i love him because his weapons mean you have to deal with him, and his durability ensures you have to dedicate some geniune fire power to killing it. once had a panther survive almost an entire game on the front lines brawling with heavy and assault mechs
Me and my best friend are playing Battletech 2018 co-op. He is a veteran of tabletop BT and his experience is invaluable. He adviced to hunt for Panthers and for the first stretch of the campaign they carried us. We had sometimes field full lance of nothing, but differently kitted Panthers. Even as we farmed heavier mediums and a lot of LosTec guns, we still have a Panther with three medium lasers and LRM15 as a heavy scout/harasser. They are the Shermans of Battletech.
I’ve always liked this mech in narrative campaigns. It can mass up dangerous amounts of firepower when deployed in groups, and can typically survive long enough to fade away.
Agreed. Panthers are perfect to sprinkle in to make sure nobody can stop to catch their breath without getting punished by big cat nibbling at their armor.
As someone who likes to play as a FedRat or space vikings, I do have love for Mechs the Combine likes to field. Hunchbacks, Panthers and Dragons, oh my. Maybe a Hatamoto-Chi if there's something left to salvage. Also tell Mrs. Frog we appreciate her being patient with your foray into being a ComStar creator for us. Getting to watch Battletech creators grow and improve over these last several years has been a treat.
Panther pilots seeing a lance of fire support assault mechs: Barbeque! Same Panther pilots after seeing the lance of Wolfhounds guarding the assault mechs: don't make any sudden movements, and back away slow... Shit! They saw us! Run away!
Why do we love the Panther? It's the lightest of trooper mechs. it's got a little something for everyone. It's what the Capellans were improving on with the Vindicator. While it's slow for it's weight, it's sidekick the Jenner goes zoom. Also partners well with the Valkyrie if someone gets captured. And as much as I love the Urbanmech and believe it is a wonderfully unique machine and an amazing storytelling device, I'll take an Alley Cat for the urban guardian role every day. And I'd like to think that the Bears rebuilt the ones they captured, both 10K and 9R- DHS, Clantech ER PPC or LPL (arguments for either) with a co-ax IS small laser and half a ton more armour, along with the origional SRM-4, you get a faster, stronger, more versatile Cat in the city, jungle or mountains.
Panther has a place in any lance; either as the 'heavy' of a scout lance, as a cheap fire support mech in a medium lance, or as a bodyguard in an assault lance. It eschews the usual fast-backstabber buildtype of a light mech (itself optimized in Panther's best friends Jenner and Locust) in favor of being the lightest PPC carrier mech and the smallest mech to mount the classic PPC & SRM combo (ex. Thug).
A refit of the Panther I came up with is one I like to call the "Gunslinger". It has a 5/8/5 movement profile with a standard engine, light ferro-fibrous armor, endo-steel, and ten double heat sinks. It's armed with two light PPCs equipped with PPC capacitors and two medium pulse lasers for engaging stuff that tries to get in your face.
Actually, both Vindicator & Panther run at the same speed & just as durable by default. Then again, a "mini-medium" Panthers are technically a Combine's Vindicator - as a workhorse mechs
In early 2018 Battletech I tend to drop two of these things in almost every early mission. One standard Panther 9R and another one armed with a large laser, a medium laser, and a SRM6 to bring a not insignificant amount of alpha strike that can be used twice before something far larger can react if you don't mind the heat. You might have to back off and let the mech cool down while taking potshots with the missiles or medium after that double alpha strike but it is a loadout that brings that knife to the side of an already softened target. The biggest downside it has is making me wish I could have a Wolfhound for the task instead even though their damage profiles would be almost identical.
Honestly the Panther sounds like a Light pilot's dream You're either providing fire support with the PPC or your hidding and fading with the SRMs Never in direct combat, and never scouting way behind enemy lines with no support or escape route. Just a simple, easy out of the way job. And if you get a lucky headshot with that PPC you could bag a heavy or even assault mech and maybe get a bunch of medals pinned on your chest for doing it.
For me it is because they are the only light mech that survived more than one contract when I played a long MegaMek campaign. Also because it is easy to give them callsigns from the names of black cats my friends have. Yolanda, Mister Beans, Tux, and Gunther are a terrifying force when working together.
It's hard for light mechs to get 10 armor all in one place, so the PPC/SRM4 combination is a one-salvo threat for breach and crit-seeking on peer targets... and it comes in a very easy package to put on the field in large numbers.
One of my favorite light mechs. A nice, affordable, direct fire support platform. The stock variant is pretty solid, and it's super easy to upgrade too. My succession wars "bodyguard" variant loses the jump jets for extra armor and 2 extra SRM tubes. My late age variant uses DHS, an ERPPC, and a MML5.
I love this little guy! One of my more memorable games involved my Panther headshotting a Battlemaster with it's first PPC shot of the game, and then later going on to blow the leg off of a Dragon and subsequently destroy it with another PPC shot to the back armor which cooked off the ammo. In a game where my lance also included a 3D Crusader and a 6M Wolverine, it was the Panther that proved to be the heaviest hitter!
I love the Panther, it is reasonably urbanmech. a fantastic urban combatant with a 4/6/5 movement profile thanks to the nimble jumper quirk, and a ppc instead of a heavy ac10. Where the Centurion feels like a pocket heavy this feels like a medium due to its slower speed and the bigger lumps of damage a ppc dishes out. before this even starts I suspect you are all over the 13k because having a 9 hex radius + plasma rifle range radius of "you could suddenly gain tons of heat" is a really wide zone. I am tempted to toss the plasma rifle to have a clan grade erppc to not have to worry about ammo.
