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Offline Scotty

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BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
And maybe this one will be more active than the SA one.  And there can never be enough BattleTech.  Also I've got way too much damn time on myself and I write BattleTech articles that I'm too obnoxious not to post here, too.

"BUT WAIT" you ask "WHAT THE HELL IS BATTLETECH AND WHY DO I CARE?"



The answer, young one, is that BattleTech is, after maybe Star Wars (and certainly more internally-consistent) the single largest organized science fiction setting in the world and one of the oldest table top and miniatures games still published.  It has spawned four different tabletop games and rulesets spread across fourteen different editions of box set , thirteen video games in four different series, and over 100 novels, and a saturday morning cartoon (no I'm not joking).

"WHAT THE **** DOES THAT MEAN" you continue to complain.

It means that there's more **** to dig into here than I have time or words in this post.  There are books and rules and everything you need to play a game that takes place anywhere from ancient 2300 (or 1945, if you fancy an April Fool's Joke) to the bleeding edge of 3150.  Over 850 years of pretty thoroughly detailed history and war.  It's a space opera of epic scope and scale.



That's the setting, right there.  The map of the Inner Sphere as of 3025.

"THAT'S NOT THE BEGINNING WHAT GIVES"

Shut up, that's where the game got started.  BattleTech started as "BattleDroids" all the way back in 1984.  Lucasfilm was not impressed.  That's why it's not called BattleDroids anymore.  It got itself rebranded as BattleTech just in time for 1985.  The original setting was Mad Max as ****.  Factories didn't work anymore, nobody could build anything more advanced than a car, and entire battles were fought over spare parts and water.  The BattleMech was the king of everything, and the MechWarrior was the knight in shining armor that conquered and defended planets often times single-handedly.  Life is cheap.  BattleMechs aren't.  Long gone are the days of the Star League, a golden age of humanity where technology never before or after dreamt of catered to every woe and whim.  In their stead are war and death and decay, the once gleaming spires of civilization black and charred.

That state of affairs didn't last too long in the fiction setting.  It's one of the bigger retcons BattleTech has ever gone through, but at least it went through it early.  A couple years later, there are still factories working, people aren't fighting major battles over water, and the quality of living is high enough to at least support space travel, if not the sustaining infrastructure for it.  The Star League is still kaput and has been for centuries, but instead of a slow death spiral while billions of people struggle to find clean water over a thousand worlds, civilization is back on the rise again.

In this dark age five Great Houses fight over the tattered remains of the Star League's glory, each attempting to conquer the others or force them to submit under the heel of the Star Lord, each claiming rightful ownership of the grown.  They are:



House Davion, rulers of the Federated Suns.  Space France if you go by the sourcebooks.  Space MURICA if you read Michael Stackpole.  Obligatory protagonists.  Insufferable douchebags determined to 'liberate' everyone from the terrible iniquity of not being conquered by the Federated Suns.  Love big cannons and cavalry tactics, not so big on educating the masses.  Economy is a bad joke used to prop up the war effort.  They're the big yellow splotch on that map up above.  Arguably the most powerful military in the Sphere in 3025.  Ruled at that time by Hanse "the Fox" Davion, magnificent bastard and proud member of the Xanatos Gambit Association of the Inner Sphere.



House Liao, rulers of the Capellan Confederation.  Space China and Space Russia, with all the despotic oppression of both and the economic prosperity of neither!  Designated antagonist and setting whipping boy.  They're the green blob on the map, and about to get reduced by roughly half in a few years (after that image).  Really love electronic warfare, stealth, minefields, and human shields.  Have an entire caste of society barely above being glorified slaves and liking it because XIN SHENG, CHANCELLOR.  Led by Maximillian Liao, a man so crazy he could be a Bond villain, and so ineffective he'd be an even better Bond villain.



House Marik, rules of the Free Worlds League.  Who?  Yeah, pretty much.  Space Balkans and Space Greece, with the instability turned up to 11.  They don't do a lot in 3025 except have civil wars and get beat by designated punching bag House Liao.  Led by Janos Marik, a man so unremarkable his greatest achievement is only having one civil war before he died and who waged an unsuccessful fued with a common mercenary for decades.  They like not having heavy weapons, not having heavy 'Mechs, and not having a lot of reason to fight invaders.  Despite that, still the oldest of the Successor States.  Somehow.  They're the purple mess on the map.



HOUSE STEINER, RULERS OF THE LYRAN COMMONWEALTH.  SPACE GERMANS AND SWISS.  LOTS OF MONEY.  THEY LIKE HAVING HEAVY WEAPONS, HEAVY 'MECHS, AND OTHER PEOPLES' MONEY.  GO BIG OR GO HOME, BIGGER IS BETTER, ETC.  LED BY MELISSA STEINER, WHO IS NOTABLE FOR BEING YOUNG AS ****.  EVENTUALLY PRODUCES GENERAL THOMAS HOGARTH, SPEAKER IN ALL-CAPS.  THEY'RE THE BIG BLUE BLOCK ON THE MAP.



House Kurita, rules of the Draconis Combine.  Space Japan complete with samurai and bushido, except not racist.  They like cavalry, duels, and committing seppuku in disgrace when they lose to the Federated Suns.  Another designated antagonist in the early fiction.  Really hate mercenaries.  Like, really hate.  Cannot describe how deeply that hate runs.  Led by Takashi Kurita, a man almost as ruthless as he is utterly impotent to change the flow of the narrative.

"FIVE FACTIONS HOW DOES THAT WORK"

Well, a given faction hates both factions to either side of it, and doesn't give a good goddamn about the other ones because they can't fight as easily most of the time.  Except Davion and Steiner, because they're the protagonists of the early plot.  Hanse and Melissa get married in 3028 to unite their two realms and become the most powerful single state in the Sphere.  This touches off what is called the Fourth Succession War (a.k.a. The War of Davion Aggression).  House Liao takes it in the shorts, and Kurita doesn't do much better.  Marik bumbles around looking unsuccessfully for the next civil war to fight.

Eventually, Kurita starts feeling the heat of being surrounded by another state that is effectively the greatest military might in the Sphere married (literally) to the greatest economic might in the Sphere, and works through ComStar to set up a little buffer state between them an the Steiner half of the newly formed Federated Commonwealth.  It ends up being called the Free Rasalhague Republic.  It doesn't last very long, but while it's there it's basically the Space Vikings.

Why doesn't it last very long?



I'm not actually going to go into this one very much, because the really ****ty cartoon intro does a much better version of it.


**** yeah, BattleTech.

There's been 30 years of fiction and new 'Mechs and tanks and aircraft and warships added on to the pile since those days, and I really don't have the character count on this post to do it justice (seriously, there are 3021 unique 'Mech variants alone.  I checked).  It's some pretty good ****, though.  Hopefully this thread will serve as the discussion thread for it, since I've seen a lot of it popping up in the "What are you playing" thread lately.

 

Offline The E

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
I love BattleTech so goddamn much. Unfortunately, I am the only one in my playgroup who does, which fills me with much sadness.
If I'm just aching this can't go on
I came from chasing dreams to feel alone
There must be changes, miss to feel strong
I really need lifе to touch me
--Evergrey, Where August Mourns

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Have you suggested Alpha Strike to them?  It plays much smoother, and more like a modern wargame than the clunky board game it usually is.

 

Offline The E

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Problem is that my regular playgroup is more an RPG/Magic: The Gathering kind of affair, with me the only one who has experience with tabletop wargames.

The closest I got them to BT was a few CthulhuTech adventures I ran. I'd love to introduce them to MechWarrior, but I'm having trouble coming up with a good storyline for them to play through; Everything I come up with is either just a thin veneer to string BT matches together or Shadowrun with fewer trolls, which I feel doesn't do the setting justice.
If I'm just aching this can't go on
I came from chasing dreams to feel alone
There must be changes, miss to feel strong
I really need lifе to touch me
--Evergrey, Where August Mourns

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
You could try one of the scenario packs.  There are a couple that work really well with the integration of different rule sets.

In particular, for something out of the ordinary, is the free Halloween scenario book Necromo Nightmare.

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
This will be a lot of posts in sequence.  God have mercy on my soul.

Alpha Strike 'Mech of the Week: MSK-** Mackie

Come one, come all for what is the first in what I'm sure will be a very, very long running series.  I can't say I'll make every week, but I'll damn well try.  These articles will be slightly truncated from a normal 'Mech of the week article, on account of I'll only be tackling the Alpha Strike characteristics of a given 'Mech.  So, without further ado, let's get on to the main event.  This week, we'll be taking a look at the Mackie.  I've decided to start with the very first 'Mech ever introduced, and work from there chronologically in the setting.  Each 'Mech will bring its full complement of variants with it, so this article should still be pretty hefty!  It just won't be a full overview of every weapon and point of armor on every variant or configuration.

Every single one of these unit cards is on the Master Unit List for free, and I'll be linking them just before the respective variants.  That may render my analysis slightly redundant, but if you're really thinking that I doubt you'd be reading this article in the first place!  Anyway, onward:



We begin our journey in the ancient time of the Terran Hegemony and the very first BattleMech ever conceived or produced.  The Mackie MSK-6S trudged into action for the first time on February 5, 2439.  It was followed by (or developed concurrently with) four additional variants and one unique example.  Taking a look at the card shown above, there are a number of things immediately apparent.  First, size 4 makes this an Assault 'Mech.  That's a good bit of physical attack power, outshining the weapons load at any range.  You do have to close to within one inch in order to make a physical attack, however, which brings us to our second observation.  This is not a fast 'Mech.  Six inches of movement is sloooooow, barely qualifying for a movement modifier at all and having serious trouble getting anywhere fast.  Combat in Alpha Strike is sped up by a factor of three, for all intents and purposes, but the movements remained the same.  Slow speed is felt comparatively more here than in regular BattleTech.  This also translates into a TMM of 1.  It's better than nothing, but that's about all.  That said, it's also pretty par for the course for the next 300 years, and then again for another 300 years after that where XL engines bring the movement curve up significantly.

Damage values of 3/3/1 are respectable for all time periods, and pretty damn impressive for the time it was introduced, when compared with some other things contemporary to the -6S.  One point of Long range damage may not seem like much, but the ability to respond at maximum range is never to be underestimated, and it means that your waddling terror will never be in a position that it can't respond to something shooting at it that's not artillery or indirect.  Lastly, the armor and structure are honestly pretty good.  As a 100 ton 'mech with a standard engine, the Mackie comes with eight points of structure.  This is a good amount, but in terms of absolute protection armor is worth more than structure, point for point, due to those nasty critical hit checks.  Seven points of armor suffers a bit for being primitive, not quite matching the structure in terms of protection.  This adds up to a total of 15 points A/S.  Combined with a +1 TMM, the Mackie is a sturdy, hard to put down lumbering Juggernaut – which is incidentally the AS role it's been assigned.  Juggernauts are essential to forming Assault Lances and Command Lances, which are where you're going to want your Mackies to end up.  They'll be able to outmaneuver most fortifications, but that's about it.

There's just one more thing noteworthy about this particular brand of the Mackie.  It has exactly zero specials.  This is actually pretty unusual.  Most things have something in that box, even if it's just ENE or CASE.  The Mackie enjoys no such advantages.  What you see is what you get.  At 37 points, you get a fair deal for what you pay for.  It's durable, it hits hard, it won't be hopelessly outgunned by something that can dictate the range at will, and it's definitely not the most expensive way to accomplish that.



The Mackie -6S was joined concurrently by the -5S.  Besides having much better TRO art, the -5S is very, very similar to the -6S.  They are effectively identical save for exactly three points of difference.  The Short and Long range damage values trade one point each.  The -5S's short is reduced to 2, and it's long range damage is increased to 2.  Due to the way points are calculated in Alpha Strike for raw damage dealt (short + [2*medium] +long), exactly nothing changes here, either.  Same medium range damage, but a much improved long range punch.  This is arguably something that the Mackie needed very badly.  A point of long range damage is good, but two points means it can effectively engage and outgun a good deal of its contemporaries in the long range game.  Long range “starts” at 18 hexes for all intents and purposes, which means several traditional main guns, such as AC/10s and Large Lasers, don't reach the distance required to do damage that far out.  More on how that works exactly later.  The third and last change on this variant of the Mackie is the role.  With the improved long range damage, the -5S becomes a Sniper.  Snipers are useful in Fire Lances and Command Lances – both good places to end up.  Mobility is hardly a major requirement for units of those types.  Due to the aforementioned damage swap, the PV for this model is also 37 – and you're arguably getting a better deal for what you pay for.  Long range damage counts for a lot.  Losing the Juggernaut type hurts, though, if you're trying to make an Assault Lance, so this is actually a case of which you want more.



The third variant of Mackie didn't appear for another 31 years.  Those 31 years were well spent.  The MSK-7A is a head and shoulders improvement in every way over the -6S.  The transition from primitive to what we know as standard tech certainly helped.  Starting off, the movement stays the same.  Six inches, +1 TMM.  I mentioned that's pretty standard, and it's going to stay that way.  The armor is where we see the first real improvement.  The older Mackies featured 7 points of armor and 15 points of total A/S.  The -7A ups the ante, and brings three more points of armor – in BT terms that's between 80 and 90 points of additional protection.  This brings the armor total to an even 10, and the A/S combined total to 18.  At this point the MSK-7A fully matches the AS7-D Atlas for total protection.

