Battletech - Also known as Trannytech

Techpriest said:
The 5T is pretty fantastic, but I raise you a marauder with an LGR, two ERLL and 2 ERML. Standard fusion, endo and ferro, plus DHS. Talk about a sniper.
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If you want a retarded Marauder thats a sniper, the 11D is a terrible thing, replaces the autocannon with the Silverbullet series of Gauss rifles, packing 2 C-ERPPCs and 2 Medium X-Pulse Lasers.
 
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Gezkill said:
If you want a retarded Marauder thats a sniper, the 11D is a terrible thing, replaces the autocannon with the Silverbullet series of Gauss rifles, packing 2 C-ERPPCs and 2 Medium X-Pulse Lasers.
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That’s up there for sure but I still like my dumb fusion engine baby that I sketched up,
 
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Gezkill said:
Here ya go.

[Edit] Also thinking of doing a ATB campaign where we have the Kiwifarms as a merc outfit.
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Nice but I recommend you add Endo and CASE, and then up armor. With 15 heat sinks, it’s pretty solid, but off the top of my head you can squeeze on Ferro and Endo just barely onto it critspace wise. It’s a solid enough mech for 3057 to 3059 and being able to chuck 24 points of damage around at 19 hexes is pretty nice. EDIT: can’t fit Endo, but you can fit 11 tons of ferro armor on it, 16 DHS and CASE, if you drop a ton of LGR ammo. Either way, fun mech to dick around with, basically a 3M on crack
 
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Gezkill said:
While I quiet enjoyed the 5M and it being a deadly force the real god is the 5T variant which replaces the LB-10-X with a fracking RAC/5 for that DAKKA feeling, it also adds an additional jump jet as well as a targeting computer which pretty much nullifies its jump penalty when it comes to shooting those pulse lasers. Oh did I mention its got a RAC/5? Also its more heavily armored then the 5M allowing it to take more of a whopping.
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RAC/5s are just dumb fun. Who wouldn't want a HAG 30 for only 10 tons? Sure, it can jam... but it's also the only autocannon that can be unjammed for some bullshit reason. And unlike the standard AC/5 it has no minimum range, so you can fire it at point-blank range for that sweet 0 range mod.

Gezkill said:
[Edit] Also thinking of doing a ATB campaign where we have the Kiwifarms as a merc outfit.
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That should be fun.
 
Something about RAC and LB-X autocannons that comes to my mind is that the latter seems rather weird in the smaller calibres. IE: I think it would have been more appropriate to have RAC2 and 5 variants like we do and limit LB-X versions to LB-X 10 and 20 (without LB-X 2 and 5).
 
RomanesEuntDomus said:
Something about RAC and LB-X autocannons that comes to my mind is that the latter seems rather weird in the smaller calibres. IE: I think it would have been more appropriate to have RAC2 and 5 variants like we do and limit LB-X versions to LB-X 10 and 20 (without LB-X 2 and 5).
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Low-caliber Autocannons have always been wonky in terms of balance. Seriously, look at the AC/5: who would pay 8 tons plus ammo for an ammo-dependent Medium Laser with twice the range?

It could maybe work if Autocannons were variable-damage weapons. Say, 1d6 + size. 6+ ton for 3-8 damage out to 24 hexes isn't awful. 8+ ton for 6-11 damage out to 18 isn't bad either. 12+ tons for 11-16 damage out to 15 hexes would make the AC/10 competitive with the Gauss Rifle. And of course, 14 tons for 21-26 damage out to 9 hexes is just juicy.

But BT has to be compatible with previous editions' designs so we're never going to see that big a change in existing gear. Sad.
 
RomanesEuntDomus said:
Something about RAC and LB-X autocannons that comes to my mind is that the latter seems rather weird in the smaller calibres. IE: I think it would have been more appropriate to have RAC2 and 5 variants like we do and limit LB-X versions to LB-X 10 and 20 (without LB-X 2 and 5).
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You can fire both slug ammo and cluster rounds in an LBX autocannon. If your target has breached armor in locations, tossing cluster shots at him is a great way to fish for critical hits. Even a couple one point hits can be useful for that. Remember, LBX cluster munitions don't group in five-point 'hits'; you roll for every 1 point hit.
 
