(http://img.masterunitlist.info/BattleMechs/KingFisher.jpg)
KINGFISHER 90-TON OMNIMECH
Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade, pp. 188-189
Welcome to my first MotW in years! Disclaimer: this has turned out way longer than I had intended. I ramble on a lot, yet rambling may be the most engaging thing I can offer? I cannot hope to match the entertainment levels of the many rather excellent current MotW writers, so proceed at your own risk. Or scroll down to the bottom of the wall of text, where I've summarized it all for you in a few sentences! At any rate, individual configurations will be marked clearly.
Anyways! Take a walk down memory lane with me. No, not to 3025, not that far. Even us Clanners get to be grognards these days, so remember the glory days of the early post-invasion years. When Black Hawks ate BattleMasters and Mad Cats were the hot shit. 3055 had just arrived and its most impressive Clan units were the IIC versions of Warhammer and Marauder, both PPC-wielding, pulse-laser spewing monstrosities that would not die. Take a Mad Cat, trade some speed for even more longevity. Those things could lose both arms and side torsos and still charge at their enemy in a blaze of glory with some guns to spare.
Then the Refusal War happened, Clanners started using contractions, and 3058 came out. In relation of what was there before, it was arguably the most powerful line-up ever inflicted upon. Let us… oh, sod it, let’s remain focused on the Clan line-up: you had the Falcons spamming very powerful OmniMechs and most other Clans deploying 2nd liners focused on overkill with extreme prejudice. And somewhere in the middle was the humble Kingfisher. You know, the 90-ton OmniMech with 24 tons of pod space. At first glance, often overlooked.
Not so much when understood in its true role as an upsized Omni-Warhammer IIC.
But the Kingfisher wouldn’t be a 3058 ’Mech if its stats (or, in the case of the JF Omnis, at least their names) hadn’t been previously published somewhere else. Cause, you know, every last Clan ’Mech was. I’ll refrain from any commentary about the sometimes rather unpleasant public discontent when CGL did the same in more recent times. The Kingfisher, for one, had been previously published in The Black Thorns (http://www.sarna.net/wiki/The_Black_Thorns), which started with a Tukayyid scenario. This is important, because via that connection, the Kingfisher (along with Grendel and Shadow Cat) is a rare beast in having first seen the light of day in MechForce MECH Special Issue (I have 1992's "Retrofit" on hand). You know, the special edition of the very magazine published by the author of The Black Thorns. —Incidentally, there were also a handful of rather cool and fluffy ComStar BattleMechs which didn’t see the light of day.— So much for the trivia. Is it useful? Not sure, but to me, this sort of gaming history is the most interesting thing about our shared hobby, after BT construction, of course. And at any rate, it shows that the Kingfisher’s introduction happened before that of most of its 3058 contemporaries, both in-universe and real life.
Of course, nobody can really tell who is/was building the Kingfisher. It is one of those strange things being built on the Clan Homeworld, Strana Mechty. While production there has mainly been associated with Clans Wolf and Ghost Bear—the latter also being one of the two Clans fielding it on Tukayyid (alongside the Jaguars)—the “Strana Mechty ’Mech Production Facility” output has always been the generic units used by all Clans; meaning the Clan originals of the Wolf Dragoon BattleMechs. The “Beta” facility is/was there for the Kingfisher alone. So the Kingfisher is traditionally associated with the Bears, but is also relatively common among the homeworld Clans.
But back to the 3050s, where the Clan homeworlds were nowhere in sight. The Kingfisher arrived as a Bear/Jaguar-ish OmniMech at a mighty 90 tons and a pathetic 24 tons of pod space as the bottom line. Why? Because at 90 tons it greedily both wanted to move 4/6 and use a standard engine while doing so. Ask the Cyclops how well that worked out for its role as an “assault ’Mech”. It is Jade Hellbringer who so rightly points out “speed, armor, guns, pick two” and we know the Kingfisher certainly didn’t choose guns to achieve the above-average speed. Thankfully, it goes to town in the armour department by using the near-maximum amount of ferro-fibrous compound. No smart armor (http://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-articles/a-little-spiel-on-armour/) debate here, then. (While I’m not impressed by the threshold-less 13 armour on the CT rear, I do appreciate that it doesn’t overdo armouring there, like some other zombies; Awesome and Imp, I’m looking at you. But with the front coming up short at 44 points, I must point out that the unit is technically 1 point short both of maximum and yet another threshold.)
