52 replies to this topic

[Serious Table]

I'm trying to get into Marik as best I can, and want to have a variety of 'Mechs that House Marik typically uses. Now, I know that the Awesome is pretty much Marik iconic, and also did some preliminary research to pick up the Trebuchet and the Cicada X-5, but beyond that I'm not certain what really counts as a Marik 'Mech.

Any help at all would be appreciated. I love the BattleTech universe, so I want to get as immersed as possible.

Edited by Serious Table, 03 April 2013 - 10:41 PM.

[Graysen]

Well, according to the Battletech Wiki at sarna.net, http://www.sarna.net...gue_BattleMechs should be a list of the most stereotypical FWL battlemechs. Of course, your mileage with that list may vary a bit.

For me, the single most iconic FWL mech is the Orion, which should be coming up at some point. Other than that, mechs that come to mind personally are the Awesome, the Trebuchet, and the Hermes II. According to that wiki page, though, we should be fairly spoiled for choice in MWO: the Awesome, Cicada, Flea, Orion, Raven, and Trebuchet (although personally, the Raven is way more of a Capellan mech than a FWL one).

But don't forget that, despite the prevalence of mechs in certain states, they do get sold, traded, and salvaged. Don't let yourself get pigeonholed if there's a mech you like that's not on the list.

[Aym]

Yeah, don't get too hung up on mech selection based on Marik lore until more CW information is out and we find out what pro's/con's there are to choosing certain mechs.

[Bragas Halas]

Well if you look up the technical readouts for the mechs factories, many are listed inside FWL territory... the Awesome, Hunchback, Cicada, Stalker, Spider and Trebuchet. Some have two production sites where the mechs are mass-produced, I guess the license was sold or something. That and exportation is the reason why you see most mechs in every corner of the Inner Sphere of course.
There are other typical FWL like the Orion for instance. If you are interested, the readouts and the FWL field manuals etc. have more information on that.

Generally speaking, I´ve read that the FWL prefer energy weapons because they couldn´t produce the missile ammunitions or something, but that´s pre Clan-Invasion. I always kinda liked the industrial/economical point of view of the Battletech universe...

Edited by Bragas Hallas, 04 April 2013 - 05:51 PM.

[Aym]

Problem is the most iconic Marik mechs in the game right now are the worst in their class, so don't gimp yourself!

[MrPenguin]

[Timbar]

I like my stalker

[The pessimistic optimist]

This ugly SOB right here what people think of when you say Marik.

[Victor Morson]

The Orion is indeed the primary 'mech of the FWL. Almost all the later FWL 'mechs like the Albatross or Perseus were based on the Orion both in capability and aesthetics.

The FWL shifted towards different 'mechs in the 3050s and started to (unfortunately not represented here) shifting to one of the most heavy combined-arms forces in the IS, rather than just relying on 'mechs.

The Awesome is also common in the FWL, as is the Trebuchet if memory serves. The FWL has some good designs. Of the "most iconic" faction 'mechs - Zeus (LA), Dragon (DC), Orion (FWL), Jaggermech (arguably) (FS) and Raven (CC), the FWL definitely pulled the best heavy.

EDIT: Also since you sound new to the BTU, a lot of the core designs are found in ALL of the houses, if not as frequent. For example, Awesomes and Catapults can be found in almost every single houses armies, even if they're mostly produced in the FWL/LA. It's a combination of salvage, retained Star League era equipment and trade.

The FWL in particular is notable for becoming the most powerful house in the IS later in the timeline simply by selling their military hardware during the Clan invasion. So really, while certain 'mechs are more common in one area or the other, almost all of them in MW:O right now are common enough to be found in all armies.

Edited by Victor Morson, 09 April 2013 - 05:24 PM.

[Serious Table]

That's what I had figured, Victor, and it makes a lot of sense.

Thank you one and all for the responses. While I don't have NEARLY as many 'Mech slots as I'd like to just hold on to everything I want, I've got two Awesomes and a Cicada to represent "Marik", and fully intend to add purple somewhere on my 'mechs when we receive our house colors for free in the future.

The good news is, with the concept of "you see pretty much every 'mech everywhere" and "salvage" and all that, I don't have to feel bad about my Atlas, 3 Catapults, and Cataphract...

