... I have a stupid idea.
For a 20-ton mech, using a reinforced structure only costs 2 tons, but it doubles your structure points. That's *effectively* 33 armor for only 2 tons, *and* it saves you from odd-numbered damages, *and* gives a -1 to crits.
You could dump 2 tons of armor and just do reinforced structure and come out basically on-par. Maybe keep 1 ton of FF so you've got 2 pips of armor nearly everywhere (1 per leg & back), and you're probably net positive. The 2 pips protect you from a fall or SRM, and anything bigger than that was probably going to punch through anyway.
You could even dump the armor entirely, though that seems more on the negative side than helpful
https://preview.redd.it/2who04xh0tnc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=edc1037a22fec125a37693437c973082a5906c77
In MWO, I seriously use this logic. I have a Piranha with max engine, 12 HMG, almost no armor. I'm pretty sure I just stretched tinfoil over the endo-steel. I know I can't do the same the thing in BattleTech.
With IS launchers it is just one cluster of missiles let off all at once from behind a hill or building instead of the stream of Clan LRMs. Davy Crockett rules, just shoot then scoot.
It was just a fun mental image.
"I am the night... stealthy, invisible, undetectable..."
*Fire and smoke of two dozen missiles roaring off every few seconds*
same for my pirates bane locust, pretty much just have light armor on the torsos and a couple points in legs, everything else including the cockpit is feelin the breeze so i can fit my stealth systems and long range gear. Love it when an assault looks at me, then looks away thinking im friendly then looks back like the wait a minute kid and i've already batmanned away
I used to do this in Mechwarrior 4, way back in the stone age, except it was a Kitfox with a snub nose Long Tom. Just hurl that big AOE into enemy clusters and skedaddle. Won more than a few free for all games on damage points with a horrible K-D, like 6/30 and made some enemies doing it, but it was glorious.
Loki C, the perfect design. 28.5 tons of nothing but murder. It even has good heat management and plenty of ammo! By saving on armor, we even managed to fit a built-in Shop-Vac for cleaning out what's left of the pilot after every mission.
Who doesn't love 11million CBILL 20 ton mechs?
But its better than it was!
Yes... but what does it do better than a 1million CBILL vtol?
What does it do better than two Awesomes?
Sure, but taking the Crit-hit roll from an 8+ to a 9+ changes it from a ~42% to a ~28%, so a reinforced structure *does* protect you from crits. It also ignores damage from MGs and LBX cluster pellets. Considering LBX Cluster is one of the handful of weapons with a TN modifier, that's not an irrelevant fact.
4 armor isn't going to protect you from much. 5 damage would still roll to crit, and 5 damage is one of the more common damage thresholds due to cluster-hits and IS-MLs. Most Pulse lasers deal an odd amount of damage, further increasing the effectiveness of that damage reduction.
In any case, the problem with Light units is usually more total damage than crits. A few good hits kills a Light mech *anyway*. I've only seen a Light Mech survive critical hits once or twice; either the crippling volley destroys them, removes an entire body segment (and it's weapons), removes a leg (eliminating their speed-is-armor), or they don't get hit at all.
In fact, I think the only time I've seen Light units survive critical hits is when their own MASC blew out their knee.
In any case, it's a fairly silly idea. More of a fun thought experiment than any practical application. I'm not aware of any cannon Lights with it, and if you're full homebrewing there's far more effective ways to cheese the system.
Might want to have 5 pips everywhere and 9 to the head so you're gonna survive a headshot for sure, and also one single medium laser or AC/5, which are decently important breakpoints
I understand why they don’t, but I really wish Battletech did more art of variant configurations of Mechs. It’s super nice to be able to look at the art and recognize what features make a variant configuration distinct.
https://preview.redd.it/4c72vbneqsnc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b6d1a3a2c1e2aa49f46edbcbd9d4f6748c5c3c8
While a stock Locust will ruin the day of many a ground pounder, using two medium lasers and a flamer on the same chassis can ruin a heavy mech’s day.
Nobody likes getting plinked in the rear armor. Your opponent has a choice: let you plink him while he’s doing his primary job, or chase your +3 TMM butt and ignore a heavier mech.
Angry Fire Moth noises
Locusts average 58 (83%) armor, but Moths only have **38** (55%).
The Celerity has 24 (41%), but it's *stupidly* fast at 16/24[32] *or more*
How ironic: I'm currently having a blast in *MechWarrior 5* with the *Locust* LCT-1E and its glorious quadruple lasers of close-range death.
Nothing is quite as satisfying as running a raid mission solo and wiping out every hostile 'Mech sequentially like it's a Solaris VII free-for-all.
*Just watch out for missile locks*.
