11:06 I love the Blackjack-BJ3 narratively. It's exactly what I would want to manufacturer if I were building a 3042-3070? era IS garrason. The BV is a little high for optimal lists tho, I completely agree with that. But still, 2 PPCs for less than twice the cost (tonnage, cbill, or BV) of two Panthers. It's an amazing mech 😍
I'll actually come out swinging for the oft-maligned IS medium pulse laser. I feel like there are actually a couple of major places where they are clear upgrades over the IS medium laser, and the battlemaster 3s does tick all of those boxes. 1: if the mech cares more about saving heat and weight than it cares about saving tonnage. The big downside to a MPL is weighing 2 tons instead of 1, but thanks to the increased damage and accuracy you get more expected damage per heat out of the same critical space as a regular medium laser. Since the 3S has an XL engine but keeps single heat sinks (like most disappointing post-core "upgrades") this fits in with what it's doing. 2: brawlin' mechs. If you are at 6 or fewer hexes, you are always happier or at worst about as happy firing a standard laser. At 1, 2, and 4 hexes a pulse laser is more accurate, and at 3, 5, and 6 hexes it has the same accuracy thanks to the -2 eating range penalties. The only thing you're losing is the long range shots that you're not expecting to care about in most cases anyway. Since the 3S wants to get close anyway, it likes the pulses. 3: rear-mounted weapons. Mechs that are trying to get behind you are generally light and fast, and they probably aren't going to be very far behind you so the pulse benefits make them extremely effective deterrence. 4: Mechs that have *a lot* of lasers. Having 4 medium pulse is slightly better in most cases and the same weight/heat as 6 medium lasers with 2 heat sinks, so once you hit that threshold you're generally better using pulses, and that's right where the 3S sits. I cant really justify the lrm20 though. You probably wouldn't be firing whatever long-range weapon the 3M mounted at brawling range anyway since it generates enough heat with its pulses and SRMs, but i'd happily trade all the weight and ammo drawback of the LRMs for just about anything else.
@@clockworkseal2135 This is a great discussion of the merits of the MPL! I think it's very good overall but the regular ML is usually even better except on a jumper. There's a good Many Voices video about this on his channel.
At the longest effective range to fire a Medium Laser, 6 hexes, you get 5 damage for 3 heat w/ a +2 Gunnery Penalty. At the same range a Medium Pulse Laser you get 6 damage for 4 heat and it gets way better closer. I have really warmed to the IS Medium Pulse laser over the years; its a great secondary weapon for killing scum bag Dasher Hs. Also the Black Jack 3 is a great sniper. Jump into heavy terrain with a good firing arc in a central location, start shooting those PPCs.
The MPL needs some mobility advantage to work well. 4/6/0 just isn't enough to make it work as the primary armament, even a relatively slow force can play around that easily. Some mechs make great use of it as primary, like the Penatrator or Uziel UZL-8S, and it makes a great secondary to deal with high tmm lights. If you can't secure that 2 range bracket it is underwhelming compared to medium lasers. At least it's crippling short range means it's cheap BV wise. It's important to note that something win a B score is still pretty good and very playable, it just isn't expected to do as well as A or S tier picks. Sometimes this is just because there is something similar but better.
@@mikeheimlich1303 The MPL is definitely good but I like it a lot more on jumpers. Many Voices has a short video on his channel about why the regular ML is usually more optimal. But the pulse is a close second!
@@TrailblazerBTI really have to disagree with that. To use Many’s video as a basis he misses one vital thing: he compares the 2 ton mpulse to 2 1 ton mlas’s, the issue is that the IS mpulse costs 48 BV and the mlas costs 46 BV and in a 1 to 1 or even a 1 to 1.5 comparison the mpulse is much better.
@@hollyone75 Hm nice point. Sometimes I fall into the old pattern of treating tonnage as the currency instead of BV. Maybe that's leading to a mistake here.
I have an intense hatred of the 5S, purely because for the longest time I thought it kept the same weapons arrangement as the 3S but swapped to ERPPCs and gauss etc....and then I was shown the two ERPPC in one torso, the arm SRM and lasers...So I went and made my own 5 series which is exactly what I had originally imagined....god I hate the way they did the weapons on the 5S. DAMN LYRANS THEY GIVE ME THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ASSAULT MECH THEN THEY RUIN IT
The Vindicator has that many heat sinks because it needs to do everything. You can jump your full four hexes and fire your PPC and LRM-5, and be completely heat neutral. You can run and fire your PPC and either the LRM or the Medium Laser and shed excess heat. You can walk and fire all three of your energy weapons and be heat neutral. If you take an engine hit, you can walk and fire the PPC and still be heat neutral. It's a trooper, it has to perform under any condition and succeed.
