Kodiak

[BillyN831]

On a scale 1-10 what would you grade a Kodiak with gunnery 3 piloting 4 with battle value kept in mind.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

Depends on the variant. The Base and the 5 are my two personal favorites. I don’t really care for the others based on personal play style DESPITE it being one of my favorite mechs. I also love running a couple customers based off Kodiak (search the Cave Bear - not my design but I’m in love).

I’d rate the Kodiak as a whole at about a 7-8. You can’t go wrong with an assault moving 4/6 with a short range battery that includes an Ultra AC/20 and eight medium lasers. The Missile variants and its short range are its downsides IMO.

Cool factor raises it to an eleven though: that opening for MW2 with the roar (and semi-replicating that in MWO), not to mention giant claws and BEAR.

[Colt Ward]

On a scale 1-10 what would you grade a Kodiak with gunnery 3 piloting 4 with battle value kept in mind.

Always depends on where you play.  Cities or canyon where your ERMLs, SSRMs & UACs can start off a engagement in mid (8-10 hexes) range?  You are going to murder IS equipment, especially when what has the armor to stand up to that is not any faster in many cases.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The Kodiak is very good at what it does, but unfortunately it's very much a one-trick pony.

It shreds things at close range, but if it's caught out in the open it's very easy for enemies to pummel it with long range firepower and it's armor is good but it's not invulnerable.  I fought one using a Masakari C and had it crippled before it was able to get close enough to start using anything but its ER Large Laser.

[Colt Ward]

Funny enough, it is a mech that would have done well leading the Bears in the Invasion while still chewing through those 3025 design filled regiments.  As fast as most of the heavies and half of the good mediums (Cents & Hunchies) with a potential 56 damage at 15 hexes from the ERMLs, add in the UAC/20 & SSRMs at 12 hexes . . . you are looking at 8s before any defensive mods at those 'long' ranges.

Given a Bear veteran or elite pilot runs that Kodiak, is a regular FRR/DCMS heavy lance really going to be able to stand up to it?

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Well, it was available to the Bears during the Invasion.

[SteelRaven]

It's honestly a great mech but with all but one variant is close range, it's a niche mech for it's BV. I can only guess the Bears had already started focusing on Omni's when the Kodiak started hitting the trials so no sense making a range model for a mech that's going to be relegated to second line in the near future. Things had obviously changed allot by the time we get the Kodiak 5 and then the Kodiak II.

If you want to get your BV out of the Kodiak, drop it in a urban environment and laugh. I use a Kodiak for Paul the Samurai Minotaur in Solaris Iron Mountain bouts as it's enough to make you actively run away.