'Mech of the Week: Nightstar

[SteelRaven]

For whatever reason, talk of a downgraded Nightstar has me thinking of the original Monster-based Behemoth that never happened conically. 

[Starfury]

Did they\the Clans have any? I don't think we've ever seen any in Clan service, it's possible none survived to go on the Exodus.

According to the MUL, IS, HW Clans, and the Society had the 9J up through to the end of the Jihad.

[Starfury]

It's also interesting that Comstar has access to them at the start of the Clan Invasion and earlier.  They make for a nice high end counter for Clan assault and heavies, Omni or second line, during Tukkayid.

[Getz]

There's a low tech Nightstar in the fan-made TRO 3028. 2 AC 10s, a PPC and three medium lasers.  I actually had reason to try it out last week and it's very strong for the era

I'm quite a fan of the FC version of the Nightstar.  Ironically for a Davion machine, it's a very FWL style of assault mech - able to roll with your heavies and give them some backbone.

[Weirdo]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Leaguers would kill for a -9FC or two. Pair it with an Albatross, use them to absolutely murder an enemy's conventional forces, freeing up your Tempests and Thunderbolts to punch holes in mechs. Once they're nicely ventilated, the assaults switch targets and finish them off.

[Kit deSummersville]

I used an FC in a command lance in MadCapellan's campaign back in the day. I tweeked it to add a C3 slave and the commander had a Cerberus with a C3M, a Templar OI provided some oomph and a Cronus spotted. With all those 15 and 10 point hits, the Nightstar was able to clean up after a few rounds of engagement. Plus if the enemy decided to bring in air support, it wasn't in the air for long. I'm a big fan of that version.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Leaguers would kill for a -9FC or two.

But then they'd probably have killed for just about any assault mech put into production in the 50s that wasn't a domestic design.

[Weirdo]

Maybe not so much. It's pretty clear that in the 50s, the FWLM wants assaults that move as fast as heavies, pack enough gun to boost the firepower of their heavy mech formations, and heavy mech armor was acceptable. Very little interest in 3/5 stuff.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Up until the Sirocco.  And they put the Awesome 9Q into production in that time as well.  Once they got into a real large-scale conflict (Guerrero), I think there was a realization that they'd become overspecialized with their assault mechs.

[Weirdo]

Possibly, though I hope not. I vastly prefer FWLM assault formations that have a bit of character, instead of yet another bland 3\5 wall.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I doubt that there was much chance of them turning Lyran

[Savage Coyote]

I've had a lot of luck in BV1 and BV2 games with the FC.  It has SO much armor for what amounts to a heavy 'mech and decent heat dissipation.  Don't forget the 95 ton kicks.  I remember in solo solaris combat going against lower tonnage units that matched up with BV and it would absolutely route them (barring any lucky concentration of damage etc)  Very fun, underrated unit that takes people by surprise.  They expect the Gauss boats and get left with a heavy 'mech with assault grade armor and physical  ;D

[nckestrel]

The FC is a pain in long PVP campaigns with salvage.  Even with mostly even fights, I’m soon out of mechs as all their original mechs are destroyed, and now they are piloting all my original mechs as salvage and I’ve got nothing.  Not even mech warriors (dead from repeated head shots).

A bit of a unique circumstance, but was my most memorable encounter with the FC.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Oh yeah, having an assault that moves like a heavy while still carrying assault armor is brutal.  If you think about it, the 9FC is basically a Verfolger that's 50% heavier and has an extra autocannon.

[GreekFire]

Not a fan of the Nightstar. I find that the high-firepower Gauss Rifle/ERPPC combo, combined with an inability to overheat even when performing a running alpha, takes away from the kind of tactical decision-making that I like to see on the tabletop. It also (in my experience) tends to religiously attract a certain type of player that I'm typically not fond of playing with.

The advent of official quirks kind of adds onto this. Command 'Mech for a free init bonus *and* Variable Range Targeting turn it into something I usually see more from people making their first forays into 'Mech design.

[Atarlost]

It's definitely possible that I misread the Readout and assumed it was meant to replace Marauders, not bodyguards them.
I completely agree Weirdo, this Mech is really not what a commander should be in. It's not that tough to kill, and your enemies will try to kill it. It might work for a company commander, but not higher level ones.

So, it's appropriate for the highest level of command that has any business being in any mech ever?  I'm not sure why you and Weirdo are complaining.  Overpromoted gunslingers aside (and AFAIK he only takes to the field personally at the end of the campaign because he's borderline suicidal and wants personal revenge against Amaris) SLDF commanders ranked high enough to be dealing with combined arms should be in a map room on their dropship if not on an orbiting warship or in a Castle Brian.  Also remember that a Mech company only has as many "pieces" to maneuver as an infantry squad.  Individual mechwarriors are treated as higher ranked than private soldiers because they are responsible for more weapons, but the commander needs to keep track of mechs not the individual guns on mechs and every purely mech commanding officer should be seen as one step lower in terms of the size of his command compared to a modern officer in terms of how much giving orders conflicts with shooting things. 

