Decades ago, while in the Army, I introduced my buddies to Battletech. However, I had two identical urban boards with each side only seeing what was in line of sight. The fog of war totally changes game play. One impulsive player wirh a light mech rushed in, turned a corner and bumped into an enemy heavy mech. 😂
@@ironboy3245 Play MWO and stop imagining it... The Solaris 7 map is like that, no matter what you ride, you will headsplat against at least 2 times your tonnage on a corner turn XD
@ironboy3245 Say what you will. An Urbie, point-blank, with an AC20. Just waiting and having a clear shot. You are better off ejecting. As that cockpit is toast. Even though in gameplay. The AC20 will "just scratch the paint". In lore, terrifying to see point-blank. Even it misses. Still, sh*t your pants. As the building behind just stopped existing.
There's really only one option for building a mercenary company. You buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. And last but not least, you need a command mech, so you buy a Locust. Locust swarms will attack the enemy's food reserves by eating empty their grain fields, which will lead to malnutrition, damaged immune systems and morale issues, helping you win your war in the long run. If you do get in a fight, the Locust swarm will completely overwhelm any opposing force of the same BV. On top of that, rounds will be extremely long, possibly forcing your opponent to flee out of annoyance and give you a free win. This company costs 5,184 BV, so about the same as Nerdly's beginner lance. Sadly, CGL doesn't sell Locust company boxes yet, so you'll probably have to prox or 3D print your Locust swarm.
I find the Black Death works faster than starvation on some worlds, so I end up going with Fleas. But that's what's great about Battletech, you can build around personal playstyles.
The answer to that question as a kid was, "Whatever your allowance could afford you to buy." When the figurines ranged between $4.99 and $39.99, you started out with the Wasp, Stinger and Locust Mechs, and then bought whatever cheap aerospace, tank and infantry figurine was on sale to make your force look big usually buying cheap plastic figures from other war games to use as proxies). Or, like me, ended up using a Zaku as a proxy for a Peregrine. :P Then you started saving up for the better ones, or hoped your family and friends would buy you the good ones on birthdays and Christmas. When you had to use the trading cards as your proxies you usually ended up getting that glance with, "Really, dude?"
Ahh sweet childhood! Yeah my kids days were something similar. I feel that was a good thing for modern me. It really makes me careful about what kinds of products I end up recommending here. I always think about little Otto's limited allowance and try to give him the best bang for his buck.
Eventually it does take on a bit of that collector aspect, because you want to be able to show off those models when you're duking it out. I mean I still have my old Ral Partha miniatures made of pewter, which had to be glued together. The different box sets do a decent job to provide that bang for your buck, but if you're looking for particular Mechs that whole Gatcha game aspect which got started in Mechwarrior Dark Age really ticks me off. If I want a particular model, I want to buy THAT model. @@nerdyOveranalyzed
My favorite BT game was my Catapult vs my friends favorite the Hunchback. It ended with a DFA to his cockpit. Then we switched roles. I got an AC/20 to his cockpit from long range. Then we went to his Atlas vs my Highlander. Exact same outcomes when it happened and we switched. Cockpit DFA, and cockpit ac/20. That was the best night of my life for battletech.
It's good to keep one next to your main brawler. Enemy tries to get close, throw the Hunchback at them, enemy is feeling the pressure, throw the Hunchback on top of the main brawler. People always complain about certain mechs like the Awesome having nothing to fight with at short range. Add a Hunchback and voila !
This is a great introduction. I am obsessed with Battletech, I own pretty much everything under the sun, but I have never actually played a tabletop game of it! Games have started at one of my local shops, including beginner sessions, so a clear video of what to initially bring is great.
BV was a new concept, when I played the only balancing factor we had was tonnage. And we would often use our own designs rather than mechs in the books like the technical readout. For instance our mechs would be something like a slightly heavier hunchback (which fixed the poor rear armor and added a couple more medium lasers) or a heavier version of the archer which had 3 LRM 20's instead of two.
I love designing my own customs! Tonnage was an ok way to balance back in the day, but after clan mechs came around, that kinda goes out the window haha. BV2 is quite decently balanceed.
one thing to bear in mind that if you learn that your lance has a glaring weakness that someone usually exploits there are low cost vehicles that you can use to not have to rework your entire list. and by glaring weakness I mean do you need a spotter? 3 warrior helicopters will cover you. Do you need AA or infantry killers? there are a trove of cheap (and squishy) platforms that can cover that. Edit: oh and lets not forget that the LRM carrier. It may explode to a stiff breeze, but it has the firepower to convince mediums to move all on its own
My first lance, and indeed the start to my Battalion, was the Heavy Lance. It fit my play style perfectly, and I loved every machine in it. Now I've got two command lances painted up as well, and have anothet company coming through the Mercs Kickstarter. Happy days!
I like playing with as a ComStar mech equipped force in the pre-clan era because it has some pretty rare mechs, but high battle values on them limits the force size enough that people running more common stuff usually outnumber me.
@@Wubbeyman Yeah, they get focused on what it has, but not what it costs lol. It's still a great mech though. It's a bit toasty if it's not the DHS versions.
Looking back on my time playing Battletech & the TTRPG Mechwarrior.,I'm shocked to discover everyone didn't play as a Merc. I never even considered playing as a house unit, and even more surprised how popular Comstar apparently is.
Comstar is great for 3 reasons: 1 - you can use almost any mech you want regardless of lostech, because we have it from Kerensky 2 - why choose a flavour of "asshole faction", if you can be THE asshole faction itself! 3 - after Tukaiyd you can play 2 very distinct factions, Word of Blake is something SPECIAL to play with >=D bonus reason 4 - you have a legit reason to say "I can't play Illclan, my faction is totally fucking dead"
ONLY HUNCHBACKS Huge guns - they got 'em. Lrm's and laserboats - you know they have it. Srm's - its like they always been here! And you still can go to town and PUNCH your way out of some close situations. They are everywhere, theit number is Legion, we call them Hunchbacks! But I hope i'll see some good alternatives for it in your video XD
I literally only own hunchback minis. I have 40 painted HBKs with a lot of variants, and they’re the only mech models I own. I only have two disappointments with the Battletech setting: 1) The grotesquely hamfisted squatting of Comstar 2) The fact the HBK doesn’t have 35, 55, 75, and 100T variants. “Big gun behind as much armor as your frame can handle” is the *only* correct mech design. I want a scouting variant with 4 lasers shoved into the shoulder and a 100T assault with the equivalent of 12 per shoulder. I guess I also don’t like that the clan variants seem to have been made intentionally bad instead of just being 1:1 clan upgrades of the 4G, 4P, 4J, and 4SP. Frankly it’s wild that no one ever just directly updates the 4P without meddling with it.
The Thunderbolt-SE, Wolverine-M, and Warhammer-D are all part of my ELH 151st Light Horse Rgt, Recon Company. Other classic (and widely available) mechs in the recon company a Riflemen, a Griffin, a Phoenix Hawk-D, Marauder-D, Wasp-D, a Stinger-G, and a Locust. The two less common mechs are a Merlin and a Chameleon. Since the ELH has served with almost all the Successor States during the Succession Wars, I can justify the selections.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed I hate to call it a jack of all trades, but it's solid at all ranges, mobile enough, and decent on heat. I even piloted an Urbie--surprisingly good at cityfighting, or even as a sniper.
I think Catalyst did a great job of picking classic mechs that were easy to learn and use for the intro sets and BTGOAC. I think you could do a beginner's guide to them and it would be useful!
Since I tend to introduce people with one mech at a time,instead of multiple mechs in a lance to let them try a few fun games of one on one duels I usually will start folks in city type brawler maps and longer ranged sniper fights. I often like to start people in Urbanmechs or Hunchbacks for their first city fight. Why? They're not so fast that they run the risk of crashing into buildings if we're playing with enviromental modifiers and they're durable enough to take a hit or two. In open field combat,I tend to start them off with something a bit like a Panther,a Griffin,or even a good old Enforcer. I have never once started folks with Clantech or anything larger than most mediums because I don't like overwhelming new players. After I let them get to grips with driving a basic light or medium around,then I'll move them into a Thunderbolt or something similar. I rarely take folks out with an Assault Mech simply because I find with some assaults,depending on era,there's a lot of moving parts and I'm a firm believer in the KISS method. Simple weapons,simple brackets to remember,and expand upon it with more and more complex mechs. When I have taken folks through BT I often start small,and grow up letting them experiment and find what works for their playstyle.
