Author Topic: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff  (Read 13594 times)

GreekFire

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ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« on: 22 April 2015, 14:53:56 »
From TRO:3145 - Mercenaries

If there’s one ProtoMech that made me raise my eyebrows, it’s the Hippogriff. What we got here was a fascinating example of what sort of niche ProtoMechs could specialize in, filling a role that both ‘Mechs and Battle Armor would be hard-pressed to match in such a cheap and efficient package. Even more, it was proof that the Ravens had fully accepted that they were a part of the Inner Sphere - and would now be facing honorless, spheroid opposition. The Hippogriff isn’t made to engage using Zell, hell, it’s barely a true damage-dealing combat unit. The Clans of the Homeworlds would shudder at the sight of this ProtoMech, one that somehow seems more reminiscent of the purely supportive Boggart rather than the similarly-designed Sprite.

Code: [Select]
HIPPOGRIFF
INTRO: 3110
FACTIONS: Raven Alliance, Hell's Horses
WEAPONS: LRM-2 (x2) (48 shots)

         ARMOR                 INTERNAL   
          (2)                    (2)      Arms -> Cored: 24 pts
          / \                    / \      Legs -> Cored: 33 pts
      (4 / 10 \ 4)           (2 / 8 \ 2)  Torso -> Cored: 18 pts
         | | |                  | | |     Legs -> Destroyed: 15 pts
        (  10  )               (  5  )


The first thing to take note of is the Hippogriff’s use of a Partial Wing. The Partial Wing isn’t an efficient choice for most ProtoMechs; it weighs an astronomical 20% of a ProtoMech's total mass, completely eclipsing the weight demands of standard or even improved jump jets. This makes their usage largely wasteful. Even here on the Hippogriff, a standard 5/8 engine (weighing 2000 kg) combined with seven improved jump jets (1400 kg) would be lighter than the 3/5/7 deal that it has going on (for a total of 3600 kg). This inefficiency isn’t always a bad thing, though - and it certainly isn’t in BV-balanced games. Here, the vastly reduced ground speed slashes the Speed Factor BV multiplier from 1.89 down to 1.50, allowing you to field the Hippogriff in situations where it'd otherwise be too expensive.

This 3/5/7 movement is already somewhat remarkable for a ProtoMech (the only other jump-7 ProtoMechs out there are the Satyr 2 and Boggart 2). The Hippogriff's firepower remains unique, but less in regards to its weaponry rather than the amount of ammo it carries. The dual LRM-2s give it the ability to plink at range - nothing more, nothing less. This can be taken advantage of in a few ways; critseeking is always a possibility, while crippling vehicles is a definite option with the high jump letting Hippogriffs shoot at just the right angles to get those juicy motive hits. And frankly, the Hippogriff should be jumping at each and every opportunity. Unlike many other ProtoMechs out there, it has the ammo reserves to fire at increased to-hit numbers, giving it functionality that things like the Hydra 3 can struggle with. What is it bad at? Well, actual combat. Trying to engage 'Mechs or vehicles with standard missiles won't see them deal enough damage to make those Hippogriffs relevant in any situation.

The deep ammo bins demand more discussion. I fully believe that they’re the Hippogriff's greatest strength. You see, having such deep bins allows you to delve into the wonderful world of alternate munitions. No Hippogriff should be fielded without its share of specialty missiles, and in its case, I’d suggest going for Thunder and Smoke rounds. The Thunder rounds will allow you to place a total of ten different (miniature) minefields per round; while they won’t deal much damage individually, they can easily saturate an area to create a threat-zone that infantry, vehicles and light ‘Mechs will at least hesitate crossing. Don’t forget that the Thunder rounds can also be combined - if there’s a particularly vital patch of land that you have to deny, a full Point’s worth of firepower will quickly create a 20-point minefield that will threaten death to any infantry platoon that missteps.

The second option, Smoke rounds, are massive force multipliers. Here the Hippogriff is an excellent support unit for other ProtoMechs; a single Hippogriff Point within a larger ProtoMech Star can provide enough smoke to help its allies close, or strategic smoke to increase to-hit modifiers once combat is joined. That same Point of Hippogriffs can work alongside a friendly Star of ‘Mechs, guaranteeing that the Star will have full smoke coverage every round. Of course, full points aren’t required either; throwing two Hippogriffs in a single Point will give the remaining three ProtoMechs an additional +1 to-hit, making them even harder to put down. This is where the Hippogriff's speed becomes truly useful: it is able to keep up with the many quick and mobile units within the Raven Touman. Units like the Gorgon or Centaur will ultimately fall behind the more agile 'Mechs the Ravens typically field.

