The design phase had concluded!
After a quiet period of three whole days, the ch designer teams all worked day and night to develop their competition chs.
Each of them designed different lee chs that fully conford to all of the rules and limitations of the Wild Brawl Bowl.
Despite the relatively low budget and average resources at their disposal, the ch designer teams each stretched their design capabilities as best they could to make their lee chs more pronounced.
Differences in background, education, career progression and ideology resulted in 32 different chs.
When they were all moved in a single long row, everyone could make basic comparisons between them. There were plenty of similarities and differences between all of the chs, and both the comntators and spectators eagerly discussed the points that stood out in their eyes.
[There are 20 humanoid chs and 12 bestial chs this ti. The proportion of bestial chs is sowhat higher on average considering the overall degree of popularity of the forr.]
[This is the Wild Brawl Bowl! The humanoid ch fra possesses nurous advantages in lee combat, but the combat prowess of bestial chs should not be underestimated!]
[Humanoid chs conform greatly to the human physique.] A comntator explained to a less inford audience. [This allows ch pilots to transfer their personal combat skills to their chs when interfacing with them. The use of weapons adds a lot of flexibility to a relatively weak base form. An extrely skilled fighter could easily defeat a superior ch by relying solely on excellent weapon handling.]
[All of that sounds great, but the effectiveness of humanoid chs scales greatly with the strength and skill level of their ch pilots. If they are all piloted by elites who have attended the best academies of their respective states, then it is definitely worth it to pair them up with humanoid chs, but what if they aren't available?]
[What do you an by that?]
[Rember that many of the ch designer teams with older ch designers had to make do with second-string or third-string ch pilots. It is risky to rely on their skills to outfight their betters in a direct duel. I think it was a smart choice for the older teams to settle for bestial ch pilots. Even if these Wild Fighters are ranker lower, bestial chs have a greater fault tolerance and is not as reliant on finesse and skill to overpower their opponents. Simple brute force is sufficient to defeat their opponents!]
War machines such as tiger chs did not possess the flexibility and range of motion as swordsman chs. Yet these bestial chs didn't need to rely on these sophisticated attributes!
Bestial chs were often constructed in a way that allowed them to make great use of their montum to add a lot of force to their simple but brutal attacks. Blocking was only partially effective and the only way to truly negate their attacks was to dodge aside!
As long as a ch pilot overca the initial hurdle of learning how to pilot a non-humanoid ch, they could rapidly increase their battle effectiveness as there were only a limited amount of moves they needed to master!
The appearance of all of these lee chs made Ves more vigilant towards the teams behind them. The choice of designing bestial chs was quite deliberate. Their reliance on mass and force to overpower opponents was quite a nightmare for chs that could not easily deal with their aggression.
The swordsman ch that Ves and Ketis had designed was not that good at avoiding their charges, but their work could still defeat them in a straight battle by leveraging its bulk and physical might in a skillful manner.
[Which ch interests you the most at the mont?]
[The Zenomon Gamma definitely stands out from the other 31 chs. The latter are all designed by duos that possessed different and mostly complentary specialties. The Zenomon Gamma developed by Miss Janessa Pellier and Miss Tifi Coslone is the only ch that possesses only a single pronounced advantage. The physical might of this axeman ch is quite imnse. Its movents might not be fast, but one solid hack from its greataxe is enough to split most of its competitors into separate halves!]
[Does that make Team Destiny into a strong championship contender?]
[I would not go that just yet. Its chances will mostly depend on the opponents it will face in the fighting phase. If it encounters one of the few light chs with blazing fast mobility, then the Zenomon Gamma's tournant run will co to an end. If this greataxe-wielding ch is matched with anything slower, then it will easily hold an advantage!]
The axe wielded by the Zenomon Gamma was a monstrous weapon. It was large and heavy enough to split shields and sunder armor in a single blow, but it wasn't as unwieldy as a great hamr. When piloted by a skilled ch pilot, the Zenomon Gamma could easily exert an enormous amount of pressure against most opponents!
"How do you think our Heart of Victor will fare against the Zenomon Gamma?" Ves quietly asked his design partner.
Ketis made a scoffing noise. "You are badly underestimating our swordsman ch if you think it is threatened by the Zenomon Gamma. That greataxe is dangerous, I admit, but just like greatswords, it takes a skilled ch pilot to make the best of them. Mr. Lyain Kepper may not be that more skilled than the enemy ch pilot, but when he steps inside the cockpit of our swordsman ch, he won't be fighting alone."
That was true. Everyone who piloted a living ch could always rely on their partner to lend a hand. It was just that not many chs were capable of providing as much assistance as purpose-built machines like the Heart of Victor!
[Speaking of slow and heavy chs, Team Hamrfall has made an even stronger ch! The Fallen Retribution wields a hamr that is significantly heavier than the greataxe of the Zenomon Gamma. If Team Hamrfall's dwarven ch isn't so strong and stable, it wouldn't have been able to swing this hamr, let alone hold it in a solid grip!]
The pair of dwarven ch designers designed a dwarven ch that reminded Ves a lot of the Forgehamr ch regint that the Larkinson Army once fought against.
