Fragile and low-mobility mech that excels at dealing high damage over very long ranges. Needs to be deployed to fire.
The SLL 33 "Erlkönig" is a light artillery mech produced by the Saxony Empire. While lightly-armored and slow, few units are out of its range once deployed.
General Description[]
This long arm of the Empire reaches all. A stocky bipedal mech, it walks on a pair of short, stocky legs and has an asymmetrical chassis, with a larger "tower" on the lefthand side with viewing slits and a smaller tower on the righthand side with either a glass viewport or possibly a long-range viewing optic. Dominating the center of the body is a collapsible artillery cannon barrel that extends when ready to fire. The exhaust chimney for its rear-mounted drive unit is behind the right tower.
The Erlkönig offers unparalleled range, accuracy, and damage against anything stationary or slow enough to be caught in the blast of its shells. Nothing in the game, not even other artillery mechs, can outrange it, and as it fires upwards it can ignore all terrain and obstacles in front of it. It is lethal against entrenched enemies, buildings, and heavy mechs, although pretty much anything it hits will suffer greatly. Its range exceeds its field of view, but even without a spotter to exploit its maximum range potential, it can fire a flare to aid in unveiling enemies in the fog of war.
This mech suffers from being something of a "one-trick pony:" it trades absolute range and firepower superiority for having no defense and it can only fire when deployed. It has a larger dead zone in front of it where, should it be rushed, units can get close and attack without retaliation, and its cone of fire means it cannot fire at anything off to the sides or behind the mech. All this necessitates giving the Erlkönig proper close-range defense to hide behind or placing it on cliffs where it can fire down to prevent flanking or rush attacks, so it can pound any enemies of the Empire into scrap and red mist.
Pros[]
- Longest ranged unit in the game
- Good damage, AOE, and accuracy
- Flare ability breaks the fog of war
- Shots ignore line of sight
Cons[]
- Weapon's range exceeds visual range, needs units to act as its spotter to reach its full potential
- Large dead zone, easy to rush or flank if not supported
- Slow with light armor and absolutely no defense
- Rounds have long hang time
- Slightly outgunned by the PZM-13 "Mocny" and less potent against armor
Weapons[]
The SLL 33 "Erlkönig" has a massive, large-bore artillery cannon, which is able to fire indirectly (ignoring line of sight) at enemy units. Currently its the weapon with the highest range in the game. However the Erlkönig needs to be deployed to fire this cannon.
Abilities[]
- Deploy: The Erlkönig locks into place, hunkers down its front legs and deploys a pair of rear supports, allowing it to fire with its artillery cannon.
- Flare Shot: Fires a flare to anywhere within the cone of fire, which reveals the fog of war in a specific area for a short duration.
Trivia[]
- "Erlkönig" translates to "Elf King"
- "Erlkönig" was a Poem by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that was later adapted into a song by Franz Peter Schubert.
- Erlkönig has the longest-range artillery gun in the game.
- "SLL" means "Selbstlauflafette". In English: "Self-Ambulating Gun".