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Never realized how popular of a mech the Stalker was. Good vid!

Kids just don't be a clanner those Johnny come lately's are just a bad part of the setting and the 1st set in making BattleTech bad , and Clan Goliath Scorpion is the best if you need to be a clanner and all those genetic freaks

For a game that is older than I am, it's strange that the best video that I have found on this subject is a month old. Keep up the good work!

I like Steiner because I'm bad at tactics and love big stompy robots.

What's the background music? That's one delightful jam!

My only complaint about this video is it didn't cover every Clan because....good job, dude

i love military incompetence so much that I paint my Lyran commanders stupid parade colors with the rest of the company being proper camo, and then only give skill advancements to the lights and mediums (that survive)

"You cannot hit what you cannot see... Mostly." "That's what this fancy laser pointer is for!" _TAG activated_

Really good video for beginners, I have been playing BTech for at least a good 5 / 6 years now at least and I play both IS and Clan, the biggest game I played was max year 3051 and I was Clan v IS I had a full Star, Vulture Prime, Madcat A, Dire Wolf prime and had 2 light jumpers with the BV value of 16.5K bv which I played agents a company of Draconis Combine 12 mechs, the game lasted from 12 noon till 7pm and we were still not finished, I think by the time we had given up for the day I had killed 3 mechs with my mad cat (2 head shots) and my Vulture had killed 1 and disabled 1. I had taken so so damage on each of my mechs but nothing that affected their performance my Pilot and Gunnery were 4 / 3 (at my club its a un written rule clan must start at p4 and g3 and never be more than have 2 points of a difference) might do it again but on megamech so if we need to pause the game we can go back to it. Mega mech is a good digital version and also helps with the BV calculations.

Good video - really helpful and I like your caveats and the use if inspired by stereotypes as a comment

Do you like Heavy and assault lances with jump jets? Go Jade Falcon. They are very Black Watch pilled and it shows in their mech design. Also the memes.

Fitting Turkina in JF and not fit a Huntsman in Sharks and Cats are a crime. Prepare to meet a Trial of Grievance!

First choice: Taurian Concordat. If you force me into the inner sphere: Free Rasalhague Republic. If you force me to pick a clan: Clan Ghost Bear. If you force me to pick a long distance carrier: ComStar, every time... It's the ONLY choice.

Hmm you could have listed the general clan mechs first and then highlight the few special ones each clan uses. Otherwise nice informative video

Battletech lore is highly overrated. It's a really simplistic background serving as a framing for a good board game. Therefore, thank you for the honest intro. 👍

This was super concise and very informative. When I first started to get into Battletech a few years ago I was prepared to dig through old books and years old videos for information. It is wonderful to see videos coming out currently to help new folks get into this setting. I'm still very much learning the ropes, so this video helped a ton. Keep up the good work!

I just found your channel and i love it. The videos are very informative and entertaining keep it up 👍.

Be cautious of Clan Wolf, they have a reputation. You will hear about it.

The FRR Existed during the Clan Invasion.

Not bad vid , background music is distracting though

Scorpion Empire. Mix of Clantech and Introtech, with nothing in the middle

the most common mechs of house steiner are: light: atlas medium: Atlas heavy: Atlas Assault: Atlas

I go for the sacred word of Blake. Of course comstar works too especially in games before the split

I’m whatever faction is the color of grey unpainted plastic.

Clans fancy bird, cool cat, mad dog, silly snake and wolf. Lol. The last one caught me off guard.

A point of order, but the Chancellor is actually an elected posting, with the Chancellor being selected from Prefectorate. The only reason it's always a Liao these days is a holdover from Star League when House Cameron said that the Cappies could elect whomever they want but the League would only do business with a Liao. Granted in the 2400s a Liao did also make it a lifetime appointment. The chancellorship was originally just a 10 year term of service and then a new chancellor gets elected. Would be fun if Danai brought that back, but that's not likely to happen.

A warning to new folks... If you want to go Steel Viper, those snake scale patterns are a royal pain. Look amazing when done well, but holy balls, it's TOUGH.

The only correct answer is Jade Falcon.

nova cat, i loved the camouflage on their mechs.of course there mech is nova

700 trives.i pretty sure theres more different clans we never know.

Pick whatever mechs you find cool. Paint how you like. Simply enjoy a game where the rules stay fairly constant. You will find an era that you prefer playing. I started back in 1993 with the Clan Invasion era, eventually found I enjoyed the simple fun of the Succession Wars 3025. Playing as a Merc is a good starting point in a narrative game. Make the most of new technology, 3D printed mechs are great, custom maps , printed terrain etc. Even Apps for devices that can tell you how many missiles hit when you fire 6 SRM6s at a pleb, and where each missile hits.

