Jump to content

Archer Blueprint And Lore


133 replies to this topic

#1 InnerSphereNews

    Member

  • Developer
  • Developer
  • 2,773 posts

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:34 PM





Desolate Plain

Oregon, Mallory’s World

Draconis March, Federated Suns

23 February 3016

Like an avatar of death, the red-painted Warhammer filled Morgan Kell’s HUD until the BattleMech blocked out all of existence.

Gasping against the overheated air, awash in sweat and fatigue that dragged at muscles until each movement was painful, Morgan slowly closed his eyes, lifted his chin, waiting. Accepting.

I have fought the good fight. My men … my brother … they will survive to fight another day.

A calm settled across him. The exhaustion of the hours-long duel with Yorinaga Kurita—the finest MechWarrior Morgan had ever faced—eased, then disappeared. That calm washed down into Morgan’s soul and even, he fancied, into his bones. A serene sense of gracefully bowing before the inexorable march of the inevitable freed feelings he’d not known since the Periphery. Since …

Ah, Tempest, my love …. how I miss you.

Yet he felt only joy at their time together, not the bittersweet of separation—a price paid in full for the time shared with that brilliant woman.

Even through the hermetically sealed cockpit and the muffling of the neurohelmet, the cacophony of Yorinaga’s alpha strike hammered at Morgan’s consciousness. Despite his calm, a quick inrush of breath held for long moments before he realized—

Huh …? I’m not dead? What the hell? How did Yorinaga miss?!

Almost without thought, his body moved, arms grabbing joysticks and wrenching weapons fire. The Archer’s missile covers opened, and a spread of forty long-range missiles leapt at the Warhammer bearing the steel insignia of the Draconis Combine’s elite Second Sword of Light regiment. Though too close to arm, they battered the enemy BattleMech nevertheless. The missiles momentarily occluded the Warhammer with the dust of impact, giving Morgan time to wrench his kneeling, one-armed ’Mech back to its feet.

Braced and waiting for the approach of death this time, Morgan saw the Warhammer appear from the smoke and once more unleash every weapon at its disposal: searing particle beams, lasers, and missiles reached out to embrace the Archer.

An eerie déjà vu enveloped Morgan until he shook as a leaf on the wind, skin prickling. He gasped for air.

At point-blank range, one of the finest MechWarriors stalking any battlefield missed every single weapon shot. For the second time.

Am I already dead?

St. Marinus House

Zaniah III

Isle of Skye, Lyran Commonwealth

19 November 3018

Morgan shot awake from the nightmare with a bloodcurdling shout, kicking off drenched bedding as though it were the confines of his cockpit from years ago. Blind with panic despite the dim bank of coals in the corner alcove, he strove for calm, drawing on the breathing exercises and calming techniques he was learning through the graceful brothers of St. Marinus House. But to no avail. The images and feelings seared in his mind: a monstrous, out-of-control BattleMech that careened and stomped, tearing at his sanity.

What the hell happened to me that day?

Morgan collapsed back into his bed and curled into a fetal position. He waited for the worst of the attack to pass, enduring the pain, knowing that even if he found the lee, the storm was always just a sleepless night away.

Until I can figure it out, I must remain in exile. Too dangerous. Too dangerous for me, too dangerous for my brother and the Kell Hounds …

Too dangerous ….

Too dangerous ….

Too dangerous ….

The metronome of his racing heart accompanied him back into oblivion.

ARCHER “TEMPEST”

First produced in 2474, the Archer was designed as a long-range fire-support BattleMech that would harass an enemy at range while also causing significant damage in the process. It brought a successful mix of paired Doombud LRM 20s with a bevy of Diverse Optics medium lasers as backup weaponry for close-in work. The Archer was not only a mainstay of the Star League Defense Force, but most of the Successor States produced a variety of variants, building on the impressive original platform.

Arriving on the world of Galatea in 3010 with an inheritance and a dream to build a mercenary command, Morgan and Patrick Kell were originally derided for their naiveté. In the decades since, Morgan has achieved legendary status, not only for creating one of the most formable mercenary commands in the Inner Sphere but also for the infamous showdown between himself and Yorinaga Kurita on Mallory’s World in 3016. The duel gave rise to rumors that Morgan possessed a mystical “phantom ’Mech ability,” making it impossible for Yorinaga to defeat him. These rumors were only fueled further when Morgan stripped the Kell Hounds to a single battalion and retired to a monastery on Zaniah III. Morgan came out of retirement as the Fourth Succession War raged, and he would go on to lead the rebuilt Kell Hounds in some of the most important battles of that war and the Clan Invasion.

Whether Morgan actually possesses a mystical ability is irrelevant in the face of his vast strategic and tactical genius. Paired with his Archer, “Tempest,” he is a force to be reckoned with on and off any battlefield.


Written by Randall Neil Bills

Catalyst Game Labs





#2 Luscious Dan

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Privateer
  • The Privateer
  • 1,146 posts
  • Twitter: Link
  • LocationEdmonton, AB

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:35 PM

Yup.

<edit> Eventually saw the 5W on the pre-order page, nice! Dragoons > Kell Hounds Posted Image </edit>

Edited by Luscious Dan, 16 December 2015 - 02:07 PM.


#3 MaxFool

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Legendary Founder
  • Legendary Founder
  • 339 posts
  • LocationHelsinki, Finland

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:37 PM

EDIT: pointed a minor mistake in Archer collection FAQ, they fixed it, so no reason to point it anymore.

Edited by MaxFool, 16 December 2015 - 02:05 PM.


