Part 147: Alisa

Wanzer Retrospecticus: Alisa

Build Cycle #1: Missions 9-18



"The Yellow Wallflower"
Submitted by: Lotish

Parts
Body: Meledyne M1
L. Arm: Kasel M2
R. Arm: Kasel M2
Legs: Kasel M2
Backpack: BX002

Weapons
L. Shoulder: Wagtail 2
L. Hand: Empty
R. Shoulder: Empty
R. Hand: Mk 9 Sniper

Oh, Lotish...what were you thinking? Anyway, this is a good example of how not to set up a missile wanzer. The problem is that the arms are simply too inaccurate for a missile (or a rifle for that matter).

Lotish probably would have been better off getting lighter legs, moving the rifle to the same hand as the Wagtail, and then splurging for a more accurate arm. As it waz, this wanzer couldn't hit anything, and, at the end of day, that's a basic mark of competence for a long-range wanzer.

Build Cycle #2: Missions 19-24



"The Yellow Submission"
Submitted by: Lotish

Parts
Body: Meledyne M1
L. Arm: Kyojun Mk 107
R. Arm: Kyokei Mk 108
Legs: Enyo Mk 109
Backpack: BPT3A

Weapons
L. Shoulder: Yunsheng 34
L. Hand: Empty
R. Shoulder: Yunsheng 34
R. Hand: Empty

Better. The accuracy problems that plagued its predecessor are all but eliminated with this design but...it's still kind of problematic.

Listen, I get why Lotish wanted it to have two missile launchers, that way, you have twelve missiles to play around with and don't need to spend a turn reloading. But, that means using the relatively inaccurate Kyokei arm for the second launcher, and not being able to mount a shield. The total effect of these decisions is once again sub-optimal accuracy coupled with fragility. It probably would have been better to scrap the second launcher, using an item backpack, and equipping a shield on the off-hand.

Build Cycle #3: Missions 25-28



"Yamato Nadeshiko"
Submitted by: IceMole

Parts
Body: Zenislev
L. Arm: Grapple M1
R. Arm: Kasel M2
Legs: Zenislev
Backpack: BPT3A
Computer: COMB554

Weapons
L. Shoulder: Empty
L. Hand: Mk10 Fist
R. Shoulder: Empty
R. Hand: Mk10 Fist

A great design for Pham or Kazuki (in fact, it's not terribly dissimilar from the wildly successful Poor Decision.) For Alisa with her zero levels of melee experience, though? It's not going to work.

That's really all there is to it. It's got good parts, a good design concept, and should be devastating. But, without a pilot who knows how to use it, it's just not going to do enough damage to offset the damage it will be forced to take due to its weaponry.

Build Cycle #4: Missions 29-34



"Fire Support"
Submitted by: The Devil Capskye

Parts
Body: Foura M12A
L. Arm: Kasel M2
R. Arm: Enyo Mk 109
Legs: Foura M12A
Backpack: Mk5 E-Pack
Computer: COMB603

Weapons
L. Shoulder: Wagtail 2
L. Hand: Buckler
R. Shoulder: Wagtail 2
R. Hand: Empty

Okay, here's the thing, I know Capskye is capable of making designs that please me, after all, no one's wanzers have won more MVP awards than his...although there has been much speculation that the voting in those awards may be fixed.

Anyway, this wanzer was a disaster. The Wagtail was two generations out of date by this point in the game, and just couldn't do enough damage, to the point where any time I used it, I was essentially fighting with only three wanzers. Oh, and, for whatever reason, the second launcher was mounted on a Kasel arm, meaning that if I ever had to use it, there was no chance of it hitting.

Build Cycle #5: Missions 35-41[/u]



"Rifles Revenge"
Submitted by: thetruegentleman

Parts
Body: Yongsai 3
L. Arm: Shangdi 1
R. Arm Yongsai 3
Legs: Laiying 1
Backpack: Mk5 E-Pack
Computer: COM 6

Weapons
L. Shoulder: Empty
L. Hand: Laohu 3
R. Shoulder: Empty
R. Hand: Mk9 Sniper

It's not that rifles can't be effective, it's just that the amount of work needed to make them useful probably isn't worth it...and it's not like this design was capable of doing it.

