Hoplite – The traditional image of ancient Greek soldiers.
Hoplite – The Battletech universes most angry of tictacs.
BackgroundDesigned by Martinson Armaments and entering service in 2578 the Hoplite was designed from the onset as an infantry support Mech. This could raise some eyebrows considering that the design almost uniformly lacks infantry support weapons and is built more to engage hardened targets than hostile infantry forces. But this is also the SLDF who thought that things like the Magi were a good idea, so one could easily assume that greased palms were involved.
Possible corruption aside, the Hoplite’s saw widespread action in the Reunification War as an organic component of the SLDF’s Infantry Divisions. Unfortunately, the Hoplite wasn’t too widely accepted, an attempt to make a more direct combat Mech was seen as a failure and when the Reunification War came to an end the Hoplite was quietly shuffled off to militia around the Hegemony.
The brutal fighting round the former Hegemony worlds during the First and Second Succession Wars the Hoplite all but vanished, fighting on Hegemony worlds like New Dallas where they would have been obliterated by nuclear fire and orbital bombardment or grabbed by the House Lords for their bitter battles against their rivals. For all intense and purposes, the Mech was extinct and with the Factory that produced it reduced to ruin, there was no chance of it being rebuilt.
And then the Wolf’s Dragoon’s nearly blew their cover by showing up with a large quantity of this extinct Mech in the 3rd Succession War. The Dragoon’s had departed Clan space with what they and the Clans thought would be common Mechs in the Inner Sphere, and as the Hoplite had been common when they had left, they assumed that it would still be bimbling around when they sent their recon force.
They done goofed. Showing up with a large number of pristine and either unknown Mech’s (Imp, Annihilator, Marauder II, Hoplite etc) just raised more questions about where the hell the Dragoon’s found them or got them. Queue lots of nervous sweating and crossed fingers from the Dragoons whilst they hoped the Inner Sphere bought their lie that was basically “We found them behind the baking soda, and some had slipped down behind the couch.”
Which the Successor lords promptly accepted, but there was angry noises and hissing coming from Terra.
A common unit in Dragoon service the design suffered heavy attrition once they stopped their resupply runs and by the time the Jihad raged across the Inner Sphere the Mech was nearly made extinct again save for frantic rebuilding efforts on Arc-Royal where Hoplites were produced mostly as testbeds. This keeps the Hoplite around even today, although with the capture of Arc-Royal by the Falcons may well be the final nail in the coffin of the Hoplite’s long life.
DesignAt 55-tons the Hoplite is at the top end of the scale of the Medium Mech weight class and in reality, its an incredibly simple Machine. Lacking any distinct arms, rather just some jutting cowlings that could pass as shoulders, its oblong body is planted atop a simple looking pair of legs, giving it a plain and simple profile. As it was designed to support infantry forces the Hoplite is not a fast Mech. It is only capable of a maximum speed of 64kph although it also lacks jump jets. What it lacks in speed though it makes up for in armoured protection with 11.5 tons of standard plate giving it the maximum level of protection capable for its chassis. Unfortunately, the design suffers from being quite grossly oversinked, as it carries an extra 6 heatsinks which, quite frankly are not needed as its usual weapons combinations make it near impossible to overheat. This additional weight eats into what the Hoplite can carry and its weapon choices limit it further which probably explain why it was palmed off to the Militia following the Reunification War.
The Hoplite also saw extensive use in the nascent Clans as well as the warring remnants of the SLDF so it’s quite possible that you could find old Hoplites in the Clan’s Brian Caches or even second line/Solhama units.
VariantsHOP-4A – Where it all began, the 4A is simple and durable and it shows it’s an early generation Mech. Its main punch comes from an AC-10, which is a potent weapon by any standard, hard hitting and produces very little heat. Its main drawback is its single ton of ammunition which limits its endurance. For long range fire a LRM-5 and its associated ton of ammunition are also installed and then that’s it. With 16 heatsinks, even with an engine hit this thing will run and gun all day.
HOP-4B – The attempt to make a more generic unit resulted in a slower Griffin. The LRM-5 and heavy autocannon are both stripped out and, in their place, a PPC and LRM-15 with a 2-ton ammo bin are installed. This actually lets the Hoplite use its 16 heatsinks and you’ll only get a blip on the heat if you run and gun the lot. But basically, it’s a slower Griffin and needs to be used as one, stay back and hammer away with the LRM and PPC at anything that moves.
HOP-4Bb – The Royal variant that never was, the 4Bb was actually produced in the Kerensky Cluster and was used by the warring SLDF Remnants as well as the Proto-Clans as a mainline unit. Like other Royal variants this is a significant overhaul of the base chassis and is far more capable for it. But if you take off the advanced glitz, it’s basically a 4B that’s been tarted up a bit. The heatsinks are upgraded to double heatsinks although only 11 are fitted, this is still more than enough for the Mech’s needs. The PPC is upgraded to an ER PPC (not a Clan one bearing in mind) whilst the LRM is fitted with Artemis IV to improve accuracy. For defence, an AMS is fitted whilst both side torsos are fitted with CASE and the electronics suite now features an ECM. A very solid upgrade of the base chassis, I don’t know if these Mech’s were all hulked, but it’s possible that some might survive in Brian Caches.
