The Charger/Hatamoto Awareness Thread
This thread's goal is to get both the Charger and the Hatamoto in MWO. If one of them gets in the game, then they will have their name removed from the thread. But if both mechs make it in, it will be closed since it has served its purpose. However, I hope that both mechs make it in game. I am working on updating this thread to show awareness for both the Hatamoto and the Charger in game.
Where the two mechs stand right now
THEY'RE BOTH IN! THANK YOU.
The best I can hope for is that both the Charger and Hatamoto can make it into a "Charger Mechpack". With 3 Standard Variants being Chargers and 3 Reinforcements being the Hatamotos respectively.
Kind of like this for example:
https://mwomercs.com/evolution
When it comes to the Hatamoto-Chi, just copy/paste a Charger model and give it samurai look and rename it as the Hatamoto. As it was stated in lore, the Hatamoto is an upgraded version of the Charger.
Potential Loyalty Variant
Charger CGR-SA5 (MASC Variant)
This mostly came after a good idea that Catten Hart said.
So after I thought about it, I researched both mechs and agreed to turn this into a compromise thread that would see both mechs make it in game. I would most like to see a Charger Mechpack make it in, as long as the Hatamoto variants make it into the game as reinforcement packs.
From the pages of
Sarna
Charger
"The Charger is seen as an example of abject failure in BattleMech design. Wells Technologies originally wanted to produce an ultra-heavy scout 'Mech for the Star League Defense Force that was not only fast but could survive contact with the enemy. This was done by building the Charger on an 80-ton frame, making it the heaviest scout 'Mech in existence, and powering it with a massive LTV 400 fusion engine that took up almost sixty percent of the Charger's mass. With a top speed which allowed it to outrun most other 'Mechs the Charger was then given ten tons of heavy Durallex armor, enough to survive repeated hits from an Autocannon/20. However, these features left very little room for offensive capability, an intentional deficiency on the part of the design team as they saw any task other than gathering data a distraction.
This was to be the 'Mech's downfall, as its popgun laser array proved to be quite laughable, capable of little more than fighting infantry and light combat vehicles. Its armoring, while respectable, could not stand up to sustained punishment, which meant if the 'Mech got too close to heavy combat or trapped by superior numbers it could be shot to pieces. When the Charger debuted in 2665 it quickly became derided as "a light 'Mech trapped in an assault's frame" and the Star League quickly withdrew it from use; Wells Technologies eventually found itself wallowing in over a thousand Chargers which no one now wanted to buy. In an odd twist of fate, the fall of the Star League and the start of the First Succession War would save the company and the Charger. Desperate for any 'Mech they could get their hands on, the Draconis Combine bought the Charger in large numbers and established a long-term contract with the company.
During the long attritional warfare of the Succession Wars era, the Charger proved to be a reliable, low-maintenance 'Mech useful in rear areas and for garrison duty on low-tech worlds, especially in the Periphery. In its limited frontline engagements, this close-assault 'Mech proved itself deadly against smaller recon elements like Wasps and Stingers and any machine whose main armament was already destroyed. Its greatest successes often came in less orthodox roles such as counter-insurgency operations. By 3405 nearly five hundred of the original thousand Chargers were still in use, largely with the Combine but also in the other Great Houses too. This was mainly due to battlefield salvage and black-market trading, the latter of which Wells itself took part in due to export restrictions placed on it by the Combine. The company was eventually bought out by its license-holder Luthien Armor Works in 3407 after the discovery of this underhanded dealing, and production of the original Charger ceased altogether in 3400.
In the devastating aftermath of the Fourth Succession War however, the Combine once again needed 'Mechs to replace its losses, and the Coordinator himself ordered LAW to produce a 'Mech which would act as a symbol of the Combine's might. The resulting crash program to produce the Hatamoto-Chi gave LAW the ability to rework the Charger line using rediscovered technology, allowing them to produce "new" assault 'Mechs in half the time through a major modification program rather than starting from scratch. These new Charger variants debuted in time to meet the Clan Invasion, and while still close-in brawlers their varied weaponry and advanced technology made them far superior. Success with the revamped designs was such that by 3068 every Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery unit had at least one new Charger in its inventory, though with the loss of LAW's Luthien plant production on the CGR-3K model ceased and many had moved on to the newer CGR-SA5 model. Some of the original Chargers are still used as labyrinthine fighters by backwater stables on Solaris VII."