[Adridos]

Graysen, on 03 April 2013 - 10:51 PM, said:

According to that wiki page, though, we should be fairly spoiled for choice in MWO: the Awesome, Cicada, Flea, Orion, Raven, and Trebuchet (although personally, the Raven is way more of a Capellan mech than a FWL one).

Flea and Raven are both Capellan exclusives at this time. Sarna isn't 3050 specific.

Well, you do have a few of the latter, but only due to *** (why is the Concord of Kapteyn censored!? ) and I believe there is less than 5. Still better than teh rest of the IS which has no level 2 Ravens (taht is, the 3L) to speak of.

Edited by Adridos, 11 April 2013 - 06:57 AM.

[Graysen]

There's certainly strong arguments to be made for the Capellans having the majority, but I wouldn't agree with exclusivity. Amusingly, thanks to the Concord of Kapteyn and the traditional Marik-Liao feuding, you have good opportunities for both trade and salvage in this time period, combined with the Confederation's need for foreign money and the fact that 2 of the 3 Flea factories are actually located inside the FWL.

[Adridos]

Graysen, on 11 April 2013 - 11:16 AM, said:

...combined with the Confederation's need for foreign money and the fact that 2 of the 3 Flea factories are actually located inside the FWL.

It doesn' matter when you consider those factories are producing for Dragoons and CC, respectively.

[Graysen]

And that in no way counters my main point about trade and salvage.

I really have little interest in getting into a slapping match with you. As I said, strong arguments for the Raven and Flea being much more common in the Confederation than elsewhere, that's totally fine. But exclusivity makes no sense to me. If you disagree, then so be it, and we should probably agree to disagree about this aspect of this fictional setting.

[Dauphni]

This is MechWarrior Online, not BattleTech. I don't have any problems with picking your own Mechs based on battletech lore and roleplaying, but saying the FWLM here doesn't have access to Ravens (for example) is a little silly, because we clearly do in this game. MWO does try to stick fairly closely to established canon, but it is also emphatically not. I see MWO (and Mechwarrior in general) as happening in its own, separate universe. A universe in which all but the lowliest MechWarrior has access to the best the Inner Sphere has to offer, and nearly everyone pilots their own heavily customised Mech. I personally feel that's much more at odds with the classic tabletop than the availability of Mechs to all factions, but I don't really care anyway, because this is MechWarrior Online, not BattleTech.

[Adridos]

Yep, Uite. However the thread is asking about House Marik mechs, so...

Edited by Adridos, 12 April 2013 - 06:36 AM.

[Asheron Storm]

Hey, Keep in mind also that Marik isn't exactly a unified force. Not only are they controlled by planetary and regional governments who like to differentiate themselves, but they also have more 'mech and weapons factories than any other faction. Therefor, Marik is most likely to have the greatest Variety of 'mechs. This is one reason why you don't see many 'mechs listed as Marik variants, because a Marik force might show up with just about anything.

[Grimmnyr]

I have done some research and in 3050, out of the mechs that are available in MWO, the most common to the Free Worlds League are the Awesome, Trebuchet and Cicada. Since the Free Worlds League are allied with Kurita and Liao as of 3050, they most likely had access to Ravens and Dragons as well as other mechs that were more common to Kurita and Liao. Don't forget that all mechwarriors claimed salvage and could end up owning any mech that they were able to destroy.

Edited by Ed Steele, 14 April 2013 - 01:31 PM.

[WarRats]

Here is a list of mechs and varients that should be available and somewhat common in FWL. It is not going to be perfectly accurate.

SDR-5V Spider
SDR-5D Spider
HBK-4G Hunchback
HBK-4J Hunchback
HBK-4SP Hunchback
CN9-AL Centurion
CN9-A Centurion
CDA-3C Cicada
CDA-3M Cicada
TBT-5N Trebuchet
TBT-3C Trebuchet
TBT-7M Trebuchet
TBT-5J Trebuchet
CPLT-C4 Catapult
STK-5M Stalker
STK-4N Stalker
AWS-8Q Awesome
AWS-9M Awesome
AWS-8R Awesome
AWS-8T Awesome
AWS-8V Awesome

[therealswilly]

WarRats, on 15 April 2013 - 09:12 AM, said:

HBK-4SP Hunchback

Aww ye, I'm fighting with a proper FWLM mech.