*Damanor’s Lair: a Gaming Blog

  To celebrate sarna.net’s latest Bad Mechs feature, here’s my assessment of the Quickdraw . Let’s see if it fares any better in Mobile Frame Zero. The Quickdraw was designed to replace the Rifleman , but frankly is does a poor job of it. The Rifleman was designed as an anti-aircraft Mech but is also used for fire support. It has considerable firepower and great medium- to long-range damage-dealing potential, but also has paper-thin armor, has average speed for a heavy Mech (which is to say it’s slow), and tends to overheat. The designers of the Quickdraw wanted a much more versatile Mech and focused on fixing the Rifleman’s weaknesses, but this was at the expense of the Rifleman’s strengths. The 60-ton Quickdraw has SLIGHTLY more armor than the Rifleman and is 33 percent faster. It also uses jump jets for added mobility. Just these features took up half the weight of the Mech, however, and that’s not including other essentials like a cockpit, gyro, and internal structure. As a re...

 Sarna.net  has an entertaining new feature called Bad Mechs. Their first victim: the ASN-21 Assassin. I admit that this is not one of my favorite medium mechs. This 40-tonner really is significantly worse than a lot of light mechs. Yes, it’s faster and more heavily armed than a Wasp or Stinger , but that’s not saying much. Much smaller mechs such as the Commando out-gun it. The Jenner has almost as much armor, as much speed, and more firepower. A Valkyrie or Panther has more armor and is much more powerful at long range. But I have a certain affection for underdog mechs, and the Assassin is definitely an underdog. If you can win a battle while piloting an Assassin, you’re doing well. In Mobile Frame Zero terms, I think the Assassin has a chance to redeem itself. ASN-21 Assassin: Weight: Medium (40 Tons), Speed: Fast, Armor: Light, Laser Cannon, Antenna, Jump Jets, Missile Rack (2RD/1Y/1G/2W/1Rd8S). Against clan or advanced technology: [2RD/1G/2W/1Rd8S] I decided to just ...