'Mech of the Week (1/18/13): WSP-* Wasp / Super Wasp(Updated 4/29/15, 8/4/2020)
Given that last week we covered its unlicensed copycat, the Stinger, this week seemed like the perfect opportunity to cover the Wasp series of BattleMechs. One of the iconic original BattleMechs from the beginning of the game, the Wasp has been around for as long as Battletech - longer, actually, once you take into account Battledroids.
The Wasp has been around for a long time within the Battletech universe, too, dating back to the original model
WSP-1 Wasp, which debuted in 2464. After learning that the Lyran Commonwealth was looking to design their own homegrown scout BattleMech (the Commando), the Terran Hegemony Armed Forces decided that they simply couldn't be outdone, and issued a request for proposals for a new scout 'Mech for the THAF.
Answering the design proposal request for a Terran Hegemony mass-produced scout 'Mech, General Mechanics called upon Dr. Soren Ishi (every Tarantino fan reading just simultaneously raised their eyebrows, didn't they?) to design their entrant to the competition. This is where things get...meta. See, Dr. Soren was an otaku.
No, seriously. See, Soren wanted to build a 'Mech that could fly. To that end, the good doctor gathered together a highly talented pool of engineers and scientists into a group dubbed "the Hive", and cranked out the design of the WSP-1 Wasp in a matter of weeks. I have a strong suspicion that work had to have begun behind the scenes on the Wasp prior to the THAF's request: something that complicated in weeks would simply be impossible otherwise.
That said, Dr. Soren's creation was not without its flaws. While it wowed generals by flying over its hangar, it cleverly disguised a couple quirks. First, its jump jets were prototypes, which, really, isn't surprising, given the Wasp was *the* first 'Mech that ever mounted jump jets. In game terms, this means its pilot must make a piloting skill roll at +3 every time it lands, and in in-universe terms means that the early Wasp had an unfortunate tendency to fall over a lot after jumping. This, not surprisingly, didn't stop the Terran Hegemony from ordering a metric crapton of Wasps.
The primitive WSP-1 is interesting, warms the cockles of my heart, but isn't exactly hugely impressive these days, massing 20 tons, capable of 5/8/5 movement (using a 120 primitive engine), with 10 single heat sinks, a sole medium laser as armamament, and primitive armor arranged 4, 6/3, 4/2, 3, 3, for a total of 37 points. This light armor is somewhat compounded by the quirk of weak legs, which helps explain why early Wasp pilots performing DFAs rapidly found themselves severing their own 'Mech's legs on the battlefields. Oops?
Fortunately for all those THAF scout pilots, a revised version of the Wasp wasn't far away, with the non-primitive
WSP-1A Wasp we've all come to know and love/hate/laugh at debuting in 2471. The WSP-1A offered a number of improvements over its primitive progenitor. First, that 120-rating engine could now push the 'Mech at speeds of up to 96 kph, also allowing it to mount a sixth jump jet, one that, thankfully, wasn't primitive, giving us our tabletop movement profile of 6/9/6. Reduction in cockpit mass thanks to modernized components also freed up mass to add an SRM-2 and ton of ammo to supplement the medium laser, giving the WSP-1A an additional anti-vehicle weapon to bring to bear, one still useful against BattleMechs and infantry, and bumping the damage potential from 5 points for the WSP-1 to 9 points for the WSP-1A (though averaging only 7). Improvements in armor tech allowed an additional 9 points of armor for 0.5 tons less mass, improving armor protection to 4, 6/4, 6/2, 4, 5, improving side torsos, back and limb protection.
All together, the Wasp can only be described as a success. Perhaps it's a success despite itself, but there were more Wasps produced than even the exceedingly common Locust and Stinger, and more than 200 thousand Stingers were built.
