Source: Sarna.net
Source: MechWarrior Online
The
Stormcrow is regarded by many as the best Clan omnimech available. It is hard to believe there is no current article about this fantastic chassis! Let us see what makes the
Stormcrow so wonderful, and how it has earned the moniker “Doomcrow” among those in the MechWarrior (Online) community!
The 55-ton
Stormcrow, a Clan Hell’s Horses design, has its roots in a standard battlemech design called the
Corvis, also designed by the same Clan. The
Corvis has a mass of 40 tons, and takes considerably less resources to produce than the
Stormcrow. Perhaps this is why the
Corvis was still in production well into the Jihad era alongside the
Stormcrow, but the
Stormcrow is a superior war machine in all aspects.
A few
Stormcrow prototypes, which were said to look like
Corvis chassis with omnimech attributes, were produced at Tokasha MechWorks in time for the Battle of Tokasha. Unfortunately, the prototype
Stormcrows in addition to other forces were not enough to keep Tokasha MechWorks from falling into the claws of Clan Ghost Bear. At some point, Clan Snow Raven got a hold of the
Stormcrow design schematics and perfected the chassis into what was commonplace during Operation Revival.
(I am not sure how the design went from the Bears to the Ravens.-BLR)In the year 2930, sixty years after the factory started producing the slightly smaller
Nova, the
Stormcrow entered mass production. It seems likely that Tokasha MechWorks wanted to streamline production for the
Stormcrow by reusing arm and leg assemblies from the older and more readily available
Nova, rather than take more design aspects from the
Corvis. It is worth noting that the
Stormcrow’s first production run predates production of another highly regarded Clan omnimech chassis, the 75-ton
Timber Wolf, by fifteen years.
When the
Stormcrow hit the Inner Sphere in Operation Revival, there is no doubt that it caused a lot of trouble for Inner Sphere armies who encountered it. Like the
Timber Wolf, its combination of speed, firepower, and durability was unheard of. The
Stormcrow’s frame allowed for configurations that made it the faster equivalent of common Inner Sphere battlemechs heavier than itself, like the
Marauder,
Archer, and
Zeus. The DCMS troops who encountered the
Stormcrow code-named the omnimech “Ryoken”.
(After a quick Google search, I could not find the meaning of the word. I assume it is some kind of obscure Japanese weapon because naming a war machine after a type of inn makes no sense to me. Maybe it is Japanese for “Doomcrow”?-BLR)Let us take a look at this 55-ton chassis. Light, bulky materials are a major reason why the
Stormcrow is such a great design. Ferro-Fibrous armor of the Compound H17/2 variety makes up the omnimech’s skin, providing as much protection as possible for the armor type on a chassis this size. The head section is armored as much as the special transparent armor can allow. The center torso can take a class-20 AC hit with some armor left, while the side torsos can only take a Gauss rifle or Clan-spec ER PPC without breaching. The rear torso sections are quite well-protected compared to some other Clan omnimech designs. The rear center torso armor will burn away when touched by a Clan ER Large Laser, while the rear side torso armor will stop a Clan ER Medium Laser without giving way. The arms will stop a Gauss rifle from removing all the armor there. That is important since many standard
Stormcrow configurations rely on arm-mounted weapons. The legs are armored similarly to the front center torso, each being able to stop a class-20 AC and have some armor integrity left.
Looking beneath the ablative armor plate of the
Stormcrow, is a set of Endo Steel bones which make the Model MHO-7E chassis. At the heart of this military vehicle is an extra-light fusion reactor with a power rating of 330. This reactor makes the chassis extremely agile for its size and allows the
Stormcrow to reach speeds up 97 kph. Keeping the base chassis cool are the ten double heat sinks that come built into the reactor. Compared to other Clan omnimech designs that took part in Operation Revival which packed as many integral heats sinks into the reactor as possible, this is an odd design choice. But it works in the chassis’ favor by contributing to its pod space.
This combination of design characteristics gives the
Stormcrow a large amount of pod space for its size and mobility. The chassis can hold up to twenty three tons of weapons and equipment, which is 4.5 tons less than half the maximum allowed mass for the chassis. The chassis’ speed and armor coverage make its war load even more deadly, being able to quickly bring weapons to bear where needed the most as well as taking punishment when enemy weapons manage to find their mark.
The Primary standard configuration consists of an ER large laser and ER medium laser mounted in each arm, with a third ER medium laser mounted in the head. Each arm is equipped with a hand actuator.
