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>>704030
Sabomole, true to his word, got you out--you remembered to send notice back just before you reached the surface, hastily explaining that he was no longer an enemy combatant and please, please don't dogpile him.

You still hate how the hunters led him away, heavy binders on forearms and "thumbs" shackling him, shoulders hunched and head low. All the sorry bastard wanted to do was protect his crew. At the least, you made them promise fair treatment, for cooperation and, really, now that you think about it, possibly saving you and your team's lives.

Christ, you're tired.

You're given some brief triage, surprised that the Lifesavers deem your damage level as "critical"--you never really noticed, in all the chaos, just how beaten up you were.

You're lying on the bed, still kind of in a post-combat haze, when the door opens.

"That's him," you hear Gopher say as you turn to look. "Be quick."

"Thank you," says a Reploid you don't recognize, with a smooth voice tinged very slightly by a metallic reverb. "Captain? I'm with the 16th. We will be on hand with Commander Gopher during your debrief."

"Let's get to it, then," Gopher starts, as you haul yourself up slowly. "What was Sabomole's story?"

>

>>704033

> "He was a good, honest worker who was coerced into helping them with threats to the lives of his men. I probably wouldn't be standing here now if he hadn't turned on Ink Stylist and helped us."

>>704033
>Mavs took his human crew hostage and held their lives over his head. I probably wouldn't've believed it if one of them hadn't shown up and tried to wreck us all.

>>704033
>He was coerced into getting weaponized upgrades and aiding them by holding the lives of his crew hostage.
>I convinced him that his crew was either already dead, or he would eventually be ordered to kill them himself.
>So, how good is our anti-stealth measures here?

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>>704033
"Coerced under pain of losing his human team, he turned on his enemy handler the moment he knew he should. My squad and I owe him our lives. The real threat was this Ink Stylist, who claimed to be the third of three high-rank enemy agents."

>>704033
>His actions were the result of another actor, Ink Stylist, cuttlefish with cloaking tech of some sort. Kidnapped his human crew and was holding them 'hostage' in exchange for his cooperation. Convinced him they had no intention of freeing his crewmen and he readily switched sides.
Should we suggest they get those upgrades off them ASAP? Mav gifts and all.

>He's a nuclear explosion waiting to happen. He should be retired immediately and with great prejudice, with zero interrogation. Also he was working alone and murdered a bunch of humans.

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Updated the mission screen

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>>704088

>>704033
> He digs real good.

>>704033
>>
>"He was being coerced, a mav with some sort of advanced stealth system used his human crew as leverage. Even when this Ink Stylist demanded he attack my team, his efforts were half-hearted at best. That's probably why his sinkholes were so easy to see coming, he never wanted to do this."

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>>704041
>>704043
>>704063
>>704075
>>704129
You sigh, probing the new repair lines on your chestplate with your fingers as you start. “Sabomole got played, hard. He had a crew, all humans. Mavs held them hostage.”

“Mavs don’t do hostages,” Gopher interjects. “They do deferred executions.”

“I know. I don’t know if Sabomole did, and he was just holding out hope, or…” You shake your head. “It doesn’t matter. I convinced him.”

The unfamiliar Reploid--black-armored, with digital readout “eyes” behind an equally dark visor--chimes in. “If I may. One of your Berets said you told him they were going to make him kill them. If I may…?”

“Shot in the dark,” you reply. “And--” you shoot Gopher a look. “I had a prior hunt, that…”

“Soul Foxfire,” the R&D officer says. “You can assume I know anything about the matter that you do.”

“Right, okay,” you say, trying to force down the perturbed feeling. “Then you probably know she was provided maverick support that turned out to be viral.”

The officer says nothing. Gopher rolls his eyes. “Continue.”

“Anyway, it was a hunch. They’d bolted these upsized claws on him in lieu of any real weapon systems--you guys should take those off, just in case they are--”

“Sabomole will be attended to,” the officer says crisply, “and provided the full protections and measures granted him as a surrendering combatant. Consideration has been taken for the extenuating circumstances of his capture and his assistance against this... other maverick threat. Which brings us to the heart of the matter.”

All your objections snatched away before you could voice them, you’re left feeling somewhat pinned to the repair bed as a mount of some sort springs up on his shoulder and lights up with a laser--OPAL tells you some kind of scanner--that he passes over your face, up and down, leaning in.

“Now, Captain. Tell me about this Ink Stylist, please.”
>

>>704136
>Guy's got some stealth and a way around a pen. According to him, there's also at least two others like him elsewhere. He said nobody was leaving alive. Real work of art.

>>704136
>He was geared against Sabomole, ink that shorts out electric systems
>He was transporting special minerals of some sort. Couldn't get him to elaborate for what purpose.
>My OPAL could barely get a read on him. When he got serious about cloaking, even I couldn't find him.

>>704136
>>
>Some sort of stealth system. Never would have realized he was there without OPAL, my berets couldn't see him at all, though one of my VWES entities was able to disrupt it. When he ran, even my OPAL lost him, whatever it is he has, it's good.
>Not sure if it was native or brought along for containing Sabo, he had some goop that disrupted electric-based attacks.
>Had enough of an ego to call himself PHANTOM number three before the fight started, though if Sabo hadn't switched sides he would have been right about us all being dead.

>>704136
>Okay, let me just take things in order here.
>Guy's some kind of visual-camo cuttlefish. I could pick him up on OPAL, until he got serious bout running away, but none of my Berets could see him with standard optics.
>He claimed to be "Phantom number three", whatever the hell that means. I'm guessing a codename for some Mav stealth unit.
>Known weapons are a large polearm, and ink lobbed from his tentacles. The ink dissolves under enough electrical current, but not without soaking a ton up first.

>>704136
>Mention PHANTOM number 3, his fighting style, stealth capabilities, the effect of his ink, didn't attack until provoked, the geode he'd removed.

Did we grab any of his severed parts to bring back?

>He likes to show off. Has this ink crap that can make it look like he's doing terrain deformation, knocking pits and things in the floor. Might also have had ice spikes and some kind of lava-thrower; it wasn't clear.
>Serious cloaking. OPAL picked him up until he started running, but... Nothing else did. Chaff disrupted it, though. Not sure if he'll have a way to counter that later - I wouldn't bet on anyone being able to see him, not without specialized detection gear.
>He either shifted his loadout to deal with Sabomole, knew I was coming, or came with anti-electric tech standard; the same ink he used for making fake terrain fouled up my capacitors. He was still vulnerable to getting shocked himself, though.

>>704136
>Doesn't exist. Total fiction. Made him up to waste your time. Don't like your face.

>>704136
>Phantom number 3. Had some advanced cloaking, ink that messed with your head, and was really excited about this rock he got from one of the digging machines. Apparently Sabomole was a distraction for it.

The thing was purple and gold if I recall.

>>704222
Cain Labs had a hand in designing OPAL, right? WHAT IF ITS TRUE!? ITS ALL A LIE

>>704222
>>704230
I know my Cain Labs and that sir, is no Cain Labs. Doesn't have his trip or usual snark.

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>>704230
I have to admit even I'm kind of impressed with that level of metagame brainfuckery.

Yes! MHQ, I've been waiting for this!.

>>704242
Well, that would be a fun conspiracy, except that's definitely me, and I've filled your soul with one or more plague beetle varieties and a dead vulture.