Perhaps, then, it's surprising that during the Star League era, the only direct variant of the WSP-1A Wasp to be built was the Stinger itself. The Wasp instead seemed to lend itself to efforts to make it bigger, spawning the Wasp LAM (30 tons) and (per TR3039) the Phoenix Hawk. Those, in turn, spawned the Valkyrie and the Phoenix Hawk LAM.
It would not be until 2799, then, that we'd see another variant of the 20-ton Wasp platform, with the
WSP-1L Wasp. Keeping the same armor and movement profile of the -1A, this Capellan Wasp would swap the medium laser and SRM-2 rack for a single SRM-4 rack mounted in the right arm. This has the benefit of...well, I don't know, actually. Personally, it always seemed a bit strange to me: you end up losing a point of potential damage, maxing out at 8, with 4-6 being far more likely.
The Draconis Combine went a completely different route for their Succession Wars Wasp, with the
WSP-1K Wasp debuting in 2818. Perhaps more closely resembling its copycat, the Stinger, the WSP-1K dropped the SRM rack entirely, replacing it with a single machine gun mounted in the left torso, fed by a full ton of ammunition. The remaining 0.5 tons went to armor, improving protection to 5, 7/4, 7/2, 5, 6. Presumably taking the place of Stinger, which is less common in DCMS formations, the end result gives you slightly better protection over its cousin design, at the expense of half the anti-infantry weaponry. Damage potential is the lowest it's been since the WSP-1, at only 7 points...except against infantry, who still get murdered by the machine gun.
Next to roll out the door in 2823 was the Federated Suns version of the Wasp, the
WSP-1D Wasp. This went a bit different route from the others: while it continued the tradition of dropping the SRM-2 rack, it instead replaced it with two torso-mounted small lasers, and a flamer mounted in the left leg. In some ways, this was ingenious: the two small lasers give a slight bump in damage over the SRM rack, though at the expense of needing to get much closer, while the flamer lets the WSP-1D serve in both anti-personnel and incindiary roles. The flamer will happily roast infantry, the lasers can supplement this, and against armored targets you can do a potential 13 points.
The Wolf Dragoons couldn't let the Successor Houses have all the fun and, in 3009, debuted their own Wasp variant, the
WSP-1W Wasp. Like the Davion variant, the Dragoons thought the WSP-1W could benefit from small lasers. Like the Liao variant, the Dragoon variant removed all the standard weapons, and uniform weaponry. Unlike the Draconis Combine, the Dragoons didn't bother doing anything with the armor. End result? Six small lasers, with two in each side torso, and two in the right arm. Maximum damage potential? Eighteen points. Heck, at that point, I'd have been tempted to cut a jump jet or something for another small laser, just to have the theoretical possibility to force a piloting skill roll but, still, that's a lot for an Inner Sphere light 'Mech in 3009. That said...you have to get close. Very close. And you don't have much armor. Had this showed up in Clan space, the first thing I'd have thought of was "Solhama", and, given the Dragoon origins, that could still be exactly what it is.
By 3020, the Fed Suns had decided to try to squeeze more out of the Wasp, by making a 25-ton "Super Wasp". This seems...well, strange. After all, the Fed Suns produced the VLK-* series Valkyrie, a 'Mech inspired by one of the Wasp LAM configs, meaning they kind of already had a bigger Wasp. Thus, the
WSP-2A-X Super Wasp is somewhat unusual, test bed or not. Keeping the base 6/9/6 profile, but adding a supercharger for burst speeds of up to 12 MP. Base armament was improved, keeping the WSP-1A's medium laser and SRM-2, and adding a second medium laser in the right arm. This still left another ton available, which got used to increase the armor protection to 4 tons of armor, arranged 6, 10/4, 7/2, 6, 7 points. Overall, the prototypes gave a good accounting of themselves before getting trashed by the Black Widows.
