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Why do people hate/dislike Quad mechs?


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#121 Undercover Brother

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Posted 17 July 2012 - 05:03 PM

I'm a big Quad supporter...

The bipedal Mechs typically carry more weapons per ton, but less armor per ton than Quads...

Theoretically, Quads offer a more stable platform for long-range direct-fire and indirect-fire support roles.

The problem is essentially this:

Fewer critical locations for weapons (but you excell at LR fire-support... wouldn't you want more weapons?)
More space for armor, and better "even coverage": (but you excell at LR fire-support... why so much armor?)

Probably the best two Quad mechs were the Barghest (http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Barghest), and the Tarantula (http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Tarantula).

The Barghest was designed as a med/heavy infighter (AC/20) with a long-range punch (2x ER L. Lasers).

The Tarantula was designed a a recon mech, with a loadout similar to most other mechs of the same tonnage, abiet slightly slower, but with half a ton more armor.

In practice, there are very few differences between bipedal and Quads. In the Battletech and Mechwarrior novels, most Quads are described as being a very rough ride for the pilot, but a much more stable weapons platform in combat.

I would LOVE to pilot a Tarantula as a scout (lower profile, fast, awesome jump capability) if the devolopers ever decide to add it.

#122 Undercover Brother

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Posted 17 July 2012 - 05:17 PM

View PostGeorge Ledoux, on 22 June 2012 - 07:58 AM, said:

Personally, my favorite mech is the Great Turtle. I prefer the mechs that look less humanoid. Plus, as a person with terrible piloting skills I need something that can take an extreme amount of damage before I get killed. B)
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...Double the damage of a Daishi? NO PROBLEM!

#123 Undercover Brother

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Posted 17 July 2012 - 05:22 PM

View Postbobow98, on 22 June 2012 - 09:21 AM, said:

No arms to shove up oppenents' arses B)

Seriously though I believe that two legged is more akin to human superiority.

But a Lion, Tiger, Bear ("OH MY!"), Gorilla, etc..., could STILL tear a human to shreds. Only the invention of the gun makes humans "superior." Well guess what?... THESE Quadruped Mechs have guns too!

#124 Force Nova

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Posted 19 July 2012 - 02:29 AM

View PostMachalel, on 17 July 2012 - 02:16 AM, said:



A Mandrill...

Makes you wonder what it looks like from the rear! :D


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There's a Quad for everyone, even the BroPony fans!

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The Mandrill, huh? So no wonder it was fugly, it's basically MEANT to be. :o

Looking at that horse-mech, I can just imagine an Atlas riding it. :D That'd be so awesome.

View PostT Decker, on 17 July 2012 - 05:22 PM, said:

But a Lion, Tiger, Bear ("OH MY!"), Gorilla, etc..., could STILL tear a human to shreds. Only the invention of the gun makes humans "superior." Well guess what?... THESE Quadruped Mechs have guns too!


Well said! :D

#125 sag

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 08:35 PM

i dont know but quad-mech remind me of chorme hounds, id rather play mechwarrior :P

#126 Onyx Rain

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Posted 11 August 2012 - 03:29 AM

I'm bumping this because there can never be to many quad mech threads active....I want them in game!

#127 JET 813

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 07:01 AM

Quads + Jump Jets = <3

keeero kero kero kero kero

#128 Shataraterevar

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 07:27 AM

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Tachikoma anyone? :D

as of quads i realy liked the design the Ghost in the Shell had. For those small ones and the big ones too.

Edited by Shataraterevar, 12 August 2012 - 07:28 AM.


#129 Alaric Wolf Kerensky

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 07:34 AM

Pretty sure Quads would be slower than two legged designs, and all that extra weight spent on legs could have been used for more armor, heat sinks, and weapons.

#130 Zavadan

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 07:59 AM

I dont like quad Mechs, just for the looks

#131 Jebediah Saint

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 08:19 AM

yeah a whole lot less critical place to put weapons. more armor means more tonnage devoted to it. end up with marginal to weak offensive capability, but high mobility and high armor. since quad mechs can move sideways at the same speed they move backwards, they dont need to waste mp by turning.

and, if you play a quad mech, all your weapons are pretty much going to be in the head, left and right torsos and center torso, because you have only 2 slots in each leg. i guess you COULD mount medium lasers in the front legs, maybe even large lasers (cant remember how many crits those are) but youre not going to mount too much heavy artillary on it.

try making a quad mech and you realize very quickly just how useful those arm critical spaces are.

