MotW: Eisenfaust

[DarkISI]

[Computer voice]
Searching for data, please stand by.
[A few seconds go by]
Data found. Now presenting the Eisenfaust Battlemech.
Weight: 45t
Number of Variants: 3
History: Was first produced during the early days of Battlemech production. Meant as a siege unit. It failed and production was canceled. Renewed interest in modern times, due availability of new weapon types.
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Resuming Eisenfaust data listing.

Variant data:
Eisenfaust EFT-4J
Original version, few remain active. Used mostly for testing concept versions.
Technical data:
Maximum speed: 54 kph
Armor: 99.34% maximum coverage.
Armament: Single class 10 autocannon, two medium class lasers, one small class laser, one large class laser.
Recommended weapon usage: use autocannon and large laser at medium range. Use autocannon and other lasers at short range. No long range armament exists.
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Resuming Eisenfaust data listing.
Tactical analysis:
Useful in urban areas, useless anywhere else.
Can withstand punishment, but slow speed makes it a weapon magnet.
Recommendation: avoid piloting at all costs.


Eisenfaust EFT-7X
Modern standard version.
Technical data:
Maximum speed: 64 kph
Armor: 99.34% maximum coverage.
Armament: Single plasma rifle, two medium class pulse lasers, one small class extended range laser, one large class extended range laser.
Recommended weapon usage: use large class laser at long range. Use plasma rifle and large class laser at medium range. Use everything at short range, minimal overheating possible.
Tactical analysis:
Useful in urban areas and for defending a position. Should fight at short or medium range, but unable to reach optimum range by itself. Needs the enemy to make mistakes.
Can withstand punishment, but slow speed makes it a weapon magnet. XL Engine is fragile.
Recommendation: avoid piloting at all costs.
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[2 hours later]


Eisenfaust EFT-8X
Experimental proof of concept version
Technical data:
Maximum speed: 64 kph
Armor: 99.34% maximum coverage.
Armament: Single binary laser cannon, two medium class pulse lasers, one small class extended range laser, one medium class variable speed pulse laser.
Recommended weapon usage: use binary laser cannon at medium range. Use everything at short range, minimal overheating possible.
Tactical analysis:
Useful in urban areas and for defending a position. Should fight at short or medium range, but unable to reach optimum range by itself. Needs the enemy to make mistakes.
Can withstand punishment, but slow speed makes it a weapon magnet. XL Engine is fragile.
Recommendation: avoid piloting at all costs.

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References: The Master Unit List has everything there is to see here.
Camospecs offers two painted units.



Yes, I know the format is strange (even for me ;)), but I had an unstoppable urge to try it. :)

[Weirdo]

...and this is why there are certain things you do *not* research without setting some guidelines...

As for the 'mech itself, I actually don't think it's too bad. As with anything else with mid-short-range guns, it's something best suited to more broken terrain where it won't fall easily to long-range bombardment. While the XL does make it fragile, it still mounts max armor for the weight, and the weapons array is downright fearsome up close. I see it as a decent city fighter, where the plasma rifle and pulse lasers will make short work of conventional units and battlesuits. In more open terrain, I'll use it as an escort. The low speed isn't a problem here since it'll be fighting alongside heavy and assault units that move at about that speed anyway. The close-in guns allow it to deal with fast backstabbers, and the plasma again makes it good for discouraging the approach of conventional vehicles and battlesuits. Finally, the ERLL allows for token fire at long range, letting you contribute to the fire of the force you're escorting, and 8-point hits are not small hits.

[DarkISI]

...and this is why there are certain things you do *not* research without setting some guidelines...

Do you mean the 'Mech or my article style? :D

[Weirdo]

Your style. Plugging anything with the name 'iron fist' into an unrestricted data search? You deserve the viruses you get from that...and the mental scarring. :D

[Zureal]

its always cool to try "new" ways ot trying, but ..... it got boaring vary fast and i pretty much didnt make it threw it. it was a VARY dry read, like reading a math book. i like the other way u write MUCH more, :( hope you go back to it,.

[DarkISI]

its always cool to try "new" ways ot trying, but ..... it got boaring vary fast and i pretty much didnt make it threw it. it was a VARY dry read, like reading a math book. i like the other way u write MUCH more, :( hope you go back to it,.

I will, don't worry. :)

[Southern Coyote]

I think the style was that bad.  A little...odd, sure.  But over all, not bad.

