Lu Wei Bing, from TRO3145: Capellan Confederation
High-mobility assaults are a somewhat unexploited niche for Spheroid 'Mechs. 4/6 assault are a dime a dozen, but 4/6 assaults also mounting jump jets? Much rarer. You've got a few old standy's such as the highly popular Davion assault, the Victor, or the upgraded Charger, a decent Kuritan skirmisher. The introduction of Improved Jump Jets would add a few more, although the system's huge weight demands would limit them to only a handful of designs. The Lu Wei Bing is an attempt to add some modern flavor to this high-mobility doctrine. Appearing in 3110, it builds on the Capellan legacy first started by the Yu Huang and acts as a decent foil to those plentiful Davion Victors. Whether or not it is successful in its attempt remains to be seen, and is something I'll touch upon in this write-up.
The Lu Wei Bing's name is an interesting starting point - trying to find a proper google translation for “Lu Wei Bing” gave me no results, and as someone who has a minimal grasp of mandarin it took a Chinese friend to finally put me on the right path. The
Lǜ Wèibīng, or 绿衛兵 in traditional Chinese, was most likely named as a nod towards the Chinese Red Guards. As a political movement that existed in "our" mid-20th century, I won’t go into any details - the interested can easily find out more about them online. The Lu Wei Bing, “Green Guard”, is a bit of a play on that - one inspired by a fictional series of events that occurred in BattleTech's 21st century. It also fits in nicely with the
Yù Huáng, the new Lu Wei Bing acting as a "guard" to the older Jade Emperor.
SPELL IT OUTAt the Lu Wei Bing's core is its massive 340-rated Light Engine. This engine, even if it weighs a massive 20.5 tons, is an "optimal" choice for a 4/6-moving 85-ton 'Mech. Combined with the four torso-mounted Jump Jets, the Lu Wei Bing has more free weight available to it than a Light Engine'd, 4/6/4 'Mech at any other tonnage. This slight optimization is further enhanced through the 16 tons of standard armor that protect the engine and Endo-Steel frame, laid out as:
FRONT REAR INTERNAL
.../ 9\... .../**\... .../ 3\...
/26| 39 |26\ / 8| 12 | 8\ /18| 27 |18\
(28). -- .(28) ( | | ) (14). -- .(14)
/ /\ \ / \ / /\ \
/36.\/.36\ / \ /18.\/.18\The design could have seen a point of armor shifted from the rear center torso to the front, but it has solid protection and you’ll definitely get your BV’s worth out of it. The survivability goes up another notch thanks to an armored cockpit; the extra touch of protection against 10-point or double 5-hit point hits to the head can help prevent those fluke and rage-inducing deaths. Weapons are simple and straightforward. Two Light PPCs, mounted on the Left Arm. One MML/5 launcher, set in the Left Torso and fed by two tons of ammo. And the main gun: an LB 20-X Autocannon placed in the Right Arm/Torso with a monstrous four tons of ammo to draw from. All of the Lu Wei Bing's ammo is in the Right Torso, protected by CASE II, while an Angel ECM Suite sits centerline.
UNDER THE HOODThe Lu Wei Bing isn’t a technologically groundbreaking machine as much as it brings a variety of proven technology together. Its chassis might be a new one, but the engine was most likely lifted straight off of the lines for another Tao product: the BattleMaster -4L. The Jump Jets can trace their lineage back to the Star League-era Crusader -3L, while its Mydron Devastator autocannon was first used on the Thunder -2L variant. The Ceres Arms LPPCs and Doombud MML launcher both come from highly reliable Capellan weapons manufacturers, while the Communications, Targeting, and Tracking systems are unquestionably proven models long-used on Vindicators of all stripes.
