Author Topic: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!  (Read 161275 times)

Dies Irae

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #930 on: 04 January 2018, 18:03:37 »
Anyway, your force looks pretty fun and has solutions for most issues, the only real weakness I see is it's vulnerable to high-speed brawlers (UZL-8S, etc.) and seems to have no way to really chase them off.

What would you recommend as a solution? It's admittedly something I've been having minor-to-moderate problems with from time to time with this.
Historically I've used cavalry lances in that role, and left the provision of the guided missile storm to a long platoon of Hetzers.

Was thinking of GST-50 Ghosts or falling back on staples like the Anvil, Ostsol and Hercules. Maybe even push the company up to a reinforced compant status as well.


Agreed there. What the 10-OR loses in overall LRM power and durability it more then makes up for in versatility, mobility and the ability to defend itself at close range.

That, is an option I didn't consider. I might go with that as well.
« Last Edit: 04 January 2018, 18:06:55 by Dies Irae »

GespenstM

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #931 on: 04 January 2018, 21:06:11 »
Dealing with slasher units in FWL can be handled one of three ways.

First, you can field Kopis Battle Armor teams around the most vulnerable units. Either the regular 2x Medium Laser version or the 1x Medium Pulse Laser version will do fine in this job, since BA don't incur to-hit penalties for movement. They'll likely be firing on 6s-8s, maybe 9s from time to time against the units they're countering. However, since Kopis teams are only barely mobile you either need a vehicle to ferry them around with... or be absolutely sure your units aren't moving far from where the Kopis team is parked.

Second, you can field slashers or brawlers of your own. The Anvil 3R is a good solution, as is the OTL-5M Ostsol. The OTL-8M Ostsol also works, and the OTL-9M can work in a pinch. The twin large pulse Ghost you mentioned also works. The TR1 Wraith may technically be inferior to the UZL-8S, but it's good enough that this is still a close matchup and may be enough to keep the UZL-8S busy.

Finally, some of our heavier units have batteries of pulse lasers. The LGB-7V Longbow is a fantastic example of this, as is the MR-5M Cerberus. The clantech refit Juliano also counts. All of these units do the job well without losing too much on long-range attacks. Some of our Black Knights are fine choices for this job too. SD1-OA Sunder alt. A has a few pulse lasers. So does the MAD-6S Marauder II (Which I speculate we get, since we control its factory world).

We have tons of options for shutting down this combat tactic, and even using it back at enemies in return.

EDIT: Also, the Quasimodo is great at this job! It has a really good set of pulse lasers, and TSM and jump jets. Definitely make use of this thing, it's one of our best Mechs.
« Last Edit: 04 January 2018, 21:08:01 by GespenstM »

Dies Irae

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #932 on: 09 January 2018, 01:05:25 »
As of the Dark Age era, MTR-5K Maelstroms have migrated into Inner Sphere General.

My initial impression was that it was underarmed and oversinked for being so heavy a platforms, and it seems my local playgroup has that opinion as well, preferring to go focus on more aggressively armed machine. Then I started painting people for guided missile strikes and then the Maelstrom started to endear itself to me while engendering "KILL IT! KILL IT! OH DEAR GOD! WHY WON'T YOU DIE!" responses from the rest (since it took a surprisingly lot more attention to burn off the table than one would expect).

They're competent enough as a cavalry strike platform as it stands (despite being oversinked enough to serve as drink coolers) that splashing one or two into a FWL Cavalry Lance probably wouldn't hurt, especially since they're fast enough to attempt to keep pace with the Hercules, Ostsol and Anvil swarm while bringing yet another organic TAG platform to the table.

And since I'm of the opinion that the more participants we have in the great FWL TAG Laser Disco Rave, the better...

Anyone else have any success stories with using the design?
« Last Edit: 09 January 2018, 01:08:20 by Dies Irae »

truetanker

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #933 on: 09 January 2018, 14:40:29 »
I find it useful with Ontos.

Older LRM and the newer MML.

* That's 5 tanks not 4 *

( I run a pair of older LRM, and 2 LG MML with 1 MML LG per Lance. )

TT  >:D

My bad... Fixed!

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« Last Edit: 12 January 2018, 15:51:00 by truetanker »
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GespenstM

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #934 on: 10 January 2018, 20:32:35 »
I have no success stories with it, mostly by virtue of never using it because it previously wasn't available to us.

That said, I have fought against them several times and always found them to be competent designs. What was previously 'oversinked' is now more 'warded against Plasma-induced overheats unless someone REALLY goes out of their way to make the thing shut down.' While slightly weak at range for its mission role, this deficiency is made up by the fact it's above-average up close (not good at brawling per se, merely better than average. This is fine).

