MT-J-048

	MT-J-048
	General information
Classification	Heavy MT
Manufacturer	Belius Applied Weapon Systems
Affiliation	Balam Industries, Rubicon Liberation Front, Reuse and Development, Junker Coyotes, Arquebus Corporation
Conflicts present	Coral War
	Real world information
Appearances	ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON

The MT-J-048, also known as the BAWS Tetrapod, is an Enemy MT unit in ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON, manufactured by Belius Applied Weapon Systems. A high performance model when compared to their bipedal mass produced counterparts, the BAWS Tetrapod MT is a notable force to be reckoned with, capable of tearing up scores of MTs on its own using a wide variety of both standard and unique armaments.

The BAWS Tetrapod MT is a large, boxy, manned quadruped mech with large thrusters on its legs and underside, allowing it to jump, slide and dash good distances, making it a highly mobile threat. Compared to the box-shaped standard BAWS MT, the Tetrapod variation features more sloped and curved armor across its body and shoulders, providing greater overall ballistic protection, and allowing it to sustain large amounts of punishment. It has a notable "eye" in the center of its torso, which can be blue-green or red, depending on affiliation and armament.

Although not produced in as large numbers as other MTs, the BAWS Tetrapod is still a common sight throughout a number of missions when compared to other Mini-Boss type enemies the player might face. Similar to the BAWS MT, the Tetrapod has a wide variety of armaments it can be equipped with to suit a number of different situations, however these variants have so far been limited to 5 that have been seen on Rubicon.

Variants[]

Training[]

This variant only appears in the AC testing arena. Sporting a tan paint-scheme and a single standard-issue MT machine gun, it poses little threat regardless of if its AI is turned on or not. It's more of a gauge to test how quickly and efficiently your build can deal with a Tetrapod MT, regardless of its actual firepower.

Laser Blade[]

This is the first variant encountered in-mission by the player, found in the mission "Destroy the Transport Helicopters," and is the most common throughout the game. This armament is designed to excel at extremely long and short ranges. The first thing the player will notice is the powerful artillery gun mounted on its "head." It fires a projectile with incredibly fast bullet velocity, meaning dodging is only possible through careful prediction of when the shot will be fired, or using cover. The cannon's strength is so great it sends the Tetrapod flying backward with a single shot, stunning it for a short moment. It will continue to pelt the player from a safe distance until the moment they decide to approach the MT, in which case it will switch to the weapons equipped in each of its arms. It's left arm is equipped with a standard-issue MT shotgun, which is found on a variety of normal BAWS MTs.

It's final and most notable weapon is the powerful laser blade mounted in its right arm, which it uses once the player closes the distance. It has a wide variety of moves it can use to quickly decimate the player, including wide sweeps, jumping vertical slices, slam attacks, and a powerful lunging stab.

Spread Cannon[]

This variant is first encountered during the mission "Operation Wallclimber." This armament is built around heavy assault and rapid attack, being especially effective at close range. It's armament is fairly simple, but devastating, utilizing two gatling guns, one in each arm, and an absolutely monstrous spread cannon array mounted on the top of its body. The spread cannon is essentially 9 bazookas jury-rigged together in diagonal lines of three. This setup allows it to fire all of them at once as a massive shotgun-like blast, 3 at a time, or one at a time in rapid succession in conjunction with its gatling guns, allowing it to lay down a truly destructive hail of lead. Because of its close-range armaments, however, it can't do much at a distance, and it also has to reload its gatling guns in-between bursts.

Shield[]

This variant is first encountered during the mission "Infiltrate Grid 086." This armament is built around raw defense, and is mainly effective at medium to close-range. It utilizes a standard-issue MT machine gun in its right hand, as well as a collapsible solid metal shield in its left-hand, which it uses to defend itself while attacking its foes. Its final armament is a spread-cannon array, although it only has 3 bazookas in this setup, compared to the 9 seen in the full Spread Cannon variant. Still, it can choose to fire the cannons individually in succession, or all together as a massive blast of powerful projectiles. In many of its moves using the cannon, it needs to collapse its shield in order to have the necessary room to fire, leaving it vulnerable.

Grenade[]

The final variant and last encountered, this one is first found in the mission "Eliminate Honest Brute." This armament is built around mid-range attack utilizing a wide array of explosives. It's equipped with a standard-issue MT machine gun in its right hand, and a standard-issue MT bomblet dispenser in its left. It's final weapon is an absurdly large grenade cannon mounted to its top. It usually utilizes this weapon when it is at a safe distance, shooting out projectiles with an insanely large blast radius. When in close it uses its machine gun and bomblet dispenser to push its opponent back. The bomblet dispenser throws out 4 projectiles which then break apart into small explosives, showering an area in front of it with decent damage and high stagger if it connects. If the MT successfully stuns its foe, it has a tendency to try and fire its grenade cannon, regardless of distance, potentially leading to massive damage.

Armament[]

**Trainer**
Location	Weapon	Damage Type
R-Arm	Machine Gun	Kinetic

**Laser Blade**
Location	Weapon	Damage Type
R-Arm	Laser Blade	Energy
L-Arm	Shotgun	Kinetic
Head	Sniper Cannon	Kinetic

**9-Shot Bazooka**
Location	Weapon	Damage Type
R-Arm / L-Arm	Gatling Gun	Kinetic
Head	9-Shot Bazooka	Explosive

3-Shot Bazooka
Location	Weapon	Damage Type
R-Arm	Machine Gun	Kinetic
L-Arm	Shield, Solid	N/A
Head	3-Shot Bazooka	Explosive

**Grenade Cannon**
Location	Weapon	Damage Type
R-Arm	Machine Gun	Kinetic
L-Arm	Cluster Gun	Explosive
Head	Grenade Cannon	Explosive

Gameplay[]

They are the most common "midboss" or "mini-boss" enemy encountered throughout the game, being replaced in the mid-game by the more powerful LCs and HCs the PCA have to offer. They are used by almost every faction, being accessible due to BAWS policy of selling to anyone and everyone, from corporations to independent and reactionary forces such as the Dosers and RLF.

They are the centerpieces of a number of early missions, notable being an optional fight found in "Destroy the Transport Helicopters" and "Attack the Dam Complex," "Prisoner Rescue," and "Infiltrate Grid 086" for Loghunt rewards. Notably the Grid 086 fight is a duo encounter. There is also one as a midboss in the mission "Operation Wallclimber," an optional encounter in the missions "Stop the Secret Data Breach," "Eliminate V.VII," "Eliminate Honest Brute," as well as a final sendoff in the mission "Intercept the Redguns."

Similar to the BAWS MT, the BAWS Tetrapod MT also has distinct colors depending on the faction you are fighting.

RLF: Brown
Balam: Green
Arquebus: Black
RaD: Yellow
Coyotes: Pink

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

This MTs sloped torso and boxy appearance could be a design callback to one of From Software's earlier solo Mecha titles, Chromehounds. The design of the spread cannon array with its diagonally oriented guns also harkens back to Chromehound's unique mech building mechanic, utilizing hexagonally shaped guns and stacking them on top of each other using their sides.