Battletech - Also known as Trannytech

[Techpriest]

I bought the Battletech computer game when it was on sale a while back. I've been thinking of finally giving it a try at some point since I've been playing through some of the games in my backlog recently, any tips for someone who's a bit of a casual at turn-based squad management & tactics games?

Take ammo out of the center torso, for the love of all that is good and holy.

 

[Corn Flakes]

Come on, give the guy a break. It's a 35-tonner without CASE. By the time it took enough damage for a crit to the ammo bin to be statistically likely, it'll already be in pieces from the CT itself being destroyed. For a 'mech with so many empty internal slots, using the engine and gyro as padding for the ammo is better than leaving it alone in an empty location and guaranteeing a crit to it.

Anyway, for some reason I'm getting a Jenner vibe out of that thing. No idea why, it's not like any Jenner variant out there.

 

[Deepthoughts]

Or you run into a laser Swayback Hunchback. Or a Wolverine WVR-6M, which is almost as fast and maneuverable and can carve you up like a turkey. Hell, this is basically a slightly faster and lighter Griffin GRF-1S with less armor and punch. I’d honestly also see you running into problems with Jenners in this thing.

There are counters to everything in battletech. I play mostly early year campaigns and the cost of the mek allows me to field 4 to every 3 Griffins. If I really want to I can make it 30 tons, strip more armor, and save 800,000ish abouts. Early year jenners produce lots of heat, so if one alpha strikes after jump, its toasty. They also cant torso twist. The mek is designed to be a harasser not the tip of a lance. When you play a campaign purchase price, repair costs, parts availability, and maintenance plays into choice. For what it does, it does amazingly.

 

[Deepthoughts]

Come on, give the guy a break. It's a 35-tonner without CASE. By the time it took enough damage for a crit to the ammo bin to be statistically likely, it'll already be in pieces from the CT itself being destroyed. For a 'mech with so many empty internal slots, using the engine and gyro as padding for the ammo is better than leaving it alone in an empty location and guaranteeing a crit to it.

Anyway, for some reason I'm getting a Jenner vibe out of that thing. No idea why, it's not like any Jenner variant out there.

Thats the point. So many empty slots, by the time you core the CT out its already dead. Why spend tonnage on something almost useless?

 

[StevieLasVegas]

I bought the Battletech computer game when it was on sale a while back. I've been thinking of finally giving it a try at some point since I've been playing through some of the games in my backlog recently, any tips for someone who's a bit of a casual at turn-based squad management & tactics games?

Don't be afraid to remove two of the medium lasers on the Blackjack early on. Swap them for an extra heat sink for better heat management and an extra ton of AC2 ammo so it can stay on the backfield longer.
Whatever morale choices Dr Fharad suggests on the random events you'll come across, always go against her. She has her hijab on too tight because she's forgetting she's on a fucking merc ship.
If you want to buy good gear once you can afford it, stay on good terms with pirates. The black market is better than the normal market, but you have to pay 2 million C-bills every few months to retain access and if they hate you, you'll be seeing a 1000% mark up on everything. If their missions have you go against a planetary government instead of one of the factions, go for those because planetary governments don't have reputation levels.
Won't hurt to maintain a good relationship with the Taurian Concordat as best as you can. The main story missions will make you despised by them, but keep working as a merc for them will be better in the long run in-game. The Federated Suns barely show up in the game, so if you want to, Taurian missions against them will be best.
You're not a real gamer unless you get and keep an Urbanmech.

 

[Haint]

Trannytech? Damnit, cant have anything nice.

 

[White Devil]

Trannytech? Damnit, cant have anything nice.

Yup, troons are like syphilis.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Trannytech? Damnit, cant have anything nice.

Well, thankfully, in HBS' game, it only boils down to the entirely optional use of "they/them" pronouns and thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, there is no mandatory genderspecial character that lectures you on pronoun bullshit and forces that topic down your throat in the stompy robot game.

There's only Doctor Monobrow Murad who'll give you unsolicitated stories about her granddad and his muslim ideals or whatever, who will act surprised and shocked when the mercenary band that she joined of her own free will actually does mercenary business.
The award for the dumbest fucking line in video game history must certainly be going to Murad for the mind-blowing, baffling exclamation "We're mercenaries, not murderers!"

Thank fuck you don't really have to deal with her a lot throughout the game.

 

[White Devil]

Would be amazing if someone could just mod Murad out.

 

[Techpriest]

Well, thankfully, in HBS' game, it only boils down to the entirely optional use of "they/them" pronouns and thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, there is no mandatory genderspecial character that lectures you on pronoun bullshit and forces that topic down your throat in the stompy robot game.

