Strength: Excellent Strength & Close Combat Abilities
Weakness: Limited Long Range Firepower
Armaments:
1 x 120mm Folding Sniper Rifle, with 10-shot clip, stored in shield.
1 x M-3XG Four-Barrel Beam Gun, mounted on right forearm.
1 x Multi-Purpose Strike Chain, mounted on right forearm.
1 x "Vajra" Heavy Thermal Sword, stored in shield, hand-carried in use.
1 x Spiked Shield, with anti-beam coating, mounted on left arm.
Optional Augmentation Packs: Gouf Flyer, adds high-mobility vernier flight pack and wings.
Story:
Towards the end of the Third Space War, all sides began to rapidly roll out new mobile suits in hopes of gaining a tactical advantage. The Gouf was intended to be a high-performance version of Vulcan Industrial's successful Zaku unit. Instabilities in its engine, optional equipment, and arsenal lead to the shelving of its mass production, though two prototype machines were produced before the war's end. The first was piloted by Vulcan's synthetic CEO, Grant, in defence of Ark Orion. The second was built from spare parts and the damaged remains of the first, and handed over to Newtype Corps defector Joshua Marik. Since the fallout at the end of the war, Marik has kept ahold of his machine, which still remains in fighting form.
The perfected Gouf followed a different intent than its designers had in mind, and was ultimately fitted into the role of a close combat specialist. The suit is physically stronger than most models, with a liberal dose of the lightweight composite plating to maintain a sturdy defence. Its agility supplements the potential of its arsenal, which includes a high-powered beam forearm beam cannon, thermal sword, and melee chain. The latter has adjustable properties, and can carry a stinging electric charge that disrupts a target's systems, or a lethal thermal charge to dice it apart.
Combined with these weapons is the Gouf's modular winged backpack, which provides it with full flight capabilities in an atmosphere. This makes it a much tougher customer to contend with, and gives it an added range of movement over most of its peers. In addition, over the years Joshua has added a folding bolt-action sniper rifle to his suit's arsenal. This compact weapon lacks the punch of a sniper beam cannon or rail gun, but offsets some of the long-range weakness present in the Gouf's layout. It's only downfall is its need for ammunition, which can sometimes be difficult to acquire in the war-ravaged Earth Sphere.
