Greetings, Dan here!

For our previous two Mech Construction showcases we focused on a humanoid and gun-chicken for factors when building our example mechs. This time, I wanted to focus on making a specifically not bipedal mech. To help illustrate this, today we will be looking at the Blade Liger from the Zoids franchise. For those not familiar the Zoids franchise features a series of mechs that take the shapes of various animals. This is partially because depending on the series, the mechs are pseudo-biomechs that occur naturally in the wild. As I alluded, this does vary somewhat from series to series, but we won't get into that right now. The important thing is they are animal mechs with some level of autonomy, and are sorted into lines of species. The Liger species, taking its name on from the real life hybrids of lions and tigers, are naturally "big cat" mechs. There are some variations between them, mainly in load outs, but across the board they are known for effective, speedy mechs. The Blade Liger specifically is known for being fast as well as sporting two long Laser Sabers that extend from their sides, allowing them to cut through enemies as they zip by. When running by the enemy isn't an option, the liger also has fangs and claws. For ranged, some also come equipped with cannons or laser guns.

We'll be building this as a starter mech again, so we will have two Blitz Tech parts, and two Caballero Corp parts. Since the Blade Liger is known more for speed than durability, we will go with the Caballero Corp Frame, giving it 12 AP, and the Blitz Tech Boosters to give it an Movement Rate of 2. We will also go with a Caballero Corp CPU for 1 Utility System, so we can have a higher HR with a Blitz Tech Radiator giving a Heat Rating of 10. We won't be able to outfit the Blade Liger with all of its weaponry at start, but we will be able to build its most iconic weapons so it feels right.

For our one Utility System, we'll go ahead and equip the zoid with a Bio Frame. Though it is not organic in the slightest, this will account for some autonomous actions on the part of the mech. Most specifically in this case, if the pilot is incapacitated, the Blade Liger's instincts will kick in, and it will continue to defend itself.

As for the Weapon Systems, even though the laser sabers are more iconic they are no less part of the Liger's identity than the Fangs and Claws, so we'll build both kits with an HR Rating of 5. Starting with the laser sabers we'll raise the damage level up to a d6, costing two heat. While the Blade Liger is equipped with a saber on each flank, they only ever attack a target once with it, as they run by it. Because of this, we'll leave the RoF as a 1, costing only a single heat. For ammo, we can keep that at 4, costing a single point. Lastly, for the range, the saber will naturally be at melee range for one point, bringing us to our total of five. That said, the laser sabers do extend out from the Liger's side so could conceivably hit a target just slightly at range. As such, we'll put the weapon kit's optimization on the range, allowing the sabers to hit Melee thru Close range. 

For the Fangs and Claws, we have another 5 HR to spend. As you may have noticed, when distributing 5 heat, players will really only be raising the level of one weapon feature while the rest remain at the base level. While the Laser Sabers had their extra point in damage, for the Fangs and Claws, we'll put the extra point into Ammo, giving it 6 powered attacks. Once that's depleted, the melee range will allow this weapon to continue to be used at a lower damage output. The reason we went for higher ammo is that we will apply the optimization to the weapon's Rate of Fire. When attacking, that will let us describe the attack as separate claw and bite attacks, though they are using the same weapon system/RoF. This allows the player to skin their mech's capabilities with flair that helps the mech feel more like their vision.

Now, much like with the starter Escaflowne, this build is all melee. One possible route, the player could take during development, is to increase the radiator quality so they can build ranged weapon systems. This could account for the cannons some Liger's are equipped with. Naturally, they would want to improve the Boosters as well to give the mech more speed. This could be further emphasized by equipping the Blade Liger with a higher CPU and Mobility Mode Converter to represent the jet boosters seen on many of them as well.

Next time, I'd like to commemorate the release of From Software's Armored Core 6. This whole project was kicked off with a spark of inspiration upon watching a video on the original Armored Core from Josh Strife Hayes, and I would feel remiss without paying tribute. For our next mech construction showcase, we'll put together a high end build for the infamous Nine-Ball.

See you then!

Dan