The archer is another good one. Lots of armor and many variants to fit your style of play as long as it is fire support. Long and continuous production run has made the archer ubiquitous across the inner sphere.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed I would argue that the archer deserves to be classed as a hybrid ranged/battleline as opposed to a pure ranged. Hear me out: at 70 tons it has almost maxed armor (40+ more than the catapult), and while its main armament is in fact the 40 tubes of LRMs, it still packs 2 forward and 2 rear MLs in the case of the ARC-2R, or trading the rear MLs and 10 tubes of LRMs for 8 tubes of forward SRMs in the ARC-2S. Combined with battlefists and the tonnage to make them hurt, it can hold its place on the main line of battle right alongside the thunderbolt if it needs to, or fall back to a fire support role at range if called for it. Its armor and ability to punch out scouts and skirmishers, along with rear arc weapons, also makes it reasonably forgiving of mistakes. Food for thought!
@@IdenDeSeer by the lore that is what the archer was designed as. It was originally designed as an assault mech before that term was solidified. It is an old design. It would bombard target with LRMs to soften target(s) till ammo is low or depleted then close for close combat. This is pretty much how I use it. It is a fire support mech first and formost, but you are right it can join the battle line later in the battle and generally does not require a body guard. I do prefer the 2S varient, but have had success with 2R and its rear facing MLs. With the 2R pushed the heat and dropped the 40 LRMs on target and was able to destry an actuator in a leg of a flanking jenner. Next turn heat was very much an issue, but the jenner had even more issues.
An Archer can also make a fine Close Quarters Mech if you sub out the LRM 20s for MRM 20s or 30s. With the armor, med lasers and fists for Mech combat, you can make an unsuspecting opponent cry. Switching to double heat sinks is just added icing.😁
@@phildicks4721 very true, but there are no stock MRM archers. Which is odd actually. You would think there would be a stock MRM varient. The closest you can get are the MML and clan LRM equipped varients.
I think a very common mistake is to try and project the rigid factions of other games *cough* 40K *cough* onto Battletech. The different IP states have been at war for so long any mech can be found in any state's arsenal. It's just a matter of making up some lore to justify it.
Yes! I do like Battletech for the fact that any mech can be in any faction through salvage. I get players who think the opposite and dislike the "any mech can be used by anyone" idea. But I enjoy it.
@@Piterdeveirs333 I concur. 40k and 5e have a gaming culture that imposes a rigidity of thinking in their customer base. These products do that as a way of imposing brand loyalty. In an unrelated incident a guy wrote an article lambasting the current edition of the Runequest RPG and then posted the link to a Runequest reddit group. That went badly for him. I saw the rewrite he did of the article. The first version was - by his own admission - mostly "it's bad because not 5e". Even after his rewrite that was the crux of his article but he tossed in other game references. He still got dragged. That mentality is also pretty damned common in 40k circles.
Great video! I might also recommend the Battlemaster, there's lots of great variants, and it is a solid line mech. Kind of like the Thunderbolt's big brother, and is also pretty much universally available. Once 3040 rolls around, the 5N is a better Grasshopper IMO. It has a PPC and extra medium laser in place of the large laser and LRM 5. No ammo explosions, and it has better piercing, and better close-in firepower. in 3064 we get the very sexy 6K, it has 5 medium pulses, a streak 4, and an ER large laser. That is a truly devastating cavalry mech. The Guillotine is also a good alternative to the Grasshopper, they are basically cousins. If you prefer more close-in firepower, the Guillotine-4L carries SRMs instead of the LRM 5 of the basic grasshopper. I am also a fan of the Crab. It is a solid 50 tonner, full energy loadout makes it very durable. It is basically always available. A good, cheap upgrade once SL tech is brought back in is the 27b variant, with double heat sinks, and upgrading the large lasers to ER variants. It makes a great all-range sniper cavalry mech. No Jump-jets means it doesn't fit the cavalry role as well as the Wolverine, but it is dirt-cheap battle value. Also, the crab is just a major fan favourite. I think the hermit crab was probably invented because of the sheer amount of carcinization memes XD
Charger: Bad mech with an "All-in" Fighting style... Flying tackle intensifies... But yeah, I definitely get the importance of feeling out your particular style. Everything needs jump jets for me. There are precious few trade offs I don't find acceptable for that kind of extra mobility. Edit: You should do a 'bad mech' round up with tips on not falling into their traps and making them as useful as possible.
I don't have much experience in Battletech, and it's mostly related to playing Mechwarrior Online and the computer game Battletech, but I had a chance to play a couple of battles in the tabletop version. There was a limit of 100 tonnes, so the battles were quite local. It was especially fun when those 100 tonnes had to be shared between two players. Anyway... Proenix Hawk. This is definitely my favourite mech that I will be guaranteed to add to my squad. He just runs all over the map, attacking from the flank or rear, while taking almost no damage himself because speed.
In 3025? 4 Vindicators for your scout lance, 4 Vindicators for your assault lance and 3 Vindicators and a Catapult for your fire support/command lance. If you run two companies or more, you may swap one Vindicator for a Highlander to spice things up a bit.
I am disappointed that the Phoenix Hawk is not here. Not only does it have a great speed, durability, jump jets, and effective weaponry for its weight, but it is just so damn versatile. It easily serves as a commander for a recon lance, a flanker for a regular medium lance, and is even an effective scout for heavy lances. This thing eats lights, goes toe to toe with mediums, and loves to put a large laser up the backside of heavies. It has also had some great upgrades after the Helm Memory Core and it's Royal variant is just nasty. Oh yeah, and the thing is easily available.
It's quite a good overall and widely available! It ultimately made it to the "other recommendations" section rather than the main list because of the availability of the Wolverine in the AGoAC box set and in universe. I felt like it overlapped with the Wolverine's function a bit too much for me to suggest it in the main lineup. But you could certainly use if you wanted!
I'm generally not a fan of 6/9/6 mechs actually. if I was to take one, I'd go for one of the better chameleon variants probably. Easy to Pilot is a great quirk, and being just a little bit bigger, it has more structure and stronger kicks. 50 tons is the ideal weight for a 6-9 mech with a standard engine. (it has the most available tonnage) The problem is that they lack the premium 7/11 ground speed that offers +4 TMM, and same with lacking 7 jump. But then again, you can't have everything in the succession wars era haha.
All my Battletech stuff still has the FASA logo. So when I teach someone to play. I start them with the Shadowhawk SDH-2D. It carries energy, ballistic, and missle weapon systems. Can jump, and it has good enough armor. So, it covers all of the base rules in one package.
If you're in the heavy tonnage and you grabbed the Alpha Strike Box, I'd say the Warhammer 6R. A good mix of weapons and ranges, that is also good for teaching you how to effectively manage ranges and heat generations. On the medium tonnage, I'd argue the Centurion. Again, good mix of ranges, plus you have that rear medium laser for if a light mech shows up in your rear. The rest I agree with. On the Clan Side, Summoner Prime in the Heavy Tonnage. Good mix of weapons and it's incredibly heat neutral. Yes, the Timber Wolf is heavier and carries more weapons but I have seen people shut themselves down so many times because they didn't manage their heat.
Another excellent Mech in the Assault bracket for new players is the BattleMaster. It's not a total power trip at a certain range bracket, like an Awesome or an Atlas, but instead serves as a perfect balanced leader to a lance, able to juggle being both frontline and command at the same time. It also helped me break out of a bad habit I had as a newbie, which was to overprioritize keeping my PPCs going, at the cost of good positions and my other weapons. A PPC is a fine weapon, but sometimes, you need to learn to drop it and go apeshit up close with fists and medium lasers! I remember pulling out a victory in a 3-player deathmatch by coring someone with the PPC who diverted attention from a King Crab, to come fight me in his Black Knight. I then strode up to the barely-standing King Crab and smashed the cockpit with the ol' left and right! Good times.
Had my first match against one of my dad's friends. Dad gave me an Awesome and his buddy took an Atlas. Both of us were a 3-2 pilot-gunnery stat. Forst round in firing range he tagged me with 7 out a 20 rack... Then i hit with all three PPCs. Rolled boxcars on all three for location. My dad's buddy Tom was shocked and I was hooked. Rest in peace Tom. I will miss our matches.
