Adder C is an incredible force multiplier for Wolf's Dragoons in Alpha Strike. Been running them with Archer C 2 and Hopelite C guards, it's a vicious unit. Those Beacons are +1 damage from any unit with IF/LRM/SRM, or a turn not shooting to get it off. 0
well, try Cougar B. Unlike Adder that one actually has heatsinks to fire both its ERPPCs every turn. Now THAT is what i call terrifying. Adder essentially has to do 2-1-2-1. Not as scary
@@fistan5447 Cougar isn't an invasion era mech and was designed in response to the hard losses in the refusal war by clan Jade falcon so that they'd have a comparable mech who's production was under their control. ' So sure, better but it's hard to argue with the terror that this mech brought to the table for the IS in 3050.
@@guitarhausdoesntknowwhatac3285i remember playing mw4 and getting downed by one of these things lol. It didnt look like much, but man was that deceiving
The adder is most dangerous placed behind bigger, armored threats, so they can reposition and fire with relative impunity. Forcing their opponents into the bad choice of ignoring the closer, heavier brawlers and engage them from long range to silence their heavy guns, or leaving them alone to take well aimed shots.
"It looks like a big cat." "What? Like a Puma?" "Yeah! Like a Puma!" Joking aside; when I used it in Mech 4 I removed an ER PPC for a trio of Medium Lasers; both for better armor and more heat sinks but also for quicker fire.
Think about it it really did mimic marauders warhammers and archers. For resource starved clans it would have been worth it to swarm these things and would have solved the clans logistics problems which I believe the adders had invisioned. I kind of wish there was enough for a long form video as like the stone rhino repesenting the jags and the execusioner representing the bears this one does repesent the adders and their philosophy. Glory to Star Adder.
@@BigRed40TECH The Inner Sphere was probably 'lucky' that they didn't get involved in the invasion. For the simple reason they actually had a battle doctrine... whereas everyone else was just yolo, I am warrior and just ran their arses into a slaughterhouse of no logistics, long supply chains and stuck in attrition warfare.
@@krissteel4074 you don't need much logistics if you win every engagement with less and less ressources. if you bid down to a star or single mech to duel an honorable enemy, sadly the inner sphere is not build on honor.
@@Spartaner251 The inner sphere is a place where if you had a Nuclear Hand Grenade, someone is more than likely going- "you know, there's some fellas that could use some of those" and then sell many more shipments to all their enemies, who now want what they have.
"Why do you keep sending those two?" "I know it sounds crazy, but they both have the rare blend of expendable and invulnerable that makes them the perfect henchmen." The Adder is a light mech that out soldiers other soldier mechs. Fast enough to keep up with any unit. Heavily armed enough to think it is a medium (clan) mech. Heavily armored for its weight. This combination is only possible because of using 3 crit slot hungry technologies which favor light mechs. Trying this with a heavy mech runs into situations where you just don't have enough crit slots to fit every system. I'm honestly surprised that there isn't a configuration with 2 large pulse lasers. If you just took the Adder Prime and replaced the two ERPPCs with two LPL it goes from generating 31 heat if it walks and fires both PPCs to generating 22 heat if it fires both LPL and runs. The pulse lasers making staying at long range more viable. While this does drop the potential damage by 1/3rd, it also make this Adder heat neutral which allows the LPL version to fire 20 damage worth of weapons every turn instead of the 15 that the ERPPC version fires every turn.
Great video, that little guy is a nightmare. How a 35 tonner can outperform the 70 tons archer in every way is a great indication in pure technological disparity
That T variant speaks to me much more than the Prime variant. I've long wanted to know if there was a Clan mech out there that fitted Clan ERPPCs WITH PPC capacitors. And the T config does just that, and unlike some mechs with PPC Capacitors, it is equipped to handle the repercussions of actually using that PPC capacitor, extremely frequently. Oh, and I have an evil idea that involves the Adder T. Everyone forgets about the lowly Coolant Truck. One of the things it can do is douse a friendly mech in coolant, which significantly cools it off, as if that mech itself had activated a Coolant Pod. But it can also REFILL used coolant pods. I can only think of a star of Adder T's with a coolant truck or 3 thrown in, with the Adders using their great speed to cycle in and out of range to harass the enemy at long-range (with an alpha strike), and then going back to the coolant trucks to be refilled with "PPC Capacitor ammo", aka coolant. In other words, Coolant Trucks are to "energy weapons only" mechs what Ammunition Carriers and Ammunition Trailers are to mechs and vehicles that use ballistic or missile weaponry, except nobody seems to remember they exist (IIRC they're part of the IntroTech stuff, so coolant trucks are ALWAYS available, provided you have the BV or C-bills to provide them to your forces).
Glad to see this Mech Addered to the video lists! It is a sssssssuperb Light Mech who's strike is deadly indeed! I am not surprised that a serpent has thermal regulation issues. That's how endothermic designs work in nature.
For something designed as a trainer so that Clanners could learn what IS forces were likely to throw at them, the Adder's turned out to be one of the most formidable 'mechs the Clans could field. On it's own, it's nasty. As a mobile sniper/support unit, it's a game-winner. It is, as you said, 'the little snake that could'.