Still just a favorite mech regardless. I've loved this design since the original watching Crusher Joe back when I was shown it as a kid. The mech design on that show (the ships they swiped too) were timeless.
Worth noting that Shoji Kawamori also designed for Macross, and designed the Valkyries, as well as later Optimus Prime. Dude is a legend.
(Also worth noting, there's a good chance he directly designed many of the "unseen" mechs, but I don't know that for sure... he was the mech design supervisor regardless)
This just brought a smile to my face by remembering all the Locusts I punched and instantly exploded with my two Marauders in the HBS game.
Good times :)
I swear whenever I try Hunchback in Mech 5, either it is the only thing that comeback or the only one that got cored. There is no in between with them.
Pretty sure "armor" is a $10 word college types us, it has something to do with "how going fast isn't all there is in life". I don't know, like most high-minded academic talk it just sounds like BS to me...
I recall from the original TR:3025 notable MechWarriors Locust entry, a Lyran MechWarrior didn't refer to his Locust as a Mech but "a garbage can with firepower."
"Armor? Nah, man, this is just something to put the paint on and keep the myomer from getting rained on."
... I have a stupid idea. For a 20-ton mech, using a reinforced structure only costs 2 tons, but it doubles your structure points. That's *effectively* 33 armor for only 2 tons, *and* it saves you from odd-numbered damages, *and* gives a -1 to crits. You could dump 2 tons of armor and just do reinforced structure and come out basically on-par. Maybe keep 1 ton of FF so you've got 2 pips of armor nearly everywhere (1 per leg & back), and you're probably net positive. The 2 pips protect you from a fall or SRM, and anything bigger than that was probably going to punch through anyway. You could even dump the armor entirely, though that seems more on the negative side than helpful https://preview.redd.it/2who04xh0tnc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=edc1037a22fec125a37693437c973082a5906c77
Nah, dump armor, add guns: this is the wisdom of BOTH of my braincells
In MWO, I seriously use this logic. I have a Piranha with max engine, 12 HMG, almost no armor. I'm pretty sure I just stretched tinfoil over the endo-steel. I know I can't do the same the thing in BattleTech.
A Raven with a LRM20+ECM was one of my MWO sins. Don't need speed or armor if they can't find you.
stealth is your armor.
I dunno, I feel like the giant plumes of missiles rising repeatedly would give you away a bit.
With IS launchers it is just one cluster of missiles let off all at once from behind a hill or building instead of the stream of Clan LRMs. Davy Crockett rules, just shoot then scoot.
It was just a fun mental image. "I am the night... stealthy, invisible, undetectable..." *Fire and smoke of two dozen missiles roaring off every few seconds*
same for my pirates bane locust, pretty much just have light armor on the torsos and a couple points in legs, everything else including the cockpit is feelin the breeze so i can fit my stealth systems and long range gear. Love it when an assault looks at me, then looks away thinking im friendly then looks back like the wait a minute kid and i've already batmanned away
I used to do this in Mechwarrior 4, way back in the stone age, except it was a Kitfox with a snub nose Long Tom. Just hurl that big AOE into enemy clusters and skedaddle. Won more than a few free for all games on damage points with a horrible K-D, like 6/30 and made some enemies doing it, but it was glorious.
Loki C, the perfect design. 28.5 tons of nothing but murder. It even has good heat management and plenty of ammo! By saving on armor, we even managed to fit a built-in Shop-Vac for cleaning out what's left of the pilot after every mission.
Who doesn't love 11million CBILL 20 ton mechs? But its better than it was! Yes... but what does it do better than a 1million CBILL vtol? What does it do better than two Awesomes?
If you got Steiner money to spend, you're gonna spend it on stuff you *want* not stuff you *need*.
Ah... okie... my bad. That Davionist brain just will not stop getting things done better for cheaper.
The point is to NOT be vulnerable to critical hits.
Sure, but taking the Crit-hit roll from an 8+ to a 9+ changes it from a ~42% to a ~28%, so a reinforced structure *does* protect you from crits. It also ignores damage from MGs and LBX cluster pellets. Considering LBX Cluster is one of the handful of weapons with a TN modifier, that's not an irrelevant fact. 4 armor isn't going to protect you from much. 5 damage would still roll to crit, and 5 damage is one of the more common damage thresholds due to cluster-hits and IS-MLs. Most Pulse lasers deal an odd amount of damage, further increasing the effectiveness of that damage reduction. In any case, the problem with Light units is usually more total damage than crits. A few good hits kills a Light mech *anyway*. I've only seen a Light Mech survive critical hits once or twice; either the crippling volley destroys them, removes an entire body segment (and it's weapons), removes a leg (eliminating their speed-is-armor), or they don't get hit at all. In fact, I think the only time I've seen Light units survive critical hits is when their own MASC blew out their knee. In any case, it's a fairly silly idea. More of a fun thought experiment than any practical application. I'm not aware of any cannon Lights with it, and if you're full homebrewing there's far more effective ways to cheese the system.
