Looking for non-melee TSM mechs

[grimlock1]

It's mostly an academic exercise, but I'm curious about mechs with TSM that aren't geared for melee.  Mechs like the Quasimodo and Atlas 8-D don't have melee weapons but are beasts.  A TSM driven Quasimodo and throw 2  headcapping punches, and the Atlas... it's an Atlas.

So I'm thinking about machines use TSM more for the baseline speed boost, or perhaps to mitigate the speed penalty from a flashbulb's alpha strike. 

[PuppyLikesLaserPointers]

Well, ALL TSM mechs are melee capable mechs, for it can make deadly kick attack which is better than every other melee weapon. In fact, the best melee mech is the mech with TSM and without any melee weapon(except for talons, of course).

[GreekFire]

I feel like the Ebony could fit this requirement pretty well; you have to seriously fiddle with the heat sinks to reach the perfect 9, and it doesn't really accomplish much more by running hot. When treated like an extra speed boost, though, you can ride the heat curve a bit harder and don't have to fear infernos like a lot of other Stealth machines do.

And in that sense, the Capellan Marauder -5L and -6L variants are other options too. They're perfectly serviceable and pretty functional mid-range brawlers, but if they push the heat curve up or get swamped by heat-generating weapons, they'll have more options available to them than otherwise.

[dgorsman]

Peacekeeper.

[Weirdo]

Ryoken III.

[Colt Ward]

Yeah, TSM mechs are for melee when they need to . . . now, you want to task about non-melee weapon equipped TSM mechs that is a different story.

I think one of the Jade Hawks has TSM, though it was a model produced by the IS company the Foxes shared with . . . I think they have claws though, so sort of does not count.

I want to say we have some IndiMechs with Indi-TSM so they can carry more material.  Probably find those with military engineers and supply formations.

[Sartris]

most take advantage of flashbulb heat. some (emperor, marauder, pillager, etc) use it with stealth. some don't have melee but are clearly meant to brawl (Ostsol)

additional options to those mentioned above

Black Knight NT-3B
Centurion D3
Daedalus 3D, 4A
Defiance 3C, 3S, 3T
Emperor 6L, 6M, 7L, 8L
Excalibur CS
Exhumer 3P
Gallowglas 3GLS
Grand Crusader II 03, 04
Grim Reaper PR30, PR31
Hammerhands 6D, 6E
Helios 6X
Koschei 6L (this one is especially funny with the sniper cannon)
Marauder 5L, 6L
Ostsol 6D, 8M
Pillager 5Z
Quickdraw 8P
Radier JL1, JL2
Raijin II A, C
Raven 3X
Seraph (the majority don't have a retractable blade)
Starslayer 3Dr
Thunder 2L, 3L
Thunderbolt 17S, 60-RLA
Tsunami P1D
Vanquisher 7R
Vindicator 5L
Warlord 2Dr

[Colt Ward]

Ah, the Defiance was one I was trying to think of . . .

Armed with PPCs, its heat is meant- IMO- to get that 4/6 75t machine moving 5/8 to keep up with Clan cavalry designs and even more with IS replicas.  To me its an effort to get larger XL engine speed with the weight of a 4/6 LFE, especially the 3T which is armed with PPCs.  The -3T's two big guns have that minimum range which is at its worst in melee range . . . sure if you get close enough, it will kick you but ideally it wants to use the guns on your mech.

Same could be for some of the TSM/Stealth mechs, but I have not played with them enough to test it out.

[garhkal]

Well, ALL TSM mechs are melee capable mechs, for it can make deadly kick attack which is better than every other melee weapon. In fact, the best melee mech is the mech with TSM and without any melee weapon(except for talons, of course).

I think he was meaning mechs NOT sporting maces/hatchets/swords/claws...

[GreekFire]

I would see it as 'Mechs that have no simple way to build heat that also don't gain many advantages by running hot. So the Ebony, to me, is a clear example of that. The Grim Reaper variants are others, with finicky heat curves, non-ideal weapons, and strong ranged firepower.

But then others, like the Black Knight -3B listed above, are very clearly geared towards melee combat even if they don't mount any physical weapons. After all, that Black Knight is up-engined for more speed, under-gunned at range, and mounts a wide and varied array of Small Lasers meant to keep heat in the sweet spot. It's clearly meant to run in and kick.

[Colt Ward]

TSM can be used for strategic movement curves, the mech that goes 4/6 on the tactical map could have the 5/8 speed and its better than relying on MASC/SC to cover distances faster.

[Greatclub]

Some seraph configurations don't use the TSM well, basically making it an afterthought, there to keep heat from affecting the unit much. ("go ahead, plasma cannon me, see if I care")

[Empyrus]

TSM does have nice effect of staving of movement penalties in some designs, like the Seraph. Just keeping firing, got C3i for targeting and not slowing down either really.

[Hellraiser]

Locust-1L

And the already mentioned above Centurion-D3

Neither of them is a "Melee" mech & basically just have the TSM for testing & speed boosts.

[Caedis Animus]

The Defiance seems tuned more to keep its movement curve than get a melee boost thanks to its TSM.

[grimlock1]

Ryoken III.

The -1 to Melee rolls from the EI just screams fisticuffs to me.

[Retry]

The -1 to Melee rolls from the EI just screams fisticuffs to me.

I'm just trying to imagine being an engineer on a design team that successfully developed one of the first gyroless battlemechs through the clever use of the fancy Enhanced Imaging system, outfitted the Ryoken III with some of the most advanced and expensive bleeding-edge technologies and weapons of our time, and then learn that the very first thing a Mechwarrior did with their hyper-advanced marvel was punch some other robot in the face.

[Sartris]

the struggle of engineers vs users is eternal

[Weirdo]

"If it ain't broke, it hasn't been issued to the infantry."

[Natasha Kerensky]

I'm just trying to imagine being an engineer on a design team that successfully developed one of the first gyroless battlemechs through the clever use of the fancy Enhanced Imaging system, outfitted the Ryoken III with some of the most advanced and expensive bleeding-edge technologies and weapons of our time, and then learn that the very first thing a Mechwarrior did with their hyper-advanced marvel was punch some other robot in the face.

Well then that engineer shouldn’t have also equipped the Skinwalker with TSM!

[Colt Ward]

"If it ain't broke, it hasn't been issued to the infantry."

Infantry?  Just grunts . . .

Now, I am not saying I drove that humvee differently that belonged to a different unit- inspect & some maintenance but not responsible for its condition! . . . but they gave us a humvee in New Mexico scrub expecting us to drive it to offroad OPs.

How do you THINK we drove those humvees?

[Orin J.]

the struggle of engineers vs users is eternal

users are up like ten billion points by now, though.  :crash:

[Natasha Kerensky]

Now, I am not saying I drove that humvee differently that belonged to a different unit- inspect & some maintenance but not responsible for its condition! . . . but they gave us a humvee in New Mexico scrub expecting us to drive it to offroad OPs.

How do you THINK we drove those humvees?

“The fastest cars in the world are all rentals.”  — Jeremy Clarkson, Top Gear

[Sartris]

users are up like ten billion points by now, though.  :crash:

it's like one of those horribly mismatched high school games that end up like 107-14

[mbear]

Isn't there a Dark Age Clan Wolf 'Mech that is fluffed for this? Not the skinwalker, I want to say Savage Wolf or Wulfen.

Edit: Nope, I was thinking of the Skinwalker. Nevermind.

[grimlock1]

"If it ain't broke, it hasn't been issued to the infantry."

This forum needs a Like button!