Filthy Clanners! Another great video 👍

Im CCAF for life but still have mercs , fedrats , kuritans , lyrans and a generic planetary militia force . In the later eras CCAF kicks behind with its access to Stealth Armour , ArrowIV , TAG , ECM , plasma rifles and other goodness . A true modern combined arms army for the modern age

Note that there is a degree of dynamism to the setting. Take for example Lyran/Steiner military ineptitude. From their inception to the late 3rd Succession War, such a reputation is more or less accurate. However, starting with Alessandro Steiner, but really kicking in with Katrina, Melissa, and Hanse the Lyran military then later Lyran portion of a combined military were reformed heavily. Then, under the mixed reigns of not just Kathrine but also Victor both members of FedCom including the Lyrans suffered due to the political maneuvering of the time selecting for political loyalty and ideological alignment over skill. But after that point Peter and Adam both reinstituted the pre Steiner-Davion rule reforms and standards which lasted until the present era. Or at least... until the IlClan era at which point it seems the writers saw too many memes and entirely forgot the progression depicted in the novels and sourcebooks to that point. And of course, the Lyrans are far from the only faction for which this happens. The Capellans see a series of political and cultural reforms under Sun-Tzu that heavily changes the flavor and feel of the faction. Comstar splits and the group that feels more like the original dies... and then the other comstar dies. The Free Worlds League collapses and is reformed under an entirely new constitution. Et al.

Missed opportunity to make all Lyran 'mechs Atlases

Paint them woodland camo and they can be whatever faction you want.

So overall a very good primer video on the various factions in the Battletech universe, though I will say as a bit of a 'nit-pick' some of the 'why you should play a faction' are kind of wiffy on their reasoning. Also, though I've had arguments and discussions about there being 'No good guys' in this franchise in the past, I will say there are definitely protagonist or 'hero-factions' in the Battletech IP from the very start.

I picked Rasalhague adjacent. Specifically it’s a Rasalhague unit pre-Clan Invasion but following their national implosion they are refugees turned to mercenary work. I love the story of the space Norwegians. The only thing that doesn’t make sense to me is the whole incorporation into clan society…. But if I’ve gone merc by that point, it’s fine.

I say new players should do a mercenary unit to get their eye in on the lore and make up their mind what they want to do, both in painting minis and what kind of faction armies they may want to do in gameplay. But a little pet peeve of mine when it comes from people wanting to make "believable" startup mercenary units when they get going: Festooning their unit with highly expensive mechs or ones that shouldn't be common in the territory they start in. Salvage may make any option available technically believable, but a mercenary unit being raised in, say, the Free Worlds League is not going to have easy access to Enforcers and Centurions unless they contract with House Davion. A believable within lore startup mercenary unit is going to be built around a core of commonly available mech designs that are still being built in most if not all Great House territories like the Griffin and Shadow Hawk. My pet peeve with these kinds of units is that they're often made by the new players who just don't know any better, but there's a simple way to handle the problem: QUIRKS! Even when not playing with advanced rules, Quirks can be useful pieces of information to make use of when creating your first unit. In the case of a startup mercenary unit, focus on mechs with the Ubiquitous quirk, as that indicates they are common enough to be easily found if your unit has the money to buy with. The aforementioned Griffin and Shadow Hawk are prime examples of this.

Play as the Capellan Confederation if you want to experience Ongoing Victory! 😅

"Here's a bunch of Capitalist autocracies, but we called one of them "Communist"..."

The game has an extensive time line. Don't play any later than 3049 to avoid the woke stuff. The lore after 3049 is a massive dumpster fire.

Beyond Mercenaries, I was drawn to the FWL as my House pick because I liked the idea of an interstellar league of different factions banding together and all the dysfunction that entails. The other Great Houses just seemed too monocultural which wasn't appealing to me.

All other Great Houses: "Here are multiple aspects and traits associated with their culture and style of warfare". Lyran Commonwealth: "Pick this faction if you find enjoyment in a powerhouse controlled by ineptitude." Lore accurate. 👌

Any chance showing the heatsink cutout for better understanding for those not familiar with record sheets

So the Capellans are not communist nor have the ever claimed to be. They have a caste system for crying out loud. The are an autocracy with a smattering of socialism. Play them if you want to be associated with some of the most hardcore and fanatical units in the game, i.e. Death Commandos, the various Hussars, Red Lancers, and the various Warrior Houses.

You left Atlas out of the Steiner scout mechs.

Point of order the the greatest enemy of a Marik is another Marik.

Disregard all outside influences. Honor the Dragon. Glory to the Draconis Combine. Glory to the Coordinator. _Pssst. We have, like, so many PPCs. And the most fun missile system in the game. C3 is pretty cool, too._ Also, for FWL Mediums, it's the Hermes II. The Hermes is a light 'mech, the Hermes II is the surprisingly good medium.

Some notes on the Free Worlds League: Another inspiration of theirs is Austria-Hungary of WWI. Also they actually contend with Stiner for top economy, as, while the Commonwealth makes many more of the bigger mechs, the FWL makes the most Jumpships out of all the galactic nations, which is much more vital to the continuation of galactic civilization.