Not a bad break down. As a dedicated cavalryman I’ve always favored the holy trinity of the Griffin, Wolverine, and Shadowhawk. Definitely have love of the scout mech as well for quick recon and and skirmishes to draw enemies into an ambush. That said, I prefer the wasp over the Locust purely for its jump jet capabilities that give it an all terrain advantage. I do like the commando when used in ambushing in Forrest’s or city fighting as well but as per your previous video I hardly ever use them for my primary role in the field. Definitely like the idea of using an awesome if for no other reason than I can afford to buy two of them for the price of a single Atlas plus spare parts and have almost the same level of armor and long range capabilities. Occasionally I’ll go in hard with the T-Bolt but as you’ve said the ammunition bins make it a very vulnerable target so after raining down LRM fire as much as possible I’m forced to dump it once the enemy closes distance and resort to the Lasers………which goddamn if that isn’t fun to have to keep track of so that I don’t roast. (Modded one to match your specs and so far it’s worked.). Firestarter I’m weary off because I don’t like to use niche builds if possible but I’ll consider it. Never know when I’ll need to play the long game. Hunchbacks and Centurions are great for what they are but I need mechs to keep up when we maneuver around the enemy. Though I see the point of it to act as bodyguard to the TBolt. The Warhammer and the rifleman I don’t typically use unless I’m attacking a force in open field and need snipers. The Orion is definitely a beast I would use if for no other reason than it’s sheer destructive force that can be unleashed in multiple ranges. In short I think your picks are very well thought out and for the new guys starting out it works great. Especially in the c-bill saving bracket. Good work. Hopefully you can do a break down of cavalry mechs and the best tactics sometime. I’d love to see your insights.
I love how everything matches the Chanel color scheme. Great explanation for initiative sink, and way to use tactics. I will be showing my new players this video.
One intro game I led recently I pit myself in an enforcer vs giving the new player a Vindicator 1SIC. Two very similar mechs, close in BV. Able to show off some of the basics like moving, jumping, min range. And yet not mechs that are so super evasive or durable as to drag the game out too long.
I think that, from an in-universe perspective, the perfect mech for a new mechwarrior is the Shadow Hawk SHD-2H. You get a little of everything firepower-wise: a laser, an autocannon, and both short and long range missiles. This loadout gives you the ability to deal damage at any range in 3025. You also have the ability to jump (though not as far as some might like), and enough armor that you can afford a couple of mistakes...most of the time.
Thanks for this, very useful, any chance you could produce a summary table including varient for the original 10 the same way you have for the Bonus recommendations please?
I've only introduced one new player to the game. I completely skipped 1 on 1 mech engagement, as I felt it lost too much of the games strengths and would not encourage tactical thinking, and went straight to two on two mech. Gave the new player a Nightstar and a Bushwacker L1, so they wouldn't have to worry about their own heat levels for game 1, and got to play with some serious firepower, and ran a Komodo and Catapult c1 as opposition. Game 2 I let them pick out a full lance from my collection for each of us, and for game three and four I introduced vehicles, infantry and battle armor, letting them pick a force to a BV value, then building about 2/3 that as opposition using unit types they hadn't picked so they could see them in action.
Huh. My first company I painted came out pretty dang similar. It’s Taurians so I figured workhorse mechs made sense. Awesome, Catapult, Blackjack, and Rifleman Grasshopper, Enforcer, Wolverine, and Trebuchet Hunchback, Orion, Highlander, Thunderbolt.
As a long time player while i do not use box set as own a lot of stuff I would say for teaching new players would go for the 35-50 ton range mech. keeping mostly to the movement of 4-5 walking speed units. simple few options to move but can have a good variety of weapons and some jump. Whitworth, Panther, Centurion, Vindicator, Trebuchet, and Hunchback (various variants can work too) give good weapon mix without having so much to work on the movement rules so a player can get some basics down. Once a player wants to learn then you want them to learn light fast units, as if someone learns to use movement they can always go for the slower beefcake units. Its hard for those trained with slow assaults to properly use recon units speed.
Too bad you're not in Calgary or I'd have a game with ya! Lately I've noticed a lot more mentions of the Guillotine, both in local Calgary tournament play and outside of it. Could you do a feature on that mech?
A basic woodland style camo scheme can work for just about everything. The different houses/organizations usual have at least one unit listed as paints to appropriate camouflage. It's a good catch all when you just starting out and don't know which house you want. I use it for all my doubles of inner sphere mechs.
Either pure urbanmechs from Uncle Bucky's, or anything from Discount Dan's Superstore. I don't know if he's stilling doing the BOGO on hunchbacks, but that's a pretty amazing deal.
lol thanks. I quite enjoy Tolarian Community College. Maybe I should have changed up the wording a bit but ehh? I think the overall content/style of the total video is different enough?
When you mentiom the Centurion alternatives, I'd suggest the Vindicator 1R over the 1X. The 1X sacrifices needed armor for MGs that are questionable at beat.
Feel free to use the 1R if you want to! Personally I like the MGs for the extra damage. The risk of the ammo exploding is fairly low because it's stored on the arm.
Just wanted to say thanks for your videos wherever you are now. I recently got into battletech and I've just put together my first lance to play with a friend. I'd love some feedback. My lance is a Awesome-8T Catapult-C4 (might sub this out for something a bit more available) Hunchback-4P Wolverine-6M
Just working on another project that pays more atm. I've been playing again recently and have been re-thinking some videos. Lance looks decent! Might perform better with some although it might have some issues getting bulldozed if the enemy had a strong front line. Try: Awesome-8Q - Strongly consider swapping for the original 8Q. 3 PPCs and no ammo explosion risk is hard to beat Catapult-C1 - Consider swapping for the original C1. Knockdown chance of the LRM-20s is good, but being able to swap to 4 medium lasers and kick to deal with close range threats will make your lance more flexible. If you're looking for something common the Warhammer can be fun, but it's harder to use. You need to always give it the best cover. Otherwise the Trebuchet is similar enough to the C1 to replace it. Hunchback-4P - Strongest varient imo. Needs to get into 6 hexes or less. Good b/c you have other mechs that can compensate for its lack of range. Wolverine-6M - Very strong varient, very expensive. Could trade for original 6R if you're trying to shave points, or go to P-Hawk, Vulcan 5T or Firestarter if you're looking to get even cheaper. Javelin 10N can be amusing if you want a challenge, load 1 ton of inferno + 1 ton of regular and hold your shots until the end of the phase to potentially overheat/reduce incoming damage.
I thought I remembered a video you had done explaining the meaning and use of the various battlefield roles you are discussing, but I can't seem to locate it.
before even watching: the answers are scout: firestarter, jenner faster: griffin, wolverine, phoenix hawk, centurion. heavier: awesome, warhammer, thunderbolt, marauder
Hey Otto, haven´t heard from you for a while now, glad to see you back! By the way, do you even consider mechs from later TROs (except the variants, you do use those), like the Watchman, the Sentry and the Spartan? Granted, those are House/LosTech units, but at least the Watchman is sold to mercenary units while they serve the Federated Commonwealth and thus is rather wide spread. Then there is the Lineholder that was explicitely marketed to budget-minded mercs.
The mechs you mention are specialized picks simply because they can't be used pre-3060. The Lineholder and Marshal are favourite level1 mechs post-Invasion for me, though.
Great info for the new mech company commanders out there...i like to give brand new players heat neutral mechs with some speed as it removes some of the harder aspects of the game early doors...if you want to play at a later date the scarabus is a great 1st mech...very fast, can fire every weapon without generating heat and has a hatchet for up close and personal..you just have to ignore the electronic warfare bits for that first fight :-) however after using the scarabus the new player might be a bit spoilt and wonder why other mechs arent so perfect :-)
yep! I'd imagine you'd use the same mechs as the mercenary list. Maybe a bit more ramshakle or some weird variants. Could even run a few "looted" mechs from a few of the Successor States. Depends on how you envision your mechs but I'd imagine some faster raider types build around the 5/8 or 4/6/4 speed. But at the end of the day Pirates would probably just use whatever they had. Your imagination is the limit!
