You're either a Vulcan, or a Vulcan't. You choose.
Few units in Battletech are as poorly-understood by the average player as infantry. They're slow, they tend to have very short ranged attacks, they're easily squished, and that makes them appear frail and useless. Nothing could be further from the truth- in fact, a smartly-used infantry force can prove to be an absolute game-changer in a game, and at a strategic scale hordes of infantry can be trained and fielded for the resources that it would take to put even a simple Locust onto the battlefield. The result is that while anti-infantry forces may not be a priority for most players, there's something to be said for having a plan in case the swarms of angry rifle-toters pour out of the urban jungle- and that's where units like the Stinger come in handy. But sometimes you need something a little more versatile and a little tougher than the vaunted bugs- enter the Vulcan.
Another of the horde of designs to come from the SLDF campaign against Amaris, the Vulcan was intended to help clear hostile ground troops from the path of other SLDF forces, which oftentimes weren't equipped with anti-infantry weaponry (Kerensky's Orion, for example) beyond stomping attacks. As such, the unit needed to be quick enough to get to trouble spots, able to clear obstacles such as buildings with jump jets, and be able to survive an encounter with the infantry it was intended to kill. To their credit, the designers got it right- with some odd choices along the way, mind you.
The standard model Vulcan, the VL-2T, weighs in at 40 tons, the low end of the medium weight class. No need for a big 55-tonner in this role, after all. A 6/9 movement curve allows the gangly machine to kick its heels up to get where it needs to go, pacing bug Mechs and other smaller units without any trouble- if dealing with dug-in infantry, it sucks to have to wait for the removal-service to arrive, after all. A 180-meter jump capability gives the Vulcan the ability to hop over even respectably-sized obstacles with ease, important especially in an infantry-fighting role since infantry work best in urban environments. This all sounds pretty good so far, right?
Vulcans look frail and wispy, and it's understandable for players to look at it and think it's probably an easy kill. You'd be surprised though- they're not exactly going to make anyone think of a Battlemaster, but at 40 tons, it's... okay, not great still. Remember though that this is a unit not really intending to take on other Mechs- we should be taking on infantry, and that means widely-scattered small hits. Only ten points cover the center and legs, less on the sides and arms. A Vulcan that starts taking hits is quickly going to be out of action- so movement is its friend. Those rifle-toters can't kill what they can't hit, so make them earn it!
Weaponry is... weird. The Vulcan 2T starts off just fine, with a flamer and machine gun in the arms- just the kind of tools you need for the job at hand. A medium laser in the left torso is a great tool for dealing with an interfering bug-Mech or APC that might be supporting the enemy. And the AC/2 in the right torso is... just not a good idea in any way, shape, or form. Seriously, what was this for? Dealing with infantry, suddenly we needed the longest-ranged gun on the battlefield, that hardly does any damage to armored or unarmored forces alike, and weighs seven tons (including the ammo) on a 40-ton design? This was a bizarre design choice, and one that I'm sure has turned many players- the author included- off of the Vulcan over the years. Even if you have justification for the weapon, it's impossible to argue that it's a heavy beast that hardly fits the role the Mech is supposed to be performing. The number of better ideas out there are enormous- it's hard to think of a WORSE one, actually.
Luckily, the designers apparently thought so too, because shortly after the debut of the 2T, the 5T came along. The autocannon and ammo are deleted, and rightly so, in favor of going heavier on the short-ranged firepower. Three medium lasers are added where the cannon used to be (with the laser on the left side remaining for a total of four), with a couple of heat sinks added to help deal with the newly-increased heat output (twelve sinks total now). The remaining tonnage went into beefing up the armor. The Mech is MUCH more capable of harming armored targets now, and can take a couple of extra hits in return. Given a choice, use this every single time over the 2T. It is worth nothing though that while it is a huge improvement over its parent design, the 5T doesn't really do anything to improve itself at its primary job over the 2T's flamer/MG combo. That's not a bad attack, for sure, but one can't help but wish one of those lasers was a second flamer, a couple of MGs, etc. to improve the Vulcan's ability to perform its primary job.