@@TrailblazerBT it's not, though. It's perfectly sinked to handle any of its potential deployments. It can fire its main gun under almost any circumstance. The only way you can improve on it is to switch to ten double heat sinks, and then use that weight for a 225 engine, an extra jump jet, armor, and either swapping the small laser for an SPL,or adding CASE for the LRM ammo. Which basically makes it a new VND-1AA without the detriment of horrendously light armor.
The Banshee ALSO has its SRM ammo in the FREAKING RIGHT ARM, you know, the least armored location on the mech! This thing is just excessively terrible, and for no freakin reason. Its got heat problems for the sake of having heat problems. One strength of the Banshee that makes it special is that 380 engine, with up to 15 heatsinks internal, crit free. The 5S model runs 14. Hell, its got crits to spare! Freakin 19 crit slots unused and no Endo steel or Ferro. Giving it FF and chanhing nothing else would atleast give it more armor. If you go for Endo, however, you get that second ton of gauss ammo, two more heatsinks (up to 16), and an additional 1.5 tons of armor. Then the mech can fire all its long range weapons and just keep walkin without cooking itself. BV 2208
The mech is probably better without the SRM 6/ammo explosion risk, but if you like having that crit weapon to complement the gauss & PPC hole punchers then lean into it. Rip out the baffling array of misc lasers that point in every direction from every location. Downside, you are no longer a walking rave party. But on the upside you can fit four SRM 4s with a single ton of ammo. Normally 6 volleys is insufficient but its fine in this specific case. (Stick the ammo in the head where it can't get shot and never 'push your heat') You can fire all 4 SRM racks, one ERPPC and the gauss at a run for 30 heat out of 32 sink capacity. BV is 2157.
The Banshee 5S really could have used endosteel and used that saved mass to add 2 double heat sinks, a ton of Gauss rifle Ammo, and put the other 2.5 tons into protection
Could you do one of these but it’s just every hunchback variant? It’s a cool series, I just think you should do a video on the only perfect mech is all #HunchTech #HBestK
@ As someone who is very new to BT (less than a month of caring about the setting thanks to a review of modded MW5:M) I have used the following searches to find videos, maybe it’ll help give you insight into how to catch people like me. Fwiw, you were the 14th channel I watched more than one bt video on & subbed to, so sadly I didn’t find you all that early in my TH-cam adventures for BT. BPL ofc was first. Lore of - hit or miss unless it’s a great house. Often it’s just someone reading the first few paragraphs on Sarna Mechs of - nearly always a miss, with very little and literally nothing on the two factions I care about respectively (comstar, magistracy of Canopus) Why isn’t the HBK 55T? Why did they intentionally make clan mechs op was it to drive sales but then players still wanted is mechs? Why did the clan never just upgrade the HBK with their tech instead of the abomination that is the IIC? Quasimodo Battletech custom mechs tabletop Is CGLs refusal to admit the HBK is really 55T and makes up over 99% of mechs actually used in the setting a long term misinformation campaign designed to distract us from the fact they already made the only perfect mech because they’re worried if they admit it’s only hunchbacks it’s will hurt model and book sales? How to start a TH-cam channel to spread the truth - I played my first in person games of tabletop yesterday (had to wait for my 40 3D printed hunchbacks to arrive and get a few painted)
11:06 I love the Blackjack-BJ3 narratively. It's exactly what I would want to manufacturer if I were building a 3042-3070? era IS garrason. The BV is a little high for optimal lists tho, I completely agree with that.
But still, 2 PPCs for less than twice the cost (tonnage, cbill, or BV) of two Panthers. It's an amazing mech 😍
Everyone loves PPCs.
It's a very solid and consistent mech. Love the damn thing, it's just a bit overpriced.
I'll actually come out swinging for the oft-maligned IS medium pulse laser. I feel like there are actually a couple of major places where they are clear upgrades over the IS medium laser, and the battlemaster 3s does tick all of those boxes.
1: if the mech cares more about saving heat and weight than it cares about saving tonnage. The big downside to a MPL is weighing 2 tons instead of 1, but thanks to the increased damage and accuracy you get more expected damage per heat out of the same critical space as a regular medium laser. Since the 3S has an XL engine but keeps single heat sinks (like most disappointing post-core "upgrades") this fits in with what it's doing.
