Battletech Lore - Thunderbolt Heavy Battlemech
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 พ.ย. 2024
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In this episode we talk about a respected heavy mech known for its variety of weapon loadouts, the Thunderbolt. Enjoy!!!
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Music courtesy of Kishan Sheth
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#Battletech #Thunderbolt #HeavyBattlemech
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The Thunderbolt was the mech I was given at the first real game of battletech I ever played. And while it never became my favorite mech, it still holds a special place in my heart...
You could have started off a lot worse.
you've been THUNDERSTRUCK!!! Ancient Pre-Star-league song lyrics found on AC/DC Mercenary Company Thunderbolts.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!! The AC/DC 'merc company...that's great. I'd like to see them skip a Thunderbolt across the battlefield throwing out LRM's and coaxing the enemy onto the field.
Bad, but, still funny! LOL well done.
I'd usually scrub the machine guns and ammo for an extra heat sink unless I was going against infantry
True, machine guns are kinda useless unless you're fighting something other than mechs.
@@GrimDarkNarrator or have 20 machineguns with 2 UAC/20's, like on an Annihilator
@@havoc3742 or you're an Urbanmech pilot with a large engine and a lot of machine guns.
I've seen some try to squeeze in an ac2 in place of the MGs.
In the Paradox Battletech game I wind up getting 1/3 of the Thunderbolts through ammo explosions. Whoever put the missile ammo in the CT didn't think that far ahead.
yep the awesome 8T has the same problem
One thing I love about your videos is that they are very re-watchable.
That's kind of you to say.
its so bizarre having watched the anime dougram (one of battletechs BIGGEST inspirations by far) and knowing where the thunderbolt (iron foot) came from.
Another solid mech that is the forebear of an iconic clan design. In this case, the Summoner. I like the later depictions that have it looking more like its clan descendant than the earlier artwork.
The T-Bolt is an awesome machine. You can fulfill any mission profile with it. In a Periphery Campaign I used one to cow other factions (pirates) in their more common light and medium mechs. It easily dealt with a Rifleman and later a Crusader. The Crusader went up to an ammo hit though.
I acquired a T-bolt during a salvage exchange. During an extensive refit we shoehorned in some double heat sinks that seriously improved it's heat issues. A damn solid brawler.
Very classic. I have a first edition box set and have e enjoyed this guy for 25 years. Watch its ammo bins. They go boof pretty easy if there is a short coming on this mech, its that. But with 500 in game years of history, there is loads of them about and its a solid heavy. So in the rpg its an early heavy choice quite often and if you run short of parts you can often shoot the parts off your enemy since there are so many out there. Protect those ammo bins on the right side and run them dry before you run out of armor in that location if you can. Empty bins dont turn you into capella confetti lol.
The Thud is such a lovely heavy, a little bit of everything going on and a lot to play with fitting wise.
The T-Bolt followed a solid design philosophy: Make it fast enough to do the job, give it as much armor as you can, and then mix the weapon loadout. Like many larger designs, the Thunderbolt has a missile launcher for extreme range, a large laser for mid-range, and medium lasers for brawling. They kept the lasers OUT of the arms so they can be fired while brawling. Larger mechs, like the Battlemaster and even the Atlas, follow a similar 'missile/beam/brawl' weapon collection.
A great and classic Battlemech. I love it's realistic design as if it could actually exist. It always give me the fear when seeing it on the field whether in the old days on tabletop or playing BATTLETECH by HBS on pc. Thunderbolt talk about the perfect name for such an engine of pure destruction.
Looking forward to your future direction on upcoming videos. Maybe we will be blessed to hear your incredible knowledge on the many and varied mercenary companies with their different approaches to warfare and personality such as Hanson's Roughriders brute force style in comparison to the disciplined military tradition minded Eridani Light Horse.
Thanks GrimDark Narrator for the always excellent honey sweet detailed history. I bet ComStar is archiving all your works :D
Thanks for the support :)
Hello Grim.
The Thunderbolt is one of my early favorite Mechs, even with it's penchant to overheat in combat. To fix this problem, I usually dispensed with the MGs and SRM and their associated ammo bins, and added heat sinks. On some variations, I would use the saved tonnage for Jump Jets for mobility.
