MechDB Misadventures, Part 2: The Ultimate Zombie 'Mech?

MechDB Misadventures, Part 2: The Ultimate Zombie 'Mech?

After countless hours spent in MechDB creating various zombie 'Mech loadouts on many different chassis, I eventually decided to ask myself an important question: What is the ultimate "zombiemech"? In my previous post in this series, I'd already defined the necessary criteria for a zombie 'Mech (all-energy loadout, standard engine, at least one head and/or center torso-mounted weapon, and an armor allocation at or near the maximum mass for a given chassis). It took a few hours of deliberation and fiddling in MechDB, but eventually, I came up with this: the Stalker STK-7D, which I found to be the best compromise between tonnage, armor, speed, and firepower among all BattleMech chassis that can be configured as zombie 'Mechs. It may not have any heat-related or energy weapon quirks, but you won't be needing them anyway with the build I'm about to show you.

According to BattleTech lore, the STK-7D was introduced in 3062 AD for the Federated Suns (House Davion), and by default, it carries 2 ER PPCs, 4 Medium Pulse Lasers, 2 Streak SRM-4 launchers (sharing 1 ton of ammo, located in the right torso and protected by CASE), and 1 Small Laser. In addition to this, it has 18 Double Heat Sinks (including 10 mounted within the engine), an Inner Sphere MkVI Targeting Computer, a 255-rated standard engine, and 13.5 tons of standard armor over a standard internal structure. My custom zombie 'Mech variant, however, has no missile weapons or targeting computer, and instead is armed solely with various lasers, with the spare mass being allocated to a heavier, more powerful standard engine, along with 2 additional heat sinks (20 in all).

It is worth noting that the specific build I'm about to discuss originally had two regular Large Lasers in each side torso; the updated version was not possible until the Binary Laser Cannon was patched in as part of a game update. Before the introduction of the Binary Laser Cannon to MWO, the resulting build would have looked like this:

The original version of my Stalker STK-7D zombie build, built on an Endo-Steel frame (saving 4 tons) clad in 16.0 tons (out of a maximum possible mass of 16.5t) of standard armor, and armed with 4 regular or ER Large Lasers (the former of which are shown here, and are generally preferred for their reduced heat), teamed with 5 ER Medium Lasers, in addition to 20 Double Heat Sinks to help cool it down. A 320-rated engine weighing 29.5 tons (31.5 tons with both heat sink slots filled) provides a maximum cruising speed of 61 km/h. Although 3 ER Medium Lasers in the head and center torso combined doesn't sound like much, it could be enough to win a battle in desperate situations.

This laser vomit build works best with the Heat Gen, Range, Laser Duration, Skeletal Density, Armor Hardening, Cool Run, and Heat Containment skill trees maxed out, along with 1 or 2 cool shots for consumables. You could replace one of the ER Medium Lasers with an Inner Sphere Targeting Computer Mk1 if you want to trade a small amount of firepower for improved accuracy and heat efficiency, and/or downgrade the ER Large Lasers to regular ones for more cooling at the expense of range. If you like, you can build a left- or right-handed version, where one of the arm-mounted heat sinks is transferred to the opposite arm (which now houses three), and the 14 points of armor removed from the arm that now has only one heat sink, instead of 7 from each leg. If armor is not as important, however, you can swap two tons of it (and downgrade to a 300-rated standard engine and standard structure) for a pair of additional double heat sinks.

However, after Binary Laser Cannons were introduced to MWO, I decided to revisit the build, replacing the paired Large Lasers in each side torso with a Binary Laser Cannon and an additional ER Medium Laser each. To accommodate the bulkier setup, I downgraded to a standard structure and 300-rated standard engine (which reduced its speed to 57.2 km/h), but gained a half-ton of armor in return. The resulting build runs hotter, but deals even more damage, which is enough for me to prefer it over the original. Best of all, and most importantly, it's still a zombie 'Mech, which will allow you to fight on until the head, center torso, or both legs are completely destroyed.

The revised version of the Zombie Stalker build shown above, now with dual Binary Laser Cannons complementing 7 ER Medium Lasers, and a 300-rated standard engine in a standard structure encased in 16.5 tons of standard armor. As before, swapping an ER Medium Laser for an IS TC Mk1 is a valid option for those who would rather not have any (as opposed to minimal) ghost heat.