I’m about to play my 2nd game, I have 63 or so steiner mechs. I’m determined to use awesome aws-8q and guillotine gt-4l. I have 6000 points. Should my other 2 be king crab kgc-0000 and crab crb-10? Or nightstar nsr-9j and commando com-3a? Or something else entirely?
Wow your company suggestion is a lot different than mine. Scout lance Wasp 1a, Firestarter (Mirage if possible), Javelin (fire if possible), Phawk or Chameleon. Battle lance, Blackjack, Wolverine, Griffin (preferably the large laser variant), Trebuchet . Heavy lance, Tbolt, Cruddy, Hunchback J variety (N works as well), Catapult.
I am interested in lance and company building help when the unit list is not optimal. I frequently play the OpFor for a buddy and am handed units rolled from RATs with no organization and structure. I want to learn to structure them better. So many lance building guides presume free choice from all our most of the unit catalog, not when the units are already specified.
I think you can get the best of both worlds choosing to be a merc company with a sponsor from one of the great houses. Pick one faction to not work against, and you can sprinkle in some mechs and equipment a fully independent merc company might not realistically have. It also helps fill in the backstory of your company if you care about that. How'd you meet your sponsor? How closely tied are you to your sponsor? Is a loose relationship, or are you more politically aligned with them?
Oh small error I saw. When you go over the Warhammer as a range/battle line mech, the alternative mechs are the same as they were for range/cavalry for the grasshopper. My assumption is that the list wasn’t swapped.
Slight correction: the Capellans are on the opposite side of the Inner Sphere from the Clan Invasion, but in the same part of the Milky Way as everything else in Battletech.
I know it sounds too much but cause Im not a great painter and have a scheme Im confident that looks good and I can do I just end up saying all my mechs are one merc unit. A merc unit that is a bit reclusive after a cataclysmic conflict/bombardment of their homeworld discovered a Terran/SLDF complex buried in the mountains. That way I can justify the expansive collection of mechs that I have as one company...yeah a bit lame but I just like the scheme.
Not really, and technically any faction can use any mech. Draconis Combine basically owns the Jenner and the Panther, however there are Davion units in the Draconis March which makes some use of them since they raid DCMS worlds often enough. Likewise the Vindicator from the Capellans. Clantech is where it starts to get murky since eg during the Invasion era the Mariks never really fought against them, and outside of a few units mercenaries were not allowed to keep Clantech salvage. But all of this is to stay within the lore of the faction you want to play. Inner Sphere running Clantech does happen, especially as you start to get into the 3060s and beyond. Of course the limitations can be part of the fun. Playing a mainline DCMS unit whose composition is: 3 Dragons and a Charger can give you a feel for how their units would commonly fight against a more optimized force. Plus it's nice when playing longer campaigns since what you get access to changes your unit tactics.
The Atlas is not that good of a beginner's mech. It's certainly more forgiving when it comes to making mistakes, but if you don't understand the three main features you might get into trouble. The three features of the Atlas are : 1) It has a good, but not great ranged weapon that relies on ammo and die rolls for actual damage. 2) It has a whopper of a short ranged gun, meaning that people will try to stay away inviting them to shoot you at range. 3) The third feature is the psychological factor. That big gun and other features mean you can scare or lure the enemy into certain situations and turn them to your advantage.
Mercenary to the core... yeah you might be living on razors edge more often then not but the freedom and independance are worth it. Beginners definatly should begin with Bread and butter designs like the Thunderbolt, phoenix hawk, hunchback, Archer or Orion etc. even if you make a maneuvering mistake those mechs wont crumble instantly
Really. I just go with the "MEGAS XLR" logic. Is it a robot? Yes. Is it big. Yes. Can it stomp the DMV? Is that even a question? It is the answer. And does it have a big red "FIRE EVERYTHING" button? Yes. Followed by the final and hardest question: Do chicks dig it? The universe's greatest question. We should ask the Clans. So this is a roundabout way of saying. I know a bit of Battletech and such. Still, put me in a mech regardless. I could pull something impressive off....or did trying. It all matters to how YOU like to play. There is a Mech for every flavor. Even if you are a backwatered filthy Clanner.
Decades ago, while in the Army, I introduced my buddies to Battletech. However, I had two identical urban boards with each side only seeing what was in line of sight. The fog of war totally changes game play. One impulsive player wirh a light mech rushed in, turned a corner and bumped into an enemy heavy mech. 😂
D: urban enviroment start. Interesting!
Imagine turning the corner in a timber wolf and getting your face pasted by a urbie
@@ironboy3245 Play MWO and stop imagining it... The Solaris 7 map is like that, no matter what you ride, you will headsplat against at least 2 times your tonnage on a corner turn XD
New player here: how does this work? Do you guys play crouched down?
@ironboy3245 Say what you will. An Urbie, point-blank, with an AC20. Just waiting and having a clear shot. You are better off ejecting. As that cockpit is toast.
Even though in gameplay. The AC20 will "just scratch the paint". In lore, terrifying to see point-blank. Even it misses. Still, sh*t your pants. As the building behind just stopped existing.
There's really only one option for building a mercenary company. You buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. Then you buy a Locust. And last but not least, you need a command mech, so you buy a Locust.
Locust swarms will attack the enemy's food reserves by eating empty their grain fields, which will lead to malnutrition, damaged immune systems and morale issues, helping you win your war in the long run.
If you do get in a fight, the Locust swarm will completely overwhelm any opposing force of the same BV. On top of that, rounds will be extremely long, possibly forcing your opponent to flee out of annoyance and give you a free win.
This company costs 5,184 BV, so about the same as Nerdly's beginner lance. Sadly, CGL doesn't sell Locust company boxes yet, so you'll probably have to prox or 3D print your Locust swarm.
I find the Black Death works faster than starvation on some worlds, so I end up going with Fleas. But that's what's great about Battletech, you can build around personal playstyles.
The answer to that question as a kid was, "Whatever your allowance could afford you to buy." When the figurines ranged between $4.99 and $39.99, you started out with the Wasp, Stinger and Locust Mechs, and then bought whatever cheap aerospace, tank and infantry figurine was on sale to make your force look big usually buying cheap plastic figures from other war games to use as proxies). Or, like me, ended up using a Zaku as a proxy for a Peregrine. :P Then you started saving up for the better ones, or hoped your family and friends would buy you the good ones on birthdays and Christmas. When you had to use the trading cards as your proxies you usually ended up getting that glance with, "Really, dude?"
Ahh sweet childhood! Yeah my kids days were something similar.
I feel that was a good thing for modern me. It really makes me careful about what kinds of products I end up recommending here. I always think about little Otto's limited allowance and try to give him the best bang for his buck.
Eventually it does take on a bit of that collector aspect, because you want to be able to show off those models when you're duking it out. I mean I still have my old Ral Partha miniatures made of pewter, which had to be glued together. The different box sets do a decent job to provide that bang for your buck, but if you're looking for particular Mechs that whole Gatcha game aspect which got started in Mechwarrior Dark Age really ticks me off. If I want a particular model, I want to buy THAT model. @@nerdyOveranalyzed
Any sufficiently optimized mech is indistinguishable from a Hunchback variant.
heh heh heh
until the bushwhacker takes it job when the clans be steppin.
I hate the Hunchback. Once it loses it's right torso, it is useless.
@@Fer-De-LanceIntroducing, HBK-SP
@@XiloTheOdd Hunchback- special pity version.
My favorite BT game was my Catapult vs my friends favorite the Hunchback. It ended with a DFA to his cockpit. Then we switched roles. I got an AC/20 to his cockpit from long range. Then we went to his Atlas vs my Highlander. Exact same outcomes when it happened and we switched. Cockpit DFA, and cockpit ac/20. That was the best night of my life for battletech.
hue hue hue. Glad you got revenge!
My favorite mech is the Hunchback and I love how it shows up in every list. It just has that X factor to it.
Yeah! It's pretty great. Lots of people love it. Quite iconic.
It's good to keep one next to your main brawler. Enemy tries to get close, throw the Hunchback at them, enemy is feeling the pressure, throw the Hunchback on top of the main brawler. People always complain about certain mechs like the Awesome having nothing to fight with at short range. Add a Hunchback and voila !