Someone out there listened to the author, though. A 3039 custom variant is known to have existed, driven by a member of the 3rd Davion Guards. This 'Timms' variant drops the medium laser, MG, and ammo from a 2T to gain a small laser and two more flamers, and is a MUCH better machine for roasting infantry over an open fire like the holidays of yore. The AC/2 remains though, disappointingly. Unfortunately this is a one-off field mod, but it's good to see a Vulcan that really embraces the job of getting rid of infantry.
Even the homeliest of units like the Urbanmech got upgrades with the end of the Succession Wars and the re-release of lost Star League tech, and the Vulcan- being that homeliest of units- was no exception. Via their Nimakachi plant, House Marik eagerly began refitting their 2T Vulcans to the 5M standard at this time, losing the silly autocannon in favor of a large pulse laser. The author's hatred of this weapon has been inked many a time, but on a Mech designed for this job it actually works this time- the short range is mitigated by the Vulcan's need to get close anyway, the -2 to hit is perfect for dealing with fast support units... it's still a hefty beast, but far more useful. The laser in the other side also got the pulse treatment. A switch to double heat sinks (11 of them) offsets the massive rise in heat resulting. Endo-Steel helps make all of this possible as well, but the author cautions that as you wade into combat, the armor is still the same original 2T plating- no ferro or any of that fun stuff. With the new focus on close-range fighting on the 5M, be ready to get hit in reply.
The FWL wasn't the only group upgrading their Vulcans though. Enter the 5S, a Coventry-produced FedCom upgrade that went a bit further than the fairly-reasonable but limited upgrade of the 5M. 5S gets going by jamming an extralight-engine into the Vulcan, and immediately I know some of you are rolling your eyes at a ruined unit. Well, hold on- an XL engine makes sense if it really helps improve the Mech, so let's give it a chance! Ferro-fibrous armor makes the Mech slightly tougher in the legs, but the MASC system gives the VL-5S a boost up to Locust-speeds now and then, handy for... well, not a great deal if you're fighting infantry, honestly, but it's good to have options in an emergency. The main weapon change is replacing the 2T's AC/2 with an Ultra AC/5, which isn't really much of an improvement- the power is greater, of course, but it has the same problem, not really fitting the role the Mech is supposed to serve. All in all, a lot of money goes into this Mech's upgrade, and it doesn't really go anywhere useful compared to the 5M. The idea of running this out in the face of the Jade Falcons is... sobering.
The Vulcan appears to have missed out on the next wave of upgrades as the Civil War era's wars raged- neither the FedCom nor FWL seems to have given it any notice in this time, which isn't overly surprising- it wasn't a flashy unit demanding another upgrade, and new construction tended to get more attention in this era. (Out of universe, it also wasn't artwork that needed reworking in Project Phoenix!) We wait until the opening salvos of the horror known as the Jihad to see new Vulcan variants come marching onto the field, starting with the VT-5Sr. A clear attempt by the Lyrans to make the 5S not-awful, the only major change to that design is to drop the Ultra AC/5 and ammo to gain a plasma rifle, two tons of ammo, and a couple of desperately-needed heat sinks- the 5S didn't need to upgrade to double-strength heat sinks with the cool-running cannon, but this field mod definitely runs hot! The kind of withering punishment a plasma rifle does to... well, anything it hits... is obviously a huge improvement over the anemic autocannon, and as long as you're not stupid about the heat gauge this is a Vulcan to use every time you get an opportunity over its older cousins. In particular, the original role of dealing with infantry is handled nicely by the classic MG/flamer combo, and boosted by that plasma gun if you really want them to suffer. In an era seeing Manei Domini infantry on the field, that's no small consideration.
