Impact of Losing an Eye on a Mechwarrior?

[Vonshroom]

I got to wondering about this one and didn't find any past articles. I know we have One Eyed Jack Ferrell in the Dark Age, but I don't remember any other canon one eyed mechwarriors. Am I missing something? I also seem to recall an older novel (maybe Stackpole?) where it seemed like a mechwarrior would be washed out if they lost an eye or had another disability (similar to modern day fighter pilots). Also how much would it actually impact their ability to pilot a mech in theory of course. Are there House Military requirements for this sort of thing? Also in the same vein, with prosthetics having advanced so far how horribly would losing a hand / arm / leg etc. impact a mechwarriors ability?

Looking for some posts to shed some insight and hopefully reference canon / novels where these topics have been brought up. Thanks!

[Lanceman]

Fredrick Steiner/Anastasius Focht continued to pilot a BattleMech after the loss of his eye, though he did most of his commanding from a headquarters rather than in the cockpit. 

[Taron Storm]

Lost limbs.

Justin Allard:Lost arm, trained to get back into a mech, became a Solaris Champion!
Minobu Tetsuhara: Lost Arm, practiced martial arts to regain control of replacement.
There were also a couple of Dragoons that needed replacement limbs.

All depends on the quality of the replacement and funding for it.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Didn't Trent Smoke Jaguar get one of his eyes replaced by a prosthetic?

[Frabby]

Michi Noketsuna lost an eye on Misery. Didn’t prevent him from successfully embarking on a new career as the Bounty Hunter afterwards.

[Failure16]

We have several examples.

It was the 80s. Eye patches and facial scars were part of the milieu by default. Who can forget Trev-R from the original Shrapnel, who was missing his left eye, for example (FASA 8611, pp. 10-11)? Marshigama's Legionnaires had two MechWarriors sans eyes*, Michael Sumoron and Garrell Nowack (and possibly David O'Moshey; his left eye is scarred above and below and is a different color than his right; and while heterochroma iridium is a thing, I doubt it is the answer here) (House Liao Sourcebook, FASA 1624, p. 97)

As well as other art--who may or may not be MechWarriors, of course--in The Mercenary's Handbook (FASA 1616, pp. 43, 45), or the Lindon's Company trooper (almost assuredly a MechWarrior through inference) on p. 147 of the House Davion Sourcebook (FASA 1623).


*It always seems to be the left eye, just so we are clear. Maybe losing your right eye disqualifies the sufferer from driving a bipedal war-machine?

[Daryk]

The relevant rules are on pages 122-123 and 314-315 of AToW.  It seems a single bionic eye will take you from complete blindness to Poor Vision -1.  Springing for the enhancements available in the AToW Companion (page 180) can somewhat compensate for even that.

[Caedis Animus]

*It always seems to be the left eye, just so we are clear. Maybe losing your right eye disqualifies the sufferer from driving a bipedal war-machine?

Maybe it's an eye dominance thing? I know that I'd have to rework how I aim guns if I lost my right eye.

I know it's not quite the same for a Mechwarrior, but it could leave things too 'off' to successfully compete anymore.

[Failure16]

I was being a tad facetious, but that is a valid point, CA.

[glitterboy2098]

There were also a couple of Dragoons that needed replacement limbs.

and iirc it is implied that the Dragoon's medical tech allowed them to give them some sort of advanced prosthetics, probably myomer rebuilds..if not fully regrown limbs masquerading as advanced myomer rebuilds. Minobu Tetsuhara comments on them in contrast to his own more basic prosthetic.

Didn't Trent Smoke Jaguar get one of his eyes replaced by a prosthetic?

yep, plus a whole arm. which was a very basic myomer rebuild rather than a regrown one, since he didn't have the rank or prestige for better.
we know that the clans have the ability to regrow eyes, because a clan medic said as much to Anastasius Focht, though the comment suggested they had to catch the injury early enough so there are limits.

iirc the Sargeant that left the Kittery Battalion to rejoin the kell hounds in 3026, Walter De Mesnil was missing an eye. though i might be wrong, because he certainly felt like the kind of character that should be wearing an eye patch.

edit: just rechecked the book, and yes, de Mesnil only had one eye. it's pointed out a few times in chapter 9 of Warrior: Riposte, during the shootout at the restaurant.