I think the simple answer is that people love the panther because it fits neatly into the "how small of a mech can we fit this big weapon on?" category. In that regard it's a lot like the hollander with a gauss rifle or even an urbanmech with an AC20. It's a cheap way to field a big gun, which does the same damage whether it's mounted on a light mech or an assault. Personally, I wouldn't be bothering with an SRM4. Sure, it'll get a bunch of volleys out of a ton but on a 35 tonner I'd rather have more armor, more speed or more heatsinks to keep that PPC pumping out lightning. His custom loadout at the end is a pretty good one overall.
As much as I love the Urbanmech in it's intended role (and as a story telling device), the Alley Cat does the urban defense job better. And it partners well with a captured Valk, along with it's intended buddy the Jenner. The only thing the 3025 version needs is DHS, don't need the endo. And then you can drop to 11 DHS, add a small laser (for THAT guy), CASE and a ton of armour, then might as well add the ER PPC. In cities, mountains and jungles, it works better than the Steiner Puppymech that demands to be the Panther's arch-nemesis. And Liao respected it enough to improve on it with the Vindicator- this is the mini version. There should be no reason to reason to not love the lightest trooper. I"m willing to bet that even the Bears rebuilt the FRR PNTs that were captured.
Did a couple of Panther variants myself, lol. For the first, the PNT-RPR "Ripper," I gave it a 140 Light engine to keep the 4/5/4 movement profile. Switched it over to 10 DHS and gave it 6 tons of Hardened armor. For weapons, it carries a pair of Light AC/5s in the right arm with 2 tons of CASE protected ammo in the right torso. Backing it up are 4 ER small lasers, 2 each in the center torso and left arm. It's meant to engage armor and battle armor forces, though since it can use specialty ammo.... My second variant is the PNT-BLK "Black." Like the "Ripper," it has a Light engine and the same 4/5/4 movement, but it has TSM and 6.5 tons of Hardened armor. 10 DHS allow its weapons load to activate the TSM. On the right arm it has a large re-engineered laser, while the left arm carries 2 medium re-engineered lasers. Finally, a pair of emotional support ER small lasers can be found in the center torso.
One wonders why the Snakes never did ECM or sensor equiped variants by droping the SRM for an M-Laser (keep some close range firepower) a Beagle or Guardian and either a small laser or some extra armor. The Panther is a city defender and partisan/stay behind unit so having those should be useful. And they are not opposed to electronics. Or replace the SRM with twin flamers and an M-Laser for a nice "fried infantry with rice" variant
Most newbie mechwarriors when spotting a Panther for the first time and seeing the stats come up on their display: "Seriously?! A 35 tonner that can barely move 65KPH? Who thought this was a good idea?" (Panther proceeds to core through the armor with it's PPC, then exploits for critical hits with it's SRM 4, then jumps away.) Newbie: "Uhhh."
Why do we love the Panther? It just looks cool. Apart from that one later design. It's a completely reasonable 'light-medium' mech that can do work with the right friends around it.
The the 10K2 is my pick for a post 3070s meat and potatoes “every Kuritan company probably has one” panther. It has enough heat sinks to jump and shoot even at short ranges but I could probably argue for dropping one heat sink for an extra ton of armor or a second ammo bay to “pacify” some ghost bear elementals with infernos or tandom charge SRMs.
This is one of my favorite mechs, I normally replace the PPC with a clan one, a Plasma rifle or a Blazer and remove the SRM for a GECM and 3ERsmall lasers also in the right arm... Also add more DHS and JJ to it. Many mechs are headshot by this thing.
My first game of Battletech featured an Orion-K and the OG Panther. The Orion died but the Panther was able to briefly duel with a Fire starter and tired to light its rear armor up with a jump jet maneuver. It’s a nice little machine and something I’m partial to using regularly, if I was able to play regularly.
i really like the Panther in 3025, but i wish more of the upgrades upped the mobility rather than keeping it at 4/6/4 the 13K's perhaps a step in the right direction, but way too drastic-something like the MF variant officially would be quite nice
The Panther is an oddball. It functions far more like a small medium than a large light. It's a wonderful bodyguard for medium battleline 'mechs like the Centurion. But I think it's lack of speed really handicaps it's inclusion in a lance of lighter 'mechs. Basically, a light battleline 'mech, not a strike or recon 'mech. Which is fair, considering how many light mediums function more like oversize lights, and the massive pressure put on most light mechs by the existence of the Phoenix Hawk.
Why do we love the Panther? Because it's a light 'mech that even Assault 'mechs have to acknowledge. It's a great little support light and works well as a long-range sniper. Just avoid the PNT-10K. Without double heat sinks it's a nightmare to manage the heat from that ER PPC.
I absolutely love the PNT-9ALAG variant. Losing the jump jets can hurt sometimes, but the 5/8 movement profile allowing it to keep up with the DRG-1G and DRG-1N, plus the other 5/8 55 ton mediums and 60 heavies makes that my preferred light mech in 3025 games.
The ALAG is my favorite too. I feel at least in my hands the Panther is almost never in situations that require the middling jumpjets but frequently in situations that require a 5/8 move. Overall the 5/8 move just fits the profile of the Panther better in my opinion.
@MechanicalFrog this is a pretty crazy amount of variants... I had no idea. I mean the year for the 13k is definitely beyond my usual range but still. This is *wild*
That iconic look. The fact it looks so badass, not to mention the redesign by Piranha. But then again it always looked cool with that feline aesthetic. When Im done with the Kurita contract in my campaing I'm gonna employ a bunch of them. Just to show my players how good this 35 tonner really is.