...I recall one of the first campaigns when playing the Clans (we were in the Jade Falcons if I remember correctly). When our Trinary hit one planet in Lyran space the defenders eschewed honorable combat & despite our superior equipment & training we were incurring unacceptable results. I was using this Mech in its PR configuration & decided to swap out the ER PPCs for a six pack of Medium Pulse Lasers. The next several engagements I was able to turn opponents into swiss cheese in short order, & it was murderous in finishing off weakened enemies. Very satisfying!😎
My baby! The Adder has been my favorite mech ever since I learned about battletech way back when. It's such a cutie with a big punch. Adder A was my main ride in Mechwarrior Online.
Im not much of a fan of light mechs, with them usually being too lightly armed to be valuable in medium or heavy mech fights. The Adder has certainly made me rethink what light mechs could be.
This mech is my favorite light Clan mech. In MWO I have a config that gives it two medium lasers in the left and right torsos, an SRM-6 in the left arm, and an LBX-10 Autocannon in the right arm.
I did mine with heavy mediums in the arms, atm-9s in the torsos and a light tag in the center. Absolutely wrecks enemy mexhs at close range and can use ambush/skirmisher tactics with ease
With my experience with the adder is that may have a higher survival rating than most light clan mechs. They can quickly taken out of commission by destroying both of their arms.
The Cougar Prime is cheaper and can bring more of its firepower to bear consistently, but the Adder scares everything on the battlefield. Even if you pilot it badly, all it takes is rolling a 12 to kill almost all opponents.
The Puma/Adder has always had a special place in my heart. Mechwarrior 3 is the first game I remember playing, and all I ever wanted to do was run super fast and strafe everything that moved with my dual PPC armed Puma. Everything about it was cool to me. The way it looked, the way it ran, the way it could boom and zoom in and out of fire so fast it barely got hit. It got 5 year old me obsessed with battletech to this day
Both the Adder and the Kit Fox having 16 tons of pod space and 6/9 movement always baffled me. I think the Adder comes out ahead in most configurations as it’s load outs are all a bit more focused than the Kit Fox.
Great looking mech and hits almost as hard as an awesome that's a he'll of a lot bigger :-) one of the best clan mechs out there so thanks for the great overview :-)
Only thing missing from the T variant was a ECM suite of some kind. Only with age have I rethought going with heavy and assault mechs to mediums and lights. Sometimes the best armor is cover and speed.
Use to use an adder in MWO for the scouting missions. Either ran with 4 streak SRM pods and tag, or a clan ultra 20 and some small lasers. Not many opposing lights take 40 pts of damage to the legs and keep moving.
I got one of these lil’ bastards in a Salvage Box with my AdeptiCon bag and just started prepping the Force Packs for proper hobby and gaming; excellent timing 😊
I got this little fella in a Clan Invasion salvage box. I wasn't too hyped about it because I thought it looked kinda goofy, but learning about it's history and capabilities really made me want to build a Clan Star just to use it. I like all of your videos, but your mech videos have really made me exited to branch out and try all sorts of different mechs, even the not so good ones. Keep up the good work!
Been getting back into MechWarrior, I always look into lore channels, I found Sven's timeline videos, and it's keeping me busy while I'm saving up for a PS5. I'm excited that this series still gets a lot of live, my first game I ever bought was MechWarrior 2 on PC, and I stuck with the series. I'm pumped for September, Draconis Combine!
I could never remember the name of this thing way back when and ended up referring to it as "that evil little bastard that just won't die!" more often than not :) Definitely a firm favourite and a pointed proof that not all small mechs have light weapons.
The Puma, Ryuken, and Shadow Hawk are probably my favorite Clan mechs as a guy who prefers playing as IS mercs. Any of those three mechs are massive gains for a unit of mercenaries that focuses on lighter weight mechs. I just love the appearance of the Puma and the fact that out of the two flat-topped Invasion-era Clan mechs focused on using ERPPCs that the Puma is honestly scarier than the Masakari.
To stay heat-neutral the Prime Variant has to fire in a 2:1:1:2:1:1 pattern. Otherwise, sauna it is. I think the J version might be better off if the AP Gauss would be replaced by Clan ER MedLas. Less anti-infantry, more heat-cap utilizing. Jumping would be great for the mech to get to otherwise unreachable places, definitely worth considering.
@@BigRed40TECH Yes, they have plenty of health benefits, but there is a time and a place for everything, in the cockpit of a battlemech right in the heat of battle, i would prefer not to.
Ghe Frankenstein Adder we used in a pirate campaign took 2 medium primitive rifles, 2 heavy medium lasers, 1 clan pulse lasers and 2 extra double heatsinks and a little probe. This was a hunter seeker in high cover areas. The rifles punch at long ranges became effective though the accuracy penalty is brutal, then the heavy lasers burn at closer ranges cripples mechs very quickly. It was favored to hit aerospace resources, like vitols, that plagued other units. When a player added points to piolting skills that's where things got interesting. By sacrificing one mech off the drop to not only reduce drop cost, then use piolting skill to increase accuracy, this Frankenstein Adder was a tough brawler. Our usual star is this Addar, Adder Prime PPC, 2 Addar A lrm20 and a ecm mech like Kitfox set for scouting and target acquisition. Fun little star. The reduced set up is the Adder prime is removed
It's a terrifying thought if the clans had prioritized this little monster for more mass production. Any time I used the Adder I was never disappointed. I'm wondering why there was never a twin Large Pulse Laser variant or another variant of the Prime that traded the targeting computer for more double heatsinks.
