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#61 Demoulius

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 08:00 PM

If im not mistaken the following ones are Steiner mechs: Commando, Razorback, Hollander, Hunchback, Uziel, Bushwacker, Shootist, Zeus, Highlander and Atlas.

I cant find the Razorback on the iron wind site and the Highland is stated as beeing a clan mech (or rather the IIC is...) whats up with that?

Also are tanks and aircraft good additions to the game? I love facing them in the games but I can inmagine if theyre somewhat... Unimpressive on the TT...

#62 Captain Fabulous

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 08:02 PM

If you liked them in MechWarrior, you'll hate them in BattleTech. Why, you ask? Because they're terrifying, hard-to-hit death machines.

There's one tank (I believe it is called a Demolisher) that moves faster than an Atlas and has two, count 'em, TWO AC20's. And can fire them both pretty much constantly.

#63 Demoulius

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 08:43 PM

Well the reason why I liked them was that dispite not beeing mechs they could still put up a fight :) There were also many of them and some could make horrific messes out of your mechs if you werent carefull enough. In mechcommander there was a tank with 2 PPC's in its turret (it called a storm I believe?) The first time I came across those I pretty much had to start over :D Then again I did only have light mechs at the time...

But it sounds like they are still a threat <_<

#64 Sychodemus

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 01:16 AM

It was the Storm, yes. They do not exist in TT (as far as I know), but such vehicles can be made easily enough. (see Demon PPC variant for a stand-in for the Storm)

Vehicles can be very effective, but like all non-Mech units they are comparatively fragile. Their low cost allows you to field a lot of them to make up for it.

AeroSpace Fighters can be the bane of 'Mechs if given the opportunity. However, they require an additional set of rules. For this reason ASF are often used as an "off-camera" effect in the form of strafing and bombing runs.

#65 jlbdeath

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 01:32 AM

tt gaming is fun as hell like Bardow says Dragon's lair is a great place to start any hobby shop can get you started and the bigger hobby shops most likely will have a battle tech game 1 or 2 times during the week. and any gamer worth anything will teach you how to play just to get another person to stomp i mean play with. i recomend starting begginer games though dont get into changing engines and armor untill you get a feel for the game style.here in vermont we dont have anything for this type of gaming which sucks.

#66 Atlas3060

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 05:35 AM

View PostDemoulius, on 11 June 2012 - 08:00 PM, said:

If im not mistaken the following ones are Steiner mechs: Commando, Razorback, Hollander, Hunchback, Uziel, Bushwacker, Shootist, Zeus, Highlander and Atlas.

I cant find the Razorback on the iron wind site and the Highland is stated as beeing a clan mech (or rather the IIC is...) whats up with that?

Also are tanks and aircraft good additions to the game? I love facing them in the games but I can inmagine if theyre somewhat... Unimpressive on the TT...

Razorback (http://ironwindmetal...roducts_id=8629) as of this posting is now out of the archives for the month, meaning you don't need to pay the initial extra $8 for the first mini. However they will put it back into archiving at some point because they like to rotate designs in and out for a month. People can vote and even submit their faves for the voting block on the Battletech forums.

Tanks and aircraft are nice supplements to the game, some aren't as powerful as a 'Mech but they are cheaper BV-wise and put up a decent fight.

#67 village idiot

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 06:41 AM

Missed a few posts since last time I emitted, so reacting to a couple of things here:

- Multiple of the same 'Mech in a lance: a lot of people do this. Some people really like having lances all of the same 'Mech. Tactically, it amplifies the strength of the design, but also the weaknesses. A lance of Hunchbacks is going to be absolute murder in close combat, but they've got no answer if something comes round with some LRMs.
It's best done with all-round 'Mechs, (like the Vindicator that was mentioned) or long-range 'Mechs (like the Griffin, or the Archer).

In the former case, the versatility of the design means the only weakness is a lack of focus, the old "jack of all trades, master of none" saying. IE, the Vindicator is decent at all ranges, but not excellent.
A lance of them is moving 4 PPCs and 4 LRM-5s around at range, which is a LOT of hurt. Up close they can introduce 4 Medium Lasers instead of the LRM. That's a pretty big problem.

A ranged homogenous lance can work too. Taking the Archer as an example, if you space those so they're all at least 5 hexes from each other (6-7 is better), then any hostile that runs in to point-blank range of one of them to duck under the minimum range of the LRMs places himself in optimum range of the other 3 Archers, who can all fire their LRMs with minimal penalties while the target Archer whales away with its fists. That's a bad day.
And at range, the steady barrage of LRMs coming from them is bad news. So, there'd be no range band where you're "safe".
For extra points, pair up the Archers, where two Archers are constantly adjacent to each other as you maneuver towards the enemy. The pairs would be 5-7 hexes apart. Then once the enemy closes, you split the adjacent archers, so that the rear one moves back, and the front one moves forward, creating the same 5-7 hex gap in a single turn, and thus placing all 4 Archers at 5-7 hexes from each other.
The advantage there is that if you're moving in a "square" or "diamond" formation all the time (with the sides of the square 5-7 hexes), then it's too easy for your opponent to focus on a single Archer with reduced support of the other 4. Pairing them up initially ensures each Archer at least has near-optimal support from one lancemate.

Most players like to mix up lances, in my experience. I think a big part of that is because players like variety, and like trying out multiple designs at the same time. Plus it can be fun trying to make different 'mechs work together as a team.


