29 replies to this topic

[Natred]

The Inner Sphere Marauder is a brawl specialist focused on pinpoint laser accuracy with arm mounted weapons and doomsday torso mounted ballistics. Its unique but rather large frame make it weak from the flanks but strong in the attack position. Being the precursor to the Maurder IIcs for good reason the Maurder is a force to be reconned with bringing the flexabilty of a battlemech and armor/weaponry of assault mech. Its strong front loaded weaponry and manuverabilty allow this mech to strike one to three alpha strikes in a short 10 second period allowing you to take down mechs with proper positioning. Being such a fan of the Maraurder ii its evolution I had to give a rundown of the Inner Sphere Marauder.

The Marauder handles well in close knit operations where knife fighting close to mid range combat situations. If played properly can sync well with other mid range heavies. It suppress enemy mechs well letting the pilots confidence shine through mayhem its pod space brings. It relies on well thought out positioning and teamwork to reap the full benefits. Like the maraurder iic it has a distinct weakness being its huge side profile if flanked by the swarm so zoom tunneling is not wise. Although with the large pod space it brings enough slot space for plentiful doubleheat sink space providing adequte sustained fire in brawl situations.

Machines are designed for a specific purpose and it carries the title of war machine with pride. I can see why it has been the flagship of nostalgia and pride of the Inner Sphere Heavy Ground Mobile Calvary. Proud to get the opportunity to give this review of such a powerful Battlemech.

If you want more honest mech reviews let me know.

Some of the standard engine builds I used on the Marauder 3R are as follows.

4 medium lasers ac20
3 mediums 1 large pulse ac10
4 mediums ac20 ac2
4 mediums guass rifle
4 mediums 2 ac 5

Stengths:
Sustained fire
Armor structure health
Agile for a 75 ton battlemech
Good front profile
Arm energy precison and yaw/pitch diatance and speeds
Torso twist speed
Shield left torso
Battlemech endo and ferro flexability
Good in one vs one situations (beat marauder iics one vs one in quick play several times last night)


Weakness:
Only 4 energy points in the arms, 6 would be optimum semi low slung
Non adustable ballistic height mounts
Ballistics in one torso that stick out a bit to far
No weapon mounts on ct or head
Flankable
Non of my builds have jump jets
To big of side profile even to attempt xl builds in my opinion.



Some other incarnations I experimented with but these seem to be the most useful for my taste.

Good luck and happy hunting.

Edited by Natred, 27 June 2017 - 08:44 AM.

[El Bandito]

Just need LFE to arrive.

[Tordin]

Its a toughie and pretty dangerous. Yes LFE will make it even more competent. Heck it can go toe to toe against the MAD II under the right circumstances if both have "meta" setup even.

[Snowbluff]

I love the marauder as a teammate. I use warhammers myself though.

Soon, "I am still much in love with my warhammers" thread by me.

[Jay Leon Hart]

Mine are pretty boring build wise, though this is one of only 3 IS Heavies I've bothered with since the Skill Tree dropped (the other 2 being the Rifleman and Thunderbolt, with the Black Knight and Grasshopper eagerly awaiting LFEs and new Energy toys!)

3R gets the lore-friendly AC5 + 2 PPCs - sometimes a UAC5, sometimes ERPPCs, sometimes a PPC per arm, sometimes both in the left with MLs or MPLs in the right. Looking forward to RAC5, SNPPC, ERMLs and maybe LPPC. Oh, and of course, LFE.

5M gets an almos-lore-friendly AC10 and 2-3 LLs or LPLs. LFE will help with weight and/or speed, UAC10 will just help fun.

5D... while it certainly performs better with 3 LPL, it looks so much cooler (and so much more like a Marauder) with a PPC in the torso. Throw some LPL and MLs on for good measure. Sometimes asym, sometimes not, like the 3R. Performance be damned, it looks pretty. LFE will help with DHS (I hope).

Bounty Hunter II flip-flops between AC20 + 6-7 MLs and Gauss + 2 PPC. Maybe throw a HGauss in there? Needs further testing!

[Natred]

Snowbluff i agree they are good mechs and I admit I have only piloted the 3R. Jay I need a bounty hunter hahaha. What is lfe? Light engines?

Edited by Natred, 27 June 2017 - 09:13 AM.

[Dread Render]

who are you trying to sell these to... lol ;-)

[Natred]

Hell if pgi wants to use my analysis of mechs in a data section for the game they can pay me with in game stuff! Lol did not know it sounded like an advertisement. Haha

[ScrapIron Prime]

I use the 3R with a 300 XL engine. The thing torso twists like a BOSS and is surprisingly survivable with an XL. It's the only XL mech I've ever survived going under 20 percent health with. I will be replacing it with a 280 LFE, though, and life will get even better.