As for the Eisenfaust, I find the mech surprisingly tough.  At first, looking at the mechs weight and speed, I was a little turned off.  But then I bought one and played around with it a few games.  It holds up surprisingly well on it's own, but couple it with a Heavy or Assault mech and you really have a great support unit. 

[Iron Mongoose]

I do tend to agree that the format is a bit dry.  The information is there, and there's a bit of humor, but there's comperitively little flow, and for my part I didn't really find it engaging.  Such heading are useful as a refrence, but definatly with in some of the topics, I think at the very least it needs to be expanded some.

As for the mech itself, oddly its a bit like the article.  Every thing is there, its got guns and armor and all that.  But its pretty slow, and I'm not really drawn in by it.

[jymset]

It's funny how different minds react differently. I thought this was one of the funniest reads in quite some time! :D

Between the little catastrophes at every download and the repetitive "avoid piloting at all costs." that both is hugely entertaining (I call it the "Dinner for One" principle!) and actually very educational in driving home an important point (no, I don't agree with Weirdo. I think it is "too bad"), I fell in love with this hugely original article.

Kudos, kind sir, great work, even by your standards! [applause]

[God and Davion]

"Can withstand punishment, but slow speed makes it a weapon magnet. XL Engine is fragile."

That sums it. Not so great weapons+XL+slow speed. Dead on the water.  The 2-PPC Uziel has the same long range firepower and more chances to not die fast. There are light mechs with more firepower and more speed.

[Scotty]

Enjoyed this a lot more than your usual articles (which I can't honestly get into the flow of it very much, either because of a venue I'm not very familiar with at all [auction] or formatting that made my eyes hurt [however that last one was]), I just wish we could have gotten a bit more of a complete picture of the 'Mech.  Production history, who designed it, where it's produced, that sort of thing.

[Col.Hengist]

Guess I have a pretty dry sense of humor 'couse I found this hiiiiiiilarious.

 

 

[DarkISI]

Kudos, kind sir, great work, even by your standards! [applause]

Thank you :)


So far, I think I got exactly the reactions I expected: Love and hate ;) It's a strange writing style, so that was to be expected.
So far I have been experimenting with article styles (an auction, a Solaris VII live audio broadcast and now the computer style) and I will go on do exactly that. Gives me an insight into what I can do and I can gauge reactions enabling me to tell what works and what doesn't ;)

Enjoyed this a lot more than your usual articles (which I can't honestly get into the flow of it very much, either because of a venue I'm not very familiar with at all [auction] or formatting that made my eyes hurt [however that last one was]),

What exactly made your eyes hurt in the Shadow Cat II article? I can't see anything special about the formating of that one.

I just wish we could have gotten a bit more of a complete picture of the 'Mech.  Production history, who designed it, where it's produced, that sort of thing.

Let me think about how to do it, perhaps I can manage to produce a small update tomorrow or the day after. :) No promises, though.

[Scotty]

No promises necessary. :)

Anyway, the problem I had with the Shadow Cat II was honestly a subjective one.  Lack of paragraph breaks, general clutter on the page, and the rather bizarre formatting [error?] where all the quotation marks in the particle were displayed as a series of three commas in a row instead of the actual quotation marks.

[Mendou]

I've had a lot of fun with the Eisenfaust, at least partially because people tend to dismiss and/or underestimate it. In a two-on-two fight I had earlier this year my opponent chose to concentrate on the Barghest and completely ignored the EFT until his medium 'Mech was slagged and his heavy too damaged to fight. Apparently he didn't notice that the little guy could produce the same damage as the big puppy with much less of a heat problem......

[Southern Coyote]

During an urban combat, I stuck one on a lance with a Hunchback, Fafnir and Annihilator.  They grabbed a defensibile position in the center and chewed up almost a company of mechs before being dug out.  The Eisenfaust got two kills, but was better at killing off the wounded and letting the bigger mechs focus on fresher targets. 

Over all, compared to the other mechs in 3085, the Eisenfaust is a decent mech.  Not great, but not many out of that TRO (atleast for the I.S.) are great.  And there are plenty that are awful. 

[Weirdo]

The Eisenfaust got two kills, but was better at killing off the wounded and letting the bigger mechs focus on fresher targets.

Eisenfaust: You're doing it right. O0

[Southern Coyote]

To me, it functions in the same manner as a Gargoyle: let it hunt down the wounded and leave the bigger guns for priority targets.