This is a great introduction. I am obsessed with Battletech, I own pretty much everything under the sun, but I have never actually played a tabletop game of it! Games have started at one of my local shops, including beginner sessions, so a clear video of what to initially bring is great.
Thank you! I hope your first game sessions go well!
It's honestly quite impressive how much value you get out of the GoAC box, personally have the box plus the Battle and Command lance boxes
Yeah! I did something similar for my own collection.
I have the box plus Command, Direct Fire, and one of the Commstar boxes (I really wanted a Highlander)
BV was a new concept, when I played the only balancing factor we had was tonnage. And we would often use our own designs rather than mechs in the books like the technical readout. For instance our mechs would be something like a slightly heavier hunchback (which fixed the poor rear armor and added a couple more medium lasers) or a heavier version of the archer which had 3 LRM 20's instead of two.
I love designing my own customs! Tonnage was an ok way to balance back in the day, but after clan mechs came around, that kinda goes out the window haha. BV2 is quite decently balanceed.
one thing to bear in mind that if you learn that your lance has a glaring weakness that someone usually exploits there are low cost vehicles that you can use to not have to rework your entire list. and by glaring weakness I mean do you need a spotter? 3 warrior helicopters will cover you. Do you need AA or infantry killers? there are a trove of cheap (and squishy) platforms that can cover that.
Edit: oh and lets not forget that the LRM carrier. It may explode to a stiff breeze, but it has the firepower to convince mediums to move all on its own
Agreed. When i will move from only Mechs to combined arms, Helis and LRM carriers are going to be the first things i'll field.
My first lance, and indeed the start to my Battalion, was the Heavy Lance. It fit my play style perfectly, and I loved every machine in it. Now I've got two command lances painted up as well, and have anothet company coming through the Mercs Kickstarter. Happy days!
Yayyy! Glad you're enjoying the game!
I like playing with as a ComStar mech equipped force in the pre-clan era because it has some pretty rare mechs, but high battle values on them limits the force size enough that people running more common stuff usually outnumber me.
ComStar has been my faction of choice almost since the beginning. Dropping a Black Knight on someone for the first time is always fun.
@@Wubbeyman Yeah, they get focused on what it has, but not what it costs lol. It's still a great mech though. It's a bit toasty if it's not the DHS versions.
Yeah! Nothing wrong with liking to play something exotic!
Looking back on my time playing Battletech & the TTRPG Mechwarrior.,I'm shocked to discover everyone didn't play as a Merc. I never even considered playing as a house unit, and even more surprised how popular Comstar apparently is.
Yeah same honestly :p
Comstar is great for 3 reasons:
1 - you can use almost any mech you want regardless of lostech, because we have it from Kerensky
2 - why choose a flavour of "asshole faction", if you can be THE asshole faction itself!
3 - after Tukaiyd you can play 2 very distinct factions, Word of Blake is something SPECIAL to play with >=D
bonus reason 4 - you have a legit reason to say "I can't play Illclan, my faction is totally fucking dead"
ONLY HUNCHBACKS
Huge guns - they got 'em. Lrm's and laserboats - you know they have it. Srm's - its like they always been here!
And you still can go to town and PUNCH your way out of some close situations.
They are everywhere, theit number is Legion, we call them Hunchbacks!
But I hope i'll see some good alternatives for it in your video XD
lol, I didn't realize "all you need is Hunchbacks" was a meme
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Its not, but should be!
proper ammounts of hunchbacks in BV tend to be adequate roster in most situations
I literally only own hunchback minis. I have 40 painted HBKs with a lot of variants, and they’re the only mech models I own.
I only have two disappointments with the Battletech setting:
1) The grotesquely hamfisted squatting of Comstar
2) The fact the HBK doesn’t have 35, 55, 75, and 100T variants.
“Big gun behind as much armor as your frame can handle” is the *only* correct mech design. I want a scouting variant with 4 lasers shoved into the shoulder and a 100T assault with the equivalent of 12 per shoulder.
I guess I also don’t like that the clan variants seem to have been made intentionally bad instead of just being 1:1 clan upgrades of the 4G, 4P, 4J, and 4SP. Frankly it’s wild that no one ever just directly updates the 4P without meddling with it.
The Thunderbolt-SE, Wolverine-M, and Warhammer-D are all part of my ELH 151st Light Horse Rgt, Recon Company. Other classic (and widely available) mechs in the recon company a Riflemen, a Griffin, a Phoenix Hawk-D, Marauder-D, Wasp-D, a Stinger-G, and a Locust. The two less common mechs are a Merlin and a Chameleon. Since the ELH has served with almost all the Successor States during the Succession Wars, I can justify the selections.
I started with a Thunderbolt; still love that machine. A great, versatile, TOUGH mech.
Yeah! It's one of my favorites. I really enjoy it. Always seems to make it into most of my lists.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed I hate to call it a jack of all trades, but it's solid at all ranges, mobile enough, and decent on heat. I even piloted an Urbie--surprisingly good at cityfighting, or even as a sniper.
I think Catalyst did a great job of picking classic mechs that were easy to learn and use for the intro sets and BTGOAC. I think you could do a beginner's guide to them and it would be useful!
There should be "Commander Guides" for every mech in the AGoAC starter box!
Since I tend to introduce people with one mech at a time,instead of multiple mechs in a lance to let them try a few fun games of one on one duels I usually will start folks in city type brawler maps and longer ranged sniper fights.
I often like to start people in Urbanmechs or Hunchbacks for their first city fight. Why? They're not so fast that they run the risk of crashing into buildings if we're playing with enviromental modifiers and they're durable enough to take a hit or two.
In open field combat,I tend to start them off with something a bit like a Panther,a Griffin,or even a good old Enforcer.
I have never once started folks with Clantech or anything larger than most mediums because I don't like overwhelming new players. After I let them get to grips with driving a basic light or medium around,then I'll move them into a Thunderbolt or something similar. I rarely take folks out with an Assault Mech simply because I find with some assaults,depending on era,there's a lot of moving parts and I'm a firm believer in the KISS method. Simple weapons,simple brackets to remember,and expand upon it with more and more complex mechs. When I have taken folks through BT I often start small,and grow up letting them experiment and find what works for their playstyle.
Sounds like a decent way to introduce the game!
The archer is another good one. Lots of armor and many variants to fit your style of play as long as it is fire support. Long and continuous production run has made the archer ubiquitous across the inner sphere.
Yep! The Archer is pretty great!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed I would argue that the archer deserves to be classed as a hybrid ranged/battleline as opposed to a pure ranged. Hear me out: at 70 tons it has almost maxed armor (40+ more than the catapult), and while its main armament is in fact the 40 tubes of LRMs, it still packs 2 forward and 2 rear MLs in the case of the ARC-2R, or trading the rear MLs and 10 tubes of LRMs for 8 tubes of forward SRMs in the ARC-2S. Combined with battlefists and the tonnage to make them hurt, it can hold its place on the main line of battle right alongside the thunderbolt if it needs to, or fall back to a fire support role at range if called for it. Its armor and ability to punch out scouts and skirmishers, along with rear arc weapons, also makes it reasonably forgiving of mistakes.
Food for thought!
@@IdenDeSeer by the lore that is what the archer was designed as. It was originally designed as an assault mech before that term was solidified. It is an old design. It would bombard target with LRMs to soften target(s) till ammo is low or depleted then close for close combat. This is pretty much how I use it. It is a fire support mech first and formost, but you are right it can join the battle line later in the battle and generally does not require a body guard. I do prefer the 2S varient, but have had success with 2R and its rear facing MLs. With the 2R pushed the heat and dropped the 40 LRMs on target and was able to destry an actuator in a leg of a flanking jenner. Next turn heat was very much an issue, but the jenner had even more issues.
An Archer can also make a fine Close Quarters Mech if you sub out the LRM 20s for MRM 20s or 30s. With the armor, med lasers and fists for Mech combat, you can make an unsuspecting opponent cry. Switching to double heat sinks is just added icing.😁
@@phildicks4721 very true, but there are no stock MRM archers. Which is odd actually. You would think there would be a stock MRM varient. The closest you can get are the MML and clan LRM equipped varients.
I think a very common mistake is to try and project the rigid factions of other games *cough* 40K *cough* onto Battletech. The different IP states have been at war for so long any mech can be found in any state's arsenal. It's just a matter of making up some lore to justify it.
