So a stupid question for you guys. my brother has fallen in love with the jackrabbit as a light mech. I am sure it is bad but also might be fun to run. anyone else got any thoughts on it?
Genuinely one of the more terrible 'mechs ever made in the game, not only for its own stats but how it reveals all the holes in the game's balance just by existing. Unfortunately, the Devs have the bad habit of handing "bad guy" factions inferior designs.
The sad thing is I too do love the
Jackrabbit and I wish there was a way to make it work. Unfortunately I have to even disagree that it's cheap, Sure, at 417 it's not staggeringly expensive but your basic Wasp 1A is only 384, or you can get a bog standard Stinger 3R for 359. The
Locust 1V runs slightly more expensive at 432 but is probably the best of the bugmechs.
The stupid
Jackrabbit even costs more to play than the cheaper, more ubiquitous bugmechs that are all faster and have enough firepower to rip it apart in short order. Well, at least it's slightly better armored than
Wasps and
Stingers.
As far as actually playing it, I've tried and your best bet is to put it in a medium lance. It can at least get a few light hits in at range provided it has something bigger and tougher to be in the way of whatever's going to retaliate, and AC/2s provide some protection from ASF.
The Joker version is significantly better, trading the AC/2 for a Large Laser and an extra ton of armor makes it a very dependable light brawler. However, it's also over 600BV which is painfully high for a 20-ton 'mech.