Capsaicin Addict said:
You can fire both slug ammo and cluster rounds in an LBX autocannon. If your target has breached armor in locations, tossing cluster shots at him is a great way to fish for critical hits. Even a couple one point hits can be useful for that. Remember, LBX cluster munitions don't group in five-point 'hits'; you roll for every 1 point hit.
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I am well aware of that, I just think the LB-X 2 is hardly worth it, the LB-X 2 might as well be a standard AC with Duplex ammo.

In my eyes, lore-wise it would have made it a more elegant solution to say "Large Autocannons also come in variants that shoot a fuckload of tiny pellets whereas smaller ones come in Gatling-versions". It's kinda awkward that there's no RAC 10 or RAC 20 from a lore perspective... from a balancing POV it makes perfect sense to not put in a weapon that can dish out 120 damage a pop. I just like the idea that this differentiates between the two smaller and the two larger AC types... I mean, it's not like I am particularly unhappy with having the option of the LB-X 2, just something that came to my mind.

Frankly, if I could design the LB-X from scratch, I'd completely change the way how they deal damage to one that depends on range.
Ie: Short range deals all damage in one spot like a slug. Medium range is treated exactly like LRM fire (using the cluster hits table and 5-damage clusters) and on long range, you get individual 1-point damage "clusters" like we do now. The idea being that this represents that the dispersal pattern of the individual pellets spreads out over distance.

I think this represents the way how that kind of weapon would work nicely, but I also understand that it would be a bit too much of a hassle to actually keep track of during play, so its just me spitballing.
 
RomanesEuntDomus said:
I am well aware of that, I just think the LB-X 2 is hardly worth it, the LB-X 2 might as well be a standard AC with Duplex ammo.

In my eyes, lore-wise it would have made it a more elegant solution to say "Large Autocannons also come in variants that shoot a fuckload of tiny pellets whereas smaller ones come in Gatling-versions". It's kinda awkward that there's no RAC 10 or RAC 20 from a lore perspective... from a balancing POV it makes perfect sense to not put in a weapon that can dish out 120 damage a pop. I just like the idea that this differentiates between the two smaller and the two larger AC types... I mean, it's not like I am particularly unhappy with having the option of the LB-X 2, just something that came to my mind.

Frankly, if I could design the LB-X from scratch, I'd completely change the way how they deal damage to one that depends on range.
Ie: Short range deals all damage in one spot like a slug. Medium range is treated exactly like LRM fire (using the cluster hits table and 5-damage clusters) and on long range, you get individual 1-point damage "clusters" like we do now. The idea being that this represents that the dispersal pattern of the individual pellets spreads out over distance.

I think this represents the way how that kind of weapon would work nicely, but I also understand that it would be a bit too much of a hassle to actually keep track of during play, so its just me spitballing.
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LB-X 2’s niche is light vehicle popping and ASF sky broom antics. The LB 5-X is also pretty solid, as it’s not clustering like the LRM-5 which makes it good for crit seeking antics.
 
In the end, whether we like it or not, it's good for there to be some equipment that's highly specialized/just plain worse than others. It gives the designers something to give the canon 'Mechs so they're not all fantastically optimized machines.

And speaking of AC/2s... just how fucking dense are these things? I just realized they're a six ton, single-crit module. I think I know what the Grand Turtle's armor is made of: discarded/salvaged AC/2 trunnions. Is there anything heavier than that in the game?
 
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Count me in if we do some ATB, well I mean make LT Bassomatic, I have a few mechs I love for merc PCing. Has anyone played with that new Shad ? It's a BA hunter 5 SSRM2s and the AC5 is a LL, gave it a whirl and oh boy does it do it well.