So yeah, the Kingfisher chooses armour and speed and the standard engine's added resilience on top of former feature exacerbates the negative, mass-devouring effects of the latter: as such, the standard engine very much defines the Kingfisher. At 24 tons of pod space, the OmniMech carries even less guns than the Gladiator, which surely must’ve been thrilling to Ghost Bear players. But the net result was the mother of all zombies in the Clan OmniMech lineup; back in the 1990s/3050s and really up until now, the Kingfisher was the only Omni tougher than a Daishi.
Of course, as I’ve continually stated in any past OmniMech MotW, configurations can make or break a canon OmniMech. Some mediocre chasses have been elevated to greatness by their configurations (point in case: Man O’ War (http://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-articles/repost-mech-of-the-week-redux-gargoyle-man-o'-war-(9122008)-by-jymset/)) and others have been held back by lackluster configurations (Fire Falcon). Now while I certainly don’t think that the Kingfisher is a poor chassis, it better show off a wide span of good choices to make it interesting. Of note is that it actually comes with 17 fixed double heat sinks, three more than supported by the engine. The logical reaction to this—3 wasted tons on something that desperately needs more than 24 tons of weapons—would be of the kneejerk kind. But at such a low pod space, all of the Kingfisher’s configurations will extensively lean on energy weaponry with its good damage-to-weight ratio but high heat penalty. So these fixed heat sinks should merely be seen as the intrinsic pointer to a solution for getting the best out of the Kingfisher.
Spoilers: no, there aren’t any stupidly inefficient gauss boat configurations.
Spoilers, continued: most of the configurations are actually true gold, turning the Kingfisher into a winner.
So a quick recap before we delve in:
- 90 tons
- 4/6 speed
- 24 tons of pod space
- 17 fixed double heat sinks
- standard engine, 278 points of ff armour
- endo steel chassis
The latter is a given and its only importance is in its restriction of internal space. The Kingfisher puts a DHS each in the leg, never a bad thing, and one in the LT. The FF/ES combo is completely tucked away in the head and the side torsos—thanks to the lack of engine therein, you still have 4 slots in the right and 5 slots in the left for secondary systems, but the OmniMech will always deploy its big guns in the arms. As they are completely empty beyond their actuators, the Kingfisher has an astounding flexibility to carry even the most crit-inefficient equipment. And remember what I said about the Warhammer IIC? One of the extra nice features of the Kingfisher is that its 2 center torso slots are free for pod equipment. Apart from the B configuration, all Kingfishers carry respectable weaponry in there, ranging from dual ER medium lasers to a bloody ER PPC on the A and the X! So you know that this thing will come after you relentlessly until you put it down the hard way.
Kingfisher Prime (http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1786/kingfisher-prime): 2 large pulse lasers, 2 medium pulse lasers, ER small laser, LRM 10 (12), Streak SRM 6 (15). The Prime is a generalist through and through and essentially serves as a template for the OmniMech in general. It sets a standard by going with light energy and missile weaponry while remaining heat-efficient: it can pull off a running alpha strike, discounting the pop gun and the Streak launcher, which, if it hits, is always worth the additional heat. The Prime lacks a singular knock-out punch, but features enhanced accuracy on most weapons. And its damage output quickly adds up at medium ranges.
It isn't the most impressive assault ’Mech in the traditional sense, but it is a great generalist. Its guns suit the chassis' intrinsic features (it's one of the LPL that sits in the CT) and it is well-equipped to face a wide variety of foes. If I wasn't sure what my enemy was taking, it's the Prime I'd take more often than not.
The defensive attributes outweighing the offensive here, it should be the anvil of your force. Wade into the thick of things, use it as a very overt distraction, let it take the hits that some of your other units that may have more guns but will have less resilience don't have to.
