At the time that TRO 3050 was first released --- the retcon of 3039 hadn't been written yet. So, a good 90% plus of the opponent mechs that the Hellbringer would have had to face would have been 3025 machines... fielding single heatsinks, and based on a tech level that made the AC/5 a relevant weapon.
At that level, you can catch mediums and most lights... or at least stay in range long enough to do something.... as well as deal with infantry, or swarms of scorpion light tanks. You have enough firepower to seriously threaten the poster child of the day, the Warhammer, and as long as the shots didn't group tight, you even had a chance against mechs like the Awesome. Against the standards of the day, the Centurion, the Enforcer, the Wolverine (standard is an AC/5 version), or the Shadowhawk... this is a deadly machine. It was designed exclusively to fight these IS designs. Comparing it to a mech that has not only 10 tons on it, but also occupies one of the sweet tonnage spots is sort of like point out that a min/maxed character can do more than a standardly rolled character in other games.... as in, it's kind of a given. It doesn't require a whole lot of brain power to keep coming back with how a different design is better.... we know that.
What the Hellbringer was designed to bring to the table is the same as the Warhammer... a mobile weapons platform capable of destroying, or severely damaging an opponent of it's weight class, or lower. It can headcap. If both PPC's hit the CT on just about ANY inner sphere design of the time, it will go internal..... and it can likely go internal on a LOT of them in other locations in a single hit. Against the standard mediums of the day, it's a limb chopper.....and against it's own weight, it performs well. It devastates the Jagermech, it can control range and damage to wear down a T-bolt, and it can concentrate damage better than a Crusader, or Catapult......
So, against machines, designed to fight the clans, it fairs poorly. I expect that...... is it any real surprise that a clan design, facing an inner sphere design that was specifically built to counter clan machines, would do less well against that specialized opponent? The argument here seems to be that plate mail was useless in the middle ages, because modern guns defeat it..... at the time it was designed, the guns didn't exist. It's also like claiming that the heavy cavalry charge was worthless in the crusades, because later generations developed the machine gun..... I'm pretty sure a whole lot of forces on the receiving end of those charges would disagree.
The Hellbringer is a good machine to bring when you have little idea of what the other side has, and when used in the era that it was designed for. It was designed for the initial invasion, when the majority of what it faced were succession war forces. It has long range weapons, it has short range weapons, and it has anti-infantry ability. And considering how poor IS warriors, as well as their targeting systems (as emphasized via range) are, the light armor fits.....
Nahuris