Battletech: Clan Wolf is "Licensed to il"

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Battletech: Clan Wolf is "Licensed to il"

SpaceDrake: Dec 22, 2006; I can't avoid filling a game with awful memes, even if I want to. It's in my bones...!

In other news, I recently gave some of the old 80s era house sourcebooks a read.

My god. So much of this could only have been written in the 80s. Especially the Kurita book, in toto. But it's just the tip of the iceberg.

_{I still can't believe the Kuritas are just straight up meant to be descended from Actual IJN Admiral Takeo Kurita Who Was Only Ten Years Dead When The loving Thing Was Published.}

# ? Apr 26, 2022 04:19

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# ? May 31, 2024 10:48

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

Boomers are fearsome things.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 04:48

Defiance Industries: Jul 22, 2010; A five-star manufacturer

SpaceDrake posted:

In other news, I recently gave some of the old 80s era house sourcebooks a read.

My god. So much of this could only have been written in the 80s. Especially the Kurita book, in toto. But it's just the tip of the iceberg.

_{I still can't believe the Kuritas are just straight up meant to be descended from Actual IJN Admiral Takeo Kurita Who Was Only Ten Years Dead When The loving Thing Was Published.}

The Mariks are literal Hapsburgs.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 06:02

kingcom: Jun 23, 2012

Defiance Industries posted:

The Mariks are literal Hapsburgs.

But somehow less equipped to make decisions.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 06:29

Defiance Industries: Jul 22, 2010; A five-star manufacturer

They had to choose between that and fixing the chin. Don't act like you would have done any different.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 06:59

TheDiceMustRoll: Jul 23, 2018

Defiance Industries posted:

They had to choose between that and fixing the chin. Don't act like you would have done any different.

Can people into genetics in Battletech? Battletech can't seem to decide between "Clanners have hosed their genes so hard from so many things that its less and less possible to make new sibkos" and "Clanners can basically just cure any and all genetic diseases"

# ? Apr 26, 2022 08:41

Fivemarks: Feb 21, 2015

SpaceDrake posted:

In other news, I recently gave some of the old 80s era house sourcebooks a read.

My god. So much of this could only have been written in the 80s. Especially the Kurita book, in toto. But it's just the tip of the iceberg.

_{I still can't believe the Kuritas are just straight up meant to be descended from Actual IJN Admiral Takeo Kurita Who Was Only Ten Years Dead When The loving Thing Was Published.}

yet everyone goes "You're stupid, Five" when I suggest fixes like "Make the Kuritas not that because this isn't the 80's where we thought having Sean Connery play a weeaboo was a good idea" and "Instead of Mariks, they're Maliks, and they're descended from Gulf Nobility".

# ? Apr 26, 2022 09:53

General Battuta: Feb 7, 2011; This is how you communicate with a fellow intelligence: you hurt it, you keep on hurting it, until you can distinguish the posts from the screams.

TheDiceMustRoll posted:

Can people into genetics in Battletech? Battletech can't seem to decide between "Clanners have hosed their genes so hard from so many things that its less and less possible to make new sibkos" and "Clanners can basically just cure any and all genetic diseases"

I can see a plausible difference between 'great at fixing what's wrong' and 'terrible at planning for the long term'.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 14:32

PeterWeller: Apr 21, 2003; I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

It does seem like if you're going to use future science to inbreed a bunch of weirdos, you're also going to learn how to use that future science to cure any genetic ailments all that inbreeding causes.

It does also seem like someone would eventually figure out that inbreeding a bunch of weirdos is a bad idea, but by then your society is run by those same inbred weirdos and you've come to name that society after some dumb animal.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 15:05

Rorahusky: Nov 12, 2012; Transform and waaauuuugh out!

