Battletech BattleTech discussion thread: May the light of Hanse Davion guide us

Skitzyfrenic

Well-known member
Can it be mixed tech?

There's a clan retrofit Thunderbolt TDR-5S (C) that's pretty nasty.

There's the Thunderbolt TDR-7M that comes out in 3050 if not. Both are 4/6 afaik. But chonky bois IIRC.

Marauder MAD-5D comes out in 3047 and it's all Royal tech. ER PPCs at there too to reach out and touch somebody. 4/6

Of course, the Grand Dragon DGN-5K came out in 3050, it's got a movement of 6/9 and all the lostech upgrades. Including an ER PPC. But it uses it's saved weight for the engine size increase for more speed.

Caesar CES-3R is a 3049 mech complete with Gauss Rifle and ER PPC. It's only 4/6 though.

You could have a restored 5/8 Flashman FLS-8K. 3 Large Lasers and an AMS against anyone shooting missiles.

Then the Quickdraw OKD-5K is uptech and 5/8. It's got the normal Quickdraw loadout, but much better cooling and armor.

My last suggestions are the 4/6 Archer ARC-4M which is just an uptech upgrade ArtIV+LRM20, and the 4/6 Archer ARC-5R which has a pair of ERLL along with their ArtIV+LRM15.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
The Warhammer-7m came out in 3047, and includes ER-ppcs, DHS and an AMS for advanced tech. The Warhammer-7s came out just before your cutoff, and includes ER-ppcs, DHS, medium pulse lasers and streak SRM.

There is also the Marauder-5D as a 3047 post-helm mech variant: ER-ppcs, one large pulse laser, 2 medium pulse lasers, streak srm-2 and 4 jump jets. Both the Warhammer-7m and Maurader-5D have sub variants that drop a secondary weapon in favor of a command console.
 

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
And more BattleTech comes to West Texas!!! I'm looking for recommendations for our lance's makeup.

The next mission for the game calls for us to go headhunting for the CO of a Clan Front Line Light Star. CO usually pilots a Puma Prime, and the star also has 2 Ullers, a Koshi, and one other UI Mech not seen before. The like long range weapons, and they will ignore Honor rules against IS opponents.

The idea is to have a light unit lead them into a trap so our reinforced Lance can take them out and capture the enemy CO. We have an Axeman-1N and 4 yet-to-be-determined 'mechs. Which 4 'Mechs should I take?

Requirements:
-75 tons or less
-nothing made after 3051
-must be at least 4/6 speed (though I'd prefer faster)
Hmm, my first thought is "Bring Gauss" because with that combination of 'mechs and tactics, the Puma especially, the clanners can basically kite you and continually retreat while trying for an ER PPC headcap. They're also all a bunch of nasty fast lights so you're not going to be able to bring them to action at your preferred range, only theirs. Consequently, if you can't hit them at max range, they're going to tear you up. That means Gauss, LRMs, and if you're lucky ER PPC and only the Gauss is really guaranteed to be able to hit them at the range they can hit you from. There's a reason all the clanbuster models tend towards gausszillas.

However, there's relatively few 'mechs that have gauss and also fit all the other criteria in this time frame. One that stands out to me as a possible and a bit unusual option is the Caesar. It's a touch light on armor but it's brutal at long-ranged engagements. It can even give a good account of itself at knife-fighting range if the clanners get clever and charge in to get inside minimum ranges. Shame it looks so dorky.

I also second the calls for a Catapult. It's very hard to go wrong with Catapults. The C3 also just fits in the required time frame and carries an Arrow IV which will give you an additional artillery option if you don't have enough from your tanks. The K3 brings a couple of ER PPCs which aren't a patch on clan models but at least have a decent chance of hitting if you can get into a halfway decent position, and Catapults are good at getting into decent positions. If you're allowed canon one-off units the Jenny Butterbee Catapult replaces all the LRMs with SRM launchers which gives it a monstrous close-range crit-seeker punch, which will be nice if your trap works and probably make it useless if it doesn't.

The Koshi can do 7/11 so your light sacrifice bait is going to need to be that fast in order to be able to sucker it in without being overtaken. It's also going to need close to max armor to have a decent chance of surviving the process. That limits your options to a Mongoose, Jenner, or Locust with the Jenner having a clear edge, both because it's bigger and tougher and because it can jump giving it more "run away" options than the other two.
 

Blasterbot

Well-known member
one interesting idea would be an exterminator. if you have the 4C you got AMS, Null-Signature System and Chameleon Light Polarization Shield on a 6/9/6 mover. could swap to the 4Db and drop AMS and the LRM 10 for an ER large laser. or if you want to drop 300 BV you can drop to the 4D losing out on the stealth systems though. all of these are vintage SLDF so not manufactured after 3051.

