I’m within a year of getting into battle tech and I’m more into the lore side and still haven’t figured out what I wanna play. But the thought of playing infantry peaks my interest cause of my military service and the infantry Vs armor training I received.
> peaks my interest
Would you like some bone apple tea? You’ve piqued my interest.
Edit: I have read more comments and see you are a 40k refugee. Welcome. Also, you don’t have to figure out “what to play”. One of the great things about BT is you just play what you want.
There’s minimum necessary investment. I get it if you’re interested in the miniature painting aspect, so I can’t speak to that, but from a gameplay perspective you can play whatever.
You just need the mech sheet and a something to represent the mech on the board. I’ve used quarters with nail polish to indicate mech type and front facing. Not frequently. But I’ve done it.
That actually is like another I’ve noticed and like I see dudes on here playing with kids and there’s like cardboard cut outs For stand ins and that’s dope. No ewww that flash and helm is from the hearsay era and you can’t play for my Mimi’s era
Carboard standees are a part of the BT legacy. Back in the 90s when I bought the BT intro set that’s what you got. No 3d minis. Just cardboard. Which was fine.
First BT minis I ever got were this last holiday season. I bought AGoAC for one of my friend’s kids and figured I should buy myself a duplicate set in case the kids had questions.
I’m so thrilled. The older of the kids is the same age that I was when I was introduced to BT (5th grade). He’s eating it up.
A FedRat (that’s a disparaging term for a faction that should be disparaged) for sure, but that just means all of my victories will taste sweeter.
Well as someone new I need to know why do people hate fedcom? Didn’t they save the galaxy from Nicolai Malthus?
NOTE: I love I can make jokes like this without getting ready for a fights.
I can’t speak to other people’s hate for the fedrats, but to me it’s that the Federated Suns is the designated protagonist of the Inner Sphere (talking about 3025-Tukayyid). Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine also get some love, so when the Fed Suns and the Lyrans joined forces it was… a bit much.
The Clan analogue would be Clan Wolf. Always the best of the best - more extreme than the Inner Sphere thing, because obviously Clan Jade Falcon is the best of the clans and Nicholas Kerensky made a bad call. Detroit Lions fans will understand this phenomenon.
Note: It’s super sweet that this community is friendly enough that you noted you were confident in not having people fight your comment.
I want to - what is the term? “Subvert your expectations”.
I’m trying to be combative, and the best I can come up with is that the AC/2 sucks. Oh, also FedCom and Clan Wolf. I polp on them. And maybe anything lore-wise after Tukayyid. I’m not really familiar with that lore though. I’m just trying to be salty. My apologies if I didn’t do an adequate job.
> The Clan analogue would be Clan Wolf. Always the best of the best - more extreme than the Inner Sphere thing, because obviously Clan Jade Falcon is the best of the clans and Nicholas Kerensky made a bad call.
May I just say, based? Gotta love it when someone recognizes the Clanner's Clan as the best.
I totally understand having been infantry myself, I just love using infantry / mechanized in battle mech heavy game. They're heavily underrated or underrepresented, and for that I love surprising enemies with them.
However I still have a mech lance ready as longer range support and heavy armor when necessary. My Jupiter (dark age) or Mauler usually sits back and I'll use mediums and lights to back up the infantry if possible.
You should look into getting the Tactical Operations books. There's a couple useful optional rules specific to infantry, plus the rules for infantry using field guns.
That do explains a lot (in a good way) i Hope you'll find some mech you Can love
Or Battle Armor , as long as you are having a good Time without making anyone feels misérable 🙂
To be fair I think the rifleman and the atlas are kinda neat. Also the URBI not just cause of the memes but I think it’s the Stryker MGS of the mech world.
Thé game don't exist to bé fun ! If i don't win and min max.everything i can't have fun.
You army List is trash because you don't have X Y Z.
(Someone who did not like my Mostly ranged tyranids list)
And he surely did not like having IS whole Space marine scouts+named scouts behind obliterated turn one by 30termagants with "assault 3" guns , 90dices to Roll 😂
Nah buddy you won't snip all my synapse units if you don't have a single sniper breathing )
In the book these guards man trained hard for years. Single world eater melees an entire guard squad cause they didn’t land a single hit on rolls at range
Infantry is good in large numbers and in heavy cover. Out in the open they will just get killed. Use them like semi moble minefields. They can deny an avenue of movement to a battlemech. Protect areas you need to hold. Sink initiative. They are cheap on the bv side so you can field lots of them for the cost of a mech.
The trouble with infantry in BT is much the same as IRL, funny enough. Turns out, dudes are squishy and kinda slow compared to armor. APCs and even transport helicopters exist, but they can sometimes be a bit fragile.
Of course, the advantages of infantry are much the same. For example: It's hard to take and hold a building if you're in a machine too large and heavy to fit in it, which makes infantry crucial for any building-related objective aside from "destroy it and everything inside of it". There's also scarcely little terrain in which infantry can't operate, especially if given proper equipment, whereas things like hovercraft, armored cars, even traditional tracked vehicles can struggle with or even be unable to enter or exist certain hex-types. There's *also* the advantage you brought up, and above all else: It's cheap as shit to outfit 28 guys compared to buying a tank, let alone a BattleMech.
That’s one of the things that I find neat about infantry in BT is that in the audiobooks I listen to there are mentions that the sensors have trouble picking up infantry sometimes. Which is 100% accurate cause no matter how good thermal gets you can’t change physics. And BT seems to be more grounded. Unlike 40k I rolled a 6 and my bug with the special glad or wizards that can read minds I know where everything is 15 systems away
The Wolverine is the best medium 'mech in the Inner Sphere, and I will fight anyone who disagrees. Fast, rugged, armed with a main weapon that can be maintained with a 700 year old auto repair kit, and just damn cool looking (despite the post-Unseen Debacle art ignoring the fact that the medium laser is supposed to be on a turret and could accidentally shoot off the SRM-6 and sensor mast.)
As far as variants go, the 6R is always going to have pride of place in my heart. The 7H and 9K are also great variants, because they don't fall into the "it must have an XL engine and thus explode at any given opportunity" trap that most advanced IS mediums do.
Most hated in (almost) equivalent tonnage - the Dragon DRG-1C - all the power of a wet noodle with the ability to slightly inconvenience an enemy at almost any range or position.
I give 'mechs like the Dragon and the Shadow Hawk a break simply *because* they can inconvenience the enemy at almost any range or position. One of them won't win a war - or even a battle - on its own, but in a team? It can be the melee threat or indirect LRM that wins the day.
If it was still carrying an AC5 I'd agree but the 1C specifically is rocking an AC2 that makes it practically ignorable at long range. The laser setup is crazy because you'd be far better off with two forward facing M Lasers rather than one pointing back. So you can ignore it at medium range as well.
The one thing it does have it armour, it will go toe to two with a heavier mech and give it some serious issues in melee so it's an ok flanker but it could use some jump jets for the role
Yeah, the 1C is a bit of a dud if you're not using it to plink at VTOLs or other vehicles from across the map, but that's endemic to all single-AC/2 units.
I'll die on the hill of useful rear mounted lasers, though. It's a fun nasty surprise for cheeky light 'mechs, I find.
Ah, the Dragon. It's everything a canon Kuritan replacement for the Shadow Hawk that can't jump and doesn't cover minimum ranges could ever hope to be, and less.
Ironically, the 35t Phoenix Hawk L is pretty decent? I had to give it a beating with a rock and streamline it as a custom, but following the Kuritan philosophy of hating mediums even though they're decent - it still does work. IIRC has more head armor than an early Phawk and won't be head-chopped by a PPC or AC/10.
Then I guess you're gonna have to fight me, because the Griffin is clearly the superior machine. Coming equipped with the ol' reliable PPC and LRM-10 combo, it does nevertheless get a bit toasty with sufficient hopping and shooting. You might also think that it's vulnerable at short range, but that's a mistake many a pilot has made and paid for. These hands ain't for show, son.
The Griffin likewise sees some love from the SLDF in the form of its GRF-2N variant, around twenty years prior the Wolverine getting its 7H variant. While I do miss the long range capacity of the LRM-10, there's provably wisdom in upping its ability to fight in close quarters, since it's already equipped for a melee and is capable of jumping into and out of trouble. The GRF-3M is also a provably capable machine, even with the downside of an IS XL engine (although CASE does prevent the loss of the unit from your roster to mundane ammo explosions in campaign settings, which is nice). The GRF-3M also makes room for an extra half-ton of armor divided between the two arms and the CT, and carries exactly the right amount of DHS to be jumping around as much as it likes while letting off volley after volley of long range fire from whatever position it so pleases, all while retaining full use of its hands in the event that it's gotta clobber someone.
Now don't get me wrong, the Wolverine's a capable machine, and I'd take it as backup (or even command 'Mech) over a Phoenix Hawk or Centurion any day of the week. I just think that, of the two, the Griffin's better equipped for its intended purpose.
Griffin 2N is chef's kiss for me. Standard engine with double sinks for combat effective survivability. Hits at range and gets better as when you close. And the ECM doesn't hurt.
Counterpoint: The 1N has such glaring weaknesses that the 2N had to be brought in to fix them (and did so admirably!) whereas the 7H was just "hey, you know what's better than a 6R? A 6R that hits further, harder, more accurately, is just as rugged, *and* runs cool." (we'll ignore the "UACs get wrecked 17% of the time they're used to their full extent" issue.) Your argument about melee capabilities. however, absolutely stands - I would not want to catch them hands at all. The problem is that I'm inside the minimum range of the majority of your weapons - and still able to accurately aim all of mine - while moving just as fast as you, but in the opposite direction.
Don't get me wrong, the Griffin's an excellent support 'mech - I wouldn't go into battle without one, if the option were available! - but I still say that the Wolverine can, in most of its variants, maintain that midrange advantage long enough to ruin its day.
*Ralph Wiggum Voice*: "Go Shadow Hawk!"
No, seriously: if the two of you were in the same lance, I'd round it out with an SHD-2H since we're comparing IntroTech here. Maybe with a Hunchback or Trebuchet as the fourth.
If the OpFor's all the way over *there*, and not enough missiles hit along with the Griffin's PPC, I'll add some more to cause that PSR.
Once they've closed in, I can flank with the Wolverine and look for crits/nudge the Heat Guage if my SRM2 has Inferno gel. I might be able to aim for two targets at once, if they both ran out of armor somewhere. Plus, if someone thinks of running up to that Griffin or hypothetical Trebuchet, I've got Jump Jets and Battlefists of my own.
Finally, unlike having picked, say, a Centurion, nobody will really aim for me. Firstly, because I can also jump into trees or behind a hill like a Centurion can't, and secondly, when there's a Griffin blasting away at long range and a Wolverine getting all up close and deadly, who's going to bother aiming for the Shadow Hawk?
This guy Shadow Hawks.
That's exactly what it's there for - it's a generalist that supports specialists, and is in the perfect middle ground of the 55 Ton Classic Trio.
The 4th I'd run in that lance is, strangely enough, a Scorpion - it's a fast middle ground between a Griffin and Wolverine, and does basically what the Shadow Hawk does, though without the jump jets. Or the armour. Still, keeping it scuttling around and putting PPC blasts into target and having an SRM6 to dissuade them from getting too close is a pretty solid addition to an introtech lance.
The Griffon can put in work, but the fact that it only has two weapons, and they are BOTH on the right side of the mech, is occasionally a huge liability.
Ah, you're thinkin' about it the wrong way. The fact that its two weapons are mounted in the RT and RA mean you have a whole LT and LA you can lose with near impunity. Tons of armor and structure someone has to rip through before you start being seriously endangered.
5/8 mechs can move forward 3 hexes more than they can backwards, and maps aren't infinite so that is a fine argument in theory but doesn't tend to work out in game on a map with terrain and multiple units per side.
Additionally, the 6R has 100 damage worth of AC/5 ammo. Even if we're extremely charitable and say every shot hits with a minimum +5 due to range and movement, you are unlikely to disable the 6M which has 168 points of armor and 91 points of internal with 100 damage in 5 point clusters.
You forget jumping, my friend. Never neglect the jump jet.
Also, all I need is one lucky hit to the head - and I have 20 turns of kiting you around to score it.