TheDiceMustRoll posted:

Can people into genetics in Battletech? Battletech can't seem to decide between "Clanners have hosed their genes so hard from so many things that its less and less possible to make new sibkos" and "Clanners can basically just cure any and all genetic diseases"

It's actually simple to explain. Clan Sibkos are made basically by the same method you might use to breed a prized race horse: You take the best horses you can find, breed them together, and then winnow down the resulting children to weed out those that got the short end of the stick. It's less Genetic Engineering and more Selective Breeding for desired traits.

Problem is, these are people, and not animals, and there are only (less than, due to Trials of Annihilation and the like) 800 different lineages, some of which are exclusive to particular Clans. Turns out when you have a breeding population that small, it tends to get... fucky the longer you go on. Some animals you might be able to inbreed without too much issues, but Human Beings are not like that.

And while the Clan Scientists /can/ do Actual Genetic Engineering (and in fact did exactly that in the leadup to the War of Weaving), there is a lot of push back to the idea of Building The Perfect Soldier Through Mad Science.

Even amongst the Clans.

/ESPECIALLY/ amongst the Clans.

Turns out Warriors don't like the idea of their entire genetic line becoming obsolete because some lowly Scientist Caste nerd built a better fighter in their basement, so the actual act of genetic manipulation is restricted solely to curing genetic diseases or conditions so that the Warrior Caste can protect their precious spot in the hierarchy.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 15:11

PhotoKirk: Jul 2, 2007; insert witty text here

SpaceDrake posted:

In other news, I recently gave some of the old 80s era house sourcebooks a read.

My god. So much of this could only have been written in the 80s. Especially the Kurita book, in toto. But it's just the tip of the iceberg.

_{I still can't believe the Kuritas are just straight up meant to be descended from Actual IJN Admiral Takeo Kurita Who Was Only Ten Years Dead When The loving Thing Was Published.}

80's Battletech is amazing. Check out Takashi's wife/cousin:

I really need to find my box of sourcebooks and TROs.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 15:22

Der Waffle Mous: Nov 27, 2009; In the grim future, there is only commerce.

Weren't the Liaos originally descended from Scottish weebs or did I imagine that?

# ? Apr 26, 2022 17:39

Xotl: May 28, 2001; Be seeing you.

Der Waffle Mous posted:

Weren't the Liaos originally descended from Scottish weebs or did I imagine that?

No, the founder Liao was from Nepal and grew up in Hong Kong.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 17:48

Holybat: Dec 22, 2006; I made this while you were asleep.

Der Waffle Mous posted:

Weren't the Liaos originally descended from Scottish weebs or did I imagine that?

I vaguely remember the old House Liao book having a Chancellor (Laurelli?) who rocked a kilt and tam o'shanter in a parade inspection.

Honestly stuff like that is what I think can make the setting interesting. The Capellan Confederation is Capellan in culture, not just a space China *reads Loren Coleman book* oh nevermind it's just space China with some cold war era Cambodia mixed in.
In seriousness I don't think his books are that bad for the most part but good lord the xin sheng stuff.

Of course, as the House Kurita book pics up thread show it's baggage the setting's been hauling for awhile. Having thumbed through the House Kurita book recently I really like how the culture section gets into how women in the Combine are expected to get married at 15 and considered into their "mature years" by 25, wtf :yikes:

# ? Apr 26, 2022 20:47

Defiance Industries: Jul 22, 2010; A five-star manufacturer

To be fair that's not that far off from real life attitudes towards Japanese women, especially at the time of writing. Single woman at 30? Your company is actively trying to make you quit.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 23:05

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

Holybat posted:

I vaguely remember the old House Liao book having a Chancellor (Laurelli?) who rocked a kilt and tam o'shanter in a parade inspection.

Honestly stuff like that is what I think can make the setting interesting. The Capellan Confederation is Capellan in culture, not just a space China *reads Loren Coleman book* oh nevermind it's just space China with some cold war era Cambodia mixed in.
In seriousness I don't think his books are that bad for the most part but good lord the xin sheng stuff.