The weapons suite is also improved.  Compared to the -6S, the -7A gains a point in the medium range damage category, and also gains the first instance of the ability to overheat we've seen.  With an OV of 1, the -7A is capable of gaining a point of heat in order to add a point of damage at either short or medium range.  That's a pretty powerful ability.  In Alpha Strike, distinct from BT, removing a unit from the field is immensely important.  Critical hits and lost body parts don't accumulate to nearly the same extent, and lost combat capability racks up slowly.  Taking a unit out instead of leaving it with one point left is another turn of shooting you don't have to spend on it, and another turn of shooting it doesn't get back at you.  That's a pretty big deal.

Also of note, the -7A gains the first example of a Special so far.  With AC1/1/-, this version of the Mackie can choose, instead of firing a normal attack, to use alternate ammunition.  That can be important, with Flak and Precision ammo coming at basically no cost to use.  Flak ammo is particularly useful against VTOLs, ASFs, and WiGEs, making any attack made against them much easier to hit.  Precision ammo also makes shots against faster targets more damaging – a departure from BT, where they influence the to-hit roll.  That's true pretty much across the board.  Weapons that increase accuracy translate directly to doing more damage in Alpha Strike, but the accuracy remains unchanged.  It's an interesting way of handling it, but I think Alpha Strike is stronger for it.

The MSK-7A also returns to the Juggernaut role.  At 47 points, it's an expensive taker, but it does the damage to justify the points cost, especially for the era.  With the improved armor it's also as sturdy as anything that came out in the next 600 years.  Use it to your heart's content as the anchor of a line that needs to not go anywhere, either from maneuver or from enemy fire, for a good long while.



The MSK-8B is more of the same.  More than most other 'Mechs, the Mackie sees nothing but improvement in Alpha Strike as you go down the timeline.  The -8B gains single points of damage at short and long range, leaving medium at a healthy four.  This accounts for the entire points increase up to 49.  The only other notable thing about the -8B that differentiates it from the -7A is the presence of CASE in the specials.  This marks the first appearance of that particular special, and raises another interesting idiosyncrasy of the Alpha Strike conversion system.  The points cost increase from the -7A is already made up from the damage increases.  The armor stays the same, the AC1/1/- stays the same.  Movement doesn't change.  The only remaining conclusion is that CASE is not valued in the Alpha Strike system at all.  The in-game effect is so insignificant that it's not even a single point.  Chalk up another major difference from the base game.  The funnier thing is that this bears out in gameplay.  Ammunition critical hits happen exactly 1/36 times on a critical hit roll against the internal structure.  Against most variants of Mackie, over half the time there will be no check during damage at all, and the other less than half of the time you're looking at a fairly insignificant (but still present) chance to lose the unit to an ammunition explosion.  I play a good deal of Alpha Strike with a wide variety of units, and so far through easily a dozen and a half games I've seen an ammo crit come up exactly twice.  Both times it was prevented from destroying the 'Mech by CASE, but since there's otherwise very little benefit to it in the scale, when designing a 'Mech yourself for use, CASE can be pretty safely ignored for that little bit of extra equipment you might need.

As a final verdict on the -8B, it's a pretty damn good 'Mech.  You get what you pay for, and 4/4/2 with 18 points of A/S is pretty hefty all around.  An OV of 1 lets you pump up the damage when you absolutely need it or the 'Mech is going down in a blaze of glory anyway (more on how that works in another article).  You're still pretty light on the specials for a 100 tonner, and just as slow as every other Mackie ever made.  It's termed a Juggernaut for a reason.  Use it like one.

[image]http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Card/1975?skill=4[/img]

And last but not least on this wild first foray into Alpha Strike units, the Mackie MSK-9H.  Here we get our very first taste of something worth serious points that's not immediately evident on the card why.  Compared to the -8B, the -9H looks to be nearly identical in every way – except for one point of short range damage removed.  But the points went up!  A quick look into the special list tells us exactly why.  Next to the AC1/1/- and CASE from the -9B, we also have brand new entries PRB and RCN.  These are very valuable specials to anyone who intends to do more than march at the enemy and shoot until one side falls over.  PRB represents an active probe somewhere on the 'Mech, and RCN generally comes with it.  Sometimes you can find RCN on a unit without PRB, but they're few and far between.  PRB allows you to spot hidden units.  Sorta useful, but with the Mackie's slow speed coupled with the relatively short range of the PRB effect (six inches), it's pretty situational.  What shines, though, is RCN.

Hold on a second, this will take a good deal of explaining, and delving into some optional rules while we're at it.  The centerpiece of why RCN is so good (and so expensive; two points by itself, one point for the PRB that brings it along) is Battlefield Intelligence.  This optional set of rules allows opposing units to compete with initiative bonuses representing knowledge of terrain, enemy forces, and also command and control or communications equipment on the field.  It is, in the abstract, the ability of a force to respond and react to another force more efficiently than that opposing force can do the same.  RCN is a huge part of that.  There are exactly three ways to earn initiative bonuses under Battlefield Intelligence.  Two of these deal with the MHQ# ability, which we'll eventually get to see mostly with C3, but sometimes with communications equipment.  The other way involves RCN pretty directly.  Each side gets a Battlefield Intelligence (hereafter referred to as BI) score based on the composition of units in play.  MHQ# will usually make up the lion's share of this score, contributing one point per MHQ point on the field.  Aerospace assets, typically with tons upon tons of communications equipment, make up a big portion of the rest (if you use them in your games).  RCN contributes two points for each unit that has it, and that adds up quickly.

The group that has the highest BI at the start of the match gets quite a few good bonuses.  They begin the game able to deploy hidden units, and can pre-plot artillery strike zones (if you use those in your games).  That's pretty significant in and of itself, but RCN can also give you a direct bonus to your initiative roll.  If you have one RCN for every four units in your force, your force will get a +1 to each initiative roll (with some exceptions, but I've already made this article long enough).

Now, back to the MSK-9H.  It's a Mackie.  With RCN.  This is the kind of unit you stick in a Command Lance, where its Juggernaut role lets you fill out the lance properly, and also gives you a leg up on the enemy initiative roll.  Due to the way mobility stays roughly the same but maneuverability goes waaaay up in Alpha Strike, initiative is arguably as important, if not moreso than in the classic game.  Being able to bring along a massive anvil that also gives your units an initiative bonus is huge, and well worth the three points it costs to bring to the field.  Even with RCN and PRB aside, the -9H still operates like a prototypical assault 'Mech.  It smashes things and doesn't afraid of anything.  It's too slow to be the hammer, but it's a damn fine anvil.

Fighting any one of these variants is a pretty similar experience.  They're slow, they're easy to hit, but they can also reach out to long range pretty well and the armor means that anything you have shooting at them will take fire in return, even if it doesn't connect.  Use the fact that they're slow against them, and bring some things with mid-high TMMs that can trade fire at long range and expect to come out on the better side of the deal.  A Mackie doesn't get to choose the engagement range ever, so choose it to benefit your unit more than theirs.  Concentrating fire is always, always (always [always]) a good idea.  If your group uses forced withdrawal rules, the Mackie quickly runs into the problem most high end assaults have of requiring significantly less firepower to force into withdrawal than it takes to kill them – many light 'Mechs don't have four points of armor and structure between them, but getting down to four points left on a 100 tonner with a standard engine will spook them and get them pulling back.  Otherwise, just pour fire into it until it stops pouring fire back.

All of the cards linked in this post can be found on the Master Unit List.  Examples of the miniature can be found on CamoSpecs.

Please, if you liked the format of the article (or didn't), take some time to leave feedback.  I adore Alpha Strike, and I want to be able to explore some of the tips and tricks while I go, but I also don't want to flood the page with absolutely inane non-sense.  I get the sense that a good portion of this article is required exposition for basic Alpha Strike concepts that are non-obvious (or at least necessary to understand the uses of the 'Mech).  I just also want to make sure they're accessible!

Heh, that transparency.  Good job, HLP.

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Alpha Strike 'Mech of the Week: Mad Cat Mk IV

Six down, 2968 to go.  Let's add another six to the pile with a review of the Mad Cat Mk IV OmniMech and its two non-Omni PR variants.  Whereas the Mackie was the very first in a long line of walking weapons of war, the Mad Cat Mk IV is a relative infant on the field of battle.  Very nearly seven hundred years separate the two.  The two are further separated by the technological base that each is built under.  The Mad Cat Mk IV (also known as the Savage Wolf) is of Clan construction.  Featuring nearly across the board improvements in all areas, Clan equipment is simply better.



Whereas the Mackie was a lumbering behemoth, an Assault 'Mech in every sense and definition, the Mad Cat Mk IV is an entirely different animal.  Let's do like we did last week and break down the important bits of information on this card.  Size three corresponds to a Heavy 'Mech.  This means your physicals are generally less effective, but not a whole lot else.  Very, very unlike the Mackie, the Mad Cat Mk IV has no reason to resort to physical attacks at all unless forced into it.  At the sort of ranges where physicals are able to occur, the damage it puts out fully doubles the maximum physical damage.  Moving on to speed, we see a (comparatively) blistering 10”.  That's exactly fast enough to hit +2 on the TMM.  The way a 2d6 bell curve works, each and every point is a significant difference in the probability of a hit.  With normal pilots at medium range (typical engagement range) and no intervening terrain, you're generally looking at a 7+ to hit something with a +1 TMM, and an 8+ to hit something with a +2 TMM.  That's a difference of fully 1/6 of the possible results on 2d6 no longer hitting, and a greater than 15% increase in effective longevity of armor in those conditions.  In other conditions, the bonus gets comparatively better or worse; at long range, the relative chance to take damage is almost cut in half.  The attack that doesn't hit will never kill you.

That brings us to the unmodified survivability of the design.  The Mackie, if you recall from last week, had a total of 10 points of armor and 8 points of structure.  That is the toughest it is physically possible to make a 'Mech in the Inner Sphere from the introduction of the Mackie clear until the advent of the Compact Fusion Engine clear in the 3060s – over six hundred years later.  The Mackie outmasses the Mad Cat Mk IV by fully 25 tons.  It would then stand to reason that the maximum amount of armor that the 'Mech in question may mount is substantially lower.  Normally, this is in fact the case.  In the Mk IV's case, it is sadly mistaken.  Nine, count them, nine points of armor shield the tender, delicate two points of structure.  The result is a combined total of 11 points of protection.  That's still fairly low on the whole for a high end Heavy, but the distribution is important.  Armor is better than structure, period.  Hitting the armor does not force a critical hit check.  That means that even well below 30% total health, a Mad Cat Mk IV has yet to take a single critical hit.  That can be the difference in a fight between otherwise similarly matched opponents.

Next, the armament.  Compared to this thing, the Mackie has a handgun to the Mk IV Prime's high powered rifle.  Six points each at short and medium range, and three points at long is fantastic damage for just about anything, at any point along the Sphere's long history.  With no overheat value, it can't pour on the heat in order to pump up the damage, but with values that high you don't really ever need to.  Six points is more than enough to outright kill most Light 'Mechs, and burn through all the armor on a high end medium in one shot.  Three points at long range is enough to make anyone stand up and take notice, while allowing the Prime to respond against any opponent that can shoot at it regardless of range involved, and for good damage.  This 'Mech gets a solid A in the firepower department.

Finally, we get to see the specials.  There's a bunch of stuff there we haven't seen before.  CASE we saw on the Mackie.  It's of... dubious utility on a 'Mech where the first damage to internal structure is fairly likely to kill it anyway, and if it suffers an ammunition hit even the CASE won't save it, because ammunition hits against units with CASE still do an additional point of damage.  Fortunately, Clan 'Mechs get CASE for free, so at least no one wasted any tonnage on it.  ARM, however, is something totally new.  ARM indicates the presence of armored components.  The Alpha Strike effect is that the first time this unit receives damage to the structure, or otherwise would take a critical hit (there area  few infrequent exceptions that can get through armor) it simply doesn't.  The critical hit doesn't happen, no roll is made, do not pass go do not collect $200.  Pretty sweet in concept, but much like CASE it's fairly wasted on the Mk IV.  On the other hand, it makes the Mk IV 100% immune to critical hits inflicted normally – the second crit check will always kill the 'Mech anyway.  That's pretty sweet, actually, and means that the structure on the Mk IV functions identically to armor on another 'Mech.  Moving on we also see CR, which stands for critical-resistant.  We're rapidly approaching the point of redundancy.  Every time the Mk IV receives a critical hit, whether against the structure, or from some kind of weapon effect, CR reduces the critical result by two points, with anything below a 2 considered to be no critical hit.  Considering that ARM makes critical hits all but impossible, CR is 99% useless on this 'Mech.

I'm going to take a brief break and explain how critical hits work, and by extension how CR works normally, and why it's an interesting special that simultaneously protects and somehow further endangers your 'Mech.  In Alpha Strike, critical hits are resolved by a single table that has every critical hit result on it.  Every result from 2 to 12 has a particular effect assigned to it, even if that space is simply “No critical”.  Unless modified by specials, every single hit to the structure of a 'Mech prompts a critical hit roll.  The table is fairly simple, and the effects can actually be seen on the table just under the 'Mech's picture on the Alpha Strike card.