#4 Repasy Cooper

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Vicious
  • The Vicious
  • 1,131 posts
  • LocationAlpheratz

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:37 PM

The Tempest... holy shiii.....

I've never thought of this game as Pay2Win. Ever. Having said that, the Tempest IS Pay2Win lol. Anybody w/ MC would be dead stoopid not to purchase it.

#5 Brian Davion

    Member

  • PipPipPip
  • The Widow Maker
  • The Widow Maker
  • 67 posts

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:40 PM

View PostRepasy, on 16 December 2015 - 01:37 PM, said:

The Tempest... holy shiii.....

I've never thought of this game as Pay2Win. Ever. Having said that, the Tempest IS Pay2Win lol. Anybody w/ MC would be dead stoopid not to purchase it.



I'm gonna assume it won't have the phantom mech ability :)

#6 Luscious Dan

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Privateer
  • The Privateer
  • 1,146 posts
  • Twitter: Link
  • LocationEdmonton, AB

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:46 PM

View PostBrian Davion, on 16 December 2015 - 01:40 PM, said:



I'm gonna assume it won't have the phantom mech ability Posted Image

Borked hit reg as a quirk? :D

#7 Thunder Child

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Ironclad
  • The Ironclad
  • 1,460 posts
  • LocationOn the other side of the rock now.

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:48 PM

It does, however, have ECM....

#8 A sebaceous cyst

    Member

  • PipPipPip
  • Survivor
  • 66 posts

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:52 PM

Welcome home Archer, about time you are re-seen

Edited by A sebaceous cyst, 17 December 2015 - 02:20 AM.


#9 Wildstreak

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Civil Servant
  • Civil Servant
  • 5,154 posts

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:55 PM

9 Missile points on the 5W, eat your heart out Catapult-A1.

View PostLuscious Dan, on 16 December 2015 - 01:46 PM, said:

Borked hit reg as a quirk? Posted Image

Cheetah/Firestarter hitboxes?

Edited by Wildstreak, 16 December 2015 - 01:58 PM.


#10 Luscious Dan

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Privateer
  • The Privateer
  • 1,146 posts
  • Twitter: Link
  • LocationEdmonton, AB

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:58 PM

View PostWildstreak, on 16 December 2015 - 01:55 PM, said:

9 Missile points on the 5W, eat your heart out Catapult-A1.

I didn't look at the pre-order page right away, like a fool I was looking at Sarna to see if any canon variants had enough missile hard points to make a SSRM2 boat plausible. 5W was the best bet I saw, and it does not disappoint. 7 Chain-firing SSRM2's and maybe some harrasser Lurms, yes please.

#11 Alan Hicks

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The 1 Percent
  • 414 posts

Posted 16 December 2015 - 01:59 PM

Cool mech lore and info, really draws you into the spirit of MW. It is always nice to see new great looking mechs in the game. Hope it performs as good as it looks, because indeed that´s a very appealing design.

Edited by Alan Hicks, 18 December 2015 - 02:21 PM.


#12 Idealsuspect

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The 1 Percent
  • The 1 Percent
  • 2,127 posts

Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:14 PM

The design is great ...

#13 Arkhangel

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Mercenary Rank 2
  • Mercenary Rank 2
  • 1,181 posts
  • LocationBritish Columbia

Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:22 PM

ordered :) I still owe Bryan for taxi fare after all ;)

#14 Threat Doc

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Bowman
  • The Bowman
  • 3,715 posts
  • LocationO'Shaughnnessy MMW Base, Devon Continent, Rochester, FedCom

Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:25 PM

(Tears in eyes) Welcome back, old friend.

#15 CycKath

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Legendary Founder
  • Legendary Founder
  • 2,574 posts
  • Google+: Link
  • LocationSE QLD, Australia

Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:38 PM

Glorious. The fluff, the look, the stats. Just Glorious.

#16 Urek Mazino

    Member

  • Pip
  • The Bludgeon
  • The Bludgeon
  • 18 posts

Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:39 PM

Only the Hero varient has ecm... Really? who's brilliant idea was that?

#17 Tsusie

    Rookie

  • Veteran Founder
  • Veteran Founder
  • 6 posts

Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:41 PM

Sort of on topic: Have they made an announcement about all the Classic IS Collection mechs that are coming out, or are they announcing them as they go? It's great to see them back in action, and I'm curious as to just how many of the Unseen are coming back.

#18 Hexenhammer

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Legendary Founder
  • Legendary Founder
  • 3,729 posts
  • LocationKAETETôã

Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:44 PM

Death by LRM5!!!!!


#19 JudgeDeathCZ

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Defiant
  • The Defiant
  • 1,929 posts

Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:46 PM

that 5W....MUST....RESIST....NEED...NEW...GRAPH...CARD...Posted Image

#20 Arkhangel

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Mercenary Rank 2
  • Mercenary Rank 2
  • 1,181 posts
  • LocationBritish Columbia

Posted 16 December 2015 - 02:46 PM

View PostUrek Mazino, on 16 December 2015 - 02:39 PM, said:

Only the Hero varient has ecm... Really? who's brilliant idea was that?

Morgan Kell's. "Phantom Mech" ability.

Also, this coming from a clanner? exscuse me whilst i go over here and laugh my *** off Posted Image you guys have ECM on plenty of annoying mechs covering every battlefield role. IS deserves a few too. and it's not like adding the hero onto your purchase is expensive either.

Edited by Arkhangel, 16 December 2015 - 02:56 PM.






1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users