I generally play IS so underrated when I say I hate, the Adder. This little bastard will mess you up if you don't change your focus to it and take it down before it can flank you and F you up. Great vid Red!
Good mech the Adder/Puma. My favorite harasser unit in the game. What is particularly fun is having two lances of them with a mix of Primes and the LRM variants in each.
Doing a campaign right now and player is using it. He buffed it to 0/3 and has become the target of the enemy. He has since taken the title Puma Man legend of Planet Muller.
I've been looking for a Light Mech, for my Custom Clan Star for my while now (for Alpha Strike). And I think I've found it. The Star is made up of a Blood Asp, Timber Wolf, Ebon Jaguar and Mad Dog. All very good mechs. Now I've got something to round out the Star. Now the next big problem. How am I going to paint them? Colours wise, not Brush, Air or Contrast.
At the 14:00 mark, with the Adder Prime, you said at the bottom "Originally had a Flamer, but due to changes in the math, this has been slowly removed with time". Even with the 3rd addition to the 3050 Technical Readout (earliest TRO I own) to the new Clan Invasion Technical Readout, it has a Flamer listed as fixed equipment in every configuration with 16 tons of pod space. Did the Adder have a second Flamer in the prime that I am not aware of or was this a mistake?
The current Adder, as of TRO 3050 Upgrade, and TRO Clan Invasion, does not have a Flamer. Unless they misprinted 2 PDF's and never fixed them, both of which were downloaded within the year and are older. XD
MW3 - you start out waltzing through Striders and Owens having a nice tutorial mission or two... Then round the bend and walk into range of a whole Star of Puma Primes perched on high ground across a river. When you understand the biggest improvements of Clan tech and stack them all into a compact chassis, even a little garrison force can put up a dense wall of hatred and lightning.
Anywhere lower than the Nova in tonnage, I far prefer mechs in the 100+kph speed range. Most of them have single-ERPPC loadouts that are scary enough, and the Adder can't afford to fire more than that most of the time either. That said, the Adder-A is a great support mech for a light star.
I thought the Subtractor was the Rakshasa-minded Inner Sphere knock off. Unlike the Rakshasa, it had the beneficial feature of subtracting itself from procurements, which while ultimately making it rare, did save many a spheroid life.
Always loved the look of the Adder/Puma. Only one to use that weird “shell” layout. Unpleasant memories from getting mobbed by a few of them at once in MechWarrior 3.
The Clan Invasion definitely would have gone very differently if they'd paid any attention at all to Clan Star Adder and their predictions about the logistics and numbers involved in an invasion of the Inner Sphere (but then, they wouldn't have been the Crusader Clans if they did). The Adder could have been a perfect 'trooper' mech for the Clans, to face off with and annihilate the trooper class of the Inner Sphere. It's relatively cheap for a Clan mech (less than a third the cost of Timber Wolf in c-bills), and it has that excellent combination of out-ranging almost anything the Inner Sphere can throw at it, while being fast enough to keep at that long range. As a pure energy platform, the Prime doesn't 'need' ammunition supply lines, but it can still make use of them with omnipods for its alternative weapon loadouts, which cover any weaknesses from jumping to close-range combat. In terms of logistics, if the Clans had gone all-in on the Adder they'd have needed more warriors, and would have needed new dropship classes with smaller/more mechbays, but since Jumpships have a tonnage capacity, it wouldn't have required a total revamp across the board. It's no Stone Rhino in terms of cost-efficiency (as that's basically a bog-standard IS mech loaded with obscenely powerful Clan weapons), but their speed and size make them the perfect mechs to quickly overwhelm and shatter the morale of the badly technologically-outmatched IS formations.
Honestly wished the CLans went all in on the animal totem names. we could have an Adder Config A with Adder LRM-20 and Small Pulse Adders, so then we could have a Star Adder Clanner in an Adder Battlemech firing more Adders at Sphereroid Surats.
Honestly, this mech is the perfect example of how clan tech threw off the balance of mechs, namely the gun-heat-armor/speed balance, is also why i dont feel excitement for clan expansion in mw5 for example, they are straight up overpowered, the power creep is real.
Oh, I LOVE these things! Sure they are difficult and dangerous to fight but when you use them they are a dream. One of them was part of the salvage my unit stole from the DC after a joint operation against Smoke Jag, they were also always considered top salvage targets when I fought them on the field mostly because of you can take them down they would be highly profitable in any condition. The Adder does what the Uziel does not, it is a light mech with the speed of a light, the armor of a medium, the armament of a heavy, and the power to make an assault mech hesitate, meanwhile the Uziel is a Heavy with the speed of an Addault, the armament of a medium, the armor of a light, and makes those in older, and is only threatening to those in a proto mech. (Seriously how do you screw up as badly as the Uziel without trying to be that bad?)
