Infernos Missiles

[TheMoe]

Anyone have luck with the Infernos Missiles? It looks to me like they don't take any extra ammo, since the ammo appears to be stored inside, and they fire two missiles, each doing 2 damage + 5 heat damage each. They take the same space as an SRM 6 (3T) without ammo, which does max 48 damage on the non + version and decreases stability, so it seems like a huge price to pay for a little heat.

I'm guessing the only way these would be effective would be if used in groups of 3 or so? I'm at the medium mech level, just before the second storyline and still don't have the Argo. Is this a weapon for later in the game when it's possible to fit several or is there a place for it now with only one or two on a mech? Thanks.

 

[tobias.mb]

1.) There's Inferno++ for 15 Heat per missile; 30 heat total. With 2-3 of those you can easily overheat enemies.
2.) Infernos also cause a debuff for more heat dmg in the next turn.
3.) Infernos cause (almost) no heat for yourself. So comparing it to an SRM6 is not exactly accurate. An SRM6 would cost you 1t ammo + 3t Heatsinks extra.
4.) Infernos work quite well on spotter mechs. Combined with a Tag you can shut down an enemy for a called shot and you get bonus dmg on top of it.

 

[TheMoe]

1.) There's Inferno++ for 15 Heat per missile; 30 heat total. With 2-3 of those you can easily overheat enemies.
2.) Infernos also cause a debuff for more heat dmg in the next turn.
3.) Infernos cause (almost) no heat for yourself. So comparing it to an SRM6 is not exactly accurate. An SRM6 would cost you 1t ammo + 3t Heatsinks extra.
4.) Infernos work quite well on spotter mechs. Combined with a Tag you can shut down an enemy for a called shot and you get bonus dmg on top of it.

Okay, very helpful information. Thank you. I have access to the standard version at this point and I see that one launcher can generate 10 heat per two missile hits at a cost of only 3 heat to fire. I see your point regarding #3. I can also see how a ++ version would be very dangerous at close range, since 90 heat would be quite a bit for even a cold mech to deal with. With regards to #2, I'm not sure I've read about the debuff, unless you're referring to the damage that comes from overheating. I'm in 1.9 and I only see that the missiles in this version do damage for one turn.

I'm not 100% sure I understand #4. Would you mind explaining what you mean by "Tag?" Is that the name of a small mech I simply haven't encountered yet? If it's not, is there a mech you might recommend for this job? Thank you.

 

[Aluminium Gerbil]

Infernos have a lingering extra heat debuff the turn after, in the json it's called "BURNING GEL."

TAG is an energy weapon that does 1 dmg and adds a +X% damage malus to the target.

 

[Axterix13]

To be more specific, TAG's damage bonus is for projectile and energy weapons only (which are likely the weapons you'll want to use for a called shot). There's also NARC, a missile weapon, that does the same thing for missiles.

 

[Hobbes__]

1.) There's Inferno++ for 15 Heat per missile; 30 heat total. With 2-3 of those you can easily overheat enemies.

Infernos are also situational weapons that depend a lot on the terrain you're fighting.
In Badlands/Desert/Martian/Lunar biomes, the opposing 'Mechs have reduced heat dissipation from 15 to 35%, making Infernos even more effective. In Polar/Tundra/Jungle and water locations the reverse happens.

I usually have one Inferno equipped 'Mech to use when the fighting takes place in biomes that reduce heat dissipation ability.

And a downside about Infernos is that they are useless against vehicles and turrets, they only work against 'Mechs.

 

[DodgerSD]

And beware the Infernos Missiles Carrier. Think SRM carrier with a touch more range and it lights up your mech with burning gel.

 

[TheMoe]

To be more specific, TAG's damage bonus is for projectile and energy weapons only (which are likely the weapons you'll want to use for a called shot). There's also NARC, a missile weapon, that does the same thing for missiles.

Thank you. I have not seen that weapon yet, though I do have some NARC ammo, and I'm on the lookout for a NARC launcher and a TAG weapons.

 

[TheMoe]

Infernos are also situational weapons that depend a lot on the terrain you're fighting.
In Badlands/Desert/Martian/Lunar biomes, the opposing 'Mechs have reduced heat dissipation from 15 to 35%, making Infernos even more effective. In Polar/Tundra/Jungle and water locations the reverse happens.

I usually have one Inferno equipped 'Mech to use when the fighting takes place in biomes that reduce heat dissipation ability.

