Uziel
| Uziel | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Class: | Medium Mech | |
| Faction: | Inner Sphere | |
| Ticket cost: | 6 upon destruction | |
| Tier: | {{{Tier}}} | |
| Speed: | 97 km/h (136 km/h with MASC) | |
| Torso yaw: | 240° | |
| Torso pitch: | -34° to +45° while standing -34° to +55° while crouching | |
| Variant Armament | ||
| Variant | Weapons | Equipment |
| Prime: Price: 59 400 CBills Total armor: 44 541 Engine Size: |
||
| A: Price: 56 500 CBills Total armor: 39 721 Engine Size: |
||
| C: Price: 53 000 CBills Total armor: 44 541 Engine Size: |
||
| D: Price: 61 200 CBills Total armor: 44 541 Engine Size: |
||
| E: Price: 51 500 CBills Total armor: 44 541 Engine Size: |
||
| F: Price: 51 000 CBills Total armor: 41 328 Engine Size: |
||
| G: Price: 54 950 CBills Total armor: 41 328 Engine Size: |
||
All stats current as of release 0.15.3 </div> The Uziel is an Inner Sphere second line Medium Mech, equipped mostly with medium- to long-range, direct-fire weaponry, making it a great sniper Mech that can double as a brawler in a pinch. The Uziel has fairly standard Armor and maneuverability for a Medium Mech, but stands out by coupling this with above-average firepower and incredible utility.
The Uziel has a very cramped and restrictive cockpit. It has a very limited vertical field of view, which can quickly turn it into a death trap on vertical maps like SA Thunder Rift. Pilots should also be aware of the Uziel's width, as it's easy for one of the arms to poke out from behind cover without the pilot realizing it.
The Uziel is unique in that it currently sports two new cosmetic features: destroyable components and triple Jump Jets. When the Uziel's side armor is destroyed, the armor plates will visibly detach, and the JJ animation for the Uziel has a third booster instead of the standard two like all the other Mechs, though it does not bring any real combat benefit.
Contents
Roles and Gameplay Hints
Prime
The Uziel Prime mounts as its main weapons a pair of PPCs, giving it impressive firepower at medium to long range, as well as allowing it to disorient enemy units with the PPC's effects. Improved Jumpjets give the Prime variant the mobility to engage enemies from unexpected angles, being able to jumpsnipe, as well as make use of shorter cover through its controlled upwards thrust. A single SRM6 gives it extra firepower if it's forced to engage foes from close up, but it's better served by making use of its mobility to maintain skirmishing range.
2 MGs can be used to fend of BA in tandem with its SRMs and harass ASF and VTOL at long ranges. Used as a mobile harassment platform, the Uziel Prime can dash from or jump out of cover, fire its PPC's, and retreat, giving the enemy very little time or chance to line up a shot.
Variant A
Nicknamed "iPoke", the A variant is an ultra long-range platform, capable of providing direct fire support from ranges beyond their target's radar. Mounting 2 LtGauss Rifles, it can reach targets from 1200m out, and in combination with its Jumpjets is capable of Jump Sniping from ranges that make it extremely difficult to be spotted. The weapon's high velocity also makes it a viable anti-air choice. Two free tons provide a bit of extra ammo for sustained fire, and a pair of machineguns give it further long-range harassment options, as well as providing protection against BA. Unfortunately, this variant's ultimate weakness is its low damage output, making it more suitable for softening up incoming targets and finishing off stragglers, depending on its teammates to do direct engagements. This makes it a bad choice when heavier firepower is required to engage in or defend against pushes, although it can be a viable choice for a team employing a long-range kiting strategy in games without respawn. The lack of backup weapons suited to short range fighting and decreased armor compared to the rest of the Uziel variants mean that close range engagements will spell its certain doom. Template:---
Variant B
The Uziel B is a cheap, powerful brawler that brings some serious firepower for its pricetag. Mounting a SSRM6 and DSSRM4, it is capable of firing salvos of 14 missiles, or chain firing them for extended screenshake. A quad array of SPL increase its firepower to scary levels, helping to put its disoriented targets out of their misery. Unfortunately, this combination of weapons requires getting into ultra short range combat to take advantage of the variant's damage potential and being able to spare only one ton to store a spare reload of bulky streak ammo makes it reliant on its supply chain. The larger launcher is only capable of three salvoes, and as soon as it begins to reload the SSRM6 is three shots away from running completely dry. A MASC enhances its already respectable speed and helps the Uziel B to close into its preferred range while making the ammo runs more bearable, but even with 4 DHS pilots will have to be strategic about its use and are still bound to run into heat issues during longer fights.
Variant C
The Uziel C is a peculiar mech, bringing its full firepower to bear in close range fighting, but capable of engaging enemy forces at medium distances. One of the cheapest Uziel variants, an AC10 forms its main skirmishing tool, although the uncommon addition of a Thunderbolt 5 allows it to engage enemies from a bit further out if its user is willing to run active radar to enable its lock-on feature. A bit of care should be taken when aiming the missile at longer ranges, as its turning capabilities are limited, a drawback it makes up for by having no minimum range. As the distance to the screen-shaken enemy decreases, the Uziel C can bring to bear its array of 1 Medium and 3 Small X-Pulse Lasers. The former can be employed as the distance begins to turn from medium to close-up, but the latter need you the be within 300m of the enemy to be of use. The main drawback of X-Pulse Lasers, despite their high damage potential compared to other laser variations of the same size, is the extended time they need on the enemy for their damage to add-up, and the difficulty of keeping them trained on specific components in the heat of battle. All of this makes the Uziel C a variant more suited to begin engagements as mid-range support, closing the distance with its Improved Jumpjets after the dedicated brawlers have already engaged, or against opponents not best suited for close range combat. Care should be taken to make use of all of its weaponry in order to maximise its damage potential. Its 2 DHS provide sufficient cooling, as its jumpjets are the only source of sudden bursts of heat.