Add in the TAG on a unit that is fast enough to make good use of it, and... yeah, you seem to have found a real winner for us. Good stuff!


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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #935 on: 10 January 2018, 22:48:54 »
I want to say the -6K should be FWL available too.  A battalion commander at the beginning of the Jihad on the periphery used it during the Chaos Irregulars contract out that way and it was not made to sound like a big deal.

Of course when 3100 rolls around I am not sure the -6K's should not have had their big weapons upgraded to the -5K standard, they need those ER to be relevant.
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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #936 on: 11 January 2018, 21:53:07 »
When building a unit I sometimes allow some senior personnel different Mechs than what is normally found on the availability list. Especially if they are "aces", they might have been awarded battlefield salvage or were assigned imported Mechs in by Command to maximise their talents. It also helps build backstory into the unit.

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #937 on: 11 January 2018, 22:02:21 »
I agree and do as well, but that unit was stationed long time on the periphery border where they would not face someone equipped with it.
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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #938 on: 08 February 2018, 22:19:39 »
Hoping to get opinions on the Marauder 5M doing a 3060s campaign and it is a option for my Davion and Marik merc unit. I generally hate IS pulse lasers as primary weapons but it is a intriguing unit I have never used. 

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #939 on: 09 February 2018, 08:15:56 »
Its OK . . . best use is as a bodyguard in a Stalker/Longbow/Archer or similar lance.  Or if you are going to be fighting in woods, a city or canyons.  If you did take it I would honestly be looking for a source of the 'rumored' X-Pulse lasers or trying to get some snubbies as soon as they were out.  I am a range fighter, and since its not a speedster, you will want that range as a merc too . . . if that MAD is advancing until it can get into mid-range, then its not going to be able to break off if things go sideways.
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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #940 on: 09 February 2018, 09:41:55 »
Like he said, it makes an excellent heavy escort, able to deal with fast movers, aircraft, battlesuits, infantry...you name it. The only thing it has trouble with are long-range fighters....and that's what the Archers and Longbows are for. In cities or other close-in terrain, it's a murder machine. If you play with TacOps, remember that the pulse bonus almost completely negates the penalty for Called Shots, so get amputating. >:D
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Nav_Alpha

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #941 on: 09 February 2018, 17:18:32 »
It’s not a bad piece of kit - the Marik CO of my non-canon used one through the 60s until the early 70s, where he traded for a Blakist captured Marauder II.
The MAD 5M is a good sniper with a decent pilot at the controls. I found it particularly good at vehicle killing - snipe with the big lasers and then shred with the LBX.


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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #942 on: 09 February 2018, 18:38:25 »
Sniping with IS LPLs? That guy musta been good...
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Alan Grant

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #943 on: 09 February 2018, 19:39:46 »
Using only fighters manufactured in the FWL, what would you say the dream fighter wing for a Gorgon is? No cost or BV limitations.

Multi-purpose wing. Should be able to fight in space and in atmosphere and handle the whole spectrum of missions.

Scotty

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #944 on: 09 February 2018, 19:43:39 »
The ASF section of TRO3145: FWL.  Pretty much just that.
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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #945 on: 09 February 2018, 19:59:52 »
Sniping with IS LPLs? That guy musta been good...

Well, medium ranges sniping. The true advantage was the ability to fire, then hit the jump jets and change position.


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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #946 on: 12 February 2018, 09:12:50 »
Sniping with IS LPLs? That guy musta been good...

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #947 on: 12 February 2018, 10:31:44 »
Those Chargers never knew what hit them.

Isn't that the ground state of being for Chargers?
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truetanker

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #948 on: 12 February 2018, 16:16:55 »
Well in the past, I've used a MAD-5D leading a lance of MAD-5M's into a fight.

Captured 5D with triple 5M working the line, supported by Lance of Archer-4M's and Apollo-2S's. Scouting for them is a Lance of Omni-Firestarters, A leading two F's and a single H for EW work.

Unit hits hard and often, I'd even support them with multiple tanks. ( 2x Partisan LRM, 2x Ontos Standard and an Ontos LRM. )

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GespenstM

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #949 on: 13 February 2018, 21:16:50 »
Hoping to get opinions on the Marauder 5M doing a 3060s campaign and it is a option for my Davion and Marik merc unit.

Depends on how you're composing the unit. CBills? Garbage. Tonnage? Underwhelming but not unplayably bad. BV? Legitimately decent, as the low BV accounts for its serious flaws.

It has bad leg and torso armor for its size, low attack range... but it can jump, and is one of our few LB-10 platforms in 3060-ish.