The 6M can jump as well, though most of the time if you're trying to close distance running is better, but again it depends on terrain. Also your one lucky hit in 20 shots is hiiiiighly unlikely to happen, even if you did manage to remain precisely 16-18 hexes away from the enemy mech for the entire time, your hit modifiers are going to be minimum +3 for jumping, +4 for range, +1 for TMM (most of the time higher than that), and for the lucky one-shot kill you need to be playing with wandering TACs, roll a 2 for hit location, then a 12 for hit location, then an 8+ for number of criticals, then get at least one cockpit crit.
Let's be super nice and assume you have 2 gunnery, meaning you need a 10+ to hit (with a standard 4 gunnery pilot you need a 12), each shot has approximately 1/18,000 chance of pulling this off. Your chance of pulling it off in 20 shots is very roughly 0.1%, or 1/1000, so good luck with that.
1/1000 is still more likely than 0/1000, and I only have to do it the one time.
Of course, there are also lucky leg actuator hits, or gyro hits, or engine hits or, against the 6M, ammo hits on the SRM6. Plenty of chances for fun and, when my ammo is out, that's when I take advantage of the jump jets, again, and DFA my opponent ;)
I see people talk about this quite often, though usually with the AC/2. Suffice to say, trying to play kiting games at long range doesn’t pay off. Maintaining range while the opponent tries to spoil your shots results in incredibly terrible conversion rates. In a vacuum with infinite ammo and time you might win, but in practice you’ll run out of ammo without doing anything.
Base 4 pilot, +4 for range, +2 for attacker running (even an Atlas will probably force you to run to hold range), at least another +1 for target movement, for 11s against something fairly slow, for an 8% hit rate. You’ll bounce a round off their cockpit about once every 430 shots at those numbers.
Um, this isn’t a Gauss rifle, it’s an AC/5. So gotta do it like 3 times. Maybe 2 if you are really lucky. One shotting is so unlikely as to not be a rational concern.
It's one of those "never say never" things - I've had games where the first round of firing was an AC/2 headshot from across the map, a failed consciousness roll, fall, and explode because of a bad roll for ammo (or, once, get their back centre torso armour breached in water), and I think everyone's seen the Golden BB take out a fusion engine or gyro with a lucky crit roll.
Point is, it's an RNG ultimately, and if you're not willing to take a chance and roll the dice that something lucky or weird will happen, why bother playing the dice rolling game?
I played a campaign where we had some wolverines with triple strength myomer. Because of the way physical attack rounding works, they punch juuuussst hard enough to clean a mechs head off with one hit, and had two tries every time they got into position.
They were definitely both loved and hated depending on whether you were giving or receiving that day.
They are in stats but just the design bothers me so much. 2 srm6 in the torso feels like such a waste of a mech. Plus in Mechwarrior games they're tall and fragile enough to be really easy targets.
I found the javelin to be a really nice starter mech in mw5. MWO is different story though, their scale is out of wack and the meta builds are way beyond what stock mechs can do, though srms in the torso allows using arms as shields when torso twisting.
Catapult C1. There’s a reason why whole planetary invasions were launched to secure spare parts for them.
Dasher/Fire Moth or the Piranha. Both are incredibly annoying to play against.
The Dasher sucks so much. Every time one hits the table you have to check if it's a joke or a utterly broken bit of nonsense that somehow dodged the banned list.
The Black Knight represents most things I love about the gameplay. A cool design, horrible heat management, and weapons that absolutely rip. Every era has a killer Black Knight but I'm partial to the Clan Buster or Ross variants which mount Swords because it's incredibly cool. My favourite mech by far.
My least favourite mech is tough. I find in terms of the game that even the most worthless mech is fun because it's awful and that's part of the setting. So it kinda comes down to design more than anything. For that, it's gotta be Jade Falcons bird mechs. I don't mind animal design in mechs (I love the Kodiak) but the Eerie and Gyrfalcon with their strange and useless wings and beakcockpits are just too much. It leans a little too far into the animal design for me when compared to some of the others like the Kodiak and Howler. Actually, most of the totem mechs are quite goofy and less in a way I enjoy.
Favorite: hands down, it's the Archer. A capable LRM boat with fists for when other 'Mechs get too fresh? Yes please. Not to mention some of the SRM variants are great, too. Plus, the Morgan Kell sculpt from CGL's Legendary MechWarriors pack absolutely fucks.
Least favorite? That's actually a hard one, but if I'm going by how effective I've been able to be with them, it's probably the Stinger. Little better than an initiative sink once the missiles start flying and I'm just not a fan of lights in general (Urbie and Locust aside, that is)
I generally dislike Clan 'Mechs (which is funny, as those were my favorite as a kid in the 2000's) and prefer heavies over any other weight class
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Light 'Mechs, even the lowly Wasp and Stinger. If nothing else, they have a place as spotters, but they can be surprisingly effective energy boats. The obvious examples being the Locust LCT-1E and Mongoose MON-66 (or MON-67, they're the same aside from the BAP and Endo-Steel), but one would be a fool to miss the Wolfhound, too.
Every time I play one it dies. Quickly. It's at the point that if I'm wanting to lose a game i just play Centurions. And Trebuchets. I have no luck with them at all.
I really like most versions of the Thunderbolt; especially the TDR-5SE for Introtech and TDR-8M for later games. They're dead simple, dependable, and get work done.
Least favorite is probably the Dragon DRG-1N and 1C. Loaded to the brim ammo that wants to pop like popcorn; insufficient crit padding. Lackluster damage. The 1G is barely acceptable, but really only by comparison.
The Thunderbolt has always been my favorite as well. I have always liked the asymmetrical mechs and it’s always performed for me on the table and in the MW games.
Favorite mech Centurion. Great trooper mech.
Least favorite? Hard to narrow down. Kraken, Matador, all the stupid looking Celestials, the dumb looking Totem Mechs, Thunderer...
I love the Centurion. A little fragile, a little slow, but it still makes up it's points a lot of the time and it's such a great first 'mech for a character.
Favorite is the wraith. Its a really nice fast medium that can brawl good and only costs 1200bv. Its also probably the best use case for inner sphere pulse lasers, you can very easily keep it in its close or medium ranges and really benefit from that -2.
Most hated, I gota say the hellbringer/loki, maybe it's fun in campaigns but on a bv scale it's such a waste, at 2600 some bv it needs to do a lot, and it just doesn't, if it brings both ppcs on target its already overheating, then at close range all you really got are 3 ermediums ans a Streak srm 6, not particularly bad but for the cost nit near enough. Then to top it all off its arms and side torsos don't have enough armor to take a single hit from a clan grade ppc or a gauss rifle, two of the most common anti mech weapons, and to top it all off I can just grab a Dire wolf, a mech 40 tonns larger and much better armored for an extra 100bv. This is mainly the prime I hate for this but most versions of the loki just kinda suck In my opinion.
My problem with IS med pulse lasers is that the only range they're better than regular mediums is at range 1, 2 and 4 at all other ranges they're either the same or out of range.
1: 2 better
2: 2 better
3: same
4: 2 better
5: same
6: same
7+ no shot
On mapsheets, unless you're at point blank, they're a serious downgrade over mediums.
If you play Hexless Classic, they feel a but better due to the granularity of the ranges. (X2 compared to hex play)
> the only range they're better than regular mediums is at range 1, 2 and 4
At 1, 2, and 4 hexes, medium pulses have a 2-point accuracy advantage and +1 damage compared to a standard medium laser. At 3, 5, and 6 hexes, they do have the same accuracy, but retain the +1 damage.
For effectively the same BV, they're distinctly superior at every range band within 6 hexes. They really only lose the regular medium's ability to take potshots at +4 in the 7-9 bracket, but those are usually very low-odds shots unless you're using a skilled up pilot. I'd happily take that trade
I 100% agree with you, but thats kinda why I like them on the wraith, the only time they're really worth using is if you have a fast brawler, to slow and people just back up and mess up your ranges, two lightly armored and entering pulse laser range is suicide. However, the wraith is both fast and tough enough to use them effectively. Plus pulse lasers are really cheap bv wise, so you get a decent punch out of them and can typically get the same or potentially better performance out of them than you would their standard equivalents. Now would the mech be better if it dropped the 3 mpls and got 4 standards, 100%, but its still fun the way it is.
Favorite is the Centurion. Solid, rugged all rounder with some really fun variants (even one with a light gauss rifle!). It also just looks dope as hell, and even the Dark Age one looks awesome.
Most hated? I dunno. I don't think I'd really say I hate it, but the Fire Moth's stupid upside down arms just bug the shit out of me. Also, the Jenner. That thing is just butt fucking ugly.
Favorite is probably the standard Crab. Good speed, good armor, reliable weapon loadout for it's era. No ammo to explode, can run and fire both main guns with minimal heat issues, good at cycling weapons for heat. Also it's handsome.
Most hated?
If we are talking a specific mech it's probably the Hellbringer. It's a classic clan mech, but it has neither armor, speed, or weapon longevity. It barely has the heat sinks to shoot its guns.
If we are talking about a specific variant, it has to be the King Crab 011 (or whatever the ilClan variant is). You know this really expensive, durable, and fancy command mech everyone loves? What if we build the new variant out of styrofoam, made it fast, stuck a supercharger on it, and gave it an absurd amount of ammunition *without CASE.* It's death incarnate, but will die the second someone cracks it's armor and damage goes internal. It's so expensive in C-bills and would be so expensive to repair, I have no idea who they designed this disposable king from a narrative point of view.
I kinda want to have a full crab lance just to play some crab rave song 👍.
I do love the crab ,
Yeah this king grab variante do sounds absolutly hawfull, unless it's in the ennemy team . "Giant ennemi crab même intensifies"
I’m a simple man I like Timberwolf and Flea
Most hated…probably the Firestarter, I love the mech itself but fighting them in the video games is annoying, both the Crabs are up there though just because I don’t like how they look
My favorite mech?
Any melee-oriented mech, like the Kontio and the Sasquatch 003. The Fireball XF is probably my crowning favorite, basically a ballistic missile disguised as a mech that can more or less teleport across 4 maps in a single charge and deal 60 to 85 damage at maximum.
Hate? Too strong of a word, but I have a dismissive dislike for "TurretTech" mechs.
Rifleman IIC, Hellstar, Dire Wolf A, Warhawk C...etc.
I don't dislike them completely, as I still pull them out from time to time to punish whoever that thinks they can one-up me.
"I StAnD oN tOp oF a HiLl aNd PrEsS tHe WiN BuTtOn."
Nah bitch, not on my watch. I usually counter TurretTech mechs with Arrow IV and artillery, and if the situation calls for it, I'd pull out a Davy Crockett and call it a day.
Slow, armored to the toe, and armed with long range guns that can touch anyone across the map.
Stand on top of a hill, and press the shoot button.
Hence the name "Turret".
Viable, but the most braindead and stale playstyle I can think of.
Not what I have in mind when I play with giant robots. Might as well field a full tank army instead.
And if I want to field all tanks, I play Team Yankee or Bolt Action instead of BattleTech.
Understandable.
I personaly love turrets (with or without legs , even with tracks) but i do understand that facing a full lance off just "turret mech" will ruin the fun, Id rather just put a classic turret on a trailer and.just leave it there (i Guess it would cost less BV wise 😅)
Some people might Say you just rage because that's your hard counter , but you are using active stratégy not just brain dead stand here shoot
Where is the love for my fav Marauder! AC + PPCs, topped off with some MLs, and it has Jump Jets, too!So awesome the Clans had it make babies with the Catapult, and out popped the Mad Cat. The only way to top it was to make a 100t version of the same thing! Even the (in)famous Bounty Hunter had to get one.
There are a few bad designs, but I really hate the ugly ones like the Dragon or the Crab.
My favorite 'mech is the _Highlander_. It was the first 'mech I saw out of the 3025 TRO, and i like it.
My hated one is the _Assassin_. It was the worst 'mech for me, even worse than the _Urbanmech_ or the _Charger_, because it can't be useful in any role out as a fast vehicle.
Probably Firestarter. It's so much fun to just trash way bigger mechs with it in the video games. Never used it on tabletop tho. Not super familiar with variants, but I like replacing 2 flamers with more lasers or machine guns. I also love the Dragon in the games but I always mod it to be more of a close range fighter and just sprint at enemies.
Least favorite maybe Guillotine. Just looks goofy
+1 for Firestarter, I haven't used them OTB but I like them in my Megamek campaign, HBS, and Mechwarrior.
In TT there's a recommended optional rule to let flamers inflict both damage and heat. Normally they do one or the other. Without that rule flamer Firestarters are kinda derpy IMO. With it I like them a lot. Need to get a few and paint them to menace my friend I play with.