Apocryphal information indicates that the Lyran planet of Pacifica had a couple of homegrown Wasp field modifications used by local garrisons, as depicted in the game Crescent Hawk's Inception. The first was very much like the STG-3G Stinger, and dropped the SRM-2 for a medium laser in the left leg, and the ammo bin for another ton of armor, arranged 8, 10/2, 8/2, 4, 8, which turns out to be the same distribution as the LCT-1V. For the truly insane, another version cranked this up to eleven, dropping the jump jets in favor of three more medium lasers, with one in the head, one in the center torso, and one in the left arm. Yes, a 20-ton, 6/9/0 Wasp with 64 points of armor, 10 single heat sinks, and five medium lasers. Maximum potential damage is an astounding 25 points, but at the cost of 15 heat, making heat management interesting to say the least. Amusingly, it's here that most of the depictions of the Wasp having a right hand actuator can be found. They do show up occasionally elsewhere, making this a curious thing.
Another apocryphal variant discussed in the original Mechwarrior RPG book was a WSP-1A that lost its medium laser in favor of targeting gear for use as an artillery spotter. Presumably, this was something along the lines of a prototype TAG setup.
The recovery of the Helm memory core did benefit the Wasp. Well, in theory it did. The first new Wasp out the door was the
WSP-1S Wasp, fielded by FedCom. Basically a modernized -1D, the WSP-1S packs both endo steel and ferro fibrous armor, moves all the jump jets to the legs and center torso (the Wasp, traditionally, had one in each leg, one in each side torso, and 1-2 in the center torso), packing a medium pulse in the right arm, a pair of small lasers in the right torso, and a flamer in the left torso. Armor is improved to 6, 7/2, 6/2, 5, 6, for a total of 53 points. So long as you keep your front to your enemy, you're better off. If they get behind you, well, you screwed up.
The Wolf Dragoons didn't exactly stand still during this period, either, fielding a new variant of the Wasp in 3050, designated the
WSP-3W Wasp. Again, ferro-fibrous armor is deployed to save weight, 'cause it sure as heck didn't improve protection, which dropped to 3, 5/1, 5/1, 3, 4 points. Keeping 10 single heat sinks, the weaponry was changed out slightly from the -1W, with two standard small lasers replaced by two small pulse lasers. Weapons placement went wonky, with two small lasers in the left leg, two in the left torso, the small pulses in the right arm, and the jump jets now all moved to the torso. That last bit, at least, is nice, because it can now jump for full MP out of depth 1 water, but heat sink placement gives little benefit to being there in the first place, since they're split between the side torsos. All together, this is an odd duck.
Finally getting into the Wasp variant game in 3051 was the Free Worlds League with the
WSP-3M Wasp and, in typical FWL fashion, they kind of forgot the armor. Even with ferro-fibrous, armor drops to a total of 44 points, arranged 4, 6/2, 5/2, 4, 5, giving you slightly worse protection in the side and rear torso. This is even more impressive, when you consider they also switched to an endo steel skeleton. Where did the extra weight go? Swapping the ML for an MPL, and adding CASE to protect the SRM ammo, thus simultaneously making the WSP-3M both more fragile and more durable than the WSP-1A, while basically keeping the same role.
Things take a break at this point for sixteen years in-universe, as the Capellans and Lyrans end up being the next to release new Wasp variants, but waiting until 3067 to do it.
First up, as part of Project Phoenix, we have the
WSP-3L Wasp.
Using endo steel to save weight for stealth armor and the requisite ECM suite, armament on the WSP-3L consists of a single extended-range medium laser and 10-pack rocket launcher, for some much needed reach. Armor protection is improved to 9, 8/3, 7/2, 6, 7 points, and a whole-head ejection system is fitted which, along with the stealth armor, is designed to keep the Wasp 3L and its pilot alive as long as possible. Perhaps for the first time since the WSP-1, we have a Wasp that's clearly meant to stick to scouting more than anything else, without a clear secondary role, like anti-infantry or anti-vehicle. Usage case on the -3L is clear: in the event of enemy contact, report your position and theirs, fire the RL-10 and ERML at them, and run, engaging your stealth systems. With only 10 single heat sinks, you're not meant to run with stealth while shooting, which reinforces the idea of hit, then run away like brave Sir Robin.
