53 replies to this topic

[Stormwolf]

The Ice Ferret Prime, A and B are good snipers, it really helps that the mech rather fast.

[Stahlseele]

Hellstar: 95t Masakari with 4x Clan ER PPC's and 30 DHS. Meaning, yes, it can actually keep firing full alphastrikes while standing still WITHOUT OVERHEATING.
Or the Version with the CERLARGE Lasers and the Targeting Computer.

Pillager: 2xGauss, Stealth-Armor. Put him way back, engange stealth armor, be hard to hit, fire away with the 2 gauss without overheating. And if somebody does come close: Jumpjets!

Otherwise: take 2 Mechs with c3i, one fast hard to hit close combat spotter.
One with big huge *** nasty devastating long reach weapons.
firing at close range from 20 hexes away. not much says F§$& YOU! quite like that.

[KaiserSoze]

GDL Irishwarrior, on 12 March 2012 - 02:07 PM, said:

Assuming we're talking direct fire support here (rather than the indirect fire provided by the Catapult), I'll toss in a few decent examples for each weight class (I'm not worrying about using Clan tech, lostech, Unseen, etc. - all 'Mechs are fair game)

Light

• Pack Hunter - One ER PPC, top speed of 119 KPH, and very long jump capability. One-on-one, it can threaten anything - but, as its name implies, things only get better if a couple work together. It's got light armor, though, so it's best against dedicated brawlers
  
• Adder Prime - Two ER PPCs and a top speed of 97 KPH give it the weapons of a medium with the speed of a medium, and it's got decent armor for its weight. It also provides a very small target. Unfortunately, it lack jump jets; however, I've always liked the idea of removing the rather useless flamer to put a jump jet in; one jet isn't much, but it can still get the 'Mech into a better firing position. This may not be possible, though, depending on how fixed weapons are handled
  
• Hollander - Its Gauss rifle gives it massive firepower, and it has a respectable top speed of 86 KPH. However, its downsides may outweigh its advantages - it has tissue paper for armor, mounts no jump jets, and is completely ammunition-dependant.

Medium

• Shadow Cat - Its blistering top speed and jump capability let it keep its distance from its target, while its decent armor gives it some breathing room in case it takes some hits. The Active Probe it mounts lets it keep track of targets no matter the circumstances. It has two main variants that are ideal for direct sniping: the Prime runs very cool and has massive one-shot firepower, but is a bit ammo-dependant for my taste. The A, meanwhile mounts ER Large lasers for long-range combat, freeing it from supply worries unless the enemy gets close - however, it runs pretty hot.
  
• As already mentioned, the Griffin makes a good sniper - the PPC and LRM-10 work together to put ls of firepower on target. It's faster than most medium 'Mechs of its time, and mounts jump jets for increased mobility. Its armor is by no means horrible, but the Griffin is still in serious danger if it lets the enemy close range.

Heavy

• The Marauder is among the best of the many heavies that make good snipers. Mounting two PPCs as its primary weapons, it also carries an AC/5 to fill the gaps while it cools off. It does have its drawbacks, unfortunately - its armor isn't top-notch, and its low speed means that armor will be taking hits. Its heat curve isn't all that friendly, and its back-up weapons only make it worse, while doing little to actually stop enemies.
  
• The Falconer was built explicitly with long-range combat in mind - an ER PPC and a Gauss Rifle pair up to worry even an Atlas. Its top speed can keep most heavies and assaults at bay, while its four medium lasers will make the lighter 'Mechs regret closing the distance. Its jump jets make it even more mobile, while its heavy armor easily turns aside any hits it can't avoid. All in all, there are very few disadvantages to this choice.
  
• The Prime and B configurations of the Ebon Jaguar are also quite useful for direct support. Both bring huge amounts of firepower to bear on distant targets, have enough speed to keep them distant, and have enough armor and backup weaponry to deal with anything that CAN get close. Only the B has a real disadvantage: the punishing heat generated by its paired ER PPCs and Large Pulse lasers

Assault

• An easy choice, the Pillager is pretty much designed for BattleMech-scale assassinations. 2 gauss rifles and a large laser provide the sniping capability, while a quartet of medium lasers dispatch any 'Mech that closes to short range. Its armor is nigh-impenetrable - a good thing, too, considering the Pillager is regularly passed by roadkill. However, its slow sped is somewhat made up for by the jump jets it carries
  
• The Warhawk Prime. Four ER PPCs and an LRM-10, made deadly accurate by an advanced targeting computer. A top speed of almost 65 KPH makes it faster than most assault 'Mechs, and its armor is more than adequate. It carries 20 double heat sinks, but unfortunately even those are not enough to completely control all the heat generated by the Warhawk's arsenal.
  
• Finally, If you can find one, the Stone Rhino is an excellent choice. Two Gauss Rifles provide devastating long-range firepower, which can be augmented with a pair of Large pulse lasers as the enemy closes - which they will, due to the Stone Rhino's pitiful top speed. A set of jump jets help offset the poor speed, though, and its thick armor allow it to survive plenty of hits.

Don't forget the thunderhawk... Three Gauss Rifles

Edited by KaiserSoze, 12 March 2012 - 04:07 PM.

[KaiserSoze]

THUNDERHAWK!!!!!!

[shadowsong]

trycksh0t, on 12 March 2012 - 03:40 PM, said:

I'm going to take issue with using Artemis IV for indirect fire support. Indirect fire, by definition, has no line of sight to the target. Artemis IV requires LoS to function, it doesn't work with indirect fire. Better off dropping the Artemis IV system and packing more ammo.