The fluff was fun to but I won't spoil it for anyone.
 
So Thursday is when I'll start up the AtB Campaign but deciding on what table I need is pretty thunk worthy.
 
Corn Flakes said:
And speaking of AC/2s... just how fucking dense are these things? I just realized they're a six ton, single-crit module. I think I know what the Grand Turtle's armor is made of: discarded/salvaged AC/2 trunnions. Is there anything heavier than that in the game?
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Are we considering Naval-Grade weapons? Because there's a gauss rifle that shoots a slug the size of an Atlas.
 
I recently got the Beginner Box after playing a bit of an AtB campaign and learning the MekHQ interface. So far I'm really digging the mechs and reading up on the lore of the mechs I pickup in my campaign and reading up on the Wolverine and Griffith that came in the box.

What would my next step be? Getting A Game of Armored Combat? Or should I just go ahead and get a rule book (I know BT is 3 different products but I am unsure which book to get for the war game portion.)? I also see Clan Invasion as a box set for about $40, and I'm partial to the clanners so would that be a better get for me?
 
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Chad2Bad said:
I recently got the Beginner Box after playing a bit of an AtB campaign and learning the MekHQ interface. So far I'm really digging the mechs and reading up on the lore of the mechs I pickup in my campaign and reading up on the Wolverine and Griffith that came in the box.

What would my next step be? Getting A Game of Armored Combat? Or should I just go ahead and get a rule book (I know BT is 3 different products but I am unsure which book to get for the war game portion.)? I also see Clan Invasion as a box set for about $40, and I'm partial to the clanners so would that be a better get for me?
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The first step before buying any physical goods is to check if there are any groups or LGSs that play BattleTech within driving distance. If not, you might as well swing full digital and either play over Megamek or Tabletop Simulator.

Anyway, since you already have the Beginner Box the next step would be A Game of Armored Combat if you want the minis and the other physical goodies. If all you want are rules, Total Warfare will give you rules for most things you're likely to see on the board, and TechManual will give you rules to design your own BattleMechs and vehicles (as well as a lot of neat background info on the technology itself). Both of those together should be about 20 bucks cheaper than AGAC, but you don't get anything else with them, just the books.

All that said, you could get all three things I linked for less than it would cost to build a 500-point Warhammer 40k army.
 
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Corn Flakes said:
The first step before buying any physical goods is to check if there are any groups or LGSs that play BattleTech within driving distance. If not, you might as well swing full digital and either play over Megamek or Tabletop Simulator.

Anyway, since you already have the Beginner Box the next step would be A Game of Armored Combat if you want the minis and the other physical goodies. If all you want are rules, Total Warfare will give you rules for most things you're likely to see on the board, and TechManual will give you rules to design your own BattleMechs and vehicles (as well as a lot of neat background info on the technology itself). Both of those together should be about 20 bucks cheaper than AGAC, but you don't get anything else with them, just the books.

All that said, you could get all three things I linked for less than it would cost to build a 500-point Warhammer 40k army.
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Nice, thank you for the info and links. I'd have to call some LGS' but I was mainly wanting the physical minis because I have a ttrpg group that some of the players have expressed interest in wargames that aren't 40k.
 
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Chad2Bad said:
Nice, thank you for the info and links. I'd have to call some LGS' but I was mainly wanting the physical minis because I have a ttrpg group that some of the players have expressed interest in wargames that aren't 40k.
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Oh, if you've got a group then by all means A Game of Armored Combat would be a good way to get people into it without going too deep into the weeds with equipment.

Once you have a few people interested and familiar with the rules, you can get on with Total Warfare and more advanced gear (ClanTech, post-Helm Inner Sphere equipment, etc).
 
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The AGOAC box is worth it for the mechs alone if you ask me. Stocking up on minis is really cheap now with the new CGL lance packs, too. A lot of amazing ensembles, you can essentially get a full company of mechs, 2 maps to play on, the basic rules and it costs you like 80 bucks.
 
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