To fully understand this monstrous construct it is important to understand why it was meant to exist in the first place. In the wake of the Second Succession War the Free Worlds League was in miserable shape. Intense fighting during the first two Succession Wars and the technological decline (no doubt exaggerated by Comstar) cast the future of the FWLM in doubt. The technology needed to build Battlemechs was drying up and believed to be in danger of extinction. In the shadow of this crisis, Captain-General Philppa Marik charged her engineers to find a vehicular stopgap to make up for the foretold demise of the Battlemech.
And they did perform an admirable job, all things considered. The Earthwerks team gave their design the name "Şoarece", the word for mouse in Romanian. No doubt a dig not only at the enormous size of the tank, but possibly a RL reference to the 188 ton German Maus of WWII, as well. A 350 rated fuel cell engine pushes the 175 Şoarece to a 2/3 movement profile. This is slower than most assault mechs, but fast enough to move it under it's own power from one conflict zone to another. However, unlike the Behemoth, with the same movement profile, the Şoarece was not built for purely defensive deployments. In the long term the slow speed of the Şoarece, if successfully implemented would slow the FWLM to a crawl. But, it is worth pointing out that if mech technology was on the decline, including the often noted rarity of fusion plants, the Fuel Cell Engine used in the Şoarece is about as good a choice as any available at the time.
To that end the designers added a limited amphibious hull. This is a wise decision not only because of the ability to cross waterways during combat, but for strategic reasons, as well. Any bridges capable of supporting a 175 ton tank are going to turn into high priority targets. You can't make the backbone of your military slow and incapable of moving across water using everyday bridges. This would present all kinds of logistical nightmares as dropships or support vehicles would be needed to ferry Şoareces from place to place. Even though the tonnage payment for the LAH takes away from potential armaments, the Şoarece really wouldn't be possible without one.
The shortcomings of the Şoarece are complicated by the 40.5 tons of standard armor welded on all 7 (yes, 7!) hit locations. The 110/92/92/60/110 armor configuration makes the Şoarece a difficult nut to crack from the front arc, and almost as durable on the sides. When your weakest armor facing can survive 3 AC20 hits the goal of being well protected was clearly met. The danger of this armor config is the amount of firepower needed to crack it. Chances are you will be looking at vehicular crits to render your useless long before the armor gives out. But, until that happens the Şoarece is a semi mobile bunker of mammoth proportions. At least in terms of armor protection the designers attempted to get this part right. Any hit location destroyed means a dead mouse. Buckets of standard armor are about the only thing you can do in this era.
Weaponry is where the Şoarece concept truly falls flat. The mixture of autocannons (2, 10 and 20) give the tank a variety of engagement ranges without needing tonnage eating heat sinks. A battery of LRMs would better serve than the heavy, short ranged AC20. The long range prospects of the Şoarece are meager after 15 hexes, meaning the PPC and LRM are going to be the greatest enemy of this tank. The Şoarece lacks any real response to an Archer or, heck, a Manticore. An AC20 keeps would be flankers at bay, but will seldom see use as a tool of offense. The 2/3 movement profile will keep you from catching up to anything other than immobilized targets and fortifications. The AC10 provides some medium ranged power and the prospect of using a ton of flachette to puree aggressive infantry that would take advantage of the Şoarece's lack of side mounted MGs. The single front mounted MG is hardly enough to provide the Şoarece the infantry defense it needs, especially when combined with slow speed. One of the ACs using Flachette ammo is a better answer, albeit at the expense of focusing all weapons in the infantry's direction. The original armament of Soarecar ("Ratter" in Romanian?), the prototype version of the Şoarece had a pair of AC5s, which proved even less popular than the 175 ton production model.
The AC2 remains the Şoarece's salvation. The extreme range and availability of flakk ammo means that the Şoarece can defend itself from the aero attacks it's huge size and slow speed will invite. Even VTOLs will have to hold their breath before charging in. Combine this with the Accurate Weapon quirk and you have a dead eyed sniper gun to swat airborne units down and provide token resistance to LRM and PPC armed enemies.
Using a Şoarece Superheavy MBT is a tricky prospect. Because it is so slow it won't be doing more than assaulting fortifications, urban combat or objective defense. Park the Şoarece at a choke point an embrace all that firepower needed to get rid of it. The Şoarece needs to be in a position where it can continue to have LoS to an enemy after the turret locks (and chances are it will be locked, immobilized or both). Getting the Şoarece to a road for bonus MP can be a big help, as well. Turret twist to knock out anything that comes close with your AC20, but otherwise accept that you are largely helpless outside of 15 hexes. The Şoarece can absorb buckets of pain while your other units exploit the lack of attention being paid to them.
Destroying a Şoarece isn't difficult. The standard tactics for taking out combat vehicles all apply. And that is the most frustrating part. Even at 175 tons with the best tech the 29th century FWL could get, the Şoarece is still a combat vehicle. Artillery, SRMs and LRMs are going to cause movement crits. Lock the turret and the Şoarece has no way to defend itself. Pick a location and pound away on it until the hull buckles. Very simple. The huge armor value of the Şoarece makes it almost certain that it will be immobilized before the armor is destroyed.
Putting the Şoarece in a pincer is a good move. Since all of the autocannons are turret mounted you can be sure the Şoarece can only engage targets in one arc at a time. Infantry ambushes and fast hovercraft will pay off big time. If you don't have those kinds of units just stay at range. The Şoarece's AC2 is the only threat outside of 15 hexes. Now is when your Riflemans and Jagermechs make their money.
As a concept the Şoarece is interesting. Given the technological restraints of the the era, it isn't so bad from a design perspective. In fact, the greatest weakness of the Şoarece is the fact that it is a 175 ton tank meant for front line combat. That the FWLM favored the poorly designed but better performing ICE powered Ontos after the conquest of Shiro III says it all. However, the Şoarece was ahead of it's time. A modern adaptation would really only call for a weapon swap to make it effective. Advanced armors would improve survival or reduce tonnage invested, but not enough to salvage the concept alone. Thankfully the technological decline was not as severe as predicted, and FWLP even managed to stash away a few techno treasures for the day when they could be understood again. The Şoarece never had to replace the Battlemech, as feared, which is good, because even super heavy vehicles still cannot claim to be kings of the battlefield, no matter how much gray matter is put behind them.