Code: [Select]
2          Ammunition Hit
3          Engine Hit
4          Fire Control Hit
5          No Critical
6          Weapon Hit
7          Movement Hit
8          Weapon Hit
9          No Critical
10         Fire Control Hit
11         Engine Hit
12         Unit Destroyed

Ammunition hits automatically destroy any 'Mech without CASE, CASEII or ENE (all inert weapons, no explosive components on the 'Mech) outright.  Against 'Mechs with CASE, the 'Mech suffers an additional point of damage, which prompts a second critical hit check.  Against 'Mechs with CASEII and ENE, absolutely nothing happens.  Engine hits are nasty, because damaged engines automatically force a unit to generate a point of heat every turn it fires.  A unit must declare not firing in order to sink this heat, which means that a 'Mech whose engine has been hit is operating between 2/3 and 1/2 combat effectiveness at best, and only if you can keep the heat imposed target penalties in check.  Fire Control hits are equally nasty for different reasons.  These hits impose a +2 to hit to all weapon attacks made by the unit.  Two points on a 2d6 bell curve is... significant.  You lose a lot of damage and threat potential with those crits.  Five and nine result in absolutely nothing happening.  In this author's experience, these are the single two most frequent results that ever come up when attacking, and the single two least frequent results when defending.  Weapon hits reduce all damage done by weapons by one point, down to a minimum of zero.  Inconvenient, but unless you're running something with less than stellar offense to begin with it's not a death sentence.  Movement hits, on the other hand, are a death sentence to everything.  Half movement, period.  10” becomes 5”, and the TMM is recalculated with it.  If the Mk IV took a movement hit, the TMM drops straight from +2 to 0, just like that.  Fortunately, such a hit ranks up there in improbability with an offensive PAT safety conversion in American Football.  The rest of the table repeats on the way back up, culminating in the result at 12, “Unit destroyed”.  No arguing, no complaining, it's just gone.  The “golden BB” effect.

Now that that's out of the way, let's take a look at CR again.  It reduces all rolls by two, and treats rolls lower than 2 as no critical hit.  That automatically turns 1/12 of the possible results on 2d6 into additional no hit results.  It also drops the most common single result, 7, down into a no hit slot.  A result of 11 also becomes no hit.  The total increase of the chance of no hit moves from 8 incidences on 2d6 up to a respectable 11 incidences.  It also makes it so that the unit destroyed result is wholly impossible, and the number of possible engine hit results is cut in half.

Those are the benefits.  They're not all good news.  CR also makes the ammunition hit critical occur on a result of four, up from one chance in 36 to a worrying three.  In effect, CR makes a no hit result just more than 27% more likely, and in exchange makes ammunition hits 200% more likely.  Engine hits, interestingly, stay the same likelihood, with four potential chances in 36 to get one.  Overall, CR gives the unit that has it a fairly significant increase in the chances of not taking a critical hit at all, in exchange for a significant increase in the chance of a critical hit that does land to be more devastating.  Jury's out on whether this is worth it or not on a 'Mech that isn't the Mad Cat Mk IV.  ARM and CR together increase the value of the unit by at least one full point (0.5 points for ARM, and 0.25 points for CR, rounding normally), and in this case that point is... questionably spent.

That covers it for critical hits, CR, and ARM.  Fortunately, that'll be the only time I really need to explain anything really out of the ordinary this article, because of a little thing that brings us to the next special: OMNI.  That designates the Mk IV here as an OmniMech.  In Alpha Strike terms, switching between configs is totally irrelevant to the game and takes longer than the game will go.  The real utility is in the ability of units with OMNI to provide free transport to units with MEC (exclusively BattleArmor, as far as I'm aware).  This is the core of any mechanized armored infantry force.  I'll leave the particular implications and uses of that for another article.  This one is bloated enough already (we're still on the first config, guys).

Finally, we have another brand new one.  REAR2/2/-.  This is an interesting one.  Units with the REAR#/#/# special can make a secondary weapon attack in addition to the primary weapon attack, but only against targets in the rear firing arc.  The normal firing arc is an straight line drawn along the rear hexside of the 'Mech, so REAR is actually a pretty damn wide arc to be shooting into!  It's also totally inaccessible to normal attacks because there is no torso twist in Alpha Strike.  The catch is, if you declare a rear attack, you subtract the REAR damage from your normal attack value for your weapon attack.  It's one of very few ways to have more than one attack in a turn, but you can't get any free damage out of it.  The maximum a Mad Cat Mk IV Prime can do in one turn is still six points, except you have the option of splitting it 4/2 between front and rear.  Interestingly, when converting from regular BattleTech to Alpha Strike, rear mounted weapons are automatically counted as dealing damage forward for overall damage purposes.  This means that in Alpha Strike, rear mounted weapons are ironically more flexible than forward facing weapons.  Go figure.

Everything on the Prime adds up to a total of 49 points.  Pretty expensive.  There's definitely heftier, but at the armor and structure you're getting those points are obviously tied up in guns.  The guns on the Prime alone, before adding anything else, cost 21 points.  Damn.  Still, in Alpha Strike you definitely get what you pay for.  The Prime also gets the Skirmisher role, which is arguably the most flexible role in the game.  Skirmishers are capable of filling the required roles in Battle, Striker, and Command Lances, while the Mk IV also fits the requirements for a Probe Lance (Pursuit Lance subtype).  It's a versatile machine that goes well just about anywhere.



Whew.  One down, three (technically five) more to go.  Everything should get a lot quicker and simpler to explain past this point.  I'm going to start out by stating what is already an implicit assumption with OmniMechs: most everything stays the same, except the guns and equipment.  All of the base chassis, armor, structure, movement stay the exact same.  With that in mind, imagine I just retyped the entire first three paragraphs of the last config, and we'll get going again.

Where the A differs from the Prime is entirely in the weapons suite.  With a damage profile of six short, five medium, four long, we immediately see that the A is more balanced in its approach than the Prime.  Four long range damage hurts, and the Mk IV's mobility is pretty good for getting to and staying at range against anything that wants to get close to it.  This also, if you've been paying attention, nets one point on the PV (one point from medium, one point to long).  The A also gains OV2, meaning it can add two heat to the scale in order to do two additional damage during an attack.  This makes its short range attack while overheating an absolutely monstrous eight points of damage.  That's enough to one-shot a good portion of the XL engine toting mediums in the game.  And Jagermechs.  Seriously.  Seven points out to medium isn't slouching either, but the overheat penalty is pretty steep.  If you're not absolutely murdering your target, you better make sure you're not going to need to shoot next turn, because you probably won't hit anyway.

An interesting quirk of the AS conversion rules comes up here again.  Remember the ARM and CR points I mentioned earlier?  They cost, between them, 0.75 points.  OV costs 1 point for the first point of OV, and then half a point for each OV point after that.  Points round normally in Alpha Strike, which means that the 0.75 plus 1.5 points here ends up being 2.25 points, which rounds down to 2 points (ignoring a couple other things here, but the 0.25 fraction is the significant part).  This is the exact same result as if the A had OV1, at 1.75 points.  So, you're effectively getting OV2 for free!  I guess that CR is actually worth something after all.  And that's why the A costs the same as the Prime, despite having the potential to do significantly more damage at short and medium range.  The A has no specials that the Prime does not, so our job is done here.  It's still a Skirmisher, so it'll fit all the same places the Prime will.



Here's where things get slightly more interesting again.  This is the second alternate configuration, the B, and everything that held true for the Prime and A in the base chassis holds true here, too.  It's the guns that are primarily different.  And they're actually pretty different this time around, in function if not in damage.  While just barely falling short of the A's damage, at 6/5/3 the B trades the OV capability for FLK2/2/2.  Having that much FLK is honestly pretty impressive, because everything that grants FLK is a big honking ballistic weapon, and getting to 2 in all range bands is pretty punishing in terms of tonnage requirements.  It's three full LB-10Xs worth, or a HAG-30.  When a unit with FLK takes a shot against an airborne target (ASFs, VTOLs, WiGEs), if the shot misses by two points or less, defender takes damage equal to the FLK value.  Given that VTOLs and other flying targets are a pain in the ass to hit, this is a very good thing.  What's more interesting, FLK is free, and does not cost points because of the relative scarcity of flying targets on the field.  Of course, given that self-same relative scarcity, you won't be using it much, but as the saying goes: Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

The B also has a piece of equipment that the Prime and A do not, in the form of CASEII.  CASEII is really easy.  It's similar to CASE, except ammunition hits are treated as no critical, rather than causing an additional point of damage.  This has the effect, on a normal 'Mech, of adding on additional no crit result.  On a 'Mech with CR, it adds four no crit results, which is pretty respectable!  On the Mk IV, it's totally useless, because a Mk IV will never take that kind of damage anyway.  Fortunately, it's also free, it just means a half ton on the unit in the traditional tabletop that you don't get to use.  The Mk IV B comes in at 47 points, a couple points cheaper than the first couple.  The lack of OV and the lowered damage compared to the other configs account for the loss in points, and which one you use is largely a matter of taste.



And finally, the C config.  This is the last of the configurations for the Mad Cat Mk IV OmniMech.  Everything of the chassis, movement, and armor remains the same.  The primary change is the armament, which evens out into flat 5/5/5 damage across the board.  This comes at effectively null points, due to how damage PV is calculated.  It also comes with OV3, allowing the C to supercharge the damage back up to A config levels of carnage, and can even outgun the A at medium range in a good situation.  That's also what the points go into.  OV3 counts for another 2 points (bringing the total to +1 compared to the Prime and A).  CASEII costs no points, but is also present.  The remainder comes from the newfangled IF2.  At a total of 52 points, the Mk IV C is the most expensive of the baseline Mk IV configs.

IF# is Indirect Fire, and represents the capability of a unit to fire over cover and from out of line of sight (but still within range), as long as they have a spotter with clear line of sight.  It's not a particularly efficient way to engage, in terms of damage per unit per turn, but it's a great way to respond if you otherwise wouldn't be able to, or if you want to avoid your fire support taking damage.  In order to take the shot, you take the firing unit's skill, the range from the firing unit, the terrain from the spotter, movement modifiers from both (in case of jumping, or remaining stationary), and then add one to top it all off.  Like I said, not particularly efficient, but one or two points of damage salvoed at an enemy 'Mech four or five times in a turn on 9s or 10s to hit will get you some damage without exposing the bulk of your group to fire.  It's a handy trick if you have a dedicated Indirect Fire Lance.

Speaking of Indirect Fire Lances, the C config is a Missile Boat role.  That means it fits into the Fire Lance, its subtype the Indirect Fire Lance, and the Command Lance without skipping a beat.  Definitely a different animal than the others.  Now, just because it's not a Skirmisher doesn't mean it can't be in one of those lances, or most other lances, it just means that it won't fulful the necessary requirements for building that lance.  Lance and formation construction will figure into a future article in greater depth.

That takes care of all the configurations of the Mad Cat Mk IV OmniMech.  However, there are still two variants left!  The Mad Cat Mk IV PR (Standard) and 2 are non-Omni modifications of the base Mk IV pacakage.  We'll also go into those in depth as a bonus.



This time, something changes about the base chassis.  This is why it's a different variant, rather than a different configuration.  The size, movement, and TMM all don't change, but right off the bat we see a different portrait in the armor and structure.  Eight armor points is one fewer than the Omni version, because of a switch to a simpler, slightly less effective armor.  It's still very good for the size.  The bigger change is four points of structure.  Switching from an XXL to an XL engine made it twice as durable under the armor, giving the PR (Standard) a total of 12 points of A/S.  Slightly better overall than the Omni version, but the distribution is far poorer, especially if you're using forced withdrawal rules.

Damage values of 5/5/3 are workable, but compared to the Omni version pretty substandard to work with.  You get spoiled with ClanTech really quick.  OV1 mitigates this somewhat, and brings the total potential damage up to Mk IV Prime standards, but it's not a steady or consistent thing.  The biggest difference on the 'Mech comes from the specials.  ARM and CR are both gone, as is OMNI.  CASE is still here, and REAR2/2/- from the Prime is still here.  We're back to Skirmisher for the role, so apply it the same way you'd apply the Prime, A, or B in Lance composition.  At 46 points it's cheaper than every Mk IV config, too.  Like I said before, and will keep saying until I get bored of it, you get what you pay for.  Fortunately, nothing new to explain here, so we'll move on to the PR 2.



This is the last variant we'll touch on today.  Thank God.  I love writing these, but 4,000 words is too much.  With the Mad Cat Mk IV PR 2, we keep the same base chassis as the PR (Standard).  Armor and structure is still 8/4, movement still 10”, the works.  Damage has gone way up, though, sitting comfortably at 6/5/4, with an OV of 1.  That's respectable, even if it's not up to the blistering potential of some of the other Mk IVs.  Rounding out the 'Mech are specials of CASE (no reason to be surprised there) and REAR2/1/0*.  Now there's something we haven't seen before.  A damage rating of 0* indicates weapons that aren't quite capable of doing even half a point of damage reliably (0.5 rounds up to 1 point) at that range.  When firing at a range in which you do 0* damage, if the attack hits, roll a d6.  On a result of 4, 5, or 6, the attack does a single point of damage.  On a 1, 2, or 3, it does absolutely nothing.  I'm not a huge fan of having to gamble twice on a single roll to do a point of damage, but it's better than nothing.  I'll have to do some research and ask some questions to see if 0* fired out of the rear arc takes damage away from the 4 points forward.  Interesting question.

