Tell me about...the Blue Flame

[Alan Grant]

I have little experience with quads and none with this one. Is it any good? What roles are it suited for?

[Greyhind]

Its not bad. An alright sniper but a better mid range brawler. In larger units (like say, a C3i linked level II or bigger) then it fits right in the middle of the initiative pile.

As a colouring book picture it definitely has merit.

[3rdCrucisLancers]

It's pretty terrible, IMO. Slow, can't jump, undersinked, loaded with ammo, and armed with a pathetic array of weaponry, it and its bigger brother the White Flame can't really be counted on to fight anything within twenty tons of their own weight and win.

[Dragon Cat]

It's pretty terrible, IMO. Slow, can't jump, undersinked, loaded with ammo, and armed with a pathetic array of weaponry, it and its bigger brother the White Flame can't really be counted on to fight anything within twenty tons of their own weight and win.

Pretty close to what I was thinking

[Maelwys]

Well, the good news is that its got a Light engine and max armor...unfortunately, that's about all the good news.

For a 45 tonner, its rather slow. Just for example, the other two 45 ton IS `Mechs in 3067 move 7/11 and 6/9/6. Since its a quad, that lack of speed (or jump ability) can be felt even more.

The weaponry looks good, but it doesn't have enough heat sinks to handle the main weapons, and with the slower speed you really don't want to risk getting in too close.

The best use I've see is hanging out at extreme range and going prone/hull down and utilizing the c3i link to toss in shots, firing in a pattern that keeps your heat low. Unfortunately, the slow movement (and possible heat issues) can slow you down so repositioning becomes problematic if your opponent pushes towards your position.

[Mattlov]

I agree with the "awful" posts.  It could really benefit with some new tech weapons, like Light PPCs or Plasma Rifles.  ER Larges are terrible as a main weapon, let alone a pair of them on an undersinked chassis.

And three Streak 2's?  Really?

It can still function as a mid range C3i spotter, and does OK against vehicles.  Especially if it can get on their flanks.

[Diablo48]

I am also not liking the looks of the design, and although I have never used it myself the only thing I can really see doing with it is pressing into SSRM range and leaving one of the ERLLs out of the firing pattern.  Beyond that you could probably make a serviceable variant by "downgrading" the ERLLs to standard to get your heat in check, although it would be a slow, light, quad brawler which is still going to cause serious problems if it is on its own.  You would also have the option of providing midrange support in a C3i net from 15 hexes and keeping it in reserve as a backup spotter, but the performance is never going to get beyond underwhelming without a total overhaul.  If you bumped the speed up to 7/11 it could have some potential, although I will have to go tinker with it to see what I can come up with.

Edit: here is the variant I made.  It is generally fairly straightforwards with an increase in speed to 7/11 and the ERLLs swapped for LPPCs so it can use its weapons without cooking itself, but there are a few little tricks I had to pull to keep it looking like the original.

http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,253.msg280108.html#msg280108

[gyedid]

I once undertook an exercise in which I swapped the weapon loads of the Blue and White Flames between the respective chassis.  I found that they each worked better with the other's weapons.  Well, OK, the Blue Flame also got a bigger XL engine to make it go 6/9/6, making it like a quad P-Hawk, but still...

I strongly agree with the people who've said that light PPCs would work better than ER large lasers.

cheers,

Gabe

[garhkal]

Dropping the ER larges for regulars, and replacing the Streaks with Medium lasers at least lets you upgrade to 5/8/5 with them..

[whistler]

i really wish this mech had some good stats... dropping all weapons for pairs of ER Mediums and Snubbers makes the Blue Flame a fairly decent mech.  better yet, grab an XL Engine for weapons and / or speed upgrades.  generally speaking, anything that reaches beyond 18 hexes is a good choice.  like it's sister, the Blue Flame can be a passable mid-range sniper.

[Alex Keller]

I've used the Blue Flame as part of a C3i Level II several times and I have to say the 'Mech was quite disappointing.  I generally found that you run into danger if you get too close, so I typically try to use it on one of my flanks and at long or extreme range, using it against vehicles or infantry if possible. 

However, my campaign plays with a lot of quirks and the dorsal SSRM-2 and the SSRM-2s on each flank are mounted on turrets, which gives them superior range over other four-legged mechs like say, the new Goliath or the Barghest. 

I'd rather use another Gurkha, honestly.