As a result, the Lu Wei Bing can’t be a ‘Mech that suffers from many supply shortages. Its quirk, “easy to maintain”, completely plays into this: these (mostly) older but reliable pieces of hardware should all be items most Capellan technicians are more than familiar with. Only the Angel ECM Suite and CASE II could cause potential difficulties, but Angel ECM’s prevalence within Capellan space makes me imagine that its reached levels of familiarity there near-unmatched anywhere else in the Sphere. The Lu Wei Bing strikes me as a 'Mech that could easily become one of the more common assaults in Capellan space, even if it might not have the same simplicity as the Emperor or Victor.
WHAT TO DO WITH ITRanged engagements are out of the question. The two Light PPCs give you the barest of mid-ranged firepower, while the MML/5 is, at best, a long range plinker. Your best, and to be frank, only option is to move into brawling range where you can bring your SRMs and LB-X to bear. This is where things get tricky, though. Close too much, especially when jumping, and your Light PPCs will be largely useless. Don’t close enough and you can’t bring your kicks to the fight. It’s an irksome situation, especially on a 4/6/4 Assault that wants to close and backstab as much as possible. You can drop the two Light PPCs for a punch when backstabbing - not a bad idea when a punch will strip the armor straight off of a head. Follow that up with some buckshot, and you’ve got a decent chance of critting something especially nasty. It still feels like a somewhat messy solution, though, and I'm not fond of the Light PPCs on this design. As for the MML/5, I'd forgo the ton of LRM ammo in favor of some Infernos or other utility munitions. Your goal is to close as quickly as possible, and you want ammo that will stay relevant for as much of the game as possible.
If the Lu Wei Bing should have one strength, it would be its survivability. It has heavy armor, a light engine, CASE II’d armor, good maneuverability and an armored cockpit - all things that should make it a remarkably tough assault ‘Mech. Is it really as tough as it seems, though? Well...not in my experience. It’s a bit strange, let me explain.
First off - the main gun and its ammo. The LB-X is an incredible boon. It’s what makes the Lu Wei Bing what it is; if you ever wanted an example of a ‘Mech built around a gun, this is it. See, the issue is what happens if the Right Arm is lost - a situation that will undeniably neuter the LWB. With that scenario leaving only two Light PPCs and a single MML/5 to the Lu Wei Bing, it is basically out of the fight. You can punch, yes. You can kick, sure. You can interdict with that ECM...but your threat bubble and damage-dealing days are over. Compare this with other LB 20-X AC-totting assaults and you can really see the sacrifices that were made on this design, all to heighten its speed and toughness.
This compounds into a second issue: what happens if the Right Torso pops. The Right Torso is a huge vulnerability. Huge. I can’t emphasize it enough. You have six tons of CASE II’d ammo in that torso, and since the Lu Wei Bing is a close-ranged brawler, chances are your armor is going to crumple before you burn through even half of it. Why is this an issue? Cascading crits. The biggest strength - and weakness - of CASE II is how it only deals one point of internal structure damage with every ammo explosion. On something like a Lu Wei Bing, this translates to even more chances to get your ammo get critted out, and a much higher chance of getting your pilot fried. In a certain twist of irony, the Lu Wei Bing is almost tailor-made for taking itself out. This makes me feel like the armored cockpit is a bit superficial. In all of my testing I saw countless Lu Wei Bings get knocked out of the fight through ammo explosions, and countless pilots get killed because of them. A cockpit crit is the least of your concerns.
Another warning: the Lu Wei Bing might love to backstab, but it certainly can't handle them. The RA/RT location for the LB-X prohibits its use for taking on enemies behind it, while the two Light PPCs won't be accurate or intimidating enough to deter the lightest of 'Mechs. This might not seem like much of a worry - after all, you should have other 'Mechs supporting it - but the Lu Wei Bing is built to be in the thick of things, and that means that it will almost invariably end up with an enemy behind it at least once or twice. With that said, the one-two punch offered by the LB-X is devastating if used correctly. Be somewhat conservative and you can get some good mileage out of it.