Marik, too, upgraded the Vulcan in the face of the new threat... briefly. The VT-6M was an odd duck that suffered from the classic 3060s/70s Marik fad of sticking a light Gauss rifle on everything that could move, whether it made sense or not. On an anti-infantry specialist, reader, it did not. The rifle and its two tons of ammo (we won't be running out any time soon...?) feel like a throwback to the AC/2 on the original version- a long-range strike that doesn't really do the infantry-killer much good at all. To accomplish the feat of cramming a huge gun in a small Mech, an XL motor was used, along with light ferro-fibrous armor to boost the protection a bit (though not over that engine, amusingly). The laser gets ER tech as well. Double heat sinks keep the Mech absurdly cool, great in an infantry-hunting role in which inferno missiles are a real threat. If you get your hands on one, it's not worth using- first because it sucks at its job, second because it's more of a collectors' item, since only a few dozen were produced prior to the destruction of the FWL's Nimakachi plant. Everyone loves a collectable!
The Word of Blake, too, found use for the old 'scarecrow' with the 6C. Taking old 5M chassis, they first tossed the large pulse laser for an ER large laser, which normally the author would applaud. Here though, for once, the pulse weapon really made sense. Still, the ER weapon gives the Mech a lightweight but handy sting at range (compared to the hefty but similar capability the 6M gave us with its LGR!). The medium laser also becomes an ER model. The weight saved, along with losing a double heat sink, get used for a C3i module (a handy idea, for a Mech designed to get into close-range for infantry fighting!), and for the first time we see a change to the classic MG/flamer duo, as the MG gets swapped out for three light machine guns in an array! LMGs are polarizing for players- some love the added range despite the loss of per-shot infantry-slaughter potential, others feel they're too weak. Three of them tied together is pretty handy, giving the Vulcan very good crowd-control power at a range that helps it stay a little further away from return fire. The flamer is, as ever, untouched. This is a very good Vulcan version and should be considered even if you don't have a C3i network to tie it to.
Post-Jihad, arms manufacturers had an odd situation- looking at shattered militaries needing to rebuild, but also being hamstrung in doing so by treaty agreements. It appears that the agreements limited NUMBERS, but not SPENDING- so flashy, high-price units were prioritized sometimes over more rear-echelon Mechs like the Vulcan. It stands to reason that many of the old stalwarts that survived the Jihad ended up in the scrap heap as a result- but the story isn't over for the scarecrow, either. An attempt from Coventry to buoy sales saw an interesting marriage of the 6M and 6Sr concepts (via what remained of Nimakachi) to produce the VT-6T. The plasma rifle and ER medium laser from the 6Sr return, backed by a targeting computer no less, the kind of extravagance that one can afford to cram on a Vulcan in this era. The infantry-killling arm weapons get upgrades as well- after CENTURIES, the flamer gets its upgrade to a heavy model, while the MG becomes a heavy. (The author is not a fan of the HMG, feeling that the lack of range- even by comparison to the old MG- isn't worth it). An XL motor and light ferro-fibrous armor give it the weight savings to make these upgrades. Whether these new tricks are enough to entice the LCAF to purchase the design in numbers- or even if the state survives to make those deals- is to be seen.
We have one last entry though before we draw the curtain on the Vulcan- and for that we travel to Solaris for 'Aladdin'. This is hardly even recognizable as a Vulcan, with a retractable blade (neat, if you're using the optional rules!) backed by... a pair of Thunderbolt/5 launchers. That's... different. Stealth armor via an Angel ECM system and double heat sinks round out this oddball. I'm not saying it's terrible, because it's... weird. Solaris produces some very unusual variants to begin with, but it's hard to think of one more outside-the-box than Aladdin. Designed to work as part of a small team rather than solo, this is a Mech probably best left alone by most players.
So there you have it- an oft-overlooked classic from the games' early days, upgraded to various extents and results throughout the years and trying to remain relevant even into the ilClan era. Vulcans excel in any era at jobs like crowd control and urban warfare, and it's best to keep them to those roles- using most versions in an open-field combat situation is likely going to go poorly, or at the very least waste its potential at the things it does well. They make excellent bodyguards for LRM-boats, helping keep infantry from popping out of hiding spots to cause trouble, and similarly are good guard units for high-ranking commanders as well (note that the Cyclops, for example, tends to lack infantry-suppression capabilities).
Go ahead, let's have a talk about the Vulcan- stories of use, idea for improvements, tactics, you know the drill folks!
"It was a bad-gun, slim-waist, jumping purple people-eater..."