Other alternate ammo choices exist, but will usually be more situational or depend on whether you're allowing IS missile types with Clan launchers or not. Another useful Clan option is carrying a few Incendiary LRM rounds for some quick fire-starting options, giving you some added area-denial against infantry or other heat-wary units. Just make sure your own ProtoMechs aren't hampered by these fires, and you'll be good to go. Combine all of these ammo options with the high-jump and decent armor of the Hippogriff and you have a low-priority unit that your opponents will be loath wasting firepower to put down. Experiment, whether it's by fielding a few or many, but give all of those missile types a try. Most importantly, make sure to strike fear into the hearts and minds of the Combine, FedSuns and Pirate forces that have no idea how to fight against a ProtoMech-heavy force.


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« Last Edit: 17 October 2020, 11:33:38 by GreekFire »
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Maingunnery

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #1 on: 22 April 2015, 14:59:53 »

I am a Raven fan, however when I first saw the art I went: NOPE.....  #P

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #2 on: 22 April 2015, 15:51:09 »
My first thought on seeing the Hippogriff was to go Demolisher hunting. The combination of Jump movement and range would allow a Point to troll ambush tanks easily, and the ammo will last long enough that you're almost guaranteed to park it! The low cost makes the trade a very favorable one BV wise, especially since you should have enough missiles left over to contribute wen your finished.

My next thought was about how a Point was basically a super LB-X for AA work. While you might not get the accuracy boost, the range is still very applicable. The potential of 10 hits on a fighter is always helpful, and the clusters mean you can exploit someone else's shots to great effect.

I'll admit that I didn't consider alternate ammo when I initially look at the Hippogrif, but its certainly an good option. A full Point can lay a heck of a single minefield, or annoying ones in a lot of hexes. But the chance to salvo 10 light smoke hexes in a single turn is the part that really gets interesting. You can break LOS between you and a specific target at will, even to the point of blinding C3 spotters! Speaking of C3, loading up with some Sea Fox accquired ARAD missiles will make Spheriods thing twice about dezgra tech!
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #3 on: 22 April 2015, 16:31:56 »
I always forget about alternate munitions when it comes to ProtoMechs, I'm not sure why, but it could make the Hippogriff much more palatable. You don't have to worry about trying to burn through all the ammo on hitting targets, you can use it to harass your opponent and support your forces.

Though I have to admit, I do find it amusing that its the same speed as the Boggart 2.

I do think the Hippogriff is a good place to ask this. Are ProtoMechs on the way out? We only have two active factions that use them (Hell's Horses and Snow Ravens), and it seems like its not the greatest use of space to include units that only two factions use. Not to mention updated rules and equipment for them. And unless I'm mistaken, we don't have any new technologies from the 3140s for ProtoMechs.  Add to that the "newest" ProtoMech is the Hippogriff, and that's 35 years old at this point in the timeline, and the next newest is the Svartalfa, which is nearing 60 years of age.

So are they on their way out?

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #4 on: 22 April 2015, 17:35:41 »
I doubt there on their way out, they're just a niche unit. Much like Dropships, conventional fighters, and blue water ships, Protos can survive on a smaller number of new units.
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #5 on: 22 April 2015, 17:39:07 »
Someone's momma got frightened by a Shrike, methinks. Suprised the Jade Falcons haven't Trialled the Ravens for copyright infringement ;)
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GreekFire

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #6 on: 22 April 2015, 17:41:14 »
I do think the Hippogriff is a good place to ask this. Are ProtoMechs on the way out? We only have two active factions that use them (Hell's Horses and Snow Ravens), and it seems like its not the greatest use of space to include units that only two factions use. Not to mention updated rules and equipment for them. And unless I'm mistaken, we don't have any new technologies from the 3140s for ProtoMechs.  Add to that the "newest" ProtoMech is the Hippogriff, and that's 35 years old at this point in the timeline, and the next newest is the Svartalfa, which is nearing 60 years of age.

So are they on their way out?