Let's see what happens when it mummifies!

>>704136
Talk about the pen as much as him. Either it can siphon matter and spit it out (lava from rock), or it has a VWES system.

>>704253
Or it was ALL LIES. I wouldn't discount the possibility it was just more inkfuckery, given the pits. Though on the other hand, we might have been the only one who could see them, given

>...barely avoiding one of the new pits he created--these can’t be real, you realize, something about the ink, as Susan walks straight across one...

Which would indicate that it differed from the lava. Maybe something designed to fuck with OPAL? Though that's probably getting into conspiracy territory.

Either way, while ink is slippery, if we don't assume that the ice was that too, he's definitely got some kind of weirdness with it.

>>704253
Why not both? Who thinks I wouldn't give someone a weapon that could drink you?

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>>704139
>>704144
>>704155
>>704160
>>704167
>>704211
>>704227
You frown. Gopher’s here, and not saying anything, and he isn’t the type to be cowed. This cloak-and-dagger bullshit is just that--bullshit. Doing your best to ignore it, you instead try to focus on an accurate accounting.

“I’d say he was built for stealth, but it felt like he was built for everything,” you say. “I needed my OPAL systems to find him, and my squad couldn’t see him at all. I managed to disable it for a few seconds at a time with a countersig weapon.”

“And his capabilities?”

“Sturdy as hell, agile, stupidly good with a polearm--looked like a pen. He could project ink that jammed electrical systems, had to flash-clear them. Not sure if he was designed that way or loaded out to contend with Sabomole. Or myself,” you add as an afterthought, remembering Terapin.

“Private Marx attested that you ordered the squad to fall back,” the intel spook begins, as if ignoring what you’ve told him up to now. “And that he barred the way with some sort of molten rock projection.”

“From the lance, yeah,” you reply, a bit irritated. “He also made ice, and had some kind of screw-with-your-head psychotropic thing going on. I was seeing pitfalls that weren’t there.”

The scanner laser blinks brighter for a moment. “And what was he doing?”

“Fiddling with a probe,” you reply coolly. “Pulled some kind of load out of it and then started the drill. Tried to collapse the place on us, before Sabomole dug us--”

“Stylist, Captain, we’re talking about Stylist.”

“Dossier,” Gopher says, a warning tone in his voice--that must be this guy’s name. “When we heard the name ‘Aegis Group,’ we checked the records and I whistled them up. They had legal mineral rights to the area, not that there were minerals. That was what the probe was for. An experimental catalyst that was going to inject the strata down there and try to artificially synthesize energen deposits.”

“So what, he took the rock because we made it down there?” That… makes sense, you think. “Yeah. Yeah, I can see it. Sabomole was trying to pull us off that track, probably just under orders to stall us. Then they tried to trap us down there when we got to the old tunnel network.”

“If we could focus,” Dossier interjects, tinged with professional annoyance. “Stylist’s lance. Several projection types, yes?”

“Yes. I’m not sure if he could absorb and melt rock with it or if it was VWES--with the ice, probably VWES.”

“Vulnerabilities?”

“Chopped off his head-tentacles with my Wrenades,” you reply--taking a momentary, vindictive pleasure in your slang being used on the suit’s grilling. Gopher shoots you what looks like a semi-approving glance. “And once my channels were cleared, he didn’t take well to electricity.”

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>>704299
“Personality, identifiers.”

You resist another eyeroll. “Arrogant, liked to preen, smug as hell, but he could back it up. It took a lot of work to put him out, and then when he had to run, he did something and faded out. Maybe he can overcharge his cloaking system?”

“Could be,” Gopher nods. “If he could just go invisible on you, he would have.”

“And he introduced himself as ‘PHANTOM number three.”

Dossier is silent again, for a few minutes, before turning on his heel. “I’ll add that to the deposition. Thank you Captain, Commander.”

Gopher snorts. “You have an arrest record or something?”

“Joined up right out of home, why?” you ask.

“Because you handled that guy like someone who’s been interrogated before..”

“Enh,” you shrug, waving your hand (and deciding not to talk about your bad luck with Frog). “I figured you’d step in if you had a problem. How’s my team?”

“Good. A bit beat up, but nothing critical, they’ll be 100% by tomorrow. I’m done with you, anything else?”

>

>>704307
I'd ask that he make sure Sabomole has a fair trial but I don't think we really know Gopher well enough to be asking him for favors on behalf of suspected mavericks.

>>704307
>With these PHANTOM whatevers running around, are certain mavericks going to get bumped in priority?
>We might be able to analyze the head-tentacles I chopped off
>Would we have to worry about any stealth infiltrators here?

>>704307
First the Philosophers, now these PHANTOMs. Just how many ace-in-the-hole teams do these Mavericks have?

>>704307
What will they do with the mines now? Assuming there are more than one of those geodes, they'd probably have some value to command. Also what's his read on the situation in general. The fact he's the Third doesn't sit well.

>>704307
>Any preferences on which Mav I retire next?

>>704307
>"Number Three implies two more, and they could be pulling strings too. Should I make looking for them on my other assignments a secondary priority?"

Considering that somebody was resupplying Wren...

>>704345
I suspect that this artificial energen is what will become known as forcemetal.

>I could probably use a checkup just to make sure there wasn't anything else weird going on with the ink. Even if all signs point to me being fine, I'd rather have a report to back it up if someone gets paranoid. Could you arrange that for once the people who are more badly hurt have been tended to?

>>704370
Number three actually statistically implies five more! If you have a set of objects labeled from 1 to N and you find an object labeled X, the most likely value of N is 2X.
Of course, that does assume that the mavs started their numbering at 1 and went straight up from there. Starting serial numbers above 1 and skipping as you go up is an ooooold trick to make the enemy think you've got more than you do.

>>704451
That would require sane planning and no real ego on their part. I don't think there was anything sane about Ink Stylist.

>>704459
Ink may or may not have been the one to label himself. Sure, he's nuttier than the christmas fruitcake Light and Wily kept sending back and forth until Wily turned it into Fruitcakeman, but that doesn't mean all mavs are planless yahoos.
Assuming the enemy is dumb and taking everything at face is basically mass-murder of your forces.

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>>704327
>>704338
>>704345
>>704356
>>704370
>>704387
“PHANTOM, Philosophers, how many more of these assholes do you think there are?”

He snorts. “A lot. It’s just how they organize.”

“Should I start looking for them?”

“In my experience, they tend to find you. If you get tasked with hunting them, worry about it then. For now, you’ve got a roster already.”

“Any idea where you want me to go next?” you ask.

“Whichever you think you’ll come back from,” Gopher replies immediately, and without a trace of sarcasm. “Strategic impact doesn’t do me any good with a dead operative.”

“Mm,” you acknowledge, sitting up more fully. “Are they gonna try to get those bits I sliced off Stylist?”

“They’re probably buried under a few million tons of rock, by now,” Gopher replies. “The lower tunnels collapsed not long after you got out.”

“What are they gonna do with those tunnels, now, anyway?” you ask.

He shrugs. “Without the catalyst, the probe mostly just kicked up a shitstorm and not much else. If there is something of value down there, it’s Germany’s. We don’t even know if the probe works or not.”

“Just that Stylist got away with the charge,” you finish. “Great.”

“Look at it this way, it was a material action and you denied them resources. They might get them later, assuming it works, but we at least know they’re looking for fast cash.”

“Yeah, maybe,” you nod, not feeling all that reassured. “What’s your take on all this?”

“Lucky break that it was you,” he says. “Or maybe not. A lot of missions go south on a war footing, maybe you’re just the first one to survive the reason why.”

“If they can cloak like that, do you think infiltrators will be a problem?”

“Not really. We have scanners that are going to be classified for the next twenty years, way more sophisticated shit than you can mount in a Reploid head,” Gopher says. “And we just got attacked. I bet you there’s more cameras per square mile in Geneva than New York, at this point.”

“Point taken. And thanks. Just paranoid, I guess.”

“It’s the right time to be,” Gopher replies, sensing the conversation winding down. “Anything else?”

“One more thing, speaking of paranoia. I feel fine, but after that hallucinogenic ink shit, if I could get checked out…”

“I’ll have the ‘savers do a full scan while they finish repairing you,” Gopher replies, standing up to go. “Oh, and your pay.”

He tosses you a battered-looking datapad.

>>704451
There's also the possibility it implies one; that is, that he was the third iteration of the PHANTOM project, with the other two presumably being defective. Not that that's a GOOD assumption to make, but it's possible.

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Combat mission and completion of objectives 15000
Live capture of maverick target 10000
Gift of gratitude - Kommando Spezialkräfte, 5th Platoon: 5000
Intelligence bounty (maverick hostage-taking): 2500
Total: 32,500
Zenny after sum: 47,005
Note: You also have 21,000 sequestered for the Himalayas memorial, and 40,000 set aside for squad upgrades at this time. Total zenny including this is Z108,005.

In addition, you have been named an honorary officer of the Deutches Heer by the Bundeswehr, nominated by Sergeant Heike Baumann, KSK, and seconded by Major Lucas Sommer, DH.

And now, it's that time again...

Upgrade options:
Slave Circuit: 16th R&D has dismounted the bulky, cumbersome maverick augmentations from Sabomole, and though they have kept them to scan and study, they found the primary components were common, if well-made, high-resistance military parts. They offered some of the same make from their stores. Using these, any of Anode's systems could be tapped into his conduit capacitor for draw, opening additional utility. Alternately, existing capacitor subsystems could instead be enhanced.
Choose one:
>Capacitor Charge: A buster tap would allow fully-charged shots to instantly be converted from capacitor charge--5% per shot, with far faster cycle time per shot.
>Jump-Jet: "Blueshift" would put extra speed and power into the Saeto data boosters, turning the fiery exhaust and aura into an ionized wreath of plasma. Higher speed, higher force on impact, higher damage.
>Raikousen: "Redshift" would overcompress excess electrical energy in Anode's wake, leaving a treacherous serpent-trail of waiting charge that rapidly decompresses into a lightning bloom several seconds after use.
>Mass Shriver: Utilizing adapted coilgun technology, Anode could channel bursts of electrical energy into his arm muscles for a brief, intense burst of physical strength, with commensurate increase in melee damage or lifting ability.
>Static Storm: Integrating the circuit to the C. Capacitor itself would allow a powerful expanded release when triggered, bathing the area in a fulminating cascade of lightning and presenting a persistent hazard for as long as charge is extended. Greatly useful for mowing through a large volume of small, hard-to-hit enemies, such as battons.
>other Slave Circuit use open to discussion and approval.

Backup Battery replacement is Z10,000, as usual. Flak's modular armor was damaged and requires a 500Z replacement.

In addition, the Berets have each received Z15,000 for the hunt, and have agreed together to put that money towards matching whatever you choose to contribute to their equipment.

Prior upgrade offerings available upon request. Please specify what you’re looking for. We beg you.

>>704488
That Mass Shriver looks mighty tasty, but the Jump-Jet is also a good upgrade. I don't see Anode having a problem with weak mooks, so I can't see much use for the Static Storm.

>>704488
I like the sounds of Blueshift, Mass Shriver and Capacitor Charge. Redshift and Static Storm are very cool, but they seem like they'd have a lot of potentially to accidentally hit the Bravely Broken.

I think I lean mostly towards the Mass Shriver, since it's really flexible and I think we'd get a lot of use out of it.

>>704505
Addendum: I'm not sure about the viability of the Capacitor Charge. Converting capacitor power into buster power seems a bit of an excess go-around, since we can already project our electricity from our limbs and lance to devastating effect.

>>704517
"Super strength on demand" is an absurdly handy power.

>>704488
>Mass Shriver
>All replacements

We ought to look into increasing the Broken's mobility at some point.

>>704488
>>Mass Shriver: Utilizing adapted coilgun technology, Anode could channel bursts of electrical energy into his arm muscles for a brief, intense burst of physical strength, with commensurate increase in melee damage or lifting ability.
You know what Em keeps telling us to do? Get better at actually fighting in melee.

>>704488
Fuck. Other than Redshift I kinda want all of them.
Probably leaning on Mass Shriver or Blueshift.

My big problem with Mass Shriver is it's intense but brief - I don't want us to end up suddenly losing it in a grapple or getting crushed by something we can't lift anymore. And just having brute strength isn't going to help if we can't hit anyway.

Hunter Command: Can we get more details on how long Mass Shriver lasts, and just how much stronger it makes us?

>>704531
He definitely meant more swing, not more technique. And you'll definitely have more control when you amp up your strength wildly using a variable amount of capacitor power. That's so obvious to me.

>>704531
There is a difference between having melee abilities and having melee skill.

see also: Slide.

>>704488
Blueshift seems like a pretty good upgrade for us. It turns our jumpjet into a damn powerful blow and the impact will mean more charge from it. We do need that.

Otherwise, 1 battery, get working on improving the jumpjets and keep another 10k for the Berets.

>>704488
>Mass Shriver

My vote is for this.

>In addition, the Berets have each received Z15,000 for the hunt, and have agreed together to put that money towards matching whatever you choose to contribute to their equipment.

Lets talk to them about what they want/see needing after the last mission.

>>704518
>Addendum: I'm not sure about the viability of the Capacitor Charge. Converting capacitor power into buster power seems a bit of an excess go-around, since we can already project our electricity from our limbs and lance to devastating effect.

Big advantage I see is the ability to use the charge offensively when facing Lightning resistant/immune/absorbing targets.

>>704537
It lasts as long and as intense as our charge holds out. We're getting better with our technique, but having that surge of raw power when clashing can make or break an exchange.

>>704544
There is a difference, and I acknowledge we need to train more. But I don't see mobility or longevity as an issue right now, so we should boost our killing power right now.

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>>704542
Don't let him fool you, he's just salty because he threatened to butterfly me like a turkey if I actually put "Mass Shriver" as the name.

>>704528
Dash systems--full, officer-grade EAS--cost 43k per member but would drastically improve their capabilities--remember going from no dash to dash in X1?

>>704537
It'll last as long as you pump electricity into it, which burns fast. As for how much stronger, no hard numbers, but imagine the power of a coilgun translated into bursts of brute force. That's basically what we're talking.

>>704547
my problem with Blueshift is that the -if I remember right- using the Saetos crash burns out the pack for the rest of the mission.

Actually HC, can we get Anode's statsheet?