Hatamoto-Chi
"A melding of the popular Star League era Thug and the poorly regarded Charger, the samurai-themed Hatamoto-Chi was the first post-Succession Wars DCMS BattleMech constructed utilizing recovered LosTech.
Tasked by Kanrei Theodore Kurita to reverse engineer examples of the advanced SLDF BattleMechs provided by ComStar in 3405 for future production, Luthien Armor Works secretly mated the weaponry of the Thug to the form of the maligned Charger. While initially unable to mass-produce the advanced Endo Steel chassis required to match the Thug, the appearance of the early Hatamoto-Chi and their endless variations born of the Charger's spacious torso sent the combined Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth into confusion during the War of 3409 and earned the design its place as the light assault 'Mech of choice in the Combine military. Originally manufactured on idle production lines for the Charger on the Combine capital under the cover name of the Maltex Corporation to throw off MIIO investigations, in an attempt to rebuild and upgrade after the Battle of Luthien, LAW sold the production rights to Independence Weaponry and Yori 'Mech Works located on the (then safer) FedCom border."
Now that the fluff is out of the way, let's get these questions answered.
Q: Why would you want that anime Gundam mech?
A: Truth be told, I do like the style of the Mech and I do see some potential for it. After all, I think its time that House Kurita gets their proper Flagship mech added to the game. House Steiner gets the Zeus and later on the Fafnir. House Liao has the Cataphract and Vindicator. House Davion gets to have their Victors, Enforcers, and Jagermechs, and the Mariks only have the Orion. So why shouldn't the Kuritans get a good flagship mech?
Q: House Kurita already has enough faction mechs, why would you need this added to the game?
A: While the Dragon, Jenner, and Panther were made by House Kurita, some of them lacked the flagship mech aesthetics. As for the Mauler, it may be the hero that House Kurita needs, but the Hatamoto is the hero they deserve.
Q: Thug can do better than the Hatamoto, so why choose this mech over the Thug?
A: Reason 1: The Hatamoto offers much more than the Thug. Reason 2: The Awesome already serves the same purpose that the Thug can do. The Thug cannot use jump jets nor does it have any ballistic variants, so that is why I cannot and will not support the Thug. The best thing you can hope for with the Thug is that the 12K variant gets released as a Loyalty variant, and it still wouldn't help with the monotony of the Mech.
Let me show you the comparisons of the Thug between the Awesome and Hatamoto.
Thug - Awesome Variant Comparison
Thug Variants
Thug-10E: Energy/Missile
Thug-11E: Energy/Missile
Thug-12E: Energy/Missile
Thug-12K: Energy/Missile/ECM
Thug-13K: Pure Energy
Thug-113b: Energy/Missile
Awesome Variants
Awesome-8Q: Pure Energy
Awesome-8R: Energy/Missile
Awesome-8T: Energy/Missile
Awesome-8V: Energy/Missile
Awesome-9M: Energy/Missile
Awesome-PB: Energy/Missile
Thug - Hatamoto Variant Comparison
Thug Variants
Thug-10E: Energy/Missile
Thug-11E: Energy/Missile
Thug-12E: Energy/Missile
Thug-12K: Energy/Missile/ECM
Thug-13K: Pure Energy
Thug-113b: Energy/Missile
Hatamoto-Chi Variants
Hatamoto-Chi: Energy/Missile
Hatamoto-Hi: Pure Energy
Hatamoto-Ku: Energy/Ballistic
Hatamoto-Chi Daniel: Ballistic/Missile
Hatamoto-Chi 28T: Jumper
Hatamoto-Chi 28Tr: ECM/Jumper
Q: The Charger is a piece of crap, why would you want this mech in the game?
