Returning to BattleTech in 2018, curious about a few things.

[Trystan Thorne]

Played BattleTech 2nd edition for a while and read all the novels up to MechWarrior: Dark Age and wanted to return to BattleTech for a while now.
Now that I see that new boxes are planned for 2018, well 2018 it is then. :-)

I'm just curious about a few things.
Do we know which time period the new boxes will be? I haven't seen any info on that.
In general, what's the most popular time period these days?

Me personally have always been a huge fan of the original succession wars era. Used to hate the clans at first (they reminded me too much of Klingons bat start), but I have to admit that I got used to them and see positives sides to the clans invasion era too.
Don't think I'll ever get used to the Jihad & Dark Age era (or beyond). Don't want to step on anyone's feet here, but it feels like a cheap rehash of stuff we have already had in BT.

[Tymers Realm]

Considering all the Mechs in the Beginner's Box & GoAC Box are SW era Mechs, I would generally guess that the setting would be 3025-39.
There's also been mention that the new fiction that'll be included has ties to the Grey Death Legion origins as well. So take that as you will.

[Trystan Thorne]

Thanks a million for the info.
That sounds very good to me. :-D

[YingJanshi]

I'm pretty sure that the new Box Sets will be set Pre-4th War like all box sets have been in the past. (While it leaves a lot of catching up for new players plotwise, ruleswise it's the simplest era.)

While you're waiting for the box sets to drop, I'd suggest getting the BattleMech Manual. It's the most up-to-date rules for BattleMechs. Has everything from Total Warfare, plus quite a bit from Tactical Operations. The best thing about it though is that it is rewritten from the ground up to be as clear for new players as possible.

And if you'd like to get fully caught up to where we are plotwise, I'd get Field Manual: 3145. It takes things up to (and actually possibly a little after) where the MWDA novels left off. Personally I think it's one of the best written sourcebooks, but of course, YMMV.

[Trystan Thorne]

Thanks, getting the BattleMech Manual sounds like a good idea.

I might read a bit into Field Manual: 3145 just to see if I can warm up to anything Dark Age related.

[grimlock1]

Isn't there a cheat sheet that someone put together that highlights the major changes from BMR to TW?

I'm about to loan my BMR to a friend so he can spool up.

[RoundTop]

Isn't there a cheat sheet that someone put together that highlights the major changes from BMR to TW?

I'm about to loan my BMR to a friend so he can spool up.

If you are only worrying about mechs then there are few changes.  Vehicles and Infantry saw the biggest changes.

#1) Partial cover now is a +1, full hit table, legs hits are ignored (hit the hill)
#2) Some critical hits are slightly different (Hip is the main one)
#3) AMS now only spends 1 ammo per use, and is a flat -4 against the missile roll (instead of rolling for it)

If facing infantry, it is a major change, since big anti-mech weapons do almost nothing to them, but flamers and machine guns slay them.

Other than that stuff, it is pretty close to the same. Enough that you can play.  You will still want to look at the TW errata (linked from these forums) as it has some clarifications, or just pick up the Battlemech Manual.

[mbear]

Isn't there a cheat sheet that someone put together that highlights the major changes from BMR to TW?

I'm about to loan my BMR to a friend so he can spool up.

Yes, I think I have a link to it in the "Returning Players please read this post" I made, but I don't know for sure.

[Von Jankmon]

It makes the most sense to start intro sets in 3025.

[Trystan Thorne]

Thanks for the replies guys, definitely some great info there.
I also gathered more info on the future box releases and quite keen on those.

After reading more into 3145, I simply can't warm up to anything related to Jihad and after.
So happy to stay in succession wars and clan era.

[Xotl]

Isn't there a cheat sheet that someone put together that highlights the major changes from BMR to TW?

I'm about to loan my BMR to a friend so he can spool up.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/daxfvz5ukut4l2s/Total%20Warfare%20Changes.txt?dl=0
This is the changelog.  I've updated it recently, since I found a new item that had been missed the first time around.

[mbear]

Also updated the links to Xotl's files in my post. Thanks Xotl!

[jackpot4]

Even if you aren't interested in the current era, there are a lot of cool designs you wont want to pass up.  Gunsmith, Lament, Prefect, Malice are 4 of my favorites.  These designs can easily play against mechs before 3050 without any balance issues and in most cases without having to learn any new rules about weapons.  I personally enjoyed the chaos of the Dark Age, I think it was just handled poorly in its execution during the clickytech years. 

[mbear]

Even if you aren't interested in the current era, there are a lot of cool designs you wont want to pass up.  Gunsmith, Lament, Prefect, Malice are 4 of my favorites.  These designs can easily play against mechs before 3050 without any balance issues and in most cases without having to learn any new rules about weapons.  I personally enjoyed the chaos of the Dark Age, I think it was just handled poorly in its execution during the clickytech years.

I'd also add the Hound to that list. It's easily a 3050 compatible unit.

[Colt Ward]

One thing I have not seen mentioned is that you can also find most of the new books as PDF if that works better for you.  I bring my kindle to table top games and I have on it- FM3085, FM3145, ER3145, Campaign Operations, Era Digest Dark Age, and a few other materials.  I have not bothered with BMM or TW b/c someone usually brings a copy which we have tab'd for quick reference.

[Sartris]

I concur. Having virtually all the rules on my phone really helps both for transportation and hunting for a rule in the middle of a game

[grimlock1]

One thing I have not seen mentioned is that you can also find most of the new books as PDF if that works better for you.  I bring my kindle to table top games and I have on it- FM3085, FM3145, ER3145, Campaign Operations, Era Digest Dark Age, and a few other materials.  I have not bothered with BMM or TW b/c someone usually brings a copy which we have tab'd for quick reference.

I concur. Having virtually all the rules on my phone really helps both for transportation and hunting for a rule in the middle of a game

Both are useful.  PDF is faster when you are searching for something, but when you are looking up something with which you are already familiar, its hard to beat a book with some sticky tabs.   Also it's a lot easier to annotate hard copies.