Fenrir II Assault Battle Armor - Technical Readout 3145 Lyran Commonwealth page 9
The largest of the new Lyran suits introduced in the Technical Readout 3145 series, the Fenrir II is the answer to many players' prayers: a Fenrir that can actually survive a hit or two.
A number of factors come together in jymset's redesign of the classic glass hammer, with the first being a rules change that altered how turrets are treated. Previously a quad suit had comparatively little slot space, especially if it wanted to have a configurable armament. Not only were designers required to reduce the suit's slot capacity by the size of the turret but also they had to pay an additional price in slots for the turret mechanism itself, on top of the mass cost. Thanks to some much needed errata, now only the turret mechanism slots have to be deducted from the suit's capacity, with the turret space being additional volume. One key benefit of this is that it makes fitting of non-standard armors much more viable alongside a decent armament.
The Fenrir II takes advantage of this by switched to Advanced Armor, saving it 20% of the mass that would be required to use standard materials instead. Sadly, from a cosmetic point of view, the new assault quad doesn't mount the maximum protection possible, but seventeen points is still a formidable level of armor. Obviously it allows the suit to eat a Gauss Rifle hit and keep on ticking, which is as good as it gets in battle armor terms. When the armor point representing the trooper is added in, this means that the Fenrir II has triple the protection of the original Fenrir, for less than triple the mass.
jymset: To say that "seventeen points is still a formidable level of armor" is the understatement of the century. I am only aware of 2 BA in existence that have more armour, and both of them are slower. The decisions made regarding the weapon payload (see below) left quite a lot of mass for the improved armour and motive system. The most obvious flaw of the Fenrir I is its high movement and laughable armour, both worthy of light suits. Knowing this is an assault battlesuit, what is a more desireable Mk II upgrade, mvmt 4 and 13 pts or mvmt 3 and 17 pts? That decision was made in no time! Unfortunately, that mass had to come from somewhere, and that meant that the mobility and armament had to pay the cost. The speed was min/maxed at three Movement Points, which still allows the suit to generate a +1 Target Movement Modifier like its forebear, while saving a small chunk of mass. Part of this was eaten up by the bulkier turret, which has double the volume of the Fenrir's, which meant that the majority of the weight saving needed to increase the armor had to come from the weapon payload.
The original Fenrir was known for its hefty 800kg turret capacity, which just happened to match the mass required by an ER Medium Laser or Medium Pulse Laser, the largest weapons carried by the Lyran's first quad. Conveniently enough, the Fenrir II's payload also happens to match that of a single heavyweight weapon, in the form of the 500kg Medium Laser. One would almost think it was planned that way! Matching the damage of the original's ER laser, but at two-thirds the range, or reduced damage and accuracy at 50% more range, the Medium Laser isn't a bad step down. Indeed, many suits would be more than happy to mount such a weapon, and it forms the core armament of a number of suits reaching back to the Kanazuchi.
Obviously, with a 300kg lighter weapon load, the Fenrir II is going to suffer some reductions in firepower, but it makes up for that as much as possible in configuration choices and Clan technology. The twin Medium Recoilless Rifles provide the Fenrir II with a formidable multi-purpose setup. With heavy anti-infantry firepower combined with multiple three-point hits out to six hexes, this configuration is equally at home shooting PBIs, other battle armor, vehicles and ’Mechs, although for the latter you ideally want them already softened up for possible crit seeking hits. Notably, this configuration will be very useful if you're up against some of the Combine's new Reflective armor designs, such as the Zou.
The other three configurations all take advantage of Clantech, and it's perhaps the first that will have most battle armor players drooling. A quad array of LRM tubes loaded with ten shots of ammo each gives the LCAF a fire support battlesuit that can put the Hauberk to shame with the duration of its bombardments. Yes, the damage per salvo will be a little less, but being able to fire for an additional four Turns more than makes up for that. Added to that, the Fenrir II's Clan LRMs have no minimum range, which means that an enemy can't attempt to duck under the fire by getting in close; all that will do is make it easier for the Fenrir II to kill them! Personally, I'd say that this option alone more than makes up for the loss of range suffered by the laser configuration.
