(Answered) (Errata) Capital/Sub-Capital Weapons in Atmosphere

[Jokaero]

Upon exploring the creation of a Mobile Structure I realized that their is either a lack of clarity of written rules or the lack of a sufficient rule for the usage of the Rattler MK.II which I was using as the basis of the creation of my own Mobile Structure as it most reliably fit the operational profile of my intended design.

As it stands the rules for Surface to Orbit firing are the rules for Orbit to Surface with listed caveats and thus with currently stated caveats within the rules on Page 91 of Strategic Operations (Henceforth referred to as SO) there is mention of needing "Long" Capital Range to fire from Orbit to Ground and there is no specific mention of that requirement no longer being the case on Pages 96 and 97 of SO only a change in the penalties for atmospheric conditions.

If that was the case the Rattler MK.II would have 3 Sub-Capital Laser 3's that are rules as currently understood effectively non functional for Surface to Orbit Fire as they have "Medium" Capital Range. Which indicates some level of potential oversight such as lack of clarity or a missing rule for Surface to Airborne firing in atmosphere for capital weapons, Which could rectify the standing issue for the Rattler MK II but leaves the question open as to what weapon range may be required to fire into Orbit from the Surface. As the intention is still muddled.

This post is made to request clarification and clearer statement of the requirements for Surface to Orbit fire, and also a further request for the consideration of Surface to Airborne firing following in the vein of Surface to Orbit rules.

[Jokaero]

To clarify the above request:

The Orbit-to-Surface firing rules include a specific mention of requiring a Capital weapon with long range to fire on Ground Targets with the following statement on page 91 of SO.
“Apply standard to-hit modifiers for firing through atmospheric hexes (this means a capital-scale weapon must have at least a long range to be used in an Orbit-to-Surface attack).”

And then for Surface-to-Orbit fire on page 96 it says that “Surface-to-Orbit attacks follow all standard rules for orbit-to-surface fire (see p.91 with the following modifications.”

And it then states “To-hit modifiers for firing through atmospheric hexes do not apply for surface-to-orbit attacks (unlike WarShips, which are not designed for orbit-to-surface fire-- though they can be used in such attacks--surface to-orbit weapons systems are optimized for local atmospheric conditions.)”

Which seems to imply the need for a long range capital weapon as it no longer has to apply the same to-hit modifiers due to the stated rule. So to clarify part of the above question. Does the rule on page 96 mean that capital weapons firing from Surface-to-Orbit do not require long range due to the lack of the atmospheric interference based to -hit modifiers?

And furtherly could a capital weapon without long range fire on a target in Atmosphere due to the lack of range for anti-orbital fire.

(I hope that this is a sufficient clarification of some of what was said prior, if any clarifications further are requested please do let me know, the above was written while I was stuck in bed recovering from COVID without much to do other than read my BattleTech rulebooks and stuff.)

[Xotl]

Okay, the wait on this one was due to the need to work out a lot of errata.  Please review this and let us know if you have any questions/issues.


P. 90:
Surface-to-Orbit Fire: Attacker is located on a ground mapsheet (including landed aerospace units) and is targeting a unit in a Space hex.
Change to:
Surface-to-Orbit Fire: Attacker is located on a ground mapsheet (including landed aerospace units) and is targeting a unit in a Space or High-Altitude hex.

P. 91:
Apply standard to-hit modifiers for firing through atmospheric hexes (this means a capital-scale weapon must have at least a long range to be used in an orbit-to-surface attack).
Change to:
Apply standard to-hit and range modifiers for firing through atmospheric hexes (see p. 237, TW; this means a capital-scale weapon must have at least a long range to be used in an orbit-to-surface attack).

P. 96:
To-hit modifiers for firing through atmospheric hexes do not apply for Surface-to-Orbit attacks (unlike WarShips, which are not designed for Surface-to-Orbit fire--though they may be used in such attacks--Surface-to-Orbit weapons systems are optimized for local atmospheric conditions).
Change to:
The "firing through atmospheric hex" to-hit modifier does not apply for Surface-to-Orbit attacks, as Surface-to-Orbit weapons systems are optimized for local atmospheric conditions. All other modifiers and range adjustments apply.

Direct-Fire Energy Weapon attacks arrive on the space mapsheet in the same turn they were fired.
Change to:
Direct-Fire Energy Weapon attacks arrive on the space mapsheet (High-Altitude hexes included) in the same turn they were fired.

P. 97:
Direct-Fire Ballistic Weapon attacks arrive on the space mapsheet during the Indirect Artillery Attack Phase of the turn after they were fired; if the target has moved out of range since the attack was made, the attack automatically misses.
Change to:
Direct-Fire Ballistic Weapon attacks arrive on the space mapsheet (High-Altitude hexes included) during the Indirect Artillery Attack Phase of the turn after they were fired; if the target has moved out of range or arc since the attack was made, the attack automatically misses.

If the target has moved out of range since the attack was made, the attack automatically misses.
Change to:
If the target has moved out of range or arc since the attack was made, the attack automatically misses. Missiles are ineffective against targets in the space/atmosphere interface or below, due to this boost time.


Long story short, energy weapons will be effective at all ranges they can reach and pretty much your go-to once a target gets deep into the atmosphere, ballistics start having difficulty once things get low (the delay means arc restrictions really start to hurt down there), and missiles are pretty much space-only, and don't bother with sub-capital missiles aside from Piranhas, or just use them for surface-to-surface shots.