The Royal Dervish has 2x LRM 15s and case. moves 5/8/5 and a decent secondary armament. 2 long range weapons with decent ammo will mean it can trade at long range but still has a bit of closer range punch if they get brave.

the GRF 3M has an ERPPC and an LRM 20. 5/8/5 still and made in 3049. so it has redundancy for long range fire but it only has a small pulse laser to fall back on.

on light mechs the spider might be something to consider. your call if the advanced tech version with an XL engine and more armor that uses medium pulse lasers is worth it. but 8/12/8 is more movement than most and means you will claim as high a mod as you can.

the Hermes and dart eschew jump jets but they have a base move of 9/14 and variants with 3 medium lasers so they are slightly more able to shoot up close than a spider but could get bogged down by terrain.

with heavies i would just say you want to match their range with at least 2 weapons if not 3. since they are lights you don't need to focus on ERPPCs and gausses to do damage since they are so lightly armored. 2+ LRM 15s or 20s would be good Artemis optional. the helm refit of the archer is great if you want to look at getting something pricey.

if you want to look at something with ER PPC then the warhammer and maurader should have variants like that once they integrate DHS.

with gauss the I recommend the Caesar it has an ERPPC and Gauss and moves 4/6.

other ideas would be the LRM jaeger mech. 2 ac2 and 2 lrm 15 is a fair number of rolls so something should hit with it. bit squishy but it does have more armor than the standard variant.

RFL-5D A recovered-technology version of the RFL-4D, the 5D was introduced in 3050 for the Federated Commonwealth. Based on the earlier 4D, it replaces the PPCs with Defiance 1001 ER PPC models and restores the original model's medium lasers to the side torsos. A 240-rated XL engine was used to free up weight for the mounting of seventeen double heat sinks and an increase in armor protection to nine tons. Production of this model was taken up by Kallon Industries on Talon, Trellshire Industries on Twycross and Red Devil Industries on Pandora. BV (2.0) = 1,395 still has the AC 5s too if i am reading it correctly so that is a lot of long range dakka even if the ac-5s may have a bit of trouble as they have the same range as a PPC not an ERPPC.

does anybody know if there is a 4/6 heavy focused on 3 or so ER Large lasers? since the 3 lights listed both use those as their big punch weapon they would have to choose to engage such a mech at it's preferred range or hang back and be stuck with an LB 5 or some LRMs as the only weapon.
 
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Bear Ribs

Well-known member
one interesting idea would be an exterminator. if you have the 4C you got AMS, Null-Signature System and Chameleon Light Polarization Shield on a 6/9/6 mover. could swap to the 4Db and drop AMS and the LRM 10 for an ER large laser. or if you want to drop 300 BV you can drop to the 4D losing out on the stealth systems though. all of these are vintage SLDF so not manufactured after 3051.

The Royal Dervish has 2x LRM 15s and case. moves 5/8/5 and a decent secondary armament. 2 long range weapons with decent ammo will mean it can trade at long range but still has a bit of closer range punch if they get brave..
I suspect models that are extinct in 3049 won't fly.


does anybody know if there is a 4/6 heavy focused on 3 or so ER Large lasers? since the 3 lights listed both use those as their big punch weapon they would have to choose to engage such a mech at it's preferred range or hang back and be stuck with an LB 5 or some LRMs as the only weapon.
Ostwar OWR-2Mb, but it's extinct in 3049. There're plenty of options with two but not that many that happen to have three.
 

The Whispering Monk

Well-known member
Osaul
The Catapult and Warhammer are both classic mechs that fit that criteria.
I also second the calls for a Catapult.
Looking at the PPC Cat, but the ERPPC version is only 4/6 .
Can it be mixed tech?
Nope. Our mission is to salvage clan tech for reverse engineering. We don't get to keep the cool stuff.
Caesar CES-3R is a 3049 mech complete with Gauss Rifle and ER PPC. It's only 4/6 though.
I'm looking to keep my minimum movement to 4/6/4. We've
There is also the Marauder-5D
Eyeballing this one too for the firepower and pulse tech.
one interesting idea would be an exterminator.
Looking at the 4Db as a possibility...have to confirm if it's available.
GRF-3M has an ERPPC and an LRM 20. 5/8/5 still and made in 3049.
I hadn't looked at this one, but it's a good idea.
I suspect models that are extinct in 3049 won't fly.
No they won't.

So far I've put together a Spider/Venom & Phoenix Hawk-3S for the sheer speed. Then add in a Exterminator-4Db and Marauder-5D. If the Exterminator isn't available I'll probably substitute the Griffin in or something fast with lots of lasers.
 

