There are lots of technology options and combinations that have not been exploited on canon Clan omnimech designs but should be. Frankly, the recent TROs and RecGuides were far too timid and/or incompetent in this regard. Only the Falcon partial wing/jump jet designs really exploited that technology combo, and even then, there’s a couple better implementations in the medium weight class than the Hierofalcon. Some options that need further exploration/exhibition:
— AES: I don’t recall a canon omni with AES. IMO, there should a couple with AES in both arms, like Crossbow and Battle Cobra remakes. Or maybe a Warhawk rethink without the TC. Or on lights with all the weapons on one arm (and maybe asymmetric armor). Configs with Artemis V FCS for “pulse” LRMs and “pulse” SRMs. And LB-X cannons for “pulse” cluster munitions. Variants with Interface Cockpits could hit -3 (Art V, LB-X Cluster, ER Pulse) and -4 modifiers (Pulse). AES has been used canonically to help secondline units with poor gunnery skills. But it could also turn ilClan trueborns into stunningly reliable sharpshooters, too.
— Advanced Spheroid Armors: Reflective, Ballistic-Reinforced, and Stealth. I don’t think there’s a Reflective Armor omni yet. Canon is begging for a light or medium with enough jump jets, improved jump jets, and/or partial wings so that it can hit 7- or 10-hex jumps every turn (think optimized Hierofalcon) and Reflective Armor so that the pulse boats it’s most vulnerable to can’t land effective damage. (And throw the weapons on one AES arm above, to boot.) I don’t think there’s a Ballistic-Reinforced omni yet, either. Canon is begging for a slower Ballistic-Reinforced heavy or assault omni with long-ranged, heavy hitting configs. The Tomahawk II was boring and inefficient. Put Ballistic-Reinforced on a Dire Wolf and a Nova Cat/Night Gyr instead. The Alpha Wolf tried Stealth Armor on an omni, but both the platform and the configs could be substantially better. The modifiers from Stealth with AES and/or Interface Cockpits and -1/-2 weapons would hit a net 4, 5, or 6. Ferro-Lamellor is nice — the War Crow and Carrion Crow are competent omnis — but the Clans should get some armor variety going to keep the Houses off-balance.
— Reinforced Structure/Armor Combos and Reinforced Structure Lights: The Mastodon and Rime Otter are competent omnis. But the ilClan could have some real zombies if Reinforced Structure was combined with specialty armors like Ferro-Lamellor or Ballistic-Reinforced. Think Kingfisher with an XLE. Lighter designs probably also get the biggest bang for the buck from Reinforced Structure, maybe with specialty armors. Think Cougars, Adders, and Kit Foxes that can last as long as mediums, in addition to having a medium’s firepower.
— TSM and Melee: The Falcons (Jade Hawk) and Bears (Kontio) have dabbled with designs built for melee. It’s time to build some linebreaking shock omnis that specialize in this — maybe in combination with Reinforced Structure and specialty armors above. A 5/8 or 6/9 55-tonner with the energy array necessary to activate its TSM so it can decapitate heads/cockpits with a single punch in the primary Wolf configuration. Throw claws on the A config for the particularly bloodthirsty Jaguar and Bear warriors. Throw jump jets and talons on the B config so Falcon warriors can reliably kick out enemy legs. Throw spikes and a supercharger on the C configuration for charging Nova Cats. For that matter, why aren’t non-omni totems showing up with Claws (TSM Kodiaks and AES Cave Lions), Talons, or Spikes, and TSM? Depending on the Clan, these things scream totem mech.
Hardened Quads: The Hammerhead is nice, but it has to pay for its Hardened Armor with AES in the legs. And the Doom Courser is a solid quad, but it loses out to older bipeds like the Nova Cat and Night Gyr in its category of 4/6 Clan pocket assault omnis. The two need to be combined — quads with hardened armor — because quads get an automatic -2 PSR modifier that offsets the +1 from Hardened Armor without having to pay for AES or an Interface Cockpit. They won’t be omnis because Harden Armor can’t. But they’ll make great garrison mechs for the freeborns, both faster designs that can survive lots of enemy contact and slower ones that squat behind a hill and deliver fire support until the heat death of the universe. The Great Turtle was a joke, but Clantech changes the mass/volume efficiency enough that these are credible, dangerous designs.
Edge Case Movement and Masses: With an XXL engine and the right tonnage, a light Clan omni that can hit 20MPs without MASC or superchargers (and with decent armor) can be built that will put the Fire Moth to shame. Maybe even a Stealth Armor variant for spec ops. The ilClan inherited samples and maybe factories for the Omega, Poseidon, and Ares. How about bipedal superheavies with Harjel all over? The right tonnage with Harjel II can create zombie Dire Wolf. A 200-tonner with Harjel III could be an awesome big bad at the end of scenario arc. How about a competent underwater design (maybe totem) for the Foxes or Scorps with UMUs, Harjel, and massed LRTs?
Transformers: The Eurus is nice and all, but Quadvees are much, much more survivable than combat vehicles. It makes no sense for Clans in general, and the Hell’s Horses in particular, to be cranking out new tracked and wheeled combat designs when they could be converting their armored cavalry to competent quadvees. And instead of highly questionable configs and variants of mechs for space combat, the Ravens should be fielding a Clantech LAM or two to escort their forces from jump point to planetside. Or at least WiGEs from drop to planetside.
I could also wax lyrical on battle armor, but I won’t go there.
Point is, even if Interface Cockpits never become safer and more widespread to restore the Clantech edge in the ilClan Era, there’s still a lot that could be done to make Clan omnis and other forces much more dangerous, survivable, and mobile. I hope the Clans, and Wolves in particular, are not stuck with mediocre designs like the Amarok and Stormwolf (how did the Wolves become with ilClan with that?) for the rest of the ilClan Era and see some downright powerful omnis emerge over time that would explain Clan victories and expansion in this era. Key to that will be assigning design work to the most competent designers in the Catalyst stable and not shackling them with suboptimal weights and/or MPs just because those are underrepresented in the canon. (They’re underrepresented for a reason.) If the usual approach continues of handing out design work as rewards to writers who may not have much design or play experience, and then further handcuffing them with constraints, then the result will be more of the same.
My 2 Kerenskies... FWIW...
