Few of those reading this are unfamiliar with the Hetzer, the classic box-on-wheels from the game's early days- by far and away the cheapest, if not most efficient, way to bring an assault-caliber autocannon to the field. Courtesy of the good folks at Quickscell, the Hetzer has been a staple of militia forces for untold decades, and while its poor construction and major limitations are well-known, a well-parked Hetzer can deliver a massive punch that can turn the tide of battle.
But the Hetzer isn't alone in the 'big-ass gun on a cheap chassis' game. While we only recently got our first look at it, for a long time the Ceres-built Predator played the same role for the Capellan Confederation. What we'll do here is cover the original model first, then move to the new model causing the Federated Suns and Republic so many problems in the Dark Age. Don't worry- what seems like a simple weapon system is, much like the Kinnol we covered last week, a lot more than it appears on the surface.
Bringing a standard-model Predator into the VotW test bay, we find that it weighs in at 45 tons, five tons larger than its Quickscell opponent. A big chunk of that weight goes into a surprisingly big chunk of engine- while internal combustion (because who is going to put a fusion engine on a Succession Wars-era disposable vehicle, really?), the big motor propels the Predator to a surprising 5/8 movement curve. That's nothing to sneeze at- remember that its nearest competition, the Hetzer- hell, we can even throw in the Hunchback- move at 4/6 in this era. That means you're in range to use that cannon that much sooner- no small consideration, as anyone who has tried to use Hetzers to effect can attest. From this standpoint, the Predator has a clear advantage. Toss in the tracks in place of the Hetzer's wheels, and we have a vehicle that can get just about anywhere on the battlefield much easier than its cousin.
That advantage takes a bit of a backseat though when we look at the armor. The Hetzer packs a solid six-ton shell of armor over its frame, ensuring that while it won't get where it needs to be as quick as a Predator, it's much more likely to survive a few hits to get there. Predator? Yeeeah, don't get attached to your Predator crew. With only half the armor of the Hetzer, it's not very reliable when the shots start landing. Thirty points up front ensure that you don't get any funny ideas about pointing any other side at an enemy- keep the cannon pointed, and the armor should hold for a few hits. Anywhere else can keep out a medium laser and hold, and not a great deal more.
While I'm not one to usually gloss over the weapons of a vehicle, this is a pretty standard setup familiar to the Hetzer. It's the classic AC-20 we know, love, and secretly clench our butts at the sight of. Where the Hetzer packs four tons of ammo, the Predator has a mere single ton, but it's safe to say that Predators won't need more than that- that armor won't survive five turns of fighting, and if it does you'll probably be all set to use that speed to zip home for more ammo (and armor patchup) immediately anyway. If you're not sure how to use an AC-20 on tracks, welcome to Battletech, please read the site rules and say hello to everyone. ;)
So. After some disasters in its use that sent the Predator into the doghouse (explaining why we didn't see it in the earlier days of Battletech nicely), the Predator found recent new life with the Capellans. A few key changes make a quick but thin-shelled gun into a really intriguing tank destroyer for the new era. We start with a fuel cell engine that moves the Predator to 6/9, making it even faster than before. If it was important before to move quick, in the 3145 era it's absolutely vital. Things just move faster on the battlefield than they did a hundred years ago- and the Predator keeps pace nicely, even outrunning the neighbors' new Hanse tank destroyer (at least without the occasional burst a Hanse can put on).
We see a switch to heavy ferro-fibrous armor, and more of it, make a flimsy vehicle at least a good bit more durable. 45 points up front mean that one can take a pretty good bit of return fire as you charge in now, while the sides reflect the faster speeds of flanking units of the modern era with 16 points, enough to withstand a fast moving Gauss or heavy PPC (like the one on the Blitzkrieg, no coincidence there I'm sure). 12 points on the rear is still not much, but it's double the original- let's be glass half-full here, shall we? Bottom line, this isn't a frontline MBT- using it as such is just a bad idea.
The AC mounted in the front of the Predator has been replaced by a nasty Mydron LB-20X. If you can't figure out why this is an upgrade from the old AC-20, didn't I tell you to go read the site rules and say hello, newbie? The Predator really is a tank destroyer now, able to punch through heavy armor as before and just as able to cluster-shot the daylights out of enemy vehicles. Versatility is key here, and the newly up-armored, up-gunned, and up-engined Predator is just flat better in every way than it used to be. We even have a second ton of ammunition now, allowing us to switch ammo types on the fly.
So, we have a vehicle that's faster (in both eras) than its competition, just survivable enough to get into range to take a shot at the enemy before dying, and just as able to put a gigantic hole in whatever it hits. It's not as tough as a Hetzer, but its speed makes it an interesting counter- if you're a Hetzer fan, give this a try and see what you think of the tradeoff for speed at the cost of toughness.
