How To Train Your DRG-1N?
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No, from what I understand there are Leg Actuators that buff DFA's.
It's a generalist mech. Perfect for your commander. Not great but not terrible either. I'd say look at it's price compared to the top of the line mediums - the stock Dervish (55 ton missle boat-lite and low armor striker supreme) is just under 5 mil. A stock Griffin (fire support/energy based sniper/harasser) is 4.9 million. By comparison, the stock Dragon has better armor, comparable speed, and better options for weapons. I recommend beefing up the AC, beefing up the laser vomit, or lowering engine for better weapons/armor. I see the Dragon serving a role in a lance of medium mechs the same way I see a Phoenix Hawk in a recon lance. The Dragon is essentially a medium mech on crack much the same way the Phoenix Hawk is a suped up light mech.
Side note: one important thing we'll have to consider as mercenaries is our supply levels. These ammo dependent mechs like the Catapault, Shadowhawk, Trebuchet, Dragon, etc will take a serious hit on your finances between missions. At least that's the way it is in AtB campaigns in MekHQ. Energy heavy mechs like the Grasshopper, Crab, Cicada, Vindicator etc are your best friend as a mercenary.
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I can definitely see the Dragon filling the role of the tank in my lance. Even stock, it has enough armor to make it a beast.
The QuickDraw has the same mass and engine, but has (if my math is correct) 19 tons of weapons and equipment. The Dragon only has 15 tons. That’s an extra 4 tons for armor! I’m thinking that a pilot with high evasion or guts will make a Dragon one of the hardest mechs for a medium/light lance to put down.
As evidence I submit the trouble that Cohh Carnage had when he first encountered a heavy mech that had less armor.
Edit: I forgot to mention, the Dragon will be my commanders mechas soon as I can get one.
The QuickDraw has the same mass and engine, but has (if my math is correct) 19 tons of weapons and equipment. The Dragon only has 15 tons. That’s an extra 4 tons for armor! I’m thinking that a pilot with high evasion or guts will make a Dragon one of the hardest mechs for a medium/light lance to put down.
As evidence I submit the trouble that Cohh Carnage had when he first encountered a heavy mech that had less armor.
Edit: I forgot to mention, the Dragon will be my commanders mechas soon as I can get one.
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As long as you have the Ammo Bins for your Mechs, the Basic Operations & Maintenance Monthly Cost will account for any Ammunition you use during a Mission.
Yeah, it's really a decent Mech. You can see why the Kuritans like it so much. I think most lances with light/medium simply aren't prepared to handle that much armor and speed at once.
As for me, I have to go with Grasshopper. There's something incredibly intimidating about a mech that can have both arms blasted off and still level half a city block. Plus, those jump jets...
Interesting. Do we know how punishing resupply costs will be? Also, are there penalties for being so far out in the Periphery (increased delivery time, steeper costs)? If not, there's definitely potential for some very punishing realism modifications in the json files. Let's call it the "Dark Souls of Battletech games"
In this game we always get out ammo refilled for free as long as the ammo slot wasn't destroyed in battle. You can hand wave it as contracts always having ammo expenditure payed for.
Interesting. Do we know how punishing resupply costs will be? Also, are there penalties for being so far out in the Periphery (increased delivery time, steeper costs)? If not, there's definitely potential for some very punishing realism modifications in the json files. Let's call it the "Dark Souls of Battletech games"
Mech upkeep is about 7,200 I think per mech bay. But thats to power the mech bay. Ammo expenditure is just covered by contracts, And adding ammo costs wouldn't make the game that much more difficult. All the ammo can and is produced in the periphery already. After all. the game takes place between two major periphery states.
If you did make ammo expensive to replace, it would just mean players would field energy boats. Not really an increase in difficulty except maybe on hot maps which you can just avoid.
My attitude is that keeping a mech just because it's categorized as heavy is pretty silly when it's essentially a medium in disguise.
I mean... honestly, I want to have every mech in the game, so I don't plan on getting rid of it. But when you consider the way initiative works in this game, it really makes sense to stick with the 55 ton mechs for the 5/8 movement profile. And there are so many of those to choose from that the Dragon and the Quickdraw are quite pointless in my book.
Edit: Oh, and I'd probably go ahead and try builds for both the Dragon and Quickdraw that use max armor and drop all jump jets... so that it's at least something that can't be done better by any of those 55 ton mechs. Weapon specifics would likely depend on what I had in stock, but leaning towards close range where the extra armor would be the most useful.
