Poll

How do you think it will turn out?

Strictly superior- HER-2M (>65%)
1 (2.4%)
Marginally superior- HER-2M (56-65%)
12 (28.6%)
Roughly equal (45-55%)
6 (14.3%)
Marginally superior- WLF-1 (56-65%)
14 (33.3%)
Strictly superior- WLF-1 (>65%)
9 (21.4%)
I want to be an observer (Abstain)
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 42

Voting closed: 08 March 2020, 21:14:30

Author Topic: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1  (Read 4358 times)

Daryk

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #30 on: 29 February 2020, 06:11:13 »
Not all of us.

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #31 on: 29 February 2020, 18:30:14 »
You guys do know you could spend turn 1 at a walk, dump MG ammo? Or just start at 0.

All of you seem hyper focussed on it as the deciding factor.

Four extra points of heat free damage is an awfully useful perk to just throw away casually in a fight like this... The other numbers are close enough that I'd risk the ammo explosion rather than sacrifice the extra edge in close range damage.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Syzyx

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #32 on: 29 February 2020, 20:21:12 »
What terrain did you use?  Who won initiative more often?

We used two of the basic original boxed set maps with the hills on one side and the two little lakes in the middle. Initiative was predictably even over the long term, but a few streaks did come up and were crucial for the two Wolfhound victories. We even swapped who was playing which mech, though not an even split there. I had the Hermes 7 out of 10 games.
But as a matter of fact I was quite busy getting potty-trained at the time and had no time for interstellar politics.- ykonoclast

Daryk

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #33 on: 01 March 2020, 00:01:15 »
Did you win all 7?  ???

Syzyx

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #34 on: 01 March 2020, 00:13:45 »
I won 6 out of 7 of my games, and honestly should've won the odd one out but I got cocky and didn't play the last round well and paid for it.
But as a matter of fact I was quite busy getting potty-trained at the time and had no time for interstellar politics.- ykonoclast

Daryk

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #35 on: 01 March 2020, 00:16:41 »
I think it's relatively safe to chalk that overall result up to player skill, then.

Syzyx

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #36 on: 01 March 2020, 00:23:43 »
I can see your viewpoint, given you have no idea who I and my counterpart are, but my regular opponent and I have a pretty even track record of wins/losses. Also, statistically, 10 games is an unreliable sample size. So take it all with a pinch of your favorite flavoring agent. :)
But as a matter of fact I was quite busy getting potty-trained at the time and had no time for interstellar politics.- ykonoclast

Daryk

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #37 on: 01 March 2020, 00:29:19 »
Based on your other thread, you seem to prefer a more mobile play style, and the HER-2M has that exact advantage.  ;)

Syzyx

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #38 on: 01 March 2020, 00:43:53 »
This is an absolute truth, though my group overall (with one blatant exception) prefers high mobility over firepower.
But as a matter of fact I was quite busy getting potty-trained at the time and had no time for interstellar politics.- ykonoclast

Kovax

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #39 on: 05 March 2020, 12:22:11 »
Four extra points of heat free damage is an awfully useful perk to just throw away casually in a fight like this... The other numbers are close enough that I'd risk the ammo explosion rather than sacrifice the extra edge in close range damage.
Agreed.  I'm a big fan of the HER-2M and the PXH-1, and the MGs are a very significant addition to their more popular laser armaments.  Dumping ammo throws away one of the two advantages that the Hermes has: speed and sustained close-in firepower.  The WLF-1 can fire EITHER the LL (8 damage) without heat, OR the 3xML (15 damage) and build a point of heat, because you can't afford NOT to run in most situations in this matchup, and firing the LL and more than one of the the MLs will leave you dangerously vulnerable for the following turn.  The HER-2M can fire its 3xML and 2xMGs (19 damage total) and not build any heat, or add in the extra 2 points of damage for the Flamer if the odds are good enough to warrant the heat buildup (21 damage).

Physical damage is a meager one point higher for the HER, but that's one more on top of the 4 or occasional 6 more for weapons fire.  As said, the LL will come into play in many cases, but usually at poor odds to hit, so the LL versus 2xMGs isn't nearly as much of a mismatch as it would appear, even though it is an advantage for the WLF.  Player skill and terrain will generally be the deciding factors, but given identical playing skills with mobile units, I'd give the HER the better odds.

The WLF-1 is a very good and fairly versatile design, but the HER-2M is a slightly better duelist and infighter, especially if it can keep the firing ranges as short as possible.

Minemech

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Re: Fight Night: HER-2M vs WLF-1
« Reply #40 on: 13 March 2020, 10:33:44 »
 Much of what makes the Wolfhound excel against other light mechs is its armor. It has the armor to absorb the bombardment they throw at it, whilst they do not have the same in return. To obtain this edge, it makes sacrifices, such as having a minimal speed for its weight class, or relying on distinct brackets that are not impressive for its weight class. It is quite the downgrade from the PHX, as it lacks the mobility, or machineguns that give it options against all kinds of foes. This is one reason why it loses to stock Jenners in many duels. The armor difference is the defining characteristic of the Wolfhound against most foes that it can overcome.

 The Mercury is not a foe that the Wolfhound wants to fight, even if it is far from defenseless in said fight. With 4/5 pilots, standard gunnery/piloting skills, you are not going to get much from the Wolfhound's main gun, relying more on armor than anything else to make it useful in a generic fight. One of the reasons that the Large Laser is not a common main gun for lights is that they cannot layer on it like Mediums and heavies, but have to make considerable sacrifices for it. Furthermore, the Mercury is an aggressive mech with similar armor, but with optimized heat efficiency. The Hermes II Mercury may itself lack mobility, but the 2 mp running difference will rarely give it any issues in closing, and grants it a greater edge when it wins the initiative than the Wolfhound can get in similar situations. The initiative edge can be mitigated by a series of multiple losses, but that is true of many respected mechs.

 

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