WHAT ELSE?The Capellans have alternatives to the LWB, and they aren’t very hard to find. The Yu Huang -H9G is the first. Although its lines were demolished during the Jihad, they were rebuilt by 3105 - a scant 5 years before the LWB made its debut. It's entirely possible that Tao 'Mechworks designed the Lu Wei Bing to act as a replacement to the Yu Huang, only to find their efforts undercut by a surprise reboot of the Yu Huang line. Any comparison between the two comes down to survivability. The Yu Huang has better ranged firepower with its ERPPC and LRM/10, more close-ranged and back-up weaponry with the two Medium Lasers and single Medium Pulse, and a few more heat sinks to deal with the heat load. The Lu Wei Bing, though, has more defensive equipment: CASE II, Angel ECM and a Light Engine. 1-on-1 tests proved to be a race to see which ‘Mech could open up the other’s torsos or legs first; in both cases, the LB-X pellets quickly downed both ‘Mechs regardless of the engine type. The Yu Huang, however, could lose its LB-X and still bring some close-ranged firepower to bear - something the Lu Wei Bing was unable to do.
A second alternative could be the Victor -10L. The Victor has, once again, better ranged firepower, but also brings a similar brawling punch to the table. It is worse at critseeking, but has a Standard Engine and Stealth Armor to improve its battlefield longevity in other ways. To be honest, I feel like the Victor is the better and more versatile ‘Mech. It is more than 200 BV more expensive, though, so it's not necessarily a simple matter to field the Victor in all games. And of course, the Victor completely lacks the Lu Wei Bing's critseeking - the Capellans have an inordinate number of Gauss Rifle-totting ‘Mechs; the Lu Wei Bing can support and mesh with them in ways the Victor absolutely cannot.
Conflicts against the Davions might put the Lu Wei Bing against their own high-mobility assaults; notably, the Victor and Templar. The Victor -11D will want to play the ranged game, drawing things out at range for as long as possible before moving in with the RAC. As with all jumping fights, things will boil down to initiative once the two ‘Mechs engage in a brawl. Assuming no backstabs, though, I’d give the LWB the advantage because of its larger damage cluster and lack of a jam chance on its primary gun. The Templar would be a nasty customer, though. The Templar-OC is a particularly dangerous beast for the LWB to face, while the Templar-OA can and will be able to use its greater range and accuracy to very deadly effect. Be careful.
The Mariks...don’t have many high-mobility assault competitors. Their Trebaruna -XJ is definitely the most worrying of any possible matchups, able to deal heavy damage while kiting you at nearly any range. It's tougher and more durable as well, making it a true threat for Lu Wei Bing pilots. Marik heavies will be likelier opponents, with the Anzu, Tempest and Thunderbolt all being likely targets. Their lack of assault-level protection and an over-reliance on XL/Light Engines makes them more vulnerable and more easily dispatched, though, so don’t be afraid of closing with them and bringing the pain.
The Republic of the Sphere don’t have many similar units either. Their own brand of Trebaruna is a ranged sniper (close ASAP, or get the drop on it if possible), and they have a couple of ClanTech options that might be a bit unsettling to deal with. The Peacekeeper is a possibility, but its exorbitant BV cost does, in my experience, heavily limit its use on the tabletop. Once again, look out for heavies. The Gallant, Marauder -9W2 and Rifleman IIC 7/8 are all possible match-ups. Play it smart, and stick with your lancemates for enough combined firepower to take any ClanTech units down quickly.
CONCLUSIONThe Lu Wei Bing is tough, and yet isn't. It has a large threat profile, and yet doesn't. I feel like this is a BattleMech that will polarize players based on their experiences with it; some might have lost their LB-X quickly or suffered from the torso-bomb, setting them against it. Others might have had positive experiences with the CASE II or damage distribution, making them love the design. In any case, it's a 'Mech should theoretically work fantastically with Tian-Zongs, Pillagers, Cataphracts and other ranged snipers - as long as the numbers work in your favor.
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Master Unit List:
http://masterunitlist.info/Unit/Filter?Name=lu+wei+bingIron Wind Metals:
http://ironwindmetals.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=9329