(Depending on different artistic renditions of the Stormcrow, the hands might be as massive as the Nova’s as depicted on the cover of “The Dragon Roars”, or really small and unable to reach beyond the laser barrels as traditionally depicted. MechWarrior Online actually extends the hand actuators beyond the laser barrels so that they would actually be useful for picking up objects or throwing punches.-BLR) Combined with the chassis’ mobility, the
Stormcrow can keep all targets from getting too close, while being able to dish out plenty of firepower. This configuration allows the
Stormcrow to stay on the battlefield for a long time without ammunition supply lines since it is purely energy-based. Despite the high-heat Clan energy weapons, twelve additional double heat sinks allow the MechWarrior to run and gun throughout the entire skirmish. While doing this, even running through burning terrain will not affect heat efficiency. Even if a Primary-configured
Stormcrow was somehow soaked in hot plasma or inferno fuel by enemy weapons, the omnimech can move out of range of those weapons and leverage the advantage of Clan ER lasers.
Standard configuration A equips a LRM-20 in the right arm with two tons of ammunition. A quartet of medium pulse lasers is mounted in the left arm. Both arms are equipped with hand actuators. A Streak SRM-6 sits in each side torso, with a ton of ammunition dedicated to each launcher. This configuration can easily destroy fast, light vehicles with its combination of pulse lasers and Streak SRMs, but it is also a potent adversary for battlemechs. While not having the endurance of the Primary configuration, the A configuration is still capable of attacking targets at all ranges while having the enhanced accuracy of pulse lasers available a medium to short ranges. Trigger discipline must be used when equipping a
Stormcrow with the A configuration since no additional double heat sinks are mounted. A few medium pulse lasers and an LRM-20 can be let loose while closing in on a target. The range brackets of the medium pulse lasers and the Streak SRMs match perfectly, and all the weapons can be fired while keeping heat buildup low.
Standard configuration B excels at combat at medium and short range. In the left arm sits an Ultra AC/20 with two tons of ammo in the adjacent side torso. In the right arm, what might look similar to the right arm of a Primary-configuration
Nova, are six ER medium lasers surrounding a massive fist. Three double heat sinks are added to help cope with the heat generation possible with this configuration. A MechWarrior can fire the Ultra AC/20 at maximum rate without having to worry about heat problems, but the lasers pose the greatest overheating risk. Five of the six ER medium lasers can be fired without the ill effects of overheating, which looks like the best thing to do while closing with a target to get into the autocannon’s short range bracket. At close range, the
Stormcrow B can let the heavy gun rip at maximum firing rate accompanied with two ER medium lasers. If the MechWarrior feels comfortable bleeding some speed due to overheating during the firefight, a third ER medium laser can also be fired.
Standard configuration C consists of a large pulse laser mounted alongside a hand in the right arm, and an LBX-AC/10 in the left arm with three tons of ammunition. There is a medium pulse laser mounted in each side torso. While it is easy to say that this configuration is good at attacking fast enemy targets, especially tanks, it can also easily shoot down aircraft thanks to its class-10 LBX cannon’s ability to shoot cluster rounds. The
Stormcrow runs pretty cool in this configuration. If you want to avoid the effects of overheating, let a single medium pulse laser cool down every firing cycle.
Standard configuration D mounts a LRM-20 in each arm, with three tons of ammunition per launcher. Each arm also mounts a hand actuator. The left torso has two SRM-2s sitting in it, each with a ton of ammunition. The right torso has a Narc beacon launcher with two tons of ammunition. The
Stormcrow D can attach a Narc beacon to a target, run behind cover, and indirectly launch forty LRMs at the target. Despite the all-missile armament, a ton of SRM ammunition can be loaded with inferno missiles, causing problems for vehicles and infantry, as well as to heating up opposing battlemechs. Like the Primary configuration, the D configuration allows a MechWarrior to run and gun all battle without overheating.
Standard configuration E mounts an ATM-9 and an ER medium laser in each arm. Alongside each ATM is three tons of ammunition. Both arms have hand actuators. In each side torso sits two ER small lasers. An active probe is mounted in the head to discover hidden enemies or to aid in attacking targets through wooded areas. Two double heat sinks accompany the armament. The flexibility of the ATM launchers allows the
Stormcrow E to inflict damage at all ranges. However, the nature of the missile system means that the closer you are to a target, the more damage you can cause. The firepower of this configuration can be overwhelming at close range, with different ways of dishing it out. A MechWarrior can launch HE ATMs as well as fire the medium lasers while running for zero heat problems. A small laser or two can also be fired if the MechWarrior is willing to bleed speed due to the effects of overheating. Or all the lasers can be fired along with a missile launcher with very little heat gain.
