Laser Heat Sinks in recent designs

[Diplominator]

Good morning,

Now that we have a Gyrfalcon in a Recguide, I'd like to ask about why certain units were given LHS and others weren't, and how the stats reflects the in-universe reality.

There seem to be three categories of units now:

1. The Night Gyr. This explicitly uses LHS per the fluff text, but does not have them in the stats.
2. First-generation Totem 'Mechs, for example the Gyrfalcon. The fluff does not mention LHS, but they are in the stats.
3. New-generation Totem OmniMechs, including the Ion Sparrow, Hierofalcon, and Jade Phoenix. These do not have LHS in the fluff or the stats.

Given all that, here are my questions:

-Are there multiple extant versions of the Night Gyr? For example, the originals might have LHS but the restarted Alyina line does not?

-If the Alyina line is producing LHS Night Gyrs, are the new-generation Totem Omnis also using LHS in-universe and it's just not reflected in the stats?

I ask because I had sort of been assuming that everything out of Alyina was actually using LHS and the stats just didn't reflect that because of rules restrictions for the Recguides, but the explicit presence of LHS on the Gyrfalcon makes me question that.

[jymset]

Hey Diplominator, it's great to see you back around here.

Let's circle back to your categories:

1. The Night Gyr. This explicitly uses LHS per the fluff text, but does not have them in the stats.

Yes, the LHS are mentioned in the fluff, but in a historical context. In the original TRO 3058, p. 182, the Night Gyr's Capabilities section spends its first two paragraphs introducing the LHS concept to the universe. TRO 3058 Upgrade, p. 186, picks up on that, but concludes that "As a result, field “upgrades” have seen many Night Gyrs receive conventional heat management gear, and a number of the factory-built models also feature conventional heat sinks."

This was surely inserted - at a time where the rulebooks had since introduced LHS - to confirm that the normal game piece was correct in featuring conventional DHS.

2. First-generation Totem 'Mechs, for example the Gyrfalcon. The fluff does not mention LHS, but they are in the stats.

Yes, they deliberately have LHS. By the late DA, it's a mundane piece of equipment and was never more appropriate than on these most outlandish totemic creations.

3. New-generation Totem OmniMechs, including the Ion Sparrow, Hierofalcon, and Jade Phoenix. These do not have LHS in the fluff or the stats.

While there may also be a meta reason for using conventional DHS, in-universe the new-generation (non-)Totems of Alyina are not going for the same flashy appearance as the old ones from Sudeten. It tracks.

And with that, we have the following answers to your questions:

-Are there multiple extant versions of the Night Gyr? For example, the originals might have LHS but the restarted Alyina line does not?

Yes. If anything, we are lacking an experimental "Night Gyr (Original)" record sheet. Yes, Alyina is definitely building conventional DHS Night Gyrs, as the Omni slots in with the other three (non)Totems. Per 3058U, that switch isn't new to Alyina, you can assume the Ironhold production line introduced that standard some time before the line's destruction in the WoR.

-If the Alyina line is producing LHS Night Gyrs, are the new-generation Totem Omnis also using LHS in-universe and it's just not reflected in the stats?

It's not, and as stated above, they are not.

I hope that helps - and you'll be able to stick around!

[Diplominator]

Thanks, it's good to be back. And thank you for the answer as well. That definitely clarifies everything. No disconnects between stats and fluff after all!