Yes! I do like Battletech for the fact that any mech can be in any faction through salvage.
I get players who think the opposite and dislike the "any mech can be used by anyone" idea. But I enjoy it.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed sounds like a them problem
@@Piterdeveirs333 I concur. 40k and 5e have a gaming culture that imposes a rigidity of thinking in their customer base. These products do that as a way of imposing brand loyalty. In an unrelated incident a guy wrote an article lambasting the current edition of the Runequest RPG and then posted the link to a Runequest reddit group.
That went badly for him.
I saw the rewrite he did of the article. The first version was - by his own admission - mostly "it's bad because not 5e". Even after his rewrite that was the crux of his article but he tossed in other game references. He still got dragged. That mentality is also pretty damned common in 40k circles.
@@nerdyOveranalyzed Your approach is a much better fit for the original Mecha Mad Max in SPACE! motif of the earlier period of the game.
This is perfect, this is the exact info I was looking for when I started.
Glad you enjoyed! Hopefully it helps people out trying to get into the hobby.
Also welcome back!
Been here just lurkin, working hard to convert more spheroids.@@nerdyOveranalyzed
Great video! I might also recommend the Battlemaster, there's lots of great variants, and it is a solid line mech. Kind of like the Thunderbolt's big brother, and is also pretty much universally available.
Once 3040 rolls around, the 5N is a better Grasshopper IMO. It has a PPC and extra medium laser in place of the large laser and LRM 5. No ammo explosions, and it has better piercing, and better close-in firepower. in 3064 we get the very sexy 6K, it has 5 medium pulses, a streak 4, and an ER large laser. That is a truly devastating cavalry mech. The Guillotine is also a good alternative to the Grasshopper, they are basically cousins. If you prefer more close-in firepower, the Guillotine-4L carries SRMs instead of the LRM 5 of the basic grasshopper.
I am also a fan of the Crab. It is a solid 50 tonner, full energy loadout makes it very durable. It is basically always available. A good, cheap upgrade once SL tech is brought back in is the 27b variant, with double heat sinks, and upgrading the large lasers to ER variants. It makes a great all-range sniper cavalry mech. No Jump-jets means it doesn't fit the cavalry role as well as the Wolverine, but it is dirt-cheap battle value. Also, the crab is just a major fan favourite. I think the hermit crab was probably invented because of the sheer amount of carcinization memes XD
Charger: Bad mech with an "All-in" Fighting style... Flying tackle intensifies...
But yeah, I definitely get the importance of feeling out your particular style. Everything needs jump jets for me. There are precious few trade offs I don't find acceptable for that kind of extra mobility.
Edit: You should do a 'bad mech' round up with tips on not falling into their traps and making them as useful as possible.
Yep! Lots of ways you can enjoy the game!
I don't have much experience in Battletech, and it's mostly related to playing Mechwarrior Online and the computer game Battletech, but I had a chance to play a couple of battles in the tabletop version. There was a limit of 100 tonnes, so the battles were quite local. It was especially fun when those 100 tonnes had to be shared between two players.
Anyway... Proenix Hawk. This is definitely my favourite mech that I will be guaranteed to add to my squad. He just runs all over the map, attacking from the flank or rear, while taking almost no damage himself because speed.
Hoooo boy, can't wait for this. Gonna be a good guide for what mechs I should add next to my Capellan forces.
Hope you enjoy it Commander!
@@nerdyOveranalyzedeverytime you upload battletech it’s a great day! Thank you!
In 3025? 4 Vindicators for your scout lance, 4 Vindicators for your assault lance and 3 Vindicators and a Catapult for your fire support/command lance.
If you run two companies or more, you may swap one Vindicator for a Highlander to spice things up a bit.
@@Szoki86 So many Beginner boxes then, haha. Wish they sold them in force packs.
@@ArexusGaliayeah, it should be easier to get multiples of the T-34 of the Capellan forces.
Hey Nerdy. As someone just now getting back into battletech after twenty years.... Thank you for being newbie inclusive and educational.
You're welcome Commander and welcome back to the hobby!
I am disappointed that the Phoenix Hawk is not here. Not only does it have a great speed, durability, jump jets, and effective weaponry for its weight, but it is just so damn versatile. It easily serves as a commander for a recon lance, a flanker for a regular medium lance, and is even an effective scout for heavy lances. This thing eats lights, goes toe to toe with mediums, and loves to put a large laser up the backside of heavies. It has also had some great upgrades after the Helm Memory Core and it's Royal variant is just nasty. Oh yeah, and the thing is easily available.
It's quite a good overall and widely available!
It ultimately made it to the "other recommendations" section rather than the main list because of the availability of the Wolverine in the AGoAC box set and in universe. I felt like it overlapped with the Wolverine's function a bit too much for me to suggest it in the main lineup. But you could certainly use if you wanted!
I'm generally not a fan of 6/9/6 mechs actually. if I was to take one, I'd go for one of the better chameleon variants probably. Easy to Pilot is a great quirk, and being just a little bit bigger, it has more structure and stronger kicks. 50 tons is the ideal weight for a 6-9 mech with a standard engine. (it has the most available tonnage)
The problem is that they lack the premium 7/11 ground speed that offers +4 TMM, and same with lacking 7 jump. But then again, you can't have everything in the succession wars era haha.
All my Battletech stuff still has the FASA logo.
So when I teach someone to play. I start them with the Shadowhawk SDH-2D. It carries energy, ballistic, and missle weapon systems. Can jump, and it has good enough armor. So, it covers all of the base rules in one package.
That's actually a very good and well explained list for beginners. Great job!
Thanks! :)
If you're in the heavy tonnage and you grabbed the Alpha Strike Box, I'd say the Warhammer 6R. A good mix of weapons and ranges, that is also good for teaching you how to effectively manage ranges and heat generations.
On the medium tonnage, I'd argue the Centurion. Again, good mix of ranges, plus you have that rear medium laser for if a light mech shows up in your rear.
The rest I agree with.
On the Clan Side, Summoner Prime in the Heavy Tonnage. Good mix of weapons and it's incredibly heat neutral. Yes, the Timber Wolf is heavier and carries more weapons but I have seen people shut themselves down so many times because they didn't manage their heat.
Another excellent Mech in the Assault bracket for new players is the BattleMaster. It's not a total power trip at a certain range bracket, like an Awesome or an Atlas, but instead serves as a perfect balanced leader to a lance, able to juggle being both frontline and command at the same time.
It also helped me break out of a bad habit I had as a newbie, which was to overprioritize keeping my PPCs going, at the cost of good positions and my other weapons. A PPC is a fine weapon, but sometimes, you need to learn to drop it and go apeshit up close with fists and medium lasers! I remember pulling out a victory in a 3-player deathmatch by coring someone with the PPC who diverted attention from a King Crab, to come fight me in his Black Knight. I then strode up to the barely-standing King Crab and smashed the cockpit with the ol' left and right! Good times.
Had my first match against one of my dad's friends. Dad gave me an Awesome and his buddy took an Atlas. Both of us were a 3-2 pilot-gunnery stat.
Forst round in firing range he tagged me with 7 out a 20 rack...
Then i hit with all three PPCs. Rolled boxcars on all three for location.
My dad's buddy Tom was shocked and I was hooked. Rest in peace Tom. I will miss our matches.
A company of Firestarters.
That's all you need.
🔥🔥🔥🔥
Best way to ensure warm Company
Only if you paint them like Charmander.
CHAR! CHAR!
Build a man a fire, he'll be warm for the night.
_Set_ a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!
You're really batting 100 with the battletech content, awesome as usual
Thank you for your kind comment! More to come! :)
when I first started back in 96 I was placed with a Wolverine when I came back to Battletech 2 years ago I started with an Enforcer
ha ha ha! Hope you're enjoying that mobile AC/20!