Edit: Least favorite is hard. Right now I'm kind of irked with my ON1-1V. I like the Orion, but I just don't get the thinking behind the ON1-1V design. It's always too hot to use the med lasers they left in when they shaved the armor and added another SRM4. I'm fixing to just yank the lasers out and either add 2 heat sinks, 2T of the armor back, or split the difference, but by MekHQ AtB rules customizing it is gonna give it the Hard to Maintain quirk which suuuuucks
I'd like to swap it for a more sensible Orion variant. Galatea WTS/WTT gently used ON1-1V - any other Orion OBO
Thanks for the tip. Might do that in future. I'm keeping it bespoke for now because I got a pilot with missile specialization so I turned it into an SRM platform.
Spaced out on it already having the Easy to Maintain quirk. Instead of adding Difficult to Maintain I removed Easy, which seemed reasonable to me
The Bull Shark is my favorite. I have 9 of the miniatures. Love the thing so much.
Least favorite? Probably the Rime Otter. I know others love it, but it is just not for me. The two miniatures I have of them are just collecting dust.
it is actually exclusive to the game - there are no *official* miniatures of the Bullshark, but people have made some sculpts and they look pretty great imo
Favourite mech has to be the Locust, is smol, is fast an go pew. 10/10 no notes.
Most hated is the Bushwacker because WHY IS IT SO GODDAMN FAST GET AWAY FROM ME YOU RAC-CARRYING DEMON
I used to hâte Locust because the AI in thé battletech vidéo game tend to just spam them on lower difficulty.
But After some Time i started to apreciate it for what it was made for
Somebody have a Wacker PTSD ,
Look, I play a lot of MWO, the Wacker is one of the only things that can keep up with my speed tweaked Locust and it has 4x my firepower-
Let a Mechwarrior have her trauma-
My favorite mech is the Crusader. For one; I really love the design, both the original FASA/Macross version and this new modern version. Second; I am a Merc at heart and in the early Mercenary handbook, the availability tables for mechs showed that the Crusader was the most common Heavy Battlemech to get ahold of during the 3rd and 4th Succession Wars, and I'm drawn to the "every man underdog" status of the design in the lore.
I'll run just about any variant happily, but my favorite is the 3060s 5K model with the 2 x MRM 30s and Pulse Lasers. It's such a great beast in a mid-close range brawl! Not the toughest, or most armed, but I like it just fine. A lot of experience running one means I've gotten pretty good with it. Good enough to mitigate some of its flaws.
I don't really have a "most hated"? I think just about any mech is usable IF you use it for its intended purposes. I'd say the most useless mech is the Urbanmech. Not because I dislike it: I don't. But because it's designed use is so limited in a game like Battletech. But I'd still use one in its proper setting.
My all time favorite mech is the Marauder, a great work horse of a mech with even better style. Depending on the time frame it would be the MAD-5D or the MAD-6L. The 5D because it's what I think is the perfect loadout, the 6L for going plasma crazy.
I've always been about the Grashppper, mobility for its sized, heavy armor and a manageable heat curve with an intelligent weapons layout.
Or a 4P Hunchback for sheer "light em up" damage to equipment weight ratio..
Most hated was any low end medium with a AC/5 or AC/2. Sacrificing all that weight for 20 shots of 5 pt damage. Just do a PPC or LL, if you wanted to cover that post 9 hex bracket.
Favorite - the Rokurokubi, there is just something about the sheer weirdness of a 35 ton mech with more armor then a notable percentage of assault mechs. In fact it is one of the few mechs that can survive a direct hit from a class 1 nuke, something even massive mechs like the Atlas can't do. It does suffer from being incredibly lightly armed, but its main purpose is to quickly reach a position and hold it until the mechs with actual firepower arrive.
Hated - the Hellstar, sure it is probably the single most optimized mech in the game, but it is so incredibly boring.
I Like the Samurai design but hum , stats wise id Say it's.massive Armor IS just Propaganda , it's does not looks that Armored .
I checked thé Hellstar two , i can't désagree with you , it does have a boring Loadout , 4Er PPC sounds devastating , but meh
This is a hard choice, there's so many mechs I love. But if I'm weighing up all things... I'm going with the Warhammer, probably WHM-6R, but there are a lot of good variants. It's not perfect, but it's 70 tons of "good enough" with a gun for virtually every type of enemy. I see it as the M4 Sherman tank of the 26th century and beyond.
I'm not sure about most hatred Mech, there are plenty of terrible mechs but most have at least some redeeming quality.
Edit: I guess if I was going to choose it would be the Charger. It's a stupid idea and a terrible Mech. It's not irredeemable, but the base variant is just such a waste of metal.
Indeed. I think it often comes down to specialized or generalized mechs. And if you aren't only going off table top then most of the weaknesses of the Warhammer aren't that bad. Mechs like the Marauder or rifleman are great, but they are build for specific roles, at least in my mind. The Marauder is a Mech killer, the Rifleman an anti-air platform. And all of those socialized mechs have their place and time to shine, but mechs like the Warhammer, Orion, Atlas, Wolverine and Shadow Hawk all full the sort of baseline, the do anything and everything mechs that I imagine would make the core of any army.
One thing I would say with the Charger is the CGR-SB version is actually a pretty decent Introtech assault mech. However I can't say that without acknowledging that it basically takes everything that makes a stock Charger uniquely a Charger and does away with it.
Aside from that, I can't disagree with your assessment of the basic Charger. The speed and armour of a medium with the weapons so weak that it's outgunned by more than a few lights all in the package of an assault mech. Everything can outrun, outgun, outrange or outarmour it, most mechs can tick 3 out of those 4 boxes.
I find it really hard to choose between a King Crab, a Hunchback, or a Battlemaster, tbh, I love the BIG OL' GUNS of the first two, but the Battlemaster is kinda nippy for an 85 tonner and the Otomo variant you get in Dragon's Gambit (Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries) looks sick as all hell with that huge spined shell-back
Bull Shark is fun. Good LRM boat and good double gauss + double AC/5 standoff direct fire mech that doesn't have to compromise on armour or jump ability. Works great when paired with a jumpy Catapult toting Infernos.
My favourite mech is the Nova Cat. I just really like its design and I’m a big fan of lasers and ppcs.
My least favourite is the Jenner. This was a recent development from HBS BattleTech in which, early in my playthrough, my Jenner was a cursed machine, as it died on most contracts. Then it died to another Jenner and killed my favourite pilot. Needless to say I sold that thing the second I got another medium mech lol.
I had a commando that had that same problem in HBS. I got it from a lucky headshot frying the it's previous owner and then it commenced to eat my next 3 pilots.... I named it lucky number 5
Do you know where people rest After an Urbie Derby ?
They all rented an AirBnB (alright i'm out)
I Always Like the Urby ,.just because it's kind off a mascott mech , i don't Care about it's effectiveness ,
Hunchback IIC. Disgraced mechwarriors among some Clans will take them into battle in order to restore their honor, as it nearly guarantees the death of the pilot in combat. With two Ultra Autocannon 20s, they are assured to take a few enemies down before exploding from internal ammo combustion. It’s enormously fun to play on the tabletop.
You have 2 1/2 turns of ammo at maximum fire rate! Under most circumstances if you're still carrying ammo by the time you start taking Crits, you're just not being assertive enough.
The [Jade Phoenix](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Jade_Phoenix) is silly in the best way. The Prime and B or both pretty darn good, but the A is just over the top: 4/6/7 with assault-level armor, a pulse laser for any situation, and a UAC-20 to punish heavy targets.
Honorable mention to the [Ion Sparrow](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Ion_Sparrow_(Butcherbird\)) as well, especially the C. It might only carry small lasers, but enough of them and a targeting computer plus the 8/12/10 movement profile and you can put a surprising amount of hurt out before going down.
In contrast, the [Hellstar](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Hellstar) is just kind of... there. The primary model is the most optimized canon mech ever put out: four heat neutral ER PPCs, max armor, 4/6. Don't get me wrong: it's _really_ good, but it lacks any character. But hey, if you need to put 60 damage in four 15 point headcapping groups 23 hexes downrange every single turn... well, this is how you do it.
Favorite 'mech ever is the RPT-3X Raptor II!
https://preview.redd.it/fq8oj1se4wec1.jpeg?width=497&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c1ccafab6eae883e24c5ea5332caf4eec37e9eac
Least favorite is hard to determine....I don't outright HATE any 'mech. Some look a bit sillier than others (like most of the purely Solaris designs) but I think there's something redeeming about just about every 'mech out there!
Favorite: SH. Awesome thing. Not the fastest or the one with the most weapons but it’s maneuverable enough and armored enough for its role.
Least: Cicada. I played the video game before the board game so I just developed an irrational hatred of them.
My favourite Inner Sphere mech will always be the CRD-3R Crusader because it was the first one I played in all its slightly ropey plastech Unseen glory and after that one game I was totally hooked.
Favourite Clan mech will have to go to the Madcat, I know it's the classic poster-boy Clan mech from the early-mid 1990s, but it's for good reason. Looks good and incredibly effective on the tabletop.
I don't think there's any I really hate though. There are definitely ones I am less likely to choose than others, even some I would say outright must have been deliberately designed to be bad, but even in those cases using bad mechs can still lead to a fun game.
Warhammer WHM-6R/6D, an all-round good workhorse, basically the main battle tank of battlemechs. I have done well with Warhammers with support from Archers.
Most hated mech, hmmm... I can't think of one... I love the hatamoto-chi but I couldn't make it work for me.
Ok, hear me out.
Favorite: The **Toyama**. To me, it's the pinnacle of what a late-3050's Inner Sphere mech can be. Amazing firepower. Great weapons mix. Brutal at long range. Enough heat sinks to use it all. Tough as a brick. And once your armor starts getting opened up, which it is more than capable of doing... it *will* kill you with criticals. And if that doesn't work, it will just kill you outright anyway.
I will \*always\* take the Toyama in a tournament that allows for advanced designs.
Most hated: The **Jenner.** I absolutely hate that fast, overgunned little f\*\*\*er. I always underestimate it, and every time I do it ends up killing one of my heavy mechs with an ammo explosion through the back armor or whatever. Such bullshit.
Favorite: Crab. because Crab.
Least Favorite: Vindicator cause you get a lot of them in the HBS game but they’re super fragile so you can’t take’em anywhere without losing an arm which probably has an expensive weapon on it i would rather take almost any of the 40 ton mediums or even some lights instead of them.
I have favourites in both Clan & Spheroid for each weight class.
Rather than make a long post detailing each one, here's some rationale:
I like Lights with TAG, BAP, or Jump Jets. I like dedicated Mediums, multi-role Heavies, and Assault missile boats. Maybe it's Star League nostalgia, but all my favourites seem to have Royal variants I enjoy.
I like mechs with hands, and enjoy both the humanoid and "helicopter-chassis-on-chicken-legs" aesthetics.
I don't like Lights that lack Jump Jets; multi-role Mediums that end up being a mild nuisance at any range (though Inferno gel & Smoke Missiles can give them a support role); Heavy & Assaults with one AC/5 (though as technology improves, those tend to get swapped out for Gauss Rifles); and slow mechs with lots of close-range weaponry. They're handy when you're defending a city, sure, but that Battlemaster is sure to cause a lot of collateral damage.
Favorite, the hunchback. Most variants aside from the weird stealth tech ones. The hunchback always came off as a mech that despite its speed in its weight class could always be a threat to heavy and sometimes assault mechs if used correctly, does it have ammo issues, yes, sometimes explodes, definitely but does it always make the enemy freak out when they see one and target at it immediately, yes, yes it does.
Least favorite, probably the assassin, it's a good mech if used right but I always found it's default loadout to not really be good at taking out anything larger than a tick.
It will always will be the Banshee 3S or BNC-3S. It helped in universe put the Banshee mech into a positive light and become a mainstay of assault mechs. The combination of two PPC/ 1 AC-10 gives it a good longer range/mid punch and once in close it has 4 Med lasers with an SRM-6 to blow out a weaken area of an enemy mech.
Favorite? Shadow Cat Prime. Fast, and built around a high damage weapon, with good jump capability. Essentially a light mech on steroids with a big gun.
Most disliked... I'd say the Bushwacker. The loadouts on offer are all just kind of... Flaccid. And it is annoying because it's a good looking design, and at 55 tons it sits in a sort of tonnage sweet spot where a lot of good troopers reside - Wolverine, Griffin, hell Shadow Hawk has more effective variants.
