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If you get us a 'mech list, we can probably help you with what armor would best complement it.

Good point.

Catapult C1 (the dual LRM 20 one)
Warhammer 6R
Wolverine
Locust

I have plenty of other mechs to use but this is the basis for the lance

From the BattleTech Forums:

Cubby wrote:

Kerfuffin(925) wrote:It’s been mentioned that house specific things don’t sell as well. The merc ‘specific’ lances work well cause they can more or less be used by anyone.

"House-specific things don't sell as well" is a bit of a misnomer. Depends what the things are.

Best I can say is that we're very, very aware of the desire for and potential marketing purposes of faction forcepacks.

Faction-specific Force Packs? Yes, please!

 Ghaz wrote:
From the BattleTech Forums:

Cubby wrote:

Kerfuffin(925) wrote:It’s been mentioned that house specific things don’t sell as well. The merc ‘specific’ lances work well cause they can more or less be used by anyone.

"House-specific things don't sell as well" is a bit of a misnomer. Depends what the things are.

Best I can say is that we're very, very aware of the desire for and potential marketing purposes of faction forcepacks.

Faction-specific Force Packs? Yes, please!

Even more if they are providing Faction-specific variants of models they have already released.

Faction specific boxes would be cool, imagine a Lyran one with an Atlas/Zeus/Banshee/Commando with alternate poses.

I'd love to see some era specific ones too. I'd kill for some plastic Black Wolves.

plastic faction packs, sweet, Davion autocannon lance coming is my guess.

Steiner with a new Atlas variant.

Cappellans will likely have the cataphract

Hatamoto Chi for Karita

not sure on the rest, Tanks for Taurians maybe?

There's no guarantee that they're coming, just that they're aware of the desire for and the potential marketing purposes of those Force Packs (they would be an ideal product to release alongside the appropriate Force Manuals).

 Formosa wrote:
Cappellans will likely have the cataphract

We already have the Cataphract in the Heavy Battle Lance Force Pack. There's plenty of other Capellan 'Mechs that we need released (e.g., Emperor, Helios, Huron Warrior, Lao Hu, Lightning, Men Shen, Osprey, Sha Yu, Shen Yi, Snake, Thunder, Ti Ts'ang, Tian-zong, Trebaruna and Yu Huang just to name some of the more notable ‘Mechs released before 3100).

 Ghaz wrote:
There's no guarantee that they're coming, just that they're aware of the desire for and the potential marketing purposes of those Force Packs (they would be an ideal product to release alongside the appropriate Force Manuals).

 Formosa wrote:
Cappellans will likely have the cataphract

We already have the Cataphract in the Heavy Battle Lance Force Pack. There's plenty of other Capellan 'Mechs that we need released (e.g., Emperor, Helios, Huron Warrior, Lao Hu, Lightning, Men Shen, Osprey, Sha Yu, Shen Yi, Snake, Thunder, Ti Ts'ang, Tian-zong, Trebaruna and Yu Huang just to name some of the more notable ‘Mechs released before 3100).

Huron warrior needs a new one badly, so badly.

Would be cool to get faction packs for those special mechs that sorta define a faction, probably wouldn’t ad that many new boxes ether.

along Ghaz's point-faction specific mechs (not counting vehicle loadouts like the RAC manteuffel VS the AC20 or heavy gauss variants)

Kurita-komodo, hatamoto-chi, daikyu, grand dragon, sunder, avatar, akuma, catapult K2, no-dachi

Davion-templar, argus, hellspawn, RAC jagermech, lynx, nightsky, uziel

Lyran-fafnir, hauptmann, blitzkrieg, barghest, berserker, dragonfire, nighthawk

etc....

 Ghaz wrote:
There's no guarantee that they're coming, just that they're aware of the desire for and the potential marketing purposes of those Force Packs (they would be an ideal product to release alongside the appropriate Force Manuals).