The Jade Falcon techs made an interesting variant on the Adder. They swapped out the engine for something a little less powerful and shaved off a ton of armour to get 19 tons of pod space. The little terror of a light trooper they made got named the Cougar, and caused the mechwarriors of Operation Bulldog quite a few nightmares when it turned up in the Smoke Jaguar touman in sizeable numbers. I'll agree with the critics that the Cougar isn't as well balanced as the Adder, but it looks far prettier, and the Prime configuration is rather vicious, and the Cougar A is almost an Adder A on steroids.
Out of curiosity. If you where given a chance to make your own clan. What would you call it and what type of mechs and vecols would you use? Not just main line units but all wait classes!
@@BigRed40TECH fair I'm not sure what the clans have as is. For me my clan would most likely have the word eagle in it. I would use the Mad Cat or the Mad Dag mechs at least a variant of them! Vehicle I think I would choose the Patton with a clan overhaul! What I believe the clan has a Patton of some sort!?
Fun fact about myself. My first introduction to the Adder was in Mechassault: Phantom War. Which is a fun DS game although the hacking in the game can be very difficult especially in Later missions and if you're just a dumb 10 yr old who just wants to see things explode.
The angry lunchbox that has 2/3 of the salvo of an awesome... The only saving grace for facing this thing down is that you can hide behind cover because it lacks JJ's and can't pop tart Edit: that said, the more I look at the art you used the more I feel "mad kitten" is an apt name
@@BigRed40TECHoh good, so that just means that the damage they do has less spread on it that an awesome... I guess it the very least you can punch this thing in the face because unlike an awesome it isn't a heavy Edit: *sees L config* oh no
I'm watching this a year after release, and I'm shocked that you don't mention the Adder S! It is an incredible variant, 16 machine guns and 4 medium pulse lasers are amazingly fun to use!
I don't know why I thought there was a clan light with twin Guass..... I spent the last 20min looking for it when I was thinking of this beast. Its such a pity it's not more heat stable in the prime config,but such is the the beautiful balance of Battletech.
Adder B - AKA: The Danger Noodle
Adder C: the Nope Rope
Adder D: Snek goes brrrrt
Adder C is an incredible force multiplier for Wolf's Dragoons in Alpha Strike. Been running them with Archer C 2 and Hopelite C guards, it's a vicious unit. Those Beacons are +1 damage from any unit with IF/LRM/SRM, or a turn not shooting to get it off. 0
Clan snek cobra totem mech, confirmed
I still can't get over the fact how they made that canon
Nothing quite so terrifying as a light mech that can decapitate and gets two chances to do so.
well, try Cougar B. Unlike Adder that one actually has heatsinks to fire both its ERPPCs every turn. Now THAT is what i call terrifying. Adder essentially has to do 2-1-2-1. Not as scary
@@fistan5447 Cougar isn't an invasion era mech and was designed in response to the hard losses in the refusal war by clan Jade falcon so that they'd have a comparable mech who's production was under their control.
'
So sure, better but it's hard to argue with the terror that this mech brought to the table for the IS in 3050.
@@guitarhausdoesntknowwhatac3285i remember playing mw4 and getting downed by one of these things lol. It didnt look like much, but man was that deceiving
The Adder prime is a true snake mech: light, fast, and armed with two deadly fangs
You see these two PPCs? They act like fangs, now what kinda animal has FANGS?
and a venom spewer for any who dare to get close.
The adder is most dangerous placed behind bigger, armored threats, so they can reposition and fire with relative impunity. Forcing their opponents into the bad choice of ignoring the closer, heavier brawlers and engage them from long range to silence their heavy guns, or leaving them alone to take well aimed shots.
"It looks like a big cat."
"What? Like a Puma?"
"Yeah! Like a Puma!"
Joking aside; when I used it in Mech 4 I removed an ER PPC for a trio of Medium Lasers; both for better armor and more heat sinks but also for quicker fire.
Badass
"What in Sam Hell is a puma? You're making that up."
One of my favorites in MWO, you’re a lot more survivable than you have a right to be because everyone ignores you.
Until you actually start taking out people 😂
I've had some of my highest damage games in mwo with the adder. It was my original mech I got and played the game with and it still runs strong today
@@PapaFox5679 One of my few (I) mechs still fit and fighting, even if I am more a medium/heavy pilot.
The Warthog especially is a damage farmer, 12 hmgs or AP gauss is absurd
Think about it it really did mimic marauders warhammers and archers. For resource starved clans it would have been worth it to swarm these things and would have solved the clans logistics problems which I believe the adders had invisioned. I kind of wish there was enough for a long form video as like the stone rhino repesenting the jags and the execusioner representing the bears this one does repesent the adders and their philosophy. Glory to Star Adder.
Star Adder had it goin' on.
@@BigRed40TECH The Inner Sphere was probably 'lucky' that they didn't get involved in the invasion. For the simple reason they actually had a battle doctrine... whereas everyone else was just yolo, I am warrior and just ran their arses into a slaughterhouse of no logistics, long supply chains and stuck in attrition warfare.