I like the list were you called the Merlin a fat Vindicator 😀.
heh heh :)
Not a bad break down. As a dedicated cavalryman I’ve always favored the holy trinity of the Griffin, Wolverine, and Shadowhawk. Definitely have love of the scout mech as well for quick recon and and skirmishes to draw enemies into an ambush. That said, I prefer the wasp over the Locust purely for its jump jet capabilities that give it an all terrain advantage. I do like the commando when used in ambushing in Forrest’s or city fighting as well but as per your previous video I hardly ever use them for my primary role in the field. Definitely like the idea of using an awesome if for no other reason than I can afford to buy two of them for the price of a single Atlas plus spare parts and have almost the same level of armor and long range capabilities. Occasionally I’ll go in hard with the T-Bolt but as you’ve said the ammunition bins make it a very vulnerable target so after raining down LRM fire as much as possible I’m forced to dump it once the enemy closes distance and resort to the Lasers………which goddamn if that isn’t fun to have to keep track of so that I don’t roast. (Modded one to match your specs and so far it’s worked.). Firestarter I’m weary off because I don’t like to use niche builds if possible but I’ll consider it. Never know when I’ll need to play the long game. Hunchbacks and Centurions are great for what they are but I need mechs to keep up when we maneuver around the enemy. Though I see the point of it to act as bodyguard to the TBolt. The Warhammer and the rifleman I don’t typically use unless I’m attacking a force in open field and need snipers. The Orion is definitely a beast I would use if for no other reason than it’s sheer destructive force that can be unleashed in multiple ranges.
In short I think your picks are very well thought out and for the new guys starting out it works great. Especially in the c-bill saving bracket. Good work. Hopefully you can do a break down of cavalry mechs and the best tactics sometime. I’d love to see your insights.
I love how everything matches the Chanel color scheme.
Great explanation for initiative sink, and way to use tactics. I will be showing my new players this video.
lol thanks. Hope your new players enjoy!
One intro game I led recently I pit myself in an enforcer vs giving the new player a Vindicator 1SIC. Two very similar mechs, close in BV. Able to show off some of the basics like moving, jumping, min range. And yet not mechs that are so super evasive or durable as to drag the game out too long.
I think that, from an in-universe perspective, the perfect mech for a new mechwarrior is the Shadow Hawk SHD-2H. You get a little of everything firepower-wise: a laser, an autocannon, and both short and long range missiles. This loadout gives you the ability to deal damage at any range in 3025. You also have the ability to jump (though not as far as some might like), and enough armor that you can afford a couple of mistakes...most of the time.
That, along with the battlefists, is probably why they included it as part of your starting lance in Harebrained Schemes' BATTLETECH.
@@Bek359 Possibly, along along with the similarly versatile Vindicator.
Thanks for this, very useful, any chance you could produce a summary table including varient for the original 10 the same way you have for the Bonus recommendations please?
I just started, I looked over all the mech my LGS had and made the obvious choice and got four urbanmechs.
I've only introduced one new player to the game. I completely skipped 1 on 1 mech engagement, as I felt it lost too much of the games strengths and would not encourage tactical thinking, and went straight to two on two mech.
Gave the new player a Nightstar and a Bushwacker L1, so they wouldn't have to worry about their own heat levels for game 1, and got to play with some serious firepower, and ran a Komodo and Catapult c1 as opposition.
Game 2 I let them pick out a full lance from my collection for each of us, and for game three and four I introduced vehicles, infantry and battle armor, letting them pick a force to a BV value, then building about 2/3 that as opposition using unit types they hadn't picked so they could see them in action.
I would love to see a similar video to this for the clans when you get there! Like a best clan star so you can vs the IS company.
Oh man, your orange slime hand killed me! So great!
lol, glad you enjoyed it!
Huh. My first company I painted came out pretty dang similar. It’s Taurians so I figured workhorse mechs made sense.
Awesome, Catapult, Blackjack, and Rifleman
Grasshopper, Enforcer, Wolverine, and Trebuchet
Hunchback, Orion, Highlander, Thunderbolt.
Ayy nice! Sounds like a pretty good unit!
As a long time player while i do not use box set as own a lot of stuff I would say for teaching new players would go for the 35-50 ton range mech. keeping mostly to the movement of 4-5 walking speed units. simple few options to move but can have a good variety of weapons and some jump. Whitworth, Panther, Centurion, Vindicator, Trebuchet, and Hunchback (various variants can work too) give good weapon mix without having so much to work on the movement rules so a player can get some basics down.
Once a player wants to learn then you want them to learn light fast units, as if someone learns to use movement they can always go for the slower beefcake units. Its hard for those trained with slow assaults to properly use recon units speed.
that isn't a bad idea! :)
Too bad you're not in Calgary or I'd have a game with ya!
Lately I've noticed a lot more mentions of the Guillotine, both in local Calgary tournament play and outside of it. Could you do a feature on that mech?
The Guillotine is an excellent mech! It's like the Grasshopper but better in mech vs mech fights because of it's SRM-6!
Incredible Culture
Good work
Very nice effort
Vibe and a half outro
Love your content i hope you keep making it for a long time coming
A basic woodland style camo scheme can work for just about everything. The different houses/organizations usual have at least one unit listed as paints to appropriate camouflage. It's a good catch all when you just starting out and don't know which house you want. I use it for all my doubles of inner sphere mechs.
very true!
Either pure urbanmechs from Uncle Bucky's, or anything from Discount Dan's Superstore. I don't know if he's stilling doing the BOGO on hunchbacks, but that's a pretty amazing deal.
What mech should I start with? All of them!
Yeet haw Commander! o7
Great mech recommendations!!
I've always been partial to the Shadow Hawk 2H myself. Though any decent Medium is a good starting point in my opinion.
Really channelling the professor in that intro!
lol thanks. I quite enjoy Tolarian Community College. Maybe I should have changed up the wording a bit but ehh? I think the overall content/style of the total video is different enough?
@@nerdyOveranalyzed it was great!
When you mentiom the Centurion alternatives, I'd suggest the Vindicator 1R over the 1X. The 1X sacrifices needed armor for MGs that are questionable at beat.
Feel free to use the 1R if you want to! Personally I like the MGs for the extra damage. The risk of the ammo exploding is fairly low because it's stored on the arm.
Just wanted to say thanks for your videos wherever you are now. I recently got into battletech and I've just put together my first lance to play with a friend. I'd love some feedback. My lance is a
Awesome-8T
Catapult-C4 (might sub this out for something a bit more available)
Hunchback-4P
Wolverine-6M
Just working on another project that pays more atm. I've been playing again recently and have been re-thinking some videos.
Lance looks decent! Might perform better with some although it might have some issues getting bulldozed if the enemy had a strong front line. Try:
Awesome-8Q - Strongly consider swapping for the original 8Q. 3 PPCs and no ammo explosion risk is hard to beat
Catapult-C1 - Consider swapping for the original C1. Knockdown chance of the LRM-20s is good, but being able to swap to 4 medium lasers and kick to deal with close range threats will make your lance more flexible. If you're looking for something common the Warhammer can be fun, but it's harder to use. You need to always give it the best cover. Otherwise the Trebuchet is similar enough to the C1 to replace it.
Hunchback-4P - Strongest varient imo. Needs to get into 6 hexes or less. Good b/c you have other mechs that can compensate for its lack of range.
Wolverine-6M - Very strong varient, very expensive. Could trade for original 6R if you're trying to shave points, or go to P-Hawk, Vulcan 5T or Firestarter if you're looking to get even cheaper. Javelin 10N can be amusing if you want a challenge, load 1 ton of inferno + 1 ton of regular and hold your shots until the end of the phase to potentially overheat/reduce incoming damage.
I thought I remembered a video you had done explaining the meaning and use of the various battlefield roles you are discussing, but I can't seem to locate it.
th-cam.com/video/rqYW3NQqW6Y/w-d-xo.html :)
before even watching: the answers are
scout: firestarter, jenner
faster: griffin, wolverine, phoenix hawk, centurion.
heavier: awesome, warhammer, thunderbolt, marauder
"A Mech as powerful as possible, as impenetrable as possible, and as ugly and foreboding as conceivable, so that fear itself will be our ally."
Hey Otto, haven´t heard from you for a while now, glad to see you back!
By the way, do you even consider mechs from later TROs (except the variants, you do use those), like the Watchman, the Sentry and the Spartan?
Granted, those are House/LosTech units, but at least the Watchman is sold to mercenary units while they serve the Federated Commonwealth and thus is rather wide spread.
Then there is the Lineholder that was explicitely marketed to budget-minded mercs.
The mechs you mention are specialized picks simply because they can't be used pre-3060. The Lineholder and Marshal are favourite level1 mechs post-Invasion for me, though.
