213 replies to this topic

[ilkhan]

Ok so I am going to start with a few notes about the current designs that have been included and use what is missing from that weight class to try and extrapolate my suggestions.

My final choices are included at the bottom of this post.

This post is made assuming no unseen mechs will be present (even though the reseen marauder looks better than the original).

Light
Jenner JR7-D: A Draconis combine mech. Fast jump capable scout. Primarily lasers.
Commando COM-2D: A Lyran Commonwealth mech. For reconnaissance and close range support. Primarily SRMs

As we have 2 close up mechs I would expect the 3rd of this to have a longer range weapon and fill the role of long range sniper. Now both the wolfhound and the panther would fit this role (with a Large laser and a PPC respectively). The WLF-1 is the only wolfhound available at this time.

The other option would be something a bit slower with more of a punch which is suited to the urban environments. What else would it be other than the urban mech. They are also common throughout the entire inner sphere but the only operational manufacturing facility at this time lies within the Capellan Confederation.

Raven RAV-2X or RAV-3L would be another option. it's iconic (everyone who has seen the Mechcommander intro will agree). The -2X is the Fed Suns version from after the 3th succession war which would fill the sniper role as it takes out the fancy electronics and replaces them with a large laser. The 3L is the Capellan version, I expect many electronic module slots on this mech if it is the -3L (which is the one everyone thinks of and therefore more likely). It's also the only inner sphere mech in that video not in the game so far, but again it is another scout mech which limits your role choice a lot in this class.

Medium
Hunchback HBK-4G. Close up brawler. Produced in Both the Free Worlds League and the Lyran Commonwealth.

Centurion CN9-A. Optimal at Medium range. Produced in Fed Suns and Free Worlds League

This leaves us a slot for a Medium Fire support mech, possibly a Draconis combine mech, but as the free worlds league sell to everyone not necessarily. This is probably the slot that has fewest hints towards what it might be.

The Trebuchet TBT-5N is a likely candidate. It's a fire support mech, was widely distributed and often used in combination with the Centurion. The Dervish DV-6M fits a similar role but out of the two I would say the Trebuchet is more popular and has already been redesigned for Mechwarrior Tactics. Against it it's inclusion would make it the 3rd 50 ton medium mech.

The other option I would think of would be the Clint CLNT-2-3T which would add a snipy, scouty option to the medium weight class.

Heavy
Catapult CPLT-C1. Fire support mech. Capellan primarily but fairly widespread.

Dragon DRG-1N. All rounder, medium to long range. Pretty mcuh Draconis Combine exclusive.

My preference here would be the Orion ON1-K. Iconic (who wouldn't want to pilot Kerensky's mech?). Free Worlds League produced, so would easily find it's way into the hands of the other houses. Typical Commander role mech. Other people have mentioned the Black Knight for this role. The BL7-KNT would be the model around at this time but it was not in production between the factory on Connaught being heavily damaged during the succession wars and the Fed suns upgrading the facility on Robinson in response to the clan invasion.

The other option I would expect here would be somthing a bit more brawler-esque for which I would suggest the Cataphract CTF-3D. A Capellan and Fed suns design. It also jumps and people love jumping LBX action, especially in urban environments.

The Jagermech JM6-S is another heavily featured design in the other Mech games. It is far better at anti-aircraft than anti-Mech combat though and is much better in open terrain than urban environments so I do not think it will feature in the initial 12. A long range sniper and widely spread too.

Assault
Atlas AS7-D: close up brawler. Everyone has them (although the Lyrans and the DCMS have more)

Now there are two empty slots here so more potential.

Awesome AWS-8Q: Fan favourite, long range (in contrast to the Atlas). Built by the Free Worlds League. Also in Mechwarrior Tactics and has had developer hints suggesting it.

Cyclops CP10-Z : Fills the commander role in the assault class. Well rounded assortment of weapons. This vairent has a similar loadout to the atlas, only with less of some weapons

Stalker STK-3F: They were everywhere in 3049. FD has already redrawn one before. In Mechwarrior Tactics. Different enough loadout to the atlas.

Zeus ZEU-6S or ZEU-6T. Lighter end of the assault scale, primarily long range . Probably too Lyran specific for the initial 12.

