Mech Purposes

Mechs aren’t commonly seen or used on the battlefield of typical ground warfare. However, they can be extremely effective in the right scenarios. Due to a mech’s heavy and slow-moving nature, as well as the cost of production, they are most commonly produced as mass defensive vehicles, positioned and patrolling strategically around military installments to deter enemy intrusion. Mech units will generally consist of: A mech and pilot, two to three infantry ground guards for protection, and an engineer equipped for emergency field repairs. A pilot is also familiar typically with the mech’s function, weak points, and where damage is most often caused. Mech pilots aren’t just pilots- They need to be engineers, as well.

These units are sometimes seen patrolling controlled territories of well-armed military groups, and thanks to the sheer defensive power of a mech unit, many are difficult to bring down when working in tandem. Ground units keep fire off the back of the mech and remove straggler threats, the mech itself brings a hellfire of lead and steel onto grouped forces, and field engineers make sure the mech functions in the field.

However, mechs are also occasionally seen in offensive situations. As is the most obvious quality of the mech in principle, it’s heavy and massive. This means that when storming enemy installments, mechs are favourable for tearing through walls and compounds to flush enemies within or open the possibility of ground warfare against planetside settlements. When a military group storms the everyday settlement of Glich, Floran, and occasionally Avian origin, the more simple walled areas can easily be opened with a heavy mech; Seeing a mechanical biped titan crashing through a bricked wall would be reason enough for most to surrender on the spot, but the more stubborn will often find themselves swiftly defeated by a well-working and maintained mech unit.

Overall, the mech in concept is simply considered the “big gun” of galactic siege warfare. Defending against intrusion of larger forces or rendering their defenses nothing more than rubble, a well-trained mech unit can handle several tasks infantry can’t. However, mechs will always have their weaknesses, and facing well-equipped enemies without a supporting unit is often a death sentence for mech pilots. The worst fear of a mech pilot is to find themselves without a backup unit- many an empty and damaged mech have been found with signs that they were flanked and disabled through damage to the unarmored power source.

[Yes, I know it’s logical to have more than a grating over a power source, but the grating is necessary to prevent overheating, as well as an actual weakness to the mech. Mechs are powerful- But not invincible. Having an extra coolant output would also allow for protection of a mech generator to be added, but the tradeoff is increased weight or vulnerability. If your mech’s armor is pierced and your coolant flow disrupted, the mech is liable to overheat much faster. Main plating over the limbs and chassis are near impervious to all non-armor piercing conventional weaponry, and even the typical grating over the power source would require something stronger than a 9mm to pierce. Smaller explosives will also have little effect unless used directly on weaker points. Against ground forces, a mech is powerful, but only with a unit to prevent the mech from being flanked and disabled. Plasmic weaponry and high-power armor piercing rifle rounds can pierce a mech’s plating.]