Mender

US$ "Mobile support robot able to quickly get into the thick of battle and repair damaged allies. Possesses moderate firepower."

Introduction
The Mender is a medium robot with 1 medium and 2 light hardpoints.

Ability
The Mender's ability is called Support. The robot gains increased movement speed (33%), damage reduction (50%), and emits 3 healing pulses at the beginning of ability activation. These healing pulses can repair a fixed number of hit points (see table, the higher the robot's level the more hit points it can repair) to any number of allies that are located in the Mender's healing radius (the green circle surrounding the Mender), including itself. A robot's hit points can only be repaired up to 80% of any damage taken, so it is not possible to be fully repaired. This ability has a 15 second cooldown phase.

Strategy
This robot has above average speed with a below average health pool, due to this being cautious is recommended. However due to its ability this robot is well suited for the front-lines, opposite to the Weyland which is built more for the back-lines. The Mender can be a lifesaver and can turn a bad situation around due to its ability to repair both allies and itself.

In each of its 3 repair "pulses" the Mender repairs roughly 10% of its durability at that level. So in first approximation, the Mender in support mode behaves roughly as having 30% higher HP than it has in reality. Together with the fact that it suffers only half damage, its survivability during support mode is roughly that of a bot with 2.6 times its hit point. This can vary of course: since the repair pulses are released at the beginning, if the mender is at 100% health while they are released and suffers damage later, the 30% advantage does not apply. On the other hand, the Mender can further repair itself when under cover.

The Mender due to excellent survivability can make good use of close-range weapons, and while on ability cooldown can take advantage of the location of its hardpoints which allow it to fire over low cover.

As for any bot with a special ability affecting its survivability (Pursuer, Inquisitor etc.) an important factor in evaluating the damage a setup can produce is the amount it can be dealt while the ability is active, because you usually don't want to be in the open when the ability wears off. For instance, the Mender stays in support mode for 7 seconds, so if two setup deliver the same total burst damage, but one does so in 4 seconds and the other in 10, the faster setup will be preferable.

Possible Setups
These setups are recommended for the Mender:

Note: Each slot type is filled with only one particular weapon. For example, if a robot has 3 light all three of those slots are filled with Pinatas, as mixing weapons of the same slot type is not advisable.

Poll
Best setup for the Mender is? 1x Orkan/2x Pinata 1x Taran/2x Magnum 1x Vortex/2x Aphid 1x Storm/2x Gust 1x Scourge/2x Spark Other

Trivia

 * Assuming a player can manage 250,000 Ag per battle, it would take 795 battles (5 days 12 hours 30 minutes of continuous play) to earn enough silver to upgrade Mender to level 12.


 * This robot is one of two robots that are able to repair allies or self, the other being the Weyland.


 * Mender's paint job, "Qilin" (Chinese: 麒麟), or kirin, is a mythical hooved chimerical creature known in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler.


 * Although Pixonic did not mention this, when a robot's HP drops to 20%, the healing restriction does not occur (20% damage dealt unable to be healed back) thus, allowing the robot to be able to be infinitely healed back to 20% of it's HP unless destroyed.


 * Mender is one of the fastest robots in the game by having the speed of 70.49KM/H when its ability is activated. It remains slower than an Overloaded Hellburner.


 * When Mender's skill is activated, its 'current' HP can be on par with an Invader of its same level, with only a 4.6% HP difference.