>>704549
After this mission, I think we seriously need to save up to get them dash systems

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>>704488
>C.Charge
We don't tend to use the busters enough for maximum value.
>Blueshift
Pursuit. Do we really expect another Wren?
>Redshift
Evasion. Same question.
>Mass Shriver
A very nasty surprise if a confident opponent gets us close and disarmed. Also useful utility.
>Static Storm
So, the room-filler that's otherwise only possible with Cathode's assistance. Seems conditional.

I vote Mass Shriver. The world is full of things to lift and punch.

>>704557
Killing power is useless if we can't aim for shit. Likewise, swinging or punching harder does not help when we focus on stabbing and the like. Honestly, we have enough drain on our reserves as is, and sacrificng our ability to dodge to swing heavier and more wildly is a bad idea.

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>>704571
It doesn't, but it takes about 30 seconds to cycle down for use again.

Remember that Saetos booster is an extremely powerful upgrade due to the nature and quality of the DNA it was made from.

As for character sheet, one sec.

>>704582
Hunter Command has confirmed in the IRC that Mass Shriver would not effect control when trying to "grapple, wrangle, throw, swing"

>>704488
>>Jump-Jet: "Blueshift" would put extra speed and power into the Saeto data boosters, turning the fiery exhaust and aura into an ionized wreath of plasma. Higher speed, higher force on impact, higher damage.
i don't know why but this sounds really appealing to me

>>704488
Redshift seems pretty interesting, could use it to corral enemies to where we want them like some electric light-cycle trail

>>704488
Mass Shriver just looks too nifty, I can't ignore it. Of course along with replacements.

For the beret upgrades, looking back at the mission and how we handled it I agree with >>704528 that mobility should be a priority. Based on the money figure I say we only upgrade a few for now, maybe based on weapons. HC, which Beret has which weapon?

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>>704576
>... Do we really expect another Wren?

I'm coming up with if we dump all of our zenny minus the memorial, plus what the squad got we can make 3 squad dash upgrades. That sound good?

>>704582
Super strength is not just for fighting. Besides, I think you're short-selling Anode here. Having a burst of intense physical power you can tactically activate on command vastly improves overall flexibility, and it would be integrated into his core system, so he always has it on hand as long as he's got juice. It's the same as all of Anode's other electric tricks: it would reinforce that he's way more dangerous if he's got juice.

>>704609
No. Mortarphant is going to be a mission we don't want to bring them on, and we should get a new battery for ourselves and start work on the Jumpjet upgrades. Thats 20k. Rest could be put to the funds for a future upgrades. Could give 1 a set of dash boots though.

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>>704603
Above-ground where the deciding factor is the speed at which we close distance? Not really.

>Blueshift. Let's get something that isn't electricity. Ramming into something as a cloud of plasma isn't exactly going to hurt melee.
>Talk to the squad. Find out what they want before we spend our money - and theirs! - on stuff they might feel like they don't need.

>>704488
>Mass Shriver: Utilizing adapted coilgun technology, Anode could channel bursts of electrical energy into his arm muscles for a brief, intense burst of physical strength, with commensurate increase in melee damage or lifting ability.

>>704620
We've already got two super dashes. I'm not sure we need a super dash and a hyper dash.

>Mass Shriver

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>>704488
In vague order of preference:

>Cap charge
In a lot of ways this is a super boring option, but it adds some solid options. Depending on exactly how much cycle time the upgrade needs between shots, imagine the raw FUCK YOU of our usual busterspam only it's all charge shots instead of lemons. Can't do it for long, obviously, but it's a punch most won't expect, especially if it kicks in in the middle of a lemon barrage, and even outside of a theoretical magdump, while lemons are shit, being able to drop a charge shot on someone's head at a moment's notice isn't something to scoff at.
Also, HC says it's stupid expensive, but imagine combining this with an upgrade that lets you charge VWES shots, specifically the Wrenade.

>Mass shriver
As much as our melee game needs technique more than anything, this is a solid utility upgrade on top of its combat potential, though depending on how cap hungry it is that could well limit its use, some rough numbers on how long you could do certain things would be nice.

>Jump-jet
I am fire. I am death. It's only bigger numbers, but it's bigger numbers on a solid option.

>This space reserved for any custom options

>Blueshift/Static storm
These ones are mostly low because of the risk of friendly fire, given that we are actively investing in a squad. If the berets have/can be affordably given some sort of OPAL-lite that we can securely telegraph danger zones to them with, they might be a good option then.

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I make so many no promises as to my ability to keep this clean and up to date, but here's the "official" Anode character sheet, in googledoc form.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18-L31ukeOd_0XvfqErwY7GogqiwMU8zyIYfXxjTUb-c/edit

>>704488
>Mass Shriver: Utilizing adapted coilgun technology, Anode could channel bursts of electrical energy into his arm muscles for a brief, intense burst of physical strength, with commensurate increase in melee damage or lifting ability.

I like that one. Temporary strength has a lot of uses, in combat or otherwise.

Alternatively, would the Slave Circuit be useful for upgrading the Lance? We can already discharge electricity through it - it sounds sort of like this thing could modify it to run in reverse as well, if I'm reading it right.

I'd love running around with a Vampire Lance, stabbing unshielded mechaniloids and making off with their juice.

>>704687
>free capacity charge without using expensive batteries
Oh yeah this concept definitely needs another look.

>>704687
>>704717
Wasn't the "vampire" tech considered unconstitutional?

>>704687
Vampire Lance sounds very nice and I would like to hear more.

>>704687
>>704717
>>704727
>>704730
The whole reason they split Anode and Cathode into different units was to prevent Anode from gaining charge at will. The whole reason Doppler ripped the first Capacitor out of Anode's chest was its capability for self-healing, which the Hunters wisely hobbled.

It won't happen.

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>>704601
Flak uses the Blackout Rocket Launcher, Susan the Lockon Hunter Rifle. In addition you ordered a pair of heavy combat shields that will likely be carried by Marx and Derby.

>>704687
No go on that particular option, but CL and I are trying to suss out what we could do on the lance.

>>704740
I don't remember the 1.0 capacitor having healing capabilities.

>>704649
and I have managed to remind myself of a thing I'd asked about last thread.

>Zenny/Squad options
Some sort of secure tactical link system thing for the squad. Stylist was kind of a shitshow for the berets since they couldn't see him, so having the ability to ping them with some sort of HUD overlay data would be super handy. Doesn't need to be a realtime feed from our OPAL or anything, just a basic 'thing here, don't stand in the red circle god dammit DPS why are you still standing in the fire healers just let the morons die'

What option gives us the better upgrade instead of just another VWS?

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>>704785
Sabomole was brought in alive, so there are no VWES options.

>>704785
None of these are VWES options, it's not DNA, it's hardware.

>>704785
literally all of them

>>704791
How much was the capture alive for interrogation bonus?

Also do we post an add for a Demo expert on the Berets forum or just train one of the team to take that role?

>>704804
Combat mission and completion of objectives 15000
Live capture of maverick target 10000
Gift of gratitude - Kommando Spezialkräfte, 5th Platoon: 5000
Intelligence bounty (maverick hostage-taking): 2500
Total: 32,500
Zenny after sum: 47,005
Note: You also have 21,000 sequestered for the Himalayas memorial, and 40,000 set aside for squad upgrades at this time. Total zenny including this is Z108,005.

