True, but the RAC-2 is for the command variant, so the shields could give more protection. Regarding the HAG... I could understand the notion of "lacking a heavy/knockdown gun" if this was a class 20 HAG, but it's a class 30 and linked to a TC to boot!
Compared to a Clan LB 20X AC, you get a massive range advantage, better accuracy across the board except for 1 hex distance, and become the nightmare of anything with tracks, wheels, hover propulsion and especially anything that dares to fly in your presence. Everything that's not a Mech will drop bricks from it's exhaust ports at the sight of that gun. For Mech targets at and under 8 hex distance, it's also a guaranteed knockdown roll just like a class 20 AC slug(and unlike the LB 20X cluster round). The HAG 30 does more damage on average than the class 20 slug, and MUCH more than the cluster round... sure we don't use a class 20 AC cluster round for the damage, but you still get on average 5/4 clusters with the HAG 30 up to 8/24 hexes. As additional bonus, it synergizes with the Streak 20 by virtue of throwing so many 5 pointers out to long range that most Mech's without Ferro-Lamellor armor will have one or multiple open locations before they even have the time to close the range.
Okay sorry, I started rambling a bit there. Point is, there are veeery few people that would complain about a HAG 30 not being a "heavy" enough gun. :))
All good points. I hadn't realized that a HAG 30 guaranteed a PSR if it connects under 8 hexes. Good to know. My issue is that if I'm spraying another assault mech with Streak 20 and HAG 30, I'm sanding a lot of armor off. But if he's shooting back with a pair of PPCs and a Streak 20, I'm not liking my odds. My attacks are going to wear down all of his armor, fairly evenly. His attacks are going to take bigger chunks out of fewer locations. Then the sanding action of his LRMS, and eventually medium lasers and SRMs are more likely to breach. I can use the shields to mitigate some of that but if my right torso starts looking thin, I can guard it with the right shield, but then I give up my long range weapons. I now I have to stop thinking of Atlas III as a beatstick I can throw at the other team and treat it like a strategic asset. But it's and Atlas!!! It was born to wade in and jack stuff up!
I've always thought Atlas II, and the AS7-RS, was something of a beast. Yeah, I know it doesn't have the one big gun I was just complaining about but the LB-10 and paired ER larges all take decent size bites out of a target and nibbling starts happening 19 hexes out. Salvo the ER larges and LRM 20, bringing LB 10 slugs in turns where you are holding back one laser. Keep this up until the enemy closes to short range, by which point, there is like to be if not a breach, a couple spots closer to breach than the other fellow is really comfortable with. Drop the LRM and one laser, and go to town with the medium pulses, SRM 6, LB 10 in clusters and the remaining laser.
I played a bunch games in MM using a modified Turkina E. 2 PPCs, TC and 7 Streak 6s. 2-3 rounds of softening up with the PPCs and I rarely needed more than 2 salvos to start scoring critical hits. Assuming of course that I didn't kill the target with floating crits and head hits. But if I didn't use the PPCs, it would be 6-8 turns of close range slugging before I wore through enough armor to start hitting the soft bits. Again, assuming no floating crits or head hits.