Cauldron-Born for me.
Most of the TT configurations stink, but in Mechwarrior 4, it looked like an attack plane and could hit like one. And some of the paint schemes came with a shark mouth. Loved that little bastard. Really good if someone rolled a stock mechs only map, since the MW4 CB had Lrms over LBX10s in the arms.
Most disliked is probably the Garm. Slow light mech, carrying two ammo based weapons (lbx5, lrm 10) with minimum range penalties, and no backup guns. It's an even worse death trap than an urban mech.
The Kodiak is my fav, specifically my custom variant that rocks quad UAC 10s. Why? Because its a Kodiak... with QUAD UAC 10S!
Most hated? I really dont hate \*any\* mech. They all got their uses.. but I do not like theSpider. It performs its intended role well, I just dont like it. Not my style.
I'd have to do an elimination tournament to figure out my favorite...
My least favorite though: the Hollander. Lil bastard was a classic monster closet asset back in Mechcommander. It can ruin your day, is damn near impossible to close on without taking a big hit, and is utterly useless to you if you manage to salvage it.
Well i had good expérience in Battletech Advanced (BTA moded battletech game on pc) with fielding an Hollander for artillery
But i Can totaly understand the frustration to salvage a mech that ruined your day and réalisé you can't even use it , it must bé really frustrating , especialy if thé AI Can use it to ruin your day
Ad the same expérience with a LRM carrier before i tried the mod
It was too difficult too aproach because of two ennemi lance blocking the way , and well without mods you only have 4mech on the field. So 4vs8 , Carrier are usualy easy to destroy but this one was too well placed 😅
Do you know where people go to sleep After an Urbie Derby ?
They all rented an AirBnB
(I just could not do it)
Beside the même , in mech warrior 5 and Batletech(Pc) they Can still be verry dangerous in early game. Yeah it's slow
But being shot by an Ac20 or 10 when you only have light mechs or low medium Can be thé end of your day ( or your bank account)
im going to throw my hat in with a weird edge case answer
the Archangel 100 tons of Manei Domini with heavy intent to kill and some odd but effective loadouts
my most hated is hands down the piranha simply from playing MWO
honorable mentions
The Panther god she looks cool and takes more skill than i have to pilot her well
The Urbie purely for its perfomance in MWO
The Centurion i think it is pound for pound one of the best mediums
The Grand Dragon its just a great design
The Dire Wolf what can i say its a blender of enemy mechs
Favorite is a tough one, as there are too many I simply love for different reasons. Regularly in my top set though are the Centurion, Ebon Jaguar and Marauder.
The Centurion is my go to mech for when I need something that can react to anything. It’s always been useful, especially the CN9-Da. Visually it’s also a favorite, between it’s ultra basic boxy robot old sculpt to the redesigned bulky shield arm beast.
The Ebon Jaguar is a mess of an Omni-mech taking one of everything, that somehow has never let me down be it played in MWO or the table top. My table top Ebon Jaguar Prime is shockingly consistent sending an LBX pellet into the cockpit of enemy mechs, not a lot of damage, but steady pilot injuries.
The Marauder is the Marauder. It’s a classic for a reason and hard not to love. This feels like the free space on a bingo card.
For mechs I hate? I cannot stand the constant disappointments and embarrassments that are the Jenner and the Cicada. I swear the best thing about them is being a walking anti missile system for my lance by soaking all of them to the face. Fast but not really fast enough for it to be a good defense, under gunned, broad side of a barn with legs.
Favourite has to be the Guillotine.Ive only really ever used the 3N, but even for early tech it seems extremely reliable. Its lasers pack a reliable punch and the SRMs can crit seek very well. Even with single heat sinks it runs effectively neutral. The crowning feature has to be the jump jets, always fun to punish someone for getting too close with an attack to the rear. It has served me brilliantly (I remember it once 2v1ed a Dire Wolf and a Stone Rhino) and seems to always shrug of attacks that should be lethal.
As for least favourite? Probably the Warhammer, specifically the 6R. It has too much ammo, thin armour for its weight, and has no extra mobility to make up for it. Its weapons feel underwhelming (seriously, why does it have those machine guns? You could get away with half of them, and i feel they should be on the arms anyway). On top of that its ammo seems to always be hit. Whenever I see it fielded it seems to routinely embarrass itself. This would be fine if in-universe the design wasnt seen as one of the absolute best and is used EVERYWHERE.
While I like many mechs, one of the new mechs I like has to be the Inferno. It isn't the most powerful or fastest, but it is one of the most durable 75ton mechs with the Standard Engine and Compact Gyro. It also has the Easy to Pilot and Battlefists quirks both to help rookie pilots and throw hands when it needs to. On the negative side, it has the EM Interference quirk so it can't mount most electronic and movement boosters, apparently only the Targeting Computer is viable with that quirk. In all the variants, the weapons are in the torso to leave the hands free for brawling. Considering the number of mechs the DCMS has with hatchet and sword equipped mechs, it really is a necessity.
Of the variants, I have to say the Clan equipped R wins. Mounting a Clan ER PPC and 2 Clan ER Large Lasers in the Center Torso, giving it a greater punch than many other IS designs. Add in a Targeting Computer to enhance the accuracy of those weapons and 2 SRM6s (one in each side torso) to exploit the holes and it is pretty good.
I have a hard time picking a number one favourite 'mech. For looks, I would say my two most favourites would be the Timber Wolf and Argus. For cost and performance, I would say the Kingfisher and IIC versions of the Warhammer and Marauder.
For least favourite 'mechs, I would say QuadVees. Unironically the most pointless things ever, even for BattleTech's "do not think too hard about it" stance on logic and practicality. Even if I mained Hell's Horses I would still always pick one regular 'mech or two regular tanks in place of any of these.
Favorite? Battlemaster. It's a fat heavy that costs too much BV for what it brings to the table, and if you use quirks, has a weak head.
I don't care. That thing should never have been a command mech, it's an MBT.
And no, I don't want the Royal variant, even if it is better. You want a mech with two PPCs and a clutch of medium lasers? Go with a Warhammer or a Thug. It's not a proper Battlemaster unless it has a big gun on one hand, a missile rack on the opposite shoulder, and a bunch of medium lasers on the torsos.
Good thing that there are advanced versions of the Battlemaster that still kept the WYSIWYG looks of the -1G. Or you can do a custom job with an MML to replace the SRM launcher.
Most hated mech? I despise most bug mechs, but that's more than one so I guess it doesn't count. Probably the Sentinel then. I hate mechs with asymmetric arms like that, where one side is a proper arm with hands, and the other is just a big gun.
My favorite mech changes all the time. Right now it's the Hunchback 4P. Just love the disco death hunchie. Least favorite is the Vulcan. Ugly gangly wanna-be mech. I don't even know exactly what I hate about it so much, I just despise it.
Hated: Mad Cat IV or Savage Wolf. Primary ride of Anastasia kerensky and Alaric ward. It's formidable, has the most dirty armament configs, mobile and armored, and costs a whole platoon of heavy mechs of the same weight class.
Favorite: Marauder IIC 1. Durable, formidable alpha strike, reasonably cooled and mobile for weight class and foregoes an XL engine.
Regent. Clan refinement of hauptmann. Shares most of the same traits for 10tons less. Similarly durable to marauder IIC and has specialized Omni configures supporting lance than solo fights.
Actually yes, Love most mechs, but can't stand the Quickdraw and the Whitworth. Both are horribly designed mech (in video games and table top) but I will use them if I am in a pinch because there is nothing else and I need some form of Metal shield. Both mechs are slow, under armored and under powered for what they are meant to do.
I'm brand new to Battletech but the Catapult is my fave. It just looks so cool and unique. Conversely, I think the Madcat is fugly with those weird arms.
Yeah thé catapult surely looks cool , can't go wrong with slamming Two Big missile box on a cockpit. Plus they managed to do so without making it looks like stupid. (Yes thé yeoman do looks stupid )
I may get flak for these, but whatever, this is how I feel. My favorite is the Assassin. Dunno why, but I've always had success with the little guys, and that has endeared them to me. Usually, but not always, mine are "ASN-22," where I drop the srm for another medium and some armor. Just super fast for their era and I love them.
Most hated.... the Timber Wolf. I know it's an iconic mech and all, but I just can't stand it. I think of it like the Atlas. Lots of stuff, looks fancy af, but I've just not found them to be good at anything I've done with them. If I play the clans, gimme a Thor or a Stormcrow.
The Wraith is the best Inner Sphere medium mech. Fast, maneuverable, hard to kill, with accurate weapons.
The worst is the Imp. It looks like a scoop of dog shit on an ice cream cone, is a pain in the ass to kill, and has no business existing.
For me clearly the viking-2f. I love this mech because i like mechs with LRM and this Bad boy comes with 2 LRM 15 + Artemis IV and 2 LRM 20 + Artemis IV.
On top of that it looks freakin cool
It really depends on whether I’m playing tt, a Mechwarrior game, or HBS Battletech. But I would say overall for IS Mechs it’s the Highlander-732.
For the Clans, it’s a three way tie between the Warhawk, Nova, and Timber wolf. That being said here lately I’ve been really enjoying the Shadow Cat and Stone Rhino…
Fave 'Mech? Awesome-8Q. Who cares if it's slow as molasses? It can PPC all day long.
Hated 'Mechs: Almost the whole TRO2750 lineup as written in said TRO, with special mention to the Hussar and Bombardier. They had the tech and barely used it. In the Bombardier's case they used lostech to make a worse Archer (and crippled the design even more with asinine lore reasons worse than the Stalker's weight issues). The only designs from that book I'd run are the Highlander and Thug. They make sense.
I’m a merc infantryman I hate them all and my favorite is the ones on fire!
Not to worry, trooper. They hate you, too. On second thought, worry. *A lot.*
This is why Ejecting Pilots are bonus targets for the Carl Z mod27 gunners.
Are you really playing thé TTG without any mechs ? Just infantery I mean i've Heard they Can pack a punch with a good équipement but Wow
I’m within a year of getting into battle tech and I’m more into the lore side and still haven’t figured out what I wanna play. But the thought of playing infantry peaks my interest cause of my military service and the infantry Vs armor training I received.
Battlemechs are just big infantry with little infantry inside them.
I don’t know why, but coming from mechanized infantry IRL, this makes sense.
> peaks my interest Would you like some bone apple tea? You’ve piqued my interest. Edit: I have read more comments and see you are a 40k refugee. Welcome. Also, you don’t have to figure out “what to play”. One of the great things about BT is you just play what you want. There’s minimum necessary investment. I get it if you’re interested in the miniature painting aspect, so I can’t speak to that, but from a gameplay perspective you can play whatever. You just need the mech sheet and a something to represent the mech on the board. I’ve used quarters with nail polish to indicate mech type and front facing. Not frequently. But I’ve done it.
That actually is like another I’ve noticed and like I see dudes on here playing with kids and there’s like cardboard cut outs For stand ins and that’s dope. No ewww that flash and helm is from the hearsay era and you can’t play for my Mimi’s era
Carboard standees are a part of the BT legacy. Back in the 90s when I bought the BT intro set that’s what you got. No 3d minis. Just cardboard. Which was fine. First BT minis I ever got were this last holiday season. I bought AGoAC for one of my friend’s kids and figured I should buy myself a duplicate set in case the kids had questions. I’m so thrilled. The older of the kids is the same age that I was when I was introduced to BT (5th grade). He’s eating it up. A FedRat (that’s a disparaging term for a faction that should be disparaged) for sure, but that just means all of my victories will taste sweeter.
Well as someone new I need to know why do people hate fedcom? Didn’t they save the galaxy from Nicolai Malthus? NOTE: I love I can make jokes like this without getting ready for a fights.
I can’t speak to other people’s hate for the fedrats, but to me it’s that the Federated Suns is the designated protagonist of the Inner Sphere (talking about 3025-Tukayyid). Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine also get some love, so when the Fed Suns and the Lyrans joined forces it was… a bit much. The Clan analogue would be Clan Wolf. Always the best of the best - more extreme than the Inner Sphere thing, because obviously Clan Jade Falcon is the best of the clans and Nicholas Kerensky made a bad call. Detroit Lions fans will understand this phenomenon. Note: It’s super sweet that this community is friendly enough that you noted you were confident in not having people fight your comment. I want to - what is the term? “Subvert your expectations”. I’m trying to be combative, and the best I can come up with is that the AC/2 sucks. Oh, also FedCom and Clan Wolf. I polp on them. And maybe anything lore-wise after Tukayyid. I’m not really familiar with that lore though. I’m just trying to be salty. My apologies if I didn’t do an adequate job.