@@krissteel4074 you don't need much logistics if you win every engagement with less and less ressources. if you bid down to a star or single mech to duel an honorable enemy, sadly the inner sphere is not build on honor.
@@Spartaner251 The inner sphere is a place where if you had a Nuclear Hand Grenade, someone is more than likely going- "you know, there's some fellas that could use some of those" and then sell many more shipments to all their enemies, who now want what they have.
The Star Adders can certainly design a mech. Another reason why they're my favorite Clan.
Mine too
Snow raven, sea fox and star adders make the coolest mechs
"Why do you keep sending those two?" "I know it sounds crazy, but they both have the rare blend of expendable and invulnerable that makes them the perfect henchmen."
The Adder is a light mech that out soldiers other soldier mechs. Fast enough to keep up with any unit. Heavily armed enough to think it is a medium (clan) mech. Heavily armored for its weight. This combination is only possible because of using 3 crit slot hungry technologies which favor light mechs. Trying this with a heavy mech runs into situations where you just don't have enough crit slots to fit every system.
I'm honestly surprised that there isn't a configuration with 2 large pulse lasers. If you just took the Adder Prime and replaced the two ERPPCs with two LPL it goes from generating 31 heat if it walks and fires both PPCs to generating 22 heat if it fires both LPL and runs. The pulse lasers making staying at long range more viable. While this does drop the potential damage by 1/3rd, it also make this Adder heat neutral which allows the LPL version to fire 20 damage worth of weapons every turn instead of the 15 that the ERPPC version fires every turn.
Great video, that little guy is a nightmare. How a 35 tonner can outperform the 70 tons archer in every way is a great indication in pure technological disparity
FOOKING CLANNERS!!!
Adder showed up in the Clan Invasion box too, so this is another hunting horror in my small but mighty clan force that Big Red has detailed.
That T variant speaks to me much more than the Prime variant.
I've long wanted to know if there was a Clan mech out there that fitted Clan ERPPCs WITH PPC capacitors. And the T config does just that, and unlike some mechs with PPC Capacitors, it is equipped to handle the repercussions of actually using that PPC capacitor, extremely frequently.
Oh, and I have an evil idea that involves the Adder T.
Everyone forgets about the lowly Coolant Truck. One of the things it can do is douse a friendly mech in coolant, which significantly cools it off, as if that mech itself had activated a Coolant Pod.
But it can also REFILL used coolant pods.
I can only think of a star of Adder T's with a coolant truck or 3 thrown in, with the Adders using their great speed to cycle in and out of range to harass the enemy at long-range (with an alpha strike), and then going back to the coolant trucks to be refilled with "PPC Capacitor ammo", aka coolant.
In other words, Coolant Trucks are to "energy weapons only" mechs what Ammunition Carriers and Ammunition Trailers are to mechs and vehicles that use ballistic or missile weaponry, except nobody seems to remember they exist (IIRC they're part of the IntroTech stuff, so coolant trucks are ALWAYS available, provided you have the BV or C-bills to provide them to your forces).
That is disgusting and I'm sad I didn't think of it first.
Coolant vehicle on the battlefield comes off as pretty dezgra.
Glad to see this Mech Addered to the video lists!
It is a sssssssuperb Light Mech who's strike is deadly indeed!
I am not surprised that a serpent has thermal regulation issues. That's how endothermic designs work in nature.
Vicious light mechs!
For something designed as a trainer so that Clanners could learn what IS forces were likely to throw at them, the Adder's turned out to be one of the most formidable 'mechs the Clans could field. On it's own, it's nasty. As a mobile sniper/support unit, it's a game-winner.
It is, as you said, 'the little snake that could'.
...I recall one of the first campaigns when playing the Clans (we were in the Jade Falcons if I remember correctly). When our Trinary hit one planet in Lyran space the defenders eschewed honorable combat & despite our superior equipment & training we were incurring unacceptable results. I was using this Mech in its PR configuration & decided to swap out the ER PPCs for a six pack of Medium Pulse Lasers. The next several engagements I was able to turn opponents into swiss cheese in short order, & it was murderous in finishing off weakened enemies. Very satisfying!😎
My baby! The Adder has been my favorite mech ever since I learned about battletech way back when. It's such a cutie with a big punch. Adder A was my main ride in Mechwarrior Online.
Im not much of a fan of light mechs, with them usually being too lightly armed to be valuable in medium or heavy mech fights. The Adder has certainly made me rethink what light mechs could be.
I have always thought of this thing as the clan Hollander
@@robrib2682 With both being 35 tons armed with heavy weapons, i'd say yea.
This mech is my favorite light Clan mech. In MWO I have a config that gives it two medium lasers in the left and right torsos, an SRM-6 in the left arm, and an LBX-10 Autocannon in the right arm.
Sounds like my brawler centurion refit in mw5, sounds like what the srm commando wants to be
I did mine with heavy mediums in the arms, atm-9s in the torsos and a light tag in the center. Absolutely wrecks enemy mexhs at close range and can use ambush/skirmisher tactics with ease
With my experience with the adder is that may have a higher survival rating than most light clan mechs. They can quickly taken out of commission by destroying both of their arms.