And a downside about Infernos is that they are useless against vehicles and turrets, they only work against 'Mechs.

Thank you. The extra info is incredibly helpful. I've seen people use specialized mechs for different purposes in some of the YouTube playthoughs I watch when I don't have time to play. Sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the warning about vehicles and turrets, too.

 

[TheMoe]

And beware the Infernos Missiles Carrier. Think SRM carrier with a touch more range and it lights up your mech with burning gel.

Oh, that does sound a bit scary! Thanks for the warning!

 

[Hobbes__]

Thank you. The extra info is incredibly helpful. I've seen people use specialized mechs for different purposes in some of the YouTube playthoughs I watch when I don't have time to play. Sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the warning about vehicles and turrets, too.

If you try my Hyades Rim mod, you can run into enemy Mechs equipped with Infernos in the Desert/Badlands/Mars/Lunar biomes.

 

[Beagá]

And beware the Infernos Missiles Carrier. Think SRM carrier with a touch more range and it lights up your mech with burning gel.

Never saw those. In which skull missions they appear?

 

[EmptyPepsiCan]

In my humble opinion infernos are best if you boat them (meaning you jam as many as you can fit onto a single mech), and if your pilot has high gunnery, and the Multi Target and Sensor Lock skills. Bonus points if the rest of your lance has some big guns and called shot masters. The idea is to start the turn with a shutdown, then let the rest of the lance get the kill (possibly by headshot for max salvage). That only works if you've got all of your infernos on one or two mechs.

In terms of what mechs would work as inferno boats, the easy, hands down winner is the Kintaro. It can carry a whopping 5 inferno racks and a TAG with a ton to spare (so you can add a ton of armor or strip a ton of armor and carry 4 jump jets).

Other options (of varying quality) for heat locking and/or crowd control include:

• The Firestarter (6 flamers, a TAG, and 6 JJs with a ton to spare)
• The Javelin 10N (3 inferno racks, or 4 if you want to strip JJs and armor)
• The Assassin (3 infernos and a TAG if you strip JJs and a half ton of it's already paper thin armor)
• The Griffin 1N (3 infernos, a flamer, a TAG, and 5 JJs with 3 tons to spare)
• The Hatchetman 3X (2 infernos, 4 flamers, a TAG, 4 JJs, and full armor with 4 tons to spare)
• The Wolverine 6R (3 infernos and a flamer with 5 JJs, good armor, and an LBX-2)
• The Archer 2S (4 infernos with 16 tons for JJs, energy weapons, and heat sinks I guess)

Regarding the TAG, it gives the rest of your mechs a damage bonus that round, so it's nice to have but it's not strictly necessary. I think they're a good value on an inferno boat. That's the mech that will most likely open the round, so applying a damage bonus at that point goes a long way toward making up for the damage you lose by boating infernos rather than SRMs or something. Plus TAGs make it a bit easier to get a headshot kill. And they only weigh a ton.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with anything but the Kintaro, Griffin, or Wolverine. I like my inferno boats to work for heat locks, crowd control, spotting, and sensor locking, so I need them to be fast, mobile, and tough. I use the inferno mech to spot for the rest of the lance, and to dart in to apply heat debuffs and heatlocks once the rest of the lance is closer.

For inferno strategies, it's situational. as a rule infernos are great in hot biomes, good in heat neutral biomes, and not so special in cold biomes. For the latter if you want to guarantee a shutdown you need a lot of inferno tubes. Advanced versions (+, ++) of inferno launchers and flamers exist, and a bunch of those will work anywhere.

If you have enough launchers you can shut down anything in one volley, which makes it a good opener if you want to kill a hard target or set up a headshot for full salvage. If you're in a hot biome and/or your targets are already hot you can sometimes use Multi Target to get two shutdowns in a turn.

Another Multi Target inferno option is to heat up 2-3 targets so they can't shoot back the for next couple of rounds. A lot of the 3025 mechs aren't great with heat, so if you hit them with +30 apiece and apply the Burning Gel malus for the next turn they will often hold or limit their return fire. It's a good tactic against pretty much anything with a big alpha - if you have enough missiles and you're in the right biome.

In conclusion, infernos are great in the right situation, but only if fire enough of them.

 

[kettch]

Never saw those. In which skull missions they appear?