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
I'm looking to keep my minimum movement to 4/6/4. We've
Ah, didn't realize everything needed Jump Jets. That's going to narrow the field even more.

Edit: 'Kay with this many limitations it's fairly easy to pare the last using Megamek Lab's advanced search.

Of the heavies the entire list looks to be a Marauder, two Guillotines, Grasshopper, Catapult, Crusader, Thunderbolt, and a couple of Axman variants.
 
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Doomsought

Well-known member
So far I've put together a Spider/Venom & Phoenix Hawk-3S for the sheer speed. Then add in a Exterminator-4Db and Marauder-5D. If the Exterminator isn't available I'll probably substitute the Griffin in or something fast with lots of lasers.
Question: do you think an initiative bonus is worth loosing a Streak-SRM-2? Because as I mentioned before, the Marauder-5d has a cockpit command console variant.
 

Skitzyfrenic

Well-known member
Quickdraw 5K and 5M are both 5/8/5. Not really that long range though.

Introtech Catapult is 4/6/4 and it's got LRM thirty in throw weight. Might be worth to take it and spot for it. 30 LRMs a round for 8 rounds is nothing to sneeze at.

The Marauder variants -5D and -5D-DC are 4/6/4 with one having the command console.

Thunderbolt TDR-5SE is the Erdani Light Horse special and 4/6/4 but intro tech.

If you want a little more speed the Exterminator down tech the EXT-4A from 3007 is 5/8/5, but it's very much a close and pummel head hunter.

Oh, holy shit, one of my favourite 'mechs fits the profile. 3049, Guillotine GLT-5M, 4/6/4 1 ER LL, 4 ML, 1 SRM-6, has CASE, and is pretty chonky.

I think with your requirements I'd do a lance of MAD-5D, a MAD-5-DC, a GLT-5M, and a CPLT-C1. That's 4 ER PPCs that you'll need for range, a ER LL for the GLT to use, and then as long as you can spot for the CPLT-C1 you can be throwing big LRM numbers at the head being hunted. That's also plenty of jumping to screw with targeting, and if they do get close, you have some really nice options in that bracket with MPL and just a bunch of ML, and a smattering of SRMs kicking about.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
That's probably well worth it. Especially, against an Elite Clan unit.
The commander on the cockpit console can also take over the mech if the primary pilot is incapacitated or killed (including cockpit critical hits!) but you loose the initiative bonus if the commander takes control of the mech.
 

The Whispering Monk

Well-known member
Osaul
I think with your requirements I'd do a lance of MAD-5D, a MAD-5-DC, a GLT-5M, and a CPLT-C1.
I like all the firepower and armor, but I'm leery of the lack of speed. Our objective IS the enemy so we have to be able to stay with them and keep them engaged. That's why I'm leaning towards the speedy side of the 'Mechs for most of mine. Your lance selection is still tempting though! :devilish:
 

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
I like all the firepower and armor, but I'm leery of the lack of speed. Our objective IS the enemy so we have to be able to stay with them and keep them engaged. That's why I'm leaning towards the speedy side of the 'Mechs for most of mine. Your lance selection is still tempting though! :devilish:
I mean, you're going up against clantech in even numbers, and against clanners who aren't going to follow Zellbrigen so they've lost their biggest disadvantages. You either bring a significant tonnage edge or you die, and you can't really bring a lot of extra tonnage and keep up with those faster clan lights.

Looking through the few options left, the Lynx 9Q might be an option. ER PPC, a flashbulb of various lasers that will really hurt if they let it close, 5/8/5 movement, and maximum armor for its 55-ton size. You will run into overheat issues on it if you continually alpha-strike (15 double heat sinks for a flashbulb mech) but I doubt you'll be able to. I'll second calls for the Exterminator but call for the 4D or 4Db. They're both 6/9/6 so it can keep up, has close to max armor, and also is a flashbulb so no ammo to explode on you, though it has even worse overheating problems. The Trebuchet's basically a slightly softer, but also slightly faster Catapult if you can't live with the 4/6/4 movement.
 

Blasterbot

Well-known member
Grand dragon is 3050 and a 6/9/0 with an ERPPC and an LRM 10.

Crusader 3L that has 2x LRM 10 and can jump.

Catapult C4 drops the medium lasers but has 2x LRM 20 and keeps the jump jets.

Wolverine 7M 2x ER Larges on a 5/8/5 made in 3050 it also has 2 medium pulses and an srm 6.

