Silver Bullet Gauss status?

[Charistoph]

Out of curiosity, and in regards to a few potential possible fan design opportunities (don't bring those here), what is the status of the Silver Bullet Gauss Rifle?

Has it been Standardized, and if so, at what point?

[Sartris]

standard, common tech as of 3080. still rare on canon designs but that will increase over time

[Charistoph]

Interesting.  Where can I find when something changes its rules status?

[Sartris]

RS: 3145 New Tech New Upgrades has a short version. IO: Alternate Eras has the big ole table.

[Charistoph]

Ah.

Off hand, it would be nice if that was listed in the book the rules for the equipment were in.  But I guess that's for when the next reformat happens.

[MarauderD]

standard, common tech as of 3080. still rare on canon designs but that will increase over time

Off the top of my head I can only think of the Carronade and the Marauder 11D.  Must be a couple more that I'm fogetting.....

[Sartris]

Standard (post 3080)
---------
Challenger XV
Rifleman 7G
Marauder 9D
Orochi 3K
Pollux II
Claymore V3

Experimental (pre 3080)
-------------
Patton SB
Regulator (Alan)
Banshee 11X
Huron Warrior RX4
Grigori OS
Emperor 6ME
Wolf Trap 2X
Challenger XVc
Claymore Interceptor

[Jal Phoenix]

Bear in mind that the rules as written have it deliver damage in five point groups instead of single point like LB-X autocannons. Combined with its weigh, that makes the SB Gauss less useful than an LRM 15. Or pair of them.

[Fat Guy]

Bear in mind that the rules as written have it deliver damage in five point groups instead of single point like LB-X autocannons.

Tac Ops page 127 says otherwise.

[Daryk]

That's TacOps:AUE for those following along at home... ;)

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Bear in mind that the rules as written have it deliver damage in five point groups instead of single point like LB-X autocannons. Combined with its weigh, that makes the SB Gauss less useful than an LRM 15. Or pair of them.

SB Gauss deals damage exactly the same way as LB-X cluster munitions.  You're probably thinking of HAGs.

[BATTLEMASTER]

I wish the silver bullet was written as an alternate ammunition type for the regular Gauss rifle instead of a whole separate weapon system.  That it's a separate weapon at all never made sense to me 

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

According to Cray, he designed it as a different ammo type for standard Gauss Rifles, but it was rejected and turned into a unique weapon instead.

[Jal Phoenix]

SB Gauss deals damage exactly the same way as LB-X cluster munitions.  You're probably thinking of HAGs.

No, I'm just remembering its original rule set from Unbound, probably as a result of having gone through that book recently. I forgot it had changed, due to not ever having used it in a game. I need top play more. Carry on, then!

[Luciora]

Unbound introduced alot of stuff just making it into mainstream use now.   All very much changed from how it was originally presented.

According to Cray, he designed it as a different ammo type for standard Gauss Rifles, but it was rejected and turned into a unique weapon instead.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Unbound is one of the books that I know exists but have never actually had a chance to read.  I guess Cray was talking about updating it for TacOps.

[Jal Phoenix]

Unbound is one of the books that I know exists but have never actually had a chance to read.

It's pretty straightforward. No real twists or surprises as an adventure. I liked it because it was more high tech than BattleTech had ever been at the time, and I like how some of its more far out stuff was tied back into the narrative in the Jihad. It's worth checking out.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

If I ever find a copy.

[Sartris]

It’s one of the reasonably priced items on the secondary market

[Luciora]

There is also Techmanual and Maximum Tech that have the base Unbound rulesets as well.

[Col Toda]

It is a nice niche weapon before 3095 . Tends to slowly get replaced HAG afterwards. 

[mbear]

I wish the silver bullet was written as an alternate ammunition type for the regular Gauss rifle instead of a whole separate weapon system.  That it's a separate weapon at all never made sense to me 

Speaking of Unbound, that's exactly how it was presented in that product. SB gauss rifle rounds were just "cluster rounds" for the Gauss Rifle. I think there was a small chance of the round exploding in the gun, but it's been a while since I read Unbound so I'm probably wrong.

[Starfury]

The Silver Bullet Gauss, or as I like to call it the LB-15X, is a great weapon. I'd love to see an Alacorn or Thunder Hawk variant with three of them...

[Daryk]

Get thee to the Design Forum then! ;D

[Retry]

I've seen people refit Clan 'Mechs with SBGRs, even with access to HAGs, simply due to its ability to project a sheer quantity of LB-X pellets at long range.  It fills a niche even Clan stuff can't quite fill.

Yeah, it's a bit of a shame that the Silver Bullet ammo option was scrapped for regular gauss rifles, but then again autocannons get a rough enough time already without a weapon crowding out the only truly good autocannon type (LB-X's).

[Col Toda]

With the advent of Ferro Laminar  armor it gets phased out with Hyper Velocity Gauss slowly replacing  then come 3095 + more quickly . Kinda shocked it does not become extinct by the IlKhan ERA.   

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

There only a couple dozen mechs with FL armor, and they're all high-bv and high priced Clan machines.  Even if you're regularly picking fights with the Sea Foxes and Snow Ravens (the two largest users of Ferro-Lam Armor), there's still not enough reason to swap out all your SB Gausses.

[Charistoph]

With the advent of Ferro Laminar  armor it gets phased out with Hyper Velocity Gauss slowly replacing  then come 3095 + more quickly . Kinda shocked it does not become extinct by the IlKhan ERA.

2 counter-points:

1) The why isn't LB-X Cluster in the same position?

2) Where can I find the rules for the Hyper Velocity Gauss, and what has it been mounted on?

I can also find 10 Mech variants created after Ferro-Lammelar in MegaMekLab's search using the Silver Bullet Gauss, with the last one being the Orochi OR-3K in 3144.

[Daryk]

LB-X cannons can also fire slug, so they have use beyond just cluster shots (they're lighter normal ACs).  SB Gauss don't have that option.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

2 counter-points:

1) The why isn't LB-X Cluster in the same position?

2) Where can I find the rules for the Hyper Velocity Gauss, and what has it been mounted on?

I can also find 10 Mech variants created after Ferro-Lammelar in MegaMekLab's search using the Silver Bullet Gauss, with the last one being the Orochi OR-3K in 3144.

I'm guessing they meant HAGs when they said Hyper Velocity Gauss.  While HAGs are more widespread than SB Gauss are, they're also Clantech and there's no evidence that there's any sort of direct competition between the two weapons.