The Cougar Prime is cheaper and can bring more of its firepower to bear consistently, but the Adder scares everything on the battlefield. Even if you pilot it badly, all it takes is rolling a 12 to kill almost all opponents.
The Puma/Adder has always had a special place in my heart. Mechwarrior 3 is the first game I remember playing, and all I ever wanted to do was run super fast and strafe everything that moved with my dual PPC armed Puma. Everything about it was cool to me. The way it looked, the way it ran, the way it could boom and zoom in and out of fire so fast it barely got hit. It got 5 year old me obsessed with battletech to this day
The Adder's best qualities were carried on into its absolute moster of a successor, the Cougar
Both the Adder and the Kit Fox having 16 tons of pod space and 6/9 movement always baffled me. I think the Adder comes out ahead in most configurations as it’s load outs are all a bit more focused than the Kit Fox.
This mech ADDS to the enemies' problems
It's like a mini Dire Wolf by how it looks
Great looking mech and hits almost as hard as an awesome that's a he'll of a lot bigger :-) one of the best clan mechs out there so thanks for the great overview :-)
Really love this mech as well as the Cougar :) one of the first mechs I every piloted/used in a mechwarrior video game.
Only thing missing from the T variant was a ECM suite of some kind. Only with age have I rethought going with heavy and assault mechs to mediums and lights. Sometimes the best armor is cover and speed.
Use to use an adder in MWO for the scouting missions. Either ran with 4 streak SRM pods and tag, or a clan ultra 20 and some small lasers. Not many opposing lights take 40 pts of damage to the legs and keep moving.
I got one of these lil’ bastards in a Salvage Box with my AdeptiCon bag and just started prepping the Force Packs for proper hobby and gaming; excellent timing 😊
:D
BOOM, BABY! Love this devastating little Light ‘Mech. 4xERSLs and a LB10-X? Yes please!
The Adder is one of my favorite OmniMech. Thanks for this nice video, as always!
I got this little fella in a Clan Invasion salvage box. I wasn't too hyped about it because I thought it looked kinda goofy, but learning about it's history and capabilities really made me want to build a Clan Star just to use it. I like all of your videos, but your mech videos have really made me exited to branch out and try all sorts of different mechs, even the not so good ones. Keep up the good work!
THanks Bass!
Been getting back into MechWarrior, I always look into lore channels, I found Sven's timeline videos, and it's keeping me busy while I'm saving up for a PS5. I'm excited that this series still gets a lot of live, my first game I ever bought was MechWarrior 2 on PC, and I stuck with the series. I'm pumped for September, Draconis Combine!
I could never remember the name of this thing way back when and ended up referring to it as "that evil little bastard that just won't die!" more often than not :) Definitely a firm favourite and a pointed proof that not all small mechs have light weapons.
The Puma, Ryuken, and Shadow Hawk are probably my favorite Clan mechs as a guy who prefers playing as IS mercs. Any of those three mechs are massive gains for a unit of mercenaries that focuses on lighter weight mechs. I just love the appearance of the Puma and the fact that out of the two flat-topped Invasion-era Clan mechs focused on using ERPPCs that the Puma is honestly scarier than the Masakari.
Love using this mech as a gunfighter or missile artillery mech.
The adder is the reason I play on lighter side of clan equipment. Love this little bastard.
Definitely putting this beauty in my Donegal Guards
Nice video! Thanks for the content Red! Always like your vids!
I appreciate it!
To stay heat-neutral the Prime Variant has to fire in a 2:1:1:2:1:1 pattern. Otherwise, sauna it is.
I think the J version might be better off if the AP Gauss would be replaced by Clan ER MedLas. Less anti-infantry, more heat-cap utilizing.
Jumping would be great for the mech to get to otherwise unreachable places, definitely worth considering.
Sauna's are great for your body I hear :P
@@BigRed40TECH Yes, they have plenty of health benefits, but there is a time and a place for everything, in the cockpit of a battlemech right in the heat of battle, i would prefer not to.
Likely my favorite light mech.
My favorite light in MW4 Mercs for Solaris light matches equipped with max armor and Streak SRM6s. Absolutely deadly against other lights.
Ghe Frankenstein Adder we used in a pirate campaign took 2 medium primitive rifles, 2 heavy medium lasers, 1 clan pulse lasers and 2 extra double heatsinks and a little probe. This was a hunter seeker in high cover areas. The rifles punch at long ranges became effective though the accuracy penalty is brutal, then the heavy lasers burn at closer ranges cripples mechs very quickly. It was favored to hit aerospace resources, like vitols, that plagued other units. When a player added points to piolting skills that's where things got interesting. By sacrificing one mech off the drop to not only reduce drop cost, then use piolting skill to increase accuracy, this Frankenstein Adder was a tough brawler. Our usual star is this Addar, Adder Prime PPC, 2 Addar A lrm20 and a ecm mech like Kitfox set for scouting and target acquisition. Fun little star. The reduced set up is the Adder prime is removed
It's a terrifying thought if the clans had prioritized this little monster for more mass production. Any time I used the Adder I was never disappointed.
