Agent1190, on 08 July 2016 - 06:39 AM, said:
Before you post - please leave the "OMG PGI GET'S NONE OF MY MONEY TILL I SEE X FEATURE" out of this thread. I want to limit this to the Mech's potential performance, not the company's performance.
So, do you "Linebacker?" It's a 65 ton Stormcrow with 17.5 tons of pod space (16.5 with Max Armor). BTW, the Stormcrow has just over 22.5 tons with max armor. FF and Endo locked, no Jump Jets, and (at first glance) a good spread for fixed armor and structure slots, so you should be able to use max ballistics in side torsos.
I just worry about getting a Mech that trades pod space for speed (remember the Ice Fridge) - sure it's faster, but does it make up for the 10-11 tons of lost pod space (Ebon Jag has 28 free tons with max armor)?
Thoughts?
Just a note here... you're comparing merely free tonnage here, but you're ignoring beneficial fixed equipment. In this case, the Linebacker gives you 4 DHS in the engine on every variant as fixed equipment. That takes away from free tonnage, but still contributes to offensive equipment. Effective equipment tonnage (which includes free tonnage and any locked offensive equipment) is better for comparison. After all, it's not like you're going to load every ton on a mech with weapons.
So in such a case, the Linebacker gets 21.5 effective equipment tonnage to the Stormcrow's 22.5 effective equipment tonnage. Same speed, same equipment weight, same possible builds, but smaller and more armor/internals. The Linebbacker also has better hardpoint locations, especially for the torsos.