Old CapCon is good, but will fly completely over the heads of folks who are just around to look for excuses to smash giant stompy robots

# ? Apr 26, 2022 23:22

Defiance Industries: Jul 22, 2010; A five-star manufacturer

If that's all you want, why bother with the background at all? There's no integration between fluff and rules until you start getting into Field Manuals and poo poo. It's not like this is 40K and you absolutely must pick a faction and follow their special unit rules.

# ? Apr 26, 2022 23:35

hot cocoa on the couch: Dec 8, 2009

Defiance Industries posted:

If that's all you want, why bother with the background at all? There's no integration between fluff and rules until you start getting into Field Manuals and poo poo. It's not like this is 40K and you absolutely must pick a faction and follow their special unit rules.

yeah i'm in this boat. i know about the lore, like the history of the galaxy and who controls what and the clan invasion details and such, but as for individual stories and characters i couldn't care less about lol. i just like the universe.

thanks for the positive feedback on the terrain btw! more to come in the future

# ? Apr 26, 2022 23:45

Holybat: Dec 22, 2006; I made this while you were asleep.

hot cocoa on the couch posted:

yeah i'm in this boat. i know about the lore, like the history of the galaxy and who controls what and the clan invasion details and such, but as for individual stories and characters i couldn't care less about lol. i just like the universe.

thanks for the positive feedback on the terrain btw! more to come in the future

I guess I'm in the category in that I really like the sourcebook character stuff but don't really care about most novel characters or the "canon" story as it were outside of how it can be folded into my table games. Just little details about these oddball space nobles and the dumb poo poo they get up to but more for the flavor and tone. I don't know if it's a popular opinion with the Battletech fanbase but I think the Jihad era sourcebooks that were more about just poo poo going off and nobody knowing what was actually going on was pretty neat. In the current games my buddies and I are running in the ilClan timeframe it's nice that the Tamar Rising book was more "these are the major things happening in the region" but more open ended.

# ? Apr 27, 2022 00:11

Flipswitch: Mar 30, 2010

The one thing I do like about the setting is the complete mishmash of cultures in the future because that absolutely would be the case in the future. Probably not as concentrated as it is in the lore but it does let you get creative with your own ideas if that's your thing.

# ? Apr 27, 2022 09:01

Mode 7: Jul 28, 2007

I'm looking forward to the upcoming Battletech Universe book as a way of catching up and getting a broader overview of the history of the setting in a friendly format than trying to piece together stuff off Sarna or reading various splatbooks and very lovely tie-in novels.

Gotta say that between the box sets and stuff like the Battlemech Manual, the Succession Wars and Clan Invasion TROs, and with things on the cards like the new Faction books and Universe book, Catalyst are doing a good of putting together entry pathways for new players. It's still a pain in the rear end getting my hands on any of this stuff from Australia but I also acknowledge that the last few years have been mildly disruptive to thinks like shipping, manufacturing and supply lines.

# ? Apr 27, 2022 14:26

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

For the past few months, I've been writing up a somewhat-competitively minded series of reviews for the various record sheets present in the Recognition Guides, and posting them on the BattleTech forums. Today I finished volume 24. Would anyone be interested in me posting those there?

# ? Apr 28, 2022 06:15

PoptartsNinja: May 9, 2008; He is still almost definitely not a spy; Soiled Meat

I would.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 06:30

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

Reading over this thing again it definitely feels like a TV show pilot; I think the first volume was something like 1800 words. Volume 24 clocked in at a little bit over 8200 in reviews. What I'm saying is that this get more in-depth the longer it goes, so if this is a bit bare bones then it'll get better, and if you hate detail then I'm sorry I won't take it personally.

quote:

Okay starting off this dumb list with a brief foundation and explanation of how I'm rating these 'Mechs. I'm going to be going through volumes consecutively, 1 through 24, and I'm going to rate every record sheet in it in the order they're in the book. Errata is going to be considered where I'm aware of it, but frankly this is already a ridiculous undertaking and I'm not going to put that much effort going above and beyond.

