Originally posted on July 3rd, 2009. One or two punctuation changes, and the addition of Configuration U. A link to my Gargoyle article will go up once I have reposted that one.This is jymset of the Falcon Watch. Today we will have a look at the Hell's Horses' newest entry into the most crowded Omni weight class – the Balius of TRO: 3075.
From the moment one opens that manual to pages 142-143, attention is drawn to a few exceptional design choices. It is the first Omni-Quad-'Mech and it is the first totem-OmniMech. While the former choice is one long overdue in view of the successes that have been achieved by quads in the last two decades, the latter choice opens a totally new perspective on the purpose of the totem-‘Mech.
In the past, the handful of totem-'Mechs had a function that nestled between garrison and ceremonial duty. The Horses' own aborted first attempt at a totem-'Mech, the quad Thunder Stallion fulfils the fire support role, one where even less glory is found. Could it be that this may have been the true motive to abort the first attempt? At any rate, the totem-'Mech as a "class" was designed to strengthen the esprit de corps of its parent Clan.
Everything about the Balius, its OmniMech status, its high manufacturing standards and its deployment suggest an expansion of this doctrine. Of course it still is a focal point of pride for its own Clan; however, this command OmniMech was also very much designed as an avatar that will be instantly visible and recognisable during the current aggressive expansionist warfare against other Clans which the Hell’s Horses are pursuing.
And on face surface, the totem aspect of the design was achieved very successfully. The four hoofed legs instantly enforce equine character and the sensor array even carries a horse mask. It is possible that this is a reason why in naïve aesthetic judgement, most observers will voice a dislike of the Balius: the other totem-'Mechs achieve their features by idiosyncratic arrangement of vents, canopy, etc; the Balius is the only one to feature a true mask, more akin to a ProtoMech. At the same time, the Balius is not devoid of very prominent air intakes on the "flanks", turret-like gun mounts and further sensors on its back. There is a very decided discrepancy of design aesthetics between the two groups of components.
On top of all that, two further flaws seem inexcusable to this spectator: the rear gun’s mounting is indeed on an unfortunate spot of this design (given its anatomical faithfulness to a horse) – this has been commented on in abundance since the release of the TRO. The other flaw is only obvious on further inspection: a head-mounted fixed flamer is a very stylish addition to a life-like design; it would even justify the exposed equine head (the canopy itself is at the front of the ‘Mech, not at the top of its “headâ€). However, the flamer is tucked under the body at the front of the quad, both destroying the arguably elegant lines of the design, and decidedly labelling the head as nothing but questionable ornament.
I have tried to put aesthetics into word, something that is both subjective and futile. I felt it necessary as two simple truths cannot be debated: the Balius is a striking ‘Mech; the Balius has been met with great antagonism because of its looks.
All of the above may prove a discussion point, but it does not explain the actual design choices made by the Technician Caste, under tutelage of saKhan Tanya DeLaurel, no less! In fact, as one starts examining the stats of the design, a sinking feeling sets in: in view of an entry into a weight class with abundant alternatives (one of which, the Hellbringer [Loki] was even designed by the Hell’s Horses!), a lot of questionable design choices were made.
An important factor is its speed. The Linebacker has proven that a 6/9 65-tonner, packing an insane 390 XL engine is not a way to success. The pod space is bound to be so limited that the only difference in comparison to a design of half its weight but equal speed and almost equal weapon capacities are a few tons of armour.
On the other hand, the speed suits a quad well – in terms of ground speed, this truly is the fastest heavy Clan OmniMech that exists.
At least the Balius wisely plays its strengths and mounts more armour than any of its 65-ton contemporaries. Protection could have been mini-maxed to slightly greater efficiency (increasing the side torsos by 1 point of armour would allow for the hypothetical survival of 3 Gauss or PPC hits), but the protection is rock-solid, on par with designs 10 tons heavier.
As speed and armour protection are great, it comes as no surprise that the Balius suffers horribly in the weaponry department. 20 tons pod space with 10 fixed double heat sinks on a well-protected 6/9 chassis instantly let the Stormcrow seem superior. Then again, in my
article]Gargoyle [Man o' War] article I argued for a mediocre chassis being saved by great configurations. Alas, I do not feel that the Balius supplies us with a single one of those.
Primary Configuration – 2 ERLL, 2 MPL, 2 rear mounted MPL, 4 DHS. The primary configuration of the Balius is both the most balanced and possibly the most undergunned configuration. This base model illustrates the severe problems the Balius faces. In order to maximise its very limited pod capacity, light energy weapons are chosen. These completely overtax the design’s limited heat dissipation capacity, necessitating the addition of extra sinks, thereby cancelling its weight savings. All in all, this thing mounts 16 tons of real weapons, but 25% of that weight faces the rear, leaving 12 tons of weapons pointing to the front. Realistically, any but the very lightest of Clan OmniMechs can equal that firepower.