I'm wondering why there was never a twin Large Pulse Laser variant or another variant of the Prime that traded the targeting computer for more double heatsinks.
Thank you again, Big Red, for another amazing video!
I generally play IS so underrated when I say I hate, the Adder. This little bastard will mess you up if you don't change your focus to it and take it down before it can flank you and F you up.
Great vid Red!
Had Star Adder joined the invasion there would be no Tukayyid
Good mech the Adder/Puma. My favorite harasser unit in the game. What is particularly fun is having two lances of them with a mix of Primes and the LRM variants in each.
Hmmm. Seems to Add up.
One of my favourite lights in MWO because it plays more like a long range medium with the match make times of a light.
LETS GO MY FAVORITE MECH. ITS ADDING TIME
Doing a campaign right now and player is using it. He buffed it to 0/3 and has become the target of the enemy. He has since taken the title Puma Man legend of Planet Muller.
Puma man... Please tell me he painted it in red and black trim in universe xD
I've been looking for a Light Mech, for my Custom Clan Star for my while now (for Alpha Strike). And I think I've found it.
The Star is made up of a Blood Asp, Timber Wolf, Ebon Jaguar and Mad Dog. All very good mechs. Now I've got something to round out the Star.
Now the next big problem. How am I going to paint them? Colours wise, not Brush, Air or Contrast.
C variant when the rest of the unit all has IF!
I prefer the Cougar or the Phantom to the Adder, but it is an excellent Omni.
I totally forgot the Phantom was a mech
The nope rope!
Will you do a video about the Cougar, slower brother of the Adder?
mw3 fighting these for the first time (2 in fact) was a pain and a lesson learned. Good vid 40K
At the 14:00 mark, with the Adder Prime, you said at the bottom "Originally had a Flamer, but due to changes in the math, this has been slowly removed with time". Even with the 3rd addition to the 3050 Technical Readout (earliest TRO I own) to the new Clan Invasion Technical Readout, it has a Flamer listed as fixed equipment in every configuration with 16 tons of pod space. Did the Adder have a second Flamer in the prime that I am not aware of or was this a mistake?
The current Adder, as of TRO 3050 Upgrade, and TRO Clan Invasion, does not have a Flamer. Unless they misprinted 2 PDF's and never fixed them, both of which were downloaded within the year and are older. XD
Ah, it has the flamer built-into the body, so it's in every configuration, but it's not listed in the TRO sheet.
I think the adder flamer is one of the changes mwo made halfway into thr game and made it removable.
Star Adder gets a +1 for thinking Zelbriggen is dumb!
MW3 - you start out waltzing through Striders and Owens having a nice tutorial mission or two... Then round the bend and walk into range of a whole Star of Puma Primes perched on high ground across a river. When you understand the biggest improvements of Clan tech and stack them all into a compact chassis, even a little garrison force can put up a dense wall of hatred and lightning.
Anywhere lower than the Nova in tonnage, I far prefer mechs in the 100+kph speed range. Most of them have single-ERPPC loadouts that are scary enough, and the Adder can't afford to fire more than that most of the time either.
That said, the Adder-A is a great support mech for a light star.
Still the only mech I feared in mw4 mercs
Why is it called the Adder, when it's clearly a Subtractor (of enemy units)?
I thought the Subtractor was the Rakshasa-minded Inner Sphere knock off. Unlike the Rakshasa, it had the beneficial feature of subtracting itself from procurements, which while ultimately making it rare, did save many a spheroid life.
The adder is adding to its victory notches
Because the Star Adders couldn't resist the "star of adders" pun.
Always loved the look of the Adder/Puma. Only one to use that weird “shell” layout. Unpleasant memories from getting mobbed by a few of them at once in MechWarrior 3.
I always liked this little fellow
Thnx 4 doing this mech, prime was my secret wpn !!!!
Always check for snakes in the grass - or in the boot!
The Clan Invasion definitely would have gone very differently if they'd paid any attention at all to Clan Star Adder and their predictions about the logistics and numbers involved in an invasion of the Inner Sphere (but then, they wouldn't have been the Crusader Clans if they did). The Adder could have been a perfect 'trooper' mech for the Clans, to face off with and annihilate the trooper class of the Inner Sphere. It's relatively cheap for a Clan mech (less than a third the cost of Timber Wolf in c-bills), and it has that excellent combination of out-ranging almost anything the Inner Sphere can throw at it, while being fast enough to keep at that long range. As a pure energy platform, the Prime doesn't 'need' ammunition supply lines, but it can still make use of them with omnipods for its alternative weapon loadouts, which cover any weaknesses from jumping to close-range combat.
In terms of logistics, if the Clans had gone all-in on the Adder they'd have needed more warriors, and would have needed new dropship classes with smaller/more mechbays, but since Jumpships have a tonnage capacity, it wouldn't have required a total revamp across the board. It's no Stone Rhino in terms of cost-efficiency (as that's basically a bog-standard IS mech loaded with obscenely powerful Clan weapons), but their speed and size make them the perfect mechs to quickly overwhelm and shatter the morale of the badly technologically-outmatched IS formations.
