No I meant, what are your favorite non-standard Gauss Rifle platforms? And to back it up, what is your favorite non-standard Gauss Rifle?
I've never ventured far enough into the timeline to really mess with them. All I know I read in the rules and from your(plural) opinions.
This is not really the right thread for that conversation. Maybe start a "Tell Me About..." thread here or even up in Ground Combat.
As for the
Thunder Hawk itself, it's basically three Gauss rifles with armor and some leg actuators bolted on under the engine. Personally, if I need that kind of thing, I lean more toward the Alacorn (I wrote Vehicle of the Week for a long time, guys, of course I like the tank) or a dual-Gauss 'Mech like the
Devastator or
Pillager that's less explodium. Gauss Demolishers are also a good cheap choice if you're willing to drop a Gauss rifle.
My thoughts on SHS go exactly the same place they go on the
Omega, although the
Thunder Hawk has somewhat more excuse given the lower incidence of Infernos and other, more esoteric sorts of heat input at the time. The Arrow IV variant doesn't do much for me. I prefer my artillery specialized instead of tying up one of my more powerful combat platforms lugging it around although a couple of those 'Mechs would be one of those wonderful surprises for artillery-hunting lances everyone should arrange sometime. It would also economize a bit on defensive escorts for the artillery battery.