A: In TT the weapons are lackluster, but when it comes to melee attacks, it lives up to its name. Also, the Charger has good variants that are both interesting and devastating if put into the right hands. So don't judge a book by its cover.
Q: I thought you wanted the Hatamoto first? What are you intending to do with this thread and why?
A: To get the both the Charger and Hatamoto in game. It was initially going to be about the Hatamoto, but after seeing how easy it can be to model from a Charger. It makes sense, it was an upgrade after all.
Q: Among all the IS Assault mechs you could have chosen, why the Hatamoto and Charger?
A: Because after I saw the mech choices for the IS Assault category, I saw that both the Charger and Hatamoto the best choices for the game.
Here were the flaws I saw with the other IS Assaults:
Sagittaire - Has equipment that we don't have yet due to the current timeline.(Variable Speed Pulse Laser, Improved Jumpjets)
Sunder - IS Omnimech (we don't have them yet)
Templar - IS Omnimech (we don't have them yet)
Hauptmann - IS Omnimech (we don't have them yet)
Albatross - Not enough variants. Has equipment that we don't have yet due to the timeline. (Multi-Missile Launcher)
Viking - Has equipment that we don't have yet due to the timeline.
Vanquisher - Has equipment that we don't have yet due to the timeline.(Small Cockpit,Triple Strength Myomer, Dual Cockpit, Compact Engine)
Thug - We already have the Awesome for its role. Besides, the variants repeat themselves more often than Jersey Shore reruns.
The Charger
Charger Variants - 80 tons
Charger CGR-1A1 (Laser Variant)
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - Small Laser
Center Torso - N/A
Right Torso - Small Laser
Left Torso - Small Laser
Right Arm - Small Laser
Left Arm - Small Laser
Engine: 320 STD = 64 KPH
Debuted: 2665
Estimated Hardpoints
Charger CGR-1A5
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - Small Laser
Center Torso - Medium Laser
Right Torso - AC/20
Left Torso - 2x SRM6
Right Arm - N/A
Left Arm - N/A
Engine: 320 STD = 64 KPH
Debuted: 3403
Estimated Hardpoints
Charger "Challenger" CGR-SB
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - Medium Laser
Center Torso - N/A
Right Torso - Large Laser
Left Torso - Large Laser
Right Arm - Large Laser
Left Arm - Large Laser
Engine: 240 STD = 40 KPH
Debuted: 3405
Estimated Hardpoints
Charger CGR-1A9 (Jumper Variant)
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - Small Laser
Center Torso - N/A
Right Torso - LRM 20, Medium Laser
Left Torso - Medium Laser
Right Arm - Medium Laser
Left Arm - Medium Laser
Right Leg - 2x Jump Jets
Left Leg - 2x Jump Jets
Engine: 320 STD = 64 KPH
Debuted: 3404
Estimated Hardpoints
Charger CGR-SA5 (MASC Variant)
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - ER Medium Laser
Center Torso - LBX-20 Autocannon
Right Torso - LBX-20 Autocannon, ER Medium Laser
Left Torso - ER Medium Laser, MASC
Right Arm - N/A
Left Arm - 2xStreak SRM6
Engine: 380 LFE = 64 KPH (86.KPH with MASC)
Debuted: 3063
Estimated Hardpoints
Charger CGR-2A2 (Missile Variant)
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - N/A
Center Torso - N/A
Right Torso - 2x Rocket Launcher 10s
Left Torso - 2x Rocket Launcher 10s
Right Arm - Medium Laser
Left Arm - Rocket Launcher 10
Engine: 400 STD = 64 KPH
Debuted: 3064
Estimated Hardpoints
Games:
Battletech Tabletop Miniature
Battletech Card Game
BattlePack: Fourth Succession War
Charger from an unidentified source
Charger-1A5
Fan-Art:
Charger by Shortpainter
Charger by Prime-Mover
Charger by Flyingdebrisguy (a.k.a. Alexander Iglesias)
Lego Charger by Brickcommander
Chargers vs Atlas by AJtrooper
3D Charger-SA5 Render by TerratoX1
Charger Fan-art by Steel Raven
Evolution of the Chargers:
Charger-1A1 (Star League - Jihad)
Charger-1X1 (Jihad - Dark Age)
When it comes to media, the Charger has not made any appearances in the Mechwarrior games, nor the cartoon, unfortunately.
