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Fellow Goon and Official Battlecorps Author, PoptartsNinja, has done an excellent fluffy write-up of the Trebuchet, which I did a thread about a while back. Read it here!
Useless Historical Background
Sarna.net describes the Jagermech as dual-role AA platform/direct fire support mech, intended to fix the problems of the venerable Rifleman, the biggest of which was the whole copyright snafu with Harmony Gold over the rights to use the Destroid Defender from Super-Dimentional Fortress Macross. Oh, and the ammo bins on the Rifleman were extremely shallow. Which was kind of a blessing in disguise given that a Rifleman with ammo was more dangerous to itself because of its ridiculous overheating problems. Seriously, two Large Lasers on ten single heat sinks? Only in the Star League, folks. Sadly, as much as I liked using it, the Rifleman wasn’t really all that superb of a design.
Variants:
(Thanks Redshift2k5!)
Almost Assuredly Going to Show Up:
JM6-S:
This is the “standard” Jagermech, from which all others draw their inspiration. Not that there’s a lot to be inspired by on the stock gear on this variant. The Jagger-S comes stock with a quartet of autocannons: two 5-class, and two 2-class, along with a pair of medium lasers. In tabletop Battletech, this loadout can be generously described as ‘sparse’. In MWO, autocannons function closer to their incarnation in the Solaris rules-set with a pretty impressive rate of fire. The stock Jagger-S is basically a slightly lighter Dakkaphract, and can probably achieve some armor-melting DPS from chain-firing its cannons. Don’t get too excited though, this chassis comes very light on armor, charitably described by Sarna.net as “a miserly six tonnes”. Heat, funnily enough, is also a major issue for this variant, as it comes with a mere ten single heat sinks, plenty for tabletop shooting, but a bit lacking given how much of a heat-hog dual AC/2s are, before adding in the AC/5s. Stay at range, and try to wait for other pilots to get the enemy’s attention before you start shooting.
JM6-A:
Take a JM6-S, and swap out the AC/5s and their ammo for a pair of LRM-15s, along with some much-needed armor. That’s basically what the JM6-A is. The LRM tubes give this version much greater damage potential over a shorter period of time, but somewhat easily foiled by ECM. Don’t let the extra armor go to your head; stay at range, and take potshots with this one.
JM6-DD:
A Helm Memory Core refit of the JM6-S, this variant swaps out every component except its structure and heat sinks for the “upgraded” versions: an extra-light engine, medium pulse lasers, UAC/5s, and case for its ammo bins. For those of you scratching your heads about this variant’s use of FF armor instead of Endo Steel, I don’t really have an answer for you. Swapping the guns and armor is easy enough for that to only count as a Class C Refit (Maintenance), something that’s relatively inexpensive and simple to do on a fleet of units, along the lines of upgrading an M1 Abrams to an M1A1 Abrams. Changing the engine type, however, is a Class E Refit (Factory), the same refit grade as swapping the standard chassis out for an endo-steel frame. Maybe there was just a better supply of FF armor? No one knows. :iiam:
You’ll Probably Have to Wait for These:
JM6-DG:
This, as you may well have guessed from the –DG, is a double gauss refit that also features ER-Medium Lasers. I fully expect to see things like this on the field less than an hour after the Jagermech hits the game. I’m not quite sure how this will compare to the dread Gaussapult, it’ll be up to the hitboxes and gun positions.
JM6-H:
This is a Periphery refit which means, as you may have guessed, ROCKET LAUNCHERS EVERYWHERE. Six 15-packs, along with two pair of large lasers and LBX-2s comprise the armament on this mech. It also has ten tons of FF armor and double heat sinks. Surprisingly bling for a Periphery design.
JM6-DDa:
A Jihad-era refit of the -DD, the –DDa carries the traditional autocannon quartet, a pair of AC/5s and a pair of LAC/2s, as well as a fancy targeting computer. I have no clue what targeting computers will do in MWO, very much a wait-and-see deal.
Barely the Same Mech:
JM6-D3:
The Jagermech III is basically Victor Steiner-Davion’s “throw money at it to make it better” project aimed at turning the Jagermech from a glorified Gepardpanzer into a respectable and dangerous violent combat robot. It’s got dual PPCs, dual UAC/2s, Endo Steel, FF armor, twelve double heat sinks, and a massive 350XL engine. Here’s a quick-‘n-dirty refit of a K2 into something resembling this bot.
Wait what about the JM7- series?
There’s actually a whole suite of Jagermech variants that are five tons heavier than the normal JM6- series. These guys aren’t likely to be in MWO for quite some time, as they all feature FedCom Civil War gear.
Customization
The Jagermech is ripe for customization along the lines of the Cataphract-4X. Almost every JM6- has the capacity to go for quad AC/2s, or for the bold, quad AC/5s. Other prime customizations include cramming an AC/20 into each arm, an impossibility on the CTF-4X because of its lower arm actuators.
For the absolutely insane, the JM6-A could fit paired AC/20s or Gauss alongside dual SRM-6s to melt faces with a volley ever-so-close to the infamous Splatapult. The best part is that the AC/20 Jagermech can fit an extralight engine, because the guns are in the arms!
Other, less ambitious modifications include things like dual AC/10s, or maybe even quad machine guns, to make awesome noises while your teammates break down and cry at your foolishness.
Observations
While I'm willing to hold off on baseless speculation about the targeting computer, the existence of rocket launchers in Battletech points to a possible change (sort-of-buff) to SRMs: guidance. Rocket launchers fire totally unguided projectiles, whereas an SRM launcher fires a missile. Missiles are guided projectiles. Personally, I'd like to see SRMs be wire-guided, or have a lockon with very weak homing, so as to not displace SSRMs.
THE GUN IS GOOD
The Jagermech doesn’t have the best reputation about it, but I think it’ll be a fun addition to the lineup as a ballistics boat. It's kind of a shame that the Exterminator is mainly an energy boat, I could have made more ZARDOZ-based jokes here!
Edited by Wales Grey, 18 February 2013 - 01:53 PM.