Ratings will be in the form of a brief description of the role and equipment on the 'Mech, and then a brief commentary on what I think are standout features and a look at the BV of the 'Mech. The ratings themselves will go from F (worst) to S, with +/- to differentiate minor differences at the same tiers. This is purely subjective, and there are a number of units that are going to get higher or lower scores because I do/don't like them, rather than an attempt at an objective comparison, but these special entries will be called out when they happen. I have something like 400 record sheets to go through in this post so these are going to be very brief unless it's noteworthy.

A brief description of what each of these tiers means:

F - I will never print or use this record sheet unless it is required of me in a game that I do not control.
D - I might include this if a scenario calls for a specific unit, or to fill out a very deliberate faction-flavored force, but it won't be willingly and I'll try to be on the side that doesn't have it.
C - Actually, genuinely average. I will not complain if one of these is handed to me, and this kind of 'Mech will see fairly frequent use to fill out formations where the other units are more important, but I'm not going to go out of my way to include it.
B - I like this 'Mech and will deliberately seek it out to fit into a force that I like.
A - This 'Mech is excellent and I will attempt to put it into my forces even if it's the kind of thing that would likely raise some eyebrows to see where it is.
S - One of the best 'Mechs in the game, I will put this in anything I feel like and no one is going to stop me.

And now onto the 'Mechs, starting with Recognition Guide: IlClan Volume 1:

Commando COM-9S: It's a Commando. This one is faster than most Commandos, and it honestly doesn't suck at playing light skirmisher. Two tons of MML ammo for two MML-3s is exactly enough. Very amusing use of i-OS SRM-2s to match original art, useful for some random infernos. Durability is still that of a 25 tonner with an XL engine, but it's well armored for its size and I can't actually complain much about it. BV is okay at 719. Good for a C.

Pack Hunter 5: It's a Pack Hunter. It's a single ER PPC on a 'Mech that goes 9/14/7. Has the weird decision to use an IS XL Engine, which makes it significantly more vulnerable than I want a 30 ton 'Mech to be when it costs over 1600 BV. I'm never going to use this on purpose. D

Griffin C: Matching the original art hurts this one, it would be better with basically any other kind of missile launcher in the shoulder mount. Clan ER PPC and a very fast movement profile of 6/9/9 once again makes for a very expensive 'Mech (2131) to have an IS XL Engine. It's well armored, at least, and the heat curve is downright chilly, so it has fewer downsides compared to the Pack Hunter. Individually it's a strong performer, but it's the kind of strong performer that costs too much to be useful. I'll still play it if asked. C-

Griffin GRF-1DS: I'm pretty sure this wasn't a new variant when the book came out, but it addresses most of the things I dislike about the C, namely that it has a bigger LRM and the price-tag has been cut like it's going on clearance at Target, only 1285. There are better Griffins out there, but this one is fine to good, and will sometimes show up in my lists on purpose. C+

Griffin GRF-2N: Also not new. Arguably better than the 1DS because of a Standard engine, but has to get closer to be truly effective. Inclusion of an ECM is a good thing. Price tag at 1606 is higher enough than the 1DS that it's actually a choice. Gets a bit toasty when going all out, which is a good indicator that it's not oversinked and leaving guns on the table. Perfect heat generation when running. Know when to jump and when to not jump to use this effectively, which means it's already more difficult to use than your average Griffin but probably better. I like it about the same as the 1DS. C+

Griffin GRF-3M: Not new. Combining an ER PPC and an LRM-20, the best of both worlds. Heat curve when jumping is exactly neutral without the Small Laser, which is probably a bit oversinked if I'm being honest. XL Engine plus a bigger price tag than the 1DS means that I like it less overall but it's definitely got the much better range to play with, which makes it a better skirmisher and probably worth the 1521 price tag even if I'd rather be at pulse laser range on most maps. The M is also for Marik, probably, so this one gets the partial bump up to C+

