The Dragon's Lair

[Darthvegeta800]

Hey!
I am new to the boards,and(as you can see from the icon) the Dragon is one of my factions.One question though,what made each of you like the Combine?(personally it was the cool Japanese cultural aspects......and Grand Dragons I like Grand Dragons!)

The same reason i like the early DC era up until after good ol' Theo.

I like the honor obsession, the values of duty, loyalty and traditionalism. I also like the fact it at times has a highly hypocrite (and hence realistic and human) edge. I'm a historian by education and one of my preferred era's is the Sengoku Jidai... so that explains it in part too.
The autocratic edge is nice, the concept of a 'coordiantor' too.
The DC also has the coolest emblem in my eyes and I like the Sword of Light units.
The DC occassionally also reminds me a little bit of the Scorpion Clan in Legends of the 5 Rings.

[Doug Glendower]

My opinion is that House Kurita is most fun to play in 3025 and grows progressively less fun with each iteration of the game.

In Dark Age they only have two weapons: MRMs and the AC2. Enjoy. :D

[Darthvegeta800]

In Dark Age they only have two weapons: MRMs and the AC2. Enjoy. :D

And we're probably still doing better than some factions like the Smoke Jaguars...
Then again with that kind of equipment... the poor Dracs will follow the Jags...

[Dies Irae]

And we're probably still doing better than some factions like the Smoke Jaguars...
Then again with that kind of equipment... the poor Dracs will follow the Jags...

Free Worlds Leaguers scoff at your self-pity.  ;)

[Stormfury]

This'd be the mob who rely (or relied) on the Light Gauss, which despite its shortcomings is still better than the A/C-2 or MRM, and which have reformed and are poised on the verge of delivering a beat down on their neighbours, yes?

Meanwhile, the Draconis Combine is riven by civil war, will require Catalyst to rehabilitate all of their Dark Age-era designs, and which is so hopeless they couldn't even re-capture Vega despite sending actual 'Mechs against armed IndustrialMechs.

... yeah.

[Darthvegeta800]

What is your favourite 'fluffy' but effective composition for the DC in the late Successor States for the DC when they were still gung-ho Samurai for:

- A light lance
- A medium lance (as rare as they were)
- A Heavy Lance
- An assault lance


And are there weight differing mechs (say a light and heavy) that are likely to be combined in one lance?

[Rainbow 6]

For a light Fire Lance i'd use the following:-

Whitworth and 3 x Panther's

For the Light Strike/Recon Lance:-

Wolverine, Phoenix Hawk and 2 x Jenner's

[Top Sergeant]

Good to see the Dragon has its own thread.

No one visits the Draconis Combine website anymore.  :(

[Darthvegeta800]

Good to see the Dragon has its own thread.

No one visits the Draconis Combine website anymore.  :(

We have a website?  :o

[Top Sergeant]

We have a website?  :o

http://battletech.hopto.org/kurita/

Created by Deathshadow IIRC.

I'd love to see it have some life again!

[Darthvegeta800]

Cool. Regretfully I can't seem to sign up. Wants me to put in a code but no such window has appeared.  :(

[TJHairball]

What is your favourite 'fluffy' but effective composition for the DC in the late Successor States for the DC when they were still gung-ho Samurai for:

- A light lance

Panther, Panther, Jenner, Jenner. Make one or both Jenners -Fs and you're good to go.

- A medium lance (as rare as they were)

Whitworth, PHawk-K, Hunchback, Wolverine-K. One 'mech each at 40,45,50,55, and a mix of capabilities.

- A Heavy Lance

Dragon, Dragon, Dragon, Dragon. Preferably Grand Dragons at that.

- An assault lance

Warhammer -K (now that it's retconned to Kuritan), Charger, Battlemaster, Atlas. Unfortunately, the Charger and Atlas are the only assaults that the Combine fields an above-average number of, and assault 'mechs that work well are rare babies in the SW era (hence including a heavy).

And are there weight differing mechs (say a light and heavy) that are likely to be combined in one lance?

Panthers + Dragons can keep up with each other over mixed terrain (4/6/4 and 5/8/0) and would, by sheer frequency, often be found together.

Actually, probably the most "Draconis Combine" lance you could build would be Dragon + Grand Dragon + Panther + Jenner. The Jenner is a flanking unit in that case.

[Top Sergeant]

Cool. Regretfully I can't seem to sign up. Wants me to put in a code but no such window has appeared.  :(

PM Deathshadow.

[Rainbow 6]

is Deathshadow on here?

you should have some replys now Top.

[Rainbow 6]

What would be a good selection of mechs to make up a c3 company that averages out at medium weight?

[Top Sergeant]

For canon designs:

Blackjack Omni
Firestarter Omni
Kintaro
Avatar

[sandstorm]

Could build it with a Bishamon 4K as lance commanders as well.

Might get a nasty company with pair of Jenner C's for spotting, Bihsamon 4K's for Masters and  possiblut Whitworths or even couple of C3 Archers to fill in some weight to cover the Jenners 'Light' class.

[TJHairball]

What would be a good selection of mechs to make up a c3 company that averages out at medium weight?

The Bishamon -4K is probably your best lance leader for a fast light lance. You want to pair it with 'mechs that can take advantage of having a lance that moves 7/11, i.e., Jenner (-C3 is better than -C, it's a lot like the JR7-F), Spider, Venom, Raptor, Owens. This is good if you need strategic mobility or a real recon unit (if you need a real recon unit, include an Owens in there).