I mean... honestly, I want to have every mech in the game, so I don't plan on getting rid of it. But when you consider the way initiative works in this game, it really makes sense to stick with the 55 ton mechs for the 5/8 movement profile. And there are so many of those to choose from that the Dragon and the Quickdraw are quite pointless in my book.
Edit: Oh, and I'd probably go ahead and try builds for both the Dragon and Quickdraw that use max armor and drop all jump jets... so that it's at least something that can't be done better by any of those 55 ton mechs. Weapon specifics would likely depend on what I had in stock, but leaning towards close range where the extra armor would be the most useful.
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Remember you have 4 CT slots, which means you can use a LRM15 or 2 SRM6. Since a single SRM6 is roughly equal to 2 ML, its not the worst. I'd probably use 1 AC5 +1 Ammo, 2 SRM6 +2 Ammo, 11 SHS and a bit more Armor. Should be okay.
With JJs and max armour plus the respective pilot, the DRG could make for a good heavy scout/advance spotter, especially if one starts to encounter heavier enemy units.
And it could still mount enough weapons to deter most medium mechs and any light mechs.
And it could still mount enough weapons to deter most medium mechs and any light mechs.
When it comes to 5/8 movement mechs, 60 tons only gives you 1 more useable ton for armor, weapons, and equipment than the 55 ton mechs. When you consider the weight increase of the jump jets that comes at 60 tons, if you put more than one jump jet on your 60 ton mech you just gave up that slight weight advantage.
If you want jump capability, the 55 ton mechs will simply be better. Don't waste your time with the Dragon.
Edit: In case you're the type that needs to see the math, here it is:
60 tons - 3 tons (cockpit) - 19 tons (300 rated engine) - 3 tons (gyro) - 6 tons (structure) = 29 tons available.
55 tons - 3 tons (cockpit) - 15.5 tons (275 rated engine) - 3 tons (gyro) - 5.5 tons (structure) = 28 tons available.
I'll probably do something very similar, just with SRM4s instead of 6s, keeping the 2 MLs. No additional HS, 12 tons of armor. Sure, it runs a bit hot, like 16 overheat per alpha if SRM4s values stay the same, but that's not too bad. You can always punch after some intense firing, or toggle weapons.
An alternative for a little less offense/brawler-approach would be dropping 1 ton of AC-ammo and a ML from the stock loadout to replace the LRM10 with a 15, making it more of a fire support design. Still decent armor and enough punch if anyone is stupid enough to try and tough it out with the 1N.
Bump the AC5 to a 10, drop the LRM10 for an SRM4. Don't bother with JJs for reasons previously stated.
Orrrr... Drop the LRM10 and step up to an AC20! A 5/8 with 11t of armour (or 10t and 3t of ammo) and an AC20 might be a one-trick pony, but it's quite the trick. It won't work if we're still working off the MWO lower arm actuator limitations, but I'd still be curious... Especially if AC20s have dropped to 25h from 31.5h
Orrrr... Drop the LRM10 and step up to an AC20! A 5/8 with 11t of armour (or 10t and 3t of ammo) and an AC20 might be a one-trick pony, but it's quite the trick. It won't work if we're still working off the MWO lower arm actuator limitations, but I'd still be curious... Especially if AC20s have dropped to 25h from 31.5h
Effectively making the DRG an up-armoured 55 tonner without JJs.
I'm thinking an AC2 or AC5 on approach, SRM6's or SRM4's for a close-range punch, round out with MLs, support weapons, ammo and heat sinks. I'd probably sacrifice heatsinks for armour and weapons, and melee the enemy when I'm running hot. Make use of that higher-than-average-damage punch it has.
AC20s can be mounted in the arms. One of the streamers (Cohh) put an AC20 into his Centurion, and had room to spare if I remember correctly.
You can in fact mount an AC20 on a Dragon or Centurion. AC20 + 2x ML on a 5/8 mover isn't bad.
Speaking of movement, we really need a non-table-top method of signifying movement speed.
Edit: Not much room to spare on Cohh's CN9-A. He had 1 ton of ammo.
Speaking of movement, we really need a non-table-top method of signifying movement speed.
Edit: Not much room to spare on Cohh's CN9-A. He had 1 ton of ammo.
I think he might've meant room to spare in terms of internal space rather than weight.
Kind of interesting how flexible internal space looks like this version. It hardly ever seems to be the limiting factor.
Cool beans. If they put a couple of support hardpoints on the Dragon, it would probably be worth dropping a ton of ammo or armour for SLs or Flamers as well
We dont know if the Dragon has any Support Hardpoints, and you cant mount SL/Flamer/MG on their usual MWO hardpoints