It is possible to swap out 2 Double Heat Sinks and a half-ton of standard armor (14 points), which will allow you to upgrade to an Endo-Steel structure and a 350-rated Light fusion engine. This will increase the 'Mech's top speed to 66.7 km/h, but it will no longer be a true zombie 'Mech due to Inner Sphere Light and Clan XL engines requiring 2 critical slots in each side torso; as such, any 'Mech with either of these engine types will be slowed down if either side torso is blown out, and destroyed altogether if both side torsos fall off (although an Inner Sphere XL engine, which occupies 3 critical slots in each side torso, will immediately shut down if either side torso section is destroyed). Alternatively, downgrading to a 295-rated standard engine and 25 single heat sinks allows for the reinstallation of the Endo-Steel structure, along with an Inner Sphere Mk1 Targeting Computer for good measure.

In short, this dual BLC build for the Stalker STK-7D is a legitimate rival for Clan laser boats when it comes to laser vomit builds, and as an added bonus, it can continue to attack as long as its head, center torso, and both legs stay intact - if only just. Even when its 300-rated Standard engine is replaced with a bulkier 350-rated Light Engine (which necessitates moving one Double Heat Sink from each side torso to the spare engine slots, of which there are now four instead of two) and an Endo-Steel Structure to accommodate it, it's still a major threat to any adversary, and some might even prefer it that way because of its extra speed. Still, if you're really worried about survival, the standard engine zombie build will do just fine in many situations - just don't expect to outrun Inner Sphere heavies in it. And if you want to take the idea even further, you could build a whole lance's worth of zombie 'Mechs - which I'll do in the next installment in this series.

Update (22/505/24): So far, I haven't been able to find a Clan equivalent that comes close - until now, with the introduction of the Bull Shark (which has seven variants in total, although only the BSK-4 and BSK-M "Mako" Hero 'Mech are Clan variants - the other five use the Inner Sphere tech base). Using the Mako as my basis, I came up with this:

The Zombie Mako - a customized loadout of the Bull Shark BSK-M "Mako" (one of two Clan-tech variants of the newly introduced Bull Shark, a 95-ton assault 'Mech) armed with 6 Clan ER Large Lasers (which must be fired in pairs to avoid ghost heat, although you can get away with firing them in groups of 3 if your heat levels are low enough), a Clan Targeting Computer Mk1, a Clan Active Probe, and Clan Laser AMS, making it extremely deadly at long ranges.

With all of its weapons mounted in its torso, this, too, qualifies as a Zombie 'Mech, and with 14.5 tons of Clan Ferro-Fibrous Armor (out of a maximum possible capacity of 15 tons) over a Clan Endo-Steel structure, it's a tough one, too - it may not have the greater firepower of the dual Binary Laser Stalker build, but it's even more accurate (and with longer range to boot), although it runs hotter. At any rate, I'd still prefer the Dual Binary Stalker, but it's great to know that you can "zombify" the Bull Shark (IIC) Mako if you want to.

The Inner Sphere BSK-2 variant can also be configured as a Zombie 'Mech, as follows:

Above and below: Two possible configurations for the Inner Sphere Bull Shark BSK-2 that turn it into a zombie 'Mech. The former lacks jump jets, but has a higher DPS (and a bigger heat reservoir to exploit it); the latter instead focuses on speed and mobility to be an agile close-range brawler (and can even swap one of the Small X-Pulse Lasers in each arm for an additional double heat sink for more cooling, at the cost of some DPS).

Taking the idea further, you could arm the Bull Shark with 12(!) Medium X-Pulse Lasers instead, fired in groups of 6 at a time to avoid ghost heat:

The ultimate high-DPS zombie 'Mech? This customized Bull Shark BSK-2 has a dozen Medium X-Pulse Lasers and 36 standard Heat Sinks to absorb their immense heat output - you could swap a Heat Sink for an Inner Sphere Targeting Computer Mk1 for extra accuracy if you want.

However, as a slow build devoid of jump jets, it will take a while to reach its target, but once there, will tear it apart in a matter of seconds.