63 replies to this topic

[Johannes Falkner]

Caesar is a great start as fire support
Enforcers make good mobile support
I like Jenner JR7-Fs for scouting
and Hatchetman/Axman for brawling

[Bludhawk]

Lance Lead: GRF-3M Griffin
CN-9D Centurion
COM-5S Commando Scout
WLF-2 Wolfhound

Fast and deadly.

Edited by Bludhawk, 23 April 2012 - 01:13 PM.

[Patrio Sioux Daltum]

The quintessential mech lance is so oft debated, the true meaning is often lost.

I heavily buy into the idea of combined-arms warfare. Seriously, I just did a paper on it. On this premise, I would say that the most flexible lance would consist of four mechs, one light, on medium, one heavy, and one assault.
The light mech is obviously going to be a scout. Something with an alright punch and lots of E/CM equipment - The Raven is a perfect mech. An SRM-6 and two medium lasers is useful in a pinch, but the BAP is an essential scouting piece. To go along, the TAG and NARC are perfectly fine for targeting enemies, be it mechs, vehicles, or depots. And the Guardian ECM makes it also a big radar jammer.
The medium mech would supplement the heavy. Medium mechs alone have no business taking on anything of a heavier weight class, but they have enough firepower to lend a hand. The Centurion is a fine example; though it doesn't have a lot of armor, an AC/10 is nothing to joke about, and the LRMs give it a nice long-range capability. Alternatively, the Legionnaire, while lacking in guns, has adequate armor and a speed faster than a lot of light mechs. If you really want it, the Raptor II, with stealth armor, makes a good scout and very good ambusher.
The heavy mech will be your guns. A frontline brawler, duh. The Timber Wolf is one of the best examples. Two LRM-20s give it the long-range firepower better than even the Catapult, the model fire-support mech. Two ER large lasers also serve to pick off what isn't killed by the LRMs. Closer in, two ER medium lasers and a medium pulse are pretty good for infighting, but really should only support the large lasers. At this point, two MGs is almost superfluous. A high top speed of 85 kph and twelve tonnes of armor make it just perfect. The Marauder, however, cannot be ruler out as an exemplary heavy mech.
I've always considered assault mechs to be more for fire support, or siege engines, than as fighting mechs. Sure, they have the most armor, but the speed is almost always too slow to get in position at the time you want. Fortunately, this is made up for with typical long range weapons. The Stone Rhino is one of my favorites: Two gauss rifles tear stuff as better than even PPCs at long range, and two large pulse lasers to finish it off. And a small pulse laser to plink your enemies. While the speed is almost the slowest you can get, eighteen tonnes of armor protect it like a battleship. The Jupiter, also, has a similar speed, but massive medium and long range capability. I mean, really, four UAC/5s make it look like a Rifleman.
And of course, the lance must be backed up. It would be as just a mistake to send modern tanks into battle without infantry support as it would be with mechs. I've always liked the Merkava tank, but the M1 Marksman is unmatched as having the best firepower and armor - I'd say it could take on a medium mech or lower and win the majority of the time.

[Tadakuma]

he Original house Davion Source Book made a point of the fact that the Federated Suns Armed forces believed that the pilot was more important then the machine. They preferred to worry about getting the best pilots and not being as concerned about getting the perfect balance of mechs.

To my mind that is a better way of looking at it, and if we look at real world historical examples this is backed up. A classic examples of this is MIG 15 vs the F-86 Sabre, the MIG was a better plane but the American pilots were all experienced combat veterans from the second world war.The final result was a decisive kill ratio in favour of the F-86 Sabre (between 1.5:1 - 2:0 depending on who you believe). I but the German Panzer IV vs Russian T-34 is a similar example but is a little harder to nail down because of the numbers involved.

So to me the ideal Davion Lance would probably look something like this;

Rifleman - Elite Pilot
Enforcer - Elite Pilot
Centurion - Elite Pilot
Phoenix Hawk - Elite Pilot

and how do you deal with that assault lance coming your way, well that's why your part of and RCT. You have Aerospace Superiority and heavy artillery support comming out the wazoo.

Edited by Tadakuma, 23 April 2012 - 11:54 PM.

[Menkare]

This really isn't a hard question to answer: 4 SGT-8R Sagittaires.

'Nuff said.

[Metal God]

I gave this some thought the other day, and, keeping the time period in mind, this is what I came up with:

Hatchetman
Enforcer
Centurion
Blackjack

They are all Medium 'Mechs around the same weight profile, all are the same speed, and all but the Centurion possess jump jets. Obviously a scout or assault lance would be composed much differently, but I think that the above is a great "jack-of-all-trades" lance.

Unfortunately, my favorite 'Mech, the Bushwacker, doesn't come out until 4-5 years after the game launches....

[Jonas]

Is the lance a stand alone unit? Or part of a company?

If it was a Stand alone unit I go with a fire team set up.
1. WLF-2 Wolfhound ( maybe modded with an XL engine so an ECM and Beagle Probe could be added )
2.PHX-3M Phoneix Hawk
3.CN9-D Centurion
4.CRD-5M Crusader

[DaynarFaol]

Ideal lance with what is listed as possible in faction Mechs:

Function Recon:
Valkyrie
Valkyrie
Dervish
Dervish

Ideal if I could get any mech:
Jenner JR7-D
Commando
Firestarter
Locust LARM variant.