2: brawlin' mechs. If you are at 6 or fewer hexes, you are always happier or at worst about as happy firing a standard laser. At 1, 2, and 4 hexes a pulse laser is more accurate, and at 3, 5, and 6 hexes it has the same accuracy thanks to the -2 eating range penalties. The only thing you're losing is the long range shots that you're not expecting to care about in most cases anyway. Since the 3S wants to get close anyway, it likes the pulses.
3: rear-mounted weapons. Mechs that are trying to get behind you are generally light and fast, and they probably aren't going to be very far behind you so the pulse benefits make them extremely effective deterrence.
4: Mechs that have *a lot* of lasers. Having 4 medium pulse is slightly better in most cases and the same weight/heat as 6 medium lasers with 2 heat sinks, so once you hit that threshold you're generally better using pulses, and that's right where the 3S sits.
I cant really justify the lrm20 though. You probably wouldn't be firing whatever long-range weapon the 3M mounted at brawling range anyway since it generates enough heat with its pulses and SRMs, but i'd happily trade all the weight and ammo drawback of the LRMs for just about anything else.
@@clockworkseal2135 This is a great discussion of the merits of the MPL! I think it's very good overall but the regular ML is usually even better except on a jumper. There's a good Many Voices video about this on his channel.
At the longest effective range to fire a Medium Laser, 6 hexes, you get 5 damage for 3 heat w/ a +2 Gunnery Penalty. At the same range a Medium Pulse Laser you get 6 damage for 4 heat and it gets way better closer. I have really warmed to the IS Medium Pulse laser over the years; its a great secondary weapon for killing scum bag Dasher Hs. Also the Black Jack 3 is a great sniper. Jump into heavy terrain with a good firing arc in a central location, start shooting those PPCs.
The MPL needs some mobility advantage to work well. 4/6/0 just isn't enough to make it work as the primary armament, even a relatively slow force can play around that easily.
Some mechs make great use of it as primary, like the Penatrator or Uziel UZL-8S, and it makes a great secondary to deal with high tmm lights. If you can't secure that 2 range bracket it is underwhelming compared to medium lasers. At least it's crippling short range means it's cheap BV wise.
It's important to note that something win a B score is still pretty good and very playable, it just isn't expected to do as well as A or S tier picks. Sometimes this is just because there is something similar but better.
@@mikeheimlich1303 The MPL is definitely good but I like it a lot more on jumpers. Many Voices has a short video on his channel about why the regular ML is usually more optimal. But the pulse is a close second!
@@TrailblazerBTI really have to disagree with that. To use Many’s video as a basis he misses one vital thing: he compares the 2 ton mpulse to 2 1 ton mlas’s, the issue is that the IS mpulse costs 48 BV and the mlas costs 46 BV and in a 1 to 1 or even a 1 to 1.5 comparison the mpulse is much better.
@@hollyone75 Hm nice point. Sometimes I fall into the old pattern of treating tonnage as the currency instead of BV. Maybe that's leading to a mistake here.
I have an intense hatred of the 5S, purely because for the longest time I thought it kept the same weapons arrangement as the 3S but swapped to ERPPCs and gauss etc....and then I was shown the two ERPPC in one torso, the arm SRM and lasers...So I went and made my own 5 series which is exactly what I had originally imagined....god I hate the way they did the weapons on the 5S. DAMN LYRANS THEY GIVE ME THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ASSAULT MECH THEN THEY RUIN IT
I don't think I have ever been called a marshmallow before. I'm far more pale than one of thoes.
If, as Trailblazer says, I am a marshmallow...then I wish to be a Crucis Marchmallow! Or something.
I enjoy all of Trailblazer videos 🎉🎉🎉😊
Always a good day when Trailblazer drops a new vid
The Battlemaster is an old favorite! I always faced those medium lasers forward though
@@ogrehaslayers605 Best class A field mod!
I kind of feel the 3M Battlemaster could have lost a few heat sinks and added something else . Mechs like the Vindicator are guilty of this too
@@mathewkelly9968 Definitely. If it dropped a few DHS for more lasers it would be a flat out A instead of A-
The Vindicator has that many heat sinks because it needs to do everything. You can jump your full four hexes and fire your PPC and LRM-5, and be completely heat neutral. You can run and fire your PPC and either the LRM or the Medium Laser and shed excess heat. You can walk and fire all three of your energy weapons and be heat neutral. If you take an engine hit, you can walk and fire the PPC and still be heat neutral. It's a trooper, it has to perform under any condition and succeed.
