W.P.s and mecha/powered armor

[tgunner91]

After going over the W.P.s for the game I've found myself a bit confused, so maybe you guys can help me out.

Lets say I have a marine in a VR-011 Rifleman/Cyclone and I spot a Invid Scout getting ready to make mincemeat of a few Tirolian militia types. So I whip out my EU-5 Pulse Beam Rifle and take aim and use... what skill? W.P. Energy Rifle? Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons?

A few klicks away my teammate is on overwatch and covering my flank. All of a sudden he spots a Invid Shock Trooper racing in to attack me from the rear. So he takes a shot with a HEAP mini-missile from his VMWS-25 (Mini-Missile Delivery System). Does he use W.P. Heavy Military Weapons or W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons? What about that Tirolian militia soldier with him who's also taking a shot with his RL-2? I'm pretty sure THAT is W.P. Heavy Military Weapons!

Finally my buddy, who's riding shotgun for my Cyclone/insurgent team, decides to wade into the fray in his MRB-08-Mk.VI Spartan. He brings his battery of weapons to bear and launches a volley of 6 mini-missiles against my Invid Scout foe. He's using W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons too, right? Ditto for his twin blast from his M-1255 120mm Laser Cannons?

If I'm right then powered armor and human troops use W.P. Energy Rifle for many long arms, but powered armor uses W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage weapons for mini-missiles while mecha use Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons for everything. Finally troops on foot would use W.P. Heavy Military Weapons for Heavy Weapons (like missile launchers).

Thanks for the help!

[Seto Kaiba]

Lets say I have a marine in a VR-011 Rifleman/Cyclone and I spot a Invid Scout getting ready to make mincemeat of a few Tirolian militia types. So I whip out my EU-5 Pulse Beam Rifle and take aim and use... what skill? W.P. Energy Rifle? Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons?

You'd use W.P. Energy Rifle, because the EU-5 is an optional weapon that's not built into your Cyclone.

W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons is for MD-level weapons that are either physically a part of the mecha or literally impossible to wield without the mecha (like a VF's gun pod).

A few klicks away my teammate is on overwatch and covering my flank. All of a sudden he spots a Invid Shock Trooper racing in to attack me from the rear. So he takes a shot with a HEAP mini-missile from his VMWS-25 (Mini-Missile Delivery System). Does he use W.P. Heavy Military Weapons or W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons?

Since the VMWS-25 mini-missile delivery system is physically built into the Cyclone, your teammate would be using the W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons skill. If he were using a separate, man-portable launcher like the RL-1 he'd be using W.P. Heavy Military Weapons instead.

What about that Tirolian militia soldier with him who's also taking a shot with his RL-2? I'm pretty sure THAT is W.P. Heavy Military Weapons!

Yep, because that's a man-portable launcher.

Finally my buddy, who's riding shotgun for my Cyclone/insurgent team, decides to wade into the fray in his MRB-08-Mk.VI Spartan. He brings his battery of weapons to bear and launches a volley of 6 mini-missiles against my Invid Scout foe. He's using W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons too, right? Ditto for his twin blast from his M-1255 120mm Laser Cannons?

Literally everything he can bring to bear, short of popping the hatch and laying into the Invid with a service sidearm and some choice profanity, is going to be using W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons because the Spartan's weapons are integrated into the mecha.

(As Marines are celebrated for the intuitive and far-reaching grasp of profanity, I suggest making the enemy roll to save vs. M.E. for W.P. Harsh Language. )

If I'm right then powered armor and human troops use W.P. Energy Rifle for many long arms, but powered armor uses W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage weapons for mini-missiles while mecha use Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons for everything. Finally troops on foot would use W.P. Heavy Military Weapons for Heavy Weapons (like missile launchers).

Thanks for the help!

There're a few gray areas surrounding Cyclone weapons that are technically built-in but can be deployed as stand-alone systems for infantry use like the HRG-70 Rail Gun or EP-40 Ion Pulse Pistol, which are normally integrated into a Cyclone (use W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons) but can be deployed as a stand-alone unit for infantry use (arguably use W.P. Heavy Military Weapons and W.P. Energy Pistol respectively)... but you're essentially correct.

It it's built into, or generally unusable without a mecha, it's W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons. Otherwise, it's either W.P. Energy Pistol/Rifle, W.P. Heavy Military Weapons, or another appropriate W.P. depending on type.