I don't know, I guess the Shangdi arm was a nice touch, in that it actually made a rifle accurate for the first time in the game, but rifles aren't powerful at their best, and Alisa had something like one level in rifles when she got this design, so her ability to do damage was practically nil.

As far as the second rifle, it proved to be the best part of the design, since I could use to get enemy wanzers to surrender without destroying them. Then again, when the best feature of a wanzer is its inability to do significant damage, that's probably not a blueprint for success.

Build Cycle #6: Missions 42-50



"Mjolnir"
Submitted by: jng2058

Parts
Body: Genie
L. Arm: Lanze
R. Arm: Whisk
Legs: Zenislev
Backpack: BX002
Computer: COMG10

Weapons
L. Shoulder: None
L. Hand: MK10 Shield
R. Shoulder: Nightingale
R. Hand: War Hammer

Actually, I can't remember exactly how I set this wanzer up, as the original design had its weight/power numbers screwed up. I guess it doesn't really matter much....

This is a rather solid missile wanzer design. The parts are all rather standard for this point in the game, especially the Lanze and Whisk arms. So, I don't have any complaints there.

The central idea behind this design, as I understand it, was that Alisa would get off a Salvo, reload, and repeat. Now, personally, I don't like Salvo. For every time it destroys an enemy wanzer on its own, there are a half-dozen other instances where its first missiles kills an enemy, and the rest of the missiles are wasted. Still, at the end of the game, I guess that's the best missile-specific battle skill you're apt to find.

Build Cycle #7: Missions 51-55



"6 Shots"
Submitted by: Mehuyael

Parts
Body: Whisk
L. Arm: Whisk
R. Arm: Whisk
Legs:Shunyo Mk 111
Backpack: BPT9MAX
Computer: COMG10

Weapons
L. Shoulder: Bjariger
L. Hand: Heavy Shield
R. Shoulder: Empty
R. Hand: Fatal Buster

Okay, I'll admit to switching the shield and the fist, but only because it makes no sense to direct the enemy attacks onto the arm where you have your primary weapon.

Now, the idea here is that Alisa is essentially playing Russian Roulette with her supply of missiles. At some point, Salvo is going to go off and exhaust her missile launcher, and at the point she'll be forced to rush the enemy with her fist.

As you might guess, the inherent unreliability of a wanzer who I just used Russian Roulette to describe was more than a little vexing in practice, as the design really isn't able to dish out absorb enough damage for a melee wanzer, but thanks to its design, that's what it effectively is for most of the fight.

All-Star Endgame Showcase: Missions 56-59



"Thor Shot"

Parts
Body: Whisk
L. Arm: Whisk
R. Arm: Lenghe 1
Legs: Laiying 1
Backpack: BPT9MAX
Computer: COMB654

Weapons
L. Shoulder: Bjaringer
L. Hand: Fatal Buster
R. Shoulder: Empty
R. Hand: Heavy Shield

As I said, these designs are supposed to representative of your designs, so I decided to take the idea of a missile/melee wanzer to its logical conclusion.

For the record, I don't like Salvo, but the last two designs both featured it, and I do like the extra HP that comes from the Whisk arm, so I chose to suck it up and deal with it.

The big difference is that I chose to include a Lenghe 1 arm for the shield. Why? Shield Attack III cures all defects of Alisa's lack of melee levels. It'll hit for a ton even though Alisa normally is rather weak. It also can absorb a lot damage. For that reason, I included a high activation computer, because I want it to activate as much as possible, also, this makes it more likely that a Salvo will occur sooner rather than later, increasing the chances that it hits an enemy wanzer that's relatively undamaged.

I chose the Laiying legs because I needed to cut weight somewhere, and these lags had a decent skill and 5 dash.