When the Helm Memory Core was released, I redesigned the T-bolt to have Endo-Steel, Ferro-Fiberous armor, Double Heat Sinks, and upgraded weaponry... which usually had the T-Bolt sporting an ER Lrg Laser, or a ER PPC. The Lrm Launcher would be upgraded with Artemis, and the medium lasers replaced with pulse medium lasers. And of course, heat sinks with their Double variants.
One variation of the T-Bolt I favored was outfitted with a Gauss Rifle in place of the large laser, along with the other mentioned upgrades. This gave me a heavily armored Sniper Mech that usually could hold its own in close range as well as melee combat quite well.
The Thunderbolt is a tried and true Mech design, and one that any Commander would have in their unit. It can stand up to heavier Mechs and deal out a considerable amount of damage, while having the armoring to withstand the heavier Mech's firepower, long enough for the most part, to survive long enough for support to arrive.
With a 'sniper' type pilot, the T-bolt can snipe enemy Mech cockpits with the best of them, and is a terror to anything lighter than itself. Just hearing that one is on the battlefield makes pilots sit up and notice, because things just got nastier for them.
I rank the Thunderbolt right up there with other words of horror one faces in Mech Combat... like Awesome, Atlas, Annihilator, Marauder, etc. Note that all those I mention are heavier than the poor Thunderbolt... which is a statement as to it's feared presence on the battlefield.
Along with Warhammer, Marauders and the like, I consider the T-Bolt a Main Battle Mech (like a MBT, but a mech 😬). It’s designed to fight. Not recon. Not fire support. But a straight up fighter.
Big enough to run with the big boys and even punch above it’s weight as opponents focus on heavier mechs. Also can be paired with Centurions and other 4/6 moving medium mech to form the backbone of a medium battle lance.
One of the first Heavies that I had in the Table Top. Great all around Heavy. In the BT video games, it's a great Mech to have in the mid game (just make sure to get that ammo out of the center torso!).
Looking forward to you diversifying throughout the BT universe.
First time I ran across this was in one of the novels. That Sunglow heavy laser was pretty devastating.
One of the best all around mechs ever to take the field. Fast, well armored and armed and deadly at any range. My favorite part about this mech is how customizable it is. You can put nearly any weapon config on it and it will perform brilliantly.
I agree. I think definitely its greatest strength is the diverse weapons load, making it adaptable to many types of missions.
Yes! My jam. Specifically, I love the TDR-7M. Ferro-Fibrous Armor, an ER Large Laser, and a Streak SRM-2 were pretty much all this beauty needed. My other favorite is the TDR-9SE. It's a T-bolt with jump jets, what's not to love?
you should still be able to get them on ebay i think
All it needs now is a cup holder :)
Definitely a Mech worth having an any company. Can put out some very interesting variations with the new technology.
Whooo hooo another stompy the Thunderbolt always reminds me of the summoner
Lot of the Clan's Omnis are based off of Inner Sphere design's. The Hell Bringer is basically a down scaled Warhammer; and we all know the Timberwolf is a Catapult/Marauder cross breed.
Yes, the Summoner's design traces back to the Thunderbolt. Even its Prime configuration is reminiscent of the TDR, with the missiles on the shoulder, an energy weapon in the right arm, and ballistic in the left.
The Thunderbolt is one big sucker. When you face one in combat, make sure you aim for the legs.
I prefer the cockpit. Fucker has way too much armor for 65 tons
I love a mech with an offset cockpit.
Used to put battle tech and robotech models together. Would be cool to get my hands on them now .
It's in the most recent release of the Battetech Box Set (not starter). Good luck getting somewhere other than EBay though. They underproduced the boxes.
@@dubuyajay9964 thanks, I've seen some very overpriced mechs. Only a few here and there
@joe bloggs if they are in a 72nd scale that'd be awesome
As I said over on Sarna, the Battletech heavy trooper mech.
Nothing I've seen since has changed my mind on this one iota.
The fact that there's no Thunderbolt variant that carries Thunderbolt missiles is an absolute crime.
"Yo dawg, I heard you like Thunderbolts. So I put these here Thunderbolt missiles on your Thunderbolt battlemech so you can be thunderbolting while you're thunderbolting".
