The Ghost Bears are a tricky Clan sometimes to define. This certainly extends as far as their equipment- their invasion-era Omnis are probably the worst overall of the four original Clans, with heavy use of decent but flawed machines like the Executioner and Mad Dog. But their second-line units deserve notice, because it’s where you can find some of the absolute best examples of top of the line Clan design- the Ursus is an excellent urban combat machine, the Arcas simply one of the best heavy Mechs out there (and owner of the scariest-looking large lasers in the game!), and the Kodiak… well, the aura of terror built up over the years here is certainly earned. But is it really as scary as it seems?
The terrifying machine’s background shows it to be a fairly recent addition to the Bears’ touman when we first saw it in Invading Clans, with the original TRO:3058 showing it as being fairly new, and the novel Roar of Honor featuring one of the test pilots as a member of the protagonist’s unit. (With Clan warriors having very brief lives in general, that means it’s likely a VERY recent addition!). One could probably justify this as being a part of the Bears’ preparations for invading the Inner Sphere, perhaps around the time the Wolves sent the scouting ‘mercenaries’ to the Inner Sphere as a guess. However, fan theories have long pointed to the Kodiak’s shape and layout and claimed it as possible evidence that its background extends to the final days of the Star League, that this is actually an “Atlas IIC”. There’s a good bit of merit to this idea, as we’ll cover later, but whether they’re actually related or just have some similar features is unknown for certain.
At the core of the Kodiak we find an enormous and wildly expensive 400XL motor. It’s safe to say that it is this motor that makes the Kodiak work, moving the 100-ton Battlemech at a 4/6 movement curve. Dropping to 3/5 doesn’t help move it into the short-range combat that it thrives in, so while it seems odd to want to move this fast in an assault Mech, here it really works. (And of course, it helps that the Clans don’t much care about how much something costs so much as getting it mounted on their Mechs immediately). An Endo-steel frame is wrapped around that gigantic engine, saving several tons to balance the weight of the XL plant, and ten much-needed extra heat sinks are installed to the engine as well.
With Endo-steel already used, using ferro-fibrous armor wasn’t going to be easy, so the Kodiak is forced to make do with a mere 17.5 tons of standard plate (oh noes). While not the maximum armor a Mech this size can carry, it’s not far off, and chances are you won’t notice a few missing points here and there when things get interesting in combat. Obviously as a Clan unit CASE is built into the ammunition-carrying locations for free. One thing the Kodiak is noteworthy for is that this armor is formed to make the Mech look like a giant bear, complete with (non-functional) claws. This was the first time in real-world terms that we saw a Clan Mech made to look like the totem animal of the Clan that built it, a trend seen since in several other designs (several of which date back to before the Kodiak in-universe). A 100-ton bear charging at you at over 60 kph with claws flashing and guns blazing would be enough to buckle the resolve of just about any Mechwarrior alive- and end the few who dare stand their ground.
The old rule is “speed, armor, firepower, pick two”. But the Kodiak uses some very intelligent ideas to manage all three actually, with only a few missing points of armor to show for it. We’re a notch faster than similar assault designs thanks to the giant engine, we kept a very assault-worthy armor loadout, and by using compact weapons overall the Kodiak manages to bring the pain in a way few other designs can match. In fact, for a long time the Kodiak could put out more potential damage per turn than any other Battlemech in the game, a feat only exceeded by a theoretical all-missiles-hit salvo from the Turkina D later. Even now, a century after the Clan invasion, facing a Kodiak even in the most cutting-edge machine is a sobering experience.
The show starts with a massive Ultra AC-20 in the right chest, backed by a fairly discouraging two tons of ammo- use this gun sparingly to open holes for other weapons, then shut it off and save it for later. Backing the cannon- and making good use of those big holes being punched- are a pair of Streak SRM-6 racks in the left torso, backed by two tons of ammo as well. The efficiency, power, and crit-seeking utility of these is unmatched. But each arm is where things really get scary, with a four-pack of ER medium lasers in each hand! (the exact layout of these varies depending on the artwork.) While heat can become a problem, there are few weapons in Battletech as useful as a Clan ER medium, with good damage for its weight, low size, and respectable range. Eight of them simply will cut a medium Mech to ribbons. At long ranges however, a single ER large laser (mounted Care Bear-style in the belly) is the only response until the Kodiak can close in- making that speed look all the more important.
