11 replies to this topic

[Kyle Wright]

So I have been talking in my own house, but wanted to see if anyone else was running a Military style unit? By military style unit I referring to similar to the books/canon where you have lances or companies designated to specific roles like Assault, Recon, or Support.

Maybe im just being overly hopeful, but I was hoping with CW coming sometime soon that people would be training so that when conquering planets it isnt just a sweep.

Let me know what you guys think.

[Iron]

hey kyle take a look at this

http://www.sarna.net...itary_structure

As you will see lances are not all one class of mechs the pic below is what they sold as an assault lance for the board game

[ManaValkyrie]

When you go back and re-look at the lore most companies were broken down into a scout lance made up of lights and fast mediums. The battle lance was made primarily of mediums and heavies designed to provide a combination of fire support and ranged damage suppresion. The assault lance was made up of hard hitting heavies, mediums or assault mechs designed to hit hard.

Not all lances were made up of specific weight classes but more around what battlefield roles that the mechs could perform. The issue with MWO is that right now, roles are limited.

[Kyone Akashi]

Iron, on 07 October 2013 - 11:03 PM, said:

As you will see lances are not all one class of mechs the pic below is what they sold as an assault lance for the board game

I think that is specifically what he is referring to. He was not talking about something with identical 'Mechs in a lance at all, but different types of Lances, such as the Assault Lance you linked.

[edit] From what I've read, lance organisation is focused on Weight classes - or rather, it incorporates a specific amount of 'Mechs from different categories that should be present for a lance to qualify as a Light, Heavy, Medium or Assault Lance, and these are the "official" categories.
However, it stands to reason that the commander of the regiment would employ these lances in a manner that befits to their capacity, so for example most Light Lances would be used either for recon or hit & run attacks, depending on the specific 'Mechs that make up the unit, and ad-hoc tactical considerations.

An example for House Kurita:

"The Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiers (also known as DCMS or Arm of the Dragon) depends on Light 'Mech Lances as its backbone in battle. The quickness and maneuverability of these lances was key to the early successes against the Lyran Commonwealth in the First Succession War. Many Kurita Light 'Mech units contain Jenner BattleMechs (a favourite of Minoru Kurita's) and Panther BattleMechs (produced by the illustrious Gorton, Kingsley, and Thorpe Enterprises).
There are no standard BattleMechs for Medium 'Mech units. These standby units are created from whatever 'Mechs the Combine can spare, with any dregs, wrecks, and scrap metal commandeered into the units.
Although the Draconis Combine has a wide variety of heavy 'Mechs, Heavy units usually contain Quickdraw and Dragon BattleMechs (both from Luthien Armor Works). Luthien Armor also produces the Charger BattleMech, which is found abundantly in Assault 'Mech units."
- Handbook House Kurita p.121, The Pillar of Steel, Organization of Military Units


I, too, would like to see unit coordination closer to how it works in the novels and sourcebooks, if only because I like the roleplaying aspect of it.

Edited by Kyone Akashi, 07 October 2013 - 11:55 PM.

[Kiiyor]

It sounds like you're maybe after a more RP (roleplay) styled affair, which may very well exist here somewhere within the eleventy billion units floating around.

Please understand that by saying RP, I'm not assuming you want to wear a hand knitted coolant vest and play the game inside a cardboard, dining chair and blanket recreation of a MadCat cockpit (an idea my 5 year old came up with, I scoffed at, but turned out to be completely awesome) - I'm saying instead that the type of unit/structure you are after is... less than optimal in this particular game.

A traditional BT company will usually be humiliatingly annihilated in your typical 12 man MWO drop, as the very mediums that make up the bulk of BT units are little more than free kills in truly competitive play. Similarly, a lance dedicated solely to a particular role (support, scouting etc) and operating autonomously will usually lose the flexibility required to survive against a similarly sized, more flexible enemy. Unless of course it's a lance of spiders... or boom Yagers. My god.

If it's the tactics you're after, you'll probably find that most 12 mans are very tactical indeed, but on a smaller, less 'strategic' scale than the books or lore presents. You'll need finesse, good comms and a good commander to survive in that queue.

I daresay you could also easily convince any guildmates to drop in a more traditional BT structure. Just get them liquored up beforehand.

Just ask to join any of the units here, and that will be a good start.

Edit: googled 'cardboard cockpit' - to the shed!

Edited by Kiiyor, 08 October 2013 - 12:16 AM.

[Adran]

Kyle Wright, on 03 October 2013 - 08:11 PM, said:

So I have been talking in my own house, but wanted to see if anyone else was running a Military style unit? By military style unit I referring to similar to the books/canon where you have lances or companies designated to specific roles like Assault, Recon, or Support.

Maybe im just being overly hopeful, but I was hoping with CW coming sometime soon that people would be training so that when conquering planets it isnt just a sweep.

Let me know what you guys think.

Well, if its a military-style unit you're looking for, the Skye Rangers are definitely that. See my sig for the link.

[HugoStiglitz]

There are plenty of Military Style Merc Corps, it just depends on what you are looking for. Go to the recruitment forums, ask questions there. You are bound to find something to suit your needs and if not, find 11 like minded people and make one yourself.

[Serpent 6]

Kyle Wright, on 03 October 2013 - 08:11 PM, said:

So I have been talking in my own house, but wanted to see if anyone else was running a Military style unit? By military style unit I referring to similar to the books/canon where you have lances or companies designated to specific roles like Assault, Recon, or Support.

Maybe im just being overly hopeful, but I was hoping with CW coming sometime soon that people would be training so that when conquering planets it isnt just a sweep.

Let me know what you guys think.

Howdy Kyle,
My unit MNC, is run in a military fashion but it's not role play. Canon and lore are not factors in our operational method. We are organized to fit into the B-tech realm to help others see/find a commonality but that's it. We are more geared/focused toward online competitive play.
We have a chain of command that is appointed on performance. In game, not outside of it. All our Commanders or "Drop Commanders" (DC's) as we call them can effectively command in battle (in the game). Wins - Victories are the only currency. Assemble and equip a proper drop team and execute a victory result will gain you awards and recognition amongst your teammates and ultimately earning more opportunities to lead. Plain and simple.

[The Big Stick]

Some of what I saw in the CW preview might lend itself to Kyone is talking about. Where control of specific systems and or loyalty to specific houses translates into discounts for particular parts and mechs.

As far as dividing up lances into assault, recon, support... It works in some situations but maybe not in others... The problem is until we have more idea what situation we are dropping into its really hard to prepare.

[Bongfu]

Clan Diamond Shark runs in a military style. We have battle trinaries, support trinaries, command trinaries. All of which can be broken down into support, front line, and scouting elements. We have a strict chain of command and work together very well.

diamondshark.enjin.com

[Damon Howe]

The Skjaldborg has a setup similar to BT Lore, though each Company is reinforced and we have only 2 Battalions per Regiment. In all, the Skjaldborg is designed to support a Division.

[DeathlyEyes]

I run the SLDF as a military style unit. http://www.sldf.enjin.com Check out the handbook on the top right. We just started this week and are looking for more members. We broke off from another unit recently and are still organizing ourselves. We will likely drop 12 mans several times a week and consist of a mix of casual and competitive players. I have been playing Mechwarrior for a very long time and have quite a bit of command experience.

Edited by h4t3r4d3, 20 November 2013 - 09:07 AM.