The Daimyo can lead a lance of slow lights - Panthers or Wights in particular. 3 Wights plus a Daimyo is a pretty effective light-slugger lance with a uniform 5/8/0 movement bracket. The Daimyo is your "cheap" C3M option - if you don't want to spend a lot in tons or c-bills on C3Ms, put the Daimyo in. It actually wouldn't be ridiculous to use only Daimyos as C3Ms - it's an ERPPC machine, pretty durable for a 40 tonner, and mobile enough not to be easily hunted.

The Komodo is your jumping C3M option. It's 5/8/5 and a little risky (XLFE 45 tonner with close range weapons as a C3M?), but a Komodo lance can scare the crap out of people.

The Scorpion and Dragon are your 6/9/0 C3M options. As such, they make reasonable leaders for actual medium lances. Both are SNPPC+MML machines, which means that they're something of pinch-hit supporters intended to float around medium range. They're really similar to each other.

If you want to "average" at medium weight, you could actually include a heavy-duty 4/6/0 lance using a heavy or assault C3M. The HTM-CM is not a bad pick at 4/6/0 if you can afford the weight.

If you don't want duplicate names and just wanted things to fight with, needing an average weight falling in the 40-55 ton range, I would go with something like, oh:

Skirmish (145 tons)
Bishamon -4K
Jenner -C3
Venom -9KC
Spider -7KC

Middleweight (165 tons)
Daimyo -5K
Wight -1LAW/C3
Phoenix Hawk -7K
Komodo -2C

Assault (280 tons)
Hatamoto-Hi -CM
BattleMaster -K3 (2nd C3M unit; configure as C3 lance master in company battles, configure as a slave in lance battles)
Grasshopper -6K
Blackjack -OD

Average weight is a hair under 50 tons, so the company is on average medium even if only 5/12 'mechs are actually medium.

[Darthvegeta800]

Question: Are the No-Dachi and Akuma frequently present in the 5th Sword of Light? As I rarely see the Akuma used in such lances. And the No Dachi I only saw a single time used in a Sword of Light lance online.

Any reason for this?

[Rainbow 6]

Thanks for the Medium Company (any more suggestions?) also would anyone be able to give me some ideas for Light, Heavy and Assault Companies?

Question: Are the No-Dachi and Akuma frequently present in the 5th Sword of Light? As I rarely see the Akuma used in such lances. And the No Dachi I only saw a single time used in a Sword of Light lance online.

Any reason for this?

Not sure about the Akuma but the No-Dachi is probably avoided as its produced by the Legions of Vega (well it was until Vega was lost to the Combine)

[Daishi411]

the akuma is fairly new, so that could be the reason, though i'm not 100% sure, also it's a ticking time bomb

[Darthvegeta800]

the akuma is fairly new, so that could be the reason, though i'm not 100% sure, also it's a ticking time bomb

It's a ticking timebomb?

[Kos]

Torso bomb, ammo goes Ka-Pow.

[Darthvegeta800]

LOL!  ;D

[Rainbow 6]

Also the factory ends up in Republic space so we probably don't have access to it anymore.

[Darthvegeta800]

Also the factory ends up in Republic space so we probably don't have access to it anymore.

Well i'm only playing up to roughly the end of the Fedcom Civil War. I'm no fan of the Jihad. Heck not even that big a fan of the FedCom thing.

[TJHairball]

Thanks for the Medium Company (any more suggestions?) also would anyone be able to give me some ideas for Light, Heavy and Assault Companies?

Not sure about the Akuma but the No-Dachi is probably avoided as its produced by the Legions of Vega (well it was until Vega was lost to the Combine)

The No-Dachi is produced by Independence Weaponry on Quentin. The ROTS does wind up with Quentin, which makes it one of the 'mechs that is probably not being produced post-Jihad; however, I would like to point out these passage in TRO: 3055 Upgrades:

While the Daikyu now serves in most Combine line regiments, newer designs such as the No-Dachi and Ninja-To are beginning to take its place in such prestigious units as the Genyosha and Ryuken.

Luthien Armor Works created the DAI-03 to grab back market share from Cosby BattleMech Research, whose No-Dachi capitalized on a “demon-mask” look and sword (playing to the samurai mindset). Along with Independence Weaponry’s Ninja-To and Shugenja, these designs all threatened to sideline the older Daikyu.

The first was a hand-to-hand struggle, while the second involved combat between Mbeki’s Daikyu and Gipps’ No-Dachi. That fight settled little, but Cosby BattleMech Research picked up on the media attention paid to warriors in such a famed unit fighting duels and is using it to grab market share from Luthien Armor Works’ Daikyu.

The No-Dachi, as of 3067, was biting into the heavy 'mech market share with a vengeance. It shouldn't be avoided any more than other Independence Weaponry DCMS 'mechs. I'd feel comfortable with fielding one in a company if it wasn't too far post-Jihad. Obviously it's not available pre-3062.

[Darthvegeta800]

I was wondering if 'Historicals - War of 3039' is still a useful sourcebook for a Fifth Sword of Light player?
Does it have a lot of info that is still useful? Or has it become quite outdated?

[sandstorm]

Depends on how you describe outdated, really.

Historicals are pretty new series of sourcebooks, so they are not out-dated in same way as some of the oldest FASA sourcebooks.

On the other hand, if you mean in-universe info, then it'd depend on what timeframe you're playing in. For post-Jihad era it'd be pretty outdated, but if you're pre-FedCom Civil War, or even just-edging into Clan Invasion era... Well, it'd be much more relevant.

[Darthvegeta800]

I do play Successor Wars up to Fed Com era. But i'm a bit unsure wether to fork over cash for it instead of another miniature. Is there a lot of info specifically for the 5th Sword of Light and 7th Crucis Lancers in there that's more than a little blurb?