How Do Your Mechs Die?

[Adastra]

Just out of curiosity. I put some of the most common causes that I can think of in the poll, but feel free to elaborate in the replies. No need to have any specific cause above others (I allowed multiple votes in the poll). Feel free to have as much or as little detail as desired.

EDIT: As a followup question, to people who frequently lose mechs to engine/gyro hits, what types of engines and gyros do you tend to use? Would you say that the type of engine/gyro used noticeably impacts survivability? Lose a lot of IS XL engined mechs to side torso loss, for example?

[Sartris]

i'd say engine kill followed by
incapacitated (especially getting a leg blown off and then getting shot up while prone) followed by
ammo explosions (distant 3rd)

[AlphaMirage]

I typically use a lot of Standard engines so it's typically a total core. Have yet to lose a mech solely to an ammo explosion but is a common one on our table. AMS in particular seems to draw crits to it. Then there is always the cERPPC or Gauss to the head which is my second most likely thing to happen followed by withdrawal. Don't play assault Mechs people they cannot run away

[garhkal]

i'd say engine kill followed by
incapacitated (especially getting a leg blown off and then getting shot up while prone) followed by
ammo explosions (distant 3rd)

For me, its engine/gyro hits, followed by leg losses, then head caps for my top 3.

[Sani_2341]

From my subjective Memory over the years it's probably most commonly Gyro and Engine Crits.
Followed closely by ammo explosions either ripping a mech a ppart or causing issue #1.
a mildly distant third is pilot incapacitation. Most commonly by chains of failed seatbelt checks, followed by shrapnel spray getting lucky. with actual headcapping a distant third cause of chunky salsa in cockpit.

[BirdofPrey]

I seem to manage to get gyroed a lot.  Plenty of legs too. Death by engine crits doesn't seem as common for me as the gyro.

In general, though, it does seem the leading cause of death is CT crits.  That's more or less how mechs work, they can run around missing a fair number of pieces, but they can't operate without the engine, and losing mobility is a death sentence for lighter mechs.  After that is what I'd call lucky crits.  A single ammo bin can take out a mech, and pilot hits always seem to come in clusters.

[S2pidiT]

Pretty much all of my play time has been through MegaMek, and these are the top three ways I die:
- Gyro/Engine hits
- Leg loss/falling in general
- Ammo explosions

I see a lot of head hits in MegaMek, but I rarely lose pilots this way.

[Sartris]

imo head hits tend to be more dramatic than common. i don’t remember many specific engine kill incidents. but i clearly remember

- two players in a free for all stalking each other with a banshee and battlemaster. they traded simultaneous gauss shots to the head

- that time i rolled seven box cars in a row and decapitated three mechs in one turn

- dude rolled up to a pickup game with a 0/0 bounty hunter mad cat. an osiris hit him twice in the head with medium lasers and critted the cockpit

- set up a VERY elaborate chase mission where the players were trying to stop a renegade officer from escaping with secret plans. blew the head off the villain’s argus turn three

- finished a game by pushing my opponent’s mech into a level six ravine (solaris map). falling damage broke the previously damaged head

- the first time i moved a phawk into level 1 water and learned the danger of pre TW partial cover rules via a warhammer’s ppc

- people making fun of a dude for using the SW king crab with 2t of ammo. guy won the game for his team by blowing the head off our last mech with his last shot

[monbvol]

For me it really depends on the mech.

An introtech Victor?  Ammo explosion.

Introtech Crusader? I actually have a lot of luck having them survive until total core somehow despite their ammo bombs.

Archer? Losing it's head in a fist fight where I usually also get the opposing mech's head or gyro.

[Major Headcase]

Its missing an "All of the above" option... 
The most I remember are head shots, but that may just be from the novelty of it in game. ...Or falling in depth 1 water hex after a non-lethal head shot with breached head armor, an unconscious pilot, and drowning... 
But its probably CT cores. That feels far more common in my games.  I can count my ammo cookouts on two hands, even after so many years playing; I'm just lucky I guess. 

[Sartris]

That reminds me of another lost my head incident

I was assigned a panther in a pickup team game. After taking a head hit I jumped behind a building. I at that point learned that mechs can move THROUGH buildings as an archer crashed though the one I was hiding behind and punched my head off

Right torso destroyed, three engine hits doesn’t carry the same trauma

[dgorsman]

Had a Mech with hardened armor, open in most locations but full head armor, and prone next to a Battlemaster in the last round of the game.  Was literally cheering to get kicked in the head instead of somewhere else for once.  And there was much rejoicing... and a  pilot that wasn't dead.

That's pretty unusual though.  Most times my Mechs die due to lucky rolls in the other sides favor.  Need 10s or better to hit?  Hey, there's a couple of hits! *grumble*  Oh, floating crit?  To the leg you say?  *grumble*  Well... OK... Decent pilot, only need a 6 to stay standing (rolls 3) *grumble grumble* And there's the pilot hit from the failed seat belt check... and the 2 point falling damage to the head *grumblegrumblegrumble* And now he's unconscious.  And prone.  Next to a couple of Mechs that can stand there and kick and take aimed shots.   

[Fat Guy]

All of the above except morale/voulentary withdraw.

[garhkal]

Makes me wonder, what the SWIFTEST someone's had a mech die is...  For me, the second round, was the quickest i remember losing a mech.. To a lucky head hit via a clan LPL.

[BirdofPrey]

If we want to talk memorable head shots, for me it was the time my Hussar pasted a Nightstar in the face with its PPC then a couple turns later finished it off with a boot to the head.  The nightstar was otherwise minimally damaged.

