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Kinda bored, so here is this thread! What are your favorite mechs in each weight category? For me:

IS:
light: Raven
medium: Hatchetman
heavy: Catapult
assault: Atlas

Clan:
light: Adder
medium: Nova
heavy: Timber Wolf
assault: Dire Wolf

I've never played the board game... but I've played all the video games, and read a good dozen of the books

So...

IS:
Light - Wolfhound
Medium - Centurion
Heavy - Rifleman
Assault - Fafnir

Clan:
Light - Puma
Medium - Shadow Cat
Heavy - Summoner
Assault - Dire Wolf

Inner Sphere:

Light: Gurkha
Medium: Lynx
Heavy: Gallowglas
Assault: Nightstar


Clan:
Light: Cougar
Medium: Nobori-Nin
Heavy: Nova Cat
Assault: Warhawk

Its been so long since I played BT its hard to say. However, I tended to use my own designs more often that not.

You have a stone rhino in your avatar...

And Horst, the Puma's actual name is Adder. */clanner rage*

Surtur wrote:You have a stone rhino in your avatar...

And Horst, the Puma's actual name is Adder. */clanner rage*

heh...

Thats what I get for only reading select novels

Hey, I should get credit for summoner and dire wolf.

...mmm...fine. :p

IS:
Light: UrbanMech 40k [I put a MRM-40 and an ERSL on it, Brutal, just Brutal]
Medium: Shadowhawk
Heavy: Rifleman 3N [With the two ML out the Rear]
Assault: Mauler [I Un-ER The Large Lasers]

Clan:
Light: Koshi
Medium: Hunchback IIC
Heavy: Vulture V-4 [6x SSRM-6, 6xERSL]
Assault: Dire Wolf Gunstar [4x Ultra-10]

Surtur wrote:You have a stone rhino in your avatar...

Yes, looks wise its probably my favorite...but only fari/decent in stock configuration.

2 gauss and 6 heavy lasers is only decent for you?

Surtur wrote:2 gauss and 6 heavy lasers is only decent for you?

That's the Large Pulse variant in the avatar.

And both variants are sub par. The Pulse laser variant has minor heat issues, a slight armor deficiency for a Clan Assault, and completely unnecessary jump jets.

The Heavy laser version lacks accuracy (because of Heavy Lasers), has heat issues, and looks far sillier.

I love what great things can be done with a Locust 2c.
The run around behind and then 8 extra range small lasers in the thin spot!
Good times.
Also a fan of the catapult, just for what it would look like firing all those rockets.

IS
Light Valkyrie
Medium Centurion
Heavy Warhammer
Assault Victor

We usually only play 3025 era, and mostly stock mechs, and no one in our group likes Clan mechs or tech, so I don't have a list there.

Cruentus wrote:and mostly stock mechs,

Warning: Battletech Rant!

See, I'm big into stock mechs myself. I mean, if manufacturing mechs is such a big deal, how the hell is everyone running around with one off prototypes? Is it only that mass production is the issue but any hillbilly with an arc wielder, crane and materials can build a custom assault mech (with flame paintjob!)? I like having the mech design feature so I can modify existing models.

Back on topic:
Locust
Phoenix Hawk (the one w/o jumpjets and all energy weapons)
Archer
Zeus

robertsjf wrote:

Cruentus wrote:and mostly stock mechs,

Warning: Battletech Rant!

See, I'm big into stock mechs myself. I mean, if manufacturing mechs is such a big deal, how the hell is everyone running around with one off prototypes? Is it only that mass production is the issue but any hillbilly with an arc wielder, crane and materials can build a custom assault mech (with flame paintjob!)? I like having the mech design feature so I can modify existing models.

Pretty much yes. Im sure in the tighter regulated House militias its less common, but someone playing an independent or merc then its very possible.

I started when Battletech first came out, and the background was all about the loss of the Star League Technology, how everyone was barely capable of keeping mechs operational, and tech was being discovered here and there (or scientific advancements were made).

