Rhino

Technological Mech

Rhino
Rhino's default configuration
Class		Assault
Weight		100 tons
Armor		1675
Perk Armor		2094
Heat Dissipation		12
Speed		0
Buoyancy		-0.4
Jump Heat		70
Load-points		59
Perk Load-points		73
Hard-locked		No
Hard-mounts		Howitzer Cannon Rhino v2, Ultra Autocannon Heavy
Omni-mounts		Tri Cannon Chain Gun
Shutdown Level		100
Resistances
Ball	0%	Ener	0%	Expl	10%
Acid	0%	Chem	0%	Sonic	0%
DoT	0%	Electronics	0%	Melee	0%
Creator		razi soyinka

The Rhino is a slow, heavily armored assault-class fire support mech most effective at mid to long ranges.

Packaged with

Weapons

• Howitzer Cannon Rhino v2 X4
• Tri Cannon Chain Gun X2

History

Development of the Rhino prototype was underwritten by a large initial order from the mysterious zT Raiders, who had been briefly employed by House Davion during the second Clan War before they launched their own campaign to rule Terra as bandit kings. The Rhino soon became the terror of the battlefield, as lances of zT Rhinos often laid low entire battle groups. The Rhino's success on the battlefield was initially limited only by the original prototype's propensity to overheat during extended engagements. The original Rhinos also suffered from meager ammo supplies. The overheating problem was soon solved by replacing the original tri-beam high-powered laser arrays mounted in the arms with cooler-running auto cannons, though these were not nearly as effective when dealing with flying mechs. Rapid advances in warp and strife jet technology quickly rendered the Rhino nearly obsolete, as it could not effectively fight the new breed of flying adversaries such as the Vixen, Alien, and especially the Xenomorph. Just as the book was about to close on the once-dominating assault mech, its armament received an overdue revamp highlighted by improved howitzer cannons that fired smaller bore HESH rounds that flew faster, heated the barrels less, and had a greater area effect than the original HEAT munitions. The newer models can also carry more ammunition than the original howitzers. While the modern Rhino can still risk overheating during protracted engagements, Rhino pilots enjoy significantly increased heat flexibility for designing their backup arsenal. An increasing number of Rhino pilots are using the revamped triple auto cannon array, which trades fire rate for three-round flak groupings that perform much better against airborne targets.

Description

The Rhino's primary armament features four powerful howitzer cannons which deal massive area effect damage and are most effective from medium to long range. For point defense, it mounts two triple-barreled auto cannons that fire in a flak pattern. The Rhino may well be one of the slowest mechs around, but few mechs can survive more than a few barrages in its death zone.

Tactics

The howitzer shells fall with range, but they have massive splash. With a little practice a Rhino pilot can drop a heap of explosive pain on any point they can see on the ground. This makes the mech very adept at punishing ground mechs. Patience is a virtue with the rhino, let your opponent pop their head out, and punish them when they do with splash barrages. This is a high yield splash boat, play to its strengths.

The high yield splash comes at a cost, these things run hotter then the hinges of hell. Against a rhino you can play this against them. Any heat-based attacks work marvelously against a rhino. Grabbing an assault mech with a loadout focused on sheer damage per second, four Revenge cannons do marvelously, is a great way to just out-dps a rhino into a pile of scrap. The broad splash stops being an advantage when both mechs are poor at dodging, turning the fight into a raw DPS match.

Other Notes

Many Rhino specialists swap out the auto cannon arrays for other arm-mounted weapons, especially lasers or LRMs to deal with fliers, or an anti-melee shield to deal with warp melee mechs. Nearly all Rhino pilots install a coolant system, a ventrally-mounted triple heatsink, and lower arm heat sinks. These help deal with the massive heat buildup from the howitzers during extended barrages.

Gallery

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  Left side

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  Rear

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  Right side