Okay, that covers the last of it!  At 48 points and with a Skirmisher role, the Mad Cat Mk IV PR 2 closely mirrors the A config in terms of how you should use it and expect to see it perform.

The Mad Cat Mk IV is actually in two different places on the Master Unit List, and also on CamoSpecs.

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Accessing ASMOTW files.  12 out of 2984 viewed.  Access article directory 'Week 3'.  Subject: Raven.  Accessing....

Welcome back, faithful viewers.  We started with the very first BattleMech ever conceived.  We continued with one of the newest OmniMechs in existence.  Today, we'll be going back a little bit, but in several ways we're staying on the bleeding edge of 'Mech development.

By that, of course, I mean the very first stirrings of rediscovering the advancements of the Star League after two hundred and fifty years of Succession Wars.  The Raven isn't the first new 'Mech in the Inner Sphere in hundreds of years (that'd be the Merlin, senior by 14 years), or even the second (that'd be the Marauder II, if we're counting Wolf's Dragoons units, or the Hatchetman, if they don't count as Inner Sphere enough), but it does have the first instance of newly produced electronics warfare equipment in over two hundred years.  Let's take a look under the hood.



Now, let's get started the same way we always do.  In that fashion, we notice the first major difference between the Raven and the two previous 'Mechs.  Size 1.  We are looking at a Light 'Mech for the first time in this series of articles.  What does that mean, in Alpha Strike terms?  It means that if you're in melee range and arc you have made some poor life choices.  It also means you can go places.  Much like in standard BattleTech, lighter 'Mechs have a better time jumping to and from buildings and crossing bridges.

… And that's pretty much it.  Size doesn't play a big role in Alpha Strike aside from those two things clear until you get to engine explosions.  But as BattleTech players the tonnage and size of a unit is hard-coded into our brains as significant, and it's a good way to determine what to generally expect, if not everything you can get.

Next up, weapons.  With a damage profile of 2/2/0, the Raven -1X is far and away the least painful thing we've seen.  It's also the first 'Mech to be unable to respond in the long range bracket.  Usually (and I do say usually) on a Light that's not a huge problem.  Two points of damage isn't bad.  You'll hear me say this week in and week out, but you get what you pay for.  The Raven's damage is worth a whopping total of 6 points out of its 20 total points cost.  No overheat means both that you're not paying points for it, and that you're also not getting it.  I'll leave it up to you whether those cancel each other out.

Now, the part of this particular Raven that's not usual is the speed.  Ten inches isn't fast for a 'Mech this size.  The Mad Cat Mk IV from last week matches it forty tons and two sizes heavier.  Against other Lights, a 'Mech this slow is a sitting duck, and against lots of heavier things it can't keep the range open well enough or capitalize on any range it may have.  Clearly, this 'Mech is not designed to go toe to toe with other designated combat units.  The armor supports this.  Two points of armor and three points of internal structure put this little birdy firmly within easy range of being outright one-shot by several versions of the 'Mechs we've already gone over.  With a TMM of 2 from the 10” of movement, the Raven is fragile and fairly anemic.  It's clearly not designed to go toe to toe with dedicated combat units.  How else do we know that?  Well, keep reading.

The Raven's bread and butter is EWAR.  The -1X is... arguably still missing the core of its capabilities in this variant, but we still see a glimmer of the potential begging to be realized.  Well, that's not particularly true.  We see that there's something in there, but I don't know if “potential” is the right word for it just yet.  The first entry in the Special box is LECM.  ECM?  Aw, hell yeah!  Get the dial-up tones and obnoxious music pumping loud and confuse the hell out of everyone with decent electronics.  Eat your heart out, C3.  Goodbye Narc beacons.  Take a hike, active probes.  Wait, what was that?  Two inches of range?

No, that's not a typo.  That Hatchetman I mentioned in one of those really early parentheticals?  It can (and will) happily cut your face off with a hatchet at the exact same range your ECM will start to affect anything.  Let that sink in for a minute.  Your EWAR equipment is matched in effective range by melee weapons.  You literally have to be within face-cleaving distance in order for this to be useful.  Which means it's not useful.  At all.  It also costs a half point while the other specials on this 'Mech cost whole point(s) each, so this is why the -1X is 20 points instead of 19.  For shame, LECM, for shame.

LPRB and RCN manage to slightly redeem this travesty of an EWAR platform.  I went over PRB and RCN on the Mackie article, and LRPB does the exact same thing except at a shorter range.  I realize, going over the older article, that I neglected to mention several of the capabilities and differences – I got caught up on RCN.  PRB, unlike ECM, has a pretty substantial range.  Eighteen inches for the standard version, and 'only' 12 inches for the light version.  Probes can be used to detect hidden units that get in range, and also have the added bonus of making artillery they spot for more accurate.

...We'll go into artillery in a different article.  There are a lot of Ravens to cover.

So, what else do we get for bringing this thing along?  We get a Scout.  There are a lot of Scouts in the game.  Over two hundred, just in different 'Mech variants.  Scouts are essential in forming Recon Lances and Light Battle Lances, and are arguably the most restrictive possible unit type to fill out a Command Lance (when the other options are Brawlers or Strikers).  Light Battle Lances are questionably worth it if you have absolutely nothing else, but Recon Lances are worth their weight in gold to larger units with indirect fire capability.  The -1X is still slow, however, and still doesn't punch very hard, and still has some armor issues.  If you absolutely need to fit the most basic EWAR equipment you can possibly find on the field, 20 points might get you there.



What's the difference between the Raven -1X and the Raven -2X?  The 2X trades every single Special on the unit in exchange for one point of OV and one point of armor leaving us with a total combined armor and structure of six points.  The net result is a unit that is wholly useless in a non-combat role except for scouting with the Mk I Eyeball, but can actually dish out a reasonable amount of damage to units in its weight class.  One point of extra armor is enough to avoid getting outright one-shot by units with 5 damage at short and medium, which is helpful if the -2X suddenly finds itself in its ideal engagement bracket with anything larger than a modern low-end heavy.  The vulnerability to two groups of 3 points each doesn't protect it very much from things smaller than that, either.  The lack of long range still hurts, and the requirement to heat up in order to reap the benefits of extra damage makes it a tough choice, especially when a single point of heat immediately drops you back down to 8” of move and a TMM of 1.  It's... well, it's hard to be worse than a -1X, but the -2X gives it a good go, especially when you keep the same points cost at 20.

The more interesting change is the role.  Losing the EWAR equipment turns the -2X into a Striker, which is much more interesting in terms of which lances you can build with it.  Or, rather, it would if the -2X could move faster than 10”.  This particular Raven can squeeze into a Striker Lance of any stripe (my personal favorite lance type) or even amusingly still a Recon Lance, and the Command Lance is still open for business.  Losing out on the Light Battle Lance isn't a huge deal.



Now we're talking.  This is the Raven -3L, and the first raven that's really worth using besides cheap filler in a Lance that needs a Scout or Striker.  The very first thing one should notice when browsing this unit card, especially when compared to the previous Ravens, is the movement.  Twelve inches isn't enough to graduate to the next TMM, but it is enough to keep up with a good deal of Lights and low-end Mediums you'll see on the field, particularly in the time period.  No more getting sucker punched at long range for this Raven!  You're also guaranteed to outrun pretty much any Heavy you encounter, which previously wasn't the case.  The upgrade in maneuverability and ability to dictate range are very welcome gifts.

The damage the Raven dishes out hasn't changed, but has lost OV.  Now that the -3L has the speed to absorb a point of heat before losing the +2 TMM, this is slightly more of a blow than losing it on the -2X for absolutely no reason would have been.  The armor and structure have also flip-flopped from the original -1X.  XL engines and extra armor at tonnages this low are made for each other.  Armor is always better than structure in terms of absorbing damage, and keeping the same number of points but gaining more relative armor is a good thing.  The -3L is back in that annoying range where things that do 5 damage erase it from the board in one hit.  Those things are common enough for this to be a valid concern in most areas of play.

The Special box also gets crowded again, and here the -3L distinguishes itself.  We see CASE make an appearance, protecting against the miniscule chance of ammunition explosion.  Nothing wrong with that, since it's free.  We also see the non-L versions of ECM and PRB.  Standard ECM gets a lot compared to LECM.  Twelve inches is a gargantuan range compared to the positively shrimpy 2” that the LECM could muster.  Trying to disrupt C3 nets or deprive Narc bonuses got a lot easier, and you can now effectively hide your lance from an active probe, rather than just yourself and that bum huddling under your 'Mech for protection from the rain.  ECM can be run in both ECM mode and ECCM mode, so canceling out hostile ECM fields is also much, much easier with a full suite.

After that we have some new arrivals.  SNARC and TAG combine to turn the Raven -3L into a machine that practically sets the benchmark for EWAR and support functions.  Both of theses Specials have a relatively rare attribute, too.  We'll start with TAG, since its effect is relatively easier to explain.

A unit with the TAG Special may, during the combat phase, elect to perform what is essentially a separate weapon attack.  If the attack hits, the defender is considered tagged for the duration of that turn.  Tagged units... don't tend to survive very long, at least on my battlefields.  TAG is used to designate targets for homing artillery and semi-guided LRM munitions.  With homing artillery, the bar to hit is automatically set to 4+ on 2d6.  Considering that normal artillery with a spotter that doesn't have TAG or any of the PRB, LPRB, RCN, or BH Specials is made at gunnery plus four, that's pretty significant.  With S-G LRM ammunition, attacks against a tagged target do a point of extra damage when made as a normal weapon attack if the unit has the LRM special.  Pretty sweet.  Or, if the numbers are a bit too high for your tastes, you can make a separate LRM attack at a -2 to hit.  Even sweeter.  Those bonuses apply to indirect fire, too, so you get double the fun, and can even more than counteract the indirect fire modifier.  Unfortunately, TAG doesn't count as the firing unit “spotting” for the attack, so PRB and RCN don't lend their own modifiers to the attack, otherwise it'd be downright silly.  TAG may be used in the short or medium range brackets.  Its smaller cousin, LTAG, may only be used in the short range bracket, but is otherwise identical.

SNARC works similarly, but with different equipment and abilities.  The major thing they share is that SNARC is performed as an extra weapon attack.  Yes, a Raven -3L that elects to may perform three separate weapon attacks in a single turn: One for a standard weapon attack, one for TAG, and one for SNARC.  An SNARC attack that hits results in the struck unit operating under its effects for the remainder of the game, as long as its outside a friendly ECM zone.  The fun part is that any attack made against the unit that utilizes a missile weapon Special, like firing indirectly, or having SRM or LRM in the Special block deals an additional point of damage to the target.

There's a pending question in the Rules Questions forum to clarify whether that means that a unit that has been both tagged and NARCed will suffer two additional damage, however silly it may be to end up doing 90 BattleTech scale damage with a single LRM-10.

Now that's a support unit!  The -1X and -2X are sniveling brats compared to the -3L's glorious support capabilities.  The extra speed helps, and the armor/structure flip makes it more durable than the -1X and only barely less so than the -2X.  Truly, an effective unit at last.  Coming in at 24 points, it feels worth it, especially if you're going to be deploying a missile heavy force, or expect to come into contact with significant C3.  With the Striker role, this particular Raven can do anything and everything that the -2X does in terms of lance composition, but can also contribute to and qualify for inclusion in a Pursuit Lance.  Next to Striker Lances, Pursuits Lances are my favorite, and having a good support unit for that role is invaluable.



The Raven -3M is slightly different from the three variants that came before it alphabetically.  It keeps the speed, and the armor and structure layout of the -3L, but the weapon damage has been rearranged slightly.  This is the first Raven with any long range damage to speak of, managing a 2/1/1 curve.  With the inclusion of long range damage, the Raven can now act as a true Light should when confronted with larger 'Mechs – stay at range and plink away if they can't respond, and run and hide if the can.

What makes the -3M even more different is what it changes to get that point of long range damage.  Most of the Specials are gone, leaving just CASE and SNARC from before.  Also included, now, is IF1.  If after what I just told you about SNARC and IF isn't already tickling your fancy, you need to have your fancy examined by a medical professional.  A single Raven can play merry hell with an opponent if it manages to get a NARC onto target.  Once it does so, it can simply retreat behind cover and lob missiles until something connects – and eventually something will definitely connect.  NARC also removes the need for a spotter, making this a powerful addition to a solo-minded group.  It's not everyday you find a unit that can spot for itself and still remain mostly effective. 

At 19 points, the -3M is the cheapest Raven we've seen so far.  Its role also makes it fairly flexible in lance assignments.  As a Missile Boat, the -3M can form the basis of a Fire or Fire Support Lance.  It's a bargain doing so, too, coming in inside the top 15 cheapest Missile Boat 'Mechs in the game.



