Galil Nain, on 19 November 2013 - 01:55 PM, said:
Liking the idea, however the above point in the FAQ does raise a key counterpoint...
To my knowledge, the only mech variants PGI has "made up" have been hero mechs. I doubt that they will deviate from this policy. As a result, the solution you propose for the Axman will result in a mech that you can only elite, let alone master, if you pay real money into the game. Whilst in a "package" this won't be an issue for those who get the mechs via that route, bear in mind that, if they use the same distribution schedule as for PP, on the day the package is released and non-buyers can get the chassis for C-Bills, there will be outrage that the only people who can elite the mechs are those who have paid real money, unless they wait several years for the next variant to be timeline-eligible for release.
Actually Galil Nain, that is incorrect.
A number of the "hero" mechs are actually taken right from the old tabletop TROs.
The Commando "Death's Knell", the Vindicator "St. Ives Blues", the Blackjack "The Arrow", the Centurion "Yen-Lo Wang", the Quickdraw "IV-Four", the Awesome "Pretty Baby", and finally the Atlas "Boar's Head".
All of these are listed in the 3025 TRO, fully canonical.
So currently the only "made up" hero mechs are the Firestarter, Jenner, Locust, Raven, Spider, Cicada, Griffin, Hunchback, Kintaro, Shadow Hawk, Trebuchet, Cataphract, Catapult. Dragon, Jagermech, Orion, Banshee, Battlemaster, HIghlander, Stalker and Victor.
7 "True" hero mechs and 21 "Made Up" hero mechs if I've done my research right.