There's only Doctor Monobrow Murad who'll give you unsolicitated stories about her granddad and his muslim ideals or whatever, who will act surprised and shocked when the mercenary band that she joined of her own free will actually does mercenary business.
The award for the dumbest fucking line in video game history must certainly be going to Murad for the mind-blowing, baffling exclamation "We're mercenaries, not murderers!"

Thank fuck you don't really have to deal with her a lot throughout the game.

Well yeah, you're mercenaries, you're getting paid to kill people on the behalf of other people. A murder doesn't get paid by someone else, and doesn't use a giant stompy deathbot to do it. Mercenaries do have a sense of morality, usually, in battletech.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Well yeah, you're mercenaries, you're getting paid to kill people on the behalf of other people. A murder doesn't get paid by someone else, and doesn't use a giant stompy deathbot to do it. Mercenaries do have a sense of morality, usually, in battletech.

I mean, yeah, technically, it's not murder when it happens for money, but that only shifts the kind of idiocy of Murad from one point to the other.
Just like she gets mad when you sell medical supplies in that random event instead of handing it over for free. Fuck off, space-towelhead. I'm running a business, if you want to help them for free, compensate them out of your own goddamned pocket.

 

[Corn Flakes]

Murad is meant to be the crew's "moral center" in those cases. Unfortunately for her (and for the writers who thought they were writing a really clever character), most players seriously roleplaying as mercs in the Periphery already have a built-in moral center. It's located entirely within their bank account.

If we were playing as, say, some Davion noble looking for justice? That would be a different story.

 

[White Devil]

Murad just feels tone death as fuck when you're a band of mercenaries in some stolen Lostech technology that probably knows sooner or later that ComStar is going to be breathing down your necks over said lostech. Moral centers went out the airlock when we took this ship, bitch.

 

[Corn Flakes]

Murad just feels tone death as fuck when you're a band of mercenaries in some stolen Lostech technology that probably knows sooner or later that ComStar is going to be breathing down your necks over said lostech. Moral centers went out the airlock when we took this ship, bitch.

You know what's really funny? She's from the Free Worlds League. More specifically, she's a Regulan. She's got no business being that goddamn naive in the first place.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

FFS, my lance has a Marauder with a Gauss Rifle that specifically made to aim for the head with every shot it takes, just to optimize the amount of salvage. I'm willing to kill random pilots indiscriminately to increase the amount of scrap metal that I can pry off the surface of some god forsaken Periphery hellhole planet and here this bitch acts all indignified about accepting a mission to kill some random troublemaker, like she had any say to begin with.

The writers wanted to make her the moral compass of the game, but she comes across as insanely naive when it comes to this whole mercenary thing and her comments oftentimes are just very childish and base pearl-clutching moral grandstanding displays of her insanely shallow worldview. That is to say, they ended up making her an insufferable moralfag.
It's kinda funny when you think about it. Seems like the classic "dumb people trying to write smart characters" thing, only in regards to ethics.

 

[StevieLasVegas]

FFS, my lance has a Marauder with a Gauss Rifle that specifically made to aim for the head with every shot it takes, just to optimize the amount of salvage. I'm willing to kill random pilots indiscriminately to increase the amount of scrap metal that I can pry off the surface of some god forsaken Periphery hellhole planet and here this bitch acts all indignified about accepting a mission to kill some random troublemaker, like she had any say to begin with.

The writers wanted to make her the moral compass of the game, but she comes across as insanely naive when it comes to this whole mercenary thing and her comments oftentimes are just very childish and base pearl-clutching moral grandstanding displays of her insanely shallow worldview. That is to say, they ended up making her an insufferable moralfag.
It's kinda funny when you think about it. Seems like the classic "dumb people trying to write smart characters" thing, only in regards to ethics.

I like to think that once she's upgraded the Argo back to peak condition, someone would open an airlock with her in it and tell her to find her morals in the abyss. That, or strap her onto the barrel of a PPC

 

[White Devil]

I like to think that once she's upgraded the Argo back to peak condition, someone would open an airlock with her in it and tell her to find her morals in the abyss. That, or strap her onto the barrel of a PPC

Just fucking step on her with the Atlas II.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Just fucking step on her with the Atlas II.

He'd risk slipping on her skin-grease.

 

[StevieLasVegas]

Just fucking step on her with the Atlas II.

Thought about that, but PPC route would give you an excuse to say "Allahu Ackbar" and confuse the enemy mechwarrior.

 

[Agarathium1066]

Just fucking step on her with the Atlas II.

Wouldn't want a grease stain on the bottom of your mech's foot do you?

My initial impression of all the crew was that they were pretty boilerplate and not worth really getting to know. When Murad arrived I brushed her off until I realized while upgrading my ship that she's a female muslim who covers her hair, is 'non-standard body' (fat) and has tattoos. They went for the diversity grand slam!

Then she just kept whining about things and makes irritating calls as background noise while you're working on systems.