After the gleaming paragons of support might that are the Raven -3L and -3M, the -3X is almost identical to the -1X in Alpha Strike terms.  Every single thing about it is identical, except for one Special and the points cost.  The Special is TSM.  TSM on a Raven is one of the most baffling things you'll ever see.  In order to use it, you must first have at least one point of heat.  While heated up, the 'Mech's speed is increase by 2”, and the physical attack damage is increased by one point.  Given that this is a fairly slow Light 'Mech, this is met with a resounding, uproarious “WHY?”  The -3X doesn't have an OV value, but fortunately in Alpha Strike you're still allowed to declare voluntary heat gain, so you're not perpetually stuck with a useless unspent point for the entire game until you take engine damage or some flamer plasma.

Considering that it costs a full extra point, the -3X is arguably worse than the -1X and -2X both for its points at 21.  Truly a head scratching decision in Alpha Strike terms.

On the bright side, the role is still Scout, so you can find some use for it filling out your Recon Lances if all else fails.



The Raven -3L was a thing of beauty.  The Raven -4L is an upgrade.  That is to say, nearly everything is the same.  The only major change of the entire design is to remove CASE (which on a unit with 2 structure is arguably not useful) and add STL.  STL, as you may have already surmised, is stealth armor.  The effects of stealth armor in Alpha Strike are very similar to the effects of stealth armor in the standard tactical game.  An additional +1 to be hit at medium range, and an additional +1 to be hit at long range.  The Raven is already fragile, so adding STL to it is a perfect use of the system.  Stealth is the entire contribution toward the extra points it costs to field a -4L at 26 points (over the -3L's 24).  It's arguably worth it, especially if it keeps you around a turn or two longer.  All of the support equipment remains in place, meaning that now you can do everything the -3L could except while being even more aggravating doing it.  A true Capellan masterpiece.



If it seems like these descriptions are getting shorter and shorter, they are.  The one boon I get for writing about a 'Mech with 11 variants is that several of them are very similar to several others.  This is how I stay sane.

The Raven -4LC (which, to my immense disappointment, does not stand for Lyran Commonwealth) similar to several variants of Raven, but all in different ways.  Which means I have to explain them all.  Sigh.

Damage is pretty standard for a Raven at 2/2/0.  The lack of long range punch continues to haunt the design through the years.  Armor remains the -3L/-4L standard at three armor and two structure.  Still fragile, but better than the first Ravens.  Twelve inch move keeps it up to speed with most low-end mediums and many lights of the day.  Where things start to get interesting again is the OV.  It's back, and this time it's finally on a chassis that can handle a point of speed without dropping into the “please kill me” TMM category.  That gives the design some much needed punch at medium range.  Three points is enough to threaten most scout hunters, and the potential for extra damage should do well to keep away more fragile things.

Where it continues to get interesting are the Specials.  The active probe is gone, and with it PRB and RCN.  That loss hurts in the Battlefield Intelligence and initiative bonuses category (see the Mackie article for full details on BI), but the -4LC makes up in other categories.  Namely, the presence of C3S makes up for a whole lot.  That represents a C3 Slave on the unit.  I'm not going to go into how C3 works in this article (this line just found its way onto my sixth page in Word), but that's a huge force multiplier.  If you already know how C3 works, good.  If you don't, wait a few weeks.

With the C3 Slave also comes a curious MHQ1 Special.  MHQ1 doesn't make all the way back up for losing RCN (net loss of one point of BI), but it helps, contributing a single point on its own.  RCN and MHQ contribute to separate pools of initiative bonuses (i.e. each one has a different initiative bonus derived from it), so the net loss in initiative is pretty much a wash.  If you're building a force for C3, use this one.  If you're building a force to work independently of one another, take the -3L.  They cost the same amount of points in the end, at 24, and they even share the same Striker role.

At this point, the article has covered 2/3 of the canon collection of Raven variants.



If there's one thing to be said about Ravens, it's that they never really stop getting nastier.  The -4X is a bit of an anomaly, but it's also adrift in the currents of time as far as naming conventions go (they go -1X, -3X, -2X, -4X, -3L in order of introduction date).  The -4Lr is the nastiest Raven we've seen yet.  With a 2/2/1 damage with OV1, it's the hardest hitter among any Raven so far.  It managed to inherit the best parts about the -4L and -3M, including most of the Specials.  In fact, it has all of the Specials of both the -4L and -3M, minus the -3L's SNARC.  That includes the -4L's STL.  With a long range damage value, STL is now more valuable than ever, penalizing return fire against a long range Raven by +6.  The retention of the -3M's IF1 also grants some additional flexibility.

At 28 points, the -4Lr is the most expensive Raven available.  You get what you pay for.  This Raven does dip into the Missile Boat role, for some extra interesting force construction options, as mentioned earlier.



The Raven -4X takes everything we know about Ravens and destroys it.  Brutally, without remorse.  Every single other Raven so far has moved either 10” or 12”, had either two or three points of armor or structure each, and done no more than 2 damage in any given range band.

The -4X starts off strong with a 10”j, the first (and only) Raven to mount jump jets.  This gives it a TMM of +2 while walking normally, but it can during its movement phase declare that it will be jumping.  This automatically adds +1 to the TMM normally associated with its jump range (in this case, 10” is +2, jumping adds +1 for a total of +3 TMM; some jump movements are greater or smaller than normal movement).  A jump makes any shots the -4X itself takes less accurate, however.  Sometimes it's worth it to be able to cross otherwise impassable terrain.

Also very different: The first instance of more than 2 damage without pumping up the cockpit temperature.  With a short range damage of 3, the Raven -4X is the single most powerful Raven we've yet seen in terms of hitting power.  It loses the long range damage, but with the increased mobility and maneuverability from mounting jump jets this is less of a loss than it otherwise appears.

The other reason that's less of a loss than it might seem is the armor.  The -4X is also hands down the most heavily armored Raven we've seen to date.  Considering this is Raven #9 on the list, that's saying something.  Four points of armor and three points of structure make one-shotting this little birdy fairly difficult, and it passes the fairly important threshold of being able to take two different three point hits and still be able to run away.  Since three points is one of the more common medium and heavy 'Mech damage values, that's pretty significant.

The only thing dragging the -4X down is its total lack of Specials.  It's a line unit, a light cavalry 'Mech that exists in order to bully other lights into submission with superb armor and good guns.  It's definitely a good 'Mech, but it's just not the same as the rest of the Ravens and their support roles.  At 24 points, it's still pretty affordable and the Striker role is flexible.  The -4X represents a choice between support capability and raw combat capability.



And now we're getting into the less well known Ravens.  I'll be honest: I didn't even know the -5SR “Shattered Raven” even existed until I clicked on the MUL today.  Apparently I wasn't missing a whole lot.  This thing is almost identical to the -3L, with one fewer point of midrange damage and no TAG.  Those are the only differences, and the point values reflect the loss of damage exactly.  For 22 points you get what you pay for.  The other minor difference is that this one is a Scout, while the -3L is a Striker.



Apparently there are two “Shattered Raven”s.  The -5SS is significantly more interesting, despite sharing the same nickname.  It's a pretty prickly thing, too.  3/3/0 with OV1 is far and away the most damaging Raven in the entire bunch, especially at medium range.  The potential to do up to 4 points of damage is something that no other Raven matches.  Period.  Speed is good enough to absorb the minor loss in movement for a turn, but the armor is back to the Raven standard.  That is, slightly lacking, but enough to take on other Lights.  Twenty seven points buys you a -5SS, just barely edged out by the -4Lr for the title of Most Expensive Raven.  You get what you pay for (are you sick of that yet?  It's true).  It trades off in the traditional Raven fashion with the -5SR, playing the Striker to the previous variant's Scout.

There is technically another Raven, the Raven X in XTRO Liao.  Well, technically two, counting the Raven II in TRO3145 Liao.  I'll get to both of those another time.  This article has already run long, and I'll need something to put in with the Raven II article anyway.

The Raven can be found at the MUL, and examples of the miniatures can also be found on Camospecs.

Next week: Uraeus, by request.

 

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Week four on our magnificent journey.  We've covered 23 out of what is now 2997 unique 'Mech variants and designs.  That's the very definition of having our work cut out for us, but this week we're going to take it a bit easier, and cover one 'Mech with a single variant, and that'll be that.

This week's 'Mech is none other than the Uraeus, notable for having more vowels than it does actual letters in the name.



There is exactly one variant of the Uraeus, the UAE-7R.  Let's give it the typical rundown.  Size three, which makes it a Heavy 'Mech, and capable of some pretty nasty physical attacks.  There's more to that story later, but I'll say right now that the Uraeus is the first 'Mech we've seen so far that actually wants to be in physical range of someone, and it's pretty handy at getting what it wants.  A MV of 8” is good for a TMM of +1.  Not spectacular, but not horrible either.  This was pretty much the standard for most Heavies and a good deal of Medium 'Mechs for literal centuries.  You'll dodge some shots, but most will get through to hit at decent ranges.

In terms of raw durability, the Uraeus is actually pretty good.  Seven points of armor and six points of structure adds up to something that can take a lot of killing to actually kill.  A 'Mech this large can technically squeeze on enough armor to get up to eight points, but with the use of a standard engine, the Uraeus can keep the internals pretty sturdy, too.  A total of 13 points of armor and structure edges out one of the paragons of combat efficiency, the Timber Wolf (12 points, arranged 8/4).  Standard engines really shine in Alpha Strike.  Even though armor is always better than structure, more points is more points, and every point you have is another damage a unit can soak before limping off the field or being destroyed.

That brings us to the guns.  The Uraeus is very unusual when it comes to the guns it mounts in the standard BattleTech game, and in Alpha Strike that translates to a weirdly flexible and potent offensive punch.  Damage brackets of 4/4/2 are pretty average for something of this size and time period (that being the Dark Ages), but it's respectable enough, and the long range punch means that even the 8” movement isn't a great handicap.  In the Uraeus's case, however, the listed damage values are only part of the story.

Take a look at the Specials in the field below.  There are a few we haven't seen before, alongside a few we have.  ARM and CASEII make a comeback, which much like the Mad Cat Mk IV makes the Uraeus a pretty tough customer to actually cripple without just pouring more damage on.  Ignoring the first crit entirely, and ignoring any ammunition hit after that is a pretty nice way to not catastrophically lose your 'Mech to an errant dice roll.

But enough about those lame Specials that we've already seen, let's take a look at the new shiny.  We were just talking about guns, so we'll buck the normal trend of examining them in order, and skip straight to this fancy TUR(2/2/-) thingamabob.  What does that mean?  Why, dear friends, that means that our precious Uraeus here has a turret.  Turrets in Alpha Strike are pretty damn handy, for a couple of reasons.  First, they give you a 360 degree firing capability with pretty good firepower.  That, in and of itself, is a pretty nice reason to have them around.  No such thing as dodging the firing arc on a Uraeus.  Second, they are one of very, very few ways in the game to split your attacks and damage.  Aside from the Multi-Tasker SPA, and the REAR special, turrets are just about it when it comes to splitting up your damage between different targets.  Now, the wording isn't especially clear in the book whether you can split fire between two different targets in front of you, or if they have to also be a valid target behind you in order for the second attack to be a legal attack.  Even if they do, the major difference between TUR and REAR is that TUR doesn't impose a to-hit penalty like REAR does.  With a damage value of 2/2/-, the turret can only engage to medium range, but odds are you don't want to be splitting your damage much at long range anyway.  Every time you use the turret, you subtract the turret's damage from your damage value for your remaining attack.  That means, first of all, declare your turret attack first (or that you're going to use your turret attack, at least), and second of all, don't split your fire if you don't get anything out of it.  Dealing two damage to two different targets means nothing if you're just scratching armor on both.  It means a lot if each attack is going to prompt a critical hit roll.  Use it wisely.  The other very interesting thing about this particular turret is that it has the Uraeus's bombast laser and nothing else.  The bombast laser, in Alpha Strike, does exactly 1.02 damage at short and medium range.  Normally, this means absolutely nothing.  However, weapon damage rounds up to the nearest whole number, which means that in the turret, the bombast laser's 1.02 damage is good for 2/2/- damage values.  I get the feeling that the 1.02 damage value is specifically intended to make the Uraeus worth using, somehow, in a situation exactly like this.  Or maybe to make the bombast laser more useful than a PPC for the same tonnage and slightly more heat.  That sort of rounding definitely makes it a lot better.

Back at the beginning of the articles, I also mentioned  that the Uraeus is a 'Mech that likes to get into melee range.  That's because of the remaining two Specials we haven't looked at yet.  MEL represents a melee weapon on the 'Mech, and does two things simultaneously.  First, the physical attack range of a unit with the MEL Special is increased to 2”.  Second, the physical attack damage is increased by one point.  This means that the Uraeus, when swinging that vibroblade of its, will connect and deal 4 points of damage.  This is coincidentally the same amount of damage it deals when shooting at short range.  The reason to attempt a melee attack at all is also closely related to the fact that units in base-to-base contact with each other cannot make weapon attacks against each other, only physical attacks, where the Uraeus has the advantage over most opponents.

