Came up with another exploit and a bunch of questions while updating my Super Robot.
Zero Swing reads:
When you perform a martial strike that normally wouldn't allow you to use a weapon, you may make one attack as a free action against any and all strike targets with your main weapon, provided your main weapon isn't Heavy and the targets are in range.
If you combine that with something like Unlimited Blade Works, which can easily target more than a dozen 5mu cubes, it reads as allowing the ranged builtin weapons we were just talking about to fire at virtually anywhere on the map as a free action.
Example at level 12, this one on a pure super:
Main Weapon
Transform (Tank) - main weapon cannon range is 80mu
Zero Weapon + Zero Swing + 2x Zero Range - main weapon cannon range is now 160mu
Unlimited Blade Works as favored +3, effective PL 15. 7d12 per victim, max range 450mu
This lets you place 15 blade cubes for 30 energy, each one doing 7d12 to occupants of that cube. Then you get to fire an area ranged weapon (which has infinite ammo and costs no energy) at each square. Area ranged hits everything along that line, so you could fire at something with as many main weapon attacks as you can line up blade cubes behind it. At 100 energy with 20EN regen a turn (easily attainable) a super robot can make 15 attacks a turn for 10 turns.
If you want to get even crazier, does a cone attack like Chest Blaster technically attack all the squares in the cone? Because my chest blaster is currently at range 65mu...
Anyway exploit mode aside, I recommend this change to Zero Swing:
When you perform a martial strike that normally wouldn't allow you to use a weapon, you may make one attack as a free action against any and all targeted creatures with your main weapon, provided your main weapon isn't Heavy and the targets are in range.
The intent being that only if the maneuver targets one or more specific creatures would the feature activate. This reduces the number of maneuvers that work with the feature significantly, but I think that's a fine balance point.
Vaguely related question. Zero Weapon reads:
You must have Main Weapon to pick this. While you only attack with your main weapon, you gain +3 AC, Saves, DR, Trip, Disarm, Bullrush, Grapple. If you attack with any other weapon (or don't attack at all for 1 round), you lose those bonus until you spend a turn attacking with it and no other weapon. For every 4 Super Pilot levels you have the bonus increase by another +3 and you can pick one of the following options, none can picked more than once unless noted otherwise. For each size category the super robot is away from medium, you count as having 4 Super Pilot levels less for the purpose of this ability.
1. Do maneuvers that use weapons keep the combo going if you only use your main weapon?
2. Does using Zero Swing to make an attack with your main weapon when using a strike that would not normally use a weapon keep the combo going?
Some other questions related to Unlimited Blade Works:
1. Can Strike be used to prevent the saves? If so, does it apply to all the saves on the first turn, or just one of them? (I have no reason to think it would last until the second turn, but if I'm wrong, please say so).
2. Presumably the first round of save-or-take-damage happens immediately, when does the second round worth of saves occur? My guess was at the start of the user's next turn, but I'm not sure.
3. Does the damage activate if a creature passes through an effected cube?
Unrelated:
Rout the Army says "make a full attack" - does that mean that a single full attack (say, firing a pair of twin-linked heavy weapons) occurs, so the ammo/energy cost is not multiplied by the number of targets?
Thanks again! Hope you don't mind the weird exploits and questions I come up with. Bug testing is part of my day job, so I sometimes can't help but think of every possible way to abuse something.