I don't think so. ProtoMechs were never really a Spheroid Clan thing, but the two that do use them (the Ravens and the Horses) both have good reasons to keep them around: they recycle aerospace phenotype dropouts, and are an easy way to increase ground-based Toumans without needing to invest in more or larger Sibkos (although I'm not actually sure if the Horses still use the aero phenotype or if they've switched to the ProtoMech one). I don't think the TRO page-count thing is much of an issue. The recent 3145 TROs were chock-full of designs unique to a single faction (especially possible due to the new factional format), so the unique nature of the Protos is not a big deal.

While technologically, things might appear stagnant, you have to realize that the Ravens haven't developed a new 'Mech since...geeze, I don't even know. Sure, they've upgraded a few with new 'tech, but they weren't really the Clan to develop said new 'tech in the first place. So maybe it's just that the Ravens have had industrial troubles more than anything else. And you have to remember, this is the first time the Partial Wing has actually been mounted on a ProtoMech - ever. As for the Horses, its true that their last surge of ProtoMech development was in the 3080s. But that doesn't mean that the technology is dead to them - just that it's less of a priority. Which makes complete sense.

Now, where I think ProtoMechs might really get a resurgence is with the Homeworld Clans. You've got three Clans that still use them, including one that fields them to an impressive degree - even going so far as to create entire Clusters with nothing but Protos. Then there's the fact that the already resource-starved Homeworlds have been devastated to the point where what remains is even more valuable, making ProtoMechs an attractive alternative to expensive BattleMechs (if we go off of the original ProtoMech fluff, at least). But who knows? Only time will tell.
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #7 on: 22 April 2015, 17:48:09 »
I wish the Falcons used protos exactly so I can field a couple points of these guys in my fledgling Supernova Trinary.
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #8 on: 22 April 2015, 17:56:32 »
Do it anyway. Life's too short to not paint some Hippogriffs in Falcon colours, and the Falcons are aweseome enough to borrow the Davion Fiat Stick occasionally. O0

Then post pics :)
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #9 on: 22 April 2015, 18:12:12 »
The minis need to exist first, WT.  ;D
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GreekFire

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #10 on: 22 April 2015, 18:24:16 »
*cough cough everyone should vote for the Hippogriff next round of fan financing cough cough*
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #11 on: 22 April 2015, 18:27:24 »
Well, repurpose a DA Shrike. If anyone questions its size, just point at the Targe ...  O:-)
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #12 on: 22 April 2015, 18:49:57 »
Back in the day when ProtoMech's were first introduced, I scratched my head and went NOPE. Even with the second block of Proto's, my reaction was MEH.  This little beast, got me to start looking at Proto's seriously.  Plus it just LOOKS cool!
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #13 on: 22 April 2015, 19:36:55 »
Well, with the amount of material regularly coming out about the homeworlds, Prot's sure don't get the spotlight.
Though I suppose I already voiced myself on the matter.  ;D
This is a nice design, I didn't even know Protos could mount that much endurance. Though sure, technically nothing stops them.
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #14 on: 22 April 2015, 20:09:07 »
Well, with the amount of material regularly coming out about the homeworlds, Prot's sure don't get the spotlight.
Though I suppose I already voiced myself on the matter.  ;D
This is a nice design, I didn't even know Protos could mount that much endurance. Though sure, technically nothing stops them.
with most proto's the issue is not ammo endurance, it's armor endurance.. they generally don't have the mobility or range to play keep away from an opponent that long, as as a result their armor gets knocked down fast.
« Last Edit: 22 April 2015, 20:10:48 by glitterboy2098 »

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #15 on: 22 April 2015, 20:33:43 »

Now, where I think ProtoMechs might really get a resurgence is with the Homeworld Clans. You've got three Clans that still use them, including one that fields them to an impressive degree - even going so far as to create entire Clusters with nothing but Protos. Then there's the fact that the already resource-starved Homeworlds have been devastated to the point where what remains is even more valuable, making ProtoMechs an attractive alternative to expensive BattleMechs (if we go off of the original ProtoMech fluff, at least). But who knows? Only time will tell.

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #16 on: 22 April 2015, 20:34:25 »
Well, with the amount of material regularly coming out about the homeworlds, Prot's sure don't get the spotlight.
Though I suppose I already voiced myself on the matter.  ;D

Cold1, is that you in disguise ;) ( apologies UnLimiTeD )

I read the blurb in the TRO and didn't really take any notice of the ammo bin size till a re-read.