Standard configuration F is a conventional force’s nightmare. Each arm mounts a plasma cannon with three tons of ammunition. Alongside each plasma cannon is a pair of AP Gauss rifles, with a ton of ammunition per pair. Two ER medium lasers and an ER small laser sit in each side torso to let the configuration deal with harder targets. The plasma cannons act as super-sized flamers against all targets. They are effective at raising a target battlemech’s temperature, and are excellent at melting tanks and infantry. Despite the addition of two double heat sinks, a MechWarrior has to choose which weapons to use based on the types of opposing enemies, as all the plasma cannons and lasers cannot be fired at the same time without causing major heat problems for the
Stormcrow. If facing a battlemech that will easily succumb to the effects of overheating, fire both plasma cannons and two ER medium lasers, or one plasma cannon and four ER medium lasers if more damage is desired.
Standard configuration G is very similar to the B configuration. The Ultra AC/20 is replaced with a lighter HAG/20 with two tons of ammunition, mounted in the left arm. Five ER medium lasers are mounted in the right arm, surrounding a fist. Six double heat sinks are added as well, making this configuration of the
Stormcrow cool-running, which further sets it apart from the B configuration. At the expense of hole punching and head chopping, this configuration will not overheat while firing all weapons and running. In addition to running cooler, the G configuration’s HAG enhances the chassis’ anti-aircraft capabilities.
Standard configuration H is very similar to the Primary configuration. The big difference is that the ER large lasers are replaced with heavy large lasers. The hand and lower arm actuators had to be left off the arms in order to make room for the massive lasers. These two head choppers come at the price of higher heat generation, inaccuracy, and shorter range. The
Stormcrow H can fire both heavy lasers and two ER medium lasers while overheating a little bit. The heavy lasers can be continuously be fired on their own without causing overheating, while a pair of medium lasers can be triggered every other firing cycle to keep overheating effects to a minimum. Despite the shorter range of the heavy large lasers compared to the ER versions, the heavy large lasers have the same range brackets as ER medium lasers.
Standard configuration I is reminiscent of a smaller
Timber Wolf in its Primary configuration. Each arm mounts an ER large and medium laser above a hand. Each side torso contains a LRM-15 with one ton of ammunition for each launcher. An active probe is mounted in the head. Although three more double heat sinks are added, this configuration can benefit from bracketing fire as this configuration has nowhere near the heat capacity of the Primary
Timber Wolf configuration it emulates. Use the ER large lasers to attack from long range. At shorter ranges, let loose the ER medium lasers and the LRMs.
(This configuration is based on the stock Stormcrow configuration from MechWarrior IV: Black Knight and MechWarrior IV: Mercenaries.-BLR)During the Wars of Reaving, The Society standardized configuration Z within their ranks. Each arm mounts an iATM-9 with three tons of ammunition, along with an improved heavy medium laser. Each arm has lower arm actuators without hands. Two double heat sinks are added, along with a Nova CEWS in the head, and a supercharger in the right torso. The supercharger allows the
Stormcrow to reach speeds up to 129 kph. Combined with the high bursts of speed and the firepower of the advanced weapon systems, the
Stormcrow can easily get at the weaker rear armor of enemy battlemechs and vehicles and quickly destroy them. The Nova CEWS acts as an ECM suite, an active probe, and a C3 system linking up to three units at once, and allowing for network reconfiguration on the fly. So not only can the
Stormcrow Z use its speed to backstab opponents, it can also operate as a fast spotter. Again, the MechWarrior has to decide which weapon to cool down every other firing cycle or risk overheating the
Stormcrow Z. Remember that the Nova CEWS generates heat as well.
There is one known
Stormcrow custom configuration used by a notable MechWarrior. Star Captain Brone Kotare of Clan Smoke Jaguar piloted a
Stormcrow while fighting Inner Sphere forces during Operation Bulldog. He used a configuration which is quite similar to the A configuration, but different in weapons layout. The right arm holds five ER medium lasers surrounding a fist, while the left arm just has a hand. The left torso contains two Streak SRM-6 launchers, each with a ton of ammunition. The right torso contains a LRM-20 launcher with two tons of ammunition. Three additional double heat sinks are added. Star Captain Kotare probably used the ER medium lasers to punch holes into armor, then used the missiles to seek out the weak spots created by the lasers. Two ER medium lasers can be fired alongside all the missile launchers without overheating the
Stormcrow.
It is easy to see why the
Stormcrow is such a popular chassis. It is highly mobile, incredibly tough, and carries half of its mass in weapons and equipment. It can circle and pummel slower targets with little effort, and do so at range thanks to its Clan-tech arsenal. When the
Stormcrow is caught under fire, it can use both its speed and armor to get out of trouble. Its standard configurations allow the chassis to fill many roles and excel at all of them.
Let us discuss this wonderful omnimech. It certainly deserves it!