The Hatamoto-Chi
Hatamoto Variants - 80 tons
Hatamoto-Chi HTM-26T
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - N/A
Center Torso - N/A
Right Torso - SRM6
Left Torso - SRM6
Right Arm - PPC
Left Arm - PPC
Engine: 320 STD = 64 KPH
Debuted: 3409
Estimated Hardpoints
Hatamoto-Chi HTM-27W (Ballistic Variant)
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - N/A
Center Torso - N/A
Right Torso - AC/5
Left Torso - N/A
Right Arm - PPC
Left Arm - PPC
Engine: 320 STD = 64 KPH
Debuted: 3409
Estimated Hardpoints
Hatamoto-Hi HTM-C (Energy Variant)
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - N/A
Center Torso - N/A
Right Torso - 2xMedium Lasers
Left Torso - 2xMedium Lasers
Right Arm - PPC
Left Arm - PPC
Engine: 320 STD = 64 KPH
Debuted: 3400
Estimated Hardpoints
Hatamoto-Chi HTM-28T (Jumper Variant)
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - N/A
Center Torso - Jump Jet
Right Torso - Streak SRM6, Jump Jet
Left Torso - Streak SRM6, Jump Jet
Right Arm - Medium Pulse Laser ER PPC
Left Arm - Medium Pulse Laser, ER PPC
Engine: 240 STD = 48 KPH
Debuted: 3409
Estimated Hardpoints
Hatamoto-Chi HTM-28Tr (ECM/Jumper Variant)
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - N/A
Center Torso - Jump Jet
Right Torso - Streak SRM6, Jump Jet
Left Torso - Streak SRM4, Jump Jet, ECM
Right Arm - Medium Pulse Laser ER PPC
Left Arm - Medium Pulse Laser, ER PPC
Engine: 240 STD = 48 KPH
Debuted: 3401
Estimated Hardpoints
Hatamoto-Chi HTM-Daniel II (Potential Hero Mech)
Weapons and Equipment:
Head - N/A
Center Torso - N/A
Right Torso - Streak SRM6
Left Torso - Streak SRM6
Right Arm - LB-10X Autocannon
Left Arm - LB-10X Autocannon
Engine: 240 STD = 48 KPH
Debuted: 3402
Estimated Hardpoints
Games:
Card Game
Tabletop Miniature
Mechwarrior 2 Ghost Bear Legacy/Mercenaries
The Unreleased Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries Mekpak 4 (what could have been,
video found here)
Mechwarrior Tactical Command
Fan-Art:
Hatamoto-Chi with Sword by Mecha-Zone
Hatamoto-Chi by Bishop Steiner
Hatamoto-Chi by Raysss
Hatamoto-Chi by FJ4
Lego Hatamoto-Chi by Brickcommander
Hatamoto-Chi by Steel-Raven
The Hatamoto-Chi by Rin Shibuya
Hatamoto-Chi by Shimmering Sword
Funny Hatamoto Art drawn by Alexander Iglesias (a.k.a Flyingdebrisguy). Thank you.
Hatamoto-Chi by kuma8877
The Hatamoto as created by pickletezcat for his Blender Battletech game:
Hatamoto Chi Sketch by Timuroslav
Hatamoto-Chi by Anonymous
Media:
The Hatamoto-Chi as seen in BattleTech: The Animated Series,
Episode 11
Hatamoto-Chi on the cover of Field Manual: Draconis Combine
The Hatamoto as found in Field Manual: Draconis Combine:
DCMS Recruitment Poster
Evolution of the Hatamotos:
Hatamoto-Chi (Succession Wars-Jihad)
Hatamoto-Kaeru (Jihad-Dark Age)
Hatamoto-Suna (Dark Age)
[spoiler]