Following the Spirit of TT I am thinking some semi-guide ammo could be fun.  Tie this in with some tag and Arrow IV and you would be dropping the big bomb, followed by the crit-seekers.  Sometimes I surprise myself. 

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #17 on: 22 April 2015, 20:43:52 »
Cold1, is that you in disguise ;) ( apologies UnLimiTeD )
 

Nope not me.

I'm not sure I like this one.  I guess if your an abjured clanner and you want a proto... it's this or the Horse one. 


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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #18 on: 22 April 2015, 21:05:50 »
I've only faced this thing in combat once, and damn, were they annoying! They remind me of the strategy many people(myself included) espouse for keeping "slow" light 'mechs and other fragile things alive - give 'em something better to shoot at.

Now when I speak of this, I'm usually taking about putting something tougher and nastier right in the enemy's face instead of stuff as small as a Hippogriff, but remember: well-used Hippogriffs will piss you off. They won't kill you, but between that constant rain of light fire and their ability to be exactly where you don't want them to be at any given time, part of you is almost certain to fixate on them and want them gone. If you can pull off this response in your opponents with your own Hippogriffs, you can move them in ways that make them *look* like good targets, but are still unlikely to get hit. Fire drawn in this manner is fire that won't hit your other stuff that has neither the speed to evade serious attention, nor the armor to survive it. (Ullers ome to mind, but local Alliance players can probably name plenty of Raven-y things that could easily turn the tide of a battle if people would just stop shooting the blasted things for a few moments! >:(
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #19 on: 22 April 2015, 22:31:25 »
I'm a bit surprised there isn't a model with two SRM 2s and 400kg of ammo.  Would lack the ammo endurance, but have twice the punch and critseeking. 

That said, this looks like an annoying one to fight.  Not a very scary one (a point only matches a LRM 20 in output), but it's fast, can take most hits that will land, and has plenty of range (and no minimums).  Seems like it would be very easy to distract your opponents with their plinking, while your real threats do the killing. 

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #20 on: 22 April 2015, 23:24:02 »
The lack of variants is (right now) what I'm most disappointed in.  1600 kg is a pretty nice chunk for an alternate weapons suite that could cover the LRM's short comings.  AP Gauss fixes absolutely everything, but I'm not certain it's even needed here.  A flamer and a couple machine guns (infantry are going to have a tough time hitting you if you've got a +4 TMM regardless of distance), or a few SRM tubes, or even something silly like an ER Medium (I don't have my books in front of me, can't judge the viability of that one) would be a great addition.

Also, every Shrike I get is going to remain a Shrike, because I love those things.  If there ever was a good time to be a Falcon, now is it.  Except Malvina.
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #21 on: 22 April 2015, 23:33:07 »

I dunno.  It's a creative unit, and certainly pushes the boundaries of proto design, which is all good.  But...

The Hippo's combination of light armor and small engine means that it will tend to stay at longer ranges to avoid enemy fire and jump the whole time it's doing so to ensure defender movement modifiers.  But that increases the Hippo's attacker movement (+3) and range (+2 to +4) modifiers to the point (+5 to +7 total before target movement and terrain) that it's rarely going to hit when firing directly on enemy units.  (Barring an elite proto pilot, of course, but you're not going to waste your elite proto pilots on the Hippo.)  And when the Hippo does hit, a couple LRMs deliver almost nothing in terms of damage.

That leaves the aforementioned specialty LRM munitions that fire on hexes instead of enemy units.  But is a unit that costs 231 BV2 points the best way to lightly mine or smoke a couple hexes?  A vehicular grenade launcher providing smoke cover costs 15 BV2, a chaff dispenser providing similar cover costs 19 BV2, and a mine dispenser delivering standard mines costs 8 BV2 (I think).  The Hippo's ability to deliver smoke or mines remotely is valuable, but it's not 100x more valuable than just mounting these inexpensive launchers/dispensers on friendlies.

In fact, a point of Hippos comes to 1155 BV2 points.  I can almost buy two, Succession Wars-era Hunter tanks for that amount.  (And the Ravens can probably salvage some old Hunters in the Outworlds -- its on the Periphery General MUL list.)  The Hippos will be harder to hit and can spread their LRMs around, but I think I'd rather have the Hippos with double the LRMs (40 instead of 20), the ability to take some hits (12 tons of armor total), and enough speed (5/8) to keep up with typical Clan cavalry.  If I was a Raven Khan, I'd rely on my Clan's scavenging abilities and/or my Outworlds allies to deliver on the roles and missions of the Hippo, and put my protomech resources into something other than the Hippo.

