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If it’s not evening where you are, then you’re as mad a fan of the universe as I am and probably reading this over your WeatBix (or non-Australian equivalent) to get your pre-outside world, Battletech fix.
Good news! This thread was designed with you in mind.
If it -is- evening where you are, you’re probably regretting reading this far… so please stay with me, I’ll get right down to it.
I’m an impatient fan. I want mechs and features in-game yesterday and news of their pending release sooner. As such, a good friend mentioned the Dervish in an RP thread a while back and I thought, “Dammit PGI, why isn't this awesome mech in game yet?”
Just when I thought I’d have to cry over another SARNA page, I was struck by inspiration.
It could be! ...sort of.
Enter the mock ups.
Silly? Yes.
Non-competitive? Mostly.
Crazy as a Comstar Primus? You bet your CT mounted DHS it is!
Yet here we are.
Below are some of the more fitting mock ups of not-in-game mechs and their variants, on current chassis. I’ve posted this in the Battletech Discussion sub-forum on the logic that we’re discussing non-MWO battlemech subjects, using MWO as vehicle for our obsession.
Kind of like this whole section of the forums really…
But, if a moderator decides to move it, then cool bananas. It’s your forum afterall
Anywhoodle, have some builds:
Uziel UZL-2S mock up (SDH-5M)
4 tons overweight, as no 50 ton mech has hardpoints for weapons loadout. 4 additional tons is for XL330 to give mech equivalent speed for 50t Uziel’s XL300. 1 ton under max is intentional.
Armour unbalanced from arms to give additional protection for both PPCs on right arm.
Runs hot if you keep spamming the PPCs, but hey, what doesn't right? I personally open up with a twin shot, then time my recharges thereafter for an AC5 cycle speed fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b68d7e365a9ca95
Wraith TR1 mock up (TBT-5J)
5 tons underweight and using single heat sinks as no available crit slots for doubles at full tonnage. Slightly slower and more fragile, but still nimble. This is more of a concept build than a complete mock up. Enemies underestimate Trebuchets as a rule, and unless they can see you, they’ll likely not notice the pulse lasers till it’s too late. Use this to your advantage in a brawl and flank slow moving targets. Alternitively, swap the LPL for an ERPPC and BAM! TR2 sniper mech.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7c6009861bdf227
Wraith TR1 mock up (GFN-1N)
Bang on weight and jumpjet capacity. Slightly smaller engine than true TR1. When running speed tweaked, will allow performance 2kph below true TR1. Weapons unfortunately consolidated on one arm as no 55 ton mech has allowable energy hardpoints (KTO-19 does, but has no jumpjets, defeating purpose of build). Max armour on right arm to compensate.
This is a beast of a machine once you get the hang of it. Pump the pulses into an enemy’s sides and rear and cackle like a Liao pilot at the look on their virtual faces when they try to figure out why their arm is missing. Fly it like a light mech (deliberate use of the word “fly”) and use your left arm as a shield. Torso twist and JJ pop turns are your friend. Again, ERPPC makes this an ideal sniper TR2.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...13b1b951d1eecb0
Dervish DV-6M mock up (GFN-5M)
All missile systems are on right torso and one ML is on the left torso. Otherwise, is the original Dervish in all its pre-upgrade glory. LRMS Will run dry and hot and potentially explode, you’ll have bricks of c10 strapped to your arms (read 1 ton SRM ammo in each) and the armor is paper thin.
But hey! Dervish!
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...31d8d49a8546180
Dervish DV-6Md (GFN-5M)
Star League era royal upgrade for the Dervish with XL engine and bumping of total LRM count to 30. Armour and heat sinks remain standard with the same quantities. All ammo has been protected by CASE and consolidated in the left torso. I would prefer that it be in the same side as the missile systems to make one side worth protecting over the other, but the XL crit space forbids this, and its fragility makes it a moot point anyway. Tube numbers on the torso do not support 2xLRM15, hence the LRM 20 and LRM 10 config. Feel free to use two 15s if you wish to free up the extra ton for use on ammo or armour. Be mindful though, that a split salvo will be firmly masticated by hostile AMS.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1a6a6d328ace358
Dervish DV-7D (GFN-5M)
The 5047 upgrade using recovered lostech and pressed into production in the Fed Suns. It’s also my personal favorite (*coughdavionjunkiecough*). Double heat sinks, Endo Steel, Ferro Fibrous armour with CASE and the stoicism of a standard engine. It’s got it all. Ironically enough for the mock up, when the “”””Archon”””” decided to have her little hissy fit and destroy the greatest union the Inner Sphere has ever known, this variant was adopted as a medium workhorse for the Suns, while the Lyrans used the Griffin in the same role. Again, all missile systems consolidated in the right torso, though this time with all of the mech’s ammo, protected by CASE. It’s chockas in there, but it means you can use the entire left side of the mech as a shield. Cannon says it’s all in one bin, but feel free to split it up if you feel nervous. As it uses Streak SRMs for accuracy, only 1t of ammo services the launchers. The freed tonnage is used for additional LRM ammo granting greater battle longevity. With strict adherence to the specs I had with 1.5t left over. Distribute at your leisure. I personally take an extra ton of LRM ammo and use the other 0.5 for torso armour.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...82b29096e83c34e
Crusader CRD-3R (JM6-A)
The original non-upgraded Crusader. This is one of the chassis I’d really like to see in the game and believe Alex could work wonders with. Near perfect weapons distribution on the JM6-A, but obviously only Y axis movement on the arms. This is a shame, as the point of the arm-mounted missile systems is the ability to accurately place them where needed at the desired vector. In the cannon, this is a very sturdy and versatile mech with good armour distribution. Possessing the hitboxes of a Jager however, makes it much more fragile. One of my favorite characters, Galen Cox, uses multiple variants over the course of his career. Will pilot like a truck and overheat in one alpha due to the stock 10 standard heatsinks. But really, the only people alpha-ing in 3025 are the desperate or the insane.