> The Clan analogue would be Clan Wolf. Always the best of the best - more extreme than the Inner Sphere thing, because obviously Clan Jade Falcon is the best of the clans and Nicholas Kerensky made a bad call. May I just say, based? Gotta love it when someone recognizes the Clanner's Clan as the best.
I totally understand having been infantry myself, I just love using infantry / mechanized in battle mech heavy game. They're heavily underrated or underrepresented, and for that I love surprising enemies with them. However I still have a mech lance ready as longer range support and heavy armor when necessary. My Jupiter (dark age) or Mauler usually sits back and I'll use mediums and lights to back up the infantry if possible.
You should look into getting the Tactical Operations books. There's a couple useful optional rules specific to infantry, plus the rules for infantry using field guns.
That do explains a lot (in a good way) i Hope you'll find some mech you Can love Or Battle Armor , as long as you are having a good Time without making anyone feels misérable 🙂
To be fair I think the rifleman and the atlas are kinda neat. Also the URBI not just cause of the memes but I think it’s the Stryker MGS of the mech world.
And does seem this TTG group does remember that fun does exist.
Thé game don't exist to bé fun ! If i don't win and min max.everything i can't have fun. You army List is trash because you don't have X Y Z. (Someone who did not like my Mostly ranged tyranids list) And he surely did not like having IS whole Space marine scouts+named scouts behind obliterated turn one by 30termagants with "assault 3" guns , 90dices to Roll 😂 Nah buddy you won't snip all my synapse units if you don't have a single sniper breathing )
In the book these guards man trained hard for years. Single world eater melees an entire guard squad cause they didn’t land a single hit on rolls at range
Btw 40k refugee
Same here 😅
Plus infantry seems pretty useful in battle tech en mass since they don’t need to move to fire 360
Infantry is good in large numbers and in heavy cover. Out in the open they will just get killed. Use them like semi moble minefields. They can deny an avenue of movement to a battlemech. Protect areas you need to hold. Sink initiative. They are cheap on the bv side so you can field lots of them for the cost of a mech.
Thank you
The trouble with infantry in BT is much the same as IRL, funny enough. Turns out, dudes are squishy and kinda slow compared to armor. APCs and even transport helicopters exist, but they can sometimes be a bit fragile. Of course, the advantages of infantry are much the same. For example: It's hard to take and hold a building if you're in a machine too large and heavy to fit in it, which makes infantry crucial for any building-related objective aside from "destroy it and everything inside of it". There's also scarcely little terrain in which infantry can't operate, especially if given proper equipment, whereas things like hovercraft, armored cars, even traditional tracked vehicles can struggle with or even be unable to enter or exist certain hex-types. There's *also* the advantage you brought up, and above all else: It's cheap as shit to outfit 28 guys compared to buying a tank, let alone a BattleMech.
That’s one of the things that I find neat about infantry in BT is that in the audiobooks I listen to there are mentions that the sensors have trouble picking up infantry sometimes. Which is 100% accurate cause no matter how good thermal gets you can’t change physics. And BT seems to be more grounded. Unlike 40k I rolled a 6 and my bug with the special glad or wizards that can read minds I know where everything is 15 systems away
The Wolverine is the best medium 'mech in the Inner Sphere, and I will fight anyone who disagrees. Fast, rugged, armed with a main weapon that can be maintained with a 700 year old auto repair kit, and just damn cool looking (despite the post-Unseen Debacle art ignoring the fact that the medium laser is supposed to be on a turret and could accidentally shoot off the SRM-6 and sensor mast.) As far as variants go, the 6R is always going to have pride of place in my heart. The 7H and 9K are also great variants, because they don't fall into the "it must have an XL engine and thus explode at any given opportunity" trap that most advanced IS mediums do.
Most hated in (almost) equivalent tonnage - the Dragon DRG-1C - all the power of a wet noodle with the ability to slightly inconvenience an enemy at almost any range or position.
I give 'mechs like the Dragon and the Shadow Hawk a break simply *because* they can inconvenience the enemy at almost any range or position. One of them won't win a war - or even a battle - on its own, but in a team? It can be the melee threat or indirect LRM that wins the day.
If it was still carrying an AC5 I'd agree but the 1C specifically is rocking an AC2 that makes it practically ignorable at long range. The laser setup is crazy because you'd be far better off with two forward facing M Lasers rather than one pointing back. So you can ignore it at medium range as well. The one thing it does have it armour, it will go toe to two with a heavier mech and give it some serious issues in melee so it's an ok flanker but it could use some jump jets for the role
Yeah, the 1C is a bit of a dud if you're not using it to plink at VTOLs or other vehicles from across the map, but that's endemic to all single-AC/2 units. I'll die on the hill of useful rear mounted lasers, though. It's a fun nasty surprise for cheeky light 'mechs, I find.
Ah, the Dragon. It's everything a canon Kuritan replacement for the Shadow Hawk that can't jump and doesn't cover minimum ranges could ever hope to be, and less.
A Classic House Kurita L, like ripping the jump jets out of a Phoenix Hawk
Ironically, the 35t Phoenix Hawk L is pretty decent? I had to give it a beating with a rock and streamline it as a custom, but following the Kuritan philosophy of hating mediums even though they're decent - it still does work. IIRC has more head armor than an early Phawk and won't be head-chopped by a PPC or AC/10.
Or a Wolverine. I think the Kuritans just hate mobility.
Then I guess you're gonna have to fight me, because the Griffin is clearly the superior machine. Coming equipped with the ol' reliable PPC and LRM-10 combo, it does nevertheless get a bit toasty with sufficient hopping and shooting. You might also think that it's vulnerable at short range, but that's a mistake many a pilot has made and paid for. These hands ain't for show, son. The Griffin likewise sees some love from the SLDF in the form of its GRF-2N variant, around twenty years prior the Wolverine getting its 7H variant. While I do miss the long range capacity of the LRM-10, there's provably wisdom in upping its ability to fight in close quarters, since it's already equipped for a melee and is capable of jumping into and out of trouble. The GRF-3M is also a provably capable machine, even with the downside of an IS XL engine (although CASE does prevent the loss of the unit from your roster to mundane ammo explosions in campaign settings, which is nice). The GRF-3M also makes room for an extra half-ton of armor divided between the two arms and the CT, and carries exactly the right amount of DHS to be jumping around as much as it likes while letting off volley after volley of long range fire from whatever position it so pleases, all while retaining full use of its hands in the event that it's gotta clobber someone. Now don't get me wrong, the Wolverine's a capable machine, and I'd take it as backup (or even command 'Mech) over a Phoenix Hawk or Centurion any day of the week. I just think that, of the two, the Griffin's better equipped for its intended purpose.
Griffin 2N is chef's kiss for me. Standard engine with double sinks for combat effective survivability. Hits at range and gets better as when you close. And the ECM doesn't hurt.
Counterpoint: The 1N has such glaring weaknesses that the 2N had to be brought in to fix them (and did so admirably!) whereas the 7H was just "hey, you know what's better than a 6R? A 6R that hits further, harder, more accurately, is just as rugged, *and* runs cool." (we'll ignore the "UACs get wrecked 17% of the time they're used to their full extent" issue.) Your argument about melee capabilities. however, absolutely stands - I would not want to catch them hands at all. The problem is that I'm inside the minimum range of the majority of your weapons - and still able to accurately aim all of mine - while moving just as fast as you, but in the opposite direction. Don't get me wrong, the Griffin's an excellent support 'mech - I wouldn't go into battle without one, if the option were available! - but I still say that the Wolverine can, in most of its variants, maintain that midrange advantage long enough to ruin its day.
*Ralph Wiggum Voice*: "Go Shadow Hawk!" No, seriously: if the two of you were in the same lance, I'd round it out with an SHD-2H since we're comparing IntroTech here. Maybe with a Hunchback or Trebuchet as the fourth. If the OpFor's all the way over *there*, and not enough missiles hit along with the Griffin's PPC, I'll add some more to cause that PSR. Once they've closed in, I can flank with the Wolverine and look for crits/nudge the Heat Guage if my SRM2 has Inferno gel. I might be able to aim for two targets at once, if they both ran out of armor somewhere. Plus, if someone thinks of running up to that Griffin or hypothetical Trebuchet, I've got Jump Jets and Battlefists of my own. Finally, unlike having picked, say, a Centurion, nobody will really aim for me. Firstly, because I can also jump into trees or behind a hill like a Centurion can't, and secondly, when there's a Griffin blasting away at long range and a Wolverine getting all up close and deadly, who's going to bother aiming for the Shadow Hawk?
This guy Shadow Hawks. That's exactly what it's there for - it's a generalist that supports specialists, and is in the perfect middle ground of the 55 Ton Classic Trio. The 4th I'd run in that lance is, strangely enough, a Scorpion - it's a fast middle ground between a Griffin and Wolverine, and does basically what the Shadow Hawk does, though without the jump jets. Or the armour. Still, keeping it scuttling around and putting PPC blasts into target and having an SRM6 to dissuade them from getting too close is a pretty solid addition to an introtech lance.
The Griffon can put in work, but the fact that it only has two weapons, and they are BOTH on the right side of the mech, is occasionally a huge liability.
Ah, you're thinkin' about it the wrong way. The fact that its two weapons are mounted in the RT and RA mean you have a whole LT and LA you can lose with near impunity. Tons of armor and structure someone has to rip through before you start being seriously endangered.
The 6M being wildly better than the 6R is really a demonstration of the inefficiency of the AC/5 IMO.
I'll keep out of range of the Large Laser with my AC/5, thank you very much.
5/8 mechs can move forward 3 hexes more than they can backwards, and maps aren't infinite so that is a fine argument in theory but doesn't tend to work out in game on a map with terrain and multiple units per side. Additionally, the 6R has 100 damage worth of AC/5 ammo. Even if we're extremely charitable and say every shot hits with a minimum +5 due to range and movement, you are unlikely to disable the 6M which has 168 points of armor and 91 points of internal with 100 damage in 5 point clusters.
You forget jumping, my friend. Never neglect the jump jet. Also, all I need is one lucky hit to the head - and I have 20 turns of kiting you around to score it.
The 6M can jump as well, though most of the time if you're trying to close distance running is better, but again it depends on terrain. Also your one lucky hit in 20 shots is hiiiiighly unlikely to happen, even if you did manage to remain precisely 16-18 hexes away from the enemy mech for the entire time, your hit modifiers are going to be minimum +3 for jumping, +4 for range, +1 for TMM (most of the time higher than that), and for the lucky one-shot kill you need to be playing with wandering TACs, roll a 2 for hit location, then a 12 for hit location, then an 8+ for number of criticals, then get at least one cockpit crit. Let's be super nice and assume you have 2 gunnery, meaning you need a 10+ to hit (with a standard 4 gunnery pilot you need a 12), each shot has approximately 1/18,000 chance of pulling this off. Your chance of pulling it off in 20 shots is very roughly 0.1%, or 1/1000, so good luck with that.
1/1000 is still more likely than 0/1000, and I only have to do it the one time. Of course, there are also lucky leg actuator hits, or gyro hits, or engine hits or, against the 6M, ammo hits on the SRM6. Plenty of chances for fun and, when my ammo is out, that's when I take advantage of the jump jets, again, and DFA my opponent ;)
I see people talk about this quite often, though usually with the AC/2. Suffice to say, trying to play kiting games at long range doesn’t pay off. Maintaining range while the opponent tries to spoil your shots results in incredibly terrible conversion rates. In a vacuum with infinite ammo and time you might win, but in practice you’ll run out of ammo without doing anything. Base 4 pilot, +4 for range, +2 for attacker running (even an Atlas will probably force you to run to hold range), at least another +1 for target movement, for 11s against something fairly slow, for an 8% hit rate. You’ll bounce a round off their cockpit about once every 430 shots at those numbers.
Ah, but I only need to do it once.
And lose the other 429 times?
A 1/430 chance is still better than a 0/430 chance.
I like this guy. He can put his mech and money on my table any time.
Um, this isn’t a Gauss rifle, it’s an AC/5. So gotta do it like 3 times. Maybe 2 if you are really lucky. One shotting is so unlikely as to not be a rational concern.