By contrast, the Lyran Alliance went a little different route with the
WSP-3S Wasp. Using one of their new favorite toys, the light fusion engine, in addition to endo steel, the WSP-3S adds a guardian ECM suite center torso (note, no stealth armor), twin ER medium lasers in the right arm, TAG in the head and double heat sinks to keep it cool. Armor is increased to 6, 8/2, 6/2, 5, 7 points, providing improved protection. Heavier frontal armor, TAG for target designation, ECM to protect itself and its lance mates, and twin ERMLs for continuous "standoff" capability? Yeah, this one's meant to hang around the battlefield way more than the WSP-3L.
The Capellans didn't leave well enough alone, though, and their Canopian and Taurian allies got to benefit as well, with the Trinity Alliance fielding the next Wasp variant in 3071. The
WSP-7MAF Wasp, despite its name, is used by all three factions, cranks the movement up to 8/12/8 with an XL engine (with one jump jet in each leg, and the rest in the side torsos), an XL gyro and small cockpit. Stealth armor sat this one out, as did ferro fibrous, so armor protection goes back to the WSP-1A levels, but endo steel makes an appearance, as do double heat sinks. Weaponry? I'm glad you asked: a single ER medium laser in the right arm, and an MML-5 in the right torso, with two tons of ammo divided up between LRMs and SRMs. CASE, though, doesn't make an appearance, reinforcing the idea that speed is life with this 'Mech. Usage: stand back, run fast, empty your LRM ammo bin, then close in and use your ERML and SRMs for however long you last. Keep moving. Always, always keep moving.
Four years later, in 3075, the Trinity Alliance and the Word of Blake would start fielding the
WSP-8T Wasp variant. Cutting the speed back to 6/9/6, dropping the XL gyro, but keeping the XL engine and small cockpit, the -8T kept the endo steel and double heat sinks of the -7MAF, but reduces the MML-5 to an MML-3 (this time out, in the right torso). On the other hand, it replaces the ERML with a light PPC. On the gripping hand, armor get improved everywhere except the back, with an arrangement of 9, 9/2, 7/1, 5, 5 points of standard armor. This is a standoff fighter, with the SRM ammo there in the event someone gets too close.
By 3082, the Outworlds Alliance is in a position to field perhaps the last Wasp variant we have a designation for, specifically the WSP-3A. Again, endo steel is used to save weight, as is an XL engine and gyro. Thankfully, a small cockpit isn't, because the movement profile for the WSP-3A is 5/8/8, thanks to the use of improved jump jets. Weaponry is limited to a single medium pulse laser in the right arm, and armor is improved to 9, 9/2, 8/2, 5, 7 points of standard armor which, while a little weaker in the back, shouldn't matter as much to a 'Mech with 8 jumping MPs. What is problematic is the limited range of the main gun: six hexes is really close for a 20-tonner with an XL engine in 3082.
According to Sarna at least, one additional Wasp variant showed up in Mechwarrior Dark Age, piloted by Marik Zabielski. Equipped with a 120 XL engine and jump jets, it had a 6/9/6 movement profile, with endo steel to save weight. Armamement was an ERML and LRM-10. This didn't leave much space for armor, and unless a small cockpit or XL gyro is also used, only 2 tons remains for armor protection, also presuming no CASE. To my knowledge, no record sheet exists for this one.
April 29, 2015 UpdateRecord Sheets 3145 New Tech New Upgrades gives us two new Wasps, the WSP-3K and WSP-3P.