It gets better.  The last Special we haven't seen yet is TSM.  TSM works exactly the same way it does in regular BattleTech.  If a unit is heated up, they move faster, and they hit harder with physicals.  In Alpha Strike terms, if a unit has any heat at all, even one point, it moves the traditional speed faster, and deals one additional damage when it connects with a physical attack.  At one point of heat, a Uraeus moves 10”, and will connect with a five point physical whallop out to two inches of range.  That's pretty significant, especially since heat doesn't affect the chances of a physical attack hitting.  It's even more significant when you realize that the first point of heat puts the Uraeus up into the +2 TMM category.  Not only do you get faster, you also get harder to hit, as well as hitting harder physically.  Win-win.  Past one point of heat, you start slowing back down again, but retain the extra chopping power.  A five point hit is nasty, especially if the defending unit is only capable of striking back in kind, where it will almost certainly be at a disadvantage.  “But the Uraeus doesn't have an overheat!” you say.  “It doesn't need one!” I jovially reply.  'Mechs in Alpha Strike can generate heat without even trying.  Literally, you can just declare that you're generating a point of heat, specifically in order to activate things like TSM.  The big thing with TSM is to watch out for things with the SRM Special or that can deal HT.  Extra heat really messes up TSM designs, because they start to lose mobility very quickly.  On the other hand, 'Mechs with TSM in AS can generally manage their heat fairly well.  Keeping the heat up is a simple matter of firing every turn, if you have a target, or declaring that you're generating one heat.  A 'Mech is allowed to keep that single point of heat whether it's overheating and didn't fire on a given turn or not.  For example, if a 'Mech is at heat level 3 (thanks to some opportunistic bugger with an SRM Special), the 'Mech may choose to not make a weapon attack next turn, at which point its heat sinks to zero, and immediately after which may be bumped up to 1 point, in order to keep TSM active.  Considering that units making a physical attack are fully incapable of making a weapon attack, this is pretty handy for keeping TSM useful at all.

At 41 points, the Uraeus matches fairly well for a high end Heavy from the Clan Invasion onward.  You get what you pay for, and arguably a little bit more.  There are very, very few 'Mechs in the game that can split their fire without an SPA your group might not like using, and TSM with MEL is nasty on just about anything.  As a Brawler, the Uraeus fits in with most line combat oriented lances, most typically Battle and Command Lances.  With good armor and solid punching power, the Uraeus is a far cry from its normal BTech self.

And that, in a nutshell, is the Uraeus.  The MUL doesn't have the faction availability for this one yet, but if you know the unit then you're pretty well aware this is a ComStar and Republic of the Sphere exclusive, and no one is likely to have it anywhere else.  Pretty much period.  There is also no miniature for this 'Mech yet, so no camospects to link.

 

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
My quest to make the longest page on HLP continues.

Welcome back, folks.  The series took a bit of a hiatus the last two weeks for my first ever convention attendance, but we're back with a classic.  The Dervish has been around for a very long time.  Not Mackie long, but long enough that in the twilight of the Dark Age, the first variant of the design emerged off the production lines over six hundred years ago.  For some perspective, this time six hundred years ago, Europe at large was still ignorant to the existence of North America as a continent.  How time flies.



Let's send it through the normal observation session.  Size two makes the Dervish a Medium 'Mech.  That's just about the only thing that won't change as we examine the variants that follow.  This particular Dervish is built as a primitive 'Mech, which means that its capabilities are significantly below what you may expect for its size.  Or, at least, they are in standard BattleTech.  In Alpha Strike, you get what you pay for, and I can probably produce a few Mediums that the Dervish 1S stacks up favorably against.

In this case, the primitive tech manifests itself mostly in the movement column.  A MV of 8”/6”j brings us our first instances of both different maximum movement, and also our first instance of split movement in general!  The 1S has the option to walk, or it can take to the skies on plumes of superheated plasma jump jets.  Fortunately for the Dervish (and for this article), the movement speeds of 6” and 8” both result in the same (walking) TMM.  Here's where jumping gets interesting, however.  When jumping, the TMM of a given MV is increased by 1.  Since 6” falls squarely in the +1 category, jumping adds another +1, for a cumulative +2 TMM whenever the Dervish jumps at least an inch.  The tradeoff is significant, a full +2 added to the Dervish's target numbers when firing.

That's not all jumping does, though I consider it to be arguably the most important and significant part of it.  Jumping also allows a unit performing the jump movement to outright ignore extra terrain movement costs while it moves.  A unit with 8” of jump movement can leap straight over a 6” in diameter stand of woods without even slowing down.  A unit with 8” ground movement only would get at best two thirds of the way through.  That's pretty significant!  Units may also clear obstacles up to the height they jumped.  That same 8” jump movement can reach the top of an 8” tall hill or building, or even jump right past it (or hostile units) like it's not there.  The vast increase in mobility, even if there's no increase in speed, is enough to make the extra to hit penalty more than worth it.  This is especially true when merely having jump movement is enough to allow a unit to participate in some lance roles, with perhaps the best example being the Fast Assault Lance.  Fast Assault Lances must be made up entirely of units with 10” or greater movement... or any jump capability whatsoever.  That's a pretty big opportunity.

That's the biggest thing that leaps out from the Dervish 1S.  The rest of it is pretty ordinary.  A damage profile of 1/2/2 neatly demonstrates the lack of punch from LRMs at short range, but damage is damage and long range damage is long range damage.  No one will be outranging the Dervish on your table without using Extreme Range rules from the Companion.  The damage isn't much, but at a total of 7 points spent on brute offensive punch, there's not many points wasted.  A single point of IF brings the total up to 8 points, and the LRM1/1/1 Special allows the use of alternate munitions as the need arises.  Consider that the Mad Cat Mk IV we covered a month or so ago, and realize that the PV cost for just the Mk IV's medium range armament alone is four PV higher than the Dervish's entire weapons compliment, including Specials!

Armor is similarly average.  I believe this is the first time we've seen a 'Mech with higher structure than armor.  Armor is always better than structure, but a point of damage absorbed is still a point of damage absorbed.  Four armor and five structure leaves the 1S able to take eight points of damage, with the ninth destroying the 'Mech.  Against our handy ASMOTW benchmark of “average” damage for a 3025 Heavy at 3 points, the Dervish can weather up to two turns of fire, with the third destroying it.  Not a lot, but enough to need a particularly stern glare before it crumples.

The 1S's role is supremely unsurprising.  With the IF and LRM Specials, this Dervish (and most other Dervishes) is a Missile Boat.  This allows it to fit neatly into Fire or Indirect Fire Lances.  With a price tag of 26 points, you get a 'Mech with so-so mobility, so-so armor, so-so firepower, and so-so cost. I declare this 'mech to be:




Round two.  Ninety years later, the Dervish -6M appears on battlefields across the Sphere.  What's different between this and the 1S?  Mostly weapons and mobility.  The armor stays the exact same, so we'll focus on the points that are different.

The biggest and most meaningful change came in the Dervish's mobility.  Jumping up from an 8”/6”j to a 10”j is pretty big, going from (tabletop standards) 4/6/3 to 5/8/5.  It's also good to leap into the +2 TMM for a walk.  This means, at a jump, that the Dervish -6M is the first 'Mech we've covered that is capable of hitting that coveted +3 TMM.  +3 is really the point at which hits start to turn into misses with frustrating regularity, especially at any sort of range.

Most of the other changes are small, and only felt situationally or at short range.  The short range damage is increased to 2 points, and the -6M enjoys the possibility of using OV for a brief damage spike at the cost of heat. 

The changes to the weapons suite (which lost LRM1/1/1 but retained IF1) increase the cost by themselves by two points, up to a whopping 10.  Movement improvements (and especially that jump increase to +3 TMM) influence the total price of the 'Mech toward 30 PV.  Still not a whole lot, especially compared to some of the 'Mechs covered in previous weeks.  The role remains the same.  The improvement in mobility makes this 'Mech now passable in several other lance types, such as Probe or Heavy Recon, instead of the Fire Lances it was previously stuck in.

There's a unique variant of the Dervish, the DV-6M (Mauck) on the MUL.  It doesn't have a unit card, so I'll be skipping it in this article.



Next up on our (alphabetical) foray into the Dervish, the -6Md.  Don't ask what the d stands for, I have no idea.  This one has a unit card, but absolutely nothing else.  No BV, no date introduced, no faction availability data, nothing.

The changes sound bigger than they are.  The OV value increases by 1.  The base damage stays the same, but the LRM Special from the -1S increases to 1/1/2 and the IF follows along at 2 points.  This honestly rather modest increase in firepower is gained at the cost of an XL engine, reducing the -6Md's structure to 3 points, and its total combined pool of health to 7 points.  This doesn't drop it below the threshold for two 3 point hits, but it does cut a good chunk of staying power off of the 'Mech.  I'm not a fan of it.  At 29 points, the tradeoff is at least just that: a tradeoff.  If you want more health, stay with a -6M or -1S.  If you want slightly more firepower, try out a -6Md.  Especially since the mobility and role of the -6Md stay the same as the -6M.  Drop in drop out, one point of difference in cost between the two.



Moving on to the next variant in sequence, we arrive at the -6Mr.  And are promptly smacked upside the head with 4 points of medium range damage.  At fully double what any other Dervish to date can fling downrange, the -6Mr is the first Dervish reasonably capable of threatening heavier 'Mechs on its lonesome.  A full damage profile of 3/4/2 is head and shoulders better than any other variant so far – and at three PV more expensive than the -6Md's damage after considering overheat, it's worth it.  IF and LRM remain pretty solidly at 1 point across the board.  The mobility also has the good graces to not change, resulting in a pretty mobile brawler.  Armor is back up to the -6M standard with 9 points split 4/5 between armor and structure.

At 34 points, you pay for a pretty mobile brawler.  As it turns out, that's exactly what it says on the tin, too.  With the Brawler role, this Dervish is hands down the most flexible we've seen so far.  Brawlers are the cornerstone of any Battle Lance, and do well in Command Lances too, beyond the usual suspects.  Having a Brawler capable of flinging LRMs downrange with indirect is always useful for the flexibility.  A solid 'Mech with a solid selection of roles.



Next!  The -7D is a really nice trooper Medium.  The movement stays the same.  There's only one variant of the Dervish left to cover that deviates from the standard 10”j, so I'm going to quite remarking on it after this time.  To my delight, the armor on this one took the all important step up to 5 points, granting an armor/structure total of 10 points.  That's enough to weather another shot from our test cannon, and four turns of solid combat gets a solid stamp of approval from me.

Weapons stay fairly even.  At 3/3/2 with no OV it's constant, reliable damage with no frills.  There's a reason 3 points is the test cannon.  IF1 and LRM1/1/1 are still present, no change there.  The -7D also manages to acquire CASE, making the already infrequent ammo explosion less automatically catastrophic.

Even though the weapons loadout is less high power than the -6Mr, the -7D recoups the point cost with the additional point of armor, leaving both variants sitting at 34 points.  This particular Dervish, however, is back to being a Missile Boat.  I'm generally not a fan of Missile Boats, simply for the reason that they're one of the less flexible roles a unit can be.  Still, most Dervishes are, and there are plenty of ways to use them.



The Dervish -8D is the first Dervish in the Clan Invasion era to really pump up the new tech.  While the movement stays the same, the armor and structure rearrange themselves to fit into a 6/3 configuration.  We're back to nine points total, but this distribution is much more friendly to not taking crits.  Given how painful crits can be in Alpha Strike, this is always a good idea.

The weapons also get a shot of kick ass.  While 3/3/3 isn't much better than 3/3/2, this time it comes paired with OV2, which is enough to drop a painful five point bomb, and then jump away to cool down the next turn.  Five points is really the threshold where “average” starts turning into “pain”, so that particular OV value is fine by me.  It gets the job done.

The LRM Special takes a hike because this Dervish upgrades to Artemis IV on the launchers.  Despite Artemis IV being an ammo type itself in the base game, in Alpha Strike, the conversion process means that no 'Mech with Artemis on it can use alternate munitions for LRMs, SRMs, or MMLs.  It has to do with the damage potential for the various missile systems with and without it, but it's still a little disappointing.  The LRM may be gone, but IF is upgraded to 2.  IF1 is useful on occasion, but IF2 is really where it starts to get useful.  One point is a hassle.  Two points is significant enough on most 'Mechs that they want to get out of the line of fire before taking crits, especially if there's more than one Dervish opening up over a building.

The offensive increases and the armor rearrangement bump the cost of the -8D all the way up to 38 points, making it the most expensive Dervish so far.  It's still a Missile Boat, so using it in a Fire or Indirect Fire Lance is always an option.  Now that it has IF2, I can even recommend that in good conscience.



This is the one where things get weird.  Just take a look at that unit picture.  The Dervish DV-8D2 “Lightbringer” is a unique pirate affiliated one-off.  Normally I'd read that sentence and immediately write it off as a useless piece of crap, but the Lightbringer manages to be interesting and effective despite its lowly origins.

I'm saving the best for last, so let's check out the weapons first.  Long range damage is gone, with short and medium filling 3 and 2 points, respectively.  Not too bad, pretty on par for most Dervishes, if a bit low at medium.  An OV of 2 is good enough to rectify the lack of raw stopping power at medium range, though lacking in consistency.  Armor is down to five points, structure stays at three.  Keeping an XL engine, clearly.  Unusual for pirates, but not unheard of.  Eight points is still high enough to require three 3 point hits.  Good enough for me to use.

