The Bullshark BSK-MAZ is a 95-ton assault 'Mech. It was first encountered after the completion of the second part of the Dobrev flashpoint, in which the commander was given the mech by The Bounty Hunter. From thereon, the mech can be bought from system or black market stores.
Description[ | ]
I've never seen anything like this, Commander. This 'Mech oozes deadly grace and can obviously devastate anything in its path. It's... otherworldly, but clearly influenced by Star League 'tech. It has a mounted artillery piece to boot - I wonder where it came from.
Loadout[ | ]
This Bullshark variant has between 42.81 to 65.5 free tonnage available depending on armor configuration. Sporting 4 ballistic, 4 laser, and 2 missile hardpoints combined with 3 jump jets, the Bullshark MAZ loses some of its cousin's versatility, but gained a formidable new weapon in its Thumper Cannon. Nonetheless, it can still be built to a wide variety of purposes.
The MAZ Bullshark loses two missile hardpoints compared to the M3, rendering it unfit for missile-based roles. The presence of the Thumper Cannon also dominates its left torso, only leaving a measly two slots of free space there.
Nonetheless, the MAZ still retains its ballistic hardpoints on its arms, preserving its strength as a ballistic weaponry platform.
This variant also has integrated Double Heatsinks unlike the -M3, doubling its base cooling. Given that its Thumper weighs 10 tons, this means that either of these two features amounts to a free 10 tons of equipment: you're either paying 10 tons for the gun and the heatsinks are free, or paying for 10 extra heatsinks and the cannon is free. Needing fewer (if any) extra heatsinks also helps offset the slot cost of the fixed Thumper (and the gun itself is 10 slots, exactly the same as the 10 extra heatsinks, further reinforcing the "free equipment" angle).
Strategy[ | ]
The MAZ Bullshark loses a lot of versatility with its lower free tonnage compared to its M3 cousin. Nonetheless, it is still a very potent Assault mech with a massive battlefield presence. Again, as it is not equipped with Support hardpoints, it may not perform as well as more specialized machines in a melee role.