>>704785
This is a core upgrade. This is as good as it gets.

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>>704687
So, applying the Slave Circuit to the lance would get you the following base:

Wiretap: As the lance is already channeled for use with the C. Capacitor, this upgrade would allow a micro-pulse of electrical charge on impact to send an overload through the target's systems. Note this requires actual penetration of the shielding system--IE, the blade would cut and not be fully arrested by the shield--in order to work. Effects would vary by target and would usually be short-term debilitation of some subsystems, with better or worse mitigation based on the target's resistances.

It seems all the guys who wanted a demo guy in our team are not here right now.

I agree with the dash upgrade for our berets.

And... Jump-Jet I guess? None of these upgrades look that interesting.

And the Lance is quite strong already. We need personal upgrades in case a jerkass decides to steal it.

>>704836
Those who invest too much money on a strong door, go cheap on the walls.

>>704827
So you stab with the lance, then you detonate some charge for an internal explosion? It's pretty nasty, but I would still prefer the Mass Shriver for the raw utility.

What would applying the Slave Circuit to the Wrenades get us?

>>704843
It's a hardware upgrade, I don't think it can be applied to VWES entities.

>>704836
>None of these upgrades look that interesting.

Mass Shriver will allow us to pull off bullshit cuts once we hone our technique. Here, think this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1wcuoxs4mU

>>704843
We're not upgrading a VWES option. This is a core upgrade for Anode himself.

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>>704846
Correct.

You can develop VWES entries independently using your money and, where relevant and applicable, other weapons data.

Also, gotta go fast so I vote for the Jump-Jet option.

>>704827
Ah, like a poisoned blade. That's suitably creepy-but-not-yet-evil enough for me to like it, buuuut I think strength is better.

Keeping my vote for Mass Shriver.

>>704850
It can be applied to the Lance, so I wasn't sure if we could rig it into the ammo for one of our other non-us systems. (It would appear we can't, as you said, but it was worth checking, I think.)

>>704843
A black hole opening up to unleash Robo-Cthulhu, who will devour the planet and replace it with Batton Bones.

>>704488
>Mass Shriver: Utilizing adapted coilgun technology, Anode could channel bursts of electrical energy into his arm muscles for a brief, intense burst of physical strength, with commensurate increase in melee damage or lifting ability.

>>704836
Really not the time for giving them dash options. Our next choice on the roster is Barrage Mortarphant, a AOE specialist. Bringing them with us would end up getting them killed. We should be focusing on opening up cheap paths for our growth and move from there. Open up the jumpjet tree, get a battery, put 10k for the berets, and maybe look at that one high ball skipper upgrade for the wrenades. The one that makes them go even faster.

>>704853
So, how much a upgrade for our bombs would cost us without reducing the number of shots?

And how much for the personal weapon for our demo expert we haven't hired yet?

>>704879
We haven't voted who we go next after yet. Or we did?

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>>704827
This actually sounds fairly handy, spank someone so hard they wobble like someone handed Emerald a magnet.

Updating >>704649

>Capacitor charge
>Mass shriver
>Wiretap
>Jumpjet (needs a proper name, Capacitor jet maybe?)
>Blueshift/Static storm

and for a thorough consolidation of option votes

>>704769
>Zenny/Squad options
Some sort of secure tactical link system thing for the squad. Stylist was kind of a shitshow for the berets since they couldn't see him, so having the ability to ping them with some sort of HUD overlay data would be super handy. Doesn't need to be a realtime feed from our OPAL or anything, just a basic 'thing here, don't stand in the red circle god dammit DPS why are you still standing in the fire healers just let the morons die'

>>704885
No, I'm planning on holding that vote today.

>>704879
Your next choice is still "any of them."

>>704889
Jumpset: Thunderstuck jet!

>>704879

Is our next choice Mortarphant, though?

We were banking pretty hard on having some kind of digging via Sabomole's DNA to get us in there with taking too much artillery fire.

That's still viable... is command clears him to work with us to get in there. As is, we may want to delay and fight someone else first, so we don't get cratered.

>>704910
Yeah, sounds something Anode would say.

>>704911
I vote going for another target before him. We are a Tank but we aren't that big of a Tank.

>>704911
She's the gateway to Yamatoad and Stellar, so we do need to face her now if we want to handle either of them safely. Sabomole's upgrades actually seem to be useful against her too. Messing with systems, dealing with her controlled mechanoids, faster or more useful dashes, even that melee boost would work well against her.

So are we going with the Mass Shriver?

>>704755
It didn't, but it had the worrying potential.

>>704755
It could theoretically have been given some sort of regulated shunt to our LIFE cell, allowing for field recharging.

Given how much of a pain mavericks are WITHOUT that ability, Command makes extra fucking sure that nobody makes things like that, and I imagine they're leery of things that could POTENTIALLY do that, like what doppler is doing.

Considering the last time we were interrogated, we got pissed off, yelled and made a Hammer pun, I think we did pretty good this time around.

>>704911
Mortarphant is where I'd go, but I suggest waiting for between-mission news development first. Maybe some crisis out there would make Moloch or Gibbon the temporary priority, and I don't think interrupting the Mortarphant > Yamatoad > Atlantica chain is wise once we've committed to starting it.

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Speaking of, since there's no real rush at the moment, I'm going to go ahead and drop the news events on you while the upgrade discussion is still going. And no, I haven't tallied anything yet.

Really, this can go for a while, /qst/ is slow and even with work I can probably pop in for a few hours a night during the week.


The war has progressed…
Known Doppler agent Shaktalwar Obfusca escapes custody
Six hunters declared MIA on US West Coast
“Hero of Vienna” maverick hunter makes public statement on next-generation aircraft
Several failed hunts being re-assessed for outside interference by unknown parties
German border declared secure; underground attacker subdued
Breaking: 2nd Recon returning reports of maverick production infantry with VWES systems
Hunter Commander advocates for “standing Reploid military force”
Data trawl uncovers "significant sabotage" from defectors in days leading up to assault on MHHQ
Tanko Oguntade presses for pan-African cooperation in face of Doppler threat
AU Security Commissioner Zimba undergoing repairs after Shiva-led assault on Addis Ababa
India electorate refuses PM Shinde resignation in latest polls
Hunter HQ denies existence of unidentified G-class threat
South Korea files with UN over classified ‘intellectual property’ claim

>>705041
>Hunter Commander advocates for “standing Reploid military force”

It begins...

>>705041
>Several failed hunts being re-assessed for outside interference by unknown parties
>Data trawl uncovers "significant sabotage" from defectors in days leading up to assault on MHHQ
Thanks, Seven!

Can we get an idea of what Indy's public statement was?

>>705041
>Six hunters declared MIA on US West Coast
...oh shit. Is that Moloch? What the hell is he up to over there?

>“Hero of Vienna” maverick hunter makes public statement on next-generation aircraft
"Command outraged, spin doctors deployed."

>Hunter HQ denies existence of unidentified G-class threat
You can't hide it forever, man! The TRUTH is OUT THERE!

>>705041
>“Hero of Vienna” maverick hunter makes public statement on next-generation aircraft
Transcript when

>Several failed hunts being re-assessed for outside interference by unknown parties
The PHANTOM Menace?

>German border declared secure; underground attacker subdued
Go us!