Makes me wonder, what the SWIFTEST someone's had a mech die is...  For me, the second round, was the quickest i remember losing a mech.. To a lucky head hit via a clan LPL.

Does the deployment round count?  Same game, we orbital dropped and somehow most of the force managed to blow its landing roll including the mech that managed to crash on top of the one of mine that had managed to make it down safely.  A do-over was declared.

[Fallen_Raven]

I typically used forced withdrawal in my games, so that takes out most 'mechs quickly. After that its being cored entirely. My love of medium 'mechs means damage is often able to kill before crits do, and Gauss Rifles are quite good at delivering lethal shots in a single turn.

[monbvol]

Makes me wonder, what the SWIFTEST someone's had a mech die is...  For me, the second round, was the quickest i remember losing a mech.. To a lucky head hit via a clan LPL.

I've had multiple VTR-9B Victors die in the first exchange of fire.

[Sartris]

Makes me wonder, what the SWIFTEST someone's had a mech die is...  For me, the second round, was the quickest i remember losing a mech.. To a lucky head hit via a clan LPL.

Turn 1 in a one map game saw a Jenner run up to three hexes from an atlas

Atlas wiffs
Jenner alphas, only hits with SRM4
One missile hits
CT TAC
Two crits
Gyro
Gyro

[ravensword]

Most of mine die to "machine's about toast, pilot/crew's bailing out," but I play mostly campaign games.

[Crimson Dawn]

Fastest in my game was a griffin getting TACed in the first turn with a double gyro crit on the first turn but the worst was in a game where we were doing a clan mech duo duel.

One of the group had a Nova Cat and he was firing on a Mad Cat D.  First attack roll of the game rolls and hits gets location 12 for the head hit.  Rolls to confirm crit and succeeds and then rolls location and hits cockpit.  That ER Large killed the madcat first turn.  Well the other guy was certainly disappointed. 

[Jellico]

Crossbow bolt. Critical Hit. 3 x Engine Hits. Dead Dire Wolf.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I've gotten killed via everything on that list, but engine destruction or coring out the CT are the two most common for me.

The fastest I've ever had a mech die on me was in a game where even though Total Warfare had been out for two years, the GM decided to use BMR rules for Targeting Computers and a Black Knight was able to just aim everything at my Enforcer III's Center Torso and blast through it with one shot.

The fastest I've ever seen anyone else die was a Nightstar that entered depth 1 water on the first round of play, failed the PSR, and flooded his torso.  Coincidentally, it was being run by the same player.

[Nibs]

Engine or gyro hits occur most regularly, with a sprinkling of ammo explosions for fun.

Makes me wonder, what the SWIFTEST someone's had a mech die is...  For me, the second round, was the quickest i remember losing a mech.. To a lucky head hit via a clan LPL.

First BT game that I ever played.

The opponent advanced his Assassin away from his lance. I figured I would track it down with the heavier Phoenix Hawk and destroy it quickly.

Before the Phoenix Hawk could close in, the Assassin pilot fired his LRM-5 from long range. A long shot.

12 to hit. 12. Critical hit CT. Two critical hits. Gyro hit. Gyro hit.

First round of my first game. I was hooked.

[Sani_2341]

Makes me wonder, what the SWIFTEST someone's had a mech die is...  For me, the second round, was the quickest i remember losing a mech.. To a lucky head hit via a clan LPL.

Swift as in speed of the mech lost or as in early in a game?

Well either way, it's the same story of newbie me thinking it would be a good idea to runn a dasher full tilt across a city map  as the very first movement of the game.
Then I remembered skidding rules.
then my opponent explained how crashing into buildings works.
then that dasher found all the basements.

[S2pidiT]

Turn 1 in a one map game saw a Jenner run up to three hexes from an atlas

Atlas wiffs
Jenner alphas, only hits with SRM4
One missile hits
CT TAC
Two crits
Gyro
Gyro

I had similar, but it's not nearly as satisfying as taking out an Atlas with a Jenner... Thunderbolt double-crit the gyro on a Dragon with a single missile from an SRM2.

Still, I laughed for a long time about it!

[Major Headcase]

Me and my friends have terrible luck getting crits. We almost always fail the crit check roll, no matter how many hits to the IS we get. Very rarely do we lose a mech to crits. Its usually from grinding a mech down limb by torso section...

[Sir Chaos]

Turn 1 in a one map game saw a Jenner run up to three hexes from an atlas

Atlas wiffs
Jenner alphas, only hits with SRM4
One missile hits
CT TAC
Two crits
Gyro
Gyro

There´s only one thing left to say when that happens: "TIMBER!"

[Euphonium]

Most of my experience has been in games set in the 3005-3045 era.
I'd guess we're normally looking at 50% cored, 40% ammo explosion, 10% headcap

[Sir Chaos]

Most of my experience has been in games set in the 3005-3045 era.
I'd guess we're normally looking at 50% cored, 40% ammo explosion, 10% headcap

That sounds about right.

Fewer ammo explosions and headshots and more cored units among lighter mechs, the reverse among heavier ones.

[garhkal]

Swift as in speed of the mech lost or as in early in a game?

Well either way, it's the same story of newbie me thinking it would be a good idea to runn a dasher full tilt across a city map  as the very first movement of the game.
Then I remembered skidding rules.
then my opponent explained how crashing into buildings works.
then that dasher found all the basements.

Sounds like one of the pick up games, when i was stationed in Mayport..
My mech had jumped on top of a L6 building.  Saw an enemy on a L1 building.  Tried a DFA, MISSED..  Fell through roof, into a sub-level 3 basement..  Blew up my own left torso from falling damage, and bye bye my XL engine.