'Mech of the Week: Mad Cat Mk. II
Attention everyone, return to your seats, Merchant Michael is ready to move on to the next 'Mech on today's sales and demonstration roster, the Mad Cat Mk. II.
As my assistant said, the next 'Mech we have to preview for you today is two versions the Mad Cat Mk. II. For most of you the first version will be a simple refresher, and that is where we will begin.
Following upon the success of the Timber Wolf, known to some as the Mad Cat, my predecessors decided to create a second-line version of the that OmniMech and increase the tonnage to the assault class. Not only is this 'Mech in use by our forces, the main intent was to create a powerful unit that would be available for trade or sale to our fellow clans. In recent years we have been able to open up sales to the rest of the Inner Sphere, provided you pass our background check and you have the resources to purchase or trade for the listed price.
Now onto the design specifics. The Mad Cat Mk. II is a 90-ton assault 'Mech. All components and weapons are Clan-made. Each arm features a Gauss Rifle, fed by two ammo bins in the corresponding side torso. Also in those side torsos, along the main torso section are ER Medium Lasers, two to each side torso. Up top on the shoulders are LRM10 racks, each one fed by it's own ammo bin. Like all Clan-made 'Mechs, there are CASE panels isolating the arms from the side torsos, and ones isolating the side torsos from the core of the 'Mech. As you know, these prevent an exploding ammo bin, or overloaded Gauss Rifle capacitors from causing further damage to other sections of the 'Mech. Providing cooling for this 'Mech are 14 double heat sinks, all wrapped around the engine core. While the heat sinks cannot provide enough cooling for simultaneous weapons fire, it provides cooling for the vast majority of the weapons.
For mobility, the Mad Cat Mk. II uses a 360XL engine, and three jump jets, allowing it to run at speeds of up to 64.8 km/h and jump distances of 90 meters. An Endo Steel chassis and Ferro-Fibrous armor provide the maximum weight savings to devote as much tonnage as reasonably possible to the weapons package. For the Armor, there are 13 tons of Ferro-Fibrous armor, which is equivalent to 89.24% of the maximum armor load the chassis could carry. The rear armor can stop an Inner Sphere Large Laser or Clan ER or Pulse Medium Laser to the side torsos, while the center rear armor can stop a Clan ER or Pulse Large Laser or a pair of Inner Sphere Medium Pulse Lasers. The legs and center torso could each stop a pair of Gauss Rifle rounds with armor to spare. Likewise, the arms and side torsos could each stop a 20-class autocannon round with armor to spare.
Overall you can see this is a fine machine of war, able to deliver and take a beating, whilst still being very mobile for it's size. Able to keep up with most classic heavy and medium class 'Mechs and still able to match speed with a Warhawk, the Mad Cat Mk. II would be a great addition to any force.
Before we continue to the new variant, we have included in your informational packet some excerpts from Jamie's 'Mech's Monthly, the premier publication for ratings, tactics, and analysis of all known 'Mechs and variants.
JMM's Rating: 7/10, Not the be all, end all of Clan second line assault 'Mechs, but it has good firepower and enough heat sinks to use most of that firepower on a regular basis.
JMM's Improvements/Modifications:
We at JMM would have preferred large missile racks and more armor coverage, but it's simply not possible without using a smaller 270 XL engine, which doesn't dramatically affect the 'Mech's agility, it does affect it in a strategic sense, forcing it to be grouped with other slow assault 'Mechs.
JMM's Suggested Best Usage:
When using Mad Cat Mk. II, we suggest grouping it with lighter-weight, slower medium and heavy 'Mechs like a Hunchback or Galahad. While many of it's weapons reach out to long range, it is best to close to medium ranges to bring the ER Medium Lasers into the fight. It is best to think of the Mad Cat Mk. II as slightly heavier, slightly slower, Heavy Cavalry 'Mech. It's jump jets will allow it to traverse rough terrain easier, but it doesn't quite have the armor coverage most commanders think of in a modern assault 'Mech.
JMM's Strategies for facing a Mad Cat Mk. II:
When facing down a Mad Cat Mk. II in the field the best way to fight it is to stay at long range and pound away at it. Yes, it has a lot of armor, and yes, it has a pair of Gauss Rifles, but all of it's long-range weapons require ammunition. So if possible stay back and hit it hard. If one gets in close it will likely be able to outmaneuver you, so running away into cover is another good bet. But in the end, it is still an assault 'Mech, so just pound away at it and hope you get lucky.
