I'm still reviewing Battletech's Technical Readout: Dark Age. I'm reading through all of the entries and giving my thoughts. But as a collection of other TRO's, it's very long so we're going over it in 8 parts.
Raider
A little on the nose, huh? I appreciate the diversity of design, but how do we reconcile a 'mech with no fusion power plant being viable alongside proliferate XL fusion plant technology?
Also, what's the operational range of an ICE-powered battlemech? Wikipedia says an M1 Abrams tank gets 265 miles of range from 504 gallons of fuel on paved roads. That's roughly 0.5 miles per gallon. Look an M1 Abrams weighs 55 tons and maybe fuel technology in the year 20 is much better, but using an ICE engine to fuel a 'mech seems bad and stupid.
Shit I own Strategic Operations. It's 5 Maintenance/Repair cycles or 500 miles between refuelings. Sure.
Sarath
I'll say putting an Inner Sphere Gauss Rifle on a Sarath limits its flexibility: it doesn't even give you enough tonnage for ammunition.
Despite the 'poor little meow-meow' impression given by the fluff, it does look pretty good. The A Config mixing Clan LRMs and MMLs is weird, but I guess it's a sign of the times.
Shockwave
Can I start bitching about 5/8 50-tonners yet? For a dependable 'mech the jammable Rotary Autocannon (RAC) and Electronic Countermeasures (ECM)-countered Artemis IV system raise an eyebrow. Paired LAC/5's and a Small Pulse Laser (SPL) seem like better options.
Dropping a DHS for CASE II would also be good.
Actually, drop the SPL and LRM 10 for 4 MML 3's. You can't keep 2 tons of ammo for the MMLs, but that's fine.
But patching up canon 'mechs is part of the reason they exist. It's just hard to justify an RAC 5 on anything. Its advantage is that it shoots a lot but shooting a lot jams it.
Ursus II
I feel like I say this every time a 3060 'mech shows up despite lamenting their forgottenness in the first part of this series, but "Were we asking for this?" They finally give me a slow-ass medium and it's a slower variant of an original and it's fluffed as being assigned to fast moving Clan stars "without slowing them down too much."
Looks like a versatile guy to do long range support AND ward off light 'mechs trying to harry it.
Wendigo
Looks like the fucking Avalanche. Are we doing cohesive visual design by faction? Ah, interesting. That's why the Avalanche has a SFE (an SFE?)
I'm not 100% on the Nova Cats? Betrayed and destroyed by the Combine? Rebelled and absorbed by The Republic? Republic refugees turned insurrectionists? DCMS Sho-Sa Arioch treats the Nova Cats with contempt but honors a Sea Fox trial of posession?
I guess that's diplomacy for you.
Bakeneko
I do love those bakeneko candies.
IJJ? No. If I could only have 1 Clan weapon, it would be the LPL. Sorry, ERPPC. The range, power, to-hit bonus, and weight are too tempting.
I was going to joke about it being a Phoenix Hawk, and I guess I was more right than I thought.
Mechwarrior Jax' story mentions electronic warfare (EW) abilities but those abilities aren't mentioned anywhere else? Not as a quirk or as a variant. It just crops up in the last paragraph of the writeup.
Dark Crow
Lemme guess: The 1st mech designed entirely by AI? The arm design and formulaic name are dead giveaways.
I knew Stormcrow. I fielded Stormcrows. You sir, are no Stormcrow.
(The Dark Crow 2 seems alright).
Exhumer
"Exhumer"? What's next, "Coroner"? "Medical Examiner"? "Notary Public"
Hilarious that it has to be fielded next to a Yeoman to look good. A 6/9 medium 'mech with twin ER Large Lasers and a shitton of armor is a good idea. Those missiles are a mess though.
Gyrfalcon
Jade Falcon Clan don't embarrass yourselves with totem 'mechs challenge. Difficulty Level: Impossible.
LBX AC 2's with a range of 30 and an Active Probe with a range of 6. Go take a flying leap. Autocannons, even Clan ones, suck shit. Trade and LBX 2 for an LBX 5--if you MUST have it--maybe pick up an SSRM 4 or 3 ER Medium Lasers (ERMdLas). Or Improved Jump Jets (iJJ) if you can get them.
Getting a Gyrfalcon has got to be like getting a big 'kick me' sign from your quartermaster (or whatever Clanners have instead of quartermasters).
Hitotsume Kozo
Honestly?
She's a total bitch and I love her.
Kheper
The clustered random lasers are an eyesore, but it looks fine. Super-Centurion.
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