Here's where things start to get odd (and cool).  MEL appears in the Special box, extending the range of the Lightbringer's melee attacks and increasing the damage done on a successful melee attack.  In a quirk of the conversion process, having spikes on any torso in your 'Mech is enough to confer the MEL Special, improving standard physical damage without actually doing anything for standard physical attacks.  In a shocking revelation for this author, melee attacks in Alpha Strike happen simultaneously with weapon attacks during the combat phase.  Your 'Mech does not have to survive weapon attacks before laying into some poor sod with a spiked fist.  This makes MEL much more useful than I was giving it credit for.

Now, that best part I was saving.  Take a look at the movement.  10”/16”j.  No, that's not a typo.  This Dervish is a 5/8/8, mounting 8 Improved Jumpjets.  Not only is this Dervish as mobile and bouncy as your garden variety Spider, this also brings the TMM up to a whopping +4, by far the hardest thing to hit we've seen in the series so far.  If +3 is the point at which things start to miss with frustrating regularity, +4 is the point at which you start losing friends.  Please jump responsibly.

So, not only is this Dervish capable of laying into someone in base to base contact for 3 damage that can be thrown back in melee form (for the one in contact, at least), it's also capable of forcing base to base from just about anywhere on the map on short notice.  I like it.  It's also a Striker, my favorite role, hands down.  They just fit in all the Lances I actually like, like Striker/Cavalry and Pursuit.  At 30 points, it's even pretty cheap to bring, especially for the combination of that TMM while jumping and the decent armor it brings.



Here we go, the last Dervish on the list.  Back to normal movement.  Armor/Structure of 6/3 is back to the traditional nine total, and distributed as well as can be with an XL engine.  Damage is up in terms of consistency at close range, with a  4/3/2 and OV1.  If anything, the Dervish -9D feels like a combination of all of the various Dervishes we've seen so far.  It's the EveryDervish.  CASE and IF1 round out the Specials, making a unit that can do good damage, move well, and contribute indirectly when called upon.

At 36 points, it's one of the more expensive Dervish variants available.  It's also hands down one of the most flexible and useful for its role.  A role which is, regrettably, missile boat, but I have yet to find a perfect 'Mech.  With the high short range damage and good mobility, the -9D works well as a combination Fire Support/Bodyguard unit for an Indirect Fire Lance.

The classic DV-6M is available to everyone, as is the -6Mr.  After that, just about everything is Federated Suns, Lyran Commonwealth, or Federated Commonwealth predominantly.  Judging from that and absolutely nothing else, you'll find Dervishes primarily in FedCom units, but given how many different fronts the FedCom was fighting at any given time, it's not unreasonable to see any of the non-unique Dervishes in any military.

Next week: Vanquisher
« Last Edit: July 01, 2015, 12:34:00 pm by Scotty »

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Last week was the Vanquisher, a behemoth, a monstrosity, a leviathan.  This week, we get significantly smaller and faster.  Everybody, please say hello to the Vulcan!  Debuting in 2777 at the tail end of the Liberation of Terra, the Vulcan very quickly found its way into the hands of everyone and anyone, at least in the basic sense.



By now, everyone here should be used to what the actual stats on a card like this mean.  Size 2 makes this a Medium 'Mech.  The speed is the first thing we haven't seen before.  The Vulcan -2T gets all the way up to 12”j.  That's not quite enough for the next level of TMM, but you'd be surprised how often those two extra inches of movement come in handy, particularly for scouts and strikers that try to flank targets rather than engaging head on.  It gets a solid B in mobility.

At 40 tons in standard BattleTech terms, the Vulcan misses out on four points of internal structure by this much, leaving it relatively fragile for a Medium.  Three points of armor on the -2T give it a total health pool of six points.  The three points of armor is good enough to match the typical average of the time it was introduced.  From here on out, that benchmark will be referred to as the ASMOTW's trademark Thud test (the Thunderbolt TDR-5S manages damages of 3/3/1, which is about as average as it comes in 3025).  Being able to avoid a crit on an average shot is a pretty good mark to hit with a low-end Medium.  The Vulcan gets passing marks for armor and structure, but they're still not great.  C.

The guns are the first disappointment.  A damage block of 2/1/0* doesn't look bad at first glance, but short range is a grand total of 6 inches, and the solid but not spectacular mobility doesn't guarantee being able to get to short range.  Medium range damage of 1 is better than nothing, but only just.  In a range band where most other 'Mechs are capable of dishing out two, three, or even four points of damage even at the time of the -2T's introduction, it's not enough to keep opponents honest, and a savvy enemy confronted with a choice between shooting at an important 'Mech in your force or risk a backshot from the Vulcan, it can be genuinely worth it to just ignore the Vulcan based on how little damage it does.  If that suits your playstyle, more power to you.  We saw the 0* damage nomenclature on the Vanquisher's IF Special, and it makes the Vulcan look even more anemic.  That's the AC/2 on the -2T, incapable of doing even half a point of damage in Alpha Strike.  The saving grace of a 0* damage is that it doesn't actually raise the PV of the unit that has it.  Small favors.  Even with the potential for backshots, the Vulcan -2T gets a pitiful D for armament (and only then because the Charger -1A1 and Wasp -1W exist).

Adding to the misery, the -2T has exactly zero Specials.  What you see is what you get, in the worst way possible.  The saving grace of the Vulcan is the cost and the role.  A -2T costs a grand total of 19 points, which is (as of the errata to the Raven -1X's LECM and LPRB) the cheapest of any 'Mech we've seen to date.  It also has the Scout role, and measured against the body of available scouts it's actually above average in most categories, including damage.  That may be more a commentary on the offensive quality of most Scouts than a compliment to the Vulcan -2T.  The combination of role and cost makes the -2T a good addition to fill the last few points in a force, or for an inexpensive spotter and scout on the field.  Recon Lances, which is where a Size 2 Scout will find itself in the highest demand, are powerful force multipliers even if they lack direct combat ability.



Moving up alphabetically, as the ASMOTW is wont to do, we arrive at the Vulcan -5M, coming out in 3050.  This one didn't proliferate as much as the -2T, available primarily to the Draconis Combine, Rasalhague Republic, and Free Worlds League.  Move, Structure, and Armor all stay the same, which is a good starting point for the Vulcan.  The -2T's primary failing was in armament, after all.  The -5M neatly sidesteps that issue by having enough guns to actually be a threat on the field.  A block of 3/2/0 is dangerous at close range, especially in a backstab, and medium range damage of 2 is enough to keep opponents honest to a much greater extent than a meager 1 point.  The difference may not seem like a lot at first glance, but that extra point adds up very quickly over multiple turns, and fully double the damage of the previous variant is a good mark.  The damage isn't objectively spectacular, but on a speedy platform that can take a hit it's a major improvement.  I give it a B.

Similarly to the -2T, the -5M has no Specials.  With the increased damage this isn't as painful as the -2T, but it's still a bit annoying.  The -5M is a 22 point Striker.  As previous articles have mentioned, Strikers are more versatile than Scouts in terms of available lances, and are my personal favorite role.  At 22 points, the -5M is an affordable increase for significantly improved firepower.  In fact, the points increase exactly matches up to the damage improvements (one point for each point of short range damage, two for each point of medium), so no surprises there.



“Next” up, but first appearing in 2778 (and similarly available to everyone and their dog), is the Vulcan -5T.  This is the second of the two classic 3025 variants.  Move stays the same, but the armor actually gains a point, bringing it up to four points of armor and seven points total.  This means that a pair of Thud hits won't destroy the 'Mech, a major threshold to hit.  That single point of armor is also pretty pricy (more on that in the breakdown of cost), but the price at that threshold is almost universally worth it.

Weapons are a step up from the -2T, and a step down from the -5M.  With the speed, the damage of 2/2/0 is still adequate for the role.  Overheat would be very nice, but it'll have to do.  The lack of Specials still plagues the -5T.  It may or may not be apparent yet, but I put a lot of stock into what else a 'Mech can do besides scoot and shoot, and the Vulcan doesn't do a whole lot. 

The -5T jumps all the way up to 24 points.  It gains one point of medium range damage over the -2T, which works out to an extra two PV, which should make it 21 before any other changes.  That means the point of armor the Vulcan gained was a whopping three full PV.  Normal armor points start at 2, modified during the conversion process based on the speed of the unit, and the jump from 3 to 4 on a unit the size of the Vulcan is just enough to tip that extra point.  The -5T retains the Striker role.



Stepping off the production lines at the same time as the -5M, the Vulcan -5S likewise didn't experience the furthest distribution possible, ending up mostly in the members and affiliates of the Federated Commonwealth at the same time as the -5M was making its rounds in 3050.

This is the first Vulcan to radically depart from the typical 12”j move.  With a split movement of 16”/12”j, the Vulcan is fully capable of hitting a +3 TMM whenever it feels like either walking or jumping.  This makes the jump jets much more situational based on terrain than as a way to quickly increase the difficulty to hit, but on the other hand it keeps your own shots fairly reasonable while keeping the high TMM.  I call it a win.

Damage picks up where the -5T left off, adding a single point of long range damage for a block of 2/2/1, still without OV.  There's only so much I can say about damage in a given article before I start feeling decidedly redundant, especially when it's all fairly similar with minor differences.  Armor is back to -2T/-5T levels, but the structure drops by one point, representing an XL engine on the 'Mech.  This works to offset the increase in speed and TMM from the weapons improvements.  Worth mentioning, the -5S also has the CASE Special.

Speaking of, the -5S weighs in at 22 points, same as the -5M.  I generally prefer the -5S for the points.  The increased speed and presence of actual long range weapons tends to out weigh the durability one point of structure gets you.  Your mileage may vary, and of course the availability may influence your decision.  By the end of the Jihad, those two variants in particular have settled into adjacent powers, with the -5S primarily in the hands of the Lyran Commonwealth, Filtvelt Coalition, and the Marian Hegemony, while the -5M is primarily Marik.  It's an interesting opportunity to smash the two variants into each other, as both will frequently appear on the opposite side from each other simply due to who uses them most.  As another Striker, pretend I said something interesting here, because I can only say what Strikers do so many times in an article.



Next up, the -5Sr!  This one does interesting things.  It keeps the move, armor, and structure of the -5S, which are good places to start.  Damage (after faction availability) is the primary difference.  To my great enjoyment, the -5Sr is the first Vulcan variant reviewed to have an OV value!  The full block is 2/2/0 OV1, which is enough that a shot on good numbers can do some pretty nasty things to opponents if you're positioned well, and the increased speed is particularly helpful.  A point of heat won't reduce the -5Sr's TMM, which is definitely a plus.

The other thing that the -5Sr did so, so right is that it includes a Special worth mentioning!  Appearing next to CASE, we see HT1/-/-.  Heat is always always good to have as a Special, since it automatically applies to any attack where it's in range.  Lining up a good backstab with the OV means you can deal a painful 4 points of damage and add a point of heat to the target on top of that, limiting their next turn movement options, or just plain doing more damage to non-'Mech, non-ASF targets.  Very useful.

The combination of OV and HT bring the points cost of the -5Sr up to 23, which, considering it's the first Vulcan we've seen with any particular utility besides listed damage, I consider fully worth it.  The -5Sr is also Scout role, making it one of the more useful Scouts in terms of damage and mobility options.  It gets my full approval.  This particular model of Vulcan is available all across the former Federated Suns, the Rasalhague Dominion, the Republic, and several Periphery powers.  Figures that the one Vulcan that looks truly good is one the League doesn't get.



Appearing in 3070 at the hands of the Word of Blake (and no one else), the next on the list is the Vulcan -6C.  Moving back to the 12”j movement profile and the 3/3 A/S of the earlier -2T, the -6C's damage is fairly good.  For a Vulcan, at least. 

A damage block of 2/2/1 with OV0 is adequate, but the primary purpose of the -6C lies in other pursuits.  We saw this particular Special last week on the Vanquisher, and the Vulcan too comes equipped with C3I and MHQ2.  12”j isn't the fastest for a traditional C3 spotter, but it's a fair sight more durable than most of the stereotypical light spotters for C3 networks.  I'm a big fan of keeping my spotters alive through durability rather than hoping for dice to go my way, so this is a C3I spotter I can get behind.  The speed is high enough to keep it out of major trouble, the armor is high enough to keep it alive for a hit, and the guns are enough to keep people from turning their back to you.  This particular model of Vulcan works very well with the Vanquishers reviewed last week.

The PV cost of C3 bumps the -6C up to a total of 25 points, the most expensive Vulcan of the group.  Its classification as a Striker allows it to fit in well with its Level II brethren in a variety of ways.  I can see this being of particular use in a Striker/Cavalry formation, where the increased speed (but not TMM) from Speed Demon can mean the difference between long and medium or medium and short range for your entire C3 network.



Last but not least in 3069 (for select values of last, I guess) we have the Vulcan VL-6M.  Charitably speaking it's a return to the Vulcan's previous mediocrity.  Movement is back to 12”j.  The Armor and Structure actually took a hit, down to 3/2 and low enough that a five point hit will outright destroy the Vulcan.  Those numbers are common enough that it's not a particularly comfortable number to sit around.

The damage block is back to 2/2/1 with OV0.  The long range damage is a perk, at least.  It's always, always good to be able to keep enemies under pressure and honest at long range.  That's where the design all but ends, however.  Despite having an XL engine, the -6M fails to improve meaningfully on any of the previous Vulcans' anemic firepower and suffers for it with reduced durability.

