What are the worst rules in Tactical Operations? And why?

[Apocal]

 

Want to make the misery worse? Play under Solaris VII rules. Then, since the hexes are 1/4th the size, your Hatchetman will be in the same hex as his opponent for damage purposes. I once had to spend a point of edge so my opponent's 'Mech wouldn't Stackpole.

"...and the crowd goes wild!"

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Even when playing with Stackpole rules in effect, I've only actually seen a mech go critical a couple of times.

The real bother is if not everybody looked up their mech's engine rating beforehand.

[Retry]

I haven't had much issues with Stackpoling, personally.  It seems to occur infrequently enough, and I almost never stand anything more than a hex away if I don't have to.

The woods cover rule is a bit "eh".  Basically everything else is just a direct to-hit modifier so why should woods, specifically, differ?

Bracing does more harm than good, so it's a pointless rule.  You get a -2 to-hit bonus for one arm in one arc, at the cost of being "immobile" for a -4 to-hit bonus for incoming fire.  Just go hull-down at that point.  I like the idea but don't like the implementation.

Careful aim is in a similar boat.  Small to-hit bonus next round, but you can't fire or move this round.  I'll pass.

[Iceweb]

I'm having trouble understanding the hate on the glancing blow rule? 
I always have it on to deal with the boxcar gauss rifle to the head on turn 1 at 20 hexes. 

If I had my druthers I would want that I could tell MegaMek to only apply it to shots at long range and let the rest of the combat be deadly. 

I've never gone well with the engine explosions, ammo explosions rules cause hurting myself for doing well seems dumb, and I like physical attacks. 
I don't really like ghost targets as it seems like rules creep on ECM/ECCM and hitting is hard enough in the game. 

I tried the expanded heat scale once and I really didn't care for it.  Made it too easy to ride the heat scale and the penalties for pushing the mech seemed to weakened. 

[Apocal]

I'm having trouble understanding the hate on the glancing blow rule? 
I always have it on to deal with the boxcar gauss rifle to the head on turn 1 at 20 hexes. 

Two situations:
1) An IS regular (4) moving at run (2) while firing his PPC at a target that has moved five hexes (2) from long range (4). 10 to-hit. Congratulations, the majority of your hits at long range are half damage.
2) A clan veteran (2), parks himself in a domineering position (0) and is engaging a mech that has jumped seven hexes (4) at medium range (2) into heavy woods cover (2)... but he's got a Targeting Computer (-1) for his large pulse laser (-2). 7 to-hit.

The rule punishes standard pilots for moving in mechs without to-hit bonuses, essentially. Stuff not dying at long range is exactly my issue with it. It would be one thing if it were merely a stepped reduction, similar to the way Ferro-lamellar works, but it is straight-up half your damage, rounded down, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Whereas Direct Blow can encourage you to buy better gunners and take good shots, it is, at the end the day, at most +3 damage (or +6 on cluster roll, lol). Meanwhile, Glancing Blow figuratively rolls up a Sunday newspaper and smacks you over head while repeating "stop moving and get better gunners."

In my opinion, of course.

[TigerShark]

Weather needs to be re-written. In a game which HEAVILY favors energy weapons already, ballistics and missiles are given the shaft unless they're under perfect conditions. High gravity, low gravity, high winds, etc. all adversely affect these weapons.

It makes no sense, as the fire control systems should be adapted to the conditions on the planet. A sniper with a bolt action rifle can adjust for windage, but an advanced, 32nd century targeting computer suffers a +3? O.o

[Apocal]

Weather needs to be re-written. In a game which HEAVILY favors energy weapons already, ballistics and missiles are given the shaft unless they're under perfect conditions. High gravity, low gravity, high winds, etc. all adversely affect these weapons.

It makes no sense, as the fire control systems should be adapted to the conditions on the planet. A sniper with a bolt action rifle can adjust for windage, but an advance, 32nd century targeting computer suffers a +3? O.o

These rules are so bad that I'd forgotten they were in TacOps and not TW. I'm changing my vote.

[TigerShark]

These rules are so bad that I'd forgotten they were in TacOps and not TW. I'm changing my vote.

Yeah. Imagine being a 'Mech pilot who spent his entire life on Mars and is part of the militia. So when you calibrate your targeting systems, you assume it's performing in....Earth gravity... lol ::facepalm::

[Retry]

Two situations:
1) An IS regular (4) moving at run (2) while firing his PPC at a target that has moved five hexes (2) from long range (4). 10 to-hit. Congratulations, the majority of your hits at long range are half damage.
2) A clan veteran (2), parks himself in a domineering position (0) and is engaging a mech that has jumped seven hexes (4) at medium range (2) into heavy woods cover (2)... but he's got a Targeting Computer (-1) for his large pulse laser (-2). 7 to-hit.