Griffin GRF-3N: I hate that Enhanced LRMs are a piece of equipment that exists. I think out of all the equipment that actually made it into the BattleMech Manual that these are my least favorite. There is exactly one 'Mech that uses them that I think is at all worth fielding and it's a Shadow Hawk of all drat things. The only thing they are tangentially useful for is depressing BV because they are heavier than normal IS launchers (let alone Clan ones, which they are also worse than anyway), and this Griffin even fails to do that, paying 1560 for the privilege of having worse missiles. The Standard engine helps, but I don't want to use this 'Mech. D-

Hellbringer (Loki) F: Not new, but this is actually one of my favorite Hellbringers. Which is odd because I actually don't have a particularly high opinion of the LB-10X in general. Still, here they are heavy enough, still provide enough firepower, and are cool enough that they work well as mid-range main guns, and the battery of backup ER Mediums and SRM-6 is enough to still put the hurt on something. There is arguably not enough ammo for the LB-10Xs, but honestly if you're not playing against tanks just take two tons of slug and pretend you're using Improved AC/10s. BV price tag of 1839 is a steal for a Clan Heavy, particularly one that still has enough ER Mediums to remind you that it is in fact a Clan Heavy. If I'm using a Hellbringer there's a good chance it's this one. B

Hellbringer (Loki) G: Also not new, but every time I look at it I have to suppress the urge to giggle. Improved Heavy Gauss and Improved Heavy Large Laser are frankly rude. The handful of ER Small Lasers are fine. There's enough ammo for the gauss, and the BV is low enough at 1943 that it's worth taking. The iHGR crit in the center torso is less than ideal, but it doesn't fit anywhere better. B-

Hellbringer (Loki) J: Actually new. It's also definitely a Hellbringer. I like it when 'Mechs include Ultra AC/5s, the ER PPC is a good actual punch, and the backup weapons and equipment are all efficient and fairly good. The price tag here is a very Loki pricetag at 2415, and that's the only thing that keeps this from being a B. Having the Scout role is hilarious, and is why it's a C+.

Hellbringer (Loki) T: New and actually very good. Similar price tag to the J at 2444, but this thing has a lot of things I like for that price. Namely, paired ER PPCs, multiple backup ER Mediums, AP Gauss for shits and giggles, and an ATM-6. I love ATMs. I assume the AMS was included because it lets the T have an even six explosive crits in the right torso. That part isn't ideal. Your consolation prize for not having the Targeting Computer from the Prime is that you actually have enough heat sinks to use both ER PPCs. Congratulations, this is an improvement over the original. B

Dominator: I hate this 'Mech. It is designed in every possible way to irritate me, personally, in what I assume was a deliberate personal attack from Blaine Pardoe. The weapons are fine, mostly, the overall speed and armor are fine, mostly, but it's built in such a way that I absolutely hate it. Dropping the rear mounted ER Small Laser (minor aside: why does this exist in the first place?) also reduces the size of the Targeting Computer, which is just an impressively bad tonnage optimization. Use of a Supercharger takes it to 10 run MP, which is exactly high enough to trigger probably the most expensive BV jump it's possible for most 'Mechs to hit. The armor, described specifically as a defense against Jade Hawks, at least one of which exists with TSM, is exactly two points short of being able to take a TSM-powered kick from a Jade Hawk, when the frame could absolutely have fit two more points to make that actually true. I don't have a strong opinion on the mismatched armor levels on the arms, except to point back to my most recent sentence and say that this could have been done significantly better anywhere else. The price tag of over 3000 BV for what is, at the end of the day, a very incompetently designed Clan Heavy is outrageous. Someone please stop letting Blaine design 'Mechs. F

