FireNewt's Flamers First Casualty Report

[NewtSoup]

It is with great sadness that we report our first casualty.
Shamika Alamieyeseigha, callsign "Funny" was killed by a Locust that was part of a Taurian Lance on the planet Smithon - Part of the Arano Restoration. "Funny" was making a tactical retreat and was targeted by multiple units. During her retreat a Locust belonging to the Taurian Concordat performed a flanking maneuver and fired volleys of short range missiles into the rear armour of her damaged mech. The resulting ammo explosion and subsequent knock down killed the pilot.

Funny will be remembered though her jokes will be forgotten.

 

[NewtSoup]

She didn't last long. Was trying to train her up. I could reload the mission but I'm not going to.

 

[MarkDey]

Ouch. What was she piloting?

 

[NewtSoup]

Ouch. What was she piloting?

This:

I just hit stop work so you can't see the destroyed equipment but that was 3 Jump jets and 2 tons of SRM Ammo. 1T in the RT and 1T in CT. Perhaps I should have put it in the legs.

 

[NewtSoup]

She lost the left arm and took structural damage but the ammo was whole so I was retreating her to a safe spot but even after putting 2 heavier mechs and engaging them with the Wolverine and the Hunchback that hit her they just kept on focusing on her. Then 2 Locusts came from the side and one of them finished her off with a volley of SRMs to the rear armour.

So far I've been trying to avoid pissing the Taurian Concordat off too much. Now however I'm just going to engage them whenever the price is right. Or just for kicks. They're clearly in deep with the Aurigan Directorate.

 

[stjobe]

1T in CT. Perhaps I should have put it in the legs.

Legs, arms, side torsos; anywhere but CT for ammo. Ammo explosion in CT is virtually guaranteed to both kill the 'Mech and the pilot.

 

[NewtSoup]

Legs, arms, side torsos; anywhere but CT for ammo. Ammo explosion in CT is virtually guaranteed to both kill the 'Mech and the pilot.

I know this now. Ammo is in the legs

 

[MarkDey]

She lost the left arm and took structural damage but the ammo was whole so I was retreating her to a safe spot but even after putting 2 heavier mechs and engaging them with the Wolverine and the Hunchback that hit her they just kept on focusing on her. Then 2 Locusts came from the side and one of them finished her off with a volley of SRMs to the rear armour.

So far I've been trying to avoid pissing the Taurian Concordat off too much. Now however I'm just going to engage them whenever the price is right. Or just for kicks. They're clearly in deep with the Aurigan Directorate.

Oof - yeah, they deserve it.

 

[Shark7]

Like others have said, never put ammo in the CT in the computer BTech game. It's a garraunteed kill of both mech and pilot.

I also tend to avoid putting ammo in legs because if you do get an ammo explosion in the legs, your pilot will take 2 injuries that turn. One from the ammo explosion, and a second when the mech falls (which it will). Plus it also leaves your mech extremely vulnerable because the leg got blown off and it fell, giving the AI easy, easy shots at it with any mech it has yet to move that turn.

I prefer ammo in arms or side torsos. Arms can be lost with little cost, and the side torso is reasonably robust on most mechs, meaning you can avoid the ammo explosion all-together by being aware of your damage and carefully angling you mech in the movement phase.

On the plus side, once you learn which stock mechs have CT ammo, you can easily rid yourself of them by using a called shot to the rear CT...you stand a very good chance of scoring an critical hit on the ammo bin since you'll likely penetrate the CT rear armor on the first salvo.

However, one thing I do remember being able to do in TT that you simply can not in this game is jettisoning ammo if the weapon that uses it is destroyed. I just can't remember if that was an official rule, or just a house rule my group used (if anyone can clarify, I'm listening). And in TT, you tended to like ammo in the CT because the way ammo explosions worked...ammo cook-offs hit for the damage of every single shot of ammo that was left in the bin and it moved inward. That meant that an ammo cook-off was almost always fatal anyway.

 

[NewtSoup]

I've just gained a Catapult C4 which will replace my Centurion LRM boat I think. The Centurion has 2 LRM15 and an LRM10.

The C4 has 2LRM20 and 2SL

I've removed the 2SL and fitted a heat sink and move the ammo from the Side Torso's to the Arms with the weapons as if I lose an arm I lose the weapon so the ammo may as well go with it to stop it exploding later.

 

[Shark7]

You did absolutely the right thing with where you moved the ammo, since as you pointed out, an ammo cook-off in the side torso would cost you the weapon anyway.

Another trick with the catapult you can use, IF that variant has 4 missile hardpoints.

Drop the LRM-20s for 2 LRM-15 and 2 LRM-5, same fire power, but saves you 2 tons of weight to use elsewhere, like extra ammo or a pair of MLs for back-up.

