Angerona Scout Suit - Technical Readout 3085 page 11
The Angerona Scout Suit is StarCorps' second Battle Armor design - and third powered suit design - and continues the impressive track record that they began with the introduction of the Kopis. As the Angerona's name implies, it's intended for scouting, but unlike most suits intended for that role, it's built upon a Medium chassis, giving it much greater capability than its lighter counterparts.
Another of the Battle Armor designs first seen in MechWarrior Dark Age, the Angerona gets its proper BattleTech debut in Technical Readout 3085. It was the first MWDA suit to actually be put to paper after that game had gone the way of the dodo, with the Hauberk and Clan Medium Battle Armor being published in BattleTech form while MWDA was still alive and kicking. Like other converted units, developing the BattleTech stats can be somewhat awkward given that the clickytech versions exist in multiple grades, with some traits not having a direct counterpart within the BattleTech system.
In the case of the Angerona, the result of the conversion process was a swift moving suit that possesses decent armament for its size and technology, with somewhat low armor compensated by extreme stealthiness. It's fair to say that the suit emphasizes stealth over all else, even to the point of excusing the use of jump jets, which would in reality generate a massive signature every time they're used. This last point obviously has no effect in the BattleTech tactical game, and only needs to be taken into consideration in roleplaying scenarios, but the Angerona's sneakiness is what makes it such an effective unit in the ranks of the Republic Armed Forces.
Built to improve upon the stealthiness of the Purifier, a mainstay of the RAF's Battle Armor corps, the Angerona combines both Improved Stealth armor and a Camo System. Although the latter is less effective than the Mimetic armor of the Purifier, that suit is restricted by its need to move slowly in order to remain covert, even ignoring the issue that the Purifier relies upon jump jets for its mobility. By comparison, the Angerona not only avoids the heat and thunder of jets, its Improved Stealth works no matter how fast the suit moves, albeit not against conventional infantry. It's true that in some specific circumstances and against certain opponents that the Purifier will be stealthier, but in far more situations it's the Angerona that will come out ahead, potentially generating an additional +5 modifier if it stands still while being shot at from Long range.
The Angerona does need that stealthiness due to its reduced ability to generate Target Movement Modifiers and its subpar armor for a Medium. Although technically able to cover ground at the same speed as a Purifier or IS Standard, the lack of jump jets does make the Angerona more vulnerable to rough terrain, that can potentially slow it enough that it fails to achieve the all-important three hexes moved, and obviously doesn't get the modifier for jumping. Like all fast ground movers, the Angerona works very well in cities, able to rapidly move inside buildings with an ease that the Purifier can only envy.
At only six points of armor, the Angerona does have an uncomfortably low level of protection, just like the Purifier and that other sneaky Medium suit, the Infiltrator Mk II. This is not a suit that wants to run into Clantech opponents with their often plentiful supply of Medium Pulse Lasers, because the ability for that Clan weapon to one-shot kill the Angerona will rapidly result in a total party kill for the whole squad. Against Inner Sphere foes, the greater threat will be the more common usage of Area Effect weapons, many of which can not only one-shot kill an entire squad, but more importantly by targeting the hex they also bypass the stealth and mobility of the Angerona.
The armament lacks any significant modularity, and with only 180kg and three slots remaining, even after opting for Basic Manipulators to save mass, the possibilities are limited, but what weaponry the Angerona does possess is well chosen. The Light Recoilless Rifle on the right arm provides a decent punch out to six hexes, with the added benefit of improved performance against conventional infantry, making it an excellent choice for an Inner Sphere design. The Recoilless Rifle also meets the requirement of matching the big boom stick on the MWDA version; if anything the Light version was almost a concession, and something bigger would have been even more suitable, but for the lack of available mass. Other good choices instead of the Light Recoilless Rifle would have been the longer-ranged Magshot, which would force the removal of the Anti-Personnel Weapon Mount and is also less effective against infantry; or even a Flamer, which is very lethal against infantry and can be used in an incendiary role, but of course lacks range and doesn't mesh well with the MWDA stats. Personally, taking into account intangibles such as avoiding being too similar to the Magshot-armed Infiltrator Mk II, I think the Recoilless Rifle is the better choice of the three, although the possibility of main weapon modularity that could have been possible with the Flamer makes it a tough call.
Able to inflict Anti-'Mech attacks thanks to the twin Basic Manipulators, as well as ride upon friendly OmniMechs and OmniVehicles, the Angerona is a flexible suit, capable of direct combat when cornered as well as its intended role of scouting. Like all lighter-armored Battle Armor, the Angerona should try to dart from cover to cover as it performs its missions, adding the extra targeting modifiers to that provided by its stealth systems to make itself all but untouchable at Long and even Medium range for some opponents. Once it locates its targets, the Angerona can call in the rain from its relative safety, making a force that combines them with artillery or other such fire support a dangerous foe to fight.
Despite only entering the ranks of the RAF in 3083, the Republic and StarCorps didn't just rest on their laurels, and only two years later they introduced the Angerona Recon. Even more finely tuned for scouting, the Recon variant does have less raw combat performance and is also less capable of operating with Omnis, but in return it adds some useful abilities. By swapping the Recoilless Rifle for a Light Machine Gun, thereby halving firepower while retaining the same range, plus removing the Anti-Personnel Weapon Mount, the Angerona Recon frees the mass and space for Improved Sensors and a Remote Sensor Dispenser. Both systems better enable the Recon to locate the enemy, and the remote sensors can be incredibly useful in double blind games or even just as a way to offer additional spotters for indirect LRM fire or artillery.
One other change was made to the Recon which is not so useful in the BattleTech game. By swapping the Standard's Basic Manipulators for Armored Gloves, the Angerona Recon loses its ability to conduct Mechanized Battle Armor operations and Anti-'Mech attacks. The gloves do provide superior anti-personnel weapon capability than the Standard's AP Weapon Mount, allowing the suit to wield Support class infantry weapons that have a one-man crew requirement, but that's small comfort for what has been lost in my opinion. It should also be noted that the Armored Gloves do provide much more flexibility in the roleplaying game, but the same benefit could have been gained by replacing just one manipulator, which would have only resulted in the loss of Anti-'Mech capability, while retaining the AP weapon and Omni-riding abilities.
So far only fielded by the Republic of the Sphere, that obviously does limit the battlefields upon which the Angerona will be found, and with it also being a new suit, this makes it somewhat of an unknown with some players. At least we know that the Angerona operates into the Dark Age and no doubt beyond, so there's little worry of it fading away into obscurity before it gets better established.
Overall, the Angerona is a solid suit, that can't really be improved in any one facet, without having to then reduce some other area, robbing Peter to pay Paul. In this regard it can be viewed akin to the Elemental, which has so far resisted numerous attempts to improve its overall capabilities, and that alone says a lot about the Angerona.
Next up:
- Gray Death Heavy
- Gray Death Strike
- Warg
- Kopis
- Gorilla
