When do IS Energy Weapons simply become 'obsolete'?

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I believe that NAIS was able to construct Clantech by the mid 50s, but was doing so entirely by hand at a pace that only let them keep stuff for fixing Prometheus.

[haesslich]

There's an article in Shrapnel about this: Clantech is not really made to last. Compared to IS tech which is made of Star League dontbreakium where you can stash it in a closet for 200 years and it'll still work, Clantech needs constant attention and wears out fast.

Shrapnel Issue #9, "The Clan Upgrade" by Matthew Cross. There's a Sea Fox rep who says that they're not concerned with longevity, so they ride the edge more with regards to tolerances, unlike "Your 300 year old Warhammer", and that Clan recycling policies and tech allow them to waste less during the refurbishing of equipment when it's worn out.

So think the difference between a F1 racer (engine gets stripped and parts replaced between laps when they pull into the pit) versus a utility truck that goes several thousand miles before getting its oil change and tune up.

[Metallgewitter]

Kind of reminds me of what I read about the German economy during WW2. While all praise the technology Germany used apparently the companies made most stuff not to last as they were certain it would be destroyed rather quickly on the battlefield. Though perhaps noit in all cases as for example those Pak 40 were certainly build to last. Would perhaps fit in Clan culture as you have asociety that is always in a level of low level warfare or rather trialing

[Challenger]

The Germans’ weren’t alone. The RN made a very similar decision in the middle of the war that they would build ships with a 2-3 year life expectance as the expectation was they would have been sunk by then. (Not entirely unreasonable looking at the loss rate between 1939-41) It does make a fair bit of sense from a resource conservation perspective, why waste resources on something that is just going to be destroyed anyway.

Of course one of those ships made it to 2017! So someone might have got their sums wrong there. (Admittedly HMS Hermes was finished post war)

I understand that the issues the Germans had with Panther/Tiger II reliability was they guessed wrong with which parts they could cut corners on.

Challenger

[Metallgewitter]

Considering that there are still some Panther's and even at least two Tiger 1's in operational status is something of itself. Though I think we are diverting from the topic 

[MarauderD]

Well, we know that by 3152, Exostar in the FedSuns is making Clan Spec ER Lasers of all 3 sizes, PPCs, and Small Pulse Lasers.  They haven't yet produced the Clan MPL or LPL for a unit yet.

But that doesn't make everything obsolete.  We all know how efficient the old I.S. medium laser is--until things are revamped (maybe never) it will not go out of style. 

I'd say Small Lasers and Large Lasers may be headed to obsolescence.  The PPC is still safe because 10 heat and damage isn't in a bad spot:  50% less heat than the ER PPC is worth taking in certain situations.  YMMV. 

Interesting topic!

[ColBosch]

The PPC is still safe because 10 heat and damage isn't in a bad spot:  50% less heat than the ER PPC is worth taking in certain situations.  YMMV.

In an age of double heat sinks, the standard PPC compares very favorably to autocannons.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The PPC is still safe because 10 heat and damage isn't in a bad spot:  50% less heat than the ER PPC is worth taking in certain situations.  YMMV.

The Clan Large Pulse Laser has the same damage and heat, better range, less tonnage, less crits, no minimum range, and a bonus to accuracy.  The PPC is absolutely not safe.

[Hellraiser]

The Clan Large Pulse Laser has the same damage and heat, better range, less tonnage, less crits, no minimum range, and a bonus to accuracy.  The PPC is absolutely not safe.

If the CLPL costs 4x as much to maintain however.......... 
 Just sayin, ability to produce something finally still doesn't mean there isn't a cost multiplier in there or that
 some units still haven't incorporated clan tech training to their technical staff to the point that its the "standard".


As for the OP Topic:

Bit late to the party, but, I can think of a place where I would use Clan Tech even at the cost/maintenance & it's been where I've been using it since they showed up.

Custom Omni Loadouts.

The Bulldog models are actually a solid option/concept for limited deployment of hard to maintain tech.

As a Mech Company, if you're making something like the Hauptmann-O or even the Clan Crossbow-O you've got a nice durable, fairly easy to maintain platform.
And you can have nice common loadouts using easily available parts.
But, you can also have a "break in case of emergency" configuration for doing things above & beyond the day to day garrison jobs.

