Best heavy battlemech in?

[BillyN831]

I was wondering what you guys think is the most optimal heavy inner sphere stock battlemech in technical readout 3039 regarding battle value and all. Thank you.

[FaithBomb]

I would say it would have to be the Grasshopper or the Orion.

[BATTLEMASTER]

I would say it would have to be the Grasshopper or the Orion.

I agree with this.  I like the Orion for its versatility, especially if alternate munitions are being played.  The Grasshopper is a tough alpha baby and highly mobile for its firepower.

[Sartris]

My avatar should indicate my feelings on the Orion

As much as I’m loathe to recommend fedrat tech, the Warhammer 6D and Marauder 3D are both solid

[Daryk]

Like any 'mech comparison, it depends!

On terrain, for one.  In woods or cities, the Grasshopper is going to win.  On a featureless plain with rolling map boards, you're going to have a hard time beating the WHM-6D.

Climate/weather for another.  The Grasshopper has an edge here due to it's ridiculous number of heat sinks, but in a cold environment, the MAD-6D might just have an edge (again, also depending on terrain).

I have hard time imagining the Orion as a winner in any case due to its ammo dependence.  I suppose if you're fighting in a phone booth with limited terrain, it might have an edge.  Maybe...

[BATTLEMASTER]

The Marauder and Warhammer might matter more if this wasn't about the best heavy 'mechs for the BV in TRO 3039 

[Dayton3]

What about the Axman?

[Weirdo]

Best at what? The best sniper? Best brawler? Best missile support? Best heavy cavalry? This question cannot be answered until we know what role, as well as the aforementioned factors of terrain and weather.

What about the Axman?

Too recent.

[The_Livewire]

The Marauder and Warhammer might matter more if this wasn't about the best heavy 'mechs for the BV in TRO 3039 

My copy has them...

[Ruger]

Archer-2S and Ostsol-4D.

The former has two LRM-15’s with two tons ammo each, two SRM-4’s with a ton of ammo each, 4 medium lasers and nearly max armor. It’s deadly at any range for extended periods.

The latter is somewhat lacking in armor, but mostly in its arms, which are there to absorb fire and make punch attacks. It has two large lasers, four medium lasers and a 5/8 speed.

Also, since you said for the BV, let’s look to the Quickdraw in both 4G and 5A models, and Rifleman in 3N and 3C models.

The former in its 4G model can hit at most ranges, and is excellently fast and mobile. The 5A model loses the long range ability, but gains a lot up close.

The latter has to be very careful of its heat, is only averagely fast for a heavy, and also lacks armor, but can hit very hard when it counts.

Both ‘Mechs in both models are cheaper in BV than most other heavies, meaning in an equal BV play, you can have a better MechWarrior than your opponent if they choose a more typical ‘Mech.

Ruger

[DevianID]

There is a grasshopper variant with a PPC and 5 mlas.  Id say that is the best heavy mech of the 3025 time period for random mechs.

BUT... missions like indirect firesupport, static long range sniping, anti-infantry, anti-vehicle, anti-air, objective grabbing, and chasing across the board are all objectives that benefit one mech over the others just by varying the missions you play.  Combined arms, quirks, special pilot abilities, playing with Battle Value, and using the tac ops advanced rules also throw a monkey wrench into determining what is best.

[BATTLEMASTER]

My copy has them...

Oops, I'm totally blind!  I'm going off of Sarna and didn't scroll down far enough 

Now that I have the whole picture, I recommend the Thunderbolt 5S over the Orion 1K.  The Thud does the same thing at about 100 less BV, versatility and everything.  When I say versatility, I look at the 'mech's ability to deal with vehicles and infantry. 

The Marauder and Warhammer families are great at fighting other 'mechs, with the Warhammer 6D being the best due to having both heat sinks for its main armament and more armor than the Marauders.  It's hard for me to recommend the Marauder since those units tend to have less leg armor, which can doom them in a brawl with kick attacks.

[Getz]

The usual suspects are the Orion 1K, Warhammer 6D and T-bolt, but I posit that the Cataphract 2X is a contender.  It's certainly my favourite heavy in TRO 3039

[Gorgon]

For me, the Cataphract 2X (the one with the LL and SRM-4) always performs well. It packs a nice punch, has heavy armor and decent amount of heat sinks. It lacks some reach compared to the Orion or Thud but with IntroTech it's not hard to push into effective range.