Variant D
The Uziel D is a brawler in a skirmishing scout's clothing. A C3 suite allows it to relay enemy information to its allies, and an ERPPC lets it engage enemies from 900m away. As soon as it breaks into close range, it brings to bear its full arsenal of two Medium Pulse Lasers, a pair of Extended Range Small Beam Lasers and an SRM6. 5 DHS do a good job of managing its heat intensive weaponry, without making fire discipline any less of a necessity.
The main difficulty of using the Uziel D is that it lacks the mobility enhancing equipment most other Uziel variants possess, leaving it up to the player's skill and intelligent use of cover to dictate engagements. Its ability to harass enemies at long range, softening them up before engaging in a brawl, is both its selling point and its main weakness, as it can be considered a necessity rather than a suggestion. When taking its electronics into account as well, it's best suited as a support mech, filing holes in the team's composition with its versatility.
Variant E
A variant clearly meant for long range skirmishing and harassment. One of the cheaper variants, the Uziel E is armed with a pair of Extended Range Large Beam Lasers backed by a duo of AC5, allowing it to engage enemies from 800m out. Lacking the mobility enhancing equipment common to the chassis, its user must remain aware of their positioning, not shying away from tactical retreats in order to maintain their range advantage, as it's easily overpowered by brawling assets, despite its weaponry not losing effectiveness at closer ranges. In order to take full advantage of its firepower, users must be aware of the different leading required for its two weapon types as long range autocannon shots are much harder to land than pinpoint laser fire. Even though it lacks the mobility, splash and screenshake of the Prime, the range of the A, or the jumpsniping capabilities of either, it makes up with a damage dealing potential that's superior to both. All of its weapons are suitable for defending against BA or air assets, although chain-firing should be employed against the former due to a relatively slow firing rate. Its 2 DHS are enough for the mech to be impossible to overheat in normal temperature maps.
Variant G
An agile LRM boat, capable of operating even without spotter support, the Uziel G's main weakness is its mediocre staying power. With a main armament is a trio of LRM10 launchers, it's capable of the same long range punch as a heavier Catapult Prime at a faster re-fire rate, the option of a longer chain fire when it's deemed strategically advantageous and the same Improved Jumpjets but with the land speed and agility of an Uziel. This mobility along with its backup duo of MBL for point defence make it a competition to the slightly cheaper and more damaging but overspecialised and reliant on its team for protection and target designation Partisan C. The smaller nature of the launchers also means it will take more volleys before they need to reload, but for when they do the variant can only carry two spare tons of ammo, thus operating at two thirds of its maximal firepower. A single DHS will force pilots to take some time to cool down or chain fire their missiles during prolonged engagements.
Variant F
The Uziel F is a jack of all trades best suited for mid to close range skirmishes. A pair of AC2 allow it to harass enemies up to 1200m away, the effective range of its BAP enhance radar, but don't deal enough damage by themselves to be considered a serious threat. At 600m its energy weapons kick into life, a pair of bursty ERMBL and a more DPS oriented LPL, at this range the variant is capable of prolonged engagements. An SRM4 launcher rounds out its firepower within 350m, but without any capacity for spare ammo is bound to run out sooner rather than later. Even though the Uziel G needs to enter close range to bring its full firepower to bear, it lacks a dedicated brawling load out. It is better served reserving forays into close quarters for finishing off softened targets, ambushing distracted enemies or jumping dedicated long range units. Thankfully, it's agile nature and good torso twist help maintain range and kite brawlers, but pilot skill is paramount. Despite being strapped for missile ammo, its 5 DHS make it functionally unoverheatable even with all guns blazing, making prolonged engagements not a problem as long as it manages to stay out of harm's way.
Game History
Initially the Uziel was an unpopular 'Mech because of it's light punch (especially at short range) combined with a large hit-box which made it feel more lightly armored than other medium BattleMechs. To counter this a new DSSRM variant was introduced to provide a powerful short range version of the 'Mech and in version 0.5.4 the Uziel was resized to be in line with the other medium 'Mechs.
In 0.6.0 the Uziel was further improved and had most outdated tech replaced with more expensive and better equipment (e.g. mounting DHS instead of HS), as well as having 2 variants replaced with new and significantly better ones.
Still, the stigma of being useless and weak clings to it even in the days of 0.6.0, even tough the new variants added and modified in that patch could hold their own against any target that is in their price category and some mechs that are above.
In the 0.8.0 community edition of the game, the Uziel is more viable than ever, with armor being redistributed to toughen up its huge central torso and new variants, it's the Inner Sphere's mobile skirmisher medium.
Canon
The Uziel is a fast, jump capable Medium 'Mech armed with a variety of weapons: an LBX-2 for longer ranged shots, an ER Medium Laser and Large Pulse Laser for medium-range combat, and two ER Small Lasers and a single SRM6 for some short-range kick. However, the most well-known variant of the Uziel has a PPC on each arm, two Machine Guns and a single SRM6 in the center. This type of Uziel was an iconic 'Mech in later Mechwarrior and MechAssault games, and made its first appearance in Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance.
BattleTech Reference
