Why are destroids so darn weak?

[ComicKaze]

Face it, they are the GMs of this series. They are the redshirts of Macross. They are just there for backup and cannon fodder for scenes inside the Island. Outside the Island, the VF-17s are the cannon fodder.

Edited August 25, 2008 by ComicKaze

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Yeah but being GMs doesn't mean they are weak and that they only get blown up. There is a lot of stuff they do that you might not see. In DYRL the monster destroys a ship (similar looking one to the ones the three lolicon spies used in SDF:M) all by itself for example.

Surely an emphasis on having heavy firepower to be able to kill something in a single shot and the ability to shoot far accurately and still be able to penetrate thick armor whilst being efficient without wasting ammo, has to count for something? The Qrau little wrist guns are great close combat but what about combat at distances? Not taking anything away from the valks, but if you are swarmed by many enemies all at once and who all fire their missiles from a long distance all at once, you are going to need large numbers to shoot it all down to defend the single lone ship. A valk can't be in more than one place at any time and defend a whole area singlehandedly, so large amounts of the cheaper more-dedicated robot might fill that role fine, just as you don't see the average joe driving to work in a ferrari because he has no need for it being stuck in peak hour traffic jams and never being able to take advantage of the high speed specs in the first place.

Bottom line is that the valks are more useful but that is because majority of what you see is dogfighting due to the main character being a pilot and where speed is needed. Fighting in space means you are going to need to fly around. But that doesn't mean heavy firepower with no manipulators and attacking from the ground has no advantages. (see mars base episode of SDF:M for example - if your role is to just guard one spot and hold a position not run around why waste money? Especially if the cannon fodder might need more training in the valk before it's safe, whereas a destroid is a hell of a lot easier to learn to use and is slower and safer.)

Space fights are going to be the bulk of macross since most of the fights are in space. Destroids were just unlucky to be in the series where the environment to fight in wasn't for them so they look helpless. But that is like saying the Valk is helpless when wearing GBP armor because it can't transform into fighter mode to escape a missile swarm. It's not designed to fight that way: it can eat damage and shoot the missiles down or throw its own swarm of missiles at the enemy instead of running away, because of the increased destructive power.

1. "Eat damage and kill your enemy quicker by dealing more damage so that you can move onto something else"

vs

2. "chase light enemy for ages and dodge his missiles in a long-lasting-but-flashy duel whose real goal all-along is distracting your attention so you leave the area and leave open a hole in the defense for his friends to exploit".

1. allows defense against large numbers of enemies at once. High damage at long distance through more guns means quicker kills and more efficient defence. You can thin the numbers before they get close so there is less of them to kill later. They can't do as much damage if you get an early start by shooting them from afar.

2. allows quicker kills for faster lighter targets where huge damage isn't as important as being able to hit something. Destroids can't fly and are too slow for those guys.

Destroids are the grunt mecha like GM, but if you have lot of them, it makes it easier to defend something than just having a fast guy with limited firepower moving quickly. Because the emphasis is on the ace pilots it just makes the destroid look helpless and weak, but I would imagine destroids would do well against killing the average enemies.

Edited August 25, 2008 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker