Part 20: Sortie 20 - The Terrible Secret of Zearm

Sortie 20 - The Terrible Secret of Zearm

So, who wants bosses? We've got all kinds of bosses for you today, and the giant space robots are here to protect you from them. Joining me tonight is ArclightBorealis and nine-gear crow, the latter of which spends a surprising amount of time pretending he knows giant robot anime.



And our winner for last episode's Robot Hullabaloo is dis astranagant, with Gold Lightan, a glorious golden monstrosity that just so happens to shrink down into a pocket sized zippo lighter. Somehow.







Pilot: Pendulum
AC: Gairizu

Strengths:
-In the context of AC on AC combat, even one on one, his grenade launcher choice is ludicrous
-Surprisingly durable and mobile
-Goddamn MOONLIGHT
-Passive PLUS benefits

Weaknesses:
-Weirdly incompetent aim
-Grenades are his only real ranged threat



Pilot: Heaven's Blaze
AC: Sasha

Strengths:
-Solid sniping AC
-Good mobility
-Passive PLUS bonuses

Weaknesses:
-Made of wet tissue paper
-Super hesitant to use her missiles because ???



Pilot: Pit Viper
AC: Torres

Strengths:
-High damage output across all his weapons
-Passive PLUS bonuses

Weaknesses:
-Almost immobile sitting target between high energy usage and quad legs
-Not enough armor to be the front line big guns for the group

Strategy:
I'm gonna cover all three guys at once, because I don't think anyone wants to be here all day. First up, I may have gotten a little hasty calling these guys PLOWs. They have PLUS benefits to be sure, but they're actually operating within the rules for weight limits and stuff. I can only imagine that was a player concession to keep them from being walls of AP on top of extra weapons and stuff, so good on FROM for that one.

As for the fight itself, these three make a damn solid team. You've got your light, mobile sniper, midweight biped frontman, and quad-leg gun platform loaded with high power weaponry. The question is how to deal with all three at once. And the best answer? Don't. If you give them even an inch, these three will fuck you up like nobody's business, even if each taken as their own would hardly be worth any comment past jokes at their expense. Kiting and divide and conquer strategies are essential to making sure you don't end up a mass of twisted, burning steel.

Your first priority should be Pit Viper, as his lack of mobility makes him an easy target for whatever big guns you may have brought to the fight, and dealing with the threat of his machine guns and pulse rifle right off the bat means you don't have to worry about them coming back to blindside you in a bad spot. Given his size and lack of mobility, missiles are of course a solid choice, as are bazookas, grenade launchers, or anything with high burst damage that he will find it hard to dodge.

The second big threat is Pendulum himself, who is much more manageable when you only need to deal with his big gun and not any others. He is all about the grenade launcher, and for damn good reason. It is a beast in Another Age, and even in the hands of the AI it can still do massive damage when you're trying to avoid fire from other units. Dealing with him is all about staying at range so you're not in the MOONLIGHT kill zone, and keeping enough space between you to dodge his grenade rounds. If you disengage and go after another target, he'll often take pity and start using his rockets to remind you that he's still around before bringing out the grenades again. Just stay mobile and use the territory to your advantage and he'll go down with little effort.

Finally there's Heaven's Blaze. She's the designated support unit of the group, and it shows painfully. If there are other units around, she exists to be a mobile radar and FCS dupe that occasionally shoots at you to whittle down your health while the other two do the big damage. If you took out the other two first, she's almost incapable of finishing you off given her slow rate of fire and lack of power. That said though, her sniping can be a real pain in the ass, especially when you're focused on dodging more damaging weapons, and she can easily whittle you down if you're distracted.

But of course, the greatest weapon against you is the framerate, and the only weapon there is prayers. Or maybe some super emulator functions.