 Formosa wrote:
Cappellans will likely have the cataphract

We already have the Cataphract in the Heavy Battle Lance Force Pack. There's plenty of other Capellan 'Mechs that we need released (e.g., Emperor, Helios, Huron Warrior, Lao Hu, Lightning, Men Shen, Osprey, Sha Yu, Shen Yi, Snake, Thunder, Ti Ts'ang, Tian-zong, Trebaruna and Yu Huang just to name some of the more notable ‘Mechs released before 3100).

Oh I missed that, problem with this game in the UK is it is hard to find anything and when you do the places that stock it do not have all the boxes so a lot of stuff just gets missed by me, I will look for that pack, thanks.

 aphyon wrote:
catapult K2, nightsky, .

The CPLT-K2K will be available in the forthcoming Gray Death Legion Force Pack, while the Nightsky is available NOW in the Kell Hounds Striker Lance Force Pack (I got mine in the mail yesterday and it is a beautiful sculpt).

 Formosa wrote:
Good point.

Catapult C1 (the dual LRM 20 one)
Warhammer 6R
Wolverine
Locust

I have plenty of other mechs to use but this is the basis for the lance

So we're looking at 3025 then?

The LRM-20 version of the Catapult seems to be the C4 version. Heaven help it if someone gets close; 2 S. Lasers will struggle even against a Stinger or Hussar. Base model Warhammer works well; nicely balanced and versatile 'mech.

Which Wolverine and Locust variants?


Your base unit speed is 64 kph, so the vehicles should be at least that fast. C4 Catapult has the long-range fire covered reasonably well. Warhammer and Wolverine are decent brawlers. Locust is a bit light for a skirmisher, but it is what it is.

So are we looking at a combined arms company then? Mech lance, vehicle platoon, and infantry platoon?

The 'mech force will leave even jump and motorized infantry behind fairly quickly, so I'm guessing you're going to use foot infantry and some form of transport. This can go from little 10-ton APCs carrying a squad each, VTOLs (read: Helicopters), up to the 45-ton Goblin 'medium tank' (really an Infantry Fighting Vehicle for one squad) and the Maxim Heavy Hover Transport (one vehicle holding the full platoon).

For the armor... fast hovertanks can deliver impressive firepower and speed, but are pretty useless in any sort of close terrain. But they could be an impressive support squad to back up the Locust; stuff like the Saracen/Saladin/Scimitar trio, or the Drillison and Condor heavy hovertanks. For fast tanks with full off-road capabilities - i.e. tracks - you're pretty much stuck with the Galleon, and it's slower than the Locust and no better armed.

If you're looking for something to back up the main force, you have the Bulldog, Manticore, Rommel, and Patton heavy tanks. All are capable of keeping up with the Warhammer, all have decent(ish) armor, and bring varying degrees of firepower to the job.

Left up to my own devices? For fast armor I'd take a pair of Saracens (8/12, AC/20 assault guns) backed up by a single Saladin (same chassis; AC 5 and 2 SRM-2) and Scimitar (LRM-10 and 3 SRM-2). Nothing like distracting someone with a Locust and a pair of long-range hovertanks, and having a pair of Saracens sneak up behind them...

For heavy tanks, a pair of Pattons (the most heavily armored, 4/6, with LRM-5 and AC/10) backed up by a Rommel (same speed, LRM-5 and AC/20) and a Manticore (same speed, PPC, LRM-10, SRM-6, and ML). They'd tend to stick around the Warhammer and keep the lot between the enemy and the Catapult. Let the Locust and the Wolverine slide out to a flank when possible.

For the infantry transports I'd either go cheap and fast with 4 Ferret Scout VTOLs (15/23, virtually no armor, and a MG it has no business using); take a Maxim (8/12 and a bunch of light weapons for infantry support) and back it up with some support vehicles - MASH unit, Engineering vehicle, and Coolant truck; or go heavy with four Goblins - 3 with Large Lasers, one with SRMs.

