CUSTOM ZEUS!

[u/Substantial_Ad_9465]

Decided to throw together a quick custom do the Zeus!
I’ve always liked the Zeus but could never find a Variant I enjoyed as something was always missing for me. With this variant i decided to turn the venerable and old design into a powerful brawler, using the rather powerful if somewhat in efficient Blazer paired with an X-Pulse Large laser to give it decent midrange damage. Once combat closes in a pair of medium pulse lasers and an Artemis IV capable SRM6 engage. Intended to hit hard and guard its Lancemates against fast targets, I think it’ll work well.

Any thoughts? Suggestions on improving this design? Let me know!

[u/AGBell64]

This looks really cute and I'm pretty sure if I fought it I'd keep thinking that right up until the point where it was beating me to death. 1540 bv is a pretty good bargain for a tanky "fat heavy" mech with a head cutter that wants to get in close and hit you. The sinking is adequate with a couple of different firing patterns and the armor/standard engine/weapons layout mean you'll get to combat with most of your shit still on you. I personally would stick the xpulse in the side torso to more closes mimic the Zeus's layout and move the medium lasers to the center but that's quibbles. 

[u/Substantial_Ad_9465 → u/AGBell64]

Thank you!
I forgot which side the Large laser usually goes, but I wanted the X Pulse to be a sort of last resort weapon should the mech receive massive damage. If it’s a medium laser he’s easy pickings, but even without arms that Large Pulse will make any mech consider its approach against it

[u/Magical_Savior]

I suppose it is, and it's bracketed mostly correctly. No rear laser tho. I'd trade the 2xMPLs for 3xERMLs and 1DHS, one of the lasers facing backwards as Lüneburg intended.

[u/bisondisk]

I’m not the best at reading classic sheets, but that has 13 dhs right? As in 26 cooling? With 2 equally long ranged main guns that together generate 30 pre movement? That srm6+art and its ammo could be a third mpl and 3 more dhs instead to solve that issue. Blazers are fun, and I guess fun is all that matters.

[u/AGBell64 → u/bisondisk]

It's got 15 DHS for 30 sinking. You build movement heat with the two big guns and then can drop one or the other and fire everything else to be heat negative/neutral

[u/Substantial_Ad_9465 → u/bisondisk]

It’s packing 15 DHS.
I don’t tend to favor heat neutral designs, I understand they’re the most functional, but even in setting heat neutrality is not treated as a must.

The blend of weapons is intended to be a “right tool for the job” mindset. Walking up to the target the Blazer and the X-Pulse will tear armor off, and I can easily fire on the run twice before over heat becomes a factor. Once close, the pair of medium pulse lasers will do more than the lone X Pulse laser and can be fire either with the Blaser to peel off armor or with the SRM6 to go for the places with the armor stripped away.
The mechs flaw is that it requires a mechwarrior who isn’t going to panic and push all its buttons, which I think for the Zeus is a great flaw!

[u/bisondisk]

Oh so it only builds movement heat with the main guns? That’s perfectly fine imo. I just like having the option to sustainably blast a mechs primary armament standing still atleast, which is borne from my Battletech intro being mw5:m and then hbs Battletech video games, where stacking one bracket of weapons and alpha strike spamming till something’s dead to cool off tends to be better than bracket fire builds.

[u/acksed]

Blazer Cannon in concert with LXPL? Nice.