First off, the WSP-3K is, not surprisingly, a Draconis Combine variant. Much like the description of Zabielski's custom Wasp, the WSP-3K packs a 120 XL engine, going 6/9/6, with endo steel bones and four tons of standard armor. The head and CT benefit the most here from the added, getting 9 points, with the side torsos and legs getting 7 points of armor, leaving 6 points per arm, and 2 across each back location. Don't get shot in the back. To give the pilot a bit of an extra chance of survival once his XL engine goes up, the WSP-3K has a whole head ejection system. Weaponry is fairly impressive, with a standard medium laser and an MRM-10 with a ton of ammo cooled by 10 single heat sinks. In some ways, then, this feels like a 2/3 size Valkyrie, serving as a cheapish light strike unit.
The WSP-3P Wasp, meanwhile, is a bit of an odd duck. Masterunitlist.info doesn't tell us who fields it, so your guess is as good as mine, though I'm betting this is a bit of a standard variant probably available to near anyone, kind of like the STG-3P was. Like the -3K, the WSP-3P sticks to 10 single heat sinks. However, it also sticks to a standard engine, though it amps up the speed to 7/11/7. I was kind of liking this already, and liked it even more when I saw it too had a full-head ejection system. Armor is comparable to the WSP-3K, though it loses a point off the head, dropping it to 8 points, to gain one point on the rear center torso. That's an acceptable trade in my book. Weaponry is no different from the WSP-3L, with an ER medium laser in the right arm and RL-10 pack in the right torso. Seemingly meant to be a light scout, it trades out the stealth armor of the WSP-3L for faster ground speed and greater jump distance. I'm OK with this. In fact, this may well be my favorite Wasp of all.
So, how do you use a Wasp? Obviously, a lot depends on the variant, but one thing can be said no matter what version you've got: it's a 20-ton 'Mech. I can't stress that enough, folks. There isn't much out there you can sit and trade blows with in a 20-tonner, which means hit-and-run tactics are preferrable. This can become complicated in high-technology eras when bigger 'Mechs can move as fast or faster than you, which means the nimbleness the jump jets provide you should be kept in the forefront of your mind, and watching terrain for as much cover you get is very important.
An alternative, of course, to using the Wasp on the battlefield is to use it in exploration, survey missions, or even as a "service 'Mech in civilian roles. Dump the weaponry, borrow a hand actuator from a salvaged Stinger or something, and tack on utility gear, and you've got an enviromentally-sealed 'Mech that can serve in a utility role.
Killing a Wasp? Shoot it. It's a 20-ton 'Mech, folks, which means it doesn't take a lot of firepower to cripple it. This can be done with varying degrees of success, but, let's face it, there are entire catagories of scout-hunter 'Mechs out there designed to target scout 'Mechs like the Wasp. Keep some around for when your stand-up fight turns into another bug hunt.
Where can you find the Wasp? Everywhere. As of 3039, there were nine factories making it, and it was perhaps the most mass produced BattleMech ever made. This doesn't appear to have decreased by the Jihad, which instead saw new variants flourish, and the primitive Wasp even make a resurgence (presumably with standard, rather than prototype jump jets). Perhaps TR3039 said it best: wherever you can find BattleMechs, you'll find the Wasp.
(Edits: Fixed a formatting error. Added links for each design to its Master Unit List entry under each unit's full name. That's also where I got the art for the WSP-1, WSP-2-X and WSP-3L. Added the RS3145NTNU variants on 4/29/15.)
'Mech of the Week Addendum: Wasp (2020-08-04): ilClan Recognition Guide EditionSo...we need to talk about the new
Wasps in the
Recognition Guide: ilClan Vol. 04. There's a lot to unpack here.
First off, the Guide makes clear that the
Wasp is, by quite a stretch, the most common BattleMech in existence. It's been so common, and churn on the battlefields have been so common, that the joke is the SLDF classified it as a "unit of ammunition" rather than a BattleMech. We also learned that the tendency of
Wasp legs to shear off during Death from Above attacks wasn't confined to the primitive WSP-1, but also affected the WSP-1A model: it took 110 years for the issue to be discovered, after all, and then another 30 years to fix it. Wow.
