RTX-1O RaptorRaptor – A bird of prey.
Raptor – A small bipedal dinosaur about the size of a turkey.
RTX-1O Raptor – A small bipedal Mech with a lot of attitude.
Kevin – A small laser. It makes sense I promise.
BackgroundAs part of the crash development of Omni Mech’s by the Inner Sphere that gave us machines like the Strider and Sunder the Raptor is very much a First Generation Omni-Mech but far from being a dodgy prototype riddled with flaws (*pointed look at the Strider*) the Raptor shows a remarkably good touch for such a machine and is a well laid out design.
Built and designed by LAW with lots of input from DCMS MechWarrior’s the Raptor’s debut was not the success story that LAW hoped, indeed the DCMS was rather wary of the new machine and its then radical Omni technology but the Raptor won over its detractors with its performance and soon became seen as a premier Mech of front line and famous Regiments. With this very public endorsement the production of the Raptor moved into overtime and the Raptor became a very prolific Mech within the DCMS within a few years with units clamouring for them. Initial exports of the Raptor were very low and the Mech was contained mostly within the DCMS but some were sold to other nations or taken as salvage but the vast majority remained the property of the DCMS.
DesignThe Raptor is a 25 tonne machine and might share some design history with the Jenner at least in regards to its looks with its long legs and short stocky body and near non-existent arms. Built around an Endo-Steel skeleton the Raptor’s beating heart is a 175 rated XL engine and this propels it along at a rather meaty 118kph but the machine lacks jump jets (7/11/0 in game terms). This is still fast, it’s faster than the standard Bug Mech’s as well as the DCMS’s beloved Panther and is just a bit slower than the Jenner.
One thing of note is that the Mech is designed to carry its main weapons in its torso, when you look at the Strider who’s Omni-pods seem to be designed purely for its arms it could be that the Raptor and Strider were different attempts at creating pod technology, with the Raptor testing the torso mounted positions and the Strider the arms before being integrated on larger machines.
Armour is, well it’s a touch light, but then again with a 25 tonne machine what do you really expect? Using standard armour the Raptor has 3.5 tonnes of protection wrapped round it, meaning you really do have to rely on speed for protection. The chest can take a large laser hit whilst the side torso’s can take a Clan ER Medium before being breached. The arms are stripped of protection by a hit from a standard Medium laser hit whilst the legs can take one and have a thin sliver of protection.
The folks at LAW also had been apparently taking their smart pills considering their apparent aversion to putting Double Heatsinks on anything save Aerospace fighters…the Raptor’s heatsinks are all double strength freezers! Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles! Now if only they could put them on the Panther ER PPC refit…
That aside the LAW designers then put all remaining tonnage into weapons, electronics and other systems in often simple but effective weapons mixes that make good use of common sense. But then again this is a TRO 3055 Mech and most of the designs in that were exceedingly well thought out.
Variants..so many Variants…Prime – Designed to be a harasser and general combatant the Prime features no new weapons but relies on old classic. A trio of LRM 5’s spread across the torso provide the machines main armament with all three launchers drinking from a one tonne ammo bin sitting under the launcher in the centre torso. Each arm sports a Medium and Small Laser and finally a pair of machine guns live in the right torso along with their ammo. This honestly isn’t bad for a light Mech and sets the tone for rational weapon choices and layouts that mark the Raptor design.
This is also our first introduction to Kevin. Kevin is a Small laser that becomes a recurring theme through the Raptor’s configs and is present on almost all of them in one form or another. Perhaps LAW had a glut load of small’s that they needed used and slapped them on the Raptor.
Alfa – A shift from the ballistics heavy Prime the Alfa is an energy boat plain and simple. A large laser lives in the side torsos whilst a Small Laser lives in each arm (probably drawing from the same power feed as the large). Whilst simple, this firepower on a small and agile platform makes it a fearsome backstabber and it outguns many other light Mech’s and a fair few Mediums to boot. The large lasers also allow it to engage the Clans at something approaching range parity.
Bravo – Yet another shift this time going missile heavy the Bravo features a trio of SRM-6’s mounted in the left, right and centre torso, with the three launchers drawing from a 2 tonne ammo bin. Our friend Kevin, a single small laser sits near un-noticed in the right torso. Clearly built for close quarters engagements, like the Alfa the Bravo packs a formidable punch into a very mobile package and with the extra tonne of ammo there’s the option there for inferno’s to do horrific things to tanks, infantry and overheat Mech’s.
Charlie – Possibly designed to work in tandem with the Bravo the Charlie is also akin to the Alfa in that its an energy boat, but built for close quarter battles and would make an ideal tag partner with a Bravo. Six Medium lasers spread across the torso’s in paired mountings in the left, right and centre torso. Two Small Pulse lasers are mounted as well, one in each arm for some added short range firepower as well as anti-infantry protection and finally an AMS with a tonne of ammo lurk on the upper right torso. To counter the surge of heat the Charlie’s coolant system is improved with an extra two tonnes of cooling systems worked into it.