Ah, the Panther. Such a good little trooper. I actually have a theory that someone was reviewing old specs for the Gladiator (the Primitive) when designing the Panther. There's some similarity between the loadout that could easily be explained as "inspiration". If you'll permit, I'd like to tell you about my experience with the Panther. Not being able to play TT much at all, since that would require excess cash and friends, I only have the videogames to go off of. My first experience (since it didn't appear in MW4 or MC) was from MechWarrior Tactics. Yeah, anyone remember that mess of a game? Anyway, you opened packs to get cards, which consisted of Mechs and equipment, etc. I managed to pull an uncommon Panther and a VERY high quality PPC. In my matches, that thing would sit on high ground and make shot after shot while everything else bumbled around in the brawl below. It may not have been a great introduction to a Mech, but it endeared me to the solid design. My next encounter was in MWO. They finally released the Panther and it... didn't perform well. People dropped it immediately, but I got... creative. In a match, most heavies will disregard a Panther sneaking past the firing lines if there's something bigger to shoot at. They tend to regret that once you show up in their rear arc with two large pulses. There's a lot you can say about Panthers. It really just all boils down to: they're reliable.
Funny MWO story, my heavily customized Crab-27b (FF armor, DHS, Light fusion engine that got it to 102KPH, Two light PPCs,two ER Mediums,two ER Smalls and an AMS with 1 ton of ammo) turned a corner while on a flanking maneuver and came face to face with a Panther set up for long range combat (ERPPC and an LRM rack and was decently fast). Considering how much of a disadvantage that Panther was at it put up quite a fight in that impromptu duel. It seems we were both rather unimportant to the mechs in our area of the map as we were completely undisturbed for our whole fight. It was quite a fun fight,just two oddball builds throwing down at the edges of a clash of larger mechs.
Playing a PNT-16K in a campaign run be a Catlyst Demo Agent at the moment. I kind of would like to downgrade the streak SRM-4 launchers to standard variants and put more armor on it. I've been using it as bait to keep elementals off the main force. Recovered/stole it from the DCMS dropship myself and the other players were in as prisoners before it crashed. I've been having a hard time hitting the fire moths that have been carrying the elementals in though. Our OpFor is the Raven Alliance, who pulled out a damn Blood Asp T on us on our second outing. Gets a bit annoying when other players call me out for "not being in a fire support mech" when that's what an ER PPC is for. Armor's a bit thin though, but that's what I get for bringing the lightest mech in the unit when most range around 50 tons.
Hello Frog. In the early days of the game, 1984 through around 1990, I purely HATED the Panther. At that time, I was a Davion based player, and often faced full lances, dual lances, and even a full-up company of Panthers. To combat this penchant of the Kurita players to overuse the Panthers at their disposal, I decided to play the same 'game' they did, but substituted Locusts. A player would announce the combat value of his Company and I would field that same value as a reinforced company of Locusts. Not just any Locusts however. All my Mechs were the variant that removed other weaponry to add a 2nd medium laser, or a 2nd and even a 3rd medium laser. This led to a hue and cry about the 'unfairness' of it all. And my response was: 'You have all Panthers with PPCs. I just have little Locusts with medium lasers. When they complained to the playing group at large, they were laughed at and told to either field mixed lances, or they would continue to see Mono Design Companies in their future. It only took a few games where others fielded 'companies' of things like all Phoenix Hawks, for the Kurita players to start mixing in other Mech designs. Until then, I was greatly delighted to use my speed advantage to the fullest. Backstabbing my way through company after company of Panthers. The Panther, for the era (3025) was not a 'bad' Mech. And it got better over time, with the advancement of technology in the game, as you have pointed out in your video. All, in all, I no longer detest the Panther... since I have formulated multiple ways to deal with 'floods' of them at my doorstep.
The panther in MWO was a dream, as far as mixing a PPC with SRMs I always kind of treated the PPC as the can opener and the SRMS were there to get that ooey gooey crits. I won't lie tho I always wanted Ghost Bear Dominion to make a Panther II, especially if they wanted to sell (slightly nerfed perhaps) them to the DC. So seeing that many panthers already have clan tech in them it kind of makes me yearn for it even harder. Great vid
Honestly, even in the high-tech power-gaming wonderlands of the 32nd century, the classic Panther is a good investment, especially if you bring a couple of them. Just enough firepower that you can't ignore it, just enough armor and agility that you have to dump more weapons than you'd like into taking it down. Even when it's not a serious threat, it's damn annoying.
Whenever I get slammed by a ppc from a particularly dirty angle while playing mw5 I just know it's some cocky giggleshit in a Panther. They really are the Halo Wars Gauss Hog of Battletech
I've gotta go through and try to recreate the Panther I made for my son. It's a 5/8/6 (thank you, partial wing) with a Light PPC in the CT, a Light PPC with Capacitor in the right arm, and MML-5 with two tons of ammo, and an ER Flamer in the left arm.
Because nothing beats a cheap durable line mech. It can halt a medium or light heavy long enough to matter, and you can afford more of them than the opposition can any superior option.
The 8Z large laser Panther not being more available makes me sad if only because it has the exact statline my unit choice tends to optimize to, and then I see it's not available for the faction locked clan invasion AS tournament :(. I love my Panther it has cat ears and a tail
I love the Panther because it looked like Megatron and I picked it among other mechs for my first game ever played back in the early 2000s. I don't remember all the specifics, but my opponent and fellow newbie picked an Atlas because its stats were good. I had like twelve mechs and he had like three. He still slaughtered a lot of them due to overwhelming power. But that whole fight? The Panther was a huge thorn in his side and especially the Atlas which I kept taking shots at with the PPC. I found a forest. Jumped out of it, shot the PPC, and fell back into it. The more experienced player refereeing this fight found that really amusing. "Forest Cat I guess" The other player wasn't as amused and burned down or blew apart every thicket of trees he saw on the map, sometimes wasting ammunition out of pure paranoia. This was online and fog of war was in play, he had no idea where the Panther was for most of the fight and his slow lumbering mechs were all at most around the same speed and none could jump around like the Panther and other light and medium mechs I was fielding. Either way, the Panther didn't survive the fight, but it was the one to land the finishing blow on the Atlas with a headshot.