Though the Iron Crusher model fielded by the Vulcanites was a spaceborn ch, the Fallen Retribution was fully landbound, and that made it a lot more convenient for the competition ch to exert its power!
Although it looked as if the Fallen Retribution was too slow and lumbering to repel faster chs, Ves didn't think the Crenstin couple were that simple. They had to have implented a way for the dwarven hamrman ch to fend off attacks from the rear.
When Ves studied the ch a little closer, he observed a few clues that made him increase his evaluation of the formidable dwarven ch.
[Team Youngbuck has managed to design quite a strong swordsman ch. Their Rayvin is ard with an impressively-designed plasma sword that does not not have to rely on physical force to cut through armor. With the temperatures this plasma sword can reach, it can burn through every obstacle as long as it is able to concentrate its attacks!]
[That is easier said than done. No enemy ch pilot will cooperate with the enemy. As long as the opponent of this plasma-wielding ch can drag the battle out, the Rayvin will rapidly lose its energy and beco a sitting duck!]
[Before it runs out of juice, the Rayvin will definitely be one of the strongest chs in the first minutes of a match. Unlike the prior two competition chs, the Rayvin is one of the few chs that possesses both strong offense and high mobility while still possessing decent defenses. It is the definite ch to beat in the early stages of a ch duel.]
Ves was surprised that a fellow competitor dared to design such an energy-hungry weapon system given the relatively limited resources at their disposal. However, he quickly recalled that Olivander Peese of Team Youngbuck excelled in energy swords. He should have co prepared and must have made deliberate choices about how he implented this plasma weapon system.
Overall, Ves was quite familiar with Team Youngbuck's strategy. The Pontifical Lance he designed in the last tournant followed the sa concept but with a different ch type.
[As long as the Rayvin can leverage its montary advantages to fell or at least cripple its opponent, it can easily achieve a lot of success. However, the Rayvin is only half as scary once its plasma sword loses power. Even the worst ch in the lineup can defeat a Rayvin that can only rely on its residual power to resist its opposition!]
Aside from admiring all of the humanoid chs, the comntators also directed enough attention on the bestial chs.
[Out of all of the bestial chs in the competition, Team Blackspot's tiger ch or should I say panther ch is the most special.]
[I'm surprised that Team Blackspot has the guts to design a stealth ch. Then again, one of its two ch designers specializes in stealth systems. He must have a lot of confidence in the stealth and assassination capabilities of his Shadowclaw.]
The Shadowclaw was a black-coated feline ch that was slim, agile and surprisingly quiet. It incorporated a lot of design elents that expressly dampened its emissions and made the ch as hard to detect as possible!
[The existence of the Shadowclaw will test its opponents on whether they have invested enough in their sensor systems. Usually, detection capabilities are an afterthought in arena battles, but this ti they are extrely relevant to the unlucky teams who are matched up against Team Blackspot. I can already loosely state that at least 70 percent of the chs in the competition do not possess the sensors that allow them to detect the Shadowclaw in advance!]
That turned Team Blackspot into an unexpected dark horse in this tournant! The possibility that a ch could get pounced from an unexpected angle without any forewarning was an extrely grave threat!
Although the Shadowclaw's stealth systems prevented it from mounting any substantial form of armor, it didn't have to worry about getting hit if none of the other lee chs knew where to swing their weapons!
[Another interesting bestial ch is the Parnast designed by Team Caper. It's one of the most advanced chs of this cohort and can utilize its limbs in a surprising manner.]
[This octopus-like ch can easily turn into a nightmare to any ch as long as it is able to grapple and hold on to its target. If employed in the right way, the Parnast can neutralize the attack power of the enemy ch!]
[The Parnast has to be able to latch onto the enemy ch, though. A sufficient fast and agile ch can tornt it while evading any grappling attempts. I doubt this octopus ch possesses any combat effectiveness against targets that have eluded its grasp.]
[There are plenty of chs that are not too fast. The Parnast has a viable chance of winning several rounds if it encounters the right opponents.]
As the comntators kept pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of every ch, they finally turned to the swordsman ch that had already received a lot of appreciation from the audience.
[The Heart of Victor is a beautiful machine. I can hardly believe it was put together in just three days. Patriarch Ves Larkinson and Swordmaster Ketis Larkinson have exceeded my expectations. Though their ch design is rather basic, it is considerably more refined and smooth than the works of other teams. The reliability and resilience of this swordsman ch will undoubtedly be high as a consequence!]
[I hate to burst your bubble, but the design's simplicity ans it has a lower ceiling. How will the Heart of Victor fare against stronger chs? Without any apparent special solutions, it will hold no advantage in duels where every little detail matters.]
[Who says that the Heart of Victor is too basic? Just feel it. I can sense its battle lust from this distance. I have never experienced this from any other ch. In addition, the chainsword alone is sothing special. Did you all forget that Ketis has spilled her own blood to enhance this weapon?]
Everyone wondered what Ketis' little blood ritual had accomplished. No one knew whether this was a purely symbolic gesture or whether her blood truly made the Heart of Victor stronger.
They would soon be able to find out, as the first round of matches was scheduled to begin shortly!
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