Dominator 2: I assume Blaine didn't design this one because it sucks a lot less. The missiles are upgraded significantly, the targeting computer is retained, the total damage this 'Mech is capable of achieving is significantly higher, and on top of that we've been able to shrink the BV down to 2906 because there isn't a Supercharger anymore. We also no longer have a targeting computer that is exactly half a ton over threshold. This 'Mech gets better marks, but it's still not great. Association with the dogshit Dominator (Standard) means that I still don't want to use it. D

Grasshopper GHR-8K: Light PPCs are really cool when they are replacing things like AC/5s. They are way less cool when they are replacing things like Medium Lasers. They are way, way, way less cool when used in bulk. Every 'Mech I've ever seen that has 3+ Light PPCs I would like a thousand times better with MPLs (or MXPLs) and heatsinks or armor as appropriate. The Grasshopper is no exception, though it at least has the common courtesy to be able to fire all of its long range weapons simultaneously without bad things happening. It's also reasonably inexpensive at 1754 for a well armored 75 tonner with a standard engine. I don't use Grasshoppers much in the first place, but this one is fine, I guess. C-

Goliath C: I don't hate this. ATM-9s are cool, Gauss Rifles in turrets are cool, the way that Quad 'Mechs can go prone and basically play turret with a positive defensive mod is cool. I would drop the B-pods in a heartbeat but I'd be hard pressed to figure out what to use instead to be perfectly honest. At 2227 it's pretty expensive, but I have actually willingly sought these out before so this one gets a B-.

Recognition Guide: IlClan Volume 1 verdit: C-

I think I have like two record sheets in here that I actually like and then one I used as a bit that was fun, and then everything else is background material or I hate it. There are definitely volumes that I like a lot, but wow this one was not one of them.

'Mechs by rating:

F: 1
D: 3
C: 7
B: 4
A: none
S: none

# ? Apr 28, 2022 06:53

Defiance Industries: Jul 22, 2010; A five-star manufacturer

The GRF-1DS is indeed not new. For some reason, they decided to reprint just a few designs in the series, and both the -1DS and -3N are from the original TRO: 3050 waaaaaay back in 1990.

Defiance Industries fucked around with this message at 07:30 on Apr 28, 2022

# ? Apr 28, 2022 07:16

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

The ones that got reprinted are 3050 upgrades of the first wave of new Classics that appeared in TRO: Succession Wars with new art but only had all the introductory variants included. It was fine for the first couple volumes because idgaf about Griffins and it was kind of neat learning about them while browsing through genuinely new things, but then things like the Warhammer and the Marauder happened and I wanted to loving die. Also most of them suck.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 07:31

raverrn: Apr 5, 2005; Unidentified spacecraft inbound from delta line.

All Silpheed squadrons scramble now!

Strobe posted:

For the past few months, I've been writing up a somewhat-competitively minded series of reviews for the various record sheets present in the Recognition Guides, and posting them on the BattleTech forums. Today I finished volume 24. Would anyone be interested in me posting those there?

All of them, please and thank you.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 10:05

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

Lines I considered for this post:

�I smell heavy & assault �Mech bias�

�Ah yes, BV continues to be stupid�

�Actually, Blaine should design more �Mechs if it continues to make Strobe react this way�

# ? Apr 28, 2022 12:55

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:

Lines I considered for this post:

�I smell heavy & assault �Mech bias�

�Ah yes, BV continues to be stupid�

�Actually, Blaine should design more �Mechs if it continues to make Strobe react this way�

I'm wounded.

I want to say that there are a total of 18 mechs that get S ratings over the course of 24 volumes. Off the top of my head, at least five of the them are Mediums including the overall Best Mech in the entire series.

It doesn't help me that the Rec Guides are responsible for probably half of the best Assaults in the entire game. They're loving loaded in the back half, it's wild.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 19:44

PoptartsNinja: May 9, 2008; He is still almost definitely not a spy; Soiled Meat

I agree, please continue. I'm always interested in seeing what other people have to say about the designs and I'm wondering if your top medium is the same as mine.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 19:51

Dr. Lunchables: Dec 27, 2012; IRL DEBUFFED KOBOLD

Hunchback, of course.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 20:32

tankfish: May 31, 2013

I am curious to see what the best light mech is.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 20:38

Holybat: Dec 22, 2006; I made this while you were asleep.