In my MegaMek campaign, I have a "Lance" of 11 Panthers. I've been lucky enough to have had quite a few contracts against the DCMS. Yes, I turned off the lance size restriction, but I still have the weight restriction turned on. My company has, usually, 2 or 3 being repaired at any given moment during contracts and up to 6 mothballed. And sometimes I completely break down some, just to have spare parts.
PNT-10K may have been due to lack of double heat sinks at the time, but it can work as part of a Panther lance. 1 PNT-10K hits further than rest of the lance, while PNT-9Rs in the same lance provide bulk of the firepowerr.
In my 3025 era games, i like to switch out the ppc for a large laser and the srms for a lrm 10. Similar heat but now the large laser is your close support weapon...
I usually pair it with a close range brawler such as a Dragon, Grasshopper or Gulliotine as long rage support sniping at targets trying to close with the bigger mech
Maining a faction from the other side of the IS [KOFF - Cappie - KOFF, KOFF], I don't often get to field a Panther, but the few times I played one in an alt OPFOR game, I respect its pounce-PPC/SRM-crit-seek-pounce capabilities.
Refiited a panther by replacing the PPC with 2x M-Lasers & SRM 4 with an SRM 6 & an extra heat sync thanks to the weight saving due to removing the PPC. Results have been mixed, but as a flanker is a good option if you can Alpha stick an enemy mech of the rear arch.
Got to love a self sufficient mech that brings it's own penetrating weapon and crit seeking weapon. The only issue I have with it is that it's armor is weak for it's speed. It's easy to hit, not too tough and has ammo. But for the cost of the unit it's not a bad choice for a tighter budget lance.
The most dangerous part of meeting a Panther is the several other Panthers showing up alongside the first one.
Pack hunters. Of course.
Japanese cover of "X gonna give it to ya" intensifies, as four Panthers team on FedRat mech to take it's lunch money.
@@andreykuzmin4317 it's all fun until the Blue shield assaults roll in and the wolfhounds encircle you
@andreykuzmin4317 that even funnier if it's a x pulse laser
Not in Warrior En Garde. Panthers fell by the dozen.
"Why do we love [insert Inner Sphere 'mech]?"
Cause it works.
That it does...
@@MechanicalFrog Like the Urbie. Good old Urbanmech. I put a longtom on mine and made it good.
Cause it's Simple As, which as the clanners found out can kill you
@@jeremyvandijk3428 the clans have a few of those too
Why?
Do we love the Havoc
Me in MW5 Clans seeing a full company of Panthers in my Timber Wolf:
YES. YEEEEESSSSSSSS
@@thomasgiles2876 I can't wait
*Raises fist* Our battle will be legendary!
That's until you see COMSTAR and they throw heavier stuff at you and curb stomp you so bad you realize maybe we should not fight that way anymore.
i love him because his weapons mean you have to deal with him, and his durability ensures you have to dedicate some geniune fire power to killing it. once had a panther survive almost an entire game on the front lines brawling with heavy and assault mechs
Me and my best friend are playing Battletech 2018 co-op. He is a veteran of tabletop BT and his experience is invaluable. He adviced to hunt for Panthers and for the first stretch of the campaign they carried us. We had sometimes field full lance of nothing, but differently kitted Panthers. Even as we farmed heavier mediums and a lot of LosTec guns, we still have a Panther with three medium lasers and LRM15 as a heavy scout/harasser. They are the Shermans of Battletech.
They're really good in HBS Battletech until you can get a Phoenix Hawk lance up and running. :D
@@MechanicalFrog PHOENIX HAWK MENTIONED 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅
Nah, the Shermans are the Hunchbacks. Heavily armoured with specialized models that can do everything in existence
I’ve always liked this mech in narrative campaigns. It can mass up dangerous amounts of firepower when deployed in groups, and can typically survive long enough to fade away.
Just dangerous enough to be a problem. Not quite dangerous enough that it gets focus fired first.
Agreed. Panthers are perfect to sprinkle in to make sure nobody can stop to catch their breath without getting punished by big cat nibbling at their armor.
Imagine a Capellan Confederation Locust swarm. Now imagine all of those disposal 'Mechs are armed with PPC's. This is how a Panther do.
What's not to love about a durable (and adorable) light mech, and that PPC can be a real threat to larger mechs.
A ppc from a panther can theoretically pop a cockpit off an Atlas.
Just as much firepower as a Vendor and harder to hit. (bonus: also saves you a pile of spacebucks)
Well put.
As someone who likes to play as a FedRat or space vikings, I do have love for Mechs the Combine likes to field. Hunchbacks, Panthers and Dragons, oh my. Maybe a Hatamoto-Chi if there's something left to salvage.
Also tell Mrs. Frog we appreciate her being patient with your foray into being a ComStar creator for us. Getting to watch Battletech creators grow and improve over these last several years has been a treat.
Panther pilots seeing a lance of fire support assault mechs: Barbeque!
Same Panther pilots after seeing the lance of Wolfhounds guarding the assault mechs: don't make any sudden movements, and back away slow... Shit! They saw us! Run away!
Flee! Fleeeeee!
@@MechanicalFrog right, Frog, how's the DCMS boot camp treating you?🤣
Why do we love the panther?
Draconis Combine: “Heh heh….kitty mech go pew”
Technically, they go ZAP! :D
As a proud Lyran, I can confirm that there are many ways to skin an Alley Cat. The trick is making sure it doesn't skin you first.
Welcome to the Mustered Soldiery frog. Tea time is at 11am, and your Kimono fitting will be on Tuesday. Now question....Jenner or Panther?
Jenner has the swag. Panther has the Zap. Tough call.
