‘Mech of the Week: Ursa
MUL Image
Courtesy of Warrenborn.com
This week ‘Mech of the Week is reviewing another cross-over ‘Mech design, one that appeared in MechWarrior: Dark Age first and then later in a BattleTech product. I will cover the MWDA aspect more later, but first let’s take a closer look at this ‘Mech.
The Ursa is a 65 ton quad ‘Mech made by TharHes Industries on Tharkad. Looking at the MUL we find the base URA-2A made its debut in 3122, a mere year after Assault Tech Industries’ Jaguar debuted. Whether this was a result of an LCAF push for quad ‘Mech designs or not is unknown, but both designs have thrived.
Going the high-tech route, the Ursa makes use of an XL engine, endo-steel structure, MASC, and X-Pulse Lasers. This gives it a speed of 5/8(10), decent speed for a Heavy Quad. The armor is 86% of maximum, with 23 points on each leg and side torso, 29 points on the center torso, and a 7/10/7 pattern across the rear armor. Like the Scourge, the Ursa features a long range punch with some short-range punch for those who get too close. Its little wonder why the two designs are frequently partnered together in battle and on raiding missions.
For weapons it carries an ER PPC, a RAC/2 (with a single ton of ammo), and a quartet of Medium X-Pulse Lasers. When paired with a larger weapon, I like the RAC/2 for its ability to crit-seek at longer ranges. Since this is a quad, with its limited arcs of fire, I prefer to keep the enemy at range, but if someone gets too close, the X-Pulse Lasers will help them reconsider repeating the move. A total of 13 double heat sinks are ideal for bracket-fire, and it runs cool (-3 heat on a run and full-rate RAC) at longer ranges.
Some might want to compare the Ursa to the Balius, another quad which shares the same tonnage. However, that is a bad comparison, despite the similarities, due to their different usage. A Balius is designed for zellbrigen, honorable Clan-style combat, in one-on-one duels. As an initially hand-build ‘Mech, the Balius would only be given to the best warriors, who would be able to fight effectively at long range. On the other hand, the Ursa is found in the LCAF and among mercenaries who have no qualms about double-teaming a target or even directing a whole lance on a single enemy. Often they face enemies who do the same, so having an ally to cover a quad’s vulnerable flanks is of little concern. Similarly, the Ursa can take advantage of its size and MASC-enhanced speed to deliver hard-hitting charge attacks, something that earned it the nickname “Rhino” among some pilots.
In battle I would find a nice place to park and go hull-down at long range as the battle began. Once things got closer, I would send the Ursa rushing in for a charge or a close X-Pulse shot before sweeping off to turn and make another pass.
Ursa URA-2C variantThis variant was released 3 years after the original and is an almost direct Clan-tech rebuild. The chassis, engine, armor, RAC, ER PPC, and MASC are all replaced with the Clan version. With the extra tonnage saved from the ER PPC a 14th double heat sink is added. The X-Pulse Lasers are traded for ER Medium Pulse Lasers, greatly increasing the reach. The ER Pulses have the same medium range (9 hexes) as the X-Pulses have long range. This opens up the range brackets allowing more options for weapons fire.
While it’s nowhere to be found in the TRO, my personal belief is the -2C was the planned design all along. The -2A could be used for testing the basics of the design, providing a cheaper version for wider sales, and generating income for the equipment and machinery needed for the Clan-tech versions. In the end, the -2A works well on its own and the -2C is just better. This can be seen pretty clearly in the Alpha Strike stats. Both versions are the same, except the -2C adds 1 point of damage to each range bracket, 1 point of structure, CASE, and 5 more PV. My only real wish on either version would be for a Supercharger for the extra burst of speed and the ability to alternate between it and the MASC.
The MWDA version is a bit different from the TW version. It first appeared in the Age of Destruction expansion set. This set was in some ways a reboot of the game. The rules were modified in many areas, pilot & gear cards were introduced, and quad ‘Mechs were introduced to the game. There was a unique version of the Ursa, “Prowler”, run by a Merc pilot, Phuong Trahn (who happens to be the notable pilot in the print TRO3145). My memory claims this version and its unique pilot could be obtained as a part of some kind of mail-in or similar give-away, but I can’t seem to evidence of that in my records.
As a Heavy ‘Mech it was pretty lackluster, the attack, damage, defense values and weapon ranges weren’t very good. The speed was average and not enough to compensate for its deficits (in my experiences). There were non-unique versions for the Highlanders, Jade Falcons, Stormhammers, and House Steiner. Each one was slightly different (intending to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each faction as well as different variants). Personally I like the Highlander and Jade Falcon versions, which had hardened armor (Highlanders) and equipment that made it harder to hit (Jade Falcons) as well as better defensive values than the unique version.
When the set designers for MWDA were designing their ‘Mechs, they usually began by building the ‘Mech using pre-Total Warfare weapons and equipment and using that as a base for their version. Sometimes that resulted in ‘Mechs that were good or great in MWDA, but not so good on a recordsheet. This created a tough challenge when it came time to translate those MWDA units back into interesting, playable units in Total Warfare. This is one of the few cases where I am more excited over the TW version than the MWDA version. Whether it’s under TW rules or Alpha Strike, I would gladly use either version of Ursa.