View PostAlaric Wolf Kerensky, on 12 August 2012 - 07:34 AM, said:

Pretty sure Quads would be slower than two legged designs, and all that extra weight spent on legs could have been used for more armor, heat sinks, and weapons.


wrong. quad mechs are extremely mobile, just as fast, and can make it through a hex map with no problem. they just dont have enough space for things like multiple heat sinks and the like. you lack all the arm crits.

#132 Jebediah Saint

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 08:22 AM

View PostT Decker, on 17 July 2012 - 05:17 PM, said:

...Double the damage of a Daishi? NO PROBLEM!


my wife loves turtles and she loves battletech so it was a natural accommodation to purchase the great turtle for her. it has limited capability offensively but let me tell you that son of a ***** is hard to put down. she loves her turtle!

#133 Alaric Wolf Kerensky

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 10:22 AM

View PostT Decker, on 17 July 2012 - 05:17 PM, said:

...Double the damage of a Daishi? NO PROBLEM!

The Great Turtle has almost no offensive capability compared to a Dire Wolf. Not sure where you got your numbers, but 3 Medium Pulse and 1 Large X-Pulse are no match for 4 cER Medium Pulse, 4 cER Large, 2 cUAC/5s, and a cLRM-10. The great Turtle has about a third of the firepower of a Dire Wolf, and nowhere near double.

#134 C E Dwyer

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 11:05 AM

View PostHell Grunt, on 22 June 2012 - 04:30 AM, said:

The problem with Quads are that the TT rules were made with bipeds in mind, realistically a Quad mech would be superior in almost every way to a biped of the same class.

Better weight distribution, faster (depending on leg distribution, better center of gravity, more stability, better climbing ability (depending on leg distribution), the addition of turreted weapons (Oh you got behind me, good for you, have an AC/20 cookie), easier to hide and take cover, ability to mount heavier weapons, etc...

Bipedal mechs simply aren't feasible for war in real life, something that quad mechs would have less trouble even though a good tracked vehicle still does their job better and cheaper.


I can't see the goliath as a gazelle running through the savana, so not sure where, this faster speed comes from as quads tend to be more elephant like.

Quads came into robotech/battletech as a job lot of we'll call them unseen *grins* I'm sure rules have changed alot since my tt gather dust thesedays, but I don't recall any special rules, torso twist was limited traverse turret, losing a leg made them imobile, and the frontlegs/arms were less armoured than the back, I think the only advantage to off set alot of disadvantages was standing in water..

#135 VoltAngel

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 11:13 AM

When i think of Quad mech I think of the AT-AT from Star Wars, A slow moving death machine, as long as the enemy is infront of it, you get behind it and its gone.

#136 Elessar

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 11:17 AM

Definitely don´t dislike them ...
had to pilot a Scorpion during my time in Mechforce Germany...
during my first battle (in one of the first turns) I fired my PPC at long range at another mech (I think it was an Victor)...
well, the shot hit the head an caused one critical which went to the cockpit (killing the, aside from this, completely undamaged Mech :D ) and giving our unit their first kill

Edited by Elessar, 12 August 2012 - 11:19 AM.


#137 Dieselpunk

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 11:34 AM

My only beef with quads is that they're hideous as far as appearances go. My weapons of mass destruction need to deal a lot of damage AND be sexy at the same time. :D

#138 Zakatak

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 11:52 AM

Because of:

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#139 Bogsveigir

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 12:14 PM

Quads are great, but limited.

Take any Quad, and ton for ton, it will be both less armed and armored compared to a bipedal mech. The reason for that is that Quads require twice the locomotive infrastructure, and more surface area to cover. Usually, they have a larger Gyro to stabilize them, allowing movement on 3 or sometimes two legs.

The movement is good, being able to move the standard front, back, and steering, as well as being able to walk sideways or diagonal (if the legs are setup to do so). Usually, JumpJets are sacrificed to allow for more arms or armor. That being said, usually, there are not that many 'slots' left over for weapons.

I used to run a C3 equipped Scorpion, with Tag, and the armament was only an ER-PPC, and a single Medium Pulse-Laser. I can't remember if I had an AMS or not; it has been over 15 years.

Being able to 'Hull-Down', and inflict targeting/sensor penalties to opponents while providing your lance or battle-group was very handy. Two heatsinks in each leg, with a bit of water around, was nice too.

People hate things because they are different, or because they can't figure them out, all the time . . . no different from "real life".

Practice Radical Lagom.

#140 Tabrin

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 08:06 PM

Quad....

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