As a former PanO/MO player, I feel you. We went through this with the Seraph, and it took a few years and two sectorial reworks to get it to work properly. I'll stand by what I said before: As it is now, I don't see the point of Bultrak in MAF. Though I do understand the appeal of fast-firing Autocannon.
It's less "I don't see the point of Bultrak in MAF' and more 'I don't see the point in Bultrak, period' In MAF it competes with the raicho, which is more resistant, has better BS, hits just as hard and costs a smidge more. In Vanilla it competes with the Overdron, which is less resistant, has the same BS, no NCO but costs way less. At S6 it could reasonably compete with both as a backline TAG in comparison to the Raicho and a more aggressive piece in comparison with the overdron. As it is, it is relying on that autocannon to pull its weight. But MAF can get a BS15 autocannon with Kurgats now. Sure, the Bultrak is more resilient and in theory self-suficient, but the added BS and sixth sense on the Kurgat make it nearly as good for a fraction of the cost.
I've been wanting something like the Bultrak for a long time. You may remember years ago (after MAF's N3 HS "upgrade") I suggested a light close combat TAG inspired thematically by Hungries, although not visually. Fairly similar to what you suggested upthread. Something that was meant to move fast and operate close to the enemy lines. I can no longer find the post, but the profile I suggested was something like 6-4 MOV, CC 20, ARM 7 with Impetuous, NBW, Climbing Plus, Heavy Shotguns and a EXP CCW. Separately, I proposed that the Raicho should get an Autocannon variant. So the Bultrak is kind of like those two ideas crammed together. Which, admittedly, isn't that great. But I've always wanted a close combat TAG. I really wish the Bultrak had gone in that direction, instead of being a mixed long range/CC unit.
May Maybe HRMC and not Autocanon on this model? that why he doesn't look like the other MAF Autocanon ...
Oh, weird. I thought it just had wide hips to accommodate the pilot's seat when looking at the front, but now that we can see the butt it's not that. It has normal hips with the legs splayed widely out at a 90° angle. I guess it waddles like a penguin, because if it tried to run normally it would crush the pilot. I see why they hid the rear view until now.
Yeah, it's just not successful. I figured the Raicho pilot curled up in a fetal position and controlled the TAG with a neural jack. No shitty little arms.
I don't like to point fingers, but man, this was a sore point for me. There's an important concept in game design that sometimes I think CB hasn't quite grasped which is all about "Player Perception". An easy example: Vi went from THE most picked Jungler in league of legends to the LEAST picked character for an entire season due to a mere -5 to her move speed. That meant she was as fast as most junglers, which isn't a big deal, but since players began seeing her as 'slow' she disappeared from casual play and became less viable in pro play because she couldn't keep up with other junglers who were just as mobile but had more options. This made her languish in useless hell for a few years until she was buffed up the wazoo to promote the Arcane show. I think with the Bultrak the situation is similar. going from S6 to S7 is a nerf. It's not a massive nerf, but it is a nerf. However, it feels much bigger because at S6 the competition was different. At S7 the Bultrak suddenly feels sub-par and unwieldy. I think it's still usable, but I myself am nowhere near as stoked by it as I was originally. Combine that with a model that is BUTT-ASS UGLY and it's a recipe for the model to languish unplayed hell. Especially because the Rindak, Kaitok and Kyosot all kick just as much ass and the Kaitok and Kyosot at least look cool (even if I am not a fan of the Kaitok design myself)
