Okay lets get it out the way. Wagner away to your hearts content!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGU1P6lBW6QThe Valkyrie
BackgroundThe Valkyrie was originally designed for the SLDF and was designed and built during the dying days of the Star League. House Davion’s designers in Corean Enterprises were so sure their machine would be selected that they built a large number of fully automated plants on New Avalon that would produce every part of the new Battlemech once it was inevitably accepted by the SLDF for service.
And then along came Stefan Amaris who shot a spoiled brat in the face. All later agreed that this was a very bad idea.
With the collapse of the Star League and the exodus of the vast majority of the SLDF with General Kerensky, Corean Enterprises now found itself without a customer for its new Mech and had already sunk the money into producing the factories on New Avalon. Instead the design was offered up to House Davion who were rapidly building up forces for what would become the Sphere wide attempt at Musical Chair as every House Lord eyed the now vacant throne on Terra with a greedy eye.
Unfortunately for all involved the race for the post of First Lord involved every weapon that humanity had devised along with nukes being flung with gay abandon. With industrial plants and Mech factories being obliterated in sun hot flashes across the Inner Sphere the Mech factory on New Avalon was now of vital strategic importance and due to its distance from any threats the plant kept pumping out Corean’s new machine.
This Mech would be called the Valkyrie and would in short order become a very common light Mech in the AFFS and the Mech developed a reputation for being tenacious as well as being a good solid trooper that more importantly was available in sustainable numbers.
Like the DCMS’s Panther the Valkyrie was built around a long ranged weapon, a LRM-10 fed by an adequate 1 tonne of ammo allowed the machine to engage targets well outside the usual engagement range of a 30 tonne machine as well as use indirect fire to its fullest extent. The Medium Laser in the Mech’s right arm also provided enough of a punch against other machines its size as well as a few medium designs but really its there to ward off Bug's and enterprising Jenner's.
With the factory on New Avalon pumping out 130 Valkyries a year the Mech became quite widespread in AFFS service some units even having a full Lance of Valkyries, something that was not seen in other Successor States as the Succession Wars kept on consuming Mech’s, men, factories and indeed worlds at a horrific rate.
The biggest problem came with the aging equipment for the massive automated plant and the slowly decaying loss of knowledge to maintain it. This was no doubt helped by O̶p̶e̶r̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶H̶o̶l̶y̶ ̶S̶h̶r̶o̶u̶d̶
A TOTALLY COINCIDENTAL AND TRAGIC SERIES CAR/SHUTTLE CRASHES AND UNFORTUNATE AND STILL UNEXPLAINED GAS STOVE EXPLOSIONS AT PEOPLES HOMES. For some time it seemed the Valkyries jumping capacity was in doubt due to the loss of parts and equipment from one world, but other jump jets were altered and adjusted to fit into the housings on the Valkyrie whilst technicians kept the aging machinery of the automated plants working, systems they barely understood and were no doubt saved by the discovery of the Helm Memory Core.
DesignThe Valkyrie is a 30 tonne light Mech and when introduced it wasn’t overly fast and when compared to other Mech’s in SLDF service like the Night Hawk or Talon it featured nothing in the way of new technology, but this is to be expected for a Mech designed by a Successor State. The original Valkyrie was built round a 150 rated engine that could propel the Mech to a respectable if not spectacular (for its size) 86kph, whilst five HildCo jump jets let it throw itself into 150 meter long leaps.
This is still faster than the DCMS Panther and six tonnes of standard plate give the machine decent if not full protection. As more technology was rediscovered and the Inner Sphere spurred itself on the Valkyrie saw a wide range of refits that swapped or altered everything from weapons to engine to gyro and cockpit.
Variants
VLK-QA - The grand pappy and the one who started it all the QA is the baseline model that was first produced and to be offered to the Star League before a Wild Stefan Amaris appeared and used Las Pistol! (it was SUPER effective). With a 5/8/5 movement curve the QA won’t win any races but its fast enough to keep the distance with the 55 tonners of the time and primary weapon, a LRM-10 fed by a tonne of ammo let it reach out and slap foes at long range. For close in defence a Medium Laser provides solid firepower. The Davion designers also fitted an extra heatsink which made the QA very cool running. Because of the shotgun spread nature of its LRM-10 the QA can’t really take down a foe quickly but having two or three QA’s firing on you will ablate armour very quickly and the AFFS could deploy them to do just that.
The six tonnes of armour are laid out as follows
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9/9/12/12
And that again isn’t bad, you’re not breaching the torso with a PPC whilst the arms can take a large laser. The result is a fairly slow, but tough, cool running and well-armed machine.
QF – A rather…well interesting weapons swap, Identical to the QA the QF replaces its Medium Laser with a Flamer for…er…some..reason? Perhaps to give a Company at least some incendiary ability. Otherwise it’s the same as the QA in every respect but in my opinion worse, because the Flamer’s good for utility, but terrible against Mech’s.
