Best Armor for a dedicated scout mech?

[BATTLEMASTER]

Basically a variant of the ZPH-1A Tarantula with reflective armor.  Gosh I love that 'mech!

[Cannonshop]

For the role?

Standard armor does just fine-if you're a scout, you're not looking to pick fights, you're explicitly looking to avoid them and survive long enough to run away.

You're also looking at a unit that has historically got a short lifespan and will need replacement-which is not a good place to sink money into, when things like detection gear and commo are more useful (The Stealth field doesn't help you there).

Scouts locate the enemy so that the rest of the force can engage them with some advantage, they are NOT there to engage in holding actions or assault formations or positions-that's what you have trooper 'mechs for.

so, bog-standard starslab is fiine for a scout role, and the money you save can go into things that enhance that scout role-like better sensors, bigger engines (to cover more terrain) and mobility tweaks (to allow faster movement through cluttered terrain).

[Col Toda]

Very dependent on Stategic Logistics and philosophy. 

Recon in force with Argus mechs 5/8  active probe and RAC 5 .

Recon with fast  lights  like the Raven ; Dissagree about Stealth Armor as a good option .

I like the Argus but prefer Satellite, Aerospace with Recon Cameras and VTOLs with Bloodhound Active probes in a MAST Angel ECM move 18 with Ghost Targeting as one aspect with laser reflector armor and a remote sensor dispenser.  So +7  plus range . As a 150 ton mech bay having eats the same space for a 30 ton light recon mech or 55 + ton combat mech . Exchanging 1 mech bay for 3 light vehicles bays .

Best Armor Laser Reflective or Ablative for any unit that qualify. Mech or otherwise.  Fast units tend to get hit by pulse lasers and targeting computers or Auto Cannons  with precision rounds and either AES or Targeting computer. 

[EPG]

For the role?

Standard armor does just fine-if you're a scout, you're not looking to pick fights, you're explicitly looking to avoid them and survive long enough to run away.

You're also looking at a unit that has historically got a short lifespan and will need replacement-which is not a good place to sink money into, when things like detection gear and commo are more useful (The Stealth field doesn't help you there).

Scouts locate the enemy so that the rest of the force can engage them with some advantage, they are NOT there to engage in holding actions or assault formations or positions-that's what you have trooper 'mechs for.

so, bog-standard starslab is fiine for a scout role, and the money you save can go into things that enhance that scout role-like better sensors, bigger engines (to cover more terrain) and mobility tweaks (to allow faster movement through cluttered terrain).

Scouts only have a short lifespan if they make an attempt to engage the enemy.  They shouldn’t ever do that.  Cheap/low value scouts like the classic 20 ton big mechs certainly fit the bill for disposable, but if you’re putting in enough of a budget to even ask the question of what kind of armor they should have I’m going to assume that we are looking at more capable scouts here minimum move of 7/11/7 and mostly 8/12/8 and faster.  If they are used correctly these mechs will rarely get shot at for long by anything that has a legit chance to hurt them.  These are your top quality scouts who aren’t just good mech pilots (gunnery is optional) but also have the judgement and experience to recognize when to call for backup, when to withdraw, and when to press on. 

That said I agree with all the rest of it.  Standard armor only.  If ferrous fibrous helps, and you have the space for it that’s fine too, but most of these mechs are going to use most of their crit space on jump jets, endo steel and XL engines.  Get up to 10/15/10 or faster and you basically run out of space for ferrous fibrous armor only anything with more firepower than an ostscout.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Stealth armor takes up less crit space than ferro-fibrous does.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Stealth armor takes up less crit space than ferro-fibrous does.

Which is countered by needing 1.5 tons for an ECM package, which on a 20 ton bug is a lot to give up.

[Colt Ward]

You have 3 types of scouting-

1) Tells you where the enemy is not

2) Tells you where the enemy is located when it dies upon finding the enemy

3) Tells you what the enemy is- giving you a SPOT/SALUTE report

The first is easy to determine, the second tells you where your ex-scouts ran into pickets or a screening force (you know, those folks tasked to keep your scouts away), and the last one is the scout that gives you the valuable information; the marks of a professional.

Ideally a scout/recon unit should not be seen/detected because the most valuable information they can give you is to make sure you know things that your opposition does not know you know.

But sometimes they are also going to have to brave some fire and go into harm's way to get information you need (are those really Alacorns dug in on that ridge or are they dummies? or Pikes mocked up to be Alacorns?) which is where surviving to get into a position to observe/detect and get the information back (which means surviving period or at least until you can transmit).

