>>53666893Honestly, I think that works fairly well out of the box.
>Nuclear overheatThat's just when nuclear work the best, the hotter a nuclear reactor is, the more efficient it is, that's how thermodynamics work. I'd give it a core of supercritical plutonium gas blasting off massive amounts of energy and heat into its propulsion and weapon systems. So that the rest of the mech doesn't literally melt off it would need some beefy radiators, so a system expelling superheated plasma outside of the mech to dump heat would fulfill the "on fire" requirement.
The rage and violence thing is fun, I think that's where I'd get some magic involved, since that seems like the easiest way to get emotions to have this sorta intense effect. Maybe the nuclear fuel is doped with vitubium that reacts to the pilot's emotional states, so that the reactions become more energetic when he's experiencing intense emotions?
I think that'd be pretty kino. What would the mecha look like?