Unless you expect to fight infantry on infantry, go SRM infantry all the way. If you expect to fight infantry, go MGs. But in general, let the vehicles and mechs fight infantry; use your infantry to ambush vehicles and light mechs. If your infantry is just there to provide site security for your techs and noncombatants, take cheap wheeled APCs (6/9, not much armor, 2 MGs) and rifles.

(And I'd go with the 1E Locust and the 6M Wolverine...)

 Ghaz wrote:

 aphyon wrote:
catapult K2, nightsky, .

The CPLT-K2K will be available in the forthcoming Gray Death Legion Force Pack, while the Nightsky is available NOW in the Kell Hounds Striker Lance Force Pack (I got mine in the mail yesterday and it is a beautiful sculpt).

Well 2 is a start, so replace the K2 with a kintaro and the nightsky with the cestus. the point remains that there is a space for faction specific boxes.

Why faction specific boxes?

Thats just asking for SKU bloat and then the company and all game stores getting stuck with the least favorite factions sitting and collecting dust. Stores and distributors will stop ordering everything that comes out and then hurt the game more. Or they will only make certain factions as they know the smaller faction favorites will be purchased less, and then you will have people screaming why down they have the Tangerine Squirrel faction striker lance??? The only ones who would buy them are the ones getting 1 of each which is never enough to support a game system.

I could see them selling sets like the AGOAC with time period mechs, but I'd hope it would come with 8-10 Mechs of that era and possibly some era specific battle map or buildings.

 Theophony wrote:
Why faction specific boxes?

Thats just asking for SKU bloat and then the company and all game stores getting stuck with the least favorite factions sitting and collecting dust. Stores and distributors will stop ordering everything that comes out and then hurt the game more. Or they will only make certain factions as they know the smaller faction favorites will be purchased less, and then you will have people screaming why down they have the Tangerine Squirrel faction striker lance??? The only ones who would buy them are the ones getting 1 of each which is never enough to support a game system.

I could see them selling sets like the AGOAC with time period mechs, but I'd hope it would come with 8-10 Mechs of that era and possibly some era specific battle map or buildings.

That depends too much on what are in those boxes. It's only sku bloat if they are all like the Merc boxes where half the 'Mechs, or less, are new sculpts.

However, if they are full of new 'Mechs, or at least notable House variants of classic 'Mechs, then it isn't really sku bloat as you're offering new options for players to have. There are hundreds of different chassis of 'Mechs, to say nothing of distinctive variants of those 'Mechs, that to have most of them they are going to have a large number of skus.

 Vulcan wrote:

 Formosa wrote:
Good point.

Catapult C1 (the dual LRM 20 one)
Warhammer 6R
Wolverine
Locust

I have plenty of other mechs to use but this is the basis for the lance

So we're looking at 3025 then?

The LRM-20 version of the Catapult seems to be the C4 version. Heaven help it if someone gets close; 2 S. Lasers will struggle even against a Stinger or Hussar. Base model Warhammer works well; nicely balanced and versatile 'mech.

Which Wolverine and Locust variants?


Your base unit speed is 64 kph, so the vehicles should be at least that fast. C4 Catapult has the long-range fire covered reasonably well. Warhammer and Wolverine are decent brawlers. Locust is a bit light for a skirmisher, but it is what it is.

So are we looking at a combined arms company then? Mech lance, vehicle platoon, and infantry platoon?

The 'mech force will leave even jump and motorized infantry behind fairly quickly, so I'm guessing you're going to use foot infantry and some form of transport. This can go from little 10-ton APCs carrying a squad each, VTOLs (read: Helicopters), up to the 45-ton Goblin 'medium tank' (really an Infantry Fighting Vehicle for one squad) and the Maxim Heavy Hover Transport (one vehicle holding the full platoon).