I just ran into one in a 1-Skull 'Battle'-Mission, alongside a Manticore and two Strikers as the main Target / OpFor (was that mission flavor where you are hired to blow up the toys someone had rented but not paid for). So I guess it can fill any heavy vehicle slot now?
It was not as bad as it sounds though, gave my Jenner's Pilot a big startle, but just didn't manage to push it into overheat. An actual SRM-Carrier would definitely have been a lot worse.

 

[TheMoe]

In my humble opinion infernos are best if you boat them (meaning you jam as many as you can fit onto a single mech), and if your pilot has high gunnery, and the Multi Target and Sensor Lock skills. Bonus points if the rest of your lance has some big guns and called shot masters. The idea is to start the turn with a shutdown, then let the rest of the lance get the kill (possibly by headshot for max salvage). That only works if you've got all of your infernos on one or two mechs.

In terms of what mechs would work as inferno boats, the easy, hands down winner is the Kintaro. It can carry a whopping 5 inferno racks and a TAG with a ton to spare (so you can add a ton of armor or strip a ton of armor and carry 4 jump jets).

Other options (of varying quality) for heat locking and/or crowd control include:

• The Firestarter (6 flamers, a TAG, and 6 JJs with a ton to spare)
• The Javelin 10N (3 inferno racks, or 4 if you want to strip JJs and armor)
• The Assassin (3 infernos and a TAG if you strip JJs and a half ton of it's already paper thin armor)
• The Griffin 1N (3 infernos, a flamer, a TAG, and 5 JJs with 3 tons to spare)
• The Hatchetman 3X (2 infernos, 4 flamers, a TAG, 4 JJs, and full armor with 4 tons to spare)
• The Wolverine 6R (3 infernos and a flamer with 5 JJs, good armor, and an LBX-2)
• The Archer 2S (4 infernos with 16 tons for JJs, energy weapons, and heat sinks I guess)

Regarding the TAG, it gives the rest of your mechs a damage bonus that round, so it's nice to have but it's not strictly necessary. I think they're a good value on an inferno boat. That's the mech that will most likely open the round, so applying a damage bonus at that point goes a long way toward making up for the damage you lose by boating infernos rather than SRMs or something. Plus TAGs make it a bit easier to get a headshot kill. And they only weigh a ton.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with anything but the Kintaro, Griffin, or Wolverine. I like my inferno boats to work for heat locks, crowd control, spotting, and sensor locking, so I need them to be fast, mobile, and tough. I use the inferno mech to spot for the rest of the lance, and to dart in to apply heat debuffs and heatlocks once the rest of the lance is closer.

For inferno strategies, it's situational. as a rule infernos are great in hot biomes, good in heat neutral biomes, and not so special in cold biomes. For the latter if you want to guarantee a shutdown you need a lot of inferno tubes. Advanced versions (+, ++) of inferno launchers and flamers exist, and a bunch of those will work anywhere.

If you have enough launchers you can shut down anything in one volley, which makes it a good opener if you want to kill a hard target or set up a headshot for full salvage. If you're in a hot biome and/or your targets are already hot you can sometimes use Multi Target to get two shutdowns in a turn.

Another Multi Target inferno option is to heat up 2-3 targets so they can't shoot back the for next couple of rounds. A lot of the 3025 mechs aren't great with heat, so if you hit them with +30 apiece and apply the Burning Gel malus for the next turn they will often hold or limit their return fire. It's a good tactic against pretty much anything with a big alpha - if you have enough missiles and you're in the right biome.

In conclusion, infernos are great in the right situation, but only if fire enough of them.

Wow. Now this is something I'll come back to over and over again. Should be pinned somewhere! If you ever stream, please send me a PM and I'll gladly watch and learn. I'm still pretty new to the new game with all the DLC, so I can read your strategies though I've never tried them in battle. Maybe in the near future? I only have access to the standard infernos and I think I have one +1 flamer.

I just want to make sure I understand. One infernos launcher does 2x2 damage (4) and 5 head a missile or 10 heat the first round. When you talk about the debuff, is that an additional 10 heat the second round, too? Thanks for the outstanding explanation!

 

[TheMoe]

I just ran into one in a 1-Skull 'Battle'-Mission, alongside a Manticore and two Strikers as the main Target / OpFor (was that mission flavor where you are hired to blow up the toys someone had rented but not paid for). So I guess it can fill any heavy vehicle slot now?
It was not as bad as it sounds though, gave my Jenner's Pilot a big startle, but just didn't manage to push it into overheat. An actual SRM-Carrier would definitely have been a lot worse.

Good to know where these might show up!