IIRC I set up my Catapult with 2 LRM-15, 2 LRM-5, 4 (or 6, can't remember) tons of ammo, 2 MLs and full JJs with increased armor.

 

[NewtSoup]

Oh it is the C4 variant and it does have 4 missile hardpoints. two on each arm. So I will refit as you suggest. Does it not produce more heat though? I got 4 tons of ammo and full JJ.. I could drop in an extra 2 ton ammo rather than the MLs. I'm guessing you dropped the ammo for the armour. I want the heatsinks for the moment as Im still running missions on Smithon and it's HOT there. For how I use my missile boat I'm going to forego the 2ML and just take extra armour +1 HS

 

[Shark7]

It will run hotter, but when you start getting hot, turn off the LRM-15s and just fire the 5s for one turn to cool back off enough to use the 15s again the next turn. That will allow you to continue firing while cooling at the same time. It's the second benefit of multiple launcher sizes.

And knowing me, if I dropped anything it was heat-sinks. All of my mechs run very hot, it's just the way I play. So I likely had 2 MLs and 4 tons of ammo on it.

 

[NewtSoup]

with my LRM boat I like to hop around on the JJ so for me it's heatsinks. I also run hot because of that and I'm used to heat management on my centurion. I'm just refitting the centurion with a single AC20 for light mech hunting. ( it's got an LRM15 I need for the Cata )

 

[Icewraith]

I avoid putting ammo in the arms, or at least in both arms. It seems like a good way to take extra pilot hits.

If I put it in one arm I try to shield with the opposite side until the arm bins are below 50% capacity, then they won’t explode and I shield with that arm to protect everything else.

 

[Panzer-Killer]

Like others have said, never put ammo in the CT in the computer BTech game. It's a garraunteed kill of both mech and pilot.

I also tend to avoid putting ammo in legs because if you do get an ammo explosion in the legs, your pilot will take 2 injuries that turn. One from the ammo explosion, and a second when the mech falls (which it will).
...

Are you sure? AFAIK only LT, CT & RT ammo explosion injure the pilot. Legs ammo explosion only injures the pilot through knockout

 

[Shark7]

Are you sure? AFAIK only LT, CT & RT ammo explosion injure the pilot. Legs ammo explosion only injures the pilot through knockout

I could be wrong, it doesn't happen to me since I don't put ammo in the legs. However, a legged mech is still going to be lying flat on its back and easy to hit if it loses a leg, which means it is as good as destroyed anyway.

 

[Jade_Rook]

Are you sure? AFAIK only LT, CT & RT ammo explosion injure the pilot. Legs ammo explosion only injures the pilot through knockout

An ammo explosion in the leg will cause 2 pilot injuries. First from the pilot explosion, second from the automatic fall for losing a leg. Then they have the initiative loss for falling and the lower mobility for having lost a leg.

An explosion in the arm or leg will cause 1 pilot injury. The loss of a side torso in an ammo explosion does not cause an additional injury because it happens simultaneously with the explosion. Falling happens after damage, so it can cause a separate injury.

Personally, I prefer side torsos for ammo. I understand the hit chance argument (legs have strong armor and a low chance to be hit from the front), but they also have a higher chance of any particular slot getting crit than a side torso or arm (crits aren't rerolled and if they hit an empty spot they have no effect). The penalties for losing a leg are too high for me to be willing to risk it. Arms tend to be just fragile enough that I'd rather not put ammo in there, but I would still prefer it over leg ammo.

Also, CT ammo explosion is a guaranteed mech destroyed with a very high chance of the pilot being killed (EDIT: 90% - 5% per point of Guts*). Even if the pilot survives, they are treated as having max injuries and will be in the med bay a long time. CT ammo is a BAD idea in this game.

*Thank you stjobe for the correction on pilot survival chances.

 

[stjobe]

CT ammo explosion is a guaranteed mech destroyed with a very high chance of the pilot being killed (80% - 5% per point of Guts I think).

Chance of dying from any reduction to zero hit points, including CT destruction, is 90% - 5% per point of Guts, unless it's a destroyed cockpit that is the cause; then the chance to die is 140% - 5% per point of Guts:

Upgrading the Argo Medbay to a hospital makes the starting points 85% and 135%:

 

[Panzer-Killer]

An ammo explosion in the leg will cause 2 pilot injuries. First from the pilot explosion, second from the automatic fall for losing a leg. Then they have the initiative loss for falling and the lower mobility for having lost a leg.

An explosion in the arm or leg will cause 1 pilot injury. The loss of a side torso in an ammo explosion does not cause an additional injury because it happens simultaneously with the explosion. Falling happens after damage, so it can cause a separate injury.

...

So an ammo explosion will cause an automatic pilot injury no matter where the ammo were stored?
Good to know, then - until now I really thought that the injury would only come from Mech locations near the pilot's cockpit.
I'll refit my 'Mechs accordingly, then.