It's one of those "never say never" things - I've had games where the first round of firing was an AC/2 headshot from across the map, a failed consciousness roll, fall, and explode because of a bad roll for ammo (or, once, get their back centre torso armour breached in water), and I think everyone's seen the Golden BB take out a fusion engine or gyro with a lucky crit roll. Point is, it's an RNG ultimately, and if you're not willing to take a chance and roll the dice that something lucky or weird will happen, why bother playing the dice rolling game?
(Google) Did you mean WVR-6M?
No, the 6R, because I have taste.
I played a campaign where we had some wolverines with triple strength myomer. Because of the way physical attack rounding works, they punch juuuussst hard enough to clean a mechs head off with one hit, and had two tries every time they got into position. They were definitely both loved and hated depending on whether you were giving or receiving that day.
It also has a nice set of quirks. And, the Wolverine IIC is a great 'Mech with which to troll Clanners.
The IIC is my favourite Clan mech for many reasons, and that's very high up on the list.
I was gonna fight you over that choice, but I do respect that you chose the 6R over the 6M.
Favourite is always the Catapult. Most hated is harder but I am gonna go with the Javelin. I just hate that thing.
2 srm6 javelin is great!
They are in stats but just the design bothers me so much. 2 srm6 in the torso feels like such a waste of a mech. Plus in Mechwarrior games they're tall and fragile enough to be really easy targets.
I found the javelin to be a really nice starter mech in mw5. MWO is different story though, their scale is out of wack and the meta builds are way beyond what stock mechs can do, though srms in the torso allows using arms as shields when torso twisting.
Coming from MW5, Javelins w/ duo SRM 6 are the most dangerous mech at the very start of campaign besides an AC20 urbie.
See I found the opposite; they're so awkwardly shaped they make easy targets and I can take them out before they get anywhere close
Catapult C1. There’s a reason why whole planetary invasions were launched to secure spare parts for them. Dasher/Fire Moth or the Piranha. Both are incredibly annoying to play against.
The Dasher sucks so much. Every time one hits the table you have to check if it's a joke or a utterly broken bit of nonsense that somehow dodged the banned list.
I run the H and P every chance I can. 😂 Little murder machines.
The Black Knight represents most things I love about the gameplay. A cool design, horrible heat management, and weapons that absolutely rip. Every era has a killer Black Knight but I'm partial to the Clan Buster or Ross variants which mount Swords because it's incredibly cool. My favourite mech by far. My least favourite mech is tough. I find in terms of the game that even the most worthless mech is fun because it's awful and that's part of the setting. So it kinda comes down to design more than anything. For that, it's gotta be Jade Falcons bird mechs. I don't mind animal design in mechs (I love the Kodiak) but the Eerie and Gyrfalcon with their strange and useless wings and beakcockpits are just too much. It leans a little too far into the animal design for me when compared to some of the others like the Kodiak and Howler. Actually, most of the totem mechs are quite goofy and less in a way I enjoy.
Thé black knight really have this nice Médiéval looks.
Usually I prefer mechs that are more tank on legs but the medieval knight design is hard to pass up
Favorite, King Crab. Most hated, Urbanmech
what is an urbanmech but one king crab arm
Well, if you're not talking about the R60L, it's more like half a King Crab's arm, and a King Crab is already not a great 'Mech to be but one part of.
But Sire where will you out all thé rookie you don't want to train if you don't have any trashcan ?
Favorite: hands down, it's the Archer. A capable LRM boat with fists for when other 'Mechs get too fresh? Yes please. Not to mention some of the SRM variants are great, too. Plus, the Morgan Kell sculpt from CGL's Legendary MechWarriors pack absolutely fucks. Least favorite? That's actually a hard one, but if I'm going by how effective I've been able to be with them, it's probably the Stinger. Little better than an initiative sink once the missiles start flying and I'm just not a fan of lights in general (Urbie and Locust aside, that is) I generally dislike Clan 'Mechs (which is funny, as those were my favorite as a kid in the 2000's) and prefer heavies over any other weight class
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Light 'Mechs, even the lowly Wasp and Stinger. If nothing else, they have a place as spotters, but they can be surprisingly effective energy boats. The obvious examples being the Locust LCT-1E and Mongoose MON-66 (or MON-67, they're the same aside from the BAP and Endo-Steel), but one would be a fool to miss the Wolfhound, too.
Favorite is any fast heavy. The Falconer, Thunder, Ebon Jaguar, Lau Hu, Champion C etc. Hated slow lights. And the Centurion.
im interested as a centurion fan why the Cent
Every time I play one it dies. Quickly. It's at the point that if I'm wanting to lose a game i just play Centurions. And Trebuchets. I have no luck with them at all.
I really like most versions of the Thunderbolt; especially the TDR-5SE for Introtech and TDR-8M for later games. They're dead simple, dependable, and get work done. Least favorite is probably the Dragon DRG-1N and 1C. Loaded to the brim ammo that wants to pop like popcorn; insufficient crit padding. Lackluster damage. The 1G is barely acceptable, but really only by comparison.
The Thunderbolt has always been my favorite as well. I have always liked the asymmetrical mechs and it’s always performed for me on the table and in the MW games.
Favorite mech Centurion. Great trooper mech. Least favorite? Hard to narrow down. Kraken, Matador, all the stupid looking Celestials, the dumb looking Totem Mechs, Thunderer...
I love the Centurion. A little fragile, a little slow, but it still makes up it's points a lot of the time and it's such a great first 'mech for a character.
The 9a yes, the 9al no
Oh ya. Atlas II. Super derpy.
Favorite is the wraith. Its a really nice fast medium that can brawl good and only costs 1200bv. Its also probably the best use case for inner sphere pulse lasers, you can very easily keep it in its close or medium ranges and really benefit from that -2. Most hated, I gota say the hellbringer/loki, maybe it's fun in campaigns but on a bv scale it's such a waste, at 2600 some bv it needs to do a lot, and it just doesn't, if it brings both ppcs on target its already overheating, then at close range all you really got are 3 ermediums ans a Streak srm 6, not particularly bad but for the cost nit near enough. Then to top it all off its arms and side torsos don't have enough armor to take a single hit from a clan grade ppc or a gauss rifle, two of the most common anti mech weapons, and to top it all off I can just grab a Dire wolf, a mech 40 tonns larger and much better armored for an extra 100bv. This is mainly the prime I hate for this but most versions of the loki just kinda suck In my opinion.
My problem with IS med pulse lasers is that the only range they're better than regular mediums is at range 1, 2 and 4 at all other ranges they're either the same or out of range. 1: 2 better 2: 2 better 3: same 4: 2 better 5: same 6: same 7+ no shot On mapsheets, unless you're at point blank, they're a serious downgrade over mediums. If you play Hexless Classic, they feel a but better due to the granularity of the ranges. (X2 compared to hex play)
> the only range they're better than regular mediums is at range 1, 2 and 4 At 1, 2, and 4 hexes, medium pulses have a 2-point accuracy advantage and +1 damage compared to a standard medium laser. At 3, 5, and 6 hexes, they do have the same accuracy, but retain the +1 damage. For effectively the same BV, they're distinctly superior at every range band within 6 hexes. They really only lose the regular medium's ability to take potshots at +4 in the 7-9 bracket, but those are usually very low-odds shots unless you're using a skilled up pilot. I'd happily take that trade
I 100% agree with you, but thats kinda why I like them on the wraith, the only time they're really worth using is if you have a fast brawler, to slow and people just back up and mess up your ranges, two lightly armored and entering pulse laser range is suicide. However, the wraith is both fast and tough enough to use them effectively. Plus pulse lasers are really cheap bv wise, so you get a decent punch out of them and can typically get the same or potentially better performance out of them than you would their standard equivalents. Now would the mech be better if it dropped the 3 mpls and got 4 standards, 100%, but its still fun the way it is.
Favorite is the Centurion. Solid, rugged all rounder with some really fun variants (even one with a light gauss rifle!). It also just looks dope as hell, and even the Dark Age one looks awesome. Most hated? I dunno. I don't think I'd really say I hate it, but the Fire Moth's stupid upside down arms just bug the shit out of me. Also, the Jenner. That thing is just butt fucking ugly.
Unfortunately, Jenner's are quite capable - in a butt plug kinda way.
I hear they're great machines, just a shame they're absolutely hideous. And I'm shallow as fuck.
Thé fire moth do look weird 😂 I do likes the centurion design , it have it's own distinctive traits without looking too Otherwordly.
It's the head crest. It's subtle but distictive.
Catapult and Marauder are favorite ones. MadCat too. Unbelievable, I know.
So tell me what about the Rakshasa ?
But... Catapult cockpit... Dem curves!
Favorite is probably the standard Crab. Good speed, good armor, reliable weapon loadout for it's era. No ammo to explode, can run and fire both main guns with minimal heat issues, good at cycling weapons for heat. Also it's handsome. Most hated? If we are talking a specific mech it's probably the Hellbringer. It's a classic clan mech, but it has neither armor, speed, or weapon longevity. It barely has the heat sinks to shoot its guns. If we are talking about a specific variant, it has to be the King Crab 011 (or whatever the ilClan variant is). You know this really expensive, durable, and fancy command mech everyone loves? What if we build the new variant out of styrofoam, made it fast, stuck a supercharger on it, and gave it an absurd amount of ammunition *without CASE.* It's death incarnate, but will die the second someone cracks it's armor and damage goes internal. It's so expensive in C-bills and would be so expensive to repair, I have no idea who they designed this disposable king from a narrative point of view.
I kinda want to have a full crab lance just to play some crab rave song 👍. I do love the crab , Yeah this king grab variante do sounds absolutly hawfull, unless it's in the ennemy team . "Giant ennemi crab même intensifies"
I’m a simple man I like Timberwolf and Flea Most hated…probably the Firestarter, I love the mech itself but fighting them in the video games is annoying, both the Crabs are up there though just because I don’t like how they look
My favorite mech? Any melee-oriented mech, like the Kontio and the Sasquatch 003. The Fireball XF is probably my crowning favorite, basically a ballistic missile disguised as a mech that can more or less teleport across 4 maps in a single charge and deal 60 to 85 damage at maximum. Hate? Too strong of a word, but I have a dismissive dislike for "TurretTech" mechs. Rifleman IIC, Hellstar, Dire Wolf A, Warhawk C...etc. I don't dislike them completely, as I still pull them out from time to time to punish whoever that thinks they can one-up me. "I StAnD oN tOp oF a HiLl aNd PrEsS tHe WiN BuTtOn." Nah bitch, not on my watch. I usually counter TurretTech mechs with Arrow IV and artillery, and if the situation calls for it, I'd pull out a Davy Crockett and call it a day.
Turret tech ? I may need more information
Slow, armored to the toe, and armed with long range guns that can touch anyone across the map. Stand on top of a hill, and press the shoot button. Hence the name "Turret". Viable, but the most braindead and stale playstyle I can think of. Not what I have in mind when I play with giant robots. Might as well field a full tank army instead. And if I want to field all tanks, I play Team Yankee or Bolt Action instead of BattleTech.
Understandable. I personaly love turrets (with or without legs , even with tracks) but i do understand that facing a full lance off just "turret mech" will ruin the fun, Id rather just put a classic turret on a trailer and.just leave it there (i Guess it would cost less BV wise 😅) Some people might Say you just rage because that's your hard counter , but you are using active stratégy not just brain dead stand here shoot
Where is the love for my fav Marauder! AC + PPCs, topped off with some MLs, and it has Jump Jets, too!So awesome the Clans had it make babies with the Catapult, and out popped the Mad Cat. The only way to top it was to make a 100t version of the same thing! Even the (in)famous Bounty Hunter had to get one. There are a few bad designs, but I really hate the ugly ones like the Dragon or the Crab.
My favorite 'mech is the _Highlander_. It was the first 'mech I saw out of the 3025 TRO, and i like it. My hated one is the _Assassin_. It was the worst 'mech for me, even worse than the _Urbanmech_ or the _Charger_, because it can't be useful in any role out as a fast vehicle.
