The Sojourner is very much an omni.
You’re right. Another brain fart on my part. It’s fluffed as a newbie mech. That, the oddball weight/speed combo for the Clans, and multiple iffy to bad configurations cause my brain to want to classify it as non-omni.
And I'd say that AES is not widespread among the Clans because of the ubiquitous nature of the Targeting Computer, which is often a more efficient option since its size is based on the mass of the weapons tied to it rather than the size of the mech
AES is often lighter than a TC depending on how much weaponry is stuffed in the arm(s). On a Panther/Wolfhound-ish light mech, the AES for one arm will cost one ton. That arm can mount an ER PPC with a -1 to-hit modifier without paying two tons for a TC. An Adder could put two ER PPCs in that same AES arm with the same modifier without paying three tons for a TC. And that Adder could also stuff two LRM-20s in that arm and still get the same modifier, something a TC can’t help with.
I’m not saying AES beats TCs all the time. AES won’t help a Warhawk Prime or C, for example. But AES use is not an edge case thing, either.
An assault scale AES is 4 crits. Start putting Artemis V on missiles and you are highly limited in numbers.
It depends on the assault. A 5/8 Gargoyle with AES, Artemis V, and an LRM-20 in each arm is a little scary. That’s 40 “pulse” LRMs a turn on a heavy cav platform. But on a 3/5 Dire Wolf, those arms are undergunned.
AES is not limited to assaults, anyway. A medium can mount AES, dual Artemis V, and dual LRM-15s in each arm. That’s 60 “pulse” LRMs a turn, which is probably smarter and more efficient than any assault platform can be for the same “pulse” LRM boat concept.
TC is better for lasers and no real advantage for ACs.
It depends on the mech, not the weapons. A heavy with the Hel Prime’s loadout of dual Gauss and dual ER Larges in the arms will pay three tons less for the -1 modifier using AES in each arm than using a TC.
A 4/6 XL. 90 tonner has less firepower than a Kingfisher, which is already undergunned.
Those are two I have spent way too much time looking at.
A 90-tonner with Reinforced Structure, near-max Ferro-Lam Armor, an XLE, and an XLG can have the same free tonnage (about 30 tons) leftover for weapons and extra heat sinks as the canon Kingfisher. If we’re not stupid about fixing too many heat sinks in the engine like the canon Kingfisher did, we can run configs like heat-neutral triple ER PPCs, 80 LRM tubes, an Ultra AC/20 and an LB 20-X AC together, or 70+% of the Mastodon Prime’s firepower:
Stymphalian —>
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=86183.0The LRM20/ArtV/AES in the Doloire C is 10 crits. So yeah, you're doing quality over quantity there.
The weird thing is that we’re seeing these interesting or effective Clantech combos show up on Spheroid designs, not Clan designs. And in the ilClan Era, to boot.
I humbly disagree.
In all my years of custom mech design I don't think I've ever put TSM on an Omni.
Why?
It takes up space & doesn't save tonnage.
Yes and no. I sound like a broken record, but it again depends on the design.
TSM on a fast assault, big gun omni that has a lot of crits tied up in XLE, endo, and ferro-fibrous is probably a waste of BV.
But on a highly mobile, medium omni designed for close/melee combat? A TSM design like the one below is pretty dangerous and turning it into an omni with 7MP jump configs using standard jump jets and more weapons or talons or claws is fairly straightforward.
Wolf Hawk —>
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=86076.0Maybe an omni that specialized in close/melee combat is too limiting for an omni, but it would also be cool to have in the canon and the Clan judicial system of augmented personal combat trials sorta screams for such a design.
Regardless, whether it’s an omni or several standard totem mechs, after a century or more of contact, my point is that TSM should be seeing more and more effective use among the Clanners than the Kontio, Jade Hawk, and Skinwalker-XP.
FWIW...