For the armor... fast hovertanks can deliver impressive firepower and speed, but are pretty useless in any sort of close terrain. But they could be an impressive support squad to back up the Locust; stuff like the Saracen/Saladin/Scimitar trio, or the Drillison and Condor heavy hovertanks. For fast tanks with full off-road capabilities - i.e. tracks - you're pretty much stuck with the Galleon, and it's slower than the Locust and no better armed.

If you're looking for something to back up the main force, you have the Bulldog, Manticore, Rommel, and Patton heavy tanks. All are capable of keeping up with the Warhammer, all have decent(ish) armor, and bring varying degrees of firepower to the job.

Left up to my own devices? For fast armor I'd take a pair of Saracens (8/12, AC/20 assault guns) backed up by a single Saladin (same chassis; AC 5 and 2 SRM-2) and Scimitar (LRM-10 and 3 SRM-2). Nothing like distracting someone with a Locust and a pair of long-range hovertanks, and having a pair of Saracens sneak up behind them...

For heavy tanks, a pair of Pattons (the most heavily armored, 4/6, with LRM-5 and AC/10) backed up by a Rommel (same speed, LRM-5 and AC/20) and a Manticore (same speed, PPC, LRM-10, SRM-6, and ML). They'd tend to stick around the Warhammer and keep the lot between the enemy and the Catapult. Let the Locust and the Wolverine slide out to a flank when possible.

For the infantry transports I'd either go cheap and fast with 4 Ferret Scout VTOLs (15/23, virtually no armor, and a MG it has no business using); take a Maxim (8/12 and a bunch of light weapons for infantry support) and back it up with some support vehicles - MASH unit, Engineering vehicle, and Coolant truck; or go heavy with four Goblins - 3 with Large Lasers, one with SRMs.

Unless you expect to fight infantry on infantry, go SRM infantry all the way. If you expect to fight infantry, go MGs. But in general, let the vehicles and mechs fight infantry; use your infantry to ambush vehicles and light mechs. If your infantry is just there to provide site security for your techs and noncombatants, take cheap wheeled APCs (6/9, not much armor, 2 MGs) and rifles.

(And I'd go with the 1E Locust and the 6M Wolverine...)

Thank you very much for this Vulcan it is exactly what I wanted, I will do exactly as you suggest and grab those units.

 Vulcan wrote:
The LRM-20 version of the Catapult seems to be the C4 version. Heaven help it if someone gets close; 2 S. Lasers will struggle even against a Stinger or Hussar.

Yeah, the C1 and the K2 are superior options in my opinion. If you want LRM-20s, the Archer is a superior choice both in Armor and Ammo supply.

 Vulcan wrote:
Base model Warhammer works well; nicely balanced and versatile 'mech.

The 6R works well as a sniper, and then a nasty brawler up close. Armor and Heat Sinks could be better, but is still mostly solid. The 6D is more reliable, has no ammo and more armor, but isn't as versatile in firepower. The 6K is a little more reliable on Heat Sinks, just removing the Machine Guns.

 Vulcan wrote:
Which Wolverine and Locust variants?

I recommend the 6M for the Wolverine. You lose a little range by losing the AC/5, but the Large Laser does more damage and doesn't need Ammo. You gain a 2nd Medium Laser as well, so providing more backup firepower.

For Locust variant, that's a hard one. The 1E drops the Ammo, but has all of its firepower in its fragile Arms (good Armor for a 20 tonner, but it's still a 20 tonner). 1V is a good option if you know you will be going against Conventional Infantry in the field, but the 1S has a bit more firepower (and less Armor) with 2 SRM-2s.

 Vulcan wrote:
Your base unit speed is 64 kph, so the vehicles should be at least that fast. C4 Catapult has the long-range fire covered reasonably well. Warhammer and Wolverine are decent brawlers. Locust is a bit light for a skirmisher, but it is what it is.

The Wolverine will be the Skirmisher, while the Locust is a Scout. The Locust should be providing Spotting for the Catapult's Indirect Fire and shiving savaged targets.