The Guide introduces us to three new variants of the venerable
Wasp:
First up, we've got the WSP-5A, and IS-tech
Wasp produced in the reborn Free Worlds League by Irian BattleMechs Unlimited. Building off of the endo-steel frame of the earlier WSP-3M (sometimes quite literally: Irian offers a refurbishment service for older
Wasps), the WSP-5A increases the ground speed of the 'Mech to 8/12, with 8 jump jets rounding out the mobility improvements. Given the faster 'Mechs of the 32nd Century battlefield, this is a welcome change and, combined with 3 tons of ferro-fibrous armor (a half-ton more than the WSP-3M), this is a welcome improvement to survivability. That's important, because we're also packing a standard Inner Sphere XL engine and XL gyro for weight savings, along with Endo-composite structure. Weaponry is...interesting. An ER medium laser is our longer-ranged weapon here, backed by a Streak SRM-2 launcher for critseeking potential and, presumably, anti-vehicle work. Following the trend in the Recognition Guides to make the design match the mini, the Streak-2 is mounted in the left leg, with its ammo bin in the left torso, protected by CASE II. Like all the new
Wasps, we have three design quirks: Easy to Maintain, Extended Torso Twist, Ubiquitous. Nice.
On the battlefield, this one will play just like your old
Wasps, just faster, with one exception: if you like Infernos, you're out of luck, because the Streak launcher can't fire them. The loss of alternative munitions makes me wish they'd gone with a standard SRM-2 launcher here, which would give you a bit more flexibility and save another ton you could put into armor.
Next up, the one that's attracted the most attention, is the Wolf Empire's
Wasp C, manufactured by Kali Yama of Kalidasa. This is an odd duck, a mixed-tech
Wasp using Inner Sphere endo steel structure (an earliee Irian Chassis Second Generation than the Fourth Gen the WSP-5A uses), but still uses a standard 120-rating fusion engine and six jump jets for 6/9/6 movement. What? In 3150? Yes. The gyro is also standard, so no weight savings there, or in the cockpit, which is your typical 3-ton cockpit. Where's the Clan tech come in? Three places:
- Clan ferro-fibrous armor: 2.5 tons worth, giving it...the same 48 points of protection arranged just like the WSP-1A. Huh.
- Ten Clan double heat sinks. OK....
- A Clan Strek-2 Improved-Oneshot in the left leg. Umm....
- A Clan ER large laser in the right arm. Wow.
The
Wasp C screams "cheap way to get a Clan ERLL into the field". And, truthfully, it is. That ER large laser and its considerable range is nice, but it's on a 20-ton 'Mech moving 6/9/6 protected by only 48 points of armor. As Baymax would say, "I have some concerns." I'm concerned that the Clan ERLL is writing checks the
Wasp C's body just can't cash, and the writeup even mentions how it's hard-pressed to escape 'Mechs twice its size in 3150. That's fair. I'm not sure it's well-served by having the Streak launcher at all, especially since it's in the wrong leg (RL, not LL - I assume this is an errata issue), and it may have been better off with 2 ER micro lasers if the goal was to keep to the mini's appearance. It's neat, but I don't know that the
Wasp C is the best use of its 755 BV.
Last up is the WSP-4W
Wasp, another take on the Dragoon
Wasp energy boat. Packing a light fusion engine and moving 6/9/6, the WSP-4W is protected by 53 points of ferro-fibrous armor. Packing twin IS SPLs in the left leg, and two IS ERMLs (one in the left torso, one in the right arm), it's got a better weapons and armor layout already than the WSP-3W that preceded it. Ten double heat sinks keep the whole 'Mech running relatively cool, which is nice: under normal circumstances you can jump and fire an alpha strike without going over. Honestly, this is a nice upgrade from the WSP-3W, though it lacks some of the shock value the original WSP-1W had.
So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. What are your thoughts on the
Wasp?
