Tell me about the Viking VKG-2G

[Getz]

I'll be getting into a Time of War campaign soon and my Rasalhaguer War Orphan has been given the chance to pilot a Viking 2G.  Now, I'm familiar enough with the 2F version, but wondered if anyone had any experience of using the VKG-2G on the tabletop?  In principle it looks a pretty durable ride with a weapons load out that reminds me of the Dragon Fire (a mech that I have had some success with in the past) but like most big assault boats it's painfully slow and the battery of pulse lasers wants you to get close in order to develop your best firepower.

[marauder648]

Never used one but it is as you said a Dragonfire that could not say no to the all you can eat buffet and piled on the tonnage, if its got C3 then huzzah if not hrm, treat it like a dragonfire just slow.

[Getz]

No C3, but it does have a Guardian ECM.  Pulling the ECM and a bit of armour for a slave and an extra heat sink would be pretty straightforward although there probably wouldn't be enough space for a C3M even if you could find the tonnage.

Apparently the game is going to start in late September 3067, so I have a nagging suspicion that that ECM might come in handy...   8)

[Wolf Reaper]

The Viking does have one over the Dragon Fire. The Viking is running a standard engine.  This added suitability does outweigh some of the slowness of the design.

[Lord greystroke]

The Viking VKG-2G is 100% armour and the ECM is nice against WOB ,slow and steady when I used it I treated it like the 3025 Atlas for area denial and scary thing round the corner duty but the Gauss is a good long range punch weapon with the LBX 10 combo overall I like it   

[JadeHellbringer]

Well balanced, tough as nails... it's a good Mech. As mentioned earlier in the thread, if you liked the Dragon Fire you'll love this thing. I'd like to see a few changes made to it personally, but my disdain for IS pulse lasers is well known- a standard PPC in exchange for the large pulse would be nice. Otherwise, this is just a nice little trooper design.

[Getz]

Well balanced, tough as nails... it's a good Mech. As mentioned earlier in the thread, if you liked the Dragon Fire you'll love this thing. I'd like to see a few changes made to it personally, but my disdain for IS pulse lasers is well known- a standard PPC in exchange for the large pulse would be nice. Otherwise, this is just a nice little trooper design.

I'm not a bit fan of IS pulsers myself.  I was thinking that "downgrading" the MPLs to mediums would give me the tonnage and heat capacity to upgrade the LPL to a Heavy PPC...

[JadeHellbringer]

I'm not a bit fan of IS pulsers myself.  I was thinking that "downgrading" the MPLs to mediums would give me the tonnage and heat capacity to upgrade the LPL to a Heavy PPC...

That's not the worst idea, really. While I hate to go down the tired old 'Clantech fixes all!' path, with Vikings now serving in the Dominion's forces, it's not out of the question that a few Clan guns could find their way onto one of these beasts. A Clan ER PPC would be a great replacement for the LPL.

[Wolf Reaper]

That's not the worst idea, really. While I hate to go down the tired old 'Clantech fixes all!' path, with Vikings now serving in the Dominion's forces, it's not out of the question that a few Clan guns could find their way onto one of these beasts. A Clan ER PPC would be a great replacement for the LPL.

Or replacing the IS pulse lasers with clan ones.

[Diablo48]

That's not the worst idea, really. While I hate to go down the tired old 'Clantech fixes all!' path, with Vikings now serving in the Dominion's forces, it's not out of the question that a few Clan guns could find their way onto one of these beasts. A Clan ER PPC would be a great replacement for the LPL.

Forget replacement.  Upgrading to a Clan LPL, Gauss Rifle, and 5-X should give you more than enough mass to throw an ERPPC on there with room to spare for a few extra DHS.

[Gryphon]

The only IS pulse weapon worth having is the small, and that is for anti-infantry work. And many would argue a flamer is better too. For myself, the idea of having a city burning weapon on board is not a great one, and also, flamers basically scream war crimes to me, bu others mileage can, and does, vary really.

I would actually rather see the HPPC option in play rather than a Clan ERPPC, keeping it totally IS in nature, but that is also me. Even so, the Gauss and LB are a good combo, and a standard PPC would also be a good addition. I am a bit enamored of the "down grade" to standard mediums to get the space for the HPPC though. Are any of these changes "hard" to accomplish, class wise?

huh...I never noticed, but the base LRM model would have really benefited from four LRM-15s instead of the oddball mixture, it could have bought a bit more ammo, and upgraded the lasers to something useful. Still not sure it needed four MGs though?!

[marauder648]

I doubt that replacing the medium pulse lasers would be a difficult thing to accomplish tech wise, the HPPC might be a bit of a squeeze instead of the LPL but only from a lore point rather than a tech one if you downgrade the lasers to standards.  You could downgrade the medium lasers to standards and then see if you can upgrade the LPL to a Large X-Pulse as another IS option.

[Getz]

Downgrading the lasers would be a class A refit.  Replacing the LPL with a HPPC would be class B or C at worst.  Easy stuff.

Now, if I were to get my hands on some clan-tech (which is not likely) then a straightforward swap of the pulse lasers for their clan equivalents would be golden and even leave me a ton for some extra gauss ammo or a c3 slave, but bearing in mind this is for an RPG I'd be wary of going for clan ballistics just in case the GM decided to screw me with ammo supply.

Another idea I had was pulling the LPL for a ER PPC and the three MPLs for a pair of LPPCs, but I think I like the HPPC upgrade better...

[marauder648]

I'm gonna have to go with the ER and Lights the Gauss is well and good but those will give you some good throw weight at range if ammo became a concern although the HPPC is a 15 point hole puncher....

[Colt Ward]

Replacing the LPL with a ERPPC and the MPL with LPPC gives you a problem of the minimum range bubble on what, half the weapons?

I like the HPPC and ERML idea myself, always been a fan of the Viking as a true assault grinding forward.  The ComGuard division I will be facing in a merc year or two has a few, and I am really hoping to salvage one, or enough parts to build one of the LRM version.  And yeah, the mixed LRM rack sizes is annoying . . . I wish we had a Republic version of the -3W, dumping the LAC/2s for something better.

But anyway . . . Gauss Rifle @ 22 hexes & HPPC @ 18 hexes give you two big 15 point holes the LB-10X again @ 18 hexes can exploit.  I like that, and will have to keep it in mind.

[Getz]

Replacing the LPL with a ERPPC and the MPL with LPPC gives you a problem of the minimum range bubble on what, half the weapons?

More than half really.  I think it would be workable, but I'd be relying a lot on my teammates to back me up if things got up close and personal.