El Bandito, on 14 March 2017 - 07:16 PM, said:
Uziel = MW4 50 tonner. Huge side torsi so XL is very risky--gotta run LFE. It's cockpit is very low, which means the enemy can shoot at you even before you can see him. Quirk crutches. Can run real fast though, thanks to 390 max engine, but very little firepower in exchange, especially when running LFE.
Annihilator = MW3 100 tonner. CT can be shot from anywhere thanks to that long neck, and has max engine rating of only 300. Mobility is going to be Dire Whale rate, thus its application limited in scope. Gonna need quirks.
Compared to that:
Cougar = MW4 35 tonner . An omnimech so ALL of its variants can benefit from the head ECM of COU-H, with ample hardpoints. Has plenty of energy and missile hardpoints suited for a Light mech. Probably gonna eclipse the Adder, and Kit Fox as support/escort Light mech. Minimal quirks needed.
Mad Cat MK II = MW4 90 tonner. A battlemech that is suited for boating big weapons, due to its limited hardpoints, but has all the advantages a Clan battlemech enjoys, such as engine swapping. Max 400 engine rating so it can easily keep up with the pack. No need for quirks. I mean, have you seen how high the arms are placed in the art?
All of its weapons are near cockpit level. Gonna do PPFLD even better than the MAD-IIC, or even the KDK-3.
PGI, those new IS techs better be good!
El Bandito, on 14 March 2017 - 07:59 PM, said:
The difference lies in the fact that new IS mechs are doing nothing to help IS lineups, while new Clan Assault is gonna further push the power difference between IS and Clan. The gap is widening, and if the new IS techs can't help to bridge that...
Well my comments per Mech'...
Uziel = With the advent of Light Fusion Engines, the ST's may not be a problem at all. However same as I think for all IS Mechs', The XL engine alone increases a survivability of a mech with speed. Speed to get into or out of a position that may benefit you. I ran XL's on some big ST Mech's for years now and so far there was never a momment I feel that an XL in something someone may think would be suicide was a bad idea for the advantages of such an engine in my mind balances out the problems. Most often then not due to armour rolling if a ST is about to go then so is the other or my CT, and If the other goes there isn't much I can do with my potential "CT weapon of doom" and if it's my CT then well alright, it would've taken 1-2 more shots to end me anyway.
Also keep in mind... the Stormcrows cockpit is low... for an Ebon Jaguar with additional ST weapons it's cockpit is low, The Direwolfs is low... no one complains that any of these 3 Mechs' are underpowered. In fact for the most part I hear and still do that the Stormcrow is quite powerful.
I feel that this can be a great platform for ranged combat due to all it's weapons being equal to above the cockpit, Making PPC's, ER lasers, AC's, etc viable for this vehicle. It'll appeal to those who preffer speed and mobility with jumpets then those who just want to simply put it: slug it out. This is this things niche and advantage over the other IS 50 tonners and mechs of the medium weight class and it's better then getting a near carbon copy of any other 'Mech.
Annihilator = A Mech that can rival if not surpass the Kodiaks firepower in sheer ballistics and it gets shunned? For an IS assault it brings a lot to the table in sheer ballistics, This is also the only 100 tonner that can fit a pair of Heavy Gauass Rifles that will be added thus far (since they can only fit in side torsos... Atlas can only do 1, King Crab can't do it on any but the Hero, etc...). It won't surprise me if it'll end up getting Kodiak syndrome due to the sheer ballistics and get virtually no quirks. We all know the non-3 Kodiaks desperately need quirks especially the KDK-5 but the KDK-3 ruins it for everyone it seems.
Cougar = Surprising you bring up the slowest 35 tonner in game and call it good. It can't surpass the Kitfox in AMS/ LAMS support, and it is slower then both Kitfox and Adder. The Cougar suffers all the problems the adder faces but magnified. Likewise: the advantage of firepower is magnitude too. It will be amazing in sheer firepower and probably serves best as an LRM boat... Also it rather will have very large ST's you can hit anywhere or it'll have a huge CT (which even then: you can hit from the sides easily... unless that's also ST, then the ST is the size of buckingham palace and LRM's / LBX/ MRMs / ATMs/ SRM's / RL/ Streaks (man that list got big fast) will just shred you to pieces.
Mad Cat Mk II = I can't say much about this, it's a Timberwolf, with Jumpjets that's not hardwired but it's there if you need it, and is a battlemech that you can change an engine from a uber fast 400 to a slow paced turtle, Higher arms... it fills the much needed role of a "This can do or be anything you want". It's a general purpose mech which the clanas lacked a lot for the assault weight class as everything there is Specialist (Direwolf, warhawk, executioner, kodiak, highlander iic, supernova etc). No ECM, no more then 1 AMS, pretty good all rounder...
TBH, with the new IS tech coming in, I feel the Anniihilator is the best mech in this list.... and while both IS Mechs are unique and play a role in MW: O to help the IS, the Clanners only get one that does something on those lines and the Cougar just pushes for an extreme Adder which no one* likes the Adder over the arctic cheetah because adder had superior firepower but lower speed... Many would argue a mech like the Locust IIC would've helped better.
TBH, with all the tech and mechs, I thought the iS got the hand holding this packs, but I can't complain... the Cougar was needed reguardless due to the lack of Clan lights in game thus I am not upset the IS got a medium and clans didn't.
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