Vanilla Small Lasers, why bother?

[garhkal]

For any 'Mech that you intend to move into melee range, small laser clusters are superior to SRMs in my opinion - lighter, no ammo, more damage, individual to-hit rolls. Das only downside is slightly more heat.

Plus for TSM mechs, having 3 small lasers instead of just one medium laser, makes it easier to fine tune your heat.

Small lasers actually end up moee efficient in damage per ton and damage per point of heat than even the much-vaunted (and rightfully so) medium laser.  Your potential damage from two small lasers is one higher and you generate one point less heat.  Fast units constrained by available weapons mass, not heat or criticals, can make good uae of them, so long as you don't mind getting close.

Plus you get two chances to score a crit vice one.
However, you DO lose out in range..

[massey]

Yes, a 100t with 20xSL on TSM, moving 5/8 and engaging Melee (I hear SuperChargers help? It's newer tech than I'm familiar with) - but when 2x axes/phase were allowed, it had the highest damage potential around (60 by weapons, 80 by melee)

100T with TSM and a Mace from the Tactical Handbook.  80 point swings.

[Red Pins]

If you have HMPro, check out the Storm Giant assault mech.  Lots of small lasers, a couple big ones to punch holes.

[massey]

In universe (i.e., not worrying about game effectiveness), I'd think Small Lasers would be good for targeting individual people or small vehicles.  There's some terrorist on a motorcycle zipping down a crowded street.  You don't want to open up on a bunch of people with a machine gun.  Using a Medium Laser or other weapon like that is overkill.  With a Small Laser you can just disintegrate him and whatever he's carrying with one quick blast.  Your sensors pick up a sniper standing just inside a window?  Zap!

They're cheap, reliable, light on maintenance, and using them saves wear and tear on your larger systems.  I think that's why a lot of designs have a Small Laser or two just kind of tacked on.

[snewsom2997]

In universe (i.e., not worrying about game effectiveness), I'd think Small Lasers would be good for targeting individual people or small vehicles.  There's some terrorist on a motorcycle zipping down a crowded street.  You don't want to open up on a bunch of people with a machine gun.  Using a Medium Laser or other weapon like that is overkill.  With a Small Laser you can just disintegrate him and whatever he's carrying with one quick blast.  Your sensors pick up a sniper standing just inside a window?  Zap!

They're cheap, reliable, light on maintenance, and using them saves wear and tear on your larger systems.  I think that's why a lot of designs have a Small Laser or two just kind of tacked on.

You enemy snipers are gonna be a bit further out than 90m (Rng 3). If you have your mechs within 90m of a sniper, your foot sloggers are either dead or in cover, leaving you wide open to their foot sloggers to climb your legs and place explosives on the joints.

Short of BA, to get the +1 Heat for TSM, or just for flavor, there is no real reason to take them at all.

[Luciora]

The golden century Scylla progenitor?  Nothing canon save the weight, and movement are known about it.   Unless there's some obscure dev information floating around for it.

If you have HMPro, check out the Storm Giant assault mech.  Lots of small lasers, a couple big ones to punch holes.

[Red Pins]

Sorry, just providing an example.

I don't think its a bad weapon, especially if you have the speed to determine the range.  Depends on your current role, too.

[Liam's Ghost]

You enemy snipers are gonna be a bit further out than 90m (Rng 3). If you have your mechs within 90m of a sniper, your foot sloggers are either dead or in cover, leaving you wide open to their foot sloggers to climb your legs and place explosives on the joints.

If you're going to use the tabletop range bands, I'd like to point out that most infantry units rarely reach beyond 6 hexes themselves, and for many, 3 is a perfectly reasonable engagement range, especially if you can move four to eight times as fast as them.  :P

Also, in that case two small lasers will kill more people than one medium.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

100T with TSM and a Mace from the Tactical Handbook.  80 point swings.

Maces can't be mounted on 100 ton mechs, they require too many crits. Go with paired claws instead.

[Hellraiser]

I've played CBT for almost 20 years now and I've yet to see a reason to use IS Small Lasers. They are not competitive with the Medium Laser because of their drastically reduced range. I admit that I've always wanted to design a Mech sporting about 8-10 Small Lasers and dish out a thousands cuts of whoop ass, but I feel that this tactic (closing to point blank range) isn't very good outside of 3025 or Solaris play. To be honest, I'd much rather have an extra half ton of armor or CASE than a Small Laser. I mean, on a slower Mech like a Hunchback, Shootist or Crockett, do you get a chance to fire the Small Laser at all? In past games, I can't recall, I want to say not at all.

How much do people actually use Small Lasers? Does anyone have any success stories using them?

The Charger pretty much shows you exactly what the SL is for.
Run-8 into Range 1,   Apply 16 Point Kick & 15 Points of Laser Damage in 3 point groups.
Rinse & Repeat.

Basically any platform where your goal is to get in close for physicals means the SL is going to shine.

[massey]

Maces can't be mounted on 100 ton mechs, they require too many crits. Go with paired claws instead.

The one from the Tactical Handbook can, which is the one I referenced.  It's just a hatchet that does double damage and takes a +2 to-hit penalty.  If you miss, you have to make a piloting skill roll.

[mbear]

The one from the Tactical Handbook can, which is the one I referenced.  It's just a hatchet that does double damage and takes a +2 to-hit penalty.  If you miss, you have to make a piloting skill roll.

If your player group will let you do that, more power to you. But I think many other players are going to look to the rules in Tactical Operations first and cry foul. But again, it's your game.