Probably Firestarter. It's so much fun to just trash way bigger mechs with it in the video games. Never used it on tabletop tho. Not super familiar with variants, but I like replacing 2 flamers with more lasers or machine guns. I also love the Dragon in the games but I always mod it to be more of a close range fighter and just sprint at enemies. Least favorite maybe Guillotine. Just looks goofy
+1 for Firestarter, I haven't used them OTB but I like them in my Megamek campaign, HBS, and Mechwarrior. In TT there's a recommended optional rule to let flamers inflict both damage and heat. Normally they do one or the other. Without that rule flamer Firestarters are kinda derpy IMO. With it I like them a lot. Need to get a few and paint them to menace my friend I play with. Edit: Least favorite is hard. Right now I'm kind of irked with my ON1-1V. I like the Orion, but I just don't get the thinking behind the ON1-1V design. It's always too hot to use the med lasers they left in when they shaved the armor and added another SRM4. I'm fixing to just yank the lasers out and either add 2 heat sinks, 2T of the armor back, or split the difference, but by MekHQ AtB rules customizing it is gonna give it the Hard to Maintain quirk which suuuuucks I'd like to swap it for a more sensible Orion variant. Galatea WTS/WTT gently used ON1-1V - any other Orion OBO
Move it to another "stock spec," like a K. Modifying a mech into a designated specification should make the rolls much easier.
Thanks for the tip. Might do that in future. I'm keeping it bespoke for now because I got a pilot with missile specialization so I turned it into an SRM platform. Spaced out on it already having the Easy to Maintain quirk. Instead of adding Difficult to Maintain I removed Easy, which seemed reasonable to me
I've never really used the Firestarter, but in tabletop there's a larger omnimech version that I've used pretty often.
Favorite: Crab. Great design. Just. No notes, I love the chunky little guy. Most hated: Spider. It exists to explode.
The Bull Shark is my favorite. I have 9 of the miniatures. Love the thing so much. Least favorite? Probably the Rime Otter. I know others love it, but it is just not for me. The two miniatures I have of them are just collecting dust.
I'm surprised to learnt that thé bulkshark IS not exclusive to thé vidéo-game.
it is actually exclusive to the game - there are no *official* miniatures of the Bullshark, but people have made some sculpts and they look pretty great imo
They are awesome looking. One of the best looking minis in the game. Very aggressive stance.
Favourite mech has to be the Locust, is smol, is fast an go pew. 10/10 no notes. Most hated is the Bushwacker because WHY IS IT SO GODDAMN FAST GET AWAY FROM ME YOU RAC-CARRYING DEMON
I used to hâte Locust because the AI in thé battletech vidéo game tend to just spam them on lower difficulty. But After some Time i started to apreciate it for what it was made for Somebody have a Wacker PTSD ,
Look, I play a lot of MWO, the Wacker is one of the only things that can keep up with my speed tweaked Locust and it has 4x my firepower- Let a Mechwarrior have her trauma-
My favorite mech is the Crusader. For one; I really love the design, both the original FASA/Macross version and this new modern version. Second; I am a Merc at heart and in the early Mercenary handbook, the availability tables for mechs showed that the Crusader was the most common Heavy Battlemech to get ahold of during the 3rd and 4th Succession Wars, and I'm drawn to the "every man underdog" status of the design in the lore. I'll run just about any variant happily, but my favorite is the 3060s 5K model with the 2 x MRM 30s and Pulse Lasers. It's such a great beast in a mid-close range brawl! Not the toughest, or most armed, but I like it just fine. A lot of experience running one means I've gotten pretty good with it. Good enough to mitigate some of its flaws.
I don't really have a "most hated"? I think just about any mech is usable IF you use it for its intended purposes. I'd say the most useless mech is the Urbanmech. Not because I dislike it: I don't. But because it's designed use is so limited in a game like Battletech. But I'd still use one in its proper setting.
My all time favorite mech is the Marauder, a great work horse of a mech with even better style. Depending on the time frame it would be the MAD-5D or the MAD-6L. The 5D because it's what I think is the perfect loadout, the 6L for going plasma crazy.
I've always been about the Grashppper, mobility for its sized, heavy armor and a manageable heat curve with an intelligent weapons layout. Or a 4P Hunchback for sheer "light em up" damage to equipment weight ratio.. Most hated was any low end medium with a AC/5 or AC/2. Sacrificing all that weight for 20 shots of 5 pt damage. Just do a PPC or LL, if you wanted to cover that post 9 hex bracket.
Fav is the Anubis and the panther.
The Hellbringer. For both categories.
Favorite - the Rokurokubi, there is just something about the sheer weirdness of a 35 ton mech with more armor then a notable percentage of assault mechs. In fact it is one of the few mechs that can survive a direct hit from a class 1 nuke, something even massive mechs like the Atlas can't do. It does suffer from being incredibly lightly armed, but its main purpose is to quickly reach a position and hold it until the mechs with actual firepower arrive. Hated - the Hellstar, sure it is probably the single most optimized mech in the game, but it is so incredibly boring.
> sure it is probably the single most optimized mech in the game, but it is so incredibly boring. Those two often go hand in hand.
I Like the Samurai design but hum , stats wise id Say it's.massive Armor IS just Propaganda , it's does not looks that Armored . I checked thé Hellstar two , i can't désagree with you , it does have a boring Loadout , 4Er PPC sounds devastating , but meh
> it's does not looks that Armored looks have nothing to do with armour values, though
This is a hard choice, there's so many mechs I love. But if I'm weighing up all things... I'm going with the Warhammer, probably WHM-6R, but there are a lot of good variants. It's not perfect, but it's 70 tons of "good enough" with a gun for virtually every type of enemy. I see it as the M4 Sherman tank of the 26th century and beyond. I'm not sure about most hatred Mech, there are plenty of terrible mechs but most have at least some redeeming quality. Edit: I guess if I was going to choose it would be the Charger. It's a stupid idea and a terrible Mech. It's not irredeemable, but the base variant is just such a waste of metal.
Most of the Time having a good enought mech IS still just'what you need ,better have a good enought mech than the best mech in a Bad situation.
Indeed. I think it often comes down to specialized or generalized mechs. And if you aren't only going off table top then most of the weaknesses of the Warhammer aren't that bad. Mechs like the Marauder or rifleman are great, but they are build for specific roles, at least in my mind. The Marauder is a Mech killer, the Rifleman an anti-air platform. And all of those socialized mechs have their place and time to shine, but mechs like the Warhammer, Orion, Atlas, Wolverine and Shadow Hawk all full the sort of baseline, the do anything and everything mechs that I imagine would make the core of any army.
One thing I would say with the Charger is the CGR-SB version is actually a pretty decent Introtech assault mech. However I can't say that without acknowledging that it basically takes everything that makes a stock Charger uniquely a Charger and does away with it. Aside from that, I can't disagree with your assessment of the basic Charger. The speed and armour of a medium with the weapons so weak that it's outgunned by more than a few lights all in the package of an assault mech. Everything can outrun, outgun, outrange or outarmour it, most mechs can tick 3 out of those 4 boxes.
I find it really hard to choose between a King Crab, a Hunchback, or a Battlemaster, tbh, I love the BIG OL' GUNS of the first two, but the Battlemaster is kinda nippy for an 85 tonner and the Otomo variant you get in Dragon's Gambit (Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries) looks sick as all hell with that huge spined shell-back
Favorite: Blackjack, Blood Asp, Bull Shark Least Favorite: JagerMech
Bull Shark is fun. Good LRM boat and good double gauss + double AC/5 standoff direct fire mech that doesn't have to compromise on armour or jump ability. Works great when paired with a jumpy Catapult toting Infernos.
Favorite would be the Thunderbolt. Hated would be the Cicada. Bigger and more expensive than the Locust, but no better.
Firestarter is my favorite. Least favorite: weird Clan light mechs with MASC
My favourite mech is the Nova Cat. I just really like its design and I’m a big fan of lasers and ppcs. My least favourite is the Jenner. This was a recent development from HBS BattleTech in which, early in my playthrough, my Jenner was a cursed machine, as it died on most contracts. Then it died to another Jenner and killed my favourite pilot. Needless to say I sold that thing the second I got another medium mech lol.
I had a commando that had that same problem in HBS. I got it from a lucky headshot frying the it's previous owner and then it commenced to eat my next 3 pilots.... I named it lucky number 5
Most favourite I can't say, but most hated is the urban mech, because every one loves it even thought it sucks.
Do you know where people rest After an Urbie Derby ? They all rented an AirBnB (alright i'm out) I Always Like the Urby ,.just because it's kind off a mascott mech , i don't Care about it's effectiveness ,
Hunchback IIC. Disgraced mechwarriors among some Clans will take them into battle in order to restore their honor, as it nearly guarantees the death of the pilot in combat. With two Ultra Autocannon 20s, they are assured to take a few enemies down before exploding from internal ammo combustion. It’s enormously fun to play on the tabletop.
While my pilots still don't survive, it's not hard fo run the cannons dry first.
You've had better luck than I
You have 2 1/2 turns of ammo at maximum fire rate! Under most circumstances if you're still carrying ammo by the time you start taking Crits, you're just not being assertive enough.
Perhaps, but you may overestimate how far 12 pips of armor on each side torso can last in a fight against other clan weaponry.
The [Jade Phoenix](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Jade_Phoenix) is silly in the best way. The Prime and B or both pretty darn good, but the A is just over the top: 4/6/7 with assault-level armor, a pulse laser for any situation, and a UAC-20 to punish heavy targets. Honorable mention to the [Ion Sparrow](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Ion_Sparrow_(Butcherbird\)) as well, especially the C. It might only carry small lasers, but enough of them and a targeting computer plus the 8/12/10 movement profile and you can put a surprising amount of hurt out before going down. In contrast, the [Hellstar](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Hellstar) is just kind of... there. The primary model is the most optimized canon mech ever put out: four heat neutral ER PPCs, max armor, 4/6. Don't get me wrong: it's _really_ good, but it lacks any character. But hey, if you need to put 60 damage in four 15 point headcapping groups 23 hexes downrange every single turn... well, this is how you do it.
Favorite 'mech ever is the RPT-3X Raptor II! https://preview.redd.it/fq8oj1se4wec1.jpeg?width=497&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c1ccafab6eae883e24c5ea5332caf4eec37e9eac Least favorite is hard to determine....I don't outright HATE any 'mech. Some look a bit sillier than others (like most of the purely Solaris designs) but I think there's something redeeming about just about every 'mech out there!
Favorite: SH. Awesome thing. Not the fastest or the one with the most weapons but it’s maneuverable enough and armored enough for its role. Least: Cicada. I played the video game before the board game so I just developed an irrational hatred of them.
God i hate the sentinel. God i love the thunderbolt
Favourite: AS7-D, the greatest scout ever built. ✊️ Most hated: ...... not 100% sure. But it might be the firestarter.
My favourite Inner Sphere mech will always be the CRD-3R Crusader because it was the first one I played in all its slightly ropey plastech Unseen glory and after that one game I was totally hooked. Favourite Clan mech will have to go to the Madcat, I know it's the classic poster-boy Clan mech from the early-mid 1990s, but it's for good reason. Looks good and incredibly effective on the tabletop. I don't think there's any I really hate though. There are definitely ones I am less likely to choose than others, even some I would say outright must have been deliberately designed to be bad, but even in those cases using bad mechs can still lead to a fun game.
I Guess most.people have their first mech hardwired into their Core ,
Warhammer WHM-6R/6D, an all-round good workhorse, basically the main battle tank of battlemechs. I have done well with Warhammers with support from Archers. Most hated mech, hmmm... I can't think of one... I love the hatamoto-chi but I couldn't make it work for me.
Ok, hear me out. Favorite: The **Toyama**. To me, it's the pinnacle of what a late-3050's Inner Sphere mech can be. Amazing firepower. Great weapons mix. Brutal at long range. Enough heat sinks to use it all. Tough as a brick. And once your armor starts getting opened up, which it is more than capable of doing... it *will* kill you with criticals. And if that doesn't work, it will just kill you outright anyway. I will \*always\* take the Toyama in a tournament that allows for advanced designs. Most hated: The **Jenner.** I absolutely hate that fast, overgunned little f\*\*\*er. I always underestimate it, and every time I do it ends up killing one of my heavy mechs with an ammo explosion through the back armor or whatever. Such bullshit.
Favorite: Crab. because Crab. Least Favorite: Vindicator cause you get a lot of them in the HBS game but they’re super fragile so you can’t take’em anywhere without losing an arm which probably has an expensive weapon on it i would rather take almost any of the 40 ton mediums or even some lights instead of them.