But the build I rack up 700-900 point games with on a regular basis is 2 PPC, 2 AC/5, 2 SPL. A pinpoint fire pattern of 30-10-30-10 drills torsos out quickly, and with 5.5 tons of AC/5 ammo, it doesn't stop firing, even when I switch from PPC's to SPL's as the enemy jumps down my throat.

I never expected the Marauder 3R to be my favorite, it just happened.

[Kushko]

Out of curiosity...whats LFE?

As for the Marauder, its currently my fav IS mech as well!

Edited by Kushko, 27 June 2017 - 09:30 AM.

[ScrapIron Prime]

Kushko, on 27 June 2017 - 09:30 AM, said:

Out of curiosity...whats LFE?

Light Fusion Engine. Coming next month. It weighs 3/4 what a standard engine weighs (plus cockpit and gyro weight, which is included in MWO) and has 2 crits in each side torso... which means like a clan mech you can survive the loss of a side torso. Game changer for Inner Sphere.

Edited by ScrapIron Prime, 27 June 2017 - 09:35 AM.

[GrimRiver]

Kushko, on 27 June 2017 - 09:30 AM, said:

Out of curiosity...whats LFE?

As for the Marauder, its currently my fav IS mech as well!

(L)ight (F)usion (E)ngine, it's weight in between a STD and XL, but it's biggest perk is surviving a side torso loss like clan XL and takes up only 2 slots in the torsos.

(Lore excerpt)The Marauder was supposed to jump start a new generation of mechs, but the fall of Star League cut that idea short.

It's no wonder why this mech is soo good because it was the pinnacle of design at the height of the golden era, lore wise that is.

[Natred]

My assumption that standard engines will still be best engines for Inner Sphere heavies and assaults. Light engines will shine in the lights and medium mechs. Dude to slot reasons.. who knows tho.

Edited by Natred, 27 June 2017 - 10:05 AM.

[ScrapIron Prime]

Natred, on 27 June 2017 - 10:04 AM, said:

My assumption that standard engines will still be best engines for heavies and assaults. Light engines will shine in the lights and medium mechs. Dude to slot reasons.. who knows tho.

Weight savings is everything. I suspect you're only going to see standard engines on anything that NEEDS 11 or 12 side torso slots... such as triple AC/5 or the new LBX/20.

But LFE plus dual Ultra AC/20 ? Helloooooo nurse!

[Natred]

I would not get your hopes up about the light engines. They will be handy and give more optimization at the expense of slots. Maybe for energy builds. We shall see

Edited by Natred, 27 June 2017 - 10:14 AM.

[MadRover]

Natred, on 27 June 2017 - 10:11 AM, said:

I would not get your hopes up about the light engines. They will be handy and give more optimization at the expense of slots. Maybe for energy builds. We shall see

Most likely energy builds. IS weapons take up too many slots, not that I'm complaining for the moment.

Guess I'll be drinking my sodas and eating popcorn to see what happens.

[Internal Obedience XIII-omega]

My 3R is set up like the llc, 3 AC5s and 4 MLs, she does ok... Word of Blake affiliated, sry guys

[ScrapIron Prime]

MadRover, on 27 June 2017 - 10:20 AM, said:

Most likely energy builds. IS weapons take up too many slots, not that I'm complaining for the moment.

Guess I'll be drinking my sodas and eating popcorn to see what happens.

Meanwhile I can has plans. Lots and lots of plans.

If I'm short on space, I'll save 4 tons with a light fusion engine rather than saving 4 tons with Endosteel. 4 spaces versus 14. (Though those 14 are very good for filling in the hard to use spaces.) And if I have the space for both... heck yeah.

Between LFE and engine desync, you shouldn't see any more IS Heavies with XL engines. That's huge. And you thought you chuckled at an XL Stalker before... they should thankfully become even more rare. Hallelujah.

[Natred]

I want to hear some more marauder stories or builds if possible gents.

[Athom83]

ScrapIron Prime, on 27 June 2017 - 10:06 AM, said:

But LFE plus dual Ultra AC/20 ? Helloooooo nurse!

Um... which Marauder can you do that in? 1 UAC/20 and a LFE will completely fill the ST.

Natred, on 27 June 2017 - 10:40 AM, said:

I want to hear some more marauder stories or builds if possible gents.

4 MLs + 2 LB-10s.
2 ERLLs + 2 LPLs.
2 UAC/5s + 4 MPLs.
3 AC/2 + 4 MLs.

With new tech;
UAC/20 + 4 LPPCs/ERMLs.
HGauss + 4 ERSLs.
2 RAC/5(2)s.