@@jasonmonsen7052 The Watchman was created in early 3050s, so it would count... or not?
The answer I found is - what ever looks cool.
Great info for the new mech company commanders out there...i like to give brand new players heat neutral mechs with some speed as it removes some of the harder aspects of the game early doors...if you want to play at a later date the scarabus is a great 1st mech...very fast, can fire every weapon without generating heat and has a hatchet for up close and personal..you just have to ignore the electronic warfare bits for that first fight :-) however after using the scarabus the new player might be a bit spoilt and wonder why other mechs arent so perfect :-)
Maybe maybe! Heat management is quite a step I suppose!
Hey, super Videos, thank you! I have my starting Box and my Idea, is to play a Pirate Group. Is this an good, or even playable Idea?
yep! I'd imagine you'd use the same mechs as the mercenary list. Maybe a bit more ramshakle or some weird variants. Could even run a few "looted" mechs from a few of the Successor States. Depends on how you envision your mechs but I'd imagine some faster raider types build around the 5/8 or 4/6/4 speed. But at the end of the day Pirates would probably just use whatever they had. Your imagination is the limit!
@@nerdyOveranalyzed that is, what i hoped to hear, thank you:) so i think my dream of the 10 Atlas und 2 Locust Company, fits super in this concept :D
I’m about to play my 2nd game, I have 63 or so steiner mechs. I’m determined to use awesome aws-8q and guillotine gt-4l. I have 6000 points. Should my other 2 be king crab kgc-0000 and crab crb-10? Or nightstar nsr-9j and commando com-3a? Or something else entirely?
Urbanmech. It's always Urbanmech.
The ol' urbie derbie!
I picked Mechs I like, I regret nothing. I guess I should Specify, HBK-4G , RVN-1X, ENF-4R, and GRF-1S
Great video!
Watching this video, I realize... We need some videos on crafting/buying that scenery :p
Which packs would I need to get to obtain the basic roster they recommend?
Wow your company suggestion is a lot different than mine.
Scout lance Wasp 1a, Firestarter (Mirage if possible), Javelin (fire if possible), Phawk or Chameleon.
Battle lance, Blackjack, Wolverine, Griffin (preferably the large laser variant), Trebuchet .
Heavy lance, Tbolt, Cruddy, Hunchback J variety (N works as well), Catapult.
yours doesn't seem like a bad lineup!
I am interested in lance and company building help when the unit list is not optimal. I frequently play the OpFor for a buddy and am handed units rolled from RATs with no organization and structure. I want to learn to structure them better. So many lance building guides presume free choice from all our most of the unit catalog, not when the units are already specified.
Sure! A "how to build a lance" video has been on my mind.
Every issue can be solved with an appropiate number of Vindicators.
Xin Sheng
:^)
1:27 I see you went for the sunroof option on your Thunderbolt!
lol thanks
I think you can get the best of both worlds choosing to be a merc company with a sponsor from one of the great houses.
Pick one faction to not work against, and you can sprinkle in some mechs and equipment a fully independent merc company might not realistically have. It also helps fill in the backstory of your company if you care about that. How'd you meet your sponsor? How closely tied are you to your sponsor? Is a loose relationship, or are you more politically aligned with them?
Totally agree! Lots of things can explain how you got XYZ mech!
god i fucking love that outro
I'd probably switch the awesome for a Marauder/catapult so you can keep the fist lance around the 5k lance.
Ye if you wanted a flat 5k you can downgrade a mech for sure!
What if one wanted a full company of King Crabs?
Oh small error I saw. When you go over the Warhammer as a range/battle line mech, the alternative mechs are the same as they were for range/cavalry for the grasshopper. My assumption is that the list wasn’t swapped.
ah crap. D:
For Warhammer your alternate mech is going to be the Crusader 3R!
hmm i always sasumed the black hawk as the bad alt to the wolverine as the phoenix hawk is more of a light mech in what it can do
Awesome, warhammer, centurion, wolverine.. Yea that's a set of all S-tier mechs. Maybe overdoing it a bit xD
Slight correction: the Capellans are on the opposite side of the Inner Sphere from the Clan Invasion, but in the same part of the Milky Way as everything else in Battletech.
Also canonically tend to involve themselves whenever things go wrong...
Sure sure! I was looking at a few of the histories of the units though and some of them never do anything during major events in BT history.
I know it sounds too much but cause Im not a great painter and have a scheme Im confident that looks good and I can do I just end up saying all my mechs are one merc unit. A merc unit that is a bit reclusive after a cataclysmic conflict/bombardment of their homeworld discovered a Terran/SLDF complex buried in the mountains. That way I can justify the expansive collection of mechs that I have as one company...yeah a bit lame but I just like the scheme.
What role would you put the Grand Titan into?
Mmh probably Battle Line or Line Breaker. Maybe a hybrid?
Does it actually matter ruleswise if the faction you painted up had access to this mech historically or not?
Not really, and technically any faction can use any mech. Draconis Combine basically owns the Jenner and the Panther, however there are Davion units in the Draconis March which makes some use of them since they raid DCMS worlds often enough. Likewise the Vindicator from the Capellans. Clantech is where it starts to get murky since eg during the Invasion era the Mariks never really fought against them, and outside of a few units mercenaries were not allowed to keep Clantech salvage. But all of this is to stay within the lore of the faction you want to play. Inner Sphere running Clantech does happen, especially as you start to get into the 3060s and beyond.
Of course the limitations can be part of the fun. Playing a mainline DCMS unit whose composition is: 3 Dragons and a Charger can give you a feel for how their units would commonly fight against a more optimized force. Plus it's nice when playing longer campaigns since what you get access to changes your unit tactics.
I got the beginner box and it has a vindicator in it, where would you place that
replace the centurion with your Vindicator! It'll work great!
Best tanks?
We will find out in our combined arms review!
Scorpion. That is all.
@@jasonmonsen7052 Oh yeah, this channel never got to combined arms... oof.
Also i'm surprised Atlas isn't in the lineup. It's a good mech to learn weapon activation order, and it's just a solid intro assault.
You can add on the Atlas if you want to!
The Atlas is not that good of a beginner's mech. It's certainly more forgiving when it comes to making mistakes, but if you don't understand the three main features you might get into trouble. The three features of the Atlas are : 1) It has a good, but not great ranged weapon that relies on ammo and die rolls for actual damage. 2) It has a whopper of a short ranged gun, meaning that people will try to stay away inviting them to shoot you at range. 3) The third feature is the psychological factor. That big gun and other features mean you can scare or lure the enemy into certain situations and turn them to your advantage.
@@rotwang2000
That's the thing: it's a forgiving and, honestly, fun mech, but it also teaches you multiple concepts all on its own.
Atlas is alright but you can get better assault mechs for less points like an AWS-8Q
Another great video! Also... are you technically a v-tuber?
Yes I am!
Ya wanna start with a steiner scout lance.
Hatchetman 6D, nuff said
What's a Venom?
Ah a smart idea for beginner MechWarriors such as I.... Hey don't look at my pile of thirty mechs >.>
lol I started at about the same numbed honestly. xD
what no jenner? no wolfhound?
Mercenary to the core... yeah you might be living on razors edge more often then not but the freedom and independance are worth it. Beginners definatly should begin with Bread and butter designs like the Thunderbolt, phoenix hawk, hunchback, Archer or Orion etc. even if you make a maneuvering mistake those mechs wont crumble instantly
Really. I just go with the "MEGAS XLR" logic. Is it a robot? Yes. Is it big. Yes. Can it stomp the DMV? Is that even a question? It is the answer. And does it have a big red "FIRE EVERYTHING" button? Yes. Followed by the final and hardest question: Do chicks dig it? The universe's greatest question. We should ask the Clans.
So this is a roundabout way of saying. I know a bit of Battletech and such. Still, put me in a mech regardless. I could pull something impressive off....or did trying. It all matters to how YOU like to play. There is a Mech for every flavor. Even if you are a backwatered filthy Clanner.
Wait wheres the wolfhound and phoenix hawk?
Wolfhound is a bit rare until 3039 or so and the Phawk can replace the Wolverine if you want!
is it bad that ive no interest in the lore and just wanna play with what i wanna use?
Nope! That's a totally fine way to play!
Firestarter!