Now we will continue on to the newest variant, the Mad Cat Mk. II-Enhanced. This version keeps the tonnage, engine, and internal structure the same. It adds a fourth jump jet to allow it to clear 120 meters in a single jump, increasing the jump range over the original version. The missile racks, ammunition, and integral CASE paneling in the side torsos all remain the same. Two of the original four ER Medium Lasers return, but are moved out to the arms, with one in each arm. The Gauss Rifles and ammo are removed, replaced with new, advanced ER Large Pulse Lasers, one in each arm. The ER Large Pulse Lasers hit just as hard as an ER or Pulse version. They also have range brackets closer to the ER version, and have half the improved accuracy of the Pulse version. The ER Large Pulse Lasers do all this at the same tonnage as a Pulse model, but at a higher heat load than either version. As such, four more double heat sinks were added, providing enough cooling for the ER Large Pulse Lasers and the ER Medium Lasers or the LRM racks.
You may have noticed that I have not mentioned the armor yet. That is because I was saving the best for last. Using an advanced hardened armor plate, the armor is able to absorb twice the damage as standard or Ferro-Fibrous armor, doubling the damage absorption for the same percentage of armor coverage. Unfortunately the hardened armor weighs twice as much as standard armor, which necessitated lowering the percentage covered to 71.68% of it's maximum. However, with the new armor, each of the rear side torsos can take a hit from a Gauss Rifle, while the center rear armor can absorb two Gauss Rifle rounds before exposing the internal structure. Each arm, each leg, and the front side torsos can take two 20-class autocannon hits, while the center torso can take three 20-class autocannon rounds before the internal structure is exposed. Even the head of the 'Mech can take a Gauss Rifle round with no trouble. It takes a Heavy Gauss Rifle slug at short range or an Improved Heavy Gauss Rifle round to take the head off in one shot. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of the hardened armor is that it limits the 'Mech's running speed to 54.0 km/h.
The Mad Cat Mk. II-Enhanced is more likely to outlast the battle than it is to be taken down in combat. In fact, we are still trying to obtain copies of the battle ROMs to confirm it, but there are rumors of a Trial between Clan Wolf and Clan Hell's Horses during a sandstorm, where each side had a Mad Cat Mk. II-Enhanced. The rumors says that the two warriors faced off in zellbrigen combat and the rest of the Trial was finished before these two warriors had completed their duel. With the extra armor protection, the loser actually succumbed to an accumulation of sand in one of the armor breaches unbalancing the 'Mech causing gyro failure and not the 'Mech being disabled solely by his opponent's weapons. While the 'Mech's failure (if the rumors are true) is a result of an extreme circumstance, we are looking at methods to allow warriors to clear breached sections of armor of sand, water, and other debris while in a combat situation so this does not occur again in the future.
Once again, we have included in your informational packet some excerpts from Jamie's 'Mech's Monthly, the premier publication for ratings, tactics, and analysis of all known 'Mechs and variants. After you have had some time to review the material we will open the floor for questions and my assistants will handle any purchase orders.
JMM's Rating: 8/10, a great 'Mech for a unit commander, the reach and targeting computer-like nature of the ER Large Pulse Lasers and the LRMs are useful in allowing a commander to stay outside the reach of his opponent's shorter ranged weapons. The mobility is again a bonus for a commander, who can better keep up with his lighter units than most other assault 'Mechs can. The only downside is that the firepower is somewhat limited with so much tonnage devoted to the armor and mobility.
JMM's Improvements/Modifications:
We at JMM again would have preferred larger missile racks. That would require the removal of the ER Medium Lasers and a ton of armor, but that would allow the missile racks to be upgraded to LRM15 racks with 3 tons of ammo to share. Alternatively, or simply in addition, a simple change would be to trade the ER Large Pulse Lasers for ER PPCs, adding to the heat burden, but returning the hitting power of the original version's Gauss Rifles.
JMM's Suggested Best Usage:
When using Mad Cat Mk. II-Enhanced, we suggest grouping it with lighter-weight, slower medium and heavy 'Mechs like a Hunchback or Galahad. With fewer ER Medium Lasers and a configuration that runs hotter there is less reason to close to medium or short range, so any range works well. It is best to think of the Mad Cat Mk. II-Enhanced as slightly heavier, slightly slower, Heavy Cavalry 'Mech. It also works well as a commander's ride. The extra armor protection will allow it to survive the battle longer, giving the commander more time to direct his troops.
JMM's Strategies for facing a Mad Cat Mk. II-Enhanced:
When facing down a Mad Cat Mk. II-Enhanced in the field there are two methods of handling it. First is to simply ignore it and keep your forces away. Not a very good strategy, but it can only dish out so much damage at a time. The second strategy is to pour as much firepower as possible into it. If you have to face one in zellbrigen, hopefully you have one yourself or you have something that can quickly deal out a lot of firepower. Just about the only other option is to try and stay out of it's range and whittle it down with Clan ER Large Lasers, 2-class autocannons, or Light Gauss Rifles.