Lots of people have been saying how the Highlander is too rare at this time point but I can't find a reference to that as it was still in production as far as I can find out.


In summary

TL:DR

Light: Raven RAV-3L
Medium: Trebuchet TBT-5N
Heavy: Orion ON1-K
Assault: Awesome AWS-8Q and Stalker STK-3F


EDIT: it looks like GDL Irishwarrior has similar thoughts.

Edited by ilkhan, 24 February 2012 - 11:44 AM.

[Mechteric]

ilkhan, on 24 February 2012 - 11:40 AM, said:

Light: Raven RAV-3L
Medium: Trebuchet TBT-5N
Heavy: Orion ON1-K
Assault: Awesome AWS-8Q and Stalker STK-3F

I can agree with the heavy and assault choices as good candidates to fill out those weight classes, however I think the first 2 are unlikely, here's why:

Raven:
- its 35 tons and is basically just a more expensive Commando
- my guess is on a Javelin or Panther, as they could be somewhat of an assault role geared mechs since the other two are scoutish enough.

Trebuchet:
- its 50 tons, and there are already two 50 ton non-jump capable mechs to fill out this weight range
- my guess is on a 40-45 ton mech that is fast and/or jump capable and can do scouting role, possibly Assassin or Cicada

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 24 February 2012 - 11:56 AM.

[Jern]

I read that full article on the "Unseen" and looks like some deals were made on all but 12 of the mech designs in question. I sadly have to agree with many of the posters in this thread that those 12 "unseen" have almost no chance of making it into that game at least not at release. Maybe if we help the company make some money and pay some bills they can work out a deal later on.
My guess for what we see for the remaining slots of the 12 preview mechs...

Light - Wolfhound

Medium - Blackjack or Hatchetman - I expect they will go with a lighter 40 or 45 ton med since they doubled up on 50 tonners already. They had to double up on well known 50 tonners because the premier 55 ton meds are ALL on the "Unseen" list. (Would love to see the Iconic Shadowhawk, Wolverine or Griffion,)

Heavy - Orion is almost a given. What other 70 or 75 ton non "Unseen" mech is more common or well known. They already have a 60 and 65 tonner so I dont see them double dipping there.

Assault - Awesome seems like an obvious choice and it's boxy neck-less look fits in well with the theme of humanoid mechs the design team have done so far. For a 3rd Assault is prolly the lest obvious choice of mech ... Suggestions of Cyclops are good but I would like to see Banshee or Highlander though they are not as well known. It is also very possible they will double up on 80 tonners as there are so many good ones to pick from.

I am very excited about what MW:O is doing and the art work they have produced thus far. But, I am still saddened to think I will be playing a 3025 era battletech game without seeing a Shadowhawk, Thunderbot, Archer, Warhammer or Marauder. To me those mechs define the game. Once it transitions into newer mech models and Clan mechs it will not be as big of a deal.

Edited by Jern, 24 February 2012 - 12:46 PM.

[William White]

Have Have to go Old School purely becuse they would be common designs for the period

Light - Stinger, Wasp
Medium - Pheonix Hawk, Griffon
Heavy - Warhammer, Archer
Assualt - Battlemaster, Marauder

[ilkhan]

CapperDeluxe, on 24 February 2012 - 11:56 AM, said:

Raven:
- its 35 tons and is basically just a more expensive Commando
- my guess is on a Javelin or Panther, as they could be somewhat of an assault role geared mechs since the other two are scoutish enough.

Out of those alternatives the Javelin was out of production due to facility destruction from the sucession wars until the Fed Suns restarted it in 3055. Panther was a close call for the slot but I think the Wolfhound will rank higher than that based on the fact we already have a DCMS light mech in the form of the Jenner

CapperDeluxe, on 24 February 2012 - 11:56 AM, said:

Trebuchet:
- its 50 tons, and there are already two 50 ton non-jump capable mechs to fill out this weight range

I did mention that as a point against the Trebuchet. This slot is the one I have the least idea about.