Kingfisher A (http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1779/kingfisher-a): LB-X AC/10 (20), ER PPC, medium pulse laser, ER medium laser, ER small laser, SRM 6 (15). Ah yeah. I got nothing. I'm sorry, this is one of maybe two configurations I really don't like and I've never used it (well, maybe once?) in all my years of BT. The LB-X/PPC combo is a truly great one...on a mobile ’Mech. Thor, Nobori-nin, heck even Hercules. They use the combo to have a single impressive punch, and a shotgun to follow up on it. With it, they can bully most equally mobile units just fine. But on this? It just feels so anemic and inefficient on this assault. And I'm really not impressed with the hodge podge of back up weapons, either. The Prime was versatile, this just feels messy. Sure, as mentioned in the chassis summary above, it is one of the two “undying ER PPC” configurations, but that's definitely not enough of a saving grace here.
Please, if any inclined reader would help me out finding a role for this one? But please, a better one than “hunting vehicles”—that'd just be undignified.
Kingfisher B (http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1780/kingfisher-b): Ultra AC/20 (10), AMS (24), ER large laser, 4 ER medium lasers, ER small laser. The B configuration screams second line ’Mech in all the right ways. With that huge ultra AC and a very efficient damage/weight ratio back up of medium lasers, it evokes the do-or-die attitude of the second-liners that were featured in the same TRO. For its ability to churn out almost 70 damage at short-medium ranges relatively reliably—still on 24 tons of pod space [legal]—this was the Kingfisher I first fielded time and again when I became acquainted with the ’Mech.
As I matured as a player, its shortcomings became painfully apparent: it lacks range and, in direct contradiction to what is the Kingfisher's greatest strength—mission endurance—it lacks the combat endurance to back it up. That Ultra AC gobbles up half of the Omni's pod space. Without ammunition. And it has enough ammo for five rounds of full fire. (It is my humble opinion that unlike other Ultras, the 20-class really isn't about choice. It's a shock and awe weapon and to get any worthwhile use out of it, when you line up a shot it should always be good enough to go full bore.)
After those five turns, you're really reduced to light ’Mech weaponry. And the fact that it's the only configuration that lacks weapons in the CT, instead having the AMS there totally reinforces that “oh, you might be going home... but you long stopped being useful” character that the B is often reduced to.
And yes, that range, or lack thereof. The B is actually a bracket firer. Except that its long range bracket is all of one solitary ER LL. 4/6 is definitely not quick enough to rely on a singular ER LL to reach beyond range 15 (or vice versa, a single ER LL is not enough long range firepower for such a large and relatively slow ’Mech)! Then again, who am I kidding? The Kodiak seems to do just fine...
Nonetheless, the B is a valid entry that I still appreciate. If your opponent knows you are going to bring a Kingfisher to the table, he knows it might be a B. And for those glorious five turns, it will bring a world of pain to absolutely anything that tries to face it.
Kingfisher C (http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1781/kingfisher-c): 2 ER PPC, 4 ER medium lasers, 8 DHS. Obviously, it was this monster that I referenced when I referred to the Kingfisher as an Omni-Warhammer IIC. Dual peepers of the scary Clan variations? Check. Bevy of medium lasers? Check.
Now, the Kingfisher is 10 tons heavier than the Warhammer IIC. And it uses ER instead of pulse lasers, and even has one less. And no token SRMs. But this is where the C's other feature kicks in: It is the only configuration (barring its misguided clone, the H) to mount additional DHS. Despite having extremely high-intensity heat generating weapons, it is a true alpha striker, needing to take into account only movement heat. In its C incarnation, the Kingfisher will spew out 58 damage nigh-on every turn, 30 of which will hit you at long, all of which will hit you at medium ranges. And the peepers may just take off your head while at it.
Between the C's zombie-like resilience—the side torsos are reasonably crit-packed with DHS and the ’Mech obviously lacks any ammo—and the high rate of fire that has the Warhammer IIC beat, this is the go-to configuration against enemy BattleMechs.
So clearly, this configuration is where the money's at. Alas, it's also where the BV's at. Even under BV1, it was the most expensive of the lot, which only increases to an impressive 2,644 under BV2.