>Breaking: 2nd Recon returning reports of maverick production infantry with VWES systems
Oh boy, remember that data Seven made off with?
>Data trawl uncovers "significant sabotage" from defectors in days leading up to assault on MHHQ
Speaking of Seven...

>Hunter HQ denies existence of unidentified G-class threat
I don't know enough MHX to know if this is referring to a canon entity or someone new.

>South Korea files with UN over classified ‘intellectual property’ claim
This related to our performer target? I recall us having fuckall for intel because the manufacturer was all muh proprietary data.

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>>705062
Manned flight has never been more important, it's a vulnerability AI-centric thinkers (such as the mavericks) haven't done their due diligence on, and she's opening up the floor to any aerospace manufacturer to help her create a new mainstay fighter program personally.

With a little brit more of that India piss-and-vinegar, of course.

>>705062
It started with the letter F.

>>704748
In that case I'm most inclined to just give Flak the dash. I don't know how useful it would be to Marx and Derby with the heavy shields, and Susan seems to be generally capable and able to handle himself already.

>>705041
Standing reploid army. What is it fighting for?

I'm also concerned about Moloch. He's been biting the West Coast for a while now... though that "outside" Intel force could just as well be Gibbon. Maybe Seven's working with him.

>>705112
I think we need to talk to the Berets first and see what they actually want. Beyond a sane superior, naturally.

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>>705126
There's a reason that wasn't on the upgrade list.

>>705126
And if course get a demolition expect with a bombs weapon.

>>705136
Considering our natural talent for blowing shit up (whether people want us to or not), maybe we should do some training in that ourselves.

>>705136
Yeah, it costs nothing to post that add in the Berets forum.

>>705142
But then we would not have backup that can blow shit.

>>705146
We don't really have access to that, unless you mean asking one of ours to post it for us. Technically we could post it, but the Berets don't want officers barging into their private boards.

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>>705089
>a little brit more

Flawless

>>705153
That's the idea, to ask one of our Berets to post the add. We had a whole argument about this in the past thread.

>>705161
In my defence, I was drinking fairly heavily through that thread and haven't re-read it since. It's a bit of a blur.

>>705162
To sum it up. We want a demo guy in our team and most people agreed to give said team them dash upgrades. Also being paranoid worked.

>>705173
I don't think I agreed on it. We still need to pay up the nose for our dash and I am against using all our money on dash systems we might not be using for quite some time.

>>705186
Most people did, plus you were drunk, want pictures?

>>705202
That's not me. They could have been drunk too, I guess!

>>705202
Considering I don't drink, I would not be drunk in the first place. You keep using 'most people' as if trying to force a consensus. There is no merit pushing for it right now when we are more likely to go on a solo mission than a team one.

Damn qst sure is slow, even in the weekends.

>>705226
That just means you wrnt down with a single glass and then got stuff draw in your head.

>>704488
>Mass Shriver
This sounds like the most utility, which is basically our wheelhouse. The blue-shift also sounds fun.
Also batteries and replacement stuff.

>>705041
>South Korea files with UN over classified ‘intellectual property’ claim
I'm blaming this on Foxfire somehow.

>Mortarphant
HunterHQ, the theory was that we'd need to cross a lot of open terrain to get at Mortaphant. Is it possible to rig a disposable battery harness and just go full Sonic across a large swath of terrain? The thing would need to be tossed on arrival to the operation area, but I imagine that getting to the artillery specialist would be the difficult part.

>>705293
Mortarphant's artillery can cross country lines. What makes you think an ultra dash will make that any easier?

>>705293
As awesome as the mental picture of anode strapping a giant fuckoff battery to his back is, we can't just endlessly dump capacitor into our dash, it needs a chance to cool down and shit.

Also there is the question of economy, depending on how much battery it would take to close the gap it might end up being cheaper to go with a chaser, even if you assume it will end up destroyed.

>>705309
Hence why we just dig. But I don't think thry eild lend us the mole for that mission.

Jesus fucking on a bike, why the hell they keep giving us all the flying overpowered mavericks to hunt when we are earthbound?

>>705357
have you never played pokemon before electric beats flying

>>705357
Because we keep winning. We need to let the next one get away, or they'll giving us the damn things.

>>705366
You know this makes me think we should have never gone for the team option and just overpower ourselves.

>>705379
It is on official Maverick Hunter record that Anode is intensely difficult to kill. Fourth Overland is one of the hardest-fighting divisions of the Hunters, and Anode himself is the Last Man Standing of the Fourth.

>>705393
Only cause the other good ones quit or disappeared. Or went Maverick...

>>705649
Also, voting for Jumpset: Thunderstuck jet! cause gotta go fast.

>>704488
>Mass Shriver

>>705678
We can't win with firepower so why not with speed?

Let's me remind everyone that our Lance is fricking powerful and it basically saved our Bro life even if he wasn't designed to use all it's functions. So we don't need Lance upgrades for a while.

>>705726
That's no way to think, especially since Anode hits harder than he looks. Emphasizing speed will turn Anode into a one-trick pony, and we were explicitly warned against doing that.

>>705741
Speed in the only really useful upgrade we can get against a WAB Wide Area Bombing, since those kind of models aren't made for close combat so with speed we can get close and personal.

>Mass Shriver
Three words:

Emerald Fastball Special

>>705757
We're already one of the fastest A-rank Hunters. Certainly the fastest in the 4th. We have 3 dash systems. We don't need another speed upgrade.

>>705757
Mortarphant is only one encounter, and this is a CORE UPGRADE for Anode. The Mass Shriver will see much more longevity, since there's far more applications of short-term super strength than a stronger dash - and our dashes (plural) are sicknasty as is.

>>705758
Emerald is too frail for a Fastball special. Heck I don't want him to face Wide Area Bombardment until he finally upgrades his armor.

>>705769
A code upgrade that just gives us 30 seconds super strength? If the enemy gets that close it will probably be to stab or bomb us, how the hell will super strength help?

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As of this post there are about 12 votes for the Mass Shriver and 4 for the Blueshift. I say "about" because it's pretty damned hard to determine what is or isn't a vote or not. I need to try to remember to institute a specific voting format to make sure the votes versus the discussion are more clear.

In any case, though, it's a pretty evident landslide with plenty of support.

Further voting for expenditures--the Berets and such--can wait for a second, lighter round of spending talk, let you talk to the Berets and decide on your next target before you commit.

On that note: Decide your next target, or go talk to the Berets first?

>>705795
>Berets first

List any enemy were super strength would have helped and why.

And let's remember Gutsman is a wimp. Heck I didn't even need more than my buster to beat him.

>>705795

Berets. We need our Demo man.

>>705795
Chat with the Berets.

>>705769
To stress, the Mass Shriver will provide new functionally, not augment old functionality. Having more tools to work with is also one of the best things you can add.

>>705786
1. You're shortselling enemy capabilities.
2. Mass Shriver has non-combat applications, far too many to list.

>>705795
Let's talk to the Berets. This was their first deployment as a unit under Anode's command, so immediate feedback will be crucial.

>>705795
>Talk to the Berets.

>>705803
Tumult Terrapin, for one. That asshole shark who went Mav, for another.

>>705803

Yeah in a world of super weapons being Charles Atlas doesn't help much.

But whatever, besidea killing Foxfire with a punch I don't see much use for it.

