Defense Mech is a Science-class mech in Into the Breach.
Team[ | ]
The mech is available as part of the Zenith Guard squad.
Strategy[ | ]
The Defense Mech's primary use in the Zenith Guard squad is to reposition or shield friendly units and buildings from being damaged by the Laser Mech's weapon, along with moving enemies into its ally Mechs weapon range. However, Shield Projector can also be used to encase buildings and objectives near enemy spawns in shields early, using good positioning to avoid friendly fire from the Laser Mech. Using it this way, Shield Projector is particularly useful against enemies that prioritize targeting multiple units and buildings, such as Blobbers.
Unlike the Gravity Mech's Grav Well, Attraction Pulse fires in a line directly and will be stopped by terrain such as mountains or buildings, also making it possible to bump and damage an enemy into the Defense Mech at close range; it is required to kill an enemy in this way to get the "Get Over Here" achievement. However, since it only starts at 2HP, consider raising its health points if looking to use the bump damage further into the timeline.
Pulling enemies is somewhat unique as a displacement effect, and can be useful effect to have when enemies place themselves in tight corners; however, Attraction Pulse is very limited at what it can resolve since it is single-target displacement only. The Defense Mech is reliant on more Shield Projector uses due to that to resolve multiple attacks more often. The +3 Area upgrade helps it too, as it can consistently provide utility throughout the battle to multiple buildings. However, both upgrades are expensive, at 4 Reactor Cores total (2 for each).
Pilots to look for the Defense Mech include Harold Schmidt or Kazaaakpleth, to give the Mech an additional action when pushing enemies is more preferable than pulling.