So... something I noticed, that would help to make the case for the
Victor being among those 'Mechs to be announced and implemented sooner rather than later:
In
Ask the Devs 27, Garth confirmed that the HGN-733C would be among the variants of the Highlander to be implemented in MWO.
Garth Erlam, on 03 December 2012 - 04:27 PM, said:
Q: How will mechs that have less than 3 variants achieve the elite and master tier levels of the mech trees? For example, the Highlander has been announced to only have 1 variant at launch (possible this has changed) [Tvae]
A: I only knew one variant at the time, saying something like "the only variant I know of is the HGN 732." The variants are: HGN-732, HGN-733, HGN-733C, HGN-733P.
This is significant because the
HGN-733C (a low-tech variant described in TRO 3039) sacrifices the Hand and Lower Arm Actuators to mount the whole of its AC/20 in the Right Arm, while the Left Arm retains a full actuator set (Shoulder, Upper Arm, Lower Arm, and Hand) while also being the mounting point for the SRM-6.
(The record sheet, from RS 3039 Unabridged, is viewable
here.)
In other words, this particular variant of the
Highlander would have the same issue as several variants of the
Victor (one arm is fully actuates while the other is minimally actuated, and both mount weapons).
Yet, that the HGN-733C is slated for inclusion would indicate that PGI has some solution in mind to address the situation... a solution that would likely work just as well for the
Victor as for the
Highlander.
With regard to
variants, there are quite a few:
- VTR-9B - the archetypical Victor, armed with an AC/20 (in the Right Arm), two Medium Lasers (both in the Left Arm), and a SRM-4 (in the Left Torso)
- VTR-9A - a (non-LosTech) predecessor of the -9B, armed with an AC/20 (in the Right Arm), two Medium Lasers (both in the Left Arm), a SRM-4 (in the Left Torso), two Flamers (both in the Right Torso), and a Machine Gun (in the Left Torso)
- VTR-9A1 - another (non-LosTech) predecessor of the -9B, armed with an AC/20 (in the Right Arm), two Medium Lasers (both in the Left Arm), a SRM-4 (in the Left Torso), and two Machine Gun (one in each leg, likely to be moved to the respective side-torsos for MWO)
- VTR-9S - exchanges one ton of armor in order to replace the -9B's SRM-4 with a SRM-6, while retaining the rest of the -9B's armament {can be made more distinct via hardpoint allocation}
- VTR-9K/VTR-9D - 3049 LosTech upgrade, armed with a Gauss Rifle (in the Right Arm), two Medium Pulse Lasers (both in the Left Arm), and a SRM-4 (in the Left Torso), while also making use of CASE (both side-torsos), Endo Steel, and an additional ton of Standard Armor {can be made more distinct via hardpoint allocation}
It also has a canon, timeline-appropriate (potential) Hero variant:
"
Victor "Li" - The custom
Victor (original model unknown) used by
Tai-sho Li Dok To [Warlord of the Galedon Military District as of 3050] in the Fourth Succession War,
this variant removed all the standard weapons and replaced them with
a single LRM-15 [Left Torso] and ten Medium Lasers [all of them together in the Right Arm]. Armor and movement profiles remained unchanged, but it carried a total of nineteen [standard/single] heat sinks."
By 3050, the
Victor had been famously piloted by several notable individuals: Patrick Kell, Theodore Kurita, Ardan Sortek, and Victor Steiner-Davion.
As such, I would argue that the
Victor should not be crossed-off of the list of potential 'Mechs.
Your thoughts?