MOT* - Orion IIC

[Colt Ward]

I have used it . . .

You walk, fire 2 ERLL and maybe the Gauss depending on the THN- so at most a +2.  Walk the next turn doing the same.  Walking again, this turn it depends on if you fired the  Gauss the previous two turns or not- if you did, you swap out to a ERLL, Gauss, LRM and cool.  If not you walk until you reach that heat point, either having fired the Gauss or not.

The Orion IIC pilot is throwing 20-45 damage potentially a turn . . . and if you need to, you can mash the big button outside of 9 hexes and get 55 with IIRC a -1/+1 penalty for the next turn where you can cool enough with proper weapon selection.

[Greatclub]

It is significantly better; the Orion IIC can fire both ER Larges while moving and not suffer penalties.  4 points can be the difference between mediocre and excellent.   Here it's the difference between "pretty bad" and "good enough" which is a pretty large gap.

So... basically a C on the Scotty scale?

[Scotty]

The Orion IIC would probably end up somewhere at a mid/low B because it's otherwise just a solid 'Mech, durable enough and cheap enough that it's better than background filler but not the cream of the crop.

[gyedid]

Granted it all comes from retcons to create new designs to move more product, but I get a bit of a giggle that the Orion IIC, a mech inspired by the Great Father's preferred ride, is built in the vein of a bog-standard Orion, rather than what Kerensky actually used.

You mean the Gauss/snubbie version?  The snubbie was a relatively late development, Kerensky wouldn't have piloted that variant until, what, the late 2750s?  Besides, wasn't there the story that Theodore Kurita's Orion had been Kerensky's, abandoned with all the weapons removed, and it was restored to ON1-K specs?

cheers,

Gabe

[Intermittent_Coherence]

Granted it all comes from retcons to create new designs to move more product, but I get a bit of a giggle that the Orion IIC, a mech inspired by the Great Father's preferred ride, is built in the vein of a bog-standard Orion, rather than what Kerensky actually used.

You mean the Gauss/snubbie version?  The snubbie was a relatively late development, Kerensky wouldn't have piloted that variant until, what, the late 2750s?  Besides, wasn't there the story that Theodore Kurita's Orion had been Kerensky's, abandoned with all the weapons removed, and it was restored to ON1-K specs?

cheers,

Gabe

Also, didn't Kerensky's Orion start out in the stock config anyway?

As for the IIC.... has anybody tried swapping out the ERLLs for cMPLs or HeavyMLs? With the excess tonnage redirected into heat sinks, that should be cooler while trading long range for short range damage.

[Arkansas Warrior]

The Orion IIC is something I think that shows both the excellence and limitations of Clan tech.  I see it as basically trying to shoehorn a 3050 Atlas onto a 75-ton chassis.  Yes the lighter Clan weapons let you do that, but there isn't enough weight left for the heat sinks needed to use that weapon load efficiently.

cheers,

Gabe

That's the analogy I always make: it's an AS7-K left in the dryer until it got down to 75 tons.  The weapons are nearly identical (and honestly most people probably get more use out of the forward-mounted SRMs of the Orion than the Atlas's rear-mount MPLs), but its clantech lasers and LRMs are clearly superior to their IS Counterparts.  I suppose the Atlas has the edge in physical combat.  The Orion is faster and has better heat dissipation, but the Atlas has more armor and an AMS (but also an XL engine).  Even their BV is close, 2392 for the Orion vs 2175 for the Atlas.  If I was in a fight I'd rather have the Orion, generally, but it's a pretty close match.

[grimlock1]

The Orion IIC would probably end up somewhere at a mid/low B because it's otherwise just a solid 'Mech, durable enough and cheap enough that it's better than background filler but not the cream of the crop.

That kinda describes Orions in general. They don't have enough of anything to be the all-star, but they have enough of everything to be great utility infielders.

You mean the Gauss/snubbie version?  The snubbie was a relatively late development, Kerensky wouldn't have piloted that variant until, what, the late 2750s?  Besides, wasn't there the story that Theodore Kurita's Orion had been Kerensky's, abandoned with all the weapons removed, and it was restored to ON1-K specs?

cheers,

Gabe

Maybe I'm using too much out-of-universe perspective but I feel like the story of how the Great Father's stock -K was shot up and rebuilt to suit his combat style would be something that gets remembered.

[SteelRaven]

Maybe I'm using too much out-of-universe perspective but I feel like the story of how the Great Father's stock -K was shot up and rebuilt to suit his combat style would be something that gets remembered.

K was know for a bog standard Orion, the custom was a one off and in RL was something honestly tact on to the lore.