Chop and change weapon variants for heatsinks and more ammo per the -3D, -3K and -4K configurations as you like.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bcd2b5f81738b43
Crusader CRD-2R (JM6-A)
Star League era Royal Guard variant with all the bells and whistles. Double heat sinks, Endo steel, CASE, Artemis upgrades on LRMS and Streak 2s subbing out for the SRM6s. There should be a total of 4 Streak2 launchers, however the JM6-A falls short by 2 hardpoints. Unfortunately no other 65 tonner has 6 missile hardpoints barring the CAT-A1, which lacks energy weapons. This build is intentionally underweight by those 3 spare tons. Distribute at your leisure. N.B. more ammo is always fun.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bf9813fa22c6f0e
Crusader CRD-3L (CAT-C4)
A jumpjet equipped variant, dropping the weapon tonnage to add heatsinks. One of my personal favorite heavies from the succession era lore due to its adaptability and penchant for jumping close to the target and wailing on it with giant fists. Medium lasers are in the CT rather than left and right torsos and the mech doesn’t support the MGs, hence the spare 2 tons to use wherever you like. Obviously again, no lateral arm movement.
Only mocked this one up because I need to express my desperation to have this mech in the game. Because seriously, let’s be honest. It’s just a basic Catapult build.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...988a90a31ce9780
Warhammer WHM-6R (ON1-P)
I hope this one doesn’t make people rage too hard. Either at me, or at the unfortunateness of the Unseen situation. No 70, nor 75 tonner has the exact hardpoint quantities to replicate a true Warhammer, but this was the closest I could get. The Orion replicates the profile of the Whammy somewhat, and the loadout positions are also very close. As the Orion is overtonned by 5, I’ve done the same thing as the Uziel and bumped the engine to replicate the speed profile.
Again, the left over tonnage on this one is deliberate, with the two Small lasers unable to be mounted. I’ve converted the 2 Medium lasers to a single Medium pulse for tonnage purposes.
Warhammers overheat. It’s a thing, it’s in the novels, everyone knows it. Hell, I’m pretty sure overheating in a safe, controlled environment is a compulsory tickbox when testing out in basic with this thing. If you’re in the seat, you’ve hard boiled yourself at least once.
And I say “safe and controlled” very deliberately. There’s only 10 tons of armour on this glass cannon. Do NOT overheat within 1 km of your opponent. You’ll be blown to tiny pre-seared bits well before you roast alive. I’m serious, once I’d done the maths on the tonnage and started clicking down the armour points from stock, I almost had a heart attack. “What? I have to take off even MORE!?!”
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...23b7726d40d2216
There are a plethora of Whammy variants that have subbed out components and minor upgrades to the design. Too many to mention. If you like a particular variant, use the above configuration as a template and go to town.
I’d like to include an upgraded variant here, however they all have some forbidden piece of tech or another. Streak6, ER Medium lasers, Extralight engines, heavy gyro. Things that can’t be replicated in game. We’ll just have to wait in hope I suppose (Nooooooooo!)
And finally...
Hauptmann HA-O Alt Config B (BNC-3S)
Whenever I played the Lyran-loyalty side (for completion purposes only -.-) of MechWarrior 4 Mercs, I always made sure I’d piloted this bad boy by the end of the game. It’s a great mech and I really like the Inner Sphere take on the adapted Dire Wolf omnimech design.
I’ve used Alt Config B as the others are too in-adaptable to the game as it stands. Doesn’t hurt though that it’s great at all ranges. The arm mounted twin ERPPCs and medium pulse lasers are consolidated in the torso. Conveniently enough, the other medium pulse is located in the head. The AC 20 is supposed to be the Ultra variant. I’ve compensated for this by equipping additional ammo. The ammo should be located in the right torso with CASE, however having to move the ERPPCs there from the arms prevents this. I’ve compensated for a lack of CASE by moving the ammo to legs for protection. A break in cannon I know, but it’s the best I could do. The single ton of ammo in the CT should be well and truly dry by the time your core’s armour is gone. As a result of the placement, 4 of the 5 additional double heat sinks for this config are forced to the arms. I don’t own a Banshee, so I can’t speak to its combat effectiveness. On paper though, it should play like a fairly good zombie mech, provided you spread the damage around. Heat sinks in the arms would get a bit painful as you lose them, but by that stage in the battle, you should be in fairly close quarters and using the sluggishly aiming ERPPCs sparingly anyway to avoid heat buildup, and spamming the Autocannon. Wouldn’t be surprised if this is actually a meta-effective build.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...089b0433655e7e2
That’s all for now, though I’d really wanted to make an effective Clint or Vindicator. However the Cicada has no jumpjets and the Blackjack, no missile hardpoints. Consolation I suppose is that the Vindy is coming soon *froths at the mouth*
I’d appreciate any and all feedback. Suggestions for other mechs to mock up and chassis types are 100% encouraged and please go nuts with mocking up your own builds and posting. I’d love to see them.
This is not a comprehensive list, just a few of my favorites I’m keen on seeing eventually.
I’ve heard rumors of the fabled Urbanmech possessing the soul of a Spider… be forewarned, making it in Smurfy would be as foolish as saying Bloody Mary three times in a bathroom mirror.
Not to mention, we don’t need Shepherd’s Law being invoked on this thread.
Spoiler
Thanks for reading!