Trebuchet 7M 2x LRM 15 5/8/5 made in 3048 adds 3x medium and a narc if you get lucky and have more missiles that would be a neat trick

Enforcer 5D ER large and an LBX 10 in a 5/8/5 getting range on the LB 10 will be a bitch but the hit mod would be nice

couple more ideas and i really emphasize that wolverine. clans hate wolverines and 2 er larges play pretty well here.
 

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
1sdpIig.gif
 

Terthna

Professional Lurker


So yeah; Battletech's grave has been dug. I'm especially disappointed in George Ledoux; jackass had the gall to celebrate the firing of someone because of who they voted for, and then call the people calling him out for it "pitchfork-wielders".
 

Culsu

Agent of the Central Plasma
Founder
I posted this in the Blaine Pardoe thread, but I feel it also fits here.

Honestly, the act of cancelling bothers me far more than who is getting cancelled. So while this is despicable on CGL's part, and spits into the face of someone who's diligently added to their IP for close to forty years, the larger part of me probably would just be as annoyed if it hit someone from "the other side" (the smaller part of me would admittedly beam with Schadenfreude about how it must feel if the shoe's suddenly on the other foot for once).

As for CGL and Battletech, I've never played the tabletop. My financial investment in the IP consists of one book from the nineties (which, I think, was three novellas?), Mechwarrior 4 (the original), HBS's Battletech game, and Mechwarrior 5. No sourcebooks, no miniatures, no further novels. I've mainly enjoyed it through free content, like quests and many an excellent fanfic. The universe interests me. The official narrative? Less so.

It's also not really going to infringe on my enjoyment of the IP, for the simple reason that I don't give a damn about anything post-Jihad. I'm solidly interested in the pre-Jihad universe. Everything past that temper tantrum? Really not my cup of tea.
Thing is, at least in my opinion, the people creating the game/setting wrote themselves into multiple consecutive corners, and I feel they always ended up finding the wrong exit.

Like, the Clans. Never been that much of a fan, but as a narrative tool they worked. They were the proverbial flash in a pan - and then way overstayed their welcome. The setup of "genetically enhanced super warriors with advanced technology and alien tactics rampage across the Inner Sphere, coming from an unexpected attack vector" was great.

But the post-Tukayyid universe for them shouldn't have been to persist as parts of the IS, but rather the panicked realization that they had hundreds if hostile worlds to govern and garrison, nowhere near a fraction of the troops to do so, absoluetly no ideological foothold with their new populations, and all their doors left wide open to be exploited by COIN hard by even the most incompetent IS agencies around. Faced by constant brushfires, incursions, insurrections and widespread civil disobedience, forced into ever more draconian measures, the Crusader clans should have withered away and grinded down to a point where they either faced absorption into their host populations, outright destruction (as the IS powers would naturally use every chance to pounce on them), or - and this I would have liked the most - be forced to retreat back into staging areas like the Elysian Fields, for example. So some clans would end up going back to Clan space (likely facing absorption by their rivals there) while others would loot the everloving crap out of their occupation zones, set up shop in the worlds near them like the Elysian Fields, and actually try and figure out how to beat the IS at their own game (in turn becoming something else than the original clans). That'd leave the former occupation zones in a nice balkanized state similar to the CC after Hanse's wedding gift.

Yet, through authorial fiat, somehow they thrive and start beating the IS nations at their game without actually adressing their own inherent weaknesses.

This whole official post-Republic, post-Jihad, Clan-centered near era does absolutely nothing for me. And it's probably amplified by the fact that some factions sound like they were named by a ten year old playing DnD for the first time. I mean, the Scorpion Empire? The Wolf Empire? *snorts* It's not helped that to bring it about some of the more interesting, not fully explored factions of the setting were all dissolved.

So, no, I'm happy with the old stuff. I simply don't need CGL or who ever might hold the IP in the future to enjoy the setting. I can just make it up myself. Or enjoy others doing so. @LordSunhawk has been doing a massive Deep Periphery quest for ages now. Drakensis and dozens of others write fanfiction just as good or even better (and more interesting) than the official stuff. You don't need official products as well. MattPlog for example creates Battletech art for custom 'mechs, vehicles and ships by the bucketload. Don't like the official stuff? Band together, get creatives on board, do your own stuff. Wanna illustrate your original worlds and star systems? I can write and illustrate you one of those "Touring the stars" supplements as well. Battlemats to play your battles on? No need to rely on official stuff there either; pretty sure there's enough out there on DriveThruRPG or other places than can be used. Hell, I threw this together the other evening in about three hours (and it's not even finished), and most of that spent creating and/or finding textures.

TL;DR: you don't need to support a publisher to support an IP you like. By the power of the internet you can do it/have others do it for you without throwing money towards people that despise you.
 

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