Hatchy's variants for the new game.

[Exemplar Voss]

My approach with the Kintaro:

'Upgrade' a medium laser to a PPC, downgrade SRMs to SRM4s. Other weapons are lost for weight, go for two tons of ammo and a heat sink.

Not as alpha heavy, obviously, but in my view, better. The ppc can take chunks off during the approach, and the SRMs are still fairly weighty and can be spammed for the new gaps in the enemy armor. Heat is much more manageable.

 

[CarpeMortis]

I posted this in another thread:

HBK-4G

Remove the Lasers and 1 HS.
Add 1t Ammo, 4JJ, and .5t Armor.
Pair with a Evasion + Breaching Shot pilot.

Jump Everywhere.
Core Mechs.

 

[Wolf0503]

Would is be possible to make a AC-40 on a Hunchback. One AC-20 on each shoulder.

 

[CarpeMortis]

Would is be possible to make a AC-40 on a Hunchback. One AC-20 on each shoulder.

If it has a ballistic hard point in the LT, yes... Though I suspect you will have to strip a great deal of armor to make it work.

 

[Wolf0503]

The punch that that would have. Honey Hush!!!

 

[Gronk311]

Would is be possible to make a AC-40 on a Hunchback. One AC-20 on each shoulder.

Wasn’t that the Hunchback 2C?

 

[snoopfrogg85]

Wasn’t that the Hunchback 2C?

Sort of, but IIC denotes clan tech. If i recall it also carried to ER lasers and very little armour for its weight class

 

[Iron Legionnaire]

Wasn’t that the Hunchback 2C?

Yeah, it has UAC20s, ERMLs and JJs. With a whopping 6t of armour.

 

[Exemplar Voss]

Would is be possible to make a AC-40 on a Hunchback. One AC-20 on each shoulder.

Not in 3025, but you can do it with a Jagermech, in this game no less.

Granted, it will overheat pretty quick, it still has paper armor*, and you'll have a grand total of 15 shots between the two guns unless you start sacrificing the medium lasers.

* and the ACs would go in the extra-thin arms.

 

[Hatchy]

The Quickdraw still has the lousy armour, alas - I'm inclined to your version, but two tons of SRM ammo is a lot of ammo, would probably dump a ton for another ton of armour, especially if that thing's brawling as a heavy.

8 tons of armor I found to be plenty in the game.

But your techs can't split and reroute the ammo feed from the original ammo bin through the CT to the new SRM launcher, they would use the original LRM ammo bin.

@Hatchy
That Quickdraw sounds like the QKD-5A, and the only reason that comes to mind is me doing a variant review this week.

Yes, I know. Have you used that version on the desert map? Almost useless after a few rounds due to heat, but the SRM is always firing as its the best option if you can only fire a couple weapons.

The numbers between the 2 versions are:

5-A gives a 38 point alpha strike for 21 heat with 10 chances of getting a head shot/critical. With 18 heat sinks, overheating happens very fast when you gotta move, so the number of weapons that can be fired keeps going down, so halfway through the battle only 3 weapons can fired and one is going to be the SRM. So the damage curve and head/crit chances decrease greatly the more prolonged the conflict progresses.

The 5-HTY gives a 36 point alpha strike for 18 heat and 12 chances for head/crit. Its 16 heats sinks manage the loadout a little better, but as the game progresses, the dual SRM launchers are still singing, making this version more dangerous as the battle progresses.

It's why I am looking at an all MG Firestarter with interest.

I was thinking of removing the CT flamers and replacing them with MG's. Your techs would find that swap super easy! Be scary in close quarters.

I just thought of swapping the small lasers on a Warhammer for MG's, might be effective late in the game when its running hot and in melee combat.

Anyway, from the top.

Would probably win in a very protracted engagement, but lacks a hard-hitting unit so taking an objective quickly might be an issue. Interesting make-up, though.

ENF-4B

4/6/4
1x PPC
1x AC/5 (2t ammo)

12 SHS
10.5t Armor

A budget Banshee, never thought of that before. Interesting.


Don't get me wrong, most of the mechs I'll use will be just the primary versions with the odd variant -like the TBT-5S paired with a Catapult- to round out the lance, but there are still gaps and certain missions will require a certain mix of units that aren't offered in the readouts.

 

[Dexion]

I'm hoping the Commando has a 3rd Missile Hardpoint. 3x LRM 5's and 2 tons of ammo, with a high tactics pilot, should be a really effective spotter and and light bombardment unit.

 

[44th MAC|Bonsai]

SHD-2D: Remove 4 HS, SRM2s and LRM5, add SRM6 and 1 ton of ammo. Max armor.
Losing the LRM5 only reduces long range capabilities slightly, overall damage stays the same. Can take a decent amount of punishment. Removing 4 HS seems odd, but effective heat per alpha is only slightly higher (+21 vs +18 with current global heat modifier)

AWS-8Q: Remove on PPC for 4 MLs (should be possible if using MWOs hardpoints) and 3 more HS.
Still a decent "sniper" with 2 PPCs. Like the original one, you can fire 2 PPCs without generating any heat (firing 3 is effectively +28,5 heat for the 8Q), but this has a decent close range punch within minimum range of the PPCs. Alphas for 200dmg (vs 150) while still only generating 30 effective heat.
Or remove 4 HS and add JJs. Still running absolutely cool when firing either MLs or PPCs, but alphastriking generates +42 heat.

 

[Q_res]

If the Awesome 8Q matches the MWO layout, you can easily drop the 3 PPCs for 3 LLs and 3 MLs with tonnage left over for additional heatsinks. That could be extremely strong at close range.

 

[Kereminde]

Yes, I know. Have you used that version on the desert map? Almost useless after a few rounds due to heat, but the SRM is always firing as its the best option if you can only fire a couple weapons.