I'm sure the tbolt and summoner share a similar relationship as the catapult and mad cat have (mad cat is catapult with marauder arms!).
Hey Grim. I play with a mekhq crew, and my character ran a modified T-bolt 5ss. The thing is unworldly as a damage dealer and as a tank. Unfortunately, a thru armor crit touched off the srm ammo (left torso). Poor Brutus
RIP Brutus.
Not too keen on the mechs that look human myself as I've said before I'm a timber wolf/dire wolf mech pilot but the thunderbolt I think is definitely on the edge of what I like to dislike. I might just have to go and play the game and give the thunderbolt a chance to impress. Great video grim thanks for your work
Glad you enjoyed it!
You have to remember the G1 Mechs were Japanese imports. I think the T Bolt is based off of a mech from a not very well known anime called Dougram.
Although Battletech and Warhammer 40k lore are not related, I like to think that Battletech was during the "Stellar Exodus" of human history, far before the DAOT. But, with how GW has lost its mind lately, I have grown to really like Battletech. I'm thankful that the community is very welcoming.
the problem with the thunderbolt is the ammo is in the central torso which if hit will cost you the mech
First thing I aim for when I see one, first thing I move when I get one!
@@gregdomenico1891 I usually put the ammo in the legs yeah ok if the ammo goes off i lose a leg but its better than losing the whole mech
@@Shadow-Kalbo1 great minds think alike. I do the same, and go max armor on them
@@gregdomenico1891 max armor all the way always it is a good mech but can be a little lacking on the armour especially on the central torso
People usually view this as a weakness but I think its just practical to any veteran pilot. torso twisting can easily spread out damage and the Thunderbolt is agile enough to maneuver against other heavies. The lighter mechs hardly pose a threat enough to go thru an armored up CT in a few hits.
the mech used by the Callandra Witch
Looking forward to the new diversified Battletech videos.
One of my favourite Mechs
nice
Glad you're diversifying your topics though I love the meck videos I also love the fluff of the BattleTech universe
Well, it started out as a diverse lore series, but ended up doing just Battlemechs because those got twice more views or more. I'll have to see how it does at this point.
@@GrimDarkNarrator very cool!
The Eridani Thunderbolt is my favorite, Gotta have those Jump Jets!
One of my favorite heavy mechs .. just the old standard template was great ..Always thought
it was a very down played mech .
One of my favourite mechs
That thing running at you at 86 km/h and doing 120 mtr long rocket jumps would be terrifyingly pants filling enough; before you even consider the heavy; heavy weaponry load. The Death Korps of Krieg and the Armageddon Steel Legion would love and approve of it, not to mention the Iron Warriors and Khorne also.
Actually, Khorne may love it so much he would defect and become a devotee of Slaanesh at the thought of it.
The Iron Warriors would approve most of the Dire Wolf :D
Along with the highlander, one of the best in my opinion
KEEELLLLLLLL HOUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the vid sir.👍🏼👍🏼
You're welcome.
Second all time favorite.
Whats the first?
And people say the Capellans can't do anything right...
MOOOOAR
Say LRM Missile launcher is a bit redundant
That's true. I guess im worried some people won't know what LRM means.
The third picture is NOT a TBolt its a Clan Summoner.
My bad.
I hate this mech. They never seem to fight fairly. Always showing up in pairs as medium range mechs keeping me from attacking LRM boats. The worst is when they pair down the heat intensive weaponry and tack on more armor. They might not do much damage themselves, but in a war of attrition, that can be almost impossible for all but a Stiener scout mech lance
Yea those nutrition wars are pure hell on the vitamin C and don't get me started on the potassium :D
All kidding aside they are a nightmare to deal with in pairs but i think it adds to the positive tension of testing the player's survival skills on a tactical level. Just like in real war things are never balanced.
@@77Arcturus Agreed... what do you call a fairly balanced fight???? "A dream!"
I'm from a long line of cholesterol war veterans... and we always lose :(
People having fun with my unfortunate failure to catch that my phone's auto correct changed attrition to nutrition... to you I say good day Sr. Lol
@@daretodreamtofly3288 don't fret mate, it happens to all of us sometimes 😂