Another way to use it is to consolidate it into the units that are able to maintain it.
All support for Clan Tech in terms of Supply Chain but also Advanced Technical training might for example be devoted the the Davion Guards.
Slots for special schools go to them & graduates go to them etc etc.
Any Salvage or new purchases from Clan Sea Fox or even limited production from Exostar is all devoted to the DBG regiments.

Not really a Front Line v/s Second Line sort of split, more like, Spec Ops v/s Regulars, but in this case its the Royal Guard.

Your Hussars/Lancers units can still be top of the line sporting new Devastators & NightStars fresh off the factory lines, while your March Militia is sporting 300 year old Marauders upgraded with Refit Kits, but your Guards can be outfitted w/ Templars & Avatars that have access to a full array of pod loads including SB-Gauss or Clan ERPPCs etc etc.

[CJC070]

We may see most Inner Sphere standard Lasers and PPCs less and less but mix tech units will probably be the norm from now on.  I may be wrong but I think I read somewhere even the Ghost Bear Dominion is fielding mixed tech units (mostly their second lines) due to the size of their touman.

I believe Clan tech will never become standard but will be widely circulated for the right price.

[BrianDavion]

We may see most Inner Sphere standard Lasers and PPCs less and less but mix tech units will probably be the norm from now on.  I may be wrong but I think I read somewhere even the Ghost Bear Dominion is fielding mixed tech units (mostly their second lines) due to the size of their touman.

I believe Clan tech will never become standard but will be widely circulated for the right price.

I mean there's mixed tech and there's "mixed" tech. there's a world of differance between a mixed tech unit that consists of "an inner sphere chassis and equipment, with a clan PPC"  and say... the Alpha Wolf, that is technicly mixed tech because TECHNICLY stealth armor is only IS tech but it has no clan tech equivilant so it's just the tech bases merging

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

All the Clans are fielding mixed-tech machines.  Part of that is because slapping a few Clan weapons on an IS chassis is faster and easier than retooling a factory to full Clanspec, and part is because the Clans don't have any equipment that serve the same function as the Plasma Rifle, Improved Heavy Gauss Rifle, or Radical Heatsink System.

[Arkansas Warrior]

We may see most Inner Sphere standard Lasers and PPCs less and less but mix tech units will probably be the norm from now on.  I may be wrong but I think I read somewhere even the Ghost Bear Dominion is fielding mixed tech units (mostly their second lines) due to the size of their touman.

I believe Clan tech will never become standard but will be widely circulated for the right price.

During Revival, the clans were already fielding ‘C’ refits; introtech machines with the weapons replaced with clan equivalents. The Rifleman C, for instance, had cLPLs and LB5Xs, but apparently left the old MLs in place, and added more single heat sinks with the saved tonnage.

[Hellraiser]

During Revival, the clans were already fielding ‘C’ refits; introtech machines with the weapons replaced with clan equivalents. The Rifleman C, for instance, had cLPLs and LB5Xs, but apparently left the old MLs in place, and added more single heat sinks with the saved tonnage.

None of the original C's had extra SHS, most were under weight.

That said, specifically, I didn't think the RFL had any spare tonnage for SHS?
The LPLs are heavier which balanced out the LBX being lighter.
So unless the MLs were also dropped it should be a net gain/loss.

New versions of the C's have had extra SHS added so that they are no longer underweight & are their legal full tonnage again.

[Arkansas Warrior]

I just doubled checked Sarna, they say it removes all of the Inner Sphere weaponry.  Mea culpa.  It does mention added SHS though.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Just checked Rec Guide 8, the Rifleman C has two Clan Large Pulse Lasers and two Clan LB 5-X autocannons.  It has no medium lasers at all.  It's also only got 12 single heatsinks.

[Hellraiser]

That sounds right.
They didn't get them originally but the RG series has put out "gen-2's" of the original Cs from what I've seen that have extra SHS instead of them being underweight.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I think it would be more accurate to call them revised rather than "gen 2" since they're meant to replace the original sheets completely.  And IIRC they were first printed in Record Sheets: 3050 Upgrade Unabridged and Record Sheets: Project Phoenix Unabridged.