That said I agree with all the rest of it.  Standard armor only.  If ferrous fibrous helps, and you have the space for it that’s fine too, but most of these mechs are going to use most of their crit space on jump jets, endo steel and XL engines.  Get up to 10/15/10 or faster and you basically run out of space for ferrous fibrous armor only anything with more firepower than an ostscout.

Light mechs have the crits to spare usually . . . now you start piling on XL Gyros, XL engines, Partial Wings, and full jump jets for the high speed mechs, and yeah you start using them up.


As for TAG/C3 . . . yeah, you are talking a niche type of recon, a "FIST'er"

[AlphaMirage]

So no fan designs but I ran through the permutations for my proposed 20t Quadscout, Light engine 8/12, SHS (yes even for stealth, you can turn it off and cool down every few turns), GECM, Active Probe, TAG, the costs are basically the same for Standard + ES, Heavy Ferro + SS, Stealth +SS, and Reflective + SS only differing by 100k cbs. So cost is clearly not the challenge.

That said Stealth doesn't add much more to the sensor check for a Double Blind Scenario compared to just GECM itself. Although if you wanted to do some passive surveillance it works as you're par on the heat. For passive surveillance I'd think a reflective scout would be a terrible idea so I'm leaning more on the Heavy Ferro as you don't need much of it and you don't need to worry about facilities to repair and service ES damage (which should be a different and more difficult material to work with).

[Colt Ward]

Well, keep in mind that reflective armor by canon description does not mean the mech is shiny . . . no matter how much we think of original chrome Cylons.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Which is countered by needing 1.5 tons for an ECM package, which on a 20 ton bug is a lot to give up.

Nobody said this had to be a 20 ton bug mech.

[DaevaHuG0]

I'd say Reflective Armour is the best option, although it's probably due to the trauma from fighting clan pulse laser equipped units.

As for the bonus question, the quadvees have an easier time using terrain cover due to being only 1 level high in vee form. Quads in general seem like the best option due to the piloting check bonus, less time spent falling it more time spent skedaddling.

[EPG]

You have 3 types of scouting-

1) Tells you where the enemy is not

2) Tells you where the enemy is located when it dies upon finding the enemy

3) Tells you what the enemy is- giving you a SPOT/SALUTE report

The first is easy to determine, the second tells you where your ex-scouts ran into pickets or a screening force (you know, those folks tasked to keep your scouts away), and the last one is the scout that gives you the valuable information; the marks of a professional.

Ideally a scout/recon unit should not be seen/detected because the most valuable information they can give you is to make sure you know things that your opposition does not know you know.

But sometimes they are also going to have to brave some fire and go into harm's way to get information you need (are those really Alacorns dug in on that ridge or are they dummies? or Pikes mocked up to be Alacorns?) which is where surviving to get into a position to observe/detect and get the information back (which means surviving period or at least until you can transmit).


Light mechs have the crits to spare usually . . . now you start piling on XL Gyros, XL engines, Partial Wings, and full jump jets for the high speed mechs, and yeah you start using them up.


As for TAG/C3 . . . yeah, you are talking a niche type of recon, a "FIST'er"

In that example of the possible heavy tank lance - no light mech scout should be ‘moving in for a closer look’ on that objective - ever.  If you really need to know what those guys are, that’s a job for a medium mech lance or an aerospace reconnaissance flight or maybe a drive by from a company of hover tanks. 

Under no circumstances should a single mech of any size (ok maybe a 200 ton super heavy)  be getting within range of that kind of firepower on purpose.  300+ tons of long range heavy tanks can kill or cripple any single mech in one round pretty easily.

Maybe if it’s extremely time critical to know right now a lance of light scouts could be utilized to try and bait the tanks into moving or in some other way revealing themselves for what they really are, but even that is an extremely high risk mission - the sort of actionthey give out awards for heroism for if they are successful.

[17thRecon]

Well, keep in mind that reflective armor by canon description does not mean the mech is shiny . . . no matter how much we think of original chrome Cylons.

My new justification for not painting any of my Mechs: “it’s flat gray reflective armor!”

[Greatclub]

Depends what you mean by scout. It can encompass a few different jobs.

Bush-beater for a line unit.
Long range patrol
Behind the lines raider
Atty spotter
Pathfinder

They have different threat profiles, made worse by the type of non scenario game, and even scenario game, most people play