Why do we love the Panther? It's the lightest of trooper mechs. it's got a little something for everyone. It's what the Capellans were improving on with the Vindicator. While it's slow for it's weight, it's sidekick the Jenner goes zoom. Also partners well with the Valkyrie if someone gets captured. And as much as I love the Urbanmech and believe it is a wonderfully unique machine and an amazing storytelling device, I'll take an Alley Cat for the urban guardian role every day. And I'd like to think that the Bears rebuilt the ones they captured, both 10K and 9R- DHS, Clantech ER PPC or LPL (arguments for either) with a co-ax IS small laser and half a ton more armour, along with the origional SRM-4, you get a faster, stronger, more versatile Cat in the city, jungle or mountains.
Panther has a place in any lance; either as the 'heavy' of a scout lance, as a cheap fire support mech in a medium lance, or as a bodyguard in an assault lance. It eschews the usual fast-backstabber buildtype of a light mech (itself optimized in Panther's best friends Jenner and Locust) in favor of being the lightest PPC carrier mech and the smallest mech to mount the classic PPC & SRM combo (ex. Thug).
A refit of the Panther I came up with is one I like to call the "Gunslinger". It has a 5/8/5 movement profile with a standard engine, light ferro-fibrous armor, endo-steel, and ten double heat sinks. It's armed with two light PPCs equipped with PPC capacitors and two medium pulse lasers for engaging stuff that tries to get in your face.
Reminds me of Tetsuhara's old mech, the "Katana Kat." that one had two standard PPCs.
@@stormsurge2103 Not in the lore, that's purely a video game thing
It may not be as fast as a Vindicator, but it feels so much tougher.
I think the difference is the addition of the cat ears.
@@MechanicalFrog Please, don't ruin our big, stompy robots.
Actually, both Vindicator & Panther run at the same speed & just as durable by default. Then again, a "mini-medium" Panthers are technically a Combine's Vindicator - as a workhorse mechs
@@Darren_Xero You're right, I keep forgetting I'm so used to the AA "Avenging Angel" Vindicator variant that I forget it's not the default.
Another old reliable, and a stylish one at that.
It'll do what is asked of it.
@@MechanicalFrog unless you misunderstood the situation and asked too much
The Panther is the quintessential "I just started a new game and I want a PPC platform" mech
In early 2018 Battletech I tend to drop two of these things in almost every early mission. One standard Panther 9R and another one armed with a large laser, a medium laser, and a SRM6 to bring a not insignificant amount of alpha strike that can be used twice before something far larger can react if you don't mind the heat.
You might have to back off and let the mech cool down while taking potshots with the missiles or medium after that double alpha strike but it is a loadout that brings that knife to the side of an already softened target.
The biggest downside it has is making me wish I could have a Wolfhound for the task instead even though their damage profiles would be almost identical.
Honestly the Panther sounds like a Light pilot's dream
You're either providing fire support with the PPC or your hidding and fading with the SRMs
Never in direct combat, and never scouting way behind enemy lines with no support or escape route. Just a simple, easy out of the way job. And if you get a lucky headshot with that PPC you could bag a heavy or even assault mech and maybe get a bunch of medals pinned on your chest for doing it.
A mech of many virtues.
For me it is because they are the only light mech that survived more than one contract when I played a long MegaMek campaign.
Also because it is easy to give them callsigns from the names of black cats my friends have. Yolanda, Mister Beans, Tux, and Gunther are a terrifying force when working together.
Mister Beans should not be underestimated.
It's hard for light mechs to get 10 armor all in one place, so the PPC/SRM4 combination is a one-salvo threat for breach and crit-seeking on peer targets... and it comes in a very easy package to put on the field in large numbers.
Absolutely.
I suspect the SRMs on a long range mech is because of Kurita’s obsession with the Thug.
One of my favorite light mechs. A nice, affordable, direct fire support platform. The stock variant is pretty solid, and it's super easy to upgrade too. My succession wars "bodyguard" variant loses the jump jets for extra armor and 2 extra SRM tubes. My late age variant uses DHS, an ERPPC, and a MML5.
I like how the 8Z got cancelled not because it was bad but because the specific large laser was dogwater
Throwing the baby out with the large laser... story as old as time.
I love this little guy! One of my more memorable games involved my Panther headshotting a Battlemaster with it's first PPC shot of the game, and then later going on to blow the leg off of a Dragon and subsequently destroy it with another PPC shot to the back armor which cooked off the ammo. In a game where my lance also included a 3D Crusader and a 6M Wolverine, it was the Panther that proved to be the heaviest hitter!
Rough day to be the BattleMaster...
The Panther vs the Wolfhound is always one of my favourite matchups
Two go in, one comes out... sometimes none come out.
I start out mw5 with the panther as my go to light mech until a wolfhound comes on the market .
I love the Panther, it is reasonably urbanmech. a fantastic urban combatant with a 4/6/5 movement profile thanks to the nimble jumper quirk, and a ppc instead of a heavy ac10. Where the Centurion feels like a pocket heavy this feels like a medium due to its slower speed and the bigger lumps of damage a ppc dishes out. before this even starts I suspect you are all over the 13k because having a 9 hex radius + plasma rifle range radius of "you could suddenly gain tons of heat" is a really wide zone. I am tempted to toss the plasma rifle to have a clan grade erppc to not have to worry about ammo.
I think the simple answer is that people love the panther because it fits neatly into the "how small of a mech can we fit this big weapon on?" category. In that regard it's a lot like the hollander with a gauss rifle or even an urbanmech with an AC20. It's a cheap way to field a big gun, which does the same damage whether it's mounted on a light mech or an assault.
Personally, I wouldn't be bothering with an SRM4. Sure, it'll get a bunch of volleys out of a ton but on a 35 tonner I'd rather have more armor, more speed or more heatsinks to keep that PPC pumping out lightning. His custom loadout at the end is a pretty good one overall.
After MW/CGL redesign the Panther's look is now a micro-Highlander wearing a cute cat head hat.
It has its charm.
Alshain: "The -8Z's large laser is too hot. Let's replace it with a PPC and drop a heat sink!"
Couldn't have just found a less cruddy large laser, I suppose.
