Name: Demantis
Alignment: Guylos Empire
Family: Praying Mantis
Registration Number: EZ-048
Crew: 1
Height: 7.2 Meters
Length: 6.5 Meters
Weight: 10 Tons
Top Speed: 370 kph (boosters), 270 kph (running)
Weapons: Quad AZ10mm Machineguns, 50mm Gatling Gun, Hardened Alloy Broadclaw.
Special Abilities: Concealed Back-Booster, Motion Detector.
Level: 1
The Demantis was originally created by the Guylos Empire for light scouting work, but the cheap and effective Zoid was quickly shunted for combat operations. Now, Demantis has been retrofitted with actual weaponry, as well as a motion detector. However, the decision of bringing the Demantis onto the combat scene has lost more than a few battles in the arena, and more than a few lives in the field. The Demantis may be cheap and mass-produceable, but its extremely poorly armored, roughly on par with the Guysack. And because its neither low-slung nor a small target, like the Guysack is, even a few instants of heavy weapons fire can cause more than just Command System Freeze.
Still, that’s why the Demantis was put into its current class. It also has its merits: its weapons are heavy enough to be attractive, and its also extremely fast. It also can use its back-mounted booster to give it excellent jumping, and in overdrive mode, limited flight capability. However, the armor is always a problem. Some pilots have actually found a way to mitigate the problem to an extent: using the Hardened Alloy Broadclaws as impromptu shields. Nothing will ever change the fact that the Demantis is just plain fragile, though.
Weapons:
Quad AZ10mm Machineguns:
Fixed into the “elbow” region of each Broadclaw is a pair of AZ10mm Machineguns. Each weapon is fully automatic, capable of spewing 12 rounds per second. This makes them fairly potent when all used together, and they have an alright range of fire, because they can point wherever the Broadclaw can.
50mm Gatling Gun:
AZ10mm repeaters are nice, but they’re not as useful when you’re running for your life. When you’re a Demantis, you tend to run for your life quite a bit, so having a backmounted weapon is handy. While the 50mm Gatling Gun is extremely heavy and accounts for most of the Demantis’ weight, it can actually do fair amounts of damage to targets even two classes up. It’s fixed in position, but positively spew out shells at a rate of 20 per second. So, pursuers of the Demantis beware, the back may be more dangerous than the front.
Hardened Alloy Broadclaws:
While the Demantis has no hands or arms to speak of, it does have two Broadclaws, each of which house two Quad AZ10mm Machineguns. In addition to this function, they allow the Demantis to rake and scoop at things, which gives it the limited ability to peaceably manipulate its environment. However, they’ve more recently found uses as shields: you see, the Broadclaws are made out of tougher stuff than the recycled aluminum cans the rest of the Zoid is fashioned from (kidding). These are near-useless in melee, having no points for piercing and being essentially useless as bludgeoning weapons.
Special Abilities:
Concealed Back-Booster:
The Demantis boasts a single large, yet hidden booster which is concealed within an armor plate in its back. Without the booster, the Scout Mantis can only achieve speeds of 270 km/h. However, with the booster, the Demantis is capable of a whopping 370 kph, and can jump better than most other Zoids.
Overdrive
The Demantis has a powerful second setting on its concealed booster called “overdrive”, which allows it to fly for a period of time not exceeding two seconds. This “flight” is extremely limited, giving the Demantis a service ceiling of 30 meters and maximum jumping range of 100 meters. The maneuverability in this mode also isn’t great, and the Demantis may find itself more vulnerable in the air than it is on land. The Overdrive setting may only be used once per round.
Available Modifications:
