Author Topic: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC  (Read 18864 times)

marauder648

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(slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« on: 29 September 2016, 05:29:06 »
Due to me not really being able to post this due to being at work tomorrow here's this weeks MoTW.

The Rifleman IIC

Oh it’s only a Riflemaaaaaaaaaarrrghh!!

Background and design

The Rifleman as it originally appeared was a rather specialised and high heat machine, it was built to delete aircraft and it could do this rather well, but its heavy armament meant that it was under armoured to mount its firepower.  Its biggest flaw was its inadequate cooling system that didn’t even see a ‘Royal’ fitted with double heatsinks.  Still it gave yeoman service the SLDF and many went with General Kerensky into exile with Operation EXODUS.

The Clans, looking at their forces at the time before Omni’s were a thing had a long hard look at the Rifleman and really, there’s only so much polishing and fitting of a body kit you can do, it still won’t disguise the fact that at its core, the machine wasn’t that good.  So they took their own shot at it.  With most IIC’s losing weight, the new Rifleman IIC set the trend to add weight to previously just ‘heavy’ designs, and the Rifleman IIC gained 5 tonnes of weight and its engine was reduced in rating down to a 195 rated engine. 

This of course adversely affected the speed, dropping it to 56kph but this wasn’t seen as too bad a thing as the Rifleman was essentially a defensive unit anyhow.  Replacing the old machines bones with lighter endo-steel added to the weight saving and the weapons load was completely re-worked as was the armour package. 

Stripping out the old 7.5 tonnes of armour the Clans (Clan Nova Cat to be precise) added 11 tonnes of Ferro Fibrous armour to the Mech’s frame whilst a trio of jump jets were fitted to allow for 90 meter leaps.  The near legendary Garret D2j fire control was retained and mated with a new sky search radar system, but now the Rifleman IIC could actively defend itself against ground threats and was a far superior machine to its ancestor in regards to being able to absorb damage.

Speaking of the D2j FCS, the Rifleman IIC’s hat.  Don’t mock its hat.  It will be upset.  Whereas the old Rifleman had a rotating and rather small radar dish, the IIC’s air search radar is mounted in a housing that looks like its running around with a massive plate on its head.  I’m not sure if this rotates or its an armoured cowling for the radar.  But it also has another purpose. In bad weather Elementals will often cluster around a convenient Rifleman IIC to keep themselves dry.  Possibly…

The Mech’s armour scheme (for the most part) is as follows;
9/20/30/20 (10/12/10
20/20/30/30

Produced in large numbers the Rifleman IIC rapidly spread across the Clans with them being traded, won in trials and produced by seemingly everyone as the need for anti-aircraft defences was quite real. Queue sounds of booing and hissing Ravens and Cloud Cobra’s.

Put into PGC’s when Omni’s became more prevalent and never retired due to its anti-aircraft capacity the Rifleman IIC trundled into the Inner Sphere and became a common sight for those Spheroid forces who raided and attacked Clan worlds.  Like many IIC designs the Rifleman IIC has seen its fair share of variants, growing with the time and is still in service both in the Homeworlds and Inner Sphere, no longer ‘just’ a PGC machine but serving proudly, if slowly, on the front lines.

Variants

Prime – This is why we can’t have nice things.  Seriously this is a huge chunk of very fine quality cheddar cheese in the shape of a 65 tonne death machine.  Out goes the old combo of AC-5s and large lasers and in goes a quartet of large pulse lasers.  Clan ones naturally.  Whilst second line pilots in Clan service are not THAT good, if you put a decent pilot in this thing it is quite simply a monster.  And with 19 double heatsinks you can pretty much alpha as much as you want with only the odd break for cooling.
Rounding out the tonnage is an ER small laser and an Active Probe, whilst the ER Small’s ..well..its there, the probe is useful for what is a Garrison machine and lets it find any hidden units whilst on patrol.  Simple to use. Sit at mid to long range, put a house brick on the fire button and set an egg timer alarm to go off every 3 minutes to stop overheating.  Putting a Clan MechWarrior in one of these, not a PGC quality pilot is a quick way to loose friends as this thing is brutally effective.

2 – More in keeping with its original role the 2 is a tonal shift from the Prime.  The quartet of large pulse lasers are removed and replaced with a quartet of Ultra AC-2’s fed by a total of 6 tonnes of ammo.  Of course all the heatsinks are stripped out, this thing is very cool running to the point that you could probably dunk it in Lava and it wouldn’t notice.  The ER Small laser and probe are also removed and the armour is thinned slightly; losing half a ton of protection, but the weight saved is put into the engine, now a 260 rated power plant that can push the Mech up to its traditional speed of 64kph.  The jump jets remain unaltered allowing for 90-meter bunny hops.

Under-gunned vs a Mech the 2 is formidable in its role as an AA platform as all it takes is one lucky hit, and with 6 tonnes of ammo you’re not running dry fast so double shot as much as you like. 

3 – When Task Force Serpent and Bulldog came a calling the Clans realised that their home defences were rather weak and they set to beefing up their sometimes quite maligned PCG forces.  As the Rifleman IIC was part and parcel of this they dragged that in for an upgrade as well.  More a kissing cousin of the 2 and Prime the 3 drops its speed down to 56kph again and retains a pair of Ultra AC-2’s with a ton of ammo each much like the 2.  But there the familiarity stops, a pair of Heavy large lasers, one in each arm give this machine a brutal punch and if the radiation surges affect the pilot, oh well, its only a second line warrior.  21 double heatsinks keep this machine running cool despite the ferocious heat output of the heavy lasers and make this a nasty customer.  Oh and the Active probe makes an appearance again so watch out infantry hiding in buildings.
Whilst not as brutally efficient (to the point of being very cheesy) as the Prime the 3 is a good, solid Mech that you don’t want to let take a bite out of you.

4 – Another machine that came into service after the ‘oh god the Inner Sphere know where we are!’ panic, and again we see more new toys.  A Clan Nova Cat design the 4 features a pair of large pulse (one in each arm) lasers sitting atop the boxy forms of a pair of ATM-9 launchers, again one in each arm.  Each launcher is fed by 2 tonnes of ammo, limiting their flexibility somewhat but you can still volley out a lot of hate from the ATM’s as and when needed depending on the right ammo choice.  Sixteen double heatsinks keep the machine running cool whilst it hammers away.  Personally I’d go for a mix of HE and standard ammo, this thing works well at midranges and the weapon ranges mesh well together.

5 – Clan Jade Falcon went a different way with their 5 design of the Rifleman IIC.  In a nod to the Prime the 5 is a laser rave, all be it with a more mixed armament.  A trio of ER Large lasers (one in the head) give the Mech its main throw weight and punch whilst a pair of Medium pulse lasers cover the shorter ranges.  Whilst as slow as the Prime, the 5 does feature a full rack of Improved Jump Jets, which make the normally slow Rifleman IIC rather agile.  Its combination of ER large lasers, 150 meter leaps and 19 double heatsinks make this thing a very good and surprisingly mobile sniper.
This Mech would be a pain to face, it has no real need to walk or run and can jump everywhere whilst reaching out to touch you with its trio of ER Large lasers.  With a good pilot, this machine could be most vexing to face.

6 – Deciding that they REALLY needed an AA gun again that didn’t plink someone to death like the 2, the scientists of Clan Star Adder stripped out the Rifleman IIC’s guns and replaced them with a pair of HAG-30’s as well as seven tonnes of ammo, a pair of AMS and an active probe. 
Whilst in theory not hitting hard due to the sand blaster nature of the HAG’s, the 6 is death on legs for anything on tracks or with wings or a rotor.  A superb flak platform the Rifleman IIC 6 can also maul Mechs, wearing them down with clouds of HAG fire for its Star Mates to take full advantage of.  Of course to fit the big cannons and their generous ammo bins, something had to go, and the 6 loses its jump jets making it very sluggish for a Mech its size.  But in a dug in position or defending something from air attack, you don’t really need to move if someones coming to you.

7 – A Clan Nova Cat design built in the Inner Sphere the 7 is built with fighting combined arms forces in mind and does its job very well.  Seemingly based on the 5 it retains that machines full array of Improved Jump Jets allowing for 150 meter leaps.  But the weapons are considerably different.  A pair of Heavy large lasers are backed up by a pair of the newly developed Plasma Cannons, although these only have a ton of ammo each.  A micro-pulse laser provides some anti-infantry firepower whilst all the weapons are then linked into a targeting computer.  Whilst a bit hot running with 16 double heatsinks getting overwhelmed somewhat if you fire the lasers the 7 is still a formidable machine and can do horrific things to infantry and tanks with its Plasma cannons. 
Its biggest drawback is the shallow ammo bins, 1 ton of ammo simply isn’t enough in most battles, so you have to either husband your shots or go nuts and then rely on the heavy lasers once the Plasma’s run dry.

8 – The latest Rifleman IIC, the 8 is a Ghost Bear design, built within the Dominion’s space and a common feature of their Clusters, although naturally its more common in former Kungs Armee units.  The 8 is a very different beast to most Rifleman IIC variants though.  The biggest and most noticeable change is the Mech’s speed, topping out at 86kph thanks to an XL 325 rated engine.  This allows it to keep up with typical Clan heavy Mech’s whilst jump jets allow for 150 meter leaps making this machine very agile for its type.  Whilst the armour is thinned out slightly and cooling is provided by 16 double heatsinks firepower is not scrimped on.  A pair of ER large lasers give the Mech its main bite whilst a pair of Streak SRM-6’s each fed by an adequate 1 ton of ammo and a quartet of AP Gauss rifles provide a fearsome anti-infantry punch.  Rounding this out is an ECM which can make a fine mess of any C3 systems. 
Whilst a bit light on firepower, the 8 is fast, agile and with its mixed weapons load, flexible.  Ammo can be a bit of a concern but otherwise this is a very capable heavy Mech.

Thoughts.

If you can find a niche, the Clans will seemingly put a Rifleman IIC in it.  Filling every role from general purpose trooper to cavalry and AA gun the Rifleman IIC is generally rather good at what it does.  The 2 is the weakest and unless you was attacking an airfield I doubt you’d see one in the field, but the rest are formidable.  It sticks with what its good at, pounding Mech’s into rubble at mid to long ranges.  The 7 and 8 are more general purpose Machines thanks to their armament choices whilst the 8 is a bloody good heavy Mech that can keep up with things like the Summoner and Timberwolf. 

Fighting one is all about being willing to take a wallop whilst doing so.  Thanks to their Clan weapons you can’t really fight them at range although indirect LRM fire and C3 shenanigans would be the way to go if you was.  All bar one have standard engines and most are packed to the gills with heatsinks and are well padded against crits.  Their lack of speed is a problem but as 99% of the Rifleman IIC variants can jump even luring them into rough terrain might not work, and won’t work against the 5 7 and 8.  Whilst they are ‘only’ a 65 tonne machine and enough firepower will bring one down, expect to get a black eye and bloody nose doing so. 

Oh and as a friendly note, don’t put more than one Rifleman IIC Prime on the table.  If you do, I think it says in the rules somewhere that your opponent is fully allowed to throw a chair at you.  Don’t be that cheesy guy!



The original look, possibly driven by a spiky haired teen (and considering the age of most Clan Mechwarriors...)



The IIC 3, pop pop BEAM!



The IIC 8 in action.

As always, thoughts and comments are most welcome!

« Last Edit: 29 September 2016, 12:56:25 by marauder648 »
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Empyrus

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #1 on: 29 September 2016, 08:52:38 »
Don't have time to read the article completely (looks good though) but i'll note that i think the Active Probe is the air-radar-dish-hat-thing. I mean, i think the Active Probe kinda represents more advanced, longer ranged sensors, something that would be very useful for anti-air defense, even if it ain't represented by game rules.

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #2 on: 29 September 2016, 11:30:28 »
I think you have the wrong engine rating for the 8, unless it also gained ten tons while we weren't looking. ;)
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sadlerbw

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #3 on: 29 September 2016, 11:31:43 »
I always assumed the hat served no functional purpose beyond being the most expensive personal sun shade created by man up to that point!

As a mech, it is actually pretty decent, if slow. The Prime is undeniably 65 tons of Provolone to the face, and almost assuredly part of the reason Santa doesn't bring us nice presents anymore, but the other variants do a good job of managing the functional-but-flawed style that makes a mech fun and interesting. I tend to play them about the same way I play the Hammerhands. Jump like a kangaroo on meth until I get a chance at a good shot, then sit still and fire everything I can. Seriously, unless I need to move to get to a closer range bracket, if I have a shot at an enemy from where I am, I don't even bother to walk. I'm not saying this is a GOOD play style, just that it's what I tend to do!

While I don't generally care for the original IIC art because of it's highly manga-esque style (It isn't bad art, just not right for BattleTech), the Phoenix re-design has a face only a mother could love. The arms, legs, and hat? I can deal with all those. The big permanently-surprised 'mouth' in the middle of it's chest? Yeah, that just doesn't work for me. The Fennec managed, in my opinion, to use that same feature successfully, but the Rifleman IIC...all I see is this:


MoneyLovinOgre4Hire

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #4 on: 29 September 2016, 12:22:19 »
It's not anti-aircraft, it's anti-everything!
Warning: this post may contain sarcasm.

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Colt Ward

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #5 on: 29 September 2016, 12:27:31 »
One of the most hated mechs on the L2 MM servers, a instant target to smash it.

I like the niche it follows outside of the 1 . . . its a pocket assault for garrisons with the 3/5/3 speed.  Its too bad that all the variants do not see more attention but the original just sets up a certain brand expectation.

I actually think the RFL IIC 8 could be considered a adjusted Arcas, just with a 'old' label that would fit with the secondline forces.  I think its interesting since the Bears seem to be building up the 65t weight as their heavy of choice like the Crusader Wolves have the 75t after the Jihad and through the 3150s.
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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #6 on: 29 September 2016, 14:12:43 »
the Phoenix re-design has a face only a mother could love. The arms, legs, and hat? I can deal with all those. The big permanently-surprised 'mouth' in the middle of it's chest? Yeah, that just doesn't work for me. The Fennec managed, in my opinion, to use that same feature successfully, but the Rifleman IIC...all I see is this:
So true!
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marauder648

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #7 on: 29 September 2016, 14:23:59 »
Oh god...I'd not noticed the 'mouth' on the redesign until now....at least Plog's version trims it down somewhat on the IIC 8
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JadeHellbringer

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #8 on: 29 September 2016, 14:41:59 »
"There's a difference between the soldier and his fight,
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Maelwys

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #9 on: 29 September 2016, 14:56:25 »
It never really struck me until today, but is it possible that the Rifleman IIC isn't an upjumped Rifleman, but a downjumped Rifleman II? Both have LPLs, though the IIC gains two more at the expense of the II's LB10-Xs, which makes sense if you're trying to save weight on the smaller chassis, and they both even have an Active Probe.

Jellico

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #10 on: 29 September 2016, 17:45:52 »
Nice article.

 

Most IICs did not lose weight. Locust, Rifleman, Phoenix Hawk, Warhammer, and Marauder all gained weight. The Shadow Hawk and Griffin lost weight. The rest stayed the same though you could make an argument about the Great Wyrm, Conjuror and Supernova (and a counter argument about the Horned Owl).

Likewise with the Marauder IIC, Warhammer IIC, and Locust IIC predating the Rifleman IIC it would be hard for the Rifleman to set a trend to weight gain.

 

It is highly debatable if the Garret D2j is in place in the Rifleman IIC. From the 3 onwards they are using the Mk.CXC-4 (TROPP p66). The Cloud Cobra D2j derivative is the CCCD5.2J (TRO3067 p107).

The array itself is a mixed of fixed phased array (TRO3055 p104) and some sort of rotadome. See this guy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-3_Sentry. Battletech. Future of the 1980s.

 

Variants

There is no evidence that the Rifleman IIC is a Nova Cat unit. There is a throwaway line in TRO3055 saying it was first seen with the Nova Cats but the entry also says that is “a common sight to all MechWarriors, as it forms the first line of defence against air attack for many garrison units.”

Note the Active Probe and ERSL are a modification due to the original Rifleman IIC having 20DHS and being underweight and illegal. 

 

The 2 is probably a Jaguar design.

 

The 3 wasn’t produced by “they”. It is a Cloud Cobra design and manufactured by them. TROPP p66 “the Cobras began a radical upgrade of their second-line BattleMech forces, starting with the Rifleman IIC.”

 

The 4 probably is Cloud Cobra too as the initial sightings were with the Adders and Cobras. There is no evidence that the Nova Cats were building it. While we are talking about them the 3 and 4 are probably the variants the Sharks were building at Twycross in the 3060s. Which would explain the later Nova Cat RATs.

 

The 7 is a refit as noted it Objectives Clans.

 

The 8 is very much NOT a Ghost Bear design. As the TRO3085 and Objectives make clear it is built on Twycross by the Diamond Sharks.

 

 

Final comment on the Reseen’s looks. Look to some of the commentary about the Ford Edsel’s grill. Remember this is a family site.

