have on them can be pretty devastating if used on other mecha. For instance I have 4 of these I swap back and forth between my missile boat mechas like the Anubis, or mechas I have modified for missile usage like Frozen Dream my Frigis. In the case of Frozen Dream he utilizes multiple Hawkeye M.M. Targeting systems in his cockpit slots which allow for +7% missile damage. Spread that across 4 cockpit slots and my Frigis winds up with a small +28% bonus to missile damage.

Not much, but more than enough to cause a mess when things like its inbuilt  x3, x2, crit-kill, or fork ability go off . Seeing as we're already dealing with a high damage weapon the modifiers going off are just really icing on the cake. No they aren't the fastest missile system out there. the Sniper Rack, Arbalest, and Metal Mamba all have speeds at 100.  But for damage and abilities I would say it has competition in the Arbalest missile system. Which does 125 damage, the previously discussed speed of 100, and the abilities of Fork at 84% and Splash at 12%. All in all a hell of a weapon and if you find your Apatotron not being of much use aside from soaking up enemy fire, well why not go ahead and part the weapons out to mechas who can use them and their equipment effectively?












Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Lizard Brain Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

Today we'll be looking at a nasty Niode fire weapon available to levels 67 and up. All prices in the image are current, and there are no more sales going on for weapons. As usual we'll be comparing this weapon to what is available beneath it, and above it level wise.

So lets jump right in with the Kojin Stove, the niode fire weapon available to pilots level 59 and up. It sports 85 straight damage, has a speed of 105, and has weapon abilities of Burn at 33%, as well as Splash of 5%.

Well the Brain here has 95 straight damage so a win there, looses out by a point in speed, but has  higher Burn and Splash percentages. So the Lizard Brain is definitely an upgrade from the Stove.

Above the Brain available at level 76 we have the niode fire weapon the Hephaistos. This weapon does 105 Straight damage, has a speed of 104, and abilities of Burn at 38%, and Splash at 11%.

Needless to say the Hephaistos is indeed an upgrade from the Brain as it sports more straight damage, the same speed, and the abilities of the weapon just seem to go up in percentages as they go up in piloting level. So the end result is that the Lizard Brain is exactly where it should be between these two offerings of fire, and a worthy addition to any fire based arsenal.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

Khron Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

Please note this picture was taken during a 15% off sale, and is not reflective of current prices.

We have a genuine Niode ice weapon of awesomeness available to levels 87 and up. As usual we will be determining the weapons usefulness by comparing it to the similar weapons beneath and above it in level.

So how does it stack up? Well beneath it at level 80 is the Sikuliaq niode ice weapon which deals out 105 damage,has a speed of 99, and has two weapon abilities. Freeze at 35%, and Slow at (6). So the Khron is a nice step up, and worth the upgrade as it has better damage, the same speed, and  better abilities by 5%, and 1 point.

Going up to the next Niode ice weapon we have the Boreas main weapon the Winter's Grasp sitting at level 101. It has 125 damage, 100 speed, and Freeze of 50%, as well as Slow of (9). The Khron is soundly beaten across all areas by this upgrade.

So what we have here is a higher mid range weapon that sits comfortably between its  lower, and higher counterparts, just as it should. It isn't overpowered, or under-powered . It does exactly as advertised and on the right mecha probably a bit more.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534

In Depth Equipment Round Table By The Galaxy Gathering Editorial Staff

This week's topic for the round table discussion is a follow up discussion to the arguments surrounding the issues of penalties to weapons, gear, equipment and mechs. How do you feel about the concept of balancing the game and reflecting the size and power of higher tonnage mechs and gear by increasing the amount of slots that heavier gear takes up? For example: A 50 ton engine takes up one slot, but a 100 ton capacity engine would take up two slots *twice the power, twice the size, twice the amount of space required*. The floor is now open to questions, responses, and commentary.

(the beer is in the ice cooler to the left of the snack table and the hard liquor is in the cabinet under the bar)

Ken -  I'm all for common sense penalties with gear and weapons as , well... they make sense. Examples being flying gear being susceptible to missiles, freeze gear being susceptible to projectiles, etc. I even agree with niode gear and weapons having a significant advantage over it's crystal counterparts.

What I find highly annoying (I believe I used the phrased "Pissed Off About") is limitation on the numbers of certain weapons that you can obtain. Do you have a full line of Fexts? Well unless you dump a shit tone of $$ into niodes, you'll be using lasers 40 levels below you to compensate for the numbers. Have 5 Ignis? Which is even more plausible since it's been a prize for so long? Same thing. You end up filling weapon slots with weaksauce flame-spitters. Unless a factory was taken out due to sabotage or incursions, putting a limit on the number of weapons manufactured is just idiotic.