HOP-4Cb – Another Clan creation the 4Cb was created by Clan Hells Horses and served with them during Operation KLONDIKE as a support Mech. Stripping out the heatsinks and converting them to doubles keeps the Mech cool whilst its armour plating was upgraded to Ferro-Fibrous plate. Although the armour didn’t change, it did save weight, and this was put into the weapons. Trading out the ER PPC, LRM-15 and ECM of the Bb the Cb is armed with a gauss rifle (again, IS standard) fed by a useful 3-ton ammo bin and an SRM-6 with its own 1-ton ammo supply. Both gauss rifle and the SRM ammunition is protected by CASE.
HOP-4C – Identical to the 4A in every respect save for changes to its fire control computer, the 4C was the Hoplite the Dragoons showed up with which got everyone eyeing them suspiciously whilst loud screaming noises probably came from Hilton Head. Not much to say here, it’s a 4A, AC-10, LRM-5, 16 heatsinks, and that’s it. Its more notable for the fact that it was supposedly extinct and then resurrected with the return of the Dragoons than anything else.
HOP-4D – Part of the Helm Memory core upgrades that swept across the Inner Sphere, the Dragoon’s also upgraded their Hoplite C’s into the D model. This is a simple but effective upgrade, removing the AC-10 and replacing it with a LB-10 and an extra ton of ammunition. The versatility of the LB-10 and the shotgun nature of cluster rounds FINALLY lets the Hoplite be able to engage tanks or other vehicles without just punching them, and it performs as a nasty AA-gun. Honestly, this isn’t bad. You still can’t overheat the damn thing no matter what, and the LB-10 brings a nice amount of versatility to the Mech.
HOP-C - Limited to the Wolf’s Dragoons and probably built in limited numbers the C is a pure Clantech upgrade of the Hoplite and probably the best of the lot and it’s the first Hoplite you can overheat! Replacing the armour package with 10-tons of Clan Ferro-Fibrous plate the C’s armament is a mix of the Bb and C. An Ultra-10 autocannon and LRM-15 forms the main punch, all Clan-spec as are its defensive weapons. An ER Medium laser and pair of Medium Pulse lasers can engage at the Ultra’s engagement ranges. Although still slow for its size, it’s got a mean slap and is far more deserving of its name now.
HOP-4X – The latest iteration of the Hoplite that was kept alive on Arc-Royal the 4X is very much a testbed using new technologies as well as integrating Clantech weapons. It’s so radically different that it’s hard to call this a variant, it’s almost a new Mech. Built around a worryingly fragile Composite skeleton and powered by a 275 rated Light engine the 4X can hit up to 86kph at full speed. It is shielded by 10.5 tons of Inner Sphere Ferro-Fibrous composite armour for the full amount of protection for its fragile interior. The heatsinks are double strength and of Inner Sphere standard but the weapons are all Clan. A Clan RAC-5 forms the main punch and is fed by a 3-ton CASE protected ammunition bin. A Streak LRM-15 is also installed and is fed by a 2-ton ammunition supply. Finally, a light active probe lets it spot ambushes. The 4X can bring some serious firepower to bare but if its armour is penetrated then its fragile skeleton make it easier to disable.
ThoughtsAn incredibly simple beatstick that does not change much of what it does despite several variants as they all stick close to the same design philosophy of ‘big gun and LRMs’ and pretty much runs with it. The 4A, 4C and 4D are all basically identical and even the C is a variation on the same tune. Still whilst this thing is boring, and could use some tidying up, mainly to get rid of those utterly pointless 6 extra heatsinks which could then give the Mech some other weapons or systems, its not actually bad.
Let’s be honest, no one can really ignore an AC-10 hit, and even a Dire Wolf would be going “Hey now…hold on there feller..” after being tickled by an AC-10 slug. The LRM’s useful but probably if you only fired thunder rounds or smoke to mess with someone.
As all the variants are remixes of the same tune, you can take a Hoplite of any config and they’ll all perform pretty well. They hit hard and are darn hard to kill, and really the only way to quickly kill one is to hit the ammo for a quick kill. Reliable if boring the Hoplite’s adequate at what it does, which is brings a big cannon to the battlefield.
A 4C, lets be honest, not the best model
A well converted 4X
A 4D with its pilot about to be given a horrid reminder why a Mech with no arms should never, EVER get in jumping range of a Point of Elementals.
A 4Bb note the different cockpit layout.
Hoplite armour, in no way, shape or form similar to the Mech, save perhaps the shield...which is round.
As always, thoughts and comments are most welcome!