[GDL Irishwarrior]

William White, on 24 February 2012 - 01:06 PM, said:

Have Have to go Old School purely becuse they would be common designs for the period

Light - Stinger, Wasp
Medium - Pheonix Hawk, Griffon
Heavy - Warhammer, Archer
Assualt - Battlemaster, Marauder

Marauder's a 75-ton heavy - not an assault. Also, while I can see the Archer coming in later, I just don't think we need another fire support 'Mech in the heavy class at launch

Edited by GDL Irishwarrior, 24 February 2012 - 01:13 PM.

[William White]

Also if they want any iconic heavy it has to be the Warhammer after all front of box and black widow etc.

[William White]

sorry thought the marauder was 80 tonnes...

[GDL Irishwarrior]

William White, on 24 February 2012 - 01:19 PM, said:

sorry thought the marauder was 80 tonnes...

Could always hope for the 100-ton Marauder II. Obviously it couldn't be loaded out with the advanced tech (ER PPCs, LBX-AC) yet, but we could still have the 'Mech itself

Edited by GDL Irishwarrior, 24 February 2012 - 01:28 PM.

[Zakatak]

I really really hope we get at least 3 more "chickenwalkers". Having 1 mech with bird legs out of 12 would be brutal, but having a 1/4 of them would be nice.

Raven - Because we don't have a light mech that a) electronics heavy, non-jump capable, c) expensive . It's iconic, cool looking, and bird legged which is something we lack as of now.

Assassin - We don't have a "light medium" or a fast medium or a medium that can jump. Both the Centurion/Hunchback are 65km/h 50 ton mechs without jumpjets. My other guess would be Dervish, since it is somewhat fast/jump capable aswell as long-ranged and weighs 55 tons.

Marauder (reseen) - You scream, I scream, we all scream for reseen. Everyone knows the Marauder. It has bird legs and a pair of PPC's which currently few mechs currently have. My other guess would be Orion since that is a Command mech and we do have a "Command role".

And for Assault I say Awesome and Highlander because we need a 80 and 90 ton mech and one that can jump. Gotta go, bye.

Edited by Zakatak, 24 February 2012 - 01:59 PM.

[GDL Irishwarrior]

Zakatak, on 24 February 2012 - 01:59 PM, said:

I really really hope we get at least 3 more "chickenwalkers". Having 1 mech with bird legs out of 12 would be brutal, but having a 1/4 of them would be nice.

Raven - Because we don't have a light mech that a) electronics heavy, non-jump capable, c) expensive . It's iconic, cool looking, and bird legged which is something we lack as of now.

Assassin - We don't have a "light medium" or a fast medium or a medium that can jump. Both the Centurion/Hunchback are 65km/h 50 ton mechs without jumpjets. My other guess would be Dervish, since it is somewhat fast/jump capable aswell as long-ranged and weighs 55 tons.

Marauder (reseen) - You scream, I scream, we all scream for reseen. Everyone knows the Marauder. It has bird legs and a pair of PPC's which currently few mechs currently have. My other guess would be Orion since that is a Command mech and we do have a "Command role".

And for Assault I say Awesome and Highlander because we need a 80 and 90 ton mech and one that can jump. Gotta go, bye.

The Commando isn't jump-capable. Aside from that, you are one of several people that have brought up a 'Mech I really think will not be available at launch, no matter how many people want it - the Highlander. I know that it was technically available at this point in the timeline, but A.) The gauss rifle is too advanced for the moment - we shouldn't have gauss rifles commonly available for quite a while; and B.) Even if we ignore the rarity of just the gauss rifle, the Highlander itself was extremely rare at the time - far too rare to have as one of the starting 12 'Mechs

Aside from the Highlander, though, I can see all of your suggestions working as launch 'Mechs.

[Outlaw2]

Since mech prices will differ for each house depending on its house availability in BTU, ideally you want a mech from each weight class that was commonly and/or equally found in all houses. You also want to have each house have their own set of house-specific mechs. Preferably balanced through out the different weight classes and combat roles. This might be asking too much for launch, but I did say ideally. Also, until PGI finally comments on the status of these mechs, avoid using any unseens or reseens in your lists. Which sucks since so many of the commonly found workhorses of this era are unseen/reseen. I think PG will have to remake some of these eventually.