Then when FASA (and now others) forwarded the timeline, the clans arrived, etc., then it was basically a free for all, and the 'husbanding of resources, mechs as heirlooms, better to retreat than lose mechs' soon disappeared. I miss the almost dark ages feel of the game.

I was fine with the minor mech variants in 3025, and as mentioned, the ability to modify mechs using the mech creation rules. But it is fairly easy to optimize the tonnage v speed v armor v weapons to make effective mechs with little downside.

Most of my fun was had piloting riflemen, warhammers, and other funky mechs with serious heat issues, and being effective with them. Once I could run/jump and fire everything with no heat problems, I started to lose interest. Ymmv.

Mattlov wrote:

Surtur wrote:2 gauss and 6 heavy lasers is only decent for you?

That's the Large Pulse variant in the avatar.

And both variants are sub par. The Pulse laser variant has minor heat issues, a slight armor deficiency for a Clan Assault, and completely unnecessary jump jets.

The Heavy laser version lacks accuracy (because of Heavy Lasers), has heat issues, and looks far sillier.

*monotone* Yes, having to shoot at a gunnery skill akin to innersphere, oh the humanity.

Surtur wrote:

Mattlov wrote:

Surtur wrote:2 gauss and 6 heavy lasers is only decent for you?

That's the Large Pulse variant in the avatar.

And both variants are sub par. The Pulse laser variant has minor heat issues, a slight armor deficiency for a Clan Assault, and completely unnecessary jump jets.

The Heavy laser version lacks accuracy (because of Heavy Lasers), has heat issues, and looks far sillier.

*monotone* Yes, having to shoot at a gunnery skill akin to innersphere, oh the humanity.

For a Clanner? Yeah, that is a problem. Your enemies aren't going to go easy on you, so why should you willingly use a short range, low-accuracy weapon on a slow platform? It is a silly configuration.

Locust

CT GAMER wrote:Locust

WOOP! WOOP! WOOP! WOOP! WOOP! WOOP! WOOP!
[Bonus point if you can name what book this quote if from]

Decision at Thunder Rift?

Only have ever liked three mechs enough to always take.. Warhammer II , Highlander, and black knight

Can we now derail this thread with a "What would you have done with an extra half ton of space if the original B-tech allowed for half ton slots of MG ammo from the beginning?" discussion?

Locust: yet another mg! Mount it right on top!

robertsjf wrote:Can we now derail this thread with a "What would you have done with an extra half ton of space if the original B-tech allowed for half ton slots of MG ammo from the beginning?" discussion?

Locust: yet another mg! Mount it right on top!

Yes that is what we usaly did. Exept for the Warhammer, we would then replace the 2x SL. and the 2x ML and the 1/2 tone of MG Ammo with 7x MGs

Interesting! So once they're inside your ppc minimum range you switch to guns and sandblast their armor. No heat issues there!

robertsjf wrote:Interesting! So once they're inside your ppc minimum range you switch to guns and sandblast their armor. No heat issues there!

With the newest edition i chanhed it to two Heavy PPC and changed 3 of the MGs to AMS system

I played BT back when you had all those Robtch/macross rip-off designs (what are they called now? "unmentionables"? ).

I have a fondness for all those mechs designs/figs(Warhammer, locust, etc.)

I still have my coppy of BattleDroids layng around some place allong with my copy of CritterTech

CT GAMER wrote:I played BT back when you had all those Robtch/macross rip-off designs (what are they called now? "unmentionables"? ).

"Unseen" and I believe the term used is "questionably licensed" not "ripped-off"

I got into it when the 2nd ed box set came out so predominantly played 3025. from a fluff perspective yes I get that the clans went away with all the cool toys and had hundreds of years to refine them, but as the tech readouts flooded in 3050, 3055, 3056/57/58 it became unbalancing.

Anyway my pics (all 3025 base tech):

Light
Locust (rip out the MG and run it with all med lasers)

Medium
Griffin the workhorse, dancing around with jumpjets my alt medium choice would be a Centurion, the lyran alliance variant

Heavy
Marauder aka the hotplate

Assault
These were fun time mechs. they could take a savage beating and keep going.

my trio of robot lovin would be Battlemaster, Zeus and the Atlas