It was some time before we saw any variants of the Kodiak, but the first was an obvious move- the opening of the computer game Mechwarrior 2: Ghost Bear’s Legacy showed a Kodiak handily defeating a Smoke Jaguar owned Mad Dog with the cannon followed by a DFA attack- but wait, Kodiaks don’t jump! Meet the Kodiak 2, a variant that drops four of the medium lasers (aw) and one of the Streak racks (AUGH) for four jump jets (wooo!), giving the Mech a 4/6/4 movement curve and much less daunting heat management. Overall you lose some potential damage per turn if you like to light off everything at once (don’t do that), and gain the ability to vault over obstacles. Use this if given the choice.
The next variant came from the Snow Ravens, surprisingly- it seems the Bears happily traded some of their totem Mech off to their allies at some point. Stripping all of the weapons but four of the medium lasers, along with losing some heat sinks no longer needed, allowed for the installation of a pair of LB-20X autocannons (split between arm and torso locations), along with six tons of ammo and a targeting computer. You had me with the big guns- this is a fun sandblasting Mech- but combining a targeting computer with LBX guns always makes me sad. There are better uses of the weight, but that’s a noteworthy but minor flaw in an otherwise excellent close-combat machine. If your enemy is using tanks, this is how to make them learn a valuable lesson.
There’s not much information on the background of the remaining variants, but the Kodiak 4 keeps the standard two lasers in each arm, then puts an LB-20X in that right torso slot where the original Kodiak had its Ultra. The arms have a new trick though- replacing the hand actuator in each arm is an LRM-20, backed by Artemis IV to make for a Mech that can attack at long distances now. While that’s intriguing, the ammunition is stored poorly, with all four tons of LRM ammo kept in the left torso and some of the LBX kept in the center. Bad Bears, you know better than that! There’s some merit to this Mech, and it’s plenty of fun, but it’s not one to rely on as a staple.
Kodiak 5 heads a different direction in the search for a long-range Kodiak, with the large laser returning to the center torso and another getting put in the left arm. We also find the original four ER mediums installed there- with FIVE of them in the other arm now for a total of NINE ER medium lasers. Yikes. A Gauss Rifle takes over that ballistic weapon aperture in the right torso, backed by two tons of ammo. The addition of three more heat sinks isn’t even close to being enough to keep this cool on an alpha strike, so don’t try it, but using the larges and Gauss at long range is a solid start (and familiar to Executioner Prime fans), and the nine lasers in-close are at least manageable in terms of heat. This is a little tough to love, but is a solid choice if you’re handed one to use.
After the Jihad came to its end, the Bears took stock and began to rebuild their wounded Touman, and part of this was replacing lost Kodiaks. While the original worked well, it was felt by saKhan Ragnar that a new design based on the original was the way to go, with the Kodiak-4 being the basis of the new design. (NOTE: That info is from the MWDA dossier for Geoff Becker). Intended as a command unit, the new Kodiak II quickly proved its worth against the Jade Falcons, and just about anybody else the Bears were irritated with. The original engine and internal structure remain, but the armor is now 19 tons in weight, the maximum possible. The LRM-20 in each arm is retained, including the Artemis system, and an LRM-10 with a computer is put in the left torso to boot. The medium lasers are replaced with a total of eight ER small lasers, all aping the position of the ER mediums of the original Kodiak (while the loss of range is sad, the long-range power here means that these make a fine close-range Plan B option). The big ballistic weapon traditionally in the right torso is replaced due to weight by an ER PPC, a fine replacement. It’s not much of a ‘new Mech’ so much as another variant of the original really, but it’s a very good one to try if you like LRM bombardments.
Hold up though, class is not quite over yet, freebirth. There’s a variant of the Kodiak II that becomes not only one of the most powerful Mechs in existence, but one of the most expensive as well. A recent variant in the hands of only the best of the Clan, the Kodiak II-2 is what nightmares are made of. The small lasers are all still in place, as is the PPC. All of those now have a small targeting computer in the right torso to help them out. The torso LRM is gone, but the arm racks have become Streak LRM-20s. Yikes. (The ammo is still all in the left torso, now backed by CASE II.) A HarJel III self-repair system is now on board, taking up space in all three torso locations- that’s right, the angry bear now HEALS ITSELF given the opportunity. How did the Bears manage this? Well, they dropped a few heat sinks. Oh, and installed a 400XXL engine, the most expensive powerplant you can install in an assault Mech, to keep weight down enough to make it happen. Madness! Hilarity! Terror! The Kodiak II-2 is truly an expert-level Mech, difficult to learn to use well but worth it if you do- and not for those watching their wallets, since it costs more than an entire company of Inner Sphere tech Mechs.
*whew* A lot of words about one of the games’ true legend designs. Everyone has a Kodiak story to tell- using, flailing against, etc.- what’s yours?