So far only the Hunchback and Atlas fall in the equally common for all category. Catapult and Jenner, while found in all houses, were mostly found in CC and DC respectively. Commando is a LC mech through and through (though used by mercs and perphs). Same with the Dragon but for DC (and FRR but they dont count ..)

Edited by =Outlaw=, 24 February 2012 - 02:26 PM.

[Der Basilisk]

So there will be 5 more mechs...

I think - but that is NOT what i hope - that we won´t see any of the unseen soon. But what i have seen so far is Level 1 tech. Look at the Catapult for example, that´s definitly not an arrow IV. So i fear we won´t see the Raven too - and i would love to see one like anybody else - or does anyone know how the electronics work that he had before the BAP, Guardian ECM and TAG were installed?

A light mech should have jump jets and so far, there are only two of them (Jenner + Catapult). So a Javelin or Firestarter would do just fine.

About the medium weight class, there are already two fifty ton mechs around, so there is no need for another one. This means no Crab, Trebuchet or Enforcer. My guess goes to the Dervish as he is a good fire support mech and in high regard with the davion forces. Even its weaponry is comparable to the others: LRMs and SRMs and some medium lasers for backup. A Withworth would fit the same role, but he is at the low end of the class.

The heavies... there is already the Dragon (60 tons) and the Catapult (65 tons) so the third should be found at the upper end. This could be the Orion, which would be another mech with AC, LRMs and SRMs, like the Centurion and the Atlas.

At last the assaults. The Awesome is just that, but it would be the only one which mounts only energy weapons, so it doesn´t fit in somehow with the rest. A Victor is nice too, but do we really need another assult mech with an AC20 (of course we do ). The Zeus is fitted with weapons for all ranges, so i make it my first guess. This leaves me with the Stalker, Cyclops and the Banshee. The Cyclops is the one with AC, LRM, SRM and backup laseres... one of quite a few. The Banshee is nice, but its standard configuration is called a white elefant for a reason. So the second one should be the Stalker. It is not very nice to look at, but it packs quite a punch and is well suited for urban combat.


By the way, did anybody notice that are are no large lasers or PPCs around until now? Why?

Edited by Der Basilisk, 24 February 2012 - 04:18 PM.

[Psydotek]

Oh mans, I want the Stalker too. It's supposed to be one of the most common assault mechs and is a general all around workhorse.

[neodym]

I will not say anything about heavy or assault but I feel confident saying that another light mek should be Raven,I mean thats so classis,35 ton great electronic warfare scout.

For medium I say Uziel

[ilkhan]

Der Basilisk, on 24 February 2012 - 04:17 PM, said:

By the way, did anybody notice that are are no large lasers or PPCs around until now? Why?

I did notice that and thought it suspicious, as they are both "level 1" tech. Maybe they know how popular a weapon it will be and are keeping it as some unlockable, or (more likely) it will come out with the last lot of mechs.

EDIT: After a dig through my TRO 3025 I would say the blackjack is looking more promising for the medium slot as it would be the first medium with jump jets and has a different enough weapons load out.

Edited by ilkhan, 24 February 2012 - 06:39 PM.

[Lorcan Lladd]

neodym, on 24 February 2012 - 06:26 PM, said:

For medium I say Uziel

Yes, well, it's pretty much the champion of the Medium weight class.
It's also a post-invasion design, so we're not going to see it for a year at the very least.

[Hanyit Greyhame]

Big Willie, on 23 February 2012 - 08:04 AM, said:

I think 12 is way too few for release, especially since PGI doubled up on the 50 ton mechs. I would expect with such a limited release they would try to spread the love a little.

(I prefer a Blackjack, but scouting options in the mid-range is scarce, I think the Chameleon is a better option but I doubt we will see another 50 tonner)

Now this man knows what hes talking about! BlackJack all the way!

[neodym]

Lorcan Lladd, on 24 February 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

Yes, well, it's pretty much the champion of the Medium weight class.
It's also a post-invasion design, so we're not going to see it for a year at the very least.

are you sure its post invasion?

[Thom Frankfurt]

It's so nice to see the Blackjack getting some much deserved love.

I thought we were gonna end up with the 24 from the box set...