RAGE 2 – Boom Bringer Mech Weapons Spotlight

This RAGE 2 Boom Bringer Mech weapons spotlight video is split into three parts:

• A very short introduction to the new direction the developers of RAGE 2 have taken the sequel to. (00:27 – 01:31)
• A brief discussion about where the Boom Bringer Mech sits in terms of progression. (01:32 – 02:58)
• The video proper, which highlights the different weapons the vehicle has. (Starts at 02:59.) 

The Spotlight

Note: Credit goes to Retroburn

Intro

By now it should be apparent to RAGE 2 players that Avalanche Studios have taken the sequel to a new direction in terms of how post-Apophis Earth feels like. They’ve magnified the insanity exhibited by some of the most violent bands in the first game to a level that it now encompasses their entire game world. From latex-swathed gas masked janitors, law enforcement officers sporting multi-colored mohawks, and wizened women still indulging in carnal pleasures to speed freaks, drug-steeped bandits who bat volleys of grenades, and 3-story tall giants sporting enough bling-bling to make the most popular rappers turn green with envy, the amount of craziness is an overpowering atmosphere that’s all-pervading.

This over-the-top kind of crazy is evident in the Boom Bringer Mech, a useful, powerful component of the game that was provided in a free patch a few weeks after the game launched. It’s this lumbering weapons platform and its arsenal that are the focus of this video.

Progression problems (where the mech sits in the game) where Ironman Mode players are concerned

While players playing the game at easier difficulty modes might have no need for the crushing firepower the ambulatory vehicle brings to the table, ones who play RAGE 2 in Nightmare, Ultra-Nightmare, and the Iron Man Mode will find that the Boom Bringer Mech sits in a very odd place where game progression is concerned. Getting the mech necessitates that you venture into an area crawling with two warbands slugging it out. If you’re playing in permadeath mode, this might prove to be an unappealing proposition early on. If you gain significant upgrades in terms of durability and firepower though, certainly, you can take on the quest but then at that point, you really don’t need the Boom Bringer Mech unless 1. You want to fulfill power fantasies of utterly demolishing everything that stands in your way or 2. You’re hunting for Authority Sentries.

While those two things are valid points (certainly, Authority Sentry Towers are tough nuts to crack and even bringing a mech to a firefight with one is far from being a guarantee), permadeath players who want to min-max their foray into the game will find that, as mentioned, the Boom Bringer Mech sits in a very odd place indeed. It’s a powerful weapon that you need early on but it is guarded by the very things you need it for.

Its weapons and its abilities though are fun!

Weapons spotlight proper

Activating the mech’s abilities and weapons is easy. Except for the miniguns—which require the usual LMB click—you just hold down the CTRL key and press the key associated with the ability or weapon that you want to activate.

First off, let’s start with the more straightforward ones:

Weapons

• Miniguns – What’s a mech without good ol’ ballistic weaponry? Aim, pull the trigger, mow down enemies. Simple but effective. It takes longer to eliminate the opposing force with these though. With enough upgrades, you’re better off killing stuff with your trusty assault rifle.
• Napalm – Belches a ball of seething fire that charbroils everything—including armored foes. Great for controlling crowds that get too near.
• Bombs – Catapults a series of what looks like WW2-era naval mines, which explode on impact. The launcher is the mech’s most powerful weapon. Capable of indirect fire, it’s pretty useful for bombarding bandit camps from afar and the weapon of choice for killing Authority sentry towers.

Abilities

• Stomp – Getting swarmed in melee? Just press CTRL plus the spacebar button. The mech will jump up and land with enough force to stomp flat everything underneath it. A small wave of fire also roils outward, wreathing everyone in a small radius around the vehicle. It may not inflict as much mayhem as the last two weapons but it’s a handy insurance against enemies foolhardy enough to charge your walking instrument of doom.
• Ejector Seat – Only useful if you’ve got the right upgrades but once you’ve got the Dash and Slam abilities, this can make you reach hostile units easily and execute them Kung Fu Hustle Buddha Palm style. This ability even becomes more useful if you’ve already acquired Grav-Jump and the ability to double dash. This makes you a veritable angel of death, laying down withering fire from on high and then finishing off with the Slam ability. With the right weapons, there should be nothing left around you when the smoke clears.