Let's talk to the Berets and remember to tell them about posting that add fir a demolition expert.

>>705819
The turtle shields were too strong for super strength and the Shark was just too strong for a 30 seconds upgrade to help. Remember that in close combat he was basically S class.

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>>705819
>asshole shark
Gee, ain't that an understatement? Lets make sure to prove Tanker dun goofed.

>>705853
Know what would help? Upgrade our wrenades and make him swallow them.

>>705870
"Hey Tanker open wide!"

Also let's remember to go to therapy so they don't nag about that later.

>>705885
Oh boy, yeah let's go to therapy. We are allowed some time out after each mision after all. Unless is an emergency situation. And Germany does owe us one.

I hope they send us beer as thank you.

>>705885
>>705902

Didn't our therapist get fired or something?

>>705912
He died. There may have been fire involved, though, so possibly!

>>705912
>>705918
We will have to just use whatever therapist is left.

And we just saved Germany and didn't get any Beer. Plus we are in a war situation. Is therapy or getting drunk and our new boss is a pragmatic bastard so getting drunk and doing pranks is out.

>>705918
No, dodo saved him. It was a big thing.

>>705931
Yeah. We can't go pranking anymore so therapy it is.

>>705939
And he didn't quit? Or asked to take whatever holidays he had saved up?

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>>705939
Your therapist died. The bartender, Max, was saved by Dodo.

>>705952
He's making a joke about Max the bartender. Our real therapist is fucking dead, will you please read the previous threads.

>>705965
>Your therapist ... the bartender, Max, was saved by Dodo.

>>705969
Don't you remember? We were all drunk so memories are fuzzy.

And we can request a therapist anyway. Not having one now that we all moved to the same place and we basically have most of the other divisions next door would be a PR nightmare.

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>>705981
Don't make me unfetter Cain Labs.

>>705992
Cain Labs would make an awful therapist. But really we can just get another one. What with most divisions basically being next door thanks to ... that dude who is not Captain Falcon.

>>705965
Man being told that your therapist is KIA has to suck.

>>706013
My therapist wanted to scam me of my money with my lawyer help so it really depends.

And no, I am not joking.

>>706013
Could be worse, could have gone mav.

>>706062
I'm imagining anode going to therapy and his therapist saying that it's the humans fault and that we should kill them all

>>706049
Were they trying to treat your multiple personalities?

>>705795
Talk to the berets, see how they feel after their first big non-bird job together.

As for selection, find here my vote for Moloch. I'm looking at the big picture and worrying that we should get him next. His immediate threat seems to be escalating faster than the others.

>>706062
Fighting your therapist to the death would also suck, yes.

>>706068
Depression actually.

>>706130
Aw. It's so sweet how you try to alleviate your depression and enliven your day by changing your IP address. Again. Good luck with all those conversations with yourself! It doesn't make up for actual social experience, but it's worth a shot.

>>705918
>>705931
>>705965

What? No he didn't. We tried requesting him and got a message back saying there was a backup because there were too many hunters in need and there was a shortage of...

...oh.

All you guys implying Mass Shriver can only help us punch lift or grapple.

It's any muscle, meaning superjumps are also on the table and ultra strides.
We can alsi juice in a pinch on off on impact to give us, basically a sustainable melee boost (our weakest area) let alone the utility to lift/pull/open anything for a moment for a bit of capacitor.

Don't think of it as a super mode. Think of it as "here and now"

Hunter Command - Can Mass Shriver help us with charging too? That is, can we get more out of, say, jumping with it on and then landing or juicing a punch that connects solidly than we expend?

>>706226
Another reason I didn't want it is because super strength is basically worthless in any Megaman game. But it won so whatever.

>>706211
>>706226
Right now, the Mass Shriver system is in your arms only. You COULD expand it into your legs as a further development of the tech.

As for building charge, not really. And remember, it uses charge to activate. You're probably not going to get better than partial mitigation of the cost of activation if you put it in your legs and then did a mega-jump.

>>706248
Ah so is basically a waste of money like I thought. Unless we end facing a Luchador.

>>706237
...you're bitching at ME for it not winning? Do a ctrl+F on my trip and see what I voted for before you get on some high horse about our picks.

>>706260
I am bitching because it won and since this is Megaman X and we only get like less a minute of super strength, is basically money wasted.

>>706259
From what we got from the chat, it can also boost our melee attacks with the lance and the like. So in a way it's a power attack that makes our melee in general do more.

>>706299
Anode does plenty of melee fighting. There's non-combat uses for the strength. It's just one more option to take advantage of the capacitor. If we can find at least one justified use for the Mass Shriver, it'll be worth it.

>>706321
I don't see why it wouldn't. Improved strength makes Anode's melee that much more devastating, since it'll be harder to overpower him at that moment. It still falls to his training to pull things off successfully.

>>706328
Yes, with a sword. Super strength won't help us much. Also if we want to use it to trow things we will need a weapon or weapons to trow and a shitload of time to practice. I wanna hear how it will save our ass in a fight when most Mavericks use weapons.

>>706299
And you quoted me to do so. When I voted for something else. Now stop being an arsehole, y'bleeding moron.

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>>705802
>>705803
>>705805
>>705804
>>705806
>>706106
You decide your first order of business is going to be checking up on the Berets. You put out a call, and are mildly surprised when Derby, rather than Susan, answers.

“We’re testing out those shields you picked up,” he says, rapping his knuckle against the rim he leans against--heavy, white plating with a silver rim, matching the chrome sheen on the Beret armor. You notice Marx in the back laying out small bottles of paint, his own shield face-up and awaiting decoration. Beside him on the bench, with his launcher resting against his side, Flak is polishing up Susan’s Lockon Rifle.

“Where’s sunshine?” you ask him as he looks up, leaning the barrel against the crook of his arm to pop a salute.

“At the Dodo,” Flak says cheerfully. “I insisted.”

“Susan? The bar? … DRINKING?” You ask, faintly disbelieving.

“Yessir. See, I made him promise me once, back in the day, if we ever came back from one of those sky-high jobs, he’d go and at least try to have fun, just to see what it was like.”

“Sky-high?”

“The payout,” Derby explains. “We were the only support for the retiring officer and had officer-grade tasks, so we got 15 grand. Did you see the message?”

“I did, yeah. I came by to ask about that, actually. And your thoughts.”

“On what, sir?” Flak asks.

“How’d I do? What could we do better?”

“Well, you kind of saved us,” Marx points out. “Me especially.”

“It was kind of an unusual hunt in the first place, so I dunno,” Flak shrugs apologetically. “I’m sure Susan could give you an earful. No complaints here, though.”

“How about you, Derby?” you ask.

He turns and adjust the namesake hat, having replaced his beret. “We didn’t do much to respond to the terrain. We spent more time reacting than taking initiative. Only so much we could do about that, of course.”

You nod--you don’t fancy a one-on-one between a Beret and Stylist, especially invisible. Sabomole lurking precluded fanning out more than you could help--which left the squad a bit bunched up.

“How about for future upgrades? What do you think?”

“The dash,” Flak replies. “Definitely the dash. I might look into some options later for high carry weight, but right now our mobility is killing us.”

“Somewhat literally,” Marx adds over his shoulder, rolling out the red paint.

“Well, if you all pooled your money, we’d have enough for one upgrade already, if you wanted to go that route.”