This is a mean little config with a nasty close in bite, teaming one up with an Alfa, Bravo and Prime would give you a potent mix of firepower at all ranges.
Delta – At long last we get to the scout of the Raptor line and this is an EW heavy variant that just screams ‘force multiplier’. The massively retrofitted and enlarged sensor suite now boasts a C3 slave mounted in the chest whilst a TAG and Active Probe sit in the left and right torso, curiously there is no ECM mounted. For defensive armament there’s a trio of SSRM-2’s spread again across the left, right and centre torso with the three launchers sharing the same 1 tonne of ammo, more than enough for almost any engagement. The almost derigure Small lasers make their appearance once more with one in each arm whilst a pair of machine guns lurk in the right torso for anti-infantry defence, fed by a half tonne magazine. Whilst near defenceless against Mechs (but not against Battle armour and infantry) the Delta is a vital unit for any lance and is a formidable spotter for artillery and other C3 equipped units thanks to its impressive speed.
Echo – New toys time, although they are basic. Going back to the Bravo the Echo swaps out the SRM-6’s racks for MRM-10’s with them again mounted in the left, right and centre torso. The Small Laser Kevin makes an appearance once more in the right torso whilst the MRM’s draw from a shared 2 tonne ammo bin which is really enough for all but the longest of engagements. I’m not a fan of the MRM due to their inherent inaccuracy so its really buyer’s choice, SRM’s or MRM’s, take your pick.
Foxtrot – More new toys yet this time it is an upgrade rather than anything new. Clearly an upgrade of the Charlie the Foxtrot replaces the old lasers with five new ER Medium Lasers. Three of them live in the left arm, one in the right and one buried in the chest. The biggest change though is the addition of seven jump jets which greatly increase the Raptor’s mobility. Whilst the ER Mediums also add a rather nasty heat surge the LAW folks also fitted 3 extra heatsinks to try combat the heat surge from an alpha strike.
Golf – Possibly a CCAF design or at least built with imported Capellan weapons the Golf is designed as an anti-vehicle/battle armour/infantry design and is a rather radical shift for the Raptor design that generally shied away from the SINGLE BIG GUN approach of many lights. The Golf’s main weapon is a Plasma Rifle fed by a 2 tonne ammo bin. Backing the cannon up is a trio of small pulse in the right arm whilst the cannon sits in the left. And of course Kevin makes his appearance, and has been clearly working out as he’s now an ER Small Laser lurking in the right torso. This machine is VERY much like the later Cappie Gun Prime Omnimech, all be it faster and better armed in this role.
Romeo – A config that sprang into life in Operation Bulldog the Romeo is a kissing cousin to the Alfa, but significantly upgrades its firepower. Out go the standard large lasers and in their place a pair of Clan-tech ER Large Lasers as well as ER Mediums are now mounted in paired mountings in each arm. Kevin is upgraded to a Clan-tech ER Small (he’s been working out) and a C3 slave is fitted with him in the Chest. Unfortunately the cooling systems are not upgraded and this variant suffers from overheating, but its punch and reach more than makes up for it and with a good spotter guiding its C3 net the Romeo can engage hostiles at extreme range. I would hazard a guess that there was also very few of these machines made as they were constructed with salvage. With access to widespread Clan-tech in the 3145 era, if the Raptor is still around the Romeo might still be in production though.
Uniform – The final variant that I am aware of and the most specialised of the Raptor configs the Uniform is designed to fight in underwater environments and is a result of the Jihad no doubt. A trio of ER Medium lasers are spread out across the torso and the main punch comes from a SRT-4 living in each arm, each one drawing from a single tonne of ammo. To assist in its role the Uniform is also fitted with 7 of the new UMU’s to increase its mobility in the water and it gives the machine a significant advantage over other Mech’s in an underwater environment.
ThoughtsI like the Raptor, it’s a very sensible, well thought out and laid out machine with different variants that reflect the growing development of the machine as well as introducing new tech without going silly. Also its not a light that tries to go I WANNA BIG GUN! And then saddles itself with a LB/Ultra 2 and thus gimps itself with a very long range machine gun. The Raptor is fast without being too fast and its armament across the configs is generally interesting and above all its USEFUL.
They are fast, and the jumpers have a decent jump range on them and whilst their protection is certainly poor, you can move fast enough to get some decent TMM’s. There is a Raptor for every role and it will fit in anywhere in a lance.
Fighting one can be a pain, they tend to pack quite a wallop and make me think of the Jade Falcon’s Fire Falcon in that you’re fighting a small, fast machine with a rather heavy bite to it. Pulse lasers are your friends really, a good hit will potentially cripple a Raptor and their ammo is not protected by CASE in any config.
All in all you won’t really go wrong with a Raptor, it’s a good fun machine to use. Just don’t get hit too hard or you will be torn to shreds so beware pulse lasers.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/images/c/c6/Raptor.jpgAs always comments and thoughts are most welcome and its good to be back :)