 Vulcan wrote:
Left up to my own devices? For fast armor I'd take a pair of Saracens (8/12, AC/20 assault guns) backed up by a single Saladin (same chassis; AC 5 and 2 SRM-2) and Scimitar (LRM-10 and 3 SRM-2). Nothing like distracting someone with a Locust and a pair of long-range hovertanks, and having a pair of Saracens sneak up behind them...

A good and effective list, if you're allowed to have them. Being Kuritan, they're not the most available, but very effective. However, I highly recommend pairing up your tanks when and where you can. Besides the advantages of logistics, it helps out by having a spare for when things get... fragile.

 Vulcan wrote:
For heavy tanks, a pair of Pattons (the most heavily armored, 4/6, with LRM-5 and AC/10) backed up by a Rommel (same speed, LRM-5 and AC/20) and a Manticore (same speed, PPC, LRM-10, SRM-6, and ML). They'd tend to stick around the Warhammer and keep the lot between the enemy and the Catapult. Let the Locust and the Wolverine slide out to a flank when possible.

I'd swap the Rommel for a second Manticore. I've fought against them a lot, and it's combo of weaponry is incredibly effective, while the Rommel is too fragile till you can get your hands on the Gauss or Artillery variants.

As an alternative list, a pair of J. Edgars for Scouting and either Manticores for heavy lifting, or if you want to go a little risky, LRM Carriers. They might make your Catapult seem superfluous, though.

Yeah, if I'm doing a combined arms company I prefer to use vehicles for indirect support. Hunter light tanks (5/8 tracked LRM 20) or Scimitars are good mobile support. For more defensive actions, LRM carriers can't be beat. SturmFeurs are nice too, and have decent armor, but lack speed to keep up with anything other than slow assault mechs.

The LRM-10s and PPCs on the Manticores are also useful in the fire support role too.

I agree on the preferred Catapult and Warhammer variants (especially the K1 Catapult), but the OP said he already had those locked down, so...

Wolverine 6M is just plain unfair. It has a decent chance of beating the Warhammer 6R, assuming equal pilot and player skills.

Locusts... well, if it gets hit it's pretty well screwed, so might as well go big firepower. YMMV.

The fun part of that trio of hovertanks is that they are variants on the same chassis; designed with interchangable parts for easy logistics. The Scimitar and Saladin especially are identical except for the weapon loadout. Saracens are a little different; a little more heavily armored (no turret) but an 8/12 AC/20 is well worth the effort.

As far as I can tell, the Rommel and Manticore have very similar armor (looking at the vehicle sheets). I'd have to dig out the relevant TROs to get exact armor numbers...

There's an artillery Rommel? I suppose one could mount a Thumper with minimal alterations; I don't think you can quite sneak in a Sniper without a major redesign and rebuild.

There is that; split the armor platoon and cover both the fast strike and heavy support roles. You wind up not doing either of them as well, but cover both options reasonably. The J.Edgars are nice little fast hovertanks, but again don't bring much more firepower than the Locust does itself. That's why I advocated for the slower but more heavily armed medium to heavy hovertanks.

And if you're going to go that route, a pair of Manticores are definitely the way to go. Similar weapons loadout to the Warhammer, but with LRMs to back up the Catapult.


What's your thought on infantry and APCs/IFVs at this level of unit building? Worth the effort to go big like the Goblin or Maxim? Fast VTOLs for maximum mobility? Or keep it cheap and use APCs? Is it worth accepting the loss of operational unit mobility to use motorized infantry and get access to assault guns?

 Charistoph wrote:

 Theophony wrote:
Why faction specific boxes?

Thats just asking for SKU bloat and then the company and all game stores getting stuck with the least favorite factions sitting and collecting dust. Stores and distributors will stop ordering everything that comes out and then hurt the game more. Or they will only make certain factions as they know the smaller faction favorites will be purchased less, and then you will have people screaming why down they have the Tangerine Squirrel faction striker lance??? The only ones who would buy them are the ones getting 1 of each which is never enough to support a game system.

