Quote from: j123456;777908Anyone play Mekton Zeta?  Does anyone have any recommended tactics for mecha combat?  Or is it basically shooting gallery where mechs stay in place and there is no advantage to maneuver?

I'm thinking about running a game, but I wonder how much depth the combat system has.

• Flirt with the Combat Range/Extreme Range divide.  Ideally, you want to dart into Combat range, take your shot, and dart out a range equal to your opponent's Combat Range + 1/2 MA + 1.  This makes your enemy have to take disadvantageous shots at you (-4 to hit), which is a huge penalty in Interlock.  This is harder to do in MZ where APT are pegged at 2, but if bonus action rules are being used, then it's an extremely potent trick.


• When fighting opponents of fairly equal skill, it's always better to rely on your single hit high damage weapons.  You only have to get slightly lucky once, as opposed to getting really lucky multiple times with low damage high BV weapons.


• Mecha Pool is far more important than you might initially think.  Increasing Mecha Pilot above 5 and/or putting modifications on your mech which boost Mecha Pool (like ACE) should be foremost in your mind.  If the optional rule for bonus APT for high Mecha Pool is being used, it is even more important to boost your Pilot skill above 5 as soon as possible.


• By the rules, melee weapons get to aim at major locations without additional aiming modifiers.  This also applies to hand to hand attacks which have predefined places they strike.  This makes them preferable for directed damage, and makes them capable of easy quick kills


• Definitely don't forget the hand to hand attacks while you're in a mecha.  Sometimes it can come in incredibly handy to knock a mech back into another hex (such as off a cliff, or into a disruptor field).  Grab can also be used to pilfer hand weapons, which is pretty useful when your nova beam saber is out of charge but your opponent's still has 2 turns of charge left.