Best NARC platforms

[dgorsman]

Its all about forcing choices . . .

Your opponent wants his mechs & tanks to shelter under the ECM bubble to protect against NARC/Artemis IV?  All the units crouched under the umbrella now becomes a great place to send in artillery.

Or Swarm LRMs.

[grimlock1]

The best NARC platform is a good intel campaign that causes your opponents to to walk onto the battlefield with NARC beacons already installed in them

There may be something wrong with you but you are fun to watch.  From a distance. :-)

Or Swarm LRMs.

Now I'm suddenly getting interested in those things.  They've always seemed too situational to warrant the expense, but now if I can encourage the other fellow to cluster up, the ideas start to flow.

[Weirdo]

You want to get your enemies to cluster up? Bring fighters. Play a few games with them, enough for your buddy to figure out that clusters of units are certain death for aeros of any kind.

Then bring a force that includes aeros, artillery, AND Swarms. >:D

[Daryk]

Heh... I had an opponent cluster up at the beginning of a game, so I dropped the entire bomb load on it.  He remained spread out for the rest of the game...

The best NARC platform is a good intel campaign that causes your opponents to to walk onto the battlefield with NARC beacons already installed in them

That's not really an intel campaign... more "Special Operations", really.  Sabotage is where you cross the line.  Both Intel and Special Operators seem to be pretty particular about the distinction.

[SCC]

That's not really an intel campaign... more "Special Operations", really.  Sabotage is where you cross the line.  Both Intel and Special Operators seem to be pretty particular about the distinction.

This isn't commando's sneak onto base and plant stuff, but rather getting an agent in place to plant them, pretty sure that makes it intel, not SpecOps

[Daryk]

Direct Action is only one of 13 SOF missions...

[Cannonshop]

Direct Action is only one of 13 SOF missions...

Kind of depends on where your agent is.  If the NARC beacon is installed at the FACTORY because it was added to the PLANS...

[Weirdo]

Then somebody gets free beer for five generations.

[Daryk]

Kind of depends on where your agent is.  If the NARC beacon is installed at the FACTORY because it was added to the PLANS...

That's right up there with the original TSM and green smoke missiles... which also qualifies as a "strategic" effect accomplished by a relatively small number of people.

[grimlock1]

Kind of depends on where your agent is.  If the NARC beacon is installed at the FACTORY because it was added to the PLANS...

If you're going that far, why not install half an ounce of plastic explosives in the headrest of the command couch?

[Kit deSummersville]

If you're going that far, why not install half an ounce of plastic explosives in the headrest of the command couch?

Social generals would detect the difference in neck support faster than a bomb-sniffing dog could find it.

[Colt Ward]

Did we ever get OS NARCs for mech/veh scale?  I know BA have OS Compact NARC, but I was wondering if it had made it over to mechs.

Otherwise IMO the best 3040 & later solution would be a handheld launcher for something like a Wasp or Phoenix Hawk.

[Weirdo]

Yes. In fact, there's a Linebacker config with an iOS NARC.

[Colt Ward]

Never paid attention to it . . . but a check shows its from 3055u and a intro of '68/Jihad per the MUL.  So not really available in the 40s if there is a IS version.

[Weirdo]

Doesn't mean the tech isn't available, just that no canon platform mounted it.

[Dave Talley]

Anything you like with SRM6 can become a NARC launcher
Harassers, pegasi,javelins etc
For early in the tech explosion it's a great multiplier, you only need to convert 1 or 2 units per company to range ahead and start podding targets

[Colt Ward]

Per TacOps pg327 the i-OS has a intro date of '56 for the Dracs and '58 for the Clans.  Without a canon published date for the i-OS NARC, I would personally use the earliest appearance on a canon design.

[truetanker]

So somebody is asking about NARC...

And their a Society Player...

Narc Aero Un
Ahab-443b
Chippewa IIC
Chippewa IIC

TT

[Weirdo]

Remember that NARC can only be fired at targets on the ground, and that fighters are prohibited from carrying NARC-capable missiles. It's purely a ground support weapon.

[Greatclub]

Since when? Because at least two fighters were built around NARCs back in the day.

[Weirdo]

Since Total War was first released, if not earlier. Possibly AT2r.

An aero with a NARC is lighting up ground targets for ground units to shoot at, and nothing else.

[Iceweb]

It is really weird that Aeros can't use NARC munitions, since they can use Artemis. 
Oh well.

[Weirdo]

Artemis makes sense, because it's pretty much a permanent bonus that can get factored in to their standardized damage values, and only to that particular unit. You can't do that with NARC, you'd need multiple damage values on every record sheet. Every missile-carrying sheet ever, mind you, not just the sheets of those units actually carrying the NARC. Including all DropShips and larger.

[Luciora]

Trying to hit a moving target at hundreds of KPH is alot harder than tens of KPH, and much easier to keep track of.

[Colt Ward]

*shrug* its just the nature of AT abstraction- you do not roll for number of clusters on LBX or missile and it makes UACs pretty solid.

[Cannonshop]

I know where I'd fantasize putting a narc dispenser.  on a fast VTOL, with it in a chin-turret.

fly along the enemy line, distributing pods, then haul ass out of there to a nice distance and spot for indirect LRM fire.

[Sir Chaos]

I know where I'd fantasize putting a narc dispenser.  on a fast VTOL, with it in a chin-turret.

fly along the enemy line, distributing pods, then haul ass out of there to a nice distance and spot for indirect LRM fire.

Since we´re in the business of fantasizing... I fantasize of a pop-up mine that, instead of spraying shrapel in all directions, sprays Narc pods.

[PuppyLikesLaserPointers]

What about either LAM(with AirMech mode, of course) or VTOL? Just for spit some beacons and run they seems the best bet I think.

[mbear]

What about either LAM(with AirMech mode, of course) or VTOL? Just for spit some beacons and run they seems the best bet I think.

A fast hovertank, VTOL, or WiGE is much cheaper to design, produce, and crew than a LAM.

[Hellraiser]

There is a Cavalry variant with NARC in my head since 3058 dropped & it really needs to be canon.

It would have made SO much more sense than that dumb "Extra SRM-2" variant that we got initially.