Think about fighting in cities, against infantry or vehicles...
That 40-pt kick dropping a Medium building hex on a pesky infantry unit inside makes them go "squish" nicely.
Hunh. You don't see a use for a 'Mech that can dish *75pts* of damage while running and remaining heat neutral?
I'd use it as the focal point of an assault.
Yes I am considering that. Ever since Total Warfare came out, its pretty much the argument you see players make, that if it a unit mounts a plasma rifle or flamers it is automatically good against infantry and vehicles.
But how good in a city is the Vanquisher-7U really?
In an environment that is notorious for forcing PSRs a small cockpit is not good. LRM indirect fire from vehicles, Gauss and other long range fire hammering at units from across the alleyway, VTOLs constantly backstabbing are all threats that I encounter in cityfight games.
Infantry in these cityfight games either spot from far away, which the VQR-7U cant do anything about or leg attack, which it also is not equipped to deal with.
About the 7V I didnt say that it was useless, just that it isnt as useful as the 2A variant.
Raw damage only gets you so far in a game, where range generally equals accuracy. This is even more true in c3 networks, where the whole point is to exploit that accuracy advantage as long as possible. Of course you also run into the issue of enemy ECM, that if placed competently allows only for medium range target numbers, even if you have initiative that turn.
It's not the focal point if all one does is duel other 'Mechs in a BV-balanced vacuum.
EDIT: Not saying that isn't a legitimate way to play, but well, you know the Jihad and all that.
I don´t think my review implies or even suggests that I play only duels. I consider playing duels, zell games or similar ways that dumb down the complexity of the movement phase an utter waste of time. On that matter I agree with you, if I interpret your remark correctly.
I do play predominantly BV balanced games though, but again this doesnt give you the slightest hint at how the units I play are selected. You can select from all canon mechs, restrict by faction or canon era. You can randomly select a pool units and choose from there, you can draft units from a common pool, mirror your opponents force, only take units that start with the letter B, H and R, or completely randomize your force, etc. I can´t see that being vacuous at all. It just means that you eventually get to play with everything.
BV is just a currency to pay for unit X, Y and Z in game. How I get to select those units is not very important to me. What matters is, if my selection of unit X, Y and Z is good enough to defeat my opponent in a game or are if there are weaknesses in my force makeup, that I have to account for. BV as a tool IMO does just that. It lets me compare two similar units in their efficiency or likelihood to contribute to the game. In principle tonnage could do that too, it´s just to imprecise for that. For example compare the Warhammer WHM-7S or -7M vs WHM-8D under tonnage and under BV and the incentive to pick the 3050 era models.
I don't think Lagbreaker's assessment is bad, but reflects how he plays the game. From the perspective of a player whose group relies heavily on C-Bill costs and BV for force building, favors mostly optimized designs over those with story and character, but which doesn't run a lot of conventional forces, his evaluation seems pretty solid.
As the creator of the LHU-4E, I'm glad you were mostly impressed by it's design. Regarding competing with "Davionesque" design quality, I have no interest in designing perfectly min-maxed BattleMechs. I wanted to design the kind of 'Mech the CCAF would want, but not one that compromised what made the Lao Hu the Lao Hu. The rocket launchers preserve the large missile battery which is part of the Lao Hu's image. The small cockpit just means the LHU-4E is a 'Mech the CCAF saves for their better pilots.
The OP asked for a rating and review of the IS 3067u mechs. That´s all I did. I compared them to their older variants if possible or similar mechs with similar capabilities. Since the old RS3067 book (including the PP mechs) has been around for a decade or so, this seemed to me to be the best way to review them. BV, as mentioned, plays a big role for me cause it served me as a "lingua franca" when talking to other battletech players about the game itself, both in RL and online.
C-bills means nothing to me. A sword might cost as much as an assault rifle, but that doesnt mean that two people fighting each other with these weapons would make for interesting fight, let alone a fair one.
If the OP asks for a review of the vehicle variants, I can give my opinion on them as well. I use vehicles or infantry too.
I do admit, that the battletech background is of minor importance to me, so I can´t really comment on story and character as you probably understand it. After all it is a highly subjective matter, but we are talking about a record sheet book of fluffless new mech variants anyway.
Thank you for giving me the an insight in your thoughts and intentions for your Lao-Hu design though. I agree with you, it´s not perfectly min-maxed, but min maxed nevertheless ;)
Why is that?
Others have allready pointed some reasons out, but the most important reason to me is the chassis that carries a weapon. Its speed, firepower, armor and other equipment loadout plays a major role. The same weapon can vary greatly in usefulness on different chassis. Take for example the AC20 in the new Argus. The same AC20 is mounted on an Urbanmech-60L. I can´t think of conditions, where the threat of an AC20 is equivalent in those two mechs.
Obviously the case of RAC5 vs LBX10 in those two Akumas isnt as clear-cut. The LBX10 in the 2XK would complement the HPPC more nicely though and at closer ranges "run + dual MMLs + dual MPLs + LBX10" would be possible w/o overheat.
In general I cant think of many mechs that mount a RAC5 that would fall under the "perfectly min maxed" or "BV efficient" category. However, I have no problem coming up with LB10X ones.
The RACshasa is one of the few good RAC5 mechs. TBH that has mostly to do with the 5 pulse lasers it carries in addition though, but swapping the RAC for the LBX wouldnt make the mech worse or less of a menace when brawling.