Again, the Hippogriff gets lots of points for originality and stretching the limits.  But it's hard to see taking it as either a direct harassment unit or indirect support unit, especially given other options.

The lack of variants is (right now) what I'm most disappointed in.  1600 kg is a pretty nice chunk for an alternate weapons suite that could cover the LRM's short comings.

Seconded.

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #22 on: 23 April 2015, 00:48:26 »
The lack of variants is (right now) what I'm most disappointed in.  1600 kg is a pretty nice chunk for an alternate weapons suite that could cover the LRM's short comings.  AP Gauss fixes absolutely everything, but I'm not certain it's even needed here.  A flamer and a couple machine guns (infantry are going to have a tough time hitting you if you've got a +4 TMM regardless of distance), or a few SRM tubes, or even something silly like an ER Medium (I don't have my books in front of me, can't judge the viability of that one) would be a great addition.

Also, every Shrike I get is going to remain a Shrike, because I love those things.  If there ever was a good time to be a Falcon, now is it.  Except Malvina.

I thought about potential variants as I was writing this up...the first thing I considered were SRMs for their own specialty ammo and a change of pace, just like ScannerError suggested. The second was to swap the weapons for twin Micro Pulse Lasers, but it was hard to feel too excited about that one.

Flamers I'm much less enthusiastic about, their weight demands on ProtoMechs are absolutely atrocious and make them bottom-tier in my eyes. The ER Medium can't really work either, it weighs a total of 2250 kg that simply isn't available unless you're willing to drop the Partial Wing. Something else that could be interesting on something like the Hippogriff would be a Remote Sensor Dispensor - Points of them would be pretty interesting (and dirt cheap) ways to deploy those sensors.

That leaves the aforementioned specialty LRM munitions that fire on hexes instead of enemy units.  But is a unit that costs 231 BV2 points the best way to lightly mine or smoke a couple hexes?  A vehicular grenade launcher providing smoke cover costs 15 BV2, a chaff dispenser providing similar cover costs 19 BV2, and a mine dispenser delivering standard mines costs 8 BV2 (I think).  The Hippo's ability to deliver smoke or mines remotely is valuable, but it's not 100x more valuable than just mounting these inexpensive launchers/dispensers on friendlies.

This entirely depends on whether you favor custom units or not, and even then...it's definitely up for debate. There are hardly any units that field VGLs, Chaff Pods or Mine Dispensers. This alone makes the alternate munitions for an extremely cheap LRM unit a much more viable option, but it's the greater range of the Hippogriff that pulls it even more ahead. Those VGLs and Chaff/Mine dispensers have extremely limited range and can really only help the units they're mounted on (or, for the mine dispenser, can only really lay mines ahead of time in order to be at its most effective). The Hippogriff doesn't have that limitation - and that's why it excels as a force multiplier.

And if we're dragging BV into the void, an LRM-2 with 24 shots costs something in the range of 25-26 BV. That's about the same as a VGL and Mine Dispenser combined, while the LRM-2 is able to accomplish both roles at better ranges, for a longer period of time. But you're paying for more than just that, and for good reason. You want to be mobile.

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In fact, a point of Hippos comes to 1155 BV2 points.  I can almost buy two, Succession Wars-era Hunter tanks for that amount.  (And the Ravens can probably salvage some old Hunters in the Outworlds -- its on the Periphery General MUL list.)  The Hippos will be harder to hit and can spread their LRMs around, but I think I'd rather have the Hippos with double the LRMs (40 instead of 20), the ability to take some hits (12 tons of armor total), and enough speed (5/8) to keep up with typical Clan cavalry.  If I was a Raven Khan, I'd rely on my Clan's scavenging abilities and/or my Outworlds allies to deliver on the roles and missions of the Hippo, and put my protomech resources into something other than the Hippo.

You could buy the Hunters, definitely. And they'd keep up with traditional Clan cavalry, sure. But they won't keep up with the things the Ravens have been pumping out of late. Look at some of their most recent inventions: the Stinger IIC, WSP-3A Wasp, Dark Crow 1 through 4, Shadow Hawk IIC 7, Goshawk II...and not a single new Raven Heavy in the 3145 RATs. I'd say that they're shifting towards a lighter Touman, and this is where the Hippogriff works much better: it can keep up with those 'Mechs. And of course, the other advantage is how the speed and maneuverability of the Hippo reduces its threat priority (especially since the overall weapons payload is spread throughout the entire Point), while the slower and more easily hit Hunters just beg for a small burst of firepower to quickly take them out of the fight.