“We could,” Flak muses. “We’re all going to be saving up for it ASAP anyway. And, uh--I’m gonna replace my armor, too. That came in handy.” You remember that one hit from Sabomole gouged a huge chunk out of him, and it could be the armor is the only reason he’s still standing.

Zenny totals as before.
>Finance any EAS upgrades?
>Ask anything further?

>>706390
Dash and repairs.

Double upgrade our wrenades so we don't lose ammo for power. As in; first upgrade power then upgrade the number we can use.

>>706390
>Offer to pay for Flak's armor
>Ask who'd want first dash system if we got it
>Clarify if anyone wants a specialized role/has any obscure or uncommon training already

>>706390
10k for the battery, 10k for a improvement to the jumpjets which we need doing, 500 for repair, 15k for the berets so one can get a jump start to train the others. Susan might need it to keep a pace.

>Offer to pay for Flak's armor
>Ask who'd want first dash system if we got it
>Clarify if anyone wants a specialized role/has any obscure or uncommon training already
>Ask about a demolition expert.

>Offer to pay for Flak's armor
>Ask who'd want first dash system if we got it
>Clarify if anyone wants a specialized role/has any obscure or uncommon training already
>Ask about a demolition expert.

I support these.

>>706437
Doing a bit of Math, 60k for the berets, 40k saved up. Thats enough for two people to get Dash. We would have 27k left over if we paid for the other things I mentioned.

>>706458
Seconding this. And also ask about the paint job. Why red? Going for a team design on them?

>>706525
Eh, we could use Zapdos as a logo? Or just a thunder drawing?

Red Voltz!

>>704488
Giving my 2 cents, since this all happened while I was asleep.

I can see why Mass Shriver won. We DO need more fire damage, but shortening the cycle period would be better than raw power anyway.

>Prior upgrade offerings available upon request. Please specify what you’re looking for. We beg you.
At this point, I'm tempted to just open up a titanpad so we can record all past upgrade offerings. Note what mission they were offered, in case you need to account for them becoming obsolete/cheaper, etc. Would everyone like that?

>>706696
I'd be down for it. Lord knows it's difficult enough to keep track of these as is.

>>706696
That would be great, if you're willing to go through all the time and effort.

>>706696
>>706715
We did a quick pull from the old threads, though probably not a comprehensive one. It needs codifying, at which point we can probably throw it onto a gdoc like the aforelinked Anode sheet.

Also, stand by, trying to get my exercise in for the day and circumstances aren't cooperating.

>>706728
While driving home from work the other day I happened to notice one of the newer neighborhoods street name is "Winter Wren". Please save me Anode.

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>>706741

>>706741
Sorry Mario, but your Anode is in another castle.

>>706752
Hell, just flying things in general. They either kill you or date your sister.

>>706773
Indy would probably do both.

>>706715
>>706723
>>706728
testing, testing

https://titanpad.com/QVkirj5Z8C

>>706390
>Repair Flak's armour
>Determine who wants the dash first
>Specialisations? Training?

Thinking about it, where this upgrade cycle is hardware based, what would be the cost of getting another set of the bits beyond our mission freebie? Thoughts for the future and all that.

>>706939
It's questionable how much added utility you can get from just "more of same" without a more extensive overhaul. Currently you're looking at an expansion within your capacity.

>>707046
More of the same? I'm talking about getting multiple options, not stacking the same one.

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>>706939
>>707046
>>707073
Z50,000 for one more, then Z75k from there due to trying to put more and more taps in while not disrupting anything.

>>707073
Same reason why we don't get other options with OPAL. No getting a bunch of stuff for the special upgrades.

>>707102
I was under the impression that the OPAL was more of a 'holy shit you got the super secret stuff back for us have something super sweet' rather than a 'ok those claws we pulled off sabo were based off of some military hardware, so we'll hook you up with a set'

>>707101
Well, thats something to keep in mind. Only other one I can see being worth it is the Blue Dash. Could get that at a later time and save up some money.

>>706827
So... what VWD should we upgrade? And how much a wrenade weapon for our team would cost?

>>707148
Blueshift is jump-jet boost, redshift is dash boost.

>>707227
if we get both do we get to unlock purple shift?

>>707227
We use our dash more. So redshift I guess?

I would say Blueshift for not being electricity. We could use some more variation in our attack options.

>>707239
Redshift is not improving our dash in so much as adding a wake of electricity behind us thats on a delay. Really situational and not good for a vanguard unit. Blue shift is a huge boost to the Weaponised jumpjets in terms of speed, impact, and power. So it would be faster, longer, and give us more charge in return.

>>707255
And why is Hunter Command so opposed to give us a Dash upgrade that doesn't need electricity?

>>707267
Last I was aware it was less that he was actively opposed and more that we are running out of spare space in our legs to fit upgrades.

>>707267
Because our basic dash is already at it's limits in upgrades. You fail to realize that right now Anode is one of the most agile hunters around in terms of mobility. If we did a full dash with our lightning and then used jump jets we would be covering immense ammounts of ground. In a way, the jump jets are a extra dash we can upgrade and has plenty of space for that.

Fine, Blueshift it is.

So wait, we're dropping the 50K for the Jump-Jet upgrade as well?

>>707424
That's news to me. We'd need a proper vote for that.

>>707443
I say save the money for later.

>>707466
Later we will be dead.

>>707511

>>707511
I was just meaning that spending 50 of our 108k on an upgrade when we already have 61k of that set aside for other things isn't worth it.

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>>707532
Oi! Git!

>>707555
And I am saying we need all the help we can get if we are going after S class Reploids and later after a G class.

>>707564
HC are you doing insults now?

And then HC was british.

>>707573
Think of it this way: We only have 47k to spend right now. you can't spend 50k when we are 3k short.

>>707443
Well, let's do this smart. We got one upgrade already and 47k in funds. We use 10k for a battery. 10k for the base tier improvements to the jumpjets to get them ready for all the good stuff, save 25k for the Big upgrade, then use the 40k and 60k from the berets to give Flak and Susan dash systems.
That way, we have a good bag of tricks, the two who need dashes get them, and we will be on our way to bigger upgrades. Also, if I recall India would pay us to use some of our vwes weapons right? Sell her on the Wrenades.

>>707611
Let's not buy the battery then.

>>707611
Voting for this upgrade plan.

>>707657
Cool new IP address, goes well with all your others.

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>>707589
If English is Bong, then I don't wanna be right.

>>707573
For what it's worth you'd also need to order the parts anyway.

>>707611
Not opposed to those, but they need clearer vote before I commit the readership to them. I think I'll hold a zenny only upgrade vote sometime tomorrow. We've got time.

Why we waste so much money in bateries anyway? They are good for emergencies but if we use them every single time they are a drain in our resources.

So THIS is why you said you hate us all, HC

>>707808
How often do we not end up in emergencies?

>>707808
Better to spend 10K a mission than fucking die.

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>>707827

Also, if you guys care that much about money, you could probably get the money we were saving for the completely retarded Himalaya memorial back.

>>707836
And then we are short on cash for upgrades. We would not need to use the battery so much if we took time to build charge during each mission.

>>707882
I'm sure whichever maverick we'll end up against next will happily wait for us to hop in place until we reach significant charge.

>>707889
Yeah cause we always face the bosses right away.