- Factions: most players (in my experience, so not making that a universal statement) like to make faction-based forces. I do too, I think it adds to the fun. The Master Unit List can be a great tool to see which faction prefers a given 'Mech.
http://masterunitlist.info/

- It's possible to make several faction-based forces with the designs in the box set. It becomes outright easy if you start using faction-specific variants. Many variants are coded with the House that favors/created them. So, the Wasp 1A is the basic version, the 1K is the Kurita version, the 1L is the Liao version.
That doesn't always hold up though. The Locust 1M for example is often believed to be a Marik version, while the description of it in the TRO clearly identifies it as a Davion 'Mech, a modification by one of its regiments.
It doesn't help that subsequent M variants of the Locust are all said to be Marik 'Mechs... =)
Regardless, the letter thing is a good guideline that's true far more often than it's not. And, again, the MUL will help there as well.

-Vehicles can be a lot of fun, I tend to like them best when using the more unusual movement modes, like hovertanks or VTOLs or WIGE. Some people really hate em. Just give em a try, see if you like em.

#68 Captain Fabulous

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 07:39 AM

View PostDemoulius, on 11 June 2012 - 08:00 PM, said:

I cant find the Razorback on the iron wind site and the Highland is stated as beeing a clan mech (or rather the IIC is...) whats up with that?


I just noticed this part. Any mech with a "IIC" tag is the clan variant of the mech. The normal Highlander mini can be found here.

#69 Demoulius

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 12:34 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys :( I dont understand somethings though...

What do the following things mean: VTOL, WIGE, TRO, BV? Kinda makes it hard to understand the sentances they are used in :)

As far as I know I dont got a local mechwarrior store and the iron wind website is abit expansive shipping wise (the shipping for the intro kit for example was the same price as the kit itself :blink: ) so I think id need to find an alternative before I can start getting more mechs for this game :blink: The third party store that I got the intro box only has the books... No mechs :ph34r: anyone happen to know of any dutch (or British) stores that provide me with a closer local store?

#70 Arctic Fox

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 02:04 PM

View PostDemoulius, on 12 June 2012 - 12:34 PM, said:

Thanks for the feedback guys :) I dont understand somethings though...

What do the following things mean: VTOL, WIGE, TRO, BV? Kinda makes it hard to understand the sentances they are used in :)


VTOL - Vertical Take-off and Landing, or, in other words, helicopters. For example, the Yellow Jacket.
WiGE - Wing-in-Ground Effect, sort of a mix between an aircraft and a hovercraft, such as the Fensalir.
TRO - Technical Readout, the books with all the fluff and stats for units in them.
BV - Battle Value. Usually means BV2 unless stated otherwise. It's a value given to units that's used to (try to) balance games.

View PostDemoulius, on 12 June 2012 - 12:34 PM, said:

As far as I know I dont got a local mechwarrior store and the iron wind website is abit expansive shipping wise (the shipping for the intro kit for example was the same price as the kit itself :D ) so I think id need to find an alternative before I can start getting more mechs for this game :huh: The third party store that I got the intro box only has the books... No mechs :D anyone happen to know of any dutch (or British) stores that provide me with a closer local store?


Ral Partha Europe, as far as I know, officially sells miniatures in Europe, and also has some of the novels and older FASA/FanPro sourcebooks. They unfortunately don't seem to have as many of the newer miniatures as IWM, though.

#71 Demoulius

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 02:56 PM

Maybe not newer but their selection seems to be... Well bigger actually :huh: They got the mechs and vehicles that ive got an eye on and more! :)

Thanks for that man, Saving 40 quid on delivery costs alone is a lifesaver :)

#72 Skylarr

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 09:51 PM

View PostCaptain Fabulous, on 11 June 2012 - 08:02 PM, said:

If you liked them in MechWarrior, you'll hate them in BattleTech. Why, you ask? Because they're terrifying, hard-to-hit death machines.

There's one tank (I believe it is called a Demolisher) that moves faster than an Atlas and has two, count 'em, TWO AC20's. And can fire them both pretty much constantly.

Posted Image

Demolisher Heavy Tank

The Demolisher is armed with two 185 mm ChemJet Gun AC/20s, which are enough to make any other unit, 'Mechs included, pause. The relatively short range of the guns means that maneuverable units with long-range weaponry can confound the Demolisher. The tank also lacks any form of secondary weapons, which may be detrimental when the massive cannons run dry.

View PostDemoulius, on 11 June 2012 - 08:43 PM, said:

Well the reason why I liked them was that dispite not beeing mechs they could still put up a fight :) There were also many of them and some could make horrific messes out of your mechs if you werent carefull enough. In mechcommander there was a tank with 2 PPC's in its turret (it called a storm I believe?) The first time I came across those I pretty much had to start over :) Then again I did only have light mechs at the time...

But it sounds like they are still a threat :D

Posted Image
Schrek PPC Carrier

Designed for extended, long-range bombardments, the Schrek PPC Carrier is capable of unleashing a deadly rain of particle fire.
Developed by Aldis in 2813 to overcome the heat issues which hampered the effectiveness of their immensely popular Demolisher tank, the company took an entirely different tack, replacing the Demolisher's mammoth autocannons with a trio of PPCs and enough Heat Sinks to fire them continuously.

#73 Demoulius

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 10:46 PM

I think I just might save some space in my lances for these babies :)

#74 Baltodox

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Posted 13 June 2012 - 11:47 PM

Oh man my 25th aniversy box set comes tomorrow can't wait to start painting and playing





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