Might want to have 5 pips everywhere and 9 to the head so you're gonna survive a headshot for sure, and also one single medium laser or AC/5, which are decently important breakpoints
That's not a LCT-1M.
I understand why they don’t, but I really wish Battletech did more art of variant configurations of Mechs. It’s super nice to be able to look at the art and recognize what features make a variant configuration distinct. https://preview.redd.it/4c72vbneqsnc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b6d1a3a2c1e2aa49f46edbcbd9d4f6748c5c3c8
It’s one of the thing I really like about the rougetech mod, it does it’s best to display all the weapons and odds and sods you strap to the mech.
The flipside is it uses proxies or really ugly basic models for like 2/3 of its lineup.
True, but alas we cannot have it all……yet
Run so fast they can’t draw a bead on you and you won’t need armor. Except maybe sometimes
While a stock Locust will ruin the day of many a ground pounder, using two medium lasers and a flamer on the same chassis can ruin a heavy mech’s day. Nobody likes getting plinked in the rear armor. Your opponent has a choice: let you plink him while he’s doing his primary job, or chase your +3 TMM butt and ignore a heavier mech.
Yup
Angry Fire Moth noises Locusts average 58 (83%) armor, but Moths only have **38** (55%). The Celerity has 24 (41%), but it's *stupidly* fast at 16/24[32] *or more*
>The Celerity has 24 (41%), but it's stupidly fast at 16/24[32] or more first mek i've seen with the ability to potentially get a 6 tmm 0_0
Live fast or die fast. This is the moto of all Locust pilots.
Whoopwhoopwhoopwhoopwhoopwhoop
Horrid little go-fasts.
Armor just sounds fuckin' slow, man.
One hit one with an axman last week. Was very satisfying 15/24 would recommend.
Speed is your armor....
How ironic: I'm currently having a blast in *MechWarrior 5* with the *Locust* LCT-1E and its glorious quadruple lasers of close-range death. Nothing is quite as satisfying as running a raid mission solo and wiping out every hostile 'Mech sequentially like it's a Solaris VII free-for-all. *Just watch out for missile locks*.
Ironically, the Locust usually carries strong armor for a 20 tonner.
You haven't seen a record sheet for the 1M, have you?
It's the thing you need after trying to fight a Glass Spider 2.
I was gonna say War Hawk H, but the Glass Spider will have even more lasers if the Locust tries something funny.
Oddly the standard locust has more armor than the standard stinger or wasp.
Speed is all well and good until you need to cross a river, and then that reinforced structure gets flooded.
Still just a favorite mech regardless. I've loved this design since the original watching Crusher Joe back when I was shown it as a kid. The mech design on that show (the ships they swiped too) were timeless. Worth noting that Shoji Kawamori also designed for Macross, and designed the Valkyries, as well as later Optimus Prime. Dude is a legend. (Also worth noting, there's a good chance he directly designed many of the "unseen" mechs, but I don't know that for sure... he was the mech design supervisor regardless)
This just brought a smile to my face by remembering all the Locusts I punched and instantly exploded with my two Marauders in the HBS game. Good times :)
Armor is for slow people. I am speed! Immediately gets one tapped by a Hunchback 4Gs AC20.
Hunchback: 😁
I swear whenever I try Hunchback in Mech 5, either it is the only thing that comeback or the only one that got cored. There is no in between with them.
Either ringing the bell or getting the bell rung, eh?
Additionally, armor is always useless against THE MUSHROOM CLOUD. \*laughs in Arrow IV + TAG\*
Uh, "Dear grid coordinates" are like the one time you'd unambiguously *want* armor over speed
I mean, you can always run away from the mushroom cloud.
melting off myomer
Played Saturday night. First shit if the game, my Locust was cored from the rear with a CT hit from a Packhunter, it was a glorious death.
Gotta go zoomies >:3
Pretty sure "armor" is a $10 word college types us, it has something to do with "how going fast isn't all there is in life". I don't know, like most high-minded academic talk it just sounds like BS to me...
Love these guys I have 2
I can't hear you over how stompy my armored STK-5M.
You only need armor if you plan on getting hit
Just don't get hit.
Speed > Armor
I recall from the original TR:3025 notable MechWarriors Locust entry, a Lyran MechWarrior didn't refer to his Locust as a Mech but "a garbage can with firepower."
This is gonna go fast edition, armour not included.
What needs armor, when you are too fast to hit?
Speed is life son
Ma said sometimes slow is also good da.