The Fenrir's SRM configuration has been massively improved thanks to Clan technology. Not only has an extra tube been added, meaning that a four-suit squad can throw no less than twenty missiles downrange, but the magazine space has increased by 50%. This setup is absolute murder for vehicles and ’Mechs short on armor thanks to the hail of possible crits, with the latter also having to worry about piloting checks from even average Cluster rolls. This means that the Fenrir II is also able to compete with the Grenadier in SRM terms, with more damage per salvo than the Standard variant but one less shot, while matching the damage and outlasting the Hunter Killer. It's worth noting that even if the LCAF tried to transplant the Clan launchers to the Fenrir, the smaller turret would force fewer tubes and/or missiles.
jymset: In reply to the above, from a designer's perspective, the most inefficient thing about the Fenrir was its MTM. 800 kg with 3 slots allow you to mount exactly the 2 big lasers and nothing else. Its SRM variant wastes 400 kg, its MG variant 500! The objective was to install a more realistic weapon mount with more slots. The excellent IS Medium Laser, possibly one of the finest "big" BA weapons in existence, was a nice weight benchmark. The XTRO Fenrir "Longshot" certainly suggested at TharHes trying to work on Clan missiles, so it was a given that the Fenrir II would cross that mixed tech border for those weapons. For the final configuration, the Fenrir II mounts a mixed bag, combining a pair of Bearhunters with a pair of Machine Guns. That makes this setup very short ranged compared to the others, but the four weapons makes this another possible crit seeker. I do find it amusing that the Lyrans have stolen a march on their ex-FedCom partners by beating them to Clantech autocannons for their battlesuits, but I'm sure many Suns players won't be that upset due to the known issues with the Bearhunters. They do suffer from horrible accuracy and range, which puts them on the Do Not Want list for many, despite their ability to do horrible things to other battle armor. The combination of guns will also shred conventional infantry, but personally I'd prefer the greater range of the Recoilless Rifle configuration if I was to go hunting PBIs. Of course, the Fenrir II now has the armor to soak up any fire it might receiver while running up to a platoon to deliver some bad news, so some players might not want to stay as stuck in their ways as I am.
jymset: That rationale also applies when the Fenrir II is hunting BA. Most other dangerous suits which potentially outrange it cannot outgun it. And it will weather some 2-3 volleys of even the most determined foe until it closes into knife-fighting range where its dual bearhunters will take a terrible toll on its foes (assuming they hit!). As such, this is the most genuine "anti-infantry" configuration of any battle armor, when viewed in an inclusive sense. Although no non-weapon options are shown, the Fenrir II does have more than enough capacity to mount a variety of electronics and other systems, while still packing some heat for self-defense. A C3 scout would be more than feasible, as would one loaded with an Active Probe or Angel ECM. By exploiting Clantech further it would be possible to mount multiple systems, with a TAG, Probe and ECM combo being one delightful possibility.
I have to say that the Fenrir II is just as ugly a suit as its parent design. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with Plog's art, don't get me wrong, he's done his usual superb work. It's just that the Fenrir series is never going to win a beauty contest as it's a hideous quad. (I had to get a dig in despite my attempts not to do so!)
(jymset: This once I'll have to let that jab slide, on account of agreeing.) The Fenrir II does give an impression of being lighter in my eyes; the design looks sleeker, which is something that I attribute to it being a more advanced design.
Still, looks matter little on the battlefield and there the Fenrir II is clearly a winner. Sure, it's slower and has a lighter payload than the Fenrir, but the improvement in protection is just overwhelming, while some of its weapon options are superior. Like other suits with a high ground speed, it's going to be a natural in cities and other confined areas. That sort of environment can go a long way in helping the Bearhunter/Machine Gun configuration get up close and personal.
If the Fenrir II suffers a flaw, it's that it's now going to become an Inferno magnet. The armor is so much tougher that Infernos are going to be the most efficient method to kill them for most combatants. It's a real pity that the Lyrans advances in battle armor production didn't extend to copying the Fire Resistant armor fielded by the Jade Falcons and, more recently, the DCMS. Artillery cannon are likely to be another option favored by those that have to regularly face Fenrir IIs, but I don't think that Reactive armor would have been a good alternative given the extra mass required. Dropping the armor to eleven points just to make it more resistant to area effect weapons (and missiles) would not have been a good bargain, as it would have cost the ability to resist Gauss hits and made it more vulnerable to accumulated damage from lighter weaponry.
Overall, the Fenrir II is a solid upgrade. Some might bemoan the loss of payload, but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in my opinion, making the suit a much better performer. No longer do you have to treat the Fenrir as effectively a one-shot weapon, with anything beyond the first salvo being an extra treat. The Fenrir II is now a battlesuit that can happily stand its ground on the frontlines, duking it out with all from ’Mechs down to infantry.
