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Hey guys, I've played a few games of Battletech, but I've only ever used Battlemechs. I was reading the section in Total Warfare about Protomechs and they sound pretty interesting. I was wondering though, is there really a point to using Protomechs rather than Battlemechs? They seem to be described as sort of a poor man's mech, so I was wondering if they have any big advantages or disadvantages when it comes to gameplay (besides that they are described as cheaper in the background fiction). I noticed that they don't gain heat and thought that that might be the main advantage, but obviously they are also more fragile and don't hit as hard as full-sized Battlemechs (although this seems like it would be somewhat made up for by being deployed in points of 5).

So anyway, I was just wondering if anyone uses them and what they are good for, and if there are any particular models that are solid or if there are some that are better to stay away from.

Thanks!

Hordini

Well for starters you get 5 for every 1 'Mech, and some of the larger ones are fast, difficult to kill and mount decent sized weaponry.

Given that it's five units moving about independently of one (think of them as a squad of giant Elementals), they have a lot of advantages.

I think Protomechs were the next step after battlemechs while a little more fragile were fun to play and easy to use and really speed the game up.

I liked them. Would also like to see them become more wide spread.

I don't think they will. They were a last-ditch attempt by Clan Smoke Jaguar to use limited resources as their Clan was being wiped out. Since then a number of Clans have attempted to use them, but generally saw the experiments as failures.

Few use them to any great degree now.

I hate them, and hate the imagery of them.

Battle armour is a far better concept.

I mostly agree with Orlanth. They didn't really seem to fit well in the game universe, but had a good reason to exist in the fluff. In the end, I feel Battle Armors are more effective since they are far easier to transport.

Also, I HATE that I can successfully roll a hit against a Proto, and one of their hit locations is a "Near Miss." I DESPISE that.

That being said, if they are used correctly, they can be very powerful, and they work very well with Clan Armor units. The Protos take some fire that might go into the fragile tanks instead, so it provides some mutual survivability.

The few times I've played a Clan force, I mostly used Protomechs. I keep waiting for the Inner Sphere to start producing something similar. In the TechManual there is a story about an IS company working on a Protomech equivalent.

I've used them...Not too impressed by them. Then again, the universe stopped at 3058 for me *shrugs*

Cool, thanks for the replies guys! Sounds like they can be pretty effective if used correctly.

I just thought some of the Protomech background was kind of interesting and thought that it might be cool to pick up a point or two for some games, just to try them out. It seems like everyone pretty much agrees that most of the Protomech minis are unfortunately pants, but I thought the Roc and the Centaur models weren't that bad, and they might be something cool to use for scenarios or something like that.

It also might be cool to do a small Clan force based on one of the poorer Clans that use more Protomechs, and have some mechs and/or battle armor with a point or two of Protos mixed in for variety.

The problem with them is that you have to play them very well just to make them worth the BV. You play them averagely and they're a waste. You play them badly and they're a joke.

Don't bother with the low end, they're just too fragile to do much good. The upper end ones I've seen played decently from time to time but I've watched them get wiped out even more often.

They've really taken some steps to cut into the Mech supremacy of CBT but make no mistake Mechs still rule the show.

Yeah, well to be honest, I'm really glad that Mechs still rule the show. That was one of the main things that turned me off of Mechwarrior: Dark Age was that lots of people were taking armies that didn't even have a single Mech in them, and that really wasn't the game I wanted to play.

But anyway, back to Protomechs - Which ones are the low end ones and which ones are the high end ones?

Mass, I wouldn't bother with anything under 5 tons.

Hordini wrote:Yeah, well to be honest, I'm really glad that Mechs still rule the show. That was one of the main things that turned me off of Mechwarrior: Dark Age was that lots of people were taking armies that didn't even have a single Mech in them, and that really wasn't the game I wanted to play.

But anyway, back to Protomechs - Which ones are the low end ones and which ones are the high end ones?

As in best and worst?

Worst BY FAR is the Erinyes. It is a one ton Elemental with less firepower, speed, and armor. It is so bad it takes the worst three spots on the chart.

The "generic" and still very good Proto is the Roc. Basically running around at 5/8 (I think) with some form of Clan Medium laser (there are multiple variants) it is a good design. It blends armor, speed and firepower into a pretty good frame. Doesn't jump though, which is the primary drawback.

I'm not really up to speed on some of the newest designs, I don't use the old ones, let alone the new ones.

You can get a 9-ton Minotaur with an LB 2X on it though. May not sound good, but a couple Points of them is a pretty hellacious air defense unit.

skyth wrote:I've used them...Not too impressed by them. Then again, the universe stopped at 3058 for me *shrugs*

Not counting the one game I played about 2 years ago, the last time I played BT regularly 3058 was current year, top of the line tech.