I could see them selling sets like the AGOAC with time period mechs, but I'd hope it would come with 8-10 Mechs of that era and possibly some era specific battle map or buildings.

That depends too much on what are in those boxes. It's only sku bloat if they are all like the Merc boxes where half the 'Mechs, or less, are new sculpts.

However, if they are full of new 'Mechs, or at least notable House variants of classic 'Mechs, then it isn't really sku bloat as you're offering new options for players to have. There are hundreds of different chassis of 'Mechs, to say nothing of distinctive variants of those 'Mechs, that to have most of them they are going to have a large number of skus.

Indeed if you stick any combination of 4 mechs from the ones Ghaz or myself listed i do not see them having any trouble selling them as faction boxes. especially since they are all pretty much mechs that CGL have not released yet.

Good news for fans of the Smoked Kitties from the BattleTech Forums

Adrian Gideon wrote:

tassa_kay wrote:A couple of things I thought of that I'd LOVE to see:

- A PDF series, one for each Great House, detailing the proto-states that preceded the respective Houses. Kinda like the United Hindu Collective that was covered in the Age of War book. As a Capellan fan, I'd LOVE to get more insight into the Capellan Zone factions, especially the ones that we have little to no information on, like the Sian Commonwealth/Supremacy.

- A similar PDF series detailing the Clans that didn't make the Field Manuals due to being dead or simply not covered: the Wolverines, the Widowmakers, the Mongooses, the Burrocks and the Jaguars (this would be a great excuse to clean up the contradictory mess that is their FASA-era force listings).

Jaguar force listing will be cleaned up in a future Force Manual. But it will involve a pinch of retconning.

Cool cool, another vague hint at a product that we'll wait forever for an update on and then will spring up one day without warning. I really hope once the KS is up CGL can give us any kind of roadmap for the year. I'm excited about the narrow window of new stuff we know about and becoming increasingly frustrated by their inability to communicate on anything else. Might be easier if any of their web presence wasn't out of date garbage and a record of actual news could be posted.

 Prometheum5 wrote:
Cool cool, another vague hint at a product that we'll wait forever for an update on and then will spring up one day without warning. I really hope once the KS is up CGL can give us any kind of roadmap for the year. I'm excited about the narrow window of new stuff we know about and becoming increasingly frustrated by their inability to communicate on anything else. Might be easier if any of their web presence wasn't out of date garbage and a record of actual news could be posted.

It's a part of the Force Manual line first mentioned HERE. The first three will be the revamping of the Combat Manuals into Force Manual: Kurita and Force Manual: Mercenaries and the new Force Manual: Davion. This is our first hint of anything beyond those three and that they're doing a 'dead' faction in the Smoke Jaguars.

 Ghaz wrote:

 Prometheum5 wrote:
Cool cool, another vague hint at a product that we'll wait forever for an update on and then will spring up one day without warning. I really hope once the KS is up CGL can give us any kind of roadmap for the year. I'm excited about the narrow window of new stuff we know about and becoming increasingly frustrated by their inability to communicate on anything else. Might be easier if any of their web presence wasn't out of date garbage and a record of actual news could be posted.

It's a part of the Force Manual line first mentioned HERE. The first three will be the revamping of the Combat Manuals into Force Manual: Kurita and Force Manual: Mercenaries and the new Force Manual: Davion. This is our first hint of anything beyond those three and that they're doing a 'dead' faction in the Smoke Jaguars.

I know that, we've gotten the same vague 'working on them' update for the revised Force Manuals for ages and now we've got some tease of another one being added to the queue. And you'd only know that if you are following the forum threads or maybe somebody mentioned it once on a podcast.