The rule punishes standard pilots for moving in mechs without to-hit bonuses, essentially. Stuff not dying at long range is exactly my issue with it. It would be one thing if it were merely a stepped reduction, similar to the way Ferro-lamellar works, but it is straight-up half your damage, rounded down, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Whereas Direct Blow can encourage you to buy better gunners and take good shots, it is, at the end the day, at most +3 damage (or +6 on cluster roll, lol). Meanwhile, Glancing Blow figuratively rolls up a Sunday newspaper and smacks you over head while repeating "stop moving and get better gunners."

In my opinion, of course.

I've always liked the idea of Glancing Blows, but I can definitely see why it can be frustrating.  Especially at high THNs.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Bracing does more harm than good, so it's a pointless rule.  You get a -2 to-hit bonus for one arm in one arc, at the cost of being "immobile" for a -4 to-hit bonus for incoming fire.  Just go hull-down at that point.  I like the idea but don't like the implementation.

Careful aim is in a similar boat.  Small to-hit bonus next round, but you can't fire or move this round.  I'll pass.

Both rules are really things you want to do when you have partial cover and Extreme and/or LoS range rules are in effect.

Though I've heard of Careful Aim being mixed with Called Shot and a weapon with high cluster amounts like an LB20-X or MRM 40 for brutal effect.

[dgorsman]

Hidden units, as well.

[RifleMech]

I haven't figured out how a coolant truck can use it's Flame Thrower to fire coolant. Weapons can only shoot ammo from ammo bins. So how can a weapon fire cargo?  ??? Not that I'm complaining about it as I'll do it as long as its legal. :) It just seems contrary is all.

Double Blind Rules
I never got the double blind rules. It isn't that I don't like them it's that I wonder why the sensor ranges aren't that far all the time?

I also wonder why Aerospace units need Look Down Radar, Recon Cameras or Satallite Imagers to find hidden units in normal games but normal sensors will work in Double Blind?  ???

Why aren't there Audio or Visual Sensors?

Do Mobile Structures and Buildings use Vehicle Sensor Ranges? Does it matter if the Mobile Structure flies or not?

And I also wonder if I missed an errata as I'm also not sure how newer sensors and units are effected. What's the range of the Nova CIWS? Are LAM Avionics used in Double Blind Rules?
Does a Tripod Cockpit, with 3 crew members equal a Command Console?

Again I'm not sure if I missed an errata but how do mechs with muliti-crew cockpits effected by movement rules that restrict firing? For example, can a QuadVee Sprint and still fire as there are 2 crew members? How about a Tripod? Mech with a Command Console?



As for the earlier question about the Savanna Master, I don't recall seeing an answer for how it used Fractional Accounting so here goes.

Control Equipment   .2 tons
Sensors                  .25 tons

The non Fractional Accounting versions just has Control Equipment weighing .5 tons.

Energy Weapons and dialing down their damage and heat (p.102)
I REALLY don't like what this does to the game even though I do appreciate the idea behind it. Here's three reasons why I don't like it:

1. The more you dial them down the more heat efficient the weapons become. This way any mech can be tuned to be heat efficient and over all more efficient than without this rule. I believe this actually lessens the depth of this game and also makes the traditionally hot mechs just boring.
2. It slows down the game when you're constantly fine tuning and optimizing the damage/heat values. "So this turn I walked instead of running, so I can increase the damage of my other PPC by one...". Besides I don't recall the pilots in the books constantly fine tuning their weapon values, although I do admit I've only read four books so far. I do remember them constantly running hot and cursing not being able to fire that PPC in the fear of overheating.
3. Munchy McMunchkin

I'd never heard of this rule being used in this way. We just dialed them down after losing some heat sinks or an engine hit. That way we could still shoot and not generate more heat than we could deal with.  Seeing this though,...you've given my inner munchkin a happy.  >:D :thumbsup:

[Apocal]

I'd never heard of this rule being used in this way. We just dialed them down after losing some heat sinks or an engine hit. That way we could still shoot and not generate more heat than we could deal with.  Seeing this though,...you've given my inner munchkin a happy.  >:D :thumbsup:

Yeah, that rule basically obsoletes the small laser. You pay a half ton and get three times the range and the same heat or 40% more damage. That said, it also makes keeping TSM mechs in beast-mode a breeze.

[RifleMech]

Yeah, that rule basically obsoletes the small laser. You pay a half ton and get three times the range, 40% more damage and the same heat. That said, it also makes keeping TSM mechs in beast-mode a breeze.

Totally. No need for the Small Laser.  And it must make things easier for TSM.  I wanna try it!  :D

[TigerShark]

This gets into fan rules territory, but the "dialing down" could easily be house ruled to either be (a) at the start of the game or (b) require walking movement only, a la unjamming an RAC.