[Alrik Vas]

You can trust this one, he speaks truth.

[tgunner91]

Cool, glad to see I got it right. Thanks for helping me clear that up!

One last question: mecha like the Valkyrie, the Zentraedi Male Powered Armor, and the Master's Bioroids use gun pod style weapons which aren't technically built in weapons. My knee jerk reaction is to use Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons for this since they are a part of the mecha's standard weapons array. But I get the nagging feeling that it could be another W.P. What do you think?

[Seto Kaiba]

One last question: mecha like the Valkyrie, the Zentraedi Male Powered Armor, and the Master's Bioroids use gun pod style weapons which aren't technically built in weapons. My knee jerk reaction is to use Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons for this since they are a part of the mecha's standard weapons array.

Yeah, the externally-carried gun pod-type weapons used by many mecha in the series should be using the W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons skill. They're not built-in weapons, but they ARE a fundamental part of the mecha's armament and too cumbersome for the weapon to be used without the mecha.

But I get the nagging feeling that it could be another W.P. What do you think?

Employed as a weapon mounted on a mecha, they should all use W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons... but you could make an excellent argument that a Zentradi soldier at his natural ~9-10m size could, in fact, wield many of those weapons with the ease that human infantry might handle his usual infantry-issue firearms. On those grounds, I would permit a giant Zentradi to fire a GU-11 by using W.P. Heavy Military Weapons and other mecha-scale weapons using W.P. Energy Pistol or W.P. Energy Rifle respectively.

[Kagashi]

But I get the nagging feeling that it could be another W.P. What do you think?

Employed as a weapon mounted on a mecha, they should all use W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons... but you could make an excellent argument that a Zentradi soldier at his natural ~9-10m size could, in fact, wield many of those weapons with the ease that human infantry might handle his usual infantry-issue firearms. On those grounds, I would permit a giant Zentradi to fire a GU-11 by using W.P. Heavy Military Weapons and other mecha-scale weapons using W.P. Energy Pistol or W.P. Energy Rifle respectively.

GU11? Nah, those are kinetic. An EU11 or EU13, sure, a Zentraedi should be using his WP E Pistol/E Rifle skills. But Id say a Zentraedi using a GU11 would use WP Rifle the same a human would use a Wolverine Assault Rifle. Although a Zentraedi could indeed take the WP Rifle skill, they do not have any projectile weapons in their arsenal, so the chances of a Zentraedi having the right WP to wield a GU11 taken from the battlefield is slim to none (till he levels up and spends a secondary skill on WP Rifle). Infantry men should be taking WP Shotgun though, as they have the Z-TFG Mk. V.

[Seto Kaiba]

Employed as a weapon mounted on a mecha, they should all use W.P. Heavy Mega-Damage Weapons... but you could make an excellent argument that a Zentradi soldier at his natural ~9-10m size could, in fact, wield many of those weapons with the ease that human infantry might handle his usual infantry-issue firearms. On those grounds, I would permit a giant Zentradi to fire a GU-11 by using W.P. Heavy Military Weapons and other mecha-scale weapons using W.P. Energy Pistol or W.P. Energy Rifle respectively.

GU11? Nah, those are kinetic. An EU11 or EU13, sure, a Zentraedi should be using his WP E Pistol/E Rifle skills. But Id say a Zentraedi using a GU11 would use WP Rifle the same a human would use a Wolverine Assault Rifle. Although a Zentraedi could indeed take the WP Rifle skill, they do not have any projectile weapons in their arsenal, so the chances of a Zentraedi having the right WP to wield a GU11 taken from the battlefield is slim to none (till he levels up and spends a secondary skill on WP Rifle). Infantry men should be taking WP Shotgun though, as they have the Z-TFG Mk. V.

Er... I think you might've misunderstood what I wrote there.

What I said was that a character using a Zentradi RCC should theoretically be able to use the GU-11 in combat via the W.P. Heavy Military Weapons skill. W.P. Heavy Military Weapons is used for support-type weapons like machine guns, mortars, grenade and rocket launchers, minigun-type rotary guns, and various non-starship gun turrets. Being that the GU-11 is a rotary cannon, it'd fit W.P. Heavy Military Weapons better than W.P. Rifle, which is used for the simpler and less powerful bolt action and repeating long guns, carbines, bullpups, and so on.