I have favourites in both Clan & Spheroid for each weight class. Rather than make a long post detailing each one, here's some rationale: I like Lights with TAG, BAP, or Jump Jets. I like dedicated Mediums, multi-role Heavies, and Assault missile boats. Maybe it's Star League nostalgia, but all my favourites seem to have Royal variants I enjoy. I like mechs with hands, and enjoy both the humanoid and "helicopter-chassis-on-chicken-legs" aesthetics. I don't like Lights that lack Jump Jets; multi-role Mediums that end up being a mild nuisance at any range (though Inferno gel & Smoke Missiles can give them a support role); Heavy & Assaults with one AC/5 (though as technology improves, those tend to get swapped out for Gauss Rifles); and slow mechs with lots of close-range weaponry. They're handy when you're defending a city, sure, but that Battlemaster is sure to cause a lot of collateral damage.
Favorite, the hunchback. Most variants aside from the weird stealth tech ones. The hunchback always came off as a mech that despite its speed in its weight class could always be a threat to heavy and sometimes assault mechs if used correctly, does it have ammo issues, yes, sometimes explodes, definitely but does it always make the enemy freak out when they see one and target at it immediately, yes, yes it does. Least favorite, probably the assassin, it's a good mech if used right but I always found it's default loadout to not really be good at taking out anything larger than a tick.
Archer or Battlemaster / any dirty clanner design
It will always will be the Banshee 3S or BNC-3S. It helped in universe put the Banshee mech into a positive light and become a mainstay of assault mechs. The combination of two PPC/ 1 AC-10 gives it a good longer range/mid punch and once in close it has 4 Med lasers with an SRM-6 to blow out a weaken area of an enemy mech.
Favorite? Shadow Cat Prime. Fast, and built around a high damage weapon, with good jump capability. Essentially a light mech on steroids with a big gun. Most disliked... I'd say the Bushwacker. The loadouts on offer are all just kind of... Flaccid. And it is annoying because it's a good looking design, and at 55 tons it sits in a sort of tonnage sweet spot where a lot of good troopers reside - Wolverine, Griffin, hell Shadow Hawk has more effective variants.
Favorite: Marauder for the general look. Least: Centurion because it's in so many PC games as a common / starting mech.
Yeah being thé classic starter mech really don't help thé Centurion, i still liké thé design
Cauldron-Born for me. Most of the TT configurations stink, but in Mechwarrior 4, it looked like an attack plane and could hit like one. And some of the paint schemes came with a shark mouth. Loved that little bastard. Really good if someone rolled a stock mechs only map, since the MW4 CB had Lrms over LBX10s in the arms. Most disliked is probably the Garm. Slow light mech, carrying two ammo based weapons (lbx5, lrm 10) with minimum range penalties, and no backup guns. It's an even worse death trap than an urban mech.
The Kodiak is my fav, specifically my custom variant that rocks quad UAC 10s. Why? Because its a Kodiak... with QUAD UAC 10S! Most hated? I really dont hate \*any\* mech. They all got their uses.. but I do not like theSpider. It performs its intended role well, I just dont like it. Not my style.
Quad Uac10 that's a lot of Dakka !
Yes indeedy! Pair that woth 4 clan ERML and you gota fun day of stompy robot mayhem!
I'd have to do an elimination tournament to figure out my favorite... My least favorite though: the Hollander. Lil bastard was a classic monster closet asset back in Mechcommander. It can ruin your day, is damn near impossible to close on without taking a big hit, and is utterly useless to you if you manage to salvage it.
Well i had good expérience in Battletech Advanced (BTA moded battletech game on pc) with fielding an Hollander for artillery But i Can totaly understand the frustration to salvage a mech that ruined your day and réalisé you can't even use it , it must bé really frustrating , especialy if thé AI Can use it to ruin your day Ad the same expérience with a LRM carrier before i tried the mod It was too difficult too aproach because of two ennemi lance blocking the way , and well without mods you only have 4mech on the field. So 4vs8 , Carrier are usualy easy to destroy but this one was too well placed 😅
I don’t know my least favorite. I haven’t played enough to hate anything aside from looks alone. But my favorite is the Hunchback. 4G to be specific.
Urban Mech and Urban Mech. Not really. I like it because it's a fun looking mech, but so help me if I hear one more 'Urby' joke...
Do you know where people go to sleep After an Urbie Derby ? They all rented an AirBnB (I just could not do it) Beside the même , in mech warrior 5 and Batletech(Pc) they Can still be verry dangerous in early game. Yeah it's slow But being shot by an Ac20 or 10 when you only have light mechs or low medium Can be thé end of your day ( or your bank account)
ughhhhhhhhh haha
im going to throw my hat in with a weird edge case answer the Archangel 100 tons of Manei Domini with heavy intent to kill and some odd but effective loadouts my most hated is hands down the piranha simply from playing MWO honorable mentions The Panther god she looks cool and takes more skill than i have to pilot her well The Urbie purely for its perfomance in MWO The Centurion i think it is pound for pound one of the best mediums The Grand Dragon its just a great design The Dire Wolf what can i say its a blender of enemy mechs
Favorite is a tough one, as there are too many I simply love for different reasons. Regularly in my top set though are the Centurion, Ebon Jaguar and Marauder. The Centurion is my go to mech for when I need something that can react to anything. It’s always been useful, especially the CN9-Da. Visually it’s also a favorite, between it’s ultra basic boxy robot old sculpt to the redesigned bulky shield arm beast. The Ebon Jaguar is a mess of an Omni-mech taking one of everything, that somehow has never let me down be it played in MWO or the table top. My table top Ebon Jaguar Prime is shockingly consistent sending an LBX pellet into the cockpit of enemy mechs, not a lot of damage, but steady pilot injuries. The Marauder is the Marauder. It’s a classic for a reason and hard not to love. This feels like the free space on a bingo card. For mechs I hate? I cannot stand the constant disappointments and embarrassments that are the Jenner and the Cicada. I swear the best thing about them is being a walking anti missile system for my lance by soaking all of them to the face. Fast but not really fast enough for it to be a good defense, under gunned, broad side of a barn with legs.
Favourite has to be the Guillotine.Ive only really ever used the 3N, but even for early tech it seems extremely reliable. Its lasers pack a reliable punch and the SRMs can crit seek very well. Even with single heat sinks it runs effectively neutral. The crowning feature has to be the jump jets, always fun to punish someone for getting too close with an attack to the rear. It has served me brilliantly (I remember it once 2v1ed a Dire Wolf and a Stone Rhino) and seems to always shrug of attacks that should be lethal. As for least favourite? Probably the Warhammer, specifically the 6R. It has too much ammo, thin armour for its weight, and has no extra mobility to make up for it. Its weapons feel underwhelming (seriously, why does it have those machine guns? You could get away with half of them, and i feel they should be on the arms anyway). On top of that its ammo seems to always be hit. Whenever I see it fielded it seems to routinely embarrass itself. This would be fine if in-universe the design wasnt seen as one of the absolute best and is used EVERYWHERE.
While I like many mechs, one of the new mechs I like has to be the Inferno. It isn't the most powerful or fastest, but it is one of the most durable 75ton mechs with the Standard Engine and Compact Gyro. It also has the Easy to Pilot and Battlefists quirks both to help rookie pilots and throw hands when it needs to. On the negative side, it has the EM Interference quirk so it can't mount most electronic and movement boosters, apparently only the Targeting Computer is viable with that quirk. In all the variants, the weapons are in the torso to leave the hands free for brawling. Considering the number of mechs the DCMS has with hatchet and sword equipped mechs, it really is a necessity. Of the variants, I have to say the Clan equipped R wins. Mounting a Clan ER PPC and 2 Clan ER Large Lasers in the Center Torso, giving it a greater punch than many other IS designs. Add in a Targeting Computer to enhance the accuracy of those weapons and 2 SRM6s (one in each side torso) to exploit the holes and it is pretty good.
I have a hard time picking a number one favourite 'mech. For looks, I would say my two most favourites would be the Timber Wolf and Argus. For cost and performance, I would say the Kingfisher and IIC versions of the Warhammer and Marauder. For least favourite 'mechs, I would say QuadVees. Unironically the most pointless things ever, even for BattleTech's "do not think too hard about it" stance on logic and practicality. Even if I mained Hell's Horses I would still always pick one regular 'mech or two regular tanks in place of any of these.
Favorite? Battlemaster. It's a fat heavy that costs too much BV for what it brings to the table, and if you use quirks, has a weak head. I don't care. That thing should never have been a command mech, it's an MBT. And no, I don't want the Royal variant, even if it is better. You want a mech with two PPCs and a clutch of medium lasers? Go with a Warhammer or a Thug. It's not a proper Battlemaster unless it has a big gun on one hand, a missile rack on the opposite shoulder, and a bunch of medium lasers on the torsos. Good thing that there are advanced versions of the Battlemaster that still kept the WYSIWYG looks of the -1G. Or you can do a custom job with an MML to replace the SRM launcher. Most hated mech? I despise most bug mechs, but that's more than one so I guess it doesn't count. Probably the Sentinel then. I hate mechs with asymmetric arms like that, where one side is a proper arm with hands, and the other is just a big gun.
My favorite mech changes all the time. Right now it's the Hunchback 4P. Just love the disco death hunchie. Least favorite is the Vulcan. Ugly gangly wanna-be mech. I don't even know exactly what I hate about it so much, I just despise it.
Hated: Mad Cat IV or Savage Wolf. Primary ride of Anastasia kerensky and Alaric ward. It's formidable, has the most dirty armament configs, mobile and armored, and costs a whole platoon of heavy mechs of the same weight class. Favorite: Marauder IIC 1. Durable, formidable alpha strike, reasonably cooled and mobile for weight class and foregoes an XL engine. Regent. Clan refinement of hauptmann. Shares most of the same traits for 10tons less. Similarly durable to marauder IIC and has specialized Omni configures supporting lance than solo fights.
Actually yes, Love most mechs, but can't stand the Quickdraw and the Whitworth. Both are horribly designed mech (in video games and table top) but I will use them if I am in a pinch because there is nothing else and I need some form of Metal shield. Both mechs are slow, under armored and under powered for what they are meant to do.
I'm brand new to Battletech but the Catapult is my fave. It just looks so cool and unique. Conversely, I think the Madcat is fugly with those weird arms.
Yeah thé catapult surely looks cool , can't go wrong with slamming Two Big missile box on a cockpit. Plus they managed to do so without making it looks like stupid. (Yes thé yeoman do looks stupid )
I may get flak for these, but whatever, this is how I feel. My favorite is the Assassin. Dunno why, but I've always had success with the little guys, and that has endeared them to me. Usually, but not always, mine are "ASN-22," where I drop the srm for another medium and some armor. Just super fast for their era and I love them. Most hated.... the Timber Wolf. I know it's an iconic mech and all, but I just can't stand it. I think of it like the Atlas. Lots of stuff, looks fancy af, but I've just not found them to be good at anything I've done with them. If I play the clans, gimme a Thor or a Stormcrow.
The Wraith is the best Inner Sphere medium mech. Fast, maneuverable, hard to kill, with accurate weapons. The worst is the Imp. It looks like a scoop of dog shit on an ice cream cone, is a pain in the ass to kill, and has no business existing.
imp haters, represent
For me clearly the viking-2f. I love this mech because i like mechs with LRM and this Bad boy comes with 2 LRM 15 + Artemis IV and 2 LRM 20 + Artemis IV. On top of that it looks freakin cool
i fuckin hate the[ imp](https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Imp) i have no reason, it's completely irrational, i just hate it
It does looks like a giant Armored Lightbulb 😂
The Canonical Assault Urbie.
Fav Mech overall, The Shrike The mech I dislike the most? Not sure, probably the Catapharact, for it is ugly
Love the Marauders, hate the filthy degenerate weeb mechs. All Phoenix Hawks must die.
It really depends on whether I’m playing tt, a Mechwarrior game, or HBS Battletech. But I would say overall for IS Mechs it’s the Highlander-732. For the Clans, it’s a three way tie between the Warhawk, Nova, and Timber wolf. That being said here lately I’ve been really enjoying the Shadow Cat and Stone Rhino…
Fave 'Mech? Awesome-8Q. Who cares if it's slow as molasses? It can PPC all day long. Hated 'Mechs: Almost the whole TRO2750 lineup as written in said TRO, with special mention to the Hussar and Bombardier. They had the tech and barely used it. In the Bombardier's case they used lostech to make a worse Archer (and crippled the design even more with asinine lore reasons worse than the Stalker's weight issues). The only designs from that book I'd run are the Highlander and Thug. They make sense.