As much as I love the Urbanmech in it's intended role (and as a story telling device), the Alley Cat does the urban defense job better. And it partners well with a captured Valk, along with it's intended buddy the Jenner. The only thing the 3025 version needs is DHS, don't need the endo. And then you can drop to 11 DHS, add a small laser (for THAT guy), CASE and a ton of armour, then might as well add the ER PPC. In cities, mountains and jungles, it works better than the Steiner Puppymech that demands to be the Panther's arch-nemesis. And Liao respected it enough to improve on it with the Vindicator- this is the mini version. There should be no reason to reason to not love the lightest trooper. I"m willing to bet that even the Bears rebuilt the FRR PNTs that were captured.
Still wanting a HPPC Panther. So much fun.
Did a couple of Panther variants myself, lol.
For the first, the PNT-RPR "Ripper," I gave it a 140 Light engine to keep the 4/5/4 movement profile. Switched it over to 10 DHS and gave it 6 tons of Hardened armor. For weapons, it carries a pair of Light AC/5s in the right arm with 2 tons of CASE protected ammo in the right torso. Backing it up are 4 ER small lasers, 2 each in the center torso and left arm. It's meant to engage armor and battle armor forces, though since it can use specialty ammo....
My second variant is the PNT-BLK "Black." Like the "Ripper," it has a Light engine and the same 4/5/4 movement, but it has TSM and 6.5 tons of Hardened armor. 10 DHS allow its weapons load to activate the TSM. On the right arm it has a large re-engineered laser, while the left arm carries 2 medium re-engineered lasers. Finally, a pair of emotional support ER small lasers can be found in the center torso.
One wonders why the Snakes never did ECM or sensor equiped variants by droping the SRM for an M-Laser (keep some close range firepower) a Beagle or Guardian and either a small laser or some extra armor. The Panther is a city defender and partisan/stay behind unit so having those should be useful. And they are not opposed to electronics.
Or replace the SRM with twin flamers and an M-Laser for a nice "fried infantry with rice" variant
For me this mech was always a prelude to the Vindicator.
Another solid mech. Good company.
Most newbie mechwarriors when spotting a Panther for the first time and seeing the stats come up on their display: "Seriously?! A 35 tonner that can barely move 65KPH? Who thought this was a good idea?"
(Panther proceeds to core through the armor with it's PPC, then exploits for critical hits with it's SRM 4, then jumps away.)
Newbie: "Uhhh."
Why do we love the Panther? It just looks cool. Apart from that one later design. It's a completely reasonable 'light-medium' mech that can do work with the right friends around it.
Fair enough.
The the 10K2 is my pick for a post 3070s meat and potatoes “every Kuritan company probably has one” panther. It has enough heat sinks to jump and shoot even at short ranges but I could probably argue for dropping one heat sink for an extra ton of armor or a second ammo bay to “pacify” some ghost bear elementals with infernos or tandom charge SRMs.
This is one of my favorite mechs, I normally replace the PPC with a clan one, a Plasma rifle or a Blazer and remove the SRM for a GECM and 3ERsmall lasers also in the right arm... Also add more DHS and JJ to it. Many mechs are headshot by this thing.
My first game of Battletech featured an Orion-K and the OG Panther. The Orion died but the Panther was able to briefly duel with a Fire starter and tired to light its rear armor up with a jump jet maneuver. It’s a nice little machine and something I’m partial to using regularly, if I was able to play regularly.
Love your work Mech Frog! Keep doing what you're doing.
Thanks a ton!
i really like the Panther in 3025, but i wish more of the upgrades upped the mobility rather than keeping it at 4/6/4
the 13K's perhaps a step in the right direction, but way too drastic-something like the MF variant officially would be quite nice
The Panther is an oddball. It functions far more like a small medium than a large light. It's a wonderful bodyguard for medium battleline 'mechs like the Centurion. But I think it's lack of speed really handicaps it's inclusion in a lance of lighter 'mechs. Basically, a light battleline 'mech, not a strike or recon 'mech.
Which is fair, considering how many light mediums function more like oversize lights, and the massive pressure put on most light mechs by the existence of the Phoenix Hawk.
Why do we love the Panther?
Because it's a light 'mech that even Assault 'mechs have to acknowledge. It's a great little support light and works well as a long-range sniper. Just avoid the PNT-10K. Without double heat sinks it's a nightmare to manage the heat from that ER PPC.
*Avenge ME~~* cracked me up way too hard lol
I absolutely love the PNT-9ALAG variant.
Losing the jump jets can hurt sometimes, but the 5/8 movement profile allowing it to keep up with the DRG-1G and DRG-1N, plus the other 5/8 55 ton mediums and 60 heavies makes that my preferred light mech in 3025 games.
It hurts me too much to yank the JJs.
The ALAG is my favorite too. I feel at least in my hands the Panther is almost never in situations that require the middling jumpjets but frequently in situations that require a 5/8 move. Overall the 5/8 move just fits the profile of the Panther better in my opinion.
In the old pre-clans game it was what the Hollander is now.
Panther is definitely a better option than an Urbanmech if you happen to pull garrison or urban defense duty.
Hit pause @ 7:00 in because I just wanted to say I really appreciate this glitchy transition for the text and mech images. It's soooo good.
Razzle dazzle...
@MechanicalFrog this is a pretty crazy amount of variants... I had no idea.
I mean the year for the 13k is definitely beyond my usual range but still. This is *wild*
That iconic look. The fact it looks so badass, not to mention the redesign by Piranha. But then again it always looked cool with that feline aesthetic. When Im done with the Kurita contract in my campaing I'm gonna employ a bunch of them. Just to show my players how good this 35 tonner really is.
I'm glad you did a panther with a light park cannon that has become my absolute favorite weapon.Give it a capacitor and it becomes perfection
Zap.... BIG ZAP!
Fun stuff. In my experience, they are better in the books than on the tabletop.