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Again, the Hippogriff gets lots of points for originality and stretching the limits.  But it's hard to see taking it as either a direct harassment unit or indirect support unit, especially given other options.

Oh, you shouldn't be using it for indirect fire support. Not in my eyes, at least. Direct harassment does work brilliantly against conventional forces, though, and the 7 jumping MP does always give you the option of throwing them either in front or behind your enemies if you even need a makeshift wall. And the nicest thing about the Hippo is the number of options you have; you can choose to take 8 standard rounds per launcher, with an additional 4 Thunder and Smoke Rounds, or anything else as you so choose. Then you can either combine them all into one area, spread them out, shoot one or two and save the rest, etc...this flexibility is unmatched by most other LRM-boats out there.
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mbear

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #23 on: 23 April 2015, 07:47:49 »
The lack of variants is (right now) what I'm most disappointed in.  1600 kg is a pretty nice chunk for an alternate weapons suite that could cover the LRM's short comings.  AP Gauss fixes absolutely everything, but I'm not certain it's even needed here.  A flamer and a couple machine guns (infantry are going to have a tough time hitting you if you've got a +4 TMM regardless of distance), or a few SRM tubes, or even something silly like an ER Medium (I don't have my books in front of me, can't judge the viability of that one) would be a great addition.

Also, every Shrike I get is going to remain a Shrike, because I love those things.  If there ever was a good time to be a Falcon, now is it.  Except Malvina.
How about a version with an MML or ATM system? (Can protos use ATMs?) A single MML-3 or MML-5 could launch SRMs and LRMs so you can take advantage of every Inner Sphere special munition. If that's no good for honor reasons, an ATM-3 could be useful as a direct line combatant instead of the support role of the Primary variant.
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #24 on: 23 April 2015, 10:46:32 »
Protos can't use ATMs, but they can use a Fusillade, which is basically a two-shot ATM3 that can use iATM munitions. But a single one of those is 1500kg, so that wouldn't be a very good swap.
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Maingunnery

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #25 on: 23 April 2015, 11:05:16 »

What about a Micro Pulse Laser variant (1 in each arm)?
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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #26 on: 23 April 2015, 11:16:23 »
Protos can't use ATMs, but they can use a Fusillade, which is basically a two-shot ATM3 that can use iATM munitions. But a single one of those is 1500kg, so that wouldn't be a very good swap.

Do the IS clans even have access to the technology anyway?  iATMs are homeworld exclusive, I never saw it that included the ammo and fusillade as well.


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wantec

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #27 on: 23 April 2015, 12:13:01 »
Do the IS clans even have access to the technology anyway?  iATMs are homeworld exclusive, I never saw it that included the ammo and fusillade as well.
I don't know if that's even been decided or stated either way. It could be assumed they have some, but there's nothing for sure.

As far as the Fusillade, it's possible as well. The deployment section of the Hobgoblin says that it was used heavily on Etienne's Sanctuary, and that it's possible that enough copies of the Hobgoblin were salvaged to inspire and help the Horse with the Svartalfa. The Sprite deployment section mentions something similar, that it may have inspired the Horses and the Svartalfa. Then in TRO:Prototypes the Horses field the Procyon Quad, the Minotaur P2 (magnetic clamps), and the Svartalfa (ultra proto, glider proto). Those chassis options and the MCL all came from the homeworlds and the Fusillade and iATM did as well. Personally I can see the IS Clans having all of the Society tech, even the new units, but for whatever reason we haven't seen them used.
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GreekFire

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #28 on: 23 April 2015, 12:21:50 »
EDIT: completely repeated what wantec said, didn't see his post.
« Last Edit: 23 April 2015, 13:18:46 by GreekFire »
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Maingunnery

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Re: ProtoMech of the Week - Hippogriff
« Reply #29 on: 23 April 2015, 12:28:43 »
Personally I can see the IS Clans having all of the Society tech, even the new units, but for whatever reason we haven't seen them used.
I can see them keeping that tech in reserve for emergencies.
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