« Last Edit: 30 September 2016, 01:27:46 by Jellico »

Kidd

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #11 on: 29 September 2016, 23:07:01 »
Nice, seeing the variants enumerated like this clears some things up. The Prime looks like inspiration for the Nova Cat A, suitably pulsed for garrison pilots. Rifleman IIC 8 looks very much like the Diamond Sharks' answer to the Bears' Arcas.

iamfanboy

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #12 on: 30 September 2016, 00:56:59 »
So it was this 'Mech that taught my twelve-year-old self, green as grass to the ways of the BattleMech, two valuable lessons:

1) Not all 'Mechs are designed equally
2) Using tonnage to gauge battle ability is idiotic.

One of my first RPG campaigns was as a Clan pilot, and I was moved to a Rifleman IIC and matched up against...

A Hellbringer.

There was ONE round of combat. One. Two center torso hits, and I seem to remember a double crit on the gyro but I could be mistaken (24 years is a long time), but the most important aspect was that one round of combat and my stricken GM, unbelieving that combat had ended so quickly, insisted we rerun it with the combat taking a whole two turns instead.

Oh, I guess I learned a third lesson that day: The Loki is terrible. You guys may insist that it "sucks with balls" but that early combat left a solid impression which forces me to remove the 'with' from that sentence.

But this guy? This guy's awesome. In Alpha Strike, the core version is not terrible at all, but the Rifleman IIC-5 and -8 are scary good skirmishers. Looking at the -8in particular brings a tear to this old Ghost Bear's eye...

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #13 on: 30 September 2016, 01:15:21 »
Pretty little hate machine.
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Jellico

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #14 on: 30 September 2016, 01:27:13 »
You know what is worse than trying to close on a a Rifleman IIC? Finding it escorted by Coronas. Ran into that once. Not pretty.

For all of that Riflemen can't run so you CAN close on them at which point they are in big trouble and the pocket in pocket assault comes into play. This is one Mech that doesn't like being the centre of attention so try and distract attackers away.

marauder648

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #15 on: 30 September 2016, 01:41:50 »
You know what is worse than trying to close on a a Rifleman IIC? Finding it escorted by Coronas. Ran into that once. Not pretty.

That must have been like having a Jean Michelle Jarre concert attack you, so many laser lights...

And sorry for the errors, this is why I need to get a new copy of Project Phoenix and not write MoTW at half 10 at night when i'm bloody tired.
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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #16 on: 30 September 2016, 07:04:48 »
I loved the Rifleman IIC, the Standard model (original) seem to be meat grinding machine to make the point in my mind's eye "This isn't your Father's Rifleman!".
I wasn't big fan of the re-designs so much. I guess the nasty Large Pulse laser original was bit much for people deal with. I think the speed helps evens up (well little).

I have to say i was thinking same thing JadeHellbringer was with Edsel reference.  It does have that strong influence there of that thing.

Thanks again, marauder648, for another amusing profile article!
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sadlerbw

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #17 on: 30 September 2016, 13:19:25 »
Oh god...I'd not noticed the 'mouth' on the redesign until now....at least Plog's version trims it down somewhat on the IIC 8

You're welcome!

And for my next trick, head over to Sarna (or the appropriate TRO) and take a look at the art for the Mortis. It has happy-pants. Right between the hip actuators, on it's codpiece armor...a big 'ole smiley face. Oddly enough, this bit of Capellan levtiy was preserved in the miniature as well! I like to think of it as the Canopian influence starting to show up on Capellan designs!

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #18 on: 30 September 2016, 17:23:51 »
My favorite refit (Blood Spirit style) is quad ER Larges and ECM with rest of weight in DHS. Or did I put in a targeting computer? It was long time ago I can't remember now.
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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #19 on: 01 October 2016, 01:46:41 »
i forget but can this thing flip it's arms?

4 cLPLs that can reach behind would be a hilarious back scratchier.

marauder648

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #20 on: 01 October 2016, 02:02:36 »
Yep the wifflebat IIC can flip its arms :P So no sneaky backstabbing or it does the owl head turn thing and then goes DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!
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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #21 on: 03 October 2016, 00:45:03 »

Speaking of the D2j FCS, the Rifleman IIC’s hat.  Don’t mock its hat.  It will be upset.  Whereas the old Rifleman had a rotating and rather small radar dish, the IIC’s air search radar is mounted in a housing that looks like its running around with a massive plate on its head.  I’m not sure if this rotates or its an armoured cowling for the radar.  But it also has another purpose. In bad weather Elementals will often cluster around a convenient Rifleman IIC to keep themselves dry.  Possibly…


You are correct about the radar rotation on it's head. From Battletech.rpg.hu :

"Visually, this Clan Rifleman looks nothing like the traditional outline we would recognize on the battlefield. Like its smaller brother, it mounts a large rotating radar array over its head, but the IIC variant´s is mounted much higher, with twin box-like appendages fitted on either side of the central support pylon. Close analysis of battlefield scans of this ´Mech in action revealed that this unusual configuration was some sort of phased radar array acting in tandem with the main array. We cannot determine the benefit of this arrangement, but it deserves further study. "

You might want to check out that site for more additional information about the Rifleman IIC. It's loaded with information that you could add to this article.

