Name: Gunbluster (aka “Gun Blaster”)
Alignment: Helic Republic
Family: Ankylosaurus
Registration Number: RZ-052
Crew: 1
Height: 8.1 Meters
Length: 19.0 Meters
Weight: 125 Tons
Top Speed: 120 kph
Weapons: Twenty-Two Cannon Array, Crasher Tail, Hardened Alloy Teeth, Horn, and Spikes.
Special Abilities: Megalo-Max Blast, E-Shield, 3D Radar Targeting System
Level: 5
No one knows quite what the Helic Republic was thinking when it designed the Gunbluster. Maybe it was something along the lines of: “I wonder how many guns we can put on this chassis.” Or maybe they had something more specific in mind. The world may never know. In any event, the Gun Bluster is here now, and it’s brought its 22 guns with it.
Originally used to counter heavy Guylos Zoids, like the Dark Horn, Red Horn, and Iron Kong, the Gunbluster has overwhelming firepower. As mentioned earlier, a total of 22 cannons sit on its back, giving it more firepower than most can imagine. The Gunbluster is also capable of producing a Megalo-Max Blast, a feat previously only achieved by the powerful Dibison. It’s armor is also extremely tough, greater than even that of the Gojulas, and this armor is supplemented by a full E-Shield. In melee, the Gunbluster has sheer size and weight, as well as several close-quarters weapons. The Gunbluster’s only weakness is its lack of protection on its rear and flanks, which give many attackers a point to strike without fear of retaliation. However, the Gunbluster actually has a decent rate of turn for its size, better than many of its heavyweight peers. And, of course, of its massive array of weapons is enough to give even some Zoid Xs pause if they want to go head-to-head.
Weapons:
Twenty-Two Cannon Array:
The Gunbluster has a grand total of twenty-two cannons of varying sizes and calibers mounted to its back. These make up the massive Twenty-Two Cannon Array that has made this Zoid a legend. The entire array is capable of shifting up or down 20 degrees, but no weapon in the array can shift independently.
Twin 160mm Heavy Bombardment Cannons:
These are the two cannons on the very top. They’re essentially a pair of artillery cannons, except that they use direct instead of indirect fire. The principle is the same, though. The 160mm Heavy Bombardment Cannons are semiautomatic and fixed facing into the array. However, they’re the same kind of heavy weapon the Gordos has, and are far more potent than their caliber would suggest. Though they may not look impressive, either cannon can fire special high-speed impacter shells which can topple an object in the 40-50 ton range on its own. Therefore, both cannons together can topple an 80-100 ton enemy. The guns can be fired both together, or chain-linked.
Quad 70mm Pulse Laser Cannons:
They’re in there somewhere, trust me. Okay, so there’s one set that’s in the third row from the bottom, and another in the second row from the bottom. These are four 70mm Pulse Laser Cannons, fully automatic and standard in every way. Firing 12 rounds per second each, these are reasonably powerful weapons.
250mm Heavy Cannon:
Uh... it’s the one below the very middle row, the one that’s longer than the others. Yeah... that’s it. It’s a 250mm Heavy Cannon, capable of toppling a 70-80 ton enemy in a single shot. It’s also semiautomatic, but it’s far more powerful than its caliber would suggest. It can easily shatter armor and deal massive structural damage.
150mm Cannon:
The 150mm Cannon is situated just below the 250mm Heavy Cannon. It’s semiautomatic and completely standard.
6 50mm Beam Cannons:
The very lowest row on the Gun Blaster’s array of weaponry is a set of 6 50mm Beam Cannons, all of which are semiautomatic.
Twin AZ60mm Cannons:
Right ontop of the 50mm Beam Cannon row is a pair of AZ60mm Cannons, semiautomatic and totally standard.
Large-Bore Beam Cannon:
The Large-Bore Beam Cannon is a shield-buster weapon, capable of downing a standard E-Shield in 2 shots and a Hyper E-Shield in 4-5. It only does moderate damage to normal armor and structure, but there are few weapons which can best it at tearing down E-Shields. It only fires a shot every 2 seconds, though.
80mm Beam Cannon:
Sitting right on top of the AZ60mm Cannons is an 80mm Beam Cannon, semiautomatic and standard.
Triple Impact Cannon:
You guessed it. Hidden in the bottom of the Gunbluster’s weapons array is a Triple Impact Cannon. It’s pretty much the standard thing, capable of firing AZ60mm shells at a semiautomatic rate at distances up to 300 meters.
Shotgun:
The last of the Gunbluster’s weapons (thankfully) is a rather unusual one: the shotgun. This is simply a double-barreled shotgun firing much larger buckshot, capable doing the same damage to Zoids that its smaller cousin does to animals. Needless to say, it’s best used at ranges under 100 meters, where its fairly powerful and can blow away chunks of armor better than the Impact Cannons. Note that the shotgun itself is in the third row from the top.
Crasher Tail:
The Gunbluster has a rather nasty-looking spiked tail, which it can use to club and bludgeon its enemies. Because the tail is spiked and heavy, it’s capable of doing quite a bit of damage in melee, and can knock around light Zoids like ragdolls.
Hardened Alloy Teeth, Horn, and Spikes:
If it comes down to it, the Gunbluster has hardened alloy teeth, a horn on its head, and various body spikes. All of those are useful in melee, and the Gunbluster is quite strong and heavy. Needless to say, it can make good use of them.
Special Abilities:
Megalo-Max Blast:
The Megalo-Max Blast is one of the most interesting weapons available to the Gunbluster. In order to use the Megalo-Max, the Gunbluster must have at least 1 cannon or ranged weapon intact, but the power of the attack will decrease with each lost barrel. If its a sanctioned Zoid Battle, this superweapon may not be used during the first round of combat. Anyway, the Megalo-Max Blast requires a single second to charge up. After that, a stream of fire errupts from all of the cannon barrels at once, intertwining and becoming a single burst. The pilot then picks some radius between 10 and 100 meters, and a location to center it around. The radius is the blast radius (power per unit area decreases with a greater radius). The most concentrated version, the 10 meter radius one, can only be survived by the very toughest of Zoids if the Gunbluster has all of its cannons intact. The most dispersed one does far, far less damage, but is great for hitting moving targets. In either case, the Megalo-Max Blast can only be used once during a sanctioned Zoid Battle. (All’s still fair in war, though.)
E-Shield:
The Gunbluster has an omnidirectional E-Shield, emitted by its rather numerous and sturdy spikes. As long as it has at least six of them, this shield can be erected (and since the Gunbluster has 24 and they’re no walk in the park to get off, it’s no easy task to take them out). It’s otherwise standard and as powerful as a Blade Liger’s Frontal E-Shield.
3D Radar Targeting System:
The Gunbluster was built with a 3D Radar Targeting System to help it aim its massive array of weapons. The system is split into two armored hubs: one of the left flank of the Gunbluster and one on the right. It uses 3D Doppler Radar to track targets, and then can be used to auto-adjust weapons to hit said targets, giving a 20% increase in accuracy. ((Each hub gives +10%.)) Note that it can be used as a regular 3D Doppler Radar sensor as well, and the data, but not the accuracy boost, can be transmitted to teammates.