Ron - Limitations on weapons is a raw topic for all of us....the previous round table on that one left us all with a bad taste in our mouths....I'm with you....if there are going to be any limitations on weapons there needs to be a sound and solid reason for it.....but, what I am asking in this discussion is should heavier gear require more slots than lighter gear

Ken - In a way, I feel the limitations are built in. An engine for a light mech will give you +25 speed while the comparable engine for a 100 tonner gives you +5. Why? Size.

Processors for light mechs will give you a +4 or +6 precision while processors for larger mechs go up over +10. Why? More room for processing chips.

Now at the same time, I do see inconsistencies to this formula. mech cockpits over 80 tons seem to suffer in the precision department as opposed to getting better. Why...

Without going back through, several pieces of gear exclusively made for 100 tonners suffers as opposed to the 80-95 ton gear range, when it had been doing nothing but improve up to that point.
This is an inconsistency that makes no sense. It's like we're being punished for fielding larger mechs.

Pat -  Bigger equipment pieces to take up more slots and deliver more actual stat mods as opposed to the crap show we have now hell yes I'm all for it. Limits to me make no sense as I said in the last convo if you can afford it you should be able to buy it. Now if said item is on sale in the mystery vortex you have a chance at getting it so technically it is still available beyond the limits listed in the shop. But that is a one in however many chance. I want an option past the shop, past the pirate controlled vortex, gimme....a junk dealer! Yeah a junk dealer don't you see? Then we can go over the limits listed and the parts make sense to be vulnerable or take negatives to stats because they are refurbished parts.

Also we need to know basic stat limits of mechas . Okay for instance does the formula for mecha speed have a top number the rng just doesn't go above? What is it? What is the upper limit for things like Precision? Where is the line for dodge?

See that is what makes this game so frustrating, we have an idea of what we want the mecha to do in game and how it should look stat wise. But unless you seriously crunch the numbers and get all spread sheet with it no real explanation has been offered up. For instance.... Okay what does dodge do? It allows you to avoid incoming fire. But how? your number has to beat theirs and throw in some random luck with the rng. Okay well how do we build those numbers up, what effects what, where are the numerical cut offs and what past that is a waste of resources? Cause by rights I have a 129 Precision rating on my fave Boreas, and he hits maybe 50% of the time. I want to understand in game rules why he is missing, what I can do to correct this and how to pad for future fights. See that is a problem I'm level 117 been playing for over two years and still have very simple basic rules questions. Imagine what it is like for a newbie?

Ron -  Now that opens up an entirely new possibility Patrick....used and refurbished parts.....bonuses and penalties based on the quality of the item in question....examples: poor, standard, above standard, premium.....giving mod.s of -5, 0, +5 and +10 to the speed bonuses on an engine.

David - I'm just making sure I have the topic right in my mind... would you be wanting to fit a 100 ton piece into a 50 ton chassis, on the understanding it will take 2 slots on the 50 instead of 1 on the 100?

Because to me, you already have larger 'sized' slots on bigger mechs, that's why they can take gear in the larger tonnage range.

Besides, bigger mechs have more slots anyway, so as an example, to get +10 speed, a 100 tonner has to use 2 x kinetic converters at +5 each vs a single Max Torque in a 75 ton.

Ron - True.......but if that is the case, then why does a 100 ton mech use one slot to equip an engine that is geared for 90 to 100 tonnage and also uses the same entire slot for an engine that is geared for mechs 50 to 95 tons? Seems to me you could fit two of those smaller engines in a space that large....or vice versa.

From there the discussion devolved into a comparison of mecha schematics and builds mixed with copious amounts of alcohol. Tune in next time....

Submitted by Ron Frye#879655, Kenneth Hicks#846092, David McCallum#701548, Pat Willis#224534

Kanabo Weapon Review By Pat Willis#224534

This monster weapon is a slug thrower for levels 113 and up. It costs 2,600 Ferrite, 900 Bioptics and 58 Niodes. It has a limit of 70, and a bulk option to buy 5 for 232 niodes. It does 125 straight damage, has 105 speed and does 3x damage at 30%, with Trample at 6% for abilities.

By way of comparison the Chronysis Rail is available at level 92, does 115 straight damage, has a speed of 107, and  packs same x3 at 30%, but has Precision of 9 as opposed to Trample of 6%. So the Kanabo packs more punch, at a slightly slower speed with a bit extra on the back end for abilities. Recommended for solid artillery heavy mechas to get all the bonuses you can out of it.

Submitted by Pat Willis#224534