Blend of Speed and Armor?

[Goose]

If you needed a hovercraft to truck around a set of battlesuits, on pavement at-lest some of the time, how much armor do you want?

Remember "cruise mean no PSRs" …

[Sabelkatten]

Is it a truck, an APC, or an IFV?

The way hovers work the truck might manage to cruise at 11-13, the APC 8-10, the IFV 7-9. No/minimal armor on the truck, 4-6 tons on the APC, 5-8 tons on the IFV.

[Goose]

I'd given up on mounting a gun of any kind.

[worktroll]

10 points per facing, which is 2.5 tons if my brain's still working. Enough to take the average hit, or a not-direct artillery strike.

And if you're making it a BA truck, make it Omni. Troops inside & one squad on the outside! The added cost will be minimal.

[Charistoph]

Depends on budget and the size of the expected Squad.

If sky's the limit, then put the smallest XXL Engine in there, 6-12 tons for Cargo space, 1 Weapon per Facing, and the rest goes to Armor, either FF or Reflective.

But that's more for Fan Design.

Honestly, the Maxim and Heavy Hover APCs can work for Inner Sphere well enough.  Bandits are fantastic with both internal and external mounts, and there's both Inner Sphere and Clan options.  Only ComStar is left out of this.

Of course, if you really want to have fun, go with one of the Karnov VTOLs.  There's either the Stealth Variant that makes it more survivable, or the 10t cargo space one that can drop 2 Squads or Points on a target, without landing (if the BA can Jump, of course).

[Goose]

And if you're making it a BA truck, make it Omni. Troops inside & one squad on the outside! The added cost will be minimal.

I thought TPTB had poo-poo'd that? Maybe I'm thinking of something involving magnets …

[worktroll]

Mag clamps are indeed for every occasion!

[Charistoph]

I thought TPTB had poo-poo'd that? Maybe I'm thinking of something involving magnets …

Nope, perfectly legal.  You just can't Mount/Dismount them at the same time (without the Vehicle dying, of course).

[PuppyLikesLaserPointers]

Almost always max up the armor(that leaves no wasted points) then consider the others, to me. For me, if you need for the lighter total armor point, you could just use the lighter unit instead. Simply put, why using a 10t armored charger when you could deploy a 9t armored crab or 11.5t armored wolverine WVR-6K? A reduction of 0.5~1t would be acceptable on some situations, though.

Unless on the dire situation that really needs to squeeze the spare tonnage, and in this case I'd keep the armor(or armor+internal if the spare tonnage is too sparse) on most part a multiple of 20 or more if possible and at least allows it to sustain one blow and survives for vehicles.

Anyway that's because usually ground units' speed point is penalized if it goes heavier, while the maximum tonnage that is able to be spend to the armor is determined by its weight. So, if you didn't max up the armor, you lost the most important benefit for choosing that weight class and you should make the unit lighter.

Otherwise the only benefit for pick the heaviest weight is when you make the slow glass cannon unit, but if you want 'blend of speed and armor' then it's not an option.

[Colt Ward]

I thought TPTB had poo-poo'd that? Maybe I'm thinking of something involving magnets …

You are thinking of Omni-VTOLs.

Honestly, if we are talking hover among the IS my go-to's are the Blizzard, Saxon, and Winterhawk.

I mean, I love the Ghost Bear's Tyr but it is not commonly available and is also expensive.

[Hellraiser]

You are thinking of Omni-VTOLs.

Honestly, if we are talking hover among the IS my go-to's are the Blizzard, Saxon, and Winterhawk.

I had to go look up that last one, lol.

Tac on the Maxim/HeavyHoverAPC for me to the 1st 2 though.

Or you know, w/ MagClamps, I'll send them out on Savannah Masters

[Colt Ward]

Maxims are mostly more expensive because the fusion engine, and larger.  They also tend to tack on weapons that makes you think about using them . . . and IIRC, are slower.  A change from 9/14 (Blizzard) to 8/12 does not seem like much, but it is IMO.

[Hellraiser]

They also tend to tack on weapons that makes you think about using them . . .

Yep, and I'm okay w/ that, I tend to build formations for a purpose.
Sometimes, it's just "Get them there", sometimes, it's "Now back up the Fulcrum/Drillson too".
Each has a time & place.

Basically for me it comes down to "are the taxis part of the BA formation?"  OR  "Are the BA an add on to my Hover-Strike formation"?

Depending on the job the transport changes.

[worktroll]

Indeed. There are battle taxis like the Maxim II, and IFV like the Main Gauche & Musketeer variants (okay, the MG isn't a hover, but you get my meaning ...)

[Charistoph]

Even Heavy Hover APCs can carry most Inner Sphere Battle Armor Squads (especially when NOT using the Advanced Rules which cause Heavy and Assault BA to take up more mass).

Still, I have a pair of Karnovs, and I haven't used them for Battle Armor yet.  Next time I can (which is going to be at least 2 weeks), I'm going to try them out.

[Colt Ward]

Use jumping BA . . . the Karnovs will not have to land, which makes them vulnerable- it also happens to be the best way to protect the dismounting BA b/c you can drop them over heavy woods to get another +2 with the jump +1.

[NUT-BUSTING TORQUE]

Personally with the rise of the Thunderbolt 20, capped Heavy PPCs and improved heavy gauss rifles, i'd do at least 20 points of armor on each side to tank at least one hit. AMS or 2 is also a necessity- motive hits are the devil, you should be cutting them down as much as possible. Finally, I'd ask what I'm planning to do with the vehicle once it's dropped the kids off to play- because sadly, I can't just have it near my guys and provide AMS cover.

Personally, the best and most potent idea is with the Scapha, and with the E of all things- It's not perfect for this idea because it's a hover that lacks AMS, but such a gun provides some serious anti-armor firepower to everything but the Quiniris and Black Wolf with their reactives. That Thumper is a little underpowered, but it will SERIOUSLY punish anyone stepping into the open or trying to use buildings as cover.

[Starfury]

Cough Maultier BA version Cough.

[HappyDaze]

If I'm building it myself, I like a few SRM 4 for smoke missiles to provide my own cover. Less useful on fast movers, but they can still drop screens for slower units. 'Mech Mortars can do it even better, but they're a lot heavier.