Configuration A – HAG20 (18), ERLL, ERML, 2 rear mounted ERML. I feel that the HAG is anything but an ideal weapon for this particular design. It does result in decent all-up firepower, but lacks a concentrated punch. One positive aspect of the ‘Mech is that it only devotes 2 tons to rear firing weaponry – still 10%. Can you imagine a Dire Wolf with 5 tons of rear-mounted equipment?
Configuration B – 2 ERLL, 8 HSL, rear mounted LPL, 2 DHS. But speaking of aforementioned example, the Balius B goes one better by mounting a 6-ton gun in its rear. Yes, the biggest gun on this ‘Mech is sticking out of the horsie's ***. The front-mounted weaponry equals the Prime’s 12 tons, but is actually arranged in classic Succession-War-Era bracket firing mode. How crazy is this? Because, you know, 12 tons are definitely too much to be handled by a heavy ‘Mech… Despite an obvious method to the madness, 2 ER large lasers are not worthy of a heavy ‘Mech and the heavy small laser yet remains the worst weapon in the Clan arsenal. Without the ingestion of half a dozen Fusiliers, I cannot evaluate which is more humorous: the fact that this is clearly a joke of a configuration or the fact that it nevertheless equals the ranged firepower of the Prime.
<After being reprimanded by his superior, jymset of the Falcon Watch returns to respectful language as appropriate to a warrior of the most honourable Clan.>
Configuration C – 2 ATM9 (28), 2 ERML, 2 rear mounted MPL. This configuration can be summed up very quickly: A) in the ATMs lies its strength. They are very good weaponry and give the design a punch more respectable than found on the other configurations. B) nevertheless, this is a weaponry appropriate for a light-medium ‘Mech.
Configuration D – ERPPC, 4 ERML, 2 rear mounted MPL, 6 jump jets. This one is the most terrible Balius; having said that, it is also the best Balius.
- It is a ‘Mech that completely disregards heat management, uses weapon brackets without regard to range- or heat-brackets, and manages to mount a truly laughable 10 tons of front-mounted weapons.
- It also jumps, making it a truly monstrous heavy skirmisher, it is the only configuration to mount a decapitation weapon, it uses very solid back-up weapons.
More than any other configuration this one shows that while impressive, the idea of a fighting super-scout is a deeply flawed one. In terms of weaponry, the very same could easily be replicated on a design 10-20 tons lighter, leaving nothing but a dubious increase in survivability.
2011: Configuration U - ERLL, 4 SRT6 (60), ECM, 5 UMU. With this configuration, covered in the tech supplement for the 3085 TRO [aka RS: 3085 ONN], the Balius joins the ranks of the few OmniMechs which feature unusual environment variants. In this case, the Balius is refitted for underwater combat. To be kind, the Balius U does its job very well - it is more nimble than the vast majority of all existing 'Mechs, it features weaponry that is realistically able to one-strike kill any non-HarJel equipped units and the inclusion of ECM firmly roots it in a Jihad environment. It comes as no surprise that its limited pod space precludes the use of HarJel itself, as well as limiting the above-water weaponry to a token ERLL. This insert thus fits snugly, because...Make no mistake about it – this OmniMech's weaponry is anemic. Strangely enough, the two other worst offenders of the heavy OmniMechs are also found in that weight class. The Linebacker equals the Balius’ speed, but with its fixed heat sinks it does have more flexibility. It also has 4-5 very usable configurations. [
This is where jymset starts thinking about following up his smart-armour-spiel with a smart-usage-of-podspace article… 2011 addition: thus far, it hasn't happened... :-[ ] The Crossbow is a budget OmniMech if there ever was one and very cleverly relies on missiles which are undoubtedly the best weapons to use for a ‘Mech with both limited podspace and heat dissipation. Yes, three of the Linebacker’s good variants are missile-based, also.
The Balius' configurations range from the terrible to the underwhelming; it only fields one missile-based configuration and it is a testament to the ATM's intrinsic value that I rate it the highest of the lot. But again: anything from a Kit Fox [Uller] upwards could achieve the same offensive results. This is a terrible waste.
On top of that truism, I have to also comment a discrepancy of design philosophies Design philosophies clash – why so fast and then a protected rear? The former maximises a potential strength of the quad chassis. The latter minimises a definite weakness of it. But on a design that is so very much in dire need of extra weight, the combination of both seems very foolhardy.
The Balius is currently fielded as a dedicated command 'Mech. It originally met with scepticism that was swayed only by saKhan DeLaurel demonstrating its effectiveness against the Wolves and Ice Hellions. It is not in my place to comment about the Hellions’, and in lesser parts Wolves’ penchant for various lighter designs; it is also not in my place to speculate about a possible return of DeLaurel to her original ‘Mech. One warning is enough for this warrior.
The Balius is still a rare sight. I feel that this OmniMech is less than the sum of its part (as opposed to, say, the Gargoyle). I know that at least one local Nova Cat warrior feels differently. Let this be the place for contrary opinions!