[Kojak]

The -9FC is, at least IMHO, one of the most underrated assault 'Mechs in the game. The armor and firepower of an assault 'Mech with the speed of a heavy? Sign me up. Any time I run a FedSuns force, I try to work at least one of these in.

[VhenRa]

Nightstar Holt: The personal ‘Mech of Holt’s Hilltoppers CO George Holt, he also upgrades his Gauss Rifles to Clan spec, but then adds a Large Pulse Laser and a Clan ERPPC. It also has an Angel ECM suite and adds TSM. I like this variant a lot more. ECM is always great, and obviously a Clantech ERPPC makes my preferred method of fighting from the longest range possible even better. Unfortunately, it drops Gauss ammo to a normal two tons per Rifle. Personally, I think this is a mistake. I don’t have the record sheet for the Holt, but from attempting to match what Sarna.net says the ‘Mech is equipped with leaves it underweight and oversinked to easily utilize its TSM. Jump jets would fit, but if someone could tell me what it has to fill up the weight, that would help considerably. Either way, I think the Holt could be better served with fewer heat sinks and more Gauss ammo. Either way, two Gauss rifles and a Clantech ERPPC is a great loadout for sniping, and I would definitely recommend using the Holt if you have a chance.

It has a set of JJs, yes. Very nasty mech, especially when you throw in the guy driving it.

Legendary [Meaning this guy is like 0/0 or 0/1 or 1/0], Lucky (3) [3 Edge Points], Range Master (Long) [So he swaps the Long Range and Short Range targeting penalties. So he is better at long range then short range!), Sharpshooter [Eeeep! He can make aimed shots!] and Tactical Genius [Can reroll initiative]

So yeah, the Nightstar is a very fun mech.

[Nikas_Zekeval]

I used an FC in a command lance in MadCapellan's campaign back in the day. I tweeked it to add a C3 slave and the commander had a Cerberus with a C3M, a Templar OI provided some oomph and a Cronus spotted. With all those 15 and 10 point hits, the Nightstar was able to clean up after a few rounds of engagement. Plus if the enemy decided to bring in air support, it wasn't in the air for long. I'm a big fan of that version.

Hmm, sounds like it'd work even better as the commander's bodyguard.  Walking flak battery, tank plinker, and all around unwelcome mat.

Though running the math?  Were does the half ton go?  You need to account for thirteen tons between the engine and larger gyro.  Dropping to LB-10Xes and shrinking the ammo bay account for eleven, and the laser change from two MPL and a SL to three MLs another ton and a half.  Which means either a half ton more needs to be accounted for, or a heat sink dropped and a half ton of something added.

[Getz]

There's four tons of ammo and CASE in the left torso and thirteen heatsinks.

[Colt Ward]

The -9FC is, at least IMHO, one of the most underrated assault 'Mechs in the game. The armor and firepower of an assault 'Mech with the speed of a heavy? Sign me up. Any time I run a FedSuns force, I try to work at least one of these in.

I had one on the MM servers years ago . . . I was able to salvage it a few times it got taken down, and the pair of cluster guns on the monster backing up PPC & AC/10 hole punchers let alone vehicle formations drove folks nuts.  The mech ended up getting a bounty on it from another player it frustrated- TAC'ing his Gauss Wall- for a few weeks before it was finally lost.  Never got another one, but it made me look more closely at the dual LB-10X and even play with a dual LBX-10 config for a Dire Wolf in RP.  It fed my like of the Emperor 6A (not a fan of most later variants b/c they get away from shotguns), Rifleman 6X, Predator, and a few others.

I am looking forward to it coming out in the KS Wave 2, you can bet mine will be assigned to a FS unit as a -9FC.

[Ghostbear_Gurdel]

When i first looked through TRO 3058, i passed on the Nightstar. It had less firepower than the other 100 tonners, with seemingly no other advantages. As i became more seasoned i realized it had almost no heat issues, and it could fire for days because of all the ammo. Now it has become my go-to Gauss Assault whenever i play with the big guns. The massive ammo supply may not matter on most 1-off pick-up games, but i like the in universe idea that this mech is actually designed for a campaign, and it feels more 'realistic' because it has ammo for more than just a single fight.

[Sjhernan3060]

I seem to recall a line in the Coventry sourcebook about a Falcon warrior mistaking the Nightstar for an Inner Sphere attempt to copy the Turkina, so it's likely they didn't.

As a blood spirit collector I will happily agree with the MUL which lists it as a general clan mech.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Ah, retcons.

[glitterboy2098]

well, it wasn't all that common during star league times, so could easily be that the clans have a few in use but most of the younger warriors don't recognize them. especially if the Falcon's didn't have any in use.

[Wrangler]

I know MWO must have a dumb downed variant for their MW5 game set in 3018, but i'm not sure if there basic weapon variant...

i do see a Nightstar (Joshua Franco) variant in the MUL no one spoken about.  I don't have my books with me, but its suppose to be in the 3058 Upgrade RS book. FedCom CivilWar Era machine.

[SteelRaven]

i do see a Nightstar (Joshua Franco) variant in the MUL no one spoken about.  I don't have my books with me, but its suppose to be in the 3058 Upgrade RS book. FedCom CivilWar Era machine.

TRO: 3058 Upgrade, there are no RS as of yet.