According to the tabletop stuff, you're right. However, I'm going off of memories of some of the Mechwarrior games where I could lock onto something, behind a hill, and still pound it with arcing LRM shots. Either way, I'll stand behind it for the times when you DO have line of sight. Especially the ones when you have a pissed off lance heading your way because you just nuked their scout. Then, the accuracy boost could mean the difference between victory and a painful, painful repair bill.

[BeforeLife]

Once the Hollander and Hollander II varient comes out expect me to use it a ton for this role lol, and the best part is it can outrun most heavys so you can scout with it as well And when mediumes come at you, you can give them a good-ol-gauss slug to the face+Medium lasers if your the II version.

Edited by BeforeLife, 12 March 2012 - 04:44 PM.

[Hagan]

Sniper mech eh? Assuming you're looking for something to use on launch, that would largely depend on you're play-style and weight preferences.

Light: Panther and Wolfhound. Decent speeds, armour and back-up weapons. Jump Jets to get out of tight spots and into position.

Medium: Centurion and Vindicator. One large main weapon each, with plenty of support weapons. Vindicator comes with Jump Jets, but with less firepower than the centurion.

Heavy: JagerMech and Dragon are good sniper platforms, each have enough armament space, range and armour for most ranged engagements. Neither have Jump Jets, but still have enough speed to stay out of maximum range on most heavy and assault mechs. Both have enough room to mount large caliber lasers, ppc's and gauss rifles.

Assault: Awesome, Banshee, Highlander, Zeus and Victor. All are heavy slug throwers, some sporting heavy armour and plentiful back-up weapons, whilst others have speed and Jump Jets to rely on.

This is just my personal little wish list of snipers, chances are less than half will appear in game. But if I where to go sniper, these would be on my wish list as they pretty much cover the group sniper / lone gun scenario's. If your someone who likes to shoot, move to another spot, shoot again so you can avoid return fire, consider the more nimble mech. If you like to throw a lot of firepower in one go and damn the return fire, most of the heavy and assaults will suit you.

There are no missile snipers on the list. We call missile snipers 'Support' or 'Artillery'.

Hope that helped.

[BarHaid]

Stahlseele, on 12 March 2012 - 04:00 PM, said:

Otherwise: take 2 Mechs with c3i, one fast hard to hit close combat spotter.
One with big huge *** nasty devastating long reach weapons.
firing at close range from 20 hexes away. not much says F§$& YOU! quite like that.

THIS. This right here is why the C3 network is so d*mn cool!

[EDMW CSN]

Actually there are plenty of famed mechs that are already direct fire Snipers in the 3025 time line.
The Marauder, Warhammer, RFL-4D Rifleman (switch AC5s for PPCs) Hatamoto Chi, Thug, Awesome etc.

When SL tech arrive, many just switched out to ERPPCs + double heatsinks and still worked excellently and even out ranged LRM launchers. If anything the switch to DHS let's them pad slightly more armor, which is really lacking on fits like the Warhammer and the Rifleman.

[Stahlseele]

You want to switch the AC5's on the Rifleman for PPC's?
Are you nuts?
Even WITH the AC5's on long range firing both Large-Lasers and the AC5's means you build up heat.
And you build it up FAST. WHILE STANDING STILL.

[Captain Nice HD]

A BattleMech isn't a proper 'sniper' until it has one for an arm.

[Graefin Zeppelin]

Griffin can do that.

[Evil Ash]

A decked out MKii would be my best.

[Petroff Northrup]

Helepolis, it mounts LRMs, an ERLL, and a sniper artillery piece capable of firect or indirect fire.

[Ghost]

It's interesting to consider that up until the Clan Invasion long range firepower was considered king in the Inner Sphere for some very good reasons (and afterward, still king, but something that neeeded to be countered with tactics). Chief among them is a doctrine that the current version of the American armed forces leans on rather heavily when designing its vehicles: "first strike capability." Getting hit is something every MechWarrior, save perhaps pilots of Heavy or Assault-class 'Mechs, would prefer to avoid if at all possible, because in this universe getting hit just once is enough to effectively "kill" a 'Mech. You can't discount the fact that most long-range weapons aside from LRMs pack enough punch to cripple the location they hit--and outside the original PPC, they have no minimum range, and thus, very few drawbacks other than heat to their use. Through-armor criticals aside, battles between 'Mechs are frequently decided by who gets the biggest, first hit in, and this is why most MechWarriors focus almost exclusively on the heavy-hitting long-range weapons and tactics that closely resemble bread popping out of a toaster.

[Mr MEAN]

Sunder

4 ERPPCS

Legs protected by terrain

In Crouch mode

Passive Radar

'Cause thats MEAN

[Alicorn]

I'm completely in agreement with the fact that a good customisation system will let almost anything become a sniper. However, some are more suited for it than others. Really, you're looking for heavy direct-fire capacity. The Awesome fits the bill, (9Q - for when absolutely everything has to burn.) along with the Marauder, Warhammer, Rifleman, and even the Hunchback.
Until the weight-saving technologies of Freeo-Fibrous, Endo-Steel, and XL engines, you couldn't mount the big guns on anything less than a medium though. Later on though, I'd give votes for such mechs as the Sun Cobra - twin Gauss WITH targeting computer on a medium frame. I do wish it was faster though...

[Fachxphyre]

Oh man, i remember when i was first exposed to the hollander in Mech commander. good times.

[Miri]

Kraken/Bane.. 10 Clan Ultra 2s. Fire them in high speed mode. That is an average of 10 chances you have of hitting the head and injuring the pilot or floating a critical somewhere.

[Tadakuma]

Actually I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Panther, which is the quintessential sniper mech.

Apart from that I think the Awesome would be another example of a good sniper unit, 3x PPC and a sm laser for backup means that the only way it can really operate.