I will say it's one of the hidden jewels of 3085.  The Ghost I found undergunned.  I'll pretend the Targe didn't happen.  The Prefect is fun, but again undergunned.  But ofcourse, anything compared to the Hellstar is insufficient for anything but sacrifices to the Hellstar.  But the Eisenfaust is a fun ride.  But then again...so was the Titanic...

[daeceg]

While 4/6 is slow, it isn't unprecedented.  Feels somewhat like an Enforcer to me, actually.  I wonder about dropping secondary weapons for a light engine?

[lucho]

At least the Enforcer has JumpJets. The article is spot-on: bullet magnet. no 45t mech can resist sustained attention  #P

[Terrion]

The -4J struck me as being a case of "so close, yet so far". Change the pulses to standards and drop the SL, and you've got enough to upgrade the speed to a more respectable 5/8 (and you can push it up to 6/9 with ES and some armor shaving). Even improves the heat curve.

That said, there are a lot of Hunchbacks, Centurions, Wyverns, Whitworths and Vindies for the Eisenfaust to work with, so it won't be hurting for lancemates. It also isn't terrible as a cheap (BV) bodyguard for fire support lances that won't be moving, and hopefully won't be facing much firepower.

[Sabelkatten]

I had a look at it using a SFE instead.

The real "problem" with slow light/medium XLFE mechs is that the engine saves very little tonnage for a very serious increase in vulnerability. The EFT saves all of 3.5 tons - ES would save 2 for no extra vulnerability at all! Or just drop some of the heat sinks, there is such a thing as bracket fire, after all!

[misterpants]

Guess I have a pretty dry sense of humor 'couse I found this hiiiiiiilarious.

+1

[Headshot]

Guess I have a pretty dry sense of humor 'couse I found this hiiiiiiilarious.

+2

Though somebody who actually names his don't-ever-want-others-to-see-folder “embarrassing private pictures” really deserves everything that happens after that... >:D

That said, there are a lot of Hunchbacks, Centurions, Wyverns, Whitworths and Vindies for the Eisenfaust to work with,

All Mechs whose modern versions are faster, carry jumpjets, or both.
A slow modern Medium is a Bad Idea, no matter how well armored.
It was already a Bad Idea with the Initiate, and it doesn't get better by going five tons heavier.

[DarkISI]

A slow modern Medium is a Bad Idea, no matter how well armored.
It was already a Bad Idea with the Initiate, and it doesn't get better by going five tons heavier.

Exactly. During the Succession Wars you could somehow justify it, it wasn't a totally screwed up idea. But with the technological renaissance of the the Clan Invasion the idea got bad. And it gets even worse with the additional advancements of the Jihad and thereafter (try to run this thing after 3090 where rules levels changed and more and more weapons got available for general production).

[Demos]

Hm, I've made good experiences with the Eisenfaust.
With maximsed armor it can live with the XL engine, and the weapon arsenal is o.k. It's a general-purpose mech for me, especially in cities  or confined terrains.

Style of article: something new, but I liked the style of e.g. the Shadow Cat II article more.

[agen2]

Funny! :)

[StCptMara]

Guess I have a pretty dry sense of humor 'couse I found this hiiiiiiilarious.

Same here!

[Savage Coyote]

The Initiate is actually surprisingly good when used as an escort.  Had one play mayhem on one side of a large team battle a couple of years ago because his Albatross buddy was being a nuisance, killing 'mechs here and there while the Initiate supplied extra firepower to help finish targets.

As for the Eisenfaust, my THawk/Hauptmann/Zeus/Fafnir says thank you, please keep shooting at the 45 tonner!

[StCptMara]

The Initiate is actually surprisingly good when used as an escort.  Had one play mayhem on one side of a large team battle a couple of years ago because his Albatross buddy was being a nuisance, killing 'mechs here and there while the Initiate supplied extra firepower to help finish targets.

As for the Eisenfaust, my THawk/Hauptmann/Zeus/Fafnir says thank you, please keep shooting at the 45 tonner!

First time I used an Initiate, it was the only non-c3i unit in its level II...it used its LRM for indirect fire, and was the heaviest
'mech in the level II(2 Gurkhas, 3 PPC+C3i+armour hussars).

Also, I have to agree...you have to know where to throw that fire. If the lance I see consists of a Thunderhawk, Eisenfaust, Zeus,
and Defiance? That Thunderhawk dies FIRST, then the Defiance, then the Zeus...The Eisenfaust can then bravely run away whiles its lancemates are getting the concentrated fire poured on them one at a time.