With reduced durability does come reduced PV, however.  Even though 2/2/1 is not particularly impressive, at 21 points it could be described as a bargain.  That sort of quality fits most Vulcan variants.  They are cheap, no frills, nothing particularly spectacular, but modestly effective and useful in roles besides direct combat (in terms of Lance building).  This particular version finds a home first with the Word of Blake, and then after the end of the Jihad with several of the various former Free Worlds League states.

That wraps up the variants of the Vulcan with cards available on the MUL.  The Vulcan does not have a modern MOTW article, the most recent being in 2008, a repost of an earlier 2005 article.  Several examples of Vulcan miniatures can be found on CamoSpecs, and the miniature may be found in plastic form in the Recon Lance pack.

Next week: Fireball

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
The last one for today, finally.

Welcome back to the Alpha Strike 'Mech of the Week, folks.  Last week we did the Vulcan, one of the speedier 'Mechs we've seen so far.  This week, we blow it out of the water.  Everybody not already familiar, please say hello to the Fireball.  We're up to 3021 distinct 'Mech variants and configurations, so let's knock out another five.



Here we go with the second Light 'Mech covered under this new series of articles, the Fireball ALM-7D.  This particular little guy stepped off the production lines in 3053.  Let's give it the typical overview.  Size 1, not a lot of melee power in this one.  A TMM of +4?  Wow, that's pretty up there.  How's the spe- holy CRAP!  The Fireball effortlessly takes the speed crown from that weird unique Dervish with a blistering 22” MV.  That qualifies for a +4 alright!  It's also one of the fastest 'Mechs in the game, period.

That's certainly off to a good start!  Let's take a look at the... oh.  Whether we take a look at the guns next or the armor, we get pretty much the same bad news.  Armor first, I suppose, since that's how most of the other articles went.  Two points of armor and one point of structure.  This thing folks like a wet napkin under the ASMOTW's Thud test.  Not a good sign.  Of course, it's pretty hard to hit the damn thing, but this guy clearly relies more on the dice being kind than any intrinsic property of toughness.  On the other hand, even at a +4 mod, two points of armor and one point of structure is pretty dirt cheap.  If you like to ride the edge of fortune, this is the 'Mech for you.

At least, until we get to the guns.  The Fireball handily takes the cake for the most anemic weapon loadout in the game we've seen.  With a damage block of 1/0*/0 and no OV, you actually do less damage than most infantry platoons.  There are single suits of battle armor that are more dangerous than a Fireball, without exaggeration.  The maximum possible damage for a -7D to do is 2, and that's with a backstab.  Now, that said, backstabbing is arguably easier in the Fireball than 99% of 'Mechs out there, but it's still something very difficult to pull off without your opponent helping or you having much, much more dangerous targets to draw fire.

Next up, Specials!  Wait, what?  Nothing?  Oh, okay then.  Not a particularly big surprise.

So what does all this cost us in terms of PV, and what can we use it for?  Well, I'm happy to say that this question has a happy answer.  The Fireball -7D costs a whopping 12 PV.  That's it.  You can get a Fireball for the same price as a skill increase for a high end assault 'Mech.  You can get four of them for your favorite Recon Lance for less than a baseline Atlas.  A -7D is exactly two points more expensive than the cheapest 'Mech in the entire game.  Talk about a bargain!  At 12 points, even with the abysmal stats, I can get behind this thing.  If it draws fire from something big for even one turn, it has more than paid for itself.  If it does a single point of damage along the way, congrats on your big win.  After the Recon Lance comment (and the utter lack of any offensive or defensive capabilities beyond “gotta go fast”), it should come as no surprise that the Fireball -7D is a Scout.  It is also primarily available to the member states of the Federated Commonwealth, as well as affiliated periphery powers.



Moving on to the next variant, we take a look at the Fireball -8D.  What's changed?  The speed has not.  Good.  That's the thing I like most about the original, so it's good that's still there.

Has the armor changed?  No.  Still a wet napkin waiting to be looked at angrily.  Specials?  Nope, no dice.  So far, it looks like this Fireball and the last Fireball are effectively identical.

Weapons?  Oh, hello!  They're still not great, but what we have now is head and shoulders above the previous -7D.  The -8D is capable of dealing damage to medium range reliably when it hits.  The full damage block reads 2/1/0.  This also means that the Fireball can actually approach meaningful levels of damage during a backstab.  The Vulcan last week tended to have similar damage and much more armor, but I have to say that I like the Fireball more, especially when cost is considered.  The extra speed and the all important TMM make it a royal pain in the ass to take out.  For a little visualization, with a +4 TMM, an average pilot is going to need an 8+ in order to hit the Fireball at point blank range.  10+ at medium, and 12+ at long, before counting any terrain or jumping modifiers for the attacker.  With a 22” move, the Fireball can be in long range one turn, and short range the next.  If you have anything at all to draw attention, the Fireball can exploit it with a contemptuous disregard for your opponent's speed.

The improvements in firepower bring the -8D up to a total of 14 PV.  It's still dirt cheap, but now it has some teeth, and it can respond even if the stars don't align for that magical short range shot.  It's also still a Scout, which fits into Recon Lances easily enough.  I'm a big fan of this one, but then I'm a huge fan of the fast buggers in the first place, especially the ones that can back it up with some teeth.  The Vulcan doesn't quite measure up mostly due to its size, but this one can hack it.  I wasn't particularly impressed with the -7D, but I think the -8D really works.  You could probably find a Locust that does the same job, but I really like this one.

Once again, this particular Fireball is available to the component states of the Federated Commonwealth and appropriate Periphery allies, starting in 3054.



Next up, the Fireball -9D.  I really like the helpful naming conventions we've got here.  Easy to keep in order.  The -9D showed up the same year as the -8D, 3054.  Makes me wonder whether the naming conventions are purely for convenience or if they show a progression of improvements.  Judging by the stats on this guy, I'd opt for the former.  Everything is identical to the -8D, save exactly one difference.  We still have no specials, the speed is the same, the armor and structure are the same.

The singular difference is the weapons, which have been changed to a 1/1/0 OV0 block.  Exactly one point less short range damage.  Still capable of engaging at medium range, which is really the category that determines to me whether it's worth using or not.  This particular Fireball doesn't get the good backstab damage that the -8D does, so I'd probably instead use it as a midrange harasser that's impossible to hit.  You can do some good flanking maneuvers with it, too, since it's so tiny and hard to hit it's barely worth shooting.

At 13 PV it's one point more than the -7D, making it a much better buy, and one point less than the -8D, which is a better buy than this for a single point.  In terms of Fireballs, it's middle of the road.  In terms of everything else, it's still blazing fast and a pain in the ass to hit, just remember that a single shot is more than likely to take it off the field.  Because spotting doesn't require closing to short range, if you intend to do your spotting from afar, I'd say this is your best bet today.  As a Scout, you can put it into a Recon Lance and give it Forward Observer for those extra accurate indirect attacks.

Just like every other Fireball so far, this one is available to the component nations of the Federated Commonwealth, and finds its way to common Mercenary use by the Republic era.



Moving right along, into the Jihad era, 3076.  So far we've had a lemon, an average pick, and a pretty good one.  I wonder which we'll get this time?  Let's take a look at the – HELLO!  Now this is what I'm talking about!  The armor and structure are the same.  You're never going to get much better on a fast low-end Light, so I'm not even upset at this point.

The first wow moment is the speed.  We already had a damn fast 'Mech, but the -10D makes it even faster.  How does 28” sound?  Sounds damn fine to me.  This is, hands down, the fastest 'Mech we've gone over so far, and is actually very nearly faster than any 'Mech can go.  Nearly.  More on that in a bit.  I think there's exactly one Locust that outpaces this baby, and nothing else even comes close.  A pretty high bar to beat, with a 'Mech that can go from long range to four inches behind an opponent in one move.  Sign me up!

Then we get to the guns.  Once again, I'm impressed.  The block is up to 2/2/0 OV0, making this the most heavily armed Fireball yet.  I like it.  I like it a lot.  You keep the damage at short range that makes a good backstabber, but the medium range damage is increased.  Now you don't have to dance on the razor's edge quite so nimbly in order to get that back shot, and you can keep your distance any time it's not already a good shot while keeping the same damage output.  I like it a lot.  This is a sublime example of a perfect Light Striker.  It quite simply does not get better than this without more damage that's already hard to match on a frame this small.  ENE makes an appearance in the Special box, but on something this small ammo explosions can only happen after you're dead anyway so it's a non-issue.  In fact, the biggest thing it does is cut your damage in half against Reflective Armor (which is what effectively would happen anyway, but hey).

The fragility of it means that the Fireball -10D is also cheap still.  The Vulcan from last week clocked in between 19 and 25 points, but even this shining example of Everything Right With Backstabbing costs 17 PV.  That's a steal, a bargain, whatever you want to call it it's good.  Plus, it's a Striker.  My favorite.  I love Striker lances, and in this case an extra 2” from Speed Demon might not sound like much, but it's the difference between short and medium range on a backstab, it's the difference between being a target at long range after a successful backstab and being out of range altogether.

The -10D is available to the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth upon its debut, and to mercenaries and the Republic in the Republic era.  I didn't have any idea this particular Fireball existed before I started the article, so I'll call that a major win.



And now for the moment you've all been waiting for, and the entire raison d'etre for this article.  The Fireball -XF came into existence in 3077.  It is a unique 'Mech, featured in XTRO: Most Wanted.  As such, it's not particularly available to anyone in large numbers.  Which, in my humble opinion, is a damned shame.

Why is that a damned shame?  Just look at that speed.  Drink in its glorious power.  Stand in awe of that speed.  Forty eight inches.  Four feet of move.  This 'Mech goes from beyond long range to behind you in one run without breaking a sweat.  This is, without question and without hyperbole, the fastest ground unit in the entire game (matched by the Celerity 05-X, which has exactly zero weapons and miraculously less armor).  It is capable of outrunning an artillery shell fired from the same position as it on a reasonably sized table.  Single turn flight time distance for an artillery shell (or missile) is 42” inches.  Think about that for a second.  It is one of exactly three exclusively ground units to hit that mythical +5 TMM.  An average pilot needs a 9+ to hit this thing at point blank.  An average pilot is incapable of hitting the -XF at long range.  Considering that this thing can go from long range to long range on the other side of you in one turn, nothing should ever hit the -XF without being a sight better than a normal pilot, or you screw it up.

The armor is the same as all other Fireballs.  No surprises there.  Two armor and one structure.  In the context of how hard it is to hit, that should be entirely superfluous.  The Specials box once again gets ENE, and in this case it means literally nothing.  Fortunately it doesn't increase the PV cost.

Speaking of which, the Fireball -XF comes in at 19 PV.  That's a steal.  The armor you have won't hold up against anything, but barely anything will be able to hit you.  So, essentially, you're paying for 1/1/0 and 48” of movement.  All that for 19 PV?  Sign me right the hell up.  It's also back to the Scout role.  I'd personally prefer Striker, but it's still definitely workable, and being so fast and hard to hit lends a lot to a lance type where losing members is relatively easy in the grand scheme of things.  A Fireball -XF will survive a lot longer, and therefore keep your lance bonuses active.  Definitely a good thing.

Using a Fireball is pretty simple and self-explanitory.  Shoot and scoot, never ever ever ever stand still, go for backstabs, and try not to get shot.  That's true of all Fireballs, though some are better than others.  I'm a pretty big fan of them, though to be sure I'm a big fan of fast things with teeth.  In this author's not so humble opinion, the Fireball is a much better play in Alpha Strike than in the normal game.

There are two different sculpts of the Fireball, both featured on CamoSpecs.

 

Offline BirdofPrey

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
DEAR LORD MAN
Do you intend on posting ALL of the AS MotW articles?

I'm still waiting for you to do one of the Celestials
The Great War ended 30 years ago.
Our elders tell stories of a glorious civilization; of people with myths of humanity everlasting, who hurled themselves into the void of space with no fear.

In testing: Radar Icons

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
That is all of them, as of right now.  Up next is the Catapult this Friday.  The Malak is the week after that.  Also coming up in July: Banshee and Centurion.

 

Offline BirdofPrey

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Yay, I love the Catapult. 
Still that last fireball.  Holy crap

In other news I hope IO comes out soon.  I need something to read over my vacation.
The Great War ended 30 years ago.
Our elders tell stories of a glorious civilization; of people with myths of humanity everlasting, who hurled themselves into the void of space with no fear.

In testing: Radar Icons

 

Offline NGTM-1R

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Alpha Strike  :sigh:
"Load sabot. Target Zaku, direct front!"

A Feddie Story

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
You're welcome to start up a discussion on non-Alpha Strike stuff.  It's what I prefer and what I write, so that's what I put in the thread.

 

Offline General Battuta

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Battletech is a bad game, Alpha Strike looks like it might be a good game, so I like reading about it and I support your decisions.

e: Baddletech

 

Offline NGTM-1R

  • I reject your reality and substitute my own
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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Battletech is a bad game, Alpha Strike looks like it might be a good game, so I like reading about it and I support your decisions.

Of course this is dependent on the idea that simulationist is always a bad choice.
"Load sabot. Target Zaku, direct front!"

A Feddie Story

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: BattleTech Megathread - Because HLP Should Have One Too
Simulationism generally makes for bad games and good simulations.