[Hellraiser]

I was wondering what you guys think is the most optimal heavy inner sphere stock battlemech in technical readout 3039 regarding battle value and all. Thank you.

I'm seeing a lot of responses which are clearly for the Best Mech.

But the best Mech For the BV........ I'm thinking Cataphract-1X at 1316 BV2




EDIT:  Though I'd probably want to be in a Hopper or DavHammer if I had my own choice 

[MarauderD]

I’m obviously partial to the Marauder 3D, but if I had to pick the optimal heavy mech of that Intro era I’d probably second the vote for the Grasshopper. 

[SteelRaven]

A good number of favorites have already been listed.

Thunderbolt has great armor and weapons loadout, the 5SS is practically a mini Battlemaster.

[Alex Keller]

Grasshopper or Guillotine are going to be hard to beat.  They are maneuverable with jump jets and both mount 4x Medium Lasers, the most efficient weapon in the game.  Neither of them are particularly vulnerable to ammo explosions. 

[Sartris]

i've often dumped ammo turn one with the grasshopper if it was apparent the LRM was not going to be used more than a few times

[Fat Guy]

Another vote for the Grasshopper. And yes, dump that ammo.

[BATTLEMASTER]

Another vote for the Grasshopper. And yes, dump that ammo.

I've been using smoke or dead-fire ammo in the Grasshopper's LRM-5, but I like doing that sort of thing.

[Starfury]

Stalker 4P.  You lose 1 LRM-10 from the 85 ton stalker, but have 13.5 tons of armor, the same 20 heat sinks, the battle computer and all of the rest of the guns for 1,461 BV.

[BATTLEMASTER]

Stalker 4P.  You lose 1 LRM-10 from the 85 ton stalker, but have 13.5 tons of armor, the same 20 heat sinks, the battle computer and all of the rest of the guns for 1,461 BV.

That's a totally clever suggestion!  I always forget the 75-ton version!  Can't go wrong with Stalkers

[Empyrus]

Not sure if best but i have strong liking for the Thunderbolt. The Steiner variant is pretty nice.

Hard to go wrong with the Archer, always been one solidly designed 'Mech.

I don't like the stock Orion (the Thunderbolt offers similar capabilities for easier heat management) but the Orion-VA is very solid. The -VA is not perfect, the left torso has a lot of ammo but i prefer it all the same for its brawling ability.

EDIT The Orion-VA and standard Thunderbolt have very similar price, and for that, i'd pick the T-bolt.
Interesting the Archer-2S which was mentioned above, has similar price point as well. Seems worthy of consideration.

[Natasha Kerensky]

I’ll throw out the standard Catapult C1 as a relatively good option for relatively lower BV.  It can do the LRM fire support thing like an Archer, then close for a beat down with its reasonable armor and jumping laser array like a Grasshopper.  For just under 1400 BV2.

I’ve run heavy Cappie lances that are comprised of a Catapult and the lower BV options mentioned upthread:

Catapult C1
Tbolt 5S
Cataphract 1X
Guillotine 4L

These are all 1400BV2 or lower.  They provide about the same functionality as their Archer, Orion, Warhammer/Marauder, and Grasshopper cousins but without the 1400BV2+ each price.

[Hellraiser]

I've been using smoke or dead-fire ammo in the Grasshopper's LRM-5, but I like doing that sort of thing.

I like having the snipe option as I close into LL & eventually ML range, but, you really can NOT go wrong using the LRM5 w/ Smoke if that's allowed at your table. 

Nothing wrong with a little LOS hampering as you close into brawling range.

My GM has pretty much disallowed it ever since I got put against a team that had C3 w/o paying the BV for it & I compensated for that by turning the map into a forest fire to block all that free C3 ability.

That and I think the time when we used some tanks w/ LRM5's to cover the advance of heavy mechs & took up hours of time placing all those smoke clouds.

And then there was the guy that brings a Bane-3 loaded w/ Thunder Missiles.

These 3 examples are the main reasons why we are NOT allowed to play with TO special munitions anymore

[Sartris]

this is why you can't have nice things

[Fat Guy]

this is why you can't have nice things

I thought you were why we can't have nice things?   

[Sartris]

I thought you were why we can't have nice things?   

yeah that's fair

[Empyrus]

Dunno about others but i'd probably set a limit for TacOps special munitions. Like, you can bring stuff, just keep it to 1 ton per type per force, or something like that. And also "keep the rules in mind/at hand to keep stuff moving fast".