QD – One of the 3050 Operation Revival era retrofits and panicked new toys deployments that was thrown at the Clan Juggernaut with the intent of clogging its wheels with Mech corpses the QD is actually a pretty darn good upgrade! It retains the LRM-10 and its tonne of ammo but adds Artemis IV to the launcher, the Medium laser is removed and turned into a pulse model for some short ranged but accurate fire. The armour is also beefed up across the head, arms and legs. To get this weight the extra heatsink is sacrificed (not really needed) whilst the Mech’s skeleton is replaced with Endo-steel and the armour is upgraded to the ‘new’ Ferro-fibrous compound. I feel this is probably what the ‘Royal’ Version of the Valkyrie would have been if it had ever entered SLDF service. It’s a good, solid light, that keeps the flavour of the old whilst improving upon its strengths.
QD1 – Produced later, the QD1’s biggest change is to replace the engine with a 150 rated XL version. The armour is thinned slightly on the side torso’s but beefed up on the legs. More weight is also saved with an endo-steel skeleton whilst double strength heatsinks are fitted in the engine to make it very cool running. The weapons fit is similar to the classic QA an ER medium laser is fitted and tied into a targeting computer whilst the LRM-10 has evolved into a LRM-15 that’s fitted with Artemis IV and draws from a 2 tonne ammo bin. It retains the 5/8/5 movement curve of the other versions of the Mech and again is a solid variant and good upgrade, the long range punch is increased and the ER Medium does not suffer the range woes of IS pulse weaponry.
QD2 – A product of desperation the QD2 was built during the Blakist Invasion of New Avalon the QD2 was built more with a direct fire role in mind. Based on the QD1 and keeping its XL engine, double heatsinks and endo-steel skeleton the armour is thinned down considerably (see below) The ER Medium Laser is retained but the LRM is removed in their place a pair of Light AC-2’s is fitted with all three weapons tied into an enlarged targeting computer. The guns draw from a shared 1 tonne ammo bin but I’m not sold on this version.
The LAC-2’s don’t have any punch and if you start using special ammo then their limited ammo bin gets reduced and with the LAC you lose the one thing that the AC-2 has in its favour, its range.
The (reduced) armour is laid out as follows.
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QD3 – Another Jihad era machine the QD3 is a bit of an odd ducky. The big change is the engine, a beefy and heavy 210 rated standard engine is fitted that boosts the running speed up to 112kph whilst another Jump jet is fitted giving the Mech a 7/11/6 movement profile. The armour is increased slightly and is more akin to the AQ’s layout. Weight is saved with an Endo-steel skeleton and Ferro-fibrous plates whilst the heatsinks are all double strength ones. The weapons are also altered and it’s a bit different 2 x ER Medium lasers are fitted for a decent direct fire punch and the long range sting comes in the form of a LRM-5 and one tonne of ammo safely stored in CASE. I like this variant, it works well with the QD1 where its lasers provide a bit more sting as the range drops and its LRM could fire smoke or small Thunder rounds to make it more a harassing factor rather than a weapon.
QD4 – Coming out as the Jihad came to an end the QD4 is the most tech heavy version of the Mech with lots of alterations, most of them internal, it’s lineage to the QD1. Retaining the 150 rated XL engine the gyro is turned into an XL one whilst the armour is made of the new (ish) Light Ferro-fibrous compounds. A big change is the jump jets which are upgraded to the heavier but more powerful Improved Jump jets which lend this variant considerable mobility with its 210 meter leaps. The weapons fit is also decent, a ER Medium is fitted whilst the missile launcher is replaced with a MML-7 and 2 tonnes of ammo in a CASE storage bin.
I like this variant, its still got a decent long range tickle and if you get close then you get a face full of SRM’s. But that XL Gyro…Mr Sod and Murphy of Law are going to be looking VERY pointedly at it before cracking their knuckles.
QS5 – House Steiner’s version the QS5 is related to the QD4 and shares many of its weapon choices. The ER Medium is retained, whilst the MML is increased to a MML-9 fed by 2 tonnes of CASED ammo. The armour is a Ferro fibrous compound whilst the skeleton is made of endo-steel. The engine though is a good ‘ol fashioned 150 standard engine and the original group of jump jets are also retained for a 5/8/5 movement pattern. Extra weight is saved by the installation of a cramped Small cockpit whilst the armour is bulked up somewhat;
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Another good variant, with the D4 and S5 its six of one and half a dozen of the other, the S5’s more survivable and has a bigger punch but the D4’s more mobile. All depends on what you want, Steiner flavoured firepower (possibly schnitzel flavoured?) or Davion esque flexibility (Tastes like FREEDOM!..I mean Chicken).
QT2 – Not a new machine but instead built from the many many Valkyrie carcases that the Taurians have salvaged over the years the QT2 is a uniform upgrade of their Valkyries and this variant made its debut in 3081. A beefy 210 rated XL engine is fitted and the Valkyries bones are replaced with an endo-steel ones and of course the jump-jets are retained for a nice 7/11/7 movement curve.