That said, which other, more recent BattleMech does this gem remind you of? Right. The Hellstar. The Kingfisher obviously has half the PPCs, but replaces the missing ones with a brace of ER ML each. So the net damage is very similar, at the expense of range and head-capping capability. You lose roughly a ton of armor, but you gain a standard engine. Obviously, the Hellstar is the more overtly scary package, but the Kingfisher C costs 440 points less, almost 15%. Unlike most other configurations, may no longer be a budget assault, but I feel it is well worth the investment.
Kingfisher D (http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1782/kingfisher-d): Ultra AC/10 (20), 3 ER large lasers. When I was young and dumb, there was one reason and one reason only to take the Kingfisher D: BV. BV1, to be precise, because at 1,966, it had that magical “1” at the beginning, definitely making it not only equal, but tangibly cheaper than a lot of the heavies at the Clans' disposal.
I never bought into the positive judgment that very many of my peers bestowed on it: relatively concentrated damage and huge range. To me, it ran too hot, wasn't flexible enough, and... right next to it in the same TRO, I had another ’Mech with equal mass and exactly double the ER LL! If I wanted inefficient long range laser spam, the Supernova would always be my go-to unit.
But now that BV2 pushes it up to 2,364—beyond the A's 2,261 and into the vicinity of the great Prime—the above arguments really need to stick to make the D worthwhile.
I still don't think it's the chassis' best use. But the whole long range argument starts making sense a bit more if one is stuck with the Kingfisher in the long run and explicitly wants something that works at range. No other config does this job as well. But you tell me. It's the one configuration where I have the sinking feeling that my own intuition goes against the general common sense. I genuinely think it's better than the A (what, BV itself isn't broken on the Kingfisher? :D), but I'd still love for you to tellme how good it really is.
Kingfisher E (http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1783/kingfisher-e): Large pulse laser, 4 medium pulse lasers, ATM 12 (15). The E configuration is one of the second generation Kingfishers, along with the H. It really shows what you can do when matching the advanced missiles to the strengths of a given chassis.
This Kingfisher starts out strong—it copies the best thing about the Prime: pulse lasers. Lots of them. With one large and four mediums, it lacks range, but gains respectable damage output at great accuracy.
Then the configuration is topped off with the largest ATM launcher and enough ammo to flexibly field it. With the missiles, this thing joins the B's average 68 damage at close ranges. Its heat balances out exactly, so unlike with the earlier model, there's no need to bracket here. The ATM launcher has more flexibility and both greater range and endurance. Its major drawback compared to the B's boomstick is obviously the lack of concentrated punch. Once the configurations are out of ammo, they both have four medium and one large laser, but the E has pulse models. And its main ammunition weapon will last three times longer in the first place, meaning it won't run into the mission-vs-combat endurance issues that the B has.
Alas, with its short range, the E almost exacerbates the issues the B and H may have in lacking long-range weaponry, and the ER ATM ammo, though nice to have, isn't enough to make up for it. Simply having such a nice lineup of pulsers does make it an easy ride to master, and it needs to be a bully. This is great for catching fast, light units trying to zip past your battle line and misjudging their range. It's great for beating up anything that's too slow to get away.
And boy, is it good at it, but ultimately it lacks the versatility of the Prime. If you know what you're facing and you know how you'll put the E to use, I contend it may be the best configuration of the lot. If you're unsure of either of that, always take the Prime instead.
Kingfisher F (http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1784/kingfisher-f): HAG 30 (12), ER large laser, 3 ER medium lasers, ECM. This is the first out of the current Record Sheets' new configurations that bring the Kingfisher into the Jihad and beyond. Now, obviously the Kingfisher isn't currently being produced by any Council-of-Six Clans, but at least in the starting years of the Jihad, those factions still had access to some Home Worlds goodies. Beyond that, the Kingfishers in Ghost Bear/Rasalhague Dominion stockpiles have to labor on until they drop.
So, remembering that TRO 3050U's Gladiator entry, set in 3070, states that HAG weapons “have become so popular among younger warriors that the Ghost Bears are scrambling to negotiate for more HAGs from Diamond Shark merchants to meet demand”, I tasked Jellico with devising an appropriate configuration for the Kingfisher. I didn't believe he could do it, having fallen short of something satisfactory myself.
I must have been overthinking things.