JadeHellbringer

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #22 on: 03 October 2016, 08:55:48 »
It's possible that the array rotates, but does so inside the armored cowling rather than the entire dish rotating.

Either way, having a giant 'visor' above the cockpit of an anti-aircraft Mech still seems like a bad idea- move it back a meter or so and give the pilot some visibility upward, come on people!
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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #23 on: 03 October 2016, 09:07:47 »
Its probably akin to the cockpits on SLDF fighters, their neurohelmets were mad advanced and if you looked say down at your feet you'd see space thanks to sensors/cameras etc.  Probably the same for clan neruohelmets.  And the big parasol is useful for keeping the sun out of you eyes.
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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #24 on: 03 October 2016, 13:06:46 »
A lot of the early novels made a big deal about how mechs did not have windows in their cockpits, the view was external cameras only.
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Maingunnery

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #25 on: 03 October 2016, 14:58:53 »

Rifleman IIC 1 - Jack of all trades, provided the targets come close enough.
Rifleman IIC 2 - Training model
Rifleman IIC 3 - Quickly refit some of those training models into actual Battlemechs!
Rifleman IIC 4 - Refitting some of the 1's for more damage
Rifleman IIC 5 - Jumping laser mouth
Rifleman IIC 6 - Actually being serious about Anti-Air
Rifleman IIC 7 - A nr 3 though that nr 5 had a great idea, but now with Plasma!
Rifleman IIC 8 - A very confused Rifleman.
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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #26 on: 03 October 2016, 16:01:46 »
Rifleman IIC 1 - Jack of all trades, provided the targets come close enough.
Rifleman IIC 2 - Training model
Rifleman IIC 3 - Quickly refit some of those training models into actual Battlemechs!
Rifleman IIC 4 - Refitting some of the 1's for more damage
Rifleman IIC 5 - Jumping laser mouth
Rifleman IIC 6 - Actually being serious about Anti-Air
Rifleman IIC 7 - A nr 3 though that nr 5 had a great idea, but now with Plasma!
Rifleman IIC 8 - A very confused Rifleman.

Rifleman IIC 1 - Beefy powerhouse that forces assault mechs to check under their beds at night.
Rifleman IIC 2 - A plinkler that moves at the speed of most standard heavy mechs. That's about it.
Rifleman IIC 3 - Plinker now with more heavy large lasers! Also Roderick Steiner's bastard child.
Rifleman IIC 4 - Large pulse lasers now with more missiles. Woohoo.
Rifleman IIC 5 - Laser vomit who can jump like most NBA players.
Rifleman IIC 6 - Hyper assault Gauss rifles? Rip Ground troops.
Rifleman IIC 7 - Heavy large lasers with plasma cannons linked with a target computer? Can also jump as well? Yes pls.
Rifleman IIC 8 - GTFO with your ground troops.

fix'd  ;D

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #27 on: 03 October 2016, 16:04:46 »
Hmm, that does bring up a good point . . . most famous Rifleman IIC user has to be Roderick (Frost)Steiner.  I thought he had pulse instead of the Heavies though . . .
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StrOf10kBabies

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #28 on: 03 October 2016, 16:26:42 »
Hmm, that does bring up a good point . . . most famous Rifleman IIC user has to be Roderick (Frost)Steiner.  I thought he had pulse instead of the Heavies though . . .

You're correct. He did have large pulse lasers instead of the heavy larges on his mech. Which is why it's considered a bastardization of the IIC 3 variant. O0

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Re: (slightly Early) Mech of the Week - Rifleman IIC
« Reply #29 on: 03 October 2016, 16:36:29 »
Difference of 4 tons and he seemed to have limited ammo . . . just wonder where he gets the weight back.  The sacrifice of the AP . . . maybe some ammo . . . and maybe a DHS so its back to the original's 20.
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