The numbers between the 2 versions are:

5-A gives a 38 point alpha strike for 21 heat with 10 chances of getting a head shot/critical. With 18 heat sinks, overheating happens very fast when you gotta move, so the number of weapons that can be fired keeps going down, so halfway through the battle only 3 weapons can fired and one is going to be the SRM. So the damage curve and head/crit chances decrease greatly the more prolonged the conflict progresses.

The 5-HTY gives a 36 point alpha strike for 18 heat and 12 chances for head/crit. Its 16 heats sinks manage the loadout a little better, but as the game progresses, the dual SRM launchers are still singing, making this version more dangerous as the battle progresses.

I haven't. I merely look at the numbers for now, and think on tabletop as that's more fresh. Also, my PC had minor strokes trying to play this game before it would chug on sooooo.

But the first thing coming to mind on seeing your variant design was "this looks familiar".

 

[Iron Legionnaire]

8 tons of armor I found to be plenty in the game.

But your techs can't split and reroute the ammo feed from the original ammo bin through the CT to the new SRM launcher, they would use the original LRM ammo bin.



Would probably win in a very protracted engagement, but lacks a hard-hitting unit so taking an objective quickly might be an issue. Interesting make-up, though.

Was more interested in a balanced ranged unit with a good mix of speed, but I take your point. The other lance I've been mulling over is a different take on that unit, same 200t weight limit.

From the top again...

Firestarter FS9-M

Stock. It scouts, it's enough of a threat that people can't simply ignore it, especially when holes start opening in their armour.

Centurion CN9-A (x2)

What can I say, I am fond of this particular workhorse. This inverts the other build - keeps the AC10, drops the LRM10 and 1t of ammo for an SRM6 with 1t of ammo. 4x JJs, 1t of additional armour. It's not as well armoured as the other variant, but 9.5t of armour should be sufficient for most engagements.

Jagermech JM6-A

The variant I already talked about, with 2x AC5s, 2x LRM5s, and 2x MLs. 4x JJs and 10t of armour. Fire support, and a token indirect fire capability. I thought about ditching JJs, but as a 4/6 it needs all the help it can get to keep moving, and it needs to keep pace with the Centurions to provide fire support.

Overall I like this lance, more or less, save that it's less survivable, it's slower, and it lacks a real melee monster. Sure, the Firestarter has the support weapons, but at the end of the day, it's a light mech - it's only a matter of time before something ruins its day. We'll see what kind of equipment lands in my lap as the campaign takes off, will probably determine the direction my lance takes.

 

[Tnarien]

A budget Banshee, never thought of that before. Interesting.

There's quite a few niches it can play. At only marginally more MV expensive than a Panther it can serve as relatively inexpensive direct fire support for a heavier lance, or conversely it can serve as the budget tank for a lighter lance. Just park it (again preferably with Bulwark) in a good vantage point / water and blast away.

The heat configuration is such that if one stutters the PPC every 5-6 turns you'll never overheat. From an average DPS standpoint it actually rivals (and in a few variant specific cases will actually outperform) the Warhammer and Marauder in the "main gun output" category precisely because it can keep on blasting. 30 shots for the AC/5 mean that it has the endurance to take the low percentage shots and still rarely run empty.

The biggest drawback is its lack of close-in armament, but with a DFA capacity getting into knife-fight range isn't quite the advantage that it is in TT.

 

[Tnarien]

SHD-2D: Remove 4 HS, SRM2s and LRM5, add SRM6 and 1 ton of ammo. Max armor.
Losing the LRM5 only reduces long range capabilities slightly, overall damage stays the same. Can take a decent amount of punishment. Removing 4 HS seems odd, but effective heat per alpha is only slightly higher (+21 vs +18 with current global heat modifier)

AWS-8Q: Remove on PPC for 4 MLs (should be possible if using MWOs hardpoints) and 3 more HS.
Still a decent "sniper" with 2 PPCs. Like the original one, you can fire 2 PPCs without generating any heat (firing 3 is effectively +28,5 heat for the 8Q), but this has a decent close range punch within minimum range of the PPCs. Alphas for 200dmg (vs 150) while still only generating 30 effective heat.
Or remove 4 HS and add JJs. Still running absolutely cool when firing either MLs or PPCs, but alphastriking generates +42 heat.

If the Awesome 8Q matches the MWO layout, you can easily drop the 3 PPCs for 3 LLs and 3 MLs with tonnage left over for additional heatsinks. That could be extremely strong at close range.

FYI, so far as we are aware hardpoints are a one to one affair. Unless something has changed you can't drop a PPC and install multiple weapons in its place.

This isn't to say that chassis won't get additional non-support hardpoints in the inflation pass, but rather that most of the MWO meta builds wont be possible because one won't be able to "exchange" larger weapons for banks of smaller ones.

 

[44th MAC|Bonsai]

Well, the MWO Awesome has 6 (/7) energy hardpoints. From what I have seen thus far concerning other Mechs (Urbie with 4 ballistic hardpoints in HBS:BT and MWO e.g., even if 4 ballistics don't make any sense at all) I expect them to be there. But we'll see in a few weeks

 

[Tnarien]

Well, the MWO Awesome has 6 (/7) energy hardpoints. From what I have seen thus far concerning other Mechs (Urbie with 4 ballistic hardpoints in HBS:BT and MWO e.g., even if 4 ballistics don't make any sense at all) I expect them to be there. But we'll see in a few weeks

This is the point I'm making. Those 7 MWO hardpoints are, so far as HBS:BT is concerned, 3 Energy and 1 Support.

 

[Fairborne]

Psst @Tnarien @Hatchy

Blackjack - strip all the weapons and replace with an ac/5, ppc, and 1 heat sink.

Blackshee!