There is no machine in our roster in the era that does quite the same job the MAD-5M does. It has flaws, tons of 'em, but its only meaningful competitors in that era are the TMP-3G (which doesn't have nearly as many pulse lasers) and the ANV-3R (which can't jump and doesn't have a LB AC, even if it's otherwise a great machine!).

MAD-5M's playable in its era. It gets worse and worse as time goes on, unfortunately. I'd love to see a MAD-5M Mk. II sometime that fixes its flaws.

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #950 on: 13 February 2018, 22:27:57 »
The MAD-5M is one of those 'Mechs when I look at the guns, I smile happily. . . and when I look at the armor, I weep uncontrollably.  About the only place I'm willing to take one in a meeting engagement is very heavy woods or urban terrain.  For its size and era, its protected by hopes and dreams rather than armor.
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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #951 on: 14 February 2018, 02:45:22 »
Gonna agree on comments about the 3025-era armor. The MAD-5M is a buddy mech. It needs to be paired with something scarier that has more armor to be a higher priority target. But it's still a fun buddy mech.

Dies Irae

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #952 on: 21 February 2018, 00:05:55 »
All the talk about Marauders and Anvils got me thinking about the last toy the housecats brought with them, specifically, the Wendigo OmniMech, which now appears on the federal Free Worlds League availability list in the Dark Age.

Specifically the A config. I took it out for a spin, and at 6/9, it's speedy enough to act as a striker or pursuit platform while the paired CLgPulse and LRM15 just tear things apart at most ranges. Pretty much carved up a Stealth trying to end run my vehicle park, then scooted around being an irritating putz of a flanker that was too dangerous to ignore.

Feels like a smaller, nastier, bitier version of the Anvil to be honest.

Having put the design through it's paces, I'm admittedly looking forward to trying out the C.

Of course, a torso mounted cockpit and an XL engine, means things go really far south the moment you lose a torso, and I expect things will just cascade further into disaster from there, but honestly at that point, the 'Mech is a write-off anyway. I'll need more combat experience putting the Wendigo through it's paces, but it looks golden.

It's a beauty, and something well worth the cost of "care and feeding of your new housecat" in my experience.
« Last Edit: 21 February 2018, 00:07:56 by Dies Irae »

Decoy

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #953 on: 21 February 2018, 13:31:29 »
I think you should look at the Avalanche more. 16 tons of pod space isn't much, but I think most of the configs are solid. The R is great, while the rest of the configurations are a bit more situational....

Dies Irae

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #954 on: 22 February 2018, 00:43:07 »
I think you should look at the Avalanche more. 16 tons of pod space isn't much, but I think most of the configs are solid. The R is great, while the rest of the configurations are a bit more situational....

Different combat roles I think. The Avalanche is a line trooper Omni which isn't out to be flashy. Solid, uninspiring but reliable.
The Wendigo is more an aggressive strike or hunting platform for risk-taking pilots.

I've started using the Wendigo A as a gentle reminder to light 'Mech pilots to find somewhere else to be. I haven't found an Avalanche that can do that job yet.

Mind you this isn't a knock on the Avalanche. It's useful in the same way Centurions in 3025 is a respectably solid line trooper, just abominably bland.
« Last Edit: 22 February 2018, 00:49:46 by Dies Irae »

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #955 on: 25 February 2018, 14:25:25 »
I’ve used the Wendigo A and B to great effect. The B is the Uziel 8S’s better looking cousin.

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Colt Ward

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #956 on: 25 February 2018, 15:28:26 »
OOOo . . . Hawk Moth II . . .

Having a pair of ERML in a turret at the speed it goes is nice- the MML version should be awesome but I used the original.  Three swooped in behind a Hellstar . . . managed to knock down some of the back armor to open up a side torso- crit the ERPPC.  Big for the later campaign game.
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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #957 on: 27 February 2018, 08:00:08 »
Are you kidding me ? The FWL has the Dragonfire amoung the best close to perfectly sinked mech ever created . The Anvil 8M with the arrow IV and MASC to get you onboard precision homing strikes . The first with Semi guided LRMs and precision AC rounds . By 3058- 3065 your whole precept just does not fit the facts . 

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #958 on: 27 February 2018, 08:24:56 »
Quote functions are very useful in telling the rest of the forum who on/off Earth you're responding to.
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Dies Irae

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #959 on: 27 February 2018, 22:24:19 »
Are you kidding me ? The FWL has the Dragonfire amoung the best close to perfectly sinked mech ever created . The Anvil 8M with the arrow IV and MASC to get you onboard precision homing strikes . The first with Semi guided LRMs and precision AC rounds . By 3058- 3065 your whole precept just does not fit the facts .

Uhh. I assume this isn't being directed at me, but I'll bite anyway... When did we ever have access to the Dragon Fire?
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