New weapon/damage mechanics

[PlainBadLuck]

I think  supermechs could use more weapon mechanics. Right now, the most impactful one is the push/pull/jump mechanic present on weapons like night eagle, last words, rock recoiler, distance shredder, etc. and their respective elemental variants . A recent example of mechanics added to the game is backfire, but I find backfire to be rather limited in terms of actual impact (you get a higher damage weapon that also damages yourself; not too different from regular weapons, although feel free to convince me otherwise). I suggest adding in new mechanics to change up strategy in ways both big and small. Here are a few ideas:

• EMP - This mechanic would involve damaging or shutting down mech systems. For example, you could target specific mech systems like legs to disable/reduce movement, weapons to disable/reduce damage, heat/energy damage, etc. Alternatively, if that's too much work or isn't possible with the game's structure,  just have it as a weapon that applies a reduction to the mech as a whole, or create specific weapons to target only one part (drone, top weapons, side weapons, grapple/charge/teleport, or legs.) This would be hard to balance, and a lot of restrictions would be needed to prevent it from being op (single use, low damage, high weight, only 1 allowed per mech, and high heat/energy/backfire costs are examples of potential ways to limit strength)
• Corrosion/damage over time: I'm sure this has been mentioned before, but these weapons would damage the opponent's mech over time. It doesn't have to be limited to health, but could also apply to resistances, heat and energy, or heat and energy regen/cooling and cap. The damage could be split over many turns or a few, but I think 2-4 turns is ideal.
• More range variety: This isn't a mechanic per se, but the ranges on weapons in this game are limited a bit. Excluding melee and snipers, the main ranges are 1-2, 2-4, 3-6 and 4-8 tiles. This doesn't impact enjoyment of the game thanks to all of the tools we have to move ourselves and our opponents, but it could be interesting to add weapons with different ranges to open up more possibilities for mech creation. For example, make weapons with ranges like 1-3, 3-5, 4-6, or just any reasonable combo not currently present. 

These are a few of the more interesting ideas. I'd love feedback on the general idea (more weapon mechanics), specifics, and to hear any ideas others have!

[Bring live your dreams]

The vandal: oh no i have been forgotten *4-5 Range intensifies*

 

[PlainBadLuck]

*main ranges*

But more weapons with unique ranges like vandal rage would be interesting.