"Settle a bet for me will ya? Does that look like a big cat to you?"
This and the warhawk are my favorite toasty terrors.
I don't care about how hot it's about to get, I said I am firing an alpha strike.
It looks like a miniature Direwolf. That alone is enough for me.
I’m not a clan fan, but I always did like the Adder and the Pouncer for the same reason, they are pocket heavies.
Honestly wished the CLans went all in on the animal totem names. we could have an Adder Config A with Adder LRM-20 and Small Pulse Adders, so then we could have a Star Adder Clanner in an Adder Battlemech firing more Adders at Sphereroid Surats.
Honestly, this mech is the perfect example of how clan tech threw off the balance of mechs, namely the gun-heat-armor/speed balance, is also why i dont feel excitement for clan expansion in mw5 for example, they are straight up overpowered, the power creep is real.
I love this one, but the BV cost of the Prime is just soooo high. 😜
Oh, I LOVE these things! Sure they are difficult and dangerous to fight but when you use them they are a dream. One of them was part of the salvage my unit stole from the DC after a joint operation against Smoke Jag, they were also always considered top salvage targets when I fought them on the field mostly because of you can take them down they would be highly profitable in any condition. The Adder does what the Uziel does not, it is a light mech with the speed of a light, the armor of a medium, the armament of a heavy, and the power to make an assault mech hesitate, meanwhile the Uziel is a Heavy with the speed of an Addault, the armament of a medium, the armor of a light, and makes those in older, and is only threatening to those in a proto mech. (Seriously how do you screw up as badly as the Uziel without trying to be that bad?)
The Jade Falcon techs made an interesting variant on the Adder. They swapped out the engine for something a little less powerful and shaved off a ton of armour to get 19 tons of pod space. The little terror of a light trooper they made got named the Cougar, and caused the mechwarriors of Operation Bulldog quite a few nightmares when it turned up in the Smoke Jaguar touman in sizeable numbers.
I'll agree with the critics that the Cougar isn't as well balanced as the Adder, but it looks far prettier, and the Prime configuration is rather vicious, and the Cougar A is almost an Adder A on steroids.
Out of curiosity. If you where given a chance to make your own clan. What would you call it and what type of mechs and vecols would you use? Not just main line units but all wait classes!
Clan Stone Rhino :)
@@BigRed40TECHwhich variant? At last I recall there are 6 of them? I could be wrong. What I'm a smart but!!
@@deforesttappan6478 Vehicle? Honestly not a clue tbh.
@@BigRed40TECH fair I'm not sure what the clans have as is. For me my clan would most likely have the word eagle in it. I would use the Mad Cat or the Mad Dag mechs at least a variant of them! Vehicle I think I would choose the Patton with a clan overhaul! What I believe the clan has a Patton of some sort!?
I already have a clan. I call them Clan Storm Tiger.
Never underestimate light mechs, especially the Adder. Nothing is quite as funny as coring a heavy at maximum range with an alpha strike.
This was a great video. The only thing I would change is add more Duran Duran XD
Fun fact about myself. My first introduction to the Adder was in Mechassault: Phantom War. Which is a fun DS game although the hacking in the game can be very difficult especially in Later missions and if you're just a dumb 10 yr old who just wants to see things explode.
Great video! 😍
I find myself using the A a lot, it is decently cheap and still does the business. Also, get snekd.
Yay, my fav!
Terrifying small package!
Great video cool mech.
Pew~ Love these
Loved these in MW4 (Mercs). A bit of tweaking could get you a Clan ER PPC and a Clan LBXAC20 on a tiny little anklebiter!
Ahh, yes, the perfect design for an Adder - Thunder and Lightning! This brings back fond memories of MW4
The angry lunchbox that has 2/3 of the salvo of an awesome... The only saving grace for facing this thing down is that you can hide behind cover because it lacks JJ's and can't pop tart
Edit: that said, the more I look at the art you used the more I feel "mad kitten" is an apt name
Actually the full salvo, as their PPC's do 50% more damage each
@@BigRed40TECHoh good, so that just means that the damage they do has less spread on it that an awesome... I guess it the very least you can punch this thing in the face because unlike an awesome it isn't a heavy
Edit: *sees L config* oh no
The angriest of lunchboxes!
I'm watching this a year after release, and I'm shocked that you don't mention the Adder S! It is an incredible variant, 16 machine guns and 4 medium pulse lasers are amazingly fun to use!
It's not about covering every variant is the thing, it's about selecting a handful. Not every variant is going to get the spotlight sadly lol
@@BigRed40TECH Fair enough!
40K Warhound Titan says "It's me Hi! nice shape ya got there" "What forge world are you from?
Adder looks like a Clan equivalent of Panther.
Yay! The Puma!
Good.
In one game with my friend i decapite one of his mechs with Adder Prime
Firepower, armor and speed.
Damn right.
I don't know why I thought there was a clan light with twin Guass.....
I spent the last 20min looking for it when I was thinking of this beast.
Its such a pity it's not more heat stable in the prime config,but such is the the beautiful balance of Battletech.