Fair point.
@@MechanicalFrog But I've yet to try the newest variants.
I enjoy all of Mechanical Frog videos 🎉
Thank you!
Ah, the Panther. Such a good little trooper.
I actually have a theory that someone was reviewing old specs for the Gladiator (the Primitive) when designing the Panther. There's some similarity between the loadout that could easily be explained as "inspiration".
If you'll permit, I'd like to tell you about my experience with the Panther. Not being able to play TT much at all, since that would require excess cash and friends, I only have the videogames to go off of. My first experience (since it didn't appear in MW4 or MC) was from MechWarrior Tactics. Yeah, anyone remember that mess of a game? Anyway, you opened packs to get cards, which consisted of Mechs and equipment, etc. I managed to pull an uncommon Panther and a VERY high quality PPC. In my matches, that thing would sit on high ground and make shot after shot while everything else bumbled around in the brawl below. It may not have been a great introduction to a Mech, but it endeared me to the solid design.
My next encounter was in MWO. They finally released the Panther and it... didn't perform well. People dropped it immediately, but I got... creative. In a match, most heavies will disregard a Panther sneaking past the firing lines if there's something bigger to shoot at. They tend to regret that once you show up in their rear arc with two large pulses.
There's a lot you can say about Panthers. It really just all boils down to: they're reliable.
Funny MWO story, my heavily customized Crab-27b (FF armor, DHS, Light fusion engine that got it to 102KPH, Two light PPCs,two ER Mediums,two ER Smalls and an AMS with 1 ton of ammo) turned a corner while on a flanking maneuver and came face to face with a Panther set up for long range combat (ERPPC and an LRM rack and was decently fast). Considering how much of a disadvantage that Panther was at it put up quite a fight in that impromptu duel. It seems we were both rather unimportant to the mechs in our area of the map as we were completely undisturbed for our whole fight. It was quite a fun fight,just two oddball builds throwing down at the edges of a clash of larger mechs.
The panther, jumping out of a forest, firing a ppc, and vanishing back into the forest again... Times four. What's not to like?
Can't find much to complain about.
Playing a PNT-16K in a campaign run be a Catlyst Demo Agent at the moment. I kind of would like to downgrade the streak SRM-4 launchers to standard variants and put more armor on it. I've been using it as bait to keep elementals off the main force. Recovered/stole it from the DCMS dropship myself and the other players were in as prisoners before it crashed. I've been having a hard time hitting the fire moths that have been carrying the elementals in though.
Our OpFor is the Raven Alliance, who pulled out a damn Blood Asp T on us on our second outing. Gets a bit annoying when other players call me out for "not being in a fire support mech" when that's what an ER PPC is for. Armor's a bit thin though, but that's what I get for bringing the lightest mech in the unit when most range around 50 tons.
Have a problem? Apply PPC. Problem solved.
What's not to love about a Panther? It's basically half a Warhammer
The Panther has enough pinch to always be a concern. It’s like a Cougar. It’s guns are to much of a threat to not take out as soon as you see it.
Hello Frog.
In the early days of the game, 1984 through around 1990, I purely HATED the Panther. At that time, I was a Davion based player, and often faced full lances, dual lances, and even a full-up company of Panthers. To combat this penchant of the Kurita players to overuse the Panthers at their disposal, I decided to play the same 'game' they did, but substituted Locusts. A player would announce the combat value of his Company and I would field that same value as a reinforced company of Locusts. Not just any Locusts however. All my Mechs were the variant that removed other weaponry to add a 2nd medium laser, or a 2nd and even a 3rd medium laser.
This led to a hue and cry about the 'unfairness' of it all. And my response was: 'You have all Panthers with PPCs. I just have little Locusts with medium lasers. When they complained to the playing group at large, they were laughed at and told to either field mixed lances, or they would continue to see Mono Design Companies in their future. It only took a few games where others fielded 'companies' of things like all Phoenix Hawks, for the Kurita players to start mixing in other Mech designs.
Until then, I was greatly delighted to use my speed advantage to the fullest. Backstabbing my way through company after company of Panthers.
The Panther, for the era (3025) was not a 'bad' Mech. And it got better over time, with the advancement of technology in the game, as you have pointed out in your video.
All, in all, I no longer detest the Panther... since I have formulated multiple ways to deal with 'floods' of them at my doorstep.
The panther in MWO was a dream, as far as mixing a PPC with SRMs I always kind of treated the PPC as the can opener and the SRMS were there to get that ooey gooey crits. I won't lie tho I always wanted Ghost Bear Dominion to make a Panther II, especially if they wanted to sell (slightly nerfed perhaps) them to the DC. So seeing that many panthers already have clan tech in them it kind of makes me yearn for it even harder. Great vid
"Mom, can we have heavy mech?" "No, son, we have got panther at home!"
Honestly, even in the high-tech power-gaming wonderlands of the 32nd century, the classic Panther is a good investment, especially if you bring a couple of them. Just enough firepower that you can't ignore it, just enough armor and agility that you have to dump more weapons than you'd like into taking it down. Even when it's not a serious threat, it's damn annoying.
Whenever I get slammed by a ppc from a particularly dirty angle while playing mw5 I just know it's some cocky giggleshit in a Panther. They really are the Halo Wars Gauss Hog of Battletech
Cat, it's a kitty cat, and it dance dance dance, and it dance dance dance.
Settle down, meow... :D
@@MechanicalFrog 🐈🔥🔥💨💨
I've gotta go through and try to recreate the Panther I made for my son. It's a 5/8/6 (thank you, partial wing) with a Light PPC in the CT, a Light PPC with Capacitor in the right arm, and MML-5 with two tons of ammo, and an ER Flamer in the left arm.
Sounds like fun.
The 5/8 version of panther is my favorite. Good running buddy for crabs and dragons.
Speedy Panther is a happy Panther.