 

[TheMoe]

If you try my Hyades Rim mod, you can run into enemy Mechs equipped with Infernos in the Desert/Badlands/Mars/Lunar biomes.

I've never tried mods on this game, but I sure might in the future. Is there a guide somewhere that tells us how to add mods to a Steam version? Thanks!

 

[Hobbes__]

I've never tried mods on this game, but I sure might in the future. Is there a guide somewhere that tells us how to add mods to a Steam version? Thanks!

On your game folder (C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\BATTLETECH\BattleTech_Data\StreamingAssets\data\mods\HBS\) there's a document called Mod_Support_-_README.pdf

The smaller mods will usually run with HBS's mod loader. But if you want to use one of the large mod packs (RogueTech, BattleTech Extended and BattleTech Advanced) you'll need to install ModTek, which is a tool that allowed mod use before HBS officially supported mods.

 

[Aluminium Gerbil]

IMO the best inferno carrier is the SLDF Griffin 2N. You can fit 4 Inferno launchers and if they are ++ versions that's maximum 120 heat, enough to shut down anything even if a few rockets miss. The other benefits are the built in engine DHS and 2 energy hardpoints and 2 sub-weapon hardpoints. Would also reccommend some TTS to maximize your chances to hit with the rockets.

If you really want to boat then the Cyclops Q is your go-to with its stupid number of missile hardpoints but limited weight it's pretty much only good at boating Infernos.

 

[EmptyPepsiCan]

Wow. Now this is something I'll come back to over and over again. Should be pinned somewhere! If you ever stream, please send me a PM and I'll gladly watch and learn.

Naw, it's stuff you'd have figured out on your own in a bit. Basically if you hit a mech with a ton of heat all at once you can shut it down, then kill it with called shots. Simple enough. We used to do the same thing with LRM knockdowns. Blowing a leg off with a UAC/20 works, too. Or just blowing heads off with a Marauder or Annihilator.

I'm not a streamer or an expert at this game and my tactics aren't the only viable options, much less the best. My preferred playstyle is to have 3 mechs loaded up with big guns and one working as a spotter / distracter / backstabber / TAGger / crowd controller / disabler. An inferno boat with a TAG can do all of that except the backstabbing, so it works for me. Other people like to have 4 brawlers that wade in and beat the enemy to death, or a scout, 2 brawlers, and a missile boat, or 3 backstabbers and a sniper, or whatever. There are plenty of ways to play this game. You do you.

There are plenty of great streamers available, too. Check out Edmon. He's a wizard at abusing the initiative system to bamboozle the opposition. If you can figure that out then a winner is you.

I just want to make sure I understand. One infernos launcher does 2x2 damage (4) and 5 heat a missile or 10 heat the first round. When you talk about the debuff, is that an additional 10 heat the second round, too? Thanks for the outstanding explanation!

Correct, 1 launcher does 10 heat the first turn and 10 more the second turn, assuming both missiles hit. If you hit the same target the next turn the Burning gel (+5 heat per missile) is applied, along with the heat from the second salvo. So in order to guarantee a shutdown you need to either hit a mech that's already hot, or hit a cool mech twice. Probably. The biome matters, and I think the AI pilot's stats do as well. And missiles can miss. And so forth.

For crowd control it's pretty easy. You just use multi target to keep applying heat to 2-3 dangerous targets, again depending on how hot they are, how heat efficient the target is, and the biome. So if you hit it looks like this:

Turn 1, opening salvo with 4 inferno launchers - Target 1 gets 20 heat, Target 2 gets 20
Turn 2, second salvo + Burning Gel - Target 1 gets 40 heat, target 2 gets 40 heat
Turn 3, second salvo + Burning Gel - Target 1 gets 40 heat, target 2 gets 40 heat

And so forth...

The theory, which I've found to be pretty good, is that if you keep pumping heat into your 2 most dangerous opponents they won't shoot back nearly as much. Meanwhile the rest of your lance will be killing a third mech (which you TAGged, so it takes more damage).

The strategy won't stop a Hunchback from shooting you in the face with an AC/20, but mechs that are already heat challenged - Warhammers, Grasshoppers, Black Knights, Marauders, and so forth - will tend to cut their fire way back. Plus if your inferno boat is a well armored 55-tonner that's jumping from cover to cover a lot of that fire will be aimed at it, and most of it will miss. That's good for the rest of the lance.

But as I said, that's just one of many approaches and it's not likely that it's the best. It's just how I like to do it.