[RifleMech]

One other thing I don't really like are the Handheld Weapon Rules for Mechs. They're okay for a universal system but they don't work for mechs that had hand helds. They got a quirk and while nice still doesn't feel right to me. There are rules in TO that would have felt better but they weren't used for reasons I'll never know. :(

[GRUD]

As far as I recall, Stackpole only blew up one 'mech with a reactor breach. And that was an intentional bomb used to trigger a sympathetic detonation of the explosives on the walls of a canyon. I'm pretty sure the "Stackpole" rule itself comes from players wanting more devestation in their games.

I think that's also why they eventually made the rules for using Nukes.   :-\

What I liked about Maxtech before it was that it normally had rules that could affect everyone equally.

I thought Maxtech was ALWAYS a book of Optional Rules?   ???




And to toss in MY suggestion to a 7-year-old thread . . .   ;D


Partial Wing.  Page 292.  --  To make this use-able, it would need to be MUCH larger and weigh MUCH more than under the current rules.  Say, take an Atlas, strap the wings from a 747 on it, weighing as much as a Locust, and MAYBE it would work.  More likely to be like if you jump off your roof with an umbrella, expecting it to save you.   :o  I'm guessing you'll be going to the ER after that stunt.

I've never used a 'Mech with a "Partial Wing", and don't recall if I've ever fought against one or not.  I just don't/can't see how they could Work, even in BT.  The game where 5-foot-long missiles can go from the torso ammo bins, through a 2-foot diameter arm, into the arm-mounted missile launchers.   ::)

[Retry]

And to toss in MY suggestion to a 7-year-old thread . . .   ;D


Partial Wing.  Page 292.  --  To make this use-able, it would need to be MUCH larger and weigh MUCH more than under the current rules.  Say, take an Atlas, strap the wings from a 747 on it, weighing as much as a Locust, and MAYBE it would work.  More likely to be like if you jump off your roof with an umbrella, expecting it to save you.   :o  I'm guessing you'll be going to the ER after that stunt.

I've never used a 'Mech with a "Partial Wing", and don't recall if I've ever fought against one or not.  I just don't/can't see how they could Work, even in BT.  The game where 5-foot-long missiles can go from the torso ammo bins, through a 2-foot diameter arm, into the arm-mounted missile launchers.   ::)

Why a 747?  Not only is it 3.5-4.5 times heavier than an Atlas at maximum weight configuration, that'd be a terrible wing design for what a Partial Wing is trying to accomplish.  The Boeing wing is designed for efficiency and endurance at high subsonic speeds, not raw lift at slow speeds.

An Atlas isn't going to be reaching high-subsonic speeds because it is not an aircraft, so it would get away with a deep-camber wing, maybe some slats and flaps to further help with lift.  Since it's going to stay low to the ground, it could also benefit from the wing-in-ground effect and get more lift.  You don't need enough lift to actually fly, just enough to keep you airborne just a bit longer to make that extra hex.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Yeah, the partial wing rules actually do make a reasonable amount of sense the way they're written.

[Sartris]

once you’ve accepted you're in a universe where an Atlas can make a controlled jump without some kind of wing in the first place, the partial wing is really just a cherry on top of the absurd-flavored sunday

[Brakiel]

If we're going to include equipment, then Mechanical Jump Boosters should be on the top of the list. Don't the hydraulic rams need to go hypersonic to launch a mech an appreciable distance?

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Go go gadget springs!

[Greatclub]

Weather rules? Great.

Complex weather & planetary conditions rules that compound on other weather rules, and make you do math to figure out what they mean? Not such a fan.

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

If we're going to include equipment, then Mechanical Jump Boosters should be on the top of the list. Don't the hydraulic rams need to go hypersonic to launch a mech an appreciable distance?

  Not really. You need sufficient force to accelerate a mech to the velocity required to cover a desired distance. In that respect, a mech is simply being lobbed X number of hexes.

[Brakiel]

  Not really. You need sufficient force to accelerate a mech to the velocity required to cover a desired distance. In that respect, a mech is simply being lobbed X number of hexes.

I went back and found the topic discussing MJB. I misremembered the actual issue, it’s not the speed but the acceleration that’s crazy.

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,28049.msg642105.html#msg642105

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

I went back and found the topic discussing MJB. I misremembered the actual issue, it’s not the speed but the acceleration that’s crazy.

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,28049.msg642105.html#msg642105

  A agree. MJB replaces constant, controlled thrust with explosive acceleration. It's pretty much Wile E. Coyote territory.

[Daryk]

This physicist agrees, at least...  ::)

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

This physicist agrees, at least...  ::)

  Try watching a sci-fi flick with a friend who's a physicist working for NASA...he was facepalming so much, I thought he was applauding...

[Daryk]

That's normal when watching ANY movie with a physicist...  ::)

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Try watching The Core with a geologist.