The weapons mix is impressive, the increasingly popular Light PPC replaces the almost de-rigure ER Medium laser in its arm mounting and gives the Mech it’s long range sting. The missile launcher is a reliable and efficient SSRM-6 fed by an adequate 1 tonne of CASED ammo whilst cooling is more than enough with 10 double heatsinks.
9/10/13/10 (2/4/2)
8/8/12/12
Shows a solid armour layout, just don’t fall over because you WILL go through your back armour.
QW5 – The Word Of Blake’s (*sounds of crowd booing and jeering*) occupation of New Avalon led them to using the automated factories that produced the Valkyrie to make this variant. A mix of new and old combined with Word Tech to work within their unit structure I would assume that this variant’s not around anymore. A classic Medium Laser is used in its traditional arm mounting and the W5 became the first Valkyrie to feature an MML, in this case an MML-7 fed by 2 tonnes of CASE protected ammo. For added missile accuracy Artemis FCS was tied into the launcher.
The almost ubiquitous C3i was buried in the chest letting it integrate well with the Blakists C3 net in battle. To save weight a 150 rated Light engine was fitted (no doubt based on the plans stolen from the Lyrans) and the standard jump jets were retained for a 5/8/5 movement curve. Perhaps to save construction time and costs 10 standard Heatsinks were fitted and a small cockpit replaced the normal one. It was built on endo-steel bones whilst the then new light Ferro-fibrous compound shielded it with a decent amount of protection.
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This is a nasty little machine, the C3i lets it work as a spotter and its got a hefty punch at long and short ranges despite the retention of the standard medium laser. The MML is a good weapon system and works well with the C3i network.
QD8 – A product of the Dark Ages the D8 is built to engage at the longest of ranges. Built round a 180 rated XL engine with an extra jump jet added, the D8 can move along at 96kph or 6/9/6 in game terms. Its heatsinks are double strength and its built on an endo-steel skeleton to save weight whilst more weight is saved with a small cockpit. Somewhat worryingly the armour is thinned down so that almost everywhere can be stripped with a single large laser hit save the chest and legs. All this weight is then put into the weapons, a Light PPC provides a long range direct energy punch but in a return to the QA a LRM-10 is fitted once more! But instead of a standard launcher it’s the considerably heavier Extended LRM-10 which draws from a 2 tonnes of ammo that is not protected by CASE.
With its massive minimum range this machine MUST keep the foe at arm’s length and personally I’m not sure if the range increase on the LRM is worth the weight and minimum range penalty. I would assume that the D8 is built to support its lance mates rather than operate in groups with other D8’s.
The armour is also worryingly weak;
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8/8/11/11
Which in the modern era might as well be non-existent, but with its ranged weapons the D8 must run around and hope it does not get hit whilst pecking away.
ThoughtsOnce an Unseen the Valkyrie came back to us with Project Phoenix and has not gone away. It’s a solid Mech for its size, and its general role of sitting at range and pelting with LRM’s make for some interesting game play as you have to try and dance around to keep the range open on a Mech that for its size is slow, yet it rewards a skilled Pilot who can keep the range open so its LRM can do its job whereas most Lights tend to be a case of RUNRUNRUNRUN *gets in range* DAKKA DAKKA! (See Jenner or any Bug). The Valkyrie can do a serious number on the Bug Mech’s and may well have been built with squashing those in mind, seeing how exceptionally common they were across the Inner Sphere (and indeed still are).
The only dogs egg of the family tree in my opinion is the QD2, this is most probably due to my prejudice against small calibre AC’s, but the advantages of the LAC weapons (their light weight) I feel are not countered by any advantages that the guns retain, they lose range which was the only thing going for them. Using advanced ammo cuts down the number of shots and at full roar you can still go through 24 shots in a short time whilst plinking away and door dinging hostile machines.
The other variants are very good (well save the flamer one, that’s poo) the mix of variants allows you to pick and choose what you want to go with, do you like MML’s? We’ve got many flavours, long range harassers, take your pick! General purpose light hunters? Roll up, roll up there’s variants for all!
The Valkyrie is a good solid light, a fight between one and a Panther is a classic fight, as is the Valkyrie’s traditional foe, the Jenner. The Jenner has the firepower to down a Valkyrie but it can’t take much damage and its thin armour is vulnerable to the LRM’s of the Davion machine. All in all, it’s a Mech, it can be rewarding to play but don’t think to throw it at someone because with their rather limited speed they can’t really generate a huge TMM to make them very hard to hit and a Clan ER PPC will turn one into a metallic doughnut in the time it takes to blink, or snip an arm off at the shoulder. Play smart and you’ll be rewarded. Play it dumb and you'll be in Valhalla before you know it.
As always thoughts and comments are most welcome!