From the BattleTech Forums:

Cubby wrote:

pokefan548 wrote:Ooooh, excellent! Very much looking forward to finally getting some conclusion to the Forgotten Worlds series. Not the end of the world if it slips, but now I just can't wait for Friday.

Obligatory monthly check-in: I presume the Force Manuals are still chugging along nicely?

As far as I know.

Blanket statement: we're about to re-work the product calendar for the near and mid-term future over the next few days, so I may (may!) have something more comprehensive to share in the coming weeks. It's not that we don't know what's next--we have many many many plates spinning--but we're going to move some deck chairs, so not too much to share at this time. It feels like last April's calendar-dump was well-received, so I may plan something like that, but I need to be careful not to take away from, or more likely, be drowned out by the Mercs KS launch.

So sit tight, paint those Clan Invasion KS minis I know you haven't finished (me too), and rest assured that we'll tell you know what we can when we can.

I believe that covers both of your comments.

EDIT: Mercenaries Kickstarter Preview 6 and Escape From Jardine, (Forgotten Worlds, Part Three) are now available

https://bg.battletech.com/news/mercenaries-kickstarter-preview-updates-on-launch-party-announcement-and-more/

 Vulcan wrote:
There's an artillery Rommel? I suppose one could mount a Thumper with minimal alterations; I don't think you can quite sneak in a Sniper without a major redesign and rebuild.

It's a later variant called the Howitzer variant. It carries the Long Tom Artillery Cannon. It even has its own model for it at Ironwind Metals.

But either way, the Rommel has low Armor when compared to the Patton, but really needs to be closer than the Patton in its initial build. When you get Gauss and Artillery Cannons, it's a whole different story.

 Vulcan wrote:
What's your thought on infantry and APCs/IFVs at this level of unit building? Worth the effort to go big like the Goblin or Maxim? Fast VTOLs for maximum mobility? Or keep it cheap and use APCs? Is it worth accepting the loss of operational unit mobility to use motorized infantry and get access to assault guns?

Let me start off with the caveat that I haven't used Infantry very much, just faced them a lot.

A lot depends on what you want the Infantry to do and where you expect to have them deployed. If you're looking for Spotters, Jump Infantry in VTOLs are the way to go, as Jumping Infantry can deploy without needing the VTOL to land (or special rules).

The biggest problem with mechanizing any Infantry is that dropping them off leaves them completely vulnerable, unable to even Shoot of Spot.

The more powerful the IFVs, the more the Infantry is supporting the Vehicle, than Vehicle supporting the Infantry. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but most Infantry are SLOW, even the Motorized and Mechanized ones (though, the latter can often keep up with an Atlas). This means that once they Dismount to do anything, they're going to be staying in that neighborhood.

Field Guns can be nasty, though, even more nasty when you're able to use Hidden Rules and park AC/10s and 20s in a "no go" zone. The biggest downsides being that as you lose more men, you lose more guns, and you can only carry 1 ton of Ammo for each Gun. They can also be used for Artillery as well (with the same limitations).

 Charistoph wrote:

 Vulcan wrote:
There's an artillery Rommel? I suppose one could mount a Thumper with minimal alterations; I don't think you can quite sneak in a Sniper without a major redesign and rebuild.

It's a later variant called the Howitzer variant. It carries the Long Tom Artillery Cannon. It even has its own model for it at Ironwind Metals.

Its datasheet is found in Technical Readout: Prototypes (pgs. 56-57)

Don't forget the Pegasus, can keep up with the Locust, and packs a punch at close range. Ideal to finish a wounded mech shooting from the rear or gravely wound a light, even some meds.

M.

ok... can someone give me an idiots guide to how infantry works as I have read the rules several times and my brain just does not want to play nice.

I have to say that the Rec Guide series went out with a bit of a whimper.

I was expecting some really cool gak with the Blood Asp, but other than getting a nice reference to the events of MechCommander 2, the new variants were pretty lacklustre.