30 replies to this topic

[Willard Phule]

Huh.

Actually.....that'd be cool. I mean, if you can't pilot an Elemental suit, using them as a consumable would be pretty awesome.

Granted, if you go by core rules, that means you're transporting them....when you send them, it's not like an arty blast....you target a guy and cut them loose. They go after that target then just sort of derp about the area looking for targets of opportunity after the target is down.

As opposed, say, to how I use them in Tabletop. I drop them from VTOLs directly on the enemy....

Edited by Willard Phule, 07 August 2014 - 03:04 PM.

[Prezimonto]

They're a bit overpowered for a purely consumable slot, given that on certain mechs, if not destroyed while incoming they'd be a death sentence. The time needed to deal with them is also exceptionally large, as it will tie up the mech in a best case scenario for well over a minute between incoming and if any arrive.

While I enjoy that it gives mechs a reason to have hands, it's wildly overpowered that mechs with no hands are essentially dead unless they get help from friends or out run the little bastages.

Now that being said... 32KPH is pretty slow. I can see the case made that if you let them on you it's your fault or the enemy had clearly superior positioning anyway.

All told I LOVE the idea in general.

I'd also love to be able to carry other units as consumables onto the map.

Allow mech's with Command Consoles (which could be added as variant specific items like ECM) the ability to load up a Harrasser they can call into play. It would play a defensive role staying within medium range and attacking any target designated by the Command Console.

Or allow a Centipede to come into play, it would go to waypoints set by a mech with a command console and provide targeting data.

ect. ect. ect.

Allow a company of infantry to be helicoptered on the map in a city. They dig into buildings and fire out at nearby mechs with machine guns and the occasional SRM rocket worth of damage.

[Ph30nix]

Asakara, on 07 August 2014 - 01:03 PM, said:

I suggested a couple ways in the OP to remove Elementals if they manage to get within 50m of their target to swarm them:

1) If the mech has hands it can use those to grab the swarming Elementals and crush them in their fists (providing a use for mech hands in the game).

2) A friendly mech can shoot the Elementals off a swarmed ally (though they take a chance of hitting their friend if their aim is bad).

In any case it is just an idea.

oh i wasnt shooting down your idea, just saying that one aspect needed tweaked.

it would look cool as hell but think about HSR as it is already.....

[verybad]

Asakara, on 07 August 2014 - 01:03 PM, said:

I suggested a couple ways in the OP to remove Elementals if they manage to get within 50m of their target to swarm them:

1) If the mech has hands it can use those to grab the swarming Elementals and crush them in their fists (providing a use for mech hands in the game).

2) A friendly mech can shoot the Elementals off a swarmed ally (though they take a chance of hitting their friend if their aim is bad).

In any case it is just an idea.

Hands aren't articulated, nor is any of that animation, it would be an enormous project to add to current mechs and "unlikely" is not the term for, it simply won't happen, it would be expensive and time consuming. Stuff like this would need to be factored in BEFORE design work happens.

Cool as it is, swarming is probably not going to happen.

[CycKath]

Would they just magically appear when triggered or would they be able to serve the purpose of "modular armor" they offer for TT?

[Asmudius Heng]

I have no problem with the clans having arty - but they could have this too.

I would LOVE to see more Btech flavour and AI units.

However I have a problem with them being consumables in some way .... not that it is a bad idea but I kind of want this stuff based around objectives etc.

Take a point, you drop ship drops in infantry to man the buildings and a few tanks to defend while mechs push on.

The more of the smaller units from Btech may encourage smaller weapons and lighter mech to take them out because the big boys might not want to waste ammo or heat from big guns on them if they are dedicated mech killers.

[Asakara]

CycKath, on 07 August 2014 - 03:48 PM, said:

Would they just magically appear when triggered or would they be able to serve the purpose of "modular armor" they offer for TT?

The Elementals would ride on the outside of Clan mechs, using their claws to hang on via handholds built into Clan mechs for that very purpose. Due to this they can be shot off the host mech before they are deployed (each Elemental can take 10 damage).

[Axeface]

Is had elementals too (more archaic) IIRC?

It's a cool idea though op, as long as it does the same as arty and just looks like a little swarm of elementals show up, its cool.
They could actually 'drop', as I think in the lore this was possible/they did that (even with mechs?). I cant really remember though.

Edited by Axeface, 07 August 2014 - 04:11 PM.

[The Blood God]

i got it suicide bomber elementals in stead of the 6-10X35 dmg that ya get with arty and air deploy say 4-6 elementals to the area around the smoke just air drop em in and they divide and attach them selves to any mech in range and the suit does say 5 dmg to the part it attaches to by fusing its self to it then the elemental pilot activates the self destruct and ejects with a para shoot or bungee then the battle armor explodes doing 10 dmg to the attached part and 5 to adjacent parts less over all potential dmg but that stops it being op

[Satan n stuff]

Davers, on 07 August 2014 - 01:08 PM, said:

If I remember my rules correctly lasers and ACs (and PPC) wouldn't be very good. You would want pulse lasers, missiles, flamers, and machine guns.

I'm talking about MWO where there's no dice rolling, with current splash values an SRM6 with artemis ( for example ) would likely miss elementals entirely most of the time, and for lasers it's largely irrelevant which kind you use because pulse lasers aren't inherently more accurate here. Clan UACs would work for the same reason lasers would, they have a duration so you can correct your aim if you miss the first time, and you could hit multiple elementals with the bigger ones.

I'd have no problems hitting a man sized target that can't effectively engage me until it's at close range ( They have a single shot SRM 2 and two point blank range weapons, max ranges 270 and 90 respectively ) with PPCs Gauss or IS ACs, but I'd still prefer to use almost anything else for that.

[Davers]

Satan n stuff, on 08 August 2014 - 07:18 AM, said:

I'm talking about MWO where there's no dice rolling, with current splash values an SRM6 with artemis ( for example ) would likely miss elementals entirely most of the time, and for lasers it's largely irrelevant which kind you use because pulse lasers aren't inherently more accurate here. Clan UACs would work for the same reason lasers would, they have a duration so you can correct your aim if you miss the first time, and you could hit multiple elementals with the bigger ones.

I'd have no problems hitting a man sized target that can't effectively engage me until it's at close range ( They have a single shot SRM 2 and two point blank range weapons, max ranges 270 and 90 respectively ) with PPCs Gauss or IS ACs, but I'd still prefer to use almost anything else for that.

No dice rolling, but TT rules is that direct fire weapons do greatly reduced damage to infantry. Like 10%, so your AC/20 would do 2 damage. If they got rid of this rule then, yes, meta weapons would still be the best weapons against every opponent. But if they kept these rules then other weapons regain their intended roles and become useful.