The Kingfisher F is picture book simplicity. It all comes back to the fact that vanilla ER lasers are among the most efficient weapons one could choose. And the chassis already has the heat sinks for it. Though there is a reminiscence of the B configuration, the differences are obvious. This loadout lacks a single solid punch. But while it also plays best in the medium range bracket, the F has no problems with engaging at long to very long ranges if need be. 12 shots for the HAG are obviously best used frugally, but the option is always there to go for that range 24 shot.
Now, I've mentioned BV before. What undoubtedly is a drawback of the Kingfisher F is the HAG's extremely high intrinsic BV—IMO too high. At 2,568, is it easy to justify taking the F into a BV-balanced game? When the Prime is 2,401 and even the sublime E is 2,443? Alas, I'm not at all sure the answer to that is “yes”...
Kingfisher H (http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1785/kingfisher-h): 2 heavy large lasers, 4 ER medium lasers, targeting computer, 9 DHS. Posting this article gives me the luxury of openly spouting my opinions. Well, I really, really don't like this configuration. As mentioned above, this one precedes the F and X, coming along with all the 2nd wave Hs and all “E”/ATM configurations in.
Here's a super short summary of my opinion of H configurations foolishly mimicking established ones (instead of going their own, original route): Look, in some rare occasions, dropping ER LL for HLL kinda, sorta works. The Thor H works because the Thor D already had a targeting computer and some tertiary stuff that could be dropped for more heat sinks. And the Thor lacked a brawler configuration up until then, anyways. The Ryoken H otoh, doesn't work, because its base, the Prime, lacked either attributes. And then going on to replace ER PPCs with HLL? Goodness. Well, it actually sorta works for the Puma, but only because dual ER PPCs completely overburdened its chassis. The Kingfisher...
Nonono. You're spending most of the mass savings vs the C configuration mounting the targeting computer that you need to make up for the shocking accuracy issues of the HLL. Despite an additional DHS compared to its parent design, heat management that is so vital (see above) is now shot. And with its primary and secondary weaponry sharing exactly the same range, bracketing doesn't work intuitively. You really shouldn't have to bracket. Again, see above!
It's a piss poor alternative to the C and its BV at 2,525 adds insult to injury. When you're only playing the mid ranges already, and that's what you want, take the B, warts and all, at 2,472.
And in ways of postscript: we've covered the good (= nothing), the bad (= everything), so here's the ugly: thanks to the large crit size of the lasers and the limited space of the torsos, the left arm medium laser had to be moved into the left torso. That's...just...no! #P
Kingfisher X (http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1787/kingfisher-x): ER PPC, 2 ER medium pulse lasers, 3 improved heavy medium lasers, LRM 15/Artemis V (16), targeting computer, ECM. And this is what happens when you let Jellico loose to do what he really wants to do. The Ghost Bear doing his Ghost Bear thing! The good man didn't really comment on this devilish concoction beyond pointing out that every single weapon on the ’Mech has at least a -1 bonus to hit. Nice touches are grouping the iHML LA and, as previously pointed out, putting the ER PPC into the CT. There are varied bracketing options here, catering nicely to all ranges, and the pure amount of damage the X can do is intimidating. Like the F, the X carries an ECM, to really put the pain to the Wobblies' networks. This would have been an ultimate monster to face in the Jihad.
It is the only advanced/experimental configuration, and it's the most expensive of the lot. Use it if you are allowed to, can afford it and if you like the Ghost Bear style! Fun trivia: which 3145 NTNU Omni do you think is this guy's spiritual sibling?
This marks the end of my rambling review! If you just scrolled past the wall of text to get to the bottom line, here it is:
- The Kingfisher is a great anvil or anchor to your battle line. It's tougher than most everything else, meaning it simply won't die in any hurry and it won't fall behind as badly as some other assaults.
- The Kingfisher is a budget assault. While not actively cheap, there are several configurations that will yield good and/or flexible firepower at BVs that will otherwise get you a heavy.
- If prepared to fork out the corresponding BV, a few configurations are plain scary by any standard. Just by picking the right configuration, you can face the big boys as if you were one yourself.
All that remains is your input below, and for Scotty to post his corresponding ASMotW tomorrow. Thanks for reading!