Keep on posting this Strobe I like seeing people's looks at what makes a good mech in BT

plus I too share your anger and confusion at the "enhanced" LRM. why does it even have a minimum range for what you're paying for it in tonnage/space

Edit: I guess I shouldn't be surprised at Blaine Pardoe being bad at mech design

# ? Apr 28, 2022 20:49

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

It�s kind of wild that there was no standard set for gameplay balance for unit design in the game, just all kinds of case-by-case justification for canonicity. Sure, it makes for some interesting writing, but consider how much of that writing just goes forgotten and unused�?

Anyways yes, please rate more robots, I need to know what factions the munchkins are going to play now in ilClan era games

# ? Apr 28, 2022 21:01

Holybat: Dec 22, 2006; I made this while you were asleep.

So I have a question for the experienced BT players. I saw with Strobe's post that they had some issues with some of the BV costs of several chassis. I'm more familiar with Alpha Strike and the PV of units in it since that's all my group and I have played regularly. Is BV much more unbalanced/gamed? What are the flaws players have with it?

# ? Apr 28, 2022 21:14

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:

It�s kind of wild that there was no standard set for gameplay balance for unit design in the game, just all kinds of case-by-case justification for canonicity. Sure, it makes for some interesting writing, but consider how much of that writing just goes forgotten and unused�?

Anyways yes, please rate more robots, I need to know what factions the munchkins are going to play now in ilClan era games

If you're lucky they'll be playing Wolf Empire, because (minor spoiler for the rest of the series) almost all of their brand new designs are absolute dogshit. The Alpha Wolf is neat, and exactly one Skinwalker config has an inside track to being one of the best mechs ever published, but everything else (literally all of them) outside of those are crippled by massive flaws or massive BV issues that would make black holes float.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 21:17

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

Holybat posted:

So I have a question for the experienced BT players. I saw with Strobe's post that they had some issues with some of the BV costs of several chassis. I'm more familiar with Alpha Strike and the PV of units in it since that's all my group and I have played regularly. Is BV much more unbalanced/gamed? What are the flaws players have with it?

I'm going to go into this at length over the course of 23 more volumes, but generally speaking you don't "game" BV2 you get hosed by it. Things that suffer include mechs that use speed boosts to trigger new TMM thresholds (7, 10, 15), Reflective Armor, mixing multiple kinds of maneuvering equipment (MASC and jump jets, for example), mixing Stealth and TSM especially if you're fast, and Clan PPC Capacitors.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 21:20

Xotl: May 28, 2001; Be seeing you.

Yeah, Alpha Strike PV is much more balanced than BV. And BV almost never undercosts: it overcosts. So certain types of units are consistently overpriced, but almost nothing is too cheap for what it does.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 21:49

Strobe: Jun 30, 2014; GW BRAINWORMS CREW

There are some things that are consistently good, but they tend to be good because they're "bad" in ways where they still contribute and the things that make them "bad" are mostly tonnage. Ultra AC/5s are my favorite example of this, because they're one of the most consistently unpopular guns to any BattleTech fan you could ask, but anything with one or two if them backing up some more efficient guns are dirt cheap and absolutely vicious for the cost.

Nova Cat C, Vulture Mk III A, Thor II Prime, Shadow Hawk 5M, Sentinel 6S, all very good.

# ? Apr 28, 2022 22:14

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# ? May 31, 2024 10:48

Dr. Lunchables: Dec 27, 2012; IRL DEBUFFED KOBOLD

Does BV2 rate ammo longevity? Like how many rounds of ammo a mech has? PV does.

# ? Apr 29, 2022 00:44

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