@@WolfHreda 3050 Vindicator is over sinked though!
@@TrailblazerBT it's not, though. It's perfectly sinked to handle any of its potential deployments. It can fire its main gun under almost any circumstance. The only way you can improve on it is to switch to ten double heat sinks, and then use that weight for a 225 engine, an extra jump jet, armor, and either swapping the small laser for an SPL,or adding CASE for the LRM ammo. Which basically makes it a new VND-1AA without the detriment of horrendously light armor.
Battle value value was fun to say but battle value efficiency sounds cleaner
Indeed
Great surgery recovery video, thanks for the content. What would be your pick for all the banshee mechs, personally love the design of the mech.
@@matthewpena3932 Best for the BV or best period?
@@TrailblazerBT Your choice and I love hearing form others. Keep up the great work.
@@matthewpena3932 Best fighting mech period probably is 7S, best for the BV is either 6S or 3Mr I think
@@TrailblazerBT Neat and thanks for the reply.
@@TrailblazerBT The 3Mr seems very interesting to me with a large range of availability. Plus fairly simple loadout making it very user friendly.
The Banshee ALSO has its SRM ammo in the FREAKING RIGHT ARM, you know, the least armored location on the mech! This thing is just excessively terrible, and for no freakin reason. Its got heat problems for the sake of having heat problems. One strength of the Banshee that makes it special is that 380 engine, with up to 15 heatsinks internal, crit free. The 5S model runs 14.
Hell, its got crits to spare! Freakin 19 crit slots unused and no Endo steel or Ferro. Giving it FF and chanhing nothing else would atleast give it more armor. If you go for Endo, however, you get that second ton of gauss ammo, two more heatsinks (up to 16), and an additional 1.5 tons of armor. Then the mech can fire all its long range weapons and just keep walkin without cooking itself. BV 2208
The mech is probably better without the SRM 6/ammo explosion risk, but if you like having that crit weapon to complement the gauss & PPC hole punchers then lean into it. Rip out the baffling array of misc lasers that point in every direction from every location. Downside, you are no longer a walking rave party. But on the upside you can fit four SRM 4s with a single ton of ammo. Normally 6 volleys is insufficient but its fine in this specific case. (Stick the ammo in the head where it can't get shot and never 'push your heat') You can fire all 4 SRM racks, one ERPPC and the gauss at a run for 30 heat out of 32 sink capacity. BV is 2157.
The Banshee 5S really could have used endosteel and used that saved mass to add 2 double heat sinks, a ton of Gauss rifle Ammo, and put the other 2.5 tons into protection
Could you do one of these but it’s just every hunchback variant?
It’s a cool series, I just think you should do a video on the only perfect mech is all
#HunchTech #HBestK
@@piedpiper1172 I've been wondering if it would work better to pick popular mechs and do every variant actually
@ As someone who is very new to BT (less than a month of caring about the setting thanks to a review of modded MW5:M) I have used the following searches to find videos, maybe it’ll help give you insight into how to catch people like me. Fwiw, you were the 14th channel I watched more than one bt video on & subbed to, so sadly I didn’t find you all that early in my TH-cam adventures for BT. BPL ofc was first.
Lore of - hit or miss unless it’s a great house. Often it’s just someone reading the first few paragraphs on Sarna
Mechs of - nearly always a miss, with very little and literally nothing on the two factions I care about respectively (comstar, magistracy of Canopus)
Why isn’t the HBK 55T?
Why did they intentionally make clan mechs op was it to drive sales but then players still wanted is mechs?
Why did the clan never just upgrade the HBK with their tech instead of the abomination that is the IIC?
Quasimodo
Battletech custom mechs tabletop
Is CGLs refusal to admit the HBK is really 55T and makes up over 99% of mechs actually used in the setting a long term misinformation campaign designed to distract us from the fact they already made the only perfect mech because they’re worried if they admit it’s only hunchbacks it’s will hurt model and book sales?
How to start a TH-cam channel to spread the truth
-
I played my first in person games of tabletop yesterday (had to wait for my 40 3D printed hunchbacks to arrive and get a few painted)
@@TrailblazerBT Idk why TH-cam seems to have broken on my phone and replies always lack the name now - let me know if you can’t see my longer reply
@@piedpiper1172 This is super useful! Thank you!
@@piedpiper1172 to help you a little bit...
The Hunchback isn't perfect. It lacks a notable PPC variant.
The Banshee would have been better served by using standard PPC's and an LBX10. Blackjack should have kept its medium lasers, instead of the streaks.