Because nothing beats a cheap durable line mech. It can halt a medium or light heavy long enough to matter, and you can afford more of them than the opposition can any superior option.
Well put.
The 8Z large laser Panther not being more available makes me sad if only because it has the exact statline my unit choice tends to optimize to, and then I see it's not available for the faction locked clan invasion AS tournament :(.
I love my Panther it has cat ears and a tail
:( Sorry
Missed a few of these. Great mech to get back into the videos with
Welcome back!
Because it is hard to beat as a cheap line mech for its cost and it pairs well with the Jenner?
All quite true.
Nice as usuall! Hope we'll get Hussar video one day. Those Savannah Mechs are underappreciated.
Great video! Like the touch of Kurita humor. Looking forward to more videos.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I love the Panther because it looked like Megatron and I picked it among other mechs for my first game ever played back in the early 2000s. I don't remember all the specifics, but my opponent and fellow newbie picked an Atlas because its stats were good. I had like twelve mechs and he had like three. He still slaughtered a lot of them due to overwhelming power.
But that whole fight? The Panther was a huge thorn in his side and especially the Atlas which I kept taking shots at with the PPC. I found a forest. Jumped out of it, shot the PPC, and fell back into it. The more experienced player refereeing this fight found that really amusing. "Forest Cat I guess" The other player wasn't as amused and burned down or blew apart every thicket of trees he saw on the map, sometimes wasting ammunition out of pure paranoia. This was online and fog of war was in play, he had no idea where the Panther was for most of the fight and his slow lumbering mechs were all at most around the same speed and none could jump around like the Panther and other light and medium mechs I was fielding.
Either way, the Panther didn't survive the fight, but it was the one to land the finishing blow on the Atlas with a headshot.
Watched this with my two housepanthers Jinx & Lucky.
Spicy.
@@MechanicalFrog Lucky is SO spicy.
In my MegaMek campaign, I have a "Lance" of 11 Panthers. I've been lucky enough to have had quite a few contracts against the DCMS.
Yes, I turned off the lance size restriction, but I still have the weight restriction turned on. My company has, usually, 2 or 3 being repaired at any given moment during contracts and up to 6 mothballed. And sometimes I completely break down some, just to have spare parts.
Grwat video! Love the history...so much detail in battletech world.
Glad you enjoyed it!
PNT-10K may have been due to lack of double heat sinks at the time, but it can work as part of a Panther lance. 1 PNT-10K hits further than rest of the lance, while PNT-9Rs in the same lance provide bulk of the firepowerr.
Most good mechwarriors have a Panther killsign painted on their mech. All mechs have died to a Panther at some point. Thanks for the video.
An excellent reason for acquisition missions in Kuritan space.
Gotta say Mechfrog, I really like your variant. Gonna give it a try on the table top on Friday.
Please do! Let me know how it does.
There really should be a dark age version of the panther with a clan ERPPC, It’s just such a perfect fit I really want to see it happen.
3050 full clan tech rebuild of the PNT-11A Panther.
35t, 5/8/5, 1.75 endosteel, 3.5 XL+DHS, 5t standard cockpit and gyro, 6t fero-fiberous (armor factor 115), 18.75 pod space.
PRIME Config: ERPPC (ra), 2 Streak SRM-4 (r/lt), 2t srm- ammo (r/lt), MG + 0.5t ammo (la-cased), TAG, AP, ECM, 3 DHS.
Alt Config A: 2 ERLL (r/la), 2 Streak SRM-4 (r/lt), 1t ammo (rt-cased), MG + 0.5t ammo (la-cased), 5 DHS
The DCMS: No takesies backsies :)
Mine mine mine... all mine...
I love this channel so much
Thank you!
It would be interesting to see Panthers in the Ghost Bear/Rasalhague Dominion service
We need more Rasalhague painted mechs in general.
My father's mercs had one with a clan lbx 20 in its arm, always a nasty surprise
That sounds... big.
I kinda want to know how that was built.
@@elchjol2777 Essentially a 10k with an lbx 20 clan and an er med laser clan in the head salvaged from the Jade Falcons, 5/8/5 xl
5:00 scrolled so many comments and didn't see anyone noting the Battlecat paint scheme on a Panther!
Yay!
In my 3025 era games, i like to switch out the ppc for a large laser and the srms for a lrm 10. Similar heat but now the large laser is your close support weapon...
I can respect the LL switch. It's solid.
Another great vid, MechFrog👍
In the HBS game I actually like to run a sniper variant of the Panther that swaps out the PPC and SRM rack for 2 large lasers and an LRM-5 rack.
Sounds fun.
I usually pair it with a close range brawler such as a Dragon, Grasshopper or Gulliotine as long rage support sniping at targets trying to close with the bigger mech
It's dirty Drak mech but a Frog video...... guess I'll leave a like for the Frog! 😂
22:16 Pink Panther! wooooooooo!
There had to be at least one...
Panther: The Urbanmech you actually want!
Maining a faction from the other side of the IS [KOFF - Cappie - KOFF, KOFF], I don't often get to field a Panther, but the few times I played one in an alt OPFOR game, I respect its pounce-PPC/SRM-crit-seek-pounce capabilities.
It's a good cheap pick.
One of my favorite mechs
Refiited a panther by replacing the PPC with 2x M-Lasers & SRM 4 with an SRM 6 & an extra heat sync thanks to the weight saving due to removing the PPC. Results have been mixed, but as a flanker is a good option if you can Alpha stick an enemy mech of the rear arch.
Got to love a self sufficient mech that brings it's own penetrating weapon and crit seeking weapon. The only issue I have with it is that it's armor is weak for it's speed. It's easy to hit, not too tough and has ammo. But for the cost of the unit it's not a bad choice for a tighter budget lance.
Just give the mech to the mechwarrior in the barracks who snores. Problem will sort itself out after not too long.