[Qayos]

I'd go with 4 MAD-5D Marauders,

Keep the ERPPC's for targets at range, anything gets up close faces a bunch of Lg and Med Pulse lasers. Good armor, Jump Jets, and in a campaign they don't need much in the way of reloads since they only sport a SRM-2 streak as the only ammo feed weapon.

[Adridos]

Johannes Falkner, on 10 April 2012 - 11:57 PM, said:

I like Jenner JR7-Fs for scouting

Patrio Sioux Daltum, on 23 April 2012 - 02:04 PM, said:

The light mech is obviously going to be a scout. Something with an alright punch and lots of E/CM equipment - The Raven is a perfect mech.

You Davies got infected by your Steiner friends. No scouts from lights.

You are building a Davion lance. Davion lance doesn't mean being made out of the opponents designs.

[WraithTR1]

Centurion, Enforcer, Jagermech, and Victor

[Evinthal]

Screw the battlemechs. Give me a lance of the following:
Ajax Assault Tank Prime Variant
Ajax Assault Tank Alpha Variant
Ajax Assault Tank Bravo Variant

and

Manteuffel Attack Tank Prime Variant.

Hehehe

[Grendel408]

Davion Medium Lance:

• Centurion (Command Unit)
  
• Enforcer
  
• Blackjack
  
• Hatchetman

Why these? With exception to the Hatchetman 'Mech, they all can strike at long to medium ranges in combat... all are very effective with their standard load-outs to fight in medium range and do considerable damage to an enemy force slightly heavier or of equal to less tonnage than those listed above. Definitely not a front-line lance to combat with, but definitely a skirmisher lance to flank and hit and fade against a heavier force.


Now put these into an urban scenario and given their speed, and load-outs, they can do some serious damage

If I had to choose one to replace, remove the Hatchetman for a Trebuchet and call it good with a decent fire-support 'Mech for backup.

[Grendel408]

Adridos, on 10 May 2012 - 10:20 AM, said:

You Davies got infected by your Steiner friends. No scouts from lights.

You are building a Davion lance. Davion lance doesn't mean being made out of the opponents designs.

Raven - Partial Description:
The Raven is a technological marvel and employs a large number of advanced electronic warfare systems, possibly making it the most advanced light 'Mech on the field, at least in detection and targeting equipment. It was first built by the Capellan Confederation as an electronics test bed unit that was pushed into combat during the Fourth Succession War, when the Federated Suns made a concentrated effort to destroy the Liao state. Since that time, rediscovered Star League technology has allowed the Raven to reach its full potential.
--
Read the rest in the link dude enemy designs get captured all the time and put into service, this is the nature of BattleTech and it's universe.

[Adridos]

They can't produce it and that's all that matters.

[Evgeny Bear]

only a destroyed davion lance is a good davion lance?

[IxxxI]

Andar89, on 10 May 2012 - 11:34 AM, said:

only a destroyed davion lance is a good davion lance?

Indeed, that's a masters' secret how to compose any davion forces' 'Mechs using Feng Shui: execute pilots and expropriate 'Mechs (dead don't need them, don't they?).

Edited by IxxxI, 10 May 2012 - 01:19 PM.

[GrimFist]

Hello,

I first admit that all of the houses should just defer to the professionals. You can call it being green (mercs do a better job of not making stuff go to waste).

So the best davion lance is a mercanry lance. Just remember you get what you pay for.

All humor and truth aside, for Davions, a multi-purpose lance would be as follows.

Please note that I am only picking mechs that are available in 3049 and manufactured in their space. I should know, guarded more than a few of them over the years.

Ceasar - For 70 tons you do pretty well. Over 10 tons of armor, with a gauss rifle and ERPPC, 4 ER med lasers to back it up.

Back this up with a Valkrie for scout and backup sniping duty.

Next I'd pair up a pair of Hatchmen-5S (think this was out in 3049, could be wrong).

I'd be sticking to cover with this group. LRM fire might be a problem if your caught in the open. With our scout we should be able to avoid this. So playing defense or attacking in an urban environment would good. Then again, the mech that wants to launch LRMS needs to say hello to a gauss rifle round or two.

I forget when the Hollander came out. I might put him in as a scout. If your not expecting him its going to hurt and lets not forget how nice a sniper he would be.

Edited by GrimFist, 10 May 2012 - 02:04 PM.

[Arnie1808]

Alaskan Viking, on 26 March 2012 - 07:22 PM, said:

four smouldering husk...

Alaskan Viking, on 27 March 2012 - 02:07 PM, said:

Thank you, I try my best to provide the community with only the very finest quality post.

What do you expect Falkner, This is coming from a person who serves under an insane *****.
He sounds just as mad as she is and we all know she is as nutty as a squirrels fart

[Inappropriate914]

i would have to say a

1x warhammer
1x riffleman II
2x riffleman