Zeus, King of the Gods, ruling from afar on Mount Olympus, throwing lightning bolts at his foes (or just anything that might be interesting to throw a lightning bolt at). A glorious name for an assault ‘Mech from a nation with deep ties to ancient Greece. Yet many would miss that it is the Lyran Commonwealth, scion of Germanic influences, which is the state in question.
Appearing at the beginning of the First Succession War, as House Kurita was assailing the relatively recently absorbed Hesperus II facility, the Lyran forces unleashed their new BattleMech, driving off the invaders. Despite a low-tech structure (outside of CASE), the Zeus was outfitted with advanced weapons, an extended range laser, advanced guided missiles and either an extended range particle cannon or a ultra autocannon rounded out the core (and long range) firepower, with a pair of medium lasers covering front and back and double heat sinks to keep the ‘Mech cool. The PPC version had issues with heat build up that saw it meet any early end in production, which probably wasn’t unexpected from a ‘Mech that was designed and built in an amazingly short amount of time.
As well as this Zeus fared, the Succession Wars took away the suppliers of the advanced weapons and heat sinks, resulting in the ‘classic’ version, the 6S was probably the best 80 ton ‘generalist’ BattleMech in TRO 3025. Still equipped with fifteen long-range missiles, a large laser, class five autocannon and the dual medium lasers it wasn’t concerned with heat build-up unless the rear laser was brought into play. Though the bite it has was less than we are used to these days, for the Third Succession War it was adequate. What often wasn’t were the missile reloads, with a mere ton of ammunition being a mixed blessing. Just eight salvos left many MechWarriors wanting more from the seven tons of launcher but more than a few sighed a breath of relief when enemy fire ruptured the ammo bin only to find it empty.
With the Fourth Succession war on the horizon, the Lyran engineers solved the problem with the particle cannon (perhaps not using a Star League ER PPC was all they needed to do). Two more heat sinks helped the dissipation, but removed the Zeus from the ‘alpha baby’ group. The ammo bin didn’t grow any deeper, but in a fire-support role it could bombard the enemy with the PPC and LRMs for eighty seconds straight, adding in the large laser every other salvo. Despite the heat issues, the greater damage and less ammo dependence of the 6T made it the mainstay of low-end Lyran assault ‘Mechs.
With the return of the Clans a high tech Zeus was reborn. Similar to the 5S, it lacked the targeting for the missile system but had dual medium pulse lasers for infighting. This lackluster design was seen as an improvement but hardly the pinnacle of what the machine could become, especially with the revelation of the capabilities of the 5S.
Where the 5S stopped, the 9T took over. Using the innovative light engine, it became a devastating fire-support ‘Mech. The engine allowed more armor and heat dissipation plus a short-range fusillade of dual medium pulse lasers and an extended range medium. Capable of sustained fire of its long-range weaponry, not only through better heat dissipation than the 9S but also doubling the traditional missile supply to sixteen salvos. The 9T is most likely the pinnacle of the entire Zeus line.
With the Word of Blake finally doing what was thought impossible and capturing Hesperus II, they created their own version of the Zeus. Mounting more firepower than ever, the dual heavy particle cannons and quad extended-range medium lasers were backed up by an extended range large laser, capable of destroying over three tons of armor in one salvo at over 350 meters. Sadly it only had the heat sinks to compensate for the medium lasers and running. Even underwater this heat-hog would avoid an autoshutdown by one heat point while walking and unleashing an alpha-strike.
While the number of production variants stops at seven, four more experimental versions exist. A brief trial was tried on the 6S during the Succession Wars, called the 6Y. Downgrading the missile rack allowed the large laser to be increased to a blazer. The test designs did not fare well with the installation of the binary laser and the experiment was halted.
The remaining prototypes were all dubbed “Zeus-X”, known for mounting distinctive fins on the back of the ‘Mech and an XXL engine that pushed the top speed to over eighty-five kilometers per hour.
The first threw out the weapon load and mounted an LB-20 autocannon and MRM-30 launcher, backed up by a pair of medium X-pulse lasers. Reactive armor increased survivability on the limbs but composite structure made armor breaches much more deadly to the machine. The X2 was really a slight modification to the X, swapping out the autocannon for an ER PPC and heat sinks.
More famous that it’s ancestors, the X3 was popularized by the exploits of Stacy Church, the “New Black Widow”. Retaining the X2’s ER PPC, it dumped the rest of the weaponry for 4 ER medium lasers. While that resembled a Phoenix Hawk -6D without the targeting computer, the eight improved jump jets made it more maneuverable while over fourteen tons of armor made it tougher. At the hands of an elite pilot, this mobile assault ‘Mech is terrifying but quite different from the typical Zeus.
How does one use a Zeus? Obviously it varies depending on the situation, but typically it can be deployed two ways. Firstly is where it is an anchoring force for lighter units, using its long range weaponry to cover an advance and then switch to close-in weapons. In battles where assault ‘Mechs litter both sides, the Zeus can fill the role of fire-support excellently. Trying to find a sweet-spot at short range for the 6’s 5/6/7 main weapons can be troublesome, so try for nine or ten hexes, where everything is in medium range (and possibly longer for your opponent). A 9T can nestle into a tree line on a hill and send a potential thirty-eight points of damage down range for sixteen straight turns. Against heavy ‘Mechs, don’t forget to use the Zeus’s mass, sixteen point kicks will make an old Warhammer realize it is dealing with an assault.
How to defeat a Zeus? Picking on the left side is generally a good way to cripple it’s firepower and crit-seeking weapons are excellent for finding ammo in the Zues’ that mount multiple bins. For most models, getting close (quickly) will take the missiles out of play while leaving the ammo bin as a handicap and regular PPCs and AC/5s will worry about minimum ranges.
Remember, Zeus is the King of the Gods, not the King of the BattleMechs. It’s a powerful tool in the right hands but can also be a poor choice for someone who isn’t familiar with this Lyran hallmark.